At the last Measure B Committee meeting in December Behavioral Health Director Dr. Jenine Miller told the committee that the County now expects to issue a Request for Proposals for construction of the 16-bed Psychiatric Health Facility on Whitmore Lane “by spring,” using the usual loosy-goosy MendoSchedulese. That could mean as early as March 22, or it could mean months after that. Dr. Miller also said that she expected construction to begin “next year” which would mean some time in 2024.
The latest budgeted amount for construction of the PHF remains at about $20 million (an estimate which hasn’t changed for at least two years) for the oversized 16-bed facility Mendo wants to build. If the jail overrun experience applies, however, the bids will come in at a lot more than $20 million. The selected contractor may or may not be able to meet the County’s aggressive construction schedule either.
When former Sheriff Tom Allman asked Dr. Miller to confirm that the PHF would not be operational for at least three years, Dr. Miller replied, “Yes.”
A total of about $50 million has been raised by the Measure B sales tax since it began in 2017. About $7 million was borrowed from the Measure B pot last year to cover some of the huge jail expansion overrun. There’s still a few million dollars of Measure B money left (after pre-allocating more than $20 million for the PHF and several million more for architecture, planning and construction management), but the picture is clouded by likely cost increases on the one hand and the expectation of a state grant of around $9 million that would reimburse Mendocino County for some of the PHF construction expenses on the other. But he project must be begun soon for the County to expect to be reimbursed for that $9 mil.
Dr. Miller said that she was “still going through hoops and legal requirements” for the $9 million state grant application, cautioning that she “hopes that with state deficit the grants are not impacted.” Miller said she expects to have the grant contract with the state signed in the next few months, but that the timing depends on the state, not the County.
If the bids for PHF construction come in significantly higher than what is now budgeted, they will have to re-examine the Measure B funds to see if there are enough reserves to cover the additional cost.
The project is being designed and planned by the same high-end Sacto consultants (Nacht & Lewis) who provided Mendocino County with a $5 million Crisis Residential Treatment Facility that shouldn’t have cost more than $2 million.
Last year when the Board turned down the Ford Street Project’s request for a few million Measure B dollars for an expanded treatment facility in Ukiah the Supervisors specifically said they declined that option to make sure there was enough Measure B money to build the PHF after the $7 million loan to the jail expansion overrun which may or may not be paid back.
If the construction bids are substantially higher than expected, the County might even have to consider downsizing the PHF from a 16-bed facility to an eight-bed facility. But that would only happen over Dr. Miller’s dead body.
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More Veterans Office Relocation Delays
The controversy surrounding Mendo’s abrupt relocation of the Veterans Service Office from their comfortable house on Observatory Avenue in Ukiah to make room for the small Air Quality office staff remains unresolved. Pieces of the puzzle are still in motion. The “Coastal” Veterans Service Officer has been moved to the Ukiah office and a little more space in the old Hospital on Dora Street has been opened up to make room for her. But that basically defeats of purpose of having a “Coastal” VSO. This aspect of the issue hasn’t even reached public comment so far. Supervisor Maureen Mulheren who first said she would try to get the subject on the February 26 Board Agenda is now telling people that that won’t happen until at least March 26 and more likely April. So far the County seems to be taking the position that the cramped and inhospitable space in the old Dora Street hospital can be made to work while the Vets and their supporters insist that the Office should simply be put back into the house on Observatory and the Air Quality District be moved into the Dora Street offices. Whether Supervisor Mulheren will provide the requested budget info justifying whatever cost savings were claimed — after the move — or whether any other options will be mentioned is unknown at this time. Adding an interesting political angle to the dispute is the upcoming Supervisors race with Mulheren running against Ukiah veteran Jacob Brown who has been outspoken in his criticism of the VSO move. Local observers have noted the suspicious delay of the Agenda Item on this subject which has been personally taken over by Mulheren. The agenda item has been conveniently postponed until after the March 5, primary election where Mulheren is running against Brown in a two-person winner-take-all primary election. If Mulheren and the County stubbornly stick to their unpopular relocation of the VSO to the Dora Street store rooms and are hit with another round of public outcry, it will be after the Mulheren-Brown election.
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Waterlogged Chickens Coming Home To Roost.
PG&E’s recent decision to basically ignore the Potter Valley diversion in their plans to remove two dams from the Eel River should come as a surprise to no one. Yet the Cheap Water Mafia continues to act as if it’s a surprise and locals must “unite” to ensure the continuation of the diversion of water that mostly goes to vineyards and Sonoma and Marin County water districts. As we have noted before, if the Cheap Water Mafia, aka Potter Valley grape growers, had put in place market rate water fees and used them to accumulate a capital/facilities fund to develop various storage, conservation, re-direction, reduction and revision of water diversion volumes and timing, as well as for development of new sources and water rights, they would be in a much better position to survive PG&E’s dam removal plans and the transition to a new water regimen post-dam removal — not to mention the overall trends toward drought-related water reductions. (The dams are said to be structurally unsound and the diversion tunnel itself is held up by old redwood timbers.)
Instead, the Cheap Water Mafia has chosen the short-sighted stance of standing by while reaping the economic benefits of their de facto water subsidies for production of their pricy intoxicants without investing in the long-term knowing that the day would come when the dams would have to go and the diversion would have to change and that it would cost money to adjust to it.
For example, one relatively simple solution that could have been pursued years ago would have been to revise the diversion timing to high winter flows only (based on a minimum flow rate before diversions were triggered), and pipe/pumping limitations to ensure that diversions do not exceed a specified amount in a short time. So it’s hard to feel sympathy for the Cheap Water Mafia and their alarmist declarations combined with their veiled and vain attempts to portray themselves as victims of PG&E so they can continue the status quo and have the public finance their private water subsidy, masking the fact that they are acting in their own self-interest, not in the interest of Mendocino County and its public water needs.
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Adam Gaska:
RE: PG&E Drops Diversion Options And Waterlogged Chickens Coming Home To Roost
I agree that it was poor planning to not budget in more money for infrastructure improvements that would be funded through increased water rates these last few decades. The water was cheap and ratepayers could have shouldered slightly higher rates so we could invest in infrastructure. Could’ve, should’ve — but didn’t.
The idea was that the transition from decommissioning to new infrastructure would be smooth and FERC would remain the lead regulatory agency. That is the biggest change, that FERC will not be the lead agency. Decommissioning will continue as was planned.
Now we need a different lead agency to handle the water right and appropriation. That likely will be the SWRCB. Huffman says not to worry but neither he nor the governor has put forward a clear plan on how we will get to that outcome, who is responsible for what, and a timeline.
That has me worried. I don’t like getting piecemeal funding for studies or other pieces of the puzzle that need to fall into place for us to move forward. Looking at how slow government generally moves, this will not be a smooth process transitioning from dam decommissioning to installation of new infrastructure. This means there will be an interruption in diversions which will affect water supplies. If this coincides with drought, it could be bad. There is a lot of infrastructure that needs to be put in place that will also take time and money. We need stronger leadership to make sure everything falls into place.
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