Tuesday’s Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting was the last BOS meeting of 2023; also the last meeting chaired by District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones.
Come January, District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye will be Shasta County’s new board chair, and District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom the board’s new vice chair.
The Dec. 19 meeting’s live streaming video and agenda are available here. Video timestamps are provided in parenthesis.
The invocation was provided by Deacon Mike Mangas of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church.
Chair Patrick Jones announced that the supervisors would take a hard break around for noon for closed session discussions of agenda items R13 through R16.
R14, the performance review for CEO David Rickert was rescheduled because he was absent Tuesday.
Board Matters
R1 A retirement plaque was presented to Health and Human Services Agency Economic Mobility Deputy Branch Director Julie Hope who stepped down from her position after more than 30 years of service to Shasta County. She offered some parting words that included her observations and opinions about the county’s current state of affairs.(04:18)
Surrounded by supervisors and her family, Julie Hope — third from right – holds a retirement recognition plaque.
R2 Resource Management Director Paul Hellman and Associate Director Adam Fieseler made a presentation regarding the results of the Palo Cedro planning strategy survey and provided direction to staff regarding the initiation of amendments to the Shasta County Zoning Plan and/or other planning efforts for Palo Cedro. There were 9 public commenters on R2. Concerns were voiced by the board about rezoning and whether a steering committee was necessary or if the recommendations already gathered were sufficient. A motion was made and seconded to revisit the steering committee and passed 4-1, with Chair Jones casting the no vote. (21:27)
R3 The Board heard an update from Christy Coleman from Health & Human Services on the AT HOME Plan and endorsed the Steering Committee’s strategic plan. There were 5 public commenters. The motion to endorse passed unanimously. (1:08)
R4 Carolyn Sunseri, Director of Marketing and Stakeholder Relations of Golden State Finance Authority made a presentation, regarding the GSFA “Assist to Own” financial assistance to County staff homebuyers (sponsored by Supervisor Garman). There was one public commenter. (1:36)
R5 John Andoh, Transit General Manager of the Redding Area Bus Authority (RABA) spoke to the BOS on the state of RABA.
Supervisor Jones remarked that for every dollar spent financing RABA, the return is eight cents. Supervisor Garman stated that only 1% of the RABA budget was spent on marketing. Andoh said that when RABA did aggressive marketing in 2009 and 2010, which resulted in a ridership increase; when marketing decreased, so did riders. RABA has acquired funding for an updated marketing plan. Andoh said that in the next budget period, he would like to increase marketing to better the number of riders and the return on investment. Supervisor Crye asked Andoh his thoughts on electric buses going to Burney. Andoh said it would be a struggle. They would require chargers in both Burney and Redding and the bus(s) would need to be charged between trips. There were three public commenters. (1:54)
Public Comment – Open Time
There were twelve speakers during the public comment period.
Chair Jones announced that the BOS would be going into hard break for 1 hour 15 minutes for lunch and then closed session, during which R13 would be discussed. R14 was rescheduled to a later date. One public commenter spoke about R15 and R16. (Adjourned 3:07)
The board returned from the hard break. (3:08)
Chair Jones said there was no reportable action on R13, R15 and R16. Open comment time was resumed.
Because the BOS returned from the hard break earlier than Jones had previously announced, four people who had filled out cards prior to the break with intentions to speak when the meeting reconvened were not present when Jones pulled their cards and called upon them to speak.
Three people who were on the premises following the break did make public comments.
Tracy Neal
R6. Tracy Neal urged the board to approve a letter of opposition to Assembly Bill 702, which proposes redirecting Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act funds, revising the composition of local Juvenile Justice Coordinating Councils, and recasting various elements of required multi-agency juvenile justice plans.
Supervisor Crye expressed interest in helping write the letter. Supervisor Rickert informed Crye that the draft letter was in the current board packet.
Supervisor Garman noted this letter needs to be received by the state assembly by the end of 2023. Neal stated she had already drafted a letter and sent it to the CEO analysts who added some specific language regarding local impacts on the probation department and services to the community, and that letter could be used as a template. She stated the likelihood of this bill passing is high; other counties are also drafting letters of opposition and it needs to be addressed timely. One public speaker was opposed to sending the letter. the motion to approve a letter to oppose AB 702 passed unanimously. (3:32)
Regular Calendar Continued
County Administrative Office
R6 Take the following actions: (1) Receive an update from the County Executive Officer on County issues and consider action on specific legislation related to Shasta County’s legislative platform; (2) consider approving a letter of opposition to Assembly Bill 702 which proposes redirecting Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act funds, revising the composition of local Juvenile Justice Coordinating Councils, and recasting various elements of required multi-agency juvenile justice plans; and (3) receiving Supervisors’ reports on countywide issues.
Deputy CEO Erin Bertain announced a likely $68 billion shortfall in the California budget between this budget year and next. largely due to reduced income tax receipts as well as lower-than-expected corporate taxes. She said there were a number of options to meet the balanced budget deadline. She said it is unknown at this time which direction the state will go regarding meeting the shortfall. (3:33)
BOS moved on to supervisors’ reports regarding countywide issues. (3:41) Highlights included:
District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye: LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commissions ) hired a new CEO. He attended peer court. Urged people to attend city council meetings; “Redding is the one that’s a little bit more important because that has the $8.3 million encampment funds that they’ll be voting on.”
He attended “SRTA [Shasta Regional Transportation Agency) board meeting last week… that was actually, it was nice to see that we’re starting to, as a board start to look at ways we can push back on electric buses going to Burney. And it was nice having John here from RABA earlier, giving that presentation…. again, I think more local control and the more creative ways we can do to differentiate ourselves in Shasta County from San Francisco or Sacramento or bigger cities, the better…”
Crye said he attended Shasta County’s new-employee orientation where there were three new deputies or jail employees. “I don’t remember their exact classification but one of them said, they made a joke that they were overpaid… babysitters… I don’t think they get enough credit for what they’re doing because that isn’t the best job.”
District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom: December 5 he attended the SCOE (Shasta County Office of Education) meeting at Anderson High School. He said that Cascade School District will be divided into five separate sections, so when school board members are elected they will be from five separate districts rather than overall. On December 8 there was a water rights meeting at the Cottonwood Community Center.
District 2 Supervisor Tim Garman: He has been working with Troy Bartholomew about a fire hydrant in Igo-Ono, and his department is working with the state and RCRC to research a grant, the CBDG grant which would fall under hazard mitigation.
He has received complaints from French Gulch residents about drivers speeding on Main Street. Consequently, speed limit and radar signs were ordered and received and will be placed within the next week or two.
Garman said he had an hour-long meeting with Dr. James Mu. “He’s coming into a very challenging position. Obviously, I don’t agree with him closing his practice … I do think this gentleman will work hard for our county … he’s going to try to do what’s best for Shasta County.”
Garman talked about his personal experience trying to obtain an insurance policy for his adult son, and difficulty doing so because many insurance companies are not writing new policies, and those that do are charging very high premiums.
District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert: The Palo Cedro fire department has its new digital sign up. She gave credit to Paul Hellman for doing a great job on the Fountain Wind opposition. She attended the Shasta County Fire Safe Council. They are continuing to get grants including one on Bull Skin Road and one on the Phillips property for fuel reduction.
She attended the LAFCO meeting where one of the topics of discussion was what’s been going on in Fall River Valley with their fire departments.
She was asked to be a panelist for Leadership Redding. She had a meeting with Redding City Councilman Mark Mezzano.
She attended the Planning Commission meeting and said the county’s second biomass facility is moving forward with sawmills to fill a niche market. This biomass project in Burney will employ 20 to 30 people.
She attended the SRTA meeting.
District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones: Attended Mountain Gate Community Services District meeting, the RABA meeting going over the five-year transit plan, and the SRTA meeting. He said SRTA was going to be accepting a grant for hydrogen but the majority of the board did not approve that grant. “I believe that was the appropriate direction to go.”
He said he hosted his town hall meeting with Dr. Doug Frank – ” … had some great information, some eye-opening information”.
He was in contact with the sheriff’s department and “there is a case on some of the information.” Attended LAFCO and the election commission meeting.
BOS moved on to county agenda items. (3:57)
R7 Erin Bertain gave a slide show update on R7. (3:59) Take the following actions regarding Shasta County’s allocation of funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA): (1) Receive a presentation from the County Administrative Office regarding progress on approved projects; (2) make determinations regarding potential reallocation of funding; and (3) authorize the County Executive Officer to adjust the amount allocated among approved projects as needed.
There was one public commenter on R7. It passed unanimously.
R8 Approve the proposed 2024 Board of Supervisors meeting calendar. (4:18)
Jones said Crye had some input on that. Supervisors discussed the 2024 meeting calendar.
District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye: “Really, this – what I wanted to eliminate was special meetings. And I think one of the things I’ve talked to with other department heads was when there was gaps of two or three weeks, there was a rush to get things on the agenda. So I think a county of our size with a budget similar to ours of 600-plus million dollars warrants us being available most weeks of the year. This is returning to a calendar very similar to 10-12 years ago, and one of the things that we made very clear was if we don’t have enough items on an agenda we can cancel a meeting … you’ll see in the proposed calendar there’s more night meetings. I do think it’s important to get more of the public engaged in local government. So we have a few extras. A couple of those are on Thursdays. We moved some meetings late in the year because of holidays and where those fall, I think it was important to try and have those meetings in a timely way. The last thing I would say too is if you look at like, one of the things, I mean, if we wanted to as a board talk about, you know, eliminating a week, like now, like July 9 would be a date that we could say because of all the meetings in June and then with the one coming after the 4th of July holiday, I did consider not putting a meeting on July 9, but I did it because I wanted to have the discussion of all of us together at one time. I’m okay leaving it as is for July 9. But if we were to try and put a week in there where there wasn’t a scheduled meeting, I think July 9 would be that meeting.”
District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones: “I think there’s 42 meetings, more meetings than we’ve had this year. Not necessarily with the special meetings but, uh, a lot of meetings and more night meetings as well.”
District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert: “I’m a little concerned about moving these to Thursday. I think that’s going to be confusing for the public … I think it’s difficult, the shift to Thursday meetings because people are just not programmed, they’re used to having our meetings on Tuesdays … I’m a little concerned about staff getting burned out. These are a lot of work for staff… I don’t know if we necessarily have to have this many meetings, and perhaps we could alleviate one, you know, in the month of July and August in particular…. I don’t know if we’re going to have the amount of agenda items to fill five Tuesdays in July.”
Rickert added that the increased number of 2024 meetings – as many as five a month in some cases – could disenfranchise residents who live further away, and in higher elevations, such as many people in her rural district, who’d be less likely to attend more frequent meetings – including night meetings — in poor weather conditions that could bring snow and icy driving conditions.
There was one public commenter.
The proposed 2024 calendar was adopted on a 4-1 vote, with Rickert voting no.
R9 Miguel Rodriguez from Health and Human Services Agency-Behavioral Health and Social Services spoke regarding R9, approving a retroactive renewal agreement with Vista Pacifica Enterprises, Inc., for adult residential treatment services in an amount not to exceed $7,500,000 covering three years, and designate signing authority for amendments and termination.
Three public commenters. R9 passed unanimously.
Support Services
R10 (4:38) Take the following actions: (1) Adopt a salary resolution which amends the Shasta County Salary Schedule to increase the salary range of the County Counsel position; and (2) approve an at-will employment agreement with Joseph Larmour which appoints him as County Counsel effective April 8, 2024, or other date as agreed upon between Mr. Larmour and the Chair of the Board of Supervisors, establishes his compensation at the F-step salary range ($115.56 per hour/$20,030 per month), provides a $20,000 sign-on bonus, automobile allowance, and states related terms and conditions of employment.
Monica Fugate presented this item.
Garman asked about the vehicle allowance, and if that was a normal item. Rickert asked, “Did any of you do your due diligence and call the references? And did you get any feedback?”
Crye responded, “I did. I have great faith in support services Monica Fugate and her staff. If you don’t, you could bring it up to her.”
Rickert: “This has nothing to do with Monica. I have a responsibility to the citizens of Shasta County to call the references, and I did, and I didn’t exactly get a resounding positive feedback. So I am quite concerned about this selection.”
Jones said, “The main reason we weren’t getting a lot of applicants in this position was because of the low pay.”
Rickert responded, “I take exception to that … we’ve gone through four county counsels who are perfectly capable, highly, in my opinion, highly capable, highly qualified. And I feel like we’re taking a step down.”
Jones replied to Rickert, “Your concerns have been noted.”
Larmour was hired as the county’s newest county counsel on a 3-2 vote, with Garman and Rickert voting no.
There was one public commenter.
(4:55) R11 Approve an amendment to the at-will employment agreement with James Mu, M.D., Health Officer, which modifies the severance package (sponsored by Supervisor Jones).
Monica Fugate gave an overview of the modified severance package increase from nine months to 18 months.
Jones said the severance package “is to protect this person. This is probably one of the most difficult positions to fill and I am extremely impressed with Dr. Mu and wanted to give him some protections.”
Rickert said: “I feel badly for every single employee in Shasta County that for some reason, that somebody has come in brand new that we’re protecting him. What about all the almost 2000 employees that we have right now that need our protection?”
Garman agreed with Rickert.
Crye said, “To protect the front-line staff, leadership has to be protected first.”
One public commenter. R11 passed 3-2 vote, with Garman and Rickert casting the dissenting votes.
(5:07) R12 Approve classification specifications for a new position of Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) Attorney I/II/III and adopt a Salary Resolution, effective December 31, 2023, which adds the new class series of HHSA Attorney I/II/III to the Shasta County Salary Schedule and adds 1.0 full-time equivalent HHSA Attorney I/II/III allocation to the HHSA Budget (BU 502). Monica Fugate presented this to the BOS.
The acting county counsel — filling in for interim county counsel Gretchen Stuhr — said the county counsel’s office only became aware of this proposal last week. She was unsure how county counsel views this. Passed 4-1, with Rickert voting no.
The meeting adjourned. (5:20)
