Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

Foreground, Tracy Towner-Yep, executive = director=20 of the Amador County Recreation Agency, has spoken in opposition = of the=20 economic stimulus package, approved by the board of supervisors = last=20 month. The package waived homebuilder impact fees, which cut = thousands of=20 dollars from the agency.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
The county needs an exit plan, = according to=20 Paul Bramell.

Bramell, the general contractor who proposed a = development=20 stimulus package approved by the Amador County Board of Supervisors last = month,=20 requested during the board's June 24 meeting the project it be extended = so more=20 builders could benefit.

The proposal had the county waiving = capital=20 improvement fees to create lower-cost building permits in the hopes that = the=20 stagnant construction industry would get back to work and stimulate the = rest of=20 Amador's economy. The 30 waivers supervisors approved for the first = stage flew=20 off the shelves, which Bramell is pointing to as a measure of the = program's=20 success.

But recreation advocates and an official with the = county's=20 building department are cautioning supervisors to think twice before = giving more=20 than $11,000 per waiver application, money that would otherwise go to = county=20 facility and recreation projects. With no way of tracking whether = builders are=20 actually reinvesting in Amador's economy - by hiring and spending = locally, for=20 instance - there's no way of telling whether the program is working as=20 intended.

"I don't feel that I have a closed mind in anything," = District=20 5 Supervisor Ted Novelli said in a phone interview with the Ledger = Dispatch=20 Thursday morning when asked about the issue. "I've received a lot of = e-mails for=20 it and against it. I'm keeping an open mind."

After three weeks = on the=20 agenda, the board finally approved the economic stimulus package May 20. = Initially brought before the board May 6, Bramell's proposal - after the = board's=20 approval and revision - provided 30 impact fee waiver applications, = which waived=20 the $7,800 in county facility fees and $3,300 of the $4,300 parks and = recreation=20 fees for each of the home builders approved.

Contractors were = limited to=20 two waivers each during the five-month period the board allotted for the = 30=20 permits; waivers applied to residential homes and not commercial=20 buildings.

Within 10 days, the 30 permits were taken, Bramell=20 said.

"(The stimulus package) passed just three weeks ago, and = didn't=20 give homeowners much time to get plans drawn up," Bramell said, after = thanking=20 the board for approving the fee waivers in May. He also advised the = board to=20 reconsider his original proposal, which asked the board to approve a 100 = percent=20 fee waiver for six months, followed by a 50 percent waiver for the next = six=20 months, and a 25 percent waiver for the following months.

"I = thought it=20 was a good plan," Bramell said. "The economy is not going to get any=20 better."

The county, however, is "holding its own," when it comes = to=20 generating revenue based on tourism, which is a big money maker for the = county.=20 "We're working twice as hard, but we're beating the challenges," said = Jacqueline=20 Lucido, executive director of the Amador County Chamber of Commerce. "We = need=20 money so we can operate."

"I totally agree that if we can help in = any=20 way, maybe we should. I don't know if the county itself can make an = impact,"=20 Novelli said. Maybe, he added, entities such as the board of realtors = and the=20 school district could lower their fees.

"What if we, as a county, = give=20 everyone $10 to stimulate the economy - what better way to do that than = by=20 giving $10 to 38,000 people?" he said, adding that this is an idea he = would=20 consider if the county had the money to implement it.

According = to Larry=20 Perez of the Amador County Building Department, the 30 residents who = applied for=20 the fee waivers have 18 months to get the permit and file it. He asked = the board=20 not to extend the program at the June 24 meeting.

Upcountry = resident=20 Debbie Dunn voiced her concerns regarding the continuation of a program = that has=20 yet to be measured.

"I think you've bared more than your share," = Dunn=20 said.

Dunn worried that a lack of accountability and tracking = could work=20 against the county's intent of stimulating the local building economy. = Some=20 builders pulled applications shortly before the board adopted the = program and=20 then resubmitted them, ostensibly to avoid paying $11,000 in mitigation = fees.=20 There was also no way of knowing whether builders were buying their = materials or=20 hiring labor in the county, something Dunn said prevented officials from = evaluating the program. Six waivers were issued to local contractors, = four were=20 re-issues, and one was for a house that was already built, Dunn said. = Only "a=20 vast minority" of residents will benefit from an extended economic = stimulus=20 package, she added.

Dunn's concerns elicited sharp comments from = board of=20 supervisors Chairman Richard Forster, who accused her of speaking on the = entire=20 county's behalf. "Somebody has to be a leader," he said.

Impact = fee=20 waivers haven't been the best thing for the county's recreation = department,=20 either, according to Tracy Towner-Yep, executive director of the Amador = County=20 Recreation Agency.

"If people are going to build their houses = they're=20 going to build their houses," Towner-Yep told the Ledger Dispatch, = adding that=20 at some point, the recreation agency will have to find a way to "recoup = these=20 fees so we can find a way to support parks and recreation in the=20 county."

"We need to measure that it's successful," Dunn said. = "How are=20 you going to measure any level of success and yet keep giving away = capital=20 improvement money?" she asked the board. "Somebody's going to be held=20 accountable."

Bethany A. = Monk