Ione council approves special-district taxes, wastewater interconnect and several other measures

The Ione City Council on Aug. 5 approved a package of measures that included adopting three resolutions to continue community facilities district (CFD) special taxes, authorizing work on a wastewater interconnection project, and approving concept development for a downtown community garden.

The measures come as the city confronts regulatory requirements for its wastewater and recycled-water systems and as residents pressed the council over perceived inequities in how CFDs are assessed. Council members also voted to authorize installation of a flow meter and other improvements requested by state regulators.

Engineering and regulatory updates led the meeting. Catherine Geese, an engineer with West Yost, told the council the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board had ordered the city to submit a work plan by Aug. 11 to address the possibility of recycled-water discharges from the Castle Oaks golf-course ponds to Mule Creek. "The May 2025 letter ... reiterated the regional board’s concern about the discharges," Geese said, and outlined a three-year path of studies, design and construction to eliminate any overflow from Pond I to Mule Creek. West Yost’s high-level cost estimates: approximately $60,000 for preliminary studies, $150,000–$200,000 for design, and $3 million–$5…