Prior to the opening of the ballots for the formation of an assessment district for the Yucca Valley sewer project, the Hi-Desert Water District Board of Directors held a public hearing yesterday morning, in which residents could ask questions about the assessment district. Most of the comments made by residents in the overflow crowd during the very contentious hearing were about the fear of losing their homes due to the assessments, and complaints that the assessments were higher than the value of their vacant land. Managing editor Tami Roleff was there when the ballots were tabulated and says the voters overwhelmingly supported forming an assessment district…
Yucca Valley voters overwhelmingly passed yesterday a measure to form an assessment district for a sewer project to be built by the Hi-Desert Water District in Yucca Valley. With 4,942 valid ballots returned, the assessment district passed by 72 percent, or $49.1 million to $18.9 million. Each ballot was weighted, based on the property’s proposed assessment value. (The water district mailed out 10,326 ballots. About 10 percent of the ballots returned, or 546, were deemed invalid, because the property owners either did not sign the ballot or did not check a box on the ballot.)
Hi-Desert Water District Board President Bob Stadum congratulated the residents on passing the assessment district. “Wow…. I’m so proud of this community…. It wasn’t a slam dunk.”
The next step is to proceed with getting the construction loan from the state and putting the project out to bid. Jose Angel from the Regional Water Quality Control Board said he would start working today to extend the state deadline for when Yucca Valley has to stop using septic tanks.
The assessments will appear on property tax bills for the next 30 years, tentatively starting in 2017, which is one year prior to the expected completion of the sewer plant.
