May 05, 2012

Record Staff Writer

Editor’s note: 13th in a series

SAN ANDREAS – Three seasoned elected leaders are facing off against each other in Calaveras County supervisorial District 4.

The district was redrawn last year and now includes Copperopolis. That makes it possible for Russ Thomas, who represented District 5 for one term before losing a re-election bid in 2010, to challenge former board colleague Tom Tryon.

Debbie Ponte, a former mayor of Angels Camp, makes it a three-way race. If any one of the three gets a majority of votes June 5, he or she will win the office. Otherwise, the top two finishers will face off in November’s general election.

Tryon, a rancher living in the Angels Camp portion of the district, has served on the board since 1984 and is seeking an eighth term.

That long record gives both of Tryon’s challengers material to criticize, though in different ways.

“I believe I can bring a fresh leadership style,” said Ponte. “I’m someone who likes to collaborate and bring lots of folks to the table.”

That’s Ponte’s way of taking a diplomatic jab at both Tryon and Thomas, though Tryon is her main target.

Tryon is known for his blunt statements during board deliberations and for holding unapologetically libertarian political views. Although he recently switched his party registration to Republican, Tryon said he did so only because “we have a substantial libertarian presence now in the Republican Party.”

Thomas and Tryon were sometimes openly critical of each other when both were on the board, clashing, for example, over how best to plan for growth and whether to limit the ability of property owners to subdivide rural land for housing.

Tryon has for years argued that houses should be built where municipal water and sewers are available. He’s been a supporter of limiting the ability of property owners to subdivide rural land that doesn’t have access to municipal water and sewers.

Thomas says Tryon’s approach is overly restrictive and that modern, well-engineered septic systems make housing viable in many rural, large-lot settings.

Ponte says she admires retiring Supervisor Steve Wilensky for his ability to build consensus with other board members. Wilensky, a former labor union representative in Stockton, has been the most politically progressive member of the Board of Supervisors for the past eight years.

Ideologically, Ponte is closer to Tryon’s views on the need to limit government. Ponte said there’s a need, for example, to “look at what kinds of county regulations are strangling small businesses.”

While Tryon does advocate limited government, he rejects the idea that he has allowed Calaveras regulations to become excessive on his watch. “Most of the regulations we have are just enforcement of state law.”

Tryon says that Ponte is weak on specific policy proposals and refers to her campaign statements as “feel good stuff” about bringing people together.

The harshest exchanges of criticism, however, have been between Tryon and Thomas.

Thomas said that Tryon has “consistently been on a pathway that I think takes away certain options from citizens who own large parcels that they have always had.” Thomas says Tryon’s policies limiting the ability to subdivide agricultural land have contributed to the county’s economic stagnation.

Tryon calls Thomas’s accusation “hypocritical.”

“For him to say ‘I’m pro economic growth and Tom isn’t’ is a total rewrite of history,” Tryon said.

Instead, Tryon said, it was Thomas who caused “economic turmoil” by voting to install former Community Development Director Stephanie Moreno.

Moreno’s tenure from 2006 to 2008 sparked bitter complaints from builders and developers who said her reforms were hurting business.

Tryon has been critical of a community plan Thomas helped draft that envisioned a population of up to 40,000 people in the Copperopolis area, largely by allowing large-lot, low-density development between Highway 4 and Lake Tulloch. “You could put 60,000 or 70,000 people down there,” Tryon said of the plan, which he says needs significant revision before it can be adopted.

Thomas says Tryon is misinterpreting the plan, and that he and others were following county planning staff guidance when they drafted the Copperopolis Community Plan. But he also said he accepts that Rebecca Willis, the county’s current planning director, may have reasons for asking that the planned dimensions of Copperopolis be reduced.

He said he and others on the community plan committee went with a low-density approach with the objective of having “Copperopolis in the future look and feel approximately like it does today.”

Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 607-1361 or dnichols@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/calaverasblog.

The candidates

Debbie Ponte, 51

Party affiliation: Republican

Political experience: Angels Camp City Council member for nine years. Served as mayor for part of that time.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations from California State University, Fresno

Work: Residential care facility administrator

Personal: Married to Dave Ponte, two children

Quote: “I’ve always been involved in community. I thoroughly enjoyed my time serving the City of Angels.”

Russ Thomas, 69

Party affiliation: Republican

Political experience: Served four years as a Calaveras County supervisor, served six years on the Stanislaus County Planning Commission

Education: Business administration degree from California State University, Stanislaus

Work: Masonry consultant and sales

Personal: Married to Gloria Luna

Quote: “If you are completely satisfied with the state of the county at the present time, then I think you ought to continue with the present leadership.”

Tom Tryon, 67

Party affiliation: Republican

Political experience: Has served since 1984 on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from University of California, Berkeley; master’s in business administration from University of Chicago

Work: Calaveras County supervisor, rancher

Personal: Married to Denise, adult children

Quote: “They are not self-sustaining. The community centers are self-sustaining,” Tryon said, explaining his opposition to low-density housing developments on agricultural land.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120505/A_SPECIAL0309/205050328

The state of California could move forward next month on new regulations for septic sewage systems, but not without some pushback from area agencies.

The State Water Resources Control Board recently released a final draft of its policy on septic systems, also known as onsite water treatment systems. The policy would set up new rules and procedures for installing, maintaining and replacing private septic systems around the state in an attempt to prevent contamination of surface and groundwater.

The new septic regulations are required by Assembly Bill 885, a state law passed in 2000 to prevent state waterways from being contaminated by septic systems.

The regulations allow local control over managing septic systems and also include some funding for low-interest loans to property owners who need help to meet the new requirements. Both of those provisions were added since the original draft, which was released in 2008 and criticized by many agencies as being overreaching.

According to the water board, 98 percent of the state’s septic systems will not need to make any changes as a result of the new policy. However, some municipal agencies, including Tuolumne County, are still concerned about negative impacts the regulations could have on property owners even with the recent changes.

“The statewide wastewater regulations contained in (this policy) are much improved from the previous versions. Nonetheless, they are costly, overly burdensome to local implementing agencies and property owners, and not demonstrated to be needed in Tuolumne County,” states a letter to the water board signed by county Board of Supervisors Chairman Dick Pland and approved earlier this month by the entire board.

In the letter, the county takes exception to a handful of regulations in the draft policy:

• A requirement in some situations that properties with septic systems have a density of less than one unit per 2.5 acres.

• A stipulation that a “slope stability” study be required for standard systems to be replaced or installed on a natural slope of more than 30 percent.

• The inclusion of Woods Creek as an impaired body of water, which adds tighter septic restrictions to properties near the creek. A previous draft of the rules included Sullivan Creek, but it was removed in the latest draft.

• Electronic reporting requirements for the local agencies that would be responsible for enforcing the regulations.

In the letter, the board also states the June 19 deadline set for adoption of the policy is ”premature,” and also states that regional water quality boards will have the ability to enact even more-stringent rules.

Rob Kostlivy, Tuolumne County’s environmental health director, said last week that last factor is one of the county’s biggest issues with the plan. He said local agencies will turn in their own septic regulations, and there are worries the state could use the strictest rules as a baseline for everyone.

“One of the main concerns is the unknown,” he said last week.

Tuolumne County isn’t the only critic of the latest draft. Last week, representatives with the Regional Council of Rural Counties commented on the draft during a public hearing. Nate Beason, a vice-chairman with the council and a member of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, said he appreciates the state water board updated the regulations in response to concerns raised after the 2008 draft.

“However, counties remain very concerned about the proposed process they and homeowners would have to go through to get approval for their projects and programs,” Beason said during the hearing.

MODESTO – The Trinitas golf course will cease operation by June 1, according to documents filed in federal court, and it appears the man who once owned and operated it will instead be caring for its lawns.

Mike Nemee, who with his wife, Michelle, built the 280-acre golf course and sought to win legal status for it, will be working for Community Bank of San Joaquin, which now controls the property after a foreclosure sale.

“There’s been an agreement to hire Mr. Nemee to maintain it for a period of time so it doesn’t just become pasture land,” Malcolm Gross, an attorney representing the Nemees, said Wednesday during a hearing in U.S. Eastern District California Bankruptcy Court in Modesto.

Dennis Hauser, an attorney representing Community Bank of San Joaquin, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon after the Bankruptcy Court hearing.

The Nemees have waged years of political and legal battles in an effort to make the Trinitas golf course a successful, legal business. The course was built in an agricultural preserve without permits. Calaveras County officials have repeatedly refused to rezone the land or reinterpret county code in ways that would have made the course legal.

The Nemees and their attorneys still argue that golf is a legal form of agritourism under Calaveras County code. Last year, they lost a trial on that issue in Bankruptcy Court and are now appealing the decision in U.S. District Court in Fresno.

That appeal, and a related case in which the Nemees allege county officials violated their civil rights, promises to keep Trinitas-related litigation going years after the last golfer holes a putt at the course.

The civil rights case alleges that Calaveras County officials violated the Nemees’ constitutional rights by denying them the ability to operate a golf course. That suit asks that the county taxpayers pay $12 million to compensate the Nemees.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald Sargis opened the way Wednesday for the Nemees to proceed with the civil rights suit.

Sargis had threatened to dismiss the civil rights case, because the Nemees and their attorneys had not moved forward with it. Wednesday, however, Sargis said that the Nemees had served notice on the various defendants and could proceed.

Meanwhile, the two sides in the case appear likely to soon reach an agreement to put the civil rights case on hold until the agritourism appeal is resolved.

“We have been discussing a stipulation, but we have not agreed on the language of it,” said Todd W. Baxter, an attorney representing the county government and various present and former county officials in the case.

Sargis agreed to give representatives for the Nemees and the county time to come up with a stipulation and indicated he anticipated further progress on the civil rights case might not resume until February or March.

Sargis also said he would allow the Nemees to convert their bankruptcy from a Chapter 11 case, in which the business owner expects to reorganize and pay debts, to a Chapter 7 case, in which the court oversees liquidation of any remaining assets and creditors get compensation, if any, from the proceeds.

In a document filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fresno, the Nemees’ other attorney, Ken Foley of San Andreas, summarized the situation this way: “As of June 1, 2012, it is not expected there will be an operating golf course, but if there is, the Community Bank of San Joaquin will have to be the one operating it, since Appellants have resigned themselves to compensation of damages rather than completing the dream.”

Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 607-1361 or dnichols@recordnet.com.

Visit his blog at recordnet.com/calaverasblog.

View the BOS agenda here.

Candidates for the 5th State Assembly District opined on issues such as the state budget, the death penalty and gay rights at a debate held in San Andreas Tuesday.

Of the six candidates running, Mark Belden, Marc Boyd, Tim Fitzgerald and Thomas “Rico” Oller participated in the debate. Frank Bigelow and Kevin Lancaster were no-shows.

The 5th District stretches from portions of El Dorado and Placer counties in the north to Madera County in the south.

The debate was held at the Calaveras County Public Access Television studio and sponsored by the Calaveras Enterprise. It will begin airing May 18 on Public Access Television.

Watch the full debate on calaverasenterprise.com starting Friday

District 2 Board of Supervisor candidates Mike Dell’Orto, Chris Wright and Bryce Randall stood-off in a debate held in San Andreas Tuesday night.

The candidates fielded questions on a host of issues, including economic development, unemployment and how to handle the Calaveras County’s  shrinking budget.

District 2 includes the communities of Mokelumne Hill, Paloma, West Point, Wilseyville, Glencoe/Rail Road Flat, Sheep Ranch, Mountain Ranch, and Calaveritas.

Supervisor candidates look to fill the seat vacated by current Supervisor Steve Wilensky, who opted not to run for re-election.

A fourth candidate, Thomas Swartz of Wilseyville, did not respond to invitations to join in on the debate.

The debate was held at the Calaveras County Public Access Television studio and sponsored by the Calaveras Enterprise. The debate will first air May 18 on the Public Access station.

To watch the full debate, and read the full story, visit calaverasenterprise.com.

This part time contract position (25 hrs and $500 per month) includes a broad range of responsibilities. The AOC will coordinate monthly activities under the direction and review of the CAP Board. The AOC will also work closely with the CAP/Calaveras Planning Coalition Facilitator and the CAP website coordinator. Successful accomplishment of the proposed goals below will also require outreach to public and private institutions and to the public.

I. Build CAP’s name recognition and base of support in Calaveras County.

• a. Work with the website coordinator to increase traffic by providing updated and relevant content to the website.
• b. Post action alerts online to increase civic participation in county government.
• c. Work with the Calaveras Planning Coalition (CPC) Facilitator to coordinate public education and outreach activities that will engage service clubs, students and the public in planning and quality of life issues in the county.
• d. Work with the CAP Board to develop and disseminate public relations materials such as: press releases, editorial pieces, letters to the editor and visual materials and flyers for community events and public meetings.
• e. Build CAP’s email distribution list and improve its social media presence.

II. Strengthen and build local alliances in support of the General Plan Update Proposals

• a. Work with the CAP Board and CPC to re-activate old members of the coalition and to attract new membership so that it will represent all areas of the county.
• b. Seek support from non-member groups for CPC planning proposals.
• c. Provide outreach to the Hispanic community and other underserved populations in the county.

III. Following approval by the BOS of a new General Plan, coordinate CPC monitoring activities to assure the timely revision of the Zoning Code and implementation of the Goals and Objectives of the new Plan.

Deadline for applying: June 1, 2012. Please send a letter of interest and a resume to Holly Mines at hymines@yahoo.com by June 1. Your letter should briefly describe your experience in community organizing, writing and editing skills relevant to this position and your own history of civic participation. We will be setting up interviews starting on June 18.

SAN ANDREAS – The proposal to raise Pardee Dam and drown a popular whitewater run where the Mokelumne River crosses Highway 49 is officially dead.

As expected, the East Bay Municipal Utility District Board of Directors unanimously voted last week to approve a Water Supply Management Plan for the next 30 years that omits the expansion of Pardee Reservoir.

The proposal to capture more water by raising Pardee sparked bitter resistance in Amador and Calaveras counties, where river recreation attracts tourists. Environmental groups also criticized the plan, because it would reduce flows needed to protect the health of the lower Mokelumne River and the Delta.

“We are very happy with the outcome of this long and challenging process,” Foothill Conservancy President Katherine Evatt said.

An earlier version of the water-supply plan adopted in 2009 included the proposal to raise Pardee Dam. The Foothill Conservancy and California Sportfishing Protection Alliance challenged the plan in court, eventually winning an order that forced EBMUD to do more environmental study and to consider other options.

Utility district leaders concluded that cooperating with Contra Costa Water District in expanding Los Vaqueros Reservoir in the East Bay was better.

“This process worked,” said John A. Coleman, utility board president. “We listened, we heard and we acted. It has always been our intent to do the right thing for our customers and partners to get the best use possible out of this precious resource.”

Chris Shutes of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance agreed.

“EBMUD has taken a stand to protect Delta inflow and water quality. West-of-Delta storage is a forward-thinking approach that should be front and center for the entire Bay Area,” Shutes said.

See the original article here.

SAN ANDREAS – The beat-thumping, paddle-boating good times will roar full throttle for at least another summer in vacation rental houses along the shores of Lake Tulloch.

For years, neighbors have complained of continuous, window-rattling noise from ski boat-oriented vacation getaways that rent for up to $650 a night.

For the third time in four years, the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors has studied the issue and vowed to do something about it.

It’s already too late for new regulations this year, supervisors admitted.

“It probably won’t be in effect for this summer season,” said Supervisor Tom Tryon, whose district includes Lake Tulloch.

Tryon proposed requiring homeowners who go into the vacation-rental business to get administrative use permits. Those permits, in turn, could specify that the rentals can’t have more than two or three people per bedroom, wouldn’t torment neighbors with loud noise and wouldn’t allow renters to block narrow streets with too many trucks and boat trailers.

Supervisors Steve Wilensky and Gary Tofanelli supported Tryon’s proposal, giving the slender majority necessary to order county staff to begin drafting an ordinance.

Supervisor Merita Callaway objected.

Callaway noted that vacation rentals are a huge business elsewhere in the county – including communities such as Arnold and Murphys in her district. She opposed taking broad actions that could stunt or discourage such rentals.

Supervisor Darren Spellman called for the board to immediately ban all vacation rentals of homes in residential zones. He said that the county’s residential zoning code does not specifically allow vacation rentals.

Spellman compared the residential zone issue with one involving agricultural zones. County codes do not specify golf as a legal use for farmland. Spellman said that by continuing to allow such vacation rentals, the county is giving the owners of the Trinitas golf course – which has sought to operate a golf course on agricultural land – the legal basis to sue the county for unfair treatment.

Trinitas owners Mike and Michelle Nemee, in fact, have already filed a federal civil rights lawsuit based on that very argument.

Meanwhile, whether Tryon’s proposal will ever come to fruition is an open question.

Supervisors in 2008 held a study session on noise complaints and vowed to both draft a noise ordinance and to take steps to make it clear that vacation rentals are a legal use in residential zones. Neither happened.

There were new study sessions on the noise issue in 2010 and Sheriff’s Department staff members drafted a proposed noise ordinance. Supervisors again indicated they wished to proceed. That noise ordinance has never been adopted.

Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 607-1361 ordnichols@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/calaverasblog.