The lunch bunch is the ultimate networking group where community members informally drop in and out and may pass out fliers, business cards and more information to the community. Photo by Ryley Metten 



NORTH HIGHLANDS, CA (MPG) – The monthly Tri-Communities Lunch Bunch was recently held at Pancake Palace off Watt Avenue in North Highlands on Sept. 3. Sacramento County District 3 Supervisor Rich Desmond was the main speaker at the meeting, where he addressed concerns in the communities of North Highlands, Rio Linda and Elverta. 

Before Rich Desmond took the Pancake Palace stage, Board Director Charlea R. Moore announced upcoming events including the Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser for the local nonprofit group, B.U.D. (Better Understanding Drugs) to raise awareness for drug education on Sept. 5. 

It was announced that the Rio Linda Country Faire is also still looking for sponsors. The Faire will take place on Sept. 19 and Sept. 20 at the Dry Creek Ranch House. The faire will offer a chance for the community to connect with local vendors, go on a tour of the ranch, listen to live music and more.

Fliers were also handed out for the Celebrate North Highlands event on Sept. 26 and the North Watt Business Watch meetings held on the second Monday of every month at the Family Community Church from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. 

 Fliers for various businesses and events were also handed out during the meeting. Photo by Ryley Metten

Desmond then took the floor, opening his speech with gratitude to see familiar faces and his compassion for the unincorporated Sacramento community.

“I’m a lifer in unincorporated Sacramento County. My father was an attorney here for 60 years representing a lot of property owners in the northern part of the county. I spent a lot of my formative years in Rio Linda, Elverta, North Highlands, these really wonderful older unincorporated Sacramento County communities so it is really great to be back,” Desmond said. 

Before beginning to address crucial issues among the tri-counties and greater Sacramento region, Desmond explained how he is unfortunately not as closely involved with the northern part of Roseville Road in North Highlands due to district boundary changes. Desmond is the District 3 Sacramento County Supervisor, while north of Roseville Road is represented by District 4 Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez.

Desmond spoke about Sacramento’s nine-billion-dollar budget and the limited discretion on what some of those dollars are used for. Desmond explained that we have a billion dollars in the general fund but only really have total control over about a third of it and a vast majority of this goes to public safety.

“I did a lot of advocacy in the legislature along with other county supervisors throughout the state,” Desmond said, “we were able to get the state to kick down a little more money to the county so we won’t have to divert as much general fund so we are going to be able to restore additional public safety resources next week.”

The first thing on Desmond’s mind was the harsh Sacramento roads we are much too familiar with. Desmond explained that due to changes in state level gas taxes we don’t have as much funding for one of the biggest public safety concerns: our roads. This is because there are more electric vehicles equating to less gas tax and gas tax is the primary source of funding for road project repairs.

When questioned by Desmond, District Director for Assemblyman Josh Hoover, Mark Cullum elaborated on the state’s possible solutions to the gas tax and electric vehicle problem.

“At some point there comes the argument of are we going to remove the gas tax or will electric vehicle tax double? Which is a big thing that Assemblymember Hoover is against. We obviously have to come up with something for these EVs to equate for as we still have our state mandate to do away with commercial gas vehicles.”

One North Highlands resident also raised concerns about not only the state of the roads in the tri-communities, but also the lack of roads when faced with an emergency.

“If we ever had a national disaster, there is nobody getting in and out of the county. For one the road isn’t safe to even drive on and the community cannot exit,” they said.

North Highlands Community Planning Advisory Council District 4 Appointee Kenya Bell also raised concern for electric vehicle fire hazards.

“We are going to have a lot more electric vehicles. Have we put in the infrastructure for the batteries? I know with the fire department and the explosion of batteries there is a lot that needs to be thought about,” Bell said. 

After addressing the much-needed roadwork and electric vehicle concern, Desmond began a conversation about homelessness crisis and his approach to address the issue which he calls “The Four Cs: coordination, capacity, consequence and compassion.”

Sacramento County District 3 Supervisor Rich Desmond was the main speaker at the meeting, where he addressed concerns in the communities of North Highlands, Rio Linda and Elverta. Photo by Ryley Metten

“We need more capacity because through better coordination when we encounter people out in the streets we need to know that if they are ready, willing and able, we have a place for them to go right now. Whether that’s into an inpatient, behavioral health treatment center, maybe a shelter or maybe we could get them into some kind of affordable housing solution,” Desmond said. 

Desmond’s advocacy for the new shelter on Watt Avenue was also addressed.

“I am a firm believer that if we do this right and we work with the business owners and people in the community this will be a net benefit because the first priority is going to be the surrounding community. That is the first place that we are going to be getting people off the streets.”

The opening of the new Watt homeless shelter is currently delayed but it could be open by the end of the year. The shelter will hold about 350 individuals and will feature tiny homes, locks for the door and a car component. 

Desmond’s speech at Pancake Palace wrapped up with telling the tri-county communities at lunch bunch that their voice matters and urging them to contact their current supervisor, Rosario Rodriguez about any concerns.

The next lunch bunch meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 1 at Pancake Palace.