COBB AREA COUNCIL
PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday January 16, 2025 at 6:30pm
In-Person and Online Participation Available
MINUTES
CALLED TO ORDER AT 6:32PM
ROLL CALL:
Present: Cathy McCarthy, Jake Strickler, Chris Nettles, Darlene Warner
Absent: Joe Schneider, Paul Duncan (on SoCal wildfires)
Attendance: 13 Cobb voters: 11
Moment of Silence
Pledge Of Allegiance
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by: Chris, 2nd by: Darlene. All in Favor, Agenda Approved
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by: Chris, 2nd by: Eliot. All in Favor, Minutes Approved
The Regular Annual Elections: In January of each year, the C.A.C. Board of Directors will hold a roll call election from its regular members to select the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.
CHAIR: Cathy McCarthy. Motion by Chris, 2nd by Steve Reid. All in Favor. Cathy approved.
VICE-CHAIR: Jake Strickler. Motion by Cathy, 2nd by Chris. All in Favor. Jake approved.
SECRETARY: Darlene Warner. Motion by Cathy, 2nd by Chris. All in Favor. Darlene approved.
TREASURER: Chris Nettles. Motion by Cathy, 2nd by Mary. All in Favor. Chris Nettles approved.
SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Robert Stark – February 8th the Northern CA Frisbee Association Tournament will be at Belmont Pines. This is a Lion’s Club fundraiser. March 1st is the annual crab feed, $75 per ticket, 125 tickets available. 650 pounds of crab on order, should net about 300 pounds. On March 15th there will be a St. Patrick’s Day dinner sponsored by the Cobb Elementary School PTO and the Lions Club. Earthquake comments. Cathy mentioned that Robert is on the Calpine Seismic Monitoring Activity Committee.
PUBLIC AND BOARD COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS (3 mins./individual)
NONE
SUPERVISOR’S REPORT: Jessica Pyska
Chiefs Duncan, Huggins, Zapeda, Wink, and LNU units are in SoCal assisting with fires. Lars Ewing will be here next month with initial plans for our Cobb Park, which is to start this summer. Two things asked for are a place for a Christmas tree, and a quiet place for a memorial for lives lost in the Valley Fire. Eliot and Magdalena have been working on strategic planning from the LCFSC. Resource Conservation District fully staffed and writing grants. Got CWPP updated. How do we organize the various groups together: maintenance, community awareness and education, money, and commitment. RCD is now staffed up. Roads – Glen March, Public Works Director, wants to start in May of this year. Bids being awarded after governance workshop. Starview Loop will be last due to Water District putting in new water mains. Update from Chief Duncan for everyone to remain vigilant. Congratulations to Jessica for being sworn-in for a second term.
TREASURER’S REPORT- Chris
Submitted and attached herewith as Attachment “A”
FIRE SEASON UPDATE
Paul Duncan is supporting the Palisades Fire
Discuss/Approve continuance of rental of storage space to be voted upon on annual or semi-annual basis instead of quarterly
A motion was made to approve voting annually at budget time. Motion made by Chris, 2nd by Robert. All in favor, none opposed. Motion passed.
COMMITTEE REPORTS (3 minutes/individual)
Firewise Communities – Magdalena, Cindy, Glenneth, David, Laurie
Magdalena: There will be a Firewise strategic planning meeting this Saturday from 9am until 10:30am at the Loch Lomond Fire Station. This year is the 10-year anniversary of the Valley Fire; there are a series of events being planned. April 19th there will be a Disaster Preparedness Event. California National Resources – Supervisor Pyska gave a presentation in August of 2024, can watch it on YouTube. Changes in Grant environment – building collaboration. Americorp available until July 2025. If any questions, contact: magdalenavh@sscra.org or 415-328-0731. Leveraging CAC support for emergency preparedness support.
Communications Committee – Mel
Big thank you to Net Controllers John and Chris during the time that Mel was in Australia. 30 people checking in regularly, hope to increase this in the Spring. 3 active repeaters on the mountain.
Forest Health Committee – Eliot
CWPP Grant submitted, awarded in May; at 2pm today, received news it will go ahead. Specifically focused on Cobb community. Will take two years overall. In February will be submitting a formal MOU to CAC. Will be signing contracts the first couple of months. Will be working with a Forestry Consultant and Economic Development Consultant. Will be collaborating with Jake and local volunteers on the data sets, ground truth/proofing with tablets in the field, which will take about a year to complete. Will be looking at local workforce.
Economic Development Committee – Chris
We need to do something with the $48k in our account but must have proper management of funds. Will be talking with Patrick Sullivan.
Blackberry Cobbler Festival – Discuss/Approve Blackberry Cobbler Festival August 23, 2025
A motion was made by Cathy, 2nd by Eliot, to hold the Annual Blackberry Cobbler Festival on August 23, 2025. All in favor, none opposed. Motion passed. The festival should be held at Belmont Pines again, and vendors should be able to secure booths around June.
NEXT MEETING: February 20, 2025
ADJOURNED AT 7:35pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Darlene Warner, Secretary