Council Briefs Council Briefs (November 12, 2004)

Moffett rescue squad may move

City officials are getting anxious about plans to move the Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard from Moffett Field to Merced County.

Federal officials may make a decision soon, said City Manager Kevin Duggan, possibly spurring the council to take action at its next meeting on Nov. 23.

Rep. Anna Eshoo, who represents Mountain View, plans to meet with the Air Force secretary and may need representatives from the city, Duggan said.

Mountain View is concerned about the move because the wing performs rescue operations at sea, and the move would lengthen response times, said Deputy City Manager Linda Forsberg.

But the federal government favors the move because of the costs of using Moffett and the high cost of living for employees.

The departure of the rescue wing would negatively impact federal efforts to keep Moffett a secure facility and could mean new uses for Moffett runways that would bother neighbors, Forsberg added.

Going underground

A city project to put utility lines underground near Rengstorff Avenue will affect fewer homes and businesses than originally planned.

Council members voted Tuesday to tighten the boundaries of the Rengstorff Avenue Underground Utility District. The southern boundary of the district will now be Old Middlefield Road instead of Middlefield Way, making the project cheaper, said assistant public works director Tim Ko. There are very few overhead wires in that area of the district, and that contributed to the decision, Ko said.

Utility companies will be required to have wires run underground by December 2006. The new district includes 51 parcels.

It also includes the area around Leghorn Street and Rengstorff, which serves as a sort of gateway to the city, Ko said. There are a large number of overhead wires there, and this project will make the area more aesthetically pleasing, he said.

The project will also increase property values in the area, noted Council member Greg Perry.

-- Kathy Shrenk

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