Meiners Oaks Water District Meeting
*I received this in my email today - hopefully accurate information about the meeting time and location. Text is directly from the email.*
If any (or all) of you can possibly attend a 6:30 meeting at the Meiner Oak Water District office at 202 West El Roblar, onTuesday night, it would be incredibly helpful for agriculture in the Valley. You will not have to be there for hours, probably half an hour or so just for public comments, before they go into closed session.
As in many jurisdictions, Meiners Oaks is long overdue for major infrastructure work and is running in the red annually. So they need to raise rates, which are the lowest in the Valley. Fine. Here's the rub.....they're not just doubling or tripling rates, they want to raise them 700% for agriculture! They have constructed a plan that does not make much fiscal sense and make in fact be illegal. This may be our last chance to change their collective mind about going forward with this plan, (which I understand was concocted by an accountant who ran for the Water Board and lost).
This will put most farmers out of business. That means orchards will die and our row crop farmers that we buy from at the farmers markets could go out of business .... or have to dig costly wells or pray for a miracle.
Here's where you come in. If the Board sees a large turnout, and hears from some folks, we might be able to convince them to rethink their strategy. They currently have designed a multi-tiered program that in their mind was designed to encourage conservation, but in fact will penalize farmers who need a certain amount of water to keep trees and crops alive. A more equitable plan would be a flat meter rate and flat "unit" rate of usage for everyone. That would double rates for farmers, but would be okay. Another possibility is to do an assessment for property owners, which would be tax deductible, and would generate a sizeable surge of funding to make the infrastructure improvements.
Whether you are a Meiners Oaks Water District customer or not, we all have a stake in keeping agriculture alive in the Valley. They need to hear from us about the impact this will make on tourism, quality of life, air quality, food security, etc.
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Comments (2)
It will also mean that there will no longer be a green belt around the Ojai Valley to protect against brush fires. The Ojai Valley will become an area for the rich elite to build thier mansions and surround themselves with native vegitation.
Comment #1 Posted by: Anonymous | November 5, 2007 04:32 PM
I attended the MO Water Board meeting on Tuesday evening. The motive was to help change the proposed charges that farmers will face in the future. I am very grateful to Camille Sears for her expert analysis of the proposed water rate changes and efforts to change things. I also am grateful to Dulanie Ellis for informing the general public and organizing a strong showing at the meeting. My impression is that Ms. Sears' written analysis has provoked the water board to reassess their position. I am lately getting up to speed on this issue and am committed to working towards a more reasonable water rate for farmers. steve sprinkel
Comment #2 Posted by: steve sprinkel | November 7, 2007 08:57 PM