To the South County Sanitation District, I say:

You are all a part of a terrible case of “What have you done for me, lately?” The smell we now notice is not coming from the sewer plant.

I loved the times I served as Grover City’s (later Grover Beach’s) representative to the South County Sanitation District. We always ran smooth, efficient meetings, mainly because of the well-run plant. I loved to brag about the well-capitalized district, which was the envy of all of the other sanitation districts in the state. We constantly bragged about the fact we had never had a spill or fine from the state.

Perhaps that was part of the reason for the ridiculous $1.1 million fine we now face, for flooding during a huge storm, power outage and valve failure combination that should have been declared an unfortunate act of nature beyond our control.

All of this time, John Wallace has been front and center in the sanitation district’s administration and deserves our thanks and respect for his calm demeanor and efficient, well-thought-out planning for our future.

John is a first-class person and professional engineer, and we need to thank him for all of his years of service. These current suggestions of conflict of duties charges are just that — unfounded charges based on someone’s perceived idea he could have a conflict.

John’s resignation is just what many of us would do when all of his years and all of his efforts are not given the respect they deserve. The words “I don’t need this” tell it all.

I, for one, want to thank John for all of his efforts and all of the benefits we now have because of his professional and personal commitment to our community.

David Ekbom is a Grover Beach resident, former Grover Beach city councilman, and former board member of the South County Sanitation District.