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Loan of Funds to Tehama County Public Works - Senior Planner Fox
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Requested Action(s)
recommendation
a) Approve a short-term loan in the amount of $188,775.00 from the Local Transportation Fund (LTF) reserves administered by the Tehama County Transportation Commission (TCTC) to the Tehama County Public Works (TCPW) Road Fund.
b) Authorize TCTC to staff to prepare, execute, and process all necessary interagency agreements, fund transfer documents, and supporting paperwork required to facilitate the disbursement and tracking of the loaned funds in accordance with the terms set forth in the Interagency Cooperative Agreement between TCTC and TCPW once approved by counsel.
c) Approve the formal fund transfer from the Local Transportation Fund (LTF) reserves to the Tehama County Public Works Road Fund, and direct staff to coordinate with the Tehama County Auditor’s Office and all relevant departments to ensure timely execution and compliance with agreement’s repayment schedule and accounting requirements.
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Financial Impact:
Approval of this action will result in the temporary transfer of $188,775.00 from the Local Transportation Fund (LTF) reserves to the Tehama County Public Works Road Fund. These funds will be used to address local match shortfalls for the Park Fire Hazard Tree Removal Project, which is being implemented under an agreement with the Resource Conservation District of Tehama County (RCDTC).
The loan will be issued as a no-interest, short-term obligation, to be repaid by Tehama County Public Works in accordance with a mutually agreed-upon repayment schedule. Repayment is required in full no later than June 30, 2029, unless otherwise amended. There is no net loss to the LTF reserves anticipated over the life of the agreement.
This financial action is intended to support critical emergency recovery and public safety efforts while preserving the integrity of the regional transportation funding program.
Background Information:
On July 24, 2024, the Park Fire ignited off Upper Park Road in Bidwell Park near Chico, California. The fire quickly spread across rugged terrain under extreme weather conditions, ultimately burning 429,603 acres across Butte and Tehama Counties. The fire was active for nearly five months, with full containment not reported until December 18, 2024. CAL FIRE determined the cause to be arson.
The fire prompted a coordinated response from the CAL FIRE Butte Unit, CAL FIRE Tehama-Glenn Unit, and Lassen National Forest, and was managed by the U.S. Forest Service Southwest Area Incident Management Team 2 (IMT2). The scope and intensity of the Park Fire resulted in widespread environmental damage and significant threats to life, property, and infrastructure. Governor Newsom formally requested-and secured-federal assistance for damage assessments and recovery operations throughout the affected regions.
In the aftermath of the fire, Tehama County Public Works (TCPW) partnered with the Resource Conservation District of Tehama County (RCDTC) to launch Phase One of the Park Fire Hazard Tree Removal Project, aimed at clearing public roads, removing burned hazard trees, and restoring safe access across the fire-impacted area. This work was authorized under Agreement No. 2024-245, approved by the Tehama County Board of Supervisors on August 6, 2024. The agreement established an initial emergency scope of work, with services contracted through December 31, 2024.
The County has since identified the need for Phase Two of the project to address additional critical corridors and treatment areas identified by the Public Works Transportation Division. This next phase is being carried out in continued partnership with RCDTC and includes expanded mitigation activities essential to maintaining public safety and infrastructure stability within the burn scar.
To support this effort, the County has committed the remaining balance of its Emergency Operations Fund (Fund 107), allocating an additional $651,225.00 to cover a portion of the ongoing contract. However, Public Works still faces a shortfall in the local match funding required to complete the full scope of work.
To close that funding gap and avoid delays in time-sensitive field operations, Tehama County Public Works has requested a short-term loan from the Local Transportation Fund (LTF) reserves administered by the Tehama County Transportation Commission (TCTC).
This agenda item proposes formal approval of that interagency loan in the amount of $188,775.00, which will be documented through a cooperative agreement and repaid in accordance with mutually agreed-upon terms.
The draft interagency agreement between the Tehama County Transportation Commission and Tehama County Public Works is currently under review. Approval of this item will authorize the execution of the agreement upon final approval by County Counsel, consistent with the terms and conditions outlined in this draft. For transparency, the fully executed agreement will be returned as an informational item at next month’s Commission meeting. This item is being brought forward at this time to allow the project to proceed without delay, as local contractors are booking out for the summer. Any postponement could jeopardize the County’s ability to complete the work within the current field season. The fud transfer will be processed with the executed agreement.