📝 Shasta County Board of Supervisors – October 3, 2023

On Tuesday, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors tabled agenda item R2 after Shasta Scout produced two stories on the topic. The Board had planned to  consider giving its recently formed Citizens Elections Advisory Committee more legal authority. County counsel had not approved the ordinance in its existing form and ultimately the board chose to revisit the item soon. 

The board also received an update on the Fountain Wind Project and voted to allocate up to $100,000 for community education on the ongoing opposition to the project, which is currently being reviewed by the state for possible approval despite being rejected at the county level, twice. At Supervisor Mary Rickert’s insistence the vote also included an acknowledgement of the Pit River Tribe’s collaboration with the county to successfully oppose the project to date, and an agreement to continue to provide the Tribe with communication on next steps and to support their efforts in the opposition as well. Read our recent coverage of what’s happening with the Fountain Wind Project,here. 

Up next, with Supervisor Kevin Crye recusing himself from the vote, the remaining board members voted 3 to 1 in favor of accepting a certificate of sufficiency for the petition to recall Crye. This item was  presented to the Board by County Registrar of Voters Cathy Allen Darling after her office received and verified enough signatures to move the recall effort forward. Supervisor Chris Kelstrom voted against the item. Kelstrom and Jones had both questioned Allen Darling on why there were so few signatures thrown out during the verification process, attempting to cast doubt on the validity of the signature verification process. Chairperson Jones, however, still opted to vote in favor of approving and scheduling the vote. The recall vote is scheduled for March 5, 2024. Read more about the recall here. 

There were more recusals on another important Board item, possible approval of zoning changes for the Hawes farm. In what appeared to be a surprise turn of events, Supervisors Rickert, Crye, and Jones all recused themselves when the agenda item came up, leaving the remaining board members Tim Garman and Chris Kelstrom, without a quorum and unable to take any action on the item. So far, next steps are unclear. County counsel and the county CEO plan to research what can be done, if anything, to make a future determination for the Hawes zoning applicaton. Read our coverage of the Hawes Farm expansion attempt here. 

The Board’s closed session agenda included an item related to a potential health officer appointment but this was pulled from the agenda without explanation. The county has been without a health officer for about 500 days. 

Members took no reportable action on another closed session item, a discussion of a legal demand letter sent by Shasta Scout and the Record Searchlight in coordination with the First Amendment Coalition and the ACLU of Northern California.  Read more about what Scout is demanding from the county, here.