FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News Briefs from the November 6, 2024 Board of Supervisors Meeting
SERVICE RECOGNIZED
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday conducted its quarterly awards ceremony for employees who have reached service milestones of at least five years, including four individuals with 25 years of service with Inyo County.
Employees honored for reaching service milestones in the third quarter of 2024 were:
- Public Administrator/Public Guardian Patricia Wilder-Barton, 25 years
- Chief Probation Officer Jeff Thomson, 25 years
- Health & Human Services Deputy Director Fiscal Oversight and Special Operations Melissa Best-Baker, 25 years
- Sheriff’s Department Office Technician Lauri Harner, 25 years
- Riannah Reade, 20 years; Fernando Gutierez-Crespo; 5 years; Daniel Armogida, 5 years; and Joslyn Cash, 5 years – Sheriff’s Department
- Rusty Huerta, 15 years – Auditor’s Office
- Morgan Maillet, 15 years; and Jaclyn Sharer, 5 years – District Attorney’s Office
- Kathryn Chaplin, 5 years; and Erika Jayne Hall, 5 years – Library
- Kelsey Ditty, 5 years – Public Works
NEW EMPLOYEES WELCOMED
On Tuesday, the Board also took the opportunity to meet several new additions to its two largest departments.
The following individuals were introduced to the Board: from Health and Human Services, Office Clerk Emma Baker, Social Worker Gina Cook, and Deputy Director of Behavioral Health John C. Laux; and from Public Works, Mechanic Trainee Daniel Miller, Parks Specialist Theran W. Mills, and Engineering Technician Jose Rodriguez.
PORTAL PROJECT ON TRACK
Public Works Director Mike Errante provided updates on two major projects underway in the South County.
According to Errante, Whitney Portal Road repair project is progressing as expected, with paving anticipated by the end of the month and completion targeted for December. “I’m very excited to see this project on schedule to end by December,” he told the Board of Supervisors.
Whitney Portal Road was hammered in 2023 by multiple, record-breaking weather events, including atmospheric rivers in January and March, flooding from unprecedented spring runoff levels, and Tropical Storm Hilary in August 2023. The latter storm dumped more than a year’s worth of precipitation throughout the county over a 12-hour period, causing upwards of $10 million in damage to Whitney Portal Road alone, with the worst of it occurring in the canyon section.
The Federal Highway Administration Central Federal Lands Highway Division took over responsibility for the monumental repair effort in October of 2023. Construction began in July 2024.
The road – which provides access to Mt. Whitney, the Inyo National Forest, Alabama Hills National Scenic Area, and multiple residential communities outside Lone Pine – remains closed between Tuttle Creek and Movie roads with detours established from Moffat Ranch Road to Movie Road, Tuttle Creek Road to Horseshoe Meadows Road, and Lubken Canyon Road to Horseshoe Meadows Road.
The courthouse HVAC project, meanwhile should be wrapped up by early January, according to Errante. Work began in April to modernize the heating and cooling systems in the three-story building. As part of the project, window unit air conditioners will be removed so that they are no longer visible on the historic courthouse’s façade.
Errante said the HVAC work in the basement and first floor is finished and the rooftop units are expected to arrive in late December. He told the Board the project should be 100 percent complete shortly thereafter.
MAJOR MOOLAH FOR TECOPA
Inyo County Transportation Planner Justine Kokx announced at Tuesday’s Board meeting that the California Transportation Commission has recommended the Connecting Tecopa: Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Corridor for millions of dollars’ worth of Cycle 7 Active Transportation Program funding.
According to Kokx, Inyo County is one of only four jurisdictions in the Small Urban and Rural category – out of hundreds of applicants – to be recommended for funding. The total cost of the project, which aims to improve sidewalks and roadways to make them safer for pedestrians and cyclists in Tecopa, is $9.8 million, $7.8 million of which will be covered by the Active Transportation Program grant. Kokx said the Inyo County Local Transportation Commission voted to make up the $2 million difference with State Transportation Improvement Program money.
The project includes the addition of new sidewalks, bike lanes, crossings, and traffic calming devices.
CROP REPORT OUT FOR 2023
Inyo-Mono Ag Commissioner Nate Reade on Tuesday presented to the Board the 2023 Annual Crop and Livestock Report, which shows a modest 6 percent increase over 2022 totals in Inyo County, at $24,513,000, and a 12 percent decrease in Mono County totals, at $36,588,000.
According to Reade, rising fuel and fertilizer costs and lower pricing have put a strain on local producers, including those who increased their alfalfa production in 2023. Despite the increase, alfalfa totals – $2,802,000 – were down 23 percent in Inyo County from 2022. In general, Inyo’s field crops decreased by 11 percent (at a total of $5,996,000). Off-setting these numbers were increased values seen in the livestock and livestock products category. According to Reade, while cattle and sheep production decreased fairly significantly in both counties, pricing was up, helping this segment post a 14 percent growth over 2022 in Inyo County (at $12,864,000) and a 13 percent increase in Mono County (at $18,966,000). Reade cautioned that this increase does not indicate a commensurate increase in profits.
The 2023 Crop and Livestock Report, which is dedicated in memory to late Senior Agricultural Biologist/Weights and Measures Inspector David Miller, can be accessed online at https://www.inyocounty.us/services/agriculture-inyo and-mono-counties/agricultural-commissioner/resources/crop-reports.
ASSESSMENT APPEALS BOARD CLOSE TO REALITY
The Board on Tuesday took one of the final steps necessary to establish an Assessment Appeals Board (AAB) for Inyo County by approving an ordinance to add the panel to County Code.
The proposed AAB will replace the Board of Equalization – the Board of Supervisors in a quasi-judicial role – as the entity to hear and decide on property tax assessment appeals. The board will be comprised of three members and two alternates with experience in the accounting, real estate, or legal fields.
Per California Revenue and Taxation Code, an individual is eligible to serve on an Assessment Appeals Board if he or she has five years or more of professional experience in California as one of the following: a certified public accountant or public accountant, a licensed real estate broker, an attorney, or a property appraiser accredited by a
nationally recognized professional organization. Individuals are also eligible if a member of the Board of Supervisors has reason to believe they are possessed of competent knowledge of property appraisal and taxation.
Anyone interested in and qualified to serve on the AAB can still submit letters of interest to the Clerk of the Board’s Office ([email protected]) by 5 p.m. on Monday, November 18. The Board of Supervisors is expected to make appointments to the AAB in December, at which time it will also approve local rules.
AIRPORT COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP CHANGED
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors reappointed Mike Patterson and Peter Tracy to four-year terms on the Northern Inyo Airport Advisory Committee ending December 31, 2028. The Board also appointed Harry Bhakta to an identical four-year term. He will replace longtime member Eileen Burger, who declined to seek reappointment after her current term.
The committee position for an alternate remains vacant. Anyone interested is encouraged to call Ashley Helms at (760) 878-0200.
Speaking of committees and appointments, the County is also recruiting members for the following: • Eastern Sierra Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council (deadline: 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22) – Four (4) two-year terms ending December 31, 2026
– Three (3) two-year terms ending December 31, 2025
- Bishop Rural Fire Protection District Board of Commissioners (deadline: 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18)
– One (1) unexpired four-year term ending July 1, 2028
- First 5 Inyo Children and Families Commission (deadline: 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18) – One (1) three-year term for a Community Commissioner ending December 5, 2027
– One (1) three-year term for a Health Commissioner ending December 5, 2027
– One (1) three-year term for an alternate Community Commissioner ending December 5, 2026
Letters of interest may be send to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at P.O. Drawer N, Independence, CA 93526 or [email protected]. For more information, call (760) 878-0373.
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