111 E. COMMERCIAL STREET
WILLITS, CALIFORNIA 95490
(707) 459-4601 TEL
(707) 459-1562 FAX
WILLITS
WILLITS CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES
WEDNESDAY MAY 22, 2024
Mayor Rodriguez called a regular meeting of the City Council to order at 6:30 p.m., in Council Chambers. The meeting was preceded by the pledge to the flag.
Roll Call: Councilmembers Madge Strong, Larry Stranske, Greta Kanne, Vice Mayor Gerardo Gonzalez and Mayor Saprina Rodriguez were present.
Also present were staff members: Brian Bender, City Manager; Jim Lance, City Attorney; Dusty Duley, Community Development Director; Manuel Orozco, Finance Director; Davey Bowles, Building Official, Walter Kolon, Services and Facilities Director; Leiloni Shine, Contract Planner; Chris Dewey, Interim Police Chief; and Delores Pedersen, City Clerk.
2. Public Communications
• None presented
3. Public Matters
a. Update from Third District County Supervisor John Haschak.
Supervisor Haschak reported the following:
The Mendocino County Library is finalizing a contract with an energy consulting firm.
The first project that will be completed will be to repair the roof. There are in hopes that this will be done this summer. After the roof is complete the next project is installation of solar panels.
• The Psychiatric hospital that will be built on Whitmore Lane in Ukiah has gone out for a Request for Proposals (RFP). The deadline for the RFP's is June 27". There are in hopes to break ground in early August, it is expected that the project will take fourteen months to complete. This project is funded with Measure B Funds. • The Board of Supervisors are currently working on balancing the Mendocino County Budget. This will be an item on the June 4th and 5' Board of Supervisors meeting. • The board approved the special assessment ballot that will go to residents of Sherwood Road. The assessment is to create space for emergency vehicle access for Willits Creek Trail. Residents will have until July 23d to vote on the assessment.
The assessment is $30.88 for developed property per year, and $1.39 for undeveloped property per year. Supervisor Haschak will be in Brooktrails on May 28th to do a presentation with the engineer that produced the report to explain to the residents about the assessment ballot. If the assessment passes it will be added to the resident's property taxes next year.
The Board of Supervisors gave approval for the Friends of the Mendocino County Museum to have the authority to make the decisions on changes that they feel need to be made to the Museum.
• The Great Redwood Trail Draft Master Plan is available for viewing and comments on their website, greatredwoodtrailplan.org. Public comments will close on June 3rd • Mayor Rodriguez inquired if there are any plans for a mental health facility in Willits, with Measure B Funds. Supervisor Haschak responded that there is no plan for a facility in Willits. The Mobile Outreach Program will continue in Willits. Mayor Rodriguez inquired if there will be any enhancement of services in the northern part of the county or will the services be staying strictly in Ukiah and on the coast? Supervisor Haschak responded that there are plans to get more services to the northern part of the county, stating that these would be great questions for the Measure B Advisory Board.
• Mendocino County had to borrow seven million dollars from Measure B to construct the behavioral health wing of the county jail. The Measure B Advisory Committee did not take action on the seven-million-dollar loan, this was a decision made by the Board of Supervisors. Councilmember Kanne requested if there could be Mobile Outreach with Willits Police to assist with mental health issues within the Willits city limits. Mr. Haschak will bring this up at the next Measure B meeting and he will also make the request to the Head of Behavioral Health.
b. Update from the Little Lake Fire District (written report).
Enactment of Ordinances
None presented
Consent Calendar
The following items) are recommended for approval or denial, as follows:
a. City Council Minutes:
i. May 8, 2024.
Public Comment: None presented.
Moved by Strong/Seconded by Kanne and carried unanimously to approve Consent Calendar items) (a).
6. Monthly Activity Reports
Matters that do not require action by the City Council but are of public interest. a. Building Activity Report - April 2024.
b. Business License Activity Report - April 2024.
7. Commissions, Agencies and Authorities
None presented.
8. City Manager Reports and Recommendations+
a. Adopt a Resolution Supporting the Willits Center for the Arts' Application to the 2024 Arts in California Parks Planning and Development Grant Application.
Public Comment: None presented.
Moved by Kanne/Seconded by Gonzalez and carried unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 2024-18 supporting the Willits Center for the Arts' application to the 2024 Arts in California Parks Planning and Development Grant application.
Wilits City Council Minutes of May 22, 2024 Page 2 of 8 b. Delegation of Authority to File and make Decisions on Applications for Disability Retirement.
Public Comment: None presented.
Moved by So. 2024eco to delegate authorily to rid and make ste ions on applications for disability retirement.
c. Verbal Reports - No Action.
i. Master Tax Sharing Agreement.
• City Manager Bender reported that the Tax Sharing Agreement was not ready to • City Manager Bender reported that PG&E will report their pending outage schedule later this week.
• Next week is Public Works appreciation week.
Public Comment: None presented.
9. Department Recommendations (Action Items)
a. Adopt a Resolution amending the City of Willits Conflict of Interest Code and rescind Resolution 2008-06.
Public Comment: None presented.
Moved by Gonzalez/Seconded by Kanne and carried unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 2024-20 adopting a new Conflict of Interest Code and rescind Resolution 2008-06.
b. Adopt a Resolution Authorizing a Contract Amendment to the LACO On-call Engineering Contract and the Supporting Budget Amendment of $200,000.
Public Comment: None presented.
Moved by Strong/Seconded by Gonzalez and carried unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 2024-21 to approve Amendment #1 to the On-Call Engineering Services Contract with LACO Associates including a sustaining budget increase of $200,000.
c. Discussion and Possible Action Including Approval of Resolution Adopting the Program Guidelines and Loan Program Application for the Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program and Authorizing the Community Development Department to Implement the Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program using Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) Funding to Help Preserve Housing Stock in the City of Willits.
Willits City Council Minutes of May 22, 2024 Page 3 of 8 • Dusty Duley, Community Development Director presented a Power Point presentation explaining the program.
Public Comment:
• Raghda Zachariah expressed her concern about the possible recipients having to have a lien filed against their home when they are approved for the loan program. • Sandy O'Ferrall, Grants Program Analyst for LACO Associates, wanted to clarify that the City of Willits entered into an agreement with Community Development Services (CDS) to secure the 2019, 2020 and 2021 funds, currently the city has $371,000 available. There was a five-year estimate of $553,857 but it is unknown what the funding availability will be for the 2022 and 2023 years. • Jeff Lucas of CDS responded to Ms. Zachariah's comments. The lien is a requirement from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, this is not something that can be waived
Moved by Kanne/Seconded by Stranske and carried unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 2024-22 authorizing the adoption of the program guidelines for the City of Willits PLHA Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program. d. Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Advertisement of the Steel Water Main Replacement Project with the Additive Alternate of Replacing Adjacent Sewer Mains for a Combined Project Cost of $1,227,955 (Project 2023-08).
• Walter Kolon, Services and Facilities Director reported that the combined Project Cost increased to $1,265,925 based on the engineer estimate that is in the packet.
The project is funded with Water and Wastewater Enterprise funds. Mr. Kolon reported that this project will be replacing the last steel water lines within the city and will help reduce the amount of brown water occurrences.
Public Comment:
Moved by Kanne/Seconded by Rodriguez and carried unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 2024-23 authorizing an amendment to the Steel Water Main Replacement Project (Project No. 2023-08) to include the additive alternate of replacing 1,482 linear feet of adjacent sewer mains for a combined project cost of $1,265,925.
e. Discussion to Revise Municipal Code Title 12, Chapter 12.16 Sidewalks, Curbs and Gutters-Construction and Repair, to add new regulations for sidewalk repair or replacement; revising the Municipal Code to include Chapter 12.17 Requiring Willits Property Owners to Inspect and Certify Sidewalks in the Public Right-of-Way at the Time of Property Transfer.
• Leiloni Shine, Contract Planner, presented a PowerPoint presentation on the prospective Sidewalk Ordinance policy revisions and details. Ms. Shine reports that the potential Municipal Code revisions that are included but not limited to:
Sidewalk Liability Ordinance.
Point of Sale Ordinance for sidewalk repairs.
General Sidewalk Repair and Maintenance requirement within the Municipal Code.
> Ms. Shine adds that in addition to these revision staff would also like to talk about establishing a Sidewalk Hardship repair program.
Willits City Council Minutes of May 22, 2024 Page 4 of 8 • Councilmember Kanne commented that she likes the idea of cost sharing as identified in the PowerPoint presentation but asked if Ms. Shine was suggesting that there would be some funding source that would be identified, or would funds be taken from the General Fund or other City Funds in order to offer loans to the community? Ms. Shine responded that discussions are continuing with the Finance Director if transportation funds could be utilized for sidewalk repairs. Finance Director Orozco added that he is looking into whether sidewalks are considered as part of the road. Councilmember Kanne expressed that she would rather transportation funds not be used for sidewalk repairs, she believes the community would rather see roads repaired before sidewalks.
• Councilmember Kanne stated that the suggested six-month fee waiver is not enough time, she requests that it be updated to twelve to eighteen months, this allows homeowners the time to have work done and have the benefit of the waived fees. • Councilmember Strong asked for clarification on the difference between homes that already have sidewalks and those that do not. If a resident lives at a home with no sidewalk, will they be required to have a sidewalk installed or could there be an option for them to contribute to a fund that could be targeted to locations with more pedestrian traffic and dangerous conditions. Ms. Shine responded that the city staff could explore creating a policy that would identify the areas, based on the location and whether sidewalks exist or not, there could be different criteria for what is required. The intent is not to have a potential home seller that is in an area with no sidewalk to put a sidewalk in front of their home when there is no other home with sidewalks. If the council would want to support additional funds for general sidewalk repairs for certain areas, those areas could be prioritized. Councilmember Strong also agrees with the need for the fee waiver time period to be longer than six months.
Councilmember Stranske stated that there are homeowners that are not aware that they are responsible for the sidewalks in front of their homes and feels this is a step in the right direction to make homeowners aware that they are responsible for the sidewalks. Mr. Stranske suggests that the policy reflects that when a homeowner sells their home the requirement is to install a sidewalk.
Mayor Rodriguez inquired if there are two permits required to have a sidewalk installed, an encroachment permit and construction permit? Davey Bowles, Building Official, responded that an encroachment permit is all that is required unless the sidewalk extends onto the property, that is when a building permit would be required Mayor Rodriguez inquired what is the homeowner's responsibility when it comes to trees that are not planted by them but were planted by the City, and the tree causes damage. What is the City's responsibility when the tree causes damage to the sidewalk. Ms. Shine responded that the tree being the responsibility of the homeowner is a State Code. The City could decide to take responsibility for city trees and splitting the cost could seem reasonable. Mayor Rodriguez also asked what if the homeowner does the sidewalk work and then decides to remove the tree due to the damage it had caused or would cause? Ms. Shine stated that the Urban Forest Ordinance addressed replanting requirements which has an appropriate species list. The list would be of the type of trees that would not lift the sidewalk in a year or cause other damage. A Tree Ordinance is where the city would be able to address tree removal and tree planting and having an arborist to identify the different issues that could occur with trees.
Mayor Rodriguez expressed concern over the fiscal impact of the ordinance. The proposed ordinance states that the city would have the right to recover from property owners or their insurance companies a portion of the claims for injuries resulting from unsafe sidewalk conditions. Mayor Rodriguez would like to see a policy in place, that if the homeowner cannot afford to repair the sidewalk in front of their home, in place that the City can get the repair taken care of before it increases the liability to Willits City Council Minutes of May 22, 2024 Page 5 of 8 the homeowner and the City with some type of small installment plan or something of that nature.
• Councilmember Gonzalez agrees with extending the fee waiver timeframe. Mr.
Gonzalez questioned that if we notify the homeowner of needed repairs to their sidewalk, does the city still have some amount of liability if someone gets hurt after the notice has been sent to the homeowner? Jim Lance, City Attorney responded that yes, the City does, based on the California Government Torte Liability Act creates liability for City's from dangerous conditions of public property. If there is a dangerous condition that is known or should be known by the City even if the homeowner is notified of needed repairs the City can count on being named in a claim if someone gets hurt tripping or falling on the unrepaired sidewalk.
Councilmember Kanne wanted to bring the attention to the community that the City is not trying to push off the liability of the sidewalks to individual property owners, that City liability is community liability. If the City is sued the community members are paying for that, taxpayers are paying for that, and insurance rates are going up.
This is an attempt to reduce liability for everyone.
• The following directions were given:
• Increase the Fee Waiver time frame to twenty-four months. • Insure coincides with the Uban Forestry Ordinance.
• A plan of exception as to identify which areas are rural that would pay into a sidewalk plan rather than being required to put a sidewalk in front of their home. The contributions to this plan would be used for potential loans to homeowners that cannot afford to repair the sidewalk in front of their home. • City Manager Bender added that based on the Sidewalk Assessment that is currently being done, the City can identify the areas where sidewalks are in severe state of repair, or it is not as needed because of the location of the home. This can help develop a criteria or conditions plan and if an area is designated as a high critical need there would then be a burden on the property owner. If it is in an area that does not add any connectivity value this would identify a lesser threshold for the property owner to make the improvements.
Public Comment: None presented.
10. Department Monthly Reports - (presented at the second meeting of each month. a. Airport.
City Manager Bender reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) dismissed one of the part sixteen complaints that was filed against the City. There has been a new tenant parking area set up at the airport.
b. Community Development.
Community Development Director, Dusty Duley added that the department will be making calls to Caltrans to get the downtown Willits signs installed.
Mayor Rodriguez inquired about the timeline for potential improvements of projects identified in the Clean California Grant? Mr. Duley responded that Priority Improvements are designing and construction of a 3200 square foot Pavilion in Bud Snider Park, rehabilitation of the existing bathrooms, getting scope of work from engineer that will be paid out of the Clean California Grant that was awarded to the City. Construction is projected to begin early next year. Other improvements include solar decorative streetlights along downtown Main Street, additional lighting in Babcock Park, banner with support poles at Oak and Main Streets. Design work for banner and streetlighting is currently underway with Tall Tree Engineering, there are hopes to get these done this year. Currently in the beginning stages of planning with Caltrans and Redwood Waste Solution to establish free dump days for the Willits City Council Minutes of May 22, 2024 Page 6 of 8 community, the plan is to offer this for the next three years. There is $10,000 to support the free dump days.
Councilmember Kanne inquired about Babcock Park fountain repair updates. Walter Kolon, Services and Facilities Director responded that fountain repairs are currently happening. The electric and epoxy sealant in the fountain is complete. There are plans to install a new pump this summer, as well as repainting and rehabbing the arch
Councilmember Strong inquired if there is any progress on Vacant Commercial Buildings, remediation of the Van Hotel? Mr. Duley responded that there is currently a registration program for owners to register their vacant building but many of them fail to do so. Forcing the City to have to file code enforcement on some of the vacant building owners. Many of the vacant commercial buildings are in such a state of disrepair that bringing in a business without the repairs being done, makes it that the city is unable to approve a business license for the location. Councilmember Strong inquired about the Van Hotel status. Mr. Duley responded that the owner was given two months to rectify the situation, and this has not happened, the City is now seeking legal options.
Mayor Rodriguez inquired if there was a proposed zoning change in the area of the Library, Recreation Grove Park and the Frontier Days Rodeo Grounds. Mr. Duley with the proposed zoning change ordinance there are no zoning changes in these areas of Commercial Street.
c. Finance.
Finance Director, Manuel Orozco reports that the FY Audit 21-22 is complete, it will be brought to council at the June 12' meeting.
d. Police Department. - Nothing more to report.
e. Services & Facilities.
Services and Facilities Director, Walter Kolon provided an update on the 2022/2023 Pavement Preservation Project. The project is running smoothly and is expected to be complete by the middle of July 2024.
• The 2023/2024 Pavement Preservation Project is currently out to bid and will be closing bids out and announcing the bid amounts on July 20, 2024, once approved will move forward with starting the project.
Services and Facility crews are currently doing tree trimming and beautification in town in time for the events that are coming up.
PG&E has submitted plans for installing sidewalks on Baechtel Rd, and East Hill Rd. f. Utilities.
City Manager Bender reported that the reservoirs are 100% full.
No action taken.
11. City Council Announcements, Communications and Reports Councilmember Kanne
• Transportation Committee - Meets May 23, 2024.
Measure K Committee - Meets May 28, 2024.
Have heard from a couple homeowners in the Haehl Creek Subdivision that are requesting a bench in the Haehl Creek Subdivision Park.
Councilmember Strong
• Economic Development & Financing Corporation (EDFC)
Receiving more loan applications from Businesses in Mendocino County.
Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority (MSWMA)
Willits City Council Minutes of May 22, 2024 Page 7 of 8 The May 30th special meeting will focus on hazardous waste issues. Review how program is going.
• Sonoma Clean Power - Meets on June 6th
Councilmember Stranske
• Water/Wastewater Committee - John Grahm gave a presentation on backflow devices and the purpose for them.
Councilmember Gonzalez
• Water/Wastewater Committee - John Grahm gave a presentation to the committee on Backflow testing. A Water Rights memo written by Andrew Ramos was presented to the committee. Wastewater Treatment Maintenance Building will be coming to council to get the bid approved.
Mayor Rodriguez
• Mendocino Transit Authority (MTA) - Director is stepping away at the end of term.
Willy West of Willits will be serving as new director.
Public Comment: None presented.
No action taken.
12. Good & Welfare
Councilmember Strong - Reported that her house mate, Mary Zellarchild is moving to Walnut Creek.
Vice Mayor Gonzalez- Graduation and the Sober Grad events will take place on June 6". The parade is optional.
Councilmember Kanne - Work being done on Padula's lot, grading and graveling to be used as a valet parking lot during the Car Show $2. Councilmember Kanne and her husband Chirs are Celebrating their 25 Wedding Anniversary tomorrow, May 23, 2024.
13. Closed Session Notice
None presented.
14. Adjournment
Mayor Rodriguez declared the meeting adjourned at 9:21 p.m.
Bast
SAPRINA RODRIGUEZ, Mayor
City Council for the City of Willits
ATTEST:
Delores Pederson
DELORES PEDERSEN
City Clerk
Willits City Council Minutes of May 22, 2024 Page 8 of 8