GRASS VALLEY
City Council Regular Meeting, Capital Improvements Authority and Redevelopment "Successor Agency"
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Council Chambers, Grass Valley City Hall | 125 East Main Street, Grass Valley, California Telephone: (530) 274-4310 – Fax: (530) 274-4399
E-Mail: [email protected] Web Site: www.cityofgrassvalley.com
MINUTES
Mayor Jan Arbuckle, Vice Mayor Hilary Hodge, Councilmember Bob Branstrom, Councilmember Haven Caravelli, Councilmember Tom Ivy
CALL TO ORDER
Meeting called to order at 6:03PM.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Pledge of allegiance led by Mayor Arbuckle.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT
Councilmember Bob Branstrom
Councilmember Haven Caravelli
Councilmember Tom Ivy
Vice Mayor Hilary Hodge
Mayor Jan Arbuckle
AGENDA APPROVAL
Motion made to approve the agenda as submitted by Vice Mayor Hodge, Seconded by Councilmember Branstrom.
Voting Yea: Councilmember Branstrom, Councilmember Caravelli, Councilmember Ivy, Vice Mayor Hodge, Mayor Arbuckle
REPORT OUT OF CLOSED SESSION
No reportable action.
INTRODUCTIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
1. Meeting of Dash, Grass Valley Police Departments new K9 Chief of Police, Alex Gammelgard, introduced Officer Duncan and K9 Dash.
PUBLIC COMMENT
In Person Public Comments #1-3.
Virtual Public Comment: Matthew Coulter
Item # 1.
City of Grass Valley, CA MINUTES July 23, 2024
CONSENT ITEMS
Public Comment: Matthew Coulter
Motion made to approve the consent as submitted by Vice Mayor Hodge, Seconded by Councilmember Branstrom.
Voting Yea: Councilmember Branstrom, Councilmember Caravelli, Councilmember Ivy, Vice Mayor Hodge, Mayor Arbuckle
2. Approval of the Regular Meeting Minutes of July 9th, 2024.
Recommendation: Council approve minutes as submitted.
3. Local Transportation Fund (LTF) Claim for Transit and Paratransit Operations CEQA: N/A – Not a Project
Recommendation: That Council adopt a resolution requesting that Nevada County Transportation Commission (NCTC) allocate $642,298 of the City’s FY 2024/25 estimated apportionment of LTF in support of transit and paratransit services.
4. 2024 Annual Measure E Street Rehabilitation Project – Final Acceptance CEQA: N/A – Project is Complete
Recommendation Motion: That Council: 1) accept the 2024 Annual Measure E Street Rehabilitation Project as complete, and 2) authorize the City Engineer to file a Notice of Completion with the County Recorder.
5. Bennett Street Bridge Maintenance Project – Authorization to Bid CEQA: Categorically Exempt – Section 15301 “Existing Facilities” Recommendation: That Council 1) approve the findings that the project is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); and 2) authorize the advertisement for bids.
6. Continuation of 20% Water Conservation from all City Customers Due to inoperable Drum and South Yuba Canals
CEQA: Not a Project.
Recommendation: That Council continue the mandate of all City Water Customers to conserve 20% of their normal water usage.
7. Annual Approval of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) Adjustment to the Special Emergency Medical and Fire Response Tax.
CEQA: Not a Project
Recommendation: That Council 1) Approve a rate increase to the Special Emergency Medical and Fire Response Tax of 3.4% based on the December 2023 CPI. 2) Adopt Resolution 2024-59 requesting that the Nevada County Auditor place the adjusted Measure A special tax for 2024/2025 on the tax rolls.
ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT CALENDAR FOR DISCUSSION OR SEPARATE ACTION AND /
OR ANY ADDED AGENDA ITEMS
REORGANIZATION RELATED ITEMS
PUBLIC HEARING
Item # 1.
City of Grass Valley, CA MINUTES July 23, 2024
ADMINISTRATIVE
8. Community Farms Planning for Mautino Park
CEQA: Not a project.
Recommendation: That Council 1) receive proposals for Community Farm Planning from Interfaith Food Ministry and Sierra Harvest; 2) approve funding up to $30,000 for each proposal; and 3) authorize the City Manager to prepare and execute agreements for approved proposals, subject to legal review.
Deputy City Manager, Taylor Whittingslow introduced the proposal to Council.
Interfaith Food Ministry and Sierra Harvest presented their proposals.
Council asked what IFM and Sierra Harvest will be using the funds for, how often the two groups would be meeting, if they are working closely with Waste Management and how the funding will continue.
Public Comment: Matthew Coulter
Motion made to approve funding up to $30,000 for each proposal and authorize the City Manager to prepare and execute agreements for approved proposals, subject to legal review.by Vice Mayor Hodge, Seconded by Councilmember Caravelli.
Voting Yea: Councilmember Caravelli, Councilmember Ivy, Vice Mayor Hodge, Mayor Arbuckle
Voting Abstaining: Councilmember Branstrom
BRIEF REPORTS BY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Councilmember Caravelli attended the ERC Meeting and the Music in the Mountains Happy Birthday America Event at the Northstar House. Councilmember Ivy represented Grass Valley at the NCTC meeting in Truckee, toured some of Truckee’s parks and trails, attended the Pioneer Community Energy Meeting and noted that they will be dropping rates 5%, he also participated in the monthly Wolf Creek monitoring event. Councilmember Branstrom saw Union Pacific's largest train, saw a production at Sierra Stages, visited the Gold Country Senior Center, and attended the CalCities Regional Meeting in Elk Grove. Mayor Arbuckle attended the League of California Cities meeting in Pasadena and went to Florida for NLOC Women’s Conference.
ADJOURN
Meeting adjourned at 7:37PM.
_____________________________ ______________________________ Jan Arbuckle, Mayor Taylor Whittingslow, City Clerk
Adopted on:_____________
Item # 1.
CITY OF GRASS VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT SIGN IN SHEET
WELCOME to the City of Grass Valley City Council meeting! Public Comments provide an opportunity for the public to address the City Council on any subject which is not on the agenda but in the jurisdiction of the council. If you wish to speak, please indicate in the appropriate box when you sign in and take the number corresponding to your name. Each individual can have up to 3 minutes of public comment. At the beginning of the meeting, there will be an allotted 30 minutes of general public comments and the remainder of comments will be heard at the end of the agenda.
Speakers will be called in order of the numbers given.
When you are recognized by the mayor:
1. Please stand before the podium and give your name and address. (optional)
2. Please limit your comments to three minutes per speaker.
3. If previous speakers have made the same point, you may simply indicate your support or disagreement, unless you have new information.
Thank you for your participation.
#'s
1 2
3 4
Print Name
or N/A
Address
optional
a. &V
Self /Business
tional
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5 6
7 8
9 10
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13 14
Item # 1.
Mr. Timothy Kiser, City Manager July 16, 2024
City of Grass Valley
125 East Main Street
Grass Valley, CA 95945
RE: Measure B Questions
Dear Mr. Kiser,
First, I would like to convey my appreciation for your responses to my earlier inquiries regarding Measure B. They were informative and quite helpful.
I would now like to inquire regarding answers to my remaining questions. Some were posed 6 weeks ago and the latest nearly 4 weeks ago. I realize the position you hold at the City demands attention and that your time is valued. However, I assure you that receiving timely answers will not only be appreciated and valued by me but may prove to be even more valuable to the citizens of Grass Valley.
For your easy reference I have included a list of the dates of the letters posing the questions along with a synopsis of each question. Each letter includes background information for the questions. Please rely on the letters for full context and understanding when considering the questions.
Letter Date Question
June 4, 2024 • Does Resolution 2023-57, while calling for a general tax measure to fund specific financial needs, violate Gov Code 53721?
• If “Yes”, does this render the Resolution null and void? June 5, 2024 • Effective (operative) date of July 1st? Answered by default. • Person responsible for inserting the July 1st date into the agreement with CDTFA?
• Intent of “Operative Date”? Answered by default.
• Must agreements be reissued? Answered by default.
• Level of City expenses incurred due to error?
June 13, 2024 • Was the 10-day waiting period specified in Section 18 required prior to adopting Ordinance No. 826?
June 13, 2024 • Does Council’s motion and vote to adopt Ordinance No. 826 violate Gov Code 54954.2 (a) (1) & (3)?
June 17, 2024 Rebuttal leaves question remaining from my June 3 letter:
• Does inaccurate statement render Resolution 2023-57 null and void? June 21, 2024 • Does the BALLOT QUESTION for Measure B violate the Elections Code Section 13119? Also, please refer to my May 14, 2024 letter. • If “Yes”; does this render Measure B null and void?
Item # 1.