THE CARMEL PINE CONE’S 2019 RECREATION GUIDE IN FUN THE SUN

VolumeThe 105 No. 16 CarmelOn the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com Pine ConeApril 19-25, 2019 t r u s t e d b y l o c a l s a n d l o v e d b y v i s i t o r s s i n c e 1 9 1 5 Did someone try to recycle a lit cigarette? Oversight panel, By MARY SCHLEY loaded something that was hot that caused ignition inside the garbage truck, and eventually the workers noticed part of it water district at odds THE CITY’S recycling rate might take a hit this month was on fire,” Webb said. “They parked it and called us.” after a load of paper, cardboard and plastic bottles in a Green- The truck was smoking when firefighters arrived where it over takeover funding Waste truck caught fire Thursday morning. had pulled over on Lincoln Street next to the library, accord- Nobody was injured and the truck wasn’t damaged, ac- ing to Webb. Firefighters initially worried the truck’s cylinders By KELLY NIX cording to Monterey Fire Capt. Art Webb, but the recyclables of natural gas located above the compacter and used to power originally destined for a new life are probably headed for the the truck were somehow involved. THE MONTEREY Peninsula Water Management District landfill, instead. “We wanted to make sure that wasn’t part of the issue, and is considering using revenue from the water supply charge it The fire started shortly before 10 a.m. April 18. “They it wasn’t,” he said. adds to homeowners’ property tax bills to pay for expenses re- lated to a takeover of American Water, even though Dump it out a district oversight panel has recommended against using the Firefighters then had the truck operator dump part of the funds for that purpose. load into the street, so they could get to what was burning and The seven-member oversight panel, which makes rec- put it out. ommendations on how the water surcharge money should “The truck was about two-thirds loaded, and he said the is- be spent, maintained the revenue should not be used on any sue seemed to be in the more recently collected items,” Webb expenses related to Measure J — the ballot measure voters said. passed that calls for a government takeover of Cal Am through Firefighters used tools to spread out the pile and drenched eminent domain if it is determined to be “feasible.” A study in everything with water. While they put out the fire, they never the works is trying to determine that. figured out what started it. The oversight panel concluded that the water supply charge “There was nothing that gave us any clue,” he said. — which is calculated based on water use and type of property Police helped close the street, and public works brought a or business, and is a major source of revenue for the water front-loader down to help load the soggy mess into a dump- district — was not meant to be used to pay for a Cal Am take- ster. The city’s street sweeper made a couple of passes after- over effort. ward to make sure everything was spic and span, and Monte- “The panel believes that the water supply charge was in- rey County Environmental Health came to ensure nothing had tended for projects to solve the region’s longstanding water gotten into the storm drains, which it hadn’t. supply problem and should not be used to fund any of the “They had a robust response and were exceptionally help- costs related to Measure J,” it concluded in a report to the ful,” Webb said of the city’s police and public works depart- ments. See FUNDING page 14A After a load of recyclables mysteriously started to smoke, the truck operator dumped it on the street so firefighters could put it out Thursday morning. Upper Palo Colorado Road still impassable n Residents, parks still isolated Because residents lack heavy equipment and are using only Protecting the hand tools, the work is slow and arduous. By CHRIS COUNTS “There are a couple culverts that we can’t clear,” she ex- plained. “Some are buried, and we don’t even know where shoreline — and NOT ONLY did the burn down 57 homes in 2016, it scorched steep hillsides and triggered mudslides See ROAD page 19A using it for golf that badly damaged the upper portion of ’s Palo Col- orado Road, which has been closed to the public ever since. All that time, about a dozen res- In the 1920s, S.F.B. Morse’s fledgling resort and real estate idents who live along the road Hockney’s iPad view development thrived thanks to his appreciation for the Monte- have been left on their own to rey Peninsula’s beauty and his desire to preserve that beauty keep it minimally passable so of a national treasure not only for its own sake, but to help sell residential lots. After Nearly three they can reach their homes. successfully launching the Pebble Beach golf course in 1919, years after The road, which Monterey he also built the Monterey Peninsula Country Club, which County owns, needs repairs that opened in 1926, and the Cypress Point course, which opened a fire and will cost millions of dollars. But in 1928. erosion, no nearly three years after the fire, the county has not come up with PART V sign of repairs the money for the work. Besides providing access to N CARRYING out the idea of the greenbelt along the the homes of a handful of lo- shore and in other areas, the remainder of the shoreline cals, the road makes it possible Iof Del Monte Forest was kept clear of homes, and in- for the public to drive to Bottchers Gap Campground, the Pico side the forest we have protected everything between the 17 Blanco Boy Scout Camp, the Mill Creek Redwood Preserve Mile Drive and the waterfront against building, with the ex- and a popular trailhead for hikers. But now it is being un- ception of that small heavily wooded area between Cypress dermined in at least five places, and in many locations, small Point and Pebble Beach. We have also dedicated many park slides encroach on the pavement. Also of concern is invasive genista, which is growing fast and crowding the roadway.

Handy with shovels The Morse memoirs Because mudslides clogged culverts along the road — and clogged culverts lead to more erosion — residents have taken it upon themselves to dig them out. areas. In all, there are all around 1,600 acres in the forest alone “After every big storm, we see someone out there work- dedicated against building for all time, and the dedication will ing,” resident Kerri Frangioso told The Pine Cone. “Every hold because all of the property owners in the forest are ben- single one of us has done work maintaining the road — it’s a eficiaries of this provision. There is substantially more of the community effort.” forest that will be so dedicated in the future. Frangioso said residents who live in the remote community Fortunately, with the demand for golf, a great deal of the are accustomed to doing such work — just not this much of Contemporary artist David Hockney will be showing what he did with it. “Instead of a half-mile driveway, we now have a 4.5-mile an iPad at Yosemite National Park in an upcoming exhibit at the Mon- See MORSE page 20A driveway,” she said. terey Museum of Art. See page 42A. Have the complete Carmel Pine Cone delivered every Thursday evening to your iPad, laptop, PC or phone. Free subscriptions available at www.carmelpinecone.com