Board of Supervisors Meeting | 1.7.2025

by | Jan 12, 2025 | Economic Development, Get Involved, Stay Informed, Trinity Resources, Your Opinion Matters

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Today’s board meeting included presentations from the Fire Safe Council, Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Forest Service. The agenda included several items under County Matters – including a board vote regarding appeal fees, new positions in the jail, and an update regarding the homeless encampment concerns raised during the December 17th board meeting.

A. COUNTY MATTERS AM

A.1. Clerk of the Board – Confirm the seating of District 3 Supervisor Liam Gogan as Chairman and District 4 Supervisor Heidi Carpenter-Harris as Chair Pro Tem (Vice-Chair) No fiscal impact.

  • Supervisor Liam Gogam will serve as board chair for 2025, and Supervisor Heidi Carpenter-Harris will serve as vice chair.
B. PRESENTATIONS

B.1. Clerk of the Board – Present the outgoing Chairman of the Board of Supervisors with an engraved gavel. No fiscal impact.

  • Chair Gogal presented Supervisor Leutwyler with a gavel engraved to honor his service as board chair for 2024.

B.2. Board of Supervisors – Receive a presentation from Trinity County Fire Safe Council Coordinator Skylar Fisher regarding the Homeowners Insurance survey results. No fiscal impact.

  • Skylar Fisher | Trinity County Fire Safe Council
  • Insurance losses increased from $4 billion in 2016 to $15 billion in 2017. They have gone back down slightly since that peak.
    • Note – as of 1.10.2025, estimated losses from the fires in Los Angeles County could exceed $50 billion.
  • Eight of the ten largest recorded wildfires in California’s history happened since 2017
  • 381 survey responses
  • 27% have coverage under the California Fair Plan
    • Note that the average across California in 2021 was only 3% on the California Fair Plan
  • 13% reported having no homeowners insurance
  • 17% reported not being renewed (insurance company saying they will not renew for the coming policy year)
  • 15% reported having policies canceled (insurance company canceled coverage during the current policy year)
  • Cost of homeowners insurance
    • 40% reported paying between $2,500 and $5,000 annually for insurance.
      • This was up from 30% the prior year.
    • 17% reported paying between $5,000 and $7,500 annually for insurance.
      • This was up from 10% the prior year.
    • in 2021, the average paid at the national level was $1,441.
  • 58% report that more than 10% of after-tax income goes to paying insurance
  • Home Protection
    • 20% were less familiar with home hardening than defensible space
    • Many homeowners are putting in the work to make their homes more defensible’
  • Next Steps
    • Homeowners should apply for the discounts available
      • We have 14 fire-wise communities – this can make you eligible for discounts
      • The FSC will continue improving education, outreach and advocacy
      • The FSC asks the BOS to use this information to advocate
    • The board discussed sending letters to leaders and decision-makers calling for action based on the data reflected in survey results.
      • As a result of Supervisor Cox’s encouragement, RCRC is sending an updated version of the survey to all RCRC participating counties – encouraging them to conduct the survey and share their results.
      • FSC is sending to all other FSC groups in CA
      • Supervisor Leutwyler is meeting with the CEO of CSAC to discuss this matter.

B.3. Clerk of the Board – Receive a presentation from US Bureau of Reclamation regarding current Trinity Lake storage management releases due to recent storm events. No fiscal impact.

  • Laurie Larson, P.E. – Northern California Area Office
  • Shared a presentation with illustrations of the water management infrastructure.
  • Shared information regarding the capacity of each mechanism for releasing water
    • The Clear Creak Tunnel, a primary component of this system, is closed for maintenance until Spring (March)
  • Trinity Lake water level is currently 40’ higher than the same time last year.
  • Currently releasing 1,349 cfs for a total of 1,500 cfs near Lewiston Dam
  • The tunnel has a capacity of 3,600 cfs… but that is not available… meaning releases must go down the Trinity River
  • If inflows continue at a high level and the lake level increases, their protocol calls for an increase to the release volume
  • Currently seeing 3,600 cfs inflow
  • Safety of Dam release criteria (like Emergency Action Plan) details are not released to the public
  • Actively monitoring inflows, lake levels, etc… to determine if release volume should increase or decrease.
  • Mike Dixon – Synchronized Flow
    • Synchronized Flow release levels were ramping down when Safety of Dam flows began.
  • Central Valley Operations site has daily operational data – https://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvo/
  • CA data exchange center CDEC also has current conditions – https://cdec.water.ca.gov
  • The board brought up several questions and highlighted the potential economic impact associated with increased flows.

B.4. Clerk of the Board – Receive an update from U.S. Forest Service representatives regarding matters of interest in Trinity County. No fiscal impact.

  • Tara Jones | District Ranger
  • Ben Sundall returns to his position as Deputy District Ranger
  • Trinity Lake – transition plans are moving along as planned.
  • Temporary Staffing – we will have no non-fire temporary staffing this Summer
  • The Hyampom project is moving along with …. Planned for release this week.(10:02)
  • Trinity Center Airport – trees that were of concern have been trimmed or cleared.
  • Road Damage – planners are evaluating recent damage and pursuing funding.
C. PUBLIC COMMENT
  • Request made for information related to tourism funding sources.
  • Appreciation was offered for the awarding of tourism development funds to the Hayfork Chamber. Requested that the board approve a presentation by Brian Applegarth. https://brianapplegarth.com
  • Congratulations offered to Chair Gogan and Supervisor Brownfield. Noted Flora’s expansion into non-cannabis endeavors. This organization has returned to 15 team members.
  • Comments regarding cannabis-related board actions call for people to consider this timeframe a fresh start and for everyone to see this as a new board and not the one perhaps associated with the actions of past boards.
  • Comments in support of volunteer fire organizations – hoping for funding.
  • Concerns were raised regarding the need for blight-focused ordinance enhancements.
  • Congratulations offered to Chair Gogan and Supervisor Brownfield. Noted the absence of reports from department heads and requested that we return to more regular updates.
D. REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

D.1. Report from Department Heads – no reports

D.2. Report from County Administrative Officer

  • Department Head Updates – written updates provided regularly in writing to the CAO and board. Some of these are posted on the department’s website page. This will happen soon for all departments.
  • Newsletter – a monthly publication will begin later this month. Each newsletter will highlight a department and will include other information.
  • Automatic Notifications – everyone who wants to receive these from the county must sign up… even if they had signed up previously on the old website.
  • Mid-Year Budget Review – this will take place during the next board meeting. The focus will be on exceptions.

D.3. Reports from Members of the Board of Supervisors

  • District 1 | Ric Leutwyler
    • Homeless Encampments – I joined Supervisor Cox, Sergeant Trujillo, Deputy Wallen, and Health & Human Services representatives Jesse… and Scott… for a site visit last week. We met with parties involved in the encampments and with residents of the neighboring community. Our time together was very informative. As we will hear from CAO Tuthill during his update, there are many aspects of the problems and the solutions. I was very impressed with the knowledge of our staff, the work they are doing, and how they are doing it.
    • Jail Health – During meetings with the Sheriff’s Department and Health & Human Services, I learned of their coordinated effort to access a new funding source for Jail Health. This could potentially free up General Funds for other high-priority uses. Under-Sheriff Ward let me know this week that all staff have been scheduled for training on the new system that will be used to track time that will be funded from new revenue sources.
    • Economic Development Forecast Conference – I will attend this conference in Chico on Thursday. SCEDD – our regional economic development organization covered the cost of attendance for SCEDD Board Members.
    • Tourism Development – I developed a draft set of Bylaws for the Tourism Development Advisor Committee. This spells out the focus, structure, and expectations of the committee. The document will be brought to the board after review by County Counsel.
  • District 2 | Jill Cox
    • No out-of-county travel
    • RCRC – leave today for meetings
    • Economic Development Forecast Conference in Chico
    • Roderick Senior Center – working with them to address obstacles to receiving PSA2 funding.
    • Homeless Encampment – met with H&HS staff and the Sheriff’s office.

 

  • District 3 | Liam Gogan
    • No out-of-county travel
    • Acknowledged that he had been pulled over for a DUI last year. Initial and follow-up test results were negative.

 

  • District 4 | Heidi Carpenter-Harris
    • Planned Absence

 

  • District 5 | Julia Brownfield
    • No out-of-county travel
    • Planning regular office time and town hall meetings

 

E. CONSENT CALENDAR
  • The board approved all items on the Consent Calendar as presented.

 

F. COUNTY MATTERS

F.1. County Administrative Office – Adopt a resolution allowing for the refund of appeal fees. Unknown.

  • The board voted to approve this matter as presented.

F.2. County Administrative Office – Discuss and provide direction to staff regarding the homeless encampment topic as discussed in the December 17th, 2024 Board of Supervisors meeting. No fiscal impact.

  • CAO | Trent Tuthill
  • Appreciation is offered to all the departments and organizations involved in addressing these issues.
  • Acknowledged specific actions that have been taken in the past
  • Moving Forward
    • Recommends empathy without becoming a sanctuary jurisdiction for the homeless
    • Noted that it took time to get to this position and that it will take time to address the challenges.
    • Noted that our homeless challenges are much less than many other jurisdictions
    • Proposition 36 provides additional resources (and processes) that we will leverage.
    • Suggests establishing an Ad Hoc Committee to work with staff on this issue
      • Legal aspect – ordinance additions and changes
      • Vegetation Management – to make county lands less appealing for encampments
        • Could also work with private landowners
      • Community Engagement & Involvement
      • Enhanced Coordination between departments/agencies
      • Resource Allocation & Funding
  • Chair Gogan appointed himself and Supervisor Cox to a new Homeless Encampment Ad Hoc Committee.
    • CAO Tuthill will coordinate with appointed board members and staff to schedule meetings.
    • Committee updates to the board will provide an opportunity for communication and engagement.

F.3. Human Resources – Approve the job description, set the salary range, add to the alphabetical listing of classifications, and allocate to the Sheriff’s Office – Jail Division two (2) Custody Support Technicians at Range G151. Approximate cost in salary and benefits per month at A step for a Custody Support Technician is $4,568.

  • CAO | Trent Tuthill
  • This establishes a new classification for positions within the Jail staff.
  • The allocation of positions provides a way for these positions to be filled if/when funding is available.
  • Additional funding is not being requested at this time.
  • The salary for these positions is lower than others in Jail staff. This could become an entry-level path for people to move into higher level positions within Jail staff.
  • The board approved this matter as presented.
G. CLOSED SESSION

G.1. Government Code Section 54954.5(e) – Public Employee Evaluation: County Administrative Officer

  • Direction provided to staff
F. ADJOURN

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