Amador County – The joint meeting of the Amador County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission will reconvene tomorrow in the supervisors’ chambers in Jackson. The Amador County Planning Department last week announced the continuation of the March and April meetings for the county’s comprehensive General Plan Update, “The Path to 2030.” The joint panel first met on the General Plan Update last October and met again in March and last week. Tuesday’s meeting will be held in the Board Chambers, at the County Administration Center, 810 Court Street, in Jackson, from 4 to 7 p.m. The planning department in announcing the meeting said its purpose is for specific “public comment, discussion and recommendation pertaining to identifying provisions for interim use of property and desired criteria for any future Specific Plan” or plans within the proposed “SPA-I,” that is, the “Special Planning Area – Interim” designation for the Rancho Arroyo Seco property located west of Ione. The department said “written information and maps that have been developed to this point” can be found at the County’s website, www.co.amador.ca.us. Amador Planning Department said “the Update process is ongoing so please continue to monitor the website and watch for notices of future public hearings, as changes to the proposed General Plan can, and will, be made up until the last meeting.” For information, call the Amador County Planning Department at 223-6380. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Amador County Recreation Agency staff met with local and regional enthusiasts earlier this month and agreed to pursue the building of a flying disc golf course at Mollie Joyce Park in Pioneer. The 76-acre park was deeded to ACRA by Fred Joyce on February 5th, 2008, on condition that the park be maintained for public recreation use. Agency Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep and program specialist Matt Nestor approached local disc golfers about placing a disc golf course at the park. On April 3rd, Towner-Yep and Nestor met at the park to discuss the course with Charlie Callahan, a long-time professional disc golfer, who is also the Recreation Director for El Dorado County’s District 2, where he lives. Also at the meeting were local disc golfers, Paul Dalmau of Raley’s in Jackson, and Brandon Wedge, co-owner of Play It Again Sports in Jackson. The group hiked around Mollie Joyce Park’s hilly and wooded terrain, where Pete Staple of ACRA maintenance had cut fire breaks in the scrub brush. Staple has also brought the two Little League Baseball fields at the park up to pristine condition, and a team practiced as the group hiked around the property. Callahan told Towner-Yep that the property could potentially house a 27-hole disc golf course. And he told her about an El Dorado County course that had purchase 18 baskets, used to set up a course, but the course was not going to be installed, so the baskets may be available for sale. Towner-Yep said one basket for the Mollie Joyce Park already had been sponsored, by Upcountry Pool. She said the course would cost about $10,000 dollars to install, and would require finding sponsors to raise the funds. Callahan and the local disc golfers agreed to help with the design and installation of the course, and to help get sponsorships. For information, call ACRA’s Matt Nestor at 223-6373. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Dozens attended a ceremony Wednesday breaking ground of the Plymouth-Amador Water Agency potable water pipeline, bringing a boom of water to Pokerville. AWA said the “project will provide a reliable treated water supply to the city which has been under a water moratorium for approximately 20 years.” The pipeline will deliver treated water for all of Plymouth's existing customers, plus enough for construction of roughly 500 more homes. AWA said the treated water will augment the city of Plymouth’s “limited allotment of Cosumnes River water delivered by an historic ditch system, and water supplied by the city’s aging wells.” Plymouth will deliver the treated water to its customers through its existing city water distribution system. The Plymouth Pipeline will extend from the Tanner Water Treatment plant in Sutter Creek to the City of Plymouth water storage tank on Fiddletown Road. The 8.5-mile pipeline will include 7.3 miles of new 12-inch pipe and a little over a mile of existing pipe. The project uses some existing Water Agency facilities and provides for improved water service to existing Water Agency customers in and around Sutter Creek, Amador City and Drytown. ln addition to providing Plymouth with drinking water, the project will provide ancillary hookups to the cities of Drytown, Amador City and Sutter Creek. A segment of new water main in Amador City will replace aging pipe dating back to the 1950s. The addition of nearly 20 new fire hydrants will improve fire protection for Amador City and Drytown as well as ranch properties along the pipeline alignment. A project biologist and an archeologist will be on site to monitor environmental protection measures included in the Mitigation and Monitoring Plan. Trees on the construction route have been surveyed and if trees meeting certain criteria are removed, they will be replaced per the Mitigation and Monitoring Plan. A new pedestrian bridge will carry the pipeline where the route crosses Sutter Creek. The 8-foot wide, 80-foot long bridge will connect parking lots along Eureka Street and opposite the creek, the parking lots of the Sutter Creek Auditorium and the Community Center. The new system includes a bypass at the Plymouth water main so that maintenance on Plymouth’s water storage tank can be performed without interrupting city water service. Plymouth was lead agency for the project’s design and environmental review. AWA is lead agency for construction, maintenance and operation up to Plymouth’s existing treatment plant. Construction began in January and is expected to be completed by fall. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Trying to maintain existing roads without having to expand Main Street and other downtown roads, the Ione City Council voted 4-1 to lower road “levels of service” on Tuesday, for the city’s draft general plan. Consultant Daniel Hamilton and City Planner Christopher Jordan recommended 2 “parkway options” to the council. One would be to adopt a standard grade level of “C” for the city-wide parkway levels of service, while accepting a 6-lane highway facility as part of the bypass through and around town, if the computer model shows such a need. The city council chose a second recommendation, which was to change the Level of Service of the parkways to a “D” grade for the bypass, “to ensure nothing larger than 4-lane” roads is needed in the city, but also to “require dedication for 6 lanes just in case.” Hamilton and Jordan also recommended that the council provide policy direction to the “General Plan team” to “lower the level of service threshold for select roadways.” Jordan said citywide level of service “E” could be used if the circulation analysis indicates that level “D” would not be sufficient. They also recommended Preston, Main, Church and Ione Streets all have their “levels of service” designated as the lowest grade of “F.” Parkways would all be designated with level of service “D.” Hamilton said a policy of level of service “D” designation used city-wide would require a 4-lane roadway over the bridge over Sutter Creek and through downtown. Staff also recommended that the reduced level of service standards include adding more creek crossings. The council asked how the recommendations were arrived at, and Jordan said there was and “internal staff dialogue.” The city voted 4-1 to accept the level “F” designations. Councilwoman Andrea Bonham said it was essential because there is no room to expand make Preston, Main, Church or Ione streets without destroying buildings. City Manager Kim Kerr said parking could be removed from Main Street for widening, but that was a different issue. Hamilton said level of service “F” “means the city is not requiring (expansion) or mandating it for developments.” Councilman Jim Ulm voted against the staff direction, saying that Fairway Drive had originally been marked to extend by bridge over Sutter Creek, as part of the development agreement. But when the property changed hands, the city allowed the requirement to slip away. The council approved the parkway option of level of service “D,” with a 4-lane maximum, but a 6-lane option, “just in case.” They also added language that would “explore the possibilities of future bridge crossings. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - A drought assistance program through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is being offered to mother lode farmers and ranchers affected by extreme or severe drought conditions. A special 30-day sign up window until May 8 will allow farmers in Amador County and 43 other California counties to apply for $2 million available to protect soil and air quality. Specifically, these funds are intended to maintain areas of fallowed fields, keep orchard trees alive, and protect natural resources on ranch and pasture land. "Record low levels of water storage combined with low snow melt has dried up water deliveries to a point where folks are struggling just to keep trees going so they can live to bear a crop next year," says Ed Burton, State Conservationist for NRCS in California. Over half a million acres of California cropland have become unfarmable and are sitting in wait while officials seek answer to the water shortage crisis. Projections suggest that half million could rise to 840,000 acres, with a projected $2.8 billion direct loss to agriculture. "Our best advice for preventing wind erosion is to leave some vegetative stubble or cover on the field," says Burton. "If the land is already harvested and tilled there are fewer options. Even in those cases, however, our conservationists are willing to take a look at the fields and see if surface roughening, straw mulch or silt fencing may help." More information on the drought, conservation practices that may mitigate drought-related problems, and payment rates for the current drought initiative are available by contacting your local NRCS office. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Motherlode - A $13 million microwave communications system is being pursed by law enforcement from two local counties in order to improve information access by patrol cars in the field. Representative from the Alpine and Calaveras police departments flew to Washington, DC last week in hopes of securing federal funds. The new system would effectively cut out the middle man and allow patrol officers in the field to directly check on drivers rather than radio back to a dispatch center. Alpine and Calaveras counties are making a cooperative effort to secure funding for the first stage of the project, but plans will eventually include Amador, Mariposa and Mono counties. Amador County Sheriff Deputies can verify that communicating with a dispatch center can be difficult considering the variable terrain of the foothills. Law enforcement is hoping that expansions in the availability of grant funding through the federal government will help to improve communications challenges as well as other under budgeted areas of local law enforcement. There is now word from Washington as to whether these funds have been approved. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The Forest Service is extending the current closure of Eldorado National Forest dirt roads and trails until at least April 15 since many of the routes are too muddy for vehicles to drive on. The Forest Service says it will continue to reassess the conditions and the weather forecasts to determine if lifting the closure is still reasonable. Dirt roads and trails, also known as native surface roads, have been closed since January 1, when the three month minimal seasonal closure was put into effect. Forest Supervisor Ramiro Villalvazo said that he elected to extend the closure period by way of a Forest Order because soil conditions remained too wet to travel on without causing damage. “I am primarily concerned with the soils in the lower elevations that tend to mud up more easily than those found in the higher elevations,” said Villalvazo. “The dirt road closure affects the entire Eldorado National Forest and I expect that some routes will be drier than others.” Villalvazo says that when he lifts the closure, some routes will be too wet to drive on and visitors will be responsible not to drive on them. Once the closure is lifted, the Forest Service can still cite people for damaging the routes. “Every year the dirt roads and trails will be closed between January 1 and March 31,” said Villalvazo. “And, each year, depending on the conditions and the weather forecast, I may need to close them sooner or open them later. This year I need to open them later.”

Amador County - The Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team arrested a Calaveras County man Tuesday for attempting to sell large quantities of marijuana to an undercover agent. The arrest was the result of a four month sting operation and cooperative effort between Amador and Calaveras County Sheriff’s Deputies. Evan Py, 32, hailing from the Rail Road Flat area in Calaveras County, was arrested after he delivered 33 cloned marijuana plants to an ACCNET agent in the parking lot of Lowe’s Hardware in Martell. According to information released by ACCNET, “This investigation began in December of 2008 when Py delivered 10 marijuana clones to an ACCNET undercover agent in Jackson. During this investigation PY discussed with the ACCNET undercover agent the processes to cultivate indoor marijuana and offered to set up an indoor grow for the undercover agent. A total of 69 marijuana clones were sold to the undercover agent during the operation.” A “clone” in marijuana terms indicates female marijuana plant that has been made to develop a separate root system and creates a genetic duplicate from a mother plant. This process is preferred to starting a marijuana plant from seed, which does not ensure the sex of the plant. A subsequent search of the Py residence was conducted. Agents seized approximately 30 marijuana plants ready to harvest, along with 11 marijuana plants that were being dried for possessing and 418 cloned marijuana plants that were in various stages of growth. Py was booked at the Amador County Jail. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The city of Plymouth and the Amador Water Agency officially marked the start of an 8-mile water pipeline Wednesday with a ceremonial ground-breaking on Fiddletown Road. Several dozen people attended the event at the Plymouth Water Treatment Plant, under the shade of the city’s water storage tank. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie led off the ceremony, naming some major contributors to the project, many in the crowd. Those included Plymouth city grants writer Terry Cox, of Cox Consulting in Tuolumne County. Cox wrote the successful application for $3 Million Dollars for a Community Development Block Grant, along with a successful CDBG loan application for another $5 Million Dollars, to fund the pipeline. Abercrombie also introduced Jack Scroggs of KASL Consulting, which did engineering and environmental work on the pipeline. Abercrombie introduced an aid to Congressman Dan Lungren, and noted that the Amador County Supervisors were unable to attend because they were simultaneously starting their latest General Plan Update meeting back in Jackson. He introduced Dave Hartwell and Frank Risso of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, whose agency brought CDBG funding through the Rural Utility Service. He introduced Erik Christeson, AWA engineer in charge of making sure the pipeline was accurate. He introduced current AWA board member and its Chairman Terence Moore. Moore lauded the partnership with the AWA, which “once again is going to return to a high quality of water to the city of Plymouth.” Moore said “as a Plymouth resident, (he) would like to thank the city council for pursuing the project,” which will finally “lift the building moratorium.” He said the city has rationed water during the Amador County Fair week, but that time is gone. Moore said: “Let’s turn the spigot!” Plymouth Councilwoman Patricia Fordyce thanked the people who worked on the pipeline, to fulfill her dream to be able to turn on the faucet and “get good, quality water.” Abercrombie mentioned AWA Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo, who worked on the project. And Cox mentioned early project helpers for Plymouth, original engineer John German, former City Manager Gene Albaugh, and current City Manager Dixon Flynn, who said his city council was working and could not attend the ceremony. AWA board members Moore, Vice Chair Bill Condrashoff, Gary Thomas and Debbie Dunn then took golden shovels and posed for cameras, with Abercrombie, Flynn, Fordyce and former AWA Director Madonna Weibold. Hartwell and Risso then joined AWA project manager Ken Hunt, Christeson, Cox and Scroggs for photos with the shovels. Hunt said the project, which started last month, has about 1-and-a-half miles of pipeline now in place in the ground. The project will be 8-and-a-half miles long when completed. Project builder Mountain Cascade’s project manager, Tony Batista of Valley Springs, also attended. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - A power line through the high country proposed by Kirkwood Ski Resort is a red flag among local environmentalists. The Kirkwood Meadows Utility District has proposed a power line to run from Kirkwood to Salt Springs Reservoir. The line will run above ground in some locations and may run underground in others. Two routes are under consideration, one generally to Bear River Reservoir and then along Highway 88, and the other in the backcountry through Long Valley. Katherine Evatt, Board Director of the Foothill Conservancy, says that the project could benefit the environment, but could also be detrimental if not implemented properly. The power line would replace diesel generators at Kirkwood, which have a history of air pollution and diesel spills. But Evatt says the power line could also have potential impacts on scenic beauty, wildlife habitat, adjacent wilderness, historic and cultural resources, and the backcountry character of the area. As previously reported, two public meetings were held at the Jackson Civic Center on Wednesday and the KPMUD office in Kirkwood. We’ll have details on the outcome of these meetings in an upcoming broadcast. Staff Report This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.