Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday waived about $450 in fees for two projects led by the Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwok Indians at Mollie Joyce Park in Pioneer, seeing the project as a good benefit to the community.
Amador County Recreation Agency Executive Director Tracey Towner said she was going to go ahead and find the funding in her budget to pay the fees for electrical lighting permits for stadium lights for the Little League Baseball field, and a building impact fee for a new maintenance shed at the site. Towner said the Jackson Rancheria suggested she should go to the Board of Supervisors to ask for a waiver.
Supervisor Ted Novelli said “considering what the Tribe is doing for us, we should honor their request,” but before they install the lights, they should make sure the lights go downward, so we don’t get a lot of calls about it. He asked that the lights be “aimed the right way because I know how people are with the light in the Upcountry.”
Towner said she knows people in the Upcountry enjoy their night sky, and she will make sure the lights don’t affect it.
Supervisors John Plasse asked if they were sure they could afford the upkeep on all of the improvements, once you get it, because the lights don’t burn for free. Towner imagined the electric bill will be about one-third of what it was, with the lights, and new, energy-efficient machines in the snack shack. She was told the new lights would have to run for 360 hours to match the bill for the lights currently used at Pioneer Park.
Supervisor Vice Chairman Richard Forster said Towner might pay a courtesy visit to Community Development Director Aaron Brusatori to “let him know this income won’t be coming in.” County Administrative Officer Chuck Iley said “that won’t be a problem.”
The proposed shed would be 12 by 20 feet, built of block with a 6-foot roll-up door and a 3-foot man door, no plumbing, and only electricity. ACRA requested fees be waived keeping with the spirit of the Park Restoration Project, a project that is fostering park development at no cost to the county. The drawings, engineering, building materials and labor are all being donated.
Fees waived were estimated to be $300 for the building fee and $150 for electrical permits.
Towner said Volcano Communications has loaned two pieces of equipment for work at the park, and she said donations and volunteer labor continue and are still encouraged on the project.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
