NEVADA CITY Calif. October 16, 2020 – We all love Nevada City. The small town character, it’s charm, a pleasant walk to the park, an evening strolling about town, or through our beautiful tranquil neighborhoods. Yet, a lot goes on behind the outer appearances. A lot that we need and depend on so we can enjoy our lives here, or visits here.
The ‘lot’ that I’m talking about is infrastructure. Sidewalks that are properly maintained mean that we can walk briskly, or leisurely, without having to be preoccupied with what our feet might trip on next. Roads we can drive on easily mean our cars run better, and we don’t have to worry about rutted and damaged roadways. Well-maintained drainage systems mean we don’t have massive puddles of stagnant water breeding mosquitos, or renderinging walking, cycling, and driving less manageable.
In 2006 our voters passed Measure S, with over ⅔ in favor, to create a dedicated funding stream to make sure all of the above would happen. And it did to the tune of $9 million dollars worth of repaving and sidewalk work. That’s about 6 times what we could have done without Measure S’ half cent sales tax. Without a dedicated source of funding long term planning is simply not possible. You simply careen from emergency to emergency and never get ahead. Today our sidewalks are more walkable, our roads in far better shape, and our drainages are working the way they’re supposed to.
Measure M will extend Measure S, add a Citizens Oversight Committee, add a 10 year Infrastructure Management Plan, and expand ‘infrastructure’ to include water and sewer.
Water and Sewer. Two things I really like to take for granted! Nevada City literally has pipes underground that were laid in the late 1800’s. Think they might need some attention? Of course. We all know we have to take care of things or they eventually cause big problems. Let’s avoid as many big problems as possible!
To review: Measure M extends a current sales tax that costs 50 cents for every $100 spent – on taxable items. Tourists and visitors, who come to enjoy what we’ve created here, will help us maintain our home town. This funding will allow for a 10 Year plan to be reviewed and eventually re-written with approval from City Council, and a Citizens’ Oversight Committee. It will provide a reliable source of revenue to maintain our roads, sidewalks, drainage, plus our water and sewer infrastructure. One more really important plus: It will allow us to apply for matching fund for grants – which is how we can get a much bigger bang for our buck.
Please join in voting Yes on Measure M. And Keep A Good Thing Going.
Erin Minett, Mayor of Nevada City