The Plymouth Pool may still open this summer.  At the last Plymouth City Council meeting, the council discussed closing the pool due to rising maintenance costs.  However, at Wednesday’s ACRA board meeting, Plymouth Vice Mayor Pat Fordyce, who sits on the ACRA board, reported that she would keep fighting for the pool to open this summer. Fordyce answered questions from the board regarding the maintenance costs, explaining that “everything has gone up, testing, supplies, everything.” Fordyce also added that the city has lost about 20,000 dollars per year by operating the pool in the summer.  Tracey Towner-Yep, ACRA’s Director, added that it was difficult to even break even operating a pool, saying that “pools drain your budget.” Fordyce indicated she would plan fundraisers to keep the pool open, and also proposed purchasing the pool from the fairgrounds, which would allow the city to apply for grants to cover maintenance and upgrades.  Debbie Dunn, Chair of the ACRA board, suggested having ACRA maintain all pools within the county, which would allow supplies to be purchased in bulk and pool maintenance to be performed all in one day.  Presumably, ACRA would then charge each city for the service at a considerable savings. The matter will again be discussed at the next Plymouth City Council meeting, which is scheduled for May 22nd.

The debate over the validity of the referendum filed against Jackson’s Final EIR entered round three at Monday’s Jackson City Council meeting. Andrew J. Morris, the city’s attorney, maintains that the certification of the final EIR is not subject to referendum because it is an adjudicatory act and only legislative acts are subject to referendum. Thomas Infusino, the attorney hired by the Foothill Conservancy, contends that the referendum is valid because the very act of certifying the EIR is a legislative one. Infusino, in a letter to the City Council, cites several court cases where the court had made distinctions between adjudicatory and legislative acts, and provides the details of two cases where the court determined that the action of certifying an EIR was “quasi-legislative” in character.  Infusino noted that one appellate court made the distinction by ruling that it “depended upon the nature of the underlying decision” and contends that the underlying decision in the City of Jackson’s case is to amend the General Plan, which is a legislative act.  City Attorney Morris argued that there “is no underlying action in certifying an EIR” and that the “preparation and certification of an EIR is not a legislative act (in itself).”

Although Friends of Jackson filed the referendum, effectively placing the decision in the hands of the voters in November, other members of the public want a decision made now.  Larry Durant, a local resident, says “keeping the general plan in suspension until November is unacceptable.”  In a likewise statement, Janice Cavaliere, a Director with the Amador County Association of Realtors, speaking on the association’s behalf, recommended “staying the course by taking the work completed so far forward, so we can have a general plan in place.”  The council has three options before them.  The first is to decertify the Final EIR, which would be a step backward for the city.  The second option is to place this issue on the November ballot, or hold a special election, and let the voters decide.  The third option is to rule that the referendum is invalid, which would require a court order to have the measure removed from the ballot.

In response to the growing popularity of on-line bill pay services, the City of Jackson is launching a new service for its water and sewer customers.  Beginning Wednesday, May 7, customers will have the ability to pay their water and sewer bills through the City’s web site:  http://ci.jackson.ca.us.  Look for the On-line Water/Sewer Bill payments link and you will be directed to the payment center area. Payments can be made either by credit card, debit card or through a checking account.  Transaction fees will apply for use of the new service.  In addition to the bill pay service, customers can view their monthly water use and payment history for the past five years.  When going on-line to view history or pay a bill, customers will need the account number and route number printed on the bill.  For more information or to ask questions about this new service, please contact City Hall at 223-1646.

It has just been announced that the California Cultural and Historical Endowment, or CCHE, has officially awarded the $850,870 matching grant the City of Sutter Creek had applied for, with a grant writing assist from the Knight Foundry Corporation. The Knights Foundry is nothing if not a piece of local history. The historic building used to be home to a group of skilled local craftsman. One of their most well-known projects are the decorative iron-leaves they created to line the outside of the state capitol. The primary objective of CCHE is to preserve the historic Knight Foundry Iron Works in Sutter Creek for posterity as a skills training center for traditional industrial metal-working crafts, and as a living history educational experience for the public. This capital grant is for the purchase, environmental cleanup and the rebuilding of the cupola iron furnaces.

The funds for this grant had been reserved last year, but it took significant, creative problem-solving to actually have the grant awarded. City Manager Rob Duke's work with CCHE staff cleared the way, and the City Council showed real flexibility in approving the necessary policy adjustments. Mayor Gary Wooten made a strong, succinct pitch for the Knights Foundry at a meeting last week between the City and CCHE. According to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for the Knights Foundry, “We can immediately begin spending match money against this grant, which will then be reimbursed by the CCHE dollar for dollar, once the formal grant agreement is approved. This is a very big step toward securing title to the Knights Foundry.”

-Thursday night marked the 27th and final General Plan Advisory Committee Meeting, or GPAC. The county and its consultants wrapped up and summarized the ideas from the last meeting.  Additionally, the county provided GPAC and the members of the audience with the results of the surveys that were conducted over the last month. Most of the replies were split down the middle, especially in response to a question regarding Rancho Arroyo Seco.  About half of the respondents think the potential future development in Ione should be included in the General Plan.

Many people had colorful comments, including one that referred to “Nazi environmentalists” that some found funny, and others an insult.  John Carlson, a member of GPAC, found the reference offensive and was “even more insulted that people laughed at it.”  Carlson went on to say that the members of GPAC and the county had worked “very hard” and didn’t deserve that type of comment.  There was some discussion on whether the remark would be stricken from the record. Additionally, the committee expressed some final concerns and comments. 

There was talk of sustainable development, “green” building methods, low impact development in regards to water quality, and watershed overlays. Jeffrey Gibson, President of the Amador Wine Grape Growers Association, says his organization’s official position is “No watershed overlay.”  According to the public survey, many other citizens felt the same way. At the end of the meeting, Supervisors Richard Forster and Ted Novelli both spoke to the committee and thanked everyone for their hard work and dedication.  Indicating that GPAC was only the first step of the process, Forster said, “If anyone thinks that this is over, we are far from it. It’s important we get it right. The next step in the General Plan update process will be a series of public workshops to be held in June.  We’ll keep you updated on those workshops when the dates and locations are announced.

Congressman Dan Lungren settled into Mel and Faye’s Diner in Jackson last Saturday evening for a meet and greet and question and answer session with local candidates and officials. More than 80 people attended, including many notable Republicans involved in local government. Three candidates for the board of Supervisor’s race -  John Plasse, John Gonsalvez, and David Pinkus – were all in attendance, as well as District 10 Assembly Candidates Dave Sander, Paul Hegyi and Jack Sieglock. A representative from Presidential candidate John McCain’s Campaign was also there and spoke to the group about McCain and his campaign issues. Lungren discussed international issues regarding national security as well as local issues and his recent series of town-hall conferences in the local area. He also spoke about his relationship with John McCain.

 A public hearing was conducted on the Final Environmental Impact Report, or EIR, at Monday night’s Jackson City Council meeting. The task before the council was to certify the EIR for the City of Jackson Land Use Element, Circulation Element and Development Code – a project that has been in the works for over twelve years. Beth Thompson of PMC, a planning firm contracted by the city, presented the Final EIR to the council. 

The Central Sierra Resource Conservation and Development Council, or CSRCD, will be conducting a series of community forums to verify local resource concerns and opportunities. Organizations and individuals are encouraged to attend the forums and be heard on projects to improve their community.

Locals reported yesterday that credit and Debit Card systems at US Postal Service locations were unavailable for use for a brief period yesterday. National reports confirmed that across the nation, the US Post Office experienced a temporary freeze in their credit card systems, requiring customers to pay in cash. However, the outage did not effect all postal service locations. Pine Grove reported system failure while Jackson employees said the system was working as normal. All credit card systems are functioning again as normal. There was no formal statement from the US Post Office on the matter.

Student Jacob Schmidt was the first to be the “Mayor’s Honored Guest” at Monday’s Jackson City Council meeting. The program, implemented by the city last month, provides an opportunity for junior high and high school students to visit a City Council meeting, sit with the Council, open the meeting by leading the flag salute, and learn more about city how government works. Students interested in being the Mayor’s Honored Guest must submit an essay or letter by the 25th to the city council as to why they would like to be the Mayor’s honored guest. Students are selected by a committee made up of the Mayor, a Councilmember, the City Manager and a member of the public or a teacher. “Honored Student Guest” nights are held at the first Jackson City Council meeting of the month, which is held on second Monday of the month starting at 7PM. For more information, call City Manager Mike Daly at 223-1646. of each month