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Parks commission backs $310,000 for Martis Valley Trail interpretive plaza
Summary
The Placer County Parks Commission recommended $310,000 in park dedication fees to build an interpretive plaza at the Martis Valley Trailhead; the project is a mitigation requirement tied to Army Corps permits and includes Washoe Tribal input on text and plantings.
The Placer County Parks Commission on Sept. 18 recommended that the Board of Supervisors appropriate $310,000 from park dedication fees to build an interpretive plaza at the Martis Valley Trailhead.
The recommendation is tied to mitigation the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers required to allow the county and Northstar CSD to place a trail and associated improvements in the Martis Valley floodplain, principal planner Kyle Smith told commissioners. He said the funding request covers construction documents, interpretive panels and sitework developed with tribal consultation.
“The interpretive plaza and the multiple property listing ... are both mitigation actions that the United States Army Corps of Engineers required us and Northstar CSD to complete,” Kyle Smith said. Smith said the design work included consultation with Washoe tribal historic preservation officers and with Far Western, an archaeological consultant, and that several interpretive panels include Washoe language and artwork.
Staff described the plaza as an open, stone-and-steel installation with seating and an 8-foot steel monument designed with tribal input. The panels will cover Washoe seasons, historic presence in the valley and other cultural material; staff said plantings were chosen with the tribe and that tribal members may use some plants for cultural purposes.
Commissioners asked about durability in winter; Smith said stone, steel framing and heavy-duty panels were selected to withstand snow and wind. He also said the county would be responsible for routine maintenance while acknowledging tribal use of the planting areas.
Commission action: a commissioner moved to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve a county-sponsored request to use $310,000 from Recreation Area 1 (Martis Valley) park dedication funds for the Martis Valley Trail Interpretive Plaza; another commissioner seconded. The motion carried on a voice vote.
If the board of supervisors later declines the appropriation, Smith said staff would pursue alternatives and other funding sources; he emphasized that the mitigation work is required by the Army Corps and remains an obligation of the county.
The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for final appropriation and contract authority.
