Commentary by Samuel Strait – August 25 2022 One would think that with all five of the current Board of Supervisors present it would be a cause for celebration, but no, it appeared to be yet another case of five regular people totally out of their collective depth when conducting the County's business. Over the course of three and a half hours of time on the podium, comfortably seated, the Board succeeded in performance of such mediocrity that exceeded my most exuberant expectations. As usual, the theater of false hope was on full display as there appeared to be a certain level of dissent during the discussion of several items on the agenda, but never fear dear reader, the inevitable occurred at every turn as the 5-0 Club was in top form. The consent agenda was its usual top heavy rubber stamping of all things Health and Human Services with few outliers. Public comment provided some early entertainment regarding vacation rentals on the South Bank which drew little obvious attention from the Board. Wondering if Supervisor Howard will recuse himself should the issue ever reach the consciousness of the Board as a future action item. While the direction of the meeting meandered through several scheduled items there appeared to be "no one home" on the dais, not terribly surprising. Government in action. A hearing on a proposed storage facility that appeared to go no where fast. An exceptionally unimportant report on Area One Agency On Aging that continues to reflect a need to separate from Humboldt County and generate something more complete in this County. A report on economic development, should we be fortunate enough to have any. But then again there is also the new hire that will hold our collective hands to lead us to the promised land at no doubt a healthy compensation package. And finally a healthy dose of word salad from our local Health and Human Services Department and its thirteen smaller bureaucracies, all with a well paid coordinator in charge. If only they could be more productive and actually be worth the $120 million or so it costs the County to keep them well stocked with consultants. The General Government items were the usual hoot. Not that any important or relevant decisions were made, just a lot of tilting at proverbial windmills. Vault privies were first up and an ordinance was the first ingredient in the Board's deliberations. This titillating bit of business was closely followed by the sudden interest of the Board in legitimizing their recent bestowal of thousands of dollars of Measure "R" money on Animal Control by moving its control to the Sheriff's Department. Wondering if Planning, Code Enforcement, Grant Writing, and a few other Measure "R" recipients will find themselves being relocated there also. Not to be deterred by the obvious, where it was pointed out that the Sheriff's office, not to belabor the point, already has a legion of unresolved crucial issues that have not surrendered to the infusion of Measure "R" funding by any stretch of anyone's imagination. The Board, heads wagging in ascent, like a row of bobble head dolls, directed CAO Neal Lopez to prepare for the move. It is almost as if members of the public are invisible when pointing to an obvious problem with the direction the Board takes. Similarly, those at the public trough, seem unable to be appreciative of the benefits they do receive. Following Sheriff Garrett Scott's agreement to become Del Norte County's Dog Catcher, some what of a demotion, those at both Animal Control and the Agriculture Department appeared aggrieved with developments. Sheriff Garrett Scott The first, those at Animal Control, not being given enough of a slice of the funding pie and the second a laundry list of failed performance due to associations with Animal Control. Seems the squabbling over Measure "R" funding has no limits. The cherry on the top of the sundae came in the form of a renewed relationship with vaping performed at Supervisor Starkey's request. The usual suspects and "karens" were there in force to assure us that "children" were the focus of their concern. As with any form of adult "sin", drugs, smoking, alcohol, there appears to be some form of blindness to the fact that "children" will, if given the chance, explore those "sins" no matter what obstacles are placed before them. Government "bans", even if the City and the "Tribe" were to fall in line with the County, are relatively pointless. No amount of meddling by adults is likely to have any useful impact on the youth and is more likely to make the sin much more attractive in the end. Never fear, to those that read these words, our County's government couldn't refrain from directing another ordinance to be generated to serve no purpose. Followed by a general expression of euphoria by the usual suspects and the "Karens" in attendance. A single budget transfer and a few calls to oppose state legislative items and the 5-0 Club trundled to a wheezing conclusion at the 1:30 pm hour. One final observation that may startle those on the Sheriff Scott congratulatory wagon, he is certainly a nice fellow, who may not be up to the task of any meaningful change at the Sheriff's Department. Just an observation folks.