Amador County – Ione city staff and council members reported last week on the Beautification Project meeting held at the end of January. City Manager Kim Kerr said about 25 people attended the January 22nd Town Hall Meeting to get input on how to proceed with code enforcement and hear citizens’ concerns and how they think the City can help clean up or enhance the downtown corridor and neighborhoods. Kerr said much of public comment was to focus work on primary corridors into the City, such as highways 104 and 124 initially. Highway 104 entering into town from Highway 88 received the highest priority, followed by 104/Preston Avenue, 124/Church Street, and 124/Shakeley Lane. Kerr said: “Based on those comments, staff will be developing a plan to determine how to proceed with this project and what opportunities are available to address these specific areas first.” Suggestions included placing dumpsters in neighborhoods for clean-up. Kerr said citizens wanted a city survey to poll people on beautification ideas. She said a similar survey was done with sewer billing in March, but the new survey was not yet completed. She said the city would have to work with ACES Waste Services or Amador & Calaveras Disposal service on how to get rid of bulk waste items such as tires, appliances and vehicles. Kerr said the overwhelming attitude was to “focus on clean-up, not enforcement.” She expected the Beautification survey to be successful as the last survey issued to the public – on the city General Plan Update – drew 234 responses, despite its being a 4-page survey. Kerr said the survey would be brought back to City Council for discussion and direction when it was completed. She estimated the cost at $125 for printing and staff time to create the survey then analyze results. Councilman David Plank asked if Kerr thought it was “time to establish a community subcommittee on the Beautification Project, under the city staff’s direction.” Kerr said she thought March might be the right time to start that beautification subcommittee. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County – Amador County will share about $1.5 million of the $819 billion federal stimulus package. On Tuesday, Ione City Manager Kim Kerr reported the numbers on the federal stimulus, of which California would get $30 billion, with that trickling down to Amador County, all for transportation projects. Kerr said “we are basically getting double what the state normally gets for gasoline taxes.” She said the city needs to update its list of “shovel ready” road projects to give it to the Amador County Transportation Commission, including projects that we ready to start in 120 days and others that were ready to start in 365 days. Kerr said the federal strings attached to the funding meant that besides California Environmental Quality Act requirements, the jobs also must meet National Environmental Protection Agency requirements. She said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asked for a waiver of NEPA requirements, but she did not know if the state would get that. The city council and Kerr discussed some roadwork needs around the city, such as repairing Sacramento Street and work on several streets in “Old Town East” (from Main Street to Foothill Street). Kerr also mentioned extension of Golf Links Drive, to the JTS property, part of a “developer agreement” with the city. She said the federal funding could be leveraged to do the job and JTS could reimburse the city. But the cost of that work was estimated at $6 million. Kerr said “that is probably the least likely one, based on the price.” She said an ACTC subcommittee ranks projects and makes recommendations on completing them. Mayor Lee Ard said he thought rebuilding Old Town sidewalks was a “priority project” for the city. Kerr said the trouble was that the federal stimulus funding could only be used on “collector roads,” or main thoroughfares, and they must be identified as collector roads on federal maps. Councilman David Plank asked if one project, putting sidewalks on Highway 124, was a Caltrans project. Kerr said it was a collector and Caltrans wanted the project, but had no funding. Councilwoman Andrea Bonham said safety priority should be building sidewalks to the schools and to Howard Park. Staff will submit a list of projects to ACTC. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County – City Manager Kim Kerr explained how Ione went without reporting samples from its wastewater treatment plant since 2006. The California Water Quality Control Board in a letter said the city could face a maximum fine of $2.56 million, and the Ione City Council discussed the matter Tuesday. Kerr said the fine amount is a “worst-case scenario,” and Councilwoman Andrea Bonham said it seemed to be based on a possible $1,000-a-day fine. Kerr said she did not expect the fine to be the full $2.56 million. Vice Mayor Skip Schaufel asked who was responsible for the failure to submit quarterly reports for 454 days. Kerr said the contracted chief wastewater plant operator, Julio Guerra, was immediately responsible, but she was ultimately responsible for the last 18 months as city manager. The problem spanned 3 years and she said the failure to report was blamed on “a multitude of various excuses … basically, it’s a health issue, it’s this, it’s that.” She said she “never got information to this extent.” Schaufel asked if Guerra ever “talked to you about getting reports on time.” Kerr said that did not happen, though since last February, they had talked about quarterly reports, but she “did not have totality to see that there were issues” from 2006 forward. Kerr said “we are now looking at trying to have everything done 10 days before the due date.” All past due reports had been submitted in the last week except 3, expected to be completed this week.

Councilman Jim Ulm said the board “doesn’t accept excuses” and “we need to have things done … I want it done, whatever it takes to do it. We have to have oversight on this, and ultimate responsibility is the council members’.” Ulm said it’s the city manager’s responsibility to take care of the reporting, and “if nothing is done, I don’t have any problem taking care of that too.” Ard said he saw the city following the process to right the errors. Schaufel said reports were 34 months late and he wanted to see “letters of completion on reports” and receive “a copy of the report that was mailed.” Kerr said reports are on file in City Hall, including every report issued since July 2008, and “you can see the due date and when it was submitted.” Schaufel said: “The people we are contracting with need to be talked to – I don’t want to use the word shot. If I contracted with someone who works like this, they would have been fired a long time ago.” The council directed staff to have a standing agenda item for wastewater plant operation status reports and also to look at options for hiring a contractor for the entire operation of the plant. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - In an effort to reduce overhead costs, the Amador Fire Safe Council has closed its office in Pine Grove and relocated to a private residence. According to an AFSC press release, AFSC “will still continue its mission to protect the people of Amador County from the catastrophic effects of wildfire through cooperative education, innovation, and action.” Upcoming projects include a new roadside chipper project; a low-income and senior/disabled defensible space project; a low income firewood bank; wildfire protection plans for Pioneer, Pine Grove, and Volcano; and shaded fuel breaks in the vicinity of Buckhorn, River Pines and Pine Grove. On Saturday, March 28, AFSC will host the annual disaster and fire summit in Sutter Hill. The event will include workshops on fire safety, weather, defensible space landscaping and information booths by various public safety agencies. For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Staff Report (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - The El Dorado National Forest Service announced yesterday that it anticipates burning 135 acres of El Dorado National Forest lands located south of Omo Ranch Road and 5 miles west of Highway 88 on Scott Creek. The location is just North of Fiddletown on the Amador County border with El Dorado County. Recent burns in this area caused some alarm when unexpected wind patterns shifted huge billows of smoke into the Plymouth and River Pines area, creating a hazy fog. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, but according to Kristi Schroeder, Assistant Public Affairs Officer with the El Dorado Forest, unpredictable wind patterns can carry smoke great distances. “There’s a whole set of variables that we look at before each burn, including fuel moistures, humidity and temperatures,” she said after receiving dozens of phone calls from alarmed residents during a prescribed burn last November. The Forest Service insists that residents are in no danger from the fire. “Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem,” said Jennifer Boyd, Fuels Specialist. “Prescribed burning allows us to reintroduce it back into the forest under carefully controlled conditions after 100 years of fire suppression resulting in a healthier and safer forest,” she added. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, and efforts will be taken to reduce actual or potential smoke impacts on community areas. For more information on the Fuels Projects on national forest land planned for this fall and winter visit our website at www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado. To be added to the smoke notification list contact Jennifer Boyd, Forest Fuels Specialist, at 530- 622-5061. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County – The Sutter Creek Planning Commission was set to resume regular business in its first meeting this month, but the meeting was canceled. Two Sutter Creek City Council agenda items Monday were tabled, including clarification of Finance Director Jeffry Gardner’s duties, and City Manager Rob Duke’s financial recommendations and an action plan for 2009. Duke said that both were not ready for presentation. The City Council and members of the public on Monday discussed one item that would have been on the canceled planning commission agenda. Commissioner Bob Olsen pointed out two weeks ago that an A-frame placard sign that normally sits on the Main Street sidewalk near Gopher Flat was an illegal sign. The sign advertises Chaos Glassworks art glass-blowing studio and gallery. Olsen said it should be a subject of the Planning Commission’s regular meeting next Monday. But the city of Sutter Creek announced this week that the February 9th meeting was canceled. Sharyn Brown of Sutter Creek spoke about sidewalk signs and recommended that a historic-themed sign could be approved for use downtown to point out such businesses. Brown said Chaos could have an “old timey” sign that fit into the historic downtown decorum. Mayor Gary Wooten said in Kennebunkport, Maine, there is a 4-by-4-foot sign with “1,000 arrows” pointing out different destinations in the town, and he suggested something might benefit Sutter Creek’s businesses. Wooten said he thought they should have a committee look at the issue and come back to the city council with a report or suggestions. Brown is a member of the Sutter Creek Architectural Review Committee, seated last October by the city council. Sutter Creek resident Ed Swift recommended that the Planning Commission be approached and study sidewalk signs that can hang from the awnings on storefronts, above foot-traffic. He said the signs could be used in the same way to point out locations in Sutter Creek’s downtown. The Planning Commission returns to work reviewing elements of the Specific Plan for the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort at its next meeting, Monday, February 23rd. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County – The City of Ione late last month received a notice of violation for delinquent monitoring reports at its wastewater treatment plant, and could face a $2.56 million fine. Ione City Manager Kim Kerr said the remaining three reports will be finished and sent to her this week by contractors, and the city should expect to pay less that the sum indicated on a letter from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. Kerr said: “That’s definitely the worst-case scenario. We don’t expect to be paying that much.” The fines are based on late reports of groundwater sampling, required with wastewater discharges. Steve E. Rosenbaum, senior engineering geologist for the regional board, wrote a letter January 28th to Kerr, in which he said a review of the Ione’s wastewater facility reporting from “January 2006 to the present revealed that of the 46 reports due during this time frame, 39 were submitted after the due date.” According to water code, he said failure to submit Waste Discharge Requirements reports “within 30 days from the due date is a priority violation. For the period reviewed, ... Ione has accrued 19 late report priority violations.” Rosembaum said the “most egregious of these reporting violations are the delinquent quarterly groundwater monitoring reports. The failure to submit the quarterly groundwater monitoring reports for the past 5 quarters constitutes a serious failure on the part of the city and gross violation of the WDRs.” Kerr said Ione is not in compliance, adding, “I knew we had a problem. I didn’t know that it was that bad.” The City Council sent out Requests For Proposals last October for a contractor to update and report on samples taken but not reported. The city signed a contract with Condor Earth Technologies Incorporated in November. She said 3 reports remain to be filed, including 2007 and 2008 Annual Reports, and a First Quarter Report from 2008, all 3 of which she expected to get this week. The Rosembaum letter said the annual reports were due February 1st. Condor reported that one required surface water sample was not performed in the second quarter of 2008, which Kerr said would have to be reported as such. She was unsure of the fine amount, but said once the reports are completed, “we will go from there.” Kerr said the issue was to be discussed at last night’s city council meeting, to update council members. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - The City of Jackson has determined it will allow subdivision applications for up to a total of 150 Housing Equivalent Units. Council members unanimously approved the agenda item during last week’s meeting after a presentation by City Manager Mike Daly. Councilman Keith Sweet was absent. Daly defined Housing Equivalent Units as “what is expected to be the resource needs for a single family residential dwelling.” Approval of such action is required ever since 2005, when Jackson approved to adopt a Resource Allocation Program requiring prospective developers of subdivisions to submit a pre-application request for the number of parcels they desire to apply for with a subdivision application. Any applicant proposing a subdivision of five or more lots in 2009 is required to submit a Notice of Intent to Develop consistent with the Resource Allocation Program. Daly said that although council is allowing applications, that “doesn’t provide a project with anything other than the right to apply.” Proposed subdivisions still have to go through a number of other steps, including an Environmental Review process. Daly said that such restrictions are all part of a plan “so we don’t overbook ourselves for capacity.” Sewer capacity has been used as a barometer for how the city has determined capacity in the past. Currently, there are a couple areas with a significant number of vacant lots, including the Jackson View area off of Scottsdale Road, which has around 100 lots available. Council’s discussion was limited to the application process and no opinions were expressed as to growth in Jackson. But, Daly added: “Whether anyone will want to submit an application this year is unknown.” Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County – In a 3-2 vote, the Sutter Creek City Council passed a resolution supporting the Amador County Board of Supervisors’ legal challenge to the Buena Vista Band of Me-Wuk Indians’ compact to operate a casino near Ione. The council heard from Flying Cloud Casino opponents Jerry Cassesi and George Lambert, who urged passage of the resolution. Sutter Creek Mayor Gary Wooten opposed continuance the legal challenge. Wooten said “I know the county spent a couple of million dollars and they lost. … I think the county will spend a lot more money and still lose … I’m sorry Jerry.” Cassesi said “You and I need to have a cup of coffee some time and I’ll give you the real facts.” Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Hepworth said he supported the county’s legal challenge and he voted with Councilwoman Sandra Anderson and Councilman Tim Murphy to approve the resolution. Wooten and Councilman Pat Crosby both voted no. The resolution was added as an emergency item to the consent calendar. It urges Supervisors to “continue the legal challenge to the casino compact,” and notes that “dismissal of the county’s lawsuit was based entirely on procedural grounds (i.e. the Secretary of the Interior’s approval of the compact did not approve any portion of the compact that is unlawful) and the logical next step for the count is to determine the most legally sound approach to seek a legal determination on the challenged components of the compact.” The resolution says a board decision “not to pursue further legal steps … would be a great disservice to the citizens … because there would be no final legal review of the compact and a possible illegal casino could be constructed in Amador County as a result.” The resolutions notes that “inaction in continuing the legal challenge to the Buena Vista compact would likely have adverse impacts on the on-going legal fight against the proposed casino project in Plymouth with the possible result that Amador County would be the home of 3 Class 3 tribal gaming facilities with the inherent traffic congestion and associated criminal activity.” Wooten, despite voting against it, will sign the resolution on behalf of the council. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council on Monday approved a request for proposals for its expiring city sanitation service franchise, with an aim to increase its services to the recycling of containers and yard waste. Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe said the request for proposals is limiting its acceptance of bids to only companies “that are currently doing business in Amador County, so that they know the winding streets that they will have to go down.” The current trash hauling service contract expires in June. The request for proposals details the service desired by the city, including that the company must supply containers and pick up of household containers for recycling and also household yard waste for recycling. Sutter Creek resident and City Clerk Judy Allen asked if the alternating service meant that recycling would be picked up every 2 weeks. Rabe said that was the case, and household containers would be picked up every other week, alternating weekly with the yard waste service. Allen said today she has 2 bags of recycling and half a bag of garbage. Rabe said customers would get a choice of the size of container they are going to use for trash and recycling. One man asked if it would be the same rate for people like himself who composted their own yard waste. Rabe said the rate would be all-inclusive, but “yard waste weighs a lot” and the more they are able to divert from the landfill, the more diversion credit the city gets. City Manager Rob Duke said positive aspect would be that “everybody has the chance to recycle.” He said commodity prices at present “are nothing – you literally have to pay people to come and pick up things.” The council passed the request for proposals, 5-0. The proposal lists an award date of April 20th, but the date could be changed by the city. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).