Area counties face steep cost of storm repair costs

From wiped out roads to devastating floods, the cost of recent Central Coast storms is enormous and it’s only January. “This year there seems to be a couple of really dangerous areas,” said Leslie James, with the Tassajara Zen Center in Carmel Valley.

James said the road leading to the center is in bad shape following some big storms. The few people who are there now are OK, but she worries about the summer when most of the guests come.

“Our summer was really impacted by the (Soberanes) fire,” James said. “We were closed for almost half the summer and it would be horrible to not have it open again this summer.”

In Monterey County, resource managers estimate the storm damage cost to be more than $18 million, and that’s just for roads and parks.

“However, the price tag is rising as we speak because all of our damage assessments are not complete yet,” said Benny Young, with the Monterey County Resource Management Agency.

About $2 million of the damage assessment plan, presented to the board of supervisors on Tuesday, is needed to fix Tassajara Road where the Zen Center is.

The storm also punished Palo Colorado Road, as does the popular Elkhorn Road. “We have that road completely shut down,” Young said.” “Fortunately, in that area there are detours available.”

Monterey County isn’t alone, the cost for San Benito County is also adding up.

“We have one bridge that might need to be replaced and that’s $2 million alone and it’s probably going to be another $2 million for the roads,” said Kevin O’Neil, with San Benito County Office of Emergency Services.

That’s not including the money needed to repair the levee that failed, flooding Lover’s Lane, or the damage to people’s homes.

Santa Cruz County is also looking at a large dollar sign, more than $10 million to fix roads, pay for storms crews, and replace or repair culverts, said Jason Hoppin, with Santa Cruz County.

On Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in 49 California counties, making state funds available to pay for repair work.