 Great. Welcome to the September 22nd capital city council meeting of 2022 7 p.m. Well, we're a little bit past so we will start with Roll call Thank you vice mayor Kaiser. Thank you councilmember Bertrand Councilmember Brown Councilmember Brooks here and mayor story is absent vice mayor Kaiser here. Thank you So before we do the Pledge of Allegiance Mayor stories not able to be here. He's bringing his daughter to college at Washington State So congrats to the story family. We will start with the Pledge of Allegiance We would all join Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America And to the republic for which it stands one nation under God Indivisible with liberty and justice for all Okay And item two do we have any additions or deletions? Staff has no changes to the agenda this evening and we will move on to presentations today, I am By the behalf of mayor story. I am honoring director Steve Jesberg. He has Been our public works director for over two decades 21 years to be exact almost to the date Director Jesberg, he's the longest termed public works director And he's done an outstanding job leading the public works for as long as he has providing lots of safety good staffing equipment and Above all everyday communication He has completed numerous of significant projects here. They continue to serve our community The most reach of one the huge Library project, which is amazing and the jetty the flume McGregor park capitol bandstand and the list goes on and even just to every day to day issues within the village and Surrounding areas that I'm sure he was inundated with many times He was honored in 2017 by the Capitola's so-called Chamber of Commerce as the man of the year and On behalf of the city council our city staff and our entire community. I do hereby commend and thanks Steve Jesberg for over two decades of excellent and dedicated service to our city Thank you all for being here tonight have to have some notes I'll forget people threat, but for those of you at the last Retirement speech here happened on from the police department my goal tonight is to do better than sergeant slow The good goal to aim for you already there So this is very bittersweet decision for me In here as they said 21 years. It's been a wonderful adventure. I'm very happy for The time I spend here and it will certainly miss it. I'm also excited to see what the future holds I'd like to thank this council. You've been wonderful to work for You've been very supportive getting us through the library project was difficult the warf projects as they go forward So thank you. Thank you very much. I'd also like to thank all the other council members that aren't here anymore no longer on council and a shout-out to a certain former council comprised of Gay Ortiz Stephanie Harlan Tony Gualtieri Bruce Arthur and Dennis Norton who is mayor at that time Who in September 27th 2001 approved my first contract back in the days when the council had approved department head contract So they started the bull ball rolling and I appreciate their support Jamie thank you for all your support over the years and excellent weather forecasting To the other department heads Katie Sorry Jim Andy Nicky Chloe. Thank you. I appreciate working with you all We've gone through a lot together. We've got through cove it together Kind of through I think we've made it through outdoor dining together So thank you to all the city staff They're here or in the finance department police department It's been great working with you and I truly appreciate all that efforts to the public works crew I know there's a couple Matt who's here and Nathan's here if anybody else I missed. Sorry You guys are what public works is all about when the Council gets recognition and praise of public works. It's because of what you guys do to keep the city clean and safe So thank you both and thank the rest of the crew that aren't here for your ongoing efforts in keeping the city functioning as you well as you do and to the crew in the office with me Danny Ed and Kailash Thanks for keeping it fun guys. I really appreciate it together. We make a whole of team and we couldn't do it I couldn't do it without you guys. So thank you You've been doing pretty good here Next is the community. It's been an honor and a privilege to serve the community over 21 years lots of good projects gotten done a lot of support from the Residents and businesses always gone through it So it's been a great experience that I said and I think doing it without the community smart That's a big advantage working capital my first 14 years as with the County Seneca's Public Works Department Big bureaucracy don't get to meet people very little interaction with the public So coming here is great and getting to know the residents business owners and working with them on various issues It's been great finally to my wife Michelle 36 years of marriage. Thank you for all your support And I'm excited to see what our future has Thank you Steve Counsel does anybody want to say anything Jack? You know I told Steve I wasn't going to say anything and he said thank you So I Just want to add a little bit to what you said You've been here a long time and you think if You didn't work so well with people and you've been working within the County of Santa Cruz for a long time too I forgot how many years before you just mentioned I Bring up that I've worked with Steve and well I can't really say that honestly because I don't work in this department, but you know we interchange things ideas and such like that Always welcomes me into his office Doesn't kick me out. But anyway, that's great But the thing I'm trying to get to is everyone that seems to know you Has a great story about you you know These are people that haven't worked here and sit in Capitola, you know so you're well known around this County and I think that's a great thing. It says if he speaks a lot about you and I know you know that But I just saw it say it in public and We'll miss you definitely Thank you Steve man, how many projects have I brought your way in the last four years so many and You never have said no You take you've hesitated a little bit, but you most certainly have gotten the job done from our Coming on in 2018 with the funding for our wharf to paving our streets to those darn bollards You really really Have done such a tremendous job and thank you so much You make my job easier because I can pick up the phone and just say hey This is what I'm hearing from the community and you make it happen And I really truly appreciate all of your time here and I do wish you and your wife the best in your new journey So thank you so much Steve thank you so much for all of your years of service. I can't tell you how many times I've had questions well, I guess I I don't need to tell you because I came to you with my questions and then again later when I Forgot the answer and couldn't find my notes and you were always so kind in providing me with the information. I needed You've never hesitated to welcome us And I think I speak for all of us to welcome us Into your office either virtually or literally in the before times To to share your knowledge and help us better understand The complex details of the decisions that we were making and I can truly say that I would not have been able to make so many of The decisions that we've had to make as council members without having spoken with you first and getting your guidance and your knowledge and your feedback And I'm just so grateful for that And I know that all of the city is is grateful for having you in your leadership in all of these years and I'm really excited Hopefully to continue to hear about the great things that that you do and the great times that you and your wife are yet to build in the years that come Thanks. Yeah, Steve. I have been with you the least amount of time here out of everybody But I last night too. I know I said the same thing But there was no question that went unanswered anything you brought to Steve He either would figure out the answer or just knew it off the top of his head and I'm like, okay Wow, and it's just your I think it just breaks down into your communication skills, too You're always willing to respond and and give a lot of information about each and every project and not many people can Say that and so it's been a huge pleasure working with you and all the intricacies of the public works department and so happy for you Good luck. Yeah Does staff Have any comments? I just wanted to take a quick moment We do have an event plan, but I just want to say at this point how much of an honor It's been to be able to work with you Steve over the years the different things we've been through it sort of boggles the mind to think back to pandemics and floods and Libraries and so many different disasters, and we've always found a way through it together You taught me so much. It's been so great working with you Congratulations Do I go out to anybody else is there anybody in attendance that wants to say anything? Okay, great we are moving along we have item number two which is additional materials Yes, thank you vice mayor. Thanks. There were several received so there were there was one received regarding this presentation one for item 5b and then six additional materials for item 6b And those that were not distributed are on the dais and in the back of the room Great Okay, now we can open up the floor to oral communications for members of the public if they'd wish to speak on Anything that's not on tonight's agenda You are given a three-minute time cap if there's anybody that has Communications for this evening. Hi, welcome My name is Debbie Sheehan and I'm the president of the mid-county senior center I can't I'm coming to introduce myself, but you know, I'm in longtime well born and raised here a long time resident both my parents were born and raised here and so I have deep roots in this community I've lived and live out forever and Wanted to reach out to you and let you know that the mid-county senior center is looking to grow its membership And also I would like us to grow our involvement in the community So to that end we've reached out to the Red Cross. We now have Red Cross blood drives We've had three in fact our last newsletter had a picture of me with my arm there Giving my blood trying to encourage others to do so. So I brought a few business cards. They have the senior center phone number The email and it had the cell on there is my personal But if you call them, they'll just direct you to the president I'd be very happy to work with anyone or answer questions If you have anything that comes up after about how to grow our center grow our connection with the community grow our Participation with the community. Please do let me know that's a big goal that I have that I'd like to try to accomplish And I think I saw a question Chuck yeah, we had that question face. Yeah, I did have a question, please my wife keeps suggesting With a kick or two that I sign up for the dance Courses you have and I think she wants me to take her too, but I'm a lousy dancer So is it true you have great dance classes? I've been yes, we do and Silly me. I didn't bring a newsletter with me like I should have so You're welcome to look on our website and the website is on here So I'll be giving you a card. It's a new website and or to stop by anytime and pick up a newsletter But yes, we have dances every week every Friday We have dance classes a couple times a week Some of the time we have dance classes right before a dance and they take all levels of dancers So if you have six left feet, that's still okay Come on in and practice a little bit and then show your wife what you can do And I bet she'd love it if you took her to one of our dances and they're very much very casual We never have enough men so a lot of the dances and couples are women dancing together Lots of them are especially the country in the line dancing is just open anybody can dance with anyone, but we have waltzes. We have ballroom Country line dancing we also have live bands So all of that you can check on our website or come into our our newsletter or call me. That sounds fun. Okay. It is fun They have a very good time. So where would I put leave these? Thank you Debbie. Oh, thank you, and I hope well I hope to start attending your meetings and Working on a partnership. Great. I'll look forward to seeing you Any other members of the public? That's right Are there anybody on zoom any attendees or anybody with their hands raised Chloe? Oh, great Allow you to speak great. Thank you I apologize Okay I just want the council to know that the traffic on 41st at Clare's and 41st has been very bad With people stopping in the middle of the intersection While they're trying to go northbound on the 41st There haven't been any accidents, but there's quite a bit of frustration about what's going on there That's all okay. Thank you, Janet Are there any other zoom Hands, okay, great. All right. That will take us to item four we any staff comments We do we have a few comments for you this evening. The first one is is We just celebrated Steve's retirement and I'm here to announce that we have a new public works director who's been named for the city Jessica Khan she will be attending our next meeting and we'll be introducing you to her then and to the community Great. Thank you. And then I think we have a comment from Steve and from Nikki as well Good evening vice mayor council members. I am here to Talk about for the public as well as the council Our upcoming mayor for a day essay contest The essay submissions are currently open Anybody that wants to make a submission it can find that information on the city's website The deadline for that essay submission is on September 30th so we invite all elementary and middle school students to Write an essay That would tell the city if you were the mayor of Capitola, what would you do? The so the winners that are selected of both in the elementary division and the middle school division Will attend one of the upcoming council meetings in October? Thank you. Thank you. Oh Yeah Nikki I just have a question will they be allowed to sit up here on the dies Well, we we haven't had made that decision just yet. That's something that we can entertain But we would definitely be Presenting them with recognition for winning the essay contest. Okay. Well, they don't have to go through the whole meeting Maybe, okay The evening vice-president council as you're aware to this weekend the Capitola Beach Festival will be occurring a regular part of that festival Includes a lighted boat parade Unfortunately due to the heavy rains we had on Sunday We've had water quality issues in the lagoon requiring us to drain it to keep the fish healthy and We met today with I met today with the festival organizers And their decision has been made to cancel the lighted boat parade this year It is still going to have decorated floats. They are going to be placed on the beach Behind the seawall along the Esplanade So fans of the tent people who attend the Festival will be able to watch them being built on the beach there and then rather than the floats going by people walk By the floats and and we'll do it that way this year. It's kind of a freak occurrence but unfortunately, I'd like to thank the Committee they were very easy to work with and understood the problems with it and they came up with a great solution So great. Thank you for working that out All right. Any city council comments? Yeah, I have something that's came to my attention and I'd like to call on Kay Hurley to give some comments and the issue I I'm thinking about is what's going on an in shape Their pool has been closed for some time and a lot of the members Are not able to enjoy a normal swim And so I reached out to management and in shape and found out that in any given day 600 or more people use that pool and this is the main part of their You know exercise and part of their life They hang out around the pool and talk to all their neighbors and stuff like that So I did reach out to our staff and I'd like to know if you could give some comments about what's happening in terms of the permit That they've applied for and sort of give us an idea what they're trying to do yes, so in shape has gotten comments back on their permit and They've gotten comments from our building department and from county Environmental the comments are not large changes the contractor who's working on the project expects to have their amended plans in this by the end of this week So then we'll be reviewing those plans and hopefully they're now in compliance with building and once they are we'll be issuing a permit but They're so they're in the building permit stage and once they get the correct approval. It'll get a permit issue So Sounds like it's moving along. What do you think the time frame is? the only time frame I can That I have as an estimate right now is that they plan on submitting by the end of the week They did say that they're a really large firm that works on pool applications and So that they're hoping to have it in by the end of this week Okay, and after that our turnaround time usually for resubmittal is a few weeks, but we're also Dependent on county health, which I have no oversight. Okay. Well, sounds like it's moving along and I hope people here Could pass it on to people in the public and I hope those who are in the public Could sort of feel that we're doing our job and thank you very much, Katie Thank you. Any other council Yeah, I have a quick comment. Yeah, I just wanted to share through my role as the president of the Association of Monterey Bay Area governments. We recently received a letter from Senator Anna Caballero congratulating ambag for an award of about a million dollars It's a little more than a million dollars from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to be used for outreach and Identifying eligible uses that strengthen communities that were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and to better identify the location and Characteristics of these impacted households and target sub allocation projects to serve community community members So it's exciting news. This of course is funding that will go throughout the ambag jurisdiction, which is the three counties Santa Cruz Monterey and San Benito But of course being a part of Santa Cruz County, of course, we will see the benefits as well So I just wanted to share that Wow, congratulations Anything from Yvette? All right All right, so that'll take us to item number five for consent. Do any council members wish to pull an item? Seeing none They're all there's three items on the consent so they will be Moved in one motion together You don't need to actually that's covered with the public comment So Thank you, I appreciate it Anyone So we have a movement and a second maybe we have a roll call, please yes councilmember Bertrand I agree Councilmember Brown I councilmember Brooks I Mayor Kaiser hi. Thank you. Thank you Okay, moving on to item number six general government So we will go to item a Which was a appeal of 1410 Prospect Avenue design permit Let's see and the red recommended action is to uphold the planning commission's decision to approve the variance and To adopt a resolution with additional conditions of approval and findings that address the matter appealed Do we have a presentation? Yes, thank you, and good evening council members the item before you this evening is an appeal of a Zero-foot rear yard setback variance at 1410 Prospect Avenue on April 7th 2022 planning commission approved a design permit historic alteration permit variance and coastal development Permit for a new home at 1410 Prospect Avenue This slide show shows the approved site plan with property lines in red the area in yellow shows the footprint of the garage and the home and That area in blue shows the portion of the home that is located in the rear setback The applicant was granted a variance to allow a zero-foot setback on that rear line The backyard is adjacent to the RTC railway and The existing pathway as well, which is shown further south in brown On April 18th the 2022 the city received an appeal from the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission The RTC appealed the planning commission's decision granting a variance of four is zero foot rear setback and listed concerns including potential to interfere with the RTC's uses operations inspections and maintenance to constrain public access to increase erosion and to reduce stability of the bluff on August 18th 2022 the city's independent peer review of the owner's geo technical investigation was completed by Pacific Crest Engineering Pacific Crest engineering concluded that the original geo technical Investigation was adequate and that no additional study should be required on August 31st 2022 the applicant submitted revised plans, which relocated the proposed structure Three feet away from the rear property line, which is also away from the RTC property In a follow-up response the RTC submitted a letter of general satisfaction with the modified design and conditions of approval Those conditions of approval have been modified or added to address the RTC concerns This slide lists the conditions of approval, which were added or modified which are relevant to the appeal the full list of conditions are included in a draft Resolution as attachment nine found on page 158 of the packet and since the property owner has addressed the concerns of the RTC Staff recommends the city council adopt the additional conditions of approval as drafted and shown in the underline That address the issues raised in the appeal Includes the presentation. Thank you questions Yeah Lot of people probably don't know but I'm on the RTC Commission and I brought this issue up to RTC staff One of the issues that was of concern to me was the lack of communication There were some issues in terms of notifying RTC of the plans that were impending and in the development I did not investigate further. I just wanted to have this Be aware, you know from the RTC perspective So I was wondering can you comment on what I just brought up in terms of communication? And I don't know if you were involved in this particular program at the time so I'm just trying to get an idea of the communication issues Which was very important because RTC didn't have it was a last-minute thing from RTC standpoint And so I don't know how this occurred. So thank you very much. Yes. Thank you So we do we send out notices to all adjacent property all properties within 300 feet So a green one of our green postcards we went back and we checked it was sent to the RTC When you're a large organization and where those green cards may end up I'm not sure but we did go back and make sure that that did get sent to the RTC there was also communication on behalf of By the resident directly to the RTC as well as our staff so Prior to going to planning commission and then I will say the communication Since the appeal has been excellent the property owner is here this evening if you have any questions for them and their representative Derek Van Alstien and but they even today the RTC reached out thanking the thinking Sean and the neighbors For all the effort put forth with the you know to find resolution and work through that So we will make sure in future Circumstances when there is a development next to the RTC to reach out to their development crew We're all really good friends now after Working through this and we know who to contact so I think in the future we'll go beyond the green card and Just well the first time we did too so but we'll make we'll we'll open that line of communication and make sure it They they understand when things are going to planning commission Okay, yeah I did spend a lot of time with the director of the RTC and the staff person that has this particular project and I think he was a little surprised, but it was COVID So I don't know where the mix-up was but I'm glad to see that it was worked out And I also do know you gave me a lot of attention on this issue as well. We talked about it. So I'm glad it was resolved and I do have questions of the owners if I may How do you feel about the resolution? Because you know I walk past your property all the time I take the little path and you know when I first saw the initial plans and how you you know It just seemed perfect, but this resolution seems pretty good. What's your feeling you and your wife? Yeah, this is my wife Amy and along with our architect Derek Van Alstine. I'm Alex Johnson and like for us number one. It's been quite a journey to get here We've been in the house like about three years right now lucky to have it through COVID But it's been a little Delapidated it's old it needs to be updated. So we're really excited in full support of the resolution I think we've worked really hard and I just like to commend the staff of you know all the hard work They did to get us here has been super great And you know like you said maybe the the beginning side when I opened up Conversations with the RTC. It was a little disconnected, but I think the loop closed and we're in a good place now So thank you. Okay. Thanks. It's good to hear. Thanks for the resolution from staff And well no one's here from RTC, but I know they probably worked very hard with you, too Thank you We also do have someone from the RTC. Oh, I didn't sit on zoom I just want to say a few words Thank you Commissioner Bertram for bringing this to our attention. We are a small staff and but we carry a very large load I say that we're lean and mean and sometimes things like this all through the crack I just say thank you Commissioner Bertram also wanted to say thank you to the City of Capitola planning staff They've been seller and this is the second really positive experience I've had with them in the last month and I just want to let you guys know that yourself works really hard and We've stood off to a really nice partnership and I Don't think this is gonna happen again. Thank you Appreciate it. Any other questions? Any public comment on item? 6a All right, and then any other City Council comments on the I'll go ahead and move items 6a with staff recommendation to uphold the planning Commission decision to Approve the variance and adopt a resolution with additional conditions of approval and findings that address the matter appealed Second great. We have a motion and a second me. We have a roll call, please. Yes. Thank you Councilmember Brown I Councilmember Brooks I Councilmember Bertrand I agree vice mayor Kaiser. I thank you Okay, and down to item 6b Consider the petition to create a dogs off leash area at Monterey Avenue Park The recommended action here is to take no action So basically maintaining the existing rules requiring the dogs to remain on leash at Monterey Park Due to the existing uses Do we have a Okay, thanks to you Yes, I Live too close to the sorry the project being discussed so I'm gonna recuse myself and then come back later Thank you. We'll see you in a little bit. I have to share Really making Steve do a lot of presentations that is on the last day Sorry council I There we go Good it's up there. Good evening vice mayor council As the agenda said we are here tonight considering a petition to allow some off leash dog activity in Monterey Avenue Park Quick background on the petition the council received the petition for off leash dog Petitions asking for a trial period of 90 days The off leash period would be between 5 30 and 6 30 each evening All dog owners would pay attend must pay attention to their dog to ensure that does not bother Any persons that maybe at the park at that time all dog owners must commit to cleaning up after their dogs and dogs will Not be allowed to interfere with ongoing activities in the park for example baseball, etc The petition also included this if requested we could set up a temporary expandable fence at the back of the park to Separate our dog from a larger group using the field So here's a overhead of Monterey Park Monterey Avenue is up here on the left hand corner. Obviously. Here's the parking lot baseball not really a diamond baseball circle We're softball and little league practices occurs in softball games So anyway, the blue X here represents, you know, the general area That the petitioners are asking to be able to occupy is a lot off off leash area Just our existing codes 6.14-200 talks about dogs in public spaces of highlighted kind of the pertinent Issues here that dogs are permitted on leash in the following parks and that includes Monterey Avenue Park If you read back into the code a little further It says dogs are not permitted anywhere on city property except for these exceptions here, which include Monterey Park on leash Existing off leash dog areas the city only has one permitted area that is at McGregor Park Which is you know on McGregor Drive, it's about a mile away from Monterey Park Existing park uses New Bright Middle School Uses it during the school sessions Obviously from Monday through Friday for 8 p.m. To 4 p.m. During the day when classes there they use it for pe I don't write on a daily basis and they also use it for their athletics after school I believe they play soccer there and softball They may run track there, too After the school is done using at 4 o'clock youth and softball youth and soccer leagues rent the field through our recreation department Obviously it depends on what seasons going on at that time who's running it There was quite a lag during COVID obviously because nobody was playing those but they do rent the fields During the seasons from 4 p.m. To 8 p.m. There's no scheduled uses on Sundays at the park So our recommendation It's just given there's so much use there areas are tight Unless we can create a well-defined Fenced area that it's really going to be problematic to create allow a Permitted off the leash area So that's our recommendation would be to take no action and maintain the existing Rules at the park But we do have options if the council wants to consider them These were contained in the agenda report If the council wants to increase the number of off-leash dog areas in the city staff would suggest establishing this as a future goal During this budget setting and goal setting sessions and come up in May If the council wants to proceed with proposed dog leash off dog leash area off leash dog area at Monterey Avenue Park Staff would recommend that we prepare a resolution and bring it back to council that would suspend Municipal code six point one four point two hundred Designate an area where the where off leash dogs are permitted and Establish some rules and guidelines that would be posted there on a sign So that is the extent of my report and I'd be happy to answer any questions If we're suspending the entire municipal code would that suspend the requirement to keep dogs off on Leash in all of the other areas they're currently listed in that code is no That's why we want to do by resolution so we can specifically identify which portions of the meaning code we're suspending Has have the folks who have petitions Come forward with any other ideas or suggestions that could be talked about Should we Establish us as a goal of councils They haven't presented anything to me, but I do believe they're in the attendance tonight, so okay I don't know if this is a question for you or those petitioning, but was there discussion of Like who would be responsible for the fence? Would that be on us or would that be a public that's one thing that needs to get developed? I mean putting up a Signature what I think would be a quite lengthy expandable fence would take quite a bit of time and to think that That's gonna be able to be put up and taken down every every night seems difficult at best So I think that's something the the petitioners could answer better, okay From the petitioners would like to speak maybe answer Yvette's question as far as Okay, we'll move straight into public comment Thank You city council. My name is David Montgomery I'm the original author of the petition and I just like to make a couple comments as far as The impact on the community goes it's been wonderful. I think I've been written correspondents told about how a very Unanticipated but tightly knit neighborhood group has developed because all of us just gather with our dogs there Regarding the area in particular. I think there is an there is an adoption by the city of Cupertino in Stelling Avenue their park. They have a dog off leash area and I forwarded the City code and how they modified it to effectively have a one in their in their instance a two-hour period per day An hour before sunset an hour after sunset year-round in a specific quadrant of Stelling Park Where dogs are permitted off leash and it's it's tightly monitored and I discovered this petition after I I discovered this excuse me this situation after I petitioned the original city council So it is achievable particularly even in a high-density community like Cupertino As dog owners go we're very responsible We're constantly watching our dogs to ensure that if there are any activities in the park that our dogs don't interfere. I think Mr. Jesberg showed the the portion of the park is the furthest away from the baseball diamond and the Kid soccer fields etc. So I would the the temporary fence was a suggestion in my original petition That if it was required it would be a temporary fencing You know that the the expandable kind you just drag out and stake in and stake out if if that was An issue Obviously, it's a reasonably decent sized area, but we'd be willing to to explore how we could do that Personal preference would be to adopt the Cupertino model Which simply says all dog owners no exception are responsible for their dogs cleaning up after them If the safety of everyone in the park, so I'd very much like the city council to to approve this to move forward with it and If the trial is successful, we could then modify it per the existing one over the hill. Thank you Thank you that time or start on its own Hi, my name is Hagen Kamalani I've been a resident of Santa Cruz County for probably over 20 years and it's capital city For the last let's say 10 I think the easy thing to do is to show you like really cute pictures of our dog and say they're really nice good dogs and This would ever show up on the zoom, but I do you can give you the packet they really love playing with each other and I think it's different than just You know just going on a walk It's very different right and I could do this But I'm not going to because they're very cute dogs and whatnot what I really want to talk about is the sense of community And this is my son with not much not not are not our dog But a different dog and the socialization that happens for the pet for the kids as well as for the dogs is super healthy As you see You know, we're illegal here, but I've gotten permission from all the owners in the picture They've been willing to get photographed as well as our dogs, but it's a very other Owners are conscientious and What I want to say is it's easy. It's be really easy to say no There's a lot of reasons to say no there's liability that dogs get get down and control whatever whatever whatever I think But let's not do that I've really implore you guys to let's stretch our brains and try to make this work and The reason why is this I feel like if anything the pandemic shown us it's that we need community, right? We need each other and we need the socialization. I've met people through this group. I originally met this group I didn't know this group existed I had vertical for the last six months and so my only like social outlet was to go take my dog out And I met this nice group of people and everybody has their own reason for it But that social isolation. I think we've also seen that covid it's hurtful It's hurtful to everybody and it's brought people together that would otherwise not come together You know we from different walks of work. There's physicians. There's nurses. There's teachers. There's educators. There's you know construction workers There's kids of all ages. There's all my kid. There's retirees. So This is a really nice Like social gathering. I think it's it's a medium for it. I think we need it The other thing that I would challenge people to do is is Force us to work together and let's all work together. I think today's society. There's so much polarization in our world Where the lack of the civility has been gone But you only get to practice that and learn that when you're in situations where you have to hey your dogs Can you know, can you take care of your dog? It's getting a little aggressive or whatnot Let's let's get people talking and meeting I have met more neighbors through this in my little community Then I would care to mean I have my you know school more friends I have kids that go to new brighton main street have gone through the school system But this is a different group of people and I and I Will leave you with this because I only have seconds seven seconds I'm going to leave you with this pictures of this. This is actually my daughter And this is another friend of hers that she met one of our dog park people actually this gal was um Visiting from ukraine her family got isolated and she had had this They had them paint together And she'd said hey, can your daughter come because they had met through the dog group And I leave you with these pictures of these birds That they painted together then this group would have this would have never happened otherwise And we're now bringing her meals because she's getting a knee replacement So there's just things that just wouldn't happen otherwise Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you. I hope that we can figure out a way to do this Even if it's a trial period. That's all we ask Thank you Hi, welcome. Hi This is my first city council meeting I feel very responsible as a citizen right now Let me know. Am I okay to start speaking? Go please. Okay. Um, my name is Jane Stewart I've been a resident of capitol for about six years now santa cruz county for probably 10 I'm a renter. I live up on deep hill Um, I became a dog mom about four months ago for the first time and my life changed And I realized from walking him around my neighborhood that I was Meeting my neighbors for the first time because I had this Thing that was breaking the ice and suddenly I had more community around me And when I met the folks over at monterey avenue park I I didn't know it at the time, but I was making a whole new group of friends with my neighbors and It's an it's incredible how important they've become in my day-to-day life um in just a short time so The psychological effects of being outside in the sun Taking care of your pet are enormous the developmental effects for dogs The effect that it has on their demeanor and Their growth is enormous. I know that We have the one place in capitol that is technically the dog park But it's next to a skate park in a highway And if you if you guys are dog owners, I'm sure you understand It's loud and they're so stressed out being there that they can't play And so this park has become an alternative And I've only witnessed responsible parenting of dogs in this location And so I just think one hour a day if we can have that one hour a day see how it goes Would go a long way to establish this community and being able to grow what we've already started in terms of community I think it's going to reverberate out into The community at large So thank you me. Thank you Good evening. Good evening. I'm dan steingrub. I've lived and my wife lisa have lived across the street on monterey avenue park for since its inception and what What I like I understand it's a very busy park and I get that but what we we also walk our dog over there And I'm a little upset. I didn't see a picture of my dog No, um My point is that um I watch very closely what goes on over there and if there's a lot of soccer a lot of activity Um, we don't take our dogs over there. We wait until it's quiet most of the time We go over there the park is empty just before dark And that's the point I'd like to bring up And it's a great Socialization for The parents of these dogs and the dogs. It's just fun. And if we could just give this a temporary shot Um, I think you'll find it. We can make this work. Thank you Thank you. Hi there. I'm ginger. I am I've been in santa cruz about 15 years and capitol about six. We own a house just a couple blocks She knows these guys Yeah, um, elsie is my service dog Who I adore um But she is a working dog And I just felt like I had to come and represent the working dog in our in our community That not all dogs are just sitting at home playing around all day We have some working dogs in in capitola. I work at dominican and pamph And so she works with me because she's trying to get my medicine in my back if I need it But it is amazing how much she gives my patients the dog seed hosin I call it the doses of dog seed hosin the patients get and I I've been going to that park for about Five years now since she was a puppy and The community is amazing what I've seen there is Elderly people that don't even have dogs come out around that time so they can be around a dog and around community And they're all friendly and they they you know, I have been a wonderful part of our life, especially through coven um, I actually sometimes go to Palo Alto and uh, Cupertino areas because of my work We'll I'll get sent over there and I'll sometimes take her to parks there And that was one of the first times I've seen there. So not just Cupertino other places have some of these parks That's an hour before Or I guess in the morning and an hour At dusk that there's off leash And so it is working in other communities and what I've seen is the same thing these these amazing Groups of people that have come together that would never have come together and never shared the community resources that we have But mainly I wasn't even going to come up here But I just feel like I have to represent that even working dogs need some time to play So I hope that you decide to give this a try Thank you. Thank you Hello My name is Samir Daoud. I live on Magellan street. I've been there 25 years And uh, this year I got my first dog and um, I take her for A run or I ride the bike, but she's running And we go around the block a few times then we head to the park And uh, I would do this every other day and then I met this group of people and I'm like Oh, is this a dog training? What are you guys doing? Can I let my dog off the leash? And they were like, oh, well does your dog behave? I said, I don't know. She's a puppy So we tested it and she stayed with the group of dogs as opposed to the soccer players or the baseball players Which um, that was my fear like she was going to go check them out. So they all just romped together and um, it's been about two weeks and I I keep going back and it's always the same group Different people sometimes But these dogs have so much fun And they're playing in their own little community Just romping around and they really don't show any interest to the soccer players or anything because they have each other And I'm starting to Learn my neighbors and my extended neighbors blocks out. I'm like, oh we have a lot in common. So, uh It's really exciting for me and I hope it continues Thanks. Thank you Any other members in the audience? I do think we have someone on zoom with their hand raised I look at myself. Hello Um, my name is Jill Landis and I've lived in capitol for 32 years I have lived I hope you can hear me. Okay. I'm having a lot of trouble hearing the people From at my end Okay, uh I met this group of people with my current dog who's who's a little pug She goes on regular walks every day. She goes on bike rides every day. She goes to dog plants But the highlight of her day and my day is meeting at Monterey park And I do appreciate that we do have a dog park here in capitol. I've been to that dog park and for some reason The dog park, I don't know if it's the bark chips or the location or the people that just put their dogs in and ignore them But my dog just stands there and she doesn't interact with the other dogs and She tends to go toward the gate like she wants to leave So, um, I do live near Monterey park and I've been there with this group of people And I have to say that the dog acts together like a family and it's interesting when a new dog comes in Uh, they seem they they they go check it out. They evaluate it and it usually works I also want to say that my dog has been attacked three times by the same dog who no longer Um, I don't see that dog around anymore in in two different locations Um, and so she is she has become fearful because of that I've spent a lot of money on training for that But when she's with the group at Monterey park, she is not like that. She is She it's just an amazing transformation what it's done for her And if we miss the park for a week like we did last week when I was out of town I noticed that she seems to need that but anyway, we're asking for a trial period We're asking for one hour. We're not asking to take over the park And I just want to say that the dogs really seem to Um, their behavior is markedly better at Monterey park than at any of the dog parks I've been to Thank you Thank you Any other zoom hands Council comments? Sure. Yeah, I can start. Um, I appreciate your honesty and coming out here telling us what you all have been up to In the park and showing your guilty pictures I too became a dog owner Recently and I think your Your fellow council members here were all dog owners and we most certainly I can't speak for them I most certainly know what it's like to socialize a puppy and learning about all that Okay, so we hear you I hear you I um And I think that we need to do this and we need to do it right. We need to come up with a process um, my question to staff is you've suggested to have council Um, identify this as a goal, but when I can't remember when that would be So our goal setting session usually comes up in February. So a couple months. Okay, that sounds like a long time from now for for our community um, and I'm feeling as if if These folks here would be interested maybe in being participating and coming up with a real program I don't know that this one hour A Day is actually sufficient enough. I think that there's Working family. There's a lot of different time frames that we could actually create something pretty cool As an opportunity for for other dog owners dog residents Um, and I also think we need to create a space that's safe for our dogs. Um I don't know if it's the park if it is the park. I would like I we received a memo from our uh school superintendent about safety concerns and and um the students playing out there And so I'd like to get there you know blessing on some sort of Thing we can create there at the park. I like that space. I think that space makes sense. It's highly utilized um But I really love the message from whoever said we must work together on this because this is I hear you loud and clear and I'd really like to see something move forward So I'm suggesting an ad hoc committee of of a council member and and the community I know you are very busy all of you But if you could participate in some sort of working This out and we can explore if fencing. I don't know. What's the name of hidden park? What's the real name? Cortez If that I know some community members Might disagree with that to space. I just want to look at all of the options way too small way too small Jill said So But I I'd love to brainstorm on this I I live really close by I'd like to walk my dog summer and and See if he can socialize equally and see if he behaves Um, but I want to do this right So I'm suggesting an ad hoc to this evening and see if we can come up with a resolution or solution an idea that we can most certainly Create prior to our February goal setting. This is something we can do now. I think so Great. Yeah, I'm I'm supportive of that. I have a couple other uh comments First I I think I I want to address the comments that were made about the bark and the other dog park Is there anything we can do about that? Can we replace it? Is there have we looked at alternatives just so that the other dog park is more Not called the other dog park The migrager dog park, uh, is there a possibility for changing That that wood chips out to something else or have we considered that at all? so It was actually put in at the request of dog users back several years ago because of the because of issues with the The ground there being very muddy and stuff. Um, I'd be happy to to look around and see I think chips are what a lot of dog parks have It's hard to you know getting vegetation to grow and stuff like that But I'd be happy to say you were gonna look around we can't look around a little bit in your next three days I got like eight days. I think it was eight days. Yeah eight days. All right. You got a new task in the next eight days Well, I'll task somebody to do He still has power. Um Okay, yeah, I was just curious because it's come up in a couple of the comments and it came up in some emails And so I was just curious if that was something that that we had any control or consideration over so I appreciate that um Yeah, I I agree that I am also a dog owner and um my dog Cannot go on leash unfortunately because he's deaf and there's no way to recall him But I would certainly like the opportunity for him to be able to socialize with other dogs in in ways Um that he doesn't have now and of course in something like a dog park where there's an enclosed space I could potentially let him off a leash because there's no chance that he's going to go running into the street or or whatnot I like the idea of an ad hoc committee because I do think it would be Exciting to have an additional opportunity for dogs off leash in our in our community As council member brooks said I I also have you know some concerns about the Monterey park area as we're laid out by the superintendent I've I've taken the concerns of the school district in mind with other issues Pertaining to that park and I I feel the need to do the same now But again, I feel like to echo what what council member brooks has already said that working together I think we can come up with an option that really works for everybody Um if not in that park then somewhere in the city So I'm I'm supportive of that and so I guess my question council member brooks So is you are is you are you recommending that we move forward with staff recommendation for tonight in addition to creating a ad hoc committee or are you suggesting we continue this or what what's your yeah, I think um, I'm gonna ask council I know samantha's on the line. I might have missed. I'm thinking about ad hoc and the requirements Um, I think I actually samantha are you on the line? Oh, there you are It's like the wizard of us Can you remind I can't thank you Yeah, the rules about ad hoc committees are confusing and frankly not very intuitive if you ask me An ad hoc committee can only be comprised of less than a form of the council And so the only people who can be on an ad hoc committee are council members It cannot include members of the community Um, which does not quite get at the goal that I hear the council expressing which is to work with the community On the issue and so I think you have a couple options one is You could have staff work with the community On coming up with some options and returning to council with those options um, that's probably the easiest frankly and and If staff were having a meeting with the community about this issue They could certainly let council know and if less than a form of council wanted to attend that meeting council You certainly could it would not be an organized ad hoc committee Another option is that if you wanted to form a committee with council members and community members It would need to be a standing committee subject to the brown act Which it is That would be some work Um, and I I don't know that that's quite where you're going I I uh, so I think those are options if you have questions about those I may be able to help you get where you want to go To be jamie. Yeah, I might have a third option, which I think we could do this the first option that Samantha outlined which is staff can work with the community We can take a look and brainstorm some options get feedback from the school district And if one of the council members just wanted to volunteer to participate Uh, we'd be happy to invite them and they could participate along with the residents in that effort It could be two right right less than a quorum sure if you yeah Yeah, if you wanted to have two council members volunteered that works as well But it just you wouldn't be forming a committee. Okay That would work Hey Was it yeah, so and and I I understand that the community members have been working with staff and and that these that you've Done a little you know that this process has begun, but I really like to see something Come out of it and a recommendation come to council that Um, that's a little bit different than the the current suggestion on the on the table tonight so, um, I'll go ahead and make a motion to Um, well, I don't need to make an emotion because we're not going to change anything on the ordinance So I'd like to request that staff work with our community in reviewing and some ideas And I'd like to volunteer myself and my cute puppy To be part of that conversation Do you want to be a part as well? Oh, if you'd rather you want to rock paper scissors Okay, all right. I'll volunteer to participate as well Okay, if I if I could suggest if I could suggest that what So it does not appear that you're forming an ad hoc committee and violation of brown act I would suggest that perhaps when staff Organizes the committee that staff can send out an email To the council members who are able to participate Understand that one has a conflict and perhaps just the first two who respond Can participate in the meeting Okay, so we would still keep it at two So, yeah, we'll we'll wait for that email from staff to see if there's any council members who would like to participate Okay, thank you to the community members for coming out tonight. Do we need to vote on creating that? No. Oh, no. It's just a recommendation to staff. Okay. Okay, cool Great Yes So what we'll do is we'll reach out to I believe it's davin Um, and I will rely on you then to help us get in touch with the larger group I just wanted to say one thing too In the events that Covid brought upon us and all the negativity and all the bad things that came out of it I appreciate you finding a silver lining I think they were few and far between but we need to highlight them and I think being a part of this community is Is just that you know and it and thank you guys for starting this. I I appreciate where you're coming from I agree with some of the McGregor park issues as well. My dog would Lose it with the skateboarding. So that's not even an option um But yeah, I want this to be done right I want it to be a nice concrete program because I think there's so many ways We could take it and it could work out really well And it would just make the community even larger too as far as for our puppies and for everybody else involved So, um, yes as one dog owner to all the rest. I completely am in support But um, yeah, I want to get this streamlined so we can Dot all our eyes and cross all our Ts and make it safe and happy for everybody. So thank you for coming forward Yeah, have a great night. Thank you So no action has to be taken Okay So we're good. We need to call Jacques back in. Oh, yeah. Well, someone let Jacques in Unleash him Let him back in. I guess We'll get council member Bertrand back in Hey, this isn't the dog park Is are they okay that was weird welcome back You guys are still live we're here They're here. They're here. Okay. Okay. Don't blud on the floor. I have a good idea. That will um, now that we're all back in action We are moving on to item 6c the lifeguard tower budget amendment Our recommended action tonight is to approve a resolution to amend increasing the budgeted amount of 45 thousand dollars To 62 thousand dollars. It's an increase of 17 000 for the purchase of a new lifeguard tower And it looks like niki's gonna present for us Yes, good evening again vice mayor and council members. Uh, the item here before you is a lifeguard tower budget amendment um progress So just to give a little bit of background, um for the past 10 years the city has contracted with the city of santa cruz fire department Who has provided tower services? On our beach during the summer independent of any of our own activities on on the beach that its contract our most recent contract was a two-year contract and it has Came to an end in for 2022 or this past summer Before the summer The city of santa cruz had requested Some adjustments to our contract increasing the cost of that original contract or agreement Due to other staffing logistics that were we all experienced as a result of the pandemic But also logistical challenges that have been increasingly complicated for the city of santa cruz providing services on our beach um, so in and in in order to ensure that the city had a solid plan um council It was brought before council and ultimately approved in the budget To develop a city operated Lifeguard program which we are currently in the process of doing recreation has added An additional staff member in order to progress that program Now a lifeguard tower is a Critical tool for lifeguards. Um, that it ultimately enables their function for their job Um, the city owns two fiberglass lifeguard towers uh tower one, which is currently located Closest to the bandstand area That tower was acquired in 2019 from the city of santa cruz and that tower is estimated to be about 20 years old um tower two Which is currently located closest to the wharf Um was acquired in 2008 from california state parks and that tower is estimated to be about 35 years old um marine safety agencies usually retain towers For about 20 years and then plan for their retirement after that time frame um in anticipation of the need to Purchase new towers the city in 2019 purchased two Ramps that would connect to the surveyor senior tower model Which is the current model for the tower located for tower one Which is the one that we acquired from santa cruz in 2019 That purchase was uh or in order to spread some costs out of Replacing these tires over a couple of years um, so tower two is currently in extremely poor condition um The that and that condition has really degraded past the point of manager Manageable repair as well as ultimately the design Of that tower is outdated and um create some additional safety issues that modern towers no longer have um, so over the years staff has attempted to identify a resource for getting Towers donated or To purchase for a lower cost as of the used tower um, this is something that is Rare to come by as marine safety agencies Rarely send out those towers for auction due to liability concerns. Whereas their preferences to actually Um destroy the tower since it is at the end of its life um The tower that we acquired from the city of santa cruz was kind of a unique situation That was ultimately facilitated due to our shared service agreement Because it would be their lifeguards that were Working the tower that they had donated or to us um So the budget the this 22 23 budget Did include 45 000 dollars to purchase a new tower and plan for the retirement of tower two The Currently in california as well as internationally industrial design research Inc is um Kind of the sole source provider for lifeguard towers. It is Most marine safety agencies in california Use this particular vendor and they also provide To coasts in australia all over And reaching out to begin the purchase for the tower unfortunately due to scarcity of materials as well as um inflation the overall cost for the tower increased By 17 000 dollars that increase includes the additional costs for the tower as well as the shipping of the tower from southern california So if approved Staff will increase the budget by 17 000 dollars from the equipment internal service fund And that would bring the total budget for this tower purchase to 62 000 dollars So My recommended action is to approve a resolution to amend the budget increasing the amount of 45 000 dollars to 62 000 dollars An increase of 17 000 dollars for the purchase of a new lifeguard tower and with that i am available for questions Thanks mickey council questions Are these towers still you know have they improved over time will the Estimated lifetime increase now that they may have had a chance to improve them So in my conversations with the owner of the company, he definitely has assured That we can reasonably expect a 20-year lifespan He does Comment that it'll go beyond that But he definitely guarantees that per retirement policies we can expect that life So it's a degradation due to the use on the beach or how we store it or what is it described to? Um, I mostly it's just the environment so that you know, uh the coastal Air is degrades. Um those kind of materials over time There's lots of corrosion on towers over time They are fiberglass and and fiberglass that are coated And so Sometimes that gets exposed and over the past over the years public works has taken the time to Sand and repaint our current towers in order to make sure that those that fiberglass is not exposed for the staff that are working That tower so they do require regular Maintenance and checks before they're brought out on the beach Um, but you know, it's just a very common experience for any tower on the coast to be degraded over time Thank you any Public comments anything on zoom? Actually, yes, it looks like jill great Jill go ahead Uh, yes, hi jill land this again, um I have to say i'm rather shocked by the cost especially when it got up to 62 thousand dollars I've had some major remodeling done on my house in the last Nine months and it makes me really appreciate my contractor Um, I'm just curious do other entities Is there any option of like? building something that will Or it does the tower have to be moved at the end of the season is it it just seems like A 20 year lifespan for something That cost that much seems A little out of scale to me, please respond yeah, um, so Before we had acquired the towers From california state parks the city actually did have Wooden towers that were constructed on our beach and maintained Um by public works um, I believe that year that they were retired was 2002 and um at that time the city ultimately decided that to go with a um A constructed tower was really a better plan than to consider continue to have wooden towers that provide additional safety Concerns and then have the city continue to maintain that is significantly more work than um having a fiberglass tower That is stored in the courtyard and moved out for its seasonal use I will also note that this current tower that we're retiring is probably about 35 years old And this current design we would presume is going to be at a higher quality So I think the 20 year lifetime estimate is at a low end We've certainly been able to get more life out of our towers in the past Great. Thank you Any other online? Okay Any other comments by council the motion i'll make a motion I'll make a motion to approve the resolution to amend the budget increasing the budgeted amount From 45 to 62,000 uh for the purchase of the new lifeguard tower We have a motion and a second we can roll call please Councilmember brown I councilmember brooks. Hi councilmember britchand. Hi proof And vice mayor keiser. Hi. Thank you. Thank you Passes unanimously that will take us on to item number seven, which is Before you get there Vice mayor council Yes, I just received a text from the bia And I wanted to share it with you before we left tonight that the test slides for the new christmas lights were installed today Great and are available for reviewing in front of 201 and 207 capitol avenue Take a look at them and let's go. Yeah, thank you. Awesome. Thank you steve Okay Adjournment item seven. Thank you everybody. I appreciate your patience with me as I was stepping in today for Mayor's story and thank you all for attending. It means a lot Have a wonderful evening