Ledger-Dispatch

By Jerry Budrick (jbudrick@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

Forty-six Ione residents attend a = planning=20 workshop at the Evalynn Bishop Hall on Wednesday.

Photo by: Jerry = Budrick

Bill Bunce of Rancho Arroyo Seco = presents the=20 Ione Fire Association with a $10,000 check Tuesday.

Photo by: Jerry = Budrick

Roman Catholic priest Thomas Relihan, = who served=20 25 of his 61 years in the priesthood as the pastor of Sacred Heart = Catholic Church in Ione, is presented with a plaque by Ione Mayor = Andrea=20 Bonham Tuesday night.

Photo by: Jerry=20 Budrick
Keeping up with the city of Ione's = active=20 schedule of meetings and events was especially difficult this = week.

Four=20 gatherings in seven days had the normally somnolent western Amador = County town=20 casting attention on subjects as diverse as organization, planning, = awards,=20 revitalization and upgrades.

On Tuesday night, the city council = honored=20 retiring Roman Catholic priest Thomas Relihan, who served 25 of his 61 = years in=20 the priesthood as the pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Ione. "I = think=20 Ione is the hidden gem of Amador County," Relihan said, as he was = presented with=20 a plaque by Mayor Andrea Bonham.

The Ione Fire Association was = presented=20 with a check from Bill Bunce of Rancho Arroyo Seco, his side of the=20 matching-amount fundraiser and barbecue last month at the Big Red Barn = that=20 raised more than $20,000. The community chipped in $10,099 and Rancho = added=20 $10,000.

On Wednesday night, City Planner Christopher Jordan's = firm, PMC=20 Consulting, conducted a workshop at Evalynn Bishop Hall, tallying votes = from=20 members of the community on their preferences for various land use=20 alternatives.

PMC's Daniel Hamilton presented the alternatives as = images=20 on the wall, while attendees leaned over large triptych maps on numerous = round=20 tables, showing the three alternatives side-by-side. Small groups at the = tables=20 spent considerable time picking and choosing among the pieces of the = city's=20 puzzle.

"Community feedback has been 250 responses so far," = Hamilton=20 said. Of major concern to the respondents, he said, are small town = atmosphere,=20 community safety, family orientation, retirement and business/jobs. = Hamilton=20 expressed some amazement at learning that many of Ione's residents walk = to work.=20 Fully half of the people who filled out the online survey get to work on = foot.

Onsite polling done by electronic voting devices at the = workshop=20 will be taken into consideration in planners' recommendations to the = city=20 council. The 46 voters on Wednesday night showed some definite=20 preferences.

When asked whether the downtown should be expanded = southward=20 for another city block, the vote was 64 percent for expansion, 36 = percent=20 opposed. Placement of high density affordable housing east of town, = fronting on=20 Highway 124, was preferred 74 percent to 26 percent over a possible = location at=20 the entrance to Mule Creek State Prison. The highest margin of the = evening came=20 in replies to a question posed by Ione rancher Dan Port, who asked = whether=20 residents would like to see future development in the triangle formed by = highways 104, 124 and 88. A whopping 83 percent answered = yes.

Thursday=20 night marked the first public use of the newly renovated community = gathering=20 place known as Clark's Corner. The Ione Community Business Association = held=20 their monthly mixer in the former home of Orville's Saloon in the = historic=20 Scully Building on the corner of Main Street and Highway 124.

The = Clark=20 family, with Bonham, has moved their Images and More operation into the = spacious=20 new quarters across the street, following months of intense construction = activity. The well-lighted room will feature coffee, pastries, art and=20 entertainment and is hoped to play a major role in the city's ongoing = Main=20 Street revitalization.

On Saturday morning, interested members of = the=20 community will be boarding a bus to see the city's possible wastewater = future.=20 Ione City Manager Kim Kerr is leading a "sewer tour" to a modern = wastewater=20 treatment plant at Mountain House near Tracy. The plant was built by = Pacific=20 Environmental Resources Corporation, an innovative and successful = company that=20 designs, builds, operates and finances state-of-the-art sewage treatment = plants=20 in Arizona, New Mexico and California.

Jerry = Budrick