Per Linda Wilson, the Martin-Fontana Parks Association President, PG&E wanted to cut down and remove seven trees and trim several others. After meeting with the MFPA team, the work was revised to the following:
Two “volunteer” trees growing in Jeffrey Fontana Park, east of Golf Creek, will be removed because they will eventually be a problem with the wires.
Four Golden Rain trees along Golden Oak Way will be trimmed instead of removed.
Tree 13 at the corner of Castello Drive and Golden Oak Way will be trimmed.
Tree 13
Several “volunteer’ trees along the fence line with the Villas will be removed or trimmed. The Pyracantha will remain as well as the other brush.
In TJ Martin Park, one tree that shades the bench near Burchell Ave. will be trimmed instead of removed.
The Liquid Amber trees along Oak Glen Way will be sloped (trimmed) away from the wires.
Four intrepid volunteers have formed a watering team for the newly planted natural Coast Live Oak tree planted in the Heritage Grove. Rich Grialou, Brandon Koehne, Dave Gonzalez and Dave Poeschel make up the team who will water weekly and try to revive the tree.
Heritage Tree placque
The grove of multi-trunked Coast Live Oak trees was designated a Heritage Tree site by the City of San Jose in 2011. Two years ago, PG&E removed two diseased trunks of one of the oaks and the City Arborist recommended planting a replacement tree. Martin-Fontana Parks Association helped pay for the tree with the agreement that Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services would plant it. Late in February, park staff planted the Coast Live Oak. Planting was a big job because the tree was in a 24″ box, bigger than anything we had ever planted before. Although the tree has completely browned out, the branches are still alive, so our MFPA team will be working diligently to bring the tree back to life!
Rich Grialou, Pat Pizzo, David Poeschel, Lee Pauser, Vince Piazzisi, and Sunny Wagstaff
Thanks to Patrick Pizzo, shown above second from the left, for providing us with this “Bumble Bee” view of several of the islands located in Jeffrey Fontana Park.
Martin-Fontana Parks Association needs your support. 2018 proved to be a milestone for our nonprofit group. We finally have written agreements that will allow us to hire contractors using MFPA funds to complete those projects the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services cannot budget. The Five Islands project was completed with the construction of a decomposed granite pathway. MFPA invested $9,000 of your membership donations for this task. The last step will be the installation of informational signage about the native plants. Currently, Larry Sasscer & Richard Grialou are working on repairing the fence along Meridian at TJ Martin Park,
Richard Grialou & Larry Sasscer work on the fence
and exploring the possibilities of replacing a section of turf near the dog park. All 12 of the water vaults in TJ Martin & Jeffrey Fontana Parks have become works of art thanks to some great artists, District 10 Councilmember Johnny Khamis, Michael Ogilvie, San Jose’s Director of Public Art for the Office of Cultural Affairs, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD).
Our members’ support helped convince the City that our parks need better maintenance. This has led to some new additions to the maintenance staff and more work being done in TJ Martin and Jeffrey Fontana parks. However, after years of cutbacks in the budget and manpower, park users and supporters will need to continue to advocate for better park services.
Lastly, we have continued our dialogue with PG&E regarding the preservation of our parks most precious resource; our trees. In 2010 MFPA was formed to save the park trees from being removed by them. Today we negotiate annually to protect our trees. Your Membership affirms our community’s intent to PG&E that we are serious about them being respectful of these priceless resources. So far we have been consistently successful getting them to agree to prune rather than remove these trees.
That’s why your membership is sorely needed. We hope you will take this opportunity to become a member by filling out a membership form and mailing it to us with your check or you may choose to use Pay Pal at our website: https://martinfontanaparksassociation.blog/membership-3/. Your renewal is valid for one year. You may also choose to become a sponsor, with a family membership included in a sponsorship of $100 or more. All membership and sponsorship donations are tax-deductible. We are a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
With your support we will continue to advocate making our parks a better experience for all. We value your membership and thank you for helping to make a difference in our neighborhood! Please email us at SaveOurParkTrees@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns.
Here’s Valli Sharpe-Geisler with a letter from the California Secretary of State office indicating that we were officially approved as a Non-Profit Corporation as of 10 August 2010!
If you were wondering what were some of the things we were doing back in 2010, here’s a tree rally we held for TJ Martin & Jeffrey Fontana Parks. Here’s the video.
We were also out protesting in front of PG&E Headquarters in San Jose and during PG&E’s removal of 13 trees.
On December 16th & January 6th., Our City Forest (OCF) held “Planting Parties” and a total of 55 new trees were planted in our Jeffrey Fontana & TJ Martin parks. The new trees were planted in select locations and in areas where dead or dying trees needed to be replaced. The professional staff of Our City Forest managed the program and provided direction and tools.
From left to right are MFPA Vice-President Richard Zahner, MFPA President Rod Carpenter, District 10 Councilmember Johnny Khamis, and OCF Planting Manager Rob Castaneda
These plantings were a major “once in a decade” opportunity and the Martin Fontana Parks Association Board of Directors wants to give a big “Thank You” to the OCF staff, MFPA members, and all the other volunteers who came out and helped make it a success.
This program was initiated by PG&E early in 2017 when they asked the MFPA Board to partner with them to find locations for new trees to replace the ones they were required to remove along Almaden Expressway. A team of MFPA members created a ‘Planting Plan’ for consideration of the City Park Staff and PG&E. The PG&E planting guidelines that limit the mature tree height for any trees under the lines were taken in to account during the negotiations. This avoids any possible contact with the lines and costly annual tree trimming.
Our plan was adopted in principle by PG&E and used in negotiations with the City and County. PG&E finished the removal of over 150 trees along Alamaden Expressway in late summer and then provided funding to OCF to plant replacements in our parks. MFPA finalized the Planting Plan locations and the OCF Arborist coordinated tree selection with the City and PG&E.
From left to right are District 10 Councilmember Johnny Khamis, MFPA Project Manager Dave Poeschel, OCF rep, Brian O’Neill, and two others.
The trees were of the 15-gallon size from the OCF nursery. The City will provide water for a three-year program to assure survival of these young trees and OCF will manage the watering. Our continuing responsibility will be to support the OCF watering and report problems, if and when they occur.
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We hope you, your children, and future neighbors, will enjoy all the new trees and a have an attractive parks for decades.
“The trees will replace those removed earlier this year under Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s gas pipeline safety program.”
“Workers from Our City Forest and the Martin-Fontana Parks Association will provide the new trees during two planting parties at the parks, one on Dec. 16 and the other on Jan. 6. Another couple dozen trees will be planted in the Shadow Brook neighborhood by the local neighborhood association with help from Our City Forest on Dec. 2, according to Councilman Johnny Khamis.”
According to Martin-Fontana Parks Association Director, Richard Zahner, the City’s Parks, Recreation, & Neighborhood Services has committed to provide the water needed to establish the 55 trees. Our City Forest has committed to watering the trees and providing care such as trimming and shaping to assure their survival through the first three years. At that time the trees should be established and should require no more than the routine care provided by PRNS. In practice the first year will the most demanding, requiring 15 gallons per week.
‘Tree Gator’, a type of plastic water bag
A ‘Tree Gator’, a type of plastic water bag, may be used to control and concentrate the water where it is most beneficial. Watering will be incrementally reduced over the second and third years to promote healthy roots and sustainable growth.
Richard also serves as the Park Planning and Improvement Chairperson for MFPA.
Several parks in the Almaden Valley area should be in top shape after San Jose public works crews checked off a long list of improvements throughout the summer that have all finally been finished.
The upgrades range from simple replacements such as new solar LEDs at Chris Hotts Park to redoing the playground surface at Vista Park to rehabilitating the soccer fields at TJ Martin and Jeffrey Fontana parks.
MARTIN-FONTANA PARKS ASSOCIATION 