Need for sewers not proven

8-28
To the editor:
At the end of the Ojai Valley Sanitary District board meeting on Monday, Aug. 25, there were very few people in attendance. The crowd of over 50 had disbursed following the board's unanimous decision to deny Mr. Rennacker's mile-long sewer "lateral." Even Mr. Rennacker left, only to return an hour or so later.
To anyone who has not been following, Mr. Rennacker purchased a view lot at the upper-most (private) end of Foothill Road. He bought this land (according to county records) in November of 2002 from the original owner for $55,000. The lot is plagued with a bedrock condition making percolation for a septic system extremely difficult. (This could be the reason the lot has never sold over the past 35 years.) Mr. Rennacker, being an engineer for Caltrans, had an unsuccessful percolation test performed, and then decided to approach the OVSD to sewer him. Inasmuch as he is out of their jurisdiction and the recent June ballot showed an overwhelming rejection of sewers in the Arbolada-Foothill area, Mr. Rennacker threw in a big "carrot." He would engineer and install an 8-inch "lateral" (private sewer) at no expense to OVSD. The only thing missing to create a public sewer main was the addition of manholes.
Mr. Rennacker, it seems, saw it to be entirely "fair" to circumvent the wishes of two-thirds of the area. The Sewer Initiative had been rejected for several reasons: 1) individual homeowner costs to be sewered exceeded $30,000; 2) building permits to make septic or home improvements would not be permitted if a public sewer main were in the street (if that owner could not afford to connect, he would be forced to take out a mortgage to do so; often not possible for retired people on fixed incomes); 3) large, privately owned parcels on Foothill and/or Farnham could potentially be subdivided if sewers were accessible, greatly increasing density and traffic; 4) most people living in the county areas did not want to be annexed to the city; 5) very few were interested in an Assessment District, which would tax them $700 per year even without connecting to the sewer; 6) Foothill-Arbolada homeowners know that septic systems work here, with very little responsible maintenance they will continue to do so.
Whereas some people do "desire" sewers, the "need" for sewers has not been proven. Director Stan Greene mentioned that no reports had been received at the county for nuisance, odors or septic problems (from this area.) There is no reason to suspect that the "Clean Water Act" would come into play here either. The Arbolada has two private wells, checked regularly by the county. The water is deemed to be pure.
Mr. Rennacker's return to the meeting was to chastise the board on their decision, which he saw as being entirely predicated on the June ballot. As he had done in the July meeting he emphasized the fact the he was being treated "unfairly." The board at the July meeting was set to deny his request then, due to the many stipulations and legal conditions surrounding his project; but out of a sense of "fairness" tabled his request in order for him to do more research. When he mentioned that he had the support of the "majority" of his neighbors, and was only interested in doing what was in the best interest of the community and the OVSD, the board suggested that he re-visit his neighbors to see if they had changed their minds about sewers within the past month.
Mr. Rennacker's return was curious inasmuch as the president of the board of the Upper Foothill Road Association had publicly announced earlier in the evening, that the U.F.R.A. board had unanimously voted to deny him the right to tear up the privately owned road, leading from his lot to the public section at Foothill and Farnham. Still Rennacker persisted that the OVSD had weighed their decision on the June Initiative, not separating his project from a ballot which had included 300 parcels, many not on Foothill Road.
It was only then that Mr. Rennacker was made aware that his "neighbors" had taken upon themselves to do his "homework." A private survey had been circulated mainly among those property owners living on Foothill and adjoining streets. It concentrated on affected areas from the top of Foothill down to Vista Hermosa (the length of his proposed private sewer project). The 11 area people who had voted "Yes" to sewers in the June initiative were not revisited, as there was no desire to change their vote, but merely to confirm the "No" vote. The survey ballot read: "Rennacker Property Request for Mile-Long Sewer Lateral." Then it followed: "I Vote No to Mr. Rennacker's Sewer Project" or "I Vote Yes to Mr. Rennacker's Sewer Project." There were 69 "No" votes received and no new "Yes" votes. The ballots were all signed by owners, and turned into the OVSD.
Therefore, Mr. Rennacker, it appears that the board acted in a very democratic manner. Although they probably would have liked to accept your "carrot" they heard the voice of the majority. To have acted otherwise, meeting your special interest needs, would have eventually shackled the rest of us with unwanted, unneeded and unaffordable sewers.

Barbara Buchanan
Ojai

Council out of step on Patriot Act

8-28
To the editor:
On Aug. 26, Santa Barbara became the 158th city in the United States to defend the Bill of Rights against the assault on civil liberties contained in the USA Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act. Resolutions like the one passed in Santa Barbara now protect 6 million Californians, about 20 percent of our state's population. Sadly, the citizens of Ojai are not among them, since our City Council voted down a similar resolution presented to them last month.
When election time rolls around, please remember that two of our council members, Mr. DeVito and Ms. Hanstad, chose not to stand up for due process and protection from secret government searches and surveillance. Their statements and votes ensured the defeat of the Ojai proposal.

David Howard
Ojai

No vote on plans for Honor Farm

9-2
To the editor:
You don't get to vote. Ojai residents will never have the opportunity to vote on County Supervisor Steve Bennett's proposal to convert the former Honor Farm into "housing for the mentally ill." This decision will be made only by the County Board of Supervisors. Public opinion of Ojai Valley residents will not be sought.
Don't be misled. The wonderfully vague term "housing for the mentally ill" implies to many that a solution has been found for the homeless of our county. But, the former Honor Farm is only being considered because of its lock-down capabilities. It has one newly renovated building that would serve as a "psychiatric jail." The people it will serve are some of the most dangerous and violent people in California, who have served their terms in prison or the state hospital and are in transition back into society.
The former Ojai Honor Farm will initially provide at least 60 beds and the vast acreage surrounding it offers plenty of room for expansion. The main building is surrounded by 16-foot walls topped with razor wire. It is of interest to the county because Ventura County currently has no locked facility for the mentally ill. Of course, it would not be cost-effective to use this much space for the 40 or so patients from Ventura County for whom it would be suited. So, the county will eventually import patients from the state to get the state funding.
These patients will include Conditional Release Program (CONREP) patients. These are felons who are released into the "community phase of treatment" after stays in the state hospitals as the results of serious violent offenses. They include persons who were in the state hospital because they were found: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity; Incompetent to Stand Trial; or Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders.
Research done by the state has shown that at least six out of 100 persons who go through CONREP reoffend within two years. Keep in mind, that these people are violent sex offenders and murderers who have served their time. In addition, once these people are released from the CONREP facility, they may be given the name of a homeless shelter or other housing option but are not required to take it. Many will end up homeless and simply stay in Ojai and Ventura.
"Mentally ill" is a blanket term that covers a myriad of mental and emotional problems. The term "mentally ill" includes: people with eating disorders (like anorexia), depression, sleep disorders, substance abuse and/or alcoholics, bi-polar, schizophrenics, and sexually violent predators. It is an extremely vast and really meaningless term when used to describe both anorexics and those who are found guilty of heinous, violent acts by reason of insanity.
Providing "housing for the mentally ill" sounds like a magnanimous, socially responsible sentiment and most responsible, caring individuals couldn't oppose such a proposition. So, let's define it more accurately. Supervisor Bennett is proposing placing dangerous and violent people including sex offenders in a facility guarded only by nurses and medical staff in a neighborhood with two schools, senior mobile home parks, and lots of families. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?

Amy Hagen
Ojai

Blessings go out to all involved

8-29
To the editor:
Our family of Blair Linton Hainer (who died Aug. 3, 2003) wish to thank our community and friends from our hearts and also "Penny" of Oak Tree House, her staff, Little House of Ojai, bus drivers, Dr. Clawson and his wonderful staff, The Gardens of Ojai, St. Joseph's Health and Retirement Center and priests, they were so wonderful, caring, nurturing and helpful to all of us with great smiles that took us through this very difficult journey with Blair's illness. Hospice care by Livingston staff is highly thought of and a big hug and thank-you to all the wonderful, delightful team that did become part of our family. We will always remember all of you that remembered us.
Blessings to you all and thank you again from our hearts.

Mary Lou "Mo" Hainer
Terry Murphy
Suzanne Gunion
Debby Hellmich
and grandchildren

A few facts about sewer proposal

9-2
To the editor:
A few relentless and dedicated people embarked upon "their" mission presenting door to door a slant on what my proposal really was or could have been, thus successfully snuffing out my sewer lateral project.
It is most interesting that they never bothered to contact me to discuss my proposal, how it could be modified to better accommodate the neighborhood or even to get some real facts on the issue. Of the neighbors I have had the fortune of meeting, some have been firmly against and some supportive of my pursuits to connect to the public sewer. I very much respect and strongly believe all the residents involved are great, and are most entitled to their personal opinions. My only aspiration is to be a quiet and respectful part of the neighborhood. Regrettably, I did a poor job of communicating my proposal in a clear manner, but it may not have really mattered.
For the record, I would simply like to present a couple of interesting facts that I am sure were never raised or mentioned to anyone. First, my 8-inch lateral was something that was entirely at my cost, with performance bonds by probably both the county and city. Second, I was willing to contract control of this lateral to the neighborhood, only to be converted as the neighborhood so deemed, but the maintenance would continue to be at my sole expense. For which I might mention the county also wanted a hefty cash or CD to be deposited with the county to ensure proper maintenance. Third, because I am a civil engineer, I was proposing to provide all the necessary engineering, preparation of the construction documents, and most of the construction.
Such that if the neighborhood ever wished to (by vote) to convert to sewer, this could be at a fraction of the cost proposed by OVSD. In the end I can document the feasibility of my lateral eventually providing public sewer availability in the street for each parcel at $3,800 as opposed to the OVSD estimate of $13,800. That is a $10,000 savings to each parcel on the street between Vista Hermosa and our property. It was exciting; now back to drilling more percolation test holes.

Lee Rennaker
Oak View

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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