Amador County – Long-time Sutter Creek City Councilman and Mayor Protempore Bill Hepworth submitted a letter of resignation last week, citing health concerns and doctor’s orders that he take it easy. In a letter dated March 8th, to the mayor and co-councilmembers, Hepworth resigned effective immediately, saying: “My doctor has advised me that my health will no longer permit me to keep my commitment to the city council.” He wrote that “It’s no secret that I haven’t been well, and although I had hoped things would get better, I find I can no longer keep up the standard of work that I prefer to do.” He thanked Mayor Gary Wooten and other council members, with whom he “enjoyed serving the community since 1998,” and he wished them success in their “continued efforts to promote, beautify and preserve the city of Sutter Creek.” The city council last night accepted the resignation letter. We’ll have on the information on what was decided in our afternoon news broadcast. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - A family of four that went missing last Friday was discovered Monday morning near the Mokelumne River. According to Calaveras County spokesman Dave Seawall, a man named Dave Butler, his two children, 11-year-daughter and six-year-old son, and a woman identified as Shanna Moreno, were discovered trapped in a canyon on the Mokelumne River, approximately 15 to 20 miles east of Mokelumne Hill. According to official reports, the family of four got stranded on the Amador County side of the river after high water prevented them from getting to the other side of the river to reach their truck. All four were considered to be in fair condition when rescued. 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 tonight will consider approving $500,000 dollars worth of contract amendments for the city Wastewater Master Plan. City Manager Kim Kerr in a report last Friday recommended the council review the Wastewater Master Plan status and remaining work, and amendments to 2 related contracts. One, with RMT Environmental Consulting, would add $163,000 dollars to a total contract for $572,000 dollars. The other amendment would alter a contract with Lee & Ro, Incorporated, for a total contract amount of $438,000 dollars. Kerr said the “Ione wastewater treatment plan is out of capacity” and the “City has been investigating various methods to expand (it) to accommodate permitted and future growth.” RMT and Lee & Ro helped with preliminary environmental review, and the planning for the project. RMT has been involved since December 2006. In June 2008, the City Council approved the contract with RMT for $409,475. RMT said the project’s “off site monitoring wells for hydrology analysis” have been difficult to complete. And Kerr said “RMT is seeking a budget augment in the amount of $163,000 dollars to complete the project, for the total cost of $572,343. RMT is on schedule to get a draft EIR released June 15th. Ione has had a contract with Lee & Ro for engineering services since March 2007, extending through this month. Kerr said “we need to amend their contract for services,” totaling $437,755 dollars. That includes $79,000 dollars for on-call wastewater treatment support; $45,000 dollars for on-call collection engineering support; $59,000 dollars for regulatory and permitting assistance, and $254,000 dollars to be a member of the “owner’s representative design build team.” Kerr said “staff is recommending at minimum” the council approve the costs for on-call wastewater, on-call wastewater collection, and regulatory and permitting assistance for a total of $184,000 dollars. At maximum, Kerr said staff recommended both amendments, for a total of $499,000 dollars. Kerr said there were no alternatives to the amendments. She said “The City needs to complete these tasks to address the City’s wastewater issues now and for the future. There are no real alternatives until the City gets the necessary EIR completed as agreed to in a recent lawsuit. The best that can be done is to reduce costs where is appropriate and deliver the projects on time as outlined.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors heard news last week that pipe was being buried and ground had already been broken for its partnership project, the Plymouth Water Pipeline. Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said “most of the work is being focused in the Plymouth area, near the city water storage tank.” He said the contractor has been doing quite a bit of work, and has started with “Segment 6,” which is the length of the pipeline that connects to the storage tank. Mancebo said work includes roughing-in along the cross country terrain for preparation to lay the pipeline. He said they have been installing pipe and the weather has been cooperating. The ceremonial grand opening was rescheduled, due to weather. Mancebo said line improvements in Sutter Creek were nearing an end, entering last week with 20 feet more of pipeline left to install. Workers also relocated a fire hydrant, upgrading an old-fashioned, 2-inch pipe and spigot, with a new hydrant. They will also put in another hydrant at the intersection of Badger and Allen Ranch Roads. Work has encountered rock, and replaced corroded pipes. Mancebo said, “in short, I think our crews have done an outstanding job in light of the obstacles.” He said the project was authorized by the AWA board for $170,000 dollars and “we’re estimating that it’s going to cost $195,000 dollars,” with a little less than a 10-percent cost overrun. Mancebo said both he and Operations Manager Chris McKeage will be attending a water reuse seminar, which will go toward reclamation projects for the agency. Board member Bill Condrashoff asked why the Sutter Creek pipes were wrapped in plastic. Mancebo said it was done to protect nuts and bolts on the pipes, when they are secured with concrete, when needed. It can also be used to project the pipes when the ground is corrosive in nature. AWA’s next regular board meeting is next Thursday, while the Quarterly meeting of the Central Amador Water Project is this week, meeting 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Volcano Communications Center in Pine Grove. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The Joint Planning Commission and the Amador County Board of Supervisors have scheduled a pivotal 3-day serial meeting in the development of the General Plan. The continuation of the comprehensive General Plan Update serial meeting is set to resume the fourth week of this month. The series – called “The Path to 2030” – is a continuation of the serial meetings held in October and November, 2008. The joint meeting of the Amador County Board of Supervisors and Amador County Planning Commission sees work from both local “stakeholders” groups and staff work on direction of the Supervisors and commissioners that began last fall. County Planner Susan Grijalva in the announcement said: “Because the General Plan is the basis for all regulations – such as zoning, subdivision improvements – and decisions made regarding the use of property and when considering development projects, it is vitally important to be informed of this Update.” The joint session will convene for 4 hours on consecutive days, noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, March 24th, 25th and 26th. Meetings each day conclude with a public comment period on the day’s separate topics. On Tuesday, March 24th, the agenda includes a presentation on the “UPlan;” and a discussion of “Optional Elements.” Grijalva said maps that have been developed to this point may be viewed and printed from the County’s Website, www.co.amador.ca.us. She said the Update process is on-going and the public can “continue to monitor the Website and watch for notices of future public hearings,” because “changes to the proposed General Plan can, and will, be made up until the last meeting.” The Meetings will be held in the Board Chambers, 810 Court Street in Jackson. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Pacific Gas and Electric Company, or PG & E, will temporarily shut down power throughout most of eastern Amador County this Sunday in order to install new electrical poles. The company is sending out notices to residence in the vicinity of Pine Grove, Jackson, Martell, West Point, Sutter Creek, Pioneer and Volcano. PG & E said it does not anticipate the outage to continue for a long period of time and it will do its best to minimize the length of the interruption. The service interruption will take place from approximately 7am to 4pm on Sunday, March 22nd. “If unsafe weather conditions or an unforeseen emergency force us to cancel the work at the last minute, we may be unable to notify you of the cancellation,” said PG & E. A notice of the service interruption will be sent out to customers detailing the operation and the locations affected. For general questions, call PG & E on their 24-hour hotline at 1-800-743-5000. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A homeowner discovered a fire at his house only too late Thursday in Ione and it destroyed most of his home. The fire broke out around 11:15 a.m. A horse rancher at 4183 Curran Road had gone to a neighbor's house to work out some horses and when he returned he noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the windows and eves of the home. He immediately phoned 911 and fire units were dispatched. The heat buildup inside the closed building was intense and when fire units arrived, the home was fully involved. Firefighters knocked down the blaze quickly, but the damage had already been done. The fire blew out a window and quickly engulfed the single-story home and burned the interior to a presumed total loss. The exterior of the home was saved but the inside was gutted and reportedly looked like a total loss. Firefighting brigades responded from the Cal-Fire, Mule Creek State Prison, Ione Fire Department, Amador Fire Protection District Battalion 10, and Jackson Fire. Pacific Gas & Electric Company also responded to shut down utilities to the home, on Curran Road, off of Jackson Valley Road, and the Red Cross was called in to aid the victims. The cause of the blaze was unclear and CDF fire prevention was investigating the cause. No injuries were reported. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Amador County can expect to see $35,659 from money allocated for law enforcement through the recently approved Federal Stimulus Package. Nearly $225 million is heading to law enforcement offices across the county. “Funds included in the economic stimulus package for law enforcement grants are vitally important as California struggles through its economic woes,” Democratic Rep. Sam Farr of Carmel, said in a news release. Neighboring Calaveras County will receive $35,659, and Tuolumne County will receive $55,945. According to a release from Senator Barbara Boxer, “Specifically, the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program funds will be used to fund critical state and local law enforcement efforts, including community gang prevention programs, anti-drug task forces, and assistance for victims of crime. The grants can be utilized for training, personnel and equipment to further law enforcement programs.” 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 on Thursday learned that it could not get a higher capacity in its sewer system improvement deal with the city of Sutter Creek, but approved a cost-shared expansion with the city. General Manager Jim Abercrombie sought to get more capacity in exchange for Sutter Creek’s conversion of AWA’s wastewater daily flow capacity from secondary to tertiary treatment level. Abercrombie said the agency’s current 480,000 gallons per day capacity would be exchanged from secondary to tertiary capacity in a deal between Sutter Creek and Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. AWA sought instead to have that trade capacity upgraded to 600,000 gallons a day. Abercrombie said Sutter Creek City Manager Rob Duke did not want to renegotiate and lose previously committed agreements with Gold Rush. Board Member Bill Condrashoff of District 1 asked why AWA paid $750,000 to match Sutter Creek in the original capacity upgrade. Abercrombie said the upgrade was needed because of diminished capacities and increased flows of Fats, Oils and Greases in the system, which made the AWA system’s delivery of water to Sutter Creek violate state requirements. He said AWA could have spent the money to upgrade its own system, or as it chose, invested in the Sutter Creek upgrade and benefit from balanced capacity and also get access to 60,000 gallons a day more capacity. Board Chairman Terence Moore said he asked for the proposed increase in the trade because he was concerned about a clause in the new agreement that said “Gold Rush will only pay for 113,000 gallons a day in tertiary treatment, and suddenly we are going to be on the hook for upgrading that plant to 60,000 gallons a day.” Moore said the agency has “an out, so we’ll just upgrade our developer fees to hook into that additional 60,000 gallons a day capacity.” Condrashoff asked if Martell needed “capacity, with something like Prospect Motors closing.” Abercrombie said the Martell-area capacity base has been allocated and “maxed out.” Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said that capacity was guaranteed to customers, who may not be using all of the total 100,000 gallons a day capacity. Mancebo said upgrades to the Sutter Creek system were well under way and “very close to completion.” The board voted to have Abercrombie sign the agreement with Sutter Creek. The Sutter Creek City Council has not yet approved the agreement. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Plymouth City Council on Thursday approved $40,000 dollars in funding for continued work on two plans for the city’s upcoming boom of development. The first was $25,000 dollars for additional work on the new, state-required General Plan, the second was an estimated $15,000 dollars for work on the city’s Redevelopment Plan. Finance Director Jeff Gardner said the latter will take much more funding. He said the cash flow for the Redevelopment Plan will come from the General Fund. Mayor Jon Colburn said that revenue is “funded by development, so it’s going to be a while before it’s replenished.” Gardner said the city council “started this a while back” and restarted it a few times, and “this time, I think the council wants to complete it.” He said Terri Cox got the city a grant for the work and consultants PMC “gave us a punch list and a time line of things to be done,” and “if we get the work done, we’ll be shovel-ready for that Redevelopment Plan.” Councilman Greg Baldwin said “commercial is what really pays off,” once the plan is in place and drawing development fees for the city. Gardner said PMC had already been paid $35,000 dollars from another grant. Jon Colburn asked why the time-frame of the two plans was important. City Attorney Steven Randolph said “in order to adopt the Redevelopment Plan, it has to be in compliance with the General Plan.” And the Redevelopment Plan was crafted based on the city’s pending new General Plan, for which the council approved additional work by Kendig East and Development Impact Incorporated. That work includes response to agency and public comments, facilitation of additional public meetings, “complete production of the Final Environmental Impact Reports and amendment of the General Plan. Rudolph said the “city is not getting any benefits from (the Redevelopment Agency) until you adopt this plan.” Both approvals of payment passed unanimously. Plymouth City Council next meets for a “study session” 5 p.m. Thursday in City Hall, with the topic of Identifying Highest Priority Budget Projects.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.