The Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council met on May 8, 2024, to discuss important community issues ahead of the upcoming fire season. Key topics included valuable insights from the Firesafe Council on wildfire preparedness tips. Sheriff Matt Kendall also addressed updates related to crime and cannabis laws. Additionally, the council deliberated on the status of the Faizan Gas Station permit, which remains pending as Caltrans and the County Department of Transportation review traffic study findings.
Emily Tecchio, County Coordinator the for the Mendocino Firesafe Council was this month’s guest speaker. The Firesafe Council offers programs and information on how to protect your home from fire, including community chipper days, assistance creating defensible space for seniors and disabled people, and road clearing. The website contains dozens of tabs with information on fuel reduction, home hardening, reflective address signs, and more. There is a program to certify neighborhoods as “firewise.” This involves getting neighbors together and forming a plan for what to do in case of fire, such as telephone tree notification to use during emergencies so that everyone can be safely evacuated, and keeping brush cleared from the roads. A firesafe group on Black Bart Trail has obtained grants for brush clearing and new signs. If a high percentage of neighborhoods become firewise certified, it may possibly prevent insurers from canceling policies.
MAC Member Deb Hughes asked if the Firesafe Council had a plan to eradicate Scotch Broom, an invasive plant that is highly flammable. Yes, the website has a tab with information on Broom and Gorse eradication.
MAC Member Patricia Ris-Yarbrough asked if the Firesafe Council will remove dead pine trees. The council will take down certain dead trees during road clearing, but they do not go on private property to remove dead trees.
MAC Member Chris Boyd, also on the board of the Redwood Valley-Calpella Fire Department, said the Fire Department is working on a draft budget. After last year’s optimism about possibly getting $250,000 in funds from Measure P, things have taken a grim turn. There is a ballot initiative coming in November called the Two Thirds Voter Approval for New or Increased Taxes, requiring a two-thirds vote for new taxes. If this passes, it will be retroactive back to 2022, cancelling out Measure P. This would negatively affect all county Fire Departments. So far the RVC Fire Department has received $80,000 from Measure P, which is being held until the election in November, in case the money needs to be returned. The County has not finished the financials for last year, and they will not know the amount of property taxes allocated to fire departments until the financials are finalized.
Hughes asked whether the county can protect the Measure P money already collected? First District Supervisor-Elect Madeline Cline responded that this is not possible, as state law preempts county law. In other words, counties cannot enact laws that conflict with state laws. Sheriff Matt Kendall concurred with Cline’s answer.
Gizmo Henderson, who works closely with the Firesafe Council, gave a presentation on preventing fires caused by dragging tire chains. Several huge fires in the state have been caused by sparks from dragging tire chains. 10 to 13% of fires are started by sparks from dragging chains. Henderson used a trailer hitch and safety chains to demonstrate how short the chains should actually be, and that they do not need to be crossed under the tow hitch. The bad state of our roads further exacerbates the problem because as the tires travel through potholes, the center of the road underneath the hitch is a shorter distance from the chains, and the chains are more likely to drag. California Vehicle Code Section 29004(c) states:
No more slack may be left in a safety chain, cable, or equivalent device than is necessary to permit proper turning. When a drawbar is used as the towing connection, the safety chain, cable, or equivalent device shall be connected to the towed and towing vehicle and to the drawbar so as to prevent the drawbar from dropping to the ground if the drawbar fails.”
This Vehicle Code section is not provided to purchasers at trailer dealerships, nor at Uhaul dealerships, where people new to towing need to know it. Dragging chains caused the 2022 fire on the northbound 101 Willits grade, less than a mile from Howard Forest 911 dispatch station.
After discussion, the MAC Members voted to send a letter composed by Henderson to Caltrans, the DMV, California Senator Mike McGuire, and the Insurance Commissioner, asking that state law requiring tow chain safety educational materials be given to purchasers and renters at trailer retail outlets. Henderson said, “California is the fifth largest economy in the world, don’t let the insurers leave this state.” Hughes suggested presenting this material to local insurance agents as well.
Sheriff Kendall reported on law enforcement matters. Three new patrol deputies and four correctional officers have been hired. There are more applicants in the pipeline. The jail behavioral health wing is under construction, and Kendall is hoping to keep costs down as the construction progresses. Kendall is working with Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal to staff this year’s cannabis task force.
The federal government is expected to change cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule III substance. Experts predict this will eventually lead to legal cannabis nationwide, and to interstate transport of cannabis, which is currently prohibited. When this occurs, the Emerald Triangle will most likely become a small niche market. Tobacco corporations are already planning massive grows. The only thing keeping cannabis expensive was the fact that it was illegal. It is easy to grow, and the price will plummet when it becomes legal nationwide. Kendall doesn’t expect that it will ever again be a big, profitable crop here, likening it to the end of alcohol prohibition, when large companies took over interstate alcohol distribution. Here is an article on the proposed DEA cannabis policies.
Fentanyl is the current problem. Years of illegal cannabis trafficking by, among others, Chinese and Bulgarian organized criminals, has created “a narcotics silk road, leading into Mendocino County. . . they have already got a network of trafficking to move drugs in, and now they’re bringing in fentanyl as a substitute for cannabis.” Kendall expects that the approach to combat fentanyl will be similar to the former campaign by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which led to mandatory sentences for drunk driving. A similar campaign will probably be used to combat fentanyl.
We asked the Sheriff if fentanyl is so deadly, why is there such a high demand? Aren’t the dealers killing their own customers? He replied that fentanyl is used to cut meth and heroin, as it is cheaper. Users develop a tolerance. Many of the deaths occur after users have been in jail for 90 days, and upon release, “they go out and find some fentanyl and use the same amount they used before, and now it kills them because their tolerance is lower.” There will a November ballot initiative called the Homeless Theft Reduction Act, which provides harsher penalties for shoplifting and narcotics sales. Arrestees would have a choice of either treatment or jail.
Native American California Assemblyman James C. Ramos has proposed AB 2138 regarding tribal policing. The bill would allow the tribes and tribal police to work with local non-native law enforcement. Because tribes are sovereign nations, under current law, tribal police are a separate entity from county law enforcement. Many tribes cannot afford their own police force. Kendall said, “Can you think of any sovereign nation that doesn’t have their own police officers?” If the new law passes, the tribes can work with local sheriffs. Madeline Cline asked whether local tribes have weighed in on this. Kendall said the Blue Lake, Hoopa and Klamath Tribes will start a pilot program to see how it works.
MAC Chair Dolly Riley reported on the Faizan gas station permit appeal that was heard at the May 7 Board of Supervisors meeting. In March and April, the Supervisors received two different traffic reports from Faizan’s consultant. The April study indicated a roughly 75% reduction in estimated traffic from the earlier study. The BOS questioned the methodology used to prepare these studies. The Supervisors voted to ask Caltrans and the County Department of Transportation to review these studies. After hearing from Caltrans and the DOT, the BOS will put Faizan’s application back on the agenda at a date uncertain. Riley pointed out that Caltrans had already reviewed Faizan’s traffic study report in 2022 and recommended that the project not be approved unless a center median on Highway 101 was installed. Riley sent another copy of the 2022 Caltrans letter to the Board of Supervisors as a reminder.
MAC Vice Chair Jini Reynolds said that the Laytonville MAC is reviewing Faizan’s real estate transaction at the former Geiger’s Market. Laytonville residents are concerned about the closure of the only supermarket in town and Faizan’s role in that.
Boyd commented that she would like to ask the Board of Supervisors to ban all new gas stations in the county. Other cities and counties in California have done this. There was a discussion of a possible California Senate Bill that would prevent cities and counties from banning new gas stations. Chair Dolly Riley said she would put this topic on the agenda for a future meeting. We researched this after the meeting and found a pending bill about gas stations, California Senate Bill 983, which calls for formation of a task force to make recommendations about adding alternative fuel and electric charging stations to existing gas stations, and to provide a report by January 1 2027. SB 983 is in the Suspense File, to be revisited after the California state budget has been approved.
Alternate MAC Member Marybeth Kelly reported on the Grange. The commercial kitchen project is continuing, with insulation added to the walls. The Grange scholarship program has issued three $500 scholarships to Ukiah High students. The Grange sponsors Meals on Wheels, an eyeglass donation program, a Flea Market every second Saturday, and the Little Free Library. The May 18 Grange meeting will be a Grange birthday celebration.
MAC Member Adam Gaska, who usually provides a detailed report on water matters, was absent.
The County Cannabis Department has issued a 648 page Draft EIR Report for Cannabis Cultivation in Mendocino County, applying the state CEQA requirements to cannabis grows in this county. There is a 45-day public comment period ending June 17.
Marybeth Kelly organized a community meeting on April 23 about possibly converting the abandoned Redwood Valley School campus into a community center. Please see MendoFever’s report on the April 23 meeting. The group will meet again on May 21 at the Grange at 6 PM. Kelly has been speaking to Ukiah city and school district officials, and community members, including an architect, who would like to help with this project. It will take a village to get this done. If you can help, please come to the meeting on May 21.
The MAC has openings for one Alternate Member and a contract secretary. If you are interested, please apply on the RV MAC website. The next meeting is on June 12. The MAC will not meet in July.
