Amador County – Kirkwood Mountain Resort was closed Saturday when a powerhouse fire knocked out by a late afternoon fire on New Year’s Day. The fire broke out in the Mountain Utilities powerhouse, leaving Kirkwood Resort without electricity and the resort could not open Saturday January 2nd. Power was also lost to the surrounding community, but all power was restored late Saturday. The utility company brought in a portable power supply equal to approximately 3 times the necessary power needed to operate the resort. Kirkwood spokeswoman Julie Koster said while the power distribution system was in tact and power was available, the problem existed with connecting the power source to the distribution system. Utility officials worked throughout the morning to connect the power supply and distribution system, hoping to restore power to both the community and the resort at some point Saturday. Electrical power was restored to Kirkwood Mountain Resort as of 4 p.m. Saturday, with the successful installation of new generators at the Mountain Utilities power house. Koster in a release Saturday said that Kirkwood Resort was expected to open with full resort operations including all chair lifts, restaurants, and resort amenities on Sunday. Kirkwood vice president Tim Cohee told ABC News 10 of Sacramento that “a hot filter started the fire on the roof of an Alpine County utilities building power plant around 2 p.m. Friday.” The blaze knocked out power to the resort’s lifts, forcing Saturday’s closure. Cohee said “as soon as the Kirkwood personnel saw the heavy smoke coming from the building, they got everyone off the lifts safely before the power went out.” News 10 said Fire crews including Kirkwood Volunteer Fire, Lake Valley Fire and Amador Fire kept the blaze contained to the building. Cohee said “the generator next to the building was saved and suffered no damage,” and no one was injured in the fire. For continued updates, visit www.kirkwood.com or call 877-KIRKWOOD. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Jackson Rancheria Casino, Hotel & Conference Center laid off 113 of its employees last week over 3 days, with personal notifications given to those who were losing their jobs. Rancheria Chief Executive Officer Rich Hoffman said Wednesday that the layoffs were the result of the slumping economy, and his was the last casino in the region to downsize its personnel with layoffs. Hoffman said the Jackson Casino had a 10 percent decrease in revenue in 2009, compared to 2008. The Rancheria tried to meet downsizing needs through attrition. It was able to remove 100 positions through attrition, but the need for a layoff came to pass. The 113 layoffs amounted to a 6.3 percent cut in personnel. Hoffman said the positions laid off primarily were middle management jobs, and the position losses will not affect security, safety, customer service or the cleanliness of the facilities. He said: “There won’t be any palpable affect at all as it relates to any of our commercial enterprises.” Hoffman said whether these were temporary layoffs was “up to the economy.” The Jackson Rancheria tried to avoid layoffs, Hoffman said, adding: “We were actually the last casino in our area to have to go to these measures.” The 113 layoffs were effective over 3 days last week, with notifications beginning Monday (December 28th) and ending Wednesday. Hoffman said: “Rather than mailing notices out and doing it in bulk,” layoff notices were given in person to employees in the Rancheria’s human resources department office. He said: “It was handled more discretely and hopefully more compassionately than a cold notice.” The layoffs bring the total number of Jackson Rancheria Casino employees to 1,667. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors set a February public hearing for a possible rate increase in the Camanche Water lmprovement District Number 7, and also set a workshop Thursday to field questions about the proposed Upcountry “Gravity Supply Line.” The Agency will hold an information meeting for customers of the Central Amador Water Project on proposed improvements to the area’s water transmission system 6:30 p.m. Thursday, January 7th at the AWA office on Ridge Road. CAWP customers were mailed a flyer summarizing water transmission issues and proposed options for improvements the week of December 21st. CAWP provides wholesale and retail treated water. The AWA board last Thursday decided to keep the workshop as scheduled, and directed staff to work on a proposed financial plan for the Gravity Supply Line. They also approved a revised financial plan for the Camanche improvement project, and will give notice sometime this week for a public hearing on a related rate increase. The hearing is set for February 22nd. The project would build a storage tank, at the Camanche Water District Number 7. The agency has already spent about $100,000 toward the Camanche water tank project. The AWA board discussed funds already spent on the 2 projects, including about $930,000 on the Gravity Supply Line, which Interim General Manger Gene Mancebo said was spent over about 10 years, on studies and pre-design. He said about half of that was spent in order to qualify for federal stimulus funding, because the GSL project had to be “shovel ready.” He said the $930,000 is in a 30-year loan, at 1 percent. He told the board that there is a need to modify rate increases for Central Amador Water Project customers, with or without the Gravity Supply Line project. The agency has filed a “negative mitigated declaration” for the GSL, and directed staff to speak with consultants PBS&J on whether comments received on the Negative Declaration will require more environmental work. Mancebo said a full “Environmental Impact Report” on the GSL could cost $100,000 or more and they could “double or triple that depending on comments.” Staff will also talk with agency attorney Steve Kronick about the “reasonableness of repayment of internal loans” to repay the $930,000 already spent on the Gravity Supply Line. They will also seek clarification on whether a repair of existing pumps serving Central Amador would require a new EIR under state law. Mancebo said the pump stations, being an existing facility, could have improvements without a new EIR, and “would not face the same demands as the Gravity Supply Line.” AWA Finance Manager Mike Lee said the agency has not changed Central Amador Water Project’s rates since 2006, which were set based on a 3-year financial plan approved in 2004. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The recession and slumping economy laid claim to another local business just before Christmas, when the family-owned Harley-Davidson of Amador County announced its closure on the company website. The Guidera family – Victor, Len, Matt, Melissa and Shannon Guidera – said it “thoroughly enjoyed every minute of opening 3 dealerships in the Sacramento area,” but it “realized that it is time to consolidate, recover, and start a new chapter.” The Guideras said the family would be closing the Amador shop and showroom at 11310 Prospect Drive in Martell, along with a Rocklin showroom, and consolidating bike sales at its Folsom branch. The family dealership of 33 years will be “changing with the times,” the website said. The family said: “Based on declining sales due to the economic slowdown, the Guidera family will be consolidating (its) 3 dealerships into one location.” The notice said: “Unfortunately, both Harley-Davidson of Rocklin and Harley-Davidson of Amador County are closing.” Starting just before Christmas, all of the company’s business was conducted out of its dealership at 115 Woodmere Road in Folsom. The company announced the last day of operation in Amador County was Christmas Eve, and the last day of operation of the Rocklin dealership was December 30th. On Wednesday, the Amador shop still had motorcycles in its showroom, but the business was not open and no one was inside. The Guideras said current business and overhead costs during the recession do “not justify having 3 local dealerships open:” By moving its “key resources to one location,” they hope to able to control costs and concentrate on customer service. The Guideras said: “We chose Folsom because we are confident that the facility can support all of our present and future customer needs.” The Folsom store has been open for 10 years, and includes sales and 24 service bays, “more than any other store in the area.” The Guideras with continue its collision repair services at its shop on Monopoly Court in Rocklin. The 2-year-old Amador County dealership opened in 2007. The family chain started in Citrus Heights in 1976, and moved to a bigger shop in Rocklin in 1997. They added the Folsom store in 1999, and the repair shop in 2003. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council today will select its mayor and vice mayor for 2010, and the Ione City Council will hold a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the city’s information technology needs. Sutter Creek City Council will discuss and possibly select its leadership for the new year, and could replace Mayor Gary Wooten and Mayor Pro Tempore Tim Murphy. The council holds its first meeting of 2010 at 7 p.m. today. Also on the agenda is the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort project. In its last meeting of December, the council approved a resolution “adopting the Gold Rush Ranch Specific Plan, General Plan Amendments and Phased Vesting Large Lot Tentative Subdivision Map,” and a related Zoning Ordinance Amendments. The council must consider the Gold Rush Development Agreement. The City Council will have a closed session to discuss purchase negotiations for the Knight Foundry, and talks between City Manager Rob Duke and Knight Foundry LLC. Ione City Council will hold a special meeting and workshop at 4 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the city’s information technology needs. They will receive an overview of the city’s current IT programs and setup, and discuss staff recommended improvements and long-term plans. The Ione City Council has requested additional information on City IT structure and needs. City Manger Kim Kerr said “staff will provide an overview of the City’s network, computers, and the needs assessment for the City’s network and programs.” The meeting is the first in a series to discuss the network needs. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.