Posted by: John_Hamilton on 03/21/2012 04:37 PM
Updated by: Patrick_Works on 03/21/2012 05:11 PM
Expires: 01/01/2017 12:00 AM
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Angels Camp City Council Meeting March 20, 2012 ~By Patrick Works
Angels Camp, CA...Last night's meeting of the Angels Camp City Council brought out more than the usual full to capacity crowd of local citizens, as public safety and local ordinances were discussed along with a vote on the public/private partnership proposal by Destination Angels Camp, along with the usual public comment session and some non-action items....
Laurie Giannini came out on behalf of the Calaveras County Fairgrounds to invite the Mayor and City Council to the opening day of this years Calaveras County Fair and Frogjumping Jubilee, May 15th. The usual practice of the Fair Board is to select a local family for particular honor each year, but this year being the centennial year for Angels Camp, the city itself has been selected as the honoree for 2012. Angels Camp is a family it seems.
Public comment was limited to a single local resident of the Finnigan Lane neighborhood who listed a litany of misdemeanor complaints including thefts, vandalism, illegal dumping, and encounters with strangers that have left him and his family in fear for their safety. Having been less than satisfied with the capability of the Angels Camp Police Department, as well as the Calaveras County Sheriff's Department to do anything about the situation despite timely responses when he calls, he availed himself of the opportunity to speak directly with Angels Police Chief Todd Fordahl during a break in the meeting. This is what the public comment portion of the meeting is for, and this reporter was pleased to see a resident of Angels Camp take advantage of the chance to address this problem directly with Chief Fordahl.
Destination Angels Camp is a not-for-profit corporation that has evolved from the former Angels Camp Branding Committee. Their proposal to enter into a public/private partnership with the City of Angels was the first action item of the night. While the Branding Committee was primarily focused on developing tourism for Angels Camp, Destination Angels Camp has a broader mission of overall business development and job creation. With an equal emphasis on helping established businesses grow and prosper and the attraction and retention of new businesses, Destination Angels Camp hopes to fill the void of business development talent that recent City of Angels budgets just have not been able to afford.
A study commissioned by the County in 1993 recommended that a full time staff person be hired by the City of Angels for business development at an expected cost of $60,000 to $80,000 per year. While current council members would happily recruit and hire such a staff person, clearly the money is not available. With clear support from a number of council members, as well as emphatic support from City staff, having Destination Angels Camp fill this gap seemed to have been a done deal at last month's City Council meeting.
The matter was continued however, as there were a number of members who had concerns regarding obligations a public/private partnership might bring to the City of Angels, and particularly how those obligations might impact an already stretched budget. Of particular concern was the part of the agreement and Destination Angels Camp bylaws that require a council member and city staff to sit on the board of Destination Angels Camp, and whether staff had the time to accomplish this.
Michael McHatten, city administrator, was clearly in favor of proceeding as he stated "We don't have time to not do this!" Pointing out that staff and council have already been spending time with the erstwhile Branding Committee, he was unconcerned about the time to be spent, and reiterated that this was a net gain for the city. He characterized the proposal as "volunteers from the community filling this gap. Through them we can do this [undertake economic development]. We need to do this."
The continuance of this vote seems to have been time well spent, as council members took the opportunity to sit down with Destination Angels Camp to have their questions, and Destination Angels Camp prepared an exhaustive frequently asked questions document that put everyone at ease.
Anne Forrest, executive director of Destination Angels Camp spoke to the council, to answer concerns regarding the difference in this proposal to the recommendations of the 1993 study, primarily the clear recommendation in that report that a trained professional, working full time, was the only effective way to undertake proper economic development in Angels Camp. Ms. Forrest pointed out that the bylaws and partnership agreement on the table clearly indicated the need for hiring full time staff in the future, and that Destination Angels Camp had in place plans to do just that, once grant funding became available. She pointed out that acquiring funding to accomplish their mission was the first step, and that they could not accomplish this without a partnership with The City of Angels Camp.
"Our help is free." stated Ms. Forrest. "We intend to be a catalyst for positive sustainable action for Angels Camp."
Having worked through the questions from the council and after hearing from a room crowded with supporters of Destination Angels Camp, the vote was finally taken, and the resolution carried unanimously.
The second and last action item on last night's agenda did not move so smoothly.
The.Angels Camp City Council adopted State of California fire regulations in whole earlier this year.This having been done, Chief Greg Peterson and Fire Marshall Nathan Pry dug into the state statutes a discovered that California regulations require that local jurisdictions only allow controlled burns, from yard burn piles to bigger controlled burns on larger properties, within part of a permitting process. With the understanding that fire prevention is a concern to all, but that onerous regulations and fees would be counter-productive, Chief Peterson and Marshall Pry put together a permit process with no fees, a minimal application process that takes minutes, and only needs to be followed once per year. This procedure would bring the City of Angels Camp in to compliance with state law, which it currently is not.
Despite those efforts by the Angels Camp Fire Department, opposition to any permitting process was voiced by Council member Raggio as well as Council member Behiel. Sizes of burn piles, contents of burn piles, and the concerns of all that residents new to the area unfamiliar with safe burning practices all went round and round as the conversation continued into the evening. City administrator McHatten reiterated more than once that the City of Angels Camp is currently not in compliance with state law, an opinion seconded by City Attorney Richard Matranga. Chief Peterson reminded the Council that state law allows for a 90 day period of review and modification of state fire law by local jurisdictions, but that the only modifications allowed were those that make local ordinances more restrictive, and not less restrictive, than state law.
Opposition to the ordinance was heartfelt, and in the end carried the day with the final vote by the city council 3-2 against the measure. Council member Neuman and Vice Mayor Lynch voted in favor, and Council members Raggio, Behiel, joined by Mayor Morris voting against. The status quo leaving the City of Angels Camp outside the requirements of California State Law, we are sure to be hearing more on this matter in the future.
Patrick Works for thepinetree.net
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