Board of Supervisors Meeting | 4.1.2025

by | Apr 11, 2025 | Economic Development, Get Involved, Stay Informed, Trinity Resources, Your Opinion Matters

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This board meeting included three presentations, over a dozen items on the Consent Calendar, and two items under County Matters.

A. PRESENTATIONS

A.1. County Administrative Office – Receive a presentation from Barbara Hayes on the Golden State Connect Authority Last Mile Round 2 Federal Funding Account application on behalf of Trinity County. No fiscal impact.

  • July 2021 SB 156 signed by the governor – $6 billion investment
    • $3.2 billion for middle mile (connects long distances)
    • $2 billion for last mile (connection from middle mile to end user)
    • $750 million for loan loss reserve (for use by local govt and nonprofits to support debt financing)
    • $50 million for local agency technical assistance
  • Golden State Connect Authority
    • Joint Powers Authority – December 2021
    • 40 member counties
    • The program of work includes:
      • Broadband Strategic Planning
      • Capacity Building, Information Sharing
      • Open Access Municipal Broadband Deployment.
    • Trinity County (and five other member counties) did not opt in for the first round of 37 submissions for funding
    • New application opportunities open only to the six counties that did not receive FFA/Last Mile round one funding awards.
    • The application window likely opens this month and will be open for two weeks.
    • Categories
      • Unserved – 25/3 Mbps or less
      • Underserved – less than 100/20 but greater than 25/3
      • Served – greater than 100/20
    • Working on FFA/last mile funding for Trinity County, Inyo, Monterey, and Calaveras
    • BEAD Program
      • Focused on unserved and underserved
      • Applicants must serve 100% of unserved/underserved within chosen census blocks
      • 25% of funds come in the form of a cash match
  • Board Discussion
    • What was the opt-in opportunity that Trinity County chose not to participate in?
      • Summer/Fall of 2023 – Trinity County chose not to participate due to CAO transition
      • We did use some funding to research South County’s needs
    • It appears that the goal of serving all is limited by partners who have funds to support cash matches.
      • This puts rural counties like ours at a disadvantage
    • How does satellite services
      • Not all end users should/will be reached by fiber/physical lines
      • This is an option for rural counties – Starlink could apply for BEAD funding
        • These companies access fiber for uplink/downlink to satellite
    • How and when will we learn which areas will be addressed in the application made by Golden State Authority on behalf of Trinity County?
      • As soon as they have finalized their research and proposal
      • CAO | Trent Tuthill authorized them to respond to this on our behalf
    • If successful, this will provide fiber optic hub(s) within Trinity County that can then be accessed by providers to serve end users.
    • Frontier will present to the board soon regarding their plans for a private project – this will mostly likely impact District 2 and some of District 1.

A.2. County Administrative Office – Receive an update from U.S. Forest Service representatives regarding matters of interest in Trinity County. No fiscal impact.

  • Tara Jones
  • Planning efforts moving forward.
    • Hyampom – signed last week, work to begin later this month
    • Bowerman – should be signed this month
    • Big Ranch – scoping in May
    • Junction City – scoping soon
    • South Mountain – receiving comments on scoping
  • Recreation site preparation for the season is underway
    • SMART Center is helping with this
    • Transfer of responsibility for Lewiston and Trinity Lakes is underway
    • Don’t expect closures… may be some reduced support
  • Jason Kiken (sp?) is our acting Regional Forester
  • Toured Trinity River Lumber Company
  • 18,000 acres of NEPA coverage represented by current projects
  • Training – inviting local partners for NEPA and Timber Readiness training.
  • Implementation
    • Burned 1,400 acres
    • Working with SPI regarding their fuel break contract
    • JPA continues to move forward
  • Staffing is looking good

A.3. Health and Human Services – CWS – Adopt a proclamation of appreciation which recognizes April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month. No fiscal impact.

  • The board approved this proclamation and presented it to staff
  • April 4th – wear blue campaign to highlight awareness
  • April 11th – event involving hundreds of children (6th – 8th grade) focused on online safety
  • April 12th – Lowden Park event for the community
B. PUBLIC COMMENT
  • Comments regarding the broadband presentation. Noted that Starlink-type services will likely be a better option for many in Trinity County. Believes that Starlink would need more satellites to fully cover Trinity County end users. Urged action to stimulate more volunteering.
  • Comments in support of Christine Gaffney and her staff for strong support of their local special district’s audit.
  • Requested an update regarding a previously stated effort for each district to identify properties that should be put in receivership. Feels the problem is getting much worse. Understands that funding was made available and a contractor arrangement made to support the effort.
C. REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

C.1. Report from Department Heads

  • Sheriff Saxon
    • Trinity County Search & Rescue
      • Hosted training provided by National Guard at Trinity High School
      • Recent rescue involved stranded campers
    • New graduate from required training for corrections
    • Town Hall meeting with Supervisor Brownfield
    • Boat rescue for people stranded in their boat on Trinity Lake
      • Will Oliver and Josh Ford recognized in a letter sent by the people who were rescued.

C.2. Report from County Administrative Officer

  • Trent Tuthill
    • Recognition received for Planning Division staff (Debbie, Angel, Bella) for their great support.
    • First Responder Communications – working with public safety communications group with CalOES regarding their system. It might be possible for us to leverage implementation of this platform within Trinity County.
    • Revenue Sources – spoke to Yuba Water Services organization (5 of 7 board positions held by Supervisors). They have the same role that BOR has for the Central Valley Project. It does not appear to be an option for us… but some information gathered could be of value.
    • Jail Health – the consent calendar includes items related to enhanced medical staff support for the Jail.
    • Secure Rural Schools Funding – the bill is at the committee level within Congress. Received feedback that letters of support from the board and others has made a positive impact.
      • We may not receive $1.5 million in road maintenance funds that we rely on for regular road maintenance.
      • It is still possible for this to pass in time for us to receive the funds before the end of the fiscal year.

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

  • District 1 | Ric Leutwyler
    • Trinity River Lumber Mill – toured operations with Heidi McHugh (representative for Assemblymember Chris Rogers). The facility is state of the art and the business is a major employer. Housing and access to local timber were raised as top challenges.
    • SCED Strategic Planning – led the ad hoc committee meeting to move the strategic planning process forward. SCED is our regional economic development organization.
    • Tourism Development Advisory Board – held our second meeting. Addressed key questions such as:
      • Name – Trinity County Tourism Development Corporation. This will be a new nonprofit formed during the process.
      • Geography – currently focusing on a county-wide approach.
      • Scope/Focus – currently focusing on lodging businesses only.
      • Assessment Value – currently focusing on a 3% assessment.
      • Ad Hoc Committee – amended bylaws to enable creation of an ad hoc committee that can work on details between advisory board meetings.
    • Low Impact Camping – shared information for consideration during our work on the General Plan. Organizations like Hip Camp help people find camping sites to rent much like AirBnb and VRBO help people find rooms, apartments, or homes to rent.
  • District 2 | Jill Cox
    • Fire Safe Council – letter will be sent to federal officials regarding importance of funding
    • RCRC Board Meeting
      • Tracking a number of bills that could impact Trinity County. Several of these on our agenda.
    • First Five – subcommittee working on needs that should be incorporated into the strategic plan.
    • Heidi McHugh’s (Assemblymember Chris Rogers’ representative) visit went very well. Thanks given to all those who supported via meetings and tours.
  • District 3 | Liam Gogan
    • TMC Meeting
      • Approved a flow schedule for the year – based on “wet year” rating
      • Expect Trinity Lake to reach 90% full
    • Town Hall Meeting – 30 to 40 people attended
    • Hayfork Scholarship Fundraiser coming up.
  • District 4 | Heidi Carpenter-Harris
    • TMC Meeting
    • Secure Rural Schools Funding – encouraged Trinity County residents (and their friends and families) to reach out regarding this matter with letters of support, emails, etc.
    • Trinity County Collaborative – recent meeting was very informative. Encouraged by reports of staffing within our forests in the face of federal funding cuts.
    • CalOES Update
      • Homeowners Insurance up 61% since 201… and now represents 29% of total monthly payments… 11:15 am
    • SBDC (small business development center) – reported a great experience working with this organization. Strongly recommends this organization to small business owners.
  • District 5 | Julia Brownfield
    • Roads – DOT will visit district 5 soon to observe road issues first hand
    • Town Hall Meetings continue – 20 to 25 people attending
    • Post Mountain PUD Meeting – scheduled in April
    • Trinity Journal – Patsy Lewis is gathering information to share on behalf of district 5.

C.4. Reports from Ad Hocs

• Homeless Encampment

  • Next meeting on 4.10.2025 at 2:00 PM
  • Vegetation Management work continues
  • Encampment Tours being planned
D. CONSENT CALENDAR
  • The board approved all items on the consent calendar as presented.
E. COUNTY MATTERS

E.1. Board of Supervisors – Discuss and/or take action to appoint Supervisor Carpenter-Harris’ selection for Planning Commissioner – District 4 to serve a term concurrent with District 4 Supervisor. No fiscal impact.

  • Supervisor Carpenter-Harris
    • Shared that Don Ellis submitted his resignation as district 4 Planning Commissioner
    • She received letters of interest and calls – most of these people determined the time commitment was too great. One determined there might be too many requirements for recusal
    • Recommends Duncan McIntosh as the new Planning Commissioner for District 4.
  • Public Comment
    • Comment offered in support of Duncan McIntosh based on strong performance during previous term on the Planning Commission.
  • The board approved this matter as presented.

E.2. Community Development – Cannabis – Introduce and waive the reading of an ordinance amending Trinity County Code Section 17.43 pertaining to Commercial Cannabis Cultivation Regulations and Section 17.32 pertaining to Use Permits. Unknown fiscal impact.

  • Drew Plebani | Cannabis Division Director
    • Provided background and presented the amendment.
    • Recent situation illustrated that the ordinance (as written) requires automatic denial, rather than allowing the matter to be taken to the Planning Commission without first requiring an appeal.
    • The Planning Commission voted in support of the amendment presented today.
  • Public Comment
    • Comment in support of the amendment. Suggested consideration of additional mitigation efforts in situations like the one referenced above. Supports the need for both parties to be heard.
    • Comment in support of the amendment.
    • Comment in support of the amendment. Offered appreciation for the quick response by staff to address this situation. Encouraged the creation of an opportunity for the commercial cultivator to have this matter considered by the Planning Commission based on this amendment.
    • Comments
  • Board Discussion
    • The board discussed additional changes to address concerns related to “legacy” sites, reference to legal dwellings (vs. residential structure), etc.
  • Public Comment
    • Concern that the changes just discussed are too extensive to do on the fly.
    • Suggestion that additional time may be required for the level of change discussed by the board.
    • Comments in support of moving forward since there will be a second reading.
  • The board approved a revised set of amendments to reflect additional concerns brought up during discussions. There will be a second reading for this amendment.
Closed Session Report
  • Existing Litigation – Direction was given
  • Threat to Public Services – No Reportable Action
ADJOURN

 

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