About District 4

Fourth District, Calaveras County, CA

Altaville | Angels Camp | Douglas Flat | Murphys | Vallecito

Infrastructures

The City's Infrastructure and Facilities committee meets at 8:30am on the third Friday of each month. I serve as one of the two Council members on the committee along with staff and public members. This week, the first two items concerned our public recreational infrastructure. The new Bret Harte High School sports complex continues to expand and we discussed with representatives from the school district the water and wastewater connections for it. I glad that we have been working together since the beginning of the project so our discussions were positive. The complex is a good example of how public agencies can leverage public funds to create the greatest public benefit.

Public recreation is especially vital to rural communities, especially during stressful periods such as the current economic downturn. Our youth and adults need locations where they can exercise and positively socialize. It seems to me that offering a range of sports is the best way to engage the community. As a mixed use facility, adult sports help create a sense of community and can demonstrate to our youth the best practices of healthy competition and fair play.

We also discussed the future of the aging swimming pool infrastructure at Tryon Park. It seems that this may be the last year for the pumps and filters. Volunteers from the Veterans have done a great job keeping them running but eventually the hardware just can't be repaired. The Sports Complex will have with community support a new pool in the future.

There is a community suggestion to build a skateboard park after the pool is closed. One of the functions of the committee is to provide an opportunity for public discussion prior to formalizing a proposal for Council action. We always welcome input and listen carefully to ideas and suggestions from the public.

Please share your views with me at "Write Lee".