THIRD STREET ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP PROJECT UPDATE
PG&E employees Tricia Sullivan, Project Manager, Rick McCarthy, Engineer, and Tracy Craig, Community Relations, gave a presentation on the upcoming remediation on the 999 Third Street Remediation Project. The location is the site of a former manufactured gas plant which was shut down around 1930 at a time when it was common practice to leave the substructure and contaminants in the ground. The project is expected to start in the fall of 2015 and will take a little more than a year to remove and replace 35,000 cubic yards of soil contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum products and metals and replace it with clean fill. Most of the work will take place inside large, completely enclosed tents using equipment such as excavators and backhoes. Work will take place Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 5 PM with some weekend work as allowed by the City. To protect health, air will be monitored at key locations along the edge of the property as well as within the site. There will be truck traffic associated with the project. The trucks will be staged off-site and an extra lane will be constructed in 3rd Street using what is now parking spaces and sidewalk to allow trucks to decelerate and enter the site without impeding traffic. Once inside, the trucks will be loaded with soil and exit onto Lindaro Street, followed by a turn onto 2nd street. Safety flaggers will help to safely manage pedestrian and truck traffic. PG&E staff will be on-site during construction as needed and will be available 24-7 via cell phone to provide quick responses.
For more information, the following sources are available:
Tracy Craig 510-334-4866, tacm@pge.com;
PG&E toll-free community hot line 866-247-0581; remediation@pge.com;
www.pge.com/san-rafael-MGP;
www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public
SMART CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Hunter Young, P.E., Assistant Civil Engineer for the City, who has been assigned to all things related to SMART presented a construction update. Twenty traffic signals in the downtown have to be synchronized to help with traffic flow. In order to justify any new traffic lights, the City must wait to do traffic studies after it is seen how traffic patterns will change do to the train. The next few weeks of work were outlined.
Mr. Hunter’s contact information is 415-485-3408, HUNTER.YOUNG@CITYOFSANRAFAEL.ORG
AIRPORT SOCCER FEIELDS STATUS
Kraig Tambornini, Senior Planner for the City, explained that permit application are in for the fields out by McInnis Park. The expiration date for the entitlements is as early as next year and the owners may have to ask for an extension. The one lane bridge which is to be replaced by a two lane bridge can only be worked on during the time of year that wildlife will not be harmed.
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Fire Chief Chris Gray gave a brief report on the Vegetation Management Program, which the City has been working on since 2007. A chipper will be provided to neighborhoods on an as need basis. Over 50 homeowners has participated in the removal of 70,000 pounds of juniper.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Nancy Mackle provided information on National Night Out to be held August 4, 2015. There is a deadline of July 25 for organizations to register. City officials and police and fire officers will come to events to unite with residents on a social level. Forms are available in the police department section of the City web site.
This meeting of this group was the last one Nancy will attend since she will be retired before next month’s meeting.