Dist. 5 candidates: an overview of the people, topics

By KERANA TODOROV
Register Staff Writer

Roughly eight months before voters will have their say, a crowded field of five candidates has formed for the supervisor's seat in Napa County's Fifth District, which includes American Canyon, Coombsville, the Napa County Airport area and part of the city of Napa.

In recent weeks, all five candidates answered a list of Register questions about the fast-growing area and the county as a whole. The subjects ranged from concerns about water supplies -- a problem surfacing all over the Fifth District -- to crowded highways and the proposal for a 3,200-townhome development at the 152-acre Napa Pipe property.

Three of the five contenders vying to replace retiring Supervisor Harold Moskowite hail from American Canyon: Keith Caldwell, 51, who recently retired as American Canyon fire chief; Cindy Coffey, 46, a city councilwoman and publisher of an online news site; and Morris Curry Jr., 61, the Protestant chaplain at San Quentin State Prison and longtime American Canyon activist.

The other two candidates, from Napa, are Rich Jager, 61, a businessman and member of the Napa County Planning Commission; and Gary Simpson, 64, who served for many years as sheriff of Napa County.

Water worries

One issue that several candidates said is a high priority is water. In American Canyon, concerns have prompted an increase in water and sewer rates and pushed city leaders to take an aggressive stance to secure more water from the state. Officials from American Canyon, Napa County and airport-area property owners have locked horns over who will provide water service to new users in that area. In Coombsville, residents and other property owners may be asked to pay an annual assessment to build a reclaimed water pipeline to shore up dwindling supplies from local wells.

Jager, Coffey, Caldwell and Simpson spoke of the need to preserve existing water resources and find more.

"The cities of Napa and American Canyon are currently seeking to buy more water from the state. This is a necessary solution," wrote Jager, who also said reservoirs must be protected from erosion and development.

Simpson and Caldwell acknowledged there is no easy solution to water concerns.

"There is no silver bullet," Simpson wrote. "A range of efforts must be employed, from comprehensive long- and short-range planning, home and workplace conservation efforts, greater use of recycled water, alternative supply options, and infrastructure and facilities upgrading."

Coffey's solutions include "securing excess water options, building large holding tanks throughout the county for back up supply, holding ponds and most importantly water harvesting."

"Harvesting rain water from rooftops of the largest distribution centers in the county would provide more than enough to cover our shortfalls," Coffey wrote.

Curry, who answered "water, water and water" to the questions of what are the top three issues facing Fifth District and Napa County residents, noted that God is the one in charge of the weather and that people must do what they can to manage the existing water supply.

Coombsville pipeline?

While Curry said he would not support a reclaimed-water assessment on Coombsville residents, others differed.

Simpson, who lives in Coombsville, took a wait-and-see approach.

"Residents I've talked to are generally in favor of using recycled water to help conserve scarce drinking water for household use. But they're waiting to hear how much the recycled water from the pipeline will cost, and when it can become available," he wrote.

Jager said reclaimed water for agriculture and landscaping is environmentally safe and economically beneficial. "If the cost to implement this project is reasonable, it is something that the people should welcome," Jager wrote.

Caldwell, a former Coombsville area resident, said that under the current proposal residents, as opposed to industrial users such as vineyards or golf courses, would bear the greatest burden. But he said getting more water to Coombsville is a priority.

"It would appear that solving the existing housing water issues should take precedence over the Napa Pipe project, which would also require city of Napa water," Caldwell wrote.

Napa Pipe and Oat Hill

The Napa Pipe project, where new owners of the longtime industrial site propose 3,200 townhomes as well as a hotel, restaurants and more, drew a range of answers.

Caldwell said it might be wise to place an advisory ballot measure before voters to get their view on the development proposal.

Jager and Simpson said they would reserve judgment on the proposal until ongoing traffic and environmental studies are completed. Coffey said Napa Pipe is an "incredible opportunity for the residents of Napa County, but how that opportunity is realized is yet to be determined."

Curry declined comment on the Napa Pipe plans.

In questions about growth in American Canyon and around the Napa County Airport, several candidates expressed faith in the ability of city and county leaders to work out differences on specific proposals.

The Napa County Airport Land Use Commission, which oversees land use around the airport, can review flight compatibility zones and make decisions about how close cities can add residential or other structures. Local jurisdictions can overturn the commissions' decisions with a super-majority vote of elected councilmembers.

One issue that has come before the commission, made up of Napa County planning commissioners and pilots, is whether residential housing could be allowed at Oat Hill, a promontory on the northwestern edge of American Canyon.

The site is not currently zoned for homes, although the city has studied a plan from two landowners for hundreds of homes on the site.

Coffey wrote that her only concern about that area was the airport commission's "arbitrary" shift of fly zones without merit or public hearing.

But Jim King, the commission's longtime chairman, said the flight zones were last changed in the 1990s and that the commissions' meetings are open to the public.

Jager, who as a county planning commissioner is also a member of the Napa County Airport Land Use Commission, said all issues can be resolved "through communication and the mutual goal of achieving what is best for the people of American Canyon and Napa County."

Caldwell and Simpson emphasized that the airport is an asset to the city of American Canyon and vice versa.

On the roads

All the candidates said key north-south routes in the south county, Devlin Road on the west side of Highway 29 and Newell Drive on the east, should be extended to offer locals better alternatives to the congested highway. None offered specifics on funding for such projects, which have been discussed for years.

Simpson wrote that traffic congestion is a regional problem "that calls for regionally funded improvements."

In addition to extending the roads, Coffey said, "I would also continue my work with representatives in Solano County exploring the reinstatement of rail."

Meanwhile, American Canyon citizens have long expressed concern about how Highway 29 divides the town, a concern expected to grow with a new high school slated for construction east of the highway.

To cross Highway 29, two pedestrian crossings costing $2 million each will have to be installed, said Coffey, who said that American Canyon High School, tentatively slated to open in 2010, should be a closed campus to ensure student safety.

Other candidates expressed support for at least one overcrossing, as well as safety features at crosswalks and along sidewalks that will make it less dangerous for pedestrians to get from one side of the city to the other.

According to the elections office, close to 7,000 Fifth District voters are from American Canyon, while about 5,300 live in the city of Napa and another 2,000 in unincorporated Napa County.

If no candidate receives a simple majority -- 50 percent plus one vote -- in June, a runoff election would be scheduled for November.

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