An Update On The Fix It Now Group

On March 24, reps from the Fix It Now group met with the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency about the time line for fixing Natomas-area levees and restoring the neighborhood’s 150- to 200-year flood protection status.

Fix It Now founder Scott Dosick says, “Personally, I was very impressed with the thought and effort that SAFCA has put into this issue. They made some very persuasive arguments as to why a State Declaration of Emergency may not make sense.”

The SAFCA reps reportedly explained why their time line already is aggressive.

“However, when we pushed Mr. Buer (SAFCA’s director) about all partner agencies’ time line, he was not quite as forthcoming,” says Dosick. “He correctly pointed out that as a government employee, he can provide facts, not opinions.”

Dosick and others in the Fix It Now group do not believe the SAFCA time line for levee repair is as ambitious as it could be. They point to the amount of time needed for sequential permit review as one of the holdups.

Says Dosick, “We need to keep the heat on. No doubt, SAFCA should be viewed as a partner in this endeavor. That said, there are things we can do as a community that a government agency cannot.”

The group plans to ask Governor Schwarzenegger’s office encourage the Department of Water Resources to expedite the review process.