The Redding City Council on Tuesday took action on issues of varying levels of import, but one of its first orders of business was the annual reorganization.
With a 5-0 vote, the council decided that Missy McArthur will serve as mayor during her final year on the council; Councilman Brent Weaver is now the vice mayor and Councilwoman Kristen Schreder will serve as mayor pro tempore.
Following the vote, Francie Sullivan was presented with the mayor’s appreciation gavel. “She shows up for everything,” McArthur said during the brief ceremony. “She’s been a really dedicated mayor and council member.” McArthur also praised Sullivan’s relationship with city staff.
Outgoing Mayor Francie Sullivan talks about her love of Redding as the new mayor, Missy McArthur, looks on. Photo by Jon Lewis.
“I’m an unabashed, passionate lover of the city of Redding,” Sullivan happily conceded. “I like living here and I love being part of the city government. I’m grateful every day that we live in a place that we have so many dedicated people looking after our wellbeing.
“After five years on the council, I have a whole new appreciation for the lights coming on and the toilets flushing and the garbage going away. I know how that happens now. Thank you for the pleasure of being your mayor.”
Prevailing wages
In other action Tuesday, the council:
–Voted 4-1, with Councilman Gary Cadd dissenting, to free the Shasta-Trinity Fly Fishers from an obligation to pay prevailing wages during construction of a 3,100-square-foot clubhouse on Clover Creek Preserve land the group is leasing from the city.
Terms of the lease call for the nonprofit group to build and maintain the clubhouse and two restrooms with public access. After 25 years, the clubhouse will revert back to city ownership.
City Attorney Barry DeWalt said in his opinion, the city was not offering a below-market lease rate or other benefit to the club that would trigger the prevailing wage requirement. On the contrary, he said, the city will be receiving more from the Fly Fishers than the 5,000 square feet of land is worth on the open market.
Cadd opposed amending the contract with the Fly Fishers, saying he feared another protracted battle with trade unions similar to the issues surrounding the Sheraton Hotel project at Turtle Bay. “It looks to me like we could be walking into another lawsuit,” Cadd said.
The new council: Gary Cadd, left, Mayor Pro Tem Kristen Schreder, Mayor Missy McArthur, Vice Mayor Brent Weaver and Francie Sullivan. Photo by Jon Lewis.
Rod Dinger returns
–The council voted unanimously to waive the 180-day wait period set by CalPERS so that outgoing Support Services Director Rod Dinger can be rehired to complete negotiations with an (as yet) unidentified airline to add service to Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.
Dinger, the longtime airports director who is scheduled to retire Tuesday, has been actively involved in efforts to expand flight service at Redding Municipal Airport. City Manager Kurt Starman said negotiations with the unidentified airline should be completed within six months, if not sooner.
REU Linemen to the rescue
–Randy Howard, general manager of the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA), traveled from Roseville to attend Tuesday’s council meeting and thank the Redding Electric Utility linemen who responded to the devastating Valley Fire in Lake County to help restore a 21-kilovolt distribution system.
The NCPA is a consortium of 14 nonprofit utilities, including Redding, which provides its members with energy purchasing, aggregation and management services. It also operates a pair of massive geothermal energy plants at The Geysers in Lake County.
The Valley Fire, which started on Sept. 12, burned 76,000 acres and destroyed 2,000 structures. The blaze also took out NCPA’s 21-kilovolt distribution system that delivers 5 percent of California’s energy needs. As part of a mutual aid agreement, Redding Electric Utility was one of 10 utilities to send a crew of linemen to help get the system back online.
“Redding didn’t have a stake in the project but they sent a crew anyway,” Howard said. The emergency response team restored the entire system in five days, Howard said. Officials had expected the project to take 10 days.
