Leaking water tank repairs a year away
As you walk up the blacktop service road from Graham Hill Road in Felton, you begin to hear the sound about 50 yards away from the large, round redwood water storage tank, owned by the San Lorenzo Valley Water District:The sound of running water, as if multiple outdoor hose faucets or outdoor showers had been left on.That sound has been disturbing the hilltop serenity of this place for at least seven years, perhaps longer.Water is pumped into the tank by the district, to provide water pressure for homes and fire hydrants in the sandhills overlooking Felton.The water district for several years has had replacement of this tank on its list of needed capital improvement projects, but it hasn’t had the money – nearly $1.7 million – to do the job.It also has had to identify ways to protect endangered plants and animals in the area.Through drought years and rainy seasons, the water has poured out of the bottom and sides of the large round structure, from cracks, holes, and seams, creating a constantly running stream around the bottom of the tank, and into a specially made catch basin and back into the aquifer.There has been no exact estimate of the water lost, but it’s likely in the thousands of gallons. Picture a half dozen homes that left their bathtub faucets or sprinkler systems running nonstop, for seven years.The site is located between the closed Hanson Quarry and the Santa Cruz County Probation Center and juvenile detention facility. The water district calls the tank, the “Probation Tank.”This month, the district moved a step closer to the planned replacement of the leaking 100,000-gallon redwood tank with a 527,000-gallon welded steel tank by holding a hearing on a plan to mitigate any damage the construction project might do to several endangered plant and animal species: the Ben Lomond spineflower and Ben Lomond buckwheat, the Santa Cruz kangaroo rat, the Zayante band-winged grasshopper, and of course, the now-infamous Mt. Hermon June Beetle. No one spoke at the hearing.The next step is for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Commission to approve the plan, and release the project for construction permits.A similar process at the nearby Scotts Valley Middle School caused a more-than-one-year delay in construction of the new school.The water district is hopeful the tank could be replaced in 2018 at the earliest. Meanwhile, water continues to pour out of the tank, day and night.The district in 2016 imposed a “drought surcharge” of $1 for each unit of water, in hopes of building up depleted capital reserves to fund projects like the Probation Tank replacement. This month, it begins discussion of whether to retain the drought surcharge, and of how much capital improvement money to build into a probable multi-year rate hike.
SLV Water District tests Brown Act
The president of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District’s board of directors, Gene Ratcliffe, on May 25 changed the meeting protocol, restricting public comment “in the interest of efficiency,” in two ways.
1440 Multiversity Opens
It’s a holiday weekend. The beds are made. The silverware is polished. The windows are clean. The sidewalks are swept. The refrigerators and kitchen cabinets are full. The first guests arrive today.
SLV water rates unveiled May 24
The Board of Directors of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District has scheduled two special public meetings on consecutive days next week, on May 24 and May 25.As of Wedesday, May 17, the board had given little indication what the agendas of those meetings might be.The Wednesday, May 24 meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Highlands Park Senior Center in Ben Lomond on the single topic, “Rate study.”At the last rate-study meeting, also at Highlands Park, directors said the next meeting about water rates would likely for the first time reveal proposed water rate options.The second special meeting will be at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 25 in the district’s operations building in Boulder Creek. Pending issues postponed from the board’s April 20 meeting include the Lompico surcharge, a pay increase for district manager Brian Lee, legal bills, and consideration of a change in law firms.The board held another special meeting on May 18, to hold a required public hearing on plans to mitigate the impact on the Mt. Hermon June Beetle of a project to build a new storage tank off Graham Hill Road.The plan will be sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for final review before the construction project can begin.The proposed project consists of replacing the existing 100,000 gallon redwood storage tank with one 527,000 gallon welded steel storage tank.
Cherie Anderson is new PB ad director
Cherie Anderson of Scotts Valley has been promoted to Advertising Director of the Press Banner, publisher Will Fleet announced this week.She had been an Advertising Representative with the newspaper.“Cherie brings a good combination of advertising experience and local community involvement,” Fleet said. Anderson brings 30 years of advertising, marketing, and management experience to her new position.She also is president of the Ambassadors for the Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce. She and her husband Kevin were voted Co-Ambassadors of the Year in 2016. “I’m very excited about what this new role means to me personally and professionally,” Anderson said. “The changes in our paper over the past year have been significant and positive.”“Many local business people are already familiar with Cherie through her activities in the Scotts Valley Chamber,” said Fleet. “I believe she is going to help us fulfill our community service mission, while also helping bring our business to the next level.”“My goal is to continue to develop new strategies that bring solutions for our business community, while maintaining the community focus and benefits,” said Anderson. “The most recent example of this has been our new Real Estate section, and there’s more to come.”Anderson succeeds Jeannette Close, who decided to pursue new opportunities out of the area.The Press Banner is owned by Tank Town Media, of which Ralph Alldredge and Will Fleet are co-publishers.
FAA study not complete
Three local Democratic members of Congress, Representatives Anna Eshoo, Jackie Speier, and Jimmy Panetta this week released a joint statement about the status of proposed changes to flight paths over their Congressional districts.In the announcement, the three members of Congress said the FAA will send its final recommendations on the Department of Transportation “within a month,” for final review and approval.Action by the FAA had been expected this month, on controversial plans to revise commercial jet flight paths over the Central Coast, Santa Cruz Mountains and the San Francisco Peninsula, to reduce noise and improve safety.The plan endorse by a split vote of local officials would shift many flights north from the east side of Santa Cruz to the west side of Santa Cruz and the San Lorenzo Valley.In early December 2016, the final reports with recommendations of the Select Committee on South Bay Arrivals and the San Francisco International Airport/Community Roundtable were sent to the FAA for review and action.“Our offices have been engaged with the new Western-Pacific Regional Administrator of the FAA and his team since early this year, and we have continued to relay the public’s interest in a response to the recommendations as soon as possible,” the Congress members said in their joint statement.“Each of us has spoken directly with FAA Administrator Michael Huerta regarding the status of the FAA’s response to the 109 recommendations contained in these reports to address the ongoing issue of aircraft noise in our Congressional Districts.” They said that Huerta confirmed that he has received a draft response from his Western-Pacific team which has completed extensive technical work.Huerta told them his staff in Washington D.C. is conducting a final review of the document at this time.“Administrator Huerta told us that the FAA is committed to this Initiative process and continuing to work on the response to the recommendations,” they said.“We have been advised that the FAA will send their completed document to the Department of Transportation within a month for final review and authorization,” the joint statement said.“It is not known at this time how long the DOT will take to authorize the release of the response; we will continue to follow-up and will release the response as soon as we receive it,” said Speier, Eshoo and Panetta.
Firefighters to get new breathing equipment
The Ben Lomond Fire Protection District, on behalf of itself and the Boulder Creek, Felton and Zayante Fire Protection districts, has been awarded a $536,164 Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security.
Sheriff considers Boulder Creek station
Craig Wilson, Chief Deputy for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, met with residents and business owners in Boulder Creek on April 25, at a meeting sponsored by the Boulder Creek Business Association and hosted by association president ustin Acton at his Boulder Creek Pizza and Pub.During that meeting, attended by 56 residents, there was discussion of more than a dozen public safety issues.This week, Wilson, along Sgt. Brian Cleveland and Crime Analyst Joshua Pastor reported back to the community, on behalf of Sheriff Jim Hart, in a lengthy post on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.Wilson reported that Cleveland was to meet this week with the patrol deputies who work in the Boulder Creek to coordinate patrols and other activities in the downtown area and the parks beginning the week of May 22. In a month, they said they would seek feedback on the effectiveness of their efforts.Following the community meeting, Hart met with Fifth District Supervisor Bruce McPherson to determine if it is possible to open a Sheriff’s Service Center in Boulder Creek. “We are continuing to explore options,” Wilson said“At this point, we are cautiously optimistic we may be able to identify and obtain a site.”Response times in rural areas are greater than in urban areas due to geography and staffing: Santa Cruz County contains 445 square miles with a population of 129,739 residents in the unincorporated areas; a Sheriff’s Office patrol team consists of 8 deputies and a sergeant, Wilson said.In 2015 the Sheriff’s Office average response time in the county was 9:58 minutes-seconds for priority calls. For comparison, the average emergency response time by the Fire Department was 7:08 minutes-seconds.Wilson said that Hart had reduced the number of vacant deputy positions from 22 to three in less than three years.Business owners had said problems of homeless people were growing in Boulder Creek.“Being homeless is not a crime, but trespassing and other illegal conduct is,” said Wilson. He said deputies will make contacts and work with property owners to reduce trespassing in the downtown area. Businesses experiencing issues may be asked to post signs or be available for contact after hours concerning persons encountered on their property.He also said that deputies will conduct foot patrols throughout their shift and contact persons in violation of the law at Barbara Day Park and Junction Park in Boulder Creek. He also said that deputies will arrest persons intoxicated in public and take them to the Recovery Center in Santa Cruz for release when they are sober; if the arrestee is combative they will be taken to jail. They also will work with liquor and grocery stores to reduce sales to habitual inebriates.Wilson said that anyone who has information about persons selling drugs or locations where drug sales are occurring should email Sergeant Cleveland at [email protected]. If you see drug sales occurring in public, call 471-1121 to have patrol deputies respond and investigate,” he said.The Sheriff’s Office placed a marked patrol vehicle and a speed trailer in downtown Boulder Creek this week.The California Highway Patrol will add radar units, and conduct additional DUI patrols in the Boulder Creek area. Mail theft was a special concern of Boulder Creek residents. To eliminate or reduce mail theft, Wilson encouraged people to consider: removing mail from boxes everyday; depositing outgoing mail at post office drop box; not sending cash in the mail; requesting a vacation hold if leaving town for a few days; obtaining a post office box; installing lighting to allow mailboxes to stay illuminated at night; positioning surveillance cameras to cover mailboxes.
Scotts Valley sees red in future budgets
The Scotts Valley City Council is reviewing a five-year financial plan that looks rosy this year but shows a decline in revenues beginning in 2021.
Middle School target is Aug 2018
When Scotts Valley school officials, teachers, students, architects, and contractors dug into a pile of dirt at Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Scotts Valley Middle School, there was a sense of release – and of urgency.Relief because finally – more than three years after voters approved the bonds for the project, more than 15 years after the first failed bond vote, and more than 75 years after the first middle school building was built on the site – construction on a new school was about to begin.Urgency because, despite recent delays, the $33.29 million contract to build the Scotts Valley Middle School has an August 2018 completion date.That’s just 14 months to build six new buildings – including a new gym – and renovate four others, with the majority of the work occurring during the teaching year.The site of the groundbreaking was the site of what will be some of the first work of the project, building an administrative office on what had been boys and girls locker rooms. The site preparation work and removal and relocation of portable buildings began last fall.The general contractor, Overaa Construction, won’t be able to begin taking apart the old gym or erecting the pre-fab administration, classroom or library buildings until mid-June.That’s when a 30-day comment period required by U.S. Fish and Wildlife is over and actual construction permits can be issued.The goal is to have the principal’s office, library and three classroom buildings completed by the end of the calendar year.This will be possible, say architects, because the new structures are modular, pre-fabricated buildings, which will be placed on concrete slabs.The district got its critical greenlight – and cause for celebration at the groundbreaking –when Fish and Wildlife officials last week announced final approval of a plan to ease the impact of the project on an endangered beetle, the Mount Hermon June Beetle, that will allow construction to begin in earnest.That approval had been expected in February, but new requirements – and some bureaucratic foot-dragging – in Washinton, D. C., stalled the process for nearly three months. Superintendent Tanya Krause said pressure from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo appeared to have helped.The project will proceed in two broad phases.The first phase, with a completion goal of the end of this year, will see the erection of three pre-fab class room buildings at the southeast corner of the campus, located at Bean Creek Road and Scotts Valley Drive.In the courtyard of these three new buildings – now an open area where portable classrooms has once stood, the new library will be built. This also is a pre-fabricated structure.Demolition of the old gym will begin in June, said Mike Smith, the staff person who is coordinating the project.After completion of the first phase, the district plans to spend the winter “break” moving into the new classrooms, and clearing out three current classroom buildings so they can be gutted and completely renovated.The two temporary classroom buildings now being used at the southwest corner of the campus will help in this extensive relocation effort.If all goes well, the renovation of the three classroom buildings, and a multi-purpose building which is the current administrative office, can begin.The new gymnasium will rise during the school year, with completion slated for next summer. Plans to build a new athletic field were scrapped because of issues related to the Mount Hermon June Beetle.If all goes according to plan, students next fall will enter a new campus.
News Briefs | Published Oct. 24, 2025
Food Truck Friday concludes season with Halloween festivities
Presented by Food Trucks A Go Go, in partnership with the Scotts Valley Educational Foundation (SVEF), the...
