Poseidon ready for community Ensuring that businesses...

Poseidon ready

for community

Ensuring that businesses are accountable to citizens, providing

important public services for the community and being good stewards

of our tax dollars -- that’s what residents want from their elected

officials. And from our perspective, that’s the responsible role that

city leaders are taking as they look at the issues surrounding our

proposed Huntington Beach desalination facility.

A small number of local residents have made inaccurate remarks

about our involvement in Tampa Bay. But as Ann Hildebrand, chairwoman

of Tampa Bay Water said on March 25, 2002: “It is clear that we were

right and that Poseidon Resources was the right choice. I do need to

note that Poseidon’s expertise in financial and risk management

matters and experience in the water industry have ensured that our

desalination plant is on time and on budget.”

On March 25, 2002, right after the plant was acquired, Jerry

Maxwell, general manager for Tampa Bay Water, further elaborated, “As

a consequence, we find ourselves prepared to assume ongoing

responsibility for the balance of construction, start-up and

operation (of the plant).”

Based on comments like those and our long history of being good

community partners, this year the city of Carlsbad unanimously voted

to execute a long-term water purchase contract with their local

Poseidon desalination facility. Carlsbad looked at numerous issues

throughout their environmental report process and concluded that not

only was the technology sound, but that Poseidon Resources was the

right leader for the job.

Our goal at Poseidon Resources is to provide a safe and reliable

water supply for our growing region -- at no cost to taxpayers. With

an estimated $2 million per year in tax revenue, the Huntington Beach

Water Treatment Facility will create millions of dollars that can be

used locally -- money that helps give the city a new opportunity to

better fund such services as police and fire safety, education, parks

and transportation.

We look forward to being a good, beneficial member of the

Huntington Beach community for many years to come. That’s why we’ve

been so supportive of the city-commissioned independent study of our

proposed facility. We applaud the city council’s due-diligence and

are committed to ensuring this remains a project that will benefit

all of Huntington Beach.

When the environmental review is released to the public, we look

forward to discussing all questions in detail with any member of the

community.

BILLY OWENS

Senior vice president

Poseidon Resources

Keep school open for all students

I am an involved parent at Peterson Elementary. I do not want

Peterson to close due to the district’s dire financial state.

Actually, I don’t want any of our schools to close. However, when

the decision is finally made and if Peterson is spared, all can rest

assured that Peterson will welcome all students into our school and

to be an important part of our Peterson family.

TINA ELMORE

Huntington Beach

Schools need to

pull together

In response to the letters published in last week’s Independent, I

am saddened on so many levels. One writer states that there would be

“strong community support” if the Huntington Beach City School

District Board of Trustees stands strong and show a united front and

agree with a committee’s data and follow a recommendation to close

two schools given by our superintendent. I would like to know, would

there really be community support if the board decides that upon

further evaluation of data, it is seen that perhaps a different set

of schools be closed rather than the ones suggested by the committee?

By attending all of the public board meetings, I have seen the

emotions run as high as expected. But when more logical and factual

data and findings are presented, these emotions turn ugly. I can

completely understand fighting for your child’s school, but please

remember: Our district is in a major crisis. Likely, a school -- or

schools -- will have to be closed. Whichever one(s) close, there will

no doubt be students integrating with new students at new campuses.

That’s a lot for a young child to handle already. Do we really want

to send our children these angry messages -- pitting one school

against another?

I can proudly say that I’ve informed my children of the situation

and implanted in their minds that in the next school year, we will

gladly be making new friends, whether we will be joining existing

children at their school or graciously welcoming new students to our

campus. If we truly want “community support,” let’s work together in

this crisis and help our board come up with logical and best-suited

solutions.

JOLENE MILLER

Huntington Beach

Rutherford misinterpreted

In response to a letter in last week’s Independent: Gary

Rutherford (a superintendent no longer employed by our district) did

not direct the district to close the two schools recommended by the

committee. He did nothing of the sort. (You can check his report

online at the district website)

He did recommend they close two schools, but specifically directed

them to further investigate all the criteria used by the committee,

presumably because he did not support their findings.

In other words, the committee was given the opportunity to make a

recommendation. They were not given the power to make a decision and

the board was under no obligation to follow this recommendation.

CRYSTAL KERINS

Huntington Beach

District fumbles money; who pays?

After more than 25 years in business, my husband returned to

teaching at a middle school in Huntington Beach and every day he

comes home laughing at the lack of business sense the district has.

He says that if it were a business they would have folded long ago.

This city school district has closed school sites that could be

sold for the money versus renting the property, as is now the case,

but former Superintendent Gary Rutherford, the rat leaving the

sinking ship, doesn’t discuss this. His suggestions are closing more

schools and cutting teacher salaries. I wonder if the new

superintendent will also take a pay cut?

This is the same district that took bond money from us and let

that money sit for a few years before deciding to use it for what it

was intended for, the modernization of Dwyer Middle School. Now the

word is that there isn’t enough bond money to complete the job. My

husband and his department met with the architects to design plans

for a new locker room and no one at the district asked the cost of

this building until over one year was spent on the design. Guess

what? Not enough money budgeted for it so it was back to the drawing

board. These are the “business” minds running this district.

I have a feeling that millions and millions and millions of

dollars could be given to this district and they would still squander

it. Let someone with a sense of business run this ship. This includes

the members of the board. Maybe it’s time for the district office and

the board to be held accountable as teachers are. Stop passing the

buck.

MARY ARNESON

Huntington Beach

Board’s actions raise questions

I am a parent of a former, current and future Peterson student.

Part of the reason we bought our house was because it was in the

Peterson track. The school and principal came highly recommended. I

do not like the idea of any school closing; however, closing Peterson

seems to make the least amount of sense. The school can easily

accommodate more students, it has the district lunch kitchen on site,

it has been recently renovated to the tune of $3.7 million and above

all it has been and would continue to be a California Distinguished

School.

The site has enough land to accommodate more portables without

losing the playground areas for the children. The parents are highly

involved in Peterson and would do just about anything, if asked, to

assist our school. We have a fabulous PTA that has worked very hard

to raise funds for the children. It seems to me that the school board

has lost site of what this is all about: the education of our

children. How do you close a school with 700 students and one of the

lowest declines in enrollment and send them somewhere else?

I would like to know why the district office and their staff

including the superintendents are not involved in downsizing and

salary decreases. It seems to me that we need to keep the people

directly involved with our kids and cut out bureaucracy. The school

board proclaims to be as concerned yet has not proposed anything

other than direct cuts to the individual schools. It seems this is

more political than anything.

We as a country should be concerned about the lack of public

education and the long lasting and far reaching consequences. I

believe that the school board saw this coming a long time ago and

failed to act. The parents of all schools would have rallied to save

the elementary schools in any way possible, however, we were not

given the opportunity. I am deeply saddened and have a hard time

sleeping at night.

Thank you for the opportunity to feel like my comments matter.

KARI A. WEBER

Huntington Beach

Settlement goes beyond outrageous

Re: “Coerper reaches settlement,” Huntington Beach Independent

article, Feb. 24.

“Outrageous” is the only word that comes to my mind when reading

about the workers’ compensation settlement City Councilman Gil

Coerper gained from the city. Let me get this straight. Coerper

retired from the Huntington Beach Police Department in 2001, spending

the last part of his career on a desk job and then decided in 2002

that he had been injured on the job? Worker’s compensation benefits

are intended to compensate employees who are legitimately injured on

the job and, as a result, are not able to work. Coerper had already

retired and thus, apparently, was never unable to do his job as a

result of the alleged injuries. I will assure you that any

responsible private sector employer would categorically deny such a

claim. Welcome to the world of the public feeding trough and

political back-slapping. Coerper’s cronies on the City Council who

approved this settlement share in the shame.

Coerper, in your role as a councilman, please let me never hear

one word from your mouth about the financial condition of our city.

You, sir, are part of the problem.

RICH OLIVER

Huntington Beach

Hope high near Bolsa Chica Mesa

The latest developments in the decades-long battle to save the

Bolsa Chica Mesa has brought new hope to the Mesa-area neighborhood.

In California, well-heeled developers with wide open pockets

generally manage to steamroller their projects through, regardless of

the views and concerns of the residents.

However, the California Coastal Commission Staff has shown that

they will not roll over, as evidenced by the statements of the Bolsa

Chica project manager, Teresa Henry, and the highly professional

reports that she and her staff have produced, pointing out the myriad

environmental problems present in the developers plans.

Huntington Beach residents are well served in the long battle to

keep the bulldozers off the Mesa, as waged by the Bolsa Chica Land

Trust and its numerous allies. Their efforts have frustrated the

developers and prevented the destruction of the wetlands and Mesa

(and the killing of thousands of animals that live there).

Anyone who cares about preserving undeveloped land for future

generations should support and applaud the organizations who continue

the fight, not for profit, but for principle. The California Coastal

Commission Staff also deserve our thanks, for taking and holding the

high ground. Also, lets not forget the Independent, as I suspect that

many residents would not even be aware of the issues without the

reporting of Dave Brooks and the columns of Vic Leipzig and Lou

Murray. I see very little about this issue elsewhere.

RAYMOND and SANDRA SHERRARD

Huntington Beach