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C a l i f o r n i a ’ s O l d e s t N e w s pa p e r – E s t. 18 51
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Volume 171 • Issue 3 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Friday, January 7, 2022
County ends Pollock Pines hotel negotiations Eric Jaramishian Staff writer Project Homekey will have to find a new home now that El Dorado County leaders scrapped their pursuit to purchase the Best Western Stagecoach Inn in Pollock Pines. County officials were in the process of procuring the Pony Express Trail hotel to convert into a homeless shelter as part of Project Homekey, which would use state funding to purchase the hotel.
The property is currently being rented by the county as part of Project Roomkey to temporarily shelter homeless individuals using COVID-19related funding. After discussions with county staff, District 5 Supervisor Sue Novasel called to end negotiations between the property owner and the county at the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors’ Jan. 4 meeting. Novasel said even though she is a supporter of Homekey, she would rather
New CPCSD leader on the job Jana Rossi Staff writer New Cameron Park Community Services General Manager André Pichly has worked in the parks and recreation field for nearly 32 years. His illustrious career includes 20 years as West Sacramento’s recreation superintendent before he headed to Tracy, where he served as the Parks and Community Services director. But it was Sacramento that Pichly called home even as his other employment stints took him farther away, including Auburn and St. Helena. “I loved St. Helena,” Pichly shared, but added he missed being home after spending three days a week in the Napa Valley. Fate intervened when the Southern California-based company that his wife Alene worked remotely for offered
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André Pichly her a job in Cameron Park around the same time the position for the Cameron Park CSD general manager position became available. Late last year Pichly got the job and the couple decided to make the leap, moving up the hill to Placerville. They are now able to carpool to work since his wife works just a mile away from the CPCSD office. Pichly said he is excited to help develop his new staff ’s roles within the community and enjoys keeping the enthusiasm up. I am impressed with the passion they have in their jobs,” he said. “We can play a positive role in helping people feel a sense of normalcy and keep them safe. I like having a positive impact on the people we serve by bringing quality services to the residents.” The Pichlys have deep roots within the California State University, Sacramento, community, having met while attending college there and where Pichly currently teaches in the n
See Pichly, page A3
see county staff pursue and potentially convert blighted property into a homeless housing shelter. “In every community, there is blight,” Novasel said. “There has got to be opportunities out there where you can use community revitalization from the dollars we are receiving from the federal government and use that money to redevelop and revitalize those areas.” Novasel said she is concerned about taking an economically viable property
“We are going after funding and not going after what is best for our community.” — Sue Novasel, District 5 Supervisor and repurposing it into a Homekey project. “I’m concerned about us going in the wrong direction and specifically instructing our staff to go into a direction that maybe we shouldn’t be going into,” Novasel said. Other supervisors’ opinions were divided. District 1 Supervisor John Hidahl argued that since
Project Roomkey in Pollock Pines has been successful, with a willing seller and with a location that is operable, the project should not be tabled. “I personally visited this site,” he said. “I’ve talked to some of the homeless up there under Project Roomkey and the owners. They have n
See Project Homekey, page A8
Lights back for most Thomas Frey Staff writer Some 1,173 PG&E customers in El Dorado County remained without electricity Thursday in what for them has become an 11-day outage. The latest date those customers would have their power restored is Jan. 11, according to PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland. That would add up to 16 days in the dark. “Many customers will be restored in the coming days and we can commit to an estimated time of restoration of Tuesday, Jan. 11,” McFarland said. “To be clear, many customers will be restored earlier.” A Dec. 27 winter storm brought heavy snowfall that downed trees and power lines, initially affecting transmission of electricity for 27,000 customers in El Dorado County. On Thursday 973 PG&E customers in Georgetown were without power and nine in Pollock Pines. In Pollock Pines propane became a hot commodity. “We are selling more than three times the amount of propane than we normally do,” said Dan Blanchard, who works at the Pollock Pines Shell station, which is also a Ferrelgas propane vendor. On Tuesday Blanchard told the Mountain Democrat the fuel station had been getting a propane delivery every other day and that he himself
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SMUD linemen repair power lines at the Heavenly Pines Mobile Home Park in Pollock Pines Wednesday. PG&E was assisted by crews from utiility companies throughout the region and as far Oregon and New Mexico. a resident of Pollock Pines has been without power for at least nine days. “It’s been rough but it’s also been enlightening and it shows us that we can make it. I’m kinda proud of Pollock Pines right now,” Blanchard
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said. “We’re tough mountain people but we need that PG&E … we need them to keep working hard,” he added. PG&E meteorologists say another storm forecast for Friday could slow progress on
power line repairs, but it’s expected to be just rain this time around for Pollock Pines and similar elevations. The fair and dry weather that should follow this weekend and into next week is “just n
See Lights, page A7
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