September 23, 2025

• I have made my mind up about Charlie Kirk
• New paving machine released today
• Sheriff is in the process of filling his last four street deputy positions
• 911 Dispatch Center up and running soon
• Deputy Hall from the Sheriff’s Office saves a life
• TPRD contract approved for a 5-year extension
• Request for Proposal for Miner’s Motel approved
• North-South connector study — Greenley Road extension does not look promising for the Board
• Budget conversation held

September 15, 2025

• Special Board Meeting
• Budget and County Fire discussions
• Reflections on the assassination of Charlie Kirk

September 9, 2025

• Board of Supervisors Update – September 9, 2025
• Standard Park & YSF Field Safety – A gate between Standard Park and the YSF Field will be open this weekend to improve access and safety for children and families attending activities.

September 9, 2025

• Board of Supervisors Update – September 9, 2025
• Complex Fire Update – The Board ratified the local state of emergency in response to the Complex Fire. This step ensures that resources and support can be mobilized for clean up and rebuilding
• Suicide Prevention Resolution – We recognized the importance of mental health and discussed a resolution to support suicide prevention efforts in Tuolumne County.

September 3, 2025

• Town Hall Update
• The Town Hall is still scheduled for tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. at the Tuolumne Resiliency Center.
• Please note, the meeting will be focused on the current fire situation, with updates from OES, the Sheriff, and CAL FIRE

September 2, 2025

• Fire Update
• It appears this will be a complex fire spanning both counties. With our resources already stretched so thin, it looks like we’ll be declaring a local state of emergency to help secure additional support.
• During the video my audio cuts out because I was getting evacuation alerts, just like all of you. Give it a few seconds and it will clear up.

August 26, 2025

• No board meeting today, but I wanted to give a brief update since I was away.
• Access Tuolumne will livestream the CRC meeting tonight

July 30, 2025

• First public finance meeting was awesome. We got through every item.

July 27, 2025

• Here are some topics on the agenda for the upcoming Finance Committee meeting this Wednesday:
• 1. Moving County Fire and Sheriff-Coroner budgets out of the general fund
• 2. Creating a Grants Special Revenue Fund
• 3. Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) enforcement
• 4. Using unsecured property tax from airplanes to support the airport fund
• 5. Reducing leased spaces for county operations
• 6. Reducing reliance on beginning fund balance
• 7. Reviewing unfunded PERS liability
• 8. Budget structure changes for greater transparency.
• We probably won’t get through all of them. If we’re lucky, we’ll meaningfully tackle two or three.
• But we’re viering the ship in some new direction.
• It won’t happen in one meeting, but it will happen.
• Feel free to post meaningfull thoughts.

July 22, 2025

• July 22 – Board of Supervisors Recap:
• Please support Danny Shockley and his family following a terrible accident that has left him paralyzed from the neck down. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with medical and family expenses. Please consider donating and sharing. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-danny-shockleys-recovery-journey
• Animal Control is now officially under the Sheriff’s Department
• Public Works Director performance evaluation completed
• Human Resources and Office of Emergency Services approved to be placed directly under the Board of Supervisors

July 15, 2025

• Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors Recap – July 15, 2025
• Public Works performance evaluation
• Clarifying misinformation regarding Standard Park — Please attend the September town hall meeting where I’ll be inviting the community to discuss Standard Park. More information to come.

July 8, 2025

• As Tuolumne County’s representative to the National Association of Counties (NACo), I’ve spent the past several months reviewing policies that impact our region. Supervisor Steve Griefer will be attending the annual NACo conference in Philadelphia on my behalf. I’m confident Steve will do a great job advocating for Tuolumne County and supporting the policy recommendations I’ve outlined as well as his own to help bring about meaningful change.
• 1. Resolution: NACo Resolution – Groundwater Resource Assessment
  • Resolution Summary:
    • The NACo resolution calls on federal agencies (USGS, Bureau of Reclamation, NASA, EPA) to improve coordination, enhance data collection and modeling of groundwater resources, identify data gaps, and secure congressional funding to support nationwide groundwater assessments.
  • Proposed Changes Summary:
    • I am recommending adding language to ensure wildfire impacts on groundwater and surface water are addressed in federal assessments. I am emphasizing the importance of healthy forest management in improving groundwater recharge and protecting water quality for rural and downstream users.
• 2. Resolution: Funding for Fire Suppression Water Infrastructure
  • Resolution Summary:
    • This resolution urges the creation of a dedicated federal funding and technical assistance program to help counties particularly rural regions, develop or upgrade water infrastructure specifically for fire suppression. It addresses the lack of hydrants, storage, and reliable water access in high-risk wildfire areas, aiming to improve fire response, reduce damage, and potentially lower insurance costs.
  • Proposed Changes Summary:
    • I am recommending expanding the resolution to recognize and protect nontraditional water infrastructure, like open-ditch and flume systems as critical for drinkikg an dto firefighting in rural areas. I am proposing including funding for wildfire hardening, emergency repairs, redundancy planning, and eligibility for federal programs, using Tuolumne County’s ditch and flum system which TUD utilizes as a key example.
• 3. Resolution: Recognizing Outdoor Recreation and Tourism as Economic Engines
  • Resolution Summary:
    • This resolution calls on the federal government to create a program supporting targeted livestock grazing to reduce wildfire risk, particularly in fire-prone and wildland urban interface (WUI) areas. It proposes compensation for costs like fencing, water infrastructure, and labor, positioning grazing as a complementary tool to existing wildfire prevention strategies.
  • Proposed Changes Summary:
    • I am recommend supporting this resolution and encourage others to do the same, emphasizing its value in addressing the growing wildfire threat through practical, land based solutions.
• 4. Resolution: Strengthening Local Authority and Forest Management to Combat Wildfires
  • Resolution Summary (Wildfire & Forest Management):
    • This resolution urges Congress to adopt bipartisan wildfire reforms that empower counties in mitigation and recovery, provide flexible funding, and prioritize active forest management (e.g., thinning, grazing, prescribed burns). It emphasizes the need for fair treatment of rural areas and faster post-fire disaster response.
  • Proposed Changes Summary:
    • I am recommending strong support for this resolution, highlighting its alignment with county needs for greater local authority, faster funding, and realistic forest management to reduce wildfire risk and recovery costs (noting we have great alignment with our local partners, however much of the other jurisdictions in the nation do not have what Tuolumne county has)
    • ensure counties are properly included in rulemaking that affects land use, public safety, and resource management.

July 7, 2025

• How to submit a road maintenance request:

July 5, 2025

• I had a great time attending the Twain Harte Homeowners Group meeting this morning with guest speakers including Acting CAO Roger Root, CAL FIRE bataalian Chief Bill Barteau, a guest appearance by Sheriff David Vasquez and insurance representative Kelly Smith.
• The highlight of the morning was presenting John with a thank you plaque on behalf of the homeowners group, the community, Senator Gill’s office, and Assemblyman Tangapa’s office recognizing his 26+ years of dedication and service to Twain Harte. A well-deserved honor!

July 4, 2025

• Over the years, I’ve had ideas around budget and finance — and finally, the environment feels right to bring them forward. I’ve been meeting with folks and will be presenting a proposal to the board soon. More to come.
• Also yesterday, I attended an open community meeting alongside Supervisor Holland and local residents to discuss environmental health, permitting challenges, and recent fee increases and their effects. It was really valuable to hear people’s stories firsthand. Supervisor Holland and I are committed to continuing these conversations and working to find real solutions. Thanks you Supervisor Holland for putting it on.

July 2, 2025

• We discussed this today at our NRC:
• Summary:
  • Senator Mike Lee (R‑Utah) had included language in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that would have allowed the sale of 2.2–3.3 million acres of federal land (BLM & U.S. Forest Service) in 11 Western states to developers for housing or infrastructure.
  • Facing this pushback and unable to guarantee safeguards (like preventing foreign purchase), Lee officially withdrew the provision from the bill on June 29, 20
• Where do I Stand?
  • The honest answer:
  • Sure, there’s probably plenty of federal land out there that will never be used and could be thoughtfully developed but that decision needs to be made locally.
  • Not by a top-down, cookie-cutter national land sell-off.
• I’m glad to see this plan isn’t moving forward unless and until local counties and stakeholders are the ones making the call. Local control matters.

July 2, 2025

• Last time I checked we are trying to stop fires and our insurance rates from getting jacked up.
• Here is another smoke screen to actually solving the real problem. Lara reminds me how dumb he is once again.
• —The task force is charged with developing statewide standards for handling smoke damage claims after wildfires — including remediation guidelines to make homes safe again——
• https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/4062693/tuolumne-resident-on-new-ca-insurance-commission-task-force.html