Tag: February

COBB AREA COUNCIL
PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday April 17, 2025 at 6:30pm
In-Person and Online Participation Available

MINUTES (Approved 5-15-2025)

CALLED TO ORDER at 6:36pm

Roll Call

Present: Cathy McCarthy, Chris Nettles, Darlene Warner, Paul Duncan
Absent: Jake Strickler, Joe Schneider
Attendance: 16  Voters: 13

Pledge of Allegiance

Approval Of Agenda: Motion by Chris, 2^nd by Darlene. All in favor, Agenda approved.

Approval Of Minutes: Motion by Paul to approve minutes as amended, 2^nd by Chris. All in favor. Minutes approved as amended.

Amendments: Under Firewise Communities, “per household” should be “per Firewise Community” and add, “may be able to do individual households after 4-22-2025.” 

SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Robert – on 4/19 at Noon is the Easter Egg Hunt at Belmont Pines. Lions Club has stuffed 2,200 age-group appropriate eggs. Games, activities, and the Easter Bunny will be there. The egg hunt starts at Noon sharp.

Public and Board Comment on Non-Agenda Items (3 mins./individual)

Greg – spoke about the increasing costs of PGE and challenges with costs of solar. Jessica suggested attending CPUC hearings and contacting State representatives.

Supervisor’s Comments – Jessica Pyska

SCP (Sonoma Clean Power, non-profit geothermal) looking to expand into Lake County. They rent infrastructure from PGE; there would be no change to our infrastructure. About a 7% savings over PGE. On Tuesday, the BOS approved a feasibility study by January 2026. Could see this service available by Summer of 2026. Will be able to use the power generated in our County. Several cities in Sonoma County have been using SCP for about 10 years now. CPUC – ATT is trying again to do away with POTS/Landlines – attended for a 2^nd time, an additional workshop held at Twin Pine Casino. Discussion was had from a public safety point of view, especially in a rural area. Finalized roads contract – awarded $5.1M project to Argonaut to redo 16 miles of roads in Cobb; project to begin in May. Last week at the BOS meeting, had a very thorough update on the Federal cuts. Cuts to Health and Human Services are affecting many of our programs. Region 9 office in SF closed, which affects our Head Start, TANF, Senior Centers, and Meals on Wheels programs. 

Fire /Storm Season Update – Paul Duncan

Boggs Forest roads closed until May 1st. There will be work at the Cobb Fire Station next to the post office while the water main is being replaced. Station 60 in Middletown is holding it’s Open House on Saturday 4/26 from 10am to 3pm. ACI community drop-off dates are this Saturday and next Saturday from 10am to 2pm. The ACI will be leaving May 1^st. There is a 2^nd carbonizer there now until May 1^st. Biochar will be available from Earth Foundries in a 4x4x4 sack. Can be picked up with 5-gallon buckets at the Middletown Community Garden, date(s) TBD. Friends of Boggs Mountain will be hosting the 20^th Annual Bike Money Race on 5/3; CalFire will have First Aid station open, and Boggs Helitack will be staffed. 

Treasurer’s Report – Chris

Submitted. Attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “A” 

COMMITTEE REPORTS (3 minutes/individual) 

Firewise Communities – Magdalena, Cindy, Glenneth, David, Laurie

Magdalena – All 6 of our active Firewise groups have applied for grant funds. Looks like we’ll have some money left over. We (SSCRA) were only one of 12 that were chosen in the Country, and the only one in CA. Jessica – May 6^th will be the annual proclamation of Wildfire Preparedness at the BOS.

Communications Committee – Mel

Mel – a new acronym, WORO. “Winter’s Over, Radios On.” Brian has radios for sale. Email: cobbalertnet@gmail.com. Check-ins continue to be about 30 per week.

Forest Health Committee – Eliot

Nothing new on the Federal grant but still forging ahead. CWPP kickoff plan – thanks to CalFire with helping to develop GIS mapping. Jake and the Strickler family are hosting a Cobb Forest Summit on 6/7 at Whispering Pines, information will be in the SSCRA newsletter. Forest Stewardship Committee meeting is the last Friday of every month from 4pm to 5:30pm at the Loch Lomond Firehouse.

Economic Development Committee – Chris

Cathy – the Blackberry Cobbler meeting will be on 4/30 at 6pm on the deck at Belmont Pines. For vendors wishing to sign-up, only contact Jennifer Gayda (Bottlerock Candle Studio), Cathy, and/or the official Facebook page to avoid scammers. Have verbal confirmations from CalPine and Sutter for sponsorship. 

Next Meeting: May 15, 2025

Adjourned at 7:33pm 

 Respectfully Submitted,

Darlene Warner, Secretary

COBB AREA COUNCIL
PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday March 20, 2025 at 6:30pm
In-Person and Online Participation Available
MINUTES

CALLED TO ORDER at 6:30pm

Roll Call
Present: Cathy McCarthy, Chris Nettles, Darlene Warner, Paul Duncan
Absent: Jake Strickler, Joe Schneider
Attendance: 14 Voters: 11

Pledge of Allegiance

Approval of Agenda: Motion by Paul, 2nd by Chris. All in favor. Agenda approved.
Approval of Minutes: Motion by Mary, 2nd by Paul. All in favor. Minutes approved.

Short Announcements
Robert – thanked everyone for a successful crab feed. $6,600 for crab for 125 people. Lion’s will be stuffing Easter eggs on 4/5. Lion’s Easter Egg Hunt will be on 4/19 at 12 Noon SHARP at Belmont Pines. There will be 2,000 eggs. The restaurant will be open serving their lunch menu; hot dogs and hamburgers will be available; proceeds go to the Lion’s Club.

Public and Board Comment on Non-Agenda Items (3 mins./individual)
Tom – shared that he went to Showcase of Happiness

Supervisor’s Comments – Jessica Pyska
Trip to DC: met with colleagues from Nevada and Napa Counties regarding home insurance. Using federal dollars here in Lake County to mitigate rates and ensure insurability. FEMA task force: please don’t do away with. Capitol Hill visits with Schiff, Padilla, and Thompson. Continuing Resolution – if funding is frozen, what does that look like on the ground – many programs in jeopardy, affecting over half of the population of Lake County. There’s no way the State can backfill all these programs. Older Americans Act was pulled off the DOGE list and now put back on. BLM’s Ukiah field office was on DOGE list to be closed; looks like it’s been taken off the list. NWS Eureka office possibly being closed – we use for weather planning for us, and data for planning and prepositioning during weather events. Mike Thompson is having a town hall at Twin Pine tomorrow from 11am to 12pm.

Fire /Storm Season Update – Paul Duncan
As of 3/31 stations will be fully staffed. Control burning still going on by Cobb Elementary School. Putting in application for a 2nd carbonizer; fully funded by PGE. Distribution of biochar coming up. Community drop-off days are coming soon, date to be determined (will be free). The helicopter will
be back in 10 days. Increased water line of 6” going in at Boggs and moving Heli-pod to the base. Boggs Heli tack base is being relocated to Lower Lake.

Treasurer’s Report – Chris
Submitted. Attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “A”

Regional Transportation Plan/Active Transportation Plan update – John Speka AICP Senior Transportation Planner

Gave a slide presentation. 20-year plan updated every 4 years. ATP = Active Transportation Plan (stand-alone document). List of prioritized plans must be within this plan. Will have the Draft RTP/ATP by summer/fall of this year, with the final draft ready by February 2026. Ways to provide input: www.lakeapc.org, John Speka, spekaj@dow-associates.com. Lake Area Planning Council, 525 South Main Street, Suite G, Ukiah, CA 95482. Handout attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “B”.

COMMITTEE REPORTS (3 minutes/individual)
Firewise Communities – Magdalena, Cindy, Glenneth, David, Laurie
SSCRA was the only non-profit awarded a grant in California. Was asked to distribute $10K. Attended a meeting of awardees. Can provide up to $1,500 per household. Identify your project by where the project is located, number of square feet, and how much money is needed. Shooting for a deadline of 5/3. Contact Magdalena at magdalenavh@sscra.org.

Communications Committee – Darlene
Brian has radios for sale. Email: cobbalertnet@gmail.com. Radios will be available for sale in a retail location soon, Mel is working on it. Check-ins continue to be around 30 each week.

Forest Health Committee – Eliot
SSCRA’s federal grant is in limbo; have a signed contract. Kicked off the Cobb Area CWPP. Receiving help from CalFire with GIS mapping. The committee meets the last Friday of every month at the Loch Lomond Firehouse at 4pm; email Eliot elioth@sscra.org for more info. Attended a full-day of training at CalFire’s Chico training center – how to put together a CWPP; half the room was planners, and half the room was full of fire professionals.

Economic Development Committee – Chris

Blackberry Cobbler Festival – Cathy: next meeting is 3/25 at 6pm at Cobb Mountain Pizza
ONLY deal directly with the Blackberry Cobbler Festival page; beware of scammers

Next Meeting: April 17, 2025
Adjourned at 7:44pm

Respectfully Submitted,
Darlene Warner, Secretary

COBB AREA COUNCIL

PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday February 20, 2025 at 6:30pm
In-Person and Online Participation Available

MINUTES

CALLED TO ORDER AT 6:30PM
ROLL CALL:
Present: Cathy McCarthy, Jake Strickler, Chris Nettles, Darlene Warner, Paul Duncan
Absent: Joe Schneider
Attendance: 15 Voters: 15

Pledge of Allegiance

APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by Chris, 2nd by Magdalena. All in Favor, Agenda approved.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Chris, 2nd by Mary. All in Favor. Minutes approved as amended.
Amendment: Page 2, under Supervisor’s comments, Chief Sapeda’s name was misspelled with a “Z” rather than an “S”.

SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mary – received a donation of $3,700 from the Frisbee Golf Tournament. Reminder that the crab feed is March 1st. Have a few tickets left. Easter egg hunt is coming up.

Public and Board Comment on Non-Agenda Items (3 mins./individual)
NONE

Supervisor’s Comments – Jessica Pyska (to include Roads Update)
Received an email that one of the bids was accepted for our roads project for approximately $5M. Should be coming before the BOS in a couple of weeks detailing which roads are involved. Will try to get Glen March on the March agenda to give CAC an update. On 2-25-2025 there will be a presentation to the BOS by RRA, RCD on the Mediterranean Oak Boarer. Video on the RRA YouTube channel. We think the reason why the Oak Boarer beetle has spread so quickly in Lake County is due to firewood. Figuring out best practices. Started burning Monday night at the carbonizer. This will burn 24/7 for two weeks, then cool down and cleanup, and fire-up again. This is a collaboration between PGE and Earth Foundries. PGE is responsible for taking the trees to the burner. This is a pilot program. Next week will be in D.C. working on National Task Force for FEMA. USDA has awarded us money – funds are frozen. Funds are frozen for many programs we have in the works.

Fire Season Update – Paul Duncan
Will be control burning around the school on the Boggs property through tomorrow. Stations are now at full staffing. Copter will be staffed in April. Community drop-off days for the ACI and carbonizer will start soon.

Treasurer’s Report – Chris
Submitted. Attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “A”

County Park Update -Lars Ewing, Lake County Public Services
Presentation via Zoom. Summary of how we obtained the current park property. Pre-design work concepts presented; focus on the use of area up front as much as possible. Environmental studies are being done. Landscape architect has prepared a concept plan. Proposed for the East side is a network of trails. A parking lot is proposed with approximately 30 spaces, a picnic area and restrooms. South gathering area is TBD. Kelsey Creek – not in the plans, but has been suggested, a pedestrian crossing bridge. No funding available for this right now but pursuing grant opportunities. Tribal coordination is going on. Preparing documents necessary for the CEQA review – Request for Review should be ready by April 2025 and should take 4-6 months. Overall cost $2.5M, in phases. Trails on East side, Phase 2. Kelsey Creek bridge, Phase 3. Phasing will be funding dependent. Two ideas for areas in the park are for a Christmas tree, and a memorial for the Valley Fire. Funding for the overall project comes from geothermal royalty funds.

Discuss/Approve: Grant authority to CAC Chair and Treasurer to sign MOU with Seigler Springs Community Redevelopment Association SSCRA for Community Wildfire Protection Plan once legal review is completed.
Have a signed contract with the California Forest Service as of 1-31-2025. This MOU outlines the match between CAC and SSCRA, which is part of a 10% match. CAC has agreed to $5k over the course of a year. The Forest Stewardship Committee will be overseeing this and will begin meeting the last Friday of each month at the Loch Lomond firehouse.

Motion to authorize CAC Chair and Treasurer to sign the MOU made by Chris, 2nd by Darlene. All in Favor, none opposed. Motion passed.

MOU attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “B”

Committee Reports (3 minutes/individual)

Firewise Communities – Magdalena, Cindy, Glenneth, David, Laurie
Five Firewise groups are now on-track. Seigler Springs, Rainbow Estates Mesa Meadow (REMM), Cobb View, Gordon Springs, and Loch Lomond.
3/29 – REMM group having a broom busters event
4/19 – having a disaster preparedness event

Communications Committee – Darlene
Still have about the same number of weekly check-ins, about 30; this should increase as we come out of winter season. There is a 3rd repeater up and running in the Loch Lomond corridor which is working well. Check-ins are every Wednesday evening. Radios were for sale at Madelyn’s Mail Express in Loch Lomond; unsure if they’re still available there or not.

Forest Health Committee – Eliot
Will be meeting the last Friday of each month at the Loch Lomond firehouse.

Economic Development Committee – Chris
Will have more next month. Cathy: Blackberry Cobbler Festival meeting is February 25, at 6pm at Cobb Mountain Pizza.

NEXT MEETING: March 20, 2025
Adjourned at 7:40pm

Respectfully Submitted,
Darlene Warner, Secretary

COBB AREA COUNCIL

PUBLIC MEETING

Thursday February 15, 2024 at 6:30pm

In-Person and Online Participation Available

 

MINUTES (Approved 3-21-2024)

 

CALLED TO ORDER at 6:37pm

Roll Call

Present: Cathy McCarthy, Chris Nettles, Darlene Warner

Absent: Jake Strickler, Joe Schneider, Mel McMurrin

Pledge of Allegiance

Approval of Agenda: Motion by Paul, 2^nd by Magdalena, All in favor, Agenda approved.

Approval of Minutes Motion by Paul, 2nd by Chris, All in favor, Minutes approved.

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. No meeting was held in January, therefore we will select these roles tonight.

Cathy McCarthy: Chairperson

Jake Strickler – Vice Chair

Chris Nettles: Treasurer

Darlene Warner: Secretary

Joe Schneider: Member at Large

Mel McMurrin – Alternate

Chris suggested we vote for the positions/roles as a slate. Jessica nominated Jake as Vice Chair. Vote on above positions was made as a slate: Chris made motion on slate vote to approve, Robert made 2^nd. All in favor of slate, Motion passes unanimously, members assigned roles as above.

Short Announcements

Robert – tickets are available and almost gone for the Crab Feed. Purchased Alaskan half-crabs at $8.95/pound. Please take free food leftover from food giveaway.

Public and Board Comment on Non-Agenda Items (3 mins./individual)

Cathy acknowledged Greg and Allison from Mountain High Coffee as Cobbites of the year for their long-term commitment and support to Cobb. Inez thanked them as well.

Duncan – question regarding Big Canyon Road/Perini Road/Ettawa Springs, and what parts are in which district.

Supervisor’s Comments – Jessica Pyska

Thanked the Lions Club and everyone involved for opening up as a warming center during the storm. With the help of the Lions Club and the Red Cross, the application for a new generator will be presented next week. Lots of crews were out during the storm: DPW, Lars, Chief Duncan, PGE, tree crews, CHP, helitack crews, many crews responded and did incredible work. Declared local disaster. Damage – get damage reports of personal property in. County needs total damage assessment. There were 25 homes destroyed in Lake County. If you need assistance with this, contact Jessica. Damage reports can be made at: www.lakesherrirff.com. Went to DC for the NACO (National Association of Counties) conference with a delegation representing Lake County: Bruno, EJ and 2 staff members. The first day was a full day (8am to 5pm) of FEMA training, learning how to build more resilient communities, how we get funding in pro-active work: for every $1 spent saves us $7 down the road. There was a significant amount of defensible space cleanup after the storm. Defensible Space Clearing – grant funds available of up to $2,500 per home – EJ and Jessica put some of their discretionary funds into this program, there’s about a half-million available. Tree mortality – removing from rights-of-way – working with CalOES for two years now on this; Senator McGuire gave us $1M to get the program started, Disaster Act funding. We’ve been working on a park for the Cobb community for a long time – introduced Lars Ewing.

Cobb Park Update- Lars Ewing and Celia Hoberg

The Public Services Department includes the Parks and Recreation Department

Public Notice has been issued of a hearing at the BOS Meeting on March 27^th regarding the purchase of this 13-acre property SE of the golf course. Will be closing escrow a few weeks after that. The parking area will be in front, at the corner of Hwy 175 and Golf Road where the existing building is. Amenities – ideas presented: restrooms, a forested, cabin feel, shaded picnic areas, majority of park will be trails, trail up over the creek, natural playground, amphitheater, and native garden. Eliot commented to include creek ecological restoration and partnering with SSCRA and TERA. Going to use a phased approach. There will be more formal opportunities for further input. The first phase is to open the park, which includes initial amenities and some of the trails. Maintenance and long-term/ongoing funding are a concern. The Concept Plan is developed.

Fire Season Update: Winter Storm Edition- Paul Duncan

More significant storm than the NWS out of Eureka predicted. Has not been pleased with Eureka (vs Sacramento), they’ve been underestimating the wind. NWS may be asking for weather spotters. Reminded everyone to always call 911 first – that way your location is logged and there’s medical aid available over the phone. Another significant event this weekend, be prepared. Boggs forest is a mess, crews are working on that. Would like to know why the permanent ATT keeps going down. Lake County received 400 calls for service, 68 is normal. Snowplow was very busy; Chief Duncan is still dispatch on that. The helicopter will be back in March. Working with CLERC to get ACI back up and running, have fence up around it now. Pine, fir, and cedar trees don’t like to be alone.

Robert commented about ways PGE can better notify the public when an emergency shelter is opened up when the power goes out. Mentioned it was the first time he saw County plows in the area and praised Public Works for that.

Treasurer’s Report – Chris

See attached report incorporated herewith as “Attachment A”

Overall decrease to Profit & Loss Statement of $3K. Funds in Blackberry Cobbler Fest are $17.9K.

Discuss/Approve Authority to continue rent storage for HUB materials until new location is determined.

Monthly rental at Empire Storage in Middletown is $130/month. Approval is to continue renting storage unit, and to review this rental in another quarter. Motion made by Chris, 2^nd by Eliot. All in favor. Motion approved.

Committee Reports (3 minutes/individual)

Firewise Communities – Magdelena, Cindy, Glenneth, David, Laurie

Cathy – Jones Creek is renewed and in good standing.

Magdalena – getting Firewise communities active and focused on getting renewals in. Heard Firewise discounts on homeowners’ insurance is 10% off CA Fair Plan, with 25% off the wildfire portion of policy. Community Organizations in Active Disasters (including non-profits) with CERT training are people who help and are looking at making more CERT classes available. Worked with NCO to get an AmeriCorp crew out to– 5 or 6 properties. The crew were young and energetic – we need more crews. We are overdue for a community event. Marin County is no longer #1 for number of Firewise Groups. Nevada County is #1 for number of Firewise groups now with 91 groups. We have almost 20.

Communications Committee – Darlene

Mountain repeater got wet due to a roof leak with the storm. Operating on a backup repeater, and on generator power when PGE was out. During winter, having a radio is a good idea too, but always call 911 first if you can. Had a call for help on the radio from a new member and was able to help people with a large tree through their roof which trapped them in their bedroom. Information was relayed to get them help. Noted how information was stated clearly and calmly in a stressful time. Communications Committee meeting will be either Friday 2/23 or 3/1. Mel would like to find people interested in getting their HAM license, call him at (415) 302-6896. An informal, post-storm meeting will be held tomorrow at 5pm online. Duncan had a question about linked repeaters.

Forest Health Committee – Eliot

No report

Economic Development Committee – Chris

Chris attended Lake County Business Association Round Table – money/loan programs available to small businesses, and technical assistance available. Working hard at getting presentations at the Economic Development Committee meeting and putting on calendar. 

Blackberry Cobbler Festival

Noted that Mountain Meadow venue is in escrow, and new owners are willing to host the Blackberry Cobbler Festival 2024.

Discuss/Approve process for appointing next chair of the Blackberry COBBler Festival

Motion made by Magdalena to delegate Economic Development Committee to be tasked with this, Chris made 2^nd. All in favor, motion passes.

Discuss/Approve chair of Blackberry COBBler Festival as a paid position

Eliot asked whether we were going to hire outside to manage. Chris and Cathy noted to do as we’ve done before and hire local – ideally someone who has been involved before and knows Cobb. Clarified this position is not only chairing, but administering all functions related to Cobbler Fest 2024. It is noted that a job description and duties need to be defined. Motion made by Chris, 2^nd made by Jessica, all in favor, motion passes.

Next Meeting: March 21, 2024 at 6:30

Adjourned at 8:03pm

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Darlene Warner, Secretary