Engaged Shasta County Citizens Help the County Identify Priorities and Solutions - Meeting in Anderson on Monday Evening Was Lively and Productive
- Elisa Ballard
- Dec 4, 2025
- 4 min read
The Last Day to Complete Shasta County Priorities Survey is Friday, December 5th.
December 3, 2025
The Shasta County Board of Supervisors and County CEO David Rickert, County Executive Officer want to hear from residents. “This is an opportunity for residents across our community to tell us what matters most and where they want to see our resources focused.” They are reaching out to the community through an on-line survey and four community town hall meetings to assess the desires of the citizens as to what subjects should be priorities in the County’s Five-Year Strategic Plan. The third such town hall was held on Monday night to a full room (of approximately 50 participants) at the Frontier Senior Center in Anderson. Topics discussed included Public Safety/Emergency Response, Transparency and Communication, Jobs and the Economy, Mental Health and Homelessness. Hope Seth, a County consultant, led the discussions as County officials John Heath, Assistant Public Works; Supervisor Chris Kelstrom (District 5); Nolda Short, Auditor-Controller; Dave Rickert, Chief Executive Officer presided.
An interesting ice-breaker activity was performed with Hope asking the attendees to line up according to how long they have been living in Shasta County. One end of the line was populated by life-long residents and the other end of the line was represented by newcomers, with others filling in between the two ends. People were asked to share what they liked about living in Shasta County and many answers were given but overall it was mainly the beautiful scenic environment and recreational activities available in the North State that has attracted or kept people in the area.
Next, participants were asked to use colored dots to rate a topic that was represented on posters pinned on the walls of the room as to whether more or less emphasis should be placed on it for the next five years. According to Hope, responses during the town hall tended to be in line with survey results that have already been coming into County’s survey portal. Of the approximately 1700 responses received by the County so far, Hope said that about 75% of the participants felt that Mental Health should be the number one priority, followed by Homelessness and Affordable Housing (67%) and Communication/Transparency (64%). Economic Growth/Jobs came in at 58% and Public Safety at 53%.
Each table was given an assignment to discuss a topic that was given to them and come up with solutions to present to the room. This led to many interesting ideas and lively discussions. Here are some nuggets of truth or questions that were of interest:
- Throwing more money at the homeless situation is not going to solve the problem alone. Seattle was spending $30 million per year on their homeless problem but is now spending up to $1 billion per year and their homeless problem has almost tripled. The more you spend, the more homeless you will attract.
- Mental Health services have been problematic because there are not enough available beds in the County nor are there enough psychiatrists or mental health professionals. One of the reasons that beds are not available is that the beds that are located in our area are in use by people who live outside of the area. One possible solution would be for the County to contract to reserve the beds that we have here.
- A suggestion was made to have sign-on bonuses to attract psychiatrists.
- Lack of specialty and primary care physicians has put a strain on residents who either have to wait too long to be seen or need to travel great distances to receive care. Perhaps offers could be made to physicians pay off their student loans in exchange for a guarantee of a number of years of work in the area.
- More fire mitigation/brush clearing should be performed.
- For attracting more jobs to the area, permits for building should be easier to obtain, more entry-level housing should be built and made available, more job training/trade programs should be available – possibly a UC Extension. Trades programs should be Department of Labor-certified apprenticeships to qualify for job openings.
- Supervisor Kelstrom added that State of California regulations are making new homes much less affordable by mandating all electric appliances, fire sprinkler systems, solar panels, electric vehicle outlets, and traffic fees
- People who have regular health insurance (not Medi-Cal), can’t find doctors in the area. Dr. Kahn, the only cardiologist in the area, just went to work for the Rancheria so is no longer taking care of patients who have regular insurance.
- We need better lighting and striping on county roads and better maintenance on culverts to prevent flooding during heavy rains.
- Homeless cross the 273 highway and cause accidents.
- Homeless are walking from the Mission to Dutch Brothers to buy coffee. How are they affording it? Are they being given vouchers?
- Need better enforcement to clean up the homeless camps that pose a danger to the community.
- People may not realize we have a symphony that performs at the Cascade Theatre.
One of the participants, Rebecca Baer, head of Shasta County Economic Development Corporation, mentioned that it is important for residents to let people know about things they like about Shasta County when talking to people who don’t live here.
Trish Clarke of the nonprofit Frontier Senior Center wanted to let everyone know about the Community Breakfast that is served every first Sunday of the month. The next one is this Sunday, December 7th at 8 a.m. to 11 a.m . Choice of menu items include pancakes, sausage, and eggs; or French Toast, and sausage or eggs; or biscuits and gravy and sausage or eggs. All breakfasts are served with fruit, juice, and coffee, all for $10. 2081 Frontier Trail, Anderson.
County Surveys can be completed until this Friday, December 5th, by going to:
Results will be shared with the Board of Supervisors in mid-December.
