The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted last week following a public hearing to approve resolutions to establish agricultural preserves on five different properties and to also approve Williamson Act contracts for each of them.
The vote in each case was 3-0. Supervisors Jim Cook and Michael Kobseff were attending a meeting of the California State Association of Counties and did not attend the Dec. 2 board meeting in Yreka.
The county Agricultural Advisory Committee unanimously voted to recommend that the board approve the Williamson Act contracts.
The California Land Conservation Act, commonly referred to as the Williamson Act, enables local governments to enter into contracts with private landowners for the purpose of restricting specific parcels to agricultural use or related uses, in return for lower property tax assessments.
According to the Land Conservation Contract that is signed by the owners, the county agrees to this procedure “to discourage premature and unnecessary conversion of such lands from agricultural uses, recognizing that such land has definite public value as Open Space and that the preservation of such land in agricultural production constitutes an important physical, social, aesthetic and economic asset to the county to maintain the agricultural economy of county and the state of California.”
The properties approved for Williamson Act contracts are:
• James and Lori Baley, 117.3 acres, located in the northeastern unincorporated part of the county
• Mark and Kim Peacemaker, 249.25 acres located south of Montague
• Finley Farming, 320 acres, located near Fort Jones
• Russel J. Kennefick and Cynthia E. Kennefick, Trustees, 88 acres, located near Callahan
• Potato Karma, LLC, 224.5 acres, consisting of 4 parcels located in the unincorporated northeastern part of the county.
Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway visitor kiosks
Supervisors approved an agreement between the County of Siskiyou and Oregon-California Resource Conservation and Development Area Council and the Volcanic Legacy Community Partnership for the management of the Volcanic Legacy All-American Road Orientation Station Project.
The project will manage and oversee the construction of 10 visitor information kiosks and interpretation stations along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, which basically runs between Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta.
Supervisor Marcia Armstrong had some concerns that the entire volcanic legacy program is having an adverse effect on land use policy in the area. County natural resources policy specialist Ric Costales agreed that he had seen signs of this happening. An example was that logging companies are being coerced into not cutting timber where it is visible from the road.
Supervisor LaVada Erickson said, “Common sense has a place here, too.”
“I voted against this thing five years ago,” said board chair Bill Overman, “and my concerns back then are still present today.”
Michael Rourke, president of the Volcanic Legacy Community Partnership, appeared on behalf of the kiosk project. He assured the board that this project would not affect land use.
The vote for approval of the agreement was unanimous.
Employee of the Month
Kristin Varga, who has been employed by Child Protective Services for almost two years, was selected as Employee of the Month.
One of her major projects was bringing all the CPS files up to date.
Varga was cited for her dedication to the children she serves and particularly for her efforts in connection with the Dental Care for Foster Care program, in which she takes children to Modesto for extensive Medi-Cal dental work.
Varga’s family was in attendance for the presentation.
Yreka, Calif. —
