CITY OF ARCATA
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
COUNCIL CHAMBER JUNE 01, 2022
1 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Arcata was held on the above date at 6:00 p.m., as a hybrid meeting, via teleconference utilizing Zoom Video Communications and in person, with Mayor Atkins-Salazar presiding. Notice of this meeting was posted on May 27, 2022. PRESENT:
Atkins-Salazar, Schaefer, Matthews. ABSENT: Watson. STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Diemer, City Attorney Diamond, Director of Community Development Loya, Deputy Director of Community Development Dart, Director of Environmental Services Sinkhorn, Chief of Police Ahearn, Finance Director Starzhevskiy, Deputy Director of Environmental Services—Community Services Benvie, Assistant City Engineer Caisse, IT Manager Savage, City Clerk Dory.
FLAG SALUTE
Mayor Atkins-Salazar led the Pledge of Allegiance.
CEREMONIAL MATTERS
A. Proclamation Recognizing June 2022 as National Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month.
Councilmember Matthews read the proclamation and presented it to Joanne Conzelman who spoke about the Annual Walk to End Alzheimer's scheduled for October 8, 2022.
REPORT BY COMMISSION/COMMITTEE
A. Annual Report from the Parks and Recreaton Committee.
Sheldon Heath, Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Committee, appeared before the Council and gave an oral version of the Committee's annual report.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Kimberley White noted that there was a gap in recreation programs available for teens.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
EARLY ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Joanne McGarry spoke of the urgency of the climate reality and stressed that Arcata was not too small to make a difference.
An unidentified speaker asked the Council to urge staff to move forward with assigning City email accounts to Planning Commissioners.
Fred Weis announced his website, Arcata1.com, which was created to have as much information on the Arcata Gateway Plan as possible. He submitted a handout with corrected figures to Table 4:
Sources and Uses, in the staff report.
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An unidentified speaker expressed their concern about the rapid growth of Humboldt with new buildings and said they felt Arcata had sold out the environment to make money.
Pat Carr noted the positive work of Sgt. Heidi Groszmann in de-escalating a situation in which she was injured, and the City Council, in dealing with the actions of the former Mayor, by not abandoning the involved employee or sweeping the issue under the rug.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Atkins-Salazar pulled items G and K for further discussion.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment. None was received. Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
ON MOTION BY MATTHEWS, SECONDED BY SCHAEFER, AND WITH A THREE-TOZERO VOICE VOTE WITH ONE ABSENCE, THE COUNCIL ADOPTED THE CONSENT CALENDAR FOR JUNE 1, 2022, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE FOLLOWING TWO ITEMS: G. AWARD A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR THE ARCATA RIDGE TRAIL: FICKLE HILL ROAD CROSSING PROJECT TO GR SUNDBERG, INC., IN THE AMOUNT OF $88,026.00; AUTHORIZE THE CITY ENGINEER TO INCREASE THE CONTRACT AMOUNT BY UP TO $17,605.20 (20 PERCENT, FOR A TOTAL OF $105.631.20) TO ALLOW FOR ANY UNFORESEEN CONTINGENCIES AND ADDITIONAL WORK AS NECESSARY; AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS; K. APPROVE A PROCLAMATION IN RECOGNITION OF THE 2022 INAUGURAL HUMBOLDT COUNTY LAW
ENFORCEMENT TORCH RUN TO SUPPORT SPECIAL OLYMPICS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, JUNE 15, 2022. AYES: ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS.
NOES: NONE. ABSENT: WATSON. ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
A. Approve the Minutes of the City Council Meeting of May 17, 2022.
B. Bi-Weekly Report on General Warrants.
C. Declare a Continuation of the Local Emergency Related to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
D. Adopt Resolution No. 212-63 Approving the Fiscal Year 2022/23 Annual Report on Stormwater Drainage Maintenance Fee for All Non-Tax Exempt Parcels and Directing That Said Fee be Collected through the Property Tax Rolls for Fiscal Year 2022/23.
E. Adopt Resolution No. 212-61, Approving the Fiscal Year 2022/23 Annual Report on Measure A Special Tax for All Non-Tax Exempt Parcels and Directing That Said Fee be Collected through the Property Tax Rolls for Fiscal Year 2022/23.
F. Award of Bid for the 2022 Timber Sale of Redwood Logs to R&L Lumber ($1,215/mbf); and Douglas Fir Logs to Schmidbauer Lumber ($640/mbf); and Authorize the City Manager to Execute All Applicable Documents.
G. Item VII-G was moved to Items Removed from Consent Calendar.
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H. Reject the Bid for the Arcata South I Street Boat Launch Facility Improvement Project and Re-bid the Project.
I. Approve a Dial-A-Ride Funding Agreement for the City of Arcata for Fiscal Year 2022/23 in the Amount of $83,312 and Authorize the City Manager to Execute All Applicable Documents.
J. Adopt Resolution No. 212-68, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Arcata Amending the Class and Pay Resolution—Compensation & Benefits for Hourly Rated Part-Time, Temporary, and Seasonal Personnel (to Reflect New Classification of Community Ambassador, Lead Community Ambassador, and Accounting Technician; and Title Change from equity arcata Network Manager to equity arcata Network Coordinator).
K. Item VII-K was moved to Items Removed from Consent Calendar.
ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT CALENDAR
G. Award a Construction Contract for the Arcata Ridge Trail: Fickle Hill Road Crossing Project to GR Sundberg, Inc., in the Amount of $88,026.00; Authorize the City Engineer to Increase the Contract Amount by up to $17,605.20 (20 Percent, for a Total of $105,631.20) to Allow for Any Unforeseen Contingencies and Additional Work as Necessary; and Authorize the City Manager to Execute All Applicable Documents.
City Manager Diemer told the Council that this bid was for the connection of the Ridge Trail across Fickle Hill Road. She said the City had received an Encroachment Permit from the County and then put the project out to bid. She explained that the City had received an email expressing two concerns about the Encroachment Permit. 1) There was a typographical error in the Assessor's Parcel Number. 2) The City's initial design did not have paved shoulders and the County had put in a request to consider paved shoulders.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Uri Driscoll said he and the other litigants would be filing an amended complaint because their issues had not been settled. Further, they would be filing a request for a temporary restraining order.
He asked that the bid award be tabled.
City Manager Diemer said the final Encroachment Permit would show the corrected Assessor's Parcel Number. The City's design did not include paved shoulders, and if the Council wanted to include unpaved shoulders, it should include that in its motion and staff would work with the County to try to achieve that.
City Attorney Diamond said this under this threat of litigation, the Council needed to discuss this in closed session. She said staff would defend a temporary restraining order if one was served on the City. She expressed her opinion that the Council should not delay this bid award.
ON MOTION BY MATTHEWS, SECONDED BY SCHAEFER, AND WITH A THREE-TOZERO VOICE VOTE WITH ONE ABSENCE, THE COUNCIL AWARDED A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR THE ARCATA RIDGE TRAIL: FICKLE HILL June 1, 2022
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ROAD CROSSING PROJECT TO GR SUNDBERG, INC., IN THE AMOUNT OF $88,026;
AUTHORIZED THE CITY ENGINEER TO INCREASE THE CONTRACT AMOUNT BY UP TO $17,605.20 (20 PERCENT, FOR A TOTAL OF $105,631.20) TO ALLOW FOR ANY UNFORESEEN CONTINGENCIES AND ADDITIONAL WORK AS NECESSARY; AUTHORIZED THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS;
AND DIRECTED STAFF TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY TO AMEND THE FINAL
ENCROACHMENT PERMIT TO FIX THE TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR IN THE
ASSESSOR'S PARCEL NUMBER AND TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT FOR PAVED SHOULDERS. AYES: ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS. NOES: NONE.
ABSENT: WATSON. ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
K. Approve a Proclamation in Recognition of the 2022 Inaugural Humboldt County Law Enforcement Torch Run to Support Special Olympics Northern California, June 15, 2022.
Councilmember Schaefer read the proclamation and presented it to Mark Wheetley.
SCHAEFER MOVED AND MATTHEWS SECONDED TO APPROVE THE
PROCLAMATION IN RECOGNITION OF THE 2022 INAUGURAL HUMBOLDT
COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT TORCH RUN TO SUPPORT SPECIAL OLYMPICS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, JUNE 15, 2022.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment. None was received. Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
THE MOTION PASSED ON A THREE-TO-ZERO VOICE VOTE WITH ONE ABSENCE.
AYES: ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS. NOES: NONE. ABSENT:
WATSON. ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
Mark Wheetley explained the importance of the Torch Run for Special Olympics, its route in Eureka, and thanked Police Chief Ahearn and Sgt. Groszmann for their efforts.
OLD BUSINESS
A. Receive an Update on Infill Planning Efforts.
Director of Community Development Loya gave an overview of the City's progress in developing the Strategic Infill Redevelopment Plan (SIRP), a potential form-based code, and the General Plan updates and reviewed the proposed schedule. He noted the City had been working on this project since 2017 in moving toward the General Plan update. He said that staff had been working on public engagement for five years, but had done a lot more in the last year. He told the Council it would be updated in August and October of this year, and then receive an Environmental Impact Report update in November. He said the Council would complete its review and give direction from January to March 2023, with zoning amendments to implement the General Plan completed in 2023.
He then laid out considerations for the timeline, including when grants were due and what their dollar amounts were.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
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James Becker spoke on the Council's study session with Committee Chairs the previous night listing how City Committees' worked in relation to aspects of the Gateway Area Plan and General Plan.
Joanne McGarry spoke in favor of Arcata becoming liberated from state mandates for housing and planning. She declared that City outreach was not engaging enough minorities and young people.
Patricia Cambianica said there was a lot in the Gateway Area Plan that had not been clarified enough for the community to support it. She declared the City needed to wait for the community to catch up.
Chrissy said it was sad to see people value developed land over farm land. She said there were too many people coming to the area and Cal Poly Humboldt needed to be put in check. She said it was difficult to watch the area transform for the worse.
Chris Richards said he looked forward to giving this more time so that a good plan would be developed.
Fred Weis said the public could not understand this Plan until the 3-D modeling was prepared. He said that major issues were not being addressed and the Planning Commission was confused. He said that without a form-based code, it was almost impossible to assess the Plan.
Matt Simmons, Redwood Coalition for Climate and Environmental Responsibility, said the lack of housing in the Arcata rental market was an urgent matter. He spoke to the rising prices of housing, both owned and rented, in Arcata and said not building infill housing would result in people moving out of Arcata.
Lisa Brown spoke against upzoning of agricultural parcels and said the southern end of parcels of prime agricultural soils off of Buttermilk Lane should be changed to Agriculture Exclusive to be protected.
Colin Fiske, Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, said Arcata was in desperate need of more housing, jobs, and public transit, and the housing needed to be relatively dense. He urged the Council to move ahead, write the form-based code, and proceed with the Gateway Plan.
Pat Carr said that, being a lover of wide open spaces, he supported increased infill and urbanization of Arcata. He stated he would like to see the infill planning move faster to give people the option to live much closer to transit and their work, thereby reducing the overall climate footprint.
Written comment was received from Fred Weis with his corrections to Table 4 in the staff report:.
Sources and Uses.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
RECESS: The Council recessed from 8:10 to 8:16 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS
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A. Conduct a Public Hearing to Hear Objections or Protests from Landowners Listed on the Report of 2021 Lien Letter Recipients of Delinquent Garbage Account Fees; and Make Revisions or Corrections to the Report as the Council Deems Just; After Which, Adopt Resolution No. 212-66 Confirming the Report of 2021 Delinquent Garbage Account Fees for Lien.
Deputy Director of Environmental Services—Community Services Benvie said the property owner was responsible for paying for mandated solid waste and recycling services. She stated the service provider, Recology, was notifying those with delinquent accounts on an ongoing basis. She said that accounts delinquent as of May 2022 totaled $25,000, but currently totaled just over $18,000. She informed the public that they could pay the delinquent bills until July 22, 2022. She asked the Council to authorize staff to update the list as of July 22, 2022, thereby accommodating property owners who might want to protest their delinquent accounts, and forward the list to the Humboldt County Assessor.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar opened the public hearing. No comment was received. Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public hearing.
ON MOTION BY SCHAEFER, SECONDED BY MATTHEWS, AND WITH A THREE-TOZERO VOICE VOTE WITH ONE ABSENCE, THE COUNCIL ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 212-66 CONFIRMING THE REPORT OF 2021 DELINQUENT GARBAGE ACCOUNT FEES FOR LIEN. AYES: ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS. NOES:
NONE. ABSENT: WATSON. ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
B. Public Scoping Hearing for Potential Projects for Funding Under the 2022 Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program (22-CDBG) Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA).
Deputy Director of Community Development Dart said this public scoping hearing was for potential projects under the Community Development Block Grants. She said there were two deadlines: one for economic development activities and one for housing and community development activities.
Under Economic Development Activities, she highlighted proposal No. 1—Business Assistance and Microenterprise Loan Program stating the current program was set to expire on April 30, 2023. She then highlighted proposal No. 2—Economic Development Strategic Plan, and Proposal No. 7— Valley West Teen/Community Center Feasibility.
Director Loya said that the City could apply for up to three activities in the two categories.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Kimberley White spoke in favor of proposal No. 7—Valley West Teen/Community Center Feasibility.
Colin Fiske, Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, said he supported proposal No. 7.
He suggested staff review the draft Climate Action Plan for funding that might be available under the guidelines and to make that a standard practice for all future funding that became available. He urged funding a City staff position dedicated to the Climate Action Plan.
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Matt Simmons, Redwood Coalition for Climate and Environmental Responsibility, seconded Mr.
Fiske's comments for using funds toward implementation of the Climate Action Plan.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
ON MOTION BY MATTHEWS, SECONDED BY SCHAEFER, AND WITH A THREE-TOZERO VOICE VOTE WITH ONE ABSENCE, THE COUNCIL DIRECTED STAFF TO NOTICE A HEARING TO AUTHORIZE SUBMISSION OF THE CITY'S 22-CDBG APPLICATION(S) AND LOOK INTO CLIMATE ACTION-THEMED GRANTS. AYES:
ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: WATSON.
ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Fred Weis referred to an article on his website speaking to the housing needs due to the population increase from Cal Poly Humboldt, an article which is a transcription of the introductory video of the draft Gateway Area Plan, and an article about the percentage of owner-occupied housing in Arcata, an upcoming article about 3-D modeling.
Patricia Cambianica spoke about her experience at the study session with Committee Chairs the previous night and having been glad to see the communication with staff and the committees/Council.
Joanne McGarry said she would be performing research on how Paris, France, had "Car-Free Paris" days, and felt this could be done in Arcata, as well as a "no trash can" day.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed Oral and Written Communications.
COUNCIL AND STAFF REPORTS
A. Receive an Update from David Loya, Director of Community Development, on the Short-Stay Vacation Rental Program.
Director of Community Development Loya gave the Council an update on the Short-Stay Vacation Rental program stating there currently were 140 permits issued, and 69 of those were exempt from the 100-permit limit the Council had set, with 71 subject to the limit. He said all the permits represented two percent of the housing stock in Arcata. He also said the fees for the permits were not covering the cost to administer the program, so staff would be recommending in the 2022/2023 budget that fees increase from $50 to $150 for the initial application, and from $20 to $80 for a renewal. Additionally, there were very few complaints regarding operation of or tenants in the rentals. He said there were some people concerned about clustering of units within neighborhoods.
He also said some owners of apartment buildings were converting all the apartments over to shortstay rentals essentially converting them into hotels and the Council may want to address that.
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BY GENERAL CONSENSUS, THE COUNCIL REQUESTED THIS ITEM BE AGENDIZED ON A FUTURE AGENDA.
OTHER COUNCIL AND STAFF REPORTS
City Manager Diemer noted that the Council members had received their draft budgets in preparation for the budget study session.
Councilmember Matthews announced a Pride Month celebration would be held on the Plaza, Sunday, June 5, 2022. She announced there was a Chamber Mixer on Thursday, June 2, 2022, at Kiki Planet.
Councilmember Schaefer reported on a meeting of the Boards of Directors of Redwood Coast Energy Authority and the Arcata/Camoapa Sister City Committee. She announced the I Block Party would be held September 5, 2022.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar reminded everyone to get their tickets for the Oyster Festival being held on June 23–25, 2022.
DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS
A. Budget Overview Study Session, Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., in the Council Chamber.
BY GENERAL CONSENSUS, THE COUNCIL CONFIRMED IT WOULD HOLD ITS BUDGET STUDY SESSION ON TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2022, AT 6 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
B. Consider Canceling the Regular Meeting of June 15, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., and Calling a Special Meeting for June 22, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., in the Council Chamber.
BY GENERAL CONSENSUS, THE COUNCIL CANCELED ITS REGULAR MEETING OF JUNE 15, 2022, AND SCHEDULED A SPECIAL MEETING FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2022, AT 6:00 P.M., VIA TELECONFERENCE AND IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
C. Study Session with the Planning Commission Regarding the Gateway Area Plan, Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., in the Council Chamber.
BY GENERAL CONSENSUS, THE COUNCIL CONFIRMED IT WOULD HOLD A JOINT STUDY SESSION WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2022, AT 6 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
D. Set the City Council's Summer Schedule for Regular Meetings.
BY GENERAL CONSENSUS, THE COUNCIL CANCELED ITS REGULAR MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2022, AT 6:00 P.M.
E. Schedule a Special Meeting for Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at 4:00 p.m., via Teleconference Utilizing Zoom Video Communications.
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BY GENERAL CONSENSUS, THE COUNCIL SET A SPECIAL MEETING FOR JUNE 14, 2022, AT 4:00 P.M. VIA TELECONFERENCE UTILIZING ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bridget Dory
City Clerk