The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors convened Tuesday to address procedural matters and establish new policies for governance and public engagement.
Supervisor Mo Mulheren nominated John Haschak, who represents District 3 (encompassing Covelo, Laytonville, and Willits), as chair of the board. She also nominated Bernie Norvell, representing District 4 (the coastal area from Caspar to the Humboldt County line), as vice chair. Both nominations were approved unanimously.
Taking the gavel, Haschak introduced new public input rules, stating, "In addition to speakers being limited to three minutes each, this Board of Supervisors will enforce a ten-minute per-topic limit."
During public comment, business owner Kyle Greenhalgh expressed concerns about the county’s economic struggles. Greenhalgh, who owns multiple businesses including a cannabis dispensary in Ukiah and a farm in Willits, said, "Our county is struggling. Our businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Spending is way down, and our younger generation is moving away. We need to change, and we need it now."
Greenhalgh also advocated for expanding the cannabis canopy to 22,000 square feet to support local economic growth. Haschak interrupted to enforce the topic limit but assured Greenhalgh that public concerns were being addressed. "The CEO and I have been working on creating forums for different industries," Haschak said. "Cannabis is one of the first topics we’ll address in community meetings starting in February."
Haschak also announced two operational changes for the board:
- Supervisors will no longer be allowed to abstain from voting. "If you're going to recuse yourself, then you recuse yourself for either financial conflict or another non-financial conflict such as bias. But either vote or you recuse yourself," Haschak said.
- New state regulations on disruptive behavior will be enforced. The regulations describe disruptive behavior as behavior that interrupts the flow of the meeting. The person must be warned first unless there’s a threat involving the use of force. I
County Counsel Charlotte Scott added, "It’s not focused on content but rather the impact on the meeting and the public process."
Supervisor Ted Williams voiced support for County CEO Darcie Antle’s role in budget development but emphasized the importance of increased public input. "The public tells me roads are a higher priority than is represented in the budget," Williams said. "This may be an opportunity to talk about that rather than doing a copy-and-paste of last year’s budget and making a few minor tweaks."
The board concluded the meeting by accepting 64 assignments made by Haschak to various boards and commissions, including the Behavioral Health Advisory Board, the Inland Water and Power Commission, the Mendocino Council of Governments, and the Mendocino Transit Authority.
