When my family and I first looked at Moraga in 1988 to re-locate, we were impressed with the serenity and calmness of the community. But this serenity can to an abrupt end when we felt bone-jarring potholes on the many residential streets we traveled on. As a former internal auditor for a local municipality, I've spent a lot of time working with public works department in response to citizen requests for service. I became sensitive to the needs of a well maintained infrastructure. A long time ago, a judge once commented to me that "streets and avenues are the circulatory system of a healthy community that allow the commerce to touch all parts of a municipality". To this day, those words have echoed in my mind. One only need look at some of the roads each of us travel everyday in Moraga. For example, Rheem Boulevard between Moraga Road and St. Mary's Road. How many more times must citizens of our community perish in vehicular accidents along this road due to the deteriorating condition of the road ? Why must we be subjected to the unacceptable condition that EBMUD and its sub-contractor left us along Moraga Road ? I, for one, have been lobbying the Town of Moraga since 1991 for better roads. First with then-Town Manager Ross Hubbard, then with Town Manager Karen Stein, and finally with Town Manager Phil Vince. Many of our streets have gone from being eligible for repair to being eligible for replacement along the commensurate increase in costs. It would fair to say that our community is confronting a $20,000,000 to $40,000,000 capital improvement crisis. We must address this problem sooner rather than later as the costs continue to spiral. This problem is not going away without considerable fiscal pain on each and every one of us. All of us must pull together regardless of political persuasion or passionate community feelings. The time is now.
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