Copper holds town hall meeting with a twist

Nestled inside the Copperopolis Armory beneath paintings of Table Mountain and the historic schoolhouse, staff members of 25 local government departments set up folding display boards, laid out handouts and pamphlets and stood expectantly beside their displays, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a school science fair.

It wasn’t a science fair, though; it was District 4 Supervisor Debbie Ponte’s Copperopolis twist on a town hall meeting, and about 200 members of the public showed up to learn more about the services offered to them by their local government.

Some, like Copperopolis resident Greg Mayer, had specific items in mind like the general plan, a left-hand turn lane in Poker Flat and questions about a potential route from Copperopolis to New Melones.

Others, like Dee Zolezzi and Nadine Robin – also of Copperopolis – came expecting a typical town hall meeting, looking to increase their “intake” of what county services were available to them, and were taken aback by the informal air of the evening.

“It’s kind of like going to the fair,” said Zolezzi.

Many attendees said they felt the event was beneficial. Copper Cove Homeowners Association Office Manager Donna Davis came specifically to find answers to questions posed to her by Copper Cove residents – questions like, “How does someone get a permit for an above-ground pool?”

“I wanted to know who I could go to and I found out,” she said, explaining that the county’s Building Department had provided her with a list of common code compliance problems.

“It was pretty helpful,” she said.

Copperopolis community gardener Darrell Lucas and Copperopolis Friends of the Library sub-chair Richard Duncan said being able to put a personal face to many county departments simply dealt with over the phone or through what Duncan described as “text-tagging” was the best part of the evening.

“Now there’s a personal context involved,” said Duncan. “We get to meet each other face to face. It’s a great avenue to establish human rapport.”

Supervisor Ponte was pleased with the turnout from both local agencies and the public. She said she wasn’t sure what to initially expect but, because of the feedback she received from both county staff and the public, she hopes to continue holding such meetings, tentatively three times per year in different areas of her district.

“Hopefully other districts might do the same kind of thing. It’s important that we provide some level of outreach to our communities,” she said.