A proposed $160 million tax assessment for dam repairs and deferred maintenance at two Monterey County-owned reservoirs is moving ahead, with a pair of public workshops planned in the next several weeks and a vote tentatively set to start in late March if the Board of Supervisors ultimately gives the go-ahead, according to a county water official.
“We’re moving quickly,” county Water Resources Agency general manager Brent Buche said on Thursday.
At the same time, Buche told The Herald on Thursday that while staff believes all $145 million in proposed Lake San Antonio and Lake Nacimiento reservoir dam repairs are required to restore the facilities to full function, only a new $60 million dam spillway at San Antonio is actually required to meet a state Division of Safety of Dams’ November 2024 deadline, which has been touted as a key rationale for the need to fast-track the proposed tax.
Some critics of the tax, including Supervisor Luis Alejo, have questioned the scope and cost of the assessment, with Alejo pointing out that initial cost estimates made early last year were considerably lower while arguing that pursuing funding for the dam repairs alone would almost certainly scuttle the long-planned $144 million Interlake Tunnel and its chances of securing local tax funding.
Meanwhile, county officials announced this week that an initial public workshop on the proposed dam repair tax assessment will be held on Jan. 31 at 9 a.m. at the Agricultural Center conference room, 1432 Abbott St. in Salinas.
A notice about the workshop called the county-owned reservoirs “vital to our water supply for domestic drinking water and agricultural irrigation water,” as well as flood control, and pointed out that the reservoir facilities are “aging and in need of rehabilitation and maintenance for improved safety, compliance and functionality,” prompting consideration of the tax assessment, which would be paid by Salinas Valley property owners in an area called Zone 2C.
The workshop will include an overview of the needed repair work, including an estimated $69 million in work at Lake San Antonio including the spillway and $76 million in work at Lake Nacimiento, according to the notice, as well as a variety of estimated annual assessment costs.
A second tax assessment workshop is set for Feb. 20.
Buche said the plan is to seek approval for the tax assessment proposal from the county board on March 24, though water agency finance manager Fabricio Chombo said it could go to the board as early as mid-February. Buche said the assessment vote could then be conducted from March 26 to June 9 using mail ballots with two protest hearings to be scheduled during that period.
