Alturas City Council
Regular Meeting
City Hall Council Chambers
November 17, 2015 2:00 p.m.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor John Dederick at 2:00 p.m. Councilmembers present: Bobby G. Ray, Cheryl Nelson, Jim Irvin, Mark Steffek. Councilmembers absent: None. Staff present: City Clerk Cary L. Baker, City Treasurer Heather MacDonnell, City Attorney Al Monaco, DPW Joe Picotte, Police Chief Sid Cullins, City Planning Commissioners Bill Hall & Chris Lauppe. Public attending: 3. All present joined together in the pledge of allegiance followed by a moment of silence.
No one is present under the public forum.
Jim Cavasso, representing the Rotary Youth Park Steering Committee for the John Wall Trust, is present to address the City Council on the plans for the renovation of the Youth Park. Rotary is at a point to release funds, but is concerned with the process and steps that should be taken with regards to infrastructure requirements, curb and gutter, planning process, etc. We are asking for the City to give us direction and policies in writing before we move forward. It is assumed that the City will retain ownership of any buildings/improvements to the property; also, who will be responsible for maintenance, etc. These are some of the significant hurdles at this point.
Mayor Dederick responds there are ordinances in place that will guide any project through the City’s processes. The best course would be to talk with DPW Picotte first; the more information the City has, the better it will be for all involved.
DPW Picotte states this project will be treated like any other private project or development and will go through the same steps, and probably start with the Alturas Planning Commission. This shouldn’t cause any additional hurdles or delays and will make for a better project, and keep it consistent with other projects. Some parts of the process may be done administratively.
Jim Cavasso replies that Rotary is ready to do whatever it takes now, and wants to start the process in the right way.
Councilmember Ray states the building permit and planning process has always been in place through City ordinances. Maintenance may be an issue because we will be dealing with the different user groups. What the groups have been doing in the past will have to continue. There may be some additional unknowns as we move forward due to the fact that the dynamics are changing some. This will be handled through meetings with the user groups.
Councilmember Nelson reports she has noticed some properties in the City that are starting to get cluttered with junk and miscellaneous items, and has also received similar complaints from concerned citizens. Most people are willing to clean up their property if they are reminded. The Fire Marshal has already addressed one the properties of concern and the owners have complied. Just wanted to bring the issue to the attention of the City Council and staff.
On recommendation of Police Chief Cullins, MOTION by Councilmember Irvin, SECONDED by Councilmember Nelson to hire Marc Muller as Police Sergeant effective December 1, 2015 at Range 43, Step B, $43,744 annually. ALL AYES.
MOTION by Councilmember Ray, SECONDED by Councilmember Irvin to adopt Resolution #2015-30 approving the 2015/2016 Fiscal Year Budget in the amount of $7,916,096. ALL AYES.
MOTION by Councilmember Steffek, SECONDED by Councilmember Ray to authorize the Director of Public Works to sign the MOU between the City of Alturas and Modoc Joint Unified School District regarding the geothermal re-injection well to be located on the City’s Airport property. ALL AYES.
MOTION by Councilmember Nelson, SECONDED by Councilmember Steffek to approve the consent agenda as follows: a) Approve minutes of the October 20, 2015 meeting; b) Approve City warrants in the amount of $853,552.09; c) Adopt Resolution #2015-29 removing inactive water & sewer accounts $608.84. ALL AYES.
COUNCIL/STAFF REPORTS: City Treasurer MacDonnell presents Council with information from SyTech, a company that offers a software program that provides a document hosting service to save storage space on all the hard copies of documents. The program allows staff to easily access records from a computer. The cost is about $4,000 per year and is not in the budget for this year, but is something to think about for the future; there is a one-time $10,000 grant available through PARSAC for employment practices liability for projects and training; also, Sylvia Lawson’s last day will be November 30th.
DPW Picotte will be attending a meeting this evening regarding the Flood Maps – the meeting will help direct home owners in obtaining their flood insurance; also, has been busy with reports and the County OES.
Councilmember Nelson comments on the PARSAC grant funding in the amount of $5,952, which is available to the City of Alturas for Risk Management.
Councilmember Steffek is interested in attending a League of California Cities meeting in January for new City Councilmembers and Mayors.
Councilmember Ray would like the City to consider Small Claims Court instead of the collection agency for some of the water & sewer account write-offs. There is a $30 filing fee, but the City may be able to recoup more of the funds through this process.
Mayor Dederick reports the Youth Park Survey has been completed; has received the preliminary plans for the Fire Truck Barn and they have been reviewed by the Fire Chief and Fire Marshal – hoping to go to bid by February 1st; the estimated cost is about $420,000 for the building, not including off-site improvements; the City received the $379,000+ payment from Unison for the purchase of the cell site leases; and talked with Wayne Bethel about a new heating and cooling system for City Hall.
With no further business to come before Council, meeting adjourned at 3:26 p.m. to return in regular session on Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at 2:00 p.m., City Hall.
Respectfully,
Cary L. Baker