The Ione City Council directed staff on Tuesday to look at a restroom project at the city horse arena and also at a environmental analysis of the 12-year-old Howard Park Master Plan. The latter direction had the intent of getting the project up to par with the California Environmental Quality Act. The council directed City Manager Kim Kerr to look at getting funding from the Amador County Recreation Agency for recreation and also seeing if those funds can be applied to the CEQA analysis of the Howard Park Master Plan, which was created in 1996. Kerr said that ACRA has 100,000 dollars in state proposition money for use in parks and recreation. She said the city at first wanted to use the funding to make upgrades and remodel the Evalynn Bishop Hall, but they saw that the costs in doing so were more than could be covered by the 100,000 dollars. Kerr instead urged the city council to direct her in looking at the costs of various projects at Howard Park, and finally to look at getting the ACRA funding for the total environmental study of the Howard Park Master Plan. She will talk with ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep to see if the funds can be used in that way. Kerr said it was the best approach “because a CEQA analysis would give us the whole park.” She said CEQA is “always the first piece…” and is the “whole basis of everything now.” The council discussed putting a permanent restroom facility at the horse arena in Howard Park. Kerr said the priority should be the bathrooms at the arena, which she said also needed storage. Mayor Andrea Bonham said the bathrooms were needed, noting that “the nicer we make the arena, the nicer it will be for us to rent it out.” Kerr requested and the council directed her to get costs and specifications then bring back the options for a council decision. She said Howard Park Issues such as parking, drainage and Manzanita trees would be among the issues analyzed in the CEQA study. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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The Ione City Council directed staff on Tuesday to look at a restroom project at the city horse arena and also at a environmental analysis of the 12-year-old Howard Park Master Plan. The latter direction had the intent of getting the project up to par with the California Environmental Quality Act. The council directed City Manager Kim Kerr to look at getting funding from the Amador County Recreation Agency for recreation and also seeing if those funds can be applied to the CEQA analysis of the Howard Park Master Plan, which was created in 1996. Kerr said that ACRA has 100,000 dollars in state proposition money for use in parks and recreation. She said the city at first wanted to use the funding to make upgrades and remodel the Evalynn Bishop Hall, but they saw that the costs in doing so were more than could be covered by the 100,000 dollars. Kerr instead urged the city council to direct her in looking at the costs of various projects at Howard Park, and finally to look at getting the ACRA funding for the total environmental study of the Howard Park Master Plan. She will talk with ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep to see if the funds can be used in that way. Kerr said it was the best approach “because a CEQA analysis would give us the whole park.” She said CEQA is “always the first piece…” and is the “whole basis of everything now.” The council discussed putting a permanent restroom facility at the horse arena in Howard Park. Kerr said the priority should be the bathrooms at the arena, which she said also needed storage. Mayor Andrea Bonham said the bathrooms were needed, noting that “the nicer we make the arena, the nicer it will be for us to rent it out.” Kerr requested and the council directed her to get costs and specifications then bring back the options for a council decision. She said Howard Park Issues such as parking, drainage and Manzanita trees would be among the issues analyzed in the CEQA study. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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