I am writing on behalf of the Amador County Transportation Commission in response to your July 1 editorial ("Family's philanthropy unfairly bypassed"). You stated that the Allen family donated land for the bypass and you imply that items they had requested with construction of the bypass have been ignored. This is not entirely correct. Even though many of us are frustrated by some items left unfinished, the facts are that the Allen family was paid for the bypass right-of-way and mitigations for their cattle ranching operations were included in the bypass' construction.

It is true the Allen family initially donated the Highway 49 bypass right-of-way to the city of Sutter Creek. However, the donation was never acceptable to the California Department of Transportation and the city returned the donation before the bypass was built. The original Allen Ranch dedication included four paved public road intersections that would have provided access for future commercial and residential development, not just agricultural operations. Caltrans was only willing to fund the project if it was built to an expressway standard, per the design you see today.

The ACTC conducted several meetings with Caltrans and the Allen family to try to preserve the right-of-way dedication and address the family's current agricultural needs. Unfortunately, we could not reconcile the Allen family desires with the conditions required. At that point, Caltrans took over the project.

After condemnation and court proceedings, the Allens were paid $2.3 million for the right-of-way. This does not include an additional $92,000 paid to Allen family relatives owning adjacent properties crossed by the bypass. In addition to this, up to a million dollars was spent on a cattle under-crossing, retaining walls, fence relocation and other measures to mitigate the roadway's impacts on Allen Ranch agricultural operations. Finally, the ACTC, city of Sutter Creek and Caltrans have recognized the Allens may require a new public road connection to accommodate future possible development of Allen Ranch and surrounding properties. Caltrans' and the ACTC's position is that this connection will need to be paid for with private funds when and if the property is ready for development.

All this being said, the most important point in your editorial is that the Allen family deserves the utmost respect for their sacrifices and contributions to the community over many years, not the least of which is the new highway bypass running through their ranch. For this, the ACTC has always been grateful.

Charles F. Field is the executive director of the Amador County Transportation Commission.