Tom
Thursday, 24 June 2010 06:07
Sutter Creek Appoints Long-Time SCPD Sergeant as Interim Chief
Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council on Monday appointed a long-time Sutter Creek Police Department sergeant to succeed Rob Duke as the Interim Chief of Police. The council announced after closed session that it had selected Sergeant Brian Klier (Clear) to be interim police chief for a period of 6 months, after which the city council will evaluate his work. He will take over for 11-year Chief Duke, whose resignation is effective July 1st. Acting City Manager Sean Rabe said Klier has been working with SCPD for 10 years. Klier was recommended by Duke. Rabe said the chief reports to the city manager, who typically appoints the chief. But he said it was too important a task, and asked the council to make the appointment. Duke’s leaving was “bittersweet” for Rabe, who has known him for probably 11 years, since his days as a reporter at the Ledger Dispatch, covering the city council. Rabe said: “I’ve learned a lot from Rob,” but he knows and understands why Duke is leaving. The impact may take awhile to realize, he said, as “anytime a longtime employee leaves, the loss of institutional knowledge is an issue.” He said Duke has helped with the transition and will continue to help even as he takes over as police chief at Huron in Fresno County. The city council is waiting to see the impact on the budget. Rabe said “we are still anticipating a $300,000 general fund deficit,” but that figure originated prior to the resignation by Duke, so the city is still analyzing the potential impacts it could have on the deficit to remove Duke’s salary from the budget. Rabe said staff is still working on the draft budget and they hope to take it to the city council in the first meeting in July. Rabe said they continue to look at the city’s miscellaneous and police unions for areas to save money on possible adjustments to wages, benefits, and working conditions. The city’s negotiating team has been meeting with unions on a regular basis, Rabe said, and they are “continuing to look at any avenue of expense reduction to help balance the budget.” The council next meets Monday (July 7th), and could call a special meeting in the mean time to talk about negotiations. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
News Archive
Thursday, 24 June 2010 06:08
City Manager Flynn Says Plymouth Will Balance Its Budget
Amador County – The Plymouth City Council will consider finalizing its 2010-2011 budget on the last day of this fiscal year, and staff said the budget will be balanced. City Manager Dixon Flynn said Wednesday that the city budget will balance, but the council needs to transfer some funds to get to that point. The council set the special budget meeting Wednesday (June 30th) so it can address the budget without the distractions of regular agenda items. Flynn said the city’s General Fund and Sewer Fund were in good condition, but the Water Fund was “upside down,” due to construction of the water pipeline that connected the city’s system to the Amador Water Agency. He said a $160,000 transfer of funds from the General Fund and Sewer Fund would balance the Water Fund. He said Finance Director Jeff Gardner has been working on the budget, and updating drafts to the council, and he said recently that he is finished with the final update for next week’s meeting. Flynn said the council today will get updates from staff on 2 projects to improve the city sewer drain system, and also the wastewater plumbing system. The projects are going well, he said, at no cost to the city, with $2.4 million in funding for the work coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. But Flynn said any overrun will have to be paid by the city, leading to “creative sweat equity” to balance costs in the project. Engineering Consultant Richard Prima was expected to give a report today (Thursday, June 24th) on the sewer system upgrade project. Flynn said when the city completes its upgrade, a lift of the building moratorium will allow building in the city. But he said due to the economic downturn, the city has gone from having 9 potential developers, to having only one still sticking around. That one was Reeder Sutherland. The reason the others weren’t around, Flynn said, was due to a tightening on lines of credit by the credit industry. by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
News Archive
Thursday, 24 June 2010 06:10
Supes Approve Umbrella Fire Plan With CALFIRE
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday an updated Fire Protection Reimbursement Agreement with CALFIRE, but acknowledged during lengthy discussion that the contract has more hurdles to pass before final approval. As detailed in the approved resolution, the agreement “provides fire protection services…for the period of July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2013 in an amount not to exceed $2,783,909.” July 1 marks the beginning of the new fiscal year. The contract creates an umbrella policy for CALFIRE services on a local level, also known as the “Amador Plan.” The original contract was for 2009 to 2012, but as Supervisor Richard Forster explained, policy changes “have taken six months to go through CALFIRE’s administrative office,” and meanwhile costs are increasing. Another level of approval is still needed from the General Services Department in Sacramento. “Hopefully we can get it through the next bureaucratic level, but it’s not easy when you start dealing with this bureaucracy,” said Forster. Forster said the River Pines station had to shut down because of costs, while costs at other stations are escalating. “We can not afford that and we’re at a point where we will have to modify the schedule or reduce the number of stations further,” he said. A proposed Buena Vista Station would also fall under the new agreement, but only if the Buena Vista Casino goes forward. Under its Intergovernmental Services Agreement, the tribe has agreed to pay approximately $2.15 million to support fire services. The county opposes the tribe’s proposed casino operation and is fighting the casino going forward, a discussion item that continues to appear on the Board’s closed session agenda. Butte County recently asked CALFIRE if it would wave its 11 percent administrative fee, a significant additional cost that county’s must pay for the state agency’s service. Forster said it is “unlikely” that approval will be granted. “We have brought up things like this before and the answer has always been a pretty pat replay that that is what it costs us to do service, that’s what our fee is,” he said. Nevertheless, the Board authorized staff to draft a letter supporting Butte County’s request. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
News Archive
Thursday, 24 June 2010 06:11
EPA Auhtorizes Buena Vista Casino Wastewater Permit
Amador County – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday that a permit has been signed authorizing the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians to discharge treated wastewater into an unnamed tributary of Jackson Creek. Signed on Tuesday, June 22, the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit is just one of many steps necessary in the tribe’s pursuit of a new $150 million casino to be located near Ione. It also establishes effluent limitations and monitoring requirements for the discharge. Since the initial public notice on December 21, 2005, the tribe has completed all the necessary legal requirements, including the completion of a final Tribal Environmental Impact Report. No tribal members were available for comment at the time this story was written. In an email notification to all participants in previous public comment periods on the matter, John Tinger of the EPA’s NPDES Permit Branch said the “EPA received comments from approximately 30 parties both in writing and in public testimony.” The EPA has provided written responses to address all comments received. Tinger said the EPA also “conducted a consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act, which concluded on June 1, 2010 with a Memorandum of Agreement among the State Historic Preservation Officer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, and EPA.” In a letter to Tribal Chairperson Rhonda Pope, NPDES Permits Office Manager David W. Smith said “any person who filed comments on the proposed permit conditions may petition the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) to review the conditions of the permit” within 33 days of the notice, also issued Tuesday. He said the petitions should “include a statement of the reasons supporting a review, including a demonstration that any issues being raised were previously raised during the public comment period.” The construction of the casino remains a contentious issue in Amador County. The Amador County Board of Supervisors has consistently opposed any Indian gaming expansion and specifically opposes the establishment of the Buena Vista Casino near Ione. The final Permit, Fact Sheet, and Response to Comments document will be posted shortly on the EPA's website. Or, you can email John Tinger at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at 415-420-2217. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
News Archive
Thursday, 24 June 2010 06:17
Sandy Anderson - City Issues 6-24-10
Published in
News Interview Videos
Thursday, 24 June 2010 06:22
Amador County News TSPN TV with Alex Lane 6-24-10
Published in
News Broadcast Videos
Thursday, 24 June 2010 06:11
EPA Auhtorizes Buena Vista Casino Wastewater Permit
Amador County – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday that a permit has been signed authorizing the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians to discharge treated wastewater into an unnamed tributary of Jackson Creek. Signed on Tuesday, June 22, the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit is just one of many steps necessary in the tribe’s pursuit of a new $150 million casino to be located near Ione. It also establishes effluent limitations and monitoring requirements for the discharge. Since the initial public notice on December 21, 2005, the tribe has completed all the necessary legal requirements, including the completion of a final Tribal Environmental Impact Report. No tribal members were available for comment at the time this story was written. In an email notification to all participants in previous public comment periods on the matter, John Tinger of the EPA’s NPDES Permit Branch said the “EPA received comments from approximately 30 parties both in writing and in public testimony.” The EPA has provided written responses to address all comments received. Tinger said the EPA also “conducted a consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act, which concluded on June 1, 2010 with a Memorandum of Agreement among the State Historic Preservation Officer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, and EPA.” In a letter to Tribal Chairperson Rhonda Pope, NPDES Permits Office Manager David W. Smith said “any person who filed comments on the proposed permit conditions may petition the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) to review the conditions of the permit” within 33 days of the notice, also issued Tuesday. He said the petitions should “include a statement of the reasons supporting a review, including a demonstration that any issues being raised were previously raised during the public comment period.” The construction of the casino remains a contentious issue in Amador County. The Amador County Board of Supervisors has consistently opposed any Indian gaming expansion and specifically opposes the establishment of the Buena Vista Casino near Ione. The final Permit, Fact Sheet, and Response to Comments document will be posted shortly on the EPA's website. Or, you can email John Tinger at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at 415-420-2217. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
Local
Thursday, 24 June 2010 06:10
Supes Approve Umbrella Fire Plan With CALFIRE
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday an updated Fire Protection Reimbursement Agreement with CALFIRE, but acknowledged during lengthy discussion that the contract has more hurdles to pass before final approval. As detailed in the approved resolution, the agreement “provides fire protection services…for the period of July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2013 in an amount not to exceed $2,783,909.” July 1 marks the beginning of the new fiscal year. The contract creates an umbrella policy for CALFIRE services on a local level, also known as the “Amador Plan.” The original contract was for 2009 to 2012, but as Supervisor Richard Forster explained, policy changes “have taken six months to go through CALFIRE’s administrative office,” and meanwhile costs are increasing. Another level of approval is still needed from the General Services Department in Sacramento. “Hopefully we can get it through the next bureaucratic level, but it’s not easy when you start dealing with this bureaucracy,” said Forster. Forster said the River Pines station had to shut down because of costs, while costs at other stations are escalating. “We can not afford that and we’re at a point where we will have to modify the schedule or reduce the number of stations further,” he said. A proposed Buena Vista Station would also fall under the new agreement, but only if the Buena Vista Casino goes forward. Under its Intergovernmental Services Agreement, the tribe has agreed to pay approximately $2.15 million to support fire services. The county opposes the tribe’s proposed casino operation and is fighting the casino going forward, a discussion item that continues to appear on the Board’s closed session agenda. Butte County recently asked CALFIRE if it would wave its 11 percent administrative fee, a significant additional cost that county’s must pay for the state agency’s service. Forster said it is “unlikely” that approval will be granted. “We have brought up things like this before and the answer has always been a pretty pat replay that that is what it costs us to do service, that’s what our fee is,” he said. Nevertheless, the Board authorized staff to draft a letter supporting Butte County’s request. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
Local
