I have too much to cover in the half-hour remaining to finish this column, so I’ll have to be brief.
City Manager Tom Ristau has resigned and has been hired by the City of San Fernando. He is the third high-level city employee to abandon ship since the new triumvirate has taken over city hall. Tom was with the city for 19 years, and city manager for about 5 years.
Sometimes criticized for various decisions, especially by the Gazette, Tom, nevertheless, leaves an enviable record for fiscal responsibility. How many California cities, of whatever size, can brag about having more than a 40 percent SURPLUS in the general fund these days? That’s what the record is expected to show this year. Tom also supervised the planning and construction of our beautiful new swimming-tennis complex, which is ready to open any day now.
Congratulations Tom. We wish you much success in your new position.
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I wish I had time to elaborate in my response to Councilwoman Gayle Washburn’s letter which appears in this week’s Gazette. I did take the time to review emails between Ms. Washburn and myself which pertain to her arguments in favor of other water treatment facilities. I went back to early 2007, covering about 50 communications. This exercise only corroborates my conclusion that Ms. Washburn is far too long on confident proposals and far too short on comprehension of critical facts.
I am alarmed after re-reading the pedantic assertions she repeats over and over again in the face of solid, repeated explanations by experts which completely refute her mistaken conclusions. This habit of mind continues to clog the normal flow of dialogue at council meetings. Coupled with the stupefying, negative antics of Councilman Brooks (Mr. No), it’s not surprising that meetings have gone well into the wee hours of the morning, even when covering short agendas.
Ms. Washburn, I would be happy to post the entire content of 2-years-worth of emails between you and me, covering the topic of our new water treatment plant, if it takes that to prove my point. Maybe I will anyway. It would prove beyond a doubt that you (and your followers) have been foolish, and woefully ignorant, and fundamentally wrong in your insistence that City Engineer Bert Rapp has made a mistake in choosing the companies he has to design, build, and operate our plant. Maybe more to the point, you and yours have caused more than a years delay with plant approval and construction, which cost the city more than $1 million in wasted time and effort.
This reminds me of the utterly false statements your group leader, Gary Creagle, has made concerning the fiscal condition of the city immediately following his tenure as mayor of Fillmore. There appears to be no credibility in your group. Maybe it’s time for a little show and tell?