Board of Supervisors — 2024-09-17

Good morning, everybody. Welcome. I'd like to call to order the September 17th 2024 meeting of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Madam Clerk, can we get a roll call please?

but does plan on attending our meeting around 10 a.m this morning in addition Supervisor Williams is also currently absent but is on his way and should be with us momentarily.

Oh, he's here.

Okay, next item of business is the approval of the minutes from the September 10th 2024 regular meeting. So moved?

I will second that.

Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Aye. That's all there is here so that's it. Passes unanimously.

Good morning board members. This morning I'm pleased to share another video from our series of Your County, Your Heroes. It features unsung heroes throughout the county who embody the spirit of selflessness and dedication and as you know the videos in this series are played on channel 20 throughout the week and are highlighted in our monthly county newsletter on CSB TV's YouTube page and our social media in both English and Spanish. This morning we are pleased to feature the county's animal services team as they jumped into action when the lake fire started on the 4th of July weekend to evacuate animals, so this story is so special because it not only shows a hard work of our employees but how the community came together as well to help each other during the emergency with that

Welcome to Santa Barbara County, where extraordinary individuals shine bright. Join us as we celebrate the unsung heroes who embody the spirit of selflessness and dedication from tireless volunteers to dedicated public servants. These remarkable individuals who inspire us all your county, your heroes.

Welcome back to the lake. Fire is now the largest in California for the year 2024,

though that greatest risk had been evacuated including large animals like horses and ostriches but also pets like cats and dogs.

Animal Services received a phone call that there was a fire burning up on Fig Mountain, so we go into a whole new mode. It can be a lot all at once because everything is fast-paced.

Folks need assistance either transporting them loading them caring for them or somewhere to place them and house them. A lot of livestock Chickens, pigs, horses, llamas etc. And our shelter facilities don't have that capacity and so we have agreements with a couple different agencies across the county to be able to use their facilities.

We received the call that we would be accepting large animals for large animal evac. We do our best to get those animals settled in, get them comfortable so that the owners have peace of mind as well.

Jacobson's feed showed up and said, we're going to donate hay. And what else do you need? Alamo Pentado equine vet said, What can we do? How can we help people saying I can house two horses. I have a four horse trailer. I have arena was amazing to see So much outpouring of support for what could have been a really, really disastrous event. The lives and the animals that were evacuated in the people and the things that were saved because the community stepped up. It's just unbelievable. Do you

want some food? No?

We do have two ostriches. The fire was now at the point where it was approaching my ranch and my house and the ostriches, we didn't know what to do at that point so we called animal services. Ostriches are very tricky to take care of and they are Not easy to transport either.

I got Officer Hart and said, well we gotta go up there. We gotta make sure those ostriches are OK. At first I wanted to be friends with

them. They don't know that they were there to help and make sure that we stay safe while also making sure that they stay safe.

Ultimately, the firefighters somehow that they were able to save the houses but also the ostrich pen which is miraculous because everything around their burned to be able to do what they did was something I guess very unexpected in a great way.

The team at the Santa Barbara County Animal Services is incredible, big hearts and yet at the same time some of the hardest working people you'll ever meet. You can feel that they're there to take care of those animals as if they were their own.

Awe-inspiring and just wonderful to see the level of compassion that neighbors had for their other neighbors. You know, we could not have been successful in our operations had we not had the community's support like we did.

It made me more aware of how good our community is. I'm proud to be working in Santa Barbara County because it's a great community.

Our animal services team is here today. Would you stand up so you could be recognized?

Well, that was awesome. So I come into work not always knowing what's going to happen but I have not had to wrangle an ostrich yet. Thank you for all you do. We really appreciate it, and to all the neighbors in the community that stepped up, the Elks, we really appreciate it, really. That was a great video by the way. Was that another Kelsey?

Yeah, and if you could please thank Kelsey

Griffin-Boutida. Yes, good job. All right so Madam Clerk are there any announcements or changes to our agenda today? Oh, was at the end of the CEO's report? I'm sorry. Okay, all right. Sorry. Do not cut off the CEO.

Chair Lovenino and members of the board. Yes, I just have one quick announcement this morning to remind the public of how to participate in our board meetings for the Board of Supervisors methods of public participation and provide public comment on general public comment or an item on the board's agenda. Please see page two of our 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 at the boards office At area code 805-568-2240. Again, that number is 805-568-2240 and that concludes my announcements for today.

Okay thank you very much.

Yes I would like to pull 12, 15, 17 and 21. Any others? Good.

Okay, yeah that was plenty. So then we don't, we can go back to the four-fifths? Okay so I'd like to, Madam Clerk would any members of the public like to pull any items on the administrative agenda?

Chair Lavinino and Members of the Board, we have one request from the public to speak on Administrative Item Number 21.

Okay excellent. So I'll now entertain a motion to approve the balance of the administrative agenda except for 12, 15, 17 and 21. So moved. Second. Moved and seconded, all those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Abstentions? Passes unanimously. Next item is business will be the resolutions to be presented we'll come back to those other items in just a moment but first we have resolution number one administrative item number one Madam Clerk

Chair Lavinino and members of the board, administrative item number one is sponsored by Supervisor Nelson. It is to adopt a resolution of accommodation honoring Commander Ed Olson upon his retirement from the district attorney's office after over six years of faithful and distinguished service of the citizens of Santa Barbara County. And joining us in person today we have Ed Olsen and our District Attorney John Savarnak.

And I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas Commander Ed Olson retired from county services on August 30th, 2024 having faithfully served the citizens of Santa Barbara County for over six years and whereas Commander Olsen began his career in law enforcement in February 1991 as a police officer with the Santa Barbara Police Department and throughout his more than 33 years of service he worked in various capacities and held numerous ranks including patrol officer Detective, Special Investigations and Crimes Against Persons. Sergeant, Patrol Traffic Crimes Against Persons and Restorative Policing Professional Standards.

Lieutenant, Patrol and Investigation Internal Operation and also served as a member of the Santa Barbara Police Department SWAT Team for 13 years as an operator, sniper, and eventually team sergeant. Upon his retirement from the Santa Barbara Police Department in 2018, Commander Olson joined the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office supervising the Bureau of Investigation in North County.

And whereas throughout his career, Commander Olson provided the employees of the Santa Barbara Police Department and the District Attorney's Office with positive leadership and served as an exemplary representative of the law enforcement profession as a whole. And whereas Commander Olson served the citizens of Santa Barbara County with extraordinary professionalism and sensitive law enforcement service while dedicating his life to the pursuit of justice.

And whereas Commander Olson's knowledge, skills and experience contributed greatly to the overall professionalism and goals of the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office and the county. Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors commends Commander Ed Olsen for his faithful and distinguished service to the citizens of Santa Barbara County congratulates him upon his retirement and wishes him and his family good health and many years of happiness passed and adopted today.

Members of the board, I won't go over Ed's incredibly distinguished law enforcement career. We simply don't have enough time for that today. What I want to talk about is what he meant to the county and the district attorney's office. Ed exemplifies the values that we as a district attorney's office and we, as a county, seek to portray to the public. Excellent service, caring about the mission of the organization and caring about the employees that work for us.

Ed was a demanding supervisor only because what he did in what the DA's office does every day is so important to public safety, to victims But his demands were always done in a supportive way. He built up the people he supervised instead of tearing them down. Mistakes, while inevitable, were always seen as opportunities to correct and for opportunities for somebody to grow.

What we're hoping as a county to create a work environment that people want to come. We're also hoping, as a county, that people realize the importance of public service and what we all of us who are County employees do on a daily basis to help the public. And Ed on a philosophical basis always understood that he always understood the importance of the mission and the importance His expectations were high, his expectations of himself were high.

And he got the most out of the people he worked with because they wanted to be a part of the team. They wanted to work with him and not for him. And for all he brought in terms of changing a culture of an office, for all the teamwork he engendered within the office We're an office with multiple divisions. We have attorneys, we have police officers, we have incredible victim advocates, we have the hardworking support staff anybody would ever have and that only works efficiently, effectively, and to the best interest of the public if all those different entities that comprise the one whole work together And Ed got that. He supported that mission, he bolstered it and he gave us thoughts ideas and directions that will carry on long after he retires.

He is an incredible police officer a great leader and a great friend and I'll miss you Ed.

Thank you, Chair and Board of Supervisors. Thank you, Supervisor Nelson for supporting the proclamation. A lot of people to thank, but John, I really appreciate you giving me the autonomy and the ability to lead in North County like I did. We built something really special. I really appreciate the team that worked with me and worked side by side with me. They're an incredible group of people that really are committed Well being of the community, just like in the video. The lady said that we're so proud to be a part of this county because it really does matter to be in the service of others and nobody I need to thank more than my wife who for 34 years has been there sleepless nights and capable of running the household when crisis occurs and we were called upon to help for the greater good.

So thank you everybody. Thank you to my wife

Item two.

Chair Lavinino, members of the board, administrative item number two is sponsored by Supervisor Lavinino. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the month of September 2024 as Recovery Month in Santa Barbara County and joining us in person today we have Amy Lopez and the Be Well Community Based Programs. And I will go ahead and read the resolution into the record. Whereas, the Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness Department provides in partnership with community-based organizations a continuum of care which includes the prevention intervention treatment and recovery from mental health and substance use challenges promoting the message that behavioral health is essential to overall wellness And whereas mental health and substance use disorders affect Santa Barbara County, and all communities nationwide.

And with commitment in support those impacted can embark on a journey of improved physical health, emotional health, and overall wellness. And whereas Recovery Month celebrated every September promotes and supports new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and communities who make recovery possible in all its forms.

This year Recovery Month focuses on the four major dimensions of recovery, health home purpose and community. These are the factors that all individuals need to live healthy happy independent lives and reach their full potential. And whereas Recovery Month helps promote four key messages we can strive to be healthier and achieve our wellness goals. We all need a stable and safe place to call home finding purpose in life may be a powerful driver for recovery and building social supports in a caring community is essential for recovery And whereas the County of Santa Barbara Behavioral Wellness Department collaborates with partner agencies and community-based organizations throughout Santa Barbara County and out of county to ensure everyone has an opportunity to access services and support to achieve and sustain long term recovery.

And whereas we encourage and advocate for continued collaboration and integration of services to ensure success for individuals and groups who are in long-term recovery. And whereas our Recovery Month observance will support and highlight the multidisciplinary work efforts that are essential to improving the lives of those affected by mental health and substance use disorders, including raising awareness, educating communities, and by celebrating all recovery achievements. Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors proclaims September 2024 as Recovery Month in Santa Barbara County and encourages all residents to support men, women, youth, and their families who are in substance use disorder treatment and mental health recovery programs throughout our community passed and adopted today.

Thank you.

Chair Lavinino and board members, thank you so much for your continued support. I want to introduce who I have with me today or who I'm with, I should say that I came with them. I have Tony Navarro our director division chief Melissa Wilkins and manager my fellow manager Katarina Zamora. I also have Deshawn Chavez and Donna Freeman here from CATA and Christina Vasquez from Good Samaritan Shelter And we may have Julio Roman in Santa Barbara. I'm not sure are we still doing that? Yes, Julio if you're there hey he's with Pacific Pride Foundation so on behalf of Behavioral Wellness Alcohol and Drug Programs our staff our contracted providers some of who are here today and the many clients and families we serve we thank you for your continued support of our system of care and for acknowledging and supporting recovery this is difficult work This is not a walk in the park.

It's more like hiking mountains at the same time it is very rewarding knowing that we have your support, knowing that our work is making a difference, making a positive impact seeing lives transform families reunify and when that one client parent or family member simply says thank you and knowing there are several more people seeking our help Knocking at our door, seeking our guidance. This is what keeps us going when we are hiking that mountain.

This is why we are here. For those of you that are here, it's recovery month. It's time to celebrate. So we cannot do this work without our contracted providers, some of here today. I'd also like to thank you and the Board of Supervisors for your support. Celebrating recovery should be an every day, every moment, every step celebration. It's hard for us. It is even harder for our clients.

We thank you for your support and for highlighting Recovery Month. And I'd like to ask anybody else if they'd like to say a few things. That's all we got. Thank you.

Awesome, let's go to administrative item number three.

Chair Lavinino and members of the board administrative item number three is sponsored by Supervisor Lavinino. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the week of September 15th, 2024 through September 21st, 2024 as National Forensic Science Week in Santa Barbara County and honoring the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office Forensics Services Bureau and joining us in person today we have Lieutenant Camarena and members of the Forensic Bureau. And if you can all join us at the podium and I'll go ahead and read the resolution Whereas National Forensic Science Week from September 15th through the 21st of 2024 honors and promotes forensic science by spreading awareness and sharing information about forensic disciplines with the community.

And whereas the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office Forensics Services Bureau has demonstrated exemplary dedication and service to our community, and whereas forensic science plays a crucial role in the administration of justice providing critical evidence and expertise in investigations And whereas the members of Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office Forensic Services Bureau have consistently exhibited professionalism, integrity and skill in their work. And whereas Forensics Science Week provides an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of forensic professionals nationwide Now, therefore it is hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of Santa Barbara County hereby honors and recognizes the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office Forensic Services Bureau for their outstanding contributions to public safety and the pursuit of justice.

Passed and adopted today.

Good morning, Chair Lavinino and Supervisors. I just want to give you a quick thank you for recognizing these incredibly important professionals within your Sheriff's Office organization. They play in a very important role in providing our communities with effective public safety from the very onset of the investigation of a crime. They are responding out, they are evaluating and documenting our crime scenes, they are processing the evidence packaging the evidence and then they take it back to the lab and continue its examination and evaluation and they work incredibly closely with our criminal investigators in that successful prosecution again are providing our community with an incredibly important service, and for that we're very thankful.

And we appreciate the recognition of their professionalism so thank you.

All right well I'm now going to take up the administrative items pulled in numerical order. Madam Clerk please read administrative item number 12 into the record.

Chair Lavinino and members of the board, Administrative Item number 12 is from the County Executive Office. It is to approve budget revision request numbers 10091, 10120 and 10125. And there is a fourth vote required on these budget revisions.

Supervisor Nelson?

Yes thank you Chair Lavinino. This weekend I got to spend some time at Waller Park where I realized what poor condition the pavement is over there. And I got to see all these families enjoying their time at a county park, but then I got into my material on Monday and saw that there was budget revision for We're doing the pavement at Goleta Beach, and while I support that being done because it's really important, I think it goes along with my ongoing concern about our CIP investments. The geographic equity there, this is something, I know Goleta Beach needs this but a majority of our CIP was invested in the South County and I know that was something I brought up during budget hearings again. Not only did we in the CIP put $1 million towards this, we're gonna grab another half a million dollars of our deferred maintenance Thank you, Mr.

Chairman. underfunded on that project as well. So I just like to highlight these things because I think that there's some more work that can be done on investing in the county as a whole, so that was just my statement and then I'm happy to move it forward and support this in general but I definitely have this ongoing concern about how we are distributing our capital dollars throughout the county.

Can I get a motion?

On 12th.

I'll second. Thank you, Supervisor Nelson.

All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? 12 passes unanimously. That takes us to 8-15.

Chair Lavinino and members of the board, administrative item number 15 is from the General Services Department. It is to consider recommendations regarding the city of Santa Barbara City County Memorandum of Understanding MOU to support the administration of county funded parking permits within the city public parking facilities number six and number seven pursuant to a state mandated obligation to provide 81 parking spaces for the Superior Court of California. And this is in the first district.

Supervisor Nelson. Yes, thank you Chair Lavinino. Is General Service Director Kirk Lagwist here? I had a question for him. You know with this project, you know it's an important one. It's been on the books for a long time but one of my big concerns with this project all along was the parking that's why I didn't actually support it. You know I support it in concept but we already have a difficult parking situation in the South County that we're only going to make considerably worse by moving forward with the project. We were taking up a lot and now we're going to satisfy the needs of I know that there are contractual requirements for the courts, but I was wondering if there's any efforts to deal with the other parking issues for our county employees as a whole.

I hear from a lot of our rank-and-file workers that this constant concern that they have to park blocks away and then, you know, walk into work. Some of them work late at night especially those in probation and they have to after getting off at six or seven have to walk to their vehicles that might be far away so if they got just beyond the two hour parking restriction then those that want to park in two hours are constantly having to leave their desks to move their cars again That whole monologue is, are we doing anything else to potentially create additional parking for any of our employees down in the downtown area? Or is this all we're going to be doing moving forward?

Supervisor Nelson through the Chair. So when we were looking at the Garden Street lot, we had about 220 folks that had a parking permit that allowed them access to the Garden Street lot on average On each day, we'd have maybe 40 or 50 that would actually use the Garden Street lot that were county employees. Plus you had the judicial folks from the courts. So we looked at that and then we provided 25 parking permits to the admin lot based on traffic counts that we've had in the parking lot. We check traffic counts twice a day, morning and afternoon, to see how many are using the parking lot. And we figured with an additional 25 permits issued for the admin lot that we could absorb that in the averages there.

So we're two weeks in right now, and we're going to assess that. We issued those permits based on seniority and usage of personnel that have been using the Garden Street lot. So that leaves another maybe 20-ish that would, on average, potentially use parking. We did talk about possibly purchasing some our own parking permits for the parking garages but at $160 a month For folks that are in a hybrid situation and wouldn't use it every day, just didn't seem feasible. So we will continue to assess take traffic counts twice a day and at the end of September we're going to see what's the average based on percentage of use in the admin lot and then see if we can issue some more permits.

Is there anything we can do to survey our employees? Because there's a lot of our employees that never got parking passes at the Garden Street in the begin with, that were already using the streets and parking in neighborhoods. And so you know they were hoping eventually to age up into the Garden Street parking lot. They never got that opportunity because we cut that off and I'm hearing 80 new spots plus move over 25 We're going to lose about 100 spots and we already were in a huge deficit before. So maybe as part of that survey, not only surveying what we're currently doing but what are we not doing? What are the needs out there for our employees? I'm hearing that as a feedback from a lot of my constituents some of them that work up in the North County but then you know have promoted and now working administrative function there and now they're having to block you know park a half mile away or further and it does not seem like that's a viable option.

Some of them have requested Maybe, you know, parking in North County and taking a van down. But I've heard that idea has been shot down but I think we need to find some other solutions for parking in the downtown especially as the City of Santa Barbara starts to look at intensifying the residential uses in downtown so this is only going to get worse and that's one reason why it really wasn't big fan of probation building is because we're already taking a bad situation that we already know is gonna get worse and we're gonna make it, you know, the problem even bigger That doesn't mean we can't find solutions. We could still continue to work on solutions, I don't think we should just you know say yep we're moving forward good luck. I think we should continue to push into that find out what the issues are with some of our employees and it's often our employees they don't have to have the smallest voices.

You know we all get our parking spots you know most of the admin here the department heads they get their spots but sir rank-and-file You know, many of the people doing the hard work in the county that aren't getting those spots because they don't have either that title or that seniority. And so I just think we could be doing more and so I hope that you push in and look at looking that further.

So I'm fine with moving forward this and we need to contractually but I thought this was an important time to highlight this problem.

Okay thank you Kurt can I get a motion? So moved. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Takes us to A17.

Chair Lavinino, members of the board. Administrative item number 17 is from the General Services Department is to consider recommendations regarding an agreement for services of independent contractor ASIC for inspector of record for the probation headquarters building project. Project number one nine zero one four point three and this isn't the first district.

And then you talk to Kirk again on here at this one so Director Lagquist Again, the probation building. So you know when this came up we have this inspector of record that we're hiring it made me think about what are we doing? Are we also going through our planning process as well where the same project goes through plan check and then has inspectors during all parts of the phases of construction like a private sector does? And so I think I know the answer on that but this is kind of a substitute for doing that. But could you expand? Are we doing both or is this our inspector as part of the process of building the probation building?

Supervisor Nelson through the chair. So this inspector of record, so this is a comprehensive inspection throughout the project and we've done this on any of our large construction projects. So Northern Branch Jail had an IOR contract as well. And their primary purpose is to ensure quality, timeliness and cost-effectiveness throughout the project. So they do special testing, daily testing, daily quality. Whereas Planning & Development, their inspectors focus more on code compliance including zoning, building codes, environmental regulations and adherence to land use with CEQA.

Again, it's quality daily what's being put into the ground. You know concrete testing making sure everything is going to code as well but P&D is more of the

final. So is P& D gonna come over and make sure code compliance is that probation is going to abide by code compliance? Or are we using this inspector to satisfy the code compliance needs of this project?

P&D will eventually will come out when we do like final occupancy. And they'll throughout the construction, I mean if we call it on them to come out and look at it?

If we did but I mean are they gonna be coming out like a normal project you know P& D will come out there when you pour the footings or before you put the drywall up to make sure the electrical is done. Is that part of this process or is this P&d doing that with a county project or are we able to hire a third party like this inspector in lieu of going through the P&E process

Sorry, very low chair. So typically we only inspect buildings that we have permitted so the practice at the county has been for general services projects that they self-certify and do their own inspections and that's a process that many jurisdictions take advantage of but they don't run through their own building permit process

Sure. So they're hiring a third party essentially to do that for them, right? Correct. And they're still having to abide by the code?

Correct.

Okay so there's an ability in the state building code to hire a third party versus having a local jurisdiction permit a process or to inspect a process?

There's the ability for the county not to have to run through their own building permit process. And so then they have to self-certify through a county architect, and then they run their own code compliance. So that's, yes,

that would be the process?

That's the process,

yeah. Okay, and the advantage of that is we have a third party where if something goes wrong, we might be able They're bonded and they have some kind of accountability. If we, in the inspection process when it goes through the county process if we miss something there's no benefit to the, like they can't sue us if we miss something on the code inspection right?

We don't sue ourselves

yeah. The public can't sue us if we missed something on that right? Meanwhile in this case we have somebody we can fall back on in the future and I think this is a good model and I just want to highlight it just because I know we have some challenges in building department that there may be another pathway that still satisfies the building code, that may not have to go through the county building process. Maybe we can allow other projects to get through in a timely manner to maybe take advantage of the same options that we take for ourselves so again I just wanted to highlight that again as an issue that i think that we should be looking at is we're trying to become more business friendly You know, if you know maybe that people have a choice to go either way.

So that was kind of what I wanted to highlight with this item. So I'm fine with moving forward with the contract, but I wanted to ask some those questions answered. Thank you. All

right. Thank you very much. Can I get a motion on 17? So moved

and I'll second.

Moved and seconded all those in favor. Aye. Opposed passes unanimously. Okay, so A21 we are going to trail. However I understand that there is a public comment on A21. So what we want to do is go ahead and read it into the record. We'll accept the public comment and then we're going to trail until Supervisor Hartman arrives. So let's go to 21 please.

Chair Lavinino, members of the board. Administrative item number 21 is from the Public Works Department. It is to consider recommendations regarding the Taheqa sanitary landfill groundwater protection system phase IVA fiscal year 2024 through 2025 and 2025 through 2026 county project number 828985. And this is in the third district. There's also a four fist vote required on this item and we have one request to speak from the public and that's Jason Papich. Jason?

Good morning members of the Board of Supervisors. I'm Jason Papich, President of Papich Construction and our firm submitted a bid for the Tejigas 4A landfill cell agenda item 821. Our firm formally protested the award to Sucre Construction which staff is recommending award due today I can understand the desire to award the bid to the lowest price bidder. However, as we pointed out in our protest Suket failed to adhere to the bidding requirements and by awarding to Suket today, this will forever set precedence within the county for the ability for contractors to not necessarily follow the public bidding requirements which Pappage Construction did in this case.

And I just want to make a couple of points. Papage being the second bidder. Value of 161,627 higher or less than one 10th of a percent. Higher over did follow the strict bidding requirements. The project contains community workforce requirement. Pappage Construction, while housed in San Luis County does a significant amount of work has a large staff housed in Santa Barbara County and we can ensure that the community workforce requirement is adhered to have a lot of experience with Community Benefit Agreements, community workforce requirements It's been a long time since we've had a Board of Supervisors meeting Happen to know the firm, they're a good firm.

And know some of their people which live in Bakersfield and beyond that spoke to having come to this job not real happy about it but my folks are eager and ready to perform the project and have the resources here to do it. So today I encourage the board to reject tickets bid awarding the bid to the lowest responsive responsible contractor package construction and who will adhere to all I'm going to talk a little bit about the process of completion of the critical infrastructure for the county package construction completed the last adjacent phase in 2014 to 4. We know the materials we know the complexities of the job. We have the resources to do it. There was a lot attorney letters that went back and So if there's any questions about those details, if you need any further information that you weren't able to digest I'm here to answer any questions today.

Well, thank you for being here. Supervisor Nelson?

Yes. Thank you. I think Jason and just for ex parte disclosure, I've talked to Jason quite a bit about this contract to this point. I've gotten to know Jason over the years. Many of his employees are constituents of my district and supervisor Lavanino. So perhaps construction is a well known entity. This was actually rebid, right? So the first time it was out for bid you guys actually were the high bidder. Is that right? We were the second bidder, Suket

was the higher bidder

Right so but you are the lower bidder But then there was another one that was not responsible and it was thrown out and your eyes where they original

we were actually provided a contract which we signed then Suket protested us in the second position. It was decided by the county That was financially proved to be a good visit that approach to take. We all sharpened our pencil, I'll say and you know came in a fair amount lower than the first round. Unfortunately so could just didn't follow all of the bidding requirements in the subcontractor listing and within that it leaves And potential claims and like I spoke to earlier precedent setting that I don't think the county necessarily wants and I want it on the record mostly because I ever make that mistake.

You know, and it could give us an advantage in the future. I want to make sure this is on the record.

Okay. Yeah, this is kind of strange because I don't know how we want to break this up and I'm sorry that you know we don't have all of our board members here but we definitely wanted to wait until we had a full board she might be here in 10 or 15 minutes so I think what I'd rather do is will go to public comment and then So we're going to trail can I get a do I need a motion to trailer which is going to trail a 21. Until after public comment at least now takes us

Chair Lavinino and members of the board. Yes, we have 11 requests to speak from the public on general public comment and all 11 are here in Santa Maria. We will begin with Dennis Carreras to be followed by Steve Wagner. Dennis?

Okay, and all of our speakers will be given three minutes this morning and I'm going to close the roll of public comment so we will have those 11 speakers. Good morning.

Good morning. Here to speak about Del Cielo Mobile Home Estates. It's going to be They're trying to get some change into the park. I just here to tell you that I have a handyman license and I do business in Del Cielo and I work for these people that have been retired for up You know, if it's a water spigot irrigation, a faucet, a garbage disposal. So any increase or any change that's going to happen in the park? It's going to affect a lot of people these people have been retired for many years. There's a fixed income they get by and I don't charge like the other guy, you know, I don't have any overhead, you know, I have a liability insurance and I have license But I make an exception for a lot of them.