make choices sometimes. In the visionary words of
Butch Cassidy: "I see 20-20 and everyone else is
wearing bi-focals!"
As you walked around Balboa Island...before the big
day election....you could see that the battle lines
had been drawn. North Bay Front seemed firmly in
the "Yes" camp.....South Bay Front more so toward
the "No" camp. What was this bitter, neighbor vs.
neighbor issue all about? Underground Utilities!
This should have been a natural "no-brainer" and
the effort to bring Balboa Island into the 21st
Century should have been long in coming. Perhaps,
too long.
The story runs out like this: There is now a effort
afoot to recount the recent election: 501 Yes votes,
505 No votes! Yikes! With only 1200 owners available
you would think that each and every owner would have
stepped up to the plate with a position. Having been
ahead at the end of election night by 33 votes......
didn't insure our victory...so we can only say: "We
better wait..till the fat lady sings!" When might
that be? Who knows?
Our question is: Who are these people? Do they care
about their community or just about having the chance
to fight with each other? Underground Utilities on
Balboa Island should have occurred in 1930! FDR let
that Public Works Project be deferred in order to put
the CDM Breakwater in. Well, when times were good...
"Hey, why do we need to do that?" When times were bad
...."Hey, we can't afford that!"
There has always been an excuse to stay in the 1930's,
even down at Crystal Cove...the management told us last
year, that the ugly Utility poles "was vintage"! We
told them, so were Whale Lamps....and NO ugly Utility
Poles at all. How many electrical wires were there in
1920? No matter. When you go to Balboa Island, walk
around the Bayfronts...and see all the holiday fun stuff
it is hard to believe that these people are still living
in 1930! Even Coronado Island in San Diego undergrounds
their utilities...and the place is beautiful.
Face it, this is not Barstow, Lancaster or the Inland
Empire. God love those places.....and we do...but they
do not require Undergrounded Utilities....and even there
each and every new community project get: Underground
Utilities! What does that tell you? Are you listening
...Balboa Island? Are you listening Balboa Peninsula?
Frustrating to say the least. Whatever happens we are
very disappointed that at least half of the owners on
Balboa Island...have no clue...couldn't care less and
are pleading "poor"! Someone lives in $2 million buck
home...but can't afford to borrow - from a guaranteed
government program: $35 grand? Spare us..your efforts
to convince anyone...."that times are tough!" Of course
times are tough.....what other time would have been
appropriate? What? When someone just gives you the
money to do the deal? No, you would have argued about
the inconvenience...we know you too well - naysayers!
Well, we will go to sleep tonight with a prayer that
"Divine Intervention" occurs and Balboa Island will
have "Underground Utilities" after all. If not.......
we will always remember...every time we go there and
so will everyone else! Nothing worse than a "Cheap
Millionaire"!
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