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December 7, 2022, Sarah Reith \u2014 Supervisor Ted Williams asked County Counsel for advice on limiting public comment related to agendized cannabis issues, leading to a swift warning from a leading cannabis attorney. The query follows close on the heels of the Board approving a controversial ordinance approving a fee schedule for public records requests.\n\nIn health-related topics that arose at the regular December 6 Board of Supervisors meeting:\n\nRepresentatives from SEIU 2015, the caregivers union, advocated for higher pay, claiming that fast-food workers make more than those who take care of disabled, poverty-stricken people. Caregiver Priscilla Tarver was among the speakers arguing that low pay makes it difficult to hire enough caregivers. \u201cWe just want to be recognized as a serious profession,\u201d she told the Board. \u201cThat\u2019s what it is. You know that we came in in diapers, we\u2019re going out in diapers. Somebody\u2019s going to be taking care of you at some point. You\u2019re going to want that person to like to do their job. And if they get paid well enough, they're going to like to come to work, and take care of you.\u201d\n\nPublic Health Officer Dr. Andy Coren urged people to get up to date on their flu and covid vaccines, and to take other precautions against infection. \u201cSince our community risk level worsened last week, I strongly recommend masking now in all indoor public spaces,\u201d he said. \u201cYes, they are uncomfortable, but not nearly as uncomfortable as a hospital bed or a ventilator, or even caring for yourself for weeks at home.\u201d\n\nCoren said the local medical system is so strained by the spate of respiratory illnesses that recently a sick child had to be transported out of state. Children are hit especially hard by the flu and RSV. This week, Adventist Health Ukiah Valley announced that it is offering an after-hours pediatric clinic on Mondays and Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., primarily for established pediatric patients exhibiting respiratory symptoms. Same-day appointments for sick children can be made by calling the Pediatric clinic at 707-463-7459.\n\nMuch of yesterday\u2019s morning discussion revolved around cannabis items that were on the consent calendar. One was a retroactive contract for $185,000 with Elevate Impact, the contractor administering the cannabis equity grant program. Department Director Kristin Nevedal said that was due to a missing invoice.\n\nBut the item that got the most attention was a recommendation to approve the manual for the Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program. The county received an $18 million allotment from the state to help cultivators satisfy environmental requirements as they struggle to comply with state regulations. That item came before Supervisors Maureen Mulheren and Dan Gjerde at the General Government Committee meeting in October. The Mendocino Cannabis Alliance urged the Board not to approve the manual, arguing that too much money will be used for administration and that they believe the guidelines are more restrictive than those allowed by the state.\n\nWilliams asked County Counsel Christian Curtis if the Board is obliged to hear the public. \u201cI think it was our understanding that public comment would be heard at the General Government Committee, not there and then again at a Board of Supervisors session,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat is proper?\u201d\n\nCurtis told him that, \u201cThe Brown Act doesn\u2019t require public comment at the full Board meeting if the item was previously heard at a standing committee. That\u2019s specifically a committee exclusively of members of this Board, meeting in a Brown Act-compliant manner. So as long as there\u2019s opportunity for the public to comment there, you don\u2019t essentially have to repeat the public comment at the Board level itself, unless the legislative body, which would be the Board, determines there\u2019s been a substantial change in the item between when it was at the committee and when it came to the full Board.\u201d\n\nLong-time cannabis attorney Hannah Nelson called in with a rebuttal, saying, \u201cJust because the Brown Act potentially allows for that process to be utilized, to restrict public comment on agenda items heard specifically in standing committees in the past, doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s necessarily a good or responsible thing to do.\u201d \n\nNelson argued that the full Board could benefit from public comment on items that are agendized just 72 hours before public meetings, and that often more nuance is available when people have more time to absorb the material. And cannabis is not the only topic that is subject to multiple rounds of discussion. Nelson added that she believes, \u201cIt\u2019s going to be very important to apply any rule of this sort across every single standing committee. And I\u2019m sure that the citizens and press will be interested to see if the Board would be applying any such rule equally across all issues and all committees. I hope this Board considers the limited time spent on public expression is valuable, from their constituents,...