Supervisors Initiate Nielsen Property Acquisition, Appropriate Funds to Complete Wastewater Treatment Plant

by Joe Naiman

The Board of Supervisors’ Jan. 14 actions included kicking off the purchase process of a land parcel for wildlife habitat preservation and earmarking money to complete the Julian Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Supervisors authorized the county’s Chief Administrative Officer to start negotiations with the owner of the Nielsen property, a 20-acre parcel adjacent to William Heise County Park. The supervisors, who also act as the board of directors for the Julian Sanitation District, also designated $23,000 to replace the septic tank at the treatment plant.

The Nielsen property, owners Fred and Cathy Nielsen, is within the Cleveland National Forest and the future East County subarea of the county’s Multiple Species Conservation Program. The habitat includes Jeffrey pine, Coulter pine, incense cedar, black oaks, and mixed chaparral. In addition to birds, wildlife in the area includes mule deer and occasional bobcats and mountain lions.

A small portion of the property burned in the October 2003 fire, but the property remains a viable habitat. Purchase of the property is expected to help preserve the habitat and protect the watershed of Cedar Creek. It also will expand the boundaries of William Heise County Park.

The Nielsen’s are willing to sell the parcel to the county, and after negotiations, a hearing date will be set to approve a real property contract. Existing field staff at William Heise County Park would routinely patrol and manage the land once it is acquired.

The Julian Wastewater Treat-ment Plant project consisted of replacing the existing septic tank, adding a second aerobic digester and replacing a return activated sledge pump. The $422,000 project was funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture grant and loan funding of $247,000 and Julian Sanitation District fund balance of $175,000.

Although work on the project is now complete, a $23,000 USDA grant had not been budgeted for fiscal year 2003-04.