Call to Order and Approval of Minutes of 3-9-22.
Present: Martha Barra, Sheilah Rogers, Jini Reynolds, Travis Killmer, Katrina, Chris Boyd, Sattie Clark, Adam Gaska, Jeff Box, Gizmo Henderson, Peter Reynolds, Clay Hawkins, Glenn McGourty, Brentt Blazer, Zoe Bigelow, Shannon Johnson, Sheriff Matt Kendall, Lieutenant Jason Caudillo.
Absent: Marybeth Kelly
Meeting called to order at 5:02 (hybrid)
Chris motioned to approve the March Minutes, and a member requested a correction regarding March Minutes item #4 last sentence deleting “anyone selling water is now required to have” replaced with the words “as of March 15th the Supervisors will discuss a new water rule.” After correction, Adam seconded the motion. Unanimous vote to approve.
Public Comments
Gizmo: We ask that any contractors that come to our community be aware of fire danger and avoid sparks and long idling and obey the speed limits. I spoke to the Sheriff about it, we want to make it safe for people to enjoy the community. Let’s not start fires and let's prevent hazards.
Clay: There seems to be one house that was playing music very loud every weekend, consistently, and reported to the Sheriff. Sheriff Matt Kendall responded that the County doesn't have a noise ordinance. He stated, "If there is a victim then we can do something about it. We don’t have the resources to camp officers on the road." Martha: All noise at the winery has to be shut down at 10:00 pm is this the same thing? Clay noted it was private property. Pien: What constitutes a victim? Clay: they didn’t ask me if I wanted to be cited as a victim they just asked me if I wanted a sheriff to stop by. Dolly: You have to give your name in a complaint.
Report from County and Agencies on Current Events
Updates from Supervisor McGourty. Dolly asked if the commercial water rule was agreed upon by the Board of Supervisors. Glenn: It was not, we want to make sure that we don’t over the pump. There are some studies that need to be done to determine a sustainable solution. We don’t want to overload the Planning Commission, we don’t have any conclusions but we hope to have something in place by summer. The issue is the illegal grows not necessarily the trucks. If we track the well logs the code inspector can come by unannounced and look for anything fishy. Sheriff Matt Kendall: We need to move forward with marijuana enforcement because at the end of the year there will be fewer due to the crash in prices. We will do what we can. Glenn: Mendocino got the permit and water rights for Van Horn Dam, decommissioning the power plant will give us some time to work out how transfers will work. In the meantime, we are looking for funding for many agencies. White Deer Lodge applied for a use permit to convert it into housing, possibly with a community meeting place. Dolly: as far as the water hauling and drilling that did not pass, two wells that were drilled in my area caused some other wells to go dry. As a member of the public it is important to me that citizens' wells not go dry. As far as the power plants go, my position personally is that we need all the reservoirs we can get but the problem with the fish seems counterproductive. Gizmo asked how much water Lake Mendocino will be missing. Glenn: Almost 8000 acre feet that could’ve come in this winter but unfortunately that didn’t happen. I understand we need to have a discussion about the extinction of a species and the preservation of the community. I feel like we should hold on to water storage but there’s a lot of political pressure. Dolly: I agree that the fish are
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important but what about the people that will go extinct and the industries that they serve? Martha: Why does Sonoma County want the dam down? Glenn: I think they think that it’s easier to go along and get along, it doesn’t affect them and they feel like it can work, but I’ve never seen data to support that. They're working on bigger projects in terms of water resiliency. They have more people and more money so they look at it differently. Martha: So those that suffer the most are Potter Valley residents? Glenn: That’s correct and sadly Lake County people have not had a place at the table. We have a complicated puzzle and it’s not right to exclude people from this discussion. Dolly stated she has asked Congressman Huffman “please don’t drain Lake Pillsbury.” and encouraged others to give their opinions.
Glenn McGourty: We’ve been given a thumbs up for the one-time hiring bonus. We’ve got a recruiter; we have 6 deputies on long-term leave and we’re trying our best to get our numbers up. I’d like to put a plug out, please if you know anyone who wants to be a correctional officer please go to the website and apply.
Chris asked Brentt Blazer if he has any updates on the funding for alerting the community of fire danger. Brent Blazer: It’s on the fire department to activate the siren, we need to figure out how it’s being activated, who gets to push the button, who maintains it, and what is the public supposed to do when that siren goes off, public outreach and training. Chris: At least five more sirens are needed before we feel that the entire community is reached and I was under the impression that there was money in the budget for that, so any information you can give me would be helpful. Matt Kendall: I do not have any funding for more sirens, maybe this has to do with applying for grants? Chris: It sounds like there might be a miscommunication but all we have right now is one siren and no program. Brentt: One of the things we should work out is what the siren does, the one you just purchased has a remote control. We need a bigger global picture and training aspect. Dolly: Any sirens are helpful in an emergency, getting the siren going is of utmost importance when a disaster happens. Brentt: This might be something the board of supervisors needs to discuss. I don’t want you guys to feel that we don’t want to do this, but we have to train a group of people who may potentially buy a different program, we need some outreach to the public. Gizmo: We really need that siren up and running, people know what a siren means and we need help to get this job done. Martha: We have paid fire chiefs, can you put the responsibility on the paid chief? Brentt: We do not activate the equipment. Katrina: This is not a problem we will solve tonight but we are very eager to have a better warning system than what we had in 2017.
Updates on the Redwood Valley School property and tennis courts. Dolly: The sale of the school property may occur in June and we are waiting to hear back from the Dept of the Interior after a request for a copy of the original contract to fund the tennis courts.
Redwood Valley water issues updates. Adam joined the water board, $1.8 million was approved for well exploration and the pump at Lake Mendocino. Four test wells that are holding their levels, they are not a permanent solution but it looks hopeful. The rain is helping. There are no big-time repairs this month, still interviewing for a project manager for well drilling. Congressmen Huffman will be in Potter Valley for a meeting.
Fire prevention awareness updates. See above siren discussion. Gizmo: At the last fire meeting they discussed a fire trail. Chris: We need to have a funds reserve that is adequate to replace our new fire truck in the next 20 years. The next fire meeting is May 16th at 5:00 pm. Fire department BBQ happening July 16.
Redwood Valley Grange updates. Jeff: This weekend we have our Easter bake sale 9:00 am to 1:00 pm we are proceeding with kitchen planning with a meeting tomorrow. Jini: We were thinking of doing an open house once a week. Katrina: Redwood Valley MAC is reimbursing the Grange tomorrow morning.
Adopt-A-Road. The next one is June 18th. Jini: We’re still looking for an adopt-a-road coordinator. Glenn: We really appreciate what you’re doing, there is a possibility you could be reimbursed.
Gizmo: The Anderson Valley Brew Company asked for me to come set up a booth about trailer chain safety. Come see it at the brew fest.
Cannabis Policy Standing Subcommittee: Patricia, Sattie
Pien: The proposal for a Water Extraction/Hauling Ordinance is still in progress at the Willits
Environmental Center, Supervisors Glenn McGourty and John Haschak are attending, a hydrologist and a small ad hoc committee. There is work being done, if anyone is interested I would be happy to share documents. Glenn: Our big concern is water trucks hauling for illegal cannabis grows, we don’t want to make things worse for the working community, just the outlaws. This would look like a water inspection at the pickup site. We’re looking to find a solution.
Development Review Standing Subcommittee: Marybeth, Jini, Patricia
Jini: There are no new projects. I contacted Lee Burger and asked if he would be interested in having some college students come in and . assess a landscape project at his facility. He said he’s open to that, he said he was never told he should do landscaping. I checked, and he is correct he is up to code. There were no trees ever planned there ever except for the dollar general proposition. He went as far as extending the fence. He is interested in working with the people of Redwood Valley, to submit a plan. To look at the cost and the maintenance. Dolly: If we want to improve the landscape we need cooperation, we need planning, and we need financing. We have some leads on grants. There is a lot of maintenance that goes into it. We have to be willing to bring a plan and work with the community. Gizmo: We could look at rainwater capture to beautify the downtown while keeping it low maintenance.
CAP: Interim Community Action Plan and Design Review: Chris, Sattie
Officers and Members Reports and Announcements
Katrina’s treasure report. Dolly: If we don't use the money we have, do the funds reabsorb into County coffers? Katrina answered yes. A discussion was held regarding whether to have meetings in person only or hybrid meetings. Jini: We are getting a bit more equipment and I think hybrid is the way to go. I spoke to someone at the College who may be able to contract a student to help with the technology. Next month we will discuss funding someone to manage the Zoom work.
Dolly stated the RVMAC bylaws have been put on the back burner, but we have four very good pages and we can work on amendments and approval.
Meeting adjourned at 6:57, next meeting on May 11th.
Adjournment. Next meeting 5-11-22.