Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm by Chair Dolly Riley.
1. Roll call. We will record names of those present except for those who state they wish to remain anonymous.
  Present: Jini Reynolds, Christine Boyd, Dolly Riley, Sattie Clark, Katrina Frey, Marybeth Kelly, Patricia Ris-Yarbrough. Also Present: CHP Captain Charles Leonard, Jeanne Chinn, Meredyth Reinhard, Julia Carrera, Sheriff Matt Kendall, Transportation Director Howard Dashiell, Beth Salomone, Supervisor Glenn McGourty, County Counsel Christian Curtis, Gizmo Henderson, Zoe Bigelow, and Tom Schoeneman.
Approval of Minutes of 1-13-21. Member Chris Boyd motioned to approve. Member Patricia Ris-Yarbrough seconded the motion.

The roll call vote:

Aye Chair Dolly Riley Aye Vice-Chair Jini Reynolds Aye Treasurer Katrina Frey Aye Member Chris Boyd Aye Member Sattie Clark Aye Member Patricia Ris-Yarbrough
Public Comments
Meredyth Reinhard stated that she would speak about Adopt-A-Road's spring cleanup at the next meeting. The next clean up date is March 20, 2021, from 9-11 am. Chris Boyd requested a reminder a few days in advance of said meeting.
Report from County and Agencies on Current Events MOVE 2030 Big MAC update: Jini confirmed that she attended the big MAC (Municipal Advisory Councils) meeting and found that the voice of the community is amplified and encouraged when others attend because most of the MACs are working on the same things. The date of the next meeting will be announced and group is transitioning chair holders. Speed limit issue: County Dept of Transportation Director Howard Dashiell spoke about his response letter to the MAC. Director Dashiell said that he sent a letter to the Round Valley MAC that summarized his understanding of the speed zones but found that on Tomki Road in particular speed limits are not radar enforceable due to past law. Reevaluating the speed zones could allow for an increase in the speed. Chair Dolly Riley said that she understands setting speed limits is a process but the MAC voted to request increased signage and enforcement. Director Dashiell said that attempting to place a radar enforceable speed limit would be futile because the community did not want the speed limit to rise, and that a new traffic speed study, requested through a petition, would likely show that 85 percentile is going over the speed limit. Patricia Ris-Yarbrough asked for clarification because the idea was to reduce the speed limit. Dir. Dashiell said that the study would model what 85 percent of drivers are doing and would become the new speed limit, potentially raising the speed limit, but should not be higher than 55 mph. Dir. Dashiell said that the cost of a sign is around $700 and personally he thinks that if a driver has ignored the first sign they are likely to ignore it again. Increased signage won't bring law enforcement because it's not radar enforced. Gizmo Henderson requested more speed limit enforcement on these roads, especially in staying between the yellow and white lines. He said that it is difficult to speed when a driver is forced to stay between these lines due to the design of the road. Instead of signage Gizmo suggested painting a line in the road separating the speed zones. Christine Boyd maintained her opinion that more signage would be helpful. Jini Reynolds said that at the big MAC folks discussed a situation in which they painted a mural on the actual road where the speed limit changed and that it was effective because it was able to draw the attention of the driver. CHP Captain Charles Leonard stated that he appreciated the concerns and agreed that more enforcement would be helpful but he reminded everyone that sometimes there are literally only two officers available which is difficult. One thing that can be done is making a call to the station for traffic complaints at 707-467-4420. This information is logged and later addressed. This can also affect where the officers are posted at certain times. Reporting these things can be very helpful. Sattie Clark said that she likes enforcement however these officers seem very valuable and that their time might be better spent elsewhere, and suggested placing cameras which can help to ticket a speeder at a later date. Dolly concluded that if the MAC could be more specific on the locations in which signs could be placed, the issue will be revisited. Patricia thanked Captain Leonard. Marybeth Kelly asked if a spare squad car could be rotated around the Valley. Sheriff Matt Kendall said that at one point in Leggett they did that and it actually works. Gizmo confirmed that this is a strategy has been effective. Sheriff Kendall said that there is a large percentage of people who will not respect the signage unless there is enforcement but there is also a large percentage of people who will also drive much slower than the speed limit. People will do what is best for them and frankly, the officers are often more valuable in other places. Dolly stated that this conversation will continue to the next meeting, and invited members to come back with exact locations they recommend signage. Air quality around Mendocino Forest Products' Pellet Plant: Patricia said that the pellet plant is currently in compliance as stated in the permit. The amount of water being used by the plant is a trade secret so it is unknown but she feels that is still important information to know. Chris inquired about the water source. Patricia said that it is all considered trade secrets. Gizmo asked if during the summer month the pellet plant is able to pass the fire codes, with concerns of a fire hazard. Supervisor Glenn McGourty said that a lot of the damaged timber from fires is turned into pellets to replace coal (more ecologically friendly than coal). The idea would be to build pellet plants in areas that will not affect people but the plant is a great area for profit. He said that as long as the plant is in compliance it shouldn't be affecting anyone. Gizmo was also wondering where the water source for the plant is. Sattie said that the location of the pellet plant in relation to the school and housing is the reason why the air quality is under question so in the future the placement of these plants should be carefully thought about. Supe. McGourty said that he agrees and essentially it is what is it. Gizmo said that if it is indeed a fire hazard then they need to move. He recalled that the sky was purple at one point. He firmly believes that the plant needs to move. Chris agreed and also examined the sawdust buildup issue. Sattie said the plant owns the land however there are always ways around this. Supe. McGourty agreed that it was a terrible location for the plant and that it certainly is susceptible to fire. Sattie asked when these comments could be brought up before the renewal of the permit. County Council Christian Curtis said that he is unsure which permit would affect pollution and that there are multiple different processes. He doesn't believe that the air quality permits go through the public. Redwood Valley water issues: Tom Schoeneman, President of the Redwood Valley County Water District (RVCWD) said that the situation is dire. We depend on everyone else for water. Some issues coming up include raising rates due to the ancient infrastructure. He said that many things were far overdue. Water availability is low but it is fairly common for this time of year. Currently, water is coming from Millview Water District, and obtaining agricultural water from Lake Mendocino has been shut off, now relying on what is currently left in the District's reservoir. We are in trouble and climate change is real. He expects issues such as the Potter Valley project would require a tremendous amount of money from ratepayers. For now, the rates will rise and they are focused on water conservation. It'll take quite a bit of rain to pull us out of this crisis. Sattie asked if she turns on her faucet what if nothing came out because she is on the agriculture line. She reminded us that some of these farmers including herself have only recently been able to replant their crops after losses from the 2017 fire. Replanting crops requires a lot of water to start otherwise all will be lost again. Tom stated that he was unsure, nevertheless, Sattie thanked him. Dolly agreed that this information is very valuable and that this item should remain on the agenda. Beth Salomone of Russian River Flood Control concluded that very shortly there will be no physical water for agricultural use until we get more rain. Keep in mind that the domestic supply from Millview could also be cut off. This means that both suppliers are potentially cut off. Jeanne Chinn of the Sierra Club to spoke regarding PG&E impact on native trees: As Sierra Club Chair for the Mendocino County area, the Sierra Club was able to create plans including fire safety and wildfire prevention. Giving a brief synopsis of the situation, she said Santa Cruz is suffering from major losses due to fires and PG&E has unlawfully been removing trees without proper notice. This includes complete clear cutting and failure to offer a right to refusal. There was no process for requesting funds for damages PG&E incurred. Municipalities of Sonoma, Napa, and Santa Rosa have filed complaints against PG&E due to these damages. PG&E dropped trees and failed to clean them up, creating hazards. The Sierra Club asked Ms. Chinn to write a white paper and currently, the attorneys are looking at it. PG&E decided to do these things at the expense of the ratepayers. She is creating a list of people who have had interactions with PG&E, from disregarding property rights to threats. If anyone you know has a story they would like to share please contact Jeanne at jeannechinn@gmail.com or 415-672-1580. She also cautioned against the pellet plants.
Cannabis Policy Ad Hoc Subcommittee-Patricia, Sattie, Martha B. Patricia Ris-Yarbrough proposed to move this item to next month in order to conserve time.
Development Review Ad Hoc Subcommittee: Marybeth, Jini, Patricia, Gizmo Marybeth Kelly said there are no new permits pending for February.
CAP: Interim Community Action Plan and Design Review: Chris, Sattie, Alex, Sheilah
Chris Boyd said that the final draft of the design guidelines is a model for new development in Redwood Valley, and available by request at wickboyd@comcast.net
Officers and Members Reports and Announcements After discussion, a quorum of the Members voted to allow the use of a group MAC email with Sattie Clark as point person and rules in place. This vote tally is reflected here. (Please note an additional vote was taken to allow Treasurer to pay for a mapping program, as stated at the end of this section.) Chair Dolly Riley presented for discussion action taken by Sattie Clark to use group email and invited County Council Christian Curtis to be available to answer questions. Dolly is concerned that the point person, or liaison, for the email needs to be selected and voted for approval by the MAC, and the point person should only share information and only allow discussion at public meetings. The point person should refrain from personal opinion. Marybeth Kelly said that it would also be critical to have someone responsible for answering these emails. Dolly recommended Sattie Clark whom she believes could abide by the Brown Act rules. Chris Boyd voiced that she is in favor of this. Council Christian Curtis said that having multiple people with access to the same email address could become confusing, especially because it should not be used to discuss things outside of public meetings. A clear distinction must be made between the MAC and personal opinions. Unauthorized dialog can become particularly confusing in terms of when one is speaking on behalf of the entire body, or giving personal opinion. Dolly asked Sattie if she would like to be the point person for the MAC group email. Sattie confirmed that she could be the point person. Dolly asked if anyone had comments or questions before asking for a vote. She restated that the point person’s job in using the group email will be to communicate to the group free of personal opinion in a timely manner, and the MAC would not discuss information until a public meeting. At this point motions were made and the MAC voted for Sattie to be point person and the MAC group email to be utilized according to rules stated. Chris again asked that any letters going out be very clear whether it is from the MAC or if it is personal. Dolly agreed that this email address should be used only for official MAC communications. Chris Boyd asked for the definition of a serial meeting and wanted to know rules about community members in Ad Hoc subcommittees. Council Curtis said that soon there is another Brown Act training. A serial meeting is the discussion between two members, one of which then contacts a third member, who separately contacts a fourth member, and so on, thus a series of contacts which constitutes a non-public meeting and violates the Brown Act, which states government meetings must be public and allow for public comments before any action is taken. These rules are designed to prevent the concealment of member actions. Chris Boyd asked if an Ad Hoc committee included community, is the Ad Hoc subject to public meeting rules including notice and allowing public involvement? Council Curtis stated yes, and that that this is something often forgotten. Chris asked if it was okay for the Ad Hoc committee to only “consult” community persons as advisors, and not consider them to be members of the Ad Hoc, would we then not be required to publicize all communication by the Brown Act? Council Curtis confirmed the Ad Hoc could privately discuss issues assigned to them with less than a quorum, and using community advisors as advisors only. Dolly said that we will designate our community advisos to Ad Hoc subcommittees as people the subcommittee "may work with" and not subcommittee members, in the future. Gizmo asked for further clarification on ways to opt himself out of the Brown Act as a community member. Council Curtis said that only when a community member is appointed to the Ad Hoc, then the body becomes under the jurisdiction of the Brown Act, but using the community as advisors is fine. Dolly noted that she will change the language on the Agenda to reflect this. Council Curtis said that Alternate Members count in terms of a quorum, so it is important to keep the number of MAC Members in a subcommittee at 3. Marybeth believes the MAC may have been locked out of their PO box. Chris stated she has the other key. Katrina Frey stated that she had indeed renewed payment of the PO box and will provide Marybeth with a copy of the paid receipt. Treasurer's report: Katrina stated that so far the MAC is in a good position in terms of money and that next month she would have a more detailed report. Sattie mentioned that the mapping program is being paid for privately by Jini, and the Development Review subcommittee uses the map program. Sattie said the Cannabis subcommittee uses it as well and recommended that the MAC take on that cost if they are in the position to do so, at $29 per month. Jini motioned to pay for the mapping program Sattie seconded. Dolly, Jini, Katrina, Chris, Sattie, and Patricia voted in favor. Gizmo thanked the community members for attending and further stated that he believes the traffic deal is a very important factor in the community. Dolly stated that the traffic issue will be on the next agenda with more specific recommendations, ideas, and locations. Supervisor Glenn McGourty noted that he appointed Cliff Paulin to the Planning Commission, he thinks this discussion is very important and he wants to see it continued. Chris stated that she was unable to see the commission members on the website and asked that that be addressed. Katrina said that she might video or photograph vehicles crossing the center line on Tomki Road and Jini agreed saying that she might do the same on Road B. Vice-Chair Jini Reynolds motioned to approve. Member Patricia Ris-Yarbrough seconded the motion.

The roll call vote:

Aye Chair Dolly Riley Aye Vice-Chair Jini Reynolds Aye Treasurer Katrina Frey Aye Member Chris Boyd Aye Member Patricia Ris-Yarbrough Abstained Member Sattie Clark
Adjournment. Next meeting 3-10-21.
Dolly Riley adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
No Action