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County approves Los Osos sewer project

March 16, 2011

After decades of discussion, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to build a $189 million sewer project in Los Osos.

State mandates require a sewer system because septic tanks are polluting the groundwater.

Arguments over the project have been heated with residents wondering why not everyone in the community of over 14,000 is included in the mandates. The 5,000 households responsible for the sewer will be charged about $35,000 each.

On May 5th, the Regional Water Quality Control Board will consider adopting the project’s discharge requirements.


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Really bad government at its best. This project is being shoved down our throats in the worst of times and in the most questionable circumstances. Off the top of my head, 1) house values off 40% and the economy tanked since the 218 vote taken (LO house values continue to drop), 2) the 218 vote was done while the water board extended an array of threats (and the vote was not private), 3) the most affluent parts of the town are paying nothing, including large properties in the PZ (as if their poop does not pollute while mine does). This whole mess is unbelievably tragic and gets unrealistic support from our rich land owning out-of-town supervisor Gibson. Need to see some corruption? Look at the LOCSD members who were tossed out… Why in the world did they start a project that had a possibility of being canceled? And in the end, the blame keeps being placed on the residents of Los Osos??? I think not. This entire project amounts to social and economic genocide for many people in Los Osos. The county government should be watching out for the interests of all the people and not just the rich ones. The people of Los Osos are generally good; it’s a mystery why they have such bad leadership and representation in local government.


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Doesn’t John Wallace and Wallace Group have his sticky fingers in this too?


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They were “working” on the sewer when I left in 95, and they’ll still be “working” on the sewer 16 years

hence.


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The sewer would have cost substantially less 30 years ago and would probably be paid off by now.


The ones to blame for the high costs are the residents of Los Osos who stalled the project.


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I think I’d look to the folks who made the most money off the unrest before I blanketed blame on the Los Osians who simply wanted the best plan in the best location for the best price. All conditions not likely to come from MWH or many others who felt obliged to keep the cash register ringing.


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Who made the most money? The LAWYERS, defending the “rights” of the citizens who wanted no sewer or that mythical “better, cheaper” sewer.


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Not quit true, If you factor in that nobody there has been paying any sewer bill, let’s say at 90/ month for the county plan that was in effect way back in 1990 that’s quite a lot of dough that has not been spent by them, now factor in that stopping the centrally located debacle at 205/month and the savings get even bigger. and the bills are still a year away.

Lots of foxes got out of this henhouse, since most property gets turned over every 15 years or so.


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I think it’s important to note that The Tribune, on Tuesday, published an op-ed by Bob Cuddy on the front page that demonized Los Osos residents. No matter what you think of those who are for or against the sewer project, many agree that there is no room for vile, contemptible attacks against residents when it’s crucial to maintain calm and civility.


Click here to read The Tribune: Worst Newspaper in America.


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Razor, I don’t know you but I looked at your website and it’s really over the top. I can see why they wanted a deputy in the back of the room while you are there. Your rants seem to be obsessive and perhaps a bit scary for those that you insult on that website. I can understand passion when it comes to topics such as this but it appears that perhaps you’ve crossed a line that you shouldn’t have. No matter how much you don’t like what’s going on you carry it too far.


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Explain how and where I’m “over the top.” Do you have examples?


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On second thought, let’s not entertain your ad hominem attack.


Instead of people focusing on the process, I see you — and many others — blaming the dissenters, the “obstructionists” (or whatever epiphet happens to be the soup de jour) over and over again on every news article pertaining to the Los Osos sewer. That’s obsessive, but be that as it may, you’re perfectly entitled to do that. But what’s “over the top”? What’s “crossing the line”?


In Tuesday’s paper, Bob Cuddy compared Los Osos residents to the Westboro Baptist Church and likened the kind of speech presented by residents to the January 8 Tuscon Massacre. Cuddy argues that speakers are potentially violent. That’s an accusation that is merely speculation. That accusation has morphed into very extreme comparisons that pigeonhole concerned residents as irrationally spiteful people. I think that’s “over the top,” sure. In my opinion, broadcasting such incendiary views (without a counterpoint) to thousands of subscribers is over the top.


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” let’s not entertain your ad hominem attack”


?? What are you talking about?? do you know what that even means. I was simply telling you that your website was over the top, I didn’t attack you in any form.

Saying that I feel that you are over the top is an observation.


I’ll give you some examples of what I would call over the top. You have one article in which you accuse a man of being a pedophile simply because you two had a disagreement. That’s pretty low but then you post a picture of him with a small child on his lap. You have pictures of local politicians with their heads on fire, one of my favorite local radio jocks depicted as a dog etc.. It’s article after article of hate. I understand that you don’t want that project in L.O., it’s been a long battle but you have obstructed and cost LO a lot of $$$. You don’t need to flip out over a deputy at that back of the room at the BOS meetings, it’s not that uncommon, why does that seem to hurt you so much, what’s the big deal? Simply from reading just a small part of that website you creeped me out, I don’t blame them for being nervous about you. I imagine that you obsess over this 24/7 and it seems like you need to get out and smell the roses, go for a drive, relax, play golf, tennis, something that might make you happy. I get the impression that you have too much emotionally invested in this.


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I wanted to thank you for taking the time to point out where I “crossed the line.”


You say your comments are an observation, but calling it “obsessive” is subjective analysis. Also saying that I supposedly “obstructed” indicates bias. That’s opinion, not observation.


It’s important for people to read the articles. I understand that you have concerns over the imagery, and you don’t like them. That’s your opinion. “Article after article of hate”? That’s your opinion. Hate’s a strong word. Dislike and disagreement do not always give rise to hate. It’s unfortunate that you currently do not have the capacity to distinguish between disagreement and hate. As an anonymous person, I expected nothing more than that. As an anonymous who crudely blames “obstructionists” for everything wrong in Los Osos, I expected nothing more from you. Your “black and white” analysis of what’s happening in that town is typical.


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So accusing a man of pedophilia simply because he disagrees with you is okay in your book,,,guess we were raised differently than I was. In my book that’s hate not simply a disagreement. BTW, its not important to read your articles, they are all pretty much the same. You might not think that depicting a man with his head on fire is hate but some of us might think it’s pretty hateful. I guess what’s moral to some is immoral to others and what’s hate to some is love to others.


I say that you’re obsessive I’m not telling you that your a stupid idiot poopy head (no LO pun). I’m observing that you have taken the time to go on and on about the same topic, day after day, month after month year after year after year. Not just debating the issue but writing about it, making a website about it, calling people names, taking the time to photo shop their faces on dogs and dictators, getting mad that a deputy is watching meetings,,,yep, that’s obsessive.


I don’t believe that I’m displaying a bias, I have no horse in this race. I am simply looking in from the outside. How much would this project have cost if you people had let this thing happen years ago, half of what is now,,even less? Perhaps it would have been paid in full by now. YOU are to blame for the high cost.


Frankly I’m surprised that you haven’t been sued,,,,yet.


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Thank you for your comments. I can be reached by the contact form on Razor Online, and will not take any more personal questions or comments unless they are posted on that site.


Have a good day.


PS – Keep up the down-voting. Now crossing my fingers and hoping for a -50 :)


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Wonder why MWH backed out? Have they bled what they could from Los Osos?


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No, The Wallace Group and Seitz brothers will finish that job with their involvement in the project.


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No, they probably are just remembering the threats of violence by disgruntled Los Osians again their workers and equipment from the last project.


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It’s so unfortunate that a handful of LO residents have held this up for so many years. You people that are so p!ssed off about how much this is going to cost need to thank them, the people that have obstructed this progress for soooo many years.


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We The People created this problem when we gave the Water Board carte blanche to solve environmental woes without regard to their impact on the sustainability of the human population.


I have heard numbers like $165/month per household. That’s about $1 per flush, which is ridiculous. But these governmental overlords are not concerned with ridiculousness, they are mandated with protecting the environment at whatever cost.


Think about that next time you tacitly approve more government in the name of environmental protection.


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$1 per flush? Better not have the in-laws come visit.


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Yes, mine are full of sh*t.


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Yes, we the people create the poop, yet it is the appointed regional water quality board that is making this mandate. And for the other communities that still use septic systems be prepared because if Los Osos wasn’t on their screen we all would be.

And if you think $165 per month for a community the size of LO is bad, wait till the charges per household comes out for some of the very small unincorporated towns in our county. Santa Margarita for example, has 553 homes with a population of about 1200, imagine what the cost will be for a sewer plant for them…


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Sustainability of the human population? Are you kidding, racket? What a load of liberal BS!

This won’t affect the sustainability of the human population, it’ll affect people’s wallets. Anyone in LO now has wanted to be there and knew what they were getting themselves into. I’m not saying it doesn’t suck for LO-ians, but to equate a big bill for clean water with something that adversely affect the human population is ridiculous.

Pay the bill and move on with your life.


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Chuck;


It sounds like you are far enough up the economic ladder that $165/month would not be crippling. Bueno for you. Los Osos is the de facto low income housing area for the coast, and populated with some for whom that amount might seriously jeapordize their economic sustainability.


That aside, I am not a liberal, and I resent your characterization. From a social programs standpoint, you can move all of Los Osos to Delano and have them crap in a ditch for all I care. My comments were more aimed those who favor environmentalism at all costs, and were an attempt to show that such stance hurts real neighbors and people.


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Geez….for some reason Al Gore and Global warming keep coming to mind…why is that?


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Good Luck Los Osos. When was the last time something like this came in on budget. $35,000 per household will probably become $45,000-$50,000.


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