Jun
11
(6/11/2009, Los Alamitos, by Dave Emerson) The more I observe the Base’s outgoing commander, General James Combs, the more impressed I become. My father-in-law was a carreer military man, and Barb tells me anyone who rises to the ranks of General is just about guaranteed to be one of our nation’s best.
That’s certainly the case with Gen. Combs. With less than three weeks until his July 4th retirement, instead of burning up his remaining vacation pay and making the rounds of retirement parties he continues to fight hard and skillfully for what’s best for his base, his community, his country and, most of all, his soldiers.
I say “God bless him!”
And in the midst of the ongoing controversy over his modest pilot recycling program, he still consistently makes time to reply to my queries so I can pass his thoughts and plans on to you.
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After the Seal Beach City Council blocked the use of Lampson in a 5 – 0 vote earlier this week, I e-mailed Gen. Combs to get the details on what he has planned yet. Within a few hours I had his detailed, thoughtful reply.
Rather than interpret it or parse it, I’ll pass Gen. Combs thoughts on in their entirety. All I’ve added are a few titles for your convenience:
Gen. Combs tells us what’s next
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONEThe Environmental Working Group
Dave, as we discussed in our public meeting, we are forming an “Environmental Working Group” to help us establish a sustainable installation (reduced the operating cost of the base). We hope to meet before the end of the month.This working group will help us make a contribution to: the air-quality, water use reduction, erosion control, organic farming and reduced energy consumption.
We are hopeful that this group will also assist us in implementing our composting program… with their help we hope to get it right, balance all our needs and make adjustment as required. As you know, I’ve asked all the potential stake holders to participate including NWSSB, Old Ranch Golf Club, the Cities, and our environmental partners. Its our belief that this collaborative can make a qualitative difference in our future environment.
The composting program’s benefits
The composting license was issued by the LA Corps of Engineers (property
owners). This license was requested by us as it provides all the
environmental values I just discussed, but equally importantly it provides
approximately$1M in ground maintenance support for the base, including our airfield (seasonal planting, trimming, mowing, weed abatement, conversion to arid plants, dust and erosion control etc). The ground maintenance agreement will also keep our perimeter areas maintained. The areas of greatest concern for me are shared boundaries with the houses on cherry and those to the northwest part boundary.These benefits are all made possible by the composting, allowing us to use our precious tax dollars to improve facilities for our troops.
A General’s heart for his men
Our facilities are simply not satisfactory for our young men and women or the community for that matter-we need to fix this situation. Composting is going to help.
I don’t need to get on my soap box with you, but it breaks my heart to bring these great American’s to a dilapidated infrastructure.
Over the last month, I’ve provided an honor guard to three of our soldiers who gave their lives for all of us and also lived in the local area. Are we unwilling to make any adjustments for them?
We are deploying troops at an unprecedented rate to and from this base. We’re asking them to carry a big burden as they train and deploy around the world. They face the dangers of our Global War on Terrorism as well as being available to answer the call during disaster response periods such as the recent wildfires and future earthquakes in Southern California. We’ve simply have got to do better of letting them know we care about their quality of life as well.
New plans to route traffic
We are not planning to use Lampson as an option.
As to the legal question you asked (lower jurisdictions impacting the use of federal property): This will be handled by the California National Guard and the Corps of Engineers.
Rainbow Disposal Co, will not exceed 12 trucks total per day at any time period, the current average is 10 trucks per day. Listed below are the routes we will continue to use. We are distributing our deliveries over four routs and the trucks will egress on the same routes from which they came (3 trucks on each route):
a. Goldenwest north to Katella left to Lexington
b. 405 north to Valley View to Katella left to Lexington
c. 405 North to Seal Beach Boulevard north to Katella right to Lexington
d. 405 North to 605 North to Katella east to Lexington
New routes planned within the Base
Internal to the base we are staffing an alternative route that will take our truck traffic off our west perimeter and accomplish road improvements at the same time… more to follow.
This is our current plan; we will continue to vet this plan with the Environmental Working Group or any representative of the Cities that surround the base.
This can all change as we look at the effects. We are also delivering our compost during non peak periods to reduce the impact on existing traffic. Contingency route during the interconnector construction periods are posted to their OCTA web site (www.octa.net/westcounty.aspx) and can also be modified as we look at effects.
Dave, thanks for your help, please feel free to call any time. Best always
Jim
You’re more than welcome, General Combs.
It’s the least I can do.
During the initial weeks of the program all truck traffic was routed on Lexington into the base’s entrance. A small residential street fronted by homes on the east and apartments on the west. Yet you received no complaints from any of the residents on Lexington during the program’s initial weeks.
Hope for a reasonable compromise
Hopefully the good people of Seal Beach, especially those in College Park East, will find a way to allow a test program to see if some of the traffic might not be routed down the northernmost lane of Lampson one way as you originally proposed.
I’d bet that after a one-week trial, the overwhelming majority of the residents in CPE and Parkewood, including those whose homes back on Lampson, would welcome the chance to show their support for our troops by allowing 3 – 6 trucks a day to access the base via Lampson during appropriate hours at appropriate speeds.
Just as an exception is currently made for trash and moving trucks and RVs headed to CPE, I’d think a monitored exception could be made for a limited number of trucks headed to the Base’s greenwaste recycling program. In fact, eventually, I’d hope that CPE (and Los Alamitos) greenwaste practices could be improved so that all of CPE’s greeenwaste would simply be trucked directly across the street onto the base.
Again, General Combs, God bless you, and the men and women you serve. You make me proud to be an American.
Comments
7 Responses to “A true American hero, Gen. James P. Combs soldiers on”
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Great post by the General. As always up front, to the point, clearly stating his mission and how he will accomplish it. Always with the well being of his troops underpinning his actions.
He has been a breath of fresh air (even with compost) in his dealings with the surrounding communities in spite of their political BS.
He will be missed.
As to composting, Lampson and CPE Councilman, Mr. Pelosi who attended the briefings but wasn’t briefed when all who there were briefed: Does that mean he wears panties? The General was brilliant! (Oprah 2008).
If you read between the lines,it looks like General Combs punted when it was really a 50 yard field goal. It cleared the uprights and he scored.
Can’t wait to see the rest of this game. New quarterback, game tied.
Great job General, enjoy your retirement.
Although the composting plan seems to be wonderful, I say it could be all done on the base,period. The only thing that should be trucked out are the very materials that would produce smell, and that would be anything food derived. That is being done anyway, because it’s a health issue.
If you want to really go green, the answer is in your own back yard, not Los Al or Seal Beach or Garden Grove or Cypress. The base is a huge place and has plenty of room to build something that would process all the tree branches, leaves, and grass into what Agromin called “organic compost.” That would save even more money than hauling trucks and causing chaos to the streets we cherish. I am not talking on behalf of just Seal Beach, but to all the cities who don’t want trucks on their streets.
In all fairness dear Dave, this isn’t about not being patriotic when you oppose an idea that the general has planned–this is about what is right for the state. We have to look at this more broadly, for we are embarking on something new that most people don’t even think about, but we will all be forced to think about conserving, for the water companies are already talking about being “water wise.” The pesticide companies may not like this, but who cares?
Going green is good overall, and I just wish for it to be done with the minimal amount of disruption possible. That is what a good neighbor does for his fellow neighbor. I am glad the general has corresponded with you, but he has failed to do it with me, although I did fill out a form on May 26th at the JFTB Compost Meeting like most people did who attended. Perhaps if he reads this he will do so now. It’s eneao@hotmail.com I welcome any and all letters, dear General.
As I stated at the Seal Beach Council Meeting and said directly to the General, who was thankfully present, “you did not embrace this community…I don’t feel embraced.” Hopefully there could be some positive response instead of evading the very people that could have some good solid input. I consider myself someone that loves the environment and I have been researching like crazy since that May 26th meeting. I know there is a better answer–I just know it in my heart, as well as in the mind that constantly is using resources that tell me that there is a better answer.
Enea
Disgraced Mayor Dean Grose and Seal Beach Councilman Miller attended meetings since the conception and inception of the composting program. Neither of these Council members informed those citizens most affected let alone their respective city councils of what Gen. Combs was proposing.
So each city council and Gen Combs is left reacting to the emotional unsubstantiated outrage of a few vocal citizens who won’t even allow a brief, controlled, pilot program of the proposed composting.
All of this because these two elected officials failed to communicate and take a proactive role.
The disservice Miller has done to his own constituents first by failing to report out and keep them informed, second by failing to keep his city council informed, and third by grossly exaggerating and misrepresenting the supposed negative impacts on CPE, should anger the residents of CPE.
The issue isn’t truck traffic. It is the residents of CPE not being informed early in the process when the composting project and its location was being discussed in the presence of Mr. Miller and his failure to communicate.
When he finally does communicate it is by an inflammatory “CYA” flyer blaming everyone but himself and attacking the character and motives of the General.
The whole purpose of a pilot program is to see if the project works. That includes traffic, noise and other impacts. To react emotionally to problem that may or may not exist benefits no one. To those who thought the composting would emit odors and did not take the time to visit the site (the two ladies in the front row peppering the General rudely with their questions)made fools of themselves. Odor was one of my concerns and it was dispelled with the facts ie. a visit to the compost heap.
The same concern of traffic impact will either be dispelled or confirmed by the TEMPORARY PILOT PROGRAM.
But then lets not let fact get in the way of an emotional unsubstantiated outrage. It gets you out of the house and away from the kids or spouse to attend an otherwise boring council meeting.
In response to Mr. Green Jeans who fails to name himself:
No meeting I have ever attended has been boring, most of all the JFTB Compost meeting or any council meeting thereof. Yes, I agree that the two ladies up front were wrong in being so vocal, especially since they came too late to hear what the general had to say, or to be on the bus like you and I obviously were. But that is what happens when people don’t sit down and plain listen, like you and I did.
No, I am not just a bystander who shouts out whatever I want without some merit. Please don’t assume the worst is at work here–when it isn’t!
As for your insinuations about what really went wrong–you have no clue to what you are speaking about. As for further getting into this, well, is it really worth your time on paper to write something that is slander?
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So it appears the stench I have been smelling for weeks is from this ridiculous “green” program. The odor is nauseating and unbearable. This composting program should be stopped immediately and the s*** hauled off to the dump where it belongs.
I hope the city closes ALL the roads to these trucks (except to haul it away), so the program ceases. I didn’t pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to live next to a dump.
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