Supes to Pick New Members of General Plan Committee

Supes to Pick New Members of General Plan Committee
By Barry Eberling

FAIRFIELD - Solano County supervisors Tuesday are to appoint a new version of a citizens committee to help shape the county's future in land use and other areas.

The 16-person committee is to make recommendations by the end of the year for the General Plan update. It replaces a previous committee that met for 10 months, but was disbanded by the Board of Supervisors a few weeks ago.

Some members who served on the previous version of the committee, among them former Fairfield Mayor Karin MacMillan, will be missing from the new one. MacMillan didn't reapply.

And there will be new faces. Among those recommended to be appointed in a board report is former Vallejo Mayor Terry Curtola, who would serve as chairman.

Each supervisor can appoint one member. The remaining members are recommended by Supervisors Jim Spering and John Silva, who selected from a field of 45 applicants.

"What we were looking for is balance," Spering said Friday. "We wanted business, we wanted agriculture, we wanted land owners, we wanted people with municipal experience. We looked at geography and what background people had."

The Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the county Government Center at 675 Texas St.

Spering was a driving force in disbanding the previous committee. The group was "fairly dysfunctional" given the lack of progress it made and problems with attendance, he said.

Still, under the recommendations, eight members would be holdovers from the previous committee.

"We felt like we had to have some continuity from the old group," Spering said.

The old group didn't have a chairperson. Spering and Silva think the new group should and recommend Curtola in part because of his experience as Vallejo's former mayor.

"We wanted somebody who could facilitate meetings and bring them to a conclusion," Spering said.

Though each supervisor gets to appoint a committee member, Supervisor Barbara Kondylis' choice didn't appear in the board report. The remaining board members each chose someone who served on the previous committee.

Spering appointed former University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor Larry Clement. Clement had previously been appointed by former Supervisor Duane Kromm, who Spering followed as 3rd District supervisor.

Supervisor Mike Reagan appointed Michael Fortney of Placer Title Co. Supervisor John Vasquez chose Curt Johansen of Triad Communities. Silva appointed Anthony Russo of Kewit Companies. They made the same appointments to the previous committee.

The at-large appointments recommended by Spering and Silva are Curtola, former state Department of Conservation employee Patricia Gatz, county Parks and Recreation Commissioner Eva Laevastu, Sandy Person of the Solano Economic Development Corp., civil engineer Brian West, farmer Ian Anderson, Randy Dawson of Premiere Commercial, Ronald Jones of Rio Vista, Vacaville businesswoman Carol Landry, rural landowner Jerry LeMasters and Fairfield attorney Scott Greenwood-Meinert.

The committee will meet twice a month, rather than once a month as the previous group did. For example, it is to discuss agriculture on March 12 and conservation on March 26.

Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

At a glance

Who: New appointments to county's General Plan Update Citizens Advisory Committee

What: County Board of Supervisors

When: Tuesday, 9 a.m.

Where: County Government Center, 675 Texas St.

Info: 784-6765