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News, etc. B1
171
C ali forn ia’s Olde st Ne w spaper
st
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
– E s t. 18 51
Volume 171 • Issue 44 | 75¢
Grizzly Flat water district dry of funds, residents Eric Jaramishian Staff writer A major decrease in revenue has forced the Grizzly Flat Community Services District to reinstate a monthly charge to its water customers who lost their homes in the Caldor Fire. The community services district had only billed customers with surviving homes or those using the service since the fire, operating at significant financial loss monthly, according to district officials. The district released a statement revealing its reserve funds are nearly depleted. District leadership estimates they will have a revenue gap of more than $333,000 this year. The Grizzly Flat Community
Services District sent out a letter to all current and former residents, dated March 23, stating its intention to begin charging all property owners again, including those who lost everything and are no longer residing in the area. The fee is a flat rate of $68.97 monthly for water service. Grizzly Flat Community Services District General Manager Jodi Lauther said the district had no choice but to charge the fee, adding that it lost 400 service connections out of 622 it was operating before the Caldor Fire. Customers were displeased with the news. The Grizzly Flat Community Services District Board of Directors n
See GFCSD, page A3
Cloud 9
Proposed changes to central EDH plan to go public Sel Richard Staff writer Parker Development’s Central El Dorado Hills Specific Plan project will be discussed at two upcoming planning commission meetings, announced District 1 Supervisor John Hidahl at this month’s El Dorado Hills Community Council meeting. “There’s been a lot of proposed changes to that and our county staff has been working with the developer to define what those new modifications are,” Hidahl revealed, regarding what he referred to as the project’s draft development agreement. The new agreement will be made public on April 14, when formal comments can be submitted. Parker Development’s project of 1,000 units along El Dorado Hills Boulevard is PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
scheduled to be heard at the April 28 Planning Commission meeting. This initial hearing will be conducted as an informational orientation as Commission Chair Jon Vegna is the only commissioner who was serving when the project was last presented several years ago. The commission will then hold deliberations on May 12, during which a final recommendation is anticipated to be forwarded to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. The public is welcome to attend both meetings. The project has had a contentious history in the area as it hinges on a county General Plan amendment to allow the zoning for the defunct golf course along El Dorado Hills Boulevard to be changed from recreational facilities-high intensity to residential. In 2015 more than 91% of El Dorado Hills voters advised against the zoning change. In January 2020 almost 500 residents turned out to protest the project at a public hearing held at District Church. The Planning Commission’s final recommendation to the board was then delayed due to coronavirusinduced shelter-inplace orders as well as consideration of a new traffic evaluation metric, vehicle miles traveled. Last June Parker
Photos by Mark Bowen/MarkBowenMedia.com
Freeda Gorman, 85, and Janis Kawamura, 89, both Placerville residents, seem to be having the time of their lives and they hadn’t even left the ground yet at Saturday’s Heritage Flyers Foundation Fly Day 2022 event at Placerville Airport. Heritage Flyers is a nonprofit that encourages local veterans and seniors with an interest in aviation to get in the air again, taking about 130 folks up for roughly 15-minute flights over the Placerville area.
Heritage Flyers founders Gabriel and Gia Tyler, above, were glad to bring joy to passengers Saturday but it’s also a treat for them. “People think that this is a gift we’re giving these older folks and it’s really not — it’s a gift they’re giving to us. They get to go up and we get to see them become little kids again. The years just fall away and we get to see things from their perspective. When you see how they respond, how much fun they have, it just fills you up. They’re doing us the favor by coming out here (to Placerville airport). We (the pilots) come away from this on Cloud 9,” Gabriel said. Luanna Hamm, 87, right, of Placerville waves to her admirers as she prepares to board the U.S. Marine Corps Beechcraft Model 18 piloted by Andy Bibber. Nine pilots volunteered for the event.
See EDH plan, page A2
n
Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
A water meter box sits on a houseless lot on Scaroni Road in Grizzly Flat. The owners of this lot, along with others in the Grizzly Flat community who lost their homes to the Caldor Fire, are being charged a monthly rate by the Grizzly Flat Community Services District.
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SEE more photos on page A7
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