Given the little progress in health matters, East Palo Alto ?EPA? petitioned the San Mateo Local Agencies Formation Commission ?SMLAFCo? than the city's Sanitation District ?EPASD, for its acronym in English? be subsidized by the local government.
This was announced by the mayor of East Palo Alto, Rubén Abrica, who through a letter addressed to the community and taxpayers specified that since 2019, the East Palo Alto City Council and other interested parties have tried to collaborate with EPASD to develop solutions that facilitate the advancement of development projects such as affordable housing, advance city goals, and ensure that accurate information is available when the city considers future development.
"Despite these efforts, very little progress has been made and the City of East Palo Alto has been concerned about the stewardship of this critical system and the City's ability to advance development projects that significantly benefit the entire community." , said the letter.
The mayor noted that EPASD's request as a subsidiary district is due to the fact that, according to state law, when development is planned in the city, developers must pay their fair share of fees to cover the connection of the new building to the system. sanitary.
"Unfortunately, EPASD has not been able to establish connection fees that cover the developers' share of improvements needed to accommodate development, and this inaction is obstructing the construction of affordable housing, a health clinic, job formation and employment generation facilities,” he said.
The letter, which is also signed by interim city manager Patrick Heisinger, stresses that the city recently learned that a CCTV survey of 22.2 of EPASD's 29.8 miles of sewer lines found that many sections of the old district lines are dilapidated and broken, allowing sewage to flow onto the ground, causing pollution and potential health risks.
What is a subsidiary district?
A subsidiary district is one governed by a city council and operated by a city department, such as the department of public works.
An independent special district may be established as a subsidiary of the city if the entire area is located within the city limits or if at least 70 percent or more of the area of the district and 70 percent or more of the number of registered voters residing in the district are located within the city limits.
It should be noted that, as a subsidiary district, the district's budget must be separate and distinct from the city's budget and all revenue collected may only be used for the purposes of maintaining sewer operations, capital improvements, and treatment.
The officials explained that by establishing the district as a subsidiary district of the city, property taxes will not be increased since in California they are limited to 1.0 percent of the assessed value and the county assessor can only increase the assessed valuation by a maximum 2 percent per year, unless the property is improved or sold.
In this sense, they highlighted that the sewerage operations would come to depend on the City Council as the governing body and on the Department of Public Works for its operation, which would significantly reduce the annual general expenses of approximately 820 thousand dollars in the current budget of the District.
EPASD was formed in 1939 as an independent special district. While some sections of the system have been replaced, most of the original pipelines and manholes remain in service, which is a critical concern for the city and residents of East Palo Alto, Abrica said.
On October 6, 2022, the EPASD CEO informed the Board that, in several cases, pipes were broken and sewage had been discharged onto the ground. In addition, he declared that "...all these pipes are in a very deplorable state and that the estimated cost of replacing the oldest and most broken pipes will cost 22 million dollars".
What is at risk of being lost?
Abrica and Heisenger said that if the subsidy is not given to EPASD, there is a danger that 135 affordable apartments will not be achieved, the community center project of the Ravenswood city school district, and the expansion of 61 thousand square feet of the Center of Ravenswood Family Health and other spaces for local non-profit organizations that were to be 100% funded by philanthropy.
In addition, the new headquarters for JobTrain, a 102,478-square-foot building dedicated to providing East Palo Alto residents with living-wage employment, and 9,000 square feet of office space dedicated to East Palo Alto small businesses and entrepreneurs Palo Alto.
To ensure transparency and accurate reporting, the City of East Palo Alto has compiled background and documentation of the City's efforts to address EPASD's inadequate sewer infrastructure that cannot accommodate economic development projects vital to the quality of life of its residents.
Those interested can find more information by visiting the website https://www.ci.east-palo-alto.ca.us/publicworks/page/msr-process.
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