MINUTES
BOARD MEETING
September 10, 2008
1. Meeting was called to order at 0900 by Chairperson Tretten.
2. Report on Closed Session Nothing to report
3. Motion to approve August minutes. Motion – F. Shepard Second – R. Machado
Suggestion from Board Member Machado that the wording for item number eighteen be clarified a little bit better. The Clerk will attend to this.
Motion made and seconded – All in favor – Aye.
4. Chief’s Report Calls – four 3 Medical Aid Calls 1 Illegal Burn (BBQ) in Grageagle
Personnel – no changes in personnel
Grants – the paperwork has been sent off to CALFire for the grant funds.
Weed Abatement – the five day notices have been sent out to those who have not complied with abating their property.
The Board and Chief and General Manager discussed moving up the timeline for notices to be sent out. Conclusion – start the process earlier – change the wording of the notice to include “maintain a height of three inches on grasses” – mail the notices and post them at the property location. It was a sense of the Board that this is a good idea and to proceed. Miscellaneous – the Chief informed the Board that he had located a vehicle that had the potential to become a Command Vehicle. He had done extensive research on the matter and had located a 2001 Ford Expedition in Quincy. It is in very good condition and has 123,000 miles. Selling price is $6000.00 and the Auxiliary will pick up ½ of the cost and the Fire Department slush fund from the sale of tee shirts and hats will pay to outfit the vehicle with the necessary lights and siren, etc.
The Board instructed the General Manager to proceed with the purchase of the vehicle. ICOE – the question was asked that if needed in an emergency, would the CSD trucks be available. Yes.
Portola – the Chief, General Manager and Board Chair attended a meeting in Portola because the flyer announcing the meeting indicated the formation of a county wide fire district. This was actually misleading because it really pertained to the fire protection now being provided to Gold Mountain via contract with the city of Portola and in that LAFCo is not in favor of contracts, they want annexations.
However the information gleaned at the meeting showed that 22% of Plumas County is not in ANY fire district. This is not good and that is why the Board of Supervisors asked all the Fire Departments to set up a county wide charging system for out of District responses in order to cover costs for personnel and equipment. This was done last year.
October 18th – is the date set for the Fire Fighter appreciation dinner at the Coyote Bar and Grill.
September 27th – is the date set for the Mohawk Tavern Sponsored Golf Tournament which benefits Plumas Eureka and Graeagle Fire Departments. Parking – now that all four engine bays are occupied with fire engines, the Department has posted No Parking signs on the building but since parking space is at a premium it was decided that 1) if a CSD vehicle is only going to be parked at the building for a very short period of time and keys are left in the ignition, then the vehicle can be parked in front of the doors but 2) if the CSD vehicle is going to be parked for more than 10 minutes, then it should be in a designated parking area or on the lower driveway.
5. LAFCo – Sierra County Mr. Tim Beals who is the LAFCo representative for Sierra County very kindly made an appearance at our Board Meeting to explain to our Board how a dependent versus an independent LAFCo works in their County. By way of definition, a dependent is one that operates out of County offices using county employees and an independent is one that operates separate from the County (which is what Plumas County has) which has separate offices and staff and must publish a budget each year and is supported by money received from the County and the City of Portola (at this time the support of Plumas County LAFCo is not supported by any of the Special Districts in the County).
In his presentation, he circulated three separate pieces of reference materials that he urged the CSD to acquire in order to be better informed on the formation of LAFCo and how it is supposed to be operated. They are 1) Growth within Bounds, 2) LAFCo Law and 3) San Diego County Procedure Guide (the Board directed the General Manager to acquire the publications, which has since been accomplished). Mr. Beals was also accompanied by Dave Goicoechea, a rancher from the Loyalton area who has had recent dealings with Sierra County LAFCo, John Olafson from Graeagle CSD and Plumas County Supervisor elect Lori Simpson all of whom were interested in the information forthcoming from Mr. Beals.
There followed a question and answer period. And the Board thanked all four for coming to our meeting this date.
Clerk’s Note: The Board took a break from 1030 to 1040 hours.
Upon their return to open session, Board Member Walker suggested that the Board consider asking the Plumas County Special Districts Association (PCSDA) to put the subject of Plumas County LAFCo on their next agenda for discussion. It was a sense of the Board to have either Mr. Walker or the General Manager contact PCSDA and make the aforementioned request and report back to the Board.
7. Office Space The General Manager informed the Board that he had received a bid from Yelland Construction to draw up the plans for the proposed office expansion. The Board felt that it would be proper to have three bids to draw plans before proceeding with the project.
The Chief acknowledged the efforts of Rich Machado and Craig Fox who took on the project of moving the office wall in order to accommodate the new Wildland Fire Fighting Rig #9178. It was the sense of the Board that we should give them each a gift certificate for dinner as a thank you.
9. Fire Department Recruitment The Chief had originally proposed a reduction in CSD fees as an incentive to join the Department. However it was pointed out that it would be a bookkeeping nightmare so the Board asked that he come up with some other proposals. The new proposal was to increase the Call Reimbursement (tiered by officer/volunteer category), additional fees depending on responder category (such as EMT vs 1st Responder, Firefighter 1 and Firefighters with Class B licenses), pay for attendance at Training based on a percentage of attendance. After discussion, the Board suggested that the Call Reimbursement be just one amount and offered some other suggestions. The Chief will bring a revised proposal back to the Board for consideration at the October Board Meeting.
14. Response Fee Invoices There are a few individuals that have failed to respond to the invoices sent to them for services rendered when we respond to out of District calls. The Chief asked for direction for collection.
Discussion and conclusion – use the same time line that is currently being used for CSD billings, then send a certified letter to the individuals with language pertaining to the call and the submission of the invoice to insurance companies. Also include language that informs the individual that if payment is not forthcoming either from their insurance company or themselves then the account will be turned over to a collection agency. The subject of taking them to small claims court was discussed but that process is too time consuming, often without result.
Clerk’s note: The Chair person jumped a few items on the agenda to accommodate the Chief’s schedule, since he has a full time job and had taken time off from work to attend the meeting. The Chief left the meeting at 1122 hours.
6. LAFCo As previously suggested, the CSD will be the spearhead to go to the Plumas County Special Districts Association to work toward changing the Plumas County LAFCo from an ‘independent’ to a ‘dependent’ LAFCO. This matter will be ongoing on future agendas.
The General Manager informed the Board that he had been contacted by Plumas County LAFCo about the Feather River Inn and the possibility of the CSD supervising the water and wastewater facilities at the Inn. We are awaiting a copy of the Environmental Impact Report on the Inn and upon its receipt and review, he will report back to the Board on this matter. This may be an annexation or possibly a Joint Powers Agreement between the Inn owners and the CSD. The matter was continued to the October agenda.
8. Wells and Arsenic update Once again we will be sending out letters informing property owners that the levels have exceeded the standards for the previous quarter. Well 1B was 13 ug/L and Well 2 was 17 ug/L. On September 9th the General Manager attended a meeting held in Quincy that was hosted by the USGA. They are studying wells up and down the Sierra’s for this very same reason and will be sharing the information gathered with CSD’s.
10. Expenditure Requests None
11. Plumas Eureka Ski Hill The Board reviewed the new language in the Letter of Intent to join other entities that support the re-opening of the Ski Hill. They approved the new language and the Chair will sign the letter at the end of the meeting.
Motion to approve the letter Motion – F. Shepard Second – R. Machado All in favor – Aye.
12. Eco-Logic We will have a meeting with Eco-Logic and Plumas Geo Hydrology on the 16th to discuss the particulars of the project and structure the contract. This item will be put on the October agenda for presentation.
13. Emergency Preparedness Plan R. Machado and V. Wiemeyer informed the Board that a meeting has been set for September 18th at 6:30PM. Letters have been sent out to the Homeowners Associations and local businesses inviting attendance. A report will be made on the meeting at the October meeting.
15. Pine Cone Court There is some edge of the road damage as a result of the recent work done by the electric company. After inspection, the General Manager reported that it was not as bad as originally thought, but he will set up a meeting with representatives of the electric company and see if we could share in the patching costs. The matter was continued to the October meeting.
Clerk’s note: F. Shepard left at noon.
16. Goals and Objectives Nothing to report
17. Committee Reports Personnel - Nothing to report Recreation – R. Machado reported that he had been researching some of the CSD properties so that we may offer a swap to the owner of the lot at the end of Sugar Pine Lane to use that area for a recreation spot. However, the properties are listed with the County as greenbelts rendering them not buildable. Fire Corps – this was covered under Emergency Preparedness Insurance – Nothing to report
18. Future Agenda Items and New Business The clerk reviewed the items put on the agenda for the October Board Meeting
New Business Nothing to report
19. General Manager’s Report The Board reviewed the August Financial Reports. There were some questions about some of the higher percentages on specific categories. The Board was informed that there will be some Budget adjustments proposed at the October Board meeting.
Motion to accept the August Financial Reports. Motion – L. Walker Second – R. Machado All in favor – Aye.
CSDA – We have received a letter from the California Special Districts Association asking if a Board Member is interested in sitting on one of their committees. Since these meetings will take place in Sacramento, there was no interest from the Board to participate.
CSD Vehicle – The General Manager reported on the research he has done on the legality of operating an OHV within the District rather than purchasing a truck. He contacted the CHP and received a copy of Vehicle Code #38025 about operation of an off highway vehicle within a development. There was continued discussion on this subject because the Board wants to make sure that no laws are broken by driving an OHV on the streets of the District. Craig Fox, a retired CHP officer offered some suggestions on persons to contact at the State level that can shed more light on this issue. The matter was continued to the October meeting.
Rural Electric Co-operative – We have received a letter from the co-op asking whether or not there will be a Board Member in attendance at their Annual Meeting. No there will not be a member of the Board available.
Audit – The auditors were here on September 8th and 9th and will be returning to finish the audit on the September17th.
Water Tanks – On September 4th the #1 water tank was inspected. The Firm will supply us with a DVD of the dive and a bound report on the condition of the tank which is very good.
Hydrants – we will be replacing some old style hydrants in the District within the month.
Cedar Lane – due to the increased calls to the District about water odor and sand in water lines, we installed a new flush point at the lower end of Cedar Lane to stop the problems.
20. Written Correspondence Nothing to report
21. Opportunity for the Public to address the Board Commentary from the Public is encouraged during the meeting. Therefore there is nothing to report at this time.
22. Motion to adjourn. Motion – L. Walker Second – E. Tretten All in favor – Aye.
Meeting adjourned at 1250 hours.
In attendance: E. Tretten, L. Walker, R. Machado, V. Wiemeyer, F. Shepard
Respectfully submitted,
Teresa L. Cunningham Clerk to the PECSD Board