Month: February 2020

Draft Meeting Minutes- January 16, 2020
COBB AREA COUNCIL
PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday January 16, 2020
Little Red Schoolhouse/Cobb Mountain Lions Club
15780 Bottle Rock Rd., Cobb, CA 95426
Draft Meeting Minutes by Cindy Leonard
• CALL TO ORDER (shut down cell phones; sign in please) at 6:37
Roll Call: Cindy Leonard Secretary, Cathy McCarthy not present, Jessica Pyska, Eliot Hurwitz Chair, Frank Lincoln Treasurer, Jake Strickler not present, Alternate
11 community members present.
• Approval of Minutes from November, motion Frank, seconded Jessica, all approve
SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ben Murphy from Cobb Area Water says the Pine Grove (Rainbow) Bridge project goes out to bid around next Wednesday.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
Cobb Area Council General $1,745.35
Cobb Resilient $1,456.28
Cobb Safe $ 851.23
Economic Development $1,300.00
Blackberry Cobbler $3,316.53
T-shirt Fundraising $3,498.29
(Outstanding check #1089 $50.00)
Wilder than Wild $ 161.31
Total $12,329.59
Our new AHEAD grant for our Economic Development Committee:
$200,000 has been put into our new, separate account
-one check of $2,200.00 has been written to Cobb Mtn. Lions Club
PUBLIC and BOARD COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS (3 mins./individual):
Gemini Garcia brought a list of homeowner rights and information she compiled to help the public address issues they are having with PGE tree removal. She is collecting letters from individual homeowners to give to a PGE manager who is focusing on all the issues that Cobb is having with tree removal.
Council informed all attending that next month there will be a PGE official at the Cobb Area Council meeting.
She is suggesting that we have an ordinance. She will research into similar ordinances that other towns have.
Here are the documents that she has written:
“To the council:
PG&E has not provided the public with an official EIS, Jessica told me Rob Brown, district supervisor is checking on that.
James, a supervisor and subs contractor for this program with a degree in environmental studies feels it is worrisome for our community that PG&E is lacking the impact study because he feels this programs is “definitely impacting the environment.”
This program is designed to make our community safer from electrical fires. It will not make Cobb safer from wildfires.
(SB754 section 1) states
“The risk of severe fires is increased by removing large, fire-resistant old growth trees from the forest, because those trees shade out flammable undergrowth and preserve moisture in the forest.”
Every assessment is done multiple times by inexperienced pre-inspectors. It has been documented and verified in writing they have marked more trees than necessary for the scope of work.
I was told today the scope of work is 4’ from power lines, but until today I have been told multiple times and on PGE website the scope is 12’ minimum.
The supervisors seem to be in conflict of what the actual scope of work is. The preinspectors and work verifiers are also unsure of the exact scope of work and are notorious for mislabeling tree names, status of tree health and have failed repeatedly to gain permission for access before entering. They are not required to consider hazards to the environment.
For all of these reasons I’d like the council to consider an ordinance to protect our old growth and heritage trees.
I would also like to ask for your help to pause all tree cutting and removing until an environmental impact study has been completed and provided for the public. Cal trans his is available at the library for public viewing but no one can verify PGE was required to do this.
During the time PGE prepares a study, they will be able to employ their current contractors to contact every property owner and examine each parcel independently and gain permission for the proper work to be done with inspectors present.
I was told this is an 8 year program and if true, that’s ample time to do efficiently with community support “ Gemini Garcia
Second document:
January 16, 2020
Some things residents should know:
Paint color is not consistent with the amount of trees to be removed. If a tree does not have spray paint or tape, it may still be marked for removal. You can wrap pink tape on your trees if you feel any of them may be marked inappropriately. The tree cutting company, AERI should confirm with you before cutting across it.
There is no discrimination between dead or heathy trees. The inspections have repeatedly shown heathy trees being marked as hazardous or within scope of power lines incorrectly.
All companies are required to notify owners and tenants of presence in advance and must ask permission before entering property. If you have pg&e service, they already have your contact information. You are not required to have a trespassing sign, your property is your property. Trespassing is illegal. Residents should call the police if anyone is trespassing and ask the workers for identification and take a picture.
All tree companies are required to obtain written permission before cutting or removing anything from any property. If they fail to do so, take a picture, call the police and report theft. Again, ask for Identification and take a picture of it.
Crews do not check IDs to confirm homeowners when giving permission to cut or remove. If crews say they have permission to cut your trees, ask for proof, take a copy, and report them if you did not give permission.
To request a copy of your parcel’s evaluation, call pg&e. Also call the company supervisors, you can request a personal walk through and re-evaluation by a certified arborist.
7. If you have any particular experience or issue with pg&e or the subcontractors, please write a letter with full description. You may include pictures, but be sure to write your parcel number and include your contact information.
I will collect all letters at a community meeting on this subject next Thursday, January 23rd at the little red schoolhouse. Your letters will be delivered to pg&e’s vegetation manager who has promised to address each resident and their concerns individually.
Or email them to me, Gemini Garcia at thirdeyris@gmail.com
Council informed everyone in the meeting that we don’t have the power to issue an ordinance but that we can bring the concerns of residents to the notice of the county board of supervisors so that they can include these whenever they talk with PG&E. Also, Council rep Jessica Pyska is in regular conversation with California Senator Mike McGuire’s office (and also Aguiar-Curry?) updating him about these and similar cleanup issues and setting a course for action.
Local Fire Season Update – Firewise Community organizing update
-new grants submitted to North Coast Opportunity EPIC grant (3 from the Cobb area out of 27 grant submitted from Lake and Mendocino
-Working on a “scotch broom eradication day” for February 17. Volunteers needed.
-new combination Cobb storefront for Disaster Preparedness and Economic Recovery/Development. Hoping it can open mid-February. Present possible names of storefront office.
List of Resources to be available at the “Resource Hub” office:
Emergency Preparedness Projects:
Cobb Mountain Firewise Communities
CERT Training
EPIC Training
Homeowner insurance in the WUI (California Fair Plan and insurance discounts)
Homeowner grant information for defensible space clearing
Lots of handouts about defensible space clearing and Home-hardening
-Red Cross, FEMA, NFPA, etc.
Scotch Broom Eradication Project (Broom Busters/Scotch Broom Challenge)
Tool Lending Library (Weed wrench)
Economic Development Projects:
Low-interest business loans
Cobb Merchants Association
Community Events (Blackberry Cobbler Festival, What’s Up on Cobb?)
This is also where the Community Visioning oversight is going to be done out of, and people can come and talk about the economic recovery and development of our area. We really want to emphasize that conversations and meetings will be held here, not just distribute information.
Jessica states that the moratorium on cancelling homeowner insurance is now in effect for certain ZIP codes near the Kincade Fire, but for some reason Cobb was not included. Jessica is in contact with Mike McGuire’s office to find out why people who are in newly rebuilt homes are getting cancelled. We hope to get to the bottom of this issue soon!
Lots of burn piles happening
Supervisor’s Comments
Community Reports
Cobb Mt. Economic Development Project
Eliot states that we have created the two contracts to implement the grant. One is the consulting agreement with SSCRA to create online resources, the community Drop-in office space, Visioning meetings with the community and local businesses, and a final report.
The updated contract (incorporating the changes requested at the Economic Development meeting Monday) was presented to the group. It was accepted as amended and formally signed in front of the group.
Next economic development committee meeting is Monday February 17 at 6:00, at the Cobb Resource Hub to
help plan input to our community plan.
Gemini reports that the new teen center has opened, although one of the owners has just been diagnosed with cancer so it will be re-opening again soon. It is called “Giant Step”. It will be a safe, comfortable space for teens to go and have fun and hang out after school till their parents get home.
Motion to adjourn meeting at 7:25 by Jessica, seconded by Magdalena, all approve.