LOYALTON - On July 18th, for a little more than two hours on a beautiful summer morning in Loyalton, all five members of the Sierra County Board of Supervisors were present at the Loyalton Social Hall to do business for the people.

To start off the proceedings, Chairperson Dryden asked for any public comments, and she was rewarded when Scott Quade approached the lectern to speak about the Veteran Stand Down being held at the community center in Sierraville on August 26th. During the event, scheduled to run from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., veterans (who can show proof of veteran status) and their families will be provided with free dental and eye exams by Healing California, free glasses, military gear, new boots, a “veterans kitchen” will give out free commodities, and, at lunchtime, attendees will be invited to dine on free BBQ. Veterans who need a copy of their DD214 (Discharge Papers) should contact Richard Dolezal, the Sierra County Veteran’s Service Officer at 530-608-4727 for assistance. Individuals who would like to donate or volunteer for this event should contact Quade via squade@tpcvc.com. (Meanwhile, it should be noted a parallel event has been scheduled for August 11-12 in Quincy. For more information about this Stand Down, call Bill Cook at 530-283-6275 or send an email to BillCook@countyofplumas.com)

Next, during the Department Managers’ Reports and Announcements portion of the meeting: Sierra County Treasurer, Van Maddox, told the Board there would be a 14.5 percent increase in the amount deducted from employee paychecks for health insurance starting in December;

Judy Behlke, Assistant Personnel Director of Human Resources, gave a staffing report - the Assessor’s, Tax Collector’s and Clerk Recorder’s offices are all fully staffed, the Auditor’s office has a new Chief Account Technician starting this week (“Yay!”), the Building and Planning Department has a interview scheduled later this month for the vacant Senior Planner position, a plant maintenance position remains open in Loyalton, the Probation department has a new officer, Public Works has a new transportation planner starting on 7/25, Behavioral Health has a new director (Sheryll Prinz-McMillan), a Social Worker III position in Social Services has been filled in Loyalton, however, Environmental Health Services continues to have vacancies and the search for a new Director of Health and Social Services remains active; Bryan Davey spoke to the Board, saying the bridge construction projects in the Lakes Basin are going “full speed ahead” after delays caused by last winter’s snowpack being slow to melt, the guard rail project is nearly complete, the road crew has been busy removing grass from the shoulders of eastside roads, and a new grant may be available for resurrecting the plan for making improvements to the Gold Lake Highway; Laurie McGee, Interim Public Health and Social Services (PH&SS) Director informed the Board about how the State had recently completed three audits of the Department’s activities with no adverse findings and, in the wake of Nevada County saying they are no longer interested in providing public guardianship services in Sierra County, after reviewing the program plus the current caseload, she has concluded PH&SS can handle the work without outside assistance; David Prentice, County Counsel for the past eight years, told the Board his work with Sierra County has been fulfilling but his replacement will be taking over his position starting on 7/31; Sheriff Mike Fisher updated the Board on the impact of the recent Downieville Classic races upon the community: on the medical side - on 7/13 (pre-race) there was one helicopter and one ambulance transit for injured mountain bikers; on 7/14 (pre-race) no out-of-county transports needed; on 7/15 there were 18 patients attended to at aid stations manned by the race’s staff and four persons were transported, two by helicopter and two by ambulance, to out-of-county facilities; on 7/16 there were 13 people seen by paramedics and one person was airlifted. A parking issue on Pearl St. arose on 7/15, but this problem was resolved quickly. As for law enforcement activities, during the 7/13-7/16 period, there was 1 DUI arrest, 11 parking tickets were issued, and one $6K bicycle was stolen. There was also one complaint received from a resident of Upper Main St. concerning the road closure. The “vibe” for the entire event, based upon Fisher’s conversations with participants and staff, was “overwhelmingly positive.” Asked about the number of riders participating in the races, Fisher stated that about 700 of the 900 registrants made the cross-county run on Saturday, but he didn’t know how many of the 500 registrants for Sunday’s downhill race actually showed up.

US Forest Service updates were the next item on the agenda. Rachel Hutchinson, Sierraville District Ranger, led off this portion of the session by telling the Board the removal of hazardous trees in the Jackson Meadows has been proceeding well, and she expected all the campgrounds in this area will be open before the end of July. Hutchinson also spoke about proposed changes in the nightly fee for renting the Calpine and Sardine Lake lookouts, $45 to $75 and $0 to $75, respectively. The money raised by these increased will, she said, offset the costs of maintaining the facilities. (If anyone has comments about this proposal, those comments need to be sent to received no later than September 15th (email to tahoe_nf_comments@usda.gov; phone to (530) 478-6298; mail to Mary Sullivan, 631 Coyote St., Nevada City, CA 95959; in-person, Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 631 Coyote St., Nevada City, CA.))

Meanwhile, as for Sierraville District operations, Hutchinson told the Board the Smithneck Creek work has been completed, the Calpine WUI work is moving forward, and the Roadside clearing project, slated to cover 2707 acres over a total of 115.4 miles in her District, is proceeding with Lemmon Canyon being a priority. She also said requests for bids are expected to go out for the Transition (Independence Lake) and Hanlon (Sierraville) timber sales by the end of summer. As for hiring, an offer has been made for a campground lead, the process for filling the long (2-year) vacant silviculturist position has been restarted, and the retirement of a wildlife biologist has created a new opportunity for hiring.

Next, Hutchinson read notes she received from Michael Ray, the Beckwourth District Ranger, and Board learned: after nearly two years of trying, Ray has finally filled his office manager position; he has recently filled two hydrologist technician vacancies; so far, this season, his crews successfully eliminated burn piles from 305 acres in the Lakes Basin area, 360 acres near Cromberg, and prepped another 900 acres for fall burns near Cromberg.

As for the Yuba River District, Andrew Mishler, the Deputy District Ranger, began his presentation by noting a new and very experienced District Ranger, Tom Herrick, would be arriving from Utah on 8/13. He also noted a new campground lead had been assigned, starting immediately, to manage the high-country facilities. Also, given the number of additional personnel needed for the implementation of the North Yuba River Health & Resiliency Project (NYRHRP), interviews are taking place now for an administrative officer for personnel management.

The July 12th signing of the NYRLRP EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), however, was, according to Mishler, the most exciting piece of news he had to share with the Board. But, Mishler was also pleased to see how quickly the USFS responded to the County’s recent (7/5) plea for the removal of hazard trees and restoration of toilet facilities at Sand Pond and for the reopening of the waste disposal facility at Loganville. As for the reopening of the Sierra and Chapman campgrounds, log removals and water system restorations should be complete at both sites by the beginning of August.

The next item on the agenda addressed an unpaid claim for vacation pay made by Tim Beals in 1977. After reviewing the minutes of the Board’s approval of the claim in 1977 and being informed by County Counsel it was impossible to determine when the statute of limitations clock began, the Supervisors deemed they would not be guilty of giving a gift of public funds and voted 5-0 to honor the 1977 Board’s action. Thus, the vacation hours underlying Beals’ original $1790 claim will now cost the taxpayers $21,307.