Pre-meeting coverage
Groundwater project returns
Friday, February 4, 2022
Pre-meeting coverage:
Brooktrails Board of Directors
Willits City Council
Willits
Groundwater documents go to council
Willits’ groundwater project returns Wednesday when council members vote on approval of environmental documents for the project.
In public comments on the original project, the city’s plans took heat for a system that would have added arsenic to the city water supply and that the project could jeopardized groundwater in the Little Lake Valley.
The Long-20 well and its arsenic is out of the picture, the city stated.
Going to bat Wednesday is a city project that would install pump motors, lay water line and construct a holding tank to be used with the existing groundwater treatment plant.
Think about it: The city says this is to supplement surface water, yet the city does not have a formal policy for activating the groundwater system. The groundwater system, prior to these proposed improvements, was accepted by the state in ‘17 as a regular source of drinking water–no longer an emergency system as it was when city reservoirs became critically low in 2013-14.
Remote meetings
State Assembly Bill 361 or AB 361 asks that remote meetings be extended on a monthly basis. Council members will consider more remote meetings or they can decide to meet in-person. Pulling out of remote meetings looks improbable–this is a resolution on the consent calendar to extend remote meetings. But they have to do this each month.
License to do business
More surplus: vehicles and generators
Council members will be asked to approve a resolution declaring surplus property.
Doing so means the city is set to divest from another lineup of unwanted equipment and vehicles.
A small pickup truck, and by the sound of it, an absolute beater of an Kawasaki Mule highlight this mechanic’s special offering.
Final disposal remains at the city’s discretion, as in “whatever manner shall best serve the interests of the City.”
Your soon-to-be surplus goods:
1. Dodge Dakota - Vehicle Identification Number - 1B7GL32X425701438.
2. MB-16 Generator 416 or 208 and 240/120 (three phase) – Serial #52-100-079.
3. MB-16 Generator 416 or 208 and 240/120 (three phase) – Serial #52-100-158.
4. MB-16 Generator 416 or 208 and 240/120 (three phase) – Serial #6115AIW0360.
5. Ferri Boom Mowing Head Model HD 1108 – Serial #3047 YA.
6. Kawasaki Model #KAF950 Mule – Vehicle Identification Number – JK1AFDB135B508842.
Resolutions that ask council members to officially sign off on completion of Willits Airport and water line construction are on the agenda, too.
Ells Field: The city reports that contractor Team Ghilotti is finished with the $979,393 runway improvement project. More good news: City Hall says that the FAA will cover all expenses, including the time city staff invested in the project.
California and Penn Street: A project to replace old and leaking 4-inch steel water line with 6-inch C-900 (PVC) pipe is done and the street is repaved. Cost: $325,255.
WHAT: Willits City Council Meeting
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 PM
WHERE: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/409259325 or 1 (571) 317-3122 Code: 409-259-325
REMEMBER: Mute yourself when you are listening to a remote meeting. Nobody likes garbled audio. And public comment is still a thing, there is time to speak on non-agenda business at the beginning of the meeting.
Brooktrails
Brooktrails hears Tuesday a fiscal progress report, reviews accounts payable and decides, like the city, if remote meetings shall continue.
General Manager Tamara Alaniz provided a written report on the budget update.
Brooktrails’ review of its finances is an easy-to-read document that tracks and categorizes expenses in the different funds and departments within Brooktrails government.
It’s good to see practical easy-to-read reports.
For example, the image below shows a partial snapshot of how Brooktrails is displaying expenditures from the fire department.
WHAT: Brooktrails Board of Directors
WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7 PM
WHERE: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7794192028 or dial 1-408-638-0968 Code: 7794192028#
REMEMBER: Nobody likes to experience garbled audio or listen to fits of coughing or worse yet, a private conversation while another individual is speaking. Mute when not speaking.
See you again soon
Have a great weekend and maybe have some civic engagement in your schedule next week. Stay out of the police logs and don’t do anything NEWSBOY wouldn’t do.