By Arielle Hardy
November 24, 2022
The Plumas County Board of Supervisors held a meeting on November 8th, 2022. Opening with public comments was Catherine Schwartz, Clinical Supervisor at the Behavioral Health Department, who expressed concerns about the losing staff because of low wages. She was followed by Ava Hagwood, a child welfare social worker with Plumas County Social Services, who also spoke about challenges the County faced over the last three years due to extreme staff shortages. The third public comment came from a letter read by Cindy for Eliza Fletcher, a six-year employee of Plumas County Behavioral Health who could not attend in person due to her work responsibilities. In her letter she expressed the difficulties of employees with a passion for serving the community and helping clients while being paid wages that are not competitive to less stressful jobs. This, she said, will not only result in losing staff and having difficulty filling vacant positions, “it will also affect our clients and the quality of care we can give.” Tom, a resident from Chester, spoke on the behalf of other employees about recent health insurance increases for employees reducing their real wages and asked the Board to “report out” on what efforts they are taking to address the issue. As for department head announcements, Willo Vieira, Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures for Plumas County, presented the 2021 agricultural report for Plumas County to the board. Viera thanked the ranchers and producers of Plumas County, as well as her staff for compiling the data in the document. Viera reported that the number one effect on production value has been the drought, and that overall the agricultural values for Plumas County dropped by about 14% with the largest loss being in hay production. Animal production was almost the same from 2020, sheep production has almost doubled since last year due to an increase in price per pound on market lands, and an increase in valuable breeding stock that was sold out of the far Eastern side of the county. Apiary production dropped by about 24% as the price of honey decreased and there was a large decrease in the number of hives in the area during the time of excessive amounts of smoke from the Dixie fire. Todd Johns, Sheriff/Coroner, reported a deputy is resigning due to relocation to Santa Rosa. He also read a report from the Tehama county Sheriff suspending daytime patrols due to a staffing shortage. Meanwhile, Behavioral Health reported they were able to recruit an employee who was previously a clinician but they are now down 50% on therapy staffing. Wendi Durkin gave a presentation from “Save Lake Almanor,” a cause she has been involved with for almost 20 years. Durkin spoke regarding project 2105 in which the licensing expired in 2004. Prior to then, a group of collaborative stakeholders met for four years in order to negotiate the terms of a license. Reasons were then presented for requesting unequivocal support in a draft letter to PG&E, noting the additional reasonable water control measures report. They gave an in-depth history as well as emphasized the ecological importance of the licensing. Jeffery Janice, a Lake Almanor Basin resident, presented the economic impact to Plumas County and the consequences to the people living in Lake Almanor Basin if the lake is degraded by the removal of cold water in the summer months. Janice read a letter written by John Crotty, President of the Almanor Fishing Association (AFA) about the history of AFA being founded in 1985 to promote and enhance Lake Almanor’s cold water fishery and its reputation for success. Next, Tracey Ferguson, Director of the Planning Department, sought the Board’s approval and the Chair’s signature of a letter supporting the Sierra Valley Groundwater Management District’s (SVGMD) application for a grant from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for implementation of their Sustainable Groundwater Management Plan. The motion was approved. Ferguson also asked the Board to approve a letter stating the Board’s opposition to PG&E’s Rock Creek-Cresta Project and FERC Order No. 1962. Ferguson pointed out the proposed temperature control measures lack scientific credibility, have the potential to negatively impact Lake Almanor’s ecology, and could significantly diminish the aquatic resources. Ferguson agreed with the previous statements about the proposal’s negative impact upon the county’s economy. Supervisor Hagwood recognized and applauded the efforts of Chester and Lake Almanor residents for their research and taking their time to attend the meeting. Hagwood also gave his approval for “the most strongly worded letter” to PG&E, saying, “we have an obligation to the entire county to protect (and improve) the conditions of Lake Almanor, and not to knowingly allow a special interest to do here, what they have done in other places.” He also noted, regarding the Klamath River, “a good conversation should be had with the farmers up in Siskiyou County. You don’t have to look too far to see examples of bad outcomes when it comes to these endeavors, and we have an obligation to stop it.” After further discussion on edits to the draft letter, the Board unanimously approved of having the draft completed by November 15th. Ferguson’s next topic was the Board's acceptance of the terms of a $500,00 grant from the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Local Agency Technical Assistance Program for assistisng with expanding broadband internet access within areas of Plumas currently lacking access to this service. The motion to sign the consent form and further the process of receiving the grant was also approved unanimously. Martee Nieman (Graham) reported as Auditor/Controller,