Tom

Wednesday, 24 March 2010 02:08

Mobility Management Helps River Pines Man Save His Job

Amador County - Amador Transit’s Mobility Management program recently demonstrated just one of the ways its helping people with their transportation needs by helping a Round Table Pizza employee save his job. Bill Peck, considered a key employee at the popular restaurant, lost his daily bus ride to work when the River Pines Amador Transit route was cancelled. Mobility Manager Mel Welsh invited Peck to a meeting of the River Pines Revitalization Committee where Peck met a River Pines woman who has since driven him to work each day and has refused money for gas. “I don’t know what I would have done without the help of Mobility Management. I probably would have lost my job,” he said, adding: “This situation I have now is perfect.” Another person who is pleased with the arrangement set up by Mobility Management is Round Table Pizza Manager Chis Owens. “Bill is a very hard worker in a key position. He is our dough roller, and for a pizza restaurant, that’s a very important job,” said Owens. Peck has worked at Round Table for nearly two years. Mobility Management is funded by Federal Transit Administration money that is administered by Caltrans. The program is active through September 2011, and a grant is pending for an additional two years of funding. “We’re a one-stop shop for everyone’s transportation needs, especially for the elderly, low-income and handicapped people,” said Welsh. Mobility Management can be reached at 209-267-5027, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. A TSPN TV Report This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in Local

Wednesday, 24 March 2010 01:59

Amador County News TSPN TV with Alan Sprenkel 3-24-10

Published in Video

Monday, 22 March 2010 01:46

ARTS Board Hears About Concept 'Grapevine Express'

Amador County – The Amador Regional Transit System board of directors last week heard an abbreviated update on its staff’s concept “Grapevine Express” winery touring trolley route. Terry Grillo, advertising consultant for ARTS, asked for 5 more minutes for an item not on the agenda, and showed 3 logo concepts for the proposed Grapevine Express. ARTS board members in a previous meeting were concerned about liabilities in using a transportation vehicle in the winery row route along the Shenandoah Valley. Supervisor Richard Forster last week said he was further concerned that they were using the new trolley busses, which do not have seatbelts, and could increase liabilities. ARTS Manager James Means told the board that the busses are designed with a taller passenger area, to be above traffic, and therefore safer that regular traffic. He said the trolley busses are designed to be ridden without seatbelts. Means said if they get to the point where they have to worry about seatbelts on the Grapevine Express, then they should probably end the program. Grillo also presented a handout with advertising sales data, on billboard sales on busses. Board Chairman Greg Baldwin said it would have been nice to get the information before the meeting. Amador County Transportation Commission Executive Director Charles Field said the he has asked Means to present such information to him, so that he can oversee the propriety of the agenda packet, and so that the board can be “able to read it before the meeting.” Means said he would provide full “Grapevine Express” information in the next agenda packet. Councilman Pat Crosby asked if there would be alcohol consumption on the Grapevine Express, and Means said that there would not be, though there might be alcohol consumption at the wineries along the way. The board said ARTS should expedite the implementation of a “Compressed Natural Gas” filling station in Amador County, if the new trolleys are to be used on the Grapevine Express. The trolleys operate on both natural gas and diesel fuel, but must get the natural gas fueled at a station in Roseville, the nearest place to do so. Forster said they did not want to have the trolleys running weekend routes along the Shenandoah Valley while only half-filled with fuel. Means said opening a CNG fueling station could be handled in the next 30 days. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Monday, 22 March 2010 18:00

ACTC Discusses Funds, Tourism Council Partnership

Amador County – The Amador County Transportation Commission discussed funding areas and programs last week, and looked a partnership that is booming on Sutter Hill. Executive Director Charles Field said ACTC is trying to get funding for solar power collectors to be placed atop Park & Ride structures, but he told the commission not to get its “hopes up,” because the “state is having trouble selling bonds.” Supervisor John Plasse said he would like to see an April 21st “Transit Service Workshop” put on hold, until Amador Regional Transit System and the commission can see if unmet transportation needs are taking funds away from road maintenance and repair. Plasse said so much money has gone into unmet transit needs that there is no money left for streets and roads. Supervisor Richard Forster agreed, saying he would like to see that come back after they talk discuss the commission budget. Field said the workshops on transit needs “may still be required” by funding sources. The ARTS board had 2 “blue slip” items brought by Field, with one seeking permission to put up a banner for Amador Council of Tourism on the new Transit Center building in Sutter Creek. The blue slip was used because ACT wanted to put up the banner by the end of last week. Forster said the issue did not actually require a blue slip, because there was no imminent danger to public health or safety. Forster said Field has the power to approve a temporary sign agreement. Maureen Funk, executive director of Amador Council of Tourism, presented the ARTS board of directors with a check for a “year’s rent,” totaling $12. The rent should have been $1 a year, but the contract was written for $1 per month, to rent office space in the new Transit Center in Sutter Creek. ACT also will staff a visitors’ center there. Funk said: “My membership is growing just from the 1 month being there.” She said the visitor’s center and ACT are already getting frequent visitors, even without signs. Forster said “we keep duplicating our mistakes of not getting our signage up before the building opens.” Rebecca Brown, an ACT volunteer, lauded the new facility, where the “structure blends in with the setting,” and where the sounds of cows help add to the tranquility of the location. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Monday, 22 March 2010 18:00

California Gets $35M Cash for “Clunker Appliances”

Amador County – Amador County Waste Management Department Thursday announced that California Energy Commission is implementing a “Cash for Clunkers” program for household appliances, using $35 million in federal stimulus funds. Jim McHargue, director of Amador Waste Management said the rebate program encourages “replacement of inefficient appliances with new energy-conserving models.” The “Cash for Appliances” program consists of three components. 1 is to purchase a qualifying appliance from an approved list. Qualifying appliances are online at www.cash4appliances.org. Component 2 is to recycle the old unit at a “Certified Appliance Recycler.” Component 3 is to save, by mailing in a rebate application package within 30 days of the purchase, starting April 22nd. California has been allotted $35.2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds through the U.S. Department of Energy for the program. The funds are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and are expected to go quickly. The launch of the program is April 22nd, to coincide with Earth Day, and will run through May 23rd, or until funds are depleted. Appliances purchased before April 22nd are not eligible for a rebate. Consumers can receive $200 for refrigerators; $100 for clothes washers; and $50 for room air conditioners. The rebate program requires proof that the old appliance has been recycled through a Certified Appliance Recycler. The program does not pay for the cost of recycling, but many appliance retailers will recycle your old equipment at no cost when a new appliance is purchased. Amador County appliance retailers should be contacted for details, or see www.cash4appliances.org. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Monday, 22 March 2010 18:00

Ione City Council Votes Against Petition Lawsuit

Amador County – Public comment at the Ione City Council meeting last Wednesday was overwhelmingly in support of the Ione Police Department and critical of a lawsuit aimed at moving law enforcement services to the county. The petition was deemed illegal and unconstitutional by City Attorney Kristin Castanos, who said previously it “attempts to compel the county” to “take over law enforcement services for the city.” Castanos said “(the petition) is invalid because” the “right of the city to contract for police services is vested in the council’s discretion” and is “not a proper subject for an initiative.” This report led the council to consider pursuing a lawsuit against petitioner Denise Robertson, the subject of last week’s meeting at Evalynn Bishop Hall. Public speakers at the meeting expressed near unanimous support for the IPD. Some went as far as to boo and ridicule the petition backers. Mule Creek Prison Warden Mike Martell said his staff and the IPD have a great working relationship. Resident Laurie Lord said it is ok to go forward with the initiative because “if it makes it to the ballot, it will surely be voted down.” Still others said the city should save any money it would spend on a lawsuit and instead put that money back into the police department, whose officers are paid far less than the Sheriff’s deputies. Councilman David Plank still supported the idea of suing the petition backers because it shows “we’re not going to put up with a frivolous, illegal petition.” He strongly urged the council to back the lawsuit because “if we don’t do it, this will continue again and again and again.” He referred to repeated attempts by citizens in the past, including petition supporter Jim Scully, to seek measures that would reconfigure local law enforcement. Councilwoman Andrea Bonham echoed the viewpoint of the council, saying the IPD is “proactively getting out on the streets and stopping crime before it starts.” During public comment, Councilman Jim Ulm was criticized by citizen Jack Brotherton for not standing up at a previous meeting and saying he will fight to protect the IPD, instead saying he will wait to see how it plays out. Ulm clarified that in his opinion, “the best thing to do is let the people decide.” Ulm seconded a motion by Bonham formally opposing the initiative. Plank’s motion to initiate a lawsuit against Robertson was also backed by Ulm, but was opposed 3-2 by the other council members. Robertson must gather the signatures and file the petition by August 14th. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Monday, 22 March 2010 18:00

Plymouth Ordinance Would Raise Transient Occupancy Tax

Amador County – The Plymouth City Council will consider an increase to the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax Thursday, a decision that would ultimately have to be made at the ballot box. The council will consider an ordinance to raise the TOT tax from 6 percent to an as-yet undetermined amount. The increase would be subject to approval by a city-wide vote requiring a 2/3rds majority to pass. City Attorney Steven Rudolph prepared the ordinance, but left out the potential new tax amount. The ordinance would amend Plymouth municipal code to increase the Transient Occupancy Tax on rent charged by hotel operators, with the change subject to voter approval, as required by state law. City Clerk Gloria Stoddard said 6 percent is the current percentage of the TOT tax. She said the new tax rate was left blank by Rudolph at the direction of City Manager Dixon Flynn, so that the amount can be discussed with the city council. According to Rudoph’s background information, the city may hold a general election on a general tax increase once every 2 years. The related timeline said if the ordinance is introduced Thursday, then the council at its first meeting in April could adopt the resolution calling for the election. It would be a special election, combined with the Amador County general election on November 2nd. Stoddard said the steps would include an “impartial analysis” by the city attorney. Following that would be arguments for and against the ordinance and the new TOT tax, which could be printed on the ballot, along with rebuttals from either side. The percentage of a new TOT tax would be at the discretion of the city council to determine, but the final approval power belongs to the city’s voters. Amador County currently has a 10 percent Transient Occupancy Tax, Stoddard said, and most of the cities in the county are 10 percent. Stoddard said the “TOT is to the betterment of the citizens to approve it, because it puts taxes on the visitors here, not on residents.” Plymouth City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Tuesday, 23 March 2010 05:50