After a year and a half of construction, the city’s eight million gallon water storage tank under the fields at Graham Middle School is complete. Truckloads of dirt were excavated, neighbors were annoyed, a tank was constructed, a state-of-the-art track and field was laid down and the city wrote checks totaling $19.8 million.
At a Dec. 16 ceremony, everyone involved was thanked, including past city councils which moved forward even though the project was almost unprecedented.
“A lot of councils might say ‘this sounds risky,'” city manager Kevin Duggan said. He also thanked the councils for staying committed to the project when it was found that the cost was going to double.
As the project progressed, it was given nicknames. Graham Principal Judy Crates called the project “The Big Dig.” The pile of dirt excavated for the reservoir was called “Mt. Graham” and the hole dug was called “Graham Canyon.”
The reservoir may be used for emergency purposes. Many speculate the water will be in higher demand when repairs are done to the Hetch-Hetchy aqueduct, which supplies the Peninsula with water.
“Thirst itself has done more to drive history than anything else,” said Maurice Ghysels, superintendent of the Mountain View Whisman school district. “What goes on [with our water supply] can make us peaceful or make us go to war.”
The Graham band played the “Washington March” before the ceremony. The Mountain View Marauders cheerleading team, coming off a national cheerleading competition victory, performed on the new field with its bright green turf.
Duggan called the field “the best one for a middle school in the state of California, wouldn’t you say?”
County Supervisor Liz Kniss, who represents Mountain View, said she was “enormously impressed” with the project.
“It tells me this is a city that knows how to work together,” she said.
For the dedication’s finale, city and school officials unveiled a plaque for the project, embedded in a rock next to the new fields. The track and field was officially opened — and on Tuesday, Graham’s entire student body and faculty walked a ceremonial first lap around the track to break it in.
E-mail Daniel DeBolt at ddebolt@mv-voice.com
