TEHAMA COUNTY RESOURCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT

2 Sutter Street, Suite D, Red Bluff, California96080

Regular Meeting Minutes

Date April 24, 2012

Time: 8:30 AM

Place: USDA, NRCS

Conference Room, Red Bluff, CA

  1. Introductions - Open Meeting: Meeting called to order by Ernest White at 8:30 AM.

Directors present: Anne Read, Jack Bramhall, Ryan Sale, Walt Williams, Ernest White

Directors absent: None

Associate Directors present:Bill Burrows

Staff present: Vicky Dawley, Kris Lamkin, Mike Marvier, Tom McCubbins

NRCS staff present: Larry Branham

Visitors Present: None

  1. Public Communications: None.
  1. Minutes:
  • Correction to the March minutes was under section VII F was to clarify that the only the homeless in the immediate area would need to be moved for the East Sand Slough project to proceed. Motion to approve minutes as corrected.

Motion: Sale

Second: Read

Vote: Unanimous

  1. Action Items
  2. Approval for TCRCD to Undertake Fuel break Projects Directly: B. Burrows was at meeting to discuss this issue with the board. In the past he has acted as the contractor to complete this type of project but current TCRCD funding would make this a public works contract that would require the contractor to pay prevailing wage. The current grants for this work were not budgeted with prevailing wage rates and as a consequence the work couldn’t be completed with the dollars that were granted.

TCRCD staff researched the possibility of the District undertaking these projects themselves by hiring B. Burrows and his crew and renting his equipment. This would require Burrows Ranch (owners of the equipment) to add TCRCD as additional insured on their liability policy. Otherwise SDRMA, the District’s liability insurance provider, was comfortable with the solution. A. Read was concerned that the District should just decide to do one project at a time.

R. Sale moved y.

Motion to approve TCRCD to undertake fuel break projects directly:Sale

Second:Bramhall

Vote:Aye – Bramhall, Sale, White, Williams

Nay - Read

  1. Approval of Agreement with Calfire to Complete the Pattymocus Fuel Break:This fuel break will be the last section to complete a fuel break from Elder Creek to Highway 36 and will provide major protection for R Ranch. Calfire cannot easily contract with Bill Burrows to do the work so they will contract with TCRCD who can in turn hire him to do the work. The contract, at $35,000, is not financially viable for either Burrows or the RCD. It is an important project that both parties are willing to participate in. The RCD agrees to accept only 10% overhead and no direct expenses to cover its costs.

Motion to approve agreement with Calfire for the Pattymocus fuel break:Sale

Second: Bramhall

Vote: Unanimous

  1. MOU with Western Shasta RCD to Collaborate on Mitigation Projects in TehamaCounty

Western Shasta RCD was contacted by Caltrans to conduct some riparian mitigation for work in ShastaCounty. The site selected as best for this work is the BLM property at Jelly’s Ferry in TehamaCounty. Western Shasta has requested that TCRCD partner in this project. There was brief discussion about language in the MOU that says RCDs may loan equipment to each other. The clarification on this issue was that WSRCD will write TCRCD into the project budget rather than renting equipment from us.

Motion to approve MOU with WSRCD for mitigation projects:Sale

Second:Williams

Vote: Unanimous

  1. Finance:
  2. Finance Reports: Accepted.

Motion to Accept Finance Report: Sale

Second: Williams

Vote: Unanimous

  1. Warrant orders to be paid in April:

There were no unbudgeted expenditures on the warrants.

Motion: Sale

Second: Williams

Vote: Unanimous

  1. Discussion/Report Items
  1. NRCS Staff Report:

Larry Branham reported that the Field Office is wrapping up the last program year. Funding for next year is unknown. New service center activities are proceeding. Spring will become a full time NRCS employee when she graduates and the office will have an intern, a local student who attends the University of Wyoming, this summer.

  1. District Manager Report

District Manager had nothing to add that wasn’t on the agenda. Board discussed the need to have all new employees read and sign personnel policies and complete drug testing and background checks.

  1. TCRCD Staff Reports:

T. McCubbins reported that Mike Marvier has been a great addition to the staff and has been a big help on fuels projects.He will be attending the Butte County RCD meeting to present the idea of a cooperative project on Ponderosa Way in ButteCounty. He also presented the idea of expanding the Wildland Urban Interface in the Manton area to increase the geographic area where fuel break projects could be funded. W. Williams commented that other useful work would be reducing the fuels within the fuel breaks as the Manton Fire started within fuel breaks and never even burned up to a break.

J. Bramhall warned staff of the problem of treating fuels within the county right-of-way without getting landowner buy in as landowners see that area as belonging to them.

M. Marvier discussed incorporating herbicides into the chipper program. The chipper operator would immediately spray herbicide onto the cut surfaces of hardwoods to prevent regrowth. The chipper program is currently finishing Ponderosa Way and will then move onto Forward Road.Board and staff discussed getting various groups and organizations (such as Sheriff’s Department, Trails Group, Landfill) together to work cooperatively on the East Sand Slough project. The Sheriff’s Department is willing to clean up the site but have no funds for tipping fees.

  1. Land Use Reports:

None

  1. Other Reports:

None

  1. Board of Directors Comments:
  • E. White reported that he will be attending the CARCD Sacramento Valley Spring meeting and that the Western Shasta RCD annual report was very impressive.
  • A. Read shared two articles from the Record Searchlight. One quoted our board member R. Sale in an article on farm land values in TehamaCounty, the other was an article about volunteer monitoring of macroinvertebrates organized by Western Shasta RCD.
  1. Correspondence:
  • See agenda and correspondence list.
  1. Next meeting date –

Regular meeting, May 15, 2012 at 8:30AM

Finance Committee, May 15, 2012at 7:45AM

  1. Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 11:00 AM

Respectfully submitted,

Vicky Dawley ______

Anne Read, Secretary ______