Progress in fixing the 'Great Wall of Coarsegold'

Water privatization meeting Nov. 7; new program for elders

The infamous "Great Wall of Coarsegold" -- a massive, eroding three-tiered retaining wall at Highway 41 at the corner of Raymond Road (415) -- is getting much closer to a much-needed and long-awaited makeover.

While Madera County remains stuck in litigation with the bankrupted owners over whose to blame for the defective concrete block wall -- which is now missing dozens of foundation bricks, cracking and sagging -- the property's creditors hired Jay's Construction Inc. last week to start gearing up for construction to prevent a catastrophic blowout.

But for dirt to be moved and construction to begin, the creditors must have the approval of the property's trustee, Richard Kipperman, who was appointed by a judge to be in charge of the property after the owners of the 65,000-square-foot 2T's Mini Storage filed for bankruptcy this summer.

Bob Gabriele, assistant county counsel, addressed a crowd of more than 50 people Oct. 25 about the status of the Coarsegold wall during District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler's Town Hall meeting at the Coarsegold Community Center.

On Tuesday, Gabriele said the trustee's attorney said they are "getting close" to finalizing an agreement to submit to the bankruptcy judge to authorize necessary demolition and construction, and that the trustee "fully understands the risks as each day goes by and we get closer to the next round of rains."

"To the county, the most important issue is to address the deteriorating walls," Gabriele said. "It's our primary focus and it became more of a focus last March when our building and engineering officials identified that something needed to be done to protect against debris falling onto Highway 41. We received two court orders (so the county could take measures to ensure immediate safety) and got fencing up, portable barriers on the shoulder of the highway, and plastic tarping on the wall."

With the hire of Jay's Construction last week, Gabriele said he believes "there's going to be a lot of activity, hopefully soon," and that the county continues to press for a green light for construction to begin.

"There are a million things that have to happen, but I can tell you, everyone I've talked to knows the severity of the problem and wants to get it done," said Noel Shipp with Jay's Construction, who also spoke at the Oct. 25 meeting. "And the county has told us, 'You come in with something, and we will fast track it (to a top priority).'"

In November of 2008, the county filed a lawsuit against against the owners of 2T's Mini Storage -- Theresa and Terrence Travis, and Bashar and Atour Jarbos -- after county staff identified problems with the wall and the owners failed to take sufficient action to repair it, Gabriele said. The owners then turned around and sued the county for approving the project.

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Progress in fixing the 'Great Wall of Coarsegold'