Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 5-0 not to support a “Wild & Scenic” designation for the Mokelumne River, but agreed to discuss legislative options with all stakeholders involved.

Board Chairman Brian Oneto said he asked for the item to be considered for either support or rejection, based on the Foothill Conservancy drafting federal legislation seeking a law to create Wild & Scenic designation on the Mokelumne River, which separates Amador and Calaveras counties.

Supervisor Ted Novelli asked the board clerk to read a letter from Katherine Evatt of the Conservancy. Evatt, who was unable to attend the meeting, said in the letter she knew Novelli supported landowners’ rights along the river, but did not know why he would not support the designation.

Novelli said he “thought people on both sides of the river should have a say” in the designation, and when Foothill Conservancy first approached the board, it was “a smaller portion than they are speaking of now.”

He said if the federal government makes the designation, “what happens three administrations later?” He worried about eminent domain, whether the government can change riparian easements, and fighting fire after a federal designation, saying: “Can local, state and federal people go down there and fight a fire?”

Novelli said he wanted to get the landowners and everybody else in the decision room, and he always told Evatt the same. Novelli said Dan Lungren knew his feelings on the matter and “would do what our board wants.”

Supervisor John Plasse said the Foothill Conservancy has “already sought legislation in Washington, D.C.” to designate the Moke River as Wild & Scenic, and “repeatedly advocated without the cooperation of the board of supervisors, and we need to take action today in response to that, and set a date to talk.”

Plasse said: “I don’t think we can do nothing today.”

Boitano said he didn’t mind taking a collaborative approach with the Foothill Conservancy, but he wants “to be true partners” and if anyone writes legislation on the matter, it should be Supervisors. He said Amador County should “sponsor” the legislation.

Executive Director Chris Wright in a presentation said the designation may not fit, and it could be discussed. He said the efforts were made to protect the Moke River from the East Bay Municipal Utility District, which has a plan to raise Pardee Dam and inundate the Middle Bar Bridge.

Wright said the Conservancy is suing East Bay MUD, and could have used the county’s help with that.

Supervisors’ motion included sitting “down to discuss legislative options with all of the stakeholders.”

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

Amador County - The Amador County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to adopt a resolution expressing board opposition to a proposal by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to close the Preston Youth Correctional Facility.

Preston is only the latest in a string of correctional facilities proposed for closure in response to budget cutback and scarce resources. As some state reports suggest, Preston is being considered because the number of employees at the facility far exceeds the number of wards assigned under their care.

Supervisor Richard Forster, who requested the item be added to the agenda, recused himself from the discussion because he is also an employee of CDCR. Before leaving, Forster did emphasize that this in a “potential closure” with no formal announcement yet made.

Board Chairman Brian Oneto said a complete closure would be “devastating” for Amador County. “This is something that concerns the Board of Supervisors greatly,” he said. “If it closes down it will have a pretty big impact.”

He added that Amador County has “enough problems without losing another major employer,” referring to the recent loss of two major auto sales businesses in Martell.

Supervisor John Plasse said “the untimely passing” of State Senator Dave Cox, a longtime defender of Preston, leaves the facility undefended on a state level. “His influence on keeping the facility open may be presenting a great reality…that it is a little easier to target Preston at this time.”

The board voted 4-0-1 to send a letter to CDCR Secretary Mathew Cate requesting “that all factors surrounding any closure of CDCR-DJJ facilities in Amador County be fully investigated before a decision is made.”

Supervisor Ted Novelli recalled the board’s ultimately successful campaign to keep the Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp operational. He said “Amador County wanted to keep that camp open” and “we should do the same for Preston.”

Plasse asked to include a request in the letter that CDCR hold community hearings to discuss the local impacts of a potential closure.

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

Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council on Monday approved a contract for its new city manager for up to $98,000 plus benefits.

City Attorney Derek Cole told the council he looked over the document, mostly written by his predecessor Dennis Crabb, and found it to be “very well written.” It included the terms as agreed upon by the council and City Manager Sean Rabe. The document listed his salary range as $81,000 to $98,000.

In public comment, Planning Commission Chairman Mike Kirkley said he thought the city manager should get the same cuts as other employees. He said they should give him the same retirement benefits as the employees agreed to in recent negotiations.

Kirkley also worried about Rabe spreading himself too thin in pursuing a higher educational degree, while leading the city administration. He said former City Manager and Police Chief Rob Duke was pursuing higher education as well when running the city, and had to hire an assistant city manager for a city of 2,600 people, which Kirkley said was “embarrassing.”

Kirkely said he assumed Rabe’s salary was $81,000, plus benefits that are greater than the city employees, which puts the city manager in a tough situation when entering into negotiations with city employees. Ed Swift agreed, saying they should treat everyone alike.

Mayor Gary Wooten said Rabe is doing the city a favor by working for a salary that is a “much lower rate than we were paying Rob Duke.”

Mayor Pro Tempore Tim Murphy said the council was trying to separate the salary from the benefits, so they did not have another $125,000 manager’s salary, about which citizens complained.

Lindsay Way said as an employer, it was hard for her to hear that having someone accept a job was doing an employer a favor.

Wooten said Rabe “did the city a favor by coming to work for the city.” Councilman Pat Crosby agreed, saying the city manager is an at-will employee working on contract.

Wooten said the city manager is “not represented by a union, and if three of five council members decide next week that they don’t want him, he would be looking for a job.”

The council approved the contract on a 5-0 vote.

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

Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday one of four design alternatives for the Ridge Road Signal & Merge Lane project at New York Ranch Road, and directed staff to draft plans for the selected alternative in order to seek bids on the project.

The project provides for a widening of Ridge Road lanes in both directions including a left turn lane onto New York Ranch Road with a flashing beacon safety light system.

In 2006, the Public Works Department constructed the original phase of the improvements based on a design by Stantec. They were then directed by the board to consult with Stantec to create more than one design alternative in order to consider cost, construction and safety concerns.

Barbara Belvoir, Senior Project Engineer for the Public Works Department, said her department recommends “the Alternative 2 design with no vertical curve modification” - a safety feature she called “quite expensive.”

The vertical curve was previously agreed upon as the best option, but other alternatives were sought because of the additional expenditure required. According to a summary of preliminary estimates, construction of a vertical curve would add $562,194 to the estimated cost of $2,779,824.

The project’s budget is based on two $900,000 grants from Caltrans and a local share of $434,000.

Board Chairman Brian Oneto said they could speak with the Jackson Rancheria to see if it could provide additional funding.

Belvoir said her department is “looking for final authorization to move forward with the design.”

Supervisor Louis Boitano said his “big concern” was neighbors living in the surrounding area. He said area residents complained in the past and “I don’t want them to come in at the last minute and blow this plan out of the water.”

Supervisor Plasse said he had talked with people in that location, including Charlene Buckley, who spoke during public comment. Buckley, whose driveway exits onto Ridge Road, said she trusts in the county’s decision but is concerned about whether an extra merge lane will be added because “the only place (vehicles) can merge to stop hitting each other is us.”

A motion was approved 5-0 to select Alternative 2 and complete the steps necessary in order to put the project out to bid.

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