Here’s what you need to know:
- The Board (6-0) approved the agreement with Advocates for Human Potential, a contractor under the California Department of Health Care Services, for $3,000,000.00 to support and expand behavioral health mobile crisis and non-crisis services for 2021-2025.
- In the letter to California State Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the board expressed support for Assembly Bill 2878, relating to forest biomass waste utilization.
- Board requested $180 million to provide local assistance for the Organic Waste Recycling Program Development and Implementation.
The Scene
According to its website, The Madera Board of Supervisors is the legislative and executive governing body of the Madera County government. Each of the five supervisorial districts of the County elects one supervisor.
Within limits prescribed by State law, the Board enacts ordinances and rules, determines County policy, supervises the activities of County departments, adopts an annual budget, and fixes salaries.
The Board meets regularly on the first three Tuesdays of each month and occasionally on Mondays in the Board Chambers of the County Government Center in Madera. On Tuesday, May. 3, 2022, the meeting was at 9:00 am in The Pines Resort, Lakeview Room 54432 Road 432, Bass Lake, CA 93604.
Madera County Board of Supervisors Members present:
- Brett Frazier (District #1)
- David Rogers (District #2)
- Robert Poythress (District #3)
- Letizia Gonzalez (District #4)
- Tom Wheeler (District #5)
- David Rogers (District #2)
Others Present:
- Paul Yoder
Discussions/Actions
Paul Yoder presented the Board’s 2022 Legislative Platform.
In the consent agenda, the Board (4-0) unanimously approved the following:
5.a. 8497: Agreement with Advocates for Human Potential, a contractor under the California Department of Health Care Services, for $3,000,000.00 to support and expand behavioral health mobile crisis and non-crisis services for 2021-2025.
Madera County Department of Behavioral Health Services is seeking approval to enter into a contract with Advocates for Human Potential, a contractor of the California Department of Health Care Services, to administer and oversee the implementation of the Behavioral Health Care Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP), Crisis Care Mobile Units (CCMU) Program.
Madera County Department of Behavioral Health Services plans to partner and amend the current contract that provides similar services after hours, on weekends, and on holidays to timely implement this grant to provide 24/7 crisis response in the Madera Chowchilla and Oakhurst regions of Madera County.
The pending legislation centered on the following:
4. a AB 2878 Support Letter
In the letter to California State Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the board expressed support for Assembly Bill 2878, relating to forest biomass waste utilization.
Assembly Bill 2878 helps achieve the state’s forest health and wildfire risk reduction goals by increasing the productive use of forest waste through energy generation and wood product manufacturing.
In doing so, AB 2878 will:
1) help reduce future emissions related to the open burning or natural decomposition of forest residuals;
2) increase energy reliability and resiliency in those communities at most significant risk of losing power; and,
3) create jobs and improve the economy in many of California’s rural communities.
AB 2878 also helps improve local energy resiliency and overall grid reliability. These are critical goals, as electrical reliability has plummeted dramatically for many rural communities. AB 2878 seeks to address these problems by:
• Promoting the use of forest biomass to support rural microgrids.
• Requiring utilities to upgrade infrastructure in forested regions to reduce wildfire risk and support integration of bioenergy.
• Incentivizing interconnection of bioenergy projects.
• Extending the state’s BioMAT program until 2030 requires utilities to procure electricity from small bioenergy projects, including biomass facilities that use fuels from high hazard zones.
4.b SB 1383 Budget Request
The Board addressed the request to Chair of Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Committee Nancy Skinner and Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee Philip Ting.
Board requested $180 million to provide local assistance for the Organic Waste Recycling Program Development and Implementation.
This budget request builds on the $60 million down payment approved by the Legislature last year. It will further help local governments implement this critical greenhouse gas emission-reducing program and lower the cost to ratepayers.
CalRecycle’s SB 1383 Regulations adopted in November 2020 require local governments to reduce landfill disposal of organic waste by 75 percent by 2025 and increase edible food waste recovery by 20 percent.
SB 1383 is the farthest-reaching solid waste management change since AB 939 (Sher, 1989). CalRecycle has estimated statewide implementation will cost $20-$40 billion over the next decade, including 50-100 new organic waste recycling facilities.
Compliance obligations for local governments began in early 2022, and local governments continue to develop a comprehensive suite of local collection, enforcement, and funding programs.
These activities include hiring new staff and consultants, adopting ordinances, arranging for appropriate collection services, establishing inspection and enforcement programs, procuring recovered organic waste products, providing education and outreach, developing edible food recovery programs, and reporting to CalRecycle.
Finally, the Board suggests allocating funding to CalRecycle to develop a statewide environmental impact report for the siting and construction of organic waste composting facilities.
The funding could significantly reduce the time and cost to local governments necessary to construct new construction composting facilities.
The meeting lasted until noon. The next board meeting will be on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at 9:00 am.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at Documenters-admin@thefresnoland.com with “Correction Request” in the subject line.