Snowball Ride To Bankruptcy

I was doing some summer cleaning yesterday afternoon and came upon a copy of a letter I forgot that I had. It was from the State Water Resources Control Board to then Interim General Manager Dan Bleskey of the Los Osos Community Services District. It is dated October 18, 2005. It explains how the State Revolving Fund loan monies were being withheld. Go ahead, have a look - click on the image to see a larger size.

I suspect that unless you at least arrived here in Los Osos during the years 2004-2010, this letter may not mean much to you. But it you live in the water service area served by the LOCSD, have heard of an upcoming election for the LOCSD, and have read the above letter, you might wonder if there is more to this story, like say, a bankruptcy? 

If you live in the Prohibition Zone, you might have noticed that on your tax bill you are paying for two sewer fees. The smaller amount is for the sewer that did not happen in town because that sewer project was stopped, and the larger amount is for the sewer we did get, out of town, behind the cemetery. 

The two old directors and the three new directors to the LOCSD after the recall election, foolishly stopped work on the sewer project that was already under construction without the permission required that was part of the agreement, so **NO SURPRISE** the funds to pay for THAT sewer - were cut off! Financial mayhem ensued. It is very troubling that the two directors that were already on the LOCSD board BEFORE the recall election Julie Tacker and Lisa Schicker, did not understand the facts of the sewer construction contract for the SRF money which was keeping the LOCSD afloat. Every cent possible LOCSD cent was poured into sewer construction because the Regional Water Quality Control Board was after them to build the sewer - pronto. Foot dragging had gone on for too many years, this was the third attempt at remediating the sewage problems of Los Osos. When the SRF money vanished and the multiple lawsuits sprung to life, the LOCSD was doomed.

What happened after 2005 could fill a book, and in fact it did fill part of a book, Small Town, Perfect Storm by Barbara Wolcott.

As I uncover more interesting historical documents, I will post them.