 Good morning everybody like to call to order the October 16th meeting of the Board of Supervisors. We could begin with a roll call, please Supervisor Leopold here Coonetry here cap it here McPherson and Chair friend Here in this morning We are going to start with a moment of silence and a pledge of allegiance and we would like to honor Judge and former County Supervisor Jeff Almsquist with our moment of silence and Supervisor Bruce McPherson If you wouldn't mind saying a few words. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair Judge Jeff Almsquist Was a very very special person a very admired and respected attorney County Supervisor and most of all a judge He died unexpectedly at the age of 70 with his His wife and his children in Lyon, France on you probably have read about it. I'm sure He was Just a special special person for this community and he did so much for us Not only in his private practice before he became a County Supervisor from 1996 to 2002 And we had a celebration with the Felton library groundbreaking just a couple weeks ago and That wouldn't been possible if uh, Jeff Almsquist wouldn't have stepped up years ago and said hey When there was discussions about cutting that out of the system Jeff Almsquist says no it's Stan and it did so We have him to thank for that and so many other things but most of all his His expertise his knowledge of the budget and of the law and how he handled himself in court He was appointed as a judge in the early 2000s. He was at the Watsonville branch for eight years And that was the time when there was a budget crisis and there was a consolidation in the courts and that had to be done And he was the one that stepped up and knew about the budgeting process and whether things could fit and do the best For those who need that service in our county He loved family and juvenile cases He understand what as one of his colleagues said and family that he hit family law He knew it inside it out. He understood the value of bringing people together And he liked it because as he said I can make a difference here in changing and making improving the future for people in that that court setting he Just never gave up and he and his wife Julie good friends of so many of us They were there where they wanted to be he was going to retire in january And they were in Lyon france on a road scholars tour And it just had so suddenly but I can tell you from emails that I've received and I'm sure some of you have too that she has as strong as can be And he is Going to be coming back here today. I believe and I think the services are going to be in early november Probably november 3rd. I'm not sure exactly time and place But I think it might be well, I don't know yet. So I just wanted to say You know, there's a lot of special people in our community through the years But the way he handled himself Was with such dignity and caring and caring all the time Um, I'd just like to have us remember him Thank you. This is vise. McPherson. Please join us in a moment of silence and the pledge of allegiance I pledge allegiance to the pride of the united states of america And to the republic for which it stands One nation under god indivisible Morning mr. Plasio. So are there any changes to today's agenda? Chair friend, there are no corrections or additions to the agenda today. Thank you We'll now begin with public comment This is an opportunity for members of the community to address us on items that are not on today's agenda Or within the purview of the board of supervisors as well as any comments You'd like to make on the consent agenda or if you're unable to stay for the regular agenda any items You'd like to speak to on the regular agenda. You'll have three minutes. Please feel free to step forward right now Good morning. Anybody like to address us Good morning morning chairman supervisors The colorado government governor. I mentioned about regional authority. I attended an ambag meeting this last month He says this regional authority constitutes the most violent attack on the american constitutional way of life That has ever been made and as it will grow if unchecked will develop into the bitterest issue Which the american people have encountered since slavery When I attended this stealth shadow government In corlitos There were only four copies of the agenda. I noticed out in front here. We've got a stack. There must be 30 copies of the agenda Now ambag mind you the people Ambag is three counties in some 16 or 17 cities yet They expected only four people from the public to show up community tv isn't there We've asked mr. Caput and other people that have attended these to demand community tv They make decisions. In fact, they they lobbied the state legislature the people up here that we represented Weren't there to okay that lobbying of the state legislature and the people here Were not apprised at all that you were lobbying the state legislature on their behalf This is a illegal awful fraud that you're perpetrating on the people The censorship comes from leon panetta and his gang Nothing happens in the tri county area without the panetta machine and packard. We find zack friend. We find uh Mr. Coonerty and we also see that mr. Coonerty was sent bias marx's father to the london school of economics Here from the was put together by patrice and sydney webb. They founded the fabian society regional government There's their pamphlet on it. They imposed it in 1942 The very emblem of the fabian society is the wolf in sheep's clothing. They believe in deceit That's what they're putting over on the people here with their regionalism In addition the censorship of freedom forum that's that actually has a candidate's night this coming wednesday Mr. Zach friend and mr. Leopold made Threats on the grange to kind of cancel a speaker From them this censorship comes from the panetta machine Jerry vorhees a progressive during 1942 when this regional stuff came out Had attacked the cartelization of europey wrote a book beyond victory meaning that their intent was to create these soviets worldwide And then connect them into a world government. That's exactly what ambag is and people like bruce mcpherson know it And you know that ceso roads by the way had a secret will Together with wroth child. They formed the round tables. They formed the council on foreign relations and trilateral commission Which run this country? The the setup of foundations in this community is running the non-profits. These people don't represent you They represent the very rich hiding their tax their money and foundations. Thank you Good morning. Good morning. I just want to remind members of the public real quick before I pivot into my public Comic what it is to be good a good flag waving americans because we are good people Santa Cruz county is really good people here So I want to be able to wave that flag because there's a lot of anti-americans that are just Festering but I want to be able to see this. I was able to peruse the consent calendar And I want to be able to share with members of the public according to The brown act and members of public can go on Santa Cruz county grand jury and google Soquel unify elementary school district and the brown act This shows you what public meetings are supposed to be about and when it comes to the consent calendar This is the only county In the out of the 58 counties that don't allow members of the public to participate in the consent agenda We can't pull things out out of that when you watch go online and you watch capitol Watsonville in scott's valley in the rest of them Right that do you do public meetings? They allow members of the public to pull They don't have to grovel and they don't have to sit here in in bay chairman friend Members of the public divert their income and their laborers to support your leadership This is happening under your leadership So I want to ask you a question. Are your staff here so I can talk to them dialogue with them? Are your staff available or I gotta go hunt them down? We should be able to pull things off and when members of public come up in here and do the public comment You guys shouldn't be commented on anything You guys are constantly violating the brown act When it when it when it when it serves your objective to comment on their stuff, right? Because I've been asking for community justice and none of you guys step to the plate We all know that hey people of color are not getting their fair share when it comes to community justice You know, I I got sick. I had high blood pressure and I want to be able to thank a madam of the clerk For being mindful asking victorious victorious. How are you feeling? She was mindful because other people came and advocate for me Right, I go to the Dominican checkpoint Right, and I didn't get out to about three o'clock and I was beeline to the court and then they put a warrant out On the American most wanted in Santa Cruz County. That's shameful. I'm not ashamed I'm not ashamed. I'm used to being oppressed You need to stop this and I would say chairman friends step to the plate, man Step to the plane and go you fund the da's office and go and kick that door down and tell them. Hey stop oppressing them I have her right to my first amendment. I have her right to peaceful protests I can't even pull anything off the consent calendar. Ellen timberlake, right? I go to her to the g80 office because I'm being oppressed in Santa Clara county And yet they want to deny me services over there Then when I go to the director, she wants to deny me hearing me Public comment I can talk about anything. This is what public comment is all about Right the american public and the threat from down below. We're tired of the abuse of political power There's mounting tension that's throwing the political and social order and the american public is not happy I'm not happy. Thank you Morning. Welcome back. Thank you. It's good to see you all again We uh, just wanted to We were we were planning to be here in greater numbers. Um, and I think that people are stuck in traffic On their way here now with signs and all that so there may be a A wave of gratitude coming at you all today. So I just wanted to say thank you for working together with us To preserve second story really hearing us out taking time to to discuss and deliberate You have I think that it's just the spirit of collaboration and trust in and public officials and in the and the and the public themselves When we come with a with an open hand that it's often Received and you you all really spoke strongly and and and passionately and we're all really grateful There's a we were able to sit to have a miracle donor come from nowhere to save second story And now and now we don't even know where to begin with that, but it's it's happened So we now are in the house steadily and and building The beautiful part of this is that now now that now that this this sort of this threat had happened is now we're Activated and we're seeing that Activism can be important. So now we're going to look at how we can sort of bring our community together The peer community the provider community and the family community how we can be a collective voice to work with with you all To achieve the things that we need in mental and mental health and behavioral health The signs are here Thank you all so much it's it's it really has become a huge blessing and to whoever the donors are out there in the world But you know and we'll find a way to repay this in in many ways. So thank you all. Thank you Thank you. Good morning Good morning. My name is Erica Miranda. That was my boss Adrienne camp. He's speaking for a second story I didn't prepare a statement this morning because I just wanted to speak from the deep gratitude that I have Less than a month ago. I was up here talking about how difficult my life had been and how partially working at second story had helped me rebuild And I honestly didn't have a lot of faith that anything would happen I really appreciate everyone taking the time to listen to us not only here but at the mental health stakeholders meetings and at your district meetings. That's so important I know that behind the scenes there was a lot of work done particularly at the mental health advisory board and I just really wanted to thank everyone and Of course, we don't know who the donors are but we very much appreciate it I kept walking around thinking someone believes in the job that I do to the tune of Millions of dollars, you know more than a million dollars. So that Is just very meaningful for me And all of the peers that I work with because mental health recovery is possible. It does happen And as we recover we help other peers recover and then the system recovers and I think that's a beautiful thing Especially in this age of tremendous political division every time I come to the board of supervisors meetings I learn new things usually very You know And I guess what I have to say is just I really appreciate the job that all of you do I know that it's not easy. I know that you don't hear a lot that a lot, but I appreciate it. I couldn't do it So thank you for everything. Thank you. Thank you Good morning. Welcome back. Hi there. I'm Tracy Kennedy and I just Wanted to make sure I came and acknowledged all of your guys's efforts and willingness to listen and meet with us And do what you could and I know that as Erica said, it's not an easy job What you guys do and it wasn't an easy thing to Stand with us at times So I just wanted to acknowledge that you guys really took the time and Um Really heard us and I'd also like to thank whoever our anonymous donors is so thank you very much guys Thank you Good morning Good morning. My name is ridge and I'm here to thank you as well um, I work at second story and um I I've never been to these meetings except for this recent fight and um, I didn't really leave in the process room much and um I see it can really work and I see that um There's hope and um, thank you guys so much for all your work and um Anyhow Thank you Thank you Morning, welcome back. Good morning. My name is Jessica brown and um, thank you Thank you for being here and hearing us each time we showed up. I know there was a lot of emotion I cried um and uh at constituents meetings local mental health board meetings And you welcomed us each time as hard as it could be to hear people unhappy and and really advocating and then They're hearing people from the community. So um Thank you to our donors. Thank you supervisors for being here and doing such wonderful hard work um, I too have uh Recently just found like a new hope in being a part of our local government and and change And um, yeah, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Can I I just want to add before our next speaker uh, that I just want to uh, share my admiration for the advocacy on the part of the folks connected to second story, uh, they uh They've done incredible work and it is a great model And it's through your grassroots efforts of making sure the community knew what was at risk That allowed an anonymous donor to come forward Uh and provide funding so we could have this program over a longer period And and not have that uh threat of closing the program Upon us. So I just uh, uh, I appreciate your efforts. Uh, I look forward to uh, uh, A continued successful program for second story And um, and it's great to see the community rally so hard around a program that does so much Yeah, and I just want to thank you. You were incredible advocates and really teachers Uh, I think you taught us all about the value of respite and the value of this pro peer based program Um, in a way that I sort of I think many of us knew abstractly But we didn't understand what the day-to-day was and it was your your testimony And your life experience that really made a difference. So thank you Good morning. Welcome back Good morning. Um, thank you Chairman Leopold and Coonerty. I would uh, Becky Steinbrunner from Aptos I would also like to congratulate the group on their excellent advocacy I have a friend that I took to second story and I have firsthand seen the value of that program. So thank you Thank you to all of you. Um, I also want to thank you for uh, the great improvements It's a minor thing but a huge thing Out in the parking lot the county vehicles are no longer parked in Almost 20 Spaces of the two-hour visitor parking lot on Tuesday mornings. That makes a huge improvement for Finding a space and the public being able to get here on time. So thank you for that change um I do want to also, um, agree with victorius about the Um difficulties in public being able to pull a consent agenda item I have asked four times to have an item pulled and each time it was denied So it's not working well. I don't know the real reason behind doing this But I would like to consider ask your board to consider revoking that change in policy I do want to thank you supervisor leopold for bringing it back to the board in in six months from the approval date For reconsideration. Thank you for that On the consent agenda today is item 25, which is rather A nebulous thing setting a public hearing on november 20th But it's really a major thing and I think it's not well Described in the agenda what these code revisions would mean What it is is the near term enhanced density bonus That are cherry picked items from the sustainable santa cruz county plan and the Code modernization both of which require an environmental impact review But these cherry picked items are being called exempt It would allow developers to do ad hoc planning in our county and that was the word of our our really good commissioner, mr. Gooth at the planning commission meeting when they heard that And they would allow developers to decide Essentially where these enhanced bonus areas are combining districts would be it would not restrict them to within the urban services line Which is appalling to me and I really want you to look at that when it comes your way It would also allow developers to defer paying their developer fees So there would be no money to pay in advance for the impacts Of their development That's not a good way to plan for infrastructure to address the impacts of development And finally because i'm almost out of time. I just want to ask again that you When this public hearing comes that it is fully described what it is for the public and well noticed And also my communication regarding 5g has never appeared in your list of communication in the board packet. Thank you. Good morning and welcome back Good morning. I also want to thank first for story for your advocacy and Explaining the problem were you to lose this program? Others of us advocate for health and well-being as well And I wish I could hold up a thank you sign for stopping the roll out of The wireless microwave radiation in this county But unfortunately, I can't do that What I want to focus on and also People not being able to address items on the consent agenda. I have this awful feeling You are like the kings of the county And we as you referred to us last meeting are like your customers I feel like we're kind of like Lower citizens or serves when you are supposed to represent us Consent agenda items you have written are items that have something like no need for discussion Well, that's an accurate Many of them need wider Discussion and you know it. So this is a form of censorship And I note that mainly Becky and I and there are some others who speak regularly On consent agenda items because we feel this is important to put in the public eye I feel this is very Anti-democratic democratic and people ask you to remove an item and you won't do it That's quite undemocratic and censoring what I want to ask you to do is to take legal action To stop PG and ease massive tree cutting Butchering the beauty of santa Cruz county Going on private property to supposedly prevent fires PG and ease history is one of causing fires Not preventing them. They are not in the business of safety They are in the business of profit And this is devastating to The wildlife The trees are the lungs of the earth the shade we need Global warming I think will increase here without the trees and We need you to take action to stop this PG and ease has a history of harm from sam bruno to smart meters to the alfam canyon nuclear power plant Smart meters on and on. Thank you. Please take legal action to halt PG and ease. Thank you Anybody else like to address us during public comment? Good morning. Welcome Thank you. John Dietz. I'd like to end on a positive note Thank you very much for supporting the sustaining of the second story You listened to the voices It took a lot of courage To stand up and work this because it's not exactly A favorable issue in this county trying to solve homelessness But the impact of what you did is going to be felt For many many years. So it's a personal. Thank you for the volunteers Who do the housing of homeless? Thank you very much. Thank you Anybody else like to address us briefly? Welcome back. All right. Good morning morning board and the public and staff. Thank you My name is paul binding. I'm the manager of the mosquito infected control under the agricultural commissioner And I have two invitations. The first one is to just remind the public and yourself that There's an ongoing tire drive that we've collaborated with the agricultural commissioner has collaborated with public works and the cities to To get an exemption for taking Waste tires to the dump and so if if the public has any waste tires until this saturday through this saturday They can take them to the dump up to five tires up to 36 inches in diameter and The dump will take them for free and if you have more than that then Public works will be happy to issue you a voucher The second invitation I brought my friend ben up here to remind you that our open house is friday october 26th And ben will be there and I hope you will be too The invitation that goes out to assemblyman mark stone and his staff as well And all our ex-employees I hope I hope a few of them will be there and the residents of the public who have any questions about Our mosquitoes are risk in santa cruz county Are they coming from the street drain? Are they coming from down the street? Are they coming from the marsh down two miles away? Our ticks a threat is line disease a threat is hanta virus from rodents a threat Are we is there even a? Hazard a risk from from plague in the county So we can answer all those questions We'll have our equipment and our very well trained staff And it's our chance to give back to the community who support our services We were quite surprised at the at the county fair when we did a survey That there's still a lot of the public that aren't aware of that We're controlling mosquitoes yellow jackets and that we offer programs for inspections for rodents and And we do fly control and we even give information about how to get rid of unwanted skunks and and raccoons and things that are Anything that's biting you so you can bring in a bug if you want and we'll be happy to identify it And thank you very much and we'll hope to see you friday The 26 from 4 to 7 it'll be halloween theme And thank you as well. Yeah, thank you ben and thank you paul I'm sure assemblymember stone appreciates having a rat and welcome him back to the county All right, is anybody else I'd like to address this during oral communications or public comment No, all right. We'll bring back to the board to handle consent Supervisor Caput is there any item you'd like to comment on for the consent agenda? Okay, thank you supervisor McPherson morning. Yeah item 23. I'm just happy to see this Continuing our efforts to address the homeless services Need that we have in our county. It's not just in this county. It's throughout the state and the nation And it's it's a difficult issue as we all know to get a grip on but we're we're doing A coordinated effort and I think I really appreciate the work of the human services department And also to see about or to learn about the downtown streets team And how successful it has been to this date and I think we're going to have some expansion of that possibly up in the san ronzo valley and I just want to thank those who are participating and I went to one of their meetings They're energized these are folks the homeless folks a lot of them that are cleaning up our streets And we're putting them to work and the downtown merchants are cooperating and making that happen It's a very very positive Step in this very uh this crisis that we have with homelessness here and throughout the state So I just want to thank the human services department and others who have done this And I'm looking forward to seeing that program expanded Item number 26 This is talking about public litter and recycling containers in boulder creek That's garbage shakans folks and that's been we've been trying to get a grip on this With a cooperative effort between the boulder creek business association the county and the state because highway run Nine runs through the middle of boulder creek I think we're going to see some success and some real progress after about five years But trying to address this problem So uh, it's it's coming and I just want to thank all those who have put that effort into making The boulder creek community that much more presentable. Thank you Thank you supervisor first thing. Good morning supervisor coonerty. Hi. Good morning Similarly on item number 23. I just wanted to thank ellen timberlake and hsc Sorry hsd For their support of the downtown streets team the streets team is one of the most positive things I've seen in my time in santa cruz. It's a win win win for the community And it's really incredibly beneficial and the fact we've been able to expand it and make it sustaining Uh as going forward is really, uh, it's really a wonderful thing and that expansion will benefit many lives as well as the community Thank you. Good morning. Sufa's a leopold. Good morning chair Just one item to come on and one other comment on item number 25, which was the Previously mentioned public hearing that we're sitting for november 20th Around these questions about new tools around affordable housing density bonuses, etc I asked the community activist to hold a Community meeting so people could find out more about this that's going to be tomorrow evening at seven o'clock at simpkins It's a chance for people to become better aware of some of the things that are being proposed For our board to consider on november 20th, and I encourage you to come out and find out more about it If you're interested in this subject Um, the other thing I just want to say is I want to express my Deep appreciation to the parks department and all the community members who came out on saturday for the groundbreaking for Leo's havens in shanticleers park. It was a wonderful celebration Um in in which the this park is really a community park Uh, uh because so many people have contributed to it And we're still offering the chance for everybody to contribute by voting for measure g Which will be the last part of this But uh, it was incredibly positive uh celebration It was great to see so many people out there so many service clubs So many individuals involved with this all inclusive park That's going to be located in live oak. So thank you to parks and everyone else who was involved I thank you. I have nothing to pull and nothing to comment on and we just have a need of motion at this point I move the uh consent agenda We have a motion from supervisor leopold a second from supervisor mcpherson all those in favor I opposed it passes unanimously will move on to our first item of the regular agenda Which is item six, which is a presentation by assemblymember mark stone regarding the state of the state Each year mark stone has been generous with his time to come in here and give us an update On everything that has been going on at the state and it's been remarkably busy over the last 12 months And we appreciate all of your work on behalf of our county and we welcome you you'll have three minutes Thank you Three minutes i'll speak try to speak quickly Thank you It's very nice to be back in front of you and and in this chambers I spent a number of years here and worked with a lot of you for a long time and i'm very happy to be here again So we have had a pretty busy session as you know sessions run for two years And the assembly especially is elected into those two year cycles, so we finished the full two year cycle And a lot happened in those last two years We were able to focus quite a bit on housing and transportation, which I know are some key issues to you As well as is trying to figure out how we can best invest in california and especially californians who are struggling The economy's turned around over the last four or five years pretty significantly But as it turns out it's it's turned around in very specific areas like silicon valley is doing pretty well Even though they they have their challenges with housing and and poverty even in their own midst, but you go to central california Really east of a lot of the prosperity in california and people are still very much struggling Which is why we've been trying to invest in programs that help the poorest of californians A number of years ago we put an earned income tax credit california's earned income tax credit together And this last year expanded it to try to reach more people And we've been trying to find ways working with united way and others to to ensure that People know about that so they can start to draw down those funds because as those funds are available As the state has money to be able to pay those the the more successful program is the more people draw down Those funds the better for them, but also It helps show the value of programs like that So we're continuing to work on a lot of that outreach As you know, also we passed the gas tax which has seen a little bit of controversy But it's also seen a tremendous amount of benefit to local jurisdictions across the state that money is starting to go out And we're seeing a lot of projects that are being built under senate bill one under The the gas tax that was put together and even though gas prices have risen very very significantly since that was passed The gas tax is only a very small portion of it and yet it's providing a significant benefit across the The state in areas that that need it Part of my frustration with the proposition system and and what we see right now is a lot of my colleagues who Rail against it are still out there at ribbon cuttings for projects that the gas tax is funding so politics as usual is politics as usual and And we all love to see the money spent even though we quibble about the sources of it, but a an ongoing sustainable Source of revenue for transportation guaranteed to go to transportation under the constitutional amendment that was passed last june is something that I think is very Beneficial for california that was a struggle that was three or four years of work to put that together and Pass that on a bipartisan basis Some of the other big issues that we've had a chance to work on climate being one of them california now has cemented a 100 Goal for renewable energy over the next couple of decades, which is a significant step And because of what's happening on the federal level california was able to step in to avoid that had been created and really Showcase what we've been able to do around climate And work with jurisdictions around the world As the climate is changing and as carbon increases in the atmosphere the ocean is doing what the ocean does and is absorbing carbon Now we're starting to see some very detrimental effects effects of that because the city level of the ocean is changing slightly Which will be devastating to our fisheries industry And our coastal economy coastal habitats that we see So we started with washington in oregon a An ocean acidification task force that is that is internationally based and we started with Maybe a half a dozen countries now. There are I think 200 countries who have signed up almost 300 different jurisdictions including states who are part of The the discussion and and are seeking to be part of a solution On a global basis so even though we're just a little state Little state we're the right now the fifth largest economy in the world where we are our own separate economy, but yet Even though as a sub national jurisdiction We have some significant clout and we've been able to do that Because of the policies we've passed because we've had a very strong leader In our governor over the last eight years any real commitment that goes down even to the local level I know your commitment to the environment To the strength of the economy to chat to really Try to find solutions to the changes in the climate and and adapting Your areas of responsibility and it's from the local level all the way up It's that commitment that allows california to ultimately really be out in the forefront of of where we need to be On other environmental challenges. We have had a little bit of luck We passed sort of the first step of a straw bill that is voluntary But at least raised the discussion about the impact of plastic straws Not so fortunate on a number of other bills trying to address plastic pollution as we We know where we know where the challenges are, but statewide policy becomes difficult So we are looking to local jurisdictions as santa cruz county has done to step up Do the hard work pass some of the the ordinances necessary to limit Plastic pollution and then that provides a bit better of a model for the state to work off Because if more jurisdictions are stepping up then we get increased pressure at the state level to address some of these issues In fact, we just saw that this year it was kind of In the weeds and not very talked about but we've been pushing for a pharmaceuticals take back Both pharmaceuticals and sharps for a number of years I know santa cruz county has addressed this years ago and has been really in the lead trying to Move policy while the state We finally got to the legislature last year take back program with farm pharmaceuticals and sharps And it was not a big attention getter because it was done sort of fairly quietly It was one of those things that needed to be moved through the process very open very transparent, but not a lot of flamboyance around it because we had brought together a coalition of partners including the pharmaceutical industry finally Willing to take some responsibility. So we'll see how that gets implemented over the next number of years But that's going to be an important piece On the health and human services side Also quite a bit has happened I know you saw the debate over the single payer which died sort of a painful death last year But the legislature has renewed its commitment to finding some some way of instituting a universal health care for californians We know we have the leverage in the clout given the size given our population the size of our economy the amount of money That's available from a number of different sources to bring to the problem So we will be taking that pretty seriously over the next few years Not knowing who the governor is although we're I think fairly confident who the governor is and if it is Gavin Newsom he has committed to universal health care So we know we're going to be having those conversations and figuring out how we implement that On the human services side, you know my work in the foster care system a child welfare system I've been very fortunate to work with a significant partner in will light born who was the director of the department of social services And we're we we put together one of the largest changes beneficial changes for kids in probably a generation or so That isn't isn't working. We're on track to have it It went live last july and a lot of the pieces will be implemented come this next july But some of the pieces that we've been trying to put in place like mental health services and all aren't quite there yet So we're trying to see if we can do a better job supporting kids at risk and have a A process that is continually looking at itself Working with counties on what's working and what's not working and I hear from our counties about what's not working and what is working And we're able to take that into account as we move that policy forward So it's a pretty significant change and I think in the long term It will also be very instructive on how we do other policies around kids at risk As if we can do better for this population Those in the child welfare system those in and out of foster care Then we can also start to expand that and know better how things work when we're dealing with homeless youth Sexually trafficked youth and others who tend to fall through the cracks We have a pretty strong dependency system pretty strong delinquency system but Those are kind of the two cat the two silos that kids fall into when we try to Provide some benefit to them other kids tend to fall through the cracks And that's something that california really needs to do a much better job on Some other bills. I know there are some of my friends here from the golden state Manufactured homeowners league in california and we finally got through thanks to them a very significant change to the The mobile home residency law As you know because counties get involved in mobile homes and the state has some responsibility and counties have some responsibility It becomes very difficult Nobody as of yet. There's no state agency that helps enforce the mobile home residency law. So it's left to the Owners to try and seek redress if a park owner Has violated the mobile home residency law and there's very little ability to do that Because these are some of our best affordable housing, which means a lot of people who live in manufactured homes don't have the resources to go to attorneys While the park owners know this And so they push back and now we're creating a program with the department of housing community development To raise some money that is being funded by the mobile home owners the manufactured home owners themselves and to try and level the playing field and have a venue to hear some Challenges to the mobile home residency law. So this is one of the first We've been trying to do things like this over the last number of years in fact the governor vetoed this same bill a year ago And we told him it was a mistake and we pointed out his mistake and we Negotiated with him about how to implement this and sure enough we put it back on his desk and he signed it but again, this is the kind of thing that Really worked because of the organization across the state of those who live in mobile home parks and Want to have a a venue to have their their issues heard that's kind of to me politics at the best it was absolutely grassroots and Made it very difficult for my colleagues to say no in the end And what had been very controversial Kind of went through with a little bit of a whimper this year Not a lot of of pushback and opposition because I think the good folks across california Part of the golden state manufactured home owners league wore out my colleagues and they had no place else to go So it was it's a good policy. It's a strong policy We're going to learn from it over the next few years, but it's something that Provides a significant benefit And the other one that seems like a a bit of a lark that was kind of fun to do was a monarch bill And so now we've got a fund of three million dollars and a program to benefit habitat for monarchs In this area, I know how important it is to santa cruz specific growth to the central coast to have that iconic species But more importantly restoring habitat for the butterflies also restores habitat for native bees and other pollinators that are suffering We're seeing a real decline in the ability For the ag industry to get the benefit of native pollinators And the bees we have don't pollinate all the crops. So we have to be more responsible So that's a value I know that that you share that I learned a lot about Land conservation and things we need to be doing my time here in santa cruz county and get to translate that at the state level And we moved something through that was beautiful and interesting because it seemed to be about monarch butterflies But yet had some very very other significant impact on The agricultural community and kind of how california's natural systems work So that's a bit of a snapshot. I think we're in pretty good shape The budget in california is very strong We have reserves and we've had a surplus over the last few years and thanks to the rainy day fund that the voters passed We have been putting more into reserves and even last year we found a few other reserve categories So even though california's budget was the largest budget from an expenditure standpoint in the history just shy of 140 billion dollars We have more reserves in the state of california than 38 states have general fund So we're we're an expensive state to operate even though on a per capita basis We have one of the smallest governments if you look at the number of individuals involved in government We don't have a bloated government, but we have a large population that's expecting a lot of help And services whether it's infrastructure health services human services or the like So we have that buffer against the next economic downturn, which we know will be coming at some point That's what we've been able to to build up. So with jerry brown and his Legendary tight-fistedness we have had a pretty healthy back and forth between the legislature And the administration on what our budget should look like what our priorities are What we see as investments in californians and what we see as ongoing programs or even one time programs So we were able to I think put together some pretty strong fiscal health A lot of uncertainty now with the next administration on what the new governor is going to be like And as I said earlier, I think we probably know who that governor is But what we don't know is what that governor's cabinet will look like and who's going to be in what places And for those of us who deal with various cabinet departments in various roles That obviously becomes very important as to what initiatives This administration is going to want to do or not do and what their budget structure is going to look like I personally have not been through a transition like this before so it will be interesting and I look forward to the the next couple of terms obviously if the voters allowed me to go back and Continue to work on a lot of the issues that I have worked on and Transitioned into hopefully a very successful four years potentially eight years for the next governor And I'm happy to take your questions. Thank you assemblymember stone. Uh, any questions from board members? Survisor leopold, uh, thank you chair Thank you assemblymember stone for the work that you do and the way in which you represent Santa Cruz county In the state legislature, uh, your work on with foster youth continues to be a great beacon For the work that we that we've done here in Santa Cruz But the way in which you've helped reshape that system Has an effect on young people throughout the state and It's not too many people know about the the foster youth system. And so The the work that you have done Really has affected the lives of a lot of kids. So thank you for that When it comes to the issue of health services I know you've been a strong advocate for good public health And i'm glad to hear that that the legislature is going to be taking up Potentially take up something with the new governor around universal health care I don't know exactly what that looks like, but we know here In Santa Cruz when we provide Health care for all kids that kids do better that they are in school more that their parents are a lot to be at work They do better And so the idea of having health care for all People in in california will make a big difference in just the the success of the state So I wish you good luck in trying to figure that out On issues of the environment you are clearly an environmental leader I note that you were maybe the one of the few if not only member of the state legislature who spoke of the recent climate change conference in san francisco That our governor put on it because our president Doesn't believe in climate change And I thought that that conference was a great way of showing the the The work that we're doing here in california. We're going to be hearing Later on this morning about Our monterey bay community power and how that's making a difference in terms of greenhouse gas emissions And we we've tried to do lots of different things here in santa cruz to Leave a lighter footprint on the earth and I hear you pretty clearly that sometimes we're going to need to To push for changes from the bottom up and not wait for solutions Coming from sacramento or even washington and when it comes to things like plastic pollutions, which you have been a great leader on On this board when you led the the board to To ban single-use plastic bags And now we have legislation at the state level We're looking at other plastic pollution issues That we can address here as a way of creating the momentum to to look for a statewide solution And hopefully it can be modeled on on the kind of good work that we might be able to do here in santa cruz county Lastly with housing. I We'll talk a little bit more about your mobile home bill But as someone who has 33 mobile home parks in the first district Which is the single largest source of affordable housing in santa cruz county providing the the tools For residents to be able to access their rights and to achieve justice And having a method to be able to do that Is incredibly important and as I go out and meet with constituents who live in parks who are dealing with An owner who doesn't share the same values that we all do Knowing that now there's going to be this ability to To seek redress in a way that it's actually affordable and accessible Will make a big difference The last thing I want to say is you made a It was interesting to hear your remarks about the statewide budget And to realize how much better shape we are in than we were Eight years ago or 10 years ago When things were pretty dire Here at the board we've tried to Build up after The great recession to strengthen our financial foundation We too have increased our reserves And we've tried to reduce cost And I just want to acknowledge your leadership in helping pass a piece of legislation so the county Could seek the same kind of revenues that cities have You know as you know here in santa cruz county half the people live in the unincorporated areas And so in addition to all the county services we have a lot of municipal service requirements And so with the legislation that you passed Just a couple years ago We now have a measure on the ballot that has built a lot of great support where we hopeful that people will vote Yes on measure g But we wouldn't be able to have that opportunity to have that conversation with the public If it hadn't been for your leadership to get that bill passed We're really excited about the opportunity and we're hopeful that it will be able to find the resources To provide the services that people care about here in santa cruz and have told us they want So thanks for your ongoing work up in sacramento. Thank you and on the housing piece. I'm also glad to see the county Working to pass its own measure. We have the legislature put two measures on the ballot around housing And a lot of it seems like a drop in the bucket if you will but with local jurisdictions stepping up as well Just like becoming a self-help county with transportation. That's going to be increasingly important For the state to be able to give resources down to the local level to really provide the services that you need and Every county looks different than the next as far as where the population is It's one of our challenges doing housing policy at the state level I will admit because a lot of it's driven by much more urbanized Areas who have a different vision for what's possible and what resources are available and we're certainly resource constrained So the more that local jurisdictions are stepping up Taking affordable housing seriously then hopefully that's less For the legislature to impose things that make it very difficult to be able to manage the decisions that you have to make here Thank you. Thank you Surveys McPherson. Yeah, I certainly want to repeat the The comments and the thanks for your services, especially with human services foster care in the environment It's really it's unmatched. I think in the legislature and I just want to thank you for your efforts in those particular areas But so much more as well But um, you know that you mentioned that the california is in a stable economic position And that's that's great, but that puts and you have a Rainy day fund, but I as we do that people there it puts more pressure on people wanting more I mean, how many people have asked you for less or us? No one So, uh, that's always there and we always it's there for a reason I just wanted to maybe mention um As in attending the executive session of the california state association of counties Two things that they're concerned about that we don't have a repeat of the state being in this good financial position That they start Lapping on some of these unfunded mandates that have been repaid thankfully But I hope we don't get in that position again And so it's that's a real big concern for counties throughout the state And then the in home support services issue that's complicated It's a mixed bag of a lot of people being engaged in this from laws passed from years ago But uh, just to how how we can stabilize that and again and Provide the services that are so much in need. I know you understand that but Just so you know at the c-sac executive committee meeting Those are two of the issues that really came up and said boy, that's a big concern to us And those are both very good points and I keep telling c-sac and I know you and I've had this conversation about staying engaged With legislators, especially those who are former county supervisors who understand a lot of these issues We do A number any number of unfunded mandates. It's kind of what goes along with the The relationship here, but we do try to be sensitive to that And so understanding staying connected with you and understanding what those implications are as we're looking at policy Is very important and I'm glad you raised the ihss the current administration has not been Sort of sees that program as an expense on the state budget But if you really understand how all those pieces go together It's ultimately a savings on our overall system and as we look towards universal health care Making sure that we have The most effective and efficient services for those who need it is going to be very very important And I'm hoping the new administration will take a better look and understand the value the investment that The in-home sports services really represents as part of our health care system And treat that sector with a little bit more respect would be beneficial But also then we could then recognize the savings to the health care system that those workers really bring us I'm thinking we'll have a better conversation Over the next number of years around ihss But yes, that has been sort of a stepchild if you will pass between the state and the county And that's not good for the system and it's not good for those who rely on that level of care Supervisor Coonerty Hi Assemblymember Stone, thank you for coming and thank you for your good work Especially advocating for foster kids, but really understanding the needs of local government and being a strong advocate And thank you for having really good district staff. That's incredibly responsive to both us and the constituents When when we call your office with concerns, it makes a big difference as you know There's and I think following up on your ihss comments I think there's an opportunity for us to partner and you often I think when we appreciate it point to santa cruz county as an incubator as a showcase We have some really good home visiting programs right now where we're Matching first-time low-income moms with public health nurses from the chat from the time they find out they're pregnant through the child's second birthday We're seeing incredible outcomes for the moms the babies and savings for the system A lot of states reimburse home visiting as as an entitlement under their their versions of medicow And I think if the state could move towards reimbursing Making home visiting a reimbursable Activity under medicow we could not only improve lives improve things in the community But we could save the state and the county a lot of money in the long run And so working with you on that activity as well as and as we talked about Maybe giving local governments the ability to increase tobacco taxes so that we can Fund some of these early intervention programs I think I think I think that's a way that we can partner and really have santa cruz Hopefully be a model that other communities can follow going forward I should also note that monterey county has also implemented the home visiting program As well and so they're seeing great results as well. So you'd be able to showcase the whole region Going forward and I think I've given your commitment to kids and giving your commitment to smart investments I think I think it's an opportunity for us to work together On the on those two initiatives I would absolutely agree and Of course, it's not entirely true. Although sometimes I talk about it that a lot of the changes We've been able to do in the juvenile justice system come out of santa cruz county with judy cox scott mcdonald With the the current probation she's sort of that structure that's put in in place As well as a very thoughtful sheriff and in the way santa cruz translated juvenile justice into better outcomes for The adult justice community the same thing I think with the your ability to do innovative programs show the cost savings and with monterey involved Those are the kinds of programs. I think we can start to say yeah, look it works And we can show you how it works and this is why and where it saves money And drawing that connection between the expense And the savings down the line is difficult as you know in government budgeting But it's going to be critical if we're going to Truly make a system that functions The big question for me right now is what the next cabinet's going to look like and who's going to be interested in Some of these issues the Current department of health care services really has not been that interested in And with the new governor depending on who he puts into those positions I'm hoping that we'll be able to revisit some of these interesting and innovative ideas that That get health care down to the lowest levels where it can be effective and efficient Save us money over time, but really get into the communities that need the help the most That'd be great. Thank you. I look forward to working with you and as always because we're all going to hear about it as You know working on mitigating the impacts of university growth On the community and the lrdp Hopefully we'll be able to work at the state and local level To work with the uc system to come up with something that's sustainable for our community. Absolutely. Absolutely Thank you. Supervisor cap it Thank you Welcome back and you're doing a lot of work to help us locally. All politics are local. It's an old saying and You're you're doing a lot of things here and It's already been mentioned the work with human services and housing and everything So Those are very important issues here locally and probably nationwide But the one interesting thing I found too was You're interested in the monarch habitat And the the short story on that the monarchs do start out somewhere in canada and keep traveling down and they end up in Mexico and farther Not it's kind of a critical critical habitat if we have to you know Make sure that we don't ruin it in our area and also a pacific grove and other areas When that that money some of it I guess would be We could try to get some of that money locally to try to protect the habitat here and maybe even expand it but I think there's the milkweed is something that they that they have to have And one of the seed companies is actually in felton that that actually does that So What what how would that money kind of be used to protect habitat? Maybe expand it. I was thinking maybe even county landscaping city landscaping They can go out and plant whatever, you know, it's also good for the monarch Potentially the fund right now is three million dollars. The state has started the fund It's all being done through the wildlife conservation board and they're going to have to come up with rules about prioritizing various projects And hopefully that money will attract some private sector money in to grow that fund as well primarily we did allow for Habitat for overwintering, which is what we see around here and local Milkweed and other kinds of plans is primarily milkweed for the monarchs But other kinds of plans are fair game to talk about most of the money Probably those going to be spent in the central valley Where the milkweed habitats are the riparian habitats are that Support these butterflies as well as the the pollinators who use the same habitat So we're looking to work with large agricultural areas individuals interested in Restoring or getting technical assistance to help restore or manage some of their areas where the butterflies go They overwinter here, but they go into the central valley to feed and to reproduce and for that the milkweed is absolutely critical There are large tracts of habitat that's been degraded and taken out of habitat. It lost its habitat value So that's that's really where the money is aimed as well as Ensuring that we have the overwintering sites here But so smaller projects Potentially could be available for landscaping and things But I think what we're trying to do is leverage Larger-scale projects to get back some of the central valley habitat that has been lost over the years that has directly led to The loss of we used to see Tens of millions of butterflies now we see a few hundred thousand Right the population loss has been really significant So we have yet to see exactly what projects are going to qualify there I will be I'm sure some large ones and some small ones But the three million dollars is not a lot right now and we hope for that fund to grow And we want to make sure I think the wildlife conservation board is going to make sure that the projects Get the most bang for the buck if you will and provide Good habitat restoration and a lot of that will be central valley I'm glad that you you know showed some interest on that and the educational part to the public Like I know in Mexico that like 40 years ago they considered the monarch almost like a pest down there They didn't they didn't realize that it could become a huge tourist attraction now And that's in the last 30 years. They've been trying to protect and Also expand the you know monarch population down there which travel all the way from Canada Which is quite an amazing journey So the other would be the tree The trees we got to be very careful when we're You know, we got to make sure we have Trees for these monarchs. I guess they in the Santa Cruz area and also pacific grove They happen to like the eucalyptus trees. I guess in that area So yeah, and those eucalyptus sort of a in its own way a bit of a large weed Non-indigenous species, but yeah, they do provide because of the density and where they're specifically located. They do provide Habitat especially here in pacific grove. I don't know that it's quite they were like quite so much on the eucalyptus But they're definitely eucalyptus that are down there Right and Again, it's a tipping point if you get too low like you said there were millions and now there's hundreds of thousands but Uh, if it gets too, uh, too low it could you know lose the whole thing at some point Yeah, the population could crash and we could lose them all. Yeah, and I'll just throw this in I maybe uh We're dealing now with PG&E on whether or not that how many trees they can cut in certain areas Again, we have to be careful on everything and that's why we like local control all politics are local so Anyway, thank you Right and unfortunately right now probably PG&E has removed more trees than we're talking about we're storing through programs like this So it's a very frustrating to see the sort of slash and burn mentality That they have right now. So I appreciate the county. We've been appreciate supervisor McPherson's office working with us and Seeing how we can kind of put the brakes on on What they're doing and the sort of whole scale Destruction that seems to be happening In our county and in other places Yeah, so it's been very frustrating to see thank you Well, somebody member stone as congressman far used to say everything has been said it just hasn't been said by everyone So I think at this point I will actually give an opportunity for the community Who have been waiting very patiently to come up and and sing your praises because of the remarkable work that you've done on behalf not just of our community but across the entire state many people may not Necessarily know how their lives will be made better because of the bills that you've carried over the last few years But you have significantly improved the lives especially Of those that are least fortunate among us in this state both from Kids and those that that live With limited means and so we'd like to open it up for others who would like to spend a couple minutes speaking You will have about three minutes morning Mr. Chairman welcome Good morning. I'm henry cleveland chairperson of the sanitary's county manufactured mobile home commission and with me is gene brockel bank the vice chair I want to thank you simply member stone for helping the sanitary's mobile home residents while you were here sitting on the board of supervisors I remember you from then I appreciate that you took some of the philosophy and practices of government practice here into sacramento And i'm glad you're having that effect there your entire legislative career is commendable But today we want to congratulate you specifically for your herculean effort to enact the mobile home residency law protection act The formal name of ab 366 This took years of skillful effort to overcome the opposition of the mobile home park industry and even of our own governor And as you said he vetoed it once Your diligence turned that veto into a resounding success For decades mobile home residents in this county have had access to government support to help them support To protect their safety and welfare while living in their mobile home parks With your ab 366 becoming law mobile home residents now throughout the state will have some assistance too This crowning achievement led the sanitary's county manufactured mobile home commission to issue our first ever Legislator of the year award and I now turn the mic over to gene rock obey to present to present the award This is for mark stone Whereas the sanitary's county mobile and manufactured home commission Is chartered to advise the board of supervisors on matters related to mobile home living And whereas the county of sanitary's has an interest in promoting the social and economic well-being Of its senior citizens low-income families veterans and others in need of affordable housing And whereas fair and equitable treatment under the law are essential to maintaining The viability of mobile homes as affordable housing Whereas sanitary's county mobile home park regulations have demonstrated the vital role Government can perform in providing equitable treatment for mobile home residents and park owners Lastly, whereas the passage of assembly bill 30 66 due to assembly member mark stone stones tireless efforts Makes this fair and equitable treatment under the law available to mobile home communities in sanitary's county and throughout the state Now therefore the sanitary's county mobile and manufactured home commission does hereby proclaim Mark stone is the commissioner's legislator of the year And we have given you an embossed Proclamation Thank you I I am I am truly honored But the work really was done By the residents across the state the pressure that they put on and one thing to point out which I appreciate all this but the bill right now because of what we had to negotiate with the governor only provides to the Relief to manufactured home owners not the residents So those residents who are renting the unit don't necessarily get the same benefit Which just means we have more work to do. Yeah That's true and I might add that those who do own their homes Sometimes share a park with those who don't and so those that do can actually help work They can't we yes, we we will make this work and we will Ensure that as we learn how this develops and how effective it can be that will give us the input is to make the changes necessary So sometimes you need to put your foot in the door stop it from slamming and then go all the way in and we will definitely do that So thank you. Thank you very much Anybody else like to step forward Yes, please My name is michelle smith i'm president of golden state manufactured home owners league And i've just a few words to say to assemblymember stone Please know that you have the sincere thanks of over one million mobile homeowners We basically i feel privileged to present you with Go in the bag with you gsm ol's legislature legislator of the year award as well And we've got a lot of gsm ol members in your district as you know Some of them are here today And here are a few of the attributes that we considered in making this decision to recognize you You stand up for our state's most vulnerable residents like mobile homeowners who are primarily comprised of seniors Veterans disabled and low income families You understand the plight of those of us who own our homes with significant investment in them And sometimes it's our last and largest investment Yet we live in communities which we love but we rent the piece of dirt that our home sits on Piece of land. We love the land These days many family owned parks have been changed hands and are now owned by corporate investors Who want to make the highest dollar on their land as possible and see mobile homeowners as as cash cows Since affordable housing is becoming harder to find it's even more important to mobile homeowners to receive consumer protection Due to the fact that we're living in a captive market Finally mobile homeowners have not been able to depend on any state agency To assist us with the enforcement of the mobile home residency laws That has all changed now because of the great work that you have done and accomplished by passing ab 3066 So again, I know we've got um one of our associate gsm ol Managers here. We've got a couple of board members. So again, thank you so much for the work you've done We really appreciate it and there's one more little gift in there. I thought you might want to have a matching shirt I must Since michelle's here and we've spent quite a bit of time on the phone as we work through this we've tried i've tried Bills in the past to address some of these issues to benefit the residents And usually we can't get them out of Even the first housing committee that we got them it that that we have to face in the assembly and about Four years ago. I think actually got a bill out of The assembly housing committee Much as chagrin of the lobbyists for the park owners. In fact, she was so frustrated. She was in tears Because she was expecting it to die and we got it to the floor. It didn't pass the floor But that's the kind of control they expect to have And it's the grassroots mobilization of the residents and the manufactured home owners themselves That have really got us to this point. So I thank you Thank you. Anybody else like to address us on this item Good morning. Becky Steinburne. I'd like to first ask if there are any other members from the mobile home that want to make a presentation I don't want to interrupt the flow Right. Thank you. Thank you. That's a really great thing and thank you assemblyman stone for your good work to help these people I would like to along that line ask that You make it possible for mobile home owners who do own the land under their mobile home There are a few of them to be able to apply and be eligible for The state property tax postponement program that's being heralded Here in this county as relief for those In measure h the affordable property tax bond And but mobile homeowners are not even eligible to apply. So I'd like some work on that to help these people too Regarding the monarch habitat, I think one of the single most important things that we can do in this state is to ban neonicotides That has been shown to have a devastating effect On butterflies and all pollinators. I work in the nursery trade and we actively search out Suppliers that do not use this because it is well known that they have a devastating effect on populations If you can do anything to ban the use of those that would be herculean and much appreciated Um, I would like to also ask you for your assistance in the issue We're having here in our county with pgne deforesting our roadways There are some big issues in what they're doing with that timber that they remove that are violations and I understand it's being handled at the sacramental level But anything you can do to pressure pgne to instead of deforesting and removing the the lungs of the earth removing carbon To instead update their technology. Mr. Kevin Collins has spoken to this board and provided Information to the puc about the technology that can be put in that would immediately disconnect any That could happen and therefore remove the danger of the fire starting from pgne down wires I would like to also ask your help in the 5g rollout that is putting without any Jurisdictional oversight the Towers and things for the telecommunication industry I would also like to ask your help with the sustainable groundwater management act that Local jurisdictions be able to update more easily their place of use water rights amendments In this county that would mean a huge Improvement to a regional solution for the groundwater overdraft In the mid county area rather than shoving us forward Into the very intensive energy using reverse osmosis technology And finally I would like to ask your help with uc system Being required to house 100 of their students as uc davis has been required to do. Thank you very much Good morning. Thank you for waiting Good morning chair friend and members of the board. I'm ellen timberlake I'm the director of the human services department in the county And I'm actually up here today to thank you on behalf of all the families and youth in the foster care system in Santa Cruz county, but also across the state if I could I would declare you the legislator of the decade I'll make you a t-shirt. I promise I had the good fortune 10 years ago to sit with you when you were a supervisor on the first systems improvement planning process In Santa Cruz county where we took a hard look at the experience of Individuals coming through our system And who knew that a decade later you would be leading one of the most if not the most significant reforms in the child welfare system The only thing in my last 10 years that I've seen that tops the level of impact is really the affordable care act And I cannot thank you enough for your leadership in bringing forward the continuum of care You are already changing lives in this county. We have fewer kids in group homes We are wrapping supports around our families with the mental health supports that you've helped create We have a long way to go and we will incrementally improve it But I cannot thank you enough for that vision that has ultimately changed lives and will continue changing lives for families and From this point forward. So thank you Thank you. Ms. Timberlake Good morning. I would also like to ask your help on some environmental issues and You spoke well And I'm also for health care for all or medicare for all so i'm glad to see you advocating for that Regarding PG&E I agree with you. This is utter devastation of the tree cutting and I know you know kevin collins perhaps he's in contact with you on this but This is massive degradation of our county perhaps you have seen The base station in scott's valley Where there are about a hundred tree cutting vehicles and I hear about 30 boom trumps it's like a military camp And PG&E my friend and felt in the other day met one of the tree cutters Who said he's there to mark the trees to do a four-cut radius around all the power lines And there are about 5,000 miles of lines in the state And then he's told her that somebody else is going to come and mark it for I think With a 10 foot or 12 foot diameter This is huge It needs to be halted. We need your help at the legislative level And PG&E I I don't think they have authority for this. They certainly don't have a safety record on In their whole history, you know that the erin bronkovich film and Chromium six contamination of hinkley california the smart me to roll off and roll out that making people sick Um just today on the bus. I'm talking to someone who's telling me how sick she is from the smart meter of radiation from where she Lives and memory loss not sleeping well headaches constantly. It's just a haphazard conversation Um, also we need your help in stopping the 5g On the slot there's never been a safety test at all On the 5g millimetre wave technology And I want to give you some literature here mobile communications the cause for the global disappearance of the bees Also related to the disappearance the decline of the monarchs I talk by Martin Paul That the board has also received So we need your continued. Thank you. Is there anybody else who'd like to speak to us on this item? Is this the last speaker Okay, good morning board. Thank you Good morning assemblymember stone. My name is seth smith and i'm with the santa cruz veterans alliance And i'm a resident of santa cruz. We're one of the licensed organizations here in the state for production of cannabis and Excuse me retail sale of cannabis Our production facility is in the city of watsonville and our Dispensaries here in soquel and santa cruz county To our knowledge we're the only licensed group in the states that that has continued a compassionate care program for a specific medical population Since at the beginning of the year when props six through four took effect We know that you supported along with our senator for this community supported sb 829 the compassionate care bill and we very much would like to thank you for that support That would have allowed us to write off the taxes on the cannabis that we donate for free to our veteran population That does possess doctor's recommendations Unfortunately, we're still paying that tax. We've paid that tax since we started paying taxes several years ago We'd like you to hopefully Join with either assemblymember or i think it's assemblymember wiener from san francisco or state senator wiener from san francisco Who introduced that legislation or potentially join with your colleague here? From our community in the senate to introduce similar legislation in the next Session of the state assembly And we hope that a governor new symbols or potentially governor new some will support that We'd like to thank the board for all the support that you guys have given us over the last several years Our facilities have been inspected by the bureau of cannabis control the cd fa cdph CD tfa we've passed with flying colors every time they use this as a model for other Producers and dispensaries going forward We're hopeful that we have the opportunity at some point to Either open new dispensaries in new locations so we can spread this mission a little further across the state We get people from all over the state veterans from all over the state that drive to us every month Over 100 to 150 veterans that come see us So hopefully we'll be able to work with you In your office in the new year to to help us out And we'd like to welcome you and any members of your office to come to our facilities in Watsonville and here in santa cruz and see what we're up to and what it really looks like on the ground Thank you for your time. Thank you. So somebody member stone We'd like to close with The board thinks it's unfair that you get to do those really large framed proclamations all the time And then tell us you don't have any money to give back to us for anything I used the money that would be otherwise allocated to the county trust us. We we know but In response actually the board itself actually wanted to do a proclamation to you on behalf of the board Not just for 30 66 although that is the focus of this But in general as as a line in here says for that you've proven yourself to be an advocate for social justice issues And helping california's most vulnerable residents We are in a really difficult time across this country right now Remarkable divisiveness across the entire world But even in this current economic expansion nine and ten people actually have their wages lower than they did at the beginning of the economic expansion So there's a large net that's needed within our community and within our state And I shutter to think what'll happen when you turn to a recession if right now is what's considered good And you have taken a lead on that both in the protection of affordable housing As it currently stands on the mobile manufacturing home component and through your votes to expand affordable housing throughout the state Your work for vulnerable populations and senior and children This is a small token on behalf of the county, but I think that there's a 57 additional counties beyond ours I would appreciate the work that you've done too. So thank you some of the members still on behalf of the board We'd like to give you a proclamation. Thank you Thank you very much and thank you for your patience this morning Thank you and the board will take a 15 minute recess until 1045 and we'll come back for item seven We're going to bring back into session the board of supervisors. We're going to move on to item seven Which is a presentation of gold beacon award to county center crews by in-suit for local government as recommended by the director of general services We'll have a brief introduction and then we're going to Receive some awards and it's actually uh, pretty remarkable that we Were able to receive these Good morning. Welcome. Ms. Johnson. Good morning chair friend members of the board carol johnson. Excuse me from the general services department I'd like to introduce carolee brown from the institute of local government She's here to present your board the gold beacon award and some spotlight awards for your efforts in Improving our local environment charlie Thank you for coming down. Oh, you're very welcome and i'm happy to be here. Good morning As she said, my name is carly brown and i'm a manager at the institute for local government I managed the beacon program there For those of you who do not know the institute for local government is affiliate of the california state association of counties The california league of cities and the california special districts association We are also a partner in the statewide energy efficiency collaborative along with the four investor and utilities and two other nonprofit organizations ilg and the statewide energy efficiency collaborative created the beacon program more than a decade ago To support and recognize local governments and their efforts to save energy reduce green house gas emissions And create policies and programs to address climate change The county of santa cruz passed a resolution to participate in the program last year And applied and was awarded for a gold level beacon spotlight award for reducing community wide greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent This year the county documented Measurable milestones in the four remaining categories in the program and today i'm absolutely thrilled To be here to present the county of santa cruz with a gold level beacon award our highest honor And four beacon spotlight awards for its comprehensive approach in addressing climate change and creating a more sustainable community This award celebrates more than a decade of environmental leadership And comprehensive achievements in conserving natural resources Saving money and creating policies and programs that address climate change In all the county has documented a 17 percent in community wide ghg emissions A 12 percent in agency greenhouse gas emissions A 13 percent reduction in natural gas savings and and agency facilities A 28 percent savings in electricity and agency facilities and more than 60 individual activities Intense separate areas of sustainability best practices The county of santa cruz is just the third county in the beacon program to achieve the full beacon award And the first county in the program to receive the award at this prestigious gold level We were honored last year when supervisor mcpherson spoke at the 2017 beacon spotlight awards in sacramento And i have truly enjoyed working with carol johnson From general services and elizabeth bertrand from ambag energy watch But i know that this impressive achievement was a collective effort that was supported by this entire board of supervisors And the county planning and building departments public works departments and so many of your community partners So as with that that i wish to present this gold level beacon award to the entire board of supervisors the staff and the community Congratulations to you all on behalf of the institute for local government and the statewide energy efficiency We thank you for your leadership And now i have many awards and there's five awards and five of you so if you want to each come down and grab an award I think there's people who want to take picture Is there anybody from the community that like to address us on this item? I'd just like to to briefly say i appreciate the comments on a more global scale because when when you were walking through Uh, the reasons why the the county had received these awards It is true that actually some of these were individual interests of individual supervisors Um, you know, I can think of supervisor coonerty and his interests an alternative Energy for the county buildings. I can think of supervisor McPherson and his leadership on Monterey Bay community power But everybody has brought something forward on this But the work is really done On a day-to-day basis by carol and others Ginny and others on the on the county staff that have just really Made this and david. I mean there are people here that really have made this their Life's mission to make our county a model on this issue and as assemblymember stone had noted before you can't always count on Other levels to do it and I think that what we've seen here is that We've done things at the county of Santa Cruz that have become both state and national Models and there's no reason why we should stop now We're very fortunate to have the staff that we have here in the county that take the leadership on these issues Thank you for taking the time to recognize us and thank you for everybody within the county family for taking this leadership role This really is an award for all of you So we'll move on now to the the next item, which is a presentation by Monterey Bay community power apropos As outlined in the memo of the county administrative officer. I recognize that Mr. Plosios has been taking a lead on behalf of the county on this item as well Do would you like to briefly introduce the speaker mr. Plosios before? The presentation We've done such great work on Monterey Bay community power and I'm just very thankful To have a representative here from our staff to present to the board and the public about all the good work that we're we're doing Good morning supervisors. My name is jr. Killigree. I'm the director of communications and external affairs at your Monterey Bay community power Before I launch into this I've heard a lot of wonderful comments about advocacy and local control But this agency is that locally controlled public agency That is serving the constituents not only across santa cruz county, but also san bonito and monterey It is truly a model statewide that this is the first community choice energy agency that launched as a regional effort Every single other one of them launched either by a city or a county or whatnot But this is the first time that three very diverse and dynamic counties got together to launch a program And this is a model that we can uphold not only the state but also nationwide as community choice programs Purl it for rate across other states like ohio in massachusetts new jersey and rhode island Just wanted to kick this off Based on my former colleague carolee about the future is carbon free and we totally congratulate the county on its leadership And reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency Mbcp is now delivering 100 carbon free electricity at a lower cost than pg news right now So not only are you reducing your energy consumption, but you're also getting carbon free electricity at the same time Great, so who we are in a nutshell We are a joint powers authority that comprises of 19 local governments 16 cities in the three counties We are what you call a community choice energy agency So we go out on behalf of the constituents here and procure energy on behalf of them It is then delivered through the pg&e polls and wires As i mentioned before the great thing about this particular joint powers authority is i think it's the first one that's been created in A good 30 or 40 years since ambag so it's really amazing to see that this county This region was able to get together and put forth another collaborative that's going to help reach Not only climate goals, but also economic goals for the region One thing that i'm always amazed about with this particular program is the amount of community input and Analysis and investigation and research that went into it When you look back to when the region got its grant back in 2013 to the point that we launched service this year in march of 2018 That's five years of of energy and investment into this program There's not another program in the state that's been able to invest that amount of time and energy And it just goes to show you the amount of community input and advocacy that went into but also the thought And the research and the rigor that each one of the cities put forth in order to become a become a part of this joint powers authority So how we are governed and i think i want to um Highlight the point that we are a public agency all our meetings are available to the public So if you look at our policy board, which is made up of the elected officials They meet quarterly our operation board meets eight times a year and that that's made up of Administrators as well as city managers and there are newly appointed community advisory council meets on a monthly basis We're talking about 24 public meetings just for Monterey Bay community power So if people ever need to come to voice their opinion about things learn about the programs There are 24 opportunities on an annual basis that our board meets to share in terms of what we're doing So in getting back to it in a nutshell what we do is we go out and acquire electricity on the wholesale market And then it gets dispatched to residences and businesses in the Monterey Bay region We are in a partnership with PG&E. They do control the transmission and distribution But ultimately the big benefit from this program is that we can take surplus revenues and reinvest it back in the community faster And more effectively than PG&E can Now i wanted to give you a little uh snapshot in terms of the the revolution that's happening in the state of california in terms of electricity There are now 20 operating CCAs or community choice energy agencies in the state think about it in 2010 there was one It's one of the fastest going It's a sectors in the in the in the state, but it's all locally controlled and it's community driven I think it's just a model that I think a lot of other states are looking at to see the benefits and whatnot So in terms of why mbcp is different In terms of choice we provide people choice, but they didn't have it before the big thing is we were providing Carbon-free electricity as our default service Also, additionally local control and accountability. We're not taxpayer Funded and also we have volunteer board members That are participating in our boards And then additionally what makes us even more uniquely positioned to help this region is from our local benefits Through our rebate model as well as our energy programs To be able to set across a set aside surplus revenues So quickly to reinvest in the region is another model that other cca's are looking at us to learn about and hopefully emulate moving forward Now what's great about uh this whole cca model is before this all started folks didn't have a choice where their electricity came from They had one option now with moderate bay power Community power you have two options whether you want to go 100 carbon free or 100 renewable energy The other really unique program that we put forth is our rebate option So with our three percent rebate a customer can reinvest That rebate and either mb green plus which is for local programs Or mb share to help climate efforts with local foundations. This is truly an innovative model that's no other cca's doing Now in terms of community outreach, I think uh our work is never done We're tirelessly trying to reach as many Many different businesses and residences Some of the the bullet points kind of speak to themselves But we have hosted over 140 different workshops and events And I also wanted to call upon this really unique partnership that we did with univision to educate agricultural workers For the last two or three months We've been going every two weeks to provide food and education outreach to underserved communities to learn more about what Monterey Bay community power is going to do for them And it's really been a whirlwind in terms of the the type of input We've gotten from underserved communities that otherwise may not have been addressed with this program So I think it's really just a hallmark piece of our outreach campaign Now I did want to give you uh the board of supervisors a snapshot of the county santa cruz by the numbers So in terms of all the customers in santa cruz county and unincorporated accounts for over 55 You folks actually have the the highest enrollment percentage compared to santa cruz Monterey county and san bonito county And also greatly it's seen a huge uptick in enrollments in our 100 percent renewable option as well as participating in the rebate options mb share and mb green plus Now in terms of what's next and I wanted to show this picture because this is at the community power festival Which is hosted here in santa cruz. So it was another great opportunity for us to engage the community We had a lot of great vendors at a band out there and there's another fun way for us to Talk to the community about who we are and what we're doing Now the the the fact that mbcp is already setting aside surplus revenues for energy programs Within the first year of operation. We're the first of its kind in that sense So we're looking at investing funds in ev rebates to help both low-income customers and public agencies We're partnering with the cec about a huge six million dollar ev infrastructure opportunity And mbcp is going to be putting on revenues for electric vehicle charging stations We're also hoping to part with the air district as well to kind of put forth a really joint collaborative to reinvest in this region for ev infrastructure We're also looking at hopefully to support low-income installations for solar as well as doing some strategic analysis around what what the region will look like if we go fully electric What does that mean for the transportation sector the agricultural sector the business sector? How will that reduce emissions? But how will that create jobs and create a more resilient monterey bay? And I think ultimately I wanted to kind of land on where we are moving forward I'm going to continue to do a ton of outreach and brand awareness Make sure our customer support is as high as possible And then finally our three pillars or our energy programs are transportation electrification building electrification And distributed energy resources So it's a really exciting opportunity for us to be here in front of you to provide you a really exciting update About the impacts that are having already in the region In the region and I just wanted to give a note to santa cruz county Is kind of being the leader to get this whole movement going in the region and the leadership that all the supervisors had in supporting this program It truly is a locally controlled community-based agency That's here to provide a voice to the resonances and businesses in this region that they otherwise may not have with an investor on utility model So on that note, I'd be happy to entertain any questions or thoughts Are there any questions or comments from board members? supervisor caput When I talk to people a lot of people don't understand the difference between What it is now and what it was in the past But they do the big concern is that they'll save money. Yeah, so In the in the near future. It looks like it's going to save money for most customers Yes, actually, um, so our rates are consistent with pgne But we deliver a three percent savings for all customers So we are less expensive Categorically a hundred percent less expensive right and that's uh, that's for the electricity use, right? Correct. Yeah, and uh, most Pardon me for the question. I I don't understand some of it But is most of the power generated by these windmills that are out there or is that there are other sources of You know producing the electricity. Yeah, and that's a great question So our power mix right now for our mb choice our default product is 30 percent eligible renewables So that's geothermal biomass Small-scale hydro wind and solar and then the other remaining 70 percent is large hydro from california the pacific northwest But if folks are really excited about a hundred percent renewable energy We have that electricity option called mb prime, which is a hundred percent renewable energy coming from wind and sun Okay, and then on solar power What's the shelf life of? Is it 20 years? You know a big solar panel or is it Are we improving on that? Yes, the efficiency of the panels are are increasing quite rapidly I think about maybe 10 years ago you were looking at about 10 or 12 percent efficiency The panels are getting up to 15 to 18 percent And then the effective useful life for panels are actually moving up to about 25 years now And hopefully they'll get longer and longer as as the technology increases Okay Thank you. Thank you sir visor mcpherson in case you know something about this Yeah, I I just I want to thank this has been uh, I love athletic sports and all that so this has been A great team effort as I've ever seen in the political Social world that I've I've been associated with over many many years. I can't Thank enough people that contributed to this cause and It initially we were going to start up with just santa cruz county and its four cities And we said no, let's we can do better than that Let's let's make it bigger and we've ended up with three counties in 1916 cities I can't thank enough the project development advisory committee david carlson and carl and others who just Really put their hearts and soul into this and The formation of it is that much even that much better because we didn't say Let's this is the tar let's go get it And then figure out how we're going to get there We said what's the best way to get there and what the option what are the options available for us to Establish a community choice energy agency and we did it And if scotsman always likes this as I say Without one cent of general fund money being spent by any of the governing agencies There have been other counties that have put as much as seven or eight hundred thousand dollars into that effort We got state grants. We got Help from the university of california santa cruz the community foundation This has been a tremendous community effort and people really have literally bought into it. And so I I can't thank I thank Those people enough who said yes, this is a good thing to do Let's get the the roadway of how to do it and let's establish it And we have a different model as you mentioned And people are looking at the model that monterey bay community power has developed And it's going to be one that's copied I think throughout the state and and the nation We did launch seven months ago And at that time the county uh, and thank everybody in santa cruz county. We put up the upfront money Of over six was about six and a half million dollars total not all county But and we thought maybe that'll take about two years to pay off Well, we have paid that off in seven months. We're debt free right now So that really feels good to a guy named McPherson I'll tell you so And it's some people the questions that they have if you have a solar system You're going to get twice the credit. So It's it's a win-win for those who are already in the solar system As far as our greenhouse gas emission Levels of attainment that we were set for us by the state for 2030 We will meet those this year in 2019 because of this program So there's a lot of good things It's just Really the most exciting thing i've been associated with in my public service career Frankly, and I think that there has been some confusion because the billing has been We bill you'll see monterey bay community power electric charges on your bill And they think well, that's a new new charge Well, know if you go back and see an alike usage of your electrical power With your bill that was on the pgne bill for electric service charges And you compare it to what this That pgne charge is as well as The monterey bay community charts this the new one will be less So it's it's a little confusing because it's a new line on a bill But it's not an additional cost you're actually saving money as you mentioned So I I just can't again over state how Pleased and thankful I am for the number of people it took 140 community meetings over five years And that came to the table and said yeah, this is a really good thing on several levels carbon free less cost local governance And we're going to rebate and we're going to reach out to For the electricity needs of this region And for that matter the whole state, but for this region with the electrical vehicles Where we can we can reach out to those In the low-income areas possibly to get them to buy into this but our 95 percent Enrollment with commercial and residential Customers is or maybe it's 98. I think you said but It's we were looking at 85 to 90 maybe and we can't we couldn't be more pleased but this community has been very instrumental in making this happen and they're I'm very appreciative of what they've done and the enrollment and the confidence and faith they've put in this program Because it's going to be here from now on and we're going to be Really a lot more environmentally friendly than a lot of other regions in the state So, thank you. Mr. Chair. Thank you. Supervisor Leopold Thank you chair. Thank you for the presentation and thank you for the work of Monterey Bay community power um, I was very excited to hear about the investment and Chargers and our electric transportation infrastructure. I think that that's we see an increasing number of cars on the road And I think the importance of Monterey Bay community power providing some Incentive or subsidy for people to be able to purchase the car will be very important Especially as the federal government it seems to be withdrawing from this area. So it's uh, you know, california has to step forward and all the different ways that we can in order to uh To make it attractive for people just to change the way that they drive and Once you change it's it's hard to go back As the owner of an electric vehicle Um, I was uh I wanted you to talk About this recent decision by the puc about the power charge and difference adjustment Because oh that thing. Yeah Yeah, well the puc public utilities commission seems more like the pg&e utility commission With this uh with this ruling And you know, I've gotten some calls from my office concerned about what's going to happen with our bills And I wonder if you could talk about that. Sure, absolutely. Um, I Before I I I started I just wanted to mention I had the pleasure of attending assembly members stones environmental breakfast And he he mentioned that When our ceo tom and boss, you and I were talking to him We were wondering why is the cpuc in san francisco? And he let us know that it used to be in sacramento But the railroad industry had their ear all the time so they had to move them down to san francisco And now maybe it's a good idea to move them back to sacramento But in any event So the background about this This charge as they call it It's it's it's not new. It's been around since the late 90s If if folks recall, uh, there were some large industries who wanted to get more affordable electricity So they departed service from pg&e or so cal atis and or sdg&e and entered in direct actus And the problem was is it was a considerable amount of energy and the utilities are already procured So they basically said we need to be made whole so we don't have to levy this cost on our existing customers So I just want to set the record that it's not a new thing. It's been around for a long time It basically just got reinstituted when marine clean energy started in 2010 because the whole theory is If you're a a pg&e bundle customer, you're getting your energy supply from pg&e You shouldn't necessarily be on the hook of somebody leave service and you have to foot the bill I think it's Like in theory it makes sense, but in the way of the methodology and the practicality. It's getting a little wonky, but I think Most importantly there is a decision that was made by the by the cpuc to move forward with this alternate Proposed decision, but the great thing about monoray bay community powers. We saw the writing on the wall We did as much as we could to plan for it and actually what the cpuc has kind of put forth in terms of Whether there's increases or decreases. We've pretty much planned to a t So in terms of our rates and our consistency, there's not really going to be much of an impact for our for our customers I think most importantly is to ensure that customers know that Regardless of things go up down left or right you will always get your 3 savings And that's the way to help reinvest in the region just in this calendar year We're going to be putting back. I think about three and a half million dollars in the pockets of the monoray bay customers And you know based on a three and a half or 3.3 percent rebate for 2019 That could be another seven and a half million dollars So we're talking about just in a span of maybe 20 months This this this agency is going to be putting close to 12 million dollars in customer rebates back to the 270,000 customers that we have Will people see an increase in their and their energy bill because of this ruling by the puc? well, the what will the Not necessarily because the the generation rate which pgne updates once a year That's where you would that's where you would see an increase or decrease. So case in point Let's a residential e1 rate is 10.78 cents per kilowatt hour So what happens is is if pgne decides to reduce its rates then we'll end up reducing our rates a little bit But if it goes up that the the issue with the pcia kind of It squeezes our margin or our flexibility to reinvest in the region But it won't have an impact in terms of like what the rate the customer sees it would be the generation side So customers will will basically see roughly the same bill We'll have less money to be able to invest in local projects because of the pcia And The the three percent rebate To an average customer. What would that look like? I mean, you know in terms of money Or credit on their bill. So the way it works right now And this is completely different from any other program some other cca's actually do a discounted rate So you're three to five percent less than pgne on a monthly basis We took the approach that of what the california climate credit is because customers see a big sizeable credit Once or twice a year on their bill and there's more of a relationship to it as opposed to a little discounted rate So for an average customer Three percent a month will probably translate to somewhere between Two to four dollars a month and when you kind of aggregate that up on an annual basis for 12 months You're looking at anywhere from 25 to 48 dollars But then if a customer's average bill is maybe say a hundred bucks That's knocking off 25 to 40 of that monthly bill. Yeah, well, I mean and last I checked I don't I didn't get any rebates from pgne of all the years. I uh, I was their customer as well I I really appreciate all the hard work that went into creating this and It really goes to us taking control of our Of our power system to invest in the things that we care about And to do our part to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. So thank you for the work of Monterey Bay community power I know there'll be a lot of questions with this ruling But I thought you've you've put out some very clear information That will be helpful for the public. So thank you Thank you. Supervisor Coonerty. Yeah, and uh, I just want to share Um, the excitement and the appreciation for everyone who put the time in this This effort what is really shown is how much money we were exporting out of this community to uh, to corporate, you know Executives and shareholders rather than keeping it and reinvesting it giving it back to Consumers and then also reinvesting in our community And then what we can do when we sort of have our purchasing aligned with our values To to make sure that we're uh, reducing our carbon footprint and doing our part To reduce the efforts of of carbon emissions and and the impacts of climate change So I want to thank you for that. I think it's going to be, you know, I think Every new business or a new initiative. It's about communication and about consistently reaching out And I think you've been doing a good job of that. I think people will appreciate it more as it becomes Clear and they start to see the benefits both in terms of the rebate and in terms of energies Purchasing the alliance to their values and then eventually in terms of this local reinvestment once We stop having this takeaway at the state level. I having run a business I would love it if some every time I lost a customer. I was just got paid regardless For for having lost that customer That seems like a really good business to be in But I'm hopeful that the state will reverse its actions and really let the decision making get back to To the people and to the communities Where they can we can we can be the leaders on the many of the efforts that they're talking about In terms of climate change and local Resilient local economies So, uh, we'll keep keep pushing that effort forward and thank you to you and the whole team For doing this outreach in our community You're welcome I would like to open it up for the community. Is there anybody else anybody that'd like to address us on this non-action item the presentation? Thank you. Becky steinbrunner. I do have a couple of questions and thank you for the good presentation um I wanted to ask about that Statement that it is Monterey Bay community power is definitely less expensive I attended a presentation by the the monterey bay power Representative at a so-called creek water district meeting Maybe about a year ago and the question was put to them about whether The deep water desalination plan in moss landing would be using monterey bay community power and and the answer was no Because deep water desal could get a cheaper rate from selenus At the municipal rate that's the city of selenus would be granted and i'm just wondering if that has changed Deep water desal would certainly use a lot of power and I would prefer to see that it come from a green source Such as monterey bay community power my second question is Actually a comment to the board with this good Clean power source. I would like to ask your board to begin discussions with the county planning and zoning department requiring all new development and remodel for both commercial and residential include Electric vehicle hookups that would us really help our our carbon footprint and to encourage the use of electrical vehicles in our county and finally Again, I want to thank you. I just have been somewhat stunned to learn how How quickly this has been so successful to such huge amounts of money, but but also As a very poor family To learn that the ceo of monterey bay community power makes 27 000 a month with benefits To me was stunning Thank you Thank you. Anybody else like to address us Good morning. I guess I just want to briefly say thank you to all the board members for Spearheading this project and and particularly to supervisor McPherson who took this on from day one and and supported jenny johnson who really was a driving force that Took us from an idea to A reality and it's really I share your remarks supervisor that I've never seen anything quite like it In my lifetime that local government could take that kind of action that quickly and involve that many Jurisdictions and and come up with a solution that really Benefits the citizens. So thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Coffless. Anybody else like to address this on this item Okay Well, certainly you did a presentation that just sounds wonderful Sounds I have some questions And I hope you will answer them or board members And that I will not be disregarded with these questions like the board routinely does like i'm not even here And i've been discussing some of these points with friends So responding to these questions would Clarify for more people than myself One is knowing PG&E's Really a disastrous harmful history and their present horrible operations with Smart meters and we just talked earlier about slaughtering The trees of the county is there a way to Be independent of PG&E. In other words, PG&E is a monopoly It seems like it would make more sense for really having a community or local operated to Not be in partnership with PG&E I find that part rather horrifying. So that's that's one question And the other is How do you define the energy? Efficiency because we've been told for years about fluorescent light bulbs being energy efficient They emit mercury. It's mercury contamination. The flickering is very bad These LED lights that have been put in when they switched out my understanding of The fluorescent lights. These are also very harmful Especially to the vision It feels Gerald's hold to me in this room all the time But I feel like my public citizen response responsibility is to try to give some direction Uh to the board and inform others. So those are Two questions And the third one is what part Is wireless microwave radiation in terms of the Transmission of energy. We know PG&E smart meters That had met radiation So I would Appreciate clarification on answering those questions because I did see on my bill Of course, there's an increased amount So that's going to be very discouraging for people to see from the moderate bay Energy until those are my questions. I look forward to a response from you. Thank you. Thank you Is there anybody else that'd like to address us? Okay, see and then we'll we'll close this out and jara if you want to meet with them I mean, they're here to if you have want to answer those questions specifically the board's going to Move on to our next action item. We do appreciate you taking this much time though to Make that presentation and and uh, they're in the audience if you want to pull them aside and answer those questions Thank you for taking the time The board will move on to item nine, which is to consider an ordinance amending chapters 2.08 point two two point two six point three four point three six point three eight point six six point seven two Point eight four point nine four point nine five point nine eight two point one zero four one zero six one one one one nine And one two zero the centricers county code to simplify language To correct errors and update agency titles and statutory references and make miscellaneous code changes that line in the memo of county council We have the board memo. We have a strikeout an underline and clean copy for all of these Updates welcome back. Mr. Heath. I recognize that you had said at our last couple board meetings that you would be bringing these Periodically and imagine that's what this is. That's what this is. Good morning. Jason Heath with county council's office This is the second in a series of update ordinances that we're going to be bringing your board over time This one addresses everything from emergency services to assessment appeals board to workforce investment board All of the changes that are being recommended here have been vetted with the staff that use these codes and the commissions That use these codes and that implement their their work If you have any questions, i'm happy to answer them. I know it's a very large package You know, I can I can be directed to a specific page and tell you why and what the basis was for any of these changes Some of them because the packet's so large I may be able I may need to get back to you Especially if it's related to a statutory reference change a number of these changes relate to state codes that have changed for example and been updated and then The like you're saying you don't have them all memorized not yet. It's very disappointing very disappointing That's okay. Well, let us slide this one time our county council has it all Surveysley pulled the other question two things one is A potential language change. It's on page 63 of the packet. It's in the county administrative officers section 2.08 This may have been missed is it says whether he or she deems it necessary And I thought we were trying to change these to whether they deem it necessary. Yes, that was Yes, that was one of the places where it was missed So as you can see in the other in the other places, we've changed it to there Throughout so there was there was not purposeful to leave that one as he I know I just I I figured in a packet this large Something like so it's going to get so what I what I would suggest is I note that and if if anyone was interested in a motion to advance this package What I would do is on my third update ordinance. I would bring it back to just correct that one small change I've already identified something in one of the other ones that needs to be Modified as well I'm happy To make that happen when one of the times appropriate There was one of the things that's interesting to me And reading through this Is I've never sat down and read the code Uh page by page and so there was an element in the off in the description of office of emergency services or emergency services 2.26 That uh That caught me by surprise. It's uh In section six it's on page 70 And it says In the event of a proclamation of a local emergency as herein provided the proclamation of a quote state of emergency Unquote by the governor or director of the state office of emergency services or the existence of a quote state of war emergency The director is empowered to The state of war emergency Was very surprising to me and It's directly out of state out of state law. It's it's it's there's a definition event that war is declared That's exactly right. That would come from the state. That's exactly right. Okay It was it was weird to read in our county code about the state of war Yes, never be used some of this is some of this is what we're doing is we're trying to align Our local code with the state code where appropriate so that we we don't diverge so much that we end up With differing systems at some point or systems that conflict with one another that then have to be cleaned up over time sure Well, thanks for filling me in about that that was as I said was wasn't I was surprised to read about that one and I read the back No other questions I do have a brief question on section 2.3 8.2 7 0, which is the conflict of interest code section um It defines when a commissioner committee possesses That they have a decision-making authority. It doesn't go on to say whether they have to shall have a conflict of interest code I wasn't sure if this If the language there and I don't actually have the page because I'm looking at it as an attachment So I'm not going to be totally helpful on you. Okay. Let me try to catch up with where you are 2.3 8.2 7 0 which is the conflict of interest code adoption section. I'm almost there I guess my I just want to make sure that the language that we have here Would facilitate the requirement of a conflict of interest code adoption for our Commissions it's 2.38 1.2 7 0 so So what this does is it is it is it basically incorporates The language of title 2 california coda regulation section 1800. Okay, so Um, I don't have with me in this packet subsections a or c because the only thing I was changing from that section Well, I don't have subsection a what I have is subsection b and c Let me look really quickly Actually, I just don't have it. I don't have section a but but the the idea would be that We follow state law and and state law determines when conflict of interest codes need to be adopted So this county code provision about conflict of code Adoption is really more informative and duplicative of state law understood than anything else. It's not meant to replace it That's helpful. Okay. Are there any other questions on this for I open up the community? Okay, we'll open up the community anybody have any questions or comments on this item item nine I do thank you back a steinbrunner First of all, I think it would be helpful for members of the public if on the main agenda Instead of simply listing the code and the exhibit to also as you do in the other staff report List the topic of each code change for example um In r exhibit r has to do with the fire department advisory code And so on That would be in keeping with better government transparency and peak The public's interest in actually researching what these change Changes could involve and that is also consistent with the brown act So in my examination of the documents in the back Um, I also have a question about the conflict of interest code Changes and would like to ask that the board add in that all commissions must declare ex parte communication The planning commission does that and recently the historic resources commission has been asked to do that However, the housing advisory commission does not And there are a lot of Industry developers real estate people that come into those meetings and also contact those commissioners Some of the commissioners themselves are in the real estate agency And I really think that housing advisory commission Needs to not only adopt a conflict of interest code, but also the ex parte declaration I also want to point out to you that the historic resources commission, which was changes to their rules were in the first batch Didn't even know about these changes until their october 2nd meeting after your board had looked at them twice and approved them I would also like to point out that because I attend the county fire advisory commission They've never seen this They've never seen this change to their own code that needs to change I would like to point out that I have concerns about And I think it's section 2.2 2.0 1 0 section b county council Can employ private council? I think that's not a good thing unless it is made public Who is being employed by county council in the private sector? In the section regarding emergency services, i'm concerned that it deletes the word threat of emergency And regarding Commissions that are decision-making bodies I see that the historic resources commission and the housing advisory commission are not listed And I see that our county no longer has an energy commission I feel that the wording in the county fire advisory commission Is stripping a lot of their power away as what happened with the water advisory commission without their knowledge They hadn't seen that either. Thank you. Ms. Timber. Thank you Anybody else like to address us on this item? Thank you. Becky steinbruner for your careful reading and critique of that Which is very informative to me and right on the mark Now I feel like if we had a board of supervisors that represented the public and Something was brought forward and this was with previous board of supervisors Someone would say wait a minute. We do need to look at the that those are very important points Instead of always just dismissing them also I had the same sense when I read this What are each of these code changes about just a Brief synopsis. I don't think all these changes have to do with typos or Updates Why who ordered this why this is huge Changes who directed this? Um, I I would like to know if you could state here the person Who is Assigned to all these code changes because I would like to have a conversation with him I think he did a presentation at one of the prior meetings to see of what Why When what is it about and whenever I hear the word? Streamline That means to me Making from what I've seen what I've observed and like with the telecom industry making it more to facilitate Their dominance and their Businesses as with your broadband meeting in felton last month supervisor McPherson this is Imposing harm on the public. So this certainly could be more clear So those are my comments. I'm very dismayed at The actions of this board of supervisors in many respects. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else like to address us Okay, these are Very minor changes Quite frankly and we went through this at the last meeting and discussed how minor these changes were But I understand that not everybody's going to believe that and respect the fact that you can come forward and say things But it doesn't mean that it's actually true. So we'll come back to the board I recognize it's time for a motion with additional direction on something Yes, I would move the recommended actions direct staff to to come back with section Chapter 2.08 At when we with the changes suggested here At our at the next scheduled Update of the county code. I understand the motion. Yeah, does it is it clear? Okay, sir We have a motion from sue fries leopold and a second from sue fries or Coonerty all those in favor I opposed it passes unanimously. Thank you. Mr. Heath coming in and thank you presenting that We'll move on to item 10 Which is to consider an ordinance repealing santa cruz county chapter 7.126 the medical cannabis cultivation and take related actions outlined in the memo the Oh Mr. Rainer, are you doing the presentation here or that quick discussion here? Welcome. Thank you. Good morning. Or are we afternoon yet? Not quite So we are here to request the repeal of 7.126 because at this point in time We feel that the ordinance is no longer necessary Limited immunity is not anything that's recognized by the state under the new laws Regarding cannabis and we have a process in place for transition That also mirrors and helps coordinate with the state process for temporary and provisional licensing So the people who are registered we are working with them and helping them move through the process of licensing And the people who aren't registered or aren't participating in any way to get legalized This Causes this particular ordinance causes problems for enforcement Leaving 7126 on the books is confusing because we have 7.128 now, which is The law that you passed in may that governs all cannabis operations except for dispensaries, which is 7.130 And it's confusing for enforcement because in force our enforcement team is really relying on 7.128 Now for guidance in how to enforce on illegal cannabis operations This is basically cleanup legislation because 7.128 is now in effect And so we'd like to request that you repeal 7.126 at this point Thank you. Are there any questions from board members? Supervisor leopold Um Thank you for for the information and I will be supporting this motion And we have regularly scheduled updates from the cannabis licensing office when was when will we be receiving The next update from them The next update is scheduled for the december meeting. Okay, and there we'll be able to find out how many You know, you'll you'll share with us how many people are moving through What's been the enforcement piece like what's our tax? Receipts looking like yes, you gave us very specific instructions on the type of information that you want to receive and we will be Supplying you with all of that. Okay. Thank you Any other questions? Okay, we'll open up to the community recognizer has been some people waiting here I appreciate your patience this morning waiting for this item Welcome back Brenda Chadwick, uh, I think most of you know me. I'd like to thank you for your continued Emphasis on trying to get the cannabis Regulated market in the right place for the county. I appreciate what the county's done all of you Really, I I appreciate it what I want. I hope you When you think of me when I come up here, I hope you think of that good little angel That sits on your right shoulder guiding you to Remember all the stakeholders in the beginning the thought was that we were going to bring in as many people as possible and Unfortunately, I don't know that that's Where things are headed, but you all know I have been an advocate for the cottage License type that the state came out with Unfortunately, it wasn't until May when we passed our final ordinance that that was included So I want to just continue to remind you about all those small mom-and-pop heritage cultivators who aren't fitting into the Ordinance and how their lives are being dramatically impacted economically Many are seniors like myself And I really want to encourage you to honor those registrations and especially honor the registrations for people who came forward paid their registration fee did not Register anonymously and started paying their taxes at the very first guidance from the county And those registrations really need to be honored Even if it takes a little longer than everyone would like so I hope you do that I'd like to Uh repeat something that uh supervisor leopold said push for changes from the bottom up That's what I think we're we've been doing for quite some time. I want to continue doing that I hope that At some point there'll be a an opportunity for a A cannabis advisory board so that we can really get some members of the community that aren't part of the county at or Big business To sit down together and look at taxes. I'd like to encourage the compassionate program where taxes are not collected from People who contribute to patients at no cost so that I think that's something that's very important and Thank you again for your help and Don't be disappointed or Worry about me when I come up just always think of the People that Are depending on you to make the right choices. Thank you. Thank you Morning, welcome back. Good morning. Jim coffers from I'm representing green trade Santa Cruz a coalition of businesses in the county that are Hoping to be a part of the license regulated Statewide market. I trust you all received the communication that I sent with a bunch of issues that we Hope that you will begin to address and I'm not going to go through all those but I would Like to comment about the fact sitting here today and listening to the mark stones presentation and the monterey big power presentation and the Beacon award that you all are going to go home with You know, there's a certain amount of pride That I can take as a local resident of Santa Cruz that We have a Community and a government that is responsive and is also Forward-thinking and innovative and I would encourage you to Bring some of that Mojo to the cannabis issue you you should take a lot of pride in the fact that You've been a leader in the state that this jurisdiction is You know, when we travel around the state, we hear nothing but praise for The way Santa Cruz is moving this forward There's a lot of work still to be done. I mean we're nine months into this the There's a certain amount of chaos going on at the state level We're looking forward to a whole set of new rules that are going to be published sometime this week That will become the permanent rules for For all the various agencies that are controlling Commercial cannabis There are a lot of issues that are bouncing around that need to be Smoothed over and addressed And so it's really important that you remain vigilant and stay on top of this and be ready to make Course corrections to protect The kind of industry that we want to have in in this community And to show some leadership to the state on In issues around compassionate use Equity and a whole variety of things that are That are not on the forefront of Of the state's agenda Please continue to keep your eye on this continue to demand that you get information and And let's Figure out a way to move forward and make the make the course corrections that are going to be required. Thank you Thank you. Good morning and welcome back Hi, uh pat malo a lifetime community member and 7.126 Expert or captive or however you want to say it I I think that I've said those numbers more than I've said any other numbers in my life in sequence So thank you for that. Um in uh, you know, I remember what 7.126 was You know formed in these and by you guys and the community In a lot of ways it was a huge step forward and really Maybe You know the best ordinance in a lot of senses that california had at the time We myself and others Gathered thousands and thousands of signatures to attempt to protect that ordinance because we thought it was so good which led to Community effort to form an ordinance that would You know meet the new state requirements and satisfy a bunch of the issues that we had about Being a leader with one of the most permissive ordinances at the time You know, so that ordinance is a mixed bag some of the positive things as it created is is it took a very large Industry that was already existing at that time in santa cruz county because of again your history of being leaders on this issue and it attempted to offer Immunity, you know As best as it could and protect folks who were following those rules. And so we had a large community of people who were Following those rules either from santa cruz or people who relocated here in a way to be able to follow those regulations And this so we had thousands of people Following those rules compliant that we had a registration period where we had already had What the new zoning these types of rules were going to be? And we had 700 Folks who thought that they could make it in the new rules enough to pay that money Right now we are maybe again leading the state of california with the amount of folks who were in this old system That we've transitioned into this new system, but that number is very very small. I mean we have Close to 30 applications into the cannabis licensing department out of hundreds and hundreds of registries Out of thousands of compliant businesses before and even though that's probably beating the states Numbers of one in one thousand who has a license. I don't think you know 10 in 700 30 in 700 even 100 in 700 is enough to replace the thousands and thousands and thousands of people Who made their living off of? Medical cannabis in as legal of a way that they were allowed to at the time And if this was any other industry, I'll finish with a normal joke Is that if I remember wriggly's plant closing and that was corporate bubble gum and everyone threw a fit And this is what's happened with cannabis. Thank you. Thank you Thank you becky steinbrunner resident of rural aptos. I want to thank the Three representatives here that have waited so patiently I would like to urge your board to hold evening meetings when issues like this are being considered I have been to some of those evening meetings and this room is packed in the evening when people who are working can attend So I'd like to ask that you you grant those people that consideration And again, thank the people that are here today I I really want to support Um This county's government working in a cooperative manner with these people who have in good faith come forward and paid a lot of money and And really put put themselves out in the light when that was not considered a real When it was a kind of a risky thing to do I think we've got to support them And especially since this county's budget is relying upon a considerable amount of its revenue from this industry I want to make it clear that I support the people who really are working hard to follow the rules and be environmental Responsible and I am concerned still that there is a big black market out there My community has been threatened with Fire for three different times now because of these large black market operations And I I want it to be supportive of these people who are following the rules and and doing things in the proper way So they do not impose risk to the communities in the environment And I want you to be good faith operators respectful of these people And finally, um, I want to find out when the new cannabis director will be appointed I understand robin bolster grand is is maybe not there anymore So, um, I think it would help Give confidence to the whole process if there were a person that is in charge and and can be consistently at the helm Thank you Thank you. Anybody else like to address us on this item Okay, so now we'll bring it back to the board Well, I look I look forward to the to the Report that will get in December around a lot of the issues that were Discussed in some of the emails were received But I think it's important for us to get rid of this relic of our Previous system and I would move the recommended actions A motion from supervisor leopold in a second from supervisor McPherson all those in favor. Hi. Hi opposed It passes unanimously. Thank you both for your work Before the board goes into closed session will anything be reportable out of closed session? No Would anybody from the community like to address us on item 11, which is the closed session item specifically before we do Okay, I'd like to thank the sentinel and community tv for covering the board will move into closed session