Amador County – The Plymouth Lodge Hill restoration project threatened to climb out of the state financial deep freeze at the end of last month. Plymouth City Councilwoman Pat Fordyce reported to the council last Thursday that Proposition 40 projects are once again being funded by the state, meaning the Lodge Hill project may soon go forward. Fordyce said Plymouth Building Official “Jeff Kelley has plans and specs.” Those may need minor changes. Fordyce said as soon as changes are made, “we can go out to bid.” Fordyce heard the news at an Amador County Recreation Agency board meeting. ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep reported the unfreezing, saying as of April 24th, “the grant funds seem to have thawed. However, State Parks is hedging their bets, and are requesting a further delay in the project.” Towner-Yep said “this is excellent news in that there should be some building activity in Amador County this summer.” Plymouth City Engineer Roark Weber sent a letter April 28th to State Senator Dave Cox asking about the stymied fund flow. He said the project was to be funded with $220,000 dollars from the “2002 Recreation Bond Act Per Capita Program,” and the “city could easily spend $300,000 to $400,000 dollars on the project.” Plymouth City Council has authorized staff to advertise for bids when the funds are there, and Weber said “the project stands ‘shelf-, shovel-, or hammer-ready’.” Melinda Steinert, of the state parks and recreation grants office, in an e-mail April 30th to Plymouth City Manager Dixon Flynn confirmed that the “state bond freeze … is over.” Steinert said the agency did “not know when the State Controller will be releasing funds, but the good news (was) that the state is now guaranteeing payment on all bond-funded projects.” Estimated release for Prop 40 funding is late May. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.