County of Inyo

Public Comment

The Chairperson announced the public comment period.  Mr. Melvin Bernasconi, Independence Resident, addressed the Board to provide an historic perspective on the scenic stones, which are located on the lawn of the Courthouse. 

County Dept. Reports

The Chairperson announced the County Department Report period and Ms. Andrea Clark, Resource Management Coordinator, informed the Board of the award of two Community Development Block Grants to Inyo County, explaining formal discussion and acceptance of the Grants has been scheduled for the January 21, 2003, Agenda.

BofS/Election of Officers

The Chairperson turned the meeting over to the Assistant Clerk of the Board for the election of officers.  The Asst. Clerk called for nominations for Chairperson.  Supervisor Arcularius nominated Supervisor Dorame and the nomination was seconded by Supervisor Williams.  The Clerk closed the nominations.  Moved by Supervisor Bear and seconded by Supervisor Hambleton to elect Supervisor Michael Dorame, Chairperson of the Inyo County Board of Supervisors for calendar year 2003.  Motion carried unanimously.

The Clerk called for nominations for Vice Chairperson.  Supervisor Dorame nominated Supervisor Hambleton and the nomination was seconded by Supervisor Bear.  The Asst. Clerk closed the nominations.  Moved by Supervisor Arcularius and seconded by Supervisor Williams to elect Supervisor Butch Hambleton as Vice Chairperson of the Inyo County Board of Supervisors for calendar year 2003.  Motion carried unanimously.   The Assistant Clerk turned the meeting back over to the new Chairperson

Introduction

Ms. Jean Dickinson, Assistant Director of Health and Human Services, introduced Ms. Kelley Marie Williams, Administrative Assistant in the Health and Human Services Department, to the Board.

BofS/Develop. Disabilities Brd. Appointments

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Bear to appoint the members of the Development Disabilities Area Board 12 to the terms of office as recommended by Staff.  Motion carried unanimously.

Parks/Izaak Walton Lease

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Bear to approve the lease agreement between the County of Inyo and the City of Los Angeles, Department of Water and Power, for property used for the Izaak Walton Park in Bishop, for the period of October 1, 2002, through September 30, 2007, at the rate of $360 for the first year, and $500 annually thereafter; and authorize the Chairperson to sign.  Motion carried unanimously.

Integrated Waste/ Collection Permits

Assessor/Bertholf Contract

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Bear to approve the Contract between the California Assessors’ Association, Harold W. Bertholf, Inc., and the Assessors of seventeen California Counties for the provision of a Petroleum and Geothermal Property Sales study, in an amount not to exceed $82,100, with Inyo County contributing $3,300 for the period of November 1, 2002, through October 31, 2003, and authorize the Assessor to sign, contingent upon the appropriate signatures being obtained.  Motion carried unanimously.

H&H-Children’s Serv. Council/

Exec. Director

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Bear to appoint Mr. George Johnston as the Executive Director and Howard Lehwald as the Deputy Executive Director for FY 2002/03.  Motion carried unanimously.

P.W.-Bishop A/P/ Demolition Pjct.

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Bear to approve the plans and specifications for the Bishop Airport Demolition Project and authorize the Public Works Director to advertise for bids for the project.  Motion carried unanimously.

Resol. 2003-01/ Jail Demo Notice of Completion

On a motion by Supervisor Hambleton and a second by Supervisor Bear, Resolution No. 2003-01 was adopted, accepting the improvements and authorizing the recording of a Notice of Completion for the Old Inyo County Jail Demolition Project: motion unanimously passed and adopted.

Rd. Dept./Shop Press P.O.

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Bear to award the bid for and approve the purchase of a OTC 55-Ton Heavy-Duty Shop Press from Supply Station, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $5,279.75, including tax and freight.   Motion carried unanimously.

Library/Branch Holiday Closures

Mr. Bill Michael, Museum/Library Director, responded to questions from the Board, explaining that the public input regarding the proposed holiday closures was gathered through verbal comments and that there has been no negative feedback. Moved by Supervisor Arcularius and seconded by Supervisor Williams to authorize all library branches to A) be closed on the following Saturdays because of 3-day holiday weekends: February 15, May 24, August 30, and November 29, 2003; and B) to close at 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve December 24, 2003 and New Years Eve, December 31, 2003.  Motion carried unanimously.

H&H-Hlth Serv./ EMS Declaration

Moved by Supervisor Williams and seconded by Supervisor Hambleton to approve the “Declaration of Intent Not to Apply” for the FY 2002/03 Emergency Medical Services appropriation and authorize the Chairperson to sign.  Motion carried unanimously.

H&H-CalWorks/ Learning Disability Serv. Contract

Moved by Supervisor Bear and seconded by Supervisor Williams to approve the Contract between the County of Inyo and the County Superintendent of Schools for CalWORKS Learning Disability Services for the period of December 10, 2002, through June 30, 2003, in an amount not to exceed $10,000; and authorize the Chairperson to sign.  Motion carried unanimously.

H&H-Children & Families Comm./ School Readiness Initiative

Ms. Jean Dickinson, Assistant Director of Health and Human Services, provided additional information and further justification for the Contract for implementation of a School Readiness Initiative.  She and Supervisor Bear explained that the funding for this contract was made available through the State Prop 10 Commission and schools had to meet certain criteria in order to qualify for this funding source.  Moved by Supervisor Arcularius and seconded by Supervisor Hambleton to approve the Contract between the County of Inyo and the Center for Health Improvement to implement a comprehensive School Readiness Initiative in Inyo County, in an amount not to exceed $50,000, for the period of December 1, 2002, through June 15, 2003; and authorize the Chairperson to sign.  Motion carried unanimously.

Public Defender/ Crom Harvey and Harvey Contracts

The County Administrator provided additional information and further explanation of the contracts for public defender felony coverage, asking that the figures be adjusted from $82,000 to $81,000 for Dana Crom Harvey’s Contract and from $108,000 to $109,000 for Gerard Harvey’s Contract.  Mr. Mendez also corrected the financing portion of the Agenda Request form.  He amended the  combined total of the Contracts from $185,000 to $190,000.  Moved by Supervisor Arcularius and seconded by Supervisor Bear to approve the Contract between the County of Inyo and the following for public defender felony coverage, for the period of January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2003; and authorize the Chairperson to sign, contingent upon the appropriate signatures being obtained: A) Dana Crom Harvey in an amount not to exceed $81,000; and B) Gerard Harvey in an amount not to exceed $109,000.  Motion carried unanimously.

Probation/Acct. Clerk & Legal Sect. Vacancies

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Williams to authorize the filling of the following vacant budgeted positions for the Probation Department: one part-time Account Clerk and one full-time Legal Secretary I.  Motion carried unanimously.

H&H-Behavioral Hlth/B-Vision Contract

Moved by Supervisor Arcularius and seconded by Supervisor Hambleton to ratify the Contract between the County of Inyo and the California Mental Health aka Central Valley Specialty Mental Health Services (CVSMHS) aka B-Vision, Inc. for therapeutic behavioral services in an amount not to exceed $55,500, for the period of October 22, 2002, through June 30, 2003; and authorize the Chairperson to sign.  Motion carried unanimously.

Planning/Crystal Geyser and Quad Knopf Contracts

The request for contract approval for environmental review with Crystal Geyser and Quad Knopf Consultants for the Crystal Geyser Roxane Beverage Bottling Plant Project, was pulled from consideration at the request of the Department.

Rd. Dept./Asphalt P.O.

Mr. Jeff Jewett, Public Works Director, provided additional information regarding the request to ratify the purchase of an additional 501.72 tons of asphalt for the 9-mile Canyon Road Resurfacing Project.  He explained that the cold-foamed process used did not result in a product, which was totally successful on all areas of the road, and in order to ensure a safe roadbed he had made the decision to resurface certain portions of the road.  He explained that even though additional resurfacing was required the cost of the project was less than if the standard cold-foam process had been used.  Moved by Supervisor Williams and seconded by Supervisor Hambleton to ratify the purchase order with Granite Construction Company for 501.72 tons of asphalt in the amount of $19,505.93.  Motion carried unanimously.

Rd. Dept./Hiatt Ready Mix Conditional Use

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Williams, to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Inyo and Hiatt Ready Mix, Inc., concerning certain conditions of approval of Conditional Use Permits #98-14 and #2001-17 and the posting of a Bond to ensure the performance of those conditions; and authorize the Chairperson to sign.  Motion carried unanimously.

Water Dept./ Cawelti Appointment

Moved by Supervisor Williams and seconded by Supervisor Hambleton to appoint Ms. Teri Cawelti to the Inyo County Water Commission to complete a four-year term ending December 31, 2006.  Motion carried unanimously.

BofS/Minute Approval

Moved by Supervisor Bear and seconded by Supervisor Hambleton to approve the minutes of the Board of Supervisors Meetings of November 26, 2002, December 10, 2002, and December 17, 2002.  Motion carried unanimously, with Supervisor Williams abstaining.

Moved by Supervisor Arcularius and seconded by Supervisor Hambleton to approve the minutes of the Board of Supervisors Meeting of December 3, 2002.  Motion carried unanimously on a three-to-zero vote, with Supervisors Arcularius, Bear and Hambleton voting yes, and with Supervisors Williams and Dorame abstaining. 

Recess/

Reconvene

The Chairperson recessed the regular meeting at 11:15 a.m., reconvening in closed session, at 11:25 a.m., with all Board Members present.

Closed Session

The Board met in closed session to discuss Agenda Items No. 27. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION (PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.9(a) - Bishop Paiute Tribe v. County of Inyo, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Docket No. 01-15007 (United States District Court for the Eastern District Case No. CIV F-00 6153 REC LJO); No. 28.  CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR [Pursuant to Government Code Section 4957.6] - Instructions to Negotiators re: wages, salaries and benefits - Employee Organization: ICEA - Negotiators: County Administrator and Personnel Analyst; and No. 29. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR [Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6] - Instructions to Negotiators re:  wages, salaries and benefits - Employee Organization: Elective Officials Assistant Association (EOAA) - Negotiators: County Administrative Officer & Personnel Analyst.

Recess/

Reconvene

The Chairperson recessed closed session at 12:27 p.m., reconvening at 1:05 p.m., with all Board Members present to continue closed session discussions.

Report on Closed Session

The Chairperson recessed closed session at 2:30 p.m., to reconvene in open session to receive a report on closed session.  County Counsel reported there were no items discussed in closed session, which were required by law to be reported on in open session. 

Recess/

Reconvene

The Chairperson recessed the regular meeting at 2:30 p.m., reconvening in open session, at 3:10 p.m., at the Big Pine Convalescent Hospital property, with all Board Members present.

Senior/B.P. Convalescent Hospital Property Tour

The Board, members of Staff and members of the public toured the Big Pine Convalescent Hospital property located at County Road in Big Pine.  At the conclusion of the tour, at 4:00 p.m., the Chairperson recessed the regular meeting, reconvening at 6:35 p.m., at the Big Pine Town Hall, located at 150 Dewey Street, in Big Pine, with all Board Members present to discuss the land releases. 

Planning Dept./ Land Releases in Big Pine per Water Agreement

Ms. Andrea Clark, Resource Management Coordinator, reviewed the Staff Report and recommendations regarding the Los Angeles-owned parcels that have been selected for release by the Big Pine Land and Water Advisory Committee.  The Board, Staff and members of the audience discussed the Staff recommendations in detail and at length.  Scott Wilson, Big Pine Civic Club President, expressed concern that sufficient notice of the meeting may not have been given and suggested that the recommendations be circulated to the community for further public input.  Supervisor Hambleton thanked Mr. Wilson for his concerns, explaining that the Big Pine Land and Water Advisory Committee had spent a great deal of time and energy to identify the parcels being brought forward, that he was deeply concerned with any further delays, and stating that he was ready to move forward with the approval of two of the recommendations at this time.  The Board and Staff discussed those parcels identified under Category III and located in the Northeast Regreening Project, with several Board Members expressing concern with making a decision on how to deal with lands identified in the EM Project areas prior to taking input from all of the communities. 

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Bear to approve the parcels recommended by the Big Pine LWAC that are identified in Staff Report Attachment A, Category IV, and direct staff to move forward in conferring with LADWP.  Motion carried unanimously.

Moved by Supervisor Hambleton and seconded by Supervisor Williams to approve the parcels recommended by the Big Pine LWAC that are identified in Staff Report Attachment A, Category II and direct Staff to move forward in conferring with LADWP on the release of these parcels, recognizing that it is possible that this process may not occur until after the 75-acre release has been satisfied.

The Board postponed further discussion regarding the recommendations for the parcels located in the Big Pine Regreening Project and identified in Category III, until after all of the community meetings have taken place, at which time the Board will expect to provide direction to Staff on how to proceed.

Senior/B.P. Convalescent Hospital Tour

Mr. Mike Carrington, Big Pine Resident, asked what the Board was going to do as a result of their tour of the Big Pine Convalescent Hospital property.  The County Administrator responded that the Board has directed Staff to develop recommendations for the property and he expects the discussion to come before the Board in the very near future.

Adjournment

The Chairperson adjourned the regular meeting at 8:05 p.m., to 9:00 a.m., January 14, 2003, in the Board of Supervisors Room, at the County Administrative Center, in Independence.