Opinion
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Community Commentary
Support for Medicaid Restoration Plan BY TIM BRICKER
A number of our East Valley legislators took a positive stand during the recent legislative session to support the Governor’s Medicaid Restoration Plan. Tim Bricker This will help tens of thousands of working Arizonans gain affordable health care insurance and help stabilize the healthcare sector in this state. Sadly, a fringe group of opponents are trying to collect signatures to put this proposal on the general election ballot in 2014. There are significant problems with the way the referendum is drafted, and case law indicates that the measure they are proposing to refer is unconstitutional. The voters of Arizona have twice voted to provide coverage for adults without children, and numerous surveys have shown that the voters of Arizona support restoring the Medicaid cuts that were made during the Great Recession. I believe that if this fringe group were somehow able to gather enough signatures and survive the legal challenges that will confront them, they would lose handily at the ballot box. Our policymakers have chosen the fiscally responsible option. Had they done nothing, the courts would have required us to restore coverage at a much greater cost to the state, diverting money away from other funding priorities. The actions by the governor and legislature protected the taxpayers, will keep our hospitals operating more efficiently and will help reduce uncompensated care. We should let this legislation stand. Tim Bricker is president and CEO of Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert medical centers.
August 17 – September 6, 2013
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SRP line problems greater than ‘personal response’ By Elska Watts, Arden Park resident SRP has announced that it will be building two new substations and a 230kV transmission line system in south Chandler to meet the growing needs of the Price Road Corridor (PRC). In June, SRP reduced the route alternatives. The remaining EastWest routes for the Schrader substation to RS-28 are Germann Road and the Hunt Highway. Possible north route options are Arizona Avenue or the railroad tracks. Southern route alternatives are Dobson, Ellis, Price or Old Price roads. SRP plans to submit its route application (CEC) on Nov. 1 to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). The ACC will choose one route for each direction. I am a resident of Arden Park and I live less than 300 feet from the proposed route on Germann Road. My initial response was, “Oh no. I don’t want these huge poles and lines in my backyard.” As I have dug deeper into the issues caused by these lines, I realized the problems caused by these lines are greater than my personal response. It is not just a matter of one street versus another, but instead, it is a matter of precedence set in how power companies, such as SRP, go about meeting power needs. In regard to the Germann corridor routes, high-voltage power lines will hugely impact lives and businesses. We never expected to deal with this issue when our homes were purchased and businesses moved here. Residents and business owners are now faced with uncertainties and anxiety about the perceived health issues for children, decreasing property values, changing business traffic flows before and after construction. Finally, we in the Germann corridor are concerned about the aesthetics of the street in general. The combined impact will be adverse and incongruent to the distinctive qualities of the Germann corridor. The Germann corridor is a multi-generational area that has too many unique attributes to be considered for these lines, it should be the last choice considered for the new 230kV transmission line system. Some might say, “What’s the problem?” Of course, no one wants these lines in their backyard, but power has to go somewhere. I disagree with that statement. Additional power to the Price Road Corridor (PRC) is needed, no one is disputing this, but the responsibility of how you get power to
new businesses should not be taken lightly. Neighborhoods should not be drastically impacted and changed because of these needs, as the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) President Michael R. Peevey stated recently, “It’s the dawn of a new era in transmission line planning in this state (CA). In urban and suburban areas, we have to look anew at how we site transmission lines, and carefully weigh their role in fulfilling the state’s energy goals against their impact on community values. I know undergrounding costs more, but I believe in this instance the costs are manageable and relatively minor considering the overall well-being of the populace in doing so.” The State of Connecticut would also agree, as it passed a law stating that power lines going through residential, densely, populated areas need to be buried. The international community has been the forerunners of dealing with power needs and sensitivities to the public. Belgium banned overhead power lines in 1992. Singapore and the Netherlands have 100% of their power underground. The trend is being set, and I think it is time that SRP catch up with the current sentiment of power needs and start to take into account the community impact versus only meeting the needs for power. Although SRP has submitted densely populated streets before such as Germann Road as a route alternative, the ACC has never chosen one. If Germann Road is chosen, it will be the first time a street full of children’s day cares, schools, churches, businesses and vast amounts of single family homes will be forced to live with the real and perceived determents of high voltage transmission power lines. The Germann corridor route should be the last option for these 230kV lines. If the ACC allows transmission lines in our developed community, a precedent would be set. Then SRP can place 230kV lines near your backyard next. So what is the solution? The solution is the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC). GRIC is the right place for the transmission lines. Old Price Road is the right place for both large substations. The lines belong in open areas, or along railroad tracks. The substations do not belong in densely populated areas. We believe SRP is sincerely pushing its parallel process of putting the lines on GRIC. It is important that we as a community push SRP to make sure that the process is completed. We cannot let
it rely on putting 230kV lines and 4-foot diameter power poles on private lands and our developed, and built out populated streets. SRP needs to slow down and do the right thing by its customers. My fear is that it is rushing to put this additional power in, to meet an unsubstantiated in service date. SRP is not weighing the adverse impact to the community that it will cause because of its hastiness. In our research, we could find many articles and information from the early 2000s that indicated the PRC would grow to what it has today. Even the City of Chandler knew its potential as it created infrastructure to the corridor in the ‘80s to support future growth. One must ask, “Why is SRP just now realizing and acting on increasing power needs?” The City of Chandler’s plans for PRC have been widely reported. In my opinion, there was poor planning by SRP for the power needs of this region. Why then, must the public pay for SRP’s possible poor planning? SRP needs to be encouraged to do the right thing. Slow down, and wait for the GRIC process to be completed. SRP has indicated at multiple open house events that the GRIC is interested in the opportunity these transmission power lines will provide to its community. Its community will benefit and help meet its future power needs. If an agreement with GRIC falls through, SRP’s next option should be to bury the lines. Yes, it states high costs are a consideration, but this logic is flawed. If it had to bury the lines more often, it would find many ways to make it less costly. Besides, what is more costly, the possible health and effects on community values or SRP’s monetary issues? Power needs should be met in a responsible manner. As Mr. Peevey stated, it is a new era, and power companies, such as SRP, will need to change its concepts of where these substations and power lines can go and consider effects of the power systems on existing communities. The time has come for SRP to take a cue from the growing consensus in our world that power needs are not more important than community values. The needs of the community are symbiotic with the need for power. SRP needs to complete their process with GRIC or bury these lines; highly developed roads such as the Germann corridor should be the last option in this situation.
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