Residents express opposition to proposed water capture facility

Interesting strategy - the Council had two site options and they turned down the first before getting any citizen input on the second.

And now they state that the citizens don't have an option.

Actually the Town turned down a far better option:
"Atherton's City Council voted Aug. 1 to drop plans to install an underground drainage facility at Las Lomitas School and instead to explore putting the equipment — meant to filter runoff heading to the San Francisco Bay and help control flooding — underground at Holbrook-Palmer Park.
The town was unable to come to an agreement with the Las Lomitas Elementary School District, although district officials said they had spent two years trying to find a way to make the project work.

The town had planned to take advantage of a district construction project to put the drainage basin under school property.

$13.6 million grant

Atherton has been offered a $13.6 million Caltrans-administered grant that would pay the total costs of designing and installing a facility that, in addition to providing flood prevention, would filter contaminants from water before releasing it to flow to the Bay.

But town officials have worried that the town won't be able to afford to pay the annual maintenance costs of the facility."

And now the Town still does not know what will be the annual maintenance costs will be and the Town will also have to disrupt the park to install this facility - go figure!

From the 1 Aug minutes:

".. having a water capture facility at the park would give the Town more control."

So in order to have MORE CONTROL the Council is willing to disrupt the park for almost two years, potentially add the cost of an new access bridge and still incur the same maintenance costs that it would have had if this facility had been built at Los Lomitas!

All of this for MORE CONTROL?

This is the same Council that wants to CONTROL Caltrain, CONTROL the Library JPA and CONTROL the Fire District.

This proposal is bad for Holbrook-Palmer Park. This project is bad for the people who use the park. This project is bad for the finances of the town. Complete the testing and design of this albatross and then say no this expensive to build, expensive to operate project and avoid ruining the our park, the jewel of Atherton. There are much better, more rational and efficient solutions. Think regional.

The Town authorized, in October of 2017, $165,000 for a study on the Bayfront Canal and Atherton Channel Flood Management and Restoration Project. This is a regional plan, with Redwood City, San Mateo County, and Menlo Park all contributing additional funds for this $1,000,000 study. This seems to make a lot more sense than going it alone, not only for monetary purposes but for the additional scientific and engineering resources available to this larger consortium. Rest assured, after Caltrans kicks in their money and essentially buys part of the Park, they will wash their hands of it, and leave any residual issues and problems solely to the Town.