The Vote to End Affordability and Transparency: The Gibson/Mecham Exchange

Gibson: “While I understand the emotional concerns, as we sort through the issues before us today we have to be rationale about the decisions we make and strategic is the application of the principles that we’ve laid out… So what I’m hoping for here is a proper balance of heart and head as we move forward in this... It seems quite clear we do need to move forward on moving the gravity system through the design build process and we need technical specifications of that… I move that we accept staff’s recommendation regarding the amendment of an engineering consulting services contract. Is there any discussion on the motion?”

Mecham: “I’m not going to support the motion and I guess mainly because two things. One, I completely agree in terms of head and heart. I never once have ever questioned the integrity of anybody that’s working on this project, nor the people that I work with, nor those who come before us.] I heard more than anything the comment of process and the comment of ‘give us some comparison costs.’ I cannot in good conscience feel that we are doing that. I’m very sensitive to the issue of affordability, too. As we’ve heard time again, and when we went and pled the case to Washington we talked about a community that was not a high-end community. I’m concerned that we are not going to be affording them the opportunity to take a look at a couple of options that might in fact reduce the cost of this. I don’t always agree with [former LOCSD board member] Miss Julie Tacker at all, but I don’t hang my hat on stimulus stuff, either. This is money that we hope will come in, that we are trying to hope that we can to find a way to make it happen.  But I don’t believe that we can hang our hat on that and think that that’s going to make this project work. That’s why I have to go back to trying to find another alternative option that might be a little bit more affordable…. I cannot in good conscience support the motion. We are excluding anything else.”

Gibson: “I too am disappointed that we’re not at a point where we have an easy comparison here, but there’s nothing about this project that is particularly easy. It is a complicated, expensive, contentious bit of business. But on the matter of getting gravity specs going forward we need to do that, and I would hope that we give staff a clear recommendation here that we move forward.”

Mecham: “I can support your motion if it would include further investigation and discussion about that.”

Gibson: “It’s not going to.”

Mecham: "Well then I can’t support it.”

Mecham: “I take exception with the responsibility that we have in [not] taking things lightly. I don’t take anything lightly. [I feel that my responsibility is, first of all, to the community that I would be representing, which is the San Luis Obispo County.] I’m not arguing that the gravity system isn’t a good system, and I’m not arguing that that might rise to the top. I don’t know that from a cost (comparison). You (Chairman Gibson) made the case when you talked about the economy. You said that the economy has turned. We don’t know if there’s a cost savings here. I don’t want to run the risk of not finding some type of a funding mechanism to try to help these folks out, that’s the last thing I want to do, but I just don’t feel that from everything I’ve read and everything I’ve heard that we gave them the option to make that choice from the community.”