Historic commission approves Olympia Creek trestle plaque wording, sends it to City Council

The Grass Valley Historic Commission voted unanimously to approve corrected wording for a plaque commemorating the Olympia Creek narrow-gauge trestle and to send the draft plaque text to City Council for the next step in the landmarking process.

Commissioners approved the plaque wording “with the corrections noted,” including replacing an incorrect place name, fixing a grammatical error and standardizing the spelling of the word “gauge,” and asked staff to forward the text to the city clerk. "The wording for the plaque and, at with the corrections noted. K. To move it to the city council," the motion said before a voice vote that passed 4-0.

The approval follows earlier discussion about whether the structure should be identified by the creek name or a local place name; commissioners agreed the text should refer to Olympia Creek and that describing the structure as a narrow-gauge trestle will be clearer to readers. Commissioners also reviewed minor copy edits suggested by members, including changing “is” to “are” where appropriate and standardizing “gauge.”

A public comment caller, Matthew Colter, urged commissioners to inspect work at the site and raised environmental concerns. Colter said: "…go out there currently and look at the mess they've made of the creek, look at the damage they did to the creek by driving heavy equipment in through the creek. Just horrible what the city is doing in the name of historic preservation…" The commission acknowledged the comment and said it would follow the council/landmarks process, which could include additional review and conditions.

Commissioners said the approved wording and plaque text will travel to City Council and then follow the city’s landmarking steps. Diane (vice chair) was assigned to deliver the paperwork to Taylor, the city clerk, and bring updates back to the commission.

The commission’s action was limited to approving plaque text and forwarding it to the next administrative step; no construction or restoration authorization was undertaken by the commission at this meeting.

The commission plans to return to the item as it moves through City Council and the Landmark Commission so any further changes or conditions can be incorporated before a plaque is produced and installed.