Good morning everybody would like to call back to order the Board of Supervisors budget hearings If we could actually begin with a roll call, please good morning Supervisor Leopold here Here And chair friend I am here. We are going to begin with land use and community services today We have a presentation on the land use and community services budget categories provided under the proposed budget pages one seventy five to one 77 Ms. Rowery. I understand you are going to give the overview. Yes. I am. Good morning chair members of the board Christina Mallory the county budget manager I'm going to give you a brief overview of the land use and community services budget category Before you consider the budgets today I should get started here So the departments you'll see a listing of them there range between the agricultural commissioner all the way to the redevelopment successor agency parks planning public works a library fund Monterey Bay Air Resources District and The land use and community services category expenditures are approximately 205 million dollars for the upcoming fiscal year. This represents 26% of all county budget expenditures for fiscal year 1819 This is a three point two percent decrease over the previous fiscal year This is primarily from the completion of several housing grants This chart shows a share of expenditures by department and agency and you can see here that public works represents about 67% of the total The largest expenditure services and supplies which comprises about a hundred and three million dollars salaries and benefits of about 56 million support 413 positions an increase of nine positions from the previous fiscal year Additional expenditures include about 40 million and other charges Six million in fixed assets and five point two million and other financing and contingencies The land use and community services Category revenues are approximately a hundred and seventy two million this year or 84 percent of total financing With the general fund and other funds making up the difference or 16 percent to meet the expenditure needs Land use and community services financing represents 30 percent of the total budgeted revenues and is comprised of 70 almost 80 million in charges for services 47 million intergovernmental funds 32 million in taxes about almost 10 million in licenses and permits 4 million in miscellaneous and use of money for a total of a hundred and seventy two million There's about eight million general fund contribution and 24 and a half million and other funds which make up the remainder of the financing This chart shows the share of financing by department and agency and note that the agricultural extension Lafko and the Monterey Bay Air Resources District are not represented as they are totally supported by the general fund Which is shown on the next slide Public works we've already discussed as the largest share of the land use and community services, which is at 73 percent And here you'll see the general fund contribution by department. It's approximately eight million dollars Which represents about six percent of the total general fund net cost and further details are provided in each of the department budget proposals Here you can see planning makes up about 28 percent of that and parks over 50 percent of that total And then while there are critical unmet needs such as the completion of shanticleer in the farm parks and deferred maintenance on much of our Infrastructure and facilities we want to acknowledge just a few of the accomplishments of the land use and community services area this year From the beginning of the storm damage repairs to the housing unit creation From completing deferred maintenance on some of our older park facilities to securing nearly two and a half million for homelessness programs From employing new technologies for more efficient work When employees are in the field to being at the forefront of developing usable alternatives to ban pesticides Our land use departments continue to work protecting the health safety and welfare of Santa Cruz County citizens The largest of the land use and community service departments will provide presentations on the regular agenda The status quo budget proposals are included on the consent agenda for the agricultural commissioner the agricultural cooperative extension Lafko library fund Monterey Bay Air Resources District and the redevelopment successor agency Department heads are available today to answer any of your questions Thank you for the brief introduction on land use and community services Supervisor Leopold. Thank you chair Ms. Mower thank you for the presentation just had a quick question and the chart that you showed it showed 10% of the Revenues were from redevelopment and 8% of the expenditures were for redevelopment Is that for the remaining project that we have over on? By the harbor Yeah, so that's just the yes. Yes. That's just a small share of redevelopment revenue. That's remaining. Yes. Thank you Any additional questions on the presentation? Supervisor Caput. So this is covering the whole consent part of the agenda. Yeah, we can go through we can Look at the consent agenda now, which includes a our cultural commissioner agricultural extension Lafko library fund the Airboard and the redeveloping successor agency. So anyway, yeah, I want to thank you also and What I've always been interested is in especially South County is the agricultural Commission because we have so much agriculture, but it's also a fascinating office because you also have weights and measures and they have mosquito control And I've been bringing up every year on the weights and measures They're the ones like consumer affairs They go out there and they make sure people get what they're paying for right? So anyway my ongoing Battle with the big corporations is Skippy peanut butter and jiff peanut butter they Skippy peanut butter a couple years ago took out about an ounce and a half out of what they're selling you and the It looks the same on the shelf So after I said that they were cheating people on that Jiff was the one I was recommending. Well, that was like the kiss of death Because then the following year just last year Jiff now is taking out two and a half ounces out of their peanut butter and They're smaller than the jar that's on the shelf for Skippy peanut butter so anyway, my battle will continue with the big corporations and Maybe am I correct on this? And I'm sure you're on top of it. Maybe I'll ask the agriculture I just have to say that the board actually every year only looks forward to budget hearings for this one reason I mean this is so every year we get this and it's amazing to hear about it a quest we learn about peanut butter and his preference of creamy over crunchy and amount of ounces and and and And one I know that this is why you sought this position And so appreciate you coming forward to speak about the number of ounces and peanut butter right now Good morning chair. Good morning board Juan Hidalgo cultural commissioner and also sealer of weights and measures It is true. Unfortunately packaging is shrinking in the marketplace And we do keep an eye out for that One of the things that we look for is for slack feel where you have companies that keep the same size packaging But give you less so it looks like you're still getting the same amount But when you open the package you realize it's a lot less So one of the things that we look for is to make sure that if you're gonna give customers less product that you also Make the packaging to fit that product so that people can see that You're getting a little bit less The only thing that companies are doing nowadays is that they keep the price the same but of course they give you less and so that's one of the strategies that Industry have been using in the last few years and we do get complaints like this every once in a while And so we also work with our DA's office Whenever there is a complaint or there might be an issue with misleading packaging out there in the marketplace So we work with the DA's office to kind of follow up on those issues What what I was interested in was when I went down to your office in live oak area They were actually measuring When I was there juice 64 ounces a half a gallon used to be normal now when you buy doles Juice instead of 64 ounces. It's 59. Is that correct? That is correct And actually that was a case that we followed up and we work on that on our DA with our DA So on and they ended up ending up filing a lawsuit against them and the company paid because that was a slack field issue where They actually kept the container size the same they didn't adjust it for that, you know, you were getting five ounces less And so hopefully that has been sold by now and these companies are Yeah shrinking the size of the package so that Consumers can know that they're getting a little bit less now. Okay, so now I'm taking on another big corporation like The juice doles juice corporation now So anyway, your staff is only about two on weights and measures You go around to different stores and check stuff out, right? We do so I have two staffs that that's all they do is wait some measures work and They check all the scales in the county any measuring device all the gas stations Any measuring and weighing device that may be used for commercial purposes? My staff is gonna be inspecting and soon that's gonna include kind of a scales at cultivation sites and Distribution sites you bet. Thanks a lot the next year. We'll have an update on all this when we have budget hearings Bring jelly. Thanks a lot as you're welcome Supervisor McPherson, yeah moving right along beyond peanut butter I'd like to comment on two of the six items that are on the consent agenda and one is the library fund to again thank the voters of Santa Cruz County for approving measure s which is a quarter-cent sales tax and Then the cooperative effort the maintenance of effort with the four cities in the county for its operation We are seeing beginning to see the fruition of that measure that was passed In 2014 and I can't tell you how excited in my district people are There's improvements to Boulder Creek, but and Scotts Valley as well, but especially in Felton where we have a real special Project going on with the library itself and now an adjacent park that's going to be with an interpretive center It's it's just a terrific addition to the Santa Rosa Valley And I know that you would say the same each of you and your districts For the improvements that are going on the library. We're gonna have a 9,000 foot library compared to today's 1500 square foot Velarity Memorial building which will become a historical museum as a matter of fact, so that's it's a two-fer, but I just wanted to say Thank you to the voters of Santa Cruz County What you did and what you supported were we're carrying through and some really great improvements are going to occur So I think each of us could say that about the library maybe San Diego Santa Cruz right now It's a little dicey with what they're going to do but And then also in Monterey Bay or resources district I know that some of our board members including the chair is on that I want to thank that that board and Richard Steadman the CEO to for his efforts to get a grant to for Upgrading wood burning stoves. It's a huge issue in Santa Rosa Valley The district consistently for the last several years has put in seventy five thousand dollars that it really didn't have extra to spend To have people trade out a change out those stoves. I think this this Grant is for three or four hundred thousand at least and it's going to be much more I just encourage the people of Santa Rosa Valley to participate in this and you'll get some credits for it You'll get some revenue for it if you want to change out your wood. So which is a serious problem in Santa Rosa Valley So I want to tip my hat to the Monterey Bay Air Resources District and thank you very much for that effort Think survive like first and supervisor Coonerty. Yeah, just Briefly on the Monterey Bay Air Resources Board one of the really cool programs Which is we're one of the few districts in the country do this is we're giving out Vouchers for used electric vehicles. So it not only reduces our carbon footprint But also helps with equity issues in our community of giving people lower costs access to to alternative fuel cars and And saving the money on gasoline and other costs. And so I'm really proud of that effort We authorized it and we're working with the dealers to bring To get that information out to people Thank you, Supervisor Leopold. Thank you, Chair I just want to just comment on a couple items on the consent agenda. I want to thank our Partners who work in agriculture. We just heard from the agricultural commissioner and in addition to his peanut butter work He does all this work supporting our our agricultural community and Has done a great job in keeping us informed in the public informed about invasive pests that have come into our Community and no good work that the office does To help prevent the spread of these past. I really appreciate that and the work of the staff Agriculture extension the support that you offered to our farmers is also critically important the last thing that I'll just say is The local agency formation Commission budget, which is here It's fairly modest, but it's doing important work In August We'll be doing a joint meeting with the central fire district in the app us the Selva fire district to talk about whether there is Efficiencies that can be gained in services Either through consolidation of services or a possible merger and that's incredibly important work for our community It's incredibly important for the taxpayers and an important for public safety I look forward to that conversation. I appreciate their work Mr. Caput. Yeah, one more thing actually on a more serious note. We do have mark boulder with us from a ag extension and Maybe if I could ask a quick question on We had the methyl bromide before and the methyl iodide and Finally that that cleared up and now what are they doing? That's more natural and less dangerous I guess to People working in the fields. Okay It's actually a longer topic. I know both you and Carlos attended our extension meeting this last February It's a bit of a heavy lift, you know, methyl bromide been used since 1960 and now we're looking for alternatives currently The chlorpicorin is being used, you know, again, it's a it's a gas lacrimogenics So we're kind of looking on the other side you have options such as mustard seed oil You've had some some fuming hits of left lesser toxicity to the environment Actually, Juan has been working closely with us to make sure that the regulations are being met on that so Big topic moving forward out their support, you know from USDA. I've got a grant from the CD CDPR and so If you want any details, let me know Yeah, what there was something it looked promising that rice a certain type of rice if you mixed it in with the soil Rice brand. Yeah, so Okay, yeah rice brand is so it's being used as an amendment to the soil. It does change the ecology of the soil You have different organisms now growing in the soil I mean think if you change a grassland to kind of a redwood forest the ecological shift that happens there You're essentially doing the same thing in the soil when you do that Harvard There's some issues with one of the pathogens that we have in strawberries that we're actually Accelerating the growth of that pathogen with something like rice brand So we need to know it's more of an integrated approach now that we're taking to these soils Then we have before we need to know what the pathogen is we need to kind of look at the ecology of soil I don't want to lose the board here on these sorts of things But we're really you're looking people need to really know what they're dealing with methyl bromide was just one shot Does it all that's not the case anymore a lot more details And why this is so important now we're looking at more natural more a less Danger to the farm workers that are actually working out there In the fields That's that's true. And that's that's why we're looking at these materials I will tell you you referred to corporations before some of the larger corporations They see the writing on the wall too. They're looking at more biologically oriented Approaches to pest management as well. So they're trying to replace, you know The portfolio of organophosphates and carbamates with things essentially that are natural in origin So there's a big shift, you know, it's just not you can't just do one time you need to test you need to understand these things But it's definitely moving in that direction. You bet I want to thank you for all the work you're doing and if the people out there want to call you It's uh, it's fascinating to talk with you because we can go into all kinds of detail About how they're you know Growing crops and the there there is more it's going towards organic more now than in the past also Yeah, for sure. I mean if you look at again, I want to supervise a community referred to the crop report from 2004 to 2016 There has been the acreage dedicated to organic agriculture has gone up in Santa Cruz county So there is that shift. Yes, and the last question when I talked to you about the bees You know people complain the bees are disappearing And they're very important to pollination But you were saying that it's actually doing a little better now in sacrament in Santa Cruz county Yeah, so again, I just hesitate to get too into too many details But yes the bee colonies have improved both the domestic and then the wild For whatever reason saying like 10 years ago the numbers of bees went down It could have been a combination of pesticides could have been a combination of you know, the forage crops had around But the bee situation has improved Okay, and I guess related to that is there still Where the african bee South american bee is coming up And they're more aggressive and Is that is that Disappointed somewhat I need to get back to you on that. I do not know the extent of the africanized bees I know they are in california. I think they're only in southern california. I don't think we have them here But I need to double check for you. Okay. Yeah, so thanks a lot. Yeah. Thanks for your support Thank you. I'll just make a couple of brief comments Also, thank mr. Dalgo and the agricultural commission and your your work in general and balancing enforcement and education your partnership with the farm bureau your partnership with the growers I've been to a number of Events where you are present And I think you really do provide a significant voice on behalf of the county to ensure that people have the education But when it comes necessary you you definitely do the enforcement as well I think you've you've brought a lot to that office and I appreciate your leadership on that Mr. Binding We had a commentary about you when we had the rates a couple about a month ago, but You know, we don't We don't get a lot of complaints about issues regarding vector or mosquitoes because the work that your office does I know you don't Charge very much money. You don't have much staff, but you're doing an outstanding job keeping our community safe from that It's really a public health issue and people Don't always appreciate things that they don't have a problem with right in since you don't create a problem for people They don't know to thank you, but the board does recognize your work In regards to the library miss Nemitz you work late nights and then you come back early mornings I understand I appreciate your balance with the city and everything you're trying to do throughout the county I recognize as supervisor McPherson said measures are a remarkable gift from the community We also know As costs escalate that you're doing everything you can to make sure that all the of the interests are balanced Mr. Mojure, you've you've been a dedicated Servant to the libraries unpaid for years And not just not just the fifth district by the way You've been a strong voice for all libraries throughout the county and my district appreciates your work as well Mr. McCormick, we appreciate you coming in we had a million questions But we just made up the answers before you got here I just wanted you to know that But your budget was cut in half and on the air On the air board a lot was already said by by my two colleagues on this But if you're not familiar with what the air resources district does they actually do a significant amount of work Especially in the unincorporated areas and on dealing with burns preventing pollution and also ensuring Through a number of their innovative granting programs that we have a lot of options throughout A number of public agencies they funded electric buses They funded a lot of electric cars within the fleet here in the county Adaptive signal control projects in the city of Santa Cruz city of Watsonville And hopefully in the incorporated area that can reduce pollution So it's a very innovative Organization that supervisor Coonerty and I also serve on We'll open it up to the community It's an opportunity for members of the community specifically to address us on the consent items If anybody would like to address us on these items now would be your opportunity Good morning again chair and board 20 delgad commissioner I just want to take a minute to thank your board in the CAO office for all your support of the agricultural commissioners programs And my staff and I look forward to the opportunity to improve our community services and also to improve our staff Development through the county's strategic plan And then lastly each year has its own unique of challenges Both for our growers in our community and I just want to thank my staff for the dedication In helping our clients navigate through these channel challenges to make sure that our programs are successful So thank you again Thank you. Thank you anybody else on the consent agenda Okay, we'll bring it back to the board for action. I will move the consent agenda I have a motion from supervisor leopold and a second from supervisor McPherson all those in favor I opposed the passes unanimously. Thank you all For your work on that We'll begin Actually, we'll take oral communications as an opportunity for members of the community to address us on items That are not on today's agenda but within the purview of the board of supervisors Would anybody like to address us today on oral communications? All right, seeing then we'll begin the regular agenda The first item in the regular agenda item seven is to approve the 2018 19 proposed budget for parks open space and cultural services department Including any supplemental budget materials as recommended by the ceo We have the 2017 18 goals and accomplishments the 18 19 proposed budget supplemental budget unified fee scheduled continuing continuing agreement lists and the line item detail Mr. Gaffney good morning and welcome. Good morning chairman friend and fellow board members. Uh, first of all, I wanted to Suck up to you guys if I can Actually, we're passing out a few things I'm going to require some work from you on this you're going to have some volunteer caps in here So that means you actually have to come out and volunteer for the parks Margaret Ingham's cards in there. She's our volunteer coordinator So feel free to contact her after this meeting so you can get some work done There's also a beach blanket and some sunglasses in there as well So you guys can use those after you do the volunteer work for us So thank you again, we'll be presenting the 18 19 proposed budget for parks and we'll just get right to it here We're going to be going over the 2017 18 accomplishments in this and we're also be doing the 18 or the 19 18 19 budget overview the 18 19 Goals for the upcoming year and some unmet needs. We have our future challenges so We also had the opportunity to finish our strategic plan. We're right in the draft Phase right now where the draft copy of our strategic plans out there and I thought to throw this word cloud out there This is something that was Assembled as a result of some of the public meetings community means and as as is often with the word clouds The larger words are the ones that came to mind for a lot of people in our community So these are the things that are some of our first glance Guiding principles for our department. I thought it would be important for everybody to keep that in focus And it's just a nice nice way to look at parks or it's maybe the way my brain works. I haven't figured that out yet exactly So last year actually we were able to finally hire The volunteer coordinator that you guys authorized for us to have so thank you for that I wanted to highlight a few things that happened as a result of that We were able to almost double the number of regular volunteers. These are the folks that come in Whether it's weekly or monthly for us, but there are our Almost like employees with the department and they do a lot of things for us. So we went from 90 to 163 In addition to that we did eight group service days volunteer work days And had well over 300 people come to those work days So that's in addition to what we just talked about with the the number of regular volunteers And our volunteer hours we almost tripled the number of volunteer hours, which equated to about 200 000 dollars in Value to the county. That's just incredible because that is more than the cost of the position And that's just in our first year. So I'm looking forward to that program getting Larger and and embracing our community even more A couple of program accomplishments. I think We are all aware that the department had some cuts and we've had a difficult time Recreating programs because we want to make sure they're sustainable and that they provide services that Are a good value for the dollar But one of the programs that we really are proud to be a part of Is the power of alley girls initiative the girls paving the way program This is a program where we're supporting the girls from the ages of Basically the sixth grade to the ninth grade in that time frame We're going to be with them for three years and we're going to provide them things like Tutorial assistance college and career exposure Recreational enrichment Mentorship and leadership So this is the most vulnerable time for people in our community at the most vulnerable place in our community And so it's really a great program And we're partnering with a number of organizations on it Which is sort of the theme for our department as you know as partnerships Because that's the only way we as a parks department feel like we can sustain the long-term Legacy that we'd like to leave here for our community I Also wanted to talk about Some of the grants that we've been applying for in the last couple of years. We've really done a great job This is a group of people in our department that other duties as assigned happen to be they put together Grants and so this isn't we don't have a professional grant writer We have a group of people who meet somewhat regularly and and keep their eyes open for grants that are out there And you can see what a difference that makes Just building that collaboration within our department Last year we were successful in receiving eight hundred and seventy seven thousand dollars in grants This fiscal year so far. We've received over eight hundred thousand and we're looking at we've applied for almost two million in grants Um, I think that's relevant, especially now given Prop 68 passed and so there's going to be several hundred million dollars in grants that will be available over the next couple years That we'll be able to apply for the challenge for us is going to be Coming up with dollars for that actual money some usually it's a 50% match So we have to think about that Oftentimes we can use those volunteer hours. I mentioned as grant matches, but That's not always accepted and it's not a complete alternative. So just something we have to think about as we move forward Talking about new community events It's sort of a way to market our program market the department and work with other agencies Some of the things we've been doing working with the the maw as as you're well aware I'm sure and Supervisor McPherson. I'm sure you're aware of this as well that the Museum of Art and History is a county park And so we're partnered with them on a number of activities Friday night recess will be doing one coming up here in july And then with the aquatic center We've really expanded our programming and we've marketed in a different way so that first of all people are getting more Bang for their buck literally getting more entries into the facility And also doing things like the throwback swim and their polar plunge and the mother's day swim And national learn to swim day something we'd like to see in the future is maybe Possibly free swim lessons for kids in the county if we can so we're looking to how we can finance that or what we can do To bring resources to bear on that one Family movie nights. Thank you Supervisor Leopold on that one. We're moving forward with family movie nights hardest so Cal Thursdays the third thursday every month until october through october We're also doing one up at highlands park this month on july in july these are ways of course to highlight some of the things that we have in our our community some of the new parks that we've opened and also our department Engage our community So how are we doing as we really compare ourselves with other park agencies? If I want you to sort of take a look quickly at those first two graphs the operating expenditures per capita and the general fund contribution As it stands with our national peers We're well below which is a good place to be in other words We don't cost as much as a lot of other parks departments and we run pretty lean and mean And then the other two graphs We earned generated revenue and the number of parks So we have a high number of parks and we also earn a significant amount more In revenue than other agencies across the country. So I think we're doing a good We're doing well and we keep our eyes on that make sure that we continue to be Above and below the norms where it's appropriate All right, so getting to our actual budget First thing I saw on here was like wow, okay. Why are our revenues down? Who do we need to talk to how are we going to make more money? But what it turns out is actually that ends up being From our storm damage repairs and some of the things that we did Last fiscal year we we showed that as revenue and so we had several hundred thousand dollars come in in Revenue as a result of that so that's the change. It's one of those accounting things So nothing to be too worried about there And as we look at the total financing total expenditures Our three percent increase really has to do with salary increases for staff and utility costs So we're looking at every opportunity on how we can reduce our utility costs And one of those things of course is we just got the solar power In at simkins, which is actually going to make a significant difference in how much It costs us to keep the lights on and the the motors running for the pumps to the pool and all of that sort of thing I do want to point out also that as a department we Rely heavily on extra help, which is a good type of workforce It engages the youth of our community gets them involved in in recreational programs youth programs and and just caring for Teaches them to care for their community That's primarily where our seasonal help is and also it's an efficient use of resources because obviously there's a Significantly lower cost with extra help seasonal employees And as you look at it, it's 32 of all our staff hours. It's a pretty significant equivalent to about 22 and a half full-time equivalents So we are doing something in the supplemental We're actually taking a park supervisor and converting it to a park maintenance worker three and an admin aid That's going to have no increase in the net county cost That will also provide us better services to the field the admin aid is going to help support the maintenance staff in the field And the worker three is more of a field level position and the 1819 goals We actually are opening our 64th park twin lakes beachfront, thanks to betsy limberg and public work staff and Everybody's efforts here. We're going to be opening up twin lakes and maintaining it. So that's a pretty exciting thing I have we have some ideas on Activities we can do that in there Hopefully bringing a little money through concessions and also just highlight once again. This is a county park and welcome to it Um, we're also going to be looking at reviewing the park dedication and updating Park dedication fees and updating those. We're looking at how we can get more Social media presence and more active participation in our events and For those that don't know beginning construction of shanticleer park is actually code for leo's haven the all inclusive park So leo's haven is going to be right in the middle of shanticleer park And that's we're actually pretty excited that we'll be getting construction on that We do have a few financing issues to work out, but we're very far along the line on that And when financing issues work out, I mean that we might need a little bit of help Um, so complete the bike pump track at the pinto lake that actually is a cooperative effort between Supervisor cap and supervisor friend. Thank you for working together on that It's just a great addition to the facility long time master planning that we've done there to activate more recreation And this is a great opportunity to do that Recreation software sounds really exciting But actually This is going to be the sort of the spine the backbone of our department. This is how people can register for classes This helps run things in an efficient manner Gets programming out there. It really is just a great Program that we're looking forward to changing. It's an antiquated system We've had and I think we'll be able to track numbers better for everybody Um, and then actually start an operations plan based on our our strategic plan So that's all the goals that we're going to be pushing for this coming fiscal year So some challenges for the future There's just a glance at some of the programs. I'll read them all to you right now. I'm actually just kidding They have the number of programs that uh, I actually didn't we actually didn't get them all onto this slide But we have had a significant number of cuts to the department It's my hope and our hope that we can find a way to sustainably Regain some of the the programs on our slate and It really does touch the gamut throughout the community of all the different types of programs that have been cut So I just want everybody to be aware that We're going to make every effort in within our means to get those programs out there and And add some programs actually as I said even free swim lessons for kids in the community would be a big one So, uh, major capital needs leo's haven We have an incredible group of community members spearheaded of course by Patricia Potts and mariah roberts and they've they've come close to raising two million dollars on their own We as a department outside of the general fund have raised close to one and a half million dollars with grants and dedication fees and other Money that we've called together through Contributions, but we do need some help. We're going to need some help to make get this across the finish line We'll be able to at least finish phase one. I'd like to see us get through phase two. We we can Really have a beautiful park and and do it and the most efficient and It would be cost effective to do it all at once actually if we are able to do that instead of having to add delete things So whatever money might be available or whatever resources we have that We can think about I'm happy to work with the board We will continue to work to find those dollars, but we are set for construction to start next april. So I'm looking forward to that possibly even october. We may be able to do something As far as groundbreaking simpkins swim center It is a 20 plus year old facility. There are a lot of things that have begun to show the years It's been well cared for but something we have to think about it's going to be a 1.5 to 2 million dollar renovation in coming years. We have to figure out how we're going to do that I plan to work hard to make sure that we have that and that we work with the community to find resources to do that Hard to soquel linear parkway very exciting Um, of course safe routes to school for kids. There's a whole number of tie-ins to the community It really brings soquel together. It does provide a heart for soquel. Um, we have a just a Um Probably have a million dollars that we've put into it almost at this point and we have a couple hundred thousand dollars kids across the finish line Given the grants that we have coming online. I think we have a good shot at that. We'll work hard towards that Again, as I said, we may need some matching dollars farm parks along the same lines Very close to getting that wrapped up. We have the The pump track that we're looking at there and as well as the pedestrian bridge And felton discovery park, which is just a great collaboration with the community with the felton's library friends and as well as the library We um, we think that's going to be a beautiful addition And we were very fortunate to be successful in a 395 thousand dollar grant which gets us very close to the finish line on that one So staffing needs, um, I just wanted to highlight as you've seen in the past. We are still short on the staffing This was of course the trend in most departments and for us We were keeping in line the number of staff with the number of parks We had out there and the services we provided And then the great recession hit and you can see the dip that hit us at that point. We're still coming back from that Um, so as we look towards the future I want to keep that on the forefront and remind the the board that this is something that's important to us and We do We do work lean and mean as I said before But it does that take a toll and I can I can keep the spirits up of the staff as Much as I can but we we do need some help and then I did want to point out that july is parks and recreation month And that we have a number of events that we're trying to provide Free to the community. I showed the list of them here on this slide But just one of the things that's really exciting to me is we're going to do get your play on here on july 28th At simkins and shoreline. We're working with all of the parks departments in the county together to provide a sort of carnival activities games type of feel for them to come out and just they can swim for free but participate in activities for free very family oriented and It'll be a great time We also have the parks and recs which bring out the dogs to the pool and last last weekend in august And then the live oak family fun run movie at highlands as I mentioned Um And I also just wanted to take a moment and thank the ceo's office and the staff and and carlos Especially during these tough times right now that they've the incredible support They've shown us and the help they've given us and most importantly I have an incredible staff and we're very fortunate that we have the group of people we do working for us So thank you. Thank you. Mr. Gaffney. Are there questions or comments before we open up for the community on this item? Supervisor Caput I want to thank you for all the interest and all the work you're putting in on You know parks throughout the county and activities that are going on And I know you've been working real hard to keep the costs down on some of the programs Because we do have a lower income Part of the county that needs to be able to afford to go to different programs like aquatics and all that So the prices are pretty good Is there a lot of pressure though to raise prices? That you're having to actually fight off Yeah, I think with everybody this economy The cost of living I don't know how i'm going to joke about this you talked about peanut butter I don't know how Costco keeps a hot dog and a soda for a buck fifty. We we certainly have a hard time keeping things at the cost they need to be um, and That's to some degree a lot of people in my profession myself to some degree included Believe these services should be free for our community, but they do have a cost and it is very difficult in these times It's a it's a daily struggle And then like with the pump track and uh leo's haven those are all free, right? Absolutely. That's that's wonderful. Absolutely. That's that's what we grew up Parks, you just went down there and played cats or you went down there You're not locked out real quick on the pump track. It's on schedule and The bids are coming in and so how does it look right now starting date? We're open by mid-october. It'll be open. That'd be great. It will be You bet. I want to thank a supervisor friend. We've been working on it We're actually uh, both working on it because it's technically in his district by the dividing line of uh, green valley road and So it's going to be uh, I guess what I was surprised by Was when we had the first discussion public discussion out at the site at pinto lake and uh All the people that showed up it was on a saturday morning and There were parents and their kids were there and they brought bicycles just to look at it and It really, uh, it surprised me how many people you were there and it was uh It's something that when I was a kid we didn't have pump tracks. I didn't you know now It's actually very popular. I think when we had we were kids We had dirt lots and we had orchards we used to be able to ride through but those we don't do that anymore So yeah, we have pump tracks now. Yeah And uh, this one kind of surprised me. I saw the name marmos Do you know anything about marmos? I used to that's over there by pinto lake He used to be privately owned by the marmo family And so I guess uh, now it's part of the uh, santa cruz county parks in the last Number of years. Okay It's an affordable housing site Okay That's an old old name. Uh, that just kind of showed up here in the report. Oh, there we go Thank you. Survisor McPherson. Yeah, I thank you for that presentation. Mr. Gaffney And I just want to say that I nicknamed you the energizer bunny Uh, and it just goes down throughout the staff and You're to be really commended for revitalizing this parks department. We've had the opportunity to do it Fantastic job with the with the limited resources that you have that we've been able to contribute more to Uh, and I don't think uh, lean and green or excuse me. A lean and mean is the right terminology I think lean and green would be better. That is good. So yeah, okay, uh, but I I can't tell you how much I appreciate And I'm going to focus on the fifth district of how much we've been able to You've been able to accomplish. We all have uh throughout the purchase of the bear creek park That that was phenomenal as a cooperative effort with the bowler creek recreation district and land trust of santa criss county It was a really A great project to have a lot of different agencies come together to make it a reality And I want to mention that there is a picnic Uh, a public picnic this saturday at 1 p.m. At bear creek park and bowler creek So, uh, come out and enjoy it folks of sand runs the valley, especially those of the upper valley It's a tremendous addition to that community Yeah, the founding family's picnic. Thank you. Yeah, thank you for bringing that up. Yeah, uh in highlands park I I'd saw the movie night coming up july 1st and uh And again, I can't say enough about the felton library discovery park Combinations so to speak Congratulations on getting that grant everybody. I tried to call Some folks to say how important each of them played a part in that It's it's the first of its kind in the state as far as I know of having a An indoor library a conventional library and then an outdoor library for to discover nature So to speak it physically flows into it. It's beautiful. It's going to be just a highlight and I can't There's a lot of people to thank but nancy gert and jim and michelle mosher mosher who are jim is here They've worked night and day on this and it's a fantastic addition to the valley the lower valley in felton And it's another cooperative effort It really is amazing when we can get our act together between some agencies and how well it works So thank you very much for your efforts and everybody and your staff. We're much appreciated and We're going upward and onward. Thank you for your leadership Mr. Vice-president leopold, uh, thank you chair. Thank you for the presentation.  We actually give you so we're i'm very aware Of the needs of the department. I'm glad that the investment that we made last year For a volunteer coordinator has paid off handsomely already and I think that will grow over time because we know that when we've gone out to the public and asked them for to support the parks they've shown overwhelming support and And so there's a lot of love For the county park system and getting people involved as a volunteer is is is great I also want to uh, thank You your staff everybody involved for helping the the sokel family movie night series take off You know what we're doing in our second movie this tomorrow night We're going to be showing the goonies, but it really Lights up that heart of sokel park I I heard a few people say this is the first time i've been there Because it's it's tucked away there behind the post office But it's uh, it's been a long sought after Amenity to sokel and when combined with the with the the the pathway That is going on It really is the last major element of the sokel village plan That was created many years ago many years before I became supervisor But the idea of linking up the different parts of of Of sokel this the pathway becomes incredibly important And I was fortunate enough to be at the sokel school board When cheryl bailey and other members of the staff made a presentation of what it's going to look like the The school is is giving us easement to their land As they do some reconstruction of sokel elementary And it's going to just be a fabulous addition To sokel and I just want to express my appreciation to you and your staff for the hard work that you did Finding the money. I know you've written a number of grants And when I see the grant totals that that the parks department has generated I'm very appreciative of that. I know that that takes a lot of time outside the regular work Day for people to put into it. I know will and cheryl and and and everybody else Puts a lot of time into it. I know we get help from some of our parks commissioners. Yes, absolutely And uh, I'm I'm hopeful that we'll be able to access some of those new funds from prop 68 With the the the success that we've had so far. It's really it's really made a difference in the department I also wanted to Acknowledge the work that you did and we'll be using again this year for the pickleball Court at brome park, you know, I go by there and I see people playing on that court all the time And sometimes I reserve this spot, but it's just sometimes it's just people playing pickleball Or other games on that court. It's really It's really been a welcome addition and the board's going to be going there again at the end of budgets for Our pickleball tournament Supervisor McPherson may give up the trophy. We're not sure He's gonna fight hard for a big pickle I also just want to express My appreciation to uh, eric strum and other people in parks You know, we had a spate of violence happen on the so-called drive corridor The sheriff department did a great job in terms of going there and capping the violence But one thing that became very clear is that young people needed to have better activities Uh, so you and mr. Strumb, um, immediately made winkle park available I understand yesterday that there's going to be an ultimate frisbee game Uh, with staff with some of the families over there, which I think is going to be fabulous I know we've gotten some other activities and other nonprofits involved But just the the willingness to be a part in partnership with, um With community-based organizations to address this I know it's part of you would see it as part of your mission But I just want to express the appreciation for the community Uh, they made it available and and working together we can help make The lives better of a lot of people, uh, and I just really appreciate that We have the ongoing, um maintenance, uh challenges, uh, you know last year we saw so many trees come down at moran uh park Ms. Isla illif, uh did a great job of, uh, of managing that and we need to provide More money to to make sure that we can maintain our properties very well Lastly, I'll just say, uh We're we're at a great point, I think In the life of shanna clear park A park that was assembled over many years through the redevelopment agency which was planned and permitted Before the closure before the elimination of redevelopment money And we've been struggling with figure out how we could actually build this park For the most densely populated part of the unincorporated, uh, county And, uh these incredible, uh volunteers have stepped forward Um, mariah roberts trisha pots their entire families They have engaged hundreds of volunteers, uh to contribute a tremendous amount of money Um It's hard to it's it's hard to adequately express my appreciation For volunteers who raise close to two million dollars Um, that's just that's a level of of community fundraising, which we haven't seen in live oak And we don't see too many places around santa cruz Uh, and it wasn't done with a bunch of big grants It was done with a lot of small donations Absolutely, and I think we're going to be challenged and when it comes to time I'll be asking for help from our county administrative officer to figure out how we do our part to make sure that now that the community has weighed in Uh, it's such a it's such a big way that we can complete this park Not just phase one, but the the uh, the entire park which has been long sought after Um, and we've seen this outpouring of support. So what I think I think we have to do our part Uh, but I want to express the appreciation to you the staff Kim namba who uh, who uh, has to figure out how to stretch those dollars as far as possible And she still has all of her hair. So that's absolutely good. And she's able to manage me sometimes Well, I'm not sure about that But uh, thank you for the work of the department. It's really appreciated in the community. Thank you So for everyone one more Yeah, I mean real briefly before we get to hear from members of the community, but One I want to thank you for your commitment to making sure we have access for all people in our community To our open spaces in our parks. It's um, I look forward to working with you over the coming years To increase that access Second is as you mentioned it twin lakes is coming along. We're we're so close To having this project finally done and I really look forward to activating it. Although it's If you're out there, there's already a lot of activation But but make sure we're coordinating with our programs But uh, thank you for your work and your commitment. Thank you to our community and we're getting you a bathroom in Davenport Promise that's gonna happen. All right. That's already done So if I was a cap, you got a follow-up you bet Uh, just a quick commentary and uh, we've talked about it and you've actually been working on it with myself but um Looking around the room being older than most people here I think bruce and I maybe are part of the two older ones He has a trophy and you don't But when I was growing up on the old black and white tv, uh They they would have a commercial public Comment commentary and commercial that was showing kids going down to parks And uh, they would be locked out the parks would be locked out. It said, uh, please don't fence me out Uh, and there was to open up everything so the public who pays for everything can actually use it This is the sad commentary on what's happening today If you drive around we're seeing fences go up everywhere. It's kind of, um Ironic that no matter what a political, um persuasion somebody has But when you have a major problem, they think about building a wall Rather rather than a bridge so My kid's school when I go there now, uh, about 10 years ago There were no walls Now if you go to that same school They have eight foot fences all around and it's locked up and not only locked up during the school hours But locked up during the uh weekends And in talking to the schools, of course, then they say if we're going to unlock those fences And gates in the weekend we want money. It's all about money now And that's really a sad commentary and also bad things do happen And then maybe there's an overreaction. I don't have a solution for it But somehow we have to open up these uh playgrounds and we have to tear down those walls rather than building walls but Uh, and and it's also talking about an I'm sorry An atmosphere of education or an atmosphere of public parks and school grounds If you look at it, uh, the it gives off an impression that it's like a prison And uh, that's not a that's not a good environment. It's locked up. It has high fences. You have kind of It's it's It's really not a it's not a good way of uh, you know handling things So anyway, what I uh What i'm getting at is we need more park space. We need more schools opened up For kids to be able to go down there. We have to keep the costs down So we're not excluding lower income families and We have a big problem in our hands and uh, uh, I think we could come up better with better solutions and building walls Thank you Thank you. Supervisor cavin. Just briefly. I just wanted to also add my thanks to your staff You know Gretchen and will and and you and everybody on the team including some of your recent retirements have done remarkable work The graph the slide that shows how the number of parks have gone up or the number of staff have gone down You know is very telling and I think also we had a small infusion into parks a couple of years ago and one time reimbursement funds from the state and You made massive investments as a result of that I mean it really was interesting to see how parks really did get transformed We were finally able to build a new park and in my district put that money put it over the top Um significant improvements in in uh, supervisor leopold's district supervisor McPherson's district which shows to me That it doesn't take much of it of an investment in your department to have significant returns And I and I think that what uh the board Has been looking to do and and I think that you've proven this under your leadership But also your team's leadership Is that we have a lot of deferred maintenance needs But we're not too far off from addressing those needs if we could just give you that infusion and we have a couple of parks that Would transform Opportunities for kids in this community that don't have opportunities that are right on the cusp and you just need that Extra push and I agree with supervisor leopold's Drive that it's that that's our responsibility. That's not your responsibility Your your responsibility is to make it happen once we give you that funding But uh, you know the board will work with the cao to see How we can do that, but I want the staff to know that we recognize that that your department has been Significantly reduced we recognize that you're doing more than one job at a time And we also recognize that our parks Even with that serve So many people on any given day including my own family every weekend And sometimes I pick up from school teams every day We end up at a county park that has to be maintained by somebody that used to be some buddies That now those maintenance workers have been reduced significantly. So You're one of those departments that can do a lot with a little but we if we give you a little bit more I think that that uh, it would it would be For the community in the next generation I just want uh, you know, you to be appreciated and acknowledged for the fact that we also recognize We're not giving you enough right now We'd like to open it up for the community. It's a member opportunity for members of the community to address us on the park's budget Good morning. Welcome. Thank you all for waiting Okay, I didn't bring my stool, but I'm glad Oliver brought here Okay In the back my sister. Oh, sorry The Leo's heaven will be of inclusive playground Will Will kids like me can play with their friends my friend. My mom has been working with this guy I The fan the fan My family has been working with other people in the community Including you Raise money for Leo's heaven. I'm here to say thank you Leo's heaven will be special playground where I can play with my friends We see yeah, and so yes, sir Tyler and Man well Oh, and my sisters line and Supervisor friend, I would be very very worried about a future competition from uh Oliver, but it's got my endorsement of you lose votes with it. So Hi, my name is clear roberts and I live in my book Since I can remember my family friends and neighbors have been working to build Leo's haven at shanticleer park Because of this work I know that all kids no matter if they have a disability or not just want to play with their friends I've met kids who speak different languages kids who use wheelchairs and kids who use long white canes to move around Everyone wants the same things to be accepted for who they are and have a place to belong All kids want to be able I want all kids to be able to play at Leo's haven and we're almost there Thank you for all your help, and I hope you bring your kids or grandkids to play with us All right, thank you. Thank you for all of your partnership We have a little ways to go. We do need a little more help, but we are pretty much there. Thank you Thank you maron Morning, welcome. Good morning. That's a very hard act to follow I'm michelle williams. I'm executive director of arts council santa cruz county And we are so grateful for our 39 year partnership with the county And what has become a particularly robust partnership with the parks department under jeff's incredible leadership and the wonderful staff there Our arts and our parks are a significant part of our quality of life A few years ago you increased your investment in the arts and as you've seen and experienced hopefully for yourselves The ma and the arts council worked with the arts organizations and artists across the county to dramatically increase our programming And do incredible things that every day are making our counties stronger Much like the arts. I'm sorry much like our parks our arts touch every corner of this county And last year the arts council had an extraordinary year granting $230,000 to artists and arts organizations countywide Coordinating a really successful open studios art tour that created almost a million dollars in taxable art sales An epic ebb and flow and most importantly re-reached over 17,000 children through our arts education programs From the borders of monterey to the far north mountains And of course doing really great work at the tannery arts center to enliven that as a heart for the arts for the entirety of santa cruise and the world It's really extraordinary to be in partnership with all of you both professionally and personally I too have children who I take to just about every park in this county And it is so important not just for the beauty of this county but for our physical emotional intellectual and spiritual Lives and selves so i'm very grateful for our partnership with parks very grateful for our partnership with all of you And grateful that we live in this extraordinary space filled with so much beauty. Thank you Thank you. Thanks for your work Morning, thanks for waiting Good morning. Jim Moser from felton I just want to uh speak briefly about the work i'm speaking on behalf of the felton library friends the Wonderful collaboration we've had with the county parks and with jeff gaffney's leadership In moving forward with a felton nature discovery park But i want to also say that it's been really terrific to work with the department and with jeff and his staff On a broader sense the strategic planning process that they Engaged the community and was very very successful in our mind up in the valley. We had a huge turnout We really appreciated the opportunity to have some input into what the priority should be for the parks department And to be heard in you know in a way that Doesn't often happen. So I just wanted to Express our thanks to the staff and to jeff For and being engaged with the community in the way they are and also having the volunteer program We're looking forward to be active participants in that We see Lots of opportunities with this new park for engaging the schools The sand Lorenzo valley water district which is a partner in that park And we really appreciate the partnership of the county and particularly county parks department as well as the library So uh in terms of the discovery park We're really appreciate will for its work on that grant proposal that was funded We have uh, we we hope a good substantial chunk of what we need for construction of this Really very innovative park. It'll be the first in the state. There are a couple around the country that have combined a library Indoor learning with outdoor learning focused on environmental literacy that what we have in mind We think it's going to be a model for not only Our community but for the county and for the region and for the state It's going to be a model that other Community is going to look at very carefully. We think it'll be something that will be exciting for All ages, but particularly for young people around the county. So thank you all I wanted I know I've got the yellow light on I just want to say I really want to reinforce the messages that many of you already gave which is the parks department doesn't have enough money And we out in the community really appreciate the hard work the staff is doing with the limited resources and I hope As with leo's haven that We can get over the finish line and that the county can help make that happen And I want to express my appreciation to all five of you, but particularly to supervisor McPherson for your hard work On this project in particular. Thank you Thank you Good morning. Welcome. Thanks morning. I'm jonathan higgin director of development and partnerships at the ma And I want to echo so many things that michelle said we're so grateful for your increased investment in the arts in the last Years and to mr. Gaffney here for your leadership. I'm so grateful. It's been a big year at the ma Since abbot square opened just last september Attendance to the museum has tripled More than 1500 families in in this county have become members of the ma We've gone from two flagship programs a month to nearly two a day And we're open seven days a week We've expanded our pop-up museum program throughout the county in watsonville and davinport and live oak It's been a huge year and we're increasingly becoming recognized as a global Leader in creating organizations that are of by and for their communities In fact, the reason nina simon isn't standing next to me right now is that she is in london Keynoting, um, europe europe's largest museum conference in london sharing this message of how to create inclusive welcoming spaces And it's only been possible because of your support and it's at this work. It's just getting started So um, so I want to thank you for your ongoing support of the ma and the arts and the parks in this county. So thank you so much Thank you Good morning welcome Good morning becky steinbrunner isn't a vapkast. Thank you for your report. Mr. Gaffney and miss namby for your good work I always come with questions and I have questions Because I like to look at the line item detail I'm kind of a detail person as you know So I have some questions and then I have some comments and and I wonder in the line item detail Where is it? Registered the quimby act funds that developers must pay for park development as a result of their development and Also on page 506. I saw that there is a hundred and almost a hundred and fifty five thousand dollars for historic preservation And I'd like to know Where that comes from and how it will be spent or how it could be spent and how those funds are Analyzed for prioritized spending And now my comments Um I was here at a board of supervisor meeting when miss potts got up and and you formally gave You know the green light for the the wonderful shanticleer project and I cannot thank Her and all the volunteers enough for all of the very hard work I know that it was not easy For them to enter into relationship with the county and I remember you Supervisor leopold saying it was through her Um insistence that it happened and I applaud members of the public like that For really pushing forward and then doing the hard work of raising the money like like this group has done So I want to come to you this morning with a similar Insistent project and it is at the aptos village project When the post office jumps world famous post office jumps Were bulldozed in 2015 Mr. Gaffney told me that he immediately received About a half a million dollars in pledges from people around The country around the world if they could be rebuilt somewhere I propose to you that the aptos village project phase two could be returned To a bike jump and pervious paving to serve nici mark state park users Nicene marks has had to close to the visiting motor Vehicle traffic eight times Since the beginning of the year because there's just not enough parking inside the park Since the informal dirt parking lot has gone away with construction I want to propose to you that you enter in or allow us to or help us Negotiate with a public-private partnership and let's ameliorate the proposed 8,000 cars a day That senior traffic engineer jack sarayakov said the aptos village project will bring when occupied Thank you, please negotiate with us. We're willing to do the legwork that these people have done as well. Thank you All right, we'll bring it back to the board or Surprise we uphold. Uh, thank you chair Thanks again for the presentation. Thanks for the testimony or when I see our partners at the cultural Council or the ma I know that we That we value that partnership and I'm glad we're able to support it Because it's such a vibrant part of our community I would like to move the recommended actions for parks open space and cultural services with an additional direction To our county administrative officer to come back on last day with Financing strategies so we can complete these projects that people have talked about discovery park leo's haven shanticleer park the farm park and others I think it's it's critically important that we Meet the community when they when they do the hard work And we need to figure out ways in which we can support these activities So I ask support from the board We have a motion from supervisor leopold and a second from supervisor Capit additional questions comments all those in favor Opposed it passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. I'm actually going to take a 10 minute break now We'll come back at 10 25 as planning department gets set up for their budget item meeting and budget hearing We have item 8 which is to approve the 2018 19 proposed budgets for the planning department including housing funds and any Supplemental budget materials is provided in the reference budget documents. We have the timeline the proposed budget The line item detail the supplemental budget the consuming agreements list and the errata miss Boy, welcome back Thank you very much. Good morning. Um, I'm going to start off by highlighting the The strategic plan vision that you guys started um and the co's office led over the past year And it's over to the right santa Cruz county is a healthy safe and more affordable community That is culturally diverse economically inclusive and environmentally vibrant We feel that the planning department our our mission our key missions directly support achievement of that vision first of course is Through planning for and regulating the use of land and structures through policy planning permit reviews and enforcement processes And those all work to preserve and improve homes jobs environment and neighborhoods We also engage in affordable housing and community development efforts to increase the supply of and access to affordable housing and community facilities Serving lower income households The the highlights the big picture numbers for the planning department and the housing funds are shown on this slide the overall Funding is on the order of 17 million when you deduct the Intra fund transfers our expenses are actually just about 12 and a half million We the budget reflects 2.3 million from in general fund support About 10.3 is income earned from charges for services and permits Also, the the housing fund number, you know, that's a big number on the right, you know 15 and a half million We don't expect to necessarily spend it all but it is appropriated and available should Housing projects be identified and and need that type of or level of support And it also just gives you a good picture of the level of housing funds that we have available This slide shows you, you know a little bit of a historic perspective in the difference between general plan support The green bars show earlier years when The adopted budgets actually provided more general fund support than we ended up needing You know year after year after year Lately the the converse has been true where we've budgeted With less general fund support Tried to you know been fairly optimistic about permit and revenues and haven't always achieved those And so have required ended up requiring a bit more But you know in in some the overall general plan support to the planning department has decreased about 50 percent from what it had been before the great recession um We Some of the reason that's able to occur is we do have lower staffing levels A greater proportion of our work is related to permits and we have a great cost recovery rate Again a bit of a historical perspective In You know about 15 years ago the cost recovery rate in the planning department was 57 percent The proposed budget reflects a cost recovery rate of 78 percent, which in my mind is about as good as it gets And given that we do staff public information and public counter and do a number of other things that don't directly result in revenue So the net county cost has gone up about 20 percent over the past 15 years Budget highlights Again big picture We think because of the excellent cost recovery We are not having to increase fees. We're holding them constant for the second year in a row We are increasing funding somewhat or we would have 70 funded positions and two unfunded um The three there's three positions that are being added As you heard when you listen to the cannabis budget So we will through the cannabis effort be adding a building inspector a building plans checker and a development review planner Other than that, we're also adding one and a half positions Half time position in development review and then another building inspector The cannabis staff will be added as required by workloads also just wanted to point out that um, you know that We always knew that you know Through the recession we were doing layoffs and there and even before that there wasn't a lot of turnover in staff um But we knew that they that it would eventually come and so once the economy recovered Some you know, some people retired some people took positions elsewhere We've added some positions. So I wanted to point out that you know By the time we fill these positions that we're proposing almost 50 percent of the staff in the planning department is Here for less than two years That was felt most dramatically Year and a half or two ago by the building Section out of the six building inspectors, you know five of them were new and so I point that out just to to Appreciate the efforts of of management staff and you know, also note how exciting it is to have You know new energy and new skill sets and experience from other places coming into the department and it's it's been great Uh staffing levels again a bit of a historic perspective Since the great recession and the loss of the redevelopment agency We we lost quite a bit of staff. We've recovered some of that but we're still about 30 less staff than What our highest level was which was just before the recession in 07 or 08 I'm going to focus on the permit center now You know in You know 50 less general fund support 30 less staff Giving you a little bit of a historic perspective about workloads. The workload has not gone down, you know Commensurately so We have about the same amount of staff now as in fiscal year 1112 So that's the column on the left shows you The activity levels some of the numbers in the different sections of the permit center And then there's the middle column is is this year And the difference and the percentage difference are in the right hand columns and I I just It's amazing really between our cost recovery rates and what staff is able to do Do more with less is is really being demonstrated in the planning department We have benefited from the technology improvements that your board has supported and we have been worked on for many years The training the cross training The new positions Great managers great new staff So they're doing a great job and I just wanted to point out, you know How much work is being done by the fewer people that we do have The overall level of permits center staffing is shown in this slide Taking the building section as an example 22 people altogether at the counter plan checkers Um Manager Inspectors, etc. We have six inspectors and just in this past year, you know some of the projects that have been happening You're aware of we've got the rancho del mar, which is a major new and rehabilitation project We have aptos village, which is a big project Pippin apartments 46 dwelling units the brick veiled lodge sheriff detention center winkle avenue subdivision Lots of solar photobotaya projects the roundtree project janice on and on Those are some of the big projects that those six people are handling And that's on top of just all of the regular normal additions and remodels and new houses here and there So they have been doing an amazing job of keeping up with it all and that is however why You know, we we are proposing, you know, even aside from the cannabis activity that we anticipate We do need another building inspector and that is in your supplemental budget Some of the enhancements that we've been able to make At the permit center and this is, you know kudos to, you know, wander williams and marty heaney and Steve guinea jocelyn bob colisino the building counter supervisor carolin burk and environmental they've all been really working together as a great team And coming up and continually trying to Identify ways that we can improve our customer service delivery to the public We just this past year We opened the counter at 7 30 in the morning Particularly for contractors who were able to come in Without the competition of other people, you know trying to get it in at the counter and pick up their permits in a very efficient way We've extended the counter hours. We used to close at three now. We close at four We're still closed on fridays. We're open monday through thursday the electronic permit process, you know at And you guys have been very supportive of and promoting that I don't think we're hitting on all cylinders yet. We we we do train Offer some training to applicants We're still working out kinks, but it is available and we are getting some activity in the electronic plan check and submittal and etc Wanda williams the assistant director for development review. She spearheaded Kind of reviving an interagency interdepartmental management Meeting or it's a it's a twice a month if needed. Sometimes they're canceled, but managers from public works environmental health planning building Fire if needed in any of the agencies related to development review and so they'll go over the aging lists, you know What what projects are lagging are taking too long beyond our our goals? And and try to troubleshoot and move things along they'll also have highlighted on special topics so that so that everybody can learn From each other and about important topics such as you know water supply or new storm drainage requirements or whatever So that we're all conversant in each other's challenges and better able to assist each other and and the public Uh the new challenges for the permit center. Um, you're aware of the we've In terms of development review the hosted rental permits Will be happen are happening right now the coastal commission approved the hosted rental regulations on june 6th And last monday june 18th. We opened the 90-day window for existing hoping hosted rental operators to Come in and get their permits If there are fewer than 250 hosted rentals then after september 17th We will open to new hosted rental operators So we'll have to wait and see whether we reach that cap or not The most significant challenge As it was last year, but a different phase of activity relates to cannabis So as you know, the regulations require that Every cannabis cultivation manufacturing or distribution routes requires a land use permit Those are going to be processed concurrently with the cannabis license applications And so the planning department is working very closely with the cannabis licensing office They're going to be of great assistance in helping the applicants with the pre application the getting ready Stage of preparing to submit the application to the planning department The accessory dwelling units We do hope that all of our efforts over this past year result in a lot more interest and applications for The building plan check and inspections of 80 use Code compliance also will be coordinating with cannabis We are we have started using the administrative citations tool that was created and that has been very effective. So we are We are planning even stronger use of the of the administrative citation There's a warning that can be issued and then checking back and if they haven't corrected then they get a ticket Essentially and they can get tickets every day and the costs can really mount. So so people have been responding to that Very well. It's been an effective tool Also, as you realize you recall your board asked us to put on one of your agendas a list of potential abatement projects um And we selected, you know, some top priority feasible abatement projects and and that's a pretty new activity as well And so we're proceeding with some of those abatements with the funds that we had available Lastly on the permit center new challenges. I want to talk a bit about the limited immunity amnesty program It's now available As you know, the county has offered construction legalization programs in the past to incentivize bringing unpermitted improvements into legality But participation was limited because of current state law that requires all past work to meet current building codes to in order achieve legalization So that's not feasible in many situations Your board um In the you know in the interest of public safety and supporting availability of safe housing and structures continuing to be available You know, you you took a leap and supported our idea of trying to of offering a type of amnesty program um, the limited immunity amnesty program will offer special inspections and will offer building permits for existing unpermitted structures When we determine that full legalization is not possible But we'll give building permits to support the needed habitability and safety improvements to a structure And then structures that are upgraded through the liap to meet those minimum safety and habitability requirements Will be given a certificate and there's a picture on the on the slide here of what the certificate Is basically going to look like We we work together. We collaborated with county council's office, um, and others to put The structure around the program because it's it's easier It's easy to say, you know, let's just offer an amnesty program But how you actually go about doing it and making it work? Is another it is another matter So we have published a program overview And and guidance start step-by-step guidance for people who are interested in participating in the liap One of the first steps is that they They complete an application and also into a into a participation and indemnity agreement Sort of states the rules and then there's a special inspection done And there's a checklist and for the minimum habitability and safety requirements And Then we prepare Basically a report we tell them what actually absolutely needs to be done Even if you don't continue to participate in liap because you have really imminent hazards Otherwise what needs to be done? And it's at their choice whether to continue or not to meet that minimum safety and habitability and what types of permits they need Once those are carried out Then there's a statement of acknowledgement regarding limited immunity for unimprovement Unpermitted permits and that is a recorded document on title and it basically acknowledges What is remains unpermitted, but also acknowledges that it's a safe and habitable structure And And we were are then going to be when you achieve that certificate That means that you're following to the the lowest level of code compliance So if we get complaints, you know, we're we're just not going to take action because this is a liap Certificate structure. It's providing housing. It's safe. It's habitable and we're not going to enforce against it So we think that will be quite a benefit to participants Goals for next year this portion of the presentation will primarily really talk about the major and special projects of the planning department and You know on the left you're familiar because you took participated in pretty much all of these Accomplishments is the accessory dwelling units the hosted rental regulations We've completed the public participation and almost have drafts of the pleasure point portola drive vision guiding Principles and complete streets designed the cannabis regulations Have been adopted. We prepared a draft dir, which was a big effort We also prepared an ir on the Santa Cruz Nissan project Another big effort We also prepared an ir on the mountain hermon recreation project However, that applicant withdrew it just prior to completion of that ir But I point that out just because that was also a lot of work And so we've been busy the safety and climate change Um That's been something that I've talked to you about for multiple years in a row Updating the safety element and the geohazards and floods and and that whole package The reason for some of the reason for the delay was close collaboration with coastal commission staff on What how to handle development or improvements on coastal bluffs given climate change and sea level rise, etc So the coastal commission continued, you know, put out some sea level rise guidance And then they put out a couple different versions of residential adaptation guidance We've been reading those modifying our material And I'm pleased to report that on friday The initial study public review period and all of those drafts are Are public those drafts will be public and the the initial study public review process A review period starts this friday and it'll go through august 1st And then we hope to be in public hearings Before the planning commission and you're bored this this fall winter Goals for the coming year Is to finish up the seascape beach estates. We've we've drafted the regulations. We've held the community meeting We're working on that initial study And that will be a new overlay district and rezoning of properties in that subdivision the sustainable santa cruz county and codemod As you know has been on pause unfortunately for several years due to Not having the staff and having this other work going on but we Now that you know, we've accomplished and we've gotten the list paired down in terms of what we're working on And we're hiring new staff, you know, we're very excited that we'll be able to really focus on that in the coming year The pleasure point potola drive and design guidelines is part of that package But you will be able to see the the work products that come of that effort So moving along to the housing section As you know inadequate supply and high costs have led to a high level of public concern about The crisis in housing that we have and so the next portion of this presentation will Review various efforts being undertaken by the planning department to help address these concerns You just recently Authorized work and directed work on a number of near-term regulatory efforts Including farm worker housing regulations enhanced density bonus modifying the mixed-use regulations for affordable housing permanent ruin housing overlay district and A modified process for initiating the our combining re-zonings and examining fees to look for ways that those might be able to come down We are participating in the housing task force In terms of exploring whether or not a local housing ballot measure What what that might look like that the voters might be able to to vote on um The we are collaborating with the health services agency on No place like home There's a technical assistance grant that they're interfunding transferring to us and we will be working with them And that's all about getting ready to compete for grant funds soon for permanent supportive housing projects C escape lot a will be working with The public works department real property to dispose of that with the proceeds to be used for future affordable housing The new affordable housing projects that will be going on, you know working on in the coming year the habitat harper project it's As as you know from 10 to 12 units, it's not quite clear how that will Finally settle out But that is a project that will be going through the developer review process this year Also the successor agency disposition site at 17th and capitol Mid pen is working on a project there at this point the initial proposal Their concept is 66 affordable rental units proposed in a mixed use type of project The planning department continues at the present time at least to Be the lead agency for the county wide continuum of care for For homeless funding from HUD And so we remain active In the housing action partnership and the executive committee and really appreciate the collaboration That's been going on this past year in particular with the cio's office human services health services And throughout the county in terms of Steering and prioritizing our Homelessness efforts So in closing, um, I just want to offer my my thanks to the staff of the planning department There really have been a lot of changes and there's more to come That it's a constant that there's always change and we've weathered staff reductions We've managed doing more with With less in a way that is not compromised quality and customer service But it's exciting. We've made some wonderful new hires The team is expanding and there's a lot of great work to be done and I know the planning staff You know the type of people and and what drives them is I know they're all going to continue to do a great job On behalf of the applicants and the community. I value and appreciate their work so much And I know the community does as well Also wanted to take the opportunity to to thank the citizens that serve on the commissions that we staff You know the planning commission does yeoman's work the housing advisory commission is has Been hosted a public forum on the housing crisis We've got the historic commission the agricultural policy advisory commission committee the commission on the environment So all of those, you know, there's there's a lot of public citizens that that volunteer and give of their time energy and intelligence To try to make our community a better place And we really appreciate working with them and I wanted to give them a shout out for their efforts And then lastly in terms of special thanks, of course, I need to Thank nancy mccollum. She doesn't know this but I consider her the budget ninja and I mean she's so Quick and flexible, you know, you need any data or information. It's it's there and It's I don't know what we do without her and you know, Amy is Um Is her partner in that and I appreciate um, Amy will banks Really continuing to to grow and learn and be just, you know, right there as well with nancy Wanda, uh, williams the assistant director for development review. I also want to give a special thanks to I wanted to acknowledge the the many years that she has also served as being the zoned administrator Which is you know, she was It's a big role to be the assistant director of development review and take on the the zoning administrator So she just recently. I don't know if you know this, but I think she just recently passed on the baton And so, uh, the development review principal planners steve guinea and jocelyn drake are are both being, uh z a We may even have been We depending on the level of cannabis activity It may be that we end up having weekly z a meetings and they're they both be pressed into even more service, but Thank you to wanda really. I mean I could go on and on and on and thank all the managers all the staff for the For the great work they do So thank you And also of course to to you and for your support and your engagement in the the complex You know tricky items that we bring to you. I appreciate the the homework you do Um the the the seriousness with which you you prepare and execute your duties is really appreciated Um, it doesn't happen everywhere, but it happens here for sure. So thank you and also of course the cio Thank you for your support and particularly in the co's office melody serino. She is not only, you know, deputy cio She's also our Are not an analyst because she's not an analyst anymore, but she she's so supportive and so easy to work with and uh Can't say enough about working with melody. So thanks to her too. And that concludes my presentation Uh, the last slide is the recommendation that you have before you Thank you for that presentation and we'll open up for board questions and comments other board members I would like to make question and comments supervisor cap it Uh, I want to thank the staff too and also the board We've made things a lot more streamlined when it comes to uh farm use and What they can do and can do and uh, how many hurdles that they have to jump through? They're a lot less now than there was before That could be on signage that they have Advertising maybe for farm workers that their shortage There were a lot of rules. They had to jump through there was also the Fruit stands were making it more possible. Uh, and then also Tractor and barn storage use right in the past you couldn't even park the Farm tractor in the barn barn at night Because I guess the rule was that they thought maybe you could be working and actually doing Work on different tractors and running a business out of the barn. I don't know that was the reasoning But now they can't put a Tractor in the barn They could store it there and they can actually fix it there They can't run a business out of there, but they can fix their tractor on site rather than having it transported somewhere They can also I believe have a water sink in the barn also to wash their hands after they're done working And a lot of a lot of little things that were hindering Uh, improvements and making things easier And also home improvements up to what 50 percent it's more streamlined now today than it was About four or five years ago Am I correct on all these? Yes, we've we've implemented a number of improvements And we've also identified a whole package more of of improvements that still need to get into our code But to the extent that we have drafted up rags we we are using those as guidance as we do review permits These days sure and farm stays Things like that So you've been doing a lot of a lot of different Things making it easier and taking stress off of ag land and You know farm owners And so I think I just want to commend You know your staff from looking into that and having neighborhood meetings out in my area District four for people to know what's going on It shows people that we're listening to them and we hear their complaints and some of them we can Make it easier and some we can't but anyway And I I still don't know One specific case that stood out 80 year old Plus gentleman lived in a house on his farm Actually, it was more timberland And then his barn was down below and every day he'd go down to the barn And he had a sofa there and he had a tv And just local channels And then he had also a He'd like to spend the day after he got up and spent it down at the in the barn So I guess he got in an argument with one of the neighbors And they turned him in saying that he was actually living in the barn And technically it was illegal at the time and He was like I've been doing this for years, you know staying all day down in the barn rather than staying in the house so if we When when you get a complaint like that court and force code enforcement What do we tell the that gentleman now compared to what it was about five years ago Well, I haven't heard that story and I don't know when it occurred But I don't think we if I if I had heard it I would not have initiated code compliance because I agree that Someone could walk down to their barn and watch tv and hang out in their barn without it being a code violation You know, maybe they did some wiring and improvements without a permit. That's another matter But simply spending time in the barn is not a violation Yeah, I went down there. It was worked out, but it was more complicated than than it is today The neighbor who got angry was saying he was living down there Right, you know and there was a sink there In the barn, but now the sink is okay and maybe before it wasn't right So it might just be a matter that no permits were obtained for any of that and he was turned in for not getting permits But yes, you can get permits for a sink in a barn and you and you can you know bring wiring to it Etc. What turns it into a a dwelling unit is when you have a full kitchen And so that would be really the sign of it become having become a dwelling unit sure And then uh, that's where the immunity code certification might come in Uh, you know, if there's an unpermitted dwelling that someone um That the county and the property owner, you know, we we talk it over we look at it and we we agree that it can't be brought into legality But that it can be made safe and habitable Then Yes, they would be possible to get a list of what you would need to do to a structure To get a liap certificate and allow it to be occupied As long as it's safe and habitable. So we do we've developed a checklist that will be used on the special inspections Where it doesn't necessarily require all current code requirements be met But it does require, you know, some very important safety features in terms of you know, co and smoke detectors and Petraps and grounded wires and you know all of the things that you do need to make it safe to live in a structure But yeah, there is potential for all kinds of of situations to be Certificate gain a certificate under the liap and I guess the other last question would be Currently uh What would you say the percentage of code violations are actually complaint driven? By either a neighbor or somebody Other than just code enforcement officials driving around Nearly a hundred percent, you know, we pretty much operate on a complaint basis We the building inspectors as they're just driving around if they see You know active construction going on with fresh two by fours and and they realize that there's no permit Then they'll post a stop work Notice, you know, that's not necessarily a a code compliance. I mean it is a code compliance case But it's stop work. You can't work on this anymore come in and get your building permit So that's probably the most frequent type of proactive code compliance That's not based on a complaint that's just based on driving around is stop work orders You're welcome. Thank you Thank you, sir. Vezer cap. It's a Vezer McPherson. Yeah, I I think um As I've mentioned sometime before I think this is the biggest changing environment We have in the county government. This is a new era When we've gone through decades of uh growth control mentality and not bad Good or different, uh, but now to what can we do to meet the housing crisis that's upon us right now And all the implications that have on our water use and our transportation and so forth The planning department Which is probably In some respect the most important local government oversight that we have as a county And it's somewhat troubling to me than my last CSAC meeting that I saw where the state is trying to get into say counties This is what you have to do to provide more housing Throughout the state because the state's not meaning its obligation of what it sees about 180 000 units a year And they're only we're only building 100 000. So counties, how do you do that? um It's something that um, I just want to keep an eye on the ball and it's it was a concern to CSAC when in our last legislative conference um I just want I'm really pleased to see that there's no fee increases included As we try to meet this crisis We are going to need the help of the construction industry To provide the adequate housing for people in santa criss county And my hat's off to you what you're able to do As you talked about the Turnover and half your staff is here less than two years But um, I just want to say thank you to them. Uh, and It's it's a learning curve. That's pretty steep right now. I'm sure for all of them and we have some Um, some ordinances that are probably a little different from many other counties But not only that is that We're we have to oversee so many new developments if that's the right term I mean ad use tiny homes hosted rentals Concern over climate change all these and of course cannabis That's a big big bucket of ideas that we have you have to in the planning department and we as a county have to deal with So my hat's off to you to getting ahead of it very well. I think and I really appreciate What you're doing. I hope that we get more folks Participating in this limited immunity amnesty program. Um, I mean it's um I understand, you know, there the reputation from years past the planning department gets in the way And so people do it themselves But there are some uh unpermitted um in in my district as well Add-ons that have happened and uh, it's really critical for public safety That people participate this and see that We we have um legal safe housing additions that have been done without adequate permits I would just encourage the public to um Please try to cooperate with us with the planning department in making that um safer place for everybody in sanikers county because Particularly in the sands of valley one bar bad explosion could really Well, I hate to think about it. Um, so I just really encourage folks to participate in that and I really Appreciate you're taking that on in the planning department You've done a lot of things and had to adjust And innovate in some respects some things and I think you've really done a very good job So I thank you and everybody in your planning department for getting into in position to meet the challenges to provide More adequate housing for the people of sanikers county Um, they uh, especially the in the rental area rental units We all recognize that's a big need here, but thank you for everything that you do in your planning department Thank you supervisor Coonerty Good morning. Uh Yes, still good morning First of all, I want to thank you the In working with your department. We always find you very responsive Uh and easy to work with and um really committed to providing good service to the community Uh, and I also want to say um your Uh over the the couple years. I've been here your um commitment to outcomes and goals Um has really been remarkable. You're one of the best departments in terms of providing clear goals Uh in in the budget, um this year and uh really a model for a lot of other departments and so The the direction you've moved been moving is great when you look at the numbers of Permit applications and your staffing levels It's it's challenging and technology can help But I think um really having the department get on the cutting edge of the continuous improvement efforts To figure out what is really necessary. What goes to the courier mission versus what is Paperwork or the way that we've always done things. How can we uh, Can can we meet standards in a different way? Uh, because I think um, You know asking whether your staff is new or not asking them to keep up with that level of work In a way that that is good for them and the applicants Is uh, it's going to be a challenge. So I think really looking at every process and trying to figure out What's the end goal and then working backwards from there and seeing if we can do things differently And coming to us or to the ceo's office for for the for the changes or resources necessary to make those to make those changes I think I think would be a benefit But uh, but I want to thank you for your uh, for your collaboration and your real commitment to to customer service And the plan department Thank you so far as we pulled. Thank you chair. Thank you for the presentation I uh, want to express my thanks to staff There's a lot of work that's been going on in the first district Uh, uh Ms. Levine was involved with our pleasure point planning process, which I thought was Um, there was a lot of suspicions at the front end of that process And I think by the end of it people People felt like their um Their concerns were actually reflected in the outcomes and I think that that's a good public process Um, and it took a lot of work And I I appreciate the work of the staff to help make that happen um The nissan eir was uh, was pretty thorough Um, and we were criticized I was criticized because we had it done by staff rather than consultants as if consultants were somehow better than Staff I I feel like staff was more responsible Um, and I thought it was a it was a strong document that provided us with good information Um, and it was uh, it was a difficult decision But uh, but it was helpful to have that kind of uh information. So I appreciate the work staff put into that Matt Johnston has taken over for code enforcement. I thought it would be hard to replace robin bolster grant. She did a great job Matt has been very responsive to On the needs of our office and I appreciate that and the same thing with marty heaney who's uh, as and building inspection Has has been there Uh, to address concerns that have been brought up by constituents. So I appreciate that Steve guinea is also very helpful to be at my staff on the development Applications to review what's going on and he's very useful And providing information to help us understand what's what kind of development activity is going on in the first district So I thank you for that the There's lots of other planners that we that we work with I could go through a whole bunch Um, but you know, we have some complicated projects We uh in as the most urban part of the unincorporated area we have lots of different kinds of projects and uh, we depend on the planning staff to be able to To balance a lot of different needs and I think they've been doing a good job Um, I had a couple questions. I wanted to ask one in your presentation We talked about the additional cannabis staff which I Which I have supported and I'm trying to get a sense from you when the cannabis licensing office Made a presentation here on monday They estimated and that's all we could do Is that we might have 150 cultivation licenses and 75 manufacturing license So the three additional staff there's are I imagine that they'll work on those but um, I I can't tell And maybe you you can share with me whether that level of work can be handled by three people Or should we expect that there will be other people in planning who will also be working on that? right, I so That's our best guess in terms of where to start in terms of adding staff Nobody quite knows how what how this is all going to unfold I mean, I think you heard robin bolster grant say that you know We anticipate a trickle at first not a deluge and so we're gearing up. They're trying to get people ready We will add staff as needed But even though we do add three staff, it's not going to be just those three only doing cannabis So and you know, we're sort of hopeful that They will be able to do there's a net gain in terms of being able to keep up with the cannabis stuff But also do a better job with timeframes and reviewing other flavors of permits as well But you know It's really hard. It really just depends on the nature of what actually comes in whether they're You know level three staff administrative type things or they need do I all need a public hearing By the zea, how complicated are they is there any their issues to work through or is they're fairly straightforward going into existing buildings I think a lot of Going into greenhouses in ag, you know, that should be fairly straightforward. So You know the controversial ones where the public, you know, doesn't like what's being proposed those always end up taking the most time and care and A deliberative democratic process to decide what happens at the end So if we get a lot of those then it will be challenging just with three people Well, I think it'll be interesting as the year progresses where What happens with this and I'm glad we're providing extra resources because I think it's gonna It has the potential to create a big impact. Yeah Uh, I was happy to hear you mentioned the use of the abatement funds I know that they've been very helpful In my district with a problem property up in the summit area Do we have enough money in that fund We've got enough for this year for the for the projects that you authorize but but after that that pot's empty, you know It's I think we are planning on spending on the order of close to 150 Yeah, I think it's 140 thousand dollars and we've had that money kind of Hovering around in that fund. I don't know if you remember but last year through the budget time We sort of consolidated the different flavors of abatement and enforcement funding we had So we put it all into one pot and made it a lot more flexible with respect to how to use it So that's why we've we've got that whole amount available for the types of abatement activities that we'll be doing Um, but I think next year you're you know, if you want to continue that same amount of activity We'll need to replenish that and that'll be new funding Spoiler alert for the ceo. It's something to think about in the future The limited immunity program sounds good. I'd be I would welcome just get receiving the materials on it So I can share it with my constituents Use of of that You know, we've talked here before about the the sequel review process for the sustainable santa cruz county plan Every year we're up here. It's it's a slightly different story about where we're what we're doing with it The last time we were looked at the budget The the concept was that we were going to have a consultant do an rfp and Uh to help develop the eir And now we're back using staff resources and i'm just i'm just trying to figure out I I I completely understand where you're coming from. It's been a movie and target, you know year after year Um last year, you know, well first of all we've we've switched to we want to issue an rfp and get an eir consultant Obviously staff will be part of that team working right along with the consultant. We always are on any consultant effort Last year we thought we would have the rfp out and have an eir consultant hired by now And that was largely premised on the fact that we thought that we'd have that the vacant sustainability principal planner position filled We had made a job offer. They were going to report to work. Um last fall, you know, august or so That person never did was able to you know, had had certain issues And we ended up having to open recruitment all over again And in fact, we're not filling that position until next monday. We have a new principal planner starting next monday We've also had a couple other we've had a vacancy in that section. We just filled in april Daisy allen has has joined us and she's got a great skill set We're in the process of making an offer to someone else to backfill sarah noisey's Position she she just left. So we've really struggled. We haven't been able to make progress on that effort other than the pleasure point And portola drive effort, which is sort of part of it We've we've continued to work with mig that consultant and we've continued to have some level of staff work on The work products, but we haven't been able to make much project Frankly because of the other things and the lack of staff So with the fact that we've successfully recruited some talent and they're they're showing up Including the new housing planner that you've authorized that person is going to start work on july 9th So we're we're very excited that we're getting certain things done. We've got a team And I gave you in the budget staff report a tentative timeline for How we currently anticipate that going And you know, there's always a temptation to to expedite it, you know, you know Let's get it done as soon as we can but I actually, you know, you'll see that that timeline Provide there's another couple years plus worth of activity And and the reason is is that it is a it's a major effort. It's a it's a general plan update Very substantive. It's a code modernization. Very substantive. We're doing an environmental impact report the community Will want and deserves A lot of public meetings to really grasp what the final proposals are and what the eir says about them I expect that there will be multiple planning commission public hearings Maybe multiple board hearings if you change anything they have to go back to the planning commission So it just takes time to do it right And but I think you know as your comment about this the nissan eir It it pays off to do it right because you've got the information for decision making and you've got a defensible Action at the end of the day when you do take it so I do you know, I feel Just like you I wish we would have been able to make more progress And and I really do think that this coming year we will Yeah, well, I I'll try to remain hopeful. You know, it's it's uh I feel like the groom waiting at the altar, you know For this project and I just think There's so much that we deal with that that seems to hinge on this new development pattern that We're We're making these efforts around the edges But we but we have these these big pieces that could make a big difference in the lives of so many people and so You know, I'm just I'm just trying to get it across the the the finish line. We agree. We really do The in your presentation You talked about a greater part of the work is related to permits And you definitely had the data to show that and My colleague mentioned that you set goals in your department and he appreciated that and you'd set a goal for permit processing And we're not meeting that goal right now. Correct. And Filling these extra positions or and other pieces. Do you think we're going to get closer to meeting that goal? I mean, do you have some sense about it or should that be not be an expectation? We have the permit processing is what we get a lot of Complaint, I'm sure my other colleagues also get Calls concern. I've been trying to get my project done. It's stuck in in planning. How long is it going to take? Can you help me out? I think that it that we will have the opportunity to improve and having another building inspector Having another plan checker available for cannabis plus Will really be helpful. We do and we are engaged in the continuous process improvement effort and Like I say the the managers meeting the interagency interdepartmental managers meeting, you know, one of the first things on the agenda is the aging list, you know What are some problem projects or what are some comments that don't seem to be Getting The dressed and you know, how can we creatively approach this and get this moving along? And so that has been very helpful So, you know, we think that it that we can do better and we hope that we will do better I don't know. I can't guarantee you that we're going to make that, you know, one day turn around or that one week, you know, turn around But I think the the increased staff is really going to help Yeah, well, I I appreciate that and I understand staffing Has been low and so I'm glad to see that there's new staff coming on board and I will ask the support of my colleagues to get a mid-year report On on how we're doing about meeting those permit processing goals because I think it'll be helpful for us to To know where that is And keep it on the front burner because that is the main way in which so many people in the community interact with the planning department Thank you Thank you. Supervisor Leopold. I'll add just some brief comments and that is I mean the board has done a lot of thinking of Your staff, but I think that many in the community might recognize that as the economy has rebounded And as some of the issues in the community become more acute, especially around affordable housing And state and federal laws have changed around both housing and even the telecommunications industry The things that are coming forward to your body to your department and to the zea and others are much more complex And they've been historically and in many respects much more controversial And I feel like you have done a very good job guiding through that process as has counsel in this regarding guiding the board and others but A significant amount of the responsibility Could be viewed as a burden, but I would view it as opportunity and responsibility of what will happen in the future of this county Really lies within your department in setting the Framework by which we will meet the needs for our community over the next 30 years And julie and wanda and others by I mean you deal with this every single day But you've been given an opportunity at this point in time It's very unique. I mean it's a very consequential time in history and and And I think the board recognizes that we've been trying to do everything we can on the policy side But from the implementation side and an interface side a lot of it falls on your staff And we see that I just want to make sure that you know that we recognize we recognize it's going to be complex We recognize some of these items might be controversial, but we do legitimately appreciate The work that you're doing and the transition time between now and hopefully whoever's sitting in these seats at some point in the future Will be appreciative of the work that the previous board and planning department did for them So that their challenges they face are different than the challenges we face today Which is really what planning is in your name to actually do Thank you So we'll open it up for the community now is an opportunity for you to address us on items specifically associated with the budgets for the Planning department item eight anybody like to address us Thank you. Good morning. Becky Steinbruner resident of aptos. Thank you for the good report miss previsitch I appreciate that very much I do have an idea regarding the The amnesty program why And I would like discussion about this if why not have bring back The citizen building and fire code appeals board that did exist in this county was composed of industry professionals That would have great had great expertise in coming up with alternate materials and methods And that would take the pressure off the planning department and then you could work on the sustainable santa cruz county plan That was a terrific group of people and your board obliterated that board And I think it needs to be brought back I want to offer that as my first Issue and a call for discussion about that this morning Second of all, um, I really feel that the whole issue of code modernization has been Had an end run about it. Um, the term measure j was eliminated from the housing element And, um, I I'm concerned that there are big changes in the zoning Changes as came up before your board last Tuesday Without the proper level of environmental review and public notification And I think you really have opened yourself up to some sequel litigation Thirdly, I want to just weigh in about the, um, difficult issue of historic preservation This county claims it is very supportive of that but it is not, um, walking the talk in many instances Um, the each term partial demolition has been used misleadingly and led to a complete demolition Of an historic building the last Building in the heen subdivision in the aptos village project was completely demolished and it was called partial demolition There's also the issue of a demolition by neglect that is happening before our very eyes At the redman here ahara place down in watsonville. That is a county property And, um, the county is standing by and letting that place fall apart and that is a shame because there's a huge story behind that And it needs to be preserved Number four, um, I would like to ask that the housing advisory commission Be required to be video recorded or audio recorded They only take action minutes as all commissions now do even your board And that does not provide for the public the critical discussion that goes on in those meetings If you can't attend them in the middle of the day on a weekday I would also like to ask that they be required to declare ex parte communication And, uh, there is no recording available for the public of the zoning administrator hearings. I would like that changed To to to request, uh, I want to know where in the line item it shows appeal fees And where why is the in lieu development fee zero? Okay, thank you. In lieu development fee zero for affordable housing. Thank you very much Is there anybody else I'd like to address us during this item? Okay, we've seen none. We'll bring it back to the board for action Supervisor Coonerty I'll move the recommended action, but it sounded like you had additional direction for a report back Yeah, I just like a report back at our first meeting in january about, uh, Where we are with meeting our established goals for permit processing So I'll I'll move the recommended action with that additional direction Second We have a motion from Supervisor Coonerty in a second from Supervisor Leopold an additional discussion All those in favor I opposed it passes unanimously We move on to item nine, which is to consider the 2018 19 proposed budgets of public works including any supplemental budget materials We have the 2017 18 public works goals and accomplishments the proposed budget the supplemental budget the line item detail the unified fee schedule the continuing agreements list in the irate And we have a presentation from Our new deputy ceo and head of public works. Mr. Machado welcome You confirm the microphones on You might need to get close to it it wasn't on okay, that's on now. That's all right. Let me start over. Good morning Mr. Chairman supervisors. Mr. Palacios. Ms. Miller My name is Matt. Machado. I'm the director of public works and your newest deputy ceo My presentation for the department of public works Will include Some of our 17 18 accomplishments a 2018 19 budget summary Our proposed staffing changes some of our 18 19 goal highlights some of our future challenges and some of our unmet needs In our administration division we redesigned our capital improvement program book We successfully tracked and administered storm damage funds In our capital projects division We completed project oversight of state grant funded round tree Rehabilitation and a reentry project for the sheriff's department And we have nearly completed our twin lakes beachfront coastal access improvement project In fact paving is occurring this week and by friday. We should have a completely open for public access, which is great news Very good i'm knocking on what? In our transportation division we completed repair work on valencia road sokel san osa road Glenwood drive and sokel drive all of these projects were a part of our emergency storm damage damage repairs We awarded a contract for the voter approved measure d pavement management program I will share a bit more about that in upcoming slides In our special services division we negotiated An awarded new recycling and solid waste franchise agreement We upgraded rain and stream gauges to ensure accurate rain monitoring and prediction of flooding for the county Our proposed 2018 19 budget summary is as follows Our budget is divided into three areas of responsibility Uh, the administrative services with a budget of 50 million 187 554 includes Our fiscal team who provides accounting and reporting for more than 80 public works budgets Also, including our program administration who is responsible for the overall budget our county cip 36 county service areas our parking program and our fleet management Our transportation group with a budget of 54 million 571 346 Includes our road road design our road operations Our survey department our development review and transportation planning In special in special services with a budget of 32 million 51,086 dollars It includes our sanitation engineering stormwater management flood control engineering Recycling and solid waste and construction management For a total department of public works budget of 136,809,986 dollars Our proposed staffing changes include the addition of One accountant analyst one it applications developer Two solid waste coordinators and one principal planner in solid waste This is for a total of five new positions Resulting in a total employee number of 266 full-time employees plus three part-time employees So a bit about our goal highlights just a few of them I will start with our measure d project This project is has been awarded construction will begin this summer We anticipate completion this fall and I would like to highlight Some of the areas that you see on this slide In district one, we will be resurfacing miller road and the miller cutoff In district two, we will be We will be resurfacing roads in the area of las salva beach In district three, we'll be resurfacing Martin road in the area of bonny dune In district four, we actually completed that project This current fiscal year. It was the replacement of the casserly road bridge And that was a completed project for measure d And then in district five We are resurfacing number of roads in the boulder creek area Some highlights in our capital projects division We plan to complete construction of the behavioral health office building We plan to start the felton library construction project And to begin construction of the las salva beach and boulder creek branch libraries We plan to complete preliminary design of the live oak library annex at simkins And this will include considerable community outreach And we plan to select a design build team for the aptos library project Another great project is our davamport recycled water project This project anticipates completion in september. We will be offering recycled water to farmers This week actually we are planning to construct the pipeline across highway one Which will be our potential water supply For the ag community Additionally, we are grading the water storage pond currently Some highlights in our solid waste division There is a lot of focus about organics processing We will be working on the mandates of ab 293 and sp 1383 The essence of these mandates is will result in a dramatic reduction of organic waste going to our landfill For some numbers by 2020 we need to reduce organic going to the landfill by 50% And by 2025 we need to see a reduction of 75% There is a substantial cost to to reach these mandates We will be looking for partnerships with our local cities. We believe that through Partnerships we can find win-wins and reach the mandated goals Some of our future challenges Include our solid waste area our landfill currently has about a 10-year capacity prior to that complete That complete capacity. We must open a land A transfer station And at considerable costs. So staff is working diligently to locate a site And one of our larger challenges is continues to be in transportation We've had some wins here, but there continues to be challenges I will start by commenting that our county has 600 miles of unincorporated roadways 150 bridges We have a deferred maintenance of about 150 million dollars And our current average pcr pavement condition index is less than a 50 So our system is currently failing But fortunately in the in just the past year or so we've seen some new funding The chart before you shows those three areas of new funding sp1 measure d and a vehicle impact fee And fiscal year 1819 we anticipate eight million dollars of revenue from those combined programs This would be in addition to our historical roadway maintenance funding Which is comes from our gas tax and a bit of federal gas tax through the rstp program Our prior funding was about nine and a half million dollars. So for perspective This is a substantial increase Which is greatly needed for the deferred maintenance that we have The challenge Is really regarding the sp1 if you look at the sp1 number at 4.7 million dollars It represents about 25 of our overall maintenance funding And this current year this fall there is a ballot That will most likely include a choice by our voters to possibly repeal sp1 This would clearly devastate our proposed funding of maintenance of for roads Additionally sp1 currently is being used to match our storm damage projects for federal funds It's a 25 75 program. So we have 25 in the funding the local match to secure 75 federal funds And if that were to happen if sp1 were to be repealed We would be forced to use our measure d funds to match those fema pro