After three terms serving the residents of Madera County as a supervisor, I decided it was time to see what retirement really looked like last year, and I didn't run for re-election.

I worked hard during my tenure to help Madera County. During my 33 years in the California Highway Patrol, I gathered a form of good patience and tolerance and knew how to speak and talk with people. These skills served me well.

Madera has been left in good hands and has a road map for the future that is well planned. As the central San Joaquin Valley grows, so, too, will Madera.

We also know that we must not only meet the needs of our residents, but we must be a good neighbor. That's why when we undertook the Rio Mesa Plan to meet our future growth we knew it needed to comply with the state's regional planning guidelines established under SB375 and the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint process. And that's probably why I remain bothered so much by the city of Fresno's decision to sue Madera County over the Tesoro Viejo project.

Not only did Fresno have more than 11 different public opportunities to comment, they could have called me or any of my board colleagues at any time and asked to speak with us about their concerns.

Instead our neighbors to the south chose to sue Madera County at the 11th hour and tell people we never listened to their concerns.

One of my last board actions was to see the approval of Tesoro Viejo, a true master-planned community that should be something the entire Valley, not just Madera County, is proud of.

The project takes into consideration our need for jobs as well as concerns about air quality, water supply and transportation infrastructure. The project learns from our past and builds with the whole region's future in mind.

A true sustainable, mixed-use destination, Tesoro Viejo will offer 5,200 homes, 3 million square feet of non-residential space, 7,000 jobs and more than 400 acres of open space -- this alone is equivalent in size to the entire Harlan Ranch project! There will be 15 miles of walking, hiking and biking trails.

The builder has commitments for a major employer that will invest in the region and provide some of the more than 7,000 jobs. The builder also has implemented a vocational education program that plans for the future and has resolved water-supply requirements in partnership with Madera Irrigation District.

The builder has agreed to improve Highway 41 from Avenue 12 to Avenue 15, and to make those improvements before the first residential occupancy.

Under the law, he isn't required to make those improvements until the project reaches completion. So that's a huge investment of capital up front and a huge commitment to the region. It also ensures that the needs of Madera County and our neighbors traveling through Madera County are put first.

The builder has agreed to self-mitigated air quality concerns by imposing the VERA program -- that means the mitigation fees paid for the assessed air quality impacts will be used to support Madera's farmers and purchase equipment with cleaner-burning ag engines.

This was a decision my esteemed colleague on the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, Fresno City Council Member Oliver Baines, described during the plan review at the air district board meeting as being a significant commitment that takes care of all of our neighbors.

The Valley has a chance to work together and plan wisely for our future. We can only look to Los Angeles, the Bay Area and our own growing pains to know what we don't want to become and the mistakes we don't want to repeat.

As I sit back and reflect and continue to think about the future of Madera County, I can't help but wonder if a little bit of communication by our neighbors when they had a concern might have made a world of difference.

It's all about talking with each other and trying to understand. Lawsuits don't get any of us, anywhere. All they do is cost all of us time, money and jobs!