It didn’t take me long after being elected to serve that I fully realized the significance of having five of us sitting on the dais. Five is not only an odd number which settles issues with a democratic majority but it also provides our local system of government with the collective education and life experience of five different elected individuals.
Five different hard working individuals from varying backgrounds who all want the same thing. The common denominator that drives us as an elected body is to do what is in the best interest of Foster City. I sometimes question the rationale of my colleague’s decisions and I’ve no doubt they often question mine. That is our system of democracy.
We listen, we voice our opinions, we listen some more and if necessary we seek out a compromise. In the end we decide with a vote. Sometimes our votes are questioned by our constituents. Let’s face it, we cannot please everyone and how we vote will on occasion be questioned by those who do not agree. The one thing, however, I have never questioned or even doubted for a minute is the unanimous desire of this elected body to serve our town to the very best of our ability.
This brings me to a recent issue involving our differing points of view with respect to certain policies. We recently decided by a 3-2 vote to place four experimental floating solar powered machines, called Solarbees, in our lagoon. The purpose of these machines is to clean the water by adding oxygen. The expectation is that if these four provide substantive benefit then the City will be adding 12 more throughout the lagoon system.
The initial cost for this experiment is $75,000. The full purchase price, based upon results of these four, would be another $700,000. The buzz being generated because of these Solarbees is the result of the clarion call from the community who questions why they are in our lagoons to begin with. This was not a unanimous decision but it was without question a democratic decision. A decision made that was believed to be in the best interest of the City. As a matter of public record the final vote was; Cox, Frisella, Koelling for and Kiramis and Wykoff against.
The reason that I did not vote in favor of this experiment is three fold. The first being that, while the Solarbees in practical theory help clean bodies of water, is this really how we want to do so in Foster City? The second being the highest and best use of our lagoon system, that is recreation. With the exception of a couple of defunct buoys in the lake off Ryan Park years ago, Foster City has never had anything in our lagoon system other than water and water craft.
I have already heard from several community members who have had close calls involving near collisions with these machines whose 8’ foot arms barely clear the water’s surface. At what point do we assign a dollar value to the potential danger to our citizenry with the $75,000 already spent for the four test units.
The last and probably one of my biggest concerns is that the Solarbees constitute a perception of blight on our lagoon system. I have visited the homes of several members of our community who have the Solarbees floating adjacent to their waterfront homes and I have a difficult time answering their one question. Do you know what these things are doing to the value of my property? Unfortunately I believe I know the answer.
Beyond the issue of blight, the Solarbees constitute a potential disclosure issue for every waterfront homeowner who ever plans on selling their home. Why? Because any material issue concerning the impact on the value of real property must be disclosed to a potential buyer. We are only kidding ourselves if we subscribe to the belief that a potential sixteen Solarbees in our lagoon measuring 16’ across with solar reflector panels will not impact the value of waterfront property. If the value of waterfront property is impacted then what happens to non-waterfront property?
We currently harvest the widgeon weeds and other marine growth with a Public Works boat geared for this purpose. The chemicals used are safer on the environment than those used in the past to keep our lagoons clean. This system seems to work well and we have had no issues with the Regional Water Control Board in terms of returning the water back into the bay with the same clarity in which we drew it to begin with. Given the grave concerns of the community and the uncertain expectations of the Solarbees, I believe that our existing method of managing the lagoon makes good sense. I would like to hear your comments.
I hope to see you at my Sunday meetings between 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M at the Council Chambers. You can stop by and ask questions or voice concerns or discuss any matter you have on your mind.
If you have any questions or remarks you wish heard before then please feel free to call me at 650-394-2316 or e-mail me at jkiramis@fostercity.org.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you.
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