Amador County – Sutter Creek appointed Natalie Doyle as interim city clerk on Monday, and will seek a new, permanent clerk, and weigh its options in doing so.

Staff will see if applicants come forward, after advertising the vacancy, or it could make code changes. City Attorney Derek Cole said not many cities in California have elected city clerks any more, and the council could change city code to make it an appointed position.

Councilwoman Linda Rianda said changing from having an elected to an appointed city clerk would have to be sent to voters to decide. Cole said the council must pass a resolution and have an election, with the next chance for that being June 2012.

Past City Clerk Judy Allen (who chose not to seek reelection) said the position is much more complicated than the council may realize, and the city clerk has duties from finance to “almost every department in the city.” She said by not having a full time city clerk, the city is having a lot of things “fall through the cracks.”

Mayor Gary Wooten asked if it could be handled by a half-time city clerk, and Allen did not think so. She said, as an example of a city clerk duty, that “all ordinances need to be codified, and they haven’t been done in the 12 years I’ve been here.”

Allen said going to city clerk conventions made her aware of the depth of duties. She said the council needs to think about what the city clerk does, and maybe they need to “rewrite this law or get rid of it, whatever it takes.”

Councilman Tim Murphy moved to reevaluate the position, “before we go out and look for a more permanent” action. He asked City Manager Sean Rabe to get a proposed set of revised duties for the clerk.

Councilwoman Sandy Anderson asked staff to get the resolution prepared, so they can be sure to have it on the ballot if they decide to seek a change.

Mimi Arata said “it is kind of embarrassing to have our agenda put out by Lorraine Davis,” and said it should be a city task.

Wooten asked when the city’s website was going to be back online, and if it could post the city council agenda and packets. Rabe said the city website is now operating again, and he is working with the site developer to post the agenda packet to a separate site for download. Rabe said: “We need to know who wants access to that website.”

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Amador County – Sutter Creek City Council welcomed new Councilman Jim Swift and also seated Councilwoman Linda Rianda to her first elected term Monday in a ceremony before their first meeting.

The council and about 30 people in attendance also saluted outgoing Councilman Pat Crosby, who retired and did not seek reelection.

The two new council members took their oaths of office, as did newly elected City Treasurer Victoria Runquist, who ran a successful write-in campaign, albeit unopposed, as former Treasurer Cathy Castillo did not register as a candidate.

The council also appointed Deputy City Clerk Natalie Doyle as the interim City Clerk, because immediate past City Clerk Judy Allen did not run during the November election.

City Manager Sean Rabe recommended the appointment at interim clerk “until staff is able to provide definitive answers as to how the council should fill the vacant seat.” He said staff anticipates having the answers by the first meeting in January.

City Attorney Derek Cole said no one ran for city clerk, which creates a vacancy. The council can handle it by either calling a special election, or by appointing a person to the position. Cole also recommended making an appointment, due to the high cost of having a special election.

The city clerk position is required by city code to be filled by an election, for a four-year term. He said city code also requires that the clerk be a resident and registered voter of Sutter Creek, which Natalie Doyle is not.

Cole said the council can appoint her as interim clerk, and direct staff to interview candidates for appointment to the elected position. Those applicants also must be registered voters and city residents.

He said if no one applies, the council could change the city code to allow for an appointed, rather than elected city clerk.

Councilman Tim Murphy moved to make the appointment of Doyle and also reevaluate the position, “before we go out and look for a more permanent” action. He asked Rabe to get a proposed set of revised duties for the clerk.

Councilwoman Sandy Anderson asked that staff get the resolution prepared well before 2012, so they can be sure to have it make the ballot, if they decide to seek a change.

Wooten said the new city council will decide its new Mayor and Vice Mayor for the coming year in its first meeting in January. Wooten also decided to table an issue of appointing council members to the proposed “Gold Rush Ranch Implementation committee.” He said the new Mayor should establish those members.

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Amador County – Amador County Planning Commission last week approved documents and a permit for the proposed Buena Vista Biomass Power plant and what could be a $20 million power facility with $2 million in salaries.

The Commission certified a Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report, approved a permit amendment, made a finding of facts, and finalized a statement of overriding considerations to approve the project, setting in motion a two-week appeal period during which the decisions can be appealed.

BVBP President and CEO Michael J. Muston in an e-mail to the commission November 24th said the plant once open would employ 19 or more people and have a salary of $2 million to $2.27 million. He said “Overall construction expenses, including labor costs, are anticipated to be in excess of $20 million.”

The company would operate an electric power generation plant on Coal Mine Road, the former Cogen plant. They plant would burn woody biomass, and rely heavily on forest management trimmings to subside.

Chairman Ray Ryan asked that the commission and staff comment on whether they “all think it’s fully compliant with” the California Environmental Quality Act. No objections were made, and they voted 5-0 to approve the Final SEIR, which Ryan said “reflects the county’s independent analysis and judgment.”

After the votes, Amador County Planner Nathan Lishman said anyone who wished to appeal the Planning Commission actions must do so by letter and by paying an accompanying fee, with a deadline of 5 pm, Monday, December 13th.

County Assessor Jim Rooney said he visited the site of the plant last year because he thought construction would start soon (The plant’s construction was halted for the Final SEIR).

Rooney said it was a unique property and would be hard to assess, and “when we do an assessment like this, we rely on what they tell us.”

Rooney said BVBP was “very forthright” about their costs and value, and “said it would be about a $20 million to $25 million plant.” They also asked about their taxes, and Rooney said it would be 1 percent of the value, and he gave the example that a $20 million plant would pay $200,000. He said “it wasn’t an appraisal. We haven’t done an appraisal, and things have not happened out there in a year.”

He said “we would have to rely on them for what things are worth.” He said he could also talk to other states with similar plants to see how they have been assessed.

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Amador County – The Amador County Planning Commission last week approved the Buena Vista Biomass Power plant permit amendment and environmental documents after discussion of impacts, including jobs.

The commission unanimously approved the Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report on the former Cogen combustion power plant on Coal Mine Road, which its applicant said would employ 19 people.

Several people spoke about keeping jobs local, including Bill May of Jackson Valley Road. May said “Buena Vista Biomass Power is not willing to guarantee one single job,” and he urged the commission to require local hiring in the conditions of approval.

Greg Gillott, an attorney in the county counsel’s office said “there are constitutional limits on the kind of conditions you can place on businesses, and I believe Mr. May’s suggestion exceeds those limits.”

A woman from Mother Lode Job Training said about 18 months ago, she was contacted by 200 people who were interested in the “the likes of 20 jobs” at the Buena Vista plant, but she said any action with the prospective employees was stalled as the applicant worked on its Subsequent EIR.

Buena Vista Biomass Power’s applicant, Michael J. Muston, president and CEO of Otoka Local Renewable Energy, of Bloomington, Minnesota, said: “I find this a bit intriguing, the concept that we do not want to hire people from Amador County.” He was happy to hear Mother Lode Job Training was working with applicants, but he hadn’t worked with them yet.

Muston said the only reason he would bring people into the county to work was if another facility closed, but there was no other facility. He believes there is ample numbers of people available locally with good job experience.

He wants people born and raised here, with families and kids, who are more likely to stay. He said: “If you want me to come back and look you in the eye and tell you how many people we hired from Amador County, I’ll do it.”

Commissioner Dave Wardall said two Ione companies, Lou Yager Construction and Carson Yager Trucking, had both worked for Muston. Civil engineer Robin Peters said Muston has “kept seven or eight of us employed rather steadily to get this open,” including Weatherbee Reynolds, Chuck Cree Surveying, and Sweet Pea Septic. Peters said the applicant was looking for local workers, and asked him if he knew anybody else who could help them.

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Amador County – Women participating in certain medical programs may be eligible for a free mammography screening Friday at Safeway in Martell.

Natalie Pettis of St. Joseph’s Medical Center said in a release Monday that the St. Joseph’s Medical Center plans to have its “Mobile Mammography Unit” open and available for screenings, by appointment only, this Friday, December 10th at Safeway in Martell.

Pettis said: “Women can conveniently receive a mammography screening at the Martell Safeway store on Friday, December 10th.” She said “mammograms are provided by St. Joseph’s Medical Center through an innovative program that brings mammography services to patients who may not otherwise have access to these resources.”

She said “low-cost mammograms will be available for only $80,” and “women enrolled in certain medical programs may be eligible for a mammogram at no cost.”

The screenings are available by appointment to any woman with a physician’s referral. Pettis said St. Joseph’s Mobile Mammography Unit is a full-service, self-contained mammography clinic on wheels featuring state-of-the-art digital mammography technology and service.”

The Mobile Mammography Unit is sponsored by such partners as the Safeway Foundation, Avon and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

The St. Joseph’s Mobile Mammography Unit will be scheduling mammograms appointments between 9 am and 3 pm Friday, December 10th at Safeway, located at 12110 Industry Boulevard in Martell. Pettis said women of all ages needing a mammogram can make an appointment by calling toll-free at 1 (866) 430-8222.

The full-service mammography clinic is housed in an 18-wheel tractor-trailer, and is licensed by the state of California and accredited by the American College of Radiology and the Food and Drug Administration.

Pettis said the clinic “meets all requirements for performing screening mammography. The digital images from all screenings are read by licensed radiologists,” and “results are sent to patients and their physicians within two to three weeks of their exams.”

St. Joseph’s Medical Center is a 365-bed, not-for-profit, fully accredited, regional hospital. It is the largest hospital and private employer in Stockton.

Pettis said St. Joseph’s is committed to delivering high quality, compassionate health services. St. Joseph’s is a member of Catholic Healthcare West, a system of 40 hospitals and medical centers in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

For information, see the St. Joseph’s website at www.StJosephsCares.org.

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