This Week in Public Meetings: Citizens Election Committee, Board of Supervisors

*Meeting titles are linked to meeting agendas. Click for access.

12.20 – Community Action Board

A significant portion of time was spent in the Community Action Board meeting today discussing options for how the county could change its relationship with the CAB and the agency it is embedded in, the Community Action Agency (CAA). Some suggestions included finding a private non-profit agency to take over the role, or the county putting out a Request for Proposals to find a willing party to take over aspects of the board and its administration.

Supervisor Kevin Crye suggested looking into the change stating that he doesn’t understand what the board does and thinks it is ineffective at providing direct services. The CAB receives Community Services Block Grant federal funding and is currently part of the Community Action Agency, a program of the Housing and Community Action Programs department at Shasta County. For context, this is the same department that held the NorCal Continuum of Care before it was transferred to the Health and Human Services Agency shortly before the county stepped down as the lead agency in that consortium.

Members of the CAB expressed concern and asked questions about the impact on funding, and who in the community would be positioned to take over the program administration if not the county. The discussion ended with Christy Coleman, HHSA Assistant Agency Director, agreeing to gather more information on the options to bring back to the board.

The board also received a director’s report from Emily Kerr, Housing and Community Action Deputy Branch director which included, among other items, updates on the Burney Commons Apartments, October and November states for the Housing Authority, and updates on the number of Housing Choice Voucher waiting list letters (225) that will be sent out on December 21.

Program updates were provided by Progam Manager Melissa Nave and the results of a customer satisfaction survey were provided by Lisa Towns.

12.19 – Redding City Council

The Redding City Council unanimously appointed Jack Munns as Mayor Pro Tem. The motion to name Munns as Mayor Pro Tem was made by former Mayor Michael Dacquisto and seconded by Councilmember Mark Mezzano.

On the consent calendar, the council approved a resolution declaring 90 acres of publicly owned land as surplus property at 7501 Eastside Road. The property is located on the Redding riverfront in south Redding behind the Haven Humane Society. They approved another of other items related to local housing issues including the authorization of the 2023 Shelter Crisis Annual Report, additional funding for No Boundaries Transitional Housing Inc., and the ability of City Manager Barry Tippin to create sub-awards for the recipients of Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP) funding.

On the regular agenda, they appointed Christian Curtis as City Attorney. They approved the AT HOME Shasta Action Plan and appointed Tenessa Audette and Jack Munns to be members of the committee moving forward.

A request for proposals was awarded to local developers K2 for pre-development infrastructure at 850 Quartz Hill Road. The pre-development project will be funded by Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Infrastructure funds for up to $2,500,000 for this portion of the development process.

The consideration of a navigation/day resource center drew dozens of public comments both in favor and against approving the Good News Rescue Mission as the site and community partner for the project. Many of the speakers were current or past attendees of the mission’s New Life Recovery Program. A few public speakers mentioned comments made by members of the unhoused community that the mission currently has too many barriers that prevent people from utilizing their programming and shelter. After council discussion they voted unanimously to direct staff to work with the Good News Rescue Mission to craft a purchase and sale agreement for a 0% loan that will be forgivable in 5 years provided the mission can meet the expectations of the city for the construction and operation of a day resource center.

12.19 – Shasta County Board of Supervisors

Supervisors heard a report on survey results regarding Palo Cedro planning strategies, a topic which has long been an issue of division among residents of the unincorporated area of the county. The survey, which was conducted by supervisors Mary Rickert and Chris Kelstrom on a recent weekend, included about 10% of the nearly 3,000 Shasta County residents who live in the Palo Cedro area. According to Assistant Director of Resource Management Adam Fieseler, the survey shows that residents support retaining a rural feel. The Board voted 4/1 (Patrick Jones dissenting) to ask staff to develop an ordinance limiting retail hours of operation and the size of retail businesses, both of which were supported by the vast majority of survey respondents. The board’s vote also calls on staff to bring back a resolution for a steering committee. As an unincorporated part of the county, Palo Cedro’s development falls under the county’s General Plan guidelines. This is the first step in responding to the survey results.

The board unanimously endorsed the Shasta AT HOME ad hoc committee’s action plan. Supervisors Patrick Jones and Kevin Crye said the action plan, if picked up by the City of Redding, will allow for the development of a day center. Jones said the location of that day center and the details regarding services have already been developed by the committee. Supervisor Mary Rickert asked for the location to be disclosed but Deputy Director of Health and Human Services Agency, Christy Coleman declined to do so, citing the need to protect the city’s negotiation processes. Publicly available documents from the City of Redding indicate that an interim Day Resource Center funded by the City Council on December 5, will be located at the Good News Rescue Mission.

Supervisors approved changes to next year’s county board meeting calendar. The newly-approved calendar includes more scheduled meetings in the next calendar year, more evening meetings, and some Thursday meetings. Crye said the intent was to reduce the need to schedule special meetings. Rickert opposed the proposed calendar based on concerns about eastern Shasta County residents being disenfranchised from meeting attendance by having to travel at night.

The board also voted to appoint a new county counsel, Joseph Larmour. Supervisors Rickert and Tim Garman both opposed the appointment with Rickert saying she’d called Larmour’s references and “they weren’t exactly glowing.” Rickert and Garman both opposed the terms of his contract, including his vehicle allowance and severance package.

Garman and Rickert argued with the other three board members on the next agenda item, increasing the severance pay of recently-appointed public health officer Dr. James Mu who has not yet left his private practice to serve full-time in his new position. The board voted three to two to approve an 18 month severance package for Mu.

Supervisors ended their meeting with a final decision to add a position to Shasta County’s Health and Human Services Agency. The decision grants HHSA an attorney to approve contracts as to form. After HHSA legal approval those contracts will continue to move forward to review by county counsel. HHSA’s Coleman told the board that her agency has fifty contracts pending legal approval, some since summer.

12.18 – Citizens Election Advisory Committee (CEAC)

Committee Chair Ronnean Lund managed to hold the committee to a two-hour meeting (the shortest yet!) by asking public commenters to keep their statements to the point and by coaching committee members to refrain from back-and-forth interactions with the public. The meeting was attended by about ten community members as well as members of the press.

County Board Supervisor Patrick Jones spoke to the commission briefly during public comment, citing claims made by Dr. Douglas Frank at a town hall meeting last week and saying that changes in the size of voter rolls before and after elections provides proof of fraud. Chair Lund said that both Frank and Dr. Justin Grimmer, who holds opposing views on voter fraud, will be presenting at the CEAC’s January 22 meeting.

The committee briefly discussed misinformation, arguing over what claims made by community members should be examined by the CEAC. Committee member Susanne Baremore suggested that claims that can be clearly debunked, such as “the sky is orange,” should not be reviewed by the committee while fellow member Bev Gray pushed back asking who gets to decides what’s misinformation and what’s truth. Community member Jim Burnett also spoke up on the topic saying “Misinformation, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. What I consider to be misinformation may be gospel truth to someone else.” And Michaud responded to the topic by suggesting that committee members should be careful not to make statements that could be interpreted as the opinion of the committee as a whole.

Before closing, CEAC members voted to form an hoc committee of two, Lund and Michaud, to examine the number, locations, and video surveillance of drop boxes across the county as the first step in a possible series of recommendations to the Shasta County Board of Supervisors on changes to the ballot box system.

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