This letter was sent to Sierra Wave from Supervisor Richard Cervantes who wrote to Caltrans with his concerns.
Lone Pine
December 28, 2011
To:
Director Tom Hallenbeck
Cal Trans District 9
500 S. Main Street
Bishop CA, 93515
Mr. Hallenbeck,
Please be advised that I can no longer support the Cal Trans Olancha-
Cartago four lane project as it stands, for the following reasons:
1. Cal Trans has disregarded the consensus of The Inyo County Board of
Supervisors.
2. Cal Trans has disregarded the majority opinion of the residents of
Olancha – Cartago.
3. Cal Trans has ignored the Inyo County General Plan.
4. Cal Trans has disregarded the wishes of the Local Transportation
Commission.
5. Cal Trans has ignored the fact that none of the other 395 communities in
Inyo County have been bypassed.
6. Cal Trans has failed to take into consideration that the route they selected
effectively kills all potential for economic growth and development along
the highway, upon which we are so dependent for our livelihood.
7. Cal Trans has failed to take into consideration negative environmental
impacts. The route they selected goes across undisturbed land creating a
killing field 115 ft. wide where wildlife will die including: deer, coyotes,
rabbits, raccoons, birds of prey, plus peoples pets.
8. Cal Trans has failed to win the trust of the community, and instead have
created an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty and doubt.
It is not without good reason that Caltrans is mistrusted. The Department is
currently under investigation for: Theft (CHP & NBC4) Falsifying Data,
(Sac Bee) Abuse of Power, ( Orange County Register).
Cal Trans has kept property off tax rolls draining county coffers of tens of
millions of dollars in lost revenue. By there own admission in an interview
with Gov. Arnold Schwargenegger The head of Cal Trans Director Will
Kempton said that “Cal Trans sometimes ran roughshod over communities
instead of working with them”.
Therefore; I urge Cal Trans to bow to the collective wisdom of the people,
Supervisors, and the LTC of Inyo County, and build the four lane undivided
highway as per alt.#la
As the duly elected official representing the people of the 5th District of Inyo
County, which includes Olancha – Cartago, I am saddened that my
constituents have been treated with such complete disregard.
Sincerely,
Richard Cervantes
Supervisor 5th District
Inyo County, California
Persoanlly, I think Mr Clark is on the right track.. .the truth is very few people actually do the work to understand the issue….I bet 90% of the people in the owens valley don’t understand the real issue here…What matters is citizens have to balance their expenses with their incomes…we… Read more »
While I fee I am on the right path, I do see some truth in your comments, in that, yes the community should be informed and should speak for itself as a whole. Your comment Mr. Bohl on the 8 mile super highway doesn’t really make sense, if you want… Read more »
Honestly, what damage will you do to this town or towns involved? If this town is not by passed, then the alternative to by pass is widening of the existing alignment, which as previously stated, would take so much of the adjacent land, that there wouldn’t be much left of… Read more »
Dude. The BYPASS wasn’t a very hard decision for Caltrans in Sucramento. If it was business as usual and Caltrans was working on a normal Transportation Budget, Olancha would have got run over. The bigger the Funding needed for the project, the greater the liklihood of it passing with flying… Read more »
I disagree Mr. Clark Politiks is a tough business and it takes some time to get the hang of it. I truly believe Mr. Cervantes is ready to make his mark in Inyo County as he promised during his first election. Hopefully, everybody will back him and give him the… Read more »
You just further proved my point about your rantings. you said all.
Sean;
….and you were the one who rented your motel in Independence to Skanska for ~$5000 a month during the Four Lane project in Independence….looks like ARRA gave you a lot of money.
Oh I remember that, that was the Skanska company’s headquarters for that construction project, they were there for like a year. that netted a good amount of profit for that owner. That project did not involve a bypass though, it was a four lane project that removed a large portion… Read more »
When you think much about it,this is a hard one to decide on..The people of Olancha and Cartago should have a say into what happens to their towns,but on the other hand,I can’t help but think safety for all that travel the highway should be considered too….The 4 lane through… Read more »
Yes good post Wayne, I like how your thoughts consider both sides with the bottom line truth of the matter. not all of the rantings and accusations.
Having covered Caltrans news in just about all of the Eastern Sierra towns, we have found one thing to be true – Caltrans manages to anger citizens wherever it goes. Of course, people are sensitive about their own property and towns, but there are ways to honor local folks and… Read more »
You’re blowing it too Bennet, again .. biased opinon on your part.
Yes. It’s a personal opinion based on experience as a reporter and a home owner.
BK
OK I’ll give ya the personal opinion as a home owner. I have watched the battles people put up with the state over all of the big construction jobs. I have seen the mud slung at the state, and how people hate it, Say a lot of slanderous things against… Read more »
I respect the feelings of those who live in the Olancha area and don’t want their community bypassed. But this is a State Highway, and as such, it should not be built solely to suit the opiinons of the local residents. I travel this section of the 395 fairly regularly.… Read more »
If Olancha had any potential for economic development along the highway, it would have been realized by now. Instead, the few businesses that were located there have been closed for a long time, except the Ranch House Cafe and the Gas Station south of 190 and Gus’s Jerky of course.
Yes Dirtbag, I agree.
I live in Cartago and own a large property. I have no desire to develop this propery, but perhaps my children or grandchildren will. Mr. Palamar and I own some of the only land in southern Inyo County that would be attractive to future development, so yes, we have a… Read more »
The new route is going to take very little private property, it’s mostly on BLM public land…..200 vocal residents don’t constitute a majority, the majority of users of 395 expressed their desire for the alternative selected in the survey sent out years ago…..did you take the survey? And you should… Read more »
I for one want Olancha bypassed. It is the safest way and will save lives. It may even save your’s or someone you love. Travelers along Hwy 395 don’t want to stop or slow down in Olancha and if they do they can pull off the express way and enjoy… Read more »
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/directives/notices/n4720-7.htm
Never let Caltrans block a Casino Entrance ever again.
District 9 has always denied LOCAL Preference as Injust and illegal. FAR FROM IT IS THE TRUTH. INYO QUALIFIES FOR PREFERENCE AND SHOULD DEMAND IT.
The link you post has to do with hiring Native Americans on projects on tribal lands it has nothing to do with blocking a casino entrance….or I must be mistaken, is this about blocking an entrance to a motel that was never opened on the south side of Independence that… Read more »
CalTrans decision to bypass Olancha is ridiculous. The residents, the business owners and the Board of Supervisors all stated their preference to be Alt #1, widen the existing corridor. The County has a stated goal and policy of “No Bypass”. The cost to taxpayers of building a new 4 lane… Read more »
You’re wrong….the cost is virtually the same for all alternatives. The State is NOT required to comply with a General Plan governing County property, most of the alignment is on BLM land and their RMP doesn’t preclude this type of project. The viewshed according to the BLM’s RMP is the… Read more »
Congradulations to Mr Cervantes!!!!! He is showing true leadership that is special to the people of Olancha, Cartago, the Owens Valley, the state of California. I believe it is important for the citizens to get informed on this issue and understand why building the road along the existing coridor is… Read more »
Like I said before — move Olancha back West and leave 395 where it is and widen it in place. It will be cheaper and less damaging to the existing environment and the people who live in the area will have a nicer place to live. But what do I… Read more »
Wow, check out the grammar in that letter, needs work!
Caltrans District 9 is pathetic. District 9 is so retarded, District 7 has to do their Environmental Studies for them. Mr. Cervantes does not have all the facts because the Environmental Docoments he needs to assess the situation were illegally processed as District 7 documents. I.e. They circumvent the required… Read more »
How and why was the dirt hazardous?
Sean, oh so many fallacies in your post….you must be the gentleman who use to own the motel in south Independence on 395 who expected Caltrans (the taxpayers) to pay you a million dollars for your motel that you originally bought for ~$300K? And then after writing all the slanderous… Read more »
You’re totally blowing it Sean, your letter is not true, anyone with any sort of intelligence can see right through your rantings, I see only incorrect accusations.
It’s unfortunately that Mr. Cervantes’ letter is so fraught with misleading and incorrect information, for example Mr. Cervantes can’t even spell Mr. Hallenbeck’s name correctly! How can anyone trust the remaining specious arguments he has? Caltrans’ surveyed the majority of users of 395 3-4 years ago through mailings to Mammoth… Read more »
What is your vested interest in this matter, Eamon McNamara, that you defend Caltrans with low hanging fruit- the opinion of Mammoth skiers racing from the suburbs to the slopes? Don’t you imagine they’d also vote to bypass the entire Inland Empire and all the settlements in Owens Valley? There… Read more »
There are many issues on both sides of this, but one I haven’t seen mentioned is safety. Any time a major artery is changed from two lane head-on traffic to a divided highway (assuming that’s what the bypass is proposed to be), it becomes inherently safer. Question is, is the… Read more »
Tourbillon,
In November, I posted this info from Caltrans:
Caltrans’ Cedric Zemitis told us that from January of 1999 through December of 2008 135 accidents occurred in the Olancha area with 16 fatalities and 121 injuries.
From the minutes of the December Local Transportation Commission meeting: “Marty Fortney feels that the safety reports in the environmental document are inaccurate in that all the accidents did not occur where the bypass is proposed.” [www.inyoltc.org/minutes/1211.pdf] Inyo Supervisor-LT Commissioner Fortney pointed out that the vast majority of the accidents,… Read more »
These accidents did occur, however, almost all of them were at the extreme south end where the 4 lane ends or at the extreme north end near Willow Dip where CalTrans has chosen to mark the two lane for passing on a hill before a curve. They only play the… Read more »
Oh I forgot, Mr. Palomar, you’re the one with a vested interest…..aren’t you the one who owns a huge parcel of property in Cartago that you’re trying to subdivide into 40+ home site?……looks to me like your only concern is selling lots and I for one WOULDN’T want a home… Read more »
Mr McNamara: You spelled my name incorrectly, which of course I would never mention if you hadn’t tried and convicted Supervisor Cervantes for the same offense! I do own property in Cartago and Olancha, though not what you describe.I am happy to state I have a vested interest in the… Read more »
The “Right thing to do” is the “will” of thousands of respondents to Caltrans’ surveys 5 years- the “preferred alternative” the combination of Alt 3 and Alt 4.
Of course you’re done responding to my “diatribe;” logical arguments, facts, and figures always deflate the opinions of those whom base their stance on emotional appeals…..the citizens of the villages of Olancha and Cartago only have emotional arguments and unfortunately that doesn’t win in the forum of taxpayers spending million… Read more »
Good post! I like your facts.