Orland City Council Minutes – July 18, 2023 1 | P a g e
MINUTES OF THE ORLAND CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING HELD JULY 18, 2023
CALL TO ORDER
Meeting called to order by Mayor Chris Dobbs at 6:00 PM.
ROLL CALL
Councilmembers present: Councilmembers John McDermott, Jeffrey Tolley, Matt Romano, Vice Mayor Bruce Roundy, Mayor
Chris Dobbs
Councilmembers absent: None
Staff present: City Manager Pete Carr; Director of Administrative Services Rebecca Pendergrass; City Clerk Jennifer
Schmitke; City Attorney Greg Einhorn; City
Engineer Paul Rabo; Police Chief Joe Vlach
Staff present online: Director of Public Works Ed Vonasek; Fire Chief Justin Chaney
Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilmember Tolley
CONSENT CALENDAR
A. Warrant List (payable obligations)
B. Approve City Council Minutes for July 5, 2023
C. Receive and file Arts Commission Minutes from June 21, 2023 D. Receive and file Economic Development Commission Minutes from May 9, 2023 E. Caltrans Maintenance Agreement (Interstate Beautification Project) Action: Councilmember Tolley moved, seconded by Councilmember McDermott, to approve the consent calendar as presented. Motion carried by a voice vote 5-0.
ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS
A. Quarterly Update: Orland Area Chamber of Commerce
Dee Dee Jackson, Orland Area Chamber of Commerce President, and board member Danielle Hernandez briefly updated Council on Chamber activities over the last few months sharing that there is a possibility of moving into the Glenn Grows building which will help cutdown costs, they have hired a bookkeeper, they are looking to add a treasurer to the board the Chamber and they laid off its only employee which is also helping cut down on costs. Ms. Jackson shared upcoming events that the Chamber is preparing for such as a new 8-week farmers market, the 2 nd annual rib cook-off and a Christmas Preview in the downtown area. Ms. Jackson explained that at this time the Chamber is not asking for additional funding. They would like to come back in a few months with more information about their possible building move.
Council members asked questions about the move to Glenn Grows building and about the farmers’ market and thanked the board members for bringing their quarterly report.
Item 4.B.
Orland City Council Minutes – July 18, 2023 2 | P a g e B. Hidden Treasures Request for Financial Support
City Manager Pete Carr introduced Valerie Johnson and briefly shared background information on Hidden Treasures explaining that Ms. Johnson is requesting financial assistance from the County of Glenn and $35,000 from City of Orland for unrestricted operational expenses for her spay/neuter/vaccination clinic. Mr. Carr reminded Council that the City annually pays Glenn County $55,000 for comprehensive animal control services in addition to reimbursing Burnham Veterinary Clinic directly for administering the City’s feral cat control program, and that the City waived Hidden Treasures’ Conditional Use Permit (CUP) fee in 2022.
Ms. Johnson, director of Hidden Treasures cat sanctuary and Jody Putnam, Hidden Treasures volunteer presented to Council the services Hidden Treasures has provided to the City/County over the last year. Ms. Johnson provided a monthly cost breakdown which is roughly $15,000 to keep the organization open. Ms. Johnson explained that Hidden Treasures has only been able to remain open due to generous private donations from Glenn County residents but shared that Ms. Putnam has been looking into grants for additional income.
Mayor Dobbs asked for clarification on how much Hidden Treasures is asking for from the County of Glenn and the Cities of Orland and Willows. Ms. Putnam shared that Hidden Treasures is asking the County for a low cost spay/neuter voucher program up to $25,000 for residents who cannot afford spay/neutering costs and qualify for the program. In addition to the voucher program Hidden Treasures is also asking for 10% of monthly operating cost which is around $17,000 a year. Ms. Putnam shared that the organization is asking the City for $35,000 because the operations are in Orland and stated that most cats coming in are from Orland.
Ms. Putnam spoke about the public health issues that come with the increasing number of stray cats/kittens such as tapeworm, ringworm, roundworm, cat scratch fever, respiratory issues, and rabies.
Mayor Dobbs asked City Manager Carr if he knew of any other cities that helped with similar programs or organizations. Mr. Carr cities generally do not pay for the service out of tax revenue funds. Mr. Dobbs shared that he spoke with Supervisor Carmon, and they discussed a possibility of collaboration between Willows, Orland, and the County. Mayor Dobbs shared that he appreciates the services the organization is providing the community of Orland but stated normally cities take care of water, sewer, trash, not animal services. Mayor Dobbs stated he would like to see what all three agencies come up with for support. Ms. Johnson liked Mayor Dobbs’ idea, stating it was very reasonable to see what all three agencies could do together.
Vice Mayor Roundy shared his support in working with the County and City of Willows to work on a plan to help provide support for Hidden Treasures.
Councilmember Romano asked questions about Hidden Treasures revenues and expenditures, discussed with Ms. Johnson and Ms. Putnam the growth/capacity of Hidden Treasures and what kind of solution the organization would need to continue their services.
Councilmember Tolley shared he is supportive of Hidden Treasures but stated that he is looking out for the citizens of Orland when it comes to approving the City spending taxpayers’ dollars.
Councilmember Tolley asked Hidden Treasures to look into cutting back expenses to help save money on operations and recommended that the organization look into getting more volunteers and donations.
Orland City Council Minutes – July 18, 2023 3 | P a g e Councilmember McDermott shared he is interested in the voucher program and stated he is thankful for what they do.
Councilmember Romano acknowledged there is a feral cat issue in Orland and expressed his concern about the issue of public safety and public health for residents. Councilmember Romano shared he is grateful for all the services Hidden Treasures is providing the community, he just wanted clarifications on how the City can help the organization long term.
Councilmember Romano asked the organization to come back to Council with accurate numbers showing what it takes to run the organization so that the Cities and County can come together to come up with a solution to help.
Mayor Dobbs clarified to Ms. Johnson and Ms. Putnam to bring information and numbers the organization would be asking for from the City for a short-term solution, once the City has the information they can then join with the County and City of Willows to work on a long-term solution.
Heather LeDonne, Hidden Treasure supporter shared her experiences with helping spay/neutering stray cats.
Susan Smith, Orland resident, asked about the environmental impact that come from feral cats.
C. City Council discussion and possible action to award a construction contract for the City of Orland Emergency Groundwater Resource Project – Phase 2B City Engineer Paul Rabo reminded Council that the City of Orland is working with State of California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to lay out, design, and construct improvements to the City’s water system. The primary goal for the project is to supply residents [with dry wells], inside and outside of City limits, with a safe and reliable source of drinking water. The proposed project improvements include a new municipal groundwater well, water storage tank, water mains, fire hydrants and residential water services.
The second portion of the project, which was advertised on June 13, 2023, is Phase 2B located west of interstate 5 and north of Newville Road. Mr. Rabo shared a copy of the project area map and explained that the project includes the installation of approximately 1.8 miles of water main, 29 water connections, fire hydrants and other water system appurtenances. The estimated construction cost of the project was $1,895,440.41, the lowest bid that was received was $1,392,691.00 and the highest bid that was received was $5,674,719.00.
Mr. Rabo shared that City staff evaluated all bids on July 11, 2023, and determined the lowest responsible bidder to be Visinoni Brothers, Inc. from Chico, with the low bid of $1,392,691.00.
Mr. Rabo stated that Visinoni Brothers, Inc has successfully completed the installation of other subdivisions in Orland such as Villa La Michele, Blair Estates and Linwood Park unit 2.
Councilmember McDermott asked if the City had received any bid protests. Mr. Rabo stated there was no protest on this bid packet. Councilmember McDermott asked City Manager Carr if the project comes under budget could the City extend the project into other areas of need in Orland. Mr. Carr shared that the possibility of adding additional water mains was not likely but adding people who are along the current water main extension route who are on the waiting list is a possibility.
Orland City Council Minutes – July 18, 2023 4 | P a g e Vice Mayor Roundy stated he was in favor of awarding Visinoni Brothers, Inc. the bid and thanked the City Engineer for all he is doing on the project.
Action: Vice Mayor Roundy moved, seconded by Councilmember Tolley, to approve the City Council awarding a construction contract for the City of Orland Emergency Groundwater Resource Project – Phase 2B project to Visinoni Brothers, Inc.; and to authorize the City Manager to execute the contract and all other documents necessary to complete the project.
Motion passed by a voice vote 5-0.
D. Contract Services for Infrastructure Grant Application City Manager Pete Carr recapped with Council that during the April 18th budget discussion meeting, City Staff and Council discussed how the City has been applying for multiple grants and has had impressive success in many departments, projects, and programs. Mr. Carr shared that the one area that the City has not found success in is with-in house efforts to obtain federal and state transportation infrastructure grant funding. Mr. Carr stated that these types of grants tend to be highly competitive and complex. Mr. Carr shared that currently the City could possibly apply for multiple grant sourcing under the 2023 Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant (MPDG). Benefit – Cost analysis has been a stumbling block for the City.
Mr. Carr reminded Council that they approved grant writing allocations in multiple departments budgets, and shared that if Council decided to, they could group all the allocations of $10,000 together to help hire qualified grant-writing organizations to help the City work on federal grants.
Mr. Carr stated that he contacted 3 CORE to help seek qualified grant-writing firms and they recommended two organizations. Mr. Carr briefly spoke about each organization 1.) Mark Thomas & Company, a consultancy that has worked on a lot of federal transportation grants (2 of which have been funded) and 2.) Morrison Company has done a lot of grants for local jurisdictions, but they have not done any federal transportation grants. Mark Thomas & Co’s bid was for $45k, Morrison Co bid was for $25-30k, and a third consultant was contacted by the City but they declined to submit a proposal.
Mr. Carr stated that staff recommends that the City apply for federal grant partnership with the City and Caltrans to fund the Orland Corridor Modernization Project which would include design/building for widening the Newville Road overpass at i-5, implementing traffic control measures at Newville/Ninth/Tehama, implementing the Walker Streetscapes Master plan and associated parts of the OJ500 Caltrans plan for 2025-2026.
Councilmember Romano shared that he researched both grant-writing organizations and stated he is leaning toward Mark Thomas & Company after seeing their work. Councilmember Romano stated the City can’t get the grants without a plan and hiring a professional grant writing service seems to be the step to help the City. Councilmember Romano asked if the additional freeway exit at 618/South Street could be included in the Orland Corridor Modernization project.
Councilmember McDermott asked if the City would own the rights to the grant application information that the organization provided to the City. City Attorney Greg Einhorn and Assistant City Manager Rebecca Pendergrass clarified that the City would own the product that the organization produced for the City. Councilmember McDermott stated the City will never get the money if they don’t apply and was in agreeance with Councilmember Romano that Mark Thomas & Company looked to be the best choice for the City of Orland.
Orland City Council Minutes – July 18, 2023 5 | P a g e Councilmember Tolley asked with all the studies going on, would the City have a higher probability of getting a grant. Mr. Carr shared that it is helpful. Councilmember Tolley shared he believes Mark Thomas & Company looks to be the best choice.
Mayor Dobbs asked what grant approval rates currently are. Mr. Carr shared that it is less than 10%.
Vice Mayor Roundy stated his support for hiring a professional grant-writing organization, sharing it would be a great investment for the City and money well spent.
Action: Councilmember Romano moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Roundy, to award a grantwriting proposal to Mark Thomas & Company and authorize the City Manager to execute it, or direct staff. Mr. Carr clarified that he would ask the consultant if the other intersection could be included. Motion passed by a voice vote 5-0.
ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None
CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS
Councilmember Romano:
• Attended two ambulance meetings (Westside Ambulance Co and Glenn County) and is currently gathering information, suggested adding EMS topic to a future agenda for Council to discuss numbers and funding;
• Asked about status of the Maverik off-ramp/intersection. Mr. Rabo shared that demo/construction is due to begin July 24th;
• Asked if Quiet Creek has provided a preliminary map, Mr. Rabo stated there must be a layout when the application is submitted and shared he knew there was some issues with the map that they were needing to correct.
Councilmember McDermott:
• Announced that the July 20th Planning Commission meeting has been cancelled; • Announced he will be absent at the August 1st Council meeting.
Councilmember Tolley:
• Nothing to Report.
Vice Mayor Roundy:
• Will be attending the Transportation and Transit meeting July 20th; • Attended the July Groundwater Sustainability agency meeting July 17th; • LAFCo’s July meeting has been cancelled.
Mayor Dobbs
• Nothing to Report.
MEETING ADJOURED AT 8:25 PM
Jennifer Schmitke, City Clerk Chris Dobbs, Mayor