I am excited to have been able to secure over a third of the money available countywide for our High Desert parks. The distribution of grant funds includes $500,000 for land for an equestrian arena or sports field in the Phelan/Pinon Hills area, $100,000 for a new irrigation system in Oro Grande, $254,000 for cemetery improvements in Lucerne Valley, $100,000 for a basketball court in Pinon Hills, $100,000 for park improvements in El Mirage, and $75,000 for playground equipment in Hinkley.

Not that Mitzelfelt, who was appointed by his peers rather than elected, has asked our advice on how to accomplish that, but we have some pointers to offer to the new supervisor representing the 1st District:

Always bear in mind that you serve the public and must be accountable.

Do the public’s business in public. Make every effort to make county government transparent and accessible.

Follow through on your promise to The Sun’s editorial board and keep the public informed on public affairs.

Mitzelfelt vowed this week to make the prompt release of public information a priority, and the public needs to hold him accountable to that.

In the past, supervisors have hidden behind attorney-client privilege, with the intent seemingly to keep important details away from constituents rather than letting the public in on what their government is doing.

Mitzelfelt, at least, seems eager to put a new face on government. He released his calendar promptly as one of his first orders of business – something newly installed board Chairman Paul Biane has refused to do.

Mitzelfelt, Biane and the other supervisors can go a long way toward good public service by initiating a new era of disclosure on the Board of Supervisors.

They might all want to follow the maxim Mitzelfelt swore to live by: “Maximum disclosure, minimum delay.”

While Mitzelfelt stopped short of saying he would encourage the rest of the board to meet the rigors of the Public Records Act, the need to be candid and upfront with the public holds true for each and every supervisor. Mitzelfelt can, and should, help point the way.

Beyond that, Mitzelfelt has several other things he hopes to accomplish in terms of public safety, transportation and economic development.

Mitzelfelt said he is eager to provide the sheriff and district attorney all the resources they need to continue fighting the upsurge of gangs in the High Desert and to focus on probation needs as well as juvenile detention facilities. With the county fire agency reorganization to be completed in July, Mitzelfelt also wants to look at long-term financial stability, and hints that a countywide assessment could be coming. Taxpayers, beware.

Mitzelfelt is anxious to target San Bernardino County’s huge problem of identity theft. And he wants to accelerate plans for an east-west corridor across the High Desert to address another key concern.

Having helped oversee reorganization of the county Economic Development Agency, Mitzelfelt is intent on expanding the use of redevelopment in the High Desert to create jobs and bring in new business – a worthwhile priority.

Having served six years with the Building Industry Association, Mitzelfelt is a firm believer in economic development as the engine that drives the region’s quality of life. It is what makes it possible for government to improve the quality of life, Mitzelfelt says – a perspective we find encouraging.

Mitzelfelt wants the county to look more at tourism, as well as doing more with its libraries, parks and museums, to attract new people – and new jobs. New jobs are always welcome.

The possibilities for success are seemingly endless, and as a wide-eyed Mitzelfelt, reflecting on the daunting job that lies before him, told the editorial board, the vastness of it is “almost like thinking about the universe.”

Opportunity awaits. And the need for careful stewardship as well.