Wagon trail project keeps rolling along

A necessary “boots on the ground” deadline for securing continuance of the contentious Wagon Trail Realignment project was met earlier this month.

As of Feb. 15, the Wagon Trail project development team secured right of entry consent from more than a dozen potentially affected property owners. The consent will allow technical experts from the Calaveras County Public Works Department and Dokken Engineering – the firm awarded a recent contract to conduct the project’s environmental review – to carry out environmental and engineering studies needed to choose a preferred alignment route.

The project development team, comprised of representatives from Caltrans, Public Works, Dokken Engineering and the county, has focused extensively on outreach to affected property owners within the past 30 days, according to Calaveras Council of Governments Executive Director Melissa Eads.

“This project is up against several deadlines – delivery deadlines – and now we’ve met those deadlines. They (the project development team) had such a focus on connecting with property owners,” said Eads.

District 1 Supervisor Cliff Edson, who is a member of the project’s development team, largely credited his District 4 counterpart Debbie Ponte with facilitating an atmosphere of cooperation with concerned landowners.

“Debbie’s out there beating the bush herself,” commented Edson. “The idea was just to go out there to meet with folks and get their ideas on how they feel about the project. … My impression was that they were concerned about communication. They wanted to feel like they had a say. It’s their property.”

The matter was brought to Ponte’s attention immediately after she assumed her role as supervisor.

“Around 15 property owners hadn’t returned right of entry requests,” said Ponte. “There was a concern that this would cause delays that would result in a loss of funding. I decided for myself that as a new supervisor I would call these folks and hear directly from them.”

The results of Ponte’s initial outreach resulted in the creation of informal “tailgate” meetings. The meetings were held on a turnout along Highway 4 and involved Public Works staff and members of Dokken Engineering who were able to meet one-on-one with concerned landowners.

“We made some introductions and found there were some trust issues,” Ponte continued. “Eventually all landowners agreed to the environmental study in one fashion or another, but that’s basically been my involvement over the last 30 days. I wasn’t too pleased to see all those form letters going out. I needed to know for myself that these folks were aware of the (right of entry) request.”

According to the CCOG’s Capital Improvement Program, a draft environmental document is expected to be circulated in the summer of 2015. As the environmental and engineering studies get underway, Ponte plans to hold additional community meetings, starting in late March or early April, to introduce herself and to continue answering public questions as they arise.

“I’m feeling really good about it. We’re moving forward. It’s a process. I hate to hear it’s going to take a couple years but I understand they have to see the flowers bloom and the bunnies hop before they make recommendations,” said Ponte.

Contact Kristine Williams at kristine@calaverasenterprise.com.