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Board moves forward with Hart Park riverbank repairs despite calls to postpone
Summary
Public speakers urged postponing the Hart Park Equestrian Trail Repair Project for further community engagement and a technical review; the parks director and Supervisor Flores said FEMA funding and approvals (Army Corps, Water Quality) make timely advertising essential. The consent agenda carried unanimously; item 5g and item 41 were withdrawn and fiscal impact on item 5 adjusted to $130,228.17.
Speakers at Kern County’s Dec. 16 supervisors meeting urged a postponement and technical review of a Hart Park riverbank and equestrian-trail repair project, but county staff and a supervising board member said the project should move forward to advertise while FEMA funding remains available.
Eddie Lane, representing the Sierra Club, asked the board to hold the Hart Park Equestrian Trail Repair Project to allow grassroots community involvement and to incorporate additional community and university expert recommendations. "What I'm asking for today is a postponement of the Hart Park Equestrian Trail Repair Project," Lane said, citing prior successful community efforts to preserve and adapt park assets.
David Schaud of the Hart Park Working Group and Audubon Society recommended stronger erosion-control measures, urging the county to use gabion (wire) cages installed below river level rather than solely placing rock, which he said floodwaters later removed. "What we need to do is put Gavion wire cages down in the bank," Schaud said, and he provided informational materials to staff.
Supervisor David Flores (first reference uses full name and title), noting input from staff, said gabion wire is not FEMA-eligible and asked the parks director to clarify. A parks staff member told the board the project was brought forward in response to flood damage in 2023, described the scope (equestrian trail, fencing and irrigation along the river's edge), and said prior small repairs held in places but other areas washed out. The staff member listed approvals obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Water Quality Control Board and said the county has contracted AECOM as the engineering firm.
"Time is of the essence," Flores said, urging the board to proceed so FEMA funding would not be lost and so the county could advertise for a contractor; staff estimated work would begin when river conditions allow and predicted completion possibly in 2026 or first quarter 2027. The parks staff recommended advertising the project and moving forward to bid.
The board closed the public portion of the consent agenda and approved the consent motion, which carried with all ayes. The chair had previously announced that item 5g and item 41 were withdrawn and that the fiscal impact on item 5 is now $130,228.17.
The transcript does not record a separate, contested vote specific to the Hart Park project; the item remained on the consent calendar and moved forward as part of the board's consent approval. Public commenters requested additional community engagement and technical review; supervisors and staff emphasized FEMA eligibility and permit approvals as constraints on altering the advertised scope.
