Point Reyes Light - October 5, 2000
Stingy governor stiffs Tomales on sewer debt
A miserly Gov. Gray Davis last week refused to forgive the Tomales Village Community Services District's $218,684-debt to the state for the 1977 construction of its sewer system.
Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni and state Senator John Burton had introduced legislation that would convert the 40-year construction loan into a grant. The community has already paid $279,000 in principal and interest on the original loan of $189,000. The remaining principal on the debt is $163,000.
Assemblywoman Mazzoni said she was "very disappointed" by the governor's veto, especially after the state has spent so much to protect the area from development. "I think it is inconsistent with the state's investment in Tomales Bay to protect the watershed," she said.
However, in his veto message, the governor said the legislation would set a poor example around the state and reduce the State Water Resources Control Board ability to get federal matching funds.
Governor all worried "If other communities followed the lead of the Tomales Community Services District, the potential loss of federal matching funds could approach $18 million," Davis noted.
But the governor's stinginess will make it all the more expensive for the district to embark on an estimated $300,000 capital improvement project for the town sewer, said Karl Drexel, administrator of the Tomales sewer district.
Without the debt relief, the district must borrow roughly $105,000 from commercial lenders at higher interest rates than those offered by the state. The district is expecting a roughly $195,000 small communities grant from the state water board to cover the remaining costs.
Tomales residents chose to resume control of the town sewer from North Marin Water District after it leaked roughly a million gallons of treated sewage into Walker Creek in 1996. Many residents felt North Marin had neglected maintenance of the system.
$12 state surplus In a note to Tomales residents, Drexel said: "The district is understandably disappointed with the Governor's decision to veto this bill, in a year where the state has a $12 billion surplus. However we will continue to investigate ways to proceed with the needed improvement project...
"Assemblywoman Mazzoni and her staff, and Senator Burton and his staff invested a lot of time and energy into the passage of this bill and they deserve our gratitude and continued support."