Candidate for
Councilmember; City of Pismo Beach

As a business owner, father and homeowner, my primary concern is the well-being of our community. By this I mean, having our visitors pay for the services they use and a portion of ours. Our water rates and soon to be increased sewer rates, are becoming hard to manage by many in our community including myself. Granted, we are a tourist community, but they use our sewer system, drink our water and drive on our roads. Shouldn't they pay a portion of its use?

Are we making the most of our tax payer dollars? Take Dinosaur Caves as an example. Now that it has been dedicated "open space", we will continue to pay nearly $200,000.00 a year out of our General Fund for the purchase. I can think of many ways to spend that amount of money more wisely. Don't get me wrong, I am not against the project, I just believe that now that we own it, we should be spending time with the Nature Conservancy or some other group that might like to take it over and reimburse the City for its expenditures (we don't have to make a profit). What concerns me is not the plans that have been submitted for its development, but the upkeep once the park is built. I have received two estimates for maintaining (mowing, weed pulling etc.) and watering that piece of property. One came in at $90,000.00 and the other at $120,000.00 a year. What does that do to our annual expenditure each year?

What about Chumash Park? Do our residents on the South side of town have a park? We have the funds available to develop that parcel (fees paid by developers called Park Development Funds) but the City has drug its feet for years now.

Government has a tendency to spend all the money it receives. Why not create a reserve and pay down some of our existing debt to allow our City to blossom. Picturesque roadways, flower boxes, attractive banners, cleaner streets, well kept parks with restrooms, and the list goes on. We could and should be the envy of all Central Coast communities. We have the resources but we spend them as fast as they come in. Let's change the tide at City Hall and take care of what matters most, our residents and our beautiful community.