During the City of Ione’s latest General Plan 101 meeting, attendees expressed their concerns over traffic, schools, recreation programs and empty storefronts downtown. The Ione General Plan Update is a blueprint of key elements designed to enhance and preserve the future of Ione. Benefits resulting from a General Plan Update are many. Ione has served as a corridor for big trucks transporting items such as brick, clay, timbers and farming supplies. The streets which they travel are both narrow and hazardous for the size and loads carried by these vehicles. Through a general plan process, a solution to this problem with both near and long term alternatives will be identified. The General Plan is intended to analyze measures to protect the historical elements of the city while implementing goals to create a thriving future. This effort is expected to include economic development and historic preservation to create programs and policies to protect and enhance downtown. In addition, the Ione General Plan Update will address revitalization, housing, circulation and land use. Public meetings will continue to be held for people to learn about the General Plan Update and to communicate their ideas and views on how to shape Ione in the years to come. For more information, you may contact City Planner Christopher Jordan at 274-2412, extension 104, or City Manager Kim Kerr at extension 111.

The El Dorado Irrigation District has obtained approval from the State Water Resources Control Board to transfer up to 4,000 acre-feet of water currently being drawn down from Caples Lake reservoir—under emergency conditions—to Jenkinson Lake, the District’s largest water storage facility. “We started the transfer through Hazel Creek Tunnel to Jenkinson Lake this morning,” stated EID General Counsel Tom Cumpston. “Although we hope to get as close to the 4,000 acre-foot maximum limit as possible, we will probably run short due to the drawdown that has already taken place.” In an effort to ensure that the drawdown water is not wasted, some of the water is being diverted through the EID powerhouse to generate state-certified “clean” hydroelectric power for California. Under authority granted by state law, the District’s Board declared an emergency repair situation on July 1 of this year, shortly after it was determined that badly deteriorated slide gates and other equipment was in need of replacement as soon as possible. The District began the drawdown of water in Caples Lake reservoir in mid-July in order to expedite the emergency repairs. In related news, Trout Unlimited and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, or CSPA, are coordinating volunteers for a Department of Fish and Game-coordinated fish rescue at Caples Lake from Tuesday, August 26 through Friday, August 29. You must sign up by midnight Tuesday, August 19. "If you’ve never worked, 'in the trenches’…this is an opportunity of a lifetime. You may even get to hold a 30 pound brown trout in your hands," said one CSPA Spokesman. To apply as a volunteer, please go to the website on your screen.

Amador County - The Jackson City Council began its meeting Monday with the swearing in of three newly elected council members. Incumbent Wayne Garibaldi joined Marilyn Lewis and Keith Sweet in taking the oath of office. This will be the first time that Sweet and Lewis have served on the council. Wayne Garibaldi was appointed January 14, 2008 to fill the vacant seat left after the resignation of Drew Stidger. The new council members immediately took their seats alongside current members. The first order of business was the selection and swearing in of a new Mayor. Lewis recommended Garibaldi for the position, citing his years of experience in local government. But Garibaldi respectfully declined, saying, “I don’t feel confident at this point. My choice would be Connie.” Connie Gonsalvez was subsequently approved for the position. This followed with a resolution commending outgoing council members Rosalie Pryor-Escamilla and Alfred Nunez for eight and twelve years of service, respectively. Plaques were presented listing their considerable accomplishments and contributions to the community. Nunez took the opportunity to thank his colleagues for their friendship and support. He ended by simply saying, “It’s been a pleasure to serve this city. I enjoyed every minute of it.” Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - A lawsuit disputing Amador Water Agency authority during the installation of a water pipeline is now public, exposing a longstanding and bitter feud and questioning the Agency’s judgment. In a guest editorial published online by the Amador Ledger Dispatch on November 3rd, Jackson property owner Ken Perano outlined his side of a dispute that stretches back to 2000. Perano is the last landowner to settle with the Amador Water Agency over easement issues related to the installation of the Amador Transmission Pipeline. The meat of the conflict is a dispute over property boundaries and a fence line that may or may not run along Perano’s true property line. The AWA’s surveyor established different boundary lines than two surveyors hired privately by Perano. Points of contention in establishing the property line are based on everything from original surveyor maps dating back to the late 1800’s to burnt charcoal buried in the earth, which may indicate the existence of an oak tree used in the original calculation. Perano claims his property line is in a different location, overlapping the area where the Water Agency initiated eminent domain. Perano claims the AWA trespassed on his property in order to build the pipeline, destroying “a gorgeous old heritage oak tree in the process.”

But Perano’s most damning condemnation is that the AWA stubbornly spent thousands to avoid a resolution. Perano’s editorial, which he released only a day before the Water Agency Board elections, was written to raise awareness of what he calls, “a waste of ratepayer money and an abuse of power.” “When a government agency can confiscate private property without due process we have a serious conflict that I have the obligation to fight,” said Perano. The AWA refused to accept a settlement of 12,300 dollars in 2006. “This was against the advice of (Amador Superior Court) Judge Susan Harlan,” Perano said. This led to a series of actions, including land surveys and water agency legal tactics, that ended up costing over $500,000 between January 2006 and October 2007-an average of about $23,000 per month, Perano said.

But AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie, who has represented and advised the board throughout the dispute, says Perano unfortunately “didn’t tell the truth.” Abercrombie said the 500,000 is actually the total expenditure for all six or seven properties involved in eminent domain proceedings for the pipeline. Abercrombie says Perano complicated matters by filtering everything through his lawyers and spending $75,000 on two separate surveyors who found two separate findings. We had to get a court order just to get on his property to survey, said Abercrombie. “What (Perano) also wanted (and didn’t disclose) was that he demanded free water in perpetuity- we didn’t think our ratepayers would appreciate that,” said Abercrombie. The final court date in the lawsuit is scheduled for early next year. “I believe we have to stand up for our liberties. It goes beyond dollars and cents,” said Perano. Abercrombie said “the real regret here is that two reasonable folks should have been able to resolve this a long time ago.” Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

The Amador County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to waive fees for the Fiddletown Fiddlers Jam coming up in a couple of weeks. The item was brought back for reconsideration by District 5 Supervisor Brian Oneto, who at a previous meeting had agreed to pay the county encroachment fees of 620 dollars out of his discretionary funds. Oneto on Tuesday said that since the Fiddlers Jam was held as a fund-raiser for the Fiddletown Community Center, he believed the county should instead waive the fees, saying he did not believe the county should be charging the event’s organizers. District 3 Supervisor Ted Novelli asked Oneto where he thought the appropriation payment should come from. Oneto said Public Work should pay it. Larry Peterson of Amador Public Works said the fee is based on a nexus study, noting, “in this case, the community benefit is clear.” He said maybe the board would consider asking the Fiddlers Jam organizers to invest the fees into signs or equipment they needed. Dan Slater of the Fiddletown Community Center told the board that his group was ready and willing to continue renting signs for the Jam, as they had done in previous years. Oneto said he would like to see the fees waived. District 4 Supervisor Louis Boitano said “there are lots of roads in the county where 600 dollars in cold patch will fill a lot of holes.” He said if Supervisors take that money out of the roads budget, and “2 or 3 of those more amounts to some pretty good money.” Novelli said he would pay the fee out of his discretionary recreation fund. Oneto said “if it comes from anybody’s recreation fund, I would ask that it came from mine.” District 1 Supervisor Richard Escamilla agreed, saying “I’ll chip in with Ted if it comes to that.” District 2 Board Chairman Richard Forster said he would also put in 100 or 150 dollars. Oneto said “OK, I’ll work with that,” and the board voted 4-1 to waive the fees and pay from their recreation funds, with Boitano voting against the action.

By Jim Reece - The Ione City Council and Planning Department hosted a General Plan workshop Monday at the Evalynn Bishop Hall in Ione, with 45 people attending. Daniel Hamilton of Rancho Cordova hosted the meeting with computer program and individual voting clickers for audience members, giving the ability to poll the crowds on the City of Ione regarding the general plan and the future of the city. The live polling asked various questions with results shown. One poll showed the biggest concern for the city was deterioration of downtown, at 34 percent of the crowd, while 18 percent picked development pressure and another 18 percent said shopping or the lack thereof in Ione. Hamilton took public input, with Vice mayor Lee Ard said that Ione does not have businesses in town that the local people will patronize. Instead they go to Martell or El Dorado Hills to shop. Councilman Jim Ulm said it was hard to compete with Martell’s big stores. Another man said the commercial rent downtown was high too. Hamilton said residents would be surprised at how big an impact a general plan can have on attracting businesses to a city. On Transportation, 65 percent of the audience saw a Highway 104 Bypass as the best benefit to Ione, while 28 percent thought new connecting roadways in the community would be better. City Planner Christopher Jordan said the bypass would be part of a larger highway infrastructure for Ione, meant to maintain the commercial area and the retail center of Ione. For foot traffic improvements, 45 percent of the audience saw expansion of the sidewalk system as a high priority, 34 percent preferred building or marking bicycle lanes and 18 percent preferred adding transit routes and times. For helping downtown, 51 percent of the audience supported financial recruitment packages to draw new businesses to town, while 41 percent preferred a building façade improvement program. 741 percent of the group thought downtown Ione should strive to be more like Murphys, with 19 percent not sure.

Ione Mayor Andrea Bonham announced a complaint has been filed against her with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Bonham said the complaint letter and her response were available to the public and she wanted to air the matter during the Ione City Council meeting because she wondered if any other people had a similar complaint. Vice Mayor Lee Ard said the complaint was filed by Councilman Jim Ulm and Ard heard about the issue when confronted by Jackson and Sutter Creek residents, who told him, “Well, we see nothing has changed in Ione.” The complaint said that Bonham allegedly used her membership in the Ione Picnic Association to influence a donation by JTS Homes, the developer of the subdivision at Castle Oaks, in exchange for a vote favorable to the Developer. Ard said the letter “doesn’t state the fact that our own counsel said there was no conflict.” Regie Sargent, a board member of the Ione Picnic Association, read a letter from the board members stating that the JTS donation was not even the biggest one received by the group. She said JTS’s donation was small compared to others received by the Picnic Association. She also said Bonham was a volunteer but not an officer of the organization. City Attorney Kristen Castanos said that a council member cannot preside over an issue before the council in which that member has a financial interest, the definition of a conflict of interest. Castanos said if the council member were a volunteer for an organization, they would be considered having no financial interest and no conflict. But, if the council member were an officer of the organization, he or she would have a financial interest and a conflict. Likewise, there would be a conflict if the council member were a paid volunteer. In public comment, Jack Brotherton said he thought the issue was something the council needed to get away from and the council should have requested a city attorney opinion. City Manager Kim Kerr said that a conversation had taken place between Ulm, herself, and Castanos. Ulm stood by his decision to file the complaint. “I started this,” Ulm said. “It was brought to me from various people in the city.” He said those people wanted to remain anonymous. Ulm said the investigation was ongoing so he could not comment too much. “I thought I was taking a step up,” he said. “I thought I should take it to the (FPPC).”

Nearly a thousand children and their parents and coaches ushered in the 2008 Mother Lode Youth Soccer League, or MLYSL, on Saturday August 16 at Charles Howard Park in Ione. Red-shirted members of the league’s volunteer board of directors coached some of the 72 teams from Amador County, numbering just under 850 children, while neighboring Calaveras County sent two more teams and Linden sent another nine teams. That made 83 teams this season, according to League Registrar Michelle Moreno, one of the 14 MLYSL board members and a parent of two soccer players. The kids range in age from 4 to 14 years old, playing in divisions of Under 6, Under 8, Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15. Local youth soccer has also sent teams to play in a summer indoor league in Folsom. Moreno said that the indoor league has been going on for the last five years, and this summer was the biggest turnout, with Amador sending six teams. MLYSL also offers a winter league. In the winter they will have either district-wide travel teams, going to Modesto and Tracy, or a seven-on-seven league for local teams. The latter, she said, would cut down on the travel and make it easier for parents and coaches to make the games. MLYSL plays 8 a.m. to mid-afternoon each Saturday until Oct. 25, when they host their season-ending Soccer Jamboree. Moreno said the Jamboree is not a tournament, so that the Under 10 age groups are allowed to play. Every participant gets a lapel pin and the points system allows for ribbon awards for first, second and third place.

The Board of Supervisors granted a request by the George Reed/Jackson Valley Quarry company to expand mining operations under emergency guidelines set forth by the Governor of California – the third such request in three years. The controversial and much debated issue had been held over from last week’s meeting, where it was continued due to a lack of information. Both this weeks and last weeks debates centered on questions as to why the request actually constitutes a state of emergency. If granted, the new guidelines would significantly expand the company’s mining operations, allow it to surpass some CEQA guidelines, and allow for weekend work. According to Quarry representatives, the “emergency status” is ongoing depending on what provisions are needed in the ongoing repairs and construction of the levies on the Sacramento Delta. Although terms like “ongoing” and other language in the governor’s guidelines are debatable, County Counsel Martha Shaver agreed that it leaves open the possibility for future expansion. The debate also became an opportunity for citizens to voice their concerns over alleged impacts the Quarry operations have on the quality of life in the area. Residents who live adjacent to the Quarry spoke of potholes in the roads, noise disturbances and flying debris. The Board of Supervisors noted these concerns and the Quarry operators agreed to take whatever steps needed to ensure peace with their neighbors and cooperation with the County. In the end, the Board approved a motion for one final extension of mining operations for an additional 900 thousand tons, with the provision that the company be closely regulated by the planning department. The Board also noted that this would be the final such motion and they expected the company to prepare a new site for future expanded operations. The motion was approved unanimously, with Supervisor Rich Escamilla absent for jury duty.

Amador County’s Exhibit took both the Silver and Superintendent's awards at this year’s State Fair. The exhibit, titled, “Picture Yourself in Amador County,” was designed by local sign expert Kam Merzlak and built by Merzlak and Doug Wescott, a retired metal fabricator. The ten-foot rotating carousel features eight, 4-by-6-foot photos showcasing the diverse areas of Amador County, including Daffodil Hill, historic buildings from Sutter Creek and Jackson, Silver Lake, the Kennedy Mine, Black Chasm, and the Sutter Gold Mine. Local photographers contributed to the exhibit, including Eleanor Caputo, Craig Fouts, Carolyn Fox, Larry Angier, Larry Cenatto, Lisa Boulton, Kirkwood Ski Resort, and Merzlak himself. In addition to photographers, many local individuals and organizations made the entire project possible. The exhibit also featured two large flat screen TV’s, one displaying an aerial video from high above Amador County, and the other running a slideshow of additional pictures. Merzlak says the idea for the carousel came to him after learning that their booth would be “sandwiched in-between” several other larger county’s exhibits, such as Solano, Sacramento and San Diego counties. “It’s important to note the Superintendent’s award and that we were up against these larger counties who typically have upwards of $150,000 to spend, including whole teams of designers and engineers. We were all volunteers,” says Merzlak. “We started in June and Doug (Wescott) worked on this thing every day for two months. If it weren’t for Doug, this wouldn’t have happened,” states Merzlak. The exhibit was assembled in Wescott’s garage, and then disassembled for the drive to CalExpo in Sacramento. “We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies, driving down there!” joked Merzlak. The project was funded by a 10,000-dollar donation from the Board of Supervisors, who Merzlak says was “ecstatic” after seeing a scale model of the exhibit, and also through a 2500-dollar donation from Stan Lukowicz. You can view the exhibit at CalExpo through September 1st in County Exhibit Building A.