Archive for December, 2017

Our first of five Native Plant Islands is completed

It may not look like much for now but just wait till Spring arrives and these plants get going.  Thanks to our Martin-Fontana Parks Association members Larry Sasscer, Lee Pauser, Rod Carpenter, Vince Piazzisi, Sunny Wagstaff, Richard Grialou, Pat Pizzo, PRNS District 1 Manager, Dan Greeley and our Fontana West Park maintenance person, Mark Conklin, for all their hard work and expertise.

And, of course, a BIG Thank You to the sponsor of the island, Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds for providing over 40 plants.  He didn’t just donate plants. He spent almost a day sorting, loading and driving them down here with a paid member of his staff, placing them and instructing the volunteer crew in rock and plant placement. What makes this distant nursery special is that Pete has a broad selection of CA native plants.  Plants that cannot be found in other South Bay nurseries.  Additionally, Pete has extensive experience with native plants.  His use of native plants in containers is unique.  We encourage anyone interested in CA native plants to visit Pete’s nursery, Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, and the  UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley some weekend!

We still have four more islands to go and we have sponsors lined up for two of them.  Look for more planting to come now that all the water lines have been completed.  Sponsorships for two of these islands are still available for service clubs or community groups.

 For more info please contact Martin-Fontana Parks Association President, Rod Carpenter for details at 408-997-2174.

 

 

Pipeline Maintenance Project has started

Replacement Water Valve?

So have you been wondering what those strange objects wrapped in heavy black plastic are?  Well, according to a Nov. notice posted on Nextdoor from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, pipeline maintenance has begun.  “As part of our work to keep your water safe and reliable, the Santa Clara Valley Water District will work on a nearly 12-mile stretch of pipeline from Calero Reservoir in South San Jose to the Vasona Pump Plant in Los Gatos, a six-month maintenance project that started this month.”  

We expect operations to be back to normal by the end of February, 2018.”  So don’t be surprised to see lots of activity around those large concrete blocks in Jeffrey Fontana and TJ Martin Parks.

If you have any questions about the operation, please call Water Resources Supervisor Jerry Sparkman at 408-630-3254.