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Mission Springs Bridge to Cost Nearly $1 Million
SCOTTS VALLEY, CA (April 26, 2007) – Mission Springs Christian Camps
and Conference Center will need to spend nearly $1 million to
eventually replace a bridge that provides the only access to the
facility and provide supporting services until then, Executive Director
Bryan Hayes estimates.
Santa Cruz County officials condemned the
bridge and ordered it closed March 23. The closing came a day after the
company Mission Springs had hired to repair and rehabilitate the
structure discovered additional problems, Hayes says.
 The
same day, construction crews began work on a temporary one-lane paved
road to provide access, at the camp’s direction. Temporary metered
traffic lights have been installed at each end of the road, which
begins at Mission Springs’ Wild Oak Camp and ends at Frontier Ranch.
Cost for the construction was $111,248, Hayes says.
The camp
will continue to use that road until one lane of the current bridge can
be made passable. When that work is done, a new bridge will be
constructed.
Mission Springs initially contracted with Granite
Construction for $150,000 to repair the current bridge after a routine
inspection last fall revealed that the structure no longer met code,
Hayes says. That work began February 22 and was expected to take 28
days.
However, all conference guests, as well as camp staff and
residents, were given three hours to vacate the property on March 23,
Hayes says. The Scotts Valley Fire District ordered the action because
they could not get a truck across the bridge, if needed. Residents and
staff were able to return three days later when the access road was
paved.
Due to the sudden nature of the decision to close the
bridge, Mission Springs was forced to cancel its annual Men’s
Conference and three adult retreats scheduled for the first week of the
closure because completion of the temporary access road could not be
completed in time. The loss of revenue is estimated at $37,355.
Mission
Springs will be able to host the rest of the upcoming camps, Hayes
says, though having groups on campus will be costly for at least the
next month. Because fire trucks cannot get across the bridge or use the
temporary access road, a three-person fire crew will need to be onsite
around the clock every day that groups are on campus.
Having
the firefighters stationed onsite will cost $3,579 a day, and groups
are scheduled everyday, Hayes says. The camp expects to pay $238,039
through May 31 for the service.
Hayes says paying the money
still is less costly than canceling the camps. Fire District officials
have indicated the crew may not need to stay on the grounds once a lane
is opened on the current bridge.
The proposed new bridge would
cost at least $400,000, Hayes says. The two-lane structure would be
located about 1,000 feet upstream from the current site (accompanying
map), and would be 80 feet long and 20 feet wide.
Under normal
circumstances, the camp would have to wait several months for a hearing
with county officials on meeting environmental and other regulations
for the proposed bridge, Hayes says. He hopes the hearings will be
expedited under an emergency provision. County Supervisor Mark Stone
already has asked agencies to move as quickly as possible, Hayes adds.
The
camp has had enough reserves to pay $350,000 so far for the ongoing
work, but does not have funds to complete future construction, Hayes
says. Several churches, including the Bayside Covenant Church
congregations, have pledged to donate funds. All conference churches
also are being asked to take a special “second offering” during one of
the first two Sundays in June, with gifts donated for the Mission
Springs project.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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