County supervisors will discuss road map, vision for county in workshop

The new Merced County Board of Supervisors will get a rare opportunity on Monday to get out of town and discuss their priorities and mold a unified board vision.

The five supervisors will meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Snelling Community Recreation Building near Henderson Park for a strategic workshop.

The meeting will be open to the public to comply with the Brown Act, but no policy decisions will be made.

“We have, in a sense, a completely new board,” said Lee Lor, District 2 supervisor. “This workshop gives us the platform to openly discuss our goals. With the limitations of the Brown Act, we don’t get to interact very often. This opens up a conversation.”

Bill Chiat of the Alta Mesa Group will lead the workshop. Chiat has led similar workshops for other governing groups as well as the California State Association of Counties’ Institute for Excellence in County Government – essentially training and education for county supervisors.

“Under our system of government, the five of them (supervisors) have to act as one,” Chiat said. “That’s very difficult to do. There’s three new board members in Merced. Part of the workshop is team building and the opportunity to get to know each other and what’s important to each other.”

In January, Lor, Rodrigo Espinoza in District 1 and Lloyd Pareira in District 4 were sworn in as new board members, marking the first time since 1987 that three seats have changed in one election cycle.

District 3 Supervisor Daron McDaniel was elected as the chairman of the board, and District 5 Supervisor Jerry O’Banion continues to be the most experienced supervisor with more than 25 years under his belt.

Chiat spoke with each of the supervisors prior to the meeting in “interviews” to gather information about the county’s issues. The workshop will examine how the last five years have impacted the county and the direction the county should move in the upcoming five years. The workshop also will focus on key values and initiatives in the county.

Having the meeting in a place and at a different time from a regular board meeting was intentional. Board members typically don’t have other commitments, such as committee meetings on Mondays, Chiat said. And, being in a different place than the board chambers helps facilitate a more open discussion.

“Just being in a different kind of place can contribute to thoughtful conversations amongst the members,” he said.

McDaniel said since he’s been chairman he’s looked for opportunities to hold meetings throughout the county.

There will be public comment period at the beginning of the meeting, and Lor said she welcomes the public’s input.

“If they come, we’d like them to help us by focusing on the workshop,” she said. “If they have comments on a different agenda item, we ask they wait until the regular meeting.”

This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 5:03 PM with the headline "County supervisors will discuss road map, vision for county in workshop."