City Council — January 20, 2026

I would like to note, thank you pastor very much for the invocation tonight. I would like to note that the interpreter for this evening is Karen Ramos. Please raise your hand Karen. And you can ask her for a listening device if you would like interpretation services. I'd like to call this meeting to order for the City Council meeting of January 20, 2026. Madam Clerk can you please call the roll?

It's hard to say 2026 already, but happy new year everyone. Thank you for being here. We will now be presenting proclamations and the proclamation proclaiming January 18th through January 24th, 2026 respect for life week presented by council member Flores.

Thank you madam mayor. Is Mr

Lindgren here? There he is okay. Now make sure you're here before we give it to you okay thank

It says, whereas for over 37 years the Central Coast citizens for family and life have been celebrating respect for life week in Santa Maria. And whereas it's imperative that the residents of the community defend human life at all ages and conditions of dependency and protect the disabled, the handicapped and those defense lifts in every way. And whereas the year's Life Walk 2026 is scheduled for Sunday, June 28th at 2 p.m., and the City Hall parking lot and Respect for Life Week is being celebrated January 18 through January 24th. Whereas respect for life is a vital issue that invites full public awareness now therefore I, Alice M. Patino Mayor of the city of Santa Maria Hereby recognize the week of January 18th through January 24, 2026 as Respect for Life Week in the City of Santa Maria and encourage full awareness of this issue.

And accepting the award is John Lundgren.

Always an honor, always a privilege. Mayor Patino, council members. Grateful and thankful to accept this proclamation on behalf of those who value life from womb to the tomb. Thank you. As you may know for over 35 years we have received this honor and do so humbly and with great amount of respect and gratitude to the past and present council members here in Santa Maria.

We believe that life starts at conception and should be treasured as the most precious of national resources. There is not a time during the gestational period that the life that God initiated from a fertilized egg to a mature baby is any less of a precious life due to the mother's or father's circumstance. How we got to deeming life as expendable is frankly offensive.

That word expendable can be characterized as this, of little significance when compared to an overall purpose and therefore able to be abandoned. The value of life is immeasurable and cannot be discounted as an option of purposes of convenience or selective reasoning. We stand firmly entrenched in this tug-of-war over the value of innocent life, both of that in the womb and also dealing with the end of life decision making.

Our creator values life as a gift that is formed by his hand and a blessing that reaches from generation to generation. As we ponder the life and death issues of the day, let us remember that the only difference between a baby in the womb and a baby outside the womb is location. Unfortunately that hasn't stopped some who are pushing more and more to be able to end a baby's life in the incubator.

The thought should horrify us all, so we stand for life and are unashamed to proclaim it. We also stand with the mothers and fathers who are unprepared to bring a new life because of their circumstances. We do offer help for those who choose life. We also offer help for those that don't. We realize the tough situation they are in and don't turn our backs on those who are hurt because of it. We have programs for both sides of the spectrum, and that is a fact.

And at this time, I would like to present each member of the council a token of our appreciation for respecting life. These are bookmarks that say Pray To End Abortion and I would like to give each of the council members one of these. Thank you and may God bless you.

Thank you Mr. Lindgren. The next is a proclamation proclaiming January 2026 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month and Councilmember Escobedo will be making that presentation.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. It's an honor but also it's bittersweet because of the topic taboo, that we don't talk about it but it's up there. That is human trafficking even in our next door. Whereas human trafficking is a form of mother slavery that occurs in every state including California wherein victims are forced to work in various forms of labor exploitation included but not limited to commercial sex packs and other services that are indulged through force, fraud or coercion. And whereas due to its isolated and discrete nature many individuals across the globe are unaware that trafficking exists in their communities it is estimated that more than 28 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking.

Human trafficking victims face A cruelty that has no place in a civilized world. It is a crime that takes many forms and one that tears at our social fabric. The bases are coming to humanity and violates what we stand for as a country. And whereas increased education about how to identify human trafficking, along with increased knowledge of in-state resources and services for those affected by criminal exploitation can help decrease the number of future victims.

The Santa Barbara County Human Trafficking Task Force is committed to using all applicable laws and resources for investigating human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in it. And whereas the Santa Barbara County Human Trafficking Task Force has worked diligently to bring awareness to the fact that human trafficking occurs closer to home than one might think, California ranks number one in the country for reporter human trafficking cases, and that Santa Barbara County is home of hundreds of survivors of human trafficking and exploitation.

Human Trafficking Awareness Month is an opportunity to recognize the critical role all Santa Barbara County residents play in preventing reporting and adjudicating these heinous crimes. Now therefore, Alice Empatino, Mayor of the City of Santa Maria hereby proclaims the month of January 2026 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in the city of Santa Maria and I call this observance to the attention to all residents.

And here to receive this proclamation, we have Anne McCarty on behalf of the Santa Barbara County Human Trafficking Task Force under the auspices of the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

Good evening, Mayor Patino and members of the City Council. My name is Anne McCarty and I'm the Executive Director of the North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center. And with me here tonight is one of our agency's community outreach advocates Joyce Howerton sitting right here right behind me. Tonight however, I do stand before you as a part of something larger As a proud member of the Santa Barbara County Human Trafficking Task Force, our task force is united.

We are a united front of professionals who refuse to look away. We bring together the District Attorney's Office, every law enforcement agency in this county, Homeland Security and committed community-based organizations all working side by side with one shared purpose to stop human trafficking and to hold accountable those who prey on vulnerability for profit.

Over the past decade we have made meaningful progress but let me be clear Human trafficking is not a distant problem and it's not somebody else's issue. It is happening in our county, it is happening in communities like Santa Maria and it thrives in silence. That is why this proclamation matters. By recognizing January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month, you're doing more than issuing words on a piece of paper.

You're shining a light where traffickers depend on darkness. You're sending a clear message that this city is watching, that this city cares and that there will be no safe haven here for those who exploit to harm others. This proclamation also tells survivors that they are seen, that their suffering matters and that this community stands ready to protect, educate and intervene.

It affirms that Santa Maria is committed to being a place of safety, accountability and action. So on behalf of the entire Santa Barbara County Human Trafficking Task Force thank you for your leadership, your courage and your commitment to safeguarding the people of this community. Together we will work until exploitation has no place here. Thank you.

And I want to thank you, Ann, for so much that you do in the community on this. Unless people have been exposed to it and have seen the tragedy that happens, and I know that at one time Backpage was very prevalent in all the communities, and it's really sad when people can go online And the pictures of these girls that you would see were prepubescent girls.

And it's really sad and thank you so much for the work you do. You don't get enough accolades, and I know you're doing a lot of work out there and it's so quiet. And like I said, it's hidden from a lot of people. A lot of people don't, they say, I heard someone say Santa Maria is the hub. Well 101 is that corridor and you have I-5 and 99 also as corridors in California but I really want to thank you for all the hard work you do. It's very much appreciated. Thank you so much. And thank you Ms. Howerton for the work you do also because you've saved her a long time.

Mr. Escobedo?

Am I going to be fine by saying this, but there's an upcoming human trafficking on the Central Coast event this Thursday from 11 to 3 p.m., at the San Maria Country Club. So if you guys would like to know more about how to identify what to do when you come across somebody who might Going through the human trafficking, it's highly recommended. We're gonna have all different sort of great experts and even people that survive that so check it out on humantrafficking.com

And I want to thank Anne, because I've known Anne for years. Because I used to work on North County Rape Crisis. She was my boss. And so I do agree because I was there in the trenches with the ladies at North County Rape Crisis and it's true they don't get enough accolades. They don't get enough recognition and I just want to know that you're very valued and your service to this community really is priceless. The work that you do for all these young women is so important. So thank you so much.

Thank you.

The next item on the agenda is a presentation recognizing the 2025 light sites and holiday nights award winners, and the presentation will be given by Dennis Smitherman interim director of Recreation and Parks.

Good evening Madam Mayor, Council Members. I'm happy to share with you the winners tonight of the Light Sights Holiday Nights Award. This is brought to you by the Recreation and Parks Department, the Recreation and Parks Commission and the People for Leisure and Youth also known as Play Inc. We're happy to announce that this is our 30th year with this contest so it's quite exciting for the anniversary.

The Longstanding Community Program celebrates creativity, pride and holiday spirit throughout the city between our residents and businesses each year. Neighborhoods come alive with these great displays that bring people together and create memorable experiences for visitors and residents alike. There's new community entries this year and, of course, returning participants. They competed in five award categories and the official judging was conducted by the Recreation and Parks Commission.

The level and creativity was even bigger for this 30th year. To capture the spirit of this year's contest and showcase the winning present awards and displays, we'd like to share a short highlight video made possible by Joe Payne and the crew from the city manager's office.

♪

♪ Thank you again Joe and group for putting that together. At this time I'd like to invite up the chair of our Recreation and Parks Commission Rebecca Carey and our Interim Recreation Services Manager Rudy Gutierrez to present certificates to our winners. For best use of lights, it's the Harrell family on Sequoia Drive. I believe the Streep family is here for Best Lawn Display on Linda Drive.

Thank you. I don't show anyone else in attendance, but to quickly go through these. The best holiday theme again was the Garcia family. The best window display was business owner Angle and Gray on Betteravia Road and best overall display was the Yancey family on Cavern Avenue. We have a list of honorable mentions as well as our returning Recipients for the Hall of Fame, and those are the recipients that have been recognized year after year for continuing to hang those displays. I'm really glad they didn't have to suffer in the cold this year. Really quick Michael B. Clinton Attorney-at-Law, Milena family, Bernard family, Donales family, Mariscal family and the Dickerson family are on our Hall of Fame every year they're out there for hours, days even putting up their displays for everybody to enjoy.

So on behalf of the City of Santa Maria Rec and Parks Department, the Recreation Parks Commission and Play Inc., thank you to everyone who participated in this year's Light Sights Holiday Nights program. Your creativity and commitment continue to make Santa Maria a brighter and more welcoming place during the holiday season. Congratulations again to all of our winners. And Mayor and Council Members, thank you for letting us present this to you this evening.

And thank you to all these families and everyone else who put up lights because children love to see it, especially if they're in their neighborhood. They can walk around and see them and it just adds to the holiday season and the joy so thank you all in Santa Maria that did this. Next we will receive a presentation recognizing the winter 2026 class of hometown heroes. This presentation will be given by Dennis Smitherman interim director of recreation and parks

Good evening again, Madam Mayor, Council Members, honored guests, families and members of our community. Tonight we're gathering to recognize the service sacrifice and deep commitment to others through the City of Santa Maria's Hometown Hero Program. The Hometown Heroes program was created in 2016 to honor Santa Maria residents who serve or have served in the United States military. Through this program, we honor individuals who are active duty, retired or honorably discharged Since its inception, we have more than 200 hometown heroes that we've celebrated.

Each representing courage, resilience and service beyond self. Tonight, we proudly honor six of Santa Maria's finest in recognition of their service each honoree will receive a certificate of appreciation and a commemorative banner bearing their name and image which is now currently hanging on College Drive where it'll remain for the next six months. At this time, I'd like to invite the mayor to join us to present the certificates which are also being provided by Interim Recreation Services Manager Rudy Gutierrez.

Please. Our first honoree, Henry Masatoni who was in the Army and nominated by a friend Mike Rosas Mike has been an active partner and was scheduled to be here tonight, so sorry about that. We'll make sure that all honorees that are not here get their certificates. Next up we have US Army Veteran Jasper Denn. Oh thank you. Next up is from the Coast Guard, Rebecca Jean May. This is Rebecca's mom. Thank you.

Serving in the United States Navy, Gregory Hirakawa. Next up we have Lauren Guy Payne, serving in the Navy. Nominated by Mother Natalie Guy.

Thank you, thank you.

And serving in the United States Navy, Vincent Deperini. Thank you, Madam Mayor and Rudy. To our honorees your service has left a lasting impression on Santa Maria to your families and loved ones thank you for making that possible. And to our community may these banners remind us every day as we drive by them that this heroism often lives right next door. Congratulations to our 2025-2026 winter class of hometown heroes and thank you for your service.

It seems like just saying thank you isn't enough for all the things that men and women did to protect our country, not just them but their families. So we appreciate that so much. We will now move on to the public comment portion of the agenda. Madam Clerk, could you please read the criteria?

Yes. Speakers may provide public comments on any matter within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council. Each speaker will be limited to three minutes, maximum 15 minutes for a public comment period. Unless majority of the council objects, the mayor may provide speakers more or less time to speak. All comments or queries shall be addressed to the council as a body and not to any specific member thereof. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54942A2, the Ralph M. Brown Act, no action or discussion by the City Council shall be undertaken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda except to briefly provide information, ask for clarification, provide direction to staff, or schedule a matter for future meeting." And I just want to note that tonight our visual display of the timer that we usually put up on the screens is not available tonight but they will still be timed and they'll hear

Thank you Madam Clerk. Okay, John Roehner followed by Sarah McDonald followed by Sue Heisman. Good evening.

Good evening Honorable Mayor. Council members, city staff and all others in attendance. Good evening. My name is John Roehner and I wanted to introduce myself as the new public affairs manager for SoCal Gas. I cover San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County. I like to say my coverage territory is Hearst Castle to Carpinteria. It's a great coverage territory. I'd say the best.

And I took on this role recently after Tim Mahoney retired. Everybody shakes their head. He was in the role for about 27 years, so really big shoes to fill and so that's why I'm here to introduce myself and I wanted to reiterate that SoCal Gas remains committed to supporting local governments and communities to provide safe reliable and affordable energy delivery today ready for tomorrow.

And please don't hesitate to reach out and I look forward to working together in the future. Thank you

Does this mean you're going to have the same color of hair as Mr. Mahoney once you start working?

I think it's already starting, so... Okay.

Thank you very much for introducing yourself. Sarah McDonald followed by Sue Heitzman followed by Cliff Solomon. Good evening Ms. McDonald.

Good evening. It's nice to be back and Speaking, I'm going to do something a little different. I'm going to remind us on the land of which we set our feet. It's a land acknowledgement of the Chumash. Before we begin today, we feel it's appropriate to acknowledge that our event is being held on the land of the first people of our area, the Chumash people. The Chumash have occupied this land since time immemorial.

Their connection to the land is deeply rooted, from the native plants to the sacredness of the mountains to the ocean. Historically, Chumash lands stretched as far north as Paso Robles, as far south as Malibu, As far inland as the San Joaquin Valley and included in the beautiful areas such as the location of today's proceedings. And I want to acknowledge this, that we need to respect our indigenous people and all people that reside in this community. Thank you.

Thank you.

Sue Heitzman followed by Cliff Solomon followed by Danny Mogg.

Thank you. I'm Sue Heitman and I'm a resident here in Santa Maria and my husband and I were former farmers, and in fact we raised a number of crops and one of them was award-winning olives for olive oil along with my sister back there and her family. And since then, we're very concerned about the issues that relate to our farm worker population. So I just want to talk about some facts from a farmer perspective.

One is that 70% of United States farm workers are not native born. 40% are illegal and most of those that are illegal have tried to get citizenship. 70% of the crops that we grow here are worker-intensive, meaning that they're not mechanized. So we need large work populations. For example one of the farm managers told me that for the average strawberries that they're growing takes 300 people, farm workers to put in the new crop And now he's only getting 70% of those workers, which is down to 80 people putting in that crop. And what that means for us is people are disappearing. It means the economy will disappear eventually if this continues.

70% of our economy is reflected in the $2 billion in San Barbara County's farm agriculture. That goes to taxes in Santa Maria, it goes to revenue for all our restaurants that people pay for their grocery stores etc. You notice I'm saying 70%. I'm kind of stuck on that. So 70% of our community, of our farm workers here are living in Santa Maria. 70%. And 70% of Santa Maria is Hispanic and even if they're not a farm worker they're being Targeted in our community.

So I guess what I was concerned about is it feels like a disappointment that 70% of the City Council do not see this as the number one issue for us right now. So I thought at first it might be because you didn't have knowledge of what was happening. But I feel like with the media, especially national and local media, that's probably not true. Our local media been very good at coming out to the protest including in the rain.

So I'm instead thinking it might be fear. There's a lot of fear in this community about retaliation but I think we have a remedy for that fear and let me tell you a quick story. So there are millions of people working on this issue all across the United States. And in California and in Santa Maria, there are at least 12 organizations that see this as the major issue for Santa Maria.

Quickly, we would like, we see that this is the community that has your back all here waiting to speak. We want you to have our back and look at immigration policy for Santa Maria. Look at creating that task force that you put on hold for so long and help us get ICE out of 805. Thank you.

Cliff Solomon followed by Danny Mogg, followed by Pam Gates.

Good evening Mayor Patino and City Council members. My name is Cliff Solomon and I'm here as a member of Indivisible Santa Maria and as a member of the community to express my frustration with the ongoing delay in establishing an ad hoc immigration committee so that we can begin addressing immigration issues in Santa Maria I have heard comments that the City Council is powerless to handle this issue. I also understand that the city of Santa Maria has a significant financial deficit, however, I must point out that other cities are taking action and acknowledging the serious need.

Here's some examples. Carpinteria has dedicated funds to non-profits providing emergency assistance. Goleta has allocated dollars in response to immigration enhancement. The city of Santa Barbara is providing money for immigration support services. Oxnard is contributing funds over three years to the Ventura County Public Defender's Office. Santa Paula has allocated money from the Ventura County Community Foundations Neighborhood Support Fund, Thousand Oaks has allocated dollars from the Ventura County Community Foundation Neighbor Support Fund Ventura has dedicated money through the VCCF's Neighborhood Support Fund, and Camarillo has donated to FoodShare at Ventura County.

Additionally, Santa Barbara County has made a large sum of money available for immigration support services. And while you failed to take action as of last Saturday, 1,475 individuals have been kidnapped by ICE in the tri-counties. I urge you to take action. Establishing the Immigration Ad Hoc Committee is a necessary first step. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Sullivan. Danny Mogg followed by Pam Gates followed by Gail McNeely.

Good evening Madam Mayor, Council Members and distinguished public servants. My name is Danny Maude and I'm on the leadership team with Santa Maria Indivisible. I am also a proud resident of Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County here. I am here today to strongly urge this council to formally create an immigration ad hoc committee, to address our community's concerns over the increasing ICE activity within Santa Maria.

As of today, over 1400 people have been kidnapped in our region with 33% of those kidnappings happening here in the City of Santa Maria. We ask the Council to acknowledge the number of arrests made by ICE in Santa Maria and ask for that number to be reflected as a matter of public record. Additionally we also ask that the city request information from Immigration Customs Enforcement after any arrest made within the city limits.

It is imperative that our city officials acknowledge the concerns surrounding immigration and take a firm stance against racist and unconstitutional arrests that are happening within our city limits. Please consider publicly supporting state resolutions like the No Vigilantes Act, the No Secret Police Act that protect our undocumented community in Santa Maria and begin restoring trust among city officials and community members. I would like to thank the councilmembers who voted yay on a request for an after action report regarding the events taking place last November on Telephone Road.

For those who voted no, I am very interested in your rationale for that vote. We are all quite aware that we're currently dealing with a budget deficit here in Santa Maria that is in the neighborhood of $25 million. And now, by virtue of the indiscriminate and unconstitutionalized raids in our city we have a shrinking tax base. My question to the council is how is your tacit support for these policies in any way fiscally responsible?

It is clear that we're dealing with a mentally unstable chief executive in the White House, and the winds of change are blowing fiercely across this country. They blow right through our city and state. The only question for our elected officials is on which side of history will you stand? The citizens of our beautiful city are watching closely. Thank you. Thank

you

Mr.

President. Pam Gates followed by Gail McNeely.

Good evening Mayor Patino. Thank you, Mayor. I am Pam Gates. I am also here with Indivisible Santa Maria and good evening to you all. One year ago today the current president was inaugurated and the wave of terror increased for people of color On February 1st, it will be one year since you Mayor Patino released the city's statement addressing immigration enforcement.

Saying that among other comments we know the immigration in enforcement is a sensitive issue and we've heard concerns from residents community groups and nonprofits about federal immigration enforcement While as you said, the city cannot quote lawfully restrict federal agents unquote. The council should not sit silent while the community is victimized daily.

I'm going to repeat some of those numbers that we do want in the public record. As of yesterday, 1,475 confirmed illegal kidnappings of citizens and non-citizens have occurred in the Tri-Counties. 373 of those in Santa Maria. Since January 1st we have already had 75 confirmed kidnappings. It's escalating and we know the numbers are much higher Last fall, Council Member Soto asked the council to form an ad hoc committee to better understand what the city could legally do to protect its families.

And nothing has happened and it continues to stall. We understand that potentially this will become an agenda item in February, but no date has been released yet. We ask that you set the date quickly and that you explore options and involve those most impacted by these activities and the organizations that serve them. The time is now for the City Council and all city officials to acknowledge the community's concerns surrounding immigration, and to take a firm stance against the arrests happening every day in the city limits.

You started with a proclamation to respect life, that's all we're asking. Please respect the life of all the citizens and protect them. Thank you.

Good evening, City Council. I'm Gail McNeely. I am an Irishman from Cleveland, Ohio. All of my ancestors came to America without papers. They were called WAPs. So this is not new to the United States of America. Our immigration system is broken. We know that. We know that the people who come here are looking for a better life just like our ancestors did. We know that they're not criminals, by and large. Criminality is not part of them. Statistics show that immigrants do less crime than non-immigrants in the United States.

The minister came up and said that our job, your job, our city's job is to protect the most vulnerable among us. Who is more vulnerable than the mothers and fathers that are being swept up off the street, often violently before our eyes? Why is there no protection given by this city to the people who live here? Thousands and thousands of people, who live among us and work with us and for us. They're our neighbors. And why do the people on this City Council not think it is so important to sit down and say what can we do to help?

The minister said it is our job to protect the most vulnerable I say to all of you as human beings, this is your job above any other job you're doing. The budget is not as important as the people. So Gloria Soto thank you very much for your motion. Have the courage City Council to do the right thing. You know what the right thing is. Protect the vulnerable among us.

They are our neighbors. Thank you.

Michelle, I'm probably going to ruin your name. Is it Ambriz? Ambriz, okay. Followed by Adam Pacheco followed by Lisa Thornhill.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Michelle Ambrise and I am a policy advocate for CAUSE and a volunteer for the 805 Rapid Response Network here in Santa Maria. I am here tonight to urge this council to establish an immigration ad hoc committee to address our community's concerns on the increasing ICE activity within Santa Maria. As of today, like you've heard there have been 1,475 kidnappings within our region with 373 of those happening here in Santa Maria.

Over the holidays alone while folks were thinking about what they were going to eat, what presents to hand out to their families over 90 people were taken within our very own community And this happened, these raids happened predominantly in Latino low income neighborhoods where they discriminately profiled brown people as their targets. This issue continues to escalate and it is extremely disappointing to see that the majority of our city council with the exception of Gloria Soto refused to acknowledge that this is impacting the constituents that they oversee under the guise that quote ICE has always been here This has always happened as Mayor Patino, you said in that meeting in November.

Well, just because it has always happened doesn't mean our response has to be the same. How much more loss does our community need to face until you take action? Does it take for one of your community members to die under the untrained hands of these agents for you to finally care? That's how serious this issue is and that's how serious it has been. Our community will continue to attend these meetings and continue to speak out against these injustices until you decide to take action.

I stand with the undocumented community of Santa Maria and ask that our council take a stance as well. Please consider establishing the immigration ad hoc committee that we've been asking for to discuss potential local resolutions that protect our immigrant community, as well as reflect the number of arrests that have happened within city limits as a matter of public record and also requesting information from Immigration Customs Enforcement after any arrest made within Santa Maria. We urge this council to take a strong and principled stand as neighboring cities like Guadalupe, Carpinteria and Goleta have already done. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just a quick clarification. I see we received some correspondence and there's two numbers going around. It's one it's 1475 and the other is 1430 from another and then there's one that in this I believe yeah this is from you. Nearly 400 arrests happened in Santa Maria. Meantime, another said that it's 100 and some other speakers is 144 people just wanted clarification regarding where these numbers are coming from and yeah just

Yeah, the numbers are coming from our local rapid response from 805 and DocuFund. And Tri-County it's 1,475 confirmed kidnappings within the Santa Maria or city limits alone it's 373. Okay

thank

you. Adam Pacheco followed by Lisa Thornhill followed by Jeannie Sparks

And I will, Adam Pacheco isn't able to be here. Is it okay if I read out their comment? Go ahead. Okay. My name is Adam. I am a youth with Tecio FLA Youth Impact and an intern at the immigration law firm here in Santa Maria. I am unable to attend this meeting physically due to personal reasons not because I'm scared due to confronting a certain member in the parking lot last time.

The community that voted for you to be in those seats as hurt and confused Why aren't our council members supporting or helping the community that is majorly Hispanic-based? If you search up what Santa Maria is known for, agriculture will come up. And the immigrants from our community are the majority of the workers. They contribute to our town and their children attend our local schools. At next election when they are of age to vote, they will think who didn't support me or my parents? I beg you from my heart to our roots please work with us, please hear us we will not give up.

Thank you.

Lisa Thornhill followed by Jeannie Sparks followed by Fernando Martinez

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members. I want to make one notice. I was here in November and there was a much larger Hispanic attendance. And I've noticed this around our city in many events. The Martin Luther King event that happened on Sunday Fewer people are showing up out of fear of being taken and deported. So I just wanted to bring that to your attention.

I am Lisa Thornhill, I am a co-president for the Santa Maria League of Women Voters, North Santa Barbara County. And I have been a resident in Santa Maria for over 60 years. I have grown up with the symbiotic relationship with our friends from Mexico. They are an integral part of our community and I have been a member of the League of Women Voters for over 20 years.

We have partnered often with our immigrant community. I want to read some statements through the National League of Women Voters. As ICE ramps up action in communities across the county, the league stands firmly in solidarity with impacted communities. For due process as a nonpartisan pro-democracy organization, the league is deeply alarmed by the ongoing ICE detentions which too often fly in the face of due process and other fundamental rights.

These actions undermine the democratic values of fairness, equal treatment under the law and government transparency and accountability. The League supports due process for all persons including the right to a fair hearing, right to counsel, right of appeal and a right to humane treatment. Immigrants are part of the fabric of our communities. They make our country strong.

Immigrants are your neighbors, coworkers and fellow community members. All immigrants in our country deserve due process and fair treatment. The League does not support deporting undocumented immigrants who have no history of major and or violent criminal activity. The League of Women Voters, North Santa Barbara County supports the creation of an immigration ad hoc committee and we feel it must be done in order to support and keep safe our immigration community.

Together we stand and divided we fall. Thank you.

Jeannie Sparks followed by Fernando Martinez, followed by Gary Hall.

Good evening Councilmembers. I'm Jeannie Sparks, Co-Executive Director of Santa Barbara County Action Network which represents community members in Santa Maria and countywide. Renee Goode was recently killed by an ICE agent in Minnesota. She was a peaceful protester who was trying to drive away in her car You could tell from the way her wheels were turned that she was not trying to hit the ICE agent, but he shot her anyway.

Four times through the side of her windshield and also through the side window. ICE is out of control. They use excessive force throwing people to the ground and pinning them down with their bodies. They arrest people without warrants including citizens. They violate their own rules of conduct. More than 30 people have died or more than 30 people died in ICE custody last year, a much greater number than in previous years.

We can't let them do to our community what they have done elsewhere. SBCAN stands with undocumented residents that live in fear from ice activity in Santa Maria. We urge you to establish an immigration ad hoc committee to protect our immigrant community as requested by Councilwoman Gloria Soto. We request information from ICE, that you get information from ICE after any arrests are made within Santa Maria City limits and to make that number of arrests public. We urge you to support state legislation like the No Vigilantes Act and Secret Police Act We ask you to direct your police department to intervene when ICE uses excessive force or performs illegal actions.

We ask you to direct your police department to protect community members' right to protest peacefully. Families live in fear that their loved ones will be taken away. Children suffer from anxiety that affects their stability and academic performance, and workers are racially targeted even though they contribute to our local community and our local economy. We urge you to end this suffering. We urge you to protect and support your undocumented residents as neighboring cities like Guadalupe, Lompoc, Goleta, and Carpinteria have done. Thank you for your consideration and your service.

Fernando Martinez followed by Gary Hall.

My name is Fernando Martinez. I'm a community organizing manager with MICOP and also member of the 805 Immigrant Coalition. I do want to be thankful and say thank you to our fellow community members, neighbors who are taking the bold action to state what's happening. This is nothing new As many of you are aware, more than 90 people were illegally arrested just after Christmas.

Many parents left their children behind. In one specific case a gentleman managed to call me when he was already in Mexico three days after he was arrested saying my record is slate clean I had no driving ticket, no speeding ticket whatsoever. I have been living in Santa Maria for over 20 years Fortunately, his wife was able to stay while she begged that her baby was going to be left alone.

This is just one of the many cases that we have heard of yet our local elected officials have yet to say anything how this is affecting our community, our families, our neighbors In November of 2025, Council Member Soto requested the formation of the ad hoc committee but our own city council members pushed the discussion until February. We cannot wait until more families are chased in the streets of Santa Maria just like it happened after Christmas.

I personally grew up picking strawberries with my parents while I was in high school and I worked with many undocumented, documented immigrants in our community. And I know they are very well treated people, respectful and I know some of you know that. Let's work together, take proactive actions, work with local organizations such as MyCop and other non-profits to come up with solutions to protect our community.

Let's not be an exception. Let's take the lead and follow the steps like other cities have done like Santana, Santa Barbara, Goleta. We cannot wait any longer. Thank you.

Gary Hall. Mr. Hall. Good evening, Mr. Hall.

Good evening. This is going very well. Thank you. I just had my eyes dilated today and I got to tell you it makes things look a lot different. And good evening again Madam Mayor, council members, staff and citizens of Santa Maria. My name is Gary Hall I'm not going to talk about immigration. I probably should, but I'm going to share with you what I've shared with you before.

I am a resident of Rancho Buena Vista Mobile Estates at 2135 North Railroad Avenue here in Santa Maria. I represent the North Santa Barbara County Manufactured Homeowners Team or NESMHC. NISBET's primary goal remains to provide protection to all Santa Maria mobile home residents presently living in an unregulated rental market. That translates into the simple word of affordability.

Affordable mobile home living is vanishing here in Santa Maria and all across our state. I have pointed out to you many times how the 2020 model lease and enforcement agreement with all their flaws have proven to be ineffective in protecting homeowner equity and maintaining affordable mobile home housing, which is of course what was originally intended to do.

I have repeatedly reminded you that three-and-a-half years ago On June 7th, 2022 this council passed a motion with the intention of improving the 2020 model lease or replacing it. That improvement attempt has failed so in accordance with the motion replacement action should have taken place. Of course it did not we believe now is the time to take action to replace the model lease with a uniform mandatory and enforceable mobile home rent stabilization program, much like those in our neighboring city and county jurisdictions.

A program that protects the residents by maintaining affordability and still provides the park owner a fair return. Santa Maria seniors also live with the ongoing threat that their senior mobile home park could be converted into an all-age park as was attempted at Del Cielo Senior Park in Oregon. I brought this to this council's attention August 20th, 2024.

Now 17 months later we remain hopeful that Santa Maria will soon take action like was taken by Santa Barbara County. According to recent communications with Santa Maria community development personnel I've learned that a draft Senior Mobile Home Park zoning overlay ordinance has been developed and is in internal review. We are anxious for that review to be completed and to see the ordinance adopted.