City Council — June 23, 2026

Okay, good evening. I'd like to call to order this regular meeting of the Santa Paula City Council Wednesday June 17th here at the city council chambers and just as a reminder if you have communication devices make sure either turn them off or put them in audio mode non-audio mode and then And so now we'll go invocation, we have Deacon Al Galeen.

Mr Mayor, let us pray. Heavenly Creator, we gather here to thank You and humbly ask for Your continued blessing on our community Our country was born in strife, and over the years we have encountered difficulties and conflicts. Yet we continue to be a beacon to many around the world. Give us a strength, wisdom to seek the better good of all of us. We thank you as we celebrate the 250th anniversary.

That struggle was based on the idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness These values continue to be valid. The founders also recognize the difference among us, but now we pray that these differences are respected leading to solutions that benefit all. We pray for everlasting peace and the safe return of our men and women in uniform that are here and abroad that they may returns safely to their families And we remind ourselves that we may never grow weary of doing what is right.

Amen.

Acting City Clerk, would you please do a roll call?

Yes Mayor. This afternoon the City Council met in closed session to discuss items 5A and 5B on the special meeting agenda. 5A was conference of legal counsel anticipated litigation significant exposure litigation pursuant to government code 54956.92 and E1 with one potential case in discussion there are no reportable actions on that item Second item 5B was conference of legal counsel on existing litigation pursuant to government code five four nine five six point ninety-one Flores versus the city of Santa Paula Ventura County Superior Court case number 2026 CWM 062 2660 and there are no reportable actions on that item. This concludes my report

Thank you very much. We

Okay,

and then we'll follow by Tiffany Orr

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members. My name is Gabrielle and I live on the corner of Santa Paula Street and Bradley. I'm here again tonight because I have two concerns and they are directly connected. The first is the dangerous speeding on Santa Paula Street. I first came before the City Council in October 2025 to raise concerns about excessive speeds and request traffic calming measures, and since then I have spent the last nine months communicating with city staff through emails and was told I would receive updates regarding developments.

Despite repeated outreach, there has been no meaningful follow-up and no visible action to address the safety concerns I originally raised. And then on April 20th of 2026 this year exactly what I was concerned about happened. A vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed crashed into my home and that was not a hypothetical risk. This was a preventable event that caused real damage to my property and put lives at risk.

The second issue is the city's recent concern regarding RVs on private residential property. What I find troubling is that after nine months of trying to get attention brought to documented traffic safety issue, I was contacted regarding the RV code compliance almost immediately after the crash and most importantly in that same incident another vehicle struck my RV. Had the RV not been there, that vehicle would have continued into the other side of my home.

The very object that is now being scrutinized by the city helped prevent additional property damage. I understand that the city has a responsibility to enforce municipal codes. However, I am struggling to understand the priorities. I raised safety concerns. I attended meetings. I sent emails. I asked for help before an additional accident occurred. Another accident happened anyway. Yet the response I have seen has been faster regarding RV enforcement than addressing the dangerous speeding conditions are contributing to these incidents. Tonight before coming here, I drove from Peck Road to Bradley and counted 22 RVs on private residential properties. My question is simple. What is being done about the safety issue residents have been raising for months?

And why is there more concern regarding RV policies when it should be safety and speed? I would like a public update regarding traffic calming measures, enforcement efforts, traffic studies and any other plans the city has to address speeding on Santa Paula Street. I would also like a public update regarding the City's proposed RV regulations and enforcement efforts. Given that RVs are common throughout our community and given that my own RV helped prevent additional damage to my home during a vehicle collision, I am concerned about the necessity and practicality of these proposed requirements.

Thank you for your time.

Okay, next we have Tiffany Orr who will be followed by Maury Gonzalez.

Good evening council members my name is Tiffany Orr I am the vice president of the 400 Craig Drive Mobile Home Owners Association and a lifelong resident of Santa Paula. I am here because we know the importance of working on the rent control ordinance for the mobile home parks it still has not been put on the calendar for this year It is vital that we get the next steps going. And the longer it takes, we find we'll be looking at another application next year from our owners which will lead to financial burdens to residents of the park. We've had the workshops with the residents of the mobile home parks in town and today I'm asking the council to schedule the next steps of the meetings with the city council with your agenda 13 tonight.

I'm also asking the status of the yearly increase rent. A letter was sent out from the city to the parks and to the residents of our yearly increase, at the time it said 2.75 which the gentleman that helped us with our rent control issue, Carl Lawson brought it to James Mason's attention that it was actually supposed to be 2.25. And we were told that we were reassured that it was corrected and the parks were notified.

The rent increase for our park was initiated in May of this year, and the owners are using the incorrect numbers The 2.75 is being charged to us and it's supposed to be 2.25, we are now been overcharged for two months and the new bill comes out July 1st. Yes it's not a large amount but it is still the wrong amount and when you add up 165 mobile homes in our park that's a little bit of change for them We're asking the city to remind the parks of this again, and I'm not including just our park. I heard that there was other parks that have not fulfilled the commitment of the new amount.

It may not be a lot but they should not be overcharging us. Thank you

Thank you, Tiffany. Just as an aside I think we are looking at a date here in the near future for a workshop. Thank you. So that was Tiffany. We have Maury Gonzalez who will be followed by Robert Benavides and Slash Jerry Olivas.

Good afternoon. I'm here for the RV ordinance. When I got the ordinance, this was from 2004 and I just feel it needs to be updated or revised. Currently Fillmore, Oxnard, Ventura and Camarillo all allow RV parking in your driveway so we're just hoping that maybe we can adopt an ordinance similar to one of theirs and maybe you guys can set up your calendar. Thank you.

Thank You Maureen Gonzalez So we have a Robert Benavides with Jerry Olivas followed by Stell Waringer

Good afternoon Mr. Mayor and City Council, we are Robert and Relene Benavides, my wife's back there along with Jerry who is going to join us with this comment. We're here to address the actions taken by the City of Santa Paula Building and Safety Department. We received a letter stating that our RV parked at our property needed to be moved if not further action would be taken.

Let me start by saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Back in November of 2006, the Suroptimist Club of Santa Paula recognized us with the Yard of the Month with our RV parked at the same spot that it is today. Three months later, the City of Santa Paula Billing Code or City of Santa Paula They gave us a ticket. This incident was from two neighbors disputing RV parking back on Santa Barbara Street. That dispute should have been taken care of by those two neighbors. The city manager at the time told me that he was going to take out a 2-block vicinity.

Well, that ordinance is not only a 2 block vicinity, it's a citywide ordinance. While we agree that there are some homeowners that abuse the citizen by parking RVs on the streets as if it was a vehicle, and some of them are impeding the pedestrian sidewalks. Those are the ones that building safety needs to focus on. And as far as the RV and vehicles codes, those criteria is unrealistic and outdated.

It was also brought to our attention that this wave of recent letters were sent to homeowners as a result on the accident that happened on the corner of Bradley and Santa Paula Street. If you look at the video that came from, that was shared on social media The RVs had nothing to do with it. It was all driver error, if you look at that, if you look at the video.

I mean we pay for our property taxes 100%. It covers 100% of our property. We should be able to manage what's parked on a property without having the pedestrians at risk or anybody else. Our city council has plenty of things to go work on fixing city streets and then plus having revenue brought back to the city to make us better. And for the record, our neighbors across the street at 570 West Santa Paula Street, Ron and Teresa Harmon. They could not make it tonight here but I'm also going to speak for them they're in line with me. They pulled a permit to widen their approach on the driveway that was signed by inspectors of City of Santa Paula. They passed it, they allowed it and made it happen and they also got a letter so again We thank you for this time.

We hope you can put this on a future agenda and that's what we're asking for, so being able to talk about it. Thank you.

You know the big thing that we...the reason we're here together is because we were both in 2007 members of the city appointed RV committee and we participated in and made some strong recommendations how to improve the RV residential parking issue And I don't think any action was ever taken on that. So we're here as a group. Thank you.

All right, thank you gentlemen. All right now we have Steve Wehringer and he'll be followed by Melinda Zavala

Good morning, Mayor and City Council members. My name is Steve Warner. My wife and I live on Santa Paula Street. I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight regarding the ordinance that prohibits residents from parking their RVs in their own driveways. In a June 2nd press release this is a quote from the mayor saying the city council remains committed to delivering on the priorities identified by our residents. Clearly this is a priority.

I lived in Ventura and my RV was allowed in my driveway. I lived in Oxnard prior to moving to Santa Paula and my RV was allowed in my driveway. We have several friends that live in Camarillo, RV's kept in their driveway. We purposely bought our home in Santa Paula with space in the driveway to keep our RV there. We do not choose to live in an association because of rules like this. Associations are good they're just not for me. It's my house we pay the taxes we should be able to do within reason what we want to.

We consider ourselves civic-minded residents who support our community. We participate in city events whenever we can, including the police canine spaghetti dinner which we really enjoyed and... Sorry I lost my place there. Because I care about the city and community, we are discouraged when the city focuses on regulations like this one which affect the responsible Residents who enjoy RVing and simply want to keep their recreational vehicle on their own property. I understand the city has many responsibilities, but I believe there are more pressing issues that deserve greater attention and resources. For example, the many roads that are in poor condition including streets near my home and my driveway. My car sets off all kinds of alarms when I pull into my driveway because there's a huge pothole in front of it and the street is so uneven that it sets all the alarms off of my car that I'm driving off a cliff or something.

This is a public safety concern that directly affects residents every day and much more of a safety concern than RV parking in someone's driveway. I respectfully ask the Council to do away with this ordinance or at least open this up for discussion, making it an agenda item for an upcoming council meeting. I believe the City's time and resources would be better spent addressing the safety and infrastructure with greater impact on the community.

I skipped over a paragraph there. Also, I wanted to comment on the racing that goes down in Santa Paula Street. I live there on Santa Paula Street and from 930 till 11 literally drag racing going down the street and I guarantee you they're not stopping at the stop sign at Steckley or I mean Cameron right there. I would encourage all of you to relook over the City of Santa Paula strategic plan specifically the core value section which almost every one of them can be related back to this issue. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you very much. Now we have Melinda Zavala, who will be followed by Maria Robles.

Good evening council members. I want to address the issue of residential parking and the impact that current Ordinance and enforcement practices can have on the retired and working families in Santa Paula. I understand that city's goals parking regulations exist to maintain safety, preserve neighborhood appearance, ensure emergency access prevent Public streets from becoming long-term vehicle storage. Like many residents, we park our trailer in our own property yet we have been told that we cannot in certain areas of my own driveway on my own property because of local parking and zoning regulations. Our property is not governed by the HOA. From a homeowner's perspective, this is difficult to understand if a vehicle is legally registered operational and located on private property without blocking any sidewalk street or public access many residents are asking why we should be cited or penalized.

Housing costs continue to rise and offset storage can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars annually Residents who have adequate driveway space should have the responsibility options for storing their vehicles. I respectfully ask the council to consider reasonable revisions to the RV parking ordinance that recognize the needs of the residents who own recreational vehicles while still protecting neighborhood appearance and safety, consideration of the policies that allow greater flexibility for parking legally registered and operable vehicles on private residential property provided they do not create safety hazards, block sideways or interfere with the visibility. The goal should be reasonable enforcement that protects neighborhoods while recognizing the realities faced by Santa Paula families today.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you, Ms. Zavala. We have Maria Robles who will be followed by Carl Lawson.

Good afternoon City Council members. I'm here representing the One Step A La Vez. We are working currently on a campaign regarding saving our health care regarding the Santa Paula Hospital closure impact. I don't know if many of us know in our community they plan to shut down and close the hospital 30 I believe. But we're trying to get in the support of our community members here in Santa Paula, Fillmore and Piru and throughout the whole region for them to sign a petition we have which is urges of Ventura County Board of Supervisors to pursue an alternative solution In making sure that the Santa Paula Hospital continues to stay open, regarding either opening a new center or still offering these resources to our Santa Paula residents and those who are throughout our region.

We really appreciate your support and have our community be able to sign on Be the voice. We want our community to represent our whole region and be the ones that help in one way have the Ventura County Board of Supervisors make the correct decision that could support those who live in this region. Thank you so much, I appreciate your time.

Thank you very much Ms. Robles. Now we have Carl Lawson.

Good evening honorable mayor and members of council. There are, of course many good reasons to update the city's mobile home rent stabilization ordinance Principally to level the playing field between the mobile homeowners who call Santa Paula home and the corporate investors who have bought up mobile home parks. And because of the way the ordinance is structured, it forces homeowners to hire lawyers and CPAs just to have a fair shot in a hearing. But another good reason to update the ordinance is to save the city money and to help the city staff.

Council probably knows that last year Mr. Mason and your City Attorney had to spend hundreds of hours Reviewing an application before it even got to the hearing. And that's because the application process in the old ordinance is overly complicated and places a heavy burden on staff. There were over 1,000 pages of financial documents that had to be gone through along with threatening letters from lawyers pre-hearing claims and others.

It was hundreds of hours of staff time. That's not a good use of the city resources of the viable time takes away from Mr. Mason and his duties in the City Attorney. They shouldn't have to spend so much time on the details before a hearing even begins on a rent increase application. But that's what the current old ordinance requires. It even costs the city clerk's office time and money.

Under the current ordinance, if a party makes a motion before a hearing, even a motion to continue the hearing to another date, your rent commission must hold a meeting to decide on the motion. That's a Brown Act meeting, that means the city clerk has to coordinate the availability of the council chambers, the availability of the city attorney, the availability of staff.

Set up the hearing room post all the required notices just to decide whether the hearing is going to go to another date. It's ridiculous, it's unwieldy. You're not responsible for it. The ordinance was written long before any of you were here and I think Mr. Mason will confirm that he has much more important things to do than to review receipts for a park getting its wall painted but that's what the current ordinance requires him under section 15207 Other cities do it differently and this council can fix this problem by amending the ordinance.

The proposal of the Mobile Homeowners Association is very simple, have rent increase applications and capital improvement path through applications processed by a hearing examiner who handles all the pre-hearing matters and makes findings of fact then After that, then it goes to the Rent Review Commission who can focus on the real legal issues that are important if either side's not happy with the hearing officer decision.

That's how most cities process these applications and that's what we propose. It's more efficient for everyone, saves the city time and money, and will take a huge burden off your staff. We're happy to hear that it looks like this is going to be agended pretty soon but I just wanted to put in a little bit of information so you know The city also can be a beneficiary of updating and modernizing this ordinance. And we thank you very much for your consideration and time, thank you.

Thank you Mr. Lawson is there any other public comment? Okay, I'd like to repeat again that the city manager's office is working to put together a workshop on the rental rent control. So hopefully we'll know the data that soon and it might be appropriate since there was speakers on the RV ordinance Mr. Singer if it's appropriate just explain why now? Why it's happening now?

Sure, happy to do that. The city has received a number of complaints and concerns about RVs illegally parked. This was in no way in response to the accident that occurred on Bradley. In fact we've been talking about it for many months all the way back to at least last year. And we're doing this systematically, so we're not picking on one neighborhood or one block. Our code enforcement folks as they're going about their business are identifying homes that are not in compliance and Reminding those households that compliance needs to be achieved.

I should also point out that the city has undertaken a municipal code overhaul and that effort will include looking at the codes that involve RVs, and so to a number of the speakers' suggestions tonight there will be an opportunity for us to look with the council and with some workshops at that ordinance along with other aspects of the development code, not just specific to RVs and trailers and boats. I can't predict exactly when that'll occur. I don't know, probably around the fall maybe? I'm looking at the city attorney but she probably doesn't necessarily know either.

But like I said we are systematically going through the MUNI code to do that so...

That's right. I can add that as we said from the beginning, as we're undergoing this comprehensive code update, we can prioritize some sections of our code over the others if that needs to be moved up in the order of review. It sounds like there will be a workshop and then we can incorporate some of that discussion into a possible code amendment.

All right, thank you for that additional information. We move on now to seven...

I have a couple questions regarding this. Just so we better understand the process that staff takes in terms of public engagement especially on maybe an ordinances that have been there and there's been no enforcement all of a sudden to start enforcement what does that look like for us?

So, the city began putting out a press release and also articles in our monthly newsletter just generally informing the public that RVs or boats parked on property need to be properly stored in conformance with that ordinance. We provided resources The letter that's being dropped off that some of the residents here tonight have spoken of is not a citation. It's basically warning people that they're not in compliance. It provides them with resources of some of the local and regional storage facilities, in case they want to pursue off-site storage.

Yeah, so we were trying ahead of time to let people know this for a number of months. That effort started back I think in December.

And when was the last time the ordinance was created? Or enforcing policies of an ordinance that were enacted when?

I just want to caution that we shouldn't go into too much discussion on this topic without it being properly on the agenda.

If you could provide the council in writing information so that we better understand these things, that'd be very helpful for us in terms of connecting with our residents. That was one regarding the RV notice and the other thing is you mentioned the timeline's coming soon. How much time until that decision is made? Which? The mobile home park

Oh, yes. So the next step with the mobile home park ordinance will be a workshop with the City Council and the public. It'll probably be held at the community center because we anticipate a good hundred people or so, maybe more. And we're looking at late summer.

So

we hope to have a date nailed down in the next week or so and we'll start to calendar that. Okay, I appreciate that thank you. Thank You Mr. Mayor.

And as a follow-up though we will hopefully have a homeless and housing meeting scheduled soon and that's that'll be posted as well all right now we move on to presentations 7a Pride Month proclamation We have a proclamation that I've asked Council Member Ornelas to read, but we also have one public speaker, Celia Daniels. And Celia would you like to give your public comment before or after the proclamation is read?

After? Very well. Okay.

Yeah, we'll be putting it on our website. We can advertise it in the paper. You can

also sign up to receive notifications when my

job is posted. Thank you

very much. If I could make a suggestion... if you dig up that 2007 report, you'd probably find a lot of things that weren't updated. There was a committee, recommendations to the city council approved and I don't see it anywhere.

Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Olivas. Okay, I've asked Council Member Moronellis if he would read and also the person that will be coming up to accept the proclamation Santa Clara River Valley Pride Committee Chair Brittany Butts and also Co-Chair Francisco Estrada Go

ahead. Okay, I will be reading the proclamation of On June 28, 1969 the lesbian and

gay community took a brave

stand

for civil rights

At the Stonewall Inn in New York City, marking a monumental step for equality and justice for all LGBTQ plus people and communities. Igniting the gay civil rights movement and homophobic and hateful rhetoric has led to countless crimes and acts of discrimination both subtle and overt against members of the LGBTQ plus community. And whereas a pandemic brought death and devastation to the gay community with the outbreak of HIV and AIDS in the United States And due to a slow government response, galvanized LGBTQ plus communities into action by creating national state and local organizations dedicated to the care of those affected. And an effective lobby to combat hate homophobia and discrimination.

And whereas discriminatory laws and policies such as don't ask don't tell which prevented gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military in 1993 and the Defense of Marriage Act, which forbade same-sex marriage recognition in 1996 were passed as a country internally struggled to recognize and deal with the rightful societal changes demanded by the LGBTQ plus community.

Whereas the landmark decision in 2003's Lawrence versus Texas by the United States Supreme Court struck down a law that paved the path forward to marriage equality state by state. And whereas a tremendous amount of progress has been made since Stonewall, however members of the LGBTQ plus community continue to be marginalized, face bullying in schools and discrimination simply for being who they are.

And whereas each June, in the month in which the gay civil rights movement began in 1969, cities and towns throughout the United States celebrate LGBTQ plus Pride Month to acknowledge the courage it takes for people to make public and embrace their true selves. Become respected members of their communities and promote equal rights for all. And whereas the City of Santa Paula abhors discrimination of its residents in any form, including race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or creed and seeks to heal the damage caused by homophobic and discriminatory acts.

Pride Month gives the LGBTQ plus community and their allies an opportunity to celebrate equality, acknowledge their contributions to our community and provide hope for a better future. Now, therefore I Carlos Juarez mayor of the city of Santa Paula and on behalf of City Council and the city of Santa Paula do hereby proclaim the month of June 2026 LGBTQ plus Pride Month dated the 17th day of June 2026. Thank you

very much. All right. Celia Daniels welcome

My name is Celia Daniels. I am at the board with DiverCity Collective, Ventura. I want to thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity. You read it eloquently and beautifully what we need and why we're struggling here as a community especially in Ventura County. We have more than 40-50 thousand folks who belong to the LGBTQ community I'm also not just trans, but I am an entrepreneur. I'm a parent. I am an immigrant.

I am a musician and also I am part of the Workforce Development Board in Ventura County. I care about our communities. Just a couple of years back while I was at the flag raising in the Garment Building there was a person who walked up to me and said, I don't like that pride flag being flown. And I asked her why? She said that's not American And she looked at me and said, you are American. You don't look American. I said, I am an American.

And she said, but you are not from this country. You need to go back to your country. And I looked at her and said you need to go back to your country. She was a white old woman and she didn't know how to respond to that. The reason is, I told her this is a Chumash land. All of us in this country are immigrants And we need to understand that. That lady saw that meeting and she didn't know what to do, but she just said go back to your country.

The issues that I have faced in this county is not just about LGBTQ issues but also intersectional issues as an Asian Indian. In this community, my daughter was raised here in Newbury Park and I work with the community here. It's very important especially in Santa Paula for what you're doing as a community, as a hospital and the Pride Clinic and One Step All over Us. These are important things I think we are doing And I really want to thank you and support you in all your efforts to support us, because at the end of the day we are human beings.

And I really enjoyed the prayer because I'm a Christian as well. I was raised in an Anglican denomination back in India and I still have my faith. One thing that is important is trans community and LGBTQ community are demonized, polarized and politicized. We are who we are. We just want this to be humanized, and that's one of the reasons why this proclamation matters a lot to each and every one of us who are here. So thank you so much for what you're doing, and we really appreciate it, and thank you for that human side of love that you've demonstrated today. Thank you.

Okay, we have two people that are going to accept the proclamation and that is Brittany Botts and Francisco Estrada. Would either or both of you would like to say something before or after? Before. Okay come on up.

Hi everyone, it's Pride again. On behalf of the Santa Clara River Valley Pride Committee thank you for this proclamation and recognizing Pride Month. For some people pride can feel symbolic but for many youth and families in our community visibility matters. It matters to know that the place you call home sees you values you believes in you and that you belong. Our committee exists to create spaces where young people and their families can connect find resources celebrate who they are and know that they're not alone In a time when so much of what people see online can feel divided or discouraging, local community matters even more. Pride is not about asking everyone to agree. It's about making sure everyone in the Santa Clara Valley knows they deserve dignity, safety and the opportunity to thrive.

And as always to the youth in our communities you belong here, you are valued, you deserve to feel safe being yourself and I'm hopeful about your future and thank you for helping make that message visible tonight. And while I'm up here, Come to our Pride Brunch on Sunday. I hope you guys can all come, it's Father's Day which I know that dads love to come to the Pride Brunch so get your dad, come to the Palazzo and it's going to be a ton of fun. It's from noon to three and then for adults tomorrow we're having our second annual Pride Mixer at Park and that'll be really fun. Last year they had Rainbow Girl Cheeses so don't want to miss out on that! And thank you guys so much. Yes,

thank you.

You're very welcome. And hold on a second, we'd like to come down and take a picture with you.

Yeah.

Yes, we're gonna have comments from Council. Council Member Cronin.

Thank you, Mayor. This old white lady is very proud of the fact that I was the person in working with our vice mayor at the time and with the religious community to write that proclamation It mattered a lot to me because we were starting to tear ourselves apart. We were having flags torn down and arguments, and I could see us split in our community. And it mattered so much to me to have our own proclamation not one that was handed to us but one that was created for our community with the message of healing and hope.

So in that spirit, I'm very, it just gives me a lot of pride and near tears here to see that this is a continuing tradition for our community. So I just wanted to say that I'm just very, very proud of our city as well.

Thank you Council Member O'Connell. Others? Okay.

I just want to say I'm glad that we held space for this and that um, we continue to have this proclamation and thank you to those of you who are here And all of our people watching, or that will watch us later online. Thank you.

I think one of the things about all of the proclamations that we do is they recognize different parts of our community and they remind people that they are valued and that they belong as some of our public speakers have said. And so today in a moment we're going to do Juneteenth but first we start with LGBTQ LGBTQ plus Pride Month and remember that you all belong in our community as well.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. First of all I want to thank those that are living their truth and being their authentic selves. It's not easy to live in a world where we're still not accepted completely as part of the American flag or the American fabric of our country. And so, you know, we've come a long way. I got the honor last year to be mayor and as mayor that was an opportunity to represent represent my community in all places.

And it isn't just because I'm gay that I'm sitting here, it's because that is one aspect of who I am. At the end of the day, I think when people think about our community they should remember that everyone lives their own truth and their own struggle. So I love the fact that we can get to a point where we respect each other however we still live in a community that doesn't have respect Because I've seen too many comments and too many things that have been said about creating safe space.

And I would be a hypocrite if I didn't mention those things, because that's part of who we are as well, right? We still have a lot of work to do in terms of winning hearts and minds. I recently stood next to other members of the community where I saw a flag being raised at the county government center. That's pretty conservative now. And so standing there coming from Santa Paula with other members of our community, I think it's important. I heard a speaker talk about what that flag really represents.

That flag really represents connection and belonging for our community because of the struggle, because of the sacrifice that has been made and the lives that have been lost. Harvey Milk was killed because he was gay The list goes on and on. We still live in a world that people hate other people, and yes sometimes it takes courage for people to stand up and be an ally because that's what we need in a time of division not to be quiet or silenced but to be vocal advocates and supporters for those who are going through the struggle So I do commend the city for a proclamation.

It does represent we've come a long way, but there's still more to do and I'm signaling that we still have other things that can happen in our community to make people feel welcome and embraced and not ban things that are only going to be symbols of hope for people that have been marginalized enough struggled And so with that said, Mr. Murray, thank you so much for the proclamation today.

We hope to see you on Sunday at the Santa Clara River Valley Pride. This group of extraordinary volunteers not only gets together to create community and safe space for all generations But they're also doing some good work, good work like raising money for scholarships that can be given to LGBTQ youth so that they can follow their pathways and their dreams.

And so I'll end with that and again thank you to the council for their support of our community and there's still more to do, thank you. Thank you.

Some of you will remember that a few years ago we did raise a pride flag across the street It happened once, and of course it came down without authorization. Public sentiment was divided. Our city policy has changed. Who knows? Someday maybe that'll change again. But again, it goes along with the tough decisions that these past councils and future councils will make. But I stand with my council that we support our LGBTQ plus community. Thank you All right, thank you. Now we'll move on to the 7B Juneteenth Proclamation and I think you might either read in its entirety or maybe... But we don't have anybody here to present it but it's symbolic for this month.

So this proclamation recognizes Juneteenth as a historic commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States and a reminder of our ongoing responsibility to advance freedom, justice, and equality for all. The City of Santa Paula honors the resilience, achievements, and contributions of African Americans to our nation, state, country, and local communities. Juneteenth provides an opportunity to reflect on our shared history, acknowledge the progress that has been made, and recommit ourselves to building a more inclusive and equitable future as a community that values diversity, respect, and civic participation Santa Paula can communities.

Joins communities across the country in recognizing juneteenth as both a celebration of freedom and a call to continue working together to uphold the principles of liberty equity and human dignity. Therefore, the City Council proclaims June 19th 2026 as Juneteenth day in the city of Santa Paula and encourages all residents. Wait is it? It should be the 17th shouldn't it? I think it is. June 17th, as Juneteenth Day in the City of Santa Paula encourages all residents to observe this occasion through reflection, education, community engagement and celebration.

All right thank you and that's on behalf of the local chapter of the NAACP but I don't believe we have anybody here so we'll make sure it gets to them thank you