May 11th City Council Meeting
There was a very large turnout at the last city council meeting with several people from the community showing up to voice their opinions regarding the garbage recycling issue. From what I hear, it was standing room only, as citizen after citizen stepped up to criticize the councilmembers and the recycling service contract with Sunset Waste.
One person who owns a home and a rental property in McFarland described how she is being billed $15 for the use of one bin at her home and $60 for the use of one bin at her four-unit apartment complex. When she called Sunset Waste to inquire about why she was being charged so much more for the exact same service at the apartment complex the representative from Sunset Waste directed her to contact someone at city hall and hung up on her. For those that were not able to attend I will request a copy of the audio recordings and try to post copies of the recordings from the angry and frustrated people that spoke before the council.
I believe the recycling bill that was mailed out by the city a few weeks ago was a good reminder to everyone of the costly mistakes that Melendez, Cantu, and Santillano have made. As one person put it to me the other day in a symbolic manner, "They have just put the last nail into their own coffin". Meaning that now that people clearly see what price they are having to pay for the mistakes being made by these councilmembers, it is obvious why they deserve to be recalled on August 15th and they are only giving people more of a reason to support the recall.
Here is a copy of the meeting agenda for that day:
http://www.shafterchevron.com/resources/051106+Meeting+Agenda.pdf
Looking at the items listed for discussion under closed session one of them is related to a claim being filed by Melendez. I wonder what this is all about and if it will end up costing the city any more money.
posted by Rafael Rodarte @ 11:17 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
You can bet if Melendez's name is on it, it will cost the City of Mcfarland something. I would have liked to have gone to the meeting but had farming to do. besides my blood pressure would be off the chart. The sooner his keister is out of here the better.
Does anyone know how much the recall election and subsequent general election will cost the City?
I believe an election will cost on the order of $10-15k. But it's a small price to pay to get them out of office before they make more costly mistakes. How much have we had to pay for their dumb mistakes and abuse so far?
1. Lawsuit settlements and legal costs, ~$200K
2. Expensive contract with Sunset Waste costs our citizens ~$60K per year more than what we would have paid through R&F.
3. Trips to Las Vegas and Korea for councilmembers and their family, ~$5K
The price for another election should be viewed as an investment in McFarland's future.
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