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Highway 156 widening could happen with your help support Measure Z! As you know, the highest road and highway priority for MCHA is widening Highway 156 and securing interchange improvements where it meets Highway 101. Travelers from the core visitor markets of the north and east bay areas use Highway 156 to get to the Peninsula and that has become increasingly problematic over the last ten years. Our visitors are discouraged from coming here by incredible traffic congestion and find it easier and less hassle to visit other competitor jurisdictions. Local residents in the Oak Hills area frequently are gridlocked in their neighborhoods. We need the right fix for this situation, and now it’s going to happen if we all help. This year, our highest priority is also the highest priority in the Transportation Agency for Monterey County’s self-help transportation funding measure on the November ballot – Measure Z. Fifth District County Supervisor Dave Potter is chairing the campaign steering committee. All Monterey County cities have endorsed Measure Z, the county and all the Supervisors have endorsed Measure Z, and Supervisor-elect Jane Parker has endorsed Measure Z. MCHA past-President Gary Cursio is serving as Measure Z fundraising chair for the Hospitality Industry. He will be contacting you to help with campaign funding so Measure Z can be a success; please contribute what you can and encourage all your friends and associates to help with the campaign and vote Yes on Measure Z! We can win this effort by all working together. MCHA is fighting to save our water supply from serious cuts! MCHA filed as a party in the State Water Resources Control Board hearings on its draft Cease and Desist Order against California American Water. MCHA hired an experienced attorney to help fight the draft order, which proposes to eliminate 40% or our current water supply. When combined with Seaside Aquifer Watermaster-ordered cutbacks on supply, the Hospitality Industry is faced with losing half its water supply. This would have a devastating effect on all our businesses and on Peninsula residents. MCHA President Mark Bastis, past President Rene Boskoff and Government Affairs Director Bob McKenzie testified at the SWRCB hearings to share with the hearing officers the great job our industry has done in reducing water use over the last two decades and point out to the hearing officers the crippling effects the proposed cut-backs would have on the Hospitality Industry. If faced with reducing water use by another 40% or 50% lodging facilities would have to close rooms and restaurants would have to eliminate seats. What’s worse, simply closing rooms or eliminating seats would not save enough water unless that’s done during the busy season. For an area with 63% occupancy, that is worse than bad – it would result in losses of thousands of jobs, millions in local tax revenues (from reduced Transient Occupancy Taxes and visitor-paid local sales taxes), and hundreds of millions in economic activity, which would spread the devastation over the entire local and regional economy. The SWRCB hearings are finished, final arguments are due in September and October, and SWRCB will render a decision by the end of the year. MCHA is fighting as hard as it can to make sure we retain enough water to conduct business and live reasonable until a new water supply is secured. Will we see a Regional Taxi Authority soon? The Transportation Agency for Monterey County agreed to conduct a feasibility study for establishing a regional taxi authority for the Peninsula area. Local cities, the Monterey Peninsula Airport District, Monterey-Salinas Transit and MCHA were asked to help fund the study. MCHA, the only non-governmental entity asked, agreed to help fund the study because its goal has been to secure seamless, uniform and adequate cab service throughout the region. Monterey-Salinas Transit, which is already set up to do driver background checks and vehicle inspections, has agreed to act as administrator of a regional authority if all local barriers to cab service are eliminated. The study should be completed by the end of the year; so far, all jurisdictions have indicated a willingness to form a regional authority and dedicate cab service revenues to MST so it has no net cost for providing this valuable service. November elections are coming up fast! Elections to local city councils will be held in November and voters will also decide a dozen state propositions along with the county Measure Z for transportation funding. MCHA will communicate its recommendations on local elections and on the state propositions in time for the beginning of absentee voting. Get involved in issues critical to business vitality and viability!!!
The Government Affairs Committee tracks issues critical to the near- and long-term viability and vitality of our businesses and our communities and works hard to assure policies implemented at the local level are consistent with that goal. Plan to attend a Government Affairs meeting and learn how you can be involved influencing issues of vital concern to our industry and business and community interests generally. Government Affairs meets the first Thursday of each month at 8:30 am at the Beach and Tennis Club at Pebble Beach. Once in a while the meeting is rescheduled to a different Thursday or different location to avoid conflicts, so contact Government Affairs Director Bob McKenzie (bobmck@mbay.net or 642-9809) or MCHA Executive Director Bonnie Adams (info@mcha.net or 626-8636) to be sure of the next meeting date and location (or check the MCHA website, where meeting notices and agendas are posted: http://www.mcha.net ). |
