Ledger-Dispatch

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

From left, Troy Claveran, Mary Walser, = Bill=20 Bunce, Chuck Anderson, Dick Glock and P.J. Karnaze celebrate the = possible=20 acquisition of land for a new school.

Photo by: Jerry=20 Budrick
Five years of negotiations between = the=20 Amador County Unified School District and the developers of Gold Rush = Ranch and=20 Golf Resort have yielded results that may dispel rumors that Gold Rush = had no=20 plans to make any significant contributions to county = schools.

There was=20 a celebratory gathering at noon on Friday of school board members and = Gold Rush=20 representatives on a 17-acre site overlooking the Allen Ranch and the = Highway 49=20 bypass. Gold Rush has taken out an option on the property from the Allen = family.

"I've talked to Bill (Bunce) and Troy (Claveran) for five = years,"=20 said school board trustee and Sutter Creek resident (and golfer) Chuck = Anderson.=20 "We haven't made it public until now, because it might have caused a = huge=20 confusion issue in the community."

"The developer exceeded by far = any=20 relationships that I've ever experienced," said schools Superintendent = Dick=20 Glock, who had overseen development of 18 schools during nine years in = the=20 Temecula School District. "I'm accustomed to paying $7 to 17 million for = similar=20 sites."

"It's not easy to find a site," said Bunce, managing = partner of=20 Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort. "I think that if it could be a school, = we've=20 looked at it.

By the terms of the agreement, Gold Rush Ranch will = be=20 required to dedicate the site to the school district if the city of = Sutter Creek=20 approves its current project application. In the event the site is ever = deemed=20 to be inappropriate for school facilities, an alternative additional = impact fee=20 would be payable to the school district from Gold Rush = Ranch.

"We'll walk=20 away with $1 million or 17 acres," Glock said at the Sept. 24 school = board=20 meeting.

At that meeting, Anderson said that although the process = with=20 Gold Rush was long, it was never contentious or disagreeable. Some of = the issues=20 of concern over the project, he said are the location, the pursuit of a=20 landowner and environmental issues, including fly-over issues from the=20 airport.

"Our proposed Gold Rush Ranch project will fully pay all = of its=20 school impact fees," Bunce said. "In addition, we will pay more than $8 = million=20 to the school district in permit fees. Finally, we are pleased to = announce our=20 future gift of land to the School District for a new school=20 site."

Bethany A. Monk contributed to this report.

Jerry = Budrick