News Archive (6192)
Sutter Creek – A special meeting has been called by Amador Water Agency Board President Terence Moore to again discuss the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort Water Supply Assessment, approved in January 2008 by the past AWA board. The agenda includes a closed session discussion with legal counsel regarding “significant exposure to litigation.” Another item on the agenda is the Amador Water System, including “discussion and direction regarding the Gold Rush Water Supply Assessment.” The agenda also includes a closed session for a “public employee performance evaluation” of the general manager position. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said the evaluation was requested to be placed on the agenda by 2 members of the board, though he was not sure which 2 because he was not at the July 9th meeting. He said his usual evaluation typically comes at the end of his contract period, at the end of July. Regarding the rest of the meeting, he said “staff is looking for board direction on the Water Supply Assessment (WSA) that was approved for Gold Rush.” He said he could not release any other information. The AWA board discussed the WSA in closed session for nearly 2 hours at its July 9th meeting, then emerged announcing only that it had given confidential staff direction. In the regular meeting, Director Bill Condrashoff presented an analysis he made of the assessment and said he found the needed water flow was 42 cubic feet per second to serve Gold Rush and the rest of the Amador Water System. Condrashoff said in comparison, AWA’s assessment found it would take 30 cubic feet per second of flow to serve the agency’s Tanner Treatment Plant customers, a flow shortage he said was 4,000 to 5,000 gallons a minute short. Staff engineers and Abercrombie said they addressed Condrashoff’s analysis in the approval process of the WSA, and in the July 9th meeting, Abercrombie said “staff believes Bill’s analysis of Wicklow and Gold Rush is incorrect.” Condrashoff and Director Debbie Dunn asked legal liability questions at the meeting, and AWA Attorney Steve Kronick said those are things he would like to discuss in closed session. Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said Condrashoff’s 42 cfs demand assumes incorrectly that residential usage is the same as commercial. He said in the summer, home use of water may be double, while at a restaurant, the opposite may be true. Condrashoff said most of the development is housing. Mancebo said AWA’s analysis took actual residential, commercial and industrial usage and amplified it to get its numbers. The special meeting is 1 p.m. Tuesday. 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 - Stakeholders and a familiar lineup of concerned citizens from Amador County and beyond gathered at the County Administration Center last Thursday for the 2009 Housing Element Program Implementation Workshop. The meeting was hosted by Amador County General Plan Consultant Jeff Goldman and focused on streamlining programs decided upon in prior workshops, the latest being six weeks ago. Goldman said the meeting “is part of an ongoing conversation” to assess “current unmet needs and projected future needs” related to housing guidelines outlined in the proposed General Plan. He said “we are seeking to streamline the number of programs in place without sacrificing any of the substantive goals we are trying to achieve.” The county currently has fifty programs in its Housing Element, all of which were summarized, organized into themes and distributed to attendees in a packet titled “Summary of Achievements Since 2005.” The themes included providing adequate sites for housing, removing governmental restraints, creating new affordable units, encouraging special needs housing, providing housing assistance, conservation of existing housing and improving a jobs-housing balance. County Planner Susan Grijalva said “one of the challenges the county has had in obtaining affordable housing is that we’ve never had a developer come in to build that housing.” She said deals with developers often provide much of the affordable housing in a given area. Upcountry resident Sherry Curtis said she would like to see “affordable housing closer to where people can easily get to services like social services.” Curtis also criticized planners for not having more specific and up-to-date information available, like maps of lower income housing in Amador County. Art Marinaccio, a consultant for Amador Citizens for Responsible Government, said “workforce housing is equally important to (social needs housing) in Amador County.” Rancher and Vintner Ken Deaver agreed, and said that “at some point the lack of farm labor housing will create a backlash against the people who hire these workers.” Mel Welsh asked about the possibility expanding the Calaveras-based Habitat for Humanity to Amador County. Goldman said that would be helpful, although the group currently provides a relatively small contribution to Calaveras County housing. Goldman said another big variable in determining future housing possibilities is $50 million made available to California counties through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for energy improvements. In closing, Grijalva said “the duty of a county or city is to serve its citizens, and it’s important to bring the citizens to the table during the planning process.” Input from this meeting will be utilized in future General Plan discussions. 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 –Sutter Creek City Council on Monday directed staff to work with Sutter Hill East Annexation property owners, to agree on fee amounts that will fund infrastructure. City Planner Bruce Baracco said they have to inform the Local Agency Formation Commission how infrastructure improvements would be funded. City Manager Rob Duke said he thought city staff and property owners in Sutter Hill East could come to an agreement, but it must satisfy LAFCO, and it was “hard to go against staff recommendations.” Baracco said: “We think we are being held to a higher standard here,” by LAFCO. In defense of LAFCO, Duke said the city “painted itself into a corner” by saying in its application for annexation that all infrastructure would be funded. Property owner Aaron Brusatori said new development cannot be charged for existing deficiencies. He has done traffic studies for his property and solved its problems, and now he was “being asked to solve those problems again,” by paying traffic fees. He said: “If the impacts are not being caused by development, they are being caused by existing conditions.” Councilman Pat Crosby said they should just “go ahead and run a sewer line to 2 developments that want it,” stop the full annexation and just annex “those 2 properties that want in.” Mayor Gary Wooten said that would be too easy, and the Brusatori's do not want to pay, but “will benefit.” The city also has a grant to straighten Old Sutter Hill Road, where collisions are prevalent. City Manager Rob Duke also said failing septic tanks on the hill are threatening public health by leaking into the creek. Duke said they are “probably 9 months away from going to LAFCO,” and if they “open it up again,” they will have to go back to Square 1. Baracco said they hope to get back to LAFCO by September and complete the annexation by November. 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 – Cynthia Turner of Detailed Travel in downtown Jackson has made a difference in a Pioneer family’s fight to rebound from a fire that took their home Saturday (July 11th). Wendy Frachon said Turner had 75 people looking for someone to repair the cooling fan on the family’s van on Tuesday, and by Wednesday, Turner reported that she had found the Frachon family a house to rent. Turner’s program, the Wish Exchange, uses modern technology to help families in need in Amador County. Turner said she “started the Wish Exchange Program last year for our County. It was just a way for me to help out some of the families in our area.” The way program works is that she has boxes around the area in different businesses. People with wishes can write down 3 wishes as well as their e-mail address. Turner said: “Once a month I send out a mass e-mail to all of the people who are participating in the program and some close friends and family. Then as a team we can work together and make someone’s wish come true.” She said they range from needing socks for school to “wood to keep warm or even someone wanting to ride a tractor.” On Wednesday, she met Mike Frachon, of Pioneer, who was filling out a Wish Exchange form. He and wife, Wendy and 2 boys, age 6 and 12, lost much of their belongings Saturday night, when their rental house on Silver Drive was lost in a fire. Turner said Wednesday she was “working most of the last few days trying to help them out.” So far she’s accomplished a lot. Lori Bullock of Castle Oak Homes made a money donation, and is looking into a rental property for them. Wal-Mart was waiting for an OK on a donation for school clothes. Susan Manning at the Feed Barn donated cat food and other items for the family’s 3 cats. Hahn’s automotive offered to repair the family’s car for free. Jackson Cleaners donated dry cleaning of their clothes, and a special treatment for smoke. Heaven and Earth Consignment donated work clothes for Mike and some toys for the kids. The biggest news is that Turner was able to find them a furnished house to rent. She said anyone with item to donate and help can drop it at her office, at 30 Main Street in Jackson. She said also, Mike lost his job Wednesday. She said he is a handyman and carpenter. E-mail Turner at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. A Frachon Family Fire Victim fund account is also open at Wells Fargo in Jackson. To donate, call Lisa Jabs at 223-0113. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Calaveras County - Another case of the H1N1, or “swine flu” virus has been reported in the Mother lode region. Calaveras County Public Health Officer Dr. Dean Kelaita confirmed Wednesday that a 16-year-old resident of Angel’s Camp “is recovering from the virus and did not require hospitalization.” This is the second case in Calaveras County. The new case was reported the day after Amador County Health Officer Dr. Robert Hartmann made a presentation before the Amador Board of Supervisors on county efforts to prepare for a possible second wave of the pandemic. On June 11, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide Pandemic Influenza Alert Level to Phase Six, the highest such designation for a flu outbreak. The US now has 37,000 documented cases and 211 documented deaths from H1N1. As of July 9th, there were 2, 469 cases, 287 hospitalizations and 32 deaths from the virus in California. No deaths from the virus have been reported in Amador or Calaveras counties. 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 Planning Commission decided Wednesday that it wanted to try to preserve oak trees and minimize grading in the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. In a 4-1 vote, Commissioners decided those issues were pertinent to their recommendation. Chairman Robin Peters asked lead consultant Anders Hague to “come up with a bulleted list of ways for us to implement those concepts.” That must be done in time for their next meeting, 6 p.m. Monday. Hague said it might mean that the commission has more than one meeting left, to get the issues handled and addressed properly. Commissioners took public comment on the Gold Rush Final Environmental Impact Report and took commissioner comments. Peters told the public not to “feel that if they are not prepared that this is the last opportunity to comment, because it is not.” The public may comment at later meetings. Peters said foremost for him was satisfying Goal Number 2.1 of the 1994 Sutter Creek General Plan. It was an issue in previous meetings they put aside to take up later. Goal 2.1 said the General Plan should “Allow the city to grow and prosper while protecting existing neighborhoods and the existing quality of life that is the essence of Sutter Creek. The existing quality of life includes the city’s rural small town atmosphere, its historic qualities and its current level of public services and facilities.” Peters said it was his intent to look at project’s General Plan consistency from the perspective of Goal 2.1. Hague said the Angels Camp housing development, Greenhorn Golf Course, was the model for Sutter Creek City Council and Planning Commission members in their vision of developing the city. Peters agreed, saying that Greenhorn had grading and tree removal done for roads only, and he wanted to apply that to Gold Rush as much as possible. Commissioner Frank Cunha said in the consistency analysis, “there’s at least a dozen policies that speak directly to Goal 2.1. And from the 1994 general plan to 2007 neighborhood meetings, everyone wants the same thing:” just like at Greenhorn, “we don’t want any mass grading.” Cunha said Greenhorn was built by a “handful of people who lived in Angels Camp.” It had “no grading or tree removal except for (building) pads, driveways or streets. I think this is what we’ve been moving toward for 2 years.” Commissioners Mike Kirkley and Robert Olsen agreed, while Corte Strandberg said he thought grading and tree removal were good concepts. 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 – City Engineer Roark Weber gave the Plymouth City Council preliminary numbers on some road work last week, then the council directed him to get more current numbers based on specific projects. That included grinding the full width of Main Street from Empire to Landrum streets, with an authorization to do a “full grind,” but only “grind as necessary.” Councilman Mike O’Meara said he “would trust Roark to use his professional judgment whether we need to use full width or partial.” Weber recommended directing him to do full-width, then adjust were possible to conserve funding. He said the grinded aggregate could be used as fill on projects elsewhere in the city and save the city money. The council also sought pricing for a “chip seal” project of Main Street east from Highway 49 to the city limit, just past Rory’s Towing. They also wanted numbers on an Emerson Street conduit pipe, which Weber would look at to see if one or 2 pipes would be necessary. He said new PVC pipes are steel-reinforced, and better products, and he would get an estimate on material for City Manager Dixon Flynn. Weber said the pipes are 3 feet in diameter, and it would be a “drop inlet,” part of the improvements done at the intersection of Empire Street and Highway 49. The council agreed revamping the city parking lot on Main was a priority. Councilwoman Pat Fordyce said to bring people to town, they need parking; and Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin said “depending on how the money flows,” he would like the parking lot fixed. Mayor Jon Colburn said a use permit at the end of Pacific Street needed to be looked at. He said “we need those people to participate because they are the ones that tear the road up.” The council also directed Flynn to seek bids on replacing the flag pole at Sharkey Begovich Park, estimated at $10,000 to $15,000 dollars. Flynn said there are flag pole companies all over the country, but there is also one company based in Amador County, in Pine Grove. Baldwin said they could save by doing the pole’s installation in-house. In public comment, Gary Colburn said Michelle Begovich is a “proud grandmother for the first time.” The baby boy is named Rowdy Sharkey Begovich. Colburn said he would like to see the flag pole restored, because it is an “historic part of the town.” 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 - Even though Indian gaming revenues declined in the Sacramento region in 2008, casino representatives are looking to the future with optimism. According to figures released Wednesday by the National Indian Gaming Commission, tribal gambling revenue nationwide hit $26.7 billion in 2008, but tough economic times have slowed the number of visitor’s to gaming facilities. Sacramento region operations saw revenues of $7.363 billion in 2008, down from a high of $7.8 billion in 2007. Jackson Rancheria CEO Rich Hoffman told TSPN that “the consumer confidence trend continues to become more optimistic.” Keeping abreast of the economic trends at the Rancheria is a good indicator as to how the county as a whole will fare. With approximately 1,700 employees, the Jackson Rancheria is the largest employer in Amador County. The casino is also one of the county’s largest contributors to charity, shelling out hundreds of thousands each year to programs throughout the community. One such program is a promotion of struggling downtown Jackson through print advertising in the Jackson Rancheria Casino Hotel & Conference Center’s monthly magazine, Arrow. Many county events are sponsored by the Rancheria, and many private businesses continue to thrive because of its support. Despite a struggling economy and the recent passing of Rancheria founder and pioneering leader Margaret Dalton, Hoffman says he is looking forward to a bright future. “We continue to appreciate the good will our guests have shown to us,” he said, adding: “We’ve faired better because of that.” 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 - Amador County's biggest union of employees, the Service Employees International Union, voted Tuesday to avoid a layoff with a shortening of the work week. “Our main union, SEIU, voted to have furloughs instead of layoffs,” said Terri Daly, Amador County Chief Administrative Officer. She said staff and employee representatives have tentatively agreed on a 4-day, 9-hour-a-day work week. 22 positions in varying departments of local government were considered for elimination. “This was definitely a pro decision for members to support one another and save those workers from losing their jobs, or possibly ending up on the streets,” said Mike Fouch, Worksite Organizer for SEIU Local 1021. He said “it’s a shame the county did not step up and this decision was forced onto the backs of our workers.” The decision came after a series of 3 SEIU membership meetings Tuesday between SEIU members and Amador County officials. Fouch said negotiations stem back to last year. At that time, the Board of Supervisors discussed a similar option but chose not to pursue it. This latest agreement is only the first step in a two-step process. In Phase 2, the parties involved will negotiate the specifics of language changes in the contract, and then it must be taken back to SEIU members for additional votes. Fouch said the county “wants this effective July 1st, and we have a lot of work to do between now and then.” SEIU represents approximately 56,000 employees in Northern California in city, state and school positions. SEIU Local 1021 represents 230 employees in Amador County. Story by Alex Lane, Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Amador County philanthropist and pioneering tribal leader, Margaret L. (Hughes) Dalton passed away Sunday night, leaving a world-class legacy to her family, tribe and community. Dalton, 68, was Chairwoman for 30 years of the Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwuk Indians. She spearheaded the formalization of its government, and was elected and served as its first and only chair, starting in 1979. Her legacy includes giving millions of dollars back to the community, after fulfilling a dream she and her late husband, Earl Dalton Senior, both held of making the tribe self-sufficient. Earl predeceased Margaret in 1980, a year after Margaret formalized the tribal government, to strengthen its stance among state and federal regulations. She built self-sufficiency in the tribe through the Jackson Bingo Hall, founded in 1991, which became the Jackson Rancheria Casino, Hotel & Conference Center. The Jackson Rancheria is Amador County’s largest employer, with as many as 2,000 people in its endeavors. Margaret Dalton and the Rancheria built a 2-mile road, Dalton Way, dedicated in October 2006. Under Margaret Dalton’s leadership, the Jackson Rancheria has given voluntary semi-annual payments of nearly $1 Million Dollars to the county, Sutter Creek and Jackson, through the Amador County Local Indian Gaming Benefit Committee. Dalton, a 53-year resident of Amador, since marrying Earl Senior in 1956, has sponsored numerous causes in the county. The Rancheria was the main sponsor of the California High School Challenge of Champions Rodeo and an Amador County Fair staple. It also has a health and dental complex, and built the Pine Acres apartments on Sutter Hill for its employees. The Amador County Chamber of Commerce named its “Margaret Dalton Humanitarian Award” after her, Chamber Director Jacqui Lucido said, “because (Margaret Dalton) typifies the type of person we want to honor, an unsung hero who works unselfishly for others.” A local business owner said Margaret Dalton had “always been very supportive of the county,” a generosity she “passed on to her sons,” Earl Junior, Dennis, Robert and Adam. Margaret Dalton’s support included charities, protecting the environment, and direct grants, with an emphasis on local community groups, schools, organizations, and projects that benefit children and seniors. Margaret Dalton’s endeavors included the Jackson Rancheria Youth Fund, annual employee/vendor golf tournaments for charity, and donations to charities based on amount of play by casino guests. The Rancheria’s businesses built by Margaret Dalton annually pay more than $50 million dollars in employment-related taxes and annually purchase more than $50 million dollars worth of goods and services. Story by Jim Reece
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