In this topic, we are going to discuss about the reasons why people are sent on international assignments and we are going to base our discussion on Brookfield Global Relocation Trends Survey 2010. Generally, there are various different studies which talk about different reasons for international assignments but this survey is a survey which takes into account a very big data and therefore is an authentic survey to base our discussion upon. So the first reason why people are sent on international assignments in multinational organizations which are operating in different countries is to fill the positions and filling the positions is important because there is a lack of availability of human resources for that particular position. So people from other countries, mostly the parent countries, they are sent to the host countries to fill those positions. There are some studies which show and say and claim that the availability of human resources problem has declined and the personnel cost, they have also decreased and therefore the problem of position filling is not the most important one. But according to this survey, short term position filling that continues to be a reason for international assignments and a lack of available skill is the major reason for international assignments. So it happens that where in host countries, multinationals start their operations, according to their requirements, according to their skill gap, according to their strategic objective, skilled labor and skilled human resources are not available. So to fill those positions, people have to be sent on international assignments. So we have some statistics. So in many cases, the most important assignment objective was filling a managerial gap which was 22% of the assignments were given to people because they were needed to fill a managerial gap. And then the next was filling a technical gap which was following it at 21% of the reasons. So accordingly, we can say that position filling and filling up the managerial and technical gaps in human resources is one of the major reasons why people are sent on international assignments and people are not available in the host countries to fill those managerial and technical gaps. The second important reason for international assignments is management development and staff, they are often moved to other parts of the organization for training and development purposes and to assist in the development of common corporate values. So one thing is that people are sent for training and for their career development because international exposure is something which is very important, particularly for the multinational organizations which are operating in a number of countries. It is important that people who are managing that organization should have a flavor of different countries and different cultures so that they understand that what is their global position, how they are perceived in various different countries and what are the different challenges and objectives of the organization in that particular country and what is going to be the global implication of those particular challenges and issues. So that is a very much important reason management development, why people are sent on international assignment and then it is very much important to develop the management in the host countries as well. So it is very much important to transfer the corporate values in those countries. So it is important that the company which is operating in different locations should have a shared corporate value system. So that should be something which should show in your operations, in your services, in the products that you sell. So for example, if we talk about McDonald's, you can see that they have the same corporate values of efficiency and service, customer service and all their corporate values, they are replicated wherever you go, in whichever country you go, you see that the same kind of environment is there and same kind of services are provided which means that the same corporate values are instilled in the people who are running those organizations. All right, so assignments may be for the varying length of time and they may involve project work as well as trainee positions. So it is possible that for management development, the people are sent on assignments for three months, for a year or for a longer period of time. It depends on the kind of position that is being filled. If it is a technical position, a short-term experience is going to be sufficient to make you understand the work. But if it is a managerial position, then a longer period in that position would be required to give a training for that particular position in the organization. And then there is this perceived link between international experience and career development and people in the organization, they think that it is their perception that if they are sent on international assignments and given international exposure, it means that the organization is concerned about their career development and that also serves as a motivator. So people who are sent on international assignments, they feel motivated and they feel a part of the organization and their organizational commitment and motivation is also enhanced because they feel that the organization cares about their career development. So they also reciprocate that with organizational commitment and motivation. So according to the Brookfield Global Relocation Trends Survey, building management expertise was considered to be the third most important reason for international assignments. Now the third reason which is very much important is organization development. You know that management development is about developing of individuals and organization development is about developing of the organization. So organization development is concerned as individual development is concerned with training and learning of the individuals. Organization development is concerned about learning of the organization. So when you go to different other countries and you work in other countries and the organization gets the experience of other countries, the organization also learns. So learning of the organization is also an important part why people are sent to international assignments. So according to the Brookfield Global Relocation Survey technology transfer was an important aspect 16% of assignments were given so that the technology which is either in the host country or in the parent country that is transferred from between the two and launching new endeavors which is also a part of organizational development had 13% of value and that was also a very important aspect of organization development and that is one of the reasons for sending people to international assignments. So in this topic we have discussed about the major reasons why people are sent on international assignments and what is the importance of that in the organization.


First time taking batting practice on the field. How did you feel afterwards? Oh, good. So great No, good stuff for him like you were driving the ball a little bit Even though it was your first time. Do you feel like you have the strength in there? Yeah, feel good. You know I'm just happy to be outside hitting, you know one step closer and you know excited for the progress we're making in your mind Any indication how much longer it will take? I know I'd be you know, I really don't want to put myself in a box either by staying a date and then you know Either not making it or you know, just when I'm out there. I'm out there, you know So we're getting closer with that being said what leaves you encouraged that it that it might be sooner rather than later Yeah, just the swings I was taking and how it's been feeling, you know, we're just We're ahead of schedule. I feel like we're on the we're on the track and Just got to keep moving forward. You know, I just keep it in all my progressions And it's got to keep moving forward to the day I get out there. Will you do the same tomorrow? I don't know. I'll find out when I get here. I'll find out What is hitting outside? Tell you, you know that you you don't get off the tee in the cage Just seeing the live arm. That's the biggest thing impacting the baseball That's what the real test is of hitting VP is just feeling how you know, the wrist feels you know impacting the baseball from a live arm What can you glean from you know, you had a couple of long home runs in there, too Can you take anything away from that as far as your risk? Not not even worried about that. I'm just worried about you know, seeing how my wrist feels how it's gonna feel the next day and Making sure my mechanics are all right. That's the biggest thing


Hi, this is George Kow and I created a tool today that will help you figure out what your minimum hourly rate for paid client work must be if you want your business to be personally sustainable for you. And this tool is free and available online. I will include the links below the video. So let me show you how to use it. It's pretty simple. You just fill out the areas that are highlighted here and you let the rest of the spreadsheet do the work. The formulas are all calculated in there. So we first start with how many weeks do you want to work in a row before you take a vacation? This is important. This is sort of in part life coaching, right? Because if you do not take regular breaks, you will be at risk of burnout or at least losing the passion for your work and also not giving you the chance to have a change of pace, which is really important for your brain, your body to be more creative and really just to have a new perspective on your work and you bring that kind of, when you can bring that kind of creativity, new perspective, new energy, because rest is important to your clients, you do a better job for them. So for me, I take a vacation after every 12 weeks of work and I basically take two weeks off. I don't naturally go anywhere. I just do usually stay and go to more parks and rest more. So that's what I recommend. Every 12 weeks take two weeks off. Now you may not need that much. Maybe you need more depending on your energy level and how intense your work is. Okay? All right. That basically calculates, it rounds up. So it basically, if you put these numbers in here, that means in a 52-week year, you basically take about eight weeks of vacation. It's actually, again, rounded up. So there's a bit of buffer in there, maybe one or two weeks buffer, but it's not far from the actual number. So it's safe to assume that. Okay. The next section is how many times do you enroll new clients per year? I don't recommend a business model where you're trying to enroll clients all the time throughout the whole year. It's good to have launches where you really make a concerted intentional effort to let your prospective clients know, to let your audience know that you're available to enroll clients again. And for example, I have three and six month programs. Turns out that most of my clients are up for six months. So I basically enroll twice a year. It doesn't mean I don't allow other clients to come to me during the year, but I definitely only have their space, but it's, I make the concert rest of the year. I'm serving clients, creating free content like this, but just twice a year. And then my enrollment period is about two weeks. So in two weeks, in those two weeks, twice a year, I don't meet with clients. I focus on interviewing prospective clients, doing launch emails, that kind of thing. Okay. And then so after calculating for these things, that means my number of paid client weeks, that I basically number of weeks I work per year where I'm serving clients is 40 weeks. Okay. So that's based on these numbers. These numbers obviously change if you, if you, if you change the calculation change. Okay. So that, and then the next question is how many hours per week of paid client time do you want to have? For me, I'm basically wanting to work 14 hours of paid clients per week. But because of sometimes, you know, clients emergency need to cancel the reschedule or something. I give myself a little buffer. So I'm just going to count 12 weeks per, 12 hours per week of paid client time. I think that's really reasonable for kind of work life balance and kind of focused energy on client time, that kind of thing. So that's the total hours therefore annual for if you do all the, all the calculations are taken care of automatically for you. And finally, we get to how much do you need to earn per month from your client work? By the way, these are not my numbers. I live in the San Francisco Bay area. It supports my lifestyle and ability to serve my clients. Well, but I need to earn considerably more than that, but many people 4,000 a month, that covers your business expenses as well. So put in the number here that makes sense for you. How much of that 4,000 a month is business expenses? So let's say you get some coaching, you pay some software, whatever else you pay for, say 500 bucks a month, again, you can change these numbers. What is your tax bracket, tax percentage? That's pretty high if this, if it's 4,000 a month, but I'm just going to be conservative here and say 30%. You can always put that money into savings if you don't need to pay that much taxes. So you end up with, if you, these numbers are yours, you end up with $60,600 per year that you need to earn from client work in order to be able to end up with $4,000 take home after paying taxes. And from that 4,000, you also pay some business expenses. So that means given the number of paid client hours you have per year and how much you would need to earn, you need to charge at least $126 per client hour. And that's a minimum. So you can charge more based on your skills and the value you bring to your clients. And that's kind of like the bottom. If you're doing a discounted or discount or large package, what it ends up being just, just so do these numbers for yourself and see what you come up with for the minimum per hourly rate for you. And I'm always open to your questions and comments. And I hope this is helpful. So the tool is located beneath the video as links. And until the next video, I wish you well.


Hi and welcome to Think Tech Hawaii. My name is Kim Lau and this program is called Hawaii Rising. The point of the show is people helping people to work on the community as well as the economy because that's the only way that we'll be able to create a sustainable future for Hawaii. So there's definitely nothing wrong with organizations who put together a beach cleanup day or a beautification project for their staff to participate in. Those are fantastic ways to promote community involvement and awareness. However, when we're talking about professional staff say like a lawyer whose actual billable rate is maybe 300 or more dollars an hour, what is the most valuable way for that professional to contribute to the community? Perhaps using that professional given professional skills to enrich the community and the lives of people who need those skills would be a more value added way for that professional to share their time. And it's probably why many lawyers do provide their services pro bono to those who cannot otherwise afford it. But there's others in the community that do provide these pro bono services, other industries outside of the legal field and that's who we're going to talk to today. So I'd like to introduce my guest today, Robert Kubota from Douglas Engineering and Nate Wilber who's an intern and his title is electrical designer also with Douglas Engineering. Thank you and welcome to the show today. Hey thanks for having us. It's great to be here. So first of all I'd like to maybe introduce yourselves. We'll start with Robert maybe a little bit of what you, I guess maybe what you do at Douglas Engineering and how you got there. Well that's a that's a really good question. Well today I'm the Vice President of Douglas Engineering. I'm a project manager. The project manager came about because at the time we didn't have project managers and you know there were project managers out there in the industry but I felt like we needed something in-house to kind of control and maintain the integrity of the project. You know and you know for most people engineers aren't that articulate. Right. And so there's a lot of I guess assumptions or errors in the way we they communicate and so the project manager position was was created so that we could kind of bridge the gap between our clients and our and our engineers and then and and so and the Vice President portion you know that's you know that's more the day-to-day operations of the company. You know today you know my role is to figure out you know where we're going to go where what our purpose is in the future you know and how we make ourselves relevant you know moving forward and so and how I got here you know I didn't come from an engineering background you know I started I started well I started at a bank and then I went to I went to a lighting rep you know manufacturers rep that made light fixtures and then and then I ended up in engineering and and the transition you know it's always to me it's always been interesting you know it's definitely not the normal course. Yes the traditional engineering path which is great I mean it goes to show that people don't have to follow the traditional path to get somewhere where they can make an impact or a difference in a company right right and so for me it's been really rewarding you know engineering it's taught me a lot about life it's taught me a lot about the community you know it's taught me a lot about what opportunities we have to help others in a much global scale I guess. Maybe you can can you tell us quickly what exactly does Douglas Engineering do maybe some of the projects that you've worked on. So we've done we do like we do government projects you know whether it's we did the federal building the Prince Cove Hill federal building renovation we do electrical mechanical engineering so that that's mainly you know power lighting fire alarm and we do mechanical where you know it's the air condition the plumbing the fire sprinkler systems we've done schools we've done churches hotels offices retail you know pretty much pretty much pretty much everything you know everything that we could we could do we've we've tried to do you know and so. And Douglas has an internship program yeah the part of one of the just the everyday program that you have. And this is Nate and and and and we yeah we just it's it's a program where we feel that it's necessary for the future of our industry you know it started off where we only had one person or two people you know and today we have we have seven interns this summer yeah for a staff that's only we don't have 13 employees and so seven in terms of additional seven interns yeah okay yeah we've gone from paid internships to non-paid internships we've we've kind of floated between the two ideas you know just to just to figure out what's you know what motivates our our staff you know to make them realize that work what we do is not about the money right you know I think today it's more it's more necessary to teach that and so what do you I guess what do you hope by hiring interns is it more for interns to learn like bringing up future generations or yeah you know it's it's one you know it's one for us to see to find well to meet you know new prospects you know I mean that's that's a big reason why we we we do internships but but more importantly to see how we can influence them you know because a lot of them they come out of school and they tell that the first thing they tell me is my teacher told me this I should get paid this or I'm gonna be doing this you know and and that's not really the reality of yeah it doesn't quite cut it in the real world you know you're gonna work this many hours right I mean that's that's that's not that's not really the the norm I guess you know and so we wanted to we wanted to have a way where we could influence their expectations you know now you know before they get into the real world and then somehow they're disappointed you know right that's true that's a good point yeah managing expectations and you are a senior this year yeah I'm about to start my senior year at UH Manoa and what is your degree it's going to be electrical engineering and you've been an intern for how long get Douglas uh about three years now I think yeah I think it's about three and is that a special situation that you have uh well I'm very fortunate to have landed an internship here I am actually started off by um I met Doug Burr who's our president and I didn't even take a single engineering class at the time I was I just started college and um so I didn't even know what engineering was he just he just kind of overheard me talking about you know I wanted to be uh I was thinking about getting into engineering so you know when I started off I really didn't know I didn't have much direction and working at the company gave me a lot of guidance and kind of showed me the world of engineering and I realized that you know it's something that I want to get into that's awesome that you can do that for young minds young people you know help guide them instead of you know show them what you can do where you can go and bring out that passion as to what you really want to do because a lot of students kind of just go through college and they wait for the end and they're like oh what do I do now yeah that I mean that's really what happens right for all of for well not for not for maybe you but for but definitely for most for a lot of us you know it's it's you know even though when you pick something it's not necessarily what you what you're gonna end up in you know right and to have that chance to try it out before actually entering the workforce and to know that you actually like that subject and it's something that you want to keep pursuing that's an amazing chance that you have and one of the points that I heard early on from other people in this industry was that you know we don't want to invest into our internships right because they're just gonna leave and they're gonna take the information that goes somewhere else right you know but I kind of feel like it's it's our it's our purpose to to even if they leave you know it's our purpose to give them that perspective so that they can when they go out and they compete against us or they work for us or wherever they are you know it to me it's that value that they're adding to whatever company they're going to and they're boosting the industry as a whole right and so that I mean that's our real that's our real goal you know to to to see these guys successful in life you know not at Douglas engineering right but outside the office in life in your profession and in the community yeah yeah yeah so yeah that's yeah and and with the amount that the the company's invested in me you know I feel like you know I've I've kind of found a like a family something that I would want to stick to after college and so can you expand on that so they're providing you trading guidance and they're also helping you monetarily with school oh yeah they're they're helping me pay for my schooling and stuff like that it's it's and they're they're you know teaching me about what they do and how to you know like engineers and engineering students where we're kind of them or a lot of them including myself can be kind of nervous and more introverted right and then the company's really been helping me to to kind of reach out and kind of get to meet people more and see more of the the business side of it and what you actually do on the day-to-day job and which is what Robert was saying about program management is that in order to be the interface between the client and the engineer you have to get them speak in the same language yeah not everybody understands the languages that engineers speak yeah yeah yeah that's been that's been the that's been the biggest challenge you know um you know even even today when we're looking at new hires and people to hire it although people say that there's there's a lot of potential good people out there to hire you know we want to pick we're trying to find people that fit into our system of business you know and so um for me that's finding someone who communicates well with others you know if you're an engineer if you're a great engineer but you can't communicate with others you're not even that's not even on my radar you know right and understanding what companies need from you as a new hire is very important into entering the job market and so we're going to take a quick break right now but when we come back we're going to talk about the other um pro bono and other services that you provide in addition to the work that you do and the intern program that you have so thank you this is Kim Lau with Hawaii Rising you're watching think tech Hawaii aloha i'm kawi lucas host of Hawaii is my mainland every friday here on think tech Hawaii i also have a blog of the same name at kawi lucas.com where you can see all of my past shows join me this friday and every friday at three p.m aloha aloha my name is john why hey and i used to be a part of all the things that you might be angry at i served in government here and may have made decisions that affects you so i want to invite you in i want to invite you in to talk story with me and some very special guests every other monday here at talk story with john why hey come on in join us express your opinion learn more about your state and then do something about it aloha hi this is kim lau with think tech Hawaii this program is called Hawaii Rising and today we have Robert Kubota and Nate Wilbur from Douglas Engineering hi welcome back guys hey thanks we've been talking about um your internship program and um you also have some other pro bono projects that you've been working on in addition to your regular work can you talk about um maybe some of those projects yeah so the the main one is um we're doing the coca-cola shed project for homeless housing for the state and uh that's a really great project for us can you explain the project kind of a little bit so it's a shed it's a five thousand square foot shed that's located behind the uh well the cancer research center okay in coca-cola it's on the waterfront side oh fancy yeah it's very fancy um uh and it's just a it's a steel structure you know that was I guess it was used for storage fire and some bathrooms and but they're converting it to a shelter like a 24-hour day shelter so it's going to have uh it's going to have bathrooms there you know and it's going to have beds and basically it's it's you know as far as I understand it's for it's for families because right now homeless shelters they separate men and women right correct yeah so the one like the one I've been to uh then coca-cola the other one I've been out to you know that's a much larger facility um and so yeah they do separate the but so this one's a little bit more thought through you know uh I'm expecting you know the it's just a really great project you know to allow at first you know we were thinking oh it's just going to be a shit you know how nice can it be and then you know working with group 70 and their team in group 70 is that architect yeah architect firm you know uh they're the the project's trained into something that for all of us they're participating it's going to be something pretty great you know are there so it's just um Douglas engineering and group 70 or there's some other partners participating as well um uh I think tawney moran associates is helping out with the structural for the offices and that's pretty much that's pretty much it yeah and so exactly what are you doing with this shed that makes it so unique and different from the other shelters other than it's for um family housing well well this one the we're actually designing it the last one was kind of just thrown together you know on an emergency situation so so this one we've gone through we've looked at the different layout configurations we've we've assessed the needs of not only the the families are going to go in there but also the the company that's going to come in and take over the role the management yeah and manage the shed you know and so so you know there was a there was a bunch of things that that we could take from the last project you know like like the sewer lines you know we could take those into account we could we could adequately uh provide the necessary you know waste waste piping for the project you know infrastructure infrastructure yeah you know it was definitely more you know we were allowed to to think it through it and so just stopped coming together you know the last minute so so yeah I feel pretty good I mean I think it's necessary that we you know we do something to help homelessness you know because it's becoming a big issue here in Hawaii yeah a very visible issue extremely and you guys are doing this all pro bono yeah so so you know the that's how it started I don't know if that's how it's going to end you know but but that's definitely how it's it started you know we one day we were asked do you want to help out with a homeless shed and we said absolutely you know and and that was you know it wasn't really uh it wasn't really a it wasn't something we had to think about um you know for years the company's done a lot of work for uh churches that we've been you know members of you know so if we're if if for instance like Doug is is a member at New Hope you know we would do a lot of work for New Hope you know and and that would be you know that would be our thing but at the end of last year it got me thinking about how we what we're doing to really affect the community as a whole and and I kind of felt like we weren't doing our job you know and and so when the shed opportunity came along you know it was the perfect opportunity for us to help you know because because it allowed us to to do something that is not normal yeah completely unique yeah that's for sure completely and and there's such a need for it right that it just I mean it makes sense it just makes sense right and so you know we're open to a lot of different ideas today you know and and and I think it's just because we're open to to just we just want to help people and so you know not everything's going to be for free you know but but where we can do it we will you know and I think we'll make a we'll make a greater conscious effort to get more involved right you know moving forward so and another thing that um Douglas engineering has put on or yourself in particular is another program that helps interns can you talk about your seminar series that you started this year yeah so we we you know we started this program that that would meet with well would basically bring all the interns from the the industry into one room so not just your company's no not just engineering interns you know architecture interns you know not just electrical mechanical interns but civil and structural interns pretty much anyone who is willing to send to send their staff to us for an hour you know that that's all we wanted we just wanted an opportunity and and you know I felt you know when I first started doing it you know there was um when I first thought of it I would I would definitely pass it off on other people to find out what they thought and some people were like well you know you're not going to get you're not going to get these people and and don't make speakers well how are you going to get the speakers how are you going to get the speakers for one right and then how are you going to get the interns how are you going to interns and and um so was it how many weeks long so six weeks long um it's actually it just ended this past week uh it's it started two weeks prior to the start of the the very first week you know and and um it was something that I had been talking about for almost a year you know but I just didn't know how to put it together and and so you know the the AIA president Ben you know he was he and I would sit there and talk about it and he was like well we have a you can use the AIA room you know and I was like well that gives me a place so it sounds like I should try to do something right and so uh we made I made some calls a lot of calls and uh I begged a lot of people you know and and you know fortunately for us they were very receptive of it you know and it allows us it allowed it allowed me to share you know all the people that I've met in my life that have helped me get to where I am today you know and and uh you know people people who take the time out in the community to help can you give us some examples of the presenters that spoke to the interns during this one hour week session so we had you know we had my boss Doug you know I mean he's pivotal for me we also had you know we had you you know and we had uh Francis Oda from group 70 we had Rick Blanchiardi from Kachanel and Hawaii News Now we had Scott Inazuka from Inazuka Engineering you know Ken Hayashida you know Russ Wozniak from group 70 Ben Lee you know we had we had we just had a great great amount you know I guess they were so giving up their time right you know and I think and but more importantly I think it's the interns you know like the one thing I'll always try to remember is that it was it's for them right and it's them giving us their time because without them showing up we have really no one to talk to you know we have nothing right so Wilbur what was your take on the the whole seminar? I found it very it was a good learning experience you know I got to I got to hear from a lot of speakers that were from different parts of the industry you know architects and and engineers and you know I got to hear you know what their where their you know struggles through their career was or what um what they found good and and um also what I found really useful was it was it was a good chance to meet other interns great you know I got to see a lot of my classmates and I got to meet meet other people that were in architecture you know as interns and it was it was a good good chance to meet people so Nate what would be your biggest takeaway as to why people would help interns or would do pro bono projects what why do you think that's important what's the purpose behind helping other people in as part of your industry or career? I think it's an important um it's an important idea to you know for pro bono things not to just you know do it for the money or the business you know it's it's more of a community effort you know people need to to kind of you know look beyond just you know business and money and just kind of do what what they can and what you know they have within their resources to to help um situations like the homelessness you know helping helping families find homes and you know it's it's been uh it's very fulfilling to you know do that that type of project and and know that you know what we're working on you know people are gonna you know find find shelter in in these homes and it's gonna be impactful yeah do you feel that um Robert do you feel that other groups in your industry do these do the same kind of giving back to the community? I'm sure they do I mean uh I'm sure they do I I'm not sure where but but I think given the opportunity I think I think people are willing to step up and and definitely help you know um yeah I mean like Nate said it's definitely fulfilling you know so if they have it they should right and does yours your firm the people that you work with your coworkers do they find value in the things that you do? I think I think that in some ways they don't see it yet you know I think it's it's a hard sell you know a lot of times you know we're trying to change the culture and I know a lot of people say culture changes and everything and companies but you know Nate and I were having this conversation today and and you know in order to change a culture you know you have to have a very strong foundation you know and it's not going to be easy you know and so you have to stand firm even when when you don't feel like you want to anymore right you know and so I think that's um a big thing that we should take away and the show is closing but um again what Robert was saying is that it's hard to change culture it's hard to change perception the way that people have been going about their daily business but I think one person at a time by doing the things that you do we can change that and and everything that everyone does is so impactful so thank you so much for doing what you do and being um positive role models for the community and your interns and the future engineers and thank you so much for being on the show today oh thanks for having thanks for having us


Thank you, Heidi. Thank you everyone for being part of this today. This is really, really exciting for me because as we talk about all the different challenges we're facing right now, right here, we're talking about one of the solutions we have. As citizens become more and more powerful users of technology, as you understand that you don't just have to be subject to computers surrounding you, as was said, and your phones in your cars at home in your houses and more and more all around us at every single moment, but you can help harness that power, you can help create, you can contribute to it, and that's really, really important because for all the amazing advantages Canada has in terms of natural resources, in terms of geography, in terms of opportunity, our best resources sitting here right in this room, you young people, Canadians themselves, ready to step up, ready to shape the world, they're part of, ready to create the things that those old guys like us couldn't even imagine, and that's where learning how to code really comes in. Understanding how to shape computers, how to drive them, how to innovate, how to create new opportunities, new solutions for yourselves, for your neighbors, for the world, that's what we're teaching you how to do, and you might think to yourself, oh you know what, I don't think I'm going to become a computer programmer, I don't think that's my future, that doesn't matter because doctors, lawyers, teachers, firefighters, you name it, every job we're going to do in the future will rely on technology and be benefited if you are powerful users of technology that surrounds us. So understanding the building blocks of coding, understanding how to break an idea down into discrete parts and put it all together in a way so computers can understand and deliver it, that is what we're celebrating here. The hour of code is kicking off Computer Science Education Week and I'm really, really pleased to be about to sit down with you guys and start coding. I've been assured that I won't have to draw on any of my old memories of coding in C++ from a number of years ago, it's a little more drag and drop than that, but trust me when I say the principles, the algorithms, the approach that you're learning today is the building block that will allow you to succeed for the rest of your lives. So thank you for being here young people, thank you for all the attention people are putting and thank you of course to our great partners for driving this and if I wasn't enough of a geek, I'm here with two of my favorite geeks from Cabinet, Jean-Yves Duclos, our minister of families and Christy Duncan, our minister of science who are both totally focused on the work we need to do to give you guys the best possible chances in the future. So thank you very much for being here, thank you very much everyone for being here, it's an important day to learn how to become powerful users of technologies that will be around us in the future. I'm very happy to be here with you and we'll see you. Thank you.


Direct and indirect questions in English from espressoenglish.net Direct questions are the normal questions we ask to friends, family, and people we know well. For example, where's the bathroom? Indirect questions are more formal and polite. We use indirect questions when talking to a person we don't know well, or in more professional situations. For example, could you tell me where the bathroom is? Here are some phrases to use for beginning an indirect question. Could you tell me? Do you know? I was wondering. Do you have any idea? I'd like to know. Would it be possible? Is there any chance? Now, the structure of the question changes in indirect questions. Let's look at some examples. Direct. Where is Market Street? Indirect. Could you tell me where Market Street is? In indirect questions, forms of the verb to be like is, are, and were come after the subject, not before the subject. Direct. What time does the bank open? Indirect. Do you know what time the bank opens? In indirect questions, we don't use auxiliary verbs like do, does, or did. Also, in the indirect question, we say the bank opens. Direct. Why did you move to Europe? Indirect. I was wondering why you moved to Europe. Again, there's no auxiliary verb did in the indirect question. As a result, we say moved instead of move. Direct. How has he managed to get in shape so quickly? Indirect. Do you have any idea how he has managed to get in shape so quickly? The verbs have, has, and had also come after the subject in indirect questions. Direct. How much does this motorcycle cost? Indirect. I'd like to know how much this motorcycle costs. To form the indirect question, we eliminate the auxiliary verb does and change cost to costs. Direct. Can you finish the project by tomorrow? Indirect. Would it be possible for you to finish the project by tomorrow? For questions with the word can, we use would it be possible in the indirect question? Also, we say to finish instead of finish. Direct. Can we change the meeting to Thursday? Indirect. Is there any chance we could change the meeting to Thursday? Is there any chance is another way to ask an indirect question when the direct question begins with can? We also use the word could before change in the indirect question. Yes and no questions in direct form have the word if in the indirect question. For example, direct. Does Tom like Italian food? Indirect. Do you know if Tom likes Italian food? Direct. Are your parents joining us for dinner? Indirect. Could you tell me if your parents are joining us for dinner? Direct. Do they speak English? Indirect. I was wondering if they speak English. Direct. Has Barbara ever studied abroad? Indirect. Do you have any idea if Barbara has ever studied abroad? Direct. Do you plan on traveling this summer? Indirect. I'd like to know if you plan on traveling this summer. Okay, let's review the rules for indirect questions. Indirect questions have no auxiliary verbs like do, does, or did. In indirect questions, forms of the verbs be and have come after the subject. For questions beginning with the word can, we change it to would it be possible or is there any chance in the indirect question? And yes or no questions become if in the indirect question. For more practical speaking and writing tips for business and professional English, take the Business English Course. It has 30 lessons with video, audio, text, and practice exercises, teaching you essential vocabulary and practical phrases for using English in your job. Thanks for watching English Tips from Espresso English. If you liked this video, please share it.


Okay, thank you councilmember story here councilmember Peterson here councilmember Brooks here and member trend here Any additions any materials that are received late yes, we have two items for 7a public comment items, and then for 7b We have information from the business improvement association Committee that has been working on a proposal for the lights. Thank you any deletions and additions to the agenda Staff has no changes. Okay seeing none Public comments this is a time to give public comments for any item that is not on the agenda that you'd like to speak to Seeing none back to city council for staff and city council comments staff comments, okay No comments from city staff or city council. I will just very quickly note that tomorrow night the planning commission will hear the conceptual review for the mall redevelopment program and The following Thursday the 14th it will be presented to the city council public is Encouraged to attend learn about the plans for the mall and provide any input before a formal application is presented Thank You Linda Okay, we're on to city council's consent calendar So is anyone on the city council or anyone in the public wanting to? Bring for consideration an item on the consent counter Sam. I don't necessarily want to pull an item But I did have a question from a on item 6b Okay Proceed public works Steve. Well, thank you Yeah, Steve My particular question was I noticed the intersections that they adapted signaling is proposed for and we're just wondering why 41st and gross Was not also included in that series So 41st and gross is actually controlled by Caltrans So it's one of their signals and that's actually part of the grant that we got in the previous year We're referred to the off ramps, right, right? Included 40% gross as well Yes, so those will be connected and all in a comprehensive system on 41st to Broma. Yes, wonderful. Thank you so much Thank you, Steve So Sir emotion on the city's consent calendar I'll move the consent calendar Second all those in favor. Hi, okay This move on Onto general government and public hearings We have seven a consider adopting an urgency and ordinance and temporary prohibiting no fault evictions So there's staff report. Yes, there is. Thank you. Good evening There we go Okay, so as you likely know in early October or October governor Newsom signed into law Assembly bill 1482 which essentially It's it's called the tenant protection act it governs rent gouging and Eviction control and there are two primary components of the bill There's other inclusions relating to notice but for our purposes the truth two primary components are eviction control and rent control and the rent control provision Says that there can be no limits all annual rent increases for covered units to five percent per year Plus the CPI or ten percent whichever is lower and the eviction control provisions Limit evictions of covered units to those that have Just cause which is defined in the statute and essentially the just cause provisions in the statute are Things like violating the lease Using the unit for any legal purposes using the unit to cause a nuisance and then there's another section of Evictions which are allowed for things like the owner wishing to move into the unit The owner wishing to remove the unit from the markets called an Ellis Act eviction, but it's a pretty limited Number of reasons for which an owner can evict the tenant Thank you the statute is applicable to Units in which all of the tenants have lived there for 12 months or in which one of the tenant has lived there for 24 months I Imagine this provision was created to capture tendencies in cities that are very crowded like San Francisco or tendencies That have large families where there are multiple tenants who live in a unit and it also does not there are several carve-outs from The statute it does not apply to single-family homes affordable housing units or condos unless the condos are governed by Are owned by a corporation or a real estate trust? There are lots of other carve-outs, but those are the ones that I think will probably be most impactful The current law but the AB 1482 becomes effective January 1st 2020 Currently there is no just cause or State-wide rent no just cause eviction or statewide rent control various cities multiple cities have rent control provisions themselves already in place But there are no statewide requirements for just cause to evict a tenant and there are no statewide limitations on rent increases Also currently under state law. There are however Um requirements for notice for evicting tenants and the requirements are 30 days of the tenants have lived in the unit for a Year of for less than a year and 60 days of the tenants have lived in the unit for more than a year At the last meeting Council requested that staff bring back an urgency ordinance that would essentially bridge the gap between the Governor's signature of AB 1482 and the effective date of AB 1482, which is January 1 2020 Multiple other jurisdictions in the state have passed such ordinances Those ordinance look pretty much what like what we're bringing to you tonight various jurisdictions have tweaked them, but not much they pretty much look the same and those ordinances essentially prohibit evictions between now whenever the urgency ordinance has passed and January 1 2020 and then they In various ways go away after January 1 2020 whatever the mechanism is the eviction one thing to note too is Evictions become effective on the date on which the tenant requires is required to relinquish possession of the unit So regardless of whether a tenant has already received an eviction notice that eviction is not Effective unless the tenant has actually vacated So if a tenant has received an eviction notice and the council adopts this ordinance this evening Since it's an urgency ordinance It will be effective immediately and so those tenants would be captured by the protections and the urgency ordinance Even if they've already received a notice Was there anything else Okay. Oh The very last thing since this is an urgency ordinance It requires a super majority of the council, which is a fourth this vote since there are only four of you That will be all four of you Okay There are a couple changes that we're suggesting to you before Of the ordinance that's before you one is an expiration date. You'll see that already in the ordinance. We say that the Eviction controls would be in effect until December 31st 2019 That's the day before AB 1482 becomes effective We suggest an expiration date of the ordinance a few months out to give the city time to complete any Enforcement actions that might be in effect at the time that AB 1482 becomes effective It's really a sort of I'm belt and suspenders approach if we are in the midst of an enforcement action on June 15th 2020 we can certainly come back to the council and suggest that the ordinance be extended The other change that we're suggesting is a little more it seems a little more complicated, but sexually not I In drafting the urgency ordinance I made an attempt to clarify some unclear language in the statute and I think that in doing that I actually made the language even more unclear and so I am suggesting to the council that you simply I Use the language in the statute, which is not incredibly clear. I will admit however Rather than come up with our own unclear language We might as well just use the unclear language that the state is using because then the state will interpret it and every jurisdiction will be subject to the same interpretation and so the language is in it's in the ordinance the urgency ordinance itself on if you have your packet it's on packets page 33 and It's in section C8 and it's talking about units that are excluded from the provisions of 1482 and I think the goal of this language from The state legislation was to say that condos are excluded because all single-family homes are excluded from 1482 and so I think it was trying to say that condos are excluded and it used this somewhat confusing language about an Any unit that is alienable separate from the title? I don't know that most people know what that means alienable separate It means an individual unit and so I tried to clarify by noting By calling out some units that might be considered alienable separate mobile homes condos single-family homes, and I think I just Made it more confusing. So our suggestion is that we simply substitute the language in section C8 with the language from the state legislation Any questions Would this have to be as an amendment than to To the action item today. Yes, and so what I would recommend the council do is when you are if you Would like to make a motion to adopt when you do that I'm Just give me a signal or I could even jump in and I will read the changes into the record for you So that you can adopt if you would like to adopt these changes you can adopt with the changes as read into the record Should the council pass this how do the citizens use this to their benefit? Do they just bring the ordinance to their property owner to their landlord and say This is the role now. I'm not no longer being evicted or how would they move forward with Action on their part to ensure that they receive benefit from this Well, they certainly could Probably the best approach frankly for tenants perhaps if they've already received an eviction notice would likely be to work with an attorney They could probably even retain an attorney through legal aid work with an attorney and have their attorney Write a letter to the landlord citing this ordinance and noting that the ordinance is effective Now and so that it would essentially Move any eviction notice. They could also write that letter on their own. It's probably not a terribly difficult letter to write If the landlord refused the city could take action using its code enforcement powers to enforce the ordinance so Follow-up question wouldn't a letter from the city just stating this as a fact We certainly could I Mean it's pretty direct now. They know they'd have to do the code enforcement thing. Sure We certainly could do that as well. Okay Yeah, and thank you I just wanted to clarify that just cause eviction does not include a landlord wishing to remodel Appremises And for the purposes of selling those premises Sort of so there's a carve-out in the state legislation as well as in the Urgency ordinance allowing a landlord to evict for I don't know what the what is the verb is substantial Rehabilitation Substantial repairs to bring the property into compliance with governing codes So a landlord with with health and safety codes So if a landlord needed to do major updates to come into compliance with the code the landlord could evict But the landlord could not you are correct evict tenants because the landlord wanted to remodel the property Sell it for an increased rate empty and then rent to tenants at a higher rent. Thank you. That would be unlawful Yeah, okay, can you speak to the difference how this is different than the rent control? Issue that's been brought up and what how this is different sure sure so Like I said 1482 has two primary provisions. One is rent control, but the state actually calls it anti-rent gouging And one is eviction controls The jurisdictions that we've been monitoring that are passing urgency ordinances to bridge these gaps are only addressing The eviction control issue. They're prohibiting evictions between now and the effective date of the ordinance Jurisdictions don't seem to be touching the rent control issue and there's a variety of reasons. I think that The one that I think is most compelling to the city attorneys Is that there's a question about notice for the rent control provisions about whether or not the landlord has had effective notice if the Landlord it's difficult for us to stop rent increases that were already noticed We could if the council wished we we could we could do that and if the council wished to do that and We might have some concerns legally with that approach or If the council wished to include rent control provisions the council could do it prospectively So the council could say any rent control any rent increases between now between now the date of the urgency ordinance and January 1 2020 cannot exceed whatever is in the statute 5% plus CPI Like I said other jurisdictions are not do not seem to be doing that and I think the reason is that The statute Includes a retroactive provision for rent increases The statute requires as of January 1 2020 all rents be Rolled back to the what whatever the rent was as of March 15th 2019 So I think cities figure that that that is sufficient to cover any rent increases Thank you So I take it though. There's no clock ticking in terms of eviction We pass this even though some people did get an eviction notice That's an all-in-void if they're if they are still in possession of the units Oh, they still have to be there They still have to be in possession of the unit if they have already evicted this like if they have already moved this likely would not Capture them and if they are still within the notice period on the eviction notice So if they got the eviction if they've been in the unit for two years or more and are subject to a 60 days If this if November 6th is with the if they got the nose within 60 days They are covered by this permit by this ordinance. Okay boys had a question about the provision of moving in family members What kind of restrictions are put on that? I mean family member moves in and moves out a month later I mean yeah dealt with yeah So the ordinary the statute addresses that and and the ordinance that we're suggesting mirrors the statute and I think it's that the family member It has to be the owner or a family member and they have to live there for a year Parents Right parent when word when words parents or children they have to move in within three months And they have to occupy the unit as their primary residence, so they can't live somewhere else and just keep it vacant for at least a year Do they have to like change their registration voter wise or DMV or I mean do they have to actually exercise something that indicates that it's actually a primary residence We don't delve that deeply here in the ordinance And I could check your code to see if there's a definition of primary residence and that would apply This would really be an enforcement issue by the city So the city would need if if a landward evicted someone and it would probably be relatively easy to Monitor because there are probably only so many evictions that could occur between now in December 31st The city would need to follow up and we would probably rely on some assistance from the tenants who got evicted Okay, so we need notice from them. We're not going to monitor on own they'd have tell us and then we would follow up We could do whichever works we could do whatever the city has capacity and interest to do so Okay, certainly monitor on our own I know in San Francisco Non-profits help the city does some monitoring San Francisco has its own right control ordinance that I think requires that For owner move in evictions the owners lived there for three years in San Francisco The city will on will not do some monitoring They obviously don't have capacity to do much and so some local nonprofits will do monitoring as well. Okay, Jimmy Do we have any? Capacity to do this. Do we have any groups that we work with on this particular issue? Or has it not come up before and so we really haven't been there? I think yeah, I think the latter is the answer to the question with city certainly hasn't monitored occupancies of units in the past but You know if there was a situation where we had an eviction and someone was asserting that they were moving in pursuit to this residency I think we would I think as the city attorney suggested primarily try to work with the tenant And potentially try to work with some nonprofit partners to make sure that the monitoring Took place and that someone was compliant with the provisions of our ordinance Okay, with our city's attorneys help. I'm sure we can do it. Okay. Thank you At this point are there any questions from those who are here for this item? Please come forward These are questions Comments, please. Yes. My name is Rachel Ellis and I have a comment on the interim emergency ordinance and I want to advocate for Capitalist city to move forward on getting this ordinance Due to the fact that Watsonville is experiencing the same thing through CNC property management And we've already been in collaboration with clra, which will answer your question Mrs. Peterson that if we move forward on this they will take action on helping the no fault eviction residents that have already been working with them and they will Remove the eviction notices because they found just cause That these eviction notices do not stand in the court of law That CNC had already issued capital residents and City of Watsonville residents We are also moving forward to try to push this for City of Watsonville as well next week. It's on an agenda item City Council in Santa Cruz had already pushed this interim emergency ordinance and I really would like to vouch for these residents because it's prevention of homelessness and Displacement and it's devastating to them at this moment they're trying to find placement for their families around Christmas time Thanksgiving time and we have gotten no no repercussion from CNC property management no callback and Not this time It's been a community effort to try to pull together all the resources we can to keep them in interim housing However, there's been a couple folks that have been spooked already that had already vacated their units Due to unknowing what will happen and if they will get an eviction if they're not putting in there's 30-day notice and how it will follow them We want to support our community members in feeling safe feeling secure. So I thank you for your time. Thank you Good evening. I'm Gretchen Reganhardt. I'm with California Rural Legal Assistance. I just wanted to say hello And let you know that we stand ready to help anybody who needs help in forcing their rights under the law How can someone get a hold of California legal assistance? Well, we are located in we're located in Watsonville. We also have a satellite office in Santa Cruz People can call us at<PHONE_NUMBER> and we'll Figure out how to help. Thank you. Okay. Thank you Thanks for coming Any other comments from people that have come here to this meeting? Okay, bring it back to city council for comments in a motion. Mr. Mayor. Yes, if I may respond to one of the comments Please one of the speakers the this ordinance captures all tenants who live in covered proper covered units that For which they still legally Retain the right to live there So if for instance a tenant has gotten a 60-day eviction notice and the notice expires November 30th and The tenant got spooked and moved out October 10th But the notice the eviction notice still has not expired if and I don't It's possible that the tenant has some arrangement with the Wang order to move out early Who knows but if not and the unit is simply sitting vacant and the tenant still has a legal right to that unit The eviction notice has not expired. This ordinance would cover that tenant So if a tenant has moved out and is concerned about whether or not this ordinance would cover the tenant I would encourage the tenant to speak with someone to help them perhaps the woman from legal aid who just spoke How about in a situation where they got their refund on last month's rent and in that case They have probably surrendered their tenants. Okay Thanks for that comment So I have a comment if there's no comments from city council members before we get a motion so one thing that's important to me and It's the reason why I'm up here, and I'm pretty sure that's why a lot of us up here including those who work for the city is Section 8 which details the urgency clause And this is one thing we're going to vote on So I'll just read it the city council finds and declares That this ordinance is required for immediate protection of the public peace health and safety That's everyone that lives in this city Without a city capital the residents would suffer potentially irreversible displacement of tenants Resulting from no fault evictions prior to the effective date of AB 1482 So This is one reason why we have city government, and this is one reason why you choose carefully who you elect Our job is to make sure the city is a good place for its residents And we want the security of this city for all the people that live here, and that's why we're considering this So is there a motion? I'd like to move approval with the Changes recommended by our city attorney And now the second great if it's okay with the council I'll read those changes into the record Please so the changes to the ordinance there are two of them one is on page 29 of the packet section 2 Will now read effective date period this ordinance shall take effect and be enforced immediately The ordinance shall expire June 15th 2020 The second change Is on page 33 of the packet section C 8 of the ordinance and the revised language Is on the screen would the clerk like me to read it or would you? Okay, great. Thank you. You have these changes Would you please do a roll call Councilmember story Mayor if I may before we take the vote may I One I just want to thank the tenants who came out to our meeting and alerted us to this situation So that we could be in a position to do something about it, and I'm really pleased that I'm on the city council to be able to You know help not only these tenants, but other tenants in Capitola who may be facing this situation And I really think it's unconscionable that a property manager and a property owner would take such steps In view of the state legislation Simply for the reason of trying to upscale and upmarket their property but putting so many families Potentially at risk and out into the streets During the holidays. I just think it's an awful thing to do And so I just wanted to state that and with that I vote yes Councilmember Peterson Councilmember Brooks and Mayor Bertrand. I Passes unanimously. Thank you very much so Back to another issue. We have Christmas tree lights and Item 7b and I don't know that everyone's gonna want to change not to say for this but It's important for the residents and the businesses of Capitola to have this right. So that's why it's on the agenda Staff report, please Steve An evening mayor and council Yeah, we're here to talk about the village tree lights as we headed into the holiday season here Some quick background earlier this year the city council held two hearings regarding the LED rope lights that were provided by the business improvement area district To decorate the palm trees Primarily along Capitola Avenue, but also in front of the restaurants on the Esplanade and also in on San Jose Avenue in May the council directed staff to leave the existing rope lights in place For the city to abide install some alternative colored rope lights, which was done and for the Bia to develop plans to replace the rope lights by the end of October, which was last week And ad ad hoc palm tree lighting committee was formed and has been working on this issue for several months In September, they began working with the Christmas light pros Which is a company from over the hill that does exactly that Christmas light decorating They have lots of ideas and they recommended that low-voltage LED lights replace the existing rope lights so some LED test lights were installed in early October at the intersection of Capab and San Jose, so this is just a picture. These are the LED low-voltage lights that were installed by Christmas light pros. These are the rope lights in the background here I'm going to come back to this picture in a minute to explain part of what we're going to consider tonight so the lighting subcommittee met this past Monday to discuss the low-voltage LEDs and seem to support them and then a couple days over yesterday they provided a Proposal to the city There's a lot to the proposal, but the highlights of the plan Include removing the existing Right-white LED rope lights and replacing them with low-voltage LEDs Procure the low-voltage LEDs from Christmas light pros Complete the switch over in January or February of 2020 of next year They estimate the cost to be between ten thousand and seventeen thousand dollars and the reason for such a large variation is kind of dependent on whether public works crews install the New lights or if the Christmas light pro company comes in and do it It's about two hundred dollars a tree to have them installed by the company It was clear that I think they probably do a better job than public works So that's where they're trying to do that. So the lighting subcommittee is going to seek partners in funding They're going to talk to several their groups around the village and see if they can raise enough funding day by the lights and be have the Christmas light pros and install them So I want to go back to this picture real quick The lights you see here are wrapped with a spacing between each row between two and three inches That gives us and that's a hundred feet of light there, which gives you approximately five feet of lighted area five to six feet it all depends on the circumference of the tree obviously height of the tree and so what the Christmas light pro person call recommends is they actually go out and and try and Measure the circumference of each tree Figuring out a good spacing that would probably get a higher or more complete coverage of the tree He recommended going from two to three to four to six inches in the spacing Which would effectively double the length of lit area on the tree, but they're going to go through and I think their goal is to establish a Width of the tree or height of the tree that will be lighted and it'll be uniformed on the street So every tree will be lighted up to 20 feet as long as it's a 20-foot tree and will stop at five feet And then they can vary the actual length of each light strand of lights for each tree So they're going to work on that after the holidays and then come back with a They'll refine the costs at that point and come back so You know tonight We were the agenda report talks about We were supposed to remove the lights at the end of October obviously the past that date and we wanted to give the council chance to consider extending that through the holidays so with the Proposal that the ad hoc committee has presented your options tonight or to extend the existing rope lights to February that gives the committee a chance to finalize their proposal and See what kind of fundraising they're able to do if we do leave the lights in place through February They've requested and I recommended this to them that we remove the test lights that are there's three lights Trees with different colored lights on them out there right now I think it'd be best if to have some uniformity through the village and through the season and so remove all the warm white lights and put up strands of the white bright lights It's actually only what two trees have both lights on them right now And the one tree will require us to actually hang new lights but that's not a big deal and then As part of this it'd be to direct staff to continue working with the lighting subcommittee in the BIA to develop the transition pan from the low voltage LEDs and Then we would return to council So that's one option the other option Frankly is to direct me to have the room lights removed at this time And that's my report and I'd be happy to answer any questions any questions of Steve sin Yeah, and well and this may be more for the city attorney just as a point of order on The agenda the agenda's item is whether to remove the lights or to give grand a continuance And then we've now received this detailed proposal Is it appropriate for us to comment on the proposal or? make It says one of the options is to accept the ad hoc committee recommendations I'll take a stab at this so I think what staff is asking for is either an extension as requested by the ad hoc subcommittee with some of these other provisos that are identified here or to take them down at this time Staff's understanding is that if there is ultimately an application to do something different that the BIA or some component of the BIA would work with staff pursuant to the third bullet there and develop something for council approval So you'd not be Approving a new light strategy tonight Okay, thank you. Yeah, okay I don't have any questions, but I have comments when Okay, and at this time people in the audience who would like to speak on this and Likely suspects pretty much how I feel Karen Hannah likely suspect So I just wanted to I'm really really glad that you asked that question because First of all, we didn't get very much notice that this was going to be on the agenda And then to see in the staff report that accept the recommendations from the committee was kind of a shocker because this committee is not a committee of the BIA and That needs to be made really clear This is a committee that Gary Wetzel and Ed Botorff Came up with all by themselves two people who are very much against the current lights They selected the people who were going to be on this committee They held it in a location where they did not allow the public to attend Did not allow the public to attend anybody who said I'd like to come and just sit in on the meeting There they weren't allowed. So this has not been a transparent Process and So we saw I believe it was yesterday that the additional materials came out That's the first time anybody on the BIA has seen this recommendation. So It was always our understanding that when this this Committee came up with their recommendation that The there would be then a period to discuss it where the BIA could pull their members Discuss it with the board vote on the recommendations of this Outside committee and that they that the city council would take the recommendation of the BIA and this committee both into consideration and This is not didn't feel like what's happening tonight. So hopefully They'll just be at this point an extension and then the committee. I mean the committee's report just It has a lot of it still has a lot of gaps And I think they kind of felt like they had to get something together for this meeting in order for you to Make a decision whether you were going to extend this this period Going forward So hopefully the they'll just be an extension of this time and at the BIA will have an opportunity to look at the report for more than two days Thank you. So you need time Basically Well, yes, we have to call our board together. We have to pull our membership You know, it's a busy season right now. We all work full-time It's you know, we can't just stop drop everything and go out and start pulling people plus Honestly, I don't think we have a complete. I don't think you have a complete report It's certainly from what I saw it's not it's not complete a lot of discussion Still needs to go on about what it's ultimately going to look like I mean if if you really think that that little section, which is what they're recommending five feet off the ground up to 20 feet is What we're hoping for maybe I Don't know. I think y'all look at it again. Thank you So I was working with the committee as well as the BIA on some of this stuff and We are seeking a continuance because putting the report together was rushed because we didn't know we actually had a city council meeting within two days And agreed everybody on the committee agreed from the residents and a few merchants that are on there that we're not ready There's a lot of spacing issues some of the lighting the contracting that was going with the city We also need to you know bid it out. We can't just go with one bid We actually have to put out three bids to see the right pricing this the right contractor It's not ready for the holidays and all the merchants and the residents agreed that we should keep the lights up Lights for the holidays and then when we find the right solution then we can you know Present something to the BIA and present something to city council But at this time I don't think There's any lighting that we have right now that would work and appease everybody because if we were to rush something We're gonna be back here in a year from now with the same issues that we did the first time You know, there's a lot of steps that needed to take involved and we're just not there So we'd like to get a continuance into January to re you know Resurface this and kind of see where we're at and to be honest I would say we're looking at more like March April for an actual full-out proposal of time to Put something up by spring, but even in January February the committee will meet again Doesn't mean they're gonna have the right solution There's still a couple more trials that we have to do with those lights that are up there. I just have a question So you're really not sure the timeline. I mean we can tell you January February because that's you know We're gonna get us to that point You know, but there's still some more trials that we have to do which we can't do during the holiday season without having The lights look differently So from what you saw we need to still decide are we gonna start the lights at the bottom of the tree and go all The way up. Do we start five feet up or three feet up to present from bikes and in people breaking the lights, right? What's the space and we doing three to four inches or we doing 68 inches if we do six to eight inches now The length of the rope lights is now longer to go all the way up the tree that cost more money So that we stop to reevaluate what the total cost would be we're estimating between 10 and 17,000 based on three To four inches and a hundred feet of light per tree But if we do this increase the spacing of the lights and go farther down and up the tree Then you might look at 200 feet or 150 feet, which then that changes all the numbers So as of now, I mean this is a a plan and a progress, but this isn't a definite proposal It's more of here's what we're working on. We've consulted outside contractor We have some trials in place, but this is just showing you that we have a plan and a progress But we don't have a definite answer to this right now Okay Any other questions Please come forward My name is Jamie McVicker good to be back here in Capitola for my fourth winter I come from kind of a different perspective Maybe the only one in the room, but I come from the perspective as a resident But as a resident that actually lives right in the village with these lights I live at 208 Monterey Avenue above the store As I understand it there's been some debate about the brightness of the lights and about the aesthetics But where I come at it is from safety and security and and I would urge the council to to let this from almost all other considerations Wall Street Journal reported this week that the number of Pedestrian fatalities up is up 53 percent. It's very dramatic Bicycle bicycles hit by cars are open or up over 30 percent Living there every morning between 6 30 and 7 I walked down Monterey Avenue over Capitola to get my newspaper There's already cars streaming by and it's dark. It's already dark out there at 5 30 When I'm out in the morning, I'm not alone.  These are cars Streaming up Capitola from both directions So also not a quiet residential street in terms of what to expect this morning I knocked on the window of a person sleeping in their car homeless who had left their cars on I thought his battery might die That person was there last year I called the police because somebody was meeting up the girlfriend on the street that I could see clearly Point I'm trying to make is that the lights that exist today are bright We feel more safe. The residents that actually live there being able to cross these streets Aesthetically that's subjective but in terms of safety I hope you'll put the the bra I see nothing wrong with what you have now in Making the residents that that actually lived there feeling more safe and secure and not getting hit by cars as we cross those streets in the dark Any other comments from people in attendance? Thank you Good evening. How are we doing tonight? Good? Good? We're doing fine So also as a resident down here and business owner and board member in the BIA the capital of foundation and the chamber of commerce I supported the original lights that we have up currently but since there's so much issues with the way they look and To take them down or change them, whatever may be I would strongly encourage at least leaving them up until January or February so we can continue to Evaluate the situation but again like this other gentleman said I also agree. I live right on Stockton Avenue in Central Village It's very dark and when if the thought of taking these lights down, especially before the holiday season I think is foolish as well as It would take away from the charm again as he said as well. Some people don't like the color That's neither here nor now that the main point is much safer and it is bright and it does add some festivity to the to the area At least let's leave them up for the time being and we can come to a new Resolution in the in the near future, but again leet taking them down would be simply foolish in my opinion For safety and for just the look of the town in general Thank you. Thank you Okay, see no one else coming bring it back to city council for comments Sure, yes Well, so it was my sense. I thought the question before us is whether to grant an extension or to have them removed I certainly Don't want to have them remove it at this point because we're not prepared to put anything else up And for all the reasons that are stated. We need to have something better than nothing But that said I think that we can Satisfy all those interests of safety and aesthetics at the same time So I would like to support granting an extension until February of 2020 To allow time for the committee and the BIA to do its work to get together and have a more detailed Plan and with a cost and a budget associated with it And to work with staff to develop that plan and bring it back to the council in February. So If I may I'd like to make that motion. Oh Well, and maybe to add one other thing just that that Rick comment or request to have them all be uniform I think that makes sense Just for consistency for the holidays and so I would like to include that in the motion as well With all that said, I'm one of those that don't care for the light. So but I get it. Thank you Can I make a friendly request a friendly amendment to the motion? Well, if somebody seconds it first I believe it and then I will otherwise you don't need to make a second now Can I second it and then ask for a friendly amendment? Okay? I will second it and ask for a friendly amendment if I am understanding correctly the motion is to keep them up until February I'm gonna request an amendment to say to keep them up through February at which time it will come back to the council So that we don't find ourselves in a similar situation where all of a sudden on February 1st We're going. Oh, I guess we're gonna have to take them down now and Instead to have them return to us in February to provide an update with an understanding that we're expecting the update to be Here's what we're gonna do now. Is that? Well, if it's implicit in there that that the proposal is gonna come to us then at least by March of 2020 No later than March of 2021 I think maybe maybe there's a better way for me to word what I'm trying to suggest my suggestion is that I want to I want to Suggest an amendment to the motion that says that Come this deadline. We will expect another presentation not come this deadline We're turning everything off. Oh sure understood. Yeah, that's fine Okay, so there's a motion in second I just want some clarification that the BIA feels confident in This March deadline if this is realistic, I don't want to waste any more Anyone's time doing this back and forth if you feel as a board or maybe we can get some clarification on that from on Let's talk about real real timelines real deadlines if I heard April. I mean so Considering that's an ad hoc committee. They have to present that to the BIA and the BIA board would have so really It's not up to the BIA to bring it to you until the committee has actually finished the plan and that's a committee of Some merchants, but a lot of residents are on how often do you meet once a month? If that okay, and a lot of the residents that are on there are Not always there. So we haven't actually had a meeting. I could say that everybody that was on the committee's been there It's made four or five people seven three So that's kind of the issue is as we get to the holidays and whatnot a lot of the residents aren't making the meetings And neither are some of the merchants so we haven't had like a cohesive meeting sure so without That committee coming up with a plan to present to the BIA and to be able to present to you I can't give you a hard deadline and the BIA can't give you a hard deadline until the committee actually is ad hoc committee actually Finishes the proposal and has a hard number to present And that might be something that needs to be discussed with Ed as he was kind of put the with Gary and they're kind of Running this committee or at least Gary is well, I think that's besides the point I think what we need to do here is just make sure that we don't go back and forth Like Chris miss vice mayor Peterson was was saying that when you come to us It would be nice to just have it all finalized versus, you know Things being brought up over and over again. I ideally would love to see something in April or You know, it's a fair timeline. Yeah, and have something that's tangible and then make a decision at that point If I can comment also I'm I am the council's representative to the BIA and also on the lighting committee I acknowledge that I missed the last meeting due to work. I wasn't able to attend However, I will would be glad to make it very clear to the lighting committee members that there is The time is of the essence. I will say that I Have expressed that throughout this process and we had some hiccups in the first couple months. I'm confident that the Lights that we had on trial will not face Cause us to say face the same hiccups as we did in the first couple months of the committee But I'm happy to express to the committee that in order to Continue to move forward that the council is expecting them to bring a proposal to the BIA so that the BIA membership Can approve it as well And if I may just as a word of caution I think it's going to be important for for us as a body moving forward to Reconsider things like ad hoc committees that don't have budgets or or voting power or whatnot You know a couple years back we had the ad hoc committee on the bluff And we had some great ideas and no money to do anything about it So I think that this is kind of a another sign as we move forward that a lot of people want to do a lot of Good things, but we need to ensure that we're not creating committees that don't have the capacity to do what we're asking them to do so but but to your point I would be happy to You know if it is the the general consensus of the of the council to bring it forward to the lighting committee that we're expecting them to Bring their proposal to the BIA and allow the BIA time to vote and that all of that needs to be considered and brought back to us By the end of February For further consideration. Can I I can't recall? Did we request that the committee bring back the proposal or that the BIA bring it back to us? I? Don't believe that the city formed the ad hoc committee. I believe that that was done independent of the city, okay? That's my recollection. Yeah, the minutes did not reflect the request for any Great, that's what so that's actually a BIA ad hoc committee It may be a volunteer committee. They formed on their own is my understanding, right? So I just want to make I just want to be clear that it's the BIA that comes back as a body with the recommendation to council in May or whatever month you said I can't remember what you I think it would be I'd like to can I can weeks I Would suggest we extend that to give them time to kind of get everything together and figure that out With plenty of time and that the BIA returns as a body with with what you all as a body would would like to do I've heard it extended to win I Don't think that they'll have enough time by February or March to be honest I mean we had a few folks already mentioned that and so well I believe there was one vote that mentioned made that statement And I believed that he was speaking on behalf of the BIA so that that was That's from what I understand somebody from the BIA come speak to this question Again about how much time the BIA needs to From when we get the committee report at least one one board meeting one to two board meetings to go over it One for them to read look through it and pull the membership and then the second to vote on it What date Once when do you expect to get the committee report it sounds like there's the committee is not a formal committee It has no particular timeline. It has no particular budget. It has no particular mandate And so that's what I'm concerned about and I think the BIA should take control of this process and either adopt and accept these preliminary recommendations or revamp them and Start that process so you can have some better controls over the time of this So I guess to speaking to the question and thank you for for bring that to us I mean, I'm willing to compromise to March But I don't want to see this continually being You know extended out into the future At that point if the BIA feels that they need more time they can come back to us then and Ask for another extension. I'd rather do that Then just have a lengthy deadline on this topic Can I have some clarity on the motion? I think it might be helpful. I'm hearing him hearing March And can we just say that by the first meeting in March that we are either bringing an item just to update the council What's happened that we either have or have not gotten a proposal from the BIA and and just say that that's that first meeting In March is the date when we're going to be making a decision Well, I mean the original motion was by the end of February and so the first meeting March It doesn't seem like it give us maybe we could say by the second meeting in March that gives them some additional time To develop work this out and then bring us something so we'll say the second by our second meeting in the in March 2020 Yes, that it will return to us. Not that that's a hard deadline to take lights down, correct Well, well the goal is that a proposal will return to us. Yes, but if they're not ready Yeah, you know come back and ask for another extension it but tell us why so yeah So I'll make a comment. So I think it's really important that the BIA I totally agree with the event that BIA takes charge of this process But more importantly, it's important to have a transparent process that includes the businesses and the residences in the amount of time That you feel that you can get to a solution You know something that everyone feels comfortable with because after all it does affect these two areas the businesses And how they're going to do well in the seasons and also the residents that live there And a little recount the first time this came up I do recall a lot of letters from residents and maybe other people are just visiting here about safety So, you know, I hope that's a component people do feel That's a very big issue especially when it's dark at night and as Jamie mentioned I don't know if you talked about this last year But Jamie just mentioned that has come up multiple times and now it's coming up again So I think that's really something we should focus on So with that We have a motion a second roll call vote again, please Councilmember story. Yes, councilmember Peterson councilmember Brooks. I am mayor Hi, so passes. Thank you very much. Thanks for everyone coming and the comments were great It helped us understand the situation a lot better appreciate that So with that this meeting is adjourned. Thank you