Letters to the editor: Prioritize local services

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Sanitary District reorganization is key

Editor:

On November 15, 2023, and then again on February 7, 2024, the San Mateo Local Agency Formation Commission (“LAFCo”) unanimously approved the reorganization of the East Palo Alto Sanitary District (“EPASD”) as a subsidiary district of the City of East Palo Alto (“EPA”). LAFCo is the agency that oversees local public agency boundaries.

EPASD objects to this reorganization, suggesting the status quo best serves the rate- payers of the EPASD. We disagree. We believe, the reorganization of the district is in the best interests of EPA residents.

1. Approximately 65% of the Districts sewer pipes are classified by the EPASD’s
   own consultant as pipes with “substantial structural defects”.
2. EPASD has proposed excessive sewer connection fees that have prevented or
   delayed important projects being built to serve community residents.
3. The EPASD’s pay to its General Manager / District Engineer and the EPASD’s
   Board of Directors is among the highest in the Bay Area even though the EPASD
   is among the smallest.

The Truth regarding the Reorganization of the EPASD is:

1. Cost to the rate payers for annual service fees pursuant to the EPA 5-year business plan is the same as those proposed by the EPASD.
2. Developers will pay for the cost of additional capacity needed for future development, as specified by State law.
3. EPASD reserves will be used by the City of EPA under the reorganization SOLELY for projects related to the Sanitary Sewer System.

In summary, the Reorganization of the EPASD is in the best interests of EPA
residents and property owners. We deserve transparent, no-nonsense, efficient and reliable services.

Luisa Buada
Former CEO, Ravenswood Family Health Center

Larry Moody
Former EPA Mayor and Councilmember, Former Director of EPA Sanitary District

Duane Bay
Former EPA Mayor and Council Member, Former Director at EPA Sanitary District

Rev. Jackie Wilson
Former Supervisor at EPA Sanitary District

Expanding local services benefits all

Editor:

It was good to see that Palo Alto’s financial position will allow adding personnel to the fire and police department. It is obvious to anyone who spends time on our streets driving, walking or cycling that there are frequent violations of the traffic code, with speeding and running red lights high on the list of infractions. The other additions to services, such responders to psychiatric emergencies, expanding library hours and increasing rest rooms in our parks are welcome as well. All of these services affect the safety and well being of our citizens. Perhaps the next time budget cuts are necessary the council will consider cutting city staff and the heavy use of costly consultants rather than services that benefit everyone on a day to day basis.

Richard Mamelok

Churchill Avenue, Palo Alto

Council unity statement is a sham

Our City Council’s so-called “Statement on Unity,” created in response to intense community feelings around the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is a sham and a scam. It’s a failed attempt to assuage the collective guilt of this council for failing to put a ceasefire resolution on the calendar. The city council’s collective refusal to allow a robust discussion of a ceasefire resolution in the most appropriate place, the city council chambers, the equivalent of the historic “Town Square,” is playing with fire and inviting self-help. It is simply not true that asking to place a ceasefire resolution on the agenda and then having a principled community debate on the merits of the issue, leading up to a vote by our council members, with their rationale for their votes, on the record, is evidence of anti-Semitism. To claim that such a debate is anti-Semitic is bowing to the pressures of current-day McCarthyism. Censorship hits at the heart of our democracy and cannot be tolerated. People deserve the right to speak to a ceasefire resolution. The council must stop obstructing our democracy. As attributed to numerous historical figures, “For those who remain neutral in times of great moral crisis are reserved the deepest spots in hell.”

Aram James

Ivy Lane, Palo Alto

Want to submit your own letter to the editor? Palo Alto Online publishes letters from local residents about news and issues taking place in the community. Send in your letter of no more than 400 words using our “Submit an opinion” form and it will be considered for publication.