By Jim Reece - The Amador County Peace Officers Association awarded its officers of the year honors for 2008, selecting Ione Community Service Officer Kevin Summers and Investigator Tom Sage. Mark Estey of the Peace Officers Association, said Tom Sage was raised in the county and eventually became a Deputy Sheriff with the Amador County Sheriff's Office. A few years later he was hired by the Amador County District Attorney's Office as a criminal investigator. Sage won the 2008 Peace Officer of the Year Award. Kevin Summers has worked as a CSO-community service officer for Jackson and Ione Police Department. Summers said he is currently a Community Service Officer at the Ione Police Department and also works part time as a CSO for the Jackson Police Department. He said he wanted to thank both of his chiefs at the two departments, also with the Peace Officers Association for the award. He said he felt proud in getting the award. Summers has been a Community Service Officer for 13 years. He does traffic control full time for the schools in Ione and works part time doing traffic control at Jackson special events, such as fireworks displays and Dandelion Days.

Emotions ran high at the Sutter Creek Planning Commission Monday, where Commissioners pinpointed their concerns about the Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort Draft Environmental Impact Report before a full house. All of the Planning Commissioners were of the opinion that the DEIR was a high quality document, containing a wealth of information. But each of the five Commissioners brought up issues they felt should be added to the DEIR. Mike Kirkley’s requested additions included a fire protection study developed by qualified consultants, a study of noise impacts on the residents of the development, a California Environmental Quality Act review of Sutter Creek’s waste water treatment plant that ties it to the development, and an analysis of emissions caused by the majority of Gold Rush’s residents commuting to work outside of the county. Bob Olsen noted that 3 million yards of dirt will have to be moved in order to contour the land for construction, which he feels will devastate the existing oak woodland. Olsen also expressed concern about the steep character of the proposed open space, as well as about the development’s lack of a community center. Cort Strandberg requested an analysis of the sociological impacts to Sutter Creek’s existing residents, namely, what it will be like 10 years from now when Sutter Creek is essentially two towns. Frank Cunha brought up the issue of secondary financial impacts caused by the project. Cunha said that according to his research, Gold Rush will indirectly create the need for 1,100 additional homes for employees, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on planning. Commission Chair Robin Peters spoke last. He requested more discussion of the project’s alternatives, and objected to project mitigation measures that require a change in the City’s General Plan. The meeting disbursed with the consensus that the analysis of Gold Rush’s General Plan consistency should be accelerated, which will serve to streamline the rest of the project. The Commission will meet again on September 22 to discuss the issue.

The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday tabled a request from ACES Waste Services to hear about legal implications in a future closed session. The issue was tabled for a week after County Attorney Martha J. Shaver said any discussion she had on the matter with the supervisors should be held in closed session. Paul Molinelli Sr., owner of ACES Waste Service, requested that his household waste hauling service be allowed to haul 40 tons of waste a week to a Pine Grove transfer station, rather than making a trip to the Amador Disposal Service transfer station on Buena Vista Road in Ione. Larry Peterson of Amador Public Works said that last February, ACES requested a change in a 1999 franchise agreement. Molinelli addressed the board and said he believed the contract allows ACES the right to haul waste to the Buena Vista Road facility but the contract does not obligate ACES to do so. He said the change would only involve waste collected in the city of Jackson. “The Jackson contract says that we must seek out the least expensive waste disposal site,” Molinelli said. He also had a letter from the city of Jackson in support of the change. Jason Craft of Amador Disposal Service said his volume this year is already down 30 percent from totals in 2007-2008, adding that “if it falls again, we will have to raise rates.” Board Chairman Richard Forster said he saw the move by ACES as common sense, considering that the company operates from Pine Grove and seeks to use a transfer station there. Forster, a resident of Ione’s District 2, said he would support the change even if it meant he also had to pay more. The Board asked Shaver if she saw any problems in changing the contract and Shaver said the matter should be discussed in closed session. Forster then said the board should postpone the matter a week, and schedule the closed session for next week.

Shenandoah Valley Vineyard owner Ken Deaver was moved to the front of the Amador County Planning Commission agenda Tuesday evening, where the Commission voted 3-2 to approve a building permit at his vineyard. The Commission rethought a July 8th decision to deny Deaver’s request for a boundary line adjustment that would allow one single family dwelling and two farm labor quarters on a 42-acre parcel located at Deaver Vineyard off of Shenandoah Road. Deaver has already constructed one mobile unit intended for farm laborer housing on the property, but had yet to obtain a permit from the County. The Planning Commission originally denied the request for a permit on the grounds that the boundary adjustment would exceed the total number of farm labor quarters allowed under the County Housing Ordinance, which was passed in 2005. On August 19th, the Board of Supervisors was scheduled to hear Deaver’s appeal. Because of new information obtained on the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s 2007 conditions for farm labor units, the Board sent the matter back to the Planning Commission for reconsideration. At Tuesday’s meeting, the issue of the boundary adjustment was settled in Deaver’s favor, in light of the Housing Ordinance’s incompatibility with HCD conditions. But an interpretive question remained on whether the County should issue a Conditional Use Permit, or a Ministerial “over-the-counter” permit. Commissioner Ray Ryan argued that HCD’s conditions were meant to ease restrictions on farm labor housing, and that the permit should be ministerial. Commission Chair Andy Byrne debated Ryan, taking the position that the county should be able to issue a conditional use permit in order to insure proper land use. Byrne also worried about setting a precedent for future housing policy. In the end, the Commission voted 3-2 to issue a ministerial permit, with the stipulation that the decision be specific to this application only. Deaver also will be reimbursed for fees associated with the process.

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 - Plymouth City Council saw an 80,000 dollar budget deficit for the closing fiscal year and also saw a preliminary budget for the upcoming year, with a 5,600-dollar deficit expected. City Financial Officer Jeff Gardner said he expects revenue of 565,000 dollars next year, basing that on probable decreases in tax, licensing and other revenue streams. Gardner said Planning spending was a major part of the budget overrun, with the 2007-2008 budget request of 68,000 dollars being surpassed by actual spending in planning of 156,000 dollars. But Gardner said “some of the big ticket items that are responsible for that cost overrun we believe are reimbursable.” City Manager Dixon Flynn said one of those big ticket items was city staff work on the Evitt Property lawsuit, in relation to the Plymouth Pipeline Project. Patricia Shackleton asked if COPS funding of 100,000 was coming through, in light of the state budget stall. Flynn said “every year this comes up and every year they get their funding.” Gardner budgeted 566,000 dollars in revenue for 2008-2009, with 572,000 in spending, for a 6,500-dollar deficit. “I’m really being conservative on the revenue side,” Gardner said, though the economy may arguably be rebounding, he thought it remained “in the tank.” He said he expected a reduction in property tax to revenue to continue. Flynn said big cities in the San Joaquin Valley lost property taxes due to home foreclosures and losing redevelopment increments, sales and property tax. Flynn said San Joaquin County had 984 foreclosures a month in the first half of this year. Gardner said the State of Nevada led the United States in foreclosures, with California second. The Golden State ’s top two counties also lead the country’s foreclosure, with San Joaquin County the No. 1 in foreclosure and Sacramento County No. 2 in the nation.

By Holly Boitano - The City of Sutter Creek is back in business! Last week, the ‘Sutter Creek City Limits’ sign at the northern end of town was replaced after being down for an entire week. According to a member of Sutter Creek Public Works, the sign was refurbished with new letters by Skunk Hollow Sign Company. The letters on the old sign were becoming faded with age, and the City's population number had not been updated for quite some time. "It was just time," said the worker, in regards to the restoration. Sutter Creek residents can now breathe a sigh of relief, as the missing sign was the source of many speculative rumors in the last two weeks.

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.

By Jennifer Wilson - The partial smoking ban in Downtown Jackson was crushed out, for now, at Monday’s Jackson City Council meeting. The council may be taking a step back on its proposed smoking ban after holding a first reading of the proposed ordinance, drafted by Councilman Andy Rodriguez and City Manager Mike Daly. Public feelings about the smoking ordinance have thus far been mixed.  Jimmy Yep, a downtown property owner said “it may scare off people who want to come downtown.”  Yep said that many of his tenants smoke on their balconies.  Downtown business owner Stan Lukowicz thought the council’s time would be better spent on more important issues.  “I don’t see how having a smoking ordinance in downtown will help business,” Lukowicz said.  Others thought there were too many loopholes in the document and that the ordinance would be hard to enforce.  Walt Hoeser, a Jackson Planning Commissioner, thought the ordinance was too lax and should be “stronger.”  Conversely, Planning Commissioner Dave Butow was concerned about bias on the council.  “A legislative body cannot allow its own bias to color its decisions,” Butow said. The council acknowledged all public comment and agreed to revisit the ordinance and get further public input.  Councilman Rodriguez suggested not taking up any more of city staff’s time, and asked for another volunteer to work on the document.  Councilman Wayne Garabaldi volunteered to work on the ordinance with Rodriguez.  Additionally, Vice Mayor Connie Gonsalves noted that the original complaint came from downtown merchants and that the main concern was the bar patrons who smoked outside of any of the three bars on Main Street. “Maybe we need to work with (the bar) owners on how to provide more places outside to smoke,” Gonsalves said.  In addition to conducting the first reading, Daly indicated that a copy would be disseminated to downtown merchants and property owners for their input.

By Jim Reece - The Plymouth City Council meets Thursday. Among the council’s agenda items, City Manager Dixon Flynn is seeking council approval to take requests for proposals from law firms to select a qualified attorney for the city’s attorney services. At the council’s last meeting, Shasta Green, attorney for the city through attorney Mike Dean’s office, sought an audience with the council regarding payment for services. Green requested that the meeting be forwarded to a closed-session meeting with the council, because of the confidential nature of the subject matter. Also on Thursday’s agenda, in closed session, is a public employee performance evaluation, with council evaluating the job of city attorney, as handled by Dean’s firm. In regular session, the council will also consider Granting two Easements to the Amador Water Agency for the Plymouth Pipeline prior to the award of the construction contract for the pipeline. The council may also discuss appointment of Paula Daneluk to represent the city as an official voter at the League of California Cities 2008 Annual Conference Resolution. The council will review proposed Resolutions for the 2008 conference. Daneluk is Plymouth ’s Community Development Director. The council will also discuss Garbage Can and Dumpsters on City Streets and talk about placing a Credit card and Debit card machine in City Hall, so that city residents can pay their water and sewer bills with credit or debit cards.