Amador County – A $185,000-dollar slice of the federal pie prompted the Amador County Transportation Commission to draft a “modest thank-you letter” to Congressman Dan Lungren, who added the earmark to a recent federal spending bill. The ACTC board considered the letter, which Executive Director Charles Field said should also be directing thanks to the work of the Amador County Board of Supervisors and its staff. Field said actually getting the funds is still difficult, but project coordinator Neil Peacock and ACTC are already “beginning to work with stakeholders in Pine Grove.” Peacock has attended meeting of the Upcountry Community Council and the Pine Grove Community Council. The supplemental appropriation will ensure that the study work and public meetings will go through, Field said earlier this week. At Wednesday’s meeting, he told the ACTC board that “we are just waiting for the final red tape to get cleared.” Peacock also requested a late addition of the agenda: a resolution of support for a grant application that is due to be sent April 1st. The “Community-based Transportation Planning Grant Application” is being applied for by ACTC on behalf of the cities of Jackson and Ione, for work on Highways 49, 88, 104 and 124. Peacock said ACTC’s “Overal Work Program” list “anticipates submitting a grant request for $300,000, with a required local match of $75,000.” Peacock said the “project will use land use and traffic demand forecasts to analyze transportation improvements required to maintain acceptable levels of service based on the cities’ existing guidelines. Then, a prioritized funding strategy will be created to implement the identified improvements over a long-range planning horizon.” He said the “final product is expected to be a dynamic implementation program that can be used by the cities to plan, prioritize and fund transportation improvement projects that support the cities’ visions as outlined in their General Plans.” He said a ACTC has a “goal of fostering a consistent, county-wide approach” and “has previously undertaken a similar effort in Martell and is currently beginning a similar project in Plymouth.” The ACTC board approved the resolution unanimously. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.