The regularly scheduled Tuesday morning meeting of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors was called to order at 9:00 a.m. on August 13, 2024. The complete video and agenda are available here. Timestamps are in parentheses.
(1:58) CALL TO ORDER
The Invocation was conducted by Pastor Charles White, First United Methodist Church. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Supervisor Tim Garman.
REGULAR CALENDAR
Members of the public may comment on any item on the Regular Calendar before or during the Board’s consideration of the item. Members of the public may also address matters scheduled for public hearings at the time such public hearings are opened for comment. Those wishing to participate in public comment for Regular Calendar items must submit a speaker request card to the Clerk of the Board before public comment on the item begins. Each speaker is allocated three minutes to speak. All speaker request cards submitted after public comment for each Regular Calendar item begins will not be heard by the Board.
Board Matters
(3:26) R1 Adopt a resolution which recognizes Grant Lopus, Community Service Officer III, of the Sheriff’s Department as Shasta County’s Employee of the Month for August 2024.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Supervisor Chris Kelstrom read the resolution.
(3:42) Supervisor Kelstrom: Grant Lopus has served the Shasta County Sheriff’s Department since he began working for the county in February of 2008. Grant is a patient person who listens to others while giving them effective resolutions. Grant specializes in an abandoned vehicle abatement where he monitors a dedicated phone line, working with the community. When complaints come in, in this assignment Grant frequently works with the public and always endeavors to be polite and professional to citizens who contact the Sheriff’s Department. Grant deals with citizens who are sometimes unhappy or frustrated with Shasta County policies and procedures, yet in each instance, Grant takes the time to explain and shows those individuals patience and understanding. Grant also takes great care to foster positive relationships between the Sheriff’s Department and local partnerships such as local tow companies that he collaborates with and coordinates to remove abandoned vehicles.
Through Grant’s diligence and dedication to his work, he has become well versed in all aspects of the enforcement division including investigations, report writing and calls for service. The Community Service Officer classification requires a person who has a wide range of knowledge and multiple subjects and skills, takes initiative to resolve issues as they arise, work autonomously and with the capability to locate necessary resources to complete a task. Grant is constantly striving to come up with ideas to better utilize productivity and manage the county’s resources responsibly. Grant’s role in the division requires him to maximize assets, effectively achieve goals and constantly multitask between the needs of the vehicle abatement program, the deputies administration, coworkers, citizens, the patrol vehicle fleet and a multitude of other necessary tasks.
Additionally, Grant can be redirected from vehicle abatement to take calls for general service including being sent out to work a crime scene or a burglary case at a moment’s notice if a call comes into dispatch. In instances where his coworkers have been juggling multiple tasks, Grant recognizes ways to assist and make work more efficient before help was asked for. Grant is an inspiration to staff within the office as he helps the department run efficiently through his hard work, dedication to his job and the positive attitude. Grant has continuously shown his strength of active listening to support the citizens of Shasta County, thus setting a high bar for professionalism and customer service, making him a role model for current and future employees. For the reasons stated above, the Employee Recognition Committee recommends Grant Lopus, Community Service Officer lll of the Sheriff’s Department to be selected as Employee of the Month for August 2024.
(6:40) Sheriff Michael Johnson: We are ecstatic that he has been selected as the Shasta County Employee of the Month because of his service and dedication to the citizens of Shasta County. Probably the two biggest things that generate complaints from the public are animals and vehicles and vehicle abatements. And I tell you that because Grant has inherited the vehicle abatement program for the past six months and I’m sure he’s been getting earfuls and quite an understanding of those type of complaints that come in, not because he’s not doing his job correctly. It’s just the nature of the business and people’s possessions. He started his career with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office in 2008. He was originally assigned to the custody division working at the jail as a Public Service Officer.
After 13 years in the main jail as a commissioner officer, jail training officer, a booking officer and assisting correctional deputies with daily checks, Grant was offered the opportunity to promote to Community Service Officer, in which role he fills now and assigned to our South County patrol station. Also his duty as a community service officer, we only have two of them currently working and are only slotted for four. And they serve a variety of functions across the board for us at the Sheriff’s Department as they do at any police or sheriff’s agency. Their duties are vast. They’re asked to do many different things. They’re pulled from their primary duties to help arrange events, to help with special tasks, special projects, maintaining the stations, a lot of different things they’re asked to do. And I can tell you one of the reasons Grant has been selected and is standing before you today is because he has such a good attitude. He never balks when he’s asked to do something outside his normal scope of duties. And he is very pleasant with our public in any capacity, that he is serving a fine representation of Shasta County.
Countywide, he has in just six months abated 67 abandoned vehicles and addition to that, 28 in the Shingletown area alone. He does struggle as many of the abatement people do with the recreational vehicles and boats because of a place to take them. But he’s working hard on finding those loopholes and being creative and finding ways to get those things out an. He always has a smile on his face, greets everybody, takes on any challenge as I mentioned.
When I talked to his lieutenant just before coming here, his lieutenant had these things to say about him. He said, first and foremost he’s always punctual, above and beyond punctual. He’s there way early before his actual shift starts. He’s dependable. that uses them for every, do any and all duties that are that they need. He’s dedicated and he has a great attitude and there would be more commanders here standing up and supporting him today except unfortunately, we scheduled a commander’s meeting at the same time of the board of supervisors this morning. So all of them are over there. His division commander captain is here to support him as well. So we’d just like to take a moment and thanking the board of supervisors in the county for selecting Grant Lopez.
Grant Lopus
(10:43) Grant Lopus: I just want to thank the sheriff’s office and the county. I wish we could give the employee of the month to all the sheriff’s office. Everybody works really hard and I appreciate everything. Thank you.
There was one public comment on R1.
(12:14) Christian Gardinier: I just want to thank the board and thank the individual here. I know of a couple of cars I’ll be dialing them up. What a job and it’s so important to recognize CSOs. I’ve worked with CSOs in another county, doing mental health work and they’re a blessing. They’re an absolute blessing. And one of the things in the resolution I found really very important is Grant takes the time to explain and show individuals patience and understanding in diversity and all of the sheriffs that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and sometimes it was a little dicey, actually did that. I think Shasta County is really, really lucky that we have a sheriff that refuses to get involved in political minutia that we have staff that are dedicated to community service. And I hope that the board eventually figures out a way to get these guys some money that they deserve because currently the board is not doing that. I just wanna thank Grant and Sheriff Johnson.
(15:35) R2 Receive an update from the County Executive Officer on County issues and consider action on specific legislation related to Shasta County’s legislative platform and receive Supervisors’ reports on countywide issues.
No Additional General Fund Impact
No Vote
CEO David Rickert
(15:44) CEO Dave Rickert: I’m going to give you an update on some key open positions at the county. First I want to announce that our Veterans Service Officer Wesley Tucker has recently announced that he would be stepping down from his position to pursue other local opportunities. As a county employee for the past 10 years, with his most recent two of which as the veteran service officer, I’d like to thank Mr. Tucker for his service to veterans and wish him the best.
Moving on to open positions, obviously, we just mentioned the Veterans Service Officer position was posted August 12 and closes August 23. Mr. Tucker’s last day is August 21. We’re hoping we get a good selection of people for consideration for that position. Once again as an update as requested by the board, the Director of Mental Health Services. We’re doing a second recruitment process. The first one, we did not find applicants that meet our criteria. The second recruitment opened August 7 and will close September 9. Finally, we have the chief financial officer HHSA position which was posted August 6 and closes September 9. One thing I’d like the board to consider because of some of the challenges with key financial positions, is the board please consider possibly having one member of the board participate in the interview process for that position. That concludes my report.
District 2 Supervisor Tim Garman.
(17:23) Supervisor Tim Garman, District 2: I want to let you know I had a message from a Caltrans employee that our number that was posted on our website, when you had a dead animal on the road you called Caltrans was going to the wrong number. So Stewart, if you’re in here, thank you for correcting that for us. And now when folks call about the dead animal on the highway, they’re going to get to the right department.
I attended a LAFCO meeting with Supervisor Jones. I’ve met with Adam Fieseler on Resource Management, talking about the usual issues with blight and abandoned vehicles and all those other good things. I attended the DRC graduation. Just great job over there, Chief Neil and your entire team. I also want to thank Supervisor-elect Alan Long for attending the backpack giveaway that the child support put on. I was out of town and unable to attend so he went for me and they actually had backpacks left over this year. So thank you for everybody who donated backpacks and I believe they will still be trying to pass those out to needy families. So keep your eyes peeled for that.
Paul Hellman and Jim Whittle over at Environmental Health and Resource Management, thank you for your ongoing support with the water issues. A few of those still trickling in, no pun intended, with the well grants that we still have available. Talked with Troy Bartolomei about a constituent that has some issues with the roads. We’re going to be meeting with them soon. Thank you, Troy, for being willing to do so. Chief O’Hara, can’t say enough about you. Thank you for the job you’ve done protecting our county. We had the Lower Fire last Saturday and his team got right on that and was able to get that stopped without too much crazy damage.
I also received a response to my letter I sent to the insurance commissioner and the governor and the state legislators about the homeowner’s insurance that we desperately need a statewide state of emergency. The letter basically stated that they are working on a long term viability, did not even address the fact that we are asking for some emergency help. So I have already sent off a second letter. At least there’s communication, I guess, so as long as we have that we can keep it going.
And then the last thing I want to remind everybody of is this is back to school week. A lot of the kids are starting school tomorrow or the following day. Slow down when you see the buses, please slow down when you see the buses. If you see the red lights, stop. Our kids, they depend on us to be paying attention to the road. So get off your phone and do whatever else you’re distracted and pay attention. Kids are going to be everywhere this week, they’re going to be walking across the crosswalks. You may see some even not in the crosswalk. So just keep your eyes open. with that.
Outgoing District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones
(20:10) Supervisor Patrick Jones, District 4: I did have a LAFCO meeting along with Supervisor Garman. LAFCO is the local area formation committee. We had a variety of different business items. One, we’re going to be closing the local office. It’s no longer necessary. The status on municipal service reviews and the sphere of influence updates is something that LAFCO does constantly. In this particular case, it was the regional Fire Service CSA1. And then there was also some discussion and we took a vote to allow all the cities to have a seat on LAFCO year around instead of a rotation. And so we should see increased board members on LAFCO going forward.
I had a meeting with Public Works and with Wesley Tucker, our Veteran Service Officer about the KIA monument that we’re going to be doing here at 1450 Court Street and I can announce that our first fundraiser for that event is going to be September 21, Anderson VFW. Tickets will be available starting next week. And if you’d like to come and support that, it’s for a great cause for remembering those that sacrificed all here in Shasta County. Attended a Shasta County Republican Assembly meeting and they’re having their first annual fundraiser this Saturday at the Elks Lodge. And so had a good meeting there.
Attended an election integrity meeting which these meetings again are going on routinely here in Shasta County and throughout the state. And then I had about a two hour conversation with our new ROV Tom Toller and I had a very good talk there. He’s only been on the job now a month and he’s adapting very well. He is preparing to have a successful election coming up.
District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom
(22:00) Supervisor Chris Kelstrom, District 5: All right, on Thursday the first I went back to the fire lines with Chief O’Hare after having breakfast with the sheriff and the chief. We went through the fire lines and I’m happy to report the Park Fire never did reach Shasta County. So there was one little spot in Inskip that just kept moving north, there was a small area, but every time it would send up another spot fire, the line would be closer to Shasta County. And the people in Manton were getting pretty worried. But you know, I’m happy to report that never reach Shasta County. So and then the next night or next day, Friday, I went to a PG&E emergency command center that they threw up and with CEO Rickert and we toured that and saw the progress on the Park Fire and what they were doing. And now it’s pretty amazing, how they threw that together in what, four days, CEO Rickert?
CEO Rickert: Yeah, that was simply amazing. I’ve had bivouacs in the military and they were nothing compared to what PGE did with their setup.
Supervisor Kelstrom: They had a huge mess hall. I mean, it was amazing what they threw together in four days. So, and then after that night, Pioneer Pizza up in Shingletown opened for the first time in a week because of the fire. So I went ahead and went up there and I saw some of my Shingletown people. It was great to see things starting to get back to normal. On the fourth, Sunday I had the Senior Center breakfast in Anderson. And then shortly thereafter I had left early to go do a radio show in Redding. And then the sixth was National Night out in Anderson. There was a whole bunch of events. There was a free root beer floats at the VFW. There was the fire department, the police department put on a canine demonstration. So that was a great night. And then on the seventh, I did the Mosquito Serenade and Jared Hovis, one of your local peeps from Burney was performing. Yeah. And he was spectacular. And the next day I got a little insight that he was doing an impromptu concert up at the Buckhorn. [To Supervisor Rickert] Missed you. I have to tell you about that. Well, I was across the street. I was out that night. Yes. So I did drive up to Fall River Mills to go see him again the second time in two nights.
And then I had my regular VFW meeting, VFW breakfast in Anderson on Saturday. I did not make the Shingletown breakfast because I went to a memorial for Vaughn Cartwright. So if people don’t know who Vaughn Cartwright was, he was a local hero, in my opinion. I mean, he was a world champion arm wrestler. I played basketball with his son Ryan. So Vaughn was our impromptu strength and conditioning coach and the guy was just a mountain of a man and he was a wonderful human being. He used to come down and do spirit rallies at Enterprise. And he would one of the things he would do is he’d bench press several cheerleaders on the bar. During the rallies, he would take like the largest nail you could imagine, a giant nail, and he would bend it in half. Just an incredible man. So he passed away and I went to his service and that concludes my report.
District 5 Supervisor Mary Rickert
(24:55) Supervisor Mary Rickert, District 3: Yes. And by the way, that night in McArthur, I’m shocked they had three bands playing at the same time and it was kind of like the battle of the bands. They had the fairgrounds, they had the Buckhorn and Crumbs Restaurant and we were all laughing about, somebody didn’t communicate well enough with each other. So anybody, it’s been McArthur, it’s not a very big town. So received a letter from the state. I must gotten a similar letter that Tim did. And in terms of insurance, we will continue to monitor that situation. Attended the LAFCO meeting as an alternate. Attended the Day Reporting Center graduation, 11 graduates. Their stories are amazing if you ever have the opportunity to attend one of those or watch, I think they actually posted the graduation online. So you ought to be sure and watch that.
One thing that was very touching for me was one young man, went to school with my kids. He was in Boy Scouts with my youngest son and he’s had some horrific trauma in his life. So you see why sometimes kids will try to self medicate to relieve the pain of the trauma. One takeaway that I got from the evening is two or three times it was mentioned that these graduates would go into jail and they had this moment of clarity and that’s when it was so important for me to get the medically assisted treatment program in the jail. Been fighting for that for years, kind of faltered a bit during COVID, but we need to continue with those kinds of programs. This is our opportunity to get people into programs so they can get sober.
I attended the Waterfall Association dinner in McArthur. It was surprising to see Tom Toller there. It was kind of out of context, but it was a great opportunity for me to spend some time with him. We had a very nice visit. Long conversation about the elections department. I feel very confident moving forward that he and Joanna will hold a fair election. He impressed me with a lot of the things he had to say. So I was really pleased with that. I want to thank Adam Fieseler for the agritourism ordinance progress that he’s made. We’re moving forward. I’m a little disappointed that we don’t have more producers, more farmers and ranchers involved in agritourism. Again, I think a lot of people it’s not a lot of bang for your buck, you put a lot of time and energy into agritourism. Unless you have a kind of product that draws a huge crowd, it’s really not worth the effort. So anyway, we will work on that. I’ll continue to attend those meetings.
I met with Paul Hellman, Adam Fieseler, Sean James for Resource Management with the Shasta Siskiyou counties against marijuana people and to try and streamline the code enforcement process for marijuana eradication. We need to review our code and then the process to make eradication efforts more effective. So we’re going to continue to work on that particular process. I would like to get that streamlined and more efficient and more effective so that we continue. As I’ve mentioned before, several years ago we were 7000 illegal marijuana grows in this county, we’re down to 2000. We want to continue to see that number drop.
I attended the SHARC meeting, the Shasta Health Assessment Redesign Collaborative. Doctor Mu reported that we are having an uptick in COVID cases in the county. I’m sure all of you probably know someone that is suffering from COVID right now. So he made sure that our group was aware of that. I am writing a letter of support for the Shasta Community Health Center for a program that is kind of exciting. It’s new to Shasta County. And I think Mercy Hospital AKA Dignity Health is planning to do a similar kind of program, where what it does is it tries to keep older senior citizens in their homes or as long as possible that they don’t have to go to care facilities, and they kind of address their needs while at home. He used one example of, there’s one lady had lost her cat and she became very depressed and she was starting to have health problems as a result. And instead of having her go to counseling, get on medications and all these kinds of things, all they did was go out and get her another cat and then she got better. So those are the kinds of stories that we really need to kind of hear about and know that these kind of programs are going to be hopefully implemented in our own county.
I attended the Fort Crook Historical Museum Ice Cream Social and Branding. That was Sunday two days ago and that was people brought in their brands, and they’re now going to be on display at the museum. And for those of you that have been to Fall River Valley, the Round Barn, it used to be in Little Valley and it actually used to be on the Beaver Creek ranch and it was moved into town and reconstructed. And I know like our local foundation, I was on the board at the time, reroofed it and so the community really came together many years ago. Those are the kinds of projects that really kind of make you excited and then you continue to use that facility moving forward.
I did a little research after our last board meeting on Thursday and I wanted to bring to the rest of the board’s attention. I was concerned about how many problem projects we’ve had with eminent domain. So I went back to 2001 and there was one in 2001, Knighton Road extension, 2007 Airport Road bridge at the Sacramento Rive, and then the third one was the East Redding bike lanes in 2010. And that was the last time we had anything to do with eminent domain. And this is why I was trying to make the point, is this something that’s really worth our time and energy? And I think it’s important that the board, when you go to make an amendment and spend the money to put something on the ballot, we need to find out, is it really worth it? Are we spending our money wisely? So, with that, I’d like to ask staff what it costs and if I could get, you can get back to me at a later date, I want to know what it costs to add an item like this as an amendment to the ballot because I think the public for full transparency needs to know how our dollars are being spent and what it’s costing us. So with that, that concludes my report.
(31:12) Supervisor Kevin Crye, District 1: I’ll work a little bit backwards coming back from CEO Rickert’s recommendation. Is that, has CEO Rickert, has the committee already been? Is there conversations who would sit on that with a person from the Board of Supervisors?
CEO Rickert: Normally we have for most positions, three people. I’m just, like I said, because of the challenges with that position, I think it’s important to have information and support from a member of the board on that committee. So.
Supervisor Crye: You did tourism and I did the ROV. Patrick, you up for that? All right. So I would make a nomination that Patrick Jones, Supervisor Jones would sit on that, I guess it would be a search committee or not search committee, but a screening committee.
CEO Rickert: Well, you could also have Monica Fugitt serve on that. She serves on a –
Supervisor Crye: But I’m saying in terms of the board, like, if we nominate Supervisor Jones to be the person, then is that something that Monica has taken from there of who the other two people would be? Monica an then somebody probably from HHSA.
CEO Rickert: I would assume Laura Burch would serve on that committee.
Supervisor Crye: Or somebody on her. I mean, she may have somebody else serve on it. It’s ultimately up, it’s her department, but she would get to pick that person.
Supervisor Garman: Yeah, before we vote on that, that just seems like overreach. I’m not sure where this came from. CEO Rickert, just why would you want to sit on that panel? And why would you want one of us to sit on that panel? Wouldn’t you be better served or Nolda Short to sit on that panel?
CEO Rickert: We’ve already had a shot at it. The last person we had lasted two months. I just want to make sure the next candidate selected for that position knows he’s got support from the board for that position.
Supervisor Garman: I just think you’re more of a financial background as Nolda is than all five of us. That’s not our expertise. Why do we want to put somebody with who’s not, doesn’t know all the ins and outs of that on a panel to choose that person? This is complete overreach. It almost feels like there’s somebody you guys want on this board. Are you just – [Supervisor Crye talks over] this is just wrong.
Supervisor Crye: We had a tourism panel that you sat on and you didn’t object to that. So explain, Explain to me the difference. If it’s a 300 something dollars million dollars budget shouldn’t, I mean, do you want to do it? Is there, there should be –
Supervisor Garman: No, I’m not qualified. Neither are any five of us to sit on that panel. I would much rather have CEO Rickert and Nolda Short sit on that panel. I just feel like by putting one of us on there, you were pushing for a certain candidate to be on that, probably Mr. Street is my guess.
CEO Rickert: The item can come back and you can ask that it come back. The vote couldn’t happen today and the discussion should ultimately wait until it.
Supervisor Crye: That’s true because it’s not, agenda is perfect. All right. So CEO Rickert, let’s bring that back.
CEO Rickert: I’ll put that on the agenda.
District 1 Supervisor/Chair Kevin Crye
(34:02) Supervisor Crye, District 1: Ok. Conversations are still going on with the courts about the criminal justice process, following up from my meeting with Sheriff Johnson Melissa Fowler Bradley and then statements from the district attorney that have been on radio and other forms of media. So we’re still working towards that. just all getting on the same page because clearly those three entities aren’t. So we just, we’re still seeking answers and I know that that’s something that staff is still working on. Sheriff Johnson and I continue to discuss the body cams as well as the roadside. I forget the acronym. I think it’s DHA process. but hopefully, CEO Rickert, that’s gonna come back and his findings with body cams and with the unions and all of that in the next, I’m hoping 30 to 45 days. So last we spoke a few days ago. I know that’s moving forward. So I just want to keep that at the top.
I spoke with Dawn Rowe or Chairman Rowe, Chairperson Rowe from San Bernardino County. Their virtual town hall with the insurance commissioner of the state is September 4. So my correspondence with San Bernardino as well as the state commissioner’s office is going to be that they’re going to get through that one, see how that goes and then go from there. I had a quick meeting with Troy Bartolomei, just in regards to Veterans Service Officer Wesley Tucker taking another position locally, which I’m excited for him. I love anytime when a person can make more money or do something they feel like has greater impact. It is gonna be tough to lose them. But Troy has assured me that the project is gonna keep plowing forward and I appreciate that. Troy was at the election commission meeting yesterday just for a few minutes. Got a chance to talk to ROV Toller. And that was positive.
Last thing I want to touch on is I went to MLK Park this Saturday for the first time in probably about seven months. And it was interesting to have, that was the very first time I had been there. Well, and again, it’s been a seven month break, but the canyon is essentially a fraction of what it used to be. It sounds like at this point now, most people are down in the Clear Creek area. There only was one person at the very end that I had seen from when I was there for basically a year and a half straight every Saturday. And she’s actually on the list for one of the new shelters or pallet houses at the mission. So that was positive.
So then Sunday I went to and I don’t remember the name of the church, but it’s the, I think, I believe I’m told it’s the longest church in Redding, it’s that white church right behind Hinkle’s Market. And I was there with Jerry Harrell. If you know Skippy Abbott, Skippy’s having some medical problems. So he’s been out. So I told Jerry I’d go help him. And there was roughly way more than 50 but less than 100. So let’s call it 75. And there are a lot of them from Shasta Lodge and Visions of the Cross, New Life Discovery. There were a couple from No Boundaries. But what was really, really encouraging, I will say and since the Supreme Court decision came out, and RPD has definitely stepped up the process of making sure that people don’t illegally camp on private property. It was great to see on Sunday how many people were in recovery and really making some huge strides. So I’m gonna go back probably this Sunday. I would encourage you if you want to be encouraged about some of the people that are putting their lives back together, who are in housing and are doing some really great things. There are a lot of areas where people can lean in and help. But what I’m encouraged about from the conversations I had with many that left the canyon and in other places, the talk a year, a year and a half ago was about, you know, sometimes about sweeps and about you know, a lot of finger pointing and blame. But what I heard this time was people said, it’s forcing many of us to basically make hard, like, not hard but make decisions. Like, and, and the word is getting out that you’re not gonna be able to stay, especially in parts of Redding, which is mostly District one and continue this lifestyle. So a few of them actually, and one of them, especially Visions of the Cross, he’s doing phenomenal. He’s, I think 130 days sober, which as he said is like triple the amount he’s ever been. But some of that wouldn’t come about if it wasn’t like shoved on him where it was like, hey, you’re no longer living in this canyon or you’re no longer living like this. So some people are just leaving the county and other people are kind of moving to other places, but it’s been a positive thing. So I would encourage anybody who comes up and spends three minutes talking about this. Be out there Sunday 9:30 behind Hinkle’s Market and talk to a lot of these individuals yourself and hear some of their stories about what’s making a difference about getting people off the streets.
County Fire
(39:25) R3 Receive a presentation on the 2023 Shasta County Fire Department Annual Report and adopt an Inspection Resolution.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
R3 has been moved to a later meeting.
Public Works
(39:33) R4 Introduce and waive the reading of “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Shasta Establishing Requirements for Road Acceptance and Maintenance” superseding Ordinance No. 667 and allowing for private subdivision roads maintained by permanent road divisions or homeowner associations.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
(39:43) Supervisor Rickert recused herself.
Troy Bartolomei made the presentation.
(40:18) Troy Bartolomei: Proposed today is the introduction and waiving of the reading of an ordinance. It’s going to supersede ordinance 667, which provides for the establishment of the requirements for road acceptance and maintenance. Under the current ordinance, all subdivision roads created as part of a subdivision that has five or more lots are required to be maintained and established by a permanent road division. There are no other means permissible which a road of that size can be maintained.
Now to give you a little history. Prior to 1995 all newly created subdivision roads were accepted into the county maintained mileage. The formula for which monies were dispersed, how gas tax was given out, greatly reduced the amount of money that was brought into the county for road maintenance at that time. No longer just because you had maintained mileage did you get more money. It’s a convolute formula, but it kind of somewhat population based and some other things. So at that time, resolution 95-31 was passed and 95-31 required that all non-arterial or collector roads, so small roads within subdivisions that created five or more lots, had to be now maintained by either a permanent road division or a homeowners association which was backstopped by a permanent road division. And what that meant was you established a nonactive permanent road division. So if that HOA failed, then the county had the opportunity to call up that inactive PRD and the PRD was then responsible for maintaining the road. The difference between the HOA is, it’s a private entity. The PRD is an actual assessment that the county is allowed to put on your property to provide for the road maintenance. Well, with the passage of Proposition 218, the county is no longer able to unilaterally bring up that inactive PRD. So it made it very difficult. We couldn’t backstop these HOAs with the PRD anymore.
Now, when a developer forms a subdivision, they own all the lots. So they vote yes in the affirmative to pass to go through the Prop 218 process and pass the assessments on all the properties. Once they’re sold and they’re administered and they’re out there, it would probably be quite difficult to get all the property owners to agree Hey, we’re going to vote for the PRD. So because of that, that is where we got ordinance 667. And that’s why you can no longer have maintenance of a road performed by a homeowners association.
Now, in 2014 laws were passed that really tightened up the regulations on HOA, so it’s much more difficult for an HOA to fail. It has to be approved by the Department of Real Estate and they’re a lot more dependable than they used to be. Some developers have come forward and asked for permission to have their roads again maintained by an HOA as opposed as opposed to a PRD. Some of the benefits an HOA provides is you don’t have to go through the competitive procurement process for maintenance. You don’t have to pay prevailing wage. You’re not subject to public contracting laws so you can get things done cheaper than with the PRD. Other things it does is since it’s a private entity, if you wanted to, we’ve had someone come forward and wanted to actually put a gate across a subdivision. You can’t do that with a public PRD because that’s a public right of way. It’s a public access. Multiple developers through the years have asked for this. We haven’t been able to provide it. With an HOA they’d be able to do that. Another item, kind of a one off, we’ve had a developer come forward who has done development and at the time the maps accepted the PRD has to be put in place for road maintenance. So all these properties are now annually assessed for road maintenance. Now, you can extend your map for up to five years before you even build improvements. But because we have to get that PRD and those assessments approved up front, in a unique situation, you could be maintaining or being assessed for maintenance of that road and nothing’s been built for five years. We have one case like that right now. If they’re allowed to have an HOA, that’s a private entity. They can maintain as they see fit and they wouldn’t have these assessments. So for multiple reasons, people have come forward and asked for this. So the ordinance that we’re proposing would provide for the ability to maintain a road by an HOA or a PRD and everything else that’s in 667, like you have to have a PRD for an EFER and all other things are going to be still be included. So the only change is we’ll let you maintain a road by an HOA.
There was one public comment.
(47:26) Steve Kohn: This looks like another item that has come up because of Corky Harmon and Stimpel Wiebelhaus. He’s had three or four items voted in favor and it’s one particular decision did have to do with the approval of a Homeowners Association over and above the PRD. So it just looks to me like there’s been several decisions made by the board majority here recently that favor Corky Harmon and his projects. That bothers me especially since he is running for supervisor and we know that Supervisor Crye and our CEO have apparently been promoting him even in District three. So it does bother me. It looks inappropriate and I do believe he’s ingratiated to you because I watched after one vote, him, walked to the door before he exited the chambers, stopped, turned around, took off his hat and bowed to you three. So, is he ingratiated? Yes, he is. I mean, I saw it. That’s what happened. So you can smile maybe because he’s indebted to you, Supervisor Crye, but I think that we’re just headed to the same good old boys network with Corky stepping in for Supervisor Jones. And it scares me.
R4 was passed on a 3-1 vote with Supervisor Rickert recusing herself and Supervisor Garman voting no.
Resource Management
(51:06) R5 Introduce and waive the reading of “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Shasta, Amending Section 19.02.040 of Title 19 of the Shasta County Code, Shasta County Carr Fire, Zogg Fire, Salt Fire, and Fawn Fire Disaster Recovery” (Ordinance) to extend the effective period with respect to persons displaced by the Fawn Fire from September 22, 2024, to September 22, 2025, or such other date as the Board of Supervisors may determine and find
that the Ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2).
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Adam Fieseler made the presentation.
(51:32) Adam Fieseler: On July 30, 2024 staff made presentation of the board regarding the effective period of title 19 with respect to persons displaced by the Fawn Fire only. Not any of the other fires would be extended. Those have all expired. But the Fawn fire ends September 22, 2024. After public input, the board directed staff to prepare an ordinance extending the effective period of title 19 with respect to persons displaced by the Fawn Fire until September 22, 2025 which is before you today.
R5 passed by unanimous vote.
Clerk of the Board
(53:08) R6 Appoint Brad Garbutt as the District 3 representative to the Shasta County Elections Commission to serve the remainder of a term to January 6, 2025.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
(53:49) Supervisor Rickert: I just want to say that my selection of Brad Garbutt, he’s well respected in the real estate business in Shasta County. He’s a man of good moral character and I think he make an excellent person to serve on this particular commission. And I feel more comfortable putting a person on this commission with Tom Toller and my conversations I had with him. I think that we need reasonable people with common sense. And I think Mr. Garbutt would bring that to the commission.
(54:39) Supervisor Crye: I’m going to, I’m going to exercise a right I have as chair. We have a ton of cards and this now, Counsel Larmour, does it have to be the minutes per, each hour or for the whole item or can we make this one because we have 10 or more cards, two minutes.
Counsel Larmour: The chair has this discretion to set the time per item based on the number of cards you have.
Supervisor Crye: Perfect. All right, we’re gonna do two minutes, each speaker for R6. I will tell you this just to give everybody a – Brad Garbutt, I have not a lot of respect for in some ways, but I have a ton of respect because he came to coffee once. We sat and he was in a room full of people, maybe five or six that would be more his persuasion and maybe, maybe it wasn’t that many that day. It might have been three or four that may have felt like Mr. Garbutt and maybe 10 to 15 that were maybe more so my side, but I have respect for anybody that can come sit down, have a conversation. I think he’s nuts. He thinks I’m nuts, but I can respect it. So I will be supporting the appointment. So when you come up for your two minutes be, please be respectful. I would, I would appreciate as chair, no hooping and hollering. No yelling, no calling out. Let’s get through it two minutes each speaker. That’s how I feel. First up Bruce Russell.
(56:09) Supervisor Rickert: We’ve had a lot of very long meetings. Why all of a sudden are we we changing the three minute public comment to two minute?
Supervisor Crye [talking over Supervisor Rickert]: Because I’m refining.
Supervisor Rickert: Excuse me, I’m not finished. I feel that we need to be consistent in this board chamber and that’s not being consistent. I think we need to be fair to everyone here. And if we start changing the how many minutes we’re speaking, I just think it shows bias and I think we need to treat people equally and fairly and, and that’s all I can say.
Supervisor Crye: Ok, so what I’m going to say is two minutes. There is nothing, there is nothing, not equal and not fair. Everybody gets two minutes. So the audacity [yelling from floor] please please stop yelling out. It is about it is about everybody having the same. And I’m just saying it as, as I’m chairman, I want to get these meetings as efficiently and moving up, moving county business along as fast as possible.
Supervisor Garman: Yeah, I kind of had the same thoughts as Supervisor Rickert. If you’re going to make it two minutes here, let’s make it two minutes on everything we bring forward from now going forward.
Supervisor Crye: Because we have more than 10 cards. So I’m sorry, Supervisor Garman. I didn’t run my thoughts by you first. With that, Bruce Russell.
Supervisor Garman: I want, I wasn’t, sir and I would like to finish my thought. Just because you are, you are sitting here saying ok, it’s 10 o’clock in the morning. This is our last regular item. We have calendar, one closed item. This does not appear like a meeting is gonna last till two or three o’clock or six o’clock in the evening. Why can’t we hear 10 cards? I feel like this, you you’re opening the door for the public to actually sit here and say, ok, you’re gonna allow somebody you have, I know you have that choice but –
Supervisor Crye: I do. [Talking over Supervisor Garman] They’re in the front row. That is a reason. That is a reason. Go ahead.
Supervisor Garman: It just should be the same for everybody. And you just said that and you can’t sit there and say the same for, ok, it’s Brad. we’re only going to have people speak for two minutes. But you know, when Supervisor Jones, you had your people come up, they got more than two minutes.
Supervisor Crye: And you know what? Everybody got the same.
Supervisor Garman: They didn’t get the same.
Supervisor Crye: Ok. Listen, listen, you’re killing county time.
Supervisor Rickert: This is a total of, this is a total of addition of 10 minutes. We can certainly sit here for another 10 minutes. [Applause from floor] You are taking away the voice of the people and this is what is so important. We want to have the voice of the people to be heard. And we, in my recollection, I can remember one night adjourning a meeting at midnight, but I did not [Supervisor Crye talks over her] excuse me, but I did not limit people’s time to talk to two minutes because I felt it was important that every person has three minutes. We’ve done that consistently for decades and this particular item should not be singled out.
(59:19) Supervisor Jones: Once, once again, once again [yelling from floor], a few supervisors do not respect the authority of the chair. Supervisor Rickert [yelling from floor]
Supervisor Crye: Hey, listen. Hey, listen. Hey, here’s the thing. And again, I’m going to – Supervisor Jones if I may. Thank you. This is, this is what I want the public to watch back on. Right. This is why our society continues to deteriorate. [Much more yelling from floor] Hey, see. Listen. All right. Supervisor Jones. [Continued yelling] Hey, hey, listen. Hey, listen. Hey, Steven Steven. Steven. Steven Steven, just real quick. Ok. Listen. Hey, listen, we all are gonna sit next to each other in Costco or at the movies. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, please, Susan, you, you’re, you’re, you’re just, you’re just throwing, you’re just throwing gas on the fire. We’re going to get, we’re going to get through this. Supervisor Jones then Supervisor Garman and then I’m going to say that’s enough and we’re going to go to Bruce.
Supervisor Jones: So the chair has authority to make certain decisions. It was not that long ago that Supervisor Rickert on her authority as chair, shut the entire board room out of the public on her authority. [yelling from floor] She was chair, it was her decision. So chair, I have no problem with the two minutes.
Supervisor Garman. I’ll just, one last comment when I ran. I always said I would want to hear everybody speak and I don’t care if we are here until two in the morning. That still holds true today. If somebody took the time to come into this meeting, is here in person and has the card filled out by all rights, we should let them speak for the full three.
Supervisor Crye: Ok. Thank you so much. All right, Bruce Russell.
(1:01:19) Bruce Russell: I oppose the appointment of Brad Garbutt to the election commission. We need people on the commission that have an open mind and want to make our elections more transparent and secure. Mr. Garbutt appears to have made comments in February and March of this year on the Next Door app that he feels the commission is useless and should be disbanded. He appears to go by the name of Brad G of Mary Lake on Next Door. Mr. Garbutt should explain how he can be a good fit for the elections commission if he feels it’s useless and should be disbanded. He should also explain how his past use of foul language in a public supervisor meeting is appropriate for a potential commissioner.
(1:03:14) Laurie Bridgeford: Yesterday, I was at the most calm and orderly meeting of the election commission. It was an amazing success without the usual disruptors screaming and yelling, not a peep from the chambers. And that was yesterday. It was astonishing to go through a meeting which is normal, average business and no one flipping out having a tantrum or theatrics or stunts. So for R6, I mean, I have to say no one Brad Garbutt, I mean, his foul language right there. If anyone hasn’t seen yet on YouTube one minute 19 seconds by Shasta Anonymous, who is Brad Garbutt. That’s great that he’s got an occupation and he works. But some people act like a Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On the surface, the optics that they’re calm or respectful. But on the inside and his comments posted on Doni’s whatever that is , so I see character issues. I had an awful time at that coffee time when he showed up 20 minutes late and started to take over. It was arrogant, rude, vile. So I was sitting next to him. So I’m not sure how much you caught of his behavior and conduct, but that’s a part of who he is and to, to replicate both Supervisor Garman and Supervisor Rickert that they think this is a waste and useless. Why even appoint someone, if they have that same philosophy, why you’re wasting our time by appointing duds, knock it off or let it go or keep the three people on the commission. So, it’s just, I just, there’s too many all roads lead to the News Cafe thingy where, where the most disgusting things and if they’ve already been scrubbed and diluted, I would not be surprised. So, you know, if he doesn’t get this appointment today, is there gonna be another, security get ready and they can, people can do these quote unquote peaceful protests. It’s ridiculous. So, that’s pretty much all I have to say. No, thank you on Mr. Garbutt.
(1:07:43) Christian Gardinier: So it looks like it’s a done deal. And so there’s not a lot of reason to go on and on and on about this. Congratulations, Brad. And he’s gonna be a great commissioner. And the fact of the matter is, this whole election commission really should have been disbanded. But if we’re gonna have it, let’s try and be as fair and square as possible because, yeah, the fact of it is the chairperson of the election commission actually came before this board and advocated that the county break law, California election code.
(1:09:33) Nick Gardner: I have some direct quotes by Brad Garbutt out of A News Cafe. Number one, Joanna will not let Tom Toller throw the election. [Applause from floor] He’s saying you guys put him in there to throw the election. Number two. Wow. Can we have a more corrupt board of majority than these morons? He’s talking about you three. Number three, I see Crye flanked by Jones and Kelstrom wearing collars and Crye holds the leashes. Number four. Somebody take Crye to Burger King so he can get his crown. These come directly from the News Cafe comments. Number five, like JJ might say, how do you know Crye is lying? His lips are moving. Crye has clearly become totally unhinged. Number six, I think A News Cafe did a story back in 22 detailing all the lies that Crye did after only being in office a few months, he is a pathological liar and a malignant narcissist. And you’re gonna vote for him, Kevin.
(1:11:06) Bev Gray: Ok. I don’t know Brad, but the person on the election commission must have integrity and be willing to look at the system objectively if they just take the news and hearsay to make their decisions. What is the point if they are not wanting to discover the truth? No, and not opinions? I mean, I don’t know him, so I don’t know if he has integrity or not. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt that he does. I want to know if I missed something. Did I misunderstand Kevin? Did he say that he did not respect him for some things? But he did respect him for some things. And I thought I heard Kevin say he plans to vote for him. So to cut off the two minutes takes away time from those that do not want to have Brad take the position. So why the arguments and why the yelling, open your eyes and ears and this is the problem that’s caused throughout a lot of problems of Shasta County.
(1:12:34) Max Walter: Good morning. It gives me great pleasure to be a character witness for my friend Brad Garbutt. He and I go back about 35 years. I bear witness that he is one of the most rational people I’ve ever known. Hope that doesn’t change your mind. Kevin, if you were thinking about voting for him. He’s one of the most rational people I’ve ever known, rational, intelligent and having a very high dose of wisdom. He’s perfect for this position. He’s someone who would absolutely listen to the many proofs supposedly existing of the so-called fraudulent 2020 election. He would go into that room and see if any of the proofs exist anywhere else outside those walls or if they really do exist only inside the echo chamber.
(1:15:00) Jenny O’Connell: So I’m afraid to voice my support today for fear that it’s sort of an automatic no if I say yes. I’m sad that I feel that way and I think a lot of citizens feel that way in this room. I wish that we all felt safe to engage in public meetings to tell supervisors who we like, who we don’t like, what we’d like to happen. I don’t know Brad Garbutt. That’s his name. I don’t even know. I’ve never met him. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to him. If I have I didn’t know it was him. My support isn’t really a glowing review. Just that Mary has the right to choose someone and that her voice should matter because she represents District three. She represents Burney and Fall River. A group of people who already feel underrepresented. To silence our two supervisors is to silence all the people who voted for them and that needs to be remembered.
Brad Garbutt
(1:18:22) Brad Garbutt: Thank you, Mary for offering me this appointment and it’s especially important. OK. An especially important election is coming up in November and there’s considerable misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories swirling around our election process is spread by TV, radio, print and social media. I believe the commission should assist the ROV in educating the electorate about what is true and true or false when it comes to elections. Our new ROV should explain the checks and balances in place at every step of the election process to prevent fraud, ensure accurate results and restore trust for those who question election results. While watching board meetings over the past few years, I have listened as citizens suggested. Others are voting ballots of dead people, claiming large numbers of ineligible voters are registering and casting ballots, election rolls are not being updated as per state law, the Mesa pattern has changed outcomes in local elections. Drop boxes are being stuffed with counterfeit ballots. Vote tabulation machines are connected to the internet. Hart Intercivic software is rigged by Venezuelans to flip votes or training of poll workers is insufficient. Alleged irregularities have been thoroughly investigated and there is no evidence of widespread rigging as proven by a recent Shasta County Grand Jury investigation in a recent court case about alleged fraud in our March primary that was summarily dismissed. Our new ROV is learning the election laws and has a fresh set of eyes on the internal workings of the election’s office. He has the potential to address these concerns publicly prior to the November election. The election office works tirelessly to ensure the integrity and security of our electoral process.
(1:23:44) Supervisor Crye: I just, I will, I will clarify, I’ve had hours of public comment as it relates to not just this appointment but a lot of appointments. So what happens in this room for me is probably literally 1/10 if not less of the public interaction I have as it relates to many of these things. That’s why I’m so overtly in the public constantly talking with people.
Supervisor Jones: Thanks chair. I mean the motion has been made. It has been seconded. I will be voting no on this issue.
(1:25:04) Supervisor Kelstrom: I can’t bring myself to vote yes so I will abstain.
R6 passed on a 3-1 vote with Supervisor Jones voting no and Supervisor Kelstrom abstaining.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD – OPEN TIME
During the Public Comment Open Time period, the public may address the Board on any matter not listed on the agenda that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors or on any agenda item listed on the Consent Calendar. Each speaker is allocated three minutes to speak. Those wishing to participate in Public Comment – Open Time must submit a speaker request card to the Clerk of the Board before the meeting begins. All speaker request cards submitted after the meeting begins, and any public comment not heard by the 12:00 p.m. recess, will be heard once all Regular Calendar items on the agenda have been considered by the Board, and before the Board’s consideration of the Consent Calendar.
(1:25:23) Supervisor Crye: Moving on to I will take this opportunity briefly to speak really quick when we’re looking at some of these items. And again, this is the, and I’ve spent a ton of time with a lot of chairs the past few weeks as we talk about public comment, what different counties have done what different counties have tried. And I would encourage people to watch you know, this meeting and people aren’t going to see the crowd but watch how the media spins it and what they say and what side of the room is screaming and yelling because I know many people in here who I would say are maybe one leaning over the other. I appreciate the fact most of you may not like the two minutes of the three minutes, but you respected the democratic process and it doesn’t go unnoticed.
(1:26:23) Bruce Russell: I believe Patrick Jones has been unfairly attacked at the last meeting and previous meetings. Patrick Jones is a patriotic American who has organized numerous fundraisers to help people and organizations. He is willing to take the heat and stand up for conservative principles . Standing up for what he believes is right and pushing back against failed liberal and left leaning policies does not make you a reprehensible person. Neither does trying to establish order during a supervisor meeting when some attendees are clearly way out of line disrupting public meeting. Sadly, people on the left love to demonize and defame the people they disagree with. It takes a courageous person to be willing to stand up for the principles you believe in and be willing to take a constant barrage of unjustified hateful speech. Patrick, you are greatly appreciated by many in the community who believe in conservative values.
(1:28:20) Antonia: Smartmatic in the Philippine House admits the electronic election data could be deleted in the middle of the night and nobody would even know. When Smartmatic was forced to sell to the US over its Venezuela links it retained the intellectual property of its software. This software ran on machines in our 2020 election and continues today. Well, the founder of the Smartmatic was arrested over money laundering and bribery charges in the Philippines. That cannot be, we cannot trust someone who’s prepared something that is not transparent and secure. Why are we trusting these machines so that electronic data could be deleted in the middle of the night and nobody could even know. That opens up doors for fraud. So what does this tell you about voting machines? They can be hacked. The software is made to cheat. All voting machines are not reliable. This affects every citizen in this county not having fair and transparent elections. Our voice needs to be heard. Nothing has been done about doing away with the electronic poll pads and going back to paper rosters. That’s secure.
(1:31:06) Bev Gray: Sorry, mine is similar to hers. Co-founder of Smartmatic Pinate along with two other prior or current executives, Vasquez and Donato were charged with paying $1 million in bribes and money laundering in a federal indictment. This was paid to the former chair of the Philippines Commission of Elections. Pate admitted electronic election data could be deleted in the middle of the night and nobody would know the software was ran on machines in our 2020 election and continue today. It takes very few lines of code to change the results of an election. So at $1 million and just one bribe, how much does that calculate out to per line of code? These questions are to Mary and Tim since at least you say there’s no fraud in our elections. Have you ever heard of anyone taking or giving a bribe for something that was totally legitimate? Does clean money have to be laundered? Because you won’t even listen to any evidence. Are you really representing the majority of your voters or are you adding to the lie? Wake up people.
(1:32:50) Thomas H. Mr. Crye, a lot of responsibilities is gonna be on your shoulders. I got to meet with Mr. Toller and I’m not really highly optimistic about his leadership. We did have some guys were really interested in setting our county legitimately with honest elections. I personally went down and watched cheating and it was told before you guys and four of you guys said, oh, they’re great elections. Well, I only seen one guy down there and he said they were wrong. But anyway, I went down, I filled out three applications now to work for the elections because I have the time and, anyway, during the process I had to check if I was a county worker or city worker and then there was nothing for the state, but I did see some state executives working there. Well, basically come to find out they get paid their daily wage plus what the elections committee gives them for working. But the average guy doesn’t get his pay. If he comes and works, he’s got to donate that. But if you’re, if you’re a God’s K kid, you can get paid. So I find that that’s something that could be changed. I find it highly unfair. But anyway, Mr. Crye, this election, I don’t think, I don’t think anything’s gonna change because two people resigned or whatever and, and the one person I seen there had a lot of influence on the November elections is still in place. So I don’t see a big change. That person was, I went to court and watched. She basically admitted to, in my term of cheating, there’s other terms for it legally but she basically said they cheated, common error, human error or something. But, and also I remember Mr. Crye had 147 emails and he waved them and he talked about accountability. I haven’t seen any accountability but I think this, we have a chance to have honest election because there’s some people willing to go out there and say this is wrong and stand up. But if it doesn’t change, Mr. Crye, lots of that’s on your shoulders because of your leadership.
(1:35:29) Laura Hobbs: Good afternoon supervisors, you all have the authority you need right now to move forward with hand counting ordinance for Shasta County or place this on the November ballot for the citizens to decide. So it’s within our constitution, our right to vote and have our votes counted accurately is guaranteed as United States citizens. This is the first right acknowledged and promised in the original United States Constitution article one, section two declares that citizens have the right to select their representatives. The California Constitution article two also substantiates this voting initiative and section one quotes all political powers inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their protection, security benefit and they have the right to alter or reform it when the good may require. California Constitution article two, section 2.5 says a voter who cast a vote in an election in accordance with the laws of this state shall have that vote counted. Right now we’re in a situation where we have no assurance that our votes are being counted accurately. We have evidence of California election laws being violated and no one’s being held accountable. We also have plenty of California election codes which would support hand counting including the California election code 19001 which says the real will of the electors will not be defeated by any informality or failure to comply with all the provisions of the law. Also the California government code 25201 says the board of supervisors may canvass all election returns and canvass is defined as the public process of processing and tallying ballots received in an election. And that’s defined in 335.5. So the word public is key here. Voting machines are not public. You cannot see what’s going on inside the machine with your own eyes. You cannot know whether the votes are being tabulated correctly or incorrectly at any moment and no one except the electronic voting system companies and the Secretary of State has access to the source code of these machines. Therefore, a canvass conducted by machine and private does not fit the definition of a canvass. So there are other laws as well. Basically, I need you to read over this. I’d like this to be included in the agenda packet. The time is now, don’t just take my word for it or county counsel’s word for it. We’ve been led astray by County Counsel in the past many times. Talk to a constitutional lawyer who can set you straight on the laws. Courage is necessary. Please use the authority you have right now.
(1:38:37) David Halligan: I want to talk on the Tourism RFP at the 7/23 board of supervisor meeting, CEO Rickert was asked by Kevin to name a third person to add to the selection committee with Mr. Garman and Mr. Kelstrom. CEO Rickert recused himself as he had said, he had participated in events with a possible bidder for the tourist RFP. Good job, CEO Rickert. Hopefully others follow suit. Let’s listen to a sound bite from Kevin at the 7/23 board of Supervisors meeting regarding tourism and local Chamber of Commerce. [Plays recording] “I would like to also say I would like every single chamber, Burney, Palo Cedro, Anderson, Cottonwood, Redding, every single chamber to reach out to supervisors. Our email address is our first first initial, last name at Shasta county.gov. And at the next board meeting, I am going to read the statements from Burney, Palo Cedro, Anderson, Cottonwood as well as Redding because I get completely conflicting information and I’m going to bring that back and we’re going to have a truth letting.” So Kevin, I don’t know where the letters are and the truth letting I haven’t seen them as yet that you were going to respond at the next meeting. Kevin, your buddy, your campaign manager, Nigel Skeet started Shasta County Chamber of Commerce a year ago. A for profit, by the way. Most all chambers of commerce are nonprofit. Maybe Kevin, you should check with the outlying chambers and see how they like Mister Skeet funneling off dollars that would go to the local law, local nonprofit Chamber of Commerce. Now to the TOT, tax transit occupancy tax. 10 percent in Shasta County. It goes to the general fund for public services such as police, fire, parks and rec. People that visit our county need to be protected if they need it. Our services are there for them. So if you’re going to spend a million bucks on tourism and take that out of the general fund, 56% of that fund goes to public safety. Who’s calling Sheriff Johnson and telling him that he needs to cut $560,000, 56 percent of 1 million. That would be seven officers at $80,000 an officer. Again, tourism dollars or Shasta County public safety dollars. Who’s calling Sheriff Jones? Moving on. It’s the 21st century, board. I’m sure you all use the search engine Google. I sent you all a PDF file last night on tourism for Shasta County. I listed 15 to 20 sites for planning a trip to Shasta County. You may have heard of some of them. Expedia, Visit Redding, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Facebook, Bureau of Reclamation, Reddit, California Visitors, local Chamber of Commerce we don’t need and we can’t afford tourism. RFP. Our biggest resource for tourism are the people of Shasta County. They invite friends and family to our county for everyone to enjoy our resources. Let’s get our Shasta County citizens to be our tourist ambassador and let’s drive tourism that way.
(1:45:58) Jeff Gorder: I want to extend some appreciation to Mary and Tim for encouraging this board to focus on issues that are important to the county that have an impact on the county and not wasting time on issues that don’t affect the county. I’m thinking back to the voting machines. Think of how much time this board has wasted on voting machines over the past year and a half. Talk about the voting machines are a done issue. Folks. I mean, the law is the law, the voting machines are going to be in place, they’re going to tally the votes, give it up. Let the election run. Mr. Toller said he’s going to follow the law and election machines are going to be used. Why are we wasting time on this?
(2:16:38) CONSENT CALENDAR
The following Consent Calendar items are expected to be routine and non-controversial. They may be acted upon by the Board at one time without discussion. Any Board member or staff member may request that an item be removed from the Consent Calendar for discussion and consideration. Members of the public will be provided with a single opportunity to comment on one or more items on the Consent Calendar, during Public Comment – Open Time, before the Board’s consideration of the Consent Calendar.
(2:17:03) Supervisor Rickert asked what prompted C2. Stewart Buettell was called upon to answer.
(2:17:48) Stewart Buettell: I don’t have a great response to that question. I think we saw it as an opportunity to update this policy.
Supervisor Rickert: Just an update. But it just seemed like an odd thing to be coming up. That’s all.
Stewart Buettell: I agree. It’s an interesting thing to come up, but we saw an opportunity to update a policy and so we added it to the agenda.
Consent Calendar passed with the exception of C5.
County Administrative Office
C1 Waive competitive procurement requirements as outlined in Section 3.04 of the Shasta County Code due to the necessary restrictions in specifications for California state schedules and approve an agreement with IGM Technology Corp. for web-based budgeting software, maintenance, and customer support.
Future General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C2 Approve updates to Administrative Policy 2-401, Acceptance of Donations, which increases the donation acceptance limit for Department Heads and the County Executive Officer and adds a requirement for a quarterly report for any accepted donations exceeding $10,000.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Clerk of the Board
C3 Approve the minutes of the meetings held on July 23, 30, and 31, 2024, as submitted.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C4 Appoint Tara Shanahan to the Shasta Children and Families Commission (First 5 Shasta) to serve the remainder of a three-year term to January 2027.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
County Fire
C5 Approve a retroactive renewal agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the amount not to exceed $9,367,162 for the administration of the Shasta County Fire Department.
General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C5 was pulled and rescheduled for August 20.
Health and Human Services Agency-Behavioral Health and Social Services
C6 Approve a retroactive renewal agreement with Community Care on Palm Riverside, LLC, for skilled nursing care and residential mental health treatment services.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C7 Approve a retroactive renewal agreement with Aurora Behavioral Healthcare – Santa Rosa, LLC, dba Santa Rosa Behavioral Healthcare Hospital, for inpatient psychiatric hospitalization.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Public Works
C8 Approve budget amendments which increase appropriations and revenue by
$30,000 in the Land Buildings and Improvements Budget (BU 166) and increase
appropriations by $30,000 in the Mental Health Budget (BU 410) offset by use of
Restricted Fund balance.
No General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
C9 Waive competitive procurement requirements due to limitations on the source of supply and authorize the purchase of: (1) One Ford F600 truck with sand spreader equipment from Corning Ford; and (2) one Ford F600 truck with mobile service equipment from Crown Motors.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C10 Award Request for Quote (RFQ) 24-20 to, and approve a contract with, Design Time & Tile, Inc., for flooring and countertop services at County facilities.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C11 Find the “West Central Landfill 2024 Leachate Pond Project,” Contract No. 207604, categorically exempt in conformance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines 14 CCR Section 15301, Class 1-Existing Facilities, approve the plans and specifications, and direct the Public Works Director to advertise for bids, and authorize the opening of bids on or after September 12, 2024, at 11:00 a.m.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C12 Take the following actions regarding the “Redwood Blvd Parking Lot Project,” Contract No. 610957 (Contract): (1) Reject the bids from Giles Excavating and Zeis Construction as non-responsive; (2) award the Contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, Sunrise Excavating, on a lump sum basis in the amount of $241,290; and (3) approve and authorize the Public Works Director, or their designee, to sign a Notice of Completion and record it within 15 days of actual completion of the work.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Support Services
C13 Approve an agreement with Procure America, LLC, for cost recovery and expense reduction services.
General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C14 Adopt resolutions extending the Hiring Sign-On Bonus Programs for Correctional Officer, Deputy Sheriff, District Attorney’s Investigator classifications.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Veterans Services Office
C15 Approve a budget amendment which increases appropriations by $8,600 in the Miscellaneous General Budget (BU 173) offset by use of Reserve for Contingencies (BU 900) for the donation of the memorial monument replacement at the Redding City Library (Sponsored by Supervisor Jones).
General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
REGULAR CALENDAR, CONTINUED
There was one public comment on R7.
(2:19:16) Laura Hobbs: So on this case, the County of Shasta et al at all versus the California Energy Commission at all. I believe this is in regards to the windmills and I wanted to speak in favor of that and I thank you Mary Rickert for standing up for Shasta’s sovereignty on this case. I know it will cost the county money, but I think it’s a worthy expenditure. We need to protect our sovereignty here in Shasta County. And likewise, this is something that goes against California state law. Shasta County is being bold in fighting the state on this issue. I think we should do that in similar areas as well, such as with the A B 969, the election law.
(2:22:04) CLOSED SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT
The Board of Supervisors will recess to a Closed Session to discuss the following item (estimated 30 minutes):
R7 CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – EXISTING LITIGATION
(Government Code section 54956.9(d)(1)):
Case Name:
County of Shasta, et al. v. California Energy Commission, et al. (Case No. 23CV-203737)
At the conclusion of the Closed Session, reportable action, if any, will be reported in Open Session.
REPORT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTIONS
(2:41:44) There was no reportable action on R7.
(2:42:00) ADJOURN
