RMWD Taking Steps in Right Direction

Ramona Municipal Water District (RMWD) Board is doing what publicly elected boards should be doing: assessing needs, asking relevant questions, finding solutions, providing leadership, and ultimately saving as much ratepayer/taxpayer expense as possible.

Many projects/plans are being addressed and completed, including a natural gas line for the Poway pump station, solar power for the Santa Maria Treatment Plant, reduced costs in customer service and engineering, and most recently a grant from the Barona and Sycuan Indian tribes for a new ambulance, just to mention a few.

The proposed gas line and solar power for the Santa Maria plant are great ideas, but actual costs and real savings are yet to be determined, but at least options are being looked at.

With the latest research showing that Ramona’s growth has slowed and the implementation of an infiltration and inflow system to stop stormwater into the plant, the need to expand the Santa Maria plant has been put on hold. All of this has helped the board to keep the proposed 2012-13 budget under the original $20 million estimate and the water rate, although there will be a 7.8 percent increase, under the previous proposed rate hike.

That’s not to say that there doesn’t continue to be problems. Public board meetings are not held at a convenient time for some, and the public should not be ridiculed for expressing its viewpoints and disappointment.

Time will judge the effectiveness of what the current board has and will accomplish, and if you don’t think they’ve done a good job, vote them out at the next election. Everyone might not agree with what the RMWD Board is doing, but they are at least moving forward.

Jeff Mitchell, publisher