MMWD considers outlay for watershed study
The Marin Municipal Water District is moving toward a possible study of its watershed infrastructure and visitor areas.
The district board reviewed a proposal Thursday to allot $200,000 from the Mount Tamalpais Watershed Fund for the study. The district might partner with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy to do the study and conceptual plan.
The assessment would include a list of potential projects that could improve the facilities, the estimated costs and the potential funding avenues.
“I’m very excited about this,” said Matt Samson, a member of the district board. “I think this is a really logical next step as we look to modernize the district. We keep talking about our most precious asset as the watershed. We need to make sure we have the ability to maintain it and go forward, and I think this is a really good start to do that.”
The watershed fund, created in 1996 through tax-deductible donations, has a balance of more than $782,000. Grants from the fund have totaled about $418,000 thus far.
Ranjiv Khush, a district board member, said the grant will be a “pretty big hit” on the fund. He asked if there was a target number — either on fundraising for or spending from the fund — to keep it sustainable.
Shaun Horne, the district’s watershed resources director, said it has not used the fund as much as it could, and has been careful about what projects it funds. Horne agreed that officials should start thinking about how to connect more people to the fund.
“This is the highest balance I think the fund has ever had, so I think it makes sense to use a portion of it now for this type of project,” Horne said.
The fund has been used for several watershed projects, including the Bullfrog Fire Road bridge installation in the Azalea Hill Trail restoration project and some conceptual design work for restoration on the west peak of Mount Tamalpais.
“I think our intention here is to take on a project that allows the district to have maximum flexibility in thinking about the future improvements that we could carry out in different ways and to support not just visitors but our staff and also in ways that we’re protecting the resources on the mountain,” Horne said.
Areas the study would examine include the Sky Oaks Ranger Station, which was built in the 1920s as a University of California engineering summer camp, Horne said. It became a ranger station in the 1970s and was remodeled in the 1990s, with two modular buildings added.
The station accommodates rangers, watershed maintenance staff, a natural resources team, a fisheries team, a visitor area and the watershed administration. Horne said the workers are outgrowing the space.
“It’s functioning as is,” Horne said. “There’s a lot of work happening, a lot of important work happening out of the Sky Oaks Ranger Station, and there could be some improvements that are needed and would benefit from this type of investment and evaluation to think about how we could better support staff and the field work they do.”
The study also would examine potential upgrades to restrooms and other visitor facilities in the Sky Oaks area. It would also evaluate ranger housing.
“I think the approach you’re taking on this is spot on,” Samson said to staff. “I think we look at it from a pretty holistic view of what we can potentially do on the watershed and then go into priorities, and I think starting with the Sky Oaks corridor should be the priority.”
Samson said the district’s staff should be prioritized, adding that it is being asked to do “more and more” every day. He recommended the study account for staffing growth.
“The facilities they need to do their job should be the priority,” Samson said. “We need to make sure your team has what they need to do and we can build from there on that.”
The funding request will go to the board for final approval in April.