Name: Darlene R. Estey

Age: "Old enough to know better"

Occupation: Senior compliance representative

A number of community leaders and developers insist that Plymouth must secure a safe, reliable water source for its future. In working toward this goal, what level of cost is too high for Plymouth residents to absorb in their water rates?

Plymouth citizens should not have to pay water bills that cause them financial hardship. The Ione Band of Miwok Indians has offered to pay the cost of getting a reliable source of water to the citizens of Plymouth, but this has fallen on the deaf ears of the current council.

Is the Arroyo Ditch worth restoring as a viable source of water for Plymouth?

No.

Do you recognize The Ione Band of Miwok Indians under the leadership of Chairman Matthew Franklin as a sovereign government?

Yes.

Plymouth's Main Street currently has one merchant, three eating establishments, a bar and dozens of empty shop windows. Residents also complain of Main Street's "dilapidated" look, saying it lacks the style and charm of the county's other downtown districts. What's the best longterm strategy to revitalize Main Street Plymouth?

Appoint a committee of concerned citizens and business owners to hold meetings and come up with ideas that they can bring back to the Plymouth City Council. The city council should do the research to find out if there are any grants that we might be able to obtain to help pay for the revitalization of downtown. We should be able to come up with a plan and what the cost would be to implement it. We can do it in stages as we have the funding. We can have fundraisers to help offset the cost also. When a community comes together on a common goal, anything is possible.

Under what, if any, circumstances should the Plymouth City Council negotiate a partnership with the Ione Band of Miwok Indians through a Municipal Services Agreement?

It should be done immediately. The Plymouth City Council has a responsibility to the protect the citizens of this town. Negotiating a Municipal Services Agreement with the Ione Band of Miwok Indians will mitigate some of the impacts that (a casino) will have on the city. The MSA will guarantee that the city provide services to the Ione Band of Miwoks. This will allow the city to use the funds negotiated to fund the much needed upgrades to our water, wastewater, fire department and many other services that our city needs. The Ione Band of Miwok Indians do not need to have an MSA to build their project. That is something that has been said over and over again by people believing that they can stop this project. If the city does not provide the services to them, they will build their own. It has also been said that the city should wait until the lands are placed into trust. The time to negotiate is now, not later. The tribe has tried to work with the current city council to no avail. They will not even respond to them. By negotiating an MSA, the city council is protecting the citizens of this town; by not doing so, they are acting like ostriches and just sticking there heads in the sand hoping that it will just go away. It is not a matter of "if" but "when" this project will begin. It is coming. I tried to explain that before and nothing has changed in the last four years.