Draft a master plan. Maintain it for the long term. And get the entire community involved.

That is the formula for fighting gangs discussed at a public meeting Wednesday.

Representatives from the county, city, local law enforcement agencies, schools, community groups and concerned citizens gathered at the Napa City-County Library to share thoughts and suggestions on what would best make the plan work.

While Napa County is no stranger to gang violence, there has been a surge of gang-related incidents in the past 10 months, including the killing of a Napa teen in a street fight in December.

Those attending Wednesday’s meeting had many thoughts to share about possible solutions.

Two themes were heard over and over Wednesday. One is that gang violence is not just a law enforcement problem, but a community problem. The other is that local youth have to get involved in the solution.

Several members of the audience voiced strong opinions that there are not enough activities for the younger set in Napa, calling for mentor programs and a community center for kids.

“We are dealing with youth violence. Where is their voice at this table?” one woman asked. “We need to have the kids here to tell us what they need to solve the problem.”

Been here before

A gang task force is nothing new for Napa County. Ten years ago, when 18-year-old Michael Arreguin was gunned down by rival gang members on a quiet Napa street, the community became outraged. Residents came out to attend community meetings and a plan came together — involving youth groups, police and prosecutors — that helped calm the violence.

Ironically, the plan’s success was also its demise. Gang violence lessened, and then so did money for the programs that addressed the problem.

On Wednesday, Napa County Superintendent of Schools Barbara Nemko said, “We have been here before. We are still addressing gang issues and working on the problem, but we represent a small number. If we are going to be successful, we need to re-engage the community.”

Napa County Undersheriff Mike Loughran agreed.

After the gang violence calmed down some years ago, “we saw apathy from the community. When things are hot, everyone is outraged and wants something done, but go a while with no gang stabbings or shootings, for the public, the problem fades away. We can’t let that happen again. The plan has to be long lasting because gang violence is not going away.”

Former Napa Police Chief Dan Monez pointed out that when the first gang suppression plan was invoked, 12 programs were implemented to deal with the violence. “Out of the plan, we only have four left,” he said.

Pastor Morris Curry of American Canyon recommended that schools identify at-risk youth early on before they get caught up into a gang lifestyle.

“We could use programs like Neighborhood Watch, not just to watch your neighbor’s home, but to keep an eye on what else if going on in the neighborhood. And we need to provide more moral education to our your people,” Curry said.

Monica Mohn, director of marketing for the Boys and Girls Club of Napa Valley, touted her organization’s impact on young people.

“Out of our enrollment, 99 percent of those kids have never been in juvenile hall. We send out fliers about our programs. It costs us $1.64 a day. When a kid ends up in (probation or in trouble with the law) it costs ($500 plus) a day,” she said.

Napa Police Chief Rich Melton said there are 700 registered gang members in Napa County.

“That means we have 700 people who we have identified as having gang affiliations. We track them for five years, and if they have no new gang-related offenses, we take them off the list,” he said. “The fact we have 700 gang members doesn’t mean we have 700 gang members who are active at one time.”

Where do we go from here and where to find funding will be the topics at the next gang steering committee meeting, which is open to the public.

The meeting is set for 2:30 p.m., Nov. 5, at the Napa City-County Library in downtown Napa.

Correction: An earlier version of this article has an incorrect date listed for the upcoming public meeting.