"Boondoggle in thrifty Fortuna?"Look at the facts behind what we were told
"I thought it was important to share the information."
Writer/producer Janelle Egger
Click image to view documentary
Here is summary of the key facts addressed in detail in Boondoggle:
--The 5 million gallon Vancil reservoir has 4 million gallons of unused storage. It is up the street from the proposed tank. In Fortuna’s southeast there is an identified need for storage, but no proposed projects.
--The proposed 2 million gallon tank was sized only to meet current demand. With 4 million gallons of unused storage, Vancil will easily meet current and future growth needs in the north part of town.
--Built before the 1964 Christmas flood, Vancil was part of a water development program for a growing city with 5 wood products manufacturing plants. There is no evidence that it was ever intended as emergency storage.
--The City requested and was told there are no regulatory obstacles to using Vancil.
--The Water Bonds are not a legal obstacle to using Vancil, Fortuna is not required to build the proposed tank. The City Council can and has changed the 2006 bond funded projects.
--We were told the water rate increase was to borrow money (sell bonds) that would fund “urgent projects” required to fulfill the City’s “current operational responsibilities.”
--A pipeline between Vancil and downtown will make 4million gallons available, providing needed fire protection.
--Using Vancil will make bond funds available for other necessary projects, allowing us to avoid an unnecessary rate increase.
--We can safely and reliably use Vancil for 50 years and spend less than the cost of the proposed tank, plus interest.
--The 50-year estimate is based on the January 2009 Staff Report’s estimate of $10,000/year energy cost. Three months earlier, in September 2008, the City requested and received information that the actual cost would be half that, $5,000/year. Based on this, we could expect using Vancil would be significantly less than the proposed tank.
I still do not know the motivation for the tank, but I suspect and hope that this is a simple case of good intentions and faulty assumptions resulting in a misguided project.
