The council also voted 4-0 to approve an employment contract with Kary Hauck to serve as the new interim city manager. 

LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - The Live Oak City Council held a special meeting on April 7, with a closed session to discuss the dismissal of the current Interim City Manager Richard Crabtree, as well as the recruitment of a new interim city manager.

At the end of the closed session, Live Oak city attorney Nicole Rosser said the recommendation was to terminate the employment contract of Crabtree and the council voted 4-0 to approve the termination, with Councilmember Nancy Santana absent. 

The council also voted 4-0 to approve an employment contract with Kary Hauck to serve as the new interim city manager. 

At the April 16 regular meeting, new Interim City Manager Hauck recommended that the City Council approve a letter of opposition to California Senate Bill 634 (SB 634 – Perez), which Hauck said, if approved, would “(prohibit) cities from adopting any regulation, policy or guidance that would impose any civil or criminal penalties on a person experiencing homelessness.”

“This strips the city’s ability to exercise local control and safeguard community character, infrastructure and public safety,” said Hauck. “The bill fails to hold all residents to consistent standards, potentially increasing tensions between housed and unhoused populations.”

Councilmember Bob Woten agreed that the council should submit a letter of opposition. 

Mayor Jeramy Chapdelaine said, “This one could be significant for us with the challenges we’ve had with that.”

If the bill passed, Chapdelaine said, it would negatively impact progress that the city has made working with the Sheriff’s Department and local nonprofit organizations to address homelessness at the local level. 

City Council voted 4-0 to approve the opposition letter, with Vice-Mayor Aaron Pamma absent. 

During City Manager Updates, Hauck said, “We’ve been hard at work. … There’s a lot of great work being done by staff and we’ve had lots of meetings since I came on board.”

Mayor Chapdelaine said, “We appreciate everything you’ve been doing.” 

The next Live Oak City Council meeting is scheduled for May 7.