Nancy Santana, left, and Aaron Pamma take the oath of office to begin their four-year terms on the Live Oak City Council. Photo provided by the City of Live Oak

LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - The Live Oak City Council issued a resolution accepting the Nov. 5 election results and elected councilmembers were sworn in at its Dec. 12 meeting.

Two seats were up for election this year. Live Oak Vice-Mayor Nancy Santana was re-elected and Live Oak resident Aaron Pamma was elected as the new councilmember. Santana and Pamma took the oath of office and began their four-year terms. 

City Council members then made their selections for mayor and vice-mayor. Vice-Mayor Santana nominated Councilmember Pamma to serve as mayor and it was seconded by Mayor Ashley Hernandez. Councilmembers Bob Woten and Jeramy Chapdelaine voted no, along with Councilmember Pamma, who said, “Thank you but no,” so the motion failed. 

Councilmember Woten then nominated Councilmember Chapdelaine for mayor, which was seconded by Pamma and unanimously approved by City Council. 

Santana nominated Pamma for vice-mayor, which was seconded by Chapdelaine and unanimously approved. 

City Council then heard the results of the annual backflow inspection, conducted by Graham Backflow Service. Interim Public Works Director Jeff Nelson said that the inspection identified 36 backflow preventers at residences within the city that require repair, as well as 10 backflow preventers that need full replacement. The total cost estimate is $30,656. 

“To comply with state requirements, these repairs have to be done,” Nelson said, “and there is funding in the water budget to cover these costs.” 

When council approved the contract earlier this year, Chapdelaine said, it anticipated that some repairs would be needed.

“I don’t know that we anticipated this many or a dollar amount that high, but for health and safety, it does need to be replaced,” Chapdelaine said.

Council voted unanimously to approve the repairs and replacements. 

City Council then discussed a continuing contract to lease the city’s depot building (located at Highway 99 and Elm Street) to the Live Oak Lions Club. The existing five-year contract with the Lions Club was set to expire, so Parks and Recreation Director Luis Cibrian presented an updated five-year contract. As the only service club in Live Oak, Cibrian said, the Lions Club provides significant contributions to the Live Oak community. The updated contract would continue the existing terms, allowing the Lions Club to use the building for its weekly meetings. The city would not charge any fee or rent for the usage but the Lions Club would be responsible for maintaining the building. 

This item was pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion by Santana, who said she would like to see the formation of a Live Oak Chamber of Commerce or similar organization, and if one were established, she wanted to ensure they would have a place to hold meetings. Santana asked if this contract would exclude other service clubs from using the building. 

Legal counsel said that the agreement is non-exclusive. It gives the Lions Club rights of usage but the city also retains the ability to use the building. And the City Council can also grant other organizations usage if the meeting schedule doesn’t conflict with the Lions Club meetings. 

Councilmember Woten and Mayor Chapdelaine both mentioned some areas of the building need new paint, so they asked that staff set up a meeting with the Lions Club president to ensure necessary upkeep is completed. 

City Council voted unanimously to approve the new contract with the Lions Club. 

During council comments, Vice-Mayor Pamma thanked Live Oak residents for their support in the election and said he is looking forward to working with the other councilmembers over the next four years.

“The amount of influence this table has goes a long way. The City Council holds influence, and there’s a lot of changes and positive impacts we can all make together,” Pamma said. 

The next Live Oak City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 15 at 9955 Live Oak Blvd.