What are they drinking?
San Juan Bautista is a small community of an estimated 400
households. So when money is levied for community projects or
programs, the amount is rarely a drop in the bucket for most
families.
What are they drinking?
San Juan Bautista is a small community of an estimated 400 households. So when money is levied for community projects or programs, the amount is rarely a drop in the bucket for most families.
Back in January when the San Benito County health department approached the city council about starting a program in the city to prevent sales of tobacco products to youth, council members expressed concern that the program would cost too much when supported by the handful of city businesses that sold cigarettes and chewing tobacco.
But now the city seems to have lost its concern for the cost to individual residents. City Manager Jan McClintock promises that construction on a $10 million water project will go forward – with or without the Economic Development Agency’s grant. The deficit would be made up for with water rate increases.
Two years ago, the EDA offered up a $3.8 million grant to the city with the San Benito County Water District as a co-recipient. From the start, the city staff and council clashed with the water district staff and the relationship was eventually dissolved. Movement on the project and disbursement of the grant stalled.
Now, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s office of the Inspector General has completed an audit recommending that the EDA consider terminating the grant. The party line from the city staff is that they don’t know why the audit would suggest terminating the grant. McClintock says she has called local federal representatives to get an answer and hasn’t heard back.
The way we see it, the city staff are asking the wrong question. Instead of asking why the Inspector General recommended terminating the grant, they need to ask what they can do to work together with the EDA to get the grant.
The EDA grant is for less than half of the total project cost, but it’s still quite a lot of money when divided amongst the households in San Juan. Divided by 400 households, the $3.8 million grant amounts to $10,000 a home – a figure that will leave as bad a taste in the mouths of residents as the hard water from their faucets.
The only real option for the city water project is for San Juan Bautista city staff and council to find a way to work with the EDA.
