Russ Steele
I was the only member of the public to attend the Board of Supervisors retreat yesterday, though the room was set up to handle about ten citizens observers. I attended some Board of Supervisors retreats in the late 90s, when the” Gang of Four” were in charge. Yesterday was a totally different experience, the focus was on team building , reviewing accomplishments, setting goals for the coming year, and reviewing budget performance. The Gang of Four retreats were more about getting individual agendas on the table. Yesterday was less exciting, but more productive in improving the future performance of government services.
I will have more details when the retreat is over. I am not sure how much of the retreat I can attend today, as I am going to be a Pandemic Test Flu Victim at 10:00, with a recap of the test at 2:00. I hope to make the retreat wrap-up at 4:00. We will see how the day plays out and report on both experiences.
The breaking news is more physical changes rather than procedural. Ted Owens proposed remodeling the Board Chamber to give the Staff more visibility and make the chamber more video friendly. The Press currently shares the dais, along the West wall. The proposed remodel will move the Press to the back of the room, at tables similar to those in the Grass Valley Council Chamber. Being less visible, the press and slip in and out without calling attention to themselves.
The Department heads and staff representatives will replace the Press on the West wall dais, so they face the audience and are more visible to the planned three camera video set up. Long term plans are to stream the meetings in real time video. Current video is delayed. The two tables where staff and citizens currently address the Board, with their backs to the room, will be replace with a podium and flat display table for maps, documents or other large objects brought to the chamber. The podium will allow the speaker to see the audience, staff, and Board. This was just a proposal, no action was taken, though it seemed to be warming accepted.
