Letter to the Editor: CHP responds to residents’ worries about the walking trail closed by Mendocino school’s water project

WATCH OUT FOR KIDS!! School starts Thursday in Mendo. Path issue still unresolved. Path issue will be discussed at MUSD board meeting

Editor’s note— Mendocinocoast.news is committed to following this issue to its conclusion. We have found highly credible local testimony that shows this path is a historic right of way and believe some walking trail needs to be marked out from the construction site to the school’s workyard. Some walkers have told us the south side of the road is the safest for now.

There is support for whatever solution the school board and public can come up with that keeps walkers safe.  Here is our previous coverage.  (MendocinoCoast.news can confirm that MUSD board president Windspirit Aum stated this issue will be on the agenda at the Aug. 28 meeting). We encourage all concerned community members to attend, speak, and help shape a solution that reflects Mendocino’s values of safety, equity and care.

Letter to the Editor: The California State Highway Patrol (CHP) responds to residents’ concerns about the walking trail closure near Mendocino.  The path used daily by students and families remains inaccessible, raising safety and equity issues.  The Mendocino Unified School District Board (MUSD) is expected to discuss the matter at its Thursday meeting.

Dear Editor:

I wanted to provide MendocinoCoast.news  with an update on the MUSD/MCCSD Water Supply & Storage Project planned on MUSD property at 44020 Little Lake Road and the abrupt closure of the adjacent popular ped/bike path you so kindly reported upon:

After receiving little to no response from Mendocino County Planning & Building Services, the County Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Ted Williams, MUSD Superintendent, MCCSD Superintendent, GHD, Inc.’s Project Manager, and the Division of State Architect, my colleagues and I reached out to CHP Headquarters in Sacramento.  Their response was immediate.  They sent two officers from CHP’s District Office in Ukiah to discuss the safety problems with concerned residents Monday morning.  (The CalFire Woodlands Fire Station Battalion Chief is very concerned as well but was unable to attend.)

While touring the site with advocates of the Fury Town Water Association , a Project Coordinator from GHD (the construction contractor) arrived – as if on cue – and jumped into the conversation, informing us that a “Traffic Safety Control Plan” was under development and that public access to the path would be permanently restored – although somewhat rerouted.  Unconfirmed is that MUSD is expected to discuss the path closure on August 28 at their Board of Trustees meeting.  If so, GHD Project Manager, Matt Kennedy can be expected to speak; attendees should expect his usual velvet glove, “everything’s just fine”- style presentation.

After reviewing the site, CHP quickly recognized the problems created by the path’s closure and committed to increasing traffic patrols when school begins this Thursday, August 21.  They will then determine if further patrols are needed.  In addition, they also committed to writing a letter to MUSD and MCCSD supportive of reopening the path.

With recent ESHA (“Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area”) violations having been addressed, the primary issues remain: the depletion of private domestic wells caused and created by the extraction of groundwater by the projects’ wellfield – and the fact that the school district is under no obligation or requirement to supply members of the community with water.  According to the county’s conditions of approval for the project, only a small area of property owners defined by an “Emergency Water Service Area” are expected to be supplied during drought conditions.  (Note: the conditions of approval are not publicly-accessible on the county website and must be requested from Planning & Building Services: the public should ask for Resolution Number PC- 2024-00019.)  

GHD’s Project Coordinator also reported on Monday of finding relatively little water in the wells punched and tested thus far, something that will not come as much of a surprise to adjacent residents, many of whom have historically experienced well depletion problems. 

Thanks to all at MendocinoCoast.news for reporting on this important subject.  It takes a village – plus.

Sincerely,

Christina Aranguren

Member, Fury Town Water Association

Chair, MendoMatters.org

The Fury Town Water Association is a new name for an evolving group of community members who have been focused on groundwater issues in greater Mendocino. “Fury Town” hearkens back to the historic name for the area east of of what is now Highway 1. It was also a name used by non conformist Hippies in the 70s.

(Second editor’s note-There has been no coverage elsewhere for one simple reason- no press release has been issued. Mendocinocoast.news believes the role of the media is to go out and find news and is one of the only news outlets doing so—without a press release being issued by authorities. We now have recorded three dozen important scoops over the past year.  When a press release is issued, many so called “News” sites  immediately reprint it, word-for-word without question, often  signing their own names on it as if they had authored it themselves.  

Stay -tuned – Please keep those letters to the Editor coming – What is important to you is important to us.