This week’s San Luis Obispo County government meetings

July 8, 2024

By CalCoastNews staff

As is common during the first two weeks in July, multiple government agencies have canceled their meetings while staff and officials take vacations.

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will meet at 9 a.m. on July 9 in the board chambers.

Last month, county staff packed the agenda with 65 consent calendar items, many of which were not routine and were very controversial. However, Supervisor Jimmy Paulding called in sick leaving a likely two-two vote on mutiple items.

On Tuesday’s agenda, county staff has brought back many controversial items from the June 18 agenda.

Items 15 and 21 on the consent agenda are related to management of the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, one of the county’s most controversial topics. In these items, recharge of the basin is discussed. Recharge generally refers to water that originates in the basin and is injected, spread, naturally percolated, or otherwise used to fill a basin. Water banking generally refers to water that is imported from outside the basin.

However, if the board agrees to allow the ejection of state water into the basin, will it change the legal standing of the basin? Also, how will water banking impact people who own property above the basin? Because these items are on the consent agenda, there is often no discussion, just a vote.

The Atascadero City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on July 9 in the council chambers.

After receiving and selecting the lowest bidder for repairing multiple roads in Atascadero this year, city staff is asking the council to reject all bids and put a reduced project out to bid, under item A-3 on the agenda.

After putting the road improvement project out to bid, the city received three bids ranging from $4,250,000 to $6,651,651. City staff then selected Cen-Cal Construction of Bakersfield.

The second lowest bidder, Souza Construction, filed a bid protest claiming Cen-Cal’s bid proposal had irregularities and is non-responsive. Even though city staff found Cen-Cal’s bid complied with all requirements, they canceled the approval and plan to send the request back out to bid with several cost lowering changes.

The city is planning to use a mill and overlay process to improve Ash Street, portions of Bella Vista Road, Birch Street, portions of Carmelita Avenue, Catalpa Street, Cuesta Court, Flores Road, Hermosa Avenue, portions of Las Lomas Avenue, Maple Street, portions of Montecito Avenue, Pinewood Court, portions of San Diego Way, San Gabriel Road, and Willow Court. Using a traditional base/asphalt section, the city plans to reconstruct portions of Carmelita Avenue, Monita Road, portions of San Diego Way, San Rafael Court, and Sierra Vista Road. Work is also planned for portions of Las Lomas Avenue and Montecito Road.

The Morro Bay City Council is hosting a special meeting on July 10 at 3 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Hall.

At the request of City Manager Yvonne Kimball, who started last August, the city will review her performance and accomplishments during a closed session meeting, according to the agenda.

Also in closed session, the city council is scheduled to discuss the price and terms of payment regarding a community benefits agreement with the Vistra Corporation and the Morro Bay Power Company.

Vistra, a Texas-based energy company, has plans to replace the Morro Bay power plant with a battery energy storage facility.

Even though a citizens’ initiative calling for stopping the industrialization of the Morro Bay waterfront will appear on the November ballot, there is a possibility Vistra could ask the California Coastal Commission to bypass the community and approve the project.

The Nipomo Community Services District Board will meet July 10 at 9 a.m. in the board room.

The Oceano Community Services District Board will meet on July 10 at 6 p.m. in the board room.