RB Community Council Recap: Government Relations/Utilities

The Rancho Bernardo Community Council is a 20 member, all volunteer organization which deals with all the quality of life issues in the community. One of the subcommittees is the Government Relations/Utilities Committee, chaired by Guy Cargulia. It presently has seven Rancho Bernardo Community Council members on it. Below is a summary of what the committee focused on from June 2010 through May 2011.

The Government Relations/Utilities Committee has had a busy year taking on assignments and reviewing issues in a number of areas. One of primary concern has been water management. The committee proposed to the  Rancho Bernardo Community Council that an ad-hoc water committee be formed, and the Council overwhelmingly agreed. Estelle Wolf was appointed chair of the ad-hoc committee. The water committee’s mission statement was to investigate water conservation practices, recycled water and new water supplies. This ad-hoc committee consisted of four Community Council members as well as several residents from different areas of the community. Representatives from the city of San Diego made presentations to the committee regarding water usage, conservation efforts and recycling updates. The committee is presently meeting quarterly and on an as-needed basis.

The city of San Diego is going from eight city council districts to nine. Presently, Rancho Bernardo is in the fifth council district. Communities across San Diego are in the process or have made presentations to the redistricting commission as to their wishes. The Government Relations/Utilities committee was approached by the Rancho Peñasquitos Town Council to join them  and other areas in working together to formulate a suggestion for a district. Committee members attended meetings with representatives of Rancho Peñasquitos and other areas to work on a viable plan for a district. This culminated in a plan which was approved by the entire Community Council. Robin Kaufman, council president, submitted a letter to Ms. Midori Wong, chair of the city redistricting committee, indicating the same.

Other issues that have come before the Government Relations/Utilities Committee are: E-Waste recycling, wherein the county has recycling bins at their office, but the city does not. This item is still being investigated. Another item being looked into is the lack of implementation of law AB 920, home energy use net compensation, for energy flowing to the grid. The Committee has tabled studying adding fluoride to our drinking water awaiting revision to the federal government guidelines. A new issue is high speed rail's impact on Rancho Bernardo, which is sure to become a topic of interest for all residents of Rancho Bernardo.

This has been an exciting and rewarding year for the Government Relations/ Utilities committee. We look forward to continuing to serve our community.