Some Treasure Island residents are going to have to dig deep to feel grateful this holiday, after getting the notice to vacate their homes.
Rick McDonald thinks he has to leave his Treasure Island apartment because of some work going on under already-vacated buildings next to his. McDonald has lived here with his granddaughter for seven years.
They got a letter from the Treasure Island development authority on Monday. It says 24 households have to move because of the Navy's clean-up work. "It reads: The work is part of the Navy's ongoing cleanup of buried and inaccessible low level chemicals ... and is not related to ongoing radiological surveys."
"Possible relocation. There's a meeting on Dec. 3. It really doesn't say much," said McDonald.
The letter promises that "it has been and continues to be safe to live in the units on Treasure Island "
Desmond Crisis has lived here 14 years. He thinks there's plenty of room to relocate on the island and he's not worried about whatever it is being cleaned up.
"On Tuesday they're having a meeting with just a small group of people. They're going to tell us what's really going on. I think they have the resources that are not going to cause us any real trouble. I think they're getting ahead of a problem that would get worse if they didn't deal with it," said Crisis.
Just a few blocks away, neighbors got other notices on their doors on Wednesday, about radiological surveys of their lawns and sidewalks beginning Monday. No relocation, but plenty else to worry about.
"Are you kidding? I'm concerned," said one resident.
The development authority will hold a cleanup update meeting for all Yerba Buena and Treasure Island residents on December 11.
