THE UNION Articles on
Miscellaneous Topics -- February, 2006
Beason tackles issues, Josh Singer, February 24, 2006
County close to recycling goal, Dave Moller, February 16, 2006
Brush clearing takes root, Brittany Retherford, February 14, 2006
Historical Society's collection needs a new home, Trina Kleist, February 7, 2006
Film will be set in Nevada City, Soumitro Sen, February 7, 2006
County work force ages, Brittany Retherford, February 7, 2006
The fog lifts on Lake Wildwood, Herb Lindberg, February 4, 2006
Stream safety posting comes late, Dave Moller, February 1, 2006
Financial officer concerned about county's future, Dave Moller, February 1, 2006
By Josh Singer
Staff writer
February 24, 2006Nevada County Supervisor Nate Beason spoke about issues ranging from traffic to the budget to problems with illegal drugs during a press conference Thursday at the Rood Administrative Center.
"We're sound," Beason said regarding the county's $150 million budget. Beason said the county has $12 million in reserve funding for 2006 and $2 to $3 million which has not yet been designated for specific uses.
During the conference, which was the first the Board of Supervisors chair has called, Beason responded to criticism that Nevada County government has not done enough to garner federal funds. He said the county applied for approximately $8 million in federal grants last year and received $3.2 million.
The Nevada County supervisor also addressed complaints regarding what some say is a lack of action by local government.
"We're not hands off; we're just not trying to steer the boat at the department level," said Beason.
As for taking action to prevent accidents on Highway 49, Beason said, "The immediate solution is enforcement," referring to the need for reducing reckless driving on the highway.
He said the county does have plans to widen Highway 49.
However, "When will they come to fruition - that's the question," Beason said.
The supervisor also spoke about the need to hire and retain qualified staff in government offices, adding that Nevada County faces competition for its employees from sources such as Placer County.
Difficulties with finding funding for qualified government workers are compounded, he said, because the county must also deal with increasing costs of pension benefits.
Other issues Beason addressed included accommodation problems at the jail, which he said is experiencing difficulty housing inmates because of a growing number of women at the facility.
As for the issue of methamphetamine abuse, Beason said the county is hopefully taking steps to combat the problem by raising awareness, which could lead people to report suspected criminals to police more frequently.
"Have we done anything today that is measurable?" Beason asked regarding the drug problem. "Probably not."
Beason said he didn't want to pass laws making some of meth's ingredients more difficult to acquire because of the burden such a law might impose on people who are using those substances legally.
To contact staff writer Josh Singer, e-mail joshs@theunion.com or call 477-4234.
County close to recycling goal
Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
February 16, 2006Nevada County has not reached the state's 50-percent recycling rate, but it's getting close.
Like many rural counties, including those neighboring Nevada County, the cost of recycling 50 percent of its trash has been prohibitive, despite a 1989 state edict requiring it. But now, expertise and efforts could bring the county in line with that rate by the end of the year, according to Tracey Harper, the county's recycling coordinator.
Harper said the cost of recycling equipment and the low rate of trash generated per person in rural areas has made the 50-percent goal elusive in Nevada County. But, she said, the state knows that many cities and counties can't make the goal and continue to work with them before levying fines.
That's the case in Nevada County, which hit 39 percent in 2004, the last year for state report figures.
"That's a very respectable rate for a rural county," said Roni Java at the state's Integrated Waste Management Board. "We know they're trying to reach 50."
Harper said the county's numbers will rise for the 2005 report and hit the 50-percent rate per month at the end of this year.
The only other rural county in the region close to Nevada County is Placer County, which had 49 percent in 2004. Sierra County was at 21 percent, Plumas County at 28 percent, Lassen County at 29 percent, and Butte County also at 29 percent. A combined Sutter-Yuba County had a rate of 39 percent.
In her annual report this week to the board of supervisors, Harper said the county's "Green Team" in-house government recycling efforts have cut trash pickup to three days a week from five at the Rood Center. The county has saved $6,000 annually the past three years due to recycling, Harper said.
According to Waste Management, the area's trash collector, county offices are recycling 8,700 pounds of materials every week. The firm estimates the Rood Center alone recycles 3,000 pounds of cardboard every year.
The Green Team has also landed $667,000 in state grants to continue trash reuse efforts in the county, Harper said. This year, state grants for household waste and used oil programs totaled $81,000.
The board accepted a request from Harper to use recycled paper whenever possible within the county. County workers will also be urged to recycle through their in-house Internet service, Harper said.
Harper also said the county is spending $2,000 to put vinyl and Rusty the Raccoon recycling mascot faces on its delivery van, "To make a rolling advertisement for the program. It's going to be very colorful."
Harper said she will also be working with Waste Management in the near future on plans to dispose of hazardous household waste recently banned from state landfills. Those items include batteries, electronic products and anything else that uses mercury, like greeting cards that light up when opened.
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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
Brittany Retherford
February 14, 2006Whether born out of a heightened awareness or just plain fear, brush clearing has becoming a booming cottage industry for Nevada County.
The danger of wildfire - made a reality to many Nevada County residents by the devastating 49er fire of 1988 - has made this area perfect spawning waters for the companies, which usually employ just a handful of workers.
State grant money in the past few years has also found its way to Nevada County, helping the industry to grow.
Yet the regulation of this fledgling industry has much "gray area," says Kevin Whitlock, the California Department of Forestry forester who oversees the California Forest Improvement Program, which helps people to pay for clearing their land. Technically speaking, "when you are manipulating vegetation, you must have a registered forester; you've got all the CEQA things to think about," he said.
Foresters are trained to spot potential water quality and wildlife issues, as well as, just how to grow a healthy, aesthetically good-looking forest.
For residents to hire a forester, however, the cost can make it prohibitive for clearing their brush. This puts them in another interesting quandary - not clearing their land and facing potential safety risks, insurance liability, and enforcement by local fire agencies.
The good news is that Nevada County is an area once ripe with career loggers, making this newest industry hardly lacking in expertise.
"There are a lot of extremely qualified contractors in this area, there are some excellent operators out there and a lot of them of course get really busy during the fire season," said Tom Amesbury, a forester with the Foresters Co-Op.
"You see (former loggers) selling their tractors and buying small masticators," Whitlock said.
One such man is Phil King of Sierra Land Improvement, of Grass Valley, a five-year old brush clearing company.
"When I was younger, I used to log with several different companies, just working in the woods," he said. "Back when I was logging, I'd get talking to the rangers and (I was able to) see which way the industry was going."
As the Sierra logging industry floundered, a series of events began unfolding that would set these former loggers up for their future.
First, the 49er fire swept down from the San Juan Ridge on Sept. 11, 1988. It left more than 150 homes and 350 structures in the Rough and Ready and Lake Wildwood areas burned in its wake. The memory of how quickly that fire spread is still strong and alive in the minds of many area residents.
Nevada County was not alone, just as California's population burgeoned, the following years saw both new and old communities burned by wildfire. The Nevada County Fire Safe Council was born as a resource for residents to learn about fire safety.
People were building further into the forests and in 2002, the California legislature passed two public safety codes - 4290 and 4291, requiring people to have their homes surrounded by 30 feet of area cleared of brush.
It was a way of protecting both people's properties, as well as, the lives of firefighters.
The CFIP program under Proposition 40 received an unprecedented amount of funding in 2004-05, of which Nevada County scored nearly $1.5 million. The area received $750,000 this year, all of which is already allocated, Whitlock said. This was followed in 2005 by a statewide change of the 30-foot clearance law to 100 feet. Counties began exploring the possibilities of adopting fire plans residents could use as a guide on how to clear their land. Nevada County is widely regarded as having taken the lead on its plan, being the first to have a countywide plan.
In August 2004, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted the Fire Plan in front of a packed hall.
Enforcement of the plan is lacking and the supervisors are expected this year to begin passing resolutions that would give fire officials its needed teeth. Meanwhile, the Nevada County Consolidated Fire Department instituted a law that makes residents responsible for uncleared brush. Instead of the widely rumored fine, the ordinance allows the department to go onto a property if a landowner refuses to clear the brush, clearing it for them. The property owner is then required to foot the bill, Whitlock said.
The heightened regulations coupled with available CFIP money, has meant companies like Sierra Land Improvement are never without work."We stay really busy just by word of mouth," said King, "we are booked four months out."
Whitlock says he hopes that the awareness and education will make more people conscientious of taking good care of their lands.
"The stewardship idea, that's really what I want to focus on."
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To contact staff writer Brittany Retherford, e-mail brittanyr@theunion.com or call 477-4247.
Information, tips
on brush clearing
To learn more about fire safety or available wood chipping services, visit the Nevada County Fire Safe Council at www.firesafecouncilnevco.com or call 272-1122.
Tips on how to find a reputable local company to clear your brush:• Hire a forester to learn about your forested land.
• Start soliciting operators, comparing prices.
• Look at contractors' previous work.
• Hire someone you know you'll be able to work well with.
• Have a contract and make sure it meets specific standards. It does not necessarily have to be the company's contract.
• Make sure the company has insurance, minimum $1 million liability.
• Know what kind of equipment the company plans to use.
• Call references.
• Trust your gut.Source: Tips by Kevin Whitlock, California Department of Forestry forester
Historical Society's collection needs a new home
By Trina Kleist, trinak@theunion.com
February 7, 2006Stock certificates from defunct gold mines and portraits of stern-looking patriarchs hang high on the walls in the bathroom of the Searls Library in Nevada City.
A sign on the door reads: "Framed artifact storage facility. Seats 1."
The sign is emblematic of both the cramped quarters of the Nevada County Historical Society's collection and the members' humor in dealing with it.
Now, though, they are looking for a roomier home and for some help writing grants for the money they will need.
They would like a building with at least 2,500 to 3,000 square feet of space and a cement floor to support the weight of the collection, said historian Ed Tyson, 88. He is a librarian with a lifelong interest in history who retired from San Jose State University and has worked with the collection since 1976.
The collection includes handwritten court records dating to 1856, including the 1869 lawsuit of one R.D. Skidmore against a certain W.G. Montgomery, who had failed to pay a debt of $500.
It also includes 11 four-drawer file cabinets with personnel records from the old Idaho-Maryland gold mine; 100 years of Nevada County records, including voter registration books; 10,000 photographs; 2,600 books; the handwritten guest register of the Holbrooke Hotel; aerial maps of the entire county taken by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in 1939; and thousands of miscellaneous original manuscripts, diaries, business journals and legal documents.
Some of the collection shares space in the nearby Doris Foley Historical Research Library, which is owned by Nevada City.
In executive secretary Pat Chestnut's barn, the society also keeps nearly 5,000 maps surveyed by three generations of the McGuire family. "It took five pickup trucks to get it here," Chestnut said.
"We would like to put the entire Searls collection in one place and have an office for phones," Chestnut said. "It would be nice to have a meeting room, parking, access for the handicapped."
People come from England, Ireland, Europe, Canada, the Azores and Australia to search the records, mostly for genealogical clues. The huge photographic collection and the maps also draw visitors, Tyson said.
The society was formed in 1944 and acquired the Seals building on Church Street, in front of the courthouse, in 1972. It was part of a deal with the Searls family, three generations of which practiced law in the two-room wooden building erected in 1872.The society would probably have to sell the building to match a grant of about $500,000 to fund a new home, Chestnut said.
Volunteer grant writers, benefactors and anyone with an appropriate and available building are asked to call the society at 265-5910.
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To contact staff writer Trina Kleist, e-mail trinak@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
Film will be set in Nevada City
Christmas movie of the week to be made here
By Soumitro Sen, soumitros@theunion.com
February 7, 2006Nevada City will soon be the venue of a Christmas movie.
Come Feb. 15, the crew of "The Christmas Card," a two-hour movie that will be shown on Hallmark Channel as the Christmas movie of the week, will be filmed in town. And though the exact locations and cast have not yet been finalized, the filming crew has already booked nearly half of the Northern Queen Inn for a 24-day shoot.
"We've had many movie people in the past, but it's been a long time for movies to be back in town. They've done commercials in the area, but for movie people, it's been a while," said Robyn Adams, co-owner of the Northern Queen Inn.
The arrival of the crew, for some, means better business and publicity for Nevada City.
"First of all, they're going to bring 40 people with them ... and since they will stay here for 24 days, that's definitely going to increase the economy of the town," said Cathy Whittlesey, executive director of the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce. "Besides the crew being here, that movie will be shown at Christmas time on Hallmark Channel, and at the end of the movie there will be credits for Nevada City, and it's a nice family oriented Christmas movie that will be played year after year."
The story of the movie, according to Lincoln Lageson, one of the co-producers, is about a U.S. serviceman who receives an anonymous Christmas card with the picture of a beautiful house and town, ventures out to find the place and falls in love with the sender, the house and the town.
"We knew of Nevada City, the quaint look," Lageson said. "And once we came up to take a look, we knew we had found our town. Both of my parents grew up in Nevada City."
"Anytime you can bring in folks from out of the area into town, it is not just good for our business, but it's good for the community," Adams said. "It gets them acquainted to the community so that they may return in holidays and bring their families."
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To contact staff writer Soumitro Sen, e-mail soumitros@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
High number of retirees must be replaced
By Brittany Retherford
Staff writer, brittanyr@theunion.com
February 7, 2006Much like a person readies him or herself for retirement by making plans to fill freed time, ensure financial stability, and find ways to stay sharp and fit, Nevada County’s governments are also getting ready for their aging workforces.
Each year, more of the area’s civil servants edge closer to retirement — something that has long been a predictable inevitability. After all, 2006 marks the year the first of the baby boomers begin turning 60.
Nevada County
Staff size: 972 positions
Payroll budgeted for 2005/06 (including benefits): $72 million
Years of service:
5 or less — 465 employees
6 to 20 — 391 employees
21 to 38 — 86 employees
Number of eligible to retire: In 2004, 50 percent of its work force was determined to be eligible to retire in 2005. The county is anticipating a 10 to 15 percent retirement rate by December 2006.
Source: Nevada County Human Resource DepartmentNevada City could lose half of its full-time workers to retirement by 2010; Grass Valley could see 30 percent retire by 2008. Nevada County, the largest employer in the area, stands to lose the most — 50 percent of its nearly 1,000 employees were already eligible to retire by the end of 2005.
The impact of the potential loss of 30 to 50 percent of a workforce over a short period of time still remains somewhat unknown — particularly when the numbers are so strikingly high.
Of course, just because an employee has reached retirement age doesn’t mean the person is ready to retire.
“It is a very personal choice for people when they will retire,” said Gayle Satchwell, the county’s human resource director.Still, it is clear the trend has forced the three jurisdictions into action — and most have already implemented plans to minimize negative impacts.
Not only must they have the foresight to predict which key positions might become vacant, but they must step up training opportunities and recruitment methods. And, perhaps most importantly, they must find ways to prevent the loss of years of accumulated employee knowledge.
Satchwell said the county has been preparing for the past two years and said she foresees a “challenging, but exciting future,” particularly with the number of opportunities it will create.
The departments have already begun preparing its current employees, readying them with skills to ease into possible promotions. Additionally, longtime employees nearing retirement are being encouraged to store their knowledge in manuals and computer programs to be able to be passed down after their departure, Satchwell said. She said they are now working with employees on this project.
Besides, not all those eligible to retire will actually do so.
Nevada City
Staff Size: 25 plus two part-time public works positions; several volunteer police officers and firefighters. The city contracts its planner, park and recreation manager, and park reservationist.
Payroll budgeted for 2005/06 (including benefits): $2.8 million
Years of service: Average 11 to 14 years
Number eligible to retire: Thirteen would be eligible to retire by 2010.
Source: Nevada City City ClerkSome have specific career plans that may delay their time, while others might wait until their retirement benefits can fully kick in.
“I’m not going to retire, not for at least four years, I've got to stay until I am 55 in order to retire with any kind of benefits,” said the county’s chief deputy coroner, Cathy Valceschini, who has put in 33 years with the county.
Still others — such as those in Nevada City — must consider the city’s lack of a retirement health insurance benefit before easing into enjoying their old age, said Cathy Wilcox-Barnes, city clerk.
This can make the numbers less dramatic than they may seem at first glance — for example, in Nevada County the retirement rate for 2006 is estimated at 10 to 15 percent. It is clear, however, the impending problem is still there.
Grass Valley’s human resources manager, Michael Lewis, was reticent in even talking about what an aging staff could mean for the city’s future. On Friday he was cautious because “if I say the city is in big trouble, it could affect future negotiations.”
A few key employee spots will open in Grass Valley within the next few months — one of the most significant being marked by the retirement in April of longtime City Clerk, Bobbi Poznik-Coover, who was described by former councilwoman Linda Stevens as a “mainstay.”
Finance director Carol Fish said the city is prepared financially, it has already budgeted to cover retirement payouts.
Recruitment efforts have also been instituted by all jurisdictions. Satchwell said the county has focused on those who might be able to commute to the area, partially because of the higher cost of living here.
Grass Valley
Staff size: 118 positions, not including seasonal and reserve workers.
Payroll budgeted for 2005/06 (including benefits): $10.5 million
Average employee age: 43.5 years old
Number eligible to retire: By 2008, 24.6 percent
Source: Grass Valley Finance DepartmentThe higher home prices particularly plagues Nevada City, which has the highest in the region and the smallest city budget and is just unable to pay the same wages as surrounding counties, Wilcox-Barnes said. She said the city had to hire a consultant to manage the wastewater treatment plant — at a greater cost — because they received little response from their job advertisements.
“It is getting harder all the time, we advertise,” she said. “It costs a lot to live up here and for somebody to relocate to this area. It is a beautiful area, but they take a cut.”
Ideally, the local governments could recruit more people like Valceschini, who started working when she was 19 in the county social service department. She said she worked at night for several years in her 20s so she could attend Sierra College during the day, making her a more valuable employee.
She also loves the area and says the higher cost of living doesn’t matter as much to her.
“Home is where the heart is,” she said. “I was born and raised here, my family is here, my roots are here. For me it was never really a question of if I could go somewhere and make more money. For me it was I was happy to be here where my family is.”
To contact staff writer Brittany Retherford, e-mail brittanyr@theunion.com or call 477-4247.
On the Web
• For a portal to state figures on industry and employment, go to www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov
• For state figures on employment and wages by sector in the 10 northeastern California counties, go to http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/cgi/dataanalysis/?PAGEID=94
, Herb Lindberg photo
February 4, 2006
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The fog lifts on Lake Wildwood
December 23, 2005, 9:02 a.m., zoom from bedroom deck
Stream safety posting comes late
By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
February 1, 2006Apparent bureaucratic drag caused state, county and city officials to let one week pass before posting a stream pollution warning Tuesday in Grass Valley's Veterans Memorial Park.
City Public Works Director Jeff Jewett said warning signs for high levels of arsenic were posted Tuesday afternoon along the Magenta Drain that runs through the park from Empire Mine State Historic Park above it. The signs warn people to not wade in the stream that runs next to a playground, handle the sentiment, or eat any fish caught from it until further notice.
"We found out about it this morning," Jewett said Tuesday. "We got a call from the media."
Jewett said the state water board sent him confirmation that an inspector had found illegal and possibly unsafe arsenic levels in the stream on Jan. 23. According to the same state report, the inspector notified County Health Officer Dr. Brent Packer and a staff member at the board of supervisors office by phone the next day, and in writing the day after that.
Packer said he did not know about the situation until last Friday, when he was informed by county Environmental Health Director Larry Sage.
"He said we'd be getting the notice for arsenic and they'd take care of it," Packer said. "I got a phone message from the state about it, but I'm not sure why the city wasn't contacted."
According to the state report, Sage was notified by phone on Jan. 24. The Union was unable to contact Sage Tuesday.
State park Superintendent Ron Munson said he received notice of the arsenic levels late last Friday. He contacted the state park's legal office Monday morning, "and there was a lot of review."
Munson said he then contacted the city parks department about the problem, but did not know why the public works director wasn't contacted until Tuesday.
"It probably didn't get shot up the ladder," Munson said.
Munson and Jewett issued a joint press release about the pollution that said the state parks department is working on a new plan to clean up contamination at the mine and that there is $5 million in next year's state budget to deal with it.
"This is the tragic part of the legacy we have left with from the gold mining era," the release stated. "We removed more than 46,000 tons in a cleanup of this mine in the late 1980s."
The new cleanup is part of an agreement made in mid-January with the Baykeeper environmental group. State parks agreed to it after Baykeeper sued in 2004 to stop mine contaminants from flowing into the Magenta Drain and other area streams.
The drain originates from an old shaft of the mine, daylights above the city park's tennis courts in Woodpecker Ravine, flows through the park and then underneath Memorial Lane.
The Empire Mine closed in the mid-'50s after producing 175 tons of gold over 106 years. The state purchased the mine, 800 acres of property around it and all its toxic waste, about 30 years ago.
The waste produced mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead and other pollutants that flowed into area streams. Arsenic is a natural element of the Sierra that can cause poisonous compounds.
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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com, or call 477-4237.
Financial officer concerned about county's future
However, fiscal shape good now
By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
February 1, 2006Nevada County is in good financial shape, but its chief fiscal officer says that could change if careful planning isn't done for the near future.
Joe Christoffel, the county's CFO, told the county board of supervisors Tuesday that he sees coming problems with decreasing tax revenue, coupled with the rising costs of employees and the county jail.
"I lay awake at night thinking about this," Christoffel told the board at its annual two-day goals and objectives meeting at Sierra College's Grass Valley campus. "We have strong storm winds ahead, but if we plan, we can weather them."
Christoffel said property tax revenues will continue to increase for the next fiscal year of 2006-07. But property transfer tax revenues for 2004-05 and 2005-06 have flattened out. That is a sign, he said, that the booming real estate market has leveled and with it, the reliance on increasing property tax revenue for a growing county.
Christoffel said a swelling jail population and costs are also a concern for the board, as are the increasing costs of county personnel. There has also been a loss of sales tax revenue from the Grass Valley's annexation of the Glenbrook Basin.
The fiscal officer said the county is expected to finish the 2005-06 fiscal year on June 30 with a general fund balance of $11.2 million, more than the $8.7 million originally expected. That pleasant surprise came from higher revenues and fewer expenditures than first projected.
"The county remains fiscally healthy," Christoffel said, adding that there are also no loan payback plans "or other triple flips," in Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget for 2006-07 - compared to the last two years - which should make planning easier.
But for future years, "the warning signs are out there via the (property) transfer tax," Christoffel said. Number two on the alarm list is the need for expanded jail room to avert lawsuits and meet state inmate requirements.
Christoffel said the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility has a capacity of 250 and a new pod for 125 more beds would cost $10 million to $15 million. While the county might get financial help to build a jail extension, "the biggest thing is the operating costs of $2 million," extra per year. Add the debt service on a new jail wing and that could climb to $3 million annually, he said.
Sheriff Keith Royal said changing numbers at the jail in recent years have left the county open for lawsuits. The jail averages 200 to 220 inmates per day, but the state considers 80 percent capacity to be full, he said, which is 200 prisoners.
The jail was built to house 13 females, but there are now an average of 35 per day, Royal said. Jailers are also having a difficult time meeting state requirements to keep misdemeanor and felony inmates separate.
The answer may be to build a regional center jail in the Truckee area which would house inmates from Nevada, Placer and Sierra counties, Royal said. County CEO Rick Haffey said the problem also might be solved by building a regional center and an addition to existing jail in Nevada City.
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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.