News Archive (6192)
In response
to the growing popularity of on-line bill pay services, the City of Jackson is
launching a new service for its water and sewer customers. Beginning Wednesday, May 7, customers will have the ability
to pay their water and sewer bills through the City’s web site: http://ci.jackson.ca.us. Look for the On-line Water/Sewer Bill
payments link and you will be directed to the payment center area. Payments can
be made either by credit card, debit card or through a checking account. Transaction fees will apply for use of the
new service. In addition to the bill pay service, customers can
view their monthly water use and payment history for the past five years. When going on-line to view history or pay a
bill, customers will need the account number and route number printed on
the bill. For more information or to ask
questions about this new service, please contact City Hall at 223-1646.
It has just been announced that the California
Cultural and Historical
Endowment, or CCHE, has officially awarded the $850,870 matching grant the City
of Sutter Creek had applied for, with a grant writing assist from the Knight
Foundry Corporation. The
Knights Foundry is nothing if not a piece of local history. The historic
building used to be home to a group of skilled local craftsman. One of their
most well-known projects are the decorative iron-leaves they created to line
the outside of the state capitol. The primary objective of CCHE is to preserve
the historic Knight Foundry Iron Works in Sutter Creek for posterity as a
skills training center for
traditional industrial metal-working crafts, and as a living history
educational experience
for the public. This capital grant is for the purchase,
environmental cleanup and the rebuilding of the cupola iron furnaces.
The funds for this grant had been reserved last year, but it took significant, creative problem-solving to actually have the grant awarded. City Manager Rob Duke's work with CCHE staff cleared the way, and the City Council showed real flexibility in approving the necessary policy adjustments. Mayor Gary Wooten made a strong, succinct pitch for the Knights Foundry at a meeting last week between the City and CCHE. According to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for the Knights Foundry, “We can immediately begin spending match money against this grant, which will then be reimbursed by the CCHE dollar for dollar, once the formal grant agreement is approved. This is a very big step toward securing title to the Knights Foundry.”
-Thursday night marked the 27th and
final General Plan Advisory
Committee Meeting, or GPAC. The county and its consultants wrapped up and
summarized the ideas from the last meeting.
Additionally, the county provided GPAC and the members of the
audience with the results of the surveys that were conducted over the last
month. Most of the replies were split down the middle, especially in response to a question regarding
Rancho Arroyo Seco. About half of the
respondents think the potential future development in Ione should be
included in the General Plan.
Many people had colorful comments, including one that referred to “Nazi environmentalists” that some found funny, and others an insult. John Carlson, a member of GPAC, found the reference offensive and was “even more insulted that people laughed at it.” Carlson went on to say that the members of GPAC and the county had worked “very hard” and didn’t deserve that type of comment. There was some discussion on whether the remark would be stricken from the record. Additionally, the committee expressed some final concerns and comments.
There was talk of sustainable development, “green” building methods, low impact development in regards to water quality, and watershed overlays. Jeffrey Gibson, President of the Amador Wine Grape Growers Association, says his organization’s official position is “No watershed overlay.” According to the public survey, many other citizens felt the same way. At the end of the meeting, Supervisors Richard Forster and Ted Novelli both spoke to the committee and thanked everyone for their hard work and dedication. Indicating that GPAC was only the first step of the process, Forster said, “If anyone thinks that this is over, we are far from it. It’s important we get it right. The next step in the General Plan update process will be a series of public workshops to be held in June. We’ll keep you updated on those workshops when the dates and locations are announced.
Congressman
Dan Lungren settled into Mel and Faye’s Diner in Jackson last Saturday evening for a meet and
greet and question and answer session with local candidates and
officials. More than 80 people attended, including many notable Republicans involved in local government.
Three candidates for the board of Supervisor’s race - John Plasse, John Gonsalvez, and David Pinkus
– were all in attendance, as well as District 10 Assembly Candidates
Dave Sander, Paul Hegyi and
Jack Sieglock. A representative from Presidential candidate John McCain’s
Campaign was also there and spoke to the group about McCain and his campaign issues. Lungren discussed
international issues regarding national security as well as local issues and
his recent series of town-hall conferences in the local area. He also spoke about his relationship
with John McCain.
A public hearing was conducted on the Final
Environmental Impact Report, or EIR, at Monday night’s Jackson City Council
meeting. The task before
the council was to certify the EIR for the City of Jackson Land Use Element, Circulation Element
and Development Code – a project that has been in the works for over
twelve years. Beth Thompson of PMC, a planning firm contracted by the city,
presented the Final EIR to the council.
The Central Sierra Resource Conservation and
Development Council, or CSRCD, will
be conducting a series of community forums to verify local resource concerns
and opportunities. Organizations and individuals are encouraged to
attend the forums and be heard on projects to improve their community.
Locals reported yesterday that credit and Debit Card systems at US Postal Service locations were unavailable for use for a brief period yesterday. National reports confirmed that across the nation, the US Post Office experienced a temporary freeze in their credit card systems, requiring customers to pay in cash. However, the outage did not effect all postal service locations. Pine Grove reported system failure while Jackson employees said the system was working as normal. All credit card systems are functioning again as normal. There was no formal statement from the US Post Office on the matter.
Mayor's Honored Guest Presented at Jackson City Council Monday
Written by
Student Jacob Schmidt was the first to be the
“Mayor’s Honored Guest” at Monday’s Jackson City Council meeting.
The program, implemented by the city last month, provides an opportunity for
junior high and high school students to visit
a City Council meeting, sit with
the Council, open the meeting by
leading the flag salute, and
learn more about city how government works. Students interested in being
the Mayor’s Honored Guest must submit
an essay or letter by the 25th to the city
council as to why they would like to be
the Mayor’s honored guest. Students are selected by a committee made up
of the Mayor, a Councilmember, the City Manager and a member of the public or a
teacher. “Honored Student Guest” nights
are held at the first Jackson City Council meeting of the month, which is held
on second Monday of the month
starting at 7PM. For more information, call City Manager Mike Daly at 223-1646. of each month
Amador County is between a rock
and a hard place on the matter of the proposed Buena Vista Rancheria Casino.
Richard Forster, Chair of the Amador County Board of Supervisors announced
yesterday that the county has reached a crossroad in its battle to keep the
casino out of the county. Forster went on to say that the county has negotiated
a proposed agreement with the tribe and wants to hear from county citizens on
whether to approve the agreement or continue to fight the tribe in Federal
court.
American Legion Ambulance Company Cutting Back on Ambulances
Written byAmerican Legion Ambulance Company is cutting back on the number of ambulances it puts on the roads in Amador and CalaverasCounties. Al Lennox, President of American Legion Ambulance, says the company’s call volume and revenues are down about 15%. Lennox blames the drop in call volumes on the economy. “There’s less tourism, and less travel on the roads,” he told TSPN. More Medi-Cal ambulance patients are reducing reimbursements for services, Lennox says, “and we’re seeing more and more people who have been laid off and have no health insurance at all.” Lennox says in the first 6 months of his fiscal year, the company ran a deficit – had they continued with no cost correction, the ambulance service would have shown a deficit of $150,000 for the year. Lennox says he has informed the supervisors of both Amador and Calaveras of the force reduction of about 15%. No one has been laid off – Lennox says they’ve shifted some full time to part time workers and some part-timers to per diem work. “This is the best way to adjust to the drop in revenue, with the least impact on 9-1-1 calls,” said Lennox.
