Call to Order and Approval of Minutes of 5-12-21.
Dolly called the Meeting to order at 5:00 pm. Minutes of 5-12-21 were approved by vote. Present: Jini Reynolds, Dolly Riley, Christine Boyd, Sattie Clark, Katrina Frey, Patricia Ris-Yarbrough, Adam Gaska, Marybeth Kelly, and Zoe Bigelow. Also present: Gizmo Henderson, Supervisor Glenn McGourty, Tom Schoeneman, Bree Klotter, Estelle Clifton, Granville Pool, Marvin Talso, Nephele Barrett, Loretta Ellard, Meredyth Reinhard, Martha Barra.
Member Chris Boyd motioned to approve. Vice-Chair Jini Reynolds 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 Aye Member Adam Gaska
Public Comments
No public comments.
Report from County and Agencies on Current Events A vote was taken and approved by majority to amend Katrina's letter to the BOS asking for support for RVCWD to obtain help from RRFCD, with the change to omit requesting the use of PG&E settlement funds. Guest Speaker Loretta Ellard, of MCOG, discussed Mendocino County transportation issues and the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). Nephele Barrett joined Loretta to speak, and shared that MCOG is a joint power responsible for creating the RTP for Mendocino County. That covers a 20-year timespan and is updated every 4 years, involving regional goals and an action plan for all transportation modes. This includes walking, biking, public transit as well as highways. The RTP update process starts with outreach, next a draft is created, and more outreach before a final draft is submitted. We are currently in the last mode of outreach. Virtual public input tools are available at https://mcog.mysocialpinpoint.com/mcog-2022-rtp/map#/ or by phone at (707) 463-1895. This is for the entire county but specific area information is much appreciated. Dolly offered to provide a copy of the letter the MAC sent to Dept. of Transportation a few months back. Christine wondered if this is being coordinated with the Pedestrian Facility Needs study. Nephele said that the priority needs from that plan are certainly incorporated. Christine asked about what is being done as a result of that study. Nephele said it was used to identify which projects qualified for grants and funding and safety projects. Gizmo wondered if there is a possibility of getting a freestanding bus stop by the Redwood Valley store. Has she worked with Jacob at the MTA? Nephele said that they do work with Jacob; the RTP isn't tied to a single grant program but often a project needs to be included in the RTP to later be eligible for grant money. Gizmo wondered if a public transit mall is on the horizon? Or is the Pear Tree Center the future of this goal? Nephele said that there has been talk about potential locations and the next step is a feasibility study and a grant. But it is certainly something that will be identified as a need in this transportation plan. Granville said that about 10 years ago this was spoken about but there was a location issue. Nephele said that MTA will be requiring a site within the Ukiah Valley. Gizmo asked if they had provided a document about cleaner transportation. Gizmo wondered if zero-emission buses were possible. Loretta said the local road safety plan is the basis for projects across the Mendocino County. This is available at www.mendocinosaferoads.com for feedback and public safety concern reports. Dolly thanked Loretta and Nephele for joining us today. PG&E Settlement funds update. Can MAC support Redwood Valley obtaining assistance/joining with the Russian River Flood Control District? Dolly offered to discuss a letter requesting water help to Redwood Valley, authored by Katrina and Bree, which members received by email. Sattie motioned to accept the letter and said she would be happy the send it out. Katrina seconded the motion. Christine opposed, and said that last month the MAC approved a letter that was already sent to the Board of Supervisors regarding PG&E funds. She thinks it could be helpful for Redwood Valley County Water District (RVCWD) to have help from the Russian River Flood Control District (RRFCD) but said this particular motion is not appropriate. She believes that PG&E settlement funding is meant to make Redwood Valley whole again, by improving the alert, warning, and evacuation systems. While she thinks that this could be beneficial she thinks that this money isn't appropriate. Marvin said that the RVCWD was set up as a result of the Coyote Valley dam. Redwood Valley was not part of that by choice. The Russian River (help ?) paid $14 million to back the $633 thousand bond. Granville said it was correct. Marvin said that backfilling of money as far as participating in the Russian River flood control district has yielded nothing. There is no guarantee for water. He believes that this letter is an attempt to annex the Russia River flood control district. Even if RVCWD was part of it it does nothing because the Russian River flood control district doesn't have any water either. Katrina said that while it might not fix things this year, in years of adequate rain it could be helpful. She reached out to several others and found that that there was support and several funding sources. Marvin said that the infrastructure in Redwood Valley is not adequate and joining the flood control district won’t change the local water infrastructure, it might make it easier to make water available but it doesn't change the amount of water you can put through the existing pipes at all. Dolly came to the conclusion that the long-term issue is restructuring Redwood Valley's water infrastructure and water availability. She said maybe this is something that could be mentioned in the letter but water security is huge part of fire safety. Granville said that if we had more water allocated from flood control the lines might not be able to handle such heavy usage hence the reason why we originally had to partially use ponds. If we draw the maximum amounts, our interties couldn't handle it and would cause problems in Calpella. Adam says that the letter puts us in an awkward position because we're telling them what to do. Bree said that we have already reached out to RRFCD once and they have been waiting for us to make a decision and move forward with this. The water district is fully in support of this. There might not be any benefit this year but having access to surplus water gives us a stronger position. This is one way for our RV water district to find a secure water source. We are limited to the amount of water we can get out of Millview due to the pipe size and capability. Millview is growing and as that happens our surplus dwindles. Ukiah has been willing to share their water but we would need to invest in pumps and upgrade our lines in order for that water to get to Millview. Christine agreed with Adam, that with the $22 million from PG&E we would be lucky to get much at all and she believes it should be spent on other things. Marvin said he reached out to the Russian River flood control district years ago. Gizmo said that he agrees with Chris and Adam that this money would be better spent in other ways such as evacuation routes and safety zones. We still haven't even come out with a safety zone for evacuation, once we get out where we won't get burnt. Sattie suggested, what if we sent the letter and asked for incorporation but without referring to the PG&E settlement funds. She sees that the County is really grasping at these funds. Sattie saw a majority. Sattie asked to amend her motion to say that we send a version of the letter without reference to the PG&E settlement funds. Katrina seconded. Dolly said that she consulted Beth Salomone who was in favor of Redwood Valley receiving help from RRFCD, but that it would be a process. Sattie said a revised letter would ask for annexation without reference to specific funding. Jini voted no, Chris voted no, Katrina voted yes, Sattie voted yes, Patricia voted yes, Adam voted yes, Dolly voted yes. The new rendition of the letter was adopted for Sattie to create and send from the MAC. Redwood Valley water issue updates. Dolly mentioned that June 11th was an appearance by Senator McGuire to announce the water line flushing project, but Jini clarified that that has been temporarily postponed. Chris introduced Tom Schoeneman of RVCWD to give an update on the water situation. He stated they passed a rate increase on Redwood Valley water usage and it's going to give us light at the end of the tunnel. RVCWD is installing locks on certain hydrants to prevent water theft. Fire Preparedness updates. Gizmo gave a update on the One Less Spark program, stating the goal would be to place informational posters around the county. He has officially gotten them laminated, adding the BLM gave him 50 posters, and flyers. The amber alert electric freeway sign has been set in place and the posters have begun to go up. He asked if anyone could help to get ahold of corporate decision-makers such as Safeway and U-Haul. Dolly said that Katrina might be able to connect Gizmo with a Costco representative. Gizmo said that the third step is also in the works he has gotten several old water hoses to use for chain covers, and there will be a giveaway on the 14th. Adopt-A-Road update. Meredyth announced there was a cleanup last Saturday. It went great, more and more people are finding out and showing up, the next is scheduled for September 18th. Member Sattie Clark motioned to approve. Treasurer Katrina Frey seconded the motion.

The roll call vote:

Aye Chair Dolly Riley Aye Treasurer Katrina Frey Aye Member Sattie Clark Aye Member Patricia Ris-Yarbrough Aye Member Adam Gaska Nay Vice-Chair Jini Reynolds Nay Member Chris Boyd
Cannabis Policy Ad Hoc Subcommittee: Patricia, Sattie Sattie said that she feels it most necessary to get people up to speed. Referendums are signature drives to get attention to things on the ballot; in this case an action to negate all or some of the cannabis rules. Small Is Beautiful has been helpful when trying to get these things on the ballot. Patricia reached out to Ellen Drell and SOWWW (Save Our Water, Wildlife, and Way of Life) for protecting small grows and the environment. Sattie said that the Supervisors wanted to settle on a two acre cap but decided to allow 10% of a parcel for a legal grow because it would trigger an expensive environmental review. Sattie stated that Supervisor Haschack said that the review would be a good thing, regardless but at this time this is the best compromise. They promised to reduce the 10% down to two acres and they wanted to clearly forbid hoop houses. The policy already forbids light emissions from hoop houses but we are seeing complaint-driven situations. There will be grandfathering of permitted hoop houses to be allowed in the current ordinances. We are working with Supervisor McGourty to learn the agenda for the next time the Board of Supervisors discuss this issue. The MAC wrote a letter to the BOS, and the Board didn't even touch on the issue of converting existing vineyards. The current measure prevents growing in rangelands and is heavily restricted. Patricia is worried about taking time off in terms of keeping up with what comes next. She requested that all members participate. Martha said that the 10% is designed to be simple and we need to examine all impacts on the county. She is hopeful that we will move to rangelands. Many letters have been written and most of them have been ignored. If you think most of the county doesn't want growth then perhaps our representatives need to take a closer look. Glenn McGourty said that there is a lot of enforcement work that needs to be done and the Supervisors have moved to increase that. If the offenders don't comply then daily fines will be administered. He suggested going to the state and asking for help with enforcement. If people followed the ordinances we would be the most sustainable farmers in America. These things were started before he was on the BOS and we just ran out of time. Things like restriction of hoop houses and generators need review. Were not done, were going to go through the marked up ordinance. We're not finished by a long shot. Supervisor McGourty promised a max ten acre cap. The letters were not in vain, he stated they've had 4. 5 hours of testimony over the phone. We're (BOS) are committed and he's hopeful. Yesterday BOS approved 4 million dollars for enforcement including the satellite imaging package. There was talk of a civil lawsuit of some kind, we're doing our best to bring order to this. Estelle Clifton said that capacity of the county to understand that you can throw money all you want but until you have staff that is competent nothing will come of it. She advocates having biologists in Planning and Building Dept, and appreciates that there are solutions to these problems but we need experts. Sattie said that we are moving on to active enforcement and lots more complaint driven enforcement. Glenn McGourty said that by this fall there should be an increase and by this time next year they will be MUCH more active. He's prepared to go into a state of emergency. Sattie said that some of the grant money should be allotted to EIRs because otherwise they have to privately fund a site specific CEQA study. Almost everyone in every sector wants that, this could be incredibly helpful for smaller growers. Glenn McGourty said that he is concerned about our water table and he wants to see something done. Dolly thanked Patricia and Sattie for the presentation.
Development Review Ad Hoc Subcommittee: Marybeth, Jini, Patricia Jini said that there were no new building permits, she said she had been in contact with the County regarding the removal of trees by PG&E and she said they denied knowledge of these removals that were happening. Sattie said she heard a “bong shop” would be opening in the community (East Rd), and the MAC will be waiting to hear about that permit. Sattie believed it would be great to have a better understanding of what would be coming. Christine said that f it's not a change of occupancy then it doesn’t have to be a public affair. This also means the Fire Department can’t review them to make sure they are in compliance with the fire codes.
CAP: Interim Community Action Plan and Design Review: Chris, Sattie
Dolly said that with departures and resignations Julia Krog of P&BD said that the maximum allowed of four general plan ammendments were allocated, and they would look at the Redwood Valley CAP in 2022. Supervisor McGourty said that he would take action to try to speed up this process. Sattie requested a tentative spot in 2022, Dolly agreed. Gizmo agreed that we need some recognition on the CAP because a lot of us have put substantial time into it and he would love to see if finally approved and part of the County's general plan.
Officers and Members Reports and Announcements Dolly asked everyone to review the MAC bylaws and asked someone to compare these to the County's MAC rules. More research needs to be done. Christine recalled the fall of 2017, when the County passed a resolution for how MACs should operate, and if someone could find that it would be helpful. Katrina offered to help. A discussion on inviting guest speakers was requested by Sattie. Dolly said there has never been a guest speaker that a Member didn't asked for, and most have been diligent although some more so than others. All Members should have a voice on who guest speakers will be and when. We discussed the likelihood of having an in-person MAC meeting in July, depending on County regs. Grange Marybeth stated that the Grange space is already reserved. Dolly wondered how the members felt about taking a break from meeting in July and August, and Sattie stated she thinks too much is going on to take a break. Patricia agreed with Sattie. Katrina agreed we should not take a break this summer. Adam agreed, saying life doesn’t stop why should we? Chris agreed we shouldn't take a break. Dolly moved forward with that and there will be a meeting in July, although Dolly cannot be present and the meeting will be conducted by Vice Chair. Katrina asked if a hybrid meeting would be possible. Dolly said it would be doable if a person present handled a laptop for a person not on site. Marybeth said the grange might be able to offer equipment for hybrid meetings. Chris asked if those coming to in-person meetings will need to be vaccinated. Jini said that wristbands and a sign-in sheet can be implemented to keep track of contacting those at high risk. Marybeth presented a letter to the MAC asking for an increase in the secretary's stipend. Sattie asked who was responsible for the website. Chris said she will be working on it. In a discussion about the recent large logging clearcut area on Road A by PG&E, Estelle commented that she was upset about the hundreds of acres of oak that had been removed. This has made a risk of landslide right over the County road. Maybe we could get PG&E to leave a few trees. It looks like this will continue and she is deeply concerned. Jini agrees that PG&E has totally destroyed the springs there. Dolly agreed that she is concerned about erosion. Marybeth asked if anyone has been in contact with PG&E? Do they have a plan for erosion control? Gizmo said he has made several attempts to contact them and he has been unsuccessful. Marybeth suggested going through the public utilities commission. Supervisor McGourty said it was stunning and agreed to look into it. Dolly said that in an informal poll on Facebook around 90% of Road A residents said they were consulted on the clearcut and that this would be a welcomed fire break. Jini asked everyone to drive up Road A and take a look at what is happening. The erosion from it will make Road A collapse, if and when we get rain, and Road A will be cut off. This is a danger due to erosion.
Adjournment. Next meeting 7-14-21.
Dolly adjourned the meeting at 7:13 p.m.