Editor’s note: The Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce is proud to share another update of the 34th year of the Leadership Merced program. The current class kicked off in September and will conclude in May 2019. To learn more about Leadership Merced and this year’s cohort, please visit them online.
Class 34 started Infrastructure Day by meeting with Greg Hostetler, owner of Stonefield Homes, at a current work site located on M street. The current site will have close to 1,000 residential homes, including apartments, parks, and a gated community. Greg Hostetler informed the group that Stonefield Homes is one of only two home builders in Merced County who is actively building homes in our community. Hostetler shared that he started his career working in the fields, picking crops, digging ditches, and driving tractors, and spoke about the importance of giving back to the community. He spoke to the impact on infrastructure regarding the house market crash and recession that happened in 2008.
The class then visited Merced County of Governments (MCAG) where speakers Mary-Michal Rawling, Jennifer Halpin, and Cynthia Kelly spoke to the group. The speakers discussed Measure V and the other areas that they oversee such as public transit, and the waste management program.
Mark Hendrickson, Merced County Economic Development Director was the next stop for Class 34 for Infrastructure day. Hendrickson started out by discussing the challenges that Merced and Merced County currently face economically and how all citizens in Merced play a huge roll in attracting new business by showing support for the city and the surrounding areas. The group was informed that developers and future business owners make it a point to research not only the area of interest within a future site but the population that lives in the area. The feedback that these organizations receive can literally help push a project to the start line for development or stop a possible project from happening it dead in its tracks.
Waste Water Treatment Plant Tour
The Wastewater Treatment Plant provides treatment of all wastewater collected through the sanitary sewer system.
On our tour, we learned that the WWTP recently finished two major upgrades to improve the quality of the treated water, referred to as plant effluent, and to improve the quality of biosolids and methods of treatment. The leftover solids from this treatment process are dried in solar dryers and are turned into compost which is used on the farm that the WWTP grows corn and cattle feed.
The Merced Wastewater Treatment Plant is the city’s largest capital investment. It is capable of treating up to 12 million gallons of a day, which is important for courting large businesses to come to our city.
CalTrans Presentation
CalTrans Director of District 10, Dan McElhinney presented on various projects that CalTrans is working on in our area, and discussed some of his thoughts on leadership that have helped him in his +20 year career within CalTrans.