Four candidates vying for three seats on Rancho Santa Fe Community Services board

Four candidates are vying for three seats on the Rancho Santa Fe Community Services District board. The candidates are community volunteer Laurel Lemarié and incumbents Donna Ferrier, Dale Nelson and John Tanner. The Rancho Santa Fe Community Services (RSFCSD) District “provides the residents of Rancho Santa Fe with sewer collection, treatment and disposal services. The RSFCSD also maintains the roadside landscaping along the more than 60 miles of unincorporated county roads within the Rancho Santa Fe Covenant boundary.” For more information, visit

www.rsfcsd.com

1. Below are brief statements by the candidates about their experience and why they are running.

Donna Ferrier

“Having served a partial term (by appointment due to the retirement of a previous board member) and a full term by election (uncontested), I am eager to continue my service on the board of directors of the Rancho Santa Fe Community Services District (RSFCSD).

“The RSFCSD was formed in 1982 as the result of a reorganization involving the dissolution of the Rancho Santa Fe Sanitation District and the Rancho Santa Fe (Landscape) Maintenance District. The RSFCSD provides the residents of Rancho Santa Fe with sewer collection, treatment and disposal services. The district currently provides sewer collection and treatment services to approximately 2,600 customers.

“The RSFCSD also contracts annually with the Rancho Santa Fe Association to maintain the landscaping within the county’s road right-of-way for the approximately 60 miles of roads within the Rancho Santa Fe Covenant area. This function of the RSFCSD was activated to replace the previous County Service Area that performed the same function.

“In addition, the RSFCSD recently completed an application with LAFCO to activate latent powers granted by the State of California in order to facilitate the formation of utility assessment districts within the Covenant of Ranch Santa Fe. These utility assessment districts will provide interested neighborhoods with the means to underground utilities in a fair and economically feasible manner, similar to the methods used to form sewer assessment districts.

“As a long-time community volunteer who has served in many, many capacities over my last 25 years in Rancho Santa Fe, I look forward to continuing to serve in this very unglamorous but very essential position as we provide necessary as well as new and exciting services to the residents of the district.”

“A longtime resident and trail rider in The Ranch, I am keenly interested in safety on our roadways. The Rancho Santa Fe Community Services District (RSFCSD) receives a portion of Covenant property taxes to maintain the rights-of-way. If elected, I will support the use of funds to provide better sight distance at intersections and blind curves. I will suggest policy to trim bushes that are obscuring street and traffic signs. I will welcome reports from the community concerning unsafe right-of-way conditions.

“I have eight years of growth planning experience as a member of the San Dieguito Planning Group. I have worked with planners at the Departments of Planning and Land Use and Public Works and have attended their presentations. I know how to read maps, plans and environmental impact reports. I have reviewed many of the Specific Plans of the communities within the sewer district.

“If the RSFCSD assumes the authority to underground utilities, I will suggest policy to increase roadside safety and aesthetics by locating the utility boxes as far from the road edge as possible. I will seek to make high-speed internet available to neighborhoods where it is currently unavailable during the undergrounding process.”

“It has been my pleasure to have served on the Community Services District Board for the past several years and request your support to continue my service to the Rancho Santa Fe community. I have been a resident of the Covenant for 45 years and wish to serve the people of the district for many more years to come.”

“I’m running as a second term incumbent for the RSF Community Services District board of directors. The CSD has overall responsibility for the sewer hookups and maintenance in our district (not limited to the covenant, and also including several adjacent communities), as well as a contract with the Rancho Santa Fe Association for roadside maintenance and care of landscaping within the San Diego County right-of- way. This includes trimming, dead tree removal and watering.

“Recent legislation has given CSD greater powers, and CSD now has the potential ability to oversee utility undergrounding, police protection and parking enforcement, as well as other functions. Although not a fundraising entity, CSD can function as an accommodator, overseeing assessment districts and taking the lead in getting the job done. Our potential is unlimited.

“My qualifications: I enjoy community service, I’m experienced on this board, and I have a strong working knowledge of the job and what can be accomplished. Your vote is appreciated.”