Perhaps a Good Test Regarding Measure C

An article appearing now online at www.dailybreeze.com and probably set for publishing in tomorrow's paper states that the cost of repairing San Ramon Canyon and all that goes with supporting the switchbacks along Palos Verdes Drive East and other items could cost as much as 23.2 Million Dollars.

It appears that many folks supporting Measure C do so because of the many claims I have heard about the elimination of prevailing wage guidelines within the city, is one of the most important reasons to support Measure C.

I am an opponent of eliminating prevailing wage guidelines and 58% of the 120 charter cities in California have concluded that they will stick with the State prevailing wage guidelines, as of today.

So since we have some time before the election, how about taking the report that will be discussed during the upcoming City Council meeting and crunching the numbers using several scenarios so that voters can view what costs could be under three different scenarios.

Before I continue, the article mentioned that most of the project would be within the limits of Rancho Palos Verdes, unless the option to connect to the existing outfall piping is used.

So to crunch the numbers, I suggest that someone who knows how to crunch the numbers take a look and tell all the voters what would be the least costly to the city and still get the job done as soon as possible.

First, since the majority of charter cities still use prevailing wage guidelines, established for most cities, what might be the costs and timing to finish all the repairs should the city to continue to use what continues to exist in our city.

Second, since there are some cities that have partially exempted prevailing wage guidelines, the number crunchers would first have to decide which set of exemptions would be best, then let us know the costs and timeline for the complete repair.

Lastly, since so many of the proponents of Measure C seem to favor the elimination of our existing prevailing wage guidelines, I think it would be very important to all voters to know the possible overall costs and timeline without the city continuing to use prevailing wage guidelines.

But there is a kicker in the article. The article, by Ms. Melissa Pamer states that a temporary solution could be put in place for about 3.7 Million Dollars, if I remember correctly from the article.

I don't like the idea of another temporary fix.

The article also included mention of the sewer system that is and would be affected in the San Ramon Canyon and P.V.D. East areas.

We now know that the L.A. County Sanitation Districts want a ballot measure to raise our sewer fees in the city of Rancho Palos Verdes and they want to do that with a city-wide vote and not county-wide vote.

If the number crunchers are willing to include the added costs to property tax payers should the sewer measure pass, that would be educational, too.

Although I cannot imagine that our city's voters would approve more taxes or fees for sewer services, anything could happen.

I still continue to favor passage of Measure C, but I now would very much like to learn about the costs and timeline for repair of San Ramon Canyon, under the three scenarios, so that I and others can make the best vote possible concerning Measure C.