News Archive (6192)
Buena Vista – The former Cogen wax plant has drawn a power company to Amador County, seeking to reactivate as a cleaner-burning, all-biodegradable power source. The Amador Air District board of directors will host a public meeting August 25th about the plant’s proposed reopening. The meeting will allow all interested parties to comment on “reactivation of the power plant” at 4655 Coral Mine Road in Jackson Valley, near Ione. Oral and written comments may be submitted during the meeting, and written comments can be delivered to the Air District office no later than August 24th. A newspaper legal notice of the public said the “power plant will be reactivated under new ownership in 2010.” Buena Vista Biomass managing partner Mark Thompson said last week at a tour of the plant that they hope to reopen the plant by May or June of next year. The notice said the plant was initially approved for operation in the early 1980s, and it exclusively “burned only lignite, a primitive form of coal,” which was mined around the site. In 1998, a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report was approved for the plant owners, changing the fuel mixtures to 20 percent lignite, and 80 percent ag waste, urban wood waste, offset fuels, demolition material or “tire derived fuels.” The notice said “when the facility is reactivated, it will burn only the previously allowed woody biomass fuels,” and “all other fuels will be eliminated. Lignite and tire derived fuels will no longer be burned.” It said “emissions of air pollutants will be reduced by more than 50 percent by this action.” Thompson said at the open house last week that there would be a “97 percent particulate reduction.” He said they are not a coal plant, but strictly wood and biomass burning facility. The objective is to operate the combustion powered steam generators and market the resulting 18.3 megawatts. He said they would burn about 110,000 “bone-dry tons a year,” and 200,000 to 300,000 “green tons a year.” The latter has 30 to 40 percent moisture content. They will employ up to 60 people during the construction phase, and will employ 20 full-time people when they open, and will run 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Thompson said they should have an annual salary in excess of $2.3 million. The meeting is 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 25th at the supervisors’ chambers, 810 Court Street in Jackson. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Sutter Creek - The Sutter Creek Planning Commission met Thursday to continue their ongoing review of Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort Conditions of Approval, with hopes of having a final recommendation for the City Council next week. The schedule was supposed to include a presentation by Gold Rush representatives, but Consultant Anders Hague said it was postponed until last night’s meeting due to “changes in schedule.” Commissioner Robin Peters said they will still shoot “for a recommendation on (August 10) if the stars align.” Hague led the commission line-by-line through the latest changes in the Conditions of Approval, a process that began at 7 pm and didn’t conclude until 10:45 pm. Even then, the review of technical and grammatical changes within the document was incomplete and was scheduled to continue at Monday night’s meeting. Sutter Creek Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe sad that because of these delays, commissioners are now aiming for a new date of August 24th to develop a recommendation for city council. Monday’s meeting also was planned to include a development agreement presentation by Sutter Creek Attorney Dennis Crabb, a Transportation Mitigation presentation by Amador County Transportation Director Charles Field and a presentation by the Gold Rush applicants. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Ione – The Ione Planning Commission added a series of changes to its recommendation for the draft city General Plan Wednesday, including a land swap for the Q Ranch development. The swap of Q Ranch “policy area” property gives a parcel from Rancho Arroyo Seco to Q Ranch, in exchange for one there. The properties were on opposite sides of Irish Hill Road from the rest of their respective properties. City Planner Christopher Jordan is a report said the 2 parties, the Toma family and Rancho Arroyo Seco, “have agreed to the principles for the transfer of property. The swap is subject to approval of a Boundary Line Adjustment by Amador County and execution of exchange documents.” Jordan said staff reviewed the agreement and recommended the swap be included in the final General Plan. Jordan gave the commission an e-mail in which Ciro Toma said he met with Bill Bunce and Tom Swett of Rancho Arroyo Seco and said he “agreed in principal” to the swap. A map approved to be recommended with the draft General Plan listed the former Arroyo Seco property would have “Open Space” and “Low Density Residential” land use designations. The commission also accepted recommendations form Jordan and General Plan Project Manager Daniel Hamilton for replies to comments from Mintier Harnish Planning Consultants on behalf of Amador Ranch Associates. Replies included mostly notes that questions raised had been address in the General Plan. Staff did not agree with Mintier Harnish’s comments that a Conservation & Open Space Element “action” was “too rigid,” and suggested a change. Jordan and Hamilton also recommended making no changes addressing comments from the Foothill Conservancy’s Thomas Infusino. In the letter, Infusino said the Conservancy is “encouraged by some language and state goals” in Ione’s draft General Plan, but said the “overall growth of the Ione area seems extremely high,” and noted the current population, 3,500, including Mule Creek. He said “it is assumed 2030 the development capacity of the proposed General Plan would be … a population of 18,182.” He said the “mitigation recipe lacks some key ingredients.” Infusino said in “many cases there are no established quantified objectives to guide policy implementation.” He said: “When deferring mitigation to some time in the future, key necessary ingredients are the sorts of quantified standards to which the city and the development community can be held accountable in the future.” He also said it was urgent to get development standards in place, before the approval of other projects. The public hearing on the General Plan was continued to August 26th, when the city council will convene. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Amador County Historical Society officially opened its downtown office and Visitor Center Saturday, with an aim to make the history of Amador and the region more accessible. ACHS board member Jerry Chaix and 2 other volunteers were in the office Friday, at 1 Main Street, a street-level storefront that looks out onto the historic National Hotel, and is a few doors down from Wells Fargo Bank. They had a row of boxes from Amador County Archive founder Larry Cenotto, and illustrations of local and regional landmarks. Those include a drawing by Amador artist Larry Schuman, which Cenotto helped in designing through research, to depict the city of Jackson after the fire of 1862. Cenotto’s book, Logan’s Alley, Volume 2, describes the illustration and the few surviving buildings in downtown Jackson. Another remnant is a poster from the 1969 Gold Rush Rock Festival at Lake Amador. The concert featured Santana, Ike & Tina Turner, Taj Mahal and Bo Diddley, with a reported turnout of 50,000 people. The shelves include books on local history, and the computer includes a searchable PDF file indexing historical documents in the Archives. Chaix said “to me, this is the most important thing we have.” Chaix said people can search names and find document numbers, then make an appointment to visit the archives. Judy Jebian, volunteer office manager said the long-range goal of the Amador Historical Society is to get the archives online. Volunteer Marian Randolph said “everything was thrown in the basement of the museum (and) Larry’s the one who set up the archives.” It is now operated by volunteers, after the county government stopped funding it. Chaix said “this index is what makes it accessible, and the county stopped running it, so we’re going to start.” He said the society’s “major focus is getting the museum open and supporting the archives.” Jebian said they are trying to build up their membership now, so they can fundraise for the Museum. She said they “just got permission to access the building with consultants,” so they can assess what needs to be done. The historical society has more than 200 members, and a 15-member board, which recently was expanded to be a 25-member board. The visitor center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For information, call (209) 625-0658 or see amadorhistoricalsociety.com. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Amador County Waste Services last month announced rate increase possibilities for Franchise Areas 1, 2 and 3 in the unincorporated areas of Amador County, and set a public hearing for September 15th. ACES Waste Service Incorporated will look to raise its rates in the Upcountry, and Amador Disposal Service Waste Connections will seek in increase for its customers. The ACES rate increase request notices included its reasoning for the rate increases, along with protest procedures. Supervisors will accept written comments or protests of the rate increase until the close of the public hearing. Amador Waste Service Manager Jim McHargue said “if written protests against the proposed rate increases are received from a majority of owners affected, then the board of Supervisors shall not impose the rate increases.” Documents supporting the increase are on file at the office of the clerk of the supervisors. Rate increases would be between $2 and $2.70 a month for residential service customers in Area 3, depending on the size of their receptacles. For commercial service, the rate increases would range from $7.80 a month, up to $41.95 more per month, also depending on bin sizes, between 1 yard and 7 yards sizes. ACES made its adjustment using indices on labor, diesel fuel, vehicle replacement, vehicle maintenance and the Consumer Product Index. Written comments or protests should be addressed to Amador Supervisors, 810 Court Street, Jackson, CA 95642. Protests must be submitted in writing by the end of the public hearing. McHargue said a written protest must include “your original signature; identification of the parcel by parcel number or address; whether you are the owner of the parcel or the person receiving the service for which the fee is charged; and your statement that you protests the proposed rate increases.” McHargue said “written protests will not be accepted by e-mail or fax” and “oral protests will not be counted.” The public hearings are set for September 15th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Plymouth City Council last week directed its city manager to help a local group place a memorial bench at the Veterans’ Park in memory of the late Roy Faddis. The council also asked City Manager Dixon Flynn to work on a draft policy for future handling of such funding. Councilwoman Pat Fordyce asked for the discussion, knowing that funds for Faddis had been held by the city for more than a year after his death. Maria Nunez Simon, a member of the Lodge Hill Committee said she gave a check toward an unspecified memorial for Mr. Faddis, as did others in the community. The funds, totaling $150 dollars, then sat idle as Roy’s widow mourned. City Clerk Gloria Stoddard said Eleanor Faddis did not know what she wanted to do with the memorial funds. Simon said Mrs. Faddis now wants to place a bench at the Veterans’ Park off Highway 49, with a name plaque for Mr. Faddis. Flynn said the funds were given for the park, but donors did not specify what it would pay for. Finance Manager Jeff Gardner said the money accounts were so small that he did not notice them. Flynn said funding for the park totaled $800 dollars. He was directed to help Simon place the bench at the Veterans’ Park in Mr. Faddis’s name, then revise a policy for future funding. Gardner recommended setting a threshold, with a monetary amount over a certain number activating the need for city council attention. But funding amounts under that threshold could be handled at the city manager’s discretion. Stoddard said a recycled material usage grant could be used to fund the new benches, and a recycled material bench building company had been contacted. The amount in the grant the city qualifies for is $5,000 dollars, Stoddard said. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Jackson Cleaners in downtown Jackson is once again leading the way in green, environmentally friendly dry cleaning. Owners John and Tammy Trevaskis recently purchased a brand new, $55,000 Firbimatic dry cleaning machine made in Italy. The mammoth machine was installed Thursday next to the older, less efficient machine they had used for years. “It’s better for the environment, it’s economical, but the main reason we purchased the Firbimatic is because it’s user-friendly,” said John. The new machine includes a host of more efficient features including a new style of filtrator, faster running time, lower electricity use and a new chiller to help dry the garments. There is also a new feature where the Firbimatic can be used separately as two separate machines processing both whites and colors. John said it will provide up to 30 percent savings in energy costs per year. 60 to 70% of the laundry dropped off at Jackson Cleaners will get dry cleaned through the new and old machine. John said he is keeping the older machine to clean particular items like curtains. All this is the latest step in Jackson Cleaner’s tradition of thinking green. The company has always used environmentally friendly detergents, and the new machine was just the next step said John. Jackson Cleaners, home of the noon whistle, is located at 111 Main Street. Stop by or call 223-1002 for more information. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council heard from property owners of the Brusatori family Monday, who said the draft fees for a proposed annexation of their Sutter Hill properties would be too costly. The council discussed the Sutter Hill East Annexation’s “Proposed Area Of Benefit Calculation,” prepared by City Planner Bruce Baracco, then directed staff to work with the property owners to come to an agreement that would please the Amador County Local Agency Formation Commission, which would have final approval of the annexation. Aaron Brusatori said he thought they could come to an agreement that all property owners would agree to, then they would not need to come back to the council. The calculations came from the council’s “initial discussion with regard to a method to pay for infrastructure improvements within the annexation area.” Baracco used “an acreage fee which varies depending on the zoning district, with different fees for each type of service. For “streets and intersections,” Baracco’s draft “Area of Benefit Calculations” included Commercial 2 zoning paying $19,000 dollars per acre; Rural 3 paying just under $4,000 per acre; and Industrial 2 paying $954 per acre. Per-acre sanitary sewer would be $10,600 for R-3; $9,700 for C-2; and $6300 for I-2. Baracco’s model had a flat fee applying to all zones of $4,856 dollars per acre for Water line improvements within the annexation area, to be “established by the Amador Water Agency based on a hydraulic model” of the area’s system. A flat fee also was proposed for Storm Drainage, of $3,095 dollars per acre. The model included estimates $380,000 dollars each for street improvements and sewer improvements; $262,000 dollars for water line improvements; and $167,000 dollars for storm drainage. Ray Brusatori said “it seems unreasonable” that he, his father and his uncle between them would have to pay $48,000 dollars in water system fees. He said they all had an existing 6-inch water line running through their property. He said the “storm drain” fee was also unnecessary because of drainage improvements they made on their property. City Manager Rob Duke said Sutter Creek has no say over water fees, which were determined by the AWA. Baracco said the “existing 6-inch line on Old Ridge Road may not meet the needs of the water agency,” so they wanted people to know the possible cost to replace it with a new 6-inch line. Duke said they likely could get credit toward drainage fees for past property improvements, but he wasn’t sure if LAFCO would accept that. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Sutter Creek Planning Commission discussed the Gold Rush Ranch & Gold Resort draft “Conditions of Approval” Monday, which included suggestions by the commission chairman to require building a firehouse, buying a fire truck and developing 2/3rds of a 15-acre park. Chairman Robin Peters said he was not finished reading the conditions of approval, but Consultant Anders Hauge did have his comments thus far added in a “strikethrough” format, to show his and other suggested changes. His suggestions included requiring that Gold Rush signing a “School Facilities Mitigation Agreement and an Option and Agreement for Conveyance of Property” with Amador County Unified School District. His addition noted that “grading shall protect the existing skyline, oak trees, prominent hillsides, riparian corridors, and other topographically sensitive features and shall emulate the natural topography, which is the shape, height, and depth of the land surface.” Peters also added a requirement of building a firehouse before recording “the final large lot subdivision map.” The conditions included either providing or funding “acquisition of an adequate fire station site.” Peters added that it would include providing “a single-story 4,500 square foot facility with 2 bays, one fire truck, one Type 2 engine, dorm-room housing for 3 to 4 firefighters, a training room, a kitchen and a day room.” Gold Rush’s Greg Bardini said developers had already identified a 1-and-a-half-acres parcel to be specified as the location for the firehouse. Also, Peters added a requirement that Gold Rush developers – prior to recording the large lot final subdivision map – shall “make dedication of a community park containing or providing at least 15 acres of usable area in or adjacent to the Gold Rush Ranch Specific Plan.” It included Gold Rush paying a “fair shair” to construct and maintain 10 acres ( or 2/3rds ) of the park. Peters said the term “adjacent to” the planned area allowed Gold Rush to acquire a site outside of the development area for use as the 15-acre community park. Peters also suggested a stand-alone category for the golf course. The commission returns to the conditions of approval at its next meeting, along with the suggested mitigation measures. The documents are available at City Hall, and online at the city’s website. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County - The Native Sons of the Golden West, Excelsior Parlor #31 was “deeply saddened to announce” Thursday that the Annual Father's Day Free Fishing Derby at Lake Tabeaud has been cancelled. After over 30 years of providing free fishing, prizes and food to the youth and disabled veterans of Amador County, the Native Sons have been forced to cancel the derby this year due to the settlement of a lawsuit by The Center for Biological Diversity from Tucson, Ariz. against the California Department of Fish & Game temporarily banning trout plants in certain state lakes. “I'm very disappointed that after 30 years of serving the youth of our community, we've been forced to cancel the derby because of this frivolous lawsuit,” said Past President Chad Simmons. “It only hurts our children and the irony is that PG&E is allowed to stock Lake Tabeaud as part of the settlement, but we can't stock a few hundred pounds of trout for Amador County's children and disabled veterans.” After numerous calls to the California Department of Fish and Game and the County's legislators, neither relief nor assistance materialized leading to the cancellation of the Father's Day Fishing Derby. The Native Sons are urging those with questions or concerns to contact Senator Dave Cox at 223-9140, Assembly member Alyson Huber at 333-5330, or Stafford Lehr, DFG Senior Environmental Scientist at (916) 358-2900. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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