All right, good evening, Madam Mayor. It
is 6:30. If you'd like to get the
meeting started.
» Good evening. I'd like to call the
Waycross City Council meeting for August
18th
to order.
And Mayor Pro Tem Claire, will you
please lead us in the Pledge of
Allegiance?
» Pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.
>> Thank you.
Will the clerk please take the roll?
» Good evening, Waycross City Council.
Please let me know you are present by
saying I. Council member McCoy.
Council member Middleton.
>> I.
>> Council member Davis.
>> I.
>> Council member Claire.
>> I.
>> Council member Baker.
>> I.
>> Thank you.
Item three, approval of the agenda. What
are the wishes of the council?
» So moved.
>> I second.
>> I have a motion by Council member McCoy,
second by Council member Claire to
approve the agenda as
presented. All those in favor, please
signify by saying I.
>> I.
>> Oh, thank you.
Motion passes unanimously. Item number
four, presentations. We have two
presentations this evening. The first
one is our own resilience planner, Sarah
Chaffee, and she's going to be talking
to us about the green waste program,
um, a community engagement dashboard.
Good evening.
» Good evening, Council. My name is Sarah
Chaffee. I'm the Resilience Planner for
the City of Yreka,
um, and I'm here tonight to present a
community engagement dashboard for the
green waste program.
was launched in
the fall of 2024 with the support of a
Cal Fire grant for the Yreka Regional
Fuels Disposal and City Fuels Reduction
project, which utilizes an air curtain
burner to safely dispose of collected
hazardous vegetation fuel and woody
debris.
Uh, that fall we collected 27,000 cubic
feet of green waste over a period of six
drop-off dates.
Community members from all over Siskiyou
took part in the program, and to date we
have served 641 properties across
Siskiyou County.
To continue tracking data and to share
green waste program progress, we
developed the Yreka green waste
dashboard. This is an interactive
community engagement tool to help
visualize program data and findings.
As you can see on the dashboard, within
the City of Yreka alone, 168
participating properties are located in
very high fire hazard severity zones.
Our data also reveals that 97% of Yreka
parcels in the very high fire hazard
severity zones have not yet been treated
through the green waste program.
This data helps us know where exactly to
direct our defensible space and home
hardening outreach.
A spreadsheet of data is great for grant
reporting, but this dashboard helps
include our community and our
decision-makers.
The dashboard includes real-time
participation tracking. It measures
green waste intake in real time, which
is why we ask residents to fill out a
digital form at drop-off.
It allows us to visualize community
wildfire readiness by mapping drop-off locations against fire risk
layers.
We can deploy targeted outreach where
defensible space work is needed.
Uh it's also public engagement aspects
like being easily accessible and
mobile-friendly. Um so you can pull this
up on your cell phone as well.
Um and we hope it encourages our
community to participate in wildfire
resilience efforts to keep our
communities safe.
Uh the dashboard also helps track our
grant performance. Our initial goal, as
you can see in the upper right-hand
corner, depending on where you're
sitting, um
shows that our our goal was to treat 150
acres or 750 acres. Um 150 acres per
year, 750 acres in total. Um as of
today, we have already exceeded that
goal by 722 acres.
We estimate treated treated acreage by
We estimated this treated acreage by
overlaying green waste drop-off data
with parcel boundaries. While some
residents may clear a whole yard, others
may bring a single load of garden
cleanup. The spatial mapping gives us a
reliable estimate of the footprint that
is actively being treated. The goal of
this dashboard is to empower our
community to demonstrate that collective
fuels reduction efforts can make a
measurable impact. The dashboard will be live on the city
website, and I encourage you to explore
and interact with the data. Thank you.
Craig.
» Um the next presentation that we have
this evening is Lindsay Clevenger. She's
the executive director of Madrone
Hospice.
>> Good evening.
>> Hello. Good evening. Can you hear me,
okay?
I'm quite tall.
>> [laughter]
>> I can talk a little.
>> Hello, sir.
>> Hello, Craig.
I'm too tall for my own good, eh?
» You're perfect.
>> I made a little handout. Am I able to
hand that out?
>> Yeah.
>> Okay, perfect.
>> Sounds good.
Wonderful.
» So, my name's Lindsey Clevenger. I'm the
executive director of Madrone Hospice.
I'm here tonight with Sarah Kerr, and
she is the brains behind the senior
program down at the senior center.
Um I just wanted to talk to you a little
bit about the programs that we offer.
Um Madrone Hospice has been in
partnership with the city of Yreka, I
believe since 2009, well before my time.
Um we work hand in hand with the city of
Yreka. Um our programs are offered at
the community center down at 810 Oregon
Street. Um we are also funded by PSA2
and the Older Americans Act.
Um and we offered a a slew of really
wonderful programs to help the seniors
within our community.
Um one of them is our congregate meal
program. So, every day, Monday through
Friday, we have lunch for our seniors.
Um if you're over the age of 60, you are
welcome to come. Um lunch is from 12:00
until 12:45.
If anybody wanted to visit and you're
not are not over the age of 60, you can
also come. Um it's $6 a meal.
So, um yeah, we welcomed Will for lunch
the other day, and that was a wonderful
experience. So, thank you for joining
us. And um in the last year, we had over
7,500 meals that we served, and we
served that to almost 140 different
participants. And so, the participants
within our community really find value
within this program. It helps to get
people out of their homes.
Um it helps to provide community and
fellowship. And those that struggle
financially with meals, it helps in that
regard, as well.
Um, we also have a home delivered meals
program for those um, seniors that are
unable to leave their homes. And so we make meals at the senior center, we
package them up, and then we bring them
to seniors homes. We do that also Monday
through Friday. This last year we
provided almost 20,000 meals.
And so that is a very wonderful program
um,
as well.
We also have senior transportation. So
this is for our um, senior folks who are
unable to drive and they've got medical
appointments, they need to go to, you
know, the doctor's office, dentist, they
need to pick up groceries, errands, um,
so on and so forth. We are able to pick
them up at their homes, bring them to
their appointments, and then we bring
them back.
Um, that program we recently expanded,
so that's Monday through Friday 8:30
a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Um, this last year we
provided uh, little over 5,600 trips.
And so that has been really impactful to
a lot of seniors as well.
Um, another program we have is our
caregiver respite program. And this ties
in quite a bit um, with the Madrone
House, the hospice house. And so the
respite program is really wonderful um,
you know, when we have uh,
hospice patients at our home and they
have a full-time caregiver and the
caregiver is either having caregiver
burnout or fatigue or even, gosh, I'm
going to go out of town cuz I have a a
family's graduation or an event of
sorts. Um,
then we can provide respite at the
hospice house for 5 days. And so that is
a really wonderful um, way to give those
caregivers a bit of a break.
Um, and last year we provided about
2,600 hours of respite care um, the
Madrone house.
We also have a bit of an aside with that with the
respite program where we have volunteers
that can go into somebody's house and
provide respite. Say somebody a
full-time caregiver just needed to go
for the afternoon. And so we'll have a
volunteer go sit with that patient, that
person's loved one for the afternoon.
They're able to get out of the house, do
what they need to do, whatever that is,
or simply do what they prefer to do just
for a little bit of a break. And so
that's a really wonderful, you know,
deeply impactful program for a lot of
people as well.
In addition to those, we've got some
programs that help with our seniors
movement and activity.
I have not yet been, but we have a tai
chi class that I hear is fantastic.
Twice a week, that's on Tuesdays and
Fridays.
I've heard really wonderful things about
it. We have about 25 participants that,
you know,
love going. And so
I need to get around to going, but it's
I've heard I've heard good things about
it. Also, there's line dancing. So if
that's your thing, a lot of people love
that as well. And so both of those are
at the community center.
And like I said before, the city of
Warrenton so graciously lets us use that
community center and we are very very
grateful for that. Um
we also have the senior
resource directory, which we do every
year. I brought a couple copies.
And so this
resource directory is wonderful. We try
to pass it out throughout the county,
certainly throughout the city.
And it just provides resources
for all things related to seniors. So
whether it be doctor's offices,
transportation, meal delivery, anything
that you can think of, we try to keep it
in one spot so that if you're in need if
you've got a family member in need
somebody that you care about that you
have needs for
you can grab this and it's just a wealth
of information.
And so if anybody would like one I have
extra.
In addition to that we have an annual
senior fair and so we try to get
everybody.
In the community together in the county
together just in one spot generally
that's in May and we open that up in the
senior center as well or in the
community center rather
and that's just a place that if you have
questions or you're trying to find
resources
for somebody you know or for yourself
we're all in one spot so public health
the hospital
um.
You know
Madrone of course.
Anybody that you can think of is
generally there and that's just a really
fun fun way to get everything you need
information you need all in one spot and
so
that's a quick run through of the
programs that we offer and like I said
you know we have been in partnership
with the city of Yreka to provide those
programs since about 2009
and so we are forever grateful of that
you know with continued federal and
state. Cuts to our funding we are always
working on working through various
deficits to make sure these programs
don't go undisturbed
and so you know that's always a
challenge for us but we carry on
nonetheless
and so you know thank you for your
support and for supporting Madrone and
the seniors in our community it really
means a lot to us so
that's what I've got if anybody has any
questions I'm here for it.
» Thank you so much Lindsay that's great.
>> thank you.
» Item five on the agenda is public
comments. Public participation is
welcomed and invited at all city council
meetings. This time is set aside for
residents to address the city council on
matters listed on the consent agenda, as
well as other items not included on the
regular agenda. If your comments concern
an item noted on the regular agenda,
please address the council when that
item is open for public comment. The
city requests that persons addressing
the city council refrain from making
personal, slanderous, profane, or
disruptive remarks.
Please speak into the microphone from
the podium, and the podium
electronically adjust up and down to
accommodate the speaker.
Please address the council as a whole.
Please state your name for the record
prior to providing your comments, and
please limit your remarks to 5 minutes.
Do I have any public comment this
evening?
There's no public comment, so I'll move
along to the consent agenda. All matters
listed under the consent agenda are
considered routine and
non-controversial, and will be enacted
by one motion unless any member of the
council wishes to remove an item for
discussion.
>> Madam Mayor, there's an item on here
that I noticed that is
uh
from you and from Will Ibershoff, and I uh and I mentioned it to Will. I don't
know if you're speaking for yourself or
all of us. There's a letter to a
Honorable Monique Limón,
but in the past we have had
uh in my years on the council we have
had um
different we've had some people send
mayors on behalf of the council that the
council did not was not aware of, and
this is something that's new to me, I
don't know if this is um I'd like to
pull this off, and then we can maybe put
it on another
uh
have city clerk put it on another
uh agenda that we can talk about and
make sure that we're all there. I don't
know unless I missed a vote on it or
something uh because we don't typically
I can't speak for the council. I can't
sign a letter for the council. Typically
one person can't do that unless we've
agreed on that.
So,
>> May- Mayor, it's Will the city manager.
That letter has not gone out. The whole
idea was to see if council wished to
authorize it, so
we could either discuss it later, or we
could schedule for the September 1st
meeting. Purely up to you.
>> Okay, so um Council Member McCoy, you'd
like item E pulled from the consent
agenda.
>> Yeah, and and put on the September 1st
agenda. Would be wonderful.
>> Yeah, submit by August 26th to be
submitted
>> O- okay. Okay. But I'm it's not an emergency on my part
right now. Um I think
>> Okay, so we're going to pull that, and
we will discuss it after the consent
agenda is adopted. We'll bring this item
for discussion.
And you can make a motion to
um
move it to another meeting at that time.
All right. So, the consent agenda we um
item A through D, what are the wishes of
the council?
» It's Councilman Clary. I make a motion
to adopt the consent agenda items A
through D as in David
of the city council of the city of
Eureka as presented with those items.
>> Councilman Middleton, I'll second.
>> I have a motion from Council Member
Clary, second by Council Member
Middleton to approve the consent agenda
items A through D.
All those in favor, please signify by
saying I.
>> I.
>> Motion passes unanimously. Um item E um,
been pulled from the consent agenda. Mr.
McCoy.
» Yes.
>> So, what are your wishes regarding this
item?
>> to do that now, or you want to do it
after we finish other business? I wasn't
clear on that.
>> No, we'll discuss it now.
>> Um, I'd like to table it for the next
meeting. Um, I'm hearing from, uh, the
assistant city manager that it's due on
September 1st. Is there a reason why
it's just being brought to us now? Why
it's why it's so late in the month?
>> Sir, so give me a second. Um, so, uh,
Governor Newsom has issued a report
outlining several different wildfire
mitigation, um, initiatives, I guess is
a good way of putting it for the state
of California. A couple of those
initiatives, which are outlined in the
letter, um, would essentially limit the
city's ability to recover from any
wildfires that were started by utility
companies, and so they are accepting
comments to
>> Are you are you answering
I'm just asking the question. Is there a
reason why we're just getting it now,
why we didn't get it earlier? Why didn't
get it a meeting ago? That's that's all
I'm asking right now.
>> Oh, uh, so this is a drafted letter
based off of, um, essentially a public
push from the League of California
Cities, along with several other
governing bodies, and we got this on,
uh, Wednesday or Thursday, I believe, of
last week. So, we put it on your agenda
to consider signing on to the letter
issuing stating that it would be
detrimental to the city if these were to
take
>> I understand. I'm just asking for the
date right now. And the language that
came from Governor Governor Newsom's
office says that it is due on September
1st in the state capital.
>> No, it's due August 26th.
So, they they California League of
Cities
referred it to me. I can't remember it
was Wednesday afternoon or Thursday
morning of last week. And because the
language would severely limit our
recovery efforts
if a the local power company had a fire
that was caused by one of their lines.
>> I I understand that. I'm
My question is when did we get when did
we when did we find out about this? My
question is when is it due? And it
sounds like it's due
uh now.
Um I would like to ask that it be put on
for a special meeting we later this week
so that we can have an hour just just a
short meeting so we can go over it.
That's that's what I'd like to do. I'm
just asking for those two things.
>> Okay, sorry.
>> Why are we just getting it why we're
just getting it now? Why
you know
and expecting it to
I used to have a saying in my office
that in a
tardiness on some not on you guys but
tardiness on the state's part or
California League of California League
of Cities does not equate to an
emergency on our part. So and in the
past we have uh
we have signed off on things like this
and letters that have gone off
but um it's not been without uh we ran
in we ran a foul of some things where
a mayor at one point in time um
sent some things off, made comments,
spoke at places on behalf of the council
when the council did not
um
you know, we we it's not something we
discussed so I mean there's another
thing I guess there's another one and
that would be to take our mayor's name
off of it and send it from our city
manager
um
just because if you if that's if that if
urgency is of the essence.
>> Uh
I've spoken to the assistant city
manager about this and from what I
understand the legislation had not read
it all but the governor was moving
rather quickly with this so our response
had to be timely to it. I personally
believe that it would be detrimental to
the city if we did not oppose it. So
that I'm willing to just if if the
council's wishes
uh I'll just sign myself and and go that
route. We can do that, too.
>> Well, does it say it needs signatures
from council members or what?
>> No, it just adds more weight to the
letter if it's signed by the council has
basically approved it, but it it it
still would send a message that Wyreka
and
at least a hundred others are opposed to
it.
>> I mean, we support our city manager. We
would not have hired him if we didn't
support him.
Um I just I'm I'm I'm just um again kind
of confused and I'm a little bit gun-shy
after eight years on this council of
people making statements or sending
letters that uh
you know, we kind of approved and didn't
realize we were getting them. They were
like this and then later on it comes
back to haunt us.
So.
>> I'll open it up for council discussion
at this time.
Um
Mr. Davis, do you have any concerns that
you'd like to voice?
>> No, I'm good.
>> Okay.
Mr. Middleton.
» Um
I kind of echo um
Councilman McCoy's
statement of
having things come to us so late. I know
sometimes it's beyond our control, but
to have it in front of us without
discussion. Um
I mean, we can maybe open it for
discussion afterwards. I don't know if
we need a
um
have a special meeting, but if we can
maybe go to the end of our meeting um
after we discuss the other business and
bring it forward for discussion
more detail what it's about and
the procedure or hearing maybe from our
assistant manager city manager or will
our manager how we proceed, but to have
it kind of brought to us and then oh, we
need to have it right now. That's that
has been things in the past that we've
all I think have been
not happy about having the ball dropped
on us. So, um
that's my only opinion at this point.
Return to the clerk.
» Seems to me it's something that it's not
intentionally held from us. If it came
last week, that's what I'm gathering.
It's not like it came the week before we
had a meeting, so I'd be obviously
that'd be a different situation, but it
seemed like it came the end of
last week, and we're just now having the
first meeting with it, so
if everybody wants [snorts] to move it
to the end to talk about it, I'm fine
with that. If that's will of the council
to have Will only sign it, I'm fine with
that, too, but it sounds like it needs
to be resolved
preferably today. So, obviously it's
something that needs to be resolved, so
>> Thank you.
And um my experience is with the League
of Cities, they do notify us just a few
days before there's a cutoff
um date for a letter of response, and I
hope that all the city council members
are
um
What's the word I'm looking for?
Subscribed to the um
the Cal League of Cities um legislative
um
newsletters, and they and I remember
this this did just come out last
Wednesday, so um
I actually would just like to make the
motion
um that um this letter is signed by the
city manager.
» I'll second that motion.
>> Okay, so I have a motion on the floor
from Council Member Baker, second by
Council Member McCoy, um
to have um to authorize
Mr. Ibershoff, the city manager, to sign
this letter.
All those in favor, please signify by
saying I.
>> I.
>> Motion passes unanimously.
Okay, no public hearings, we're going on
to item eight, city business. Our chief
of police, come on down.
And this um um item is
um
authorization of contract award to
Motorola Solutions Incorporated for
body-worn camera systems.
Welcome.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor and councilmen.
Yes, so the recommended action is for a
motion authorize the city manager or his
designee to execute a contract for the
procurement of 17 police body-worn
cameras
and a cloud-based digital evidence
management system,
otherwise known as DEMS, with Motorola
Solutions.
Summary, the city of Yreka Police
Department seeks to procure a
comprehensive body-worn camera system
comprising of 17 police-grade
cameras and associated cloud-based video
storage and management services.
This procurement will enhance officer
accountability,
improve community trust,
ensure proper preservation of
evidentiary recordings, and support
compliance with California state law
requirements for law enforcement
body-worn camera programs.
The city of Yreka Police Department
received four proposals from Core Force,
Trust Technologies, Axon, and Motorola.
The project description,
there's three parts to it.
There was the hardware,
which is 17 new production model
police-grade body-worn cameras fully
configured and ready for field
deployment,
along with mounting hardware
compatible with standard duty uniforms
and tactical vests.
The cloud digital evidence management
system
is a cloud-based platform for
a minimum of 5 years providing video
storage, management, retention
[clears throat] scheduling,
audit logging,
role-based access controls,
and redaction tools to support
California legal compliance.
Training and support.
It's a comprehensive on-site or remote
training for all sworn officers and
system administrators, along with
ongoing technical support, hardware
warranty, and firmware/software
maintenance throughout the contract
term.
Our project timeline, RFQ was issued
June 5th of this year.
The quote deadline was July
6th, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.
We had an evaluation period at our
department from July 7th to the 20th,
and it went to council consideration
tonight.
If it is authorized, we have 30 days to
award the contract.
Environmental review, this procurement
is categoric categorically exempt from
environmental review under California
Environmental Quality Act or CEQA,
as it constitutes a project involving an
acquisition of existing equipment and
the provision of services that will not
result in direct or indirect physical
changes to the environment.
The total cost of this procurement will
be $77,723.20.
The initial equipment setup fee is
$52,114.40.
The annual cost for services will be
$6,840.
Cost will include hardware, the cameras
and accessories, initial cloud DMS
subscription, training, and technical
support
for 5 years.
Annual cloud DMS subscription fees and
optional extended warranty costs are
outlined separately and can be added at
any time.
Uh this procurement procurement will be
paid for by the SCORE grant,
which human resource director John
Elsnau
was able to obtain for our city.
And I would also for ending like to
thank
Juliana for all her help and Mr. Ebersol
for directing us.
That's
body cams important asset to our
department nowadays.
>> Thank you so much. So, I will open it up
for questions at this time from the
council members.
Council member Middleton.
>> No questions.
>> Council member Davis.
>> I have a couple.
>> Definitely.
>> Um
do we have body cameras now?
>> We do.
They are
PatrolEyes.
They're little, they're hard to
manipulate the buttons.
They break easy.
And our storage is the problem with
those. They go right into our computer
system, not in the cloud-based, so it
eats up all our storage.
>> So, you're proposing
what?
E-file.
>> Yes.
>> I'm looking at the solution.
>> Yes.
>> So, and it says it's a 5-year deal.
At the end of the 5 years, what happens?
» Probably have to go through it again or
upgrade.
>> I
think you said that with a 5-year on the
equipment.
You said Yeah, it has a
it's 5-year
life warranty.
>> Yeah, so Council member Davis, usually
what happens is at the end of the 5
years and I think there's a Motorola rep
here
um that could answer the question, but
it's my understanding that they offer
you
a renewal with newer cameras. But,
again, I I've only worked with Axon. I
haven't worked with Motorola, but I
assume they're similar.
>> Same same deal. So, we would be able to
offer you guys a renewal at that 5-year
mark and negotiate different things.
>> Okay.
Sounds like a good deal.
>> Thank you.
>> Councilmember McCoy.
Councilmember Claire.
So, Chief, I do have a question for you.
Um
Do you have um written departmental
policies and procedures regarding the
use of the body cams in place?
>> Yes, we do.
>> Okay.
Thank you so much.
All right. So, at this time I will open
this item up for public comment.
There's um no public comment. So, I'll
bring it back to the council for
consideration.
>> Uh this is Councilmember McCoy. I would
like to make the motion to authorize the
city manager or his designee to execute
a contract for procurement of 17 police
body-worn cameras and a cloud-based
digital evidence management system DEMS
with Motorola Solutions Incorporated.
>> This is Councilmember Claire. I second.
>> So, we have a motion from Councilmember
McCoy, second from Councilmember Claire
um to authorize the city manager
um to execute a contract for the
procurement of these body um worn
cameras and a cloud-based digital
evidence management system with Motorola
Solutions Incorporated. Will the clerk
please take a roll call vote?
>> All those in favor, please signify by
saying I. Councilmember McCoy.
>> I.
>> Councilmember Middleton. Councilmember
Davis.
>> I.
>> Councilmember Claire.
>> I.
>> Councilmember Baker.
>> I.
>> Thank you. The motion passes
unanimously.
Thank you.
>> Thank you very much.
» So, item um
8B on our agenda tonight is our planning
manager and this is the replacement
housing policy.
Welcome.
» Good evening, uh council members and
Madam Mayor. This is Alia Roca Lazra,
your planning manager.
The recommended action before you
tonight is to approve resolution
2026-28,
a resolution of the City Council of the
City of Eureka adopting a replacement
housing policy.
So, the purpose of this policy is really
to make sure that affordable housing in
the city is not lost through new housing
development.
And this is a policy uh that is state
mandated. It requires cities to
implement it. It applies when there is
any new development on a site within the
city's site inventory, which is uh
defined in the city's recently adopted
housing element. Cindy, would you please
um pull up the slide.
The site inventory is a listing of
sites, or in our case, we have one site
um that can accommodate the development
of the required number of affordable
units required by our regional housing
needs allocation, which was determined
by the state um the or the arena. Um
It also applies to
uh
developers seeking density bonuses um
for housing developments.
So, this is um
Exhibit B in the agenda. This is our
site inventory that this policy would
apply to. It's along Juniper Drive,
north of the um Juniper Apartments.
There are three criteria that would
trigger the policy for the sites.
Um so, if the site contains
deed-restricted affordable units, have
had such units demolished or vacated
within the last 5 years, or are actively
occupied by lower-income households,
those units would need to be replaced uh by the new developer and the new
housing development.
Um this policy satisfies the general
plan requirements, um specifically
mitigating the loss of affordable
housing units um on inventory sites.
The city shall immediately begin
implementing replacement housing where
applicable um and adopt a local policy,
which would be this policy.
This item is exempt from CEQA, the
California Environmental Quality Act.
Um and the recommended action before you
tonight is again approving resolution
2026-28,
a resolution of the City Council of the
City of Yreka adopting a replacement
housing policy in compliance with
California Government Code sections
65583.2
G3 and 65915 C3 and finding that the
activity is not subject to the
California Environmental Quality Act or
CEQA.
That concludes my presentation, but I
know that
might be a confusing policy, so I'm here
for any questions.
>> Thank you.
Um I'll start with um Council Member
Middleton, do you have any questions?
>> No.
>> Council Member Davis?
>> I guess I do have one.
Um that the Yreka flock the flower
and we explored that in that area, is it
not a factor cuz that is an endangered
species.
>> Um I'm actually
not sure about that question, but this
site was designated
as, you know, ready to be developed.
So, I would assume that that's not a
factor, but I I can confirm that with
you, know, following up.
>> Okay. Thank you. Appreciate that.
» Council member McCoy.
>> No, I just like to thank
Aliyah for her work, and I'd like to
commend our city manager, Mr. Ivershaw, for his forward thinking,
because housing is of the utmost
importance now in this community.
» Council member Claire.
>> Okay, I have no questions.
Thank you.
I'll open it up this item up for public
comment at this time.
There's no public comment, so I will
bring it back to the council. What are
the wishes of the council?
>> Council Middleton, I will make the
motion to approve resolution 2026-2028
of the city council of the city of
Eureka adopting a replacement housing
policy in compliance with the California
government code section 65
583-2G3
and 65915
C3 and finding the activity is not
subject to the California Environmental
Quality Act, also CEQA.
>> Council member McCoy will second that
motion of Council Middleton.
>> I have a motion from Council member
Middleton seconded by Council member
McCoy to approve resolution 2026-28.
Will the city clerk please take a roll
call vote?
All those in favor, please signify by
saying I. Council member McCoy.
>> I.
>> Council member Middleton. Council member
Davis.
>> I. Council member Claire?
Council member Baker?
>> I.
>> Thank you. The motion passes
unanimously.
» Thank you. We're going to um to move on
to item 8C. This is our assistant city
manager.
Um this is a general plan 2050 work plan
update and visioning workshop. Welcome.
>> Hello. Thank you, Mayor and Council. Um
whenever you're ready, Cindy.
Perfect.
» All right. Thank you, uh Mayor and city
council members. So, this, if you
remember, we are updating a general
plan. We've been doing that since 2022
and had some uh sideways action with
other projects. And so, now we are back
on to the project uh in full force. And
so, as you'll see from the first slide
we have here is we did a little bit of a
rebranding and a reframing for the time
frame of the general plan. Originally,
we had planned it for adoption in 2026
as a 20-year plan to 2046.
Um just decided to round it out to 2050.
Um we are projected right now uh to have
a document in front of you in 2027.
Do you remember what year I'm in? And uh
want to uh kind of cover some of the
work plan for the next couple months uh
among a couple of other items. Next
slide, please.
So, again, we'll review the work plan
through December cuz I know some of our
council members will not be continuing
with us, which is a little bit sad. But,
guess what? You get to be members of the
public now who still get input into this
plan. And so, whatever comes in front of
you in the next couple of months as
council members will still be available
for the future council to weigh in on.
So, I don't want you all to feel like
you're making or committing decisions
for a future council to make. And so
want to make sure you're still a part of
this progress as we move forward. So,
what to expect in the next couple of
months? We'll then go over our vision
and guiding principles that the city
council approved back in 2023.
Want to make sure that we're still on
course for the direction that you guys
are looking for that represents the the
residents of and businesses of Yreka and
some of those guiding principles and how
we plan to achieve that vision moving
forward. And again, all of this is very
flexible. This is the fun part of your
jobs and so we can change these up any way you guys
see fit tonight or in the future. And
then I'd like to get some public
feedback from all of you as well as
members of the public who are here with
us today on some of this information
just to make sure we're getting
everybody's voices communicated through
this plan and just a very big next step
at the end. So, next slide, please.
Next slide.
So, in August right now we're writing
the existing conditions report for the
general plan. So, thank you to Sarah
Chaffee for some of the sections of
that, but that's essentially going to
set the baseline for the city of Yreka.
So, we have that report projected to be
completed at the end of September as you
see here. Hopefully having a public
workshop the last week of September if
not the first week of October. And then
hopefully your second meeting this in
October we will bring the exist existing
conditions report to the city council
for review and comments. You know, your
thoughts, questions, you're not seeing
something or there's maybe a piece of
data that's really interesting to you
that we can kind of elaborate on for the
general plan. And then in October as as
I said before, we've got that we will
start on the land use and community
character element. So, we've expanded
the land use element to include
community character because we are now
required to have what are called
objective design requirements for
affordable housing projects
as well as some of the feedback that we
heard during the visioning process is a
lot of people do want to see a little
bit more of a consistent design style
for the city of Weed, and the input that
we're primarily getting is taking the
historic district architectural style,
so your interesting Victorians,
mid-century modern, and expanding those
into other design standards to keep
seeing that consistent architectural
style throughout the city with new
development. So, this is kind of a
technique to avoid some of those kind of
just block kind of
industrial-looking buildings, although
nothing is wrong with those buildings if
that's what you would like to see.
But, the feedback we're getting from the
general public is leaning more towards
requiring some more higher architectural
standards for some of our new
development. And so, we'll be working on
that in the land use and character
element, and then we will be completing
a draft of a proposed zoning code for
you. And so, one of the things we did
with this process is we're not only
updating the general plan, which is a
very big 20-year plan, which is very
hard for people to conceptualize
sometimes, we're also bringing you what
we call implementation documents. And
so, a zoning code is actually an
implementation document of your land use
element. It's taking your 20-year plan,
it's distilling it into actionable zones
and standards for development you want
to see, and it's pushing that towards
that 20-year plan. So, we're hoping with
both the 20-year outlook and how we plan
to tackle it today will help people kind
of conceptualize how this all comes
together and how we get to that 20-year
vision that we'll talk about here
shortly. Next slide, please.
And then in November, we will continue
to have city council and public
engagement on that land use element and
community character. The community
character aspect is the one we want to
make sure meets your needs and the
residents as well, because it's a very
new section for the city of Weed.
And then with the land use element, the
really important pieces that are coming
out of that is your your land use is
your zoning maps, your where you're
going to place things, and how are those
things going to be developed in a way
that meet your future goal. So, we are
planning to do public engagement of all
of the property owners. If you will
remember, that is a program in our
housing element that we wanted to
prioritize, which is making sure people
know, "Guess what? We're changing your
zoning to meet this new plan." We want
to give people time to understand what
is the proposed new zoning code that
we're looking at, what is the projected
zone for that property at this time, and
give property owners at least about 30
to 45 days to respond to those letters
and say, "Yep, I'm really in favor of
moving forward with this." or "No, I
don't like it for this reason." and then
that way we're able to work with
property owners as we move through this
rezoning process.
We will have a second letter that will
go out to property owners as part of
this process later, once you have
determined this is the direction we're
going. So, people will be thoroughly
notified this time around when we do
land use changes in zoning code changes.
And then in December, we will update
that land use and community character
element with your input that we get in
November, and then we will begin
drafting the circulation element, which
is your transportation
and utilities. Although, some of your
utilities will be pulled out in a
standalone element called public
facilities, which you have in your
current general plan. We will continue
that tradition of keeping your water
wastewater into public facilities, where
circulation will be primarily
transportation and telecommunications
focused. Next slide, please.
So, I want to take a moment to go back
over your vision and guiding principles,
and just kind of walk you through the
process that we took to get here, as
well as members of the public. Next
slide, please.
So, we really took a measured approach
for going through this visioning
process, because one of the really fun,
but also daunting things is you do not
have a vision statement for the city.
So, that's a very unique. Uh most cities
usually have a statement that's adopted
by the city council in their general
plan that says, "Who do you want to be
when you grow up?" Um you don't, which
gives us a lot of uh ability to kind of
move forward. You The world is your
oyster and options. Uh just one click,
please.
So, we took a three-stage approach, and
the first one was developing some
foundations. You know, what is
visioning? There was a lot of
apprehension at the beginning of this
process for people to participate. Um
because they really haven't been asked
to participate before. And so, we did a
number of different public engagement
strategies, workshops, surveying, focus
groups, interviews with people
throughout this process of developing
the vision to really kind of just get
people familiar with the process and and
make sure they're they feel heard during
this kind of, you know, really fun civic
process. Uh next click, please.
From the foundation of kind of exploring
values and what you could do, and some
of the questions we asked is, "What does
rural and small town mean for you?" We
then went through kind of that input
that we got, and we started exploring
what are those key themes and things
that really resonate with you as the
elected officials of this community. You
do get to make that choice for people in
the general public, but we did also do
some more focused um kind of meetings
related to what really felt good for
those residents and businesses
throughout the community.
And from there, a third and final click
for this slide.
Uh we went through and refined it. And
so, uh if you'll remember, we went
through the planning commission as well
as the city council to kind of talk
through some of the thematic areas, and
then we drafted a vision statement for
you guys to take a look at and to uh
alter as you see fit. And we will go to
the next slide, please.
So, this is some of the prime like
community feedback. I tried to find a
couple of different ones that really sum
it up for everyone, but we heard a lot
about social connection, community,
gathering of people, public events.
Um people were very focused on healthy
living and health care options within
the community, especially our younger
generation. Uh we did do a lot of
outreach to the Jackson Street School
during the visioning process, as well as
the Yreka Union School. Uh the high
school students participated quite a bit
um in this process, and health care was
a really big concern for them. You know,
it's a concern for them, for their
family members that they see aging and
having to move away for better care.
They see it as themselves. You know, we
do have a very large population um
within our community who live in a
household with someone who does have a
registered disability. So, I believe
we're sitting at about 34%, which is
higher than the state average. Um and so
it's really uh
an item that we heard a lot of. So,
again, you'll see the social connection.
And then finally, we we really did hear
a lot about the rich cultural heritage
of the region, and it's not just the
Gold Rush aspect of this community, but
it's also the natural landscapes that we
have here, the tribal heritage, the uh
Chinese immigrant heritage with some of
our architecture that we have here,
logging, and some items woven through
there. And so, we want to make sure as
we go through this process, we really
bring in that rich cultural heritage for
the community and celebrate it in the
different ways that it occurs throughout
this community, um and and see that
forward. That's a really great thing
that we've talked about in terms of
encouraging more cultural events, and
then also developing our recreation
economy, which we don't really have in
comparison to the rest of the county.
But we have a really great history that
we have to offer for people coming to
visit. Next slide, please.
So, from this, we got this statement.
So, we're really asking ourselves the
question of what future do you want to
create? And we came up with with this
paragraph right here, which is that the
city of Yreka is a resilient community
built on self-sufficiency and
opportunity. The city offers a way of
life that recognizes the area's distinct
history, cherishes cherishes social
engagement of the community, and
provides safe, healthy, and economically
secure community for the future. And so,
again, when we try to draft these
visioning statements, they are a bit
broader because really what we do is
this is 20 years out. So, every 5 years
we should really be looking at this and
looking at the actions that we're doing.
Our 2026 work plan is a really good
example of like these are the priorities
based off of this future we want to
create. And so, we'll we'll talk about
this a little bit and see if this still
resonates with you all.
And so, I'm going to stop us here just
to kind of do some initial kind of
feedback from the council
before we move on to the guiding
principles.
» Anybody have any feedback?
Questions?
» Okay.
>> We're very quiet this evening.
>> It's okay.
>> And
it's because we don't have a um
What is it that you called it?
We don't have a vision statement yet.
>> Yeah.
So, we don't really know who we
are.
>> Yeah.
>> So.
>> We'll figure it out.
>> Yes.
>> It's okay. It's a great place to be.
Opportunities are endless. And I And I
think it's a really good point. It's something to really call out about,
you know, when you sit there and you
envision a city that you've gone to that
really is
you know, close to your heart. It's a
place that you've enjoyed. It's a place
that you want to go back to. And you
just think about the different aspects
of that community and what makes it
really, really special. And I guarantee
you that a lot of those communities have
had very deliberate planning to make you
feel that way. You know, the city of
Reading is not a car paradise because it
just happened that way. You know, they
prioritized that type of development.
You know, it's very car-centric and not
my particular cup of tea, but for some
people they love it. They love that
aspect of it. And that's okay. And I
think that's really like the the thing I
want to get through to everybody about
this process is we're going to be making
some choices as we move forward and that
those choices are really unique to you
and they don't have to be another city's
choices. And so you don't have to be
Mount Shasta, you don't have to be
Medford, Central Point. You can be
Yreka. And that's what we're trying to
find out here in this process together.
All right.
So,
next slide, please.
What are those core values or priorities
for the commit community? And so these
all kind of feed in a little bit to that
vision statement and really kind of go
to it. So when we start looking at, you
know, zoning code updates or municipal
code updates or public infrastructure
projects or where should we spend our
money to, you know, invest in the
economy, these are some of the guiding
principles we'll come back to and answer
as as we move through that process. And
so the first four here, there are seven
total and it's okay to have a little bit
more than, you know, the visioning
statement. So the the ones that I've
summarized here for you is health and
safety. People really value a healthy
and safe community and that's by
connecting people to outdoor recreation.
That's making sure our streetlights are
lighting properly. People feel safe
going home from school or going to
school and making sure when we're doing
infrastructure projects, especially
streetscape projects, that we're really
looking at it from the lens of overall
health and safety of the people using
those spaces. The next one is locally
fed. This is a really big thing that
people brought up is that they really
attribute the city of Yreka to an
agricultural community, but yet we have
no agriculture, um which is really
fascinating to me. And so one of the
guiding principles is supporting
small-scale to large-scale agriculture
as we move forward in the next 20 years,
which again goes into that healthy
lifestyle, access to good food options.
And so, for example, this type of
guiding principle means that in the
zoning code, we allow more zoning for
certain ag uses.
Um for example, our residential
agriculture zoning designation has no
agriculture in it.
So, we're adding agriculture back as an
option to again give people the option
to be able to feed themselves, to feed
their neighbors, or even feed other
communities outside of our city,
developing an economy around that. And
so, that is one of the guiding
principles we have proposed for you so
far. The rooted in story is really going
back to that cultural heritage. How are
we bringing in different aspects of our
cultural heritage into future
development projects? How are we
remembering people and events? You know,
how are we making sure that people come
back to this community and go, "That's
my grandfather." or "That's my
great-great-grandmother's storefront."
You know, we want people in your family
coming back, Council member
Drake Davis, to your old shop and being
able to point to that building and go,
"This is where I had my shop for all
these years." And that really
brings you into the community a lot
more. And so, we want to make sure when
we're planning these things out that
we're bringing that cultural kind of
almost a little bit of nostalgia into it
and making sure that we're remembering
things that we want to remember there.
Fiscally sound is just something that
has been talked about at this council
that we've worked really hard on the
last couple years, but it's something we
always have to keep in mind is that if
we're not being responsible stewards to
our financial future, we don't really
have a lot of resources to use to see us
forward. And the fiscally sound guiding
principle also goes into how are we
doing our fee schedules, how are we
looking at the affordability of living
here within the city? Because if the
city is fiscally sound, but our
residents are not, that's going to
resonate back to the city. You know,
we're only as powerful as the businesses
and residents that we have within our
community, and being fiscally sound
means bringing them into this as well.
Next slide, please.
The final three is we have flexible by
design. This is something we heard from
our development community. We heard this
during our housing element update. The
more options people have to move their
project forward, the better. And we want
to make sure when we're developing codes
and we're developing policies, that
we're thinking about all users and we're
thinking about all different types of
businesses, and we're making sure that
our regulations give them the option to
do what they would like to do. And so,
one of the examples of these within the
objective design standards is although
we want to prioritize historic
architectural styles, we're not saying
no to other styles. We're just saying,
"Hey, this is our preference, but if you
want to do what you want to do, here's a
process for you." So, we're making sure
that we're not shutting the door
completely on everyone, but we're making
sure that it's very clear moving forward
that this is what we would prefer.
And so, we're making sure that we're
doing that all throughout this document,
all throughout our code updates is
making sure things are flexible for
people. The Outdoors for All is a very
important thing. You live in a very
beautiful part of California. You have
great air quality when things are not on
fire. You have great water quality. And
so, one of the guiding principles is to
ensure access to outdoor recreation for
all different types of people, all
different ages. Um one of the things
since I've been here since 2021 is, you
know, we don't really have a parks
department. You don't really have rec
leagues here. Like, how do we make that
happen for people to have more of these
organic ways to connect with each other
through physical fitness, through
enjoyment of bird watching if you're
into that. Um I have a gold-bellied
grosbeak in my yard right now.
Um so, outdoors are for everybody and
it's a guiding principle we want to see
go forward. And finally, we want to be a center for well-being and this goes
back to your healthcare option. And so,
we've drafted this guiding principle as
a as a greater thing than just the
health of our community, but building an
entire economy around it. And so, a
really good example city that has
centered well-being in their planning
documents is Loma Linda, California. And
so, they are one of the few places in
the world that's called a blue zone
where people statistically live over 100
years old more often than anywhere else
in in the globe. And so, they've really
centered on very accessible outdoor
recreation, accessible clinics, favoring
more uh different types of healthcare
within the community. I like to point
out to people there is no um dialysis
center in Siskiyou County. You have to
drive to Redding or Medford for that
service and if you know anyone who has
to go through dialysis, you're usually
going through it multiple days a week.
And that's a lot to ask of our our
residents who are already going through
a health issue and are having to spend
an exorbitant amount of money of travel
to go to that service. And so, this
really centers on how do we be that
center for our residents? We want to
make sure that if something goes wrong
with your health, that you are 10
minutes away from a service that can
save your life. And that's a really
important aspect that we're bringing
forward. So, that is the end of my
presentation. Really at this point, it
is a time to listen to public comments
that we get tonight, listen to your
comments as we move forward. So, I'm
going to probably just sit in the back
and just take notes or probably sit here
right at a chair and just take notes on
what everybody's thinking on those.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you. And Cindy,
if you could go to the next slide,
please.
» Okay, so at this point in time I'm going
to open this up for public comment.
Do we have any public comment?
Okay, I'm going to bring it back to the
council for comments and um
discussion and um
Am I correct that this is not an action
item? This is just to receive input?
>> Yes, it's just it's just getting your
input. Really it was going to be an
action item at your next meeting. If you
hated all of it and I need to rewrite
all of it, which is fine. I can do that.
But yeah, just open input Harvey you'd
like to go from here.
>> Okay.
Councilmember Middleton.
» [clears throat]
>> We'll start with you.
>> with me?
That's what I'm saying.
>> That's but I think
I don't know, I think
with the workshops and then I think by
voice
I think we're on track with the vision
and I
don't see any changes. I mean
of course housing and of course I think
one of the major
things I like to see in will be after my
tenure here is that
just really revitalizing our downtown
like
that's the core of many
Gold Rush era towns of having you know,
the quaintness of that downtown area. It
just seems like ours is um lacking some
um
businesses, commerce or you know, just
um
revitalizing it. Of course you know, to
whether it be urban infills above the
some of the places or um
uh
some paint. I don't know. Just making it
really stand out for it is welcome to
not only our citizens but also people
who are traveling in to visit
or stay here, you know, we want to get
them back there. And um
so that's
one of my main things I would like to
see is Miner Street really and Broadway
or that whole core just really thrive.
Cuz you go to Placerville or, you know,
Auburn or any of those towns uh
like Grass Valley and they have quaint
towns and they're just vibrant and
they're just
alive and I like to see that our downtown.
>> Thank you. Yeah, if you do have cities
that you can think of that really
resonate with you, that's really helpful
for me, too, and I can take a look at
their programming around that. Thank
you.
That's what I have for now.
>> It's coming to my mind.
>> Thank you.
» [laughter]
>> Uh-huh.
>> Council member Davis?
» Um Juliana, you mentioned something
about agriculture that we didn't have
agriculture.
Um
in the surrounding areas
we have substantial agriculture, you
know, in Scott Valley and Shasta Valley.
They have quite a bit of farming and
there's ranching and cattle ranching.
Um it seems to me like
to have it directly in Yreka would be
almost impossible because of the
size of the city, but we do have it in
the surrounding areas.
That uh
and maybe maybe I missed your point.
That's probably what happened, but
there there is such stuff in in town. We have a tremendous amount of
parks, you know, Greenhorn Park.
The only other one I know of that's
close is uh up in Ashland, you know.
They They have great park, but this
Green Run park is totally
you know, it's great.
Um and we we spend a lot of time there.
I mean, I do.
I know.
And I enjoy every minute of it.
So, there there are things that are in
our community
that are um
kind of would lead to make those
statements possible, I believe.
Um
I think
I didn't write one down.
So,
I will maybe catch it later on.
>> Okay. Yeah. And my next slide is
essentially if anyone would like to give
additional input, there are several
different ways to do that, and I'm happy
to meet with all of you and have that
conversation.
>> Thank you.
Councilmember McEvoy.
>> Yeah, I think you've done I think you've
done a very good job with this. I
appreciate that I can think back to the
meetings that we were all having up at
the community center different things.
As I look at it, you you you mentioned
parks. I think we did away with parks
back in 1990-91. So, it's been like 35
years since they fired Dean. I can't
think of his last Dean Foss.
Since they fired him and and and the
city manager and council did away with
it. Um I mean, I look at um
I I I I wrote, "Do we need a parks and
rec department?" I think we do. The
problem is where does the money come
from? So, that leads me to something
else, and that is that we need to build
our tax base. We have the the our our
community has so graciously approved a
1% sales tax so that we can put in a 30
uh million-dollar fire hall, uh build a
new one that for our old one that is
over 90 years old, and then we can hire
six full-time firemen, but we needed we
need to
cultivate we need to cultivate for our
new pool
both for local I don't think you're
going to get two tourists to use it, but
you're going to get locals that are
going to use that that pool similar to
the one
in Bernie which is used all the time and
I don't think Bernie is as large as we
are. But we have to build a tax base for
that and I think we have that building a
tax base means we have to entice people
off the interstate. I've always said
I've lived here 40 years and I always
thought
I'd look in Sunset magazine and go man I
can go to Ashland and I can you know
I can spend the weekend and I can hike
here and go to this bed and breakfast. I
mean I think there are package deals
that if we have people that are
interested in in settling here and doing
businesses they can do that. So I mean
to me that and that's a no-brainer. I
mean being able to fish on the Scott in 45
minutes, being able to kayak you know
from the Swallows down to rope swing and on down that way. I mean just all
that stuff is wonderful going over to to
the valley and being on the Pacific
Crest Trail and again in 45 minutes.
And I think part of what we have to do
is we have to encourage people off not
only from minor but both ends and that
means developing the north end of town
which I know that the council and
previous city managers have talked about
and it looks like a lot of that property
is being broken up which is good which
will allow us maybe a little more
flexibility when people want to come in.
But all of that contributes to the tax
base because when a business goes in
that tax money's coming directly into the coffers of the city and then
it's paying for
whatever sorts of things we need and so
I mean it pays for parks and rec. I
understand that you know but then we can
also keep our parks up a little more and
we can you know we can modernize them.
We can do that kind of stuff. So but we
need to market our lives our life
lifestyle to visitors and we need to
market it to in in invite businesses in
to invest. So, and I know that's
something again that that our city
manager Will is very acutely aware of
cuz we we've had break we've had talks
about it about every Friday. But also I
know that he's acutely aware that we in
order for us to do that we've got to
have the housing.
>> Mhm.
>> So, that goes to, you know, part of your
design and that kind of thing. I mean,
if you look at if you look at Solvang,
if you look at Leavenworth, you know,
they've got their design, you know, for
businesses because they're
look more like what Swedish or something
like that. I don't you know, or Danish.
You know, and no, we don't want to go
there, but having I mean, we have
beautiful craftsman houses here. We have
beautiful houses on 3rd Street. You
know, provided that we can kind of keep
it going that way historically. Um
actual factual I said it is very good. I
mean, you look at the what the
stonemasons did in the the Italian
stonemasons in McCloud and what they did
in Weed and it's, you know, it's it's
art. So, those are just things that come
to mind for me that that I would
continue to work on.
But I would agree, I don't know if I'm
agreeing with you cuz I don't know how
you feel, but I really would love to see
a parks and rec department, but we have
to have extra money coming. We can't do
it on what we have now. Thank you.
» Councilmember Clark.
>> Uh appreciate all the work you're doing
cuz I can only imagine this is probably
a lot. So, it's so far I'm I'm I'm
agreeing. So, I think it looks good. I
think I have a couple of small things,
but I'll just go to you one-on-one so
it's not important at all in front of
everybody. It's just more for me, but I
think it looks good and it's going in a
good direction.
>> Okay.
>> Thank you.
>> Thanks.
I You know what I think is so
interesting about the city of Yreka?
There are a lot of things, but um I
actually did um some research on the
name of the city and how it came about.
And um there is no clear-cut
definition over what the city what what
Yreka means. And I think that that is
interesting in that it plays into we
don't have a vision statement. So, this
is a prime opportunity for us to come up
with a really dynamic identity that is
unique to the city of Yreka that people
really will go, "Oh, yeah. I have the
T-shirt
that has our slogan on it."
And so, I just am really excited about
this project and I know that
um you in particular, Juliana, have put
so much work and effort into this. And
sometimes
all of the paperwork
goes
without a lot of recognition. And I just
want to say that I'm really aware of how
much work that you've put into this.
Um
You put a lot of work into the visioning
workshops and actually reaching out to
the community. And I would like to see
just a little bit more of that
because it has been what, two or three
years? And
it is evolving.
I really appreciate the design
standards. You mentioned those are
really important. And I agree that we
need some flexibility, but we do need
some standards for the builders, the
developers when they're building.
I agree about developing our parks. I
agree with a park and rec district. I
would love to see that come back.
And just ongoing activities that are
centered around the parks.
I mean, Greenhorn and Miner Street parks
are just gems in the raw. And we could
be doing so much more with them.
Um
And you know, one of the things that I
really um love about Wyreka, and I think
it fits into this, is um the community
garden, and I would like to see an
expansion of community gardens.
And um
I think that it's just really important
that this this project continues to be a
priority so that we actually
can bring it to fruition and have a
document to move on, you know, to use.
So
that's basically my input. Thank you.
>> And just to address the the public
outreach, we will continue to be a
little bit more topic focused as opposed
to kind of these bigger broader
discussions. And so I just want to
assure you we do have a public
engagement plan that goes with this as
well with different points where we'll
be going out to the public for more
information. And uh you know, it takes a
while to do these types of plans cuz
they're pretty hefty, but that gives us
a lot of time to make sure that we're
getting it right. We're checking back in
with people and making sure we're we're
ironing out the important details, too.
So, thank you. And uh Cindy, if you
could please do the next slide. Just
some contact information. Oh, we're
good. We answered those questions. Keep
going.
Good.
You're good. Go to the next one.
So, I I'm glad you're happy with the
direction. I'll take some of this input
and start to feed this into the
document. But uh we will, just for
members of the public, council members,
there are several different ways you can
contribute to this. Even if you have
like a little thought, something pops
up, you like something happening in
Grass Valley, for example, if there's
like an event in particular that you
like, um I'll take written comments uh
at City Hall. If you want to drop them
off, you can also email them to me. Um
we are updating the website, so there
will actually be a website page. I was
hoping Civic Plus would have it done by
today so I could have it up there, but
it's not, but it will be on the city's
webpage now. So, we're going to migrate
that over to be a little bit easier for
people to move through and then we will
be advertising the public engagement
events on our website on Facebook trying
to get out during in the usual kind of
routes to advertise those for people to
attend. So, but thank you for your time
today and I appreciate your attention.
>> Thank you.
Okay, we're moving on to item 8F, the
city manager and staff reports.
» All righty, good evening. Mayor and
council.
So, with respect to the vision, I
totally agree with you on it. Uh Juliana
and I uh were part of a call with a PR
and marketing firm that focuses on
California, Truppeppi Smith, if you want
to look them up. Uh they are going to
make propose to us what we could do to
identify ourselves, who we are, what do
we want to be known for. What is our
tagline, etc. So, we really feel like
creating that identity with community
support, your suggestion and ideas and
your direction will really help us with
focusing on the 2050 plan, but also and
what kind of businesses we draw in. What
are we known for? What do we want to be?
And so I think that's really critical.
So, as part of that, I want to show a
short video today on the city's
unofficial mascot. So, I thought that we
would um bring that video up.
» [laughter]
» So, part of what we're going to do,
we're going to remodel the new fire
station and build a pen out back cuz the
fire chief really would like a dozen
goats on hand to help with uh
prevention.
>> [laughter]
>> Uh the staff met with Mike Solano. He is
building a retail store here in Yreka.
Couple of key items for us is he's
bought two lots. One building has a
3,000 square foot building, I believe.
Is that right?
7,000 square foot building. He's going
to expand it to 27,500.
Uh the second building, he's going to
bring in the first 3,000 of the top SKU
items and try to open that up in the
next 8 weeks uh to an existing building
that's there and then obviously tear
down the larger building and build
something uh the 27,500
square foot. Couple of things that'll be
unique to this site, it will hold uh one
of the top tallest flagpoles in the
uh Siskiu County. It'll be close to 200
ft high with an 80-ft high flag. So, if
you ever get lost, we just tell you look
for the flag and you'll be able to get
there. And then, of course, you'll have
a gun range and an archery range as part
of this facility as well. And you'll get
hungry after all that, so you'll want to
get a hot dog and an ice cream
>> from the store that we'll have.
So, um very comprehensive. Uh next is I
visit with the department heads and
reviewed their projects. I really
appreciate council support on the work
plan because we are on track for the
projects that we are doing and people
are really focused on getting those key
things done.
And with that, uh one of the key
projects is a new agreement for
recycling and garbage here in Yreka with
Yreka Transfer. So, thank you to council
support. And working with Yreka
Transfer, we have a verbal agreement.
And so, we're uh Julia is working on an
amendment right now to the existing
agreement. So, in the next 2 months, uh
October at the latest, we really want to
bring it forward because it expires on
October 30th.
Um
and then in October, we are going to be
opening up the Performing Arts Center
for movies and concerts. Uh and we're
putting an entirely new sound system in,
new lights, and a 28-ft
screen. So, not only will you be able to
feel Jaws, but you will be able to see
it.
Because the mayor's favorite line from
the movie is, "We're going to need a
bigger boat."
>> [laughter]
>> So, in this case, we are going to bring
a bigger boat, so you'll be able to
enjoy it. And we'll be able to open it
up for matinees, a whole variety of
different things. So, excited about
that. I appreciate Mayor Pro Tem Claire
working for the fire with the fire chief
on the ad hoc committee. We are 90%
done, and I know this may surprise all
of you, but I have faith in both of
those gentlemen that we'll be a one and
done meeting. So, um
we will let the federal government know
that they do work. So,
movies in the park. I hope you get a
chance to see it. Jaws was last Friday.
I don't know what's coming up, but I
understand they're a big hit. Big great
turnout, so it's another great event
that's going on.
Uh coming up on September 1st, the two
big items are going to be a closed
session on Fall Creek. And then, uh
when Mortali will be here in person for
that meeting, as well as the hopefully
the adoption of the PSA. For that is a
three-year project that's finally coming
to fruition. We will then have uh a much better system for us with water
without going to details. And then,
speaking of housing, thank you
Councilman McCoy for bringing that up.
We are working with a EIFD, which is a
funding mechanism to encourage housing.
We have met with or at least I've had
phone calls with the Payne Lane 300 unit
development, and they are very
intrigued, as well as um
Clayton Hansen. Did I say his name
right?
He is looking at major improvements to
this heavy industrial site. He'll be
opening concrete and asphalt, as well as
subdividing the property to uh allow
additional businesses to come in there.
And the nice thing is, we are
destination-based sales tax, and so
every time he sells asphalt or concrete
to our friends at Caltrans, we will get
some portion of the sales tax. So, we're
really excited about both.
With that, um are there any questions or
comments from the council members?
>> Council member McCoy.
>> I I just want to ask, you're referring
to the community theater, not the
Performing Arts Center, correct?
>> Well, yes.
>> Performing Arts Center's here, the
community theater's down
>> Yes, uh, it has different That's what I
was told the Performing Arts, but it is
a community theater. Yes.
>> It's Okay, yeah, that's all I
>> It's right next to the community center.
>> I'm a flatlander, but that's all I've
ever known it as.
SPAC community theater.
>> Right, but it's hasn't been used in
years
>> Nope, it has.
>> and it is an underutilized resource, and
there are a lot of folks interested in
doing that.
>> Yeah.
>> Sorry, seeing movies there and being
part of it.
» Anybody else?
All right.
>> Thank you.
>> we have any other staff reports tonight?
>> I don't know.
» Okay. All right. Thank you so much.
We'll, uh, move on to item 8G. This is
the mayor council members reports,
statements, and requests.
Who would like to go first this evening?
» I'll make it real quick as, um, as
everybody knows, I was absent, and, uh,
I won't spend too much time on this
because I'll probably get emotional,
but, um,
so a couple weeks ago I lost my mother,
and I wanted to thank everybody for
their
support and wishes to me and my family.
It's been, um, incredible just from all
the council members, the mayor,
uh,
our city manager, and the staff. I
really appreciate it, and, um,
you know, life goes on, but, um, I'll
miss her terribly, and but just thank
you. I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
>> Did you get the card?
>> Yes.
» Thank you. Council member Davis.
>> Um, I attended I attended um,
building department workshop, as you did
also.
Um,
and it was on the permitting process in
Waireka. She was assisted by James
McIntyre.
Um and I thought
that they really did a great job
making the city available
to uh
the contractors that were
uh there and they any ones that want to
start uh
you know, a building process
and get the permits necessary.
And they um were pretty
open about coming to the city for help.
Um and I and I thought they they put a
good face on to the city of Waireka.
Um
and they were strictly business about
the uh permitting process and nobody
ever got into the fees where they're
given a bad time about fees no matter
how much they are.
It you know, that usually comes up. But
it was an excellent job and Ilea and
James really did a good job.
» That's it.
>> Thank you.
Councilmember McCoy.
>> Yeah, again, I want to thank Will for
pushing for the movies. I think they're
a great idea and I've heard lots of good
things about them.
Um I went out and took a look at the
goats. I didn't get to get out and kiss
them. Will wanted me to kiss them and
take a picture and I told him I would.
And my wife knows I'll kiss him, but I
didn't get out there in time. Um and
I've I've spoken with Will, so I'm not hitting him blind about this,
but I would I'm going to ask uh our
public works to see if they can't maybe
get the goats back out there to uh eat
the north, south, and west sides because
they're very overgrown. There are
benches that are totally covered. Some
of the one of the poo thingies for dogs
is covered and it's growing up under
bridges and things like that. So, I'm
hoping and so I'm not hitting Will
knows, I'm not hitting him blind.
Um
uh but I'm so, I I would I'm going to
urge public works uh Matt to um get get
them back or get out there because as
you walk through some of them, you
actually push things away. And I have
friends that walk out there that are
elderly like me and and you know, it's
it would be nice to not be fighting the
bees and stuff like that and the plants.
So, but um and I am very excited that
again that Will, our city manager, is
working on our community theater. Um
I've been on this council 8 years and we
have pushed and pushed and pushed. And
all you were here, you only thing that I
know that Corey heard for the first 2
years he was on, I heard it for the
first 4 years is let's sell that
community theater. Let's sell that
community theater. And it's like and I'm
not picking on any of the city managers,
just was kind of it was a it was a thing
a viewpoint through the whole office.
It's just a it's just a liability. Well,
it is a liability, but it's our
liability and we've had some of some big
stars in that they have come country and
uh
and some like Anthony Zerbe and
you know, and and Michael Martin Murphy.
We've had some big stars go in there and
it's great that that Will and and that our past two
saw that that we needed new air
conditioning and that Will now is
continuing that and I thank you for it.
Sir.
» Yeah, I agree. Thank you. And all the
high school plays. I did plays in high
school there like a million years ago,
so I remember that and
going to choir and concerts, so very
appreciated. Uh I have nothing really.
Hope everybody has a good evening.
>> Thank you.
So, the community theater, I am so
excited that it's going to be utilized
again. And just a little bit of
history that when I was a freshman in
high school, I was part of the committee
that went around the community to
collect the surveys on whether the
community of Yreka wanted the community
theater. That was very exciting, and I
think when I was a junior in high
school, my best friend and I spent hours
hand-hemming the black curtain in that
building. So, I I have um been a huge
part of that building for a number of
years um being involved in activities
and
um certainly going and enjoying
programs. So, it is very exciting that is um opening back up. And um I did
attend the um
showing of Jaws at Miner Street Park uh
last Friday night. And if you I would
really encourage everybody to do their
best to attend one of the movies. Um I
believe that this week is an animated
kids movie by the name of Hoppers.
Um I guess it's relatively new. And then
in 2 weeks, it's Indiana Jones
um
Raiders of the Lost Ark. So,
um it's a lot of fun. And it's so
it's just so nice to see the community
having fun. Kids playing, people
talking, watching the movie, having
popcorn. There's free popcorn. So, um
uh The only um thing that I have um for
the council really tonight um
is that Senator Adam Schiff's
representative Wesley Fink is going to
be in Yreka on August 27th. Um
and um
Mr. Ibershoff and I are taking him on a
tour of Yreka.
And if you have any areas of Yreka that
you would like to have highlighted in
the tour, if I'm putting you on the
spot,
um if you would just let the city
manager know so that we can highlight
those areas. I think
Mr. Fink has been really responsive to
the city of Yreka and I'm excited that
he's coming to spend a couple of hours
with us.
And again, that's on August 27th.
And I
that is that concludes my report for the
evening. And with that, I will adjourn
the meeting at 7:58.