| Selected highlights of the board of supervisors meeting dated 6-20-06. The Views Of The Goldrushcam Are Posted In Bold TYPE ! What a difference a week makes at the meetings ! Only about 25-30 people were at the meeting with some of those being officials. The forest service has taken back the responsibility of the Ferguson Slide as other agencies with their task done fly off to other parts of the country. A response plan has been submitted by the leaving team on their findings and will be posted on the web after signatures are attached to it. The Slide is still being monitored 24 hours a day by people. Hopefully within a month electronic monitors will be installed, both by Caltrans and the forest service. Caltrans best case scenario is to have a bridge in place by the end of summer with one way controlled traffic. A construction firm has already been selected to put the bridge in. Apparently there is no plan by Caltrans to move the debris and reopen that section of road as their main worry is a damming of the river and debris reaching the other side. So it looks like some sort of permanent bridge will be eventually built there to take the place of the temporary bridge as a one way controlled traffic long term into Yosemite does not seem like a very good idea to us ! Donald Weston addressed the board saying that cranes are available with booms that reach up to 400- 500 feet and that would give a safety measure to those who would work around the slide! He also said that the buckets could pick up 40 -50 yard of material at a time. A spokesman for Rep George Radanovich said that they are trying to set up a temporary SBA office in Mariposa to help with the business's to secure loans. Also to include language in the emergency declaration for economic assistance from the government. How much money does the county pay to house the Grand Jury ? Over $10,000 a year. Supervisor Bibby said that the county should look into having a permanent building for them so they can quit paying money for rent Did the 6th Street Cinema get the funding it requested ? No. As Supervisors Bibby, Turpin, and Pickard said that $10,000 is needed for the road work and fire crews right now. Maybe later. Supervisor Fritz and Stetson were for spending the money as they felt it would be good to help bring in tourists. A representative for the county said the Composting Facility should be open to public on July 8th. More later ! |
The Views Of The Goldrushcam Are Posted In Bold TYPE !
As the above photo shows, it was another full house at the Board Meeting as people
were lining the walls again.
This time it was a mixed crowd as some were there about the Ferguson Slide and others were there
for the discussion on the building moratorium that the members of the group MERG would like to
see while other public speakers wanted their views known on not having a moratorium while the
General Plan is being updated.
The meeting started with an update from Allen Johnson on the slide and the current situation.
The big news was that the US Army Corp Of Engineers now says that the worst case dam that
would build up on the Merced River would be about 100 feet high instead of past reports that had the
slide dam height of 350 feet if the slide was to fall into the river all at once.
All officials stressed that there is no safe way to go in to access the slide because it is always moving.
There was going to be airplane fly overs with a team of geological surveyors from Colorado to get
their opinion on what the slide was going to do.
The slide was described as being in mother natures hands as everyone waits for the slide to either move
or stop moving. Even if the slide went into the river no one could get in there and start moving material until
a geologist said that it was safe to go in. Dianne Fritz said she would like to get a truckload of the slide
rocks so the merchants could sell it. Kidding of course.
A spokesperson for Caltrans said that there are three options on the table, (1) To put a bridge in across the Merced
and back over to the 140, (2) A tunnel (3) A debris shed like they use for the snow.
The park service spokesperson said they are putting in bunk beds in the park and also self contained trailers that
the employees own. Even a few are telecommuting from Mariposa. Also said there is a softening of visitors to the
park as the other entrances are not seeing an increase in traffic as the bad news travels the world.
Jin Allen - Mariposa County Sheriff said he is concerned about the people in El Portal during the winter months if
the slide is still blocking the highway, as snow could restrict emergency vehicles.
The board was also happy to
rescind the order with the DSA (Deputy Sheriff's Association) as they accepted the
previous offer from the county on their contract. The board also increased the money given to the sheriff's
for uniforms.
Quite a few people were there for the discussion about MERG wanting a moratorium on building
in the Catheys Valley area for two years. While on the other side of the fence were residents who
want the Mariposa General Plan rules to continue as is until a new general plan is released.
This is a really big issue that more people need to be aware of before something happens.
