Board of Supervisors — 2026-04-07

You guys can take your seats. I hate doing that. Good morning, everybody. If you guys can take your seats, we're going to go ahead and get started here in a few minutes. Actually, we're going to get started now. Welcome to the April 7th special meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll?

I would like to note for the record that Supervisor Lavagnino is absent for today's hearing. If

Before you go, before you go, Mr. Sajan, before you go, Supervisor Capps.

I just wanted to add because I've learned that in addition to your service to the county, you're also teaching the rule of law as a professor at the College of Law. My colleague, Daniela Aguirre, is your student, so thank you for that service as well. Thank you.

Madam Clerk, will you now read Administrative Item Number 3 into the record.

Chair Nelson, Members of the Board, Administrative Item Number 3 is sponsored by Supervisor Capps. It is to adopt a resolution of commendation honoring Jodi Leipner upon her retirement from the Public Works Department after 29 years of faithful and dedicated service to the citizens of Santa Barbara County. Joining us here in person, we have Jodi. If you'll please make your way to the podium, I'll read the resolution into the record.

Whereas Jody Leipner began her distinguished career with the County of Santa Barbara over 29 years ago on January 27, 1997, initially lending her expertise to the Planning and Development Department in Long-Range Planning, the Energy Division, and the Division of Environmental Review. And whereas, Jodi transferred to the Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division of the Public Works Department on February 27, 2006, where she served as a dedicated environmental steward, guiding the division through its most complex infrastructure changes, including the Tejiguas Landfill Reconfiguration, the Tejiguas Resource Recovery Project, and the Tejiguas Landfill Capacity Increase Project. And whereas her expertise was equally vital to the Laguna Sanitation District, where she successfully managed the environmental review and permitting components of the district's master plan, ensuring that essential sanitation upgrades could proceed in strict compliance with federal conservation standards.

And whereas Jody's work on the Barren Ranch Mitigation Project proved that mandatory habitat restoration can be done with a touch of hospitality, ensuring regulatory satisfaction while providing excellent move-in ready accommodation for the California red-legged frog and crouches bumblebee. And whereas Jodi's role required a rare mix of intellect and grit, whether she was rowing a biologist around in a sediment basin in a rubber raft in the middle of the night to rescue frogs, or learning a valuable lesson such as don't stop moving in quick mud, and credit cards are great for removing stinging needle spines.

And whereas, Jodi is looking forward to an active retirement filled with bike riding, cross-country skiing, and hiking national parks, leaving just enough room to perhaps finally entertain her husband's hopeful suggestion of cooking lessons between adventures. And whereas Jodi's legacy will be carried on by her colleagues and mentors, and the habitat she restored, she will be supported in this new chapter of her life by David Huerta and her daughter, Aaliyah Huerta-Leibner, who Jodi once recruited to help the community planting days at the Foothill Open Space.

Now, therefore, be it hereby ordered and resolved that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby acknowledge the resolution of commendation honoring Jody Leibner for her 29 years of outstanding county service, passed and adopted today.

Good morning, Chair Nelson, members of the Board. Thank you for recognizing Jody Leitner's 29 years of outstanding service to the residents and the businesses of Santa Barbara County. As mentioned in the resolution, Jody's knowledge and her expertise has been instrumental in guiding the Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division through some of its most complex infrastructure challenges.

And her dedication to our mission is second to none. If you haven't worked directly with Jodi Leibner, you might not know this, but she is what we call the bleeding heart of our operation. It is her quietly and consistent persistence in helping us protect our wildlife, our environment, and advance a more sustainable future. Amongst many of her efforts, she has been the lead in restoring over 50 acres of native habitat along the Gaviota Coast.

And this work will benefit the county for generations to come. Jodi in her career has understood that the work never stops, but she has listened. She's listened to the needs of her colleagues. She's listened to the realities of solid waste operation, and she never lost sight of the bigger picture. She's been intentional about sharing her knowledge and building capacity to ensure her legacy goes beyond her tenure.

And let it be said that when Jodi restores native habitat, Even threatened species like the California regal-legged frog and the crotchless bumblebee want to make the landfill their new home. Thank you, Jodi, for your unwavering commitment to public service and for always doing the right thing, even when no one was watching. Your legacy will continue to shape our work for years to come. Congratulations on your retirement.

I'll now hand over to Travis Spear, her supervisor.

Thank you. Chair Nelson and the Board, thank you. I started working with Jody Leitner 17 years ago as a young civil project manager tasked with building projects at Tohigas Landfill. And I have to admit in the beginning, Jody's drive to protect the environment kind of slowed me down on my agenda. But we learned to work together, and I learned to really appreciate what she does. And now as a compliance manager, I really understand how important it is, the work she did as an environmental steward for our environment, our waste disposal needs as a community. And I just really learned a lot from Jody as not only a mentor, a colleague, but also just a wonderful member of our community. She's great. Thank you, Jody. Jody, enjoy your retirement.

I'm going to try and get through this without tearing up at all, but I'm used to standing before your board discussing CEQA impacts, but today I just want to tell you it's been my honor to serve the public and to serve your board. by working with both the Public Works Department and the Planning Departments for the last 29 years and helping with permitting and environmental review of many projects, including critical public works projects, while at the same time always wanting to protect and enhance and restore important environmental resources.

Thank you to all the amazing county employees and consultants I've worked with over all these years. And thank you to my husband, David, who has supported me throughout my career and has been patient with me as I've forced him to identify native and non-native plants as we go hiking. So thank you all again.

All right, thank you. Madam Clerk, we now read administrative item number four into the record.

Chair Nelson and members of the board, administrative item number four is sponsored by Supervisor Hartmann. It is to adopt a resolution of commendation honoring Brian Lawrence Carroll upon his retirement from the Public Defender's Office after over 29 years of faithful and dedicated service to the citizens of Santa Barbara County. Joining us here in person, we have Brian Lawrence Carroll and Public Defender Tracy Makuga.

Whereas, Bryant Lawrence Carroll received his Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law and was hired as Deputy Public Defender in December 1996 and for nearly 30 years has faithfully served the County of Santa Barbara, achieving a position of Senior Deputy Public Defender and assisting in the administration of the office during several years of his employment. And whereas his career spanned five different administrations, and he is among the last attorneys in the office to have been hired by Santa Barbara County Public Defender, Glenn Moore.

And he arrived with several years of experience in civil law, bringing with him a wealth of technological expertise that provided unique insights. He consistently applied to his criminal defense practice. And whereas he provided equally zealous representation to his clients, regardless of the multitude of the case, and as once observed by a courtroom deputy, he would deliver a compelling closing argument in a gang murder trial, and the very next day, compassionately defend a client charged with violating a dog leash ordinance.

And whereas, during his tenure, he mentored, assisted, and befriended his colleagues within the Public Defender's Office, earning the respect and admiration of all he encountered. And his positive, encouraging attitude consistently strengthened morale, enhanced office productivity, and enriched its culture. And whereas, in his daily interactions with colleagues, justice partners, and his steadfast representation of his clients, Brian Lawrence Carroll demonstrated his unwavering commitment to the preservation of human dignity was not incidental to his work, but rather the guiding principle of his career. Now therefore, be it hereby ordered and resolved that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara hereby adopts this resolution of commendation honoring Brian Lawrence Carroll for his exemplary service and extends its best wishes for a well-deserved retirement passed and adopted today.

So this one is too emotional for me, so I've asked Adrian Galvan, who actually is one of the lawyers who has been mentored so tremendously by Brian. All I can describe Brian as for me is he's my scarecrow out of the Wizard of Oz. His kindness, love, heart, his dedication, his love of his family. It's just humbling to me. And when I got his resignation, I deeply felt it. So I'm going to let Adrian talk about Brian, but this one's too hard for me.

Morning, Chairman Nelson, members of the board. So like Tracy mentioned and like the resolution indicated, 29 years. And through 29 years, Brian has handled every assignment that can be handled within our department, whether it's treatment courts, misdemeanors, serious or violent felonies, homicide trials, or the arraignment department, dog leash cases. Throughout my tenure with Bryan, what you see consistently from Bryan is client-centered representation, always making decision and judgment towards helping clients, and empathy.

And like Tracy indicated, Brian's heart is as big as this room. His efforts and how far he'll go to represent our clients is limitless and endless. And throughout 29 years and all of those calendars that he's appeared in front of, I think he's earned at this point to only have to take care of His family's calendar, his friend's calendar, and his leisure calendar. So, we really appreciate Brian's service and congratulations to him.

Mr. Carroll.

Good morning. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the board. I was very grateful back in 1996 when Glenn Maurer offered me the job. We've had several public defenders since, including our most recent, Tracy McCougar. I've been very grateful for this career. It's been an excellent experience. It really opened up an entirely new world to me. And I appreciated the opportunity to serve for all these years, and it also inured great benefits to myself also, and I'm very thankful for that.

It does take its toll, because it is very difficult, particularly emotionally, over the years. Mark had touched on that during his discussion, but overall, I I can't stress how grateful I am to have had this career. In terms of what's in the future for our office, these last few years, we've had some excellent new hires, and they have made great strides. I don't mean just the ones that have been here a few years that are handling heavier felony now, but we have a number of new, very young attorneys in the misdemeanor ranks, and they look like They are getting very well situated to rise right up and take over the reins.

And I'm looking forward to a very solid future for the office. And thank you again.

Thank you. All right, we're going to go ahead and skip to item A6. Madam Clerk, will you please read that one?

Yes, Chair Nelson and members of the Board, Administrative Item Number 6 is sponsored by Supervisor Nelson. It is to adopt a resolution of commendation honoring the Department Business Specialist 2, Paulina MacLau, upon her retirement from the Sheriff's Office after over 37 years of faithful and dedicated service to the citizens of Santa Barbara County. Joining us here in person, we have Paulina and Sheriff Bill Brown.

Whereas, Paulina McLeod will be retiring from the county service on Friday, March 27, 2026, having faithfully served the county and the Sheriff's Office for over 37 years, during which she served as a Clerk Typist II, Accountant Clerk II, and recently as a Department Business Specialist II. And whereas, Paulina started her career with the Santa Barbara County on May 2, 1988, as a Clerk Typist II, assigned to the Sheriff's Office Criminal Records Bureau. In September of 1988, she was promoted to Clerk Typist 3 and was assigned to Information Services Division. In February 1993, she was promoted to Accountant Clerk 2 and was assigned to the Sheriff's Business Office. In October 2022, she was promoted to Department Business Specialist 2 and was assigned to the Custody Operations Branch, Inmate Services.

And whereas, in July of 2004 and July of 2021, she was selected as professional staff member of the second quarter of the Sheriff's Office. And whereas, Paulina throughout her career has showed dedication to the Sheriff's Office by manifesting high levels of professionalism, allowing her to rise steadily through the organization, attaining the position of Business Specialist II.

And whereas, Paulina's knowledge, skill, and experience contributed greatly to the overall professionalism and goals of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, as well as the objectives of the county. Now, therefore, be it hereby ordered and resolved that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby acknowledge Paulina McLeod upon her retirement, passed and adopted today.

Sheriff Brown.

Chair Nelson and members of the board, as you just heard, Paulina has accumulated a remarkable record of over 37 years of service to the Sheriff's Office, to the county, and to the people of Santa Barbara County. And I can just kind of sum up what a great employee she has been by saying that she is the epitome of reliability and graciousness. She is always upbeat. She always has a smile on her face. She lifts up employees all across the organization. She has done a remarkable job.

And I just want to say to Paulina, on behalf of all of us at the Sheriff's Office, we're going to miss you greatly. You've been a tremendous asset to our organization and to the county as a whole, and we wish you Godspeed in all your future endeavors. Congratulations.

Good morning all. Good morning Board of Supervisors. I'm very grateful to work at the Sheriff's Department for 37 years. And thank you for my family, Sheriff, Superior, and colleagues for all this year. Thank you very much. Thank you all.

All right we're going to go ahead and recess this special meeting. We have still one more to honor.