In the recent Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council Meeting on February 14, 2024, 1st District Supervisor Glenn McGourty addressed key issues affecting the region, including PG&E’s decision on the Eel Russian Project Authority’s proposal and ballot errors. The MAC discussed various topics, such as cannabis issues, community initiatives, and infrastructure concerns, reflecting the challenges faced by the Redwood Valley community.
Supervisor Glenn McGourty began his status report by reading a transcript of his remarks from the February 6 Board of Supervisors meeting. This was about the PG&E decision not to include the proposal from the Eel Russian Project Authority in the utility’s next draft request to decommission the Potter Valley Project. The ERPA will require the aid of state and federal agencies in its efforts to take over the diversion facilities, and this creates more uncertainty around the timeline. (Here are links to two recent MendoFever.com articles for more information: PG&E Hesitation and A Significant Existential Threat).
McGourty attended the inauguration of Mike McGuire as President Pro Tempore of the California State Senate, and he hopes that McGuire will speak up for the rural North Coast, which often gets overlooked by Sacramento.
McGourty also addressed the ballot errors. Every registered voter in the county received a Republican ballot for the First District in the mail. This was due to an error by the subcontractor of the county’s main vendor for ballots. New ballots will be mailed to voters. Any erroneous ballots received by the County Registrar of Voters will be set aside and not counted. There is a bar code tracking system in place in case the wrong ballots are cast. Voters who inadvertently send in the wrong ballot will be contacted and given an opportunity to vote on the proper ballot. By the time you read this, you should have received the new ballot. Please contact the Mendocino County Registrar of Voters if you need more information.
Board Member Adam Gaska, who is also Board President of Redwood Valley County Water District and the agricultural representative on the Ukiah Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency, reported on the UVBGSA’s rate study. California is now monitoring groundwater. The local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies throughout the state will be funded by the taxpayers. It is expected that the fees in the Ukiah Valley Basin will be allotted approximately 1/3 to households and 2/3 to agriculture. Municipal water companies will be charged fees by the UVBGSA, and will pass these on to customers in the form of higher rates. Landowners with wells will see an additional property tax. The UVBGSA will hold another public meeting on March 13 at 293 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm to discuss the proposed fees.
Blue Zones Project representative Azucena Chavez was this month’s guest speaker. About 20 years ago, National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner studied communities around the world where people live longer, healthier lives, which he dubbed Blue Zones. It turns out there are several things that people in these far-flung communities all have in common: they move and walk more, they have a network of friends and family, their diet is mostly plant-based foods, and they participate in community activities. Adventist Health is the Blue Zones Project sponsor in Mendocino County. This is an effort to combat obesity, social isolation, and chronic disease, as a healthier population will have fewer health care costs. Communities with active Blue Zones are eligible for grants that support Blue Zones projects, such as funding for walking paths.
Board Member Chris Boyd reported on cannabis issues. She was a guest on KZYX program TKO on January 24, discussing zoning issues related to cannabis. A recording is available at the KZYX Jukebox. The Board then discussed a pending application at the Planning and Building Services Department for an administrative permit request for setback reduction for cannabis ag operation, submitted by Remi and Subida Zajac. Neighbor Shannon Montoya sought help from the MAC, as efforts to speak to the Zajacs have not solved the many nuisances Montoya lists, including fence line encroachment, well problems, animal waste, illegal camping by the Zajacs’ workers, and trash. These nuisances violate cannabis and other county ordinances. The Board voted to have Boyd draft a letter on behalf of the MAC, stating that the MAC’s position is that the Zajacs’ application not be approved. The Planning and Building web page has a place for people to comment by email. Online comments are public and visible to everyone.
Boyd, who is also on the Board of the Redwood Valley-Calpella Fire Department, reported that the fire department should be receiving about $250,000 from TOT (hotel) taxes and Measure P taxes. The emergency sirens that were tested last year are still not operational. There is one siren allotted to the RVC Fire Station, but the instructional messaging to the community and training of department personnel has not yet happened.
Board Chair Dolly Riley reported that the Community Action Plan Subcommittee succeeded in getting the Community Action Plan and Design Guidelines approved by the Board of Supervisors on February 6, but Planning and Building still needs to do their notifications. The CAP and Design Guidelines need to be available on the MAC website. The Board voted to hire Respect Tech for technical assistance with the MAC website for this limited purpose.
Vice Chair Jini Reynolds reported on the well-attended Grange Valentine’s Day event featuring a poetry reading, music, games, crafts, and food. The food was ordered from Pizza, Etc., a Redwood Valley business that has been hard hit by the construction closure of the Freeway 20 onramp. The Grange has scheduled First Thursday game nights, every month from 5 to 8 pm, and will rotate food purchase for game nights among Redwood Valley restaurants. There will be a St. Patrick’s Day Pancake Breakfast on March 17 at the Grange. This will be a fundraiser for the Grange, the Redwood Valley-Calpella Fire Department, and the Humane Society for Inland Mendocino County. Alternate Board Member Marybeth Kelly thanked Danny Pardini of DSP Construction for donating $3,000 worth of labor to install the new range hood in the commercial kitchen. An Easter Bake sale is also planned.
There were no bidders for the Redwood Valley School at the auction conducted by the Ukiah Unified School District. Redwood Valley citizens have long wished to turn this campus into a community center. Kelly announced that she will be driving the effort to do so. She has a meeting scheduled with Dr. Marvin Trotter, who was instrumental in forming the citizen group that created the Alex Rorabaugh Center, to pick his brain on how to go about this. Please reach out to Marybeth Kelly if you would like to be part of this effort.
PG&E won approval to increase rates by $30-$70 per month per though passage of California legislative bill AB 205. The rate increases are for use of the electric grid. New bill AB 1999, under review, would lower those rate increases to the $5 to $10 per month range. The Board voted that the MAC should send a letter in support of AB 1999. PG&E rate increases for use of the grid are a response to losing money from people who install solar panels to create their own electricity.
Kelly spoke about AT&T’s attempts to cease providing landline phone service. AT&T owns the lines, and they want to get this high-maintenance item off their books. This could hurt rural counties that depend on landlines, especially in areas with unreliable cell service. Kelly said law enforcement in rural areas estimates that if landlines are discontinued, requests from concerned relatives for welfare checks on remote rural residents may go through the roof, because people won’t be able to reach their loved ones.
There is an opening for one MAC Board Member and one Alternate Member, as Alternate Member Fran Laughton has resigned. Supervisor McGourty has been in touch with Deb Hughes, who was in attendance, about possibly joining the MAC Board. Hughes is a teacher at South Valley School. She previously taught science and gardening, and currently is an independent study teacher. She also owns a water trucking company, supplying water to the Forest Service during fire season. She plans to run for Ukiah Unified School Board when she retires from teaching. Ms. Hughes commented that serving on the MAC Board is more in-depth than she realized. Chair Riley said, “The MAC serves the purpose of communicating the desires of the citizens of the unincorporated areas to the county government, because the MAC Board is speaking with one voice for a lot of people.” MAC Board membership is a volunteer position, without pay.
Reynolds announced that the Fire Safe Council has grants available, ranging from $2000-$10,000 for neighborhoods that have a neighborhood Fire Safe Council in place. She believes there are some places in Redwood Valley that qualify.
Board Member Patricia Ris Yarborough made a public comment about the extreme speeds of traffic on West Road. The audience was in agreement, and there were comments about East Road speeding as well. CHP Sergeant Adam Garcia spoke at the November 2023 MAC meeting, where he said it might be possible to put radar trailers at spots around town. Currently only Eagle Peak Middle School has a radar trailer. Kelly will reach out to Sergeant Garcia for help on this.
The Humane Society for Inland Mendocino County will provide a guest speaker for the March meeting.
Well – I would describe both “articles” cited here: “PG&E Hesitation” and “A Significant Existential Threat” as thinly disguised opinion pieces rather than objective reporting. Why not eliminate the diversion tunnel along with both dams and let the flow of both streams return to near-natural condition? I have seen no objective consideration of this option.
Agreed. All I hear is “someone downstream will be heavily curtailed”
Maybe curtail the grape growers!? They’re building holding ponds left and right! I mean I know they pay taxes and all but….WINE!? C’mon! This isn’t food for the masses, it’s wine!!