Amador County – CBS Nightly News wrapped up a second day of filming in Amador County yesterday, including a strolling chat with Frank Halvorson across the empty parking lot out in front of Prospect Motors. Correspondent Bill Whitaker and a crew from northern and southern California captured the story through interviews. They include former Chamber of Commerce President Paul Molinelli Jr., area Principal and avid Prospect customer Virginia Grabbe, and local Interfaith Food Bank director Kathleen Harmon, and Jackson City Manager Mike Daly. They spoke with the athletic directors at Argonaut and Amador High Schools, where Halvorson’s donations over the last three decades have helped field teams and trim fields, paint and light scoreboards, dress out teams, and inevitably fill stands and bleachers and gravel sidewalks. Just after 10 a.m. yesterday, Halvorson joined Whitaker and his technicians on the front sidewalk of Prospect Motors, his showroom empty behind him, his fleet of General Motors vehicles gone from view, taken back by GMAC. They walked the length of the empty parking lot as the cameraman back-pedaled, with Paul Facie of Los Angeles holding a large square light filter to block the high late morning sun for the camera. Earlier, Harmon stood on the sidewalk, talking to Facie about Halvorson and also the giving nature of Amador County. She told him about the turkey shortage the week before Thanksgiving, when 400 turkeys were gathered. Now, the biggest philanthropist in Amador County is telling his side of the story. The story is set to air on CBS Nightly News with Katie Couric, with the broadcast date as yet unknown. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Design proposals for the ambitious Sutter Hill Transit Center were a hot topic during Wednesday’s Amador County Transportation Commission meeting. The commission, which consists of a cross-section of Supervisors, transportation officials and city council members, heard a progress report by representatives of the Dokken Engineering Firm. The center in question is a proposed travel hub on a 4.4-acre parcel on the north side of Valley View Drive in Sutter Hill. Construction is likely to occur shortly as ACTC enters Phase 3 of the project, possibly as soon as June. According to ACTC Executive Director Charles Field, the “project continues to be substantially ahead of schedule and under budget.” Project Management Consultant Matt Boyer said the project’s eight different funding sources constitute “the most complicated grant funding I’ve yet encountered.” These include four federal grants, Prop 1B money, and state transit assistance funds apportioned by ACTC, providing match dollars on the other grants. ANOVA Architect Mike Kozlowski gave a detailed report on his design of the building. Referencing enlarged concept drawings, he emphasized the spacious interior and the “great opportunity” to design a modern exterior that aesthetically blends with more traditional architecture in Sutter Creek. Solar panels will be added to the rooftop as an energy-saving measure. There was some discussion over aesthetics versus more cost-effective paneling. Supervisor Richard Forster said he is “willing to compromise on aesthetics if it means saving $10,000 to $15,000 a year.” Funds generated by solar energy could reduce ARTS and ACTC’s operating costs by more than $10,000 a year, or a quarter of its operating budget. Commission members also questioned a first-year operation and maintenance cost estimate of $76,696. ACTC Director Charles Field said these costs are justified and less than 10 percent of ACTC’s annual operating budget. The commission also approved two resolutions giving authorization to pursue further grant funding and work with the county for federal earmark funds to widen the area on Valley View Drive. When completed, the Sutter Hill Transit Center is expected to house the Amador County Transportation Commission Department. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Amador County Transportation Commission Director Charles Field expressed his disappointment in what he sees as a relatively small portion of stimulus funding allocated to his agency through the new federal bill. ACTC staff has been advised that their share of Amador County’s funds should be approximately $733,000. “Since we are desperate for funds, we are willing to endure the pain,” said Field. The pain he refers to is costs involved with filing additional federal paperwork, which is a complicated bureaucratic process. In a memo to the commission, Field said, “the other half of California’s bridge and roadway stimulus funding will likely be made available through the State Transportation Improvement Program and the State Highway Operation and Protection Program.” This could mean an additional half million dollars could become available for the county. Despite its size, Field was disappointed that Amador County will receive such a small portion of $3 billion made available statewide for roads and bridges out of approximately $30 billion nationwide. During their meeting on January 21, ACTC authorized its staff to work with cities in the county to develop prioritized lists of transportation projects that may be successfully funded. He said that list has been paired down to cover only the highest priority projects. “We believe we are ready to submit and participate,” said Field. Supervisor Richard Forster said, “we will take what we can get.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A gathering of Amador County’s big business interests, the Board of Supervisors’ Economic Stakeholders wrapped up work on the county’s Economic Element of its Draft General Plan Wednesday in Jackson. Its next stop will be March 3rd, 4th and 5th before a joint meeting of the Amador County Board of Supervisors and the county planning commission. Consultant Jeff Henderson led a discussion on tourism. Maureen Funk of the Amador Council of Tourism suggested that the term “waterways” might be too broad and might exclude some types of county water bodies. She also argued to keep the term of “protect” for waterways. John Griffin of the Amador Water Agency said he did not like the term “protect” in reference to “natural resources,” because it could be detrimental to water supply projects. Griffin said the “way it is written could restrict AWA land use and growth decisions.” He said, for example, that the term “protect could be interpreted to mean that there would be no more water supply projects on the Mokelumne River.” Hamilton said there was a number of steps to get from the term “preserve” to that statement. He said “it’s a very precise statement,” the statement: “We are not going to support more water projects.” Hamilton said it was a “very quick conclusion.” Art Maranaccio of Amador Citizens for Responsible Government criticized the element meetings for not being specific enough in its language, except in the map that identified agriculture land. Katherine Evatt of the Foothill Conservancy said she thought the meetings were productive. Evatt asked what happened with public comments given the day before and also Wednesday. Hamilton said all public comments will be posted on the county Website. The comments will be prepared with the draft element goals and policies and the Board of Supervisors will be privy to all of the public comments that were made. County Planner Susan Grijalva said supervisors and planning commissioners will look at the Economic and Governance elements in another serial meeting, set for noon to 4 p.m. March 3rd, 4th and 5th 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 CBS Nightly News crew was videotaping around Amador County yesterday in preparation for the Motherlode of its interviews – today’s 10 a.m. interview with Frank Halvorson of Prospect Motors. Halvorson said Wednesday afternoon that television news crew members from Los Angeles and San Francisco were coordinating interviews with various people around town Wednesday. He said they did on-camera interviews with the athletic directors at both Amador High School in Sutter Creek and at Argonaut High School in Jackson. They also were planning to interview in Sutter Creek, with City Manager and Police Chief Rob Duke. It all stems from the 2-month-old closing of Halvorson’s 22-year-old General Motors dealership, Prospect Motors. The crew also took video footage around Jackson and the Gold Country and interviewed 30-year customer of Halvorson’s, 84-year-old grade school principal Virginia Grabbe. The principal at Isador Cohen K to 6th grade School in the Sacramento City Unified School District, Grabbe brought Halvorson a copy of her new book, “Love Ya, It’s Been A Great Ride,” a memoir that will be coming soon to Barnes & Noble. The Orangevale resident said she has been a 30-year customer of Frank Halvorson’s Prospect Motors. A widow, she said she has never been to a Jiffy Lube, but has her Cadillac serviced at Prospect – or did so until GMAC pulled the papers on the dealership. Grabbe said she has bought 6 Cadillacs at Prospect, one every five years. She rolled up in her 2008 STS Cadillac on Wednesday, in her white fur coat, for the interview with CBS. She said she bought the new Caddy in August, adding, Quote: “so that will hold me until we can get them reopened.” Halvorson said he will sit for an interview at 10 a.m. today with Bill Whittaker, to film a spot for the CBS Nightly News with Katie Couric. He said Paul Facie of Los Angeles pitched the story to the Couric machine and the rest is soon to be history. The cars are gone and the showrooms are empty, but a rally 2 months ago may have at least stirred GMAC’s brass, if not just filled one of their e-mail bins. Now national ears will be hearing the telling of a story born in the Gold Country and reared by the federal bailout of the auto industry – the coincidental same week the Halvorson dealership was closed. But that’s the start of the rest of the story. Back to you, Katy. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The $10 Million Dollar Plymouth potable water pipeline may break ground as early as Monday (Feb. 23rd), the Amador Water Agency reported last week. AWA Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said the contractor, Mountain Cascade, has been delivering pipe to property for the start of the project and may start excavating next week and setting pipe in the ground, weather permitting. Mancebo gave a staff report to the AWA Board of Directors last Thursday and introduced Mountain Cascade’s Tony Bautista in the audience. District 5 board member and Chairman Terence Moore asked Mancebo if the project would have two crews, working from both ends of the 6-mile, 6-segment pipeline that will link the Plymouth water storage tank on Fiddletown Road with the Tanner Water Treatment Plant on Ridge Road. Mancebo they will have to “wait and see. Right now they are starting in Plymouth and working this way.” He said in advance of laying pipe, the contractor will excavate along the route to see the need to make the digs deeper. Board Member Bill Condrashoff asked if they were fabricating pipe at the work site. Mancebo said Mountain Cascade will be using C900 pipe, which is “easy to cut in the field and to add elbows.” The company and AWA are targeting March 4th as an official groundbreaking ceremony. The original site was found to be a Catholic Cemetery, but the new site of the ceremony will be at a Winery in the Shennandoah Valley. In another report, AWA Finance director Mike Lee said AWA is planning a Martell area wastewater financial plan rate study workshop. The agency must look at a new rate to dispose of an effluent flow that has now doubled 2 years in a row. Lee said it has grown from 45,000 gallons 2 years ago to 200,000 gallons. The Martell rate workshop is set for February 26th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The first stakeholder meeting concerning the Economic Element of the General Plan was held Tuesday in the Board of Supervisors chambers. The purpose of the meeting was to gather information from the stakeholders on the Economic Element to be presented in draft form before the Board of Supervisors. The “stakeholder” groups were originally conceived by the Supervisors as a way to gather county-wide input on two separate elements of the General Plan- an economic element and a governance element. Economic element stakeholders include a dozen groups or organizations within the county and each city, all of whom were invited to the meeting. City Planners from every city within county limits were in attendance, except Amador City. ACTC Director Charles Field and a representative from EBMUD sat with the City Planners on a stakeholder’s panel surrounding a wall projection of the plan. A cross-section of county officials were also in attendance, including Planning Director Susan Grijalva, County Administrative Officer Terri Daly, and the Board of Supervisors with the exception of Richard Forster. Discussions focused on potential conflicts and overlay between city General Plans and the county, specifically in reference to property and development. Jackson City Planner Mike Daly said his city has finished there General Plan and is looking now at a potential expansion of its Sphere of Influence. Christopher Jordan of Ione said there Draft EIR is being prepared. Sutter Creek’s Sean Rabe said his city’s plan is “generally done.” The meeting moved along quicker than expected, with public comments taking up the bulk of the session and relatively few remarks from the stakeholders themselves. Katherine Evatt of the Foothill Conservancy expressed a need for the county to ensure that “(the public) is deeply involved in the development process” by “reaching across jurisdictions” and “taking advantage of technology that’s out there.” Resident Sue Hokana said the website link for the General plan was like “going to the dentist and getting the drill out.” Each member of the public contributed a list of agencies it believed should be considered when relating to state and federal agencies. Grijalva said she will prepare a revised draft based on this new input and present it to the Board of Supervisors in the beginning of March. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Ione City Council heard Tuesday from staff that all available reports had been sent to the state regarding well sampling at the city wastewater spray system. City Manager Kim Kerr said the city filed all but one of the reports with the Regional Water Quality Control Board by last Monday, with a letter explaining delays. Kerr said she had heard from the regional board that they think the reports filed were OK. Kerr said Ione staff, Castle Oaks Golf Course and the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority all report on the operation of tertiary treated water disposal at Castle Oaks, and she is scheduled to meet with ARSA next week regarding reporting done upstream from Castle Oaks. She said she had not met with the golf course. This week, city staff have been dealing with an overflow of Lake “I” at Castle Oaks, on fairway Number 18. She said due to heavy rains, Lake “I”, which stores treated effluent, overflowed into the pond at the end of fairway 18. Kerr said the city must report the spillage, but she thought there should be no problems with the quality of the lake’s water as the effluent had been stored in the lake for 4 months. She did not think the city would be fined. She said ARSA, Castle Oaks and the city all must file reports with the regional board. Mayor Lee Ard said he remembered the city’s agreement with ARSA that required all parties to share reports with one another. Kerr said since she had been at the city, she had not read one report from Sutter Creek, though it “doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.” Rob Aragon of JTS Communities said “it is very heartening the work” Kerr and staff are putting in on handling the reports issue. Dominic Atlan of Castle Oaks Golf Course said the golf course’s samples are “really simple.” They take a reading from a pump station and a rain gauge. And as far as problems, each party handles its own problems. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Bank repossessions continue to drive the suffering housing market in the Sacramento region. According to researchers at MDA Dataquick, a market tracking company, purchases of cheap repossessed homes resulted in the most sales since January of 2006. 2,806 new and existing homes closed escrow in January in Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties- a gain of 928 over the same time last year. Analysts say the steadily rising home sales are the result of drastically lower home prices in the region’s hardest hit areas for foreclosures. The deals have attracted large numbers of area and outside investors who account now for about one of every four sales in Sacramento County, according to DataQuick. Amador County reported 13 sales in January and saw median prices dip to $190,000. That is down 24.5 percent from the same month in 2008. Prices peaked at $425,000 in the county in 2006. Neighboring El Dorado County's 109 January sales showed a median price of $339,500. That is down 16.7 percent from the same time last year. The county's 2006 peak was $531,250. Sacramento County's 1,903 sales accounted for 68 percent of the region's total. The county's median price - where half cost more and half less - fell 34.8 percent from the same time last year. The new median is down by more than half from a 2005 high of $387,000. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Longstanding Public Works Director Larry Petersen became the first of two Amador County employees to volunteer for the county layoff program. The program is part of the county’s continuing efforts to cutback staff and hours in order to meet budget restrictions. Petersen, who has been instrumental in providing oversight on infrastructure maintenance and construction, waste management and land development, accepted the terms of the program early last week. His term will officially last until the end of February. The voluntary layoff program, originally proposed last year by County Administrative Officer Terri Daly, encourages employees approaching retirement in management, confidential and mid-management positions to leave their positions for certain early retirement incentives. Employees who are laid off will be placed on recall lists in case the budget improves. The offer went out to a total of 68 employees. So far, a confidential employee in the board office is the only other person to volunteer. She was immediately rehired in the Social Services Department. “This is a bumping process,” said Terri Daly. She added that “people eliminated from their positions may bump into other positions.” She said she hopes retirements will play a part in this, opening up spots for displaced employees. Daly believes that very few jobs will actually be eliminated and most of the employees who are laid off through the program could be rehired into the Social Services Department, which is expanding. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.