June is time to celebrate those graduating and their families. Best wishes in this next adventure in life. June is also the budget month for the county. The Board approved a balanced budget on June 3. We heard presentations from 11 different departments and offices.
The cuts haven’t been easy, and department heads and elected officials will be making their cases about what they can and can’t do without. We will use six million dollars of one-time-only money to pay one-time expenses, which will prevent more drastic cuts.
The Inland Water & Power Commission had an all-boards’ meeting on May 29. Since the IWPC is composed of different boards, this was an opportunity for all the boards to hear the same update.
My takeaways are: PG&E is going to take down the dams. A coalition has formed to build a New Eel Russian Facility (NERF) that will divert water during high water times from the Eel River to the Russian River. The current projection is that the NERF will cost $40 million to build and $10 million annually to operate. The process will take years, and people/groups in both basins have agreed to this plan. Storage of water on the Russian River side is critical to making it all work, and a feasibility study by the United States Army Corps of Engineers is beginning to study the raising of Coyote Dam. That will be a very expensive and long process. There has been a lot of work done by very dedicated people, coalitions have been formed from entities from both basins, and continuing to work through the issues is the only realistic path forward to keep water flowing in both directions.
I have a couple of new committee assignments that are making the Talk with the Supervisor dates bounce around. This month, it will be on Monday, June 9 at 11 a.m. at the Brickhouse in Willits. As always, you can email haschakj@mendocinocounty.gov or call 707-972-4214.