Plumas Supes Talk Re-Election, Plow Trucks, and Public Comment

QUINCY — The Plumas County Board of Supervisors worked through a relatively short agenda for their January 13 meeting and concluded the public session before noon.

At the beginning of the meeting, District 3 Supervisor Tom McGowan, who joined the Board in January 2023, announced that he will not seek re-election in 2027. Supervisor McGowan said he is “focused on the future” and other very qualified candidates intend to run for his seat.

Code Enforcement Officer Jennifer Langston reported on the accomplishments of a task force formed last year by the District Attorney, the Sheriff’s Office, the City of Portola, the Forest Service, CHP, and county Code Enforcement to remove abandoned vehicles around the county. She said the task force towed some 38 abandoned vehicles in two rounds of enforcement action in May and October, and 16 more were voluntarily removed by their owners. Towed vehicles are stored temporarily by the county, then shipped to a dismantler.

Among several action items on the agenda, the Board approved a request from Public Works Director Rob Thorman to purchase six new Ford F-550 diesel plow/sand/dump trucks for a total of $1,035,220. Thorman explained that the new trucks are needed to replace existing vehicles that are serviceable, but restricted in the number of hours they can be used because they do not meet California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission requirements. The new trucks are larger and more capable than a standard pickup truck, but do not require operators to have a Class A commercial driver’s license (CDL), Thorman said. Supervisor Engel pointed out that the county’s low pay scale limits its ability to recruit and retain drivers with a CDL.

The Board and members of the public also discussed the purpose and limits of public comments during meetings. A California state law, known as the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires agendas for meetings of local governing bodies, like county supervisors, to “provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.” The law allows local agencies to set “reasonable regulations” on how comments are made, including limiting the time allowed for issues and individual speakers. The agenda for meetings of the Plumas County Supervisors provides a scheduled opportunity at the beginning of each meeting for the public to address “matters under the jurisdiction of the Board, and not on the posted agenda,” with each comment limited to three minutes.

After several remote participants spoke about matters including the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, recent events in Minneapolis, and free speech rights, Board Chairwoman Mimi Hall attempted to clarify the purpose of the public comment period. Its purpose, she explained, is to allow the public to speak to the Board about subjects under their jurisdiction, which is not federal and state law or politics, “unless it directly impacts execution at the county level.” She said the Board appreciates public input and has been “generous” in allowing callers to talk about other issues, but their meetings are not “a platform for all kinds of things.” She hoped for balance going forward, she said. A later caller argued, citing Covid vaccines, that events that are not directly under the county’s jurisdiction can be relevant locally. A participant in the room concurred. Chairwoman Hall responded that the Board will continue to take public comments about a wide range of issues.