Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors held a short public hearing Tuesday and then took the first step for a new county jail with the purchase of 201 acres of land on Wicklow Way for just over $1.8 million. General Services Administration Director John Hopkins recommended supervisors “consummate the purchase of the 201.37 acres” and authorize Chairman Ted Novelli to execute a purchase agreement as approved by the county attorney. Supervisors voted 5-0 to make the purchase. Hopkins said the county had been negotiating in good faith with Sierra Pacific Industries for a possible purchase of 8.2 acres on “Lot 53” of the Amador Central Business Park. But he said the Wicklow Way property “literally sort of fell out of the sky,” and staff did not know about it. He said the $2 million asking price of the 8.2-acre Lot 53 “was a good deal at the time,” but the $1.8 million cost to buy the Wicklow Way property was a much better deal. The Amador County Planning Commission rejected a tentative subdivision map for the 201-acre Wicklow Way Subdivision, a housing and commercial development project sought by owner John Lemke. The denial said the project would impact the surrounding environment with traffic and other issues. The property then fell into foreclosure and Lemke filed an appeal of the commission ruling, then withdrew the appeal, leading to an auction by the owning bank, Umpqua Bank, which settled a debt of $4.8 million on the property by reverting to a purchase of the property at a price of $1.48 million. Hopkins said a search for a jail site had been going on for 2 years, during which he looked at more than 60 or 70 properties. Assembly Bill 900 brought $22 million for a new jail in Amador, pending property purchase. He said the purchase was supported by Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan and the property committee. Leroy Carlin of Pine Grove criticized the purchase, saying the county’s purchase would take away construction jobs and taxes on $4.5 million worth of property. Supervisor John Plasse said the county would be looking at the 201 acres with a master plan, and there were other forms of growth that can generate jobs and taxes. Supervisor Louis Boitano noted a recent, multi-million-dollar settlement in Monterey County over an inadequate jail, and Supervisor Richard Forster said “we’re out of compliance on the jail now.” He said it was a “much better deal for taxpayers,” but didn’t they would build a bigger jail. Novelli said the land “will possibly address our housing problems,” and also could address “problems with our water and wastewater.” Novelli said “those 2 things will benefit the people of the county, not just the county.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.