Have you seen a roadwork sign reading “Open Trench”? The absurdity hit me about the fifth time I saw one. Of course the trench is open! There is no need to say it. Would we expect to see signs saying “Covered Trench” or “Former Trench” or maybe “Trench Mouth” to denote the start of a trench? Of course not. “Open Trench” is a metaphor for government waste, overspending, redundancy, inefficiency or excessive regulation. That’s what this column is about.
I was born in Santa Rosa, attended Santa Rosa schools and then Stanford University and Stanford Law School. Professionally, I worked for seven years as a pension trust officer in a bank trust department and then was co-owner of a firm that designs and administers qualified retirement plans. Except for college, law school and a brief time in Los Angeles, I’ve lived in Sonoma County all my life.
I can’t be the only long-time resident who’s disappointed with local government and bureaucracy. More recent residents may not be aware of the history of poor decisions that led to the terrible placement of Highway 101 through Santa Rosa, removal of the beautiful courthouse that graced its downtown, or construction of a huge shopping mall that divides downtown in half. These examples are the tip of an iceberg of local government malfeasance and misfeasance.
Take time to research the history of the remarkably ugly courthouse we now have in Santa Rosa. Take time to understand the way in which Davis Bacon/Prevailing Wage laws make every public project much more expensive than it needs to be. Take time to understand public employee pay and benefits, especially pension benefits, and ask the key questions: How many more cities and counties will go bankrupt? How will we pay for road repairs, streetlights, recreation programs and myriad other government services besides police and fire protection? We need to set politics aside and demand common sense from our elected and appointed officials. There’s a lot to love about the North Bay. But there’s also a lot that drives me crazy.
Sidereal days?
Recently, I drove through the part of Lakeville Highway that has a border of magnificent old eucalyptus trees. Parked alongside the Highway were changeable message sign boards displaying this digital message: “EXPECT DELAYS, TREE WORK 11/1 – 11/5.” The signs operated around-the-clock. All very professional—but the day I drove through was November 13.
Can deception be sustainable?
A friend who is a developer submitted plans for a small subdivision of live-work units in a Sonoma County city. It was the start of a two-year process. Many city departments needed to review the plans and make comments on a master set of documents. My friend kept asking a key man in the engineering division whether the review was complete, and the engineer kept putting him off. Finally, on one particular Friday, the engineer told him that the review was complete and he should come in Monday to finalize the process.
On Monday, my friend learned the engineer’s last day of work had been Friday. No one knew about the status of the plans, and the master set of documents could not be found. My friend had to start again from scratch.
Wind shear?
A homeowner hired a contractor to build an outdoor pizza oven at his Sonoma County home. The oven weighed more than 1,500 pounds. Plans called for it to be placed on a base of very substantial concrete blocks with a cover above. When the contractor applied for a building permit, he learned he must get a wind shear analysis from a licensed structural engineer, since part of the structure was taller than six feet. The contractor was dismayed. He realized it was theoretically possible to get a code variance, but only with a time-consuming application and review. So the homeowner elected to pay the $676 engineer’s fee for a wind shear analysis.
Go? Stop?
In Santa Rosa, go to the intersection of Spencer Avenue, Stewart Street and Murray Court. Note the huge traffic circle the city has installed. It’s 30 feet in diameter, thus more than 700 square feet in area. The city brought water and electricity to the circle for an irrigation system. The circle is fully landscaped, including a tree. The circle has a concrete curb all the way around and four big “One Way” signs. The intersection has four big directional arrows painted on the street.
But the intersection also has four-way “Stop” signs as well as “Stop” lettering painted on the streets, completely negating the purpose of a traffic circle. It’s been this way for at least three years. At great expense, the city added what amounts to a decoration to the intersection and confusion to drivers.
Check out the similar large intersection circle decorations on Spring Street at Fourteenth and Sixteenth streets. Both have water, power and irrigation systems to support complete landscaping. Both are 22 feet in diameter. But both also have two-way “Stop” signs. Again, someone is unclear on the concept of traffic circles—or perhaps a debate is ongoing in the city’s traffic department.
On Humboldt Street, which Santa Rosa calls “Bicycle Boulevard,” there are no fewer than four traffic circles, three with no “Stop” signs and one with two-way “Stop” signs. Perhaps bicyclists understand the system better than motorists.
How many millions?
In 2008, Sonoma County supervisors approved a plan that limited the amount the county would pay toward health insurance for retired employees. The supervisors also approved a pay increase of $7,200 for all current employees, including themselves. With almost 4,000 employees, this added $28 million to the annual budget for payroll. The across-the-board raise also added $70 million to the unfunded liability for county pension plan obligations, meaning the county has to put a lot more money in the pension plan—a very big financial open trench.
A native of Santa Rosa, Robert Andrews is a former pension trust officer at Exchange Bank and was a long-time co-owner of a retirement plan administration firm. He’s married with two children, three grandchildren and loves everything to do with wine.Contact him with your "Open Trench" experience at bandrews@northbaybiz.com.
