At this inaugural meeting of the new year, District One Supervisor Helen Owen and District Four Supervisor Brad Rasmussen were administered the oath of office and exiting Supervisors Moke Simon and Michael Green made their final remarks, as well as. Sheriff – Coroner Luke Bingham was also read his oath of office as his term has also officially begun.
Many appointments were made with the coming of the new year, securing board positions vacated by former supervisors and also open positions on the planning commission, advisory boards and other committees.
Matthew Rothstein from the Administrative Office presented on the consideration of letter of support for the “Public-Private Partnerships to Improve Forest Health and Resilience in Napa and Lake Counties” Project – CAL FIRE Forest Health Grant Program. Julia Sullivan, Executive Director for the RCD joined him explaining the role of Six Sigma and their role in this project which includes the use of their property to perform prescribed burns.
District Two Supervisor Bruno Sabatier expressed his discontent with the lack of transparency in this project and the focus on the Six Sigma Property, feeling that large property owners are the only entities that will see progress from this project. Sullian explained their choice in property noting the Cal Fire grant requirements including a CEQA report be done within a year. “Through this program we would be working super close with Napa RCD every step of the way to shadow their process.” Sullivan continued stating that this project would be a great start to the county’s forest management program.
District Five Supervisor Jessica Pyska noted “Our county is half private property and if we want, to achieve our goals of forest resiliency we need to invest in private property.” District One Supervisor Helen Owen asked about any public lands that could benefit from this project, to which Sullivan responded “Not in this round… We focused on Six Sigma because it was the most realistic shot of securing funding in this round.” The board voted to approve the letter in a four to one vote with Supervisor Sabatier dissenting.
Marcus Beltramo from Code Enforcement and Shannon Walker Smith from Administration were joined by Community Development Director Mireya Turner in presenting an update on the Illegal Dumping Abatement Grant from CalRecycle. The $250,000 grant has helped Code Enforcement identify and categorize the highest needs for abatement, starting in Nice, to Lucerne, Clearlake Oaks and moving around the lake from there as funds allow. Walker Smith shared several photos of dump sites, noting that most of these sites are vacant lots. Beltramo noted that the first phase has been highlighted but plans are there to continue past the area.
These individuals also addressed an item continued from a prior meeting regarding a final draft of the Code Enforcement Drone Usage Policy.
