The regularly scheduled weekly Tuesday morning meeting of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors was called to order at 9:02 a.m. on October 29, 2024. The complete video and agenda are available here. Timestamps are in parentheses.
(1:43) CALL TO ORDER
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
Simple Majority Vote(4:33) Supervisor Crye: Whereas cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States with more than 350,000 emergency medical services assessed out of hospital cardiac arrest occurring each year. And whereas three out of four cardiac arrests occur at home or at work, and when a person has a cardiac arrest, their survival depends on immediately receiving CPR from someone nearby. And whereas 46% of people who experience an out of hospital cardiac arrest receive the immediate help that they need before professional help arrives. Whereas according to the American Heart Association, about 90% of people who suffer out of hospital cardiac arrest die, but CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival. And whereas the more individuals who are trained and certified in CPR or hands only CPR as well as automated external defibrillators, AEDs, to get the heart started again, the more lives can be saved during cardiac emergencies. And whereas it is important for members of the public to not only be trained and certified in the use of CPR and AEDs, but to be ready and willing to put their knowledge into action quickly and confidently in a cardiac emergency. And whereas training in first aid CPR and AEDs is available year round from organizations such as the American Heart Association, American Red Cross and other local agencies. And whereas Congress passed a resolution in 2007 to set aside June 1 to 7 each year as National CPR and AED Awareness Week. But these life saving skills can be needed at any time or place and should be known by as many people as possible. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Shasta County Board of Supervisors hereby recognizes the importance of CPR and AED training and encourages all Shasta County residents to have at least one person in their home trained in CPR and AED use who are ready to take action and help save lives in an emergency.
(14:41) There was one public commenter on R1 who reiterated the need for persons trained in CPR.
(16:11) R1 passed on unanimous vote.
(16:21) 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
(16:27) CEO Dave Rickert: I’ll apologize upfront. This is a rather lengthy report, but it’s a lot of good news. I want to share with the board on Thursday, October 24 I participated as a celebrity reader in the celebrity reader program in Ms. Harris’s second grade class at Meadow Lane Elementary School in Anderson, California. My reading assignment was Brick by Brick by Heidi Woodward Sheffield. I also participated in an extensive discussion concerning my job and what it’s like to live near Chicago, which was my former location.
Moving on to County business. I have a report from Auditor-Controller Nolda Short. She has, the county is thrilled to announce that for the 10 consecutive year, our auditor-controller’s office has been honored with a certificate of achievement and excellence from the financial reporting by Government Finance Officers Association. This prestigious award recognizes the county’s commitment to transparent financial reporting. Also, our annual county financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023 has been carefully judged, meeting the high standards of the program that includes demonstrating a consecutive spirit of full disclosure to clearly communicate our financial history, motivating potential users to delve into the report. This recognition is a estimate to the department dedication to fiscal responsibility and adhering to the highest standards in governmental accounting and financial reporting. Furthermore, for an impressive 25 year in a row, she asked the counties receive the award for county fiscal transactions reporting from the state of California’s Comptroller’s Office reinforcing our commitment to excellence. We extend our gratitude to Nolda Short’s leadership and the incredible staff in the auditor controller’s office for all their hard work and dedication. We look forward to another year of serving Shasta County with excellence.
Moving on to the HHSA acting director, Christy Coleman. On October 15, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a letter providing the scoring information for the County of Shasta Housing Authorities Section 8 Management Association Program or CMAP for fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. CMAP enables HUD to better manage the housing choice voucher program by identifying the PHA capabilities and deficiencies related to the administration of the HCV program. As a result, HUD will be able to provide more effective programs assisting to PHAs . The county of Shasta Housing Authority final score for the year ending June 30, 2024 was a 96%. The housing authority’s overall designation is high performing. This is a testament to the hard work of the staff at the Housing authority.
And finally, for HHSA on October 17, the California Department of Health Care Services provided notice that acting HHSA director Christy Coleman was approved to be the acting Mental Health director for Shasta County. Once completing this twelve month appointment, Christie would then be eligible to be approved as the Mental Health director for the County. Christie serving in this capacity would eliminate the need to hire an employee with Mental Health director credentials, thereby saving costs for the county.
And finally moving on to the Director of Public Works Troy Bartolomei, a notice of completion for the South County Patrol and EOC facility was recorded on September 4, 2024. The final construction cost was 4.6 million. There were a few large change orders including construction of CMU, concrete masonry unit wall and infrastructure for considerable IT improvements. The total estimated cost of the project was 5 million. So we came in under budget. This project was funded with the accumulated capital outlay and impact fees and this concludes my report.
District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert.
(20:34) Supervisor Mary Rickert, District 3: Attended the CAB meeting. Lawrence from Sacramento from CSBE Community Services block grant. He talked a great deal about that. It was very supportive of local control. Attended a Round Mountain Forum that I had organized. We had a good turnout. I attended the Shasta County Superior Court Behavioral Health program of graduates. There were six of them and I really appreciate Judge Flynn. Used to be Judge Cara Beatty ran this program and she’s retired, but Judge Flynn is doing an outstanding job taking it over and he understands the complexity of comorbid conditions that these graduates have and does an excellent job with the program. And many departments are involved as educators and support to help these young people get back on track. Shasta County Mental Health, Probation, the DA’s office, Public Defender and the court system. So they all need to be applauded for their participation in this program.
I attended the Shield dinner. Brett Gouvea was honored there. For those of you I don’t know, it’s something that we established about six years ago here at the county and it’s basically a training center off Caterpillar road. So it was a huge turnout. Attended the PS A agency on aging meeting. I partially attended the Elections Commission meeting, listened to a lot of public comment, listened to part of the presenter who had come to give a presentation. And then I had another meeting I had to take off for.
Attended the State of the Tribe luncheon for Redding Rancheria. We had our meeting of the law library and I wrote a letter of support for Live For Yourself Foundation. And this is a group that’s trying to provide a facility for the elderly mentally ill who are homeless in Shasta County. They’ve been working on this project for a while. I’ve been involved in discussions. And so I’m continuing trying to support that.
I went to Chico to attend the Nortech meeting. The one topic that came up was broadband. Of course, being it’s mostly rural supervisors, we all shared our frustrations with the lack of good internet service in the very rural areas. I was asked to do the ribbon cutting for the Red Ribbon Week by the Chemical People. We turned the lights on on the Sundial Bridge red in honor of that. I attended the proposition one meeting here in these chambers. Anyone involved, the mental health system of care, community-based organizations and committees, a lot of people came, there was probably 100 in attendance. So we have really good interest. Some of you are here today, so I appreciate you attending that. So I do think that Shasta County will be very active in aggressively trying to get some of that funding. I had a tour and I want to thank Mr. Robert Cronic. He’s here today. The Market Street Manor Motel, I toured that. You’ve got an excellent program there. You know, it’s heartwarming to see all the lives that you’re impacting. And so that was a great tour.
I went and visited, I did some observation at the elections office. I did witness a member of the public coming in and not being particularly polite to our staff. So I was a little disappointed in that. I attended the Shasta County Cattleman’s meeting. Agritourism is a concern of theirs and I’ve shared my concerns with Adam Fieseler who had been working with that. So I will continue to stay in that, continue to follow up on that particular subject. I’m going to make sure that we have a representative from the Cattleman’s Association at those agritourism meetings.
I want to thank Troy Bartolomei, the county and Caltrans are now going to meet and discuss the Silver Bridge 44 interchange. There’s been several accidents there. We’ve been kind of concerned about that. I use that road periodically myself and it’s not the safest area. So they’re planning on looking at trying to make some adjustments along the bank to make sure there’s more visibility for people that drive there.
And then on Saturday, my husband and I attended the Betty Peak service and there were probably at least 1000 people there from all over Northern California and probably Nevada and Oregon. The Peak family is well known. They had the Shasta Livestock Auction Yard. They still own it but they were the premier auction facility in the Western United States. And so obviously, there were a lot of people there to honor her life and she was a 50 year friend of mine. So she will be missed.
And I want to announce too, and I know we have one Fall River Valley resident in the audience, but they did catch the bank robbers that were at Fall River. So it was an FBI thing. They started in West Hollywood and they worked their way up the West Coast and they caught him in Seattle and they’d really done a number on a lot of banks. But for those of us that use TriCounties Bank in Fall River, we’re glad we have it. It was kind of traumatic for us. We don’t have things like this happen very often.
So, and the last but not least, and I have talked to Tom Toller and Joanna Francescut about this, but I’ve had a couple of constituents contact me of not getting their ballots in the mail. They’ve got their voter guides. But so we’re kind of monitoring that. I don’t know if that’s happening in other districts, but I just want to be sure that we are careful about that and make sure everyone gets their ballot this year. So with that, that concludes my report.
District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom
(26:20) Supervisor Chris Kelstrom, District 5: October 16, I attended the Shasta County Chamber of Commerce Meet and Greet up in Lakehead, a new business up there. And then on the October 19, Amarjit Singh that just did our invocation invited me down to the flag ceremony at the Sikh center. And I was going to lead the crowd in the flag salute, but instead we had a much better option. Maddie was a new citizen. She just was sworn in three months ago as a new United States citizen. So she led the group in the pledge of allegiance and it was pretty heartwarming.
On October 22, I also attended the State of the Tribe event with all five board members here, CEO Rickert, David Muang and I believe CFO Erin Bertain filled out our table. And then while I was in town, I went to the SRTA fiscal meeting. I am an alternate on that board. So I didn’t really need to be there. But since I was in town, I decided to go anyways and it worked out well because Redding Mayor Tenessa Audette is on that board and as many of you know, she’s also running for State Assembly, so she’s a little busy right now and she was having to phone in her votes and on the phone and she said, well, hey, since Chris is there, just have him take over since he’s an alternate. So it worked out very well. And then that same night I went up to Shingletown to the fire safety council meeting at Black Butte Junior High school. And then I also attended Betty Peak’s celebration of life or as she was better known as Tornado Betty on the Western Shop in at the auction yard for many, many years. Looking out through the crowd, there must have been 300 cowboy hats and Woody Clendenen mentioned that most of them are probably bought at Shasta Western shop. And I told him, well, the only thing I know is in 1987 they didn’t have any size 15 cowboy boots. But other than that I bought a lot of stuff from Betty Peak. So that concludes my report.
District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones
(28:04) Supervisor Patrick Jones, District 4: Attended Redding Area Bus Authority RABA meeting. It was a fairly short meeting. We covered our normal stuff, our transit manager’s report and a proclamation policy or procurement policy. But one thing that did come out is that over the summer, we did a ride, a free event that lasted several months and what we found was the homeless was starting to use the bus a considerable amount. It created some problems. And so next year, at the same time, they will discuss whether to continue that program for RABA or not. Also attended the Behavioral Health Court with most of the board. And this program is similar to the Addicted Defender program that most of us are familiar with and it’s a collaborative effort and you know, it really helps folks that have symptoms, that are diagnosed with mental health issues combined with addiction problems so it was nice to see that program. Judge Judge Flynn always does a great job.
Attended CSA6 in Jones Valley. And for most people, if they’re not familiar, they’ve had, you know, most of the CSAs in these water districts have all had considerable issues over the years, but I’m really happy to say CSA6 is down to a 17% water loss. And that actual number is less than that because they have to do flush outs and various things and they did have to replace one valve, which there was some water loss. So their true water loss is probably under 10%. And so that is, you know, in part or most all by public works doing that. And that’s this particular CSA has had well over a 50% water loss for a lot of years and that was very costly to them. By having under a 10% water loss, what will happen is their bank account will start rapidly improving. And so that’s important for CSA6 and other CSAs that are in my district have good improvements like this as well.
And I also went to the State of the Tribe. They had a great presentation. I have gone to many of these State of the Tribe events over the years, but I would say this one was probably the very best and the most complete. We got a ton of information as to what they do and as a sovereign nation, they really do run a great organization that would match probably any organization that I know of. So, they’re doing a great job. They’re advancing their organizations extremely well. So I’m very happy for them.
Attended the election commission meeting as well and they had a presentation there, that gave a presentation about the time clocks with regards to our Hart machines. And what was noted in that was that approximately 22 times the clock was off during the last 2024 primary. Eight times these were adjusted in early morning or late evenings, which has still not been explained yet as to how these clocks are self adjusting and it has nothing to do with daylight savings time. There was some issues with 2 of the Canon 2140 not resetting for daylight savings times, two did adjust and then two did not. This other issue is the clock just simply changing, you know, at 2:30 in the morning, 3:30 in the morning, I have begun to take a look at the motion detector cameras and have noted that at every time there’s been nobody in the ROV during those times. In fact, most of the time members of the election department come in at roughly eight o’clock in the morning, they roughly were all gone before six o’clock in the evening. So from six o’clock all the way to eight o’clock, the cameras pick up no motion. And so these clocks were changing at a time when there was no one in the building. And so this presenter that showed this information to the election commission meeting, those are going to be taken up. We’re going to come back to this board with some discussion as to how that is possible. How are the clocks changing when no one’s inside the building? I think that’s a fair question.
And then chair, lastly, I’d like to make a motion to bring back an idea that it’s come to my attention that some whistleblowers in the investigations are one not being done in a timely manner or being done at all. And so I would like to bring back, I’m making a motion to bring back for discussion a policy to put into place that all whistleblower investigations shall be investigated in a timely manner within two months. And so I put that into a motion to bring back, say not the next meeting, but the following meeting.
(32:45) Supervisor Crye: Counsel, is that something we just bring back or do we just do we need a motion and a vote for that?
(32:54) Counsel Larmour: You can, you can just let the CEO know that you would like to bring that back and take a vote on it. It’s fine.
Supervisor Jones: I’ll withdraw my motion. CEO. You’re ok with bringing that back maybe in two meetings from now.
CEO Rickert: I will do that.
Supervisor Jones: All right. And that concludes my reports.
District 2 Supervisor Tim Garman.
(33:11) Supervisor Tim Garman, District 2: I attended the CAB meeting, Community Action Board meeting with Supervisor Rickert. Supervisor-elect Long was also there. Attended the Behavioral Health Court ceremony, I think we were all there. I think that was, those are my favorite things to go to those graduation. Like Supervisor Jones said, the addicted offender program. All those are just so rewarding to go there and see these people have made the change in their life and to see their families interact with these people and my hat’s off to Judge Flynn and Probation Department. Everybody puts the effort in to turn these people’s lives around. Of course, the individual has to be the one to make the change. But the pieces are in place if people really want to make the change and it was just, it’s just so heartwarming to see those.
Attended the PSA 2 Area on Aging with Supervisor Rickert. Was there at the State of the Tribe with everyone else. That was a really good ceremony that they put on. I also attended the Prop One Funding community forum which is held here in these chambers with Supervisor Rickert and Supervisor-Elect Long and Plummer were both here as well. That was a really good event and I was able to talk with Christy Coleman a little bit after the event and there’s some possibility that some good things can come out of that. So hopefully further conversations will happen with Prop One funding, we’ll find an avenue to be able to get some of those grants that are possibly coming our way.
I met with some folks over at the Market Street Manor. I talked about what they’re doing over there and it’s good to see what they’re doing. They’re making a difference. Had other opioid settlement conversations which I’ll save for later today, is coming up on our agenda. I also attended the First Five Shasta Commission meeting, that was yesterday and I actually had a chance to talk with Doctor Mu a little bit afterwards. And so Doctor Mu, thank you for the conversation. We talked a little bit about type one diabetes and why are so many kids being diagnosed and even adults. It’s not just kids anymore that’re being diagnosed. It is a problem with our community and all across the world actually not just here, but it is a problem. I also want to say congratulations Christy to HHA and housing for being recognized for your success there.
And then the last thing I’ll add to my report is on November 9, so coming up in two Saturdays, the NorCal children’s diabetes club will be hosting a diabetes awareness walk on the Sundial Bridge. Everybody is welcome to come and attend and support that. Please wear blue. That’s the the ribbon color for, for diabetes. So if you have a blue shirt, throw that on or a blue sweater might be more appropriate. It’s getting a little chilly. That event will be from 11 a.m. to noon and the Anderson Lions Club will be helping out this year, which is new. So thank you Anderson Lions Club and probably some other Lions clubs will be there as well. So thank you for all those. With that chair that concludes my report.
District 1 Supervisor/Chair Kevin Crye
(36:17) Supervisor Kevin Crye, District 1: Going back two weeks, I made a couple of different radio show appearances about Measures P and Q. Had Boulder Creek’s Career Day, did that with Clerk of the Board Stefany Blankenship. That was actually a lot of fun.
Attended the Stand Down at the fairgrounds with Troy, our VSO, great event. I’d like to see us grow that a little bit more and I know Troy being the VSO going forward, we’ll have now a year to prepare for that. Met with Larry Olmstead for the United Way Bringing the Community Together meeting. Attended the commencement ceremony for Behavioral Health. Again, Supervisor Garman, everybody else, has articulated that it’s super impactful. What I like most about that ceremony is you, you have people that got to a point where they stopped making excuses and they start putting action forward and turn their lives around because it’s not just about they made it, but it’s the, the change they’ve made in the reunification stories with some of them, with their children are, are it, it’s what’s going to make the difference. We can’t just keep pumping money. I know we have the opioid thing coming up but we can’t just keep pumping money into failed programs. It’s about people that actually want to make that change and supporting programs that are helping people make that change.
Attended the an event at the Redding Senior Center about elections and getting out the vote. Had the A21 walk to bring awareness to human trafficking and then attended the candlelight vigil that following Wednesday at the Sundial Bridge about sex trafficking and some stats about children lost at the border. And that was that was a, that was a very impactful walk and it was in very impactful candlelight vigil on Wednesday with, especially when you start digging into the stats. And then knowing that Shasta County here in Redding is a thoroughfare as I-5 connects Canada and Mexico.
So attended the Elections Commission briefly. Met with the sheriff actually multiple times either in phone conversations or in meetings about a DHE program which again, that’ll be in the opioid component body cams that will be coming forward here in the next couple of meetings. We’ve been diligently working on that. If you remember about a month ago or actually, it was over that a couple of months ago, Sheriff Johnson and I met with Melissa Fowler Bradley across the street with the courts and trying to clear up some confusion in the community about the state of crime and where we are, are we not arresting people? Are we not prosecuting people? Are we arresting them? But then they’re getting released, what’s going on? Well, I’m, I’m happy to say that I’ve met with the DA, the DA has now met with Melissa Fowler Bradley. That meeting was about three hours. There are follow-up meetings to come. Part of that process will be once the public defender is officially in place. So I will continue to report about that because having the media tell the story of what’s going on when the actual people are not talking. Well, now they’re talking, they’re getting to the table and we’re going to get to the bottom of what some of these issues are in our community as it relates to law and order. And I don’t wanna say punishment, but I want to say people having to atone for the things they’ve done.
I met with Anderson Police Department as well, met with again, multiple organizations over the opioid dollars. And you know, I started this report talking a little bit about measures P and Q former councilman and mayor Mike –
(39:57) Counsel Larmour: Chairman. If you, if you could, based on the electioneering laws and the labels on the outside of the building, we can’t have that discussion today.
Supervisor Crye: What is that?
Counsel Larmour: Ultimately, this is considered a polling place and within 100 ft of that, we couldn’t have discussions about items on the agenda or on the ballot.
Supervisor Crye: Oh, about P and Q? Oh, ok. So I will say that, ok, so Mike Dacquisto, former mayor is, has a, has a post out today that is very articulate and this is why local control is important. So I would encourage you to go read Mike Dacquisto’s post and why everything in this county needs to return to you because everybody seated out there and watching is the government, not five people up here but you. So with that, that concludes my report.
Support Services
Simple Majority Vote(40:55) Monica Fugitt: The item before you, if approved, would adopt a resolution appointing Ashley Jones as public defender effective November 3 at the C step of the salary range at $90.10 hourly. The former public defender Bill Bateman submitted his notice of retirement effective September 24th. Shasta County code section 2.24 0.020 and chapter six of the Shasta County personnel rules established the position is appointed by the board at the recommendation of the CEO. The county conducted a recruitment process for the new public defender and upon conclusion of that recruitment process, the CEO recommended to the board that Ashley Jones be appointed to the position. Miss Jones is well qualified for the appointment. She has been employed with Shasta County since 2011 and possesses 14 years of service as a deputy public defender, including seven years in a supervisory role. She began her career in indigent defense in Shasta County in 2008 and has handled a variety of cases including misdemeanors, sexual assaults and homicides, and I’m sure that’s just some of it. This concludes the p0resentation. She is here in the audience if you’d like to address her, if you have any questions for either myself or Ms. Jones.
Ashley Jones
(42:18) Ashley Jones: In 2008, I interned with the Shasta County Public Defender office. I didn’t really know what public defenders did but I thought some court experience might look good on my resume. That summer changed the trajectory of my entire career. I learned that public defenders play an incredibly valuable part of our justice system. They work tirelessly to protect the constitutional rights and dignity of every person they represent and they don’t do it for money or for praise, they do it because they believe and they know that in order to provide true justice, the type of trial a person receives should be not based on the amount of money that they have. The staff at the Shasta County Public Defender office in particular are some of the most hard working dedicated public servants you will ever meet. It has been truly an honor to have worked there and it is an incredible honor to be standing before you today and to have the opportunity to serve them that office and my community where I’m born and raised. I look forward to unifying the staff within that department so that we can continue to provide excellent legal services to our community and hopefully strengthen our justice system for years to come. So, thank you.
(43:49) Public Comment on R3 began. There was one commenter.
(44:19) Delores Lucero: I just want to say that I hope this new person, I don’t mean anything, you know, but I just hope that we get someone who’s willing to really look at everything what’s been going on and hopefully to enforce the laws because we have so much corruption in this county that even people in, in office that we depend on to enforce and to follow the laws don’t even follow the laws. They’re also breaking the law. So I hope this new person does enforce the laws and if anybody are breaking the laws in any department, they need to be accountable and actually take action in regarding people who think they’re above the law to break those laws. So I, I hope there’s change and good luck.
R3 passed on an unanimous vote.
Health and Human Services Agency Administration(45:23) R4 Receive a financial presentation from the Health and Human Services Agency (Sponsored by Supervisor Crye).
No Vote
(46:55) Christy Coleman: I am Christy Coleman, HHSA interim agency director. I am here today to give some updates on topics that have had some questions over the past few months. [Wait for slide show to begin.] So I’m going to I did my president my introduction. So I’m going to be on slide two. So the first topic that we are going to discuss is the additional use of fund balance for the year fiscal year 2223. On the next slide, you’ll see a timeline of information for the fiscal year 2223 budget and you will see that there is communication happening every month regarding budgets for the agency from the time I came into the agency in December of 2022. Their budget to actual is email out every month. January and February showed no issues. And on January 30, 23 the payroll analysis showed that the social services cost center was to end of the year under budget by approximately $9.5 million. Laura Burch asked how the salary projections were so off and the response was related to salary savings and vacancies. After the payroll analysis for April came out on April 20, 2023, Laura asks are these compared to Midyear budget amendments? And the response was, yes. Laura asks, So we are millions under our midyear estimates? The response, yes, we reduce the salary and benefits by 5 million at midyear and we’re projected to end fiscal year 2223 under budget by an additional $3.8 million may showed one area being over budget by 1%. And on June 6, 23 Laura was provided an updated payroll analysis that showed HHSA being under budget and all budget units and that the 501 cost center was to end of the year $4.3 million under budget and salary benefits. In August, the CEO’s office was notified that there were cost centers that went over in one area but were ok overall. Then in mid September of 23 I was notified that the overage was at the budget unit and not just in one area. When asked how this happened and how this changed from what we just, we had just told the CAOs Office last month, I was told that it was due to revenue not materializing as budgeted and that revenue had been over projected. The CEOs office was notified of the revenue not materializing in October of 23, which is in alignment with how departments are supposed to report issues and concerns. As shown from this timeline the information provided, questions asked and responses received all showed the social services budget was going to end the year millions under budget. However, that is not how the fiscal year ended.
Some other information to note is there were high projections in the budgets for 2223. Past budget methodology was used for projecting revenue and expenses and this was not the first year. HHS A had received an over-budget memo from the auditor controller’s office. What is being done now, monitoring of budgets and expenditures and revenue side happen at least monthly, sometimes even weekly or daily. Budgeting is based on actuals from the prior year. Training of all levels of staff, internal tracking tools have been developed to allow for more detailed monitoring to ensure all revenue is received and expenditures are an accurate representation of what is actually needed in each year. The slides show that questions were asked about information. The slides show questions were asked about information and the information provided and the answers received were not accurate reflection of where the budget actually ended.
I want to thank our admin team for being flexible with the changes that have been made working through the in depth questions that are being asked and being part of the change as budget is an ongoing conversation.
The next topic I want to discuss is that HHSA was forced to give the HHAP funds back to the city and that the county just gave up its lead role as lead agency. This slide shows the timeline for transfers of the HHAP funds. The county started helping the Housing and Community Action Agency in January of 23 but was not actually appointed as lead agency for the COC until June 1 of 23. During the time HHSA was helping the housing and community action agency, staff were working on sub recipient agreements for the HHAP 3 contracts to get the funds out to the community. Between January and June 23. HHSA had internal conversations about being lead agency and due to the administrative fees being spent and the liability for being the lead agency, a decision was made to give notice. On June 20, 23 HHSA gave notice to not be lead agency effective August 21, 23. On July 20, 23 the COC executive board voted to have the City of Redding be the lead agency for the NorCal COC. September 19, the Redding City Council agreed to be the administrative entity for the NorCal COC. And on September 22, the county had its first meeting with the state about transferring HHAP funds and contracts to the city. During this time, a request for funds came in from a community-based organization and it was paid. After cash had closed for the month of October and the county was able to run a new expenditure report, the county sent the new information to the state on November 20, 2023.
December 15, 23 the county received signed HHAP one and two amendments from the state. And on December 27, the county sent the additional information requested for the HHAP three amendment. January 10, 24, the county received the HHAP three amendment from the state. And on January 23, 24 all HHAP amendments were approved by the Board of Supervisors. As you can see from this timeline it took the county four months to work with the state, the city, county counsel and our fiscal team to get the amendments from the state approved by the Board of Supervisors and the funds to the city. During the four month time period, the county had many conversations and emails with the state and the COC. Emails about the HHAP transfer included staff from the city as well as COC members.
Some other information to share. The county couldn’t start the process with the state to transfer the HHAP until the COC identified a new lead agency and that entity had received approval from its border council. Once the city received their council, their council’s approval, then the county could have conversations with the state. That conversation with the state happened three days after approval came. The county continued to work on processing what is needed for the transfer and continued to incur administrative expenses even after we could no longer charge to the HHAP grants. The county made the decision to not be the lead agency because of the cost of being the lead agency and there were not enough administrative funds to cover the cost to operate the COC as well as the liability for being a lead agency for a seven county Continuum of Care. Even though the county isn’t the lead agency, we are still a member of the Shasta Advisory Board and we helped with the collaborative application process.
I want to take a minute to share some achievements. The housing authority went from being a troubled housing authority to a high performing housing authority. In one year, our community health advocates were honored with a shining care excellence in public service award in February. Our TF team received a 94% accuracy rating from CDSS. We had 124 reunifications in child welfare in over a one year time period. And morale has been a focus and includes many different aspects across our agency. One that I want to point out is our employee exchange days where Laura and I went to every single office that we have and we heard from all staff who are willing to share. We took suggestions from staff and we implemented changes. HHSA staff are passionate about the work they do. They are hard working individuals who are here to help the community. We are focused on moving forward and ensuring that our staff have what they need to feel successful in their job assignments that we are good collaborative partners and continue to do the most good for our community. Thank you.
(59:00) Supervisor Garman: This is a great report and I’m glad you kind of was able to share some of this information with the public. I think the public needed to know this. So, thank you for putting this together. I do have one question for you and maybe it’s a little off topic, but is there any truth to what the former CFO had reported out?
Counsel Larmour: I’m sorry, that’s an employment matter and she couldn’t speak on that.
Supervisor Garman: To what he reported?
Counsel Larmour: Well, so ultimately, she would be confirming or denying items, which may indicate whether he was released or whether he was terminated. So I, I would instruct her not to answer.
(59:47) Supervisor Jones: Very good report as always. I wanted to talk a little bit about the North Cal COC. You know, when we ran that for seven years and it was costing us in excess of, I think 400,000 a year. And so we provided that service for the multiple counties for a long time. We decided we made a good decision not to do that. The City of Redding has since took that up, but they’re finding the same situation right now as well. And I suspect quite possibly by the end of the this year or early next year, they will not want to be the lead agency as well because of these extra costs that are going to occur. And so the reality is, I think probably each of these counties are going to need to probably do their own is what the conclusion would be. We got criticized for getting out of the co being the lead agency for that. We’re still going to perform the functions and do the same things and you know, and the City now is finding out the very thing that we had responded to them earlier. So I appreciate your help on that and it’s saving the taxpayers a lot of money. Thank you.
(1:00:55) Supervisor Crye: You have quotes and the people, I don’t know if I don’t think it was up there at the time, but Lauren here, is there’s quotes around when he says so there are millions under mid year estimates. Is that in an email or is that –
Christy Coleman: That is in an email.
Supervisor Crye: That is in an email. So if people wanted to PRA that they could, they could actually get the email aboard that. Who’s that email with, that she is saying that information?
Christy Coleman: It’s with prior staff in the admin branch.
Supervisor Crye: So the creation and I remember this, this was very, very early in my first year. So this is in 23 the creation of the internal accountability and compliance team. You guys found improprieties in a nonprofit that led to eventually, that nonprofit terminating their director. And I, and I wanted to bring that forward. You guys. Laura at the time, said no. What, what is, what is the stance right now of HHSA when these types of things happen are we? And, and this may be even something for County counsel because I’m, I’m really curious as to when, when there is an audit and there is, let’s say it’s not criminal activity because unless somebody files a police report, like I’ve done in another nonprofit, what, what is the, what is the county policy about when there are findings and how we can bring that to light whether they’re with employees or with outside agencies that are contracting with county or state dollars.
(1:02:33) Counsel Larmour: That, that’s pretty abstract. I mean, a lot of it has to do with the types of violations and, and who under some circumstances, we have mandatory reporting requirements to certain governmental agencies. So I would, I would say without a specific set of facts or specific fact pattern that we don’t have an in a policy that encompasses all that. It’s something that happen based on the specific instance.
Supervisor Crye: I have nothing else. This was, this was very thorough and I appreciate you clearing some of this information up. I mean, it says that because you guys get a lot of flak your agency about you guys aren’t bring forth items. I mean, is there, is there anything else that you feel HHSA could be doing to report out on financial standings? I mean, I mean, you guys already have the reports you put out. So where can the media get that information? So like this, I mean, this essentially vindicates HHSA of much has been what has been reported in the last 6 to 8 months. So is there any other steps you guys could take as an agency to bring some of that stuff out?
(1:03:45) Christy Coleman: I guess it would depend on what information you would want brought out. We do have a robust community relations team that could release more information out into the media and our social media page help us do some different, you know, posts that could be related to that. And so if we have specific details on what information would want to be released, we could definitely work with our team to do that.
Supervisor Crye: I mean, I’m not, I’m not, I don’t, I don’t, what’s tough for me is I don’t want and this is just as much for the community. But you know, when somebody says there’s a $9 million surplus and they thought, oh shoot, I didn’t carry the one. It was actually worth a $6 million deficit. Like, that’s really hard for me, Counsel Larmour, to not hold that person publicly responsible especially with the strife it’s caused HHSA and the community around that. I mean, that’s just, that’s such, it’s, it’s such gross incompetence to overshoot by $15 million anyway. I’ll stop.
(1:04:41) Supervisor Rickert: Yes, I have a question either for CEO Rickert or County Council Larmour. Is there a possibility that we could inform the public as to the status of the audits that are happening and how that’s moving forward or is that something we can’t talk about?
Supervisor Crye: That was brought up in closed session. We can’t talk about it.
Supervisor Rickert: Well, I just want to know the status of them.
Counsel Larmour: There were two public audits that were published by the State of California that would be available for public disclosure. And Christie’s office could release that information.
Supervisor Rickert: And will there be other audits or do you know?
Counsel Larmour: I can’t comment on ongoing if there are ongoing investigations or audits? I can’t comment on that.
(1:05:34) Christy Coleman: I can say that audits are a part of our job. We do, we get audits from the state all the time. It’s just kind of depending on the grant of the program. You know, some are audited monthly, some are audited quarterly or yearly. It just really kind of depends on the program and the grant. So there is a lot of audits out there and audits are not a bad thing. They’re not –
Supervisor Rickert: They’re a good thing. They’re a good thing and that’s all I just wanted to bring up the fact that there have been audits and that the public needs to know that there are outside eyes. And that’s true of any program.
Board of Supervisors
Simple Majority Vote
Erin Bertain
(1:06:46) Erin Bertain: Erin Bertain, Deputy County Executive Officer. Shasta County currently has just under $10.5 million from opioid litigation settlements and expected to receive under 39 million through fiscal year 38/39. This projection is subject to change as there is one settlement currently pending, at least one additional bankruptcy settlement, and potential additional litigation that could be filed, all of which would increase the funding for Shasta county. On September 24, the board voted to have each supervisor bring back recommendations for how to allocate the settlement dollars. The item before you today is to have that discussion and consider providing direction of staff.
As a reminder, this funding has spending parameters which are contained in exhibit E, which was attached to the staff report, and at least 50% of the funding has to be spent in a high impact abatement areas which include the provision of matching funds or operating costs for the substance use disorder facilities within the Behavioral Health continuum infrastructure program, creating new or expanded substance use disorder treatment infrastructure, addressing the needs of communities of color and vulnerable populations that are disproportionately affected by substance use disorder, diversion of people with substance use disorder from the justice system into treatment, interventions to protect drug addiction and vulnerable youth, and the purchase of or expanded access to naloxone. As I already mentioned, we do not have the full $39 million currently. We received a significant amount of money in the last couple of months. But following this year, our payments are projected to average about $2 million over the next 14 years.
In addition, the funding must be spent within seven years from when it is received if it is spent on capital projects, and within five years if the items chosen are not capital projects. So with that, I would like to turn the discussion over to the board and be happy to answer any questions if you have that.
(1:08:33) Supervisor Garman: So I have a quick question with the money. The 2 million a year is coming through. Is there certain restrictions with this money?
Erin Bertain: So yes, so there is. So there are a bunch of restrictions that are located in exhibit E and then 50% have to be spent on those specific areas that I listed. And so the additional restriction is the time restriction, right? Because we have to spend the money within five years if it’s not on a capital project from when we receive it, or within seven years, if it’s on a capital project. So it’s going to make it a little bit complicated in that, particularly the timing of it because in this year already, we’ve received like $6.5 million. That clock started ticking with that money. So we won’t be able to spend that money over the course of the 14 years. It would have to be spent within either five or seven years from when we received it.
Supervisor Garman: So 6.5 is what needs to be spent sooner than later.
Erin Bertain: Well, so we have, we actually have an additional, we have 10.5 right now, right. So we had 6.5 this year, we had $4 million that were received last year and the year before. So those, that clock on that money is already ticking. And then it just keeps, and you spend it first in, first out. So we wouldn’t have to necessarily say I’m going to spend the melon crop bankruptcy on this thing, you know, when we reported it annually, I would report, you know, the first in, first out. But we do have to spend it in the parameters. So it makes a little bit complicated and then there are rules on what –
Supervisor Crye: This is all stuff you reported on at our last meeting a month.
Erin Bertain: Correct. And it’s also included in the staff report.
(1:10:12) A long discussion began with each supervisor having their own input about what they felt the opioid settlement money should be spent on.
(1:38:41) Public comment on R5 began. There were fifteen commenters who were generally supportive of using the opioid money for treatment centers.
(1:39:39) Steve Kohn: Good morning board, staff, community members. Good to see everybody here. I came in late, so I’m not sure what all has been discussed. But had an opportunity in the last few weeks to talk to a lot of the people involved in the opioid issue. And I didn’t realize how ignorant I was about the thing, what I found, you know, I’ve been working for getting enough jail space to compel people to get drug treatment. But what I found out blew me away and that is that if there’s an individual out there right now that wants to get into a treatment program because he decide he had an epiphany or it just happens to be that window of opportunity that he wants to get help. There aren’t beds to help him. To me, that’s the low hanging fruit. Let’s get them before they’re arrested before they run through the legal system before they’re a burden to the hospitals for overdoses and all that. And so we should have the ability to accommodate anyone that decides that they’re ready to go into treatment. And we probably should also have medical assisted treatment for them to make it more successful and appealing. But let’s take the low hanging fruit first. You know, certainly down the road, you compelling people to get treatment is going to be important, but I had no idea that beds are not available. Now, how many we need? I don’t know. Do we need 25? Do we need 50? I think it’s probably in the 50 to 100 range that we need to be able to have residential care for people that want drug treatment. So I would think that would be the main focus because there’s people out there. We’re worried about the drug problem and we’re turning them away because we don’t have treatment facilities or the ability to treat them. So let’s focus on that. I think please, I think that would help.
(1:53:47) Brandon Thornock: Good morning, esteemed members of the Shasta County of Board of Supervisors. My name is Brandon Thornock. I am the CEO of Shasta Community Health Center. Our team of physicians, therapists, counselors, case workers, et cetera, quite frankly, are privileged to care for approximately 40,000 Shasta County citizens through over 100 and 50,000 patient visits annually. And honestly, if you take a look at a three year time frame because not everybody comes to the doctor every year. That number approaches 60,000 Shasta County citizens. Our mission is clear to provide accessible health care to every individual who needs it regardless of their circumstances. With compassion and understanding central to this mission is our commitment to treating substance use, a commitment we have upheld. The medication assisted treatment service supports a rolling census of roughly 265 individuals. Additionally, we have around 200 patients enrolled in substance use treatment without the aid of medication. Each of these patients represents more than just a number. They are community members striving to escape the grip of addiction, reconnect with their families, secure employment and rediscover their place as positive contributing members of society, we take immense pride in seeing the lives transformed by this work and there are many who have seen this transformation over the years in light of the opioid settlement funding. I believe Shasta County is in a position to do even more to tackle the opioid cross crisis in an effective united way and the process matters. I’m here to propose that the board design a process allowing all agencies invested in preventing and treating opioid addiction to submit proposals to a fair unbiased selection committee. By opening up this process, Shasta County can harness the collective expertise and innovative ideas of health care providers, treatment centers, community organizations, county agencies and other stakeholders, many of whom have been collaborating together in this work for several years already, so that every qualified organization will have an equal opportunity to contribute, helping create a system that reflects our shared commitment to the well being of our community. Establishing a fair and transparent proposal process will further ensure that we select programs that best align with Shasta County’s needs. By choosing based on merit and impact, we will be able to allocate resources more effectively expand the reach of successful programs and ultimately provide a broader safety net for those struggling with addiction. Such a process will also strengthen partnerships and enhance our existing foundation for collaborative approaches that address the complex and interconnected needs of individuals and families impacted by substance abuse. Thank you for considering this request. Shasta Community Health Center is eager to work in collaboration with the board and other agencies to bring renewed hope to the many residents of Shasta County who need and deserve our support together.
(2:03:00) Robert Cronic: You guys have a tough job ahead of you with this, with these funds here. You know, I spent about 15 years serving on the board at the Good News Rescue Mission. One of the things I saw when I was on the board there is there are a lot of programs out there to help people to recover. The challenge that I saw is once they get out and you’ve heard Matt Plummer talk about it, and some other people talk about it, is what happens once they get out, there’s a high recidivism rate that happens after that. So, I mean, there’s a lot of great things that we’re talking about today. I think what Mercedes Petit is doing is amazing. It’s something that we need to do here. But I think we need to focus also, how do we keep people from going back into that same lifestyle? And so I don’t necessarily want to advocate for the Manor, we’re doing that. We’re, I think community is a big part of what people need, they need, they need connection with other people. If you just give them a treatment and put them back out there and they don’t have that connection, there’s a high probability they’re going to go back to it. So that’s what we’re doing at the Manor. I don’t envy your guys’ position right now and you got, have a lot of things you have to consider, but I just pray for your guys’ success on that.
(2:21:03) Marcy Fernandez : My name is Marcy Fernandez and I am here to ask about prop one. I want to say that I’m disturbed by the notion that the drug addicts who are severely affected by these drugs are the ones that need to be held accountable. The ones that need to be held accountable are the greedy pharmacies and medical departments that have done this deed and they are the ones that have to pay this money and the money that they pay should be given in order to help people to have succumbed to their lies and their greed and their addictive drugs that have harmed their brains and they, they should not be the ones, they should be the ones held accountable and this money should go towards the people that they harmed. Shasta County is also responsible for a lot of the problems. We are very high in our numbers of people that are addicted and are mentally ill and abused. All the bad things are going on in Shasta County. And I believe that’s due to an HHS, a failure with holding positions vacant and making decisions to hire people who are not qualified who are needing, still needing a lot of training and not hiring people that already are ready to go with their credentials. I think this needs to be done. I’m sorry, I didn’t write this down. I’m going off the top of my head. And also if you think you’re going to prevent drug trafficking on I5, anybody who wants a drug and anybody who wants to sell the drug is going to get around that. What you need to do is get to the crux of the problem of why they’re addicted to the drug, how to help them. I know we all want to prevent it but that’s not very likely. And helping people with beds with. We need peer support. I believe a lot in peer support as a lot of people have already spoken about. Those are the people that can get to the people and, and help them to go get through this addiction.
(2:24:04) Supervisor Rickert: I’d like to make a motion that we hold a special meeting to go over this whole topic. And I have a list here of presenters and this is an incomplete list, but these are the ones off the top of my head I think should be giving presentations as Dr. Mercedes Petit, Shasta Community Health Center, Hill Country Community Health Center, Aegis, Good News Rescue Mission, Empire Recovery Center, Visions of the Cross and Redding Rancheria. And then I think we should just basically have one meeting dedicated to this topic because it’s it’s much more time consuming that we can cover in, in one of our regular meetings.
(2:25:00) The Board had another lengthy discussion about the meeting Supervisor Rickert proposed.
(2:53:26) Supervisor Rickert objected to having to make a decision about the opioid money the same day as the meeting. The motion passed 4-1 with Supervisor Rickert voting no.
(2:54:59) Delores Lucero: Man. You guys sure know how to drag something OK? You’re going into closed session, you’re going to be talking about totally different things that I wanted to say but I know the closed session when you come out, you sometimes you cannot disclose what takes place in closed session. What I do have some concerns about what happens in close session. There’s nothing in the law or anything that it says that you cannot disclose abuse, abuse when it happens in closed session has to be reported. So Mary, if they abuse you in closed session, please report it. Don’t hesitate. That actually needs to be reported. You as a whistleblower, you as a woman who gets abused by these men because I know they do and, and I know you need to disclose that that’s not something you need to stay quiet or silence because that’s actually important for the people to understand as long as you don’t disclose anything discussion in what items on the agenda that’s different. So Tim, I hope you, you know, look out for Mary in there because I think it’s pretty disgusting that you three men think you’re men by abusing a woman in closed session, including this, the legal counsel, the last meeting, a couple of meetings prior, he actually was telling her what she couldn’t say in the meeting abusing her in public. If I would have heard that, if I would have seen it, I would have said something. But you gotta remember Mr. Legal counsel and CEO, Mary is your boss. You work for her, even though there’s five of them, they she you guys work for her. It’s not the other way around. I don’t care if you have a license to practice law, you’re not her boss, she’s your boss. So you better get that through your head because you treated her the last time I saw you mistreated her here in public. So you better understand this has got to stop. This is I am. Abuse is our 10. What happens in closed session needs to be disclosed. That’s important. Yes, because you abuse her and abuse everybody else doesn’t give you the right to silence people that closed session. You gotta stop that bull because if I was in there, I wouldn’t allow that kind of crap to happen. You can’t abuse her anymore just because you don’t like her and you don’t like her opinion. She has a constitution right to say what she wants and to speak what she wants to say her constitution, right? That all you claim to have that constitution applies to all equally, not just to you, you can’t silence her. You can’t silence us either.
(2:57:54) CLOSED SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT
The Board of Supervisors will recess to a Closed Session to discuss the following item (estimated 15 minutes):
(2:58:16) REPORT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTIONS
There was no reportable action.
(2:59:04) There was continued board discussion on R5, about the criteria for public discussion at the November 12 special meeting concerning opioid money. After advice from Counsel Larmour, Supervisor Crye made a motion that commenters had to meet specific criteria, how many copies of their proposal they needed to bring, notice to the Clerk of the Board, et al.
There was one public commenter about the continuation of R5.
(3:04:23) Christian Gardinier: So when you have special meeting, as I understand it, you’re going to make a decision. You’re going to vote on something at the end of that meeting. Not having public comment, period could be a Brown Act violation. I need, I need you to look into that because I feel what you’re doing needs public input, not just from the the vendors that you’re asking to apply, but needs public input because this matter is so incredibly important.
Supervisor Crye: There is public comment on the item.
Christian Gardinier: In other words, I can come up and speak even though I’m not a vendor, is that true?
Supervisor Crye: Yes.
Christian Gardiner: Thank you. I just need a clarification on that.
The motion passed 5-0.
Public Works
Simple Majority Vote
Brandon Magby
(3:05:27) Brandon Magby, Right of Way Agent, Shasta County: Before you, so the first one is an abandonment of a public utility easement that was along a private road that the private road has since been relocated. I apologize. I wasn’t aware that –
(3:05:53) Supervisor Crye: Let me pause you. CEO Rickert?
CEO Rickert: I’m sorry, sir. Just for clarification to go to R6, we’re going to need a motion by the board to skip over public comment.
Stefany Blankenship: Our rules specify that if public comment isn’t heard by noon recess that we would go to public comment after all regular items are ok.
CEO Rickert: I’m sorry. I apologize.
Brandon Magby: Sorry. My apologies. I thought the projector was going to be working. So in your board packet, there is a map showing. So in 1979 a parcel map was filed to subdivide property into three parcels. The northerly two parcels ran northerly and southerly and there was a private road and public utility easement that crossed parcel one and you know, to supply electric to the second parcel. Then in 1993 the property lines were redrawn so that no northerly southerly property line separating the two properties were was eliminated. Thence, the the public utility easement dead ends in the middle of the same parcel and doesn’t serve anything. So there’s no need for that public utility easement. Currently, that easement is preventing the current property owner from doing additional additions to their home because they can’t meet the setbacks. So that’s the reason why the petition for the abandonment is before you today.
(3:07:52) Supervisor Jones asked Counsel Larmour if he should abstain on this issue. Counsel Larmour advised to use his best judgement since the parcel was four miles from Jones’s home. Supervisor Jones decided to abstain.
(3:09:07) There were two speaker requests on R6.
(3:09:30) Laura Hobbs: I wanted to voice my support for returning this easement back to the property owners. I don’t believe the county needs it or should benefit from this easement if there’s no longer a purpose to it.
(3:10:00) Delores Lucero: I just love the way people talk when you walk by. Ok. This, this item here on R6. Is this something going on here because you’re talking about an easement? You sure Mr. Patrick Jones is not involved with this he’s going to, he’s going to benefit from it or, you know, because it’s always, it seems like you, when you guys do something, it’s always benefiting you guys. It’s not for the public. So I, I just want to bring that to the attention because so far everything that you guys do, it’s all about you three.
(3:11:24) R6 passed on a 4-0 vote with Supervisor Jones abstaining.
(3:11:48) R7 Conduct a public hearing regarding vacating a public easement (Easement) located in the Keswick area (Stone Street) and adopt a resolution which finds the Easement is not necessary for current or future public use and orders the vacation of the Easement for road and utility purposes located in the unincorporated area of Shasta County.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
(3:11:48) Brandon Magby: Before you on this item is a petition for an abandonment of the remaining portion of Stone Street in the town of Keswick. It’s located between School Street and Whelan Street. This is a essentially, it’s a paper street which there are numerous paper streets out in Keswick. And as property owners come to us, these a lot of these streets and alleys have never been developed. The topography for this area doesn’t really, is not suitable for a street to be built the board previously, September last year, abandoned the easterly portion of Stone Street. So the adjoining property owner, when he saw that abandonment, when he was notified of that, he contacted the office to start the proceedings to abandon the rest of Stone Street and the alley line southerly of Stone Street that borders his parcels as well. So, that’s my presentation if you have any other questions.
There was one public commenters on R7.
(3:13:27) Laura Hobbs: I’d like to voice my support for this one as well. I think we should return it back to the property owners.
R7 passed on a 5-0 vote.
Simple Majority Vote
(3:15:39) Adam Fieseler: Before you today is on amendment 24-0003 which is an ordinance concerning the regulation of intermodal shipping containers. On April 23, 2024 the Board of Supervisors has enacted an ordinance amending chapter 17 point 02 and 17.88 of the Shasta County zoning plan to expand the ability to utilize intermodal shipping containers for permanent storage on parcels subject to limitations within the ordinance. Immediately after adoption board provided direction stat to prepare a resolution of intention which included specific changes to parcel size and the number of intermodal shipping containers allowed as follows. One, no more than one on lots of one half gross acre or greater, but less than one two, no more than two on lots of one gross acre or greater but less than five gross acres and three, no less than four on lots of five gross acres or greater. On July 11, the resolution of intention was approved by the board and it went to the planning commission on July 11 where by a 5 to 0 vote, the planning commission adopted a resolution recommending that the board deny on amendment 24-003 on August 27, 2024. The board considered the recommendation made by the planning Commission on July 11 and by a 3 to 2 vote, directed staff to make modifications to the ordinance and refer the matter back to the Planning Commission. The direction provided by the board was to modify the ordinance to allow one intermodal shipping container of up to 20 ft in length on lots of at least one half gross acre whereas current regulations require a minimum of one gross acre for any size intermodal shipping container. On October 10, 2024 by a five to nothing vote the planning commission recommended the board deny his own amendment 24-003. Planning Commission resolution 24-018 and the draft ordinance is attached.
So what do we have before us today? The draft ordinance before you today includes the increased allowances from the resolution of intention and it includes the allowance of a 20 ft long intermodal shipping container on lots of one half gross acre or greater, but less than one. So all the direction provided by the board is in the current ordinance before you today, staff recommends adoption as stated in the staff report. Staff is available if the board has any questions.
(3:18:28) Supervisor Jones: So just to be clear, if you have a half acre, you can have one shipping container of no more than 20 ft. If you have one acre. It, it doesn’t specify the length. It just says two shipping containers. Is that correct?
Adam Fieseler: The length and size are limited based in the ordinance which is on lots of one gross acre or greater. The size of the intermodal shipping container shall not exceed 40 ft in length, which is the standard size for the larger ones and up to four on 10 acres or greater. No more than four intermodal shipping containers on lots of five gross acres or greater.
Supervisor Jones: That’s ok. I’m fine with that. Thank you.
There were two public commenters on R8.
(3:19:39) Elena: I don’t consider coming here to speak a waste of my time. I might feel like it won’t make a difference, but it’s not a waste of my time when I say speak for others in the community in our community. It’s because many of them feel like it is a waste of their time and they don’t come. So they’ve seen time and time again, overwhelming public support or opposition to an item that has no effect whatsoever on your vote. So I understand their position. I think Chris, you mentioned some, a bunch of emails that had come in at one point on this. They’re not here. So I just wanted to kind of point that out, them being opposed to the containers. I’d like to take a quick second to thank the Planning Commission, each of whom were appointed by each of you for their conscientious and thoughtful analysis of this item, every time it appeared on their agenda, the latest of which was a little over two weeks ago. This issue was first brought forward in March of 2023 when Supervisor Jones, you suggested four containers be allowed on 40 acres of any type of property. Then the numbers changed and the property type changed in the size to allow containers on as little as a half acre residential lot. Then immediately upon that passing, it was sent back to staff to double those numbers. I can appreciate, Supervisor Kelstrom, that you had a friend who had a bad experience related to having these shipping containers on his property prior to them being allowed on residential parcels. And you, Supervisor Jones, having had several people contact you over this issue, 5 to 6, If I’m quoting you correctly from that past meeting. You also stated, Supervisor Jones, that these containers should be permissible because quote, hundreds of people are already doing it. But we don’t change laws based on how many people are breaking them, I would contend. As of yesterday, there have been zero applications submitted for the lawful use of these containers since they were deemed permissible in April of this year. So there isn’t an overwhelming need that would substantiate increasing the number of containers that are permissible. Rather, letting the existing numbers remain in effect until there is seems like a prudent path forward and would serve your purpose. I might add that the Planning Commission crafted in their recommendation, the existing numbers allowed could be doubled with an administrative permit, which also seems to be a reasonable approach. So this isn’t a plea to reverse or reduce the current numbers. It’s just to point out that there are options available that would seem to satisfy the majority of people on both sides of the issue. Thank you.
(3:22:19) Delores Lucero: I changed my mind to speak on that. It’s because I was talking to somebody helping her on this item. I have to bring something up because it just dawned on me and regarding her speaking on these containers couple a couple of months ago, I remember Chris mentioning this, that Patrick, he actually gave Patrick Jones advice to put some of these containers for his shooting range. So that’s why Patrick Jones has been pushing for this item for them to for people to have more containers in the, in the properties. So I just want to bring that to your attention, Chris, you probably, you look, you look like you don’t remember, but you brought that to my attention. You actually told me that you have been telling Patrick Jones to go ahead and do his shooting range without the county approval to just move forward and make it a grandfather in inputs and containers. And so that’s why I’m bringing those up those issues because you encourage him to go ahead and violate some laws because it will be easier than bringing it to the board to have that change. board chair?
(3:25:42) R8 passed on a 3-2 vote with Supervisors Crye, Jones, and Kelstrom voting yes.
Simple Majority Vote
(3:25:54) Leo Salazar: I’m Leo Salazar, Planning Division Manager for Shasta County Department of Resource Management. The item before the board is to take certain actions regarding assembly bill 2022 sorry, a little typo right there, regarding road renaming for four roads in Shasta County.
And those actions does include holding a public hearing on four resolutions related to that. So some background. State assembly bill number 2022 was signed into law in September of 2022. It found that the term squaw was a racist and derogatory term that has historically been used as offensive, ethnic, racial and sexist slur, particularly for indigenous women. The bill requires the term to be removed from all geographic features and place names in the state and that those names be replaced with new names and that Shasta County no longer replace signs, interpretive markers or any other marker or printed material with the discontinued name containing the word and to ensure that map updates and sign replacements use the new name and that would take effect as of January 1, 2025. County records do include at least one official record of a local native American tribe that objected to the use of this word for naming a geographic feature and that was a creek that was going to be renamed by the US board on geographic names in about 1987.
So road names are a geographic features that are subject to AB 2022. So as far as road naming in Shasta County is concerned, the road naming administrator works within the Department of Resource Management and is in fact the director of the department or its designee. They’re tasked with maintaining the official public and private road names within the unincorporated area of Shasta County and placing those road names on county maintained maps. So, as part of the AB 2022 renaming process, the road hazard administrator identified four roads in Shasta County that use that term in the name and AB 2022 that directed local agencies to solicit proposals to rename those roads from California native American tribes, any other public agencies as appropriate and the public, and then to transmit a proposed replacement name to the California Commission on geographic names for consideration and approval and also be referring to that commission as Kagan.
So this is a map showing the four roads that use that name, one being in Northern Shasta County in the McCloud area at Squaw Valley Loop Road, One in the Bella Vista area, Squaw Grass Trail and two in Shingletown, Squaw Carpet Drive and emergency fire escape road, and Squaw Springs road. So in terms of the road renaming process under the law, the department engaged in formal consultation with local Native American tribes. We notified agencies that are normally consulted when new road names are proposed and we notified property owners along with the subject roads to solicit proposals. The proposals that we received were evaluated according to department road naming policies and within the context of AB 2022 which you know, requires that in selecting replacement names, the public agency shall prioritize names that honor and recognize the tribe’s cultures and indigenous languages specific to the geographic region in question including place names that were previously used by native American tribes or place names proposed by California native American tribes through the appropriate enactment or resolution.
So I would make a note that the tribes do not provide an enactment resolution for their proposals. But they may consider their proposals as previously used place names. Additionally, a legal notice of public hearing was provided and we posted the roads in advance of this hearing to provide and invite additional public participation. So, if recommended replacement names are adopted by the board, those names would be transmitted to Kagan. And if they’re approved by Kagan, they would be implemented by staff. Implementation would be carried on after the first of the year, which would include advanced notification to property owners and agencies, replacement signage and updating of county maps. Kagan may replace or excuse me, reject replacement names submitted by the board if they are offensive or insulting and if no action is taken, Kagan will select a replacement name to be implemented by the county pursuant would include advanced notification to property owners and agencies, replacement signage and updating of county maps. Kagan may replace or excuse me, reject replacement names submitted by the board if they are offensive or insulting and if no action is taken, Kagan will select a replacement name to be implemented by the county pursuant to AB 2022. So the board has some alternatives to the recommendations that I’ll be going over for each road. One alternative would be to select an alternative to the recommended replacement name. The board could take no action or provide alternative direction to staff again. If no action is taken, Kagan will proceed with selecting replacement names, inform the county of the new names and they would be reporting on local implementation annually. Kagan would likely seek to have the replacement names implemented in the public realm. So on mapping platforms, on the internet and other places and if that were to occur, not implementing names locally could create confusion or navigation issues for folks.
In terms of the fiscal impact of this program, it is a state mandated local program. And in that respect, we believe that we can seek reimbursement for costs. Cost today has consisted primarily of staff, time and minimal supplies and equipment and that’s been covered under our current budget years. We would seek to cover the cost of implementation from existing appropriations nd we will be seeking reimbursement from the state to minimize the general planet impact. However, a future budget amendment may be necessary to cover upfront cost of replacement signage for private roads. So I can take a moment there. Chair, if you’d like if, if the board has any questions at this time.
(3:32:34) Supervisor Kelstrom: Yeah, and going over these and a couple of them are in my district. I mean, one of the heartwarming stories that came out of World War Two was the Navajo code talkers because the Japanese intelligence never did figure out that code and they were able to communicate you know, behind them or secretly without ever being deciphered. And while that’s a great story against the Japanese intelligence officers, I would hate for one of our 911 operators to be just as confused in an emergency situation. Some of these names like the Baidu, I mean, isn’t too awful difficult. But somebody suggested Yana Drive and I think that would probably be giving just as much, you know, credit to the native Americans in the area as using a word that and, and, and again, that word isn’t too bad. Another one was, nomal or norm, which I, it would be pronounced. Everybody there would be pronouncing it normel. Even though I believe the native American it would be norm. That one is an easy enough road that I’d have no problem with that whatsoever. The Springs Road one, the Khi Walla, I’m not sure how many 911 operators are going to be able to spell that and get it into the computer correctly to get a fire department out there. A couple of the alternatives that the citizens suggested were Blue Jay Way and Critter Creek Road. I kind of like Critter Creek Road, but that’s just my personal opinion. And then the same thing with Valley Loop, that one, I’m not even going to try to pronounce it. And somebody had suggested, Wintu Valley Road, which I think again would give honor to our native Americans in the area. But those are just my thoughts. You know, they’re great words. I was at the Sikh, I see him here today. I was at the Sikh Center flag ceremony and he did the opening prayer and it’s, I mean, it’s fascinating to listen to his native tongue speaking. I’m just a little concerned with our first responders in 911 and the citizens in the area. But that’s just my concerns.
(3:34:42) Public comment on R9 began.
(3:35:01) Janie Hopper: Good afternoon, everybody. I totally agree with you about the names of the roads. I live on Squaw Grass Trail. It has been Squaw Grass Trail since the eighties at that I know of. I’ve lived there for almost 25 years. I’m first off opposed to the name change. I am half native American. I’m not from California. It’s a Seminole tribe. My son does, my eldest son does speak some Seminole and has a word for squaw in the language. However, I do appreciate and understand if other people are offended by something. So in that respect, I would like to offer a compromise. I went to the neighbors on Squaw Grass trail. Squaw Grass is a, is a private trail. It is not in any way maintained by the county. It is a trail, we maintain it and we own it. It has never been bought from the county. It was a private deal back when they did the homes in that area. Everybody on Squaw Grass trail that I have talked to which is about two thirds of the people up to the almost to the split in the trail if you know the area. And I know Mister Jones probably does Squaw Grass intersects with Hidden Oaks. Up to that point. Everybody would prefer the name Blue Grass Trail. I also submitted in the last two weeks, several alternatives that would be more geographically and considering the area appropriate because we’ve got Bear Mountain Elk Trail east and west. And there was other wildlife native names that I suggested as well. So we, we do appreciate somebody else being offended by the name, but we want a right to name our own damn trail. This, I mean, we own it. It’s not maintained by the county and it’s only fair that we have some say in naming our place where we’ve lived for 25 or more years. I’m speaking for most of the people that I’ve that I went and talked to because most of them are disabled. One of my closest neighbor is a disabled vet. He could not be here. He takes care of a disabled wife. So again, I would like it to be called and most of my neighbors on the private road that we owned as to be Bluegrass trail.
(3:37:44) Delores Lucero: I just can’t believe this items on the agenda. I mean, what are we doing? Spending time on this item when it’s she made it clear, I mean, the, the, you know, why change it, why upset some of the people that, that, you know, on that, the name? I mean, it’s like this is kind of like an item that, you know, shouldn’t even been on the agenda to speak or even to talk about. I think it’s a waste of time. Why, I mean, what else is next? What else are you going to be changing? Something else that you don’t like? I mean, how much time did it take for the staff to put this thing together? That’s what you gotta look at how much time and money you guys are wasting. I mean, I’m so glad that you, Patrick Jones is going to be gone and some of you are not going to be in charge anymore.
(3:38:50) Michelle Radcliffe Garcia: My name is Michelle Radcliffe Garcia. I’m a member of the Wintu tribe of Northern California. I was asked as a culture representative for the tribe to provide alternative names for the SQ names in accordance with AB 2022. AB 2022 establishes a process for state agencies and local governing bodies to identify new names, prioritizing tribal input and prohibits the use of SQ names in the future. It’s a racist and derogatory term that has historically been used as an offensive, ethnic, racial and sexist slur particularly for indigenous women which I happen to be an indigenous woman. The county report mentioned that these locations are in the Redding Rancheria area and Winnemem/Wintu districts, Winnemem tribe districts. I wanted to clarify that these SQ name changes are located in the unseeded Wintu territory and there are three formal tribes that have jurisdiction over these areas. They are the Wintu tribe of Northern California, the Redding Rancheria which includes Wintu as well as Yana and Pit River and the Winnemem Wintu tribe. Two of these locations are in Yana territory, now known as Shingletown. And the other two locations are in Wintu territory, now known as Bella Vista and McCloud. The two Wintu names suggested were based on traditional Wintu place names of that area. In the McCloud area for the renaming of the SQ Valley loop road, Chali mem paniik, good water circle. As Wintu people we use directional place names very often. In Bella Vista. Nomdal, to the west, is directional based from Dry Creek Road. The other two were chosen from the Yana languages with suggestions from the Redding Rancheria as they have members that are Wintu, Pit River and Yana. The use of derogatory names for the peoples of this area is unacceptable. It’s also very important for our Wintu people that are still here and for future generations to see our Wintu language reflected in our homelands. I highly recommend that you choose these new names that we have suggested and that we no longer use the SQ names for any private or public roads in this area. Thank you very much.
(3:41:36) Supervisor Kelstrom: Quick question for you. Would you would on the Valley Loop Road, would you be ok with Wintu Valley Loop Road or Wintu Valley Road?
(3:41:42) Michelle Radcliffe Garcia: It’s not my first suggestion because when I researched this, I took the time to research these names. I based it on the place names of those areas and,
(3:41:58) Supervisor Kelstrom: But you wouldn’t necessarily be offended by it.
Michelle Radcliffe Garcia: I mean, it wouldn’t, no, I wouldn’t be offended by it, but it’s not my first choice.
(3:42:09) Louise Davis: My name is Louise Davis. I am a Itsatawi, but I also work for the Redding Rancheria in the Cultural department and we were sent a request to replace some names and I can’t say that anything that Michelle has said about this word and how we want to replace it with the native names from this land that everybody lives on. Everybody got used to saying the name squaw, they can get used to saying these, these tribal names to at least honor the people of this land and that. So the names, if you’re having trouble again, you will, you will learn the names just like we had to learn English, you will learn those names. So again, I’m from Louise Davis. I am a Pit River tribal member from over the mountain, but I work for the Redding Rancheria Cultural Department.
(3:43:04) Arthur Garcia: Welcome them in my language. Hassam in the Wintu language means how are you? [Speaks in Wintu, which is replicated here phonetically.] Estem. Chata pom. Pita Ais Ais Bossan, Ais Aisa chali po chali po Ais ais chali saw. Well, Ais Ais a Bogen poo. What I just said in our native language in the Wintu language. I am a speaker. I’m an elder. I am a headman. I open up a lot of prayers. What I just said in my language in the Wintu language. I welcome the creator of all this. That’s how we say God. We all know there is one. God, we all look up to Him. Some cultures call them by different name. But God does not mind that you come to Him in a humble heart in a good way. So I welcome Alabi Chala Wita Pomp Aita. I’m thanking him for being that strong man that’s watching over our earth. Ian is a Bosi. I thank him for another day of life. AAA Chali poli po. I thank him for our sacred fires that we dance to. We pray to. Those are our ways. I thank him Charlie Sowell. I thank them for our sacred springs where we go get our waters. AAA Bo. I thank him for that big great mountain that watches over all of us. We are all the two legged human beings. We’re all the same. But that word squaw comes from a long time ago and I’ll tell you what, that’s an ugly name. Our native women, they’re maidens just like you. Beautiful women in this room. Back then they would say I got me a squaw, take her home, rape her, beat her, make her my slave, make her have my babies and then take her in the woods and kill her. That’s a very bad derogatory name. We wouldn’t name our places and put you women down because we’re not like that. We do not pick, choose judge, we do not do that. So I come here in a good way just to touch hearts, minds, souls. I remind you that we’re still here. The Wintu people are here and we have to see these names and places when I was a little kid. Eight years old, I remember going to Squaw Creek campground and the elders back then would say, I wish they would change that. And that was over 60 years. So thank you. With that being said, please take this into your hearts.
(3:46:18) Supervisor Kelstrom had a brief conversation with Arthur Garcia about the pronunciation os ome Wintu words and whether Bluegrass Trail would be an acceptable substitute for a Wintu word.
(3:47:13) Nathan Pinkney: This feels like a pretty slam dunk easy decision. I mean, these are obviously a term that is very harmful to an entire community. I can’t see any reason whatsoever why anybody would oppose changing this. I liked what you said Chris Kelstrom about choosing names that actually uplift the native American cultures instead of an extremely derogatory or hurtful word. And I think that this is again, a pretty easy decision that you guys, all five should be able to make and we have the signs on the side edges of Redding that say no room for racism. So let’s prove that. Thank you.
The Board discussed alternatives to the nominated names and eventually voted on the nominated changes. These are the new names.
• Bama’du Drive as the replacement name for “Sq_ Carpet Drive and Emergency Fire Escape Road”
• Blue Grass Trail as the replacement name for “Sq_ Grass Trail”
• K’etewala Trail as the replacement name for “Sq_ Springs Trail”
• Chali mem paniik Road as the replacement name for “Sq_ Valley Loop Road”
(3:56:32) 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.
There were 18 public commenters.
(3:57:36) Antonia: Good afternoon. Board of Supervisors. We have evidence that the voting machines had the time changed remotely because there was nobody in the office when the changes were made. Thus, the machines are not secure and we should not be tallying mail in votes until election day because those tallies could be changed. The registered voters had promised that the votes wouldn’t be counted early, but now they are being counted early. We would like them to stop. Thank you.
Nine of the other commenters spoke about their lack of faith in the election process.
(4:07:22) David Halligan: Good afternoon board. I’m glad to see the citizens that are speaking have names today. Two weeks ago, we had citizens one through 7 up here with an orchestrated vent that talked about election integrity, I guess, lack thereof, voter fraud, voter machine errors, dirty voter rolls, hand counting, et cetera. The last speaker, speaker seven was Ms. Plumb. Her point was she said that the Secretary of State Alex Padilla did not certify the election of 2020. He did. I’ve left copies for you, gentlemen and ladies up here in your box, you can view it, go to the Secretary of State and you can see him certify it. He certified it on December 11, 2020. And I don’t understand Ms. Plumb putting people on notice and saying you’ve been served, you’ve been served. I’m not sure what served is all about. Must be on integrity. The refusing to certify an election is not legal. State laws say that certification is a mandatory ministerial duty, meaning that county election officials cannot refuse to sign the certification papers. It’s not an accident, that certification is mandatory. It was codified into law in direct response to pass partisan attempts to sabotage certification in order to change election outcomes attempts which both lawmakers and courts recognize as a threat to democracy. Switching gears, one week, to go one week to go. November 5. As it approaches former president Trump has left little room for doubt about his intentions. He will almost certainly declare victory on election night as the votes are still being counted. He may turn out to be right. But if Vice President Harris wins, Trump will reject the results as corrupt and he will be the bandleader on it to attempt to overturn it. This plot is so well telegraphed that it barely counts as a prediction. Trump has stated repeatedly, he can’t lose unless there is massive fraud. And if he loses that the election is rigged with a bad voting system. Trump states we win without voter fraud. We win so easily. Mister Jones. You were on a Dutch TV documentary and I want to speak on, have you listen to what he had to say? And he was asked the question, what about if President Trump loses? [Play recording] I just can’t even imagine what they’re going to do here. Well, if Trump doesn’t win in November, um, it’s pretty obvious to most of us that he should easily win this and if they cheat him out of it again, I don’t think, I think the response from the public is going to be very different. Unfortunately, they know that too. They know that people will be very upset. They can certainly cheat, but there will be a price.
(4:10:46) Mr. Dungan: Good day, everyone. I am here to stand or to shed light on a case that challenges fundamental rights, not just for me, but for all parents and families. This is not just about seeking justice for myself. It is about calling out a system that is failing my children and many Shasta County children. We are dealing with blatant abuse of power where judges and attorneys entrusted to act fairly and protect the vulnerable, have engaged in off-record discussions and private decisions that disregarded my parental rights, constitutional rights and due process. Imagine a judge sworn to uphold justice discussing your case behind closed doors with a county attorney making decisions without you in the courtroom. This is a direct violation of the transparency and accountability that we as citizens demand and deserve. And what about my children? They have been placed in situations where their safety was compromised and their well being ignored, evidence was manipulated and mental health issues were swept under the rug while child and family services and the courts turned a blind eye, my children deserve better. All Shasta County children deserve better. Today, I stand here fighting back, not just for myself but for everyone who has had their rights trampled on by those who hide behind closed doors and abuse their power and authority. This fight will be relentless. We are demanding accountability. We are demanding change. The voices of parents, children and family cannot be ignored no longer and I will not rest until justice prevails violations due process violation. 14th amendment, first amendment violations, right to petition government, judicial bias and misconduct, violation of child parent relationship, rights, ineffective assistance of counsel, failure to protect children, equaling child endangerment, retaliation and obstruction of access to legal remedies, a TRO preliminary injunction has been filed. I also have court transcripts, psychology reports, evaluations, mental health records, court filings to back my claims.
(4:13:54) Jenny O’Connell: I’m standing in for Tracy and she’s a fourth generation Shasta County resident and retired public educator who has spent 40 plus years serving children and families and public education. 30 of those years spent here in Shasta County. The last 12 years of her career, she worked for Enterprise, Redding, and Gateway District serving young children with assessments and direct programs. I think it’s important that the boarding community know of her background as it relates to serving our youngest students and their families in our community. It has come to my attention that there are questions regarding the uses of ACES, adverse childhood experiences screening as a tool to determine the needs of young Children as they become school aged. This instrument is well researched dating back to 1998 by the National Centers of Disease. The concepts of ACES help bring together and measure a diverse set of preventable adverse childhood experiences that can lead to considerable long term health problems. These include physical and emotional neglect. It is important to focus on the facts that these are preventable only if the community and those serving the young child can be aware of them. I was fortunate enough to have been involved in the First Five Shasta and the Council for the Young Child as they led the efforts to inform our local medical community about the necessity of utilizing ACES much work and many hours were dedicated to exploring appropriate methods of gaining critical information about our young children in Shasta County. The concept was to gather information to inform the community of these issues of our young families that they’re experiencing. So resources could be directed and co ordinated. The national forum on early childhood policy programs has found that these high quality early childhood programs can yield a minimum return of $4 for each dollar invested to develop and maintain quality programs for our children should be without question at the top of the list of local priorities as early intervention improves outcomes for children. We all should be aware that the first important teacher for any child is their own parent. Our community like so many others struggle to assist families as they prepare the young child to enter school schools, represent our community and no community can be healthy without healthy Children and healthy families and effective supportive systems. I respectfully suggest the board supports using research, speech, data driven tools such as AI to inform and direct local efforts to provide critical services to Children and families. In addition, programs such as community connect should be encouraged and supported as they provide coordinations and services for so many by our local family.
(4:16:47) Christian Gardinier: Public comment time, you may address the board on any matter, not listed in the agenda that is within the subject matter of the board of supervisors. I’m sorry, Mr. Jones. Mr. Crye. Mr. Kelstrom. Elections are not within your subject matter of the board period. Let’s do this three meetings a month, roughly 36 meetings in a year, roughly an hour spent on election conspiracy nonsense out of your jurisdiction adds up basically to $216,000 spent on Mr. Jones. Mr. Crye. And to some extent, Mr. Kelstrom spewing election lies in conspiracy that are not nowhere near your legal jurisdiction. Now, you’re concerned about money. I get it, who isn’t, but spending millions of dollars on fraudulent accusations that have been proven false and fake, millions of hard earned taxpayer dollars on this garbage. It’s basically unacceptable, but we’re nationally known internationally known for being the fools. We are of spending county resources and time and money on this bs now, Mr. Jones, we know you’re a liar and a conspirator who loves to propagate this nonsense. I don’t think you actually believe it, but that’s not the point. The point is you have been bound and determined to use Shasta County to advance your extremism and you failed. You’re no longer here. I do want to thank the board for listening to our native population, the first peoples and working with the first peoples and the first nations to get something right. And that’s to try and remove the racism and sexism that exist in California.
(4:19:41) Alexandria: I came here two years ago when my country was at war. I’m Ukrainian legal immigrant. And today I am not going to speak about our family. I’m going to sing for this young courageous family, James and Lacey. And I want to pray for our Children. [Delores Lucero holds up audio player and Alexandria sings “Ave Maria.”]
(4:23:09) Benjamin Nowain: My name is Benjamin. Nowain. And until October 25 at 5 p.m. I proudly served Shasta County for 11 years. I worked as an analyst in Health and Human Services dedicated to the role and to the values I thought this county stood for and I was terminated. Not for my poor performance, not for misconduct, but for speaking up, I filed a whistleblower report because I believed it was my duty to keep government transparent and accountable. What happened next is exactly what I feared might happen. Retaliation. I reported my concern a concern that was brought to my attention from credible sources, something that I believe deserves attention. But instead of being met with a fair inquiry, I was punished. And I stand here today to tell every Shasta County employee, this could happen to you. If you’re an employee here, know that if you dare to question the actions of your leadership. If you raise concerns that don’t align with the powers that be you risk becoming a target. And to those of you who do work here who have dedicated years of service. This is a warning, stay staying quiet or keeping your head down doesn’t keep you safe. If you don’t align with the ideology of those in charge, they’ll find a reason to move you aside. This is a call to action. If we as employees, former employees want to protect the integrity of Shasta County, we have to stand up to this culture of retaliation, of silence and intimidation. The more we let fear guide us, the more power these individuals will seize Shasta County is being driven in a dangerous direction. This is a county that should serve the people, all of us with integrity and fairness. But for that to happen, we need every employee and every citizen to recognize that this culture of intimidation can and will affect them and will keep happening unless we stand up to it. Stand up for yourselves. Stand up for the people of Shasta County. This is our community and we can’t let fear silence us any longer.
(4:26:06) Nick Gardner: This last weekend I had Steve or not Steve Chris Street on, on the show. Poke the Hornet’s Nest. You should go and listen to the last half hour. He was talking about the Children’s Legacy Center and how maybe they’re not fulfilling what they claim they were fulfilling. And he was talking about be loaded compensation for these nonprofits for this one in particular. But I hope you’ll take that into consideration when all these other nonprofits come in for a piece of the opiate pie. But he’s got four reports out. The fourth one just came out, you go to Mountain Top times.substack.com to read his reports. And today it came out Kimberly Johnson, she’s the CEO her annual compensation in 2018, she was compensated $19,200. 2019 $68,304. 2020 100 and $14,355. 2021 $161,627. 2022. Her compensation was 191,220. Those are real hefty raises that for nonprofit. That’s probably failing Mary. Were you in on? Ok. In these races? I was just curious, I could see that that happens to you quite a bit going on. The thing that I gr I grasp from this is the Children’s Legacy Center has brought group homes to our community here from 24 different northern California counties and I resent this grant. You, the kids probably need help, but a lot of them are violent. They’ve got major problems. They’re stuck in a home in our subdivisions. It might be two houses down from any of us and they have an open door policy to where they can just go out anytime they want. There’s been attacks, there’s been physical violence. I remember back to eight or 10 years ago. Victor Homes. I thought that was local on Victor Drive, but it turns out they’re affiliated with this and I hope you’ll take a real close look at them before they get any money from us taxpayers in Shasta County.
(4:41:41) Nathan Pinkney: OK, waiting all day. I do want to point out Kevin though that I thought your interaction between you and Christy Coleman this morning was absolutely adorable. I got butterflies in my stomach. I mean, I think if you guys could get together and form a hawk tuah a committee, I know what you did, buddy. I got another joke though. Don’t worry about that. The section of the Dais up there, the middle section between Mary Rickert and Tim Garman. You know what I refer to that as a floating pile of garbage. I mean, that joke killed at Madison Square Garden. All right. So, Patrick fined $10,000 between you and Lyndia Kent, the sister of Mark Kent, the guy, the B-man that’s been holding all the money, all the money you got from her V on. And then you’ve been spewing for so long about fraud, which I noticed you’re not talking so much about anymore. Might have something to do with the woman on my shirt. But you, you, you talk about fraud and then you literally get caught committing fraud. Do you see the absolute ridiculousness of that irony? She goes to prison for nine years for the Mesa pattern of fraud. Apparently it was nothing but the Mesa pattern of hot garbage. What about the Patrick Jones pattern of fraud? Because at least it’s true with you. So I saw you go on the news and you tried to pass the buck, say it was politically motivated as if somehow the consequences for your own actions are politically motivated. No, that’s not how it works. You don’t get to pull that stupid Trump card and just say anytime you get caught doing something wrong that it’s political law fair. No, you did something wrong and a real man owns their mistakes. But I don’t believe you are one of those, you’re just one of those people who won’t admit when they do something wrong, won’t admit to any fault at anything whatsoever. If you were actually a man, you’d come out and say, you know what I was wrong about the Mesa pattern of fraud thing and you were, but you won’t say that because you’re not a real man. You’re a coward. That’s what you are and you got fired by the people. But here’s the reason why you’re still a threat to Shasta County, in my opinion, why people need to vote for Mary Rickert over Corky Harmon. Because even though Patrick was fired by the people, do you really not think he’s not going to be calling the shots from the sidelines because Corky clearly doesn’t know Jack shit about anything. So he’s going to be talking to you the whole time. You’re still going to be calling the shots from the sidelines. So this is why Mary Rickert needs to win. It’s the same reason this year that to save the Republican party from the MAGA nonsense, people need to vote blue to literally save the Republican Party from the fascism, destroying it from the inside and you three are a huge part of that fascism. So election’s almost here. I can’t wait for it to finally be over. This has been an incredibly stressful time for everyone but my God, it will be so great to just see you gone.
REGULAR CALENDAR, CONTINUED
SCHEDULED HEARINGS
A court challenge to action taken by the Board of Supervisors on any project or decision may be limited to only those issues raised during the public hearing or in written correspondence delivered to the Board of Supervisors during, or prior to, the scheduled public hearing.
(4:48:06) 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.
(4:49:29) The Consent Calendar was passed on a 5-0 vote.
County Administrative Office
4/5 Vote
Clerk of the Board
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
County Counsel
4/5 Vote
County Fire
Simple Majority Vote
Behavioral Health and Social Services
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
Public Defender
Simple Majority Vote
Public Works
4/5 Vote
4/5 Vote
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Simple Majority Vote
Sheriff
Simple Majority Vote
4/5 Vote
Support Services
Simple Majority Vote
REGULAR CALENDAR, CONTINUED
(4:49:50) The Shasta County Board of Supervisors will recess and reconvene as the Shasta County In Home Supportive Services Public Authority Governing Board.
The Shasta County Board of Supervisors does not receive any additional compensation or stipend for acting as the Shasta County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Governing Board.
The Shasta County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Governing Board will adjourn and reconvene as the Shasta County Board of Supervisors.
