The effort to prevent a water and sewer rate increase in Jackson has apparently failed. Jackson City Manager Mike Daly said Monday that letters protesting the increases had been counted and verified. Protest letters from over 50% of Jackson water and sewer customers were needed to prevent the rate increase. Of 2088 water customers, 879 protest letters were received, or 42.1%, failing by 166 votes. Of 1406 sewer accounts, 691 protest letters were received for 49.1%, only 13 votes short of the 50% plus one needed. Protest organizer Judith Jebian observed the letter count and received justification for all invalidated letters.

Jackson Planning Commission has OK’d a request to make the shopping center sign at Jackson Creek Plaza 6 feet taller. The commission met Monday night to a sparse crowd and a short agenda. The one discussion topic was a public hearing regarding a request from BRAD Management, who manages the Jackson Creek Plaza, to remodel the existing shopping center sign six feet higher than it currently stands, which would also be 6 feet higher than the Jackson Municipal Code allows. Two additional monument signs are also planned to be added to either end of the business park.

Monday night’s Sutter Creek City Council meeting turned into a major discussion regarding improvements to the city’s infrastructure. City Building Inspector Jeff Kelly gave a presentation on a proposed overhaul of Main Street, Sutter Creek, needed to make it more handicapped accessible. Sutter Creek City government is required by state law to improve handicapped accessibility on some parts of Main Street, to comply with the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Kelly said that the city is required to rework Main Street in at least six different places. Kelly suggested that the City Council conduct an informal bid process for the needed improvements, in order to get the most of the 50-55 thousand dollars they have earmarked for the project. He reminded council members that Sutter Creek does have an historical designation, so that handicapped accessibility will not take precedence over the town’s historic black slate sidewalks and steps.

 

Is Sutter Creek Bridge falling down? A local store owner says she’s been watching a gap in the bridge pavement grow -- after being out of town for two months, she called Sutter Creek City manager Rob Duke and told him that the gap in the pavement had widened three inches in that time. The city called an engineering firm out to perform an inspection the same day – engineers reported that there was no imminent danger posed by the widening of the gap. Duke made a presentation to Sutter Creek City Council Monday night on the repairs needed on the Main Street Bridge. Duke recommended some immediate improvements that the city could make in order to lessen the wear and tear on the bridge -- he said that step one was to fill in the potholes that have formed on the surface of the bridge, and step two was to install “traffic calming crosswalks,” or a crosswalks that function like a speed bumps, in order to minimize vibrations caused by traffic. He also said that the city needed to issue emergency contracts with the Federal Government, in order to have the bridge fixed by this summer.

Sutter Creek City Council put its stamp of approval on Sutter Creek’s First Annual Holiday Electric Light Parade. The parade on Main Street will be held at 5:30 on the evening of December 15th, and the only requirement is that parade entries must be lit with Christmas lights. “The more lights, the better,” says parade organizer and community member Toni Linde. There’s no fee to enter the parade and for more information, contact the City of Sutter Creek at 267-5647.

Sacramento International Airport is preparing for its busiest ever Thanksgiving travel period. Sacramento International Airport estimates the two busiest days this Thanksgiving will be Wednesday and Sunday, with approximately 40,000 passengers on each day. Sacramento International Airport plans to use uniformed officers to direct traffic during holiday peak travel periods. For those picking up or dropping off passengers, you can stop circling the airport and save gas -- 30 minutes of free parking is offered in Hourly parking on the bottom floor of the Terminal A parking garage, and in the Hourly B parking lot. The airlines at Sacramento International Airport recommend arriving 2 hours early for domestic flights and 3 hours early for international flights. And be sure to check your airline’s baggage restrictions, for both carry-on and checked luggage, before coming to the airport. The airlines strictly enforce these limits, especially during the busy holiday season.

Historic Downtown Jackson holds its old-fashioned Open House November 23rd and 24th  -- that’s Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. Main Street shops will be open both nights until 9 pm -- and all decked out for Christmas -- so everyone can enjoy the holiday shopping and entertainment – including free horse and wagon rides and a living Nativity scene. You can have photos taken with Great Pyrenees Rescue Dogs at the Jackson Fire Station Friday from 5 pm – 8 pm. We understand that Santa and Mrs. Claus will be downtown on Saturday – Mrs. Claus says she’ll be reading stories at Hein & Co. Bookstore -- and Santa will light the Christmas Memory Tree at the Jackson Fire Station at 6 pm. After that Santa will be at the Wells Fargo bank for photos with kids of all ages. 

Plans to add to the height of the sign at the Jackson Creek Plaza shopping center on Hwy 49 will be presented at tonight’s Jackson Planning Commission meeting. According to a Jackson City Planning staff report, the new company managing the shopping center where Long’s Drugs and CostLess are located has been working with the city to “freshen up” the shopping center. To date they have re-striped the driveways and plan to pave and restripe the parking areas, add to the landscaping and paint the buildings.