Chairperson: John Howsden
Time Called to Order: 6:03 pm
Roll Call
Board Members Present:
President: John Howsden
Director: Sheldon Toso
Secretary: Gary Arneson
Treasurer: Curt Simmons
Director: Mark Andersen
Board Members Absent: None
Guests/Staff Present: Chris Duran
Public Comment/Open Forum: Chris Duran
Presented Firewise volunteering and asked for the Board’s endorsement of his orchestration to promote the communityefforts to harden our districts defenses against wildfires. Board was inclined to support Firewise and other fire prevention efforts throughoutour district and will receive more information from Chris and address in our meeting today as an agenda item to further consider.
Approval of Agenda
DISCUSSION: Agenda items in accordance with Rocky Road Board process.
MOTION: Gary motioned to approve the agenda for this meeting.
MOTION SECONDED: Mark seconded the motion.
DISCUSSION: Prior
VOTE: Unanimous 5/0.
Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes:
DISCUSSION: Review and approval of previous minutes in accordance with Rocky Road Board process.
MOTION: Sheldon motioned to approve the minutes for April 2026.
MOTION SECONDED: Mark seconded the motion.
DISCUSSION: Prior
VOTE: Unanimous 5/0.
Officer’s Reports:
Curt Director/Treasurer:
Financials, Umpqua Bank
Public Funds Checking: $13.97
Money Market: $123,817.75
Interest income: $218.42
Curt noted we got a SafeTlite credit for $24 from paying net 15 days for the herbicide spraying signs. Gary touted this adds to our project under budget success.
We have a stop sign on Black Creek and Feather that requires replacement. Gary will look at the sign and conditionand contact with SafeTlite for replacement sign, Sheldon noted that we can order extra 1-2 to have on hand. We will look at approval by means of the President’s authority budgetary discretion of $2,000spending without requiring board vote per Service District policy.
Unfinished Business
AGENDA ITEM: Tree Trimming
DISCUSSION: Curt cited that we have 3 vendors, and we are also making sure we have contractor’s adherence to prevailing wage guidelines. We have several areas identified for trimming with Legend, Salmon and Cheyenne as priorities in that order.
MOTION: Sheldon motioned to approve tree trimming not to exceed $6,000
MOTION SECONDED: John seconded the motion.
DISCUSSION: Prior
VOTE: 5/0 in favor.
AGENDA ITEM: Sheldon to complete a draft of the 2027-2027 budget for Treasurer’s financials.
DISCUSSION: Sheldon line-item template and went through each expense and estimated cost for items to project next year budget. This was discussed and cross-referenced with Curt and completed during a live working session.
AGENDA ITEM: Mark to provide a list of dig-outs
DISCUSSION: mark identified and prioritized approximately 1,800 square feet of dig-outs and repairs for Chief, Choctaw and Cheyenne withseven (7) sites and could be phase one of current year budget.
MOTION: Gary to authorize Mark not to exceed $24,999 for repairs.
MOTION SECONDED: Sheldon
DISCUSSION: Prior
VOTE: 5/0 in favor.
AGENDA ITEM: Firewise presentation from Chris Duran.
DISCUSSION: We will review the letter from Chris on Firewise and have this topic on a future agenda. We are inclined to be useful and propagate the message and hardening our fire prevention within the district and throughout Copperopolis.
MOTION: Gary to pursue further review and offer formal endorsement.
MOTION SECONDED: Mark
DISCUSSION: Prior
VOTE: 5/0 in favor.
New Business
AGENDA ITEM: Relocate RRCSD and herbicide spraying sign on Black Creek Rd.
DISCUSSION: We discussed our districts signage and noted we have a sign to move/install based on Rocky Road and County right of wayproperty lines. Board members subsequently walked the site on Black Creek Rd and identified the spot for the sign to beinstalled.
MOTION: John motioned the sign placement and install.
MOTION SECONDED: Mark
DISCUSSION: Prior
VOTE: 4/1 in favor, 1 vote no.
AGENDA ITEM: Extend the shoulder on Cheyenne Rd and Copper Cove Dr at bus stop for additional parking and loading/unloading.
DISCUSSION: Originally an idea from Curt and we’ve discussed over the last couple months with more good ideas and preliminary cooperation with localcontractors. Where we could fill-in our RRCSD right-of-way adjacent to the road (Cheyenne) with little cost to provide alarger shoulder and parking for unloading to reduce the lane blocking on Cheyenne during school bus drop offs and pick up. Sheldon and Curt are looking into any permitting needs and also their contacts to see what viable option we may haveto complete over the next year or more in phases to keep costs down.
MOTION: None, Curt and Sheldon will report back to the board with more information from their assessment and fact findings. We will discuss with Jim Wilson and DRM Construction along with Sheldon who has connections with Land and Structures inSonora to get an idea of scope of work. Curt also can get the council and insight from Calaveras County Public Works.