I attended the Castaic Area Town Council Land Use Committee meeting. Got the same old presentation about the dump, so I’m wondering if they are going to change it someday.

My mother, Evelyn “Pat” Manzer, would be proud of the headquarters building the Castaic Union School District has today. The school board meeting room is a far cry from the old cafeteria at the old school. In those days, they would pull the tables out of the walls and students could eat lunch, or various community activities could be conducted.

The manager of the landfill explained the dump to an audience of folks who might know more about the operation than many of the managers of the dump. But he has to do it, because that is the protocol for this and most other “official” meetings.

I also got the distinct impression that no matter how many of the 45 or so folks who showed up don’t want the expansion, the vote would not be in their favor.

One of the Land Use Committee members recused himself from the meeting, since the dump gives money to an organization he works for. Of course, I’m still wondering how the Castaic Area Town Council can vote on anything to do with the dump since nearly 100 percent of the Town Council’s budget comes from Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

I listened to all I could and got to the point that I had to say something. I submitted a speaker request card, and soon the chairman called me to speak.

Now, I couldn’t say anything about the foul air and bad water. Many other speakers stated the facts about those subjects. I walked to the podium and looked over at the folks from the dump. There were about five seated there. I said: “Hello, I am Darryl Manzer. I am a native of this valley called Santa Clarita. I want you gentlemen from the landfill to know me because you think I lied and misled folks about your operation. Well, I only reported what I read in the various water quality, air quality and (waste origin) reports. Only around 20 percent is from the Santa Clarita Valley.”

I turned to the committee members and said, “Tonight you will decide what you think our valley should be. Will it be the location of one of the largest landfills in California? Will you folks vote to sell out our valley for what will amount to a half million dollars a year? That is what you are about to do. Not just Val Verde but our whole valley.”

That is what it comes down to. What is the sales price? How much will they take for selling out the residents of Val Verde, and thus the Santa Clarita Valley?

It makes me sick. It seems to make a lot of folks who live on Lincoln Avenue in Val Verde sick, too. What is the price?

The opening presentation by Chiquita Canyon Landfill emphasized the scholarships and community groups that get funds from the landfill. I find it fitting that California Institute of the Arts gets some of the money. Really, some Disney folks get that when a huge portion of the trash comes from Anaheim and “Mickey Land.” Is it worth that price?

The landfill claims the money it spends isn’t “hush money.” Just what is it, then? How much does that Town Council cost? How much does the health of friends and neighbors cost? How much are they getting to pollute our canyons and our river and our valley? It that worth a half-mil a year?

In the end, the Land Use Committee decided not to vote on it. Instead they passed the buck to the full Castaic Area Town Council.

So it looks like the Castaic Area Town Council will get its payoff money, and thus the SCV will be home to an even bigger dump.

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com and his commentaries are archived at DManzer.com. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].