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Brentwood Press - DiscoveryBayPress_10.10.08 - Index

OCTOBER 10, 2008 COMMUNITY BRENTWOODPRESS.COM | 25A
Suit from page 1A
the law and is unable to agree to enact a
resolution as requested by your client,”
said Balestracci in a letter dated Oct. 1 to
Richardson’s attorney, Karl Molineux. “I
have been authorized by the Board to offer
a request for dismissal with prejudice
as an alternative to the settlement offer by
your client.”
CSD President Shannon Murphy-
Teixeira, on advice from counsel, said she
could not comment on pending litigation.
To date, the CSD has spent over $90,000
defending the lawsuit.
Copies of the settlement proposal
were made available at the Oct. 1 regular
CSD meeting, and its contents were addressed
during the meeting’s public comment
period.
Debate from page 1A
“I am here tonight because Terri Tonge and Carol
Jackson asked me if I would moderate a forum for the
candidates,” she said. “All of the questions asked by me
are wholly from me. I have written them myself and no
one else has seen them.”
Vorderbrueggen began with a question about the
pending lawsuit against the CSD and whether or not it
should be settled.
“I’m not privy to the details (of the suit) so I don’t
know whether its fair or not,” said Finetti. “But just as
easy as it would be for the board to drop the lawsuit, so
could he (Richardson).”
“The key things to remember are that he (Richardson)
wants them (the board) to sign an agreement to
which they have already sworn to uphold the laws,” said
Doran. “Richardson has cost the Discovery Bay residents
nearly a hundred thousand dollars in legal costs.”
Simon disagreed. “Mr. Richardson has not cost
the residents a penny,” he said. “The CSD has cost the
residents a hundred thousand dollars (by refusing to
settle).”
There were fl ashes of humor as well. “Let’s move on
to the other non-controversial issue in Discovery Bay:
the sewage spill,” said Vorderbrueggen, referring to the
recent accident in the Lakeshore development and the
CSD’s handling of the incident.
“This was a fi asco from the get-go,” said Tetrault.
“Basically it was the failure of the vendor, Southwest
Water, to properly police that.”
“I agree that the CSD should have done more and
could have done more,” said Finetti. “I don’t think
there’s any question about that.”
“The CSD should have had a contingency plan in
place,” said Simon. “When their feet were held to the
fi re, all of a sudden they jump up and down and say
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“We invited you (CSD) to negotiate
a settlement,” wrote Richardson. “All you
had to do was pass a resolution to approve
it (the terms) but you didn’t. There
wasn’t even a reported counteroffer. This
is malfeasance on your part, and those
of you who voted to reject it should be
ashamed.”
Resident Jeff Barber had equally
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“ I just don’t think it’s right for the CSD to lie down.
Sometimes you have to stand up for what is right and
that’s what they are doing.
”
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harsh words for the CSD and one director
in particular. “I think you haven’t listened
to the public (regarding the settlement
of the suit) and you continue to waste
the public’s money,” Barber said. “You
haven’t negotiated in good faith, and if
you lose, I’m going to suggest that David
Piepho resign immediately.”
Several community members ex-
they’re going to do something about it.”
While in general agreement on the spill issue, the
candidates disagreed on the topic of growth.
“We’re a CSD – we’re not a city – so I understand
that our tax revenues don’t come directly back to Discovery
Bay,” said Finetti. “But it does come back in a
fashion. I think if we have businesses here in Discovery
Bay, it will attract more homebuyers, and I don’t think
anyone will disagree that we need more homebuyers here
… If we want to eventually become a city, we have to attract
more businesses to develop a tax base.”
“I’m certainly for some new businesses; however, I
would like to point out that the tax revenue never comes
back to Discovery Bay,” said Tetrault. “The money goes
to the county, no doubt about it, and we won’t get money
like that until we’re a city – and frankly, I don’t want
to be a city right now.”
There were also varying opinions about developing
a working relationship between the CSD and the school
district. Doran and Finetti were for a collaboration, Simon
and Tetrault said they were as well, but cautioned
that the primary job of the CSD is to provide water,
sewer and recreation to the community.
“That has got to be our main mission,” said Tetrault.
Things got a little more heated toward the end of
the evening when Vorderbrueggen brought up the town’s
strained history with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s
Offi ce over the appropriate level of police services in
Discovery Bay.
“I’m a member of the Sheriff’s Municipal Advisory
Committee (SMAC) and have been since its inception,”
said Tetrault, “and I believe the sheriff is doing everything
he can to provide services to this community.”
“We did go for a P-district in 1994 and it failed …
pressed support for the board. “I just
don’t think it’s right for the CSD to lie
down,” said Chris Finetti. “Sometimes
you have to stand up for what is right and
that’s what they are doing.”
“I have this feeling that no matter
what happens, you’ll never be able to satisfy
Mr. Richardson,” said Mike Welch.
If either side is unsuccessful today,
the case will go to trial on Nov. 10 in Superior
Court in Martinez.
At least one resident is hoping it
won’t come to that. “Mr. Richardson is
free to drop this lawsuit at any time,” said
Bob Mankin. “This whole thing is getting
ridiculous.”
For links to information related to this
story, go to www.brentwoodpress.com.
It’s not easy. People out here don’t seem to want to let
go of any money at all,” said Doran. “And by the way:
there is no Sheriff’s Municipal Advisory Committee.
That’s just a little stall tactic he (Sheriff Rupf) is using …
You can’t have one (SMAC) unless it’s an offi cial county
agency.”
“Well, it’s not an offi cial countywide thing,” said
Tetrault, who had to speak over some audience members
who shouted out that they were members of the
sheriff’s group Doran said did not exist. “The sheriff put
it together so he could get input from people … and the
reason he did it is because he got so much grief from the
current county supervisor.”
“I give a damn about Discovery Bay,” said Simon in
his closing statement. “The CSD Board should be commended
for the job they’ve done … but I think it’s time
for a change.”
“I’m prepared to take a stand on the issues,” concluded
Finetti, “and one of the things I’m interested in
doing is ending the negativity and divisiveness that has
torn our community apart.”
“I’m running because I love this town and I want to
keep it small,” said Tetrault. “I’m for small growth and
managed growth.”
“I’ve been here a long time,” said Doran. “And all
in all, the place is in pretty good shape … I think if the
people of Discovery Bay want me here, fi ne. I think Jennifer
(Finetti) is just what the board needs, and if one of
us has to lose, I hope it’s me.”
The candidate’s forum can be viewed in its entirety
at www.niacreative.com/debate/debate.mov.
The candidates also appeared in a televised round
table earlier in the month, which can be seen on Comcast
Cable channel 24 at 11 p.m. on the following dates:
Oct. 12, 19, 21, 26, 30 and Nov. 2.