Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Okay, good morning everybody. Uh we're going to get started. Uh unfortunately this morning uh supervisor stopper is unwell so I will be running this meeting this today. So please bear with me. Um so with that we will call for order and pledge of allegiance. Thank you. Please join me also. At this time before we go to staff announcements, um we will start with the report out of close session from the last meeting. So I will turn it over to Stacy to the clerk. Close session from February 24th, 2026. Item one, pursuant to government code 54956.9D1, conference with legal counsel regarding existing litigation, Maxwell versus Calais County at all. Calabaris County Superior Court case number 22CV 46415, board action, no reportable action taken. Item two, pursuant to government code 54657B1, public employee performance evaluation title, county council, board action, no reportable action taken. Item three, pursuant to government code 54657B1, public employee performance evaluation title county executive officer board action, no reportable action taken.

Thank you. With that, we'll move on to staff announcements and we have Lisa, Valerie, and Shauna. Good morning, board. Lisa Medina, Environmental Management Agency.

Hi.

Good morning. Uh, this is Mallerie. Mallerie is a spade female Belgian Melanino and she is estimated to be about one years old. Um, we think she's spayed because she has a space guard on her belly, but we will get that confirmed by a veterinarian. So, Maller's breed is known for its intelligence, agility, and mobility. Very active dog. Mallerie loves playing with her favorite squeaky blue toy, and her playful nature shines when she is doing so. She seems to get along with other dogs and appears not as interested around other pups and is more often calm than not. Right, Shauna? Uh we can tell that Mallerie really likes people and she would do really well in an active home with humans and we think she is house trained um and she's barely one years old. Super smart breed. If you are interested in Mallerie, she will of course need to be confirmed that she is spayed at a veterinarian and introduced to other household pets if you have some pups at home. So this is Mallerie. Isn't she beautiful?

So she's already going. Oh, Nick brought me some treats. [laughter] My second staff announcement, uh, we have our next free focus rabies and microchip clinic, which will be held here next Saturday, the 14th from 9 to 11:30. Dr. Mike Kay's will be donating his precious time along with our focus members, volunteers, and CCS staff. And if that is it, if you have any questions,

no question. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other staff announcement? Seeing none, we wait. None. Okay, we'll move on to recognition and acknowledgement. Um, clerk, if you could please read item one. Item one, proclamation human services proclaim March 2026 as National Social Work Month in Calaveris County. I turn it over to Supervisor Andel.

Good morning. Whereas social workers positively impact the lives of millions of Americans daily in child welfare and adult protection agencies, hospitals, schools, community centers, and within the federal, state, and local government nationwide. And whereas for more than a century, social workers have worked to improve human well-being, advocate for justice, and support everyone's basic needs. And whereas social workers have helped this community live up to its values by uplifting, defending, and transforming lives. And whereas social workers select the profession out of a deep commitment to help uplift, defend, and transform the lives of people, their families, and communities. And whereas the 2026 theme, social workers uplift, defend, transform, shines a light on the resolute spirit of social workers who transform lives while bringing hope, healing, and justice to the communities they serve, especially in times of profound change and challenges. And whereas social workers assist those navigating trauma, grief, and systemic biases and help people recover from natural disasters, public health crisises, and other issues while transforming their lives in encouraging ways. And whereas social workers will continue to stand ready to assist Calaveris County in overcoming present and future challenges, including supporting families with connecting to mental health treatment, educational resources, community programs, and services to promote self-sufficiency. I see a lot of these wonderful people in the room today. Do I have any comments? Of course you do.

Thank you, Bailey.

Thank you. Um, today we recognize social worker month and give thanks to our dedicated professionals serving our community in health and human services. Every day our county social workers step into complex situations um to support children, families, seniors, and individuals that are facing crisis. Whether they're supporting older adults and people with disabilities, protecting children, helping families, accessing food or housing or other supports and community resources, their work really strengthens the fabric of our community and builds a solid foundation for a lot of our residents. So social workers bring compassion, professionalism, and resilience to many challenges that a lot of people don't see. um and they help people navigate systems, restore stability during hardship, and ensure that vulnerable residents are not facing life's difficulties alone. So, I really just want to thank my team um especially our adults team during the storm we had where they were reaching out to countless people that were snowed in and just stuck and trying to offer resources and help in the best way they could. Um it was really heartening to see them all band together the way that they did and and really dive in and do that work. So I just wanted to thank all of my team that's here um and thank you guys for allowing the population. Any other comments? And I'll bring it back to the board for any comments. Thank you everyone for all the the work you do in your job. I know it is very challenging um and you see and deal with things that um most people [clears throat] do not um even realize are happening. So, thank you for all the

work you do. Um, with that I will make a motion. I'd just like to say thank you as well and especially during this last storm, having spoken to a lot of constituents myself, I know how much help was needed and that's uh a huge lift. So, thank you very much. And I'll second Oh, sorry. Okay. I just want to say thank you very much for all the work you guys do, too. I I appreciate everything you do. It's It can be very difficult at times depending on what it is you're trying to get through and work on. And um I really appreciate you. Thank you.

Do we have a motion in a second? We do. All those in favor? I I now therefore in recognition of the critical contributions of social workers in Calveris County, the Calveris County Board of Supervisors proclaim the month of March 2026 as National Social Work Month and call upon everyone to join the National Association of Social Workers and Calaver's Health and Human Services in celebrating and supporting the vital work of social workers who uplift defend and positively transform our communities each and every day.

Go right back. Like, hold on, let's go. Not much. He doesn't. Okay.

We'll move on to item number two. Clerk. Item two, proclamation. Clerk of the board of supervisors adopt a proclamation recognizing March 2026 as American Red Cross Month in Calaveris County. And I will turn it over to Supervisory.

Thank you, Chair. Whereas in March, we celebrate Red Cross Month by honoring the neighbors who made humanitarian mission of the American Red Cross possible in Calaveris County. And whereas for more than 145 years, the American Red Cross has provided relief, comfort, and hope to those in need. And this compassionate spirit continues to run deep within our community. And whereas in 2025, Calaveris County is served by 21 dedicated Red Cross volunteers who embody the mission of service. And whereas these volunteers have supported seven local families through casework services, taught emergency preparedness to 207 kindergarten through third grade students at Mark Twain Elementary School through the Prepare with Pedro program and presented BER Cross Ready programs to more than 211 residents at local business clubs and firewise events. And whereas volunteers serving with the Gold Country region provide critical services during emergencies by delivering shelter, food, and comfort to disaster survivors, ensuring a safe and life-saving blood supply for patients facing cancer treatments, childirth complications, and traumatic injur injuries, supporting military members, veterans, and their families with 247 global assistance, and empowering individuals with life-saving skills such as first aid and CPR. And whereas these collective e efforts demonstrate that the strength of Calaris County lies in our shared commitment to care for one another and to ensure that no one faces an emergency alone. With that, I'll ask if there's any public comment. Good morning. My name is Carolyn. Uh I'm with the Red Cross. I've been uh a volunteer for about 11 years.

I have helped uh in shelters. I have responded through our DA action uh response to structure fires uh or other disasters for individuals. I have also worked flood services. Currently, I'm the regional disaster disability integration manager. I enjoy what I do. I love to help people. Uh, and that's what the Red Cross is all about. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Lisa Baker. I'm one of the Red Cross volunteers here in the Mother Lode. I have helped support the um shelters we've had. We had seven of them of them here in our mother lode during the blizzard. Um I've deployed all over the country and um I'm also volunteer partner to our um manager Rebecca Bench and thank you. Thank you Lisa Martha. Hi good morning Martha Rubin with the Red Cross. I just wanted to say how proud we are that um during the storm up in Arnold they came to rescue and helped a lot of people. Thank you. Thank you, Laura. Oh, sorry.

Hi, my name is Tom Brower. I've been a volunteer for almost two years now, and it's been the best thing I've ever done to help people. Appreciate you guys having us here today, too. Thank you, Tom.

Hi, I'm Laura Bowman, and I'm the lead um government. Uh See, I don't even know what I'm doing yet because it's such a new But um during the disaster that we just had for uh the three counties that we um actually work with, we opened and operated seven emergency shelters in just 9 days, provided approximately 800 to a,000 meals and we supported 225 overnight stays for the comm all the communities that were affected. So, thanks for the coordination we have with your offices and OES and the sheriff's department and Martin Huberty for district three which Martha and I live in. So, thank you.

Actually, could I ask you really quickly? Could you tell them what you're doing in our district? So, we are um going around in Arnold to some of the more severe homes and we're doing a walk about around the homes and we're teaching each uh family member about preparedness and home hardening around their home. And then we've got a contract um where Rubicon is going to be coming in and helping those homes clear their lots. It's only a few houses that we'll be able to do, but um we're actually we're going to try to do uh at least 20 through Rubicon. We'll see how it goes. Thank you. Thank you.

Is there any public comments online? We have no online public comment. Back to the board for a motion for comments.

Comments. I want to thank the Red Cross and your volunteers for everything you do. Um it is a volunteer organization. So um you you make the choice to do it and I know that uh you're on a moment's notice. You get a phone call. You don't know what's going to happen with a disaster, what's going to happen, what it is or whatever, but you get it. You're ready to go and you and you go out and help. So I want to thank you very much for everything you guys do. Um with that, I will make the motion. A second. All in favor? I.

Now therefore, be it proclaimed that the Calaveris County Board of Supervisors does hereby proclaim March 2026 as American Red Cross month in Calaveris County and encourages all residents to recognize and support the humanitarian mission of the American Red Cross. Be it further proclaimed that we extend our sincere gratitude to the volunteers and supporters whose compassion and service make a lasting difference in our community. Thank you. I'm not looking back. Okay, ready and one. We should keep things.

Okay, we'll move on to the next agenda item which is a general public comment. This is any item of interest to the public that's within the subject matter jurisdiction of the board and is not posted on the consent or regular agendas. So, please make sure you pay attention to the light. I really don't want to stop you. So, um you've got three minutes. So, um any public comment?

Good morning, supervisors and neighbors. My name is Katherine Taylor and my husband Mike and I own two acres in Arnold on the highway and we've lived there for 6 years. We are no strangers to extreme weather. Uh which is why we're here I'm here today to comment on the county's response to the recent President's Day storm and particularly how it was handled in the higher elevations. It does not feel like the county took this storm seriously for several reasons and I'm concerned about the ability of our current public works department to handle snowy terrain at all. Now, when a public when we when public works met on Zoom with the residents of the upper highway 4 area, all they did was denying gaslight. We were told plows were at uh out despite all of the residents saying that was not true. When asked about global positioning in the plows, we were told they did not have GPS because that does not work in our area. I assure you that GPS works not only in Arnold but across the globe. I don't understand the communication response. The county was not equipped to handle the emergency. apparently. Yet, it doesn't seem like they asked for help outside the county. A local fire chief had to find help and even got some all the way from Ventura County. In past storms, we've had the governor declare a state of emergency. There seems to have been little to no attempt made to get the help from the state. It was hardly covered in the press and most of my California state colleagues had no idea what was happening in Calaveris County. Typically, I receive a lot of texts and phone calls when we have a storm. Nobody knew. The county did not communicate. And to be clear, Facebook is not a public utility and it is not acceptable as your only communication method with constituents. The property owners and businesses up the highway invest a lot via taxes and we are not getting the basic public service we pay for while lower elevations are prioritized for snow removal. I think we can all agree that doesn't make sense financially or in matters of safety. I do not think the director of public works has the chops for the job and he should probably resign if he believes this was the right

way to handle this situation and he made it clear he does. Overall, I would like to thank the supervisors for getting the county emergency declared. And special thanks to Supervisor Huberty who coordinated the removal of five feet of oak trunk and branches that PG&E laid down on the bottom of my driveway so I could not get out. He got that done immediately and I really thank you for that. Um, in the future, I really hope to see improved coordination, transparency from public works, and more transparency on how the dollars uh tax dollars of residents and businesses are spent across the county. Thank you all.

Thank you. The public comment.

Good morning. My name is Christopher Budner, publisher of Calaveriswatchdog.com. Mr. Huberty, you exhibit a profound lack of judgment and self-awareness concerning your name appearing multiple times in the Epstein files and of how your connection to Jeffrey Epstein is being perceived. Having represented the business interests of the now disgraced Sarah Ferguson, you are either the sender, direct recipient, or copied in multiple emails and threads between yourself, Jeffrey Epstein, Sarah Ferguson, and numerous Epstein associates. Your direct participation in Sarah Ferguson's persistent financial dependency upon Jeffrey Epstein is evident to interested and astute readers of those emails. The material fact of your willful participation while Jeffrey Epstein was serving a prison sentence for a sex crime against a child and soon afterward is reprehensible. The manner by which your appearance in those emails may be regarded was exacerbated by your deceptive February 20th, 2026 Union Democrat interview where you were quoted, "When I found out I was in the files, I let all the powers that be know that this was the case and nobody had an issue with it, nor should they. Responding to my February 23rd, 2026 public records act request for your disclosures to members of the Calaveris County government of your appearance in the Epstein files. County Council Edwards responded that following a reasonable search, the county has not located any documents responsive to my request. I challenge your assertion of informing all the powers that be of your multiple appearances in the Epstein files, and I allege you intentionally provided deceptive statements to the Union Democrat. As no physical or digital trail of your disclosures were found following a reasonable search for responsive records by Miss Edwards, it appears that you gave no consideration to protecting the Calaveris government from scrutiny nor the reputations of your colleagues who must now officially go on record confirming they had no

issue with your appearance in the Epstein files. Mr. Mr. Huberty, with no responsive records located by county council, it is fair to deduce that whatever disclosures made to your colleagues of your inappropriate appearance in the Epstein files were exclusively verbal. It would be imprudent of you to withhold from the public record the names that constitute your all of the powers that be list that I deduce consists of at minimum Sarah Edwards, Terresa Hitchcock, Ben Stopper, Gary Tofanelli, Amanda Folindorf, Autumn Andal, Judy Hawkins, Sheriff Relle Whiting, and DA Barbara Uke. All of whom must now respond to my allegation of your intentional deception. County Council Edwards must now create and distribute an official press release confirming or denying your statement that nobody on your all the powers that be list had an issue with it, nor should they. Be assured, Mr. Huberty, I'll accept nothing less. My name is Christopher Butner, publisher of Algar's Watchdog. Um, thank you. Really appreciate being here today. My name is Bonnie Randall. I also live in District 3 up in Arnold. Um, unlike my neighbor Katherine, I did not bring kind of a prepared statement. I should have, but I'm going to kind of adlib what so many of us went through during the recent storms. Uh my husband and I own um a thriving business up in Arnold called Hinterra House Distelling. We're really proud to be in the county. Um I know just based on what we what we pay every month to the county. Our our customers um have really come out in full support of who we are, what we

produce um and and why we do what we do. the plow situation um has been probably up in Arnold kind of gone rehashed and gone through by all of our neighbors by all of my patrons. Last weekend on a typical weekend I'll have about a thousand people walk through my distillery doors. last weekend. Probably a little bit fewer than that, but many many hundreds of people come into Hinter House and most of them wanted to tell me about their experience with the lack of plowing. Um, we have lived here for a decade now and it certainly was the very first of these really big events where my husband and I at our home didn't see a single plow, which was quite unusual. I don't want to beat a dead horse. There's a lot of things um going on there, but I can definitely testify to the fact that it was very very difficult um getting around. My business had to be closed for 5 days. On day six when we were able to open most people were not able to even reach us. Um we were helping our neighbors. It's the amazing thing about everyone in this county was I really do feel like we all help each other. We were delivering gas cans to an elderly neighbor. I had to snowshoe up to their house. None of us live on kind of uh remote areas. We're all in very large HOA communities. So, I I would just hope that that the county and the board of supervisors kind of takes a very close look and hopefully seeks transparency from uh the Department of Public Works and roadways. Uh it was a real change from prior big storm events that we experienced and um as a citizen and a business owner, it definitely left

me a bit uncomfortable um moving forward. So I appreciate it. Thank you. Are there any other public comments?

Okay, seeing none, we will move on to consent agenda. I'll let Stacy read out and please go for it. Consent agenda items are expected to be routine and non-controversial. They will be acted upon by the board at one time without discussion. Any board member, staff member, or interested party may request the removal of an item from the consent agenda for later discussion. [clears throat] Is there any staff member uh Judy 11? Number 12.

I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. Quote six. Sorry. Number six. Okay. Um, are there any other staff members that wish to pull in a consent agenda item? Okay. Coming back to the board, is there any other board member that was to pull a consent agenda item? Okay. I will move the remaining. I need to do public comment. Okay. What? Yeah. Well, how uh the balance of the consent? We don't do public comments. Then you've made a motion. Just want to cover them up, but I'll second. Second. I got a motion in a second. All in favor? I I.

Okay. So, we've got three items that have been pulled. So, we'll start with number six, DC.

Item six, resolution, clerk of the board of supervisors. One, [clears throat] receive a report of the clerk's review of the public educational and government PEG television commission. And two, adopt a resolution disbanding PEG television commission. I just wanted to fold the same this item because uh PEG TV and that commission and we we organized that commission back in 2018 and I I know things have changed drastically between now and then. Um, we were dependent a lot on cable TV at that time and our shows were going on there. Uh, and the commission was functioning since then. It's kind of everything's kind of changed a little bit. So, I don't even know the last time the commission met. Uh, they haven't presented to us at the board anything in recent years, but I just wanted to say that um, it may come back at some time. you don't know what's going to happen in the future, but um PEG TV is something that we really I really appreciate here in Calaveris County. Um it's really a good thing and it gives a lot of uh youngsters some uh a chance to get involved in TV cameras, sound production, and everything else. So, um I just wanted to put that out there or Peg TV. Any other comment? Any public comment? Okay, I'll bring it back to the board. Is there a motion to approve?

I'll move it. Is there a second? I'll second. There's a second. All in favor? I passif. We'll move on to item 11. Item 11, resolution, human resources, adopt a revised resolution authorizing the industrial disability retirement of deputy sheriff Manuel Garcia. I need to revise the revised addition and we'll bring back at the next meeting.

Okay. Um that we don't Okay. Thank you, Judy. We'll move on to item number 12. Item 12, a resolution. Sheriff, one, accept one, dualpurpose patrol K9 and associated training services in the amount of $18,300 from the Friends of Calaver Sheriff's Office. Two, find that the donation is made in favor of the county for public purpose. Three, approve the necessary budget transfer adjustments to reflect the donation and expenditures within the sheriff's office fiscal year 202526 budget. and four adopt a resolution of gratitude recognizing foc um FOCSO for their continued support of the Calaveris County Sheriff's Office requires a four-fifth vote. Good morning, uh Calvary Sheriff Michelle Whiting. Uh the reason I pulled this item that's before you today is of course I'm I'm hoping you guys are still going to accept it, but we didn't want it just to pass on consent. We really want to highlight and acknowledge the friends of the Calaver Sheriff's Office and the significant contributions that we are receiving from them that is allowing us to expand our programs and services outside of the general fund. You have already uh passed and accepted a previous donation that got us over $100,000 to buy a brand new patrol vehicle equipped for a K9. And not that I wanted to sway your vote or anything. Um, and thank you to Director Medina for highlighting uh Belgian Malininoa breed. Uh, today I'd like to introduce you to our newly selected K9 handler uh, Deputy Christopher Rhodess and hopefully his new partner, Cairo. Cairo is uh about a little younger than a year and a half.

He's uh bred from Europe into California and we worked with Top Dog uh police uh uh consulting in order to get him. And uh we're hoping if you accept our donation today that uh Deputy Roads and Deputy Cairo will be put in service in the patrol division and start undergoing their training. Um that we would not be able to accomplish if it wasn't for the donations of Friends of the Sheriff. So, we're just asking you to accept that. Let's look at that little face. K9 Titan is lonely. He wants a partner. All right, come on up, Chris.

I I realize this is just to accept the one donation. Lisa's probably going to try and throw him in the car as well on the way out of here. Um, but we're really excited for Cairo. Malininois, like uh Lisa already noted, are very intelligent. Um, the quality of K9 training, law enforcement K9 training we have got from Top Dog has been exceptional over the years, uh, with a great partnership and we're really looking forward to putting him in service. Any questions from the board? Oh, I don't see any any public comment. Any other public comment? Seeing none. Okay. Is the dog have any

[laughter] He works for trees. He's looking for a girlfriend. [laughter] With that, we'll bring back the board. Is there a motion? I'll make a motion. I did already. Sorry. Yes, I did. Um, I'll move this item. I'll second move by supervisor toelli, second by supervisor and all. All in favor? I I thank you.

We'll move on to the regular. Can we take a five minute break? Yes, we can make take a fivem minute break. Okay, we'll take a five minute break. Yes.

Okay, thank you. Um, we have Pione here and I would like to ask the board if we can move 16 up um since they have um they're here for the umformational item and then we'll go back to the regular agenda status. Is that okay with the rest of the board? Okay, thank you. That is your prerogative as chair. I know I do. Okay. Okay. Um so we will go down to item 16 clerk.

Item 16formational item. Administrative office receive a presentation from PG& regarding recent storm related power outages down power lines and the deployment of additional resources to restore service. PG& will also introduce their newly assigned government leaison for Calabaris County. Hey, good morning. Thank you for being here.

Good morning, Madam Chair, members of the board. Teresa and uh team here in Calvary County, Nathan Alonzo with Pacific Gas and Electric, part of the local government affairs team. this morning. Wanted to come before you and give a couple of uh quick updates um around uh some policy and um some other important customer related issues and then wanted to give a quick a quick uh update on our efforts in restoring customers and some of the other things that we did during the u recent series of storms which especially hit this community hard. So, um, a quick update. Uh, I sent an email out, um, last week and then you had gotten a previous one, maybe a month before that, that for the fourth and fifth time in two years, P Gen was reducing residential customer rates. This is around an overall uh, effort around affordability, which is a word that all of us are very familiar with and uh, something that our residents and customers are are asking a lot about. So, um, customers should see between a three and 5% dip in their bill, about $25 a month. Um, not a ton. We recognize that, but this is, um, hopefully something that gains momentum on our end and with collaboration with local government partners such as yourselves. We can continue to go to the commission and to the legislature and uh, see what else we can do in order to bring the cost of energy and res residential customer bills down. So this morning we have um a number of members of the P Gen local team that uh run operations the customerf facing front and uh we also wanted to come before you to introduce your new local contact in government affairs. So uh introducing this team we have Marcus Mawwing who is the superintendent of electric distribution operations uh here uh for this portion of the central valley. He and Rob Cosmro, who is part of his team, were the ones

leading the efforts to uh gain access uh assess and restore all of the customers of Calaveris County during this last uh series of storms. Uh he and his uh team uh were working 16-hour days or almost two weeks straight in order to help make that happen. We have Tracy Melo who's the regional senior manager who is in charge of uh our customer uh facing team. These are the folks that uh when you have a problem with your bill uh they will call, they will go over it with you. We will troubleshoot any issues if you have any other needs. Um that team is the one that troubleshoots them and then Ellen Bringingham which is going to be your new LGA rep. So uh with that I will now pass it over to Marcus Main who will give a summary of our efforts during the storm. Marcus.

All right. Good morning. Uh my name is Mark Smackwin. I'm the electric superintendent Stockton division with Pacific Gas and Electric. I was the IC on the event, the last event that we had here in Calvary County and Amodor. Uh this morning, I just want to give a small update on on what we had happen during this event. Uh during our recent storm events, we responded and restored over 16,000 customers, almost 17,000 customers between the two sides of the hill. Uh during this event uh most of the event most of the event we spent uh in Calvary County uh with most of the damage being in Arnold and Dorington areas. Um that's where we had the most customers affected. Uh during this event we had a total of 178 crews on the hill. We had 78 uh just electric crews uh there to restore power. Uh we had 30 crews with the vegetation management side. Cleared almost a thousand trees uh for hazard locations. [clears throat] We brought in all available equipment. We had an upwards number of nine snowcats total between PG& um and working with mountain medics uh for the rescues. Uh this event the the conditions were challenging for us. Uh most with the low snow, the snow accumulation on the trees. Um took us several days to finally start getting access, clearing the hazards areas, uh getting the wires up, making it safe for our crews to go in and start restoring power. Um, we're proud to call out our team's effort. Uh, we worked with mountain medics. It was a cross collaborational event, right? We had gas crews out there, traffic crews. When we sayund 78 total crews, we had 78 that were just out there, electric crews. Um, the other hundred were uh traffic crews, veg crews, um, everybody else that came together to make this event happen. Um during our rescue in the first three days we rescued 128 um customers out working with the county um and other people we had in to support us on that event. Um we understand that the impacts

and the outages the storms have in our community. Um our objectives were to restore customers as quickly and as safely as possible. Um and on this event we got that done with zero safety incidents. Um just want to throw out our appreciation to everybody on this one. I know that we got hit with a series of events, back to back, three events, safety being our number one priority, trying to get in and safely assess and uh get the power restored as quickly as possible. But it wouldn't have been possible without all of our cross cross functional collaboration between the county, the OES, sheriff's department, fire department, uh everybody that was involved in that. So, I just want to take the time to say thank you guys for that. And that's all I got for my updates. Good morning. Uh my name is Tracy Miller. I'm the regional senior manager uh for the Central Valley region and I cover Stockton Yuse divisions. Um I wanted to share some highlights on the customer support. During the recent event as outlined by Marcus, um as customer service officer, my team and I served as a crucial bridge between our customers and our field teams. Our priority was to ensure that everyone affected received timely updates, reassurance, and clear information about outages and restoration progress. By constantly monitoring the status of impacted areas, we were able to re relay essential information to our field folks. Um, and that helped us prioritize urgent situations and direct aid to those with uh those special needs. Throughout the event, we focused on providing uh both compassionate support and practical solutions, answering questions, coordinating welfare checks, um and connecting community members with additional resources when needed, things um hotel stays if necessary, um generators, uh CRC centers, uh for those who needed to come and get um water, charge their phones, things like that.

Um, so by reaching out with notifications, anticipated restoration timelines and safety guidance tailored to the rapidly changing storm conditions. It's never an exact science, right? As we all know, this storm was very dynamic. Um, and with those changing conditions, we did our best to provide the information um to the customers of Calaveris County. Um, it's always a trick finding overcommunication, under communication where customers want to hear that, right? So we did our best and also anticipating waiting for the crews to go out and do those assessments before we had um um concrete information. Right. So um with that uh um it is it is the partnership between Marcus' team out in the field and the customer team, my team communicating with with you folks with the community, right? And getting that information in real time and back um was our goal, right? to be able to reassure folks um that we are here and we are serving them uh in their time of need. So, thank you. And I'll now turn it off Ellen. Chair, vice chair, supervisors. My name is Ellen Brittingham. I'm the new government relations representative for the region. um super excited to be able to serve you all um as a partner for the county, but most importantly most importantly as a resource for you and your staff in this community. Um this role is a privilege of a lifetime for me. Um I was raised in this community for the majority of my childhood. So um proud to be back serving the community that helped shape me. So look forward to working with you all um on behalf of P Gen um and looking forward to being a resource for you. Any questions? Ben,

thank you. Uh, first off, I just want to thank you. Um, the work that you guys did. I know that you pulled crews from Yusede, Stockton, San Francisco, um, all over.

And I live just off the highway. So that Armada PG& trucks that would come down the hill at the end of the day was unbelievable. Um the conditions that you had to work in were unbelievable as well. And I just really wanted to thank Marcus, Rob, uh Tracy, and you, Nathan, uh for all the work that you did do. Um it was tough. I'd love to know on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad this storm was for you um compared to other storms because to me, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it in our area uh with the amount with the amount of lines that came down. I don't know if Marcus could speak to that, but I'd say 10. He said 11. He said 11. [laughter]

Just the numbers below. You guys can see fire group 20 2300 locations. This one here was uh 2,000 locations. So, uh took us 22 days on the fire to get those customers restored. We're back within seven on this one. So, um, a lot of people, a lot of work on that one. So, I, uh, I have a constituent who wants to know what you did with the old wires. He wants to build a horse corral. And, he said that. If we got enough of them down, build a couple. What do you do with all that? Because you guys were putting in brand new wire. You [clears throat] were you were just cutting out the old that was on the ground or leaning and then put in new wires. What What happens to all that old wire?

Uh, gets recycled. Yeah. Everything. We had multiple layown yards. So that was one of our biggest issues was where we'd store all this stuff. So we had Rob could correct me, but I think we had seven or eight lay down yards to bring everybody in. Like you said, we had people coming in from San Francisco, Central Coast, Pismo, um all hands, everybody that wasn't on vacation was was working this event. But yeah, we had a we had three lay down yards where we had scrap bins, all our stuff. We had a full team separating all that. You did it really quickly. I mean the amount that you of of wire everything else that you brought up was it was it was um magnificent is I guess the word I want to use. Thank you very much. Appreciate you.

I did have one other qu Oh, sorry. Go ahead. Okay. Oh, never mind. And I don't know, maybe go ahead Marcus, if you could answer. I do know that there were some questions since there were some issues when the when the storm first came and and it was within the communication between the county and PG& and I was going to ask if if our public works director could speak to that.

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And I know we uh I'll let him speak too, but I know uh just so everybody's clear, my first major event up here in this area, right? So, I know we still got some communication gaps that we can close up there. We uh we did put some new stuff in place this event though to click to to clear that gap up after the first one. So working on our hazard file that we shared with you guys. So we had our KMZ file with every hazard location with details on each location. So we had access to an area that we didn't have that had wires down, poles down, trees down. We noted all that on there with KMZ files with the Google overlay of exactly where all the hazard locations were. We prioritized those with the fire department on what priority customers we had to evacuate first. We started on wellness checks and getting the people out of the making it safe was our first thing throughout the first three days. So, um once we got that cleared up, we were safe. We're able to get in there and get access. Then we started marking all of our work locations, right? We had over 2,000 of those. One of our biggest things with communication was first wave came in, knocked everything down, then it covered it all in snow, right? So, we can't even see where the poles were set. We couldn't see anything. We had three of those waves come in on top of us. So multiple duplications of stuff, right? We go in and assess, then the storm come back in, knock it down, we'd go back in and reassess. So getting that communication, dialing in those KMZ files exactly where the hazards were and exactly what locations we needed to go work, making sure that we didn't have any duplicates on there, duplicating our efforts, and making sure we had the right priorities.

Thank you. Thank you. Say nice things about it. [laughter]

Thank you, Supervisor Hubard, for allowing me the opportunity to speak to public works uh experience in this event. Um, as mentioned before at our last update at our recent board meeting, it was a quite a challenging event for public works. Um, as some of the comments, you know, from the public earlier today indicated, yes, our storm response to this event was vastly different than it has been in the past. And and what I want to say to that is that um there's circumstances that are beyond our control and there's things that uh we are at the mercy of others to allow them to do their job first before we could do ours. And I think PG& is a description of their involvement is indicative of that. So, not that I want to, you know, make excuses or or blame anybody else, but the early days of the storm was very touchandgo with regards to us being able to deploy our resources where they needed to be. um difficulty with communication with PG& on knowing where their crews were, where all the down power lines were, knowing what roads were safe to plow. And in the 3 4 days of the storm, um on all of our EOC calls, I I begged for information from PG& I begged for information to know exactly where we can put our plows, how we could work with them. The communication left a lot to be desired. So, um, I'm I'm highlighting this to kind of shed some light a little bit on some of the challenges we faced as a public works department with our plowing operations. And hopefully there's some understanding there. Um, I I can say that in the past from, you know, working with the other crews and and members of my department, communication was significantly better. Uh, this is uh based on past experience. This is this

was probably one of the worst experiences we've had with communication with regards to trying to coordinate our efforts and and what needed to be done. So, um Nathan Alonzo was an excellent help. Him and I talked daily. We finally got to a point where we started receiving the communication like we needed to. We finally started making the headway and progress that we wanted to. Um we wish that it had happened sooner, but it it did happen nonetheless. And uh as they mentioned there is a significant number of down power poles down power lines um all tangled in the trees all in the roadway buried in snow. The amount of snow we received in such a short period of time hampered that effort right and then of course you all know as snow continues to accumulate it takes longer to plow it's more difficult to plow the type of equipment you need becomes more um significant. So all these things compounding against each other really really had an impact on our operations. So um and I'll just say one more thing to the communication. Marcus is here. First time I've heard his name or seen the gentleman we haven't even met and I'm kind of disappointed that he was the incident command and the superintendent for PG& during the incident. I wish we had a chance to connect and communicate because I think things could have gone a lot smoother if we had. So, um, hopefully this is a good feedback that we could all take away from it and have an opportunity to have a better plan in place for the next form so that we don't experience this and inconvenience our residents any more than they need to be.

Thank you. Thank you, Micah. Okay. And any more?

Um, thank you all for coming. Um to echo others, Nathan, thank you for answering my calls and my emails and for uh keeping the communication going. And um my ask is just that we like you've all said, move forward from this and communicate stronger earlier because that's everything. Um for us with our constituents, just us having answers calms them significantly. Um and I get it. I live just below 3,000 ft. We were buried. um you know it was all around us and further up the hill in district 2 in West Point was an absolute war zone. Um I think Marcus you referenced but fire it kind of was reminiscent to that the aftermath and people are still dealing with it. So thank you for what you did. Um Ellen, welcome. Make sure I have your cell phone and

I don't have business cards yet but I'll be sure to leave information. Um

yeah and let's just let's grow from this experience. Thank you for all you did. question comment. I have a question comment and I realize the sheriff's office is not in here but and maybe this isn't an answer for today. Um it maybe the takeaway um to build something better in the future. Um even though I'm on the lower elevation, I still got calls. Um, so I was calling the sheriff's office asking cuz um, many in the community still had questions. They had investments up the hill. They were trying to figure out how they were going to get to those um, either businesses, homes, what have you. Um, one of the questions I did get and I'm going to put more of um my my icy hat on is and listening to what PJ said, it seems like there were too many chiefs in the room and the communication was severely broken down. Everyone knew what they were doing under their own units, but no one was we weren't putting that under one roof. And I understand that there were Zoom calls, but everyone was making each each organization seemed to be making their own calls on what was happening and it wasn't conveying to the next um I'm going to pick on my guy, you know, that wasn't getting conveyed to public works so they could actively do their jobs effectively or vice versa and then out to the community. So even though this was a localized event, my question is why wasn't instead of doing a DOC, why a EOC wasn't created under this? And I and I know that in normal circumstances in the past, we have always had a DOC, but this was unprecedented. So how can we build from that and what then triggers from a DOC

to an EOC so we can be more effective together um collectively to get that response. and I I I just it's more feedback but if you have answers.

Sure. Uh thank you uh madam chair and supervisors. Um so we did participate on the daily cooperators meetings. Um I will say that on those uh daily cooperators meetings that's where uh your team uh and the uh emergency operations front on the county facilitates uh communication between all agencies involved. So you're involved, we're involved. Um and then CALR and maybe some of the other folks that have a hand in responding to the emergency are involved. So we had a designated uh PG&E on uh those calls throughout the course of the event. Will Harris, our public safety specialist. Um I I do want to touch on a couple of the points that Micah made. Um and that is that we recognize and we will own we will improve um any gaps in our communication. Um, I can say that uh this was a learning experience and maybe a a stretch for everyone involved being that this was as um as heavy and and a storm that quacked that packed quite a punch. Um during the first day or two as we were uh making sure that we were resourcing up in order to meet the call um we were also resourcing up what that communication structure would look like. So, at the beginning it was those daily cooperator calls, but then it evolved to uh bringing a couple of supervisors in, county staff, um into a an immediate briefing with Marcus and Rob, uh Micah, Teresa, and a few others to talk about what we were seeing out in the field, what response would look like, what gaining access, uh what what those challenges were for us, so that way we could get into the assessment mode and then the um restoration front. So as the event evolved, we scaled up hopefully in order to meet the moment. Um and from there on we made sure that we had multiple people on those cooperatives calls giving

updates on what was going on uh on our end. And uh then that was also paired with uh the nightly um outage updates uh that I was sending out personally to all of you. So, um we will own the parts that are ours and ensure that we are being good partners to you and uh making sure that uh uh the next time we get quite the storm um we are overcommunicating instead of maybe feeling like we undercommunicated. I I do want to if maybe Marcus or Rob want to talk about some of the coordination that uh we did have uh for most of the event with the public works folks uh in order to get uh roads cleared and uh progress made on that front.

Yeah. Uh yeah, if there's any more questions on I can answer them. But I I know we t touched on the communication at the beginning and there's always better we could always close that gap a little bit more. But we did have those calls as I see I did introduce myself. We've had multiple calls with agencies before. Um also Rob was in contact with Monica daily um giving updates once we came up with those files. Once we assessed and we knew where those locations were, we shared those files with public works also um on there. Um, I shared my phone number. My personal phone number is on there if anybody ever needs to get a hold of me. Um, I put it right there in the chat. So, if there's any ever any questions, um, if we need to get a representative over with you guys, I know we did that with the fire department this time. We stationed a person with them. So, if we can do anything like that to close the communication gaps, our OEC is always wide open. Um, if anybody wants to be stationed with us to help us close that communication gap, but anything we can do, we can always get better. So, um, I thought with the with the way we did it with the files and the hazard location, we had four people just assigned to that tracker alone that was tracking those resources, updating the notes on all hazard locations, what percent we had cleared on the roads, what our priorities were, and everything on there. So, if there's anything we could clean up on any of that, I'm I'm open for feedback and on all that. So,

and I think some of it is not just if it's not on PD. I know the county is going through a change. we're going through a shift ourselves um with reorganization. I just you know the the strain on resources wasn't just on PD it was also on county county and our partners and you know I look at what CTA support was you know that was taking buses off a normal route to help with the evacuation. Um but you know once it gets to that you know yes it might be a local event but it is now and this is more to county staff too. this is now stringing on resources outside of that area countywide. And so when it's just phone call rather than everyone being in the same room and getting those briefings, it's it it caused even to those individuals who want to help, it caused that kind of sense of anxiety like we don't know what going on but we're going to show up, you know. And so I just want to make sure that we all it's it's just the feedback I got. Um, and I I understand the rationale, but it just was unprecedented for everyone. And so I just hope it we really come together in the future, especially with county staff, too. Like what what our normal operations may have been. We definitely have some improvement. And I'd rather be over over You talk about overcommunication. I'd rather be overly stacked up than just sitting. I I don't know. I just from the outside looking in and the phone calls I was getting, it's just the other feedback of of it all. So, thank you. And I do appreciate you guys all coming here today. It's nice to put faces to names and um build that relationship. So, we do have a successful um hopefully not like this, but whatever you know, we we build that success for the future with the relationships today. So, thank you.

Sure. I just wanted to say that thank you again and I think it's hugely important and your points are well taken that we get all of this out in the open before fire season starts too because we should learn from these lessons. Um, and with the amount of devastation that was up there, I just thank you for getting my constituents online as clearly as you did.

And our our biggest thing is is accurate communication, too, right? So, when we start communicating out at the beginning of event, like we said, when it gets leveled like that, and then we have to come back in and we're reassessing that multiple times is once we get that information is making sure that we're we're relaying out accurate information, too, right? We want to make sure that everything we're giving out to you guys is on point so we're not going back and changing things later, right? So that was one of the big things that we faced at the front was getting those hazard locations, but making sure the information that we're putting there is actually accurate, right? That it's an actual hazard that we have our wires down, that it's not phone wires, right? And we're prioritizing all that on our side, too. So, anything we can do to that fix that communication, make it better at the beginning next time.

CEO, did you have anything? you keep looking at me so I just wanted to make sure I

uh so talking with Will Harris in the first four days trying to stress what we were doing the first four days is doing whatever we could right we had no access we had standing down crews because of hazards so the first four days there wasn't much information to give and they were winning information and we couldn't give it right because alls we're doing is trying to gain access and standing down crews and getting in where we can helping for the 911, you know, that kind of stuff. So, all I have to say is those first four days, they were expecting more from us and there's not much we could have done. So, uh that's all I have to say.

And and on that, I guess too, sorry to jump back in, but we we did a ton outside of our normal scope in those first four days, right? We had trees down across Highway 4. We had line crews there to restore power, cutting trees. We were clearing phone wires. We were clearing trees. We did everything that we could to help support outside of our realm of restoring power also, right? So during that first four days, we had all hands on deck doing everything we could to clear access to get access to those roads to make it safe for the public, too. So that was a that was a big part of that.

And I'll just think we're good on comments, so I think we'll close out not to monopolize the rest of your board meeting time. I'm leaving my information with the clerk. Um, so if you have any further questions, you know, please feel free to reach out to me. I'm, like I said, privilege of a lifetime to come back and serve the community that shaped me. So looking forward to working and collaborating with you moving forward.

So I I did want to say just a couple of things. Um, you've heard from P Gen and the tremendous amount of work that they had to do in order to just make things safe. Obviously, our road crews could not be in those areas until we knew that lines were deenergized or that some of that stuff was taken care of. The county did declare a state of emergency so that we could get additional CalFire resources in because of the number of trees. You heard P Genie say that they cleared a thousand trees themselves. It was unprecedented. And as much as I know the community was frustrated and you know who wouldn't be frustrated to be snowed in for a week or more, um it's certainly understandable, but the storm was definitely not your average storm. And so I would say that we were frustrated at the beginning because of the communication, but PG Gen did come to the table and develop their process in order for us to know exactly what was going on with their resources and what they were working on so that we could get our plows out there. Um, I feel like some of those things we will leave in place and so we'll be better prepared for the next event. And although this was not a normal storm, um we will probably be applying some of these lessons learned to some of our just more everyday mundane storms as well. So I think um as frustrating as it was, we all learned some very valuable lessons and we're better prepared for the next event that we know will happen. If there's no other board comment, I do have to do public comment. So, is there any other public comment?

I see none in the online. You do? Yes. Yeah. Um, we have Elizabeth. Okay. And clerk, will you be letting them know when the time Yes. Okay. Elizabeth, you can speak now and you have three minutes.

Okay. Um, I did um submit a question in writing. Um, basically I think we still need a town hall here in Arnold for all of the areas that were affected by this storm. Um, you know, it was brought up at the EPO meeting last week, I think. Um, it should be scheduled soon. Um, I would like to see it scheduled um, in the evening so people who work can attend. Um, a lot of the things I'm concerned about did begin to be addressed today at this meeting, at your board meeting today. Um, as to like why did this happen? We didn't really get a very good explanation of that last week. In fact, we got none. Um, we were told that the roads were plowed when we saw with our own eyes they weren't. Um, so I think that we need the town hall because more [clears throat] people need to hear this. Uh, I'm glad to see that these things are being addressed as to like why it happened. Um, we all know what happened. Um, why it happened and what solutions are going to be put in place to prevent people being stranded for days in their homes because the roads weren't plowed. Um, I think everybody's main concern is the roads. We lost other services, but we're prepared. We all are prepared. Um, somebody stated last week that we weren't, but everybody here knows we we might lose power. We might lose um cell phone service. Um, but we people were running out of like propane and fuel for their generators and also dealing with that. the cable

went out, so we had no Wi-Fi or internet and people couldn't do their work. Um whether it was personal bills or trying to work from home. Um at the end, Verizon even fell and all we could do was text or call. We couldn't get online to um do anything significant that we need to do in our lives. And but all those things could have been solved by having roads plowed if we could have gotten out. And I can't, you know, I used to live in Bear Valley and I knew my roads weren't going to be plowed. So we had over snow access. The mountain rolled the roads so you could pass them with crosscountry skis, walking, whatever. Not many people had skies back then. Um, but the main thing is the roads needed to be plowed and I just really think we need a town hall to be scheduled and I think that um the people who spoke today if they could be there would be fantastic because people need to need [clears throat] to know that it's being worked on. I've lived here.

Elizabeth, I apologize. Your three minutes is up. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Um, we also have another online comment. Okay, that we'll bring it back to the board. Oh, we have one more. Sorry. That I would look. Yep. Beth, go ahead and speak, please.

Yeah. Uh, Rodney and Bethl. We're up in uh Big Trees, Dorington, and um 21-year resident. And um the the issue that I see, I'm a professional uh driver, equipment operator. Um, we found out that you, the county only has one blower for the whole area. Um, so in my opinion, I think a lack of equipment is key to getting these roads cleared when we need them cleared. Um, you know, just pushing snow with with dump trucks and blades just doesn't cut it. I the blowers do a better job. what I see happening, and there's a constant tug-of-war between getting the road cleared and the uh local contractors doing the driveways. Um, your trucks come by and create these huge BMS. Now, some of us, we can deal with it, but there's a lot of older senior citizens that can't get out there and dig a burm out. So, we get gridlocked, can't get out of our homes. So, I I would hope that you guys could take a a little better look at the amount of equipment and do some upgrades, get some better equipment. Uh, I've been kind of researching other counties, what they're doing, and some of the counties are actually uh renting blowers during the winter season, so maybe because of cost restraints, that might be a good direction to investigate. Thank you. Oh, and by the way, uh, want to thank Martin, too. I think he did a fabulous job. He was out there a lot and I know a lot of the residents really appreciate that. And of course everybody involved, they were doing a great job. This was a a very brutal storm. Not your everyday, but it's it is a good learning lesson and we need to be better prepared. Thank you.

Any more online? We have no further online public comment. Okay. And no in the room we'll bring it back to the board. This is anformational item only. So Pin, all of you, thank you for being here today. Um we really appreciate it and we look forward to a um strong relationship and partnership going on into the future. So with that, we will um move on to our next agenda item. Have a good day. The next we'll go back to regular agenda item 14 clerk. Item 14 action item administrative office authorize the county executive officer to negotiate a financing agreement with the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank for the construction of Calaveris County Animal Services Facility consistent with the terms and conditions of the infrastructure state revolving fund program. Good morning. Um, vice chair fallen, members of the board. Since joining Calver County in 2023, I have worked closely with this board to understand your priorities and to align county operations and resources with the direction that you set. Among the many needs across our organization, two capital improvement projects have consistently risen to the top of your priority list. One of those is the long delayed and muchneeded animal services facility. I want to be clear about my role in this process. It is not my job to advocate for specific projects. My responsibility is to take the priorities identified by this board and find practical, responsible, and achievable pathways to make them happen. The animal services facility is a prime example of that work. The existing animal shelter in San Andreas has been the subject of community concern for many years. It is

undersized, outdated, and lacks the systems and space necessary to meet modern standards for public health, safety, and animal care. The facility has insufficient housing capacity, inadequate medical treatment areas, and no proper intake isolation. Conditions that increase the risk of preventable disease outbreaks and limit our ability to serve the public effectively. The new 10,555q ft animal services facility will address these long-standing deficiencies. It will provide modern medical treatment and surgery areas, proper quarantine and intake spaces, improved visitor flow and customer service areas, durable energy efficient building systems, expanded outdoor exercise yards, and importantly, a safer and healthier environment for both animals and staff. The project will also generate an estimated 130 construction jobs supporting local economic activity. Now, I'm going to talk about the financing approach to move this project forward without compromising general fund liquidity. And I want to stress that um we do have quite a bit of funding on our county capital um account, but we don't want to deplete that um because if there were to be an e economic downturn or an economic event, we would need that liquidity to offset county um cost through the recession in order for us to minimize impacts to staffing or other services. So we are requesting authorization to negotiate a financing agreement with the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank I Bank through its infrastructure state revolving loan program. This financing structure is familiar to the county. It is similar to the lease lease back financing we currently use

for the state with the state for the jail facility. Under this model, the county leases designated property um from to I bank. I bank or we yeah we lease designated property to IBank. I bank leases it back to the county. The county makes annual lease payments for the term of the financing. At the end of the term, the property fully reverts back to the county. This approach pro provides predictable long-term tax exempt financing and avoids the need for a large upfront capital outlay. again reserving the county's liquidity for future events. Um key proposed financing terms, the financing amount that we've requested is um $10 million. That is worst case scenario scenario. Hopefully the shelter comes in lower than that. We do want to make sure that we have um appropriate funding levels to finish the project. The estimated annual payment will be $65,221. The term is up to 30 years. Um the interest rate is 4.39% and includes the servicing fee. The origination fee is 1% um which will be financed into the financing agreement. Um annual servicing fee is 0.15 of the outstanding balance. Again that's in the financing agreement. uh rate lock right now 90 days um after ibank approval which we were approved um for this financing through ibank. The 90 days is to give us an opportunity to negotiate the agreement at the 4.39% which then would be locked in for the 30-year period. Um I bank's approval is conditional and not a guarantee. Final financing depends on successful negotiation of a mutually acceptable agreement and compliance with all ISRF program requirements. This financing allows the county to

advance a board identified priority project, avoid delays associated with alternative funding mechanisms, and just to be clear, we have um been continuously looking for grants or other infrastructure supports. um we just have not been able to identify any that would allow us to construct this facility. This also preserves general fund stability, addresses longstanding public health and safety concerns, and of course, it's replacing a facility that has exceeded its useful life. The alternative is to continue to operate in the current building, and we don't believe that that does meet the needs of community staff or the animals in our care. So right now I want to talk a little bit about the plan for repayment. We do have um we do have a plan for repayment. Our um repayment plan would be to create a specific repayment account where we would deposit 1 million from the county capital account. And then, as many of you know, we paid off our HBAC loan this year, which freed up $290,000 of an annual payment that we were making on the um Hback systems. The other um funding that we'd like to put into that account is the IWM payback. As you know, we um loaned money to our integrated waste management um services for the cell construction. they are paying that back at um $500,000 a year over eight years because it was a $4 million loan. So, because that came from county capital and that would be funding that we would have had towards this facility had we not made that loan, we believe it's appropriate to put that money towards the payment of this facility. Um the estimated payment is 600,000. At the

end of year 1, we would have 1 point almost 1.8 8 million in that account for payback. The um animal shelter payment is 600,000 a year. Um with those funding sources, we could pay that payment for 11 years out of those funding sources. At year 10, this county has some certificates of participation that we took out that use the government center as collateral. And if you remember, we did an asset exchange where we um put the HHSA building up against the coops. At the end of 10 years, the coops are paid off. That coop payment is $600,000 a year. So essentially, it could be used to pay the payments for the rest of the term. So today we're asking the board to authorize the county executive officer to negotiate a financing agreement with ibank consistent with the terms and conditions of the ISRF program. Once negotiate negotiations are complete, the final agreement will return to your board for approval. So with that, I'm open to any questions from the board or are there any board questions or do you want me to go for public comment first? Public comment first.

Okay, we will do a public comment um first. So, we'll start in the room and then we will pivot to online. And please um be aware of the time clock on that. Um but yes, and then we'll start with D. Sorry, Lisa. Yo, come on up, Lisa. We'll start with D.

Good morning, board. Lisa Medina, environmental management agency administrator and animal services director. I am here today to urge you to support the financing agreement for our new animal shelter. We would like to thank our staff and community for their ongoing efforts and support. Our volunteers that work hard every day in and out to support the animals under our care. our partners um focus, our humane society, give Jimmy shelter folks, Angel's Camp Fairground staff, and our veterinarians that donate their time for our free clinics and that are always available for us to in response to critical events, including very recent one where we um had to respond and intake 12 dogs. And currently, our CCA staff are boots on the ground right now responding and getting 17 more animals to our shelter for safety. Our local shelter is not just a place for neglected, abandoned, and lost and found pets. It is a critical public safety and community service that always is at a breaking point due to high intake, staffing, and resources. By investing in a new shelter, we are not only investing in our community, our staff, and then those animals that come into our care, but also highlights an increased awareness uh for adoptable animals that need their forever homes. We do this by offering preventative services including our food pantry, our free vaccine and micro uh chip clinics that help keep their pets at home with their humans, public safety and health. I can't tell you how many responses we have to potential rabbit animals and and things that would definitely ensure the safety of our community. And we properly do that by managing and vaccinating and control um those those items in our community. All these actions support our community values which reflect our county's commitment to compassion and humane treatment of our Cellaris

animals. So, thank you.

Thank you, Lisa. Any other staff? Okay, we'll go into public comment. Hi, I'm Ann Dash from Guinea Guinea Shelter and um I know what it takes for me to manage just my personal finances. So I cannot imagine what you have gone through to put this together and it is something that we have waited for long for for so long. So, I just wanted to say thank you very much for doing all of that work. I know people have worked very diligently on this and I am really looking forward to the day when um the money that we've raised at Gam Shelter can be thrown into the pot and um I understand that one of the things we're looking at is um there's some items that are not covered by the construction loan. So, we may be putting our brand on the uh commercial washer and dryer and some things like that. So again, thank you and I just on behalf of everybody here, it's like we are so pleased to finally be at this point. So keep working. Thanks.

Thank you. That Yeah.

Hello everybody. Good morning. Uh, I too want to thank you very much, Jamie, Teresa, and this board and Sarah, too. You guys have been fantastic. You've been the best board since I've lived here, and I've lived here 35 years. So, I know there are a lot of people out here lived here longer than this. So, we thank you very, very, very much for all your time and effort. and we'll never be able to thank you enough unless you vote against it. So, everybody here I think joins me in saying job well done. Thanks.

Are there any other public comments in the Vicki? Good morning.

Good morning. Haven't been here in a while. Um, I want to make sure that, you know, I'm not speaking against building this building because I know this has been on the agenda for probably 20 years and these dedicated people, I understand their frustrations for sure because you know me, I've been coming back and forth here for different issues. But what I do want to talk about is the financing and our government and our tax dollars and how you are responsible for that as a as elected officials. And um that's what I want to talk about. And it seems that the reason this facility has never been built in this county for 20 years is always comes down to we can't afford it. Although perhaps there is better ways to do it without uh I'm going to use the term topofthe-line building. That that's what I'm seeing. There's got to be other alternatives. But anyway, I wanted to talk about the $10 million loan and I see Teresa's found some money to stick in an account to maybe help pay that off for a couple maybe 10 years maybe. We know government. We know our finances. they're never on track. There's always some crisis which as a citizen I would like to keep fighting with the state about that kind of stuff because it's ridiculous. But anyway, um so my questions are I know the payback of the loan when you borrow up to $10 million, you pay interest and that loan is no longer $10 million. So if this was a loan that we took out at the end, we'd be paying $19 million for it if it all panned out to the end. So, we have to keep that in mind. It's not $10 million. It's more than that. And so, my questions are, how can we afford this? What happens when cuts have to be made?

What happens if the county cannot pay the loan? Everything everyone understands that by the time the loan is paid off, which I just talked about, it's going to be $19 million, not 10. And perhaps you can go out for a bond. a bond. I, you know, personally probably not totally for bonds, but it does allow the citizens to decide, yes, this is important to us, and yes, we will make that payment out of our property tax every year to help build this facility. And I don't know if that's ever been considered. Um, in my research on this issue, I didn't see many proposals on an affordable facility. It just seemed like we went right to the top for the top notchotch project. But maybe there is a better like for example the buildings that they do for boarding kennels. They seem to be nice buildings and they don't look like they would be that much more uh expensive. Um so anyway, those are my questions and concerns. I hate to say this, but as a taxpaying citizen, I think you still have some work to do as far as finding a facility finally that's more affordable.

Vicki, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Vicki. Um, let me double check more public comment. Is there any other public comment before staff comes up? Actually, just member of the public. Okay.

I just want to give not as a county librarian, just as somebody who loves animals, who's always used shelters as a resource. Whether that is finding an animal on the side of the road and not knowing what to do with it except for take it to a shelter or looking to adopt and going to a shelter. It's a resource that you largely take for granted unless it's not there. Um, and it's something that I think is really important just as somebody who lives in this community to have that resource. And I know how much people love their animals. the number of patrons I've asked not to bring their dog, cat, ferret, parrot, or snake into the library um is a lot because people adore their animals and so yeah, just I'm very supportive of the shelter just as a citizen. Thank you. Okay, Jamie,

good morning board. Um members of the public, I just want to talk from the project standpoint. I know we're discussing the financing, but I wanted to remind you guys of how we got here. I started with the county in 2021 and shortly after I started with the county I was put on this project. Um through that this project was not just start to here. There were a lot of um areas that we discovered. So first we went out for a request for qualifications in which we got LDA as our architects. From there they worked with our animal services. They worked with UC Davis to even determine what was needed for our county. it was actually determined that a shelter bigger than what we had was not needed for our county. We just needed an updated facility. Um through there we went through the design process. We worked closely with the architect and the consultants to evaluate a number of options um because we knew we needed to reduce the overall costs. Um one of the bigger things we did that did the most cost savings was actually relocating the facility. As many of you know, it was actually proposed to build it on the property behind where the current shelter was. Um, the amount of earth moving work that we needed to be done to get all the utilities up there, it was a significant cost. So, we actually moved the location back down to where the existing animal shelter is um to reduce cost. Um, we did more evaluating of scopes, reducing sizes, looking at kennels. Um, we don't have a state-of-the-art facility that's being proposed. It is the bare minimum that's being required. There are systems within an animal shelter that cost more than like building a norm normal building. But if you think we're getting, you know, roughly 10,000 square feet at 13 million, our DA building at almost 6,000 ft is going to cost us about five. It's not that much more. But you do have special flooring that have to be in, special slope that has to be in, special systems for pumping air through the chemicals that get used.

There's a lot that goes into it that I just want to reassure you that staff explored all of our options. The building that you have in front of you is to just meet our needs, nothing more. So, I just wanted to reiterate that. Is there any other inerson public comment before I shift over to online?

No. Okay. How many shift? [laughter] We will shift um [laughter] you and madam chair. We do not have any online public comment. Okay. Thank you. Go do that and then we'll bring it back to the board. Go ahead.

I'm a volunteer at the animal shelter. I'm a dog walker and I just want to say I went on my first um travel transport animal to Truckucky. Truckucky is unbelievable. If you have ever seen their animal shelter, it's like the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And I know that's probably top of the line, but when you first walk in, you don't smell anything. And that's one of the best things. And the cages, I said, I would stay there. I mean, they're like they're twice as big as ours. They're glass in, they're tile, they're just beautiful. So, I just want you to know what can be.

Thank you. Okay, I'm going to bring it back to We're done with public coma. I'll bring it back to the board. Board have any comments or questions for staff? I'm chairman today, so you guys got to speak up. [laughter]

Go ahead. I would just like to start to say thank you very much for doing all of this work. I do had have concerns about approving something that other boards in years to come will have to deal with. Um I think you've answered my initial questions though. So at least for the next 10 years we're we're we're good. and actually for the full 30 years because as I um mentioned the COP which is a $600,000 a year payment will be paid off in year 10. I didn't realize that it's paid off in year 10 and then that funding could be applied towards this. Got it.

I I think that the five supervisors that approved this at I bank um obviously that looks I mean they're happy with this. Um it is going to be the the lowest interest rate we can find. Um I am concerned about cost overruns in the build

as are we. That's why we requested 10 million when I think the estimate for the building right now Jamie I think it's around 12. We would have 13 to build it. So we would have some funding for contingencies. And are are we not looking at grants anymore once we start with this or I mean I know that they're few and far between, but but also other funding mechanisms along the way that could help pay this off quicker.

Yes, of course we would always be looking for funding wherever we could find it. Um again, since I've been here, we've been looking for grant funding for this facility and have been unsuccessful. And I know I'm going to say that our um friends at Focus have also been diligent in looking for grant funding as well and have um provided information to us about different grants that they found for whatever reason. Um the county was either not a eligible applicant or the actual facility wasn't eligible for the funding. So that work would continue as we move forward and especially also looking for other um funding to support operations and um some of the other equipment specialized equipment that would be nice to have for the facility.

Thank you. That's all I have at the moment. Supervisor Tough,

we had you on after him. Yeah, this is a very difficult situation for me because I've been involved in since back in years ago and I have rescue animals. My all of my animals are rescue. I have two dogs that were rescued and I have four cats. Um I I've been to the shelter many times and I understand the situation. Um and I'm been behind trying to get something done here for it. Um, again, I echo some of the things that Supervisor Huby had to say about this actually costing probably if not more than $23 million over the course of 30 years. um whether we can pay it off or not before that. What's in this before us um and maybe be able to negotiate during negotiations, but for the first 10 years, we can't pay anything off. All we can do is pay the $600,000 if that's what it ends up being. Um, what we're being asked here to do today is give her the ability to go and do some negotiations with IBank and bring back what those final negotiations in this plan would look like at a future date. Um, it just I I'm just struggling with the $23 million and I won't be around for that time. Um, and probably many of us 30 years from now. I know. Um, if I am around, I'll be too old to even know what's even going on. Um, so I I you know, I I do have a couple questions. Um, and I'm not sure where some of these numbers came from. It says that we're going to have um the

economic benefits, including an estimated 130 construction jobs. Um, I've been in construction my whole life. I've done five, six, seven, eight story buildings and I'm not sure there was 130 uh jobs at those uh sites. So where are we getting this 130 construction jobs? So those job numbers came from Ibank's analysis of the project. Sure about that? If we use 130 people, then that we have it constructed in two weeks because that's a lot of people on the job site.

Well, I'm certain that they're not all on the job site at one time. You probably have the undergrounding crew, the concrete crew, the electricians, the framers, the roofers, all of those folks at various times. So, I'm sure it's not 130 jobs continuous on the project. Well, I'm just saying 130 jobs. side. See, there's a cost savings already.

That's what I was going to bring up is that maybe we can cut it down to 80 and save all those wages. Um, again, like I said, the first 10 years, we we cannot pay it off. So, they're going to get their $6 million over $6 million in those first 10 years and then um we'll be able to if we can pay it off after those 10 years, but I don't know what that number looks like. What after 10 years? We have any idea what that number would look like that we would have to pay it off?

So, until we get the amortization schedule from iBank, we won't know what that looks like. That's part of the negotiation process is to actually get an amortization schedule on the loan.

So, that would be coming back to us. We sent you over there to negotiate with a big hammer and the uh police dog, the sheriff's dog with you when you go over there. Um, I'm just having a difficult time here with this this $23 million. Um, I I I will say this. Um, since it's it will be coming back to us for final approval and that would be a four-fifth vote, correct? we would need for that this you don't need a four fifth vote here now but um it would be nice to send you forward with them knowing that you have the current board members giving you authority to go forward correct and it will require a four-fifth vote when we bring it back for approval

any other questions I think I'm done any other board members Adam.

Um, I will just thank everybody in the room for your um commitment to the shelter and I have also used it on both sides. I've adopted I've um had help with cats and it is a basic health and safety issue not only for our animals but for our staff and our volunteers. Um, financing is not ideal. Uh, but it's it's where we're at and it's hard that it falls upon us at this time. Um, but it it it seems to be at a dire place. Um, I'm in constant conversations with Lisa and Michael um about the dogs they can't take, about how the containment they can't do, um, you know, the staffing issues. So, while this doesn't remedy all of that, um, you know, hopefully makes it a more ideal place and our adoptions go up and quality of employment goes up. Um, so, thank you all for your commitment. Thank you to the admin team and our auditor for working so hard to find a way.

I do have another question. Um, since this is a lease program and we're looking at 30 years, probably 30 years, um, based on the funding and what you were saying, um, we won't have the property in our possession that we actually own it for 30 years. If we miss a payment or we miss two payments because of economic times and we need that $600,000 for something else um 11 years, 10 years from now, um are we being kicked out of the building and even though we have an animal shelter, we can't use it? I mean, is it like being is kicked out of a house? Um,

so I would anticipate that that is a correct assessment. We had coops on the entire government center. If we were not to pay that 600,000, we would not have had a government center either because of the financing. So it's just like any other financing. If you miss a payment or two, well, they're not usually going to kick you out over one payment, but if you miss multiple payments, then that's problematic.

So they have to give us a 30-day eviction notice. Um uh I I don't know what we would do then and putting it on the shoulders of the people going forward that would be sitting in the seats, even your seat. Um if they're put in a situation that that happens, um we'd have to where would we I don't know what we would do.

Again, this is not unsimilar from the lease back that we have on the sheriff's jail facility, which is also a lease with the state. It's not um unlike the coops that we had over the government center where we had done some certificates of participation that were on a 30-year um payback just like this. That's the 600,000 that gets paid back in 10 years um because there was a refinancing in um 2016 of those. Um, it's not unlike the HVAC payment that we had that we actually leveraged buildings against where they could have repossessed our buildings because we financed HBAC. It's not an uncommon process for governments to finance things that are beyond our current capabilities to just pay cash for. Um, we could do that, but it would definitely strap the general fund. And I am concerned that we are headed into some financial uncertainty that I would like to have liquidity in order to get through and this allows us to do that. We do have identified funding sources that are not committed to other things right now. Um, again, the HBAC we paid off, we can commit that funding source that we've been paying for I don't know how many years. I think Miss Hubiner probably knows how many years. Anyway, and then also

probably been five or six. Yeah. Also the um integrated waste management payback of the loan that we made to them if um that is not committed to anything as well. So committing those financing sources to this project. Um, again, we want to set up a separate account in order to pay the payments from and to make sure that we're um solid on those things.

Um, you you mentioned refinancing. Um, obviously for 10 years you can't do anything. Is there a possibility that after 10 years what's the amount that's left um in order to bring down some of the costs or to refinance or find some other financial situation that we could go forward? Correct. If there was something that caused a tremendous drop in interest rates, for example, let's say they went back down to 2%, then of course we would pursue or I can't say that because I probably won't be here in 10 years, but whoever's sitting in my seat would probably pursue refinancing when interest rates are more favorable. That's not an uncommon process for governments either.

Thank you.

Any other board comments or questions? Okay. Um, oh, go ahead. I did have the same concerns as Supervisor Tophenelli and and we had a quick discussion about it and I wanted to I mean my first instinct in looking at this is are we creating a wagon trail issue that future people will have future supervisors will have to deal with and I just want to say that I think and honestly doing a whole pros and cons and thinking about this uh for quite a while um I really feel that any board's going to sit here I would hope that they're resilient and smart enough like this board who actually figured that out. So to me I' I've actually feel that this is something I mean you you have to take risks in life and this is I think one that I'm prepared to take. Um, not too many meetings ago before she walked out the door, Kathy Gomes was here and I remember all of us looking at her and confirming like, are we good? And I think this is one of the the first time she gave two thumbs up that this was the best route um that we've been exploring over the last I don't know now we're in 2026. um for some of us the entire term that we've been sitting here and for some of us even longer. Um and so I really um when she gave us that those thumbs up, I felt um a sense of relief that we were going down that was going down the right path. Um so I want to continue to support staff with this path going forward. Um Martin just recently mentioned it. I mean, we've been kicking this can down the road for so long and we are now board. We we've got to make a decision and we've got to solve this. Um, this may not be sexy like the fire

department. Um, but it is a public it is becoming a public safety issue. We have a responsibility to our constituents to make sure that they have the services provided and that is one of the public safety services we are we have the responsibility to provide to this community um and invest in our community for the future. And like Martin Martin said, you know, if we don't make these investments, um, we're only going to crumble the infrastructure we have in providing those services to the community. It is not ideal, but I think we have more staff has gone round and round knowing how conservative this board is in making the best decision in the future. I too have had concerns of what am I doing for the future board? um because I cush some of the things that we have had to deal with um like wagon trail. But we we have we're at a moment of time where we need to make those investments for our community. We have we have made excuses for way too long and we need to continue to I would like me personally continue to support staff in this endeavor and to ensure that we we provide this service. um and we're not part of the problem of keeping this down the down the road for another 20 years. Um so I I am happy with what you have brought back from staff and I look forward to seeing what those negotiations look like um at our next board or future board meeting. So um this does require a vote, sir. Right. Okay. Okay.

I I I I will say this. I will support it going forward for her to go and negotiate and then when it comes back to us, we can see what she actually negotiated on this thing. Hopefully, we can get some of these things resolved. Yes. Um during the negotiations [clears throat] that we can all agree on to move forward because we desperately I I totally agree, we desperately need a new shelter. So, okay. with that. Um, is there a motion? I'll move. Is there a second? I'll second. There's a motion in a second. All those in favor?

I passes 40. I've been saying five mentally. Sorry. 501. I mean 401. Yes. Thank you guys. Then we'll move on to item number 15. Clerk. Item 15, action item. Cler of the board of supervisors introduce wave first reading and authorize summary. Hold on. Let's clear the room. Sorry. That's okay.

Sorry. Sorry. if you guys want to continue conversations outside in the hallway, please. Thank you. Okay, let's start that one over.

Yes. [laughter] Item action item. Item 15, action item. Clerk of the board of supervisors, introduce, wave, first reading, and authorized summary publication of an ordinance repealing ordinance number 254, codified as chapter 2.48 of the Calaveris County Code establishing the Calaveris County Library Commission.

Good morning, members of the board. This I'm Robin Glennville on behalf of Rebecca Turner, clerk of the board of supervisors. Um, we're bringing this item before you. This commission was created by an ordinance in 1961 to serve as advisory group to the board of supervisors regarding uh reviewing library operations, recommending improvements, development and maintenance of library services. After an evaluation, we've noticed that the commission has struggled to maintain memberships to continue regular meetings. Um as a result, the duties that the commission handled are pre were passed on to um county staff and they've absorbed those duties into their daily operations. For this reason, we're recommending the board introduce and wave the first reading of the ordinance to repeal ordinance number 254, which would formally disband the commission. If approved today, the ordinance will return back to the board for approval and final adoption at the March 24th meeting. And Jesse, the county librarian is here in support of disbanding the library commission.

Any board questions? No, we got rid of the PEG commission and we're now having a Okay. Hey, do you have anything to add? No, I was just if you guys had any questions at all about anything, that's why I was here. So, if there's not any you have questions, I just wanted to say, Jesse, you do have very strong friends of the library. Correct.

Yes. So I will say in previous counties or library systems I've worked at a commission is important when members of the general public and often the librarian or library director themselves do not have direct access to the board of supervisors. So I think in one of my previous jobs I managed three branches and I never directly directly spoke with a single member of the board of supervisors. So the commission was an important bridge. They attended the monthly meetings that I was in. I attended their meetings and then they went and advocated to the board. I have direct contact with you. I've emailed or called all of you. My friends email and call all of you. Um there is no need for an a bridge for that reason. You guys are pretty available to members of the community. So it was it was not forming the function I had seen the commission form in previous situations. there. No board comment. I will turn it over to public comment. No public any online.

We have no online public comment. Okay. Bring it back to the board. Is there motion? Is there a second? I'll second. Second. All those in favor? I. Any oppose? 401. Thank you. Okay, we'll move on to supervisor announcements. Um I will start with supervisor he

Thank you chair. On the 25th I attended uh CALR meeting. The CALR meeting was about the new hawk uh crosswalk and the cross and the the pavement that's going in uh for Michaelelsson school which was very helpful. There were also a lot of constituents there that wanted to talk about the median um which they did take note of. Um on the 26th I attended the fires safe meeting um in Murphy's. Uh on the 28th I attended the Murphy's Fire District Awards dinner. On the 3rd of this month I attended the behavioral health um board meeting. And on the fourth and 5th I attended the BU in BU County the Sierra Nevada Conservancy meeting. Um our sub region is Elorado, Amodore, Calaveris and Towalami and we had half of the projects. So there were 10 projects that were approved and all of them got approved uh including Calver and Lily Gap and I just wanted to thank administration and Jamie for taking that on board. That's it.

On Saturday, February 28th, I attended the McCllum Hill Lions Club health fair that they put on free to the community. Uh also on February 28th, I attended the West Point BFW crab feed. And on Friday, March 6th, I attended the first five meeting. Supervisor top, I have nothing to report. Nothing at call. I thought you would be reporting them. I wasn't there. That's why I thought you would be reporting them. I attended the COG meeting. But hang on, super supervisor Tafanelli, aren't you doing the dinner show? Oh, yeah.

21st. People should know about that. Yes. Um u the melodrama in Valley Springs uh will be starting Friday night. It will run Friday night and two shows on Saturday and then the following weekend Friday night and two shows on that Saturday the 21st. Um I've been involved with the melodrama for close to 20 years. Um so if you can please come out and see it. It's always fun. Um I have Thank you, Supervisor Hover.

Hey, plus you. No problem. Um, supervisor stopper attended in my place uh last week cog meeting and um next week uh along with supervisor Andal and Huberty I will be attending the wildfire task force conference at Chicken Ranch Casino that is hosted by S&T the wildfire task force and a RCRC sponsor uh

I think RC is in there as well. Yeah. And Mountain County water. So, um, that will be happening next week. Um, okay. So, Dy, anything to report? No. Nothing to report. CEO. Yeah. With that, we will adjourn to the 24th. Okay.