Amador County – About 30 people attended a public hearing Monday at Jackson Civic Center discussed uses of Oro de Amador park, hosted by the Jackson City Council and the Amador County Recreation Agency, with a variety of comments, mostly supportive and positive.

Judy Jebian asked if the project would require an Environmental Impact Report, and Thornton Consolo asked if the edges of the 155-acre park would be sold by the city for development. Another woman asked if development was possible there.

ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep said an EIR was likely. She said the EIR cost would be included in a grant. Mayor Connie Gonsalves said there was no restriction on the use of the property. City Manager Mike Daly said development would be a city council decision, but it was allowed, as long as the zoning was appropriately changed by the council.

Joel Mottishaw said he grew up in Amador County, competing for time on playing fields, and he supported placing sports fields at Oro de Amador. Shane Alderson, a father of two small children, said he has seen large parks built in Paso Robles and Auburn, and he wondered if such a park could be funded here.

He said they should think about park maintenance funding after it is built, and suggested using Pine Grove Camp or Mule Creek crews. He said ball fields could also sell sponsorship spaces along its fences, because “that’s ongoing and constant” income. He also recommended putting surveys in Tuesday envelopes, to reach many more parents.

Towner-Yep said the ACRA’s website and information about the importance of the Oro de Amador survey would be noted in the Tuesday Envelope newsletter, and hopefully parents would see and respond to the survey. Gonsalves said sports fields are “absolutely needed,” and she pointed out her daughter in the audience as proof, saying she had twisted her ankle in a hole while playing outfield during a recent ballgame.

Gonsalves asked if ACRA had tried to incorporate input on recreation needs of senior citizens. Towner-Yep said a workshop was held at the Amador Senior Center, but no one attended.

A man said he is a 25-year avid skateboarder, he supported a skate park. He said he could help with construction and insurance, and as a merchant, he wanted to give local kids a “safe haven,” which they take in his parking lot, where they “still get hassled.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.