Category Archives: Public Comment

Public Comment, Solano County Board of Supervisors, Vallejo Sun

Solano boards dissolved, restructured with little notice

Solano County board dissolves agriculture and anti-violence advisory committees

Screenshot with portraits of Solano County Board of Supervisors
On May 2, 2023, the Solano County Board of Supervisors voted to dissolve two advisory committees and restructure several others.

Vallejo Sun, by Ryan Geller, May 5, 2023

FAIRFIELD — The Solano County Board of Supervisors this week dissolved two advisory committees and restructured several others in an effort to transform how the board receives input from residents.

At Tuesday’s meeting in a close vote, the board disbanded the Agriculture Advisory Committee and unanimously dissolved a domestic abuse advisory committee known as the Solano Partnership Against Violence.

“It’s very disappointing that on a 3-2 vote they dissolved an important voice of agriculture. It’s just kind of sad,” said Ian Anderson, a member of the Agricultural Advisory Board and a fourth-generation farmer in Solano County.

The move is part of an annual evaluation the county conducts of advisory bodies and reports to voting members of the county board, who determine if there is an ongoing need for each board, commission or committee. An ad-hoc committee made up of supervisor John Vasquez and Monica Brown reviewed the evaluation and made recommendations to the full board to maintain, restructure or dissolve the advisory bodies.

Read the rest of this article at the Vallejo Sun site . . . 

[Note from BenIndy contributor Nathalie Christian: That’s right, I’m asking you to visit the Vallejo Sun to read the article in full. There is no paywall. While you’re there, please support local independent journalism by subscribing for or donating to the Sun. We’re a few days into the Sun‘s spring subscription drive and they’re looking to add at least 100 subscribers by the end of May. Subscribe today. You’ll be supporting independent journalism in Solano County, which truly needs the illumination the Sun and independent news publications like it provide. —N.C.]

SEE ALSO:

Benicia Open Space, Benicia Parks and Community Services Department, Public Comment

Call for public comments – time to advocate for Benicia Parks, Trails and Open Space

Benicia Parks, Trails, Open Space Master Plan update begins

LoveBeniciaParks.com

Vallejo Times-Herald, April 12, 2021
(See also the City of Benicia press release of April 7.)

The City of Benicia has begun work to update the 1997 Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan to guide the planning, maintenance, development, and rehabilitation of Benicia’s parks, trails, and open
space system.

Benicia residents are invited to join in the process, which will be led by the Parks & Community Services Department, as the city seeks feedback from all members of the community about the future of Benicia’s parks, trails, and open space system.

The City of Benicia Parks & Community Services Department manages 28 parks totaling approximately 700 acres, including the 577-acre Lake Herman Regional Park and the 50-acre Benicia Community Park, all of which is managed under a system Master Plan that was adopted in 1997. The updated master plan will serve as a long-range planning and asset management document that provides a framework for understanding the financial investments needed to maintain and improve the parks, trails, and open space assets Benicia owns. The plan will provide a better understanding of the current and future maintenance needs and a capital improvement program to guide reinvestment.

Mayor Steve Young encourages the community to get involved, stating, “It has been 24 years since Benicia reviewed its parks program. While we know our parks are loved by our community, it is time to look to a plan for improving them and sustaining them into the future. This review process needs the considered comments of our community. Please watch for opportunities to get involved.”

Benicia has hired a consultant team that includes RHA Landscape ArchitectsPlanners, PROS Consulting, WRT Planning + Design, and the ETC Institute.

Doug Grove, RHA President, said, “Benicia has such a wonderful collection of parks, trails, and open space it is clear why residents are so proud of their city. Our goal is to engage the community in the most inclusive and innovative manner possible and to let the community’s values and unmet needs drive the priorities for Benicia’s future.”

The consulting team has developed an ADA-accessible, crowdsourcing website to guide this project at LoveBeniciaParks.com. This site will serve as the one-stop shop to provide all plan updates, list meeting dates, host online surveys and provide the community opportunities to continue sharing their feedback throughout the planning process.

Benicia will conduct two identical virtual public input meetings to gather feedback from residents. These meetings, which will be open to the public, seek to engage the Benicia community to obtain their input through live polling, Q&A, and public comments. The meetings will be held on Wednesday, April 28 and again on Thursday, April 29 from 6 to 7 p.m. Those who are unable to attend a virtual public meetings may view the recordings of the meetings at LoveBeniciaParks.com and share their feedback later.

Additionally, there will be follow up meetings later in the year to present the findings from the study and gather additional input from the community.

Benicia City Council, Public Comment

Benicia City Council meeting to accommodate public comment via Zoom

City Council Agenda for April 21 offers several ways to make comments

From the April 21 Benicia City Council Agenda:

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Advisory Notice

The Solano County Public Health Department has advised that non-essential gatherings should be canceled, postponed, or done remotely. Additional information is available at solanocounty.com/depts/ph/ncov.asp.

This meeting is necessary so that the City can continue to conduct its business and is considered an essential gathering. Consistent with Executive Orders No. 25-20 and No. 29-20 from the Executive Department of the State of California, the meeting will not be physically open to the public. Members of the City Council and staff will participate in this meeting via videoconferencing as permitted under Executive Orders No. 25-20 and No. 29-20.

As always, the public may submit public comments in advance and may view the meeting from home. Below is information on how to watch the meeting via cable and/or live stream and how to send in public comments that will be part of the public record.

How to Watch the Meeting:
1) Cable T.V. Broadcast on Channel 27
2) Livestream online at www.ci.benicia.ca.us/agendas.

How to Submit Public Comments for this videoconferencing meeting:

Members of the public may provide public comments to the City Clerk by email at lwolfe@ci.benicia.ca.us. Any comment submitted to the City Clerk should indicate what item of the agenda the comment relates to. Comments received by 3:00 pm will be electronically forwarded to the City Council and posted on the City’s website. Comments received after 3:00 pm, but before the start time of the meeting will be electronically forwarded to the City Council, but will not be posted on the City’s website. Comments received after the start time of the meeting, but prior to the close of the public comment period for an item will be read into the record, with a maximum allowance of 5 minutes per individual comment, subject to the Mayor’s discretion. All comments should be limited to a maximum of 750 words, which corresponds to approximately 5 minutes of speaking time. If a comment is received after the agenda item is heard, but before the close of the meeting, the comment will still be included as a part of the record of the meeting but will not be read into the record.

Additionally, the public may provide live public comment via Zoom on a particular agenda item during the public comment period for that item by calling into the number listed below and entering the Meeting ID number and password. After dialing in, you will automatically be placed on hold until the moderator releases your call to provide public comment. Your comments will be limited to 5 minutes. After you have made your comments the host will mute your audio.

Call in Number to Provide Public Comment via Zoom:
1-669-900-9128
Meeting ID: 931 5291 7520
Password: 347344

Any member of the public who needs accommodations should email City Clerk Lisa Wolfe at lwolfe@ci.benicia.ca.us, who will use her best efforts to provide as much accessibility as possible while also maintaining public safety.