Amador County – Developer Marc Bowman addressed the Upcountry Community Council Thursday. His Aqueduct housing development is in design mode only, as Amador County has a building moratorium. Once the moratorium is lifted, he can file his application. Aqueduct would have 85 homes, and “keep local traffic local” by offering “high quality commercial and retail space,” such as medical, dental, pharmacy and assisted care, with grocers, retail shops and restaurants. Bowman said he wants to work with ACTC and Caltrans on its Highway 88 project and he would encourage seeking the potential $40 million dollars in funding for it. He didn’t think a 5-lane expansion through Pine Grove would be the solution. Bowman thought it would be better to identify organizations that have traffic issues and move them, such as Pine Grove Elementary School. He said former School Superintendent Mike Carey approached him about his development, east of Highway 88 at Tabeaud Road. “Traffic congestion and safety was their Number 1 issue” at the school, Bowman said. Number 2 was lack of space for 7th and 8th graders at the school. Junior high students are now bused daily from Upcountry to Jackson Junior High. The school district looked at a 15-acrea area in Aqueduct – a big, flat meadow – and they liked it: “It appeared at the time that they were going to buy it because they were pursuing us.” Now he pursues the school district to donate the land for a school “because he feels that it is the appropriate thing to do.” The school would be about 100 yards from Highway 88, Bowman said, and it could help to lift the congestion during school drop-offs and pick-ups. He said if they relocated the school to successfully reduce and redirect traffic flow, the state and ACTC might make it a “model program.” For funding, Bowman said “if we don’t get close to 100 percent to build that facility, that school will basically stay where it is.” He said “once we donate the land, we will still have our school impact fees to pay as a developer.” He said he found out last year the school district’s problem on getting a new school for Pine Grove Elementary was the lack of funding. Story by Jim Reece
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Amador County – Developer Marc Bowman addressed the Upcountry Community Council Thursday. His Aqueduct housing development is in design mode only, as Amador County has a building moratorium. Once the moratorium is lifted, he can file his application. Aqueduct would have 85 homes, and “keep local traffic local” by offering “high quality commercial and retail space,” such as medical, dental, pharmacy and assisted care, with grocers, retail shops and restaurants. Bowman said he wants to work with ACTC and Caltrans on its Highway 88 project and he would encourage seeking the potential $40 million dollars in funding for it. He didn’t think a 5-lane expansion through Pine Grove would be the solution. Bowman thought it would be better to identify organizations that have traffic issues and move them, such as Pine Grove Elementary School. He said former School Superintendent Mike Carey approached him about his development, east of Highway 88 at Tabeaud Road. “Traffic congestion and safety was their Number 1 issue” at the school, Bowman said. Number 2 was lack of space for 7th and 8th graders at the school. Junior high students are now bused daily from Upcountry to Jackson Junior High. The school district looked at a 15-acrea area in Aqueduct – a big, flat meadow – and they liked it: “It appeared at the time that they were going to buy it because they were pursuing us.” Now he pursues the school district to donate the land for a school “because he feels that it is the appropriate thing to do.” The school would be about 100 yards from Highway 88, Bowman said, and it could help to lift the congestion during school drop-offs and pick-ups. He said if they relocated the school to successfully reduce and redirect traffic flow, the state and ACTC might make it a “model program.” For funding, Bowman said “if we don’t get close to 100 percent to build that facility, that school will basically stay where it is.” He said “once we donate the land, we will still have our school impact fees to pay as a developer.” He said he found out last year the school district’s problem on getting a new school for Pine Grove Elementary was the lack of funding. Story by Jim Reece
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