Safeco warns federal staffing, funding actions could slow Folsom and Natomas work

Rick Johnson, executive director of the Sacramento Flood Control Agency, told the board on Feb. 20 that recent federal personnel cuts and contract freezes at the Bureau of Reclamation could affect Safeco projects and shift agency priorities toward real estate and long-term property management.

Johnson said the Bureau of Reclamation "has actually been hit harder than the corps," describing layoffs and freezes that led Reclamation to cancel or suspend some construction contracts and to freeze funding for two Safeco-related projects, including temperature-control shutters at Folsom. "Their funding's been frozen," he said. He added that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had fared better so far and "gotten all of our construction projects going again," though he cautioned a Department of Defense announcement of potential cuts could cause future effects.

The agency described several active construction efforts that continue. Johnson highlighted progress at the Sack Weir fish passage structure and vehicle bridge piers, and reported Folsom's Dike 1 and Dike 6 work is ongoing, with downstream erosion protection and flood-wall work under construction. He said the agency expects continued activity on those contracts in the coming years.

Johnson detailed a specific repair sequence for a stop-log system that supports work on Gate 8 at Folsom. He said the stop logs were manufactured out of state and that each "is about 85,000 pounds." Inspections revealed bottom corbels might not hold the load and that underlying material had deteriorated; crews have repaired the corbels and are addressing the degraded vertical element so contractors can install six stop logs and proceed with work on Gate 8 as a "proof of concept." Johnson said that will help the agency estimate contractor time and future costs for similar work.

Looking beyond construction, Johnson said Safeco's workload is shifting. With most design and construction stages for the agency's six major projects either complete or under active construction, he said the agency will focus on three primary tasks: packaging and securing credit for previously purchased real estate, transferring title for properties to the state or local maintaining agencies, and securing long-term management for mitigation properties.

Johnson said Safeco has "hundreds of millions" in purchasable credit from prior real estate acquisitions but that the federal court has not yet approved those credits. He estimated the agency will need to prepare "about a hundred real estate packages" to obtain credit for roughly $100 million and said that will take several years.

He also said the titles for many properties the agency purchased will need to be transferred to the state or local maintaining agencies and estimated the turnover process will involve "probably at least a decade" for roughly "about 550 parcels." On mitigation properties, Johnson said the agency is responsible for long-term stewardship of more than "425 parcels" that require ongoing habitat management; Safeco is seeking long-term management partners such as the Natomas Conservancy or Sacramento County Parks and considering endowments or trusts to fund perpetual maintenance.

Board members asked about geographic coverage and potential local partners for long-term stewardship. Johnson said the properties are geographically dispersed across project areas and gave the Natomas Conservancy and Sacramento County Parks as examples of types of partners Safeco has discussed.

The report emphasized the near-term need to monitor federal funding developments and finish active construction while preparing a sustained real-estate and stewardship program. Johnson concluded by asking for questions and the board moved on to other business.