Amador County – The Plymouth City Council welcomed one new elected official and appointed another, along with an interim city manager Thursday, and bid farewell to Councilman Mike O’Meara, Mayor Patricia Fordyce and City Manager Dixon Flynn.

The council seated new Councilman Peter Amoruso, then appointed Sandy Kyles, third place finisher to fill a vacancy left when Sean McGinness resigned due to ineligibility.

City Clerk Gloria Stoddard led Amoruso in his oath of office early in the meeting, and then he took the dais with the new council, which was faced with a vacancy despite two election winners on November 2nd.

McGinness led the vote count and Amoruso was second, but McGinness had moved out of town before the election, and was ineligible to run for office, and it was too late to reprint the ballots. After winning, he resigned.

Mayor Fordyce said she did not like the state law, which deemed the seat a vacancy, instead of allowing Kyles to take the position.

Fordyce and O’Meara left the dais, Amoruso took office, and Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin opened discussion on how to fill the vacancy. City Attorney Laura Hollender said they could appoint someone to fill the post, or call a special election. She said a preliminary cost of having a special election would be $4,224, not including the cost of mail-in ballots. Stoddard said the cost estimated by the Amador County election department also did not include legal costs.

Councilwoman Pat Shackleton said she was surprised Kyles did not win the election, and thought people may have confused her with someone else. She said Kyles was a former city employee and current planning commissioner and did a “wonderful job” at both positions.

Shackleton motioned to appoint Kyles, and the council voted 4-0 to do so. Kyles was then led in the oath of office by Stoddard and took her seat. In public comment, after the vote, Gary Colburn then told the council they should have called an election. Baldwin apologized for not allowing public comment first.

The council selected Councilman Greg Baldwin as mayor and Councilman Jon Colburn was named vice mayor.

The council after closed session also announced the appointment of Jeff Gardner to be interim city manager, with further details not available before airtime.

The council plans to have resolutions honoring Flynn, O’Meara and Fordyce at their January 13th meeting. Flynn finished his third year as city manager. O’Meara served eight years and Fordyce served seven years on the council.

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

Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors approved last Tuesday the allocation of $15,000 to the Amador Economic Development Corporation for fiscal year 2010-2011.

AEDC Executive Director Ron Mittelbrunn gave an extensive overview of what his organization has accomplished and changes he plans on implementing in the coming year to increase business growth and attraction. He also spoke of his business philosophies. “The process of economic development should be (thought) of as an investment and not an expense,” he said.

According to Mittelbrunn, AEDC has funded or assisted in funding 45 projects in Amador County, including notable businesses like Jeff Holman Auto Sales and the Feed Barn in Martell, Taste Restaurant in Plymouth, and the Imperial Hotel in Amador City.

He said he plans on adding a “business attraction section” to the website and “creating and maintaining a listing of vacant and industrial business sites,” complete with pictures. “These incentives have no real cost to the county and are vital,” he said.

He said he recently partnered with consultant Renee Chapman to pursue “sources of funding from (organizations) geared toward the funding of business development in rural areas.”

AEDC is also an active partner in the Central Sierra Economic Partnership, where Mittelbrunn said he and other economic developers “share ideas and resources.”

Mittelbrunn referenced the 2009 “Small Business Survival Index” put out by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, which lists California as the 49th “least friendly policy environment for entrepreneurship,” the 48th in rankings of top personal income tax rates, and 43rd in top corporate capitol gains tax rates. “It’s not my objective to stand here and whine about California’s woes,” said Mittelbrunn. “(We) have a high quality of life but…that does not transfer to the bottom line.”

Supervisor Richard Forster said that Mittelbrunn had noted in his report the “successful sitting of a community college in Amador County…in two years.” Forster said that should be changed because it is “not necessarily an achievable outcome” in that time frame. Mittelbrunn agreed it should be reworded with no set time frame.

Supervisor Ted Novelli questioned why Mittelbrunn had not been providing quarterly reports, as specified previously by the board. He said: “whatever happened to coming back and giving us updates?” Mittelbrunn said he gave a report “last April,” but would be happy to come in quarterly as well.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the allocation of funding out of the county’s contingency fund to the AEDC for the next fiscal year.

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

Amador County – The Amador County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday, December 14th, to discuss a proposal to double the size of the Jackson Valley Quarry, south of Highway 88 in Supervisor District 2.

One of three public hearings Tuesday is to allow a “public review and comment” on a Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report “prepared for the proposed expansion of the Jackson Valley Quarry mining operation onto an adjacent 86-acre parcel.” The agenda states that a “use permit amendment would provide for the expansion of the existing 74-acre quarry to a total of 159 acres.”

The proposed expansion would “allow for mining of more than 50 million tons of rock “over an anticipated minimum 25 years of operation.” The “reclamation plan consists of reclaiming the project site to open space consisting of a large pond surrounded by enhanced oak and pine woodlands.”

Applicant for the quarry expansion is George Reed Incorporated. The quarry is located immediately south of Highway 88, about a half-mile east of the junction of Jackson Valley Road and 88.

The Commission Tuesday will also have a public hearing on a request for a use permit to exceed the 30-foot county height limit in rural zoning on the south side of Rainbow Mine Road in Pine Grove, District 5.

Applicant Howard Edson seeks to install two amateur radio towers of 47 feet and 65 feet in height. He seeks to locate them about 2,000 feet east of Lupe Road, and Ponderosa Way, on Rainbow Mine Road.

The third hearing is an environmental document determination and possible project decision for a proposed division of 240 acres into six parcels of about 40 acres each. Peppermint Enterprises Incorporated seeks the split, and a “Mitigated Negative Declaration,” on property in District 2, north of Highway 88, and about 800 feet west of Blue Sky Drive in the Sunnybrook area of Ione.

The applicant seeks from county code on easements following lot lines. The property is accessed by Blue Sky Drive.

The meeting starts at 7 pm Tuesday, in the supervisors’ chamber at 810 Court Street in Jackson.

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

Amador County – The Amador County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday, December 14th, to discuss a proposal to double the size of the Jackson Valley Quarry, south of Highway 88 in Supervisor District 2.

One of three public hearings Tuesday is to allow a “public review and comment” on a Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report “prepared for the proposed expansion of the Jackson Valley Quarry mining operation onto an adjacent 86-acre parcel.” The agenda states that a “use permit amendment would provide for the expansion of the existing 74-acre quarry to a total of 159 acres.”

The proposed expansion would “allow for mining of more than 50 million tons of rock “over an anticipated minimum 25 years of operation.” The “reclamation plan consists of reclaiming the project site to open space consisting of a large pond surrounded by enhanced oak and pine woodlands.”

Applicant for the quarry expansion is George Reed Incorporated. The quarry is located immediately south of Highway 88, about a half-mile east of the junction of Jackson Valley Road and 88.

The Commission Tuesday will also have a public hearing on a request for a use permit to exceed the 30-foot county height limit in rural zoning on the south side of Rainbow Mine Road in Pine Grove, District 5.

Applicant Howard Edson seeks to install two amateur radio towers of 47 feet and 65 feet in height. He seeks to locate them about 2,000 feet east of Lupe Road, and Ponderosa Way, on Rainbow Mine Road.

The third hearing is an environmental document determination and possible project decision for a proposed division of 240 acres into six parcels of about 40 acres each. Peppermint Enterprises Incorporated seeks the split, and a “Mitigated Negative Declaration,” on property in District 2, north of Highway 88, and about 800 feet west of Blue Sky Drive in the Sunnybrook area of Ione.

The applicant seeks from county code on easements following lot lines. The property is accessed by Blue Sky Drive.

The meeting starts at 7 pm Tuesday, in the supervisors’ chamber at 810 Court Street in Jackson.

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

Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors approved last Tuesday the allocation of $15,000 to the Amador Economic Development Corporation for fiscal year 2010-2011.

AEDC Executive Director Ron Mittelbrunn gave an extensive overview of what his organization has accomplished and changes he plans on implementing in the coming year to increase business growth and attraction. He also spoke of his business philosophies. “The process of economic development should be (thought) of as an investment and not an expense,” he said.

According to Mittelbrunn, AEDC has funded or assisted in funding 45 projects in Amador County, including notable businesses like Jeff Holman Auto Sales and the Feed Barn in Martell, Taste Restaurant in Plymouth, and the Imperial Hotel in Amador City.

He said he plans on adding a “business attraction section” to the website and “creating and maintaining a listing of vacant and industrial business sites,” complete with pictures. “These incentives have no real cost to the county and are vital,” he said.

He said he recently partnered with consultant Renee Chapman to pursue “sources of funding from (organizations) geared toward the funding of business development in rural areas.”

AEDC is also an active partner in the Central Sierra Economic Partnership, where Mittelbrunn said he and other economic developers “share ideas and resources.”

Mittelbrunn referenced the 2009 “Small Business Survival Index” put out by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, which lists California as the 49th “least friendly policy environment for entrepreneurship,” the 48th in rankings of top personal income tax rates, and 43rd in top corporate capitol gains tax rates. “It’s not my objective to stand here and whine about California’s woes,” said Mittelbrunn. “(We) have a high quality of life but…that does not transfer to the bottom line.”

Supervisor Richard Forster said that Mittelbrunn had noted in his report the “successful sitting of a community college in Amador County…in two years.” Forster said that should be changed because it is “not necessarily an achievable outcome” in that time frame. Mittelbrunn agreed it should be reworded with no set time frame.

Supervisor Ted Novelli questioned why Mittelbrunn had not been providing quarterly reports, as specified previously by the board. He said: “whatever happened to coming back and giving us updates?” Mittelbrunn said he gave a report “last April,” but would be happy to come in quarterly as well.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the allocation of funding out of the county’s contingency fund to the AEDC for the next fiscal year.

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

Amador County – The Plymouth City Council welcomed one new elected official and appointed another, along with an interim city manager Thursday, and bid farewell to Councilman Mike O’Meara, Mayor Patricia Fordyce and City Manager Dixon Flynn.

The council seated new Councilman Peter Amoruso, then appointed Sandy Kyles, third place finisher to fill a vacancy left when Sean McGinness resigned due to ineligibility.

City Clerk Gloria Stoddard led Amoruso in his oath of office early in the meeting, and then he took the dais with the new council, which was faced with a vacancy despite two election winners on November 2nd.

McGinness led the vote count and Amoruso was second, but McGinness had moved out of town before the election, and was ineligible to run for office, and it was too late to reprint the ballots. After winning, he resigned.

Mayor Fordyce said she did not like the state law, which deemed the seat a vacancy, instead of allowing Kyles to take the position.

Fordyce and O’Meara left the dais, Amoruso took office, and Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin opened discussion on how to fill the vacancy. City Attorney Laura Hollender said they could appoint someone to fill the post, or call a special election. She said a preliminary cost of having a special election would be $4,224, not including the cost of mail-in ballots. Stoddard said the cost estimated by the Amador County election department also did not include legal costs.

Councilwoman Pat Shackleton said she was surprised Kyles did not win the election, and thought people may have confused her with someone else. She said Kyles was a former city employee and current planning commissioner and did a “wonderful job” at both positions.

Shackleton motioned to appoint Kyles, and the council voted 4-0 to do so. Kyles was then led in the oath of office by Stoddard and took her seat. In public comment, after the vote, Gary Colburn then told the council they should have called an election. Baldwin apologized for not allowing public comment first.

The council selected Councilman Greg Baldwin as mayor and Councilman Jon Colburn was named vice mayor.

The council after closed session also announced the appointment of Jeff Gardner to be interim city manager, with further details not available before airtime.

The council plans to have resolutions honoring Flynn, O’Meara and Fordyce at their January 13th meeting. Flynn finished his third year as city manager. O’Meara served eight years and Fordyce served seven years on the council.

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