News Archive (6192)
Ione – The Ione City Council got a report on crime statistics from fiscal year ending in 2009, with trends reportedly reflective of the recession. A report from Ione Police Chief Michael Johnson included the department’s service call statistics last week for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, along with a memo describing what can be seen in the stats. Johnson said “recent trends in crime have been reflective of the difficult financial times.” The Ione Police Department, he said, is “currently experiencing an increase in domestic violence incidents and theft related offenses.” To date for this fiscal year, IPD, as of August 6th, had “taken approximately 120 more case numbers than last year” on that date. He said: “With our 2 new very proactive officers and a change in enforcement philosophies that are targeted at meeting this community’s needs, our investigations, court appearances and commitments are resulting in more criminal cases,” court appearances and follow-up. Data showed that “officer initiated activity is more than double the calls for service.” Johnson said “unfortunately, this all translates into expenditures.” He said he would meet with City Manager Kim Kerr in coming weeks to “make the necessary adjustments,” that is, “cuts and modifications to help” Ione Police Department “cope with budget deficits.” Besides cuts, he will “be implementing a change in deployments, schedules, and resources to better combat peak criminal activity times.” The data showed increased activity in some areas, as compared to the 2007-2008 fiscal year, though some areas had decreased, including traffic stops and traffic citations. Johnson said “as with most statistics there are many variables and considerations within any given category.” Five areas had increased numbers over the previous year. That included 5,583 total incidents, 1,694 calls for service, 3,889 “officer initiated incidents,” 193 felony reports and 52 felony arrests. The IPD made 968 traffic stops last fiscal year. It also made 327 misdemeanor reports, with 130 misdemeanor arrests, and 44 misdemeanor citations. The department issued 360 moving vehicle violations and 118 parked vehicle violations. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Jackson - The Amador County Transportation Commission on Tuesday discussed a “reprioritization” of Caltrans resources and the potential impact this will have on projects throughout the county. According to ACTC Director Charles Field, “Caltrans District 10 Environmental staff will need to limit its work on local grant projects while they work to environmentally clear higher priority (federal stimulus) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects.” In addition, Field advised that the new State budget may eliminate funds that allow Caltrans to work on locally sponsored State Highway projects. Field said local grant projects that could be harmed by the proposed reprioritization are the Amador City bridge replacement, Court Street and Highway 88 intersection improvements, the Prospect Drive realignment, turnouts on various county roads and the Highway 49/Main Street intersection in Plymouth. Commenting on the latter, Plymouth Mayor Jon Colburn told TSPN that Caltrans was supporting a proposed roundabout for the intersection that could potentially improve traffic safety. An ACTC traffic specialist has been showing scale models of the roundabout at the last two farmer’s markets in Plymouth. ACTC local project manager Matt Griggs of Dokken Engineering said the Plymouth intersection and Prospect Drive realignment should not be seriously impacted by the reprioritization. Field said Caltrans was also instructed they would have to reimburse the State for Caltrans work on all future Project Initiation Documents. “Many agencies throughout the State expressed immediate concern because this policy would be considered a step backward in the State’s efforts to partner with local agencies to fund highway projects,” said Field. This could have potentially serious impacts on the Prospect Drive project as well as other fair share funded projects. ACTC staff was advised in late July that the State did not include this funding cut in the adopted State budget and funding was included to allow Caltrans to “continue preparing Project Initiation Documents without requiring local governments to reimburse the cost for these services.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Monday, 24 August 2009 00:34
Sutter Creek Planning Commission Nears Gold Rush Recommendation
Written bySutter Creek – The Sutter Creek Planning Commission drew closer to an end of its work on the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort Wednesday, going through suggested changes with staff, with an expected handoff of the decision to the City Council that could occur at its next meeting. Environmental Impact Report consultant Bob Delk told the commission that its “mitigation measures are implemented through the conditions of approval.” And consultant Anders Hauge said that would allow them to read simply the paragraph saying the mitigations are addressed in the conditions. Hauge said “these documents reflect the direction you have given us.” He said he assumed the city attorney and assistant city manager will review the documents. The commission will likely consider a resolution with recommendations for the City Council on Gold Rush’s Specific Plan, Development Agreement, and Conditions of Approval. Commissioner Frank Cunha asked if it was the final draft of the document, including edits. Hauge said it was the final draft, but there may still be some typographical errors. Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe (Ruh-Bay) said during a break that the commission was expected to make a vote on a recommendation at its meeting Monday. The commission had some important issues that still might need to be resolved in the Conditions of Approval. One of those was wildland fire fighting obligations in open spaces of Gold Rush. Commissioner Mike Kirkley said with open space requirements, there can be urban development, but it will still have open space that “looks like wildland and burns like wildland.” Peters said when a fiscal analysis is finalized, he would like to see wildland fire obligations included as a line item. Another issue was traffic. Cunha said the current draft’s traffic mitigation says that “whatever fee is in place at the time they get their permit, that’s what they pay.” Hauge said “the city can make those fees flexible.” Peters said in those issues that were still unresolved, “it seems the conditions” of approval “will prevail.” The commission next meets 7 p.m. Monday, August 24th in the city auditorium on Main Street. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Plymouth – The Plymouth City Council had its eyes on the scenic views surrounding the city on August 13th, when it approved its long-sought General Plan Update. The element that mentioned the “view sheds” in the document was subject of discussion, and ultimately left to be further interpreted on the “project level.” Mayor Jon Colburn asked about the views from Main Street, and surrounding areas, that were mentioned as part of the “view shed” protections. He worried that the document was not specific enough, and left out details that could make it more meaningful. View points from surrounding areas onto the city of Plymouth were among the areas he questioned, including high points looking down. Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin said about one of those viewpoints mentioned in the General Plan: “From the top of Shenandoah Road, you can see the Bay Area on a clear day.” Baldwin thought they should change the wording in that section to include only views on Highway 49 up until the city limits. Councilman Mike O’Meara disagreed, saying they should leave Shenandoah Road in the descriptions. Councilwoman Pat Fordyce said she was glad they were surrounded by agricultural land, and that several surrounding ranchers that night said they intend to keep their ranches open. Fordyce asked City Planner Paula Daneluk to explain the difference in “view shed” terminology between the words “ridgeline” and “hilltop.” Daneluk said it was an issue of semantics and they are one and the same. She said in a definition in an ordinance, the city could say “you want to have natural terrain as the last thing you see before you see sky.” The object of the language was to limit the positioning of houses to make the views of hills and treetops, rather than the lines of roofs. O’Meara said the General Plan “is not a blueprint to plaster houses all over Plymouth,” but rather a plan to control where houses are put. And the loose language of the “view shed” protection would give more control at the planning commission or city ordinance level, on a case-by-case basis. Daneluk said it was project-level work to look at things like sight-lines and more particular information. She said Planning Commission and City Council control at project level was the ultimate goal. Colburn, in voting no, said he was “not allowed to put input into things he was concerned about,” and “the people of Plymouth never endorsed this attempt to increase the population of the city by 10,000 people.” The General Plan and accompanying EIR passed, 4-1. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Amador County General Plan update panel worked on language in water goals and policies Wednesday, including cleaning up wording for a “gray water” system. They moved toward promoting reuse of water without mandating it. They changed a water policy to say: “Where available, new development should participate in the extension of reclaimed water facilities (either off-site or on-site) for beneficial use.” Planning Commissioner Ray Ryan said as a grape grower, he saw some problems with requiring the gray water participation. He said grape farmers already conserve water and use “best management practices.” He proposed promoting the gray water system, and not mandating it. Commissioner Andy Byrne said he is doing a remodel at his house and “would love to use gray water,” but he does not know how to do so. He said he would like to seek Amador County as a resource for that information. Supervisor Richard Forster said the gray water systems should be encouraged but not mandated, because “one size does not fit all.” Amador County Planner Susan Grijalva agreed, saying they would not take such a system over miles. She said the county and planning department “can deal with specifics in implementation.” Byrne said it would not matter until such a recycling and reuse system was in place. Supervisor Brian Oneto opposed the best management practices, saying the term was too broad. Oneto said he didn’t “want to be responsible for going and telling someone that they are not farming the right way.” Forster said if they were “going to adopt best management practices, it should be adopted by the Board of Supervisors and the Amador Water Agency.” Supervisor John Plasse noted that Amador Environmental Health asked who would be responsible for development and implementation of those practices. They changed the policy to say: “In consultation with the county’s water suppliers, develop reasonable best management practices for water conservation in the county.” They also removed a phrase that would “incorporate the California State Water Plan,” after consultant Jeff Goldman of EDAW said he did “not know that incorporating the entire (state) plan by reference would be adequate.” They also made a blanket move to take out references to the Amador Water Agency, instead choosing to generally refer to water suppliers in water goals and policies. Byrne said that developers of wells worked in association with the public health department, and they added a reference to agencies 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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Thursday, 09 July 2009 00:58
Amador General Plan Panel Removes Groundwater Monitoring Policy
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission joint panel reconvened on the county General Plan update Wednesday, to discuss water goals and policies. They considered recommendations by various agencies and organizations and made decisions, on staff direction for the document’s revision. One policy was aimed at monitoring groundwater in a “groundwater management plan.” The panel voted 6-2 with one abstention by Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli to remove the policy. Earl Williams of Farm Bureau said he was concerned about monitoring ground water and did not thing the county needs to get into state work and the cost involved. Jeffrey Gibson of the Amador County Grape Growers Association said he was a small member of the Sacramento/Amador Water Quality Alliance, which monitors the Cosumnes River and Dry Creek watersheds. He said the coalition spends about $500,000 dollars a year on monitoring. When the group finds a problem, they fix it. He said “do you really want to regulate and monitor the Shenandoah Valley?” He said he first heard of this idea, suggested by the Amador Water Agency, but he and none of the people he knows in the Shenandoah Valley heard of the idea. Gibson said “if they want to do stuff for us and help us, why don’t they come and talk to us?” Commissioner Andy Byrne said ground water was an important issue, and the number of parcels on wells in the county meant that the county doesn’t “even know about potentially half of our water source.” Commissioner Ray Ryan said they were talking about monitoring water pulled from private wells, and he asked if they “get to the point where you dictate how much water people can draw out?” Supervisor Brian Oneto said he has lived here a long time and seen springs come and go, with the rocky underground fissures, and the water flow constantly changes. He said it would be hard to tell the sources of underground water. Ryan said it amounted to “looking for data so you can restrict” the water being taken from wells. Ryan, Oneto and Supervisors Richard Forster and John Plasse joined commissioners Dave Wardall and Ray Lindstrom in voting to remove the policy in its entirety. Byrne and Commissioner Denise Tober voted against the removal. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Sutter Creek City Council on Monday heard the city’s wastewater master plan update, which included enlarging Henderson Reservoir and the inevitable replacement of the city wastewater treatment plant. Councilman Pat Crosby asked about a bond issuance to rebuild the plant, and said he did not want to do that. City Manager Rob Duke talked about the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority master plan update and said the city treatment plant has a “finite life,” expected to expire in about 5 years, then the city will have to rebuild it. And when that happens, he recommended rebuilding to the size the city already is permitted for. Part of that is capacity, and he said ARSA might lose its storage contract at Preston reservoir. If that happens, Henderson would not be enough storage, and ARSA would not have enough water to give to Castle Oaks Golf Course. Some in the audience asked about Ione City Manager Kim Kerr’s statement that a 5-year notice must be given to break an agreement between Sutter Creek and Ione. Duke said it was true, but Ione did not have to supply Sutter Creek with a “plan.” Duke said “at the end of the day,” he would like to “still be connected to them,” so in wet years, the city can ask Ione for storage, and in dry years, Sutter Creek can help Ione with supply. Duke said ARSA’s plan looked at using reservoirs for storage in the region, but preferred keeping and expanding Henderson Reservoir. He also recommended using property as a poplar plantation for ARSA’s entire sprayfield, to keep property together and minimize manpower. He said “if every piece of pipe needs to be replaced in the ARSA system,” it would cost about $28 million dollars. Mayor Pro Tem Tim Murphy said he thought Henderson was going to be replaced, not enlarged. Duke said ARSA was able to get a 30-year lease of Henderson with the state, through 2028, though it still must get state approval. He said “abandonment doesn’t appear to be cost effective,” though Henderson does need work. Mayor Gary Wooten said they must eventually take action, but put staff to study the master plan and report back to the council. Wooten said “Whether or not people like growth, you have to plan for the future.” Duke said improving Henderson, working with small reservoir owners and installing a 40 to 50 acre poplar plantation would probably cost under $10 million dollars. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 08 July 2009 01:57
Sutter Creek City Council Hears ARSA Wasterwater Master Plan Update
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council heard updates to 2 wastewater master plans Monday, then sent them to staff attorneys for review. The council considered the new city wastewater master plan and also the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority plan. City Manager Rob Duke said changes included developer fees based on dwelling units, in a “new refinement of processes” that is “specifically looking at the sizes of developments.” The “Large” project, 500 units or more, would be required to pay for needed wastewater improvements at the treatment plant. “Medium High” projects, of 101 to 499 units, would pay upfront for each 100-unit phase, and would get approved “only if the capacity exists” at the wastewater treatment plant. “Low Medium” projects, 26 to 100 units, would make an upfront purchase of sewer fees, and “Small” developments, 1 to 25 units, would pay a building permit equal to sewer fees. Duke said a phased improvement of the wastewater plant would be activated by approval of a “Large” project, and have phases based on unit numbers of the development. The first phase (including Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort) would create a wastewater treatment plant capacity of 700,000 gallons a day. The second phase would take it to 1 million gallons a day. “Build-out” of the plant was tentatively set to the year 2050, at an engineer’s cost estimate of $9 million to $11 million dollars, with a lot of “contingencies.” If it included Gold Rush, the plant would need capacity expanded to 2.3 million gallons a day. Duke “estimated it will be about 2020 before we will have (water) recycling programs going on at Gold Rush.” Councilwoman Linda Rianda asked about phasing, and what initiated Phase 2. Duke said they cannot build phase 2 homes until they build phase 2 of the treatment plant. He said the master plan phasing was not tied to Gold Rush, but “just so happens that it works that way.” Duke said the master plan “looks at one of those big developments getting approved.” Mayor Pro Tem Tim Murphy said he thought before the project is approved, developers should commit to fully building the treatment plant expansion. He said they could just come and build 100 units, and only pay fees, then the city “would get no new capacity.” Duke said: “We don’t know what’s happening with the economy,” but he thought they “should be looking at that,” and if a developer needs the city to reserve 100,000 gallons of capacity, they “need to pay for that up front.” Duke said “if they drop 800 units to 100, they would have to go through the whole entitlement process for the next 100 units.” Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Plymouth – The Plymouth City Council retained water rights specialists last week as negotiations continue on the Arroyo Ditch. City Attorney Steven Rudolph, of the firm Myers Nave (Naw-Vay), recommended the specialist, Somach Simmons & Dunn, attorneys at law of Sacramento. Rudolph in a July 2nd memo to the city council said the city is currently in “negotiations with the Shenandoah Water Company regarding the future maintenance of the Arroyo Ditch and the beneficial use of the related water rights.” He said the “purpose of retaining Somach Simmons & Dunn, and in particular, Paul Simmons of that firm, is to provide legal advice to the city regarding any proposal from (Shenandoah Water Company) that affects the city’s water rights.” Rudolph said the contract gives hourly compensation, and “the city will be reimbursed for these costs by the Shenandoah Water Company.” The council approved a resolution authorizing City Manager Dixon Flynn to execute a retention agreement with Somach Simmons & Dunn. The agreement included a $5,000 dollar deposit toward initial fees. Somach Simmons & Dunn’s schedule of rates for public clients listed Simmons as its only “key personnel,” earning a rate of $310 dollars per hour. Additional personnel hourly rates ranged between $120 and $390 dollars an hour. Flynn gave a presentation on a visit he made to Copperopolis during a trip he took in June, showing photos of the designs of downtown buildings. He said they “were constructed by a developer that shows a style of facades” that he thought “would be successful in Plymouth.” Flynn said it “is not a 1930s style but more of a Gold Rush late 19th century style.” In a memo to the council, he said he believed it may be worth the council members’ time to Copperopolis “just to see what they have done.” Flynn said he expected the Plymouth City Council’s next regular meeting, August 13th to be a big meeting, with a General Plan discussion. City planning staff took direction in early July and will make recommended changes. Staff was expected to give the “strikethrough” edition of the General Plan EIR to the city council members by Friday, July 31st, giving the council and the public 2 weeks to read the document, before the General Plan EIR public hearing meeting resumes. That meeting is 5:30 p.m. Thursday, August 13th at city hall, and the General Plan and EIR will be the only item on the agenda. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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