Ongoing discussions over the Sutter Hill Transit Center Project continue in Sutter Creek. Minor revisions to the project outline have recently been made, and this week, the incorporation of new civil engineer Aaron Busatori and funding realities were looked at more closely to be ensure consistency with the original project plan. The Transit Center is a project proposed by the Amador Regional Transit System, or ARTS, in conjunction with the Amador County Transportation Commission. Included in the original project components are a transportation center building, a 1.2 acre plot of land to be dedicated to the city as a public park, and a 50-75 space park-n-ride lot with a solar electric shade structure. An agreement is currently being proposed between the center and the Amador Tourism Council to possibly staff the facility.

The center will be under continuous video surveillance, funded through Homeland Security. The original cost estimate for the project was approximately $2.5 million, but with the increasing costs for all things associated with construction, modifications were necessary. During the presentation of the project Charles Field of ACTC stated that the necessary funds needed for phase 1 of the project were not fully raised, so the city will be receiving a combined sum of approximately $1 million from Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, a federally funded program that allocates money for projects which specifically reduce air pollution. Because of the struggles with the various funding outlets “we had to be realistic with phase 1” stated Field. When asked the likelihood that phase 2 will ever be completed, he responded that “We are committed to it” and that ACTC and the City are “working like hell to get it built.”