Amador County - The Board of Supervisors held a special meeting Tuesday to consider taking advantage of $400,000 in grant money for housing and homeless prevention made available through the State Department of Housing and Community Development. Beetle Barbour, Housing Resource Director for the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency, referred to locals her agency encounters and said “people out there are scared and really afraid they are going to lose their housing.” Consultant Terry Cox, who has written over 100 Community Development Block Grants for local housing in the past, was also on hand to answer questions for the Supervisors. Barbour said that of the $400,000 ATCAA could possibly receive, $30,000 will go towards administrative costs and the rest - $370,000 – will go towards housing stabilization and homeless prevention programs. Barbour also outlined the development of an Amador faith-based community housing committee that would provide temporary housing to families or individuals in need by providing extra rooms or cots in their parishes. Board Chairman Ted Novelli said “my hat is off to all the churches that are coming forward to help in dealing with this issue.” County Counsel Martha Shaver expressed concern over “the perfidy of the state” and whether it would ask for money back once it was spent “because (the county) just doesn’t have it either.” Barbour said the guidelines as to how the money is spent are fairly vague and the state is not overly concerned with where the money goes or how fast it is spent, as long as it is used for this specific cause. Shaver told Cox that she was also concerned there is no specification as to how much the consultant can bill in the contract. Cox said her services will be based on an hourly rate which she can provide. The Supervisors approved 4-0 a motion to approve action to pursue the grant with a specific provision to spell out line items for cost services. Applications for the grant are due July 15th, and Barbour said she is hoping to know whether they were accepted by September. Barbour said her agency is also looking to include with the application a “video diary” detailing the hardships of local low-income families. Story by Alex Lane. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Local waste service representatives sought the Board of Supervisors approval Tuesday for the mailing of Proposition 218 protest notices regarding proposed rate increases. Amador County’s two major waste disposal companies - ACES Waste Services and Amador Disposal Service/Waste Connection, Inc., or ADS - submitted written requests in June for refuse collection rate increases they were forced to make due to corrections in the Refuse Rate Index Calculation, a standard rate index. As required by the California Constitution, the Board of Supervisors are required to hold a public hearing on the proposed increases not less than 45 days after written notice of the increase has been mailed to subject property owners. The proposed increases will be submitted by mail to approximately 900 ADS customers for protest at a calculated increase of 3.91 percent. Aces Waste Services will mail notices to approximately 5,200 customers. The calculated rate increase for Aces Franchise Area 2 is 4.83 percent. Aces Franchise area 3 was calculated to see a 10.27 percent increase, although Aces co-owner Paul Molinelli, Sr., made a verbal request at the June 24th Public Works Committee meeting to reduce that to 7.75 percent. “Considering the times, we though we shouldn’t go to double digits,” said Molinelli. ADS has been suffering under the weight of the current economic crisis and has had to give up customers as a result. According to Guy Davis, Site Manager for ADS, the company recently had to “withdraw from Ione because we were operating at a loss.” Aces Waste, on the other hand, has been expanding. The Sutter Creek City Council in April agreed to let its contract with ADS expire due to conflicts and “various customer service complaints” and award a new trash and recycling franchise contract to ACES Waste Service, keeping the contract local with better rates for customers. Aces also took over operations in Ione. Jim McHargue, Amador’s Solid Waste Program Manager, recommended the Supervisors approve mailing of the Prop. 218 protest notices. The Supervisors approved the motion unanimously. A public hearing on the matter was set for September 15 at 10:30 am. Story by Alex Lane. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Longtime Prospect Motors Owner Frank Halvorson announced Thursday that he is now “providing Amador County and the region with a car-buying service for everyone.” Utilizing his 29 years of experience in the automotive industry, Halvorson has revamped his business to offer this specialized service after Prospect Motors in Martell closed last December. The 33-year-old dealership was well-known as a generous contributor within the community, and has generated a large portion of the city and county tax bases. Referring to his new business venture, Halvorson said there is a “significant movement for people first to find information online, and then eventually use the Internet as their portal to purchase.” While he admits people can still research and process on their own, Halvorson points out that he will utilize “29 years of contacts, dealer auctions unavailable to the general public as well as the many sources an individual may or may not have access to.” Halvorson’s car buying service can purchase at real time market values. He says he will utilize “used automotive inventory and pricing, as well as all rebates and offers from the manufacturers on new automotive makes and models to give customers the best options.” Halvorson works out of J&H Wholesale, 551 Highway 49, with his sales license. Halvorson can be reached at (209) 267-4798 or (209) 482-2483, Monday through Friday, as well as by appointment. His email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Alex Lane. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – City Manager Rob Duke said Monday that Sutter Creek did not yet have a source for funding to pay $490,000 dollars over the next 6 years in a lease agreement the city council authorized and the vice mayor signed last week. It amounts to $25,000 dollars a year, to lease the machine shop parcel and equipment inside. Duke said City Attorney Dennis Crabb suggested forming a Community Facilities District, or a Mello Roos special property tax district, to fund the Knight Foundry lease. Duke said it is a legal entity, which would protect the city against liability. Mayor Gary Wooten said the purchase of the 3 parcels by the city was needed to preserve a $600,000 dollar EPA grand through the California Department of Toxic Substances. The funds will help clean up the site. Duke said the contents of the Knight Foundry were appraised at a value of $300,000 dollars. Wooten said the “property will be very valuable to the city.” Councilman Pat Crosby, who announced the purchase at a Sutter Creek Rotary Meeting Tuesday, said “the foundry will be a bonanza for us for bringing people to Sutter Creek.” He said it will help bring people to the 2 new Main Street restaurants, and the visitor’s center. Duke said the Knight Foundry non-profit organization’s board wants to insure the property the city purchased in an agreement signed last Tuesday. The city’s properties consist of 3 of the foundry parcels. Items not included in the purchase and retained by owner Richard Lyman, include a mechanical forklift, an owl pattern, a “1970s vintage Bobcat tractor,” a cast iron Pelton runner, a Knight bucket pattern, 13 Knight print blocks, a water color painting of the Knight Foundry on Eureka Street, an oil painting depicting the creek side of the foundry, a Knight Water Motor, an ore cart wheel pattern. It also included a list of items removed from the foundry by other parties. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.