Amador County – The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors voted 3-2 Thursday to approve the Gravity Supply Line project and its Mitigated Negative Declaration. The new leadership of the board, President Bill Condrashoff and Vice President Debbie Dunn voted against both decisions, and Dunn later was accused by Director Terence Moore of prolonging the decisions and throwing up obstacles through the nearly 6-hour meeting Thursday afternoon at Mace Meadow Country Club. Moore, District 5, and Directors Gary Thomas (District 2) and Don Cooper (District 3) voted yes on both actions, with approval of the environmental document first. Cooper made a motion on the second action to approve the Gravity Supply Line project, including a list of 8 preparation items, and another action, to “put the GSL out to bid as soon as possible.” The board discussed the estimated $13.4 million project’s cost to members of the Central Amador Water Project, and representatives of 3 member entities, with AWA, spoke in support of the GSL. Jeffrey Brown of Mace Meadow CSD said he sent 540 letters out to his membership and he “received zero negative comments” on the GSL. A representative of Rabb Park CSD said “we support this project in its entirety.” He said people know it will increase their costs, and they are “looking forward to a more reliable water source.” The Pine Grove CSD also spoke in support. Dunn and Condrashoff worried about a “preliminary engineering report” for the GSL, which listed the project as seeking 9.28 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water flow for the pipeline. That amount was submitted in an application to the USDA for a grant and a loan. The amount this year was changed to 5 cubic feet per second. Condrashoff said several times that he was confused about why the first plan at 9.28 cfs could cost $13.4 million, and a smaller pipeline with a flow of 5 cfs could cost just 12 dollars and 50 cents less than the bigger pipe. Condrashoff was also confused about what size of project they were seeking to approve. Director Moore said it was obvious to him that it was seeking a project for 5 cfs. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said he could not understand why the costs were so similar, and Interim Engineering Manager Erik Christeson said the preliminary estimate was made without a lot of data being known, but it was now known by USDA that the project is 5 cfs. Mancebo said he was asking the board to approve a project based on this alignment and distance based on 5 cfs, and if changes needed to be made later, they could be made. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.-
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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors voted 3-2 Thursday to approve the Gravity Supply Line project and its Mitigated Negative Declaration. The new leadership of the board, President Bill Condrashoff and Vice President Debbie Dunn voted against both decisions, and Dunn later was accused by Director Terence Moore of prolonging the decisions and throwing up obstacles through the nearly 6-hour meeting Thursday afternoon at Mace Meadow Country Club. Moore, District 5, and Directors Gary Thomas (District 2) and Don Cooper (District 3) voted yes on both actions, with approval of the environmental document first. Cooper made a motion on the second action to approve the Gravity Supply Line project, including a list of 8 preparation items, and another action, to “put the GSL out to bid as soon as possible.” The board discussed the estimated $13.4 million project’s cost to members of the Central Amador Water Project, and representatives of 3 member entities, with AWA, spoke in support of the GSL. Jeffrey Brown of Mace Meadow CSD said he sent 540 letters out to his membership and he “received zero negative comments” on the GSL. A representative of Rabb Park CSD said “we support this project in its entirety.” He said people know it will increase their costs, and they are “looking forward to a more reliable water source.” The Pine Grove CSD also spoke in support. Dunn and Condrashoff worried about a “preliminary engineering report” for the GSL, which listed the project as seeking 9.28 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water flow for the pipeline. That amount was submitted in an application to the USDA for a grant and a loan. The amount this year was changed to 5 cubic feet per second. Condrashoff said several times that he was confused about why the first plan at 9.28 cfs could cost $13.4 million, and a smaller pipeline with a flow of 5 cfs could cost just 12 dollars and 50 cents less than the bigger pipe. Condrashoff was also confused about what size of project they were seeking to approve. Director Moore said it was obvious to him that it was seeking a project for 5 cfs. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said he could not understand why the costs were so similar, and Interim Engineering Manager Erik Christeson said the preliminary estimate was made without a lot of data being known, but it was now known by USDA that the project is 5 cfs. Mancebo said he was asking the board to approve a project based on this alignment and distance based on 5 cfs, and if changes needed to be made later, they could be made. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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