Wednesday, 09 May 2007 01:57

Yesterday’s Oro De Amador Planning Meeting Presents Some Interesting Ideas

slide4Yesterday’s Oro De Amador Planning session was a success states Amador County Recreation Agency Executive Director Tracey Towner Yep. The meeting, a second in a series of three, was attended by about 18 residents, an improvement from the last session, but according to Yep- she would still like to see 25 or more interested citizen at the next final session scheduled for this Saturday, the 12th at 1 pm. The group that meet at the Jackson Civic Center this week was a diverse group with many different interests, and according to Yep, some great ideas.

The property is 155 acres and this allows for many different community needs to be served. These needs include open space and trails, historical preservation, a sports complex and aquatic center. From yesterday’s  working groups several unique ideas were presented in concept. One idea from local resident Dave McDaniels was to capitalize on the amount of water that fills the mine shaft of the Kennedy Mine. The water could be pumped out of the shaft redirected to the tailing wheels, which would then be operational, and funneled to the lake on the property to be used as water for irrigation of the park area. Also, in the spirit of the park remaining “green” some electricity could also be potentially generated from the water.

slide7 Other ideas included a performing arts center that would be a multiuse recreational center. For historical preservation ideas included a stamp mill and trails that lead toward the Historic Kennedy Mine Property. For organized community sporting activities, a lit sports field complex and aquatic center could serve all ages of sports enthusiasts. Towner Yep states that these first two meeting have given the project some shape and form, the final form of which is sometime away and which will ultimately be decided by the Jackson City Council. At this point there are no firm ideas or options for the 155 acre parcel or for the costs associated with its development. Another consideration for what eventually will become Amador County’s largest Park complex is the amount of money it will cost to maintain the complex on a yearly basis- costs which could be as much as 250,000 to 300,000 dollars per year. The next meeting will be held on Saturday the 12th at 1 pm at the Jackson Civic Center