Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Lake Merced topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
PUC details Lake Merced fixes, Rod & Gun Club settlement and $2 million in bond funds
Summary
Staff reported Phase 1 boathouse repairs and removal of derelict docks, said Prop B provided $2 million for Lake Merced recreation managed by Recreation & Parks, and described a settlement placing the Pacific Rod & Gun Club on a month-to-month lease while cleanup planning proceeds.
Steve Ritchie, the PUC assistant general manager for water, told the commission the agency has substantially completed Phase 1 of the Harding Boathouse project and provided $1,000,000 for cleanup, building-shell and bathroom repairs. “We are substantially complete as of last Friday,” Ritchie said, adding Phase 2 — funded by Recreation and Park and bond allocations — is expected to be ready by roughly May of the coming year.
Ritchie also reported staff removed derelict docks that were contributing to water-quality problems and said the PUC has reached a settlement with the Pacific Rod & Gun Club: the club will be placed on a month‑to‑month lease, for no more than two years, with eviction notice terms and an agreement not to contest removal. The settlement, Ritchie said, has passed the Board of Supervisors and awaits the mayor’s signature.
Community advocates — including longtime Lake Merced volunteers and rowing-club representatives — pressed the commission for faster action on hazardous‑soil remediation at the former shooting range and for greater PUC control of bond dollars. “We cannot support an eight to ten year delay,” one speaker said, urging the commission to accelerate cleanup options such as encapsulation and to prioritize storage needs for rowing and dragon-boat clubs.
Several speakers recalled years of volunteer work and a 2001 petition to state regulators that helped spur management attention to the lake. Speakers and commissioners urged a site workshop and recommended that any MOU with Recreation & Parks include clear roles, performance benchmarks and a public process for allocating the $2,000,000 from Proposition B.
Steve Ritchie said staff will provide a written response on bond-administration questions requested during the meeting and will work with Recreation & Parks on a draft MOU and a workshop to solicit broader public input. The commission asked staff to return with a timeline and to include the watershed report and cleanup planning in forthcoming briefings.
