The Amador Vintners and the Amador Council on Tourism have hooked up for a joint venture which will culminate in the Grand Opening of the New Amador Visitors Center in Plymouth on Friday August 10th 1 P.M. – 7 P.M.

The Amador County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting this morning at 8am. The subject of the meeting is a closed session item regarding a Conference with County Counsel over a Potential Litigation [Government Code 54956.9(b)] with the Buena Vista Rancheria. The county is already involved in one litigation over the proposed Flying Cloud casino proposed by the Buena Vista Band of Me-Wuk Indians for a 67 acre piece of land located on Coal Mine Rd in the Jackson Valley Area.

The Amador County District Attorney’s Office has just released its 2008 Annual Report, a comprehensive account of the department’s future goals and accomplishments over the previous year. The report also includes statistics on prosecutions, trends and suggested methods of improving the system in the future. “We have accomplished many of our goals in 2008, but we don’t intend to rest on our laurels- we will continue our efforts to seek justice, serve justice and do justice while maintaining the highest ethical standards,” said District Attorney Todd Riebe. According to the report, the number of felony and misdemeanor arrests has increased over the years since 1996 in conjunction with county population growth. An interesting figure of note is that misdemeanor arrests have grown steadily over the years, while felony arrest growth has been relatively smaller. Perhaps the most educative part of the report is the outline of the many departments that make up the Office’s complex inner workings. The Criminal Division alone encompasses several different departments, including narcotics, elder abuse, prison crimes, child abduction, worker’s compensation fraud and auto insurance fraud.

Of course, the report also highlights the Office’s many accomplishments, including public seminars educating citizens in the area of elder abuse, insurance fraud and internet crimes against children. Most notable of these accomplishments is the formation of the Amador County Combined Narcotics Task Force Team in cooperation with the Sheriff’s Department. The two entities also created the Amador Law Enforcement Response Team, designed to assist police departments in the investigation of major crimes committed within their jurisdictions. “Public safety is the top priority of (our) Office. Whether it is crime prevention, reducing recidivism, or helping victims…the DA’s office is proud of our contribution towards making Amador County a safer place to live,” said Riebe.

At the Amador Water Agency Board of Directors meeting Thursday, the board discussed the recently released Small Community Wastewater Strategy, which AWA has been active in helping to develop for the last three years.  The strategy was born out of Nevada County Supervisor Nate Beason bringing their wastewater issues to the attention of the Regional Council of Rural Counties. Of issue were the problems that the county was experiencing in attempting to comply with federally mandated regulations related to wastewater systems. Together, with Amador Water Agency and representatives from Plumas and Lake counties, the various agencies met about a dozen times with the State Water Board to develop the Small Community Wastewater Strategy.

The State Water Resources Control Board is ultimately responsible for the document, which outlines the actions the board plans to undertake to help address small and/or disadvantaged community wastewater problems, which can include lack of funds to upgrade water systems, and lack of expertise in applying for grants to make those improvements.  The state defines small communities as those with financial hardship and either a population of 10,000 persons or less for wastewater enforcement purposes, or a population of 20,000 or less for financial assistance purposes. Financially, the strategy outlines methods for obtaining grants and increasing coordination with other water agencies. 

AWA staff recommended that the state consider providing grants to small communities based on an affordability index, where the household sewer rate is calculated as a percentage of the median household income.  Other financial strategies include mini-loans and offering extended term finance agreements and/or lower interest rates to those communities most in financial need. For technical assistance, the State Water Boards has agreed to provide what limited assistance is possible, including referring communities to existing non-profit technical assistance organizations. And in the area of regulation and enforcement, the state has pledged to assist small communities in ensuring that they are compliant and are effectively planning for their long-term needs. AWA staff has drafted a letter of support to the state, which the AWA board voted to send at Thursday’s meeting.  The Small Community Wastewater Strategy will be reviewed at the State Water Board’s next meeting on July 1, 2008.

The Wal-Mart Store on Wicklow Way in Martell is taking a second shot at obtaining an alcoholic beverage license. On February 12th, the Amador County Board of Supervisors received Wal-Mart’s application for a license to sell beer and wine. The Supervisors denied the store’s original request for a license in October of 2004 in a split 2-2 vote.  In October of 2005, Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated, the world’s largest retailer, announced that it had teamed up with Diageo PLC, the world’s largest liquor company, with a plan to triple the shelf space that store would devote to selling beer, wine, and spirits.

The community of Buena Vista had their say last night at the second workshop held by the Board of Supervisors about the proposed Buena Vista Rancheria Casino. It was standing room only where over one hundred attendees from the communities of Buena Vista, Ione, Camanche and surrounding areas packed The Oaks Mobile Home Park Community Center. The public’s main concerns were the increase of traffic on the small, winding roads leading to and from the proposed casino, water and wastewater issues, as well as the legitimacy of the Buena Vista tribe.

Starting January 1st, all new buildings built in California will have to meet new state building codes, which went into effect in July. Many of the new requirements are designed to make homes more fire resistant, improve earthquake safety and increase energy efficiency. At a recent workshop for local builders and building designers sponsored by Amador County city and county building officials, about 100 construction professionals were briefed on the new code.

Significant among the many changes include requiring tempered glass windows, fire marshal-approved roof vents and fire-resistant decking materials for moderate to very high fire hazard areas. State maps delineate the various fire hazard areas, and most of unincorporated Amador County falls in at least the moderate hazard zone. Many areas of the county have been designated high or very high fire hazard zones. To the dismay of the audience, the workshop instructor from the California Building Officials Association pointed out that some of the required building materials, in particular fire marshal-approved roof vents and fire-resistant decking materials, are not currently available for purchase.

New California residential building codes are going into effect January 1st, and anyone who works in residential construction -- contractors, builders, architects, handymen --are invited to attend an overview of the new code requirements presented by local building departments. Topics include state’s new fire safety regulations; new structural requirements; and a review of major California Energy Commission regulation changes over the past 5 years. There is no charge for the seminar, which will be held Tuesday, December 4th from 4 – 6 pm at the Jackson Civic Center. Call the Jackson City office at 223-1646 to RSVP – you must reserve a spot as space is limited to 125 people. The Cities of Jackson, Ione, Sutter Creek and the County of Amador are sponsoring a seminar, with support from the California Building Officials Association.

The Upcountry Community Center is hosting its 1st Annual Holiday Open House on Saturday December 1st from Noon till 4pm at the Upcountry Community Center, 19999 Highway 88 in Pine Grove. Children can give Santa their wish list and get pictures taken for a requested donation of $3. There will be refreshments and crafts. There is also an opportunity to help with there holiday project by bringing an unwrapped gift for a child aged 0-17. This is a project of the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency. For more information call 296-2785.

Last Thursdays Amador Water Agency Board of Directors meeting proved to be a busy one with Board tackling a number of tough issues, which included the Plymouth Pipeline, Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant and a Conservation Program for Lake Camanche. The Board of Directors reviewed an amendment with the City of Plymouth regarding the pipeline. According to the Agency’s Manager of Engineering and Planning Gene Mancebo the “…Amendment provides for the option of upsizing a portion of the treated water transmission pipeline that is proposed to serve the City of Plymouth.” He explained that to provide for future capacity needs that the portion of pipeline located between Amador City and the City of Plymouth point of service be increased from a 12 inch pipeline to 16 inch pipeline.