Stanislaus County advocacy group opposes spending $1.46 million on Highway 132 soundwall
A group that advocates for disadvantaged neighborhoods in Stanislaus County is taking issue with $1.46 million in county spending on a soundwall.
A year ago, the county Board of Supervisors dedicated $15 million in general funds, or $3 million each for supervisors to spend on infrastructure projects in their respective districts.
The $15 million, called the Building Community Infrastructure Fund, was on top of $50 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds that supervisors committed to building sidewalks, drainage and wastewater services in unincorporated islands, sparking cheers that the county was finally investing in those long-neglected neighborhoods.
In June, Nicholas Jensen, an attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance, urged county supervisors to rescind a decision to spend almost $1.5 million in BCIF money for a soundwall along Kansas Avenue next to the Highway 132 bypass, in Supervisor Terry Withrow’s district.
Jensen stressed in a letter that the proposed soundwall will benefit an area inside Modesto and serve city residents — not county residents. He argued that the budget approval for the $15 million in September 2022 specified the money benefit residents in county unincorporated islands.
The Board of Supervisors approved a consent item Tuesday approving $261,413 for NorthStar Engineering Group to design the wall on the south side of Kansas, between Yankee Drive and Morse Road. No one spoke against the project at Tuesday’s meeting but CRLA hasn’t dropped the issue.
“All of the supervisors have used the money on projects in unincorporated areas,” said Jensen, noting he didn’t attend the meeting due to illness. “The fund was created to push funds out to disadvantaged communities in the county and instead it is being spent for people in the city.”
Need for the soundwall is not disputed
Jensen said he doesn’t dispute the need for the soundwall to dampen the noise from 132 traffic, but the spending contradicts the county’s stated policy.
The county budget approved by supervisors Sept. 20, 2002, said each board member can work with county Public Works on Building Community Infrastructure Fund projects but the “use of funds must be of public benefit to and located in the unincorporated community.” A Feb. 28 county report on the proposed soundwall says the project is not in the county unincorporated area but “lies within the city limits.”
Jensen said many people in Withrow’s District 3 in west Modesto live without basic urban improvements including sidewalks and wastewater hookups, and high-priority projects have been identified in his district.
Withrow responded Tuesday that he took exception to the CRLA letter and told the group he was disappointed after the county dedicated $50 million in ARPA funds to unincorporated islands.
Withrow said he allocated the other $1.5 million under his control in the Building Community fund to supplement millions in ARPA funds that will address deplorable conditions in the Riverdale Park Tract. Among other problems, the water wells in Riverdale Park are contaminated.
He said CRLA is overlooking the county’s decision to move a state highway, with its traffic and pollution, out of a disadvantaged area in west Modesto north to the bypass route. “We moved the highway next to (an existing) neighborhood and we are just putting up a wall for those residents,” Withrow said.
“I can’t imagine how much we have done in the last four years for our disadvantaged communities,” the supervisor added.
Wall costs weren’t included in 132 bypass project
Withrow promised the soundwall alongside Kansas Avenue to nearby residents during a hard-fought campaign for reelection in 2022. Costs for the soundwall were not worked into the 132 bypass project.
“We fought hard for the soundwall,” said Terhesa Gamboa, chairwoman of the Woodland West Community Neighborhood group, which includes the residential areas north of Kansas. “We need the soundwall. The bigger that bypass gets, the noisier it is going to get.”
County Counsel Thomas Boze in July responded in writing to CRLA’s complaints saying the board has acted within its discretion. Boze also disagreed with Jensen’s argument that the Building Community funds were a “perfect opportunity” to make improvements for Robertson Road residents in west Modesto, consistent with a lawsuit settlement in 2011.
Boze wrote that the settlement, ending a lawsuit over substandard services in county islands, does not prevent the county from spending general funds on other projects.
Jensen countered that the wording in the county budget is crystal clear and the $1.46 million is being spent to benefit a neighborhood with municipal services. “There are places in (Withrow’s district) that have systematically been denied basic infrastructure for years,” he said.
This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 12:40 PM.
