Sharing Information | Encouraging Engagement
This meeting opened with public comment and updates from our CAO and each member of the Board of Supervisors — there were no in-person department head reports. The board approved all items on the Consent Calendar. Under County Matters, the board took up the county’s possible participation in the Post Mountain electrification grant, formally adopted the state’s Joint Strategy for Sustainable Outdoor Recreation and Wildfire Resilience as a guiding document, and received an update on the county’s Strategic Plan. The meeting closed with one item in closed session.
A. PUBLIC COMMENT
- Data centers – referencing a news story out of Shasta County, a commenter encouraged the county to be proactive in how it approaches data centers.
- September 11th ceremony – appreciation was offered to Supervisor Cox, Sonni DeMello, and the many others involved in this special event.
B. REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS
B.1. Report from Department Heads – no in-person reports.
B.2. Report from County Administrative Officer
- The budget books were published on September 8th, and the budget hearing is set for September 22nd. The public is welcome to reach out to arrange time with staff for questions on the budget or other matters.
- Thanks again to all who made the September 11th ceremony possible.
B.3. Reports from Members of the Board of Supervisors
- District 1 | Ric Leutwyler
- Sierra Nevada Conservancy – attended the board meeting in June Lake.
- Trinity County Fair – I’m working with a committee member on a site that could help share information and engage the public.
- Redwood Coast Region Economic Summit – Trinity County has two spots on the program. Evergreen Love will share her experience with Ah Home Chocolate as a North State entrepreneur in manufacturing, and I’ll have the chance to speak about our community-development efforts — What’s On in Trinity, small-business support, the Fire Chiefs Association hub, Women Entrepreneurs (more than 6,800 page views from 1,600 unique visitors, 142 women nominated and 36 now recognized on the site), the trails recreation economic-impact study (promising early results), and Weaverville Forward.
- Weaver Forward – we received encouraging news regarding our funding proposal to USDA Rural Development! If awarded, funding will primarily support key-stakeholder and community engagement, design and artist renderings, early scoping and due diligence on right-of-way issues, and a business/master plan to guide the next stages.
- NoRTEC – the hiring committee completed first interviews with five candidates who cleared initial screening; second interviews are later this month.
- Human Response Network – took part in the annual corporate meeting, where two volunteers were recognized for well over 1,000 hours of service on the Crisis Hotline.
- 25th Anniversary of September 11th – I was honored to emcee this wonderful commemoration; many thanks to Supervisor Cox, Sonni DeMello, and everyone who made it possible.
- Fire Chiefs Association – the meeting was canceled due to the deployment of our first strike team; I’m continuing to work with Dwight Stewart to fine-tune the new platform designed to support the chiefs.
- District 2 | Jill Cox
- RCRC Annual Meeting in Santa Barbara – will attend the budget hearing via Zoom. For the RCRC gift basket, Hayfork High School students created a stunning metal American flag.
- Minersville Boat Ramp – progress continues, with contracting through the Yurok Tribe and work toward the 100% design stage; the funding deadline can be extended.
- Cal LAFCO – she has been asked to apply for a seat on this board.
- September 11th ceremony – shared photos, encouraged everyone to watch the recording, and recognized Sonni DeMello, Chief Colby, and Jennifer Dobbs.
- Strike Team – our first strike team was recently deployed at 2:00 AM.
- District 3 | Liam Gogan
- Hayfork football – the team remains undefeated.
- Tobacco & youth – involved in meetings on this issue.
- Cannabis – Trailhead Apothecary, a dispensary in Hayfork, is now open.
- County Fair – town hall and fairgrounds meetings continue, with committees forming to support the Fair and fair dates being reconsidered; he encouraged people across the county to engage, noting this is not just a Hayfork matter.
- Fishing – the salmon return is over, which he considers “average at best,” and he continues to work with others on funding for hatchery renovations.
- District 4 | Heidi Carpenter-Harris
- NACo Public Lands and Rural Caucus – participated in recent meetings, including a presidential action on wolves (authorizing landowners to act when wolves attack livestock) and continued focus on Secure Rural Schools.
- Elections – working with Supervisor Cox on the upcoming election.
- County Fair – offered appreciation to Supervisor Gogan for his efforts.
- September 11th ceremony – especially enjoyed the “passing of the radio” reflecting youth engagement, and the recognition of the behind-the-scenes people who are so critical during emergencies.
- District 5 | Julia Brownfield
- Ruth Lake Festival – a great event.
- Bradburn Trail (USFS) – appreciation for the great work done on this long and somewhat difficult trail, now available to hikers, horses, and others.
B.4. Reports from Ad Hocs
- Tourism Funding – no report.
C. CONSENT CALENDAR
The board approved all items on the Consent Calendar as presented. These included approval of the September 1st meeting minutes; the reappointment of Benjamin Sarkisian and appointment of Tamiem Ansari and Karen Compton to the PSA2 Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council (four-year terms); an amendment with Mountain Communities Healthcare District for hospital preparedness planning; an amendment with Campora Propane Service; and an agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates for design and bidding services on the Trinity Center Airport runway reconstruction project ($374,942, funded through an FAA Airport Infrastructure Grant).
D. COUNTY MATTERS
D.1. Board of Supervisors – Discuss and/or provide direction regarding the County’s participation in Post Mountain PUD’s Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Project Development Grant — Post Mountain Electrification. Unknown fiscal impact.
- Presentation – Lisa Wright (Flowra) and a representative of Cannabis for Conservation (CFC) presented, building on the feasibility study completed earlier this year. CFC, a 501(c)(3), would continue as lead applicant and grant administrator, coordinating the partner work plan, budget, and reporting. The recommended path (Option B2) is interconnection with the Trinity PUD substation and distribution system to electrify Post Mountain. Pre-construction needs include infrastructure siting, engineering, environmental assessment, public involvement, and funding. The county was encouraged to join as a co-applicant, with a proposed role in the design stage estimated at roughly 245 hours of staff time over two years; without co-applicant status, county involvement would be limited to permitting.
- Timeline – CAO Tuthill noted the county received the initial email on August 17th and responded on August 19th; after the September 1st meeting, he and Supervisor Carpenter-Harris met with the Post Mountain PUD; on September 10th, the Trinity PUD approved participation as a co-applicant with a limited scope. He noted the county still needed clearer specifics on exactly what was being asked.
- Public comment was strongly supportive. The Post Mountain PUD described its leadership change since October 2024, completed audits, a legal matter dismissed in April 2026, and active volunteer road and fire departments, and the board president made a personal request for the county to become a co-applicant. Members of the Hmong community and others spoke to the daily challenges of living without electricity and urged the county to join.
- Board discussion noted that the county has not been a co-applicant on other special-district grant projects, that a governance agreement is still in development, that the staff-hour estimate looked reasonable (though the rates did not), and that funding would come through the Strategic Growth Council and possibly Prop 4.
Motion – agree to limited county involvement of up to five (5) hours of combined CAO and/or Community Development Director time to participate in a scoping discussion and assess a potential future role; and, if an appropriate plan is in place by the application deadline (including Trinity PUD participation as approved on September 10th) and concerns are adequately addressed, authorize the CAO to sign the grant application as a co-applicant. The board approved this motion.
D.2. Clerk of the Board – Adopt a resolution adopting California’s Joint Strategy for Sustainable Outdoor Recreation & Wildfire Resilience as a non-mandatory, guiding document. No fiscal impact.
CAO Tuthill noted this had been presented at a prior meeting; this was the opportunity to formally adopt it as a non-mandatory guiding document. The board approved this matter as presented.
D.3. County Administrative Office – Receive an update on the Trinity County Strategic Plan. No fiscal impact.
- CAO Tuthill walked through the September 2026 Strategic Plan update. Overall completion is now about 41%, up from 35% at the last update in February — a deliberately conservative figure given how early the county is in actively using the plan. Of the 51 key results, some are no longer as relevant and may be dropped or reprioritized.
- He highlighted progress across many areas, including public health accreditation and opioid-funded youth programs, emergency communications, jail health, communications and public engagement (with the new PIO role), the General Plan and zoning work, housing (including the coming pre-approved plans through PIP), the reestablished subdivision review committee, the TOT-funding process, a normalized cannabis program (now in the mid-to-high 300s in licenses), the Good Neighbor Authority, and significant IT and cybersecurity improvements since the 2023 cyber incident. He also described a grant-finding and grant-management AI platform the county is preparing to test.
- Ad hoc committee – the board approved a new ad hoc committee charged with a deeper review of the Strategic Plan — proposing changes to priorities, success measures, and the process for future review — and with helping prepare onboarding information for incoming supervisors. The committee will vet its recommendations with the CAO and department heads before presenting to the full board, and will dissolve upon completion. Supervisors Carpenter-Harris and Leutwyler were appointed.
- Chair Carpenter-Harris also provided a report from the prior meeting’s closed session.
E. CLOSED SESSION
E.1. Conference with Legal Counsel – Initiation of Litigation. No. of Cases: One (Government Code Section 54954.5(c)).
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