MENDOCINO Co. 1/24/2017 — The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors will take up a wide range of issues at its regular meeting today, January 24, including setting the county’s legislative agenda for the upcoming year, as well as discussing the county’s five year capital improvement plan and facilities needs assessment. Supervisors will consider several items related to transportation, from a local emergency to the purchase of several new vehicles. And they’ll also consider whether to send a letter to the governor’s office regarding the Third District supervisor position left open by Tom Woodhouse, and potentially make a recommendation about filling that seat.
There are two cannabis regulations agenda items on the docket — proposed revisions and possible action regarding the cannabis cultivation ordinance. A peek into the cost of cannabis regulation is in the consent calendar.
Also on the agenda is the latest development in negotiations with Solid Waste of Willits, the county’s garbage collector, a discussion of the county’s new B-corp businesses, and a proposed joint study of the Potter Valley Project and Eel River hydrology. The supes will also consider appointments to the Tourism Commission and Coastal Commission, as well as a variety of other positions.
Here’s some more details on additional items going before the board:
Possible emergency declaration:
The board will consider adopting a local emergency due to storms this month. Heavy rains have washed out roads and saturated the ground, causing previously drought-stricken trees to topple. This has resulted in property damage and at least one death, in the case of a woman in Ukiah who was killed by a tree that fell onto her home as she slept.
The resolution declaring the disaster states that the Mendocino County Department of Transportation prepared initial scoping repair cost estimates of $1.7 million, while the county in general prepared an estimate of $.13 million. The county also declared a local emergency for a 2016 storm event beginning on December 10, 2016. The Mendo County Dept. of Transportation’s initial scoping repair estimate of that storm was $500,000, and the county in general’s estimate was $100,000. Resolutions of local emergencies are submitted to the director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
Solid Waste of Willits to receive a proposal
The board will consider an ad hoc recommendation of an offer to Solid Waste of Willits, providing the garbage contractor revenue and cost saving measures that add up to $287,986.
At the board of supervisors’ meeting on December 20, 2016, SWOW owner Gerald Ward told the board that he may have to declare bankruptcy if he didn’t get a rate increase. In prior negotiations, an ad hoc committee, which included Fifth District Supervisor Dan Hamburg and Third District Supervisor Tom Woodhouse, offered six concessions instead. Ward was also told that a rate increase was possible if he paid $33,362 for an independent audit, as the contractor and the county had not come to an agreement about the state of the company’s finances. The ad hoc committee was reconstituted at the December 20 meeting, with Second District Supervisor John McCowen replacing Woodhouse.
The new offer the ad hoc committee will recommend to the full board includes four of the original six concessions, plus two new ones. The suggested new concessions are: close the recycling buy-back centers in Westport, Boonville, and Gualala, and raise the rates in the South Coast by an additional 5.96%. The ad hoc estimates that the value of the original proposal was $98,846 to SWOW.
Speed limit change in Philo
There will be a hearing on a proposal by CalTrans to change the speed limits on Highway 128 in and around Philo. CalTrans proposes to increase the speed limit in town from 30 to 35 miles per hour, and to decrease the speed limit approaching both ends of town from 55 to 45 miles per hour.
The consent calendar – a few selected items
Cannabis – The board is likely to approve an amendment to the contract with Laco Associates, the consulting firm that has worked on the environmental study of the county’s proposed medical cannabis cultivation ordinances. With the $61,500 amendment, approved payment to Laco Associates for fiscal year 2016/2017 will come to $138,500. This includes work on the upcoming project of crafting non-cultivation cannabis regulations, which will involve attending meetings and hearings, evaluating the level of CEQA review, and determining permitting types.
The board of supervisors is holding a special workshop on non-cultivation cannabis regulations in its chambers on Friday, January 27, at 10:00am.
Vehicles — There are also several items concerning vehicles in the consent calendar for tomorrow’s meeting. The board is asked to approve the purchase of a $32,769 vehicle for the District Attorney’s office from asset forfeiture funds, and a $30,704 vehicle for the planning and building services department from the general fund. The sheriff’s office is also requesting up to $45,000 to purchase a search and rescue snow tractor vehicle and trailer using off-highway license fees, forest service funds and asset seizure funds. Earlier this month, the MCSO borrowed a snowcat from the CalFire/South Lake County Fire District to rescue three stranded motorists in the Mendocino National Forest.
Bridges — The Mendocino County Department of Transportation is requesting an additional $36,104 to finish replacing the School Way bridge over the Russian River on School Way in the Redwood Valley area, bringing the total so far to $722,108. Seismic retrofitting on another bridge, 10c-048 on Moore Street in the Calpella area, is now complete.
You can see the full agenda on the board’s calendar here, under the January 24 meeting. All attachments and documents are linked in the meeting agenda. You can watch the meeting on the county’s youtube channel here.
Sarah Reith [email protected]
