News Archive (6192)
Amador Property Committee may work with Jackson officials
Written by Tom
Amador County – Amador County Supervisors on Tuesday discussed property it owns in Jackson, including the old Courthouse at Court and Summit Streets.
Supervisor John Plasse said they should convene the Property Committee in conjunction with Jackson officials, because the Court Street properties are subject to Jackson municipal zoning and building codes. He said he believes it has potential commercial, value and the city may want to give input on some uses, such as housing, a brew pub or a bed & breakfast. He wanted to work with the city to see the benefit.
Jackson City Manager Mike Daly said the city’s Revitalization Committee has discussed the old Courthouse, and the infrastructure repairs that would be required to make it a usable space.
General Services Director John Hopkins said the County could engage an appraiser to look at the property. He supplied a photo of the original look of the Courthouse, before it was given the “art deco look” with plaster. Supervisors said he would prefer the old building, but the restoration process may be unfeasible in cost, or may not work, and may ruin the brick beneath.
Supervisor Brian Oneto said you are talking about a 15,000 square foot building, and that $5,000 a year spent on upkeep by the county is not really maintaining it. It’s deteriorating, and really maintaining it and making it functional could cost $75,000 or more. Hopkins said that cost was really unknown, but could include making it ADA compliant, and seismically sound.
Supervisor Richard Forster said some of the buildings the county owns on Court Street do not have a historic designation, so someone may purchase them and tear them down as the cheapest approach.
In public comment, Phillip Giurlani said if properties are not an asset and are a liability, the county should get rid of them.
Hopkins said the county Property Committee and officials in a working group have combed through a list of 129 county properties, and gleaned it down to 75. He said Supervisors need to decide whether they want to sell, develop, convey, lease or mothball some properties.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jackson OKs lake liner, looks to move Caminetti Monument
Written by Tom
Amador County – Jackson City Council on Monday approved a $109,000 contract to line the city’s water storage pond and also agreed in principal to move the Caminetti Monument to Vista Point, pending a check of the cost.
City Manager Mike Daly said the city water system storage pond is made up of four concrete panels that have shifted, and become leaky. The liner was seen as the most effective way to stop the leak. Two bids came in for the project. One for $90,000 did not meet specifications of the bid, including material and warranty.
The other, for $109,000, did meet specs for quality of material, and Daly recommended the latter, saying the city cannot approve a contract that does not meet bid specifications.
The Council also voted to approve in concept the moving of the Caminetti monument, a 15-foot tall, four-and-a-half foot wide granite obelisk that has been in the same location, at the intersection of Highway 49/88 and Sutter Street, since its dedication in 1938. Daly said it was once part of the Detert Property that was given to the city, but since that time, the property has been divided from the monument with the building of Highway 49/88.
Councilman Keith Sweet brought the idea to move it to Vista Point, for which he and Rene Chapman wrote a successful grant to restore Vista Point and improve its facilities. Councilwoman Marilyn Lewis said it was a really great idea.
Sweet said he only brought the idea forward, as it came from two or three comments posted on Facebook, where people suggested moving the obelisk up there to Vista Point. He said he researched old newspapers from 1938 to see if there was a description of how they physically constructed the concrete pad on which the Caminetti monument sits, but found none.
Councilman Wayne Garibaldi said there has been various designs to realign Sutter Street and he assumed the moving of the Caminetti monument would eventually happen with that project. Garibaldi thought they ought to find out how much it’s going to cost to move, and if it will be $15,000, they may want to wait until Sutter Street’s realignment occurs, and fund it at the same time.
One man spoke in public comment, saying moving the Caminetti monument was a good idea. He also the Garbarini monument, below the Civic Center next to Jackson Creek, also deserved a better location. He said Garbarini was the city’s first mayor, dedicated 30-40 years of his lifetime to the city, and was a former stamp mill superintendent, and in 1897 was in charge of keeping 60 stamp mills running 24 hours a day, year-round, with Christmas and Easter excepted.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Supervisors discuss the old Courthouse, and county properties in Jackson
Written by Tom
Amador County – Amador County Supervisors discussed county-owned property in Jackson Tuesday, including land and buildings on Court Street between Summit and McDowell streets, and parking lots behind them.
Supervisor Brian Oneto said: “How many buildings does the county need?” He thought the old Courthouse would be torn down or privately sold.
“Access is critical in doing development, always,” Oneto said. Once sold, it would get a little narrow street there. “That’s really the one concern I have with piecemeal-ing the property off.”
County Administrative Officer Chuck Iley said “the issue is maintenance, and with times getting tough, we will be coming to you and asking you to divest. It costs a lot of money to be holding property that one day we intend to sell.”
Iley said: “I think we all know the old Courthouse will not be used again.” General Services Director John Hopkins said it costs $5,000 a year to maintain. Oneto said that keeps it nowhere near operational, and the building is deteriorating.
Supervisor Ted Novelli said: “I think we need a forecast of all our properties, to see which ones we want to get rid of.” He said there were other, Upcountry properties the county owns that are in worse blight than these.
Supervisor Richard Forster said a historical consultant gave lots of advice on the properties, which would cost a lot of money to do, and may not appear to be feasible. In public comment Phillip Giurlani, said the county should try to get organizations involved in remodeling the buildings, so they wouldn’t have the regulations to follow to get the work done.
Gary Reinoehl, speaking as an individual said different ideas for the old Courthouse included some proposals in the $2 million dollar range, including housing, a main County Library, or clearing the site and leasing it. Demolishing it would cost the county, and “it would remove another of our historic buildings.”
Reinoehl commended the county on remodels of Volcano Armory and Pine Grove Town Hall, and urged another. He said: “It disappoints me when I see our history in ashes.”
Forster said: “How many employees is $2 million?” He did not want to see the old Courthouse torn down, but would rather keep employees than fix a building. He said he would like to see it restored to its original state, but didn’t think it was feasible.
Oneto said he loves history, but their job is to maintain services, not to “spend millions of dollars to restore a building that we really don’t have a use for.”
Thornton Consolo said the old Courthouse is an asset for tourism “that should never go away.” He asked Supervisors to hold a public workshop and make sure local groups are aware because “I think there are community organizations willing to get involved.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jackson Police investigation found fraud complaints unfounded against Ione’s former Mayor
Written by Tom
Amador County – Ione City Council last week heard that claims of impropriety were unfounded against former mayor and current Councilman David Plank in his request for reimbursement for travel expenses for a trip to San Francisco.
Ione residents are expected to go to the polls today to cast their votes on whether or not to recall Plank, and decide on two replacement candidates.
The recall was spearheaded by members of the group “Voice In Ione,” James Nevin and former Councilman Dan Sinclair, who were signatories on a Notice of Intent to Circulate a petition for recall Plank.
Sinclair and Nevin were critical of Plank and sent letters of complaint about Plank’s request for reimbursement for a trip he took to San Francisco for a convention while Mayor, and while representing the city. Mayor Ron Smylie at a recent meeting reported that he discussed the investigation by Jackson Police Department, whose detective said only that the case was continuing.
Last week, Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson delivered summary statement letters to the complainants about JPD’s findings.
City Manager Jeff Butzlaff in a memo to the Ione City Council said the report on the JPD investigation was received Feb. 15 by Johnson. He said: “Legal counsel advises that the investigatory file is not a public record” per Government Code, “which shields such files from public disclosure.” Butzlaff said Chief Johnson “therefore prepared in letter form to Dan Sinclair and Jim Nevin” a “summary statement as to the outcome of the investigation by the Jackson Police Department.”
Copies of the letters sent to Sinclair and Nevin were given to the City Council with its Feb. 21 agenda. The letters, in part, noted that the JPD “has completed the investigation of (then) Mayor Dave Plank. The allegations set forth in your complaint of ‘deliberately inaccurate, inflated and contain fraudulent document expenses not incurred’ have been determined unfounded. The facts revealed in the investigation do not support any criminal negligence, malice fraudulent intent, or misuse of public funds on behalf of Mayor David Plank.”
Johnson in the letters wrote that: “The investigation revealed that Mayor Plank underestimated his travel expenses and was entitled to additional reimbursements as per General Service Administration/IRS Reimbursement rates.” Johnson said “no criminal charges will be pursued,” and “the case has been closed. Thank you for your concerns into the fiscal integrity of the City of Ione.”
Polls close in the recall election at 8 p.m. today. Ione has 2,071 registered voters who will be eligible to vote. One polling place, Evalynn Bishop Hall, will be used in the special election, and results will be hand-counted by the Amador County Elections Department.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Former District 7 Assemblyman Norman S. Waters passes away
Written by Tom
Amador County – Former Assemblyman Norman S. Waters of Plymouth passed away this weekend.
Amador County Supervisor Richard Forster broke the news on TSPN TV News at noon Monday, Feb. 27. Forster said: “We heard this weekend that Norm Waters, our former Assemblyman passed away and really want to give our condolences,” not only “from myself, my family, but the whole Board of Supervisors, and the County of Amador. He was a good man and did a lot for our community.”
Waters was born July 1, 1925, in Plymouth. He married Dona Louis Geis, and together had five children: Mike, Fred, Bill, John and Tim. Waters served in the Army during World War II and had the nickname “Last Rancher,” according to Capitol Weekly.
Waters was a member of the Amador County Board of Supervisors in 1992, and was also a member of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s governing board. Norman S. Waters Park in Plymouth has a brother park by the same name in Elk Grove.
The California Journal in 1985 used Waters as a measure for the success of a legislator, saying that “Waters got his colleagues to approve 68 bills out of 110 introduced, for a batting average of 61.8 percent.”
In contrast, retired Senator H.L. Richardson, in 2006, writing for Gun Owners of California, wrote that the National Rifle Association campaigned against Waters in 1990. Richardson wrote that “in 1990, Assemblyman Norm Waters voted for the Connolly waiting period for long guns and private sales. Our campaign committee organized an independent effort that led to his defeat … the only defeat to be suffered by one of (then House Speaker) Willie Brown’s incumbents – ever.”
In a Feb. 24, 2012, letter to the Union Democrat entitled “Praise for Norm Waters, Bruce Cassasa of Dayton, Wyoming, wrote to the editor that “Norm told me, last week, he’s suffering from kidney failure and is on dialysis. At age 86, I am sure a ‘thank you’ from former constituents would do wonders to cheer him up.”
Waters, a Democrat, was first elected to the California Assembly in District 7 in 1975 and served for seven terms and 14 years, falling in his bid for re-election by a slim margin in 1990. Waters was Chairman of the Assembly Agricultural Committee, and his District 7 included Amador County, as well as Alpine, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mono and Tuolumne Counties, and portions of San Joaquin and Sacramento Counties.
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ACES, Buena Vista Biomasds Power clean up illegal dump
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador County Environmental Health Department on Monday announced that ACES Waste Service and Buena Vista Biomass Power recently cleaned up 40 yards of illegally dumped waste along Coal Mine Road in District 2 of Amador County.
Mike Israel, Director of Environmental Health for Amador County said Buena Vista Biomass and ACES performed clean-up of roadside dumping on a large scale, with the “donation of resources and services from management and employees” and the work “resulted in the cleanup of roadside trash along Coal Mine Road in the Buena Vista area.”
Israel said the cleanup took place between Feb. 21 and 22 and about “40 cubic yards of household trash, appliances, furniture and 14 waste tires were removed from the area. The project was also supported by the Amador County Departments of Transportation and Public Works and Environmental Health.”
He said Amador County Environmental Health Department “would like to extend its appreciation to David Ianni of ACES and Doug Tomison and Troy Owens” of Buena Vista Biomass Power “for their support and work performing this important community service project.”
Amador County’s Solid Waste Ordinance prohibits roadside dumping and provides for fines of up to $500 per violation, Israel said. Citizens in the county are encouraged to take trash to the Pine Grove Solid Waste Transfer Station at 19801 Berry Street in Pine Grove or the Western Amador Recycling Facility at 6500 Buena Vista Road in Ione.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Bunco For Breast Cancer STARS benefit raffle will give away a barrel of Sobon Estates Zinfandel
Written by Tom
Amador County – Bunco for Breast Cancer is sponsoring a Raffle for a Barrel of Amador Zinfandel produced by Sobon Estates, with the raffle proceeds to benefit Amador Support, Transportation And Resource Services.
Presenting sponsors are Sobon Estates, Amador Winemakers Association, Randy Carlins, Sandy Gulch Signs and Mike and Barbara Donatelli. First prize is valued at $5,300. It includes 20 cases of wine to be bottled from a custom-carved, personalized barrel. The winner will enjoy a leisurely barbecue for 12 people, and a lesson in bottling, and take home both the wine and the barrel.
Second prize is valued at $780, and is two cases of wine plus a leisurely barbecue for 12 people, and a lesson in bottling. Raffle tickets are $100 each, and buyers may split the cost and the prize with up to six friends or couples.
Entrants must be 21 years of age to purchase tickets. Identification is required to receive the prize. The winners are to be announced on April 27 at the Amador Bunco for Breast Cancer event. People need not be present to win.
Amador Support, Transportation And Resource Services, STARS, provides a variety of services to Amador County community members battling cancer, including its transportation program that consists of five vans and dozens of volunteer drivers.
Amador STARS is a not-for-profit organization, created in 2004 with the mission of raising “local funds for local cancer needs.” The volunteer board of directors includes Gretchen Carlson, Nina Machado, Nancy Swensen, Phyllis Swensen, Carol Woolsey, Lisa Heimeyer and Ginger Rolf, director.
Amador STARS was formed to meet the growing need for cancer services and support in Amador County.
For the Sobon Amador Zinfandel custom barrel raffle, only the purchaser’s name will be carved on barrel. Organizers will mail the purchaser a receipt for their ticket or ticket purchases. Order forms are to be sent to the STARS office. For information call STARS at (209) 223-1246.
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Stockton Ports to hold National Anthem singers’ audition February 29
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Stockton Ports Minor League Baseball team and Lincoln Center of Stockton will be teaming up on Wednesday, Feb. 29 to host the 2012 Ports national anthem auditions.
The auditions will take place outside of Campbell’s in the Village restaurant, at 345 Lincoln Center, under the overhang from 3-6 p.m.http://en61.tribalwars.net/game.php?village=41037&screen=overview Ports Community Relations Manager Margaret Sacchet said “singers should come prepared to sing the national anthem without music in front of an audience.” If singers are chosen to sing the anthem at a 2012 Stockton Ports game, they will be contacted and assigned to a certain date or dates during the season.
Sacchet said: “Every year we host an audition and always find some really good talent. We try to do something different each year and teaming up with Lincoln Center this year was a perfect fit.”
There will be no pre-registration. For additional information, go to StocktonPorts.com. Opening day is Thursday, April 12, and the Jackson Rancheria Casino, Hotel and Conference Center is once again a “Champion Partner” of the Stockton Ports.
The Stockton Ports professional baseball club plays at Banner Island Ballpark, at 404 Fremont Street in Stockton. It is a Class A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, and plays in the California League.
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Former local arrested for theft and failing to register as a sex offender
Written by Tom
Amador County – A former Amador County resident was arrested recently for theft from Sunset View Cemetery and failing to register as a sex offender.
The Amador County Sheriff’s Department released details Thursday saying Jimmy Ray Goodall, 59, of Linden (formerly of Amador County) was arrested for committing malicious acts of theft at a cemetery, possession of stolen property, and failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
On February 6, the Amador Sheriff’s Department received a report that an unknown subject was stealing miscellaneous mementos and flowers from grave sites and from the mausoleum at Sunset View Cemetery.
Goodall “had previously been contacted by an employee when observed ‘hanging around’ the cemetery,” and “was told not to return to the cemetery.” The employee noted his vehicle license plate. The Sheriff’s Department also received surveillance photographs of the subject taken at the cemetery.
With the information, Sheriff's “Detectives identified the subject as a registered sex offender” living in San Joaquin County. “Detectives responded to the subject’s residence at which time they located items of stolen property in plain view.”
When contacting residents living near Goodall “Detectives found stolen property that had been given to neighbors as gifts.” Goodall was contacted and arrested by Amador County Sheriff’s Detectives at his mother’s residence in Valley Springs. Goodall is currently in custody in the Amador County Jail with bail set at $40,000.
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Jackson Council discusses a County Jail development fee
Written by Tom
Amador County – Jackson City Council last week agreed it is the right thing to do to charge the Amador County jail impact fee, but wondered how other cities would react.
Councilman Keith Sweet preferred “developing a system of checks and balances” and having a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU). He said growth rates and land use change, and “there should be some record of who does what and who collects what.”
The fee recommended in the updated Amador County nexus study is $1,886 for a single family home and $1,282 for a multi-family unit. It also recommends per square footage fees of 36 cents for commercial buildings, 45 cents for office buildings, and 18 cents for industrial buildings. Supervisors also approved a Consumer Price Index increase for the program.
Councilman Wayne Garibaldi asked about county fees for a property owner before they build. City Manager Mike Daly said Jackson fees are $19,588 for a single family home, plus a wholesale water connection fee to Amador Water Agency of $7,820. The jail fee would put the total at $29,292.
Sweet said if Jackson was the only participant, he would not like to be the only city in the county to charge the fees. Vice Mayor Connie Gonsalves said Jackson supplies water to the Wicklow Way area, but who handles sewer. City Attorney Andrew Morris said it is in AWA’s Community Service Area 4 for sewer.
Morris said the County may choose to waive the fees and the city could too. Daly said “it’s still discretionary on the part of the city and it could be repealed as well.”
Councilwoman Marilyn Lewis said: “I like the idea of an MOU” and “I don’t want to be the only one out there and have no other cities participate.”
Garibaldi said Jackson faces critical water and wastewater issues, and “we’re going to have to spend a lot of money” to address those. He said Ione is in the same situation, and Sutter Creek may be too. He also wondered about having nearly $30,000 in total fees and how that is “going to compare to Elk Grove or El Dorado County.”
Garbaldi said he would like to “put out an olive branch to the County.” He said Jackson wants to do the right thing and hopes other cities will have the same attitude that it’s the right thing to do. Mayor Pat Crew said: “I agree that we should all participate,” but it is not fair if Jackson’s fees are going to go to $30,000.
The council tabled the issue, asking Daly to get more information and ascertain the interest in the cities. Garibaldi said: “We are interested. The interest is there.”
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