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Amador County – The Ione City Council on Tuesday will consider a draft response to the 2009-2010 civil Grand Jury report that in part recommended reducing the city’s building inspector position. City Manager Kim Kerr and staff prepared a response, but did not address the staffing recommendation because she was unable to schedule a meeting with the building inspector to discuss the draft response. She said she would update the council at the meeting. Background information in the staff report noted that staff had identified in 2007 that “the city had not collected fees consistently.” The issue was discovered in the city’s financial audit of fiscal year 2005-2006, including “specific findings related to the building department. Kerr said she “has been working with all city departments that have a fee associated with building permits, sewer connections” and planning entitlements to ensure that Ione “is assessing and collecting the appropriate fee for each building permit, sewer connection fee,” or planning project. Kerr said in 2008-2009, the council adopted the city “Framework for Planning, Entitlement Review and Development,” which incorporates the “fees associated with any type of permit or application involving real property or projects” in the city. The framework “documented the process for permit approval and combined all impact fees into one location,” the draft response said. In January 2009, an internal staff memo was used to help “apply the appropriate fee on certain types of building permits.” Kerr said “some building permit fees are based on the project costs and others are a set fee without considering the project cost.” An audit in late 2009 and early 2010 showed “the city had not been collecting the fees consistently, but there had been significant improvement.” Kerr in a memo last month said she “will review all permits to ensure the appropriate fees are assessed and collected based on the specific project. The council will discuss the draft response and could correct it if necessary. If finalized, the council could authorize Mayor Skip Schaufel to sign the response. The council on Tuesday will also consider an appointment to the city Parks & Recreation Commission. The council could consider appointing School Board President Karl Knobelauch to replace Commissioner Baldwin, who will be stepping down. The council previously considered Knobelauch for the position, but believed only 1 out-of-town resident could sit on the commission. Staff reported that the city code actually requires that only 3 of the 5 park and recreation commissioners live inside city limits. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Monday, 19 July 2010 08:15

Amador County Experiences Leap in Home Sales, Drop in Values

Amador County – Amador County has experienced the biggest leap in the number of escrows closed in the seven county Sacramento region, according to recently released June statistics from research company MDA Dataquick. Between June 0f 2009 and June of 2010, Amador County saw a 41.9 percent jump in total escrows closed on all homes. Coming in a distant second was Placer County with a 28.4 percent increase. The number of escrows closed on resale detached homes in Amador also increased 51.9 percent over the year, although it should be noted that Amador County home sales include resale condos; the county does not break them out separately. The bad news is that median prices for all homes in the county dropped by 10.4 percent over one year previous at the same time that strong investment activity has driven Sacramento region home sales to a new 20-month high. Dataquick Analyst Andrew LePage told the Sacramento Bee that this sales trend can be seen statewide. "In many mid- to high-end neighborhoods you have sellers being more realistic,” he said. Amador, El Dorado, Nevada and Placer counties all saw housing sales gains and are all consider pricier counties in the region. Median prices in Amador have dropped from $210,000 in June of 2009 to $188,100 last month, while Nevada Placer and Yuba counties also saw declining values. El Dorado, Sacramento, Sutter and Yolo counties saw slight increases in home values over that same period. The rising prices reflect fewer bank repo sales and more move-up houses in the market mix. Dataquick said investors are fueling many of the new investments, and especially in Sacramento County, where they bought about one in four houses sold. New investments have been aided by the $8000 federal tax credit for first time home buyers and encouraged by California’s homebuyer tax credit launched in March. In some Amador County properties, combined rebates can equal as much as $25,000. As of last Wednesday, the California Franchise Tax Board had taken 26,670 applications from first-time buyers for $100 million. The tax agency said it has taken 9,630 applications for another $100 million in credits for people who buy new unoccupied houses. The board said it will cut off applications after reaching 28,000. Dataquick said the next two months will be critical in determining whether sales growth is due in large part to stimulus opportunities. An estimated 43,964 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. Statewide, foreclosure activity has declined somewhat but remains high by historical standards. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Monday, 19 July 2010 08:11

Amador County State Fair Exhibit Wiins Gold

Amador County – Amador County was a gold medal winner in this year’s state fair exhibit competition, as announced last week by the judges at the annual competition. Besides being among the handful of counties to receive a gold ribbon, Amador County was also awarded the “Best Use of Special Effects Award” and the “Best Use of Animation Award.” Amador was one of 30 counties that constructed and entered exhibits over the last month. “The Counties Exhibit has been a longstanding fan favorite and continues to draw crowds of fairgoers every year who support their favorite county,” said fair officials in a statement announcing the award recipients. Supervisors Ted Novelli and John Plasse, along with Maureen Funk of the Amador Council of Tourism, were on hand to receive the award. Funk spread the good news in an announcement of her own last week where she thanked “all who have volunteered this year and our County Supervisors for their continued financial support.” Funk and her council were the lead agency in charge of the booth’s creation. She presented a drawing and 3-D exhibit of the booth in June before the Amador Supervisors in order to receive financial support from the county. After that, most of the booth’s construction was provided by a number of willing volunteers. The booth includes little animated figures standing in balconies and a number of pictures and displays touting what Amador County has to offer. The look of the booth harkens back the 1800’s. Other gold awards went to the Butte County, Calaveras County, Inyo County, Monterey County, Placer County, Sacramento County, San Joaquin County, Solano County, Sonoma County, Sutter County and Tuolumne County. Placer County took the Best of Show award, but other counties followed very closely. El Dorado County was awarded Bronze. The Amador County Fair Exhibit will be on display at the California State Fair until August 1st at the Cal Expo California Building, located at 1600 Exposition Boulevard in Sacramento. According to its website, the Amador Council of Tourism “is the officially recognized destination marketing organization for the county of Amador.” It provides “information on all the great activities and events for travelers to Amador County.” In related news, on July 20 and 27, Californians who can provide proof they’re currently out of work by showing an unemployment check stub can get one free ticket into the Fair! Plus, every Tuesday is Kids Day: children 12 and under get in for free and all carnival rides are $1 each for the entire family. “Summer is usually a time for family vacations and spending quality time together,” said Norbert J. Bartosik, State Fair CEO & General Manager. “The California State Fair is doing its part to ensure that priceless memories are affordable.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Monday, 19 July 2010 08:09

Amador Council of Toursim to Host Geomapping Workshop

Amador County – The Amador Council of Tourism plans a 3-location workshop next week on a geotourism mapping of Amador County. Maureen Funk, executive director of the Amador Council of Tourism announced the “Geotourism Gatherings” last week, saying the “goal is to capture and convey the essence of the region through the eyes of people who know it best.” Funk said people attending the workshop will learn about Geotourism and how to make nominations for an online Sierra Nevada Geotourism MapGuide, sponsored by National Geographic. Funk said geotourism mapping aims to “capture the history and heritage of Amador County’s favorite destinations, local characters, historic sites, galleries, restaurants, scenic views, lakes, hiking trails and other special places of interest.” Funk said “geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place,” including “its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents.” She said it “helps travelers to tread lightly and enjoy a locale’s sense of place.” Funk said “nominations can include basically, anything that is authentic to the Sierra Nevada and sustains or enhances the character of the region, acquainting tourists with local culture and traditions and offering them in-depth opportunities to enjoy an area's unique natural beauty and biodiversity.” Nomination categories include natural attractions, outdoor adventures, businesses, festivals, events, museums, interpretive centers, theaters, local points of interest, agritourism, and historic & cultural sites. People can also be nominated, including musicians, craft workers and artists. The map, at sierranevadageotourism.org, already has 11 Amador County listings, including the Gold Country Cruise Car Show in downtown Jackson, which is pending approval. Historic sites or districts already on the map include the Preston Castle in Ione, Roaring Camp in Pine Grove, and the unincorporated town of Volcano, with a mention of the Chaw’Se Grinding Rock. “Geologic Features” listed on the map include the Sutter Gold Mine in Sutter Creek, and the Mokelumne River’s “Electra-Middle Bar” run Devil’s Nose, along with its 1912 Middle Bar Bridge. Also listed are the Tiger Creek Dam, and a notice urging support of the “Wild & Scenic” designation of the Mokelumne River. The workshops are all Tuesday, July 27th. One is 8:30 a.m. at Sutter Creek Community Center. The second is 1:30 p.m. at Ione City Hall, and the third is 5:30 p.m. at the Jackson Civic Center. View the MapGuide at www.sierranevadageotourism.org. Amador County is in the “Tahoe Emigrant Corridor.” Organizers ask for RSVPs of which workshop people would attend, by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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