BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

JULY 10, 2007

The Lassen County Board of Supervisors convenes in Regular Session on Tuesday,

July 10, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. Present: Supervisors Brian Dahle, Robert Pyle, Jim Chapman, and Lloyd Keefer; County Counsel Craig Settlemire, County Administrative Officer (CAO) John Ketelsen and Deputy Clerk of the Board Susan Osgood. Supervisor Hanson is not present at the beginning of the meeting. Following the flag salute, the invocation is offered by Supervisor Dahle.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF ITEMS DISCUSSED IN CLOSED SESSION

Chairman Dahle announces that no closed session was held.

AGENDA APPROVAL, ADDITIONS AND/OR DELETIONS

Supervisor Chapman requests that item H3, a letter of response to Dimitrous Fylaktos and Lauren Argyriadis, be continued until July 17, 2007.

Supervisor Dahle requests the meeting be adjourned in memory of Penny Lemke.

It is moved by Supervisor Keefer, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried, with Supervisor Hanson absent, to approve the agenda with the noted changes.

PUBLIC COMMENT

1) County Clerk/Recorder Julie Bustamante introduces her new employee, Elections Administrative Assistant Shannon Medici to the Board.

2) Deputy CAO for Health and Social Services Kevin Mannel presents a follow-up report on items previously brought before the Board. Mr. Mannel states he met with Lassen County resident Jim Ward who spoke to the Board regarding food safety issues in local restaurants. Mr. Mannel met with Mr. Ward, Environmental Specialist Mike Whipple and Public Health Director Julia Kranz. After the meeting, it was concluded that other Health and Social Services staff would receive restaurant training so they can observe any hygiene type issues while they are in local restaurants and report formally back to Mr. Whipple. Mr. Ward seemed satisfied.

Mr. Mannel also reports on a citizen complaint regarding environmental health pertaining to the Susan Hills Estates Mutual Water System. He presents a draft letter from the State Environmental Management Branch Chief Robin Hook to resident Gioia Lee that concludes that the water quality of the small water system is satisfactory at this time. Another issue addressed was a review of the circumstances of Susan Hills Estate Community Sewage Treatment System and it was concluded there was no indication of malfunction. The Assembly of God Treatment Sewage System was reviewed on June 12 and there were no circumstances of any maltreatment. (Supervisor Hanson enters at 9:36 a.m.) Supervisor Chapman asks that a copy of the letter be forwarded to the Lahontan Water Quality Control Board staff.

3) Community Development Director Conrad Montgomery reports that July 13 is the deadline for comments to the Bureau of Land Management Proposed Resource Management Plans (PRMP) and requests Board approval for staff to send a letter stating the County’s concerns. The letter would be brought back to the Board at the next meeting; the Board agrees.

UNAGENDIZED BOARD REPORTS

1. Supervisor Chapman expresses appreciation to the Let Us Remember Committee for bringing the Vietnam Memorial Wall (American Veterans Traveling Tribute) to Lassen County. He states all of the Supervisors participated at the opening ceremonies and he appreciates their support. Supervisor Chapman asks staff to draft a letter to Reverend Mike Cornelison thanking him and all of the volunteers involved in the event. He has heard there were an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people in attendance; the Committee did an outstanding job.

2. Supervisor Chapman states he and Supervisor Dahle met with Trails Coordinator Joel Rathje (who also did the mural in the back of the Board Room) about the utilization of the park bonds grant monies set aside for the Susanville Ranch Park. An agenda item will be brought back to the Board regarding a proposal to develop a trail section at the Park that could have real potential.

3. Supervisor Chapman attended a LAFCO meeting on July 9 and toured the new Skyline Drive that is being built. The installation of a stop light at Skyline and Highway 139 is not done yet and will hold the project up.

4. Supervisor Keefer reports on the Wheeler Fire and distributes a map of the area. He states his main objective was trying to get information about the incident to the community. There was a lot of misinformation that had to be corrected. Sandwich boards with fire information were put up in Janesville Saturday afternoon and in Milford by Sunday morning. A meeting was held July 9 at the Janesville gymnasium; an estimated 60 people attended. The Incident Management team was there to give an overview of the fire status. Emergency Services Chief Chip Jackson and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) already had evacuation plans put together for Janesville and Milford in case the fire reached “trigger points”. As indicated on the map one trigger line was for 14 hour notice for evacuation and the second line was for 8 hour notice. Supervisor Keefer states he prefers to have a staffed information center in Janesville and in Milford to answer questions. He will be working on that for future incidents. Supervisor Keefer states some insurance companies will be requiring standards that are greater than the Public Resource Code of 100’ defensible space.

5. Supervisor Hanson reports there has been ongoing discussion between Honey Lake Power and Senator Feinstein’s office regarding the problem of not doing enough chipping. He states there needs to be a subsidy or some sort of financial assistance to get the chips from Tahoe to a co-generation plant.

6. Supervisor Hanson reports that the unfunded liability for retiree health benefits in San Francisco (4.9 billion with $500,000 put aside) makes Lassen County’s liability look better. He is looking forward to seeing some numbers during the budgetary process.

7. Supervisor Hanson also attended the LAFCO and the Transportation meetings. At LAFCO, they are working on the sphere of influence and Municipal Services Review (MSR) for Spalding Community Services District. Discussion was held on the Herlong Public Utilities District formation; they will go ahead with the election process. Leavitt Lake is doing an annexation and they will be looking at sewer ponds and seeing what upgrades are necessary. Supervisor Chapman suggests they take some of the County’s excess septage and Supervisor Hanson replies that they will be looking at that possibility. There are also sewer ponds at the Sierra Army Depot that may be evaluated as possible solutions to the septage issue. There has been some discussion on annexation for the Standish Litchfield Fire Protection District. Chairman Bonham made a comment reminding all of us that the fire districts are still kind of on the edge and he feels this annexation may be an opportunity to continue to evaluate their ability to get volunteers and whether there may be a better organizational format for some of these districts around the County.

8. Supervisor Hanson stated he did attend the ceremony at the Wall ceremony; it was a great deal and he gives his compliments to everybody there.

9. Supervisor Hanson states Senator Cox toured the Sierra Army Depot on Friday prior to arrival at the Wall ceremony and Senator Cox and Congressman Doolittle met with the partners in the Herlong area to discuss the clean water situation. There is a meeting this afternoon with EPA and some other people in Herlong.

10. Supervisor Chapman asks CAO Ketelsen to have County staff come up with some population figures for the County. The matter was discussed at both the Transportation meeting and at the LAFCO meeting with a discrepancy in the numbers. Supervisor Hanson states both sets of figures were from the Department of Finance. Supervisor Chapman would like to get the correct figures and publish them.

11. Supervisor Dahle also attended the Wall ceremony.

12. Supervisor Dahle will be attending the National Association of Counties (NACo) but will be back for the Board meeting on Tuesday.

LOCAL REUSE AUTHORITY
The Board of Supervisors recesses and convenes as the Local Reuse Authority.

PLANNING / LOCAL REUSE AUTHORITY

Assistant Community Development Director Joe Bertotti presents an update of the Herlong mixed use project with Towne Development. The one item that is an issue at the moment is trying to facilitate a solution for wastewater.

LEASE

It is moved by Supervisor Pyle, seconded by Supervisor Hanson and carried unanimously to award lease of Local Reuse Authority (LRA) property to Modoc RSA Limited Partnership d/b/a/ Verizon Wireless (Verizon) for the purposes of a cellular antenna (cell) tower, and authorize the CAO to enter into lease.

The Local Reuse Authority adjourns and the Board of Supervisors reconvenes.

CONSENT CALENDAR

It is moved by Supervisor Chapman, seconded by Supervisor Pyle, and carried unanimously to take the noted action on the following Consent Calendar items:

AUDITOR ITEM - CONTRACT

Approve contract with Campbell Consulting for financial system software programming and support, in the amount of $2,400/month beginning July 1, 2007 until terminated, and authorize the CAO to sign.

PUBLIC WORKS ITEM - ROAD DIVISION

Approve Perpetual Conservation Easement Grant -Assessor's Parcel No. 141-260-04 and 141-200-24 for Robinson Canyon Wetland Mitigation Site, and authorize the Chairman to sign.

COUNTY COUNSEL ITEM - RESOLUTION

Adopt Resolution No. 07-031 amending Purchasing Policy Number 03-P12, to clarify the County Administrative Officer's authority to execute contracts and invoices not to exceed $10,000.

COUNTY CLERK ITEM - MINUTES

Approve Minutes of May 29, 2007 Special Meeting.

MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE ITEMS
Receive and file the following correspondence:

a. Susanville City Council meeting agenda for July 5, 2007 and Special Meeting Minutes of March 28, 2007.

b. California Regional Water Quality Control Board Lahontan Region notice of meetings cancelled for July 11-12, 2007 and September 5-6, 2007.

c. Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) of Lassen County meeting agenda for July 9, 2007.

d. Lassen County Transportation Commission meeting agenda for July 9, 2007

e. Big Valley Newsletter and calendar for July 2007.

f. The Lassen Transit Service Agency meeting for July 9, 2007, and minutes of May 14, 2007.

g. The Lassen County Transportation Commission meeting agenda for July 9, 2007, and minutes of May 14, 2007.

h. PSA 2 Area Agency on Aging Public Service Announcement regarding Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP), Legal and Ombudsman services.

i. Big Valley Community Alliance, Inc., Big Valley Family Resource Center June 2007 Report.

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES - RECLASSIFICATION / DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE

District Attorney Bob Burns presents information on the request for reclassification of the position of Victim/Witness Advocate in the District Attorney’s office.

It is moved by Supervisor Keefer, seconded by Supervisor Pyle and carried unanimously to approve the reclassification of the position of Victim/Witness Advocate, Range 11, UPEC, in the Office of the District Attorney, to Victim/Witness Advocate I/II, Range 13/15, UPEC and approve the new job description for Victim/Witness Advocate I/II, Range 13/15.

Recess 10:20 a.m. – 10:26 a.m.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - WIND ENERGY

CAO John Ketelsen presents information on the issue of who would be Lead Agency for wind energy projects that was discussed at the last meeting in his absence.

Mr. Ketelsen has been communicating via email with Lassen Municipal Utilities District (LMUD) General Manager Frank Cady regarding the issues of who should be Lead Agency on potential wind energy projects. Some applications for production of wind generators are on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and the County would not be Lead Agency for those. LMUD, as the local utility, could be Lead Agency if a project transmits power through their lines. The County’s review of those projects would be somewhat limited to consistency to the General Plan.

Community Development Director Conrad Montgomery states that Invenergy is currently going through the process of getting their project up and running; they have met with County staff and brought forth a series of applications. Mr. Montgomery instructed them to get property owner signatures and bring the applications back in.

CAO Ketelsen states that a recent Wall Street Journal article reported that there are no wind generators available in the U.S.; most pieces of equipment or parts are manufactured in Europe and have long term agreements with existing utilities and power suppliers in Europe so

the American contractors are unable to get parts. The exception was Invenergy who have tied up long term contracts with General Electric (GE). It is questioned how many real projects might develop if that article is accurate.

Supervisor Hanson notes that the map presented designates the BLM proposed projects with land leases. The Forest Service (FS) has a different process and they have permitted a number of meteorological (met) towers on FS property but they are not leased; these are not shown on the map. Supervisor Chapman requests they be added to the map. CAO Ketelsen states he will bring a report back to the Board on what Lassen County’s role might be in terms of permitting and where we interface with actual projects. Supervisor Chapman states the lead agency issue will focus on who the electricity will be transferred through and to, and the location of those lines. Supervisor Hanson states determining lead agency will also depend on whether the district or private company builds the line. Supervisor Dahle asks if they would then have the powers of eminent domain and CAO Ketelsen replies they would, but they would still have to come to Lassen County at least for advice and consent on General Plan consistency.

Westwood resident Eileen Spencer asks if the applications are public information and Mr. Montgomery states they are not until the applications have been completed and returned to the Community Development Department.

Resident Todd Swickard states he understood that the Department of Interior is obligated in their planning process to work with the local agencies and abide by the Lassen County General Plan; even though they would be the lead agency in the NEPA process, Lassen County’s comments and involvement would be required. Mr. Montgomery reports that staff has talked to BLM about a joint CEQA/NEPA document.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT / HOUSING

It is moved by Supervisor Hanson, seconded by Supervisor Keefer and carried, with Supervisor Chapman voting NO, to adopt by title only, Ordinance No. 560-A, containing a description of the Lassen County Community Development Commission's (CDC) Program to acquire real property by eminent domain in the boundaries of the Sierra Army Depot Redevelopment Project Area.

COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE - BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (BLM)
Deputy Public Works Director for Facilities Peter Heimbigner states that Community Development Director Conrad Montgomery brought this subject up during public comment this morning. He presents information on a proposed response to BLM’s Proposed Resource Management Plans (PRMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). Comments were submitted back in July 2006 as a cooperating agency to RMP in local BLM field office districts. There were approximately 6 different major comments. The PRMP has been out since May or June of this year and staff has been reviewing it to see how BLM responded to Lassen County’s comments. Mr. Heimbigner states Lassen County got some things requested but there is a bit of an inconsistency regarding our General Plan. BLM is following, where practical, how consistent they have to be to policies and procedures. As stated by Mr. Montgomery, the deadline to protest any of those comments is this Friday. The agenda request proposes staff send a letter stating anything the Board would like to protest and then bring it back to the Board next week. One comment would be that big game retrieval for the Eagle Lake area will not be allowed and is inconsistent with the Surprise and Alturas areas. Further discussion is held.

Supervisor Keefer states that this would be an enforcement issue and that Fish and Game could be proactive along with BLM to enforce compliance. He feels Lassen County’s position should be consistency between/among the districts. Separate rules would be confusing to the public.

Supervisor Chapman states that he agrees with Supervisor Keefer on the consistency issue but can appreciate where BLM is coming from. While he was serving on the BLM Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) about 1000 illegal “cherry stem” trails were found coming off of legitimate trails and BLM would be looking at this from a management perspective. He states he indicated at that time there should be consistency among the districts.

Supervisor Hanson requests that in staff’s response to BLM they include the Board’s concerns as well as complimenting them on the ongoing coordination with the County and their response to local needs and state that the Board looks forward to working with them on the implementation.

INFORMATION FOR THE BOARD

CAO John Ketelsen reports that the Budget/Audit, Legislative and Facilities Planning Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for today is postponed. Chairman Dahle states the Treasury Oversight Committee is meeting next Tuesday, July 17 from 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. CAO Ketelsen states the budget committee meeting will be noticed for July 17 at 1:30 p.m.

CAO Ketelsen states there is a letter in the Supervisors’ Passaround file from Mountain Meadows Conservancy asking for additional time for the Dyer Mountain discussion of the Final EIR and the Development Agreement. Supervisor Pyle states the Board should make every opportunity for the public to be heard. Supervisor Chapman states there has been plenty of time for the public to respond to the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) but that the Development Agreement (DA) may need discussion on new items, not what has already been discussed. CAO Ketelsen states he agrees the administrative record on the EIR is pretty much complete and suggests discussion about the DA include the map.

ADJOURNMENT IN MEMORY

There being no further business, the meeting is adjourned at 10:53 a.m. in memory of Penny Lemke.

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CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

ATTEST:

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JULIE BUSTAMANTE, CLERK OF THE BOARD