News Archive (6192)
Amador County – The Plymouth City Council earlier this month released a federal loan house to escrow on staff recommendation, and the city likely will lose about $125,000 in future revolving home-buyer loan funds. In a staff report December 10th, City Finance Director Jeff Gardner said the home owned by Jaime and Laura Lozano “has gone into foreclosure and a short sale is pending with the bank.” The “city is in second position on the property” and the home “originally sold at $250,000 and now is valued at $140,000,” and is owned by the bank. Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin said “the sickest thing is, you can’t build a house for that price now.” Mayor Jon Colburn said a friend of “bought a house in River Pines for $39,000” and “that’s less than our impact fees” in the city of Plymouth. Gardner said the reduction in value effectively eliminated “the city’s share of equity in the property,” under the Housing and Urban Development funding program. HUD’s “settlement statement” included $3,000 “as a payoff to the city to sign off on the loan.” He said it could result in the loss of grant money for future revolving loans, with no “immediate” fiscal impact, but a “long term loss of $125,415 in revolving loan funds.” On Gardner’s recommended, the city council voted 5-0 to acknowledge the foreclosure and short sale and direct staff to send a letter of release to the escrow company. Lilly Greathouse, Realtor with Coldwell Banker Sutter Creek, in a November e-mail to Gardner said the release letter would allow Bank of America to pay the $3,000 sign-off funds to Plymouth. The Lozanos wrote a letter asking for a short sale on their home, at 18904 Wheeler Way in Plymouth. They said it was their first home and they were not able to make payments due to the cost of gasoline and health insurance, and Jaime Lozano’s mother is very ill and needs financial help. The council discussed city water and sewer fees in relation to the cost of building the Plymouth Pipeline. Gardner said consultant Bob Reed would have the new numbers and costs “dialed in” once they “have the final numbers” in construction costs. Baldwin said they will reevaluate rates then. Maria Nunez Simon said the already rising bills in the city have caused a decrease in the value of her home from $345,000 to $165,000. Baldwin disagreed, saying: “I just built by house for $375,000, at least, plus 2,000 hours of my labor,” and it has fallen to $250,000, “at least.” Baldwin said: “Our heart is here as well as yours.” Agreeing, Councilwoman Patricia Shackleton said: “We pay bills too.” Baldwin said: “We’re going to do the utmost to bring the rates down.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Battalion 20 Volunteers Distribute 70 Turkey Dinners to Area Families
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Amador County – Battalion 20 helped dozens of local families with Christmas dinner donations Friday at Plymouth City Hall Friday, helped by members of the Lodge Hill Committee and area businesses and politicians. Organizer and firefighter Brian Thornton, of Plymouth, and his wife Misty and daughters helped hand out turkeys to families, each coming with fixings, including fruit, vegetables and potatoes. Families were also treated to sandwiches, vegetable trays, deserts and refreshments. Amador High School students helped with food and refreshments, with Lodge Hill Committee members, including Barbara Nichols, Maria Nunez Simon, and Raymond Estey. Youngsters stood in line to sit on Santa’s lap, and each was given a gift-wrapped, age-appropriate present. Some opened their toys and played on the big tables filling the Plymouth City Council chambers, which was decorated for Christmas last week by City Clerk Gloria Stoddard and staff. Thornton said the turkey dinners and toys for children were given to invited members of the community, because they could not openly advertise the program, due to the limited number of meals they had. Local developers and politicians contributed, including Plymouth Rock LLC and local partner, Stephanie McNair of Cottage Noll. Simon told the Plymouth City Council earlier this month that Tony Zeider of Plymouth Rock was going to cover any turkey costs not covered by donations. She said Pastor Cruz Fragoza of Plymouth Pentecostal Church of God gave $100, and City Finance Director Jeff Gardner handed Simon some cash, saying that more would follow. Thornton said the Ione Band of Miwok Indians also donated, as did Bob Reeder of Reeder Sutherland, of the Zinfandel and Shenandoah Ridge development projects in and around Plymouth. District 5 Supervisor Brian Oneto contributed $200 from his district discretionary fund. Oneto attended Friday night and sat eating with a volunteer of Battalion 20, a branch of the Amador Fire Protection District, with stations in Fiddletown and Plymouth. Oneto said he arrived late because he was playing doctor for one of his cows, sick with pneumonia. As the stack of frozen turkeys near the back of City Hall grew lower, the uniformed volunteer firemen in attendance scrambled toward their trucks when a “tone out” – or call to duty – was sounded on the dispatch radio, leaving the Lodge Hill Committee to finish up the dinner. Firefighters and donors distributed about 70 full dinner packages. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
USDA Announces Road Closures in Eldorado National Forest
Written by Tom
Amador County – The USDA Forest Service announced Thursday that the seasonal closure of Eldorado National Forest dirt roads and trails to wheeled motorized vehicles will begin January 1, 2010. April 1 will be the earliest reopening date. “I will officially close the dirt routes on January 1,” said Eldorado National Forest Supervisor Ramiro Villalvazo. “These roads and trails are closed seasonally to protect water quality, reduce rutting and erosion, and to prevent damage to road drainage structures, such as water bars.”
Villalvazo said last spring the closed routes dried out enough to be reopened on April 16. The seasonally closed routes are identified on a free-of-charge “Motor Vehicle Use Map” available at all Eldorado National Forest offices. More than 600 miles of surfaced roads in the Eldorado National Forest are not affected by this closure. “Regardless of roads and trails being closed, route conditions vary across the Forest,” said Villalvazo. “Visitors need to keep in mind that they will be held responsible for resource damage caused by their vehicles.” The seasonal closure does not affect the roads and trails in the Rock Creek Recreational Trails Area near Georgetown. The Rock Creek Area has its own wet weather closure process that’s been in place since 1999. Information about Rock Creek Area closures is available on the Eldorado National Forest website: www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Wastewater Plan EIR Draws Ione Closer to Tertiary Plant
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Ione City Council finalized its Wastewater Master Plan last week with a public hearing, setting the path for a new tertiary sewage plant at the site of its current system. The council certified its Environmental Impact Report in a final step in the California Environmental Quality Act process, and set in place the “Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.” Consultant Bob Godwin of Lee & Ro told the city council that there were “very few changes” between the Draft EIR and the Final EIR. Changes included corrected terminology, and corrections in the project’s description. Godwin said the conclusion in the Draft EIR was that impacts can be mitigated, in measures defined for all potentially significant impacts. The conclusion also said the “project mitigation will have a less than significant effect on the environment.” It also found that the “proposed action is the best alternative” for meeting all of the project’s objectives. Godwin said the Final EIR responded to public comment about the master plan, and addressed hydrology and water quality, including groundwater, manganese and iron concentrations, and flooding. He said the Final EIR also eliminated an “option to partially line Ponds 5 and 6,” and would instead only partially fill those ponds. It also eliminated “chemical wastewater treatment” at the plant, in favor of Ultra-Violet light disinfection only. City Manager Kim Kerr said the UV treatment would be contained within a structure, instead of the current open pond system used at the plant. Plans will remove 4 ponds and add a percolation pond, and partially fill Ponds 5 and 6, to further separate them from the “actual Sutter Creek.” Godwin said filling the ponds was the recommend by the state Regional Water Quality Control Board. City Attorney Kristen Castanos said the “board can only require qualities,” it cannot tell the city what type of facility to build, and cannot order a pond filled, but only recommend actions. Councilman David Plank asked if the percolation pond was a short-term or long-term solution. Kerr said the pond is a percolation area, which evaporates effluent as a means of disposal, and it would be considered “long-term.” Godwin said the “purpose of the percolation ponds is to have a system the city can entirely operate.” With it, the “city will have an ability to have a fallback,” if avenues of disposal dry up. He said “most users of reclaimed water want it seasonally,” for summertime and watering time. Godwin said the plant seeks permitting for a treatment capacity of 1.6 million gallons a day, and it will have a disposal capacity of half that total, at 800,000 gallons a day. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – Amador County currently has the largest negative discrepeancy in home sale prices for November in the Sacramento region, according to recent statistics from MDA Dataquick. The statistical tracking company said there were 44 sales in November at a median price of $176,000, down 21.1 percent from the same time last year. The second closest figure came from El Dorado County, where the average price of $289,000 is 13.7 percent lower than a year earlier. Amador County is also fifth on the list as far as home prices. Sacramento was the only county in the eight-county region where median home prices have climbed, but that number is still 4.9 percent lower than one year ago. Altogether, 3,183 homes changed hands in November in Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties, said DataQuick. Builders closed on 341 escrows, accounting for 10.7 percent of closings in the region. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – Local residents who suffered from storm-related power outages during recent winter storms may be eligible for compensation from PG&E. The payments are part of PG&E’s Saftey Net program. Thousands of PG&E customers in the foothills area were left without power for extended periods of up to 72 hours last week while repairman scrambled to bring them back on line. According to PG&E’s website, residential customers without power due for at least 48 hours due to severe storm conditions may qualify for…the automatic payment of $25-$100, which is paid about 60 days following the storm outage. “While our crews and emergency response teams at PG&E do everything they can to keep the lights on, there are rare occasions when Mother Nature impacts our ability to keep power flowing to every one of our customers,” says PG&E. The site says “over 18,000 men and women are focused on providing our customers with responsive service at fair prices.” To be eligible for the payment, one must be a residential customer or enrolled in programs such as CARE and medical baseline, and the outage must have occurred during a major weather-related event that caused significant damage to PG&E's electric distribution system. PG&E said the payments will not be issued to customers in areas where access to PG&E's electric facilities was blocked by mudslides, road closures or other access issues. The “Storm Inconvenience Payments” are in $25 increments depending on how long your power outage lasted. The maximum payment is $100. Customers will multiple residential services are eligible for payments at each location. For more information, vist PG&E’s website or call the outtage hotline at 1-888-PGE-4PGE or 1-888-743-4743 to speak with a representative. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sierra Nevada Conservancy Shows Huber Around Biomass Plant
Written by Tom
Amador County – Members of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy last week toured the Buena Vista Biomass Power plant near Ione with Assemblywoman Alyson Huber. Sierra Nevada Conservancy Assistant Executive Director Joan Keegan and Area Representative Brandon Sanders took Huber Thursday morning through the plant, near Ione, which the conservancy said will help manage forests. They met with Buena Vista Biomass Power’s lead engineer, Jim Williams, and Fred Tornatore of TSS Consulting. Sanders said they would show Huber around the operations there, where Sierra Nevada Conservancy is working toward supplying fuels through its national forest management programs. Aide Jennifer Wonnacott said Huber toured the facility, and a few months ago wrote a letter of support for the facility to the Amador County Board of Supervisors. Huber in the letter said she was “thrilled at the prospect of the biomass plant and its ability to create good jobs in an area that needs them so badly.” The plant’s partners say it will create about 100 jobs in the “greater Amador County region.” Huber said the “project will provide a real economic benefit to the county, as well as support the state’s renewable energy goals.” The conservancy will supply slash piles from forest management trimmings, which will be incinerated for power generation while ridding the region’s forests of fire risk. Keegan said the project has a “really good synergy,” in removing forest fuels to generate power and also improve forest management. Sanders said Sierra Nevada Conservancy is “the only defined resource for this 25 million-acre area.” Publicist Christina Vanskike in a release said Sierra Nevada Conservancy “was created with the understanding that the environmental, economic and social well-being of the Sierra Nevada and its communities are closely linked and that the region would benefit from an organization providing strategic direction.” SNC’s goals include reducing “risk of natural disasters, such as wildfire,” and assisting the regional economy. Buena Vista Biomass Power plans to have commercial operation by the middle of 2010. The 18-megawatt plant would burn only woody, “renewable” biomass, such as forest, agriculture, and “clean construction” wastes. Its partners say it offers a “clean outlet for hazardous fuel removal form vulnerable forestry lands.” It would provide “renewable energy” for more than 16,000 homes and improve air quality by helping reduce open-air burning in both cities and forests. Sanders said Buena Vista Biomass Power has already secured an agreement to sell its electrical power. It has received permits from Amador County and is still working on permits with the Amador County Air Pollution Control District. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sutter Creek Certifies Gold Rush EIR, Directs Changes in DA, COA
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council certified the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort Environmental Impact Report Wednesday, then directed staff to make specific changes to its related “Development Agreement” and “Conditions of Approval.” About 150 people attended the meeting, including many local and county business and political leaders. Consultant Bob Delp ran through EIR workings and Mayor Pro Tem Tim Murphy asked City Attorney Dennis Crabb and city project planner Anders Hauge (How-Ghee) if they saw any problems with the Gold Rush EIR. Murphy asked if the EIR was inadequate under the California Environmental Quality Act, as it has been called by several people. Crabb said developers have 2 legal firms looking at the EIR, “and they seem to think it is adequate.” Crabb said the developer is responsible for defending the EIR in the event of litigation. Councilman Pat Crosby said the “developer finds the EIR defensible.” Hauge said “it would be appropriate to certify the EIR.” Members of the Gold Rush development team sat in the audience, including Bill Bunce, John Telischak and Sutter Creek resident Troy Claveran. The council certified the EIR on a 5-0 vote, then went through and later approved changes to the “Development Agreement” and “Conditions of Approval,” as recommended by the Development Agreement Committee. The committee included Murphy, Councilwoman Sandy Anderson and Planning Commissioner Frank Cunha. Recommendations aimed to lengthen or clarify some time frames in the Development Agreement, for points at which different required improvements and construction must be done by Gold Rush. Murphy said one such clarification was the tertiary wastewater treatment plant completion, required by the end of 36 months. He said City Manager Rob Duke told the committee that construction of a plant itself would take 36 months, meaning construction would have to be started right away after approval of the Gold Rush Specific Plan. That stipulation was changed so “the new plant must be completely constructed, permitted and fully operational, within 48 months of the approval of the specific plan.” The recommendations also call for the execution and full funding of a “design and construction contract” for the plant within 24 months of approval of the Specific Plan. The city council also must approve the contract. Breaking either agreement would cause developers to lose vesting in the agreement. Other recommendations included phasing changes, and also requiring normal sewer hookup fees. It would also require providing “alternate sites and/or methods of disposal, or infrastructure improvements necessary to accommodate the full 1,300 acre-feet of effluent,” as entitled in an existing agreement between Gold Rush and the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority. The council broke for the holidays and will next meet regarding Gold Rush January 4th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County - The Amador County Unified School District announced a program during their meeting Wednesday to address tolerance, anti-bias and diversity in light of recent accusations that the school allegedly failed to investigate hate crimes and the harassment of a Jewish student. Elizabeth Chapin-Pinotti, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for ACUSD, introduced a number of programs designed to address a host of issues, including violence prevention, tolerance, stereotyping, bullying, prejudices, sexual harassment and empowering leaders. Some of these programs are being reintroduced after working successfully in past years and earning students and the district distinguished awards. Chapin-Pinotti also outlined her qualifications to lead such programs. Beyond her work with the school district, she has authored a number of books for teens and children addressing tolerance, bullying, racism and genocide. All this comes in the wake of angry protests from parents and a damning speech at least month’s meeting by Barry Broad of the Jewish Community Relations Council on behalf of Justin Zysman, a Jewish student at Amador High School. In an interview on TSPN, Zysman said members of the faculty failed to properly investigate incidents of harassment in which the words “Burn Jew, burn” were etched into his locker and a swastika was carved in his desk. Justin’s family was in attendance. An attorney working for the Zysman family previously served the board with a lawsuit alleging wrongdoing. Justin’s mother, Molly, asked the board to “consider the employ of the teacher” who allegedly took no action when the swastika was discovered on Justin’s desk. She said a boy admitted to writing “Burn Jew, burn” on Justin’s locker and the police have been notified. Justin’s sister, Michaela, said “I don’t have fun with my brother anymore because of these problems.” Asked to speak by Superintendent Dick Glock, local Jewish community member Arnold Zeiderman said he “fully endorses” Chapin-Pinotti’s efforts and “has real confidence that the members of this board want to make this situation better.” He said that “in terms of tolerance, (Amador County) is not a perfect environment.” He agreed with Molly Zysman, saying the teacher who failed to act on Justin’s behalf “should be let go.” The members of the board made no comments in response to any of the public opinions expressed during the meeting. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
