NORTH COAST RAILROAD AUTHORITY (NCRA)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
REGULAR MEETING
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Wednesday, Aug 18, 2004�� 10:00 AM
Fortuna City Council Chambers
� Humboldt County
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A.
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Woolley called the
meeting to order at 10:02 am.
B.
ROLL CALL
The roll was called with the following members present; Ellinger,
Ripple, Ollivier, Simonson, Hemphill, Chair John Woolley. Directors absent:
Burton. Also present: Executive Director Mitch Stogner, Legal Counsel Chris
Neary, Recording Secretary Dina Polkinghorne
C.
AGENDA APPROVAL
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ACTION
Upon Motion by Director Ollivier, 2nd by
Director Ripple, and carried (6-0) the agenda was approved with the addition of
item H.3: Arcata Fire District Ballot�
D.
CONSENT CALENDAR
ACTION
Upon motion by Director Ollivier, 2nd by
Director Simonson, and carried (6-0), the Consent Calendar was approved as
presented.
E.����������� PUBLIC COMMENT
None
F. ����������� PRESENTATIONS
Humboldt Bay Short Rail Committee� Humboldt Support
Coalition; Kaye Strickland
Kaye Strickland reported that the committee met on
August 11th� and she handed
out some pictures� taken recently of
track damage. The focus of the committee is to restore short rail service to
the Humboldt Bay. Mel McKenney, a volunteer for the City of Eureka voiced his
concern over the conditions of the track and right of way. Pete Oringer stated
that Dave Meserve, a City Council member from Arcata also attended the
committee meeting and requested that when the restoration of the right of way
takes place, that it be restored in a way that does not favor one type of
service over another, i.e. freight over passenger, etc.��
The board and the committee members discussed a
variety of possible public partners to work with on this project including
HCOAG and the Humboldt Municipal Transit Service.
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G.����������� CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
����������� 1.����������� Adoption of FY 04-05 Agency Budget
Mr. Stogner reminded the Board that a preliminary budget was passed at
the top of the fiscal year to facilitate Sonoma Co. Auditors Office to move
forward with NCRA accounting services, however, a final budget still needs to
be adopted. The NCRA Finance Committee has since met and the budget they
approved is now being presented for approval, along with a revised budget
presented by staff. The board discussed the revenue shortfall projections for
the NCRA in the new fiscal year.
ACTION
Upon motion by Director Ripple, 2nd by
Director Hemphill, and carried (6-0) the Board adopted the draft budget as
presented by the Finance Committee and directed staff to reference the cash
flow report to approach local partners regarding a loan, specifically the
Humboldt� Bay Harbor District.
����������� 2.����������� Approval
of Prop 116 Repayment Plan
Mr
Stogner went over the proposed repayment plan. Kathie Jacobs from the CTC was
also present and provided some background information. There was a brief
discussion regarding changing the payment dates in the proposal due to cash
flow issues.
ACTION
Upon
motion by Director Ripple, 2nd by Director Ellinger, and carried
(6-0) the board adopted the repayment proposal
to the CTC as presented with the following changes; annual payments will be
made in the fourth qtr of each fiscal year, beginning in FY 04-05, until
sufficient cash-flow is available to make first quarter payments in each fiscal
year.
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H.
������ STAFF
REPORT
1. ����������� Mitch
Stogner, Executive Director
Mr Stogner reported that NCRA received oral approval
of the FEMA Alternate Project funding in August. He then provided an update on
the progress of the Environmental Consent Decree and the NCRA�s compliance on
Task Order #4. Thirdly, he reported that the CTC meeting in which the NCRA will
be making a presentation has been rescheduled to October the 28th of
2004. In closing, he reported that a letter dated August 24th, 2004
was sent to HCOAG requesting a replacement for the cities representative on the
NCRA Board since Director Burton�s two year term has come to an end.
2.
Chris Neary, Legal Counsel
No Report
3.
Arcata Fire District Ballot
Chair Woolley briefly went over the ballot measure
before the NCRA as landowners in Arcata. He reported that the Fire District is
facing a budget crisis and is desperate for additional revenue to be able to
provide acceptable levels of service.
ACTION
Upon motion by Director Hemphill, 2nd by
Director Ollivier, and carried (6-0) the board approved voting �yes� on each of
the ballots.
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I.����������� CLOSED SESSION
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1.����������� Conference
with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation pursuant to Government Code�����
����������� Section 54956.9 (a) (one case � Hight vs NCRA).��
2. ����������� Conference
with Legal Counsel - Anticipated Litigation pursuant to Government Code�����
����������� Section
54956.9 (c) (one case).�
3.��������
Conference with Legal Counsel - Potential Litigation pursuant to Government
Code�����
����������� Section
54956.9 (b)� (one case).
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����������������������� ����������������������� ����������� The
board convened into closed session at 11:50 am
����������������������� ����������������������� ����������� The
board reconvened into open session at 1:40 pm
J.����������� ANNOUNCEMENT
OUT OF CLOSED SESSION
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ACTION: The board received information and gave
direction to legal counsel on all three issues before them.
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K. ����������� MATTERS
FROM THE BOARD
����������� None
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L.�� ����������� ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEXT MEETING
����������� September 15, 2004
����������� Sonoma County Supervisor Chambers
����������� Santa Rosa, Sonoma County
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M.��� ����������� ADJOURNMENT
����������������������� �������������������������������
��������������� Chair Woolley called the meeting adjourned at
1:42 pm.
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