Impatience growing in KRV for flood restoration even as county says help is on the way

Jul. 8—It's been four long months since massive storms sent floodwaters through Riverside Park in Kernville, tossing around slabs of concrete like Lego blocks and depositing sand on once-green lawns at the county-owned park.

Rhonda Stallone, vice president of Kern River's Edge Campground Retreat in Kernville, isn't the only local who is running out of patience for the county to restore beauty in the park.

"Kernville and the Kern River Valley rely heavily on summer tourism to support our economy through our less busy winter months," Stallone said in an email.

"The draw of our beautiful lake, river and mountains brings in visitors from all over the world, in particular Southern California," she said. "The visitor's expectation is to see that beauty as they arrive in our charming little town, but sadly this is not the case right now."

Now, when visitors arrive in Kernville, the first thing they see, Stallone said, is a flood-ravaged "Riverside Park that has gone untouched for many months without any landscape care. Sand deposited from the flood is still piled up. Weeds are as tall as children on the path leading to the playground, and all the beautiful grass is dying."

Cheryl Borthick, owner of Cheryl's Diner in Kernville and a longtime member of the Kernville Chamber of Commerce, also expressed impatience with the slow wheels of government.

"It happened in March," Borthick said of the flood damage, "and now it's almost midsummer."

In a tourist destination like Kernville, she said, anything unsightly, anything unattractive, reflects badly on the whole community.

But 1st District Supervisor Phillip Peters, whose district includes the Kern River Valley, said via text that plenty has been happening behind the scenes.

"The county has been working on the repairs and I have been advocating for them to get done as soon as possible," Peters said Friday. "Unfortunately it's just not realistic to have all the issues repaired already."

Peters said he's been getting frequent updates from county General Services Director Geoff Hill.

"We have a project management firm (AECOM) hired and in place for managing these initial safety repair projects," Hill said in a statement. "We also have a local KRV contractor in place and currently working on the embankment stabilization/repair, debris removal, and initial safety asphalt repairs at Lake Isabella Park (more commonly known as Tank Park).

"When they are done with the stabilization and safety repair, they will move on to the embankment stabilization, debris removal, and pump house removal at Riverside Park," Hill said. "We expect the contractor to be at Riverside Park by the end of the month. They are a small local company and will not be able to staff both projects."

They are also generating estimates for FEMA approval for the winter storm impacts, Hill added. These estimates will likely run into the millions of dollars.

"AECOM will be finalizing our project scopes and estimates in the next few weeks," Hill said. "When we have approval from FEMA, (we) will contract for and complete the repairs/rehabs."

For Stallone, too many months have already passed and it is critical that the project be completed before the tourism season ends.

"I appreciate all the hoops that local government agencies need to jump through," she said, "and yet we need them to appreciate that their timeliness applies directly to our businesses and the economy of this community."

Reporter Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC.