I would like to call this meeting of the Camrio City Council and Camaro Sanitary
District of April 8th, 2026 to order. Would our city clerk please call the
role? >> Council member Santangelo
» here. >> Vice Mayor Martinez Bravo
» here. >> Council member Kildy
» here. Council member Trembley >> here.
» Mayor Tennyson >> here. We have a close session item and
if the city attorney would read the item,
» I would be appreciative. >> Uh, thank you, mayor and council. We
have one item on close session, the OPV Coalition versus Fox Canyon Groundwater
Management, pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9D1.
And if there's any reportable action, I'll make that report.
» Thank you. And with that, we will we we will recess to close session and be back
at 5:00 him.
We will reconvene the Camrio City Council meeting, Camrio Sanitary
District meeting of April 8th, 2026. And I would like the record to reflect
that all council members are still present. None of them ran away.
Um, I'm going to ask Mr. Trembley to lead us in the pledge.
» Would you please join me in the >> Pledge of Allegiance to the flag?
» I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic
for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
» Thank you, Mr. Mr. Trembley, are there any changes to this evening's
agenda? Seeing none, we will move on. We have a
presentation tonight from the CEO of the Museum of Ventura County, Elena Brokaw.
But before she steps up and talks, I'd also like to recognize board members
from the Museum of Ventura County, Mr. Jim Scanland. Welcome. Uh, Mr. David
Fukatomi, a member of a longtime Fukatomi family here in Camrio and his
eminence, the president ameritus of California State University, Channel
Islands, Dr. Richard Rush. So, welcome Elena. Please come forward. The time is
yours.
» Thank you so much, Mayor, Vice Mayor,
» uh, >> No, there it is. Mayor, Vice Mayor, all
council members, city manager, city staff, everybody at home. Thank you so
much for allowing us to come here to present tonight. As the mayor said, my
name is Elena Broka. I'm the Barbara Barnard Smith CEO of the Museum of
Ventura County, and I'm here to share a little bit of uh what we do with you.
So, for those of you who don't know, we are an art, history, and culture museum.
We were founded over a hundred years ago. We have uh four sites, two in
downtown Ventura, one in Santa Paula, and newly an office suite here in Camaro
about a mile, mile and a half from here. We are guided by the wisdom of our
incredible board of directors. Thank you, mayor, for introducing the three
Camaro Rio residents who are here tonight. Uh Dr. Rush, uh David Fukatomi,
and Jim Scanlin. We also have over a hundred voluntary adviserss. These
people are from all over the county and they are the ones who guide the museum
and all that it does. So that's who we are. Here's what we do. We collect our
artifacts and archives in order to guard the
unique identity of our region, the region of Ventura County.
Um for uh our goal here is to make everything as available as possible. I
just want to point out this. This is a site on our library and archives where
you can go and look up digitized files. Seven years ago, we had zero things
digitized. Now we have over 8,000. We use those collections to create exhibits
in our six galleries that we have across the county. We have rotating exhibits
there. Um we our goal is to bring as many people as possible and to that end
we have made the museum entirely free. We're able to do that through
sponsorships, which is almost quadrupled our attendance at all of our sites. And
this is who comes to the museum. We have about twothirds of our attendance from
Ventura County and then about 25% from other places in the state and 8% from
outside of the state, including international visitors. We're an
educational institution. Education is very important to what we do. We provide
school tours free for all Title One schools for second and third graders. We
have bus subsidies. We've realized that that is one of the biggest barriers to
getting kids to our site. So, with a recent grant, we are now able to provide
free busing for every Title One school who wants to come. Um, we're very, very
thankful to a grant that we got a few years ago, which created a paid
internship program starting with students here from Cal State University,
Channel Islands. Many thanks to the president, Emmeritus, for helping us
with that. All of those interns are paid a living wage, which right now is $204
an hour. Our goal is to get students who have to work in to do something that's
going to be a career pathway for them. And this is where we are doing our
education and engagement. This represents where we have tours, where we
have interns coming from, where we have scholarships, and as you can see, it's
all over the county. So these collections uh exhibits programs and
education all serve the museum's foundational principles which are these.
Our mission is to engage participants in meaningful experiences and our vision is
to build community and connection. And one of the ways that we build that
connection is to highlight our shared history. And to that end, tonight I
would like to use our collections to help all of us understand the city of
Camaro, how who it was, and why it came to be the way that it is today. So
before we begin with my little history lesson, I'd like to say that everything
that I'm sharing with you comes from the museum's archives, the library, and the
publications. All the photos are from our collection. So I'm going to start
with a little short history. This will be really quick. Um, we all learned this
like in fourth grade, but I don't know about you, that was a while ago for me,
so I think we need a refresher. Since pre-recorded history, this has been the
home to indigenous uh people. Here it's the Chumash. There were at least three
Chumash villages here in what is now Camaro. In 1542, a sailor named Cababrio
came here, visited the coastline, coastline. Yeah. coastline and took this
whole region including Mexico and all of California up into Oregon and further
east as a part a new colony of Spain. In 1769
the missions began to be erected here in California and Spain began to colonize
this area. In 1824, the Mexican people revolted against
Spain and miraculously they won just like the revolution over on the other
side of the country. It was incredible. So from 1824 until 1848 where we are
standing right now, we were in the country of Mexico. In 1848 there was
another war with the United States. The United States won that time. We became
part of the United States which we remain today. And in 1850, we became a
state. Okay, no test on that, but that's a little bit of history to kind of There
you go. Mayor's got it. To kind of establish where we are in time.
So when Mexico had governance of this area, they were very e eager to populate
the region because they didn't want it to be taken from them. There were
English, there were French, there were Russians, all who wanted this territory.
And one of the ways that they did that, they lured people to come here is they
provided ranchos, these large land grants. So the Mexican governor,
California governor rather, who was uh appointed by the president of Mexico,
would award land grants to people. They could be soldiers who'd done something
great. They could be, you know, somebody who had married their nephew, whatever,
or niece rather it. Yeah. Because there were no women who were rancheros. Sorry,
there was one. Uh so 19 ranchos were established in Ventura County and they
roughly correspond to the cities that we have today. Can you all see that on your
screens? You can probably see it a little bit better, but you can see it
there. And most of the Here's the ranchos, the 19 ranchos. They're huge.
Most of the cities are much smaller than the original ranchos were. And part of
the reason for that is that in the 1860s7s and 80s almost all of the
ranchos were sold and almost all of the new owners subdivided them and sold them
off into small lots. So you had one ranchera who owned let's say 50,000
acres that was all turned into little 100 acre lots and then you had first
tens and then scores and then hundreds and then thousands of owners in a spot
that had been owned by one person. But that is not the case in one rancho and
that rancho is Rancho Kayagus and we're standing right now on what was Rancho
Kayagus. In 1837 the California governor granted 10,000 acres to Jose Pedro Ruiz
and that was Rancho Cayas and now mo most of that rancho is the city of
Camaro as you can see. So what happened here? Why is Camaro actually larger?
It's 50% larger than it was when it was Rancho Cayas as opposed to all the other
cities. There are a lot of things that led to that, but one critical factor is
who bought Rancho Cayas from Jose Pedro Ruiz. And that person was a Mexican
immigrant named Juan Camaro. So Juan Camaro had come up from Mexico City in
1834. He was on a specific expedition filled with teachers to educate the new
kids that were being born in this newly populated area. When he came up here, he
became very wealthy because he did not become a teacher. Spoiler alert. Uh he
became a merchant. He had stores in Santa Barbara and in Ventura. And by
1875, he was ready to expand his holdings. And he purchased Rancho Gyas
from the family of Don of Jose Pedro Ruiz. That family had used the rancho to
raise livestock as almost all the ranchos did. But extreme weather events
in the 1860s ended the livestock industry in Ventura County and the
rancheros had to sell their property. So in 1875, the Ruiz family sold 10,000
acres to Juan Ramirez for $3,000, which by the way is worth about $81,000
now. And that was pretty much the going rate that they were going for. Juan Crio
did not have long to appreciate his new purchase. He bought it in 1875. He died
in 1880, leaving the management to his 16-year-old son, Adulo Camaro.
Adulo co-owned, managed, and lived on the rancho from 1880 until his death in
1958, which is almost 80 years. He used it to grow dry crops. He grew wheat,
barley, limema beans. Here he is in the middle finding a new artisian well on
his property. Uh by 1909, the LA Times wrote that Rancho Kayagus was the
largest bean ranch in the world. It was very successful. In 1892, he was able to
build what came what has come to be known as the Camrio Ranch House for his
growing family. By all accounts, Adulo and his brother Juan were extremely
generous and benevolent employers, land owners, etc. They donated hundreds of
acres of property, for roads, for schools, for churches, uh for the
railroad, and for much more. And their solo ownership of this huge
piece of property, 10,000 piece acre piece of property, meant that they
controlled who moved there. So people were moving into the land right around
it. Like Springville was not part of Rancho Cayas and so homesteaders were
moving in there and there were some people around the edges but nobody was
moving on to the rancho unless they were employers or family members of Adulo
Juan and his family. And you can see they managed all the growth and they
liked it like that. So you can see that from this postcard that we have. This is
a postcard from Camaro spelled karmo. I just noticed that in 1927.
This is downtown Camaro. Now, let's compare this to this photo downtown in
1905. Over 20 years earlier, anybody want to
guess what city this is? This teeming metropolis.
» Sopa. >> Santa.
» Santa Paula. >> Santa Paula.
» Santa Paula. There you go. Uh so it was not until Adulo Camaro died
in 1958 that the community really grew. Two years after his death, the chamber
of commerce formed an incorporation committee and in 19 Well, you know, it's
all over, right? In 1964, Camaro was incorporated and then it
starts taking off. So I'm going to skip through. I hope to talk a little bit
more, but I'm not going to be able to talk about this. This is a population
chart starts in 1910 before we have any census data for Camaro, but it shows how
the cities grow. And I want you to sort of watch Camaro, which is right here now
cuz we're talking to you. See how it goes up and down. And you'll start you
see the numbers start to get there in about the mid60s.
So Ventura's largest, Oxnard, and then whoop, Santa Paula overtakes Oxnard,
which always blows everybody's mind. Oxnard goes up there to the top and
stays there. Here we go. Camaro starts growing.
Now it goes really fast. I'm going to share this power. You already have the
PowerPoint so you can actually watch it on your own. But if you go back and look
at it between 1970 and 1980, Camaro grows by 350% that decade. And uh
relatively Oxnard less than doubles. So that 1970 1980 just been incorporated.
It had not grown at all. That is when everything happens and that is what
creates the type of city that you have today. So I want to be very clear that
this is only one piece of the puzzle that went into creating this city that
you call Camaro. There are other people that established Camaro. I talked about
the homesteaders around the country that around the borders of the Rancho
Kayagas. There are other events that happen. You're very lucky here in this
town. You have other historical associations. They have also collected
history. the Pleasant Valley Historical Society, the Camrio Ranch House
Foundation, they also have source materials that can tell even more of
this story and tell other aspects of this story. Um, I do want to say that we
share their goal to protect and preserve these records, these artifacts, um,
these uh, archives, and our hope is to complement what they have with what we
have. I'm really happy and proud to be able to share that the Camrio Ranch
House Foundation and the Museum of Ventura County are in conversations to
accession some of their archives in order to protect them and get them into
climate controlled environment in order to make sure that they are here in the
future. So, in closing, I want to thank you for letting me tell this story, talk
about who the museum is, and I do want to say I have an ask.
So, I've talked about, you know, the history over a past 175 years. One thing
I hope we take away is that it wasn't always this way, and it won't always be
this way. It's going to look very different. You were incorporated 60
years ago. And our goal is to collect our history now so that 60 years from
now, none of us is going to be here. But somebody will be wondering what happened
to create the community that we know then. And our goal is to gather that and
protect it. So I have a few requests that I would like to make of you which
is to help us identify oral history participants to help us identify
partners who can both share their history with us and help us expand the
storytelling that we are able to do. So this is our ask to you to help us
connect the past, present and future. We would love to partner with you formally,
informally, whatever it might be to help share the story of our of this city and
of our entire region. And that's it. Thank you.
» Thank you. >> Thank you, Elena. Before I open it up to
council, I just want to congratulate you on being named woman of the year by
Senator Monnique Leone. Congratulations. Welld deserved. Now, any council
members?
Vice Mayor, >> I actually have a question and a
comment. The first question is, oh, actually, I'll start with a comment. Uh,
thank you so much for you said community and connection. You are building that.
That is you as the leader, but also your board and the fact that you're just
doing such amazing work. I'm personally so proud of that. And the mayor kind of
took the words out of my mouth, too. But I, you know, I'm so proud that you were
also uh selected as one of the five women of the year by Senator Prom
Monique Leone. And I mentioned that at last at our last council meeting, but
I'm glad to share that with you in person as well. Yes. Um the question
that I have is have you formed any partnerships with Kitstream Emerging
Children's Museum and also with the Pleasant Valley Historical Society? We I
meet with Michael fairly reg Michael Shanklin uh the ED of the of Kids
Stream. So we are we've taken tours. He's taken tours of ours. We are very
» we're very much like whenever you're ready for a partnership let's have a
partnership. So and he knows that our resources are there to help him in
whatever way and vice versa. So we don't have a specific partnership yet.
Pleasant Valley Historical Society. I have gone and done a tour of the program
before of the museum before they closed it and I've been in touch with Joy Todd
recently just to say let's get together and let's see how we can work together.
So nothing specific yet but conversations are open.
» Okay. Well, thank you so much and thank you for everything that you do. Truly
appreciate it. >> Go ahead Mr. Kildy. Speaking of history
» quickly, Mr. K. >> Oh, thank you. Thanks for being here.
look forward to working with you really closely. Um, I was able to go, I think
it was a major funders you had last year and I had a really good time and I was
able to tour the museum and you've done some pretty incredible work there and
you have a great board of directors and a lot of support. So, uh, any way we can
help you, you know, achieve your goals, of course, we're we're always here to to
help in any way, shape, or form. So, and congratulations on your award. Happy for
you. >> Thank you.
Susan, >> thank you so much for being here
tonight. Um, you know, you shared that um you shared your mission with with us
and what stood out to me was that um you want to engage in meaningful experiences
and so I wanted to thank you for bringing your mission here tonight. um
because that was pretty meaningful for me to have a a short little history
lesson to go back in time and relive my fourth grade um memories about the
missions and and um you know the land that we live in today. So, thank you for
the work you do and congratulations on your award.
» Thank you, >> Mr. Trembley.
» Oh, boy. We have a kind of a tradition on the council that if if uh our
colleagues have already said what we were going to say, we don't extend our
remarks. we just simply say ditto. Um I that would be uncharacteristic
uncharacteristically succinct for me though. I'm going to say one or two
things and then say ditto. First of all, I'm really delighted that the museum has
offices now in Camaro. Um I am thankful to the museum and to the board of
directors for the foresight uh and the work and the efforts uh that you've made
in preserving our our local history. Um I think we all know what the importance
of the museum is. So whatever we can do I see let's see 1 2 3 4 five six seven I
think there are eight bullets here so we should we should talk about all those
asks and >> thank you
» thank you >> and just to bring it back to Camrio you
have office space what do you envision for that just office space or do you
guys as a organization and a board have a greater vision for your presence in
Camaro >> we have lot this board has lots of
vision as you can imagine >> realistic big dreams. Um, our goal, so
we are out of space to collect, which is one of the reasons we're focusing on
oral histories because they are digital, right? They don't need physical space.
They need cloud space. Um, and we have to expand our collections. So, right
now, we are exploring expanding our entire collections here into Camaro and
moving what we would call our research center. So, all of our collections, our
reading room, our archives, everything is centrally located. We're really close
to two institution, three if you can Oxard College institutions of higher
learning. Um we feel like we can really expand our mission if we are located
here. So that's our big dream. >> And what's the size of your footprint
right now in Camrio? >> Right now we're in 45 4,000 square feet
of office space and we are looking at 18,000 square feet of office space.
» Great. >> Or space, excuse me, space.
» Space. Yeah. Well, thank you very much, Elena, and thank you to your board
members that took out of their busy schedule instead of going to Ralph
shopping. Uh, Dr. Rush is here. Um, I appreciate that. Have a wonderful
evening. >> Thank you.
» Thank you, Elena.
» You're allowed to leave now, Dr. Rush, if you'd like.
» Thank you, Mr.
Madame clerk, do we have any speakers on any items not on the agenda?
» Yes, there are six requests to speak under general comments. If you'd like to
speak but haven't submitted your name, please see clerk staff in the foyer.
Each speaker is limited to three minutes. The city council will receive
general public comment for an initial period of 20 minutes. Speakers who sign
up during the initial 20 minute public comment period but are not heard within
that time will be given an opportunity to speak following the completion of
action on all other agenda items. Your time will be displayed with the video on
the displays. When your time is up, the microphone will be muted and we will
move on to the next speaker. When I call your name, please come up to the podium.
The first speaker is Spencer Richie followed by Diana Bradley.
Welcome, Spencer. >> Hello.
All right. Fine. Hi, I am Spencer Richie. Um good evening to you all. Um
few few different things. Um one tiny little correction to the the
presentation. Um as lovely as it was. Um, so in reality,
um, Ranchic Kayagus' western border was actually
basically just west of what of an of what is now um, Lewis.
Um, what we are standing in now is actually
um, it's called the Gore. it it's often called the gore after like a cut of
fabric, but basically where Springville and was and where most of Camrio is now,
including us, that was in the um basically that triangle just to Rancho
Cayas's west that ended up the the reason that was open to homesteaders was
because that ended up not making it into um any of the land grants that were
registered by first the Mexican government and then the US government.
Um anyway, so on to the the meat and potatoes of
but again, thank you for the Ventura County Museum and I could not be happier
that it plans to one day move its research center to Cam Rio because
getting to downtown Ventures is hard for me as someone who can't drive especially
because our public transit is lacking. All right, now to my main concern. So,
as of 9:20 a.m. on April 6th, so 2 days ago, Monday, um, ICE has so far, again,
as of 9:20 a.m. on Monday, April 6th, 2 days ago, ICE has kidnapped
from the 805 area code 1,824
people. ICE has kidnapped 889 people from Ventura County so far. And from
Camaro alone, it has kidnapped 471 people. Um, again, these are neighbors,
these are students, these are workers and these are our tax base. Um,
you know, since you know, you like people paying taxes and stuff. Um, so
again, you know, not even scolding VCSO for picking up people who have just been
released from our jails, like no, letting ICE do that. And also, like not
even tolerating people just observing ICE, that's not great. Please do better.
Thank you. Have a nice day. >> Thank you, Spencer.
» Welcome. The next speaker is Diana Bradley,
followed by Jordan Blake.
» Welcome, Diana. >> Thank you. Which one do I use? This one.
» Either one. >> Okay. Hello. Oh, good. Um, hi. Um, I
attended your council meeting uh two weeks ago, March 25th, hoping to
see the Camaro mobile home rent stabilization ordinance passed. That did
not happen. Council members Santangelo and Martinez Bravo are the committee
members pursuing this ordinance to help us mobile home mobile home owners who
are subject to unfair land lease raises by park owners.
Their committee has done extensive research over the last year. They
provided verified statistics that IPG is gouging their tenants.
The land rent chart that was displayed by the committee. Really all you need to
know about the park owner IPG. They raise their land rents without a care
about their senior tenants, which I am one, and their lower income and family
tenants. I personally know of two senior tenants in the past three years who had
to just walk away from their homes. One is now living in his car.
Uh the two female council members voted in favor and all three of the male
members opposed, noting that they wanted changes to the draft ordinance,
primarily, it's my understanding, to the vacancy control, which is the ability
for park owners to raise land leases substantially to potential buyers.
Ventura County Parks limit vacancy increases to 15%
once every four years and Ventura city parks do not allow increases to a new
tenant. The mobile homeowners want to protect
their home equity. This ordinance can protect the equity of 500 homeowners
that have built in Camaro's mobile home parks. The loss of our home equity, I
think, is directly tied to the vacancy control. We're asking you to pass this
ordinance, protect our equity by limiting park owners raising land rents
exorbitantly to potential buyers during sales and transitions.
Controlling vacancy increases is a priority for mobile home owners.
Homeowners need monthly rent stabilization as well to protect our
seniors living on fixed income. We mobile homeowners and tenants
respectfully ask the city council to pass this rent stabilization ordinance.
Thank you. >> Thank you,
» Jordan Blake followed by Shirley Edwards.
Welcome, Jordan. >> Oh, thank you. Hello. Thank you very
much for taking the time to listen to the issue regarding the rent control and
vacancy rate. Um, I guess I'll read a little and speak a little. Um, Camaro
prides itself on taking care of the senior community. However,
unfortunately, without ordinances, the rent control and vacancy rates uh has
directly affected the senior community and mobile home parks are traditionally
fixed income communities. They are crucial for affordable housing and
should be a lowerc cost path to home ownership for lowincome residents and
seniors. So, the lack of ordinance in the city's law has allowed landlords to
take advantage of the v vulnerable lowincome and senior communities because
there's no rent control or vacancy measures in place. The rents have
skyrocketed as you know. And uh if the city adopts uh like a 6 or
10% uh vacancy rate like you were talking about at the last meeting, the
new new rents, the landlords will most certainly increase to the maximum. Um
because the rents are already higher than the LA City and Thousand Oaks
areas, adding six or 10% to the vacancy rate would be ultimately a much higher
rent than the other 55 and older senior parks. and also just other mobile home
parks in general of all ages. Um, so I propose that we do some type of sliding
scale where maybe the first or second year is at 0% and then you go years two
and three to 2% and then 4% ultimately ending up around 7%. And I think that
this graduated increase, you know, would no longer allow the rents to be
increased 20 to 50% when a home sells, which is what's happening now. You know,
you you're paying a,000 and then the rent is 260 to the new prospective buyer
plus three times, you know, income for a senior. Uh, and I think that's it. What
I want to say to what the prior um person had spoken about is that the
vacancy rate is directly affecting the sales. um the comparables if you pull
for the last five years in like Camaro Mobile Estates versus Casadel Norte
which is far less and also uh Rancho Adulo which has 11 landown uh I mean our
park-owned spaces that they rent and their rent there is only $15.95 in
Rancho Adulo including the homeowners and all of those sell for much higher uh
the average for Camaro Mobile estates I think was like 97,000 000. Kasa del
Norte was like 137,000. Lamp lighter was like 237. But I think that's because
it's, you know, all ages and uh, you know, they have two incomes versus
Camaro Mobile Home Estates, which is for, you know, seniors and elderly.
Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Jordan.
» Shirley Edwards, followed by Sid Hearth Medra.
Welcome, ma'am. >> Hello. I'm Shirley Edwards. I live in
the Mobile Home Park here in Camaro. And I rise in support of the rent ordinance,
stabilization ordinance, including vacancy control. And I urge all council
members to vote positive on this when it comes up for the next uh voting process.
I say ditto to the last two speakers because I agree with everything they
said. um an an owner in a mobile home park
like me for instance on a fixed income. If I wanted to sell my home, I uh may
have to devalue it in order to be able to sell because new owners are very
turned off by the high land rent. My place will probably go very much higher
a month than it is now. My lease expires at the end of the month and I'm at the
end of this year, I'm sorry. And I'm very concerned about what the price is
going to be. Am I going to be able to pay it? What are my options going to be?
Sell hopefully or walk away. Those are the options. So, I strongly request that
you vote for the rent stabilization ordinance with vacancy control to help
protect those of us who live in the city and devote a lot of volunteer time to
the city of Camaro. Thank you very much. >> Thank you.
Sidarth Medroa followed by DVO Brown.
» Welcome,
» council. Fellow citizens, I believe the speakers before me have
spoken most wisely of all. I add my voice to theirs to all their remarks and
I add this also. Council, we are coming to you for protection.
Protection from being turned out of house and home in some cases.
Protection from being attacked, abducted, bullied, beaten, carried away
to a face it worse than death in the other. Protection in a third case from
pollution and the excessive heat. it is imposing on this city as well.
These things these things are the largest troubles
our nation faces and our city as well. We come to you asking for your aid in
putting an end to them. Above all, perhaps most urgently, all
three of these must be done. But most urgently,
ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as they call themselves,
the occupying force invading and threatening us.
The invading force imprisoning people merely for looking at them, as Spencer
pointed out, why they must stop and they must go.
They must stop all they are doing and they must go from this city, from this
county, from this state never to return.
That is the bare minimum. The bare minimum any city must offer its
people the safety
and the confidence of a place to call home. If these threats of high rent
occupying armies and and pollution continue, we shall have none of these.
We shall not even have a city, the the borders of this land have been,
as our executive of the museum pointed out, been drawn and redrawn many times
over the years, and they may be redrawn again. But
there's no cause to mistreat our own people on those grounds. whether those
borders are drawn by nations or landlords.
When I have said that, I have said everything.
Pollution and and high rent and and customs
enforcement as they call it must stop and must go. That is all.
» Thank you, >> DVO Brown.
Welcome, sir. >> Thank you, sir, very much. Uh, Mr.
Mayor, I appreciate it. Vice Mayor, council members,
Mr. Ramirez, city manager, and all the amazing city staff. Um, I don't say
those terms lightly. It's not uh just a gentle colloquialism. It's a truly an
expression of my opinion of everyone on this das. I appreciate it. Um, I'm of
course talking to you what I always talk to you about. So far the last several
times we've spoken. Um, but I have a couple of new thoughts. I'm not going to
beat you with uh figures and and those sorts of things.
It's just Well, I'm going to give you a couple just a couple. Um, the main
figure that I was thinking of is um
well, it really has to do with with vacancy control. And I think that's
what we were discussing. The three non uh ad hoc members of the council were
really really drilling down on last time at the last meeting.
The thing that I didn't hear any of you mention, I heard all of you mention
return on investment for the park owner many times and I noticed in the uh
agenda report it's mentioned 17 times return on investment. I also understand
that it's a state law that it has to be there and I find that your due diligence
is refreshing because that tells me your due diligence on things that we don't
discuss is probably just as high and I appreciate that. So when I say thank you
for your service, I'm thanking you for that attention to detail as well. The
one detail that wasn't attended to that I haven't heard yet, it's not in the
it's not in the the ordinance itself, which by the way does mention return on
investment for the park owner 12 times was return on investment for the
homeowners. In this particular place, in this
particular situation, there are two owners for every every parcel, if you
will. There's the land owner and then there's the homeowner. Now, a standard
stick and mortar home, it's one owner. the one owner owns both the home and the
land. In this instance, there's two. Now, I don't know if you know this or
not, but I I like to I don't know if you know any American Sign Language, but
there's a symbol for fair because fair return is the the term that's used quite
a bit. The term fair in American Sign Language is this.
Okay, it's um sign language is kind of a visual anamapia, anamanopia, but um what
that means is there's two entities and they meet at a level ground. And so far
what I've noticed is the uh the particular inside of this that has the
most money gets the most fair. They get the most mention of the term fair. And
the ones that have the least amount of money, the individual homeowners aren't
getting the term fair toward our return at all. It hasn't been mentioned. I'm
hoping it's being considered after I speak to you today. That's the least I
can tell you. Um, that's really all I wanted to mention is that I feel like
we're being left out. Um, collectively the homeowners in the city.
I'm out of time. Thanks for letting me share.
» Thank you very much.
» There are no more speakers. >> Thank you very much. We will move on to
council staff and intergovernmental reports.
And I would like to write um welcome Mr. Gerardo Gonzalez
with Interface 211. Welcome.
» Uh, good evening, mayor, vice mayor, council members, and city manager. Thank
you for excuse me, having me here today. I'm Hero Gonzalez, community information
associate director with interface 211. And I'm here to share how uh 211 has
been supporting Camrio residents throughout this past year.
For those who may be unfamiliar with our services, uh 211 Ventura County operates
under interface children and family services based out of uh Camaro. Uh we
serve as a countywide information and referral hub linking residents to more
than 2,000 health and human service resources uh throughout the region. Uh
last year in 2025, we received over 18,000 calls and texts, and our website
welcomed more than 25,000 visitors. Uh each of these interactions represents
someone funding their way to the services and the help that they need. Uh
in 2026, we celebrate over 20 years of providing uh 21 services to the
community. Uh 211 represents just one part of
Interface's broader mission. Interface runs 30 distinct programs across six
core departments. Uh domestic violence and child abuse prevention, human
trafficking prevention and intervention, uh justice services, mental health and
trauma treatment, and youth crisis and homeless uh services.
This broader network allows us to be able to direct refer to our interface
programs for uh individuals who uh can benefit from our services.
Uh 211 stands as the county's most extensive and comprehensive information
and referral resource for residents seeking help. Our team assists callers
in locating and accessing uh the service that the services that they require from
housing to food programs, mental health support to legal aid. We're available
247 every day of the year, understanding that urgent needs don't wait for
convenient hours.
Accessibility is central to our mission. Residents can connect with us in three
simple methods, and that's by dialing 211, texting. their zip code 2898211
or visiting our website at 211ventura.org.
Regardless of how someone uh connects with us, they'll be connected to a
trained community information navigator. Uh now I'd like to share some specific
data about how we served uh Camrio residents in 2025. So we took 1,59
calls uh from Camrio residents throughout the year. Uh let me give you
some context around this figure. uh a significant number of our Camaro callers
reach out to us more than once. So the actual count of unique individuals is
lower than the 1,59. Uh what this shows us is that residents
trust 211 enough to come back when they need additional uh support. Someone
might contact us initially about finding housing and then give us a call back a
few weeks later when they need mental health services or perhaps give us a
call a third time when they need uh food assistance. Uh we collect demographic
information from every caller to help us understand community needs and trends
which is why you're seeing the total call volume rather than a count of
unique individuals.
Uh looking at the demographics of those that we served, uh 457 were first-time
callers to 211. 105 were families with children under 5 years old. 22 callers
indicated the person in need was pregnant. 100 calls pertained to someone
who reported they were at risk of becoming homeless. And 142 calls pertain
to someone who reported that they were currently homeless. Uh you know these
numbers give us a snapshot of some of the challenges facing some of our Camaro
neighbors within the context of 211 um particularly around housing stability
and the need for comprehensive family support.
Behind each of these calls is a real person uh navigating a difficult
situation. Uh let me share an example with you. A few months ago, we received
a call from a Camaro resident, uh, let's call her Sarah, uh, facing a crisis that
was affecting her entire family. Her 15-year-old son had been refusing to go
to to go to school, uh, becoming verbally abusive at home and showing
signs of serious uh, mental health struggles. Sarah had contacted the
school and they referred her to a mental health provider. but she was overwhelmed
trying to navigate the mental health system while also managing her own
stress and anxiety about her son's well-being.
Uh when Sarah called 211, our navigator recognized that this wasn't just about
finding a mental health provider. It was also about supporting an entire family
in need. Uh we connected her to mental health services that accept medical uh
for her son, linked her to family therapy resources so the whole family
could work through this together and provided information about support
groups for uh parents dealing with similar challenges. Uh when one family
member struggles with mental health, uh the entire family often needs support as
well, not just the individual in crisis. 211 is here to help uh families access
the comprehensive services they need to be able to heal together.
Uh when we look at the top categories of needs expressed by Camrio callers in
2025, housing ranked number one uh no surprise there. Second was individual
family and community support encompassing services like the area
agency on aging case management and programs like holiday gifts and toys. Uh
third was mental health and substance use services. Uh ref reflecting the
significant need for uh behavioral health support.
Uh this slide here shows how Camrio compares to other cities in the county.
As you can see, housing is the top need across every community. This is a
countywide challenge, not unique uh to Camaro. What we see in Camaro is that
mental health and substance use services rank as the third highest need. Uh this
reflects a pattern we're seeing in several communities across the county
where uh behavioral health support is becoming an increasingly prominent need
alongside housing and family services. And lastly uh to wrap up, in addition to
uh linking residents to existing resources, we operate uh several
specialized programs delivering direct services over the phone uh to residents
through VITA, our volunteer income tax assistance program. Uh we offer
appointments for no cost tax preparation uh to qualifying community members,
helping them claim maximum refunds and access tax credits that they're entitled
to. Our PSPS initiative supports the access and functional needs population
in advance of public safety power shut offs via case management and delivers
real time help during actual uh shut offs uh covering things like lodging,
meals, transportation, portable backup batteries, all at no cost to residents
for the duration of the PSPS events. And this is made possible through our
partnership with Southern California Edison. Ventura versus Hate uh assists
those who've experienced hate incidents in filing reports and accessing
appropriate uh support services through ECM, our enhanced care management
program. Our team delivers comprehensive case management to eligible Gold Coast
Health Plan members, helping them address both their health needs and
basic needs through coordinated care. Uh these initiatives allow us to offer
hands-on assistance to some of our most vulnerable residents in our communities.
I appreciate your time this evening and thank you uh so much for your continued
support of the work that we do here in 21 I'm sorry in Camaro through 211. Uh
if you or anyone you know ever needs assistance, please remember that we're
here uh 247. Again, you can reach us by calling 211, texting your zip code
2898211, or visiting our website at 21venter.org.
Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Herardo. Herardo,
I said it right this time. You said it right. Yes. Any comments or questions? I
know the vice mayor will have something. >> Uh, thank you, Mayor uh, Herardo. Thank
you so much for your presentation and more than anything, thank you to 211 for
the critical work that is being offered to our community members. Um, I know you
mentioned that housing is the top need and mental health is, I believe, number
three. Um, and I would probably assume that when people are asking for mental
health support is when they're already acknowledging that they need that
support. But unfortunately, if people are facing housing insecurity, they're
probably already in need of some mental health services. Um, when people are
seeking housing services, are you able to make that connection to any mental
health support as well? >> Yeah. Yeah, we are. So, um, our approach
is to be as comprehens comprehensive as possible. So, when someone calls, um, we
make sure to assess their situation. What we want to do is of course
acknowledge the stated need but also look out for unstated needs, right? So
often times we're able to provide additional resources to try to uh again
uh kind of make sure that they're they're
taken care of in every aspect. And depending um you know depending if
they're able to take all of that information at the time uh we're able to
share uh the resources that they that they need and if not then we'll follow
up with them or they'll know that we're here 24/7 so they can they can connect
with us again. >> Okay. Thank you so much. And other than
that, my comment is just that I'm very proud that the city of Camaro is a
partner and supporter, financial supporter of 211 because it is through
that work that we're able to offer these services to our community members who
need it right then and there. So, thank you.
» Thank you. >> Any other comments, Susan?
» Oh, you're leaving. >> Herardo, we're not done.
» Apologize. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. >> Thank you for being No, that you're
fine. I'm just teasing you. I'm really happy you're here tonight. Um, you know,
my day job is a psychiatric nurse and so I have patients that um use 211 and in
the same sense that I refer them to. So, I'm really happy that we have that
resource and I am um not happy but it's really um rewarding that I get to see it
in use daily. So, thank you. >> Thank you,
» gentlemen. Mr. KD Jardo just kind of uh quickly if you would um housing are most
of the calls with the housing related are they in a financial
rent assistance what what's the number one would you say with the housing call
» so the composition of that top need is about 50% uh affordable subsidized
housing so individuals that are looking for low-income subsidized housing and
about 20% of that is individuals who are seeking emergency housing because
they're either homeless or uh they're at risk. And then the remainder of that is
individuals who yes are uh going through some type of financial hardship and
they're looking for rent payment assistance or help with their with their
bills. So oftent times what we what we want to do is uh assess their situation
and um make sure you know are they taking advantage of any entitlement
benefits. You know are you enrolled in Calresh, Cal Works? Um if they're
disabled, you know, do you have social security income? So, we try to explore
those avenues uh combined with the actual resources for rent payment
assistance or low-income subsidized housing. Uh right now, uh there's a
variety of weight lists that are available uh through many mansions and
other low-income housing providers. So, we're excited that on daily we're able
to connect individuals to those uh housing weight lists. And there's even a
couple lists that are actually open right now where they're accepting
applications for consideration of housing. So that's kind of a relief
there that over these last few months there's actually some good viable
options for for people to consider. Oftent time people are frustrated
because they need they need a they need housing in a month or two but you know
time will pass. We still encourage them to get on the wait list because the time
will come eventually. Um so that's kind of like a
like you know kind of what that looks like.
» Thank you. That's helpful. >> Mr. Trembley.
» Thanks Mr. Mayor Hera. Thank you for being here. um the the depth and the
breadth of 211's expertise in all these different areas is is instrumental for
our community. So, I really appreciate you being here. Ditto to what my uh
colleagues have already said and I want to especially note and compliment um you
on the power uh shut off safety services uh and that partnership I guess
partnership with with Edison because I know it's of value uh during those
times. So, thanks for being here. >> Thank you.
Thank you very much, Ditto, what my colleagues have said and now you are
free to leave. >> Thank you so much for your time. I
appreciate it. >> Have a good evening.
» Good evening.
» Next up, we will have a presentation from Commander Tennyson on the uniform
crime statistics for the city of Camaro. >> Good evening, mayor, council, and staff.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk about crime in
Camaro last year. I can tell you as a resident who lives here and as someone
who is very familiar with the crimes that happen, Camaro remains a very safe
place to live and to work and to raise families. Uh the first couple of slides
are going to be things that you've all heard before, but it's worth reminding
for those who are watching or listening for the first time. The sheriff's office
fully transitioned away from uniform crime reporting uh in 2024 and we went
over to the new national incidentbased reporting system. So we now have two
years worth of data so we can look and compare apples to apples from 24 and 25
to get an idea of how we're doing from crime. There's a lot of different things
that came through neighbors but the bottom line is we have a lot more data
that we now are required to collect and report to the FBI. But that extra data
also gives us more data points to analyze and to help us develop good
strategies in fighting crime. Our categories within NYERS are crimes
against persons, crimes against property, and crimes against society.
And I'll talk a little bit about each of those and what they look like
year-over-year from 24 to 25. Before I talk about that though, I do
want to remind uh everybody watching and remind council here that crime rates are
affected by many many things and we have a tendency to want to look at our city
and compare them to our neighboring cities, but there are so many factors
that make Camaro different from our neighboring cities that we have to be
really careful when we do that. Uh we do report on a per 1,000 resident basis,
but what we also understand is that our daytime population isn't just based on
our 70,700 residents. We have a lot of businesses
here that employ people that bring them in. We have the outlets that bring in a
lot of people. So, our population is very different during the day than it is
at night. And there are many, many factors that influence crime. We did see
a few uh positive and negative crime trends this year. Uh this last year,
they include increases in assaults, and I'll talk about those a little bit
later. We saw a significant decrease in motor vehicle thefts, and as you might
imagine, we see continued organized retail theft activities, primarily along
the theft corridor of Ventura Boulevard. One of the first things I want to talk
about is looking at a six-year snapshot of our calls for service. We did have an
uptick last year from 14,000 up to 14,500,
but we still remain lower than we have in the last six years. These calls for
service are not just when somebody calls for a deputy. It also includes um
traffic collisions. What it doesn't include though is self-initiated,
proactive policing and self-initiated activity. And our deputies do a lot of
that because that proactive policing is really what goes a long way to making us
safe. So these here are just the calls for service where somebody calls needing
a police officer to respond. Now the first category I want to look at
is crimes against persons. And a couple of things stand out to me is that are,
you know, we had the same amount of homicides we had last year. I'm grateful
that we only had one, but one is one too many. um in in Camaro in 2025 on New
Year's uh I think it was the day after New Year's was a murder suicide between
an elderly couple where there had been a terminal illness diagnosis
uh and it was tragic and we work to ensure that we don't have any in Camaro
but sometimes we can't control all of those things that happen behind closed
doors. We did have 20 consensual sex offenses down from 35 the year before.
Nine of those consensual sex offenses were rapes. I reviewed each one of those
rapes. Uh they were all uh not that it makes it any better, but just some of
the demographics on it was known offenders uh to victims. So we didn't
have stranger rapes. Those are something that would uh really cause us a lot of
concern if we had something like that. Uh we did not have that and we didn't
discover any trends with the ones that we did have or with any of the sex
offenses that we did have. The assaults are where we saw a significant increase.
We went from 452 assaults in 2024 up to 496 assaults last year. They were driven
primarily in assaults related to domestic violence cases, but we also saw
assaults related to child abuse go up. Those are not primary arrests. What we
saw is secondary arrests. So, for example, if our deputies are out
conducting proactive policing and we arrest a drunk driver, if they have a
child in the car, we are moving aggressively to add an arrest charge to
whoever is driving the car if there's a child in the car. And we did see those
numbers go up quite a bit last year. Uh we also saw an increase in resisting,
obstructing, and delaying peace officers. And pretty much those three
categories, the domestic violence, the child abuse, and resisting police
officers, uh, made up the majority of the increases that we see in crimes
against persons. I want to highlight for you really quick
a case involving crimes against persons. Uh, this investigation happened at the
beginning of last year and our detectives started investigating a an
assault with a deadly weapon. This was between a boyfriend and a girlfriend. Uh
when they learned of that domestic violence case, they came to understand
that the girlfriend pointed what the victim believed to be an AR-15 rifle at
the victim. Our special enforcement unit team, which is our plane closed unit,
got involved and they were able to author a search warrant and get that
search warrant approved by a local judge. They ended up serving that search
warrant at a residence and they followed up at a storage facility. They located
42 firearms, including a 50 caliber rifle and thousands of rounds of
ammunition. Uh, the girlfriend was arrested, but it turns out that the
boyfriend, who was initially the victim of the assault with a deadly weapon, was
a convicted felon, and he was not allowed to be in possession of or around
ammunition or weapons, and he was knowingly, so he got arrested as well.
But this picture shows those 42 uh firearms and thousands of rounds of
ammunition. and it was a great case um by our detectives and by our special
enforcement unit. The next category we look at is crimes
against property. And you can see we're pretty static across the board in all of
our crimes against property. Um this is an area crimes against property where
proactive policing really can have a positive impact and I'll talk about that
in a moment. The most the most notable improvement was in the area of thefts of
motor vehicles. You can see we had 72 vehicles stolen in 2024 and 45 stolen in
2025. And much of that decline we attribute to identifying the right
crooks who we know have backgrounds in stealing vehicles and targeting them
aggressively for probation searches and targeting them for stays in custody
because when they are in jail, they're not able to be out on the streets
stealing cars and victimizing residents. You can also notice on here that one
area um you know when we have 800 crimes or 700 crimes that we're measuring, it
looks like just a little blip on the radar, but it is one worth talking
about. Arson, we had four arson in 2025. We had none in 2024. Uh in three of
those arsonants, we discovered that transients were using fires either to
cook or to keep warm. And they were inser observed by passerbys who reported
it to us. And we were able to go out and make contact. And we did make some
arrests. One of the arson was a person who was suffering from a serious mental
breakdown and who burned uh started a fire in the home where she was living.
Arrests were made in all four cases of the arson that happened.
Organized retail theft. This is one that we always talk about in Camaro because
we have the Camrio Premium Outlets. We have the Camrio Town Center with um
Target and with Home Depot. um they are still and likely always will be the most
prominent crime in Camaro and a lot of that does revolve around organized
retail theft. It's not just shoplifts. In 2025, we did have 370 shoplifts
between just between the Cameo Premium Outlets and the Cameo Town Center, which
is Target and Home Depot. 177 of those shoplifts were organized
retail theft in nature. What does that mean to you? When we talk about ORT,
we're talking about groups working in concert to commit the thefts. They move
from store to store. They even move from city to city or region to region. We've
had people from Northern California who make their way down the coast committing
organized retail theft. Some of these groups create distractions in order to
commit their thefts, while others are less strategic uh about their thefts and
more bold. They just go in and they uh take armfuls of property. Um, some of
them take advantage of their knowledge that a lot of loss prevention uh
employees from some of these corporations, they have to call their
headquarters before they can report it to police. And so, a lot of the crooks
know that and they take advantage of that. It also gives us a disadvantage at
times when we're trying to identify and take people into custody. Our community
resource unit works uh handinhand though with the outlet mall security and are
constantly building good relationships with the loss prevention to try and
minimize that time delay between the crime occurring and the crime being
reported to us. And we've seen a lot of success in that area. Uh most often in
organized retail theft, the crooks are looking for specific merchandise like
laundry detergent or beauty supplies. Other items they look for are cell
phones, clothing, purses, and even high-end alcohol.
We still do have the organized retail theft task force that's operating on a
grant run by the sheriff's office and we do see them operating in Camaro
proactively at our outlets. Um when I talked about proactive policing having
an impact on property crimes, this is that one area that I'm talking about.
Uh, our two-person directed enforcement unit also works proactively at the
outlets and within the community to build relationships and with outlet
security and individual stores loss prevention again to help reduce that
time delay between crimes occurring and us coming unseen. Uh, the organized
retail theft task force, they're instrumental in helping us fight crime.
Um, we also are looking to build a reputation at the outlets. We want it to
be known throughout this region that the Camrio Police Department doesn't mess
around and that the Ventura County Sheriff's Office doesn't mess around.
That word gets out when crews come up from Los Angeles. And when they think
they're going to get off with a ticket because they've kept their theft under
felony levels, but we use other crimes like conspiracy when people work in
concert together to say, "No, that's a felony in Ventura County and you're all
going to jail over that. You're not going to get the ticket that you get
elsewhere." So, our organized retail theft, our directed enforcement unit
really help us to develop that reputation and I do know that that
reputation makes its way out into the public. Um, from the OT task force last
year, they conducted a number of proactive blitz operations uh at the
outlets working with our team and outlet security. They've done proactive patrol
on a random basis and they conduct investigations into some of the crews
that come into our area. And their efforts last year resulted in 54 uh
separate arrests out at the outlets. I also want to highlight a cargo theft
investigation that our detectives did. We had a spree of stolen vehicles last
year. Happened around the end of uh 2024 and up to New Year's Eve where several
vehicles were stolen um from various locations in Camaro, but also even in
neighboring cities. Uh they broke into businesses at some locations with box
trucks and stole some of the merchandise. In one instance, they stole
a big rig here in Camaro, and they drove over to one of our large uh warehouse
stores, hooked up to one of their trailers, their tractor trailers full of
merchandise, and made off with that tractor trailer full of merchandise. In
those few days, the total losses that we saw here was over $500,000 in
merchandise. Our detectives started investigating and through the use of
quite a few investigative techniques, including license plate readers, we
identified where the suspects were dropping the merchandise off. We did
some other search warrants and they identified several suspects who were
involved uh and we were able to track them from the various locations that
they operated in in Southern California. We worked with our organized retail
theft task force, the California Highway Patrol, and the Drug Enforcement
Administration uh agency, and we exited executed search warrants at several
locations throughout Southern California. Uh we made arrests and we
seized approximately $1.5 million in stolen property. So, not just the
property from our thefts up here, but we discovered that there were stolen
property from other nationwide organizations like Amazon, Samsung, TJ
Maxx, Converse, and others. and we intercepted these goods as they were
being sent uh to Tijana for resale. The picture you see here is one of our
trucks, our stake bed truck, and all of those boxes are Samsung TVs that were
stolen off of a trailer, not here in Camaro, but but other uh other
locations. And this case is just a testament to the tenacity and skill
level of our detectives and to the great relationships that they build with our
local, state, and federal partners uh that allow us to bring these crooks to
justice.
Crimes against society is an interesting category. In all of our other crime
rate, our crime uh categories, we look for crime rates to be going down. Um
that's a sign of a safe community. Crimes against society actually is
different because this is really a measure of proactive policing. This is a
new category that we never did before underi uh uniform crime reporting. And
so this is drug and narcotics violations that our deputies makes, equipment
violations and weapon law violations. And so again, this is a measure of
proactive policing. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this presentation,
we've got some areas where we're we've identified some really good trends and
some areas where we've identified some negative trends. And this is an area
where for me um because of one thing I've learned in 27 years of of policing
tells me about the impact that drugs and drug use has on crime in our
communities. Our biggest crime category is lararseny theft and over the years I
have personally experienced that drug users commit a disproportionate amount
of theft related crime in our community. So for me this is a category where I
want to see the numbers go up not down. I want our deputies out making proactive
uh traffic enforcement stops, looking for those drug users who would be intent
on stealing from our community members and for folks who have went out and
earned their property on their own. So, this is an area we're going to focus on
this year. Uh I'm I'm already seeing an increase so far in the first three
months of this year. We're up about 8% in arrests and I want to see that trend
continue as we move forward. So, what does a crime against uh society look
like? This photograph right here in this description is what it looks like. We
received a tip uh from a uh an anonymous person, Cam Rio, that there was an uh an
Oxnard resident who was selling drugs in our city. We did enough investigative
words work to obtain a search warrant, a residential search warrant u signed by a
superior court judge. Our Camrio police uh detectives, our sheriff's office
narcotics unit conducted a search warrant at uh the residence. They loaded
located 236 grams of cocaine, 35 grams of methamphetamine, psilocybin
mushrooms, and nearly $75,000 in cash proceeds from the narcotic sales. So,
this is the kind of thing that proactive policing gets you. It prevents drugs
from getting on the street and getting in the hands of people who shouldn't
have it. uh and it sends a message to people that we won't tolerate this in
Camaro. One of the other important things for me
to share with this council was our response times. You can see that late uh
2018 1920 we were looking really good and then we saw a very noticeable
increase in response times. Well, last year we saw a very significant decrease.
And the reason why I wanted to share this and and point it out to this
council was because 2025 in in fall of 2024, you all approved the addition of a
cover sergeant car and of a cover car for our patrol deputies, particularly to
provide coverage out on the east end of town. And you did that because um the
data showed us that our deputies workload was not balanced. And we
believe that if we had additional resources, we could bring down the
response times. So 2025 was the first year that we had both of those cars
fully staffed for the entire year. And you see the results. It's a significant
decline. Now, these 20 seconds to some people might not seem to a lot. might
not seem to be a lot, but when you're that person and you're on the phone with
911 and you need a police officer at your house immediately because something
is happening, that 22nd makes a big difference. And so I I thank council for
listening to us and for supporting us in this because it is having an impact on
safety in our community. Uh, one of the uh getting near the end,
one of the topics I want to talk to you about, again, an area where we need to
see improvement is in traffic collisions. You can see we've got four
years in a row of increases in traffic collisions. Uh significantly actually
over the four years we're up to 754 traffic collisions. So what we've done
is we know that our traffic collisions primarily happen at our intersections.
And so we looked at our top five intersections. We assigned a traffic
investigator to look at each one of those intersections. They go out
personally, make observations to see what kind of violations they're seeing
out there, to look at the engineering around it, to look at the environment,
to see if there's anything we can do. They look at the data. Each traffic
collision that we investigate in Camaro, we determine what the primary collision
factor is. So, we look at that primary collision factor from the perspective of
that intersection. Um, we make calls to our traffic engineers, our partners over
here in Cam Rio at the city, and if we have suggestions, maybe we need to
lengthen the time that a light stays yellow because we're seeing some issues
with that. Um, maybe we need to have signage there because we have a lot of
pedestrians walking and we need to highlight that we have crosswalks. We're
working on all five of those intersections and we've come up with
some suggestions. We've come up with some enforcement uh changes that we're
making to address those to bring those traffic collisions down. One of those
things is quite frankly we need to write more tickets. We have our third year in
a row where our ticket writing for hazardous violations is down
significantly. I don't think it's an accident that our traffic collisions are
up significantly. Study after study after study shows the direct correlation
between those two. So, we are looking to write more traffic citations. Um it
doesn't necessarily make our residents happy, but safety is something that's of
paramount important. Roadway safety is of paramount importance. So, we're going
to be looking to do that. Uh, we will be looking to transition two of our four
traffic cars. They drive around in patrol Taho
motorcycles. We already have two motorcycle units in Cam Rio. We're
looking to add two more. Um, we've we've made the purchase of those bikes
already. And we know that being on motorcycles allows them to be more
nimble. It allows them to catch up to violators much quicker than those patrol
Taho. It allows them to sit in places where they're not quite as noticeable.
Um, you've heard of the saying black and white fever. A lot of times when people
see a police car, those Taho are giant. They're marked. People are on their best
behavior. We like that, but we can't be in every place all the time. And so, we
will be transitioning two of our patrol Taho into patrol motorcycles to help us
uh write additional hazardous violation citation and help bring these collision
numbers down once and for all. Uh just a snapshot, we did issue 3,700
total uh citations last year for speed, distracted driving, and other hazardous
be behavior. We did three grant-f funed DUI checkpoints. I'm happy to say that
we only made three arrests for DUI and 15 citations. We would love for our
community to stop driving drunk so that we saw zero arrests at those DUI
checkpoints. Uh I'm not unhappy when I see no arrests after uh you know a
Friday night with five or six hours. I'm really happy because we screen thousands
of call cars coming through those and if we can get those cars coming through
there and people are not driving drunk that's a win for us. That's a positive.
Uh we did focus on DUI collisions and arrests last year and we made 206 DUI
arrests. One area you um may have already heard that we're focusing on and
that you will see us continue to focus on is ebike safety. We did presentations
to over 1500 students. We have started a very aggressive enforcement campaign the
last three weeks uh four weeks uh where we are targeting certain schools, the
high schools in particular and the middle schools where we're seeing the
most egregious activity and we are taking a zero tolerance approach to any
violations with kids on bicycles. Um, the information has been put out to
parents over and over and over through press releases through our school
district, both Pleasant Valley and Oxnard Union. They've been great
partners in getting information out and we still haven't seen a correction in
behavior. And so over the last few weeks, we have towed some unlawful
ebikes. We will continue to do that. We will continue to issue citations uh
because we need to change the behavior to make this uh our kids ride those
bicycles much more safely throughout our community.
I'll give you some time to read this while I talk. Uh, but this is one area
where I am most proud of the work that our deputy sheriffs do. Uh, community
engagement is critical for us to continue to maintain trust in our
community, to continue to maintain the positive relationships that we have, and
to continue to build upon those relationships. This list is not
comprehensive, but it's a snapshot of just some of the things that we could
do. And it's all I could honestly fit in two columns on one slide. Um, but I
could add a whole another slide with two more columns of things that we do. Uh,
it doesn't matter who you are in this community community, what your status
is, whether you live here, whether you go to school here, whether you work
here, or whether you're just visiting. Our deputies are everywhere in this
community engaging people in a positive way. And I'm telling you because I've
personally been out doing it. I've been at schools. I've been at churches. I
coach youth sports. And I've I've been able to do that in uniform. And I think
it's a great way to build relationships between parents and kids. Uh the
positive relationships that we build uh and the diversity of our outreach is
second to none. I don't think anybody does it the way Camrio Police Department
does. And I think it pays off every single day when we continue to be
deliberate about building positive relationships and providing
opportunities for people to come and meet us and for us to be meeting people
as well. And this is just a little picture of
some of the things we've done. Uh we really focus heavily on engaging with
kids. We adults sometimes have our minds made up and it's hard to change our
minds, but kids uh kids are they're open-minded and we have a great time
reading to kids, going to coffee with the cops at their schools, letting them
jump on our motorcycles, play with our canines, and just overall building great
relationships with the kids. So, moving forward, what are some of the
challenges for law enforcement? Obviously, recruitment, retention, and
wellness is is going to be a a problem for us. It's going to be a challenge for
us all the time. Um, we do work hard to recruit only the best at the Ventura
County Sheriff's Office. We've got a great track record of that. The process
is rigorous. It's incredibly difficult to become a deputy sheriff. Only one out
of every hundred applicant ever becomes a deputy sheriff, and those numbers are
pretty incredible. Um, wellness is a new focus for our agency. Uh let's be
honest, this is a difficult job. There's a tremendous amount of stress that goes
along with it. It's not just stress on the deputy sheriff's, it's stress on our
professional staff members and perhaps more importantly, it's stress on our
family members at home. And so we've made a big push focusing on wellness,
offering up opportunities to hear other people who have made mistakes and hear
how they've dug out from under those mistakes that they've made. we make
those opportunities available for family members as well and I think we've done a
great job on that and we will continue to focus on that moving forward. Uh
technology AI and their ethical and transparent use are critical to
providing enhanced public safety here. We've talked about LPRs in the last few
months and we continue to see uh incredible benefit they provide. I'm I I
think I would be remiss in not reporting to this council that last week we had a
homicide uh in Oldtown Camaro. And within a very short time, our
license plate reader is what identified the suspect in that homicide. That guy
was in custody before we all woke up and went to work the next morning. They're
an incredible tool. They're a valuable tool when used ethically and when used
transparently. And we do that at the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
Um all of uh all of the things we talked about here today go towards public trust
and transparency. Uh the police throughout our country operate in highly
polarized environments and us ensuring transparency is critical for us to
maintain and build trust. We communicate to the c to the public in as close to
real time as possible to ensure they have up-to-date information on critical
incidents as they happen in Camaro. We are voluntarily cooperative and
transparent when things don't go right, as evidenced by our previous discussion
on license plate reader data. The work we do is available for all to see
through our public transparency dashboards on the sheriff's website,
capturing data on arrests, contacts, use of force incidents, and much much more.
Uh we have cameras that capture every single one of our interactions with the
public, both worn on our deputies chest and in our patrol cars. Nearly every
single move our deputy sheriffs make is recorded on camera. We open our doors to
members of the public through two two citizenmies every year. I think we
graduated about 50 plus people in our citizens academy last year. And we have
we open up to ride alongs. We have dozens of ride alongs by members of the
public as long as you can pass the small background check that we do. Uh all of
this pays off with a community that's incredibly supportive of the work our
women and men do. and we will not take that support for granted. We will
continue to be present for the public in very meaningful ways that continues to
build trust and legitimacy in our community. Uh with that, I want to
reiterate that we have some of the most compassionate, hardworking, and
professional women and men working at the Camrial Police Department. From our
professional staff working behind the scenes to keep the PD running to our
uniform deputies on the streets operating as the face of law
enforcement, our team is committed to the high level of service that our
community has come to expect from us. I thank the council. I thank the city
manager and assistant city manager and the rest of the staff at city hall uh
for the support they've shown the sheriff's office and the Camero Police
Department over the years. And I'd be very happy to answer any questions you
all might have. >> Thank you. I'm going to call on Mr.
killed D first because I saw him writing nonstop.
» Um, just briefly, um, Eric, I have to say that, well, first of all, laundry
detergent, that was kind of interesting. I I would have never guessed that.
That's kind of kind of interesting. Um, I was here when we approved the funding
for the cover car. I'm pleased to see that um, it's effective. I thought it
would be and I was uh uh you know very pleased that uh we look at this an
investment in public safety and I think that's uh that's worked out as as such.
Um I also um our way of giving back to our uh police department here. We try to
give way give back in many separate ways but not the least of it and one of the
things that I'm so so happy that we've been able to do is the L day dinner and
I believe we're one if not the only city that still uh provides this and it's uh
um a thankfulness and a thank thanking our
officers and all of the folks that work at the police department sworn sworn or
nonsworn uh to let them know that they matter,
that they care. We care for them. We look at them as family even though it's
a contract from the Ventura County. We look at them as our own born and bred
public servants of Camaro. And I'm really happy that uh this council and
previous councils are able to afford that that honor and privilege to those
folks that are able to uh to attend that. So um always look forward to this.
Thank you for your stellar performance here and your eloquence. Uh you make a
very complicated subject for me relatively easy and I commend you that.
And if you would commend all your staff there at the uh Cambria Police
Department that uh they matter, they care and we're going to do our best to
support them to the best of our ability. >> Thank you, Council Member Kildy. And I I
would like to add that um one of our uh most expectant days is the law law night
dinner. Our people look forward to it all year long. We've been planning it
now for the last month and a half. We're uh very excited about it. I also like to
add that a lot of the deputy sheriffs who work out of Camrio uh police
department live here in Cam Rio and when they leave for promotion or other
assignments, they all want to come back here. Um they feel the support that we
have from city hall and they feel the support that we have
» uh from our residents in this city. It's I've worked in every contract city. It's
unlike uh what we have here and we appreciate that.
» Thank you, >> Council Member Santangelo.
» Thank you. Just a couple comments. Um I was really happy to see the decrease in
the response times because I know um we had quite a few presentations on it from
you if I remember correctly. Um and I think it was a really important addition
to the police force in our city and it made sense and I'm um really glad to see
that it panned out the way we thought it would and that it's really um brought
down those response times. Um, I also just found it really interesting that
the more tickets you give, the less collisions. So, that's just just found
that really interesting. Um, and my question to you is, is there anything
that the city can do to better support you and your efforts?
» Um, like I've said, Council Member Santangelo, we do feel very well
supported. Um, but we are coming up on budget season, so um, be careful what
you wish for because, you know, I may have I may have a request for you all
coming up. Thanks for that.
» Just so you know, Mr. City Manager, that's your job to vet the requests. Mr.
Trembley. Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Eric, wonderful
presentation. Um the three most important things that hit home to me is
number one on the response times and being able to take uh a 7.13
uh minute response time and bring it down to 6.76 and have it equate to what
was occurring even precoid is a success. um echo what Susan and Kevin said in
their eloquent comments about the importance of the response times. And
you can actually see it in the statistics because if I wrote this down
correctly, 370 shoplifts at the outlets and the and the um target center um 177
OT related, the top 26 suspects arrested responsible for 251 shoplifts. So what
happens when that occurs? deputies are all going over to that area town and I'm
privileged to be elected from the area town where there wasn't the east side
where there wasn't as good coverage. Uh and I think that has been uh that has
been rectified and from a contextual standpoint it also shows I think the
public the importance this city spends in excess of $20 million per year in
public safety. It is the most it is it is the the highest level of spending uh
in our general fund revenue on on any matter. I think it uh makes a real
statement as to this council's and if it's okay I'm going to be collective
collective commitment to public safety because I know all of my colleagues are
really focused on our on our public safety standings. So and that's about
onethird of our general fund revenues each year. So that over that that that
states the importance uh on traffic collisions. I like the fact that you're
transitioning two Taho officers. And I do want to note I think
in 2024 um I know you had at least one
motorcycle officer who was out for an extended period of time uh and you had
issues trying to fill that. So hopefully 2025 it just got a little bit better in
terms of coverage and and going from there. And then finally on community
engagement, um, you know, we had one PowerPoint
slide and I think Eric kind of cut it short. I mean, he had both columns
filled. I'm not aware of any other law
enforcement agency and I know quite a few that has the
extent of outreach that VCSO has and Camaro Police Department. So, I really
want to compliment you. Uh compliment uh commend your deputies, all of your
staff, everybody uh at the sheriff's office, everybody at Camaro PD. Uh thank
you because this council I know puts, if it's okay to say it, collect know that I
know that this council puts a real premium on public safety. It's like our
number one issue. So, thanks for a a very interesting uh educational report.
Keep making progress. >> Thank you, Council Member Treble. And if
I can add one thing, I did not talk about it uh in the presentation, but I
know it is in there. Those 26 arrestes who committed over who created over 250
victims uh at our outlets in Camrio Town Center, all were from outside the city
of Camrio. Every one of them, >> Madame Vice Mayor,
» uh thank you. Thank you, Chief Jennison, for your very thorough presentation and
also for the very noble service that you and your team provide to our
constituents here in the city of Camaro. Um, I will share a personal story. When
I was a little girl, I would often spend my summers out in Wilmington, San Pedro,
that area. And uh it it was quite often sadly that we can
hear gunshots um or that we could hear neighbors being
very violent. And I remember experiencing some of that
and and as a little girl being like seven or eight years old thinking, "Oh
my gosh, we need to call the police." and family members,
grandparents and my theos who I lived with, they would almost say like, "Well,
the police are not really going to come. We can try calling, but they're not
going to come." And many times and and actually now I do have um some family
members who went into policing um who lived in in those areas. Um, and many
times I know that I will be criticized for being quote too pro police. And my
answer is, what is the alternative? Because I've seen the alternative
and I think Sheriff Fryhoff put it best when I recently saw him and he said,
"Public safety is for everyone." And so I think that is uh the continued goal. I
am very proud of the work that you're doing um that your team is doing. Of
course, I think with everything there's always room for for improvement and I'm
glad that you've always been open to that.
A question that I do have is regard and I think you answered a little bit of
that uh but in terms of the different crimes.
Do we have any data on who is from Camrio and who folks are not
regarding the crimes against property people and society or are we able to
search for that data? >> We can search for that data. I can tell
you um from the outlets and the theft related perspective uh the the
overwhelming majority are coming from outside the city. Uh even many from
outside the county. Los Angeles imports a lot of crime here. I've said it
before, our outlets are a great destination for shopping
» for good guys and bad guys. And so we do import a lot of crime because of the
outlets. Um, but they've shown a a real willingness to partner with us to try
and make it the best and safest experience for people to come there uh
and shop. Um, I can tell you, you know, I talked about the increase in domestic
violence related crimes and arrests. The domestic violence are generally local.
There are people who are already living here. Um, a lot of the DUI arrests are
people who are driving from a local establishment home. So, it's kind of
crime dependent. >> Okay. So some of those crimes we do see
a lot of people who are residents here who live here who are the suspects in
those crimes and who are arrested and in other crime categories we see people who
are from outside the city who are arrested for those crimes. So we do we
do know and it kind of depends upon crime.
» Okay. Thank you so much. And my other question is I think I'm I'm trying to
understand this. So, at the Camaro outlets, you said that if there is
um if if they're stealing um something, they need to call the loss prevention
before calling the police. That sounds really odd to me.
» Yeah, it is really odd. Sounds odd to us, too. And we work with them all the
time uh on figuring out ways we can do that better. But, you know, each one of
those stores is owned by the individual corporation, and they all have their own
corporate policies. Uh some of the corporations, they're really aggressive.
I will tell you, Target has incredible loss prevention officers and they are
very quick to call us and that's why our number one arrest location is Target.
Other ones have to call a corporation wherever that might be, explain what the
problem is and then get permission before they call us. We're working with
them with them on that to try and find solutions and workarounds to that. But,
you know, it is uh at times a hindrance. >> Okay. Thank you so much. That's all that
I have. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh, quick question,
Commander. You're going to add two motor officers,
but it's not going to cost the city any more money, right?
» That's correct. It's actually going to save us money in the long run. Uh, a
patrol Tahoe is a more expensive vehicle to purchase and to upfit. We get about
100,000 miles out of a patrol Tahoe. Our motorcycles, we don't get as many miles
out of them, but it takes longer to to mile them out, and they cost about half
the price of a patrol Tahoe. So, we'll probably get four to six years driving a
motorcycle at about half the cost of a of a Tahoe.
» And we're not adding any staffing. You're just moving two traffic
enforcement officers out of the Tahoe onto motorcycles.
» That's correct. >> Hopefully, they get good training.
» They will. >> Um, I appreciate the community outreach.
Um, I'm aware of it because I have a daughter involved in the education field
in Camaro and I know the frequency of your school resource officers and other
activities, the coffee with the cops that you do at all the schools and it
mirrors something that I thought a long long time ago is we can influence our
young people and create the relationships instead of like if you see
that police officer over there and you do that again, I'm going to tell him.
And I'm glad that's no longer a common theme amongst most parents. It was a
common theme with my mother at one time, but um you may have experienced that. Um
I also think that what my other council members said, I don't think there's
another police department in this county or probably just about anywhere that has
the community outreach efforts that the Camrio Police Department does for this
city. And I know that it's a common theme that we're a third of the cost of
the city's general fund, but if you went to a fullervice city, it'd be 50% of
your cost of your general fund. So, I think we're getting good bang for the
buck. And I do have to thank you publicly for not sharing crime stats
from 1999 to 2004 to compare them to today. And this is the first time you
haven't done that. And I appreciate it. All of my council members I've had the
opportunity to serve with on the public safety and emergency preparedness
committee and I am proud to say from firsthand experience, there has been
nothing but whole who wholesale support from this entire council when you've
brought requests to the council. There has been no there's been a lot of
questions um and it dealt with educating about what a 24-hour car was or an
overlap car, but there has never been any hesitation on the part of any of my
colleagues up here in the last three years to listen, to make the decision,
and to do what we could to support the police department to provide a safe
community for the residents of Camaro. And thank you for that.
» Thank you. Next, we will move to the consent
calendar items E through G. Madame clerk, are there any public comments on
consent? >> There's one uh speaker Spencer Richie,
» I just noted the council comments. Did we do those?
» Oh, I'm sorry. >> You can get her, but she's got about 10
minutes. Um, council comments. I did I checked it off. Maybe it was
wishful thinking. Um, Mr. Trembley, how about you go first?
» Sure. Uh, meetings attended since March 25, uh, the March 26, uh, meeting of the
policy committee with council member Santangelo on an April 3 VCTC. And
that's it for me, Mr. Kild. >> Yes. Um, meetings attended April 2nd, we
had a VRSD uh, meeting. I'd like to thank Eric Zets uh, for last council
meeting uh, being here. And if any council members uh would like to take a
tour of our landfill, let me know. We can certainly set it up. And that's all
I have. >> Council member Santangelo.
» Thank you. On March 26th with Council Member Trembley, I went to the policy
committee on April 2nd, I had Clean Power Alliance board of directors. And
earlier today, April 8th, was the mobile home rent stabilization ordinance ad hoc
committee with Dr. Martinez Bravo. And that's all I have.
» Vice Mayor, >> thank you. April 1st, I met with mobile
home constituents to hear their concerns. And then April 8th, I today
was the mobile home ad hoc uh committee or meeting with council member
Santangelo. And I just wanted to thank all of the home residents who have
voiced their concerns either via email or who were here earlier. Um, just
wanted to say that I hear you and please know that I remain committed to uh
supporting our community and working in the best interest of of our Camrio
residents. Um, and actually I would also like to take this opportunity to proudly
congratulate Camrio's very own Gabriella Hakis and the entire UCLA uh women's
basketball team on their incredible championship victory. Super proud of
them. Thank you. Thank you. On April 2nd, I had an RDP
meeting. I've had several meetings, nonreportable. I do want to talk about a
business visit. One of the things that's enjoyable this year is going out with
our manager of economic development, um the city manager, and Bradley, our
director of community development, and visiting some of the high- techch
companies that I wasn't always aware of. I've lived here since 1979 and have
driven by a number of these buildings a 100 million times and never realized
what was there. And this past week along with uh Mr. Ramirez and George Winkler
and Bradley, we visited a local company, Lucix Corporation, which was founded by
a husband and wife in Camaro on their dining room table or their kitchen
countertop. And it's a high-tech communication industry that has their
devices on satellites, etc. And they employ 105 people in Camaro. And they
expect to have fairly significant growth over the next five years. And the people
they're employing are engineers. They're highpaying
um jobs and they're trying to recruit people. In fact, we met some young
people from was it Georgia Tech? um which made our director of community
development happy. It's his alma mater. But um another company we visited
recently has 300 employees and there are again many engineers and high-paying
jobs. So we have a lot of opportunity in Camaro and I look forward to opportunity
moving forward. Um I just have a question for the city manager. Um, when
does the emergency ordinance on the rent stabilization expire and when can we
expect to see this matter on the agenda so we can address it?
Uh, we we are working on it diligently. I think we're going to put the places on
the next next uh council meetings agenda. As far as expiration, I'd have
to defer to the city clerk city attorney on that.
» I believe it's April 20th or 21st. So, right before the next meeting. Yeah,
» thank you. And did Spencer come back? She did not.
So, we will move on to item H. But before we take up
Oh, I'm sorry. Let's go back to the consent calendar.
» Madame Clerk, other than Spencer, any speakers on the consent calendar?
» No other speakers. >> Hearing none. Any questions from
council? Move. >> I'll second.
» We have a motion in a second. Roll call, please.
» Council member Santangelo, >> yes.
» Vice Mayor Martinez Bravo, >> yes.
» Council member Kildy, >> yes.
» Council member Trembley, >> yes.
» Mayor Tennyson, >> yes.
» And with that, we will take Thank you. I'm sorry. Go ahead.
» That passes unanimously. >> I I got a note that asked for a break.
So, with that, we will take a 10-minute recess before we go on to item H on the
agenda.
6:45 and 30 seconds.
I see all of my fellow council members are back. So, we will reconvene the
meeting of the Camrio City Council and the Camrio Sanitary District one minute
early. Next is item H, the Camrio Sanitary District Water Reclamation
Plant Upgrades Program and Manager Services. And I believe Mr. Clutzel,
this is yours. >> Yes. Thank you. Thank you, mayor and
city council. Also acting as the Camrio Sanitary District Board of Directors.
This item is to consider awarding an agreement for professional owners
advisor services for the water reclamation plant upgrades project.
First, we'll cover some brief background information. The water reclamation plant
or WRP treatment capacity is rated at 7.25
million gallons a day and the current flow and treatment is at about 3.5
million gallons a day uh which is treated to tertiary standards with the
effluent reused for agriculture and landscape irrigation. Original
construction is nearly 70 years old with various expansions and upgrades over the
years. The plant's been wellmaintained, but now needs significant upgrades.
A wastewater master plan completed by WSC in 2022 provided planning level
analysis and initial condition assessment of the plant to focus more
specifically on what upgrades upgrades are needed and develop alternatives to
accomplish those upgrades. Hazen and Sawyer was then hired and
built further on the master plan analysis, meeting on site with plan
operations staff and preparing numerous detailed technical reports to develop
off-site and on-site alternatives for the upgrades, including initial design
and budgetary considerations. Additionally, Fuelman Rolap and
Associates has been hired to develop a long range financial plan to determine
the district's funding capacity for the project and to lay out a financial
roadmap to fund the needed upgrades.
As for the location, the WRP is at the end of Howard Road on an approximately
20 acres along Kaneo Creek and there's room on those 20 acres to accommodate
upgrades on site by rehabilitating existing facilities and/or constructing
replacement facilities. The district also owns 50 acres
immediately to the west, which allows the opportunity to fully explore all
options for upgrading a plant, including possible use of a portion of the 50 acre
site.
The WRP upgrades project is a generational investment into critical
infrastructure, the largest capital project in the city and district's
history. The sheer size and complexity of the project along with significant
funding requirements call for an independent owner's adviser to represent
the city's interest throughout the entire project.
The key characteristics that an owner adviser brings to the project include
technical expertise and overall project management.
The owner advisor is an independent element uh which is independent from uh
contractors and vendors involved in the project
and it provides a bridging of the gap between complex technical requirements
and decision milestones. The owner's adviser also uh is acting in
the interest to of the city to protect those interests many varied interests
and ensures the project success. More specifically, an owner's adviser is
needed for this WRP upgrades project to provide technical expert assistance to
navigate the very large complex multi-year project through completion
and also to explore feasibility of opportunities to maximize the WRP
effluent reuse and also achieve affordability and
regulatory compliance throughout the entire project.
The owner's adviserss needed to identify and coordinate the preferred procurement
method for the upgrades and then we'll provide continued
collaboration of all stakeholders involved including WRP operations staff
to take the steps forward toward hiring an owner's adviser. staff formed a
project governance team or gov team made up of staff from multiple departments
including city manager's office, finance, facilities, fleet and
technology, public communications, public works, capital projects and
sanitary district operations. The gov team has collaborated very
closely every step of the way thus far and will continue to guide the project
through to completion. The process to select and hire an
owner's adviser included the gov team developing and advertising a request for
proposals to provide a specific scope of services.
Five five proposals were received from Jacobs, Corollo, Parsons, MKN, and M&S.
An ad hoc committee made up of the mayor and council member Trembley and three
gov team members thoroughly reviewed all five proposals, conducted interviews,
and selected Jacobs based on their approach to the project, their
qualifications, and direct experience providing the same services for similar
projects.
Staff worked very closely with Jacobs to refine the scope of work, which provides
a holistic evaluation of the WRP upgrades program sequenced in phases to
reduce risk and maintain rateayer affordability.
Phase 1A is a onewater affordability and technical analysis producing a
recommended WRP upgrades and procurement method.
Then phase 1B will provide detailed design and procurement documents for the
WRP upgrades followed by phase 2 which will provide
technical support and construction management of WRP upgrades.
Staff is recommending award of the phase one scope of work to Jacobs which will
be will be performed over the next 20 months or so. The scope of work for
phases 1B and phase 2 will be finalized as phase 1A is completed with award of
those phases at that later time. Task one covers program management
including many things uh along in including uh regular project meetings.
Task two is technical studies and program definition.
Task three covers environmental and regulatory compliance.
Task four is for financial and economic support.
Task five is identifying and moving towards a selection of the project
delivery method. And task six includes targeted technical studies. Uh there's
very many details and and that make up each of these tasks that are further
defined in the scope of work that's attached to the uh proposed agreement.
Uh this task six includes numerous in-depth technical studies targeted at
specific items including optimization of plant operations, alternatives for
preliminary treatment, disinfection and odor control, automation of process
controls, flooding impacts, energy use, and exploring all potential
opportunities for cost-effective reuse of the treated effluent.
Taken in total, the phase 1A scope of work is structured to complete a
onewaterbased affordability and technical analysis resulting in a
recommended WRP upgrade program and procurement method for CSD board
consideration. The one water approach is focused on
maximizing the use of all local water supplies in the most cost-effective way
to secure a reliable portfolio of water for the city well into the future while
minimizing impacts to water and wastewater rate payers.
The initial next steps would be a project kickoff workshop workshop with
the CSD board along with governance and chartering efforts to get things moving
uh amongst the various tasks that are listed here.
Another important element of this project going forward is uh continuous
effort related to the funding for the program. This effort will be coordinated
between Jacobs providing the technical and cost estimated information um in
lockep with Felman looking at the financing options and then our rate
consultant Rafelis um uh folding in their rateayer impacts
to that uh funding u process. So with that brings us to the
recommendation before you to authorize the execution of a professional services
agreement with Jacob's project management company for owners advisor
and program manager services for the WRP upgrades project. That concludes my
report and be happy to answer questions. >> Thank you Mr. Clatzel. I'm going to open
up with Council Member Trembley because of his No,
» I have comments. I don't have questions. >> Oh, no questions. Oh wow. Okay, Mr. Kild
questions. >> Yeah. Um
David, um I I' I've been here a while and I can remember when
we had um attempted to do an upgrade there and the results were less than
favorable to what we had hoped uh for. So my question here is
what if we don't do this? In other words, if we don't do this, does it hold
us more um in a situation where what we're
trying to do here, and keep in mind it's the most expensive project the city's
ever attempted. And if we don't do this, our
predictability of being successful in what we're trying to do, does it go down
exponentially? And if it does, um, how would that affect us and how
we're trying to do not only in a quality,
uh, situation, but a coste effective, uh, situation and providing, as we all
know, this necessary service to, um, our rateayers,
» right? Um yeah, the the approach that is is being proposed here with this
extensive scope is to do exactly that is to is to reduce minimize if not remove
the risk that we end up with a similar situation as the past. Um what this is
structured to do is uh very holistic uh analysis of all elements that need to
be considered uh with the extensive uh need for upgrading uh pretty well the
entire operations of our of our reclamation plant. So, um that's where
uh the gov team and along with um working through this scope to refine it
with Jacobs to um identify what really does need to be done to reduce that risk
and and put us on a path towards success for the for the best cost-effective
um solution for the upgrades that are needed.
» Thank you. That's all I have, your honor. Vice Mayor.
» Uh, Mr. Clottel, thank you very much for the presentation. I have a a quick
question. Owner's advisor, is that the same thing as an owner's representative?
» Uh, similar, right? Um, in in that we use advisor in that um the technical
expertise element that is is needed um is more than just a representative. Um
it it's uh it it's an adviser that represents the city uh represents uh the
city's interests um in in all aspects of of the uh project of the analysis that
we'll be looking at. So, um I guess that's the best way to describe it is
it's uh and and Jacobs is a firm that brings an incredible uh breadth and span
of technical expertise in uh all areas uh that that will be needed here. Uh so
it's that it's that technical advisor uh element to be that representative uh for
the for the city for the district moving forward.
» Okay. Thank you. I was doing some research on my own trying to figure that
out. Um, and also for clarification, the recommendation from today's actions,
that would be just to uh focus on the phase one, that first part.
» That's correct. The phase 1 A, correct? >> 1 A. Okay.
» Yes. >> Okay. Thank you so much. I have no
further questions. >> Council member Santangelo? None. Um, I
want to follow up on Mr. Kild's question and and the way I understood it is in
the past we didn't have the results we wanted when there were upgrades to the
WRP but I think part of it was a risk side of things if we do nothing it's my
understanding that a lot of our facilities and equipment are at or near
the end of their life cycle. So if we did nothing
from this moment forward what would the risks be to the city?
» Right. Uh the risk would be um several items but um having failure of
our infrastructure out there then that would not um treat our wastewater as it
needs to be treated on a continuous basis 247 uh putting us in jeopardy of
um complying with the regulatory requirements that we are under.
You also um said when you made the recommendation of Jacobs in your
presentation that they had done similar projects of this scope and scale for
other um entities. Do you have an idea what some of those other entities are?
» That's correct. >> Yes. Um and and specifically this owner
advisors uh um element of providing those services. Uh most recently one
very very closely similar project is for Los Virgin's water district and in their
um uh I'm not sure if I'm using the exact right term one water um uh uh
project very extensive water treatment um uh process that they're going through
multi-million dollar project and and Jacobs has successfully led them through
that owners advisors uh process. Thank you,
madame clerk. Any public comments? >> Yes, I have two people that want to
speak. First, Doug Boyce, followed by Spencer Richie.
» Welcome, Mr. Boyce.
» Good evening, Mayor Tennyson and rest of the council
and staff. Um I real quickly uh before I get started on this um you mentioned in
your report please Chief Eric that it was a 20 second improvement in response
time. It's actually 36 seconds. That's huge as several of the council members
also pointed out. So and uh as Dr. Martinez Bravo mentioned, I think we
have a lot to celebrate with uh one of our lady uh basketball players leading
the Bruins to their first national championship. She was the top scorer in
that game. That's huge. I I'm not I'm come here tonight not as a a a hater or
a complainer, but as somebody that wants full transparency in this this is a
massive U project. And so my first question that I jotted down was very
similar to Dr. Martinez Bravo. Is this $4 million contract just for phase 1A?
And if that's true, then then I suspect that there's going to be a lot more for
the rest of the phases. But I think that is that true? Anyway, that's my question
um confirmation. And then the second that I had real briefly is at this stage
I would think that there's already some sort of an engineer's estimate for the
total cost of the project. Uh for full transparency I would like the public to
be aware of that. Thank you. >> Thank you
» Spencer Richie.
All right. Hello. Um, first off, my apologies for um not
showing up the public comment earlier when I was called. Um,
I had to use the restroom. Um two, um
I you know whatever the the you know the city goes with for
um for upgrading and keeping in repair our um our reclamation
plant on Howard. Um that is something that you don't want to
skimp on. Um definitely like make sure you are getting just a good job of it in
general because that is that's literally life-saving infrastructure. like, you
know, between the fact that again, as climate chaos
ramps up, obviously um
um we're going like because that's going to cause our water income to be to grow
more and more inconsistent. And then also especially in light of the whole
like Iran um started horm limiting you know how much fertilizer can get out to
the world um that and like you know the poop ponds at Caly Channel Islands those
will be more and more important sources of local fertilizer as well. So in
general yes we should absolutely you know like
make sure we are getting the best of the best for our um
you know our facilities like our water reclamromation plants and stuff. Um, I
think that is a very good use of our taxpayer funds and what our taxpayer
funds should absolutely be spent on. What and you know if there's any
questions about oh my gosh where are we going to get the money for that because
you know like there often is you know with this city because again fiscal
responsibility is like it's pretty much always been a huge you know city
government value. Um I don't
a you know a way you could probably free up more money is by getting rid of the
contract with flock. Um again that is that's blowing us a lot of city money.
Um, we never asked for it and again that is just we know that ICE and outofstate
law enforcement has access to that material. We again that is serving
Camearans to ICE on a silver platter. So yeah that thank you. Have a nice day.
» Thank you Spencer. Now we will
» Now we will go to council comments and Mr. Trembley.
» Thanks uh Mr. Mayor. Um I I have several comments but but in light of Mr. Boyce's
question, let me just pose it to Mr. Clottel and then I've got a number of
comments. Dave, we've been looking at estimates um for this project uh for the
last several years. How would you describe where we are at at this point?
just in terms of general estimates, >> right? The the work performance so far
has uh produced some uh a range uh bookends if you will of of um options of
alternatives for upgrades and um budgetary estimates for those. Um so uh
we don't have anything more certain than that and that's this next step of
further refining and and identifying a recommended um upgrade alternative uh
would would produce a more refined cost estimate number.
» Well, when we were looking when we're looking on the prior studies that have
been done, we were estimating somewhere in the $200 million range overall.
Correct. >> Correct. Yes. Um,
» and that was three years ago, >> right?
» So, from a contextual standpoint, that's where we are. I I think it's fair to
say, although it's very difficult to pin that down, especially if we end up
incrementally approaching this project. >> Correct.
» Okay. All right. Um, my comments are as follows. Um, the the
ad hoc committee, uh, as Mr. Clausel reported, uh, has been an integral part
of this process. The mayor and I have spent many many hours uh in the drafting
of the requests for proposals, sitting through the interviews, discussing the
proposals in depth to understand the opportunities uh for us. Um the studies
that need to be done now in order to assess our water resiliency.
um and the one water concept. Um there has been a lot of back and forth
internally as well as with the consultant. Um uh we're trying to put
ourselves in the best position possible regarding the scope of work and the
cost. Um
I have not I've I've practiced law and represented wa public wastewater
agencies uh for many decades. And you have we received proposals from very
high quality firms. Jacobs is one of them. In fact, I haven't had the
privilege of working with Jacobs in the past. Um but I will tell you that they
are a very high quality firm reputationally and the proposals that we
received and the interviews that we conducted uh showed a lot of forethought
in terms of of what consultants wanted to provide to us. The reason that this
is the right approach and Martito whether you characterize as owner's
advisor or owner's representative owner's representative at least
traditionally has been more on the construction project management side
when there's already been for example a more traditional design bid build
process here by contrast as an owner's advisor that we're bringing them in
right upfront because ultimately we may end up doing
this project based on the decisions we make as a board. We may end up doing
this project incrementally both from an efficiency as well as a cost standpoint.
And we've we've got all kinds of work ahead of us, the five of us, to make
some really difficult decisions about what we do. Um, but some of that may be
from a procurement standpoint. We may be going to very different procurement
methods. We may be going to a progressive design build. We may be
doing in other words, we're doing something here that is very different
than what entities did 20 years ago or even 10 years ago. What we're doing here
with an owner's advisor is absolutely the right way to go in these current
times, current circumstances with with with now having the ability as a public
entity to do uh have different options on the procurement side other than all
right, we're going to go out and and hire a design engineering firm for a
couple million bucks. They're going to design it. Then we're going to put it
out to bid. then we're going to hire a construction project manager, etc. Those
all build up too, but we are able to at this point bring in a firm that owes its
duty to us and us alone.
It owes Jacobs will owe a duty to the city, not to anybody else. And so that's
key. There's a lot of money involved in phase
1A. Um, and um, uh, I it it's it's a lot of money, but at the same time, it
stands us in goodstead as we're looking at the options ahead of us. I think Dave
mentioned a workshop. I think there are going to be multiple workshops and
multiple hours spent at this. Um, uh, I think the the this is the right
way to do it. I'm very mindful that this is a lot of money. The way I think of
this is it's a long, you know, 3.9 million on a phase 1A of a project that
I suspect is going to cost somewhere well north of $200 million
to receive the kind of upfront services that we're going to get
uh now is going to be worth it. And people can make a different value
judgment on that, but I think the approach that staff is recommending that
we take and the approach that we're doing is the right way to do this. So,
it's a lot of money, but I think it's money. I don't like spending
I don't like spending any money, but anyway, I I don't like spending a lot of
money, but this is money that's well spent, particularly when you consider
how important uh this project is. The last speaker talked about the importance
of of uh the importance of a water reclamation plan. We have to do this
right. We have to do it right from an environmental standpoint. We have to
make sure that we comply with our regulatory mandates and provide the best
services possible for folks. So, I'm in support of the recommendation and happy
to make a motion when the appropriate time comes. Thank you,
» Council Member Santangelo. >> Thank you. I won't be too long. Um, I
really appreciate your comments and your work on the committee. Um,
this is a big, expensive, important project and so far I'm pleased with how
we're moving. I think that the owner's advisor model is the right one. I think
it helps us reduce risk and it will help analyze all elements of the project. Um,
like I said, I really appreciate the work of staff and of the ad hoc
committee. I know it takes a lot of work to
um have evaluated all of these um different
um bidters. Um
um and I agree with you, Tony. I think there's a lot more work to come, but um
I think this this board is up for the task. Um and I think that we've got um
strong staff behind us to lead us in in the way. And I think that this is a good
I trust in the committee's choice to choose Jacobs.
» Vice Mayor >> uh ditto to uh what has been said thus
far. Uh thank you so much to the committee to both the mayor and to
council member Trembley. I know there's a lot of work that went on not only at
the committee but behind the scenes. I think David you probably did some work
during the holidays. I remember that was like your fun holiday reading. So to to
both of you and staff truly appreciate all of that work. Uh there is a saying
in Spanish which is persona prepar like a prepared person counts for two
and so I do think it is especially important to get this right to have
planning in advance as that is critical. Um,
we have said over and over how this is going to probably be the most expensive
capital improvement project. And I will add that it's probably going to be one
of the most important uh projects because it is so critical that we are
all able to flush our toilets and and have access to uh this water as well.
And so with that, um I know the mayor and I, we've also done a lot of work in
going to Sacramento and going to Washington DC and making sure that our
uh legislators are aware as to where we are in this process and trying to get uh
funding um through that process as well. And so there's a lot of moving parts, a
lot of work, but I think going through uh an owner's advisor is the right
pathway. And I think uh we will get there and I'm glad that we're taking
action now. I know it is expensive, but at the same time it is important to
invest in our community in this way. >> Thank you, Mr. Kild.
Yeah, I want to ditto uh what's been said and I especially want to thank my
colleagues up here for all the hard work, all of us, but particularly
Mayor Tennenness and and Council Member Trembley. Um, I've been up here a while
like I said and uh I was here when we were somewhat less successful with one
of our upgrades here and as was said very eloquently that uh
this is a new time and a new era and the owner's advisor is is the way to go
about this. Uh, it's also said that we do not know exactly how much this is
going to cost, but we do know that it's probably going to be in the hundreds of
millions of dollars. Um, I'm hoping it'll be in the lesser hundreds of
millions of dollars, but until we go out to bid, we don't know. So, we're talking
about $3.9 million here to try to get as accurate information in a very, very
complex project. When you do a project of this magnitude,
you're going to have some highs and lows here. And you want to make sure as best
you can that what you approve works. I'm one of these kind of different people. I
like to go up to landfills and I like to go to sand plants and I'm really
enamored on on how they work. And I think it's important for all of us to
remember too that this has been operational since about 1957,
a long time ago. And if we can get anywhere close to that on this new
upgrade, this um build um you know situation, the owner's advisory, I think
will be money well spent. I look as it as it is kind of too wordy here, a
three-legged stool here. You've got Jacobs, you've got Feldman for the
financing, and you've got Rafelis to be able to uh help, you know, our rateayers
on all that. So the three-legged stool is really really important in this. So
um I can support this. This is the first leg of a race that's going to be many
many it's going to be a long race here. But uh we want to do it right and I
think this is a real step in the direction. So I will support this.
Thank you. Uh I just want to commend staff. Um, Council Member Trembley and I
were treated at Christmas time with Christmas wrapped gifts and I thought,
"Oh, great. Staff's getting us presents." And then when I opened it up
and saw five proposals about how high, Mr. Trembley, yeah, five proposals and
one of the city manager staffers said, "You know, you have maybe 10 days to
read this." And then he called back later and said, "Hey, can we do it two
days early?" So my Christmas was spent reading all these proposals. Very
informative. Uh staff did tremendous work in putting together the RFP. Um we
met the ad hoc committee with the gov team and winnowed it down from five
proposals to three and we did interviews with those three proposers proposers and
uh I feel very confident that the gov team and Mr. Trembley and I made the
correct decision in selecting Jacobs. Um, as
Mr. Mr. Kild said, we do have a three-legged stool with our rate study,
with Jacobs, and with our fieldman to help us with the financing on this. As
Vice Mayor Bravo, Martinez Bravo said, we've planted the seed in Sacramento.
We've planted the seed with our federal legislators in Washington DC and also
with a couple of federal agencies in Washington DC on the importance of this,
not just from the standpoint of being able to have an effective and efficient
water reclamation plant, but focusing on the environment and our potential reuse
of this water to give us a longer term, more sustainable water source for the
residents of Camaro. Um, the thing to keep in mind, this is phase 1A and it's
going to be 20 months. Uh, Mr. Clatzel said we'll have a workshop. I'm sure we
will have multiple and typically when we do workshops, they are publicly noticed
and the public will be invited to these and you'll be able to see what we see
when we see it. Um, and as more and more information comes out, then I'm sure we
will share that information on the public portals for the city. We really
won't know the cost until Jacobs comes back at the end of this initial phase 1A
on what they're recommended and what this board is comfortable with. I see
this as a long-term phased approach. I don't think we're I personally don't
think we're going to take one big bite out of this and be done. Um I see it as
a phased approach. Um and that's what I'm hoping to see going forward. But
stay tuned and obviously I will support this and Mr. Trembly, I believe you had
something to say. >> No, I'll happy to make the uh recommend
a motion. >> I'm happy to second it.
» We have a motion in a second. Madame clerk, roll call, please.
» Council member Santangelo, >> yes.
» Vice Mayor Martinez Bravo, >> yes.
» Council member Kildy, >> yes.
» Council member Trembley, >> yes.
» Mayor Tennyson, >> yes.
» That passes unanimously. And now I will ask our esteemable city
attorney if there's any report on our closed session.
» Uh no, there was one item and there was no reportable action.
» Thank you very much. Have a good evening. We are adjourned.