We need your help. Could you spare some time on Monday evening and tune in to the Monterey One Water Board meeting, specifically for Agenda Item 12 B: Consider Marina Coast Water District’s Request to Increase Its M1W Weighted Votes from Two to Three Votes in Accordance with Section 3.04, Voting, of The M1W Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (JPA)
The Monterey One Water Board (M1W) will again be reviewing MCWD's request to be recognized with 3 weighted votes on the board instead of 2. The open session of the meeting begins at 6 pm via Zoom. We ask that you at least listen to this portion of the meeting to witness the political maneuvering that will be attempted to keep on blocking MCWD from getting the added vote it deserves, due to its population increase. This in spite of the fact that the M1W Staff Report and an independent legal opinion both support MCWD getting a third weighted vote.
Reading this background information, it would seem reasonable to conclude this is an open-and-shut case, and that MCWD will get its deserved 3 weighted votes after many weeks of the staff, the Board and its legal consultants checking and re-checking various factors. However, there has been determined opposition coming from M1W Board member Gloria De La Rosa of Salinas on this matter, and she submitted a lengthy letter to the board on June 26th which details her objections. Click here for Ms. De La Rosa's letter.* And she is not alone on the Board in wishing to block or delay MCWD from getting a third weighted vote, as several key votes recently have been very close, especially as relates to the certification of the Final SEIR for the Pure Water Monterey Expansion project.
Typically, public comment will be allowed either at the beginning of an agenda item or at some point in the discussion. We encourage you to speak up and voice your support for MCWD getting its 3 weighted votes! The moderator will give clear instructions as to how to do this via Zoom. There likely will be a time limit of 2-3 minutes per comment.
Join by telephone at: (669) 900-9128 Webinar Id: 833 9328 5798 Password: 062920
*her letter had many attachments - too space consuming to provide all of them here, but you may view it in its entirety directly on the M1W website, under Agenda Item 12.b.
Last but not least! Save the date: The CA Coastal Commission special meeting and vote for the Coastal Development Permit for Cal-Am's slant well desal project will be on Thursday, August 20, 2020. This will be a Zoom meeting and there will be extensive Public Comment time allowed. We are working on our strategy for this critical meeting.
Stay tuned!
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