Amador County – Art Marinaccio of Amador Citizens For Responsible Government is a common fixture at some Amador County planning meetings. The Shingle Springs resident said Wednesday he wants to help Amador avoid problems he has seen over the years in El Dorado County. Marinaccio said: “We’re still arguing over the General Plan that we started in the Reagan Administration,” and General Plan work for El Dorado County “has been, for the most part, pointless.” Marinaccio is “primarily a real estate agent,” and regularly attends his home county political meetings. He said: “Land planning is a bloodsport in El Dorado County.” He regularly comments at General Plan meetings in Amador and Plymouth, and expects to be at today’s planned Housing Element Workshop, with stakeholders, hosted by the county planning department. Marinaccio said officials at both Amador County and the city of Plymouth have done a good job absorbing public comment, but they are “people who have never done this before.” He said they should “put people’s issues and objectives in context with what really needs to happen.” Marinaccio said if he “had to name 1 issue that creates more hard feelings,” it would be the separation of the policy advisory committee (or city planning commission) from the “decision makers.” He said those who work on advisory plans get bent out of shape when their work is omitted by Supervisors or City Councils. He thought it would be more beneficial for Plymouth’s Council to weigh in on its commission’s preliminary work on the General Plan. Marinaccio said: “The process should be to come up with the basic working principles and goals, then take it to the board or council,” get their direction and work on it more. He said the Foothill Conservancy has called him someone who pushes people around and gets his way. But he said those comments came after he spoke, but also when “supervisors had not even weighed in at all.” He thought his comments were just putting into words what most of the Amador General Plan Update panel members were already thinking. He said discussions in today’s Housing Element Workshop “might really help some jurisdictions find the direction they want to go.” The meeting is 2-4 p.m. today in the Supervisors’ Chambers. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A fire broke out in a golf cart shed at Mace Meadow Golf Course & Country Club Tuesday night in Pioneer, damaging several golf carts. Fire and emergency personnel responded to a call around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday to Mace Meadow, at Highway 88 and Fairway Drive. When fire fighters arrived on the scene, the building was in flames and a wildland fire reportedly was eminent. A witness said quick action by firefighter crews from the Amador Fire Protection District and the California Department of Fire Protection prevented any spread to the wildland. The fire was contained to the cart shed in which dozens of golf carts were being stored. Several of the 56 golf carts were damaged. Once the flames were knocked down, firefighters had to remove all of the golf carts from the building to fully extinguish the fire. Firefighters were still investigating the cause of the fire, and no dollar value had been assessed of the damages resulting from the fire. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Jackson Rancheria CEO Rich Hoffman announced Thursday that all concerts at Jackson Rancheria after July 9 have been cancelled due to building safety concerns. "Recently, after a careful evaluation of the deluxe portion of the hotel, our Building Official, CSG, communicated some concerns about the building's performance in the event of a fire. In a response to that report, the Tribe has elected to put the safety of our guests and staff ahead of any other concern, and discontinue the use of these areas until a correction is made,” said Hoffman. In other words, any of the top quality musical acts the Rancheria usually hosts will be cancelled between July 9 and the end of this year while upgrades are performed. The last two performers will be the Tommy Castro Band on June 26 at 7pm and Robin Trower on July 9 at 7pm. The specifics of the building official’s concerns are unclear but relate to the ability to properly evacuate the structure should a fire occur. “We will, under the guidance of our Building Official, continue to occupy the Tower building at the hotel, but the hotel rooms in the closed area, along with Lone Wolf's Steak & Seafood restaurant, the hotel kitchen and banquet facilities, meeting rooms and Grand Oak Ballroom will be unavailable until further notice,” said Hoffman. This also means cancelling the popular Karaoke and Dinner and a Movie events. Hoffman said all this falls during the transitional period from “a time when projects did not receive the appropriate scrutiny, to rebuilding in a way that will provide safety and function for years to come.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Region - The latest statistics released by property research company MDA DataQuick reveal that Sacramento-region homebuyers closed escrow on 3,420 new and existing houses in May, marking the 14th month in a row of sales increases. Median sales prices rose once again in the five area counties, spreading optimism amongst realtors looking for a profitable summer buying season. Amador County’s median in May was $209,500, up from $180,000 in April and down 29.5 percent from May 2008. Sacramento County showed the biggest improvement for the region, with prices climbing dramatically by 9.4 percent from $160,000 in March and April to $175,000 in May. Rising median home prices indicate an upward trend statewide. DataQuick statistics show a slight median rise in the six-county Los Angeles region, including San Diego, for the first time since July 2007. There was a 12.3 percent rise from April in the nine-county Bay Area. DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage attributes the abrupt May rise to a sales mix reflecting fewer hugely discounted bank repos and more higher-priced homes. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – ACES Waste Service of Pine Grove may just get a few more customers, after the solid waste company there notified Ione City Hall that it would no longer be operating in Ione. ACES, owned by Paul Molinelli, recently outbid Amador Disposal for the franchise contract in Sutter Creek. It also holds the franchise in Jackson, but Ione City Manager Kim Kerr said in Ione, there is only a permit allowing solid waste business, not the franchise agreement. Kerr told the Ione City Council Tuesday that the operators of Amador Disposal notified the city and customers that it will cease operations in Ione effective August 1st. Kerr said stopping its work here was economically motivated, and “it’s a double digit increase they would need to do business here.” She said operating under the agreement, the city “can’t guarantee cooperation in the transition” from company to company. The city can mention in its newsletter that Amador Disposal is leaving the city, but due to antitrust law, it can only give contact information for ACES. Amador Disposal will pick up their containers at the end of July, and residents have a month-and-a-half to make their decisions. Kerr said “they lost Sutter Creek, now they are pulling out here.” The will continue to offer “porta-pottie” services, and will run the transfer station in the Buena Vista area. “ACES is going to get a lot more customers,” said Councilman David Plank. If ACES does take over the city customers’ routes, Plank said they cannot change rates, which were set by a city council resolution. Kerr said the city will give people information with their sewer bills. Plank said the 2 companies must communicate. Kerr said “I did ask Amador Disposal to provide a customer list and the rates they were charging and they refused to do that.” In public comment, resident Elmer Rohde said the transition was simple. He called Amador Disposal Friday to cancel his account and called ACES Friday also, and “they start my service tomorrow.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador County Transportation Commission this week will consider sending a letter of invitation to the Ione Band of Miwok Indians to formally discuss road projects and the tribe’s casino and other development plans in Plymouth and Amador County. The draft letter is part of the ACTC board’s consent agenda, during its regular meeting Wednesday. The letter would request that tribal Chairman Matthew Franklin and the tribe “participate in formal government-to-government consultation with the (ACTC) regarding several transportation planning projects of potential interest to” the tribe. In the draft letter, staff wrote that “ACTC wishes to inform tribal leadership of the nature of these efforts and to gather information regarding planned tribal development that may potentially influence regional traffic patterns, and corresponding infrastructure planning.” ACTC’s projects mentioned in the letter included the “UPLAN,” a long-range, integrated land use and transportation planning tool. It also mentioned Plymouth and Martell “circulation improvement programs” and mapping exercises, a Pine Grove Corridor improvement project, and a regional transportation plan update. The draft letter calls it vital for ACTC to gather the tribe’s perspective on the matters. The Ione Band of Miwok Indians is seeking to have land taken into trust inside Plymouth city limits to build a tribal gambling casino there. The tribe and the Plymouth City Council ended formal government-to-government discussion about the casino project when Plymouth decided to no longer attend city council/tribal council committee meetings. The ACTC board represents all cities in the county, and the county, and members include Plymouth Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin, who is vice chairman of the ACTC board. The ACTC board meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the board of supervisors’ chambers at 810 Court Street in Jackson. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

State – The California Transportation Commission announced yesterday that it will allocate $128 million to 75 transportation projects statewide, including $36 million in economic stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Caltrans reported that $25 million of these funds are savings due to lower than expected contractor bids on several California Recovery Act projects earlier this year. “In its ongoing effort to maximize all Recovery Act dollars coming to California, Caltrans will use the savings from these projects to fund other projects that would not have otherwise received funding,” said David Anderson, Information Officer with Caltrans. Amador County has no projects funded through this latest disbursement of funds. Two Recovery Act have been funded locally to date: the application of sealant on Highway 88 totaling $292,510, and “Cold plane AC pavement and rubberized application” on Highway 88 totaling $791,115. Highlights of today’s allocations include $11 million for the installation of roadside fencing at various locations statewide, $11 million to install signs in Los Angeles and Ventura counties to warn vehicles of height restrictions, $14 million to reduce traffic congestion and freeway noise on I-8 in El Cajon in San Diego County, and $29 million to make safety improvements on I-110 in Los Angeles. Calaveras County will receive $1,045,000 for tree planting over an area of approximately 28 acres on Route 4 east of Rolleri Bypass Road. “This is a great example of how effectively we are getting transportation dollars out on the street to create jobs and invest in our state’s future,” said Caltrans Director Will Kempton. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The Ione Planning Commission Tuesday deferred action on request to amend property improvement plans, adjourning the meeting for 2 months. The action was to let owner Heather Broussard consider her plans and revisions. The commission voted 4-0 to adjourn the meeting until August 11th. Broussard was seeking to have the city pay for a 70-foot underground drainage culvert on her property because, she said, the city’s new fire station was built next door and it drains onto her property. She argued that the city was liable for the drainage work on her property because the firehouse drains onto her property. Vanessa Apodaca of city engineer Roark Weber’s office, said the firehouse was redesigned so that its flow did not affect the “prescriptive easement” drainage ditch that runs on Broussard’s property. City Attorney Tim Taylor said Broussard has no case because “prescriptive easement” code says if the scope of the easement is “not exceeding historical peak flows, then the easement hasn’t changed and then there is no inherent right for the property owner to seek” relief. Kerr said rain during construction of the firehouse caused flooding on Broussard’s neighboring property because sandbags diverted flow to holding sections. Apodaca said the firehouse site was designed to hold water on-site, to keep it from flowing higher than “peak flows.” She said water may flow at the peak for a longer period of time, but it will not surpass the peak limit. After the flood, Kerr said a redesign and rebuild at the firehouse site was undertaken, and engineers signed off on the work as suitable for the solution. Broussard disagreed, saying she could produce witnesses who saw flooding on her property after the rebuild. Taylor said if another engineer says the firehouse landscaping has changed historic peak flows, it could open a legal question in the matter. The commission approved an extension of the approved tentative map for Broussard, and voted 3-1 to waive her extension fees, up to $1,300 dollars. Commissioner Mark Hopkins voted against it. Commissioner Joe Wylie said he did “not like any part of this,” and wanted to defer the issue to give Broussard more time. A public hearing at the meeting was opened and closed, and Taylor said the commission could reopen the public hearing at the next meeting, but the issue would start from square one. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Ione City Council last week approved a “Circulation Element” for traffic that would allow the worst “Level of Service” on a few streets, in order to preserve the look and character of downtown. The council held a joint session with its Planning Commission and approved a “Level of Service” of Grade Level “F” for Preston Avenue as well as Main, Church and Ione Streets in downtown. Planning consultant Daniel Hamilton said those areas do not have enough room to expand because of the buildings’ close proximity to the streets. And to protect the character of downtown, the city must accept in trade the lowest level of traffic service there. Part of the Ione draft General Plan Update, the Circulation Element also included Level of Service “C” for off-street trails for pedestrians and bicycles. All parkways, including Golf Links Drive, would be tabbed with a Level of Service “D,” while sidewalk and pedestrian access on intersections would be required to meet a Level of Service grade of “B.” The council and commission opened a public hearing to take comment on the circulation and land use elements, and several people urged against making some land designations. Lynn Winter spoke against the Silva Property designation as a “Future Growth Area,” saying 5 Mile Drive was “affirmed” by the Local Agency Formation Commission as a boundary between developed areas and agricultural land. Winter said “why not wait for 20 years?” City Planner Christopher Jordan said the “Future Growth Area” was a designation that would be used in future planning, and would guide the next General Plan update. Mel Welsh of the Amador County Transportation Commission urged the use of a “complete streets concept,” for bicycles and pedestrians, and said “don’t forget busses.” She led a 2006 workshop to gather public input on pedestrian and bicycle recommendations in the county, and she offered to help the city in its work on such circulation. Dan Poor, who lives “catty corner” from Q Ranch, urged the panel to stick to its January 6th decision to designate Q Ranch for a maximum of 500 housing units. He said the new map had rural residential designations in all areas but the flood plains. Poor said approving it would “drive ag out of the area.” And if the city allowed an expressway through Ione Valley, the “people will not stay.” Q Ranch was designated for 850 units maximum, as a “Special Planning Area.” (end) am. Story by Jim Reece

Amador County – A Sutter Creek community farming group got its season under way this week in starting its second annual summer garden. Participants of the Arc of Amador in Sutter Hill weeded 2 garden spots at a private residence on Tucker Hill Road this week and planted several varieties of edible plants. Community Specialist Josephine Anaya led a group of 4 gardeners, her wards in the community participation group, Arc of Amador, which serves people with developmental disabilities in Amador and Calaveras Counties. Anaya said they planted tomatoes, green and yellow zucchinis, basil, cilantro, 2 kinds of jalapenos and lime cucumbers. She said the objective is to get their produce growing so that they can compete in the 2009 Amador County Fair at the end of July and beginning of August. Anaya said the Arc Garden won three blue ribbons in the 2008 fair, with their zucchinis, jalapenos and tomatoes. They also will make salsa this year, and fresh pesto. The garden was the idea of the property’s owner, Kevin Clark, advertising salesman for TSPN TV. Clark called and offered the space to Arc Executive Director Mike Sweeney, then the garden went on to win some ribbons for the participants at Arc. Anaya said they “come in every day and bring a different group and water the plants. It’s really good exercise for them. Everybody likes to participate.” On Thursday, the participants were Chris Eperson, Bret Pendleton, Corky Shull and Jeremy Carlton. The Amador County Fair is July 30th to August 2nd in Plymouth. For information, call 245-6941, or go to www.AmadorCountyFair.com. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.