Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors discussed a $375,000 shortfall for the improvement of a dangerous county intersection on Tuesday, and talked about ways to make the project cheaper.

A resident who said she is the closest neighbor of the intersection of Ridge Road and New York Ranch Road asked when they were going to get the signal turned on there. And she urged her support for its completion.

County staff said they were at 65 percent on the project’s design, and Supervisor Louis Boitano asked where they are “on the money.” Supervisor Richard Forster said the project previously had been reported having a $500,000 shortfall. A Public Works and Transportation staff member said the project “is only $375,000 short at this point.” She said Special Distribution Fund availability was unknown, but the project could be completed with Proposition 1B funds.

Boitano said he has taken calls from people in his District 4 asking when the project would be done, and said his normal reply is that it’s “all about the money right now.”

County Administrative Officer Chuck Iley said he had discussed with county engineer Stantec about making a presentation to the Indian Gaming Local Community Benefits Committee, which was scheduled to meet today to discuss applications for funding, and also “amounts for nexus and non-nexus grants for each jurisdiction.” The Committee’s jurisdictions are Amador County’s unincorporated areas, the cities of Jackson and Sutter Creek, and the Jackson Rancheria.

Supervisor Brian Oneto said “we need to get this intersection fixed because there are a lot of people dieing up there.” Public Works staff mentioned extending the guardrails and chip and seal, and getting the “intersection done right.”

Supervisor Ted Novelli asked about hidden costs, and staff said contingencies are $275,000 for the project.

Forster said he thought the design having two turn lanes onto Ridge that bottleneck is “just creating a raceway situation.” He said “I’ve seen so many near clips with people trying to get into position” at the Highway 49 Bypass intersection with Highway 88, “and that’s with good drivers.” Iley said Ridge and New York “is a location where you get a lot of aggressive drivers.”

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse noted that traffic on New York Ranch Road backs up to block traffic on a road in his District 1, and they must “get it right.”

Boitano asked for the time frame to be finished, and staff said “late summer to early fall,” but “not this summer,” as they still must make right-of-way acquisitions. Instead it likely would be sometime in 2012.

Boitano said maybe they can eliminate something to help with the cost, or bring some “value-added engineering.” He said: “This is our third bite at the apple. Let’s get the damn thing done this time.”

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

Amador County – Amador Water Agency board president Don Cooper has called a special meeting of the AWA board of directors for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, on the board’s regular meeting day, to discuss various issues of the Gravity Supply Line.

The agenda, under the listing “Agency General,” includes a presentation of a “new conceptual revenue plan for the Amador Water Systems,” with discussion and direction related to that issue.

The special meeting notice includes a note to the public saying “members of the public will have the opportunity to directly address the Agency Board of Directors concerning any item listed on this Special Meeting Notice before or during consideration of that item.”

Issues listed under the “Central Amador Water Project” include the Gravity Supply Line Project and discussion and direction regarding a letter of conditions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s division of Rural Development. The board could also discuss and act on a GSL construction cost estimate and a “recommendation on construction bidding.”

The regular meeting starts at 9 a.m. and the agenda includes discussion of a report from Agency Counsel Stephen Kronick on the residency of AWA Board President Don Cooper, which was questioned by several members of the public at a previous meeting. In a report for the meeting, Kronick said that Cooper’s residency in Mace Meadows in District 3 was verified, according to various court rulings in other issues where people questioned water board residency.

Kronick, in part, noted that Cooper has a driver’s license with his Lodi address, but as part of a residency test, he intends his Mace Meadow home to be his permanent home. Cooper also has three motor vehicles registered with the DMV to his Mace Meadow address.

Because “the rule that ambiguities concerning the location of a domicile are to be resolved in favor of the right to hold public office, we conclude that Mr. Cooper’s domicile is his Mace Meadows home,” Kronick said. He concluded that “Cooper therefore may continue to serve on the Agency’s board of directors because he is domiciled in, and a voter of the Third Supervisorial District for which he was nominated and elected.”

The special meeting for the Gravity Supply Line discussion is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

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

Amador County – Servpro of Amador & Calaveras hosted about 60 people for a mold eradication seminar Tuesday at Mel & Faye’s in Jackson, learning to spot the toxic spores and what to do when they find it.

Local executives of Servpro Fire & Water Cleanup & Restoration of Jackson hosted dozens of restoration industry experts in a free, three-hour seminar called “Understanding Mold in the Restoration Industry,” which the company has offered twice annually for continuing education for certain industry professionals.

Servpro Marketing Manager Wilma S. Fortich said the seminar invited contractors, county and city public works members, plumbers, maintenance facility people, property managers, Realtors, insurance agents and anybody in the trades. They offer the Mold mitigation class twice a year, once in Sonora and once in Jackson. She said it gives an overall review of the history of mold, shows the types of mold there are, and “what we do as a mitigation company.”

The company also offers fire and water cleanup and restoration seminars, and they all count toward education for license renewal of the various professions.

Owner of Jackson Servpro, Dan Steele, said the classes are offered for free as a community service, and are open to the restoration industry professionals, to help them keep their licenses current. He said it teaches what molds look like, and what to do when you find it.

He said they had 68 people signed up for the seminar Tuesday but with a few cancellations they expected 60-65. Steele said they provide free lunch and the banquet room, and give away a bunch of prizes, such as moisture meters.

Steele has been in the business and owned his company since 1985. He said his Servpro, based in Jackson, has 12 technicians and serves Amador, Calaveras, Alpine and Tuolumne counties. Steele said: “We are actually the largest restoration company in the Foothills.” They specialize in water and fire damage, and mold abatement: “Anything to do with your house, we fix it.”

The seminar was led by David Wiggins, a continuing education instructor from Servpro corporate office in Gallatin, Tennessee. Wiggins said he has been doing traveling seminars for five years, and travels between North Carolina and California. He said Servpro has 1,590 franchises right now.

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

Amador County – A traffic stop early April 6th in Ione led to the arrest of a couple from Modesto for transporting illegal methamphetamine drugs and also for a parole violation.

The Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson said the arrest came after a 1:13 a.m. traffic enforcement stop on Wednesday, April 6. Johnson said “an Ione Police Officer effected a traffic enforcement stop on two Modesto residents. The Officer learned that the driver was on active California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation parole.”

Johnson said a “search of the vehicle revealed suspected methamphetamine stashed and concealed in a makeshift compartment within the interior.” The occupants of the vehicle, 44-year-old Effraim Diaz Junior and 31-year-old Monique Diaz, were placed in custody for possession and transportation of illegal drugs.

Effraim Diaz’s “parole agent was contracted and authorized a parole hold be placed on his conditions upon booking into jail,” Johnson said. Effraim and Monique Diaz were booked into the Amador County Jail. Their vehicle was towed from the scene.

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

Amador County – Heavy snowfall for the season means the state Department of Water Resources will likely meet 70 percent or more of its customer demands.

A snowpack survey at the beginning of the month showed water content high in the mountains, and the Water Resources Department estimated it will be able to deliver 70 percent of requested State Water Project water this year. The estimate likely will be adjusted upward as hydrologists make adjustments for snowpack and runoff readings.

In 2010, the State Water Project delivered 50 percent of the requested 4.17 million acre-feet of water, up from a record-low initial projection of 5 percent due to lingering effects of the 2007-2009 drought. Deliveries were 60 percent of requests in 2007, 35 percent in 2008, and 40 percent in 2009.

The Department said the last 100 percent allocation was in 2006, and a full allocation is “difficult to achieve even in wet years due to pumping restrictions to protect threatened and endangered fish.”

The SWP delivers water to more than 25 million Californians and nearly one million acres of irrigated farmland. Statewide snowpack readings from electronic sensors are available on the Internet, and historic readings from snowpack sensors are also posted on the SWP’s website. Electronic reservoir level readings may be found online as well.

The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs.

California’s reservoirs are fed both by rain and snowpack runoff. A majority of the state’s major reservoirs were above normal storage levels as of April 1, the date which typically is seen as showing the maximum of snowpack levels for winter, before the thaw starts.

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