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23 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 Chair Dorosin said that Orange County has a rural-urban divide, much like the divide in the rest <br /> 3 of the country illustrated by the most recent presidential election results. He said he does not <br /> 4 want to make too much of it and would rather highlight what they have in common. How do they <br /> 5 in their local rural and urban communities reaffirm their commitment to each other?What <br /> 6 broader collaborative efforts would advance partnerships across their rural and urban <br /> 7 communities in Orange County? How can they recognize the different needs in these <br /> 8 communities as well as their shared goals? <br /> 9 <br /> 10 Chair Dorosin said in addition, he is acutely aware, as Board Chair, that some groups are more <br /> 11 sophisticated at reaching out to them and better organized than others; how do they provide <br /> 12 ways for all people in their community to communicate with them. <br /> 13 <br /> 14 Commissioner Jacobs said local agriculture brings people together in unique ways. He noted <br /> 15 that next month Chair Dorosin will give the opening remarks at the 19th Orange County <br /> 16 Agricultural Summit. They are one of the leaders in this state of promoting a local agricultural <br /> 17 economy. This included their Lands Legacy Program, their conservation easements, PFAP, and <br /> 18 what they are doing in Cedar Grove. They do this well and can look at their endeavors with an <br /> 19 eye toward identifying what they can do better. <br /> 20 <br /> 21 Commissioner Jacobs said they can communicate with people in their urbanized areas to let <br /> 22 them know how all of this contributes to their quality of life, to educate them about the value of <br /> 23 the Rural Buffer. They also can communicate with people in their rural areas to ensure that they <br /> 24 know they respect and appreciate what they do, and want to make it possible for them to make <br /> 25 a living in agriculture. If they can identify things like that, it would smooth out the edges between <br /> 26 the communities that sometimes see themselves as adverse when in fact they are <br /> 27 interdependent. <br /> 28 <br /> 29 Chair Dorosin suggested the County recruit a cadre of"ambassadors" who would travel around <br /> 30 the county, learn about all the wonderful things that are taking place, and then talk about those <br /> 31 things back in their civic organizations, churches and neighborhoods. There are Friends of the <br /> 32 Animal Shelter, for example, and Friends of the Library, so why not Friends of the County or <br /> 33 Friends of Solid Waste? It is easy for people to know about the things that affect them directly, <br /> 34 but harder for them to know about all of our parks or our Lands Legacy Program. <br /> 35 <br /> 36 Commissioner Marcoplos suggested "Friends of the Tax Office." <br /> 37 <br /> 38 Chair Dorosin added that the Tax Office has programs to help veterans, the elderly and the <br /> 39 disabled; every meeting they get requests from people who say they did not know about <br /> 40 programs they're eligible for. They need a "Friends of the Tax Office". <br /> 41 <br /> 42 Commissioner Rich said that the Family Success Alliance uses a similar model: they have <br /> 43 ambassadors from their different neighborhoods whose job it is to learn about what is available <br /> 44 for their zone, and they bring that information back. Every working parent cannot come to their <br /> 45 meetings, but their ambassadors serve as conduits of information. <br /> 46 <br /> 47 Commissioner Rich said there are different ways to share information. Everything is not going <br /> 48 to be in the meeting minutes or on TV. These new and different ideas for communicating are an <br /> 49 important theme coming out of today's conversation. <br /> 50 <br /> 23 <br />