Fifth District Supervisor candidates debate hot topics 

Incumbent Supervisor Arnold and challenger Michielssen give their take on county’s crucial issues

–About 85 people attended a debate held Thursday evening, April 14 at Dove Creek Church in Atascadero where incumbent Supervisor Debbie Arnold and challenger Eric Michielssen came together to debate crucial issues facing voters in the lead up to the election for Fifth District Supervisor for the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors.

The Fifth District includes the communities of Atascadero, Cal Poly (portion), California Valley, Creston, Garden Farms, Pozo, San Luis Obispo (portion), Templeton (portion), and Santa Margarita.

Supervisor Arnold and Michielssen, both from Pozo and both previous Atascadero residents and members of the business community were asked questions by attendees and gave their thoughts on how to solve issues affecting the future of the North County including economic inequality, affordable housing, job creation and protection of natural resources.

 

Below are some of the questions and answers by the two candidates:

There is economic inequality in the county how can we change it?

Michielssen said there was no place for pay inequality in the county in terms of if you are a man or woman, pays should be the same. He said the main issue was job creation and to provide outreach to determine what works for people and what doesn’t.

Arnold said there is diversity in our community, a student population as well as a senior population. There will always be a bit of diversity; to be able to promote a healthy economy we need to ensure small businesses are able to thrive and prosper and we need to be accountable in regards to taxes and fees.

Why did you agree or disagree with a proposed Paso Robles Groundwater Basin District and why?

Arnold said the water district that was proposed was a legal but unequal distribution system. People voted and land owners in that area said they didn’t want another layer of government.

Michielssen said he applauded the efforts of the Paso Robles Groundwater Committee; they worked hard to bring forward a plan which in the end wasn’t approved by voters. He said he thinks allowing all residents, regardless of their land interests to decide about forming the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin District is a step in the right direction. The people in the Paso Robles water district in the end will need to step up to the plate to pay for public works for infrastructure for groundwater.

What can the county do to address housing for low and middle-income citizens?

Michielssen said as a real estate professional, affordable housing developer, and manager of affordable housing portfolio for People’s Self-help Housing we are doing a pretty good job of low-income housing. For a family earning under $48K housing there are apartment options but there is a very long waiting list. “There are ordinances planning for more dense homes on smaller lots, the county is developing a work force ordinance and we are looking forward to the future,” he said.

Arnold said it is a very important issue and housing is expensive. “This is where supervisors can do a lot, for example ensuring zoning is correct…Also ensuring we aren’t adding fees and excessive and expensive regulations,” She said. “We need to be advocating for a more efficient government and lower fees…Every time we add costs to building it makes housing costs go up,” she said.

There is criticism in the press about our education system lagging behind other countries, can you discuss school education funding?

Arnold said the nexus is land use policies and the viability of our economy which is the money that goes into our schools. “I have taught very young children and I know how important education is,” she said. “We need to be mindful of the policies we create that fund education in the county,” she said.

Michielssen said property taxes are a small amount of the income that goes into schools. “I served in the Templeton school district for five years and helped campaign for teachers salaries to be brought up to a livable wage,” he said. “We need to look at other ways to fund schools, we spend the same amount of money per student as other countries but we need to look at the quality of education…Teachers are doing their job but education is more than about money, we need to be looking at the family and ensuring kids come to school well fed and rested ready to be taught.”

Is there a gang problem in the county?

Michielssen said yes there is there is a problem with gangs and drugs, “I know there is a gang task force which the sheriff is working on,” he said. The program identifies gangs and researches to get them of the street. Paso Robles also has a gang task force. “We need to give them all the support we can to ensure we can control the gang situation,” he said.

Arnold said according to our law officials in the county we do have gang activity. “What we can do as community members is look to our young people and stop them from going down that path, provide them with lots of opportunities to ensure they don’t feel they need to do that…Beyond that we need to support our law officials wherever we can,” she said.

Homelessness among youth is a big issue, is there a local law ordinance that says minors can’t stay at homeless shelters? What is the difference between someone who is 17.5 years and 18 years living on the street?

Arnold said there has been discussion and it is difficult to have underage youth under a roof of someone who is not a parent or guardian. “Sometimes our laws don’t match reality,” she said. “The First 50 (50Now) program is doing a great job and we hope to see in the next few years a homeless service centre in the county,” she said.

Michielssen said Child Protective Services can provide housing for children under 18. “If someone at a shelter has underage youth I hope they call child protective services and find them a place to stay,” he said. “The First 50 (50Now) program that the supervisor mentioned is a great program…We need to make sure as a county we have provisions for underage youth,” he said.

What are your biggest concerns next four years in the county?

Arnold said water is at the top of our mind; ensuring there is an adequate water resource for the future. “If we want to look for future growth, we may need to look at bringing in an outside water source,” she said. “We have other things on the horizon like gang activity moving into the county, we need to ensure we keep our community safe,” she said. She added that Marijuana cultivation sales in the county was also a big issue.

Michielssen said our water basins are currently in overdraft, it is important to ensure we have local control. “We need to address affordable housing, new businesses in the county like Mindbody are fantastic but we need to ensure our roads are up to scratch…There is a lack of housing were the jobs are,” he said. “We need to help Atascadero get more jobs up here, traffic is a problem, housing and water supply,” he said.

As a county supervisor what will you do to streamline planning processes?

Michielssen said, “I built my first house in 75 and you only had to turn in a couple of pages, it can be difficult to work with the planning department although they are very helpful the rules are very extensive, it is important we streamline the process.”

Arnold said there needs to be specificity in the planing department; often county ordinances are passed with language that can be interpreted certain ways. It should be the planning departments role to enforce clear plans in a timely way and we need to work towards this, she said.

There is a lot of labor done by undocumented workers, who is going to do it if they don’t and what is your position on employing undocumented workers?

Arnold said farming has relied on undocumented works for a long time, it is one of those things again where the laws don’t often cover the situation. “They are doing jobs and they are doing jobs we need to have done, we need to follow the law but they are coming to do hard jobs for our county,” she said.

Michielssen said legally the way to do it is the Visitor Worker Program. “We need to be able to put accommodation on farms to house workers, so they qualify for this program and bring in more workers…Often even for local workers they aren’t making enough money to find housing,” he said.

Wealthy landowners are on top while the rest of us struggle, what do we do?

Michielssen said some people are doing well and some people aren’t which means we need to attract and stimulate more jobs and businesses.

Arnold said especially in an area like this where housing costs are high, today it is very difficult to start a small businesses to stay afloat due to high fees and expenses. “We need to balance well-meaning legislation we create with the reality, which can be killing jobs,” she said.

Would you welcome a farm workers bill of rights like in Santa Barbara County?

Arnold said, “I have very good friends in the farm labor contracting business who could answer this better. Admittedly I saw this for the first time this morning and haven’t had the time to read this thoroughly.”

Michielssen said having worked on farms himself he had a lot of farm workers come through. “We want to pay them a fair wage with decent working conditions, hours and accommodation,” he said. “You have to be fair, pay a fair wage and treat them right.”

How should we handle the fact high property values are up, but middle class are being priced out?

Michielssen said in the county the median price is $479,000, you would need about $120,000 to afford a house. “Middle class are making about $60,000 to $100,000 which is hard for them,” he said. “We need to work on higher density housing to provide the services, its supply and demand…But I have heard from a lot of people we can’t build ourselves out of our housing problems,” he said. “It is a tough questions, the county is one of the highest costs of living combined with the low wages…it can be one of the most unaffordable places to live.”

Arnold said there are creative ways, we have houses on big lots where we could create another house to provide rental opportunities. “We need to look at housing for our workforce…It’s location, location, location and we need to look at zoning,” she said. “Although I don’t think there is much we can do about the affluent folk who want to enjoy what we have here in our beautiful county.”

What would be your best use for the old El Paso de Robles California Youth Authority Facility?

Arnold said as a supervisor we would be in the best position to lobby to repurpose that facility, it is a matter of having the right plan and anything is possible. “With the right plan for the property perhaps the state would relinquish the property to another use…Its state property, it is about negotiating with the state,” she said.

Michielssen said the boys school is, “pretty much in disrepair…I know people have spoken about it as using it as a homeless shelter and that may be…I don’t see anybody jumping to take over that facility,” he said.

 

 

The debate was sponsored by the Latino Outreach Council in collaboration with The League of Women Voters.