Votes at a glance: Board approves road‑standard exception, purchasing ordinance, cannabis tax rates and travel; microgrid LOA approved

The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors recorded several formal actions at its Jan. 28 meeting. Below are the key votes, motion texts and outcomes.

Votes at a glance

1) Modified road improvement standards (Use Permit UP2504) Motion: “Approve the modified road improvement standards for the unnamed road associated with permit number UP2504.” Outcome: Approved, roll call 5-0. Notes: The request was for an exception to county road-width standards on a hillside subdivision where an existing 30-foot right of way does not meet the standard 50-foot requirement; staff said the design meets required fire-turnaround standards. No public comment was received on the item.

2) Ordinance amending purchasing procedures and increasing UPCCAA thresholds (AB 2192) Motion: “Waive full reading and read by title only; introduce and adopt an ordinance replacing Chapter 2.33 relating to sale of real and personal property, purchasing procedures and bidding procedures for public projects, and amend Del Norte County Code Title 2, Chapter 33, Section 85 to increase project value thresholds under the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act in accordance with AB 2192.” Outcome: Adopted, roll call 5-0. Notes: Boardmembers discussed aligning local purchasing policy with state government code pathways and asked for a future agenda item to update county purchasing policy language further.

3) Resolution setting cannabis transaction tax rates for calendar year 2025 (Measure B range) Motion: “Retain existing cannabis transaction tax rates for retail and manufacturing (6% and 3%).” Outcome: Approved, roll call 3-2 (Howard: no; Starkey: no; Wilson: yes; Short: yes; Borges: yes). Notes: The resolution set rates within the voter-approved range under Measure B.

4) Letter of agreement with SiteLogic — community solar/microgrid feasibility (agenda item 25) Motion: “Authorize a letter of agreement with SiteLogic for a community solar generation and microgrid project.” Outcome: Approved, roll call 4-1 (Short: yes; Wilson: yes; Starkey: yes; Howard: yes; Borges: no). Notes: See separate article for discussion and next steps. The agreement does not obligate county funds at the letter-of-agreement stage; SiteLogic said later development phases would include caps and must meet Gov. Code §4217 self-funding requirements.

5) Authorization for Supervisor travel to the 2025 NACO annual conference (Philadelphia, July 11–14) Motion: “Approve use of budgeted county travel funds for Supervisor Starkey to attend as alternate to the 2025 NACO annual conference.” Outcome: Approved, roll call 5-0. Notes: Boardmembers described topic tracks including PILT, secure rural schools and emergency preparedness as reasons to send two representatives.

6) Consent agenda and other items Motion: “Approve the consent agenda.” Outcome: Approved (unanimous). Several members of the public requested greater transparency for consent items that involve financial commitments; county staff said item details are available in the public packet.

Why this matters: The votes on purchasing rules and the microgrid LOA affect how the county procures goods and proceeds with infrastructure planning; the cannabis rate decision affects a county revenue stream; the road-standard exception enables a specific land-use permit to move forward.

Sources: Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting, Jan. 28, 2025.