JR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It was closed due to environmental concerns
> coupled with the recession. UP still owns the
> runaround tracks.
>
> Why the property hasn't been sold? I dunno, you'd
> have to ask Cemex.

Cemex-borg still owns lots of shuttered plants in the United States.



Davenport close to running out of water

KSBW

DAVENPORT, Calif. —
Despite the wettest winter in years, the town of Davenport is close to running out of water.

A major waterline was damaged during the 2017 winter storms. Santa Cruz County declared an emergency and tapped into Mill Creek, but that source will run dry by the end of summer.

The damaged pipeline belongs to Cemex Corp., however, the Texas-based company refuses to pay $220,000 in repair costs.

So the bill is being passed down to Davenport's 400 residents. Those 400 residents already have the highest water bills in the county.

At a Thursday news conference, Supervisor Ryan Coonerty called out Cemex for its irresponsibility for not stepping up to meet its responsibility to the community to pay for repair costs.

"In order to address a significant health and safety concern for the people of Davenport, the county, at my urging, decided to repair Cemex' water lines," Coonerty said. "We have tried to work with Cemex to get them to repair this critical water line, but while Cemex has been out trying to sell the water rights, they are neglecting to maintain the water infrastructure that serves this low-income community. If this situation is not resolved, the county may be forced to take legal action."

"Taking extraordinary action to restore the town of Davenport's water supply, the Davenport County Sanitation District on Thursday announced emergency repairs to assure the continued health and safety of the community.

Historically, water infrastructure owner Cemex Corp. has maintained the water lines that supply the town of Davenport. However, the company declined to repair $220,000 in storm damages to assure the continued delivery of water to hundreds of residents, forcing the Davenport County Sanitation District to take matters into its own hands. Since February, Davenport had been relying on a backup water supply that is expected to go dry within weeks.

For more than a century, operators of the Davenport Cement Plant supplied and subsidized the town of Davenport with clean, reliable water from San Vicente Creek. When the plant closed in 2010, Davenport water bills increased substantially, placing a burden on town residents, many of whom are low-income. Shifting the cost of winter storm damage to Davenport residents will have further severe impacts."

Cemex spokesperson Walker Robinson issued the following statement to KSBW Thursday afternoon:

"CEMEX works to be a good neighbor in communities surrounding our facilities, even in situations where our plants have ceased operations. It is disappointing that Santa Cruz County officials are suggesting anything less in Davenport. The City of Davenport developed around the cement plant when it was established more than 100 years ago, and the plant was the original water source for the community. CEMEX closed the Davenport plant in 2010, and since then continued to make water available to the County water treatment facility at no cost to the County. The damage to the main water line that was caused by major storms earlier this year did not occur on CEMEX property. CEMEX did discuss the issues caused by the storm damage with County staff and sent a letter to Santa Cruz County leaders in May offering them access so the County could make the repairs the County deemed necessary. The attempt to cast this as CEMEX cutting off water supplies is disappointing. CEMEX recognizes the importance of a reliable water supply and continues to make water available to Davenport through a backup line."

AND...

DAVENPORT >> Out of the four Cemex plant reuse options unveiled at a Tuesday evening community meeting, one appeared to fly high above the rest: a bid by a locally owned aviation company to use the derelict industrial site as its new headquarters.

The three additional scenarios presented by county-hired consultants were to turn the 104-acre site into a lodge additional cabins and camp sites, a recreation-oriented conference center of comparable size to Asilomar in Pacific Grove, or 300 units of senior housing.

All four of the proposals would include a visitor center, rest rooms and public parking — clear priorities that emerged at a previous public meeting for the small North Coast community.

Each proposal, including the aviation option, would also include at least 75 cabins to accommodate North Coast visitors, and each would carry an estimated development cost in excess of $100 million.

More than 200 people packed the meeting room at Pacific Elementary School, including a sizeable portion of Davenport’s 400 residents and many others from nearby coastal communities and Bonny Doon.

Some at the meeting expressed dissatisfaction with the level of detail included in each proposal, but Debbie Rudd, a principal at RRM design group, said presenting the scenarios at such an early stage was done by design.

“We’re purposely coming to you before we have all the information because we want to get your gut instinct,” Rudd said.

Others expressed concern with regard to proposals’ substantial size. But Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty said that only a sizeable project would be economically viable for the site.

Following a presentation on each of the housing and lodging alternatives by the consultants, Joby Aviation founder Joe-Ben Bevirt shared his own far-reaching vision for his company and the site.

The man who has been called the “Elon Musk of Santa Cruz” began the presentation with an image of his birth certificate, showing that he was born on nearby Last Chance Road.

The innovator of a popular flexible camera tripod has in recent years set his sights much higher: building personal electric aircraft usable by commuters.

Now flush with funding, Joby Aviation is looking to expand its operations to a new headquarters.

“We can only do that if you all are with us,” Bivert told the crowd.

While some remained skeptical about potential impacts and lack of detail, the bold vision combined with Bivert’s status as a local to the community appeared to go a long way.

When at the end of the meeting the crowd were asked to place dots on their preferred option, Joby Aviation soared above the rest.

Based on the demand for more detail about each of the plans, however, Coonerty said the county will schedule an additional community input meeting in coming weeks before settling on a preferred alternative.

In the meantime, those interested can review information about each of the scenarios and submit comments at co.santa-cruz.ca.us/DavenportCementPlant.aspx

Founded in 1906, the Cemex plant produced cement for major statewide infrastructure projects such as the Golden Gate and Bay bridges as well as the California Aqueduct. It closed its gates for good in 2010 in the face of an economic downturn and high upkeep costs.

Cemex continues to own the property, but is actively looking for a buyer who could work with the county to overcome environmental and zoning obstacles.

The privately owned plant has been closesince 2010 and it sits on 172 acres on the rugged North Coast of Santa Cruz County. There have been ideas thrown about converting the land into something that resembles the Costanoa Lodge near Ano Nuevo. Or perhaps a manufacturing plant for Santa Cruz air-taxi startup Joby Aviation.

But Davenport is a town of about 400 people — and many people there are worried that redevelopment could ruin the natural environment that makes the area so great.