Sheriff's monument donation, recreation rental fee increase on Placer Supervisors' agenda

For its first meeting in February, the Placer County Board of Supervisors is slated to review various items Tuesday. Scheduled at 9:35 a.m., the board will consider donating $50,000 to the Placer County Sheriff's Council, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the Placer County Sheriff's Office, for its Fallen Deputy Monument campaign. The monument will be an 8-foot sculpture created by local artist Doug Van Howd and will include the names of fallen Placer law enforcement killed in the line of duty to honor their legacy. According to the staff report, the sculpture will honor Detective Mike Davis, Reserve Deputy Timothy A. Ruggles, Deputy James E. Machado, Deputy Arden Webster, Deputy Richard Alfred Sheppard, Deputy Charles Carter, Sheriff William Elam, Deputy Frank H. Dependener and Deputy George W. Martin. The staff report notes the sculpture will be placed in the rotunda outside the Auburn Justice Center, 2929 Richardson Drive, for the community to pay its respects. The board will also consider approving a proclamation establishing February 2023 as Grand Jury Awareness Month at 10:15 a.m. The staff report details grand juries "act as an 'arm of the court' " and are charged with investigating and reporting on local government operations to ensure responsibilities are being fulfilled honestly, legally, efficiently and in the best interest of the public. The proclamation will serve as recognition to the efforts of past and current jurors who have volunteered time and service to the Placer County Grand Jury. At 10:25 a.m., the board is scheduled to review increasing rental fees for the Placer County Public Recreation Area over the next three years. The county owns and operates 24 sports fields at 10 parks, which are rented by 26-30 youth sports leagues annually. According to the staff report, rental fees have not been adjusted in more than 20 years. The fees are currently set at 25 percent of the average rates of neighboring jurisdictions, which has resulted in increased rental pressure from leagues outside of Placer and a shortage of available non-organized play time for residents. County staff recommends incrementally increasing the fees to $30 per hour for natural turf fields and $60 per hour for synthetic field turf. The staff report notes current rates range from $2 to $45 per hour based on the legal status of the organization renting the field. The staff report notes fields affected include Applegate Park, Foresthill Leroy E. Botts Memorial Park and Franklin Community School Park in Loomis. Tuesday's meeting is scheduled at 9 a.m. The public is invited to attend at the County Administrative Center, 175 Fulweiler Ave. in Auburn, or online at placer.ca.gov/boslive. The agenda can be found at placer.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/66912/2023-021423-Final-Agenda.