Serving the communities of Valley Springs, Burson and Wallace

Election 2006

Supervisor hopefuls, from left, Victoria Erickson, Mike McDaniel and Russ Thomas tackled a number of questions during the April 10 forum at Rancho Calaveras.

Photo by Laura Baptista

District 5 supe candidates get testy at latest forum

By Nick Baptista

   District 5 supervisor challengers Mike McDaniel and Russ Thomas got testy toward one another at the May 1 Candidates Night at the Veterans Hall in Valley Springs.

   The verbal bout between the two candidates seeking to unseat incumbent Victoria Erickson began with McDaniel’s opening remarks when he criticized the Copperopolis Community Plan Thomas has been instrumental in preparing for consideration by the County Board of Supervisors. He added that Thomas has expressed no interest or vision for the rest of District 5.

   Thomas used his opening statement to say McDaniel was misinformed. He said if McDaniel would read and understand the plan he would be better informed. Thomas later added that lessons learned from the Copperopolis Community Plan could be used as Valley Springs begins the process of developing its own community plan.

   The forum between the three supervisor hopefuls was the third in the past three weeks and the last announced forum prior to the June 6 primary election. If none of the three candidates is able to receive a majority vote in the primary, a run-off will be held in November between the two top vote getters.

   Thomas also used his opening statement to announce that he would select a person from the Valley Springs area portion of District 5 to serve on the County Planning Commission.

   McDaniel also drew Erickson’s ire. In her closing statements, Erickson addressed McDaniel’s earlier characterization that she had primarily lived in this area her entire life and did not have a broad perspective on the issues facing the district.

   ”I’ve lived outside of the county for 20 years and I bring that perspective with me,” she said. “It’s not like I’m a country bumpkin who hasn’t left the farm.”

   When Erickson said her experience as a supervisor and taking land use classes at the University of California, Davis, gave her better qualifications to be a supervisor, Thomas countered whether the people of District 5 deserved someone who is going to school to learn land planning or someone like himself who was a Stanislaus County planner in the early 1990s and has many years of experience in that realm.

   Both challengers criticized the county and Supervisor Erickson for being slow to address the needs in District 5 in planning and traffic.

   Erickson said efforts are moving forward to solve the congestion at the intersection of Highway 12 and 26. County Public Works and Caltrans are meeting next week, she said, and proposals by developers to have alternative routes are under consideration. In addition, a signal light at the intersection is still a need and the county is working to get additional state funding for the project. She added that the county is looking at a plan for minimal disruption in the downtown area, similar to what Lockeford has done.

   A distinct departure by one candidate in the race for District 5 supervisor was reiterated at the forum.

   Erickson and McDaniel said they were in favor of a moratorium, while Thomas said he would oppose such a move.

   Erickson said she would support a moratorium in the later stages of a general plan update as a draft of the plan was going through the environmental review process, while McDaniel said he would favor a moratorium sooner in the process.

   Such a move would pressure the Board of Supervisors to complete the process sooner, McDaniel said.

   Thomas took an opposite view. He said the Copperopolis Community Plan has been in the works for seven years and there is no guarantee the county would quickly complete a general plan update. A lengthy general plan update and associated moratorium would have a crippling financial impact on the county and its residents, he added.

   Box stores in Valley Springs were also addressed. Thomas and McDaniel said the area did not have enough people to attract a box store. McDaniel said the issue should be addressed in the general plan area, while Thomas said it was a foolish idea to encourage mid-size stores to come to the area, but plan to have them engulfed by larger stores.

   Erickson reiterated earlier comments that she was not in favor of box stores, but if the public wants the community plan to set aside areas for large commercial development, she would follow their wishes.

   When ask how the county should prepare for the possibility of doubling its population by 2020, Erickson and McDaniel said completion of the general plan update was important.

   “The reality is we’ll have growth and we need to plan for it,” McDaniel said.

   The reality is the county has a pro-growth general plan, Erickson said, and the public needs to get involved in the upcoming general plan process and tell the county what they want in their communities.

   Thomas said the county needs to shift its focus toward more commercial development. Because of decisions made years ago emphasizing residential over commercial development, county residents find it necessary to shop outside of the area, limiting the county’s share of sales tax dollar, and the county does not have the funds to pay for necessary infrastructure improvements or enough money to pay for county employees.

   All three agreed county residents likely will see an increase in county fees and possibly taxes. Erickson said the county is working on establishing a facilities fee for a new jail, possibly an animal shelter and other county buildings. However, all road and other infrastructure improvements cannot be shifted to new development, she said.

   New tax measures might make it to the ballot in the future, but would need approval by two-thirds of the voters, she added.

   McDaniel said the public has to see the benefit of any tax increase and the county has to build a good case. County fees are historically low and should be reviewed, he added.

   Thomas said he believes the public is willing to approve tax increases if the need is great, such as the need for a new jail. He added that he’s seen evidence that the development community recognizes many of the deficiencies in the county’s infrastructure and is willing to provide help.

   Fire protection also came under scrutiny.

   Erickson said it might be time to talk about consolidating the county’s fire departments. McDaniel said protection by paid, full-time firefighters was becoming necessary in the developing west end of the county and placing fire protection under the county should be investigated.

   Thomas said he shared the idea of getting paid full-time firefighters, but it is still a little ways away. In the meantime, every effort should be made to pass all available funds to the fire districts.

    They also agreed the next supervisor should work to expedite local and federal efforts to solve the flooding problem in Valley Springs.

   The Calaveras County Chamber of Commerce and the Calaveras Enterprise hosted the forum, which attracted a crowd of approximately 60 people. Buzz Eggleston, editor and general manager of the San Andreas newspaper, served as the moderator.

Supervisor candidates discuss issues

By Nick Baptista

   The trio of candidates running to represent District 5 on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors answered approximately 25 questioned posed by the media and the public Monday night at an election forum hosted by The Valley Springs News.

   The two-hour forum attracted an audience of approximately 75 people who heard the views of incumbent Victoria Erickson and challengers Mike McDaniel and Russ Thomas on a variety of topics including the general plan update, flood control, traffic congestion, recreation, fire service, the jail and whether they were for or against a box store in the Valley Springs area.

   In opening statements, Thomas said his vision for future growth in the county and especially District 5 “is firmly based on quality of life factors, including realistic population densities, solving traffic problems and the preservation of open space."

   McDaniel outlined his 20-plus years of experience working with developers, communities and citizens in developing communities. He said District 5 was at a turning point where further “uncontrollable growth will fracture the community.”

   He said the entire community should have a voice in the future of District 5 and he would focus on representing the public at the board level.

   Erickson said economic development in the county was important, citing the disparity in unemployment figures between Calaveras and Amador counties of 6.7 to 5.1 percent.

   “It needs to be addressed,” she said.

   She cited Delta College’s interest in locating a satellite campus in the Valley Springs area as one way to increase local jobs and said she was working with fellow Supervisor Bill Claudino “to make it happen.”

   Vanessa Turner, KVML and MyMotherLode.com’s Calaveras County Bureau reporter, posed the first question to the candidates and it dealt with their thoughts about retail development and increasing sales tax dollars coming back to the county.

   McDaniel stressed the need to avoid strip mall development and go for high-end retail. Thomas said he had quality of life concerns about too much retail development such as box stores and wanted to keep the area’s rural atmosphere. Erickson said the county receives only 6.3 percent of General Fund revenue from sales tax dollars so the need exists for additional retail development. She said Valley Springs needs to complete a community plan to outline what type of development residents desire and then use that information to guide developers.

      A week after flooding damaged at least 20 homes in the Valley Springs area, the issue of flood control came up during questioning at Monday’s Rancho Calaveras forum for the three candidates running to represent District 5 on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors.

   Erickson and Thomas backed the work the county, Calaveras County Water District and the federal government are pursuing in regards to flood control. McDaniel was critical of the current situation. He said the areas prone to flooding had been well documented on federal maps, but the data was not used at the county level.

   In questioning from the media, all agreed the county jail was a liability with limited inmate capacity.

   McDaniel said he would seek ways to get funds not only for a new jail, but new substations, which would also have jail facilities. He would seek state funds, but if necessary, go to a bond election.

   Thomas said he would support a bond issue to build a new jail. He said it is a quality of life issue and believed voters would support constructing a new jail to make sure sentences are served and the public is safer.

   Erickson said construction of a jail is one of the county government’s highest priorities and they are at work developing a facilities fee to address the issue. She added she would support a bond if it took a bond to get a new jail constructed. She added the early release of inmates is discouraging to the county’s deputies.

   In regards to jobs and facilities for the area’s young people, the candidates were in favor of creating more parks. Erickson said she was in favor of a countywide park and recreation system and would like to see a park fee system in place. She also re-emphasized the need for more commercial and retail development to create jobs.

   McDaniel said the county needs to create a park district and could lose some funding if it does not do so.

   Thomas said he was accustomed to access to park when he grew up in Modesto it was one of his objectives to create more recreational opportunities in this county.

   The 18-hole golf course being built off Ospital Road drew a strong response from Thomas. The course was built on agriculturally zoned land for personal use with little or no government oversight and environmental review. The landowner now is seeking to add a number of commercial aspects to the project such as a lodge, overnight accommodations, a restaurant and banquet facility.

   Although the owner has the “theoretical right” to build the golf course, Thomas indicated if he were supervisor, he would make an example of the project and not allow any additional uses.

   “I’d make sure he gets to use it – exclusively,” Thomas said.

   He added that the golf course is an example of a way of doing business in the county where some people go ahead and do what they want and “ask for forgiveness instead of permission.”

   McDaniel said the golf course project was “outrageous” and needs to be stopped.

   Erickson said the project has been stopped and the golf course will be part of the environmental impact review if the proposal continues.

   All three agreed an update of the General Plan should be the county’s top priority. When asked whether they supported some type slowdown on zoning changes while the General Plan was being rewritten, McDaniel said yes, Erickson said she would be in favor of a slowdown at an appropriate time in the process and Thomas was nervous about discussion of a slowdown or moratorium given his experiences with the planning matters in Copperopolis that has been going on for five years.

   Expanding fire service in the Valley Springs area was also raised at the forum. McDaniel said the area’s volunteer service is the best he’s seen, but it is inadequate. The area needs a full-time fire department especially in light of recent growth. He added the insurance industry is becoming aware that the local volunteer fire departments cannot meet the demands and rates will go up.

   Erickson said she was in favor of consolidating all of the departments into one county fire department. The county made a big mistake when it reorganized the departments, she added.

   Erickson said the county should be responsible for fire protection and she was working with fellow Supervisor Steve Wilensky to bring the idea to the full board.

   Thomas said he was not sure how much influence supervisors have on fire protection, but the area has a need for full-time firefighters.

   Whether they were in favor of a box store in Valley Springs drew an emphatic “no” from Erickson, while McDaniel was in favor of the retail development if it fit with the General Plan and did not cause traffic problems. Thomas said he did not believe the public wanted any large box stores, but he would follow their wishes if they asked for one.

  When asked about their vision for the area, Thomas said he didn’t want the area to become another Stockton. He came here to look at oak trees and economic development has to be done intelligently.

   McDaniel said he wanted to see a concentrated retail and commercial core in Valley Springs that would lend itself to pedestrian traffic, while Erickson said it was time to shut the gate and fix our problems first. However, she said it is not how she feels, but what the community wants.

   Making developers and contractors pay to repair roads damaged during construction was another question from the public. McDaniel said it happens because we allow it. Erickson said developers are required to make the repairs and if they are not, citizens should contact the county’s public works department. Thomas said aggressive monitoring is needed.

   When asked about solutions for providing affordable housing to the county’s workforce, Erickson said the county should work with developers to make sure they build affordable homes. Thomas said it should be a proposed component in future development, while McDaniel said some counties make it a requirement for developers.

   Asked how they would vote on a proposal to eliminate the Calaveras Council of Governments, McDaniel and Thomas said they would keep it, while Erickson said she would wait until a study is completed before making a decision.

   The election for District 5 supervisor is June 6. The district covers the communities of Copperopolis, Jenny Lind and Rancho Calaveras.