Board of Supervisors Meeting | 2.7.23

by | Feb 12, 2023 | Get Involved, Stay Informed, Your Opinion Matters

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The first BOS meeting of February included a number of important items, including a presentation regarding our Department of Transportation, updates, a public hearing for our Regional Transportation Plan, and more.  Here are the notes I took during the meeting. Please understand that this is not meant to be a comprehensive documentation of discussions and decisions that took place.

PUBLIC COMMENT

  • Comments shared regarding building permits

REPORTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • DOT | Panos Kokkas
    • General department overview provided regarding DOT – including a slide show
    • Highway Bridge Program covers 100% of costs for the replacement of (approved) bridges
    • Pre-Covid… 13,375 passengers using transit services
    • Five Airports (Trinity Center, Weaverville, Hayfork, Ruth, Hyampom)
    • There was a slide showing the relative impact on roads of different types of vehicles.
    • 2016-2022 Backlog of disaster-related road damage of 200+ sites… $25,000,000+
    • Jan 2023 Initial disaster-related damage of 15 projects and $20,000,000+
    • Scheduled CIP $6,300,000
    • 52 allocated positions – 10 critical vacancies (Deputy Directory/Engineer, Civil Engineers, Road Maintenance Workers, Transit Drivers)
    • Interesting slides regarding Road Funding Formula and Sources
    • Financial Squeeze
      • The gas tax last increased in 1994.
      • The cost of repairs is up 60%
      • Electric vehicle use is lowering the amount of gas tax generated
    • The lack of personnel limits our efforts beyond financial limitations – meaning, we could achieve a lot more if we could fill the vacant positions within this department.
  • Sheriff | Tim Saxon
    • Emergency Communications – Frontier Communications has not provided information on timing of project completion
    • 6,716 calls for services last year – a breakdown as also provided
    • 1,846 Fire & Rescue calls
    • 1,701 Incident Reports
  • CAO | Liz Hamilton
    • Fee schedules will be on the next agenda
  • BOS
    • Heidi Carpenter-Harris
      • Public meeting in Junction City this week
      • Requested that Garret Rd (Hyampom) be on the agenda for next week
    • Liam Gogan
      • PATH meeting update
      • Volunteer Fire Departments – met with leaders of these organizations in his District
    • Dan Frasier
      • Update regarding committee meetings
      • Proposed changes could lead to limitations on prescribed burning
      • Elected Secretary for CGT CAP
        • Liam Gogan was named the second primary member for this committee
    • Jill Cox
      • Shared ongoing public interest in solutions to snow maintenance for Volunteer Fire Departments
      • Broadband efforts continue
      • RCRC – they have a strong onboarding process… including the assignment of a mentor
      • UC Cooperative Extension – established contact with a new team member who serves Trinity County (among others).  He will present to the board in March.
      • Sites Reservoir Project representative(s) will present to the board at our next meeting. (1.8 million acre-feet storage)
      • Minersville Boat Ramp – the letter needed to move things forward has been delivered
      • Water Management Ad Hoc Committee established.
        • Liam Gogan, Heidi Carpenter-Harris
  • Ad Hoc Reports

 

    • Good Neighbor Authority | Jill Cox
      • brief update emphasizing strong collaboration by USFS and County Staff involved.
      • USFS is taking back input/expectations provided by Trinity County
    • Strategic Plan | Ric Leutwyler
      • The leadership team is working with the strategic plan template to flesh out the plan.
      • The outputs will include the refinement of deliverables, specific action plans, success criteria, goals, timelines, key dependencies, and more.
    • Cannabis Division Finances | Drew Plebani
      • working with Ric Leutwyler on the documentation of assumptions and financial forecast.
      • Shared examples of Key Assumptions that are being documented to guide a Financial Forecast
      • Estimate $3,000,000 year in tax revenues once the program is fully in place
      • Code Enforcement Fines – over $6,000,000 issued… over $3,000,000 received.
  • Closed Session Report
    • Chair Cox provided an update on matters covered during prior closed sessions.

CONSENT CALENDAR

  • The board approved the consent calendar as presented

PUBLIC HEARINGS

  • Regional Transportation Plan
    • This marked the end of the year-long process to establish our Regional Transportation Plan.
    • A presentation was delivered by the consulting organization that led this process on behalf of Trinity County
    • Gathering public input was key to the process – 14 community meetings, 3 BOS meetings, etc.
    • 20 year plan includes $672,000,000 proposed for projects
      • $270,000,000 shortfall (for the 20 year view)
      • Nearer-term initiatives are well funded… the shortfall is for later-term initiatives.
    • Information regarding specific projects can be found via the DOT website and the site established for this initiative.  Here is a link to this site.
    • Public Comment
      • Concern was shared that transportation services that support health-related programs are prioritized.
    • The board approved the RTP as presented

COUNTY MATTERS

  • Waiver Policy
    • the proposed/new policy is designed to establish an updated approach to granting waivers.
    • Provides additional authority to the CAO
    • Waiver requests above $1,000 would still come to the board
    • Direction was provided to Staff for further development of the policy and related procedures.
    • This will be brought back to the board for consideration.
  • Committee Appointment
    • Chair Cox assigned Heidi Carpenter-Harris as the second primary for the North Coast Resource Partnership Committee
  • Planning Commissioners
    • The board approved the ongoing appointment of Carol Fall as Planning Commissioner for District 1
    • The board approved the appointment of Don Ellis as Planning Commissioner for District 4
    • Public Comments
      • Some comments in support of retaining Commissioner McIntosh
  • Solid Waste Hearing Panel
    • Environmental Health | Kristi Anderson
      • Explained that the code requires the appointment of someone outside the departments of Environmental Health and Solid Waste.
      • Chair Cox appointed Dan Frasier as the second primary for this Panel
  • Fee Waiver Request
    • Request for waiver of $2,296 in Building Department fees
    • This organization received a waiver of fees in the amount of $10,000+ last year
    • The board denied this fee waiver request.
  • Modify Allocation for Health and Human Services
    • Adding allocation of staff with no impact on the general fund
    • The board approved this request

 

CLOSED SESSION

  • The first item pulled from the agenda
  • An update regarding items covered during the closed session is provided by our Board Chair during the following BOS meeting.

I hope these notes are helpful in your efforts to stay informed about county matters.  For a more comprehensive understanding of what took place…

 

Sharing Information  |  Encouraging Engagement