The Sutter Creek City Council has voted to approve a set of architectural guidelines that will assist in governing development styles in the town’s historic residential district. The council heard a presentation on the guidelines from Sutter Creek Planning Commissioner Frank Cunha. Cunha said that he was presenting the document for Commission Chairman Robin Peters, who was sick with the flu. Cunha summarized the five year history of the creation of the document which consisted of a “tremendous amount” of background work and research completed by a committee.

Cunha then explained that the city currently has three ordinances that regulate Sutter Creek’s housing, which “are often in conflict with each other.” He said that the purpose of the architectural guidelines is to provide support for the ordinances, which can now be “tightened up” and possibly combined into one. Public comment on the matter included suggestions to include more information about lighting and ancillary structures, as well as a request for clarification on who will be the city’s “qualified consultant” on architectural matters.

Members of the council expressed extremely positive opinions of the document, and congratulated members of the committee on their accomplishment. The next steps for the council will be to bring existing housing ordinances into harmony with each other, and to form an architectural review committee to help enforce the new guidelines.

Also at the Sutter Creek City Council Meeting, county assessor Jim Rooney discussed projections for property tax  revenue in the coming year. He said that property taxes in 2008 are estimated to be 4 to 6 percent higher than last year. He explained that in recent years, property values in most of Amador County have been increasing, but in 2008 less of an increase is projected. This “decrease in the increase” of property values is due to the housing market slump and the lack of new development. He also reminded the council that homeowners with a high property tax can go to the county to have their property reassessed, which could lead to a decrease in the amount that they have to pay for  property tax. At the end of the discussion, Mayor Gary Wooten summed it all up by saying that the city would “be a little careful on their budget assessments for property tax” in 2008.

The most heated input during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting came from the public. In front of a standing room only crowd, emotional citizens weighed in on the pending ISA agreement with the proposed Buena Vista Casino, an issue that has struck a nerve center in this small county. The language of public comments ranged from reflective to accusatory to the reading of legal documents. Frazier West, a self described, “old marine”, said the casino, “is going to cost the county a hell of a lot more money in the long run.

The environmental issues alone are overwhelming.” In a prepared statement, Mary Lambert said, “I do not believe that particular (land) parcel will meet the needs of a money making casino.” Jill North said, “I was disappointed to sit through a 3 and half hour meeting last week to have three members of the board read prepared statements.” In what became a comic interlude to the tense discussions, Jerry Cassesi spoke to Supervisor Ted Novelli, who was on vacation in Belize and participating via teleconference. “I have this vision of you relaxing in a speedo with a drink in your hand,” said Cassesi. When Novelli did not respond, Cassesi said, “I think my vision is right.” In response to an earlier statement by the Supervisors that they had received threats, Cassesi said, “There is no one I know who would condone a threatening phone call or note.” A tearful Noel Stewart began with a Celtic quote before saying, “We stand before the world. Perhaps we only stand against one woman but we also stand against a bankroll.” The only citizen who spoke in support of the agreement was Gary Colburn of Ione. “I am a total optimist,” said Colburn. “I believe the day will come when many of those people in Buena Vista will look back and say, I didn’t think about how good this was going to be.”

About 25 property owners and interested community members attended an informational workshop last week on the first phase of construction of a small diameter raw water pipeline in the Amador Canal. With the new Amador Transmission Pipeline completed and carrying most of Amador County’s water, the next step in the approved project is to run a small diameter pipeline in the existing canal to continue providing service to existing raw water customers. “The small diameter pipeline will improve raw water quality over what folks are now getting from the canal and significantly reduce debris and maintenance headaches for customers.

It’s another step in conserving Amador County’s water for all of its citizens,” said Gene Mancebo, Manager of Engineering & Planning for the Water Agency. Mancebo said it would probably take about three years before the small diameter pipeline is completed along the entire length of the canal. After the new pipe is installed in the canal, customers are hooked up, and the system is tested and operational, the Agency will stop pumping water flows into the canal for this section.

Most of the discussion at the workshop centered on property owner concerns over possible effects on wildlife after the canal has dried up. The Agency has set aside $150,000 for funds for watershed conservation as part of a previous settlement. Another consideration for property owners along the canal is whether they would like the Water Agency to leave the empty canal as-is, or to restore (by filling in) the canal with dirt. Restoration would eliminate the potential for mosquito habitat or potential injury to livestock and make access and maintenance easier. An environmental review on offering either option is required, and the Amador Water Agency Board of Directors is tentatively scheduled to review the addendum at a meeting later this spring. Customer workshops for future phases of the small diameter pipeline will be scheduled soon.

Amador County Sheriff Martin A. Ryan wishes to inform the public of a new electronic mail (e-mail) scam which has come to the attention of local law enforcement. The Amador County Sheriff’s Office has received a number of reports from citizens regarding the receipt of suspicious e-mail messages.  The e-mails state that a team of individuals has been hired to kill the e-mail’s recipient, however if a cumulative payment is made, the hired killers will not follow through with their assignment and they will notify the recipient of who hired them.  The cumulative payment request has ranged from $11,000.00 to $15,000.00. 

The e-mail also admonishes the recipient not to notify law enforcement. While this does appear to be another electronic scam, this crosses a previously uncrossed line, in that it threatens physical violence.  Beyond content, a consistency in the e-mails reported to the Sheriff’s Office is the senders e-mail address, which ends “@gmail.com” and the e-mail title, “be more careful”. Sheriff Ryan recommends that computer users never open e-mail from unknown sources or those with unusual titles.  However, should you receive this e-mail or any other scam e-mail, you are encouraged to report them to your local law enforcement agency. For more information on e-mail hoaxes, go to www.snopes.com or antivirus.about.com

This is part two in a series that TSPN is doing this week on the history of the Amador Railroad. Since the railroad’s inception in late 1904, it had an immense impact on Amador County cities and the lives of the people that lived here. The railroad was essentially the main bloodline for circulating goods and services through the county. The railroad also revolutionized human transportation.  Passengers could board a train in Martell, ride for an hour down the windy stretch of track to Ione, and from there it was a straight shot to Galt. Passengers sometimes rode in open cars, and trains on the Ione to Galt route often exceeded 60 miles per hour. As the population of valley cities such as Sacramento and Stockton grew, lumber from the foothill region became more and more vital for construction.

Trains loaded with lumber rumbled down the foothill lines on a daily basis. On January 1, 1946, the Amador Central Railroad was leased to Winton Lumber Company, who had the lumber mill in Martell.   Winton Lumber operated the line until June 22, 1964, when American Forest Products purchased the Amador Central. Then in June of 1988, AMC sold again to Atlanta based Georgia-Pacific Corporation, which at that time controlled 22% of plywood production in the US, as well as 5% of all lumber production.  In 1997, the railroad, saw mill and particle board plant in Martell were all acquired by Sierra Pacific Industries. SPI already owned three lumber mills within 40 miles of Martell, and essentially purchased the Martell mill in order to buy out a competitor. SPI decided to close the mill, and subsequently laid off some 800 mill workers there, spelling the end of an era for Amador County Industry as well as the AMC.

California Republican Assemblyman Bill Maze says dog lovers could still bring Fido along – but he’d be relegated to the passenger seat – or the backseat. Maze’s bill would make driving with any animal on your lap illegal. “When you have small animals and they’re jumping around, they could get under your feet which could obstruct your use of the braking system, or even the throttle system, they could…entangle in the steering wheel which creates a real hazard.” Maze says he came up with the bill after seeing drivers with dogs hanging out the driver-side window. The bill does not specify how to keep animals restrained. Maze says the fine for the offense could be up to 146 dollars. He’s likely to face opposition from members of his own party....who have called similar measures examples of “nanny government.”

In what amounted to a split 2-2 decision, the Board of Supervisors deadlocked on the Buena Vista ISA issue.

The Board was in fragmented form during the meeting today, with Supervisor Ted Novelli reporting via telephone from his vacation spot in Belize and Supervisor Brian Oneto stepping away from the vote. Oneto’s decision to abstain from any further involvement in the ISA decisionwas  put forth in a statement, which he repeated exclusively for TSPN.

 

Whether or not the tribe takes this to arbitration is yet to be seen. The Board and the County are split on this emotional and controversial issue. Stay tuned to TSPN for the latest breaking news and further developments.