Greetings, fellow Avilones! Here we are, on the cusp of spring with increasing daylight hours and warmer temperatures ahead. Though the Central Coast never actually experienced winter - save a few days of rain and some of cold - perhaps March and April will bring us some badly needed precipitation. Nevertheless, we look forward to the coming months and what will surely be another busy and fun-filled season here in Avila Beach.
Before I dive into the waters of upcoming activities, let me first announce the Foundation’s Board of Trustees for 2014. Returning as President is Julian Varela, and as Vice-President, Michael Ginn. Stepping into new officer roles are Treasurer Rick Rowe and Secretary Carolyn Morton. Returning Trustees include Immediate Past President Mike Ritter, Bill Gerrish, Lucinda Borchard, Chris DeWeese, Michael Faber, Justin Hodges, Stephen Johnson, Percy Jones, and Stephen May. And, we welcome to the family new Trustee Richard Zacky, whose three-year term began in January. Richard and his wife Kathy have owned a second home in the San Luis Bay Estates since 2001, while living and working in Clovis. They moved here fulltime just last year. Richard is a Cal Poly graduate who managed the family poultry and feed commodity operations, and is involved in various business and civic projects. You readers may recall that it was the Zackys who underwrote the costs to purchase the free public viewing telescope at the foot of the Avila Pier. Welcome Richard – you are a terrific addition to our board! We bid a fond farewell, and offer our gratitude to, retired Trustees Boyd Horne and Maridel Salisbury. Your contributions will not be forgotten, nor will you.
You may recall last month my mention of a new signature event being launched by the Foundation this year – the Avila Apple Festival. I am pleased to report that the dates have been set – October 4th and 5th, 2014 – and will consist of two major activities. On Saturday the 4th a huge, under-the-lights, “Farm to Table” dinner will be held on the grounds of the Avila Barn. The menu is still being discussed, but an obvious apple theme will be included. Many of the local apple growers are participating in this unique collaboration to highlight Avila apples and benefit area non-profits and special projects. On Sunday the 5th, we “take it to the streets” with a vendor fair on the beachfront Promenade. Envision if you will anything having to do with apples – that’s what you’ll experience at the fair. SAVE THE DATE, and keep an eye out for further information. Coordinator Penny Burciaga welcomes word from anyone who wishes to volunteer their time and talents.
Avila Beach Town Hall Forum III is now behind us. A packed house of Avilones at the Community Center was treated to a fine meal and informative presentations by County Supervisor Adam Hill and representatives from P.G.&E., Port San Luis Harbor District, Chevron, Cal Fire and County Parks. I did my best to jot down some items of note to share with you, but as usual struggled with that fine line between listening and writing. But here are a few of things reported that night – though I won’t claim complete accuracy. As residential development permits in the greater Avila area are increasing, Supervisor Hill is advocating for ways to look at these collectively for a “bigger picture” view on impacts. Amgen returns to SLO County in 2014, but will not be stopping in Avila Beach. Jim Blecha of Port San Luis said Harford Pier renovations continue thanks to $1 million in grants. Among the improvements will be a new Dorn’s Restaurant at the onetime Pete’s Pier-Side location. The Port continues to move forward on the Harbor Terrace project that will consist of RV parking, tent and cabin sites and more. Current RV camping along Avila Beach Drive will be eliminated when the new project is in place. Tom Jones of P.G.&E. spoke about employee safety at Diablo Canyon – in the past 18 months there were NO workdays lost due to injury among the 1,500 regular employees and 1,000 contractors. The two refueling outages scheduled for 2014 (February and November) will take two weeks less to complete than did previously. Bill Almas from Chevron spoke about the Avila Point project, which is now ten years in the making, to develop the 95 acre property. Remediation continues to remove lead from the tank rigs, grade the site, extract soil vapor extraction and remove refractory glass. It is anticipated that Coastal Commission hearings on the project will occur in 2016. Cal Fire Chief Paul Lee informed us that 70% of Avila response calls are for medical emergencies. The station places a lot of emphasis on wildfire prevention. Paramedic service out of the Avila station is restricted to BSL (basic life support), though ALS (advanced life support) staff in South County are on-call as needed. The Paramedic situation here may improve since Avila is now classified as urban, not rural. Such a designation affects mandated response times not now being met. The biggest “cheer” from the crowd at the Forum was the result of County Park’s Curtis Black reporting that Cal Trans has finally relented on their previous stance to build a bridge across the freeway as part of the Bob Jones Trail extension from San Luis Obispo. They are now favoring the underpass suggestion advocated for by many locals. And, the trail extension route itself is being revised due to similar input. Power to the people, er the Avilones!!! Oops, out of space once again, so that’s it for now. See you at the beach!!!
Before I dive into the waters of upcoming activities, let me first announce the Foundation’s Board of Trustees for 2014. Returning as President is Julian Varela, and as Vice-President, Michael Ginn. Stepping into new officer roles are Treasurer Rick Rowe and Secretary Carolyn Morton. Returning Trustees include Immediate Past President Mike Ritter, Bill Gerrish, Lucinda Borchard, Chris DeWeese, Michael Faber, Justin Hodges, Stephen Johnson, Percy Jones, and Stephen May. And, we welcome to the family new Trustee Richard Zacky, whose three-year term began in January. Richard and his wife Kathy have owned a second home in the San Luis Bay Estates since 2001, while living and working in Clovis. They moved here fulltime just last year. Richard is a Cal Poly graduate who managed the family poultry and feed commodity operations, and is involved in various business and civic projects. You readers may recall that it was the Zackys who underwrote the costs to purchase the free public viewing telescope at the foot of the Avila Pier. Welcome Richard – you are a terrific addition to our board! We bid a fond farewell, and offer our gratitude to, retired Trustees Boyd Horne and Maridel Salisbury. Your contributions will not be forgotten, nor will you.
You may recall last month my mention of a new signature event being launched by the Foundation this year – the Avila Apple Festival. I am pleased to report that the dates have been set – October 4th and 5th, 2014 – and will consist of two major activities. On Saturday the 4th a huge, under-the-lights, “Farm to Table” dinner will be held on the grounds of the Avila Barn. The menu is still being discussed, but an obvious apple theme will be included. Many of the local apple growers are participating in this unique collaboration to highlight Avila apples and benefit area non-profits and special projects. On Sunday the 5th, we “take it to the streets” with a vendor fair on the beachfront Promenade. Envision if you will anything having to do with apples – that’s what you’ll experience at the fair. SAVE THE DATE, and keep an eye out for further information. Coordinator Penny Burciaga welcomes word from anyone who wishes to volunteer their time and talents.
Avila Beach Town Hall Forum III is now behind us. A packed house of Avilones at the Community Center was treated to a fine meal and informative presentations by County Supervisor Adam Hill and representatives from P.G.&E., Port San Luis Harbor District, Chevron, Cal Fire and County Parks. I did my best to jot down some items of note to share with you, but as usual struggled with that fine line between listening and writing. But here are a few of things reported that night – though I won’t claim complete accuracy. As residential development permits in the greater Avila area are increasing, Supervisor Hill is advocating for ways to look at these collectively for a “bigger picture” view on impacts. Amgen returns to SLO County in 2014, but will not be stopping in Avila Beach. Jim Blecha of Port San Luis said Harford Pier renovations continue thanks to $1 million in grants. Among the improvements will be a new Dorn’s Restaurant at the onetime Pete’s Pier-Side location. The Port continues to move forward on the Harbor Terrace project that will consist of RV parking, tent and cabin sites and more. Current RV camping along Avila Beach Drive will be eliminated when the new project is in place. Tom Jones of P.G.&E. spoke about employee safety at Diablo Canyon – in the past 18 months there were NO workdays lost due to injury among the 1,500 regular employees and 1,000 contractors. The two refueling outages scheduled for 2014 (February and November) will take two weeks less to complete than did previously. Bill Almas from Chevron spoke about the Avila Point project, which is now ten years in the making, to develop the 95 acre property. Remediation continues to remove lead from the tank rigs, grade the site, extract soil vapor extraction and remove refractory glass. It is anticipated that Coastal Commission hearings on the project will occur in 2016. Cal Fire Chief Paul Lee informed us that 70% of Avila response calls are for medical emergencies. The station places a lot of emphasis on wildfire prevention. Paramedic service out of the Avila station is restricted to BSL (basic life support), though ALS (advanced life support) staff in South County are on-call as needed. The Paramedic situation here may improve since Avila is now classified as urban, not rural. Such a designation affects mandated response times not now being met. The biggest “cheer” from the crowd at the Forum was the result of County Park’s Curtis Black reporting that Cal Trans has finally relented on their previous stance to build a bridge across the freeway as part of the Bob Jones Trail extension from San Luis Obispo. They are now favoring the underpass suggestion advocated for by many locals. And, the trail extension route itself is being revised due to similar input. Power to the people, er the Avilones!!! Oops, out of space once again, so that’s it for now. See you at the beach!!!
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