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For Mono Supervisors, it's going to be a long year |
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Thursday, 24 January 2008 |
Only 50 weeks left until the last Board meeting of 2008
By Stacey Powells
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 Deborah Hess from Southern California Electric updates supervisors on SCE goings on, including improvements being made in Mono County and the entire Eastern Sierra.PHOTO BY STACEY POWELLS
Several pieces of correspondence were delivered to the Board including a letter from Dennis Lampoon from the Mono County Health Department about the annual evaluation of Mono County's Small Water System, a letter from Thomas Stephenson from the Department of Fish and Game summarizing activities of the Sierra Nevada Big Horn Sheep during the months of July, August and September, 2007, and a letter from Donnie Priest to the MCBOS regarding the renaming of a peak on the border of Yosemite Park and Mono County. The peak in question has been called “Rescue Peak,” and the U.S. Geological Survey is trying to rename it “Sharsmith Peak.” Because of a January 1982 incident, which resulted in outstanding efforts to rescue Priest from an airplane crash on the side of that mountain, Priest feels it is appropriate to keep the name, as it is in honor of the rescuers who did not give up on him and saved his life.
Department Head issues
Public Works Director Evan Nikirk met with the Sheriff’s office, Supervisor Hap Hazard and County Administrative Officer (CAO) David Wilbrecht to discuss what worked and what didn’t during the recent storms. They will be compiling a “Code Red” list of contact numbers in case of an emergency, so the appropriate entities can be notified in a timely manner. “Regarding our response to the storm I wanted to note that in preparation to the storm we delegated several different public works employees to different assignments in the County to be on hand, “Nikirk said. “When a storm like this comes along we don’t know where it’s going to hit. Perhaps we could have sent more people to the Crowley Lake/Swall Meadows area which is what we will do next time because it took a long time to clear those areas out.”
According to Hazard there were a few days that the roads were unacceptable. “If we had back-to-back storms which do happen, we would not have been able to get through the road and this happened days after the storms had cleared,” Hazard said. “I think that since we had a few years of relatively mild winters we’ve taken away the services that we need when the storms do hit. I know that there are overtime and budget concerns, but if we do have those back-to-back storms the roads in the Crowley Lake area need to be handled.”
Nikirk is working on MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) for a county-wide exchange of services when one of the road crew departments is running behind. “When one agency is running behind in the spirit of cooperation we need to help each other out,” Nikirk said.
SCE investment in the Eastern Sierra
Deborah Hess, Regional Manager of Public Affairs for Southern California Edison, spoke before the Board regarding new technology and infrastructure upgrades in the Eastern Sierra. In California, SCE serves 428 cities and communities, 11 counties, 13 million residents and has been in service for more than 100 years. During the next several years, SCE is scheduled to repair and/or replace aging equipment to accommodate the increased demand for power, including new power lines, poles and related equipment. In the next decade SCE plans on investing approximately $9 billion in their distribution system and $4.3 billion to expand their high-voltage transmission grid. Upgrades and improvements will include, but not be limited to, transmission and distribution circuits, substations and the construction of new power plants.
In 2006-2007 SCE replaced 123 deteriorated poles throughout the Eastern Sierra and upgraded the hydro facilities in the Bishop Creek area. From 2008-2012 SCE plans to replace an additional 40 poles, add a new substation in June Lake, tackle the underground rebuild of the Rhinedollar Circuit and rebuild the substation and generator at Lundy. They have added two additional planners, one designer, are in the process of training an additional lineman and are focused on hiring local people to work with SCE. Since partnering with the Town of Mammoth Lakes, they have saved 887,260 KWH (kilowatt hours) which is equal to taking 73 cars off the highway. SCE works through the High Sierra Energy Initiative which is a three year program involving the High Sierra Energy Foundation.
Hess would like to expand the partnership and open it up to an Eastern Sierra Region Partnership. She will be contacting various members in Inyo and Mono counties to see if there is any interest in covering areas wider than just Mammoth Lakes.
Supervisor Tom Farnetti asked Hess about the Smart Connect program which is a new meter system that is being introduced by SCE. “The new meter will supposedly be able to talk to our appliances, including time of use and rate system,” Hess said. “The hours of noon-6 p.m. are high peak times, which means the electricity will be more expensive during those times. With the Smart Connect meter, the homeowner will be able to reduce the electrical load, so it will help consumers control the cost of their bills.”
Johnson prepares area for possible evacuees
Dr. Rick Johnson said he will be participating in an expert panel of the Western New York Public Health Alliance Advanced Practice Center to develop guidelines to assist communities in addressing population surge issues in rural areas following urban disasters. Dr. Johnson has been asked to speak on the panel, which will focus on evacuations, something of interest to our area. If there are disasters in Southern California, many of the urbanites will be going north, specifically to our area. “You can imagine what would happen if there was an earthquake in Southern California and people begin to arrive in our area with no gas in their cars, no food and inappropriate clothing,” Johnson stated. “You saw what happened at Vons a few weeks ago and that was without a disaster,” Johnson said.
Board reports
Supervisor Farnetti has been in discussions with Evan Nikirk because there is emerging landfill issues which have to be dealt with immediately. “There are real issues with waste that have to be handled because of closing landfills and transfer station problems in Mono County.” Farnetti attended the Local Transportation Commission (LTC) meeting on Jan. 14 and the commission sent a letter of recommendation for the blueprint process CalTrans is currently planning, which takes into account the County General Plan, so improvements on the highways can support the growth.
Supervisor Hazard reiterated the issues regarding flooding from the transfer station in Chalfant. Even though there is a catch basin, two houses were involved. “We were very fortunate that it only occurred in Chalfant and not in Hamil Valley or Benton.” Hazard also said he attended the Chalfant Valley Fire Commissioners Emergency Medical Services meeting on Jan. 10. Part of the discussion involved bringing an ambulance back into the area. During his Chalfant visit, a IMAAA representative paid Hazard a call regarding a needs assessment for the Tri-Valley area and the necessity of doing an evaluation for the needs in the area. One constituent came into the office and complained about the tractor-trailer rigs that are left idling near the school in Benton on Hwy 6. Hazard is looking into the laws regarding this issue since it is a pollution hazard near a public facility.
Supervisor Byng Hunt updated the Board on Mammoth Lakes Housing stats and wanted the press to know that he spends quality time here in the Sierra’s. When he’s not working on behalf of the County, he’s skiing with his grandkids or playing 18-holes of golf. “I think this is a great place to live,” Hunt retorted.
Supervisor Bauer said that the SCI Consulting group, who did a survey for the County on how voters feel about certain issues, was well worth the money spent. “We got way more than the $5,000 we spent,” Bauer said. The PMC Group has been looking over the Environmental Impact Report process for Intrawest regarding the Rodeo Grounds project. The child care committee in June Lake got “rave reviews” but they are looking for someone to take the ball and run with it. During the first week in February, 2008 Yosemite will be having a User Capacity Symposium which she feels will be the next hurdle for June Lake…how to handle all the visitors when they are in the town.
CAO Wilbrecht reported he attended the Mono County department manager meeting and let the Board know that Human Resources Director Bob Garrett is working on the implementation of the salary increase as well as the cell phone policy. Wilbrecht has been following up with IMAAA and a determination has to be made as to whether or not the County wants to stay with that system. The CAO made a request through the Information Technology department regarding Assessor Jim Lovett's annual phone usage and Wilbrecht will be going to Sacramento with other state CAOs to discuss upcoming state budget impacts for counties.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 January 2008 )
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