111 E. COMMERCIAL STREET WILLITS, CALIFORNIA 95490 (707) 459-4601 TEL WILLITS (707) 459-1562 FAX WILLITS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2025 Mayor Stranske called a regular meeting of the City Council to order at 6:35 p.m., in Council Chambers. The meeting was preceded by the pledge to the flag. Roll Call: Councilmembers Gerardo Gonzalez, Tom Allman, Bruce Burton, Vice Mayor Matthew Alaniz and Mayor Larry Stranske were present. Also present were staff members: Brian Bender, City Manager; Jim Lance, City Attorney; Dusty Duley, Community Development Director; Walter Kolon, Services and Facilities Director; Leiloni Shine, Contract Planner; and Delores Pedersen, City Clerk. 2. Public Communications - Liam Vicearphaill, Little Lake Grange Representative expressed the Little Lake Grange's concern over the color scheme on the Willits Police Vehicles. Mr. Uicearphaill explained that the color scheme makes it difficult to identify the vehicle as a Police vehicle. The Little Lake Grange passed a resolution requesting that the color scheme be changed to make the vehicles easy to identify as a Law Enforcement Vehicle. Saprina Rodriguez expressed concern of the right of the public to speak on any agendized items. She expressed the importance of Open Government and the rights of the public to be heard. Ms. Rodriguez expressed concern over her public comments not being added to the minutes or video of the City Council Meeting of February 12, 2025. Stuart Handte stated that Transparency and change are a must. Mr. Handte asked the community if they have input to bring it forward and to question things that do not look right. 3. Public Matters None. 4. Enactment of Ordinances None presented. 5. Consent Calendar The following item(s) are recommended for approval or denial, as follows: a. City Council Minutes: i. February 12, 2025. ii. February 13, 2025. Public Comment: None presented. Page 1 of7 Moved by Allman/Seconded by Burton and carried unanimously to approve Consent Calendar item(s) (a). 6. Monthly Activity Reports Matters that do not require action by the City Council but are of public interest. None presented. 7. Commissions, Agencies and Authorities None presented. 8. City Manager Reports and Recommendations a. Annual update on the implementation of E. Commercial Corridor Master Plan. City Manager Bender reported how the E. Commercial Corridor Master Plan has been utilized by City Staff. Mr. Bender reported that staff has composed two grant opportunities using the E. Commercial Corridor Master Plan. The grant programs are federally funded. These funds would be used to implement certain provisions identified in the E. Commercial Corridor Master Plan. Councimember Burton asked about the status of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) fund that the City and PG&E had contributed to for undergrounding the utilities around Bud Snider Park. City Manager Bender reported that the City has just shy of $900,000 worth of work credits for the project, the estimated cost of that project is between $1,200,000 and $1,300,000. The project was presented to the previous Council to use either General Funds or American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), or Measure K Funds the Council at that time did not direct staff to utilize internal funds to close the funding gap to move the project ahead. PG&E had a loophole identified in the Undergrounding of Utilities Program that PG&E could transfer their contribution from one community's project to another community if there were no intentions to underground the identified utilities. PG&E took advantage of that loophole and transferred their contribution to another community which closed the opportunity for the City of Willits. The City of Willits currently has the $900,000 in work credits with PG&E. Councilmember Allman expressed his appreciation of the identifying signs that have been placed in the Recreation Grove Park and Bud Snider Park. Councimember Gonzalez stated that he is looking forward to the identifying sign that will be placed on Highway 20. This sign will encourage travelers to turn into the City's Downtown area. City Manager Bender explained that City is moving forward with the sign applications that need to be submitted to Caltrans. There are hopes that by the end of the year the Highway 20 Directional sign and the Highway 20 Gateway Sign will be in place. Public Comment: None presented. b. Verbal Reports - No Action. i. Fire Hazard Severity Zones: Map Release and the March 6th public forum. City Manager Bender reported that CalFire has released the Fire Hazard Severity Zones Map. Mr. Bender announced that Thursday March 6, 2025, the City is holding a Public Forum to attempt to answer as many questions as possible. Copies of the Fact Sheets and Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps will be available for the public. Staff that will be at the Fire Hazard Severity Public Forum will make note of questions, present the questions to council and then present them to CalFire. Public Comment: Willits City Council Minutes of February 26, 2025 Page 2 of 7 Hellen Sims inquired about the time of the Public Forum. Why is it starting at 4:00 pm, when sO many residents are still at work, rather than a 6:00 pm start time? Mr. Bender responded that the staff chose that time frame to accommodate as many citizens as possible. Staff will not be chasing anyone away. Karen Cavanaugh asked if notification of the Forum would go out on Social Media. Mr. Bender responded that the Staff is currently preparing notifications to be posted to the City Facebook pages and website. Councimember Allman added that this Forum only applies to within City Limits. City Manager Bender further reported that there will be a notice announcing the need for an additional member for the Measure K Oversight Committee. City Clerk Pedersen announced that the notice was in the February 26th edition of the Willits News. Mr. Bender stated that the hope is to have applications to present to the Council at the March 26th meeting, for a decision to be made on the member and have the first meeting of 2025 in April. Madge Strong inquired about the deadline for application submittal and announced that the Willits Weekly would be back in circulation on March 6th. Ms. Pedersen announced that the deadline for application submittal is March 13th and that she would get an announcement in the Willits Weekly March 6th edition. 9. Department Recommendations (Action Items) a. Proposed Amendments to the Sidewalk Ordinance Contained in the Willits Municipal Code Title 12, Chapters 12.16 and 12.17. Leiloni Shine, Contract Planner presented a PowerPoint Presentation on the Amendments that were made to the Sidewalk Ordinance at the request of the Previous City Council. Ms. Shine then asked the Council for direction as well as the funding Mayor Stranske asked about the sidewalks that do not connect to anything, will the City still require the residents to add sidewalk where there is no none? City Manager Bender responded that Staff could propose and ordinance that states that if the homeowner is doing improvements of $100,000 or more, sidewalk improvements would be discussed at that time. Mr. Bender added that there is another provision that the city is recommending that would create a deviational waiver process. Vice Mayor Alaniz asked about information that had been asked of Ms. Shine to provide to the Council in September 2024. The items requested to bring back to council were: List of Sidewalks that would be $500 or less to repair. Cost to repair City owned sidewalks. The time frame to have the sidewalk work done to be increased, it currently is a two-year minimum. A map that shows areas that would not require sidewalks. Councilmember Allman requested that we address the sidewalks that currently need to be repair then addressing the construction of new sidewalks by property owners. Public Comment: Nicole Caldwell reported to the council an incident when her daughter tripped on an existing City Sidewalk and sustained injuries and broken glasses. Hellen Sims asked if she repairs or installs a new sidewalk, will this require a permit and inspection, and if she repairs or installs a new sidewalk, will this limit her culpability if someone trips in front of her home. City Manager Bender answered that there would be permits required but that there could be a self-certfication process written into the ordinance. Willits City Council Minutes of February 26, 2025 Page 3 of 7 Madge Strong expressed her appreciation that Willits is a walkable city. She does not expect to see sidewalks everywhere. She appreciates that there could be a waiver ability added to the ordinance. Ms. Strong does feel that the existing sidewalks that need to be maintained and improved, also Ms. Strong feels that the burden of the liability should be shared with the property owner if they are not maintaining an existing sidewalk. Saprina Rodriguez asked that the current council look at the prior council's direction and build on it ensuring that citizens have safe access to sidewalks in the community. Robert Smith expressed concern, as a disabled person, over the sidewalks that lead to nowhere, or end with a curb. Dan Lowden explained that the American Disability Act clearly states one quarter inch height and anything more than a quarter inch is a violation. Mr. Lowden suggested that the City fix what is already in need of repair that is City responsibility rather than forcing residents to repair or install new. Lynn Dee Johnson thanked the city for paving Van Lane and explained that the amount of money that the City puts into sidewalks is valuable to citizens. Raghda Zacharia expressed concern over the repair of sidewalks being made more complicated than necessary. Mr. Lowden brought to the attention of council that at night the redwood trees on the corner of Humboldt and E Mendocino completely block the Street Lights. Council direction was to amend the existing Municipal Code by increasing the home improvement threshold amount from $10,000 or more to $100,000 or more. 10. Department Monthly Reports = (presented at the second meeting of each month). a. Airport. City Manager Bender reported that staff and the Airport Tenants had a good meeting in January. Staff will be re-introducing the volunteer work program. Airport tenants have expressed an interest in taking on general maintenance tasks as the airport. b. Community Development. - nothing further to add. C. Finance. City Manager Bender added that the City has received the Fiscal Year 22/23 Audit, it is currently going through review at the staff level, the Audit will be presented at the March 19th Finance Committee meeting, then present to the full council on the March 26th meeting with the recommendation from the Finance Committee. d. Police Department - Nothing further to add. e. Services & Facilities. Walter Kolon, Services and Facilities Director, invited Council and Citizens to take a look at the Wood Street Parking Lot as the Solar Lighting is now in operation. f. Utilities. Crews have been working hard fixing leaks. Flushing of the water lines will be starting soon, notices went out to' Water Customers this week. The water reservoirs are full, and the dam is flowing. No action taken. Willits City Council Minutes of February 26, 2025 Page 4 of 7 11. City Council Announcements. Communications and Reports a. Finalization of 2025 Appointments and Scheduling of City Committee Meetings. STANDING COMMITTEES OF THE CITY COUNCIL Finance Committee Tom Allman 3rd Wednesday 3:30 pm Matthew Alaniz Water & Wastewater Systems Committee Gerry Gonzalez 3rd Tuesday 10:00 am Larry Stranske Transportation Larry Stranske 4th Thursday 3:30 pm Gerry Gonzalez Bi-Monthly Chamber of Commerce Meeting City Manager Gerry Gonzalez REGIONAL BOARDS League of California Cities / Redwood Empire Division Gerry Gonzalez Alternate: Tom. Allman Mendocino Council of Governments (MCOG) Tom Allman 1st Monday 1:30 pm Alternate: Larry Stranske Economic Development & Financing Corporation (EDFC) 2nd Thursday 2-4 pm Larry Stranske Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority (MSWMA) Larry Stranske 3rd Thursday 9:00 am Alternate: Bruce Burton Mendocino Transit Authority (MTA) Matthew Alaniz Last Wednesday 1:30 pm MENDOCINO COUNTY CITY SELECTION COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) 1st Monday 9:00 am Gerry Gonzalez Mendocino County Museum Advisory Board Bi-Monthly 2nd Wednesday 9:30 am (1*, meeting February) Tom Allman AD Hoc COMMITTEES Willits Frontier Days Advisory Committee Gerry Gonzalez As Needed Larry Stranske Measure K Tom Allman Meets Quarterly Matthew Alaniz CITIZEN COMMITTEES Gary Martin Art in Public Spaces Margi Guhde Meets as needed Dan Miller Judy Fisch Willits City Council Minutes of February 26, 2025 Page 5 of 7 Councilmember Gonzalez Water/Wastewater Committee. Willits Received a donation of UV Modules from the City of Petaluma which saves the City $200,000. Tall Tree is the new Contract City Engineer. There are upgrades being completed on the Sewer Camera Truck. Mayor Stranske City Selection Committee Mayor Stranske reported that the City of Fort Bragg now has the representative for Sonoma Clean Power. Public Comment: None presented. No action taken. 12. Good & Welfare Councimember Allman - Frontier Days Events start in June with the Hometown Celebration, Truck Pulls are June 27th, with Rodeos on July 3rd, 4th and 5th. Councilmember Burton - Rotary is hosting the Gift and Grill event on Saturday March 1st Vice Mayor Alaniz - Reported that he is currently on the MTA Board and wanted to make sure that the Community knows we are being represented. Mr. Alaniz also thanked Saprina Rodriguez for continuing to attend the Council meetings as a citizen. Councilmember Gonzalez Senior Center Chili Cook off is Friday, February 28th. John Kvasnicka, Chamber of Commerce = Car Show is on May 25th. Public Comment: None presented. Closed Session Public Comment: Saprina Rodriguez expressed her concern over the public's right to speak on any agendized item. The Council Meeting of February 12th Public Comment was not offered before going into closed session and her comments made after closed session were not included in the record. Ms. Rodriguez also shared her frustration with the remarks from Councilmember Burton and inability to speak on closed session matters. Councimember Allman responded that the Current City Council is put in the position of correcting the deficiencies of the last City Council. Madge Strong stated that she found City Manager Bender to be effective and professional. The previous City Council publicly developed goals, City Manager Bender reviewed progress publicly and in writing. If the current City Council wishes to do things differently, give him direction, if we lose our City Manager the City will suffer. Councilmember Gonzalez commented that the previous council had goals for the City Manager, but that those goals were in essence a moving target and changed with the needs of the City. Delores Pedersen, City Clerk, announced that the Strategic Planning Meeting will be on March 5, 2025 starting at 8:30 am at the Mendocino County Museum in the Wonacott Room. Raghda Zacaria inquired as to the whereabouts of Manuel Orozco. City Manager Bender responded that information is confidential. City Council Adjourned to Closed Session at 8:43 pm. Willits City Council Minutes of February 26, 2025 Page 6 of 7 13. Closed Session Notice a. Pursuant to Government Code $54957 = Public Employee Performance Evaluation = City Manager. The City Council reconvened to open session at 10:28 pm, reporting no action was taken. 14. Adjournment Mayor Stranske declared the meeting adjourned at 10:28 p.m. For more information on the February 26, 2025 Willits City Council Meeting please view the recording on YouTube. LARRY STRANSKE, Mayor City Council for the City of Willits ATTEST: aia Pakcras DELORES PEDERSEN City Clerk Willits City Council Minutes of February 26, 2025 Page 7 of 7