During the inaugural “Coffee with the Supervisor” gathering and the subsequent media-only session at the Bob Burke Government Center in Joshua Tree Monday morning, Supervisor James Ramos fielded a wide range of questions. In the first of three reports, Dan Stork tells what issues were raised by the general public. In later stories, he’ll describe how the Supervisor dealt with questions from local media…
The “Coffee with…” portion of the event started with general milling about and socializing among the attendees. Halfway through the scheduled coffee klatch, Supervisor Ramos clarified how he had hoped the gathering would proceed. He said that he wanted people who came to come shake his hand, and tell him right then and there what was on their minds. He listed issues on which he has been active: videoconferencing facilities; a moratorium on solar energy development on lands under county jurisdiction; the scheduling of public meetings on the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan in Apple Valley and Yucca Valley for September; water for Pioneertown; regional Municipal Advisory Committees; a regional approach to tourism development; and encouraging other county officials to visit the Morongo Basin. He then moved into a Q&A session, heavy on the Q, light on the A. Issues raised during this interval included: CALTRANS responses to highway safety issues in Morongo Valley; a plea for more traffic signals in that community; a potential oil pipeline through the Morongo Basin; integrity of the water tables; sparse police coverage; and a Citizen’s Review Board for Child Protective Services.
COFFEE WITH RAMOS, PART 1 OF THREE: PUBLIC QUESTIONS
