Board of Supervisors — 2024-12-03

Good morning everybody. I'd like to call to order the December 3rd, 2024 meeting of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Madam Clerk can we get a roll call please?

So

moved.

Second.

Moved and seconded all those in favor? Aye Any opposed? Passes unanimously.

Thank You Mr. Chair this morning I have an update on the work to resolve the encampments in the Santa Maria Riverbed Work initially started more than a year ago when Community Services Department Homeless Assistance Program initiated efforts to address the more than 100 large encampments sheltering approximately 150 individuals in the Santa Maria Riverbed area.

Many encampments also include animals such as dogs, cats and chickens. The photos on the left of the screen were taken in July and the photos on the right were taken in October and show the difference made over those three months. As the county staff led a coordinated effort involving San Luis Obispo County, the City of Santa Maria, Caltrans, law enforcement and service providers.

During that time 100 individuals received case management and housing support from GoodSAM, Five Cities Homeless Coalition and the Public Health, Public Defender and Behavioral Health teams. Additionally, 150 tons of debris including hazardous materials were cleared. Care for Paws and the San Luis Obispo Animal Control Services treated or rescued dozens of animals.

This collaborative effort resulted in improved environmental conditions and positive outcomes for many unhoused individuals. I'd also like to thank Joe Davonic with our Community Service Department for his boots on the ground leadership of this effort. And Joe is here if you have any questions for him.

Yeah. He's using Joe if you could come to the mic I don't have any questions but I just want to say this was an issue that was plaguing Santa Maria and the entire community for over a year, I mean it this was. This was such an eyesore coming over the bridge it was kind of depressing coming back from San Luis Obispo all the time you come into your city and this was the first thing that people would see I just want to show my appreciation. I know this was a coordinated effort to our CEO's office. I know Wade really went to bat for us. I want to also thank the CEO of San Luis County, Matt Pontus, for getting us rolling up in there. I want to remind people that that entire area is the property of San Luis Obispo County but I appreciate their willingness to help us, the City of Santa Maria providing their Rangers Caltrans cleaning out underneath on their right-of-way underneath the bridge.

I just wanted to thank you both so much, your leadership. This was done in a humane manner. People were safely extricated from some of these very scary conditions that they were living in. I got to go out the first day and witness firsthand the first deputy ranger and deputy that walked up As we went to remove somebody, the first thing we heard was don't reach for that weapon from the deputy. So there was somebody in there with a gun right off the bat.

There were animals out there, there were chickens that needed to be rounded up. It was a Herculean task and Joe and Jesus your leadership really made a big difference.

I'd like to comment. Chairman Levenino, members of the board particularly Assistant CEO Wade we appreciate very much those kind remarks but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that it wasn't the director of the department at the Stafford it was really Joe Dysvonik he led the whole effort organized it work with his partners across the river Worked very closely with elected officials that also began to exhibit interests across the river. And we particularly want to acknowledge the work that you did and the work that Bob, Supervisor Nelson did. Your support your leadership your strong consistent attention to the progress that was being made was instrumental in allowing us to realize a success that we think we've achieved We want to also underscore that this is not just a one-off.

We hope to continue to pay attention to this and we will be bringing to the board in a matter of weeks proposal about keeping an eyes on that river to make sure it doesn't return to the state that was depicted in the photographs. Joe, if you would?

Thank you, Director Armas and thank you Chair Lavagnino and members of the board and Wade for all the appreciation you're showing me. I just want to thank as I would also Kimberly Albers if she's watching. Thank you for laying the groundwork for this and the funding for this and Lucille Boss for putting together the structure and the concepts that make all of this happen. I was proud to get out there and lead it but it certainly could not have happened without their brain work and their determination so I just want to thank them personally as well and wish they were here.

Supervisor Nelson?

Yes, thank you Chair Lavagnino. I just want to go back to about a year ago when this process started. I was pretty involved in it because I had been really involved in the Lompoc Riverbed cleanup back when I was a Chief of Staff and so I was really interested in the approach that we take and how to solve this problem and like some of us elected officials do, we start to micromanage projects and Joe at that time said Let me handle this, you know and I was concerned. I said well then who's going to be responsible if this doesn't work out? And Joe said I will be and I mean that amount of extreme leadership and ownership is something that I should think it needs to be really looked at in this county and brought up.

That gave me comfort as elected to just take a step back and make sure I give you the resources or I worked at lobby to make sure we had you have the resources necessary to make the project successful and you absolutely delivered and I think it's just a real tribute to a team effort. You know I can't stress enough Almost none of these parcels were in the County of Santa Barbara. But yet, we knew that these were our residents that were now living in San Luis Obispo County and they needed help and these impacts to our residents. So instead of passing a buck like a lot of other governmental agencies typically do, you know, Santa Barbara County stepped up. I think I might have the number right but I think the resources that went into this project 80% of those were from County of Santa Barbara, our organization.

Yes, we had partnerships and help from the City of Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo County But that's an extreme amount of investment that we all made in that at this board. And so I want to just thank Joe and Jesus and their team when I think the CEO, and I want to thank my colleagues for continuing to support this without the five of us working together. This would be possible.

were when we did the original riverbed cleanup there was that we walked away when we were done. And I think it's going to take ongoing diligence and set the new norm is that this is what the expectations are, and hopefully through that we can have ongoing success in that area. So thank you.

Supervisor Hartman?

Well, I think another lesson that we learn is you've got to have a place to offer people to go. You can't just be pushing them around from one place to another and for that I think it took tremendous courage for Supervisors Lavinino and Nelson to stand up in a community where people really hadn't seen a success and really thought the only solution was to push people around. It took a lot of political heat to create Hope Village, but I believe that that is what enabled us to along with other shelters and opportunities that are available. But that really made this river cleanup possible and I contacted Joe several times over the last several months and he was always in the riverbed.

This was hands-on hard work. He really did take Personal responsibility for this and it's been an extraordinary effort. I hope people are seeing a change in our county, I do when I take the train, when I drive the freeway we are making a difference but I would say there's one place left that really desperately is a humanitarian crisis And we need to work with the city of Lompoc and the residents of Lompoc because what's happening in the Santa Ynez River is unconscionable.

We just can't stand by any longer, and I know you're as committed as I am to take this success and help them understand that they too can have a picture like that So thank you from the bottom of my heart because it gives us all a sense of accomplishment and a great sense of hope.

Yep, thanks a lot. Thank

you

appreciate it All right, is that finished CEO's report?

We have more to go.

Yeah we're just rolling let's go!

On a more seasonal note the county is sponsoring the Unity Shop and the Marine Corps Toys for Tots toy drive where county employees and the public may donate new unwrapped toys. Collection bins are located in the County Administration Building in Santa Barbara and San Maria through December 18th. Collection boxes are also located at county fire stations Executive director of the uni shop Angela Miller Bevin is join us from the hearing room Santa Barbara to say a few words.

She's in Santa Barbara and we'll

see if.

And if we can get Santa Barbara on the screen here in Santa Maria. Can you hear me now

Thank you for having me today. I just want to tell you how grateful we are for your continued support over the years with our toys for tots program, the gifts that are collected go to well deserving young children in our community and we're just blessed to have such a giving community and Thank you for bringing up the about Lompoc and getting them some help because we also have opened a unity shop in Lompok. So, we are continuing on with helping others in Santa Barbara County.

So thank you very much.

Thank you. And today the board would like to contribute to the drive and all these toys will go to low income needy children in our community.

Thanks Wade so Doss you want to talk about your gift?

Sure, this is a school bus and I believe that you vote every day with how you spend money on what kind of world you want to live in. So it's made in USA so workers get paid good wages. It's fully recycled plastic therefore using less carbon emissions. Uh-oh let me look at my box. It's also. Just from you know, you'd a made in USA little toy is hard to find it's 2 blocks You know Amazon moving boxes all over the place and filling up our landfill so.

This this an example of the kind of toy you can get for relatively affordable amounts in from

Thank you along those lines. This is from this is a nature art set, but from a bookstore and bookstores are incredibly important especially in young minds as from Chaucer's which just celebrated their 50th anniversary and a passing of the torch with new leadership local leadership my son helped us pick this out. It's a nature arts at which combines all good things for kids nature art and books

supervisor Hartman

Let's see, I serve on the Fire Safe Council and am always encouraging people to do more to help our firefighters be fire safe. So that's the professional reason but I also have a three-year-old grandson who recently moved to Goleta and he is just crazy about firefighters and he often likes to be carried but if I can point out a fire hydrant I can get him to run like a firefighter and don't have to lug him around

Supervisor Nelson. Yes, thank you Chair Lavineto. Never too early to start the career in farming and so our office is a John Deere office of my assistant Elizabeth her brother Sal is the general manager over there at Cal Coast here in Santa Maria and so we just always like to encourage our young kids to start thinking about their future and where food comes from so we've got a John Deere

dump truck here Very cool and in the kind of the same vein that the county's had a really hard time recruiting. So we can get somebody out there started to have a great career at the county so I guess we'll take the toys down and put them in the bin.

Oh, we got to get a photo.

That's right. Okay now I'm very curious, what would a county council gift? What was that?

It was a very strong Disney princess.

Oh strong Disney princess right on okay very cool all right yeah what were you expecting like she would give law books for

Christmas?

Free legal advice So CEO assistant, Assistant CEO Wharton put the two names together. Are we? Is that the end of it? We're done. Okay, we're done. Sounds good. Madam Clerk any changes or announcements to our agenda today?

Good morning. Chair Lavagnino members of the board I do have a few announcements this morning we received a continuance request from the auditor controllers office for administrative item number 8 administrative item number 8 is regarding the AB 1600 mitigation fee annual report for fiscal year 2023 through 2024, the auditor controllers offices requesting to continue to the December 17th 2024 meeting in Santa Barbara and with no requests Additionally we received a withdrawal request from the General Services Department for administrative item number 27. Administrative item number 27 is regarding an agreement with Iron Mountain for countywide document shredding services and with no requests to speak on this item as well, this withdrawal of the item can be added to the balance of the administrative agenda Additionally we have a correction to be announced from the department on administrative item number 50.

Administrative Item Number 50 is from the Public Works Department, Board of Directors Flood Control and Water Conservation District. It is regarding a second amendment to the Agreement for Services of Independent Contractor for Maintenance of Revegetation for the Santa Maria River Realignment Project and this is in the 5th district And the correction should be reflected in recommendation B to read authorize an increase of 40,000 to the contingency amount of 27,000. To a total contingency amount and this should read 67,000 to the agreement with environscaping enviroscaping Inc. And lastly for the Board of Supervisors methods of participation and to provide public comment on general public comment or an item on 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 area code 805-568-2240 again that number is 805-562-240 and that concludes my announcements for today

okay thank you very much next item business is the administrative agenda would any board members like to pull any items from the agenda supervisor Hartman

831.

831 supervisor Nelson none supervisor Williams a 1717 got it okay madam clerk do any members of the public wish to pull any items from the agenda?

Chair Lavagnino, members of the board we have 14 number 58 yep

Okay, so I'll now entertain a motion to approve the balance of the administrative agenda except for A17, 831 and 858 with the continuance of A8 and withdrawal of A27. Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. The next item

Chair Lavinino, members of the board. Administrative item number one is sponsored by Supervisor Lavinino. It is to adopt a resolution of accommodation honoring Monica, excuse me, Monica Gagliardini of Child Support Services as the December 2024 Employee of the Month in Santa Barbara County and joining us in person today we have Monica Gagliardini, Josie Felix and Meta Richardson And if you can please come to the podium and I'll go ahead and read the resolution.

Whereas Monica Galliardini exemplifies the county's organizational values of accountability, customer focus, equity and inclusion, innovation, trust, and ethics. And whereas Monica Galliardini models that transformative behaviors of collaborative problem solving alignment with the county's vision risk taking data driven decision making and strategic thinking And whereas Monica Galliardini has a wide variety of critical responsibilities within the department including conducting staff training, managing high-profile and high conflict child support cases, preparing and filing documents in cases before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, monitoring cases with an incarcerated participant, and a significant number of other important assignments which contribute to the strong performance of the department.

And whereas Monica Galliardini has been a leader in working with stakeholders throughout the department to create and maintain the Microsoft OneNote application, which documents the Department's processes and best practices. It is an invaluable tool used daily throughout the department to support staff who operate in a child support program that is highly complex and ever-evolving with frequent legal policy and procedural changes.

And whereas Monica Galliardini quietly and without self-promotion performs excellent work day after day, month after month and year after year can be counted on when times get tough will drop what she is doing to assist others when needed and brightens the day of everyone she encounters as she carries out her job responsibilities with kindness compassion and the utmost competence.

Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors recognizes Monica Galliardini as the employee of the month for December 2024 passed and adopted today.

Good morning chair Levin you know and members of the board I met a Richardson child support services director and I am so pleased to be here today along with Josie Felix. Child Support Services supervisor to honor Monica Galliardini as the county's December 2024 employee of the month in Monica's role as a child support Officer Senior, she navigates many of the most complex child support issues and she develops training programs for child support officers throughout the department.

In her 25 years with a department Monica has without fail and without exception embraced her many responsibilities with professionalism expertise, kindness, empathy, positivity, calmness, accuracy and efficiency. Monica was selected for this honor by our Child Support Services team and is someone who everyone wants on their team because she is an outstanding and collaborative team member who not only gets the job done but who is also a pleasure to work with.

Thank you Monica for everything you do for our department. Josie Felix, Monica's supervisor would like to say a few words.

Good morning. For 25 years Monica has been a key part of child support services and I've had the privilege of working alongside her for 22 of those years I was Monica's first trainee, then later became a trainer myself and I've had the opportunity to learn and grow because of her. Monica's dedication expertise and kindness set her apart she's the one we all turn to when we need guidance or a fresh perspective. Monica calm demeanor and collaborative approach make even the toughest challenges feel manageable and her sense of humor keeps the team grounded whether she's training new staff mentoring her peers working on reports or updating our business processes she does it all with professionalism and a caring attitude Monica, you're not just a fantastic coworker and a dear friend to me.

You truly the heart of our team. Congratulations and thank you for everything. Thank you. Madam Clerk, A2.

Chair Lavinino, members of the board. Administrative item number two is sponsored by Supervisor Kaps and Supervisor Hartman. It is to adopt a resolution commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Junior League of Santa Barbara and joining us via Zoom today we have Jenny Elise Ramirez. And if we can see Jenny on the screen I will go ahead and read the resolution.

Whereas Junior League of Santa Barbara Inc., JLSB, was established in 1924 as an organization whose mission is to advance women's leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration and training. And whereas for the past century, JLSB has been a driving force in cultivating a culture of active citizenship, community involvement and personal development among its members. And whereas JLSB has consistently demonstrated a commitment to the betterment of society through various impactful projects, initiatives and community service endeavors. And whereas JLSB's focus area is improving the lives of at-risk young women by educating and empowering them to reach their full potential while working to prevent exploitation and injustice in our community.

And whereas JLSB has served as a beacon of inspiration by fostering a spirit of innovation, collaboration and social responsibility among its members. Thereby contributing significantly to the growth in progress of the city and county of Santa Barbara. And whereas JLS B has played a vital role in shaping It is fitting to recognize and commend the organization for a century of unwavering commitment to fostering leadership, community service and personal development among the women in Santa Barbara. Now therefore be it hereby ordered We express gratitude for the organization's century-long commitment to empowering young leaders and making a positive impact in communities past and adopted today.

Thank you so much chair and members of the board. I am Jenny Elise Ramirez, the current president of the Junior League of Santa Barbara. The Junior League of Santa Barbara is an organization of women whose mission is to advance women's leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action collaboration and training. We did start in 1924 so we are extremely excited to be celebrating our 100th year We partner with many local non-profits, helping them further their missions reaching more and more people. One of those partners is an organization called 4 Kids 2 Kids, and together we work to create a safe place and help support survivors of trafficking.

In 2018, we facilitated the opening of our Safe House which is a six bed shelter for girls 12 to 18. We have served 177 girls since inception which is wonderful. In 2020, we facilitated the opening of Living Arrows which is a two six bed shelter one for boys and one for girls ages 18 to 21. And since inception, we have served 81 boys and girls. Another very exciting thing about this year's the Junior League is excited to be giving away $100,000 For the hundredth year to our community through our Community Assistance Funds grants. These are grants that we award to local nonprofits, this is a program that started in 1988 with an average of five to 10 K. given out each year, and this year we are giving 10 times more that with a lofty goal of $100,000.

So please let every nonprofit know to apply for those grants. The Junior League of Santa Barbara has always believed in the transformative power of action by addressing today's challenges. We are laying the groundwork for a future that reflects the values of compassion, inclusivity and progress. I'm so proud to be the president of this incredible organization of changemakers Together we are proving that when we empower the present they lead, thrive and shine. Thank you all so much for recognizing the Junior League of Santa Barbara for their hundred years of service to our beautiful Santa Barbara community and I cannot wait to see what we can accomplish in the next 100 years.

Let's go to A3 or yeah A3

Chair Lavinino and members of the Board, Administrative Item number 3 is sponsored by Supervisor Capps. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the month of December 2024 as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month in Santa Barbara County and joining us in person today we have our District Attorney John Savarnak and joining us via Zoom we have Victoria Plascencia And if we could see Victoria on the screen and John and who else you would like to join you at the podium I'll go ahead and read the resolution.

Whereas, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring road safety by preventing impaired driving and increasing awareness about the dangers of driving while under the influence And whereas from January 1st, 2023 to January 1st 2024 Santa Barbara County experienced 283 alcohol related crashes resulting in 17 fatalities and 344 injuries. And whereas in the first half of 2024 alone 134 alcohol impaired driving incidents in Santa Barbara County led to one fatality and 24 serious injuries And whereas the physical, mental and emotional consequences of driving under the influence can be devastating leading to injury loss of life and lasting impacts on victims and families.

And where as December is recognized as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month because it is one of the most dangerous months for driving around the holidays. And in December 2023 29 DUI related collisions in Santa Barbara County resulted in 4 fatalities and 33 injuries. And whereas the goal of recognizing national impaired driving prevention month is to educate drivers on preventing themselves and others from driving impaired and to raise awareness about the dangers of driving under the influence of any alcohol or substances throughout the month of December. Now therefore be it hereby ordered him resolved that this Board of Supervisors declares the month of December 2024 is national impaired driving prevention month in Santa Barbara County and recognizes mothers against drunk driving for their efforts

Supervisor Capps, through the chair. I know that this is a violent crime that has impacted your family and I thank you for supporting this resolution. We are all shocked, horrified, angered and frustrated when we see and read the reports In the District Attorney's Office, we feel it profoundly in interacting with the victims who continue to suffer as a result of this preventable crime.

As we interact with the officers who are exposed to the horrors that can be I am extremely proud of the ever burgeoning partnership that the District Attorney's Office has with Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Because Mothers Against Drunk Driving don't let the frustration win. They continue to give us hope. They continue to emphasize the need to get the message out, to avoid this.

To avoid those horrible phone calls and visits from law enforcement officers in the middle of the night. I put up a lot of Christmas trees and on the big tree in my living room in the center. I have a very simple it's a glass heart with metallic confetti and don't worry, I won't send it to the landfill. It will always be in my tree And a simple note from a woman by the name of Victoria Flores, who when I was in Fresno was the chair of the local MADD chapter.

She is a mother that will forever grieve the loss of her son to an impaired driver. And she manifested that grief by trying to keep other people from feeling the way that she felt on that night and for the rest of her life. And this isn't about threats of prosecution because I can assure you that's not a threat. That's a promise. The District Attorney's Office will aggressively prosecute DUIs, we will very aggressively prosecute any impaired driver that hurts or kills someone but none of us want to go there It is about the messaging. It is about avoiding it in the first place, make a plan.

The more people that know, the more people are aware, the more people that talk to everybody that you have contact with, the fewer impaired drivers will be out there and given that every impaired driver is a threat to the life and safety of all of us in Santa Barbara County If each and every one of us just impacts one person, we have made a significant difference. It is my sincere hope in this season of giving that what we give each other are safe roads so we can enjoy the holidays, so we can provide the necessary services, we can get to work, we ca live our lives without facing the risks that impaired drivers give. And for further bolstering, giving me the continued will to continue to fight I thank the wonderful people at Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Victoria?

Thank you so much for having me. It really means a lot to be here, and I do wish I was in person with you all shoulder-to-shoulder. There's a different energy with that. My name is Victoria Plasencia. I have the joy of serving our beautiful Central Coast region For Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. It's always been such an honor to work with the Office of Supervisor Laura Capps, her staff, her team and also the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office.

Their commitment to combating impaired driving has been absolutely remarkable and consistent, and their dedication towards public safety is admirable. They continue to strive towards improving and protecting the lives of our county, our city, our roadways, communities, neighborhoods, and our families. The holidays are meant to be enjoyed with our loved ones, and one life taken or one empty seat at the table from a 100% preventable crime is absolutely unacceptable.

MADD's new tagline is Impaired Driving Ends Here. We will be dedicated to this in our everyday work, which involves implementing our prevention education for youth, parents and professionals, attending DUI saturations and checkpoints, hosting victim storytelling and impact panels, and supporting youth-led campaigns In 2024, MADD California facilitated 220 presentations to youth about traffic safety, underage substance abuse prevention and how to avoid getting into a vehicle with an impaired driver. 27,299 participants sat in on our victim impact panels and 530,460 education materials were distributed.

These few tools are part of our much larger mission to end impaired driving. As the holidays are one of the highest at-risk times for impaired driving crashes, this resolution comes perfect timing and will spark awareness, a sense of duty and accountability for each of us not just public servants or the folks who are in the industry or elected officials but rather a responsibility of civilian to civilian, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend to create safer roadways so that every person can get to their destination or enjoy the season with their loved ones.

We are grateful for the sponsorship of this resolution from the Office of Supervisor Laura Capps, and MADD supports today's resolution wholeheartedly. Be it resolved that mothers against drunk driving hereby accepts the proposed resolution regarding the Declaration of December 2024 as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month in Santa Barbara County. Thank you so much.

Thank you supervisor caps.

Yeah, thank you to our district attorney and his team who have made this a top priority and to mad to represent so many people so many people who've lost loved ones who channel that Immense grief and pain into action because what we're doing today is spreading the word and that's this is one challenge that if we just continue to talk about it continue to beat the drum. Everybody makes choices every day that impacts others, and this is one choice as the holidays are upon us with festivities that we can all make that really impacts other people's lives just be responsible there's no reason in this day and age with with Uber, with Lyft, with making a plan that anyone has to drive impaired. As the District Attorney mentioned my mom and dad were struck by a drunk driver years ago on Highway 154.

Thankfully they survived weeks in the hospital for my father And it's just taught me a huge lesson of how you channel that pain, and my heart goes out to so many people affiliated with Mothers Against Drunk Driving because they don't get to have their loved ones at the holiday table this year. So thank you for this resolution and again to the District Attorney for your actions.

Thank you. Supervisor Hartman?

Yeah, I thank you for your impassioned speech about this and thank you to Matt and to Supervisor Capps. This is really resonating I think across our community because we recently lost two little girls just outside Lompoc And what people may not know is one of our county employees, not an emergency worker held one of those little girls thrown from the car in his arms as she died. And there's no excuse for this and so each of us I know our County Substance Use Disorder we're working with people all the time but That can't happen. And so thank you so much for bringing this and focusing attention on it right now because it's especially painful.

Thank you, Supervisor.

Thank you. That takes us to our last administrative resolution which is Administrative Item Number 4.

Chair Lavinino, members of the board. Administrative item number four is sponsored by Supervisor Capps and Supervisor Hartman. It is to adopt a resolution in support of immigrants and migrants in Santa Barbara County. And joining us here in person today we have Maria Salguero from the Immigrant Legal Defense Center and via Zoom we have Leslie Marin Juarez from the Santa Barbara City College Dream Center.

And if Maria can please join us at the podium and I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas the County of Santa Barbara believes that the physical safety and emotional well-being of all children, individuals and families in our county is critical to providing for and protecting our quality of life. And no election result changes our commitment to all people within our county. All those who live in our county can depend on county staff to model and maintain an environment of respect and compassion for all individuals.

And whereas with potential policy changes coming from the next administration, we believe it is important to affirm our policies as supporting all individuals regardless of immigration status. And whereas furthermore within a highly charged atmosphere driven by national politics, it is all the more imperative to reduce the fear that is being felt locally throughout our county We can do so by dispelling myths, sharing accurate information about the many resources available to the immigrant and migrant community and working to mitigate bullying harassment and discrimination of all kinds. And whereas the county provides a social safety net to our most vulnerable individuals and families many of which serve immigrants and migrants irrespective of status such as the state's nutrition assistance program CalFresh these services will continue and we will ensure that those accessing them are safe and supported And whereas California officially became a sanctuary state in 2017 when Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 54, also known as the California Values Act.

The law limits cooperation between state and local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. And whereas there are many organizations dedicated to supporting the welfare of immigrants and migrants including Immigrant Legal Defense Center in Porta Santa Barbara We are committed to supporting our community and work collaboratively for a stronger Santa Barbara County.

The board of Supervisors meeting

Chair and members of the board, thank you. My name is Maria Salguero. I'm a staff attorney with the Immigrant Legal Defense Center, the ILDC here in Santa Maria. The ILDC was operating starting in 2019 and I was the first staff attorney that the organization hired in 2020 and since then we have expanded our growth and our reach To serve Santa Barbara County and the tri counties.

And the immigrant communities that we represent so we are a very unique organization we provide removal defense before federal judges to prevent deportation mass deportations of Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here with members in our community and as we know, immigrants really make up America and Santa Barbara County in our community. So we're really here to honor and represent our communities, especially now given the national and even local election results. We are more committed to preserving our communities into advocating and on behalf of our executive director Julissa Pena

Thank you. I think we have people on Zoom, yeah. Do we have Zoom? I saw that there was...

Yes, Chair Lavagnino and members of the Board, we have Leslie Marin-Juarez from the Santa Barbara City College Dream Center on Zoom.

Good morning, Chair and members of the Board. My name is Leslie Marin. I am the Dream Center student program advisor who has the privilege of serving our undocumented and mixed status students Here at Santa Barbara City College, I'd like to take this time to express my deepest gratitude to Supervisor Capps and Supervisor Hartman for co-sponsoring this resolution. This resolution is a beacon of light in challenging times and it reminds us that when we stand together, we can foster a culture that not only uplifts but respects everyone. Thank you all so much.

Thank you. Supervisor Capps?

Thank you, Chair Lavagnino and to our advocates in our community and to Supervisor Hartman for co-sponsoring this with me. I feel extremely strongly about this resolution. I wrote every word because what we're up against right now is fear. I lived through this as a school board member in 2016 where Immigrants from all different types of statuses stop showing up for health care appointments stopped accessing meals that their children qualified for in schools.

Just again we're gripped by fear by myths by rumors so our task right now we are a nation of immigrants, we are County of immigrants or staff or immigrants are migrants. Our challenge right now I firmly believe is to Communicate the accurate information about what rights exists, what programs exist regardless of status. To partner with Congressman Carbajal who's working on mental health services to partner with our state representatives we did an information session again I think in our short term right now between now and January 20th that explaining rights making sure everybody has information to the right stakeholders Thank you for the opportunity to bring this forward and to the groups that are doing this work every day we heard from 2 of them our schools.

Our safe havens, our hospitals are safe havens. Our churches places of worship are safe havens people need to understand what is exactly the situation here as we face very uncertain times so I appreciate it thank you.

Thank you very much. Okay that closes out our resolutions will now take up the administrative items pulled in numerical order Madam Clerk can you please read administrative item number 17 into the record? I believe so. What was 17 dust did you just pulled 70.