Did the Sutter County-Yuba City deal for City Hall come undone?

It seemed like a great idea at the time, way back in 1999, when Sutter County supervisors decided to refurbish the historic Hall of Records so they could use it as their weekly meeting venue.

Everyone was quite excited at the prospect of bringing new life to the aging structure.

And so the county went ahead with the project, spending about $470,000 to upgrade the building.

The supervisors moved in in April 2001, and the structure was formally rededicated in July 2001, 110 years after it opened.

“Here we are 110 years later, and we’re breathing life into this building,” thenSupervisor Casey Kroon gushed during the first board meeting in the building.

“Every one of my guys can be very proud of what they’ve done in this building,” Forrest Southard, then the county’s supervising building service worker enthused. “They deserve a strong pat on the back.”

The county spent about $140,000 on an audio-visual system to provide threecamera coverage of the supervisors’ meetings, videotaping for replay on AT&T Broadband, which was the area’s cable TV provider back then.

“They can zoom right in on you,” Kroon said. “We’ll have to be on our best behavior.”

“I think the colors they picked out are really good,” said Supervisor Larry Munger, who is still on the board but won’t be running for re-election in 2018. “It’s something Sutter County can be proud of.”

Then-Supervisor Dan Silva said the building “is a great part of Yuba City’s and Sutter County’s nostalgia. It’s important that we preserve that nostalgia.”

An interesting observation from Silva.

For 16 years, the nostalgia lived on and the board was on its best behavior, except when Bob Stark, the auditor-controller, addressed the supervisors, but that’s a different story for a different time.

Now it’s 2017, and somebody in Sutter County apparently thought the Hall of Records just doesn’t cut it any more.

The county’s plan? Move into new digs at a cost of $1,000 per month – the Yuba City City Council chambers. HaroldKruger isaveteran reporterand copyeditorfor theAppealDemocrat. Call749-4774.

The City Council was supposed to approve the deal last Tuesday. It was on the consent agenda, where they put routine items.

And then during the meeting, the item was removed. No vote. No action. No explanation.

“The Sutter County administrator approached the city regarding a need for a facility that is furnished with the equipment and amenities necessary to hold, conduct, broadcast and record the public meetings of its legislative bodies. Currently, the Board of Supervisors conducts their public meetings in the Sutter County Hall of Records, which was built in 1871,” a staff report to the City Council noted.

Oddly, all that refurbishing that went on wasn’t mentioned.

So the plan called for the supes and the county Planning Commission to meet in Yuba City City Hall.

Sutter County supervisors, according to the staff report to the council, were supposed to approve the deal this Tuesday, with the supervisors holding their first meeting at City Hall on July 11.

But that item isn’t on the supervisors’ upcoming agenda.

If the deal ever goes through, it will be like the A’s and Giants playing in the same ballpark. Or the Bears and the Gold Sox.

Just more boring.

Last October, this column noted the departure of Dan Peterson, who worked as a water resources official in Sutter and Yuba counties.

Dan was off to the exotic world of Santa Cruz County, where he had just been appointed the cannabis licensing manager. He was going to lead Santa Cruz County in California’s new pot era.

At the time, he received a ringing endorsement from Santa Cruz County’s CAO. Peterson was chosen from 180 applicants.

So, from Yuba-Sutter to Santa Cruz. It kind of seemed like quite a move. How’s he doing? The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported last week Peterson resigned, effective June 30.

“The county is in excellent position to regulate cannabis in a manner consistent with local values,” Peterson said in a statement. “I regret that I am unable to see the industry through to full operation, but I leave the work in the hands of capable and dedicated staff.”

Yes, Dan did a Munchheimer, except Munchheimer gave Marysville a five-months heads-up.

“Dan created an excellent blueprint,” County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios said in a statement. “We will miss his expertise and enthusiasm, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Peterson could always return to Yuba-Sutter. Marysville has some openings.

That was quite the eventful meeting Marysville Joint Unified School District trustees had last Tuesday.

There was plenty of talk from the public, all of them working at or knowledgeable about Johnson Park Elementary School in Olivehurst.

They talked about a “broken” school, “disarray,” “insanity,” a “harrowing” school year, “the most stressful and hard year” and “the most miserable year.”

The criticisms were mostly aimed at the principal, whose name was never mentioned.

Apparently, back in April, trustees voted in closed session to release the principal. But then, a few weeks later, they were thinking of reconsidering their prior action.

What to do now? Well, they have a closed session on Tuesday’s agenda to discuss “public employee discipline/dismissal/release” of a certificated employee.

Another interesting topic also came up. One speaker said she had become aware that a handful of students at JPE were playing the Blue Whale Game, or Blue Whale Challenge. Blue Whale? The Blue Whale Game is an internet game which consists of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators during a 40- or 50-day period. The final challenge requires the player to commit suicide.