Board of Supervisors — 2022-05-03

Good morning and welcome to this May 3rd, 2022 meeting of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors here in the Santa Barbara hearing room. Madam Clerk would you call the roll please?

I would move approval of the minutes.

And a second?

Second.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Pass unanimously. And we also have minutes from April 19th 2022. Motion to approve?

I have a comment.

Oh, you do have a comment? Okay

Well, I'm gonna go ahead and vote for this so I'll actually even move it I did watch the meeting out of fact Even though I was not present So I just wanted for the record to make sure that that was understood. So I'll go ahead and move those minutes.

Okay Thank you May may have emotion in a second all in favor say aye aye any opposed again passed unanimously CEO report miss Miyasato

Chair Hartman, we have three quick reports this morning. One is just to announce community services. So Santa Barbara County Parks and Cochuma Lake Recreation Area hosted the SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League Mountain Bike Racing Championship this Saturday. The two-day event featured races for middle school and high school division. Local racers competed among 1,100 student athletes. The weekend of racing was the final race weekend for 2022 before the championships which will be held May 13th through 15th, also at Lake Kachuma Recreation Area.

Second announcement is from the clerk recorder assessor and as you know we're coming close to the June 7th statewide primary and they are continuing to look for poll workers. To be a poll worker you must be a registered or pre-registered voter in the state of California or lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, be available to serve election day from 6am to 9pm and be available to attend a mandatory training class during the week of May 23rd. High school students are also encouraged to apply, and for more information people can visit our website and look for the poll worker announcement.

The last announcement is from General Services and it's just to announce that on Tuesday the county newly upgraded our website CountyVespi.org And the rollout was a soft launch of the new site and a more extensive notification to the public will be done shortly The upgraded cloud-based content management system will enhance and modernize our web presence, offering website visitors a new and improved online experience. The county team worked hard to provide the public with an easy-to-navigate website that incorporates the county branding while improving accessibility. The new website includes a redesigned homepage and a multitude of improved department division and program pages.

In all, the Go Live had encountered over 3,000 web pages and removed 500 out-of-date redundant pages. The next phase of implementation will be the intranet redesign, which is internal to the county's organization and standardizing of calendar and forms. So we will do more and if anyone sees broken links or things that should be needed to be fixed on our website you can contact our general services department

Thank you and I did also have an announcement. Every year the Santa Barbara Chapter of the Association of Women in Communications honors exceptional women who use their talents as communicators to improve our community. In 2022, the chapter honored a unique team of six resilient and courageous communicators During the annual event that brings together prominent leaders in our community in celebration of empowered women communicators. The theme of this year was Navigating Uncharted Waters, and this year's noteworthy honorees all representing the County of Santa Barbara epitomized the year's theme, Navigating Uncharted Waters. as they've shared information and helped steer community response through months of unprecedented crises. And so Gina DePinto, Bando Reynoso, Suzanne Grimacy, Terry Mosnissage, Jackie Ruiz and Monomi Asato were honored.

And it was organized by SPCAG's Lauren Bianchi Clemon with assistance from her sister Jacqueline Alexander and emceed by Paula Lopez. It was a really lovely event. So clerk announcements.

Chair Hartman and members of the board thank you I do have a couple quick announcements this morning, I did want to inform the public that we are shuffling a few items around on our departmental agenda today, and we will be taking departmental item number seven first before departmental item number six So departmental item number seven time best time estimate at this time is going to be around two this afternoon and that is from planning and development department. It is a hearing to consider recommendations regarding the long-range planning division LRP fiscal years 2025 or 2022 excuse me through 2025 work program.

Our final item of the day will be departmental item number six also from planning and development department It is a hearing to consider recommendations regarding the PR investments LLC and far-western liquor Inc appeal case numbers 21 APL 62 and 21 APL 63 Of the Planning Commission's approval of the Orchid gas station development plan and minor conditional use permit case numbers 18 DB P1 and 18 C UP 1 and this is in the fourth district and And again, we are estimating that item to be around 340. So the we will take departmental item number 7 first at 210 and then we will end with the Orchid gas station appeal at 340 Additionally, I am excited to announce that we now have closed captioning available on our CSB TV 20 YouTube channel and that information is available on page 2 of our agenda and is also being provided through the TV scroll.

As the board is aware closed captioning for a broadcast cable channel 20 is in the process of being implemented per board direction and more to come on that in the coming months. Additionally, would like to remind the public that the Board of Supervisors meetings are being interpreted and broadcast live in Spanish We are broadcasting our meetings in Spanish both for Cox Cable subscribers in South County as well as Comcast cable subscribers and North County. Members of the public can now view our meetings in Spanish by turning on the secondary audio programming also known as SAP or SAP under their language settings that information is currently being provided through the TV scroll.

Lastly, I would like to remind the public who are participating in our meeting today of the board's updated methods of public participation For the Board of Supervisors methods of public participation and to provide public comment on general public comment or an item on the board's agenda, please see page 2 of our agenda. Members of the public can attend meetings in person both in the Santa Barbara Board hearing room chambers as well as the Santa Maria Board hearing room chambers.

Please note the board is following all local and state guidelines and are no longer requiring face coverings indoors. If you attend the board meeting in person, you will no longer be required to wear a face covering but please be advised that Public Health Department is strongly encouraging all county staff and members of the public to mask and socially distance themselves in crowded areas. I would also like to remind the public that if you require any special accommodations, please contact the Clerk of the Board to make that request preferably on the Friday prior to the board meeting.

Individuals that would like to provide verbal public comment virtually may do so via Zoom by registering in advance via the link available on page 2. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing important information about joining the virtual meeting. Once the chair has announced the item you want to comment on, please join the meeting with information provided in the registration confirmation email.

You'll be placed on mute until it is your turn to speak. The clerk will call you by name. When removed from mute, you will hear a notification that your line has been unmuted. If you're using a touchtone phone, you may need to press star six to unmute yourself again if you're using a touchtone phone, you may need to press star six to unmute yourself Each person may address the board for up to three minutes and this is at the discretion of the chair. If you have any questions, please contact the clerk of the board's office at area code 805-568-2240 again that's 805-5682240 and that concludes my announcements for this morning

Madam Clerk, you said we have closed captioning now for something but we're awaiting it additionally for

something else. Could you repeat that? Yes thank you so we are currently using closed captioning on our YouTube channel so that's CSB TV 20 YouTube channel and there is a direct link on page two of our agenda to direct you to that as well and we are working on our broadcast cable channel 20

Thank you, that's good news. Okay turning to our administrative agenda I have that Supervisor Nelson would like to pull A1 and A4 are there any other items any supervisors would like to pull today? Okay Madam Clerk do we have any public members

who would like to pull any items? Chair Hartman and members of the board we have no requests to speak from the public on the administrative agenda

Okay, so I will close public comment on those items. And Madam Clerk would you read A1 into the record

please? Chair Hartman and members of the board administrative item number one is from the Behavioral Wellness Department it is to consider recommendations regarding a second amendment to the service contract with Rich & Famous Inc., DBA Big Green Cleaning Company fiscal years 2019 through 2023

Supervisor Nelson.

Yes, thank you chair Hartman I had some questions on this item that I've been working with the department on and we need a little bit more time to have those answered and so I think that they have agreed to Have this item continued They would not have any effect on their operations But I think we need another week or two to look at that

and was there a date certain? Okay, May 17th. So we'll just include that in the motion with the balance of the agenda to continue A1 until May 17 and A4. Madam Clerk would you read that into the record?

Chair Hartman and members of the board. Administrative item number four is from the Behavioral Wellness Department it is to consider recommendations regarding an agreement with the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District for fiscal years 2021 through 2024

Supervisor Nielsen.

Yes, thank you Chair Hartman I just wanted to highlight this item for Quickly for the public and for my colleagues, you know, we were dealing with Significant issues of youth violence in our communities but also some significant issues with cannabis use among our youth And so this is a grant program working with BSEC and behavioral wellness in our county and the school district to do some education, some peer counseling. And I'm looking forward to watching this program and helping in any way we can to facilitate that. It's something that's been near and dear to my heart for some time. We've had many meetings with our school resource officers and our school districts in trying to find tools that we have the county to assist. And this issue, cannabis is legal for adults but it's still very harmful for our youth and it's really important that We are giving our school districts and our families the tools to address this because it's coming at them a lot faster than many of them can handle, as well as making sure that we're reaching the needs of our young people.

So just wanted to highlight that briefly. Thank you. Well good

for bringing that to our attention and I hope that as it proceeds you'll report back and let us know when this could be something we could do elsewhere as well.

Absolutely thank you.

Okay, so I'd like a motion then to approve the balance of our administrative agenda with the continuation of A1 till May 17th.

So moved second

all in favor say aye Any opposed passes unanimously? so turning then to our resolutions Madam clerk, would you read a 24 into the record please

Chair Hartman and members of the board. Administrative item number 24 is sponsored by Supervisor Williams. It is to adopt a resolution of commendation honoring Senior Deputy Probation Officer Dwayne Erdmann upon his retirement from the probation department after over 24 years of faithful and distinguished service to the citizens of Santa Barbara County, and joining us in person today we have Probation Chief Heitman and Dwayne Erdmann. And I'll go ahead and read the resolution into the record.

Whereas Dwayne Erdman was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. He attended and graduated from Santa Barbara High School and later graduated from Santa Barbara City College with an Associate of Science degree in Administration of Justice. He was subsequently hired by the Santa Barbara County Probation Department as a Juvenile Institutions Officer, JIO, in 1997 and was assigned to Los Prietas Boys Camp. In 2000 he was promoted to a Senior JIO And whereas in 2007 he was promoted to a Senior Deputy Probation Officer, Senior DPO assigned to the Professional Standards Unit PSU for over 14 years. Senior DPO Erdman oversaw training requirements for the department and served as the department range master.

He was an instructor for several courses and worked diligently to mentor and train many juvenile institution and Deputy Probation Officers, positively impacting their professional development. And whereas Senior DPO Erdman received several accolades during his career including the 2006 CAPIA Moratoria Service Award for Line Staff, the 2011 STAR Award, the 2011 Deputy Probation Officer of the Year award The 2016 Santa Barbara Citizens Council on Crime Superior Performance Award, as well as receiving letters of commendation in 2011 from Chief Probation Officer Patty Stewart for his work on a statewide special training project. And in 2013 from PSU Manager Brian Smith for his duties as Range Master.

And whereas Senior DPO Erdman is looking forward to spending time with his wife Julie, traveling, spending more time practicing karate and shooting sports and continuing to teach self-defense classes at Santa Barbara City College. Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors recognizes Senior DPO Duane Erdman for over 24 years of dedicated service to the citizens of Santa Barbara County And the Santa Barbara County Probation Department can extend to him best wishes for a fulfilling, enjoyable and rewarding retirement. Passed and adopted today.

Chair Hartman and Supervisors, I'm Tanya Heitmann, Chief Probation Officer. And it is my honor to be here this morning to recognize Senior Deputy Probation Officer Dwayne Erdmann. As chief probation officer every day I entrust deputy probation officers to make life-changing decisions on my behalf. Regarding those under our jurisdiction, one of the significant decisions that I make myself is related to the arming of officers.

Unlike police or sheriff's deputies not every probation officer is required to carry a gun to carry out their duties however when they do request to be armed I need to be confident in their training not only the safe handling of the firearm but in de-escalation techniques and unarmed defensive tactics. When faced with a situation that could lead to the use of force, good judgment regarding when not to use their weapon is as important as good judgment about when to use it.

I share this because Duane Erdmann for 14 years has served as a Probation Department Rangemaster During this time, he has overseen our firearms training program. He's been tasked with the enormous responsibility of training officers, assessing their readiness to be armed, ensuring their skills are up-to-date through quarterly qualifications as well as assessing when it's time for them to turn their weapon in.

In addition to ensuring they receive updated and relevant training related to firearms, Duane also was the department expert and trainer on unarmed defense tactics. This included preparing our officers to protect themselves in an attack, retaining control of their issued gear in a struggle or how to successfully escape the grasp of another while preserving one's own life or to save the life of another.

One of the reasons I can sleep at night is that I have confidence not only in our staff but in the training that we provide and the invaluable role of our department range master. I want to thank Dwayne for all he has done over the years to ensure our officers were well trained and prepared to do their jobs with professionalism and confidence. I also want to thank him in advance for helping us transition the range master role, and the training program to a new range master in the coming months.

He has carried this enormous responsibility and with the significant oversight it cannot be passed like a baton to anyone but rather a warm handoff to another staff that can provide the same level of trust and needed competence. Congratulations Dwayne and thank you.

It's like I feel emotional up here right now. It's been a great run, worked for a great department. The great department has great people and they do great things every day. Amazing stuff that our community doesn't see all the time that they do and they care about their jobs. And I just wanted to tell them it's been a great privilege to work with you guys and other departments, and having the backing of admin if I come to them with some weird question and get back to me.

It's a great relationship. It is a great noble profession as Chief Heitman has told me before in the past. Really appreciate it. Just had a good run. Thank you guys so much

for everything. Madam Clerk, Administrative Item Number 25.

Chair Hartman and members of the Board, Administrative Item Number 25 is sponsored by Supervisor Hartman. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the week of May 1st 2022 through May 7th 2022 as National Correctional Officers Week in Santa Barbara County and joining us in person today we have a lovely crew of custody deputies from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

And I'll go ahead and read the resolution into the record. Whereas the week of May 1st through May 7th represents a period of time where correctional officers across the United States are recognized for their service and dedication to their local communities. And whereas custody operations of the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office consisting of the Main Jail, Northern Branch Jail Administrative Unit, Health Services Unit, Inmate Programs Resources Unit and Transportation Unit are highly regarded professionals working in concert with other local criminal justice and public safety entities.

And whereas 49 years ago, the Sheriff's Office and this board recognized the need to create a sheriff's correction officer rank structure that would best serve the duties of a correctional officer specifically trained in the unique needs of a detention facility responsible for the housing security and transportation of all inmates incarcerated in Santa Barbara County.

And whereas, correction officers reporting for duty ready for the challenges of an ever-increasing overcrowded jail system are faced with danger in their work environment on a 24-7 basis. All the while maintaining order security and preserving the care custody and dignity of those individuals charged to their care. Citizens of Santa Barbara County can rest assured that these men and women are dedicated to their service and perform their duties in a professional and ethical manner while displaying integrity, courage, and fairness thus ensuring the safety of the community, their fellow officers, and incarcerated individuals.

Now, therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors recognizes the week of May 1st through 7th 2022 as National Correctional Officers Week and takes this opportunity to thank the men and women of the Sheriff's Office who have chosen the field of corrections as their service to our community past and adopted today.

Chair Hartman and Supervisors, I am under Sheriff Saul Linver. Sheriff Brown apologizes for not being here but he is in a Project Opioid Planning meeting. On behalf of Sheriff Bill Brown and the members of our agency, I would like to thank you for this resolution honoring National Correctional Officer Week. The women and men of our custody branch are the behind-the-walls unseen heroes of our agency.

As an example, our custody staff work within a facility that had several coronavirus outbreaks exposing themselves to the virus. Also, when due to a COVID outbreak the need came to open the North Branch Jail early. The custody branch along with General Services rallied to prepare the new facility and move over 150 inmates in one day. Just this year five custody deputies will be receiving awards from the agency for saving lives of inmates under their care A memorandum Sheriff Brown sent out to our employees in part stated, corrections is a tough business under any circumstances but it was especially so during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jails throughout the nation were hard hit by the virus requiring extraordinary disease prevention and response efforts in addition to the security and rehabilitative duties that are the hallmarks of corrections professionals. Our local response to the challenges of the coronavirus was and continues to be superb Despite infections of staff, contract staff and inmates protocols were quickly enacted and refined to keep our jail our people and inmates safe.

A big thank you to our custody staff for your consistent dedication and professionalism. We salute you and appreciate what you do. I'm also going to take this opportunity as I have in the past, so those watching and listening would like a rewarding and challenging career where you can make a difference in people's lives we are hiring. Go to sbsheriff.org and click on join us. I would now like to present the custody deputies to you who are with me in the room

Would anyone want to speak? Okay. Well, it is a tremendously demanding job the law enforcement piece of it but you're also role models and mentors to the people in your care so we thank you enormously for the job that you do. Madam Clerk item number 26

Chair Hartman and members of the Board, Administrative Item number 26 is sponsored by Supervisor Hartman. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the month of May 2022 as Wildfire Community Preparedness Month in Santa Barbara County and joining us in person today we have Fire Marshal Rob Hazard and I'll go ahead and read the resolution into the record Whereas the threat of wildfire is becoming increasingly prevalent and dangerous, posing greater risks to people and property than ever before.

And whereas Santa Barbara County has a well-documented history of wildfire risk which has increased in both probability and severity by long term drought and climate change. And whereas residents in areas with the potential for wildfires can take proactive measures to reduce the risk of injury and property loss by maintaining defensible space around their homes and proactive action by a single individual or entire neighborhood contributes to a safer, more resilient and fire adapted community.

And whereas the County of Santa Barbara Fire Department works closely with operational area partners to respond to and reduce the risk of wildland fires. Now, therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors proclaims May 2022 as Wildfire Community Preparedness Month and encourages everyone to participate in fire prevention and preparedness activities at home work school and all locations marking the beginning of a year-long effort to improve wildfire awareness and safety passed and adopted today.

And this is a man who's not at a loss for words

Well, thank you Chair Hartman and members of the board. My name is Rob Hazzard. I'm the fire marshal for Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Chief Hartwig apologizes that he can't be here. He's attending a wildfire preparedness event with our CAL FIRE partners down in Camarillo. So we all know that in this last decade, California has experienced some of the largest and most destructive wildfires in the state's history. And Santa Barbara County is no stranger to these events.

Multiple historic fires we've experienced just in the last five years. Amid intensifying climate impacts, California and much of the West continue to experience wildfire seasons that are longer, more extreme And record dry conditions have left most of the state in moderate to extreme drought. Again, Santa Barbara County is at the forefront of these drought conditions.

All of us every winter are crossing our fingers that we get more rain and once again this year we've seen very dry conditions. So what we know is that wildfire preparedness is really a year-round effort. It's steps that homeowners, residents, agencies, businesses even visitors to our county can take to be prepared for wildfire which is an inevitable part of our environment.

But the month of May is particularly significant because of our vegetation and our climate. This is when it's most important to get out into your homes, into your properties and take significant steps to decrease the fire risk. We all remember the Haysa Cedar Fire started May 5th 2009 at the very beginning of the month again due to very dry conditions that year By the time the fire was contained on May 18, it had consumed 8,733 acres and destroyed 80 homes, damaged 15 more, and resulted in six different engine company entrapments up in the Mission Canyon community.

All of us have an essential role to protecting ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities from wildfire. It's the little steps that we all take, whether it's putting screens on your attic vents, weed whacking the dry grass around your yard, raking away dry leaves from around the foundation of your home. These steps can significantly protect you from adverse impacts of wildfire. It's not just what the agencies around you do but it's all of the efforts that we take collectively One of the most important things you can do is to educate yourself about wildfire. There's multiple different ways that you can do that here locally in Santa Barbara County, the Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council provides huge amounts of educational material on its website and make a little plug for An event this weekend, Direct Relief International in Goleta.

A free event for the residents of Santa Barbara County and our visitors. There will be all day on Saturday a wildfire preparedness exposition featuring exhibits. There'll be fire trucks. Finally we'll get to have our kids run in and out of the fire trucks and have some fun with the firefighters. Possibly might be a visit from our new Firehawk. So please come out attend the event Now is the time to take action and you can learn more about wildfire preparation on the Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council website. And you can also go to the state website readyforwildfire.org to get information on keeping your family, your property Your home, your loved ones safe from wildfire. Thank you.

Thank you. I would just like to add that we serve together on the Board of Higher Safe Council and one thing we know is that the Insurance Commissioner in the state of California has proposed new regulations that would reduce insurance rates for those that are engaged in Defensible space and hardening of your individual home as well as community Actions, and we're eager to have more fire wise communities in our county so you can learn more from the Fire Safe Council website Thank You

Rob

Madam clerk administrative item number 27

Chair Hartman and members of the board, administrative item number 27 is sponsored by Supervisor Williams and Supervisor Nelson. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the month of May 2022 as Community Action Month and celebrating 55 years of ComUnify service in Santa Barbara County. And joining us in person today we have Patricia Killeen, Chief Executive Officer for ComUnify.

And I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas, ComUnify part of the Nationwide Community Action Network has made essential contributions to individuals and families across the United States by creating economic opportunities and strengthening communities. And whereas, ComUnify formerly Community Action Commission was incorporated in May 1967 as a private nonprofit organization devoted to creating opportunities for Santa Barbara families to achieve economic stability as an essential aspect of enabling and enhancing a stronger and more resilient Santa Barbara County.

And whereas since its inception, ComUnify has continued to provide vital services for the most vulnerable members of our community, expand its programs, and add locations throughout Santa Barbara County to make assistance available to all of our neighbors who might need it. And whereas ComUnify serves thousands of low-income residents of all ages, offers prenatal services for pregnant women, high quality child care and preschool programs for children through age five and medical and dental and mental health screenings. Parenting education workshops, mentoring and tutoring programs for teens, job training programs, home energy programs to reduce utility expenses, weatherization services and programs to keep our seniors safe in their homes.

And whereas, ComUnify has improved countless lives and continues to work toward ending poverty in Santa Barbara County. Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors proclaims May 2022 as National Community Action Month and celebrates ComUnify's 55 years of serving the residents of Santa Barbara County passed and adopted today

Good morning. Thank you so much, Chair Hartman and Board of Supervisors. We appreciate this recognition this morning. Communify was established from the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 which really kicked off the war on poverty That same year the Head Start program was legislated at the national level. In 1965, the County of Santa Barbara formed the Community Action Commission an actual task force which was then incorporated in 1967 as a non-profit Since then, we have grown into one of the largest non-profits with the largest countywide footprint serving all of Santa Barbara County.

Every year, we touch the lives of over 8000 disadvantaged residents here in Santa Barbara. Including teens, children, families and seniors. Providing services that educate and support them on their personal journey to being economically stable and self-sufficient. We provide early education tutoring, mentoring and help to make homes more energy efficient assist with rent and utility bills. And yes we also manage the Santa Barbara County's 2-1-1 information and referral helpline of course we could only do this with the support of Santa Barbara County you All of our partners, our partner organizations and the other municipalities that help to support the work that we do in their communities.

We look forward to serving this community for another 55 years and thank you for all of the support that you've provided throughout these 55 years. We look forward to the next 55. Thank you.

And administrative item number 28.

Chair Hartman and members of the board, Administrative Item Number 28 is sponsored by Supervisor Hart and Supervisor Nelson. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the month of May 2022 as Mental Health Month in Santa Barbara County and joining us to the podium in person today we have our Behavioral Wellness Director Tony Navarro and Valerie Cantella, Behavioral Wellness Commission Vice-Chair.

I'll go ahead and read the resolution into the record. Whereas this resolution proclaims May 2022 as Mental Health Month to enhance public awareness of mental health and dispel the stigma surrounding it. And whereas mental health challenges are one of the most common health conditions in California, affecting one out of every six adults and impacting both the person experiencing mental health challenges and those persons who care and love them. for the person facing the challenge.

And whereas one out of every 24 Californians with a serious mental illness have difficulty functioning in everyday life and if left untreated, have life expectancies 25 years shorter than the general population. And whereas every day, millions of people face stigma related to mental health and may feel isolated and alone going years before receiving any help.

And whereas recovery can and does happen in all Californians should know that support and help is available regardless of any individual situation. And whereas creating a community where everyone feels comfortable reaching out for the support they deserve is crucial to ending the stigma around mental health. And whereas access to support and ending the stigma is of paramount importance. And whereas, the Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness wishes to enhance public awareness of mental health now.

Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors does hereby proclaim the month of May 2022 as Mental Health Month And calls upon all Santa Barbara County citizens to fight stigma associated with mental illness and reaffirm a commitment to supporting the mental health of all people in Santa Barbara County past and adopted today.

Thank you Chair Hartman and members of the board for raising awareness on this important topic of mental health. I want to share a few facts, I can't pass up the opportunity as a public information officer to use this for public information so... One in five adults in the U.S. experiences mental illness each year, one in six youth age 6 to 17 experiences a mental health disorder each year and nearly 400,000 California teenagers have depression and as we know this has worsened during the pandemic I want to share a few of the symptoms of depression that I wish I would have known when my children were going through this as teenagers.

Common ones include isolation, loss of interest in hobbies and activities, previously enjoyed experiences, trouble focusing and being irritable which is very common to teens which makes depression hard to discern. If you or a friend or loved one are experiencing this, please call 211 for resources or call the county's access line at 888-868-1649. And as the resolution mentioned, we as a community can really help to end the stigma by accepting people diagnosed with mental illness as we would any other disease.

Everyone deserves the support to thrive. For example, I have a 22-year-old daughter with severe mental illness and her struggles are often very real and visible in the community. Whereas I have type 1 diabetes. I've had it since I was 10. None of you would know that unless I told you. And I want my daughter to be treated with dignity compassion and support as I am.

So finally, a plug for getting involved in the Behavioral Wellness Commission. We're a group of individuals serving the county appointed by each of the Board of Supervisors and we have an interest in serving and understanding the programs and services provided by behavioral wellness and mental health and substance abuse You can go on the county's website, behavioral wellness website to learn more. But we would love to have more commissioners who have experience as a person with mental illness or loved one with mental illness who wants to get involved. So thank you so much for raising this important issue. We really appreciate it on behalf of the Commission extend our gratitude.

Thank you, Valerie. So good morning Chair Hartman, Supervisors. Just thank you so much for this resolution and allowing us this time to uplift awareness of mental health issues and the importance of early detection and diagnosis so that people can get the help they need to live the lives that they were meant to live and thrive. in our communities. I just want to also announce that you all have your green ribbons on, thank you very much. Wanted to give you all a thank-you for your daily service and supporting Be Well and making a difference in lives throughout our community. The green ribbon signifies mental health awareness and your ribbons are nice and big. You see I have my little lapel pen but the ribbons that we're passing out to all of our staff and the thank-you cards for the hard work they do every day is in hopes that they will wear them for the whole month of May And start conversations wherever you go, whether that's when you're in the line at the coffee shop or in the grocery store or at your dentist office.

That when someone says what is that all about? That you will share with them the importance of mental health awareness and reducing stigma. I also want to say that on the back of the card you'll see that it is the 60th anniversary of Be Well this year and it was on September 4, 1962 That the then Board of Supervisors appointed the first director of the first behavioral health, mental health department it was called back then in Santa Barbara County. So this year especially in May is Mental Health Month is also of further significance to that department and we really look forward to the next 60 years and helping our community with wellness and overcoming challenges severe and persistent mental illness so that they too can thrive and live their best lives.

Thank

you. Supervisor Hart?

Yeah, I just want to thank Director Navarro for those comments and particularly being such a transformational leader at such a critical time for the department. 60 year anniversary is an important milestone to recognize and we just really appreciate you coming home to Santa Barbara County and lending your considerable talents to do the important work that you're in charge of And I want to thank Ms. Cantella for her wonderful comments, you know, you described the challenge so beautifully that mental health and mental illness are just the same as any other physical illness that anybody would experience and that we need always to remind people that that's the goal is to reduce the stigma to where folks feel comfortable getting in the treatment that they need and deserve and then we have that for them.

And to that point, I am the liaison to the Behavioral Wellness Commission and your request for us to consider appointing younger members to the commission. Teenage youth who are suffering from mental illness. I know that's something that the commission is really trying to lean into and this is an opportunity for the board to kind of reflect that with our own appointments to the commission. So I'd urge you when you have a vacancy to think about that we can help by connecting you with some folks who are interested in serving so thank you for that.

Thank you.

And I just want to say thank you all for your appointments to the commission. I'm really enjoying my relationship with Vice Chair Catanella and Chair King-Condos, true partnership between the Commission and Behavioral Wellness to improve services throughout the county. Thank you.

Administrative item number 29, Madam Clerk?

Chair Hartman and members of the Board, Administrative Item Number 29 is sponsored by Supervisor Hartman. It is to adopt a resolution of accommodation honoring Gus Mejia, Nancy Hansen, Jeannie Slay and Dan Trowbridge of the Public Health Department as the May 2022 Employees of the Month for Santa Barbara County. And joining us in person today we have Gus Mejia, Assistant Deputy Director for Finance, Nancy Hansen, RN Staff Nurse Supervisor for Communicable Disease COVID-19 Dan Trowbridge, Senior Systems and Program Analyst. And joining us via Zoom today we have Jeannie Slay, MS Lompoc Health Center Administrator.

And also joining us to the podium it looks like we have Dr. Vonda Renoso and Dr. Ann Sorg and a few other members from Public Health. And I'll go ahead and read the resolution into the record. Whereas Gus Mejia has been unwavering in his dedication to the financial aspects of the department's COVID-19 response actions, as the finance section chief is intelligence professionalism experience and attention to detail has ensured sound practices And systems for optimal financial reimbursement and audit defense of pandemic related costs.

And whereas Nancy Hanson's resilience, dedication and leadership have allowed her to successfully lead robust covet 19 teams for contact tracing investigation isolation and quarantine testing and mobile vaccination. These teams continue to play critical roles to the Public Health Department's efforts towards preventing the spread of COVID-19 and restoring the health of our community.

And whereas Jeanne Slay has been consistently inventive, thoughtful and bold throughout the pandemic at the Lompoc Healthcare Center and as chief in the DOC operations section She boldly accepts every opportunity to be at the forefront of implementing essential COVID response services such as community testing and mass vaccination pods for the benefit of the Lompoc community and the entire county.