Also during last night’s council meeting, the council unanimously approved the appointment of Jackson resident Kathryn Devlin to the Jackson Planning Commission. and her husband, Bob, own and operate New York Fitness on New York Ranch Road. She is a retired teacher and the Director of the Amador Community Foundation. She has been a member of the Christmas Committee, and recently participated in the construction of the Village Glen project off of Court Street. In her application to the city, Devlin said that she “cares deeply about the planning process and how it affects the quality of life for Jackson residents specifically, and impacts County residents generally.” Devlin will sit on her first planning commission meeting on Monday, February 18.

Debbie Dunn, creator and host of the Amador County Government 101 Workshops, gave an update to the Administrative Committee on Monday. Updates included attendance statistics, evaluation results and proposed future steps. Dunn indicated that all of the County’s goals had been met, and was especially delighted by some unexpected outcomes.

Revitalization of small historic downtowns is not unique to Amador County. At last Thursday night’s Sutter Creek Business and Professional Association meeting, Murphys Business Association Member Michael Purcell gave a presentation on how the town of Murphys has been revitalized.  Ironically, he stated that 15 years ago, the Association studied Sutter Creek to determine the reasons for the success of its downtown economy. According to Purcell, San Francisco Magazine now calls Murphys “the Sweeter Napa without the attitude,” and he said the New York Times calls Murphys “the best place to retire.”

Friends are invited to attend a funeral service for Wilford “Bud” Roots. Bud was 74, a resident of Ione and lived 69 years in Amador County. The service will be held at 10:00 am on January 25 at the Daneri Mortuary Chapel in Jackson.  The inurnment is private and contributions can be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.

The upcoming Plymouth City Council meeting should prompt some lively discussion this week – issues on Thursday night’s agenda include initiating interaction with Native American tribes regarding the proposed casino in Plymouth, requiring permits for riding motorcycles and 4-wheelers on private property, and shortening up the time speakers are allowed for public comment at council meetings.  Plymouth citizens at the last City Council meeting accused the council of intentional inaction on the casino issue – Thursday night the council will discuss entering into an agreement between the County of Amador and the City of Plymouth to form a joint committee for future consultation with the Ione Band of Miwok Indians and/or the Historic Band of Miwok Indians.

The appointment of planning commissioner Wayne Garibaldi to replace Drew Stidger on the Jackson City Council has left a vacancy on the Jackson Planning Commission. The City of Jackson is now taking applications for this position. Planning Commission duties include recommending plans for the regulation of future growth, development and beautification of the City; reviewing and making recommended updates to the City’s General Plan and conducting public hearings. If you are interested, you must reside within the City of Jackson and be able to dedicate time to attend the commission’s monthly meetings held the 3rd Monday of each month, and some special meetings. Knowledge of planning and development-related matters is desirable, but not mandatory. The City Council will appoint the position. If you are selected, you would serve out the remainder of a two-year term which expires June 30, 2009. The deadline to apply is 5:00 p.m., February 6, 2008. Applications and additional information are available at Jackson City Hall, 33 Broadway, Jackson, CA  95642.

Plymouth City Council will be interviewing candidates for the job of Interim City Administrator in closed session on Saturday. Outgoing Interim City Administrator Gene Albaugh says he’s retiring for the 7th, 8th, or 9th time – he’s lost track. Albaugh’s been filling the interim position for 33 months – for the last two years, that’s been on a month-to-month basis. Albaugh says at first he had trouble getting anyone to apply for the job, but after working with the League of California Cities recruitment program was able to encourage qualified applicants to apply for the job. Assuming the City Council hires one of Saturday’s interviewees, the City of Plymouth could have a new Interim City Administrator in place as soon as February 1st. Albaugh, who lives in Auburn, will then give up his commute to Plymouth and spend his time as a Rotary District leader, writing books, and playing senior softball.

The Jackson Rancheria Casino has scheduled a mixed martial arts competition: The Global Knock-Out – Rancheria Judgment Day -- for Thursday, November 29. Since the Global Knock-out series was launched last year, these events have become among the most popular events at the Casino. Mixed martial arts tournaments are a phenomenon that emerged in 1993 with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Amador Water Agency Board of Directors has chosen an interim replacement for the District 4 seat left vacant when Dan Brown resigned. At their meeting last week, the water agency board interviewed five applicants and selected former AWA board member Paul Scott. Scott served as the District 4 representative for sixteen years until he retired in 2002. Board members cited his experience and the fact that District 4 voters elected Scott 4 times to the Water agency board.  He will serve as an appointed director until the next general election in November 2008. The water agency board members encouraged all 5 applicants to run in 2008, saying that all were very qualified candidates and each would be a good choice to represent District 4. The 2008 election will be for a 2-year term, with the full 4-year term election scheduled for Nov. 2010.

 

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.