Amador County – The Amador Water Agency received countywide support for a study it approved Thursday to look expanding water capacity in Ione. Rob Aragon of Ione Villages LLC said since Castle Oaks received its “original entitlement (in 1989), we’ve been having this same discussion.” He said the last “Conditional Will-Serves” condition was “improvements to the Ione system.” He asked the AWA board if they could explain it. Cottage Knoll developer Stefanie McNair said Plymouth has paid $1.34 million in participation fees, and she asked whether that paid for AWA’s share of the Plymouth Pipeline. AWA Interim General Manger Gene Mancebo said that was not true, but the pipeline allows for new hook-ups and the city will be metered. Mancebo said Plymouth’s “permit is in place and the water is flowing.” McNair said the pipeline lifts Plymouth out of violation, and brings a broader customer base. Before the Canal was replaced by the Amador Transmission Pipeline, Mancebo said the agency did not have capacity for new development and hookups. The pipeline changed that. Mancebo said a study like this can help expand capacity further. He said: “We’ve taken some of the bottlenecks out, but we need to analyze more.” McNair asked the AWA board “loosen up the language in its conditional will serves” for Cottage Knoll. McNair said her will-serve says she must “participate in a Community Facilities District for a $26 million improvement to Tanner.” She said her “up-front costs are enormous.” Bob Reeder, developer of 2 projects in Plymouth, said a study in Ione could help the agency increase it customer base, and he wanted to see how Plymouth’s participation fees were allocated. Reeder said he is not sure the 1.3 million gallons a day allocated to Plymouth could be met, and AWA needed the studies to see determine that. Ione City Planner Christopher Jordan said Ione has been in the same boat as AWA, only Ione has limited wastewater capacity. Jordan urged the board to take action “today.” He said new development is coming to Ione, the biggest of which is in the city business park, including “several million square feet” and Ione City Hall has “a specific plan for that today.” Jordan said the study of Ione water capacity is “very important and if it doesn’t move forward, it hamstrings us.” Director Debbie Dunn asked Aragon and Jordan if a 4- to 6-month delay in a decision would kill the projects. Aragon said it was a deal-breaker, and Jordan said he must rely on what he hears from the development community, and it would also cause problems in Ione. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Friday, 12 February 2010 01:11
AWA Hears Support for Ione Water Capacity Study
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency received countywide support for a study it approved Thursday to look expanding water capacity in Ione. Rob Aragon of Ione Villages LLC said since Castle Oaks received its “original entitlement (in 1989), we’ve been having this same discussion.” He said the last “Conditional Will-Serves” condition was “improvements to the Ione system.” He asked the AWA board if they could explain it. Cottage Knoll developer Stefanie McNair said Plymouth has paid $1.34 million in participation fees, and she asked whether that paid for AWA’s share of the Plymouth Pipeline. AWA Interim General Manger Gene Mancebo said that was not true, but the pipeline allows for new hook-ups and the city will be metered. Mancebo said Plymouth’s “permit is in place and the water is flowing.” McNair said the pipeline lifts Plymouth out of violation, and brings a broader customer base. Before the Canal was replaced by the Amador Transmission Pipeline, Mancebo said the agency did not have capacity for new development and hookups. The pipeline changed that. Mancebo said a study like this can help expand capacity further. He said: “We’ve taken some of the bottlenecks out, but we need to analyze more.” McNair asked the AWA board “loosen up the language in its conditional will serves” for Cottage Knoll. McNair said her will-serve says she must “participate in a Community Facilities District for a $26 million improvement to Tanner.” She said her “up-front costs are enormous.” Bob Reeder, developer of 2 projects in Plymouth, said a study in Ione could help the agency increase it customer base, and he wanted to see how Plymouth’s participation fees were allocated. Reeder said he is not sure the 1.3 million gallons a day allocated to Plymouth could be met, and AWA needed the studies to see determine that. Ione City Planner Christopher Jordan said Ione has been in the same boat as AWA, only Ione has limited wastewater capacity. Jordan urged the board to take action “today.” He said new development is coming to Ione, the biggest of which is in the city business park, including “several million square feet” and Ione City Hall has “a specific plan for that today.” Jordan said the study of Ione water capacity is “very important and if it doesn’t move forward, it hamstrings us.” Director Debbie Dunn asked Aragon and Jordan if a 4- to 6-month delay in a decision would kill the projects. Aragon said it was a deal-breaker, and Jordan said he must rely on what he hears from the development community, and it would also cause problems in Ione. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Latest from
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