Wednesday, 09 December 2009 23:19

Board of Supervisors Approve to Transfer Rosedale Water Treatment Plant Ownership to Volcano

slide2-supes_approve_to_transfer_rosedale_water_treatment_plant_ownership_to_volcano.pngAmador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors decided on Tuesday to transfer ownership of the Rosedale water treatment equipment serving the community of Volcano to the Volcano Community Services District (VCSD), in consideration of Volcano’s “ongoing needs.” Mike Israel, Director of the Environmental Health Department, said the “equipment has been in place about 8 years and…it is infeasible to transfer it somewhere else.” Back in 2000, Supervisors voted to purchase the water filter system using approximately $38,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Revenue funds, the same funding source used by the state’s Safe Drinking Water Program. Both the County and Volcano applied for the grant funding, but only the County qualified. Initially it was believed that the equipment would be portable, providing interim treatment until Volcano secured another source of potable water via a pipeline from the Amador Water Agency. In a memo included with the agenda packet, Israel said “the cost associated with the alternate water source once planned is recognized to be cost prohibitive.” He told the board that VCSD has made “significant investments” in the upkeep of the Rosedale system. He said Volcano has “several thousand dollars invested on their own.” He also urged the board to “establish a means of reimbursement with VCSD” to assure county funds are available for future programs that would utilize Safe Drinking Water applications. Chairman Novelli said this was a way to “transfer it from the county over to their books,” but wanted to develop a reasonable repayment plan, as many Volcano residents are on limited incomes. Supervisor Louis Boitano moved to ask VCSD for reimbursement of the Rosedale water filter system unit, and upon completion of that reimbursement, transfer of the asset to VCSD. The motion was approved 4-0 with Novelli abstaining. Novelli agreed to work with Israel and the Environmental Health Department to draft a payment reimbursement schedule and a sale price. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.