Supervisors plan for impending shutdown
As other areas of California teeter on the edge of another shutdown, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors met virtually Tuesday to discuss the impending COVID-19 surge, and what the new Regional Stay Home Order means for residents and hospitals.
But before the board could dive into these issues, they briefly addressed the consent calendar.
Supervisor Dan Gjerde and Board Chair John Haschak pulled two items from the consent calendar, one to recognize the retirement of Health and Human Services Agency Director Tammy Moss Chanler, and the other to modify a $650,000, three-year contract with Land Logistics, for disaster recovery and planning services.
With county staff support,
Gerde moved to restructure the contract into a one-year contract with two, one-year extensions.
The board moved to adopt the remainder of the consent calendar before moving on to discuss COVID-19 updates.
Jason Wells, President of Ad
ventist Health Ukiah Valley and Adventist Health Howard Memorial, gave the board an update on the county’s three hospitals, which provide 100 beds and 16 ICU beds. Mendocino hospitals have prepared a surge plan in preparation for California’s second wave.
According to Wells, hospital staff is prepared with adequate equipment and the hospitals could increase their capacity to approximately 170 beds, and their ICU to 45 beds, but only with full staff and assistance from outside resources.
Operating room staff have been cross-trained to treat Coronavirus patients and the hospital could stop elective surgeries in order for beds to be converted into COVID patient care if necessary.
According to Wells, Mendocino hospitals are currently only using seven of the 28 negative pressure rooms available.
Hospitals also have the option to call upon Army National Guard medical staff for support.
Wells also praised Mendocino County and its clinical teams for the way it has combated the second wave and encouraged residents to continue their efforts.
“We are pleased when we see people taking masking seriously,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking to see some of the stuff online about ‘ this is fake,’ and ‘ this is a hoax.’ I can point people to 1,700 caregivers who have lost their lives to COVID.”
According to Public Health Officer Dr. Andy Coren, there were 20 new cases Monday. The new case average is at 22.43 percent, and the total number of county cases is now 1,759 and there have been a total 24 deaths.
The Latinx community makes up 60 percent of the new cases Monday, as well as 60.66 percent of the total number of cases in the county.
Under the new Regional Stay Home Order, which Governor Gavin Newson announced Dec. 3, regions that fall under 15 percent ICU capacity must go into a mandatory three-week shutdown.
The Northern California Region, which includes Mendocino County, sits at 25 percent ICU capacity, the highest in the state according to California government data.
Under the order, regions that fall under capacity must restrict all non- essential activity including the shutdown of playgrounds, recreational facilities, hair salons, movie theaters, wineries, bars and breweries, as well as overnight stays in campgrounds, outdoor dining and indoor religious worship. Schools that have already reopened can remain open for in- person learning.
According to Coren, the county continues to administer record numbers of tests and is preparing for the approval and distribution of vaccines.
“This is not going to be a usual holiday season,” he said. “I think you all know that, but we can still pray for that … despite the intense divisions, we have to find ways to support each other and to minimize the loss of health and life.”
After an extensive COVID- 19 discussion, the board moved on to discuss the adoption of a new Multi- Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which is required to be updated every five years, especially after disasters, in order to receive hazard mitigation grant funding, according to Disaster Recovery Director Nash Gonzalez.
The plan surveys and plots out various disasters and emergencies on an index of impact and probability, specific to Mendocino County. This allows the county to determine what areas to focus funding and efforts on.
After some discussion and clarification about funding, the board voted unanimously to approve the item.
The board also moved to appoint Haschek as the representative for the National Association of Counties, and supervisor elected Glenn McGourty as the representative for the Rural County Representatives of California and Golden State Finance Authority, in light of former representative Supervisor Carre Brown’s retirement.
Returning to the discussion of COVID-19, the board voted to discuss an off- agenda item that recognized and affirmed state and local health orders, encourages compliance and prioritizes resources for enforcement of the orders in light of the state’s new Regional Stay Home Order.
Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall said he held concerns about inadequate staff to enforce health orders, as well as the COVID-19 risk for officers.
“The concerns that I have are obviously where are we going to get the personnel to take care of these things when we already have this avalanche of calls for service as it is?” Kendall said.
Although he recognized that Coronavirus- related health order enforcement is a priority, Kendall said his staff numbers are already low in relation to normal enforcement. He also said in terms of addressing large gatherings, without a warrant to enter a property his ability to break them up is limited to asking politely.
Health and Human Services Chief Investigator John Martire reiterated Kendall’s concern over low staff, saying it limits how proactive they can be on enforcement. According to Martire, his office only received 23 calls for service all of November, despite anecdotal reports of violations from community members.
“It’s very difficult to do any enforcement action after the fact,” Martire said.
Haschek said he was unsure of the purpose of the item, if it won’t have any actual effect on the issues. Supervisor Ted Williams said he would support the item despite this, as it simply further affirms the states orders and public safety.
The board voted to approve the item, with Haschek dissenting.
They then moved on to discuss an item that adopts an urgency ordinance to remove hazardous material from private property after the August Complex and Oak fires, which they voted to modify and approve on the next meetings consent calendar.
A lengthy item to amend county code enforcement and procedures which increases penalty fines for stormwater, cannabis and building code violations, stirred discussion and public comment, but the board ultimately voted to approve the item with Supervisor John McCowen dissenting.
With the cannabis cultivation permitting at risk, the board continued the months-long discussion on how to address the flawed permitting system, this time proposing the option of considering cannabis cultivation as an agricultural activity.
The board voted to approve this consideration, while also pausing certain items within it and deciding to refer permit renewals to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, only after the ad hoc solidifies a contract with it. Brown dissented.
The board closed the meeting with brief direction to staff on a solid waste issue and received an air quality management update.
The Board of Supervisors will meet for its final, regular meeting of the year, 9 a. m., Dec. 15. Visit the county’s website at www.mendocinocounty. org/government/ board- ofsupervisors for more information.