At every Board of Supervisors meeting, we are allowed time to report on our public activities such as committee work in which we participate or constituent meetings which we attend during the weeks between the full Board meetings. I decided to start a Reports blog to keep people updated on this part of the Supervisor's job.
I'll begin the new Reports blog with some of my observations about the Housing Policy Committee meeting I attended on February 15, 2012: Two years ago, the Board formed a Housing Policy Committee. We did this because of all the unresolved problems that surfaced during the lengthy discussions associated with the Tuolumne County Inclusionary Ordinance hearings. It was clear that people had more to say on this subject than time had permitted. There were hard feelings all around, and even though the ordinance passed by a 4-1 vote (I voted against it), the County was making slow progress in implementing the new rules. People didn't seem to want to work with each other, and economic realities in the housing market were part of the problem that we could not solve with local remedies because they originated in places other than Tuolumne County. It was clear that we had to keep talking to each other about these problems, so the Committee was formed. Randy Hanvelt joined me as the second Supervisor on the group. Bev Shane, Mike Laird, and Sheila Shanahan were there to give us staff assistance. Rounding out the group, we had Karen Burkhardt from the Realtors Association, Beetle Barbour from ATCAA, Mark Banks from the Builders' Association, and others from the community who have a particular interest or knowledge in the field of housing. At the February 15 meeting, we heard from two representatives of an out-of-county organization which specializes in remodeling group housing units that rent for below the market rate. The reps explained the services they offer and the benefits (such as new jobs in the trades) that the County would gain if we were to contract with them. They were asking for our consideration to approve a project in our county which they are planning to develop. We will be hearing from this group in the near future, and when we do, I'll report it out in this column.
On another subject, here are some observations I recorded at a town hall meeting I attended on February 16, 2012: The Sheriff's Department held a town hall meeting at the Sonora Opera Hall and pulled a pretty good crowd. Present were members of the Sheriff's Department (including Sheriff Mele) in addition to members of the Sheriff's Community Services Department and administrative staff. Also present was Mark Stinson, Chief of Police in the City of Sonora, and members of the California Highway Patrol. Seated in the audience were some local politicians beside myself, including Connie Williams (who is running for Sonora City Council) and Matt Hawkins (who is already on the Council). The law enforcement people who were there were quite impressive. They were attentive listeners, obviously engaged in the ebb and flow of the meeting, and able to answer questions in an informed and civil manner. I walked away from there thinking that the public was in good hands when it came to the law enforcement professionals' ability to take action and keep the peace. I've been to a number of these kind of meetings over the years and the one change I am seeing is this: The public (audience members) seems more ready to get involved in law enforcement matters than in the past. More questions came up that had to do with practical matters the public now has to deal with due to the release of prisoners into the community. This issue is probably going to move rapidly to the top of the list of public concerns now that AB109 has been activated. The feeling I got from the town hall meeting was that people in the community want to get up to speed on this new reality in public life, but don't know quite where to start. I know we will be hearing more about this as time moves forward. I'll keep the topic alive in my Reports blog.
For now, enjoy life in Tuolumne County! Liz
