Board of Supervisors — 2026-09-22

All right, good morning. I'll call to order the September 22nd 2026 regular meeting in the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Madam Clerk can you please call the roll?

at this time

but will be arriving shortly so Madam Clerk are there any announcements or changes to our agenda today?

Chair Nelson and members of the board, I do have a few announcements this morning. An addendum was posted on Friday September 18th 2026 amending today's closed session agenda adding an 8am closed session and an item under conference with legal counsel existing litigation paragraph one of subdivision D of government code section 54956.9 regarding G&K Produce LLC and K&G Flowers LLC v County of Santa Barbara et al Office of Administrative Hearings Case numbers 202-605-0515, as well as G&K Produce LLC and K&G Flowers LLC v. County of Santa Barbara et al., Santa Barbara County Superior Court case number 26CV04238. The addition included in this addendum has been posted and made available online to both the board and the public.

And for information on the Board of Supervisors methods of public participation and instructions on how to provide public comment on items listed on today's agenda or during general public comment, please refer to page 2 of the agenda. Individuals who wish to provide verbal public comment may do so via Zoom by registering in advance using the link provided on page two. Please note that Zoom is available solely for the purpose of providing verbal public comment and is not intended for viewing the meeting. Alternative viewing options are listed on page 2 of the agenda. If you have any questions, please contact the clerk at the board's office at area code 805-568-2240 or by email at sbcobatcountyofsb.org that concludes my announcements for today.

All right. Thank you madam clerk at this time will now recess a closed session will County Council please read the items for consideration today?

Thank you, Mister chair in closed session today. There's one I anticipated litigation of deciding whether to initiate litigation and then there is existing litigation stable offshore core County. GK produce versus the county which is office administrative hearings a G K produce versus the county superior court case and public employee appointment director social services.

Okay, great. And let the record reflect that Supervisor Hartman has joined us as well. So with that we'll go ahead and head to closed session. We will be about an hour so we'll try to reconvene at 9 a.m. with our regularly scheduled items. Thank you. All right welcome back We'll go ahead and reconvene the meeting of September 22nd, 2026. Regularly scheduled meeting of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Those that are watching on TV and here in the room we actually started a meeting at 8am so that the board could break for closed session. Now we're reconvening after closed session. And with that Madam County Council can you please report out from closed session?

Thank you, Mister chair in closed session. The board considered one item of anticipated litigation deciding whether to initiate litigation and existing litigations able offshore course, the county GMK produce versus the county opposite ministry hearing case and GK produce versus the county for Santa Barbara Superior Court and the board took no reportable action.

Our next item of business is approval of the minutes from the September 15th meeting.

Hartman moves approval. I'll second.

Okay, motion for Hartman, a second from Caps. Any further comment? Seeing none all in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes unanimously.

Chair and members of the board, I have three items to report today. We're going to start with County Health. The County Health Department hosted its fourth annual back-to-school health fairs last month in Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Santa Barbara. More than 3,500 community members received health services and family resources. The events offered school mandated immunizations, sports physicals, free school supplies, and dental and hygiene kits.

County Health along with 50 community partners connected families with programs and information related to food and nutrition, health coverage, mental health, preventive care and the services available through county health centers. Across the three health fairs 33 students received vaccines 44 receive sports physicals and 1800 backpacks were distributed to help families prepare for the new school year I want to highlight that the County of Santa Barbara will host its annual Vendor Connection event on October 14th from 9 a.m. to noon at the Casa Nueva building in Santa Barbara. The free event will give local businesses and community partners an opportunity to learn about how to do business with Santa Barbara County. Attendees will learn about county purchasing, connect with vendors and agencies, and meet directly with the county's procurement team If you are interested in attending, please RSVP by October 9.

And finally I want to share that the community El Nino preparedness meeting is coming up. The County of Santa Barbara will host a virtual El Nino community meeting on October 1st 2026 from 530 to 7 p.m.. The meeting will provide residents with information on the weather outlook County Creek and road preparations, personal preparedness and key storm and flood safety tips to help residents prepare for potential winter weather impacts.

Spanish interpretation and closed captioning will be available. Registration information can be found on the county's website. And that concludes my report.

All right. Thank you Miss Peterson.

Well, A8 but I believe it's been pulled.

Anybody think down there? Okay. All right so I think we have A8 being pulled from the board as well as A23 and then I think right now we have the public point A18, 16 and 23. Is there any other items that are being pulled by the public?

Chair Nelson members of the Board just a quick clarification it's A8 And A-23 and A-16 is no longer being pulled.

Okay, and then A-17 is going to be pulled for a separate vote? Supervisor Hartman I think out of abundance of caution is gonna recuse on that one. A-8's been pulled as well. A 17. A 8 as well okay. All right so can I get a motion to approve the balance of agenda. So it's all the administrative agenda items except for A8, 17 and 23. So

moved.

Motion from Caps, second from Labanino. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Before we get to those items, we're going to go ahead and move on to our resolutions to be presented And Madam Clerk, will you please read administrative item number one into the record.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mister chair Nelson and members of the board administrative item number one is sponsored by supervisor Nelson. It is to adopt a resolution honoring 60 years of regional partnership through the Santa Barbara County Association of governments also known as SB CAG and joining us in person today. If you can please make your way to the podium. We have Andrea Geis, GFO and Human Resources Director. Sarkis Kacek, Director of Programming. Mike Becker, Director of Planning. And Aaron Bonfilio, Director Of Multi-Model Programs.

I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas, for 60 years local governments throughout Santa Barbara County have worked together through a regional partnership to address shared challenges and advance solutions that cross jurisdictional boundaries. And whereas on October 17th 1966 the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors authorized the county's partnership in the joint powers agreement establishing the Santa Barbara County and City's Area Planning Council And whereas nine days later, representatives from the county and the cities of Carpinteria, Guadalupe, Lompoc, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria held the council's first organizational meeting launching a regional partnership that has endured and grown for 60 years.

And whereas the partnership was created during a period of significant growth and change when local leaders recognize that regional coordination could help communities address challenges extending beyond individual city and county boundaries and qualify for state and federal funding. And whereas over the decades, the organization evolved alongside the region it serves assuming important state and federal transportation planning and funding responsibilities And in 1990, becoming the independent public agency known as the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments or SBCAG while continuing the regional partnership established in 1966. And whereas today SBCAG brings together all five members of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and representatives from each of the county's eight incorporated cities, Builton, Carpinteria, Goleta, Guadalupe, Lompoc, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Solvang providing a forum for communities with different needs and perspectives to work together on issues affecting the region as a whole And whereas Santa Barbara County voters demonstrated their commitment to regional transportation investment through approval of Measure D in 1989 and Measure A in 2008, providing locally controlled funding for transportation priorities throughout the county and helping leverage significant state and federal resources.

And whereas the regional planning funding advocacy and partnerships as speak AG has helped advance investments in highways, local streets and roads public transit passenger rail bicycle and pedestrian connections and other improvements that connect people to jobs schools services and communities throughout our county. And whereas while Santa Barbara County has changed considerably over 6 decades the principal at the heart of sbcad remains consistent Some challenges extend beyond jurisdictional boundaries, and our communities can accomplish more by working together. Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors hereby commemorates the 60th anniversary of SBCAG and recognizes six decades of collaboration among the cities and county of Santa Barbara to address shared regional needs, and be it further resolved that this county of Santa Barbara as a founding member of this regional partnership proudly recognizes its 60-year commitment to regional collaboration honors the generations of county and city leaders who have carried the commitment forward, and reaffirms the value of working across jurisdictional boundaries to advance shared priorities and build better communities throughout Santa Barbara County.

Passed and adopted today.

Thank you so much. That was such a long resolution, so thank you for reading all that and I'm so surprised you guys have so much space up there normally we have 13 board members squeezed in on the dais and today it's only the five of you which you are all members of SBCAG so you know how much this means to the agency So Chair Nelson, members of the board thank you for this recognition. I want to start by taking us back six years in July of 1966 the Santa Barbara News Press ran a headline that said new regional planning rule may spur unity within the county.

I just love that headline it's what we've been doing for the last 60 years Santa Barbara County is made up of very different communities, each with its own priorities and perspectives. But SPCAG gives us a chance to bring those perspectives together and work on things that cross our city and county boundaries. One detail from our history really stood out to me as we prepared for this anniversary.

One of the real practical reasons why the local governments came together in 1966 was to get some money, to secure the funding. They were applying for funding for parks at Rincon, Aurora Borough, Isla Vista Beach Park and Tucker's Grove so it really meant something to them to work together to achieve that goal In 60 years, our communities recognize that working together put this region in a stronger position to bring state and federal investments home to Santa Barbara County.

We are still doing that today and every day. One of the clearest examples, obviously is the Highway 101 project between Ventura County and the City of Santa Barbara. For decades we've had bottleneck on the highway where the freeway goes from three lanes and back to two lanes and back to three lanes. We are finally closing that gap I know it's taken a long time and we're all been very patient, but we're adding that peak hour carpool lane in each direction between the Ventura County line in the city of Santa Barbara.

And you know, I always like to say the 101 is almost done. Getting there has been extraordinary partnership is taking countywide voters who approved Measure D back in 1998 and Measure A in 2008 to provide the local investment that allowed us to compete for the state and federal funding that we received. It has taken SBCAG Board, Caltrans, the County of Santa Barbara, the cities of Carpentry and Santa Barbara and our partners in Ventura County and the Ventura County Transportation Commission. And the years of advocacy and patience to get us to this point.

We are expected to complete the Montecito segment by the end of the calendar year so people can enjoy the new open carpool lanes that will open up in that area. We're still working on the final segment at the Cabrillo overpass and interchange, and that will continue until 2028 when we'll be finally done with the 101. Decades of local investment in our regional advocacy have helped us leverage more than $760 million in state and federal resources for this corridor. And we couldn't have done that on our own. It took a partnership, it took the dedication of the SPCAC board of years and years and years to make that happen.

And that partnership was throughout the county not just on the South Coast. But in Santa Maria and Orca, we have some work going on there too. We're working with the county and the city of Santa Maria and Caltrans to do the State Route 135 Comprehensive Corridor Study listening to the community as we plan the corridor's long-term transportation needs. And then in the San Ynez Valley, we are working with the county, the Bilton, Solvayne, the San Yenez Band of Chumash Indians on the San Ynez Valley Trail Project And planning approximately nine miles of multi-use trail, asking the community to help us plan and design those connections.

Those projects are very different just as the communities they serve are very different but the idea behind them is the same idea that brought our communities together 60 years ago. Some things work better when we work on them together That's why this anniversary means so much to me. Not simply that SBCAG has been here for 60 years and doing our jobs, but what the communities have accomplished together and what we are still working on and working together to accomplish in the future.

So on behalf of the SBCAG board which you are all members of, and then the staff behind me, thank you so much for this recognition and especially thank you to the County Board of Supervisors. You were there at the beginning And you're there throughout, and your partnership remains essential to the work we do today. So thank you again for your continued participation and support. Thank you.

Supervisor Labanino? Well thank you Margie. You know I said earlier that it's a little sad that I found out I was older than SP CAG so but That is, it's one of my favorite meetings to go to because it is the time where we all get together with our city folk and we all get to listen to each other's different perspectives which are very different. And then we all get to agree on what we're gonna do moving forward. I just wanted to congratulate you and the leadership and your staff.

The people that put their trust in you, I mean, we passed Measure A with 80%, close to 80%? Almost 80%. People voted to tax themselves At an 80% rate. And the reason why they did that is because SBCAD continues to deliver and I think the beauty of Measure A was people don't like paying taxes, but if you show them a menu and say these are the things we're going to accomplish And then 20 years later, you can say here's the checklist and we've done them all. It's amazing. And to the folks that say 101 is taking a long time, it is. I would like to remind you, it is a billion dollar project. This is not just some easy resurface job. This is a billion dollars remaking that entire way. So also want to highlight, you said of $760 million leverage.

So folks, that means we put in 300 million of our local dollars We got back, the whole project's over a billion. So we received 700 million back. So Measure A complete success. It's done all the projects that we've asked for in the North County. I think we've delivered and continued success. Again it's one of my favorite meetings to go to and it's a lot of, a lot of it goes to the staff and the leadership that you provided so thank you. Thank you so

much.

All right thank you Supervisor Alino. And that's the one thing you're gonna come back to once you retire right?

The only meeting or thing I'm going to is cutting the ribbon on the 101 so save me a spot there.

It's gonna be party in the streets, yes.

Absolutely. All right well thank you Supervisor Lavinio and thank you Director Kern and staff. Thank

you.

All right we'll go ahead and move along to administrative item number two. Madam Clerk can you please read that item into the record?

Chair Nelson and members of the board administrative item number 2 is sponsored by Supervisor Lee. It is to adopt a resolution commending the Carpentry Avocado Festival on its 40th anniversary and joining us in person today, if you can please make your way to the podium we have Mike Lazaro, Avocado Festival Board member and Olivia Sorgman, festival director.

I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas the Carpinteria Avocado Festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary as one of Santa Barbara County's most cherished community traditions, and whereas for four decades the festival has honored Carpinteria's agricultural heritage I'm here to speak on behalf of the region's longstanding agricultural history. Local businesses, nonprofit organizations, artists, musicians, volunteers and families whose ongoing commitment keeps this tradition vibrant and whereas the region's long-standing agricultural history particularly avocado cultivation continues to shape identity in economy of carpentry at And whereas the festival brings together thousands of residents and visitors each year to enjoy local food, music arts crafts community booths and family activities that showcase the unique character of downtown Carpinteria.

and highlight the contributions of local businesses and performers. And whereas the festival's enduring success over 40 years reflects the hard work of its organizers, sponsors, volunteers, city partners, and community members whose time energy and collaboration have made the event a beloved annual celebration that strengthens community pride and economic vitality Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors hereby recognizes and commends the Carpentry Avocado Festival on its 40th anniversary, and celebrates its outstanding contributions to the cultural, agricultural, and economic life of Santa Barbara County. Passed and adopted today.

We just wanted to say thank you so much. What started as this tradition in Carpinteria 40 years ago is amazing to see what it's grown into now. We're so honored that we are able to bring this to the community and just thank you to everybody for all of the support for it. It wouldn't happen without all the volunteers and the board and all the community members Make this weekend so special and huge thank you to all of you and Roy and Salud for always supporting this. For us, we wouldn't be able to have three days of peace, love and guacamole without all this support. And if you haven't made it, you should come this year. We have 60 bands on four stages with kids performing on the stages for two full days.

And we just love this tradition in carpentry. And so we just invite all of you to be there. And thank you so much for this honor.

One second, one second. Supervisor Lee?

Thank you. So every year our sleepy small town becomes the center of the county over a lot of people come through and it's a free event, free music and this year on Friday I'll be in the dunk tank so anybody that wants to dunk a supervisor please come out and do it thank you. Thank you

all right moving right along to item number three

Chair Nelson and members of the board. Administrative item number 3 is sponsored by Supervisor Lee. It is to adopt a resolution of commendation honoring the Santa Barbara Foresters, the 2026 National Baseball Congress World Series champions. And joining us in person today we have Bill Pintard head coach and executive director of the Santa Barbara Foresters.

Whereas on August 1st, 2026 in Wichita Kansas the Santa Barbara Foresters our namesake California Collegiate League baseball team won the 2026 National Baseball Congress World Series Championship and set a new record with their 11th title. And whereas en route to the title game the Forresters won the California Collegiate League South Division regular season with a dominant 26-6 record Leading the league in nearly every statistical category and carrying that momentum into the World Series tournament.

And whereas the Forresters brought their signature teamwork and spirit to the World Series by finishing an undefeated 6-0 outscoring opponents 49-4, including four shoutouts culminating in a 7-2 victory over the Alaska Gold Panthers in the championship game with pitcher Noah Waldeck named most valuable player of the tournament with a flawless 2-0 record and zero runs allowed Along with five other Forresters playing selected to the all-tournament team. And whereas veteran manager Bill Pintard who has served since 1995 secured his 11th World Series title and over 1,200 career wins continuing a legacy that has sent more than 70 Forrester's alumni to Major League Baseball and hundreds more to minor league organizations. And whereas beyond athletic excellence the Forrester's organization champions community support Through their Hugs for Cubs cancer support program for children founded in 1993 by Bill Hentart and his son Eric, a former player who bravely fought the cancer that took his life in 2004.

Hugs For Cubs organizes hospital visits holiday gifts surf days trips to MLB games and other activities that uplift young patients in Santa Barbara and on the road Now, therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby commend the Santa Barbara Foresters for their exceptional 2026 NBC World Series Championship celebrating their enduring leadership athletic skill and philanthropic spirit and acknowledge the profound positive impact they have on our community past and adopted today.

Thank you very much. I'm Bill Pintard and we could not do what we do without a great board of directors. And this is the president of our board of directors, Christina Sanger who's been with us more than 14 years and she has as much to do with this as I do. I'm very honored to receive this but I wanna thank you, the Board of Supervisors For your hard work in making the place where we live a better place.

And my salute to you, you don't have easy jobs and we love what you're doing and you just make it a better place. It makes my job lot easier too when I recruit players that come from Texas and Oklahoma And Florida and Arkansas, and they come out here in the best thing that they got. I like to say it's good coaching. They got the weather of Santa Barbara and it is a recruiting tool. But right now we're proud of what we have achieved on this ball field. This tournament has been going on for 92 years.

This tournament, it was the first tournament. It was integrated 12 years before Major League Baseball was integrated and that's two values. It's Americana by value. Satchel Paige played in this. Right now we have 26 guys that have played right here in Santa Barbara currently playing in the big leagues. Right at this minute we've had 75 total. We're also very proud of the Hugs for Cubs that we got started, and we also have a side project now which is going on. It's Eric's House, which is named after my son Eric.

We just bought a property and it's gonna be a mini Ronald McDonald house. For families that are from out of the area when they come to Santa Barbara for pediatric treatments, they have a place to stay for free. So that's as much as this trophy means something we're doing things on and off the field and we're very grateful. I brought this trophy to let you guys have it for a while, but Roy says he doesn't have any place safe. So I don't know what we're going to do with it.

But anyway, we are having a party Sunday to celebrate our victory at Carriage Museum at three o'clock. We're gonna have some music. We're gonna have some tri-tip barbecue and we're gonna have a lot of fun. So you're all welcome. You all too. So thank you very much.

Thank you Supervisor Lee.

Quickly Bill I just, I know that this won't be your last championship so hopefully the trophy will be bigger next time and I'll take it. I'll find a safe place for it. My staff I don't know they might take it somewhere and party with it.

All right thank you. So our

Turn Nelson and members of the board administrative item number 4 sponsored by Supervisor Lee. It is to adopt a resolution of commendation honoring Greg Carty for a lifetime of community service in joining us in person today. We have Greg Carty who is making his way down to the podium and I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas Greg A. Carty has called Carpinteria home since 1959, one of seven children raised by educators Daphne and Bill Dock Carty a proud Carpinteria high school warrior and champion track athlete in the class of 1972. And with his wife, Jerry Ann, the devoted grandfather of four grandchildren with the fifth on the way. And whereas as co-founder of Cardi Brothers Construction and a licensed general contractor for 50 years He completed hundreds of projects across Santa Barbara County and gave his craft back to his community, rebuilding the stage of the historic Alcazar Theater.

Donating more than a year of construction services to create the Linda Fairley Carpinteria Arts Center and helping build the Carpinteria Visitor's Center on Linden Avenue. And whereas he devoted more than three decades to public service including 12 years on the Carpinteria Architectural Review Board He served as mayor of Carpinteria for 16 years. 16 years on the carbon tree, a city council from 2006 to 2022 2 terms as mayor and regional service including beacon and the South Coast task force on youth games. And whereas his leadership help secure the permanent preservation of the ring con blast preserve and steady Carpentaria through the Thomas fire during which he personally helped alert residents on Shepherd Mesa And whereas he serves the Rotary Club of Carpinteria as community services director and fundraising chair, volunteered with the California Avocado Festival for more than 30 years.

Coach track at Bishop Diego High School teaches woodshop and gardening electives at Our Lady of Mount Carmel school and together with Jerry Ann was named 2022 Carpinteria of the Year, an honor now held by five members of their family. And now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby recognize Greg A. Carty for a lifetime of extraordinary service to the Carpinteria community and extends its deepest gratitude on behalf of the residents of the first district in the entire county pass and adopt it today.

Wow. Like Bill Pintard said, a dear family friend of mine. I want to thank you each of you for your service to the Santa Barbara County. Growing up as a child in Carpinteria it was the child's dream. It was an incredible childhood and my parents taught me early on to be part of the community. I was a young boy They taught me by example in my kids. I have two daughters, Caitlin and Angela. They saw that influence from my parents, their grandparents and also my wife's Marilyn and Joe Lazaro which he's here the son is here this And I just want to influence how important family is with, I have four grandkids now and one on the way.

And grandparents play a key role in who they are and who they will become. You know, it just I'm so blessed to have grown up in the community of Carpinteria. There are so many people that do so much for that community. I'm not one that likes to be recognized like I am right now but I can tell you it sure feels good and I will cherish this for the rest of my life.

Thank you very much.

Supervisor Lee.

Thank you, thank you Chair Nielsen. Greg I just want to say when I first got onto the Carp City Council, I want to say thank you for being an amazing friend and mentor to me because I wouldn't be who I am without you. And our community, the carpenter community wouldn't be where it is, who we are without you being there for us so thank you. Keep doing what you're doing everyone loves you so I'm so happy you're here with your family Thank you. Thank you for being here.

All right, next item up is our last presentation which is administrative item number five and I'm quickly please read that in the record.

Chair Nelson and members of the Board, Administrative Item number 5 is sponsored by Supervisor Lee. It is to adopt a resolution of commendation honoring Maria D. Lee upon her retirement from the County Health Department after over 39 years of faithful and distinguished service to the citizens of Santa Barbara County. And joining us in person today we have Maria D Lee And Lindsay Walter and it looks like a few others are making their way to the podium. I'll go ahead and read the resolution, whereas Maria Daly has dedicated over 39 years of valued service to the residents of Santa Barbara County holding the role of medical assistant at the Santa Barbara Health Center And whereas Maria began her distinguished career with the Santa Barbara County Health Department on August 10th, 1987 providing clinical support at the Santa Barbara Health Center in adult medicine and across various specialty clinics with steadfast dedication and diligence.

And whereas throughout her many years of service, Maria has made a profound impact on patients by providing compassionate skilled care across multiple specialty clinics including surgery infectious disease and HIV where her dedication, empathy and commitment to patient well-being have supported some of the community's most vulnerable individuals and contributed to improved health outcomes. And whereas throughout her tenure Maria contributed to numerous key milestones including participating in the transition from paper to electronic health records helping orient new team members adapting to evolving workflows assisting with various disaster response efforts and providing reliable support across multiple clinics within Santa Barbara Health Center.

And now, therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara does hereby acknowledge Maria Deely's extraordinary length of service and her unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of the residents of Santa Barbara County. Passed and adopted today.

Thank you very much. You've been a journey. All these years, I've had fun and enjoyed all these years. And I will miss it.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Brittany. I am the Nursing Supervisor at the Santa Barbara Healthcare Center and I have had the pleasure of supervising Maria for the last couple of years and working alongside her at the Infectious Disease Clinic at the county. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to honor Maria after 39 years of dedicated service to the Santa Barbara Public Health Department Throughout her remarkable career, Maria has worked in nearly every department of our clinic. Primary care, urgent care, helping women through their pregnancy and specialties including orthopedics, neurology, nephrology, surgery, endocrinology She's a jack of all trades, basically.

Maria has been an incredibly hardworking, reliable, compassionate and nonjudgmental medical assistant whose dedication has left a lasting impact on our patients and our entire team. Her work in the HIV clinic in particular has been profound. She has supported patients through every stage of their disease In the infectious disease clinic, we have cried with patients doing new diagnoses. We have held hands through some of the hardest moments, celebrated their recoveries and mourned many losses together.

Through it all Maria has been a steady comforting presence, someone patients trusted deeply during their most vulnerable times. Sometimes patients call and they say I only want to talk to Maria. In 2017 Maria was recognized as a local hero for her contributions to the HIV clinic and her compassionate care. This honor reflects what we have all known for decades, her kindness strength and unwavering dedication have shaped our clinic in our community in immeasurable ways.

Maria thank you for your remarkable service your humanity the legacy you leave behind.

We will miss you

That concludes our resolutions and we'll go on to the administrative items that have been pulled either by the board or by the public in numerical order. I think we'll take A8 and 17 first so Supervisor Hartman do you like to make a brief statement before we pick those two items

up? Yes, I think we wrote to the FPPC but we haven't heard back so abundance of caution given the pipeline runs by my house I will use.

All right. So while we give Supervisor Hartman, a chance to step out. Okay. Madam Clerk will you please read administrative item number eight into the record?

Chair Nelson and members of the board, Administrative Item Number Eight is sponsored by the County Executive Office. It is to consider recommendations regarding adopting an opposed position on the Federal Hunt Amendment. And we have 11 requests to speak from the public on this item.

Wow okay. All right, let's try to keep it to two minutes. We've got to get through an administrative items quite a few today and some and a lot of departmental items. Let's try to keep the two minutes probably will give additional deference to our congressman who would also speak on this but for the most part he'll be two minutes on this.

Chair Nelson and members of the board we will begin here in Santa Barbara with Ryan Smith to be followed by our Congressman Salud Carbajal. Ryan?

Thank you. Good morning, Chair Nelson and members of the board. My name is Ryan Smith and I'm a legal fellow with the Environmental Defense Center. I urge you to adopt an opposed position on the Hunt Amendment to the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. At its core this amendment is about who governs Santa Barbara Washington or the people who live here?

It would let the federal government condemn land within our county and then strip away the tools this board in the state rely on to protect it California could not assert its sovereign immunity to prevent condemnation. Our permitting authority and condemned land would be preempted. State and local approvals, the very mechanisms that give this community a voice would no longer be required.

And the effect could be permanent. If the federal government issues a permanent easement, that license would shield the recipient from local authority in perpetuity. This board will lose its authority over infrastructure inside it's own borders with no path to get it back. This extreme measure is a direct assault on local control and on the Federalist principles to protect every county's right to govern.

It sets a precedent that should alarm all of us. Please adopt the opposed position, and ask our Senators to keep this out of the final NDAA. Thank you.

We will now go to Congressman Salud Carbajal to be followed by Maureen Allenberger. Salud?

Good morning. Good morning, Mr. Chair, Chairman Nelson. First I want to welcome our new CEO Jaina Peterson to Santa Barbara County. You're in for a real treat you have a great board and this is a great organization. I know I used to work here. Thank you again. I want to thank the Board of Supervisors for considering Item A8, for giving members of the public an opportunity to make their voices heard on an issue that is so important to our community.

It is always nice to be back before Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors although I certainly wish it was under happier circumstances. I'm here to support your position to oppose The HUNT Amendment, which is currently making its way through the National Defense Authorization Act. And to offer my perspective on how this amendment if enacted could undermine the environmental protections that the county and state have worked so hard to establish.

The HUNT Amendment would set a terrible precedent By allowing the federal government to seize California public lands through eminent domain for the San Ynez pipeline system. A private interest not serving the public's interests. As a reminder, this is the same pipeline responsible for the devastating 2015 oil spill right here in our own backyard. Instead of working with the California laws and the regulatory process to ensure the pipeline can operate safely, SABLE has spent years challenging and seeking to circumvent California's authority in its effort to restart operations.

In fact, the company has pushed so hard that at its request the administration stripped California of its oversight of the pipeline and invoked the World War II Defense Production Act law used for national emergencies to justify and force its restart. But apparently that was not enough. Now Sable is asking its allies in Congress to rig the system in its favor, to seize California lands and to provide a revocable federal pathway to operate the pipeline.

And we are already seeing why these concerns cannot simply be dismissed. Just six months after restarting the pipeline, Sable is now digging up 12 sections of the system after federally mandated inspections identified potential corrosion. That is especially concerning given that corrosion was at the heart of the 2015 Refugio oil spill. That is why this amendment matters.

Congress should not use the NDAA to create a special federal pathway around California law for one pipeline, one private interest project. This is why members of the California delegation and I have joined together to continue fighting this provision at every step Whether through opposing the amendment on the House floor, advocating for its removal in the conference process which is occurring now and speaking out at opportunities like this.

Currently the Senate does not have this. Senate version of the NDAA does not have this provision in it and usually they prevail. And so I'm happy and hopeful that that will carry through to the end. I urge adoption of item eight as proposed And encourage you to protect local control, which is always a principle that local government strives to achieve. Thank you Chairman Nelson and thank you to the rest of the Board of Supervisors. I appreciate the time and coming back here reminds me how great it was to serve on the Board of Supervisors. You guys have an amazing responsibility and do amazing work. Thank you so much.

Thank you Congressman.

We will now go to Maureen Ellenberger to be followed by Ethan Madej.

It's always nice to follow Salud Carbajal speaking. But dear Chair Nelson and supervisors, I want to echo what everyone said to you about the work you do. I'm so proud to have you as our supervisors and I'm proud to be here again and thank you for the opportunity to exercise our democratic rights In 1787, Benjamin Franklin was walking out of the Constitutional Convention and a lady asked him, well sir what have you created?

And he said, she asked a republic or a monarchy. And he said a republic if you can keep it. He was issuing a challenge, Democratic governance requires active defense. We are facing that challenge on many fronts today. The Hunt Amendment targets the Santa Ynez Pipeline, the same pipeline that did cause the spill in 2015 but it's really about establishing that when the federal government wants something nothing can stop it. Not state law, not state courts, not judicial review.

Here's what it actually does. It invokes federal eminent domain to seize California state lands and private lands to hand them over permanently to Sable Offshore Oil, a private company for private profit. It eliminates California's permitting authority. It blocks state injunctions. It gives an irrevocable federal license that even federal courts can't revoke. This is extraordinary. Eminent domain exists to acquire land for public purposes, not for private companies and not for a company that has a record of not respecting the laws that you all have labored over, fought over, built and come to consensus on sometimes.