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Paradise, Swall Meadows emergency fire route still controversial |
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Friday, 12 March 2010 |
An alternative fire and emergency exit road out of the communities of Swall Meadows and Paradise is still on the table, according to county officials.
The road was first proposed by the area’s fire departments, but has run into some resistance as residents try to come up with a better route that will still provide a safe route out of the area in case of fire or other natural disaster.
According to the area’s county supervisor, Hap Hazard, a recent meeting with property owners and government agency representatives was “a good meeting” that proved people are still ready to come up with ideas. One is to widen the current road so it provides a better fire break and escape route. This would not provide a second back-up road, but it is an idea to consider, Hazard said.
The other option, to improve the single track and old, unmaintained route that already runs out of Swall and down to the Paradise area, is the most controversial alternative, as it would cross federal and private land. Residents have also expressed worries about the impact to wildlife, should the old road that is now used mainly by bikers and hikers get turned into a maintained road.
New Zealand snails come to Eastside as Australian snails head for New
Zealand
It sounds like a cosmic joke.
As Eastside wildlife officials and fishermen struggle to protect the Owens River and other waterways from the damaging and invasive New Zealand mud snail, New Zealanders are struggling to protect their streams and rivers from an invasive Australian mud snail.
That’s small consolation to Eastern Sierra fishermen – and fish – as the little New Zealand mud snail makes its way into more and more local waters, covering river and creek bottom gravel with a coating of snails so fish can’t spawn and eating food once available for trout. But at least we aren’t alone in the struggle, said Mono County District 5 Supervisor Byng Hunt, who had just returned from a three week trip to New Zealand this week.
“Maybe we can learn something from them,” he said.
New state fire mandate
affects builders, owners
A new state mandated fire suppression regulation could mean local residents and developers have another hurdle to jump through before they can build.
The news that the state will require all builders, private as well as commercial, to put a fire suppression system in their homes that could include things such as installing “cool roof” infrastructure, will add a layer of hardship to Mono County residents that might not be warranted in such a low density, small, rural area, according to county building officials.
“It’s another unfunded state mandate,” said District 1 Supervisor Tom Farnetti.
The regulations were designed not just to prevent buildings from burning, but to protect firefighters from getting hurt. That might be justifiable in high-density areas where homes and buildings are often only a few feet apart from each other, but not in Mono County, county officials said.
The regulations go into effect later this summer and will require an extensive plan that must be approved by the county.
County officials said they will try to get their views known in Sacramento and stated that they will be making the rounds to talk to contractors and the public to let them know more about the new regulations.
To name or not to name . . .
Whether to name a local building or park after the late Mono County District 4 Supervisor Bill Reid, as some Bridgeport residents requested after Reid unexpectedly died in October, is turning out to be a much more complicated question than the rest of the county supervisors had anticipated.
The supervisors, who have all taken turns filling in for Reid as best they can, say they have met both support and opposition to the idea as they have traveled the county, with some residents stating they believe there should be a policy regarding naming public buildings. While most supported the idea of some kind of memorial for the well-loved Reid, some also said they wished to keep the names of their buildings to reflect the place they lived, rather than after a person.
The end result is that they will schedule the subject for an extended discussion at a future board meeting. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 19 March 2010 )
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