Draft Meeting Minutes December 19, 2019
COBB AREA COUNCIL
PUBLIC MEETING
Minutes by Cindy Leonard
Thursday December 19, 2019
Little Red Schoolhouse/Cobb Mountain Lions Club
15780 Bottle Rock Rd., Cobb, CA 95426
Draft Meeting Minutes
- CALL TO ORDER at 6:30(shut down cell phones; sign in please)
• Roll Call Present: Cindy Leonard Secretary, Cathy McCarthy, Jessica Pyska, Eliot Hurwitz Chair, Frank Lincoln Treasurer, Jake Strickler arrived 6:40.
38 community members present
- Approval of Minutes from November:
Amendments: Eliot would like to insert the text of the resolution and also the outline of the project and a few other documents to be added in.
Cathy clarified that the money donated to the Lion’s Club will go toward the installation of the generator that had been donated by the South Lake Fire Protection District
- Motion as amended- Cindy Seconded- Laurie and all in favor
- SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Jessica Pyska says that Cindy, Jake and herself were appointed for another term on the Cobb Area Council
Lions Club generator will be installed on January 13, 2019
- TREASURER’S REPORT, Currently $12,304.59 in account (spread across several distinct accounts) according to Frank
- PUBLIC and BOARD COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS (3 mins./individual)
- Eliot states that the Economic Development funds have now been transferred to the Cobb Area Council. The grant funds will begin the programs starting in January. The specific ways that the grant money will be spent was in the grant application.
-Five specific tasks outlined in the grant award program:
1.Conducting an in-depth community assessment
2.Conducting a local economic development analysis
3.Establishing a small business revolving loan fund
4.Establishing a Cobb Area Merchants Association
5.Drafting a Cobb Mountain economic regeneration strategy
Jessica states that this new grant will be one part of updating the Cobb Area Plan.
- Local Fire Season Update – Firewise Community organizing update
-New Firewise Certificates will be helpful for the community members that live in a Firewise Community to show proof to their insurance company.
-Neighborfest/NCO grant application deadline January 7th.
Upcoming dates for 2020:
Sunday March 29, 3-6:00 Wilder Than Wild at Twin Pines
Saturday April 4, Cobb Safe at Cobb School, 10-3:00
Saturday May 2, National Wildfire Preparedness Day
Saturday August 29, noon-5:00 Blackberry Cobbler Festival, Whispering Pines Resort
Saturday October 17, Cobb Resilient at Cobb School
Update on brush clearing grant money (up to $1250). Reimbursements are now being accepted.
Paul Duncan says that the burn ban has been lifted for the season.
Jake says that it has been difficult to get the actual permit at the office in Middletown. Paul says you can call the office to arrange ahead to go pick up the permit. Community members say that you can also get this permit online.
CAVERN Update: there are now 80 radios out around the community. It is a combination of Gmrs and Frs radios.
Update on Hazardous Abatement Ordinance will happen in January 2020 at the Board of Supervisor’s meeting.
- Supervisor’s Comments
Community Reports:
Trees, PG&E and CalTrans a community discussion-
-Caltrans: Gary Lambeth and Andrew Huntley consultant for Caltrans. Priority hazard tree removal program (1.9 million dollars) HWY 29 and HWY 175. Duration is undetermined due to weather. Priority is removal of damaged trees, due to burn, beetles, rot, etc. Estimate of 1,000 to 1,500 trees along the routes. Cutting is happening along the Caltrans right of way and has been going on about 53 days. Coordination is between Caltrans and the property owners along the route. 8:00 till 4:00 are the hours on Cobb. The removal process is suspended now through the holidays. Their color is a blue line. The Right of Way Department deals with the homeowners if there is a dead tree on private roads that need to be removed. Completion is estimated for March 2020. All trees have now been marked that will be removed.
-Sean Barrett from Family Tree (working with PGE). He is not representing PGE, but they are a service working for them. Things are constantly shifting within the program, but he will talk about what he knows. His company is the primary tree maintenance (routine work) that will be happening in Lake County. Several other contractors will be doing other types of work, including the evaluators who look at the work that has been done. (like Enhanced Vegetation Management).
He suggests that you ask for identification if anyone comes on your property to do work. They should all have I.D.s- you could take a photo of their id. Also, ask what program they are working, and also who is their manager.
Color codes:
-Four colors are rotated yearly: white was last year and next year is green
-Numbers are sprayed directly on tree to indicate diameter
-The 12 foot removal program does not use spraypaint, so you won’t know what trees they plan to remove until they are removed
You can call PGE Hazard vegetation department to let them know your preferred contact information/method.
Comment that the workers from 1996-2015 Western was the company that would come to do the work on the property. After the Valley Fire there are so many different tree companies that have come and gone and the work has been shabby. Today their work trucks pulled into Blackrock and destroyed the asphalt. On Monday there was a big truck that blocked the road and created a road hazard. A tree was felled at the winery and left there. The concern is what can be done going forward to make sure that the workers are accountable. There has been trespassing and spray-painting when this is specifically been requested to not be done.
All companies have a policy to notify the homeowner before they come on the property, but this has not been happening all of the time. The workers need to have identification every time. (and a reflective vest and hard-hat)
Motion to adjourn by Laurie, Gary Seconded. Motion adjourned at 8:29