This story was first printed in this morning’s (Dec. 20) Daily Post. If you want to read important local stories first, pick up the Post in the mornings at 1,000 Mid-Peninsula locations.
BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Representatives tackling floods from the San Francisquito Creek had harsh words Thursday (Dec. 19) for Valley Water board member Nai Hsuch, who has suggested that Valley Water go its own way unless other agencies take more financial responsibility.
“This threat of pulling out is not the way to go about it. I don’t think any of us are going to capitulate to that,” Palo Alto Mayor Greer Stone said.
Hsuch surprised members of the San Francisquito Creck Joint Powers Authority when she had a Valley Water committee discuss leaving the creek authority on Dec. 5 because of her concerns with its plans for flood control. Thursday was the first chance for a response from other creek authority members: the cities of Menlo Park, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and a flood control agency in San Mateo County.
Stone called Valley Water’s discussion a “breakdown of communication and violation of trust.” He said the creek authority is like a marriage, You don’t go in and say Option A is to get a divorce, and Option B is to start cleaning up your socks.
Valley Water has had several opportunities to raise concerns over the years, and now Hsueh is going back on issues that have already been decided when the creek authority is on the precipice of its next project, Stone said.
“This is not a solution to help our residents. We do need to work together,” Stone said.
Stone was frustrated that Hsueh didn’t tell the creek authority about Valley Water concerns until Dec. 3, two days before the committee meeting. Stone said Valley Water put out inaccurate numbers at the Dec. 5 meeting, even when the creek authority’s Executive Director Margaret Bruce tried to correct them.
“We can leave the disinformation at the door,” Stone said.
Menlo Park Mayor Drew Combs also wasn’t happy about Valley Water’s approach.
“It’s another curveball that gets thrown at us and further gets us off what should be the focus for all of us,” Combs said.
Hsueh said she didn’t want to get into a back-and-forth and said she would have a more complete response on Jan. 31.
“What I can promise is a transparent conversation in January when we can put this information together,” Hsueh said. “At this point, I don’t even know what the project is.”
Hsueh raised concerns at the Dec. 5 committee meeting about the creek authority pursuing a design that doesn’t meet Valley Water’s standard to protect from a 70-year-flood, or a flood that have a one in 70 chance of happening in any given year.
Hsueh replaced Valley Water board member and Palo Alto representative Rebecca Eisenberg on the creek authority’s board in March.
Eisenberg yesterday accused Hsueh of “usurping the will of the voters.”
“Just because someone doesn’t understand something, doesn’t mean that thing is wrong,” Eisenberg said during public comment.
Residents encouraged the creek authority to keep its focus on flood control.
“When I heard about this, I felt like, ‘Oh no, here we go again,’” Palo Alto resident Jerry Hearn said.
The creek authority has been working to remove the Pope-Chaucer Bridge since a flood-damaged hundreds of homes in February 1998.
But another flood on New Year’s Eve 2022 caused water to spill out in unexpected areas in East Palo Alto, and hydrologists found the creek authority’s models were inaccurate.
That means the Pope-Chaucer Bridge can’t be replaced unless the creek’s capacity is expanded further downstream first.
So now board members are looking into adding flood walls and excavating parts of the channel before removing the Pope-Chaucer Bridge. They also are looking for a way to pay for the project that will be discussed on Jan. 31.
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