Historically, the foundation of Amador County's economic success has come from making good use of its lands.  When it was first founded, our county's prosperity was fueled by mining.  In the 20th century, the timber industry and ranching became the predominant business models that employed thousands of people.  

Today, in the 21st century, we must continue to look for ways to utilize our land to create new business opportunities and jobs for local families.  The City of Sutter Creek has one such golden opportunity as it considers the Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort.  The project will create hundreds of new local jobs and funnel literally millions of new dollars into our economy, creating a stronger business climate that will lift all our prospects.  The project will bring in new investment in an excellent golf course and new housing options without competing with Sutter Creek's historic downtown; in fact, the project will  bolster the bottom line of Sutter Creek's downtown shops through new tourism and spending.

"Yes" for Gold Rush

It has been refreshing to see the project sponsors listen and work with the local community--and especially the business community--over all these years to create the benefits that will help protect and generate jobs as well as enable the larger community to prosper.

Improved School Facilities

We cannot have a strong workforce, and businesses cannot prosper, without well-educated workers.  Gold Rush Ranch has offered to make unprecedented contributions to our local schools.  In addition to paying their full share of educating the students who will live in the project, Gold Rush has proposed to donate a new 17-acre school site along with payment of additional fees.  Purchasing such a site would normally come out of the pockets of local taxpayers.  The school district would like to build a state-of-the-art K-8 school on this site, enabling our children to have access to improved facilities that could include a host of new technologies.  This will put our children in a better position to either enter the workforce or go to college.

Water and Transportation Infrastructure,

Having a sound business climate requires a strong water and transportation infrastructure--Gold Rush Ranch improves both.  The project first came onto the scene nine years ago when the City of Sutter Creek determined that a project on this site could help fund state-mandated water and wastewater upgrades.  If Gold Rush is approved, it will help fund a new water treatment plant and provide a place for water recycling that can protect local residents and businesses from exorbitant rate increases.  The project will also help build better and more efficient roadways.

A Safer Community

No successful business community can operate without a strong public safety presence.  Sutter Creek has brave and capable members of the Police and Fire Departments, but we must give them all the tools they need.  Gold Rush Ranch will donate new sites for a police substation and a fire station with increased staffing.  These are valuable pieces of land and both are centrally located so new emergency personnel can quickly respond to existing Sutter Creek neighborhoods and businesses.

At the end of the day, Gold Rush Ranch is a project that is good for local businesses and good for families.  By listening and working with the local community for all these years, the Gold Rush Ranch project sponsors have been able to step forward with a plan that not only creates a new jobs base for years to come, but one that provides for the education, infrastructure and safety needs of the area.  Given the state of our economy and the number of potential development projects that have disappeared in recent years, we are all fortunate to be in a position to even consider approving such a sensible project.  I urge the Sutter Creek City Council to carefully consider the project's benefits and to support Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort.