Board of Supervisors — 2019-11-05

Good morning.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We're having a few technical difficulties. But I think we're going to start and as we run into technical difficulties, we will deal with those as we move along. So I'd like to call this meeting of the County Board of Supervisors to order. Madam Clerk, can I get a roll call please?

Mr. Adam? Mr Williams? Here. Mr Hart?

Here.

Ms Hartman?

Here, if you could all

So moved.

Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Quick announcement as far as agenda management goes. We are switching a few of the items so that we will hear item Is it five, six? Item 6 before item 5. And so item 6 will be heard as we regularly go through the meeting. Item 6, I'm sorry, item 5 will not begin before 1 o'clock after lunch. So earliest you will hear item 5 which is retail cannabis will be no earlier than one o'clock this afternoon, okay?

I think I confused that as much as I possibly could. So do we have a CEO's report today?

Good morning, Chair Lavenino and board members. We have a couple of items. One is just to let the public know that there is a meeting being hosted by Southern California Edison on Thursday at the Earl Warren Showgrounds on the Public Safety Power Shutoff or the De-Energization Program. That begins at 630 and the presentation begins at 7. Again, that's being hosted by Southern California Edison.

And also we wanted to let the public know that you heard a presentation about Census 2020, and the Complete Count Committee just launched a website for the countywide census outreach campaign at santabarbacountysensus.org We encourage everyone to visit the site, register to receive email updates. Request a speaker to a community group, access material and fact sheets that are both in English and Spanish. New information will be continued to add as we get closer and just remember that the census is all online in 2020. Thank you.

All right, thank you very much. Madam Clerk do we have any changes, corrections to the agenda today?

Yes, Chair Lavinino and members of the board. I have one quick request announcement this morning and we had a late request from the department to continue administrative item number 32 to our December 10th agenda. And this item is from Public Works. It is to consider recommendations regarding adopting parking restrictions and stop controls in the first second third and fourth districts. If we could just add that to the balance motion that would be great.

Supervisor Adam. Yeah, why don't we just move that now? Okay The

commits the county. They blew apart the vertical integration and the franchise model of the utilities but they're replicating it. The minute you sign that document, you are on the hook for the power they're going to buy for your constituency. And the point is, when the utilities go bankrupt if they do and or the mandates keep going the way they are it's gonna be harder and harder for you guys to compete for that power on a realistic cost basis.

So we think this is really one of the dumbest ideas I've seen in 30 years as a county watchdog.

Thank

you.

Supervisor

Adam?

Well, I got two and a half points. One is California is the sixth near as we could figure this morning most expensive market for electricity in the United States. And I would say to you that this time it would be an extremely risky thing to make long term contracts And the odds that something happens where our potential electricity prices fall, and then we end up upside down on this thing is pretty high.

The second point is I'm really skeptical about the liability. I know that we've been assured that there's no liability, but I have people that are telling me otherwise and so I can't quite square it in my own head. But then, so I won't be supporting it. And then just a sideline here on the state taking over the power grid. If you think that deferred maintenance is bad on the roads wait till you have the State of California running the electrical grid. I cannot imagine a more horrifying prospect I asked about two years ago Caltrans how much deferred maintenance was on State roads and the answer was 70 billion dollars.

So You know, and they still work pretty good actually so if if they defer the the maintenance on the Electrical grid like they do everything else. I think that we're in for some pretty pretty rocky times Supervisor Hart

Yeah, I think that I would tell the story different than Mr. Caldwell and Supervisor Adam. The community choice energy story is more than ten years old. Communities around the state have been asking to have a better say, a larger voice in how power is acquired for their customers. There are many customers who want green renewable energy and they want that option and they want to have their local governments Provide that option for them because the public utility private sector regulated Public utilities have not made that option available for consumers. So, for 10 years folks in other parts of the state have already taken advantage of this new opportunity and are making those purchases and have demonstrated financial viability And in many cases savings over the existing cost structure of the publicly And here we are late to the game trying to get that option available to our customers granted the energy utility marketplace right now is extremely volatile.

But that has nothing to do with the Evolution of community choice energy that has to do with poor decision-making by those the corporate elected officers of those boards who have made decisions long poor Long term planning decisions that has put their infrastructure into a deficit. So we're talking about the private sector regulated private sector entities that have not properly invested in maintaining the infrastructure for electric lines in the state of California making us vulnerable to Thank you.

Regulatory scheme has failed us and has not delivered safe, reliable green energy. So we are trying to do something different. We are trying to demonstrate a model that can improve upon that situation. It isn't completely new. There have been municipal power operations across the country for many, many years. In our county, the city of Lompoc has a municipal power operation. So it is certainly debatable and fair to ask questions about this process but it is not fair to characterize this as an overly risky dangerous decision being made without complete information going forward. And I think that is simply why we are where we are today and I'm confident that we will be able to improve upon the situation although it will take some time for the state to figure out The larger issues about how power is going to be delivered in a changing climate and with the threat of wildfire.

Supervisor

Williams? Well, I think that it is hardly fair to blame the lack of infrastructure investment of the utilities on community choice aggregation. That's one of the whole reasons why we have less faith In the utilities is the lack of investment that's taken place. The CCAs have actually been more criticized in the past for too many short term contracts, and now Mr. Caldwell is criticizing them for long-term contracts. The right procurement is a mix thereof To hedge your bets and still create the right incentives for investment in alternative energy.

And as a county's representative to Monterey Clean Power, I will continue to push for a mix thereof. That's the wisest choice that hedges your bets. The goal is not to allow rates to rise more than they would with utilities. But at the same time to procure a higher amount of renewable energy That's what I'll stick to because that's really been the direction that this board has gone

Okay, can I get a motion to move a 11 please

so moved?

Second second moved and seconded roll call please

mr. Adam Mr.. Williams

hi

mr. Hart all

right

miss Hartman chair Levin you know

I

motion passes 4 to 1

Okay, let's move to a 12

Chair Lavinino and members of the board, Administrative Item Number 12 is from Community Services, Behavioral Wellness and General Services. It is to consider recommendations regarding the exclusive right to negotiate for purchase of county-owned property on Hollister Avenue with the housing authority of the County of Santa Barbara for the No Place Like Home development project.

Supervisor

Hart. Yeah, I just wanted to pull this item off to draw attention to it It's the beginning of a process to potentially deliver an affordable supportive services housing development for Residents who are experiencing homelessness in the South County? It's where there's going to be a lot of outreach to the neighborhood I know that mr Polanski from the Housing Authority has already begun that outreach and has talked to a number of neighbors and Is setting up a community meeting to have more input from folks, but there are some important stories to tell about this project. This is a critically needed element in our social safety net providing affordable housing with supportive mental health services to individuals who are suffering from homelessness.

There's a lot of controversy and discussion about this at the state level and local communities. This project will get a lot of scrutiny from everybody involved and I know our staff will have answers to questions that people have and be able to tell and explain. And if folks want, take a site visit out to Pescadero Lofts in Isla Vista, see the operation of a facility that's similar to this, and really just have every opportunity to understand Appreciate what is involved in this work and what this project could mean for the community. And how it can best integrate concerns, if there are some from the community into its design. So again, this is the very beginning of this project. We are simply giving authority to the housing authority to have a site control for this site.

And then to begin the process of applying for grants and The land use entitlement process. So welcome any input from folks in the community and the neighborhood who are advocates or otherwise interested in knowing more about it, Mr. Polanski. Dr. Gleghorn from behavioral wellness are available as well as my office at anytime to answer any questions.

Good job. All right. Do we need a separate vote on 12? Going to be okay there? Okay let's move to A29.

Chair Lavinino, members of the board. Administrative item number 29 is from General Services. It is to consider recommendations regarding authorization to solicit a request for proposals RFP from design build entities DB's for the new Koyama fire station 41 project number 8751 And this is in the first district and we do have Todd Morrison available from general services in North County if the board has any questions.

Supervisor Williams? Great, I did give a heads up to the fire chief about this. I hope they passed it on. Policies of attempting to build net zero energy buildings when possible. And that, especially given the concern from the PSPS of air quality impacts associated with firing up of institutional diesel generators which the APCD director indicated last week immediately worsens our quality by 24% the minute one of these happens.

My hope is we don't contribute to another one, and if there is need for backup there that we do so by battery solar mix. Especially given the fact that there's some property we own out there. Ms. Peltz?

Supervisor Williams through the chair. The Fire Station 41 will be zero net energy. We will be using our policy. All our new development will be using the zero net energy policy.

Great. And what about, has it been determined what the backup energy need would be there of the station?

I don't believe so. I don't think it has been determined yet.

Just, I hope that if you feel that you need additional direction on us not to use diesel generators and try to figure out some solar battery backup, you'll bring it to us otherwise you'll do what you do best which is get it done.

Thank you. All right let's move to 831.

Chair Lavinino, members of the board. Administrative item number 31 is from probation. It is to consider recommendations regarding approval of an additional 551,832 of public safety realignment funds and the transfer of 3,051,832 to general services for the design and construction of a mental health rehabilitation center. Supervisor Hart?

Yeah, I just also want to draw attention to this project. This is something that has been long time planning the Department of Behavioral Wellness and I know my predecessor Supervisor Wolf and her staff are very involved trying to advocate for this project. This is a critical need for the county we need a facility to be able to step down services get folks out of the jail provide for them those folks who are It's pending trial and otherwise involved in the criminal justice system in a more appropriate health centered setting. This funding has been allocated from the Community Corrections Partnership process. I know there were some initially, some questions from members of the Community Corrections Partnership about the staffing model for this project and I spoke with Dr.

Gleghorn about that maybe she can come up and And just quickly review that this initial facility, while it's going to be constructed to hold 16 beds will actually be staffed and opened with only eight. And I think that is the staffing plan in the amount of money. While this isn't a discussion today about that staffing level and that funding source maybe just an opportunity for you to clarify that so that everybody is transparent and clear about what we're getting into.

Yes well the Supervisor Hart through the chair. The staffing model, the way this CCP budget is constructed we are accessing both funds to design and build a facility as well as I'm Additional operational funds in the past and received those. So we're now up to an annual amount of $1.1 million for operations, which will which will fund eight beds. Now we are Continually looking for other opportunities to have funds for this purpose. There may be things out on the horizon because the state is re-evaluating how they are funding various services, so we'll keep looking at those but at this point This is sufficient to fund eight beds and we are building a facility with eight rooms that can do double occupancy So we can easily scale up as funds become available for additional clients

Great thank you very much for that clarification. All right

we need a separate vote on that are we good? No. Okay, that takes us to our last one which is item A35.

Chair Lavagnino and members of the board administrative item number 35 is from Public Works Board of Directors Flood Control and Water Conservation District it is to consider recommendations regarding the Santa Monica Debris Basin Operational Improvement Project this is in the first district and there is a four-fifths vote required on this item

okay I just wanted to highlight this one and I know it's in your district, Supervisor Williams.

It's okay you can highlight it.

Yeah all right because a lot of times we make these trips to Washington DC with our staff and sometimes when the fruit or the harvest comes in, I just want people to remember that there was a lot of sowing that was going on beforehand and especially two staff members Scott McGolpin and Tom Fairam. It's important when you go to DC, and Don Gilchrist is a, I think this is one of the reasons why he's worth every penny, is that it's important to go see our congressmen and our senators.

But what's more important Is really getting to know the person way deep back in And at Natural Resources Conservation Service, that was actually the case. We were walking through this big building with you see these staff members inside these large departments surrounded by maps and charts and paperwork. And they all know these two guys. They all know Tom and they all know Scott. And so when we need something those relationships that are built are very valuable.

I just want to remind everybody that the Army Corps of Engineers spent over, I think $110 million during the debris flow here in Santa Barbara County. And so this is another instance where we're getting another $5 million to construct a better way to remove debris out of this debris basin. So just wanted to congratulate you two and I think Mr. Fairam has somebody he'd like to introduce as

well. Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think it's really important that we recognize one gentleman. I asked him to come here today, Doug Tays. I told him that you might have a question for him but that was just a front to get him here. Doug and I started working in 1990 after the Painted Cave Fire and we built the Mariagnacia Debris Basins. I've known Doug since then. And after the debris flow, we had a meeting in Carpinteria and Doug is in the audience. What are you doing here? Well, I live here.

So what are you doing at night? And so we ended up hiring Doug Extra Help to help us with Santa Monica and the other projects that we had, and his expertise and the knowledge of NRCS really helped us that. His heart's in Santa Barbara County, and so I attribute that as much to Doug helping us through this process as well. Note that this project is 100% federal.

It's one of the few ones that are 100% federal because it was operational efficiencies that were being improved from the original design. So we're very pleased and thankful that Doug could help us on that, and maybe we can talk him into staying around a little longer too.

Well, and the only question I have is at 4.7 million if you round it up to 5 million it makes it a lot easier for us to do the accounting so it would be helpful just kicking a little bit extra. Supervisor Williams?

Well, I also wanted to take the opportunity to indicate that Tom and his team last night presented a workshop on the design of the Randall Road debris basin. That you guys were gracious enough to take a chance on and invest over $5 million worth of acquisition and costs to retain the engineering firm. And I want to repeat my thanks, my personal thanks to this board. Each and every one of you and my district's thanks. There was a lot of people there last night.

It was really clear from the workshop and the timetable that county staff had It was very clear to the residents the seriousness by which the flood control district and this board is taking Addressing infrastructure issues, and it really made a difference to my constituents And I appreciate Tom for making that happen

All right. Thank you very much, and thank you for being here today With that can we get a motion to move items 8 12 29 31 and 35 please

So moved second

All those in favor? Aye. They pass unanimously. Okay, that cleans up our administrative agenda. It's time for public comment. Do we have any public speakers today?

Chair Levenino and members of the board I have one request to speak on general public comment today and that is Ed Kolaski.

Good morning. Good morning, good morning. I finally got approved after almost five and a half years to remodel our house with the same drawing. Just like that! Five and a half years and got it approved with the same drawing that I tried to submit in June of 2014 There was a contention that our second story, which is outlined over there overlaying the ground floor, was solely over the garage.

And I don't know if they ever resolved it. I don't know if they still call that solely over the garage or not. It took Supervisor Peter Adam almost two seconds to recognize that that is not solely over the garage and he did it from an architectural drawing where you have to project one onto the other But I had to deal with Janet Wolfe for five years, and I wasn't even allowed to talk to her. That was our supervisor.

One of the sheriffsmen made a really good remark. He said the system is broken after he heard me talk. And I don't know why is it broken, but it is broken. Maybe that's why my neighbors would say they're all corrupt. Why do I have to come up here and beg For my civil rights? When I have to go downstairs and be kicked out of a meeting, and I paid for. And I can't even show my drawings.

Why can't I find out? Why can't I speak? We weren't even allowed to speak. We were ordered out of the meeting in 15 seconds. And then I had to wait three weeks to find out why we were rejected. Yeah, they said we were located solely over the garage was just a lie. You know if an extortion payment is required it should be published. I had no idea. Was I supposed to give Alex Bujold $2,000? $5,000 with $1,000 due?

You know when you're new to the system you don't know what to do so I come up here and for five-and-a-half years Five and a half years just to get some justice. It's supposed to be liberty and justice for all. Apparently it's liberty and justice for those that pay the extortion fee. You got five members up here, why couldn't something been done with Janet Wolfe?

I mean that isn't equal rights or civil liberties. When you can't even talk to any of the supervisors, you come up here and you repeat the same story over and over and over again. And nothing is done? The system is broken? Somebody needs to fix it. There needs to be some sort of

interface. Sir your time's up.

Sorry. Thank you.

And that was our only speaker on general public comment this morning.

That takes us to our departmental agenda items. Let's move right into item number one.

Chair Lavinino and members of the board, departmental item number one is from community services. It is a hearing to consider recommendations regarding the commission for women annual report.

Good morning, Chair Lavagnino and members of the board. I am going to, last year the Commission on Women was transferred over to the CSD department. It's been a pleasure working with the group of women on issues related to women's issues. I want to introduce Sigurd Wright, Anna Everett, Yvette Peralta, Judy Weisbart, Suzanne Peck and Tracy Beer to present the annual women's commission report.

Good morning Board of Supervisors, staff and members of the audience. My name is Yvette Peralta and I am the new chair of the Commission for Women of Santa Barbara County and yes thank you. Thank you for the support.

You can bring the microphone down a little bit. There you

go. I want to thank the commissioners for being here and supporting and also representing their district, and I'm very happy to be here and tell you all about the highlights and the projects that we have worked on during the last fiscal year So I would like to start by saying that the Commission for Women promotes the well-being and equal status of women in Santa Barbara County. And when I say women and girls, I mean anyone across their gender identity and sexual orientation.

And we develop and facilitate and also recognize and recommend programs to women and girls across the county. We collaborate with other agencies. And we also gather and disseminate information that we gather from the meetings that we attend. And we also conduct public hearings and meetings, and we advise the Board of Supervisors whenever we need your help to get things done. The next Slide shows a picture of all of the commissioners during our annual retreat which happened in August of 2019 and That's when I became the new chair and Karen Stein work became the vice-chair, and the way we work is by Having subcommittees, we have the Outreach Committee which is basically the public face of the commission work. And we also have the Policy Committee which is the commissioners who track local state and national legislation affecting women and they also attend conferences and bring back information.

And we also have the Leadership Development Subcommittee which encourages women's participation in community business and political leadership involving women and girls. The Listening Sessions Subcommittee, which are the eyes and ears of the BOS and the constituents. And they do that by conducting meetings and also attending meetings that are hosted and held by community partners. And the Advocacy Subcommittee discovers, supports, and promotes key causes directly beneficial to women and girls in our county. And state, and we have the Veterans Stand Down Committee which makes sure that the annual collaboration with the veterans stand down in Santa Maria goes smoothly. And that we have enough participation and services to provide to our fellow women veterans.

The next slide showcases our collaboration with Cathy Morillo's inaugural Santa Barbara Women's Summit which happened last year in 2018 and you can see there we have in the This picture right here in the middle, you can see Dr. Anna Everett and Suzanne Peck on the left participating in the planning committee of this summit. This was also the first event that I was able to attend when I recently was appointed by Supervisor Labanino to be a representative of the 5th District.

And Dr. Anna Everett was the moderator of the summit so we had representation and collaboration about how many people were able, about 260 people were able to attend and share resources and learn about what each of them did. And also what issues they were Yeah, and Suzanne Peck was also there providing information and just letting everyone know what the commission does.

And on the next slide we have The woman history month events in 2019 we sponsored the summit leading with love and that attracted women across the Central Coast to participate in a day long conference designed to embrace women by sharing stories, building trust and redefining expectations. This event was organized by Touchstone in Santa Maria. It was held at the Radisson, and we had Commissioner Tommy Raska and Commissioner Beer attend. Also Victoria Juarez representing the first district was there as well. And over 225 guests attended the leadership summit in Santa Maria. And some of the commissioners who weren't able to go found women in that community who were able to attend, to take advantage of this event and uplift each other.

Now, let me talk to you about the collaborations with other agencies that we have done. We have the Veterans Stand Down event in Santa Maria Fairgrounds in 2018 and 2019. Actually for the past seven years, the Commission for Women has been supported this effort that is organized by Supervisor Lavanino and his staff. And it's an event to acknowledge and thank Santa Barbara County vets for their sacrifices and service to our community.

The commissioners secure needed products and services from companies and organizations, and donated daily use goods to be able to hand out to women veterans there. This year we collected coats, also some socks, hand sanitizer, reusable bags, and we also distributed resources, pamphlets, flyers from different community partners that we work with. And you can see some photos there from last year and this year.

During this event, we also take advantage of the opportunity of tabling there. And last year, Susanne Pegg was able to work with Department of Media of Santa Barbara County to produce a video and A lot of women veterans were able to share their stories on sexual assault While serving and what was very interesting is that that question was never asked to them They just shared their experience in the military and that came up so we were able to use that video to bring awareness about that matter and this year, we also We work with the TV department and we interview veteran women about their homeless struggles. And also feature Sandy Blair, who is another military veteran who is building tiny homes for woman veterans in the area.