CITY OF
CITY OF JACKSON
City Council Meeting Minutes
JACKSON January 23, 2023
ALIFORNIA
Mayor and Council Members John Georgette, City Clerk
Steve McLean, Mayor
Chad Simmons, Vice Mayor Staff Members:
Max Godde, Council Member Josh Nelson, City Attorney
Connie Gonsalves, Council Member Yvonne Kimball, City Manager Bree Wilder, Public Works Superintendent
ABSENT: Bob Stimpson, Council Member Dale Fishback, Interim Fire Chief Chris Mynderup, Police Chief
Carleen Kirkpatrick, Administrative Assistant
Mayor McLean called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG.
Mayor McLean led the Pledge of Allegiance.
1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA.
Motion to approve the City Council Agenda dated January 9, 2023 as presented. Moved by Vice Mayor Simmons, seconded by Councilmember Godde, and carried by a 4 to 0 vote:
AYES: McLean, Simmons, Godde, Gonsalves
NOES: None
ABSENT: Stimpson
ABSTAIN: None
2. PUBLIC MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA.
Discussion items only, no action will be taken. Any person may address the Council at this time on any subject within the jurisdiction of the City Council. Please note - there is a three (3) minute limit. a. Virginia Manner / Jackson Creek HOA - She requested flooding concerns be placed on the agenda as a regular item for discussion for as long as meetings are being held by the city and county on this topic. Virginia requested an update on funds for storm victims. Mayor McLean advised there is not much information available yet. City Manager Yvonne Kimball encouraged patience from property owners while the city goes through the process, and requested community involvement in the quest for assistance from Caltrans when the item is added for discussion. Kimball expressed appreciation January 23, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes
for Manner's involvement and advised she will keep her informed as a point of contact for residents on these issues. Virginia advised she personally delivered CalOES reporting forms to residents on South Avenue, in addition to residents of the Jackson Creck HOA. b. Judy Jebian (557 Clinton Rd.) - She expressed concerns about Jackson Creek townhomes built on a known floodplain 50 years ago without a protective barrier along the south fork of Jackson Creek to prevent flooding. Requested permanent solution from Public Works and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
c. Tom Hinkley (551 Clinton Rd.) - He requested a visit from City Councilmembers and Public Works to view flood problems along Clinton Road and make suggestions to residents on quick fixes for erosion control this season and next. He stated 40% of the stone barriers and 2,000 square feet of erosion bank were lost with the last storm. He advised many residents in this location are seniors and any help is appreciated.
d. Kam Merclak (215 Sutter St.) - He is putting together a fundraiser called "Community Rising Above the Flood" on March 4, 2023 at the Highway House with live music, raffles, stand up comedy, and a no host bar, with all proceeds going to Amador Community Foundation. 22 tickets have been sold so far, $100 from Top Cop, $1000 from Blue Knights, and he will continue to get the word out.
Promotional postings provided to City Manager for posting. Additional efforts will be made to advertise on the radio, the Mountain Merchant, and with the Rotary Club. Information and tickets will be available on his Facebook page. Mayor McLean advised he will be in attendance. e. Robert Sernan (365 South Ave.) - He described experiencing a great amount of loss to his personal belongings along South Avenue, which he believes could have been avoided if the city had fixed the drains. Mayor McLean expressed empathy for his situation. f. Dana Jorgenson (Local resident w/ State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil) - He informed they are monitoring some of the flood issues. He advised he heard from Calaveras County about a federal designation for citizens and public infrastructure. Only 7 counties in the state have this designation at this time, and many other counties are still going through the process of collecting damage information to report. He stated he is attending the County Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow and requested to be kept informed of any guidance that the city can provide on bridges, South Avenue, Clinton Road, Caltrans, or Fish & Game. Mayor McLean commented that El Dorado and Calaveras counties have FEMA help and feels optimistic about Amador also receiving assistance once damages are reported.
Residents were strongly encouraged to report individual damages to CalOES through the reporting forms available online and/or hard copies (available at the meeting tonight) to provide an accurate representation of losses in our community.
g. Thornton Consolo (Planning Commissioner) - He provided an update on his accident while cutting down a redwood tree. He suffered a broken spine, serious head injury, fractured skull, and damaged spinal cord resulting in the loss of use of his legs. He advised he is recovering well and finally able to return after three and a half months, and would like to retain his position as Chairman of the January 23, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes
Planning Commission. Thornton expressed gratitude to the Planning Commission and city staff (specifically Dale) for their quick response in his accident.
3. CONSENT CALENDAR.
Items listed on the consent calendar are considered routine and may be enacted by one motion. Any item may be removed for discussion at the request of a Council Member.
Motion to approve the Consent Calendar dated January 23, 2023 as presented. Moved by Councilmember Gonsalves, seconded by Councilmember Godde, and carried by a 4 to 0 vote:
AYES: McLean, Simmons, Godde, Gonsalves
NOES: None
ABSENT: Stimpson
ABSTAIN: None
a. Approval of the January 9, 2023 Meeting Minutes.
b. Approval of Expenditure Report in the amount of $845,197.29.
Receive Quarterly Periodical Engineering Report (October-December 2022). d. Possible authorization to preorder a street sweeper using ARPA fund.
4. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS.
This section is to provide staff an opportunity to present oral status reports on issues. No legal action is expected to be taken by the Council.
Note: Fire Marshal is expected to provide a verbal report regarding SB1205 inspection activities.
Public Works Superintendent, Bree Wilder - He reported on city's cleanup efforts. California Conservation Corps crew assisted for one week through the county (set up with Sergeant Bellotti)- cleared out trees, debris, and rubble around town. Another crew and CalFire can now be coordinated with the County to return to help. He is working with Sergeant Bellotti to get a list of materials from OES with 500 ton of rock to support around bridges, which may arrive this Wednesday. The high school lift station struggled with keeping up pumps again during the weekend storm, and they had to utilize Sweet Pea to help prevent overflow. He advised the sink hole by the Scout Parking lot did not hold up and they are working with DTSC, expecting repairs to begin in March. Public Works will attempt to install trench plates in the meantime to avoid spending unnecessary funds.
Mayor McLean stated he observed workers on Highway 49 across from Detert Park. Vice Mayor Simmons advised some trees fell and AT&T is working at that site. Chief Mynderup advised the police radio serving Jackson, Sutter Creek, and lone went down and Delta Wireless and AT&T crews are trying to get that repaired.
January 23, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes
Police Chief, Chris Mynderup- He advised PD had their yearly compliance review with POST (California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training) and they hit every mark for backgrounds and employee trainings. Thursday, he co-hosted the yearly Northern California Peace Officers Association annual luncheon with Sheriff Redman and CHP Commander Todd Thibodeau and went over recent concerns with the city, flood and storm damage, and latest trends. Friday, he had a meeting with lone Police Chief Alfred and Sutter Creek Police Chief O'Connell to discuss multiple issues, and advised they will be bringing back the Tri-Cities Citizen Police Academy. He provided an update on the dog situation on Picardo Lane and explained that animal control responds in the city at PD request only, when/if assistance is needed.
Interim Fire Chief, Dale Fishback- No report. Introduced Patrick Chew.
Amador Fire Protection District- Fire Marshal / Patrick Chew- He provided an update on multifamily residency inspection processes. On January 1, 2019, a senate bill was passed requiring local fire marshals to provide updates to governing bodies on the status of inspections on mandated facilities, such as apartments and schools. The official report will be out at the end of the fiscal year. He is currently making contact with all of the businesses on Main Street for living quarters above the businesses, and may need crew assistance to get responses from owners.
Councilmember Gonsalves requested information on the process for violations discovered, and P. Chew advised it depends on the severity of the violation and each situation is handled on a case-by-case basis within reason.
City Attorney, Josh Nelson- No report.
City Manager, Yvonne Kimball- She advised the police department has acquired another hybrid vehicle, largely funded by the Air District Grant Funding. She encouraged the public to sign up for notifications on the city website for updates on resources as they become available. She advised of a vacancy on the city Design Review Committee and encouraged applicants. She stated the city is compiling a damages estimate form and encouraged all property owners to complete the damage estimate for to the county/CalOES (hard copies available at this meeting). Responses are needed to obtain funding and public participation is extremely important to support city desires to apply for FEMA assistance. City owned property damages estimate is $1.7 million, resulting from trees, parks, and other losses. Private properties are being documented, inspected, and tracked by the city. The City and County does not have funds to help private properties rebuild, and will rely on funding from FEMA based upon losses reported. She strongly encouraged residents to report losses to help secure funding for private residents.
5. COUNCIL REPORTS.
This section is to provide Council members an opportunity to present reports on their activities and to request item be placed on future agendas.
Councilmember Gonsalves - She attended the County Chamber mixer last Wednesday night at the Holiday Inn Express, which was well attended.
January 23, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes
Councilmember Godde - On January 11, 2023, he attended the Jackson Cemetery Meeting and was assigned the task to review municipal codes for necessary updates to cemetery fees, rules, and/or regulations. On the 12th ?, he attended the Kennedy Mine Foundation meeting where they discussed leasing the land where Tail & Wheels #1 is located near the theater to complete restoration work, and they will be contacting the city.
Vice Mayor Simmons - Nothing to report. He was recently on the radio providing an update and observed the damages under the station. Mayor McLean advised he also observed this damage and went to Eric Christenson's business as well where he had the speakeasy and incurred thousands of dollars of damage due to three feet of water in the basement where he recently remodeled.
Mayor McLean - Mayor McLean highlighted a news article featuring a photo of Vice Mayor Simmons and City Manager Yvonne Kimball providing a $5000 check to the Amador Community Foundation in support of flood victims. He also attended the County Chamber mixer and found it informative. The Chamber Board meeting was postponed until tomorrow at 9AM, which he will be attending. He will be working with Yvonne Kimball to do a PSA on the radio to inform the public.
Councilmember Stimpson- Absent.
6. DISCUSSION CALENDAR.
For the record: Action minutes provide the necessary documentation of City Council actions and audio recordings are retained for those desiring more detail on particular agenda item discussions. These audio recordings provide an accurate and comprehensive backup of City Council deliberations and citizen discussion.
Jackson Disaster Relief fund donation and partnership with the Amador Community Foundation for a relief program. [Action recommended - acknowledgement and possible modification] City Manager Yvonne Kimball expressed appreciation for Mayor McLean bringing information on this fund to city staff, as well as his recent participation and efforts in the trenches during the storms with residents.
Wendy Mathis from the Amador Community Foundation presented and advised the fund originated in 2015 when $400,000 was raised for the Butte Fire community. The fund has continued receiving donations since, and recently supported employees who lost their jobs during the Ampine Fire. They raised $55,000 which was immediately provided to those employees in the form of $500 gift certificates, and after another $25,000 was raised those employees received another $220 to help during the holidays. With the recent floods, ACF was able to provide $7,500 to disaster relief, and the same day the City of Jackson donated another $5,000 to this fund to help residents through the partnership with St. Vincent De Paul.
Information is available on the city website as well as Amador Community Foundation's website.
Council acknowledged the donation and the program.
January 23, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes
b. Authorization of letter to Caltrans seeking action to correct creek deficiency at South Ave.
Yvonne Kimball advised the intent of the letter is seek assistance and partnership from Caltrans with the city to address South Avenue flooding. She met with the city engineer and the Public Works Superintendent in response to the public outcry regarding South Avenue, and they are reaching out to Caltrans, state contacts, and OES to address this concern. Bree Wilder was able to meet with one of the maintenance supervisors from Caltrans and the city was encouraged to put these concerns into writing and submit it to Caltrans. Kimball also reported that she discussed the creek with a neighboring city manager in the hope to learn a better way. However, this city's creek concerns are different than Jackson (dry creek vs. flooding), so the response required is a different scenario. Mayor McLean agreed
Mayor McLean commented that drains are a continued concern and inquired if Caltrans will help address this issue.
Bree Wilder responded they have reached out to CalOES for emergency debris removal in all the creeks. Public Works attempted some repairs on the drain at South Avenue before the flood on the 1s' of January, and the 10-12 inch pipe will need to be replaced with an 18 inch pipe.
City Engineer Mall Ospital was in attendance but having connection issues and could not report.
Yvonne Kimball advised the city engineer advised the creek is not the same now as it was in the 60's, and when Caltrans enlarged Highway 49 they changed the channels which made this situation very challenging. The city engineer has requested construction plans from Caltrans and has not received a response yet.
Mayor McLean opened the discussion to public comments.
Virginia Manner stated that she has provided her comments earlier. Bree Wilder advised the city is working with CalOES and County OES to get the creeks done as an emergency right now, but with water conditions he is awaiting approval. Coordination with Caltrans is a must to address South Avenue.
Virginia Manner then requested to meet with public works at Jackson Creek HOA. City Manager Kimball advised either she or Bree Wilder can attend at her request.
Hearing no other public comments, Mayor McLean asked for a motion.
Motion to approve the Authorization of letter to Caltrans seeking action to correct creek deficiency at South Avenue as presented. Moved by Councilmember Godde, seconded by Councilmember Gonsalves, and carried by a 4 to 0 vote:
AYES: McLean, Simmons, Godde, Gonsalves
NOES: None
ABSENT: Stimpson
ABSTAIN: None
January 23, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes
c. Receive and discuss Oro De Amador project update and future actions as related to the Equitable Community Revitalization Grant (presentation by Project Environmental Consultant Jason Muir with GeoCon).
Presentation with slides presented by Jason Muir with GeoCon. He presented possible plans for use of the Oro De Amador property including solar panels, ball fields, pickle ball courts, etc. He stressed that the ECRG funding made the continued work on Oro DE Amador possible.
Mayor McLean opened the discussion for council discussion. Councilmember Gonsalves advised there is information available that was prepared years back regarding possible uses and proposals for use of this land, which Jason Muir should review as well. CM Simmons said he's looking forward to when the land is cleaned up and can be reused for recreational purpose.
Mayor asked for public comments and received none.
d. Possible approval of the TOT fund request for Kiddies Parade / Kit Carson Mountain Men Wagon Train (Days of 49) in the amount of $1760, in addition to the sponsorship fee of $650.
Dianne Oneto- She explained the last Kiddie's Parade was in 1971 and used to be a popular tradition, and hopes her RFP satisfies all the questions. Rancheria is providing 80% of the funding, and hopes the city will fund the other 20% of the funds. She provided more information on the path of the wagon train and advised the train will come down through Jackson twice. She advised there will be a full street celebration to celebrate the pioneers and Native American heritage, with pre-parade entertainment including shootouts gangs, and pancake breakfast. She has been in contact with the Historic Jackson Business Administration to get merchants on board with the street closure. All Amador towns sponsor a wagon, and Jackson has sponsored a wagon since 2014.
Mayor McLean asked council for questions.
Vice Mayor Simmons asked Ms. Oneto how many wagons are in the parade. Ms. Oneto advised there are approximately 15 wagons and 30-40 out riders. Councilmember Gonsalves encouraged council members to dress in costume period pieces for this event.
Mayor asked for public comments and received none. Mayor requested a motion.
Motion to approve the TOT fund request for Kiddies Parade / Kit Carson Mountain Men Wagon Train (Days of 49) in the amount of $1760, in addition to the sponsorship fee of $650, as presented. Moved by Councilmember Gonsalves, seconded by Councilmember Godde, and carried by a 4 to 0 vote:
AYES: McLean, Simmons, Godde, Gonsalves
NOES: None
ABSENT: Stimpson
ABSTAIN: None
January 23, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes
7. REGULAR MEETING ADJOURNMENT.
Mayor McLean adjourned the meeting at 8:34 p.m.
8. CLOSED SESSION.
CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - ANTICIPATED LITIGATION Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9: 1 case.
9. CLOSED SESSION ADJOURNMENT.
Mayor McLean adjourned the closed session at 9:20 p.m.
ATTEST:
lohn Heartle 2/13/23
ohn Georgette, City Clerk Date Approved