Nearly 100 people attended a recent public forum designed to allow county residents to have their concerns about growth heard.

"This is the first meeting that has given me hope that my grandkids will be able to enjoy what I enjoyed in my years here," attendee Maggie Godman said during the forum. "This is the first time in two years I have felt like getting involved again."

The meeting, held June 23 and facilitated by the Amador County Transportation Commission, was the culmination of a total of three meetings aimed at bringing together all stakeholders affected by the growth of the county. The first two meetings featured various public agencies discussing the effects growth was having on their operations. The final meeting dealt primarily with infrastructure and facility needs generated by current and planned growth.

Several agents spoke at the meeting, including Amador County Administrative Officer Patrick Blacklock. Blacklock spoke of the process the county is using to update its General Plan and on the pressure on fire protection caused by new development.

Other speakers included the Library Improvement and Funding Taskforce; the Foothill Conservancy; the Central Sierra Resources Conservation and Development Council; the Dry Creek Watershed; the Childcare Resource Council; the Amador Rapid Transit System; and Amador County Probation.

Each agency gave a brief presentation as to its function and how growth is impacting its operation.

Then it was the public's turn.

Several people spoke of the impacts that specific projects would have on Amador County, including Frank Costa of the Friends of Amador County, who spoke about the proposed Buena Vista Rancheria and how it would impact all services in Amador County.

The final phase of the summit was a "where do we go from here" discussion. Sutter Creek Mayor Tim Murphy, speaking on behalf of himself and not the city council, kicked this portion of the discussion off by discussing the possibility of forming a council of governments for Amador County.

"The reason that not as much has been done as could have been as that we leave discussions like this at the report stage," he said. "We need to take some action and create a council of governments in this county. We have a real opportunity to make a difference now, rather than just letting this report sit on a shelf."

Several people in the audience agreed with Murphy. Charles Field, ACTC Executive Director, said that he was "pretty confident the commission will encourage us to do this again, which might be a precursor to Tim's comment."