Amador County – The Ione City Council last week scheduled a workshop and public hearing in a joint meeting with the Amador County Board of Supervisors for later this month to discuss elements of a city annexation.

City Manager Kim Kerr said the joint meeting will take place October 28th.

Kerr said the city was told by the Amador County Local Agency Formation Commission board of directors to complete and sign an agreement with supervisors on a Sphere of Influence amendment. She said the city “council always wanted an agreement.”

Ione’s committee on the agreement met with Supervisors Louis Boitano and Richard Forster last week, and the draft agreement has been rewritten, Kerr said. She said they “eliminated some of the prior concerns,” and based the agreement somewhat on the Jackson Memorandum of Understanding with the county.

It eliminated the requirement for “pre-zoning,” Kerr said, and basically allows each party to continue what it is now doing as far as zoning and land use designation, and the “city has no jurisdiction until land is annexed.” They tried to allow the county to maintain its land use authority.

Kerr said the annexation came about when the General Plan update identified parcels that wanted to be included in the Ione Sphere of Influence, so were voluntarily added, including Q ranch. Other areas are being amended in the Sphere of Influence border to follow property lines, and one area has a “flip-flop” of land to make the sphere follow a road.

She said two properties that want to join the sphere surround another, which must also be placed into the sphere. And when that is completed, they may be able to get to LAFCO in November.

Ione City Council will hold its joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors 6 p.m. Thursday, October 28th at City Hall, after a light turnout at the last meeting, which was held at Evalyn Bishop Hall.

Also, last week, the city council asked for more information on its public facilities fees update and will set a special meeting as a workshop, at a date to be determined. Kerr said staff will bring back information in a public hearing, to discuss the impact fee changes with the public.

Staff will work on the public facilities fee update and probably return to the council by early November.

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Amador County – The Jackson Business and Community Association (JCBA) will host its membership Kick-Off party on Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 6 pm in Thomi’s Café, 627 South Highway 49 in Jackson.

The new association is open to all Jackson business owners and to all others who live in Jackson or are interested in Jackson’s future vitality.

This is a city-wide group, described as “neighbors joining with neighbors in the old-fashioned Jackson way to work together for the good of the business, civic and cultural communities.”

The JCBA encourages everyone to come October 14 to Thomi’s and check out what the future can hold for Jackson.

Patrick Crew, Jackson City Council member and long-time involved resident and business owner, says “I feel this city-wide association will be an important addition to our city’s future. The Kick-Off Party is only a few weeks away. Do not miss this event!”

The JCBA invites you to meet your neighbors and share your ideas while enjoying an evening of hosted hor d’oeuvres, wine and music by Over the Edge.

For further information contact Patti Busch at 209-223-5830 or 209-217-4719.

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Amador County – Canadian company Sutter Gold Mining Incorporated is looking to resume hard rock gold mining in Sutter Creek, where the operation could create as many as 150 jobs in two or more years.

The company has received permits from the state of California, while it works to get other permits, and also run a Preliminary Economic Assessment on the mine.

The assessment is “evaluating the design and development of an initial mining and milling operation focused only on the upper portion of the Lincoln-Comet deposit utilizing existing mine infrastructure in order to minimize development costs and timing,” said Robert Hutmacher, Chief Financial Officer for Sutter Gold Mining Incorporated.

Sutter Gold Mining controls approximately 3.6 miles of the Mother Lode Gold Belt in Amador County. Hutmacher said “with 90 percent of the property still unexplored,” the potential exists for gold “at depth” and above at “known mineralized zones.”

The 120-mile long Mother Lode Gold Belt produced more than 13 million ounces of gold historically, he said, with 7.9 million ounces originating from the 10-mile long segment between Jackson and Plymouth where the Lincoln Project is located.

Properties under Sutter Gold Mining’s control include eight historic mines with significant historic gold production totaling over 3.5 million ounces or 27 percent of historic gold production from the Mother Lode, in the Jackson to Plymouth segment, at depths of 4,500 and 6,300 feet.

David Cochrane, vice president for environment, health and safety for Sutter Gold Mining, said last week he is working on a number of local, state and federal permits.

Among those is a use permit issued by Amador County in 1998. It includes a number of conditions of approval and mitigations.

Cochrane said: “That’s really our road map of what we have to do.”

He said the existing use permit allows a full capacity for up to 1,000 tons a day, which would equate to about 150 employees. Half of that, or 500 tons a day would require about 100 employees.

Cochrane said the gold mine would probably start at a smaller production rate of about 200 tons a day, utilizing less than 100 employees. That would be determined after the preliminary economic assessment is completed, along with permitting.

Sutter Gold Mining, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, recently received permits for two mining waste disposal units at the former Sutter Gold Mine.

The company is now permitted to use a “waste rock pile” to store rock from expansion of the underground workings for both development and production.

It is also permitted to use surface fill to dispose of a portion of mill tailings during production, and dispose of the balance of mill tailings in underground workings.

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Amador County – Operation Care, a local non-profit organization providing support services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, announced today the appointment of its new Executive Director. Clara Osborne was selected following an extensive and thorough executive search process.

Osborne most recently served as Executive Director for Alternatives to Violence in Red Bluff, California. She has experience working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and is a skilled manager with grant writing and contract expertise as well as budget planning. She is fluent in both English and Spanish. She was a member of the Tehama County Child Abuse Prevention Council, Public Health Advisory Board, Health Partnership, Community Involvement Committee and Continuum of Care. Osborne holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Simpson University.

“I am very gratified at having been selected as Operation Care’s next Executive Director from a pool of highly qualified candidates," said Osborne. "I look forward to working with our board of directors, our talented staff and community to keep our mission alive."

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency sought a new financial plan Thursday toward getting federal financing for the Gravity Supply Line project.

The board voted 4-0 (with Director Don Cooper absent) to have staff create a new financial plan using the agency’s new budget and recent lower construction costs.

Jim Conklin, executive director of the Amador County Business Council, urged the board to pursue the GSL, saying the Business Council was “committed publicly” to helping educate customers on the project. Conklin said the GSL pipeline would help “total community wellness” in Amador County, and the Business Council was working on an investment project to help cities and agencies pay their bills.

He said “you have $13.3 million sitting on your table that you can use to eliminate this problem.” He said it would eliminate a $280,000 annual PG&E bill, and aging equipment on the existing Central Amador Water Project pipeline that will need to be replaced.

Rich Farrington said the Plymouth pipeline came in 28 percent under estimates, and “this could be a $10 million or $9 million project, which translates into lower rates.”

David Evitt, who spearheaded a Proposition 218 protest to block a rate increase said when he went out to talk to people, they said they did not want to spend $4 more a month on top of their $87 bill, calling it a “no brainer.” The increase would have helped secure a USDA loan for the GSL project.

Dunn said she had eight questions about USDA conditions to meet to get a grant and loan, including the costs of insurance and a construction bond, and when those would need to be purchased by the agency.

Engineering Manager Erik Christeson said insurance and the construction bond were both required to be paid by the construction contractor on the project.

Condrashoff asked if the USDA funding would come before a May 2011 due date for a payment on the Amador Transmission Pipeline debt service. He said a Prop 218 period would end within weeks or days of that loan payment being due.

Director Terence Moore said: “I think it’s worse than that,” because “they are not going to give us any money until we award the contract.”

Mancebo said the USDA wants to know if we completed the conditions. He said they cannot incur indebtedness without a CAWP contract.

Finance Manager Mike Lee said the rate notice and workshop would likely take 45 to less than 90 days, and the USDA is pretty quick to wire money.

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors voted 3-0 Thursday to have its general manager look into a new agency employee and management structuring plan that would remove one manager and four total positions. 

Director Terence Moore said they need to analyze the reorganization and see if the structure could run the agency.

General Manager Gene Mancebo was directed to talk with department heads on the organization plan, and get suggestions on how it may work.

Employees commented on the plan, including John Griffin, representing the management bargaining unit, submitted a letter asking “how the reorganization will affect the agency.”

In public comment, Liam Bailey said “rates need to go up. It costs a lot to live up here.” He asked the board to raise his rates. He said people are leaving the agency to better jobs and benefits, and the board “will not hold on to staff by giving them less money and benefits.”

Bailey said in-house engineers cost $78 an hour, but if they are gone, a consultant might need to be employed at $130 an hour, and would “need up-front hours to get up to speed.”

Mike DuBois, an agency electrical technician, said certified agency people are looking for new jobs, and “ready to go right now.”

Vice President Debbie Dunn said the reorganization schematic had no numbers, no way for them to make a decision, and no time frame to meet that number.

Mancebo said the number to cut from the budget to ease cash flow issues is $300,000, and no time frame has been incorporated yet, but talks continue with employee representatives.

Moore said he did not want to do anything without Don Cooper present, and Dunn said she did not know why Cooper missed the special meeting.

President Bill Condrashoff said he did not like the electrical and raw water supervisors each overseeing two people, as shown in the new plan, or a distribution supervisor overseeing three. He said it was inefficient. Dunn agreed, saying “there isn’t a CEO out there who would allow this.”

Human Resources Coordinator Karen Gish said unfilled vacancies caused the small division staffs.

Mancebo said department heads are working supervisors. He said per the plan, a construction superintendent and operations manager can consolidate, but they are working managers. It would effectively push work down to other staff, and “there will be work that does not get done.”

Director Gary Thomas recused himself from the board for discussion of the issue, due to a common law conflict of interest.

Mancebo was directed to discuss the reorganization with staff and meet with the board in a special meeting October 15th.

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Amador County - Amador County recently received its own state law allowing it to experiment with small electric cars on roads within and between neighborhoods.

AB584 was signed by the Governor on September 29th, allowing the County of Amador and the cities of Jackson and Sutter Creek flexibility in designing rules and routes for Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs).

This law originated as a project put forth by Amador Citizens for Transportation Options (ACTO), a local nonprofit group that solicited the help of Assemblywoman Alyson Huber a year and a half earlier. The law made its way through numerous Committee hearings, finally passing the Assembly 67-0 and the Senate 34-0.

Bob Devlin, a Director of ACTO, credits Huber and her staff for guiding this bill through the maze of legislative challenges, resulting in the final success. “We did have some opposition,” Devlin comments, “and needed to persuade legislators that this was a worthwhile project. We are delighted with the outcome.”

AB584 will give CHP, Caltrans and other government regulators more flexibility in the design of facilities and routing for NEVs in Amador that otherwise would be prohibited by law.

ACTO engineer, Rod Schuler, “believes the Bill is essential to allow Amador to solve our small-town traffic problems.” Schuler has prepared detailed cost estimates, including a new concept of special NEV/Bike turnouts which will allow NEVs to move off the main traffic flow and let faster-moving vehicles go by.

Because NEVs can only travel up to 25 mph and utilize existing roads that have speeds posted 35 mph or less, they can be manufactured from cheaper and lighter material and do not require the expensive and heavy armor of other cars.

Sharon Hewitt, another Director of ACTO and Jackson resident, cites statistics showing that most trips we take are short and can be done efficiently in an NEV, saving fuel, maintenance costs, air pollution and reducing our reliance on foreign sources of oil. “Plus”, says Sharon, “they are fun to drive.”

Mike and Sharon Hewitt are waiting to purchase an NEV once they can legally get from their home on Scottsville Boulevard in Jackson to Sutter Creek and Amador City.

Devlin states, “We still must convince the authorities that our proposals are safe for NEVs so they will allow us to try out our ideas.”

ACTO will be working closely with CHP, Caltrans, and local governments to obtain approval of their NEV Transportation Plan.

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Amador County – Both candidates for State Assembly in District 10 squared off last Tuesday in a debate hosted by the Amador Child Care Council. Speaking before a packed chamber at the County Administrative Building, Democratic incumbent Alyson Huber and her opponent, Republican Jack Sieglock, made clear their similarities and differences.

Sieglock repeatedly stated that a vote for Huber means a vote for the leadership that drove California into a fiscal crisis. “If you want the same old business as usual, you can vote for my opponent,” said Sieglock. “But if you want a new direction and new leadership, I’d appreciate your vote.”

For her part, Huber declared that she is also opposed to the way state government does business. She said she “makes decisions based on the needs of those in my district, not party lines.”

Both candidates pointed out their recent endorsements. Sieglock said he was proud to be endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association because he has “balanced 16 budgets without raising taxes.” Huber said she has received bipartisan support, including an endorsement earlier that day from Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan.

During public comment, both candidates were asked their views on taxes and whether they support Propositions 23 and 26, which deal with eliminating three business tax breaks and giving voters permission before any new taxes can be imposed.

Huber did not answer directly, but said “we have got to stop legislating by propositions; that is ballot box legislation.” Sieglock said the tax increases we face today were put in place “by the leadership that Alyson supports.”

Sieglock believes the budget gap can be closed without any new fees and without raising taxes. “The problem in Sacramento is that (our legislature) really isn’t drilling down,” he said.

Huber insisted “the $40 billion (budget deficit) was too big to do on cuts alone without closing all our schools…and prisons.” She said she “is doing what is fiscally prudent.”

“Do I like everything that was in the budget, no. Did I do the responsible thing, yes,” she said.

This is the second time Huber and Sieglock have vied for this seat. In 2008, Huber beat Sieglock by a scant 474 votes districtwide.

The forum also included candidates for Sutter Creek City Council and a representative speaking on behalf of 3rd District Congressional candidate Dr. Ami Bera.

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