Minutes from Meeting – January 12, 2015
Our meeting was called to order by Chair Sherry Curtis at 6:03 p.m. Chair Curtis talked about some important issues with deadlines for public comment. Amador County is finalizing their EIR (Environmental Impact Report) for the draft General Plan update,which is currently in draft form, and public comments must be received by the end of January.
Chair Curtis asked all attendees to introduce themselves with name and where they live. We had 20 attendees this evening.
The meeting minutes for the previous month were discussed, one minor correction was made, and the minutes were approved.
Chair Curtis introduced our new representative for the Amador County Board of Supervisors, former Upcountry Community Council chair, Lynn Morgan.
Lynn Morgan
Supervisor Morgan spoke about how busy her world has become since being elected to the BOS of Amador County. Supervisor Morgan sincerely wants to remain accessible to the public which she serves and she can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Supervisor Morgan spoke about the jail situation here in Amador County. There was a huge grant offered in 2011, $23 Million. However we would need matching funds, and the jail would cost significantly more than the monies offered and matched, so the monies were denied and sent back.
Supervisor Morgan talked about the agenda for the BOS meeting in the morning. She then told us what committees she will be serving on: Community Development, Mental Health Board, Tribal Relations, Amador County Recreation, Council on Aging, plus more that the Recording Secretary was unable to catch. ((It sounds like Supervisor Morgan is going to be very, very busy.)) Supervisor Morgan has appointed Caryl Callsen to be our representative to the Amador County Planning Commission.
Supervisor Morgan talked about Kirkwood and some of the issues taking place currently. Some of the problems involve the Mokelumne River Watershed, and assessing water management. Some top projects are being evaluated and Proposition 1 monies have been ‘earmarked’ for water projects.
The Amador County EIR is over 2,000 pages and is available on line and in the local libraries. On Wednesday, January 21 at 65:30 p.m., Tom Imfusino will be available to answer questions on land use.
Supervisor Morgan talked about the possible reopening of the Upcountry Clinic in Pine Grove. It is scheduled to open on January 19th.
Supervisor Morgan is also available to ask questions and/or share what’s is going on upcountry at LynnMorgan.org and she will be happy to see anyone who cares to attend tomorrow morning at the BOS meeting.
Richard Farrington
Richard Farrington gave us a report from the Amador Water Agency. He talked about the differences between lower Amador County and upcountry.
The GSL is 95% completed, only held up by occasional weather issues. There are currently eleven projects going on, nine with grants.The Water Agency will replace the three inch lines on Buckhorn Road, however the project can’t start until the state gives approval.
The EPA and the State Health Department set the amount of contaminants allowed. AWA is doing some temporary treatments now, and there was a long discussion regarding what is being done.
Regarding the drought, the snow pack is dismally below average, however our reservoirs have a scant amount more water than last year at this time because of the December rains. Amador County will soon move up to Conservation Level 4. There was a discussion about water usage.
The Amador Canal from Lake Tabeau is leaking, and the Agency is seeking grants to $5.6 million as they are losing approximately half a Billion gallons a year.
Mr. Farrington held a long Q&A session regarding the working of AWA. Thank you to Mr. Farrington for all of the information he imparts to our Upcountry citizens.
Speaker Nina Machado
Our Guest Speaker this evening was Nina Machado, who is the Director for First 5.
This group was called Voices for Families when it was first started in 2006. There was a lot of information that was needed for grant writing and strategic planning, and any otganization that needed information had to do their own assessment. There was a bit of chaos, and they found that if the information was available community-wide, it would be so much more efficient. The county would better know where to spend their money and the best investments to make like Mental Health, Child services, domestic violence, senior citizens, senior center, etc.
Ms. Machado was appointed the leader of the group that was formed and other agencies helped to get information available from one source. There were many partners and the information will be revisited on an annual basis. The website is 1st5Amador.com
Some information involves statistics – for instance 42% of Amador County kids are proficient or higher with reading skills.
One priority for Amador County is getting prescription drugs off of the streets. Drug store take backs have been discontinued, so they are looking into pharmaceuticals taking back unused drugs.
There is quite a lot of information regarding the Inter Faith Food Bank, for instance 51,502 people in Amador County are served by this agency. Our current population is 36,204, including 2,870 incarcerated inmates. This makes the food bank statistic frightening.
Chair Curtis explained that co-chair Gary Anderson was absent this evening due to a back injury, so no report on the by laws was available.
Gary Reinoehl – Transportation
Mr. Reinoehl talked about the Highway 16 situation and how it was going to impact Amador County residents. They are planning on adding NINE additional traffic signals from Grant Line Road to Watt Avenue. Amador County was missing from the table when the planning was taking place, so input is needed now.
The Regional Transportation Plan as accepted some projects. The Pine Grove project will be moving forward with ‘around’ $20 million. The grant was originally for $40 million, but it will be reviewed every year. There are issues with sharing the road with cyclists, shoulder widening, and other important issues. There will be a meeting of the Transportation Board next Thursday morning involving an update to the EIR.
The Pine Grove/Hwy. 88 project from Climax Road to Ridge road was dropped, although Mt. Zion Road to Ridge Road will go forward. Other projects involve curbing and sidewalks, controlling left hand turns, and a parking lot at Highway 88 and Irishtown Road. Some proposed traffic lights are at Tabeau Road, Volcano Road and Irishtown Roads.
State Route 104 has been reviewed, and the concept report is available on the website. The Amador County Transit Commission will be hiring an intern, as the current director will be retiring.
Transit – Mark Bennett
Mr. Bennett spoke about Amador Rides. Volunteer drivers are needed, as they currently have 11, however three are on vacation, and some of the drivers will only drive within Amador County. A lot of need is for drivers available to drive to Sacramento. Mr. Bennett would like to have others consider joining the program because it’s the first step to solving some of the transportation problems upcountry.
The current school bus situation isn’t working well. When a child takes a bus home, he cannot join any after school programs, which is a problem.
Fire – Paul Keeton
Mr. Keeton gave a report regarding the current situation upcountry. There was a recent fire and a woman was airlifted to U.C. Davis with severe burns. Her house was totally engulfed, so they are looking for long-term solutions for this resident.
Next month the Red Cross will be having a “Hands Only CPR” class for our guest speaker portion of the program. Valentine’s Day is less than a week after our meeting, and February is Heart Month, so the presentation is perfect. Our meeting will be on February 9th and this is a very important skill to acquire, so we are hoping that as many people can attend to be included in this schooling.
Chair Curtis held a discussion regarding some of our upcountry road issues and the fact that there were no local property taxes available to pay for the repairs. The State of California wants us to raise our own property taxes to pay for repairs.
Chair Curtis intends to ask Mark Bonini back as a guest speaker. Attendees approved. Our meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Emma Darknell, Recording Secretary Upcountry Community Council
