CITY OF
CITY OF JACKSON
City Council Meeting Minutes
JACKSON April 22, 2024
CALIFORNIA
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
ABSENT:
Bob Stimpson, Council Member Dale Fishback, Interim Fire Chief Carleen Kirkpatrick, Deputy City Clerk
Mayor McLean called the meeting to order at 6:28 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG.
Mayor McLean led the Pledge of Allegiance.
1. CEREMONIAL.
• Introduction and swearing in of new Police Officer: Jordan Thurman.
Police Chief Mynderup recognized Officer Michele Hopper for receiving an award at the Mason's third annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner over the weekend.
2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA.
Motion to approve the City Council Agenda dated April 22, 2024 as presented. Moved by Councilmember Godde, seconded by Councilmember Gonsalves, and carried by a 4 10 0 vote:
AYES: McLean, Simmons, Godde, Gonsalves
NOES: None
ABSENT: Stimpson
ABSTAIN: None
3. 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.
Dave Drummond (Jackson resident) - Followed up on his previous complaint about speeding on Pine Street. City Manager Simpson will follow up on engineering requirements (ie. traffic study), connect with Public Works and PD regarding temporary speed bumps and report back to Council.
April 22, 2024 City Council Meeting Minutes
Mr. Drummond also requested consideration to rezone Pine Street to 15 mph and agreed he has seen PD during certain times monitoring this location.
City Attorney Nelson advised the item can be added to the agenda for a future meeting to continue discussion.
Thornton Consolo (Jackson resident) - Supported Mr. Drummond's concerns about speeding on Pine Street. Suggested posting more speed limit signs, personal signs regarding children on the street, and possibly putting up speed bumps. Offered to move the radar trailer to this location (from its current location on Hwy 49 by ACUSD office) and stated he will go speak with some of the residents. Police Chief Mynderup advised they will continue intermittent patrol at this location during the times reported in afternoon and mornings.
4. 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. a. Approval of April 8, 2024 Meeting Minutes.
b. Approval of Expenditure Report in the amount of $227,363.26. c. Receive Treasurer's report for February 2024.
d. Approval of Cemetery Committee's recommendation to reappoint Debby Collins to the Cemetery Committee for two more years upon her term expiration on 6/30/24. e. Resolution No. 2024-07 Adopting a List of Projects and Approving the Use of SBI:
The Road Repair and Accountability Act Funding for City Street Projects for FY2024-
25. f. Resolution No. 2024-08 Intending to Obligate the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fund for Certain Uses.
g. Resolution No. 2024-09 Calling for an Election, Requesting Consolidation of its General Municipal Elections with the Statewide Presidential General Election, Filing a Notice Of Election with the Registrar Of Voters, Submitting an Incumbent List and Terms of Office, Requiring that Candidate's Statements be Paid by the Candidate, Certifying the Jurisdiction's Boundary Map, Determining a Coin Toss as the Tie- Breaking Method, Authorizing Amador County Elections Department to Conduct the Election and Canvass the Returns, and Expressing Intent to Reimburse Amador County for the Actual Costs of the Election.
Council congratulated Debby Collins on being reappointed to the Cemetery Committee.
Motion to approve the Consent Calendar dated April 22, 2024 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
April 22, 2024 City Council Meeting Minutes
5. 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.
Public Works Superintendent, Bree Wilder - Water reservoir project is approx. 30% complete. Keith Sweet/Jackson Rotary inquired about painting fire hydrants around town and Wilder encouraged him to paint light poles downtown instead. They will begin painting on May 4, 2024. Vice Mayor Simmons inquired about PG&E input. Wilder advised PG&E is okay with paint, though not with hanging items from the poles. Mayor McLean advised black paint is available through Sasha. The water leak on Wicklow Way (part of Jackson's water service area) needed a bypass to dry out and a contractor will start repairs tomorrow. Still having difficulty hiring a qualified Maintenance Worker I at the current salary range. The last two he attempted to hire after interviews declined due to low pay. Mayor McLean advised this will need to be addressed.
Interim Fire Chief, Dale Fishback - Attended the Masonic Lodge's Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner last weekend (which also honored firefighters, EMS, and emergency responders throughout the County) and he nominated Volunteer Battalion Chief Alex Sharp. Met with lessee Gib Gianandrea about the fire break for the Oro de Amador cattle pasture, which should be completed in the next 3-4 weeks, and will connect with Councilmember Godde about the bull pine soon.
Police Chief, Chris Mynderup - Met with Diane Oneto to go over 49'er parade and Wagon Train event this weekend. Attended the Mason's dinner last weekend. Cooking hotdogs for the Celebrate Our Children event at Argonaut High School this Saturday.
City Attorney, Josh Nelson - Provided update on recent Supreme Court case with civil ties involving a property owner in El Dorado County. It involved special due process requirements that must be met to pay generally imposed development impact fees. Via the Nollan or Dolan test, exactions must be roughly proportional to the impact of the development and have an essential nexus to the issue.
Historically, this test has not applied to generally imposed development impact fees and the Supreme Court has changed the rules, to apply Nollan and Dolan rules to these fees as well moving forward.
Building Inspector Jeff Taylor proactively reached out to BBK for guidance and they are currently reviewing the outcome for impacts and changes to the City.
City Manager, Carl P. Simpson - Met with Ashley at Operation Care to see provided services. Attended the Chamber of Commerce mixer at the Knights Foundry. Attended the Up Country Pool ribbon cutting. Spoke at the Rotary Club. Advised Council of Deputy City Clerk Carleen Kirkpatrick's suggestion to apply for NCCSIF's Cash for Culture award for upgrades to City Hall security and the City is expected to receive $3000 for second place due to Permit Technician's B.J. Wallace's efforts to prepare the submission. Reminded Council of Community Coffee event on 4/25/24 from 10AM-12PM at Boilerworks Café with a presentation on fire prevention and code enforcement and raffle prizes- $50 Ace Hardware and $50 Luka's Restaurant.
6. 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.
April 22, 2024 City Council Meeting Minutes
Councilmember Gonsalves - No report.
Councilmember Godde - Attended Amador Senior Center meeting and they will be bidding on a contract to provide medical transportation services due to the closure of the Common Ground Senior Services. Attended the Kennedy Mine Foundation meeting and Wheel No. 1 is being sandblasted to prepare for repair and the grant request to Sierra Pacific for timbers was not funded so they are seeking other sources for the wood. Attended the Cemetery Committee meeting and they met with Denari's to make sure they are on the same page with the City for services.
Councilmember Stimpson - Absent.
Vice Mayor Simmons - No report.
Mayor McLean - Attended Jackson Realty's Beautification Committee meeting and in addition to the light pole improvements, they have various other projects in process including adding QR codes to the plaques on buildings downtown. He would like to set up a T-Mobile hotspot downtown for visitors to access Wi-Fi as well as potentially get Cedric Clute to narrate the history of the buildings via the QR code. Attended the Chamber of Commerce mixer and ribbon cutting with City Manager Simpson.
7. 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.
a. Receive information on Code Enforcement's early notification process for high weeds on vacant parcels with the potential to become a fire hazard.
City Manager Simpson advised this is the second year the City has done outreach and abatement for dangerous high weeds. Deputy City Clerk Kirkpatrick advised she and Building Inspector Taylor canvassed all of Jackson city limits last week to identify vacant or larger parcels that have potential for becoming a fire hazard this season and letters will be mailed to the property owners this week with fliers providing fire prevention and code enforcement information, including city codes pertaining to high weeds and a map of the parcel for reference. Once Fire Chief Fishback declares it is fire season, staff will follow up on these properties to verify they have been cut and open code cases for those that are not. Ideally, the goal is for all properties to be cut before the July 3rd Fireworks event every year.
Property owners are encouraged to stay in contact with the City regarding their weed abatement schedule once they receive a notice to avoid receiving a citation. Parcels that remain uncut after follow- up dates may receive administrative citations. Depending on City funds/budget, dangerous parcels may be abated and those costs will be charged to the property owner plus reinspection and administrative fees. Ultimately, the goal is to keep our City safe and for property owners to be responsible and cut/maintain their own properties to avoid creating a fire hazard. It is much less expensive for property owners to find/hire their own weed abatement contractor or to cut it themselves.
Mayor McLean reiterated that this program is not making the City any money- we just want to see the work get done.
April 22, 2024 City Council Meeting Minutes
b. Receive and provide direction on City Compensation Study proposals [Talibah Al-Rafiq, Accounting Services Il].
City Manager Simpson reminded Council of a previous meeting approving an RFP for a Citywide Compensation Study. Department heads reviewed the submitted proposals and narrowed them down to the three agencies presented tonight for Council consideration and possible approval. Accounting Services Ill, Talibah Al-Rafiq presented the bid selection process, evaluation requirements and results/recommendation to Council. She explained that price/cost, qualification/experience, approach/methodology, reputation/references, compliance/legal requirements and financial stability of the proposal agencies were considered. Gallagher and Regional Government Services received the highest scores with Auto Solve coming in third. Staff recommended awarding the contract to Gallagher (despite being the highest bidder) due to being a California agency, relevant experience, performance, client feedback, reputation and ethics scored higher than the other agencies. Regional Government Services also has only been in business for seven years, while Gallagher has 22 years of experience.
Auto Solve also presented having 25 years of experience, though this was an ethical issue as the experience they claimed was that of people they hired who had the experience prior to working for their agency, which is misleading. Financially, Gallagher was also superior to the other two. The proposal prices are considerably close and fair by comparison. References for Gallagher were far higher rated than the other agencies.
Council thanked Ms. Al-Rafiq for the information. Mayor McLean asked PW Supt Wilder if public works is paid in Jackson similar to Amador County. Wilder advised we do not and are the lowest paid around the County. Even Sutter Creek's part-time maintenance workers are being paid $20-21/hour.
Vice Mayor Simmons inquired how the benefits package compares and Wilder advised they are comparable to other agencies.
Motion to award the contract for a citywide compensation study to Gallagher, as recommended by staff and dated April 22, 2024. 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
c. Presentation and information on the planned expansion of Victory Village at 185 Placer Drive [Jason Mulford, Victory Village, Inc.]. Item moved to the next meeting as the presenter was
8. REGULAR MEETING ADJOURNMENT.
Mayor McLean adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m. to 6:30p.m. on May 13, 2024.
ATTEST:
5/28/24
Date Approved