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Residents object as board advances $1.4M Castlewood water repayment and sets hearing process
Summary
Castlewood residents protested a $1.4 million County loan/assessment to address water-system failures; the board set the Proposition 218 process and later approved the resolution after pulling item 44 for separate consideration, with two supervisors abstaining.
Several Castlewood-area residents told the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on April 22 that they oppose a $1.4 million county resolution tied to the Castlewood water system and objected to what they described as county negligence and incomplete public records.
One resident, speaking for the Castlewood Property Owners Association, said the county did not replace a key staff member after a 2021 death, allowing the water system to degrade, and called much of the $1.4 million request unjustified. "It's only 200 houses. So this is a significant hit to the residents," a public commenter said, estimating a per‑home impact of roughly $7,000.
County staff and counsel told the board the action before the board was to set a Proposition 218 public hearing and adopt the related engineer's report so that property owners can vote on any supplemental service charge. Staff noted prior settlement activity with the community and said the engineer's report and technical appendices have been provided; they also warned that if a weighted protest ballot (per Prop 218) succeeds, the county would need to assess how to recover any interim loan exposure.
Supervisor Tam moved item 44 after pulling it from a larger mass motion and Supervisor Marquez seconded. In a separate roll-call vote the board approved item 44 with two abstentions (Supervisor Miley abstained; President Halbert abstained). County counsel and staff explained that the county had previously authorized a $1.4 million loan to the CSA to maintain service and that a failed ballot would leave the county to resolve that exposure.
The board's action on April 22 sets a public hearing and moves the Proposition 218 process forward; the timeline for ballot mailing and the protest period was described during the engineer's report presentation. The ballot outcome will determine whether the assessment is adopted; staff said ballots will be mailed and tabulated as part of the Prop 218 schedule.
