A meeting of the minds

IPads, economic growth and technology were some of the subjects covered at this year’s League of Cities Conference in San Diego. Members from the Porterville and Lindsay city councils attended the three-day meeting last week.

“The League of California Cities did an excellent job and covered a wide spectrum of subjects. The conference was very well put together,” said Porterville Vice Mayor Pete McCracken who, along with Council member Brian Ward, attended the conference.

Some of the sessions McCracken took in dealt with economics.

“My focus was on economic development and how to operate the city,” stated McCracken who added that he learned about a myriad of topics including; infrastructure and some of the tools that can be used to promote development in the city. Many of the sessions were comprised of speakers, or a small panel, and most had question-and-answer sessions.

As to why the conference is important, he is adamant.

“If you don’t go to these conferences you think Porterville is unique. It’s kind of refreshing to think gee, we’re not alone,” added McCracken, who explained that the conference was a way to talk with other city officials who might be having the same problems as Porterville and to see what they are doing.

Lindsay Mayor Ed Murray, along with the four council members and some staff, attended as well.

“A lot of ideas came out of it,” said Murray who added that there was information on porous asphalt as well as iPad sessions.

Council member Pam Kimball listened to a session called “Love your City,” which involved promoting city pride and getting people to become involved.

She also perused booths at the expo exhibit. One had a self-watering tube for trees which lasts for 90 days.

“It could work well for us,” said Kimball who explained that a hollow cylinder is placed into the ground and a gel packet is placed inside. The gel is a dry water gel pack that contains nutrients — 98% is water and the remaining 2% is food grade with enzymes which over time breaks down the gel and turns it into liquid. Once the pack is used up another pack can be placed inside.

Mayor Pro Tem Esteban Velasquez talked about meeting with consulting firms regarding grants.  

“I met with California Consulting. We talked about projects they were involved with and how they work with Lindsay Unified School District and with Corcoran School District. I was reminded that even in this economy there are still plenty of grant opportunities that can help our community,” stated Velasquez in an e-mail. He also attended a workshop called “Develop your Economy” where he learned how other communities have developed and expanded.

“I plan on working with our City Manager to review our policies and procedures with the goal of making the process of doing business in Lindsay more business friendly,” added Velasquez.

 The League of California Cities is made up of cities through out California and was founded in 1898 with its first conference in San Francisco.

For more information visit http://www.cacities.org/.