Tom
Thursday, 06 May 2010 06:08
Supes Hear Report On Williamson Act Discussions
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday heard a report from Supervisor Richard Forster on the Williamson Act and its future in the face of cuts by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that will all but eliminate the program. Forster’s report was based on a recent meeting of the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC), and was held in conjunction with a report from Cara Martinson of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), another body with a strong interest in funding outcomes for the Williamson Act. Forster said the groups have similar interests but differ in that RCRC just represents rural counties “while CSAC is all 58 counties and all 58 points of view.” Forster serves as Chair of an RCRC working group on the Williamson Act. Exercising his constitutional authority, Governor Schwarzenegger is eliminating direct subventions by reducing the annual appropriation from $27.8 million to $1,000 as a way to help close the state’s $20 billion budget deficit. Forster said Gary Wyatt, an Imperial County Supervisor and the immediate past Chair of CSAC, announced at a recent meeting that his county will file an “involuntary, non-renewal for all their contracts, saying that most of the farmers they’ve seen have the Williamson Act because it saves them money on their taxes and that’s it.” Forster said “hands went up around the table” in defense of the act and its “far-reaching” benefits. “We need that little bit of an edge from the Williamson Act to take property taxes down and keep essential open space, so it’s very important for us in Amador County as well as other counties,” said Forster. He said counties are having continuous weekly conference calls to discuss the issue. Since its passage in 1965, the Williamson Act has enabled local governments to provide extremely low tax assessments to owners of farm and open-space land in exchange for a ten-year agreement that the land remain undeveloped. Specifically, the Act is intended to promote voluntary land conservation. The statute applies to nearly 16.6 million acres in 53 counties- close to half of all California’s private farmland. Forster also commented on a recent report from the state legislative analyst’s office claiming few impacts to businesses from AB32 and SB375, two recent state laws that link local land-use decisions to reductions in emissions linked to global warming. Forster called that report “total hogwash.” “I don’t know what statistics they’re looking at, but people I know that are in corporate business in California are having a very difficult time and have had to put out millions of dollars for compliance with (state regulations),” said Forster. The Supervisors will respond with a statement that local businesses are suffering. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Thursday, 06 May 2010 06:21
Amador County News TSPN TV with Alex Lane 5-6-10
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Thursday, 06 May 2010 06:10
Ione Firefighters Respond to Two Structure Fires Over Weekend
Amador County – The City of Ione Fire Department responded to two separate residential structure fires over the weekend, with combined damages estimated at $200,000. On Saturday, May 1 at 4:55 pm, crews responded to reports of a structure fire at 126 Shakey Lane. Upon arrival, they found smoke and fire coming from the kitchen area of the residence. The fire was quickly extinguished through the combined efforts of 18 Ione firefighters and 2 support units utilizing three fire engines. One fire engine was from the Mule Creek Fire Department. The American Red Cross was able to assist the occupants with temporary housing and supplies. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. On Monday, May 3 at 3:29 pm, a second structure fire was reported at 612 Nuner Drive. Responders included crews from the City of Ione Fire Department, Mule Creek Fire Department, Jackson Valley Fire District, CalFire and the Amador Fire Protection District. On arrival, crews found heavy fire coming from the roof and rear half of the building. The fire was knocked down within 10 minutes of the first arriving units and damage was contained to the structure. No one was reported at the residence at the time of the fire, and damage is estimated at $180,000. One Ione Firefighter received minor injuries and a burn during the initial fire attack. The man was treated on scene by the American Legion Ambulance Service and then transported to Sutter Amador Hospital’s Emergency Room where he was treated and released. He is currently at home and expected to make a fast recovery. A total of 7 fire engines and 4 support units, along with 35 fire personnel were on scene for the blaze. The cause of the second fire is currently under investigation. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Fire
Thursday, 06 May 2010 06:08
Supes Hear Report On Williamson Act Discussions
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday heard a report from Supervisor Richard Forster on the Williamson Act and its future in the face of cuts by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that will all but eliminate the program. Forster’s report was based on a recent meeting of the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC), and was held in conjunction with a report from Cara Martinson of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), another body with a strong interest in funding outcomes for the Williamson Act. Forster said the groups have similar interests but differ in that RCRC just represents rural counties “while CSAC is all 58 counties and all 58 points of view.” Forster serves as Chair of an RCRC working group on the Williamson Act. Exercising his constitutional authority, Governor Schwarzenegger is eliminating direct subventions by reducing the annual appropriation from $27.8 million to $1,000 as a way to help close the state’s $20 billion budget deficit. Forster said Gary Wyatt, an Imperial County Supervisor and the immediate past Chair of CSAC, announced at a recent meeting that his county will file an “involuntary, non-renewal for all their contracts, saying that most of the farmers they’ve seen have the Williamson Act because it saves them money on their taxes and that’s it.” Forster said “hands went up around the table” in defense of the act and its “far-reaching” benefits. “We need that little bit of an edge from the Williamson Act to take property taxes down and keep essential open space, so it’s very important for us in Amador County as well as other counties,” said Forster. He said counties are having continuous weekly conference calls to discuss the issue. Since its passage in 1965, the Williamson Act has enabled local governments to provide extremely low tax assessments to owners of farm and open-space land in exchange for a ten-year agreement that the land remain undeveloped. Specifically, the Act is intended to promote voluntary land conservation. The statute applies to nearly 16.6 million acres in 53 counties- close to half of all California’s private farmland. Forster also commented on a recent report from the state legislative analyst’s office claiming few impacts to businesses from AB32 and SB375, two recent state laws that link local land-use decisions to reductions in emissions linked to global warming. Forster called that report “total hogwash.” “I don’t know what statistics they’re looking at, but people I know that are in corporate business in California are having a very difficult time and have had to put out millions of dollars for compliance with (state regulations),” said Forster. The Supervisors will respond with a statement that local businesses are suffering. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Local
Thursday, 06 May 2010 06:06
ARTS Committee Gets Caltrans Info On Mobility Management
Amador County – The Amador Regional Transit System Budget Committee met with Caltrans Wednesday and learned that the new Mobility Management program is more flexible than they thought. The committee, which includes County Supervisor John Plasse and Ione Councilman David Plank, planned to have a conference call with Caltrans, but Plasse said that “morphed into a face-to-face meeting,” which went very well. He said the information they received gave himself, Plank and Supervisor Richard Forster “a greater understanding of what Caltrans views the scope of Mobility Management to be.” Plasse, Plank and ARTS Interim Transit Manager Joyce Jones met with Kimberly Gayle, office chief for the Federal Transit Grants Program with Caltrans. Plasse said Caltrans and ARTS share the same overarching goal for the Mobility Management program, in which the “net effect should be increased ridership of public transit.” Plasse said that has been a tremendous focus of the board, but ARTS has still seen a drop in ridership, so much so that the “primary demographic locations” have been losing routes. He said ARTS is required by statute to provide service that must be offset by an income of at least 10 percent from “fare box revenue.” Plasse said the committee was “able to confirm (Wednesday) that “we can change some of the staffing of the Mobility Management program.” They also “can change money allotments” to customize the program to fit ARTS goals of service in Amador County. Plasse said he was bothered by Mobility Manager Mel Welsh seeking to move the program out of ARTS and into the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency. Welsh instituted that search, and he and the ARTS board thought it was out of her purview. Plasse said he “expressed concern over her making the autonomous decision” to look at trying to move it. He said Welsh was under the impression that if she was not the manager, then the grant would be lost. The program must follow spending as outlined in the grant application, but he found out Wednesday that Caltrans in effect got its “hand slapped” in awarding the grant to ARTS, with Welsh as the “sole source provider of Mobility Management functions,” and putting her automatically into the position, with no competitive hiring process. A federal audit discovered that Welsh was named “sole source provider” in the grant. Plasse said the grant was written by Innovative Paradigms of Sacramento, a firm that Welsh recommended as a grant writer. He said the next step for the ARTS board is deciding how to proceed with Mobility Management, and its staffing. The board last week moved toward ending Welsh’s contract, and set up Wednesday’s meeting with Caltrans. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Transportation
Thursday, 06 May 2010 06:05
Ione Discusses Howard Business Park Project
Amador County – The Ione City Council received a report on the Howard Business Park project this week, which had a planning stoppage last month pending discussion with the city. City Planner Christopher Jordan said a staff “scope of work and cost estimate” of $440,000 was not received well by Howard Properties resource manager Tim Smith. The work included Environmental Impact Reports and “estimated reimbursable costs for public notices.” Jordan said the project’s plan to remove nearly 1,500 trees would require “analysis of the potential environmental impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act.” He said tree removal likely would qualify for a Mitigated Negative Declaration. CEQA documentation estimated at $84,000. On March 16th, Smith sent the city “comments and questions about the scope of work and budget for processing.” Smith’s engineer, Jesse Shaw said that the need for a “Specific Plan” was not as important as the need to verify that Caltrans would grant the project roadway access along Highway 124. He said the Ione Bypass likely would not be built “in our lifetime,” and pursuing any planning in depth would be futile without assurance of Highway 124 access. Jordan’s report included comments from several agencies on the project’s Tentative Subdivision Map, many saying it lacks the detail for them to give a full impact analysis, and list mitigations. Ione Fire Chief Ken Mackey said it lacked building descriptions, on which the department could eventually base a need to request upgrades to its ladder truck. Smith in a letter April 15th told of stoppage on project planning, pending discussion with the city. He said city staff cost estimates were “roughly 500% of the not-to-exceed costs to do the actual studies and data collection and negotiations for the project,” as estimated by his consultants. Jordan said: “this would mean that the Howard’s consultant costs are approximately $100,000.” Jordan said in “staff’s experience, $100,000 would cover the required traffic study and maybe the drawing of the tentative map.” He said it wouldn’t cover a water study (required by the Amador Water Agency); a sewer study or planning; biological studies for CEQA and tree permitting; or development of the Specific Plan. Jordan said Ione could take the lead in the project, but it could cost up to $1.2 million. He said staff is looking at Proposition 84 “State Strategic Growth Council” grants, which could net a $1 million grant, but the city would face significant competition, including 2 or 3 applications within Amador County. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Local
Wednesday, 05 May 2010 04:04
BLM Announces Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program
Amador County - Residents of Grass Valley and the surrounding region will have the opportunity to add a horse or burro to their families when the Bureau of Land Management brings its Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program to the Nevada County Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 8th. The BLM will offer 40 horses, mostly yearlings, and 10 burros for public adoption. Anyone interested can preview the animals when they arrive at about 3 p.m. on Friday, May 7. “With spring and summer days ahead, this is a good time to begin training an adopted mustang or burro,” said Doug Satica, manager of BLM’s Litchfield Wild Horse and Burro Facility. The horses are from herd management areas in Northeast California and Northwest Nevada. Burros came from Southern California deserts. All available animals have received de-worming treatments and vaccinations for West Nile virus, rabies and common equine diseases. Adopters receive complete health records for their animals. To qualify, adopters must be at least 18 years old and have no convictions for inhumane treatment of animals. BLM staff members will interview all prospective adopters to be sure they meet the BLM adoption requirements. At the adoption event, Adopters must provide a halter and lead rope. Title to adopted wild horses and burros remains with the federal government for one year. “Wild horses are strong, loyal, intelligent and very trainable,” Satica said. Wild horses and burros are protected by a federal law, the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The law recognizes the animals as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the west,” and requires the BLM to manage the wild herds. There are about 37,000 wild horses and burros roaming on public rangelands in the western states. The BLM periodically gathers horses and burros to control herd populations on ranges shared with wildlife and domestic livestock. The adoption takes place May 8th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. For additional information, contact the BLM at 1-866-4MUSTANGS or the Litchfield Corrals at (530) 254-6575. Information is also available online at www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov. Almost 225,000 animals have been placed in private care since the BLM’s Adopt-a-Horse-or-Burro Program began in the early 1970s. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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