Committee needs positions filled

Eight months after their formation, nearly half of the Colusa County advisory committees remain unfilled.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday seated committees to represent the unincorporated areas of Arbuckle, Maxwell, Stonyford and the area surrounding Colusa.

Committees for Grimes, Princeton and Williams lack volunteers.

"It's somewhat frustrating," said Supervisor Denise Carter. "We really need people to step up."

In April, the supervisors adopted an ordinance that created the community advisory committees to serve as a forum for gathering information and communicating community input to the board.

The board postponed filling the committees twice since August due to a lack of volunteers.

"We want people to have a voice and to make their voices heard," Carter said.

Carter said the purpose of the committees is to present local concerns to the board. The committee will be tasked with making non-binding recommendations and issue reports reflecting community sentiment on matters of interest to the board, the county Planning Commission, departments and other entities as needed.

"It's a win-win situation for the community to have an ear on the board and for the board to receive input about the needs of the community," Carter said.

The committees are expected to meet only two or three times per year.

"It's not a huge time commitment," Carter added.

Carter said the county is starting with five members on each committee, but may increase the number if interest escalates. One member from each committee will be selected to sit on the General Plan Steering Committee.

The board appointed Jeff Miller, Jane Smart, Joe Marsh, Tom Dafoe and Mary Fahey to the Arbuckle committee on Tuesday.

Representing Colusa will be Jim Erdman, Dee Ohliger, Tina Jesse, Rob Faris and Ann Nordyk.

Mary Wells, Bill Barrett, Jr., Rick Richter, Kellyne Haywood and Bill Lovelace Jr. will represent Maxwell.

The board seated Sandra Stahr, Paul McDowell and Miranda Wycoff to represent Stonyford, but will search for two more members to fill out the committee.

Bob Alvernaz and John Alvernaz volunteered to represent Williams, but will not be seated until the board establishes a quorum, said Chairman Gary Evans.

There were no volunteers from Grimes or Princeton.

"We just have to keep looking," Evans said.

Members of each committee must be registered voters in the area they represent and must complete an application, which is available from the clerk to the supervisors, at 547 Jay St. or by calling 458-0508.