District 4 Supervisor for Stanislaus County explains his role, and other aspects of the Stanislaus 2030 Investment Blueprint with a sit-down Interview
Learn what he had to share about the plan
Mani Grewal, graciously sat down with me last December to discuss the dynamic endeavor the County has embarked on behalf of its citizens. In this interview I was able to gain further insights into the plan and how local individuals, businesses, agencies, banks, elected officials and civic stake-holders are collaborating with Washington DC think-tank The Brookings Institution and the Department of the Defense, to implement Bio-Industrial manufacturing to the area.
Supervisor Grewal, who serves on the Executive Committee for Stanislaus 2030, echoed the points contained within the blueprint that would bring more prosperity to the residents of Stanislaus County with higher-paid jobs, child care and transportation for workers.
As to his specific role, when asked, Grewal stated within the Executive Committee he was one of the ones to set policy as to what was going to be discussed with the public about the plan, and because of the Brown Act, they didn’t want concerns to arise about the number of elected officials in a room during meetings, so they held public meetings where all public officials were invited.
Grewal also stated that they recently had a Board Retreat on December 5th, where a presentation in 2030 was given to the entire Board because the officials “hadn’t seen an initial one at a Board meeting”, he stated.
Supervisor Grewal is referring to a December 5th, 2022 Special Board meeting which was held at an offsite location from the usual chambers where the official meetings are held. No reason was given as to why the offsite location was chosen, however one consequence to the location change was they the meeting could not be broadcast to the public.
The minutes from the meeting, which were provided and approved by the Board over one month later at the January 10th 2023 Board of Supervisors meeting, summarize the Special Session- Workshop as an update on Stanislaus 2030. The blueprint, which was presented to the public the month prior, was presented by Jody Hayes, Stanislaus County Board member, Manny Escamilla and Nancy Martinez for debriefs, Kathryn Davis of Valley First Credit Union, and Jorge Nava of the Central Valley Opportunity Center.
The review was continued with presentations from Karen Warner, KP Consulting and Marek Gootman of the Brookings Institution, Marian Kaanan, Stanislaus Community Foundation and Kate Trompetter with Connect For. Finally, each Supervisor made remarks and were able to ask specific questions, with Supervisor Chiesa requesting Individual briefings on the plan.
The interview continued with Mani stating the status of the proposed $31 million facility is “in-process” with no site having been identified as of yet. He also stated the facility will require more “private investment” in order to establish such a facility which can handle “Bio-Materials” such as plastics and rubber which could become “very useful to a different industry”.
As part of the process, Supervisor Grewal went on the state they had been able to visit a lab in Berkeley, California, which is already working with such processes, stated our area is “primed for it”, and a lot of these things are already happening at the Lawrence Livermore Lab and the UC Berkeley Lab.
Grewal stated this could be an “Industry in the Billions”, and there is so much confidence in it that the County is “helping fund a smaller group outside of Stanislaus 2030 that’s just going to focus on bio-material investment here in Stanislaus County”.
Supervisor Grewal did confirm that one of the labs the County is working with is BioMade, which has installed infrastructure locally at Modesto Junior College (MJC). When asked about the genesis of this partnership and where else we may see such collaboration in the community Grewal explained that “Educational institutions are ideal because they already have the infrastructure” and that UC Merced and Stanislaus State may be interested in working with them to provide education and training for some of the jobs which require the specific knowledge and skillsets for the “enhanced level of training” needed to work in some of these facilities. Additionally, The Volt Institute through Opportunity Stanislaus, which shares offices with the Stanislaus County Board of Education, may be another option for mechanical and maintenance level training. He further mentioned Bay Valley Tech having received an estimated $5-$10million in grants from The Workforce Development to train workers with coding and design work skills needed for entry-level Tech jobs which could turn into higher paid jobs in the future.
When asked an important question which must be in the minds of local residents, Supervisor Grewal stated he does not anticipate any tax measures to fund this initiative. Rather, he sees it as a “public-private partnership” and “we should be doing this for our residents”. Further, with the initial investment by the county, this will attract private companies to come into the area to do business.
To conclude the interview, I asked Mr. Grewal a final question, not about what is in the blueprint, but rather was is not included. Notable to mention is the absence of collaboration with any environmental agencies of what effects this type of industry may have to the local area with air quality or other pollution run-off, specifically pointing out that water table is already polluted in the area surrounding the former US Army Ammunition plant, which is now occupied by Aemetis, a bio-fuels and natural gas company, also a member on Executive Committee for Stanislaus 2030. In response, Grewal stated it was premature to do at this juncture “to even have those conversations” and that he is confident that “through the approval process all of that will be brought up”.
In conclusion, Supervisor Grewal affirmed he was confident the “County’s planning and Building Department will have these concerns at the forefront before making any kind of investment” and that it’s important the public have the opportunity to make comments and although the plan has been expeditious, it has been done with the upmost accessibility to the public to have conversations about the decisions being made and to be involved in this. Additionally, if any member of the public should have comments or questions about this, they should come and make their voices be heard.
Seriously, plastic & rubber, useful to another (unnamed) industry? Bondage materials, perhaps? Good grief.