Reading public agency agendas can often provide surprising information. As regular listeners know, I am a big advocate of the kind of citizen participation in government that assumes that ordinary members of the community will actually be involved, in a substantive way, in governmental policy making.

Every one of us can have a real impact on public policy, if we get involved ourselves. “Self-government,” if you care about that, does mean that your personal involvement is required.

To be effective, action must be based on information, so a corollary to public participation in government is taking the time to do some information gathering and research. Reading the newspaper is a good step. The Land Use Report itself tries to help out, but the best way to keep informed is actually to read through the agendas of the governmental bodies whose actions affect you. That includes your Board of Supervisors, and it includes your city council, if you live in a city. If a water or sewer agency provides services you use, you might check out those agendas, too.

When I read the latest agenda of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, I found out that CSU Monterey Bay is in the process of buying the Steinbeck Center, in downtown Salinas, to use as a downtown campus. I hadn’t heard about that before! You can get more information from the links at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• October 2, 2014 Agenda - MCWRA (See Agenda Item 4A for the Steinbeck Center Item)

“Self-government,” a rather beloved concept in these United States, actually demands that we become personally involved in the governmental decision-making process. And to be effectively involved, we need information. That was the message from yesterday. Here’s another corollary. If we truly care about self-government, we need to be informed about and involved in the “political” process that precedes our selection of our elected representatives.

We do have a system of “representative” government. The people we elect to represent us on governmental bodies act in our name, and wield the full “power of the people.”

If you are a resident of the San Lorenzo Valley, in Santa Cruz County, the people who represent you on the Board of Directors of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District play an important part in your life. And their role may get bigger in the future, not smaller, as our local communities confront drought and climate change.

Tonight, all six candidates for Director of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District will participate in a Candidates Forum sponsored by the Valley Women’s Club. The Forum will run from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., and will be held at the San Lorenzo Valley Elementary School, 7155 Highway 9, in Felton. The forum is open to the public and is free of charge. Light refreshments will be served. No posters or signs will be allowed at the forum. More information at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Valley Women’s Club Website
• Information on the Candidates Forum
• San Lorenzo Valley Water District Website
• Felton FLOW Website
• For more information contact VWC President, Lynn McKibbin
  • Telephone: 831-338-7074; Email: lynnmckibbin@cruzio.net

I have signed up to get periodic bulletins from several members of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, including from Supervisor John Leopold, who represents the First Supervisorial District. You can sign up, too, even if you don’t live in the First District. It’s a good way to gather information about what’s going on in Santa Cruz County government.

Supervisor Leopold’s latest bulletin highlights his upcoming constituent meetings, and one of those meetings will be held tonight, Wednesday, October 1st, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Michael’s on Main, 2591 Main Street in Soquel. You are definitely invited.

I was very interested in the discussion in Supervisor Leopold’s latest bulletin about the “Sustainable Santa Cruz County” process. Over the last 18 months, the County Planning Department has led a series of workshops, originally under the title of Transit Corridors Plan and eventually renamed the Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan.

What is at stake in the Plan is the future character of both our rural and urban areas. I hope listeners will track down the key documents and then weigh in. According to Supervisor Leopold, the Board of Supervisors will consider the Plan, including input from both the Planning Commission and the public, on October 28, 2014.

This is Gary Patton.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• John Leopold County Website
• Sign Up for the Leopold Newsletter List
• The Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan Website

On September 19th, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 936, authored by State Senator Bill Monning. I have a link at kusp.org/landuse.

It is not clear that the regional desalination plant being promoted by California American Water Company will ever be built. There are many environmental and other questions. But if the plant is built, it will cost a lot of money. Estimates are on the order of $400 million dollars.

If the plant goes ahead, with this price tag, water customers on the Monterey Peninsula are going to pay. Typically, large public works projects are funded by bonds, which means that whoever is doing the project borrows the money needed, and then the customers pay back the money over time, including both principal and interest. Anyone familiar with a home mortgage knows how this goes. The higher the interest rate, the more you pay.

Voters on the Peninsula recently rejected the idea that they should explore owing their own water system, so this will be a “private” not a “public” project. Generally, that means higher interest rates, since public borrowing is cheaper. Senator Monning’s bill will allow the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, a public agency, to issue its own bonds for the project, meaning that “public” funding will be used for Cal-Am’s “private” project. That should mean lower interest rates, with Senator Monning estimating that ratepayers may save up to $66 million dollars.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Weekly Article on SB 936
• Monterey Partisan Commentary on Desal Project
• Senate Bill 936

I spend a lot of time online, trying to practice what I preach, and to become informed about the various land use policy and project items that are so important to our future. I provide lots of links to online resources in the transcript of each Land Use Report, as tools for listeners to get informed and involved themselves. Check out kusp.org/landuse.

One of my recent online discoveries was an announcement by the City of Santa Cruz Community Relations Manager (oh, yes, the City now has one of those). Apparently, there is going to be a “New Tool to Talk to the City Council,” in the form of an Agenda Comment feature. Visitors who click on the City Council Meetings page, and choose an agenda item, will find that a Public Comment section will appear in the top right hand corner of the page, where a “Make A Comment” button can be selected. If a comment is submitted in this way, it will be disseminated to the entire seven member City Council. The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors has had a similar system in place for a number of years.

I definitely encourage you to make use of these tools as a way of weighing in on issues before our City and County officials. On the other hand, while “virtual” communications are always helpful, there is often no better way to make your point than a “face to face,” or even an “in your face,” communication, where you are present personally. Think about attending those public meetings, too!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• City Press Release - New Tool To Talk
• Santa Cruz City Council - Council Meetings Page
• Agenda listings for Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors