‘State of County’ speech focuses on teams assisting homeless and bridge projects
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- County care teams assist homeless residents with housing and medical services.
- Bridge upgrades and expressway construction proceed despite budget uncertainty.
- Stanislaus 2030 invests in ag tech and child care to grow local workforce.
Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors chairman Buck Condit emphasized the work of local agency care teams in his “State of the County” speech.
Condit said he has gone out with teams to homeless camps near rivers to assist people living in desperate conditions.
He told how a county care team offered every service available when they discovered a group of children who were without their parents. A team also checked on a man with a festering leg wound who was resisting care.
“Walking away is not part of our DNA,” Condit said. “Our care team stayed with him until he said yes to our care, most likely saving his leg and perhaps his life.”
Condit delivered the annual speech last week in the board chambers at Tenth Street Place. Every year, the board of supervisors chairman gives the speech to reflect on accomplishments in the past year and to highlight key initiatives of county government going forward.
As the region faces another potentially dangerous fire season, Condit said the philosophy of “each person matters” guides how the county Office of Emergency Services responds to crises.
Condit said the opening of the Dignity Village mini-home center in south Modesto is an example of innovative mental health services. Dignity Village meets a basic need for housing while residents receive care for mental health conditions or addiction. Three people have already transitioned out of the 42-unit village that opened in late March, Condit said.
The county, with more 550,000 residents, includes 1,500 square miles that is mostly dominated by agriculture.
Condit said county leadership embraces the traditional industry, which annually produces crops valued at more than $3.3 billion. The board chairman noted Stanislaus has the largest Farm Bureau in the state, surpassing the much larger Fresno County.
The county is investing American Rescue Plan Act funds in Stanislaus 2030 and Beam Circular, an innovation initiative to develop businesses that convert agricultural wastes into valuable products and create living wage jobs.
One priority of Stanislaus 2030 is child care expansion through a partnership with Nurture, which provides support for people starting new child care businesses.
County leaders recently approved a preliminary budget for 2025-26 that holds the line on core services in a time of fiscal uncertainty at the state and federal levels.
Road and bridge projects remain on track
Condit said he doesn’t expect the uncertain fiscal situation will delay ongoing road and bridge projects. A Public Works goal is improvement of roads and bridges that tie together the county’s rural and urban communities.
The chairman said the average age of the county’s bridges is 80 years and modern farm equipment stresses the older bridges. About 20 bridges are on an active schedule for replacement or major repairs.
The county also has begun work on a first phase of the North County Corridor project, an expressway to carry east-west traffic across the northern part of the county. Condit remembered his father talking about the proposed expressway four decades ago and now it will finally take shape.
“This work is not always fast, it is not always easy, but it is always worth it,” Condit said.
This story was originally published July 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM.
