Mokelumne Hill

Report of toxic minerals stalls plans for Calaveras recreation area
October 14, 2008 6:00 AM
SANDY GULCH - Arsenic contamination in soil and water has put an end to dreams of a regional park with ball fields, hiking trails and picnic areas on a former lumber mill site in Sandy Gulch.

Calaveras County officials in September were weeks away from signing a deal to purchase the 22-acre park site from the Calaveras County Water District when a 1992 study came to light that warned of toxic minerals present on the grounds.

Pat McGreevy, who represents the West Point area on the Calaveras County Parks and Recreation Commission, found the old report. "These documents were in the CCWD library. I read them. I said, 'Oh jeez, look at this.' "

PARK MONEY ON AGENDA

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors will meet at 9 a.m. today in its chambers, 891 Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas. High on the agenda is a vote on allocating state parks bond money for a variety of projects, including a small ball field proposed for a site on Highway 26 in Sandy Gulch west of West Point.

McGreevy said it is not clear whether the arsenic is a natural component of the soil or whether it came from chemicals used to treat lumber at the former mill. He said the initial indications are that the arsenic is much more widely dispersed than would be likely if it was from industrial contamination related to the mill.

McGreevy said removing or covering the arsenic would make the park project prohibitively expensive.

The loss of the potential regional park site sent county officials scrambling to find appropriate uses for almost $250,000 in Proposition 40 state park bond funds that had been slated for use in Sandy Gulch. Counties have to use such funding by 2010 or lose it. And with the time it takes to complete environmental studies and construction, that means projects must be lined up by the end of this year or they likely won't happen.

Today, the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors will consider an alternative list of projects for West Point and nearby towns that includes a much more modest ball field on several acres just across Highway 26 from the CCWD site.

McGreevy said initial soil tests on the smaller site have come back clean and the land's owner appears to be willing to sell. The site would be easy to develop, in part because it was used as a community ball field during the 1980s and 1990s.

"If we don't nail this deal, it's unlikely the upcountry will get a park any time soon," McGreevy said.

The project list to be considered today includes $92,500 for the purchase of the alternative ball field site, $28,000 for a skateboarding ramp to be built in downtown West Point, $70,000 for a water filtration system to solve problems with the well serving the community park, youth alliance and community club facilities in Mountain Ranch, $25,000 to install air conditioning in the Mokelumne Hill Town Hall, and $30,000 to install bleachers, a snack bar and an irrigation system at Hobbs Field in Mokelumne Hill.

Steve Wilensky represents the West Point and Mokelumne Hill areas on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors. He said the arsenic pollution was not the only factor pushing up the cost of building a park on the mill site. He said it turned out that it would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars as well to build a road to the park that met county standards. In essence, officials would have had to choose whether to spend the money on buying the land, cleaning it or providing road access.

"We'd have only enough money to do one of the three, let alone build a park. It became financially unviable," Wilensky said.

By Dana M. Nichols
Record Staff Writer

Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 754-9534 or dnichols@recordnet.com.