ELK GROVE/GALT, CA (MPG) - The Cosumnes Community Services District (CSD) Board of Directors met Oct. 15 to discuss several agenda items, including the 2025 California Fire Code, new on-call professional service contracts and appointments to the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo).

Before moving into the agenda, Board President Angela Spease acknowledged a moment of silence for Californians affected by recent wildfires and for longtime flight nurse Suzie Smith, who died from injuries sustained in the REACH helicopter crash on Oct. 6.

Assistant Fire Chief Lantz Rey presented the first agenda item, recommending approval of the proposed 2025 California Fire Code with local amendments. He explained that the code establishes minimum fire safety standards for buildings and structures across the state while addressing California’s unique conditions, such as wildfire risk, seismic activity and urban density.

Rey noted that the code, updated every three years, provides the legal authority for things such as enforcing fire prevention and emergency access. The 2025 update primarily includes formatting and standard revisions but introduces one key clarification: It now allows temporary or permanent water supplies to support residential and commercial construction, a change Rey said will make it easier to develop model home complexes in undeveloped areas.

The board unanimously approved the code 5-0 and, if later adopted by the City Council, the updated fire code will take effect in January.

Next, Engineering, Development and Design Director Scott Jones presented a staff report recommending approval of new on-call professional service agreements as the current contracts are set to expire. The contracts include services such as civil engineering, construction inspections, environmental documentation, landscape architecture and surveying.

“These professional service agreements don’t just increase our capacity to deliver projects; they bring in specialized expertise that our staff alone cannot provide,” Jones said. “These services are truly mission critical.”

Landscape Architecture and Planning Director Christine Manitta added that the agreements will help accelerate project timelines by expediting design phases, leveraging consultant support and freeing up internal staff to focus on other priorities. She said the approach will also help to reduce construction costs by allowing projects to break ground sooner.

The district selected 23 consultants for the new on-call contracts, which will cover up to $500,000 in work over five years. Jones clarified that not all contractors will reach the maximum amount and that there will be no impact to the district’s general fund since expenditures were already approved in the budget.

“So effectively what you’re doing is streamlining the project with this while being cost effective and hopefully avoiding inflation costs over time by eliminating having to go through the contract,” board member Reina Tarango said, to which Jones agreed.

The total contract authority was initially estimated at $12.5 million over five years but Vice President Peter Sakaris noted an error in the calculation and moved to amend the amount to $11.5 million.

The Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve the recommendation with the amendment to reduce the total contract authority to the correct amount.

The final item on the agenda was the election of special district representatives to the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo). The Sacramento LAFCo Special District Selection Committee is holding the election to fill terms beginning Jan. 1. The committee’s large size has made it difficult to reach a quorum for in-person meetings, prompting efforts to simplify the voting process.

The board was asked to select one candidate for a four-year term on Regular Seat 7, one candidate for a two-year term on the same seat and one alternate candidate for a four-year term.

After reviewing the candidate list, which included individuals from various municipal districts in Sacramento County, the board voted to select Gay Jones of Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District for the four-year regular term, Brandon D. Rose of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District for the two-year term and Charlea Moore of Rio Linda Elverta Recreation and Park District as the four-year alternate representative.