Plus, Martinez resident details the pothole from hell as city gives update on efforts to fix its roads; and the lowdown on the huge dirt pile at Pine Meadow
THANK YOU for the refinery update! I remember initially they were only going to have 3 community members but I complained during public comment that would not be nearly enough community seats. In the end it appears there are 5 so I believe they made that change. I know I am at the doorstep of the refinery and always have been, living in Mt. View all my life and one other member said he was smack up against the refinery ("wall") itself. So at least there are two of us in extremely close proximity and speaking for myself, experienced the full impact of the fallout, and am within an alarming closeness of these flaring's. I also never before saw a flare like that and a couple that happened soon afterward (that we were told were unrelated to the initial flaring incident). But you bring up a great point, where do the others actually live in relationship to the events. (?) I can say that each member introduced themselves and their reason for being on the committee, and seems like there are the usual experts (fire dept) as well as a union employee from the refinery (safety insight, etc.). I was pleased that the group is very interested in accelerating the process for answers and solutions. And I too am immensely concerned about the lack of levels of warnings, that should optimally alert us of ANYTHING because we deserve to know, and I want more than one type of siren for each level. Ms. Heath is doing a really good job of explaining and helping accommodate this committee. I'm very impressed with her abilities! (Frankly, I thought you were very knowledgeable and hoped you would apply yourself! Good to know you are in the neighborhood with us!) The meetings for the Risk Assessment Committee (Thursdays 3-4:30) on zoom allow for public to attend and have public comment at the end of the meeting. As a result of public comment at the last meeting, our first meeting, we changed a vote on the number of public input events that would be taking place. I supported the two community members who voiced their concern on this particular area we were discussing. All results from reports will be heard at City Council and County Supervisor meetings for additional public input as well.
Thanks for the feedback and insights. Please feel free to keep us updated here on how things progress with the committee. I think I speak for everyone who lives near the refinery when I say we all hope the committee's work leads to accountability and a safer refinery for the community.
Absolutely! This is a great place to share! Right now we have released the RFP for a consulting firm to do a deep dive into all the refinery examinations, and of course we won be allowed to know things protected as company secrets but it should be soon that we have more info!
Craig, once again, you are a wealth of information. There was an environmental scientist who applied to be on the committee. He was rejected. There was an attorney and she too, was rejected. I am very happy Chey was selected but there should have been more of a concentration from the Mtn View and downtown people.
Here’s my thought: Mrn View is not annexed into the city of Martinez, therefore, the residents there cannot vote for mayor or city council. They are “stuck” with county services. Their only representative in the case of the refinery is Glover. Had he or his staff perused the map, as you did, they’d know that their selection of people was flawed. I believe Bri and staff erred. I do want to say that Bri has been very responsive, however.
I agree with everything you say here, Marlene. As I said in the post, this unfortunate situation could have been avoided had the county (and Glover's office) simply restricted the applicant pool to residents from areas that are actually "neighbors" of the refinery and are most impacted by its operations. That said, I could see where the county had to be careful about selecting members who haven't already passed judgement on the refinery and/or want to see it shut down in the wake of this incident; some level of objectivity and diversity of perspectives/backgrounds is important. But I think they could have still achieved that with applicants who were or could have been directly impacted by the release.
I hope/think this was probably more of an "oversight" than anything calculated to pick people who weren't as emotionally invested in what happened. But I think residents who were directly impacted by the dust and have spoken out about this issue at multiple meetings in the months since have a right to be frustrated, or even feel snubbed, by the outcome.
I was kind of surprised too that this wasn't mostly community members (as a first requirement) and then other background as a second requirement, but I can't say for sure who lives where so that info might be helpful in this discussion but, yes, I see by the technical issues we have already tackled that it is intended to be sure the deep dive is thorough first and then the solutions will come as continued community outreach (and testing) happens. It's weird to be on a committee of highly tasked member representatives including the tax payers association it happens. But when we introduced ourselves, once to each other offline and then later at the meeting, I found that many seats may be represented by people who, kind of like myself, wear many hats so we bring more than just the "who got hit with it" to the discussion, and yet one of the biggest issues is still "who got hit with it"! LOL
Hi Marlene! Are you saying that two community members from the adjacent area are not enough? (Plus one from Pacheco) There are only so many seats for each category of position on the committee. The City also reviewed the community member seats for agreement with the county on those positions. If they are in or out of the city limits is difficult, the border starts and stops quite often between Bush and Hwy 4-I cant keep up-but the city of Martinez definitely has their own one or two seats, and I don't know who on the committee actually has a inside the city limits address. But reports are outlined to go before the City council (and the public) and before the County (and the public) plus you can attend on zoom to our regular meetings and comment under public comment. I have to say the county does a better job of filling seats and allowing access than the city has a reputation for... https://cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/ So glad to see you here!
THANK YOU for the refinery update! I remember initially they were only going to have 3 community members but I complained during public comment that would not be nearly enough community seats. In the end it appears there are 5 so I believe they made that change. I know I am at the doorstep of the refinery and always have been, living in Mt. View all my life and one other member said he was smack up against the refinery ("wall") itself. So at least there are two of us in extremely close proximity and speaking for myself, experienced the full impact of the fallout, and am within an alarming closeness of these flaring's. I also never before saw a flare like that and a couple that happened soon afterward (that we were told were unrelated to the initial flaring incident). But you bring up a great point, where do the others actually live in relationship to the events. (?) I can say that each member introduced themselves and their reason for being on the committee, and seems like there are the usual experts (fire dept) as well as a union employee from the refinery (safety insight, etc.). I was pleased that the group is very interested in accelerating the process for answers and solutions. And I too am immensely concerned about the lack of levels of warnings, that should optimally alert us of ANYTHING because we deserve to know, and I want more than one type of siren for each level. Ms. Heath is doing a really good job of explaining and helping accommodate this committee. I'm very impressed with her abilities! (Frankly, I thought you were very knowledgeable and hoped you would apply yourself! Good to know you are in the neighborhood with us!) The meetings for the Risk Assessment Committee (Thursdays 3-4:30) on zoom allow for public to attend and have public comment at the end of the meeting. As a result of public comment at the last meeting, our first meeting, we changed a vote on the number of public input events that would be taking place. I supported the two community members who voiced their concern on this particular area we were discussing. All results from reports will be heard at City Council and County Supervisor meetings for additional public input as well.
Thanks for the feedback and insights. Please feel free to keep us updated here on how things progress with the committee. I think I speak for everyone who lives near the refinery when I say we all hope the committee's work leads to accountability and a safer refinery for the community.
Absolutely! This is a great place to share! Right now we have released the RFP for a consulting firm to do a deep dive into all the refinery examinations, and of course we won be allowed to know things protected as company secrets but it should be soon that we have more info!
Correction: Meant to say "Community Warning System" and not "County Warning System" in the second paragraph. Fixed.
Thanks for all your help Craig! Is there somewhere I can find a list of the members who are ON the MRCI Committee??
MRC COMMITTEE LINK: https://cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/
Craig, once again, you are a wealth of information. There was an environmental scientist who applied to be on the committee. He was rejected. There was an attorney and she too, was rejected. I am very happy Chey was selected but there should have been more of a concentration from the Mtn View and downtown people.
Here’s my thought: Mrn View is not annexed into the city of Martinez, therefore, the residents there cannot vote for mayor or city council. They are “stuck” with county services. Their only representative in the case of the refinery is Glover. Had he or his staff perused the map, as you did, they’d know that their selection of people was flawed. I believe Bri and staff erred. I do want to say that Bri has been very responsive, however.
I agree with everything you say here, Marlene. As I said in the post, this unfortunate situation could have been avoided had the county (and Glover's office) simply restricted the applicant pool to residents from areas that are actually "neighbors" of the refinery and are most impacted by its operations. That said, I could see where the county had to be careful about selecting members who haven't already passed judgement on the refinery and/or want to see it shut down in the wake of this incident; some level of objectivity and diversity of perspectives/backgrounds is important. But I think they could have still achieved that with applicants who were or could have been directly impacted by the release.
I hope/think this was probably more of an "oversight" than anything calculated to pick people who weren't as emotionally invested in what happened. But I think residents who were directly impacted by the dust and have spoken out about this issue at multiple meetings in the months since have a right to be frustrated, or even feel snubbed, by the outcome.
I was kind of surprised too that this wasn't mostly community members (as a first requirement) and then other background as a second requirement, but I can't say for sure who lives where so that info might be helpful in this discussion but, yes, I see by the technical issues we have already tackled that it is intended to be sure the deep dive is thorough first and then the solutions will come as continued community outreach (and testing) happens. It's weird to be on a committee of highly tasked member representatives including the tax payers association it happens. But when we introduced ourselves, once to each other offline and then later at the meeting, I found that many seats may be represented by people who, kind of like myself, wear many hats so we bring more than just the "who got hit with it" to the discussion, and yet one of the biggest issues is still "who got hit with it"! LOL
Hi Marlene! Are you saying that two community members from the adjacent area are not enough? (Plus one from Pacheco) There are only so many seats for each category of position on the committee. The City also reviewed the community member seats for agreement with the county on those positions. If they are in or out of the city limits is difficult, the border starts and stops quite often between Bush and Hwy 4-I cant keep up-but the city of Martinez definitely has their own one or two seats, and I don't know who on the committee actually has a inside the city limits address. But reports are outlined to go before the City council (and the public) and before the County (and the public) plus you can attend on zoom to our regular meetings and comment under public comment. I have to say the county does a better job of filling seats and allowing access than the city has a reputation for... https://cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/ So glad to see you here!