Grover Beach Council removes mayor from APCD board

December 17, 2013
Debbie Peterson

Debbie Peterson

The Grover Beach City Council chose to remove Mayor Debbie Peterson from the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) Board of Directors during a committee assignment discussion Monday night.

The council previously considered booting Peterson from the APCD board in August after she campaigned for a repeal of the APCD dust rule. If implemented, the dust rule would fine the California Department of Parks and Recreation $1,000 a day if it does not reduce the amount of dust blowing onto the Nipomo Mesa.

On August 5, the council voted 3-2 to keep Peterson on the APCD board, but on Monday night, all four of Peterson’s fellow council members agreed to replace her with Councilwoman Karen Bright, the previous Grover Beach representative to the air district board.

San Luis Obispo County Supervisors Adam Hill and Bruce Gibson had previously lobbied the council to remove Peterson from the APCD board, according to other council members. Hill and Gibson objected to Peterson questioning reports and recommendations presented by APCD staff.

When on the APCD board in the past, Bright has tended to vote based on the recommendations of Air Pollution Control Officer Larry Allen.

Two Grover Beach councilmen, Jeff Lee and Glenn Marshall, are employees of the county. Both have stated that they do not have a conflict of interest in the matter.

Marshall, as well as Bright, voted in Peterson’s favor in August, but flipped their positions Monday after Councilman Bill Nichols called for taking the mayor off the APCD board.

 


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I’ve been following this for a while, and for the life of me I can’t figure out how Parks and Rec are supposed to keep the wind from blowing…


Nice work Bill Nichols. Your feelings got hurt and in turn you have been manipulated by Hill and Gibson. Why would you want Bright when she defied the council before? Don’t worry, I know you’re not tracking. You’re still hung up on your feelings being hurt. Nice work Bill. You just screwed your town. You are a peach.


OnTheOtherHand and lee state that once conservatives are in power (such as the Bush Admin or Calif Republicans in the past) that THEY will behave in a similar extreme manner. OTOH and lee seem to state it’s just “politics” and both sides play rough when in majority power.


Not very much true. I remind you that when the conservatives are in power, they tend to LEAVE ALONE the rights of individuals and corporations to live and to prosper; “W” appointed liberal judges occasionally to play fair, or play stupid, I guess. Further conservatives tend to play LESS rough. For example, Senate Min leader McConnell has already said if they win the Senate they’ll RESTORE the 60 vote rule. Typical of weak minded conservatives, whom I desperately WISH would use power for liberty when they own it, however at least conservatives don’t RAILROAD the society in their chosen direction, which liberals do WHOLESALE. Wholesale. Wholesale. (Bears repeating.)


Summary: Liberals: extreme health care destruction, idealogues for judges, court packing, vicious federal over-regulation, destruction of two hundred year old Senate traditions.


Conservatives: Lame and conflicted and ineffective use of their powers for good, when they blunder into positions of power.


Gimme freedom and clumsy conservatives any time!


WOW!!!!


Debbie we love you for believing in what is economically viable for you constituents. There are many lies about the dust and nature.


One thing is for sure YOU NEED TO RUN FOR 3RD DISTRICT SUPERVISOR AND STOP THE NASTY ADAM HILL from harming our county via elections. Democrats are you wanting to have families, work and play in our county? If so you need to support Mayor Peterson of Grover Beach since she is the only one defending prosperity and common sense.


I even bet not only Democrats would vote for Debbie P. but Independents and even Republicans would vote for Debbie P.. It is time for Gover Beach City council to change. Each election two city council members are up for re-election and one runs for Mayor. Vote the other two city council out and vote in Mayor Peterson.


Decide now if you want tyranny brought on by Adam Hill in your city.


Found this on YouTube about Adam Hill


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQKYSXnJEIE


The story does not say who is now appointed to replace the Mayor on APCD and that she will remain involved as the GB APCD alternate.


It’s also interesting to note that she recommended Glenn Marshall to sit on the Sanitation District Board with her remaining involved as alternate there.


The tri-communities should thank their lucky stars that she stepped onto the San Dist when she did. It was clearly her tough questions that led to the retirement of John Wallace and less and less to do with the Wallace Group.


The communities are still paying dearly for legal wrangling’s from his tenure as Dist. Administrator, and sewer rates will have to be raised.


Management at the plant has changed significantly for the better. Thanks to Debbie for that!


That Board meets tonight at 6PM at the AG City Council Chambers.


The politically corrupt atmosphere of this county is becoming more disturbing as each day passes. It’s disturbing on so many levels and is so widespread.

When will it end…and how?


The Grover Beach City Council majority must have a “death wish”. Based on council member comments back in August, none of the majority seem to grasp the real and present danger of the beach closure by APCD.


The cash strapped city relies heavily on the money derived from visitors to the Oceano Dunes. Ms Petersen is their “canary in the coal mine”. She has been diligent in educating herself (much to the dismay of Hill and Gibson) about the harm of the dust rule and likely closure of the beach because of the APCD dust rule. Ms Petersen had the courage to ask questions and look for answers beyond the rambling non-responsive answers that Larry Allen spews to the board any time there’s a substantive question that he doesn’t want the board to dig into.


The Grover Beach City Council is being led down the garden path by Hill and Gibson, rather than stepping up and really looking at the facts in front of them. Never mind that the City will need those visitors to fill the hotel and conference center the city hopes to build. Oh, gosh, anyone taking wagers on how long before APCD closes that building process down right along with the closure of the beach?????


The death of Grover will come from tools like Bill Nichols.He is a player in the good ole boys club, a puppet to his business companions, a poser acting the part of a good Christian man, and is largely responsible for the million dollar fine yet to be paid to the Water Quality control board because of his bowing down to his cronies like Wallace. Ask him about the letter he was sent long before the disaster at the San Dist outlining was was coming,ask his how he responded, ask how he investigated the staffs concerns.

He ran to Wallace, his buddy, to warn Wallace could he eliminate those who threatened Wallace’s cash cow. There are two copies of this letter, the other will be handed to the media when the time is right. This will prove beyond any reasonable doubt he has no interest to do whats right for his community and constituents. Its time for change, look at Grover’s streets. $40,000,000 to fix them? why? Does Ignoring a problem make it go away Bill?


Debbie Peterson must not say what the Bureaucrats want to hear thence the busy and struggling public, by default, allows this bad decision. Stay tuned for more six figure gov jobs.


Sorry I don’t know or follow enough of G Beach politics to speak authoritatively about Peterson in general, however if Hill and Gibson didn’t like her representing common sense and balance on the board of a tyrannical organization such as the APCD, well then, clear enough for me, this removal was a mistake.


This follows the pattern of the federal runaway of liberal extremism; remove any opposition rather than permit debate and balance. Like the Dems erasing hundreds of years of Senate rules protecting minority rights and about which our Prez Obama said in 2005 would be an unbalanced and unwise action (ending 60 vote filibuster standard), this removal of Peterson from the Smog Extremists Board is another nail in the coffin of liberty. Residency in a free Texas sounds ever more appealing.


I agree with LC. If Hill and Gibson were against her, I’m thinking she is an asset and I hope she seeks other political position.


Gibson and Hill must go.


I agree with your first paragraph. However, you are mistaken in attributing the pattern solely to liberal extremism. The liberals are doing it now because they have the political power now in SLO County, the State of California, and (largely) the federal government. However, the conservatives use the same tactics when they have enough power to get away with it. The Bush/Cheney administration was a prime example. Your “free Texas” is another place where conservatives have successfully suppressed opposing points of view. This may not bother you but don’t be so hypocritical as to attribute the behavior solely to liberals.


You have stricken the nail head squarely. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Right now, thanks to the Governor’s partisan appointment, one faction has control and they’ve been showing us what they can do with it. But if the other side succeeds in taking over next year the same will occur, just from the opposite extreme. The election in the 4th district will be the determining factor.


It’s enough to have me vote Republican!