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County
of Inyo
Board
of Supervisors
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Board of Supervisors of the County of Inyo, State of California, met in regular
session at the hour of 9:00 a.m., on Tuesday,
February 15, 2005, in the Board of Supervisors Room, County
Administrative Center, Independence, with the following Supervisors present:
Chairperson Ted Williams presiding, Linda Arcularius, Susan Cash, Jim
Bilyeu, and Richard Cervantes. Supervisor
Cervantes provided the Invocation, and Supervisor Bilyeu led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
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Public
Comment
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The
Chairperson announced the public comment period.
District Attorney, Mr. Art Maillet, introduced Ms. Virginia Smith,
an Office Assistant in the DA’s Office to the Board.
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| County
Dept. Reports
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The
Chairperson announced the County Department Report period. Mr. Andrew Remus, Yucca Mountain Coordinator, updated the
Board of efforts on the part of the other Affected Units of Government to
reduce Inyo County’s DOE funding in order to provide Nye and Clarke
Counties with a greater portion of the funding.
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| Closed
Session
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The
Chairperson recessed open session at 9:20 a.m., to convene in closed
session, with all Board Members present, to consider Agenda Item No. 15.
CONFERENCE
WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR (Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6) - Instructions
to Negotiators re: wages, salaries and benefits – Employee Organization
– ICEA – Negotiators – County Administrator and Personnel Analyst.
The Chairperson recessed closed session at 9:45 a.m., to reconvene
in open session, with all Board Members present.
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BofS/Committee Assignment
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Moved
by Supervisor Cash and seconded by Supervisor Arcularius to appoint
Supervisor Jim Bilyeu as an alternate on the Standing Committee.
Motion carried unanimously.
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P.W./Ring Rails
P. O.
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Moved
by Supervisor Cash and seconded by Supervisor Arcularius to declare Orange
Empire Railway Museum of Perris, California, as a sole-source provider of
ring rails and approve the purchase of ring rails from Orange Empire
Railway Museum in an amount not to exceed $3,000.
Motion
carried unanimously.
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P.W./Timber
P.
O.
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Moved
by Supervisor Cash and seconded by Supervisor Arcularius to award the
quote for and approve the purchase of Douglas Fir timbers from High
Mountain Forest Products in an amount not to exceed $6,078.25.
Motion carried unanimously.
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HHS-Hlth Serv./ On-Call Nursing Services Contract
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In
response to a question from the Board, Ms. Jean Dickinson, Director of
Health and Human Services, provided additional clarification on the
Contract for on-call nursing services with Southern Inyo Healthcare
District. Moved by Supervisor
Bilyeu and seconded by Supervisor Cash to A) approve the Contract between
the County of Inyo and the Southern Inyo Healthcare District for on-call
nursing services to the Jail and Juvenile Detention Center for the period
of January 1, 2005, through March 31, 2005, in an amount not to exceed
$13,000; and authorize the Chairperson to sign; and B) authorize the
Director of Health and Human Services to sign a HIPAA Business Associate
Agreement with the District. Motion
carried unanimously.
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| Auditor/Surplus
Sale and Auction
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The
Board and the Auditor-Controller discussed the proposed auction for
surplused County equipment. Ms.
Chapman explained how other public entities and non-profit organizations
could participate. County
Counsel, Mr. Paul Bruce, in response to a question from the Board
clarified which types of organizations would qualify for the non-profit
status in this instance and how other organizations could also participate
in the auction process. Moved
by Supervisor Cervantes and seconded by Supervisor Cash to A) declare
certain personal property, recommended by Staff as surplus; and B)
authorize the transfer of certain personal property to other public
entities and non-profit organizations, and that the public auction of
County surplus equipment not claimed by those entities/organizations be
held on March 4, 2005, at the Building and Maintenance Yard located at 136
S. Jackson St., in Independence. Motion
carried unanimously.
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| Probation-Child
Support Serv./ Bishop Office Lease
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The
Board and Staff discussed the proposed rate increase to the lease for the
Probation and Child Support Services offices in Bishop, including the cost
to relocate the offices, with the Board requesting that future lease
approval requests include an analysis of the cost to relocate the offices.
Mr. Ron Chegwidden, Acting Public Works Director, informed the
Board that the new owners of the Bishop Plaza, have agreed to an 8 % and
10% increase for the current year, and have indicated that they will be
taking full advantage of the maximum increase allowed by the Lease when
considering next year’s lease extension, which is 15%.
Moved by Supervisor Cash and seconded by Supervisor Arcularius to
approve the one-year extension commencing March 2, 2005, to the Lease with
Maudsley Enterprises Inc., for offices located at 787 North Main Street,
Building B, to accommodate the Child Support Services in an amount not to
exceed $3,854 per month and to accommodate the Probation Department in an
amount not to exceed $3,965.50 per month; and authorize the Chairperson to
sign, contingent upon the appropriate signatures being obtained.
Motion
carried unanimously.
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| Ord.
1092 Hanger Rents and Tie-Down Fees
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On
a motion by Supervisor Bilyeu and a second by Supervisor Arcularius,
Ordinance 1092 was enacted repealing Inyo County Ordinance 989 and Inyo
County Resolution No. 85-31, and increasing Hangar Rent & Tie-Down
Fees at County Airports: motion unanimously passed and adopted.
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| BofS/Minute
Approval
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Moved
by Supervisor Cash and seconded by Supervisor Bilyeu to approve the
minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings as follows:
A) January 18, 2005, B) January 25, 2005 and C) February 1, 2005.
Motion
carried unanimously.
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| Recess/
Reconvene
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The
Chairperson recessed the regular meeting at 10:20 a.m., to reconvene at
10:30 a.m., with all Board Members present.
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| Planning/County
Response on Furnace Creek Environmental Assessment
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Mr.
Chris Kennedy, Senior Planner, presented and reviewed the Staff Report and
recommendations regarding the County’s response to the Environmental
Assessment for the Furnace Creek Road.
Inyo Forest Supervisor, Mr. Jeff Bailey, addressed the Board to
review the alternatives identified by the Forest Service, explaining that
at this point in time the Forest Service is supporting Alternative No. 4,
which is a compromise to allow limited motorized access on the Forest
Service’s portion of Furnace Creek on a 50” graded dirt road which
will skirt the sensitive riparian area.
Mr. Bailey qualified that no decision has been made at this point.
The County Administrator, Mr. Ron Juliff, provided the Board with a
copy of a letter from Ms. Joan Benner of Big Pine to the Forest Service
supporting the permanent vehicle closure of Furnace Creek.
Ms. Jo Heindell of Big Pine addressed the Board to identify her
concern with protecting the bird and butterfly populations in the riparian
area. Mr. Tom Heindell
addressed the Board to express his concern with what he felt was a lack of
appropriate studies prior to making a decision on the access on Furnace
Creek. Mr. Dick Noles,
representing APPL, addressed the Board to commend the Forest Service for
their willingness to consider a compromise for the Furnace Creek Road, and
to support the Forest Service’s Alternative No. 4, explaining that the
historic use of Furnace Creek needed to be preserved.
Mr. Noles also provided information on the volunteer efforts, which
have been garnered to assist with the proposed roadwork.
Mr. Paul McFarland, representing the Friends of the Inyo
Organization, addressed the Board to support the continued closure of
Furnace Creek to vehicles, and Ms. Sydney Quinn of Big Pine, addressed the
Board to support Alternative No. 3. Supervisor
Williams indicated that he felt there was no compelling reason for Inyo
County to take a position on the Furnace Creek Road issue because there
were no direct financial or recreational impacts to Inyo County and
because the road was not located in Inyo County. Supervisors Arcularius
and Cash addressed their desire to secure the County’s involvement in
these types of important issues, which affect the County.
Moved by Supervisor Arcularius and seconded by Supervisor Cash to
approve a letter to the Forest Service regarding the Environmental
Assessment for the Furnace Creek Road, reflecting Inyo County’s support
of Alternative No. 4. Motion
carried on a four-to-zero vote, with Supervisor Arcularius, Cash, Bilyeu
and Cervantes voting yes, and with Supervisor Williams abstaining.
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| Recess/
Reconvene
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The
Chairperson recessed the regular meeting at 11:55 a.m., to reconvene at
1:30 p.m., in a workshop, with all Board Members present.
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| HHS
Soc. Serv. Workshop
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The
Board met with County Health and Human Services Staff to review the
County’s Social Services Program.
The Chairperson recessed the workshop at 2:15 p.m., to reconvene in
open session at 2:30 p.m., with all Board Members present.
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| Sheriff/Equity
Adjust. Correctional Officers
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Sheriff
Dan Lucas updated the Board on the critical staffing problems he is
encountering at the Jail. He informed the Board that he would be forced to shut down
a portion of the Jail operations and transport female detainees to Kern
County as a direct result of being unable to maintain adequate female
staffing levels at the Jail. Sheriff
Lucas explained that it has been his recent policy to utilize his funding
resources to pay for Deputy and Correctional Officer training and
certification in the hopes of garnering some measure of staff loyalty. He went on to explain what has actually happened is that
his operations has become the local law enforcement training ground, with
other law enforcement agencies recruiting and enticing his trained staff
away by offering higher salaries and better benefits. Sgt. Randy Geiger provided an overview of the process,
which will be required in order to transport female detainees in the event
that the female staffing levels fall below the mandated levels.
The Chief Probation Officer, Mr. Jim Moffett, addressed the Board
to highlight his concerns with the effect this type of equity adjustment
will have on other County law enforcement offices.
He also explained that his Juvenile Counselors’ salaries had been
tied to the Correctional Officer salaries in the recent past, saying that
he would expect the Juvenile Counselor salaries to, in the future,
increase accordingly. The Board, the Sheriff and Staff continued to
discuss the staffing dilemma which has reached a critical level at the
Jail, including the cost of the proposed adjustments vs. the cost to
transport, with the Sheriff confirming that he would be using his AB443
funds to cover not only the proposed incentive payment of $1,500 but to
also fund the proposed equity increase for as long as the funding existed.
It was the consensus of those participating in the discussion that
either alternative is going to be extremely costly.
The Sheriff in response to a question from the Board explained that
it is a responsibility of the County to fund and a legal requirement of
the Sheriff to house inmates and his recommendation for adjusting the
Correctional Officer salaries is made in the hopes that he can develop
professional career path opportunities at the jail that will encourage
employees to want to stay. The
Board and Staff discussed the effect of the proposed adjustments on the
other employee groups, with the County Administrator confirming that
because of the potential impact of the Board’s actions it will be
necessary for the County to meet and confer with the groups.
Moved by Supervisor Arcularius and seconded by Supervisor Bilyeu to
continue the request by the Sheriff for the Board to A) authorize the equity adjustment for the position of Correctional
Officer in the Sheriff’s Department from ranges 52, 56, and 59 to Range
64 ($2,846 - $3,460); B) fund through AB443 grant funds a recruitment
incentive of $1,500 for new Correction Officers who successfully complete
existing probation requirements; and C) adopt a position of support of
pending legislation to place Inyo County Correctional Officers under 830.1
of the California Penal Code changing Correctional Officers to
Correctional Deputies, to next week’s Board Meeting, and, direct Staff
in the interim to meet and confer with the different employees groups to
inform them of the Board’s possible action.
Motion carried unanimously.
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| Closed
Session
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The
Chairperson recessed open session at 3:50 p.m., to reconvene in closed
session to discuss Agenda Item No. 14.
CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – EXISTING LITIGATION
[Pursuant to Government Code § 54956.9(a)] - Sierra Club v. City
of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and County of
Inyo, Inyo County Superior Court Case No. SICVCV01-29768
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The Chairperson recessed closed session at 5:07 p.m. to
reconvene in open session to receive a report on closed session.
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| Report
on Closed Session
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County Counsel reported there were no items discussed in
closed session, which were required by law to be reported on in open
session.
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| Adjournment
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The Chairperson adjourned the regular meeting at 5:07
p.m., to 8:00 a.m., Tuesday, February 22, 2005, in the Board of
Supervisors Room, at the County Administrative Center, in Independence.
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________________________________________
Chairperson,
Inyo County Board of Supervisors
Attest: RON
JULIFF
Clerk of the Board
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