Amador County – The City Selection Committee was scheduled to meet today to consider approval of appointments or reappointments to the local LAFCO and the ACTC boards of directors.

The Committee’s assignments must be agreed to by the simple majority of the committee. The City Selection Committee is made up of the mayors of the five City Councils in Amador County.

The county’s current sitting Mayors are Aaron Brusatori of Amador City, David Plank of Ione, Connie Gonsalves of Jackson, Greg Baldwin of Plymouth and Tim Murphy of Sutter Creek.

Appointments include the committee’s own chairman, who would serve a one-year term. Another appointment will be to the Amador County Local Agency Formation Commission. The agenda lists the “review and possible recommendation relative to the current membership roster and how it relates to the term of succession policy adopted by the Committee in 2009.”

A third appointment to consider would be to the “Airport Land Use Commission,” and the Committee would review and approval of current membership roster and recommendations for appointments to vacancies.”

A fourth appointment to consider would be for the Amador County Transportation Commission. The Committee will have a “review and possible recommendation relative to the current membership roster and recommendations for appointments of vacancies.” Those include “two city members and one city alternate.”

The Committee could schedule another meeting if needed, to complete the appointments. The City Selection Committee meets at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19 in Conference Room A of the County Administration Center in Jackson.

ACTC its scheduled to get a presentation later today on what its staff sees as the top 3 proposals for the Highway 88 Improvement Project, and could take action to eliminate 10 other alignments found to be too costly or otherwise less popular.

ACTC staff last week encouraged the public to attend, and the public will be given time to comment directly to the commission about the alternative routes, which will be discussed in detail.

The Highway 88 Pine Grove Improvement meeting is 6 p.m. today, that is, Wednesday, Jan. 19 in the Supervisors Chambers in Jackson.

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

Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council earlier this month received a budget update that shows Transient Occupancy Tax revenue exceeding expectations, and sales tax revenue meeting projections.

City Manager Sean Rabe in a report to the council said part of the revenue exceeded expectations in the hotel and motel tax area, while property tax revenue is on schedule, and sales tax revenue is meeting projections.

He said expenses are going pretty well, and with the Sutter Creek City Council’s appointment of full time Police Chief Brian Klier (CLEAR), the police department budget should reduce its need for overtime pay. Rabe said when Klier was serving as interim chief of police, he would accumulate overtime.

Staff will be working with the chief to address salaries and overtime running “ahead of budgeted amounts for mid-year” in the police department, where an adjustment of “$16,000 will come from existing revenues or reduction of other expenses.”

In a report to the council, Rabe said the city to year-to-date had taken in $269,000 in total general fund revenues, and was estimated to end the fiscal year with $1.4 million in general fund revenue. The budget’s projected total general fund expenditures were $1.3 million, with a “city council targeted contingency” of $74,284. He said mid-year revenue projections continue to remain on track, and the contingency was slightly better than the anticipated $74,000.

He said it was “still too early to make any assumptions on major revenue sources,” but “both sales tax and property tax are at 50 percent as of two weeks ago.” He said the “first property tax installment came in two weeks ago,” and was also “on track.”

The Transient Occupancy Tax on hotels and motels was “running ahead of estimates” and “revenue projection has been updated by $10,000.” Other revenues were “slightly ahead of schedule.”

Rabe said some mid-year expense projections were not under estimates. One was the Finance Department, for which the “city will need to reprogram” its existing budget, which “has enough to cover” it.

He said Planning, Streets and Roads will see significant savings in the last seven months of the fiscal year from furloughs, and the Administration and Finance Department continues to kept a “tight expense control.”

He planned to bring budget amendments to this week’s meeting of the council, which he did not expect to affect the city’s contingency amount. He said “increased revenue should offset the amendments.”

Rabe said his monthly budget reports will continue until the economy improves.

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

Amador County – The Jackson City Council last week discussed a possible $5 million parks and recreation grant to revitalize Oro De Amador Park.

The idea was to team with the Amador County Recreation Agency to apply for a Proposition 84 recreation grant, through the California Department of Parks & Recreation.

City Manager Mike Daly said Friday that the “maximum Prop 84 grant allocation is $5 million, and I imagine that our needs will probably max it out.” They will be looking at the grant guidelines with ACRA to try to come up with an attractive grant proposal. He said it is a very competitive application process, and ACRA would be lead agency.

Oro De Amador Park is a 160-acre property between New York Ranch Road and North Main Street, which the city acquired in December 2006. The city got the park for free from Chubb Insurance Company, which acquired it from a real estate developer in the mid-1980s, after a foreclosure.

The goal is to get Oro De Amador Park open so people can enjoy it. Daly said, being in the park with its density of trees is “like you are not even in city any more,” Teaming with ACRA on the project is “really a marvelous opportunity.”

They still have environmental issues related to soils to address before getting clearance to use the park, which is now closed to the public. The Oro De Amador Park is the tailing depository for the Kennedy Gold Mine, where the mining waste was taken to keep it from affecting water downstream from the mine.

The city has received a couple of grants to look at concentrations of contamination, primarily arsenic from the mine tailings. “There are a couple of hot spots,” Daly said, but “they are certainly overcome-able.”

Daly said the city will be working with ACRA Director Tracey Towner-Yepp to have public hearings in February and March, to get input on ideas for recreation facilities on the property.

The city has had a couple of committees looking at developing ballparks at Oro De Amador. He said the field at Detert Park is the only city ball field. Another idea was interpretive trails, or a system of trails connecting the tailing wheels, which could easily connect with the rest of town.

Daly said there have been thoughts about a skate park, and even an approved aquatic facility, though the latter would require high operational costs.

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

Amador County – The Jackson City Council last week discussed a possible $5 million parks and recreation grant to revitalize Oro De Amador Park.

The idea was to team with the Amador County Recreation Agency to apply for a Proposition 84 recreation grant, through the California Department of Parks & Recreation.

City Manager Mike Daly said Friday that the “maximum Prop 84 grant allocation is $5 million, and I imagine that our needs will probably max it out.” They will be looking at the grant guidelines with ACRA to try to come up with an attractive grant proposal. He said it is a very competitive application process, and ACRA would be lead agency.

Oro De Amador Park is a 160-acre property between New York Ranch Road and North Main Street, which the city acquired in December 2006. The city got the park for free from Chubb Insurance Company, which acquired it from a real estate developer in the mid-1980s, after a foreclosure.

The goal is to get Oro De Amador Park open so people can enjoy it. Daly said, being in the park with its density of trees is “like you are not even in city any more,” Teaming with ACRA on the project is “really a marvelous opportunity.”

They still have environmental issues related to soils to address before getting clearance to use the park, which is now closed to the public. The Oro De Amador Park is the tailing depository for the Kennedy Gold Mine, where the mining waste was taken to keep it from affecting water downstream from the mine.

The city has received a couple of grants to look at concentrations of contamination, primarily arsenic from the mine tailings. “There are a couple of hot spots,” Daly said, but “they are certainly overcome-able.”

Daly said the city will be working with ACRA Director Tracey Towner-Yepp to have public hearings in February and March, to get input on ideas for recreation facilities on the property.

The city has had a couple of committees looking at developing ballparks at Oro De Amador. He said the field at Detert Park is the only city ball field. Another idea was interpretive trails, or a system of trails connecting the tailing wheels, which could easily connect with the rest of town.

Daly said there have been thoughts about a skate park, and even an approved aquatic facility, though the latter would require high operational costs.

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

Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council earlier this month received a budget update that shows Transient Occupancy Tax revenue exceeding expectations, and sales tax revenue meeting projections.

City Manager Sean Rabe in a report to the council said part of the revenue exceeded expectations in the hotel and motel tax area, while property tax revenue is on schedule, and sales tax revenue is meeting projections.

He said expenses are going pretty well, and with the Sutter Creek City Council’s appointment of full time Police Chief Brian Klier (CLEAR), the police department budget should reduce its need for overtime pay. Rabe said when Klier was serving as interim chief of police, he would accumulate overtime.

Staff will be working with the chief to address salaries and overtime running “ahead of budgeted amounts for mid-year” in the police department, where an adjustment of “$16,000 will come from existing revenues or reduction of other expenses.”

In a report to the council, Rabe said the city to year-to-date had taken in $269,000 in total general fund revenues, and was estimated to end the fiscal year with $1.4 million in general fund revenue. The budget’s projected total general fund expenditures were $1.3 million, with a “city council targeted contingency” of $74,284. He said mid-year revenue projections continue to remain on track, and the contingency was slightly better than the anticipated $74,000.

He said it was “still too early to make any assumptions on major revenue sources,” but “both sales tax and property tax are at 50 percent as of two weeks ago.” He said the “first property tax installment came in two weeks ago,” and was also “on track.”

The Transient Occupancy Tax on hotels and motels was “running ahead of estimates” and “revenue projection has been updated by $10,000.” Other revenues were “slightly ahead of schedule.”

Rabe said some mid-year expense projections were not under estimates. One was the Finance Department, for which the “city will need to reprogram” its existing budget, which “has enough to cover” it.

He said Planning, Streets and Roads will see significant savings in the last seven months of the fiscal year from furloughs, and the Administration and Finance Department continues to kept a “tight expense control.”

He planned to bring budget amendments to this week’s meeting of the council, which he did not expect to affect the city’s contingency amount. He said “increased revenue should offset the amendments.”

Rabe said his monthly budget reports will continue until the economy improves.

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