News Archive (6192)
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors last month made a grant to help rehabilitation of Well 14 in the Lake Camanche Village water service district, but the Amador Water Agency said last month that millions more in costs are there.
The $150,000 grant will address a priority list, to be made by AWA, and approved by Supervisors. It will first go toward Well 14, to return it to maximum capacity flow. Then it likely will go toward fire hydrant rehabilitation.
AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said other projects need addressing, and funding requests have not all returned. He said it would cost $2.5 million to replace all of the leaky, wooden water storage tanks at Camanche. He said AWA applied for a $972,000 “disadvantaged community” grant to be applied to a new 500,000-gallon tank.
The agency was awarded $100,000 for the tank, Mancebo said, “and going to the people for the other $800,000 is just not going to work.” Funds left from the Water Development Fund grant may go toward leveraging grant funds for a larger water tank replacement.
He said a new pipeline is needed to connect Well 14 to Tank 9 and it would cost $832,000. “The state would provide less than $100,000 for this,” Mancebo said. He thought they could get about $400,000 in Prop 84 funds for the new line.
He said 450 service line connectors need to be replaced due to defective material or faulty installation by the county. A recent state grant award of $553,000 will replace 200 more connectors, and put liners on five wooden storage tanks.
Mancebo said Camanche fire hydrants are backward-threaded, so if they get torque in the wrong direction, they can break.
Critics said the county should get an outside analyst to look at Camanche. Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said the engineers AWA used, Dunn Environmental, is the same ones the County uses, and likely would have been hired by the County anyway.
Supervisor Richard Forster said the help in Camanche won’t fix all of the problems because they are too vast, but it may help Camanche build up its reserves. He said “these are improvements that should have been done a long time ago when the county was running the system.”
Supervisor Brian Oneto said a Water Development Fund grant might also be appropriate in his District 5, for the Fiddletown sewer service district. He said the same issue occurred there: The county put in the sewer system, and a lot of people in the community in Fiddletown have been putting in a lot of time to keep it operating. In both cases, Oneto said: “The County handed over a lemon. It’s their lemon.”
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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency discussed its spending at Lake Camanche Village water and sewer systems last month, as it received two grants for the system totaling nearly $700,000.
Amador Supervisors gave AWA a $150,000 “Water Development Fund” grant for Camanche water system, and the state gave AWA another grant for $530,000 to replace water service connections, and place liners in five wooden storage tanks.
In early August, Bill Condrashoff read a letter from Camanche board secretary Vera Ferguson, who asked where the debts suddenly came from at Camanche, with sewer $850,000 in debt, and the water system $1 million in debt, in 2010.
Condrashoff said “they can’t get the water agency to show them where the money is going.” He said “with $1.6 million spent, can you blame them for being confused?” He said Supervisors should know that AWA “has been turned down by two banks for a $500,000 loan,” as recently as May. Supervisor Richard Forster said: “You don’t always get the grants and loans you apply for.”
Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said Camanche’s debts “suddenly appeared” when the former AWA board of directors memorialized “internal transfer” loans to show the debt to various systems, with added interest. AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said in one action, debts that accumulated over several years appeared.
Condrashoff, then former AWA Board President, led the drive in 2010 for AWA to memorialize loans from the Central Amador Water Project service area to several systems, including Camanche, La Mel Heights and Martell. The loans also charged estimated interest on the funds.
Mancebo said internal loans came about due to fixes needed on Camanche water and sewer systems. They replaced 100 of 730 service connections that are failing, due to either defective brittle plastic material that breaks, or due to faulty installation, when work crews buried the lines with rocks that were in the soil, which rub holes in the lines. A recent $530,000 state grant will replace 200 of the service connectors, and place liners on five tanks, but it will still leave about 450 more connectors to replace.
Mancebo said the agency spent $800,000 on Camanche wastewater system improvements, and $800,000 on the water system, and depleted Camanche reserves. Field Services Manager Chris McKeage said “we were really under the gun from the state.” He said many of the costs went to new roofs on water tanks, new hatches and work on pumps and remote alarm systems. They installed two new pumps, he said.
Supervisor Richard Forster said “you had a whole lot of high-cost improvements to do.” He said system operating expenses have dropped since then from $400,000 to $250,000, which was commendable, but late in coming.
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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency heard at its last meeting that agency cash is up, and it could also increase with a new credit card fee for bill payments.
The AWA Board on Aug. 25 approved a credit card fee for bill payments that staff said should save the agency about $10,000 a year. General Manager Gene Mancebo said “AWA customers who pay bills by credit card will now be charged $1.50 per transaction.” He said “credit card transactions now cost the Agency about $10,000 per year.”
Mancebo said the “transaction fee will transfer the cost of credit card fees from the cost of doing business for all customers to the individual credit card users.” Directors agreed to review the policy after a trial period of six months.
The Board at its last meeting heard a report that agency cash for July was ahead of budgeted projections by about $100,000. The Aug. 25 cash report showed “our cash situation is improving slowly,” shown by water sales that were up a little bit in July. Controller Marvin V. Davis in a report said that July began with $616,000 in cash and increased over the month by $433,000, to end at a total of $1.05 million. Spending for July was $975,000 and revenue totaled $1.4 million.
In other Board action in August, an agreement was made with Ione development owners Wildflower Investments LLC, allowed transferring of participation credits from the original developer, Ryland Homes. Mancebo said the whole project changed hands to Wildflower, and the agreement made changes that secured that their reimbursement would only be for participation fees, and not for cash.
Ryland in the original agreement had an option for either credits, or with fees paid by JTS Communities, they could take their credits as cash. Mancebo said the new agreement limits it to participation fee credits, any time they request a meter set. Wildflower has about $2 million in credits, from Ryland building a 2 million-gallon storage tank at the Wildflower Subdivision site.
JTS financed a pump station used to fill the tank, and earned fee credits. An August agreement with JTS for early fee payments also gave the concession that JTS would forgo redeeming those credits from the water tank.
Wildflower does not have any units building, Mancebo said, but “one unit is very, very close” and if they wanted to request a meter there would be very minimal work involved to allow that to occur.
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Jackson Rancheria to feature award-winning Native American comedy trio
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel brings a trio of award-winning Indian comics for an Oct. 1 show, the “Pow Wow Comedy Jam.”
Carol Cook of JRC Marketing said people can “follow the Trail of Laughs” and “experience the sacred clowns of the past delivered through the modern comedy voices of the present.”
Named 2010 National Indian Gaming Association Entertainers of the Year, Pow Wow Comedy Jam “delivers all-out laughs Indian-style.” All three appeared on the historic Showtime special, “Goin’ Native: The American Indian Comedy Slam.” The show is “clean and hilarious,” Cook said.
Pow Wow Comedy Jam features Marc Yaffee (Aztec/Navajo), Howie Miller (Cree) and Vaughn Eaglebear (Colville/Lakota).
Yaffee said he “was adopted at birth and has been confused ever since.” He pokes fun at the seemingly endless contradictions in his life.
“I’m a Mexican Irish Navajo, Mexi-jo,” Marc Yaffe said. “My ancestors exploited my own ancestors. I feel guilty and oppressed.”
“A lady asked me after a show, is it true you Navajos in your travels, you’re guided by outer voices? I’m like: Yeah, it’s called an On-star Navigation System.”
Vaughn Eaglebear, nicknamed the Frybread Assassin, and his original brand of one-liner comedy, is unconventional and thought-provoking. An accomplished Pow Wow drummer and emcee, Eaglebear also wrote the song “John Wayne’s Teeth” for the movie “Smoke Signals.”
“The Cleveland Indians are going to change their name,” Eaglebear said. “They don’t want to be known as a team that perpetuates racial stereotypes. From now on they’re just going to be called the Indians.”
Howie Miller, one of Canada’s top comedians, has performed at top Canadian festivals, including Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Halifax Comedy Festival, and Montreal Just For Laughs Festival.
Miller’s landed a role on the Canadian hit show “Caution May Contain Nuts” and is one of the writers. “Survivor, I can’t stand that show,” he said. “No Indians…It’s probably a good idea, because they’re not gonna vote me off the island. They’re just gonna vote me to the crappy part of the island and leave me there for 200 years.”
General admission is $40. Dreamcatcher’s Club members can get half off tickets.
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Plymouth City Council hosts a workshop on Zinfandel and Shenandoah Ridge residential developments
Written by Tom
Amador County – A Plymouth City Council workshop at
6:30 p.m. today will look at Reeder Sutherland Zinfandel and Shenandoah
Ridge residential developments, which the Planning Commission
recommended last week.
In public comment last week, Shenandoah Valley resident Jennifer Mason asked about her family’s ranching and farming future on property on both sides of Old Sacramento Road. She asked about traffic impacts and mitigation, when a Zinfandel street links to it for fire access.
Plymouth Development Coordinator Richard Prima said a traffic model showed minimal impact. The first three phases would exit on Highway 49. In Phase 4, the fire access-only road would be built, and it would become asphalt in phase 4 or 5. He said the intersection would not be open to traffic until the final phase is 45 percent mapped.
Commissioner Peter Taylor said it appeared that many more protected bird species were listed in the Environmental Impact Report than he saw in mitigation documents.
Bob Reeder, partner of Reeder Sutherland, said all of the birds are mentioned but “there’s no assumption that any of those birds are on the property.” A survey then is conducted of the land, and if birds are found, mitigation occurs. EIR consultant Edward Hemming said one mitigation measure covers a number of birds.
Commissioner Jason Ralphs asked about determining the developer’s “fair share contribution” of sewer costs.
Prima said the Conditions of Approval say a certain capacity is needed before the developer builds, and they must “pay to improve it.” He said because no other developers are there, they “may have a fair share that is 100 percent.” The fair share may be $100,000 but the developer might pay $200,000 to get the capacity. Then they get credits to be reimbursed when other developers come in and pay fees.
Commissioner Melvin Cossairt asked about parking, saying he thought four off-street “parking pockets” in the designs were not enough. He was concerned about 22-foot lanes because when someone throws a big New Year’s Eve party, people will “unofficially park on the side of the road” and “then you can’t get emergency vehicles out there.” He said it “eats at the back of my neck” to think about recommending this with access issues.
City Planner Jeff Beiswenger said the city General Plan is more supportive of a rural, small town atmosphere. Commissioner Sandy Fuller said the Commission toured Greenhorn Creek in Calaveras County, similar roads and they preferred parking pockets “versus having huge streets for occasional party parking.”
Prima said street parking was increased by 50 percent by the developer, but the idea was better to keep the small-town feel for the other 364 days of the year, when there is not a big party.
Reeder said he discussed parking with the Amador County Sheriff’s Department, which said it’s a simple matter to call and ask for no-parking law enforcement.
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Amador STARS’s Camp Out For Cancer returns for its 8th year this weekend
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador Support, Transportation and Resource Services presents its 8th Annual Camp Out For Cancer Saturday at the Amador County Fairgrounds, in Plymouth.
The inspiring community all-night walk-a-thon features teams that relay in a walking route of the Fairgrounds for 21 hours to raise funds and awareness for local cancer patients, survivors, and their families. The event “brings together people of all ages for fun, fellowship, food and entertainment by local musicians,” to “honor those who have battled cancer” at a “Survivor Celebration.”
People can dedicate an illumination candle to someone who has been touched by cancer, and join a team and spread a message of hope, “that together, we can eliminate cancer.”
This year’s theme is “Dancing with the Steers – Rockin’ Out Cancer.” Gates open to foot traffic at 8 a.m. Saturday. The Survivor Celebration is at 10 a.m., and the Opening Ceremony begins at noon. The schedule includes Camp Stores, musicians, Lazer Tag, and food sales, with benefits going to help Amador STARS, and 10 percent of proceeds typically going to local research.
Last year’s Camp Out For Cancer raised $92,000. The event ends at 9 a.m. Sunday. For information, call (209) 223-1246.
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Sutter Creek & ARSA request proposals for sewer engineering & wastewater master planning services
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council and Amador Regional Sanitation Authority released a “Request For Proposals” for a municipal Wastewater Master Plan last month, with proposals due Sept. 29.
City Manager Sean Rabe said the City Council approved the Request For Proposals (RFP) “with some slight modifications. None of them materially affect the RFP” and just add “background information.” The ARSA board approved the RFP and it was released Friday, Aug. 26.
The RFP in part said the city is “seeking Request for Proposals from qualified wastewater engineering and/or planning firms to provide a two-phase review and update of both the city’s draft wastewater plan and ARSA’s draft master plan.” The city seeks a contract directly with the firm, and the proposals are due no later than Sept. 29.
In early August, the Sutter Creek City Council formed a subcommittee of its Sewer Committee to bring back a concise report on the various issues the city is facing for its wastewater plant and disposal system. The city also received a 5-year notice by the city of Ione to terminate city wastewater flow to Ione.
The council directed staff on Aug. 15 to release the Request For Proposals upon approval by the board of directors of the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority. Rabe in a report to the council said the “RFP reflects the framework that the council approved at the Aug. 1 meeting and has been reviewed and approved for release” by City Attorney Derek Cole and the City Sanitary Engineer. It required formal ARSA board approval because several components relate to ARSA.
The extensive RFP project description and scope work includes 11 different tasks in Phase 1 alone. The first is evaluating the “feasibility and cost of new storage required” in the “vicinity of Gold Rush Ranch,” and “in the upper ARSA system … at and above Henderson Reservoir.” Another is evaluating “capital and operational costs” of “maintaining the status quo” of the “current ARSA service level.”
A third is to “evaluate the cost of upgrading the existing ARSA system to increase capacity.” A fourth looks at capital and operation costs of a pumping and transmission system between the existing city wastewater treatment plant and Gold Rush, and evaluating “four different effluent scenarios.” Those scenarios are raw wastewater, primary effluent, secondary effluent, and piping raw sewage from the Martell area to a tertiary plant at Gold Rush, “while maintaining the city’s current plant for the existing city.”
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Amador County – Amador County announced last week that its employees have agreed to return to 36-hour work weeks, which will have the effect of returning county offices to having “Furlough Fridays.”
Diane Blanc, County Human Resources Director announced that most Amador County offices are to be closed on Fridays beginning Sept. 9.
Blanc said “as a cost saving measure, Amador County Employees have again agreed to a 36-hour work week, which will result in most County Offices being closed every Friday for the remainder of the fiscal year, until June 30, 2012.”
Blanc said the “change will affect most public service counters and public phone numbers, but will not impact availability of emergency services.”
Supervisors on Aug. 16 approved layoffs for 17 county employees due to an expected $3 million shortfall in the county General Fund this fiscal year. Service Employees International Union had the option to accept the County’s final offer of 36-hour weeks.
Deputy County Counsel Greg Gillott said Tuesday that layoff notices were rescinded and the laid off employees were all called back to work. He said the County and the Union’s bargaining team had reached a tentative agreement, and the Union held a vote by mail, with ballots due back by 5 p.m. last Thursday.
Gillott said SEIU knew the results by last Friday morning. The ballots came in with 126 votes in favor of the 36-hour work week, 52 votes not in favor. He said confidential employees, management and mid-management will all be working 36-hour weeks. The only ones working a 40-hour week are law enforcement deputies and investigators of the Amador County Sheriff’s Department, and Amador County Probation officers, who did not accept the 36-hour work week.
At the Aug. 16 meeting, supporters said furloughs could help save jobs and service levels, because county offices had already adapted to 36-hour schedules. Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said the county faced minimal staffing in all departments with layoffs.
Supervisor Richard Forster said they have been trying for five years to have a sustainable government, with a healthy contingency and reserves. He said having less than a 36-hour week means “we back ourselves against the wall and have no money at all for emergencies.”
Plasse said they don’t want to avail the county of the problems other counties have, with no contingencies or reserves, borrowing to start every year, and “everything becomes a management in crisis.”
Supervisor Ted Novelli said “we as a county, because we have acted the way we have, are ahead of the other counties out there.”
Supervisor Brian Oneto said they needed reserves to help the county in the event of catastrophes.
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18-year-old Pioneer woman killed in a one-vehicle crash
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Rancho Cordova Unit of the California Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal one-vehicle crash that killed an 18-year-old Pioneer woman Monday near Folsom.
CHP Public Information Officer Jasper Begay released details Tuesday, saying that Georgina R. Kovach, 18, of Pioneer was killed at the scene of the crash at about 11:30 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Scott and White Rock roads.
Kovach was driving a 1996 Honda Civic north-bound on Scott Road, approaching White Rock Road at an unknown speed. Begay said “for unknown reasons, Kovach lost control of the Honda and allowed it to travel off the roadway. The Honda struck a dirt embankment, traveled through a barbed wire fence and partially overturned, where the roof of the vehicle struck a large oak tree.”
Kovach was wearing her lap belt and shoulder harness restraint, and was pronounced dead at the scene. CHP said the incident remains under investigation.
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Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 9-6-11 - TSPN's Tom Slivick speaks with Supervisor Brian Oneto for a District 5 update.
