The advisory committee for Vision San Benito has been slowly
forming over the past few weeks as organizations in the county have
been showing interest and getting involved.
San Benito County – The advisory committee for Vision San Benito has been slowly forming over the past few weeks as organizations in the county have been showing interest and getting involved.
“We’ve had a fair amount of response from the organizations that we’ve sent letters to, and I really think the right community leaders will come forward and get involved,” Gavilan President Steve Kinsella said.
Volunteers have been in the process of sending out 125 letters to a variety of county organizations looking for representatives in 18 sectors of the community on a 30-seat committee.
Some of the larger groups include agriculture, environment, health, education, business and recreation. Vision San Benito is an on-going community-based project intended to identify a long-term vision of what the county will develop into in the next few decades. Administrative Committee Member Julie Morris said recent negotiations in the county make having this committee even more important.
“I’ve been reading recent reports about the possibility of having a casino in the county,” she said. “Those kinds of decisions are a perfect way for Vision San Benito to be used as a broad base. It would act as a voice for the entire community.”
As the advisory committee begins to form, which should be complete by the end of September, Morris said she hopes county residents will also get a better picture of how the vision will come together.
“I just hope people realize that just because they’re not sitting in a committee seat, doesn’t mean they can’t come to meetings,” she said. “The delegates who hold seats should be reaching out to everyone in their community, so that everyone’s voice is heard.”
When the project began, there was 18 advisory meetings planned, but Kinsella said it’s going to be more like 24.
Although the process is not happening as quickly as planned, Kinsella said he has “high hopes” that a solid advisory committee will be formed.
“There will need to be a fairly large amount of community information available, but as we’ve seen in the past meeting, people are interested in being part of it, so I’m very hopeful about the future of the project,” he said.
For more information, or to become involved, call 408-848-4712.
Christine Tognetti covers
education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 330 or [email protected].
