Photo and story from the North County Times: Sand deliveries halted to Moonlight Beach
"There just wasn't as much beach-quality sand material at the construction site as hoped, Encinitas city program manager Katherine Weldon said Friday.
See, I'm not just a NIMBY a-hole, sometimes I am right.
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There should be some whooping big fines against the city and Scripps for dumping that crud. Watch the Coastal Commission and the Water Board for further action. The Council, the staff involved, and Scripps officials should be given teaspoons and told to shovel all of the "soil they approved" back into the trucks.
ReplyDeleteThis "sand" sucks. My eyes have never been drier after surfing in it.
ReplyDeleteJP, please tell me you photoshopped that red scar onto Moonlight Beach! Now I've seen everything. What did MB do to deserve this punishment? As if ash tray sand wasn't tuff enough.
ReplyDeleteLooks and feels like dirt to me. I agree with 11:42 we should prosecute anyone involved with putting this mud on our once beautiful beach.
ReplyDeleteI would fire the city manager immediately. He is in charge and responsible for this mess.
I would fire the sand manager. We should have a full time employee making bank waiting for people to come forward and wanting to dump sand on our beaches. If you do want to buy high quality sand, dump the full time staff person and buy the good stuff. The nice sand is what we want, not a full time government tick, sucking up our sand money.
ReplyDeleteUnbeleivable incompetence. It a wonder these fools can get out of bed in the morning. Heads should role, but they won't. Knowing ever changes quickly at the City, especially rotten staff.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the city failed us.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of city managers. The CM in National City makes a lot less than ours, for a clearly more challenging city. Plus, he has willingly taken cuts and forgone raises.
I guess one difference is that he is ambitious and wants to do better, while ours has seemingly stagnated.
Read on:
NATIONAL CITY— National City’s city manager is in the running for the top administrative job in the Central California city of Stockton.
Chris Zapata, who was hired in 2004 and has never taken a pay raise, confirmed yesterday that he is a candidate for the city manager post in Stockton, which is five times the size of National City. He was one of three candidates interviewed over the weekend.
He described Stockton as “a larger community with a very diverse citizenry, with the right mix of potential in terms of its downtown.”
Stockton, with a population of 290,000, is the seat of San Joaquin County, the fifth-largest agricultural county in the United States. Zapata praised the city’s education system, its mix of industry and its proximity to Sacramento.
Zapata said he informed National City’s City Council that he would be traveling to Stockton for the interview. Stockton’s seven-member City Council held a closed-session meeting to interview three candidates, he said. Zapata said he understands there are two additional candidates.
National City Mayor Ron Morrison said city managers typically spend three years at a city. He noted that Zapata has been with the South County city of nearly 60,000 for six years.
“I’ve been around government business long enough to know that these things happen,” Morrison said. “It’s nothing personal. It’s always difficult when you go through these kinds of processes, but it also can be an opportunity. I’m not holding anything against him. If he didn’t get accepted, that doesn’t change a thing.”
Zapata has been paid $165,000 a year since he was hired. Five months ago, he agreed to forgo a $750 monthly vehicle allowance and accepted 80 hours of furlough leave. Both cuts were made at Zapata’s request, considering the economic climate.
In 2006, he took a 10 percent pay cut, which was restored six months later. Zapata has received one-time executive bonuses in lieu of pay increases.
He said interviewing with Stockton is not about money.
“When you feel you’ve taken a community to a point where a good team is in place, and that is the case here, and there is an awareness of your opportunities and challenges, and that is here too, you need to take stock of what you will continue to bring to the table,” Zapata said. “That’s the journey I’m on right now.”
The National City has exactly the opposite of Phil Cotton. Thanks for this example of an honorable civil servant.
ReplyDeleteWTF! Are you kidding me? Total FAIL.
ReplyDeleteWho made this decision and who tested the sand? Something seems to have gone very wrong.
ReplyDeleteWho actually authorized this project and who tested the dirt? Seems likes the City got bamboozled (is that a word?)
ReplyDeleteSorry about the double post. Don't know how to take one off. So, I guess I put in 4 cents instead of 2 cents.
ReplyDeleteA good city council and city manager would want to understand what went wrong - to improve in the future, not to assign blame (though that may be good too).
ReplyDeleteBeyond bad. I imagine they stopped it since I don't see the silt plume any longer.
ReplyDeleteI think this experience is an undeniable failure. How about de-channelizing some creeks here in Encinitas and further upstream instead of dumping dirt? We have a tax in place after all.
or just
ReplyDeletehttp://thecoastnews.com/
Just another fuck up by staff, It might as well be dog shit on the beach! Beaches fall under Parks and Rec, Chris Hazeltine is the Director and Cotton is ultimately responsible.
ReplyDeleteThese guys are digging themselves in to a big hole with thier mismanagement. How many times are they going to fuck up before they are held accountable and disciplined.
This is the management pattern I've been talking about. The dog poop is just the icing on the cake with many layers underneath. They continue to expose their mismanagement, incompetence and poor decision making.
Order of action:
1. Force the Council to take action. Write a formal complaint to the City Council against Phil Cotton and Chris Hazeltine voicing your displeasure. E mail them.
2. Contact the Costal Commission and forward them the complaint.
3. Contact the Surf Rider Foundation forward them the complaint.
4. I will contact the State Water Board, they are already investigating the City for their environmental practices and I have the contact.
5. Photo document everything and post a YouTube video.(it really works, we want as many people as possible to see what is happening and YouTube is the conduit. Look what it did for dog poop, people are still viewing it... the poop). Where is the guy with the waterproof video camera? We need you to video the water conditions before it dissipates and the City starts removing the stuff or buries it with new sand. Remember they knee jerk react and coverup.
Lets just add this to the rest of the Park and Rec screw ups.
1. Old Cypress Tree at Roadside Park
2. Orpheus Park Trees removal
3. Poison snail bate at the playgrounds
4. Dog Shit in the sandbox and unsanitary conditions at city parks.
5. Old Hall house demo
6. Shoving baseball diamonds down our throats by a park Director that is an agent of the National Little League Association
7. Not following City Environmental Policy and Municipal Code when related to Storm Water Runoff. (They are getting hammered right now by the EPA)
How much is enough people? This blog alone is not going to change things.
Maybe this dirt on the beach is a diversion while they tear down the Hall House.
ReplyDeleteThese guy's are crooks!!!
I will ask at the Parks and Rec. Commission meeting tonight and see what they say about the sand. Will report back.
ReplyDeleteWell?? Are you beach users and surfers going to march to city hall tomorrow with flaming torches and pitchforks?? It's going to take something on that scale to get their attention.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, the wall of old retired farts on the council, couldn't give a rats ass about the citizens of this city. Understand something, the city will cite you and fine you should they catch you washing your car in the street, yet they can dump DIRT on the beach killing fish and sea life without impunity!!
And you people take it...
Is this dirt any different than the dirt from falling cliffs? It sure looks like the same stuff to me. I guess the arguement about the the cliffs replenishing sand is untrue.
ReplyDeleteGranted it looks pretty red in the photos.
ReplyDeleteHowever, at least they stopped the project rather than dump everything they orginally planned to at Moonlight.
Guys - it is hard to determine exactly what is going to happen with just some samples. You have to try it and see, after making an educated guess.
And if the sand worked, it is a lot more enviromentally friendly to truck it 1/2 mile than longer distances.
But I forgot this Blog is all about being a virtual lynch mob. And you probably all run your own business and have to make hard decisions all day with incomplete data - right?
"Nothing positive - all negative" that is how we roll!
4:01 we just traced your comment and linked it to city hall... Your a city employee.
ReplyDeleteLets guess and experiment on our beaches on the taxpayers expense. That's efficient management.
In our City government it always seems negative with nothing positive, thats the way it seems to roll. I think the city employees are sitting at City hall watching the clock tick closer to their big pension day and do nothing else.
ReplyDelete3:45
ReplyDeleteNobody comes over and dumps a can of red paint on your pearl Lexus, do they? Same thing. Moonlight Beach was vandalized with this dirt dump.
I saw some of that orange-y crap looking sand all the way down near Pipes. I figured that's where it came from. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteTony K,
ReplyDeleteYour opinion
How important is this screw up
How do we get this rectified
Should anyone be held responsible
to Anon 4:01
ReplyDelete"Nothing positive - all negative" that is how we roll!
I am positive this dirt is dirty.
(how's that?)
Is this permanent damage or temporary?
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't thy just dump it in the ocean and save some time?
ReplyDeleteI've been watching this every day on my walks, it looked TERRIBLE at first, nobody would even walk on it. Now it's starting to wash away and blend in, but in general beach-goers are avoiding that main area.
ReplyDeleteWhat a disastrous idea. And it ONLY COST $50,000!!!
Hopefully it will be gone by the summer.
They should have washed it first.
ReplyDeleteWe were told how lucky we were to be getting this free "sand" from Scripps! Council voted and approved it. It was not free the City used funds of $87,000!!! and Scripps got to unload the DIRT at our most popular tourist beach! Recently the SD Union reported the height of the parking structure at Scripp as 35' tall. It is totally wrong. The finished height of the structure will be 48'-3" - Oops just 13'-3" off!! That won't be the tallest building though when they're done. 59 FEET wins that prize!!! Doesn't look like anyone was watching out for us at City Hall. DIRT ON THE BEACH AND 59' TALL BUILDINGS!
ReplyDeleteI said I would get back to you regarding the sand at Moonlight. However, I don't think you are going to like the answer. Here is what I was told at the Parks and Rec. meeting last night. The City and Scripps entered into an agreement to take usable dirt to Moonlight. The first 3 feet of the dirt, when Scripps began their excavation, was not acceptable. Scripps hired their own person to evaluate the sand. As you probably know, the sand has to be a certain quality and the particles have to be a certain size. The Scripps person told the City it was all good, except the first 3 feet. However, as time went on it became apparent that the project had to stop because the quality of the dirt no longer met the standards for beach sand. That is why they stopped the project. The sand that is at Moonlight now is like bluff sand, and in a few months will blend right into the sand already there. It is beach quality sand. So there you have it. Take it or leave it. Just please don't shoot the messenger.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like the red stuff, you shouldn't have voted for the sand tax.
ReplyDeleteLast year I had to pay $500 in sand taxes.
Don't I deserve just a little bit of gratitude?
Whaaaat???? The City said no until Scripps hired their own analyst??? Something smells.
ReplyDeleteWhaaatt?? The City said no to the first three feet so Scripps got their own consultant to "persuade" the City....something smells. This dirt was supposed to undergo rigorous testing for contaminants...wonder if that was ever done.
ReplyDeleteScripps is expanding so that they can serve the expanding communities in San Marcos, Carlsabad, and Vista. We are already acceptably served. Scripps gets more money, and we get the traffic and lousy sand.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't they dump the dirt in San Marcos or Carlsbad????
ReplyDeleteIts all your fault... you elected the morons.
ReplyDeleteIdiots.
Forgive the pun but whoever approved this mess at the City is dirty...
...and you thought Black's Beach was dirty...
ReplyDeleteThe sand deal was bogus, but the hospital does need to expand. There were several weeks in December and January when there were no beds available at Scripps Encinitas. Took a sick relative into the E.R. on a Monday and waited over 3 1/2 hours to get in. Imagine if there was a major catastrophe. It is a regional hospital not a private hospital for Encinitas residents and it does need to expand in my opinion. As far as tall buildings go, that is a good location for them with the I 5 directly east of the hospital. But the dirt on moonlight beach, wow, what a screw up.
ReplyDeleteyeah but the expansion includes a crap load of medical offices which are not going to increase the number of beds. Scripps is a private business, don't forget that. Non-profit or not.
ReplyDeleteSurfrider supported this sand dump despite plenty of people telling them this would happen.
ReplyDeleteWhoops.