Board approves $594,952 PG&E‑settlement grant for fairgrounds emergency hardening

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors approved an appropriation of $594,951.98 from the county’s PG&E settlement fund to the 309th Agricultural Association (the county fairgrounds) to strengthen the site’s ability to serve as an evacuation shelter and base camp during wildfires and other emergencies.

The funding — approved after a presentation by fairgrounds officials and engineering consultants — will be used for a set of prioritized hardening projects, with electrical generation cited as the highest priority. The fairgrounds’ board and consultants told supervisors the campus needs permanent standby generators for central buildings (the cafeteria, Mark Twain Hall and Administration Building), portable generators and light towers for nighttime operations, sewer collection‑system repairs where inflow and infiltration (I&I) overload the new treatment plant during rain events, commercial refrigeration, improved asphalt paving and upgraded livestock pens and a hay barn.

Fairgrounds leaders said the campus has repeatedly served as an evacuation center (including during last year’s Arrow Fire) and is well‑suited as a base camp because of its Highway 49 location, parking and equipment storage. The consultant’s planning‑level estimate for an overall hardening package was substantially larger than the PG&E appropriation; fairgrounds representatives said the appropriation would be applied to high‑priority items and that the association would return with bid packages and specific project requests for board approval before funds are spent.

Supervisors expressed support for prioritizing power and sewer fixes; one supervisor noted that the PG&E settlement fund was explicitly intended for projects of this nature. The motion to appropriate the funds passed unanimously.