Rio Dell City Council
Meeting Notes
January 17, 2006
Tonights' meeting was attended by the full City Council as well as City Manager Jay Parrish, Chief of Police Graham Hill and Public Works Director Jim Hale. After the Pledge of Allegiance, the Council went to the consent calendar and passed the four items as a block, as is the usual procedure. That includes approving the minutes from the 11/8/05 study session, the 11/15/05 regular meeting minutes, the check register and the usual extension of the local water emergency through to the next Council meeting date of 2/7/06.
The next item was the approval of an extension to the local severe weather and flooding emergency resolution that had been approved last meeting. Parrish explained that the extension would come up every 14 days for review and approval. The City was calculating repair costs from the recent flooding. That information goes to the County which in turn gives the information to the State for an assessor to evaluate and there was a possibility of some reimbursement. The City had a number of emergency demands for money and resources such as on Ogle Ave where immediate work was needed as homes were being flooded. The Bellevue culvert was another example of the immediate need for repairs as the only artery to Ferndale if Fernbridge is closed. Immediate work was done but the area remains unstable and will be addressed in a more comprehensive manner as soon as possible.
The Special Call Items were next with the approval of two pay requests related to the water infrastructure rehabilitation project. The first was request #6 for SJ&B in the amount of $121,589.10. The second item was pay request #5 for Granite Construction in the amount of $14,744.55. Parrish remarked that the project was "over 75% done now." The third item in this section was a request for a contract extension due to weather related delays on the raw water intake project. The contract with SHN and Petersen was originally for 120 days however the recent weather and flooding made work on the raw water intake completely impossible. The request was for a 45 day extension with no additional cost to the city. The City disallowed one week of that and Parrish recommended the approval of a 40 day extension. Council Member Julie Woodall had questions regarding the time frame of the extension which Jim Hale addressed. Hale reiterated that there would be no additional costs to the city for the extension and he recommended it's approval, which was granted unanimously.
Steve (I didn't catch his last name) from Winzler and Kelly addressed the Council on the recent work done to address the storm damage at the Bellevue culvert. The normal procedures for the road work were necessarily circumvented due to the emergency situation. Fish and Game is working with the City so that repairs can be made quickly without the usual requirements for things such as fish access. Wendt Construction has the materials ready for repair work but they needed a day or two of dry weather. He stated that the lower terrace would be addressed first and then the roadway itself. There might be the need for a temporary shut down of the road for the work or re-routing the traffic during construction.
There were no public presentations tonight.
The reports from staff were next with the City Manager starting off. Parrish updated the Council on the recent audit. He stated that the auditors from Sacramento were in Rio Dell last week doing the field work of their assignment. He stated that the audit was approximately 80% complete for the last four years with the anticipated completion date towards the end of February. The Public Works Director was next and updated the council on the recovery from the recent storms. Hale stated that Public Works had to hire some extra help during the emergency, purchase materials such as a pump for Fern St. and there were damages not yet evaluated that would cost money. These were unanticipated bills but urgent and necessary. Bellevue is still eroding every time it rains and needs to be fixed right. Council Member Melissa Marks asked if there was assistance from the County since that area is a vital link to Ferndale. Hale stated that the County had already been helping out a great deal in this crisis. The temporary bridge that was installed on Bellevue was sold to the City by the County for $1.00. This is a 64' bridge and has kept that roadway useable. The County has provided a great deal of manpower and equipment as well. Wendt Construction was also praised for their assistance with the local emergency. Hale stated that Wendt has provided a great deal of work and equipment to the City at reduced rates as well as some assistance the City "would never see a bill for." Hale also stated that during the storm, the work on the water project was unavoidably slowed but never stopped completely, except for the planned holiday breaks. The Chief of Police was the final report for the evening. Hill reported that the new Officer was almost off his field training assignment and that the Police Dept. was looking into the possibility of hiring a part-time animal control officer.
Mayor Leonard then announced the items to be discussed in the closed door session:
Potential Litigation-Roberts vs. Rio Dell
Potential Litigation-Nuisance Abatement Issues
Personnel Matter-Police Department
Litigation-Rio Dell vs. Enes
Potential Litigation-Concerned Citizens vs. Rio Dell
The Council then recessed into their closed door session.
Note-City Hall has posted an announcement about the City applying for the release of more CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) money. The City is calling for any interested party to submit their public comments by Jan. 20th. Read the announcement on the window of City Hall or ask the office for a copy. For information on the use of CDBG money by the City in the First Time Homebuyers Program, see the Grand Jury report. I am posting the Cities response to the Grand Jury report on the City Hall page, look for it there.