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Unless Otherwise Noted, All Items on the Agenda are Subject to Action.
Meeting Called to Order at 6:31PM
1. Pledge of Allegiance and Establish a Quorum of the Council Council Members Present:
Adelene Jones, Mayor
Angela Shull, Mayor Pro-Tem
Elizabeth Mackay
Elise Scafani
Council Members Absent:
Christopher Edgar
Staff Present:
Amanda Mager, City Manager/City Clerk
Scott Gordon, City Accountant
Public Present:
Kent Sawatzky, Scott Frazer, Justin Nyob, Jean Lynch, Erin McClure, Matt Watts, Julie McGill, John Bartholomew, Mardi Granger, Verda Pitts, Erika Dykehouse, Captain Quenell, Lieutenant McCall, Monika Fridley
Mayor Jones calls for a moment of silence in memory of Planning Commissioner Earl Eddy.
2. Approve Agenda
Motion: To Approve the Agenda moving items 5 & 6
Motion by: Councilmember Scafani Second: No Second
Vote: Ayes: Nays: Abstain:
Motion Summary: No Second; motion dies
Motion: To Approve the Agenda as presented
Motion by: Mayor Pro-Tem Shull Second: Mackay
Vote: Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Abstain: 0
Blue Lake City Council Minutes
Tuesday, June 20, 2023 ~ 6:30 p.m. ~ Special Council Meeting Skinner Store Building-111 Greenwood Road, Blue Lake-Behind City Hall
CITY OF BLUE LAKE
C A L I F O R N I A
111 Greenwood Road
P.O. Box 458
Blue Lake, CA 95525
(707) 668-5655
Fax: (707) 668-5916
www.bluelake.ca.gov
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Motion Summary: Motion Passed (Consensus)
3. Public Comment – The Public is invited to present petitions, make announcements, or provide other information to the City Council that is relevant to the scope of authority of the City of Blue Lake that is not on the Agenda. The Council may provide up to 15 minutes for this public input session. To assure that each individual presentation is heard, the Council may uniformly impose time limitations of 3 minutes to each individual presentation. The public will be given the opportunity to address items that are on the agenda at the time the Council takes up each specific agenda item.
Kent Sawatzky: Comments on DANCO project; accuses SHN Consulting Engineers of receiving contracts from DANCO.
John Bartholomew: Commends the City for the work being done to meet the State mandates on housing; would like to see a cost/benefit analysis to see projections on the proposed DANCO project.
Scott Frazer: Comments on the DANCO Project and the City’s lease amount.
Julie McGill: Comments on packets and Zoom options; requests portable toilets on Morais property at the river.
Public Comment Closed.
4. Budget Presentation-Discussion
Mayor Jones introduces the item; City Manager Mager introduces Scott Gordon, City Accountant The City Accountant provides a presentation on the City’s water and wastewater funds; explains how the budget actual is brought forward and the next fiscal year budget is prepared. Provides a brief description of the proposed capital budget for FY 2023/2024, specifically projects associated with the water and wastewater fund. The City Manager provides a brief description of the proposed projects, including how grant applications may be structured while leveraging the City’s capital improvement funds.
The City Accountant presents the budget amendment for fiscal year 2022/2023; the amendment modifies the budget to more accurately reflect year end budget revenues and expenditures. The Accountant provides an update on the revenues generated by the parks and recreation department; these revenues exceeded budget projections.
The final amendment and the final draft budget will be brought forward for Council consideration at the regular June Council meeting.
Public Comment:
Kent Sawatzky: Questions the Sheriff contract numbers; will there be a balance sheet presented with the budget.
Verda Pitts: What fund paid for the Powers Creek Restoration project? Jean Lynch: Is there a projection for a sewer line replacement project? Scott Frazer: Why is the Powers Creek Fund paying for the Town Square? Mardi Granger: Where is Northfield Terrace; where are the solar panels; what is a lateral? 3 | Page
Public Comment Closed.
5. Humboldt County Sheriff Contract Discussion
Councilmember Scafani introduces her item; she reached out to the Sheriff to discuss the contract increase presented by the Humboldt County Sheriff for services provided to Blue Lake. She invited Captain Quenell and his staff to present the item to the Council.
Captain Quenell: (Via Zoom) Provides an overview of the cost proposal and cost per person method of allocating costs.
Public Comment:
Verda Pitts: Will you still patrol Blue Lake if we don’t pay for the contract? Public Comment Closed.
6. Animal Control Contract-Discussion
Councilmember Scafani introduces her item and provides an overview of her conversation with Andra Hale at the Humboldt County Animal Control Office. She reached out to Captain Quenell to provide a cost proposal for animal control patrol services; Captain Quenell provided her a quote of $26,000.00 to provide limited patrol services.
Councilmember Mackay: Doesn’t believe that Blue Lake needs a full-time animal control officer.
Mayor Pro-Tem Shull: Questions if the proposal is for a full-time officer; the cost proposal is vague on details.
Captain Quenell: The cost would include an animal control officer patrolling neighborhoods looking for strays, code violations, etc…
Public Comment:
Scott Frazer: Agrees that $26,000 is a lot of money; do you want residents to carry baseball bats and golf clubs?
Kent Sawatzky: Comments on liability of the City for dog issues.
Erika Dykehouse: Comments on cost of treating dog bites Public Comment Closed
Mayor Jones: Asks about lawsuits when someone is bitten by a dog Captain Quenell: Civil lawsuits happen; the City’s liability would be based upon negligence.
Councilmember Mackay: When a dog jumps a fence and bites someone, is the City liable? Captain Quenell: I’m not an attorney and can’t answer that.
Councilmember Scafani: Is there a middle option available? 4 | Page
Captain Quenell: You could allow the citizenry to contact animal control directly; but it becomes a budgeting nightmare because you can’t control the costs.
City Manager Mager: The City already has a contract for services; the HCSO can already respond.
The implementation of a leash law provides additional legal authority if something were to happen, but it’s hard to enforce on a daily basis.
7. Reports of Council and Staff:
Councilmember Scafani: Provides an update on the vaccine clinic that she’s organizing.
Mayor Jones: Attended the HWMA meeting and is now the vice-chair; HCAOG was cancelled; attended the 8th grade graduation and reported on Highway 101 groundbreaking.
Mayor Pro-Tem Shull: Attended Blue Lake Chamber meeting and provided updated on their activities.
Councilmember Mackay: No meetings to report.
Future Agenda Items:
• Fiscal Year 2023/2024 Budget Adoption
8. Adjourn
Motion: To adjourn at 8:30PM
Motion by: Councilmember Mackay , Second: Councilmember Shull There were no comments from the Council or public.
Motion Summary: Motion Passed (Consensus)