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The Board of Supervisors’ meeting for Tuesday, August 30 will begin at 9 o’clock in the morning, after the neighborhood kids are on their way to school and before you’ve had your second cup o’ joe! This week, your Board of Supervisors is poised to cover several issues of public interest, and receive department reports updating the Supes as usual. Below is a breakdown of the agenda for the meeting. With a quick read, you can see what’s going down, and speak your mind during public
First thing you should know is that the Consent Calendar is normally approved without much discussion, and items on it are considered somewhat of a forgone conclusion, passed by the Supervisors in a single motion with a majority vote. If an item listed in the Consent Calendar is “pulled” by any member of the Board, that particular agenda item will be discussed and voted on separately from the Consent Calendar. Those changes to the Board’s agenda are to be noted by the Chair at the top of the meeting, before getting into the day’s slated topics.
Looking at the consent calendar for the Supes’ meeting Tuesday August 30th, including the continuation of the local drought, there are 28 items regarded as informational reports from various county departments, addressing a host of local issues with attached notes for the Supes to review, and four items noted as Resolutions.
Some of the more interesting Consent Calendar items include the following:
The settlement also notes, “This Agreement is binding on each of the parties, and any successor to the office of the Auditor-Controller for Humboldt County.”
This fancy Cyclone will run $641,857.81 at no cost to the county, since it will be paid for by previously granted Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) CARES Act Funding, according to the staff report.
PUBLIC HEARINGS & PUBLIC COMMENT:
Public Comment on Non-Agenda items is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., according to the agenda. Otherwise, a member of the public may comment on a particular topic following that agenda item being discussed.
Important matters specifically intended for mass consumption, otherwise known as Public Hearings, include 3 items, which are noted as “Resolutions”. The first Public Hearing Resolution is regarding grant funds allocated for the Airport Improvement Program , and is not as interesting as the next two…
The Supes are poised to soundly deny a Coastal Development permit for PGE , aiming to protect one of the county’s most famed and favorite tourist destination-drive by thwarting a plan for development from PG&E that could have seen disruption to the iconic scenic drive through Trinidad.
As expected with public hearing agenda items, the boilerplate statement and staff recommendation reflected in the agenda with an appeal matter reads, “Open the public hearing, receive and consider the staff report, testimony by the appellant and public, close the public hearing, and adopt the resolution.”
The Resolution is titled, “Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Appeal of the Planning Commission’s Denial of a Coastal Development Permit for the Installation of Three Utility Poles and a Voltage Regulator along Patrick’s Point Drive.” The staff report for this matter suggests that the Supes reject PG&E’s request “for a Coastal Development Permit for an electrical distribution facility that involves the removal of one 45-foot-tall utility pole and replacement of two 45-foot-tall utility poles with 55-foot-tall poles, installation of a new 55-foot-tall pole and 3 platform mounted voltage regulators” along Trinidad’s along Patrick’s Point Drive, finding that the “project is consistent with the Local Coastal Plan” was incorrect, and therefore advises the Supes to deny the Appeal by PG&E.
The final agenda item listed as a Resolution is an appeal of the Planning Commission’s Approval of Dyerville Farms LLC’s “Conditional Use Permit for 24,634 Square Feet of Existing Commercial Cannabis Cultivation Consisting of 22,380 Square Feet of Outdoor and 2,254 Square Feet of Mixed Light Cultivation.” The staff report explains that the appeal relates to the additional condition of “requiring 20% rainwater catchment within 2 years” as well as the staff recommended condition of approval requiring capping of a second well.
The staff report notes that the appellant is up to date on fees associated with filing the appeal, and advises the Supes to go ahead and approve the Conditional Use Permit for Dyerville Farms “subject to the recommended conditions of approval.”
Sometimes, certain items can be pre-scheduled by the Board and the County Administrative Officer to be addressed at the meeting at a designated time. This week, there are 3 matters all set for high noon, exactly, and are closed sessions. They are each a conference with legal counsel behind closed doors.
Scheduled for 12:00 noon, unless decided otherwise at the start of the meeting, the Board’s August 30th Closed Session agenda reflects 3 items to be handled in “Conference with Legal Counsel” as follows:
In Closed Session, while the Board is not at liberty to include the public in the meeting, the outcome of closed session meetings are to be announced in open session for the public’s awareness following decisions by the board.
A FEW PRO TIPS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU CALL, ZOOM, OR APPEAR IN PERSON TO ENGAGE YOUR SUPERVISORS AS AN INFORMED CONSTITUENT
Information provided by the Board of Supervisors
for the public to engage with their Supervisors during the meeting:
To submit public comment to the Board please email [email protected] provide your name and the agenda item number(s) on which you wish to comment. All public comment submitted after the agenda has been published will be included with the administrative record after the fact.
When the Board of Supervisors announce the agenda item that you wish to comment on, call the conference line 720-707-2699, enter Meeting ID 837 7339 9098 and press star (*) 9 on your phone, this will raise your hand. You’ll continue to hear the Board meeting on the call. HINT: Turn off your tv or live stream to avoid delays.
When it is time for public comment on the item you want to comment on, you’ll hear a prompt that will indicate your phone is unmuted. The Board advises that you “please state your name and the agenda item number you will be commenting on” and then you will have 3 minutes to comment, unless the Board has reduced the time allowance at the start of the meeting.
How to submit information, and receive information from the Supes:
According to the fine print on each Board of Supervisors agenda, “Any written materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the Board of Supervisors less than 72 hours prior to the Board meeting, and that are public records subject to the Public Records Act, are available for public inspection in the Office of the Clerk of the Board at 825 5th Street, Suite 111, Eureka (476-2384), during normal business hours. Persons wishing to file documentation on any agenda item for the official record must submit an original and nine (9) copies of each document to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Room 111 of the County Courthouse, 825 5th Street in Eureka (476-2384).
Documentation includes, but is not limited to, written correspondence, audio and video tapes, maps, photographs, and petitions. Failure to submit the required number of copies will result in the document/s not being placed in the official record. (Per Board of Supervisors’ policy adopted on March 21, 1995.)
The Chamber is wheelchair accessible, and disabled parking is available in the lot on K Street, between Fourth and Fifth Streets. If you are a person with a disability, and you need disability-related modifications or accommodations to participate in this meeting, please contact the Clerk of the Board at (707) 476-2384, or (707) 445-7299 (fax). Requests for such modifications or accommodations must be made at least three full business days before the start of the meeting.”
Also, for community members with mobility restriction, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if requested with 72 hours prior notice, “reasonable accommodation or modification can be made” according to the Board of Supervisors by calling the Clerk of the Board Office at 707-476-2390 or by email [email protected] or the ADA Coordinator at 844-365-0352, or by email at [email protected] .
Also, regular meetings of the Board of Supervisors are broadcast live on Suddenlink, channel 10, and are rebroadcast on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Members of the public that wish to observe or participate in the Board of Supervisors meetings are encouraged to watch the hybrid meeting via live web streaming on the county’s website , or call in to the meeting during public comment time, which is usually limited to a standard three minutes per topic per commenter – in person or by phone or zoom.
Your Humboldt County Board of Supervisors are as follows: First District Supervisor Rex Bohn , Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell , Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson , Fourth District Supervisor and Board Chairperson Virginia Bass , and Fifth District Supervisor and Vice Chairperson Steve Madrone .
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Thank you for you’re hard work an dedication. With out true self sacrificing individuals such as you’re selves who knows what the state of are community would be in. Thank you again for taking time away from you’re family too manage are small piece of paradise. I for one rest easy knowing are county is in you’re capable hands. Keep up the good work an remember even an thankless job their our people who appreciate you. @freebg NLM
I was surprised to read in your report on the supervisors’ meeting that the High Rock CalFire camp is closing. Hadn’t known about that. Here’s a little more:
In October 2020, CAL FIRE and CDCR announced the depopulation of eight of the state’s 43 conservation camps. The eight camps—four in the north and four in the south—had been operating at well below capacity for some time. The consolidation was part of Governor Newsom’s 2020-21 state budget, which called for the camps to be consolidated by the end of December 2020.
https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/
That’s very unfortunate news, and very short sighted, and clueless, of Newsom.
In the Weott area, since their VFD has folded, year round, timely, first responder coverage in the area has been dreadfully compromised…
There is a CalFire station in Weott, but unless something has changed, it might only be seasonally staffed, unlike High Rock, that was staffed year round…
If the CalFire Weott station is only seasonally staffed, closing High Rock will leave the area woefully without necessary response capabilities, in the off season.
The area has an inordinate amount of calls for accidents, especially fatal ones, and the response times to the area, are already overly extended.
Maybe Newsoms could see his way clear to staffing the Weott CalFire Station year round, as a mitigation???
Maybe our Supervisor, Michelle Bushnell, could pose that question to him…
Susan Nolan, thank you very much for the heads up!
https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/ 
I will keep looking for a link that works, and will post it if possible, because this is very concerning…
https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/#CFC
It’s at the bottom of the page.
Yep, that looks like it…
I already spoke with Maguires office…
Sounded kind of like a brush off, though…
They need to get a lot more calls…
Coincidentally, High Rock Inmate Crew just got paged out, and is responding to a vegetation fire… Somewhere…
Have quite figured out exactly where yet, but I’d sounds like they think it might be suspicious, as they are requesting a prevention officer…
Fort Bragg would be the station near me. Seems they made the announcement in 2020 and no one picked up on it.
Yes, and I am sure that the Fort Bragg inmate crew is crucial to your area as well.
High Rock crew just got sent all the way to Willow Creek, on a new vegetation fire, the McCovey Incident, probably 90 miles and close to 2 hrs away in a crew bus…, on their way, as we speak…
The link from 2020, and the depopulation of the camps back then, may have had something to do with COVID-19…
I’m not sure if these recent developments are new, and the proposed closures are unrelated to the COVID-19 closures from 2020?
I couldn’t find where the Supervisors mentioned it…
Closing the High Rock Cal Fire camp is a huge mistake for area fire protection. I would hope that Cal Fire could send a full-time crew to man the Weott station all year. Without both of those, if they close, will leave Weott folks using garden hoses to fight their fires. Governor Newsom is an extremely poor Governor as show by his moves. Maybe he could send some of his extensive staff to fire camp for training and then on to Weott. I stand a better chance of spitting into the wind!
You can bet Gavin and Pelosi’s vineyards will be well protected, as will Huffman’s Marin County.
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