The Committee to Save the Lake was saddened to see a recent letter (“Top Ten Measure S Myths”) that abandoned any pretext of truthfulness or objectivity. Instead, the author tried to create a specter of suspicion about Measure S, the half-cent sales tax to protect and restore Clear Lake, by fabricating his own myths, fantasies, and outright falsehoods. Lacking any expertise in any of the areas he presumes to judge, this disgruntled individual is willing to gamble with our future by obstructing the only viable funding source to protect Clear Lake and our other waterbodies from continued degradation and potential devastation from invasive mussels.
10 Truths:
#1 Lake County Vector Control District money cannot be used for mussel prevention. No one but the “10 Myths” author claims that quagga mussels are “vectors,” and he keeps saying it even though everyone else knows it”s not true. Dr. Vicki Kramer, the Chief of the Vector Borne Disease Section of the California Department of Public Health has explicitly confirmed that “quagga mussels, zebra mussels, algae, and aquatic weed abatement are not considered vectors under the California Health and Safety Code.” County Vector Control funds are specifically designated to combat disease-carrying organisms such as the mosquitoes that carry West Nile Virus.
#2 Saying that both harvesting and herbicides are part of the county”s weed control efforts is no myth, just a fact. And no matter how many insults the “10 Myths” author flings around, privately owned docks are not included in this program: owners of private and commercial docks who want to control weeds have to pay for it themselves, under conditions specified by county permits.
Some confusion may arise because California Department of Food and Agriculture weed control boats are seen on Clear Lake. CDFA spends more than $1 million annually to control hydrilla, which is spread by mechanical harvesting. Not only does this mean that herbicides are the only control mechanism available against this noxious weed, it also means that the county is forbidden to use mechanical methods against other aquatic weeds in areas where hydrilla has been found. If Measure S passes, the Oversight Committee and Board of Supervisors will be able to decide which of all the techniques available is best in any given circumstances.
#3 A citizens” Oversight Committee with members from all around Lake County will hold open, public quarterly meetings to review projects and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, establishing a uniquely high level of scrutiny over the expenditure of Measure S revenues. An annual independent audit creates an additional firewall that should reassure even the most skeptical. More importantly, any misuse would be illegal. Measure S is NOT a General Fund tax that can be diverted to many purposes: by law, the revenues can ONLY be used for lake and watershed restoration and protection. No matter how many accusations and innuendoes are made, those are the facts.
#4 Measure S contains a number of options to strengthen the invasive mussel prevention program. Staffed ramp controls, access controls on highways leading into the county and mechanical gates at launch ramps are options that will be fully researched with plenty of opportunity for input from all interested parties. Given the large number of access points to the lake, implementing any combination of these methods so that the lake is protected with minimal inconvenience to residents and visitors will cost millions of dollars. This is far more than the unrealistic costs that the “10 Myths” author has apparently pulled out of his hat. Measure S is the only plausible source of funding for a comprehensive prevention program, but the county has already applied for a state grant to pay for on-the-ground inspectors at the most heavily used launch facilities. Other methods that may be proposed will also be thoroughly evaluated through the Oversight Committee and public hearing process.
#5 The notion that the tax in Measure S will be much higher than stated is nonsense. The tax is one-half of one penny for 10 years. It will not change. If the economy improves – a likely benefit arising from improvements to the lake – then the tax will bring in additional revenues. Anyone but the “10 Myths” author would regard this as a desirable outcome.
#6 The notion that Vector Control District funds can be raided (again!) to provide Middle Creek Project matching funds is also nonsense. Even if Vector Control had “millions of surplus dollars” (they don”t) the restoration of over 1,000 acres of wetland is more likely to increase than to reduce the need for mosquito abatement. For all its many benefits, the Middle Creek project does not qualify as “source reduction.”
#7 The assertion that Measure S would fund only two small water quality projects is absurd. Only two projects are listed in the detailed list of proposed first-year expenditures, but many more will be implemented during the ten years Measure S will be in effect. These projects will take place not only in the lake but also in the creeks and their watersheds, to intercept the tremendous amount of nutrient loading that originates on public lands and public roadways as well as on private lands. Furthermore the county has already instituted a number of sensible land use regulations including the Grading and Shoreline Ordinances designed to protect our lakes and their watersheds.
To keep sediment and nutrients out of the lake we first need to determine where they are coming from, and we can”t do that without an active monitoring program. By funding such a program Measure S will allow us to pinpoint where abatement is needed. We need to fix these problems – and making speculative, unsupported, possibly libelous accusations doesn”t fix anything.
#8 See #2 above. The idea that “Most [aquatic weed] poisoning is done to make private docks usable” is wrong. With the exception of CDFA-funded hydrilla control (which takes place wherever hydrilla is found) public financing for weed control is “limited to public boat ramps and beaches,” just as the author recommends. The problem is that the county has been using various one-time sources of funds to finance this service, a method that is not sustainable. Measure S will allow weed control to continue, with the target areas reviewed by the Oversight Committee in public. More importantly, dedicated funding will allow the use of the best methods for weed control.
#9 The idea that there is “zero benefit to local farmers” is incorrect. Farmers will benefit from Measure S just like other citizens, and perhaps more than most because agriculture depends so heavily on reliable sources of water. Resentment against the Yolo Flood Control and Water Conservation District has nothing to do with Measure S.
#10 The Measure S campaign has NEVER made the claim that “tourists will pay most of this tax.” Estimates are that about a third of Measure S revenues will be paid by visitors, thus significantly reducing the burden on local residents. It is estimated that the “average” tax burden will be about $30 annually, but of course the amount will vary according to purchasing habits, which tend to correspond to income levels. Measure S imposes NO tax on rents, mortgage payments, groceries, gasoline, prescriptions or services, and a half-cent tax translates to a mere nickel on a $10 purchase, fifty cents on $100.
The truth is:
Without Measure S, continuing cycles of noxious algae, weed-choked waterways and the likely infestation of quagga mussels will send water bills soaring, destroy an amazing natural treasure, and ruin our economy and quality of life.
The truth is:
Measure S will provide the match funding we need to qualify for federal and state grants.
The truth is:
The cost of Measure S to individuals will be scarcely noticed, and will all be invested in Clear Lake, the greatest asset Lake County has. There is no other plausible way to develop and implement programs to save the lake.
The truth is:
All Measure S revenues will stay right here in Lake County, and they all MUST be spent on our waterways.
The truth is:
We need Measure S and we need it now. Our children and grandchildren are counting on us.
The Committee to Save the Lake: Clelia Baur, Victoria Brandon, Anthony Farrington, Melissa Fulton, Tom Harty, Kimberly Haynie, Susan King, Tje Koski, Tom Koski, Ted Mandrones, Anita McKee, David Neft, Earl Nelson, Scott Knickmeyer, Monica Rosenthal, Sarah Ryan, Olga Martin Steele, Rick White
