SQUIDFRY 10.13.16: Break Downs…

BREAK DOWNS… In these times of political discord, Squid loves fantasy worlds even more than usual, and luckily, the recent debut of HBO’s new show Westworld is hitting just the right spot.

Unfortunately it only comes on once a week, so there are six days in between episodes where Squid must find fantasy elsewhere. Working in Seaside, however, has made that easy. Let’s start with a political mailer Squid’s colleague received from the Seaside-based group Citizens for Transparency in Government, and which endorses Seaside’s incumbent elected officials – Mayor Ralph Rubio and councilmembers Dave Pacheco and Ian Oglesby. Thing is, this “transparent” group does not list its ID number with the Fair Political Practices Commission on the mailer, so you don’’t know who paid for it.

But Seaside’s biggest fantasy of all remains Monterey Downs, the proposed mega-development on the former Fort Ord that would replace a forest of some 30,000 coast live oak trees with single family homes, a horse park (and eventually, perhaps, a horse track), two hotels and a commercial center named “Country Walk,” which is what outdoor enthusiasts do on the project site daily. And the project’s day of reckoning is finally here: On Oct. 13, Seaside City Council is set to decide whether to certify the project’s environmental impact report – which shows the project has a woefully inadequate water supply, among other things – and adopt its specific plan. Before Squid gets to that meeting though, Squid needs to address the council’s Oct. 5 meeting about the project.

By Seaside City Manager Craig Malin’s count, 44 people spoke in support of the project and 32 spoke against it. Among its supporters – many of whom are horse enthusiasts and not residents of Seaside – were 24 student athletes from Seaside High, as well as Ken Fitro, their swim coach, who asked the council to approve the project, which he said would include an Olympic-size swimming pool. The students, for their part, also asked for approval, and all said this phrase: “I am the future of Seaside.” Well, let’s hope that they, and their coach, improve their research skills. After the comments ended, Pacheco asked Downs developer Brian Boudreau if he would build such a pool.

“The developer will be providing the land,” Boudreau said, “but [the city] would have to raise the funding to build the rest.” Squid did some analysis: He would give the public land that is presently publicly-owned, then invite the public to pay for its pool. A generous offer indeed.

Nonetheless, despite the project’s myriad flaws, and the certainty the city will get sued if council approves the plan and environmental documents, come Oct. 13, Squid bets the council will approve it, lawsuits be damned.

In Seaside, fantasy becomes reality.