CONTRACTOR ACTIVITY BLOCKS MOTHER GRUNDY TRUCK TRAIL IN DEERHORN VALLEY FOR SECOND TIME IN WEEK
February 9, 2011 (Deerhorn Valley) UPDATED 4:30 p.m. – Mother Grundy Truck Trail is now cleared, according Jake Fletcher, sales manager for GJ Fletcher Construction Co. of Descanso. Fletcher returned a phone message left earlier and disputed details in an alert issued earlier today by the Deerhorn Valley Antler.
He demanded that ECM "take down" the entire story based on the Antler alert. ECM advised Fletcher that his statements would be included and any inaccuracies corrected, but that the public clearly has an interest in knowing details about road closures in East County.
The Antler alert stated that Mother Grundy Truck Trail had been blocked this morning and early afternoon by a truck-trailer carrying a 90-foot modular section for GJ Fletcher. The truck reportedly became stuck at a curve before Beacon Hill Llama Farm. The Antler eported last Friday that the same road has been blocked by an incident involving GJ Fletcher Construction Co.
“This isn’t even news,” Fletcher, insisting that blockage of a road did not deserve coverage. He then threatened legal action. Told that ECM operates an emergency alert service and that a blocked road is clearly news.
Fletcher told ECM that he had prior permission to block the road today. “It was permitted by the county and state that I block off an easement road. The cops told everyone that I was in the right and they left,” he said.
Last week’s incident left elderly homeowners without power after a driver working for the construction company knocked out power lines, the Antler reported. An estimated 200-250 homes with around 500 people had access blocked for up to several hours, said Kim Hamilton with the Antler.
“The power pole was illegally installed and we are fixing that at no charge,” Fletcher said. “We’ve already dug the hole and we have a brand new pole out there that we are installing right now.”
The Antler report indicated that the couple remains without power, but that GJ Fletcher Construction has provided the owners with a generator to use a couple of hours a day to prevent spoilage. The elderly owners rely on electricity for their phone service and an electric well water pump as well, the Antler indicated.
According to the Antler, “numerous neighbors have been affected” including “damage to road surface and drainage, fences, oak trees, as well as being prevented to jobs or homes.”
Fletcher responded that easements for the privately owned road give him the right to trim trees. “I can cut any tree that I want,” he said.
He also disputed residents who have voiced concerns over having the road blocked and who have stated that the road serves as the primary evacuation route in case of wildfire or other emergency.
“We weren’t blocking the road. People he could go around,” he said.
Hamilton scoffed upon hearing that remark. "It was completely blocked for at leat two hours at the Llama Ranch bend," she said, adding that it was blocked earlier at another location in the road.
Told that a photo taken by the Deerhorn Valley Antler editor clearly showed the road completely blocked, he insisted that the photo was taken illegally and that he told the photographer not to take photos.
Asked to explain his statement that the roadway was not blocked, Fletcher said the road has a second exit. “People don’t like it because it’s more beat up. It’s more rural, but you live in a rural community,” he added.
Area residents were quick to debunk Fletcher on the alternate route.
"That other route is so steep! I've been on it one since I've lived here six or seven years ago," said Dr. Ruth Baak. "I won't go on that route because it would ruin the bottom of your car. It's a terrible, terrible road and it's not an alternative."
Hamilton concurred with Baak's assessment. While the road was blocked, she observed, "the only access is Lower Mother Grundy...if you are willing to risk your car and your safety." She described conditions on that route as ranging from "very rough to impassible" and said the detour distance is about 15 miles. She described it as "a dangerous road if you don't have a high rise vehicle or 4WD."
Baak, who owns the llama ranch, told ECM she was upset that the contractor never gave notice and then damaged her property. "He chopped one of my oak trees and that was the shade tree for the llamas," she said. "They did no preparation for any of the moves they made."
Hamilton said that other modular homes have been brought into the area since the wildfires burned homes in the vicinity--and that other contractors showed consideration for area residents. "Generally the hauler prepares the road ahead of time to make sure of the surface and take care of any obstacles," she said.
She expressed shock at Fletcher's statement claiming the blocked road wasn't news. "It would be news if you called 911 because your child was choking, or you had fallen, suffered a heart attack, etc. and medical aid couldn't get to you," she observed.
As for Fletcher's statement that he had a permit, Hamilton claimed the Sheriff told her that fletcher didn't have paperwork with him, but was reportedly sending someone back to the office for it. She said neither the Sheriff's officer nor CHP was certain of the access legalities, but that a CHP officer summoned by the Sheriff said "it's a civil matter" because the road is a private easement.
Baak criticized the condition in which her oak tree was left. "They should have put tar on it. You don't leave a tree like that with a big open gap, because of oak beetles. I'm going to have to do something with that...We tried very hard to keep our oak trees here."
The Deerhorn Valley editor has asked area residents with damage to contact the Antler at theantler@deerhornvalley.net.
Contact information for GJ Fletcher Construction is listed on the California State Contractors Licensing Bureau website as follows:
G J FLETCHER CONSTRUCTION INC
P O BOX 640
DESCANSO, CA 91916-0640
(619) 722-7179
An online search found a website for the company at http://www.buildamodularhome.com/http://www.buildamodularhome.com/