Amador County – The Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency last week made a presentation to the Jackson City Council about a 4-unit transitional housing project it is seeking to place at Sutter Street and Argonaut Lane, and today ATCAA will make the same presentation to the Jackson Planning Commission.

Housing Resources Director Beetle Barbour said ATCAA has a purchase agreement on a vacant property at Sutter Street and Argonaut Lane in Jackson, near the former Prospect Motors’ original location. She said the agency made the first presentation to the City Council last week to make sure council members hear about the project first, before the plan is also made public.

Barbour said ATCAA sent out dozens of letters to neighbors of the property requesting comment, and received only one phone call. The letter, in part, said ATCAA “proposes to place four high-quality manufactured homes on 1.5 acres as a transitional living program for families with children.” The letter noted that the agency would be speaking with the Planning Commission at 7 p.m. today (Monday, April 18) at City Hall.

The letter said ATCAA for more than a decade has operated “transitional living programs for families with children as the adults are reentering the job market.” It said “families participating in the program are chose with care,” and “every adult must obtain and retain employment while they are enrolled in the program.” Children must be enrolled in school or in licensed child care during the day, and “homes occupied by the families must be maintained, inside and outside.” Also, “only adults enrolled and participating in the program are allowed to stay at the homes.” ¶ ATCAA’s transitional living programs, called “Sutter Family Homes,” have six families now participating. Its facilities include an older Vicotorian home in Tuolumne that was converted to three apartments; and “three new high-quality manufactured homes in Columbia.”

Barbour said the transition means a limited time stay for the families, with the intent of helping them save money to establish a home of their own.

The presentation to the Planning Commission will detail some of the rules by which participating families must abide.

Story by Jim Reece

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors discussed a potential new rate plans for its Gravity Supply Line project on Thursday, including consolidation of agency rates, or formation of an assessment district.

Public comment mostly opposed the GSL. Ken Berry and former AWA director Debbie Dunn read from a list of complaints. Dunn, deposed in November, said she was elected to keep costs to customers down, and the project “has to be something that is affordable.”

Former AWA board President Bill Condrashoff said “the public educated you” in a series of meetings around the Central Amador Water Project service area, held by AWA’s ad hoc GSL committee. Condrashoff said: “Stop spending money on this project. It’s over.” He said a Proposition 218 protest that stopped a rate increase in CAWP service area should prove that the project is not wanted.

AWA board President Don Cooper said “we are learning a lot from customer meetings.” One is that “the existing customer base does not want to carry the burden for future customers,” even though they may have been carried by the customer base when they came to the system.

Cooper said the other thing they learned was that “people are in favor of the Gravity Supply Line.” He said they could take it with a grain of salt. People “don’t want to pay the cost, but 75-80 percent are in favor of the GSL. That’s exactly what they are telling us.”

Director Robert Manassero said they heard that ratepayers “don’t want to pay 100 percent of their share,” but an assessment district would benefit customers by letting owners of undeveloped land pay in the future. “That’s the plus I see here,” Manassero said, and “trying to spread that cost on more people.” He said the “new conceptual plan” is a “is worth looking at further.”

Director Paul Molinelli said he wanted Supervisors to know about, and agree with the AWA board seeking an extension on the time constraints for the USDA grant, so they can look into consolidation or an assessment district.

Director Art Toy said he would like to “unhinge the time constraint with the cost” which “makes that conceptual study easier for me.” He later dissented in a 4-1 approval, preferring to “go ahead with the GSL project as described, then if the conceptual study proves true,” they can put it in place later.

One man asked for details about consolidation. Agency Counsel Stephen Kronick said “as to what that exactly entails, we haven’t formulated that yet.” Story by Jim Reece

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Amador County – Revitalization continues to change the cityscape of downtown Jackson, where at one end of the street, a complete refurbishing is in the works for the National Hotel, and at the other end, old buildings show the benefit of some good paint jobs.

The National Hotel owner, Stan Lufkowicz hosted a Chamber Mixer last week with a presentation on the hotel’s refurbishment, which plans a new restaurant, an elevator, and a complete restoration. The Jackson City Council recently also funded the design and engineering of a Creek Walk project, which would connect the downtown area with a walkway under the Highway 49/88 bridge, to the Mel & Fayes and Muni Park area.

Down Main Street, the Garibaldi Building, owned by Councilman Wayne Garibaldi, was getting a coat of blue primer, by Tom Powell Painting. The building next door, at 224 Main houses Heaven & Earth, and is also getting primer, with plans to repaint both buildings.

The Garibaldi building is home to Treasures Merchants, whose owner Lenny Hendricks said it is a private remodeling project, and was planned before the city began its Façade Improvement Program, which helped refurbish the front of the Main Event Sports Bar.

Hendricks said the Garibaldi building painting will take about two weeks. The building will be burgundy, with gold trim, and beige awnings. The Heaven & Earth building will be a darker blue, with faux awnings, and a faux shake shingle roof.

Hendricks, who has owned the business for 20 months with his wife, Rhonda, said Garibaldi was not planning to repaint the “Garibaldi’s” name denoting the home of his father’s photography studio for more than half a century. He said Garibaldi may opt to place a bronze plaque on the building’s front.

Hendricks said he was excited about the revitalization in the works in downtown historic Main Street Jackson, where across the street, Amador County Chamber of Commerce relocated its office last month. He said besides the National Hotel and its planned new restaurant, he had heard that Rosebud’s Café was working toward reopening. He said it will be good to bring more places to eat to downtown Jackson.

Story by Jim Reece

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Amador County – A dedication ceremony for the Ione Veterans Memorial Park will feature a full military ceremony to honor Ione-area locals who have served and sacrificed for their country.

The public is invited to the Ione Memorial Park Dedication April 30 at the park, at corner of Main Street and Preston Avenues in downtown Ione.

Dedication co-organizer Sharon Long said a full military ceremony is planned and will include patriot guard riders, an honor guard, a flyover, a 21-gun salute, and patriotic music. Long said the “program will include dignitaries from throughout the county as well as State Senator Ted Gaines.”

Long said any veteran who served honorably in the armed services and who lived, or is living in the 95640 zip code area is encouraged to complete an application form so they are included on the Veterans Wall. Each veteran will be represented with a brick with his or her name, service date and branch of service. This phase of the project will continue through the end of the year.

A monument honoring those killed in action will be a part of the dedication. PFC Jay-D Ornsby-Adkins, was killed on April 28, 2007 and will have a plaque in his honor displayed on a monument. He was the first solider in Amador County killed during the Iraq war.

The park is funded by individual donations. Donations can be made payable to the Ione Veterans Memorial Park, through the Bank of Amador in Ione. This project is sponsored by the Amador Community Foundation.

All donations are tax deductible. For additional information, contact Long at (209) 304-5118, or Jerry Cassesi at (209) 601-4079.

The Ione Memorial Park Dedication is 11 a.m. Saturday, April 30 on Main Street in Ione. A Veterans walk is schedule at 10 a.m. starting at Ione Junior High School and ending at the Veterans Park.

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Amador County – An Alabama-based luxury property seller will auction 511 acres of land near Sutter Creek in May, including a 380-acre parcel that has a frontage along Sutter Creek.

The company, Albert Burney Auction Company, based in Huntsville, Alabama said the property is located between Ione and Sutter Creek, at 7000 Sutter-Ione Road in unincorporated Amador County. Albert Burney Office Manager Caroline Kennedy said earlier this month that the property is owned by Michael Grasso, who had plans to develop the large property, and now is planning to sell it at auction and give someone else the chance to develop it.

The property is available to view and tour starting May 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The 511 acres is “selling as an entirety or in tracts,” and is billed as a rarity with more than “three-quarters of a mile of frontage on Sutter Creek in addition to a pond and seasonal creeks located throughout the property.” Both parcels are comprised of pastures, wooded areas, and rolling hills.

Albert Burney President Warren Ward said the land has “360-degree views, scenic meadows, and ancient oaks.” He called it “a private retreat in one of the nation’s most desirable areas, with access to shopping, casinos, and fine dining.”

Both parcels are entirely fenced-in, with gated entrances. One parcel is 132 acres and has 2,600 feet of frontage on Sutter-Ione Road. The second parcel is 380 acres with more than three-quarters of a mile of frontage on Sutter Creek, and views of Mount Diablo.

The auction is 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 14 at 7000 Sutter-Ione Road, with registration starting at 10 a.m.

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Amador County – The Sutter Creek-Gold Rush Implementation Committee heard the status of a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Impact Report of the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort on Monday, and staff said it could be a couple of months before the hearing takes place.

City Attorney Derek Cole said both sides of the lawsuit are preparing administrative records, which will probably be completed in the next month or so. Once finished, the parties then will prepare their respective briefs. He expected a hearing to be set for late summer or early fall of this year, and it likely could be heard in about one-half of a day.

Cole said after the hearing, the judge will have 90 days to issue a ruling. In effect, the ruling is not likely to occur until as late as early next year.

Cole said the Gold Rush developers, Bill Bunce and development partner John Telischak, are providing most of the defense, as they are named in the suit. He said the “developers’ attorneys are going to do the lion’s share of the work.” He will look over the documents for the city.

Ken Berry of Martell filed the suit in Feb. 2010 on his own behalf with advice from a San Francisco attorney. The suit was filed and will be heard in Amador County Superior Court.

The committee, made up of Mayor Tim Murphy, and Councilwoman Sandy Anderson, and Planning Commissioners Frank Cunha and Robin Peters, at its first meeting, March 21, asked for a legal update on the status of Gold Rush’s obligations to the city, in light of the lawsuit. Cole and City Manager Sean Rabe reported to Committee Monday that “it is clear that the effect of the litigation on the obligations set forth in the Development Agreement” is that the obligations are “on hold until the litigation is concluded.”

Rabe in a report to the Committee noted that the Development Agreement contained a time extension for the obligations, including building a tertiary wastewater treatment plant. It said: “In the event of a legal challenge to the project or the planning documents this agreement and the dates by which specific steps and actions are to be taken by City Council and/or Developer shall automatically extend by the time necessary to obtain final adjudication of any such challenge.”

The Implementation Committee set its next meeting for June 3.

Story by Jim Reece

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