West Modesto: Robertson Road History

Robertson Road History · Aug 6, 04:28 PM

In October 2002 the residents of the Robertson Road area were informed by the county that we were to receive sidewalks, sewers, curbs and gutters. We were elated when we got official letters from an engineering firm that they were going to come out and measure our lots, they showed us the drawn up plans for the whole package.

But something happened and we never heard from the engineering firm or the county about the project until in Spring of 2003 when we (as a neighborhood) decided to find out what had happened to the project. At the request of the neighborhood the county decided to come out to give us an update.

I showed the county personnel the letter that I was sending to the Modesto Bee asking about the lack of information that the neighborhood had received. Finally, we were told that money that was to be used for infrastructure was to be moved to another project.

Then we were told that the state money had dried up for infrastructure and that another (Shackleford) neighborhood was to receive infrastructure because its improvements had already been started.

In 2003, after much lobbying by the neighborhood, the city agreed that if the county would make the investment to bring the area up to city standards, the city would put the sewer hook up on the November measure M vote.

Stanislaus County did not live up to their part of the agreement and the Robertson Road area sewer project was dropped from the measure M vote: neither the city or the county ever let the neighborhood know until they were pressed for information.

In June 2004 Claudia Epperson, members of the West Modesto King/Kennedy Neighborhood Collaborative and I met with Supervisor Jeff Grover to once again bring Robertson Road concerns before he and the other County supervisors and the Modesto City Council.

Throughout June and July Supervisor Grover and members of the Modesto city council worked on wording of agreements to allow the Robertson Road sewer project to be put on November 2004 special election Measure D advisory vote. At this point the county commits to bringing infrastructure up to city standards with due speed and also to finance the special election. I am writing this history in October 2004 and the neighborhood is awaiting the November vote.

- - -

Robertson Road Advocates Modesto's Fringe