Disturbing CVSan Special Board Meeting

Dear Editor,

I attended the Castro Valley Sanitary District (CVSan) Special Board Meeting on June 19 via Zoom. The Board of Directors approved, on a 4-0 vote, to sell $14 Million in Revenue Bonds over 30 years to finance the Operations and Engineering (O & E) Building at Center Street. As stated at the Meeting, the O & E Building is NOW costing $25.5 Million, $13 Million is coming from the bond sale and $12.5 Million is coming from cash reserves. Board Member McGowan, who approved the Bond sale at the Finance Committee Meeting, was strangely absent for the vote.

Most disturbing is that recently the Board of Directors approved raising our Sewer Service Rates 14% over the next two years, and stating that the reason for the increase was that $22 Million of the new two year budget was needed for the new O & E Building. Thus, the Board is generating $36 Million to pay for a $25.5 Million O & E Building. Something doesn’t add up! It should be noted that this O & E Building started out as a $6 Million Corporation Yard.

The debt service on this new 30-year bond will be $760,000 per year, in addition to the current debt service of $700,000 per year. $1.4 Million per year will go to debt service. CVSan used to pride itself in being a PAY AS YOU GO sanitary district. The new motto should be BORROW AS YOU GO. The real losers are the Rate Payers whose sewer service rates increase yearly.

I used to think that CVSan Staff and its Board of Directors were fiscally incompetent. I now believe that they are criminal and should be investigated by the California Public Finance Authority, and/or the California State Treasurer, and/or the California Attorney General.

–Ken Owen, Castro Valley