City Council and Authorities Concurrent
June 7, 2022

2 History
• 2014: 50 acres sold to County for landfill
• Aug 29, 2017: “City Staff recommends to the Council that the Loyalton Property be deemed surplus and sold”.
“City would also be free of liability hazards caused by tresspassers.” Debi Davis continued item
• March 27, 2018 SVP again recommended selling Loyalton to build new SVP offices
• July 2019 New grazing contract for $43K but amended in October to $21.7K
• April 2020 Property assessed at $4.11 Million by Valbridge • August 17-19, 2020 : Loyalton Fire burned 90%
• Sept 8, 2020 Staff visits to assess damage. Structures completely destroyed
April 2020 Appraisal –b e f o r e fire
• Full Valbridge Property Advisors appr aisal report is in Coucil Packet • Appraised at $4.11 Million or $400.04/acre
• “Highest & Best Use - As Vacant : Grazing land”
• “the property was purchased in 1977 for $1,613,850 ($157/acre). ” • “The property was not physically inspected by the appraiser. ” “10,000 acres of rural acreage, much of which has limited accessibility” “The property has historically been used for seasonal grazeland… snow limits grazing during winter and into the early spring”
“Although Loyalton is the biggest community within Sierra County it has been called “the loneliest town in America” because visitors are few and far between. Despite the scenic views and pleasant small-town atmosphere, there is not much to attract tourism keeping the town much as it was 150 years ago:
small, quiet, and full of wildlife and natural beauty. ” 3 4
3 A terrible investment
• Purchased for $1.614 Million in 1977
• Valued before fire at $4.11 Million
• 5 year grazing lease in 2019 for $21,750/year
• Property Tax in 2019 was $13,497
• Staff time is 5% of FTE = approx. $7500 including benefits • $13,497 + 7500 =
$20,997
•
SVP estimates $24,000 aerial survey of fences + $20,000 demolition of st
ructures
• ===========================================
• Taking $1,613,815 into online inflation calculator  $7.053 Million in 2021 • City’s average return on investments is 1.49%, CalPERs return 6.5% • 0.0149 * $4.11M = $61,239, 0.065* $4.11M =
$267,150
Dixie Fire and Climate Change
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/16/dixie-fire-california-latest-wind-lightning CalFire: 8/16/2021
The Dixie Fire is now the second‐largest fire in California history. It has charred an area larger than the city of Los Angeles and destroyed at least 1,173 structures. 5 6