Amador County – Amador Fire Protection Authority board of directors heard from its chiefs last week that they are already crafting a consolidation plan for county fire departments.

The board heard individual reports of Proposition 172 funding usage, from most department representatives, and agreed accounting of Measure M and 172 funds would be best done by sending data to the AFPA secretary, Carla Farris, who could put reports on spread sheets. The reports will be made to answer a letter to Amador County Supervisor Chairman Louis Boitano, who sent a letter on behalf of Supervisors to Amador Fire Protection District Chief Jim McCart asking for accounting of fire funds. It also gave fire departments a year’s time to be able to present a plan, including a time schedule, for consolidation of fire departments in the county.

Sutter Creek Fire Protection District Chief Dominic Moreno said the six AFPA chiefs have been meeting for three months to discuss consolidation, and they were working on a plan, which is partly written by Ione Fire Chief Ken Mackey. Moreno said bringing in a consultant would give a cookie-cutter plan, and the chiefs think they should create the plan, so paperwork is not starting over again.

They wanted chiefs to work on the framework so they can bring it back to the AFPA board for approval, and send it on to Boitano and the Supervisors.

AFPA Chairwoman Connie Gonsalves said: “That sounds great.” Board Member, Supervisor Ted Novelli said that he and Dave Bellerive and another AFPD battalion chief attended a California Local Agency Formation Commission presentation on consolidation. He said 39 different times LAFCO has helped fire agencies consolidate up and down the state.”

Novelli said he was just throwing that out there, and the chiefs and board members agreed with the possibility. Moreno said it was probably too early to get LAFCO involved.

The meeting was led by Jose Enriquez of El Dorado County LAFCO, whom Novelli since has learned would be willing to help Amador County with fire consolidation when they called him.

The Chiefs agreed to work on the plan and time schedule, and bring back a written progress report for the AFPA’s next board meeting in July. The departments will also begin submitting Prop 172 and Measure M spending information.

Gamble said “in the spirit of consolidation, some things are already under way, like training.” He said boards and city councils need to ask their chiefs for updates.

Ione Mayor Ron Smylie said the county should help each other with major catastrophes. The county is too small to just handle them by themselves. He said it was commendable that consolidation was actually happening without it being ordered.

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors on Tuesday closed the submittal period of interest letters for the board’s District 3 vacancy with a list of five names to be considered.

AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said the period closed at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 17 for letters of interest to be accepted for consideration in the District 3 vacancy left by the resignation of Director Don Cooper. Letters of interest came from Liam Bailey, Robert Fowler, Rich Farrington, Joe Bonini and Mike Miller.

An ad hoc selection committee, made up of President Gary Thomas and Vice President Paul Molinelli will conduct interviews of the five men who submitted letters of interest. The Selection Committee will be expected to make a recommendation to the full board’s remaining four members at the regular meeting Thursday, April 26.

Mancebo said the AWA board has 60 days from the effective date of the resignation to make an appointment to fill the vacancy. It the appointment is not made within those 60 days, then the appointment task would fall to the discretion of the Amador County Board of Supervisors, who would have an additional 30 days to make an appointment. Mancebo said if a appointment was not made by Supervisors in the 30-day extension period, then the vacancy would go to an election.

Cooper resigned effective March 31, due to health concerns, with nine months left on his term. Letters of interest were sought beginning Monday, April 2, and the board established the ad hoc selection committee, and set the closing date for interest letters on April 17, and set April 26 as the tentative appointment date.

Mancebo said Registrar of Voters Sheldon Johnson was planning to attend Thursday’s meeting and if an appointment decision is reached by directors, Johnson will be there to lead the appointee in the oath of office.

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Amador County – A committee of the Amador Water Agency board of directors last week was to discuss a response to information that it considered not factual regarding the Camanche water district.

Gene Mancebo, general manager of the Water Agency said Thursday that the agency Community Outreach Committee would be discussing comments posted online by a member of the Lake Camanche Village Owners Association board of directors. Mancebo said the posting gives incorrect facts including information about the operation of Camanche Well Number 14.

Camanche Owners Association Treasurer and board member Vera Ferguson signed a posting of information which was posted on the Association’s website, in its March 2012 newsletter, under the heading of “Community Bulletin Board.” Ferguson referred to a “Ratepayers Coalition,” and also listed the website of Ken Berry’s “Ratepayer Protection Alliance” in her posting, which is titled “Attention Lake Camanche Water Ratepayers: Important New Information.”

Ferguson’s posting said “AWA had been pumping Well Number 14 at full capacity since July 29, 2011.” Mancebo said Thursday that the well has been pumping at full capacity only for the last two months, but before that had been pumping at 50 percent capacity.

Ferguson also commented in the letter about a $150,000 loan from the Amador County Board of Supervisors. Mancebo said Supervisors still offer the funds, dependent on a rate increase in the Camanche system. He said the Camanche posting does not talk about a $500,000 grant that AWA already has secured for repair of lines and other work in the Camanche system.

The Committee on last week was going to consider methods of response to the posting to get factual information to customers, Mancebo said. Part of the discussion would be about asking Lake Camanche Village Owners Association to allow AWA to post information on the Association’s website. He said mailings would just increase costs, but the Agency could also post information on its own website.

The Association’s Community Bulletin Board stated that “Articles contained herein now, and in the future, are for your information only and are not direct activities of the LCVOA Board of Directors. They are not necessarily sponsored or funded by the Association.”

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Amador County – A measure by Alyson Huber that would allow a public vote on whether to convene a State Constitutional Convention will be heard by a committee of the state Assembly Tuesday.

Assemblywoman Alyson Huber (D–El Dorado Hills) will present Assembly Concurrent Resolution 95 before the Assembly Judiciary Committee at 8a.m. Tuesday April 24 in room 4202 of the State Capitol. The hearings are also available via audio feed online, through the state Legislature’s website.

Huber said in a release Monday that Assembly Concurrent Resolution 95 is “a measure asking that voters be given an opportunity to vote in the next general election on whether the State should call a convention to examine revising California’s constitution.”

The California Constitution “is the second longest constitution in the United States,” Huber said, “and instead of being a fundamental document of governance the constitution today contains almost 75 percent statutory material” – with many of the statutes being “outdated and not reflecting California’s governmental and fiscal realities.”

Nationally, other states have convened more than 230, constitutional conventions, with 35 occurring since 1951, Huber said. In some states, including Alaska, Iowa and Michigan, voters are asked every 10 years whether a Constitutional Convention is needed. In Illinois, Maryland, New York and five other states, a vote is taken every 20 years on convening a Constitutional Convention.

If Assembly Concurrence Resolution 95 is passed by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, it must pass both the Assembly and Senate by a two-thirds majority vote to be eligible to appear on a statewide ballot, Huber said.

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