News Archive (6192)
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency learned that two supervisors supported discussing the Gravity Supply Line project, and that the agency has about $1 million in cash.
General Manager Gene Mancebo told the board last week he had spoken to Amador County Supervisors John Plasse and Chairman Brian Oneto, who “want to see us proceed with the GSL” and support having the full Board of Supervisors consider a request to push back a due date for the agency to repay a county loan of Water Development Funds.
Mancebo said he met October 13th with Oneto, Plasse and county staff and discussed the possibility of pushing back the due date of the $900,000 loan. He said the agency wants to change the due date from December 31, to August 31 of 2011. He said they supported taking that question to the full board of supervisors for consideration.
Finance Manager Mike Lee said the agency has about $1 million in cash. He showed the board budget assumptions for the remainder of the fiscal year, with and without the GSL and its USDA grant and loan.
Lee said the county loan would be assumed to be deferred and renegotiated. The GSL in this fiscal year would take about $320,000 to get the project out to bid, buy easements and give a notice to proceed.
Lee said money coming from USDA for the Gravity Supply Line would allow the agency to pay back the county and reimburse all of its own sunk-costs.
Mancebo said they had already spent $1,145,000 on the GSL, and “all of that would come back in the way of reimbursement, above the $900,000.”
Director Don Cooper said it would take $70,000 to go out for bids. Another $250,000 would get them to the “finish line,” if they decide to proceed.
President Bill Condrashoff said the report seemed to say the agency would be “better off proceeding with the GSL than not proceeding with the GSL delay.”
Vice President Debbie Dunn liked “looking at it in both directions,” and likened it to deciding whether to “buy a new car.”
Cooper said a “delay means we are moving forward” on the GSL, and the agency has “a couple of really huge hurdles to bring it to the finish line,” including a rate change to finance the USDA loan. Director Terence Moore said they are “not assuming any rate increase through June.”
The board sent the budget report to the finance committee for further review.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – The Ione City Council on Tuesday agreed to look at delaying a rent increase for Castle Oaks Golf Course due to economic issues.
The council voted 4-1 to review the lease with Castle Oaks parent company Portlock International to see if the city can still audit the golf course. The owners asked that they pay rent for fiscal year 2009-2010 without an increase that was set to begin that year.
Castle Oaks Golf Pro Dominic Atlan said rent was to raise from 2 percent of annual revenue to 3 percent last year, the 16th year of a lease agreement. He asked that the company pay 2 percent for the 2009-2010 year due to economic stress.
The golf course net revenue was just over $2 million last fiscal year, meaning if it was allowed to pay 2 percent, the company would owe $44,000 in rent. The extra 1 percent would make them owe another $22,000.
The council voted to have staff re-evaluate the city’s ability to audit the company. Atlan said he would love to sit with the city, go over the lease and make it clear whether the city can audit the company. ¶ He said the origin of the city’s power to audit came from the need to see that Portlock could “afford to pay for the tertiary plant,” and the city had run an audit twice in 15 years.
Councilman Jim Ulm said the city should be able to justify reducing the fee with an audit.
Atlan said the company would be more than willing to allow an audit, “but there is a cost for us to bring all of our accountants and books here” from Utah. He said the city could pay for that.
City Manager Kim Kerr said staff would come back soon with information on whether an audit could be done, and set a 60-day time limit if an audit were done.
Atlan said the company has “not passed any of our costs to customers.” The council agreed to accept the check for $40,000 from Castle Oaks, while waiting to see if an audit could be undertaken.
Councilman Lee Ard dissented, saying it held Castle Oaks up to standards that other companies in the city did not have to meet. He said the city recently gave $35,000 to companies in the façade program, without the same criteria.
Ulm said he thought it set a bad precedent to allow a delay in rent increase.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – The Foothill Conservancy stated their disappointment Thursday over the Amador County Board of Supervisor’s decision to oppose designation of the Mokelumne River as a National Wild and Scenic River. ¶
The nonprofit group, along with many elected officials, 5,000 individuals and 100 local businesses, said the designation would protect the river from new dams and diversions and “restrain federal agencies and federal funding for dams.”
Supervisors voted 5-0 against the designation on Tuesday, citing concerns over the size of the area, eminent domain, and the Foothill Conservancy’s efforts to seek legislation in Washington, D.C. for the designation.
Supervisor John Plasse accused the Foothill Conservancy of “repeatedly advocating without the cooperation of the board of supervisors.”
The board did, however, agree to discuss legislative options with all stakeholders involved.
“We’re disappointed that the supervisors chose to oppose the designation, because it would really benefit the people and economy of the county,” said Foothill Conservancy Executive Director Chris Wright. “But we’re encouraged that they want to discuss legislative language with all of the river stakeholders.”
The Foothill Conservancy is spearheading the effort to oppose EBMUD’s 2040 plan, which includes an option to expand the Pardee Reservoir and flood portions of the Mokelumne River in order to provide more water to customers in the East Bay. They filed a joint lawsuit last November with California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and Friends of the River aimed at stopping the proposed expansion.
Wright says “the final say on any proposed Mokelumne dam will be made by appointed bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., not in Jackson by the county board of supervisors. We can change that with federal legislation that addresses everyone’s concerns.”
Landowners along the river are split on the issue and have expressed concern. Speaking Tuesday, Dennis Rodman of Roaring Camp said the designation bill “sounds really great unless you read the document, then it scares you,” and “gives away your rights.”
“We sponsored a workshop for landowners a couple of years ago, and we have always been willing and happy to work with them to protect the river in a way that also protects their interests,” said Wright. “It’s possible to write the legislation to do just that. Meeting to discuss legislative options will be a great step forward in our community’s effort to Save the Moke.”
Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CDCR offically announces planned Preston facility closure
Written by Tom
Sacramento - The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officially announced Thursday that it will close the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione in response to a declining population as more youth are remaining at the local county level.
The closure would affect roughly 400 staff, most of whom live locally. As many as 224 juvenile wards will be incorporated into remaining youth facilities throughout the state, which include the O.H. Close and N.A. Chaderjian youth correctional facilities in Stockton.
“These changes will allow the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to operate more effectively and efficiently as the state adapts to changes in our youth population,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. “We have made great strides in developing improved treatment and rehabilitation programs for juvenile offenders and it is important that DJJ operates as cost-effectively as possible to continue that progress.”
According to the CDCR, “The number of youthful offenders in the DJJ has declined over the last decade from a peak of nearly 10,000 to its current population of approximately 1,350.” The decrease is credited to recent state legislation that narrows the defined offenses for DJJ incarceration.
“This is part of the fundamental shift of keeping lower level offenders at home near local treatment services and it facilitates support from their families and the community at large,” said the CDCR in a release.
The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday expressed their opposition to the closure in the form of a letter to be sent to Cate and copied to several state legislators. They requested CDCR hold local community hearings to discuss the impacts the closure would have.
The board said “any decision to shut the doors at Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione will have a tremendous negative impact on the community of Ione and the County.” They said they are “dismayed at the lack of transparency” in determining the closure and insisted a more complete analysis be made.
They referenced the number of services provided for the youth of Preston, and the “many generations within families in our community who have made their profession in the field of corrections.”
Opened in 1894 as the Preston School of Industry, it has since become the state’s oldest operating facility for juvenile offenders.
Preston is one of four California youth facilities recently considered for closure. The DJJ has closed nine institutions and conservation camps in recent years. They did not say whether the Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp will be affected.
Staff members were officially informed on Thursday.
The closure will happen June 30, 2011.
Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CAL FIRE lifts burn hour restrictions in Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit
Written by Tom
Amador County - Effective 8:00 AM, Friday, October 22, 2010, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) announces burn hours will not be restricted on permissive burn days on private lands within the Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit. This includes the counties of Calaveras, Tuolumne, and those eastern portions of San Joaquin and Stanislaus that are within the State Responsibility Area. Lifting the burn hour restrictions also applies to lands within the Direct Protection Area (DPA) of the Stanislaus National Forest.
Burn permits are required. Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit Chief Mike Noonan adds “Conditions will continue to be monitored and restrictions or suspension will go back into place if conditions warrant. Open hours burning on permissive burn days allows home owners to burn debris created by working on 100 feet of defensible space.”
Even with the cooler weather and forecasted rain a fire can still escape. It is critical that the person conducting the burn keep close watch on the fire at all times. If the fire gets away, that person can be held liable for the damage and suppression costs.
It is the landowner’s responsibility to check with the local Air Pollution Control District for permissive days by calling the local APCD office.
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Supervisors discuss Wild & Scenic designation for Mokelumne River
Written by Tom
Amador County – Amador County Supervisors discussed the Wild & Scenic designation proposed for the Mokelumne River on Tuesday, hearing from both sides before deciding not to support the designation.
Executive Director Chris Wright said the Foothill Conservancy added a portion to the designation land area, to stretch it from just below the Salt Springs Reservoir to the upper pool of Pardee Lake. He said the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management also added to the footprint in their respective land plans.
Wright said it would not include lower tributaries or power plants, and would only affect public land, and “stop any new dams or diversions on that river.”
Supervisors John Plasse and Chairman Brian Oneto said the designation would put the land under National Park Service control, but Wright said it would not have that affect.
Supervisor Richard Forster said he has worked with the Conservancy on the designation, but issues such as that showed the need for third party involvement in discussions. He said he would like to get county consultant John Hofmann involved in future discussions.
Forster said right now, he did not support Wild & Scenic designation. Supervisor Louis Boitano said he has been on the Conservancy’s board, and said he would not support the designation until the Conservancy won the support of Elton Rodman and Roaring Camp mine. Boitano said that was still true.
Dennis Rodman said the designation bill “sounds really great unless you read the document, then it scares you,” and “gives away your rights.” He said a quarter-mile easement is taken in the designation. It allows landowners to “do what you do now, but if you change, you have to go get permission.”
Plasse agreed, saying all mining activities are subject to approval by the Secretary of the Interior, or the National Parks.
Rodman said: “It’s the beginning of the end for Roaring Camp. It may take a few years, but we’re done.”
He said “Dan Lungren called my father and said: ‘Elton, we thought you all liked this?’ So somebody out there is telling people we like this, and believe me, we don’t.”
Rodman said: “This feels like poison to me.” About six property owners along the river spoke against the designation, including Carol Cuneo and Mike Boitano, and a woman who would lose property under the East Bay Municipal Utility District 2040 Plan.
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Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors approved $42,000 in tourism spending for three local organizations on Tuesday, with the stipulation that the groups will have to come back to the board to report how funds are being spent.
The board approved a $25,000 request for funds by the Amador Council of Tourism, a request for $15,000 by the Amador County Chamber of Commerce, and a request for $2,200 by the Amador County Film Commission.
Supervisor Richard Forster moved that whatever was not funded in the budget be taken out of the contingency fund. The board discussed the original budget of about $50,000, which was reduced by former Chief Administrative Officer Terry Daly.
The supervisors passed the requests unanimously. Supervisor John Plasse noted that the funds were coming from the county Transient Occupancy Tax, with totaled $86,000 in the unincorporated areas of the county. He said cities in the county generated $600,000 in their TOT taxes.
Plasse said the county is putting 50 percent of its TOT funds into promoting tourism, and “maybe the cities should do that too?”
Forster said he wanted to see the money used in the best way possible for the “promotion of tourism and bringing people to the county.”
He said the $25,000 was budgeted by Daly, but he wanted to “keep the business of tourism rolling in Amador County,” because tourist dollars are spent on lodging and retail. He said they should use some of that tax money to fund ACT, the Chamber and the Film Commission.
Forster said if supervisors “wanted to split it five ways,” they could all put in some of their district discretionary funds. He said it “should pay dividends by bringing tax dollars back into the county.”
He also requested a “full accounting of the use of the funds.” Plasse said he thought the requests for funding in the future should come with a list of proposed uses of funds.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – The Ione City Council on Tuesday approved a letter of support for Preston Youth Correctional Facility as rumors came out this week that it could be among facilities consider for closing.
Preston Board Member Bob Conrad told the council “it’s just a rumor at this point.” City Manager Kim Kerr said the rumors say the facility is “on the chopping block to be closed,” and they expect to “have an official announcement” this week or next week.
Councilman Lee Ard said rumors say that layoffs are coming and Preston could “shut down towards the end of the fiscal year.” Conrad asked for support for Preston, which also gives to the community. He said it gave $18,000 to Howard Park and raised close to $50,000 just from its golf tournament.
One counselor said Preston has close to 400 employees now. Kerr said that is down from 530 employees last year.
Dominic Atlan of Castle Oaks expressed support, and Gary Thomas said Preston is probably 80 percent along in meeting new court mandates, which “might be an interesting point of view” in comparing it with other facilities.
Kerr said a support letter signed by Mayor Skip Schaufel will be sent to the governor and state candidates. Schaufel said Supervisors approved a letter Tuesday “requesting public hearings before it happens.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Supervisors apoprove oppossition letter to proposed Preston closure
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a draft letter detailing their opposition to a proposal by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to close the Preston Youth Correctional Facility.
Drafted by staff with the expectation that it will be signed by Board Chairman Brian Oneto, the letter “requests that all factors surrounding any closure of CDCR-DJJ facilities in Amador County be fully investigated before a decision is made.”
The closure would affect 400 staff and 218 juvenile wards. If it goes forward, it will take place June 30, 2011.
The board’s consideration of such opposition was added to the agenda even though no formal announcement has been made. Supervisor Richard Forster recused himself because he is also an employee of CDCR.
“Any decision to shut the doors at Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione will have a tremendous negative impact on the community of Ione and the County,” reads the letter. “Preston is considered a generational institution because it was constructed and opened in 1894. Because of this, many generations within families in our community have made their profession in the field of corrections.”
The letter says, “The CDCR should not ignore the fiscal savings in millions of dollars to the State of California and the department from the young men that go through this transition in their life, successfully parole, and do not return to the system.”
It says the closure will effect the “synergistic relationship” between Preston and the Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp, which has also been threatened with closure in recent years. It says “Preston has maintained a higher training and compliance rate than any other institution in the State.”
The letter also lists a number of services provided for the youth of Preston. These include Drug program services, Behavior Treatment programs and a Culinary Arts program.
In conclusion, it says,“The Amador County Board of Supervisors are dismayed at the lack of transparency from the CDCR and the method of doing business that does not make an ‘apples to apples’ comparison of facilities to allow a business decision that benefits all taxpayers in the State of California” and asks that a more complete analysis be made.
“This is something that concerns the Board of Supervisors greatly,” said Oneto on Tuesday. “If it closes down it will have a pretty big impact.”
A revised draft will be submitted shortly to CDCR Secretary Mathew Cate, including a request that CDCR hold local community hearings to discuss the impacts the closure would have.
Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Supervisors authorize plan alternative for Ridge Road project
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday one of four design alternatives for the Ridge Road Signal & Merge Lane project at New York Ranch Road, and directed staff to draft plans for the selected alternative in order to seek bids on the project.
The project provides for a widening of Ridge Road lanes in both directions including a left turn lane onto New York Ranch Road with a flashing beacon safety light system.
In 2006, the Public Works Department constructed the original phase of the improvements based on a design by Stantec. They were then directed by the board to consult with Stantec to create more than one design alternative in order to consider cost, construction and safety concerns.
Barbara Belvoir, Senior Project Engineer for the Public Works Department, said her department recommends “the Alternative 2 design with no vertical curve modification” - a safety feature she called “quite expensive.”
The vertical curve was previously agreed upon as the best option, but other alternatives were sought because of the additional expenditure required. According to a summary of preliminary estimates, construction of a vertical curve would add $562,194 to the estimated cost of $2,779,824.
The project’s budget is based on two $900,000 grants from Caltrans and a local share of $434,000.
Board Chairman Brian Oneto said they could speak with the Jackson Rancheria to see if it could provide additional funding.
Belvoir said her department is “looking for final authorization to move forward with the design.”
Supervisor Louis Boitano said his “big concern” was neighbors living in the surrounding area. He said area residents complained in the past and “I don’t want them to come in at the last minute and blow this plan out of the water.”
Supervisor Plasse said he had talked with people in that location, including Charlene Buckley, who spoke during public comment. Buckley, whose driveway exits onto Ridge Road, said she trusts in the county’s decision but is concerned about whether an extra merge lane will be added because “the only place (vehicles) can merge to stop hitting each other is us.”
A motion was approved 5-0 to select Alternative 2 and complete the steps necessary in order to put the project out to bid.
Story by Alex Lane. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
