BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
FEBRUARY 11, 2003
The Lassen County Board of
Supervisors convenes in Regular Session on Tuesday, February 11, 2003, at 9:33
a.m. Present: Supervisors Robert Pyle, Jim Chapman,
Lloyd Keefer, Brian Dahle, and Jack Hanson; County Counsel John Ketelsen, County
Administrative Officer (CAO) Andy Whiteman and County Clerk Theresa Nagel. Following the flag salute, the
invocation is offered by Supervisor Keefer.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ITEMS DISCUSSED
IN CLOSED SESSION
Chairman Chapman announces that
no closed session was held.
AGENDA APPROVAL, ADDITIONS
AND/OR DELETIONS
It is moved by Supervisor
Keefer, seconded by Supervisor Hanson and carried to approve the agenda as
posted.
PUBLIC
COMMENT
Tom Gauthier reports the Fire
Council began the Paiute Creek fire clearing project this morning and notes how
scary the conditions are. He also
reports that 20 acres in Janesville have been cleaned for Senior Citizens with
another 18 acres planned for cleaning.
Supervisor Keefer states he is very pleased with the work and notes the
Janesville Fire Council has very professional signs to identify the
projects.
UNAGENDIZED BOARD REPORTS
1. Supervisor Dahle states that
Barbara Tiner from COMPAC will be making a presentation at the next meeting on
the Family Resource Center planned for the Bieber area along with a budget. Funding will also be
requested.
2. Supervisor Dahle reports on a
meeting he attended with Mary Nichols from the State Resources Department and
states he found out the County should not expect any PILT funds from the State
for the wildlife areas (Ash Creek and Willow Creek). There will be work done to attempt to
secure federal PILT funding.
3. Supervisor Keefer discussed his
trip to Hawaii.
4. Supervisor Keefer received a
request to honor Bob & Elizabeth Bradford on their 65th Wedding
Anniversary. He circulates a card
of congratulations and asks the meeting today be adjourned in their
honor.
5. Supervisor Keefer discusses the
concerns and needs of Honey Lake Valley Riders for equestrian facilities. He notes there is a new federal
regulation that requires certification that animals are on weed free feed before
using federal lands. He feels there
is a need to develop an equestrian park and will be working with the BLM to
determine if there is any available property for such use.
6. Supervisor Hanson informs the board
members that Casey Ardrey, a Shaffer School 7th grader, is the State Winner in
the 2002/2003 "Imagine this ... Story Writing Contest", a program of the
California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. There were more than 15,000
entries. He would like to honor
Casey at a future meeting.
7. Supervisor Hanson discusses a
problem he is working on in the South County relating to senior citizens being
shorted when purchasing wood from one specific wood
cutter.
8. Supervisor Hanson makes comments on
various meetings he has attended:
Solid Waste Board meeting and tour; Mental Health Facilities tour with
Andy Whiteman; Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board Meeting; met with CalTrans
representatives to discuss possibility of lowering the speed limit through
Standish; found out that traffic studies are out-of-date which means the Highway
Patrol cannot use radar in certain areas; also discussed traffic issues relating
to the Dyer Mt. Project and the new hospital. Supervisor Chapman suggests the matter
of traffic studies be referred to the Public Works Department for a report. Supervisor Dahle notes the studies can
actually increase speed limits when the community may want limits lowered.
9. Supervisor Hanson notes that he
visited the Sierra Army Depot and there is a good possibility the County will
become responsible for maintaining buildings and grounds without deriving any
income from the acquired property.
10. Supervisor Chapman reports on the CSAC
meeting at which ongoing discussions of the budget issues were held. He also reports on discussions held
relating to Indian gaming issues.
11. Supervisor Chapman has been working with
Agriculture Commissioner Kenneth Smith to address concerns of a new property
owner who does not want any weed control chemicals used near her
property.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES -
PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT
Juvenile Hall Superintendent
Roy Thiels requests a change in the Juvenile Hall staff work schedule and
explains how it will help the operations. He also notes the employees are in
favor of the change. Following a
series of questions and answers, Supervisor Dahle states he would like a report
back to the board after the new schedule is implemented comparing the use of
sick leave and extra help between the current schedule and the new schedule.
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Keefer and carried on a roll call vote, with
Supervisor Chapman voting NO, to: 1)
approve change in schedule for Juvenile Hall staff to a new 12 hour work
schedule, effective February 16, 2003; 2)
approve reclassification of one position from Juvenile Hall Counselor II
(Range #15) to Senior Juvenile Hall Counselor (Range #17); 3) approve and authorize the CAO to sign an
addendum to United Public Employees of California (UPEC) Memorandum of
Understanding, setting forth the conditions of the 12 hour work schedule; and
4) adopt Resolution No. 03-008,
changing the Personnel Rules and Regulations to reflect the change in the
Juvenile Hall work week.
MENTAL HEALTH ADVISORY
BOARD
Lassen County Mental Health
Advisory Board Chairman Tom Gauthier presents the 2002 Annual Report of the
Mental Health Advisory Board to the Board of Supervisors along with Action Steps
for 2003. The report identifies the
accomplishments and activities of the advisory Board. He reads a statement that focuses on the
advisory board's initiatives on community outreach and improved communication,
stating it has been his mission to sort out what is fact from what is simply
commonly held beliefs about Lassen County's mental health services. In doing this he found it was helpful to
look at the department from three views.
First view considers that the mental
health department is a state mandated function subject to a mountain of
requirements for procedural governance and reporting. The department generally receives grades
of A+ from state officials and from professional peers in this area.
Second view incorporates the facts of
day-to-day operations and there is a very real penalty of being a "small
county". Capital and infrastructure
requirements to administer a 21st century public mental health system are
absent. Antiquated computer
systems, difficulty in recruitment, and overloading of human resources leave the
department scrambling to reach the levels of efficiency that are strived
for. Findings show that the
employees of the department are applying creativity and extra energy that
delivers services to the county well beyond what could be expected from the
resources given to them to work with.
Third view is the most contentious and
painful as it is public perception of mental health services. Past and recent history contains
examples of inefficiencies and of poor communication. A deeper look at the facts finds that
cause and complicity must be shared across many venues beyond the mental health
staff and includes prior contractors, officers of the court, police agencies,
medical services and the mental health board itself. He states that he has noted too many
public pronouncements on the subject of mental health services that are
virtually devoid of any understanding of critical facts or scientific
knowledge. In regard to the "small
county" problem, neither the hospital nor police agencies have specialized
training or resident psychiatric staff that are common in the "big city"
facilities. The effect is there is
no opportunity for professional to professional incident assessment
discussions. It all falls on the
county mental health department, which then becomes the focus of unqualified
second guessing and "Monday-morning" judgment. Too many people with a bully pulpit have
been speaking outside of their areas of expertise, which contributes nothing to
improving either understanding or perceptions. These pronouncements have inflicted
unwarranted harm on the reputations and personal feelings of too many hard
working people. The advisory
board is unified in the belief that we can do a much better job as community
leaders in understanding and communicating among ourselves. To that end formal communication and
learning opportunities have been initiated for mental health staff in
cooperation with the community hospital staff, private medical community, law
enforcement, and education professionals in Lassen County. He speaks of the need to determine if a
person brought to the emergency room has a medical condition causing problems
before determining it is a "mental case".
It has also been found the hospital was missing out on revenue because
cases were being incorrectly coded for Medi-Cal.
He states the advisory board
intends to work toward raising the knowledge and understanding - if not the
comfort level - for Lassen County's community mental health services. They are approaching their work as if
serving their own families and spending their own money. This mindset helps to remove the
bureaucratic face from a human enterprise and hopefully make them more effective
in meeting their mandate. Mr.
Gauthier states he can truly report that this is a different kind of "maverick"
mental health advisory board.
Supervisor Chapman commends Mr.
Gauthier for the leadership he has brought to the advisory board and states his
belief this leadership is a vindication of the restructuring of the advisory
board. He commends the mental
health staff for the positive steps that are being taken to make
improvements. He states that he may find himself going from a
"chief critic" to a "chief advocate" of the department. Each board member express their pleasure
at Mr. Gauthier's enthusiasm and the positive work being done.
Recess 10:39 - 10:47 a.m.
(Supervisor Hanson enters at 10:48 a.m.)
SPALDING'S WASTEWATER
SYSTEM
It is moved by Supervisor Pyle,
seconded by Supervisor Dahle and carried unanimously, on a roll call vote, to:
adopt Resolution No. 03-012, urging the California Department of Housing and
Community Development to approve Community Development Block Grant funding to
assist qualifying households with the costs of assessments associated with the
development of a wastewater collection and disposal system for the community of
Spalding; adopt Resolution No. 03-013, urging USDA Rural Development (RD) to
provide funding essential to planning and constructing a wastewater collection
and disposal system for the community of Spalding; and adopt Resolution No.
03-014, urging the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to provide
funding essential to planning and constructing a wastewater collection and
disposal system for the community of Spalding.
ASSESSMENT APPEALS
BOARD
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to reappoint Rodney G. Colvin and
Carol Jean Curry to the Assessment Appeals Board.
BIG VALLEY PEST ABATEMENT
DISTRICT
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to reappoint Dale Albaugh,
Michael D. Babcock, Charles Kramer, Robert Nelson, Dr. Tom Vestal to the Big
Valley Pest Abatement District, for a term of one year.
HONEY LAKE VALLEY RESOURCES
CONSERVATION DISTRICT
It is moved by Supervisor
Keefer, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to reappoint Mary Conway and
Jeffrey Pudlicki each for a term of 4 years.
IN-HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES
ADVISORY BOARD
It is moved by Supervisor
Keefer, seconded by Supervisor Dahle and carried to accept the letter from
Charlotte Leicester resigning from the In-Home Supportive Services Advisory
Board.
LASSEN COUNTY CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES COMMISSION
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to appoint Supervisor Chapman as
member and Supervisor Dahle as alternate on the Lassen County Children and
Families Commission.
LASSEN COUNTY WATERWORKS
DISTRICT
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to reappoint Don Colvin, Arlene
Sealock and Patrick S. Wood to the Lassen County Waterworks District, each for a
term of 4 years.
LASSEN - MODOC FLOOD CONTROL
AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT ADVISORY BOARD
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to appoint Dale Albaugh, Roger
Cruikshank, Peter Gerig, Jim Halpenny, Charles Kramer for a term of one
year.
PIT RESOURCES CONSERVATION
DISTRICT
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to reappoint Louis Haas, James W.
Johnston and Charles "Chuck" Signs to the Pit Resources Conservation District,
each for a term of four years.
SOLID WASTE HEARING
PANEL
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to reappoint Mike Murray and
Brian Dahle each for a term of 2 years.
SUSANVILLE RANCH REGIONAL
RECREATION AREA ADVISORY
Supervisor Dahle requests this
board be looked at for restructuring.
Chairman Chapman directs that Supervisor Dahle, Community Development
Director Robert Sorvaag and himself work with the current advisory board members
on ideas for restructuring, with a report back to the Board at a future meeting.
CONSENT
CALENDAR
Supervisor Keefer requests that
Item G-1, minutes, be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate
consideration.
It is moved by Supervisor
Keefer, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to take the noted action on the
following Consent Calendar items:
COUNTY CLERK/COUNTY COUNSEL
ITEM
Approve new Conflict of
Interest Code for Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which has been
reviewed by County Counsel.
COUNTY COUNSEL
ITEM
Reject claims of Jenny Phinney,
Thomas Phinney, Joshua Phinney and Luana Phinney, each in its entirety, and
direct County Clerk to send Notices of Rejection.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES -
PUBLIC HEALTH ITEM
Approve the Declaration of
Intent Not to Apply for FY 2003/2004 Emergency Medical Services Appropriation
(EMSA); and authorize the Director of Health and Human Services to sign the
declaration.
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES
ITEM
Ratify continuation Declaration
of State of Disaster / Drought Emergency in Lassen County for
2002.
MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE
ITEMS
Receive and file the following
correspondence:
a. Lassen County Planning Commission
revised meeting agenda for February 5, 2003.
b. Local Agency Formation Commission
special meeting agenda for February 10, 2003.
c. Lassen County Fair Advisory Board
meeting agenda for February 11, 2003, and minutes of November 12, 2002
meeting.
d. Lassen County Mental Health
Advisory Board agenda for February 11, 2003, and minutes of January 14, 2003.
e. Lassen Transit Service Agency
agenda for February 10, 2003.
f. Lassen County Transportation
Commission agenda for February 10, 2003.
BOARD OF SUPERVISOR'S
MINUTES
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried, with Supervisor Keefer
abstaining, to approve Board of Supervisor's minutes of January 28,
2003.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES -
PERSONNEL DIVISION
It is moved by Supervisor
Keefer, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried to approve Drug Free Workplace
Policy; Animals on County Property Policy; and Personnel Records
Policy.
ASSESSOR
It is moved by Supervisor Pyle,
seconded by Supervisor Dahle and carried unanimously, on a roll call vote, to
adopt, by title only, Ordinance No. 553, exempting low value escape
assessments.
PUBLIC WORKS
DEPARTMENT
In response to a question from
Chairman Chapman, County Counsel John Ketelsen states the easement deeds are
sufficient to accomplish providing access through Susanville Ranch Park to
properties north of the park. He
notes the easement provided by the Susanville Indian Rancheria is limited in two
ways: 50 year term with a reopener
clause, and limited in burden and scope to current access only and any future
expansion of access would probably require a revision of the easement.
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried unanimously, on a roll call vote,
to adopt Resolution No. 03-009, accepting easement deeds from Susanville Indian
Rancheria and from property owners north of Susanville Ranch Park and granting
an easement deed to the same property owners through Susanville Ranch Park in
order to establish reciprocal access to and through the respective parcels; and
approve easement deed with authorization for the Chairman to
sign.
TREASURER / TAX
COLLECTOR
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Keefer and carried to approve the Banking Services
Agreement with U.S. Bank National Association (US Bank) and authorize the
Chairman to sign the agreement.
It is moved by Supervisor Pyle,
seconded by Supervisor Hanson and carried to adopt Resolution No. 03-010,
declaring intention to sell surplus property (APN 129-060-04, 463-960 Raines
Rd., Janesville) by sealed bid for a minimum price of
$50,000.
COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE -
BUDGET REVIEW
It is moved by Supervisor
Dahle, seconded by Supervisor Hanson and carried to adopt Resolution No. 03-011,
opposing the Governor's 2003-2004 State Budget Proposal to permanently eliminate
the Open Space Subvention Program.
CAO Whiteman presents the
Mid-year Budget update stating that revenues and expenditures are "right on
track" for all departments with the exception of Juvenile Hall. Juvenile Hall is experiencing a decrease
in out of county placements which decreases revenues. Board members and Roy Thiel exchange
questions and answers followed by a direction from Chairman Chapman that this
situation be carefully monitored.
It is moved by Supervisor
Keefer, seconded by Supervisor Hanson and carried unanimously, on a roll call
vote, to authorize expenditures for Health and Welfare pass-through
funds.
INFORMATION FOR THE BOARD
1. CAO Whiteman announces that QLG
Forester Frank Stewart will be present next week to present a report to the
Board. Chairman Chapman asks about
the 2001/2002 payment for the forester from Lassen County which has not yet been
made to Plumas County. CAO Whiteman
responds that he is looking at why this fell through the cracks.
2. CAO Whiteman informs the board
members that he will be out of the office on Thursday and Friday of this week.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further
business, the meeting is adjourned at 11:25 a.m. in honor of Bob and Elizabeth
Bradford's 65th Wedding Anniversary.
__________________________________________
CHAIRMAN
OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
ATTEST:
_______________________________________
THERESA NAGEL, CLERK OF THE
BOARD