City investment policy, senior mobility program, emergency notification change, vet bill claim, city's annual chamber of commerce subsidy is paid

These five topics should interest Yorba Lindans:

--The city's investment policy for the current fiscal year has been modified to permit the use of financial institutions and brokers throughout the United States, changing the prior requirement that the city partner only with establishments physically located in California.

Finance Director Scott Catlett reported that investment relationships are now “largely digital,” making physical location “of little importance.” He also noted bank certificate of deposit rates in other states often exceed rates available in California.

The city's current investments total nearly $95 million.

--An agreement extending the 14-year-old Senior Mobility Program, also known as TRAILS, “taking retired adults into local services,” into 2021 has been signed with the Orange County Transportation Authority. The program operates 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Some 310 seniors use the door-to-door transportation system monthly, noted a report from Recreation Superintendent Jeff Ruth, operating within and one mile beyond city limits. This year the county agency will pay about $72,000 and the city has budgeted $21,000.

--A new provision in the no-cost agreement for participation in the county Mass Notification System, known as Alert OC, allows the city to use the system “to disseminate 'government-related' notifications to citizens and businesses within its jurisdiction,” a city report stated.

A “non-emergency notification situation” is defined as “instances when a participant deems non-emergency information to be of significance to a participant's jurisdiction and the partic-ipant uses the system to distribute such information.”

The city-county agreement has been extended into 2021 for emergency – and now non-emergency – notifications through landlines, cell phones and e-mail for registered users.

--Spraying a generic version of Roundup herbicide in city medians along Vista Del Mar near Via Sanlucar resulted in a claim filed with the city to reimburse a sick dog's veterinarian bills.

The $1,529 claim was denied by the city. Officials noted the spraying occurred Oct. 27, 2015, and the first evaluation and treatment of the pet was on Jan. 29, with follow-ups February and March.

The herbicide was sprayed under EPA and county regulations and “has a drying time of approximately 25-30 minutes, so the herbicide had likely dissipated over a three-month period,” with mandated signage used during the process, officials reported.

--The usual $25,000 annual city payment to the Chamber of Commerce has been approved, along with some minor revisions in the 103-year-old organization's contract with the city.

Still in the contract is a page-long provision prohibiting various political activities, added after a smaller $16,000 payment was questioned in 2007 because two City Council members and some residents accused the chamber of involvement in local campaign issues.