Amador County – Ione City Council welcomed three new members Tuesday, who all spoke in support of Preston Youth Correctional Facility.

They planned to attend Wednesday’s public hearing on Preston in Jackson, and urged City Manager Kim Kerr to try to schedule an additional public hearing on Preston at Evalyn Bishop Hall. Kerr said Corrections Secretary Matthew L. Cate “offered to have a hearing here,” and she encouraged them to seek that hearing, saying it would allow for more comments.

Wednesday’s hearing hosted by Amador County Supervisors and Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, was scheduled for two hours.

City Clerk Janice Traverso on Tuesday led the new Ione City Council members in their oaths of office. Councilwoman Andrea Bonham took over as acting mayor (due to David Plank’s absence for a medical procedure).

Councilman Ron Smylie said he would like to “keep Preston open in some capacity,” and a state bill is seeking to have the state “maintain youth facilities at least six months.” He said “the more meetings we have, the more we can tell them that we want to keep Preston open.”

Councilman Daniel Epperson said Amador County is “already sending our juveniles up to Tahoe,” and he asked if youths were “being better served at the county level than at the state level.”

Epperson asked if Kerr had “heard anything from Governor Brown.” Kerr said Brown attended a correctional officers’ association meeting Tuesday, and Huber has been talking to him about Preston. Kerr said the corrections secretary is going to have to resign with the exit of the Schwarzenegger administration.

Kerr said employees based on seniority may find positions by transfer. She said the Pine Grove facility gets 70 percent of its population from Preston, so they do not know if Pine Grove Camp will also close, or if it will be reprogrammed.

Kerr said “there are a lot of unanswered questions about whether Preston is the correct place to close.” Bonham said Preston is “top heavy” with 445 employees and 219 offenders because “they do not transfer in more offenders.” She asked why the state would close its best facility. Kerr said it was due to lawsuits.

Ione Planning Commissioner Mark Hopkins said his employer, San Joaquin County plans a reentry facility to share with Amador and Calaveras counties, but numbers for employees and inmates are unknown.

Hopkins said with its land use designation, he could see the state close Preston, let it sit, and then “come back, demolish it, and rebuild a new facility.” Councilman Lloyd Oneto said “that may happen, but it won’t happen tomorrow.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.