R6. Provide clear naming of accounts for RLC revenues and expenses in the annual budget. No action required, previously implemented. Revenues and expenses for RLC are in clearly-named accounts, to the extent that they can be itemized. Post monthly revenues and expenses for RLCs on the City of Marysville Police Department web page for RLC enforcement, Will not be implemented. The City complies with all requirements for accounting and reporting of statistical and financial data relating to RLCs within the City, and will continue to do so. Maintaining ongoing reports on the website is labor- intensive, and cannot be handled by existing staffing. Obtain legal clarification regarding legality and use of the cost-neutral clause of the current contract. No action required, previously implemented. The City Attorney is closely involved in the negotiations and contract discussions explained in F3 above. Obtain legal clarification to determine whether the current contract should have been approved given the cost-neutral clause, the gift provision, the requirement of the special account, and the vague interpretation possible for financial resolution when cameras are disabled due to state highway construction. No action required, previously implemented. The City Attorney is closely involved in the negotiations and contract discussions explained in F3 above. Moreover, the contract which the City entered into with Redflex was reviewed by the City Attorney at the time it was executed, in 2005. Obtain legal clarification to determine whether the annual gift provision in the current contract is legal. If it is, then it should be provided annually as stipulated. If it is not, then any gifts received should be returned. No action required, previously implemented. The City Attorney is closely involved in all contractual relations between the City and its contractors. We defer to the judgment and professional guidance of legal counsel in all such matters. In practice, the City does not accept “gifts” from its vendors and contractors, as explained in the letter to Mr. Harvey Robinson, Sr., dated November 11, 2013. The use of the term “gift” in the Redflex contract is unfortunate, but inapplicable for the reason explained in our letter to Mr. Robinson. Consider termination of business agreements with Redflex either immediately or upon completion of the current contract, and utilize more advanced engineering counter measures to enhance traffic safety within the City of Marysville. Electronic traffic enforcement techniques are in widespread use throughout modern America, serving legitimate safety and regulatory purposes that either could not be performed in another manner, or as complementary to other City Council Response 2014 Yuba County Grand Jury Report measures, including engineered solutions. But not every situation lends itself to only engineered solutions, as this recommendation pre-supposes. The City Council will always keep its options open to provide the best possible safety measures it can. Maintenance of Ellis Lake Water quality issues and measures to deal with water quality may not be fully understood by the Grand Jury, As the signature amenity of Marysville, Ellis Lake is of high significance to the City. Discussions have taken place and are ongoing concerning how best to influence water quality, given the physical characteristics of the lake—shallow and very warm in summer—its flora and fauna, and its hydrologic system. The paragraph on “Lake Hydrology” in the GJ report describes “eutrophication” and states that similar conditions have existing in the past in Ellis Lake. The statement is then made that “conditions involving eutrophication are not evident.” No authoritative support is offered for the implication of eutrophication existing in Ellis Lake or the opinion that conditions do or do not exist in the Lake, other than a reference to an article in Wikipedia. The same paragraph indicates that the Lake contained high levels of phosphorus and ammonia based on tests in 2012 in contrast to more recent tests conducted by the City, but does not reference a source of this conflicting information. In the discussion of (avian) botulism, the Grand Jury Report references an article from Wikipedia and states that the bacterial level in the water leads to the avian botulism outbreaks. The Wikipedia article referenced addressed botulism, primarily in humans, and not the avian strain that has affected the ducks around Ellis Lake in the past. Avian botulism is not spread by toxins in the water, but by maggots feeding on infected dead birds, followed by other birds feeding on the infected maggots. The best response to such an outbreak is the quick removal of the bird carcasses. There is no effective treatment, and the city has never treated the lake with phosphorus or ammonia, either against avian botulism or for any other reason. The report goes on to discuss the loss of water from Ellis Lake, The statement correctly points out that water flowing out from Ellis Lake is controlled by a weir, which also acts to set the normal water level in the lake. Ellis Lake is also a storm water detention basin. In normal winters, high levels of storm run off will flow into the lake, and flow back out of the lake after the passing of the storm. During other times of the year, the Lake loses water through evaporation and percolation. The report incorrectly stated that the Yuba County Water Agency provides water to California Water Service Company. The California Water Service Company obtains all of the water supplies from wells. The City is not aware of records indicating that the current pump on the Ellis Lake well was donated by Cal Water, nor are we aware of any offer from Cal Water to donate another pump. The City Services Director did explain to City Council Response 2014 Yuba County Grand Jury Report the Grand Jury members that there had been discussions with Yuba County Water Agency regarding funding for an additional well to feed the Lake, among other measures. However, the current limitation on the amount of water pumped into the Lake is not the lack of an additional pump, but funding for increased energy costs for increased operation of the pumps. The current pump runs 44 hours per week at a seasonal cost of $11,000. The Ellis Lake Restoration Project (ELRP) group has proposed the installation of floating islands in Ellis Lake to improve water quality. In December 2013, the City reviewed and approved the group’s proposal to install a 70-square foot island as a pilot project. The installation of the first island by ELRP is pending. The floating islands the ELRP has proposed are designed and constructed by Floating Islands West, LLC. The City, along with proponents of the Ellis Lake Restoration Project, talked to an expert from Floating Islands West, Mr, Laddie Flock, about the applicability of the floating island to solve the type of problems in Ellis Lake. He felt that their product would be beneficial, but most of their experience had been with water bodies having somewhat different water quality problems than Ellis Lake. When asked to estimate the total floating island needed to adequately treat a lake the size of Ellis Lake, he indicated a need for approximately 6,000 square feet, including three circulating pump units, with an estimated cost of $300,000. In the final paragraph on , the Grand Jury states that “Ellis Lake Restoration Project has been around for many years.” To our knowledge, the current Ellis Lake Restoration Project is a recent creation. However, another group, Help Ellis Lake Prosper (HELP) has been around for about 14 years and has been an invaluable partner with the City to address some particular problems with Ellis Lake. The Grand Jury makes the statement, without any reference or supporting documentation that “In 2008 .. .the city and county took steps to make improvements that were rudimentary and temporary remedies at best.” The City did complete substantial work around 2008 to repair cobble banks, sidewalks and light posts, and the installation of the first phase of ramps providing access to the Lake. These repairs corrected a number of problems at the Lake, but were neither rudimentary nor temporary. Additional such improvements and renovations are part of the City’s Capital Investment Plan for the period 2015-2019, In the final paragraph of the report, the Grand Jury states that the City “will not allow further deployment of the islands until an expert can analyze the lake issues, and advise the city of its best options for remedy.” This is not accurate. The City Services Director stated to the Grand Jury members that the cost of $300,000 for the full implementation of the floating islands would likely require grant funding. A component of applying for grant funding of that large an amount would be a report by an engineer or water quality expert supporting the floating islands as the preferred solution for the Ellis Lake water quality problems. It is for that reason that City officials have ongoing discussions with the Yuba County Water Agency to determine how the two agencies can partner in the development of a science-based plan for the improvement of water quality in Ellis Lake. City Council Response 2014 Yuba County Grand Jury Report Before addressing individual findings and recommendations, we wish to make several corrections, clarifications and explanations to materials contained in the body of the GJ report, On : The first Marysville Municipal Code reference is incorrect. The sections referencing swimming or boating in Ellis Lake are more correctly 16.60.010 and 16.70.010 as follows: 16.60.010 Swimming in Ellis and East Lakes prohibited, It is unlawful for any person to swim, ski, wade, or have body contact in the waters of Ellis and East Lakes, located in the city, except by special permission granted by the city council after a request in writing is officially filed in the office of the city clerk and approved by the council. 16.70.010 Boating prohibited—Exception. It is unlawful for any person, firm, partnership, or corporation, except the city for maintenance purposes, to launch, place, or operate any motor-driven boat in the Ellis and East Lakes located in the city except by special permission granted by the city council after a request in writing is officially filed in the office of the city clerk and approved by the council. Neither section includes any reference to the waters of Ellis Lake being polluted, as stated in the Grand Jury report. On : The paragraph entitled “Funding Sources” contains a number of inaccuracies. First, the correct department name is City Services Department, not public works. City Services is responsible for maintenance of Ellis Lake, North Ellis Lake, East Lake, Riverfront Park, and all of the neighborhood parks and miscellaneous park areas within the City. This distinction is important as the budget amounts noted for park maintenance cover all of the parks within the city, not just “Ellis Lake and all parks associated with the Lake.” The actual parks maintenance budget for FY 2012-13 was $264,075, and for FY 2013-14 was $327,821. The FY 2013-14 budget included funding for the maintenance of Bryant Field, which had been in a separate fund and budget unit in previous years.