The Mark Twain Health Care District Board took the path most traveled this week by joining a lengthy group of supporters for a trail route through San Andreas.

“We have a lot of wonderful segments, but they’re like isolated islands,” said Jim Kavanagh, San Andreas Recreation and Park District board director. “We hope to create pedestrian and bicycle opportunities to unify these elements.”

The result is the Walk & Bike San Andreas Project. The proposed early phases would start at Calaveras High School, continue through Nielson Park and include San Andreas Elemen-tary School on to Turner Park. Later phases would connect Treat Avenue with the services and centers along Mountain Ranch Road, including the Alex Quinones Community Park.

“We want to create feeder routes to the major trails,” Kavanagh said, referencing the mile-long loop now being cleared at the ballpark. “With two hospitals, the senior center, the government center, the library, the park – how many people are in these facilities every day?”

Kavanagh said of the large number of people who work in San Andreas, he estimates 80 percent commute and 20 percent live in town.

“(San Andreas is) hands-down the largest employer,” he said. “Could we change that dynamic to make this a more attractive place to live? … It is our goal and hope to create a network of trails, paths, walkways, contiguous sidewalks and crosswalks that can help make walking and bicycling in our community much more inviting.”

Kavanagh said the recreation district is also working with Caltrans for more crosswalks across Highway 49. He said the plan also includes crosswalks along Mountain Ranch Road, which, along with the highway, “are formidable barriers for bicyclists and pedestrians of any age,” he said.

Encouraging activity meets the mission of both the project along with the health care district, Kavanagh said.

“The key component of this is to have a healthier community, so we can just use our feet and legs to get us where we want to go,” he said. “I’m a resident here and I love it, but you just about have to get in your car to go anywhere.”

Health care district board President Lin Reed said this project has been a long time coming.

“I was on a committee 10 years ago to do this very thing,” she said. “It got a lot of people excited about the possibility. I’m thrilled that you’re doing it for the right reasons. I think it’s definitely needed in San Andreas.”

The district voted to join 18 agency and community partners to support the mission of the Walk & Bike San Andreas Project. The district did not vote to provide monetary support.

“Your participation in our work will help significantly,” Kavanagh said, adding agency support would assist the likelihood of grant funding. “I also believe this bicycle and pedestrian network will provide a tremendous health benefit to the San Andreas community.”

Indeed, the district is designed to provide community-based health care services to residents. This includes wellness programs like the walking trails along with services such as the community clinics and hospital.

This month, health care district Executive Director Day-mon Doss presented on the district’s minority interest in the hospital, valued at $18,862,954 as of January 2014. The values fluctuate daily and are the product of Mark Twain Med-ical Center operational and investment values.

Coincidentally, the district and corporation’s shares in the hospital were also mentioned during closing comments at the Calaveras Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday evening. District 5 Supervisor Darren Spellman questioned whether the county’s budget woes – a projected $8 million deficit in the 2014-’15 fiscal year – could be eased with the “$17 million in (Mark Twain Medical Center’s nonprofit corporation) Dignity Health’s coffers.”

Spellman said he believed the county may have access to that money.

“If there’s $17 million, we need to go after it,” he said.

But the money isn’t freed-up and district health board members said they hope it won’t be.

“It is this willed fund,” said board Secretary Dr. Peter Oliver. “It really only means something (if) we actually dissolve.”

Doss said he is available to clear up confusion regarding health care districts. He hopes to incorporate educational pieces in the monthly meetings, to inform both the board and public about nuances in the system.

In other news, the district is moving forward with its real estate endeavors. For the proposed Angels Camp Family Medical Center, hospital CEO Craig Marks coordinated a meeting with Caltrans and the City of Angels. The primary holdup in acquiring the site has been adequate access.

The main entrance to the clinic would be along Dogtown Road, which is very close to the intersection of Highways 4 and 49. For this reason, Caltrans recommended a “left in, left out” access from Highway 49. A median would likely be constructed along Highway 49 to prevent left turns in or out of Dogtown Road, and a U-turn would likely be legalized on northbound Highway 49.

“It’s an inconvenience,” said Amy Augustine of Sonora-based Augustine Planning Associates Inc., the health care district’s consultant for this project. “It’s not an environmental impact.”

Augustine said this completes the application to be sent to the State Clearing House.

“I think we’ve seen a very strong effort by Caltrans to work with us, the applicant and City of Angels Camp,” Doss said. “I think they see that this is a very important project for us and for the city.”

If all goes according to plan, the Angels Camp Family Medical Center “will be unlike any other outpatient medical center in the county,” Marks said.

Designed to be more than 15,000 square feet, the center would house primary care, including women’s health and specialty services, such as psychiatry, orthopedics, cardiology and general surgery. The center would also provide radiology, laboratory and physical therapy services.

Augustine anticipates public hearings for this project in May. The item will first go before the Angels Camp Planning Commission and then the Angels Camp City Council for final approval.