Also heard at the Ione Special Meeting were updates on the City’s General Plan process, as well as the Fire Station Construction Project. The General Plan Update is being prepared by PMC Planning Services and should cost the city approximately 782-thousand dollars, with the bulk of the cost incurred in the 2009/20010 fiscal year. The project will take about a year and a half to complete. After hearing the update, the Council authorized the signage of the First Amendment to the agreement with PMC. Discussion then turned to the Fire Station Construction Project.

City Manager Kim Kerr presented two different requests for loan information that had been sent out to the Organization of California Communities and to the Bank of Amador. Three proposals were received from the OCC in response, each setting a loan at 655-thousand dollars with interest rates ranging from 5.1% - 6.09% and 10-25 years for repayment. A proposal received from the bank was preliminary and only stated the loan amount, which would be awarded at 560-thousand dollars.

After the presentation, Councilman Ulm voiced his opinion that he “does not support the city getting a loan,” and that “we are probably putting in the firehouse before it is necessary.” To this, Councilman Ard responded “that the protection of the public is the number one priority of the city,” and that “you can’t put a price on public safety.” The Council then approved a motion in a 3-2 vote to direct staff to wait for the terms on the bank loan, compare it side by side with the other 3 proposals, and come back with a recommendation on which is the best for the city. In addition, Kerr was authorized to sign a construction contract with D.G. Granade.  Councilmembers Ulm and Sherman dissented.