Tonight at 6 p.m. Fortuna resident Janelle Egger will once again go before the Fortuna City Council to ask them, once again, what the heck they’re doing spending money on a new water reservoir at Stewart Street when they’ve got a perfectly good, underused one on Vancil. She says.
She’s gently, forcefully, legally and otherwise peck-peck-pecked at the council and city staff for years. She sued the city for access to public documents, and won. She even ran (unsuccessfuly) for city council last year.
And she’s a regular public participant during public comment moments before the council.
Egger sent out a preview today of what she plans to say at tonight’s meeting. And she made some handy charts.
In this chart she shows what she’s figured out to be the change in cost estimates between 2005 and now to build a new tank to replace two old ones on Stewart Street. They’ve gone up. And in this chart she’s compared the use of the existing big tank on Vancil to the proposed new tank on Stewart Street for meeting current and future water needs, including fire flow. The old Vancil one, she’s figured, suits the city’s needs just fine.
She also included her comments in the news release. If you can’t make the meeting, you can read them after the jump.
I want to share with you information regarding the Stewart Street Replacement project. First, based on city records, it looks like the total cost of this project is at least a $4.5 million and could exceed $5million.
It is important to remember that the money for this project is from the 2006 Water Revenue Bonds. One of the reasons we raised water rates was to guarantee this $7million bond debt.
The 2006 City Council passed a resolution telling rate payers that specific projects had been identified by a 2005 study.* The Stewart Street Reservoir Reconstruction project had an estimated at $2.1 million. Where is the rest of the money for this project coming from?
The resolution told us that the bond debt was for projects “that are required to fulfill the City’s current operational responsibilities.” A 2007 Report* identified the citywide storage needs, and the need in each pressure zone. I have a chart for you based on that report. The chart reflects the two parts of our water system, with 3 pressure zones served by storage in the southeast and 5 zones served by storage in the north.
When you look at this chart it is important to remember that the 2006 Council resolution told us that the bond debt was for improvements to our existing system only and “are not driven by future development.”
I remind you that up the street from the proposed tank are 5 million gallons in Vancil reservoir. For 45 years, less than 1of its 5 million gallons have been utilized. I respectfully suggest that a project to make the piping and pumping improvements to use this storage is a more appropriate use of the bond debt. Of course we are concerned about the future, but the storage in Vancil can meet current need and provide for future development.
I remind you that the Stewart Street Replacement Project will soon go out to bid and you will be asked to authorize the signing of a contract to build 2 million gallons of additional storage down the street from Vancil reservoir. I ask, is this project an appropriate use of the money rate payers were told was for improvements to our existing system, not for projects driven by future development?
I hope the information I’m providing is useful in helping you answer that question.
Janelle Egger
* 2005 Water Hydraulic Study; Resolution 2006-25; April 2007 Preliminary Design Report
This article appears in Queasy Eats.
Good to see an involved citizen.
kudos to Janelle.
Thanks, Mike
and Heidi, thanks for posting this. BTW, one of the Water Revenue Bond projects was the Vancil Modification project. So that old Vancil has been relined, replumbed and is ready to go…
…except the improvements only reached the fence line. Still needed, a couple pumps and pipeline to downtown.
Too bad Janelle isn’t a registered civil engineer, or an expert in the field.
I’ve posed this question before, and Janelle’s attorney has jumped on me calling me not very nice names:
What is difference between Janelle (who, btw, NCJ, was soundly rejected by the voters of Fortuna) questioning the water storage needs of Fortuna, and me, after studying a few schematics, deciding that that 747 Jet airliner can do just fine without a tail fin?
I don’t question Janelle’s right to do what she’s doing – she has the absolute right to do it. What I do question is the NCJ’s advocacy of her cause.
Answer to question posed – NOTHING. There is no difference – neither of us has any expertise whatsoever in the fields we are questioning.
Well hello Tammy, what have you been doing with yourself?
Did you ever look at the information I referred you to the last time? Was it the information on water storage needs in Table 1 in the Preliminary Design Report?
Try this one: Go to City Hall, ask to see the May 12, 2008 email, Subject: FW: Water System Operation, from Dr. DeBoise (Ph.D. P E). He wrote: “Attached is a writeup that describes how I think the system would operate if Vancil were used instead of Stewart Street for the lower zone storage.”
That attachment is written in plain English. Come on, Tammy, you can do it. Then come back and we’ll talk about some other facts.
I am not questioning the water storage needs, I am simply sharing information you may not be aware of. Fortuna has storage in the north, we need it elsewhere.
BTW, are you journalist, an expert in the field of journalism? What is the difference between you questioning the need for a jet’s tail fin and questioning what will be published by the NCJ?
Answer to question posed – Nothing, everybody knows that a jet needs a tail fin and that freedom of the press is a hallmark of our country. Well, I thought everyone knew.
Speaking of knowing, you never told us how you knew who my son, with a different last name, was. One great difference between us is that you can take potshots at me here and maybe you are not even using your own name. Come out of the shadows, Tammy, tells us a little about yourself. You may not be an expert in aerodynamics, but I neither am I. Hey, we have something in common!
“I am not questioning the water storage needs, I am simply sharing information you may not be aware of. Fortuna has storage in the north, we need it elsewhere.”
Uhhhhh, YES YOU ARE Questioning water storage needs, LOL. From one of your two websites:
“Where is the current need?
What are the projected future needs citywide, for Zones 1-5, and Zones 6-8?”
“Answer to question posed – Nothing, everybody knows that a jet needs a tail fin”
Lets change the the tail fin example to redundant systems that exist within an airliner – Janelle – that better fits the water storage needs and the required redundancy (or excess water needs – in your opinion) that is required in case of fire or other emergency.
“Speaking of knowing, you never told us how you knew who my son, with a different last name, was.”
Simple – I live in Fortuna, and have a daughter that is a year younger than your son – who I called out as your son, because his postings in support of you were rather Bob Doranish, dontha think?
” One great difference between us is that you can take potshots at me here”
Well Janelle, I havent taken any potshots at you, merely called you on your lack of expertise – your attorney on the other hand, basically called me a pscyho, lol.
Nope, I am not an expert in journalism, but one need not be to discern the NCJ’s descent into becoming an advocacy rag by covering an issue that is over two years old, bringing absolutely nothing new to the table, simply rehashing your old talking points.
Simply put, you have asked your questions. The NCJ has now asked them for you twice.
The citizens of Fortuna answered your questions and their validity with a resounding NO by not electing you this past November.
–that better fits the water storage needs and the required redundancy (or excess water needs – in your opinion) that is required in case of fire or other emergency.
Tammy, if you had looked at the Table you would know what the identified need was, in the north and in the south.
As for emergencies; the new tank will have the 1/2 million gallons of fire reserve recommended. The Staff Report pointed out that the down town area has wooden structures build close together and the Fire Chief, based on a fire in Old Town Eureka said that 1 million gallons would be needed to fight a fire in down town. Right now there is 1 million gallons when the tanks are full, as the day goes on the risk of not having the water to fight a fire down town increases.
A pipe down Christian Ridge Road would make the 5 million gallons in Vancil available to fight a fire. I repeat, the new tank will have 1/2 million gallons of fire reserve storage.
“Where is the current need? What are the projected future needs citywide, for Zones 1-5, and Zones 6-8?” Those questions were at the bottom of the chart so and are answered by the chart.
Did you get that DeBoice email that describes the improvements needed to use Vancil? Meet me for lunch and I’ll give you a copy.
Sorry Janelle,
We’ve already told you that we are listening to the experts with regards to this.
You participated in the election, making this your issue and you were soundly rejected.
Once again, I have no problems with you and your opinions, its just that I and the vast majority of Fortuna voters chose to listen to the experts.
Once again, it’s advocacy journalism at its silliest, with the NCJ even publishing this – but of course you must have forwarded this to them.
Well, at least they aren’t pictures of some poor young girl hanging herself pierced by a meat hook, so I guess we have that.
Tammy, I enjoyed participating in the election. I did much better than anyone would have predicted, including myself. There were eight candidates and many issues. I knocked on many doors and talked to many people. I can assure you that the vast majority of Fortuna voters just want their elected officials to take care of business and make wise decisions.
I ran to raise the issue of the tank, I did not raise the issue of the tank to be elected. In case you forgot, the other issue I raised was bringing sunshine, transparency and openness to City Hall.
You have listened to the experts and I have talked to and read the writings of experts. You have your opinion and I have mine.
Again, if you would like see the information on which I based my opinion, or would like to share the information on which you based yours, give me a call.