BRILLIANT YOUNG MIND
MEET THE WINEMAKER
Placerville student earns special award for science project.
Mollie Haycock takes over winemaking duties at Scott Harvey.
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THE LAST STRUCTURE
Formula business ordinance may get another look Andrew Vonderschmitt Staff writer The Placerville City Council at last week’s meeting unanimously agreed to leave the city’s formula business ordinance as is but will consider any new findings from a poll of downtown merchants by the Placerville Economic Advisory Committee. At the June 22 meeting staff requested direction on an action item from December 2019 pertaining to the city’s Central Business District zone ordinance that requires a conditional use permit and site plan review of formula businesses. A business with more than five locations qualifies as “formula.” The action item has been held up pending litigation. Development Services Director Pierre Rivas delivered a detailed report with background on permitting of formula businesses in the Central Business District over the past few ■
Mountain Democrat photo by Andrew Vonderschmitt
The last outdoor dining structure in downtown Placerville begins to come down Tuesday afternoon. Sam Keyt, left, husband of the owner of Enchanted Forest Dining Experience, which put up one of the more creative pandemic-prompted outdoor eating spaces, gets a little help from Quinton Anderson as the pallets-turned seating are disassembled. The Placerville City Council decided at its June 8 meeting not to extend outdoor dining permits past their expiration date of June 15, with a deadline of June 18 for eateries pull out their temporary structures. At the state level, permitting for outdoor dining in space otherwise used for parking was given a stamp of approval through the end of the year with municipalities left to decide at the local level. Enchanted Forest's leafy dining huts, left photo, fill the back of a pickup on their way to be stored in case needed again. Street parking along Main Street, below, has resumed where temporary outdoor dining structures once stood.
Mountain Democrat photos by Krysten Kellum
Waste collection rates going up countywide Eric Jaramishian Staff writer El Dorado Disposal’s rates will get a 5.52% increase beginning July 1. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of the increase at its meeting last week. The rate change comes from a recommendation from county Environmental Management staff based on an analysis by consulting and accounting firm Crowe LLP. El Dorado Disposal submitted its base-year rate application to the firm, requesting an initial 7.19% rate increase, which would cover a $1.18 million shortfall, according to Crowe LLP Managing Director Erik Nylund. Nylund confirmed that El Dorado Disposal’s actual shortfall was $912,578 and that the 5.52% increase would suffice. Additionally, Material Recovery Facility rates rise 3.75%. The need for the rate change comes from increases in labor wages, normal escalation costs, increased yard waste and largerthan-expected health insurance premium escalations, according to the analysis. The rate changes would apply to El ■
PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
See ORDINANCE, page A7
See WASTE RATES, page A3
2nd roundabout planned for South Tahoe Laney Griffo Tahoe Daily Tribune SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Residents in the South Tahoe community of Meyers could see more traffic relieving attempts as El Dorado County plans a new roundabout at Highway 50 and Pioneer Trail. A 2016 road safety study done by the Federal Highway Administration, Caltrans, California Highway Patrol, the county, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Meyers Community Foundation identified the intersection of
Highway 50 and Pioneer Trail as being in need of safety upgrades. “This project is related to safety and traffic efficiency,” said the county DOT Deputy Director of Engineering John Kahling. “We can get more people through a roundabout than through a traffic light.” The safety study showed that “during peak summer periods, Meyers serves an estimated 300 pedestrians and bicyclists per day.” It added that the current 43 mph average speeds mean only one in 10 ■
See ROUNDABOUT, page A2
Courtesy photo
A rendering shows the possible roundabout at Highway 50 and Pioneer Trail in Meyers.
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