If the enthusiastic members of a new committee get their way, Jackson will soon have a huge new park on land known as Oro De Amador.

Approximately 155 acres of land were gifted to the city by the Chubb Insurance Company, which, according to City Manager Mike Daly, wanted to avoid insurance problems or future liability for activities on the property. The property was used for many years as the site of a tailings dump and processing plant for extraction of the last ounce of gold from those tailings. Cyanide was used in the processing.

Extensive testing has been done on the soils at Oro De Amador, but final clearance from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control has not yet been obtained. Daly expressed confidence that this clearance is forthcoming, saying that "the city is in the middle of a $50,000 assessment by DTSC."

Jackson Mayor Rosalie Pryor-Escamilla chaired the first official meeting of the Oro De Amador Committee, filling large pages on her easel with detailed organizational lists. One wall was filled with pages of the same size that had been filled with lists and drawings by residents who attended workshops held during the past eight months.

Meetings will be held every two weeks, with the goal of producing three alternative proposals for developing Oro De Amador Park to be presented to the Jackson City Council by June 3. That allows the committee seven meetings to reach its ambitious goal.

One major step is being taken by Kathy duBois, who will be creating a large contoured model of the entire property, complete with tiny trees. DuBois intends to have this model ready by the next meeting, which will be held at the Jackson Civic Center on Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.

Funding options for what is expected to be a rather expensive undertaking are going to be explored. Tracey Towner-Yep, executive director of the Amador County Recreation Agency, estimates the cost of maintaining a park at $10,000 per acre per year. If this proves true, $1.55 million in funding could be needed. Daly noted that some funding is available now.

At the committee's first meeting, Daly asked the basic question: "Should we move forward with this process before we have clearance?" The answer was a resounding yes from all the committee members, who are Kam Merzlak, Judy Jebian, Tricia Johnson, Jim Guidi, Derek Galli, Frank Blauvelt, duBois and Towner-Yep, in addition to Councilman Andy Rodriguez.

It is likely that this project will move along in phases, with the first phase being some form of development on the New York Ranch Road side of the property, which is low-lying and forested and once served as the roaming grounds for longhorn cattle visible from New York Ranch Road.

Visiting the property will be prohibited on the fenced property until DTSC clearance is obtained.