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Wednesday, 10 February 2010 01:08

Supes Hear Presentation on Broadband Study

Amador County - The prospect of robust broadband internet access throughout the Mother Lode was the main topic of conversation at the Amador County Board of Supervisors meeting this week. Supervisors ultimately supported efforts by the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency (ATCAA) to continue its Central Sierra Connect program to seek funding for a variety of projects including adding more Neighborhood Information Centers at libraries and other public sites, expanding telemedicine and improving the region’s “Infonet” websites for on-line “information and referral” services. ATCAA recently completed work on an 18-month, $250,000 project to gather information on how rural counties can gain 100 percent coverage for high speed internet. The study included surveys, determining community access and potential prices and was funded through the California Emerging Technology Fund. Project Manager Michelle Shelton said the survey indicates that only 45 percent of households in Amador, Alpine, Calaveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties have access to high speed internet. In Amador County, she said “speed and reliability are bigger factors than the service itself.” The push for expanded high speed access is a top priority of the Obama administration and considerable funding for the cause was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus bill. Shannon Mosher of ATCAA said they can now “provide local service providers with a detailed mapping report in order to help them find funding on their own.” Local providers like Mother Lode Internet in Sonora and Golden State Cellular in Jackson are among the companies that have expressed a strong interest in working together to provide local service. Shelton said the cost for bringing service into the county through a major provider like AT&T would be “prohibitively expensive.” She said only local carriers have so far applied for funding. She said each county contributed time and funding to the project, and each will be able to develop more detailed plans for future projects using the data collected. Supervisor Louis Boitano said he personally places a high importance on the ability for rural residents to have Internet access. He said he has twice put discretionary funds towards the purchase of new computers in the Upcountry Community Center. A community forum hosted by Volcano Communications to discuss this five-county project was held Tuesday night. More information is available online at www.centralsierraconnect.org. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in Local

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 01:06

AWA to Consider $228,000 Ione, Tanner Analyses

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors Thursday will consider $228,000 in analyses for the Ione water treatment plant and the Tanner water treatment plant. Staff in a memo recommends board approval of $134,000 through the end of the current fiscal year to study the plant in Ione, and another $94,000 to study Tanner in Sutter Creek, to be spent in 2010-2011. Staff recommends approving a contract with Stantec Consulting. The AWA Engineering Committee – President Bill Condrashoff and Director Terence Moore – could not reach an agreement on a recommendation for the full board, after the agency issued Request For Proposal packets to 6 companies in August 2009, and only 2 companies responded. Operations and Engineering departments were authorized by the AWA board to analyze the 2 companies, Stantec and RBF, with Stantec leading the rankings. AWA Engineer John R. Griffin in a report to the board said the “agency retained a design consultant for the design of the Regional Tanner” water treatment plant, “planned to be built to approximately 8 million gallons a day in Phase 1 with an ultimate capacity of 20 million gallons a day.” It would “replace both the existing Tanner and Ione water treatment plants.” Griffin said the goal of the interim study “will be to evaluate the water treatment supply and storage needs of the Tanner and Ione service regions.” It will also “ascertain if improvements to the agency’s existing Ione and Tanner water treatment plants may provide a practical means to increase treatment supply capabilities in these service regions until the Regional Tanner water treatment plant project is constructed.” Griffin said the study would “also review the remaining useful life of the existing Tanner and Ione (plants) and analyze the optimum time” to bring the new regional plant on-line. The 2 companies’ RFPs had only a $1,500 difference in price, Griffin said. One of the companies was already under contract, he said, as the design consultant for the regional Tanner water treatment plant. AWA Interim General Manger Gene Mancebo said the agency originally hired Stantec to design the regional plant at Tanner. The company began design and specification work for the regional plant, and AWA halted their work “at least a year ago, maybe longer,” because of the economic downturn. Mancebo said now the approach is to see if the agency can expand the existing facilities and try to stretch their capacity. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in Water

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 01:01

VA Narrows Down Locations for New Regional Veteran's Facility

California - The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs has narrowed down the list of potential sites for a new, centrally-located regional healthcare facility in San Joaquin County to serve veterans in surrounding counties, including here in Amador. The new facility would be ideally located to suit Amador County, which has one of the highest populations of veterans in California. American Legion Post 108, located in Sutter Creek, is the third largest of its kind in the state. Amador County Supervisors and many local veterans are endorsing the idea of a nearby hospital with easy freeway access for tens of thousands of regional veterans. The VA sent out notifications last week rejecting some proposals for hospital locations while keeping others, a move that has upset backers of rejected sites who say the decision was hasty. Two proposals still on the table are a 20-acre plot near St. Joseph’s Medical Center owned by the Grupe Commercial Company and 56-acres owned by Arnaiz Development Company close to Interstate 5. But San Joaquin County Veterans Services Officer Ron Green said the VA made a “cavalier decision” when it turned down a county-government backed facility next to San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp. The proposed site was at the center of the year-long push to bring a hospital to the county. San Joaquin Supervisor Leroy Ornellas wrote in a guest commentary to the Manteca Bulletin that he and fellow supervisors “were astonished at this revelation.” He said the location passed environmental reports for a healthcare facility. The board offered the land at $1 a year. “The VA could have broken ground within weeks, putting people to work and providing a much needed punch to our local economy,” he said. The VA said site selection is part of a long, data-driven process based on population, partnerships, transportation, land costs and the availability of hospital staff. If approved, the new facility location is expected to be open by 2015. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in State

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 00:57

Ione Appoints New Park & Recreation Commissioner

Amador County – The Ione City Council last week appointed a new member to the Ione Park & Recreation Commission. Mayor Skip Schaufel selected Susan Priest to replace Commissioner Lance Lively, who asked not to be reappointed. With the vacated seat, the city advertised the vacancy and received notes of interest from Karl Knobelauch and Priest. Priest submitted a letter of interest, and the city also received a verbal notice of interest, from Karl Knobelauch. The newly selected chairman of the Amador County Unified School District Board of Trustees, Knobelauch was found to be ineligible for the seat because he lives outside city limits, said City Clerk Janice Traverso. Priest in her letter of interest to Schaufel and the City Council said: “I think it is very important for communities to have park facilities and recreational activities for residents.” She said she is retired and has worked with Sacramento County “as an accountant for the Parks & Recreation Department.” She was also Chief Financial Officer for the Public Works Department and the General Services Department, so she is “familiar with the activities of those departments and the interaction they have with parks.” City Manager Kim Kerr said the Ione Park & Recreation Commission “is composed of 5 members who the mayor appoints with approval of the city council, to serve terms of 2 years.” Schaufel recommended that Priest be appointed to the commission effective immediately. Priest’s term expires in September 2011. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in Recreation

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 00:46

Amador County – The Ione City Council last week appointed City Manager Kim Kerr and City Planner Christopher Jordan to represent the city on a 15-member regional traffic planning “roundtable.” The Amador County Transportation Commission’s “stakeholders” roundtable that will take area input in making its Regional Transportation Plan update. The council voted to approve Mayor Skip Schaufel’s selection of the city manager and planner to represent the city as member and alternate member of the roundtable. Kerr in a January 29th memo said participation by the city appointees would be paid through the city General Fund and Special Funds. Kerr said “there is no additional cost to participate other than staff time to attend the meetings.” ACTC Executive Director Charles Field explained the 2010 RTP Update Stakeholder Roundtable in a January 27th letter to Schaufel and the council. Field said “as the Regional Transportation Planning Agency for Amador County and its five incorporated cities,” it is ACTC’s “core responsibility to develop and maintain a Regional Transportation Plan in order to plan, prioritize, and fund multi-modal transportation improvements of regional significance.” California law requires ACTC to update its RTP every 5 years. Field said “in order to enhance stakeholder involvement,” the commission, which included Ione Councilman David Plank, “intends to establish an advisory committee comprised of various stakeholder representatives to actively participate in recommending policies and priorities” as the update is developed. The purpose of the Stakeholder Roundtable, Field said, is to “ensure that the concerns of a broad cross-section of local and regional interests are represented throughout the planning process.” In the letter, Field said “ACTC is requesting that the Ione City Council appoint a primary and alternate representative with delegated authority to speak on the city’s behalf in regards to regional transportation policies and priorities.” In order to ensure the group’s success, Field said “it is the ACTC’s desire to work with individuals who are able to make a commitment to collaborating with other participants by respecting differing opinions, providing informed input, ensuring regular attendance, and balancing local/special interests with a regional perspective.” After member appointments – due by February 17th – ACTC “will contact each representative in order to explain the planning process and proposed ground rules.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive