LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - Live Oak City Council handled a heavy load of agenda items at last Wednesday's meeting, only to have one council member bring up a hot topic as they were trying to wrap things up. 

 

A great amount of time was dedicated to the potential amendment of the City’s budget allocating funds in Park Fees from the Kristen Court Project for a shade structure at Live Oaks soccer park, Pennington Ranch Park. Recently, an additional $51,720 dollars in funding was added to the original $43,000 which was intended for the shade structure. Due to the increase in funds, it was proposed that the installation of bathrooms at the park become the priority, putting the sunshade on the back burner. The idea of constructing bathrooms before the shade met with some resistance from council members. While council members were in favor of restrooms at the park, the general feeling was that it would be best to stick to the original plan and move forward with the shade structure first.

 

Also discussed was the issue of a patriotic mural to be installed at the cemetery as part of a beautification and arts program honoring service members. Citizen Michelle Dunn took to the podium citing issues with the way the American flag was depicted in the proposed version of the artwork.  “To me it’s backwards,” she said, with the flag pointing left, with the stars on the right-hand side. Council took the suggestion into consideration and moved on to the next topic, controlling medicinal and recreational deliveries to the City.

 

Since its legalization, marijuana has presented multiple issues for smaller municipalities. Legislation allows for cities to exclude and make illegal dispensaries in their towns, but things become muddy when concerning delivery services. Council discussed the need to establish a Cannabis Ad Hoc Committee, which would consist of two city council members to address how to handle the situation, as the City of Live Oak does not want that element introduced into its limits.  Citizen Jeremy Chapdelaine took to the podium, suggesting that it would be in the city’s best interest to cite and fee delivery services instead of spending time, manpower and money trying to enforce draft and new ordinances. He also brought up Council Member Thiara's affiliation with marijuana, most notably his online presence and possibly in reference to his LinkedIn profile where Thiara lists under his education: 420 Cannabis College: Medical Cannabis Consulting and Apothecary Business Management, and Plant and Product Sciences. Chapdelain argued conflict of interests and that Thiara should be excluded for any and all discussion about marijuana policies and be excluded from the Ad Hoc Committte by the Live Oak Council.

 

In an alarming twist as the council meeting wrapped up, Council Member Hernandez reported that while attending the Live Oak Festival held two weekends prior he “had several complaints from the Latino community,” informing him that Councilman Thiara had allegedly been publicly stating that council members were corrupt and that the council and city was stealing money. The accusations elicited an energetic response from city council members.  Council Member Aleks Tica called Council Member Thiara out, stating his opinion that Thiara poorly treated fellow councilmembers and city staffers, while Council Member Hernandez chastised Council Member Thiara with “I urge you to fix your behavior. It was inappropriate how you handled yourself at the festival.” Thiara retorted that the alleged allegations were slander, and the back and forth continued as Mayor Ghag attempted to restore order. With Hernandez unable to provide evidence or the names of the informants he spoke to regarding Thiara's statements, the allegations are currently unsubstantiated. Mayor Ghag tried to manage the heated debate between council members and was forced to shut dialogue down. “Rumors are Rumors,” he said, “Anyone who has a complaint, please come to the podium and speak to us directly.” Ghag continues, this is “serious business” and that these currently unfounded claims put the council in a very “delicate situation.” 

 

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