San Juan Bautista City Council members passed along a state tap water warning due to high nitrate levels at the June 20 meeting. City Manager Roger Grimsley advised pregnant women and young children to not drink the water and added the city will be providing bottled water.
“We were monitoring it when it got above 7 and they were concerned and within just the last day it’s jumped right up from 7 all the way up to 9 to 11,” he said after Mayor Chris Martorana asked if the warning had been vetted by the health department.
“Everyone will be notified by letter. (And) eventually in their monthly utility bill. Right now we’re going to go door-to-door with door hangers,” Grimsley added.
He said that while officials don’t know the cause of the high nitrate levels, city staff will be conducting geographical surveys to find the root of the problem.
“We haven’t pinpointed it and we haven’t done geological surveys to determine what’s taken place there” said Grimsley. “It could be related to the San Andreas Fault moving — shifting water there.”
This isn’t the first time the city has had to issue a water warning on nitrate levels. In 2014, the city issued a notice to residents and business owners to stop the use of potable water due to the high nitrate levels in city water that exceeded the maximum contaminant level. The ban was later lifted in 2015.
In January 2017 city officials held a water forum to address residents concerns about the city water. It was determined the water was in fact safe to drink and hard water naturally has a high mineral content.
City Logo
In other news, council members also discussed the design of a new city seal that would be placed on all official city documents and the updated city website.
Community Development Director Matt Orbach, who spearheaded the project, said, “I went to Schipper Design and had them put together some options for you to consider.”
While councilmen John Freeman,Tony Boch and Martorana favored Option 1, they ultimately decided to sharpen up the existing logo.
During discussion, Councilman Dan DeVries said, “I don’t care for any of them and Kathy (Schipper) is my friend so I hope I’m not hurting her feelings. Number 1 obviously comes the closet to the existing. I like the existing logo. I think it’s old school. I think its old fashioned….It’s exactly what we’re about.”
“I like the old one too,” Councilman Jim West added.
Dog Park at Abbe Baseball Park
The council also discussed the possibility of placing a dog park in Abbe Park. The dog park would be located in a corner of the baseball park that is currently designated for tee-ball.
DeVries said the corner of the park, which already is fenced off from the rest of the park, would serve as a temporary dog park while council members figured out how to work towards a much larger dog park.
Grimsley estimated the park would cost about approximately $1,500. The price includes a gate, a bench, and bags to handle dog waste.
Concerns over the deed were also brought up during discussion. “In the deed we got from the Abbes, it was designated as a baseball park, not a baseball and a dog park, a baseball park,” Boch said. “I also understand the Little League is trying to put together a tee-ball teams, which is what that’s for, so just take that into consideration.”
West added, “Well, if it was donated for baseball I don’t know how we can change that.”
DeVries addressed their concerns saying he had researched the issue. “The Abbe family deeded that the city of San Juan Bautista with a provision, so long as it shall always be used as a baseball park. If it ever ceases to be used as a baseball park, the property actually reverts back to the Abbe’ and there’s still a couple of them around — they’re in Oregon, but query whether having kind of an overlay on that which is to let dogs run around on it which they’re doing now anyway is to the exclusion of baseball. Meaning if the Junior Giants get tee-ball, if San Juan Bautista get its Little League chapter reinstated, as easy as it is to put in, we could stop it. Pull the poop bag things and the beach; all you’ve done is add a gate. ”
While no immediate action was taken, the council directed City Attorney Deborah Mall to look over the deed to determine if the dog park is feasible.
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