Oroville Mercury-Register

Behavioral health and more on agenda

- By Natalie Hanson nhanson@chicoer.com

Several issues of local housing and developmen­t will come before the Chico City Council at the regular meeting Tuesday in Chico.

Butte County Behavioral Health will present to the council, after Mayor Andrew Coolidge previously asked for a review of the department’s practices.

City Manager Mark Orme is recommendi­ng the council authorize the use of $500,000 in Federal American Rescue Plan funding to connect the Chico Rescue Mission property, located at 2612 The Esplanade, to the city sewer system and to rehabilita­te spe

cific areas of the property. The report notes the facility has 30 beds of a 90-bed facility occupied, as transition­al housing for men, and the septic tank systems are failing which limits the number of occupants.

Homeless Solutions Coordinato­r Suzi Kochems will report on how these changes will accommodat­e an increase in usage for transition­al housing.

“There are approximat­ely 290 additional emergency shelter beds coming available in the next year, yet only 110 of these beds are for the general unsheltere­d population,” Kochems wrote. “The remaining new beds are for targeted programs such as sober living or are for persons receiving Behavioral Health services.”

A public hearing will be held per the request of Community Housing Improvemen­t Program, Inc., to consider approving the dissolutio­n of Turning Point Commons, Inc. Limited Equity Housing Cooperativ­e so the housing project may be improved and retained as affordable housing.

Another hearing will review the final subdivisio­n map to be located on Manzanita Avenue requiring property owner, Chuck Tatreau Constructi­on, Inc., to fund future replacemen­t and annual operation and maintenanc­e costs of public improvemen­ts.

The council will also consider approving the Final Program Environmen­tal Impact Report for the Vegetation Management Plan as recommende­d by Bidwell Park and Playground Commission and whether to adopt the Plan found online at https://www.chico.ca.us/ post/vegetative-fuels-management

Councilor requests

Councilor Alex Brown’s request to discuss an outdoor sheltering opportunit­y at the city BMX site will be heard.

The council will discuss Coolidge’s request to review Butte County Continuum of Care. Coolidge also requested discussing sending a letter of support for Assembly Bill 36, titled Design-build Contractin­g in the Town of Paradise, asking for the council to waive rules and hear the request immediatel­y.

Former Councilor Karl Ory’s request to discuss a cardroom in the downtown area will be heard per the request of Vice Mayor Kasey Reynolds.

Councilor Deepika Tandon also requested to discuss “disproport­ionate concentrat­ion of services in District 7.”

Other business

The council will also vote to:

• Adopt resolution­s authorizin­g sewer assessment­s to be collected on the tax roll, in lieu of full and immediate payment of the sewer system connection fees; • Improvemen­ts of the proposed Sign Code amendments, creating new definition­s for Government­al Signs and Informatio­n Sign Kiosks, exempting the sign types from the sign permit requiremen­ts and add provisions in the Sign Code where none currently exist in the Public/ Quasi Public Facilities zone; • Approving reading of a resolution adopted March 16 which approved amending the contract between the city and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System to implement negotiated changes to the paying and reporting of retirement contributi­ons as recently adopted under the Memorandum of Understand­ing for employees. The meeting will begin 6 p.m. Tuesday in the City Council Chambers at 421 Main Street in Chico. Anyone can watch the meeting live on the city’s online Granicus viewer and participat­e via Zoom as provided in a link on the city’s online agenda.

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