The Board of Supervisors’ January 14 public meeting lasted barely over 20 minutes on this day. That was enough time to honor the County Employee of the Month for January (John Crowe, Associate Engineer, Department of Public Works), and to provide an opportunity for Public Comment.
This time on the Board agenda in each meeting allows the public to comment for up to 3 minutes on any subject matter that is within the jurisdiction of the Board. The Board cannot discuss, or act upon, matters that are not on the agenda in advance of the Board meeting.
Supervisors can briefly respond to statements or questions and, if appropriate, refer the matter to staff for follow-up or to schedule for a future Board meeting.
At this meeting, there was one public comment, a citizen and voter appealing to the Board to
protect the right of legal medical marijuana growers to continue to provide for their medical needs. This issue will come before the Board if and when the Planning Commission makes a recommendation to change the current county ordinance.
The Board adopted the Consent Calendar unanimously. The item on each meeting’s agenda includes financial and administrative actions that are considered routine. They are usually approved by a single majority vote.
The chair provides an opportunity before the vote on the Consent Calendar for any Supervisor to pull an item off for discussion and clarification, and offers the public the same opportunity to request time to comment. There were no such Board or public requests at this meeting.
Two items on the Consent Calendar were not controversial but may be of interest:
• The Board accepted a federal Homeland Security Grant in the amount of $216,000 for the Health and Human Services agency for the period September 2013 through May 2015. The funds will be used for storage space for emergency preparedness equipment for the Shasta Public Health Department; two bomb suits for the Sheriff’s Office; 20 HAZMAT suits and other tools for the County Fire Department; Hostage Negotiation Team equipment for the Redding Police Department; security equipment for the Anderson Police Department; and a small amount of administrative funds.
• The Board accepted funds from the California Department of Public Health to continue the county’s Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Home Visiting Program. This program, initiated in April 2012, provides low-income, first-time pregnant women with home visits throughout their pregnancy and the first two years of the child’s life. The action on this day provided grant funding for the 2013-14 fiscal year. The program is evidence-based and research has documented improved prenatal health, fewer childhood injuries, fewer subsequent pregnancies, increased intervals between births, increased maternal employment, and improved school readiness for children in programs operating under this design.
The Board of Supervisors will not meet next week, on January 21. Happy Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday!
Catherine Camp is currently retired. During her career, she worked as a policy and budget analyst for the California Assembly and California Senate, in health and human services fields. She worked as a policy analyst and advocate for California’s public mental health system. Early in her career, she worked in the Community Action and Head Start programs in Shasta County.
