Eastern Sierra Council of Governments (ESCOG) - Joint Powers Authority (JPA)

Minutes of Regular Meeting

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Dual Locations: Bishop Council Chambers and Mammoth Lakes Council Chambers
Bishop Council Chambers 377 West Line Street, Bishop, CA 93514
Mammoth Lakes Council Chambers 437 Old Mammoth Rd., Ste Z Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
Members Present:
  • Chair Stephen Muchovej, 
  • Vice Chair Chris Bubser, 
  • Board Member Jeff Griffiths, 
  • Board Member Trina Orrill, 
  • Board Member Lynda Salcido, 
  • Board Member John Wentworth, 
  • Board Member Karen Schwartz, 
  • and Board Member Paul McFarland 

1.
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

 

The Chair called the meeting to order at 8:37 a.m. in the Bishop Council Chamber, 377 West Line Street, Bishop, CA. Board Member Lynda Salcido attended the meeting in the Town of Mammoth Lakes Council Chamber, 437 Old Mammoth Road, Mammoth Lakes.

2.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

 

Board Member Chris Bubser led the Pledge of Allegiance.

3.
PUBLIC COMMENTS

 

Transportation and Mobility Commissioner for West Hollywood David Eichman congratulated Chair Stephen Muchovej on his appointment as Mayor for the City of Bishop. Mr. Eichman announced that West Hollywood had just appointed Jackie Rocco as their first female City Manager and said that the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce would be announcing a new President and CEO.

4.
CONSENT AGENDA

 
  • Moved byBoard Member John Wentworth
    Seconded byVice Chair Chris Bubser

    Approve the Consent Agenda

    For (8)Chair Stephen Muchovej, Vice Chair Chris Bubser, Board Member Jeff Griffiths, Board Member Trina Orrill, Board Member Lynda Salcido, Board Member John Wentworth, Board Member Karen Schwartz, and Board Member Paul McFarland
    Carried (8 to 0)

5.
POLICY MATTERS

 

5.1
Receive a Presentation from John Urdi, President and CEO, Mammoth Lakes Tourism, and Pat Foster, President, Hot Creek Aviation, on 2026 Eastern Sierra Commercial Air Service

This item has attachments. 
1.Item 5.1 - ESCOG Presentation 12-11-25.pdf

Mammoth Lakes Tourism (MLT) President and CEO John Urdi outlined the information in the Summer Air Survey 2025 Presentation. Mr. Urdi announced his resignation and said that it had been a pleasure working with the members of the Board.

Hot Creek Aviation President Pat Foster spoke about the process the MLT Board was going through in order to hire a new President and CEO and to keep a consistent flow of information related to air service from MLT to the ESCOG .

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi, Mr. Foster and members of the Board.

5.2
Receive an Update from Nick Buckmaster, Fisheries Supervisor, California Department of Fish and Wildfire, and Lori Gillen, Watershed Resource Supervisor, Regarding Regional Efforts to Combat Invasive Golden Mussel

This item has attachments. 
1.Item 5.2 - ESCOG_Golden Mussel Update(2) .pdf

Executive Director Elaine Kabala provided background information on the item and introduced California Department of Fish and Wildfire (CDFW) Fisheries Supervisor Nick Buckmaster and Watershed Resource Supervisor Lori Gillen.

Mr. Buckmaster and Ms. Gillen outlined the information in the Golden Mussel Update. 

Board Member Karen Schwartz left the meeting at 9:53 a.m.

There was discussion between Ms. Kabala, CDFW staff, Legal Counsel John-Carl Vallejo, and members of the Board.

Staff was given direction to have a discussion at next ESCOG meeting about staff's capacity and budget to serve as the long term fiscal agent for combined contributions for the program and for any ordinances and a long term work plan go to the area managers at this time for discussion with CDFW and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

5.3
Approve Submission of Environmental Protection Plans for Expanded Regional Riparian Vegetation Management

This item has attachments. 
1.Item 5.3 - 2025_12_11 ESCOG_Riparian_staff report.pdf

Executive Director Elaine Kabala outlined the information in the staff report.

ESCOG Wildfire Coordinator Kristen Pfeiler outlined the information in the Eastside Riparian Working Group presentation.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

Staff was given direction to submit applications for Environmental Protection Plans for sites that do not have sponsors as identified through the Eastside Riparian Working Group Expanded Regional Riparian Vegetation Management.

5.4
Receive an Update on USDA Community Wildfire Defense Grant Implementation

This item has attachments. 
1.Item 5.4 - 2025_12_11 ESCOG_Staffing (003).pdf

Executive Director Elaine Kabala and Wildfire Coordinator Kristen Pfeiler outlined the information in the staff report and Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) December Budget presentation.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

5.5
Adopt 2026 ESCOG Board Calendar

This item has attachments. 
1.Item 5.5 - Staff Report 2026 Calendar.pdf

Executive Director Elaine Kabala outlined the information in the staff report.

There was discussion between Ms. Kabala and members of the Board.

  • Moved byVice Chair Chris Bubser
    Seconded byBoard Member Paul McFarland

    Adopt the 2026 ESCOG Board Calendar as amended to move the February meeting to the 18th.

    For (7)Chair Stephen Muchovej, Vice Chair Chris Bubser, Board Member Jeff Griffiths, Board Member Lynda Salcido, Board Member Trina Orrill, Board Member John Wentworth, and Board Member Paul McFarland
    Absent (1)Board Member Karen Schwartz
    Carried (7 to 0)

5.6
Executive Director Update Report

This item has attachments. 
1.Item 5.6 - Staff Report exec dir report.pdf

Executive Director Elaine Kabala outlined the information in the staff report.

Wildfire Coordinator Kristen Pfeiler provided additional information.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

6.
BOARD MEMBER/AGENCY REPORTS

 

Board Member John Wentworth announced that there was a change in leadership for the Town of Mammoth Lake's (TOML) Town Council with a new Mayor and Pro Tem, and said that Town Council would work on priority work at the next Council meeting including public land management.

Vice Chair Chris Bubser announced that Amanda Rice had been appointed as the new Mayor and that Brent Truax had been appointed as the Mayor Pro Tem. Ms. Bubser reported that the Limelight Hotel had opened and said that there were several other major construction projects currently in process in Mammoth.

Board Member Paul McFarland announced that Mono County and their partners had secured an emergency declaration for the Pack Fire, reported that Highway 120 open to the Yosemite National Park's gate, and said there had been a lot of consternation expressed with regard to the fee structures particularly for foreign visitation at the parks. Mr. McFarland reported that he had held two Town halls in his district in the past two weeks to work with his constituents to prioritize what the issues that they wanted addressed. The top issues identified were emergency preparedness, public lands, and infrastructure/roads.

Board Member Lynda Salcido attended the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) meeting recently and congratulated Board Member Jeff Griffiths for his successful performance as the CSAC President last year.

Chair Stephen Muchovej reported that the City of Bishop had suffered a horrible tragedy in town. Chair Muchovej announced that there had been a restructuring at the Bishop City Council and changes in assignments which would include Councilmember Karen Kong's appointment to the ESCOG and Chair Muchovej stepping down. He also spoke about the Bridge Housing Project in Bishop which was discussed at a recent Council meeting, announced that the Bishop High School Broncos Football Team would play in the State finals this weekend, and said that the Silver Peaks Project was just awarded the Affordable Housing and Sustainability Community Grant in the amount of $26.5M for low income housing and congratulated to staff for the efforts writing the application.

There was discussion among members of the Board.

7.
REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

 

There was discussion among members of the Board. The next meeting of the Board will include an update on the Jobs First Program.

8.
CLOSED SESSION

 

8.1
Public Employee Performance Evaluation – Pursuant to Government Code §54957 – Title: Executive Director

 

Board Member Lynda Salcido left the meeting at 10:55 a.m.

Legal Counsel John-Carl Vallejo announced that the Board would go into Closed Session at 10:55 a.m.

The Board returned from Closed Session at 11:03 a.m. and announced that no reportable action was taken

9.
ADJOURNMENT

 

The meeting was adjourned at 11:03 a.m. to the next regular meeting schedule to be held on February 18, 2026.

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