My Recent Activities (Week of 12/15)
Tuesday was a Yuba Water Agency board of directors meeting, and a link to the agenda is here. Highlights include:
- Community Partnerships & Sponsorships: Consider two $5,000 sponsorships — one for the South Yuba Citizens League’s 2026 Wild & Scenic Film Festival and another for Yuba County First 5’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library, supporting watershed education and early childhood literacy.
- Resource Management & Workforce Capacity: Vote on adding an Environmental Scientist to support growing regulatory and project workloads, reclassifying a procurement position, and adopting a consolidated salaries-and-benefits resolution for unrepresented employees.
- Strategic Plan Progress Report: Review and consider approval of the 2025 Progress Report for the agency’s 2023–2027 Strategic Plan, reflecting updates discussed at the Nov. 18 Board workshop.
- Financial Updates & Forecasting: Receive October 2025 General & Power Systems financial statements and consider approval of a final budget adjustment for FY 2025–26, including long-range forecasts and major project updates.
- Asset Management & Interagency Support: Approve several surplus property actions, including disposal of older agency equipment and transfers of trailers and lifts to Cordua Irrigation District and Browns Valley Irrigation District.
Other board and committee meetings on my calendar include:
- Yuba Water Agency Project Operations & Development (POD) Committee Meeting (agenda & documents)
- Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Board Meeting (agenda & documents)
Additional meetings on my calendar this week include a webinar on updates to the Brown Act as a result of SB707, a meeting with Sutter Yuba Behavioral Health, a flood team meeting for Cap-to-Cap 2026, a Blue Zones leadership luncheon, a meeting with the SACOG executive director and incoming chair, and a SACOG REI briefing. There was also an OPUD board meeting on Thursday night (agenda & documents)
Community events on my calendar this week include playing Santa on the firetruck on Wednesday & Thursday nights and attending the Beale U2 Squadron (1RS & 99RS) Christmas Party on Saturday.
My Recent Activities (weeks of 12/22 and 12/29)
Due to Christmas, there wasn’t a Board of Supervisors meeting on 12/23, and 12/30 is the fifth Tuesday, so there wasn’t a Yuba Water or Board of Supervisors meeting that day either. I don’t have anything on my calendar either of these weeks, and I spent time with friends and family in Tennessee.
My Recent Activities (Week of 1/5)
Tuesday was a Yuba Water Agency board of directors meeting, and a link to the agenda is here, and a press release from the meeting is here. Highlights include:
- Board Leadership & Governance: Elect the 2026 Board Chair (Director Bishop) and Vice Chair (Director House), and consider approval of a Joint Powers Agreement with Yuba County to create the Yuba Water Construction Authority, allowing the use of construction-manager-at-risk delivery for major capital projects.
- Major Flood Protection & Infrastructure Grants: Consider approving several large grants, including $923,713 for the City of Marysville to support FEMA accreditation and 200-year flood protection for the Ring Levee, along with grants for North Yuba Water District, Browns Valley Irrigation District, Hallwood Irrigation Company, and Linda County Water District to improve water delivery, efficiency, and reliability.
- Water System Reliability & Modernization: Act on multiple irrigation and conveyance improvement projects, including canal lining, seepage loss prevention, flow-control automation upgrades, and Complete Streets-related utility relocations tied to North Beale Road.
- Financial Oversight & Accountability: Review and consider approval of the audited financial statements for FY 2024-25, along with routine consent items, including approval of prior meeting minutes.
- Power & Capital Project Updates: Receive an update on the progress of the Tunnel Outage project, a critical effort supporting long-term reliability of the agency’s power and water infrastructure.
Other board and committee meetings on my calendar include:
- none
Additional meetings on my calendar this week include a Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) small group roundtable discussion with gubernatorial candidate Antonia Villaraigosa; agenda review for the next Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) board meeting; dinner with two Chico city council members to discuss regional transit service; agenda review for the next Board of Supervisors meeting; a lunch meeting with Yuba County Community Development leadership; and an American Leadership Forum (ALF) retreat.
I did not have any community events on my calendar this week.
Looking ahead to this week (Week of 1/12)
Tuesday will be a Yuba County Board of Supervisors meeting, and a link to the agenda is here. Highlights include:
- Board Leadership & Regional Governance: Elect the 2026 Chair and Vice Chair, make appointments to regional boards (including the Feather River Air Quality Management District), approve a Joint Powers Agreement with Yuba Water Agency to allow construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR) delivery for major infrastructure projects, and approve an updated Yuba County Strategic Plan.
- Infrastructure, Roads & Active Transportation: Take action on several transportation and infrastructure projects, including completion of the Loma Rica Road & South Beale Road State of Good Repair Project, contracts for the Forty Mile Road Shared Use Path, and on-call engineering support for future projects.
- Economic Development & County Services: Approve agreements supporting economic development (CSBG administration), the Camptonville Woody Biomass Energy Project, and continued operation of the TEAM Center in Marysville.
- Housing, Land Use & Airport Operations: Hold public hearings on ordinances related to vehicle operations at the Yuba County Airport and the adoption of a development agreement with Habitat for Humanity Yuba-Sutter for the Fernwood Village housing project.
- Public Safety, Technology & Community Recognition: Approve items related to probation staffing, AI tools, law-enforcement technology, present proclamations honoring public safety professionals, and receive updates from The Salvation Army and County departments.
Other board and committee meetings on my calendar include:
- Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Board Meeting (agenda & documents)
- Yuba Sutter Transit Board Meeting (agenda & documents)
Additional meetings on my calendar this week include a meeting with the auditor controller to discuss the county travel policy. There is also a a Wheatland City Council meeting on Tuesday evening (agenda & documents) and an OPUD board meeting on Thursday night (agenda & documents).
Community events on my calendar this week include the Yuba Sutter MLK Jr. March & Program on Saturday at 10 am in Yuba City & Marysville. Also, Sam Bunton from Yuba County Public Works will be the speaker at South Yuba County Sunrise Rotary Thursday morning, 7 am at Hard Rock.
Announcements & Events
- Yuba Sutter MLK Jr. March, Saturday, January 17th, 10 am, starting at the Historic Sutter County Courthouse on 2nd St in Yuba City
*The picture is a collage of various things from the last few weeks: SACOG’s Incoming chair (Jill Gayaldo), outgoing chair (Darren Suen), and incoming vice-chair (me); with Linda Fire before Santa visited Plumas Lake on the fire truck; RCRC opportunity for an informal meet a greet between supervisors from Santa Barbara, Yolo, Modoc, and Yuba, with gubernatorial candidate Villaraigosa; Christmas day with my kids in TN; and the 1RS/99RS Christmas party with my host commander (Jester).
Thank you for allowing me to serve you!
