While I appreciate CEA rescheduling construction and extending the easement deadline, their letter also raised a few questions about how they intend to “allow more opportunity for community involvement” (as stated in the letter). I spoke with a CEA representative, and got some clarifications.

Who received the May letter?
CEA sent the letter to every property address in AtoA. Given that only about 2/3 of AtoA properties are owner-occupied, the other 1/3 of the property owners are possibly (likely?) unaware of the letter’s contents.

Why not send the letter to all property owners?
CEA confirmed they have not compiled a master list of property owners. Apparently a project with a $2,500,000 budget doesn’t include 2 hours for someone to gather property owner names & addresses from the Muni website. This seems like a significant administrative failure – given the need to communicate and coordinate with 90 property owners.

Will CEA share an updated design at the June 23rd meeting?
No. CEA said they are not planning to update the design. So I’m not sure why CEA is calling it an “update presentation”.

When will CEA consider design alternatives? 
As stated in the May letter, and confirmed in my phone call with CEA, they will not consider revisiting the project design until after the easements deadline (October 31, 2022). The order doesn’t make any sense to me.

How will CEA work with property owners to resolve design concerns?
It’s unclear if CEA will put any effort into working through the design issues that are inherent to an undergrounding project in an older neighborhood. Yet again, this cuts against the idea of community involvement.

If the design is the reason for resistance to the easements, why aren’t design revisions on the table (to assist with getting easements)?
CEA said that they don’t have the resources to do many design revisions.

For property owners unable to attend the June 23rd, how will CEA reach those folks or otherwise involve or accommodate them?
CEA is not planning any other outreach.

Why schedule this meeting during the middle of summer, and during Solstice week (when lots of folks are out of town or getting ready to do so)?
I forgot to ask CEA this question. Maybe CEA will shed some light on June 23rd.

If you didn’t receive the letter from CEA, here it is: