WEST SACRAMENTO-
A little baseball practice on a holiday, put the Kafer family from Seattle just a few hundred yards from where the city of West Sacramento hopes to hit a home run – with the renovation of Mill Pier.
“I’m really psyched about West Sacramento. I think they’re doing a lot of things right. And I’m looking forward to them developing it,” said city resident James Driscoll.
The city’s working hard to capitalize on that ‘psyched about West Sacramento’ feeling now spreading thanks to new housing moving into the bourgeoning bridge district in the shadow of Raley Field.
“Having that pier there could be a great amenity for fishing, for folks that just want to look at the river for maybe potential water taxis or other types of boat services. I’ve already had an inquiry about that,” said Vice Mayor Chris Lesdesma.
It could take almost $1 million to turn the languishing rice mill dock into a safe recreational hub.
The city is counting on half of that to come from federal grants that will be awarded in May.
The rest will be pulled from funds voters have already told the city they want used for just these kinds of improvements.
While one couple FOX40 bumped into was too shy to speak on camera about their favorite picnic spot, they weren’t about tiptoeing past fencing to get access to it.
West Sacramento is looking to add handrails to Mill, strengthen supports there and make the pier accessible to those facing physical challenges.
“We have a real opportunity to here to kind of make the riverfront alive..make it the center of our downtown and not just the wall that separates two cities. And the pier…it’s just one more step to do that,” said Ledesma.
“I read somewhere that a pier like this becomes a social center where people gather. I don’t know if I see all that, but you know…at the same time it’s here and I bet it could be used for something cool,” said Driscoll.
So could a Mill Pier makeover bring the Kafer family back here from Seattle?
“If one of my boys ends up going to college here for sure!
I do like it…presently it’s a really pretty area,” said Ingrid Kafer.
West Sacramento planners would also like to revitalize the pier at Raley’s Landing, but its support structure has not weathered the years as well as Mill.
It would take more time and money to deliver to the public than Mill so that’s why leaders focused on Mill Pier first.
