Ledger-Dispatch

By Debbie Dunn (ddunn@volcano.net)=20

The panel at Wednesday night's Pine = Grove=20 Community Council meeting included, from right, Caltrans project = director=20 Grace Magsayo, District 10 representative Dan Brewer and Amador = County=20 Transportation Commission Executive Director Charles = Field.

Photo by: Debbie = Dunn
"How=20 many folks attended the Highway 88 improvement meetings back in 2002?" = asked=20 Charles Field, executive director of the Amador County Transportation=20 Commission. Ten or 12 of the more than 130 residents gathered for the = Pine Grove=20 Community Council meeting Wednesday responded with raised hands. "Well, = you're=20 all going to have to come back again."

Field went on to explain = how two=20 other workshops had been held back in 2002 that narrowed down nearly a = dozen=20 alternatives for improving the traffic flow through Pine Grove. There = were two=20 alternatives chosen: a highway widening or a southern bypass. Field = remembers=20 that about half the residents supported the widening and half supported = the=20 bypass.

In October 2003, after those town hall meetings had been=20 conducted, financial conditions changed at the state level. Pine Grove = was asked=20 to be patient and was told that state budget cuts had stalled the design = phase=20 of the $30 million Pine Grove/Highway 88 corridor improvement=20 project.

That same month, Field was quoted as calling the = corridor "the=20 No. 1 transportation improvement project in the county."

"Pine = Grove=20 citizens will make the decision through the ACTC and the board of = supervisors,"=20 he added then. "Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration will = need to be=20 brought along with the local decision."

On Wednesday night, Field = told=20 attendees where things stand today. Once again, all of the decisions = appear to=20 be resting on funding issues. What was at one time a $30 million project = has=20 escalated to $83 million, which would inhale the county's state = transportation=20 funding for the next 20 to 50 years.

Field shared that when the = bypass=20 was pitched to the California Transportation Commission in May, they = asked, "Why=20 would you start a project that can not be completed for 20 or more = years?"=20 Currently there is initial funding to carry out a detailed study for the = corridor. "This is a process that will take about a year and a half," = Field=20 explained. It will involve significantly more public input and will go = into a=20 lot more detail. There are four phases involved in this process: = environmental=20 clearance, design, right of way and actual construction. Field added = that a=20 fifth element should be included - community acceptance.

The = evening=20 continued with panel members - including representatives from the = California=20 Department of Transportation's District 10 - supporting the theme that = if the=20 public is not behind the decisions, they will not happen. Field reminded = the=20 residents that in order to start the Highway 49 bypass, 23 public = meetings were=20 held, not counting nine for private property owners. "A compromise needs = to be=20 achieved between the community needs and the state highway needs." Field = concluded.

The Pine Grove Council initiated the open question = period,=20 offering six pre-determined questions. Council member Ginger Rolf asked, = "If the=20 widening project proceeds, what will be affected and who will pay to = relocate=20 the sidewalks and the businesses?"

Caltrans project manager Grace = Magsayo=20 responded first, saying it would be paid for out of the project if the = option to=20 go through town is selected. Field followed up with data that a widening = project=20 would include an 80-foot right of way. In 2003, this indicated that two = to four=20 businesses would have to be relocated and that approximately 20 = properties would=20 be affected. He emphasized that meetings with "every single business = owner"=20 would have to be conducted before proceeding.

Attempting to = address the=20 ocean of raised hands, council Chairman Andy Byrne formed the public = into two=20 lines for questions. More than 30 residents inquired about safer turning = lanes,=20 traffic calming measures, when and how much funding would be available, = and=20 whether new developments would be required to pay mitigation fees toward = these=20 efforts. Volcano resident Ruth Gottstein asked, "Of the six ACTC = commissioners=20 who make the final decisions, how many are here = tonight?"

District 4=20 Supervisor Louis Boitano, a monthly fixture at council meetings, held = the lone=20 hand in the air.

In an interview after the meeting, Gottstein = wondered=20 how commissioners could make informed decisions if they weren't involved = in the=20 public process.

By next week, the council intends to have posted=20 questions and answers from the meeting, as well as other information, on = its Web=20 site - www.pinegroveca.com. Copies will also be available for review at = the=20 library for those without internet access.

The Pine Grove = Community=20 Council and the Pine Grove Civic Improvement Club meet the first = Wednesday of=20 every month in the Pine Grove Town Hall at 5:30p.m. The council = currently has=20 two vacant slots and is encouraging a continuation of community=20 involvement.

Debbie Dunn is a member of the Pine Grove = Community=20 Council.

Debbie Dunn
Ledger Dispatch Contributor=20