‘Inaccurate’ criticism of public pension reformers
This letter is in response to your Nov. 9 editorial. You asserted that those opposed to Measure A did not participate in budgetary meetings of the affected agencies.
This assertion is inaccurate.
I have been a member of Citizens for Sustainable Pension Plans for about three years and have attended Board of Supervisors’ meetings in support of Jody Morales. And to my knowledge, Jody attends almost every meeting.
So how can you assert that the need to pass Measure A is due to a lack of input on the part of the opponents? Nothing could be further from the truth. CSPP has had numerous meetings with members of the Board of Supervisors, the county administrator, and his subordinates.
The fact of the matter is that most political entities simply can’t afford paying for a new communications system because their funds are dedicated to paying more and more for underfunded pension obligations.
The officials who purchased the present communications system knew how much it cost and when it would need to be replaced. Instead we are faced with an “emergency” need to pass a bond issue. Why didn’t they budget for this? We all agree that agencies require an effective emergency communications system. We disagree about how it should be funded.
— Tom James, Novato
Marinwood’s time to go solar is now
Advertisement
In response to Steven Nestel (Readers’ Forum, Nov. 9) regarding the timing of Marinwood Community Services District going solar: Perhaps if he had listened more at the recent District meeting instead of interrupting and attempting to hog all the comment time he would have learned that the points he made in his attempted response to me were inaccurate.
The district manager told the board that the roof had been inspected and that no additional cost would be necessary to install solar. In fact, the addition of solar may extend the life of the roof because of the shade provided.
Yes, the projected cost of the energy purchased is about $512,000, but that is only half of the story. This cost when compared to the projected existing cost to purchase energy from PG&E over the same period of over $1 million will produce the savings of about $508,000 while using green energy.
The solar provider will install, maintain and replace any necessary equipment at no cost to the district. Mr. Nestel, once again, proves he was not listening to the presentation. Two competing solar vendors stated at the district meeting that indeed the cost for solar equipment had reduced in the last few years. But they also stated that the cost appears to have leveled off and recently even slightly increased. But Mr. Nestel is raising a red herring by talking about the cost of equipment as the district is not purchasing equipment but buying energy.
That means that it is the responsibility of the solar vendor to manage the cost of the equipment and provide that energy to the district at a pre-determined rate. Also, if the cost of the equipment does drop, the agreements allow for a reduction in the energy cost to the district bringing even more savings during the life of the contract.
Mr. Nestel’s objections are without foundation. The district is doing it right. The time to do it is now.
— Bruce Anderson, Marinwood
Mega-home plan could pose danger for birds
The Hidden Dragon mega-home proposed in Inverness Park incorporates many large plate glass windows which will become a slaughterhouse for birds.
My former house in Inverness had plate glass windows and we were constantly finding dead hermit thrushes, spotted towhees, ruby crowned kinglets and even a sharp-shinned hawk on the porch under the windows. These magnificent forest birds thought they were just flying to the next part of the forest as reflected in the windows.
The most deadly were windows where they could see through to the forest on the other side of the house.
Tim Westergren, the landowner, claims that his project will be “light on the land,” “sustainably designed” and “integrated with the natural environment.” However, his “concrete, wood and glass house” will certainly not be easy on the bird life. The two proposed glass-enclosed entry halls will allow birds to see right through to the forest on the other side, where they want to go. This is deadly!
Every year, the Point Reyes Christmas Bird Count is one of the top counts in the country in terms of recorded bird species and numbers. San Francisco and Toronto, hardly as birdy as West Marin, have had the foresight to adopt ordinances and guidelines regulating the design of windows and lighting on buildings to reduce the number of bird strikes and bird mortality.
Such guidance needs to be applied to the Hidden Dragon project.
— Ed Nute, Inverness
Marin IJ Readers" Forum for Nov. 11
