Moss Landing >> Despite
public questions and criticism, Monterey County public works officials have
been “responsible stewards” of a Moss Landing power plant-funded account
designated for a series of utility upgrades in the small north Monterey County
community, according to the civil grand jury.
In the report issued Friday,
the Monterey County civil grand jury opined that county public works had done a
good job managing the money promised by Duke Energy and its successor Dynegy
for the utility projects, that the Moss Landing Chamber of Commerce was
justified in turning the money over to the county and the promised funding was
never enough to cover all the promised work.
But the grand jury report
also found the county had done a poor job of communicating on the projects’
status and recommended improvements.
At issue was $3.4 million,
promised by the power plant operator to the Moss Landing community for the
utility upgrades as part of a plant expansion in 2002, and to be paid over a
30-year period. The Chamber of Commerce decided a few years after the agreement
was signed to turn over responsibility for the money and the projects to the
county.
After a decade had passed and
no projects had been finished despite promises from county public works
officials, community members starting asking questions. In response, county
officials explained that about $800,000 in prep work had taken longer than
expected for part of the planned work and there wouldn’t be enough money to
fund all of the projects until additional funding sources were found.
That prompted a debate on
whether the community should take the remaining money back, though chamber
officials always rejected the suggestion.
The grand jury recommended
the county continue to pursue additional funding for the projects, and
suggested public works offer more complete and detailed information on its web
page about the projects to allow the public to stay informed.
The report did not mention
the Board of Supervisors’ recent decision to grant a five-year extension — to
2020 — of the deadline for completing part of the promised work.
The supervisors have 90 days
to respond to the grand jury report’s findings and recommendations.
June
5, 2015
Monterey
Herald
By Jim
Johnson
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