Corey Middleton, Mayor
Paul McCoy, Mayor Pro tempore
Colleen Baker, Councilmember
Drake Davis, Councilmember
Duane Kegg, Councilmember
Jason Ledbetter, City Manager
Rhetta Hogan, Asst. City Manager
Emily Aldrich, Finance Director
Matthew Bray, Public Works Director
John Elsnab, Human Resources Director
Mark Gilman, Police Chief
Andrew Jared, City Attorney
Jerry Lemos, Fire Chief
Juliana Lucchesi, Community Dev. Director
Cyndy Prohaska, City Clerk
YREKA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING, DISCUSSION, AND Q&A Tuesday, February 27, 2024, at 5:30 PM
Yreka Community Center, 810 N. Oregon Street,
Yreka, CA 96097
Phone 530-841-2386, Facsimile 530-842-4836, email: [email protected] The full agenda packet can be found on the City’s website: www.ci.yreka.ca.us/AgendaCenter.
Regular Meetings of the Yreka City Council are held the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month.
This meeting is in-person only. There will be no live stream option.
1. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
2. SPECIAL PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION
City Manager and Fire Chief
The townhall style meeting will include a presentation and open discussion for the public with Yreka Fire Chief, Jerry Lemos and City Manager, Jason Ledbetter regarding current and future challenges facing the Yreka Fire Department and its volunteers. (refreshments will be provided)
3. PUBLIC COMMENT:
Public participation is limited to those items listed on the agenda.
If your comments do not concern an item listed on this Agenda, please address the City Council at the next regular meeting.
The City requests that persons addressing the City Council refrain from making personal, slanderous, profane, or disruptive remarks.
Councilmembers, when recognized by the Mayor, may ask questions of presenter but no action may be taken by the City Council during the public comment section of the meeting. Under the Brown Act, the City Council is prohibited from discussing or taking action on any item not listed on the posted agenda. • Please state your name for the record prior to providing your comments. • If you have documents to present, please provide a minimum of seven (7) copies. These become a public record.
• Please limit your remarks to five (5) minutes.
• Since Council is unable to take action on issues not on the agenda, your matter may be referred to staff for follow up or be placed on a future agenda.
Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
February 27, 2024 Page 1 of 22
4. ADJOURNMENT:
In compliance with the requirements of the Brown Act, notice of this meeting has been posted in a publicly accessible place, 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
Public Hearings: If you wish to challenge in court any of the matters on an agenda for which a public hearing is to be conducted, you may be limited to raising only those issues which you (or someone else) raised orally at the public hearing or in written correspondence received by the City at or before the hearing. Any person seeking to challenge a City Council decision made as a result of a proceeding in which by law a hearing is required to be given, evidence is required to be taken, and the discretion in the determination of facts is vested in the City Council, shall be required to commence that action 90 days following the date on which the decision becomes final as provided in Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6. Please refer to Code of Civil Procedure 1094.6 to determine how to calculate when a decision becomes “final.”
"CHALLENGING DECISIONS OF CITY ENTITIES The time limit within which to commence any lawsuit or legal challenge to any quasi-adjudicative decision made by the City of Yreka is governed by Section 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure, unless a shorter limitation period is specified by any other provision, including without limitation Government Code section 65009 applicable to many land use and zoning decisions, Government Code section 66499.37 applicable to the Subdivision Map Act, and Public Resources Code section 21167 applicable to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Under Section 1094.6, any lawsuit or legal challenge to any quasi-adjudicative decision made by the City must be filed no later than the 90th day following the date on which such decision becomes final. Any lawsuit or legal challenge, which is not filed within that 90-day period, will be barred. Government Code section 65009 and 66499.37, and Public Resources Code section 21167, impose shorter limitations periods and requirements, including timely service in addition to filing. If a person wishes to challenge the above actions in court, they may be limited to raising only those issues they or someone else raised at the meeting described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Yreka, at or prior to the meeting. In addition, judicial challenge may be limited or barred where the interested party has not sought and exhausted all available administrative remedies." The City of Yreka does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other legally protected classes in employment or provision of services. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, those requiring accommodations for this meeting should notify the City Clerk prior to the meeting at (530) 841-2386 or by notifying the Clerk at [email protected].
AFFIDAVIT OF NOTIFICATION AND POSTING
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SISKIYOU ) SS
CITY OF YREKA )
I, Cyndy Prohaska, City Clerk for the City of Yreka, hereby declare under penalty of perjury that a copy of the above Agenda of the Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Yreka, California, was delivered and/or notice by email not less than 24 hours, before the hour of 5:30 PM on February 27, 2024 to the members of the governing agency, and caused the agenda to be posted on the City’s website at www.ci.yreka.ca.us and posted at Yreka City Hall, 701 Fourth St., Yreka, California.
Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
February 27, 2024 Page 2 of 22
Yreka Fire Department:
Meeting Yreka’s Fire and Medical
Response Needs
City Council Meeting
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February 27, 2024 Page 3 of 22
2023
Preliminary Data
1st Responders – 22
21 volunteers plus
1 Chief
Number of Alarms -
1,915
71% were medical
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We can’t volunteer ourselves
out of the future
1990 Scenario: With 2,025
alarms, what it would look
like if there were still 41
volunteers as in 1990:
1990 – 3 alarms annually
per volunteer
2022 – 49 alarms annually
per volunteer
Hypothetical Scenario:
With 2,025 alarms, what it
would look like if we had
60 volunteers:
1990 – 2 alarms annually
per volunteer
2022 – 34 alarms annually
per volunteer
2022 Scenario: with 27 first responders and 2,025 alarms, there were 75 alarms annually per volunteer, or
Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
an alarm about every 4 days per volunteer!
February 27, 2024 Page 7 of 22
The truth is, for the YFD to be safe
and efficient on every call, we need
TWO responders per call.
• The analyses from the previous slides were presented on a calls (alarms) per volunteer. However, for safety, effectiveness, and efficiency, the YFD needs at least TWO responders per call/alarm:
With 2,025 alarms in 2022, to meet the “two responder” safety and efficiency requirement, each volunteer would need to respond:
With 41 volunteers (as in 1990), 98 alarms annually per volunteer With 60 volunteers (hypothetical), 68 alarms annually per volunteer With 27 volunteers (2022): 150 alarms per volunteer
The reality in 2023 with 22 First responders, to share the response load equitably would mean each volunteer would need to respond to 184 alarms! Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
February 27, 2024 Page 8 of 22
But the reality is much different
3.2 alarms per day (1,118)
2.7 alarms per day (952)
2.7 alarms per day (944)
1.9 alarms per day (659)
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February 27, 2024 Page 9 of 22
What has changed since 1990?
• AB 1127 became codified in January 2000. It eliminated many of the immunities from civil and criminal liabilities formerly granted to government employees in cases involving violations of workplace safety standards. Local government officials now can face individual fines, prison, and civil lawsuits if they fail to provide a safe workplace. • SB 1207 became law January 2001. For purposes of Labor law, it considers Volunteer Firefighters to be “employees.” Enforcement was postponed until 2004.
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February 27, 2024 Page 10 of 22
• Vehicles are far more complicated with multiple air bags, EV’s and hybrids, manufactured with more plastics
• Structures are built with many composites. Homes are filled with plastics and myriad chemicals that require special training
• Yreka population:
• 1960: 4,759 128 residents per first responder
• 1990: 6,948 169 residents per first responder
• 2020: 7,807 289 residents per first responder
What else has changed since 1990?
The hazards and risks of the job as
well as Yreka’s demographics.
Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
February 27, 2024 Page 11 of 22
In today’s world, what training is required to
become a first responder?
Training
Five Basic 1st Responder Needs/Functions
EMS (Emergency Medical Services): 24 hours
Structure Fire: 300 hours (Firefighter 1)
Wildland Fire: 120 hours
Driver/Operator: 104 hours plus DMV time
HazMat: 24 hours
YFD Recurring Training
30 hours mandatory, 30 hours additional
Wildland Fire Refresher Training 8 hours
Other Required Training
• Illness and injury prevention, Workplace
Violence Prevention, Fire prevention, fire
extinguishers, sexual harassment prevention,
ergonomics/repetitive motion
• PPE, Hearing protection, respiratory protection,
emergency management systems, National
Response Framework, etc
• Public Safety and CPR, AED, Bloodborne
pathogens, ICS, Electrical safety, Confined space
Two in/Two out Rule, etc
Total “other”: 93 hours
Over 550 hours of training are needed to safely
and effectively respond in this ever changing world.
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YPD S.O. CHP
YICC
(Non-LE)
Fire
Non-medical
YFD Automatic Aid
plus So. Yreka,
Montague, CalFire
YFD can Handle
YFD
Return to Station
NO
Mutual Aid
CalFIre, Montague
So. Yreka
Call to
911
YFD
Return to Station
Medical
Ambulance
Requested
Ambulance
Not Requested
YFD
Response
YFD
Response
YFD
Return to Station
YFD requests
Ambulance
YFD Assist YFD
Return to Station YFD Assist
YES
YFD can Handle
YFD
Return to Station
Yreka E911 Fire and Medical Call Process
Ambulance Only
(Rare occasions)
YFD Notifiied
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February 27, 2024 Page 14 of 22
Where is YFD Responding?
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Ley Station: Over 90 years old
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• 2 sink holes in recent history:
• Old mining shaft
• Broken water main
• No exhaust capture systems for apparatus
• Single pane windows: low energy efficiency
• No sprinkler system
• Insufficient equipment storage
• Minimal space for modern apparatus
• Typical life span for a fire station (essential services bldg.) 50 years
• Not ADA compliant
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