Vaccine distribution and Measure B discussed
“A big focus will be on economic recovery, on COVID, and all the things associated with that going forward in this coming year.”
— Assembly Member Jim Wood
UKIAH >> The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors met for their final meeting of the year Tuesday morning, to discuss the county’s plans for coronavirus vaccine distribution, as well as general public health updates which included Measure B project updates.
T he b oa r d jumpe d quickly into the meeting with a handful of public comments and then moved on to approve the entirety of the consent calendar, except for two items.
Board Chair John Haschak pulled one item for recognition, and Supervisor Carre Brown pulled the other, which examines the findings of a traffic study and enforces a 45 mph speed limit on Babcock Lane, a section of county road in Ukiah. Both Brown and Supervisor John McCowen had questions about the study and its findings so the board resolved to table the item until January.
Moving on to a COVID-19 update, Mendocino County Chief Executive Officer Carmel Angelo informed the board that due to the state’s rising number of coronavirus cases the county is reviewing mass casualty plans as well.
According to Public Health Officer Dr. Andrew Coren, Mendocino is seeing an average of 29 new cases a day. There are a total of 1991 cases, up 232 cases within the last week, although the total deaths remain at 24 total for the county.
According to Coren, there are 12 coronavirus patients in the hospital, three of which are from outside the county.
The Northern California Region continues to be the only area with an ICU capacity at 29.8 percent, high enough not to fall under the state’s Regional Stay Home Order, aside from the Bay Area which implemented it voluntarily.
Coren said Northern California’s high capacity is due to Mendocino County’s 37 percent ICU capacity. The problem lies in that, according to Coren, the county’s 37 percent totals to only five ICU beds.
“How easy could we stave off those people who are going to be transferred from south of us?” Coren said, estimating that the county will trigger the stay home order within the next one to two weeks.
Coren addressed a public comment from Debra Kubin, Ukiah Unified School District Superintendent, about restrictions on public schools reopening. Kubin said a restriction within county guidelines of 50 people at a time means middle and high schools could not even open at 50 percent capacity for two periods a day.
To address this, Coren said his office has written and will immediately release new guidance which should allow the schools to reopen when possible. Haschek also asked Coren, on behalf of many public complaints, about the likelihood of local fitness clubs and pools reopening for those with doctor’s recommendations. Coren said it was unlikely, and that members of the public should seek out physical therapy if it was truly necessary.
“It’s not getting better, it’s getting worse,” Coren said. “We’re going to go through the next couple of months and it’s going to be truly worse than any of us have ever seen in our lives, especially if you need a hospital for whatever reason. There is not going to be beds, and there’s not going to be a person staffing the beds.”
According to Nash Gonzales, the project manager for the county’s mass vaccination plan, the county has submitted its plan to the state and will receive 970 doses of the Pfizer vaccine within the week, as well as 400 doses of the Moderna vaccine next week.
Both the vaccines require two doses over a 21 or 28 day period.
Although vaccinations have been started in California, Coren said a majority of the public won’t be vaccinated until late spring or early summer, and those who do receive it should still continue to wear masks and social distance.
The board then took a break for Assembly Member Jim Wood and Senator Mike Mcguire to honor Mccowen and Brown as their service on the Board of Supervisors ends this month.
Wood also gave the board an end of year report on Mendocino County and California Assembly District two.
“A big focus will be on economic recovery, on COVID, and all the things associated with that going forward in this coming year,” Wood said.
The board moved on to discuss an item that would create an ordinance for the abatement of hazardous and combustible materials in order to reduce fire risks. Haschak asked how the ordinance would be enforced on private, unmaintained or abandoned properties.
John Burkes, Code Enforcement Supervisor, said the code enforcement office is already short-staffed and working to prioritize the complaints they’re already receiving based on the board’s directive, but they may not have enough resources.
Scott Cratty, Executive Director of the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council, said that although it will take the county time to sort out funding and requirements for enforcement, approving the ordinance would be a good place to start.
“Having the ordinance in place at least allows us to start working together to create a framework,” Cratty said. “We can create a lot of good just by having the ordinance, and a first step that allows people to get some kind of notice. Even if it’s not an official county notice, a lot of people will comply voluntarily, and a lot of good can come from that.”
Brown, who sponsored the item, said she would like to see the item come before the board again and resources be prioritized to it in next year’s budget. The board voted to clarify certain language in the item and have it return for a first reading at the next appropriate meeting. Supervisor Ted Williams dissented.
The board also discussed and approved an item that establishes shorter Williams Act contracts, which provide tax reductions for parcels of land used for agriculture or other open space use. Brown recused herself from the vote and discussion as she had a potential conflict of interest relating to the item.
After some end- of-year housekeeping to decide whether to continue or dismiss standing and ad hoc committees, the board quickly approved an item that changes the county code on naming and renaming private roads.
Measure B Administrative Project Manager Alyson Bailey gave the board a Mental Health Treatment Act Citizen’s Oversight Committee project update. According to Bailey, the committee has begun construction on the Crisis Residential Treatment facility, as well as begun planning for licensing and operation of the facility. Bailey estimates the facility will be fully licensed by November 2021.
Bailey also said the committee is back to making progress on the Behavioral Health and Training Center and it is ready to begin receiving bids from contractors.
The committee has also received a few requests for proposals for the psychiatric health facility.
The board wrapped up their final meeting of 2020 by approving Measure B funds for the formation of a Community Education, Awareness and Support project and a Crisis Assessment and Psychiatric Hospitalization Aftercare project.
“We’re all aware of the fact that we always have, it seems half a dozen, sometimes more, individuals sitting in our jail that should be in a psychiatric hospital setting,” Mccowen said. “It’s a statewide, maybe nationwide travesty. We potentially have the means at our disposal to correct that here locally.”
The Board of Supervisors will meet for an organizational meeting on Jan. 5, at 9 a.m. and will hold its next scheduled regular meeting on April 26.