Mensinger To Meet With Feds On DG Trail!

WHAT A WAY TO END THE WEEK!

Just when you think a week couldn't possibly get more bizarre, another curious missive is propelled out from the 5th floor of City Hall.

MEETING WITH FEDS
In a press release today, HERE, titled, "Statement from Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger on Fairview Park Trail", Mensinger tells us that, through the City Attorney's Office, he's requested a meeting with U.S. Fish and Wildlife to talk with their agents about what he knows about the incident.  Yikes!

HIS REQUEST STARTED IT...
You will recall from the released public records that it appears that Mensinger requested Public Services Director Ernesto Munoz to do something about the trail along the fence separating the Waldorf School/Parsons Field and Fairview Park.  What happened as a result of that request was a scraping of weeds and application of herbicide on a swath at least six feet wide.  And, later, mysteriously that area was found covered with decomposed granite to the depth in some places of at least six inches and wide enough to drive a tandem-axle truck on it.

ENCROACHED ON PROTECTED AREAS
That path encroached significantly on Federally-protected vernal pools - habitat for San Diego Fairy Shrimp.

DG REMOVED, SANCTIONS POSSIBLE
The decomposed granite has been removed under the guidance of the U.S Department of Fish and Wildlife at a very significant cost to the city.  Word on further possible sanctions by the government due to our poor stewardship of that site is still pending.

WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?
It's not clear what Mensinger hopes to accomplish with his conversation with representatives of U.S. Fish and Wildlife.  One more thing for us to speculate about.  Maybe he will finally fess up to playing a bigger part in the debacle and take personal responsibility for it.  Or, maybe he'll tell them he didn't do anything.  Or, maybe he'll tell them who did it... I guess we'll find out.

IF HE'S CULPABLE HE SHOULD RESIGN
In my opinion, if it is the former - and he's consistently denied any knowledge of the installation of the DG path for more than six months - that's a serious breach of his fiduciary responsibility as a councilman and the number two elected official in our city.  If that's the case he should immediately resign from his office and pay whatever costs and penalties that act has caused the city to incur.  We'll see.

Decomposed Granite Removal About Half-Way Complete

 (12/13/13)

CHECKING ON THE DG REMOVAL TODAY
While running holiday errands I made a quick stop at Fairview Park this afternoon to check on the progress of the removal of the decomposed granite (DG) from the trails that encroach on the Federally-protected vernal pools.  You will recall that last week, HERE, it was estimated the job would be completed by the end of this week.

 (TODAY)

ABOUT HALF-DONE
It looks like a little more than half of the DG has been removed - all of it from the section of the trail that runs parallel with the fence line that separates the Parsons Field/Waldorf School area from the park.

HALF PENDING
The other section - the leg that runs parallel with the fence line separating Jim Scott Stadium from the park - is still covered with DG, although the logs that bordered the trail on the vernal pool side have been removed.  However, it looks like some test holes have been dug that revealed the DG is much thicker on that trail than the segment that has already been scraped clean.

SIGNS OF EQUIPMENT
And, there's clearly signs of activity because the grass at the entrance to that trail has been significantly torn-up by heavy equipment hauling the DG from the other leg.

WAITING FOR USFWS OK
I spoke with Director of Public Services Ernesto Munoz from the park and was told that, because the remaining DG is so thick - and the removal of all of it would result in a very low spot where any rain water would certainly pool instead of flowing into the adjacent vernal pools - they are awaiting a consultation with Christine Medak of the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife before proceeding.  It's possible that some additional remediation - the installation of native soil to raise the level after the DG is removed - will be considered.

NOBODY CLAIMING THE REWARD - YET
So, progress is slow and, as far as I know, nobody has turned up to claim the reward that leads to the apprehension of those responsible for the installation of the DG earlier this year.  It seems curious that nobody has come forward.  That task was HUGE, requiring lots of product and either lots of man-hours or the use of motorized equipment.  Somebody should ask Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger if he has any ideas, since it was his insistence that the path be improved that launched this whole debacle in the first place.