The community of El Rio will be mandated by the state to discontinue use of all septic tanks and hook up to a sewer system. A community meeting was held Jan. 24 at the Rio Plaza Elementary cafeteria. Why there? Did county officials think no one would show up?
The turnout was tremendous. The residents of the El Rio community do care. This meeting should have been held at a bigger place, like the Rio Mesa High School gym or the El Rio community gym. County officials informed homeowners of what it was going to cost to hook up to the new sewer system: $15,000. Who has that kind of money? Where do El Rio property tax dollars get spent? We sure haven’t seen any kind of improvements in our community.
Supervisor John Flynn made an appearance, and that’s all. He didn’t stick around for any questions or concerns.
The people of this community are always on the short end of the stick. They get no help from the county. Now, they tell us to pay the city of Oxnard $3,000 to hook up to its sewer system. This community feels like the unwanted stepchild.
You may qualify for help if you make $30,000 or less for a single person or $35,000 to $40,000 for a couple. In this county, can you afford a house payment with that kind of income? No.
The only way you can afford it is if you rent your garage out to someone. That’s already taking place, and it still isn’t enough. The community stepped up to the plate by going to the meeting and showing it cares about what’s taking place. Now, it’s up to our elected officials to do their jobs, fight and help a community that never asks for too much.
— Joe Esquivel, El Rio
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