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
Blue Lake City Council Minutes
Thursday, July 3, 2025 ~ 6:30p.m. ~ Special Council Meeting Skinner Store Building ~ 111 Greenwood Rd., Blue Lake ~ Behind City Hall 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor John Sawatzky called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2 3 ESTABLISH A QUORUM OF THE COUNCIL: [0:26 Part 1]
4 COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor John Sawatzky, Mayor Pro Tem Elise Scafani, Council 5 Member Kat Napier, Council Member Michelle Lewis-Lusso 6 COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT: None
7 STAFF PRESENT: Acting City Manager Dani Burkhart, City Attorneys Ethan Walsh and Russ Gans, Deputy Clerk Laura McClenagan and Videographer Justin Goad 8 9 10 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
11 12 AGENDA APPROVAL: [0:33 Part 1]
13 Motion: to approve the agenda
14 Motion by: Council Member Michelle Lewis-Lusso
15 Second by: Council Member Kat Napier
16 Motion Summary: Consensus (4/0)
17 18 PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: [0:54 Part 1] 19 Comment by (Adelene Jones): Commented on prior years’ budgeting under City Manager 20 Mager, credited grant-writing savings, shared community updates (Chamber of 21 Commerce, Annie and Mary Day planning for August 3, 2025), and encouraged safe 22 fourth of July celebration.
23 Comment by (Kent Sawatzky): Commented on projected legal and other costs facing the 24 City, asserted prior fiscal impacts are now emerging, encouraged economic development 25 planning (destination events and tourism model), and described outreach discussions 26 with county leadership.
27 Comment by (Scott Frasier, Blue Lake Boulevard): Thanked the current council for 28 addressing fiscal issues; stated that prior fiscal policies are contributing to current 29 challenges.
30 31 Mayor John Sawatzky invited members of the public to provide comments and noted that the 32 Zoom platform was temporarily unavailable. He reserved additional time to accommodate 33 public comments should Zoom be restored during the meeting. 34 35
36 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
Blue Lake City Council Minutes
Thursday, July 3, 2025 ~ 6:30p.m. ~ Special Council Meeting Skinner Store Building ~ 111 Greenwood Rd., Blue Lake ~ Behind City Hall 37 PUBLIC COMMENT ON CLOSED SESSION: [8:22 Part 1]
38 Comment by (Kent Sawatzky): Urged Council to address safety/security concerns related 39 to the power plant site and cautioned about potential liability exposure; encouraged the 40 council to act proactively to avoid future risk.
41 Mayor John Sawatzky: Requested clarification from staff about allowing public input on a closed 42 session item given lack of public knowledge of closed session content. 43 Acting City Manager Dani Burkhart: Stted the agenda language was included per attorney 44 advice.
45 Comment by (Alex Ricca): Asked that the attorneys present be identified. 46 Acting City Manager Dani Burkhart: Identified City Attorneys Ethan Walsh and Russ Gans. 47 Mayor John Sawatzky Closed public comment after no further comments; noted Zoom audio 48 difficulties prevented receipt of additional public comment. 49 50 Motion: to go into closed session. [13:41 Part 1] 51 Motion by: Mayor Pro Tem Elise Scafani
52 Second by: Council Member Michelle Lewis-Lusso
53 Motion Summary: Consensus (4/0)
54 55 REPORT OUT OF CLOSED SESSION/OPEN SESSION: [00:00 special meeting] 56 Mayor John Sawatzky reported that the council entered into close session but took no 57 reportable action.
58 59 Comment by (Alex Ricca): Raised concern regarding Brown Act agenda citation 60 formatting for closed session item; stated intent to include this issue in follow-up 61 correspondence and urged improved agenda accuracy.
62 Mayor John Sawatzky noted timer issues and stated he would verbally manage comment time 63 limits.
64 Comment by (Kent Sawatsky): Commented on historical agenda practices and suggested 65 further review/educationregarding Brown Act subsections. Comment by public 66 commenter: Provided general reference to where Brown Act subsections can be found 67 online (codes.findlaw.com, California Code Government Section 54956.9). 68 Comment by (Julie Christie): Commented on public comment process, meeting 69 procedures, and historical posting/video availability concerns. 70 71
72 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
Blue Lake City Council Minutes
Thursday, July 3, 2025 ~ 6:30p.m. ~ Special Council Meeting Skinner Store Building ~ 111 Greenwood Rd., Blue Lake ~ Behind City Hall 73 CONSIDER AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR CITY MANAGER RECRUITMENT: [08:06 special meeting] 74 Acting City Manager Dani Burkhart requested formation of a two-member ad hoc committee to 75 coordinate the recruitment process and reduce need for repeated closed sessions/special 76 meetings.
77 Council Member Kat Napier and Mayor Pro Tem Elise Scafani expressed interest in serving; 78 Council Member Lewis-Lusso expressed willingness depending on bandwidth and encouraged a 79 broad recruitment approach.
80 81 PUBLIC COMMENT: [9:48 special meeting]
82 Comment by (Julie, Christie): Supported formation of the ad hoc committee and 83 continued progress on recruitment.
84 85 Mayor John Sawatzky appointed Mayor Pro Tem Elise Scafani and Council Member Kat Napier 86 to the City Manager Recruitment Ad Hoc Committee. Council discussed ensuring all 87 councilmembers can provide input and confirmed intent to meet with Tripepi Smith before 88 executing any contract..
89 90 CONSIDER AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR HOUSING ELEMENT/REZONING PROCESS: [14:52 special 91 meeting]
92 Acting City Manager Dani Burkhart reported City Attorney recommendation to form an ad hoc 93 committee to coordinate scheduling and process for housing element adoption/rezoning tasks 94 and to support timely communication with HCD; noted next available HCD meeting Monday at 95 3:30 p.m.
96 Mayor Pro Tem Scafani and Council Member Lewis-Lusso noted unavailability for Monday; 97 Council Member Napier noted availability.
98 99 PUBLIC COMMENT: [16:16 special meeting]
100 Comment by (Julie Christie): Supported incremental compliance work and suggested 101 using HCD example materials; encouraged clear communication to HCD regarding prior 102 process.
103 Comment by (Adelene Jones): Encouraged timely action to support housing needs and 104 community vitality.
105 Comment by (Kent Sawatzky): Urged addressing housing element delays and suggested 106 incorporating diversity/equity considerations into zoning. 107 Comment by (Terri Bayles): Suggested broader community involvement to reduce 108 burden on councilmembers; shared example of community-member participation on an
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
Blue Lake City Council Minutes
Thursday, July 3, 2025 ~ 6:30p.m. ~ Special Council Meeting Skinner Store Building ~ 111 Greenwood Rd., Blue Lake ~ Behind City Hall 109 ad hoc in another agency.
110 Acting City Manager Dani Burkhart: Clarified ad hoc focus is scheduling/process; broader 111 community involvement would occur through future public processes. 112 Mayor John Sawatzky appointed Mayor John Sawatzky and Council Member Kat Napier 113 to the Housing Element/Rezoning Ad Hoc Committee.
114
115 FY 2025-2026 BUDGET STUDY SESSION: [25:59 special meeting] 116 Acting City Manager Dani Burkhart reported the draft budget was updated to include $15,000 117 for recruitment, allocated across water, sewer, and government funds. Council discussed 118 budget performance, deficits, program costs, revenue recovery, fee schedules, facilities rentals, 119 legal costs, staffing/benefits, capital needs, and audit status. 120 Public comment: [1:05:02 special meeting]
121 Comment by (Terri Bayles): Asked about anticipated cost recovery/engineering and CalTrans 122 revenue similar to prior-year amendments; asked about deficit coverage and audit timing. 123 Acting City Manager Dani Burkhart: Reported state revenue picture incomplete; accountant 124 meeting pending; audit underway for FY 23/24 with FY 24/25 audit planned to begin in October. 125 Comment by (Jennie Short): Urged adoption of a balanced budget; identified fund deficits and 126 concerns (water, general fund, parks & rec, CDBG, TDA, sewer) and recommended revisions 127 before adoption.
128 Comment by (Kent Sawatzky): Supported balanced budget approach; suggested Parks & Rec 129 performance review, utilities usage evaluation, and tiered fee structures for facility use/events. 130 Comment by (Julie Christie): Supported budget study sessions; encouraged volunteer capacity131 building, improved meeting space, and ongoing review of fee schedules and revenue strategies. 132 Council discussion included: intent to monitor and adjust the budget; potential fee schedule 133 review; volunteer capacity; need for improved reporting detail; and constraints related to 134 staffing and benefit costs. Staff and council identified need to meet with the accountant to 135 resolve missing information and questions.
136
137 DIRECTION: Set up a meeting with Scott Tuesday, July 22, 2025, if not sooner. 138
139 ADJOURNMENT: [1:38:19 special meeting]
140 Motion: to adjourn the July 03, 2025, special meeting at 9:15 p.m. 141 Motion by: Council Member Michelle Lewis-Lusso
142 Second by: Council Member Kat Napier
143 Motion Summary: Consensus (4/0)
144
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
Blue Lake City Council Minutes
Thursday, July 3, 2025 ~ 6:30p.m. ~ Special Council Meeting Skinner Store Building ~ 111 Greenwood Rd., Blue Lake ~ Behind City Hall 145 Laura McClenagan
146 Deputy Clerk, City of Blue Lake
147 Corrections provided by Michelle Lewis-Lusso, January 14, 2026 148
149