Calaveras County - There was an unmistakable political presence at this year’s Calaveras County Frog Jump competition. 1st District Senator Dave Cox and 70th District Assemblyman Chuck DeVore – both recent interviews here on TSPN - were on hand to participate in the local tradition dating back to 1928. In total, this year’s event attracted 33 participants and their supporters. Cox hosted the lunch time event to promote the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, which ran from Thursday, May 14 through Sunday, May 17 in Angels Camp. “This lighthearted lunchtime tradition is a fun way for elected officials to come together and help promote the Calaveras County Fair,” said Cox, whose district includes Calaveras County. Devore, who was in the area to spark up interest in his bid for Barbara Boxer’s Senate seat in 2010, was one of the participants in the frog jump. 17th District Senator George Runner's "Taxed to the Max" frog left quite an impression after it leaped about 3 feet in its first jump and made a quick turn to the right, startling Susan Bassett, formerly with the California Medical Association and her 1-year-old son, Jack. It then hopped up a nearby pine tree, never to be seen again. This year’s prize categories included longest jump, shortest jump and media winner. The winner for the longest jump is “Susan Boyle,” jockeyed by Chris Holtz of the Assembly Republican Fiscal Office. Complete with foamed, incredible Hulk forearms, Holtz coached “Susan Boyle” to leap 11 feet, 4 inches. The shortest jump trophy went to Assemblyman Bill Emmerson whose frog, “Mine That Frog,” hopped 2 feet, 8 inches. “Bubba,” jockeyed by James Myers of Capitol Television News Service, retained his championship in the media category with a mark of 8 feet, 6 inches. Cox's “No Tax Max” made a decent effort and jumped 7 feet, 5 inches. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

State - Amador County boaters take note…State officials are still taking all measures necessary in order to avoid another outbreak of the invasive quagga and zebra mussels. A spokesperson for the Department of Fish and Game says experts at the agency still fear the mussel could spread and invade more California waterways. Restrictions were lifted at local lakes last year based on research done to determine the extent of the current infestation in Northern California as well as the vulnerability of Pardee and Camanche to the threats posed by invasive mussels. At this time, East Bay Municipal Utility District has taken several steps to manage the Quagga and Zebra mussel issue at Lake Camanche, Lake Pardee, and San Pablo Reservoir. This includes banning vessels from Southern California and outside of California, and inspecting vessels from approved counties. Although Pardee and Camanche have been determined to be less vulnerable to mussel infestation than reservoirs in the East Bay, vessel owners will be asked to complete a vessel history survey and to present the vessel in a clean and dry condition. The condition of the vessel will be determined by a physical inspection. In order to help prevent the spread of all aquatic invasive species, the "Clean and Dry, Inside and Out" requirement for all vessel owners will be enforced again this year and into the future. Quagga and zebra mussels are native to Eastern Europe and are believed to have spread to North America on the hull of ships and boats. The tiny critters are extremely aggressive, clogging pipes, starving indigenous species and producing toxins that are harmful to native fish and mollusk populations. The invaders create millions of larvae eggs that continue to grow and multiply. Officials have no surefire way of getting rid of them. Many of the waterways throughout Northern California are connected and water officials are considering further bans. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors Thursday will consider taking ownership of 3 acres near Gayla Manor in order to build a new leachfield for wastewater treatment. The expansion would add 4,000 gallons a day of capacity to the Gayla Manor Wastewater System and bring it into full compliance with state law. AWA Engineering and Planning Manager Gene Mancebo in a report to the board said the improvement would add about “3,000 feet of leachfield disposal trenches on the 3 acre parcel,” located in an “existing Gayla Manor common area adjacent to the old highway alignment.” Mancebo said new trenches would “provide about 24 to 40 percent of the needed disposal capacity,” and would enable the system to meet a 100-year-occurrence “wet season” and satisfy the requirements of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. The regional board has approved the project “in concept.” The project could also lift a “Cease and Desist Order” the regional board placed on the system in 2003, followed by a “Requirement Order.” Mancebo said construction of the leachfield was estimated at $275,000 dollars, with a total project cost of $310,000 dollars. The agency has been invited by the Department of Water Resources to “submit a full application with the intent of funding this project” with a “100 percent grant,” Mancebo said, through the latest federal “Stimulus Bill, now operating as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.” The Gayla Manor Homeowners Association, which owns the property, is willing to provide the property at no purchase cost, if the AWA makes “some minor improvements, such as placing some road base on an easement and walking trail that goes through the northern portion of the property. He said the estimated cost of construction is included the improvements. Mancebo said the Gayla Manor association “was concerned with an indemnification paragraph which would have required the (association) to defend the agency regarding hazardous wastes on the property, if any exists.” He said there are “no apparent signs of hazardous waste” on the property, and none were observed during design testing at 20 sites on the property, and on a neighboring property. Mancebo said the indemnification was “not included in proposed documents executed by the Gayla Manor Association. He recommended not requiring the “indemnification paragraph as there appears to be little risk of hazardous wastes on the property.” The board will consider authorizing Board President Terence Moore and General Manager Jim Abercrombie to enter into purchase and sale agreements to acquire property for construction of a leachfield. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Ione City Council received a report this week of the Ione Preservation Project workshop, which several attended in March, before Monday’s second related workshop, on the Main Street Project. The projects are all to be funded by two Community Development Block Grants form 1982 and 1983, which were discontinued. City Manager Kim Kerr in a report to the council said: “As indicated in the 7 Month Status Report on March 3rd, the city has $284,775 dollars from two closed CDBG grants.” The grants were closed and pursuant to a 1990 letter from the state CDBG department, “when there is no open CDBG grant the funds are considered miscellaneous revenue” and the funds are “not subject to the requirements of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, and can be used as the city sees fit.” Kerr said based on the letter, staff reviewed options to use the funds and proposed spending it on the “Main Street Program,” including $25,000 dollars this year and $50,000 next fiscal year. Staff also proposed putting $25,000 into a Façade Program over the next 2 years; $120,000 for a Redevelopment Plan study; $60,000 for an “Economic Study”; and $4,775 to set up the Main Street Program. The City Council authorized the City to join the Main Street Program and the membership cost $250. Staff completed the application and obtained material from Main Street Program to help set up the project. Staff presented this item originally to the City Council on March 17th, but no decisions were made and a Town Hall meeting was recommended. Based on the meetings to date, staff is recommending that the Ione Community Preservation Project be broken down into three parts. The first is the Main Street Façade Grant Program, the second would be the Main Street Program and its organization along with the Economic Study, and the final piece would be the Redevelopment Plan. At its meeting on April 21st, the council approved the Main Street Façade Improvement Program. Kerr said: “The City Council could elect not to fund one or more of these projects or allocate the funds differently,” but added that “this is a great opportunity to lead the way in revitalizing the City and specifically Main Street.” Monday’s meeting was strictly informational on the Main Street Program. The council could consider the funding of the other programs at its meeting next Monday. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

State - Last Wednesday, Caltrans teamed up with Keep California Beautiful and the California Highway Patrol for a statewide Litter Removal and Enforcement Day. Caltrans District 10 maintenance and office employees removed litter, trash and debris in eight counties, including Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne. Last year, taxpayers paid $57 million to clear out 182,000 cubic yards of litter and debris along California's highways — enough to fill 11,300 Caltrans garbage trucks to the brim. Putting the trucks end-to-end would stretch 60.5 miles, Caltrans officials say. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

State - On May 19th, Amador County voters will have the opportunity to vote on six budget-related propositions in a statewide special election. In a special series here on TSPN, we’ll bring you information on each ballot measure, what it means for California, and more specifically, how it affects Amador County. Today we discuss Proposition 1D, which would authorize reserve funds generated through annual tobacco revenue to pay for state health and human services programs, including foster care, Medicaid, and preschool programs. Currently, these funds are earmarked for First Five childhood development programs under the terms of Proposition 1O in 1998. Obvious opponents to this bill are those who support the First 5 program, whose revenue stream would essentially cease to exist under the five year limit of Proposition 1D. 80 percent of First Five money is distributed to county governments for similar programs, including government "school readiness" programs for pre-schoolers, Medicaid health coverage to children whose family income is above the cap for that program and government parent-education training. The California Democratic Party rejected a recommendation by their party’s leaders to support the measure and instead adopted a position of neutrality. Supporters include “Budget Reform Now,” a coalition of groups assembled by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to support the budget agreement and tax increases. “Budget Reform Now” has staged a large television ad campaign in support of Proposition 1D, claiming a blanket vote for all the propositions will lead to budget stabilization and holding politicians accountable for their actions. On May 19th, you’ll have the opportunity to vote on this and other contentious issues. Stay tuned for more information on the propositions in upcoming newscasts. 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 will tackle the tough topics tonight on the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort, when it revisits its comments unresolved wording of the various documents. The commission will discuss and possibly take action on Gold Rush and related items. That includes reviewing and making comments on the “Combined Errata Sheets” on the General Plan Amendments. The commission also is scheduled to revisit Zoning Ordinance Amendments, and the Gold Rush Ranch Specific Plan. The errata is a list of corrections or revisions to the original Specific Plan, kept as the Planning Commission noted errors or changes it wanted in the document, some possibly disputed between Gold Rush developers and the commission. New zoning designations to be discussed include “Residential Small Lot.” Permitted uses include one- and two-family dwellings, duplexes, “associated accessory buildings”, home occupations (by Home Occupation Use Permit) and second dwelling units. The council could also discuss “Mixed-Use” zoning, “designed to create a walk-able district with vertical and horizontal mixed-use, including commercial, office, residential, hotels and motels, and time share units.” Recreation zoning that may be discussed includes permitted uses for a golf course; athletic fields (excluding stadiums); facilities for tennis, racquetball, swimming and horseback riding; and public parks. Separate golf course accessories include a driving range, clubhouses, lockers and showers, storage, and reclaimed water storage and disposal. Conditional recreation uses include bars, restaurants and on-site sports equipment sales. Building proportion limits are listed at 3 stories and 35 feet, and the minimum lot size is no smaller than 7,000 square feet. The Specific Plan errata refer to the California General Plan Guidelines. It notes that: “Statutory provisions allow for streamlined permitting once a specific plan is in place. For example, residential development projects are exempt from (the California Environmental Quality Act) if they implement and are consistent with a specific plan for which an (Environmental Impact Report) or supplemental EIR has been prepared.” The “Housing Program” chapter errata, requested by the Planning Commission, notes mixed lot size limits in small-lot subdivisions within each large lot. Those include 10 percent lots sized 3,500 to 4,500 square feet; 10 percent sized 4,501 to 6,000 square feet; and 20 percent sized 6,001 to 7,000 square feet. 60 percent of those lots must be larger than 7,001 square feet. The commission meets at 7 p.m. today in the Community Building on 33 Church Street in Sutter Creek. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort’s implementation measures could be part of discussions tonight at the Sutter Creek Planning Commission meeting. The Gold Rush project, to be located southwest of the Sutter Creek on 19 individual parcels, has been subject of more than a dozen planning commission sessions. Tonight, they could look at some implementation measures, added by commission comments in past meetings, discussion with developers and public comment. Rural roads in the measures could include “a 4-foot wide concrete, decomposed granite, or asphalt walkway…on either side of the street…separated from the roadway with a 6-foot wide landscaped buffer.” Another measure calls for Gold Rush to be “linked by a system of trails,” for “transportation, passive recreation and active recreation.” The Planning Commission directed responsibility in the chapter by noting that “the project will fund the development and maintenance of the trail system.” Draft measures include having Gold Rush comply with General Plan policy “that new development involving annexation of new land into the city” shall not have a negative fiscal impact on the city, by requiring dwelling unit fees for a “Community Facilities District based on estimated city operation and maintenance costs and corresponding revenues.” It could also require Gold Rush to “fund and install improvements or modifications to the existing sewage … needed to serve the project,” and installation of new sewage needed. And it would require “construction of a tertiary wastewater treatment facility prior to issuing grading or building permits within the Gold Rush Ranch Specific Plan Area.” A measure also requires Gold Rush to fund development of a reclaimed water system for golf course irrigation, and provide or fund the purchase of a site adequate for a fire station. Modifications to the Specific Plan’s housing implementation measures were made in response to Planning Commission direction. These would require a minimum of 70 homes that are “affordable by design,” or “smaller homes on smaller lots.” Those lots would be a minimum of 3,500 square feet. The section would also require “payment of a fee per house to create a housing trust fund to support affordable housing programs in Sutter Creek,” which the city would administer. It would also create a “transfer tax on future home sales” in Gold Rush, “in an amount to be determined by mutual agreement between applicants and the city, to provide a permanent revenue source for affordable housing programs.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Calaveras County – The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors announced during Thursday’s meeting that they have hired a new Planning Director and Public Works Director. Both positions are essential roles in the complex makeup of county government, said one official. New Planning Director George White has over 20 years of community and planning development assistance. He was appointed Planning Director after the past eight years as the Assistant Director of Community Development for the City of Petaluma. Thomas Garcia, a registered civil engineer who has worked for Sacramento County and CALTRANS, will take over as Public Works Director. He spent the last 10 years as a Transportation Engineer for the City of Folsom. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A quorum of the Ione City Council may attend today’s 5 p.m. workshop on the Main Street Program, but their presence will be mostly to observe interaction of staff and the citizens. City staff noticed the workshop as a public meeting, so that the city council could attend. Last week’s notice of the meeting said: “There may be a quorum of city council members in attendance, but this is not a city council meeting and the council will take no action at this meeting.” City Manager Kim Kerr said last week that noticing the meeting will allow the council to participate in the workshop and make comments. Mayor Lee Ard said he would be content to be just a wallflower, hearing comments from town residents. The meeting is meant to educate the public on the Main Street Program, which the city will then try to implement with the help of citizen volunteers. The council has already acknowledged the volunteer work of Ione resident Jack Brotherton for his research work on the national Main Street Program. Kerr and the council believe today’s workshop will give people enough information for them to be able to decide if they want to volunteer to help run the program. Anticipated attendees include Main Street business and property owners and interested parties.” The meeting is 5 p.m. today at Ione City Hall. In other news, this week’s Ione Planning Commission meeting Tuesday has been canceled, but work stands ahead for the commission on the city’s draft General Plan. The Commission will have met twice this month in special meetings, and has work ahead in regard to the Ione General Plan Update. The commission meets with the city council in a joint meeting next Tuesday (May 19th) for a public hearing on 2 remaining elements of the Draft General Plan. They are the traffic “Circulation Element” and the Land Use Element. The next regular planning commission meetings will be June 9th, July 7th and August 11th. A special meeting of the Planning Commission, to consider the draft General Plan and its Environmental Impact Report is tentatively scheduled for July 28th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.