Removing Foster from ALUC "Would Look Suspicious"
John Foster, chairman for the ALUC, survived his appointment during the meeting of the Solano County Mayors on January 16, 2008. According to the Vacaville Reporter, the decision to remove him was delayed. mayor Elizabeth Patterson(Benecia) and others sad they were weary of making a decision based only on the accusations that Foster acted inappropriately at an ALUC meeting. Four of the seven Mayors "were concerned about making a decision without evidence of misconduct". Dixon Mayor Mary Ann Courville said that "removing Foster may look suspicious". "To me, it looks too close to a Wal-Mart decision." Jane Day, Suisun City's vice mayor did move to remove Foster during the meeting. The motion was recalled after hearing about the other Mayor's questions. "As much as you (Day) are telling me it isn't retaliation, it's preceived that way to the public" said Courville.
Mary Ann Courville, you are right on. This entire action stinks of political micromanagement of an appointed advisory panel. We did find out that our original thought that the removal of John Foster would possibly bring a close to the effectiveness of the ALUC. ALUC vice chair John Kakacek, according to the Reporter, said that "if the politicians get rid of Foster, I'm going to resign. I don't want to be a part of a Mickey Mouse organization that is controlled by political outsiders because they don't like our decisions."
You can make a difference about the direction of this action. Please contact your city Mayors and County Supervisors and tell them what you think. Contact information can be found in the right border.
On top of all this is the document from CalTrans advising the Suisun City planners that they agree with the findings of the ALUC on the Wal-Mart issue. That document does not support the actions of mayors Augustine, Sanchez and Price. To give John Foster the boot would not look good for them. You can view the findings of the CalTrans Aeronautics div. below. Your comments?
Caltrans letter to Suisun City
January 27, 2008
The Reporter's Danny Bernardini reported on Suisun City's upcoming decision to overide, or not, the ruling of the ALUC on the Wal-Mart issue. He sites the economic reasoning, the close to 1 Million, year after year, of revenue to that city. He doesn't do justice to the safety issue though. The Caltrans letter above, states that there are wide responsibilities that are transfered to those that overule a land use commission. This particular news article sites a comment by Suzanne Bragdon, City Manager for Suisun City. She maintains that there are no conflicts between the EIR (environmental impact report) and the Travis Air Base Land Use Compatibility Plan. My guess is that Ms. Bragdon either doesn't realize what those two documents are for or that she is using the acronyms as a smoke screen for the public. The Land use compatibility plan is concerned about public safety as well as the long term health of the economic center called TAFB. The EIR is concerned with the habitat, water, species etc. To use these two documents to support a future Suisun City Council's overule of the ALUC's ruling is a staff error in guiding the council. I hope the elected officials understand that. Your comments?
Mary Ann Courville, you are right on. This entire action stinks of political micromanagement of an appointed advisory panel. We did find out that our original thought that the removal of John Foster would possibly bring a close to the effectiveness of the ALUC. ALUC vice chair John Kakacek, according to the Reporter, said that "if the politicians get rid of Foster, I'm going to resign. I don't want to be a part of a Mickey Mouse organization that is controlled by political outsiders because they don't like our decisions."
You can make a difference about the direction of this action. Please contact your city Mayors and County Supervisors and tell them what you think. Contact information can be found in the right border.
On top of all this is the document from CalTrans advising the Suisun City planners that they agree with the findings of the ALUC on the Wal-Mart issue. That document does not support the actions of mayors Augustine, Sanchez and Price. To give John Foster the boot would not look good for them. You can view the findings of the CalTrans Aeronautics div. below. Your comments?
Caltrans letter to Suisun City
January 27, 2008
The Reporter's Danny Bernardini reported on Suisun City's upcoming decision to overide, or not, the ruling of the ALUC on the Wal-Mart issue. He sites the economic reasoning, the close to 1 Million, year after year, of revenue to that city. He doesn't do justice to the safety issue though. The Caltrans letter above, states that there are wide responsibilities that are transfered to those that overule a land use commission. This particular news article sites a comment by Suzanne Bragdon, City Manager for Suisun City. She maintains that there are no conflicts between the EIR (environmental impact report) and the Travis Air Base Land Use Compatibility Plan. My guess is that Ms. Bragdon either doesn't realize what those two documents are for or that she is using the acronyms as a smoke screen for the public. The Land use compatibility plan is concerned about public safety as well as the long term health of the economic center called TAFB. The EIR is concerned with the habitat, water, species etc. To use these two documents to support a future Suisun City Council's overule of the ALUC's ruling is a staff error in guiding the council. I hope the elected officials understand that. Your comments?
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