Amador County – An eleventh hour agreement between the county and the Amador County Deputy District Attorney’s Association, or ACDDAA, saved one position from elimination Tuesday afternoon. The Board of Supervisors took on a somber tone during their morning meeting when discussing Employee Unit Negotiations on Wage Concessions and disagreements with the ACDDAA. Of the nine bargaining units involved in negotiations, only the ACDDAA did not accept a 9 percent pay reduction in order to keep the county fiscally sound as it enters a new budget year. Amador County Administrative Officer Terri Daly recommended the board layoff one Deputy District Attorney. Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe made an impassioned plea to the board to extend negotiations until Friday. He referred to the Deputy District Attorneys as “hard working professionals who toil in a sometimes thankless job.” He said the 36 hour/4 day work week agreed upon with other unions wouldn’t necessarily apply to his staff because “most work on their day off anyway.” Riebe said “a one-size-fits-all mentality doesn’t work” and “they are willing to shoulder their portion of the burden, it is only a question of how it is achieved.” Supervisor Brian Oneto countered that “we have been negotiating on this for months…and we’re dragging our feet.” Daly said the Sheriff’s office mid-management has taken cuts and still faces the same amount of crime. Various staff spoke up about regularly working extra hours in order to complete their duties. Board Chairman Ted Novelli said the Board and staff have acted in good faith. “I’d like to see the dollars it’s taken just to get this thing wrapped up,” he said. Senior Deputy District Attorney Joe Gasperetti said he would be willing to take a personal 20 percent furlough in order to save a position. Deputy District Attorney Bill Houle begged the board to give his association until Friday. Supervisor John Plasse sternly admonished the association. He said they had been given the same amount of time to negotiate as any other unit and had not responded at all from May 1st to July 9th. He said it was not adequate that the county received a compromised proposal the day before at 4 pm. “Mr. Riebe said that is in good faith. I do not concur,” said Plasse. Supervisor Louis Boitano made a motion to layoff one position unless the union agreed to the acceptance of a 36 hour/4 day work week by the 3 pm deadline. The Supervisors approved the motion 4-0. Supervisor Richard Forster was absent. At approximately 2:45 pm, the ACDDAA agreed to the 36 hour work week stipulation. 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 last week had a director asking again about meeting minutes since she took office. AWA staff is now looking through its meeting minutes from 6 months previous, at the request of District 4 Director Debbie Dunn, who said at a meeting earlier this month that she was not sure why some people’s comments to the board are listed in explicit detail, while others get minimal mentions – or no mention at all – of the things they say. Board Chairman Terence Moore said “if it had a bearing on a decision, what people say is more detailed” in the written minutes. Board Clerk Cris Thompson said it also might depend on who types out the minutes, as one clerk there often wrote more details than she did. Thompson said she just followed instructions previously given to her by the board, about what to include or not include in the minutes. Dunn said she was concerned about what the Foothill Conservancy’s Katherine Evatt said at a previous meeting, specific to a company, RMC. Moore said they could work with staff on guidelines and formats expected in the reporting of meeting minutes. AWA Attorney Steve Kronick suggested they make the revisions to minutes in a “redline format,” which shows “strike-throughs” of omissions, and underlines in red in those items that are added. Dunn volunteered to talk with General Manager Jim Abercrombie about the issue. Moore said: “I’ll do it too,” and he suggested the agency “see what other agencies do,” such as El Dorado County. He said “Maybe we’re trying to do too much.” Moore said “we pulled all the minutes and we’ll go thru them.” Dunn said: “I’m new. I’m not a bull in a china closet. I’m not here to change things. I just want to know how they work.” Moore said in past meetings, he and a director had argued for hours straight on a subject, only to have it listed in the minutes that he and “director Moore discussed” the issue at hand. He said it just depends on what is said and whether it is part of a decision made. Dunn, who took office in December, noted that the agency already destroys recordings of meetings, after a certain time. She said she learned of that public utility practice at a workshop and supports the practice. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Regional Planning Committee next week will hear a sewer plant update from staff of the city of Sutter Creek. The presentation is part of an ongoing update by member entities on their respective wastewater systems. The committee requested each jurisdiction to present an overview of its wastewater treatment facilities and plans. The intent of the committee was to discuss challenges and share solutions related to the treatment and disposal of wastewater, and seek opportunities to coordinate efforts whenever feasible. Sutter Creek City Manager Rob Duke was expected to give the presentation, on the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority Master Plan. Duke did the same at a Sutter Creek City Council meeting earlier this month and said ARSA’s partnership includes Amador City, Sutter Creek and Ione. He said the ARSA Master Plan’s Environmental Impact Report will “hit the streets in about 60 days.” Sutter Creek Councilman Pat Crosby asked about the treatment plant and its being “unsatisfactory because of flooding.” Duke said that was fixed in the master plan. He said: “Up to a 125-year flood level, we have protection.” ARSA’s new plant will be located “above ground,” with 17-foot tall walls. It will be improved by developers of the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. He said the first phase capacity, including the resort, will be 700,000 gallons a day in “tertiary” level treatment. In phase 2, that goes to 1 million gallons a day, again with Gold Rush included. Phase 3, to be built out “probably in 2050”, would cost an estimated $9 Million to $11 Million Dollars. He said ARSA’s system includes the 100-year-old Henderson Dam, for which ARSA signed a 30-year lease with the state. That lease runs through 2028. Duke said it was estimated it will not be until 2020 that ARSA has “recycling programs going at Gold Rush.” Earlier this month, City Manager Kim Kerr reported on Ione’s wastewater system, during the Regional Planning Committee’s meeting. Members also discussed some financing. Kerr said Ione’s wastewater system was now 100 percent contracted. Jackson Mayor Connie Gonsalves said the Jackson City Council recently contracted its wastewater plant as operation as well, in the last 6 months. The regional planning committee meets 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 5th at the Sutter Creek civic building on Church Street. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador County Recreation Agency cautions to be on the lookout for flying saucers landing soon in Pioneer, at Molly Joyce Park. But expect no aliens, as the round objects are Frisbee-style flying discs, and the landing area is the county’s newest flying disc golf course. Recreation specialist Matt Nestor and Rec Aid Adam Lindsey of ACRA are collecting sponsors for individual baskets and have about 7 of them, for the disc golf course. Volunteers and/or sponsors include Brandon Wedge, Ray Birch and Paul Dalmau. They also have a sponsor for the signs that will adorn each tee box at the course, with a map showing each hole’s layout. Kam Merzlak of Merlak Signs will be sponsoring the signage. Disc golf is played like regular golf, except a Frisbee or flying disc is used instead of a ball. And rather than shoot for holes in the ground, the discs are thrown at wooden poles or at steel poles with baskets and steel chains hanging from them. Right now, Molly Joyce Park has 17 holes marked out, with wooden posts for the pins, which must be struck by the disc to “hole out” on each hole. Nestor said people can make their contribution to Amador County’s first permanent, year-round public Disc Golf Course at Mollie Joyce Park. The first permanent course is at Kirkwood Resort, but it is typically removed in winter. Another course, built at the Kennedy Mine was removed due to trespassers crossing onto adjoining property to get errant discs. Long-time El Dorado County disc golfer, Charlie Callahan and local Amador County players helped design the initial course layout, and plan a work party for 9 a.m. Saturday, August 9th at Molly Joyce Park. Nestor said he and Lindsey are seeking donations of money for baskets, with the goal to get 19 of them, or 18 for the disc golf course and 1 extra for a putting and approach warm-up area. The agency is also seeking volunteers to help ACRA auger the baskets, and to help clear trails for the course. Also, look for Nestor and Lindsey at the Amador County Fair this week, and get an information flyer on the drive to build the new course. For volunteer and basket sponsorship opportunities, or to get information, call Matt or Adam at 223-6373. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Stakeholders and a familiar lineup of concerned citizens from Amador County and beyond gathered at the County Administration Center last Thursday for the 2009 Housing Element Program Implementation Workshop. The meeting was hosted by Amador County General Plan Consultant Jeff Goldman and focused on streamlining programs decided upon in prior workshops, the latest being six weeks ago. Goldman said the meeting “is part of an ongoing conversation” to assess “current unmet needs and projected future needs” related to housing guidelines outlined in the proposed General Plan. He said “we are seeking to streamline the number of programs in place without sacrificing any of the substantive goals we are trying to achieve.” The county currently has fifty programs in its Housing Element, all of which were summarized, organized into themes and distributed to attendees in a packet titled “Summary of Achievements Since 2005.” The themes included providing adequate sites for housing, removing governmental restraints, creating new affordable units, encouraging special needs housing, providing housing assistance, conservation of existing housing and improving a jobs-housing balance. County Planner Susan Grijalva said “one of the challenges the county has had in obtaining affordable housing is that we’ve never had a developer come in to build that housing.” She said deals with developers often provide much of the affordable housing in a given area. Upcountry resident Sherry Curtis said she would like to see “affordable housing closer to where people can easily get to services like social services.” Curtis also criticized planners for not having more specific and up-to-date information available, like maps of lower income housing in Amador County. Art Marinaccio, a consultant for Amador Citizens for Responsible Government, said “workforce housing is equally important to (social needs housing) in Amador County.” Rancher and Vintner Ken Deaver agreed, and said that “at some point the lack of farm labor housing will create a backlash against the people who hire these workers.” Mel Welsh asked about the possibility expanding the Calaveras-based Habitat for Humanity to Amador County. Goldman said that would be helpful, although the group currently provides a relatively small contribution to Calaveras County housing. Goldman said another big variable in determining future housing possibilities is $50 million made available to California counties through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for energy improvements. In closing, Grijalva said “the duty of a county or city is to serve its citizens, and it’s important to bring the citizens to the table during the planning process.” Input from this meeting will be utilized in future General Plan discussions. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Ione City Council and Planning Commission have tentatively scheduled the final round of meetings for adoption of its General Plan update, with a series of public meetings starting next Wednesday. The city planning department announced the lineup Monday in a release. On August 5th, the Planning Commission will hold a special meeting to review the draft General Plan and Environmental Impact Report. At the meeting, the Planning Commission could make a recommendation to the City Council for adoption of the updated General Plan and certification of the EIR. The commission could also send along the documents without a recommendation, or make a recommendation to not adopt it. If the Planning Commission decides to make a recommendation at their August 5th meeting, the City Council would consider the draft General Plan and EIR at a special meeting on August 26. Concurrently with the General Plan update, the council will also be considering a number of amendments to the city’s zoning code and to the zoning map for consistency with the draft General Plan and land use plan. If the recommendation is not made, another planning commission meeting may be needed to finish the work. The Planning Commission meets 6 p.m. Wednesday, August 5th at Ione City Hall. The tentative City Council meeting would occur 6 p.m. Wednesday, August 26th. Planning staff said the “Ione General Plan Update is a blueprint for guiding and developing” the city’s future. It addresses land use, circulation, housing, natural resources, open space, community character, economic development and safety.” To learn more about the Ione General Plan Update, see www.ionegeneralplan.com. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

State – The California Legislature voted to abolish the California Integrated Waste Management Board Friday as one of many efforts to help close California’s $26 billion budget deficit. The bill was carried in the assembly by 10th District Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, who said “I don’t think this bill goes far enough…it is a good beginning.” California has the largest bureaucracy of any state in the union, with over 1,000 boards and commissions. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger projected that the elimination of the board’s five members will save up to $3 million annually, but it doesn’t help immediate budget issues because the board is funded through fees, not taxes. Democratic lawmakers, who traditionally make up the majority of the 20-year-old board, have argued that its elimination will squash a valuable layer of public oversight on environmental regulations. Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, a former ten-year board member, called it the state’s most successful environmental program. Also on the chopping block were a number of other smaller boards and commissions. Schwarzenegger sees Friday’s vote as a minor victory in his efforts to make structural changes in California government. The Department of Conservation will take over the board’s primary duties and 450 employees. Huber also authored legislation ABx4 20 which eliminates or consolidates a number of other boards. That bill is still awaiting legislative approval. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Plymouth City Council last week directed its city manager to help a local group place a memorial bench at the Veterans’ Park in memory of the late Roy Faddis. The council also asked City Manager Dixon Flynn to work on a draft policy for future handling of such funding. Councilwoman Pat Fordyce asked for the discussion, knowing that funds for Faddis had been held by the city for more than a year after his death. Maria Nunez Simon, a member of the Lodge Hill Committee said she gave a check toward an unspecified memorial for Mr. Faddis, as did others in the community. The funds, totaling $150 dollars, then sat idle as Roy’s widow mourned. City Clerk Gloria Stoddard said Eleanor Faddis did not know what she wanted to do with the memorial funds. Simon said Mrs. Faddis now wants to place a bench at the Veterans’ Park off Highway 49, with a name plaque for Mr. Faddis. Flynn said the funds were given for the park, but donors did not specify what it would pay for. Finance Manager Jeff Gardner said the money accounts were so small that he did not notice them. Flynn said funding for the park totaled $800 dollars. He was directed to help Simon place the bench at the Veterans’ Park in Mr. Faddis’s name, then revise a policy for future funding. Gardner recommended setting a threshold, with a monetary amount over a certain number activating the need for city council attention. But funding amounts under that threshold could be handled at the city manager’s discretion. Stoddard said a recycled material usage grant could be used to fund the new benches, and a recycled material bench building company had been contacted. The amount in the grant the city qualifies for is $5,000 dollars, Stoddard said. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Sutter Creek Planning Commission canceled its regular meeting Monday and will resume work on the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort’s specific plan when 2 of its members return from vacation. Commissioners Frank Cunha and Robert Olson missed the last meeting July 13th and are still gone. The commission is looking to get through clean-up work at its next 2 meetings, and discussed that earlier this month, and planned a lot of work in 2 meetings in August. Commissioner Mike Kirkley said they need a “meeting with all 5 commissioners to discuss General Plan consistency” of Gold Rush’s specific plan. Consultant Anders Hague told the commission that mitigation measures were put into a single package at the end of the document’s conditions of approval, “in order to keep the measures clear.” The commission must go through those conditions. Hague said he is “working on the timing of the Development Agreement,” including when a tertiary water treatment plant has to be built. Gold Rush’s Troy Claveran said Gold Rush would be obligated to pay $8,760 dollars per lot for recreation impact fees. In discussion, they said language for parks included land “adjacent” to Gold Rush, which could be housed outside of the current development area. Sharyn Brown asked about noise control for a commercial area in Gold Rush. Hague said that was handled in the mitigation measures. Commissioner Corte Strandberg said construction noise was prohibited on Sunday. It is allowed from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and during weekday business hours. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The 2009 Amador County Fair Destruction Derby on Sunday encourages drivers to put their American-made hard-top stock cars to the ultimate test. They will crash, smash, and ram each other to cartoonish crunched heaps of metal while trying to keep their own vehicle running. Would you be willing to climb into a car with all the glass removed, the doors chained or welded shut, and have a field full of other drivers do their best to wreck your car with you in it? Up to 36 brave men and women, youngsters and seasoned veterans, will pull on their protective helmets, squeeze in through the driver’s side window, gun their engines and take aim at each other in the mud of the Amador County Fair. Put on by the Jackson Rotary Club, the Destruction Derby is a major fund-raiser for the club who supports community services such as the Interfaith Food Bank. If you plan to attend the Amador County Fair Destruction Derby, get your tickets in advance as the lines form early for this sell-out event. Tickets are Reserved $15 all ages, General Admission $10, Children 6 and under $5, in addition to the Fair’s general gate admission. The event is slated for the Grandstands arena on Sunday, August 2, at 7:00 pm. Staff Report This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.