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Willits

Point Arena Hosts County Supervisors

Mendocino County News
March 24, 2009

The regular meeting of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors took place in Point Arena on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Usually meetings take place in Ukiah. About 60 citizens attended the meeting.

The Supervisors are David Colfax [5th district, which includes Point Arena], Kendall Smith [4th District], John Pinches [3rd district], John McCowen [2nd district], and Carre Brown [1st district].

The meeting began with citizens allowed to speak on items not on the agenda. Several south coast citizens took advantage of this to express their opinions on subjects such as code enforcement and permit issues.

The issue of government tripping over itself, in addition to tripping up its citizens, was highlighted not once but twice early in the meeting. The Veterans Hall, in which the meeting was held and which serves multiple functions including as Point Arena City Hall, cannot use its stove. Why? Because of changing regulations, the fire marshall declare it need a hood. You might not think that is a big deal, if you have never worked with the government. Apparently putting in a hood the government way will run about $24,000. The money is not in the county budget. In the meantime, it is not longer possible to hold some traditional public events in the building. Including, yes, the traditional annual fundraiser for the fire district.

There is no further money in the tobacco settlement fund for the 5th district, which is controlled by David Colfax [apparently this is a spoil of office, to be allocated by each Supervisor within their districts]. Instead $70,000 was allocated to a septic fix for farm worker housing in the Anderson Valley. Apparently the farmers who emply the farm workers are not expected to take care of them; that is a job for government funds. Private sources are granting $50,000 for the septic fix. $120,000 for a septic system? New regulations have made septic systems in California prohibitively expensive, unless the government in its mercy kicks in money.

In the rape and pillage department, the hospitality industry group, Mendocino County Lodging Business Improvement District (BID) presented its annual report. It was explained that the BID 1% is a self-assessment used to promote the tourist industry. It is believed that the money generates more than enough additional tourism to compensate owners. It is separate from the Transient Occupancy Tax of 10%. It seems unfriendly to visitors to single them out for such a high rate of taxation. They don't vote in the county, so they get stiffed.

The general impending bankruptcy of the county, due to decades of poor financial planning, was not a topic on the agenda, although the current shortage of funds was used as a shield against citizen suggestions.

The bridge over the Garcia River at Windy Hollow road, which would server to link the two Pomo Indian reservations and as an alternate route to Highway 1 when the river floods, was on the agenda. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA, or Bossing Indians Around) negotiated a memorandum of understanding with the county about the bridge. The Pomo tribal council, itself meeting elsewhere, sent a representative to ask that the tribe become part of the agreement, preferably as the lead agency, and that the item be postponed. David Colfax put down the tribal government and challenged their representative. Then someone came up with the palliative idea that the Pomos, as long as the rivers run, could negotiate later with the BIA and County and the agreement could be amended. The motion to approve the agreement without input from the people it affects most was passed unanimously.

At that point I was disgusted and decided to head to another event. The agenda and complete minutes, as well as agendas for upcoming meetings, are available at Mendocino County Meeting Agendas.