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On Aug. 23, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted to approve a $286,398 grant to Verizon California Inc. to bring high speed internet broadband to the unserved and underserved communities of Swall Meadows and Crowley Lake.

The grant will cover about 34% of the project cost. Download speeds of 3 megabits to 10 megabits per second, and uploads of at least 1 megabit per second, will be available to Verizon landline customers for $39 per month with a 1 year service commitment. There will also be a one-time fee of $75 for a modem and service activation. (Non-landline customers can also obtain standalone broadband service, at a higher cost.)

Verizon will make service available to those communities no later than Jan. 28, 2013. Verizon applied for the California Advanced Services Fund grant after reluctantly agreeing to provide service to Swall Meadows and Crowley Lake as partial mitigation for violating the California State Scenic Highway Under-grounding law.

Verizon had strung ariel fiber optic cable along U.S. 395 between Crowley Lake and Mammoth Lakes beginning in 2001, without seeking to obtain the required permit to deviate from the under-grounding requirement.

The new high-speed broadband service will utilize existing copper phone lines to residences, which will be connected through new nodes to Verizon’s existing fiber optic cable running between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes.

Verizon has assured the CPUC that upgrades of its existing fiber optic cable line between Mammoth Lakes and Victorville will be completed by early November, making the promised service speeds attainable. -Press Release

Crowley/Swall will still be underserved even after broadband installation

Technology changes rapidly, and in the case of the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), the rules for technology funding are changing as well.

Last July, Verizon applied for a CASF grant to help fund broadband service to the communities of Crowley Lake and Swall Meadows. Verizon is required by the California Public Utilities Commission to complete this project by January 2013, according to Mono County’s Digital 395 Project Manager Nate Greenberg.

On June 12, Verizon received notification that CASF would approve $329,040 of funding for Verizon to complete the project. However, Greenberg reported, since the time Verizon applied in 2011, “changes have been made to the CASF program and its guidelines.” These changes mostly relate to the speed benchmarks.

One year ago, guidelines stated communities with internet speeds of 3 mbps (megabits per second) down and 1 mbps up were considered served. These are the guidelines under which Verizon currently plans to install the Crowley/Swall broadband.

However, under the new guidelines, these speeds would still leave the area in underserved status, according to Greenberg. Current CASF guidelines require 6 mbps down and 1.5 mbps up.

“We are trying to ensure the best possible service in Swall and Crowley,” Greenberg explained, which is why he came before the Mono County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to request approval of a letter to the CPUC to request that it also require Verizon to implement speeds according to the current CASF guidelines.

To put speeds in context, Supervisor Byng Hunt asked Greenberg to compare the speeds proposed by Verizon for implementation in Crowley and Swall to those in Mammoth.

“Will this bring the service there up to our [Mammoth’s] same level of lousy service?” Hunt asked.

“It will bring it up to par, maybe a little better,” Greenberg said.

The letter also requested that the community of Paradise be included in the required coverage area since it was left out of the original resolution requiring Verizon to complete this project.

The Board unanimously approved, 4-0, (Supervisor Larry Johnston was absent) the letter with one issue left on the table.

Greenberg pointed out that if Verizon moves forward using the CASF grant funding at the lower speeds, Crowley and Swall would be pigeonholed into underserved status for three years, according to the requirements of the grant. This could be a concern with the infrastructure that may soon be made available through Digital 395.

“This is a short-term solution that closes the door to any other last-mile provider services for three years,” Greenberg explained. He requested that the County discuss the three-year waiting period with CPUC prior to the CPUC meeting on July 12.

Briefs

The Board reviewed and discussed a proposed graffiti ordinance. Supervisor Hap Hazard had requested that County Counsel and the Code Compliance Department create this ordinance when it was discovered that there was nothing in place to deal with graffiti offenders. The Board introduced the ordinance and requested that staff revise it slightly to include some language about how to deal with graffiti on properties where the owners are not in town.

According to CAO Jim Arkens, with the departure of Mono County Assessor Jody Henning as well as Assistant Assessor Chris Lyon, the Mammoth Assessor’s office has been closed. “It is too tough to have both offices [Bridgeport and Mammoth] open right,” Arkens explained. “The closure will help save some money as well.”

In other Arkens news, the Board approved a two-year employment contract with the CAO with a 4-0 vote. According to Finance Director Brian Muir, there are no changes in compensation in the latest contract. The fiscal impact to the County for 2012/13, according to the agenda is $228,083, of which $171,216 is salary, $33,203 is the employer portion of PERS, and $23,664 is the cost of benefits.

The Board also approved, 4-0, several items in preparation for budget hearings, including a proposed temporary budget of $56,909,400. Budget hearing dates have been set for Aug. 27-29.

While the election was going on across the state, the business of County government moved forward on Tuesday inside the Mono County Board of Supervisors chambers.

And that business may create some more construction business.

Among other items, The Board deliberated on whether or not to approve a Tentative Tract Map for a series of single-family homes to be developed by Swall Meadows property owner Ralph Haber.

According to the staff report presented by the Planning Department’s Courtney Weiche, Haber’s proposal involves subdividing part of a 49.5-acre parcel, located along Ridge View and Cougar Run, into six lots. The Mono County Land Use for the site falls into two designations: Estate Residential (ER 2) and Specific Plan (SP). Weiche reported that five of the six lots are included in the approved 2001 Rimrock Ranch Specific Plan, which was updated in 2009. The southern lot, totaling 39.5 acres with an existing single-family residence on-site (Haber’s), would remain Estate Residential 2, and is not included in the current EIR analysis.

The proposed development calls for single-family homes on an average lot size of about 2 acres each. Weiche said it’s been concluded that there would be minimal visual, environmental and wildlife impacts.

Any structures submitted for construction are to be evaluated by the Wheeler Crest Design Review Board prior to approval for building. Services for the development would fall under Wheeler Crest water and fire districts, and there are two existing fire hydrants within the proposed development area.

Water levels in the area appear to be stable and not affected by domestic residential use. The area is estimated to be only 20% built out.

On the site to be developed is an abandoned gravel-based runway that is already partly paved over and part of what is now Ridge View Rd, and currently cuts across parts of lots three and four. The remainder of the defunct airstrip is to be removed and re-vegetated as part of the project improvement process.

The Planning Commission voted 4-0 in August to send the project forward to the Board, however, controversy surrounding the 10 acres intended for development dates back 10 years. According to Ralph Haber, there was a disagreement in terms of easements and zone-of-benefit payments regarding two pre-existing homes, compromises which have been since worked out between the various parties.

“These properties were part of the original EIR and were opted out by the developer. Now they’re being put back in and I can see why we’re going back to that original EIR, but it does raise some problems,” Supervisor Hap Hazard opined. “The world,” he said, “has changed in the past 10 years with respect to water reports and so on. What is the impact on the aquifer and how it’s monitored? So far, no significant impacts and it seems as though we’re on target with what we projected.”

He also took issue with the planned lower-income affordable and workforce housing mitigation. It’s not reasonable, said Hazard, to locate these families so far from services.

As recommended by the Planning Commission, Option A requires one such “affordable” house in the community, and Option B proposes two houses, which Hazard called “twice as bad.” Option C, he recommended, was to collect a fractional fee ($118,000 or an agreeable counter offer from Haber) and apply it to the Housing Mitigation Fund.

The planned “house” for mitigation, however, is more of an attached “granny” or “wayward son” type of unit, than a freestanding home.

Haber said he knows of at least three such ‘granny’ home units in use in Swall Meadows which he thinks sets precedent for his mitigation proposal.

“If it were an affordable housing unit, I’d feel different about it, but the fact that there are three other granny units down there makes me think we’ll get more immediate return [by letting him build] than just having $118,000 in our pockets,” Supervisor Vikki Bauer remarked. Supervisors Bob Peters and Chair Byng Hunt both supported the Planning Commission’s Option B – two granny units.

The Board approved the Tract Map conditions 4-0 (Supervisor Tom Farnetti was absent.) The Board voted on the affordable housing ordinance in a separate motion, approving Option B, 3-1. Hazard dissented, going on record as saying he thought the ordinance was part of a “flawed process.” Chair Hunt agreed to bring the ordinance as whole back before the Board for a more in-depth discussion. The Tentative Tract Map approval is valid for a period of 24 months.

Hey, a possible comeback hit single for Meat Loaf … “Paradise by the Swall Meadows Lights!” Nah. (Cover art: Epic Records)

Paradise residents cry foul at proposed Swall emergency route

There is a certain irony when a fire station building is crowded beyond its own fire code capacity, but such was the case Tuesday at the Mono County Board of Supervisors adjourned meeting which took place at the Wheeler Crest fire station.
The issue which inspired the turnout? A proposed new fire emergency route out of Swall Meadows. The subdivision currently only has one exit – Swall Meadows Rd. – to Lower Rock Creek Road.
The County has proposed extending Pinon Drive south towards Paradise to create a second point of egress.
The envisioned extension would be a dirt, hardpack 12’ wide road with gates at both ends to deter regular usage. Although, cautioned Supervisor Duane “Hap” Hazard, “There is no plan. There is nothing. It’s not a done deal.”
Hazard, whose district includes both communities, said the Swall Meadows community has the dubious distinction of losing more homes to fire than any community in Mono County.
“And I don’t believe doing nothing is acceptable,” he said.
A huge issue down in Southern California, continued Hazard, has been the fire danger issue in the canyon areas, particularly in dead-end cul-de-sacs. Hazard predicts legislation requiring that properties have at least two access points is inevitable.
However, Hazard acknowledges that there is no magic wand here. The County owns no property in the area, and would have to negotiate with at least three private landowners, as well as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and L.A. Dept. of Water and Power (DWP) to make an extension of Pinon Drive happen.
Then there’s the issue of what the people of neighboring Paradise think.
Paradise resident Michael Sullivan summed it up this way. He said road improvements = an increase in traffic = a burgeoning nuisance (noise, trash, et. al.).
Leroy Johnson agreed, predicting increased OHV (off-road vehicle) use, as well as tourists.
Johnson also scoffed at Hazard’s assessment that the project would only cost about $126,000.
With all the environmental documents required, as well as potential objections from environmental and wildlife groups, Johnson believes the cost would come in significantly higher.
Whatever the outcome, Hazard was quick to say that this is about seeking input as opposed to cramming any preconceived notions down anyone’s throat, though Scott Burns did note that the idea of an access road is part of the longstanding Wheeler Crest Area Plan.

In other County news, Supes debated during their regular session how best to properly honor former Supervisors Bill Reid, John Cecil and Andrea Mead Lawrence.
In the case of Reid, there’s a proposal on the table to name the senior center in Walker after him, but the Supes sent it back to the Antelope Valley RPAC for further input.
Coleville resident Claudia Bonnet asked the Supes to publicize the meeting beyond the limited scope of RPAC members.
Vikki Magee-Bauer suggested that maybe some sort of Supervisor Hall of Fame could be created to honor past Supes. This got The Sheet to thinking that maybe as part of that, they could have a special theater which plays random clips from past Board meetings.
We’d omit the clip where Tom Farnetti talks about holiday shopping in Reno. C’mon, Tom, shop local!