City Council Update 12.20.22

City Council Update 12.20.22: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

City Council Update 12.20.22: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Steve and Katie:
I'm Katie, and I'm Steve, and this is the City of Redding podcast. Welcome to a Redding City Council update. For full details on each of the items covered or to watch a meeting online, visit City of Redding dot org or find the links in the episode. Show notes for any questions, suggestions or comments, please Email [email protected].

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
Good morning. This is Steve Bade, the Assistant City Manager with the City of Redding. I'm bringing you a recap of the Redding City Council meeting that was held on December 20, 2022 at 6 p.m.. We started off with a mayor's proclamation declaring March eight, 2023, as Joe Day within the City of Redding. And for those that don't know Joe Kostka, he was actually the president of the senior citizens of Shasta County Board of Directors, and he brought a lot of energy and dedication to our senior center. He held that position for eight years. And Joe has a lot of a lot of good energy and he really made a difference within that senior citizens facility as he navigated through some COVID closures and the reopening of it. He gave some great leadership with that facility. And and you can just tell when he was there getting his dedication or proclamation that he was he's an energetic guy and he is going to be turning 90 on March 8th, 2023. So they wanted to honor Joe and and give him that proclamation.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
Designating March 8th, 2020, that is Joe Cascade Day within the city. So it's always good to start off with a nice presentation for city council. And as we move through the agenda, one of the items that was on consent was a First Amendment to a development agreement for an existing project within our community. It was Altus Crossing, which is at 13, 20 and 1358 old Altus Road. And with this amendment we were making the request to increase a loan with that development. It was a $2 million loan that was increased by $1.49 million. And the project is under construction at this time. It's going to include 38 income qualifying units that is comprised of 14 buildings that contain two, three and four bedroom unit configurations. Of those 38 units. There is in addition to that, there's one manager's unit. So we get a total of 39 units and a great location on our east side of town. And, you know, there was some cost overruns that have been noticed within that development. And so there's cost overruns in the $3 million range. And we were able to bring some additional funding to the table to assist with that project. And this the funds that are being allocated are actually some community development block grant disaster recovery funds from our car fire activity. And these are federal dollars that are specifically allocated for multifamily development within our community.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And by providing this allocation to this project and actually expands all the funds that we have been allocated, we had about 16.6 million. And so this will close out that that allocation and we meet all of our threshold requirements with the state with this project. So we were excited that Council approved that and, and that project is going well. And so we thank the council for that, that that support. The next time we had would be we have a city of running 2022 shelter crisis and report. This is actually our first time to report the state as some background on that we back in June of 2021 the city of Redding was we declared that we had a shelter crisis and within that crisis there are government regulations that require you to report each annual, the annual activities that you are able to accomplish within your community. And so some of those items that we did report on this year are significant and beneficial to the community. We were able to let them know that we do have 976 shelter beds within our county and of those 100% are in facilities that have that report back to our federal partners and our local partners. But we were able to serve 630 people with those those 900 plus beds. And that's really important as we look to try and get our homeless population off the streets and into into emergency or transitional housing.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And so we also noted that the city increased our shelter beds by 91 this year through our partnership with no boundaries and pathways to housing. We also had 45 residents who move from homeless shelter into permanent supportive housing. And then one other highlight we had 100. Many residents who exited the system and are no longer in need of shelter assistance. And so within this report, we want to identify clear activities or some activities like the emergency housing sites that are in progress. And we have one of those that's under construction, and two are moving forward with our operational funding resources. And and we look to open a couple of them in the beginning of 2023. So we want to make notes within that and report back to the state the activities that we are completing to address our shelter crisis. So. Council approved that and the city manager will be assigning a letter to that effect and made to the state by the end of the year. We also were of benefit by city council supported the sole source purchase of a Type three wild line wild land engine from Golden State fire apparatus in the amount of 450,000. This is an important piece of equipment for the fire for our Redding Fire department there. It's a Type three fire engine and that they'd like to purchase and it's one that is actually very similar to or mirrors really, the Cal Fire fire trucks that they use for their wildland fire activity.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And so by having this same equipment as Cal Fire. Then the Redding Fire Department is able to be deployed on a fire with Cal Fire, and then they're also able to share maintenance of that. If something goes wrong out in the field, they can replace parts, they can fix it. So it's a good a piece of equipment for the Redding Fire Department to have. And so we anticipate that they're going to be replacing in 1994 type three. Fire engine and they're able to. Sole sources and and Golden State fire apparatus. Had the engine available so that would be a great asset for the city Redding fire department and also of benefit to the community. So good to see that item be approved. Another action item they they supported was they authorized the approval for a request for proposals to provide architectural services for fire station assessment and modernization project within. There's a little bit of background. The City of Writing proposed issuing around $25 million in debt obligations to finance land acquisition, construction and improvement of firefighter or fire department facilities, which included there's fire stations one through eight. Those stations were. They just need some modernization to improve their safety, reliability and functionality. And then also they want to build a new fire hall, which would be fire station nine and which would be near Shasta View Corridor.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And they'd like to have it at that location just to help reduce the response times. So this request was to get support for architectural services for the Fire Station Assessment and Modernization Project, which is broken at two phases and and provide it in a consultant preferred professional services agreement. And so they selected they selected Nichols, Moberg and Rossetto as an architect, and they have a professional service contract that they'll move forward with and amount not to see $297,950. And they'll be working on those architectural services that are needed to design that new fire hall and then also to to do those modernization improvements. And so like I mentioned, it's a it's a two phase approach. One would be the phase two. Well, basically, phase one is the staff will return to council and recommend authorization of the amendment to their agreement so they can move forward the architectural side of it. But they're also wanting to add phase two to those services, which will do the project development and design services required to deliver the capital projects that are identified within each one of these firewalls and also the design. So that was good to see those moving forward. Some of the fire halls out there are a little bit antiquated on some of their facilities and see those improved. And then also adding another fire station to our community is a great asset, especially to reduce those response times.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
They also counsel move forward on item for 11 rd and they approved a flood damage report. And I bring this up because part of the activity of this is that back in January 2017, there were heavy rains and severe flooding that caused some water to overtop embankments along the Sacramento River, which damaged some various parks and trails. And so the city went after some funding assistance from FEMA, and then they developed a number of projects to repair the storm drain. So the projects consist of 12 work sites, and they're located in four different recreational areas. So we have Turtle Bay, East Park V Park, blue Gravel Mine Trail and the Enterprise Park, and the project will repair seating and viewing areas as well as trail services, trail embankments and culverts. The work includes vegetation removal, demolition, excavation grading, sediment removal, culvert cleaning, erosion repair and and replacement of rock slope protection. So construction on the on these projects within these areas is anticipated to take one season and will be completed in the fall 2023. So these projects are really needed for the pedestrian bicyclists that use the parks and trails. And so it's good to see that move forward. And and finally, it's been a little bit of a long haul since the damage occurred back in 2017. In 411 I city council, they authorized the following actions in regards to the wood or the wood acre sewer main replacement project, and they awarded the project to Michael Johnson Construction in the amount of $783,954.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And then they approved an additional 136 cover the administration inspection fees and 45,000 for project development costs and then approved 130,000 to construct and contingency the project itself is it includes a replacement of approximately 2350 linear feet of six inch sanitary sewer main with eight inch and ten inch polyvinyl chloride pipe, PVC basically along Whitaker Drive, Diane Street and Jane Street. So in addition to these, the existing manholes will also be rehabilitated or replaced and existing sewer laterals will be reconnected. Next item was 5.1 and 5.1 was the council. Consider the appointment of Phil Kramer to the Shasta Mosquito Abatement and Vector Control District Board. And so Mr. Kramer served one full term and he's eligible for a reappointment and he's expressed interest in serving another term. So he was approved to serve. The mayor's recommendation was approved, and he will be serving a second two year term beginning January 1st, 2023, and ending in December 31st, 2024. And on the regular calendar, we got into 9.1 A and 9.18 was is really in regards to the submission of a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs regarding fee to trust application that was submitted by the Reading Ranch area. And so as background with this item, you know, the City of Writing received a letter from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on November 4th of 2022.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And basically that letter provided notice that the reading Rancheria filed an application to have real property accepted into trust. And the property that is in question was 228.64 acres of land that's owned by the RANCHERIA that's immediately south of the of Micelli Lane, east of I-5. And really over time and I think historically has been known as the Strawberry Fields property and the letter. Actually required a response by December 5th. But there was also an allowance in that letter that would give an extension for the city to have a response by January 4th. And so we got that approval. And within that letter the BIA is asking basically requesting four different, I guess, topics that they're asking. They're asking for a response. And so one was, if known, the annual amount of property taxes currently levied on the subject property. Are there any special assessments and amounts there of that are currently assessed and any government reserves that are currently provided to property by your organization and then also subject to zoning, how the intended use is consistent or it can inconsistent with current zoning. So it's important to note that in August of 2000, August 5th, really of 2018, the City Council unanimously approved sending a letter to the to the Bureau opposing the proposed fee to trust process that was being pursued by the Rancheria.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
So. For those that you know, and there were some community members that were a little bit surprised by this item coming back up. But the letter that we have mentioned that we received in November is the reason, because they're asking specifically for the city to respond. And that's why I was brought back up. And so there was good dialogue within this conversation. A number of community members showed up in opposition of the of the Rancheria project. And so it was good dialogue from the community. And but at the end of the day, the city council really. Reiterated their opposition to the entry as a plan to relocate the their Wind River Casino to the Strawberry Fields property that was in question. And. Council basically made the decision that they would like to provide a cover letter to the 2019 letter that opposed the Bureau of Indian Affairs request. And so with that. That the bureau opposing that the proposed fee to trust process. And so the council voted on it and it was a 4 to 0 vote. And so they will two members of the council were appointed to write that cover letter. And the cover letter is probably going to have some additional items added to it. Some traffic issues based on the new developments that have occurred in that portion of town and then also might identify a few more concerns about the tribe and their desire really to build that the casino.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And so council members saw that and Jack months were the ones that were selected to be the. Council writers of that cover letter. So they'll work on that and they will be looking to have that letter or that cover letter completed and the city will provide that letter to the to the Bureau of Indian Affairs by the January 4th date that due date that we're looking at. So. Good, good community dialogue on that item. And I think I think even city council and staff members, I think we received more than 400 community opposition emails and over the last few days. And so that message was carried through loud and clear. The next item that came up for on the regular calendar was a. It was a consideration of the Mark St emergency housing site and this mark St emergency housing site is a proposal that it would be over at 3211 March ST So some background I mentioned earlier in the podcast that the city of writing is in what's been declared a shelter crisis and an annual report that goes along with that. And I want to state that back in June of 2021 was when we did that and as part of that we had they declared a shelter crisis. And the shelter crisis really proclaims that a significant number of people are without the ability to obtain shelter.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And so following that declaration. Council approved ordinances and which modify the municipal code and then also administrative guidelines for these emergency housing sites. Emergency housing side is really a short term emergency temporary housing site with no more than no more than 30 individuals using using those emergency sleeping guys at one site. And the site can only operate from one year. So these are temporary sites providing emergency shelter. There's conditions that go along with these sites. So an emergency sleeping cabin is specifically defined in appendix of the California building code and a single occupancy unit. It can be 64 square feet and a double occupancy has to be a minimum of 100 square feet. And so with these each of the emergency housing sites, they need to adhere to this. To the administrative guidelines and develop, post, develop and post good neighbor policies are addressing the emergency housing site premises and the surrounding neighborhood. Now, these policies are really they they have provisions that discourage and address excessive noise or loitering from the participants that may be near that site. They also demonstrate coordination with other service providers within the community. And so with each one of these emergency housing sites, they have to submit their operations plan and their site plan to conform with the administrative guidelines. They submit those to the city manager and our city manager's office reviews them and approves them prior to.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
City council consideration and even a permit issuance. So over the last few months, city staff has been working with United Way to identify a city owned or at least city owned or city leased property that could serve as a good emergency housing site. And in June, the city actually entered into a lease with Raba, which is renting area bus authority for their property at 3211 Market Street and the United Way. Saw this site as a good location because its proximity to the services that are needed to help out our unsheltered population population and so they they made the request basically to partner with the city of writing to. At the South Market Micro Shelter Community. And so pursuant to the guidelines that are structuring these emergency housing sites. There's notifications that need to be sent out to the property owners within 600 feet. And so housing staff sent those notifications to September and then we held the informational meetings in October. And then in October, the city manager and I also met with our school district representatives, in addition to housing staff, met with the adjacent property owners of the Woodlands and school staff to really have the discussion about what this emergency housing site would be like in the area, how it would operate. And so. And then following up to that, the United Way held a community meeting on on Monday, December 19th, to create some outreach efforts.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And so we went through those check boxes in accordance to the administrative guidelines. And, you know, there's there's there's general questions from the community. A little bit opposition beginning because just trying to understand everything but you know, because of the good neighbor policy and how the site is regulated, you know, I think we have everybody at the table that's comfortable and. City staff will be monitoring it. They'll be on site staff monitoring it. So we're we're hoping for the best. Now, this the south south market micro shelter community, it would have up to eight temporary sleeping cabs and I mean temporary. Guys, are there a pallet shelter and they're single occupancy pallet shelters that would be they're 64 square feet. They're not big, but they're a great all weather safe lockable unit that has heat and it has a bed and a place for them to store their items and lock them up. And so along with that, I mean, the site itself even has an all weather entrance road. It's got pedestrian lighting, it's got a common gathering area, it's got portable showers and restrooms. There's outdoor storage, there's fencing, there's a dog run. You know, that dog room is really important because we have unsheltered population that is not they don't have it somewhere. They have pets. And and because of that, it's hard for them to find a place to go to as a temporary site to get back in to society.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
So this is going to be one of those sites. And so we are looking forward to this partnership with the United Way. We will start getting more mobilization on that site on March st over the next couple of weeks with the intent to hopefully somewhere between mid January and 1st of February opening up the emergency housing site and serving the unsheltered population. And, you know, there's a long there's good dialogue with the city council and there's concerns noted about, you know, security or the type of staff that will be there. You know, and it's, you know, with our partnership with United Way and the administrative guidelines and our monitoring of it from a city perspective, we believe that we're going to this partnership will do well. And the services and the coordination of those that live there is actually through our continuum of care. Our continuum of care is a collaboration of all of our service providers within the community. And they will work to bring. With each unsheltered person, they do a a survey of their of that person and their needs, and then they submit that into what we call a coordinated entry system. And through that coordinated system, it puts the individual into contact with the right service providers so that they can actually get the services they need to help them out and improve their quality of life and really just be there for them and give them the support they need.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
So it's going to be we have a great plan and I believe we're going to do really well with it. And it's got an on site staff that that will be there. They'll be providing referral services, housing, case management, workshop and learning opportunities, helping these individuals get jobs and get back in into life. And so that that the proposal that went before council, basically they approved the South Market Micro Shelter Community Operations and Services manual and site plan. They authorize city manager to negotiate and execute a consulting and professional services contract with United Way and provide $150,000 for services. They also authorize the city manager to negotiate with a one year sublease with a one year renewal option. The city manager also authorized to issue a emergency housing site permit to United Way that included up to eight single occupancy sleeping cabins. And then they authorized city manager to negotiate and execute a county or Shasta ARPA, which is American Rescue Plan Act funded agreement for 300,000 and appropriate 150,000 of that of that of those funds to the United Way for the operation of the South Market Street micro shelter emergency housing site. And then they also made the finding that the subject permit was was categorically exempt from sequa.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
So that was that was a big item we were. To have these emergency housing sites in our community to help out those that are unsheltered. And it's great to see city council support for that item. And we're looking for forward in that partnership with the United Way and making a difference in the community. So we appreciate that. The next item that was of consideration was there was an oral report that was provided by our electric utility director, Nick Zettl. It was centered on the council approved Electric Department's 2021 to 2026 strategic plan. And since the adoption of that plan back in, I mean, the initial timeline in August of 2021, and since its adoption, the electric department has made significant progress on many of the strategic goals, and those are identified in this plan. And so this update basically provides an overview of the strategic strategic planning process. And now comes a report on progress on the strategic goals, and then also identifies a strategic planning focus for 2023 and then introduces key performance indicators to measure the success of our strategic priorities. And one thing I thought was might be really helpful for the community is that Nick Zettl, the director, he had pointed out that you may go online and if you go to the city of running website and you go in or running electric utility, you'll see that they have a riding electric utility strategic plan and has a dashboard.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
And so you're able to look at those strategic priorities and then also with their mission is with their vision is and they keep this up. It's an ongoing manage website that provides updates to their strategic plan process. So I would recommend the community go to that website and participate in that strategic plan and give the utility some good feedback and be part of that process. The next item that was under consideration was 9.98, and this is a great item that that council was able to consider and they they approved adopting a resolution that would approve two full time CERT officers for the City of Redding. Now, so assert officer is the crisis intervention response team with our Redding Police department and it's they're made up of two plainclothes Redding police department officers and they have they carry their weapons and they have body armor that's concealed and they operate in an unmarked emergency vehicle. And they're paired up with a clinician from Shasta County Health and Human Services or even Hill Country. They're a great team that go out and they're trying to help our homeless population get into housing. And so this request is actually looking to add two more to our existing two officers that are on that search team so that we can have the search team operate seven days a week. And so with that, in July of 2021, the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, he announced that there was a final settlement agreement with prescription opioid manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.

Steve Bade, Assistant City Manager:
With this settlement, they have provided activities that could be funded from the settlement as a city receives funding. Then there's four different categories that you can actually or you can use as eligible activities. One of those provision matching funds or operating costs for substance use disorder facilities, creating new or expanded substance use disorder, treatment infrastructure, addressing the needs of communities of color and vulnerable populations that are disproportionately impacted by the substance use disorder. Diversion of people with substance abuse or substance use disorders from the justice system into treatment, and then also interventions to prevent drug addiction and vulnerable youth. So this is a this is a great funding source. The city, I believe, has already received around 156,000, and we'll receive this annually. And I believe it's over a nine year period of time. So this will be a great addition to the CERT team and it was approved by city council. And so we're looking to shore up that team more, add to more officers, and we're grateful for the council support with that item. And that was my last item. I think that we had a good robust city council meeting and some great support. I thank you for your time and listening to the podcast and catching this overview for the December 20th City Council meeting.

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