An Open Letter to Supervisor McPherson
Below is the text of a letter sent to Supervisor Bruce McPherson on August 2, 2021:
Aug. 2, 2021
RE: San Lorenzo Valley Community Council Petition
Dear Supervisor McPherson,
Executive Summary
The San Lorenzo Valley Community Council Steering Committee is requesting a meeting with Supervisor McPherson to review the conceptual community council, ongoing outreach efforts, and regulatory approaches for its establishment.
The committee’s goal is to solicit the support of the Board of Supervisors in establishing the council by regulatory code 31010 and sending the question to the 2022 ballot for local consideration.
A more complete discussion of the concept, background and need is detailed below.
Background and Need
Recently, Scotts Valley Water District and San Lorenzo Valley Water District asked their boards to consider a merger of the two water providers. The merger proposal was voted down by San Lorenzo Valley Water District’s Board of Directors. Note: Our chair is a director of that board, but the below-signed individuals are contacting you as an independent committee of San Lorenzo Valley citizens and not as affiliates of any organizations we may individually engage with in other capacities.
The proposal drove nearly 100 valley residents to protest consideration of such a merger. One of the most common reasons for opposition residents offered was the Valley’s limited local representation, visibility, and the impact that such a merger would have on San Lorenzo Valley’s ability to influence important policies affecting our community.
Those concerns echo the deficiencies identified in the Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury report on the Board of Supervisors’ CZU fire response and recovery outreach efforts. The report calls for greater oversight and community engagement in San Lorenzo Valley.
One attempt your office made to fulfill such an oversight role included an ad hoc community fire advisory group that was organized in the early weeks following the fire. The group met only a few times before disbanding, however (according to those connected with former committee members).
Any attempt to organize and vest authority in a community advisory board requires substantial community buy-in, particularly in independent-spirited San Lorenzo Valley. A grassroots effort to organize around an elected advisory board — supported by Supervisor McPherson’s office — would increase opportunities for SLV residents to influence policy decisions and create greater local awareness about those issues that are likely to affect our community.
Incorporated communities have access to both a council of elected representatives and a staff of employees who can advocate for their concerns, both with other state and county organizations and on behalf of their community’s interests as a whole.
Unincorporated communities in this county, which are larger in population and have a more diverse and challenging array of needs, rely on their County Supervisor and his staff for support, outreach, advocacy, and engagement. As those challenges have compounded in San Lorenzo Valley, their complexity coupled with the demands on your staff to provide a commensurate level of support may no longer be well aligned.
According to the most recently available data, San Lorenzo Valley is home to approximately 19,600 residents. In comparison, Scotts Valley has only 11,800 and Capitola has only 10,120.
This means with nearly the same population as half of Santa Cruz County’s incorporated cities combined, the sum of our access to representation and advocacy is one Supervisor seat — shared with one of those incorporated cities, Scotts Valley, whose demands and concerns also require significant time and attention from your office.
Proposed Community Council Concept
Our community formed a steering committee to solicit support for the establishment of a San Lorenzo Valley Community Council. This advisory board would be composed of elected community members and would provide feedback on county and state policy concerns affecting San Lorenzo Valley public health, safety, fire resilience, environment, public works projects, and other challenges as they arise. It would also provide an important sounding board and engagement tool for the Supervisor’s office within the Valley.
California regulatory code 31010 vests the authority to form such an advisory body in both the county Board of Supervisors and a vote of the affected communities.
Our steering committee recently initiated a Move On! Petition, which has received 167 signatures (as of this writing) in less than two weeks. This is an early indication that San Lorenzo Valley residents are interested in greater civic involvement.
An advisory council is a tool used frequently in similar communities. San Mateo County has many unincorporated coastal communities that are geographically isolated from the County Center — similar to San Lorenzo Valley in multiple ways. Those communities are also home to many of the county’s lowest-income residents. Quality broadband access and a larger percentage of public transit-dependent individuals are also features of these communities shared by the San Lorenzo Valley.
To foster greater civic involvement in those isolated communities, the Board of Supervisors established two locally-elected advisory bodies. The first, the Midcoast Community Council, was approved by a vote of those represented communities along with a slate of conditional candidates on a single ballot in 1991. The second operates as the Pescadero Municipal Council and was established in a similar fashion.
Next Steps
Our steering committee leaders are requesting you meet with us to review our proposal and discuss opportunities for the Board to move this request forward.
We plan to continue soliciting signatures at local events in the coming months. This letter reflects a commitment made in preliminary discussions with Supervisor’s Analyst JM Brown, to bring your office into the dialogue early.
Please contact the Steering Committee Chair, Jayme Ackemann, to schedule a meeting at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Jayme Ackemann, Ben Lomond
Dean Ackemann, Ben Lomond
Debbie Rice, Boulder Creek
Lisa Rosato, Felton
Christina Wise, Felton
Susi Cronk, Ben Lomond
Eli Staton, Felton
Jim Coffis, Ben Lomond
Vicki Coffis, Ben Lomond
Pam Falke-Krueger, Ben Lomond
Jennie Winters, Boulder Creek
Joann Kingsbury, Ben Lomond
Rosemary Chalmers, Ben Lomond
Cc
US Rep. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-18)
Karen Chapman, District Chief of Staff, office of US. Rep. Anna Eshoo
Calif. State Sen. John Laird
Calif. State Asm. Mark Stone
