Board of Supervisors — 2023-10-03

Good morning. I will call to order the October 3rd, 2023 meeting of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to order. Madam Clerk please call the roll.

Move approval.

Is there second? Second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Thank you. CEO's report

Chairman Williams, I do have one brief announcement from the Office of Emergency Management. There will be a nationwide test of the emergency alert system and wireless emergency alert system tomorrow Wednesday October 4th at 1120 in the morning. The alert is conducted by FEMA and the FCC. Emergency Alert System messages are transmitted on all local radio and television stations with an alert tone or scrolling text across the bottom of the screen Wireless emergency alert messages are transmitted to cell phones and look like text messages that are accompanied by a distinct attention tone and vibration to all cell phones that are on and within range of a cell tower. The Office of Emergency Management has posted information about this test on ReadySBC.org in English and in Spanish.

Information was also shared via press release on multiple county social media accounts, and that concludes the CO report.

Thank you and I also have one addition. On Sunday, I had the pleasure to award Santa Barbara or to present a Santa Barbara Beautiful Award to Dignity Moves for our project that we partnered with them at 1016 Santa Barbara Street or Garden Street And of course, I thought this was amazing in that it's one of the first times. It is definitely the first time that Santa Barbara Beautiful has ever given an award usually presented to the nicest looking house in town to a transitional homeless housing. So I'll pass it around.

But great partnership and of course not possible without Good Samaritan. Madam Clerk, are there any announcements or changes to our agenda today?

Chair Williams and members of the board, I do have a few quick announcements this morning. We received a withdrawal request from the department for departmental item number three. Departmental item number three is from the planning and development department. It is a hearing to consider recommendations regarding an appeal of the Planning Commission's approval of revision to permit condition number 38 MM Bio 16 Golden Ego Take Permit for the Straus Wind Energy Project case number 23 RBP 31.

This is in the third and fourth districts. The applicant has withdrawn their appeal, and as such the department has revised their recommended actions requesting that the board accept the applicants withdrawal. Lastly for the Board of Supervisors methods of public participation and to provide public comment on general public comment or an item on the boards agenda please see page two of the agenda Individuals that would like to provide verbal public comment may do so via zoom by registering in advance via the link available on page 2. If you have any questions please contact the clerk of the board's office at 805-568-2240 That concludes my announcements for today

Would any board members like to pull any items from the administrative agenda?

A6 please

Thank you. Can I get a motion on the balance of the consent agenda?

So moved. Second.

All those in favor please say aye. Aye. Opposed? E6.

Chair Williams and members of the Board, Administrative Item 6 is from the County Executive Office. It is to consider recommendations regarding a nomination to name Refugio Road Pedestrian Trail in honor of Karina DeVelasquez. This project is located within the 3rd District. This item requires a unanimous vote.

At 6.55 p.m., on Thursday, March 26th 2015, 15-year-old Karina Velazquez was on her way home from school when she stepped out into the crosswalk at the intersection of Herfufio and Highway 246 and was hit by a car. She died a few hours later one day before her 16th birthday. It's eight and a half years later, but the community still remembers the girl who often stayed late to help put away books and straighten up papers. The girl with the inquisitive mind who was a very hard worker. And the girl who loved animals especially cats whose motto was never forget to smile.

Her father describes her as a girl who had been a little shy around new people and situations, and was just beginning to blossom and come out of her shell. Her father helped us build the demonstration part of the path including a small footbridge We would like to place a boulder with the plaque there. The Santa Ynez High School Board approved placing the marker on school property next to the path which is placed in the county right-of-way. Karina's father, Jose Velasquez Jr., wrote to the high school board in support of this saying it has been eight plus years since we've lost our daughter and we've been missing a piece of our hearts every day. My hope is that the path will be a safe place for people to walk and ride bikes away from traffic And that no other families have to suffer the loss of a family member in this way.

We would like to have Karina's name on the path so that she is not forgotten. Hopefully putting her name on it will increase awareness of the hazards of walking on the road and will make it more real as to what can happen in a flash if you let your guard down. I very much hope this board will join the high school board in unanimous support to name the trail in Karina memory. Thank you.

Thank you, Supervisor Hartman. Can we get a motion on A6?

So moved.

Second?

Second.

All those in favor please say aye. Aye. It's unanimous. Let's go to administrative item number 22

Chair Williams and members of the board, Administrative Item 22 is sponsored by Supervisor Williams. It is to adopt a Resolution of Commendation retroactively honoring Kerry Gallagher of the District Attorney's Office as July 2023 Employee of the Month of Santa Barbara County. Joining us here in person we have Kerry Gallagher, District Attorney John Savernock and Chief Deputy District Attorney Anne Knutson. Please make your way to the podium and I will read the resolution into the record.

Whereas Kerry Gallagher exemplifies the county's organizational values of accountability, customer focus, equity and inclusion, innovation, trust and ethics. And whereas Kerry models the transformative behaviors of collaborative problem-solving alignment with the county's vision risk taking data driven decision making And whereas, juvenile justice is an important component of the criminal justice system. Carrie's responsible for the prosecution of all juvenile cases in North County from the time of filing through sentencing. All of which she handles with exceptional care, judgment and conscientiousness while protecting public safety. Addressing the concerns of victims, protecting the rights of juveniles and upholding the highest ethical standards.

And whereas, Cary actively engages in our community and supports our juveniles in public safety by working with probation, the courts, the defense bar, local law enforcement, school districts, community-based service organizations, child welfare services. The diversion of treatment programs to ensure that the juveniles in our community are getting the appropriate support, services and rehabilitation to protect public safety and to ensure justice.

And whereas, Cary facilitates communications through workflows through all of the county's criminal justice partners including providing training keeping up to date with new areas of law and working to continue to grow and develop special intervention programs like Heart Court. Now therefore be it hereby ordered a resolve that this Board of Supervisors recognizes Cary Gallagher as employee of the month for July 2023 passed and adopted today

Chair Williams, members of the board just a few brief comments. One with me today is actually Chief Deputy Sonia Baeste but about Carrie many years ago Carrie was actually a mentee of my predecessor Joyce Dudley I'm sure Joyce would tell you all that she imparted a large part of Carrie's sense of justice in her but I think Carrie had that innately After establishing an already well-established career, Carrie came to us with a passion for juvenile justice.

And juvenile justice is a different function than general adult prosecutions. There is a significant effort on rehabilitation education changing behaviors Combined that, there are also some very serious crimes which demand a public safety response. And one of the many beauties of Carrie is that she can switch between those roles so easily. She identifies the young individuals that need help, need a helping hand, have grown up in difficult circumstances and have an absolute ability to change.

And in that, she is such a wonderful collaborator which speaks to what we are doing as a county. The goal of our county is to work together with all systems, all entities, all the organizations inside and outside the county family that come into play in any field. What our focus is on collaboration and Carrie is phenomenal at that Of working with service providers, working with probation who has such an important role a critical role in juvenile justice. Working with police agencies and working with defense counsel so I've got to say when Kerry came to us with a passion for juvenile justice we were a very lucky office thank you Kerry

We thank you so much for your work. A23.

Chair Williams and members of the board, Administrative Item 23 is sponsored by Supervisor Williams. It is to adopt a resolution of commendation honoring Adrian Garcia of the General Services Department as October 2023 Employee of the Month in Santa Barbara County. Joining us here we have Adrian. If you'll please make your way to the podium I will read the resolution into the record.

Whereas Adrian Garcia, Building Maintenance Worker exemplifies the county's organizational values of accountability, customer focus, equity and inclusion, innovation, trust and ethics. And whereas Adrian models the transformative behaviors of collaborative problem-solving alignment with the county's vision risk taking data driven decision making And strategic thinking. And whereas, his career started in the Parks Department in July of 2018 working in the Santa Barbara Veterans Building as an extra help employee. He was then promoted to the General Services Department in March of 2019 working at the Santa Barbara Main Jail. He was then moved to the downtown campus to train with a long-term maintenance employee known as Legend and Adrian quickly earned the nickname Little Legend.

And whereas, Adrian is responsible for 11 downtown county-owned buildings consisting of approximately 370,000 square feet of building space. And he takes great pride in managing these facilities. Adrian successfully responds to an average of 1,700 work requests with a smile and exceptional professionalism. He displays incredible dedication to the organization, and Adrian is usually the first person on scene to respond Building Maintenance Emergencies.

And whereas, during the recent local emergencies in January and February he provided extremely loyal service to the county and community working long hours protecting all of the downtown facilities from damaging heavy rainfall and flooding. Throughout these emergencies, Adrian made tremendous personal sacrifices to be away from his family and ensure the county facilities avoided any major flood damages.

And now therefore be it hereby ordered a resolve that this Board of Supervisors recognizes Adrian Garcia as employee of the month of October 2023 passed and adopted today.

Chair Williams, Supervisors thank you very much for this recognition for Adrian. I know he's pretty humble and didn't really want to be up here but appreciate it and I also want to recognize the rest of the folks you see in the back in the blue shirts the rest of the facilities maintenance team and on a day-in and day-out basis who take care of all our county facilities and after hours weekends holidays they're there to respond and so my hats off to all them as well thank you

They sure wanted you up there, Adrian. Administrative item number 24.

Chair Williams and members of the board, administrative item 24 is sponsored by Supervisor Williams and Supervisor Hurtman. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the month of October 2023 as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Santa Barbara County. Joining us here in person we have Domestic Violence Solutions and Veronica Cubillo. Please join us at the podium and I will now read the resolution into the record.

Whereas domestic violence is a pervasive issue that affects individuals and families across our nation regardless of age, gender, race and social economic status. And whereas National Domestic Violence Awareness Month observed in October provides an opportunity to raise public awareness about domestic violence and its devastating impacts on survivors and communities.

And whereas survivors of domestic violence often face physical emotional It is crucial to provide support and resources to help them rebuild their lives. And whereas promoting awareness and education about domestic violence is essential in preventing future instances of abuse, and fostering a society that values respect, empathy, and healthy relationships. And whereas here in Santa Barbara County Domestic Violence Solution, a premier not-for-profit organization that provides safety shelter and support countywide for individuals and families affected by domestic violence. And collaborates with community partners to raise awareness regarding the cause prevalence and impact of domestic violence will be organizing a series of community events and encourages all to take part in raising awareness about domestic violence And the ways that all of us can contribute towards its prevention.

Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors officially recognizes the month of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and pledges to work together as a community to raise awareness, support survivors, and promote efforts to eradicate domestic violence from our society past and adopted today.

Thank you everybody. I just wanted to take the chance to plug in that we do have our vigil this Thursday here in Santa Maria for any locals that would like to attend it's going to be held at the Machado Plaza, I believe begins at 530 so we'll love to have anybody that can join us join us to continue to bring awareness to the topic. So thank you guys

Number 25.

Chair Williams and members of the board, Administrative Item 25 is sponsored by Supervisor Capps and Supervisor Hartman. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the month of October 2023 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Santa Barbara County. Joining us here in person we have Director Hamami and via Zoom we have June English. Director Hamami if you will make your way to the podium I will now read the resolution into the record Whereas in the U.S., one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and when breast cancer is detected early in a localized stage, the five-year survival rate is 98% as a result.

Women should work with their medical providers to establish a plan to detect the disease in the early stages which includes regular mammograms, clinical breast exams and self-breast exams. And whereas, health care plans cover preventative services such as breast exams. The public health department Every Woman Counts program provides support for breast cancer screening and diagnostic services for low-income women who do not have the resources for this important service.

And whereas in the past fiscal year Santa Barbara County every woman's count health educators provided 1,350 tri-county individuals with breast cancer education and referrals to free screenings In addition, providers whom partnered with Every Woman Counts conducted free breast cancer screening and diagnostic services for 6,882 Tri-County individuals. And whereas in the past fiscal year Santa Barbara County Every Woman Counts has provided 124 Tri-County women with patient navigation services from the program's nursing staff to support patient compliance and eliminate barriers to timely screening.

Completion of diagnostic testing and facilitating referral for treatment. And whereas we are in support of Santa Barbara County's Every Woman Counts prevention efforts, now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors does proclaim the month of October 2023 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month to promote the health of all residents in the county of Santa Barbara passed and adopted today.

Thank you Thank you very much for the resolution. And as we heard, although we are seeing an increase in the diagnosis of breast cancer rates, we are also seeing a decrease in death from that cancer and this highlights the importance of early detection and screening. And this is what this program's all about. I don't know if Miss English June, if you are with us on Zoom, if you want to say a few words?

Thank you very much. We are very happy to be out in the community this month, and this is our biggest month for outreach actually. So please encourage anyone you know who wants the information about our services for the uninsured or under-insured to please contact our office and also let us know if you have any suggestions for further outreach We very much value our collaboration with all the community partners that we have. And it's been a wonderful service to be able to reach women in our communities and steer them towards the care that they deserve to have. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Administrative item number 26.

Chair Williams and members of the board, Administrative Item 26 is sponsored by Supervisor Hartman. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming October 4th 2023 as National Bike and Walk to School Day in Santa Barbara County. Joining us here in person we have Ken Dahmen from MOVE! Santa Barbara County. Will you please make your way to the podium and I will read the resolution into the record?

Whereas promoting active and sustainable modes of transportation is essential for health and well-being of our youth. And whereas National Bike & Walk to School Day encourages students to engage in physical activity, and reduce their carbon footprint by walking or biking to school. And whereas the Safe Routes to School Program, as established by the U.S. Department of Transportation, plays a pivotal role in creating safe environments for students to walk and bike to school by providing infrastructure improvements, educational programs and community engagement.

And whereas the benefits of walking and biking to school include improved physical fitness, reduced traffic congestion and increased community connectedness. And whereas National Bike & Walk To School Day fosters a sense of independence responsibility in students as they navigate their neighborhood safely. And whereas celebrating National Bike & Walk To School Day on October 4th 2023 aligns with our commitment to creating a more sustainable and active future for our youth Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors supports the designation of October 4th, 2023 as National Bike and Walk to School Day. And encourages schools parents and communities to participate in this meaningful event to promote the health and well-being of our students and the environment passed and adopted today

Thank you council so much for this resolution. I think it's really important to highlight the active transportation capabilities of our communities and working with Move Santa Barbara County, I've been doing that for the last seven and a half years thank you guys so much for the opportunity just wanted to introduce one of my co-workers Terry Bircher he's taking our North North County education program from five schools to all 20 in Santa Maria Bonita School District also working from Lompoc and San Diego Valley as well so it's an honor to do this work thank you guys so much

Supervisor

Hartman. Thank you there was an image up of me my first day of school, first grade riding my bike so I'm a passionate advocate for getting kids out of cars walking and biking to school Gina Fisher did that without my permission but But you can see that I started young and I was really impatient to be off. I'd taken my bike safety classes and was ready to ride, but only later I learned my father had followed me the whole two miles in his car to make sure that I actually did it the way I had been taught But my bike meant freedom, it meant independence and as a kinetic kid the ride was good way for me to burn off some energy before I settled down in the classroom. So tomorrow I'm going to be at Solvang Elementary School with the CHP to mark National Bike and Walk to School Day and encouraging kids to arrive on bike and foot.

We plan to start organizing now for next year because we'd like to see throughout the valley and I'd like to see throughout the county Where we have walking school buses and riding bike trains, and really allowing every kid to have the kind of freedom that I enjoyed when I was a youngster. I consider it to be a birthright really the ability to get outside stand on their own two feet and propel themselves to school so MOVE is working with South County schools, one by one identifying obstacles that are barriers that are making it hard for kids to get to school. And as you heard from Ken they're very active in North County but I think this is really important for kids health and well being so anyway celebrate walk to school day bike to school day.

Well, Yashin and Kaya are big supporters of your efforts. And we'll be enacting it on Wednesday as well. Okay, administer of item number 27.

Chair Williams and members of the board, Administrative Item 27 is sponsored by Supervisor Williams. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming October 3rd 2023 as Seasonal Flu Kickoff Day in Santa Barbara County. Joining us here in person we have Director Hamameh and Anne Carlisle. If you'll please make your way to the podium I will read the resolution into the record.

Whereas the County of Santa Barbara wants all county residents to be healthy and protected from illness. Whereas Santa Barbara County is joining the Centers for Disease Control in their seasonal flu kickoff day, to highlight the importance of flu vaccination during flu season. And whereas the Centers for Disease Control recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone six months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against the influenza disease.

And whereas individuals who receive the flu vaccine may also protect people around them, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness like babies and young children, older people and people with certain chronic health conditions. And whereas flu vaccines are safe and effective with hundreds of millions of Americans receiving flu vaccines over the past 50 years.

Now therefore it is hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of Santa Barbara County does hereby proclaim October 3rd as Seasonal Flu Kickoff Day, passed and adopted today.

So thank you for the resolution Mr. Chair and my understanding that this is a tradition where you get the VIP treatment, we get you the shots to the podium but today we're doing also an extra where we brought 100 doses and anybody that is here that would love or would want a shot then all they can, all they need to do is just walk to our station over there. We have the best team members with us. They have the magic touch you will not feel anything it's free. All you have to do is fill a very short form and you can get your vaccine we're here till noon so anytime between now till noon just make sure that you get yours and as we have our team members giving the shot for our supervisors I'm going to join It

looks like you're going to really test how tough those general services staff are.

Oh, whoa. Now I'm pretty impressed with that. There was excitement last time. Thank you. Yeah. Okay.

Thank you.

We did. A lot of

really interesting

stuff going on here.

In my mind. Okay, thank you. Okay. No, no they don't make it.

Well, we're getting a lot of flu shots done but we do need to reconvene the meeting. Now is the time for members of the public to speak on items that are not on the agenda. Madam Clerk, are there any requests to speak on general public comment?

Chair Williams and members of the board we have one request to speak. George Alvarez here in Santa Maria.

Good morning Board of Supervisors. I want to thank you for the assistance in the dredging of our river over there, fantastic job. Of course again Being Guadalupe and we waited 20 years, not by your fault. Government has different priorities when it comes to the little people of our communities on that. I'm not too excited about our local congressperson didn't do a damn thing for us in Guadalupe. I invested in this little town okay? Mr Hart another person has to be called out and not doing anything.

When we need it as a community, from that perspective. One concern some of the ranchers have on the aspect of completing the project is government has a tendency of being over the top when it comes to environmental issues and throws a human element outside. Critters are more important than human elements, okay? This is probably what we're having because how it ends up dredging down to a point On the fence north side of the river.

It seems to be totally narrow and they have a fear, farmers have a fear that when you get that completed in the water comes in there hits the bank curves it'll eat up any road levy eventually if it's not taken into consideration I'm not an engineer this is a concern farmers have and we're spending a lot of tortillas on this issue okay and It's not becoming of intelligence to do something knowing the end result. It might be disastrous, we waited 23 years fine. Now on another note, we need the county Santa Barbara is one of the only few counties where police officers cannot make a judgment call on someone who might have mental issues on the 72 hour puff situation as they call it in the medical profession.

We should have access, police officers with their training should have the ability to make that call. I've been involved lately where it would involve someone who had an epileptic seizure in downtown Guadalupe and we called 911, we called paramedics, police department. And at a time when the person fell to the ground, I was there, he turned, he had a gun in his post right here.

Loaded 930 in the morning. Gun issue, yes but mental health issue. We didn't have the ability to call mental health to get that situated one on one to make an analysis where this guy coming from nine o'clock, 930 in the morning carrying a gun? These are issues that important in public safety where county the city should have the intertwining communications of the experts to help if not let the police officers handle that from that perspective. All right thank you for your time.

Have a good day.

Thank you. Departmental item number one winter storm preparation

Chair Williams and members of the board, departmental item number one is from the Fire Department and Public Works Department. It is a hearing to consider recommendations regarding the 2023 through 2024 winter storm preparation

This morning we'll provide a presentation here on preparations for the coming storm season, winter storm season. When I talk to National Weather Service it's rare that you hear high percentage likelihood chances from weather service right? And they're saying, talked to a couple different offices and they say plus 90% on chances of There we go, sorry about that. We are in an El Nino pattern whether it will be wet or dry is still kind of an unknown but they think there's a high likelihood of a wet pattern for our area and so as a county were looking to prepare for that And we're going to go through some county preparations, infrastructure. We'll talk a little bit about some of our waterways response coordination, private property creek permitting and we'll talk about what the community can also do to prepare as well at this point I'll turn it over to Walter and he can provide updates on public works.

Hold on. You

got it? Good morning Chair Williams, members of the board. I'm Walter Rubicaba with Public Works and I'll be providing an update on our preparation for the 23-24 storms. I do want to note that although we're expecting an El Nino this year whether it's a dry year or wet season our department goes through the same preparation every year so we're not caught off guard.

Next slide please So this is a summary of our current sites and status update, starting with transportation there's approximately 169 locations or sites. We had about $56 million worth of damage and 50 of those sites have been reopened. On the flood control side, we actually have 15 basins that have been cleared and then we have three basins are currently ongoing up here in the North County.

We've also finished five dredging operations and our debris sorting site which is off of Cathedral Oaks up above the Emergency Operations Center was sorted as of last week and will begin off hauling efforts starting this week. And I'll give an update on the Santa Maria River in a few more slides next slide please So looking at our reservoir and releases, I'll start with Kachuma. Kachuma is about 90% full in comparison to last year at this time it was about 30% full so we'll begin discussions with the Bureau starting soon Bureau reclamation soon regarding any potential releases this year Just so you're aware that the county provides feedback based on our knowledge and our modeling but we are not the ultimate decision maker on those releases.

If we get to the point where we feel releases are going to be of concern to any downstream communities or stakeholders, we will work with emergency management to communicate that and make sure that those stakeholders are notified and we'll work through the Office of Emergency Management on that. Next slide please. On the Twitchell Reservoir, it's about 20% full right now.

The Santa Maria Water Conservation District continues to release 250-300 CFS continuously. They will continue to do that until the reservoir is empty and we're currently expecting that to happen sometime in December. Now, what's different about the Twitchell Reservoir as I mentioned on Kachuma is the Bureau of Reclamation. They're involved on the Twitchell Reservoir as well but the decision makers are the Bureau, Army Corps, the San Antonio Water Conservation District and the county in that situation plays the same role. We're not the decision maker but we have a place at the table and we provide input based on our knowledge and modeling.

Now, there is an ongoing effort to change the release protocol. Supervisor Nelson's office and Lavinino's office have already begun those discussions and Public Works will continue to support those efforts and try to change some of those protocols. And then similar to Kachuma, if the releases at Twitchell plus the flows that are coming down Sisquack. If they get to the point of concern we will again work with our emergency management team to get proper notifications and generally for the community of Guadalupe in this case.

Next slide please So this is a, this is an update on the Santa Maria River. Work continues to progress. I'll start with transportation. There's three sites on West Main Street. The first site is just prior to the kiosk that was completed already and then there's another one that's about 1,000 feet past the kiosk. That work should be done by the end of October. And then there's a third site over near closer to the Pacific Ocean That site should be done by the end of December.

On the flood control side, there are two projects that we're working on. There's a pilot channel that is upstream of State Route 1 downstream of Bonita School Road. That's going to be a pilot channel project and the purpose of that project is there's water that is impeding on the levee at a sharp angle right now so we're gonna try to redirect that flow Straight down the river.

And then the second project is the product that we Discussed on the 12th, that is the debris removal project That's from State Route 1 down to the Pacific Ocean that is currently about 40% complete and We still have, we still plan to complete that work by November 1st. However, we're gonna continually go after an extension for the executive order has a deadline of November 1st, we're gonna ask for a 30 day extension and the reason we're gonna do that is it gives us some flexibility on how we're doing this project right now we are working 24 hours a day six days a week And the burn rate is high.

If we were to get an extension of 30 days, we could consider backing off some of those overtime hours to try and save some some of those tax dollars. Now I do want to highlight it says coordinated work with county fire. County fire started on September 11th doing vegetation removal and it was very dense vegetation out there. They did great work, they've been extremely helpful I also want to mention that the farmers the adjacent property owners have been providing labor equipment to help our efforts. The city of Guadalupe their wastewater treatment plant operators have Have been helping to find us irrigation for the restoration project. And I should have mentioned, the farmers have done that as well.

The city of Guadalupe, the mayor, we couldn't ask for more. This coordination effort has been so great and it's been so helpful and it's really helping us meet that November 1st deadline. And with that, I'll pass it over to Kelly.

So just as an update with our coordination with the state, we were denied assistance from the state for construction. However, we are working with the State Department of Water Resources Flood Fight Division to work on pre-identification of what resources may be needed if some of the work that Public Works is doing Is not enough to contain if we have significantly high flows, we still want to have a plan in place. So we're pre-scripting, pre-identifying those resources working with the state to do that.

Okay and just for the sake of time, I've covered most of these bullets already. What I'll highlight on this is there's a lot of good educational information regarding flood preparation on the county websites both at the Office of Emergency Management website and Flood Control. We encourage the community to visit those sites if they have any challenges finding that information please reach out to our offices and we'll help guide them to that information.

And with that I will pass it over to Lisa

Good morning Mr. Chair, members of the board. I'm here today to talk a little bit about what will happen if there are floods and how we can work with the community to get them through the process particularly those properties that live along creeks. Next slide please So this is very tiny print and I'm not expecting you to read it, but this is just our flow chart of how we work through this process. We actually established this for the 2023 storms in January because we had a number of applicants coming in because they had damage when they lived along creeks.

And essentially it lays out what happens in the inland areas and when you don't need a permit and when you do need a permit As well as the coastal zone areas which almost always require a permit for things. But essentially if you're inland, you have some damage along a creek If you want to come back in, stack some rocks, put some willows in to secure that bank. That's no permit and we help guide them through that process. If you're going to construct a wall or you're going to put grout in, that becomes a structure and then you need a building permit. So this just lays out that process for us. It's great that we have this already established in the event that we see a lot of damage from storms.

Next slide please. There's also damage that occurs to structures, right? So sometimes you'll have water damage to your drywall. You might have damage to the integrity of your structural supports or something done to your foundation through debris flow or whatnot. So this is the type of work that you'll do with our building and safety department. So next slide please.

So the steps that we will work with applicants on is if they are concerned about whether or not their structure is safe to enter, they need to call building and safety and schedule an inspection. And they will come out and determine whether or not they do a rough assessment about whether or no you can enter the building or not enter the building. But what they, it's a safety assessment essentially. Then they need to move on to hire a professional that will assess the actual damage to the structure and come up with a plan to make the repairs. And then they'll submit a building permit application online.

Next slide. If people have questions or concerns, we have office hours where people can set up appointments either virtually or on the phone or in person. There are walk-in hours so we recommend people take advantage of those if they do have questions and of course we'll be conducting outreach if we do see storms coming online. Next slide please So I want to move on to the concept of the ombudsman.

This was an issue that came up during budget hearings and the board had decided to provide some funding and create sort of this part-time position that could assist during storms. And initially the planning and development was not the department that was identified. But as we worked through it with the CEO's office, it seemed that we were really poised to manage that position.

Next slide please. So essentially this ombudsman role becomes a central point of contact for property owners that have to make repairs along creeks. Confusing and involved process for people as we've seen we even had our own staff in P&D who lived on creeks that had some Damage, and it's really struggled with state and federal agencies and trying to figure out how to navigate it Then this individual would serve as a liaison between the property owners and the other governmental agencies that are involved will coordinate communication and then provide some guidance on the permitting of to the property owners that are seeking these creek repairs.

The reason I think P&D is in a good position to do this is because we do a lot of work with those agencies already and so we have established relationships, and I think our goal is obviously to provide the smoothest path forward for people who have suffered some of these damages. Next slide please. So what we're doing in terms of preparing for the El Nino storms We're establishing a recovery team that will assist with permitting within P&D. We're developing a contact list of all of the agencies, either internal and state and federal. And then we're going to develop and put together a kickoff meeting prior to the rainy season with all of these agencies so that we can all be on the same page If it does indeed start to rain, large volumes.

And then as they work through the process we will coordinate with the various agencies internal and external to help the applicants navigate it. I'm happy to answer any questions

So I'll talk through some of that. Do you want to stop for questions or do you want me to continue presentation?