Amador County – The Pine Grove Community Council discussed Amador County Transportation Commission membership Wednesday, and District 4 Amador Water Agency board member Debbie Dunn said they need to get on the agency’s agenda. Dunn said “regional traffic mitigation fees are getting kicked out to Ione” and “it could be the direct result of not having representation on ACTC.” Dunn said if one person on the Pine Grove Council in the last 6 years sat on ACTC, it would benefit Upcountry. She said Sutter Creek has 3 representatives on the board, with District 4 Supervisor Louis Boitano, Sutter Creek Councilman Pat Crosby and public member Dave Richards. Boitano, current ACTC Chairman, said Richards does not live in Sutter Creek. He also said he offered his ACTC chairman position to District 3 Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli, who declined. Novelli said he “would love to be on ACTC, but not as chairman, because I don’t have the knowledge of ACTC.” Novelli said he told ACTC Executive Director Charles Field he thought Upcountry, Camanche and western Amador County areas needed ACTC representation. John Carlson said ACTC’s Neil Peacock reported that $480,000 dollars for studying “Pine Grove Corridor” traffic were still in the hands of feds and CALTRANS, because paperwork had not been properly completed. Dunn said Peacock told the council paperwork was filed months ago. Byrne said all the money is “pork barrel earmarks,” from “out-of-county.” Boitano said Congressman Dan Lungren earmarked the funds for the Pine Grove Corridor, and “if you don’t take advantage of it, it will go to Alaska to build another bridge to nowhere.” Dunn said Field advised that membership discussion was tabled, and Dunn said “we need to get back on ACTC’s agenda to talk about the (Joint Power Authority), to get Upcountry representation.” Byrne said he wants “someone rabid” to talk to the ACTC board about membership, and they discussed attending ACTC’s next meeting, 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20th. Dunn said “2/3rds of the county” is not represented because they live in the Upcountry. Election office records show that 4,044 registered voters live in District 3, the fewest in any district. District 5 has the most voters with 4,517; District 2 is a close second with 4,408; District 4 has 4,236; and District 1 has 4,087. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.