Agenda packet — Fort Jones City Council, September 12, 2022

Town of Fort Jones ● 11960 East Street ● Fort Jones, CA 96032 ● 530 468-2281 .

AGENDA
Regular Meeting
City Hall 11960 East St. Fort Jones
Monday September 12, 2022 – 7:00 PM.

CALL TO ORDER:

Fort Jones City Council Roll Call: Mayor: DeCausmaker______ Members: Garcia_____ Banks Beckwith _____ Gepford_______
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

Discussion items only, no action to be taken. Any person may address the Council at this time upon any subject within the jurisdiction of the Town of Fort Jones; however, any matter that requires action may be referred to staff and/or Committee for a report and recommendation for possible action at a subsequent Council meeting. There is a five (5) minute limit per topic.

DISCUSSION / REPORTS / CORRESPONDENCE: NON-ACTION ITEMS:

A. Police Department Monthly Report
B. Code Enforcement Report
C. Fire Department Monthly Report
D. Public Works Monthly Report
E. Administrator’s Report
CONSENT CALENDAR:

Items listed on the consent agenda are considered routine and may be enacted in one motion.

Any item may be removed for discussion at the request of the Council or the Public.

1. a) Approval of Minutes: Regular Meeting August 8, 2022 b) Ratification of Disbursements: August 1 through August 31, 2022 c) Approve Payables for Sept 2022
d) Receive and Review YTD P&L
DISCUSSION / REPORTS: ACTION ITEMS:

2. Review and Approve Resolution 1112 for 50/50 Volunteer Fire Department Capacity Program grant with Cal Fire for new radios

3. Review and Approve Agreement with County for the Cities Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program

4. Review and Approve the Fort Jones Policy for Volunteer Services

5. Update on Liens and Pinassi Property

6. Discuss and Approve the purchase of a Town Laptop – Banks

7. Update on Interviews and Candidate information for City Administrator’s job – Garcia STAFF COMMENTS:

COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS:

ADJOURNMENT: The next Fort Jones City Council Meeting is scheduled to be held on October 10, 2022, at 7:00 p.m.

REPORTS & CORRESPONDANCE
Ft. Jones Police Chief’s Monthly Report
July 2022
The below report consists of statistics, events, and assignments the police department has been performing for the months of June and July as we did not have a written report for the previous month. We continue to stay very active through the summer months in not only ongoing responsibilities but also in preparing for the new school year and future events. Over the past month as you are aware we have been called upon by the county to assist in mutual aid in response to the Mckinney and Yeti Fires. While it is important to us to be able to provide assistance to our allied agencies, we make certain that our priority is providing coverage for the constituents of Ft. Jones and responding to our home responsibilities.

Traffic- Traffic control in problematic areas of town has been one of our main priorities over the past couple months. Slowing drivers down and making sure they are aware of their responsibilities as a driver in our town is of upmost importance. Just being present in a patrol vehicle is an effective way to educate drivers however we can’t be everywhere all at once.

Vehicle stops have been also preformed on a regular basis as a warning or if warranted a citation issued. We will continue to use every avenue possible to educate drivers and enforce traffic related laws to make our city the safest possible for drivers and pedestrians alike. Our participation in the traffic safety groups have been much appreciated and a necessity for us to learn about problematic areas and be part of a team in finding a solution. One of our immediate priorities has been to cover school properties before and after school as children come and go. Our presents has seem to be very positive as drivers are reminded to be overly couscous while in school zones. We will continue this presence throughout the school year.

The school district has been amazing at getting us problematic vehicles ID so we can follow up with the drivers.

Schools- As mentioned above the new school year has begun and we have been partnering with the school district in strategically implementing new approaches in the attempt to make our schools as safe as possible while providing and easier format in agencies working together.

Again, working closely with the schools has given us a unique opportunity to handle situations and be proactive in sometimes an unconventional way. We are also in the works to bring the DARE program back into our schools as we continue to see all over the country a dramatic rise in the use of illegal substances and behavioral health cases.

Animal Control- Knock on wood we have seen a decrease in animal at large calls for service in the past month as we continue to educate dog owners of their responsibilities. Now with the new dog license year we have been contacting owners that have yet to register their dogs. The kennels in Etna are still working well when we do have to take a dog into custody, and we have been donated food from dollar general and Rays to provide for the animals we take in. We continue to see further progress in the Ft. Jones Kennel which will make the issues with Ft. Jones related animals easier to transport. Other Etna city and Ft. Jones departments also chip in by checking on the animals and making sure they are fed, sheltered, and safe. This helps the pd immensely and provides time for the officers to track down an owner in the attempts to get them reunited with their owner.

Reports/Cases- The police department has now accumulated over 60 written cases for the year of 2022. This is consistent from the previous past couple of years which I attribute to the unprecedented times and issues we have seen around the county. On a positive note the cases are continuing to decrease as we now have a positive ongoing police presence in the area. If you remember before we took over law enforcement services the cases pulled were well into the 100s with very little consistency of problems being solved. While we hope our case load will slow even further, I have been very proud of our department in taking on the challenge without complaint. It is amazing the service they provide for our little community, and we are very blessed to have them.

Calls for Service- The attached calls for service reports are an indication on how busy the department has been while also providing mutual aid and support for the Mckinney Fire.

As a reminder the calls for service you see on the report are a very small part of the overall service the police department provides. Many service calls, walk ins, and normal daily activity are not put over the radio for dispatch to log. In addition, the County has asked us to limit our use of dispatch due to the staffing shortage they are experiencing. This will have an effect on documented numbers, but we look for this to be short lived until they can booster their staff.

Ordinance Enforcement- Kelly and the pd staff have been very proactive in the past months on the prevention of future code violations coming to town. It is very important to us to receive information about ongoing issues in town so we can intervein if necessary. Several ongoing cases have been followed up on continually to insure they are closed in a realistic time frame prevent it from becoming bigger than the original call for service. We have also closed out several old cases recently but will continue to monitor them. The motel is continuing to go through the court process and we have made exceptional progress which I believe will be fully closed in the very near future.

PAL- The police activities league has closed out another very successful swim year and are gearing up for the start of our new pal year. Flag Football and soccer will be our initial programs of the new year and are looking forward to providing additional programs in cooperation with our schools. The mentoring program is still running strong as we provide new and exiting programs to assist our youth of the community. We are always looking for coaches and volunteers to help within our organization so if you or someone you know is interested, please send them our way.

Training- I have copied the following from last month’s report as not much has changed in the realm of training and we continue as usual to provided ongoing mandated trainings. We currently partner with College of the Siskiyou’s to help provide critical mandated POST perishable skills training along with advanced officer trainings. Our officers have been able to attend numerous trainings recently and have several more scheduled in the upcoming months.

It is with great pride we are able to have amazing trainings for our officers which attributes to the many blessings we experience in a rural area. Officers have recently completed crucial training in various equipment operation over the past several weeks and look forward to implementing vital equipment to our daily processes.

As always if the council would like to see additional specific added to my monthly report, please let me know so I can make the proper adjustments. Also take the opportunity to come out on a ride along and see first-hand what the police department encounters on a daily basis. We enjoy the company and I think builds a closer relationship between council and employees to better serve out community.