COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HELD SPECIAL MEETING TO APPROVE FIVE BRIDGE LOANS LEADING TO WATSONVILLE HOSPITAL BUYOUT

Last Tuesday (8/23), County CAO Carlos Palacios was beaming with an announcement that Kaiser had just pledged $4.5 million more to help with the Watsonville Hospital buy-out, still leaving a $3 million “ask” of Supervisors.

Santa Cruz County
CA Agenda Item DOC-2022-737

An earlier feverish  $20 millions have had all been approved during a Special Board Meeting the previous week, wherein Supervisors accepted unanticipated revenue of $5 million each from the City of Santa Cruz, City of Capitola, City of Watsonville, Santa Cruz Community Foundation and Salud Para La Gente (which receives financial assistance from the County’s CORE Investment Program every year

County of Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors
SPECIAL MEETING 8/16/2022

Award Recommendations by Strategic Plan

There was no discussion to address the recent significant nursing staff protest over losing nearly all but 18 part-time positions. Watsonville nurses object to full-time status push.

There was no discussion as to why the County discouraged Kaiser from buying the Watsonville Hospital last fall.

There was no discussion about whether the State would assume operation of the Watsonville Hospital to maintain required emergency medical facility levels for the high number of Medicare and medical patient load in the area, and that the Hospital would NOT close if the buyout did not happen:

“Forty-three percent of the hospital’s gross revenue comes from the state Medi-Cal program, and 30 percent of its gross revenue comes from the federal Medicare program serving the elderly and disabled.”

Press release: Bill to protect health care access for Pajaro Valley residents passes the state senate and heads to Governor Newsom

The $25 million in state funding of SB 418 Urgency bill reflects a $10 million request from Assembly member Rivas and a $15 million request from Senator Laird in the state budget process.

No one asked any questions about the State’s “drafting error” that supposedly occurred to delay that State funding and hence, caused CAO Palacios to go asking multiple jurisdictions, including Salud Para La Gente, for $5 million loans.

There was no discussion about the impending new tax on every single parcel within the new Pajaro Valley Hospital Assessment Zone, already defined in Senator John Laird’s SB 418, and that will very likely be required to fund operational costs:

COUNTY PARK’S EXPENSIVE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE

A number of years ago, County Parks Director Jeff Gaffney and then-County Supervisor John Leopold announced to an angry group of Soquel neighbors that the reason a large crane had plopped, unannounced, multiple sections of a monstrous and ugly bridge  in their backyards was because “the County got a good deal on it.”  The bridge still sits in their backyard, rusting and deteriorating, and has been a source of public nuisance and fire risk.

It has become known as “The Bridge to Nowhere” and neighbors are still upset that this behemoth of a bridge is not at all what they were promised would link the two sections of The Farm Park…a pedestrian bridge.

Take a look at this “pedestrian bridge on steroids”, which is wide enough to accommodate a large vehicle:

In 2018, County voters were tricked into approving Measure G, a countywide half-cent sales tax meant to fund “critical unmet needs” for 12 years.  Funding this “Bridge to Nowhere” Project was among many promises to use the money to fund “fire” , road repairs and other infrastructure needs (which have NOT been funded to date and led to a Grand Jury investigation)

Here is what the County Board of Supervisors approved and promised the voters would happen:

The Farm Park
To provide matching funds of $235,000 and unlock $460,000 in secured grants and other funding to replace the pedestrian bridge between Tee Street and the Farm Park and make other improvements. This project would also improve Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility, safety lighting and neighborhood connectivity throughout the park.

[Santa Cruz County CA Agenda Item DOC-2018-697]

Do you think this will ever happen?  Do the Tee Street and Hardin Way neighbors want this to happen?  NO.

There is already a big problem with drug dealing and other illicit activity on the other side of the dry creek, as well as minors having alcoholic raves under the “Bridge to Nowhere” and surrounding brush that leave piles of trash and pose a real fire hazard to the community.

Contact Supervisor Manu Koenig to ask why this “Bridge to Nowhere” sits rusting in peoples’ backyards and creating a public nuisance….and wasting taxpayer money already spent.

Manu Koenig at 454-2200  manu.koenig@santacruzcounty.us and copy his analysts:
Jamie Sehorn jamie.sehorn@santacruzcounty.us
Shane McKeithen shane.mckeithen@santacruzcounty.us
Kristina Glavis kristina.glavis@santacruzcounty.us

Don’t you think it might be better to use this “good deal” bridge to help create an emergency fire evacuation route for kids and staff at Valencia Elementary School?  Or maybe an alternate route to Aptos Creek Road for pedestrians and cyclists to visit Nisene Marks State Park?

I’ll bet you have better ideas that would put this expensive “Bridge to Nowhere” to good use.  Please let Supervisor Koenig know about them.

Here is what one iteration of the Farm Park is supposed to become…with a “pedestrian bridge” connecting the two areas.

The Farm Park & Community Center

I used to work as a gardener at the unique farm and restaurant known as The Greenhouse Restaurant at The Farm that was all demolished to make room for this new park over 20 years ago..  The small cafe that now bears the name near Cabrillo College really lacks the rustic charm and greenhouse dining of the original place, but their fresh fruit tarts and homemade breads are still pretty tasty…

GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION IN SOUTHERN CA

Turning in your neighbor for wasting water is becoming somewhat fashionable in southern California and water companies are installing flow restrictors on customer services connections when they feel the customer is using too much water. Water Agency Cracks Down On Water Use In Southern California [Daily Wire]

I think it would be better to incentivize conservation, rather than such a Big Brother and divisive plan.

What do you think?

WILL STATE PARK REIMAGINING BIG BASIN INCLUDE RE-ESTABLISHING EMERGENCY EVACUATION ROUTES?

As California State Parks Dept. moves ahead to open limited areas of char remnants of Big Basin State Park, the elephant in the room remains…will there be secondary access routes re-established for emergency evacuation?

Don’t forget that the one death in the CZU Fire occurred because State Parks blocked the emergency access for the Last Chance Community.  That cannot be tolerated as the Park opens.

You might appreciate browsing through the Recovery Plan for that area. [Compendium of Big Basin Recovery Plan (see page 52 for public comments submitted)]

:

Here is an interesting Sempervirens narrative about redwood tree recovery.

COUNTY CONTINUES TO BAIL OUT SWENSON AT APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT

Here is the expensive deal the County signed to help keep Swenson afloat by leasing the space for a Sheriff Center that is never open for public use and has yet to hold any significant educational events that were promised.

Note that the County taxpayers gifted Swenson (the “Lessor”) almost $300,000 to finish the interior so that County Sheriff deputies, probation officers, the DA, and Supervisor Zach Friend could all have cozy offices. (See page 5 of the Lease Agreement and Exhibit B)

WILL THIS BIKE LANE IN APTOS VILLAGE BE SAFE?

The new lane demarcation work on Soquel Drive is slowly creeping along.  It will be interesting to see if this all works as well on the pavement as it must have looked on paper.  Does it seem like a good idea to you to have an abrupt curb extend to the very edge of the bike lane?
	It looks like an accident waiting to happen…
Will traffic waiting to make that new left turn cause big back-ups on Soquel Drive?

NEW APTOS LIBRARY CONSTUCTION CONTINUES…..GOING UP!

Take a look at the progress (still no response from the Project Manager Damon Adlao about the pile of dirt covered with plastic.)

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF PUBLIC INPUT?

Here are some gems recently sent out by a very astute and involved public member, Judi G., working a lot on this.

When leaders refer to extensive public engagement, often “it is a mechanism to wrap a veneer of legitimacy around the large policy objectives of influential people.”

“Residents may not be experts, but we know how the built environment makes us feel, and how we would like to feel.”

MAKE ONE CALL.  WRITE ONE LETTER.  ATTEND ONE PUBLIC HEARING AND SPEAK UP.

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE THIS WEEK BY JUST DOING SOMETHING.

Cheers, Becky

Becky will be back next week.

August 13

COUNTY SUPERVISORS REJECTED PROPOSED TERM LIMITS OF THEIR JOBS

Last Tuesday, Supervisor Greg Caput tried to get fellow County Board of Supervisors to schedule a Special Meeting and place an initiative on November’s ballot that would allow voters to decide if they want to limit terms of their Supervisors to three consecutive terms.

All four fellow Board members rejected the idea.

“We just don’t historically have a problem with that in this County,” said Supervisor Zach Friend, who is now completing his third consecutive four-year term.  “I am not available on Thursday at 4pm for the Special Meeting,” said Supervisor Bruce McPherson, who is also now completing his third consecutive four-year term.  “This action is just coming too fast,” he added.

Supervisor Caput explained that he had asked County Counsel Jason Heath to bring it forward earlier, but was told there was “just too much on the agenda”, with CORE and the Budget.  That is why he had to bring it to the first meeting in August after everyone returned from vacation for the entire month of July and required to ask for a Virtual Special Meeting in order to meet the August 12 deadline to get the initiative on the November ballot.    Hmmmmm……

There are 12 Counties in California that do have term limits on their District Supervisors.  Supervisor Caput felt it was important to bring in fresh ideas and energy to the Board, and recognized that incumbents always have an advantage at the polls in name recognition and fund raising.

Supervisor Caput made the motion to approve a maximum of three consecutive terms, and to place the action on the ballot at some point in the future (addressing the “rushed” comment by Supervisor McPherson).  The room was silent for an uncomfortable length of time until Chair Manu Koenig seconded the motion “for the sake of discussion”.  There was no further discussion.  All but Supervisor Caput voted NO.

Outside in the hallway after the meeting adjourned, I saw Supervisor McPherson.  “I think that would have been a good thing,” I said, referring to the just-ended discussion.  “I got termed out at the State, that’s why I’m here,” he replied, and ducked into his newly-remodeled office.

I later wrote Supervisor Zach Friend, requesting he send the link to the information he cited in his testimony as to why he felt protecting unlimited Supervisor jobs from term limits was not an historic problem here.  He has not responded….I wonder if he will?

With the exception of Supervisor Greg Caput, it seemed that the Supervisors were more concerned about protecting their own jobs than any forward-thinking to benefit the County residents with action to encourage new ideas and fresh energy in policy making and budget oversight.   Well, you know those Supervisors and their staff are always quick to say….“Change is hard” when we speak out in opposition to monstrous developments, such as the Aptos Village Project.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON…

Last week, the link to the August 9 County Board of Supervisor agenda was broken, prohibiting public access to the agenda and all associated documentation the entire day before the meeting occurred.  Some people wrote the Board Clerk and Chairman to alert them to this problem.

The link to the agenda was finally repaired at 7:51pm the night before the meeting.

At the beginning of the 9am Tuesday Board meeting, the Clerk announced that there were still problems with the public access platform, and that access via computer was not working, but that people could call in on the telephone.  It was not made clear how people prevented from accessing the meeting online would know that.

The meeting proceeded, with few members of the public participating and many important issues discussed by the Board (eg, Report on Response to Homelessness) or hidden in the Consent Agenda.

I had attempted to enter written comment on the agenda portal, but it required a new password to do so.  I requested the ability to get a new password but never received any e-mail notification associated that would enable me to do so.  Hence, I could contribute no written public comments on agenda items.

I stated these problems publicly to the Board when I went in person to their 9am Tuesday meeting.  No Supervisor or staff responded.

DEVELOPER TRAFFIC IMPACTS COULD BE MITIGATED ANYWHERE

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a Consent Agenda item that will now allow developers who are required to mitigate the traffic their projects would cause to implement those mitigations anywhere in the County…maybe regionally.  Does that make sense to you?

This can all be judged acceptable (on paper) because the County now measures traffic impacts by “Vehicle Miles Travelled”, no longer assessing “Level of Service” at nearby affected roadways and intersections.  This comes on a change issued by the State to assess the overall carbon footprint of the impact, and allows for mitigations to be done on a broader basis.

An environmental mitigation example of this happened last year when mitigations for destroying riparian areas along Highway One widening were allowed to be done on the hilltop above Anna Jean Cummings Park in Soquel.

Now the County will expand that to include traffic mitigations that can be done regionally, and Kimley-Horn consultants will now develop a plan for doing so.

Take a look at Item #34 on August 9 Board of Supervisor consent agenda:

DOC-2022-671 Approve consultant contract in the amount of $283,747 to develop the Santa Cruz County Regional Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Mitigation Program and adopt resolution accepting unanticipated revenue in the amount of $448,000, and take rela

Contact the Board with your thoughts

County Board of Supervisors boardofsupervisors@santacruzcounty.us   or call 831-454-2200 and ask to speak with your Supervisor.  Not sure who he is?   Check here.

NO EMERGENCY ROUTES IN THE COUNTY WILL GET FIXED THIS YEAR

Last Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors blindly rubberstamped action that canceled all work on track to improve the emergency routes in our communities because the lowest bid exceeded the County Engineer’s estimate by about $400,000, requiring the County to match more than an anticipated $51,386 in staff time as part of a grant award of $396,614 to improve public safety.

Given the importance of repairing and maintaining our main emergency routes, don’t you think that CAO Carlos Palacios could have come up with a way to fund that and get the work done this year before the price of oil goes any higher?

Take a look at Consent Agenda item #41

Please contact your Supervisors with your thoughts.

NEW MEASURE D MASTER AGREEMENT WITH RTC FOR SURFACE STREET REPAIRS

Also buried in the Consent Agenda of last Tuesday’s County Board of Supervisors in Item #49 was this:

On November 8, 2016, Santa Cruz County voters passed Measure D, a one-half cent sales tax that funds transportation projects for 30 years.  Subsequently, on June 27, 2017, the Board approved the Master Funding Agreement between the County of Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC).  This agreement expired on June 30, 2022.  

The Board’s action extends the agreement to December 31, 2047.

Financial Impact

The County’s anticipation of revenue of Measure D funds

as represented in the Proposed FY2022-23 Road Fund budget is $3,668,209.

NO PURPLE PIPE IN DAVENPORT FOR RECYCLED WATER USE

Last Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation from Ms. Ashleigh Trujillo of Public Works about increasing the cost of potable water and for the first time, offering bulk recycled water to be available for sale in Davenport.

I was surprised to learn there is no purple pipe to take the recycled water for local irrigation use by area farmers.

Ms. Trujillo said the farmers were initially interested, but the farmer on the inland side and adjacent to the Recycled Water plant has now decided not to farm the land any longer.  She said the County had actually put a pipe stub under Highway One so that the farmer (who leases the land from State Parks) could finish the piping and install a pump in order to irrigate with the recycled water, she said he now has no interest because it would cost $50,000-$80,000.

Do you have any thoughts about this?  I suggested that there are likely many State grants available for recycled water projects. While the price for recycled water that people can purchase at the Davenport Recycled Water facility to haul away is lower than the price of potable water, I question why there is a charge at all.

Scotts Valley City provides any City resident 250/day

FREE recycled water for irrigation to encourage conservation of potable water.

I mentioned this during public comment on the Item #8 public hearing, but no one responded.

I spoke briefly in the hallway with Ms. Trujillo about the project, and she agreed to send me further information about the water quality, regarding Title 22 Recycled Water compliance testing and data.

Just how much water does this relatively new Recycled Water Facility in Davenport create?  Here is information that Ms. Trujillo kindly provided, answering that question:

• When the storage pond is full, 3.87 acre-feet of water is available for withdraw
• When the storage pond is full there is additional recycled water available from the plant, as it is produced.  The amount available is dependent on the amount of wastewater coming into the plant.  Some of the recycled water flow has to be diverted to the Red-Legged Frog habitat that we were conditioned to create as part of the project (adjacent to the water treatment plant).  As it is hard to know how much recycled water will be produced, and how much will need to be diverted to the frog pond (since evaporation and percolation vary at different times of the year), we cannot guarantee a specific quantity of recycled water available.  However, for comparison sake, in 2021 the recycled water plant produced 28.97 acre-feet of water, and 0.05 acre-feet was diverted to the frog swale.  If the pond were full, this would leave 28.9 acre-feet of recycled water to be used for agricultural (or other uses).  As flows are higher in the wet season, there would be more recycled water available during periods when farmers would not need it, and less available when they would need it.

Learn more about why the County thought the Davenport Recycled Water Project felt this was a feasible project in 2015

WILL SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BUILD A DAM ON THE 200 ACRES THEY PURCHASED FOR THAT PURPOSE?

Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a Plan to financially support new water supply projects that include upgrading existing dams in the State and building new ones to allow for capturing more stormwater when it is available.

Soquel Creek Water District purchased nearly 200 acres of land from the City of Scotts Valley decades ago.  The District holds an “In trust” water right of 7,250 acre feet per annum. 

That is nearly five times the amount of water the District’s ridiculously expensive, energy and technology-intensive PureWater Soquel Project will produce.

Water Rights to Soquel Creek have been adjudicated

Every year, the District Board reviews this land as “excess property” owned by the District, yet makes no effort to sell the land and recover the purchase cost.

Take a look at page 27-28 in this 2012 Soquel Creek Water District Technical Memo

Do you think it is a good idea to capture stormwater in wet years to help augment local water supplies?

Write the District Board of Directors

WORLD BEE DAY THIS SATURDAY…EXTRAORDINARY FILM AT LA SELVA BEACH LIBRARY

This Saturday (8/20) is World Bee Day, celebrating the importance of pollinators in our environment.  The Santa Cruz Public Library will host a free screening at the La Selva Beach Branch Library of an amazing film about backyard garden bees.

See bees like you’ve never seen them before in the PBS Nature documentary, “My Garden of a Thousand Bees”.

Locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn set out to record all the bee species in his tiny urban garden in Bristol, England. Filming with one-of-a-kind lenses he forged at his kitchen table, he catalogues more than 60 different species, from Britain’s largest bumblebees to scissor bees the size of mosquitoes. Over long months, Dohrn observes how differences in behavior set different species apart. He, eventually, gets so close to the bees he can identify individuals by sight, documenting life at their level as we have never seen it before.

After the film, there will be time for discussion.

Date: Saturday, August 20, 2022
Time: 10:30-12:00pm.
Branch: La Selva Beach

Write one letter. Make one call.  Go see a good film and plant something in your garden to support pollinators. Make a big difference this week, and just do something.

Cheers, Becky

August 8

PROPOSED TERM LIMITS FOR SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS?

If the Board approves staff recommendations during a 4pm Special Virtual Meeting on Thursday, August 11, County voters may see a new proposed Ordinance added to limit County Supervisors to no more than three consecutive terms in office.   If approved, this would add County Ordinance 2.02.070 to County Code relating to the Board of Supervisors.

Does it make you wonder why the Board is taking such a rushed action?  In the immediate future, this could affect whether or not Supervisors Bruce McPherson and Zach Friend are able to run for fourth terms in 2024.

At the time of this writing, the link to the County Board of Supervisor “Meeting Calendar” is broken, so I cannot provide further details, but did see earlier that this will be discussed as Regular Agenda Item #10 at the August 9 Board Meeting, when the Board will publicly schedule the August 11 Virtual Special Meeting for 4pm. 

Read the Staff recommendations for this matter by clicking on Item #10, when the website is (hopefully) repaired. Participate on August 11 at 4pm and see if you can understand what is really going on.

LAFCO PULLS SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT PORTION OF COMPREHENSIVE REPORT FOR FURTHER REVIEW

Last Wednesday (8/3), at the request of Alternate LAFCO member Mr. John Hunt, the Commissioners pulled the Soquel Creek Water District section of the comprehensive Countywide Water Service and Sphere Review of nine agencies providing water in the County.  Commissioners, who also included Second District County Supervisor Zach Friend, stated that the recommendations to formally change service boundary areas of  La Selva Beach and Seascape would open the doors for annexation and increased development in the future.  The Commissioners had reviewed just such a case earlier in the meeting for a subdivision in Scotts Valley (Item 6a)

LAFCO Director Joe Serrano issued a Declaration that the Countywide Water Service and Sphere Review is CEQA-exempt…but maybe that finding cannot be made in the case of the Soquel Creek Water District analysis.

Reason Why Project is Exempt: The LAFCO action does not change the services or the planned service area of the City. There is no possibility that the activity may have a significant impact on the environment–State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).

Here is the link to the Countywide Service and Sphere Review, with Soquel Creek Water District analysis beginning on page 203

Please write the Santa Cruz County LAFCO with your thoughts on this matter.

c/o Joe Serrano joe.serrano@santacruzcounty.us

Here is related correspondence of former County Water Resources Director Mr. John Ricker on the matter.

Of note is the fact that Ms. Rachel Lather is currently the Chair of LAFCO, and also the President of the Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors.  Do you think she should have recused herself or abstained from voting on this issue?  She did not.  I wrote Mr. Serrano to ask about it…he replied that it is up to a Commissioner them self to take such action. 

RUN FOR SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS SEATS

This Friday (8/12) is the final date to file for elected position campaigns   Three seats are up for election on the five-member Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors. In my opinion, there really needs to be sweeping changes on that Board that will begin to question the runaway expenditures for endless outside contractors to do actual work while giving high-level staff monthly bonuses of $1000 and more….not to mention the problems associated with injecting treated sewage water into the pristine Purisima Aquifer that provides drinking water for the entire MidCounty area.

If you live within the District, please run.  The District’s staff really needs to be held accountable and only a new Board who will pay attention and ask questions will cause any change.  Did you know that Ms. Lather demonstrated that she had no idea what the Final EIR for the PureWater Soquel Project really was?  Do you know that none of these incumbents asks any meaningful questions regarding District Budgets and rates?

Here is a link to the candidate resources 

CHANGING WATSONVILLE’S BOUNDARIES?

Last month, the Watsonville City Council held a Special Council Meeting and Public Hearing to discuss and approve growth-related measures that will be on the November election ballot.  It was well-attended.  The Council split 4-3 to place a competing initiative on the ballot that will essentially oppose the renewal of Measure U’s renewal that, 20 years ago, protected Watsonville’s agricultural lands and limited urban sprawl.  

Here is the link to the two-hour proceeding, and a Pajaronian analysis 

Given the proposed Draft Santa Cruz County General Plan Update, which recommends some annexations to Watsonville’s City boundaries, this will prove interesting for the future of the area.

REMOVING PRODUCTIVE FARMLAND TO CREATE A DUST BOWL IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY?

The Public Policy Institute projects that over 500,000 acres of good farmland in the Central Valley will have to lie fallow in order to restore groundwater levels.  All that fallow land could likely cause a return of the Dust Bowl that drove many poor landowners out of the Midwest and gave John Steinbeck meat for his Grapes of Wrath novel.

“Agricultural operations and wind erosion are two of the largest sources of dust in the valley. We project that over 500,000 acres of farmland may need to be taken out of production over the next two decades to help bring groundwater basins into balance under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). This is an immense amount of land, and without careful stewardship, widespread fallowing could cause a surge in windblown dust.” 

Commentary: San Joaquin Valley’s Next Big Air Pollution Threat—Blowing Dust from Fallowed Farmland

Will the Great Dust Bowl return, but to California? Wouldn’t it be better to continue growing food and devise more water-efficient irrigation methods? 

UCSC professor seeks to bring elephant seal research to K-12 classrooms [SC Sentinel article, behind a paywall]

Please write these UCSC researchers with your thoughts: 

University of California at Santa Cruz 

science@ucsc.edu  
plkoch@ucsc.edu Paul L. Koch, Dean, Physical and Biological Sciences 
rsbeltra@ucsc.edu – Roxanne Beltran, Associate Professor

PEOPLE, WE NEED TO SPEAK UP…BUT IT IS GETTING MORE CHALLENGING

Last week, at the suggestion of Parks Dept. Director Jeff Gaffney, the County Parks & Recreation Commission reportedly seemed to adopt a new but questionable procedure of calling for Public Comment on an issue after the Commission had already voted on the matter. 

Hmmmm…..Does that seem right to you?  I think it violates the Brown Act, which mandates the public right to comment before or during each agenda item:

“Regular Meetings 

The Brown Act mandates that agendas for regular meetings allow for two types of public comment periods. The first is a general audience comment period, which is the part of the meeting where the public can comment on any item of interest that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency. This general audience comment period may come at any time during a meeting (Section 54954.3).

The second type of public comment period is the specific comment period pertaining to items on the agenda. The Brown Act requires the legislative body to allow these specific comment periods on agenda items to occur prior to or during the City Council’s consideration of that item (Section 54954.3).”

In a recent informal survey posted on local news site Lookout about what residents are doing to make positive differences, this one really struck a chord…especially given odd occurrences such as what Director Gaffney caused last week:

“I am working to increase public participation in local government, at the county and municipal levels. More than periodic voting, our representative democracy requires active public participation in the process of government decision-making. Advisory body meetings, such as commissions, are rarely attended by the public, leading representatives to make decisions that are not based on full knowledge of the public will. This gives unelected staff greater power to shape the course of government behind closed doors where the public is denied knowledge and influence.” —Michael Lewis, Live Oak

Write County Board of Supervisors and Mr. Gaffney with your thoughts.

Board of Supervisorsboardofsupervisors@santacruzcounty.us
Jeff Gaffneyjeff.gaffney@santacruzcounty.us 

A POWERFUL FILM ABOUT AND BY CZU FIRE: IN THEIR OWN WORDS

CZU Fire: In Their Own Words, directed by Boulder Creek resident Mr. Peter Gelblum, is a well-done and powerful film based on many interviews with people affected by the fire.  Take a box of tissue because it is powerful. 

Next week marks the two-year anniversary of the devastating CZU Lightning Complex Fire that destroyed 911 County resident homes and burned over 86,000 acres that included large portions of Big Basin State Park.  The devastation lingers in the charred hillsides and in the lives of hundreds who have not yet been able to rebuild.  Many have given up, and moved away.

Go see this film at the Del Mar Theater on August 16 at 7:30 pm, with other viewings tentatively scheduled for the Felton Library on September 10, and another September date to be confirmed at the Bonny Doon Elementary School.  Mr. Gelblum asked to include a showing at the August 18 commemorative event scheduled for August 18 at the Brookdale Lodge, but organizers declined.

Suggested donations of $10/person will be given 50/50 to the local volunteer fire departments who fought the fire and saved many homes, and also the Fire Recovery Fund at the Santa Cruz County Community Foundation.

Here is an interview with Mr. Gelblum from the Santa Cruz Sentinel, article behind a paywall.

WRITE ONE LETTER.  MAKE ONE CALL.  GO SEE THE FILM ABOUT THE STORIES OF THE CZU FIRE SURVIVORS AND DONATE WHAT YOU CAN.

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE THIS WEEK BY JUST DOING SOMETHING.

Cheers, Becky

August 1

IS THAT DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ OR DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE?

Last Thursday (7/28), I happened to see the huge construction crane being installed, and now it resides at Laurel Street and Front Street/Pacific Avenue.  Such a sight is common in San Jose, but not here.  As I watched the action and heard the horns of many near-miss accidents due to lack of traffic management, I had to wonder what the City of Santa Cruz will look like in five years…with not only this seven-story structure now in the works, but also the 17-story structure the City Planning Commission just approved.

A view from Laurel Street Bridge last Thursday at about noon.
	Front Street traffic blocked by construction equipment encroaching into street without benefit of traffic control.
Installing the final component of the sky crane at the construction site.
	This is the crane and sections parked on Laurel Street, approaching Front Street from Pacific Ave.  No traffic control at any points of the disturbed intersection caused many near-accidents, especially coming from the bridge side.

BRANCIFORTE FIRE DISTRICT BOARD SAID “NO”

Last Thursday evening, the majority of the five-member Branciforte Fire District Board of Directors took the bold action to protect their neighbors from a potentially  huge parcel tax associated with a merger with Scotts Valley Fire District, saying NO to spending nearly $50,000 for a feasibility study that would lead to a rushed and weighted ballot action.

Board members debated that the proposal from SCI consultants was moving too quickly when the majority of those who would be potentially taxed $1500 per parcel annually for fire protection have no idea the action is moving along at break-neck speed.

They also pointed out that Scotts Valley Fire District will gain all assets of the Branciforte Fire District, including the Measure T property tax assessments that help provide revenue for the existing District.

BOARD AGENDA AND MINUTES

The link on the website to the agenda did not (and still does not) function on my computer system, but LAFCO Director Mr. Joe Serrano was kind enough to help me access the virtual meeting:

For your convenience, here is a direct link to the agenda packet

The matter will be continued next month, and likely discussed at the August 3 Santa Cruz County LAFCO meeting.   Stay tuned.

RISPIN MANSION PARK FUNDING APPROVED

Last week, the Capitola City Council was happy to see the Rispin Mansion Park matter before them and quickly approved the use of an additional $30,000 from the General Fund to allow a green light for contractors to submit bids.  The Bids will be opened September 7 and approved in October.  The work should begin next spring and be completed by the fall of 2023.

The new Park, using historically-similar plantings and California natives when possible,  will include ADA-accessible paths, in addition to the one constructed last year with a new bridge over Soquel Creek, to the lower areas of the Park where a new outdoor amphitheater will be built.  The Park will feature a new Bocce Ball Court and a children’s play area.  The Grand Staircase will be restored as will the fountain and reflecting pool, but the water features will become operational at a later date.

The stucco walls flanking Wharf Road will be restored but lowered, with wrought iron fencing added on top to address security concerns neighbors have expressed.  There will also be new lighting installed addressing the same concerns.

Councilman Jacques Bertrand asked the amphitheater’s partial encroachment into the riparian easement for the Creek, but was assured by staff that mitigations have been implemented.  Council woman Kristen Brown confirmed the timeline that will see this Park completed by fall of 2023.    Mayor Sam Storey was glad to see this finally happening after nearly a decade of delay, but grateful for the $756,000 in General Funds that have been spent on the planning and engineering, likely helping to get the State Parks Grant last year for the additional $178,000.

Capitola City Council Agenda Report, Meeting: July 28, 2022

Listen to the discussion here

CAPITOLA CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO BEGIN HOLDING HYBRID MEETINGS ON AUGUST 25

How refreshing to hear the Capitola City Council acknowledge that it is important and valuable to allow the public to present their thoughts in person if they wish.  Hence, after considerable discussion, the Council unanimously voted to begin holding Hybrid meetings at their next meeting on August 25.  Mayor Sam Storey stated, “People want to look us in the eye…there is a lot that gets missed with Zoom……As Mayor, I will be there every meeting.” Council members Kristin Brown and Jacques Bertrand immediately also volunteered.   Staff will return with guidance on how to safely hold the hybrid meetings next month, but for now, it is a go to have at least one and up to three Council members, who will rotate, to be physically present at all meetings unless health conditions change.  “Before COVID, we all were committed to being present at the Council chambers” pointed out Mayor Storey.

CAPITOLA CHARGING RESTAURANT OWNERS FOR OUTDOOR DINING SPACE 

Those lovely outdoor dining spaces in Capitola take up space that the parking meters now miss.  Therefore, all restaurant owners with such outdoor spaces will need to pay a new fee for lost parking revenue and sidewalk maintenance.

Below is the staff report.  The Council unanimously approved the new fee structure.

Background: Since the adoption of Resolution No. 4276 adopting the City’s Fee Schedule for FY 2022-23, the City’s Outdoor Dining Program has received final approval from the California Coastal Commission. The fees associated with the Outdoor Dining Program were not included with the proposed FY 2022-23 fee schedule prior to adoption, primarily due to the timing when staff received the Coastal Commission’s Conditional Certification. In April 2021, the City Council directed staff to develop a program for permanent outdoor dining. Over the next several months, the City Council conducted two public hearings, two public surveys, and provided direction to staff to develop an outdoor dining program. In December 2021 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1050 establishing an outdoor dining program which received final certification from the California Coastal Commission on July 14, 2022. 

Discussion: In order for the City to recover the costs associated with the Outdoor Dining Program, staff recommends amending the fee schedule to include the following new fees:

• Revocable Encroachment Permit (one time only): $230 
• Design Permit for Custom Deck: $1,000 deposit – actual staff time billed against deposit 
• Outdoor dining space rent (annual): 

 $3,400 per parking space (or partial space) 

 $18/sq. ft. on sidewalks and non-parking areas 

• Outdoor dining maintenance deposit (one time only): 

 $500 for sidewalk 

 $1,000 for 1-2 parking spaces 

 $1,500 for 3-5 parking spaces

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT CHANGES PLANS TO ATTACH LARGE PIPE TO LAUREL STREET BRIDGE DUE TO PUBLIC PROTEST

Jane Mio, a local environmental steward, raised significant questions to officials regarding the potential adverse impacts of Soquel Creek Water District’s PureWater Soquel Project’s construction plan to attach a 14″ treated sewage water to the Laurel Street Bridge because of the disruption it would cause to the Swallows who nest on and under the bridge.

She never received a response, but happened to speak with a biologist who had been asked to evaluate the validity of her complaint.  The person told her that because of her complaint, it was determined that the construction would be disruptive to the Swallows, a federally-protected migratory bird, and therefore the construction cannot occur on the bridge while the birds are in residence.

Many thanks to Jane Mio for taking action.  Although she was never formally informed of the responses to her complaint, made in the best interest of the wildlife adversely affected by the District’s construction work, she DID make a positive difference.

Thank you, Jane!

MIDCOUNTY GROUNDWATER AGENCY RECEIVES $7.6 MILLION GRANT THAT WILL PARTIALLY BE USED TO PAY FOR SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT’S PROJECT TO INJECT TREATED SEWAGE WATER INTO THE AQUIFER

An undetermined amount of a large State Water Board Grant to the Midcounty Groundwater Agency to support sustaining healthy groundwater levels in the Midcounty area will be used to help Soquel Creek Water District pay for their expensive project to inject potentially contaminated treated sewage water into the aquifer.   While this is not surprising, it is disappointing that the District has failed to present any Final Anti-Degradation Analysis, required by State law, to show this injected water will not harm the high-quality water of the Purisima Aquifer.

The State approved the MidCounty Groundwater Agency’s Sustainability Plan two years ago that made the PureWater Soquel Project a keystone project in their plan to restore and maintain groundwater levels, even though the Project’s three injection wells are not located in the La Selva Beach area where seawater intrusion is reportedly the greatest threat.

Read the list of elements the public money will fund for Soquel Creek Water District’s project on page 25 of the Aptos Times August 1, 2022 issue: Aptos Times: August 1, 2022 — Times Publishing Group, Inc. The article begins on page 19.  I wonder if the photo showing District Project Manager Melanie Mow-Schumacher jumping gleefully into the air is reflective of her appreciation that the District ratepayers are paying her a $1600 monthly bonus while the Project is under construction??

Construction site of PureWater Soquel Project’s Advanced Treatment Facility that will use reverse osmosis “energy hog” technology to remove some, but not all, contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, hormones and other unknown substances from treated sewage water before the District injects it into the aquifer.  This facility is on Soquel Avenue Frontage Road, just across from the County Sheriff Center.

EXCELLENT COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF LOCAL WATER SUPPLIERS IN LAFCO REPORT

Bravo to Director Joe Serrano who just released the very comprehensive Sphere and Service Review that includes evaluation of all local water agencies.

There are a number of recommendations for increasing “Strategic Partnerships” between larger agencies, and for consolidations or annexations of smaller water providers.

You can participate in the LAFCO virtual discussion of this critical document on Wednesday morning, August 3 at 9am.

Here is the link to that 229-page thorough analysis.

The Commission is asked to do this:

Adopt a Resolution (LAFCO No. 2022-11) approving the 2022 Countywide Water Service and Sphere Review with the following terms and conditions: 

1. Reaffirm the existing spheres of influence for Scotts Valley Water District and San Lorenzo Valley Water District; 
2. Amend the existing spheres of influence for Central Water District, City of Santa Cruz, City of Watsonville, and Soquel Creek Water District to accurately reflect the areas currently within the agencies’ jurisdiction and/or already being served; 
3. Adopt a sphere of influence for the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency to be coterminous with the Corralitos Basin; 
4. Adopt a zero sphere of influence for County Service Area 54 and the Reclamation District No. 2049 as a precursor to dissolution; 
5. Direct the Executive Officer to distribute letters to the small water systems to ensure that they are fulfilling the statutory requirements under Assembly Bill 54; and 
6. Direct the Executive Officer to distribute a copy of the adopted service and sphere review to the nine water agencies, Monterey LAFCO, San Benito LAFCO, and any other interested or affected parties, including but not limited to the Civil Grand Jury of Santa Cruz County.

Note that for the City of Santa Cruz….

See page 68:

LAFCO Staff Recommendation: The City should explore additional ways to share services and resources with neighboring agencies, including but not limited to nearby water districts.

(Many ratepayers of the Soquel Creek Water District have repeatedly asked for consolidation.)

See page 72:

Proposed Sphere Boundary In January 2019, the Commission amended the City’s sphere to include three nautical miles offshore to reflect the city’s legal limits. In accordance with state law, the sphere boundary should focus on areas that may receive services from the City in the foreseeable future. Based on staff’s analysis, the City provides services outside its city limits, totaling 10,757 parcels (approximately 17,000 acres). These parcels were previously shown in Figure 21 on page 67. 

LAFCO staff is recommending that the sphere boundary be amended to remove the three nautical miles and include the City’s water service area, excluding the areas located within the City of Capitola’s jurisdictional and sphere boundaries. 

This would remove areas of Live Oak, Pleasure Point and Capitola currently being served by Santa Cruz City.  Hmmm… See Page 73 for that proposed map.

Take a look at the map on page 81 and 92, showing the large area that the City of Watsonville serves with potable water.  According to the discussion on page 91, the City has provided water to these 4,700 parcels for a long time, pre-dating LAFCO’s formation in 1963.

The number of small private water systems in the County is quite amazing.  The LAFCO Report explains that under AB 54, these private water systems that are organized as mutuals (customers own a share of the business) are also subject to LAFCO review.  Director Serrano’s Report states he will send letters to all such water mutuals to outline necessary AB 54 compliance requirements and will potentially advise consolidation if adequate water service cannot be provided.

That move to consolidate, in tandem with SB 552’s aggressive push by the State Water Boards for consolidation, is worrisome to me.

LAFCO recommends that all agencies reviewed submit a Plan to address potential consolidations by 2027 for the next Service and Sphere Review.

How many small water mutuals are there included in the Service and Sphere Review?  The Appendix A lists 132 total.

Here are some shown on maps but that overlap with other nearby agency evaluation:

42 near the City of Watsonville (page 94)
43 within the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency jurisdictional boundaries (page 130) many overlapping with the City of Watsonville
41 near the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (page 174)
10 near Scotts Valley Water Agency (page 196)
33 near Soquel Creek Water District (page 220)

The history of the Mountain Charlie Water Works, now County Service Area 54 Summit West Water Mutual is interesting. See page 102.

Page 111 describes the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency:

The municipal, agricultural, and industrial wells are metered and they account for approximately 88% of the total groundwater basin water use. There are approximately 1,100 wells serving the rural residential parcels, which account for approximately 2% of the water use, and the remaining 10% of water use is by delivered water users.

The explanation of the “Delivered Water Zone” and associated Augmentation Charges on pages 112-113 is notable.

This Agency’s jurisdictional boundaries span the Counties of Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito. (See map on page 114.  The Governance Board is a seven-member panel, four of which are elected using a district-based method and:

 “The remaining three directors are separately appointed by Monterey County, Santa Cruz County, and the City of Watsonville. Appointed directors serve two-year terms and must derive at least 51% of their net income from agriculture.”

Note that there is no representation from San Benito County.  That County has a much higher projected growth rate than other local counties, but an overall lower population: (page 115)

“Table 53 shows the anticipated population within PVWMA. The average rate of change for Monterey County is 0.25%, Santa Cruz County is 0.86%, City of Watsonville is 2.78%, and San Benito County is 6.54%.

This Agency, in coordination with the City of Watsonville, built a tertiary water treatment facility that can produce 4,000 Acre-feet/Year of recycled water for agricultural irrigation when blended with other sources. (Page 129)

The College Lake Reclamation District analysis is shocking: (page 138)

“Services and Infrastructure: The District’s sole purpose is to drain the College Lake once a year to allow for farming purposes during the summer season. The District currently uses one weir, a small water damn, to control the flow of water. The District does not provide any other services or has any other infrastructure or facility, as shown in Tables 62 and 63. While the District has been in existence for 102 years, its service operation and overall governance is in disarray.”

All five Board position terms have expired, two of which are vacant, the Board had not met for two years, and County audits of the agency finances for 2011-2015 caused the agency to be put on notice in 2017, with no action taken.  The agency has continued to collect the assessment fees but provide no accounting.

It is a good thing this agency will likely be absorbed by Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency as the College Lake Groundwater Recharge Project moves forward, no longer draining College Lake.

The San Lorenzo Valley Water District analysis is well worth reading, along with this recommendation (page 172):

“LAFCO Staff Recommendation: SLVWD should coordinate with LAFCO to analyze possible annexations and/or sphere amendments to include any mutual water companies or other nearby water systems affected by the recent fires or can no longer provide adequate level of service.”

Analysis of Scotts Valley Water District begins on page 181, and is also worth taking time to read as there are moves afoot for consolidation.

Soquel Creek Water District’s service area will have a real booming population increase, according to page 208:

“It is estimated that SqCWD will serve an approximate population of 47,200 people in 2040.”  That is a 5.06% increase. (This comports with the County’s proposed General Plan Update to locate extremely high-density residential development in Seacliff and Seascape, as well as Live Oak.)

Financial information is shocking: (page 209)

At the end of Fiscal Year 2020-21, total revenue collected was approximately $40 million, representing a 52% increase from the previous year ($26 million in FY 19-20)

Note this on page 217:

Based on staff’s analysis, SqCWD is providing services outside its jurisdiction to 290 parcels through five separate extraterritorial service agreements approved by LAFCO. Figure 79 on page 218 shows the subject parcels receiving services outside SqCWD’s jurisdiction.

 LAFCO Staff Recommendation: SqCWD should consider annexing these parcels if the District and the affected landowners determine it would improve the level of service and increase local representation. 

Page 219 does not acknowledge past difficulties between Soquel Creek Water District and the City of Santa Cruz, nor does it acknowledge the collaboration currently happening to treat sewage water to inject into the aquifer.

LAFCO Staff Recommendation: SqCWD should explore additional ways to share services and resources with neighboring agencies, including but not limited to nearby water districts. 

Again, many District ratepayers have repeatedly asked the District to consolidate with the City of Santa Cruz Water Department for more efficient operation and likely lower rates.  The District’s administration is resistant, even though their rates are the second-highest in the State for a system their size.

SAN LORENZO VALLEY WATER DISTRICT BOARD WILL EVALUATE IMPORTANT EIR THIS THURSDAY EVENING (8/4) IN VIRTUAL MEETING

There is certainly a lot to talk about, with a Draft EIR that includes four possible water sharing scenarios with other neighboring water agencies but is missing a lot of information.  The Board is seemingly being asked to move ahead anyway.  Some of the options would be very expensive.

See Item 10a on the agenda.

At the November 4th, 2021 Board of Directors meeting the Board approved moving ahead with the consultant Rincon Consultants, Inc. under the District Managers purchasing authority of $30,000 to complete an updated project description. The updated project description is shown as exhibit A.
 Within the project description there is bracketed information that needs additional review or further analysis. The remaining information cannot be updated until discussions with the City of Santa Cruz regarding the District’s Loch Lomond allotment are had and further technical analysis and modeling are completed. These data values and missing information will be added as the project moves forward. 

Exhibit B is a tentative schedule for moving the conjunctive use plan EIR forward.

 Next steps include coordinating with the City of Santa Cruz, working with regulatory agencies Agenda: 8.4.22 Item: 10a 5 1 of 23 to begin permitting the associated water diversions, and determining which studies the District will need to pursue to support the EIR. 

Tune in Thursday evening (8/4) at 6:30pm and participate.

WHAT’S IN THOSE BARRELS OF CONTAMINATION AT THE COUNTY BUILDING?

These barrels of contaminated soil securely stored on the sidewalk outside the 701 Ocean Street Government Building caught my attention…
	as did these barrels in the basement entry that were not so secured, but full of something.
When I asked a worker about the contents of the barrels, he said the diesel tanks for the County Building’s generator were over-filled and leaked into the soil.  That’s what is in the barrels, with unknown disposal time or location.

I am sorry the expensive diesel was wasted, but glad the contaminated soil got cleaned up.

Do you think you or I could be allowed such leniency?

A LOCAL PIONEER PICNIC THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR 84 YEARS…MAYBE LONGER

What a delight to attend the Soquel Pioneer Picnic in Pringle Grove last Saturday!  That event has been happening for over 84 years.   The land was given to the community group in the 1930’s by the Merrill family with the condition that the picnic and business meeting occur annually.

The group rents a space within the Porter Memorial Library that showcases Soquel history.

There used to be a functioning water fountain there, but Soquel Creek Water District removed the connection, demanding thousands of dollars for a proper hook-up and a monthly $60 service fee.

Funny, the District did not mind knowingly providing free water to the Aptos Village Project developers for over a year from a renegade service connection on Granite Way.  Hmmm….

A good turnout for the annual picnic, with families describing their roots in Soquel.

Guest Speaker Bert Izant, describing his book about Soquel history “Writings, Memories: Glimpses of Santa Cruz and Soquel from three Pioneer Families”.  He talked a lot about how important baseball had been to him and other local youth, and that the community built a grassy playing field so that Soquel could have their own team in the Little League tournament.  Sadly, he said, the field is now a subdivision. There were many stories told by others about the rich fishing memories on Soquel Creek, catching 8-12 pound Steelhead.

Cheers, Becky

July 25

A CHANGE ORDER IN COUNTY MEASURE D FUNDS TO HELP APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT DEVELOPERS

Last Wednesday, the County abruptly closed Soquel Drive in Aptos Village without any signage for advance notification that traffic would be detoured to Trout Gulch Road to Aptos Creek Road via the very narrow Aptos Village Way within the subdivision.  Very few business owners along Soquel Drive knew the closure was going to happen.

Why did this happen? 

According to my on-site conversation with Public Works Dept. engineer Tim Nguyen on July 20, the urgency was due to a Change Order for local Measure D road surfacing publicly-funded work so that the Aptos Village Project developers could cash in on having the contractor from Sacramento do the work before leaving to return to Sacramento

Mr. Nguyen informed me he had talked with the merchants that he knew a day ahead of time, but there were some he did not know, so did not contact.

Here is a link to the 2022 Countywide Measure D-funded street repairs and resurfacing

How did the Dept. of Public Works initiate this publicly-funded favor to the Aptos Village Project developers?  

According to a telephone conversation with the McKim Corporation engineering consultant for the 2022 Countywide Measure D work, his office was contacted on June 7, 2022 by Ms. Carissa Duran, County engineer and project manager for the past Aptos Village Traffic Improvement Project Phases 1 and 2B, requesting a Change Order that would include the section of Soquel Drive between Trout Gulch Road and the new Parade Street intersection.

Here is what the County did last year to prepare the area for the Aptos Village Project developers work, (Phase 2A)

According to McKim Consultants, the request “sort of fell off the table” until Ms. Duran again contacted them about the Change Order on July 11.  After negotiation, County Dept. of Public Works Director Matt Machado and Ms. Duran signed the official Change Order with approval of McKim Project engineer Mr. Tommy Munro on July 18, 2022.

That explains the rush job and lack of public notification for the July 20 work, I guess, doesn’t it?

I asked the McKim consultant how much the Change Order cost?  That information, he said, has to come from the County.

The question remains…WHY IS THE COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS GIFTING THE APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT DEVELOPERS WITH MEASURE D PUBLICLY-FUNDED WORK?  What street improvements will not get done in order to divert the money needed for this gift?   

Take a look here:

Here is the closed section of Soquel Drive at the new Parade Street entrance to the Aptos Village Project
	This is Soquel Drive at the Trout Gulch Road intersection.  Note that the entrance to the historic Bayview Hotel in the foreground is slurry-sealed, even though the County and the Aptos Village Projects plan to close it when the new Parade Street intersection to Soquel Drive is complete…perhaps by the end of August.
All busy Soquel Drive traffic was routed between Aptos Creek Road and Trout Gulch Road via the narrow and congested Aptos Village Way in the Subdivision.  The Metro buses had a difficult time negotiating the narrow turning radius at the intersections…that was one of the many concessions the County allowed the developers.
	Here is what Soquel Drive looks like now at that Parade Street intersection.  Mr. Nguyen from County Public Works assured me that the bike lanes will be 5′ wide…how will this all fit?

I suggest we hold our elected officials accountable and demand answers:

Chairman of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Manu Koenig manu.koenig@santacruzcounty.us 

Not elected, but certainly omnipotent is Matt Machado, Assistant County Administrative Officer to CAO Carlos Palacios, and now also Director of the County Public Works Dept. AND the Planning Dept. now that the two have merged:

Matt Machado matt.machado@santacruzcounty.us 

Also, contact the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) who oversees the Measure D funding allocation and Citizen Oversight Committee:

Luis Mendez lmendez@sccrtc.org

Rachel Moriconi rmoriconi@sccrtc.org

Shannon Munzsmunz@sccrtc.org

Tracy Newtnew@sccrtc.org

Measure D Overview

Pay attention to the Citizen Oversight Committee1

Finally, attend the August 4 RTC Regular Hybrid meeting and ask for an explanation

Does the RTC and County extend such generous favors to all developers in the County????

FAIR BOARD VOTED TO DEMOLISH LIVESTOCK BARNS, LEAVING LITTLE FOR EVACUEES TO DEPEND ON FOR SHELTERING ANIMALS

Last Tuesday, July 19, the Santa Cruz County Fair Board voted to demolish the historic Mel McCandless Swine Barn and the goat /sheep barn as quickly as possible and put up temporary  large tents for the 2022 Fair exhibitors to show their livestock under.  The tents will only be in place for the Fair, leaving nothing for possible emergency evacuation needs.

Two wise Directors voted against the shove by the Fair Manager’s feverish insistence that the foundations cannot be repaired in time for the Fair, and that the barns are old and should be replaced by a “cost-effective multi-purpose building”.  Many thanks to President Dietrich and Director Campos who voted to first get alternative emergency shelter in place for disasters before demolishing the existing barns, repairing the foundations to give more time.

Although she agreed with members of the public later in the parking lot that the Fair Manager really needs to follow the law and stop his renegade actions that have resulted in the State Construction Authority’s determination that the swine and goat/sheep barns are “unstable and unsafe”, Director Flores went timidly swimming along with the crowd and voted to approve the demolition.

What is shocking is that Fair Manager David Kegebein publicly stated to the Board afterward that “since no State money is going to fund this work, the State Building Codes don’t apply.”

Here he goes again…another arrogant disregard for the law governing the State-owned Fairgrounds property.  What he claimed is not true, borne out by explicit language in a letter the State Dept. of Food & Ag Fairs and Expositions Director sent all Fair Boards on September 22, 2021 reminding them of State Building Code Section 105.1, requiring State permits, plan review and inspections of all projects (demolitions included) regardless of how they are funded.

105.1 Permits Required. Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building structure, or facilities or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by this code, or to cause any such work to be done, shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit

Rispin Mansion Park Workshop Notes, April 11th, 2015

That letter was included in the November, 2021 Fair Board packet on pages 5 & 6

Oddly, after the vote, Director Estrada jubilantly instructed Fair Manager to “get started at 7:30am tomorrow morning and get this done!”  Well, well…she seemingly has no respect or regard for proper process to follow California State law, does she?

Here is one of the two barns that some of the Fair Board and Fair Manager want to demolish, after dumping $45,000 in Fairgrounds Foundation donated money in new materials for “seismic upgrades” and another $441,700 in State Prop 68/SB 5 public grant money spent on electrical upgrades.

Although Fair Board Director Fontana insists she cares only about safety, and the “barns have been condemned”, this barricade is all that protects the public from entering the barns, and was not implemented until May, 2022 at the direction of Board President Dietrich.  If you were a kid, would you climb through this???  No matter, Fairgrounds staff sets the fence aside for campers and their own use of the barns, as the collection of July 20, 2022 photos attached at the end of this blog show.

WERE THE FAIRGROUNDS AVAILABLE FOR THE ANZAR FIRE EVACUEES?  NOPE!

Last Thursday, the Anzar Fire broke out, causing evacuations of that tri-county area.  Residents had no instruction as to where to take their animals.  Some just let them loose, others who were preparing for a possible expanded evacuation order loaded their livestock into trailers and spent the night sleeping in their trucks…there was no safe place issued for them to go, and no one wanted to risk driving to Watsonville and be refused.

Likely, they would have been refused because there was a large horse show occupying all 300 horse stalls and overflow stalls in the remaining covered beef barn.

2022-85 American Quarter Horse Association of Santa Clara 7/18-25/2022 Horse Show Invoiced after use Horse Show Facilities

(See page 10 of the contracts)

Oddly, the San Benito County Fairgrounds was not activated.  Neither was the Monterey County Fairgrounds.  In a subsequent conversation with the later Fairgrounds Manager, Ms. Kelli Violini, she said she thought the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds had been most likely activated.

It was news to her that the Fair Board had voted last week to demolish two large livestock barns, that the unpermitted work directed by Mr. David Kegebein last year had caused the State to now deem the barns “unstable and unsafe”, and that the Santa Cruz County Fair youth exhibitors will be in tents only for the Fair time, with the tents disappearing afterward.  She kindly said she would contact Mr. Kegebein and offer to loan additional portable pens.

So, one must wonder what the status really is of the MOU between the County and the Fairgrounds for this matter…and who is planning for the next disaster? 

Contact General Services Director Michael Beaton michael.beaton@santacruzcounty.us` and 

David Reid, david.reid@santacruzcounty.us    He is the Director of the Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience (OR3…formerly known as the Emergency Services Office before CAO Carlos Palacios wiped it and the very competent Rosemary Anderson off the table, stating it would “save money”, just before the CZU Fire broke out)

CAPITOLA CITY COUNCIL HOLDING PUBLIC HEARING TO GO TO BID FOR RISPIN MANSION PARK

This project has been on the books for a very long time, with the most recent public activity being a couple of workshops held in 2015…yep…seven years ago.

 However, the project is finally going out to bid, after a public hearing this Thursday:

Item 9a:

Review the Rispin Mansion Park Project and Consider Authorizing Advertising for Bids Recommended Action: 

1) Approve plans, specifications, and budget for construction of the Rispin Mansion Park; 

2) Authorize advertising the project to receive bids setting the opening date for September 7, 2022; and 

3) Approve the proposed resolution amending the budget by transferring $30,000 from the General Fund to the Rispin Mansion Park Project.

So far, no documents have been included in the Council’s Agenda Packet for this item, but here is what was on their table seven years ago.

Take a look at what people had to say the last time there was a public hearing

Tune in Thursday evening for this Hybrid Public Hearing!

HOW CAN THERE BE AN ELECTION FOR A BOARD THAT DOES NOT EXIST?

Last Thursday, the Pajaro Valley Health Care District Trust approved a consent agenda item to place an election for two seats to its Board on the November 8 ballot.  How can voters be asked to elect representatives before the agency exists other than on paper and before any deal is finalized to purchase the Watsonville Community Hospital?  

The agency has not yet received 501-c-3 tax-exempt status. 

The July 21 Board packet states it is a risk issue (page 13, RAID Items shown in red)

Take a look at the issues identified regarding physician contracts (page 14)

(RISK) Physicians are potentially being compensated above market rates for call coverage arrangements -Performed analysis regarding FMV rates for call coverage arrangements entered into with various physicians and groups 

• (ACTION) Physician compensation strategy discussion with Cecilia Montalvo and Steven Salyer
• (ISSUE) Locate outstanding contracts and/or amendments

And…..

• Research the OB/GYN call environment to provide recommendations related to whether OB/GYN call coverage is a necessity on a go-forward basis (i.e. does it make sense to pay OB/GYN providers when they essentially are only providing coverage relating to their already established patients). 

• Schedule additional calls as needed with Steven Salyer and Cecilia Montalvo to discuss strategy for contractual negotiations with physicians. 

• Schedule and perform negotiations with in-person ICU group

See pages 15-17 for other RISKS that include Revenue Cycle Management, Purchasing, and Human Resources:

• (RISK) Union Planning: Determine if any implications with changing Retirement Plans 

• (RISK) ADP Contract: Tight timeline to complete SPIN; Final paycheck calculations and distribution. 

• (RISK) Payroll & Tax: Bank accounts must be set up for new legal entities 

• (RISK) HR 30+ Contracts: Buyer needs to review, assign, or create new to cover the existing HR contracts

Look here for video recordings of past meetings, and the agendas for what’s coming up. This group will be making many critical decisions in the feverish focus to shove this purchase through.

PVHCD Hospital Meetings

CENTRAL FIRE DISTRICT NEEDS YOU ON THEIR BOARD

Two seats on the Board overseeing fire protection and public safety for the areas from Live Oak to La Selva Beach and up into the wildland areas contiguous are up for election this November.  The Candidate Filing period is now open but will close August 12.

https://www.centralfiresc.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=192

Board seats up for election are Districts 4 and 5…take a look at the interactive map to see where you are and consider running for the job if you care about fire safety and public service.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A FIRE FIGHTER TO BE QUALIFIED.  You just need to care.

Here is a link to the District’s new maps showing the boundaries, with the interactive function of locating addresses within the County to determine whether you or someone you know lives within the Central Fire District boundaries and if so, which new representational district applies.

Who has filed for Candidacy for all local public service opportunities in the County? Take a look

EXCELLENT EXHIBIT AT CAPITOLA LIBRARY SHOWING HISTORY OF THE CAPITOLA WHARF

Go see the “My Neighborhood” local history exhibit at the Capitola Library.  It changes regularly and is always excellent. 

This month features a history of the Soquel Landing (aka Capitola Wharf), with amazing photographs and brief description of how the area went from being “La Playa de Soquel”, a wetland area purchased in 1856 by Frederick Hihn, to having a 450′-long wharf built two years later.  Because it connected via what is now Wharf Road to the Soquel Turnpike (now called Soquel-San Jose Road), the area became known as Soquel Landing.  Ten years later, Mr. Hihn and his partner Mr. Lynch added 1,200′ to the wharf to enable large Pacific Coast Steamship Company freight ships to dock, transporting massive loads of lumber, leather, grain and potatoes.  

The area developed in the 1870’s to a fishing village when Mr. Hihn leased the area adjacent to the wharf to a group of Italian emigrants.  This village flourished until the early 1900’s when the wharf’s condition became so bad, the fishermen moved on to Santa Cruz.  In 1919, Mr. Rispin purchased most of what is now Capitola, demolished the fishing village and built the Venetian Court that we see today.  

I have heard the new Aptos Library will feature historic exhibits when the library opens.  I hope they are as interesting and well-done as those that always catch my attention upon entry to the Capitola Library.  

PROGRESS ON THE NEW APTOS LIBRARY

Work continues at a good pace at the new Aptos Library construction site.  Still no response from project Manager Mr. Damon Adlao about those large piles of covered soil???  Is it contaminated?

CASTRO ADOBE STATE PARK IS A GEM

I had the great pleasure of joining a private tour with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) of the Castro Adobe State Park in Larkin Valley last weekend.  Charlie and Patty Kieffer, Docents Extraordinaire, lead us through the Adobe, along with Ms. Charlene Duval, Historian, and State Park Ranger Mark. 

The next public tours will be August 28…go see this great restored adobe treasure that brings back a sense of time long ago in local and State history.

	Here are Charlie and Patty Kieffer, describing the gentle touch the Vaqueros used with their sure-footed and loyal Spanish horses.  The Kiger horse photo Charlie holds is one of a wild herd discovered in the Steens Mountain area of southeastern Oregon. Charlie is a descendant of the Castro family that came to California in the 1775 Anza Expedition.  He and Patty were recently awarded the Volunteer Medallion for public service for all their work to preserve historic resources and help educate the public about local treasures, such as Wilder Ranch and the Castro Adobe State Parks.
Here is Historian Ms. Charlene Duval, in the Sala, showing the Oriental embroidered shawl owned by the last Governor of Alta California, pre-1850.  It was a gift to the collection by Edna and Joe Kimbro, former owners of the Castro Adobe, and also the Branciforte Adobe in Santa Cruz.
	Here is State Park Ranger Mark in the Sala, describing the vibrant shipping port of Monterey, with Spanish and Chinese artifacts shown on the table in the foreground.

BALD EAGLES AT NEW BRIGHTON STATE BEACH

Many thanks to my friend, Al, who sent me the photo below of one of two Bald Eagles currently being spotted at New Brighton State Beach area.  The photo was posted on Aptosia, a local group interested in supporting and sharing news of the Aptos area.  Go see our country’s National Birds!

MAKE ONE CALL.  WRITE ONE LETTER.  ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING AND DEMAND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS.  GO SEE SOME OF THE MANY AMAZING TREASURES LOCALLY AND WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR TO ENCOURAGE THOSE TREASURES ARE APPRECIATED AND PRESERVED.

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE THIS WEEK BY JUST DOING SOMETHING.

Cheers, Becky

July 18

F.I.R.E. FOUNDRY MODEL COULD HAPPEN HERE?  ASK COUNTY FIRE DEPT. ADVISORY COMMISSIONERS THIS WEDNESDAY…7/20.

A friend let me know last week that her neighborhood’s safety in Marin County improved with work performed FOR FREE by F.I.R.E. Foundry crews.  Why can’t we follow this model in Santa Cruz County?

The Fire Innovation, Recruitment and Education (F.I.R.E.) Program is the result of collaborative work between the Marin County Fire agencies, California Conservation Corps, and educational institutions that include Stanford University. Recruits are 18-30 years of age, are paid $18-$20/hour, and gain valuable emergency responder skills and education.  The community wins, too.

Initiative to Reduce Wildfire Risk Also Creates Career Pathways

Here is the F.I.R.E. Foundry Program Objective: “To establish a science and technology-savvy, community-oriented wildfire prevention workforce, by providing job training and skills development for underserved, underrepresented and underfunded community members in Marin County and the surrounding Bay Area.”

Write to the Santa Cruz County Fire Dept. Advisory Commission (FDAC) and also the County Board of Supervisors to ask that this program model be implemented here in Santa Cruz County.

FDAC Administrative Clerk Melissa Scalia <melissa.scalia@fire.ca.gov>

Board of Supervisors boardofsupervisors@santacruzcounty.us 

You can also speak directly to the Commission this Wednesday, July 20 at 4pm.  Here is a link to the FDAC website where you can find the virtual meeting agenda.  FDAC

Remind the County Supervisors they need to allocate some of the money promised to voters in the 2018 Measure G ballot to add a new 1/2 cent sales tax to help fund fire and emergency response.  To date, ZERO dollars brought in by Measure G approval have funded any fire agency. After all, they have to answer to the Grand Jury investigation and report.

TWO VIDEOS TELLING STORIES OF THE CZU FIRE 

Mountain Community Theater produced a 90-minute film “The CZU Fire In Their Own Words—Fighting Fires, Losing Homes, and Rebuilding Community” to raise funds for the local volunteer fire departments and the Community Foundation Fire Recovery Fund.

The first screening happened last Friday at the Zayante Fire Station, but you will have another chance to go on August 7, 1pm at Park Hall in Ben Lomond (9400 Mill Street).

Admission is free, with a suggested $10 donation.

If you were able to go to the screening last Friday, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

The second video just released on the topic is about Big Basin State Park and the CZU Fire recovery. It’s about 11 minutes long, and is available here:

Watch: New video explores massive wildfire at Big Basin Redwoods State Park and the forest’s recovery

Although he could not get to Big Basin State Park in time, State Archaeologist Mark Hylkema raced with other Parks staff to save historic documents from other treasured places in the face of the CZU Fire.  You can read about that here

PLEASURE POINT IS NOT A PLACE FOR HIGH RISES: NEIGHBORS HAVE A SOLUTION THAT HONORS THE CHARACTER OF THEIR COMMUNITY

Recently, County Planning Commissioner Rachel Dann stated “This is the biggest land use change our County has seen in 40 years, but not many people seem to be aware of it.”  She was talking about the Draft Santa Cruz County Sustainability Policies and General Plan Update, first presented to the Commission on May 25, 2022 in Item #6: Santa Cruz County Planning Department

To a large extent, Commissioner Dann is right.

However, it is encouraging to see that a group of astute neighbors in Pleasure Point ARE AWARE, they have organized and are keeping their seats at the Planning Dept. table to do all they can in a constructive way to protect their Community’s character.

My friends Al and Patti sent me this information highlighting “Save Pleasure Point”:

Pleasure Point is not a place for high rises: Rezone our neighborhood the right way 

This thoughtful group painstakingly reviewed the Santa Cruz County Draft Sustainability Plan and Regulatory Updates over the course of nine intense days.  They put together their comments and sent them in early, because they have seen the County’s deadlines for doing so can be somewhat mysterious and misleading.

Their comments really hone in on the inappropriate plan to re-zone Pleasure Point to put this neighborhood in the cross-hairs of ultra-dense development when it is already challenged with traffic congestion, and is at the far-end of 41st Avenue corridor connection to Highway One.  

Shouldn’t those ultra-dense developments be located closer to the main Highway One corridor…or enable passenger rail opportunities along the rail corridor?

A few years ago, I attended some of the Pleasure Point community meetings when the Planning Dept. and Supervisor John Leopold were pretending to be interested in the public’s opinion of their proposed Pleasure Point Commercial Corridor Plan.  No one wanted to reduce the number of lanes on Portola Drive, but that is what ended up in the Plan approved by the Board of Supervisors. 

Read the comment card input for the two public meetings held, and you’ll find that the proposed Santa Cruz County Draft Sustainability and General Plan Updates ignores what the people wanted.

APTOS NATURAL FOODS FOR SALE

I remember when this store first opened in 1990, and it is sad to see it struggling now.  It is officially for sale, so I hope the business will survive.  Many thanks to my friend, Al, who sent me this post from social media sent out just a few days ago:

William D. Mar Vista

Re: APTOS NATURAL FOODS It is sad to announce that ANF is for sale. My brother is the owner and he suffered a TBI about 2-weeks after he bought the store in 2015. Unfortunately, the management he had put in place in 2015, tried to get him to change his will and did other nefarious/dubious things that caused a separation. My brother replaced him with new management that ran it into the ground. I tried to help, but I have my own company and now my own clients are starting to suffer. I cannot continue to help him and now he wants out. I do not have any ownership, however, I have power of attorney, which has its own limitations. So, if you would like to chat about buying ANF or know of someone who may be interested in getting a landmark store at bottom-dollar pricing, please PM me and I will send my contact info so we can have a phone or Zoom conversation. Please help me spread the word… you can do that by sharing this post and chatting this up in your network of friends. Thank you!! W  7506 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA

A BRIGHT LIGHT HAS LEFT OUR COMMUNITY

On a sad note, Kenneth Coale, who, with his wife Susan, organized and led the County Equine Evacuation effort, passed away suddenly last week due to complications caused by an aortic dissection.  He was volunteering on a local horse event, providing amateur radio communication public service, when the problem occurred.  He was a wonderfully kind soul who led the animal evacuation effort during the CZU Fire.  He co-authored many interesting scientific papers in the field of marine science  and worked to improve local policing operational procedures and behavioral health trainings after the tragic killing of Sean Arlt in Santa Cruz City in 2016.  

Kenneth was kind, intelligent and witty…I will miss him greatly.

A VAST SENSE OF BEAUTY

These amazingly beautiful images from the James Webb telescope that NASA released last week should give us all pause to wonder about our place in the big picture of Life. 

Many thanks to my friend, Al, for sending this lovely image.  Each dot is a galaxy.  Here is a video explaining these amazing images (begin at minute 52:00):

MAKE ONE CALL.  WRITE ONE LETTER.  ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING.  VISIT ONE OF THE MANY GOOD LOCAL HISTORY MUSEUMS TO LEARN ONE NEW THING.  CALL A GOOD FRIEND AND HAVE COFFEE.

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE THIS WEEK BY JUST DOING SOMETHING.

Cheers,

Becky