LAKE COUNTY — Gerald “Gerry” Shaul, Jr. retired Dec. 28 as the county”s public works director. Eureka city engineer Brent Siemer will take his place April 1.
Shaul was hired in 1981 as the county engineer. He said he was the acting director for a little more than a year before he “had a lapse in judgment” when he took his current post as public works director in 1992.
Siemer said he has developed an acquaintance relationship with Shaul over several years of Caltrans meetings. “I”ve always known him to be a gentleman who speaks his mind, so I”ve never had a question where he stands,” Siemer said.
In a letter written Jan. 25, Shaul said of his approximately 15 years as director, “my tenure with the county public works department is much like my service in the Marine Corps. I wouldn”t take a million dollars in exchange for it, but I am not too sure that I would want to do it again.”
Shaul said money to maintain the county”s roads is sparse. “We successfully get grants to correct hazardous road conditions, build bike lanes, and replace bridges but grants for road maintenance and pavement management are nonexistent.”
“First of all, people think that property tax pays for roads and they don”t. There”s every reason they should think property tax takes care of everything in proportion because it”s (the check) made out to the county tax collector. Less than 15 cents on the dollar stays in county; the rest goes to Sacramento. Consequently, when you tell people you don”t have the money to fix their roads, the first thing they tell you is how much money they pay in property taxes.”
Shaul said the county also gets a disproportionate cut of the state gas tax. Lake County has three tenths of a percent of the state”s registered vehicles, but one percent of its roads, Shaul said. The calculation for how much of the gas tax each county gets is based on the number of registered vehicles.
Shaul said he will fill -in for the county in his current role until Siemer starts in April, and will continue after that filling in as needed. He plans on spending his spare time doing a little fishing and concentrating on “deferred maintenance work” in his home.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
