The City of Claremont will hold a special meeting on the damage to the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park tonight at 7pm at the Joslyn Senior Center's Oak Room. The Joslyn Center is located at 660 N. Mountain Ave. You can call Claremont's Community Services Department at (909) 399-5431 for more information.
The park was damaged by a city-hired bulldozer along Thompson Creek in a long swath over 100 feet wide. Estimates place the area affected at up to 10-12 acres. The Daily Bulletin had an article on tonight's meeting:
The work caused more than $200,000 in damage, according to Padua Hills residents.
City Manager Jeff Parker apologized for the incident and said he would meet with residents.
Parker will do so at 7 tonight.
He will be joined by a biologist, restoration ecologist, regulatory specialist and habitat restoration expert.
"Hopefully, we can get the repairs done as soon as possible, before any rain comes," Parker said.
The purpose of the meeting is to let residents know what the city has done about the bulldozing, provide background on the city's information, introduce the consultants and take feedback.
Lawrence Woodruff, who has lived in the area since 1983 and plans to attend today's meeting, was skeptical of the city's efforts.
"It would appear from things the city has done in the past, the city always goes the cheapest route," said Woodruff, president of the Padua Hills Community Association. "That's our concern at Padua Hills."
Claremont had set aside $100,000 for the damage done to the park, he said.
But, another resident had an independent contractor perform vegetative restoration on the damaged area, and the amount totaled from $200,000 to $300,000, Woodruff said.
Woodruff said he is afraid that the city "will scrimp on doing things right."
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