Minutes | July 17, 2025
Minutes | May 15, 2025
Minutes | June 26, 2025
Minutes | April 17, 2025
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, 2nd by Darlene. All in favor, Agenda approved.
Approval Of Minutes: Motion by Paul to approve minutes as amended, 2nd 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 2nd 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 1st. There is a 2nd carbonizer there now until May 1st. 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 20th 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 6th 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
Minutes | March 19, 2025
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
Minutes | February 20, 2025
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
Minutes | January 16, 2025
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
Minutes | December 19, 2024
COBB AREA COUNCIL
PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday December 19, 2024 at 6:30pm
In-Person and Online Participation Available
MINUTES (Approved 1-16-2025)
CALLED TO ORDER AT 6:31pm
ROLL CALL:
Present: Cathy McCarthy, Chris Nettles, Darlene Warner, Jake Strickler
Absent: Joe Schneider, Mel McMurrin (in Australia)
Attendance: 20, Cobb Area voters: 18
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by Paul, 2nd by Chris. All in favor, none opposed. Agenda approved.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Chris, 2nd by Mary. All in favor, none opposed. Minutes approved.
SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Robert – PTO Breakfast with Santa was a tremendous success. Annual Crab Feed will be March 1st. Thanked CAC. Lion’s Friendsgiving had 75 people and was community spirited, hoping to double the size of it next year.
Magdalena – 6 Firewise groups submitting their renewal applications: 2 are approved, 2 are pending, working with the other 2 to get their applications in.
Mary – Gleaners overview. The Gleaners started in 1981 and are the stewards of the USDA food program. Started with 1 site, now have 8, bringing food to 2,500 families (6-7K meals monthly, 250K meals annually). Gleaners has a warehouse but needs another one. Bought the Worm Farm in Kelseyville a couple years ago. Trying to create a drive-thru in Finley off of Stone Drive. The property has one existing warehouse and needs to build another one with refrigerator space. Looking for volunteers in developing these properties. Anyone with building expertise to please contact the Gleaners. Please see handout – attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “B”
Undersheriff Luke Bingham – Introduction. Sheriff-Elect to be sworn-in January 6th.
Grew up in Lake County, moved here in 1980. Went to Middletown Elementary, Middle and High schools. Served 4 years in the USAF. Been in law enforcement with Lake County for 26 years. Community oriented philosophy.
PUBLIC AND BOARD COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
NONE
THE REGULAR ANNUAL NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS:
Nominations and Elections to FILL TWO SEATS on Cobb Area Council for terms that begin January 2025 and end December 2026. (Chris Nettles and Jake Strickler)
Darlene moved to nominate Chris Nettles and Jake Strickler by slate. Eliot 2nd. Chris and Jake accepted nomination. All in favor, none opposed. No other nominations were submitted.
Nominations and Elections of NEW ALTERNATE to serve the term beginning January 2025 and ending December 2025.
Chris nominated Chief Paul Duncan. 2nd Eliot. All in favor, none opposed. No other nominations were submitted.
Jessica noted each nominated person needs to submit their application to the County as soon as possible so they may be appointed in time for our next CAC meeting in January.
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.
SUPERVISOR’S REPORT: Jessica Pyska
Thanked members of CAC. Congratulated Luke. Tree mortality surveys were finalized and sent to Cal OES. Asked to complete this survey to find out how many dead and dying trees are along the County right-of-way roads. 3,100 trees killed by Bark Beetle identified up here. New problem identified is Red Ring Rot, affecting Douglas Fir trees. For this to be covered under the disaster assistance act, it must be tied to drought. The pile of trees along 175 towards Middletown are all the dead trees that PGE has cut down and left behind. It took a lot of effort to get PGE to get them to move the trees. Another machine coming called a pyrolizer, which will produce biochar. There is an agreement with Water Resources to use the biochar in different ways experimentally. Has been appointed to a national task force with the National Association of Counties (NACO), which gives an opportunity to do some reform work on FEMA. Finding on a National scale that coverage for Counties is inadequate. Manager of OES is Sheriff Luke Bingham; will be collaborating with him to meet County thresholds needed for Federal Disasters, as we don’t have the necessary population. A new threat to our Lake is Golden Muscles, detected in our Delta, first time they’ve been detected in North America. Not much information on how they affect freshwater yet. Immediate need for $350K in order to be as proactive as possible. Quagga Muscle dogs are being trained now for detecting Golden Muscles. In the summer of 2021, our Treasury pool was $400M, with about half being held for Special Districts. Since then, the investment strategy was implemented, significant interest was earned – in the 3rd Quarter of 2024 budget report, the County’s treasury pool increased substantially to $16.7M. South Lake Fire Protection District has earned $274K in interest so far. Expecting continued growth but will level out. Memo is attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “C”
Treasurer’s Report- Chris
Submitted. Attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “A”
CAC website: Minutes and Agendas discussed.
Fire Season Update – Paul Duncan
Burn permits are now obtained through Air Quality. Been doing a lot of work at Boggs and around the elementary school nature trail. Goal is to clean up the area, so kids don’t walk out of their classroom and see dead trees. NWS Weather Spotter class has been rescheduled to January 18th at Station 60 in Middletown. If trees don’t have bark on them, they are in high danger of coming down in wind events. Check batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless.
CalTrans has been working on shaded fuel breaks all along Highway 175, from Middletown through Cobb. This project has been in the works for the past 2 years or so. If your property borders Highway 175, please complete a right-of-entry form so they can do the work. Jessica gave thanks for an epic Candy Cane Run this year. Paul gave thanks to J.R. Rogers from Napa for the live Santa Tracker during the Candy Cane Run.
Cathy Awarded Division Chief Paul Duncan the 2022 Cobbite of the Year award! (Finally)
COBBITE OF THE YEAR PRESENTATIONS
Madelyn Martinelli – Business Cobbite of the Year
For 34 years, has owned and operated Loch Lomond Mail Express, and continues to despite challenges. For 24 years, has been on the Lake County Fire District Council, and has signed up for another 4 years.
Angie Winchester – Individual Cobbite of the Year
Special recognition for outstanding work running the Cobb School Garden, and avid fundraising efforts.
Darlene Hecomovich – Legacy Award
Presented by: Laurie Lincoln
Darlene has lived all of her life in Cobb. Her parents owned Seigler Springs Resort – she grew up there. Over the years has been active member of Redbud Audubon Society, Lake County Land Trust, and Friends of Boggs Mountain for over 20 years. She was instrumental in creating the interpretive signs in Boggs Forest and Cobb Elementary School. Volunteered for the literacy program in Lakeport for many years. Recently committed to the eradication of Scotch Broom. Avid bird watcher and identifier.
NEXT MEETING: January 16, 2025
ADJOURNED AT 7:33PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Secretary Warner
Minutes | September 19, 2024
COBB AREA COUNCIL
PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday September 19, 2024 at 6:30pm
In-Person and Online Participation Available
MINUTES (Approved 12-19-2024)
CALLED TO ORDER at 6:39pm
Acting Chair: Darlene Warner
ROLL CALL:
Present: Chris Nettles, Darlene Warner, Jake Strickler, Joe Schneider, Mel McMurrin
Cathy McCarthy – absent for most of meeting due to Back-to-School night, present at end of meeting
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Approval of Agenda: Motion by Robert Stark, 2nd by Chris Nettles. No amendments. All in favor (5 Board members, 7 community members), Agenda approved.
Approval of Minutes: Motion by Mary Prather, 2nd by Chris Nettles. No amendments. All in favor (5 Board members, 7 community members), Minutes approved.
SHORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mary Prather – the Lion’s Club raised $10K from the Blackberry Cobbler Festival which will be used for building improvements to the Little Red Schoolhouse/Cobb Community Center. Have been doing building renovations; the door off the main room can now be used as an exit as there are now stairs and the termite issue has been resolved. May have a new floor by next meeting. Will be having an October fest at the Lion’s Club on October 26th at 5pm. Tickets will be $20 presale, there are flyers around.
Magdalena – the Middletown Arts Center has extended its exhibition of “The Space Between” an exhibition of spiritual art from Lake County to Oct 7th. Open Thursday to Monday in the afternoons.
Ashley Strunk – the grand opening of Boston’s Steak House at Belmont Pines Golf Course will be Saturday, September 21st. Will be open 7 days a week from 4pm to 9pm. The bar, Broderick’s Off the Fairway, will be open same hours but Friday and Saturday will be open until 10pm. Beer and wine only for now until a liquor license is available.
Chris – Cobb LAPAC is having a public meeting conducted by the County on October 9th at 5:30pm. For details regarding the LAPAC zoom, visit www.lakecounty2050.org.
PUBLIC AND BOARD COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS (3 mins./individual)
Kies Winkleman – heard that Cobb roads project has been delayed due to the County not obtaining an EIR. Short discussion on status of project and possibly putting item on next month’s agenda. Provided a copy of the roads list. Jake recommended emailing DPW.
Supervisor’s Comments – Jessica Pyska
NO REPORT – Away at a 3-day conference in Rohnert Park
Fire Season Update – Paul Duncan
NO REPORT/NOT PRESENT – Darlene commented that we are still in fire season and must be vigilant and gave a reminder about maintaining Zone Zero defensible space.
Treasurer’s Report – Chris
Treasurer’s Report with Spreadsheet (2 pages) submitted to Secretary, and is attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “A”
The Resiliency Initiative: Wildfire Evacuation and Preparedness Plan presented by John Speka, Lake Area Planning Council
Presented Resiliency Initiative: Wildfire Evacuation and Preparedness Plan. This is the community outreach phase. Regional umbrella for Lake County. This is funded by a $170K CalTrans grant. The Lake Area Planning Council consists of two County Supervisors: Bruno Sabatier and Moke Simon, two Councilmembers – one each from the City of Clearlake and the City of Lakeport, and two At-Large Members. APC is to assist local agencies in obtaining funding, partnering with CalTrans. Goal is to coordinate evacuation efforts with OES and all agencies, standardize response protocols for wildfires, and educate community members. There will be workshops on October 23rd in Clearlake and October 24th in Lakeport. There is a public online survey they are requesting to be completed. A plan will be drafted after the outreach phase and additional workshops will be held. Looking at next fall to have the draft plan ready. Robust Q&A to better understand what this initiative will do. Their flyer is attached and incorporated herewith as Attachment “B”
More information: www.lakeapc.org/projects/transportation-planning-projects/ or email John Speka at spekaj@dow-associates.com.
COMMITTEE REPORTS (3 minutes/individual)
Firewise Communities – Magdalena, Cindy, Glenneth, David, Laurie
Magdalena – Seigler Springs FireWise Community had a fire in their neighborhood and have setup a planning group to present a proposal to the neighborhood to organize themselves better. One thing learned/remembered was that every house should have a 100-foot hose, or a hose wrapping all the way around your home and have a metal rake, even if you’ve hardened your home for defensible space. Making use of the Force Multiplier program. Learned from the Boyles fire how important it is to know where your evacuation zone is in relation to other evacuation zones. Trying to arrange a tour to visit Gordon Springs, as they have a great firefighting setup. Cindy, FireWise Group 2 leader (includes Cobb Elementary, Estates, and Rainbow), has made use of South Lake Fire Safe Council/CLERC grant, will be getting some ingress/egress work done. Coming up on the 10-year anniversary of 3 fires: Rocky, Jerusalem, and Valley fires.
Several FireWise groups including Hidden Valley, South Lake Fire Safe Council, and Loch Lomond have started to talk about setting up events. The Valley Fire at the time was the 3rd largest in State history; it is now eclipsed by the Park Fire, which is 4 times as big. Encouraging people to fill out the Tree Mortality Survey. Only need 14 more people to get the project moving. www.lakecountyriskreduction.org
Communications Committee – Darlene
17 new members from Blackberry Cobbler Festival: 5 in Loch Lomond, 3 in Hannah, 5 in Boggs, 1 in Seigler, 2 in Cobb, 1 in Hobergs. We have 20 more radios available for sale. They can be purchased at Madelyn’s Mail Express in Loch Lomond. We have a 3rd repeater up and running, called the “Ridge” repeater, which is dedicated to the Loch Lomond/Seigler Springs areas, specifically if you are between Casale Road and Ridge Road (iffy/dead zone for Mountain repeater). This repeater has its own channels but does not replace the channels used on the Mountain repeater (channel 5 is still Loch Lomond, channel 7 is still Seigler). This repeater augments what is already in place. New channels available to communicate within these areas are simplex Channel 10, and for GMRS 24 (or 16). After the Doah Fire, it was clear we needed better communication in this area.
Mel – there will be a Ham test in Willits on Saturday, September 21st, and in Sonoma on the 28th. Our sister net, called Lake County North Alert Net, has been operating for several years now and also does check-ins Wednesday evening at 5:30pm, just before ours at 6pm. They are a GMRS only network with their repeater on Buckingham Peak that we call the “Konocti Repeater.” If you are already a GMRS licensed user and can reach the Konocti repeater, they are on Channel 27. Their email address is: lcnangmrs@gmail.com
Forest Health Committee – Eliot
Community Wildfire Protection Plan – received grant, working on contract and expect to be able to kick the program into gear by the end of the year. Will be coming back to CAC in November with an MOU between Seigler Springs Community Redevelopment Association and CAC for utilization of the approved matching funds. Hiring up SSCRA staff and recruiting volunteers. Will have draft of MOU for October meeting. John Green, Green’s Tree Service, saw a beetle that he didn’t recognize, the Mediterranean Oak Borer. This is new in Lake County this year, and needs to be tracked, especially looking at whether the management procedures are done properly, like disposing of wood, cleaning of tools, etc. which must be done a certain way. The Lake County Risk Reduction Authority’s YouTube channel has an excellent video on this. Report sightings to: www.theclerc.org.
Economic Development Committee – Chris
Busy doing Blackberry Cobbler Festival. Deferred to Cathy and Jennifer for report.
Blackberry Cobbler Festival – Cathy, Chris, Jennifer
Cathy: there were 100 vendors and 4,500 attendees this year. Cups are still available for sale. CalPine was again our Platinum sponsor and Sutter Health was our new platinum sponsor. Thank you to SSCRA for their partnership. Georgia Emerson won 1st Place in the Blackberry Cobbler contest. Thanked supporters, host, WestFest for grounds preparations, and approximately 100 volunteers.
Jennifer: vendors filled up within a week. Certain amount of space. Every vendor did extremely well, food vendors sold out. Chris: purpose came out of Economic Development Committee efforts to promote business in Cobb.
Chris: broke even with $25K in expenses, and $25K in funds raised. Will start 2025 festival with $15K on-hand. Sold out of old inventory. 651 transactions over 5 to 6 hours. Additional expenses this year were a refrigerated truck for beer sales, professional parking management, and traffic control. Local businesses had extremely great sales over the festival weekend. There was a 30% increase in sales over last year.
Next Meeting: October 17, 2024
Adjourned at 8:06pm
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary Warner