Oroville council votes to add business district, extend nuisance ordinance

Extension of nuisance ordinance also approved
 
PUBLISHED: May 7, 2019 at 9:40 pm | UPDATED: May 7, 2019 at 9:40 pmOROVILLE — The Oroville City Council approved everything put before it Tuesday, including extending the nuisance ordinance and creating a business improvement district.
Councilors were unanimous in all votes taken at the meeting.
Improving businessAfter the council voted to approve an ordinance to create the Downtown Oroville Business Improvement District, developer Bud Tracy told the council, “Thank you for ending 30 years of waiting for it.”
Tracy is maybe best known as the owner who renovated the Oroville Inn, turning the downtown building into dormitories for the Northwest Lineman College.
He has also been working for a long time — about 30 years — to create a business improvement district that would collect fees from downtown businesses to fund marketing and special events and beautify the downtown area. Proposed fees for business owners in the district range from $100 to $500 per year, depending on the location and the type of business.
Before the vote, Tracy told the council that about 120 businesses that would be affected were in favor of the district and just two were opposed. Those against it had spoken to the council previously.
Ordinance 1839 will add a chapter to the municipal code that creates the business district.
Nuisance law extendedWhen the council approved an urgency nuisance code April 16, it went into effect immediately, but was only good for 45 days.
City attorney Scott Huber said the urgency code had been working in the few weeks since implemented and recommended making it permanent.
Staff has already abated several properties, Huber told the council.
He also reiterated that the nuisance ordinance was not for issues where a fence falls down or minor repairs are needed, but for “sub-standard, blighted properties that are not suitable for human habitation.”
The urgency code was amended to allow the fire chief or fire marshal to declare nuisances as well.
“This is something that needed to be done,” Huber said.
The ordinance approved Tuesday will amend the nuisance code chapter of the municipal code, making the changes permanent after final approval.
New tractorAt 27 years old, the city’s Caterpillar 916 Wheel Loader tractor needs to be replaced, assistant city administrator Bill LaGrone told the council.
Alternatively, the council could invest about $12,000 to get it up to California emissions standards, but the loader tractor trade-in value is $14,000.
Plus, the city has to reach a spending threshold of $300,000 to get Senate Bill 1 funds, and LaGrone said because the tractor is used mostly for roadwork in the city, $90,000 could go toward a new piece of equipment.
The rest of the roughly $174,000 tractor’s funds would come from the sewer department plus the Thermalito and Oroville storm water departments, which all used the tractor.
The sewer department would put in $50,000 from its budget because it uses the tractor second-most, about 30 percent of the time, and the storm water departments will contribute $17,000 each, LaGrone said.
The council approved the replacement of the old tractor.
New plannerOroville will also contract with Bureau Veritas North America for city planning.
The company will assess the city’s needs and charge up to $54,000 with a planner who works in Oroville three days a week. That cost is by the hour, though, and LaGrone said he didn’t expect to need the planner in Oroville three days a week every week.
New videoAlthough it will cost nearly $95,000, the Council Chambers on Montgomery Street will have new audio and video equipment installed.
There was some hesitation to approve speakers, microphones and cameras at $94,619.85, but the council approved it after hearing that the work done to replace the old gear would be extensive.
It also seemed to help that the money to upgrade the equipment comes from a fee required by law and collected by cable companies to provide public, educational and government (PEG) access channels. The money must be used to increase public access and transparency.
Additional itemsThe council recognized the Feather Fiesta Days centennial celebration that began Friday, May 3, and ends Saturday, May 11, with festivities including a downtown parade and car show.
Oroville also proclaimed Salvation Army week to be May 13-20.
By DAN REIDEL | dreidel@chicoer.com |
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