Tom
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 06:45
Amador County News TSPN TV with Alex Lane 5-18-10
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News Broadcast Videos
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 06:36
18-Year Old Wilseyville Man Killed, Child Critically Injured In Weekend Accidents
Amador County - An 18-year-old Wilseyville resident died as the result of a motorcycle accident Sunday afternoon in Calaveras County, according to reports from the California Highway Patrol. Kenneth Hawes was driving his 2006 Honda motorcycle southbound on Old Toll Road at approximately 45 miles per hour when he apparently lost control while trying to navigate a “deeply rutted, wet and muddy” turn. Old Toll Road is a dirt road on private property. Hawes attempted to regain control by turning his bike to the left and accelerating rapidly. The vehicles rear tire struck a dry portion in the road, causing it to regain traction and propel Hawes forward out of control. The bike’s front end then reportedly struck a large tree and Hawes was thrown off the vehicle and into the tree. Hawes was wearing a full-face helmet and additional body safety gear at the time of the accident. San Andreas CHP officers responded to the incident. This accident is the latest in a string of vehicle accidents and traffic collisions between May 13th and May 16th. The San Andreas CHP handled 10 traffic collisions in that time, 8 of which involved motorcycles. Several of the collisions involved multiple motorcycles. “I believe these motorcyclists would benefit from the California Motorcycle Safety Program,” stated Lieutenant Tim Port, San Andreas Commander. “It offers a basic rider course for beginners and an experienced rider course for improving skills.” Of those ten collisions, none were DUI related, although there were 7 people arrested for driving under the influence in that same time period. A San Andreas CHP release on Monday said “the overall statistics have been decreasing each year, but the number of motorcycle collisions and injuries went up slightly this year compared to last year.” In related news, another accident occurred Sunday at approximately 1:30 p.m. on the Carson Pass Summit when a vehicle carrying five people rolled over, according to Amador County fire officials. One 12-year-old vehicle occupant was critically injured in the accident involving a white Ford Expedition. A Care Flight helicopter transported the child to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Firefighters from Amador County and Woodford responded to the accident, which blocked one lane of Highway 88. The vehicle occupants were eventually able to get back in and ride away safely. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Local
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 06:34
AWA Discusses Use of Loan On GSL Sunk Costs
Amador County – Amador Water Agency approved seeking a county Water Development Fund loan for up to $900,000 last week, but not before discussion of how the money will be spent, and loan terms. AWA board President Bill Condrashoff and Vice President Debbie Dunn said they were leery of taking the loan that must paid off by the end of the year. But Director Terence Moore pointed out that Dunn suggested the short term loan, and the board directed staff to seek a loan that must be repaid by December 31st. Moore said: “You can’t have it both ways.” Condrashoff said “if the USDA doesn’t come through, it leaves us in a bigger hole.” Agency attorney Steve Kronick said “the county can also extend this over 30 years, as it has done for other agencies.” General Manager Gene Mancebo said “staff recommended a longer term, and the board directed a very specific ending date.” Condrashoff said if they do not get the USDA grant and loan, they cannot have a project. Dunn said she was concerned supervisors hadn’t heard the possible loan figure before AWA discussed it in April. Mancebo said “it was not taken to the full board,” but he discussed a $1.2 million, 30-year loan with county Chief Administrative Officer Terry Daly, “there wasn’t a staff concern,” and Daly shared the information with 2 supervisors in committee. Condrashoff asked about the agency using the loan for expenses other than planned, to pay sunk costs of the GSL. The loan will free up reserve cash for the agency to be able to make a $1 million bond payment on the Amador Transmission Pipeline. Dunn suggested changing the contract. Kronick said the board need not change it, but could use a motion to direct staff not to use the money for other purposes. He said changing the contract would mean sending it back to the board of supervisors, which would have occurred after the Amador Transmission Pipeline payment due date of Saturday (May 15th) – 2 days before AWA approved seeking the loan. Dunn said she “can’t believe we’re handcuffed” by a time limit. Moore said “the only thing we’re talking about is how we use this $900,000,” and the board “can direct staff to put the money in the bank and not use it for any other purpose.” Summer water usage is expected to earn the agency enough money to repay the county loan. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
Water
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 06:33
Plymouth Report Anticipates Development
Amador County – The Plymouth City Council last week received a progress report on the city’s general plan and housing element, with indicators that a long moratorium on development could end this year. The Plymouth Planning Commission earlier this month passed a resolution approving required state reports of progress, and the city council last week received the report, to pass it on to the state and the governor. One indicator of the past building moratorium was that zero building permits were issued last year. While the expected turn-around indicator was that several housing element programs will be active, including the review of development agreements, making development reviews, and making project site plan reviews. The report said the city expects several of each in 2010. Plymouth Community Development Director Barry Siebe prepared a report last week for the council, detailing the progress of the state required Housing Element and General Plan. The current housing element was approved in 2004, while the rest of the General Plan was updated last August. Some of the elements of the general plan included details of program implementation, including completion of the water pipeline in collaboration with the Amador Water Agency. The report also listed the receipt of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funding to work on the city wastewater treatment plant, and also the wastewater transmission line system. Both projects should “bring these systems into compliance with state water agency requirements” and are anticipated to be completed this year. Affordable housing data shows 67 eligible housing units, including 28 listed as “above moderate.” The data, from the Local Agency Formation Commission, said Plymouth also has 15 “very low” income level units; 11 for “low income;” and 13 in the “moderate” range. The report said the city “closed out the most recent Community Development Block Grant program in December,” and will not be eligible for new funding until the Housing Element is updated. That update is being conducted “in-house,” and is anticipated in 2010. The city’s eligibility for funding to assist “at risk” units is also dependent on the housing element update. The report said a “Redevelopment Plan” feasibility study was completed in 2009, and “adoption of a plan is currently on hold due to funding constraints.” Development impact fees are currently being updated as well. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Local
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 06:31
Officials Urge Against California Diesel Emissions Rules
Amador County - California's plan to require construction contractors to install large and expensive emissions reduction kits on their off-road diesel equipment will put workers' lives at risk and force job cuts, a prominent union official and a member of the Associated General Contractors of America told federal officials today. As a result, both asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny or delay a decision to allow the state to proceed with its off-road rule. “Denying this rule is the only way to protect the men and women working in California's construction industry from a new and grave risk of injury and death,” said Guy Prescott, a representative of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union Three. “This rule will lead to additional fatalities.” Mr. Prescott noted that the large filters and new exhaust pipes that are part of many emissions reduction kits can impair visibility and greatly increase the risk of burns. Noting that obstructed lines of site are already a leading cause of fatal collisions with construction workers, he said the rule would increase the chance more workers would be hurt and killed. Prescott added that his union had tried several times to warn the California Air Resources Board about the safety hazards of retrofitting existing equipment, but his union had been repeatedly ignored. “The Board is biased in favor of retrofits and incapable of making impartial determinations about the hazards they pose.” Meanwhile, Jon Cloud, Treasure of El Cajon, California-based J. Cloud Inc, a firm specializing in processing and providing recycled construction materials, told EPA officials that he has had to downsize his equipment fleet by over 30 percent and cut 14 percent of his workforce in order to cope with the cost of the new diesel emissions reductions rule. “For too many small and family-owned businesses like ours, the only way to comply with this rule is to simply go out of business,” said Mr. Cloud. “There is no reason to believe that the technology necessary to comply with this rule at anything approach an affordable cost is going to be developed soon enough to save companies like mine.” Cloud added that the off-road diesel rule isn't necessary to meet the state's aggressive emissions targets. He noted that the Associated General Contractors of America, using new data gathered by the Board last year, found that emissions from off-road diesel equipment will be below state target levels for at least several years to come. The state based its rule on an earlier emissions inventory that significantly overstated the amount of construction equipment in the state, he added. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
State
Monday, 17 May 2010 06:19
Board of Supervisors Pre-Agenda Report with Richard Forster 5-17-10
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Amador County Board of Supervisors Reports
Monday, 17 May 2010 06:16
AWA Seeks $900K Loan From Amador County
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors Thursday approved seeking up to $900,000 in a loan from Amador County to pay money spent on the Gravity Supply Line. The loan will also free up cash to help the agency make a payment on the Amador Transmission Pipeline debt service, which will be more than $1 million. Based on a budget forecast, the board expects to be able to repay the loan in 3 months, but it must be repaid by December, as directed by the board in a vote April 30th. The board approved seeking the loan from the county Water Development Fund, and authorized General Manger Gene Mancebo to sign an agreement approved by supervisors. AWA approved it 4-1 with President Bill Condrashoff dissenting, saying he did not want to put AWS customers in potential debt if the agency does not get a USDA loan for the Gravity Supply Line project. The loan will pay back a debt of the Central Amador Water Project system, which took loans from the Amador Water System in paying for work on the GSL. Vice President Debbie Dunn said the CAWP loan should have been “memorialized,” like other internal loans similarly handled by the board at its last meeting. Condrashoff said CAWP had funds in reserve when it was given an AWS loan, and then earned interest on those funds. Finance Manager Mike Lee said CAWP spent $1 million on the GSL, and in the accounting, he showed CAWP had a $470,000 reserve and borrowed $640,000. He said any system or account “will get its proportional interest based on the total,” when the agency does “the interest allocation.” He said systems with negative cash have never been penalized. Part of the motion was to stop spending on the GSL until the agency knows it will get USDA grant and loan funds for the project. Mancebo said to get reimbursed for GSL sunk costs, the USDA wants to know the final bid amount for construction costs. And he estimated that the USDA will require the agency to have possession of right-of-ways. Mancebo said it was “crystal clear” that memorializing the CAWP loan has to happen, and they need to go back and look and “get to the bottom of reserve funds and what was used, where.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Water
