The Crest Forest Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) had an interesting meeting on Oct. 3 as national events of the day affected the reports from Congressman Obernolte’s office. He had just voted to attempt to keep his friend, California Congressman Kevin McCarthy, from being ousted as Speaker of the House, while the county road department spoke about the road repairs on Lake Drive and Nathan Godwin spoke about the changes at Lake Gregory Regional Park.

All members of the MAC were in attendance to hear the report on the completion of the installation of the ADA ramps along Lake Drive at the street corners; they are the yellow metal ramps, informing pedestrians of the upcoming edge of the roadway. The crosswalk flashers are working in two locations, Wildrose and Alden Lane, along Lake Drive, and they have painted the crosswalk lines and will repaint those lines after the asphalt is replaced. They expect the old asphalt they are removing from the roadway to be completely replaced by Thanksgiving, all the way down Lake Drive from Top Town to the lake and then up Lake Gregory Drive to Highway 18. They are cutting down four inches and removing the current surface of the roadway. This project may be affected by weather and depends upon the day’s high temperatures, as they cannot install new asphalt when the temperature is below 60 degrees. The days when it reaches 60 degrees early gives them more time to work.

The road department is aware the equipment is causing some dips in the amount of business the stores along the road replacement are experiencing but they are working as swiftly as possible to mitigate the business disruption.

When asked about a crosswalk at the bus stop at Manzanita Drive, Springy Path and Lake Drive, it was said they are currently trying to configure how that three-way corner and street intersection could work better before adding a cross walk with flashing lights. That issue will be addressed in phase two of the Lake Drive Project.

On the Lake Gregory Drive section of the street surface replacement, which will go up to Highway 18, they will coordinate with Caltrans in reference to the light mats, when they install the asphalt. They also have been inspecting the road shoulder and analyzing the erosion problems caused by heavy rain. They will be backfilling the drop-off spots along the road’s edge as a part of the road replacement project.

Congressman Obernolte’s field representative Corrine Mora reported by Zoom that the congressman had been on the congressional floor all afternoon voting on the retention of speakership of the House for his friend McCarthy. However, the house voted to oust McCarthy from the speakership only hours prior to the MAC meeting. Obernolte pledges he will work to balance the budget. The House has successfully passed 45 resolutions this year.

County Fire Battalion Chief Sean Markey said the cause of the commercial hotel fire on Lake Drive is still under investigation. He warned that, historically, October and November are known as the months when the strong Santa Ana winds may be blowing and threatening the mountain communities. The recent rains have encouraged additional weed growth, so be aware and clear the new weeds that have grown since the inspections, to be safer from fire. This October is the 20th anniversary of the 2003 Old Fire.

The CHP office in Running Springs is still in a state of construction, but they still hope to be able to hold their car show after the repairs are completed, although no date has been set, said CHP Officer Jeff O’Brien. He asked for patience when facing the current roadbed replacement by Caltrans and their pothole repair projects on Highway 18 and elsewhere.

Nathan Godwin spoke on the repairs that have been made to the San Moritz Lodge. Two roof supports needed to be replaced and the tree trunks that were used to replace the rotted ones were cut from the local property since they were the perfect size and tree type. They match almost perfectly, so the replacement logs are difficult to distinguish from the older ones. The logs weighed 2,500 pounds each and were 14 and 20 feet long, but Phillips Construction was able to finish 1-½ months ahead of schedule, thus not impacting the many events scheduled for the building. The roof and building are now ready for winter.

This last year, Lake Gregory was stocked with more than 20,000 pounds of fish. The large 10 to 15-pound catfish that were planted have not yet been caught, as far as Godwin knows. “So, they are still out there, lurking and ready and waiting to be caught.” When someone catches them, Godwin would like to know. The bait and tackle shop, where fishing rods, kayaks and E-bikes can be rented, will be open through the winter.

The fundraiser for the new children’s playground at Lake Gregory has raised $15,000 so far. The Lake Gregory Company must place $50,000 each year into a fund controlled by the county to improve the park and they hope to be able to use some of those funds to pay for part of the $400,000 playground. All the plans and designs are shown on the Lakegregory.com website.

The Crestline Family Christmas will again be held on the North Shore patio, sponsored by Goodwin’s Market, on Dec. 2, along with the lighting of the community Christmas tree, located on the South Shore of Lake Gregory.

Other chamber events include the Top Town Fall Festival on Nov. 11 and the community Trick or Treat the merchants on Oct. 28 from 2 to 5 p.m. The chamber will be sponsoring a winter Mardi Gras-themed Corks & Hops in February at the San Moritz Lodge.

Melissa Collins announced that a Red Cross volunteer seminar on Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to noon will teach the fundamentals of how to open and operate an emergency shelter during a disaster. Crestline didn’t have a Red Cross shelter during last winter as there were not enough trained people who knew how to set one up. To register for the free class for volunteers, contact [email protected].

The next Crest Forest MAC meeting will be held at the San Moritz Lodge at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 7. The public is invited to attend.