Your account does not include highlighter on images.
Searches Highlighted on Image
National Sponsors
| June 15, 2011 Indian Valley Record |  |
|
©
Indian Valley Record. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 1 (1 of 32 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
June 15, 2011 |
|
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader 
|
INC. SMALL TOWN PAPERS
217 WEST COTA STREET
SHELTON WA 98.J84--.c.~6~~ "-"- "~ ie
./
and all of the
Indian
Valley Area
Vol. 81, No. 30 • Feather Publishing Co., Inc. • 530-284-7800 ° Wednesday, June 15, 201 ]
50¢
Shaping their own destinies
With a toss of their mortarboards, members of the Greenville High School class of 2011 are off to shape their own destinies.
For more photos, see pages 4A and 5A. Photo by Alicia Knadler
Dan McDonald County to take action now
Staff Writer rather than play catch-up."
dmcd~nald@plurnasnews.comThe county's budget officer
Jack Ingstad has been fore-
Nobody needs to tell casting a $1.2 million short-
Plumas County residents fall in the general fund. That
they are living through the hasn't changed.
worst financial crunch in a He reported the general
generation• fund balance was $588,000 as
That pain is being felt by of May 31. It was $1.47 million
the county's Board of Super- at the same time last year.
visors as they try to craft a Ingstad said crafting a bal-
new budget with less money anced county budget isn't re-
than the county had last year. ally that difficult.
Rather than wait until Sep- He already has a rough
tember to approve a budget draftput together•
for the 2011-12 fiscal year, the He said the hard part
county leaders are prepared would be explaining it to the
to make some tough deci- people and organizations that
sions right now. would be affected by the cuts.
"I don't think we can afford "I have a balanced general-
to assume that things are go- fund budget on my (office)
ing to get better," Supervisor wall," Ingstad told the board.
Sherrie Thrall said at the "The reason I did not bring it
board's June 7 meeting. "Cer- in here is I haven't shown it
tainly property taxes are not to the budget committee
going to go up .... We owe it to
our constituency in Plumas See Cuts, page 6A
Dan McDonald quickly responded, "We're watermasterprogram.
Staff Writer very concerned. It's out- The board responded to the
dmcdonald@plumasnews.com rageous. This is a shock to all ranchers' pleas by drafting a
of us." letter to the governor and
Plumas County ranchers The enormous fee increase agreeing to discuss possible
and concerned water rights -- which is scheduled to ap- litigation.
holders made an impassioned pear on water rights holders' Brian Morris, general man-
plea for help last week. property taxes -- is a result ager of the Plumas County
Facing fee increases of of Gov. Jerry Brown's Flood Control and Water
up to 540 percent for the revised budget, released May Conservation District, pre-
state-run watermaster pro- 16. sented several possible
gram, they took the issue to The budget calls for re- options for the board's con-
the Plumas County Board of moving all state general fund sideration. He also authored
Supervisors, which met as support for the watermaster the letter to be sent to Sacra-
the governing board of the service areas in Northern mento.
Flood Control and Water California• "What the letter asks for,
Conservation District on In Plumas County, that specificaUy,~sfer:~rl~r~e-year
Tuesday, June 7, m Quincy. applies to Sierra Valley ~nd reprieve (of th~elir~jrnation
Rancher Susie Pearce the Indian Creek stre~t~m~y§2 ofthe~generalfund s~p*po~t),''
explained the increase in real .tern. Morris said. "The cOSt of this
dollars and cents• Former Gov. Arnold to the (state) general fund is
"The reality is my water- Schwarzenegger started the only $1.23 million --~ which
master fee goes from $1,500 process in 2004 when he in the context of the state
to over $9,000," Pierce signed the Budget Act and budget is a miniscule
said, fighting back tears. Senate Bill 1107. amount."
"This is ridiculous." Those acts eliminated Supervisor Robert Meacher
Supervisor Lori Simpson general fund support for the said the board plans to attack
the problem using every which takes time. "It could been done in other jurisdic-
option available• That in- take us a year or two," he tions," Meacher said. "We've
cludes immediately taking said. kind of dodged a bullet for a
the matter to court. Supervisor Terry Swofford few years.
"We could go to our own emphasized the need for "In almost every county,
court, to our own judge, the county to create its own it looks like it's done a little
and ask for some temporary districts, differently. That hasn't
relief," Meacher said. "I think the best option is seemed to be a problem. We
"I want to shy away from for us to get the (watermaster need to work with our (wa-
saying 'restraining order,' program) under our control ter) producers to make sure
but that's kind of what it is," so people who use the water that we do it in a fashion that
Meacher added• "Restraining are more in charge of it," they approve of and that
the state from increasing the Swofford said. "I think this works best for them."
fees while we wait for an probably should have been Morris said that under the
answer from the governor done years ago. current water code, there are
and while we talk to our "Now, with the games the two optionsforthewatermas-
legislators about legislative governor and the Legislature ter service areas: Either the
relief and forming a new are playing, we end up in a Department of Water Re~
district." fix here." ..... sources provides a watermas-
Forming a new district to It wasn't too hard to see ter or the Superior Court that
control water rights is the this day coming. But the fact has jurisdiction can appoint
likely goal. Other Northern that other counties have alocal agency to serve as the
California counties have already addressed the prob- watermaster.
their own independent water- lem provides a template for But Morris said going to
master districts in place• Plumas County. the Legislature to establish a
But Meacher noted the "We are not trying to
~rocess involves legislation, invent the wheel here. It's See Water, page 6A
ospl
al
rm
lize sur
rope
ecl
ion
Alicia Knadler
Indian Valley Editor
aknadler@plumasnews.com
Directors of the Indian
Valley Health Care District
officially declared the hos-
pital and business office
parcels as surplus property
Monday, June 6, though
neither parcel has been
officially modified to exclude
the helipad they were
concerned about keeping•
Instead, the helipad will
remain a negotiating point if
and when interested buyers
come forward.
Directors hired Ralph
Koehne Engineering to help
delineate a third parcel, one
that includes the heliport and
a portion of both properties.
The proposed changes
include an easement across
the road and parking lots and
a large enough parcel for
an additional helipad,for
emergency situations when
more than one helicopter is
needed.
Hopes are that the sale of
surplus property will bring
in about $750,000, the amount
needed to clean up the
remaining bankruptcy debt.
Directors must first offer
the property to other public
entities, such as special
districts, county, state and
federal agencies and others.
After 60 days it can then be
ll!!l!i[IJ!lllrl!!l!!!!ll
• ?
E
To subscribe to the Record,
call 530-283-0800
put up for a public sale if
none of the public entities are
interested•
District Chairman Guy
McNett was sure directors
would know by the end of
August in any public entities
were interested.
He expects directors will
have to conduct special meet-
ings this summer to cover
such issues as determining
fair market value.
In resolving to declare the
properties surplus, directors
also stipulate that any
redevelopment needs to be
consistent with permissible
land uses.
The hospital property is
zoned as multiple residential,
and several uses are permis-
sible, though a special-use
permit is required for some.
Dwelling units and manu-
factured homes are permissi-
ble at one per every 2,000
square-feet of lot area,
and the total lot area of the
hospital parcel is just less
than 2.5 acres.
Other uses which would
require a permit are child
day care, residential drug
and alcohol recovery facili-
ties, community care, home
businesses, offices, lodging,
rooming, public assembly
and services, health services,
schools, bed and breakfast
inns, 4-H and FFA animal
projects and parking lots.
Barring any special
meetings, the next regular
meeting of the Indian Valley
Health Care District will be
5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12,
at the Indian Valley Commu-
nity Center in Greenville.
The center is located at
209 Highway 89, across from
Sierra Sunrise Coffee House
and Dell
Proposed
Parcel
\
\
Proposed
Easement
\
/
!
\
I
...............
HOT SPRINGS ROAO
The Indian Valley Hospital and business office parcels declared surplus are roughly delineated on this site plan, with the proposed
heliport parcel and easement added. The parcels will not be changed until sold, so directors will be in a position to negotiate ~he
heliport issue. Graphic courtesy Indian Valley Health Care District