EIR public session now set for Oct. 11
There’s a new date for the Cambria Community Services District’s public-comment workshop about potential environment impacts of the CSD’s Sustainable Water Facility: Tuesday, Oct. 11.
General Manager Jerry Gruber confirmed Monday, Oct. 3, that the meeting, which had been tentatively set for Thursday, Oct. 6, now will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The meeting will be in the Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main St.
Gruber said the date was changed because of schedule clashes for presenters from Michael Baker International, the consulting firm that prepared the water facility’s Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
The district Board of Directors also was to have met Wednesday, Oct. 5, first for closed-session labor negotiations with the International Association of Firefighters on behalf of Cambria Fire Department employees covered by the bargaining unit, and later in open session to consider ratifying a “grandfathering clause” about requirements for paramedic certification/accreditation.
Allchin and Smith
Also on the Oct. 5 open-meeting agenda was a proposed 10 percent pay increase for John Allchin, interim supervisor/chief plant operator of the Sustainable Water Facility. His annual salary would increase to $97,173 from $88,339.
Allchin is the district’s wastewater supervisor, and as such, he also serves as chief plant operator of the wastewater treatment plant, jobs he is continuing to do, with assistance from an outside firm. He holds a Grade 4 wastewater license and a Grade 3 water treatment license.
His dual duties are a direct result of the recent departure of Justin Smith, the former water systems supervisor. Gruber told CSD directors and audience members at the Sept. 22 board meeting that Smith had started a new job with the county water agency.
In an unusual move, perhaps to deflect some community criticism and discussion about Smith’s departure, Gruber read Smith’s resignation letter. Smith had apparently given Gruber permission to do that.
Smith’s letter
Smith wrote in his signed letter to Gruber (which is reproduced here in its entirety): “I am very grateful for the experience I have gained working for the district. I am sorry to inform you that I have decided to take a job with the county of San Luis Obispo. It was a hard decision that I could not make lightly. But I ultimately feel that it will be a better situation for myself and my family, as I have a young child that I would like to spend more time with. I don’t feel like I can currently do that without leaving the district.
“In the current situation I am in with the demands placed on staff by members of the community, who feel as though it is their duty to act mulishly against the district and its staff, I feel as though the district needs my full, undivided attention. This ultimately takes time away from my family, and I realize that this isn’t the district’s intention.
“I think you and the board are on the right path and have the community’s best interest in mind. I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer work in a community where people threatened my job and my livelihood for political reason. Nor can I work in a community where that sort of attack is considered acceptable by members of the public.
“I have put in an extreme amount of hard work and energy to make the water system in Cambria the best I possibly can. In my nearly 10 years of service with the district, I have regularly been treated poorly by members of the community who think that I am overpaid, I don’t do anything and I am out to ruin their water system and waste their money.
“I can no longer continue to work in that sort of abusive environment.
“Thank you for the years of service.”
Gruber said at the meeting that he has “to draw the line as general manager when one of my supervisors feels he’s being harassed by the community,” and asked community members to respect “the hardworking men and women … that provide fantastic service to you. If you have any concerns, address those to me.”
The EIR
During the Sept. 22 meeting, CSD directors unanimously agreed to extend the deadline for comments on the Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report on the Sustainable Water Facility. Those comments are now due by 5 p.m. Oct. 26.
The heavy-duty report includes 10 sections that contain 42 chapters, plus seven appendices, 25 exhibits and 60 tables. The environmental analysis section alone covers aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, hydrology/water quality, noise and compliance with land use regulations and the county’s Local Coastal Program.
The document is at www.cambriacsd.org. People also can read it in hard copy at the Cambria Library, 1043 Main St., or the district offices, 1316 Tamson Drive, Suite 201. Submit comments in person at the hearing, via email to bgresens@cambriacsd.org, or by mail to the district offices, addressed to District Engineer Robert Gresens.
This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 10:23 AM with the headline "EIR public session now set for Oct. 11."