On Tuesday, Sept. 9, we marked the 15th anniversary of the San Bruno pipeline explosion and fire, quite possibly the most vivid and impactful story in the Daily Journal’s history. On that night, eight people were killed, 66 injured and 38 homes were destroyed with 70 others damaged in the Crestmoor neighborhood of San Bruno. We lost Greg Bullis, Lavonne Bullis, William Bullis, Jessica Morales, Jacqueline Greig, Janessa Greig, James Franco and Elizabeth Torres.
Fifteen years is not quite a generation, but it is getting there and it’s important that we mark the passage of time so that the loss of those eight people does not forever fade. In those 15 years, there has been quite the amount of healing in the community, and the city marks the anniversary quietly and with dignity. Recovery and rebuilding took years. The explosion changed how gas pipelines are maintained throughout the country through the effort of city leaders like former Mayor Jim Ruane and former City Manager Connie Jackson, who spent countless hours at hearings and other meetings to represent the city and urge officials to hold Pacific Gas and Electric to account and never let what happened here happen elsewhere. Recovery also created an opportunity for some good to take place.
Because of the blast, PG&E provided the city $70 million in restitution with the idea that it be placed in a community foundation. The largest amount, $50 million, went to the city’s new recreation center and aquatic center. But it also provided scholarship money to students and community grants of anywhere between $2,000 to $25,000 to a wide range of causes over the years. There were first responder training, education programming for San Bruno schools, COVID relief grants and a memorial honoring interned Japanese Americans during World War II at Tanforan.
In total, the foundation has provided nearly $66 million, with $61.64 million in strategic grants, $2.65 million in community grants and $1.52 million in memorial scholarships.
It is helping to improve athletic fields and pay for field trips at the San Bruno Park School District; supporting San Bruno’s sister city relationship with Narita, Japan; paying for aquatic center programming; beautifying downtown; and helping pay for new fields at the former Crestmoor High School site.
The fund saw some gains from its portfolio, about $23.8 million in net value since it took possession of the restitution funds in 2016, but decided this year to wind down and spend its remaining money — approximately $15 million to $20 million — on a number of large legacy projects like rebuilding Fire Station 52, adding permanent lighting at the Crestmoor Fields soccer complex and a large legacy project for the elementary school district.
Because of the money’s origin, providing money toward a new fire station makes sense as it will expand public safety and benefit first responders. Yet there is a sense that the foundation could have continued to build on itself over the years and provide benefit for the community as other foundations or endowments do. It would take a substantially higher sum, however, for it to continue after expending such a large sum for the recreation and aquatic center, which was a community priority. While one might think its work would go on forever, the decision has been made to sunset it. To move on.
So let’s take a look at what it accomplished over the years, grants for the community, scholarships for youth, help for schools and young athletes, a top-notch recreation center and pool and money toward a new fire station. While it operates separately from the city, it also provided some relief for the city’s coffers stretched thin and unable to provide all the community requires. While the foundation has been led extremely well by Executive Director Leslie Hatamiya, its board is made up of community leaders who volunteer their time. That time was well spent, as well as the money that was granted through tragedy.
San Bruno was forever changed by the events of Sept. 9, 2010, and it took years for recovery, rebuilding and reflection. We are largely now in the reflection stage and it is safe to say that the San Bruno Community Foundation has done its job, and done it well. We can never fully recover from that day and all its reverberating impacts, but the people of San Bruno can say that they came together in the best way possible and decided to spend the restitution money in ways that truly benefited the community. It won’t bring back those who died that day, and it won’t fully heal the wounds, but San Bruno should know it came back stronger.
A couple words about Charlie Kirk, whose death is a tragedy for his friends and family, and for our nation. Extremism won Wednesday, and we can’t let that continue. In disagreements, seek understanding through listening, empathy and respectful discussion.
(1) comment
Thanks, Mr. Mays, for a recap of where the $70 million in restitution funds was spent. I fail to see why the community foundation spent $50 million to build a new recreation and aquatic center that many San Brunans will never use (I believe the center charges entry and use fees). There will be ongoing maintenance costs for the life of the center that needs to be paid for (general fund?) and likely by many San Brunans who never use the center. And another $20 million (I’m betting it will rise at least another 20%) to rebuild a fire station? Seems to me that just about all of the $70 million should have been used for many of the other items you listed. Basically, with a $70 million settlement, San Bruno gets a $50 million aquatic center where everyone is supposed to pay entry and use fees and $20 million to rebuild a fire station (which admittedly is a better expenditure). And of course, ongoing maintenance costs for both structures. The community foundation did its job but I’d say they haven’t done it well. At least not to the benefit of most San Brunans.
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