Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council heard both criticism and praise of its recently departed police chief and city manager last week, who later this week will be honored with a farewell banquet. The council also assigned a response committee to the extensive grand jury report that looked at 5 areas that received complaint. City resident Ed Arata at the meeting July 6th took credit for a written complaint to the Amador County Grand Jury that “ran to 4 pages and covered 8 areas of concern, plus 2 references to material that had been supplied to (Arata) by other citizens.” Arata said he wrote the complaint after he and his wife, Mimi gathered 350 signatures to petition the city council to not take out a loan to repay itself for money borrowed from the Sewer Fund. Arata said he made the complaint when he “saw no action” by City Manager Rob Duke “to make corrections to the city budget or to carry on meaningful dialog with the public.” Arata in a statement released only the introduction to his 4-page complaint, which ended saying that the city’s council in 1999 “decided to combine the position of city manager and chief of police into one staff person, and this decision does not seem to be working out very well.” Duke held those positions, along with the jobs of Director of the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority, and manager of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. All 4 were among areas investigated by the grand jury after complaints were received. The Grand Jury received complaints about the “spending of Sutter Creek Funds;” the “quality and effectiveness” of the sewer systems; and the city administration. It also received a complaint about “reasonable kennel sizes” in the field of animal control. The report included grand jurors saying that in attending city council meetings, they “observed some members of the city council managing by intimidation and being unresponsive to citizens’ concerns.” Arata in a statement last week said “this attitude has extended beyond the city council to ARSA meetings where Sutter Creek Mayor (Gary Wooten) acts as chairman of that agency.” Resident Andy Fahrenwald spoke in support of Duke, saying it was “a tragic loss” for the city, and a major loss of knowledge. Wooten agreed. Planning Commissioner Frank Cunha applauded the “post 2008” city council for its hard work, saying commissioners and citizens had been asking for and receiving change in the city. The response committee will prepare draft answers for the council to consider, possibly by the August 2 council meeting. 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 Sutter Creek City Council heard both criticism and praise of its recently departed police chief and city manager last week, who later this week will be honored with a farewell banquet. The council also assigned a response committee to the extensive grand jury report that looked at 5 areas that received complaint. City resident Ed Arata at the meeting July 6th took credit for a written complaint to the Amador County Grand Jury that “ran to 4 pages and covered 8 areas of concern, plus 2 references to material that had been supplied to (Arata) by other citizens.” Arata said he wrote the complaint after he and his wife, Mimi gathered 350 signatures to petition the city council to not take out a loan to repay itself for money borrowed from the Sewer Fund. Arata said he made the complaint when he “saw no action” by City Manager Rob Duke “to make corrections to the city budget or to carry on meaningful dialog with the public.” Arata in a statement released only the introduction to his 4-page complaint, which ended saying that the city’s council in 1999 “decided to combine the position of city manager and chief of police into one staff person, and this decision does not seem to be working out very well.” Duke held those positions, along with the jobs of Director of the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority, and manager of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. All 4 were among areas investigated by the grand jury after complaints were received. The Grand Jury received complaints about the “spending of Sutter Creek Funds;” the “quality and effectiveness” of the sewer systems; and the city administration. It also received a complaint about “reasonable kennel sizes” in the field of animal control. The report included grand jurors saying that in attending city council meetings, they “observed some members of the city council managing by intimidation and being unresponsive to citizens’ concerns.” Arata in a statement last week said “this attitude has extended beyond the city council to ARSA meetings where Sutter Creek Mayor (Gary Wooten) acts as chairman of that agency.” Resident Andy Fahrenwald spoke in support of Duke, saying it was “a tragic loss” for the city, and a major loss of knowledge. Wooten agreed. Planning Commissioner Frank Cunha applauded the “post 2008” city council for its hard work, saying commissioners and citizens had been asking for and receiving change in the city. The response committee will prepare draft answers for the council to consider, possibly by the August 2 council meeting. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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