The County of San Luis Obispo has no public relations or communication skills. The dire lack of effort on the County’s end to actively provide updates and respond to misconceptions has led some in the community to operate in disarray and confusion.
Every Tuesday morning and afternoon, a small group of grizzled veterans from Los Osos appear before the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, furiously attempting to sway the board’s actions and opinions on the sewer project. In spite of the supervisors’ ritualistic response of deafening silence, the same people continue to criticize the project without direction and clarity — which is more a reflection on the County than on the citizens. In addition to the outcry, speakers are left to drawing premature conclusions that undermine their own message because the County has failed to fill in the void of information.
Though County Public Works’ concept of the Los Osos wastewater project is inspired by MWH Americas’ ill-fated project from 2005, the County has not yet selected MWH as the contractor for the current project’s treatment and collection systems. Orenco Systems identified the County as an important stakeholder that would have to be motivated to work with STEP/STEG collection. After abruptly excluding that technology on April 7, 2009 and significantly exaggerating the consequences of its installation, the County has proved to Los Osos that they are thoroughly unwilling to add STEP/STEG back to the design-build process. Though the August 5, 2010 news release from the USDA did not include the LOWWP on their list of projects that were qualified to receive loan and grant funding, Razor Online has determined that the loan application is still being processed and considered.
The County has not actively disclosed this information.
Despite the facts and the circumstances, the same group of speakers continue to approach the podium to vent their frustrations while the supervisors roll their eyes and pretend that the agony — that they set in motion — does not exist. One supervisor in particular takes it one step further. 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson invokes his argumentum ad populum defense during office hours, claiming that the outrage received is insignificant because most of the community supports the County’s efforts. In more ways than one, the supervisors have made it painstakingly clear that they want nothing to do with a conversation that they should be having with the community. However, if they were to take their fiduciary duties seriously, they would not only be engaging in the conversation, but they would also be vigilant in clearing up misconceptions.
That hasn’t happened. Instead, they subject the community of Los Osos to an elaborate rat maze with no way out and no cheese.
If total costs for the project were to stay at current rates or increase, the Los Osos wastewater project would become the most expensive public infrastructure project per capita in the history of California at $181+ million. Despite this shocking news, the County of San Luis Obispo has turned a blind eye while feigning compassion. Theoretically, this so-called “compassion” should translate into frequent project updates instead of updates being delivered on a “We won’t tell you anything unless we think it’s important” basis. Given the history-setting cost precedent that this project is making, demanding answers and getting them should be common practice. That would be a given, right?
Wrong, according to the County.
As a result of the County stubbornness to refuse frequent updates on the wastewater project, many people are left to dissect table scraps of information and draw conclusions that require clarification. Ignoring frustrations and concerns from Los Osos property owners, vocal supporters of the County project have descended on the “obstructionists,” regularly unleashing hackneyed criticism. The “obstructionists” — who are illogically portrayed as people who don’t want to pay for any sewer — are often criticized for approaching the podium and asking for answers that they rarely receive. If public speakers are lucky enough, Chairman Frank Mecham will request Public Works to answer, but not before implying that the inquiring public is delusional: “We’ve answered many of these questions before — and some of you don’t like the answers we give — so we’ll provide answers as best as we possibly can.” The answers provided by County Public Works yield information that requires more questions for clarity purposes. At times, they’ll even spice things up with a provocative response, such as comments made by Public Works Accounting and Budgeting Director Will Clemens on July 27: “Where’s the outrage?”
Egregious political spin is not a valid response.
Beside the people who regularly speak every Tuesday, there are many others devoted to making sure that they can live in a town with a sewer that is sustainable and economically reasonable. By now, the County should realize that they are not only speaking to meeting attendees, but to those in the Prohibition Zone who are paying attention. If someone has a question about the LOWWP, answer it. They are entitled to one. They are the ones paying for the project, not the disconnected Board of Supervisors. At this critical juncture of the process, there’s no reason to stay silent. There’s no reason to idle. There’s no reason to be disingenuous and impertinent. If you can’t respond objectively to questions, then the people of Los Osos can easily draw two conclusions: (1) you don’t know the answer because your incompetence exceeds your bravado and (2) you should resign.
– Aaron Ochs
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