Amador County - The Board of Supervisors held a special meeting Tuesday to consider taking advantage of $400,000 in grant money for housing and homeless prevention made available through the State Department of Housing and Community Development. Beetle Barbour, Housing Resource Director for the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency, referred to locals her agency encounters and said “people out there are scared and really afraid they are going to lose their housing.” Consultant Terry Cox, who has written over 100 Community Development Block Grants for local housing in the past, was also on hand to answer questions for the Supervisors. Barbour said that of the $400,000 ATCAA could possibly receive, $30,000 will go towards administrative costs and the rest - $370,000 – will go towards housing stabilization and homeless prevention programs. Barbour also outlined the development of an Amador faith-based community housing committee that would provide temporary housing to families or individuals in need by providing extra rooms or cots in their parishes. Board Chairman Ted Novelli said “my hat is off to all the churches that are coming forward to help in dealing with this issue.” County Counsel Martha Shaver expressed concern over “the perfidy of the state” and whether it would ask for money back once it was spent “because (the county) just doesn’t have it either.” Barbour said the guidelines as to how the money is spent are fairly vague and the state is not overly concerned with where the money goes or how fast it is spent, as long as it is used for this specific cause. Shaver told Cox that she was also concerned there is no specification as to how much the consultant can bill in the contract. Cox said her services will be based on an hourly rate which she can provide. The Supervisors approved 4-0 a motion to approve action to pursue the grant with a specific provision to spell out line items for cost services. Applications for the grant are due July 15th, and Barbour said she is hoping to know whether they were accepted by September. Barbour said her agency is also looking to include with the application a “video diary” detailing the hardships of local low-income families. Story by Alex Lane. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Sutter Creek City Council on Monday heard the city’s wastewater master plan update, which included enlarging Henderson Reservoir and the inevitable replacement of the city wastewater treatment plant. Councilman Pat Crosby asked about a bond issuance to rebuild the plant, and said he did not want to do that. City Manager Rob Duke talked about the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority master plan update and said the city treatment plant has a “finite life,” expected to expire in about 5 years, then the city will have to rebuild it. And when that happens, he recommended rebuilding to the size the city already is permitted for. Part of that is capacity, and he said ARSA might lose its storage contract at Preston reservoir. If that happens, Henderson would not be enough storage, and ARSA would not have enough water to give to Castle Oaks Golf Course. Some in the audience asked about Ione City Manager Kim Kerr’s statement that a 5-year notice must be given to break an agreement between Sutter Creek and Ione. Duke said it was true, but Ione did not have to supply Sutter Creek with a “plan.” Duke said “at the end of the day,” he would like to “still be connected to them,” so in wet years, the city can ask Ione for storage, and in dry years, Sutter Creek can help Ione with supply. Duke said ARSA’s plan looked at using reservoirs for storage in the region, but preferred keeping and expanding Henderson Reservoir. He also recommended using property as a poplar plantation for ARSA’s entire sprayfield, to keep property together and minimize manpower. He said “if every piece of pipe needs to be replaced in the ARSA system,” it would cost about $28 million dollars. Mayor Pro Tem Tim Murphy said he thought Henderson was going to be replaced, not enlarged. Duke said ARSA was able to get a 30-year lease of Henderson with the state, through 2028, though it still must get state approval. He said “abandonment doesn’t appear to be cost effective,” though Henderson does need work. Mayor Gary Wooten said they must eventually take action, but put staff to study the master plan and report back to the council. Wooten said “Whether or not people like growth, you have to plan for the future.” Duke said improving Henderson, working with small reservoir owners and installing a 40 to 50 acre poplar plantation would probably cost under $10 million dollars. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador County General Plan update panel worked on language in water goals and policies Wednesday, including cleaning up wording for a “gray water” system. They moved toward promoting reuse of water without mandating it. They changed a water policy to say: “Where available, new development should participate in the extension of reclaimed water facilities (either off-site or on-site) for beneficial use.” Planning Commissioner Ray Ryan said as a grape grower, he saw some problems with requiring the gray water participation. He said grape farmers already conserve water and use “best management practices.” He proposed promoting the gray water system, and not mandating it. Commissioner Andy Byrne said he is doing a remodel at his house and “would love to use gray water,” but he does not know how to do so. He said he would like to seek Amador County as a resource for that information. Supervisor Richard Forster said the gray water systems should be encouraged but not mandated, because “one size does not fit all.” Amador County Planner Susan Grijalva agreed, saying they would not take such a system over miles. She said the county and planning department “can deal with specifics in implementation.” Byrne said it would not matter until such a recycling and reuse system was in place. Supervisor Brian Oneto opposed the best management practices, saying the term was too broad. Oneto said he didn’t “want to be responsible for going and telling someone that they are not farming the right way.” Forster said if they were “going to adopt best management practices, it should be adopted by the Board of Supervisors and the Amador Water Agency.” Supervisor John Plasse noted that Amador Environmental Health asked who would be responsible for development and implementation of those practices. They changed the policy to say: “In consultation with the county’s water suppliers, develop reasonable best management practices for water conservation in the county.” They also removed a phrase that would “incorporate the California State Water Plan,” after consultant Jeff Goldman of EDAW said he did “not know that incorporating the entire (state) plan by reference would be adequate.” They also made a blanket move to take out references to the Amador Water Agency, instead choosing to generally refer to water suppliers in water goals and policies. Byrne said that developers of wells worked in association with the public health department, and they added a reference to agencies as well. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Local waste service representatives sought the Board of Supervisors approval Tuesday for the mailing of Proposition 218 protest notices regarding proposed rate increases. Amador County’s two major waste disposal companies - ACES Waste Services and Amador Disposal Service/Waste Connection, Inc., or ADS - submitted written requests in June for refuse collection rate increases they were forced to make due to corrections in the Refuse Rate Index Calculation, a standard rate index. As required by the California Constitution, the Board of Supervisors are required to hold a public hearing on the proposed increases not less than 45 days after written notice of the increase has been mailed to subject property owners. The proposed increases will be submitted by mail to approximately 900 ADS customers for protest at a calculated increase of 3.91 percent. Aces Waste Services will mail notices to approximately 5,200 customers. The calculated rate increase for Aces Franchise Area 2 is 4.83 percent. Aces Franchise area 3 was calculated to see a 10.27 percent increase, although Aces co-owner Paul Molinelli, Sr., made a verbal request at the June 24th Public Works Committee meeting to reduce that to 7.75 percent. “Considering the times, we though we shouldn’t go to double digits,” said Molinelli. ADS has been suffering under the weight of the current economic crisis and has had to give up customers as a result. According to Guy Davis, Site Manager for ADS, the company recently had to “withdraw from Ione because we were operating at a loss.” Aces Waste, on the other hand, has been expanding. The Sutter Creek City Council in April agreed to let its contract with ADS expire due to conflicts and “various customer service complaints” and award a new trash and recycling franchise contract to ACES Waste Service, keeping the contract local with better rates for customers. Aces also took over operations in Ione. Jim McHargue, Amador’s Solid Waste Program Manager, recommended the Supervisors approve mailing of the Prop. 218 protest notices. The Supervisors approved the motion unanimously. A public hearing on the matter was set for September 15 at 10:30 am. Story by Alex Lane. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council this week announced it has purchased 3 parcels of the Knight Foundry for $850,000 dollars, and signed a 6-year lease to use the “new” machine shop and tools, on parcels not purchased. City Manager Rob Duke said owner Richard Lyman was worried the city would make a partial purchase of the foundry, get the important parts, and not purchase the rest of the property and items. The agreement requires the city to have the property placed into trust, to prevent the city selling it. The purchase price was $851,087 dollars, while the lease will cost another $25,000 dollars a year. Duke said they did not yet know the source for lease payments. He parcels were quit-claim deeded to the city June 30th, when at 5 p.m. Mayor Pro Tempore Tim Murphy signed the purchase agreement, at the close of business hours on the deadline day to preserve a city clean-up grant, awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency. The grant is for $600,000 dollars. Duke said 2 closed-session discussions at special meetings hammered out the agreement. The city will put $1.9 million dollars in matching funds into the Knight Foundry, part of it to match a California Cultural & Historic Endowment of $871,000 dollars. Purchased lands are: Parcel A, with a tumbling shed, molding shop, machine shop, pattern shop, office and coke shed; Parcel D with a pipe shop, storage building and carriage shed; and creek-side Parcel 3, with a blacksmith shop, brass foundry materials, and a list of personal property fixtures. Those include the main Knight wheel, pulleys, belts, drive shafts, grinders and other working, water-powered machinery from the historic steel foundry, which opened in the late 1800s and operated until the late 1990s. The foundry still operates on water power, run by generators propelled by pressurized water. Duke said the Department of General Services thought the price was too high, and will appraise the Knight Foundry. Duke said the appraiser “will come out and see it’s much more than a property and a metal building in Sutter Creek.” He said the city will be in a good spot to get funding from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. And CCHE will soon get back $7 million dollars in unspent funding. Duke thought “the CCHE will look very favorably in giving us some more money.” The drawback is that CCHE grants must be matched 50-50 by the city. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – City Manager Rob Duke said Monday that Sutter Creek did not yet have a source for funding to pay $490,000 dollars over the next 6 years in a lease agreement the city council authorized and the vice mayor signed last week. It amounts to $25,000 dollars a year, to lease the machine shop parcel and equipment inside. Duke said City Attorney Dennis Crabb suggested forming a Community Facilities District, or a Mello Roos special property tax district, to fund the Knight Foundry lease. Duke said it is a legal entity, which would protect the city against liability. Mayor Gary Wooten said the purchase of the 3 parcels by the city was needed to preserve a $600,000 dollar EPA grand through the California Department of Toxic Substances. The funds will help clean up the site. Duke said the contents of the Knight Foundry were appraised at a value of $300,000 dollars. Wooten said the “property will be very valuable to the city.” Councilman Pat Crosby, who announced the purchase at a Sutter Creek Rotary Meeting Tuesday, said “the foundry will be a bonanza for us for bringing people to Sutter Creek.” He said it will help bring people to the 2 new Main Street restaurants, and the visitor’s center. Duke said the Knight Foundry non-profit organization’s board wants to insure the property the city purchased in an agreement signed last Tuesday. The city’s properties consist of 3 of the foundry parcels. Items not included in the purchase and retained by owner Richard Lyman, include a mechanical forklift, an owl pattern, a “1970s vintage Bobcat tractor,” a cast iron Pelton runner, a Knight bucket pattern, 13 Knight print blocks, a water color painting of the Knight Foundry on Eureka Street, an oil painting depicting the creek side of the foundry, a Knight Water Motor, an ore cart wheel pattern. It also included a list of items removed from the foundry by other parties. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission joint panel reconvened on the county General Plan update Wednesday, to discuss water goals and policies. They considered recommendations by various agencies and organizations and made decisions, on staff direction for the document’s revision. One policy was aimed at monitoring groundwater in a “groundwater management plan.” The panel voted 6-2 with one abstention by Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli to remove the policy. Earl Williams of Farm Bureau said he was concerned about monitoring ground water and did not thing the county needs to get into state work and the cost involved. Jeffrey Gibson of the Amador County Grape Growers Association said he was a small member of the Sacramento/Amador Water Quality Alliance, which monitors the Cosumnes River and Dry Creek watersheds. He said the coalition spends about $500,000 dollars a year on monitoring. When the group finds a problem, they fix it. He said “do you really want to regulate and monitor the Shenandoah Valley?” He said he first heard of this idea, suggested by the Amador Water Agency, but he and none of the people he knows in the Shenandoah Valley heard of the idea. Gibson said “if they want to do stuff for us and help us, why don’t they come and talk to us?” Commissioner Andy Byrne said ground water was an important issue, and the number of parcels on wells in the county meant that the county doesn’t “even know about potentially half of our water source.” Commissioner Ray Ryan said they were talking about monitoring water pulled from private wells, and he asked if they “get to the point where you dictate how much water people can draw out?” Supervisor Brian Oneto said he has lived here a long time and seen springs come and go, with the rocky underground fissures, and the water flow constantly changes. He said it would be hard to tell the sources of underground water. Ryan said it amounted to “looking for data so you can restrict” the water being taken from wells. Ryan, Oneto and Supervisors Richard Forster and John Plasse joined commissioners Dave Wardall and Ray Lindstrom in voting to remove the policy in its entirety. Byrne and Commissioner Denise Tober voted against the removal. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Plymouth City Council has a special budget workshop session at 5 p.m. today to review the 2009-2010 draft budget. A public hearing resumes at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the Final Environmental Impact Report for the city’s draft General Plan Update, with public comment and council discussion. The regular agenda includes a report of the Community Mapping Took, with possible appointment of Oversight Committee Members. The council may also consider designating voting delegates and alternates for the League of California Cities Annual Conference, September 16th to 18th in San Jose. The council will also consider a request from Jacqueline Lucido of the Amador Chamber of Commerce for an application for “funds for the promotion and exploitation of tourism” in Plymouth. The council will also discuss procedures for handling and monitoring of donations to the Veterans Park fund. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.