Sutter Creek has become a model of economic development for another foothill town hoping to revitalize downtown business. Angels Camp in Calaveras County recently hosted a presentation on Retail Economic Development to a packed house on Tuesday afternoon at the Angels Camp Fire House. The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors and local business representatives discussed revitalization and engaged in a lively debate on the direction of retail and commerce in the area. Calaveras Supervisor Steve Wilensky led several minutes of discussion on what the affects of growth in Amador County have been and how to plan for successes and learn from the mistakes. Sutter Creek was used as a model with a good identity strategy and core business group.

This was contrasted with some of the problems downtown Jackson has encountered in dealing with the shift in retail center of gravity to the Martell developments. Sutter Creek has faired much better even though Sutter Creek and Jackson are very similar in distance from the large format retailers. One participant believed that while Sutter Creek was planning, the Jackson retailers were squabbling over parking meters and other issues that in hindsight had no significant impact on the long term future of the shopping core. Most Angels Camp citizens believed they could strike a balance between promoting and protecting historic downtown and allowing traditional businesses growth.

Earlier this week Sutter Creek city council members received and filed the fiscal impact analysis for how the City’s general and road fund will be impacted by the proposed Gold Rush development project. The analysis was based on three scenarios: a base analysis, a conservative analysis, and a worst case scenario analysis. The report showed in scenario 1. The base analysis, that residential home sales prices would drop by 15% by 2024 and the general fund revenues would exceed the operating expenses by $469,000. 2. The conservative analysis showed a 20% reduction in residential home sales prices and a surplus in the general fund of $125,000; $456,000 less than that of the first study. 3. The worst case scenario predicted a 25% reduction on the price tags of residential homes and $583,000 deficit in the general fund. One public member got up and said the might be extremely inaccurate because it compared Sutter Creek to Auburn and Roseville.

As evidenced in the history of local debates, watersheds are a big issue here in Amador County. In addition to county government, who is charged with protecting our valuable watershed lands? In 2003, as part of a settlement with the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, PG&E was required to establish a “PG&E Environmental Enhancement Corporation” to oversee conservation on California watershed lands. That non-profit corporation is now called the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council. The council will receive 10 million dollars per year from PG&E until the year 2013. According to Ric Notini, Director of the Land Conservation Program, the council is in the process of developing a comprehensive land conservation plan.

The council’s mission is to preserve and protect about 981 parcels of watershed lands covering over 140,000 acres, more than 221 square miles, which includes 22 counties in California, including Amador and Calaveras counties. The council has identified watershed lands in each area that will be donated to an appropriate public entity, non-profit group, or recognized Indian tribe for protection and preservation. As for Amador County, there are over 2800 acres available for donation. The selection system will ensure that the lands are protected as watershed lands and never developed. Notini says this is a “great project” and is “looking forward to starting the pilot program.” Interested organizations can find more information on the council’s website at www.StewardshipCouncil.org. We’ll have more on the activities of the council when Amador County is identified in the next step of their process.

The Plymouth City Council met Thursday evening to discuss several water related issues on the agenda. The night began with a special meeting to discuss changes in the Plymouth Pipeline Project and the elimination of Segment 3, the Swift Tank. The elimination of the Swift Tank, which was officially agreed upon by the water Agency at its own Thursday meeting, will reduce the Pipeline Projects overall cost by an estimate of approximately 785 thousand dollars to 915 thousand dollars. Although the cost reduction is welcome by the city, costs will be incurred in the future associated with the need for additional storage capacity.

Terry Moore of the AWA was present at the meeting to answer questions from council and to present some additional information. One board member stated that the total cost reduction of the project would not be finalized until the bids come in. Members of the public voiced their opinion, questioning the numbers in cost reduction and in storage space. Vice Mayor Pat Fordyce felt that in regards to water, the City is constantly taking “1 step forward and 2 steps back,” and that the City “needs a good reliable source of water.”

The Board of Supervisors approved the Amador County Recreation Agency Board’s suggested projects that were eligible for the Prop. 40 funds. Prop 40 funds are administrated under The "California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002. The Amador County Recreation Agency is responsible for making the recommendations to the Board of supervisors for the allocation of the funds. The 1.2 million is a one-time only per capita grant that can be used for the improvement for development of recreation facilities within Amador County.

The city of Plymouth recently approved their new budget for fiscal year 07-08. The budget includes a new office manager position and anticipates that Amador Water Agency expenses will be cut in half. After a special budget workshop earlier in the month, the Plymouth City Council received the final draft of the budget at their most recent city council meeting, which was last Thursday. Councilwoman Patricia Fordyce was leery of approving the budget that she had received the same night.

Gas prices got you down? How about a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, or NEV? At Wednesday’s board meeting for the Amador County Recreation Agency, or ACRA, the Amador Transit Project gave a presentation on the benefits of the NEV, a small, completely electric vehicle that comes in a variety of models.  NEVs can travel up to 25 miles per hour on roadways with speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less.  Additionally, they can cross major highways and can travel on special roadways called Quiet Alternative Transit Lanes, or QATLs, that would also accommodate pedestrian, bike, and Segway traffic. According to Bob Devlin and Sharon Hewitt of the Amador Transit Project, Amador County is perfect for QATLs because we already have a large amount of accessible open land. Amador Road and the Old Sutter Creek-Amador City Highway were brought up as possible QATL routes.

The project also refers to 155 acres of Oro De Amador open space that was just deeded to the City of Jackson – land that ties together commercial and residential areas, and would be perfect for a QATL network.  In fact, the project, with help from a 25,000-dollar grant from the Amador Air Resources Board, is in the process of mapping out areas that could be used for these alternative transit lanes.  The project also claims that the use of NEVs will reduce traffic on our roads, lessen air pollution, and decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Also, these vehicles will be significantly less expensive to purchase.  Devlin cites several disadvantages to the use of NEVs, including the transfer of some transportation funds to the Instruction of alternative transit lanes, and the need to change existing transportation planning to incorporate NEVs and QATLs.  The Amador Transit Project plans to have a website up and running soon.

For now, you can obtain more information by emailing them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Amador locals reported feeling the shock of an earthquake that hit northeastern Nevada last Friday. According to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, the quake struck at 6:15 am with a magnitude of 6.0.  The trembler was felt across most of the West, from Southern California to Utah and Arizona, with as many as 30 separate reports of aftershocks. Officials received calls from Amador County and Sacramento residents after the initial quake hit.

Most affected was the town of Wells in Elko County in a sparsely populated area near the Utah border. Elko County officials declared a state of emergency.  Almost all of the town’s 700 residential structures had some damage. The town of about 1,300 was closed to all but residents, the Nevada Highway Patrol said. Officials posted signs along nearby highways telling motorists to fill up on gasoline elsewhere. In the high desert along the California Trail traveled by Western pioneers, Wells was founded by Central Pacific Railroad in the 1860s. Friday's quake temporarily disrupted the railroad in the sierras now owned by Union Pacific.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 is Election Day for the River Pines Public Utility District as a special recall election will be held to determine whether or not Frank Sexton shall be recalled as Director. The election was conducted by a mail in ballot. Sheldon D. Johnson announced that these ballots will be counted and a semi-final official canvass will be conducted after 8:00 pm in the Elections Office, 2nd Floor at 810 Court Street, Jackson. Results will be posted at the River Pines Public Utility District Office and at the County Administration Center.

 

Jackson City Manager Mike Daly has announced that a public workshop will be held to explore the possible reuse options for Amador County's historic courthouse, located in downtown Jackson. Everyone is invited to attend.  Please bring your ideas! The workshop is in the Jackson City Council Chambers, 33 Broadway, Jackson, on Tuesday, May 1st, 2007, starting at 4 PM. The current home of Amador County Superior Court, the building will be vacated in June for a new American with Disability Act compliant building at 500 Argonaut Lane, the former Amador County Administration Center.