Wednesday, January 12, 2022
NEWSBOY post-meeting edition (late night)
Hello, city council fans! Willits City Council members approved all items on the agenda tonight except for the developing Trout Unlimited collaboration that returns at a future meeting.
Enjoy your briefing, there will be a pop quiz in the morning.
★★★
Grass roots
Tonight was the first council meeting of 2022 and the first council meeting since the anniversary of the out-of-control behavior witnessed Jan. 6, 2021 at the US Capitol.
Council Member Madge Strong spoke out, troubled, worried and expressing zero tolerance of what happened.
“I think each of us, as individuals, as citizens, need to be protecting our country,” Strong said.
New personnel
City Hall welcomed new Finance Director, Manuel Orozco at the meeting. City Manager Brian Bender reported additional new hires for positions in community development, police dispatching and the public works department.
A list of signatures authorized for the city’s financial tasks was also amended–to add and remove names.
“It is basically a staffing transition that we are addressing,” said Bender.
Hanging a shingle
Report on new business licenses: here we see signs of life around town–some are big outfits working on a utility project or small operators who live here.
“I am very happy to see that despite Covid we continue to have additional applications for city business licenses,” Mayor Saprina Rodriguez said.
Talking about fish
A relationship between the city and Trout Unlimited is not dead yet, it has just been postponed.
Matt Clifford, Trout Unlimited attorney, said to the city tonight that the organization has funding for a pilot study and actually needs to now open up talks with the city.
That announcement did not match a resolution on the table to support the relationship for grant writing purposes.
The city’s opinion on the project is favorable in that it could be a win-win for fish and the city. At the very least, Willits would gain revenue from selling the water.
“We see the value in this,” Bender said, “but we are not going to endanger municipal supplies.”
The idea is for the city to someday release water from its reservoir into Davis Creek to benefit the salmon.
Trout Unlimited sounded eager to begin.
“If conditions are right, we are ready to move ahead,” said Clifford.
Willits keeps going: street repair, firehouse parking
The city’s pavement improvement project is officially one for the archives. “We had a mix of maintenance-saving digouts….combined with addressing some failed sections on otherwise decent roads like Commercial and Lenore,” Jeremy Ronco, City Engineering Department, said.
The city paid $227,703 for the work, funded by city ½ Cent Sales Tax money. In the end, $100,000 can be recovered through Senate Bill 1, the city stated.
A section of curb on Humboldt Street across from the new fire house will be designated for fire department use.
The new firehouse parking frees up spaces on Commercial Street near the Art Center. Humboldt is a safer street to cross than Commercial, too.
Who’s on first, what’s on second?
Council members approved a list of committee assignments.
Many assignments are ongoing posts like Strong’s tenure on the Economic Development and Finance Committee and Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority, for instance.
Sorry, it’s complicated
Council members approved a new budget for the deceased Willits Redevelopment Agency as they do each year.
Bond payments, fees and administrative costs remain.
Now called the Willits Successor Agency, the expenses are $365, 646:
$321, 146…..Tax Allocation Refunding Bonds
$500…..Bond trustee fees
$44,000…..Administration
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Zack Cinek can be reached at 707-613-0369 or newsboy.zack@gmail.com
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