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| July 2010 | |
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FRONT PAGE
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MCHA Government Affairs Mid-year Update July 2010 Government Affairs Director Bob McKenzie An exciting year so far! 2010 has been an exciting year so far for Government Affairs activities. The economy continues to recover, however slowly, and California’s in the midst of budget crisis umpty-odd in a series! State Senate election coming in August Former State Senator Abel Maldonado was recently confirmed as Lieutenant Governor, opening up the remainder of his term as 15th District Senator. The two main contenders for the special election to fill that seat are former Assemblymember John Laird and Assemblymember and former Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee. MCHA enthusiastically endorses Sam Blakeslee; he’s a far superior choice to represent our industry and us. Please cast your ballot for Sam Blakeslee for Senate on August 17th! A Regional Taxi Authority is almost a reality! Although it’s taken far too long (over ten years!), a Regional Taxi Authority is almost a reality. All the Peninsula cities have voted to join the RTA, with Monterey being the latest and last of the Peninsula cities to join, Salinas joining on July 13th and Marina expected to join on July 20th. The County of Monterey will take up the issue in the next few weeks. The ten-plus year struggle to make sense of taxi service for residents and visitors, especially in Monterey, is finally finished. This has been a major focus for MCHA this year. An initial meeting of the RTA is scheduled for early August and things should get rolling soon after that. Monterey-Salinas Transit will convene the meeting and contract with a mobility management firm to provide the administrative services needed for the RTA. About the Cease and Desist Order Unfortunately, the San Jose court now in charge of the challenges to the State Water Resources Control Board Cease and Desist Order against Cal Am has reinstated the order. The ramp down on water use in the order is tolerable this year because of the water use conservation efforts spearheaded by MCHA and the hospitality industry. But more ramp downs loom next year and the year after. It will be a struggle to meet the water reductions in the order, especially if the hospitality industry continues to recover from the recession with increased lodging occupancies and food and beverage sales increasing. Later this year the hearings on the order will commence, but they could take a long time; in the meantime the order is in effect. So how about the Regional Water Project? The Public Utilities Commission held Public Participation Hearings in Monterey and Seaside on the Regional Water Project in late June and MCHA presented extensive oral and written testimony in support of the RWP. The PUC is expected to issue a draft ruling in October and a final ruling in November. The RWP is new ground for the PUC. RWP is a unique public-private partnership of Cal Am, Marina Coast Water District and the Monterey County Water Resources Agency. Cal Am is a regulated water utility subject to PUC jurisdiction, but the two government agencies, MCWD and MCWRA are not. Many groups – MCHA, the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, Citizens’ for Public Water, the Public Trust Alliance, the Surfrider Foundation and many others, support the RWP. Unfortunately, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District and the PUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates, although both claiming to support the RWP, have refused so far to sign-on to the Water Purchase Agreement which is a necessary part of the RWP so Cal Am can acquire and deliver water to the Peninsula. MPWMD contends it should have a say in the construction of the desal plant which is the centerpiece of the RWP and the source of the water Cal Am needs to meet the mandate of the SWRCB’s Cease and Desist Order. This is ironic since MPWMD several years ago opted out of the process that lead to the development of the RWP. The usual suspects on the Peninsula that have not given up on their efforts to delay or defeat the RWP join MPWMD in its effort. Because of the formal opposition of MPWMD and DRA, the PUC proceedings are taking longer than they otherwise would have to. Nevertheless, MCHA continues to work for approval of RWP. If the PUC ruling is favorable, the project managers believe it can be built and delivering water to the Peninsula by 2014, in time to save water users from the devastation of the water cutbacks in the CDO. Revitalize downtown Monterey? MCHA has joined with Monterey Commercial Property Owners' Association and others to fight the revitalization of downtown Monterey that includes addressing the deficiencies of the Monterey Conference Center; with partial success so far. The architecture firm Wald, Ruhnke and Dost proposed a revitalization scheme last year and laid out the necessary ingredients for this effort. MCHA argued with the Monterey City Council that the revitalization effort should be the highest priority for Monterey. The Council agreed but declined to embrace the "Ruhnke" plan in concept. MCHA will continue to work aggressively with MCPOA and other like-minded groups on this critical must do effort. Local elections coming in November All the cities (except Carmel), the Airport District, and several special districts will hold elections for mayor, councilmembers and Board members in November. In all, almost three dozen seats will be up for grabs. Look for MCHA endorsements later this year. 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 InterContinenntal The Clement on Cannery Row in Monterey. 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 (bobmac@qwestnet 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 ) |
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©2009 MCHA • P.O. Box 223542 • Carmel, California 93922 • Phone 831-626-8636 • Fax 831-626-4269 • info@mcha.net |
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