I often write about “problems” in our city, so I thought I would recognize a positive move by our city manager, and what Mayor Jenelle Osborne said in a State of the City presentation is “a bright and ambitious future” for Lompoc.
I was skeptical of a decision by the Lompoc City Council to encourage an unlimited number of cannabis operations in our city. But time and the business climate seem to have established some limits on the expansion of the commercialization of this product.
Many have applied for permits, but fewer than half of 30 retail, 16 distribution, and 12 manufacturing applicants opened for business or remain in business.
Noozhawk reported that Mayor Osborne said: “While the cannabis industry helped ease Lompoc’s financial woes, it has not — and cannot — solve the city’s financial challenges with leaders building partnerships to assist in the future. Lompoc spends its cannabis tax proceeds on one-time projects involving public safety and parks.”
While the presentation lacked any specifics concerning the future of the city, there was one presentation that was an excellent way to demonstrate projects that are either underway or recently have been completed.
City Manager Dean Albro prepared a video that showcased several projects including Police Department upgrades and the purchase of new fire apparatus.
One project that’s been discussed at length during council meetings over the past couple of years was a drainage project at the city landfill.
Many decades ago, when the landfill was first placed in a canyon on the west side of town, there were few standards for how to construct a project of this size. The only concern then was to find enough space to contain all the trash the population would generate for the next several decades.
As time went on the federal and state regulatory community discovered that water draining through a landfill carried with it some toxic substances and over time mixed with organic matter created methane gas.
Something had to be done, so engineers developed plans to divert water around the site and/or impound it on site.
What is collected on-site allows “suspended solids” in the water to settle in a pond. It is probably just dirt, but periodic testing is done to make sure the residue is under regulatory limits for hazardous waste before disposing of it.
The video gave the viewer a bird’s-eye view of the size and scope of this project, and I must say it was impressive.
Another project that almost no one clearly understands is how Lompoc gets its power. The city is part owner of the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA). The primary source for power generation uses geothermal energy created by using treated wastewater effluent to create steam from below the earth’s surface.
The video visited one of the power plants . The plant manager said the NCPA is exploring ways to use hydrogen extracted from the same treated wastewater to replace natural gas, which is sometimes used to augment geothermal energy.
Using drinking water will not be required for this project.
This is in the very early stages of planning, and many issues must be resolved, but the video gave you a visual image of the size of one of the power plants.
Lastly were the parks; the Noozhawk article featured one photo of a new playground, but there were several playgrounds constructed using grants; a city park that was completely renovated; and some projects to begin much needed rejuvenation of Ryon Park.
The video visited several locations, all of which have been presented in staff discussions at City Council meetings and written reports.
After viewing this video, I was impressed by how the city is spending our tax and utility fee dollars. While some of these projects were not glamorous or jaw dropping experiences, all were important to the quality of life in Lompoc.
Even though each project has been described in written staff reports and discussed in public meetings, those reports cannot convey the scope of a project as well as a video presentation. It’s been said that a picture is worth 1,000 words; in this case, a video is worth a million.
References:
Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne Says City’s Future Is ‘Bright and Ambitious’ | Local News | Noozhawk
Video of City projects: Lompoc Valley State of the City Video 2024 (youtube.com)
