 Recording in progress the hour of 1230 having arrived and You all having arrived I will call this session of the Santa Cruz City Council to order and ask for a The clerk to call the roll Thank You mayor council members newson present Brown here Watkins here Brunner President Helen Perry Johnson as it vice mayor Golder here and Mary Cooley here Quorum having been established. We will Move to Add To our close session agenda today 495 upper-part drive and appartenances to the closed session agenda Would need a motion to do that. Is there such a motion there is by councilmember Watkins and seconded by Excuse me councilmember Brown The clerk will call the roll Councilmember newson. Hi Brown. Hi Watkins. Hi Brunner Hi Calentary Johnson. Hi vice mayor Golder. Hi and Mary Cooley. Hi That item by unanimous consent has been added to our agenda for today Let's move on to closed session. This is the opportunity for anyone who is either with us in chambers today or online to make comment on our closed session agenda that closed session agenda is Is published it includes items for Through 7 With the addition that we just made in addition to those that I have enumerated So anyone with us today in chambers who would like to make comment on the closed session agenda Seen and hearing none miss bush. Do we have anyone online? I do just want to sorry mayor. I do want to Include that two and three are also part of closed session. Yes. I'm sorry if I didn't say that. Thank you very much No one wishing to make comment on the agenda. We will stand in Recess to close session. We will return at one of a couple of times Here we will Return to an open and an open session and we will report out that will be at or about 3.30 p.m. This afternoon the hour of 3.30 having arrived. We will Reconvene in our council meeting for the afternoon session on March 28th 2023 the clerk will call the roll Thank You mayor councilmember Newsom present Brown here Watkins here Brunner present Calentary Johnson as it vice mayor Golder here and Mary Keeley here Warm having been established. We will move on to our Agenda we are going to have a two special presentations today and the first one is Is a specially special we are going to be hearing from Laura Marcus the CEO of de entes Thank you. I think I know that I speak on behalf of all the council members Thank you for what you're doing. We're very excited about your new building all the new things that you're doing around town and around the County, thank you so much. The floor is yours. Thank you so much. I so appreciate that Good afternoon council members and mayor Fred Culey. I am Laura Marcus CEO of de entes community dental care and founder of oral health access Santa Cruz County This coalition of health and social service providers Government and education partners is focused on increasing access to dental care and improving the oral health of our community Today, I especially want to commend city councilmember Martin Watkins Who's been participating on behalf of the County Office of Education since OHA's inception? Martin has been a steadfast reporter and advocate for improved oral health in our community and we greatly appreciate your work Now I'd like to share an update on OHA's activities results and future plans first some history in 2015 de entes conducted the first ever oral health needs assessment for the region and shared the findings widely at an oral health Summit in 2016 at the summit We also introduced members of the newly formed OHA steering committee who had been tasked with reviewing the data and recommendations and developing a strategic plan next slide The first OHA strategic plan included the following goals for 2020 increasing dental visits for children aged zero to three Maintaining dental visits and increasing the number of kids with a dental home for children aged four to six and Increasing the number of Santa Cruz County residents with access to quality dental care by expanding services and sites next slide None of this work would be possible alone one of the greatest benefits of involving such a wide swath of leaders from different Organizations in our community was sharing their expertise and resources toward a common goal You can see here the members of the steering committee all of whom have contributed widely toward our success I also want to mention the state of California which funded OHA activities with a one million dollar grant in 2017 and another one million dollars in 2022 next slide OHA activities have included launching a first-tooth first birthday education campaign with first five and Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency to reach new parents and their health care providers Promoting kindergarten oral health screenings with the local schools and the county office of education Recruiting more mid-level providers and pediatric dentists at Dianthus and Salud and building new sites to increase capacity Our dental providers trained medical staff how to apply fluoride varnish at well child visits Which is now reimbursable by Central California Alliance for Health and as a standard of care Lastly we launched an oral health and pregnancy media campaign and prioritizing pregnant women during their first trimester at both Dianthus and Salud next slide The results of these activities have been phenomenal as evidenced by the report card OHA published in 2021 After almost seven years working together OHA has made significant progress Before I share these results one important thing to note is that the data in these slides are reflecting our medical Population only and don't include people who are uninsured or underinsured next slide The good news is there's been significant a significant increase in access to care since 2014 with a 25% Increase in medical patients visiting the dentist that's 6,000 more people accessing dental care on an annual basis Next slide It's considered best practice to bring your baby to the dentist at their first tooth first birthday Whichever comes first our? 2021 report card showed that there's been a 60% increase in the number of kids to and under with annual dental visits That's over 50% of our local Medi-Cal babies and toddlers with an annual dental visit versus the statewide average of only 25% Next slide More children going to the dentist by their first tooth first birthday can have a ripple effect The same is true for fluoride application at well, baby and child visits We're seeing fewer kindergartners entering school with cavities and there's been a 79% increase in kids with a dental home next slide The last piece of good news to report is the increase in the number of adults receiving dental services Due to the growth of clinics and providers at the end this and salute today 75% more Medi-Cal adults are accessing dental care Next slide But now some hard news as you can imagine there's still a lot of unmet need and our Medi-Cal population is only growing Last year our research partner Barbara avid and associates conducted a new needs assessment which looked at data from 2019 This was due to the dramatic drop in services during COVID avid compared the new data to the original data from 2014 and although we've made some great progress as mentioned Especially with our youngest most vulnerable kids. There are some populations that still need attention next slide The proportion of people who make annual dental visits hits a peak of 68% in the age range of six to nine Then we see a decrease starting in the teen and tween years dropping to under 20% 21% excuse me after age 20 Dental visits remain low as you can see through adulthood next slide This drop in adults accessing care is shocking Especially if you consider the repercussions of poor oral health, which can have so many detrimental effects on your overall health and well-being The 22 2022 needs assessment showed that only one in four Medi-Cal adults in the county access to dental care Next slide The problem gets worse as our population ages Utilization of dental services drops to 27% at age 60 and is less than 25% by age 75 Gum disease in seniors is widespread and this leads to worse health outcomes as they age in particular as it contributes to dementia Alzheimer's heart disease rheumatoid arthritis and poor diabetes outcomes and this is in addition to the Challenge of one in four seniors having lost all of their natural teeth Even though regular dental visits and preventative care can dramatically reduce the incidence of gum disease and poor or poor oral health at an affordable cost Exacerbating this problem is that our country continues to exclude dental benefits as part of Medicare Next slide Before I get to solutions. I wanted to share some important data on utilization of dental services by race and ethnicity We're happy to say that we have considered equity in the work OHA has done over these years and successfully communicated by lingual and Bicultural oral health information and education In fact, 48% of Medi-Cal patients identifying as Hispanic and 30% of those identifying other Have utilized dental services as compared to only 25% of whites Next slide So now for the future OHA's work on expanding access for kids and adults will continue and as most of you know Dianth has recently opened a beautiful new dental clinic in live oak Which will serve another six thousand new patients by 2024 With more plans to expand downtown soon But based on this most recent data We know we have more work to do in the coming years OHA and its partners are exploring Expanding its focus with more outreach education and direct services for youth and teens and Partnering with health providers and the Alliance and others on increasing education and access for people with diabetes But we're also thrilled to announce a new focus on seniors with a five million dollar five-year grant Awarded to us just a few weeks ago. I dealt to dental next With this new grant Dianthas will partner with Salud and OHA to help us expand access to dental care for low-income seniors in our community This competitive grant was the only the second awarded in the nation and the only grant awarded in California And this is a direct result of the collaborative work that OHA has been doing and the successes We have achieved over the past seven years. We're so excited about the opportunity to support more seniors in our community And we'll share more as we figure out what we're gonna do with it Lastly we couldn't have achieved improved oral health outcomes in Santa Cruz without your many years of support So thank you for that and thank you for your attention today, and I welcome any questions you have Thank you so much for your presentation. Let me see if there are questions or comments by council members Please I just want to say as an educator for the past 20 years I really appreciate all the work that Dianthas has done in collaboration with the schools from I used to be a kindergarten teacher in South County for five years and come out twice a year Teeth brushing lessons and then along with the screenings and checkups and things like that where you Literally bring like a mobile dentist office to the school a couple times a year And I think it's just fantastic the practitioners that are out there have great bedside manner And it's just a wonderful experience that I've seen over the last two decades. Thank you. Thank you so much Renee Councilmember Watkins. I just want to thank you Laura for your leadership in our community There's a reason why we're funded this new grant and it's really truly Because of you and your just steadfast commitment to this work to also expanding what's possible And I think about the success that you brought up with the various partners and the first tooth first birthday The marketing all the different aspects that go into seeing that success And so I just want to it's an honor to be a part of this committee and to do the work And just really thank you for your vision and leadership to actualize these really important goals So we appreciate you other council members There's Brunner a Big thank you for providing the care and access to our community Who is who really needs it? Thank you so much We all feel good about you because you're doing so much to make children and others feel so good about themselves So God love you. Thank you very very much for being here today. Best wishes to you Thank you We have yet another Presentation this afternoon and this will be an overview of the two major water department capital improvement projects Graham Hill water treatment plant facility and Also the Newell Creek pipeline replacement project is both vital public Infrastructure projects and we have Ms. Menard and and a colleague. Good afternoon. Good afternoon mayor and council I wanted to just take a real quick opportunity to introduce Kevin Crossley It's a senior engineer and the program director for the Santa Cruz water program Which is our major capital program We have an item a little bit later on your agenda for some funding for us So that's really great But I know there's some really large projects Most of you haven't been able to come up and see although we hope to remedy remedy that this summer That are really important to our community and I thought it would be a really good opportunity to see some information Good afternoon, sir. Thank you, Rosemary So I'm gonna talk about a couple really big projects that are part of the group of projects that are gonna be included in the WIFIA funding that's gonna be later on in your agenda today so we thought this would provide a little bit of context and background on the importance of What we're doing where we've come Good presentation. All right So I'm gonna start with the Neal Creek pipeline felt in the Graham Hill project. This is one of the two projects I'll be presenting on today Miss Bush will help you get that done as she does with so many people Miss Bush. Thank you so much Okay So the Neal Creek pipeline project will start with some background This is a really critical pipeline arguably the most critical pipeline in the water system it connects Loch Lomond Reservoir to the Graham Hill water treatment plant the city's only surface water treatment plant and It literally runs over the mountains and through the woods for anybody who's two or parts of it It it's installed in some pretty hairy places including a section along pipeline road, which is what we have on screen here in Henry Cal State Park, so It besides age being one of its vulnerabilities it goes through it's threatened by a number of Natural hazards including wildfire landslides and of course in California seismic risks And not to mention tree falls which can also damage it so Technically speaking it's been a basket case over the last five years in 2017. We had four emergency repairs due to the Super saturated soil conditions that are common in that area and in 2019. We had an emergency repair 2020 an emergency repair and Our repair account for this year is up to two. Hopefully that's going to be the end of it although The extreme weather we've been experiencing over the last five years suggests that this is partly going to be the new norm for this particular pipeline and infrastructure and As Rosemary likes to say This is no way to run a railroad. Sometimes these these breaks have Threatened to cause a serious water supply shortage. And so the good news is that we have a plan We completed a planning study and identified three discrete segments that we're going to replace in phases And we're starting with the highest priority segment, which is the piece that runs from Felton near the Royancamp Railroad to the water treatment plant at 715 Graham Hill Road and The the main plan is to relocate the pipeline out of Pipeline Road entirely abandon that right away Get away from a lot of those landslide and fire hazards that threaten the pipeline currently and put it in a much wider easier to access right of way of long term And I've got some project cost on screen here. The total cost is currently estimated at 41 million and We have already completed a number of key milestones. The project EIR was certified Last year we completed design this year and we're working hard on securing easements Which are the final piece of the puzzle for right of way and then we hope to bring that back to council in addition to the request to bid the project this October and then All things willing this time next year. We should be under construction and hopefully complete with the project in 2025 So that was the easy project Next we're going to talk about the it's a mouthful Graham Hill water treatment plant facility improvement project, which we at a necessity dubbed the FIP This is a top-to-bottom comprehensive modernization of the water treatment plant the treatment plant was built in the late 1950s around the same time as that pipeline and We've been basically having to meet ever more stringent Regulations with the same 1950s tools and technologies that came with the original plant and it's really become quite challenging not to mention the aging infrastructure seismic risks and other Regulations that we see in the in the future that we'll need to comply with in order to continue providing safe clean reliable water and so Like with the pipeline a couple years ago, we undertook a planning process and identified the needs for this facility to operate into the 21st century and what we came up with is Pretty much top-to-bottom replacement of all the key Treatment processes everything in tan here is replacement of an existing process The round bubbles at the bottom are tanks that are actually under construction as we speak and so at the end of this project will have pretty much Replaced upgraded improved every aspect of the treatment plant including the operations buildings and other key places where our staff work to ensure that It's able to withstand anything that climate change earthquakes and the future holds for us and There are a couple other things that are notable about this project is it's located on a very Constrained built-out site. There's really no room to work So we're going to be ripping apart this treatment plant and rebuilding it wall it's continuing to operate 24 7 365 and so one of the ways that we've mitigated the potential risks of doing that is through the use of a Collaborative project delivery method, which is called progressive design build We actually had to go through a charter amendment in order to enable the city to use that delivery method And so what that does is it allows us to get the designer and contractor who will ultimately build the project at the Table early to start figuring out all the sequencing logistics Other risks that come along with undertaking such a project at such a critical facility to ensure it goes as smoothly as we can And make it a successful project We've hit a couple key milestones. We recently completed the 30% design Which was a big turning point for us and we're in the process of reviewing our admin draft EIR a Couple council touch points coming up are going to be the certification of that EIR in the winter of this year potentially as soon as this year or spring of 2024 and then after hitting a couple more design milestones, we're aiming for summer 2024 to finalize pricing, which is a Combination of negotiated and bidding processes with the design build team to establish the phase to pricing for construction This is the biggest capital project in our program at the moment It's presently estimated at almost a hundred and sixty million dollars in future dollars for construction So really quick to wrap it up The wiffy alone and by extension these projects are how we're going to continue to provide safe clean reliable water into the future And thank you for consideration in time Thank you very much for your thoughtful and informative presentation Let me ask if there are council members who have questions or comments on this item Ms. Watkins Thank you for the presentation, and I've been on the council. So I've seen over time kind of this come about I'm just wondering your thoughts on just the extreme weather events We've had in the more recent years and the urgency to upgrade this critical component of our infrastructure What we've been seeing is Increase in what it's commonly called whiplash weather you've seen a lot to new terms about what our weather these days We have atmospheric rivers that we didn't use to talk about we have bomb cyclones that we didn't use to talk about And we have whiplash weather which is this this increase in the More wet wet years and more dry dry years and hardly any normal in the middle So Goldilocks weather and water supply is kind of like a thing of the past And I think that's really it's a big challenge for our system We don't have enough storage to get us through the dry situation and the challenges of aging infrastructure And some of the constraints of the existing treatment process Which will be solved by the work that we're doing here will make that more reliable in the wet wet situation But letting there are other parts of our facilities The coast pump station they're right by that metro center on these are things that are very affected by flooding events that we've had pretty commonly in this year and also in 2017 so a lot of our our work is driven to Build in climate adaptation and adaptability to future more extreme climates We've done a lot of work trying to understand what that looks like And I think we have some pretty robust tools to help us do appropriate planning to make our projects and facilities Limit adapted and resilient in the face of Well, thank you so very much we appreciate that this is one of our Core functions and municipal governments not out there as sort of a cheat that'd be a nice thing to do if we could This is a must-do and we can and we shall so thank you very very much for that Appreciate it Members we are on announcements by the presiding officer. Let me ask if the following makes sense to you This is a presiding officer question For me it would be easier if the microphones were And if you wanted to speak they went here because right now they're here and there I have to look around not sure So Well, that was my presiding officer's announcement of the day I'm sure that will never be forgotten Statement of disqualification anybody have disqualification they need to disclose at this point Seen and nearing none additions and deletions Madam There are none. I'm clerk. Okay. Thank you We are on the city attorney report of closed session. Good afternoon Ms. Brons Good afternoon Okay, the council met in closed session today and they met with its labor negotiator and discussed negotiations with respect to SEIU temporary employees The council met with its rear real property negotiator to discuss two properties 8.15 acres at Mount Herman in Scotts Valley and the address 495 upper Park Drive the council met in closed session To meet with its legal counsel and discuss one liability claim the council met again with its legal counsel to discuss The existing litigation that's described in the closed session agenda Those matters are County of Santa Cruz at all versus Purdue Pharma at all and also the matters City of Santa Cruz versus Regents and Regents versus City of Santa Cruz and On those two matters at the council's last closed session meeting on March 14th and As a means of trying to work toward potential resolution of these two litigated matters with the Regents the council gave the mayor direction to One testify in front of the board of Regents indicating the council's non opposition to the student housing West project and To meet with the Regents to discuss these pending litigated matters at today's closed session the council voted in favor of ratifying those decisions and On a matter of six and seven that were on today's closed session agenda Those items were actually not discussed in closed session today And those are one item of a significant exposure to litigation and one item of potential initiation of litigation That for me. Thank you. Thank you very much We are an item 10 we will review the meeting calendar miss Bush Are there any additions you would like to bring to our attention? I have done. No, thank you miss Bush We are on the consent agenda. And this is items 11 through 23 inclusive Those who are unfamiliar with this we will take all of these items on one motion So what we will do first here is we will get comments from members of the city council on the consent agenda I Will start with miss Brunner then go to miss Brown miss Brunner. I Have brief comments on item 13 Santa Cruz County hazardous materials advisory commission nomination item 14 Senate bill 43 conservators or ship reform and SB 363 behavioral health bed database and Item 21 site logic IQ Harvey West Park ball field lighting project And I want to make sure you're not requesting those be taken off not requested with your comments. Thank you So Item 13. I just wanted to thank you Bob Nelson public works operations manager for Serving on this hazardous materials advisory commission Item 14. I just wanted to Say for members of the public to we this is an item senator Edmonds Bills there was a whole eight bill package introduced last year that We have been supporting and this is Continuation and part of all of our work to support members in our community and Part of our work is advocacy to the state level so I'm I just wanted to set that context Item 21 Thank you to Tony Elliott Parks and Rec director for answering my questions in advance regarding dark sky lighting at the Harvey West Park ball field You know since we had that dark sky lighting presentation last Year, I really kind of look at lighting differently now and so when I saw this solar project I was really happy And wanted to share that the lighting will be downward facing as well as low energy and More environmentally friendly, so thank you Thank You mr. Brunner cast member Brown Thank You mayor. I want I would like to pull upon request of a member of the public item 14 Senate bill 43 and 363 and then I have Comment on item 17 and 20 and 21 please proceed with your comments. Thank you So on items item 17 is the downtown library affordable housing development project ground lease authorization for the parcel on Lincoln Street and I just wanted to share I had received a lot of questions from members of the public which I Consolidated and did Reach out to Bonnie Lipscomb. Thank you for getting back to me on once again a pretty late request for info But I so I just wanted to say thank you for that and also let members of the public know that I can generally say the responses were that the concerns were about transferability of leases and affordability and perpetuity and I got responses about how that's going to be handled and I feel very comfortable with that So if people have out there who are listening have Specific questions in response to the questions you all ask me feel free to reach out, but I did want to share that And then on item 20, this is the this is a big item. It's our housing element general plan progress report, so I just wanted to Give a shout-out to Catherine Donovan who has worked on this given in her heart and soul And really so appreciate it and I did just want to ask the question because I asked this every time About the role of the Planning Commission in this I know that they are going to be involved in Conversations about how we move forward with our housing element and so I'm and I know and they haven't they don't get it As a standard matter, of course, and so I just want to ask about that Thank You, miss Brown Thank You mayor Keely and Councilmember Brown, thanks for that question We what we typically do and what we've done for the past few years is we present the information that we present to you to the Council as an informational item So that will go to the Planning Commission Usually at their next meeting. I think we've got one the third Thursday in April when this will be presented to them Thank you It just seems like it would be nice for them to be able to comment before we approve, but I understand It's it's generally been a it's generally been a timing issue As you could tell from the spreadsheet that's attached. There's quite a bit of information I am hopeful that Probably not next year but the year after that as we get a new permit tracking system in place That we'll be able to pull more of this information Through reporting that we don't have the capability to do with our current system. And so Hopefully, we'll be able to get this Sooner and in future years While I've got the mic. I'll make a plug that our next housing element is posted and folks can Reference that through our website city of Santa Cruz comm Slash housing element we're accepting comments on that draft through April 23rd Hey, we didn't even set that up And then I just have one last item This is also on 21 council member Bruner mentioned and I did I received an email I think we all got it from the International Dark Skies Association local chapter about Ongoing concerns, I think they really are supportive of Moving forward, but would love to be involved in the conversation about how to address those Controls and mitigations around light Seepage or leakage leakage. I can't remember the official term And and that sounded like it was okay with the public works director Nathan when when when I reached out so I'm just hoping we could just add that direction to Include them in the process Without objection Thank you. Thank you Vice mayor is recognized. I just have a comment on 22 So item 22 is and I'm glad that we're doing this We have an emergency Generator and it's a fuel cost associated with that to keep our waste water treatment plant up and running And I just want to Bring this to everybody's attention that this is a another reason why with the current storms I don't feel like we're completely ready for total electrification. I don't think the infrastructure is there I want to remind everybody about the thousands of people without power throughout the county that are running Generators and running their heat with propane kerosene natural gas other gas wood and so I just Or moving forward with electrification when the infrastructure is there And I think this is another example, but we're not there yet, and I just wanted to acknowledge that Thank you. Other questions or comments regarding the consent agenda councilmember Brown has asked that agenda item 14 be Separated out here. Shall we take this up? Would you like conversation at this point about it? How would you like to proceed either way we can move the rest of the consent and let's go ahead Let me offer the opportunity to those of you who are in chambers anyone wish to address the council Regarding the consent agenda except for item 14 Seen in hearing none. Let me ask miss push if we have anyone online regarding the consent agenda. We do Let's go to that person. How many do we have miss push one right now one very good. Thank you Good afternoon Good afternoon mayor Kylian council. I want to follow up with vice mayor Golder's comments on item 22 I do think it is a prime example that we're not ready to get rid of natural gas In our built infrastructure. In fact a minor standing Although it's not in the staff's report that there are two diesel generators that are going to be installed and I think everyone No matter where you stand on on climate greenhouse gas emissions, I certainly think they're real and human cause but natural gas is just a lot cleaner than diesel and what happens when We don't have natural gas and buildings for critical infrastructure. We have to rely on diesel backup generators and I do have So I think Vice mayor's comments are exactly on point and this is just one reason why the infrastructure isn't ready But it's an important one. In fact City Hall campus has a Large diesel generator and I sent In your packet I tend to have some photos of it. You can see the vent stacked out of the tank And it's been to the atmosphere now on the other hand the library just on the street has a natural gas backup generator This gets me to my other point about the wastewater treatment facility It has two very large methane digesters to have a capacity of producing 1.3 megawatts, which is a very very large amount of electricity and I'm wondering if you could ask staff. I have a series of questions in my letter to you Six very straightforward questions about the usage of these methane digesters and whether they're used to capacity currently or whether instead of the diesel or maybe lessening the diesel generators if If they're not used to capacity if we could use PG&E piped in natural gas in these methane digesters To plant some of the diesel because we all know that that's going to be less polluting And the city now is making a considered effort to reduce its emissions and Pollution so I think that could be a one way if that's possible where the city could walk and talk a little bit but I really think you should Carefully consider the whole thing with building electrification. I think that staff has oversimplified it it's uh it's You're going to have perverse effects if you just rush forward and have these mandates because um There's a lot of ways where if you just get rid of all natural gas. We're going to create actually more Uh green house gas emissions. So thank you very much and I would appreciate it. There's six questions I don't have time to read them all but I think um during your packet and uh, I would appreciate if you dealt with Thank you very much. Well, thank you very much. Let me see if this is acceptable to you What we will do is with respect to your letter That is in the packet if I could ask that Mr. Huffaker if you would be kind enough to be certain That that has responded to in the appropriate way by the appropriate folks. Thank you very much on that Uh, good afternoon I am uh Assuming sir that you wish to make comment on the consent agenda Certainly Good afternoon. All right, my name is James Julian Whitman. I haven't spoke here in quite some time We'll welcome back Well, let's hope you still continue to think that um As far as this emergency electrical It's uh I'm almost not sure really where to begin. I haven't been here in a while Almost half of you have heard me speak in front of you at least 150 times Um Oil is the second most plentiful fuel on the planet next to water Oil is ever Regenerating itself due to natural plate tectonics I think it was in 1896 at Rockefeller and a couple other criminals Created fossil fuels So I've noticed as a building contractor the past 15 years how Natural gas is somewhat being eliminated in some Towns like even recently within the last 18 months scots valley. You're no longer allowed to Install new new natural black new natural gas It just seems interesting There's the only feedback that I can really reflect that I know about are the electric garbage trucks in new york, which are I can't even do four hours of work Where you know hydrop modern hydraulics and modern diesels That equipment is designed to sometimes run for millions of hours So Electrical is not really going to lead people to the answers that they're looking for And uh all the language that's used in this room sustainability You know, it's really just subterfuges and I'm glad I got to speak on number 14 too. I actually forgot my notebook about what I was going to talk about So I'm either going to look at the book or shoot from the hip Well, thank you so much welcome back right suspect We'll hear from you again, and we appreciate your comments anyone else who is on the line No one else on the line last call here Anyone who is with us in chambers that wishes to comment on the consent agenda minus item 14 You know I gotta do this do that. I'll move the consent agenda I'll second the second want to make sure that we are clear that will include on With the exception of item well with the exception of item 14 and with the additional Direction that miss brown requested on I believe it was item 21 thank you very much I I'm sorry. I think it was actually item 20 was it the Annual housing element in general plan that you wanted to include some group of folks in that that was 20 It's 21 the the ball field lighting. Oh, it's the ball field lighting. Thank you for the clarification That language will be added miss brunner I wonder if I may just briefly comment that that direction has been done and I have been in correspondence with The person who emailed and I know this morning. They were also Contacted by city staff and they responded They look forward to working together so I think it's covered then. Thank you. No need then for that additional direction very good. Thank you very much for the Questions comments or debates seen and hearing none the clerk were called the wrong consent agenda mighta minus four minus item 14 Council member nuisance. I Brown I Watkins I Brunner I Calentary johnson I Vice mayor golder I And mayor keely I motion passes into order. We are on item 14 from the consent agenda Miss Brown you ask that that be Heard separately. This is your opportunity. Thank you mayor. So I did pull this item Upon request of a member of the public I have heard from Many people Or at least a handful of people Who have expressed concerns about the The legislation as it currently is written For a variety of reasons and I share some of those concerns So I I really wanted to give members of the Community who made the request an opportunity to speak On this and um, and then we can come back around and Take action Good afternoon Good afternoon. Thank you council member brown for parsing this out I would like to draw to your attention this research book Let me ask you if you'd be kind enough to state your name for the record. Thank you My name is ronda rena I was here last Time because i'm very concerned about rescuing Kidnap children in our community who are actually victims of nefarious doctors who tell lies this book afcc dot net afcc net that you can find on amazon Is a book that follows the mother of both the fatherhood and violence against women act vawa And shows how each contribute and generate worlds-attained research Training and treatment methods. I sent a letter that um, all of you have access to read Where it is easily proven that doctors tell lies in order to take children away from their loving parents in court So as I read senate bill 43 and we also have ab 665 coming up These are very dangerous and we must not allow these to pass whatsoever Here's say is not acceptable testimony in court the reason why we have protections In court is so that we can do a proper vaudeer a rigorous cross examination and parse out this whole book of Practitioners who will be paid to lie There are dads who pay doctors to take the children away from their parents I haven't seen my child in And 33 days here are pictures of us doing normal mommy and daughter things and I know many of you have children She was wrongfully taken from me because we reported abuse Vawa should have protected us and it did not Actually speaking I can say from all the 58,000 parents of the kidnapped children per year We're all getting together. We're doing research and now it's 100 of the time when a child and a parent reports Domestic violence abuse sexual assault that the courts are taking the kids away from their parents And it is supported by sickos in this book Dr Rebecca Bailey who has tortured my daughter as a reunification Therapist and in the johnston rossie versus rossie second appellate decision It's proven that she hasn't even done a program that is acceptable So we all need to look at this and we need to smash down any of these bills That would seek to bypass the protections of due process And we cannot rely on these experts the age of experts is over because they can be bought off to tell lies And it's up to each one of us to become our own experts. We have the internet. We can do research There's parents who are writing entire books about this. So I am begging you. Please. Please. Please. None of you support this bill Put it down Senate bill 43 a b 6 6 5 and anything like that and thank you very much for putting this on the agenda and parsing it out I really appreciate your attention to this matter Thank you very much Anyone else who is with us wish you provide testimony On item 14. Good afternoon again, sir Hi still james so Yeah, I've had some personal experience with the family law system I can say if you're going to piss off six lawyers on the other side, don't be surprised when they use your best against you But uh, moving forward. It's been seven years. So I also recommend some caution here There's a lot of double speak There's a lot of legislation that's been passed in the past two and a half years My understanding where I used to take only one quote expert at what I don't know mostly from what I observe lying Um, two supposed people to give you a 51 50 or something now it just takes one But you know the children are the future of humanity and uh, I think there's a lot of things to question. I mean, I'll choose not to be mean I was really hoping tony was going to be here Maybe he'll be here later But um, the amount of misinformation and there's not a time thing working on this I won't take three minutes, but um, there's a lot of misinformation you know, and there's been a lot of money laundering and Child trafficking and stuff going on for decades You know why actually was the Ukrainian war? Why did Russia go in there? You know, it seems like in the past two weeks the reason why um, Russia went in there has been Flipped on vatamir putin saying something about the children That's absolutely right when that government was taken over By the puppet u.s. Government in 2014 You know that was long before Um gain of function and other bio weapons were being produced it is clear information from before 1994 And all the presidents since So vatamir putin realized that since 2014 Like you said over 14,000 parents had been murdered by the uh, Nazi establishment which seems to have its mirror in california unfortunately and um When those 30,000 orphans started showing up dead on u.s. Soil He acted He rescued those 30,000 children Well, I'm actually here because I care That's enough for now. Thank you Thank you, sir Further on item 14 Hearing none emotion. Yes. I have somebody on online. Thank you very much Someone who's joining us online. It's your opportunity to speak. Good afternoon. And this is jasmine who we're giving five minutes to very good. Thank you, miss push Welcome Hello, can you hear me? Okay, great. Um, my name is jasmine. Yeah, and I am speaking on behalf of santa cruz cares I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist who works with clients with mental illnesses and substance use disorders We understand that this item is about mary kealy sending letters to support senate bills 43 and 363 We would like to state our opposition to sending a letter of support for sp 43 conservatorship reform The expanded definition of gravely disabled is extremely problematic as it adds risk of harm quote as a result of substance use disorder This seems like it could be used discriminatorily and especially against the unhoused sp 43 would define serious harm as quote among other things Attend to needed personal or medical care and attend to self protection or personal safety Doesn't each person get to decide what they consider their personal safety or protection This is much too loose of a definition that could lead to locking up anyone with a substance use disorder Which can include excessive alcohol use by the way regardless of housing status But this is clearly meant for the unhoused which is later stated in the discussion of the city council agenda Report that portion says this is quote meant to address the cycle that many individuals with severe mental illness face between homelessness and treatment filling emergency rooms incarceration overdose or death This proves that this intends to impact our unhoused neighbors with sp 43 people could be involuntarily committed And even conserved for up to a year for substance use disorder And it seems clear that the intent is to reduce the burden on our emergency rooms and jails But at the cost of personal freedoms and autonomy This is yet another way to get rid of houses people and it is framed as a compassionate response But it is really a punitive carceral response We would also like to explain the problems of a hearsay exception for medical history contained in the medical record The medical record can be subjective and biased. It is not under penalty of perjury like a witness I have unfortunately seen many colleagues who are not trained well in record keeping I have also seen as a patient subjective wording painting a narrative to which I disagreed in my own medical record I would just hate for us to take the word of you know the record Which is made by a lot of different providers and it be inaccurate I took a look at mary kealy's letter of support Which says that the current definition of gravely disabled is quote inadequate to address the real needs in our communities And often leads to criminalization and jail rather than treatment The issue we're seeing is that this would be treatment by force As a therapist my opinion is that people change when they are ready to change and accept help Blocking people up against their will is not likely to lead to meaningful and lasting treatment Lastly while nami california supports care courts a similar initiative nami of sanikers county does not So I would urge you to at least consult with them on what they think about sp43 Um, I used to speak for nami ending the silence and I've reached out to them Um, haven't heard back yet about what they think and how to get involved opposing this Sanikers cares is all about providing services, but not in a punitive criminalizing or forced way We urge you to not send a letter of support for sp43 and in fact send a letter with opposition We hope you can work with our representatives to express the concerns shared and create a more just process for those whose rights would be taken away Again, you know when I look at this, it's just it seems very Troubling that they added as a result of substance use disorder, which was not there before it was mental health Disorder only and adding that even though they say that it's not substance use disorder alone That could get you conserved or you know involuntarily committed. There is the danger that You know, that's really subjective if they think that's impacting someone's personal safety Or ability to take care of their needs and I could just see that being used You know overly so when it really shouldn't be and like I said since substance use they include and even say in the bill This includes alcohol use disorder I mean, that's a lot of people who struggle with substance You know use issues and including alcoholism And so we're talking like people regardless of how the student status could be technically impacted by this You know if someone wanted to claim hey, you're drinking too much and that's affecting your personal safety or your ability to care for yourself Those people could be involuntarily committed and then you know A conserved for up to a year and that could affect our housed You know neighbors as well and I don't think people want that so even if the idea here is to get people off the streets And in a treatment it's it could be broadly used and just extremely problematic So really urge you to take a closer look and not support this and definitely not send a letter of support But you know again try to work with Our representatives for a better a better way going forward that really respects people's rights and autonomy Thank you so much Well, thank you very much Further folks miss push Anybody who is with us? Good afternoon, sir See the city council Actually, you're looking happy on a on a gray day My name is Nicholas Whitehead. I'm a former member of the United Nations Association Which of course United Nations always Promotes very serious civil rights and individual liberties um The city is a signatory Way back decades back to the universal declaration of human rights That is not a document that governments can formally sign on to but We did agree as the city to follow the the outlines In the universal declaration of human rights And so I'm making the same kind of plea that the lady from Santa Cruz cares did Be very very cautious about the amount of authority That is given to centralized governments That that is a position that should disturb uh libertarians as well as social progressives um I'm not saying that nobody should be detained if there are a real serious danger um Society from time to time has to have those powers, but let's make it really serious if we're going to incarcerate people, okay um I do attend meetings of the uh mental health advisory board of the county So I follow those and they're a very good excellent group of people. I just want you to know Um, thanks for allowing me to testify Mr. Whitehead, thank you, sir Anyone else who's with us wish to comment on this item? Matter is back for before the council. Is there a motion? I'll move Motion to adopt the recommendation motion by member calentari johnson second by miss brunner I'll second under discussion debate or discussion miss brown Just a comment, um Just briefly I want to say that um, I this is a really serious issue in our um in our community and communities throughout the country really in the world and um, and I do see the need for new tools and I think more importantly resources to address Um, the really grave impacts that we see in our community Related to behavioral health issues people who are experiencing challenges as well as their families Their friends neighbors and our community large, um I'm but I'm not prepared to support these bills today or direct, uh, that we Sign on in support on civil rights grounds, but also um for practical reasons that I just want to share really quickly um I'm concerned that Nothing about this legislation provides any additional resources to actually accomplish the goal here and um It has there is the requisite language in the bill. I've read it. I've talked with people about it um You know about reimbursement for local costs, but those of us who have been around um local government Uh, or paying attention to you know, the services funding public funding know that what we get end up with are unfunded mandates And so I'm very concerned that This is another tool that we aren't going to really be able to use effectively And really make it even less likely to be implemented appropriately without funding. What we need is Citing for facilities and staffing for facilities For if if people need care, um, we just don't have there just aren't resources available. So, um Creating a system to force it with nowhere for people to really go um, at least You know, it doesn't appear to be very easy to make that that work. Um, a statewide database. Yes But that just means trying to shuffle people around the state Um, it doesn't seem to me to be an effective way to provide care and get people well So I I can't support it today and I just wanted to explain why But I'm you know, I I do think we Something's got to give and let's get the state to help fund it Thanks Thank you councilmember Councilmember call sorry johnson then councilmember brunner Uh, thank you for those comments I agree with a lot of what you said councilmember brown And some things got to give and what we're doing right now is not working And I actually would like to comment that I think we should, uh, ask the county to look at this This is where it lives it lives within the county to address mental health Unmet mental health needs and and people we all know people in our community are suffering I think this is um, and the intention and a step towards addressing those gaps that A lot of our communities have throughout the state There are gaps within this bill, but it's a step in the right direction And I don't know how helpful it would be But perhaps we can add to the letter that the mayor is going to write that we urge that there is funding That that the legislators state legislators look at the funding scheme for implementation Any objection to that All right when we get around to the actual motion that'll be incorporated by reference councilmember brunner thank you, um thank you to the public who shared their comments and um Thank you councilmember brown for your comments as well and um I think you know a couple things that um for me Um This sp4 we have two separate bills that are kind of together here. So I'll speak to sp43 um being that um This is an expansion of the definition of gravely disabled and my understanding is that it um, it would include conditions that um Have to do with a person's kind of serious harm to physical or mental health and um, I think um, I read that This update to california's conservatorship law is was originally in 1960s and um And it's been difficult to provide treatment to individuals. Um um because of that and um And then there's also all kinds of information about when um Health conditions exist um Then appropriate supports and services are given earlier um that there's less kind of disabling and um Fewer adverse outcomes um because of that and um Knowing like I mentioned earlier since last year senator edmund has brought forward this and She is a clinical social worker and um has been doing a lot of work on um Um These bills there's a series of bills in the larger picture that are aiming to support behavioral health reform in in our state that hasn't been done And um, we see all the gaps and while this is not something that is a city department That we directly um oversee or control Um, and these bills still have a long way to go. They're in process and they may not even make it but having the city's support um along the way is relevant and um um I just I would I just wanted to say that so yeah, we have to kind of look at all the the the factors and um And look at ways of um really Updating how our our state responds to some of the needs that are exist so Thank you councilmember further on this item The motion would be in order Motion to approve the recommendation with the additional direction from councilmember colin tarry johnson So I'll I can amend the motion Let me just see if I can get it right So this would be the staff recommendation as the motion with the additional direction that you are adding Uh in the letter that I would be authorized to send to the legislature saying that we Also support sufficient appropriations to implement the bill right very good. Okay, that will be the both letters and and I think also I'll I'd like to add um Directing staff to communicate with the county to consider these bills as well Okay, very good without objection such will be the order for the debate or discussion seen and hearing none the clerk will call the roll I just see who the confirm who the first and second what I have Callantary johnson and bruner. Yes, okay Okay, so we we are clear we have motion a second we have additional direction without objection. We will go to a roll call vote Councilmember newson. Hi Brown no Watkins. Hi Bruner. Hi Callantary johnson. Hi vice mayor golder. I And mayor akili. Hi motion carries and so ordered We are on item number 24. This is the city's legislative program and platform We welcome miss wise west Good afternoon Good afternoon, mayor and councilmembers just one moment while I bring that up Certainly Thank you Good to go All right. Thank you. Uh, good afternoon once again, mayor and councilmembers I'm tiffani wise west the sustainability and climate action manager and i'm here to present to you today a brief presentation on the 2023 legislative program and platform Which is really historically served as a compass for active legislation But could be leveraged for other purposes um This legislative Platform as a guiding document that was updated from 2022 Which was uh prepared by uh our communications Manager in the past and was largely based on the priorities that were articulated in the city's covet 19 recovery plan called re-envisioned santa cruz And I understand that there is strategic planning going on and subsequent legislative platforms and programs We will of course revise this based on that strategic planning and direction Um, this also reflects other local ordinances and legislation Uh priorities that um, this body has undertaken over time Um, also, I believe christ jillio who is our federal advocate is also here today And really as he said, um last year in a sense acts as an extension of our staff really keeping us abreast of A dc opportunities timelines and and so forth Okay Okay So the legislative program really establishes the principles that will guide the city's policy and legislative Advocacy efforts at the regional state and federal level Um, it focuses on key areas that will enable the city to deliver Um, it's projects and programs that meets our community's needs Um It serves as a reference to guide the development of positions on legislative proposals And provides guidance for council and staff throughout the year on process Within the legislative platform it streamlines the position taking Process by providing our staff and our contracted government relations representatives with clear direction To advocate on these matters Um, it helps to ensure we have a timely response as to do we want to support oppose or take neutral positions on legislation That could impact the city's ability to operate efficiently It also conveys to legislators policy makers and the public where the city stands on important policy issues and legislative discussions Additionally staff or council may recommend platform amendments during the year to add Remove or modify language if unanticipated legislative issues arise So, uh, the result of our efforts in 2022 included, uh, 4.4 million, uh, in Congressionally directed spending, uh, funding requests from congressman panetta's office Um, however, this pasture we did not advance any state sponsored state level sponsored legislation And let's have nothing to report on that front, but you can see these three projects. We were very successful And congressman panetta's allocations To us in terms of the platform itself Really the guiding principles again. These are the same principles that we've had Since our covet recovery with one exception and I will highlight for you throughout this presentation Where things differed from the 2022 legislation and in fact, you can see bolded On this list advanced work to address critical infrastructure issues Is a new priority this year that we have added. I think, um, It's obvious, uh from the water presentation earlier today to the capital improvement program budget to, um, the impacts of our extreme storms That infrastructure must be a critical focus Here I will also mention that, um, you note promote healthy equitable sustainable and climate adapted communities We did add those words climate adapted There's so much more focus that we are making as the water department director mentioned Lots of work on their end. Um, and lots of work in general, particularly with the climate adaptation plan update Starting this year In terms of our four legislative priorities that we have in place Um, several key factors drove kind of why these, uh, legislative, uh, priorities are continuing Number one the city's challenge in implementing its first comprehensive homelessness response action plan adopted in 2021 The recent adoption of the securing our, uh, water future council policy that was adopted Um, the recent adoption of the climate action plan 2030 and its implementation work plan And number four the damages sustained, uh, by the january 2023 bomb cyclone events. So key drivers here In terms of infrastructure, um, this really includes transportation Water ecosystem, uh, projects water resiliency projects flood control parks development and maintenance and so on Notably we have well over 75 million dollars in federal grants pending right now. Um for infrastructure needs and those, uh, at the requested department heads in the review of this, um, document They requested that we include in their Example projects for infrastructure and some of the other priorities as well as a list of some of these, uh, funding Uh, federal funding opportunities that are that are pending and those include a number from fema and other federal agencies In terms of our engagement strategies, um Again, this is everything that could focus from, uh, focus on direct engagement to building coalitions and state federal agency connections Um, so this is really how how do we go about this and and your prior item is obviously one of the examples of of how to do so Um, I don't know what's happening here with this Um, uh, the the other thing I wanted to mention here in terms of building coalitions Um, I know we've referenced in the past, um, our work with Santa Monica to understand how they addressed sidewalk vending for example On our local level with climate. We have our new regional climate project working group as well as other climate Related uh, collaboratives, um on both the regional and the state level and in fact actually the uh The federal level as well Um, and I wanted to update you on our 2023, um, Congressionally directed spending spending requests that we recently made um that are in alignment with our priorities Number one, uh, the west cliff drive, um, mitchell's cove seawall design was submitted to senators pedia fine stein and congressman panetta, so we requested two million of the four million dollar cost for that project um, we also submitted, um A $500,000 request for design of the homeless navigation center to uh senator fine stein and congressman panetta And then finally for the brachney slide, uh pipeline replacement That's a water pipeline. Um, we ask it asked for one million of about a seven to eight million dollar project from uh congressman panetta and Senator fine stein It's really important to note that whether or not these federal earmarks go forward is still really uncertain at this time I mean if we would even get chosen, uh for those and our federal advocate christy Youla can talk more about this if you're interested of course with the um infrastructure investment act and jobs Act as well as the inflation reduction act. There's a lot of opportunities out there We've been working with grant writers that we have brought in under contract to go after some of this funding In fact 16 million last year was done with that grant writing assistance so Getting towards the end here Key california deadlines that you may be interested in we did just receive the full slate of bills in current session a couple weeks ago from um our state advocacy Advocate gualco and we are in the process of identifying we have identified already some legislation that we will be tracking at the state level And in addition to those that support our priorities I know for example last year council member brown you mentioned in the past an interest in keeping an eye on bills that Perhaps who serve uh local control or as was mentioned previously Those that may have unfunded mandates so we we have our eye on those in addition to our priorities So just really briefly May 19th is the the last day For is a deadline for the fiscal committee to meet may 12th for the policy committee Those bills will come out of house of origin by june 2nd Of all those legislative bills were tracking. They'll be whittled down at that point All bills will need to be finished by september 14th And october 14th is the last day for the governor to sign ovita or veto here in california Of course the full timeline is contained in the program and platform document that you have if you are interested so with that um I want to first mention before We get to the the recommended action that approving this doesn't preclude you from bringing items to council to support Other priorities throughout the year This is really a starting point and our advocacy is at your direction and discretion and I think that's really important to emphasize Lastly, I welcome your engagement. We welcome your engagement in any of this whether today or ongoing And i'm here to answer any questions That you may have and perhaps might need to draw on chris or even matt for any questions Thank you Thank you. Dr. Weiswitz. We very much appreciate that. Let me see if there are questions by I gotta do is put that up. There we go. Ms. Calantar johnson Gotta get used to the new I know it's it's gonna take a minute Thank you tiffani for the presentation and the work on this I'm sorry if you if you mentioned this when do we hear about the earmarks And and how does that play into um our planning for our budget? I don't think that it is considered in our budget I know for the most part our budget goes forward now with funded projects only not unfunded projects So that answers that piece in terms of when we should hear I'm I'm actually not a hundred percent sure on that. I think matt do you do you know on that? It's unlikely that we'll have a response back In time for us to build in those assumptions as part of the budget We'll likely hear later this this fall of whether or not we're successful on those applications so More to come and we're keeping our fingers crossed Thank you For the questions comments I would have a couple on this some go to form some go to substance and let me start by saying Dr. Weiswitz as I understand it you inherited both the form of this and the process That has been used customarily by the city. Yes, that's right. I want to I want to separate essentially Your work product out from how this has been done in the past. I'm going to separate those out As to form I think that it would be quite helpful if we had these conversations in The latter part of the calendar year So that when So that we would be able to adopt a legislative program Before the legislature goes back into session in january each year So rather than bringing this in the spring of the year My thought is bring it in the fall of the year Because we'll know two things one is in the first year of the legislative session We will know By the end of that what we got done what we didn't get done and we'll be able to Know that and React accordingly in the second year of the two-year session I'm speaking solely of the state legislative component of this not to the federal component of this So I think one change we want to make I've discussed this with mr. Huffaker We've had Sort of a bit of a side conversation With dr. Weiswitz on this so as to form I think we should change the timing of getting this document in front of us Because by now having it in front of us in the latter part of march The deadline for bill introductions was in february So we're not going to get any bills anything we want in the legislative bills We're going to have to seek amendments to existing bills rather than having a bill introduced in a timely manner that we're looking for Secondly, I hope that we will remember that we have actually two members of congress that represent portions of santa cruz county And not to forget congress member anna eschews component part Who will then be able to assist us in prosecuting our federal agenda? Additionally, I think that it may be worth and And mr. Huffaker and dr. Weiswitz and I are going to be talking more about this In the next few weeks And that is that although And again dr. Weiswitz has inherited this It seems to me that in reading this The impact or the punch of what we want to get done Is so diffused As to not be recognizable with regard to what in fact are the city's highest priorities And I want to separate out the concept of applying for grants and that kind of thing Budget appropriations or moves that we want to make in the state legislature relative to budget And grant applications at the state level again. I'm not going to speak to the federal level It's not something I have any familiarity with but I do a bit of a familiarity with With the state legislative process both budgetary and and non budgetary legislation So I think focusing this down to Three to five high priorities that we can get consensus on And focus like a laser beam on those three to five priorities is going to serve us better Than a very large document that essentially tries to address too much I think And loses the punch of a higher prioritizing of what we really want to get done For example dr. Weiswitz works on as we know our climate Change and adaptation program Well, if that's really important to us, let's identify two or three things we want to get done on that and then Go at those like a laser beam We have other priorities homelessness and housing or high priorities for us as well as a council We are going to want to get into conversations much earlier Than this scheduling of the program allows us to get into right now So those are my comments and observations. Let me ask I've asked council members if they had any We have now completed those let me go to the public and see if anyone's who's excuse me. I have one certainly go ahead I know in the past if I just I've just done to me in the past We had talked about like cities also having advocacy for example coastal communities that are experiencing similar type issues I'm wondering how that fits into our legislative agenda It's been a discussion point over the years or if it could be I'll speak Just briefly to that. I know that there's interest in developing that for in particular homelessness and that there's some activity towards that I did already mention For example, the central coast climate collaborative I don't know if the city manager has anything else that he might want to mention regarding like cities and and advocacy together Yeah, just a quick response to that appreciate the question Councilmember Watkins On the homelessness response front one of the items in the homelessness response action plan included building out coastal communities coalition And so just over the last few months staff have completed an rfp to hire A lobbyist advocacy group that specializes in this area We actually hope to close that contract within the next couple of weeks and that'll be one of the major efforts over The course of this next year I would also just note that just this past week We also heard from senator lairds office that they've formed a central coast caucus with our powerhouse local Delegation and I think there's certainly some opportunities for us to leverage that As well and when it comes to the platform As as we move forward and we kind of hone in and we focus What priorities we want to really put our attention into this year Then we could also build out some some more explicit language around how we're building coalitions on On common interests Yeah, I'd like to see that in the board if possible. I think there's power in numbers to see some of these big issues Addressed in other communities besides Santa Cruz Thank you very good Good afternoon. I suspect you are lining up to testify on this item or provide input Please come forward and do so Ms. Bush while the gentleman's coming forward. Do we have anyone online? We do we will we'll alternate then good afternoon again, sir It's great to be here. I still have yet to comment on 25 and 26, but uh, How about I comment on 24? I'm sorry, excuse me. Oh Say that again. I I'm gonna give the whole board a compliment and since I've last been here you guys are actually presenting information in much greater brevity Oh Now I get it I'm slow sometimes so, um As far as you know, this this Small corporations funding and stuff You know, nobody's mentioning what's going on with the banks the past couple weeks and the controlled slowdown You know empires only last about 150 years and this one was really established on february 23rd 1871 You can do the math. It's a couple years overdue But as far as what's going on with the finances and stuff you guys still keep mentioning those sustainability New world order stuff So let's just open the conversation a little bit. This is from the wall street journal thursday april 23rd I'm going to ask you engage me for just a second. Yes. Just for a second. So we are on item 24 the city legislative program You are going to speak to that. It's absolutely wonderful. Thank you. Please proceed Okay, because I'm just trying to suggest and provide information That you guys are reading from scripts like yesterday didn't happen and these situations haven't been planned for many decades so Doesn't seem like nothing anything's been mentioned so far and I still don't have a time on that As far as what's going on with the banking debacles that's going to affect everything in this city as well So I can understand that you're trying to limit my scope of what I'm talking about but Once again, I'm going to continue Well, excuse me. Yes. Hang on just a second and this won't come out of your time. Well, okay Okay, I just want to make sure we're clear on this. I was simply seeking clarification as to what you were testifying I'm not trying to limit your comments So let's be very clear with each other. That's not what I am trying to do I'm trying to make sure that you're addressing the item that I was asked Excuse me that is in front of us right now And as to the clock my comments won't come off of your time. Please proceed Okay. Well, maybe I'm wrong. I'm I'm wrong all the time But this is going over the 2023 perspective budget Right, it says right on here 2023 legislative program and platform cm You guys keep mentioning the sustainability subjects and stuff Why don't you proceed go ahead take your time to do whatever it is you wish to say go ahead and say it okay, so you know what's really going to happen when For lack of better words the poop hits the fan These situations have been planned for quite a long time. So once again, wall street journal thursday april 22nd 1982 I learned to love the new world order counterpoint by joseph Are biden jr But we can just kind of jump up to the sustainability stuff. This is an article from 1998 This is another article from 1998 The agenda 21 came into this county in 1993 through the seeds project and in 1997 was established So you guys are basically just reading scripts So it's just an opportunity to present that information. I'm going to comment later. Thank you Thank you, sir Anyone else who's with us wish to comment? On item 24 online Let's go with that miss bush Good afternoon Yes, hello Hey, I'll put it to you most simply what is wrong with ambitious radical ideologically driven activist social justice warrior Unelected bureaucrats who are beyond the reach of the people making vast policy advocacy recommendations Is that they are radically ideologically driven activist unaccountable? No skin in the game unelected bureaucrat social justice warriors beyond the reach of the people Making vast policy advocacy recommendations instead of possibly lazy politicians Doing what they are supposed to be doing instead of rubber stamping documents such as this and instead making their own specific legislation recommendations as objective public proxy While hearing public concerns that are within the scope of a small city government And not going off on a crusade attempting to fix world problems beyond their scope pay grade nobility Yes, i'm in leery of far too many to mention doomheaded directives here that desire to turn Santa Cruz into a non-profit welfare Nanny state with a Statue of Liberty section 8 economy of the poor or the advocacy in any way of these defective socialist equity narratives whatsoever Or accept the blinders on risk ignorant totalitarian advocacy such as quote eliminate natural gas use Or co-opting fees such as utility fees or phony impact fees for any purpose other than providing related services such as utilities Because the city is a monopoly This is largely a delegation of legislative advocacy that should be different than my condos eerily similar amateur hour condo board okaying every idea contracted bid by the hired property manager Past policy expressed by past council aren't really licensed to end around the current council on new legislative matters The same sandhugger Ideologically driven people with misguided priorities brought you the west cliff management adaptation plan The only managing of which managed to drop a block of west foot drive into the pacific ocean Seems to me our electrical grid has been going out a lot lately So please wait until i die before trying to pry my reliable natural gas out of my dead cold hands Before doing your blinders on electrification ideas I doubt you can explain how that policy is what i need want and i'm willing to pay for Or that it doesn't deprive me of liberty and pursuit of happiness Or that has any kind of a promise to deliver anything to anyone with any tangible benefit whatsoever While blind to the risks and costs The legislative action manual is a delegation file of unelected bureaucratic advocacy through the city manager for a mayoral Reverse stamp the motivations expressed in this document are those of a select few in the city government And I note only a couple references to the word people Except only as homeless or low income note in the role of the city manager's office or the guidelines for evaluating legislation Or an independent lobbying by city personnel None include even one reference to getting a public people consensus input I'm against free approving any government relations consultants in contact with higher legislative bodies out of the kidding Outside the observance and pervasive agreement of the people This ain't the dnc convention party. Thank you, sir Miss bush anyone else online? Good afternoon Hello, um Yeah, so we can hear you and Proceed to hear me Um, yeah, can you hear me now? Yes I mean, I don't know where to begin. I think the idea of Local government coordinating on uh higher levels of government in order to enact meaningful policy Can be a good thing. Um I just when I see Uh Like in the previous item a simple letter of support for Basically the increased um Lots of autonomy of people who have substance abuse issues Get commented on by community members who are in the comments universally against it And then be told well, it doesn't matter. The letter is not that important and then see this which clearly this is a substantial effort to In you know lobby at the state level for policies To coordinate on state level policy and county level policy And then and to do that as representatives While also ignoring all of your public comment. I mean you couldn't even just not send a letter which You know and now we're talking about funding streams and like Policy that affects wide swaths of people Uh, it's you know, it's very concerning because I don't get the sense that uh, there's a lot of democratic accountability here um And I don't get the sense that uh You know There's much concern For people's civil rights Uh So I don't know I don't know what to say to say I just I would like you to um I don't know take this responsibility more seriously if you're going to do it because um You know, this could be your family members getting locked up or Having a you know, I hang out at the catalyst one night and This is serious stuff. This is serious stuff when you increase the criminalization of people and when you, uh, take state funding And focus it in these like harmful ways. So Yeah Thank you for calling in. Thank you for your testimony. Good afternoon, sir Sir, are you on this item? Sir Just fine on this item Okay, thank you. Anyone else in chambers wish you make a comment on this item Ms. Bush, do we have others online? Matters back before the council for an action I'll move the mech. I'll move the recommendation and incorporate Mayor Keeley's input around timing Changes and structure that way. Does that capture? Aspects that you'd like to see let me see if I can expand on that a bit So the motion would be to approve the staff recommendation To add additional direction that with regard to Timing of presenting the legislative program to the council that that be done in the fall of each year And with regard to scope that the report Focuses in on three And no more than five priority issues That'd be all right with you as the maker of the motion That is all right with me and I'm just wondering and looking to staff if they have any input on the constraints within the three to five Or concerned I'm a big fan of focusing the work we're doing around advocacy I will say that that would not prohibit us continuing to pursue As tiffany mentioned other areas of priority that the council has taken policy positions on Absolutely. So our you know our thought is that next year we can pull together A study session to kind of talk through what that would be how best to approach that work and really hone in Um, the platform Ms. Colletari Johnson, I was going to second a second to that motion with its Editions anyone else under debate or discussion? Thank you for this report. Dr. Wise-Wiss is very very helpful. It's also thank you for And the city manager for the opportunity to rethink perhaps how we might Be doing this going forward with some greater focus to it. Let me say that a Someone made a brief comment. I'm not sure who but someone made a Comment about our powerhouse delegation at the state level and I just want to say so the public recognizes this We are the mouse that roared in a sense and that is Senator Laird is It's a 40 member body and senator Laird is by Any measure one of the top three or four most effective legislators in the california state senate I think he is very likely to become the next president pro tem of the senate We have two new assembly members Ms. Pellerin and and uh Ms. Addis Who share representing? Our county And both of them just started their what will likely be 12 year runs in the california state legislature Additionally a very small part of our county is represented by Assemblymember robert rivas Mr. Rivas unless things go haywire in sacramento, which we know doesn't ever happen Uh is very likely as of july the first of this year to become the new speaker of the california state assembly Think about that for a moment President pro tem of the senate speaker of the assembly two additional assembly members Representing the county of santa cruz and I will tell you they don't distinguish between well I only represent from live oak down to here. I don't really represent this They all believe that they represent all of this in a highly general way And they are all approachable and I think that it is very true Whoever made that statement about our powerhouse delegation has a as a good sense of what that means I think by amending how we do this process and what's contained in it It'll also give them great clarity As they are being asked each year. Here's your here's the 30 bills. I'm going to introduce They're going to get Far more than 30 requests for bills So for us to get in early with clear identification of the kind of bills we need Which will help prosecute our public policy agenda is going to be I think quite helpful with that powerhouse delegation Thank you again. Dr. Weiss west. Thank you. Mr. Huffaker Thanks all the departments who participated and put in this document together the clerk will call the roll Council member newson. Hi brown. Hi Watkins. Hi Brunner. Hi Helen Torrey Johnson. Hi Vice mayor golder. Hi and mayor Hi motion passes and so ordered. We're on item number 25. This is the military equipment purchase request and policy update per assembly bill 481 Chief good afternoon Always good to see you, sir Thanks to you and your staff for all of your constant and good work Good afternoon, mayor council members. Good afternoon, sir. My name is josh trogg. I'm a detective sergeant with the santa cruse police department Welcome this afternoon and thank you for your good work. Thank you, sir I will be providing a presentation on our request to purchase a new robot And for the council's information, I have brought our current robot with us. Should anyone wish to See it look at it Hold it Um, I can do that now before I get into my presentation or I can do it at the end at the council's pleasure We will cede to how you want to proceed go ahead If it's okay, I'll just break it out so that everyone can pass it around and look at it and then it might lead to other questions If so Please proceed. Thank you next slide, please so for a bit of background the State legislature enacted ab41 it became effective January 1 of 2022 and it established requirements for police departments to Keep maintain and acquire items that were deemed as military equipment for the purposes of the assembly bill In pursuant to that the department is requesting to purchase a new robot And to comply with the mandate set forth by the assembly bill And council I'm here to present on that What we will be asking for is the permission to purchase a new robot as I've mentioned and an amendment to our existing policy Policy 705 or military equipment policy That relates to All of the items that we have in our possession Next slide, please This is just a little Background on what is covered under the military equipment policy The main points related to The acquisition request for acquisition for a robot We would be requesting amendments to the quantity and capabilities portions Because we would be adding a robot to our existing Equipment list and the new version of the robot has some different capabilities than the current one, which I will speak about As we go along Next slide, please So our current robot, which I've passed around is called the throwbot It resides in category one of the military equipment list It is a little remote controlled camera It has Some capabilities for low light usage It has creates its own infrared light in low or no light situations to allow the camera to be useful It has a decent range. Its range is limited by Building type and construction Large metal buildings tend to interfere with its reception At range This one is nearing the end of its service life. It is 10 years old We've had the battery pack replaced once That impacts its Its one-time usage in between charges It's just getting old It has no audio capabilities And The the updated version has some new Capabilities that we like Um the Important thing to consider about this robot is What this thing does for us is allows us to put an inanimate object Into a place that could be dangerous before we put officers into that position Um, it is a very good deescalation tool because it provides us with information on what could be waiting in that room in that corner Down that dark hallway It can allow us to create plans to Further deescalate and mitigate the need for higher levels of use of force Based on the information that the camera in the robot provides It can give us the location of hostages armed persons injured persons Any number of scenarios where it can be put in And used It can be thrown. It's actually quite robust. Um, so It's helpful You may It uh It is quite robust. You may not We've thrown it upstairs. Uh We've thrown it across, you know parking lots into warehouse buildings. Um In in actual law enforcement operations. I've tossed it up two flights of stairs Um And it runs it writes itself and it runs Um So it is a very useful tool for the police department. Next slide, please So this slide is a indication of the upgrades to the new robot that we are requesting Uh, they've increased the battery runtime to approximately 110 minutes, which is significant They've done some, uh, improvements to its dust and water resistance capabilities. Um Those things we don't submerge the robot But, uh, it it can You know withstand being out in the weather like today's rainy weather A little bit longer than the older robot and obviously dust considerations and our our Any improvements to that are good just as a matter of course Um It can be thrown 120 feet. It can withstand repeated 30 foot drops Uh, they've increased the range um For video and audio, which is a component of the new robot is it has one way audio transmission now The current one does not it's video only the new one has the ability to receive audio Uh, which is in my opinion a game changer when it comes to information gathering and de-escalation If we can see and hear we are that much more Improved on the information that we have in whatever situation we are dealing with Um The uh Range increased to 150 feet indoors 50 feet 450 feet outdoors um and With line of sight increases the ability Its range abilities even indoors so if there's a large window and you're outdoors that helps increase the range Uh of the device It has the same Day and night operation capabilities as this one. Um, just improved cameras and low light Uh capabilities The cost for the device is $16,270 that funding is achieved through a this might say that in part is why you can't throw it around The uh the Money for that is achieved through a homeland security grant that we obtained five years ago So there is no anticipated cost to the city through department budget or general fund That is the end I apologize. So if there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them or if any clarification is needed Sergeant thank you for your presentation. Let me see if there are members who have questions comments on this Other members of the public who would like to make comments on this item. Please proceed Come forward provide your input on this. Good afternoon, sir My name is lee brokaw. I'm chairman of the police accountability and transparency committee for the local board of the aclu and I speak personally not for the aclu Um, I have no problem with this robot Okay, no problem I'm concerned about the process This is the first piece of the military equipment that law enforcement is asking this body to approve It was not presented in a standalone request It was added to policy 705 Which was crafted by lexapole on february 10th of 23 And it is inger intermingled with the Throwbot one And the avatar stair climbing robot And it it has wording problems Where the statement says throwbot to sb scpd wishes to purchase And then it says in the text this equipment has been used in numerous high risk and dangerous situations You haven't got it yet So I have problems with wording And words matter we could be talking about a tripod mounted belt fired machine gun Which santa clara county owns and san diego county sheriff owns This is simple right now. It's important that process be established So that it doesn't set precedent for future requests the Upset in the community over the bear cat set a precedent that makes it very difficult for law enforcement to want to buy more military equipment because We in the community don't want this city to look like a military occupied zone um under the avatar 2 You wouldn't expect to find something like this But it says entirely owned and operated by santa cruz county sheriff's office personnel And that is followed by the statement scpd emergency service unit esu Tactical team has primary control over the throwbot Why are we talking about the throwbot in this section? It's about the avatar 2 It's like talking about a Volkswagen when you got a john deere um So I would encourage you To have future requests for equipment Come in a standalone Request for equipment to be added to the policy at the time of approval As opposed to be added to the policy in advance Thank you, sir Miss bush do we have anyone online? We're going to alternate back and forth. Thank you very much The person online is now recognized. Good afternoon Hello, this is jasmine. Mia again. I just have a brief comment I want to point out that um as was said in the presentation the new throwbot has audio capabilities and the old one did not So, um, I just want to ensure that scpd can't use that in court as admissible evidence since people won't know they're being audio recorded So I just want to make that comment. Thank you Thank you very much. Good afternoon Good afternoon. Once again, uh city council members mayor and vice mayor. My name is ronda reyna And I'm just stating my objection to the santa criss police department to have any kind of military equipment I don't know if any of you are actually paying attention your To your constituents you are elected and I'm not feeling like you're representing our viewpoint as evidenced by your behavior and the decision You made on item 14 But if you look at any social media and have conversations with your constituents They do not trust this police department and they have a lot of reason not to trust the men of this police department We repeatedly heard de-escalate de-escalate. That's a false fabricated statement Allow me to remind you how this police department de-escalate situations. We've got officer david deedy Renshing my 13 year old daughter's arm who was the victim of violence by her dad Is that de-escalation? We have ruben badeo george floiding my daughter kneeling on her neck. Is that de-escalation? Then we have david deedy standing on the shackles dog piling my daughter on another incident. We have cops including ruben badeo Standing by watching a young lady get stripped naked and violently shoved into a car So I find it completely hypocritical to hear them asking you to spend my taxpayers money On a new military weapon that they're inevitably going to want to use against we the people They're not providing safety. How is this going to keep the children safe? It's not and it's just it's just shameful and disgraceful And I know you're going to ignore me because just as you did in item 14 and everything else I you know, I guess I'm just a member here Learning how politics works that nobody seems to care that children are being harmed that the homeless are being picked on That disabled people are being picked on and I thought we elected representatives. Is there something I'm not understanding How do I get my viewpoint represented? How did when do you guys ever say no? I say no new toys for bad boys Thank you next person online We have no more anyone else. Good afternoon, sir Hello again, my name is James Ewing Whitman. So this is about assembly bill 481 and on this By monthly meeting that's 44 pages So I'm assuming that I can comment on anything on those 44 pages Right Okay, I've spoken several times After jim hard has spoken about this bill and I've spoken when This law enforcement was in the room and when Andy Mills was in the room You know, the only individuals that are getting thrown under the bus more than teachers children Are law enforcement You know if any law enforcement wants some information on how they can protect themselves From these weapons that are designed so you will not live through retirement I'm talking about the wireless devices that you wear on your body It is actually very easy to shield from that and it doesn't cost very much money So this agenda item has uh 44 pages on page 25 on page six Under the different military weapons Two-thirds down it says tasers shock wave microwave weapons water cannons And long range acoustical devices Let's focus on the microwave weapons Since 1996 I think it's FCC 704 The only complaint people can make about the way these weapons look I've suggested that the citizens get together and sue this city for 250 million dollars Um, but yesterday has already happened. What are we going to do today? There's a lot we can do to help each other But we kind of need some cold water splashed on our face about what's really going on in the various elephants that are in the room So I can make some specific Uh, one can find some information from Barry trawler. There were other there were over 13 000 law enforcement That were tested some of them started to have extreme reactions at nine months 30 of them had extreme reactions in 18 months Um, I forgot my phone. I forgot my notebook with my notes. Well, I'm just talking But I'm saying it because I'm concerned and you know without law enforcement. We don't have laws Law enforcement has been replaced by the street lights and the frequency weapons for a long time individuals like mark steele I've talked about that. We have plug-and-play technology everywhere You know, I did some research. I looked at the plans. It used to be easier Now I was told oh, we lost him if we ever find him. We'll let you know but um 90 percent of the commercial street lights are owned and operated By PG&E and that's Rothschild's company. There's a lot of information And there's a lot of elephants in the room that aren't being talked about I care enough to speak publicly about it because I care about the future Thanks Well, thank you Good afternoon, sir Yeah, it's uh, it's pretty interesting. Uh drone bot doodad gadget thing. Um, I don't know, you know like sometimes You know sometimes, uh, the old-fashioned way, uh to, uh surveil seems superior to Something that wouldn't last uh, its battery life wouldn't last one of these meetings Uh, I I actually I want one. I'm looking at him go like that. That would be fun to have um You know, mean meanwhile, um Um, if it was used in certain circumstances, it would certainly be considered drone surveillance, um, which uh, as as one caller mentioned, uh, is Totally inadmissible, uh as evidence in court courts of law Um, so there's limitations on you know what you're getting for your 16 000 It's uh, it's it's it's certainly interesting. Um, I I object to the uh The airspace violations of uh, of surveillance drones at the beach I go to the beach and I see this blinking green light and the city has no problem with that Well, um, you know, this is this is obviously intended just for desperate situations. Just Uh, uh circumstances where uh, you've got You've got you've got areas you can't enter And you need to uh, you need to have information Um, the microphone's a little it's kind of creepy, you know, like it could be used wrongfully And it certainly would open the city up to lawsuits Thank you Well, thank you. I am now advised that we have two folks who have joined us online We're going to go back and forth. We'll take one here, then you then we'll go back again online online Good afternoon Good afternoon. Good afternoon council Good afternoon. Good afternoon council member there. I'm wrong comrades and um I'm briefed today on this but I am concerned because the adage uh, best is better gets The use of military equipment as far as I'm concerned in my membership in the ACLU is So questions I would like to see answered prior to Approval tonight would be how many times has the Current throwbot been used in emergencies over the past 10 years How much training has been done with this piece of military equipment? What happens to the video and audio that will be taken with the new robot who keeps it Who has access to it and for how long will that be? Where will this be stored and how readily available will be throwbot to be? Why can't the Santa Cruz police department team up with other law enforcement agencies? to have one throwbot to be shared by All the agencies of the county saving time money and training And thank you for your time Answering the questions into thoughtful consideration Good evening Thank you Good afternoon, sir Darius mostening here I just got done watching the netflix special or documentary about weiko david koresh was able to Get a 50 caliber gun delivered in the mail There are more Guns than cell phones in this country As long as that exists. I want my police force On top of that I want that we have they're understaffed How do we resolve that technology? We need this kind of technology We need maybe another bear cat We need a force multiplier so they can get their arms around This gun epidemic and you know the fascination we have in this country And there's no one in this room. There's nobody online There's nobody in this community that goes to their job Not knowing whether to come back alive that night. So I would like to see these folks armed More than us the general public is allowed to have which is pretty significant and irrational But that's the world we live in. That's I mean, that's the country we live in so Military if it's called military equipment Call it force multiplication call it technology We need more of it. Thank you Thank you, miss bush and one more person online. Let's go to them At this point. Good afternoon Yes members of the community. This is robert norris calling from homeless united for friendship and freedom I think I would echo the concerns that ron pomerance and others have had But not just about any any particular item, but rather the general militarization That's going on here. I mean, let's look at these items The number of them is is quite breathtaking. I mean, there's there's robots. There's unmanned aerial vehicles There's armored personnel character. There's a fort f-30 50 transport vehicle There's command and control vehicles There's firearms of greater than 50 caliber firearms of various categories as well in that regard In addition ammunition Specialized firearms and ammunition flashbang tear gas and pepper balls Chemical agents tear gas I I guess my uh pepper ball guns pepper balls my most recent experience with the police had to do with them With eight police officers announcing that anyone serving food at city hall Would be arrested the food would be seized from and they would be taken to jail And their property confiscated this happened two weeks ago at city hall As long as there's irresponsible and essentially lack of transparent and lack of rational Command in the police department To give these folks more weapons than they already have teaming with weapons To me Is to put the cart before the horse You want to have the training you want to have the other things first but more important You have to ask yourself Hasn't the country been reacting to the reality that the people that suffer most are minorities from this kind of Overly militarized police force in all kinds of cities And if you think santa cruz is a somehow shining exception You need to look at some of the background of Racial discrimination here that is not being told and it is not being documented and is not being Passed on clearly By staff and by the police department itself You've got to come clean on these issues first before you start Adding more arms and you also have to ask is of regard to what mr. Mercer and just said when's the last time a police officer actually protected you Maybe they protect people in power. Maybe they protect large property owners Maybe they protect merchants by going around and harassing homeless people around the streets sitting down on pacific avenue but ask yourself As you think about this In how many times in your life have you actually gotten a police officer to protect and defend you? Hasn't that rather been other citizens who stepped in To help in most situations. Please can't get there in time for one thing And to simply hear this a big mistake That's it Thank you, sir. Anyone else in chambers wish to Comment on the item miss bush. We have one more person online Good afternoon Good afternoon council. I wasn't intending to comment on this item, but You've had a lot of really hysterical commenters Just making really Arragously false statements. This is not a weapon This is a tool So that police can assess the situation And make it more safe for everyone I think a lot of people who've commented on this item are I don't know they're getting their therapy here or something. So just You know, this is just a good tool for the police. It's not a weapon Just to prove it and it's also not going to cost the city any money people are talking about how much it's going to cost And how we should share it. No, it's just approve it and be done with it. Thank you very much Thank you. Anyone else in chambers wish to comment Miss bush anyone else online? Thank you very much matters back before the council a motion would be in order Motion Ms. Bruner is recognized I move the staff recommendation for item 25 Motion is there a second if I could just interject super briefly. Sorry after the materials were published We noticed a clerical error that impacts the staff recommendation. Uh, so um, essentially, um Got Stephanie deck here who can potentially speak to it But um, I'll let Stephanie speak to it because she's she's more familiar than I am. There she is Who is speaking? Sorry Stephanie duck is an attorney in our office and she's remotely here. Um, she'll just speak for a quick second if that's okay Oh, yeah, she's behind you and On your screen. Yeah, thank you. Good afternoon Good afternoon. Um, Stephanie duck returning with the city attorney's office. I apologize for this. I just want to explain Just very briefly of a clerical error to make sure that everyone's looking at the right thing here In the document titled amended Santa Cruz police department policy On page seven that attaches Um, the policy that we're requesting that the council Approved with this policy That amended equipment list is a slightly older version is not the version that we were asking you to approve The version we are asking you to approve is the track changes version So there's a document titled Santa Cruz police military equipment inventory track changes That is the document that should ultimately be incorporated into the policy Very minor changes, but I just wanted to point out so that we make sure that this final version is incorporated into the policy Thank you Let me Hold on just a second here Yes, does that are are you suggesting this changes the recommendation? You know The motion language is pretty good as it is If you read it, it says approve Santa Cruz police department policy 705 Incorporating the amended inventory of military equipment as defined by assembly bill 481 I think that motion can stay if that was with the council wants But I just wanted to make it abundantly clear that we are referring to The document that's I believe entitled Santa Cruz police military equipment inventory and track changes which was in your agenda materials Ms. Bush, is that clear to you what what has just been referenced. Thank you. Is the maker of the motion. Is that your motion? Yes, that is your motion. Is there a second? Second by mr. Newsome under debate and discussion I wish to comment. Yes, open on your motion Thank you. I wanted to briefly There were a couple of questions that came up and I just wanted to ask If on the new updated model of the throwbot If it can record audio or is the audio live If you know the answer to that The answer is is that It will record the audio. It's no different and will be a part of our body worn camera policy If you think about we're deploying this equipment during an exigent circumstance such as a hostage rescue sort of scenario Or we're we're utilizing this piece of equipment during a warrant service or an arrest warrant sort of service where we are Legally able to be where we are as well as the piece of equipment Um Everything including our own tactical team members or police officers All of that is evidence It is entirely critical to collect that evidence if statements are made by somebody in an incident like this and it was absolutely Uh critical to capture that as as evidence and introduced into the courts. So yes Thank you. Um, how many times is the current model Used in a year approximately if you don't have exact numbers off All that sergeant ron address that uh probably in Estimation and in live operations probably three to four times a year it gets used in training rather regularly And can you do you have an example of a scenario that it was used in? Uh, one of the more recent examples where officers were At a residence to serve in a rest warrant on a subject who had a felony domestic violence Rest warrant and Had bill was believed to be barricaded in the residence The robot was used to locate that person in the residence prior to officers going in and taking that person into custody Thank you councilmember brown Thank you. Uh, so I first want to say, um Um I appreciate you bringing this to us. I appreciate your efforts to comply with the ab 481 Law and I recognize that this is new for our community for the police department um And I I want to say I I really want to start out by Acknowledging the legitimate safety concerns that that you have Going into work. So just it's been said by members of the public, but I I see that and um, and I support using tools that are Not lethal and so I have no problem with the the The ask my the material I will say the materials were confusing As presented and and so and I think that is reflected in a lot of the comments We've received about the inventory writ large and the overall policy um, and I do have Lots of things to say about that, but that's another agenda item that I understand is coming Um in later in april and um, but so for now, I just wanted to just I guess my ask would be um that When we get these items if it just making it clear what the ask is and um uh Yeah, I'm kind of maybe trying to separate that out. So we're not um looking at the entire policy without some Uh, kind of acknowledgement that that's not what we're doing as part of the agenda item I recognize that it requires an ordinance change and so that's why you're doing it the way you're doing it But it just was confusing. So um, I it would be great to maybe Reduce that confusion for the future. Um And then I I did have a couple of questions That I wanted to follow up. Um, and I appreciate the Questions that councilmember brunner asked but I there were a few others that I have heard And so what about training? For use of these devices. How does that? How do you how does that happen? The training for it is not very intensive. Um It's much like operating a video game controller So really what it comes down to is knowing the capabilities of the device How to properly turn it on turn it off and then Use the remote control to to operate the device That's the extent of the training. It is not intensive. Um, we do it with all of our staff Patrol staff at varying times throughout the year everybody gets a chance to use it and we've used it The the teen public safety academy the kids love driving this thing around so The the training is not intensive And and that's the same for all the I don't know if it's a class of devices But we did hear and I've gotten a lot of emails about the Differences between these um devices the throw about the avatar the throw about two They're all in the same Category yeah, they are but part of the legislation requires That we also in our list include equipment that's available to us But we do not possess and the avatar is not our equipment It is the sheriff's office equipment, but it is at our request available to us So, you know, we're trying to comply with this new legislation that's really murky at best But uh, yeah, that's why that that piece of equipment is is in our list because the legislation actually required it Gotcha, and then um, just the other Kind of question comment. I guess I want to make is about the way that we that this was received and printed Through lexical as if it was on the list Um, but we hadn't approved it yet. So just again trying to understand It's it's it's kind of spoken about or written about as if it's Happening and we're approving it today so, um How to just wondering why that is the case I I guess to answer that best is just presenting what the The new policy would look like if we were approved to acquire this It's it is confusing because when we change our equipment list that inherently changes the policy Hence why we need to present this to to the governing body. So We could try in the future to just address The small piece, but we were trying to just include everything that's on there once again Just showcasing what's on the list in totality Instead of just highlighting just the one piece that we're talking about But maybe that added confusion Just again, just I'll I'll finish up But it just maybe like in the agenda report or something we could have some kind of explanation of why It it looks the way it does Um, because I do think it's confusing I mean certainly was confusing for me and I and members of the public have seemed to express that too Thanks For the debate or discussion for clarification purpose is not a weapon is it? No, thank you For the debate and discussion scene hearing none clerk will call the roll Councilmember newson. I frown. I Watkins. I fruner. I Calentary johnson. I vice mayor golder. I and mayor keely. I Sergeant chief. Thank you very much. I met motion passes and so ordered. We are on item number 26 This is uh, was that a throwbot? My goodness Instant use. All right. We are on item 26 This is a 127 million dollar loan from water infrastructure and finance innovation act loan to support Implementation of approved water capital improvement. Excuse me capital investment projects Ms. Menard. Good afternoon again I don't do this often enough I'm giving you all a chance to take a little bit of a deep breath Good afternoon, mayor and council. Good afternoon Rosemary Menard. I'm the director of the water department and with me today is david bomb who's our two financial officer and I want to um, I'm going to give you the Slide show version here Um, so we're here today to talk a little bit about uh, this uh request for your you to approve a loan application for the, um Water infrastructure finance and innovation act with via epa's program that was developed. I think after 2018 And to talk a little bit about this and put it in a context I want to talk a little bit about our long-range financial plan Several of you were on the council when we adopted that plan in 2021 Which was actually an update of the plan that we developed and adopted in 2016 And I want to talk a little bit about that and kind of the basis for What that plan is, but it's all really about funding our major capital improvement program So then we're going to talk about that proposed projects that we want to fund as a the wiffy alone and then Loan structure and capital structure. So For those of you who've been involved in with us in this Financial planning process over time, you know that we Basically do this by talking about what our needs are on both operating and capital And then also Having identified a set of financial policies and goals Involving things like debt service coverage and reserve levels As you go capital versus debt finance capital And in particular these things really help us the the financial policies and goals are really important to helping us maintain Establish and maintain a good credit Report. So just like you would want to do for if you were going to buy a house We're buying several houses here And so we want we want to have a good credit score and these things contribute to our having that That financial plan then It comes out and helps us to understand what our revenue requirements are Over the long haul then we make some decisions about how much water we think we're going to sell And a rate structure design, which we have some control over even under prop 218, which uh, you know, we use to Develop our rates and then we bring proposed rates to the council, which we did in november of 2021 for a five-year period starting at the beginning of fiscal 22 And those rates are now in place Excuse me fiscal 23. Those rates are now in place And the issue here is that if we don't get the rate increases that we need based on this process There has to be a feedback loop to go back and say have to revise the capital program or change the operating expense Assumptions because this is all a big cycle so The work that we've done Has, you know, basically asked the why questions and the what and then how much and how big the big picture And then the how and the customer class specific answers to the how much questions I'm really not going to walk you through every single one of these but in the long-range financial plan document it has basically Five or six actions that are looked at of what we're really trying to do with this and clearly the Rehabilitate replace it the infrastructure critical infrastructure Dealing with water supply reliability. That's number one on this list We clearly have adverse impacts of climate on a number of aspects of our infrastructure both on the dry side and the wet side That we're trying to address We're looking to implement those financial policies reserve goals to Give us put us in a good sustainable financial situation You know, we're we're a big business with our operating budget and our capital budget And we obviously have situations where we need to have flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances Maintain credit rating. Uh, that's what I talked about that Achieve equitable allocation of capital cost and charges between current users and future system users The infrastructure we're investing in is very long-lived and it wouldn't be fair or reasonable for just the current ratepayers to pay the whole bill so Debt financing the vast majority of this infrastructure re-investment is really important to sharing those costs over time It does cost more. I don't think there's anybody would say that if you pay an interest instead of paying all up front but it's not practical for us to pay off all up front and Helps us to manage our rates in a predictable and reasonably stable manager manner, even if they are in increasing over time We do have some pretty sophisticated and we take very seriously A set of financial reserves targets and funding levels and coverage levels We have an emergency fund. We have rate stabilization reserve We have operate 180 days minimum of operating cash Again for a big organization such as ours. These are really important and not that out of line And one of the key factors that we manage to is a debt service coverage ratio of 1.5 which means we have to have more than we need to pay debt service in any given year in order to Ensure that we're able to cover our debt our cost of debt So these are the this is the background of the financial planning work. We've done over time We have a very sophisticated financial planning model We use an annual rate making or not rate making but budgeting and communications our water commission about the work We're doing But it's really I think a very important piece of the work that we've done to set us up to make these investments in the water system So we are going to propose Under this loan to cover The loan program only covers up to 49 of the cost and you have to find the rest from other sources either market rate debt or State revolving loan debt in or in some cases These are the four projects the gram hill water treatment plant that you heard about earlier the fifth nil Creek pipeline project the segment between gram hill and a university tank for replacement, which is part of our treated water system that serves the university and aqua storage and recovery, which is part of our Our program to look at water supply augmentation and to help us meet a reliability goal. That was part of Securing our water future policy that was adopted last year So very quickly. These are just a little bit more about the four projects Um, the gram hill water treatment plant is serves 95 produces 95 of all the drinking water If this plant goes out of service, uh, it's basically boil water until it's back in service Um, it's a very expensive project. You saw some information about this earlier Um, whoops The uh, this is the nil Creek pipeline segment and again, you saw this map earlier 4.4 mile stretch. It's a 24 inch diameter pipeline and this is really a main artery When those breaks occur, we basically don't have way to get water from our storage reservoir to our treatment plant And it becomes a little bit of a crisis. Um, which Well, you didn't notice it, but the people in my office noticed it What it was going on like a couple of weeks ago and sometime earlier in january. Um But they work really hard to avoid having it be a problem But when the water then water's not available, it does get to be a problem pretty darn quick Um, another one is university tank four. It's up as part of the pump system on the west side This this, uh, is a 1965 Steel tank that as needs to be replaced now and Probably the last one of all of our distribution storage tanks We've done a lot of work on these over the last number of years a delabie aga tanks U2 and u5 are already been replaced and um are in service Obviously bay street reservoir was and was replaced about a decade ago and it's obviously helping us Very, you know, meet our needs on a daily basis And a lot of these issues are driven not just by infrastructure condition, but also by seismic standards, which are really important for us And then finally where is the 95 million dollar project to develop aquifer storage Storage and recovery in the mid county basin, which is much farther ahead in terms of the development of projects down there and then also the Santa margarita basin which is up in the scouts valley valley area Very actively engaged with the groundwater work in both those basins and have a lot of really Good partnership relationships with others in the region So when completed these projects will you know build resilience improve supply reliability improve water quality increase operational flexibility to balance the demands of meeting water supply needs and also in stream flows a Really important aspect of the way we manage the water system And replace critical infrastructure that's reached the end of its useful life so The term sheet for this particular Loan application is it has debt covenants involving Um a security pledge of net revenues A number of years ago We did a charter change to make it clear that we have the ability to do revenue bonds for and make Commitments of revenues from the water system to pay these kinds of cost it we have to have a A couple of things here related to being able to cover the cost of debt service And being able to do that in the context of not just the debt that we're obligating ourselves to here But also the debt that we already have so it's really kind of looking at the whole package And then it's a hundred and twenty seven million seven hundred and thirty thousand dollars It has a current estimated interest rate of three point seven five percent It's that's linked to a government securities rate that changes on a day-by-day basis this You know the timing that we're in in terms of some of this issuance of debt is really being driven by the changes what's going on in the In the current interest market and and the fed's policies. We do have some really very Large debt that we've undertaken as part of working with the state revolving loan fund That's at one point four percent interest So we got some things done in a time frame when we could fund it with money that costs less than this is going to cost us It has a final maturity of basically 40 years out with the first five years Can the interest is can be interest only and then a 35 year repayment print a time frame for the principal and interest It doesn't have prepayment penalties and it has no Call date on it so that if we get funding from someplace else Or the projects that we're looking for like SRF funding, which is now at about two percent We can basically pay this back and not be obligated and Like almost everything else we have the loan funds are available on a reimbursement basis So we have to have cash flow available To us in order to Cover the costs up front and then we file the claims and we get reimbursed and One of the good things about this program is the reimbursement rate is happening Apparently quite a bit faster and the week or two kind of time frame versus what we get with the state which is often five to six months So With that we will take your questions and I we also have our bond council on online Chick adams who's With jones hall and it's been the water department's bond council and the city's bond council for a long time Thank you very much. It was Very good presentation. Very much appreciated Let me see if there are questions by council members of a I have a question. Is that debt can we refinance that During the term of the loan? Yes. It doesn't have a call. It doesn't have a call day. It's not It doesn't have that kind of provision prepayment. It would basically be a prepayment of the that debt so if interest rate conditions Change and they will they will change which way will they go? That's right Um, we do have that option to do that and we do have some other debt Obviously over the number of years some of which is coming up that has a call day But not not in a better situation had we still been where we were last year or even the year before We would certainly be looking at refinancing some of that debt buyer of these bonds. So the tax free Yes, thank you. I'm gonna let thank you for the further questions comments Anyone with us wish to make comment on this item, please come forward if you wish to do so Good afternoon, sir Hello, my name is James Ewing Whitman Wow the way this reads resolution authorizing the city to enter into a loan agreement with the united states environmental protection agency Sure sounds like EPA is a bank so May have been physically present during the 22 23 budget. I think the city's budget was $197 million At the time, I believe they were negotiating between 163 and 163 and 167 million dollar loan Had to do with the San Lorenzo Valley watershed That's not the exact name. I forget what it's called And I believe it was shared that the Value of the San Lorenzo watershed was over a billion dollars Okay So the United States Environmental Protection Agency is a for-profit corporation And hopefully groups of citizens are going to get together and sue them for trillions of dollars along with black rock because The criminal malfeasance of deliberately causing a chemical reaction Which turned all those chemicals into doxins Some people just describe that that is being a billion times more toxic than round up Called forever chemicals. You can clean them some areas are easier than others But this is all part of a land grab How to come back into what's going on in Santa Cruz? That's some that's a pretty pristine watershed You know, why would somebody be taken alone from a company that? Really should be at a zero value. So of course they want to loan money to that's something that's actually worth something Some of the capital improvements in Santa Cruz That new line some of some of it's only eight inch some of it's 16. They're pumping the sewage Into the water table in mid county You know by EPA standards Maybe that's safe Let's talk about the EPA standards They are testing for vinyl chloride Well, the vinyl chloride is gone But the other forever chemicals somewhere used as world war two Very toxic nerve gases. There's been a lot of information going on So i'm recommending a different way that this county try to get some money than to try to use the EPA as a bank Because uh, the EPA is really thanking you for Signing over your water rights. Thank you Thank you, sir. Ms. Bush. Do we have anyone online on this item? We do we're going to alternate back and forth. We're going to take someone online. We'll be right with you Uh, the person online. Good afternoon Okay, I'll make this real short Uh, I missed the part where you explained how much the water rates are going up considering rates We're already scheduled to go up astronomically year after year for several more years Uh, and one of these items, uh, isn't really a replacement or repair and um I'm just curious about that. Thanks. Is that the end of your comments, sir? I'm very good. All right. Thank you. Good afternoon My concerns have to do with the Um, some revelations that came out with the cz u fire of a couple years ago I believe it was 2020 now at the end of august september um I don't know the name of the water director who is um Who I am referring to I don't recall her name. I wasn't the person to make the phone call a friend of mine did But essentially what happened Is that the water pipes That are in use generally in the mountains and in the mountain towns Uh melted They melted they were destroyed by the fire And there's a particularly extremely toxic chemical. I also don't know the name of that I'm not going to pretend that I can That I have this um This information, but it is an extremely toxic chemical in particular Would be going into the water and then into the reservoir and so my point is just that um I understand that our council and our government is very much related to the general kind of boom and bust capitalism That we're all feeling the pain of or the pleasure of depending on where you are in the spectrum of wealth and income But this is a question about public health and that is why I'm I am speaking I am hoping that you all are hearing this. I'm hoping the public is hearing this My close friend who called the water director went at that time She basically said we are aware of it. We're doing what we can yada yada yada yada And this is exactly the kind of thing where when we're wanting to approve and alone like this That is so um taxing Um on the public and it might be a very very wise thing to do. I'm not calling that into question What I am calling into question Is that the public have the information about the lethally toxic chemicals That our previous governments here in santa cruz and in the towns in the mountains have decided to make our water pipes out of that are now being destroyed in these lethal fires these new types of fires these climate change driven fires That are so extreme that they're melting all the water pipes and that toxic chemical is leaching into our water system This is exactly the type of information that needs to be brought out At a time like this when you're thinking about you know this kind of a commitment A financial commitment and that's really all I have to say. Thank you very much Thank you very much someone online miss bush. No good afternoon, sir Hi, my name is ron goodman I just wanted to say I really appreciate that Staff has made such a thoughtful proposal for water. Um my family my community I personally I think we all really appreciate having water and I encourage you to support this plan. Thank you Thank you, sir Any further testimony and further comment? No one else online. Thank you matters back before the council I'll move the recommendation miss Watkins moves Vice mayor second adoption of the staff recommendation I want to Use this moment because of the gentlelady's comment Would I be right in assuming the following? There's two things going on here There's all of that business with the san lorenzo valley water district Which is the provider of water in the san lorenzo valley lompico zianti felton area They did in fact have a lot of pvc pipe and other plastic pipe in their water delivery system Some of which melted during those fires That is not the city of santa cruz nor is that have anything to do with what we're doing except the extent that We take water from the san lorenzo valley, but this is for A completely different purpose that is not tied into is that correct? That's correct. Although. I will tell you contextually we are designing the treatment process for the upgraded water treatment plant to acknowledge that Things that they weren't thinking were going to be issues in 1960 or 55 when they started that design process Could potentially be issues now. We know that there's a lot of septic tank influence particularly in the Not the really really wet periods or the really really dry periods, but that's sort of more moderate that that do Introduce things into the supply that we are definitely monitoring for we're looking at we're Taking into account in the treatment process design and I think in particular with respect to uh Reluctively Understanding that We did a lot of monitoring after the fire to see what was coming at us from, you know, just downstream Partly because it was a really dry year in the winter immediately following that fire We didn't get a ton of stuff coming off in the mud flows and that kind of thing We're ongoing monitoring and so we're looking to see what's going on in the watershed recently published a A sanitary survey and was briefed before the water commission of the watershed brief before the water commission in March and I think that it's really important to know that that data is available. It's out there. It's public it's part of the records and We are happy to answer anybody's questions Obviously, we don't have the treatment in place right now to deal with whatever but The plan is to make this treatment plant do what it needs to do Not just backward looking but definitely Current and forward looking very good. I want to thank the gentlelady for raising that issue Your clarification has to do is who is doing what? But we're not saying That that is not an issue for us because that is a major source of our water Thank you very much for the debate or discussions. Yes, miss brown I I just wanted to ask a question. Thank you for once again another Really clear and streamlined presentation Gives me confidence every time I I did want to ask because it somebody mentioned it and I just started thinking about how rate payers will think about an item like this and So if you could just talk about how this Interfaces with rate structure my understanding is we have one set and but this is factored in but yes I wanted to just raise it here since people have asked So part of the goal of doing the long-range financial planning That we do is to look not just one year at a time but actually our long-range financial plan looked out 15 years and took the major Capital reinvestments that needed to be done and spread those out over that period of time Based on both When the projects could be ready that you can't You can't do everything at once even if you had the money to do everything at once because the system has to operate while You do these projects So that we have a long-range view of what it's going to take And out of that financial plan comes the five-year Estimated revenue requirements that are added to the operating revenue That will along with a strategy of that financing versus pay as you go Becomes the basis for the rate revenue that we Need to generate so it's a it's a pretty tight and and well put together process That looks at how are we going to pay for this stuff was one of the major reasons for doing the longer-range plan because You can't make that up year by year. You really have to plan it in and understand what you know both Policy-wise are you going to try to pay for it all with cash? Are you going to what's part is debt finance versus cash finance? That's the kind of work we've done and did it in 2016 to start the process and then updated in 2021 along with the next increment of rates that those rates go through fiscal 27 Thank you For the questions or comments Seeing and hearing none. I believe there is a motion. Is that correct miss bush? We have a motion on the table We do I just need to clarify who the seconder was I think okay, and the seconder was There we go It is the vice mayor All right, all debate having to cease clerk will call the roll Council member newson I Brown I Watkins I Brunner I Calentari Johnson I I smear golder I and miraculously I motion passes and so ordered. Thank you very much miss and honor Thank you, sir for being with us. Thank you for those who make comments on this. We appreciate your participation in this We are on file item number 27 This is an appeal of a proposed single space marking on david way We have an update on this the the assistant city attorney is recognized Hi We have looked at this issue and some coastal issues have coastal act issues have been raised and We're recommending that this item be postponed so that our office can further assess those issues Objection the item is continued to a date uncertain Depending receiving further advice from council Let me ask mr. Huff curb. We have further business come before the council today miss bush for the business Yes, and I if we can go back to 27 really I just want to confirm the recommendation language with to defer it to the april 11th meeting That's correct. Okay, so it is a date certain. Thank you. Thank you for that and then we have to do oral communication Did you that require a motion? It's written in the it sounds Yeah, let's do a motion to defer the item. Okay motion to continue to a date certain april give me that again 11 Thank you very much the motion by mes watkins second by the vice mayor Debate or discussion seen hearing none clerk will call the roll Council member is nuisance. Hi brown. Hi Watkins hi ruder. Hi Calentary johnson. Hi vice mayor golder. Hi and mary kealy Hi motion carries and so ordered. We're on oral communications This would be the opportunity for anyone to address the city council on a member on an item Under our jurisdiction, but not on today's city council agenda Is there anyone online miss? Good, let's go with someone online first and then we'll alternate back and forth between Online and those who have joined us in chambers. Good afternoon Yes, hello, this is carrot. Hey while there seems an exclusive priority in giving protection to sand here Instead of cliffs or very valuable property assets Please note it has been established by various scientific studies spanning decades that while some beaches can protect cliffs More so on average california cliffs with beaches generally erode 50 faster than ones without sand while unarmored cliffs erode Three times faster than armored ones. Those factors can multiply erosion occurs in difficult to predict cycles But when it occurs the cycles on until it isn't I repeat again There is history suggesting the public may realign Existing radical management retreat cliff erosion strategies for you toward more consideration of protecting private and public property Once more assets fall into the sea But by then it would really be too late to delay catastrophe by very much As to your now inexcusable failure to declare the covid state of emergency is over While seemingly adopting a sneak out the back jack silent much delayed Exploration strategy I would point out the city's website is still passing out health advice pushing MNRA gene therapy jobs including in my opinion and moral push for childhood vaccinations Exist mortality continues crushing life expectancy in the united states Many informed people with studies to back it up finger the vaccinations What should be the healthiest among us working age people are now dropping dead or developing serious maladies While even heavily vaccinated almost criminally authoritarian covid iron fisted countries like australia and new zealand Now give advice against vaccinations for normal people under 50 Because of their now wildly inflated excess mortality You're not passing out helpful advice But more so acting Continuing to act like another drug pushing fizer at Is that two minutes? Can't be two minutes Yeah, that was two minutes, but take a second if you'd like to wrap up your comments, sir Okay, do you want me to I took away his permission? Do you want me to put it back on? Yeah Make sure Didn't mean to cut you off on make sure you can finish your thought Okay, and and while you're removing that why don't you consider removing any of the numerous proven covid propaganda lies that may also still be there Thanks Well, thank you very much. Good afternoon, sir Hi, my name is james public comments. Maybe I'll get Silver umbrella back I left here a month ago So I had that pleasure to say good morning to sheriff kim hart this morning He said good morning. James. How are you and I said incredible now, uh gale newell was also In the room and as it turns out there were a lot of Legislative people there after my public comments, which I think was I forgot it's 31 minutes They all left that wasn't my intention I had public comments at 97 minutes were quite interesting So I can't bring up things that are actually on the agenda But along the lines of the frequency weapons, which was just completely Rushed over and the only people being thrown under the bus more than teachers and law enforcement teachers and students in law enforcement You know anybody can do their own research I don't expect people to believe a word. I say you should always do your own research But there are people that have put up different kinds of graphs and scales and when you look at wireless frequency weapons effects the flu In coven They're identical, you know why? Why change that's why change something that's very common human beings are very special creatures. We have hundreds of thousands of exosomes that help our bodies when our Natural bacteria can't take their thing cannot take care of things. They're natural surfactants and soaps So there's so many issues that are going to be coming up that this board is just not talking about and Everybody can change it's nice to see all of you Have a good evening. Thank you very much. Welcome Thank you. You have a nice evening too as well someone online Hello, this is jasmine. Mia. Good evening As one of the presenters said we are experiencing Whiplash weather. Therefore, we do not have much lead time for severe weather alerts There was actually even an alert for gale force winds today And I didn't notice that till last night While I don't know if there are other big storms on the horizon I urge the city to be prepared to offer emergency shelter Whenever conditions would necessitate it personally, I think we should have shelter available for everyone All the time but at least open up enough space during dangerous weather or extra cold conditions Many of us were disappointed that during a past atmospheric river the city only opened the depot park building Please have a better plan for future incidents I have heard that the city's responsibility is to offer brick and mortar space And not the county is supposed to offer staffing while in depot park free guide provided the services Also, not that much oversight is needed Please at least do your job and ensure adequate shelter both in amount of space and in the amount of time It is open. Let's not leave our unhoused neighbors out in the cold rain and dangerous stormy weather In which they could die from a fallen tree or debris flying through the wind. Thank you Thank you Good afternoon My comments are along the lines of the caller that we were just listening to um, I happened recently to stumble into a copy of a book by um word Churchill who's a very Um well thought of academic. I don't know if he's still living. He wrote um A lot on Native American rights and our laws and he wrote a book that the one I stumbled into called Indians or us And he begins his book talking about genocide and the definitions of genocide And so it just so happens that for the last since I don't know roughly about six months since about last august I once again wanted to do some personal investigation Into who who are the homeless people who were the homeless people at the benchlands park? And I did some organizing for the homeless union. I went to many meetings And wanted to bridge the organizations over through the holidays because the holidays are particularly difficult for many single homeless people Singles tend to be unaddressed as well And and if you compare how well we will try to address the needs of pregnant women and families single adults particularly go With their needs unmet as the caller was just saying I would urge the city to consider that what we are really engaging in is a form of genocide of our own people And i'm not using that word carelessly and i'm not using that word without actual Years and years of deliberations. I've studied civil rights. I've studied slavery I've studied these movements personally. I've taken many courses. I've made it my life's work. You might say And so we are killing Not only People who are american citizens. We are killing immigrants who are out there We are killing very many people who are mentally ill and people who just need basic shelter Please step up and take responsibility for the deaths. You all are responsible for anyone online miss bush Yes, next person online. Good afternoon Hello Reggie mysler here with santa cruz cares I just want to quickly speak about Restriping not from the item 27 perspective But from the broader perspective Um, I am happy that staff deferred item 27, but I am also sad I'm sad because I This was a flagrant misuse of that permit that coastal design permit The only reason staff deferred this is not because they realized they had to come to jesus moment that this was a horrible Uh mean spirited discriminatory and hateful thing to do But because I put pressure on the coastal commission enforcement arm to not allow them to do it. This was a Latent street by street strategy to backdoor The city's way into an RV ban side stepping the need to negotiate the terms of the ovo with the coastal commission And why did the city feel the need to do that because the coastal commission was never going to accept the ovo The coastal act does not accept flagrantly discriminatory and hateful policies like the ovo because the mission of the coastal Uh commission is sadly more progressive than our city council Its purpose is to explicitly prevent racist classes and anti houseless forces of capitalism from privatizing our land And coastal resources and not to allow it to be a gated community that only the wealthy and mostly white are allowed to enter So it is frankly outrageous that city staff Continues to use its limited resources finding new and creative ways to criminalize the poor as they have done here Instead of do what is evidence-based what we've been talking about for years Give them what they need porta potties trash receptacles needle disposal mobile gray water dumping. There's a 60 person wait for tier three everyone on delaware avenue Wants to get into tier three safe parking and you're not doing it. You're just criminalizing them more So Let this be a lesson. We will continue with more litigation if you keep going down this road. Thank you Good afternoon star bring weather, huh? Uh, yeah, I wanted to talk a little bit about ocean street Um, because I feel like it's uh, it's a very uh keystone uh area of the city I'd uh meant to speak with uh, so Sonya about it. Um, You know, uh, well while she was uh, uh mayor but I I just I feel really strongly that that ocean street for a variety of reasons. Um, that I could enumerate Is highly neglected a very highly neglected part of the city It's the first thing people see when they they come and and go and You know, we there's lots of often their items in front of the council regarding dangerous intersections and More than one is on ocean street. Um Can't you could be said I I think and uh, and there's all kinds of uh, you know, you know Things that, you know, uh range from decorative changes to um, you know, uh substantive changes that are maybe difficult to do because there's a little bit Of confusion about like well the county building is the county's problem and then You know, uh, how do we enforce? Uh, say, uh, you know, uh safety You know, uh Um, you know, if if there were if there were uh, say, you know, kind of Stepped up enforcement of people driving unsafe in that area. Um, it's a it's uh, you know, uh often People come down ocean street and they think well You know, um You know, who I'm in I'm in Santa Cruz now finally after, you know, this long drive over the mountains And uh, it creates a lot of problems and you know, um, it's not that it doesn't look good now But there's all kinds of things that could be improved Thank you Thank you, sir. Ms. Bush anyone else online one more Good afternoon Hello, can you all hear me? Yes Okay, good. Thanks. This is joy schendl decker. Um, I just I wanted to invite you all to um To a couple of events. Um, I'm part of a project that is part of the city arts redevelopment grants uh grant project, um That andrew purchin a local psychotherapist and artist is is doing and we have a performance evening on the evening of april 15th At the 408 project and a gallery opening at the radius gallery at the tannery from two to four on Uh sunday the 16th This is the project. Um, you can see the website. What's home.org? And it's what's home creative listening across differences. Um, I was paired with mayor keely for For my part of the project. I'm one of the creative mediators and we'll have an installation in the gallery show um I had a conversation with mayor keely and a conversation with greg benet a friend of mine who is also an artist who, um lived in the benchlands and i'm i'm really proud to be part of this project. I think it's going to be um wonderful It's great that the city is supporting the arts and um And you know, we all need to have more difficult conversations. Um, I I hope to have many many more of them Um, and then also another another thing I'd like to invite everybody to attend is this saturday's housing matters March against homelessness. I'll be there with santa cruz cares and and possibly doing some crochet workshop As an extension of my what's home Um, a project we'll see if that happens. So hope to see you all at at these upcoming events. Thank you Thank you. Miss chandeldecker. We appreciate that anyone else who's with us and chambers wish to make comments Miss bush anyone else online for the business to come before us? No, no Motion to adjourn will be in order Miss golder moves and miss wacken seconds To adjourn the meeting non-debatable those in favor signify by saying aye Opposed motion carries and so ordered. We stand adjourned