County Supervisors talk tiers, vaccines and quarterly budgets

UKIAH » The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors discussed the county’s climb back into the purple tier, the possibility of a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as a quarterly budget report and a Measure B project advancement during its meeting Tuesday.

The board opened with a brief election update from Registrar of Voters/County Assessor Katrina Bartolomie, who reported a projected a 75-78 percent turnout rate in voters for this year’s election.

The department will continue to count ballots through the week of Thanksgiving before they can officially certify the county’s election results with the Secretary of State, according to Bartolomie.

The board then moved on to comment on a handful of consent calendar items, including one which appoints and reappoints multiple county positions.

Both Supervisors John Haschak and John McCowen recognized an item which allocates $158,700 in an agreement with Nuestra

Alianza de Willits to pilot a Promotores de Salud Program. The program will provide COVID-19 prevention and outreach services to the Spanish speaking community.

“Depending on the success of this pilot program, it really shows the way for an ongoing program that will help Mendocino County address the health inequities that have been brought to the forefront with the pandemic, but which we know have existed all along,” McCowen said.

He also commented on another item which approves the submission of an Emergency Solutions Grant application for up to approximately $5.4 million dollars through the California Department of Housing and Community Development and funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, to further fund homelessness services throughout the county.

“I know it’s proven controversial with some people, but you can not both complain about seeing homeless people walking the