MST/Whispering Oaks Call to Action

[Kay Cline]

Dear All,

Please check out today's (Tuesday, Jan. 31) guest commentary by Margaret Davis. She very clearly speaks about the importance of the Feb. 14, 1:30pm, Board of Supervisors' Meeting at 168 W. Alisal, Salinas involving MST/Whispering Oaks. Your letters to BOS, MST, and newspapers (letters to editor) are greatly needed. Please see below and spread the word! Hoping to see you in Salinas on the 14th.

Kay

MST/WHISPERING OAKS UPDATE

Our fight for the Sgt Allan MacDonald Cavalry Trail is on the boil again. Despite hundreds of letters and 18,000 voter signatures in opposition, it appears that MST and the County Redevelopment Agency still intend to cram their project through. 

On February 14th, the Fort Ord Rec Users (forU) referendum we worked so hard to support this summer is before the supervisors for action. The supes have either to put the referendum on the ballot or rescind their approval of the MST development at Whispering Oaks. 

We fear the supervisors will rescind approval of the current development but NOT the project's Environmental Impact Report. With the EIR intact, MST can then come back with a modified project at the same location, probably without the business park (it would be folly to build a business park in this economy anyway). 

The only way to kill this undead item is to persuade the supervisors to rescind the EIR on February 14th.

Friends, this is it. We have to be there in droves, and we need to use our time aggressively between now and February 14th to reason and plead to elected officials and in the media. ForU sent a helpful email, edited below to include yesterday's new information, with a menu of actions every one of us can take. Please read and CHANGE MONTEREY COUNTY HISTORY!

For the community, losing this battle will be a loss that stretches deep into time. This parcel is essential to the future of the historical and recreational corridor from the Fort Ord Dunes State Beach, to the National Park Service grant known as the Marina Equestrian Center, to the anticipated Fort Ord National Monument rec lands. In a chain such as this, every link is important. The Whispering Oaks link is absolutely irreplaceable, due to today's surrounding land use. THERE IS NO OTHER POSSIBLE TRAIL FROM THE MARINA EQUESTRIAN CENTER TO THE BLM than the Sgt Allan MacDonald Cavalry Trail, which MUST PASS through the Whispering Oaks parcel for about a mile. 

Remind your supervisor and MST elected official that a long and contiguous trail system through one of the most beautiful places in California is of tremendous economic benefit to all of us, due to tourism, home desirability, and heightened quality of life. Five supervisors have it in their power on February 14th either to cherish and cultivate this stupendous benefit bequeathed by the U.S. Army or chop it up for firewood.

I hope to see every one of you at the supervisors' chambers on February 14th at 1:30pm. Let's give them double the numbers. If we can persuade the supes to take back the EIR, this fight is over. Imagine being able to put all our pep towards warhorse enjoyment. What a Valentine's Day present that will be!

See forU email below  for addresses and more info.

Yours,

Margaret Davis

Executive Director

Friends of the Fort Ord Warhorse

831-224-4534

Dedicated to the recognition and preservation of the history of the Fort Ord Army warhorses and soldiers, for the educational and cultural enrichment of the Monterey Peninsula, its visitors, and the nation.

______________

FORU COMMUNICATION:

All,

Due to the unexpected unavailability of Supervisor Calgagno for the January 24, 2012, Board of Supervisors Meeting, our referendum of the MST/Whispering Oaks Business Development Park has been moved to February 14th.

This continuance gives us more time to double our efforts to persuade the Supervisors and the MST Board members that the Intergarrison Road site is the WRONG LOCATION for an MST facility!

Eighteen-thousand signatures for the referendum opposed the placement of the MST project at this site. THIS IS THE WRONG LOCATION!  Leave the 58-acre woodland "as is" to be valued for its open space and recreational use for the benefit of all. 

Whispering Oaks is an IRREPLACEABLE link in a coherent regional trail system from the coastal cities and state beach to the BLM. Friends, do not allow present and future benefits to be obliterated by narrow and shortsighted decisions today. The community has spoken. This is the WRONG LOCATION! 

ACTION MENU:

1.  Flood the county supervisors' switchboard. Call (831) 755-5066 and tell the operator that 58-acre oak woodland known as Whispering Oaks needs to be kept "as is." "As is" means NO DEVELOPMENT on this parcel of land. MST needs to build its facility someplace else. We need EVERYONE to call. Time: 30 seconds.

2. Email the supervisors and MST board of directors. Tell them you are among tens of thousands of county residents who oppose this blow to tourism, recreation, community values, conservation, and common sense. It is outrageous to ignore your voice and the voice of 18,000 voters. Email: C...@co.monterey.ca.us and MST at M...@MST.org. Time: 1-5 minutes

3. Schedule a meeting with your local MST director. They are not off the hook! These are the representatives from YOUR TOWN who feel extremely comfortable ignoring you and 18,000 others. They need to feel the heat. Meet with them--ask one of us for help if needed. Many forU members are ready and willing to accompany you or to provide you with important documents to support relocation of the MST facility to a different location. Time: 60 seconds to schedule the appointment, 30 minutes for meeting. Contact info below.

4. Get in the media. Write a brief and focused email. Time: 5 minutes.

Californian: news...@thecalifornian.com

Monterey Herald: mhed...@montereyherald.com

Carmel Pine Cone: ma...@carmelpinecone.com

Monterey County Weekly: let...@mcweekly.com

KSBW TV: http://www.ksbw.com/contact/index.html

KION TV: news...@kionrightnow.com

KION FM: markca...@clearchannel.com 

KAZU: progr...@kazu.org

MST Board of Directors

County of Monterey, Fernando Armenta, 831-755-5011, dist...@co.monterey.ca.us 

Carmel, Karen Sharp, 620-2000 (city), 831-624-5727 Home, karen...@yahoo.com 

Del Rey Oaks, Kristin Clark, city...@delreyoaks.org (put Kristin Clark in the subject line) 

Gonzales, Maria Orozco, 831-675-5000, city...@ci.gonzales.ca.us, (put Maria Orozco in the subject line) 

Greenfield, John Huerta, Jr., 831-674-5591, jhu...@ci.greenfield.ca.us 

King City, Susan Kleber, 831-385-3281 ext 5932, eso...@kingcity.com 

Marina, Frank O'Connell, fr...@oconnell4us.com 

Monterey,Libby Downey, dow...@ci.monterey.ca.us 

Pacific Grove, Alan Cohen, ala...@comcast.net 

Salinas, Sergio Sanchez, dist...@ci.salinas.ca.us 

Sand City, David Pendergrass, 831-394-3054, sandc...@aol.com 

Seaside, Alvin Edwards, 831-899-6700, aedw...@ci.seaside.ca.us 

Soledad, Patricia Stephens, in...@cityofsoledad.com (put Pat Stephens in the subject line), 831-223-5014

The time is short--choose from the menu above and take action!

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forU •  Fort Ord Rec Users

forto...@gmail.com

"Individuals and groups with the shared vision to preserve and enhance recreational use and the natural habitat of the former Fort Ord for the benefit of all."