Procter and Gonzales, who were able to meet Senator Diane Feinstein at her weekly constituents’ breakfast and later with her staff, also had a “very pleasant meeting with Rep. Elton Gallegly. Both councilmembers did a tremendous job articulating the needs of Santa Paula to those that don’t know Santa Paula, with Rep. Gallegly,” a frequent visitor and champion of the city, “being a major exception.”“We had good meetings with everybody,” agreed Procter, even though a second grant that could help offset the cost of the wastewater treatment plant that “has to do with agricultural rural communities” hit a potential snag. “The problem with that is we fit the requirements in every category, but it’s supposed to be for communities of 10,000 residents or less,” but Senator Feinstein was asked to explore a waiver.Procter said that Rep. Gallegly was both “personable and very helpful.... Obviously he seems to have good relations with people” throughout the federal government.Bobkiewicz noted that the trip was “prime time for what we were doing,” with plenty of local-level elected officials visiting Washington to lobby for projects and programs. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed and continue to work with our lobbyists in Washington” to acquire project funding.
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Vice Mayor John Procter (left) and Councilman Bob Gonzales (center) met with Congressman Elton Gallegly during their recent trip to Washington, D.C. |
Procter, Councilman Gonzales lobby for funding in Washington
April 18, 2007
Santa Paula City Council
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula TimesVice Mayor John Procter, Councilman Bob Gonzales and City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz have returned from a whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C., where for two days they met with various elected officials and government agencies in an effort to acquire funds for city needs.“They requested $3 million and had a second request” for funding from the Department of Agriculture for water and wastewater - specifically the wastewater treatment plant - projects that the cash-strapped city needs, noted Bobkiewicz. The latter request hit a roadblock due to the size of the city for a change considered too large for assistance.“I thought it was great,” Procter said of the trip, “although the results of course, remain to be seen. I had a great time with Bob and Wally... Bob did a great job connecting with people; I think we made a great team.”Procter said that he feels “very optimistic” about securing funding for Santa Paula’s needs, “but you never know, and if you don’t show up you can pretty much guarantee you’ll be getting nothing.”Bobkiewicz said that the “second big issue,” a unique grant program that might benefit Santa Paula Airport through the purchase of development rights by the city, garnered a meeting with the Federal Aviation Agency. “They were generally supportive and had some good questions.”
