Letter to the Editor:
Tuesday, July 9, at 5:30pm, the San Benito County Parks and Recreation Commission met in the Board of Supervisors Chambers, in Hollister. TWO people were there to represent the PUBLIC VOICE: Teresa Lavagnino and I.
As I understand it, the PRC is a body appointed by those serving on the Board of Supervisors. Each Supervisor hopes that the person they have appointed will bring the voice of his constituents to the floor, and then bring the ideas discussed back to him or her, of the BOS, for consideration in their actions as Supervisors of each of the 5 county districts, of which we in San Juan are part of District 2. When our PRC representative is not there, the conversation is focused on the County Seat and its environs. No one is there to include our point of view, nor advocate for the inclusion of San Juan and its environs. ‘We’ are “pitched a bone” from time to time as befits our involvement.
For the past two years, more or less, the PRC has been working on a River Parkway project that has the potential to transform our county. An unprecedented flurry of activity occurred during the plan making, economic and environmental studies, and property research. The statistics produced showing the considerable benefit this project would be to SB County is stunning. Janelle Cox, the Management Analyst for the PRC, has done a fabulous job at acquiring Grants for much of the project preliminaries.
Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara Counties have been cluing in on the benefits recreation trails and facilities bring to their regions, therefore they are plowing ahead with plans that will link the coast to Wine Trails, Bike Trails, Horse Trails, Walking and exploration. The County Parks , State Parks and National Parks systems are joining hands with the Water, Clean Air and Transportation Districts. I believe that there is great momentum in our time to preserve and build upon our Central Coast assets. Our Parks and Recreation Commission needs our support!
Log into BenitoLink, our most recent county asset, to find the next PRC meeting in the calendar. You can also go to KUSP.org and log into Gary Patton’s Land Use Report, an eye opener. The obvious benefits to San Benito County go “From the Pajaro to the Pinnacles”, sweeping all adjacent paths and possibilities into a basket of Clean and Green’ economic growth that will not only enhance our quality of living, but our Agriculture and Ranching base as well.
Respectfully submitted, Valerie J. Egland, Common Citizen