By Jim Reece - Armed officers from the Jackson Police Department startled Jackson residents at Bank of Amador Wednesday night when answering an alarm sounding at the bank on Main Street. A witness said two officers with rifle and pistol drawn approached the bank building. A Jackson Police Department dispatcher said the response was standard after 6 p.m. when no one is on duty at the bank. The alarm went off at 6 p.m. and responders were under a radio silence approach when responding. The call was a false alarm.

By Holly Boitano - Golfers lined up to speak in support of the Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort project at Monday’s Sutter Creek City Council meeting, where the council discussed the project’s financial plan. Councilman Pat Crosby said it was “the best public input session that has ever taken place in Sutter Creek.” Several people wore Gold Rush support stickers, including Sutter Creek resident Rob Floyd, an avid golfer who urged the council to “hurry up with this process and bring this thing to fruition.” At least a dozen like-minded golfers and business owners followed, encouraging the city to accept the development. Business owner Dennis Griffin also wore the support sticker, and said “This thing in the next five years is going to produce a lot of money for Sutter Creek, I believe at least $700,000 a month in sales tax.” Lisa Klasowski, president of the Sutter Creek Business and Professional Association said that her group met last week to vote on whether to publicly support the project, but that project proponents asked them to abstain at the last minute, due to “timing concerns.” The council reviewed the project’s financial plan, which held some critical data. Financial Consultant Craig Hill of Northcross consultants said that the intent of the report was to “focus on capital needs, rather than ongoing expenses related to providing services to the community.” At the heart of the discussion was the estimation that, at build-out for the project -- estimated in 2023 -- the annual negative fiscal impact on the city would be $500,000 a year, or $300 per home per year. To remedy the impact, the City will consider imposing an annual tax on Gold Rush Residents of $300, in addition to property tax. Project Proponent John Telischak said “One criticism we had is that we feel the study understates our positive impacts. This project will create more demand for retail throughout the city.” He said developers generally agree with conclusions of the analysis, and intend to pay their own way. The Sutter Creek Planning Commission addresses the Gold Rush Ranch project in a 7 p.m. meeting Monday, looking at how the project meets the city General Plan. On the agenda is considering directing staff to prepare the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report.

By Jennifer Wilson - Kirkwood Mountain Resort and Mountain Utilities has applied for a use permit to install a Clean-Burning Micro-Turbine and Heat Recovery Electrical Generation Facility. The facility, which would also include a 3200-square foot building to house the turbines, would be located on Loop Road, about ¾ of a mile south of the Highway 88 & Kirkwood Meadows Drive junction in Amador County. The turbine unit boasts continuous onsite electrical power, with low emissions that “exceed stringent environmental standards.” The utilities use permit application was reviewed at Wednesday’s Amador County Technical Advisory Committee, or TAC meeting. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy was in attendance to voice its concerns surrounding the project. Attorney Thomas Infusino asked if they “were looking at this as just one piece of the whole plan,” versus incorporating the current energy solution into a more long-term plan. Nate Whaley, Vice President of Kirkwood Mountain Resort, answered that implementing this project in the near future was “a no-brainer,” adding that it was clean energy that “we can do now, even this winter” versus waiting several years to get other, greener energy options on-line, such as solar or wind power. The project has already been reviewed by the Kirkwood Tri-County Technical Advisory Committee, which recommended approval of the application. The issue will come back to the Technical Advisory Committee in two weeks.

By Jim Reece - Budget woes in Amador County threatened lay-offs of county workers last week. County Administrative Officer Terri Daly proposed several ways to help the county meet the budget, while considering “equitable distribution of any negative impact to all employees … and all departments; as little as possible negative impact to services delivered to Amador County residents; and “Management of potential catastrophic impact to future year budgets.” She said she received a response from one employee union that would not consider unpaid furlough time. And eliminating the Cost of Living Adjustment across all employee units was not considered. “While the Board of Supervisors feels the mandatory furlough days is the most fair option, the option of any number of mandated unpaid furlough days is no longer under consideration due to lack of consensus among the bargaining units,” Daly wrote. Daly recommended and the Board of Supervisors approved a “hard hiring freeze,” with no new hires, no changes from part-time to full-time, and no promotions. The tactics balanced the budget for this year, But she warned: “If we encounter any unforeseen negative budget hits, layoffs will be the only option to compensate.” That includes State budget cuts to programs or County revenue. Daly said she was “very concerned that we no longer have any insurance in our budget to cover any unusual event.” She was also concerned that next year’s budget may be even worse. And savings from the Early Retirement Incentive program will now potentially just bring the county into balance next year and not provide any means for returning to “normal” In other words, these options are not available next year; the only option will be lay-offs. The voluntary furlough program is still available and Daly will discuss options with department heads.

By Jim Reece - A motor home caught on fire on Highway 26 Wednesday morning and briefly spread toward wild land before being contained by local firefighters, including from Amador County. A Railroad Flat resident was moving his motor home this morning when it caught fire on Highway 26 about a mile from the Highway 88 junction.

The fire burned in the rear engine compartment and spread quickly to about the last third of the vehicle and started a roadside fire which then spread into the nearby woods. Quick action by fire responders stopped the fire from further spreading into wild land. The vehicle was heavily damaged by the flames.

 

By Holly Boitano - The City of Sutter Creek approved a shaved down version of the 2008-2009 draft budget Monday night, after receiving word two weeks ago of a nearly half-million dollar budget deficit for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. City Finance Director Jeff Gardner went over changes made since the budget was originally discussed at a special meeting two Fridays ago. Gardner said that as it stands now, the city has budgeted $1,743,350 in revenue and $1,732,370 in expenditures for 08-09. He said that the adjustments were made possible by reducing contracting services and requiring several city employees, including himself, to become no-benefit contractors. To offset over-spending in the Police Department’s budget, the City will sell a Toyota Hybrid it purchased through a state program that they haven’t yet implemented. The City also reinstated Bruce Baracco as City Planner, eliminating a costly planning contractor that the City retained for the General Plan update. “What happened was that last year, we made some projections that didn’t hold up,” said Mayor Gary Wooten. “Sutter Creek is not bankrupt, it’s not broke, and it’s not going broke. We have a balanced budget, though it is unfortunate that our employees will not see any raises this year.”

By Holly Boitano - Sutter Gold Mining Inc. on Monday announced the appointment of Clayr Alexander as president and CEO of the company. Hal Herron will continue as president and CEO until Alexander joins the company full time at the end of October. Alexander is a mining engineer and senior mining professional with more than 30 years’ experience in nearly all aspects of mining. The company in a release said Alexander has done mine permitting, construction and operations and spent 20 years in senior technical and management positions with Stillwater Mining Company. He has also been an independent consultant, most recently with Kinross Gold Corporation, where he played a key role in the timely development and construction of the Kupol mine in Far East Russia as Deputy General Manager. Alexander will be responsible for all aspects of the Company's growth and development with the focus on advancing the Sutter Gold Project near Sutter Creek, centrally located within a 10-mile section of the Mother Lode Belt where more than 7 million ounces have been produced from 16 historic mines. Alexander said “The Sutter Gold Project is a solid foundation on which to advance the Company as an emerging gold producer.” He said “Narrow vein mines are always challenging but the situation at Sutter Creek is certainly much more favorable than much of the underground development and mining I have been associated with in the past.” The Company has received all the major permits required by California and Amador County for the development and operation of an underground gold mine and milling facility.

By Jim Reece - The Amador County Board of Supervisors approved the county budget with a few changes to its own funds, at the recommendation of Chairman Richard Forster. Forster encouraged board members to sign up for the 7-day county furlough program, in order to help the county meet its budget. He also suggested capping each supervisor’s district discretional funding with no carry-over to the next year, and capping supervisors’ travel expenses at $5,000 instead of the current $18,000, total for all supervisors. Supervisor Louis Boitano asked about travel to the California State Association of Counties meeting in San Diego, saying that the trip would cost $600. Forster said he thought supervisors should pay it themselves. Supervisor Ted Novelli said he thought that people working their last year before retirement from the county should be allowed to decline taking the furlough, so to avoid double-dipping, and to keep from affecting their pension. Novelli said he was willing to do the 7-day furlough. The board approved a $5,000 cap on supervisors’ travel reimbursement for all of the board’s travel costs combined. They also capped their discretionary spending at $10,000 with no carry-over to the next year except if carry-over is specially applied for. The changes passed 4-1 with Brian Oneto voting against.

Via Staff Report - Amador County Recreation agency’s JPA model earned a state merit award recently from the California State Association of Counties. CSAC holds a challenge awards competition every year to honor innovation in county government. ACRA was one of 3 county programs in its population category – 50,000 and under -- to receive a merit award. Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep said she is honored that CSAC chose ACRA for the award. “This county supports recreation in a manner completely different than any other municipality in the state,” she said. “We are a joint powers authority with member entities that include all five cities, the county and the school district. This level of cooperation allows for collaboration in many different areas of recreation services and maintenance.” Prior to the formation of ACRA, park planning and development did not exist within the county. A county-wide agency formed through a joint powers agreement in 2003. Retired Director of General Services Trevor Mottishaw created the idea for ACRA, Towner-Yep said. Amador County will receive the award and ACRA’s program was selected from more than 255 entries.

By Holly Boitano - The City of Sutter Creek’s acquisition of the historic Knight Foundry may be on the chopping block. Monday Night, the City Council held a closed session in which they discussed the deal, which has been in negotiations for years. At the beginning of the meeting, Knight Foundry Corporation Director Andy Fahrenwald updated the council on the progress of several grants that the corporation has been seeking for the purchase and clean-up of the foundry. Fahrenwald said that last year, the Corporation did not receive a Sierra Nevada Conservancy grant because of a technicality, but has reapplied for two more grants from that organization this year. Knight Foundry Corporation has also applied for more than 2 million dollars in other grants, including a $400,000 grant from the EPA to assist with clean up. Fahrenwald said that the Corporation has raised and spent more than $600,000 so far on the clean-up process. Later on in closed session, the Council rejected the foundry owner’s counter-offer to an offer the city made to purchase the property. The City then submitted a final offer to the owner, and should hear the outcome sometime next week. If the owner rejects the City’s final offer, the deal to purchase the foundry will be dead. The City’s agreement with the Knight Foundry Corporation will also be null and void, as it expired with the closing of escrow. “The City will still be able to enter into a new agreement with the Knight Foundry Corporation, so that they can continue to raise money,” said Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe. “So basically, things will continue in a state of flux.”