Kenly commended for Jenner bridge efforts

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors honored Jenner resident
David Kenly this week for his perseverance in helping replace the
flood-damaged bridge serving the Jenner Community Center and the
town firehouse.
“We’re here to commend you for your tireless effort” in getting
the bridge back in service after Jenner Creek flooded six years ago
and rendered the old bridge unsafe, said 5th District Supervisor
and Board Chairman Efren Carrillo at Tuesday’s Board of
Supervisors’ meeting.
The bridge project required much work from many Jenner residents
but Kenly “was the pivotal, steadfast central point for the
effort,” said Carrillo in the resolution commending Kenly. “Whether
it was raising the $100,000 match required for the $470,000
project, or following up on permit issues, David was the ‘go-to
guy.’”
Kenly was president of the Jenner Community Club when the bridge
washed out, preventing the Monte Rio Fire Department’s Jenner truck
from safely accessing Highway 1, the main road serving Jenner and
the Sonoma Coast.
With the bridge out the only highway access was on a dangerous
blind curve onto Highway 1. A fire truck had to be stationed east
of Duncans Mills, adding 20 minutes to fire emergency response time
to Jenner.
Kenly praised fellow Jenner Community Club members for the
bridge effort’s success.
“It wasn’t just me,” said Kenly, himself a former firefighter.
“This was the effort of many many people.”
Fund-raising to pay for the whole project is still ongoing.
“The bills are still coming in,” said Kenly. “We’ll probably
need to raise another $70,000.”
A Jenner Community Club fund-raising chili contest is coming up
on Labor Day weekend.
Total project costs so far are $470,000, with approximately
$371,000 pledged from the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA).
The town raised money with bake sales and through cash donations
from visitors to the Sonoma Coast and the Jenner estuary.
“The bridge over Jenner Creek represents more than a necessary
construction project; it’s a symbol of our ability to pull together
and assure ourselves that no matter where anyone resides in our
community, we’re there for each other, and for the millions of
visitors who come to visit one of the most beautiful places on the
planet,” said a fundraising message Kenly sent out last year.
Kenly was also commended this week for his effort supporting the
acquisition last year of the 5,600-acre Jenner headlands as
permanently protected public open space.
The Jenner headlands was the largest conservation land
acquisition in Sonoma County.
Frank Robertson can be reached at ne**@so********.com.