Arriving at the Flynn Center, right away there was the issue of finding parking. When I covered the 4th of July Parade I had an easier time finding a spot. By 9:58 the Board Chamber was so packed that there were no seats left, and people showing up to voice their opinions on the pressing issue were forced to stand.
After quickly passing the Consent Agenda, and announcing new employees and awards, the most pressing Agenda item was addressed: Item 49, the acceptance of State dollars to fund Mission Possible’s future plans for a homeless shelter.
Public comment went on from 10:23 until 12:03, over 2 hours. During that period many people spoke, and shared their many opinions and perspectives.
Public sentiment was divided on the addition of the homeless shelter, with some not agreeing with the area of installation like Linda Sutter, others believed the shelter was a bad idea altogether like Manny Nunez.
After the closing of public comment, supervisor Borges requested more information as to what exactly the over ten million dollar grant will be used for. Because of the issues with the property on 101, Mission Possible didn’t exactly have a clear plan of where to put the shelter. Not to mention a common idea shared by the public was that they were okay with a shelter, but not one right on the highway. After some explanation from Daphne Cortese Lambert that the funds were not to be used for a property, but to staff, and develop a property purchased with separate funds, Borges was still unsure. He was skeptical about passing such a large sum of money on to develop a property that has not been purchased yet, and was concerned about auditing.
At 12:54 supervisor Howard made a motion to accept the budget transfer of over ten million dollars of State funds to Mission Possible. Supervisor Starkie then seconded Howards motion. With supervisors Starkie, Short, Wilson, and Howard voting yes, and borges voting no, item 49 passed 4:1. About half the audience roared in applause, whilst the rest looked at the board in disdain as they filed out of the Chamber for the 5 minute break.
Upon returning to the board chamber, essentially everyone had left, at 1:03 General Public Comment was started, most of the commenters voiced a need for more transparency regarding board meetings and agendas. At 1:10 Public Comment was closed, and the people from OES who were originally scheduled to present at 10:30, and who patiently waited through the whole madness that was item 49 were finally able to present their slideshow regarding the OES Communication Interoperability Program. The Project involves upgrading and replacing much of Cal OES’ RF radio, and comms equipment.
One of the main things discussed during the Cal OES presentation was the relocation of radio equipment on Red Mtn. to 3 other locations around the County, reducing our dispatch radius, but allowing for the decommissioning of Red Mtn. that was planned for 2022 to finally happen. Another thing discussed was the need for better and more competitive dispatcher salaries to draw in experienced dispatchers from out of the County.
Apparently in Del Norte there are usually only one to two dispatchers on duty at once, which is considered a safety concern. In addition, the people from OES also pointed out the need to relocate the dispatch center which in addition to being in a Tsunami zone is not seismically reinforced.
After discussing all of Cal OES’ needs, they presented the potential avenues of funding. There are 12 potential grant opportunities Cal OES could pursue, however they can’t pursue all 12 at once. After some discussion from supervisor Starkie and Wilson about OES grants, and Red Mtn. The presentation was concluded and it was on to the next agenda item.
Residents living on Boulder Avenue petitioned to have the speed limit lowered, so in response the road division conducted a traffic survey on 50 cars, 85% of those cars traveled an average speed of 39.5mph. With the speed limit already being 40mph, the lowest enforceable speed they could lower to is 35mph. There is also apparently no speed limit sign on Boulder Avenue for Eastbound traffic.
Supervisor Starkey, asked if the speed limit could be reduced by another 5mph a second time after being reduced to 35, which could only be done if the average speed in the next traffic study is lower, however , if there were more traffic collisions on Boulder, then it could be reclassified as a safety corridor. Starkey ended up motioning to change the speed limit to 35 mph with Borges seconding. Short then intervened with the suggestion of installing the new 40mph speed limit sign first, before considering lowering the speed to 35mph. Because Borges already seconded Starkie’s motion, Short’s proposal was dismissed. Starkies motion passed 4:1, with Supervisor Short voting no.
The last major agenda item discussed was the reduction in County Cannabis tax. Local entrepreneur, and owner of Sticky Grove, Robert DeRego voiced his concerns that the high taxes were targeted at him, as his dispensary was the only one outside of the City, and City dispensaries have lower taxes. After reviewing County profits from Cannabis taxes, and seeing that there were 0$ in County Cannabis taxes since the dispensary closed (compared to the 80k-90k in previous years) Howard proposes splitting the County taxes from the maximum 6% to 3%. Short motions to pass the Cannabis tax reduction, however Howard motions to table the matter until January 12th. With Starkey seconding, the motion to table passed 5:0.
With the passing of some less significant agenda items, and the passing of the motion to approve all budget transfers; Starkie, and Howard gave their final reports; Short announced Zoom’s retirement; and the meeting went into closed session. For the public (just me at this point) the meeting was adjourned.
