Santa Cruz County, CA

- WE HAVE A MOTION FROM SUPERVISOR DE SERPA AND A SECOND FROM SUPERVISOR HERNANDEZ.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- I'LL JUST SAY, AS A FORMER MONTESSORI SCHOOL KID, TOTALLY IN SUPPORT OF THIS.

- ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? SEEING NONE, MADAM CLERK, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? - SUPERVISOR DE SERPA? - AYE.

WE'LL NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER 8, WHICH IS TO CONSIDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BUSINESS REGISTRATION PROGRAM FOR THE UNINCORPORATED AREA OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY AND TAKE RELATED ACTIONS.

- AND MARTINEZ? - AYE.

MOTION PASSES, 5 TO 0.

[8. Consider development of a Business Registration Program for the unincorporated area of Santa Cruz County, and take related actions]

- GOOD MORNING, UH, CHAIR, AGAIN.

I'M PETER DETLEFS PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATOR OUT OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE.

I'M JOINED HERE TODAY WITH GEORGE ENTIS, SENIOR ANALYST WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE.

AND JOSH DAVIS, PRACTICE LEADER WITH HGL COMPANIES, IS AVAILABLE WITH US ONLINE TO ALSO PRESENT.

AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO GEORGE TO GET US STARTED THIS MORNING.

- SIDE. THERE YOU GO.

- THERE YOU GO.

GOOD MORNING, CHAIR MARTINEZ, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

UH, WE'RE HERE TODAY TO INTRODUCE THE IDEA OF CREATING A BUSINESS REGISTRATION PROGRAM FOR BUSINESSES OPERATING IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA OF THE COUNTY.

THE BASIC ISSUE WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS IS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.

RIGHT NOW, THE COUNTY DOESN'T HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE SOURCE THAT TELLS US WHAT BUSINESSES ARE OPERATING HERE, WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED, WHAT THEY DO, AND HOW TO REACH THEM.

HAVING THAT INFORMATION WOULD BE USEFUL FOR A NUM- A NUMBER OF REASONS.

BUT ONE OF THE BIGGEST IS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND DISASTER RESPONSE.

THERE ARE OTHER BENEFITS, LIKE BETTER BUSINESS OUTREACH AND SUPPORT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PLANNING, PUBLIC SAFETY,

[01:25:03]

AND SIMPLY HAVING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY WE'RE SERVING.

I WANNA BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THIS IS NOT.

THIS IS NOT A BUSINESS TAX.

IT'S NOT INTENDED TO GENERATE, UH, GENERAL FUND REVENUE.

WE'RE EXPLORING A REGISTRATION PROGRAM, UM, WITH A RELATIVELY SMALL FEE THAT'S TIED TO THE COST OF PROVIDING AND ADMINISTERING THE SERVICE.

WE'RE ASKING WHETHER THE BOARD SUPPORTS THE CONCEPT AND WOULD LIKE US TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING THE PROGRAM.

AND WE ALSO TALKED WITH OTHER CALIFORNIA JURISDICTIONS AND FOUND THAT THIS IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT.

UM, IN FACT, IT'S STANDARD PRACTICE, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH HGL, OUR SALES TAX CONSULTANT, UM, TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS, UH, MODEL COULD, UM, UH, BEST WORK HERE IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY.

AND SO HGL, UH, IS HERE TODAY TO WALK THROUGH THAT PROGRAM IN MORE DETAIL.

AND SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO JOSH DAVIS.

- GOOD MORNING. UH, THANK YOU AGAIN. MY NAME IS JOSH DAVIS.

I'M WITH, UH, THE HDL COMPANIES, AND YEAH, WE CURRENTLY PROVIDE THE COUNTY WITH A VARIETY OF SERVICES FROM, UH, TAX AND, AND FEE PERSPECTIVE.

UM, I THOUGHT I'D START JUST QUICKLY TO KIND OF RE-TOUCH ON WHAT, UH, MR., UM, ENTIS SAID, UM, AND REALLY TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMS, 'CAUSE MANY CASES ACROSS THE STATE, THESE NAMES ARE USED INTERCHANGEABLY.

UM, BUT THERE IS CERTAINLY A DIFFERENCE, UM, IN THE WAY THAT IT'S IMPLEMENTED.

SO IT COULD BE CALLED THE BUSINESS LICENSE, IT COULD BE CALLED A BUSINESS TAX, OR JUST A LICENSE, OR JUST A PERMIT.

BUT GENERALLY, THESE THINGS HAVE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UM, IMPLEMENTATIONS AND DESIGNS.

ONE IS THE TAX, WHICH AGAIN, AS MR. ENTIS SAID, IS DESIGNED TO SORT OF GENERATE FUNDS, UH, FOR THE GEN- UH, GENERATE REVENUE FOR THE GENERAL FUND.

UM, AND THEY HAVE SOME LIMITATIONS, UH, THE USE OF THE INFORMATION BECAUSE OF THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF TAX RECORDS IS LIMITED EVEN WITHIN, UM, THE COUNTY.

UM, IT DOES REQUIRE VOTER APPROVAL FOR, FOR NEW TAXES.

WHERE ON THE REGULATORY SIDE, WHICH IS MORE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY, IT'S DESIGNED FOR A PUBLIC BENEFIT, AND IT CAN GENERATE SOME VALUABLE INFORMATION, UM, AND IS DONE ON A COST RECOVERY BASIS AND, AND THEREFORE, NO, UM, NO VOTER APPROVAL IS REQUIRED.

UH, MOVING ON.

WHAT MANY, UH, ASK FOR, OR ARE THINKING ABOUT IS JUST, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, AFFECT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY? WHAT- WHAT DOES IT MEAN? WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO DO? UM, AND PART OF THE PROGRAM THAT WE WOULD ASSIST THE COUNTY TO SET UP IS REALLY SIMPLIFYING THAT PROCESS, UM, FOR THE BUSINESSES, MAKING SURE IT'S AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE MAKING SURE THEY HAVE A VARIETY OF WAYS TO ENGAGE THE COUNTY.

UM, IT TYPICALLY CONSISTS OF JUST AN ANNUAL REGISTRATION PROCESS WITH SOME VERY QUICK SUBMITTAL OF THE RELEVANT DATA THAT THE COUNTY DECIDES AS PART OF THE PROGRAM IS GOING TO BE SUBMITTED, AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY A FLAT FEE THAT, UM, IS USUALLY GENERATED WITH COST RECOVERY OR SOME SUBSIDY, UM, FROM THE COUNTY.

THE PROCESS IS USUALLY INCREDIBLY SIMPLE IN THE SENSE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE... IT'S DESIGNED TO SORT OF MEET THE BUSINESSES WHERE THEY ARE.

IF THEY WANT TO ENGAGE OR FILL OUT THESE THINGS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY, UM, VIA THE MAIL, THOSE ARE TYPICALLY ACCEPTED.

OF COURSE, ALSO PROVIDING TECHNOLOGY TO DO THINGS ONLINE, OVER THE PHONE, UM, AND EVEN IN PERSON IS PART OF THE PROCESS AS WELL.

SO THE GOAL IS TO MAKE IT AS SIMPLE, UH, ON THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AS POSSIBLE, AND GENERALLY, JUST A ONCE A YEAR PROCESS.

IT JUST TAKES A FEW MINUTES.

MOVING ON.

WHAT DOES IT- WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE COUNTY? OOPS, CITY HERE IT SAYS, BUT, UM, GENERALLY FOR THE COUNTY, UH, IT- IT MEANS A LOT OF THINGS, AND DEPENDS ON HOW THE COUNTY DECIDES AND WANTS TO SET IT UP, AND WHERE IT CAN BE OF VALUE.

GENERALLY, WHAT WE SEE FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY PERSPECTIVE IS THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT CAN BE VALUABLE.

EMERGENCY CONTACT IF A POLICE NOTICES A, A BROKEN WINDOW.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IF FIRE NEEDS TO GO IN, UM, TO A BUILDING TO KNOW WHAT'S, WHAT'S IN THERE.

FROM A, A PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE, HELPING BUSINESSES NAVIGATE, UH, THE, THE PROCESS OF ENSURING THAT THEIR BUSINESS IS ALLOWED, UH, FOR THAT TYPE OF BUSINESS AT THAT TYPE OF LOCATION.

UH, FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT CAN BE USED FOR ECONOMIC TRENDS AND EMPLOYEE COUNTS, REACHING OUT IN REAL-TIME CONTACT TO PROVIDE GRANT INFORMATION OR OTHER INFORMATION THAT COULD BE IMPORTANT TO BUSINESSES.

UM, AND OF COURSE, AS MENTIONED BEFORE, COMMUNICATIONS, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, BEING ABLE TO TEXT, UM, IN REAL TIME AND LET, UM, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY KNOW ANY CITY NEWS OR ANY EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, UM, IS INCREDIBLY VALUABLE.

AND ALSO HOUSING.

UM, BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY, UH, WITHOUT SORT OF ANECDOTAL INFORMATION, SOME REAL PROPERTY INFORMATION, WHAT'S THE INVENTORY,

[01:30:02]

WHAT'S THE OCCUPANCY RATE, WHAT ARE THE RENT AVERAGES AND TRENDS.

AND SO, BEING ABLE TO PUT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER, UM, IS SORT OF WHAT THE COUNTY BENEFITS THE MOST.

MOVING ON.

IN TERMS OF THE BENEFITS AND APPLICATIONS, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT, BUT IN ADDITION, WE'RE REALLY ABLE TO PROVIDE A LOT OF DETAILED ANALYTICS FOR, UM, FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.

SO THAT'S GIS, UM, REGIONAL DISTRICT LEVEL DATA.

SO REALLY BEING ABLE TO GET DOWN TO, UM, AND DRILL DOWN TO DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COUNTY.

WHAT TYPES OF BUSINESSES ARE IN EACH OF THESE AREAS? UH, WHERE IS THE, UH, HUB OF RESTAURANTS OR OF INDUSTRY OR WHATEVER THOSE TYPES OF ITEMS ARE, AND BEING ABLE TO REPORT NEW BUSINESSES OPENING AND WHERE ARE THEY OPENING EACH OF THESE AREAS.

SAME WITH THE INDUSTRY TRENDS AND ANALYSIS, LOOKING AT WHERE YOU'RE SEEING YOUR HIGHEST GROWTH, WHAT BUSINESSES ARE NEEDING THE MOST SUPPORT, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND AGAIN, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE.

BUT ALSO PUBLIC INFORMATIONS, BUSINESS LISTINGS, VALIDATIONS, HELPING THE COMMUNITY KNOW, UM, HOW TO SHOP LOCAL.

WHAT YOU'RE, UH, PUTTING OUT YOUR MARKETING INFORMATION FOR ALL OF THESE BUSINESSES OF, OF WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING FOR BUSINESS TO BUSINESS ACTIVITY, I CHOOSE TO WANT TO SORT OF ENGAGE WITH A LOCAL COUNTY BUSINESS RATHER THAN MAYBE HAVING TO GO OUT.

SO GETTING A LIST OF ALL THE BUSINESSES THAT CAN HELP SERVICE ME AS WELL AS KNOWING THAT THEY'VE GONE THROUGH THE COUNTY'S CHECK PROCESS AND ARE VALID.

AND AGAIN, CODE COMPLIANCE, ARE THE BUSINESSES REALLY IN LINE WITH THE REST OF THE COUNTY'S NEEDS? SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS THAT THE PROGRAM COMES, AGAIN, WITH A LOT OF THE VALUE, UH, UH, REALLY KIND OF DESIGNED AND WORKED THROUGH, UM, I THINK IS GONNA BE DISCUSSED NEXT.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

- AND, UH, BEFORE WE GET TO RECOMMENDED ACTIONS, WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THE POLICY QUESTIONS THAT WE'LL NEED TO WORK THROUGH IF THE BOARD DIRECTS US TO MOVE FORWARD.

UM, AND FOR EXAMPLE, SHOULD THERE BE EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS, LIKE NONPROFITS? AND DOES THAT MEAN EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION ITSELF OR JUST THE FEE? UH, AND THEN FOR BUSINESSES WITH MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, SHOULD THEY REGISTER ONCE AS AN ENTITY OR SEPARATELY FOR EACH LOCATION? AND, UM, ON, ON, ON THE ISSUE, ON THE ISSUE OF COMPLIANCE, UM, WHEN IF, IF, UH, UH, A BUSINESS DOESN'T REGISTER OR RENEW, HOW DO WE APPROACH THAT? DO WE DO ESCALATING FEES? DO WE DO SOME KIND OF PENALTY? AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE POLICY CHOICES WE'LL BE WORKING THROUGH.

SO ANY DIRECTION FROM THE BOARD TODAY WOULD HELP INFORM THAT NEXT PHASE.

UM, AND WITH THAT, THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS TODAY ARE ESSENTIALLY TO RECEIVE THE PRESENTATION, AND IF THE BOARD SUPPORTS THE CONCEPT, DIRECT US TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING THE PROGRAM.

WE THEN COME BACK TO YOU WITH THE ACTUAL PROGRAM STRUCTURE, THE ORDINANCE, THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

UH, AND THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION, SO WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

- THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

UM, I THINK I'M GONNA START BY ASKING IF THE BOARD HAS ANY PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS FOR THE PRESENTER.

- I HAVE... WELL, I GUESS NOT QUESTIONS.

IT'S, UH, SUGGESTIONS AND, I GUESS I'D SAY.

- PERHAPS WE'LL COME BACK TO THAT AFTER WE GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT.

- OKAY.

- ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.

- SURE.

UM, THANKS FOR, THANKS FOR WORKING ON THIS.

I MEAN, IT'S DEFINITELY, THROUGHOUT MY TIME ON THE BOARD THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHERE, UH, IT WOULD BE REALLY CONVENIENT TO BE ABLE TO CONTACT A GROUP OF BUSINESSES OR ALL THE BUSINESSES IN THE, IN THE FIRST DISTRICT.

I MEAN, I CAN THINK MOST RECENTLY, UH, JUST WITH SOME OF THE ACTIVITY HAPPENING WITH CONSTRUCTION IN SOCAL VILLAGE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, RIGHT NOW WE'RE SORT OF LIMITED TO THE, UH, THEIR, THEIR OWN INTERNAL MAILING LIST, AND WE DON'T HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE WAY TO REACH OUT TO, TO ALL THE BUSINESSES THAT, UM, WE KNOW ARE OPERATING IN THE AREA BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T KNOW, UH, WHO'S OPERATING IN THE AREA.

SO, THIS COULD DEFINITELY BE A USEFUL TOOL.

UM, I'M ALSO SENSITIVE TO THE FACT THAT IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, PE- WHILE THE PROGRAM IS NOT BEING STRUCTURED AS A TAX, THAT TO SOME EXTENT IT MIGHT FEEL THAT WAY, UM, TO BUSINESSES.

UM, AND ALSO THERE COULD BE SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

SO, I MEAN, I GUESS THE FIRST QUESTION IS, HOW MUCH DO WE REALLY THINK THAT THIS IS GOING TO COST US IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THE TIME TO MANAGE THE PROGRAM? DO YOU HAVE ANY ESTIMATES? - SO WE EXPECT THE COUNTY'S, UM, COST TO BE PRETTY LIMITED AROUND THAT, RIGHT? WE'RE LOOKING TO OUTSOURCE THIS WITH HDL WHO IS OUR SALES TAX AUDITOR.

THEY HAVE A PROFESSIONAL, UM, UH, BUSINESS AROUND THIS WITH MULTIPLE AGENCIES AROUND THE STATE.

UM, THEY ALSO ALREADY KNOW WHO A LOT OF OUR BUSINESSES ARE

[01:35:02]

AS, YOU KNOW, THEY MANAGE OUR SALES TAX AUDIT.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, FROM A, FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN MANAGING THAT CONTRACTS AND ANY ISSUES THAT MAY COME UP, IT SHOULD BE PRETTY LIMITED FROM THE COUNTY SIDE.

- DO YOU... ANY ESTIMATE? I MEAN, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT $100,000 A YEAR, 50? - SO IT'S ACTUALLY A COST THAT'S COLLECTED AS PART OF THAT FEE.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THAT BUT INITIALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, $50 MAYBE THAT FIRST YEAR AS WE SET IT UP, BUT WE EXPECT IT TO BE REDUCED TO ABOUT $25 GOING FORWARD.

- YEAH, I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE IT, IT SHOULD BE PRETTY LIMITED IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT THAT IT ACTUALLY TAKES.

I APPRECIATE THAT, THAT WORKING WITH HDL MIGHT SPEED UP THE ROLLOUT BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE, THE INFORMATION FROM, UH, HELPING US COLLECT THE SALES TAXES.

UM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, MAYBE IT MEANS THAT IT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S ADDING MORE COST THAN WE NEED IN THE LONG TERM.

UM, I MEAN, IF THERE WERE ANY ABILITY FOR US TO, UM, UH, JUST EAT THE COST INTERNALLY OR...

I MEAN, A LOT OF THESE BUSINESSES ARE ALREADY PAYING SALES TAXES OR PROPERTY TAXES, SO IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT, UH, F- YOU KNOW, PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE.

UM, SO THAT WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO ME.

UM, AND THE OTHER THING THAT'S COME UP IS, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY SOME OF THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, AND AS IT WAS MENTIONED ON THE SLIDES, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOME PRETTY STRICT ZONING REGULATIONS THAT I THINK PROBABLY A LOT OF BUSINESSES ARE NOT ALWAYS AWARE OF, AND THAT THIS COULD POTENTIALLY BRING TO LIGHT.

AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD BE CREATING A LOT MORE PROBLEMS THAN WE, THAN WE INTEND TO.

UM, SO... AND I KNOW THAT IT'S ON OUR TO-DO LIST, UH, TO KIND OF SH- UH, AS PART OF STREAMLINE SANTA CRUZ, TO, UM, ALLOW MORE BUSINESSES IN MORE PLACES GENERALLY, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S VERY RESTRICTIVE.

UM, BUT STILL, I WOULD...

YOU KNOW, EITHER I THINK WE SH- NEED TO MOVE THAT EFFORT FORWARD FASTER AND IN TANDEM WITH THIS, OR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE PROVIDE SOME SORT OF ASSURANCE THAT THE DATA PROVIDED VIA BUSINESS REGISTRATION PROGRAM WOULD NOT BE USED, UM, IN ZONING ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.

UM, I- YOU KNOW, WE DON'T... UH, AGAIN, WE'RE JUST- WE'RE NOT TRYING TO CREATE ADDITIONAL BURDEN ON THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW OR UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

SO, UM, I, I GUESS MORE OF A STATEMENT THAN A QUESTION, BUT THANK YOU.

- SUPERVISOR HERNANDEZ, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? - THANK YOU. SO I'M- I'M GLAD YOU GUYS BROUGHT THIS, UH, HERE, UH, BEFORE US.

UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I- I HOPE IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS, AND HOPEFULLY IN THE NEAR FUTURE, UH, OPENING A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POSITION THAT COULD GUIDE US IN DIS- DI- UH, DIVERSIFYING OUR COUNTY SALES TAX BASE.

IN ADDITION, I THINK THAT THIS WILL GIVE US A- A REAL GOOD BASELINE OF WHERE WE'RE AT SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE WE NEED TO GO.

UM, I THINK REALLY ADDING THE DATA ANALYTICS, OR THE DEMOGRAPHICS, RIGHT, WILL REALLY HELP US, UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE TRY TO ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES.

UH, WE DO HAVE THAT- WELL, WE- WE WILL HAVE THAT BASELINE OF DEMOGRAPHICS, UH, WITH OUR BUSINESSES.

WITH THAT, UM, I, I WANTED TO ASK, SO IS THERE CARVE-OUTS OR DIRECTION THAT WE COULD DO TO SORT OF TAKE OUT MAYBE, UM, UH, CHILDCARE PROVIDERS AND IHSS WORKERS, UM, MAYBE A SLIDING SCALE FOR NON-PROFITS? AND THE REASON I SAY THIS IS BECAUSE WITH OUR CURRENT STATE OF THE ECONOMY, UH, I'M WORRIED THAT SOME OF THESE PROVIDERS, UH, MIGHT SLIP INTO THE CRACKS AND GO INTO SORT OF, UH, UNDERGROUND, RIGHT? AND WE'D- WE LIKE TO HAVE THAT DATABASE OF ALL OUR CHILDCARE PROVIDERS AND HOME HEALTHCARE WORKERS, UH, SO THAT WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY'RE OPERATING AND, AND ENSURING, YOU KNOW, UH, SAFETY.

UH, SO I, I'D LIKE TO SEE IF THAT'S A POSSIBILITY, IF WE CAN EITHER REMOVE THE CHILDCARE PROVIDERS OR IHSS WORKERS, UH, FROM THIS, UH, BUSINESS TAX.

BUT STILL ACCOUNTING FOR THEIR BUSINESS, SO.

BUT I THINK MY WORRY IS THE COST FOR THEM.

- THE ANSWER IS YES, RIGHT? AT YOUR BOARD'S DIRECTION, WE CAN DO THAT.

UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS MEANT TO BE COST RECOVERY, RIGHT? SO WE'LL HAVE TO EXPLORE WHAT THE IMPACTS OF THAT, THOSE CHOICES ARE, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY RETURN TO YOUR BOARD AS WE, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP THE PROGRAM.

- AND I'LL, I'LL ADD ONE MORE, UM, THING TO THAT, IS THAT HYPOTHETICALLY IF IT WERE TO BE BALLPARK 25, UM, BUCKS A BUSINESS, UM, COMPARED TO A LOT OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS, IT'S ON THE VERY LOW END.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, EL DORADO COUNTY CHARGES DOUBLE, TRIPLE.

[01:40:02]

CITY OF PALO ALTO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE TIMES AS MUCH.

SO, THIS IS ON THE VERY LOW END.

- SINCE YOU'RE REFERENCING OTHER JURISDICTIONS, CAN YOU JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT, UM, THE CONSULTANT WAS SHARING AROUND THE BENEFIT TO THOSE OTHER JURISDICTIONS? W- W- YEAH, WHY- WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS? - UM, THERE'S, THERE'S DIFFERENT TYPES OF MODELS.

UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, EL DORADO COUNTY HAS PURELY A, A, A REGISTRATION PROGRAM, WHEREAS THE CITY OF PALO ALTO, UM, THEY HAVE A, A REGISTRATION PROGRAM, BUT ALSO A BUSINESS TAX FOR A SUBSET OF, OF THOSE BUSINESSES.

SO IT'S JUST DIFFERENT TYPES OF MODELS, AND YEAH.

- AND IN YOUR MATERIALS YOU REFERENCED, UM, THIS MIGHT BE BENEFICIAL IN THE EVENT OF A DISASTER.

CAN YOU SHARE MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU WERE THINKING THERE? - YEAH. DAVE REED IS IN THE AUDIENCE AND IS COMING UP TO SPEAK TO THAT.

- WELCOME.

- GOOD MORNING, CHAIR, BOARD.

UM, SO FROM A DISASTER STANDPOINT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, I EXPERIENCED IN SUPPORTING THE CZU RECOVERY, AS WELL AS THE FLOODS, IS THAT SO OFTEN OUR RENTERS AND OUR SMALL BUSINESSES ARE THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE HARDEST TO COMMUNICATE WITH.

SO THIS TYPE OF DATABASE WILL HELP US BOTH ON THE, UH, PREVENTATIVE SIDE, ONE EXAMPLE BEING, BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH CHILDCARE FACILITIES OR VISITOR-SERVING, UH, BUSINESSES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT ALSO IN THE RECOVERY PHASE OF REACHING OUT TO THEM AND GETTING THEM CONNECTED TO RESOURCES.

WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE, FEMA RESOURCES TO INDIVIDUALS.

UM, AND IT WAS HARDER TO GET SBA RESOURCES TO SMALL BUSINESSES IN THOSE, IN THOSE DISASTERS.

I WAS FIRSTHAND SEEING SO MANY OF THE SMALL BUSINESSES KIND OF SECOND, THIRD BUSINESSES IN SOUTH COUNTY THAT THEIR- ALL OF THEIR EQUIPMENT GOT FLOODED OUT AND DAMAGED AS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, WITH THAT FLOODING EVENT.

AND SO THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS CAN GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY BOTH TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AHEAD OF TIME, BUT ALSO SEE IF WE CAN GIVE THEM SOME RESOURCES TO REBUILD BACK THOSE BUSINESSES THAT OFTENTIMES ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF THEIR, OF THEIR EXISTENCE HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE IT'S THE SECOND OR THIRD JOB THAT THEY MAY HAVE.

- YEAH. AND I'LL JUST ADD THAT DURING COVID IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY ABOUT THE RESOURCES THAT WERE AVAILABLE FROM PPP LOANS, THE FORGIVENESS OF THOSE LOANS, OTHER ADDITIONAL GRANT RESOURCES THAT HAD COME IN THROUGH ARPA FUNDING.

UM, IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO CONTACT THOSE BUSINESS AND GET THEM- GET THEM TO ENGAGE.

UM, IN FACT, OUR BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM WAS VERY DIFFICULT.

YOU WOULD THINK IT'D BE EASY TO GIVE AWAY $15,000 TO A BUSINESS, BUT IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO GET PEOPLE TO APPLY.

AND JUST ANY EXPERIENCE FROM THE CONSULTANT, UM, ON THE ROLLOUT OF THE PROGRAM? IS THE SALES TAX THE PRIMARY WAY OF STARTING THE CONTACT? LIKE HOW WILL WE EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT FORWARD WITH THIS? - YOU THERE, JOSH? - YES, UH, ABSOLUTELY.

DEFINITELY, UH, A LOT OF THIS WILL DEPEND ON THE STRUCTURE.

UM, AND AS THE COUNTY'S PUTTING TOGETHER SORT OF HOW- HOW MANY BUSINESSES IT WANTS TO INCLUDE OR NOT INCLUDE AND WHAT THOSE ITEMS ARE, BUT SALES TAX IS A GREAT, IS A GREAT RESOURCE.

WE ALSO HAVE A VARIETY OF OTHER STATE, UH, UH, SOURCES THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLAY, UM, S- YOU KNOW, FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, AS WELL AS MARKETING DIRECTORIES AND REALLY TRYING TO REACH OUT TO THE SMALL BUSINESSES AS WELL, UM, GETTING RESOURCES EVEN FROM YELP AND OTHER ITEMS, AND BASICALLY CONSOLIDATING ALL OF THESE INFORMATION SOURCES TOGETHER TO BUILD A, A DATABASE THAT WE CAN USE FOR AN EDUCATION AND OUTREACH CAMPAIGN TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAM, WHAT THE BENEFITS ARE, UH, TO HELP AND TEACH THEM HOW TO APPLY AND, AND, AND, UH, FACILITATE IT.

- THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL. THANK YOU.

SUPERVISOR KOENIG, DID YOU HAVE A FURTHER QUESTION BEFORE I WENT TO THE PUBLIC? ALL RIGHT, I'LL NOW OPEN THIS UP TO THE PUBLIC FOR COMMENT.

IF YOU'RE HERE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORM A LINE IN FRONT OF US.

WELCOME. GOOD MORNING.

- HI, GOOD MORNING. MY NAME'S KRISTEN BROWN.

I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SANTA CRUZ AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND WE REPRESENT OVER 300 BUSINESSES COMPRISED OF NEARLY 17,000 EMPLOYEES WITHIN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, BOTH IN THE INCORPORATED CITIES AND THE UNINCORPORATED COUNTY AREAS.

UH, APPRECIATE STAFF'S TIME AND, AND WORK ON THIS ITEM, AND THE CLARIFICATION THAT THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A BUSINESS TAX, UM, BUT RATHER A COST OF SERVICE FEE TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM.

THAT DISTINCTION IS IMPORTANT, AND IT'S HELPFUL CONTEXT AS THIS MOVES FORWARD.

UH, WE ARE NOT HERE TODAY TO TAKE A POSITION, UH, FOR OR AGAINST THIS PROGRAM.

[01:45:01]

INSTEAD, WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE THE COUNTY TO INCLUDE BUSINESSES AS, UH, THE PLANNING PROCESS MOVES FORWARD, AS YOU CONSIDER THE PROGRAM STRUCTURE, THE REQUIREMENTS, UH, AND THE FEE, ALL OF THOSE THINGS AS THEY'RE BEING DEVELOPED.

BUSINESS OWNERS' INPUT ON THINGS LIKE RENEWAL FREQUENCY, EXEMPTIONS, AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS WILL MAKE THE PROGRAM MORE WORKABLE AND MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED.

THE CHAMBER IS GLAD TO BE A RESOURCE IN THIS PROCESS.

WE'RE HAPPY TO SUPPORT OUTREACH AND CONVENING OF LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND TO HELP ENGAGE OUR FELLOW CHAMBERS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, SO THAT THIS PROGRAM BENEFITS FROM BROAD BUSINESS COMMUNITY INPUT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT.

- THANK YOU. BECKY STEINBRUNER.

UM, MS. BROWN ECHOED MY FIRST THOUGHTS, TOO.

THIS REALLY SHOULD BE VETTED BY ALL OF THE- THE AREA'S CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE.

THEY WILL HAVE MUCH BETTER INPUT, AND, UM, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT REALLY WOULD BE AFFECTED.

DO THEY REALLY FEEL THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR A PROGRAM LIKE THIS? AND IS IT WISE TO BE IMPLEMENTING A NEW PROGRAM THAT, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD NOT BE DONE BY STAFF, IT WILL STILL COST THE COUNTY MONEY TO IMPLEMENT? AND I'M- I'M A LITTLE UPSET TO HEAR THAT THERE WOULD BE A- A COMPLIANCE STICK IF THE BUSINESSES DO NOT REGISTER.

IN TERMS OF, UM, NOTIFYING FOR PUBLIC AND FOR EMERGENCIES, WE ALREADY HAVE PULSEPOINT.

WE ALREADY HAVE CRUZAWARE.

I THINK THE BETTER THING TO DO IS TO ENCOURAGE BUSINESS OWNERS, BUSINESS RENTERS, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE SIGNED UP AND CURRENTLY REGISTERED WITH PULSEPOINT AND CRUZAWARE.

AND, UM, TO MAKE A- TO MAKE USE OF WHAT WE'VE ALREADY GOT GOING THAT IS WORKING PRETTY WELL.

SO, UM, I- I DO NOT THINK THAT THIS IS NECESSARY, AND I THINK THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS HAVE, BECAUSE THEY ARE INSPECTING THE CHILD CARE PLACES, THEY ARE INSPECTING THE ELDER CARE, AND, UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS CAN JOIN IN WITH- IF- WITH INFORMATION IF NECESSARY.

BUT I REALLY THINK THIS IS UNNECESSARY OVERALL. THANK YOU.

- SEEING NO ONE ELSE IN THE ROOM, MADAM CLERK, IS THERE ANYONE ON THE PHONE? - YES, CHAIR.

CALLING USER 401, YOUR MICROPHONE IS NOW AVAILABLE.

AS A REMINDER, IT'S *6 TO MUTE OR UNMUTE YOURSELF ON A CALLING DEVICE.

CHAIR, IT APPEARS THE CALLER IS NOT CONNECTING.

THAT'S OUR ONLY ONLINE SPEAKER.

- THANK YOU. I'LL NOW RETURN TO THE BOARD FOR DISCUSSION AND A MOTION.

SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- THANK YOU, CHAIR. UM, COUPLE QUESTIONS AND A COMMENT.

UM, I'M JUST WONDERING, IS THIS INFORMATION- WOULD THIS INFORMATION BE PUBLIC? LIKE, WOULD THERE BE LIKE A GIS HEAT MAP THAT KIND OF SHOWS THE DIFFERENT BUSINESSES? YOU KNOW, I JUST WONDERED IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT AT ALL IN TERMS OF- - I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S UP TO US, RIGHT? UM, YOU KNOW, AS JOSH MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, HE TALKED ABOUT A BUSINESS LISTING SO PEOPLE COULD SEE WHO OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE.

BUT AGAIN, THAT WOULD BE A POLICY DECISION FOR US ON WHAT WE MAKE PUBLIC.

- OKAY, GREAT. WELL, UM, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THIS.

I THINK Y'ALL ARE, YOU KNOW, DOING A GREAT JOB WITH BRINGING THIS TO OUR ATTENTION.

I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE VERY HELPFUL FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS LANDSCAPE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

UM, AND IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, PROPERTIES AS WELL, YOU KNOW, THEY- HOUSING WAS DISCUSSED, AND I THINK IT WILL REALLY HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND OUR HOUSING MARKET AS WELL.

UM, I DO- I PERSONALLY THINK THAT, UM, IT SHOULD BE BY BUSINESS.

I MEAN, WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, IF I OWN A CANNABIS BUSINESS, I CAN'T JUST OPERATE MULTIPLE LOCATIONS IN THE COUNTY.

I'D HAVE TO GET A LICENSE FOR EACH OF THOSE SEPARATE LOCATIONS.

UH, SO, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.

UM... AND, UM, I MEAN, $25 A YEAR IS SO MINIMAL FOR MOST BUSINESSES, FOR MOST INDIVIDUALS, PERIOD.

I MEAN, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S, UM, TOO MUCH TO ASK.

SO, I PERSONALLY WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF US, YOU KNOW, HAVING AN OPTION WHERE WE APPLY THIS ACROSS THE BOARD.

[01:50:03]

AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S WORTH TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION, UM, AS THIS MOVES FORWARD.

AND THEN TO SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE, REALLY WORKING WITH THE CHAMBERS, UM, AND THE BROADER COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, I THINK WOULD BE BENEFICIAL IN- IN TERMS OF OUTREACH AND HOW THIS IS ROLLED OUT.

BUT I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE OF- OF MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF CREATING THIS PROGRAM.

I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.

AND SO I'M- - SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS, CAN I ASK YOU TO REPEAT THE PIECE OF DIRECTION? WERE- WERE YOU SUGGESTING IT WAS ONE FEE PER SITE OR ONE FEE FOR PER- - PER SITE. - PER SITE. OKAY.

- YEP. - OKAY.

UH, FURTHER COMMENTS? SUPERVISOR DESERPA.

UH, AT FIRST WHEN THIS CAME TO MY ATTENTION, I THOUGHT, "OKAY, NOT A BAD IDEA." BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY HAVE REACHED OUT TO ME WITH SERIOUS CONCERNS, SO I WANT TO SPEAK THOSE NOW AND ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS OR A FEW QUESTIONS, MAYBE.

SO, UH, UNFORTUNATELY OR FORTUNATELY, THIS WEEK THERE WAS AN ARTICLE IN THE SENTINEL ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING UP IN SCOTTS VALLEY WITH THE BUSINESS TAX UP THERE.

AND, UM, THE... IT SOUNDS TO ME FROM READING THE ARTICLE THAT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS NOT HAPPY WITH THE WAY THAT TAX IS ROLLING OUT, AND ET CETERA, ET CETERA.

UM, I UNDERSTAND THIS IS NOT A BUSINESS TAX, BUT FOR MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT REACHED OUT TO ME, THEY KNOW THAT THIS- THEY FEEL THAT THIS IS THE FIRST STEP IN MOVING THIS COUNTY TOWARDS A BUSINESS TAX.

SO THEY DON'T- THEY- THERE'S NO TRUST THERE WITH THE COUNTY SO THAT'S THE FIRST, I THINK, PROBLEM.

UM, THE OTHER PROBLEM, AND, UM, SUPERVISOR- SUPERVISOR KOENIG, UM, VOICED ALREADY, IS THAT MANY BUSINESSES, LIKE, YOU COULD JUST RIGHT NOW GO ON GOOGLE MAPS AND SEE WHERE ALL THE BUSINESSES ARE.

MANY, UH, BUSINESSES, I THINK, ARE LIKELY IN AREAS THAT MAYBE ARE NOT ZONED FOR THAT TYPE OF A BUSINESS, SO THIS IS GOING TO OPEN A GIANT CAN OF WORMS. UM, SO THAT, OBVIOUSLY, A CONCERN TO BUSINESS OWNERS.

UM, SEPARATELY, YOU KNOW, I JUST HAD A CONSTITUENT COMPLAINT ABOUT, UM, A BUSINESS THAT THEY JUST OPENED ON THE 41ST CORRIDOR.

UM, AND WITHOUT GETTING INTO THE DETAILS, HUGE PERMITTING ISSUES THERE.

THE SIGN DIDN'T GET PERMITTED THEY PUT A FALSE WALL UP SO THAT THEY COULD HIDE INVENTORY BEHIND IT— THAT DIDN'T HAVE A PERMIT, UM, THEY HAVE A LITTLE COFFEE CART THERE THAT DIDN'T GET A PERMIT, SO NOW THEY HAVE TO HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH THERE.

IT JUST OPENS UP THESE GIANT CONCERNS, UM, FOR THE- FOR OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY THAT IS, UH, FRANKLY, NICKELED-AND-DIMED ALREADY IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE BY NOT ONLY THE COUNTY, BUT IN OTHER WAYS.

LIKE, I THINK ABOUT EVEN BELONGING TO A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE; IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE.

I BELONG TO APTOS MYSELF, PERSONALLY.

I PAY OUT OF MY OWN POCKET, LIKE $300, TO BELONG THERE A YEAR.

EVERY TIME I GO TO A MEETING, IT'S- I PAY FOR MY OWN SELF, I PAY FOR SOMEBODY ELSE.

IF- IF YOU'RE BRINGING PEOPLE TO THE CHAMBER, THAT'S AN EXPENSE TO BUY THE FOOD AT THE TABLE.

I'M JUST NOT SURE, LIKE, HOW MUCH MORE WE CAN ASK FROM OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO MAKE A LIVING, AND WE WANT THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE WANT TO- WE WANT OUR CITIZENS TO HAVE PLACES TO SHOP AND HAVE GOOD EXPERIENCES IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND WE DO NEED SALES TAX REVENUE, RIGHT? SO, I- I'M NOT SURE. UM, I- I JUST DON'T KNOW YET.

SO I- I- I WANT TO HEAR MORE.

LIKE, SO IN- IN TERMS OF COMPLIANCE, LIKE, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET THESE BUSINESSES TO COMPLY WITH, UM, WITH THIS PROGRAM? - CAN I- CAN I STEP IN? AND SO, UM, THIS WAS AN IDEA THAT I RAISED WITH ALL OF YOU WHEN I WAS HIRED.

UM, IT WAS CLEARLY A PRIORITY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND IN ORDER TO PURSUE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, WE NEED MORE INFORMATION.

SO YOU SAW MANY OF THE WAYS IN WHICH THIS REGISTRATION PROGRAM WOULD PROVIDE US WITH NEW INFORMATION.

UM, I DON'T THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS AS, UM, WANTING TO, UM, COME DOWN ON BUSINESS OR ALL OF A SUDDEN PURSUE A WHOLE BUNCH OF CODE ENFORCEMENT.

UM, I THINK WE WOULD TRY TO ROLL THIS OUT AND STRUCTURE THE PROGRAM IN A WAY WHERE WE'RE NOT PENALIZING ANYONE TO START.

YOU KNOW, IT'S A SOFT LAUNCH.

SO, UM, I WOULD BE WORKING WITH STAFF TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN ENCOURAGE COMPLIANCE NATURALLY, UM, IN ORDER TO GET THE MORE INFORMATION

[01:55:01]

THAT WE NEED TO PURSUE ATTRACTING NEW BUSINESS TO THE UNINCORPORATED AREA, UM, COMMUNICATING WITH BUSINESSES IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA.

WHEN THE FLOODING OCCURRED IN TEXAS WITH ALL THOSE CAMPS A YEAR OR TWO AGO, UM, THAT REALLY SPARKED CONCERN WITH US BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY CAMPS OPERATING IN THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS, SOME OF WHICH WE DON'T EVEN HAVE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR.

SO WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO KNOW WHO'S OPERATING AND- AND COMMUNICATE WITH THEM MORE ACTIVELY, AND TO COME UP WITH AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM TO MEET THE INTERESTS THAT I'VE HEARD FROM THE BOARD.

AND SO, WE WOULD LOOK- WE WILL COME BACK WITH, UM, IDEAS FOR ROLLING THIS OUT IN A COLLABORATIVE WAY WITH BUSINESS SO THAT- AND YOU KNOW, DOWN THE ROAD, MAYBE WE WOULD LOOK TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY, BUT I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO FOSTER TRUST WITH BUSINESS, UM, IN ORDER TO GET THAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

AND WITH REGARD TO THE TAX, THE CITY- THE SITUATION UP IN SCOTTS VALLEY WITH REGARD TO THE TAX, UM, IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE'RE ENGAGED IN RIGHT NOW.

UM, THE STRUCTURE OF THAT, THAT WENT TO A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE, AND, YOU KNOW, THERE MIGHT BE SOME LESSONS LEARNED THERE IN TERMS OF HOW THAT WAS ROLLED OUT.

WE'RE NOT INTEND- WE HAVE NO INTENTION RIGHT NOW OF DOING A TAX.

UM, IF THERE WERE AN INTENTION TO DO A TAX DOWN THE ROAD, WHICH THERE IS NOT RIGHT NOW, UM, THAT WOULD HAVE TO GO TO A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE.

AND SO, REALLY, THIS IS ABOUT INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION, AND DEVELOPING A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

UH, I THINK THAT'S IT.

FURTHER QUESTIONS? UM, SUPERVISOR HERNANDEZ? - NO, NO QUESTIONS.

I WAS GOING TO... ALREADY, JUMP THE GUN AND MOVE THIS ITEM.

- I- YEAH, I HAVE A FEW COMMENTS, UM, TO BEGIN.

UH, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS BEFORE US.

IT'S, UM, HELPFUL TO HAVE THIS PRELIMINARY VIEW OF WHAT WE'RE CONSIDERING AND PROVIDE A CHANCE TO GIVE SOME DIRECTION FOR THE CEO'S OFFICE, UM, TO CONTINUE TO PURSUE THAT, WHICH IS SOMETHING I AM SUPPORTIVE OF.

UM, TO BE HONEST, I WAS KIND OF SURPRISED THAT OUR COUNTY DIDN'T ALREADY HAVE SOME FORM OF REGISTRY, LICENSE, UM, FOR- FOR OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES.

I GUESS I- I HAD ASSUMED THAT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT OUR COUNTY WOULD HAVE, AND UPON FURTHER RESEARCH, FOUND THAT MOST COUNTIES DO HAVE THIS KIND OF THING.

SO, UM, I THINK THIS WILL JUST HELP TO STANDARDIZE SOME OF OUR PRACTICES, PROFESSIONALIZE OUR, UM, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE, AND HOPEFULLY PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE.

UM, UH, I THINK THAT, UM, THAT HAS A- IS A PRIORITY FOR- OF THE BOARD THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED A NUMBER OF TIMES, AND I KNOW IS A PRIORITY OF OUR- OUR CEO COBURN.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I- I'M NOT TOO CONCERNED ABOUT A $25 ANNUAL FEE AT THIS TIME, UM, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN- EVEN SOME OF OUR NON-PROFITS, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN SWING, AND THEY MAY BENEFIT FROM THE, UM, ACCESS TO INFORMATION LIKE SBA LOANS OR EMERGENCY, UM, DETAILS AND- AND THINGS LIKE THAT THAT WE COULD OFFER TO THEM.

UM, I- I ALSO APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS FROM THE CHAMBER.

I DO THINK THAT IN ORDER FOR THIS TO BE SUCCESSFUL, THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN NEEDS TO BE REALLY WELL THOUGHT OUT.

UM, I THINK THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO THOUGHTFULLY EVEN IF IT MEANS THAT IT GOES A LITTLE SLOWER THAN WE'D LIKE, UM, SO THAT WAY WE ENSURE THAT IT INCORPORATES REALLY THE- THE FEEDBACK FROM OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT THEY GAIN THE BENEFIT OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE COLLECTING.

UM, SO I HOPE THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS WELL.

AND SO WITH THAT, I'D BE HAPPY TO ACCEPT A MOTION.

- I'LL MOVE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS.

- I'LL SECOND IT.

UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN CONTINUE THAT DISCUSSION, THOUGH, WITH, UH, CHILD CARE PROVIDERS, IHSS WORKERS, MAYBE A PHASED APPROACH WITH THEM.

UM, I REALLY THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE THIS, UH, UH, THE DATA ANALYTICS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAVE BUSINESSES THAT ARE EXPRESSING GROWTH, WE COULD ASSIST THEM IN THAT PROCESS SO THEY DON'T MOVE AWAY FROM OUR COUNTY TO EXPAND THEIR BUSINESS.

- SO, WE HAVE A MOTION FROM SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS, A SECOND FROM SUPERVISOR HERNANDEZ.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? - UH, I'D JUST LIKE TO OFFER A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT, UH, THAT WE WORK WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT BEST SUPPORTS BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS.

[02:00:03]

I- I THINK- I THINK IT'S FAIR- FAIRLY- IT'S- IT'S IMPLICIT, BUT I MEAN I- I WANT- I THINK WE SHOULD BE EXPLICIT, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST GIVEN SOME OF THE CONCERNS WE'VE HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY- WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING TO BUSINESSES, AND WE- AND WE WANT TO HEAR FROM THEM WHAT'S GOING TO MAKE THIS, UM, THIS ROLLOUT AS EFFECTIVE AS POSSIBLE.

- THAT SOUNDS SUITABLE TO THE MOTION MAKER AND THE SECOND MAKER? - YES. - FURTHER DISCUSSION? MADAM CLERK, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? - SUPERVISOR DESERPA? - AYE.

THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT TO US.

- AND MARTINEZ? - AYE.

MOTION PASSES, 5 TO 0.

WE'LL NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER NINE, WHICH IS TO CONSIDER PROJECT SELECTION FOR THE COUNTY MEASURE Q FUNDING ALLOCATION IN THE AMOUNT- - SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU, WE HAVE A ZONE 5 MEETING THAT WAS SCHEDULED FOR 10:45.

- THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER.

WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO OUR SCHEDULED ITEM, UM, WHICH IS THE BOARD SHALL RECESS IN ORDER TO PERMIT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT ZONE 5 TO CONVENE AND CARRY OUT A SPECIALLY SCHEDULED MEETING.

- ALL RIGHT, I BELIEVE I'M STILL THE CHAIR OF THE ZONE 5 FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT, SO I'LL- I'LL NOW CALL TO ORDER THE REGULAR MEETING— OR, SORRY, THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SANTA- COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT ZONE 5, AND IF WE COULD PLEASE BEGIN WITH A ROLL CALL.

- CERTAINLY, CHAIR. DIRECTOR DE SERPA? - WHAT, ARE WE VOTING? SORRY.

- ROLL CALL. - JUST A ROLL CALL. THANKS.

- OH. PRESENT, SORRY.

- CUMMINGS? - HERE.

- HERNANDEZ? MARTINEZ? - PRESENT.

- JAFFE? PALPONI? BROWN? AND CALLING ALTERNATE MEMBER CLARK.

- DO WE HAVE A QUORUM? - I BELIEVE WE DON'T HAVE A QUORUM.

- I BELIEVE WE NEED, UH, DIRECTOR HERNANDEZ TO RETURN BEFORE WE HAVE A- A QUORUM.

SO, WE WILL TAKE A FIVE-MINUTE BREAK.

OH, ACTUALLY, HOLD THAT.

OH, YES, WE WILL TAKE A FIVE-MINUTE BREAK AND RETURN AT- AT 11:07.

- OH.

YOU SAID- YOU SAID, "WELL, NOW RECESS," SO I...

[02:07:11]

- ALL RIGHT. WE'LL NOW RESUME THE SPECIAL MEETING

[13. The Board of Supervisors shall recess in order to permit the Board of Directors of the Santa Cruz County Flood Control and Water Conservation District – Zone 5 to convene and carry out a specially scheduled meeting]

OF THE ZONE 5 FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT.

COULD WE TRY A ROLL CALL AGAIN? - YES.

DIRECTOR DE SERPA? - PRESENT.

- CUMMINGS? - HERE.

- HERNANDEZ? - HERE.

- MARTINEZ? - PRESENT.

- BALBONI AND BROWN, ABSENT, WITH CHAIR KOENIG PRESENT.

YOU HAVE QUORUM.

- ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE CONSENT OR REGULAR AGENDAS? - THERE ARE NOT.

- ALL RIGHT. THANKS.

I'LL PROCEED WITH THE SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA, WHICH IS ITEM 3, TO APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NUMBER TWO IN THE AMOUNT OF $300,000 FOR CASTLE MOBILE ESTATES CULVERT REHABILITATION PROJECT, AND APPROVE REVISED CONTINGENCY AMOUNT AND TAKE RELATED ACTIONS.

- GOOD MORNING. CAROLYN BURKE, ASSISTANT PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR.

AND, UM, BOTH OF THESE ITEMS ARE CONSENT ITEMS TODAY, SO WE CAN, UM, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ON THEM.

UM, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE A PRESENTATION.

- OKAY. THANK YOU.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM DIRECTORS? - NO QUESTIONS.

- ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? ALL RIGHT, I'LL RETURN IT TO THE BOARD FOR ACTION.

- CHAIR, WE DO HAVE ONE INDIVIDUAL WITH THEIR HAND RAISED ONLINE.

- OH, OH, THANKS. SORRY.

- IT'S OKAY.

CALLING USER 401, YOUR MICROPHONE IS NOW AVAILABLE.

AGAIN, IT'S *6 TO MUTE OR UNMUTE YOURSELF.

CHAIR, THE SPEAKER APPEARS UNABLE TO CONNECT.

WE HAVE NO FURTHER SPEAKERS ONLINE.

- ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

THEN I WILL RETURN IT TO THE BOARD FOR ACTION.

- I'LL MOVE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS.

- ALL RIGHT, MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, ITEMS 3 AND 4.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? UH, SEEING NONE, ROLL CALL VOTE, PLEASE.

- DIRECTOR DE SERPA? - AYE.

THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE PRESENT.

AND THAT BRINGS US TO ADJOURNMENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

- I'LL NOW HAND IT BACK OVER TO CHAIR MARTINEZ FOR OUR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING.

WE'LL NOW RETURN TO THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

WE ARE NOW GONNA HEAR ITEM NUMBER 9.

[9. Consider project selection for the County Measure Q funding allocation in the amount of $934,000 for Fiscal Year 2026-27, and take related actions]

[02:10:02]

CONSIDER PROJECT SELECTION FOR THE COUNTY MEASURE Q FUNDING ALLOCATION IN THE AMOUNT OF 934,000 FOR FISCAL YEAR 26-27, AND TAKE RELATED ACTIONS.

WELCOME.

- GOOD MORNING, CHAIR MARTINEZ AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

MY NAME'S CLAIRE PEABODY.

I'M THE SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST SUPPORTING MEASURE Q GRANT PROGRAM WITH OR3 AND PARKS.

AND I'M HERE WITH MY DIRECTOR, DAVE REED, AS WELL AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR REBECCA HURLEY TODAY TO PRESENT ON A QUICK REPORT OUT OF THE FY 25-26 COUNTY DIRECT ALLOCATION INVESTMENT, AS WELL AS OUR PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FY 26-27.

LOOKING BACK ON WHERE WE SPENT OUR MEASURE Q DIRECT ALLOCATION LAST YEAR, AS A REMINDER, 1.4 MILLION APPROXIMATELY OF MEASURE Q, UM, IS NON-COMPETITIVE FUNDING THAT GOES TO THE COUNTY EVERY YEAR.

OF THAT 1.4 MILLION, APPROXIMATELY 900,000 IS SPENT THROUGH, UM, REGULAR GE- WHAT WE CALL GENERAL ALLOCATION PROGRAMMING AND THE REMAINING 500,000 IS DIVIDED ACROSS THE FIVE SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICTS.

IN FY 25-26, INCLUDING THOSE DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS, WE HAD 10 TOTAL PROJECTS.

THREE CAME OUT OF THAT GENERAL ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO.

AND MEASURE Q, UH, DEVELOPED A VISION PLAN.

THIS IS... WE'RE ENTERING THE SECOND YEAR OF THIS, UM, OF THIS TAX REVENUE MEASURE IN ACTION.

AND THE VISION PLAN IS REALLY INTENDED TO GUIDE THE COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.

BUT IN PRACTICE, WE'VE ALSO USED THAT AS A FRAMEWORK TO PRIORITIZE PROJECTS OUT OF THE COUNTY ALLOCATION.

AND SO AS A REMINDER, THOSE THREE M-MAIN PRIORITIES ARE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION AND FOREST HEALTH, AND PARKS RECREATION, PUBLIC ACCESS, AND EQUITY.

WE'RE GONNA BE COMING BACK TO THE BOARD ON OR BEFORE NOVEMBER 10TH TO PROVIDE OUR FIRST CODE MANDATED- CODE MANDATED ANNUAL REPORT OF MEASURE Q.

AND WE'RE GONNA BE REPORTING BACK ON NOT JUST COUNTY PROJECTS BUT ALSO ALL THE PUBLIC AGENCIES AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS THAT RECEIVE DIRECT ALLOCATION FUNDS.

SO THAT INCLUDES ALL FOUR CITIES, THE RCD, AND THE LAND TRUST.

BUT JUST AS AN UPDATE ON WHAT YOU'RE GONNA BE HEARING FROM THE COUNTY LATER THIS YEAR, WE HAVE TWO PROJECTS IN PROGRESS AND ONE ALREADY COMPLETE.

THOSE TWO IN PROGRESS ARE FREEDOM LAKE RESTORATION AND ACCESS PROJECT, AND THAT'S LED BY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.

UM, THIS IS A PROJECT IN D2 AND WAS OUR- OUR LARGEST INVESTMENT IN FY 25-26.

THAT INCLUDES ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION OF FREEDOM LAKE, AND, UM, IMPROVING THE RECREATIONAL EXPERIENCE AS WELL AS, UM, CONDUCTING SOME MUCH NEEDED RESTORATION AND WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS AT THAT LOCATION, AND THAT'S IN D2 OFF OF FREEDOM BOULEVARD.

OUR NEXT PROJECT WAS A LOCAL MATCH OPPORTUNITY WE HAD WITH FEMA HMGP FUNDS FOR 52 MILES OF ROADSIDE FUEL REDUCTION ACROSS THE COUNTY.

THAT PROJECT'S LED BY CDI, WENT OUT TO BID EARLIER THIS SUMMER, AND IT'S GONNA BE UNDERWAY THIS FALL.

SO, REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING SOME PHOTOS OF THAT PROGRESS.

AND THEN OUR COMPLETED PROJECT MOST RECENTLY IS THE HYDROLOGIC FORECASTING MODEL OF CORRALITOS CREEK.

THIS IS ESPECIALLY RELEVANT GIVEN DISCUSSIONS AROUND THIS WINTER'S CLIMATOLOGICAL CONDITIONS, UM, AND IT WILL BE USED BY THE EOC IN OPERATIONS FOR, UM, HAVING A REAL-TIME FORECAST OF CORRALITOS CREEK, WHICH FLOODS RESIDENCES AND BUSINESSES IN D4 AT THE END OF 152 AND HOLOHAN INTERSECTION.

OUR ANNUAL REPORTING WILL ALSO INCLUDE AN UPDATE ON BOARD DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS.

UM, MEASURE Q FUNDS, EVEN FOR DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS, ARE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND MUST ALIGN WITH THE SCOPE OUTLINED IN THE ACT.

AND SO HERE IS A LIST OF WHERE THE DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS HAVE GONE LAST YEAR.

AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION, WE'LL ALSO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON ANY REMAINING BALANCES PER DISTRICT.

MEASURE Q FUNDS ARE ALLOWED TO ROLL OVER OVER MULTIPLE YEARS, AND SOME AGENCIES CHOOSE TO CONDUCT MULTI-YEAR EXPENSE PLANNING.

UM, SO ANY FUNDS UNSPENT THIS YEAR WILL ROLL OVER AND CAN BE USED TOWARDS PROJECTS IN 26-27.

NOW ON TO OUR 26-27 ALLOCATION PROPOSAL.

[02:15:03]

AS A REMINDER, 500,000 IS RESERVED OUT OF THE 1.4 AVAILABLE FOR DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS.

SO THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF OUR RECOMMENDED PORTFOLIO THIS YEAR IS 934,000.

AND OUR PLANNING PROCESS THIS YEAR CONDUCTED OF A SERIES OF INTERDEPARTMENTAL MEETINGS.

AGAIN, WE TOOK THOSE THREE MAIN THEMES PRIORITIZED IN THE MEASURE Q VISION PLAN OF WATER, PARKS, AND WILDFIRE, AND WE HOSTED SOME INTERDEPARTMENTAL PLANNING MEETINGS IN SPRING AND SUMMER OF THIS YEAR TO GET AN UPDATE ON OUR ONGOING INVENTORY OF PROJECTS.

AND ULTIMATELY, THE MAIN PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA THAT INFORMED THIS YEAR'S PORTFOLIO LARGELY CAME DOWN TO READINESS.

THERE'S A LOT OF PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE THAT AREN'T YET READY TO TAKE ON FUNDS.

MAYBE THERE'S NOT ENOUGH STAFFING RESOURCES YET, OR WE'RE WAITING ON OTHER GRANT FUNDS, OR THEY'RE JUST EARLIER IN THE PROJECT PIPELINE.

AND SO THAT ALREADY REDUCED OUR PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA SIGNIFICANTLY WHEN WE FOCUSED ON READY-TO-IMPLEMENT HIGHLY VISIBLE PROJECTS.

COMING OUT OF THIS YEAR'S BUDGET HEARINGS AND LOOKING AHEAD AT NEXT YEAR'S FISCAL YEAR CONDITIONS, WE ALSO REALLY THOUGHT CAREFULLY ABOUT HOW TO MINIMIZE RISK TO THE GENERAL FUND, AND THIS COMES INTO PLAY ESPECIALLY WHEN WE THINK ABOUT ANY PERMANENT STAFFING COMMITMENTS THAT ARE GENERATED FROM NEW PROJECTS POR- PROPOSED IN THIS PORTFOLIO.

AND FINALLY, JUST REALLY FOCUSING ON NOT JUST, UH, ALIGNING TO COUNTY CODE, GUIDING MEASURE Q IMPLEMENTATION, BUT ALSO JUST HIGH VISIBILITY AND HIGHLY ALIGNED PROJECTS AS WE'RE STILL IN OUR- JUST OUR SECOND YEAR OF MEASURE Q.

TO GO OVER THE FIRST HALF OF THE RECOMMENDED PORTFOLIO, I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR HURLEY.

- THANK YOU, AND GOOD MORNING, CHAIR MARTINEZ AND THE REST OF THE BOARD.

UM, WE HAVE SIX PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED DURING THE COUNTY ALLOCATION ALTOGETHER.

UM, THE-THE BULK OF THE FUNDING IS GOING TOWARDS PARKS PROJECTS.

SO, UM, I'LL QUICKLY READ THEM OFF AND THEN GO INTO EACH ONE A BIT MORE IN DETAIL.

SO THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE PARKS PROGRAM, UH, PROJECTS IS THE PARKS DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PILOT PROGRAM.

THIS IS IN THE AMOUNT OF $520,000, AND IT IS A COUNTY-WIDE PROGRAM.

THERE'S ALSO MONEY GO- TO GO TOWARDS, UM, MORAN LAKE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

AS THIS BOARD HEARD ON AUGUST 11TH, THERE ARE IDENTIFIED, THROUGH THE COUNTY'S ARBORISTS, EIGHT PRIORITIZED AREAS.

THIS AMOUNT, ALONG WITH SOME, UM, ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM SANITATION, WOULD ALLOW US TO DO ALL OF THE TREE WORK IN THOSE EIGHT IDENTIFIED PRIORITIZED AREAS.

AND THEN FINALLY, WINKLE PARK PLAYGROUND REPLACEMENT.

THIS IS TO FILL THE DELTA IN FUNDING NEEDED FOR REPLACEMENT OF THAT PLAYGROUND AND OTHER PARK RENOVATIONS.

I WENT THE WRONG WAY.

OKAY. SORRY. SORRY.

ALL THE SLIDES LOOK SO SIMILAR.

UM, SO TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM OVERVIEW.

SO THIS IS A PROJECT, AS YOU KNOW, WHEN WE WENT OVER IT IN THE PARKS, UM, BUDGET HEARINGS, IS THAT WE HAVE OVER $90 MILLION IN IDENTIFIED, UH, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE THAT WE DON'T HAVE A FUNDING MECHANISM OR A IDENTIFIED STAFF TO ATTEND TO SUCH DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.

IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ONLY CURRENTLY ATTEND TO OPPORTUNISTICALLY WHEN THINGS COME UP, WHEN WE NEED TO BECAUSE OF SAFETY CONCERNS.

AND SO THIS PILOT PROGRAM WOULD BE A SET OF, UM, A PROGRAM TEAM THAT IS, UH, IDENTIFIED JUST TO ATTEND TO DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.

UM, AND IT'S UTILIZING AN INVENTORY LIST THAT WE HAVE IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT OF WHAT, UH, AGE EACH ONE OF OUR PARK AMENITY INFRASTRUCTURE ITEMS IS AT, WHICH NEEDS DIRECT REPLACEMENT.

AND SO, UM, IT WOULD UTILIZE FUNDS AS WELL AS STAFF SUPPORT UNTIL THOSE FUNDS FOR SUPPLIES AND SERVICES WERE DEPLETED.

UH, AND I'LL GET INTO THE, UH, BREAKDOWN OF BUDGET IN THE, IN THE NEXT SLIDE.

BUT AT THAT POINT, THAT'S WHEN THIS TEAM WOULD MOVE TOWARDS VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

AS THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE A LOT OF THE EQUIPMENT ALREADY NEEDED TO PERFORM VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE DEDICATED TIME OR STAFF TO DO SO.

SO THESE WOULD BE IN AREAS THROUGHOUT OUR COUNTY PARK SYSTEM, UM, AND WHERE IT'S... THERE'S SOME LOW-HANGING LIMBS, UH, THAT WE COULD ATTEND TO PRETTY EASILY.

UM, AND THEN MOST IMPORTANTLY, AS THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM THAT WE'RE PROPOSING THAT COULD GO INTO PERMANENCE, WE WOULD COME BACK TO THIS BOARD AND REPORT BACK ON WHAT ITEMS WERE ATTENDED TO, AND HOPEFULLY MUCH, MUCH MORE SUBSTANTIAL DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, UM, WITH THIS SMALL PILOT PROGRAM.

SO AGAIN, THE STAFFING SUPPORT WOULD BE IN THE AMOUNT OF $235,000, AND THEN FOR SUPPLIES AND SERVICES, IT WOULD BE $285,000.

SO THOSE SUPPLIES WOULD BE NEW REPLACEMENT, YOU KNOW,

[02:20:02]

PLAY STRUCTURE EQUIPMENT, NEW FIXTURES IN REST- AGING RESTROOMS. IT WOULD, UM, I- IT COULD BE AN- AN- AN AMALGAMITUDE OF THINGS THAT WE COULD ATTEND TO.

AND THEN AFTER THOSE SUPPLIES AND SERVICES BUDGET IS DEPLETED WE WOULD MOVE TOWARD VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IN OUR EXISTING PARK LOCATIONS, SUCH AS MILLER COUNTY PARK, PENNELL LAKE, UM, MORAN IN CONTINUED, AND- AND- AND MANY MORE OTHER PLACES.

SO AGAIN, THIS IS A COUNTYWIDE PROGRAM, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OVER M- UH, M- OVER, I- I'M SAFE TO SAY $100 MILLION IN BACKLOG OF DEFERRED MAINTENANCE BECAUSE THE ESTIMATE RIGHT NOW WITH OUR ASSET INVENTORY, IT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY, UM, CORRECTION TO OUR COASTAL ACCESS POINTS.

UM, AND WE DO WANNA BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO THIS BOARD AND SHOW WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THROUGH THIS, UM, REALLY YOU KNOW, IN- POTENTIALLY VERY, UH, PRODUCTIVE PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE PARK SYSTEM.

SO, SOME OF THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, ILLUSTRATIVE ITEMS THAT WE ARE PLANNING ON TO ATTEND TO AS SOON AS WE GET THIS TEAM READY IS, UM, PUTTING TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, NEW PAINT, WORKING ON ROOFING AT THE RESTROOM AT MIL- MILLAGE C- MASON VILLAGE COUNTY PARK, GOING ALONG AND DOING COASTAL ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS, UM, TO TRAILS AS WELL AS, UH, THE SCOTT CREEK OBSERVATION DECK IN NORTH COAST.

UM, THERE IS A HILLSIDE SLIDE THAT MANY OF YOU PROBABLY HAVE SEEN OR SEEN MANY CHILDREN ENJOYING AT ANNA JEAN CUMMINGS PARK THAT NEEDS REPAIRS, UH, AS WELL AS SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO THE AMENITIES AT THOSE RESTROOMS. UM, FIELD RENOVATIONS, UH, ALONG WITH NEW CLAY INFIELD AT HIGHLANDS PARK AND MICHAEL GRAY FIELDS, AS WELL AS WORKING ON THE, UH, REPAIRS TO SOME OF THE WALKING PATHS AND PICNIC TABLES AT POLO GROUNDS COUNTY PARKS, JUST TO NAME A VERY, VERY FEW OF THEM.

SO JUST TO GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DEAL- DETAIL, THIS IS A COUNTYWIDE REACH.

SO THIS IS A MAP THAT ILLUSTRATES, UM, THE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED FOR REPLACEMENT THAT COULD BE DONE WITH LESS THAN $10,000.

SO IT'S NOT A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF ALL ITEMS, BUT IT'S THINGS THAT WE THINK WE COULD ACTUALLY REALLY ACCOMPLISH IN THIS FIRST YEAR.

SO THE WAY THAT WE WOULD PRIORITIZE SOME OF THESE ITEMS IS LOOKING AT THAT ASSET INVENTORY LIST AND SEEING WHICH ONES ARE, ARE, UH, KIND OF EASILY ACHIEVABLE AS WELL AS WHICH ONES, UM, ENSURE PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, AND RISK REDUCTION THE MOST.

UM, WE ALSO WANNA LOOK AT INCREASING THE LONGEVITY OF OUR EXISTING FACILITIES.

SO IF THERE IS, YOU KNOW, REPAIRS TO ROOFS THAT WE CAN DO THAT HELPS MAINTAIN THE INTERIORS OF THOSE FACILITIES, WE'LL WORK ON THOSE THINGS JUST TO, YOU KNOW, SEE IF WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE LESSENING FUTURE DETERIORASE- UH, DETERIORATION.

SO NOW I'LL MOVE INTO MORAN LAKE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT QUICKLY.

THIS BOARD, UM, ON AUGUST 11TH, YOU APPROVED THE HABITAT MANAGEMENT PLAN, AND IN THERE, WE ALSO SPOKE ABOUT THOSE PRIORITIZED AREAS FOR REDUCING THE HEIGHT AND WEIGHT OF SOME OF THE SAILS OF THOSE TREES, AS WELL AS SOME, UM, PARTICULAR TREE REMOVALS.

SO THIS FUNDING WOULD, UH, ALLOW US TO DO THAT FUNDING FOR THIS YEAR IN ADDIT- OR TO ATTEND TO THOSE PRIORITIZED AREAS THIS YEAR WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM SANITATION.

AND I DO WANT TO LET THIS BOARD, UM, UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS REALLY JUST ATTENDING TO THOSE PRIORITIZED AREAS.

IT'S NOT ATTENDING TO ALL OF THE TREE WORK, WHICH WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO DO IN FUTURE YEARS.

FINALLY, OF THE FIRST PART OF THIS PORTFOLIO, IT IS FILLING THE GAP OF, UH, FUNDING NEEDED FOR A NEW, UH, PLAYGROUND REPLACEMENT AT WINKLE PARK.

UM, THERE IS ALREADY, UM, SUPERVISOR KOENIG HAS ALLOCATED HIS 25-26 DISCRETIONARY FUNDS TOWARDS THIS ENDEAVOR, AS WELL AS WE ARE MOVING OTHER FUNDS AVAILABLE IN DISTRICT 1 TOWARDS THIS PROJECT, AND IT'S JUST... IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY NEEDED.

IT'S THE ONLY PLAYGROUND IN OUR PARK SYSTEM THAT IS CURRENTLY CLOSED BECAUSE IT IS IN SUCH DISREPAIR.

AND AS WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IN THE NEXT, UM, COMING YEARS, THERE'S GOING TO BE OVER 700, UM, NEW DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE MILE RADIUS, AND OVER 1,200 NEW DEVELOPMENTS FOR PEOPLE TO GO AND RESIDE IN THAT AREA WITHIN THE THREE-MILE RADIUS.

SO IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE ONE OF THE PLACES THAT PEOPLE GO FOR OUTDOOR USE AND, UM, SEEKING SOME PLAY.

AND WITH THAT, I WILL HAND IT OVER TO DIRECTOR DAVE REID.

- GOOD MORNING. YEAH, SO I'M GONNA TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT THREE PROJECTS KIND OF IN THE WILDFIRE RESILIENCE SPACE.

UM, AND TWO OF THOSE ARE COMING ORIGINALLY FROM THE COMPETITIVE GRANT, UH, PROGRAM, THE STRATEGIC WATER SUPPLY ENHANCEMENTS AND FOR RURAL AREAS PILOT, AND THE TRUCK WAYFINDING.

AND THEN THE THIRD PROJECT IS, UH, AN EVOLVED CONVERSATION WE'VE HAD, UM, ALSO THROUGH THE, THE COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM WITH SOME OF OUR FIRE DISTRICT PARTNERS, UH, IN LOOKING AT A REGIONAL SCALE PRIORITIZATION, UM, ANALYSIS NEXT SLIDE.

SO THE FIRST, THE FIRST TWO PROJECTS AGAIN, UM, WERE ORIGINALLY APPLIED FOR BY COUNTY FIRE.

UM, THE BOARD REFERENCED DURING THAT JUNE CONVERSATION, UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE PROJECTS.

[02:25:02]

THOUGH THEY WEREN'T ORIGINALLY RECOMMENDED IN THE- IN THE FUNDING PORTFOLIO THERE, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT THEY'RE ADDRESSED AS PART OF THIS DIRECT ALLOCATION.

UM, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STRATEGIC WATER SUPPLY ENHANCEMENTS.

SO THAT'S A PILOT.

IT WILL INSTALL TWO WATER TANKS, UM, IN TWO CRITICAL LOCATIONS TO SUPPORT INITIAL ATTACK.

OUR FIRE CHIEF IS HERE IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT PROJECT.

BUT IT ALSO SERVES AS A, A MODEL FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS AND OTHERS, UM, IN, IN HOW THEY COULD INSTALL TANKS THAT COULD SUPPORT OUR FIRE AGENCIES IN DOING INITIAL ATTACKS.

SO I THINK THERE'S A BROADER BENEFIT IN, TO JUST, NOT JUST THE TWO LOCATIONS WHERE THEY'LL BE INSTALLED, BUT ALSO TO PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS WHO MAY WANNA INSTALL THIS KIND OF EQUIPMENT SO THAT IT SUPPORTS BOTH THEIR HOME AND THE REGION AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THEY LIVE.

AND THEN THE TRUCK TRA- TRAIL WAYFINDING IS, UM, AGAIN, ANOTHER PROJECT TO HELP, UM, BETTER AND, BETTER NAVIGATE SOME OF OUR, UM, RURAL ROAD NETWORKS THROUGH, THROUGH THAT SIGNAGE.

NEXT SLIDE.

THE- THE LARGER COUNTY-LEVEL WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PRIORITIZATION PROJECT, UM, IS A MATCH.

SO WE'RE GONNA BE USING OUR COUNTY COORDINATOR GRANT FUNDS TO MATCH AND SECURE SOME CONSULTANT SERVICES AND DATA DEVELOPMENT IN KIND OF TWO-PRONGED, UH, WAY, IN A TWO-PRONGED WAY.

SO THE BOARD MAY HAVE HEARD, UM, THOUGH IT'S NOT OFFICIAL-OFFICIAL, BUT THE ZONE ZERO REGULATIONS THAT ARE COMING DOWN FROM THE BOARD OF FORESTRY ARE GONNA LAND HERE QUITE SOON.

AND SO, OUR FIRE AGENCIES ARE- ARE ALREADY GOING OUT AND, AND DOING THAT- THOSE KIND OF INSPECTIONS AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES WITH THEIR- WITH THEIR RESIDENTS AND THEIR FIRE DISTRICTS.

THIS TOOL, THIS DATA WILL HELP THEM BY PROVIDING SOME PRIORITIZATION OF KIND OF WHERE TO GO FIRST AND W- WHERE TO, WHERE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UM, MORE EFFECTIVELY.

SO THAT WAS, UM, A, A REQUEST BY TWO OF OUR FIRE DISTRICTS.

AND SO WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT DATA COUNTYWIDE TO ALL FIRE DISTRICTS.

AND THEN THE OTHER ASPECT IS TAKING A LOOK AT A COUNTYWIDE PRIORITIZATION FRAMEWORK FROM BOTH THE FOREST HEALTH AND A RISK TO STRUCTURE STANDPOINT.

SO TRYING TO GET US TO START TO LOOK AT WHAT GEOGRAPHIES SHOULD WE PRIORITIZE TO WORK FOR IN THE FUTURE.

AND THIS IS REALLY LOOKING- WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS AS A PILOT TO COLLABORATE WITH OUR SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN STEWARDSHIP NETWORK AND THE REGIONAL PRIORITIZATION PLAN THAT THEY ARE WORKING ON.

SO GREAT WORK THERE.

THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO REPLACE THAT WORK, BUT IT'S HELPED TO HOPEFULLY INFORM, UM, THEIR WORK AND, AND PUT, PUT US IN A BETTER POSITION FOR GRANT FUNDING IN THE FUTURE.

AND WITH THAT, I WILL HAND IT BACK TO CLAIRE.

- THANK YOU, DAVE.

WE'RE GONNA QUICKLY GO OVER, THIS IS JUST A TABLE SHOWING THE REMAINING DISCRETIONARY FUND BALANCE THAT CARRIES OVER INTO THIS YEAR.

UM, SO THIS IS ALLOWED UNDER THE LANGUAGE OF, UM, UH, THE MEASURE Q ORDINANCE THAT FUNDS MAY REMAIN INTO THE ACCOUNT, AND INTEREST BE REINVESTED BACK INTO THAT SPECIFIC FUND SOURCE.

AND AS AN UPDATE, WE'VE BEEN REQUESTED PREVIOUSLY, UM, TO REPORT BACK ON THE STATUS OF A COUNTYWIDE GREEN WASTE VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM.

SO THERE ARE ALREADY SOME, UH, FREE AND REDUCED COST GREEN WASTE DAYS BEING SUPPORTED BY OTHER DISCRETIONARY FUND SOURCES, ESPECIALLY IN DISTRICT 5.

WE WERE ASKED TO PROVIDE A STRUCTURE, UM, FOR AN ONLINE VOUCHER SYSTEM.

SO WE HAVE WORKED WITH, UH, CDI AND ISD, AND NOW HAVE AN APPLICATION READY THAT WOULD ALLOW EXISTING GREEN WASTE CUSTOMERS TO GO IN THROUGH THEIR ACCOUNT AND CLAIM A, A VOUCHER TO PROVIDE THE, UM, THE- THE WORKER AT THE TRANSI- THE TRANSFER STATION WHEN YOU GO TO, UM, TO DISPOSE OF GREEN WASTE, UM, WHEN YOU'RE TAKING CARE OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE AND OTHER FUEL REDUCTION ACTIVITIES ON YOUR PROPERTY.

AND SO THIS IS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT MODEL, UM, THAT WOULD TRY TO MINIMIZE IMPACTS TO, UM, TO SANITATION OPERATIONS BY SCHEDULING, UM, FREE DAYS ON A SINGLE DAY.

IT WOULD ALSO ALLOW THAT ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN TO BE SPREAD OUT THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.

UM, AND THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT'S READY AND AN OPTION.

THERE'S NOT A, A... THIS IS NOT TIME-SENSITIVE, SO THERE'S NOT ANY RECOMMENDED ACTIONS THAT REQUIRE BOARD MEMBERS TO TAKE ACTION ON THEIR DISCRETIONARY FUNDS.

BUT THIS IS OUR REPORT BACK AS A PART OF THIS STAFF REPORT THAT- THAT THIS OPTION IS NOW READY IF ANY SUPERVISORS WOULD LIKE TO DIRECT THEIR DISCRETIONARY FUNDS, AND IT'S OF COURSE VERY ALIGNED, UM, WITH THE, UH, THE SCOPE AND INTENTION OF MEASURE Q IN THAT IT HELPS RESIDENCES ADDRESS RISK REDUCTION ON THEIR PROPERTIES.

HERE ARE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS TO APPROVE THE PROJECT SELECTION FOR THE COUNTY MEASURE Q PORTFOLIO OF $934,158

[02:30:05]

TO DIRECT STAFF TO PROCEED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS AND DELEGATE AUTHORITY, UM, TO THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS, OPEN SPACE AND CULTURAL SERVICES TO APPROVE THE 26-27 BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS, TO FACILITATE FUNDING ALLOCATIONS BASED ON THESE PROJECTS.

NOW WE'LL OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS.

- THANK YOU. I THINK I'M GONNA START BY SEEING IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD, THEN WE'LL GO OUT TO THE PUBLIC FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND RETURN TO THE BOARD FOR ACTION AND A MOTION.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

- YEAH, JUST A QUICK QUESTION.

WHEN YOU SAY THE GREEN WASTE VOUCHER PROGRAM IS READY, I MEAN, LIKE, LITERALLY TODAY WE COULD START DIRECTING PEOPLE TO A SITE TO SIGN UP FOR THEIR VOUCHER? - I THINK WE'D WANNA CONSULT WITH OUR CDI, UM, SOLID WASTE DIVISION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN TURN THAT ON, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY IT'S A MESSAGING PIECE THAT WE'D WORK WITH YOUR OFFICE OR, OR PARTICIPATING OFFICES IN, IN CDI SOLID WASTE ON.

BUT, UM, FOR THE MOST PART, THE- THE APPLICATION IS READY, UM, TO- TO IMPLEMENT.

- OKAY. WELL, I'M DEFINITELY, UM, SUPPORTIVE OF THAT, AND WE'LL- WE'LL DEFINITELY ALLOCATE, UH, SOME DISTRICT FUNDS.

UM, AND WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH YOU ON A ROLLOUT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND PUSH THAT OUT THROUGH COMMUNICATION CHANNELS SO FOLKS CAN DO SOME WORK THIS FALL AND NOT, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE WINTER AND UNTIL WE GET INTO NEXT SPRING.

I MEAN, I THINK WE COULD START TO SEE ENOUGH INTEREST THIS FALL THAT THEN BY NEXT SPRING THERE'S EVEN MORE UPTAKE.

SO, THE SOONER THE BETTER. GREAT. THANKS.

- QUESTIONS? DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? - YEAH. - SUPERVISOR DESERPA.

- UM, OKAY, SO THESE RECOMMENDED PROJECTS, UM, IN, LIKE, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE FOR PARKS, IS THIS PARTICULAR MONEY FROM MEASURE Q SUPPLANTING...

UH, I- I WORRY ABOUT THAT A LITTLE.

- YEAH, NO, THIS IS A NEW PROGRAM.

WE DON'T, UM, WE CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE ANY SOURCE OF FUNDING OR DEDICATED STAFF TO ATTEND TO DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.

UM, WE HAVE PARK MAINTENANCE STAFF, BUT THIS IS A- A- A CREW, THE- A NEW CREW THAT WOULD BE FORMED THAT WOULD SPECIFICALLY GO OUT, AND, UM, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE A ROUTE, THEY WOULDN'T BE CLEANING RESTROOMS, THEY WOULDN'T BE MOWING LAWNS.

THEY'D BE GOING OUT AND ATTENDING TO THIS 15-PAGE ASSET INVENTORY WHERE WE'VE GOT THINGS THAT ARE CRITICAL THAT NEED REPLACEMENT, AND THAT, UM, NEED TO BE RES- YOU KNOW, CHECKED ON RIGHT NOW TO SEE IF THEY'RE AT A STATE OF DIS- OF REPAIR.

AND SO THEY'D BE CHIPPING AWAY AT THAT LIST.

THAT'S WHERE, UM, WHEN I SPEAK ABOUT THE SUPPLIES, UM, BUDGET OF 285, IT, IT WILL NOT LAST THE ENTIRE YEAR.

SO THAT'S WHERE WE WANTED THIS TEAM TO BE ABLE TO PIVOT AND, AND IN, YOU KNOW, IT, TO BE ABLE TO WORK STILL WITHIN COUNTY PARKS ON VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND ALIGNMENT WITH THE MEASURE Q, UM, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFIED PRIORITIES.

- OKAY. UM, I WAS OUT, I TOURED, UH...

WITH SUPERVISOR, UH, KOENIG, UH, MANY OF THE PARKS IN HIS DISTRICT, AND WE WERE AT ANNA JEAN CUMMINGS WHERE MY KIDS PLAYED WHEN THEY WERE LITTLE.

AND SO WHAT IS THE PLAN? 'CAUSE THE SLIDE DOES NEED REPAIR.

IT- IT DOESN'T LOOK ALTOGETHER SAFE RIGHT NOW.

SO, ARE WE REPLACING IT? OR WHAT- WHAT IS- WHAT WILL THE REPAIR THERE LOOK LIKE? - WE, UH... SO WE WOULD LOOK AT SEEING, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH OUR SKILLED STAFF ON WHETHER WE COULD RETAIN THE EXISTING SLIDE, BUT DEFINITELY IT'S GOT THE POUR IN PLACE, THAT SOFT RUBBERIZED MATTING THAT RUNS ALONGSIDE OF IT THAT WE WOULD NEED, WE WOULD DEFINITELY BE REPLACING THAT.

AND HOPEFULLY, TO LESSEN THE AMOUNT OF COST, UM, RETAINING THE EXISTING SLIDE.

UM, BUT IF WE COULD NOT DO THAT, THEN THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD FUND OUT OF THIS PROJECT.

- MM-HMM. OKAY. THANK YOU.

- I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS, UM, ALSO ON THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.

SO HOW DO YOU ENVISION PRIORITIZING THE PROJECTS THAT COME BEFORE YOU? - YEAH, SO, UH, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE- WE WOULD UTILIZE THE EXISTING ASSET INVENTORY THAT WE HAVE THAT HAS THE AGE OF EACH- OF LITERALLY EVERY AMENITY IN EVERY PARK SYSTEM, AND SEEING THAT, M- YOU KNOW, THE ONES THAT WE NEED TO ATTEND TO THAT ARE A SAFETY AND TO REDUCE THE RISK, UM, LIABILITY FOR THE COUNTY, AS WELL AS ONES THAT COME UP.

THERE'S A REASON WHY WE'RE NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANNA HAVE A M- LIST OF ITEMS SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE AS WE KNOW, SOMETIMES ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S A LANDING ON A PLAY STRUCTURE THAT NOW MAKES THAT PLAY STRUCTURE N- YOU KNOW, NO LONGER SAFE TO ATTEND TO.

SO, IT WOULD BE A, UM, A COMBINATION OF OUR SKILLED STAFF IDENTIFYING THESE THINGS WHILE OUT IN THE FIELD AND REPORTING THEM TO THIS TEAM, AS WELL AS WORKING OFF OF THIS LIST OF ITEMS THAT IDENTIFY THE AGE OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE REPLACED AND AS WELL THINGS THAT NEED TO BE, UM, SERVICED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN HAVE MORE LONGEVITY.

- SO WITH THAT, UH, PRIORITIZATION APPROACH HOW WILL THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PIECE FIT INTO THAT? YOU KNOW, AND HOW WILL YOU PRIORITIZE THAT ELEMENT?

[02:35:03]

- YEAH, SO, UM, WE WOULD CONTINUE.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN DOING SOME OF THIS FUEL REDUCTION WORK, WHICH IS, IT- WE HAVE YEARS OF FUEL REDUCTION WORK TO DO IN COUNTY PARKS, AND WE WOULD CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS IN RCD AND OR3 TO SEE, UM, WHERE WORK IS READY FOR US TO ATTEND TO.

NOT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DO PERMITTING AND PLANNING FOR LARGE SCALE FUEL REDUCTION WORK, BUT WHERE WE COULD WITH THIS TEAM, UM, M- IN OUR MOST FORESTED COUNTY PARKS IS WHERE WE WOULD PRIORITIZE THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

- AND, I MEAN, GIVEN THE SORT OF SCALE OF THE NEED AND THE LIMITED FUNDING AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SOURCE, I MEAN, DO YOU IMAGINE THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO REALLY, UH, CHIP AWAY AT SOME OF THESE PROJECTS, UH, BOTH ON VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND DEFERRED MAINTENANCE SIDE? - I, I'M HOPING TO. I'M HOPING THAT WHEN WE COME BACK IN A YEAR WITH THE REPORT OF HOW THIS YEAR'S SPENDING WENT, THIS PILOT PROGRAM SHOWS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, DO MUCH MORE THAN WHAT WE'VE ILLUSTRATED IN THE BOARD ITEM WE WILL DO.

UM, BUT THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE WILL DEFINITELY REPORT BACK ON AND HOPEFULLY COMPLETING AS WELL AS M- MANY, MANY OTHER THINGS.

IT'S, UM, THIS PILOT PROGRAM WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW FAR THIS MONEY COULD GO FOR DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.

- GOTCHA. OKAY. I HAVE SOME COMMENTS, AND I'LL, I'LL WAIT FOR THOSE WHEN WE GET BACK TO THE BOARD.

UM, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? SEEING NONE, I'LL NOW OPEN THIS UP TO THE PUBLIC FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

IF YOU'RE HERE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE FORM A LINE IN FRONT OF US.

THANK YOU. WELCOME.

- HI, MY NAME IS SONYA SWEDSTROM, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE LONG TERM RECOVERY GROUP.

I, I JUST HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE GREEN WASTE PROGRAM.

UH, SINCE IT'S AN ONLINE PORTAL- PORTAL, IS AN- I- IS ANY THOUGHT BEING, UH, PLACED ON HOW TO SUPPORT VULNERABLE SENIORS OR, OR PEOPLE WITH DIGITAL LITERACY ISSUES IN, IN HOW THEY'RE SIGNING OFF? AND, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE MEASURE Q PROJECT THAT WE'RE DOING, ZONE ZERO WILDFIRE MITIGATION, WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPORT THAT, BUT, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.

THANK YOU.

- GOOD MORNING, BOARD.

I'M MARK CARRERA, SCOTTS VALLEY FIRE CHIEF.

UM, AND I HAVE A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON THIS BECAUSE I ALSO SERVE ON THE COAB, UH, FOR MEASURE Q.

UM, I'M GLAD CLAIRE, WHEN SHE PRESENTED THIS, FRAMED IT AS AN INVESTMENT, BECAUSE THIS IS AN INVESTMENT IN NOT ONLY PROTECTING YOUR EXISTING ASSETS THAT YOU HAVE, BUT AS WELL AS INVESTING IN COMMUNITY SAFETY FROM, UH, FIRE RESILIENCE PERSPECTIVE.

UM, STAFF FROM THE BEGINNING, UM, BEING ON THE COAB, WORKING THROUGH THE VISION PLAN, WORKING THROUGH THE GRANT PROCESS, I SHARED THIS AT THE LAST MEETING.

THEY'VE DONE A REMARKABLE JOB TURNING OVER EVERY STONE LOOKING AT THIS, UM, AT THIS ENTIRE PROGRAM, AS WELL AS DOING AFTER ACTION REVIEW OF HOW WE COULD EVEN IMPROVE IT THAT FIRST YEAR THAT WE WERE MAKING LITERALLY SAUSAGE WITH THIS LEGISLATION.

UM, BUT I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT THE LIST THAT THEY'VE PROVIDED TODAY IS A COMPREHENSIVE LIST THAT I CERTAINLY SUPPORT AS A FIRE DISTRICT CHIEF BECAUSE IT DOES FOCUS ON THE RESILIENCE AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY INVEST INTO PROGRAMS LIKE USING TECHNOLOGY TO IDENTIFY WHERE OUR HIGHEST RISK AREAS ARE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES AND ALLOWING US TO TARGET THOSE MORE- MORE DIRECTLY AND SPECIFICALLY.

SO, DOING SURGERY WITH A SCALPEL VERSUS A CHAINSAW.

SO I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO SUPPORT THIS AS LISTED AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

- AH, GOOD MORNING, CHAIR MARTINEZ AND BOARD.

UH, MY NAME'S ERIC LOMBARDO.

I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE LAND TRUST OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, AND I JUST WANNA JOIN, UH, THE CHIEF'S COMMENTS JUST NOW, AND, UH, OUR COLLEAGUES AT COUNTY PARK FRIENDS WHO SPOKE EARLIER THIS MORNING IN SUPPORT, UH, FOR ITEM NUMBER NINE, UH, THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS MEASURE Q COUNTY FUNDING ALLOCATION.

UH, WE'RE REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THE COUNTY MAKING THESE INVESTMENTS BOTH IN WILDFIRE RISK PRIORITIZATION COUNTY-WIDE, AS WELL AS SOME SPECIFIC PROJECTS.

UH, THE WINKLE FARM PROJECT IN MORAN LAKE, IN PARTICULAR, IT'S REALLY GREAT TO SEE THAT THE COUNTY'S RECOGNIZING HOW COMMUNITY NEEDS, UM, ARE REALLY INTERTWINED AND CONNECTED WITH MANAGEMENT AND THE HEALTH OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES, OUR PARKS, UM, AND OUR LANDS AND WATERS.

THESE THINGS ARE CONNECTED.

UH, PROACTIVELY MANAGING THESE PARK PROPERTIES HELPS US LOWER FUTURE STORM DAMAGE RISK AS WELL AS WILDFIRE RISK, AND, UH, ENABLES OUR COMMUNITY TO ACCESS THE OUTDOORS SAFELY.

UH, THIS REALLY LINES UP WITH THE LAND TRUST'S OWN INVESTMENT OF MEASURE Q FUNDS, AS WE'LL REPORT TO THE CO-OP, UH, AT, AT ITS NEXT MEETING INCLUDING OUR WORK TO DEVELOP NEW PUBLIC ACCESS TRAILS IN WATSONVILLE, UH, AS WELL AS MANAGE VE- VEGETATION AND REDUCE BRUSH, UH, ELIMINATE INVA- INVASIVE SPECIES IN, UH, OUR SAN LORENZO VALLEY SAND HILL HABITAT PROPERTIES.

JUST FOR TWO EXAMPLES OF THE SEVERAL THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UH, HERE AT THE LAND TRUST.

SO, UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE EMPHASIS ON PROJECTS IN THIS COUNTY ALLOCATION THAT ARE READY TO GO AND READY TO MOVE FORWARD AND DELIVER RESULTS, AS WELL AS THIS DEFERRED MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.

UH, IT'S REALLY HEARTENING TO YOUR, UH, QUESTION, SUPERVISOR DE SERPA, TO HEAR THAT THIS IS A NEW TEAM THAT WILL BE WORKING, UH, TO DO THINGS THAT THE COUNTY COULDN'T DO BEFORE THE PASSAGE OF MEASURE Q.

UH, THE VOTERS' PASSAGE OF THIS MEASURE IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN THIS TOUGH BUDGET, UH, ENVIRONMENT TO MAKE SUSTAINED INVESTMENTS IN THESE LANDS AND WATERS AND PARKS, AND, UH, THE LAND TRUST JUST WANTS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE GREAT WORK BY, UH, THE COUNTY PARKS DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS THE OFFICE OF RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND RESILIENCE ON PREPARING THIS PACKAGE.

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU APPROVE THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.

THANK YOU.

- THANK YOU. BECKY STEINBRUNER.

[02:40:01]

WHAT I WANNA KNOW IS WHY THERE HAS TO BE A WHOLE NEW TEAM OF PEOPLE HIRED TO DO THIS.

WHY CAN'T THE PROJECTS BE DONE BY EXISTING STAFF? UM, I KNOW THEY'RE WORKING REALLY HARD, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE A GREAT INTEREST IN IMPROVING THE PARKS WHERE THEY WORK.

THIS IS ALMOST HALF OF THE MONEY THAT WOULD BE SPENT IN HIRING A NEW TEAM.

I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT THAT, UM, REGARDING THE WINKLE FARM PARK IT'S- IT'S- IT'S CLOSED NOW.

IT SHOULD BE, UM, RECEIVE IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.

BUT THROUGH THE QUIMBY ACT FUNDS, WITH 700 AND 1,200 UNITS COMING IN WITHIN THE AREA, THAT'S ABOUT, UH, 1,000 TO $1,200 PER BEDROOM THAT WILL BE COMING TO PARKS THROUGH THE QUIMBY ACT FUNDS.

THAT NEEDS TO BE FACTORED INTO ALL OF THIS, AS DOES WHAT WAS PROMISED TO THE PUBLIC WITH MEASURE G AND MEASURE K.

MEASURE G ACTUALLY SAID APTOS VILLAGE PARK WAS GOING TO GET $250,000 AND THEY'VE GOT NONE.

SO THERE IS SOME, UH, PROBLEM WITH WHAT FUNDING HAS AL- ALREADY BEEN ESTABLISHED TO DO SOME OF THIS WORK.

I WANNA COMMEND, UH, SUPERVISOR CHAIRMAN MARTINEZ FOR PUTTING WASTE BINS IN YOUR DISTRICT.

I THINK THAT IS ACTUALLY THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO HELP THOSE IN THE RURAL AREAS, UH, TO, TO DO CLEARING AROUND THEIR, THEIR PROPERTY, AND ALSO WOULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF GREEN- OF TRUCK, TRUCKS GOING TO THE, TO THE W- YARD WASTE PLACE, REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS, AND MAKE IT EASIER FOR THOSE WHO ARE, UM, UM, SENIORS AND CAN'T GET A, A TRUCK TO GO THERE.

UM, I WANNA ASK PARKS W- ABOUT THE STATUS OF THE BURT SCOTT ESTATE.

THAT ROOF ON THAT BUILDING HAS BEEN IN NEED OF A ROOF REPAIR, AND I HOPE THAT THAT MAKES IT TO THE TOP OF THE POOL TO GET, UM, FIXED.

THE RISK REDUCTION MODELING SHOULD REALLY HELP WITH THE CWPP.

- AND STATE PARKS SH- UM, S...

- SEEING NO ONE FURTHER IN THE ROOM, MADAM CLERK, IS THERE ANYONE ON THE PHONE? - I SEE NO SPEAKERS ONLINE, CHAIR.

I'LL NOW RETURN TO THE BOARD FOR DISCUSSION AND A MOTION. SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS? - THANK YOU, CHAIR.

UM, TWO QUICK QUESTIONS AND THEN A BRIEF COMMENT.

UM, SO WHEN WILL THE WORK ON MORAN LAKE BEGIN? OR WHEN WOULD IT BEGIN? - SO WE, UM, WE HAVE, UM, UH, A RELATIONSHIP WITH LOCAL CONTR- UH, TREE CONTRACTORS, AND SO WE HAVE HELD THEM TO BE AVAILABLE TO START THAT TREE WORK SEPTEMBER 15TH.

UM, AND THEN THAT WOULD GO THROUGH OCTOBER 15TH.

UM, PRIMARILY THE WORK AROUND THE ROOSTING AREAS WE SPOKE ABOUT ON THE 11TH WOULD GO THROUGH THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER, AND THEN WE WOULD WORK ON AREAS OF THE REST OF THE PARK FOR THE REST OF THOSE TWO WEEKS.

- GREAT. UM, THEN FOLLOW-UP QUESTION ON THE GREEN WASTE PROGRAM.

JUST WONDERING WHAT THAT COST GENERALLY HAS BEEN IN TERMS OF THE PILOT, AND HOW MANY PEOPLE, UH, TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT PROGRAM.

- UH, WE'D HAVE TO DEFER.

I, I DON'T HAVE THOSE STATISTICS.

I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE TRACKING THOSE ON OUR SIDE.

I KNOW THAT THE FIFTH DISTRICT SUPERVISOR'S OFFICE HAS BEEN CLOSELY TRACKING THAT AND THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM FOR THEM.

UM, BUT THIS WOULD BE A PER-DISTRICT ALLOCATION, SO- AND THEN WE WOULD TRACK BY DISTRICT AS WELL.

SO IF IT WAS WILDLY POPULAR IN ANY OF THE NEW DISTRICTS, YOU COULD PUT MORE MONEY TOWARDS IT, OR WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TRACK ITS POPULARITY BASED ON, KIND OF, CONSUMPTION OF VOUCHERS PER DISTRICT, SO TO SPEAK.

- RIGHT, I GUESS THE REASON WHY I'M ASKING IS JUST TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND IF WE'RE GONNA MAKE AN ALLOCATION, LIKE WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? UM...

- YOU COULD START WITH A MODEST A- ALLOCATION OF 5 OR $10,000 TO SEE HOW LONG THAT GOES IN TERMS OF ITS, UH, ITS USE, AND THEN, AND THEN AT SOME POINT YOU WOULD, IN THEORY, SELL OUT THE VOUCHERS.

OR YOU COULD REALLOCATE ADDITIONAL FUNDS.

SO IT, IT DOES ALLOW US...

THE TECHNOLOGY DOES ALLOW US TO KIND OF TRACK BY DISTRICT AND BY VOUCHER ISSUANCE, AND THEN- AND THEN WE WOULD DO AN ACCOUNTING ON THAT.

- AND I GUESS MY LAST QUESTION ON THIS, SO IS THERE ANY WAY OF TRACKING TO ENSURE THAT...

OR LET ME REPHRASE THE QUESTION.

SO IS THERE ANY WAY TO TR- TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT SOMEBODY'S ACCESSING MULTIPLE VOUCHERS, OR IS THERE...

- YEAH, SO, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DISCUSS WITH EACH DISTRICT AND SEE HOW YOU WANNA ROLL IT OUT IS WE CAN LIMIT THE NUMBER OF VOUCHERS PER HOUSEHOLD, OR WE CAN CREATE AN UNLIMITED JUST DEPENDING ON KINDA HOW YOU WANNA ROLL IT OUT WITH ITS, WITH ITS, UM, PROGRAM.

WE- WE ENVISION SOMEWHAT OF A LIMITATION PER HOUSEHOLD SO THAT YOU DON'T GET ONE LARGE HOUSEHOLD GETTING VOUCHER AFTER VOUCHER AND BURNING THROUGH THAT, UM, AND WANTING TO SEE SOME GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION WITHIN YOUR DISTRICTS.

SO WE WERE CONTEMPLATING, AT LEAST IN EARLY DISCUSSIONS, SOME SORT OF LIMIT TO, YOU KNOW, TWO TO F- TWO TO THREE OR TWO TO FOUR VOUCHERS PER HOUSEHOLD TYPE OF A THING.

- GREAT. UM...

APPRECIATE THOSE COMMENTS AND LOOK FORWARD TO FOLLOWING UP WITH YOU IN FUTURE CONVERSATIONS TO DISCUSS WHAT THIS CAN LOOK LIKE POTENTIALLY FOR THE THIRD DISTRICT,

[02:45:02]

AND ALSO TALKING WITH THIRD DISTRICT RESIDENTS TO SEE IF THIS IS SOMETHING THEY'D WANNA PRIORITIZE OVER OTHER SERVICES SUCH AS CHIPPING, WHICH ALSO HELPS ADDRESS SOME OF THESE, UM, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT ISSUES.

UM, BUT I WILL JUST SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT...

WELL, FIRST I WANTED TO THANK STAFF FOR BRINGING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD TO US.

I THINK THAT ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ALIGN WITH THE BOARD'S INTENT AROUND, YOU KNOW, RISK REDUCTION, WILDFIRE, UH, MANAGEMENT, AND PARKS IMPROVEMENT, UM, THAT WE DISCUSSED IN DEPTH DURING OUR, UM, BUDGET HEARINGS, AND SO I'M HAPPY TO MOVE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS.

- WE HAVE A MOTION FROM SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS, AND A SECOND FROM SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

FURTHER DISCUSSION? SUPERVISOR HERNANDEZ.

- YES, I'M ALSO GLAD TO SUPPORT THIS MOTION.

UM, BUT I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT SOME OF THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ON MESA VILLAGE PARK, IT REALLY IS IN NEED OF A BATHROOM UPGRADE AND, AND PICNIC TABLES THERE.

IN ADDITION, I- I'M HAPPY TO SEE BOTH PINTO LAKE AND SCOTT PARK, UH, HAVE SOME WORK DONE TOO.

A LOT OF DISTRICT 4 RESIDENTS DO ATTEND THOSE TWO PARKS AS WELL, SO I WILL BE SUPPORTING THE MOTION.

- SUPERVISOR DE SERPA. - I'VE ONE MORE QUESTION.

SO, UM, I PUT SOME DISCRETIONARY MONEY TOWARDS MONITORING PINTO LAKE LAST YEAR, THINKING THAT THIS YEAR WE WOULD START ADDRESSING THE POISONOUS ALGAE BLOOM, RIGHT? COULD BE- 'CAUSE I'M CONCERNED ABOUT WITH THE WILDLIFE REALLY THAT SURROUNDS THAT LAKE.

- YEAH, SO THE MONITORING, AND THANK YOU FOR THOSE FUNDS THAT WERE MATCHED WITH THE MEASURE Q GRANT PROGRAM AS WELL, UM, AS WELL AS THE CITY OF WATSONVILLE CONTRIBUTED TO THAT.

SO THAT'LL ALLOW US TO START MONITORING WHERE THOSE LARGE AMOUNTS OF SEDIMENT ARE ACTUALLY ENTERING THE LAKE, SO THEN WE CAN COME UP WITH A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF A LONG-TERM SOLUTION SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM EVERY YEAR WHEN WE HAVE THESE HIGH RAIN YEARS WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SEDIMENT CONTENT ALLOWS FOR THAT HAR- HARMFUL ALGAE BLOOM.

UM, SO THAT, WE WILL BE TALKING WITH THIS BOARD IN FUTURE YEARS.

UM, WE DO NEED TO REMEDY THE, UM, CURRENT ISSUE IN THE LAKE BY 2029, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, OR3, OUR PARTNERS WITH THE CITY AND WITHIN COUNTY PARKS, WE ARE ALREADY DISCUSSING ABOUT TIMING AND WHEN WE WOULD COME BACK TO THIS BOARD.

- OKAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

- SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

- THANK YOU, CHAIR.

UH, I WANNA APPRECIATE ALL THE COMMENTS BY, UH, EVERYONE IN THE PUBLIC, INCLUDING THE REPRESENTATIVES- REPRESENTATIVES FROM COUNTY PARK FRIENDS, THE LAND TRUST, AND OUR FIRE AGENCIES.

THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO BE A PART OF THIS PROCESS.

UM, I'M SUPPORT BOTH- SUPPORTIVE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

I THINK THEY RESPOND TO THE MOST URGENT NEEDS THAT I SEE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, UH, PARTICULARLY THE 900, UH, $100 MILLION IN DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.

UM, YOU KNOW, THAT JUST IS A REALLY BIG NUMBER ON PAPER.

UM, BUT THEN WHEN YOU ACTUALLY SEE IT BECOME AN ACUTE FAILURE LIKE WE HAVE AT WINKLE PARK, UH, IT TAKES ON A VERY HUMAN ELEMENT.

UM, AND IT'S, UH, I CAN ASSURE YOU IT'S A, UH, MY- MY COLLEAGUE THAT IS A SITUATION YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE IN, UM, AND UM, I REALLY AM GLAD THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED A PROGRAM THAT CAN BEGIN TO ADDRESS THIS COUNTY-WIDE.

UM, I MEAN, IT- BEGIN BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE OVER $500,000 TO MEET A $100 MILLION NEED IS, UM, I MEAN THAT'S 200 YEARS WE MIGHT CATCH UP WITH THE PROBLEM.

UM, SO, GOOD WE'RE GETTING STARTED, THOUGH.

UM, I- I'LL ALSO SAY THAT WITH THE MORAN LAKE PROJECT, UM, AGAIN, $250,000 IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT.

I BELIEVE WE ACTUALLY IDENTIFIED LIKE CLOSER TO $700,000 WORTH OF WORK THAT COULD BE DONE, SO, UM, REALLY WE'RE JUST, UH, DOING THE HIGHEST-PRIORITY WORK.

UM, I ALSO IN THE PAST, UH, I THINK IT WAS THE FIRST YEAR MEASURE K FUNDS WERE AVAILABLE DID ALLOCATE DISTRICT DISCRETIONARY FUNDS TO DO SOME OF THAT WORK, AS WELL AS TO DO THE, UM, MONARCH BUTTERFLY HABITAT WIND STUDY, UH, THAT WE RE- APPROVED AT OUR LAST MEETING IN ORDER TO REALLY BE ABLE TO SEE EXACTLY, UH, HOW MUCH WE COULD CUT AND WHERE WITHOUT IMPACTING THE BUTTERFLIES.

SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IT IS A PRIORITY PROJECT, UM, AND HAVE- HAVE, UH, I THINK THE WAY THAT I'VE ALLOCATED DISTRICT 1 FUNDS, UH, HIGHLIGHTS THAT AS WELL.

UM, AND SAME THING WITH WINKLE PARK.

UM, AND AS WAS POINTED OUT, UH, ALLOCATED THE ENTIRETY OF LAST YEAR'S MEASURE Q ALLOCATION FOR DISTRICT 1, UH, TO REPAIR WINKLE.

AND LARGELY, I'M, YOU KNOW, WILL- WILL LOOK TO THE FUNDS FOR THIS COMING YEAR TO CONTINUE TO FILL THAT GAP AND DO SORT OF PROJECTS THAT, UH, GO AROUND, UH, THE PLAYGROUND ITSELF.

I MEAN, WE'RE ALSO LOOK- WE'VE GOT A 170-UNIT, UH, MULTI-FAMILY PROJECT GOING IN LITERALLY NEXT DOOR.

WE'RE WORKING ON A TRAIL THAT WILL CONNECT THAT PROJECT, UH, TO THE PARK.

TO THE POINT ABOUT QUIMBY ACT FUNDS, I ACTUALLY DON'T BELIEVE THOSE ARE AVAILABLE ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS, IF I'M CORRECT. WE- WE- - YEAH, CORRECT. WE DON'T RECEIVE ANY SORT OF, UM, IMPACT FEES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

- RIGHT. AND SO- - AND I BELIEVE THAT ENTIRE, UH, DEVELOPMENT WILL BE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

- YEAH, THAT'S 100% AFFORDABLE.

[02:50:02]

THE, YOU KNOW, APPROXIMATELY 250 UNITS THAT IS BROKEN DOWN, UH, BROKEN GROUND DOWN THE STREET AT 41ST AND SOQUEL, 100% AFFORDABLE.

THE 300 UNITS PLUS THAT MIDPEN IS LOOKING AT ACROSS SOQUEL DRIVE FROM THIS, ALSO 100% AFFORDABLE.

SO, THIS IS A PARK THAT IS GOING TO RECEIVE A LOT OF DEMAND, AND SO WE, UH, ARE INVESTING IN IT ACCORDINGLY AND CERTAINLY APPRECIATE, UM, ANY- ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING AVAILABLE.

UM, AND THEN FINALLY, I'M JUST REALLY GLAD TO SEE THE FIRE PROJECTS FUNDED.

I MEAN, THESE, OF COURSE, WERE APPLIED FOR BY COUNTY FIRE, UH, I- FOR, UM, THE COMPETITIVE GRANTS, A COUPLE OF THESE, AND I'M GLAD WE'VE FOUND A WAY TO FUND THEM.

THEY'RE SUPER COST-EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS, UM, AND I THINK WILL GO A LONG WAY.

SO, THANK YOU.

- CHAIR. I'M SORRY. - THANK YOU.

- CAN I JUST MAKE ONE MORE COMMENT? - SUPERVISOR DE SERPA.

- UM, YOU KNOW, TO FIRE, IN THE FUTURE, UM, THESE WERE JUST VERY SMALL PROJECTS.

UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE COM- YOU COMING FORWARD WITH, UH, POTENTIALLY BIGGER PROJECTS.

AND I UNDERSTAND THAT A COUPLE OF THESE, NOT THE TRUCK TRAIL, BUT THAT THE WATER'S, UM, TOWER, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? YEAH, THE- THAT THE WATER, UM, SITUATION IS A PILOT, BUT, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE A NO-BRAINER.

IT SEEMS LIKE IT'D BE VERY IMPORTANT TO PUT THESE THINGS IN MANY PLACES AROUND OUR COUNTY, SO ANYWAY, JUST AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO FIRE TO BRING FORWARD, UH, BIGGER PROPOSALS. THANK YOU.

- THANK YOU. UM, I WANT TO THANK PARKS AND OR3 FOR REALLY THE THOUGHTFULNESS THAT WENT INTO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.

I'M, UM, SUPPORTIVE OF THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS TODAY, BUT I DO HAVE SOME COMMENTS.

UM, FIRST OF ALL, I AM VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE WINKLE PRO- PARK PROJECT.

IT'S A REALLY SORT OF MODEST AND DISCREET INVESTMENT, AND I KNOW YOU ALREADY INVESTED SO MUCH OF YOUR DISTRICT FUNDS INTO IT, SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT MOVE FORWARD.

UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO ALWAYS GO BACK TO THE FULL NAME OF MEASURE Q: SAFE DRINKING WATER, CLEAN BEACHES, WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION, AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION INITIATIVE.

SO, YOU KNOW, WATER, WILDFIRE REDUCTION, AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION.

AND SO, WHILE I KNOW WE HAVE MAJOR BACKLOG OF, UM, PARK MAINTENANCE THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND OFTEN PARKS BUDGETS, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A LONG DISCUSSION DURING THE BUDGET SEASON ABOUT THE PARKS BUDGET, AND IT IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS THAT WE- WE STRUGGLE TO FUND, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE'RE HAVING FINANCIAL CHALLENGES, UM, AND I LOVE PARKS, RIGHT? I LOVE SOFTBALL FIELDS.

I LOVE, UH, PLAYGROUNDS AND, UM, PARK INFRASTRUCTURE.

I- I DO THINK THAT OUR COMMUNITY WAS ASKING FOR US TO USE THESE FUNDS MORE FOR, UM, RESILIENCE OF- OF OUR WILDLAND INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS HAVE A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY IN HOW YOU PRIORITIZE PROJECTS, BOTH THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE BACKLOG AND VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

I THINK FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THOSE TWO WOULD BE SWAPPED THAT WE'D START WITH THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, WITH THE LIMBS THAT NEED TO BE TRIMMED, WITH THE DUFF THAT'S RIGHT NEXT TO OUR, YOU KNOW, HIGHLANDS PARK SENIOR CENTER, AND- AND THAT KIND OF WORK THAT, UM, WILL HELP US HAVE MORE WILDFIRE, UM, RESILIENCY IN THE SPACES THAT- THAT WE OWN AND OPERATE, AND THEN FOCUS ON THE FIXTURES AND THE BATHROOMS AND THE PLAYGROUNDS.

UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO WRONG USE OF THESE FUNDS.

THESE- THIS IS, UH, ALL THESE PROJECTS ARE GOOD, BUT I- I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM SWITCHED.

UM, I DON'T THINK THERE'S A- A RECOMMENDED ACTION THAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED TODAY, BUT I JUST WANT TO SHARE THAT PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S AN ALIGNMENT WITH AT LEAST WHAT I AM HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY AND REALLY THE- THE CALLS WE GET AND THE, UM, THE- THE PRESSURE THAT- THAT MY DISTRICT FEELS AS IT RELATES TO, UM, READINESS IN THE EVENT OF DISASTER.

SO, UM, W- WE MAY- IT MAY BE INTERESTING TO HAVE MORE OF THIS CONVERSATION THE NEXT TIME THAT THE MEASURE Q REPORT COMES TO US ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW TO PRIORITIZE THESE FUNDS MOVING FORWARD.

I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING A REPORT BACK, AND I DEFINITELY, WHEN WE GET A REPORT BACK ON THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, I'D LOVE TO SEE HOW THE FUNDS ARE USED, PARTICULARLY IN THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SIDE OF THINGS.

UM, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION BEFORE I CALL FOR ROLL CALL? SEEING NONE, MADAM CLERK, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL?

[02:55:04]

- SUPERVISOR DE SERPA? - AYE.

AT THIS TIME, WE ARE GOING TO BREAK FOR CLOSED SESSION AND LUNCH AND RETURN AT ONE O'CLOCK.

- AND MARTINEZ? - AYE.

MOTION PASSES, 5 TO 0.

IS THERE ANYTHING REPORTABLE FROM CLOSED SESSION TODAY? - NO. - THANK YOU.

- RECORDING STOPPED.

[CLOSED SESSION AGENDA]

- WELCOME BACK.

ONCE AGAIN, WAS THERE ANYTHING REPORTABLE FROM CLOSED SESSION? - NO.

- THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

[10. Consider report on Streamline Santa Cruz Workplan Item 10, Initial Plan Thoroughness, including improvements to the Building Permit Dashboard, and Workplan Item 14, CZU Rebuild Process Improvements, adopt resolution extending the CZU Rebuild Directive for four additional years, and take related actions]

UM, WE ARE NOW GOING TO CONTINUE WITH OUR REGULAR BOARD AGENDA WITH ITEM NUMBER 10, WHICH IS TO CONSIDER A REPORT ON STREAMLINE SANTA CRUZ WORKPLAN ITEM 10, INITIAL PLAN, THOROUGHNESS, INCLUDING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BUILDING PERMIT DASHBOARD, AND WORKPLAN ITEM 14, CZU REBUILD PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS, ADOPT A RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE CZU REBUILD DIRECTIVE FOR FOUR ADDITIONAL YEARS, AND TAKE RELATED ACTIONS.

WELCOME, AND GOOD AFTERNOON.

- GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR MARTINEZ AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

I'M JOCELYN JANSEN.

I'M ONE OF THE ASSISTANT DIRECTORS IN CDI, AND JOINING ME TODAY IS STEPHANIE HANSEN.

SHE'S OUR OTHER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN PLANNING.

UM, AND WE'RE PLEASED TO BE HERE THIS AFTERNOON TO PRESENT THIS ITEM.

SO, JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE AGENDA TODAY.

UM, WE WILL, UH, COVER, UM, THE FOLLOWING: A BRIEF RECAP OF THE STREAMLINE SANTA CRUZ WORKPLAN, AN UPDATE ON PROJECT 10, INCLUDING THE BUILDING PERMIT DASHBOARD AN UPDATE ON PROJECT 14, WHICH FOCUSES ON CZU FIRE REBUILD ASSISTANCE EFFORTS, AND A BRIEF UPDATE ON PROJECTS 1 AND 5, WITH FOCUS ON CZU-RELATED CODE AMENDMENTS.

SO, TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THE STREAMLINE SANTA CRUZ WORKPLAN, AS THE BOARD MAY RECALL, UM, YOU APPROVED THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY STREAMLINE WORKPLAN IN THE SUMMER OF 2024.

THE PLAN PRESENTLY INCLUDES 12 PROJECTS, CONSOLIDATED FROM THE ORIGINAL 14.

THE OVERALL GOAL OF THE WORKPLAN IS TO STREAMLINE THE PERMITTING PROCESS AND IMPROVE BOTH EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM AN APPLICANT'S INITIAL CONTACT WITH THE COUNTY THROUGH THE INSPECTION PROCESS.

THE WORKPLAN IS ORGANIZED AROUND THREE PRIMARY FOCUS AREAS: COMPLEXITY REDUCTION, PROCESS IMPROVEMENT, AND SERVICE EXCELLENCE.

AS PART OF THE WORKPLAN, THE BOARD DIRECTED STAFF TO PROVIDE QUARTERLY UPDATES ON THE OVERALL PROGRESS OF THE PLAN AND ON INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.

OUR LAST UPDATE TO THE BOARD WAS ON APRIL 28TH.

AT THAT MEETING, THE BOARD EXPRESSED INTEREST IN RECEIVING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON PROJECTS 10 AND 14 AND DIRECTED STAFF TO WORK ON THE FOLLOWING ITEMS AND REPORT BACK NO LATER THAN AUGUST 25TH.

THOSE ITEMS WERE TO CONDUCT ADDITIONAL OUTREACH TO CZU-IMPACTED PROPERTY OWNERS, TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BUILDING PERMIT DASHBOARD AND GATHER ADDITIONAL METRICS, TO EXTEND THE REBUILD DIRECTIVE, AND TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE CZU-RELATED CODE AMENDMENTS.

SO, I'M GOING TO START WITH PROJECT 10.

SO, THE BOARD REQUESTED METRICS ASSOCIATED WITH BUILDING PERMIT INTAKES, SPECIFICALLY THE PERCENT OF APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED THAT MEET INTAKE REQUIREMENTS.

THIS GRAPH IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE METRICS FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR.

THUS FAR, 300- 313 SUBMISSIONS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED THROUGH THE ONLINE EPLAN PORTAL.

OF THESE, 66% HAD COMPLETE APPLICATION FORMS, 82% HAD COMPLETE SUPPLEMENTAL FORMS AND 52% HAD COMPLETE PLAN SETS.

THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 10% IN APPLICATION AND SUBMITTAL DOCUMENT COMPLETENESS COMPARED WITH PRIOR YEARS AND I BELIEVE THE GAINS REFLECT IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR APPLICATION FORMS, ADDITIONAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT, AND PRE-APPLICATION GUIDANCE IN CAMINO.

MANAGEMENT IS, UH, EVALUATING THESE METRICS AND THE METADATA WE'VE COLLECTED AROUND THESE METRICS TO FURTHER IDENTIFY TARGETED IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL ENHANCE APPLICATION QUALITY, PROCESSING EFFICIENCY

[03:00:03]

AND THE PREDICTABILITY OF THE PERMIT PROCESS FOR APPLICANTS.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF THE METADATA ASSOCIATED WITH PLAN INCOMPLETENESS, WHICH IS OUR LOWEST SUCCESS RATE AREA, STAFF CAN IDENTIFY WHICH EPLAN USERS - SPECIFIC USERS HAVE FREQUENT CHALLENGES.

FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE HAVE A USER THAT FREQUENTLY HAS CHALLENGES FLATTENING FILES, STAFF CAN USE THE DATA TO REACH OUT TO THE APPLICANT AND OFFER ADDITIONAL TARGETED TRAINING.

UM, IN ADDITION TO DEVELOPING THE NEW EPLAN INTAKE COMPLETENESS DASHBOARD, THE DASHBOARD SCORECARD METRICS HAVE ALSO BEEN UPDATED TO PROVIDE A MORE ACCURATE VIEW OF PERFORMANCE BY INCLUDING THE PERCENT REVIEWED ON TIME BY BUILDING PERMIT TYPE AS REQUESTED BY THE BOARD.

UM, AND THESE NEW METRICS CAN BE ACCESSED VIA THE DASHBOARDS USING, UM, ONLINE USING THE "GET INVOLVED" LINK FROM THE EPC HOMEPAGE.

SO, MOVING ON TO THE PROJECT 14 CZU REBUILD PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS PROGRESS TO DATE, UM, THE BOARD REQUESTED AN UPDATE ON OUTREACH EFFORTS TO PROPERTY OWNERS IMPACTED BY THE CZU FIRE.

BUT BEFORE I LAUNCH INTO SOME METRICS, I WANTED TO JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SIX-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE CZU FIRE WAS JUST LAST WEEK.

AS DIFFICULT AS THAT TRAGIC EVENT WAS, IT ALSO REVEALED THE INCREDIBLE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF THIS COMMUNITY.

THE LESSONS WE LEARNED CONTINUE TO INFORM THE WORK WE DO TODAY PARTICULARLY AROUND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, COMMUNICATION, RECOVERY, AND REBUILD SERVICES.

WHILE THERE'S STILL WORK TO BE DONE, THERE HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS IN REBUILDING OUR COMMUNITY.

SO, TO THAT END, I WILL LAUNCH INTO OUR METRICS AT THIS TIME.

SO, AS THE BOARD WILL RECALL, MORE THAN 800 PARCELS WERE IMPACTED BY THE FIRE, AND OF THOSE, ABOUT 697 OF THEM WERE DEVELOPED WITH ONE OR MORE STRUCTURES WHICH WERE DESTROYED BY THE FIRE.

SO, 200 AS OF, UM, JULY 1ST, 272 OF THOSE PARCELS HAVE BEEN SOLD, 177 REPLACEMENT DWELLINGS HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED AND FINALED.

ANOTHER 136 APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED OR ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF 31 SINCE THE LAST REPORT TO THE BOARD IN APRIL.

IN ADDITION, IN THE LAST QUARTER, 11 NEW APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED, TWO HAVE BEEN APPROVED, AND NINE ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW.

UH, REBUILD PERMIT APPLICATION SUBMITTALS HAVE SLOWED DOWN- SLOWED DOWN, BUT THEY DO REMAIN STEADY, AND STAFF HAVE REMAINED FLEXIBLE AND SOLUTION-ORIENTED IN THE REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS, AND THE DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO STRIVE TOWARDS PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE STILL HAVE DEDICATED APPOINTMENTS, UH, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY OR MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY TO ASSIST PROPERTY OWNERS WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR REBUILD AND THESE ARE DEDICATED APPOINTMENTS TO CZU REBUILD- REBUILDERS ONLY.

SO, AT THE APRIL 28TH MEETING, THE BOARD DIRECTED STAFF TO EXPLORE ADDITIONAL CZU OUTREACH EFFORTS FOR PROPERTY OWNERS IMPACTED THE FI- BY THE FIRE, SPECIFICALLY THOSE WHO HAVE NOT, UM, CONTACTED THE STAFF OR THE COUNTY, UM, PER OUR RECORDS.

SO, UM, WE HAVE DONE SOME OUTREACH, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT HAS.

AS THE BOARD MAY RECALL, UH, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT SENT OUTREACH MAILERS, EMAILS, AND MADE PHONE CALLS TO ALL CZU PROPERTY OWNERS WHO WERE IN THE...

WHO WERE STALLED IN THE CONDITIONALLY NOT CLEARED STATUS.

THE OUTREACH WAS SUCCESSFUL IN THAT IT HAS HELPED RE-ENGAGE OWNERS WHO HAD STALLED IN THE PROCESS.

THE C&C MEETINGS HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE IN HELPING APPLICANTS IDENTIFY SOLUTIONS AND GET THEIR PROJECTS MOVING AGAIN.

IN ADDITION, THE RECENTLY ADOPTED DEFINITION OF "IN-KIND" HAS HELPED IN ALIGNING ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING, ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, GEOLOGY, AND ZONING REGULATIONS.

UM, SO RIGHT NOW, TO DATE, WE HAVE 22 ACTIVE APPLICATIONS, C&C APPLICATIONS, IN PROCESS.

ALL OF THE- ALL OF THE OTHER APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED OR CLOSED OUT.

SO, THAT IS EXCITING.

I THINK WE STARTED WITH 90, UM, AT OUR LAST, UM, REPORT BACK.

SO, WITH REGARD TO THE ADDITIONAL OUTREACH DESIRED BY THE BOARD, UM, THE OUTREACH TO PROPERTY OWNERS WHO HAVE NOT MADE CONTACT, STAFF COLLABORATED WITH THE FIFTH DISTRICT SUPERVISOR'S OFFICE TO CONDUCT THIS OUTREACH, WITH THE SUPERVISOR'S OFFICE TAKING THE LEAD TO ENSURE AFFECTED PROPERTY OWNERS ARE AWARE OF ALL AVAILABLE RESOURCES.

THE OUTREACH CONSISTED OF MAILERS THAT WERE SENT OUT IN JULY TO ALL 173 PROPERTY OWNERS WHO APPEAR TO HAVE NOT MADE CONTACT.

THIS, UH, THE DEPARTMENT HAS RECEIVED, UH, REBUILD INQUIRIES

[03:05:02]

AND FEEDBACK AS A RESULT OF THE MAILERS, AND WHEN CONTACTED, STAFF HAS TAKEN EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO INFORM RESPONDENTS OF THEIR AVAILABI- AVAILABILITY TO MEET WITH THEM TO DISCUSS THEIR PROJECT AND OFFER ASSISTANCE IN NAVIGATING THE PERMIT PROCESS.

AND I WANTED TO SAY THAT, IN ADDITION TO OUTREACH CONDUCTED BY THE COUNTY, THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP, AND I SEE WE HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE HERE TODAY, UH, WHICH IS A LOCAL- A LOCAL NON-PROFIT THAT'S DEDICATED TO ASSISTING RESIDENTS WHO ARE RECOVERING FROM DISASTERS, SUCH AS THE CZU FIRE, THEY CONDUCT THEIR OWN OUTREACH TO PROPERTY OWNERS IMPACTED BY THE FIRE AS WELL.

THEY'VE INFORMED ME THAT THEY'RE PREPARING TO DO ANOTHER ROUND OF OUTREACH THIS MONTH TO ABOUT 84 PROPERTY OWNERS.

AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, THROUGH THEIR GOOD WORK, THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP HAS BEEN REALLY EFFECTIVE IN PROVIDING CZU FIRE SURVIVORS INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS OUTSIDE THE IMMEDIATE PERMIT PROCESS, WHICH THE COUNTY IS NOT PRESENTLY WELL-POSITIONED TO OFFER.

I SEE IT AS A GREAT PARTNERSHIP.

UM, AND ALSO AS PART OF THE CZU UPDATE, THE BOARD DIRECTED STAFF TO EXTEND THE CZU REBUILD DIRECTIVE.

THE DIRECTIVE WAS INITIALLY APPROVED BY THE BOARD IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021, AND THE PURPOSE OF THE DIRECTIVE IS TO REMOVE COUNTY STAFF REVIEW OF GEOLOGIC HAZARDS AND MITIGATIONS FROM THE BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW PROCESS IN THE CZU-AFFECTED AREA.

THE CZU, UH, THE DIRECTIVE WAS INITIALLY SET TO SUNSET IN 2024, BUT IT WAS EX- UH, EXTENDED TO ADDITIONAL YEARS THROUGH THIS OCTOBER.

STAFF IS RECOMMENDING A FOUR-YEAR EXTENSION TO THE REBUILD DIRECTIVE TO ALIGN WITH ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH'S 10-YEAR FIRE OR/AND CALAMITY ALLOWANCE UNDER THE CODE.

IN ADDITION TO EXTENDING THE DIRECTIVE FOUR YEARS, STAFF WILL APPLY THE RECENTLY ADOPTED DEFINITION OF "IN-KIND" TO ALL REBUILDS MOVING FORWARD, WHICH ADDRESSES PRIOR INCONSISTENCIES BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND PLANNING'S INTERPRETATION OF IN-KIND DEVELOPMENT.

AND WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO PASS IT OVER TO STEPHANIE HANSEN WHO IS GOING TO PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION AROUND POLICY UPDATES AND CODE AMENDMENTS.

- GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, SUPERVISORS.

UM, HAPPY TO BE HERE TODAY REPORTING BACK TO YOU.

SOME OF THIS WILL SEEM A LITTLE BIT FAMILIAR.

UM, I'M REPORTING ON PROJECTS 1 AND 5, WHICH ARE THE COUNTY CODE AMENDMENTS.

UM, PROJECT 1, IF YOU'LL REMEMBER, IS THE, UH, LONG-TERM, COMPREHENSIVE, UH, CODE PROJECT, AND PROJECT 5 ARE THE ANNUAL AMENDMENTS.

SO, I'M GOING TO START WITH PROJECT 5.

UM, YOU'LL RECALL THIS WAS ADOPTED IN, UH, IN JUNE, ON JUNE 30TH.

THOSE AMENDMENTS ARE NOW IN EFFECT OUTSIDE THE COASTAL ZONE AND ARE PENDING COASTAL COMMISSION CERTIFICATION INSIDE THE COASTAL ZONE.

UM, HERE WE'VE LISTED SOME OF THE, UH, HIGHLIGHTS THAT ARE IN THE CODE AMENDMENTS, UM, UH, UH, STARTING WITH THE CONSOLIDATED DEFINITION OF "IN-KIND," UM, WHICH PROVIDES, UH, FLEX- NOT ONLY CONSOLIDATED DEFINITION, BUT FLEXIBILITY ON THE LOCATION OF THE REPLACEMENT, UM, AND ALSO WHAT THE DEFINITION OF "BEDROOM" WAS, WHICH WAS ANOTHER INCONSISTENCY THAT WAS, UM, TRIPPING UP SOME PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO REBUILD WHEN THEY HAD A SEPTIC SYSTEM.

UM, THE BOARD APPROVED DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTERS 738, THE, UM, UH, ON-SITE WASTEWATER, UH, TREATMENT SYSTEM OR SEPTIC REGULATIONS.

UM, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IS CURRENTLY TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT THOSE TO SEE WHAT ELSE CAN BE POSSIBLY ADDED, UM, BEFORE TAKING THOSE AMENDMENTS TO THE, UH, REGIONAL BOARD FOR FEEDBACK.

SO THAT SHOULD BE UNDERWAY IN THE NEXT, UM, COUPLE OF MONTHS.

UM, THERE WERE OTHER AMENDMENTS TOO THAT WERE FOCUSED ON, UM, STREAMLINING, UM, ALLOWING FOR OUTDOOR SEATING AREAS IN, UM, PARKING STALLS.

UM, Y'ALL REMEMBER THE REZONINGS THAT WE DID FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING SITES.

UM, WE DID, UM, SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO GRADING APPROVALS SO THAT, UM, MORE GRADING COULD BE, UM, PROCESS ADMINISTRATIVELY AND NOT GO, UM, TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND SO FORTH.

AND THEN WE, UM, PROVIDED A BUNCH OF AMENDMENTS THAT CLARIFIED, UH, COASTAL REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHANGES IN STATE LAW.

WE'VE BEEN BUSY ON, UM, PROJECT ONE, THE COMPREHENSIVE CODE AMENDMENTS.

WE, UH, RELEASED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS IN APRIL,

[03:10:06]

UM, AND THEN HAD INTERVIEWS, UM, IN JUNE.

WE'VE SELECTED BKF ENGINEERS TO ASSIST IN THIS IMPORTANT PROJECT.

UM, THEY HAVE, UH, APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN ENGINEERING AND PLANNING, UM, UH, ACROSS THE WESTERN UNITED STATES WITH 20 OFFICES.

THEY'VE DONE SOME GOOD WORK IN, UM, OTHER COUNTIES, INCLUDING RIVERSIDE COUNTY AND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, AS WELL AS MYRIAD OF OTHER CITIES.

UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, TO WORKING WITH THEM.

UM, RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN, UH, CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS AND WE'RE REFINING THE SCOPE OF WORK TO LOOK FOR SOME EFFICIENCIES.

UM, WE'RE EXPECTING CONTRACT APPROVAL TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD ON SEPTEMBER 29TH, AND THEN WE'LL BE KICKING OFF RIGHT AWAY IN THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER WITH THAT PROJECT.

AND, UM, IN THE SQUARES ON THE SLIDE, IT SHOWED SOME OF THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THAT WORK, INCLUDING RESEARCH IN TERMS OF WHAT OTHER JURISDICTIONS HAVE DONE, HOW THEY STRUCTURE THEIR CODES, WHERE THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO INCORPORATE OBJECTIVE STANDARDS AND STREAMLINE REVIEWS, UM, AND AUDIT EVERY CURRENT CODES AND WHERE THOSE POINTS ARE THAT COULD BE, UH, SIMPLIFIED OR STREAMLINED.

UM, WE'LL HAVE A TEAM OF STAFF IN VARIOUS, UM, FOCUS GROUPS, KIND OF LOOKING AT WHAT THE CONSULTANTS ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE AND HAVING BACK AND FORTH ON WHAT THE BEST SOLUTIONS ARE.

WE'RE INTENDING FOR STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS OF VARIOUS GROUPS.

WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SPECIAL FOCUS ON A DISASTER RECOVERY ORDINANCE SO THAT IF AND WHEN OUR NEXT DISASTER STRIKES, WE HAVE, UM, A STRUCTURE WITH CLEAR ROLES AVAILABLE ON WHO CAN DO WHAT, UM, AND, UM, WHAT MEASURES THEY CAN TAKE TO MAKE REBUILDING, UM, EASIER AND FASTER FOR PEOPLE.

WELL, UM, WE'LL HAVE THE DRAFT AMENDMENTS PROBABLY AROUND THE END OF THIS FIRST PHASE OF THE PROJECT, UM, AND THEN HEAD INTO ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW, ADDITIONAL OUTREACH, PUBLIC HEARINGS, AND ADOPTIONS IN THE SECOND YEAR.

UM, SO WITH THAT, THAT'S OUR- OUR BRIEF REPORT BACK TODAY.

HERE'S THE, UH, RECOMMENDED ACTIONS, UM, TO CONSIDER THE REPORT BACK ON THE STREAMLINE WORK PLAN.

ITEM 10, INITIAL PLAN THOROUGHNESS, INCLUDING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BUILDING PERMIT DASHBOARD AND WORK PLAN ITEM 14 CZU, REBUILD PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS, APPROVE THE RESOLUTION, EXTENDING THE CZU REBUILD DIRECTIVE FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEARS, AND THEN DIRECT STAFF TO RETURN NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 20TH.

UM, AND AT THIS POINT, WE'RE PLANNING A, UM, MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE REPORT BACK ON ALL THE COMPONENTS FOR THAT DATE.

SO WITH THAT, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

THANK YOU.

I'LL START OFF BY SEEING IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES.

SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- THANK YOU, CHAIR.

UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS WITH THE NEW, UM, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING IN FOR NEW PERMIT APPLICATIONS.

ARE THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE- WHO ARE PREVIOUS OWNERS OF THE PROPERTIES THAT WERE IMPACTED BY THE CZU, OR ARE THESE MOSTLY NOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE BOUGHT PROPERTIES THAT WERE IMPACTED AND ARE NOW TRYING TO BUILD ON THESE LOTS? - I WOULD SAY A MIX, A MIX OF BOTH.

- OKAY, AND DO WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF HOW MANY ARE IN THE THIRD DISTRICT VERSUS THE FIFTH DISTRICT? - I DO NOT AT THIS TIME.

I CAN DO SOME RESEARCH INTO THAT AND REPORT BACK IF YOU'D LIKE.

- YEAH. YEAH, THAT'D BE HELPFUL. AND THEN... - OKAY.

- ADDITIONALLY, I THINK THERE'S THE 173 FOLKS THAT WE'RE REACHED OUT TO, AND IT'D BE HELPFUL TO KNOW HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE IN THE THIRD DISTRICT VERSUS THE FIFTH DISTRICT.

UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND ALL THE WORK THAT, UH, WENT INTO THIS REPORT BACK.

UM, I APPRECIATE THE UPDATED DASHBOARDS.

I THINK THEY'RE RESPONSIVE TO, UH, THIS BOARD'S REQUEST.

I DO, UH, JUST A QUESTION OR TWO AS I'M LOOKING AT THE DASHBOARDS.

UM, SO AS FAR AS THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS BY PERMIT TYPE, UM, WE'RE- WE'RE SEEING, LIKE I'M- I'M LOOKING AT THIS, THE- THE NICE BAR CHART PLUS LINE GRAPH.

UM, I'M- I'M NOT SURE IF I'M READING THIS RIGHT, BUT I MEAN, WE'RE JUST- I THINK THERE'S JUST SORT OF

[03:15:02]

GROSS NUMBER OF REVIEWS WITHOUT SEEING THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS.

AND SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARD TO TELL WHETHER WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING LESS REVIEWS FOR EACH PERMIT TYPE OR IF THE REDUCTION IS JUST A RESULT OF LESS PERMIT APPLICATIONS OVERALL, WHICH IT DOES SEEM LIKE, UH, BASED ON SOME OF THESE CHARTS WE ARE SEEING, FOR EXAMPLE, QUARTERLY SNAPSHOT SHOTS OF THE PERMIT CENTER DASHBOARD.

THERE'S JUST LESS APPLICATIONS, IN GENERAL, THIS YEAR.

AND SO, IT'S HARD FOR, I MEAN, AM I READING THIS GRAPH WRONG? IS THERE A DIFFERENT WAY THAT I COULD TELL, UH, OR THAT ONE READING, LOOKING AT THIS GRAPH COULD TELL LIKE WHETHER WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING LESS REVIEWS? - ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE GRAPH THAT I SHOWED EARLIER WITH THE APPLICATION INTAKE COMPLETENESS? - NO, I, I'M REFERRING...

- THE DASHBOARD THAT WE...

- I'M REFERRING TO BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS, NUMBER OF REVIEWS AND PERCENTAGE COMPLETED ON TIME BY PERMIT TYPE. - OKAY.

- I DON'T THINK YOU ACTUALLY HAD IT IN THE PRESENTATION.

- I DID NOT.

UM, WE DO HAVE JULIE HERE WHO CAN SPEAK TO THE DASHBOARD, BUT WHAT I CAN SAY IS OUR SUBMITTAL VOLUME HAS GONE DOWN.

- RIGHT. - YEAH.

WE'RE AT, I WOULD SAY ABOUT 50%, UM, SUBMITTAL RATE, UM, VERSUS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.

SO THAT'S THE ANSWERS TO THAT QUESTION.

- YEAH.

- [CHUCKLES] AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU— YEAH, THIS IS JULIE.

- HEY, JULIE. YEAH. THANKS FOR ALL THE- ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS.

- AM I ON? [LAUGHS] - I THINK SO.

- JULIE NEWBOLD, UH, SENIOR DEPARTMENTAL ANALYST FOR CDI PLANNING.

UH, YES. IT'S A COMPLICATED GRAPH.

THE BARS AND THE LINES ON THE PREVIOUS PAGE, IT ALSO SPEAKS TO VOLUME AND, UH, IT'S CHALLENGING TO PUT THOSE TOGETHER, UH, INTO ONE VISUAL.

BUT BY LOOKING AT THE FIRST ONE, YOU COULD SEE THE VOLUME OF PERMITS OVER THE YEARS.

AND THE SECOND ONE IS BASICALLY REVIEWS.

AND THEN A LITTLE BIT LATER ON IN THAT GRAPH, YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBER OF, UM, REVIEWS PER PERMIT, SORRY.

UM, UH, THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS PER PERMIT THAT EACH AGENCY IS DOING, AND FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OR BUILDING, HOW MANY REVIEWS ARE GOING TO THREE OR FOUR CYCLES AND HOW MANY ARE IN ONE OR TWO CYCLES.

SO, IT ACTUALLY TAKES MOST OF THE METRICS IN THAT PDF IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING FOR REVIEWS BY AGENCY, REVIEWS BY PERMIT TYPE, AND VOLUME BY PERMIT TYPE.

SO, IT'S HAPPY TO WALK YOU THROUGH ALL OF THEM WITH IT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT, UH.

- FOR SURE, FOR SURE.

WE'LL HAVE TO, UM, DIG INTO IT A LITTLE BIT MORE TO, TO REALLY GET A SENSE OF- TOGETHER, REALLY GET A SENSE OF WHERE, UM, LIKE THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS ARE ACTUALLY GOING.

I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE COMING DOWN, RIGHT? - LIKE A LITTLE BIT FASTER THAN, YOU KNOW, JUST THE TOTAL NUMBER OF, OF PERMIT APPLICATIONS, WHICH IS THE GOAL, RIGHT? TO TRY TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS.

- YES.

- BUT IT'S HARD TO- TO QUANTIFY IT ON ONE GRAPH. I GET THAT.

- YES, AND, AND YOU ARE ACCURATE, AS JOCELYN SAID, THAT NUMBER OF PERMITS IS GOING DOWN, THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS IS ALSO GOING DOWN, SO IT'S- IT'S GOOD THAT THEY'RE BOTH GOING DOWN AT THE SAME TIME INSTEAD OF THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS INCREASING, UH, WHILE VOLUME IS GOING DOWN.

SO, BOTH IN THE DOWNWARD TREND.

UH, BUT YES, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

- GREAT. THANKS.

UM, I ALSO REALLY APPRECIATE THE COMPLETENESS, UM, METRICS AS FAR AS THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE'RE RECEIVING.

I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN LACKING, UM, AS FAR AS OUR VIEW INTO HOW WELL THE, UH, OUR PERMITTING PROCESS WORKS.

AND IT- IT- IT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW, UH, EASY TO UNDERSTAND OUR APPLICATION PROCESSES AND THE FACT THAT THERE'S, UM, I MEAN A LOT LESS USER ACCOUNTS THAN THERE ARE APPLICATIONS, RIGHT? UH, 132 ACCOUNTS FOR 313 APPLICATIONS THIS YEAR.

I MEAN, THAT MEANS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY WITH SOME CLEARER INSTRUCTIONS AND SOME TRAINING, UM, WE CAN ACTUALLY BRING THE, THE NUMBER OF COMPLETE APPLICATIONS UP CONSIDERABLY.

UM, DO WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF WHAT OTHER JURISDICTIONS ARE SEEING IN TERMS OF COMPLETENESS OF APPLICATIONS? I MEAN, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT OVER 50% IN TERMS OF THE PLANS BEING COMPLETE.

WE ALWAYS HEAR PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR BOOKMARKING REQUIREMENTS, ET CETERA.

I MEAN, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT, I MEAN, ARE OTHER JURISDICTIONS, HOW ARE THEY DOING? - UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE- I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THOSE METRICS.

I CAN SAY FROM WORKING IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, THESE ARE PRETTY ON PAR METRICS WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS I'VE WORKED IN.

UM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THOSE METRICS AND I THINK IT'S CHALLENGING BECAUSE A LOT OF JURISDICTIONS DON'T USE EPLAN AS THEIR SUBMITTAL PORTAL, SO IT WOULDN'T BE APPLES TO APPLES

[03:20:04]

AS FAR AS COMPLETENESS, YOU KNOW, COMPARISONS.

BUT, UM, BE HAPPY TO DO SOME, SOME RESEARCH.

- YEAH, EVERYBODY- I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO LOOK AT, UH, OTHER JURISDICTIONS, PARTICULARLY ONES THAT HAVE, LIKE, THEY'RE MEASURING THIS, THEY'RE PROBABLY MAKING IT.

I MEAN, IT'S- THAT'S ALREADY PRETTY NUANCED AND THEY'RE PROBABLY MAKING AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS.

AND SO, IT MIGHT BE A HELPFUL OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH THOSE JURISDICTIONS AND JUST, UM, SEE HOW THEY'VE MANAGED TO MOVE THE NUMBERS OVER THE YEARS.

- MM-HMM.

- UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE- WE'RE GONNA TALK IN THE NEXT ITEM ABOUT ADUS.

AND YOU KNOW, IT'S LOOKING AT, UH, PART OF THE PERMIT DASHBOARD.

WE'RE STILL UP AROUND, I MEAN, 199 DAYS TO APPROVE AN ADU.

NOW, A GOOD CHUNK OF THAT IS IN THE CLIENT'S HANDS.

UM, WHERE'D IT GO HERE? I MEAN, 88 DAYS IN THE CLIENT'S HANDS VERSUS 111 IN OURS.

BUT I MEAN, STILL THAT, THAT'S, ESPECIALLY GIVEN, IT'S ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE THAT YOU ALSO, THAT YOU KNOW, APPLICANTS ARE ALSO GONNA HAVE TO TALK TO, UH, YOU KNOW, GET A GET A HOOKUP PERMIT FOR WATER, THAT THEY'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE FIRE, WHATEVER FIRE AGENCY, UM, THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE OTHER PARTS OF THE PROCESS THAT IT STILL FEELS LONG.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT- HOW CAN WE- WHAT- WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT TO BRING THAT DOWN FURTHER? - UM, WE DO HAVE BRIAN RUBIN HERE WITH US TODAY WHO MAY HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, BUT WHAT I'VE OBSERVED IS THAT, UM, THE LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION OF SOME OF THE, UM, WITH SOME OF THE APPLICANTS THAT YOU SEE WITH ADUS IS SOMETIMES NOT QUITE THERE AS WITH, UH, AS COMPARED TO A LARGER COMMERCIAL PROJECT OR A SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCE.

SO THAT THOSE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT YOU SEE IN THE COUNTY'S HANDS ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO, UM, THE NUMBER OF ROUNDS OF REVIEW.

AND SO THAT MEANS WE HAD SOME INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS.

UM, SO I THINK THAT ADDITIONAL, UM, INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE WILL HELP TRAINING.

UM, WE ARE UPDATING OUR ADU PAGE FREQUENTLY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.

UM, AND I DO THINK THAT WHAT HAS REALLY HELPED IS THOSE, UM, THE REQUIREMENT FOR MEETING WITH APPLICANTS AT THE THIRD ROUND REVIEW AND THE FOURTH ROUND REVIEW.

AND I'LL SAY THAT THE ONES I'VE SEEN, SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN ADU-RELATED.

UM, SO THAT'S WHAT I'VE OBSERVED.

I DON'T KNOW IF BRIAN HAS ANYTHING TO ADD.

IT LOOKS LIKE HE DOES.

- WELL, BRIAN'S COMING UP.

WHILE I WILL SAY WE ALSO HAVE OUR ADU TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND THAT'S BEEN ABLE TO HELP A LOT OF OWNERS KIND OF IDENTIFY THOSE PRE-DEVELOPMENT STEPS, HELP FIND CONSULTANTS.

UM, IT'S PRETTY POPULAR AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT, UM, EXTENDING THAT WORK FOR, UM, ANOTHER, UM, COUPLE OF YEARS TO KIND OF KEEP THAT ASSISTANCE GOING AND, AND, AND GET THE, UM, LESSONS THAT HAVE BECOME AVAILABLE TO THOSE PEOPLE MORE WIDELY, UM, DISPERSED SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GET- GET FURTHER ASSISTANCE WITHOUT HAVING BE THE ONE THAT'S BEING HELPED.

SO, UM, THAT'S BEEN A, A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM.

I'LL LET BRIAN TALK.

- UH, GOOD- BRIAN RUBIN, UNIFIED PERMIT CENTER MANAGER, EXCUSE ME.

UM, WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF SUCCESS LATELY WITH PERMITS GOING THROUGH THE SYSTEM QUICKER WHEN AN APPLICANT COMES TO THE COUNTER AND HAS AN INITIAL CONSULTATION AND THEN FOLLOWS UP WITH EITHER THE CAMINO GUIDE AND USING THE PPS MEETINGS, THE PRE-PERMIT SCREENING MEETINGS UM, AND JUST MEETING WITH OUR TEAM TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE BEFORE THEY JUST DUMP SOMETHING INTO EPLAN.

THAT'S BEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL.

AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF PRE-PERMIT MEETINGS WITH THE COUNTER SUPERVISOR AND I, AND WITH SOME SELECT STAFF AND SEEING THOSE PACKAGES COME IN AS A COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE ON THE FIRST ROUND MAKES THE FIRST REVIEW MUCH QUICKER, UM, AND MAKES PERMITS ALMOST ALWAYS APPROVED ON THE SECOND OR SOMETIMES THIRD ROUND.

SO, UM, THE COMPREHENSIVENESS REDUCES THE TIMELINES FOR REVIEW AND IT ALSO REDUCES HOW MANY ROUNDS IT GOES.

IT'S JUST A BETTER PRODUCT FOR EVERYONE.

UM, WE RECENTLY HAD A STAKEHOLDER MEETING WITH A BUNCH OF CONTRACTORS, AND ONE OF THE CONTRACTORS SAID, IT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO PUSH YOUR TEAM TO TAKE ONE EXTRA WEEK AND JUST MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE FORMS ARE DONE CORRECTLY.

ALL THE SUPPORTING INFORMATION IS THERE BECAUSE IT'LL ULTIMATELY SAVE YOU DOWN THE LONG RUN, WHICH WAS, UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE USED TO JUST DUMP THINGS INTO EPLAN, THINKING THEY WERE GONNA GET IN THE QUEUE AND START THE CLOCK, WHICH IS ACTUALLY SORT OF A DISSERVICE TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.

AND SO WE'RE SEEING A LOT MORE COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGES NOW, AND IT'S, IT'S BEEN A REALLY GOOD, UM, A LOT OF GOOD

[03:25:04]

PROGRESSION FROM, FROM WHERE WE WERE BEFORE. THANKS.

- THAT'S GREAT. YEAH, I MEAN, MAYBE HOLD ON, MAYBE A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MAY BE ABLE TO HELP ADDRESS.

SO I MEAN, YOU MENTIONED WITH ADUS PARTICULARLY THAT LIKE THE LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION ISN'T ALWAYS THERE.

I MEAN, DO WE HAVE SOME SENSE OF, UH, WITH, WITH THE ADU PERMIT APPLICATIONS, WHAT PERCENTAGE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, A LICENSED ARCHITECT OR STRUCTURAL ENGINEER ON THE PROJECT? - I WOULD SAY A LOT OF THEM DO.

UM, BUT MANY OF THEM WORK OUT OF THE AREA OR MAYBE NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY CODE OR THE REQUIREMENTS.

UM, BUT I WOULD SAY WE SEE A, A GOOD AMOUNT THAT ARE FROM LICENSED ARCHITECTS.

- MM-HMM. LIKE 60%, 70%, 50%.

- I'D HAVE TO CHECK AND GET BACK TO YOU.

HAPPY TO DO THAT THOUGH.

- SURE. UM, OKAY.

AND THEN I KNOW ANOTHER THING WE DISCUSSED IS JUST TO TRY TO BRING THAT TIME DOWN THAT THE APPLICATIONS ARE ACTUALLY IN THE CLIENT'S HANDS AND, AND UNDERSTANDING THAT SOMETIMES THE CLIENTS THEMSELVES ARE NOT BEING NOTIFIED WHEN WE'RE ACTUALLY, WHEN, WHEN WE ACTUALLY KNOCK IT BACK INTO THEIR COURT, RIGHT? WE NOTIFY THE, THE APPLICANT, WHICH IS OFTEN THEIR CONTRACTOR.

UM, BUT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO JUST EXPAND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE RECEIVING THOSE NOTIFICATIONS, UM, SO THAT, THAT THE, THE ACTUAL PERSON TRYING TO BUILD THE, YOU KNOW, HOME OR ADU KNOWS WHEN THEIR PLAN SET IS READY AND THEY CAN ALSO PUSH THEIR PROJECT TEAM, UH, TO, TO KEEP MOVING THINGS FORWARD.

- YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS THAT ARE A LITTLE OUT OF THE LOOP IN TERMS OF WHAT'S BEEN SUBMITTED OR WHAT'S BEEN NOTIFIED.

AND SO WE'D BE HAPPY TO LOOK INTO ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATIONS, CARBON COPIES, YOU KNOW, OTHER SETTINGS THAT WE CAN DO AN E-PLAN AS TIME ALLOWS.

- GREAT. YEAH, I THINK BOTH IN TERMS OF EMAIL AND, AND TEXT AS WELL, RIGHT? I MEAN, I THINK THE MORE WE CAN START TO ESTABLISH, UM, YOU KNOW, MODERN COMMUNICATION METHODS, UM, WITH APPLICANTS THAT, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE APPROVAL RATINGS FOR, UH, THE DEPARTMENT GO UP AND, AND FEELING LIKE WE'RE RESPONSIVE AND AVAILABLE.

SO THANK YOU.

I JUST WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THE 31 PEOPLE WHO'VE APPLIED FOR PERMITS SINCE APRIL.

- FURTHER QUESTIONS.

UM, 31 PERMITS? - UM, 11 HAVE BEEN APPLIED FOR SINCE APRIL, THE 31 REPRESENTS, UM, AND IT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN TOTALLY CLEAR IN THE STAFF REPORT WHEN I WENT BACK AND READ IT.

THE 31 ACCOUNTS FOR THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED IN THIS CYCLE AND HAVE UNDERGONE CONSTRUCTION, INITIATED CONSTRUCTION.

SO THEY MAY HAVE BEEN IN THE SYSTEM BEFORE APRIL, AND THEY FINALLY RECEIVED THE, THE PERMIT AND STARTED CONSTRUCTION IN THIS QUARTER.

- OKAY. SO DOES THEN THAT 11 KIND OF MATCH THE TREND OF HOW- THE FREQUENCY THAT WE GET NEW APPLICATIONS? - YES, I WOULD SAY SO, YES.

- OKAY. GREAT. THAT'S HELPFUL. THANK YOU.

WITH THAT AND SEEING NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD, I WOULD LIKE TO GO TO THE PUBLIC FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

IF YOU'RE HERE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOIN A LINE. THANK YOU.

- UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR MARTINEZ AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

MY NAME IS TONYA SCHWEITZER, AND I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP.

FIRST, I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE STAFF AND THE WORK THAT THEY'VE, UH, DONE ON THIS PROJECT.

UH, I ALSO APPRECIATE BEING A PART OF THE CONSULTATION, UM, PERIOD AHEAD OF THE PROJECT.

UH, WE RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE WORK PLAN AND THE REBUILD DIRECTIVE EXTENSION.

AS YOU REVIEW THE STAFF REPORT, WE ASK YOU TO CONSIDER A FEW KEY REFINEMENTS AS THE WORK MOVES FORWARD.

UH, PLEASE TRACK, UH, TRACK ON THE DASHBOARD HOW MANY OF THE 177 COMPLETED DWELLINGS AND 136 ACTIVE PERMITS BELONG TO SECONDARY OWNERS WHO BOUGHT POST-FIRE, INCLUDING THIS ON THE PUBLIC DASHBOARD, PROVIDES AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF TRUE SURVIVOR RECOVERY.

PLEASE ADD A TIMESTAMP SHOWING WHEN DASHBOARD DATA WAS LAST UPDATED SO WE KNOW THAT WE ARE REFERENCING ACCURATE AND TRUE DATA OR TIMELY DATA.

THE NEW REBUILD ORDINANCE UNDER THE COMPREHENSIVE CODE AMENDMENTS NEED TO COVER ALL DISASTER DECLARATIONS, INCLUDING LOCAL AND STATE DECLARATIONS AS WELL.

UH, THE REPORT NOTES OUTREACH COLLABORATION WITH DISTRICT 5 BUT WHY NOT ALSO DISTRICT 3? LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP COLLABORATES WITH AND HAS ACTIVE AND PROSPECT CLIENTS IN BOTH DISTRICTS.

CROSS-COLLABORATION MUST AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDE ALL IMPACTED DISTRICTS, AND THAT EXTENDS TO ALL THE DISTRICTS FOR THE 2023 ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS.

THERE'S STILL NO FORMAL REFERRAL PROCESS FROM THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONS.

LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP HAS COORDINATED DISASTER CASE MANAGEMENT SINCE 2021, AND IS CURRENTLY THE SOLE PROVIDER IN THE COUNTY.

WE NEED AN OPT-IN CHECKBOX TO INTAKE FORMS. UM, VULNERABLE RESIDENTS, ESPECIALLY OLDER ADULTS AND THOSE FACING DIGITAL LITERACY AND LANGUAGE BARRIERS, UH, NEED AD- UH, NEED ADVOCACY, AND THEY NEED HELP, UM, CLARIFYING NEXT STEPS, SCANNING, UPLOADING, AND SUBMITTING DOCUMENTS,

[03:30:01]

AND THEY CAN BENEFIT FROM ACCESS TO REBUILD GRANTS AND VOLUNTEER LABOR.

THEY CANNOT USE RESOURCES IF THEY DON'T KNOW THAT THEY EXIST.

THANK YOU FOR EXTENDING YOUR WORK ON THIS AND FOR HEARING MY COMMENTS TODAY.

- HELLO, MY NAME IS SALLY LUCIER, AND I'VE APPEARED BEFORE THE BOARD BEFORE.

I AM A CZU FIRE VICTIM.

ON AUGUST 20TH, 2020, SIX YEARS AGO, WE LOST FIVE BUILDINGS: A MAIN HOUSE, THREE RENTALS, AND A GARAGE.

WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO PERMITS FOR THE GARAGE AND FOUR- A 486, UH, SQUARE FOOT COTTAGE, AND, UM, IN REVIEW PROCESS RIGHT NOW IS OUR MAIN HOUSE.

MY QUESTIONS ARE REALLY FOR THE OFFICE OF RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND RESISTANCE, AS WELL AS CDI.

MEETING THE CODE, UH, HAS COST A LOT OF MONEY AND A LOT OF TIME.

UM, REBUILDING AFTER THE CZU FIRE HAS REQUIRED US TO INSTALL TWO 5,000 GALLON WATER TANKS, A FIRE HYDRANT, AND THE WATER LINES THAT CONNECT THEM, SO NOT JUST THE MATERIALS, BUT THE LABOR.

UM, WE'VE HAD TO BUILD SPRINKLER SYSTEMS IN OUR HABITABLE BUILDINGS.

UM, THE COST OF THE BUILDING MATERIALS AND THE LABOR, THE PERMITS, THE SPECIAL INSPECTIONS.

UM, ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY GRANT OR SERVICES TO HELP WITH THESE PROJECTS? OUR INSURANCE HAS BEEN FABULOUS, BUT WE ARE ALSO OF BENEFIT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND US, AND, UM, THE DIRECTOR OF, UH, RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND RESISTANCE DISCUSSED THIS.

THERE'S A TREMENDOUS COST, BOTH TO US, BUT FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

IS THERE ANY HELP IN MEETING THESE EXPENSES? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

- SO MY NEIGHBOR AND ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IS SENIOR STAFF AT ROARING CAMP AND HIS HOUSE BURNED DOWN BUT NOT IN THE CZU FIRE.

I WAS SPEAKING TO HIM LAST WEEK, AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY OFFERED HIM $500,000 TO REBUILD HIS HOUSE.

NOW, AS I SHOWED YOU EARLIER TODAY, IN MOST OF THE COUNTRY, $500,000, YOU CAN BUILD A REALLY NICE HOUSE.

HE GOT HIS QUOTES BACK FROM A BUILDER TO REBUILD, AND THEY CAME BACK AT 1.4 AND $1.6 MILLION.

SO I TRIED TO HELP HIM, AND I CAN TELL YOU FROM HERE THAT OUR SEISMIC AND OUR SEPTIC POLICY ARE CRUSHING US FINANCIALLY.

AND SO I SET UP A M- A MEETING TO GO SPEAK WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING.

AND, UH, AS IT TURNS OUT, UM, OUR SOILS ENGINEER RETIRED, UH, IN MAY, AND WE HAVE YET TO HIRE SOMEBODY ELSE TO, TO REPLACE THEM.

AND ALSO OUR, UH, OUR HEAD OF, OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING IS ON MATERNITY LEAVE.

SO I HAVE QUESTIONS I REALLY WANNA TRY TO HELP, AND I HAVE N- NO WAY TO GET ANY SORT OF ANSWERS.

SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD LOOKING AT OUR HOUSING POLICY, I ALWAYS WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT BUILDING NEW UNITS.

WE HAVE TO PUT AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHERE WE CAN MAINTAIN AND REPAIR OUR CURRENT UNITS.

AND I KNOW A LOT OF US LOVE THESE BIG, GIANT BUILDINGS THAT ARE COMING UP, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR HOUSING IS BUILT BY SMALL MOM-AND-POP BUILDERS, AND WE NEED TO PROVIDE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THEY CAN ALSO THRIVE AS WELL.

OTHERWISE, WE'RE GOING BACK IN THE SAME BOAT. THANK YOU.

- GOOD AFTERNOON. BECKY STEINBRUNER.

I LOOK AT THE MOUNTAINS OUT THIS WINDOW AND THINK IF THOSE WERE TO BECOME ON FIRE TOMORROW, WHAT WOULD WE DO DIFFERENTLY KNOWING WHAT WE KNOW NOW? IT'S A POSSIBILITY. WHAT WOULD WE DO DIFFERENTLY? SO EMBRACE THIS AS, UM, MOVING FORWARD.

I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING THAT, UM, S- THERE WERE OTHER- THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT OTHER JURISDICTIONS AND HOW THEY'RE DOING.

THE COUNTY OF SONOMA HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB, AND THE- THIS COUNTY RELIED ON THE SONOMA COUNTY K-CLASS, UM, REGULATIONS

[03:35:01]

IN THE- IN THE VERY EARLY STAGES OF THE CZU FIRE RECOVERY.

IT- IT WAS TOO BAD IT DIDN'T STAY ON ANY LONGER TO GIVE THOSE WHO HAVE, UM, MAYBE UNPERMITTED OR NON-CONFORMING STRUCTURES A HAND.

SO WHAT ARE THEY TO DO? I SAW IN THE, UM, I- I- I'M GLAD THAT THE, UM, THE PROGRAM IS GOING TO BE D- EXTENDED ANOTHER FOUR YEARS, BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO HAD UNPERMITTED STRUCTURES BEFORE? UM, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE WORK THAT THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP HAS DONE, AND I THINK THAT THE COUNTY SHOULD FUND THEM.

I THINK THEY HAVE DONE PHENOMENAL WORK.

THEY ARE IN THE TRENCHES, AND IT WAS HEARTENING TO SEE ON THIS FRONT PAGE OF A SENTINEL RECENTLY, A, A STRUCTURE A HOME REBUILT, MOVED IN, THAT THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP SHEPHERDED.

I WAS PRIVILEGED TO TAKE LUNCH TO THOSE GROUPS A FEW TIMES.

IT WAS MARVELOUS.

THE GRAND JURY REPORTS IN 2023-24 AND 24-25, ADDRESSED A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT YOU'RE BRINGING UP HERE NOW, SO I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT.

I URGE YOU TO, UM, REINSTATE THE BUILDING AND FIRE APPEAL BOARD NOT BEING YOU, BUT ACTUAL REPRESENTATIVES OF THE INDUSTRY.

AND WHAT ARE THE STUMBLING BLOCKS- - THANK YOU.

SEEING NO ONE FURTHER IN THE ROOM, IS THERE ANYONE ON THE PHONE? - YES, CHAIR.

TAYLOR, YOUR MICROPHONE IS NOW AVAILABLE.

- HELLO. YOU GUYS HEAR ME? - YES, WE CAN.

- HI, MY NAME IS TAYLOR COHAN. I'M A LOCAL HERE.

I GREW UP HERE, MY FAMILY LIVES HERE, AND I'M 32 YEARS OLD.

AND AS WE ALL KNOW, THERE'S CURRENTLY A PRETTY ACUTE HOUSING CRISIS HERE THAT DIRECTLY AFFECTS MY GENERATION, AND A LOT OF THE NIMBY SENTIMENTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN A MAJOR OBSTACLE TO BUILDING SUFFICIENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE COUNTY.

I KNOW THERE'S- THERE HAS BEEN STEPS TO DEVELOP THE RENTAL HOUSING WHEN IT COMES TO THE APARTMENTS AND THE HIGH-RISES IN CERTAIN PARTS OF TOWN, BUT THAT IS JUST ONE PART OF IT.

AND, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE OTHER PART IS A LACK OF HOUSING INVENTORY ACROSS THE WHOLE COUNTY, HAS MADE IT NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO BUY OR AFFORD STARTER HOMES AND RENT FOR PEOPLE MY GENERATION.

SO, I WANTED TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF WHAT MONDO WAS SAYING, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, ON THE TOPIC THAT- THAT OFFICIALS WERE DISCUSSING EARLIER WITH STREAMLINING THE ADU APPROVAL PROCESS BEING REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW.

AND, YOU KNOW, OPENING UP, UM, THE OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO BUILD THOSE FASTER, TO BE ABLE TO RENT THOSE OUT EASIER, AND TO BE ABLE TO EVEN SELL THEM POSSIBLY, UM, AS CONDOS IS STUFF THAT COULD BENEFIT, UH, EVERYONE IN THE COUNTY.

UH, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO WANNA LIVE HERE, WHO GREW UP HERE, AND WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THAT, WHO SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THAT.

AND THERE'S ROOM FOR NUANCE HERE.

UM, YOU KNOW, UH, THE COUNTY OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THESE PERMITS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN PUT MORE RESOURCES INTO IT, AND IF THERE'S SOMETHING IRRESPONSIBLE OR DANGEROUS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S- IT'S THOSE OFFICIALS' JOB TO MANAGE THAT.

AND, YOU KNOW, THAT SHOULDN'T BE A REASON THAT WE DON'T ALLOW MUCH-NEEDED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT BY LOCAL RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY OWNERS WITH SPACE AND MEANS AND DESIRE TO BUILD MORE HOUSING FOR THEM TO RENT OR, AND/OR SELL. THANKS.

- I SEE NO FURTHER SPEAKERS ONLINE, CHAIR.

I'LL NOW RETURN TO THE BOARD FOR DISCUSSION AND A MOTION.

SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- YEAH. FIRST I'D LIKE TO, UH, THANK STAFF FOR THEIR WORK ON THIS AND FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY.

UM, I THINK WE'VE ALL BEEN TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO RECONNECT WITH, IN PARTICULAR, FOR THE CZU FIRE VICTIMS. UM, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROCESS IS SMOOTH.

ALTHOUGH WE KNOW WITH THE CHANGES TO STATE LAW AND PEOPLE WHO ARE UNINSURED AND NOT REALIZING THAT AT THE TIME THERE'S A BUNCH OF OBSTACLES THAT MAKE REBUILDING CHALLENGING.

BUT I DO JUST WANNA COMMEND STAFF ON THEIR EFFORT TO TRYING TO MAKE THIS A SMOOTH PROCESS, AND REALLY WANNA THANK THE, UH, LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP, UM, AND DISTRICT 5 FOR THEIR OUTREACH.

UM, BUT I WILL SAY WITH THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP, OUR OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THEM, AND IT TOOK A WHILE FOR US TO GET SOME INFORMATION OUT OF CDI SO, SO WE COULD GET CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP.

BUT THEY HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY WORKING TO TRY TO CONTACT FOLKS

[03:40:03]

WHO'VE NOT REBUILT OR ARE IN THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING.

AND SO, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ONGOING WORK AND, AND COMMITMENT TO HELPING PEOPLE RECOVER AFTER DISASTERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.

UM, I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY OTHER, UM, COMMENTS.

I JUST WANNA, YOU KNOW, MY- MY HOPE IS WE CAN CONTINUE TO, YOU KNOW, UM, HELP PEOPLE REBUILD, UM, WHO HAVE BEEN IMPACTED AND, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE VIGILANT MOVING FORWARD THIS WINTER.

UM, IT'S PRETTY UNKNOWN WHAT IMPACTS WE'RE GONNA BE FACED WITH BUT THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A SUPER EL NIÑO THAT SCIENTISTS ARE PREDICTING IS GONNA BE PRETTY INTENSE, AND THOSE PREDICTIONS HAVE NOT WAVERED, UM, WE COULD BE SEEING A LOT OF MOISTURE HERE COMING THIS WINTER, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF LANDSLIDES AND TREES COMING DOWN, WE KNOW THAT THERE LIKELY WILL BE SOME IMPACTS.

AND SO MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER.

I KNOW THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP WILL BE INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING US TO, UM, SUPPORT OUR RESIDENTS, BUT I KNOW THAT CDI WILL ALSO BE VERY INTEGRAL IN TERMS OF US BEING ABLE TO, UM, MITIGATE SOME OF THOSE IMPACTS AND HOPEFULLY THEY'RE MINIMAL BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, UM, FEMA IS NOT RELIABLE THESE DAYS.

SO, UM, MY- MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN ALL DO OUR BEST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, UH, MITIGATE THOSE IMPACTS.

SO, UM, I'LL MOVE THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.

UM, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD TO IT. SO...

- WE HAVE A MOTION FROM SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- A SECOND FROM SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

I'LL ADD A FEW COMMENTS.

UM, I WANT TO START OFF BY THANK YOU, THANKING THE PRESENTERS FOR ACKNOWLEDGING THE SIX-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE CZU FIRE.

UM, IT'S, UH, IT'S A BIG MILESTONE AND ANNIVERSARY THAT HAPPENS IN OUR COMMUNITY ANNUALLY, AND JUST, UM, APPRECIATE THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, UM, AND MY HEART GOES OUT TO EVERYONE WHO STILL CONTINUES TO RECOVER FROM THAT EXPERIENCE.

UM, I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE CEO'S OFFICE AND CDI FOR REALLY YOUR ONGOING COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING THE REBUILD PROCESS, UM, BOTH FOR PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR HOMES AND ALSO FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE PURCHASED THE PROPERTIES.

BECAUSE ANY OF THE STREAMLINING WORK THAT WE DO DOES IMPACT EVERYBODY, AND SO I APPRECIATE THOSE EFFORTS.

UM, AS WAS STATED, MY OFFICE DID HELP TO WORK WITH YOU TO SEND LETTERS OUT TO FOLKS WHO HADN'T CONTACTED OUR OFFICE BUT DID LOSE THEIR HOME.

UM, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY THAT WE DID SEND THOSE TO ALL FIRE VICTIMS ACROSS THE COUNTY, NOT JUST DISTRICT 5.

SO, UM, RESIDENTS IN DISTRICT 3 ALSO RECEIVED THAT OUTREACH.

AND, UM, AND MY HOPE IS THAT MORE PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO CONTACT US.

UM, THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS WHY PEOPLE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO REBUILD.

UM, COST, NAMELY IS- IS ONE OF THOSE OR, YOU KNOW, CHANGES IN FINANCIAL OR PERSONAL SITUATIONS.

BUT IT'S EVEN HELPFUL FOR US TO KNOW THAT, BECAUSE IF THERE ARE GRANTS OR OPPORTUNITIES OR FUNDING OR NONPROFIT SUPPORT THAT'S AVAILABLE, WE CAN CONNECT THOSE- THAT INFORMATION TO YOU IF YOU GET IN CONTACT WITH US.

SO, IF YOU RECEIVED A LETTER AND YOU'RE STILL- YOU STILL HAVEN'T WALKED THROUGH OUR DOOR, PLEASE, PLEASE DO.

WE- WE WANNA KNOW WHERE YOU'RE AT AND WHAT YOUR STATUS IS.

AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THIS ITEM DEMONSTRATES IS A ONGOING COMMITMENT AND AN ONGOING CONVERSATION OF HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE.

SO, THE EXTENSION OF THE REBUILD DIRECTIVE FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEARS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE COUNTY TRYING TO BE FLEXIBLE AND MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE SO THAT OUR, OUR PROCESSES AREN'T THE ROADBLOCK OR BARRIERS FOR REBUILDING.

UM, I ALSO APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS FROM THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP OF OTHER THINGS THAT WE COULD BE DOING TO IMPROVE, AND, UM, TWO MINUTES WASN'T ENOUGH TO GET ALL OF THAT FROM YOU SO LET'S MEET AND, AND TALK ABOUT WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO, AND HAPPY TO MEET WITH STAFF AS WELL TO IMPLEMENT THOSE, UM, THOSE IDEAS BECAUSE YOUR WORK AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR RESIDENTS HAS BEEN TRULY VITAL TO OUR RECOVERY AND OUR RESILIENCE.

UM, NOT JUST FROM CZU, BUT ALSO THE WINTER STORMS AND FUTURE DISASTERS AS WELL.

SO THAT CONCLUDES MY COMMENTS.

UM, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

ARE THERE FURTHER POINTS OF DISCUSSION? - I- I'LL JUST SAY, UM, I'M VERY PLEASED, UM, TO SEE THE REPORT TODAY, AND I THINK WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK, AND, UH, KEEP UP WITH THE GOOD WORK, EVERYONE.

UM, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT THE STATE HAS HANDED TO US THAT ARE MA- MAKE REBUILDING VERY DIFFICULT NAMELY A SEPTIC, NEW SEPTIC SYSTEMS, ET CETERA.

BUT, UM, UNTIL WE CAN COME UP WITH A FIX FOR THAT, UH, JUST THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT EASIER FOR EVERYBODY.

[03:45:03]

- ALL RIGHT. SEEING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, MADAM CLERK, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? - SUPERVISOR DE SERPA? - AYE.