454 NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW [September

Citizen Action . Page Elizabeth Bigelow, Editor

Task Force Plans Regional Forum

Citizen Inputs Sought in Bay Area Decisions

T H E San Francisco Bay area has for a long time recognized the regional

nature of its problems and has responded with a number of regional agencies which have involved all or some of its nine coun- ties (see the REVIEW, February 1973, page 88). Between ABAG, BART, MTC, BCDC and other regional agencies, nine county governments and a large assort- ment of local governments and governing districts, the problem of individual citizen participation in the regional decision- making process became almost over- whelming.

To deal with the problem the Citizens Task Force was formed in March 1972 and is developing a forum structure to facilitate discussion of issues and methods of solution, and to provide a way to make their views known to the appropriate agency or agencies on a continuing basis. This structure is to be known as the Bay Area Regional Citizens Forum (informa- tion about it is currently available from the Association of Bay Area Govern- ments, Hotel Claremont, Berkeley, Cali- fornia 94705).

The citizens task force consists of three delegates and three alternates from each of the nine counties in the Bay Area, and representatives of 17 organizations selected from the civic, business, pro- fessional and ethnic interests in the area. The task force has determined that the following precepts must be followed in structuring the forum to maintain the focus on regional problems:

I. Locations of meetings should be va- ried to provide maximum accessibility of

meeting to interested residents of the various counties of the area.

2. The forum and its committees are to coordinate their efforts wjth all units of regional agencies, and their staffs, to as- sure that the citizens’ input is considered a! all stages of issue development deci- sion.

3. Regional issues and concerns will be considered by the forum and its com- mittees. 4. Whenever possible, consensus will

be utilized to determine the sense of the body instead of a formal vote; however, if a formal vote is requested, it should be taken. The task force has recommended that the forum work toward the following goals:

Provide a Citizen-Based Ingut for Deci- sion Making and Setting of Prwrities on Regional Isszdes

This is the basic goal of any citizen participation structure. I t is to insure that items are being considered from the point of view of the citizens which, in many cases, is overlooked in the normal public decision-making process. The regional citizens forum is to insure that decisions on regional issues have this citizen-input into the process before the decision is made.

Act as a Catalyst to Provoke Innovative Solutions to Regional Problems

Because citizens often view public prob- lems and proposed solutions with a dif- ferent eye than either staff or elected officials, there is always a strong pos- sibility that innovative approaches will result from citizen derived approaches to solutions. Innovative approaches often re- sult from those who “don’t know that you can’t use that approach.” Educate Citizenry A s Well A s Regional Agency Members on the Varied Reference Points Each Member of the Group Uses to Arrive at Decisions on Complex Plan- ning Issues

The exchange of information on key issues used in making decisions will be healthy for all concerned. A better under- standing will result and the regional plan- ning process will be the winner.

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Create a Credible and Readily Available Vehicle for Citizen Particifiation in Re- gional Decision Making

The final test of the regional citizens forum will be whether citizens interested in issues will utilize the forum to affect the regional decision-making process. The credibility and the availability of the forum with the broad citizenry will be the key items that determine its success or failure. Provide a Flexible Citiaen Particifiation Structure that Accommodates atty New R e g i o d Issue and Other Regional Or- ganiaations

The forum must have a structure that aliows it to accommodate any new re- gional issue that develops-whether it develops from a government program or an issue that develops in the minds of the citizens of the area. Also, the forum should be structured to provide the neces- sary citizen input into other regional or- ganizations, such as MTC, BCDC, etc. Independent Representative Decision- Making Power

The forum must have complete inde- pendence to arrive at its own decisions irrespective of the position of ABAG or any other regional or local government body. The Task Force Recommends the Follow- mg Organizational and Membership Structure for the Regional Citkens Forum The basic units of the forum shall be:

-Regional Citizens Forum, a member- ship organization that is open to all residents of the Bay Area;

-Coordinating committee that is se- lected by the forum to handle ad- ministrative matters for the forum ;

-Issue committees that will give voice to citizens interested in regional is- sues.

The Regional Citizens Forum is to hold annual meetings and other meetings as desired, set broad policy and determine positions on issues, and hear reports on citizens’ activities. The coordinating com- mittee will serve as the administrative and housekeeping arm of the forum, initi- ate and activate issue committees, receive progress reports from the issue commit- tees and coordinate activities and informa-

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tion flow, recommend expansion of or- ganization and changes in structure as the need arises, and organize, conduct and call forum meetings and hold monthly meetings of its own. The issue committees are to discuss regional issues, establish priorities, develop approaches and soh- tions to problems, report findings and positions to regional agencies, staff and relevant committees (minority positions are permitted), and follow the activities of the regional agencies which deal with its particular interest.

Lima, Ohio, Students Work for City

Tenfiessee Towtt and City (June) re- ports that Lima, Ohio, in cooperation with Lima Senior High School, experi- mented with “Project Involvement” during the week of October 30, 1972, as a way to increase interest in and understanding of the workings of local government.

One hundred and fifty-eight high school seniors worked with city officials and employees for one week, actually doing the tasks of local government. The pro- gram benefited both students and the city workers, and was reported to be a huge success.

A list of about 80 jobs and their descriptions was provided by the city and students filled out forms similar to regular employment applications. Each student listed three choices of jobs and every effort was made to provide the first choice. While some students ended up with their third choice, none expressed disappointment at the end of the week.

On the first day the students attended a luncheon and briefings on the city and their jobs, and received instructions. They also filled out analysis and attitude forms. They spent the next three days working with employees. On the last day groups of 10 students discussed their experiences with a city employee and a school official, and improvements, changes, likes and dis-

456 NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW [September

likes regarding the program were aired. All but one student reported a significant change in their attitude about city govern- ment. The students voted unanimously to have the project repeated.

The city legal department cleared the way of any restrictions which would have prevented student participation in certain jobs, including bans on juveniles riding in police cruisers, walking the sewers and operating city equipment. The experiences of students were varied:

Students working with police officers rode right with them in a search after an armed robbery of the local bus terminal.

A girl working with the shift sergcant conducted roll call for the police officers, read the duty roster and reports, and briefed the men coming on duty on assign- ments and other matters.

Police work was the most asked for by the students; special briefings were con- ducted on security and students were instructed not to discuss some of their work or specific information with “out- siders,” including their parents.

Students donned hard hats and walked the sewers. They found out what there was to see peering down the manhole. Others wielded picks and shovels.

They found out exactly how exciting the ride to a fire was.

Several girls worked with metermaids. Another was with the utilities director. One was the mayor’s secretary and one girl actually served with the mayor for three days, sitting in on all meetings, closed-door and otherwise, and attending the municipal league-sponsored briefing with federal officials on revenue sharing in Columbus. She talked with news re- porters, fielding questions and discussing observations and attitudes.

A student riding with a police officer assisted in the investigation and regula- tion of traffic after an auto accident. In the police identification bureau, another student developed mug pictures, helped catalog and did other office work.

One girl who worked with the city planning director became so involved in the programs of rejuvenating the deteri- orating downtown core that she came up with her own planniiig concept of changes for the public square. Her plan showed plantings, pedestrian walkways, benches, altered parking facilities and ear- marking of buildings toward more service and professional use than for retail busi- ness.

The police department has expressed interest in a year-round program with students and the possibility is being ex- plored. The project presented no extra- ordinary cost to the municipal govern- ment. There was an investment in staff time but, the report notes, the city is pay- ing for that anyway. The accumulated total over several weeks of planning, par- ticipation and follow up was about eight days of the coordinator’s time and about four days’ time for one secretary.

Volunteers-in-Probation Help San Diego Co. Youth

The San Diego County Juvenile Hall in Kearny Mesa, California, serves as a detention center for delinquent youths from the entire region. They stay there while awaiting action by the courts. Comty Today (County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego 92101) reports that in the past year there has been a trend to make Juvenile Hall more than just a temporary place of de- tention.

There are 90 Volunteers-in-Probation working there, attempting to reach the young people. Many are college students interested in careers in probation and many are working on internships, Some take a special interest in a particular child, usually children who have no visitors and are generally loners. The volunteers bring toys and books to the child and are pri- marily concerned with his socialization. Other volunteers work with groups on crafts, hobbies and sports.

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Operating on the theory that many of these youngsters can be productive citi- zens if treated with human dignity, some of the restrictive atmosphere has been re- laxed. Doors to each room are still locked at night but are left open during the day, except occasionally as a restrictive mea- sure, and there is an honor room in each area which is used as a reward. For help- ing with certain chores, the youngsters are given merit points which may be used for extra privileges.

Phoenix Youth Groups Aid Disabled Workers

P.U.S.H. (People United for Self Help), an organization of approximately 100 disabled, low-income workers and their familes in South Phoenix, received a helping hand on June 15. For two years members of P.U.S.H. have grown their own vegetables on a five-acre tract with all in the families who are able digging, planting and weeding for fall and spring crops. They now have been presented with a new, fully equipped tractor by the youth groups in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) in the Phoenix area. For months the young people worked to raise funds for the tractor.

The youths conducted car-washes, cooked and served church breakfasts and dinners ranging from pancakes to spa- ghetti, and sold their services for odd jobs at “Slave Auctions.” Some turned to Operation Identification in which for a fee they etched a homeowner’s driver’s license number on all valuable household items and personal possessions.

Ecology Awards Announced in KAB-Pepsi Program

Keep America Beautiful (99 Park Ave- nue, New York 10016) has announced that student ecology clubs in 41 high

schools have been named national winners in the first search conducted by the Ecol- ogy Council of America (ECO America) to find the top youth environmental pro- grams in the country (see the REVIEW, July 1973, page 394). The program is co- sponsored by KAB and the Pepsi Cola Company.

In Halifax, Pennsylvania, for example, students planted 23,000 trees in co- operation with the state game and fish commission. More than 2,000 people par- ticipated in the student campaign in Run- nells, Iowa, to save 480 acres of forest land as a park and ecology center. The club in Coleraine, Minnesota, set aside 10 acres of maple trees and this year will produce maple sugar from the sap of 1,500 trees.

Another group in Independence, Mis- souri, converted an old railroad dining car into a working environmental re- source and recycling center. Students in Costa Mesa, California, in cooperation with citizen and government groups, ac- quired 257 acres of surplus land for an interpretive nature area. To create civic pride and environmental awareness among residents of Lebanon, Connecticut, the club did a comprehensive land-use study, including a projection of the town’s fu- ture growth.

A 10-minute documentary film on the environmental effects of Kennedy and LaGuardia airports was produced by students in Great Neck, New York. The club in Harlingen, Texas, staged an En- vironmental Congress to unite the Lower Rio Grande Valley into a single environ- mental unit.

Students in Orlando, Florida, con- structed a 90-gallon aquarium to study fish and marine life. A club in Atlanta, Georgia, supported by DeKalb County and state government groups, sparked a massive clean-up of refuse dumping grounds on nearby Mt. Arabia.