By Jim Reece - Parks at Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort were batted around last week by the Sutter Creek Planning Commission. Anders Hauge, consultant for the City of Sutter Creek, said that Gold Rush set aside 4-and-a-half acres for parks, with 1/4-acre-sized lots for “passive,” “Neighborhood Parks.” The plan held 9 such parks. Hauge said one was “pretty steep” and “might be good for a hiking trail to go and look at a stream.” Commissioner Frank Cunha said they needed to define what kind of parks the city wanted. Cunha said the passive parks have no grasses because developers had taken away money for irrigation. Cunha said he thought the city was “sorely lacking” in “Organized Play” parks, with fields for outdoor sports. Hauge said the Gold Rush EIR only had “General Play” parks. Commission Chairman Robin Peters said the city has 1 “Community Park,” and a “Neighborhood Park,” for smaller kids, on Bryson Drive. Jim Harnish, representative for Gold Rush, said larger park land would have to be purchased and dedicated in the project. He noted that the smaller parks were meant for maintenance and conservation of open space and oak preservation.

Agency Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep said the Amador County Unified School District charges non-school teams to use its facilities. She said that “to rely on the school district is actually compiling the problem even more.” Towner-Yep said a Community Park should be 10 to 13 acres in size, while a Regional Park should be 30 acres or more. She said regarding “neighborhood parks: “Where they are is important. What they are is very important.” Towner-Yep said that in the parks policy section, she agree that Sutter Creek should establish a park and recreation commission, so many voices can be heard, instead of one. Harnish said the “city hasn’t approved the project yet,” and there may be a better site preferred for a larger park. Cunha said there did not appear to be room for park and recreation in the fiscal analysis. Peters said “this one bothers me a lot,” adding that they “can’t brush aside recreation.” He said designating a site within the project for a Community Park seemed most logical. Cunha requested and Towner-Yep agreed to return to the Planning Commission with a cost estimate for a Community Park. The commission next meets on the Gold Rush EIR 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 14.

By Jim Reece - The Sutter Creek City Council on Monday approved a 50-50 split of costs and benefits improvements at the city’s wastewater treatment system. The city already has undertaken the improvements, which were emergency repairs implemented to keep the city from violating its permits with the state. The improvements cost 1.5 million and the city will be reimbursed for up to 800,000 dollars by the Amador Water Agency. City Manager Rob Duke said the repairs were necessitated by the loss of capacity in the water treatment system, brought on by a number of issues. One was a decrease in oxygen levels in the wastewater system, which is detrimental to the breakdown of solids. Duke said city staff was “asleep at the wheel.” He said it took 6 months of testing to find the root of the violations. The city thought that AWA’s customers on Sutter Hill were the cause of high “suspended solids” in the wastewater, but then city customer sources also showed high solid counts. The emergency repairs and volume expansion totaled approximately 800,000 each for the city and for the AWA. The improvements will increase the city system’s daily treatment capacity back to 480,000 gallons per day, Duke said, and should add more capacity, which engineers expected to be about 120,000 gallons per day more than the 480,000 GPD. That extra capacity will also be split 50-50 between the city and the AWA. Councilmen Pat Crosby and Tim Murphy, members of the wastewater subcommittee with the AWA, said work with the water agency on solutions was a good environment, with positive results. Duke said the city and AWA were working on “best practices” for their systems and also working on reduction of customers putting fat, oil and grease in the wastewater stream. The council approved the payment terms 4-0.

By Jim Reece - The Sutter Creek City Council OK’d a nearly 1 Million Dollar realignment of the intersections of Old Ridge Road and Sutter Hill Road on Sutter Hill, which will move the intersection eastward and widen it to ease traffic jams. The 975,000 dollar project will put in about 150 feet of pavement and will be paid on a 90-10 percent matching roadways grant, with the city matching 10 percent of the costs. City Engineer Roark Webber presented the Sutter Hill Realignment Project. Webber asked for council approval of a negative declaration for the project, which would then be sent for California Environmental Quality Act approval, National EPA approval and also approval from the federal Highway Administration. City Planner Bruce Baracco said the realignment, moving the intersection about 150 feet east of its present location, should reduce traffic at the main intersection of Highway 49 and Ridge Road, and also decrease the carbon footprint. Baracco said global warming is mentioned in the negative declaration and he believed the answer to CALTRANS was adequate. Resident Ed Swift in public comment said the intersection “has to go.” Swift pointed out that the estimated cost was 974,000 dollars, and 43,000 dollars had already been spent on preliminary engineering. Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Hepworth said he thought the convergence was “one of the most dangerous intersections in the county. It’s been a long time coming and it for sure has my support.

By Alex Lane - The Amador Transmission Pipeline has come up against a roadblock in the form of a lawsuit put forth by citizen Ken Berry on September 29th. The lawsuit contests an environmental document evaluating three additional alternative methods for placing a small diameter pipeline in the Amador Canal. The lawsuit seeks a suspension of further activity by the Amador Water Agency and asks to maintain flows in the Amador Canal. “The Agency is disappointed in this action and its potential impact on all of our ratepayers,” said AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie. Abercrombie believes Agency Directors must weigh the financial impact of “legal costs for fighting another lawsuit that impacts all Amador Water System ratepayers for the benefit of relatively few citizens.” According to Abercrombie, a previous lawsuit inflated the project cost by $9 million, or 3 dollars a month for every Amador Water System customer for the next 30 years. But Berry vehemently denies any significant cost impact, saying “it should only impact one issue, the Jackson Creek.” Berry said that a significant drop in water flow in Jackson Creek- which currently flows perennially- is the result of water being diverted through the pipeline. “The entire point of the lawsuit is for the water agency to consider these impacts,” Berry said. Included in the lawsuit are a number of charts illustrating a significant annual drop in Jackson Creek water flows. Berry noted that the Department of Fish and Game agrees with him, but their objection letter was ignored because it was received after the AWA had closed its comment period. Abercrombie claims that Berry’s lawsuit is “filed…with data from (Amador Water Agency Candidate) Bill Condrashoff, but Berry says that is “absolutely untrue,” and that the data came from Abercrombie and the Agency itself. At their next meeting on October 9, the Agency Board of Directors will discuss the pending lawsuit and determine their response.

By Jim Reece - The 2007-08 Amador County Grand Jury criticized the location of the newly remodeled courthouse in the John Begovich Building on Argonaut Lane and called it risky to schoolchildren and neighborhoods. Responses from the Amador County Sheriff’s Office and the Amador County Board of Supervisors were submitted to Judge Susan C. Harlan on September 24th. The Grand Jury found that it “would be more advantageous to relocate the courthouse centrally,” in proximity to the County Jail and District Attorney’s office. The Sheriff’s Office agreed, writing that “it would be operationally more efficient,” to reduce transportation time for correctional officers. The report said 500 children could be at risk from “an active shooter incident emanating from the courthouse.” The Sheriff’s Office disagreed partially, noting the 3 full-time, fully trained deputies worked courthouse security, supplemented by contract deputies. But the Sheriff acknowledged that there have been “numerous active shooter incidents initiated at schools with tragic results due to the lack of an immediate law enforcement response.” As per location, the Sheriff’s Office disagreed partially, noting that the former courthouse stood for many years in a residential and business area of downtown Jackson, “within a very short distance of Jackson Elementary School,” yet the Sheriff’s Office did not recall there ever having been an incident emanating from the courthouse that impacted either residents, businesses or the school. Supervisors disagreed with the complaints, noting that the review of the Amador Superior Courthouse was not within the jurisdiction of the Grand Jury, because the court is an entity of the state of California, which took over trial court responsibility starting in 1997. Supervisors said they were “not responsible for the location of the courthouse.” In regards to the risky location in proximity to the school, Supervisors said the same, but also noted that the renovation and refurbishing of the Begovich Building, for use as the courthouse, was approved by the State Administrative Office of the Courts.

By Alex Lane - Longstanding Jackson City Councilmember Andy Rodriguez resigned effective Monday due to “health issues.” Although the specific cause of his health issue is unknown, one source in Jackson City Government said he “has not communicated that to us, but he obviously feels it is important enough for him to resign.” Rodriguez’s term was scheduled to expire in 2010. The Jackson City Council is exploring the available options to fill his vacancy per Government Code, which require a decision to leave his seat vacant or, appoint a replacement, or choose to hold another election. The city council will be reviewing their options at their next meeting on Tuesday, October 14th. They have 30 days to decide.

By Alex Lane - A bridge dedication ceremony Sunday was a somber event for the many who gathered to honor the life of Jay-D Ornsby-Adkins, the only Amador County soldier who has yet to have lost his life in the Iraq war. Private First Class Ornsby-Adkins, whose funeral was held in August, was killed in action while serving in Baghdad, Iraq where his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. State Senator Dave Cox recently passed a bill renaming Amador Creek Bridge on the new bypass in Ornsby-Adkins honor. Cox and Supervisor Richard Forster were among the guest speakers. The program included a Color Guard and Honor Guard ceremony.

By Alex Lane - Two suspects who fled the scene of an accident after a dramatic car chase in the Pine Grove area have been connected with burglaries in Sutter Creek. The suspects led Sheriff’s Deputies in a vehicle pursuit on September 29th which ended when one officer rammed their vehicle off the road. The white sedan then rolled down in a ravine and the suspects escaped on foot. A search of the vehicle revealed methamphetamine, marijuana, and indicia related to the suspects. Only days before, on September 27th, an Amador County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a burglary at 17140 Moonshine Lane in the upcountry above Sutter Creek. Two ATV’s and outdoors equipment were stolen. On the day of the vehicle pursuit, the same Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to the scene of another robbery at 6772 Amber Way in Sutter Creek. The victim on Amber Way reported tools were stolen from his barn. The victim stated he is the property owner and he maintains the barn, however he had renters living in the associated residence. “The victim reported finding two ATVs on his property that did not belong to him, and the deputy recognized the ATV’s as the two which had been reported stolen two days prior,” said Undersheriff Jim Wegner in a release Monday. The Sheriff’s office subsequently drafted a search warrant for the premises. While the search was conducted early on the 29th, the suspect’s vehicle, a white sedan, pulled up in the driveway. “As investigators approached the vehicle and attempted to contact the occupants, the vehicle sped away from the location,” said Wegner. The driver of the vehicle matched the suspect’s description and was the same person caught in the pursuit later that evening. Anyone with any information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the Amador County Sheriff’s Office at 209-223-6500 or the Secret Witness Program at 209-223-4900.

Via Staff Report - Even though more rain is forecast across the foothills area, CALFIRE is reminding foothill residents that fire danger still remains high across Amador, Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties, and the chance of large and damaging fires still exists. Even with forecasted precipitation through the coming weeks, a burn suspension remains in effect and violators will be cited. This expected precipitation, though greatly needed, is not expected to be of significant levels to help with the dryness of fuels. CALFIRE Stations are prepared to respond to fires that may occur should we experience any lightning activity during the passing of this storm front. According to CALFIRE Chief Noonan, “We will provide adequate notice of any change in the restricted burning status. Making sure your property is in compliance with 100 foot defensible space clearance is one of the many ways you can help your community to be fire safe.” For more tips and ways to be fire safe contact your local CALFIRE station, or visit www.fire.ca.gov.

By Alex Lane - A construction project in the works for nearly 20 years is finally beginning to take shape at the intersection of Highway 88 and Ridge Road in Pine Grove. Woolin and Sons Contractors have been transferring mounds of dirt, digging ditches and shaping hillsides in anticipation of a proposed commercial center and housing project. The Del Repini Construction company is the brainchild behind the project, which has seen numerous delays over the years due to financial and contractual setbacks. “They’ve been working on these two projects for years now and there are still a number of conditions that must be met,” said Bill Smiley, Senior Engineering Technician at the Public Works Department. Smiley, along with Senior Project Engineer Roger Stewart, has been working closely with Del Repini through all the trials and tribulations. The proposed commercial development has not yet met the conditions of the Amador County Technical Advisory Committee and no businesses have yet signed on to operate there. The housing development, called Pine Grove Bluffs, is one of two new subdivisions planned in the area and will consist of approximately 9 lots. Despite a number of rumors circulating amongst the local residents, the development is not planned as the future site of a Wendy’s fast food restaurant. Another rumor claims that Repini Construction is working without the cooperation of CALTRANS. This is untrue, but there are some provisions that CALTRANS has put forth. “CALTRANS would not give (Repini Construction) permission to put a driveway on Highway 88, so they are working with a permit,” said Smiley. Repini Construction was not available for comment at the time this story was written. Stay tuned for updates on this ongoing project.