GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – Due to the Martin Luther King Day and Inauguration Day, Gridley City Council met on Tuesday, Jan. 21, in lieu of the usual time on Monday night. Mayor Mike Farr was absent so Vice-Mayor Bruce Johnson conducted the meeting.

First off, a four-year extension was granted to the Eagle Meadows Village subdivision. Councilmember Catalina Sanchez reiterated the request for an update from the developer at the three-year mark.

Several consent items were then approved, including City Council minutes, expenditure reports and committee representative appointments for Northern California Cities Self Insurance Fund (NCCSIF) and Northern California Power Agency (NCPA).

Next, City Administrator Elisa Arteaga gave an informational update on the city’s Redevelopment Agency Oversight Board. This involved two land parcels on the east side of the city industrial park that could be sold. There are interested buyers, according to Arteaga. The two parcels on the west side will be retained by the city at this time.

Arteaga continued with a presentation on Gridley’s need for a deputy city clerk, including a job description and salary range. The need for this position has been discussed for a long time. The deputy city clerk will work with newly-hired city planner Christopher Smith. One of the current city administrative secretaries will be trained and certified to fill the position, with minimal impact on the city budget.

“This position is going to improve and insure the city manages its records. The city has three rooms full of records (to catalog).  We’ve never had a deputy city clerk in this city and I believe it’s necessary,” Arteaga said.

City councilmembers voted unanimously to proceed with the plans to train the deputy city clerk. 

Thereafter, an approval was considered and given for an agreement with California Consulting to write the city’s grant applications, as the need arises. During the presentation, Arteaga underlined that there were untapped grants available for projects such as the coming Gridley Sports Complex, public safety and infrastructure. California Consulting will assess the needs, look for grants and then bring them to the city for approval. There was discussion by councilmembers about the service’s administration fees, types of grants and stipulations. Actual figures for costs were not discussed, but this did not affect the approval.  

In other meeting news, PG&E requested a temporary construction easement for Lot 7 at the Industrial Park from Feb. 1 to April 30. The lot will be used for a staging area for other projects that include storing equipment there. PG&E will pay the city $1,500 per month for the use of the land, generating revenue for the city. Security for the area will be handled by PG&E, according to Arteaga. PG&E senior environmental field specialist Kevin Muzikar echoed Arteaga’s comments that the city would have no liability. Councilmembers unanimously approved the PG&E agreement.

Gridley city engineer Dave Harden then updated the council requesting approval for the award of the Gridley Sports Complex contract to Franklin Construction Inc., with a 10% contingency. There were several other bids.

Approval was nearly unanimous, with one abstention by Councilmember Catalina Sanchez, who said that she would like to see more details of the contract for transparency.

The final item for consideration was to approve a wage compensation study by Bryce Consulting. Arteaga explained the rationale for the study was to be competitive with other cities, and to attract and retain high quality employees. Such a study had not been done in Gridley in recent years, according to Arteaga. She said that other Californian cities typically repeat the study every two to five years.

“It’s a benchmark. It’s a tool to gauge where the city’s at,” Arteaga said.

Financial concerns were weighed against the cost of potentially losing valued employees to other cities with more competitive compensation. City Council voted in favor of the study.

Committee and department reports included:

Mosquito Abatement--An AG Cat Super B aircraft is being built to replace the plane lost last year. The new aircraft should be completed by January 2026. There will be a new pilot as well, outfitted with a $2,500 helmet.

City Administrator Arteaga, met with Butte County Transit concerning the lack of ridership on the Feather Flyer. More advertising is needed to increase its use or the funding will be lost, according to Arteaga.

Finance Director Martin Pineda indicated that city investments yielded nearly $192,000, as of January, exceeding expectations.

CAL FIRE Truck 74 assisted with the Bidwell Mansion Fire in Chico. During December, 179 calls were responded to. In addition, about 100 Butte County firefighters, including some from Gridley, have helped with the Los Angeles fires. The strike teams “worked 40 hours straight and saved a bunch of homes,” said Fire Chief Chip Fowler.