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Three (private) million for three (public) miles.
Good morning.
Agata Popęda here, wondering what the role of the government is in times when NASA relies on private money to conquer space (Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos), and local government relies on wealthy county citizens to fix Monterey County roads.
In a story in the current issue of the Weekly, Rey Mashayekhi describes Monterey County’s decision to enter into a partnership with an anonymous donor-advised fund that is part of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to fix a 2.7-mile stretch of Carmel Valley Road, off Chachagua Road, for $2.9 million—a decision made without much discussion or public comment, excluding a retiring supervisor’s words of appreciation.
“It’s a terrible road,” says Mashayekhi, who finds the story interesting, but doesn’t necessarily share my civic outrage. Instead, he reasonably points out that the condition of this very public, very scenic and very much utilized road is very bad indeed. “My suspension couldn’t handle it,” he says, describing his own experience driving the road between otherwise lovely wineries.
Monterey County has a huge unincorporated area and a major issue with roads and bridges, according to Mashayekhi, who has been covering the county's Board of Supervisors since January 2023. With the help of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation the road “at least is being repaired,” he says, adding that everyone will benefit from the fix. When asked about the injection of federal money through 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (an estimated $28.2 billion for California’s roads and bridges over five years), Mashayekhi says it is unclear if and when such funds are available to fix Monterey County’s roads and bridges problem, while the county’s own budget to address the issue is “inadequate”.
Interestingly, it was the county that initiated the idea of a private-public partnership, first offering a 50/50 match for private investors ready to help fix roads in their vicinity. The fund acting on behalf of Fox Creek Ranch—a 276-acre property featuring vineyards and equestrian facilities that is located just off the section of East Carmel Valley Road in question—said thank you, but we’ll actually take care of 100 percent of the construction costs. It sounds like a nice gesture until one starts asking what else the county would be happy to outsource to the private sector, and why not everything.
As you read Mashayekhi’s piece, I hope you’ll consider, and decide for yourself, whether the government is upholding its role and responsibility to citizens in this instance.
-Aga Popęda, staff writer, aga@mcweekly.com
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