Author: admin_cac

 
Thursday June 28, 2018,6:00-8:00pm
Little Red Schoolhouse/Cobb Mountain Lions Club
15780 Bottle Rock Rd., Cobb, CA 95426
Draft Meeting Minutes
full agenda packet available at www.cobbareacouncil.org
PRESENT: Eliot Hurwitz (Chair), Cindy Leonard (Secretary), Ron Haskett
Absent: Cathy McCarthy, Jessica Pyska, Gary Prather
38 community members present
• CALL TO ORDER (shut down cell phones; sign in please) 6:03p.m.
• approval of agenda, Robert, seconded Ron
• Approval of Minutes from May 17, 2018 Motion Ron Hasked, seconded Robert Stark
• SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
◦ Kelly reports family fun night at Lion’s Club on the 4th of July
New elections at the Lion’s Club:
Kelly Stuckey is new President
Camille Levasseur is Vice President
Robert is Director
Jon Meyer is Treasurer
Jo Cunningham Secretary
• TREASURER’S REPORT
-Gary Prather emailed report that bank balance is $3,005.93
PUBLIC and BOARD COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS (3 mins individual)
• Inez is wondering what to do about non-county maintained road, how to get rid of trees?
• Cindy heard from Liz Black (South Lake Fire Safe Council) reports that testing for sirens has been delayed because Cal OES found a problem with the sirens. New parts were ordered and should be installed next week. Then the sheriffs office will need to continue their part to set up the messaging.
• CalFire home inspections for defensible space are done piecemeal as personnel are available, which isn’t really during fire season. We can give a list of specific addresses to have them inspect. Give these addresses to your group captain and then we will make sure Chief Mike Wink gets them as priority inspections.
Short reports from CAC Committees as needed (none)
Supervisor’s Comments (not present)
PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
• Plans to re-open Boggs Mountain – Peter Leuzinger, Forest Manager
• Re-opening of Boggs is July 16th, as a limited, day-use. There are still lots of hazards to be aware of and many trails are still off-limits. Hiking will be on the roadways. Restrooms will be rebuilt in the next year. They will be working with Friends of Boggs Mountain on trail building. August 1st will re-open the shooting range area. Target shooting will be allowed on a limited basis but please call first so that all recovery personnel can be alerted to stay out of that area. He expects one year of the day use situation, with full camping and other use to re-open later.
• The Creek Trail still exists, but it still has dangerous conditions.
• For more information on the Friends of Boggs Mountain, to donate toward trail building or to volunteer, please go to: boggsmountain.net or their Facebook page is very regularly updated with information on the trail work parties. (public announcement below)
Firewise Community Organizing – update from Cindy Leonard, CAC
◦ ~Thank you to Lara from the Time Bank for organizing the Meet up on June 13th. It is amazing that we met, made a plan and already have done our first lot clearing!! Wendy and Kelly planned a great “after party” thank you luncheon for the weary workers.
◦ Glenneth reports the next lot clearing dates will be July 2 and 7.
◦ Wendy is working with Marilyn on another lot clearing party for Saturday July 28th. This can be a thank you for volunteers and also networking for those needing to have lots cleared. As we have learned from the time Bank, even if you feel physically unable to help clear lots, you can still assist in other ways, like helping with the thank you party!
Cobb Firewise Group Report….does everyone know their group number?
◦ Cindy has made more progress on the Group Summary to be posted at the CAC bulletin board at the Cobb Post Office. Four of the groups now have specific public Firewise email addresses.
◦ In general, at each meeting there have been more connections made among neighbors, more discussion and interesting solutions created!
◦ Group 1- First lots have been cleared with Neighbors Helping Neighbors, next meeting will be July 11 at Little Red (their third group meeting!). For more information, email Cathy McCarthy at 1firewisecobb@gmail.com
◦ Group 2- The initial Firewise application boundaries have been set and Kathy Blair and Cindy Leonard have almost finished walking the neighborhood to hand out information about the program and give clean up record sheets to neighbors. So far we have documented 84 hours of the 95 we will need to document for the initial Group 2 application!! For more information, email Cindy Leonard at
cobbfirewisegroup2@gmail.com
◦ Group 3 is in need of a leader
◦ Group 4 has completed their third meeting already. In particular they have been crafting a letter to send to absentee land owners who are not rebuilding and have unsafe conditions. Two letters were sent out this week for the initial test to see what response they get. At the last meeting they created the potential boundary for their initial Firewise boundary. At least one neighborhood has already been surveyed (by Debbie Bloomquist) and the plans have been made for the other areas. For more information, email Wendy Collins at
firewisecobbmt4@gmail.com
◦ Group 5 began work on first section application last November and is nearly ready to submit Firewise Application. This will be the first Firewise application for Cobb! We are grateful for their trailblazing and sharing their experiences with all the other Cobb groups. Debbie Doran is coordinating the Loch Lomond portion of Group 5 for Firewise. For more information, email Magdalena Valderrama Hurwitz at firewise@sscra.org
◦ Group 6 is in need of a leader.
Mel Mc Murran has programmed radios for each of the group leaders as a secondary communication (after your cell phone). The range is 1/2 mile to 3 miles in our terrain. Mel will be meeting with the Communications Committee in July.
Hobergs Resort project – update from Scott Schelenger, Hobergs Project Manager
• Karl Parker briefly reflected on his work today with the Pawnee fire and said it reminds him how important our emergency work is!
• Scott says that clean up is still on track to be completed by August 1st. This will not include concrete grinding. Then he can continue with the new project. Remaining wood on site will be ground for mulch and chips for on-site use. Concrete will be left on site until they get a grading permit. Then all the concrete will be pushed into a pile to be ground for road base.
• Future plan:
• 49 Single family home lots available uphill across HWY 175
• Resort homes 57 (duplex), smaller cottages (more affordable)
• Resort component with 25 Room Boutique Hotel
• It was pointed out that the current Cobb Area Plan requires one acre lot minimum, so it will not allow for 6,000 sq foot lots. The Friends of Cobb will keep an eye on the approval process of the application with the County of Lake.
• Hospitality component will include the historical objects found during clean up process, as well as 25 room hotel, spa/fitness center, restaurant/bar, pool, meeting space.
• Scott reiterated that the owners could have given up when the county gave the abatement order, but he feels that the owners feel like the project is worthy enough to continue to clean up and rebuild the resort.
Fire Hydrants and Rainbow Bridge Update – Ben Murphy, General Manager Cobb Water District
• Rainbow Bridge environmental report is on track. February the project will go out to bid, bridge should be complete about this time next year (June, 2019)
• The new Cobb Area Water District consolidation is progressing. August 1st is the official recording for the new consolidation. The first task will be to remove the locks on the fire hydrants. (County Service Areas are currently run by special districts, so they will all be consolidated) After three years this project will finally be complete. Approval for Alpine Meadows is on track and will be brought in. Hopefully Whispering Pines is to be done in the next phase.
• Fire Hydrants have different color coding. Bright yellow is the Cobb fire hydrant color and the blue reflecting tape indicator posted at the road so firefighters can locate the hydrants. American Water Works Association sets codes for different pressure at the hydrants.
Known as NFPA 291, it says fire hydrants using public water supply systems should be painted chrome yellow, and their tops and caps should indicate the available GPM. Below 500GPM should be red, 500-999 GPM should be orange, 1000-1499 GPM should be green, and 1500 GPM or more should be blue. Ben says this will be done for all our hydrants.
•
USDA Low Interest Home Loan Program – Jeff Lucas, Community Development Services
Kim Dolbow Vann is the new State Director of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) in California and seems very dedicated to help us with Fire recovery and economic development. She has got approval to increase the cap amount on home purchase from $250K to $350K.
Two types of financing now available.
First: Single Family Housing Direct Home Loans 1-3% no downpayment
Second: Single Family Housing Home Loan Guarantees
This will help promote the construction of new homes for folks. Cap for the cost of a new home is $350,000. Approval is very quick.
Jeff Lucas announced a meeting that will be held at Cobb Elementary School on August 10 from 9:30 to 12:30 for people wishing to apply or just to learn more about this new loan program. Please spread the word to anyone you know that is wanting to rebuild or renters who are wanting to switch to home-owners. It is an amazing new opportunity!
(see flyer attached below:)
Next meeting of the CAC will be the July 19, 2018
Note: Elections for the Cobb Area Council will be at this July 19 meeting.
Positions up for election are Ron Hasket, Cindy Leonard and Jessica Pyska
Adjourn: 8:03 motion Cindy, second Ron all approve

Meeting Minutes- May 17, 2018
COBB AREA COUNCIL
PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday May 17, 2018,
Little Red Schoolhouse/Cobb Mountain Lions Club
15780 Bottle Rock Rd., Cobb, CA 95426
PRESENT: Gary Prather, Eliot Hurwitz, Jessica Pyska, Cindy Leonard, Ron
Haskett
Absent: Cathy McCarthy
17 community members present
• CALL TO ORDER (shut down cell phones; sign in please) 6:12p.m.
• Approval of Minutes from April 19, 2018
• motion Magdalena, Ron second, all approve
•
• SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Chili cook off in Middletown happens this Saturday
• Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology Center has their open house and pottery
sale this weekend.
• Glenneth announced that the MAC photography resilience program show
is kicking off this month. It will be around the lake.
• Loch Lomond Memorial Day annual meeting will be Sunday May 27th.
•
•
•
• Agenda change, Discussion of Grading on Bottle Rock will not be
discussed tonight.
•
• TREASURER’S REPORT, Gary reports bank balance is $3,176.82
• Cindy turned in a receipt of $171.53 for printing as follow up for Cobb
Safe lamination of all the group maps, including the complete “Cobb Area
Council Boundries” map.
•
• PUBLIC and BOARD COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS (3 mins./
individual)
Lara from the Time Bank and lives in the Riviera presented using the Time
Bank for FireWise. She is having a meet-up for the Time Bank to help clear
homes for Elderly and Handicapped folks. They are ready to go! (More
information given in notes below)
• Short reports from CAC Committees as needed
•
Glenneth shared Karl’s report from Hobergs~
We have not received a detailed report on progress at the Hobergs site over the past
month. Dan Nelson has told us that work has been slow while he has been pulling
together the funds needed to complete the final phase. He thinks it will take an
additional $100,000 to rent equipment (including large grinders) and pay workers, etc.
He assures us that they remain committed to completing the project by the end of July.
Jasjit Kang, Director of Environmental Health, reports that he has not visited the site or
spoken to the Hobergs management in the past month. However, he will be meeting
tomorrow with Michalyn DelValle, Interim Director of Lake County Community
Development Department to discuss the status of the project and establish a timeline
and benchmarks for completion of the Abatement Order issued in 2016.
As we have reported previously, we maintain frequent, persistent contact with the key
people involved, and remain deeply committed to achieving successful resolution of this
difficult and trying situation.
Respectfully submitted,
Karl E. Parker
Free Firewood from Huber’s:
In the month of June Hobergs will be offering FREE firewood delivered to folks in Cobb
and within 5 miles of Hobergs for FREE.
We will be making deliveries on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week. We can only do
about 5 deliveries a day so please
send your requests to freewood@lakecountylumber.com and provide your name,
address, phone number and email address.
We can only make 1 delivery to your address and we can only do free deliveries to the
first 40 people that sign up.
PLEASE be aware the wood will be sometimes larger pieces or odd size pieces. If you
don’t want that please do not order since we cannot take it back once we drop it off. We
will be dropping off approx. a cord for all orders.
• Supervisor’s Comments-not present
•
PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
• FireWise Community Organizing and preparation for 2018 Fire Season:
Update and discussion
Eliot attended a two day Fire Education symposium at Sonoma State about
400 people split between academics, NGO, government organizations,
local homeowners. He noticed a big change that control burns are now
confidently embraced as a big part of living with fire.
Cindy gave update on all groups:
As a refresher, here are the groups:
Group 1, coordinator Cathy McCarthy:
Gifford Springs
Star View
Alpine Meadows
Cobb View Heights (golf course neighborhood)
Cobb (downtown)
Group 2, coordinator Rich Curtola:
Whispering Pines
Cobb School
Estates
Pine Grove
Gordon Springs
Group 3 Robert Stark:
Bottle Rock Corridor (Little Red to Harrington Flat)
Harrington Flat (Kahm’s Lane, Sulphur Creek Road, Glenbrook, High Valley Road)
Group 4 Greg Clouse:
Adam Springs
Fox – Venturi
Pine Ridge
Pine Summit
Group 5 Eliot & Magdalena, Gary Prather:
Loch Lomond
Salmina Meadows
Seigler Springs
Mt. Hannah
Wildcat
Group 6 Ben Murphy:
Hill 9 and 10
Branding Iron
Group 1, Cathy McCarthy leader. Met at Little Red Schoolhouse on May 2 and
will meet again on June 6th. They are collecting the in-kind homeowner clean up
data and Michelle Basso is tabulating data. They are also creating the Firewise
boundary for their application.
Group 2, Cindy Leonard and Kathy Blair is doing a neighborhood walk to gather
information on what homes need help doing clearing and which homes still need
reflective signs. They have begun collecting the forms to tabulate the hours that
neighbors have worked clearing brush and limbing trees.
Group 3 has not yet met
Group 4 Greg Clouse and Wendy Collins leaders. This group has met several
times and the next meeting will be at Wendy’s home on June 23rd. They have
made great strides in creating a letter to inform absentee owners of hazardous
conditions that need attention. At the upcoming meeting they will finalize the
Firewise boundary and they continue to collect sheets that document yard
clearing activities. Contact them at:
firewisecobbmt4@gmail.com
Group 5 Magdalena reports that Group 5 is nearing completion of their Firewise
application. This has been very helpful for the other groups that are not as far
along in the process. You can email them at: firewise@sscra.org
Group 6 has not yet met
Cindy created an example binder to help show the other groups how to get the
Firewise data organized.
The goal is to post all the information for all groups at the Cobb Post Office,
including an email to contact each of the group leaders.
Magdalena says that there is excitement from the Time Bank for our Neighbors
helping Neighbors program.
June 13 6-8 will be a Time Bank Meet-up at the Little Red Schoolhouse. Anyone
can come and take part in this group. The Time Bank asks for our permission to
go ahead with her event. They have a lot of P.R. ready to go to get community
input on what lots need to be cleared.
Cobb Area Neighbors (CAN) will be a member name at the Time Bank and
anyone can add hours to that member. Work parties could be created to make
the lot clearing more fun.
We especially want to make sure we can work on getting the absentee owners to
clear their lots.
Jessica motioned to proceed, Ron seconded, all agreed
Rich Curtola reminded us that we should keep the lot clearing and Firewise work
in a positive way so that we don’t end up threatening our neighbors and creating
a negative environment.
Next meeting of the CAC will be the 4th Thursday of June, which is June 28. (not
the usual 3rd Thursday)
Note: Elections for the Cobb Area Council will be at the July 19 meeting.
Positions up for election are Ron, Cindy and Jessica
Adjourn: 7:40 motion Magdalena, second Gary all approve

COBB AREA COUNCIL PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday April 19, 2018 DRAFT MINUTES
New Location this week only
Cobb Elementary School – 15895 Hwy 175
PRESENT: Cindy Leonard, Jessica Pyska, Eliot Hurwitz (Chair), Ron Haskett, Gary Prather
38 people in attendance
• CALL TO ORDER 6:06 (shut down cell phones; rules of participation)
New agenda slightly changed to switch slots and add Denise Rushing’s item.
Welcome to new attendees
2. SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
John Carlisi- get together at Pub tonight to discuss the video editing from last Saturday
Glenneth May 2nd his neighborhood group will be meeting at the Little Red Schoolhouse.
3. TREASURER’S REPORT Gary reports after donations were deposited for the Cobb Safe event, checking account balance is $3,803.32. Cindy submitted $602.00 reimbursement for lunch expenses.
4. Karl Parker’s report on Hoberg’s Since last CAC Meeting March 15:
• March 21 meeting @ Hobergs: Glenneth Lambert & Karl Parker met with Scott Skellenger and Dan Nelson, together with new Director of Environmental Health, Jasjit Kang and Environmental Specialist James Scott.
• Reviewed the current status of the project, plans for completion of work required by the March 2016 abatement order, and future plans for development of the site.
• Toured the property.
• March 27 – BOS meeting
• At the request of the Abatement Monitoring Committee, Supervisor Rob Brown requested an update on the status of the project. The bulk of the report was given by the Director of Environmental Health. Supervisors were assured that toxic materials and asbestos have been removed from the site, as certified by former Director Ray Ruminski.
• Report from Scott Skellenger 4/18/18:
• The main focus over the winter has been on erosion control and management of water runoff. Progress on the site has been impeded by rain. In addition, Hobergs management had been waiting to see if additional labor would become available through another California Human Development Recovery Grant. However, it has now been established that this resource will not be available.
• That being the case Hobergs management plans to complete the project with their own employees. They plan to be done by the end of July.
• It appears the weather is improving and soon the ground will be firm enough to resume work with heavy equipment. Some wood processing has been done through the winter, but will resume in earnest as things dry out.
• Although work on site has been slow through the winter months, a lot of work on the project has been going on behind the scenes. They have been working with their architect, engineers, and consultants on the next round of design evolution. They plan to present progress drawings and an application submission timeline when we address the Cobb Area Council in May.
• Introduce Jasjit Kang, Director, Environmental Health Department and James Scott
DISCUSSION
John Carlisi- what is the general timeline? Karl: New projection of completion of clean-up is by July. James Scott: presentation of proposal will go for Community Development. Many agencies will need to review the proposal before they begin construction.
The Hoberg’s group will attend the May CAC meeting to give a more detailed presentation.
4. County Administrator Carol Huchingson presentation on: Reimagining Lake County: Ten Years, Ten Key Priorities (http://www.lakecountyca.gov/Government/Directory/Administration/Visioning/Vision2028.htm)
After the 5 Visioning Forum meetings, the community input was collected and they created a priority list, in summary:
• local development
• marketing
• grant writing
• robust volunteer program development
• more community collaboration
• strengthen county workforce (25% job vacancy)
• tap cannabis for income
• Disaster preparedness
• delinquent tax collection….sales tax measure on ballot?
Since April we now have a grant writer being trained by Karen McDougall.
In May they will ask the BOS for guidance in prioritizing grants
Volunteers are being utilized more. Interns are being utilized in the county offices
Tourism Improvement District (TID) is planned. Also planning to collect hotel (TOT) taxes that are not being collected in Lake County.
Another round of Visioning Forums to promote what industry we want to bring to Lake County.
Cannabis cultivation ordinance is now in effect. Each cultivator is issued a permit.
10 year plan for Lake County has been created by the BOS. Ten Key Priorities for our county to work together.
Carol recognizes that the County does not have funds, so if we don’t generate some money then the staff that is funded by the General Fund then many of those jobs will be eliminated.
Lake County lost 5% of their housing stock, compared to 3% lost in the recent Sonoma County fires.
New sales tax measure is on the June ballot to help us increase Lake County funding.
5. Jeff Lucas: New funding program for single family homes
-After living here for many years, he now observes an administrator that is doing positive things and he thinks Carol is doing a wonderful job
-The Board has committed much money for the Cobb Water Consolidation
-The USDA sees we have a big need, so they are spending more time and resources in Lake County. For low to moderate income families there are 30 year loans at 1% interest. Call Jeff directly: office: 707-279-1540, cell: 707-489-4943.(you can text him) Income guidelines: under $47,900 annual income for family up to 4 people Other loan guarantees available for households with income of $78,000 USDA 502 program. May 25th will be the first housing fair at Beckstoffer targeting hispanic farm workers. The second one will be in June or July here in Cobb.
6. Ben Murphy, Cobb Water District: Update on Rainbow Bridge Project –
-Eight months ago Jeff Lucas approached him to let him know there is grant money available. Part of the money that Ben and Robert Stark applied for will go to the Rainbow Bridge, if the water line goes under the bridge.
Ben has committed to going forward with reconstruction of the 80 ton bridge, but he does not want to have the responsibility of bridge maintenance. There is half a million dollars available for the bridge that we do not want to lose.
Ben is hoping that someone will step forward to form the assessment district. If we can get all our ducks in a row, the bridge project will be going out for bid in Spring 2019.
(At the end of the meeting a list of names of people who are willing to work on the creation of an assessment district was created and Robert Stark took the list to give to Ben)
7. Cobb Area Council Board Procedure:
Eliot wants to have our election at the fourth Thursday of June. A vote was taken and all approved to move the Cobb Area Council meeting for the month of June from June 21 to June 28.
Barbara has moved to Kelseyville so Ron will take Barbara’s spot. Magdalena moves that Ron takes Barbara’s spot now, all in favor. Jessica nominates Cathy McCarthy as alternate. All in favor.

COBB AREA COUNCIL
PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday March 15 , 2018,
6:00-8:00pm
Little Red Schoolhouse/Cobb Mountain Lions Club
15780 Bottle Rock Rd., Cobb, CA 95426
full agenda packet available at www.cobbareacouncil.org
CALL TO ORDER (shut down cell phones; sign in please)
PRESENT: Cindy Leonard, Jessica Pyska, Eliot Hurwitz (Chair)
15 people in attendance
CALL TO ORDER 6:06 (shut down cell phones; rules of participation)
Welcome to new attendees
Approval of minutes Robert Stark, Magdalena
SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
-Fairlight First Friday starting in June for Middletown, the hub is MAC
-Glenneth- Abundant Land movie will be at April 13th 6:00 in Kelseyville
-Kelly- Annual Easter Egg hunt at BlackRock at noon on the 31st
-Magdalena- FireWise event happening May 5th on national FireWise day
TREASURER’S REPORT-Gary is ill, no report this month
PUBLIC and BOARD COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS (3 mins./individual)
1)Eliot introduces new Red Cross Richard Goldfarb Disaster Program Manager for Mendocino and Lake Counties. He is in Cobb today to get to know our area better to begin to plan for disaster preparedness. This includes the pillowcase project and also planning and preparing for shelter needs in case of a disaster.
-Glenneth asks about looking at evacuation for our neighborhoods. Richard states that the Red Cross normally does not create the evacuation routes, but partners with the county and local plans to include their shelter resources. They can also be active in community education once a plan is created.
-Rob Brown says there hasn’t been any money forthcoming for emergency escape routes. We just need to plan for simple routes through people’s property.
2) Chris Macedo is getting ready to present the disaster plan to the Board. We need to allow for many different scenarios which makes it difficult to plan.
Short reports from CAC Committees as needed
Glenneth presented Karl parker’s report for Hoberg’s : erosion controls have been put in place. Work is at a standstill while they wait for more funding.
Erosion controls have been installed
Work on-site continues to be idled while awaiting possible aid from new CHD (California Human Development) grant.
Karl continues to maintain active contact with Hobergs management and County officials in an effort to ensure continuity, regain momentum, and establish an accountable plan for completion.
Since January, Karl has had many contacts with Jasjit Kang, the new Director of Enviromental Health, via phone, email, and a face-to-face meeting, to bring him up-to-speed and convey our concern. Environmental Health Specialist James Scott has also been involved. This effort has been productive.
Mr. Kang sent the following message via email on Tuesday, March 13:
“Hobergs is on our top priority list considering the circumstances. Mr. Scott and I are planning an action plan to deal with the Hobergs’ project (specific to the Summary Abatement Order).
First step is a site visit ASAP (3/14 at 9:00am) to evaluate the situation, and then follow up with a letter.  Secondly, we will certainly be attending the Cobb Abatement Monitoring Committee meetings”
Supervisor Rob Brown has put Hobergs on the Board of Supervisors’ calendar for Tuesday, March 27, 2018.  He also planned to meet with County staff to review the Abatement Order.
The next Abatement Monitoring Committee meeting is scheduled for March 20 @ 5:00 pm.
Respectfully Submitted, Karl E. Parker
PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Discussion of proposed new 1.5% Countywide Sales Tax that will be on the June ballot (Measure G)
Fairlight is very concerned about the sales tax increase. She feels that less sales tax encourages more people to come. How do we create more opportunity for people who live here? We need to be creating opportunities. When people come to taste wine, we should be encouraging folks to try the other things in our county, like farms and restaurants. She will review the videos to see what ideas were suggested that would be an alternative to the tax.
Carol and Rob state that it would bring the rate to 8.75% and it would be a 10 year tax. Carol feels that the tax increase would help alleviate
Carol says that the top priorities of the community voiced at the meetings were roads and safety, so the tax money would go into the general fund, but priorities of spending would be roads and safety and economic development.
Rich says that if it is a specific tax, 60% need to vote for it, since this is a general tax then only 50% need to vote for it.
Carol says that they are working on capturing the hotel taxes that are going uncollected. Losing Konocti resort and Harbin has been a big hit.
Rob says he would like suggestions on what incentives can be given for local cottage industry.
Eliot suggests that we have  another discussion about economic development at another meeting. Carol says that she would like another Visioning round of meetings that would be specific to types of industry ( like agriculture or small business, etc.)
Rob says that any new tax would have an oversight committee.
Joanne is wondering the contributing factors. Rob says the fires, and also the cities don’t pay for many of their services. AB 109 brought a lot of prisoners to the county that are a big cost burden. We lack a lot of revenue drivers that other counties have.
Robert Stark points out that the tax is a big bite for many people in our County.
Continue PLANNING FOR “COBB SAFE 2018” TO BE HELD ON SATURDAY APRIL 14
Cathy has created an online form (it just needs verbiage for clarifying privacy/confidentiality) for folks to sign up for volunteering.
Contributions so far:
$1,000 from John Carlisi
$500 from South Lake Refuse
$25 from Costco
$ possible from
10:00- 11:00 Firewise community planning
-this program has begun in Siegler Springs
-Local certification is done by Jeff Tunnell
from Bureau of Land Management. He does an assessment and then you do an annual plan.
Our goal would be to create 5 FireWise communities initially. Getting certified creates opportunities for funding and helps the local firefighters protect your neighborhood.
We would find people who could be point of contact in each of the areas.
Discussion of spending money on advertising event:
-$600 for large banners
-$250 for mailer in P.O. Boxes
-$150 for Facebook and other promotion
Motion to spend the money, all in favor except one person
11:00 to 12:00 Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Declare two dates: perhaps in June and July. This could coordinate with the chipping program with South Lake Fire Dist.
The session could get into the details of setting up these programs.
Setting up the CERT program. The Red Cross could be a partner in this process.
12:00 to 1:00 Local networks and Communication
-warning systems
: (do the new sirens work?), Nixle and Code Red update, Gotenna
-build in redundancy
– identify most vulnerable folks who might need help
1:00 to 2:00 Sheriff/Neighborhood Watch.
Kelly Stucky has 4 signs just needing posts or plywood, and knowing where to mount in the area
2:00 to 4:00 more in-depth on the CERT program (18 people minimum to train at minimum).
Motion to adjourn Rich, Seconded Jessica adjourned at 7:57p.m.