News Archive (6192)
Supervisors approve $25,000 budget for Amador Council of Tourism
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Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $25,000 budget for the Amador Council of Tourism Sept. 27.
Funds were taken from the tourism and promotions budget line item. Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said ACT has done a great job, told Executive Director Maureen Funk: “I like the job you do.”
Supervisors Richard Forster said ACT was allocated $25,000 last year, and “the return of investment is good.” Funk said ACT appreciates the opportunity to apply for these funds. She said they have a marketing committee and “take very seriously” the use of the funds. She said the Amador Council of Tourism multiplies its county funding by six-and-three-quarters per dollar.
Supervisor Ted Novelli said he even sees Funk working at the grocery store, and he asked her how much she works. Funk said: “I work what it takes to get the job done. To be fair, when it’s slow, I do take time for myself.” She said ACT is “committed to keep that visitor’s center open seven days a week.” The Council and volunteers staff the new visitors center in the ACTC building on Sutter Hill.
Forster asked about the voluntary fee program. Funk said they are getting participation in the program, and by 2012 it will “make a difference to our bottom line.” Some businesses say they cannot give a dollar per night, and say they will give a certain amount per quarter.
Plasse said cities get the lion’s share of Transient Occupancy Tax, and asked how successful she has been approaching cities about funding. Funk said Plymouth will allow ACT to apply for funds. Jackson is considering it, and Ione has been supportive and told them to apply.
ACT director Lisa Bolton said Supervisors have “complete accountability of your investment.” She said she works with other agencies and is also on the Calaveras Council of Tourism and the California Travel & Tourism Commission.
Supervisor Brian Oneto said he was at the Regional Council of Rural Counties conference in Lake Tahoe the previous week, and while there, saw brochures on Black Chasm in Pine Grove. He said: “I like to get our name out there.”
Tracey Berkner, ACT President said in Amador County, tourism is one of the top five economic drivers, and agri-tourism is one of the top drivers. She said as a business owner, you look at return of investment, and our “return of investment is higher than Wall street in some cases.”
Funk said ACT is partner on an app, which had 7,500 downloads, and about 25 percent of those look at Amador County.
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Buena Vista Me-Wuk gets notice to proceed with casino project
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Amador County – The Buena Vista Rancheria of Me’Wuk Indians last month received a notice to proceed with building its casino, following denial of appeals on its wastewater plant permit, which could mean a November groundbreaking for the facility.
Buena Vista Me-Wuk Chairwoman Rhonda Morningstar Pope said last week of the ruling: “As of this moment, I am extremely delighted that Justice has prevailed!” Pope said: “I would also like to state that I am encouraged and pleased by the recent dismissal of Friends of Amador County lawsuit. Hopefully, this will send a message to those who continue to oppose and question our Tribe’s legal status.”
The tribe in a release early in September said it had received a notice to proceed with the casino construction, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, saying the “EPA found that the Tribe has satisfied the conditions and its responsibilities” of a Memorandum of Agreement under the National Historic Preservation Act. The notice followed a Sept. 6 ruling by the EPA Appeals Board to deny appeals of a federal wastewater plant discharge permit issued to the tribe last year. The appeals were filed by Amador County, Glen Villa Junior, and Friends of Amador County.
Pope in the release on the tribe’s website said the “decision clearly demonstrates that the Tribe has continued to fulfill our obligations.” She said the “refusal to review the petitions reaffirms our right to move forward with this project on our tribal land.”
General tribal counsel Arnold Samuel said the appeals’ denial “is a great victory for the tribe in its continued effort at achieving its ultimate goal of tribal self-reliance and self-sufficiency.”
The EPA Appeals Board ruling noted that Amador County challenged the Region’s authority to issue the permit, saying the facility is mistakenly classified as Indian Country. The ruling found that the Region “properly issued the Permit because a class action settlement restored the original boundaries of the Buena Vista Rancheria and established that all land within the restored boundaries is declared ‘Indian country’.” The Region also cited a letter from the National Indian Gaming Commission declaring the Rancheria property “Indian lands.”
The ruling noted that Friends of Amador County’s comments on the discharge outfall area, receiving water and areas requiring erosion protection “were not raised during the public comment period,” so the group is precluded from raising the issues in an appeal.
The ruling said “Friends of Amador County has not established that these concerns were identified prior to the Region’s issuance of the Permit, and thus Friends of Amador County cannot demonstrate that the Board should review these issues.” The Region did respond to the comments, and the ruling noted that it would have clarified monitor locations but “would not have modified the permit terms.”
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Amador County – Amador County General Services Administration Director John Hopkins told Supervisors last week that he plans to recommend significant reductions in the county’s development fees.
Hopkins said capital facilities fees are collected on building fees for the county to pay the debt service for its new admin building, and also to pay administrative fees and 2 percent for the jail fund, the latter of which will need to be updated.
Since January, Hopkins said he has been working on redoing the nexus study, and in about a month, he will present it and will be requesting the board to consider reducing fees. He said if you begin to waive those fees, there will be no mechanism in place for keeping the jail fees, and “you will send the message that maybe we don’t ever intend to build a jail.”
Hopkins said the “fees are going to be recommended to be reduced significantly” with the new nexus study. Industrial fees would be far less than what is charged now, and he discouraged any waiving of fees now and they “do not want to go down that path of we’re going to waive fees.”
Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said he “respectfully disagrees with any waiver” and he recognized the need for storage sheds and the need for additional jail space. The Board was discussing a storage shed building fee credit for Volcano Telephone, for demolition of an old storage shed, but the item was listed on the agenda as seeking a waive of fees.
Hopkins said “the past nexus for the jail contemplated us building a new jail by 2010.” Now the county made a foreclosure purchase on the former Wicklow Way Subdivision project, and owns 200 acres in Martell for a potential new jail. Hopkins said “the new nexus puts us out to 2040.”
On fee recommendations, he said: “It’s the county’s fee. I’m just here to offer guidance.” He said the current commercial developer’s fee is $1.36 per square foot, and the new fee he would recommend is 35 cents per square foot. Fees for office space currently are $1.71 per square foot, and he would recommend a new fee of 44 cents. Industrial development fees are now 82 cents per square foot, and he will recommend dropping that to 18 cents.
Community Development Agency Director Aaron Brusatori cautioned against retroactive reduction of fees after they are paid, if the fees are lowered. He said what would prevent someone who paid the fee last month from trying to also get a discount.
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Sutter Amador Hospital training will aid in the fight against sepsis
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Amador County – Sutter Amador Hospital medical staff members were training in a mobile classroom this week, in an effort to battle the deadly septic shock in its patients.
The trainer Monday in the SimSuite mobile classroom and medical simulation unit was Dr. Wayne Moore, who offered training in the Sutter Health sepsis program and sepsis in general.
He gave doctors and nurses Central Line Insertion Training for Physicians. Documents from the Sutter Health program said “timely insertion of a central venous catheter (central line) is the fifth step (of seven) in the evidence-based care for patients in septic shock. The line allows physicians and nurses to continually monitor critically important resuscitation parameters such as fluid volume status and oxygen perfusion to vital tissues and organs.”
The SimSuite “Central Line Management Program” gives “critical training to help increase and reinforce the competence and confidence of physicians who administer central line insertion. It also provides physicians with guidance on catheter insertions and management best practices to help prevent and manage central line-associated bloodstream infections in hospitals.
Publicist Gary Zavoral said Sutter Health’s success in Sepsis Care came as Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region focused on “identifying, treating and reducing the mortality of sepsis patients for more than seven years.”
A Moore Foundation grant in early 2010 allowed SH Sacramento Region to dedicate additional resources to combat sepsis, Zavoral said. The Sacramento Region’s efforts are aimed at advancing patient care and reducing mortality, and focus on the use of evidence-based, best care practices to rapidly screen, identify and treat severe sepsis.
As a result, several process improvements have been implemented, including routine sepsis screening on medical and surgical units. Zavoral said it allows “lactate surveillance to identify patients earlier,” and “prompt, critical care to prevent organ failure and decrease mortality.” It also allows “mobilization of interdisciplinary resources through a ‘sepsis alert’ to provide critical, urgent care.”
The initial phase of the project was piloted in 2010 at Sutter Roseville Medical Center to create consistent and reliable processes. The new sepsis protocol has enabled clinical staff to identify more patients with sepsis and initiate treatment before they become critical. As a result, SRMC achieved its 2010 goal of a 10 percent reduction in severe sepsis mortality.
In early 2011, the regional project team began working with all affiliates in the region to standardize these processes across the region. The goal for 2011 is a 15 percent reduction in mortality for all hospitals in the region.
Sepsis affects all ages and groups, and it becomes “severe” when the body’s response to the infection becomes out of control or “over the top,” causing the organs in the body to shut down.
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Amador County – Amador County Board of Supervisors last week discussed a proposed federal land swap that targets 160 acres of a parcel primarily located in Amador County, near Kirkwood, and agreed to place the issue on a future agenda.
Supervisor Chairman John Plasse brought up the issue, saying the Mammoth Base Land Exchange was targeting the exchange of land in Amador County, and the U.S. Forest Service is supposed to coordinate with local government when doing such exchanges. He asked Supervisors, during a discussion of a scoping notice letter, whether they wanted to “issue a letter of response and a demand for coordination on this item.”
Supervisor Brian Oneto said they should absolutely put it on a regular agenda. Supervisor Ted Novelli, agreed, saying seven or eight counties were included in the proposed land swap. Supervisor Louis Boitano requested it be placed on a regular agenda.
Supervisor Richard Forster said he received a copy of a letter sent by Inyo County Supervisors, which Amador County can use as a template to work from. He also requested its placement on a regular agenda, along with a suggested letter to approve.
U.S. Forest Service listed the swap documents online, saying the Mammoth Base Land Exchange was proposed by Mammoth Main Lodge Redevelopment LLC, a company related to Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. The company proposed to exchange 20.6 acres of “National Forest System land managed by the Inyo National Forest in the town of Mammoth Lakes” for “approximately 1,729 acres of private land” located on parcels in Inyo, Mono, Amador, El Dorado, Stanislaus and Plumas Counties. The value is said to be offset by the large proposed acreage swap because the Mammoth Base contains restaurants and ski lodging for the resort.
A letter dated Sept. 29 from the USDA Forest Service, Inyo National Forest gave notice of the proposed land exchange, which had a public meeting Sept. 29, and has a public comment period which closes Oct. 31.
An overview document on the USFS website said “one of the non-federal parcels” for the Mammoth land swap proposal was “located inside the boundaries of the El Dorado National Forest at Martin Meadow near Kirkwood Ski Area” on Highway 88. It said the “parcel offers outstanding alpine recreational values and includes wet and dry meadows and frontage on a perennial stream.” The Martin Meadow Parcel is 160 acres, most of which is located in Amador County, with some of the parcel crossing Highway 88, and located in El Dorado County.
Lands listed in the potential swap included 920 acres in Tuolumne County, 478 acres in Mono County, 80 acres in Plumas County, and 22 in Inyo County. The lands are surrounded by Inyo, El Dorado, Stanislaus and Plumas National Forests.
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October snow at Kirkwood resort stoles hopes for another stellar season
Written by Tom
Amador County – Kirkwood Mountain Resort officials were stoked over 10 inches of snowfall Wednesday, with hopes that the resort could have another season of deep snow.
Kirkwood reporting more than 10 inches fell Tuesday night and was still falling Wednesday. It also had a 60 percent chance for more snow on Thursday.
Residents of Kirkwood woke up to a winter scene blanketing the mountain. Resort officials said the first snowfall was a result of the first significant weather system to hit the Tahoe area. Officials said the “early snow has created excitement fuelling speculation that Kirkwood is in for another big snow year. Last season the resort ended with a snowfall total of 780 inches and had enough snow to offer cat skiing in June and re-open Chair 6 for skiing and riding over the July 4th weekend.”
Michael Dalzell, Director of Sales & Marketing at Kirkwood Mountain Resort, said the early snow “has certainly stoked everyone out in anticipation of another big year.” He said “it’s too early to talk early opening dates at this point, but we have had years when Kirkwood has opened in late October with incredible deep powder conditions. This might be one of those years.”
Kirkwood’s official opening date is scheduled for Nov. 24, so if all goes to plan they will have skiing by Thanksgiving for the second season in a row. If weather and snow conditions permit, however, the resort could open even earlier.
Kirkwood season passes are now on sale and the resort has a new multi-resort Triple Threat College Pass for Kirkwood, Alpine Meadows and Homewood Mountain Resort. It is available to college students.
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Amador County – Drugs and violence led to four arrests in one day last week by the Ione Police Department.
Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson released details of a busy day last Thursday, Sept. 29. A call to report suspicious circumstances led to two drug arrests at about 11:30 p.m. Ione police responded to Welch Lane, where the reporting party advised “of a situation he had experienced with his tenants” who “were in the process of moving out.”
The “reporting party noted an unknown male on the property engaged in suspicious activity,” Johnson said. A verbal confrontation between the parties led to the police being called. “Upon contact with the reported suspicious male, later identified as 48-year-old Richard Thomas of Stockton, the officer observed objective signs of drug intoxication. Thomas was arrested for suspicion of being under the influence of drugs.”
During an interview with a female accompanying Thomas, “the officer developed other drug related information. The officer recovered suspected cocaine during the search of her vehicle.” Johnson said Alexandria Morrison, 20, was arrested for possession of drugs. Both were booked into Amador County Jail.
IPD also recovered methamphetamine during a traffic stop at about 2:45 a.m. last Thursday. IPD stopped a vehicle on Main Street for a minor traffic infraction, and “the contact led to a search of the vehicle, revealing suspected methamphetamine determined to be in the possession and control of the driver,” Johnson said. Tammi Sorum, 48, of Stockton was arrested for felony transportation and possession of controlled substances. Sorum was booked into County Jail.
Ione police also arrested a man after a reported barroom assault, battery and theft around 5:30 p.m. last Thursday.
Johnson said Ione police rushed to the scene of a “physical fight in progress” at the Ione Hotel bar on West Main. “Officers discovered the victim of the altercation still inside the bar.” Employees said the suspect “fled out the back door just moments prior to the officers’ arrival.”
The victim had been reportedly punched and choked during the unprovoked assault but denied medical attention, Johnson said. “Witnesses said the suspect had become enraged, and attacked the other man for no apparent reason. The suspect also reached behind the bar and grabbed bottles of alcohol before fleeing.”
IPD officers “pursued leads and reports provided by local citizens of the man running through various residence backyards and hiding in and about neighborhood locations.”
Within the hour officers located and arrested Sergio Hernandez, 20, of Ione. Hernandez was booked into County Jail on charges of battery, probation violations, and theft.
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Amador County – The Plymouth City Council in September dropped the “Interim” from City Manager Jeff Garnder’s title recently, offering him the permanent position.
Gardner accepted and will remain the city finance director, until they get the money to pay someone else to do it, he said. He held both positions since taking over for former City Manager Dixon Flynn last December.
Gardner said the next big projects, Zinfandel and Shenandoah Ridge residential developments, six years in the making, may be two years away from starting.
The Plymouth City Council last week closed a workshop after finalizing issues on the developments including potential easements on properties, offsetting pipeline debt with the development agreement, and answering council members’ concerns. The council set an Oct. 13 public hearing on the Reeder projects.
The engineering on streets as it relates to the rural setting, versus curb and gutter on standard city streets was to be discussed. He said Reeder Sutherland partners Bob Reeder and Stefan Horstschraer and their partners did not want to use curbs and gutters because of his marketing preference. Gardner said people want to move up here for the rural setting. It creates natural swales and keeps water to reuse.
Gardner said the projects “will be engineered properly,” as there seem to be issues cropping up in other developments Reeder Sutherland has done around Amador County. He said “we have road standards in our city design guidelines on the conditions of approval.”
At the workshop last week, it was decided to have a combination of curb & gutter areas, and those with the non-guttered and non-curbed rural areas. Planning Clerk Suzon Hatley said it was discussed to have it be determined by the city engineer, depending on terrain and drainage by area. Off-street parking also would be expanded, depending on a case-by-case basis.
Gardner said the city is still waiting on a state waste discharge permit for its new wastewater treatment plant, and he hopes to get on the Regional Water Quality Control Board calendar for its next meeting in January. He said Reeder Sutherland’s project is not going to start for at least a couple years. He said they still need master plans, water lines, sewer lines and a lot of infrastructure done. He said that would probably be done by the developer through private financing by a group of investors they put together.
He said Community Facilities Districts for public safety and for maintenance, landscaping and lighting will be created in the two new developments, which will be annexed into city limits.
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Amador County – Jackson City Council last week discussed pending Prop 172 Public Safety funding changes that could affect the city fire brigades.
The Council discussed an Amador Fire Protection District board of directors meeting, which City Manager Mike Daly attended, during which the Amador County Board of Supervisors, who make up the AFPD board, voted 3-2 to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that the Amador Plan continue to be funded and that Pine Grove Mount Zion Station be funded fully by Prop 172 funds, during the off season.
The Amador Plan is a contract with California Department of Fire Protection to keep open and staff a station during the fall and winter, non-Fire Season months.
Daly said “Measure M money is not affected by this.” He said Prop 172 money was given by Supervisors to county-wide fire departments, through the Amador Fire Protection Authority, starting in 2006. Daly said Supervisors are looking at using more of that money for the Amador Plan, which would decrease the amount of Proposition 172 funding in city and regional fire departments.
Daly said it would affect the individual departments and he thought it would affect more AFPD and Sutter Creek contractual arrangements because “their piece of the pie was bigger.” He said the AFPD discussed having “further consideration to ensure that none of the departments have to make staffing changes,” and it “boils down to a policy decision of the Board of Supervisors.”
Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said there may be a supervisor who wants to restore the 172 funds to the AFPA, but he was not sure how it would be received at the supervisor level. Plasse was in the minority in the 3-2 vote, and said he wanted to put part of the $453,000 in Prop 172 funds toward a plan to help with staffing at two CDF stations, so instead of having one station, they could have two stations open during winter, and the engines at each could both respond to calls.
Supervisor Ted Novelli said the week before the AFPD vote that $206,000 of Prop 172 funding would go to dispatching county wide, and the $247,000 would pay for the engine, station, manning it and calls. He said AFPD decides every year where Prop 172 funds go. He said a couple of years ago it was at Sutter Creek and before that, it was at Dew Drop. Novelli said a lot of people want it at Sutter Hill.
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Amador County – Medical staffers at Sutter Amador Hospital in Jackson attended classes in a mobile training bus Monday in the hospital’s parking lot to learn techniques on inserting a monitoring stent to help battle septic shock in patients undergoing operations.
Doctors, nurses, various hospital “champions” and “hospitalists” (that is, doctors covering emergency departments) were among the staffers from Sutter Amador Hospital attending the classes.
Gary D. Zavora, publicist for Sutter Health, said Amador County doctors would receive the training from the mobile training unit called the SimSuite (SIM-SWEET), which parked outside Sutter Amador Hospital in the main lot. The object was to “train the hospital’s physicians on how to effectively and efficiently insert central lines,” which “are the best way to prevent infections and to treat sepsis.”
Zavora said last year, “Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region received a $3.5 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to combat sepsis in our hospitals – which includes Sutter Amador – and then share these best practices.”
Sutter Health, in its research, “found that one critical area in treating sepsis is to insert central lines,” Zavora said. “In hospitals, central lines are inserted by doctors, with nurses assisting. However, most physicians do it so infrequently that they aren’t confident or comfortable in doing it in an expedient, timely manner.”
He said the “SimSuite, funded by Sutter Health through the Moore grant, is traveling to all Sutter hospitals in the region and is holding training sessions for physicians so they are more efficient, comfortable and confident with the insertion of central lines.”
In the SimSuite, doctors use a mannequin in order to train on the equipment, which includes a new ultrasound unit, much like what is used by OBs to locate a baby in the womb. It “allows the doctors to make sure they are inserting the central line in the correct vein – in this case, the jugular.”
Zavora said “in the past, without the use of ultrasound, it was tougher to insert the line correctly and took more time. Now, with the ultrasound, the process is much quicker and more precise.”
Sutter Amador’s Physician Champions on Sepsis include Dr. Shawn Brady, and Registered Nurse Kim Diaz. Also attending were SAH Hospitalist physicians Drs. Adrian Oribello, Prabjit Singh, and Girmay Gebremedhin. SAH Emergency Department physicians attending were Drs. Brad Chew and Drew Hood.
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