The following is a column submitted by Mendocino County 3rd District Supervisor John Haschak. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mendocino Voice.
A moratorium on data center construction was passed unanimously by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. There were lots of comments in support of the moratorium with some confusion as to why the moratorium was set at only 45 days. This is the law. It will come back to the board on October 6 for a public hearing and can be extended up to either one or two years at that point. This will allow the county time to adopt an ordinance with due consideration of how we want to regulate or even allow this industry.
The annexation plan that the City of Ukiah proposed is off the table. Although the city had good reasons for proposing annexation, the process was flawed from the county’s point of view and there were many residents in the affected areas opposed to annexation. What is clear is that infrastructure in the Ukiah Valley needs to be modernized and sustainable economic development needs to happen.
The sheriff’s office received $4.5 million dollars in Prop. 64 monies to combat illegal cannabis grows. Sheriff Matt Kendall presented the plan to the board. People in the sheriff’s office and code enforcement division will be dedicated to going after illegal cannabis grows. There was discussion about the implementation of this program over the next five years. Of concern was a software program to expedite the ticketing and collection of fines. The sheriff committed to quarterly reports to the board so that any unintended consequences of this program and how it interfaces with existing county policy and software can be monitored.
Monday was Labor Day. We honor those who work for a living. I appreciate the people I have worked with in Mendocino County throughout the years. Many people work to make ends meet and provide for their families, teach and help others in need, keep our communities safe and healthy, provide food for our communities, leave the world a more beautiful, better place in a variety of ways. We are blessed to live and work in Mendocino County. I am grateful that I have had work as a teacher and supervisor that is fulfilling in many ways.
The county received funds thru the Secure Rural Schools program, a federal program for communities with U.S. forest lands. The county asked for proposals and received several options from the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District and Fire Safe Council. All the proposals would help the firefighting capabilities in the Covelo and Potter Valley areas. Since the RCD and FSC both do incredible work, the board directed them to work together to prioritize the options with the existing limited funding.
The next Talk with the Supervisor will be on Friday, September 11, from 10-11am at Brickhouse Coffee in Willits. You can always contact me at haschakj@mendocinocounty.gov or call 707-972-4214.