I received great questions from one of our neighbors who watched the Marina Mayor Candidate Forum and recognized some topics were not covered!
Sharing my responses below:
DESALINATION
I support the city’s position against CalAm’s desalination project, but I'm concerned about their litigation strategy (particularly around costs). In the event CalAm is fully approved by the Coastal Commission and has the backing of the State of California, we should revise our litigation strategy to not risk getting sued for blocking them and instead use our legal resources to be watchful of the design/build process to call out violations of components that should be included in the design of something of this magnitude - No pumping groundwater otherwise what’s the point of desalination and not to mention the drawdown impact on our aquifers. It also needs saltwater intrusion protection otherwise it’s a leaky water bucket situation. And it needs to include a water recycling component, much like the Pure Water Monterey project, that way there’s less dependence on desalination and it’s more a complementary or backup source for times of drought.
ICE
Marina needs to abide by the law and nothing but the law. Any cases that would be considered a true threat to our personal safety would be covered under the law and we should cooperate immediately with law enforcement to protect our community’s safety. Anything beyond that crosses the line into managing immigration and that should be addressed by immigration reform and protecting our borders more effectively.
FLOCK CAMERAS
I don’t support the use of flock cameras as that’s more about control than public safety. However if there is a mandate from the state or federal government, then we need to comply with the law and release the information requested, but nothing beyond that as that would be a violation of privacy for Marina residents.
MST SURF LINE
We can't change how funds were allocated, or the work that's already been done, but we can make the best of what we have by properly executing on the remaining pieces. For starters, the MST Surf line should reach Downtown Monterey, even if it's broken up into two pieces, with a 2nd bus line from Sand City to Monterey to remain an express service for commuters. Otherwise you loose a big portion of the commuter demand, making it a less viable alternative for daily commuters, and risk being seen as poorly allocated resources by the public eye. What it does have going for itself is the fact that it has its own lane from Marina to Sand City, which makes for a great alternative transportation option during commute hours, but in order to be successful on that front it needs to have a reliable express service matching commute hours/demand for service, and people need to feel safe while riding it (well lit bus stops, no sketchy people, etc).
DATA CENTERS
No thank you! Not just because it puts a huge strain on our resources, but also because AI providers need to run more efficiently and prioritize requests better so their existing data center footprint is sufficient to meet their growing needs. However if this is pushed on us by the state or federal government, then we have to comply, and just like in the CalAm desalination project, our strategy and resources should be spent not on fighting an uphill battle but on watching over the design/build process to call out violations of components that should be included in the design of something of this magnitude - No tapping into our groundwater or freshwater resources, which means they can only use gray/recycled water and reuse it as much as possible. They also have to rely on their own renewable energy sources and minimize their dependence on our electric grid (backup power only). Obviously no toxic waste dumping! And they must be as far away as possible from our built environment so that it doesn’t impact our community’s wellbeing and affect property value.