21 applicants for Sonoma Valley’s new Springs Municipal Advisory Council

A full score of residents of the Springs neighborhoods have applied to Supervisor Susan Gorin's office to join the area's Municipal Advisory Council, or MAC.|

Twenty-one residents of the Springs have applied to 1st District County Supervisor Susan Gorin's office to join the area's new Municipal Advisory Council, or MAC. The names were released by Gorin's office on Thursday, Feb. 21, but the supervisor cautioned that the final selection would be probably be made on Friday.

'Hopefully, we will finalize the selection today or tomorrow. This weekend we will notify those selected for the MAC and those encouraged to stay involved and participate in committees formed under the MAC,' said Gorin.

The Springs MAC will 'represent the best interests of the entire community while acting as a bridge for communication between the County and local residents and businesses on topics for the Springs Area,' according to the county website.

Gorin will select seven out of the 21 applicants to represent the area before the Board of Supervisors. The MAC will have regular public meetings where Gorin or a member of her staff will be present. A note-taker will also document each meeting, and all meetings and information will be accountable to state open-meetings requirements under the Brown Act, according to Gorin's office.

Council members must live in the neighborhood they represent. There will be two seats for Boyes Hot Springs, one for El Verano and one for Agua Caliente and Fetters Hot Springs combined. The other three seats will be representatives from different community aspects, with one seat for a member of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, one from the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission and a Springs business owner.

Applications for the MAC were posted in December and the original deadline was Feb. 9, but it was extended until Feb. 19 when it was decided to send a postcard announcing the application process to all households in the MAC jurisdiction.

The applicants, in alphabetical order, are: Robyn Anderson, Ellen Conlon, Thomas Conlon, Jessica DeMartini, Christine Fife, Avram Goldman, Bill Hoban, Maite Iturri, Kathleen Larsen, Iris (Ruth) Lombard, Ryan Lely, Tom Martin, Ann Marie Miller, Madison Murray, Allison Niver, Kevin O'Neill, Omar Paz, Terri Shore, Mary Washburn, John Wheatley and Raymond Willett.

Gorin's appointments to the Springs MAC must be confirmed by the Board of Supervisors. Following procedural training and other organizational work, the SMAC inaugural meeting is expected to take place in late March early April.

Another MAC is in the works for the Glen Ellen area, to join the Springs MAC and the similar joint powers agreement known as the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission (SVCAC). According to Pat Gilardi, Gorin's administrative aide, 'Supervisor Gorin has met with stakeholders to consider boundaries, but we have not yet scheduled a follow-up meeting. Our priority the last few weeks has been getting the Springs MAC up and running.'

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