Colleen Baker, Mayor
James Clair, Mayor Pro Tempore
Corey Middleton, Councilmember
Drake Davis, Councilmember
Paul McCoy, Councilmember
John Elsnab, Interim City Manager
Juliana Lucchesi, Asst. City Manager
Emily Aldrich, Finance Director
Matthew Bray, Public Works Director
Melissa Sandberg, Human Res. Director
Cyndy Prohaska, City Clerk
Mark Gilman, Police Chief
Jerry Lemos, Fire Chief
Andrew Jared, City Attorney
YREKA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
July 23, 2025
Open Session: 12:00 PM
Yreka City Council Chamber, 701 Fourth Street, Yreka, CA Phone 530-841-2386, Facsimile 530-842-4836, email: [email protected] Regular Meetings of the Yreka City Council are held the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month.
The full agenda packet can be found on the City’s website at www.yrekaca.gov/AgendaCenter. Copies of all staff reports and documents subject to disclosure that relate to any item of business referred to on the agenda are available for public inspection 72 hours before each regularly scheduled meeting, and 24 hours before each special meeting, at the City Clerk’s office at City Hall, located at 701 4th St, Yreka, California during normal business hours. Any writing that is subject to disclosure that relates to an agenda item for open session distributed less than 72 hours prior to the meeting will be available for public inspection at the City Clerk’s office during normal business hours.
Materials distributed to a majority of councilmembers less than 72 hours before a meeting will be available for public inspection on the City’s website at www.yrekaca.gov/AgendaCenter.
Please note the following change to the City’s public comment procedures: Unless a Councilmember is participating in the meeting remotely pursuant to Government Code section 54953(f), remote public comment will not be accepted. Public comment may be provided in-person or via email, as set forth below.
Members of the public desiring to provide comments as a part of the meeting are encouraged to either submit written comments by 3:00 p.m. to the City Clerk prior to the meeting or to attend the meeting in person." Written comments will be distributed to the Councilmembers but will not be read aloud at the meeting.
1. 12:00 PM CALL TO ORDER REGULAR SESSION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
2. 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.
This meeting is being livestreamed and can be viewed on Siskiyou Media Council’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzx2GSYFCrgE5przvnzitXQ Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
July 23, 2025
• Please speak into the microphone from the podium. The podium electronically adjusts up and down to accommodate speaker.
• Please state your name for the record prior to providing your comments. • Please address the Council as a whole.
• 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.
Public comment period is not intended to be a “Question and Answer” period or conversations with the Council or City staff.
3. CITY BUSINESS:
Assistant City Manager
a.Agenda Title: Discussion / Possible Action to an Award of Professional Services Agreement with Somach Simmons & Dunn for Legal Representation
Recommended City Council Action: (1) Motion to Authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with Somach Simmons & Dunn for legal services pending conflict waiver submissions; and (2) Motion to waive those conflicts which exist due to the dual representation or prior representation by SSD of Klamath Water Users Association, Tulelake Irrigation District, and County of Siskiyou, and that the City consents to SSD continuing its representation of Klamath Water Users Association, Tulelake Irrigation District, and County of Siskiyou.
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 Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
July 23, 2025
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 48 hours 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 12:00PM on July 22, 2025 to the members of the governing agency, and caused the agenda to be posted on the City’s website at www.yrekaca.gov and posted at Yreka City Hall, 701 Fourth St., Yreka, California.
/s/: Cyndy Prohaska
Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
July 23, 2025
Award Professional Services Agreement
with Somach Simmons & Dunn for
Legal Representation
To: City Council
From: Juliana Lucchesi, Assistant City Manager
Subject: Discussion and Possible Action related to an Award of Professional Services Agreement with Somach Simmons & Dunn for Legal Representation
Summary:
The City of Yreka receives their water supply from Fall Creek, a tributary to the Klamath River, in northern Siskiyou County. The City has retained the legal services of Gwyn-Muhr Tully, Esq. with Zanjero to assist the City in legal counsel related to City water rights. Since the City’s water supply is sourced within the Klamath Watershed which exists within both the State of California and the State of Oregon, the City considers issues in both states when analyzing future water issues.
Under the recommendation of Mr. Tully, it is recommended that the City of Yreka retain legal counsel that is licensed in the State of Oregon to ensure we comprehensively review potential water issues within that state.
Legal Firm Background:
Somach Simmons & Dunn provides a unique combination of experience in the fields of water, natural resources, environmental, public land, public agency, toxics and hazardous waste, and land development law. Somach Simmons & Dunn and its team of professionals have had the honor of serving an amazing client base on water, natural resources, and environmental law and policy across the western United States for more than 30 years. From its landmark work in the Klamath Basin, to representation of the State of Texas in interstate compact litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court, to enhancing economic vitality in California and throughout the western United States, the firm has remained at the forefront of its practice.
The City reached out to Somach Simmons & Dunn due to their involvement in the Klammath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) settlement, knowledge of the Klamath River Basin, and familiarity of the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) process. The knowledge of the settlement and understanding of the Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
July 23, 2025
hydrology of the Basin make Somach Simmons & Dunn uniquely qualified to represent the City as it continues to investigate and analyze the future of its water source. The firm’s knowledge of the FERC process is an additional advantage to the City of Yreka since the City’s water right is junior to that of PacifiCorp’s hydroelectric powerhouse which is governed by FERC.
Other Representation:
Somach Simmons & Dunn currently represent the Klamath Water Users Association, Tulelake Irrigation District, and the County of Siskiyou. City Staff do not feel the representation of these entities would not impact the scope of work proposed for Somach Simmons & Dunn for the City of Yreka.
Fiscal Impact:
The proposed work to be performed by Somach Simmons & Dunn would be funded through the City’s water enterprise account.
Recommended Motion:
1. Motion to authorize the Interim City Manager to enter into contract with Somach Simmons & Dunn for legal services pending conflict waiver submissions.
2. Motion to waive those conflict which exist due to the dual representation or prior representation by SSD of Klamath Water Users Association, Tulelake Irrigation District, and County of Siskiyou, and that the City consents to SSD continuing its representation of Klamath Water Users Association, Tulelake Irrigation District, and County of Siskiyou.
Yreka City Council Special Meeting Agenda
July 23, 2025