The June 3rd vote quickly approaches, and Californians are divided over a controversial pair of opposing propositions on the ballot, Props 98 and 99. TSPN will focus on the details of these propositions in a two day series, beginning today with Proposition 98. Prop 98 is a California statutory ballot initiative that would limit the use of eminent domain and phase out rent control statewide. In the wake of the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. City of New London, a number of states have enacted legislation to rein in what many voters in those states saw as a potential for eminent domain abuse. Proposition 98, if it passes, will prevent state and local governments from taking private property for private uses and will repeal rent control. As described by the supporters of Proposition 98, what the measure is intended to do is place additional restrictions on eminent domain seizures, meaning property may be taken by eminent domain only for public use, and the government may not set the price at which property owners sell or lease their property, among other similar restrictions.

According to the official legislative analysis report, "The measure’s fiscal effect is subject to considerable uncertainty and would depend on how the courts interpret its provisions. Because government would have an increased incentive to acquire property from willing sellers, property owners might charge government more for their properties…or government might buy less." The official group supporting Prop. 98 is the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Other supporters include controversial Sacramento property owner Moe Mohanna, who is engaged in a public battle with the city over the future of downtown properties. Mohanna said he'll be a champion of the statewide effort that he describes as a flesh and blood example of the heavy-handed use of eminent domain. Opponents are numerous, including the Governor, Senator Feinstein, and the League of Women Voters. “Prop. 98 eliminates rent control and jeopardizes affordable housing for thousands of seniors and widows on fixed incomes, single mothers and working families,” says another opponent, AARP.

Wednesday’s meeting of the Amador County Technical Advisory Committee, or TAC, included a request by California Shock/Trauma Air Rescue, or CALSTAR, to allow a helicopter air ambulance program at the Westover Field Airport. In a round-table discussion, TAC members reviewed CALSTAR’s application for completeness and potential environmental impacts before recommending it to the planning commission. Any major concern centered on insuring that the Air ambulance and landing area would comply with local hazardous materials guidelines for disposal of waste. Another question arose as to whether the airport was already at capacity and under a different contract than the rest of Martell. The discussion is expected to continue in future meetings. It was agreed that the benefits of having a CALSTAR program are numerous. CALSTAR’s response time to emergency calls is 2 minutes- less than half of the average emergency response time. CALSTAR is a regional, public, non-profit helicopter ambulance.

Water quality standards are always part of the continuing dialogue at Amador Water and local city meetings, and for good reason. According to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, the City of Jackson avoided a 201,000 dollar penalty by completing 234,000 dollars in improvements at its wastewater treatment plant. Although the AWA’s foresight prevented hefty fines, the fate of other nearby city agencies has not been so lucky. For example, Placerville faces 270,000 dollars in penalties from the Control Board for alleged water quality violations dating back to Jaunary 1st, 2001. The Control Board said it may charge minimum mandatory penalties for violations in treated wastewater at the Hangtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Separately, the Control board has proposed assessing a 411,000 dollar penalty against Nevada County Sanitation District’s Cascade Shores plant. The Central Valley Board’s duty and goals are to enforce and oversee water quality standards throughout our area. They check for violations in chlorine residual, nitrate, pH, and cloudiness, among a host of other more technical terms. Toxic substances and high populations of certain microorganisms can present a health hazard for drinking and non-drinking purposes such as irrigation, swimming, fishing, rafting, boating, and industrial uses. Water quality has become a larger issue in the public eye after EPA authorities conducted a five-month inquiry and discovered that traces of pharmaceutical drugs were recently detected in the drinking-water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas serving at least 41 million people. It is duly noted that these were microscopic amounts. Nevertheless, officials in Amador County say they are committed to providing a quality water supply for Amador residents.

The Amador County School District began their meeting Wednesday evening with a Pandemic Flu Presentation by Public Health Director Dr. Hartman and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Lori Jagoda. The purpose of the presentation was to inform the Board of Pandemic Influenza Preparedness for Schools, and covered topics such as the differences between seasonal and pandemic influenza, the role of local health departments in a pandemic emergency, avian influenza, and response planning for schools. The biggest concern in regards to Avian Flu is the fact that there is no human immunity and no vaccine is currently available for the variant which may be transmitted from birds to humans. More than 60% of those infected with H5N1 have died.

California is likely to be among the first locations for an influenza pandemic as it is the location of many major ports of entry for flights and shipping from Asia. Schools would be impacted, as they are some of the most densely populated environments in society. Other school districts in California have developed specific actions in regards to an outbreak, such as Contra Costa County’s development of the Pandemic Flu School Action Kit, a step-by-step guide to processing, reporting parent and community information and continuing education resources. At the end of the presentation Dr Hartman stated, “it’s not a case of if a pandemic will hit the United States, its when.” Information, tools, and other resources for planning and preparing schools for a potential influenza pandemic can be found on the website www.ReadyCASchools.org.

The Amador County Unified School District, or ACUSD, also approved the California Valued Trust Participation Agreement at their meeting Wednesday evening. This agreement is between ACUSD and the non-bargaining ACUSD Administrative unit to provide health and welfare benefits. Board member Terry Porray stated that she is not “opposed to the benefits which the staff obviously deserve, however, the contract is sloppy work on the company’s part, not the staffs.” The final vote was 5-1-1 with Board members Terry Porray dissenting and Chuck Anderson absent.

There was also a brief report from Superintendent Mike Carey regarding the student drug testing policy, specifically speaking to the information requested from the board at the last meeting. He spoke to both the probation department and Bret Harte regarding the accuracy of the tests and found that there have been “very few challenges on drug testing results” He also spoke to the testing company out of Santa, which stand by its products accuracy. The company recommend swab testing as the testing window for most substances be expanded to 48 hours, with the exception of THC, which holds a 12-hour window. Drug testing will be discussed further at the May 12th meeting.  Rosa

As predicted, discussion of the proposed Amador Economic Stimulus Package was the highlight of Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors agenda. But few expected a standing room only crowd of mostly local contractors and realtors backing the measure with overwhelming support. The premise behind the package is simple: promote new structure and home building through substantial reductions in fees. The details of the plan were outlined in a presentation by local contractor Paul Bramell, brainchild of the project. “For those of you who are not aware, the impact fees in Amador County have been raised dramatically in the last couple years…Talk to any local tradesman…they will tell you how frustrated they are with the high fees and regulations involved in building a home,” said Bramell in his proposal. In public comment, one person after another illustrated their frustrations in numeric values. New facility fees cost 7,757 dollars, park and recreation fees are 4,300 dollars and traffic mitigation fees are 3,000. On top of these are 439 dollar grading permits and encroachment permits of 625, up from 75 dollars two years ago.Home starts in Amador County are down from 247 in 2006 to 94 in 2007.

One resident spoke of a friend of his who was attempting to build a small home for his five acre property and expected to pay upwards of 25,000 dollars in fees. “I recommend we completely eliminate impact fees for a six month period,” said Bramell. Proposed savings could be between 15,000 and $20,000 dollars per home. When up country resident Debbie Dunn spoke, she relayed the crowd’s frustration, but also reminded them that cutting or completely eliminating fees for a time period could have negative results. “I think this is an economic trend. We can’t just trash all of our fees. We have roads that need to be fixed, and schools.” Supervisor Escamilla reiterated her point. “People don’t remember why we put these fees in. Because a lot of people come up here and say they don’t have a place for their kids to play. We need fees for parks and roads in Amador County. It’s going to take a while, we can’t just decide this today,” he said. The Supervisors plan to further investigate pros and cons and continue discussing the package during next Tuesday’s meeting.

In a round-table meeting, some key details were worked out regarding a sales tax initiative set for the November Ballot that would designate funding for the partial consolidation and modernization of Amador County’s fire fighting forces. Several top public officials joined the Amador Fire Protection Authority last Thursday to ask questions and debate with members of the AFPA board, who were discussing the draft county ordinance and relative ballot language for the funding proposal. At the start of the meeting, Supervisor Richard Forester put forth his concern that the County’s long adhered-to goal of a consolidated fire department had been abandoned,Amador County, but the first priority of the AFPA is to provide 24-hour paid fire personnel at each of the county’s fire stations, which will, for the time being, remain under various authorities.

“Right now, what we need is paid firefighters in Amador County. In the overall picture, these departments will merge as they get stronger. This is the first step,“ said Sutter Creek Fire Chief Butch Martin.Jackson, and the Amador Fire Protection District were also working on a Joint Powers Authority Agreement. The next step will be to take the draft ordinance back to the cities for review, and any comments or proposed changes are to be submitted to County Administrative Officer Terri Daly by May 29th. By June 10th, the ordinance should be ready to be submitted to the Supervisors, who have to approve it before it goes on the November Ballot. “I am excited about this proposal. I can see how it would benefit the whole county,” said Commissioner Lee Ard of Ione, at the close of the meeting.  which he felt would jeopardize voter support of the ballot initiative. AFPA members responded that consolidation is still a long term goal for Members of the board went on to indicate that the Ione and Jackson Valley Fire Departments were in the process of finalizing an agreement to merge, and Sutter Creek,

The constant battle between Hillary and Barack is not the only heated competition for election. Questions have been raised over the intentions of certain groups involved in the Calaveras County’s District 2 Supervisors race. Incumbent Supervisor Steve Wilensky believes the Calaveras County Association of Realtors political action committee is trying to buy his district 2 seat after the committee donated 7,000 to opponent John Morse’s campaign. The committee denied any ulterior motives in a press release, saying the donation was made with “no strings attached.” But the release also states that “there is a need for change on the Board. We are unhappy with the performance level that has led to moratoriums and the unrelenting assault on property rights and personal freedoms.”  While they may not be buying a candidate, they are buying an election, said Wilensky. The committee has continued to vehemently deny any involvement beyond a standard donation.

The Amador Citizens for Responsible Government and Amador County Association of Realtors will be hosting an Amador County Supervisor Candidates Forum, with all new candidates and incumbents scheduled to attend. Six candidates are vying for 2 district seats. District 4 candidate David Pincus is up against incumbent Louis Boitano. Rosalie Pryor Escamilla, Ken Berry, John Gonsalves and John Plasse are all competing for the District 1 seat, soon to be vacated by current Supervisor Rich Escamilla. Ledger Dispatch Publisher Jack Mitchell will moderate, asking prepared questions sequentially and in a randomly determined order. The forum takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, May 12 at the Board of Supervisors chambers in Jackson.

Among the items on today’s Board of Supervisors agenda, the proposed Amador Economic Stimulus package is of particular interest to many in the community. It goes without saying that the country’s sliding housing market and economic situation have affected Amador Residents, and the proposed Stimulus package intends to promote new structure building through substantial reductions in fees. The details of the plan will be outlined in a presentation by local contractor Paul Branell. Proposed savings could be between $15,000 and $20,000 per home. The buzz amongst the Supervisors seems to be in favor of the proposition, but that will be decided in today’s meeting. TSPN will have more details on the proposal in upcoming broadcasts.