Dame Shirley tops the Board of Supervisors agenda Tuesday
The Plumas County Board of Supervisors meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 1 should be interesting. Topping the seven-page agenda is the much-anticipated discussion on Dame Shirley Plaza and whether the board will pursue selling the land to the state to facilitate a new courthouse.
Board Chairman Greg Hagwood said the item has been scheduled for the beginning of the meeting, following public comment and a couple of reports, to accommodate the number of people that are expected to speak.
But Dame Shirley Plaza isn’t the only potentially controversial issue: the Eastern Plumas Fire Protection District and the Grizzly Lake Resort Improvement District are also expected to generate interest. They are scheduled toward the end of the meeting.
Under appointments, the board is expected to make Sharon Sousa the county’s behavioral health director, and appoint a clerk of the board, following Heidi White’s resignation.
There are 21 items on the consent agenda including recruiting and filling two positions in public health, tree services, psychological evaluations for probation, grant funds, agreements with medical providers, inmate monitoring and three contracts between Social Services and the Plumas Crisis Intervention and Resource Center not to exceed $648,000.
The board will also discuss the Engie Feasibility Study that was presented in July, among other topics.
The board meeting gets underway at 10 a.m. in the third-floor boardroom of the courthouse. It can also be accessed via zoom and viewed online at the county’s website: https://www.plumascounty.us/2442/Agendas-and-Minutes
Dame Shirley Park is representative of community meeting areas which have been a part of American life since the beginnings of settlement. A common place to meet in the center of a town was mainstream.
The loss of this meeting area whether for community events or political activism would be a tragedy.
I urge the Board of Supervisors to select a different site for a new court house.
To Whom It May Concern,
My name is Corinne West. I first moved to Plumas County in 1990. As a (tourism) business manager and citizen in downtown Quincy, I am strongly opposed to a courthouse building being built on Dame Shirley Plaza (DSP) for a number of reasons.
To begin, thank you for all of the work you are doing for our county. Please consider my perspective, and the vantage point of both tourists and locals that I represent.
TOURISM :: I am the Innkeeper of Ada’s Place. Ada’s Place has been serving travelers with high quality lodging for over 27 years in the heart of Quincy. Looking back on our reviews and guest books over 27 years, I cannot over emphasize how many guests have commented on the ‘peaceful beautiful walk to downtown in the historic part of Quincy’ as part of the reason they love visiting here and spending their money in our small mountain town. The majority of our guests come here for a respite from the bustle of their city environments. They enjoy strolling about for a meal, visiting shops, walking for a coffee, or visiting the museum – all the while being surrounded by the beauty of the old homes, the towering trees, the slow feel and hardly any car traffic on Jackson. We have writers come here to retreat to write, painters to paint, families to bond, and explorers to explore our wonderful town and county. Our guests, Plumas Counties tourists, have time and time again expressed their adoration on how we as a community have preserved a portion of our downtown as a quiet historic green-space place – relieved from the noise, pollution and pressure of navigating vehicles. Guests enjoy our architecture, our history, and the ability to walk in a downtown that is nostalgic, quaint and to note, Charming.
Regarding our tourism .the following sites are an abbreviated example of why visitors love downtown Quincy; “Only In Your State” website names Quincy as one of the “Most Picturesque Small Towns For A Charming Experience” (April 10, 2021), #8 “America’s Coolest Small Towns, 2013” (Fox News, Lifestyle), “…the main draw of Historic Main Street is the rich history that can be felt around every corner. Visitors can stroll down the same streets that pioneers walked over a century ago. Many of the shops feature original architecture, adding to the historic charm of the area.” (Travel Emily Travel Blog Site, 2023).
We rely greatly on tourism. When considering the tourist draw to other towns, say, Nevada City or Old Town Sacramento, the compelling magnet of these places is due to careful preservation of their history. I can’t imagine that placing a massive modern building, and the required parking lot in the middle of these cared for districts, would ever be seen as a draw to tourism. We need to continue cultivate our charm and hometown feel.
HISTORICAL PROXIMITY: The DSP location is of historical significance on the back of the park which is now populated by homes – namely Jackson Street. Quincy’s original hospital, the house at 562 Jackson which was pulled across town on horses at the turn of the century, the Sears Catalog House at 570 which was derived on the train, & The Feather Bed to name a few may not all be registered with the county as historical locations, yet they are indeed an important part of the towns history. To tear down existing houses on the north side of Jackson to pave a parking lot which would accommodate a 54,000 sq. foot building, would be to destroy that rare, quiet & beautiful historic portion of Quincy’s residential district. I can think of no town or city that would tear down existing houses across from historic homes in a small downtown area to put in a parking lot on the back end of a new courthouse, when there are other options available. A towns historic district is a towns heart, its draw, and its charm.
COMMUNITY HEALTH: There is extensive research and studies on why parks are important in a downtown of any size. The following is a very small list. Looking up studies on the role that parks play in any community will reveal a plethora of data supporting parks for a number of important reasons:
“Five Reasons To Make Parks A Priority In Your Town”:: http://www.Strongtowns.org
“The Health Benefits Of Parks And Their Economic Impacts” :: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/the-health-benefits-of-parks-and-their-economic-impacts_0.pdf
“Why Parks and Recreation are Essential Public Services” :: National Recreation & Park Association – Study :: https://www.nrpa.org/uploadedFiles/nrpa.org/Advocacy/Resources/Parks-Recreation-Essential-Public-Services-January-2010.pdf
Please note!! The Healthy Places Index (HPI), https://www.healthyplacesindex.org/ a resource developed by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California, is a powerful tool that can be used to explore community conditions that predict life expectancy, compare and rank scores at multiple California geographies, and learn about concrete and actionable policy solutions.” – 2022 Tracy Delaney, PhD, BS
The Healthy Places Index does rate Parks as a vital part of a communities health. Currently Quincy California rates in the 31.8% of healthy Park Access. This is 76.7% below the state, & 64.6% below the county.
The Healthy Places Index states “What is the connection to health? Everybody should have access to parks and other open spaces near their home. Parks can encourage physical activity, reduce chronic diseases, improve mental health, foster community connections, and support community resilience to climate change and pollution.”
There are a number of community concerns regarding any compromise to Dame Shirley Plaza that have been covered & submitted to the county by our people. The above is important supplemental information to the concerns of our populace.
In closing, the states Judicial Counsel (’Office Of Court Construction And Management’ document) expressly directs in its ‘Site Selection And Acquisition Policy For Judicial Branch Facilities’ that site selection for new courthouses should “strive to meet historical and public preferences”.
Our public preferences must be weighed by the number of citizens and out of town guests (tourists) against this proposed site. The historical preferences I have attempted to draw your attention to above.
Please remove Dame Shirley Park from your list of potential places for the new courthouse.
Thank you for your attention.
Corinne West
Kind regards,
~ Corinne
Ada’s Innkeeper
The Lost Sierra is a wonderland… Ada’s Place is a haven
Lovely Garden Cottages
http://www.adasplace.com