MCSD meeting agenda for 12.29.10

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A REGULAR MEETING OF THE
MCKINLEYVILLE COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WILL BE HELD AT:
Azalea Hall
1620 Pickett Road
McKinleyville, California Wednesday, December 29, 2010 7:00 P.M.
AGENDA
A. CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
Items may be added to the Agenda in accordance with Section 54954.2(b)(2) of the Government Code (Brown Act), upon a determination by two-thirds vote of the members of the legislative body present at the time of the meeting, or, if less than two-thirds of the members are present, a unanimous vote of those members present, that there is a need to take immediate action and that the need for action came to the attention of the McKinleyville Community Services District after the Agenda was posted.
B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
C. PUBLIC HEARINGS
These are items of a Quasi-Judicial or Legislative nature. Public comments relevant to these proceedings are invited.
C.1 Second Reading of Ordinance 2010-01 amending the MCSD rules and regulations to increase facility rental fees Pg. 3
E. CONTINUED AND NEW BUSINESS
E.1 Consider adopting Resolutions 2010-26 & 2010-27 initiating proceedings for the formation of Measure B Maintenance Assessment District — Renewal for Parks, Open Space, and Recreational Facilities; Accepting and approving the Engineer’s Report regarding the formation of Measure B Maintenance Assessment District — Renewal for Parks, Open Space, and Recreational Facilities and the levy and collection of annual assessments related thereto commencing with Fiscal Year 2012/2013, ordering a property owner protest ballot proceeding on the matter of
the new assessments, and setting a time and place for the public hearing on these matters. Pg. 9
G. PUBLIC COMMENT AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Any person may address the Board at this time upon any subject not identified on this Agenda but within the jurisdiction of the McKinleyville Community Services District; however, any matter that requires action will be referred to staff for a report of action at a subsequent Committee or Board meeting. As to matters on the Agenda, an opportunity will be given to address the Board when the matter is considered. Comments are limited to 3 minutes. Letters should be used for complex issues.
H. CLOSED SESSION DISCUSSION
At any time during the regular session, the Board may adjourn to closed session to consider existing or anticipated litigation, liability claims, real property negotiations, license and permit determinations, threats to security, public employee appointments, personnel matters, evaluations and discipline, labor negotiations, or to discuss with legal counsel matters within the attorney-client privilege.
NO CLOSED SESSION SCHEDULED
I. ADJOURNMENT
Posted 5:00 pm on Wednesday December 22, 2010

Teachers protest insurance hike

From the 12.22.10 issue

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By Elaine Weinreb
Press Staff Writer

Dozens of teachers packed the Northern Humboldt Union High School District board meeting on December 15, protesting a proposed $2,000 increase in their health insurance costs.
Wearing black and red T-shirts and carrying signs, teachers addressed the board of trustees for more than an hour, saying that the steep increases were unaffordable, and were poor payback for the countless unpaid hours that most teachers donate to their jobs.
“I not only teach every day but I also travel from one campus to another during my prep period. I coach, I advise a club, I help students and proofread papers during my lunch period, and I often grade papers and prep for classes until after midnight,” said Beth Anderson, a language arts teacher.
“I don’t do this for the money, but I do have to be able to provide for and support my family,” she said. “This is money out of our household budgets.”
Some teachers, whose hours had been reduced, found that they could no longer afford health care premiums, because they were now part-time workers, who had to pay a larger share of the cost than full-time employees.
“I cannot go to the doctor or the dentist, or buy medicine,” said Rebecca Kendall, a foreign language teacher at McKinleyville High, who said she could not afford a $465 monthly insurance premium on a part-timer’s salary.
Teachers also complained of dire working conditions, and of feeling compelled to donate their free time to helping students, because classes were too large to give kids individual attention.
Cindy Condit, a science teacher at Arcata High School, told the board that she donated at least “105 unpaid minutes” a day to helping students, because her classroom was never empty, even during lunch and break periods.
“That’s 35 days of free time that you are getting from me every year,” she stated. “How many of you donate two full unpaid months to your personal jobs?”
“Class sizes are at the bursting point,” commented Allan Edwards, a teacher at Mack High. “We are doing more work for less money.”
Wylan Simpson, the student representative from Arcata High, told the board that he no longer felt comfortable asking teachers for help after classes, because they had so many demands on their time.
Edwards wondered why the district could afford to pay six-figure salaries to some of its administrators, but could not absorb a greater share of rising insurance premium costs. He also wondered why the district had not shopped around for a cheaper health plan.
Doug Johnson, a social science teacher at Arcata High, asked why the district could afford to remodel its office but couldn’t afford to fix the school photocopier, which was so bad that exams had to be postponed.
Other teachers spoke of becoming disillusioned and feeling burnt out by overwork.
School administrators replied that they were doing the best they could, in the face of unparalleled budget cuts from the state.
Loreen Farrell, the Director of Fiscal Services, explained that the governor had budgeted funds for schools but did not have the money to back it up, so he simply delayed some of the payments until the following year. Under these circumstances, if the school district is to meet its million dollar payroll every month, it must maintain a large reserve fund.
Last year, the school district used some one-time federal stimulus money to help with the cash crunch, and also cut some programs.
“We cut the Adult Ed and the Community School program, and that’s the money we’ve been using to make the payroll for the cash flow problems,” stated Superintendent Kenny Richards. “The problem isn’t budget; it’s cash flow.”
Measure Q issues
The district is currently waiting for the County Election Board to certify that the school bond was passed. At that point, the district must establish a Citizens Oversight Committee, whose purpose is to make sure that the district is spending the bond money appropriately.
“You can’t incur any expenditures until those things are put in place,” Richards said.
Although some teachers had hoped that Measure Q funds could be integrated into the school budget, the money can only be used for the specific purposes listed on the ballot measure, and cannot be used for salaries or ordinary operating expenses.
Some people wondered how the projects listed on Measure Q will be prioritized, who decides on the priorities, and who will appoint the oversight committee members.
Several people argued that Arcata High School should receive the lion’s share of the Measure Q funds, because it is twenty years older than McKinleyville High School, and presumably in worse shape.
District officials said prior to the passage of Measure Q that the money would be spent equally between the two schools.

County unveils new marijuana law

From the 12.22.10 issue

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By Daniel Mintz
Press Staff Writer

The county has released its draft of a new and more restrictive medical marijuana ordinance, the first in a series that will cover various aspects of medical cultivation.
The draft ordinance applying to residential grows and the permitting of dispensaries, collectives and home delivery services was released at the end of last week. It borrows from the contents of ordinances in effect in Arcata and Eureka, which rely on land use standards as the basis for regulation.
Compared to the current county ordinance, the residential aspect of the proposed new one reduces a patient’s allowable growing area by half, to 50 feet. The area can be expanded to 100 feet under a special permit process that would require proof of need for the additional cannabis, however.
Mention of plant numbers and processed marijuana amounts is omitted from the new ordinance.
It names 1200 watts as a maximum lighting standard, bans the use of extension cords, requires ventilation and mandates that “no visual, auditory or olfactory evidence” of cultivation” is allowed from public right-of-ways or neighboring houses.
No sales are allowed and patients are required to live in the homes where they’re growing. Growing structures need building permits under the proposed ordinance and cultivation can’t increase the consumption from any body of water that’s listed as impaired.
Co-ops, dispensaries, collectives and delivery services are also regulated under the new ordinance. The total number of all of them is limited to 12 in the county. They’d need conditional use permits and would only be allowed in “specifically enumerated zones.”
None could be within a 600 foot radius of a school and the county’s Planning Commission will consider the cumulative impacts of being within 500 feet of churches, schools, playgrounds, parks, libraries, residential treatment facilities and other dispensaries.
Earliest and latest allowable hours of operation would be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the sale of marijuana edibles would not be allowed. Coastal development permits would be required in coastal zones.
The Planning Commission will do an initial review of the ordinance at its Jan. 6 meeting. As per the direction of the Board of Supervisors, the Commission won’t take any action at that meeting.
Supervisors discussed the new ordinance’s approval process at its Dec. 14 meeting and also decided to hold a yet-to-be scheduled public workshop on it.
Supervisor Mark Lovelace, who along with Jimmy Smith comprises the Board’s ordinance subcommittee, said the county will draft several ordinances, each covering different issues.
Community Development Director Kirk Girard elaborated, saying that the next piece of work will venture into the unknown.
“The other end of this is that there are many wider issues in Humboldt associated with outdoor cultivation, cultivation on large lots and the connection between dispensaries and their suppliers” he said. “That issue is much more complex.”
It will demand more public involvement, Girard continued, because “that truly is breaking new ground.”