All right, so let's call our meeting to order. We have Rochelle calling in via phone, which is perfectly able to do. Otherwise, we're all present. And so that's that. There's no public hearing today. And now we get to have the announcement by board members of items removed from Consent's agenda. So are there any items that you would like to pull? I just wanted to clarify something on 4.1, which is the Google Minutes. We should probably pull that then. Yeah, we can pull it, but I don't think it's allowed. So let's do that. Let's pull it. We'll correct that one. OK, anything else? Anything not? OK, we'll pull that one item, 4.1. I'm going to abstain from the minutes, item 4.1.1. Otherwise, I'll approve the room. Oh, wait, we're going to do that separately. So I guess I'll make a motion to approve the rest of the Consent's agenda. I'll second. If we have a motion and a second, roll call, please. Director LeHue. Yes. Vice President Lather. Director Jaffe. Yes. Director Christensen. Yes. And President Daniel. Yes. So that's the Consent's agenda, except for the minutes. So we bring that one afterwards. We do that after the all the administrative business. Is there no longer public comment on the Consent's agenda? You can, yeah, you can comment on it. We're not going to pull it, though. OK, well, there are actually some members of the audience here tonight that wanted to pull an agenda item from the Consent's agenda for discussion. At the last meeting, we changed the process, which is shown on the front page of the minutes, the new process. So you have to get a director to pull an item. So people from the public can't. Can you please tell me where on this agenda it says that? First page. I see announcement by board members of items removed from Consent. Under a Consent. It's the fourth sentence in that Consent agenda procedure. A member, a public member, may request that a board member pull an item from the Consent agenda prior to the start of the meeting. I see that now this is new. This is the first time. It would be very helpful for members of the public. It's actually the second time, because we talked about it at the last meeting, which I think missed that part. This is the first meeting that it's been. Well, then may I and other members of the public please comment on some of the Consent, a Consent agenda item before you approve it? Sure. Can I have more time, please? I was verifying procedure. All right, looks like I'm not going to get it. So I'll just go ahead. My name's Becky Steinbruner. I'm here to talk about item 4.10, Altar Drive Trench Pavement Repair Project. I read that that you must, by roll call, vote to approve the actions on this. Altar Drive is in a sorry state of this repair. And I went over that road today, and it's of concern. And so some of the people here are residents and also concerned about that. And I want to point out that there is an improper date on the letter to you from County Public Works. It's dated 2010. I believe that's an incorrect date. So I want to point that out to you. But I want to, above all, ask that you do side to side paving and not just the trench repair. It is evident in Altar Drive in these areas that the trench from former work sank. And that is it was due to public concern that Matt Machado from Public Works did issue you the letter, which I think just has an incorrect date. So again, I want to support the people who depend on that for their roads, the fire agencies who depend on it, that you do side to side paving for any work in that area. Thank you. I'm sorry. I don't know any of the procedures. I just heard that you're going to talk about the street that I live on and also that Mimi and Ken Files. Well, actually, we've already approved that. But you can talk about it if you would like. Yeah, thank you very much. Altar Drive is a long hill that comes down from the freeway and ends, pretty much on our properties. And years ago, there was a swale placed on the road so that the water comes down the hill and pretty much just inundates our properties and fills up the garage and the basement. And we've been speaking with the county for a long time to try to convince them to reconfigure, re-engineer the road so that the water doesn't just come down one side of the road. And I can believe that the sunken trenches makes it worse because it makes it just a spillway that pours down into our properties. And I'm hoping that we can ask for the aid of Soquel Creek Water District as you redo the trenching that we can repave in a way that our properties are saved. Did you want to say something more than that? We have the property next to Mrs. Bakers. And my in-laws own the property from the early 70s. And when the swale was put in on a previous pavement job, it directed the water into three houses right at the bottom of the hill. And they flood in a heavy rain. Our garage gets silt and water, maybe a quarter inch deep. And the Bakers, their backyard, it's a quagmire. And my mother-in-law said that it wasn't this way till the previous pavement job. And the swale comes down all to drive. And rather than follow all to drive, they did almost a right-angled turn. And it goes down this little private lane that we're on. And I just asked that maybe this could be considered if all to drive is paved. We had an engineer come out. I think it was Ellen Baker, I believe, that wrote a letter to the county. And the engineer said the county would not have done this sway in the direction, excuse me, that it now goes. So I just thought I'd bring this up with the possibility of the road being paved. Thank you. Thank you. And just mentioned, the county still owns that property, not us. And the county, you can see in the minutes, the county has sent us a letter asking us to do some work there. And it's still under the county's direction. So it's not our project, really, in some sense. Right. So we've been in touch. Supervisor Friend and County Public Works Director Matt Machado has been in contact with us. We're not a road agency. And this is an option that we'll look at when we get the bids. And we'll bring it back to the board. And we just thank you for your input. And we'll look at that when we get the bids. Well, you can come to the meetings. I mean, everything. The road you're going to. Yeah. Nothing's going to happen until after the bid opening. And then shortly thereafter, we'll bring it to the board for award. Right. So if you look at the agenda for the board, you'll see it come up at some point. If you want to leave us your name and number, we can't promise it because we can't get back to everybody. But we'll try to alert you when that item is up. If you can leave that with Melanie here in the back, name, number, and the subject out the road and all that. OK. We have approval of the minutes. We deferred. And that will occur at the end of the agenda items, the administrative business. So that's when that'll come back. That's how we arrange things. Oh, OK. So oral and written communications. So anyone who wishes to address this on any item, not on tonight's agenda, this would be the time. And you have three minutes. Thank you, Becky Steinbrenner. I would like to address your board on the procedural changes that you have voted upon. I understand that you do want efficient meetings, and everyone does.  So shortening the amount of time that people have to speak to agenda items, I think is somewhat short-sighted and really in the spirit of transparency, which your district prides itself upon, it would be, I think, good to make the public have them allowed to have three minutes. Most people don't take it. I also really would like to ask that because you have instituted new policy here regarding the consent agenda, that when there are major changes like this, that it be explained. It's not up to people who have never been to your meetings before to try to figure out what's going on. Even though I come to your meetings, this is new to me. A simple explanation by the chairman at the beginning of new policy would be very helpful for those who are here for the first time and those who are maybe just not remembering new policy. I also want to say that I think your board owes people the opportunity to come speak and to be able to do so without interruption. And I understand that some speakers are very difficult to listen to. It makes it a very tense moment for everyone when members of the board or the chairman tries to shout someone down. And it actually becomes tense and counterproductive. And I appreciate that it is not always easy to hear and listen to what some people say. But in the spirit of transparency and efficient meetings, I would much prefer as a member of the public that you just allow the person to have their say without trying to interrupt them, without trying to correct them, without trying to argue with them. It only inflates the anger that has brought them to say what they're saying. I guess that's all I want to say. I think you're good people. I think you care. And I think we all have a lot of commonalities here. And what I want to say is that if you give people the chance to speak what they want to say, they'll calm down. And it will be a much better meeting. Thank you. Anyone else wish to address us? President Daniels, if I may make a comment after you. So on the agenda as we have up here, what we tried to do, our aim was, and Emma and I worked together on this, and we're certainly open to feedback, is to make it very accessible to any member of the public, especially people who have not attended the meeting. So under each item, it's well spelled out what a member of the public may expect and how they may approach it. And so if we go down to the other items, this was our intent anyway. So under consent agenda, these items are routine business. One vote's done by the board and how items are pulled, that sort of thing, and the length of time. And then down here for oral and written communications, you actually get up to three minutes and how that works. And then even to go on to down below here. So we've made a concerted effort to put in writing just to help people fall on. We didn't have this before. So we think this is a benefit to the agenda to help a member of the public guide their way through this. We should also mention that in doing these changes, we were following the procedures set by the county, because they do it the same way, and the city of Santa Cruz. So it's not strange. It's, in fact, us kind of following what most of the agencies around here already do, so they do it the same way. And finally, just on this, it really was an effort to encourage more people to comment, because it would curtail some of that acrimonious comment that we've been getting that intimidates people who come to meetings for the first time. But also, this entire procedure is subject to a review after a few months to see how it's been working out for us and for the members of the public. So it's final for now, for sure, but we will be reviewing it to see if it is efficient and efficacious in helping people, helping us all achieve our goals of communication. So we go on next to the reports, of which there are none. And then now we go on to administrative business. So the first thing is an unconditional will serve item 7.1.1. Good evening. It's been a while since we've had a will serve brought to the board. This is bringing, being brought to you because it exceeds 1.0 acre feet. This is an empty lot that is going to be split. And then a duplex added to each site along with an ADU. The applicant has paid the 10% deposit and is ready for your consideration. OK. Any questions of staff? Yes, I have one. Please? I was at, actually, it's probably easily clear. It is easily cleared up. Do you mean my duplex? There's two apartments on the lot split, will be a lot split, and then two apartments on each lot. And then an ADU in addition to that? That's right. So that's why the high volume. It'll be about six living units total. Anything else? Any public comment on this item? See no one. Back to the board. What's your pleasure? I'll move approval. I'll second. We have a motion and a second. Roll call, please. Director LeHue? Yes. Vice President Lather? Yes. Director Jackie? Yes. Director Christensen? Yes. And President Daniels? No. And that passes 4 to 1. So that is done. We now move on to item 7.2, which is adopting a resolution authorizing reimbursement. So the district, I'm going to present this item tonight. The district has contracted with Piper Sandler to be our financial advisors, and they are looking at opportunities for debt issuance for us in the coming months. But one of the things they wanted to make sure we could do would be to reimburse ourselves for any expenditures that meet we might incur prior to the debt being issued, one of those being a real property purchase at Chanticleer. So this is simply a reimbursement resolution that authorizes us to reimburse ourselves out of any debt proceeds for any money that we put out now for property purchase. Any questions on this? Raise your hand forward. Seeing none. OK. Any public comment on this item? Thank you. Becky Steinbruner, I do have a question. In the course of the legal action that I've taken against the district for the Pure Water Soquel Project, general manager Ron Duncan did state in a sworn declaration under penalty of perjury that all debt on the project had to be claimed before February 29, 2020, or it would not be eligible for reimbursement. That sworn declaration made the court take the stance that there was a sense of urgency. So I want to remind Mr. Duncan, and I will provide a copy of that legal document to you, that after February 29, according to Mr. Duncan's declaration, no costs for the project can be reimbursed. Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, I'll bring it back to the board. Pleasure. I'll move approval. I second. Roll call, please. Director LeHue. Yes. Vice President Lather. Yes. Director Jaffe. Yes. Director Christensen. Yes. And President Daniels. Yes. So now we move on to item 7.3, which is about the purchase of the Chantecler property. Yes, back in May 7, 2019, the board authorized district representative to sign an option purchase for the property. And so we did that about a year ago. And now in that motion or a separate motion, you said if we're going to purchase the property to come back at another time, and that's what we're here to tonight, approve the wording and the terms and the purchase and sales agreement that's attached to the memo in the board packet, direct the authorized district representative, we'd say the board president in this case, to sign the purchase and sale agreement for the real property and then to direct staff to move forward with the associated actions to purchase the property. So that's it. And I shall be glad to answer any questions. Any questions of staff? No. Any public comment on this item? Thank you. Becky Steinbrunner, I just want to make it public information here that this is $3.2 million in rate payer money to buy this piece of land that is not within your service district boundaries for a project that is still under litigation, for a project that had, in my opinion, faulty environmental review and should be reviewed again. I remember December 18, 2018, when you approved the project and certified the EIR, county first district county supervisor John Leopold came to your board that night and asked you not to do that. And one of the tenets that he had that you should have noted was that in his opinion, he felt that you would not be able to declare the cost of the land as part of the project cost. And therefore, very likely, it could not be reimbursed with state money. I would like to make sure that you have verified that. I would like to hear from your counsel the status of the reimbursement for this $3.2 million land purchase. I also did not see in the documentation that the district has done its due diligence before buying this piece of land. It has a long history of both agricultural and industrial use. I saw no evidence that there has been testing for any soil contaminants. There is some sort of a well on the property that is visible from the road. What is the status of that well? Will it be closed? What will the permitting be necessary to handle that? And what about the archaeological survey? That was not able to be done for the draft EIR. Anyone else? I mean none.  Just a quick comment about the fact that the environmental review was deemed to be thorough and adequate by a judge. So that is all. Did staff want to comment anything? Due diligence has been done. OK. Well then I'll make the motion in all three motions. I'm excited to move forward with the project and this is just another step. I will second those three motions. Roll call please. Director LeHue. Yes. Vice President Lather. Yes. Director Jaffe. Yes. Director Christensen. Yes. And President Daniels. Yes. Thank you. OK. We move on to 7.4. Authorize entering into a design bill for the for the conveyance part of the project. Hi. Good evening. Both Taj and I are going to split providing a quick presentation to you before we open it up for questions. But tonight we're very excited to introduce item 7.4, which is about entering and authorizing a design bill agreement with Garni and Kennedy Jenks for the conveyance project of Pure Water Soquel. So we did create, I think it's about an eight slides or so that we want to just walk through again for the board and in the public and those who may be watching on television. But again the Pure Water Soquel project is a project designed to replenish the groundwater basin, address the critical overdraft, and meet the state mandates of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act as we are one of 21 basins that have been identified as critically overdrafted in California. Part of the project's objectives is to also ensure that we're developing an affordable, reliable, and drought-proof supplemental supply that increases diversification of our water portfolio and it also enhances and addresses climate change. As you can see in this figure on the right, the Pure Water Soquel project is part of the district's community water plan. And that is a long-term plan that was created based upon the community values that we've heard from our customers as well as other community stakeholders. It includes prioritizing water quality, reliability, doing a project that's timely, something that can be scalable, is affordable, and is environmental. The Pure Water Soquel project, as many of you know since we've been evaluating it for many years, is a project that would take secondary, treated effluent from the city of Santa Cruz, treat that water to tertiary levels, convey that water to an advanced water purification facility where it would go through a multi-step process to purify it, and then that water would be sent to injection wells to create a seawater intrusion barrier. The project, now that we are going into construction and implementation, we are procuring and going forward with design and construction with the project being three packages. The first package is the source water treatment at Santa Cruz and at the advanced water purification. So that's considered our treatment project. We also have the conveyance infrastructure project, which is the focus tonight that would convey the water from the treatment sites out to the injection wells. And then the third package is obviously the seawater intrusion prevention wells. This project, Pure Water Soquel, is designed to treat and produce 1,500 acre feet of water for the district. But it is size and scale so that we could upsize the project if needed to meet the Mid County Groundwater Basin's objectives or for other needs in the future. And as you can see on the right, we have been working for some time with many regional stakeholders, including the city of Capitola, the city of Santa Cruz, and also the RTC. I can do this. We're going to tag team. And so tonight, we're talking about the pipeline that travels from the city's wastewater treatment plant down near Lyrit and near Lagoon. It comes up to California Street down Laurel, to Broadway to Frederick, to Soquel Avenue, and then over to Warf Road, making its way past the district's office to Rosedale and Monterey Avenue, and then finally over to Willowbrook and near Cabrillo College for the recharge wells.  They're actually sitting in the audience. Garni Pacific is a general contractor, and they have subcontracted with Kennedy Janks to help get this part of the project finished, designed, and then built together as a team. I'll back up. The first segment between the wastewater treatment plant and the Chanticleer site is going to actually have two pipelines in the same trench, and that's part of the design effort here. The final blue line going from Chanticleer to Aptos is just a single pipeline. Any questions about that? We did just want to highlight the process in terms of our selection tonight. As you may remember, about a year and a half ago, the district went through a workshop talking about how we would be procuring and designing and constructing the project. And the delivery model that was selected was a progressive design build, which means that we would be procuring a team of a designer and a contractor that would do the work for us, and we would do that in a two-phase process, the first phase being the preliminary design, design, and data collection, and then construction. And so with that model, the district went out and we did a very, I think, a very robust early engagement on the process. This was something that the district wanted to make sure that we had people that were aware of the project, that the project was coming in. So we did conduct quite a few, I think, touch points for people out in the industry that we were doing this project. And as listed in our staff memo, we listed how we had been in contact with over 20 interested firms who were looking at what kind of project the Pure Water Soquel project program would be and what kind of packages we would have. We also held a disadvantaged business enterprise and minority business enterprise open house. We put this project out as an RFQ, RFP process, meaning that we were going to release a request for qualifications. And the district did do that in May when the board approved us to release these RFQ. We posted it not only on the Soquel Creek Water District website, but we also posted it on the California Special District's RFP clearing house. When the board approved releasing the RFP, they also set a review and selection committee. And that committee comprised of the general manager, the engineering manager, the operations and maintenance manager, the special projects communications manager, and two board members, Dr. Lajue and Director Lathar. Okay, I'll do the rest part. Okay, following the release of the RFQ, the district did receive one from Kennedy Janks and Garny. And when we posted the RFQ on the website, we actually had 68 people access the RFQ. So in receiving that statement of qualifications, the district's review team did review it and we shortlisted them to receive the RFP. On August 12th, the district issued that RFP and on October 11th, Garny and Kennedy Janks submitted the proposal for the Progressive Design-Built Services for the Commence Infrastructure Project. Yeah, so the Garny and Kennedy Janks team is a highly qualified team. Garny's been in business since 1961, not a stranger and not new to pipeline work. Most recently, they installed the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project, which was a $73 million project, pipeline project, which consisted of 85,000 lineal feet of 36 inch ductile iron pipe and another 13,000 lineal feet of 42 inch PVC pipe. Big scale projects, they're nationwide. I'm confident that they'll be able to get us a pipeline from A to B. Kennedy Janks is also a seasoned design firm. They have worked in the area, they're familiar with the area. They've, their bio says they've designed up to 55 miles of pipeline. So pipelines are also a strong suit for their firm. They of course do other engineering disciplines, but between the two of them, we're gonna, and the district's team, we have a very narrow timeframe to work with and we're anticipating being ready to lay pipe in around October to November of this year. So a lot of work to get done. And that work is outlined in the scope of work that is attached to the board memo attachment one. And there are 14 tasks associated with the scope of work and Garni and KJ, along with the district, we've looked at this scope of work, we've refined it, we've tried to make sure that the level of effort is adequate for each task. It's this phase one is what you're considering tonight and that gets us right up through about construction, start of construction, then what we'll do. So between now and then there's gonna be a lot of project management meetings. They're gonna review all the existing utility drawings from along that stretch. They're gonna conduct geotechnical boardings. They're also gonna be doing potholing throughout the alignment to verify existing utilities. They're gonna conduct hydraulic modeling and surge analysis that will feed into the treatment plant design work along that route. And I have some additional slides. They're gonna be providing cost estimates and giving the district an update as we go on the anticipated cost. They have some permits to obtain as well as the district has to obtain some permits. We're not gonna, we're gonna have public outreach and we're gonna have a website and a phone line in case people are asking questions. They have a way to contact the team. And then of course there's a 30% design, a 60% design leading up through a price that we'll be bringing back to the board. And then there's 100% design package that we also have in the scope of work. So this, what you're approving or considering tonight would get us through about January and then we looked at their proposal when we got it and we did an independent cost analysis and we believe that the level of effort is adequate and it'll get us through this phase. We do like to remind the board that this is a professional services contract and they will be billing at a time materials basis and we'll be looking at all the invoices and working with them to make sure that it is adequately billed. It is an open book accounting so they're gonna share with us and they are entitled to a markup that they've already listed and it's in the agreement and currently that's an 8% overhead and profit markup. And then come October, they're gonna present us with a guaranteed price that they will build the pipeline for and then we'll consider that and bring it to you as a board to approve if you wish and that will be a phase two amendment that will be processed separately. So that'll take a separate approval right now, you're just approving design work. And I should mention that they are gonna give us a price in 90 days after getting started. That's of course gonna be based on what they know now or after 90 days of look getting into it so they'll still need to refine the price and as design gets more refined the price will be more refined. I already talked about the guaranteed price coming in around 60% design and right now the schedule shows construction lasting from October of this year through November 2022. We did establish a milestone so that the first segment gets completed in July of 2022 to make sure that there's no delays in plant startup and then the remainder of the pipeline can follow and be finished substantially completed by October 31st, 2022. I mentioned the 4% overhead and 4% profit that is was listed in their proposal. And if at the time of the guaranteed maximum price the district decides to do a lump sum option which would be less of an open book process then they would give us a discount of 1% on that 8%. And that is something that we can of course discuss as that comes later in the process. Any questions on those slides or we can get through? We just have a few more slides and then we can answer any questions you may have. I think this is the last slide and then we can go to the motions. Just in kind of summary the efforts that Taj mentioned for phase one the cost is just over $5 million. It's $5,058,583 and that price was included in the district's approved 2019-2020 budget. As Taj mentioned we did do an independent cost analysis and also as you know the district was awarded the prop one groundwater grant implementation funds for $50 million. So that will help fund both the design as well as the construction of this conveyance infrastructure project. I just wanted to just point out that this whole progressive design build idea allows a lot of input along the way through the design so that we're happy with part of the process. With how it's looking and how it's coming along and we can have input so that we get the project we want. And I just wanted to, I think it's a good way to go. Yeah, if I may capitalize on that. It is kind of where things are going these days. Matter of fact, the city of Santa Cruz is trying to change its charter so it can do this kind of work also. I wanna quickly introduce the team if you wish to know the faces behind the names. From left to right in the back row we have Sean Summers. He's gonna be our project manager during phase two. Dennis Sanchez is with Kennedy Janks and he's gonna be leading the, with his team leading the design effort. Bill Williams is there. He's the man behind Garny in the Western region and we're fortunate to have him guide this project. He's got over 30 years of experience with this type of project. And Matt Roberts is also on the Garny team. He's been helping us get through phase one up to this point. And in the front is Ron Ablin. He's with Brown and Caldwell and he's been designated the project lead to get us through phase one and maybe even through phase two as needed. So strong team. I think we're ready to succeed and get started. If you guys have any questions, we're able to answer them. Any questions? Bill, it's a big ticket item. Very big ticket item. So the independent cost analysis. You tell me more about that. I can. That was performed by Brown and Caldwell, independent of Kennedy Jenks, independent of Garny and a gentleman by the name of Scott Higbee is based out of Colorado. And he took the task, the scope of work, which is attachment one, and he went through it a lot task by task and basically did it as if Brown and Caldwell was gonna be performing that work. And some tasks were a little higher, some tasks were a little lower, but at the bottom line, we came up with a very comparable price between the two design efforts. And that makes us feel confident that it's a fair effort. There's, it comes down to well over 10,000 hours worth of work. And so it's not just one or two people working on this between now and October. Over 100 sheets on the design. They're cataloging over 600 potholes. And it is a extensive effort in order to have a smooth phase two and not have as many surprises. We're trying to do our homework up front so that we're not on the street longer than we need to. We know what we're gonna get into before we get into it. There will be, of course, underground surprises, but at least for the ones that we know about, we're gonna have a plan before we get there. That led to my question, because yeah, that's a lot of trenching and undergrounding on roads on a lot of major highways through sand crews, traffic areas. Are you gonna focus on the first half, like the wastewater treatment plant to shanticleer as a primary build focus? That's what their schedule shows, and that's the right approach considering the milestone completion date of July 1st, 2022. We don't want that to be holding up startup. There's certain segments in the coastal zone that we'll have to wait until we get the coastal permit, but the majority of that can be done coordinating with the county and the city. And once that's finished, then they can move forward with the purified pipeline, but that is the critical path item for them. I know this is a level of detail that hasn't been decided yet, but I just want to encourage phasing of different segments when it's built to have minimal impact to schools, traffic, et cetera. It's not, there's gonna be an impact, but I think we would do well to minimize that impact. And also outreach to give people plenty of heads up on where their areas is going to be impacted. Yeah, there's a robust outreach program surrounding this, and they've had experience with this down to the houses, neighborhoods sort of thing. Yeah, and they're prepared to do night work. We know there's some areas that we'll be doing night work at. And some areas we'll be possibly looking at trenchless technologies if it gets too complicated to 41st Avenue, we may just go trenchless if we have to. In fact, I noticed that traffic is part of the design process that we're talking about here. It's not just gonna happen later, it's gonna be laid out before they even start, so that's good to see. Yeah, and public works departments in all jurisdictions, we're gonna work closely with them and have encroachment permits and they're gonna be monitoring the construction as it goes and give us feedback if they need anything changed. Yeah, I wouldn't want to minimize this effort. This is a major effort, but this is what water districts and wastewater treatment plant districts do, as part of their services that they provide, they get this done for us and the community and this is, it was a massive kind of effort that got piping throughout the county to provide water to all of us, so it's something that, you know, our own district has some knowledge in this too and they are actively participating in. I had one question, it's kind of extensive, but let me get into it, background for it. The two wettest months of the year here are January and February. And in fact, in January, because of the rains we had in January and December, we were two inches ahead of normal by then. And so far in February, we have had zero rain and the prediction is that the rest of the month we will have zero rain. So February looks like it's gonna be completely dry, which is quite extraordinary.  So given that, you know, that's kind of scary to think that things are happening like that. So we today are almost five inches below normal now. And if this continues as the predictions have for the, till the end of the month, that'll put us seven inches below normal. And there's no sign that necessarily when we get into March, it's suddenly gonna start raining again. So, you know, we could even go even further down below. So it gives me thinking about, you know, we've built, we've figured out a project that we can build and then room for expansion. So we could add to more murmur grains and so forth. And I'm wondering about, we have three injection well sites and I'm wondering if we shouldn't be thinking about to possibly maybe be able to expand that perhaps to add a fourth injection site. And it turns out we're gonna be doing another line down Soquel Drive. So the thinking is, wouldn't it be nice when we're putting that new water pipe in there to put another pipe in there, pipe, you know, close it off at both ends but that would then allow us to go down Soquel Drive if we need to and put another injection well along that way. So if we're doing all the work, that would be a nice thing to do now rather than do it later. And so that's my question is, should we be thinking about something like that? Maybe we could learn more about where you're thinking of stubbing out, you're thinking for future. I'm not sure where on Soquel Drive you're anticipating. Well, I don't know. But certainly somewhere further to the east. I mean, our three wells are kind of located fairly close together in the center of our district. And we're hoping that the city put stuff further to the west of our three wells. And so the natural place to think about putting another injection well would be further to the east of our three. So it'd be somewhere down Soquel Drive. Okay. So let me make a suggestion so we can get a better idea. Let's make an appointment. Okay. Can you come in and meet with staff? Sure. That would be awesome. Do that. So it wouldn't have to be complete but I mean to go ahead and put in a pipe along some extent there while we're putting in the Soquel Drive replacement. Were you talking about the cast iron main replacement? Yes. So we're supposed to start that sometime this year maybe. And certain setbacks that we have to meet. Of course. So that would be a separate trench. All right. Yeah. Okay. But still let's range through MRME. We can sit down at least further understand it just to make sure we're not. There's no guarantee we would need that but if we turned out we did need that having done some of that work already could save us a lot. Yeah. That was my question. And of course during that discussion there'll be discussion of whether and the environmental impact report is required. Yes, it would. It would be. Okay. Any other questions? Public comment time. Thank you. We have two minutes. Thank you very much. My name is Becky Steinbrunner. I am the pro-perlitigant for public benefit in this illegal action. And gentlemen I want to let you know that this is not a popular project within the public at all. And so you have to prepare yourself for a lot of resistance and it will come. I would like to follow up with what Chairman Daniel said about the possibility of other expanded injection well sites and remind the board of the Haley-Uldrich hydrology report that Cabrio College had done independently that called your current placement of the three injection wells very curious because it really doesn't fit with what the stated goals are. They're not even in the areas where there has been a problem with seawater intrusion. I also want to point out that this is five point, nearly five point one million dollars. Your rate pairs have already been burdened with an 18% rate increase.  This does not fit your project goal of having affordable water at all. Many people are struggling now and you've heard from them. And you're only raising their rates more. I wanna point out that there has been no discussion of energy incremental uses in this project. There will be inline pipes in all of the conveyance project areas that were not considered thoroughly in the EIR. I also want to point out that there is very little discussion in this contract regarding environmental mitigations. There was no consultation with Department of Fish and Wildlife or the Coastal Commission. Time's up. Can I have one more? No. Direct President Daniels, may I make a couple comments? Sure, please do. So regarding, I think it's best to get the correct information out. Regarding the placement of the wells, they are in the optimal place where seawater intrusion has been shown to occur in the aquifers right along the coast. The geophysical survey done by the Sky Tim people from Denmark and then confirmed by Stanford University shows those wells are kinda in the bullseye area where exactly where we wanna pull them, put them. Not only that, by putting them there, it allows it to prevent seawater intrusion but also pump those wells a little bit more and pump the other wells along the coast creating if you will an iron curtain against seawater intrusion or at least a much better barrier than what we have now. So the placement is actually awesome. As far as affordability, as we have posted on our website and we've shown several times, this is the most affordable project that can get the job done. In fact, the economic study done by the Dr. Haddad and a PhD student at UCSC showed that it's about a one billion dollar positive impact to the community and for every dollar invested in the project, you get nine dollars back. So it's the least expensive and the only one that can get it done and has a positive. As far as energy goes, I'd just like to say that I think this is beautiful in the sense that most of the energy or a large portion of the energy is already spent taking wastewater and treating it to secondary levels and sending it out to the ocean. So we each pay about $800 a year, roughly equivalent to many people's water bills just to have our sewage treated and then to a level that's acceptable. So that level of energy is already embedded. We're just gonna take that and capitalize it and then purify it. So I think that's a real positive. And then on top of that, all the energy used for the project will be green energy. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. I also just wanted to mention that the whole Mid County area based on multiple scientific investigations and say that this, to protect the water for the entire basin, this is a necessary project. So. In fact, if it wasn't for this project, we'd be in violation of the State's Sustainable Groundwater Act. Right. So I would like to make both of these motions. Okay. I'll second. Roll call, please. Director LeHue. Yes. Vice President Lather. Yes. Oh, yes. Director Jaffe. A lot of money, but I think we need to do it. Yes. Director Christensen. I appreciate all the work that went into it. I vote yes. And President Danders. It's needed. Yes. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Folks, we're gonna do all this good work for us. We appreciate that. Yes, thank you. We're counting on you. So we now move to item 7.5, Approved District Staffing Every Organization. Good evening, Board. I'm over here this time. Oh, hi, Tracy. We're presenting to you a proposal to, again, redo some restructuring of our organization. It's something that we are constantly looking at and making sure that we have systems in place and staffing in place that really give us efficiency in efforts. And the proposal that we're presenting to you tonight kind of addresses a couple of items within the special projects and outreach, excuse me, a special project in communications department. So the first two items included in your memo, we took a look at the Public Outreach Coordinator classification and the Communications Program Specialist classification. And we're presenting some changes to each of those. Currently, the Public Outreach Coordinator doesn't coordinate staff. It coordinates an effort of outreach. And we really looked at maybe kind of creating a job family, as the HR term that we use, in order to really put directed efforts forward for our public outreach. We do a great job with public outreach, but structurally, we had two positions that were equal in terms of rate of pay and level of responsibility. Currently, we have a vacancy in our Communications Program Specialist classification. And so with that, we've taken some time in order to figure out what we wanna do with that. And we've really come to the conclusion that it makes a whole lot of sense organizationally to actually take that specialist position and create a lower level position so that we really do have a true job family within the outreach efforts. And so the proposal in that section of the memo is really to revise that communications Program Specialist position. Take it to a lower level. We use some internal comparability to determine that staffing. The coordinator position has implied coordination efforts of lower level staff. And so we included those in the job description for the coordinator. And again, looking at internal comparability, we do have some internal comps that align to what we're proposing to tonight. In addition, we're making a recommendation to make a change to the manager of special programs and communications salary pay grade in terms of, again, looking at the efforts that the district has been making in ramping up towards this building and construction of the Pure Water Soquel Project and the level of responsibility for this position. We've made a recognition that we might be in a position where we're not in compliance with our state equal pay laws. And so taking a look at those obligations as an employer and making equity between two classifications in our management level to meet the equal pay laws standard in the state of California is what we're proposing to have equity with our current engineering manager and the special projects manager. Any questions? Just to comment, I just on the last part of that, I really wanna thank our current special project manager and the level of effort and dedication and energy to be driving this huge project has already gotten us to where we are now. And so I'm just gonna go up front and say I think that's a great idea. Well deserved. I agree. Any two? So, any questions? I think a public comment. Very good question. Okay, public comment please. Seeing none, bring it back to the board. I'd like to make the motions to change the job duties for both the communication specialist and the manager's special projects and communications and also correspondingly change the salaries that are proposed. You can. I think you just did. Roll call please. Director LeHue. Yes. Vice President Lather. Yes. Director Jaffe. Yes. Director Christensen. Yes. And President Daniels. Yes, thank you. Okay, we're now gonna go into two closed sessions. Any public comment on those closed sessions? President Daniels, we still have a 4.1 that got moved down to the bottom. Oh, yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. Josh. That's the problem with this new change, isn't it? 4.1, approval of minutes. So I only wanted to let everybody know that the Aqua JPA meets on Monday for two days before the conference begins, which is on a Wednesday. Right. This pattern is the same every year after year, twice a year. And it doesn't, the actual meeting's from 1.30 to 4. That's easy to have. It's an easy meeting to get to if it's in Monterey especially. And in fact, all the committees, certainly most of the committees, certainly the ones that we care about, groundwater, water management and water quality, all meet on Tuesday, and they're free. So you can go and join those discussions and see what you want to gather from it without having to pay for all the conference. Yeah, especially when it's in Monterey, that's the reason I want to bring it up today because it is in Monterey this year, so it's an easy way to catch some of those. Activities, right. Okay. Okay. So I'll move to approve. Okay. I'll second, but we should have a public comment. Yeah, public comment on this. See no one. Back to the board. So we have a motion and a second. Roll call, please. Director Liu. Abstain, I was not here. Vice President Lather. Yes. Director Jaffe. Yes. Director Christensen. Yes. And President Daniels. Yes. So that passes and now, we can go to our closed sessions. Two closed sessions. Anyone wants to speak on this? Thank you. My name is Becky Steinbrunner. I'm the appellant in case H047733. That is the new case number that has been assigned to the appeal of the Pure Water SoCal project and against SoCal Creek Water District for the public benefit. I'm not the only one. And I want to make that very clear. I am not the only one. The Sixth District Court of Appeal last week formally accepted the transfer of the case, the appeal that was first lodged with the Santa Cruz Superior Court of Public Division and was later reclassified and sent to the Court of Appeal in San Jose for consideration and they did accept that. So that will be moving forward. Your counsel in Riverside did ask for calendar preference and that was also granted. I do have to let you know that I may be facing some surgery and so that I may need to ask for an extension of time. But I mostly want to speak a little bit to the issues at hand. I am appealing it because I was barred by Judge Schmall from being able to pursue a leave to amend my complaint to correct things and add information. And because of that denial, I was not allowed to argue things such as growth inducing. The Ambeg and Santa Cruz County Housing Element both state that the limiting growth factor in this county has been infrastructure, notably water. And also the discussion of energy was not allowed. There are many other issues and Twin Lakes Injection Well will be directly upstream from your own production well and small private water companies. Thank you. Mr. Haddad's cost benefit. Well, talking about falls, the person we're just, we're hurrying from did amend her thing. She was allowed one amendment. She was not allowed a second amendment. And so that is the case. All right, so we move to a closed session now. Thank you.


Hello friends, welcome to foodie printers finest instant influencer network in this bonus You're gonna know how to locate your influencers how to reach out what to say and to start getting your first Collaboration, let's dive right in first up. Who are the influencers that you would want to work with? These are the items that you would definitely want to look at when choosing influencers You want that you want to work with you want to choose one that has aligned values with you? For example, if you're selling something. Let's say a vegan chocolate chip cookie Then you want to be able to align with influencers who have the same type of values that would care about Sustainability and not the ones that are let's say focused on Carnival diet right because that's not the type of values that you want to be associating yourself with that Influencer same thing with voice. What kind of voice do they have? Are they very prolific or are they very very edgy? Are they the ones that you want to represent your brand the size of their? Following you want to be able to choose ones that are around 10 to 20k or even less because they have tend to have much more engaged audience And if you want to choose the ones that have like 50,000 a hundred thousand followers most likely those are the ones that would charge you because they get bombarded with Request all the time the type of audience that they have really ties into the location as well because we want to Be able to work with influencers who are local within your demographic if you work with influencers that are Halfway across the world then you then you're not going to be able to convert for sales You want to work with influencers who brings you sales? So those are the criteria that I would look at when choosing influencers to work with now How do you find these influencers? Well, we use something called the rabbit hole method What is the rabbit hole method? It is basically we want to be able to search them through hashtags That's the number one way. How do you do that? Location based hashtag put in your location put in the food related keyword So for example in us in Vancouver, we start with YVR foodie or if you're in New York NYC foodie LA Los Angeles foodie foodie whatever the case may be type it in and all these tag results will show up Select the first one because the one that has the most posts for example, if you see YVR foodie You see that there's 493k that resembles thousand okay 493,000 post about this foodie or about this hashtags once you click into it Then you're gonna be able to see a bunch of posts choose out of the top nine to eleven Choose the post with the highest quality photo. Why is that the case? Because majority of the everyday life Joe out there They don't take good photos or great photos. We take good photos when we go in E But the foodies they take Exceptional photos because that's just their job and that's their hobby and that's their passion So that's the reason why when you choose the ones that have high quality photos Majority of the time they're the ones that are shot by foodies and for us We're looking to we're trying to find influencers and foodies that can promote for us That's the reason why we choose the first post or the first couple posts that has high quality photos Next up is to look at their posts and who liked them and commented right when you click on their post Once you click into it Then you're gonna be able to see the people that has liked them majority of them are either followers or other foodies as well So that's an area that you can find other foodies with and at the same time You want to be able to look for additional hashtags that you can click into and log and to explore other types of influencers as well So their hashtag groups are usually located either in the description or as their first comment as you can see right here And we talk a little bit more in about this in our actual module module number six in 3d printers finest program So if you want to learn more about this definitely go into that module that specific lesson to learn more about hashtags Next up is that once you're in their account Check their profile to see if they're an actual influencer or not majority of time They would say whether they're an influencer the keyword in their bio will tell you whether they're an influencer or not Or whether they're a foodie and you can see right there in the highlighted red Rectangle that it says Deanna Wu Vancouver foodie right we also want to be able to look for accounts That has more than 2,000 followers if they're just starting out with like let's say a few hundred you can still work with them But it will be a longer term relationship. So for me, I would really start with at least 2,000 followers that has a really good solid base. They're not too big. They're just starting out They've got they have gained some type of traction. So whatever they say they have a solid Foundation and engaged audience already. So that's how I find my influencers Also, another key point is to check out who they follow because they follow other Influencers as well and as you can see here once I click into who they're following these red highlighted boxes are also Other influencers as well I know because I click into them and I check out what their keyword is and that's how I uncover a full list of more than 50 influencers in Vancouver by following this rabbit hole method and Also, another way that you can find influencers is from restaurant accounts All a lot of times when influencers work with restaurants while they well-known restaurants These restaurants would oftentimes tag the influencers who they're working with and that's how you're going to be able to find out Check who they have tagged in their post. Okay, and how do you check it in the red as you can see on the post You can actually click on that little button that has a red rectangle on the square on the bottom Left-hand corner and you're gonna be able to see once you click on that little square icon Then you're gonna be able to see the different tags and the different Influencers that pop up and you can click into that and go through the same process That is the rabbit hole Technique use this multiple times to uncover all the influencers to work with you now now that you have collected a list of 10 20 Influencers that you have logged down how many people they had they have as followers what their name is where they're located You need to understand why they would want to work with you It's important for you to be able to identify your food your voice your values your mission and your purpose and also Potentially your pay if you are offering people compensation to promote and collaborate with you because at the end of the day When you look into their profile, they will also look into your profile. They will also talk to you They will also ask you different questions about what makes you special because understand this they get bombarded with Collaborations all the time every day long, right? So you need to be able to have your information about yourself Redidly available and if you don't know all these things your voice your values your mission purpose Definitely go and dive into module one and we take care of that for you. We help you uncover all these items So then that way you're going to be ready to reach out to your influencers Now that you're ready. Okay, what do you say when you reach out? We use two different tactics Okay, first up is a copywriting tactic called Ada. Ada stands for attention interest desire and action That's how you draft your message. Now also another fundamental You should understand is wimpf. What's in it for me as an influencer and as I'm going through the the email or the Dms that you have I also and I'm always asking. Hey, you know what? Why am I reading this? What's the collaboration? What's what's in it for me, right? So always understand that there is this underlying Question that your influencers have would help you craft the best message that has the best chances of Getting a collaboration. Now, let's start with Ada. Ada is the way you should draft your message. Okay? Attention, that's what we start with. What would capture the attention of the influencers? You usually stuff is about the influencers themselves because why? Everyone loves themselves and if you're commenting and if you're trying to reach out to the influencer Comment on the pictures that they take because it looks so great and find that commonality Peak their interest. Okay. Keynote is that a lot of people and the biggest mistake that I see as amateurs makes We start off with hey, you know what? I have the best vegan cookies and I would love for you to try it out Well, you know what me as an influencer. I don't care what you have Right like it's not it's not in it. It's not about you. It's about the influencer It's about what value you as a brand bring your influencer and that's the reason why they would choose to work with you So we want to make it super clear on that. No one cares about you never lead with you. It's all about the influencer Okay, so next up interest What would in interest the influencers to keep reading right now that you commented on their posts? Wow You have great pictures. You it looks like this is like straight from a photo shoot then Usually interest thing things that are facts and common themes amongst you and them find that commonality between you and the influencer Find a picture that you can draw that relation with right a great way to To merge into your ask and what you do is by finding that common theme next up is desire What's in it for me now that you've peaked their interest now that you find that common theme the interesting things about What makes you and their brand match aligned and that is a complementing a Partnership for this collaboration. That's very interesting. Okay. Let's say once again if you're offering a vegan Vegan DIY Cookie dough at home, right and it just so happens that as you can see here on the third image that they have cookies Wow, wouldn't it be cool if we we collaborated and made a Vegan cookie for you or a vegan ice cream for you or something along the lines of that now Those are interesting common themes right now. We dump we dive into the desire What's in it for me as an influencer? Why does the influencer would want to work with you? Is it either money getting paid or value? Are you providing value to your influencers? Now you might be thinking you as a new brand I don't have value I can bring that is completely wrong because is it a special cause or is an uplift in Status that you can bring your influencer. Are you the first in town to create this vegan? Cookie set and if you're the first and if you collaborate with let's say this influencer Then they would have a status upgrade because they're covering something that is first within their city There's a talking point and you're giving them that That avenue to talk about you because you are the first vegan cookie So once again understand what's in it for your influencer is key when you want to be able to work with them Either they are looking for money. They're looking for value to stay relevant right because they are content creators themselves They want to be able to cover different things So if you have the a Christmas themed holiday kit Then they would most likely be wanting to feature you as well during Christmas time because that's when they're looking for content That is relevant to the holiday and once again status Are you giving them an uplift in status? Are you award-winning or are you first in something or are you really well known for your vegan stuff? Whatever the case may be We need to think about the money value or status that you bring to the influencer Okay, so find out that specific angle and reach out to them with that as an offering to work with your influencer Also brand association Next up now that you figured out the attention you got their attention You piqued your interest and you told them a desire that they have now How can they work with you the last way for them crafting the message is action? What do you want them to do right? Reply with what you want them to do be direct. Hey, I want to do a collaboration with you I want to do a giveaway with you. That is the end of drafting that message and I'll give you an example Okay, I picked this picture because I'm like wow rich do you work for KFC this picture is so on point now that we We've stroked his ego. Oh, wow This guy is like they know what they're talking about like you're stroking my ego now Wow, and then I bring in a little bit more interest and talk about hey layers and ingredients is so proportionally Displayed the color grading so vibrant and appetizing this looks like it's straight from a KFC commercial One day I wish our fresh and chips can model like this to speak in which guys This is now the interesting part that you find that common theme between you and your influencers Speaking which we run Canada's first vegan fish and chip joint Wilson's vegan fish and chips Okay, you know I see that similarity you covered something that is deep fried and you're covering food and also Hey, we talked about that the fact that we're the first vegan fish and chips. Okay This makes sense here. Okay the desire we have collaborated with Beyond Meat for a campaign to raise money for the vegan forever cause It'll be amazing if we could feature you as one of our ambassador for us to have a collaboration together Okay, this is cool because now not only is there a status upgrade because Now there they can work with the first vegan fish and chips and on top of that because they collaborate with us There's the brand association to Beyond Meat for this campaign and they're also Associated with a vegan forever cause as well. So all these things adding together creates this sense of wow I want to work with your brand because you have all these talking points and all these desires What's in it for me as an influencer to work with you as a new brand? Now the action. Okay now that you've piqued my interest and now that you've told me what's in it for me now It is how can I take an action? How can I work with you? Well, let me know if you'd be interested in partaking in this great cause by sharing with us your address So in that way we can send you a meal along with our media package. This is your foot in the door Okay, much love Wilson now That's just an example to showcase to you how it works now that you have drafted your menu now that you have Understood which influencers to reach out to and then also the way that you should be reaching out What to say? How do you reach out first up and foremost emails and DMs and in-person events now? Because of what's happening in the world right now in person events is most likely not as prominent highly successful way is DM right use Instagram platform and on top of that email them at the same time majority Time they will have that contact information out there for you as well Now another key point that I want to add in here is that when you're DMing him or the influencers that you want to Work with key point guys key key point make sure you guys take notes right away This is a shortcut and this is a hack. Okay, make sure that you start liking at least 10 of their posts when you like 10 of the posts it will show up on their feet and on top of that Common and on at least three of them genuine responses. Okay, don't just put on smiley faces or like hey nice photo No, find something that is common and have a genuine comment that you place on them and then you DM them Why is that the case because now? You're flooding his feet because as an influencer They're getting hundreds of likes and hundreds of comments every single day So if you're able to actually like them and also comment and on top of that DM them Then everything would show on that one screen and they would see oh who is this person that just DM'd me Oh, he commented on a post and that would increase your chances of your influencers seeing your posts and your message now That you have their attention. What if they reject you guys? Well, you definitely want to thank them because often times it's not that they don't want to work with you But rather they're just swarmed with other collaborations. It is always I would say nine out of ten times a timing issue It's because probably you reach them during Christmas time and they already have a lot of collaboration at the same time Or it's because they were working with a big brand or it is because they are already super busy and their minds Not in promoting at that time always the timing is an issue. It's rarely about your brand So definitely know and understand that so then that way you know not to Take it personally and on top of that you can actually knowing the fact that as a timing issue ask them Hey, is it okay if I reach out in three months when things settle down for you to see if we can collaborate again This is a long game. So definitely understand that so then that way you don't take it personal and not message this guy again Because influencers within a city. It's a very very tight community at most There's probably 30 or 40 influencers in your city and they all know each other They know all go to the same events. They all go to the high-profile events as well So you would want to make sure that you thank them and on top of that understanding that it's a tight community Don't take it personal guys because you don't want word to spread about the experience that the poor experience that they have Working with you. Don't take it personal now. What to do if they say yes, okay? Be responsive. Don't just be like yes now I can work on my campaign now I can figure stuff out no be responsive of be courteous, okay? Be nice to them and also be organized if you're not organized They don't like working with you because at then a day once again They're working with dozens of other brands at the same time So the more organized you are the note more nicer and friendlier you are and the more responsive you are The better the experience for your influencers and know for one thing you're working with your influencers Not just on one campaign, but multiple campaigns down the road for years to come I still work with our influencers that we've worked with from five years ago So that's the reason why you need to be organized courteous and always be thankful. Thank them for the opportunity to work with them Now, how do you maintain the relationship after you have worked with them? Value provide value all the time and number one value number three value You should always always provide value to your influencers whether it is Monetary if you have budget then you can pay them or you can actually Send them a gift package or like always in include them in media events Let's say for example, if you have a new flavor send free stuff to them all the time Uplift in status. These are all valuable ways to give for you to give value to the influencers Now action item for you Write down your values for your brand and if you haven't done so if we don't know how to do so Definitely dive into module one as we uncover all the steps for you to be able to do that Second write down and uncover the ten influencers in your area Follow the method that I just showed you the rabbit hole method to uncover the ten influencers within your area Jot down the followings that they have as well Now it is time for you to craft your outreach message using the Ada formula and the with Formula what's in it for me understand that craft that that is the end of the presentation I hope you enjoy this bonus and if you want more information Definitely what you can do is to go into the modules as we dive deep into each of these items I'll see you guys in the modules


Hello and welcome to our video summarizing all you need to know about the history of Prussia. My name is Barbara, and in this video we'll gain an intricate understanding of Prussia, including its geography, its early history, its growth, the peak of this empire, as well as its decline in dissolution. So let's get started. Now to begin with, the Prussian Kingdom was founded on January 18th 1701, when the elector of Frederick III had himself crowned Frederick I at Koningsburg. Prussia was, most recently, a historical state originating in Brandenburg, an area that for centuries had a substantial influence in German and European history. Prussia's last capital was Berlin, and the Kingdom reached its zenith in the 18th and 19th centuries, and during the 18th century it became a great European power under the reign of Frederick II of Prussia. He lived between 1740 to 1786 and under the Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck during the 19th century at the Congress of Vienna, which drew the map of Europe following Napoleon's defeat. Prussia had acquired rich new territories, including the coal-rich region of Rau, which is in current modern-day Germany. Now, during the 19th century, Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck pursued a policy of uniting German principalities into what he called a lesser Germany, and this excluded the Austrian Empire. An impetus towards reunification came from Napoleon Bonaparte, whose vision for Europe was of a unified nation-state. Based on the French model and subsequently, the idea of a united Germany gained popularity with Prussia becoming the core of the German Empire. And in November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power. During the German Revolution of 1918 to 1919, and of course this is when Germany became Weimar Germany. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic, the Free State of Prussia. The State of Germany came into being from 1918 all the way till 1933, and from 1933 Prussia lost its independence as a result of a Prussian coup. When the Nazi regime successfully established its laws in pursuit of a unitary state. With the end of the Nazi regime in 1945, and this was of course at the end of the Second World War, the division of Germany into Allied occupied zone and the separation of the territories which were incorporated into either Poland or the Soviet Union, the State of Prussia ceased to exist de facto, so in reality and on paper. And Prussia was formally abolished by the Allied control council in February of 1947. So now let's get a bit of an understanding of what Prussia was really like. So throughout its history, Prussia really had various meanings, even the term itself. Now old Prussia or the land of the Baltic Prussians prior to the 13th century had people who inhabited this land called Prusen in Germany, and there were Slavs related to the Lithuanians and Latvians. They were conquered and forcibly Christianized in the 13th century by the Teutonic Knights, diverted from the Holy Land. Royal Prussia in 1466 to 1772 had a territory that was awarded to Poland after victory over the Teutonic Order in the Thirteen Years War, and the Duchy of Prussia, which was established between 1525 and 1701, was a territory formed by the secularization of the monastic states of the Teutonic Knights, originally under the sovereignty of Poland, later ruled by the Hohenzon Magraves and the electors of Brandenburg. Now we then had Brandenburg Prussia, which was between 1618 to 1701, and it's a personal union between the Hohenzollern rulers of Dukau Prussia and the Margrave of Brandenburg. The Kingdom of Prussia, which was between 1701 to 1918, formed the elevation of the Brandenburg Prussia to a kingdom and this state went on to become the dominant state of the German Empire in 1871 to 1918. The province of Prussia, which was between 1829 and 1878, was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and it was created from the merger of the provinces of East Prussia as well as West Prussia. And the free state of Prussia, which was between 1918 to 1947, was the Republic state of Weimar Germany, formed after the dissolution of the Hohenzollern monarchy at the close of the First World War. Prussia as a state was then abolished by the Nazis in 1934 and then again by the Allied Control Council in 1947 in the aftermath of the Second World War. Now Prussia had an ethos that has been described as the Prussian spirit and this refers to its militaristic spirit and Prussia has been characterised as an army with a country rather than as a country with an army. Now when it comes to understanding the geographic extent, Prussia actually began as an army as a small territory in what was later called East Prussia. The region became the preferred location for immigration by later mainly Prostistan, Germans as well as Poles and Lithuanians along the border regions. Prior to its abolition, the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia included Prussia proper, which is West and East Prussia, Brandenburg, the province of Saxony, including most of present day Saxony and Nult and parts of the state of Thuringia in Germany Pomerania, Rhineland, Westphalia, Silesia, without Austrian Silesia, Lusatia, Schwallzig, Holston, Hanover, Hesse in the South and some small detached areas in the south like Hohenzollern, the ancestral home of the Prussian ruling family. In 1914 Prussia had an area which covered 354,490 square kilometres. In May 1939 Prussia had an area of 297,007 kilometres square and a population of just over 41 million inhabitants. The Principality of Nuremberg, now the canton in Switzerland, was part of the Prussian Kingdom from 1707 to 1848. So now let's look in detail at really the early history of Prussia to its decline and then its eventual dissolution. So now when it comes to its early history the original Prussians were mainly hunters and cattle breeders and they spoke a language belonging to the Baltic group of the Indo-European family. These early Prussians were related to the Latvians and the Lithuanians and they lived in tribes in the then heavily forested region between lower Vistula and Nerman rivers and the social organisation was loose and they were pagans. Early attempt to convert the Prussians to Christianity notably those made by St Albert and St Bruno of Covert at the turn of the 11th century were unsuccessful and in the 13th century however the Prussians were conquered and Christianised by the German speaking knights of the Teutonic Order which had been awarded Prussian lands by the Polish Duke Conrad of Mozovia for help against Prussian incursions. The Prussian countryside was subdued, castles were built for German nobility and many German peasants were settled there to farmland. By the middle of the 14th century the majority of the inhabitants of Prussia were German speaking and the latter part of the 14th century was characterised in Eastern Europe by a strong reaction among Slavs and Baltics against the Germans. Poland and Lithuania formed the first dynastic union in 1386 and in the 15th century defeated the Teutonic knights in the series of wars. By the Second Treaty of Turin the Polish crown acquired direct sovereignty over the Teutonic Order's former possessions along the Vistula river. These lands came to be known as Royal Prussia, thus a wedge of predominantly Polish speaking territory was consolidated between German speaking his Prussia and the German Reich to the west. Now the Teutonic Order's last one muster in Prussia, Albert of Hohenzollern, became a Lutheran and in 1525 secularised his fiefdom which he transformed into a duchy for himself. Thereafter until 1701 this territory, which is East Prussia, was known as Dukal Prussia and while Albert's son and successor Albert Frederick died sonless in 1618 the duchy passes eldest daughter's husband the Hohenzollern director of Brandenburg, John Sigismund. The union of Dukal Prussia with Brandenburg was fundamental to the rise of Hohenzollern monarchy to the rank of great power. John's grandson Frederick William of Brandenburg the great elector who ruled between 1640 to 1688 obtained by military invention in the Swedish-Polish War of 1655 to 1660 and by the diplomacy of the Peace of Bolivia in 1660 the ending of Poland's Suzerainty over Dukal Prussia. Now when it came to the growth of this kingdom what made the Hohenzollern's sovereign over Dukal Prussia was really Frederick William and his role in setting up a centralised administration in Prussia to rest control of the duchy's financial resources from the nobility. On January 18, 1701 Frederick William's son Elector Frederick III upgraded Prussia from a duchy to a kingdom. Frederick III who reigned between 1688 to 1713 then crowned himself as Frederick I at Koningsburg now Kellenengrad Russia. On January 18, 1701 and thereafter Brandenburg and other Hohenzollern possessions though theoretically remaining with the German wife and under the ultimate lordship of the Holy Roman Emperor soon came to be threatened in practice rather than belonging to the Prussian Kingdom as separate entities. Now the state of Brandenburg Prussia became known as Prussia although most of its territory in Brandenburg, Pomerania and western Germany lay outside of Prussia proper. The Prussian state grew in splendour especially during the reign of Frederick I who sponsored the arts and at the expense of the treasury. Frederick I's son Frederick William I began his reign in 1713 shortly before the conclusion of the Treaty of Utrecht which assigned to him not only the so-called Upper Quarter of Geldern on the Muse River but also the principality of Nürtel and Valenjin on the border between France and Switzerland and their participation in the Second Northern War he then acquired much of western Pomerania in 1720. Now of course at the peak of the Prussian Empire Frederick William I endured the Prussian state with military and bureaucratic character. He raised the army to 80,000 men equivalent to 4% of the population in Gid the whole organisation of the state towards the military machine. One half of his army consisted of hired foreigners and the other half was recruited from the king's own subjects on the basis of the canon system which made all young men of the lower classes mostly peasants liable for military service. While the upper bourgeoisie were exempted from military service the nobles were under a moral obligation with the king repeatedly emphasised to serve in the offices corps. To close coordination of military, financial and economic affairs this was complemented by Frederick William I's organisation of the administrative system which he came to control and this really controlled the life of the state. He had a very autocratic temperament and his fanatical addiction to work found expression and complete absolutism. To his son and successor Frederick II the Great he left the best trained army in Europe financial reserve of 8 million thalers, productive domains, provinces developed through large scale colonisation including East Russia and a hard working bureaucracy. Now when it came to Frederick the Great who reigned between 1740-1786 he put the newly realised strength of the Prussian state at the service of an ambitious but very risky foreign policy. Frederick astonished Europe within 7 months of his accession to the throne by invading Silesia in December 1740 and this bold stroke precipitated the war of Austrian succession and the Austro-Prussian Silesian wars continued with uneasy intermissions until the end of the 7 years war in 1763. The Silesian wars began more than a century of rivalry and conflict between Prussia and Austria as the two most powerful states operating within the Holy Roman Empire although ironically both had extensive territory also outside the empire. Now Silesia is a very rich province with many flourishing towns and an advanced economy and this therefore was a really important acquisition for Prussia. Frederick's wars not only established his personal reputation as a military genius but he also won recognition for Prussia as one of the great powers. Beside Silesia Frederick also acquired East Frisia along the North Sea coast and later at the first partition of Poland in 1772 he obtained West Prussia that is Polish royal Prussia thus forming a territorial ring between East Dukal, Prussia and the rest of the domains towards the west. Now Frederick made no substantial changes in the administrative system as organised by his father however he did affect improvements in the judicial and educational systems as well as the promotion of the arts and sciences. The freedom of conscience that he instituted was the product not mainly of his own sceptical indifference to religious questions but also of a deliberate intention to bring the various churches together for the benefit of the state and to allow more scope for the large Roman Catholic minority among his subjects in relation to both the Protestant majority and the evangelical establishment. Now Prussia did set or experienced several setbacks. Firstly the French Revolutionary period and the Napoleonic wars were really important. Now Prussia suffered a devastating defeat against the armies of revolutionary France. By the peace of Basel in 1795 Frederick William II consented to France's eventual annexation of the German lands west of the Rhine. Moreover the king's management of the Prussian economy was less prudent than his father's and this therefore brought the state's finances into disarray. Also his son Frederick William III who reigned between 1797-1840 pursued at first the foreign policy of caution with neutrality with respect to France and Napoleon I and when at last he went to war in 1806 it was too late to avert the catastrophe. Napoleon's overwhelming defeat of the Prussians in the Battle of Gena was followed by a rapid collapse of the state. Now by the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 the king ceded all his possessions west of the Elbe River and all that had been gained under the second and third partisans of Poland together with the southern part of what had been gained under the first so that the monarchy was reduced to Brandenburg, Silesia and the Pomeranian provinces in northern west Prussia without Danzig now Gdansk Poland. Moreover the state was required to pay an exorbitant contribution to Napoleon's finances and accept a French occupation of much of its territory and beyond that the king was obliged to make an alliance with France and joined the continental system. Now during 1812 as a result of its enforced alliance with France Prussia participated in Napoleon's attacks in Russia. Napoleon's retreat from Moscow was a signal for a rising against the French. Meanwhile among educated groups the Napoleonic domination of Europe provoked an upsurge of national sentiment in Prussia which eventually manifested itself in the war of liberation between 1813-1814. At the same time the romantic movement in the intellectual and artistic fields further stimulated patriotism in the cult of liberty. The foundation in 1809 of the Frederick Wilhelm University in Berlin affirmed Prussia's spirit in the aftermath of defeat. Now let's go on to Congress of Vienna which is between 1814-1815 this was a really defining moment in history which essentially also defined a lot of plans that were later colonised. Now although the Congress did not restore of Frinsland, Lingen, Hilsim, Ansbach and Beirut to Prussia and the later latter recovered nothing of its gains under the third partition of Perdent and regained only Danzig as well as a few other towns of the second. The rest of what Prussia had possessed in 1803 was restored partially and entirely by this Congress with considerable additions for new territory. Also the Peace Conference of Paris in 1815 led France to cede Salleus and Sara-Buchen to Prussia which incorporated them into the wine province. Thus after 1815 Prussia stretched uninterrupted from the Neyman River in the east to the Elbe River in the west and the west of the Elbe it possessed large territories in western Germany. With its major territorial axis shifted from eastern Europe to western and central Germany, Prussia was henceforth the only great power with a predominantly German speaking population and it was thus Austria's potential rival for hegemony in the German confederation to which the Congress was created. Now when it came to the Prussian Kingdom from 1815 to 1918 the first half of the 19th century really saw a prolonged struggle in Germany between liberals who wanted a united federal Germany under democratic constitution and conservatives who wanted to maintain Germany as a patchwork of independent monarchical states with Prussia and Austria competing for influence. Because of Prussia's size and economic importance smaller states began to join its free trade area in the 1820s and Prussia benefitted greatly from the creation in 1834 of the German customs union the Zolvering which included most German states but excluded Austria. In 1848 the liberals saw an opportunity when revolutions broke out across Europe. Alarmed King Frederick William IV agreed to convene the National Assembly and grant constitution. When the Frankfurt Parliament offered Frederick William the crown of the united Germany he refused the grounds that he could not accept a crown from a revolutionary assembly without the sanction of Germany's other monarchs. The Frankfurt Parliament was then forced to dissolve in 1849 and Frederick William issued Prussia's first constitution by his own authority in 1850 and the constitution provided for a two house parliament. In 1862 King William I appointed Otto von Bismarck as Prime Minister of Prussia. Bismarck himself took the lead in the fight for German unification and guided Prussia through three wars which together brought William the position of German Emperor. Now when it came to the wars of unification the Danish war of 1864 led to an Austro-Prussia condominium over Schleswig-Holstein. Bismarck realised that the dual administration of Schleswig and Holstein was only a temporary solution and tensions escalated between Prussia and Austria. In the struggle for supremacy in Germany led to the Austrian Prussian War in 1866 which was triggered by the dispute over Schleswig and Holstein. Eventually the better armed Prussian army won and the war was followed by the annexation not only of Schleswig-Holstein but also of Hanover, Electoral Nests Nassau and Frankfurt am Main to Prussia. And this now extended across the northern two thirds of Germany and contained two thirds of Germany's population. The German Confederation was dissolved and Prussia cajoled the 21st states north of the main river into forming the North German Confederation. The Franco-German War of 1870 to 1871 was another important war of unification and it really established Prussia as the leading state of the Imperial German Reich. William I of Prussia became the German Emperor on January 18, 1871. Subsequently the Prussian army absorbed the other German armed forces except the Bavarian army which remained autonomous and Bismarck combined the offices of Imperial Chancellor and Prussian Minister of President and Prussia's history merged largely to that of the German Empire. Now when it came to the German Empire and of course the latest in the evolution of Prussia on January 18, 1871 William was proclaimed German Empire and in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles while the French capital remained under siege. And the two decades after the unification of German were the peak of Prussia's fortunes but the seeds for potential strife were then built into the Prussia-German political system. Now the constitution of the German Empire was slightly amended and it essentially included the North German Confederation's constitution and officially the German Empire was stated as a federal state and in practice however Prussia's dominance over the Empire was basically absolute. The Imperial German army was in practice an enlarged Prussian army although other kingdoms such as Bavaria Saxony and Wutemberg retained their own armies. The Imperial Crown was a hereditary office and the Prime Minister of Prussia was also the Imperial Chancellor. While all men over age 25 were eligible to vote in Imperial elections Prussia retained its restrictive three class voting system and this effectively required the King or Emperor, the Prime Minister and Chancellor to seek Majorities from legislatures elected by two completely different franchises and in both the Kingdom and the Empire the original constituencies were never redrawn to reflect the changes in the population meaning that rural areas were grossly overrepresented at the turn of the century. Now when it comes to the decline of Prussia, Frederick III became really terminally ill when he was Emperor for 99 days between 1888 upon the death of his father and 1900s. He was married to Victoria, the first daughter of the Queen Victoria of England. The son was William who became Emperor at 829 after forcing Bismarck out in 1890. William embarked on a programme of militarisation and adventurism and following a policy that eventually led Germany into isolation. Misjudgment of conflict with Serbia then led to the disaster of the First World War where Germany lost. As the price of the withdrawal from the war, the Bolsheviks conceded large regions of the Western Russian Empire, some of which bordered Prussia to German control in the Treaty of Brest-Listovsk in 1918. German control of these territories lasted however for only a few months because the defeat of German military forces by Western Allies and the German Revolution. The post-war Treaty of Versailles, which held Germany solely responsible for the war, was signed in the Versailles Hall of Mirrors where the German Empire had ironically been created. Now because of the German Revolution of 1918 which essentially created Weimar Germany, William II, known as Kaiser Wilhelm, abdicated as German Empire and King of Prussia. Prussia was then proclaimed a free state, essentially a republic, within the Weimar Republic and in 1920 it received a democratic constitution. All of Germany's territorial losses specified in the Versailles Treaty were areas that had been part of Prussia. For instance, Alsace through Lorraine, which was given to France, Eupen in Malmödy, given to Belgium, North Schleiswig, given to Denmark, the Mal territory given to Lithuania, the Hodgson area given to Czechoslovakia and many of the areas which Prussia had annexed in the partitions of Poland, such as the provinces of Posen and West Prussia, as well as Eastern and Upper Silesia, went to the Second Polish Republic. Prussia essentially then became the largest state of the Weimar Republic and from 1919 to 1932 it was governed by a coalition of the Social Democrats, Catholic Centurge and German Democrats and from 1921 to 1995, coalition governments included the German People's Party. Unlike other states in the German Reich, majority rule by democratic parties in Prussia was never really endangered. However, in East Prussia and some industrial areas, the National Socialist German Workers' Party, the Nazi Party of Adolf Hitler, gained popularity and influence, especially from the lower middle classes. Now, in marked contrast to its pre-war authoritarianism, Prussia was a pillar of democracy in the Weimar Republic. However, the system was destroyed by essentially the Prussian coup of Reich Chancellor Franz von Pappen. In this coup d'etat, the government of the Reich unseated the Prussian government on July 20, 1932 under the pretext that the latter had lost control of public order and Prussia. Von Pappen appointed himself Reich Commissioner for Prussia and took control of the government and this made it easier only half a year later for Hitler to take power in Germany. Now, after the rise of power of Hitler and the Nazi Germany in 1933, the Prussian constitution was essentially set aside and the legislature abolished, though Prussia remained a unit for administrative purposes. In 1945, after the defeat in World War II, Germany essentially became under the control of the victorious Allies, including the UK, the United States, the USSR and France. Northern East Prussia was then annexed by the Soviet Union and the rest of the land east of the order Nice Line was transferred over to Poland and the remainder was divided essentially between the USSR, Britain and French zones of occupation. One of the few acts of the Allied control council was a formal abolition of the Prussia on February 25, 1947. So that's all. 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