CHICO — City councilors rarely speak during the public comment period at their meetings. They can, as they’re residents, but typically confine their remarks to agendized discussions.
Earlier this year, Addison Winslow stepped off the dais to address his colleagues from the lectern. Tuesday evening, Sean Morgan kept his seat and delivered his message to all attendees in City Council Chambers and the audience watching the broadcast.
His remarks, praising local law enforcement, and an unusual action at the end of open session bookended an otherwise ordinary meeting. The council breezed through business in an hour even though this was the lone regular meeting of the month (not counting a special session called last Tuesday dedicated to the U.S. Supreme Court decision related to Warren v. Chico).
Jeff Trailer, right, shakes the hands of law enforcement officers who located his missing daughter after Councilor Sean Morgan acknowledged them at the City Council meeting Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Chico, California. The Butte County deputies involved are, from left, Adam Toomire, Zechariah Stanton, Brian Parsons, Rolland Summers, Dane Dugan and K9 Vader. (Evan Tuchinsky/Enterprise-Record)
On unanimous votes with few questions and quick deliberations, councilors decided to convey a city lot in the Chapman neighborhood to Habitat for Humanity of Butte County for affordable housing; lease out more of the Orange Street transit center to the Chico Art Center; have Public Works apply for a grant from an urban stream restoration program to rehabilitate Sycamore Pool; and affirm a committee on growth and development. Only one item had a split vote — Winslow disagreeing with the majority on street signs.
Before the council convened for closed session in the hour before open session, Morgan turned in a speaker card for the public comment period previously called Business from the Floor. He used his three minutes to praise the Chico Police Department and Butte County Sheriff’s Office for their rapid response to a call reporting a missing girl with special needs. Deputies, including K9 Vader, and officers located the girl within 20 minutes.
When Morgan finished, Mayor Andrew Coolidge suspended the no-applause rule to allow for a standing ovation from the council, staff and two-dozen members of the audience — and the girl’s father, Jeff Trailer, shook hands of the six deputies and six officers present, as well as Sheriff Kory Honea.
On Coolidge’s behalf, the council voted to suspend its rules and permit immediate discussion of his councilmember request. The mayor expressed concern about a downtown building in disrepair, at the northeast corner of Main and Second streets, which he compared to the dilapidated hotel in Marysville that burned down and forced the closure of Highway 70. Coolidge urged for city staff to “immediately assess the danger” posed by the windowless second floor and bring to the next meeting what could be done to get the building in compliance.
Tom van Overbeek seconded his motion, and it passed 7-0.
Prime items
Last August, the Planning Commission approved plans from Habitat to build five homes on a 1.3-acre, city-owned lot fronting Wisconsin Street and bounded by Little Chico Creek and Boucher Street. The council held a public hearing Tuesday on transferring the land to Habitat and dedicating federal funds allocated to the city for housing development.
Only one citizen spoke, Adam Fedeli, who encouraged the council support Habitat and its project. The council did, unanimously.
The Chico Art Center has leased portions of Chico Depot since 1992, including the railway car by the Orange Street parking lot. The center hopes to expand into areas vacated by Amtrak and Greyhound for a community meeting room, another classroom and another gallery.
The new lease appeared on the consent agenda, but Winslow pulled it for separate consideration. He and speaker Bryce Goldstein (a city climate commissioner and council candidate) noted passengers of Amtrak buses and trains still use the facility, even though the terminal has been closed since 2020, and expressed hope the art center would accommodate passengers.
Winslow, who’d raised the concern with City Manager Mark Sorensen, made a motion to include a 30-day termination clause in the lease. Van Overbeek immediately seconded, and the lease with the added provision passed 7-0.
Public Works sought council approval to pursue grant funding from the California Department of Water Resources’ Urban Stream Restoration Program for the creek-fed pool at One-Mile Recreation Area in lower Bidwell Park.
Erik Gustafson, director of Public Works – Operation and Maintenance, said Sycamore Pool is nearing 100 years old and has some pretty significant maintenance challenges,” such as “deteriorating concrete” and “structural issues on the walls.”
The Bidwell Park and Playground Commission recommended May 25 that the city request $3.5 million for outreach and design. The city would partner with American Rivers, Environmental Services Associates and American Whitewater.
Councilors appreciated the effort, with a few caveats. Coolidge said the public should understand that some on the dais “don’t want major changes” but rather “just want to get it fixed.” Van Overbeek wanted an assurance that the project, part of the park’s master management plan, would move forward “holistically” within the context of the park as a whole.
Winslow, who called Sycamore Pool “my favorite place in the world” and represents the district where it’s located, moved to approve the grant application — and councilors agreed unanimously.
At the June 18 meeting, the council appointed van Overbeek and Winslow to formulate a committee on growth and future development in Chico. They explained their proposal Tuesday and heard no objections from their colleagues.
The group will be called the Growth and Community Development Committee; van Overbeek and Winslow will co-chair, alternating every other meeting, to be held Tuesday afternoons before the council meets. The panel will comprise the two councilors, two building industry members (Bill Brouhard and Jim Stevens), two advocates of smart growth (Ann Bykerk-Kauffman and Eric Nilsson) and a former city planner (Pam Figge).
Van Overbeek emphasized “more predictability in the process” as a goal “to build more cool things in Chico,” an aim Winslow supported.
Other business
• From another request by van Overbeek, the council opted to shift decisions on traffic signs from the Internal Affairs Committee to one of the Public Works directors. The vote was 6-1, with Winslow opposed.
• Councilors authorized a new bidding and conflict-of-interest policy for city projects and ratified an interagency agreement between Chico and Oroville pertaining to road work.
• On the consent agenda, councilors approved contract modifications for public safety and service union employees.
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• The Chico Police Department submitted for information only its 2023 annual report, which presents crime statistics in a new format consistent with the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System.
• In closed session, the council got updated on labor negotiations with the fire management union, real estate negotiations regarding acquisitions to accommodate road-improvement projects and on Warren v. Chico; discussion of Sierra Club v. Chico was postponed. No final action was taken on any of the items.
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