Board of Supervisors — 2025-09-09

Okay, good morning everybody. Welcome to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Good morning, good morning. Got some excitement in the house. I call to order this meeting of September 9th 2025. Madam Clerk please call the roll.

Second.

Thank you, Supervisor Lee. All those in favor please say aye. Aye. Motion carries

Good morning Chair Kaps and board members, just two items this morning. One is just a quick note that the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce hosted a state-of-the-county presentation at the end of August. Myself, Chair Kaps and Supervisor Lee along with Peter Rupert from UCSB gave presentations on the state of our county. The entire presentation can be viewed on CSB TV channel 20 on Monday at 6 p.m., Friday at 9 a.m. and Sunday at 3 p.

or for on-demand access on our CSB TV YouTube page. Next, I want to announce that the winning artwork from the county's 170th anniversary art contest will be revealed live during this board meeting today as part of the first ceremonial resolution using the new design. All future ceremonial board resolutions will feature this artwork which are now printed with the highest sustainability standards in mind It's on 100% recycled FSC certified paper and green seal certified materials, which means it meets the strict standards for responsible forest management and reduced environmental impact.

We also want to thank all the artists who actually entered the contest. We were thrilled to see more than 40 submissions come in that represented our county so beautifully. We look forward to showing you the new artwork and introducing you to the artist when resolutions are presented momentarily. Thank you chair.

Thank You Madam CEO Okay, Madam Clerk do we have any announcements or changes to our agenda?

Chair Caps and members of the board I do have a few announcements this morning. I have a brief announcement regarding Administrative Item Number 17 from the Human Resources Department regarding an amendment to the employment contract for County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato in accordance with Government Code Section 54953C3 prior to taking final action the legislative body shall orally report a summary I have a recommendation for a final action including for fringe benefits of any local agency executive during the open meeting in which the final action is to be taken. There is no salary change associated with administrative item number 17 from the human resources department regarding an amendment to the employment contract For County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato, the CEO has requested that no salary increase be given this year.

Approval of the recommended amendment to the Agreement for Services as County Executive Officer amends the current agreement by providing additional management leave and clarifying language regarding education and professional development for the county executive officer effective September 9th 2025. The oral reading of the recommendations with this action is intended to satisfy this requirement Additionally, we received a request from the Planning and Development Department to withdraw departmental item number three. Departmental item number three is from the Planning and Development Department. It is a hearing to consider recommendations regarding a report on case number 24-APL6, bid well appeal of the Mariposa Investment Trust Agricultural Water Well in the Eastern Goleta Valley Community Plan Area Second District.

And the board can take action on that with the approval of the balance of the administrative agenda. And lastly for the Board of Supervisors methods of public participation and to provide public comment on general public comment or on an item on the board's agenda, please see page 2 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 two. If you have any questions please contact the Clerk of the Board's Office at area code 805-568-2240 again that's 568 2240 and that concludes my announcements for today

Okay, excellent. Supervisor Nielsen did you? No okay great well then we'll move on to our administrative agenda would any members of the board like to pull any items I know that Supervisor Lee and I have pulled A26 are there any in addition? A7

and A10.

And then also the member, a member of the public has pulled A7. Is that correct Madam

Clerk? Chair Caps and members of the board that is correct we have two requests to speak from the public on administrative item number seven.

Okay so with that I will now entertain a motion to approve the balance of the administrative agenda except for A7, A10 and A26. So

moved. Second.

Okay all those in favor please say

aye.

Aye. Motion passes And Chair Kaps, members of the board would the board like to also take action on the withdrawal request for departmental item number three as previously read into the record? Yes please.

So

moved. Second.

Okay thank you Supervisor Hartman with a second by Supervisor Lee all those in favor please say aye. Aye and thank you to the appellant for withdrawing that appreciate that we'll move right along to the resolutions many of you are here for The resolution is to be presented. Madam Clerk, when you're ready will you please read administrative item number one into

the

record?

Chair Caps and members of the Board, Administrative Item Number One is sponsored by Supervisor Caps. It is to adopt a resolution commemorating the 175th anniversary of the County of Santa Barbara with the adoption of Aiden Kweipoom's artwork as the official ceremonial resolution design in Santa Barbara County. And as CEO Miyasato shared earlier in an honor of our county's 175th anniversary, we are excited to unveil the new artwork that will appear on all future resolutions of commendation and proclamations. Today we are especially pleased to recognize the winning artist at this time I'd like to invite Aiden Kweipoom to the podium so the board can acknowledge this wonderful contribution and celebrate its place in our County's history And I'll go ahead and read the resolution.

Whereas September 9th, 2025 marks the 175th anniversary of California statehood a milestone that has also represents the founding of Santa Barbara County as one of the state's original 27 counties. And whereas to commemorate this important anniversary, the county conducted an art competition to design a new ceremonial resolution certificate that reflects the region's natural beauty and historic legacy. And whereas the artwork of Aidan Kweipoom, a local artist, children's book illustrator and graphic designer was selected by the Arts Commission for its evocative portrayal of our region's iconic flora and fauna. And whereas the design draws inspiration from historical illuminated manuscripts incorporating And whereas the Board of Supervisors issues ceremonial resolutions to formally honor individuals, organizations and events serving as both an official record and a lasting keepsake that fosters civic pride, strengthens community ties and reflects the board's appreciation for those who enrich our community.

Now, therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby acknowledge the resolution commemorating the 175th anniversary of the County of Santa Barbara with the adoption of Aiden Kweipoom's artwork as the official ceremonial resolution design passed and adopted today.

I'd like to thank everyone so much for giving me this honor of getting my artwork selected. It means a lot to me and I had such an amazing time designing this for the county.

Mr. Kipum, I just wanted to have this chance to thank you directly but also just if you could elaborate what inspired you to submit something like this? It's not a typical thing that an artist might do and just if you could speak a little bit to the design so that those of us who spend a lot of time signing these and thinking about them and awarding them to so many members of the community we will have a little bit of a sense of your inspiration.

Yeah, of course. So I saw the ad on Instagram. Perfect. So as browsing through you know my art like Instagram and I saw this I'm like oh my gosh this sounds like a really fun and exciting opportunity to like so I just like you know why not? You know you'll never know you won't know what happened so I just you know just decided Look into like what Santa Barbara meant to me, and how I can incorporate like my experience with Santa Barbara and I just kind of was inspired by the illuminated manuscripts of like the medieval times.

And I thought you know that might be something nice to incorporate for the design. So for like the other motifs, like the poppy tiles I see. I remember seeing tiles everywhere in Santa Barbara. Yeah so I thought you know a little nice little touch and then like on my hikes I saw like butterflies like the monarch butterflies and like the egrets in the quails and then you know all like the coastal regions of Santa Barbara and then you know the strawberries and the farms and the cows. I thought that was like a really nice touch. So yeah

it's wonderful. Yeah, thank you. I just think you did such a nice job at capturing our county and I really appreciate that you took the effort and thanks to Ms. Rubin for organizing the whole process and all of us for doing it. Thank you so much. Okay Madam Clerk next resolution please

Chair Caps and members of the board, Administrative Item number two is sponsored by Supervisor Caps and Supervisor Lee. It is to adopt a resolution honoring the 150th anniversary of Santa Barbara High School and the 50th anniversary of the Santa Barbara High School Alumni Association in Santa Barbara County. And joining us in person today we have Principal Edward Gomez and President of the Alumni Association Tali Richards-Versola and anyone else you'd like to join with you at the podium?

I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas founded in 1875, founded in 1875 Santa Barbara High School stands as a cornerstone of our community, a historic institution that continues to shape the spirit pride and future of Santa Barbara. It is the sixth oldest continuously operated public high school in California and the second oldest in Southern California, serving generations of students for 150 years with academic excellence and community pride.

And whereas SBHS maintains a strong tradition of educational innovation and excellence it offers specialized academic Thank you. And whereas SBHS is home to several century-old institutions and programs, including its Theater Department since 1904, Oliven Gold Yearbook since 1906, Forge Newspapers since 1914 and the oldest continuously operated PTA in California.

And its landmark main building completed in 1924 is recognized for its Spanish colonial revival architectural beauty and historic significance. And whereas the Santa Barbara High School Alumni Association founded in 1975 has provided over 2.75 million in scholarships to more than 1,400 students helping many first-generation college attendees pursue their educational dreams thanks to the support and generosity of generations of Dons.

And whereas SBHS alumni include trailblazers in diverse fields such as the arts, science, politics, athletics and education including Martha Graham, Charles Schwab, Foy Norman, Randall and Sam Cunningham, Jamal Wilkes, Monique Limon and Laura Capps whose legacies embody the school's enduring impact on both local and global communities. Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby congratulate Santa Barbara High School on its 150th anniversary, and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the SBHS Alumni Association for their exceptional contributions to education, history, and the Santa Barbara community. Once a Don, always a Don. Passed and adopted today.

Good morning, I would just like to thank the board for recognizing us. I'd like to thank the Alumni Association. I'm truly honored to be the steward of such a historic institution and it's going to be a fun celebration. Hopefully you have October 11th marked for the All Dawns reunion. Thank you very much.

Hi good morning. It's an honor to accept this resolution on behalf of the Santa Barbara High School Alumni Association. Many of us have been with the association for many, many years and are part of big families that have gone to Santa Barbara High School including Laura Capps. And this is just a really exciting time and we hope that we see some of you on October 11th to celebrate the school. It's a free event for the community so even if you're a Don or Don adjacent everyone's welcome thank you.

I just want to thank the Alumni Association. You all do such incredible work, raise so much money, scholarships et cetera and Tali, I see you everywhere and you didn't mention your family but your at you and your brother and of course your dad who was principal in the J.R. Richards gym. See it all the time. So again the legacy just goes on and the history goes on and I'm so proud to be a Don, so proud of what the school has done for my family including my mom who worked there for over a decade Thank you for being here. Moving right along.

Madam Clerk.

Chair Caps and members of the board, Administrative Item number three is sponsored by Supervisor Capps and Supervisor Lavagnino. It is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the month of September 2025 as Suicide Prevention Month in Santa Barbara County. And joining us in person today we have Tony Navarro, Director of Behavioral Wellness, and Pamela Flint-Tambeau, Chair of the Behavioral Wellness Commission.

And as they make their way to the podium, I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas suicide is a significant public health issue affecting individuals, families and communities with 49,316 lives lost in the United States in 2023. In California, suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals age 15 to 34 with more than 4,000 deaths annually with men dying by suicide at three to four times the rate of women often by firearms.

And whereas in 2024 Santa Barbara County lost 37 community members to suicide. Though it is a decrease from the prior year, it underscores the ongoing need for prevention crisis response and community outreach. And whereas over 90% of people who die by suicide have diagnosable and treatable mental health conditions, yet stigma, lack of access and fear of discrimination often prevent individuals from receiving care.

And whereas it is essential for all community members to recognize warning signs, encourage open conversations about mental health, and promote available resources including the 24-7 Access and Crisis Line at 888-833-9000. 8 6 8 1 6 4 9 as well as mental health trainings. And whereas the Department of Behavioral Wellness in partnership with organizations such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is committed to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide through education advocacy research and community resources Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby acknowledge September 2025 as Suicide Prevention Month in Santa Barbara County.

And one, recognizes suicide as a preventable public health concern and commits to supporting prevention campaigns and initiatives. Two, expresses sympathy to those who have lost loved ones to suicide and honors their memory through continued action. Three, promotes stigma-free environments that encourage help seeking and mental wellness. Four, affirms that suicide prevention is a shared responsibility requiring inclusive connected and compassionate communities.

And lastly five supports the implementation of a local suicide prevention plan aligned with state and national strategies passed and adopted today.

Good morning Chair Kaps, board members, county staff. Thank you so much for recognizing today here in the chamber. You know B-Well brings a lot of resolutions through to you all during the year but I have to say this is probably the number one most important resolution that we bring forward because not only is this a resolution It brings awareness to the fact that this is suicide prevention month, the day before World Suicide Prevention Day which is actually tomorrow. But this in and of itself is an intervention bringing awareness to this issue is vital. The lethality of suicidal thoughts is the isolation and the disconnect that so many feel when they're at that deepest darkest place and on the edge taking their own lives.

And it's through conversation and awareness, and someone noticing the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention's slogan this year is looking out for one another. And so you know that cliche saying that we have see if you see something say something It pertains to suicide as well. And if you see something, say something directly to the person. Please reach out and be well we have training it's called QPR training question persuade and refer. We have a certified trainer within our ranks who can come and provide training so that you know what to say and how to say hello and engage someone who you think is hurting because you never know when that may be the day in the time that changes the course of life and keep someone here with us and their loved ones There's been a number already of events happening in our county in this the first week of September.

Really proud to say that our team was involved up at the Santa Ynez Tribal Health Center, they had a wonderful celebration for Suicide Prevention Day just last week and our team was there to support and engage with them in a variety of resources and discussions about how to prevent suicide. There was actually a ride from San Diego to Santa Barbara that was hosted just last weekend, and it culminated as with the ride with I don't even know how many riders. It looked like at least 100 that I could see from the postings that rode the Santa Barbara Legends group road up Cabrillo Boulevard and Upstate And up Santa Barbara Street and culminated a big celebration to bring awareness to this event to this issue within our county.

The American Foundation of Suicide Prevention Walk happening at Goleta Beach. So we encourage everyone to register, we will have flyers on the back dais with the clerk back there so please you can come join a Be Well team or you can start your own team and or you could just come out to support it's a beautiful event. We walk along the beach when through the beautiful Santa Barbara campus and of course the Elwood restaurant is open now so you can make a day of it with your family and loved ones and have either breakfast or lunch afterwards. So again, thank you so much for this. We want to acknowledge that in our county while we note that the suicide deaths by suicide dipped a little bit last year and we're on track to be at or below that this year.

We know that as of today our North County community is hurting and our hearts go out to them. Our teams have been available to them for the past two weeks. And in the last two weeks there've been And so our teams are here to support. Our hearts go out to them, just really encourage everyone to take an opportunity to go online, learn a little bit more about how to be an ally and start a conversation and be the difference for someone. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Madam Clerk next resolution.

Chair Caps and members of the board administrative item number four is sponsored by Supervisor Lavanino it is to adopt a resolution proclaiming the month of September 2025 as Recovery Month in Santa Barbara County and joining us in person again we have Tony Navarro Director of Behavioral Wellness as well as Melissa Wilkins Branch Chief of Alcohol and Drug Programs and Amy Lopez ADP Project Manager And I will go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas, the Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness in partnership with community-based organizations provides a continuum of care including prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery services affirming that behavioral health is essential to overall wellness. And whereas mental health and substance use disorders affect individuals and families across Santa Barbara County in the nation yet with commitment support and effective treatment recovery as possible allowing people to achieve improved health stability and quality of life And whereas Recovery Month, celebrated every September, promotes evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, honors the recovery community and recognizes the dedication of service providers with this year's focus on the four dimensions of recovery.

Health, home, purpose, and community. And whereas the 2025 theme, Recovery is for Everyone, Every Person, Every Family, Every Community emphasizes that recovery from substance use and mental health disorders is possible for all regardless of background and underscores the importance of inclusive, accessible support systems. And whereas the County of Santa Barbara Department of Behavioral Wellness and its partners are committed to collaboration, integration of services, and community engagement to ensure every individual has the opportunity to access care, sustain recovery, and celebrate the achievements of those on their recovery journey Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby acknowledge September 2025 as a recovery month in Santa Barbara County passed and adopted today.

Thank you so much, Chair and Board for the recognition of September as Recovery Month. And it pairs well following the recognition of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. So the theme of the month this year is that recovery is for everyone. And I want to begin by saying that recovery looks different for every single person. Recovery can include recovery from substance use issues and or from mental health conditions.

SAMHSA talks about REAL Recovery with REAL being an acronym for Restoring Every Aspect of Life. So, recovery is a unique individual journey looks different for every person defined by what each person identifies as quality of life and we also know that recovery is not linear there's ups there's downs their steps forward and there's pitfalls along the way Several people have had to remind me of that this year during discouraging times.

And because recovery is not linear, it's hard. It's hard for those working on recovery and hard for those supporting them in the process. So I want to thank each of our community-based organizations that support recovery on a daily basis. We have Good Samaritan, CATA, Sanctuary Centers, Stalwart Recovery Residences, Aegis Treatment Centers among many others Each of these agencies have committed to recovery skills, teaching recovery skills and showing the power of recovery through lived experience.

It shows in their leadership and their policies and in their staff. Their staff that continue to show up even when it's hard and even when there's loss so thank you I also want to thank our county staff at Behavioral Wellness who support recovery through both our mental health programs as well as our substance use disorder treatment programs. And I want to thank our partners in County Health, Probation, Public Defender, District Attorney's Office, Community Services District, Public Guardian's Office, Department of Social Services and the Sheriff's Department Each of these play a valuable role in our continuum of care.

So thank you. I'm honored to work alongside people who see the humanity in others, who connect with others across socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity because we know scientifically and anecdotally that human connection and social supports are an essential part of recovery. And Tony mentioned that as well. It's this human connection, compassion and hope that continues to inspire me not just during this month but throughout the year.

So as we consider Recovery Month let's keep connecting with each other check in on each other as Tony said and continue to support each other in their unique recovery journey thanks

Thank you so much. Madam Clerk, next resolution please.

Chair Caps and members of the board administrative item number five is sponsored by Supervisor Caps it is to adopt a resolution of accommodation honoring Christine LaRocca and Ruthie Rodriguez of the Human Resources Department as the September 2025 Employee of the Month for Santa Barbara County and joining us in person today we have Christine LaRocco and Ruthie Rodriguez now go ahead and read the resolution Whereas Christine LaRocco and Ruthie Rodriguez exemplify the county's organizational values of accountability, customer focus, equity and inclusion, innovation, trust and ethics.

And whereas Christine and Ruthie model the transformative behaviors of collaborative problem-solving alignment with the county's vision risk taking data driven decision making and strategic thinking Whereas Christine, a dedicated county employee for over 28 years joined the Human Resources Department in 2022. Christine consistently goes above and beyond serving as a true mentor and trainer to new staff in her deep knowledge patients and positive attitude while also embodying the spirit of process improvement by boldly updating outdated forms and procedures simplifying complex workflows and inspiring fresh ways of thinking. Through her creativity, commitment and relentless drive she has strengthened operations, enhanced employee experiences and left a lasting mark on the organization.

And whereas Ruthie, a new human resources department team member immediately hit the ground running by leading the overhaul of the leave of absence policy and rolling out the countywide leave of absence management system. In doing so she quickly became a trusted resource guiding employees and colleagues with confidence clarity and expertise while also building strong collaboration across her department and throughout the county. Whether energy, positivity, professionalism and creativity Ruthie has made an immediate and lasting impact proving herself a true driving force for excellence.

And whereas Christine and Ruthie joined forces to deliver transformative enhancements to the county's benefits and wellness employee website turning it into a user-friendly resource rich hub that empowers employees and elevate services their innovation dedication and forward thinking approach have created tools and solutions that will benefit the county for years to come Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby acknowledge Christine Larocco and Ruthie Rodriguez as the Employees of the Month for September 2025, passed and adopted today.

Good morning Chair Kaps and members of the board. I'm Yvonne Torres, the Assistant HR Director for Santa Barbara County and I am here on behalf of Christine Schmidt our director and our department to congratulate Christine and Ruthie on their exceptional county service and I'm going to introduce Katie Torres there are benefits wellness division chief who wants to say a few words

Good morning Chair Caps and members of the board. Ruthie and Christine, I am just so honored to have you both on my team one who has been here for 28 years and a very new employee who just have so much passion and dedication to the county in supporting our employees so that they can do their best work for our community and I'm just so blessed that they're being honored here today. So congratulations to you both. I'm very proud of you

Okay, that's wonderful. Congratulations to you both. Now it is time with our resolutions behind us we will go to the administrative items pulled by the board and the public. Madam Clerk I believe

that's a seven is that correct? Yes chair caps and members of the board administrative item number 7 is from the community services department it is to consider recommendations regarding a funding commitment letter for Brisa and Sina affordable apartments, and this is in the 4th district. And we did have 2 requests to speak from the public on this item. We are going to remain here in Santa Barbara to begin with Frank Thompson to be followed by Karen Howenstein Frank.

Hello Supervisors, I hope you're doing well this morning. I'm mostly here to answer any questions. I can't really anticipate what the public's questions would be but certainly happy to tell you we are getting close to the end of the journey of pre-development on this project and soon to go to construction We anticipate the building permits to be issued shortly and funding that's requested this morning is central to the completion of the financing so we can start. So if you don't mind I'll just sit here with the director and if there are other questions, you can call me back.

Thank you.

Thank You Mr. Thompson. Supervisor Hartman?

Is now the time for, I do have some questions.

Yeah let's we'll hear from the other member of the public first and then we'll go into questions thanks.

And we will now go to our final speaker on administrative item number seven Karen Hallenstein. Karen?

Good morning Chairman Kaps and members of the board my name is Karen Hallenstein I am a North County resident And I was sent here by the residents of Mission Hills, Upper and Lower. As none of the homeowners in Upper and Lower Mission Hills want this development. This development is wrong for our area. And just because Salud Carbajal calls the Lompoc Valley the armpit that is no reason to treat us that way.

and stick a development that is satisfying your numbers, and is really a bad build in the one area of the county where you think you have the least resistance. You actually have a lot of resistance. This project is quick and dirty. It does not fit at all with the aesthetics There are no services available within walking distance of this development. There are very significant and dangerous obstacles to transportation to services in the Lompoc Valley, I had to look into a similar development by Hasbarco over in Guadalupe, one named Escalante Meadows.

And if you go to Coast Audits on YouTube, Coast Audits on YouTube has a video with Monique Limon in it and Salud Carbohol where they're congratulating that development I looked into it as to why the property is privately owned still, and that the corporations surrounded the ownership of the land which gets paid in perpetuity by the state was not present at that function.

Enterprise, who is enterprise? We want to know who Brisa Encina Limited Partnership is The grift and money wash of 17, almost $18 million of tax credits. You guys are going after federal tax credits? This is a grift.

And that concludes public comment on this item.

Okay thank you to our members of the public. Supervisor Hartman did you have a question? I'll go after Supervisor Nelson in whose district it's on. Excellent okay Supervisor Nelson

Yeah thank you Supervisor Hartman and thank you Chair Caps. I just want to make sure Mr. Thompson actually come up for a moment, I just wanted to ask you a few questions and I think it's also important you know Ms. Hauenstein mentioned that the neighborhood Some of the neighborhood are not big fans of this project and can you just maybe re-educate us on what the development process that went through to this and the approval process because I don't believe it came to the board. I think it was something that was because a certain state laws was approved at another level could you just confirm that for me?

Approval process for this began I believe in 2018. It was kind of slow to start. We had quite a number of community meetings, I remember four well attended to start with and changes were made actually three sets of changes were made in the plan so that the buildings were made smaller we reduced the number of units from 70 to 42 or 49 which is pretty significant And then we also added one and two bedroom units because the community felt that it was more of a neighborhood supportive of young people. And so to have young people, we moved from studios to one bedrooms and two bedrooms. We also added a childcare center which is not legally a part of the project anymore. We got a lot split so that the childcare center could be separately financed and owned by Communify.

So yeah, there have been quite a number of changes made for the neighborhood. The approvals on the project were granted in September of 2022 which was an administrative process not a public hearing. There was a public hearing several before the Board of Architectural Review North County which some of them were pretty heavily attended 60 people or so others have gotten down to just one or two people So the project now has completed, almost done with its building permits.

So it has all of its land use permits, all of its building permits and no environmental documents are outstanding so really we're just completing the financing and this one-and-a-half million although significant is a part of a total $37 million package.

So I wanted to thank you for working with my office and I think probably Supervisor Hartman's office before it was part of my district on trying to make the project better and to fit the community. Knowing that we really didn't have any discretionary process here at the board to be able to impact the actual development of the project. I appreciate that collaboration that took place prior to where we are today.

That said, I've got some concerns now about the costs here. They've gone up significantly. I think previously when we had issued some of these funds it was about $440,000 per unit which I think is already hard to stomach but now in the last two years it's gone up by 75% to $765,000 a unit and at some point you know kind of enough is enough. It can't be unlimited I think we are testing those waters here and I've got some real concerns about those numbers You know these are taxpayer dollars, you know they may be tax credits. You know maybe we're only in control of 1.5 million of this but most of this is publicly funded and I'm having a difficult time stomaching such a huge number especially since the significant amount these are actually studios as well so that's and I know that the lot goes into supportive housing.

I understand that because have to build into projects that are different than other developers but this is getting to a place where We have a big challenge out there and if projects are this expensive, there's never going to be enough money here to solve these problems. And we really need affordable housing developers to go back to the drawing board. This board went back to the drawing board with homelessness and supported the Dignity Moves projects because there wasn't enough dollars again there. So I think we need the same from the nonprofit development sector as well.

Getting behind approving something that's such a large number. And I know a little bit about this is me giving my editorial comments on it, but I would like to hear from you on those cost overruns and what drives that and why we are where we are today.

Yeah, and obviously too as developers you know we push back as hard as we can. I know it's hard to believe when you see the numbers that come in but we have had a very significant increase in construction costs where exactly it came from? Materials of course have gone up. Impact of tariffs I don't think we've seen yet, but on these types of projects when people submit fixed rate bids in advance whenever there's uncertainty they increase the cost and the other thing we had five bidders Compete for this job and among the five the top two were within less than a half a percent of each other And they were at this number, so we're pretty confident unfortunately that this is what it's going to cost I mean did we put too many nice things in the project.

I don't think their neighbors would think that was the case one thing that we did or that we will do for the neighborhood which probably Very few people will value but it's extremely expensive is that the entire shopping center and really that little Mesa that we're on had no flood control facilities whatsoever in the first place when it was built back in the late 50s. And then it's virtually all paved and as soon as it rains all the water runs off in the street which I don't hear people complaining about but under our current flood control and clean water project Guidelines, we're in for about $2 million to capture all that water and put it in a basin that'll look like a little lake.

And that little lake is gonna be used like a dog park probably 364 days of the year. So unfortunately I'm with you that unfortunately it costs that much but we've met all the standards, we're through the building department, the project is ready to go. It is in the 99th percentile of average, of projects of the tax credit committee. So and they have a limit of 130%. So if you're at 130% of average, you have to go back and redesign your project but 100 is well within the group.

Can I ask you just from your expertise when does it become too expensive? When does it become too expensive per door? I mean, at what point does that even test your expertise of saying that's acceptable.

Well, I think everybody is looking to see how we can cut costs in the future. One thing that we incorporated here was not a relatively new but a new technology for Santa Barbara County Off-site construction of the majority of the units so the from the foundation up to the roof So pretty substantial part of the building on the entire interior drywall painting carpeting all that stuff Is built in a factory in Idaho, which did save us. I'm certain probably over $100 a square foot now that gets eroded by the fact we got to take it down the road and Thank you.

Just curious from your personal point of view, what is that number when it gets too expensive?

Supervisor Nelson through the Chair, Jesus Armis Community Services Department. Excellent question of course and one of the things that we've attempted to do here was to try to manage the cost increase as it relates to the delay in actual construction. As you can see this project had some funding commitments sometime ago and we lost the advantage of that I'm going to talk a little bit about what we're doing in the intervening period. And so one of the provisions in the reservation letter is a fairly aggressive time frame, meaning we want this in the ground by next summer otherwise it would lose the benefit of this allocation if the board approves it.

What I suggest we may want to entertain Supervisor Nelson is taking a step back and try to identify I think it's something that we may want to examine anyway in the context of what we're going to try to do on the probation property. You know, we're soon going to ask your board to entertain issuing a request proposal for development at that site and I suggest we can do some preemptive work in terms of identifying those components.

$750,000 plus is outrageous. But unfortunately it's what we're experiencing not just with this project but a couple of others. Fortunately we're not in the Bay Area where the million dollar unit figure has been crossed. We need to do a better job at trying to manage those costs.

I would agree that's outrageous. Thank you.

Supervisor Harmon.

Yes, I had a couple of questions and then a comment. Mr. Thompson could you address transit and could you address the context, the shopping center and the improvements that are planned there? You touched on it but those were things that the community was interested in.

Surely so on transit Colt, under contract to the county provides bus service to the Mission Hills area. It comes once every 50 minutes 5-0 so it's not particularly frequent but it is regular and dependable. They also offer Monthly discounted passes, which I think quite a number of people take advantage of and it's quite low. It's I believe it's $25 a month for disabled person homeless or senior so You can get good transit from there the neighbors have been concerned about automobile Traffic impacts to the neighborhood which I guess everybody feels that their stop sign is busy but objectively There's no problem in this neighborhood, there is no peak hour. Sorry I'm sure people are throwing daggers at me but you never wait at the intersection.