[0:01] >> Good morning. Thank you all

[0:02] for joining us. I would like

[0:03] to call this meeting

[0:04] to order this morning. Our

[0:05] pledge and invocation will be

[0:06] led by the 4th district

[0:07] Supervisor Hagman.

[0:09] >> Thank you, Madam Chair, and

[0:10] good morning everyone. I'd

[0:11] like to introduce Pastor

[0:13] Robert Rocha. He's been the

[0:15] lead pastor of Vaz Church in

[0:16] Ontario for eight years. Vaz

[0:18] Church is a non denominational

[0:20] church. Pastor Rocha and his

[0:22] wife Elizabeth and their family

[0:23] and a team

[0:24] of future members launched

[0:25] Vaz Church, which officially

[0:27] opened its doors on February

[0:28] 11, 2018 at the historic

[0:30] Granada Theater in Ontario.

[0:33] Under his leadership, Voss

[0:35] Church has become a thriving,

[0:36] multicultural, multi

[0:37] generational church that is

[0:39] active in the community.

[0:41] Pastor Rocha has a passion for

[0:43] developing next generation

[0:44] leaders as disciples of Jesus

[0:47] while also meeting the needs

[0:48] of the community. He is devoted

[0:50] husband to his wife Elizabeth

[0:51] Torres, who is also a pastor.

[0:52] They've been married for 19

[0:54] years. They have three

[0:55] children, Isabella, Eva and

[0:57] Mateo. In his spare time,

[0:59] Pastor Rocha enjoys spending

[1:00] the time with his family,

[1:02] watching sports events and

[1:03] golfing. And my wife and I had

[1:04] the opportunity to go visit him

[1:06] yesterday and he's had a great

[1:07] message and so much energy

[1:09] at your church. Thank you.

[1:10] What you do

[1:11] for the community. Pastor

[1:13] Rob.

[1:20] >> Good morning. And I would

[1:22] like to thank Supervisor Curt

[1:23] Hagman and the county of San

[1:25] Bernardino for the opportunity

[1:27] and the privilege to lead this

[1:28] invocation and the pledge once

[1:31] again for today's Board of

[1:34] Supervisor meeting. I am truly

[1:35] honored to be here. The word

[1:38] of God declares in Jeremiah

[1:40] 29:7, also seek the peace and

[1:42] prosperity of the city

[1:45] to which I have carried you.

[1:48] Pray to the Lord for it,

[1:50] because if it prospers,

[1:52] you too will prosper. I'm going

[1:54] to invite you

[1:55] to please bow your heads. Let

[1:56] us pray. Heavenly Father, we

[1:58] thank you for the gift

[2:00] of life and for the grace that

[2:01] you that brought us together

[2:03] safely on this day. As we enter

[2:06] into this meeting,

[2:07] we invite your presence

[2:08] into this room. Prepare every

[2:10] heart,

[2:11] align every mind and let your

[2:13] Holy Spirit guide us

[2:14] into truth,

[2:16] clarity and understanding.

[2:19] Lord, we lift up every leader

[2:21] in this place and we ask that

[2:22] you would empower them

[2:23] with wisdom

[2:25] beyond their own discernment.

[2:27] For every decision and

[2:28] integrity and

[2:29] in every action,

[2:31] let justice be the standard.

[2:33] Truth be their foundation and

[2:35] service be their motive. Your

[2:38] word calls us to seek the peace

[2:39] and the prosperity

[2:42] of our city. Today. We stand on

[2:44] that promise and we declare

[2:45] this over San Bernardino

[2:48] County. We ask that you would

[2:49] bring peace where there is

[2:51] tension, unity where there is

[2:52] division and vision,

[2:54] where there is uncertainty.

[2:56] Let this county flourish.

[2:58] Economically, socially and

[3:00] spiritually, so that every

[3:01] family, every business and

[3:03] every community may experience

[3:05] a well being and opportunity.

[3:07] May the decisions made here

[3:10] today lead to solutions that

[3:13] uplift the people,

[3:15] strengthen our communities,

[3:17] and reflect the greater good

[3:18] of all. We ask that your

[3:20] kingdom come,

[3:21] your will be done in San

[3:22] Bernardino county as it is

[3:24] in heaven. In Jesus name we

[3:25] pray. Amen. Now, if you would

[3:28] please face the flag and place

[3:30] your right hand over your heart

[3:32] and let us pledge allegiance

[3:34] together. Ready? Begin.

[3:39] >> I pledge allegiance

[3:40] to the flag of the United

[3:42] States of America and to the

[3:43] Republic for which it stands,

[3:45] one nation, under God,

[3:47] indivisible,

[3:48] with liberty and justice

[3:50] for all. Thank you.

[3:52] >> Thank you very much.

[3:54] >> Thank you, Pastor Rob.

[3:56] >> We will now move on

[3:58] to our memorial adjournments.

[3:59] Vice Chair Baca.

[4:00] >> Thank you, Madam Chair.

[4:01] Today gives me great honor

[4:03] to adjourn in memory of coach

[4:04] Ray C. Aldama of Colton. He was

[4:05] 55 years of age,

[4:07] a lifelong resident of

[4:08] Colton, and he was a former

[4:09] teammate of mine. We were

[4:11] actually rivals

[4:13] in high school. I was at

[4:14] Eisenhower, he was at Colton,

[4:16] and we ended up becoming

[4:18] teammates at Valley College

[4:20] in Cal State San Bernardino. I

[4:21] know that many

[4:23] of his friends, you know,

[4:24] are taking this loss tough. He

[4:26] was a well respected coach at

[4:28] San Gorgonio High School and

[4:29] teacher, physical education

[4:31] teacher, great athlete,

[4:32] a great human being, and, you

[4:34] know, just a good person.

[4:35] And, you know,

[4:36] it's very personal

[4:37] for me because, you know,

[4:38] my father grew up

[4:39] with his older brothers,

[4:41] his older brothers, Bieber,

[4:42] Sal Chito, longtime family

[4:44] friends. So this is a hard one.

[4:46] And I actually went

[4:48] to high school with his niece

[4:50] Angela. So, you know,

[4:51] a heart goes out to the Aldama

[4:52] family. Thank you, Madam

[4:54] Chair.

[4:55] >> Thank you very much,

[4:58] Supervisor Cook, Supervisor

[4:59] Armendarez, Supervisor

[5:01] Hagman.

[5:02] >> Yeah, thank you, Madam

[5:03] Chair. I'd like

[5:05] to also adjourn in memory of

[5:06] Freddie Contreras. Freddie

[5:08] Contreras was devoted husband,

[5:09] loving father,

[5:11] and proud grandfather Charis

[5:12] family. Above all,

[5:14] he enjoys spending time

[5:15] with his wife and children,

[5:16] especially treasured moment

[5:17] of his grandson. He's a

[5:19] dedicated, hardworking man.

[5:20] Freddie served over 20 years

[5:21] with the California Department

[5:23] of Corrections and

[5:24] Rehabilitation, beginning his

[5:25] career at the California

[5:26] Rehabilitation Center CRC in

[5:28] 2001. He was known

[5:30] for being kind,

[5:31] caring and deeply supportive.

[5:32] Husband and father, Freddie

[5:34] passed away suddenly on April

[5:36] 19. He survived

[5:37] by his beloved wife, two

[5:39] daughters, son and grandson.

[5:40] Our thoughts and prayers

[5:42] with the Contreras family

[5:43] during this difficult time.

[5:44] Thank you.

[5:45] >> Thank you very much. I would

[5:46] like to adjourn in memory of

[5:47] Marjorie Smith, who passed away

[5:49] on April 21. Marjorie was a

[5:50] driving force behind the

[5:51] Morongo Basin Volunteer

[5:53] Organizations Active in

[5:54] Disasters, also known as VOAD.

[5:56] She was a dedicated volunteer

[5:57] with the American Red Cross and

[5:59] she helped organize disaster

[6:00] preparedness expos in Yucca

[6:02] Valley, encouraging residents

[6:04] to stay alert and help each

[6:06] other during a time

[6:07] of crisis. I would also like

[6:09] to adjourn in memory of

[6:11] George Murillo, who was a

[6:13] resident of Highland and he

[6:14] passed away at the age of 94

[6:15] on May 1st. George is the

[6:17] father of Chairwoman Lynn

[6:19] Valbuena and Secretary Audrey

[6:20] Martinez, both of whom serve

[6:26] on the Tribal Council at

[6:28] Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel

[6:30] Nation. Our hearts go out

[6:31] to them both and their families

[6:34] during this difficult time.

[6:35] We. We have one special

[6:37] presentation this morning,

[6:38] so if my colleagues will join

[6:40] me in the well, please. And I

[6:41] would like to invite up the

[6:44] Auditor, Controller, Tax

[6:45] Collector and your entire team

[6:46] for today.

[7:22] Come on, everybody. We'll jump

[7:25] in here this morning. It is our

[7:26] honor

[7:28] to present three financial

[7:29] Reporting awards to the Office

[7:30] of the Auditor, Controller,

[7:31] Treasurer, Tax Collector

[7:32] for fiscal year ending June

[7:33] 30, 2024. The first two awards

[7:35] are from the Government

[7:37] Finance Officers Association.

[7:38] The Certificate of Achievement

[7:40] for Excellence in Financial

[7:41] Reporting is the premier

[7:43] indicator of excellence

[7:45] in governmental accounting

[7:46] for the preparation of the

[7:47] annual comprehensive financial

[7:50] report. The award

[7:51] for outstanding achievement

[7:53] in popular Annual financial

[7:54] Reporting recognizes the

[7:55] department's ability to distill

[7:57] complex financial information

[7:59] from a highly technical annual

[8:00] comprehensive financial and

[8:02] produce a clear and concise

[8:03] report for our constituents.

[8:05] The third award, presented

[8:09] on behalf of the California

[8:11] State Controller, recognizes

[8:12] the highest quality in

[8:14] governmental accounting and

[8:15] financial reporting in

[8:16] California. These awards

[8:17] reflect the professionalism and

[8:18] the dedication of the ATC

[8:20] Controller Division led by

[8:21] Chief Deputy Mima Ugbo,

[8:24] overseen by Assistant ATC

[8:26] Vanessa Doyle. On behalf

[8:28] of the board,

[8:29] it is my pleasure

[8:30] to present these

[8:31] to your entire department.

[8:32] Congratulations. We will now

[9:27] move on to our reports

[9:31] from our County Council. Laura

[9:32] thank you, Madam Chair. I have

[9:34] nothing to report. And reports

[9:35] from our CEO Luther.

[9:36] >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I

[9:37] wanted to take a moment and

[9:38] report that the county has

[9:40] received the Government

[9:42] Finance Officers Association

[9:43] Distinguished Budget

[9:46] Presentation Award. That is a

[9:48] mouthful.

[9:49] For fiscal year beginning July

[9:51] 1, 2025, this is the highest

[9:53] form of recognition

[9:54] in governmental budgeting.

[9:56] It's not uncommon that our

[9:58] finance office wins this award,

[10:00] but what is unique this year

[10:01] is, for the first time ever,

[10:03] the county also received a

[10:04] special recognition

[10:06] for our budget, specifically

[10:08] for strategic goals and

[10:09] strategies. So pretty cool.

[10:13] It's a meaningful

[10:14] accomplishment, a reflection

[10:15] of the strong partnership

[10:16] across the organization. So

[10:17] congrats to the board

[10:18] for their support

[10:19] in our budget. We'll be having

[10:21] actually a discussion item

[10:22] about that later today. And

[10:23] Matthew, our CFO. Thank you

[10:25] Matthew for his commitment

[10:27] to excellence. Our whole CAO

[10:29] finance team and frankly the

[10:31] entire county, all

[10:33] of our staff who work hard to

[10:34] put together an exceptional

[10:36] budget. This week is Public

[10:38] Service Week. This is a

[10:40] recognition that we received

[10:42] here. It's a strong reminder

[10:44] that all the work done behind

[10:46] the scenes has a direct and

[10:47] meaningful impact

[10:49] on the public that we serve.

[10:51] In just recognition to all our

[10:52] hard working staff this week

[10:54] especially, thank you

[10:55] for all you do. Thank you for

[10:56] the huge impact that you make

[10:58] every day and

[10:59] for pouring your heart and

[11:00] souls into this work. So thank

[11:01] you very much and

[11:03] congratulations

[11:04] to the team.

[11:06] >> Thank you very much. All

[11:12] right, that brings us to our

[11:14] individual board member

[11:15] comments, Vice Chair Baca.

[11:16] >> Thank you Madam Chair. I

[11:18] just want

[11:19] to echo the CEO's sentiments

[11:20] on public Service week. Want to

[11:22] thank all our county employees

[11:23] for the great work you do.

[11:24] Just incredible for the amount

[11:26] of individuals that you service

[11:27] in your community. So hats off

[11:28] to all our county employees.

[11:29] All the departments also want

[11:31] to announce that in Muscoy, as

[11:33] a result of our $2.1 million

[11:35] American Rescue Plan act,

[11:37] they were able to complete a

[11:38] 83,500 square foot outdoor

[11:42] learning center which includes

[11:43] a sensory garden, outdoor

[11:45] class, classrooms, basketball

[11:46] court, foots all court. This

[11:48] has been a great investment

[11:49] for the Muscoy community which

[11:50] is a clearly a highly

[11:52] underserved community. So

[11:53] congratulations to Muscoy

[11:55] Elementary School. Had the

[11:57] opportunity to attend

[11:58] with my colleague Chair Rowe

[12:00] and Supervisor Armendarez, the

[12:02] serviceman. Recognition for all

[12:03] the recognition many years, 25

[12:05] plus years for all employees.

[12:07] So congratulations to all those

[12:08] employees that continue

[12:10] to serve our county. I want to

[12:11] congratulate our county staff

[12:12] and all our departments

[12:13] for doing a tremendous job

[12:14] for your take your child

[12:15] to work day. And I think it's

[12:16] just a great experience

[12:18] for all

[12:19] of us board members and staff

[12:20] to really expose their kids

[12:21] to that, but really get

[12:22] to bond and for the families

[12:24] to get

[12:25] to see what their parents do at

[12:26] work and also even considering

[12:28] coming back at some point

[12:29] in time and working

[12:30] for the county of San

[12:31] Bernardino.

[12:32] But I think it continues

[12:33] to grow every year and

[12:34] continues to be more and more

[12:35] successful and fun for all the

[12:36] employees. I attended the

[12:38] Children's memorial flag

[12:39] raising event

[12:40] with my colleague Supervisor

[12:42] Armendarez, just so they could

[12:43] recognize those children that

[12:45] have lost their lives due to

[12:46] violence. I think it's an

[12:47] important, critical time to

[12:49] recognize and make sure we

[12:50] continue to support Our

[12:51] children throughout the

[12:53] community also went to the

[12:54] Arrowhead Grove Check awards

[12:57] ceremony which was here in

[12:59] San Bernardino on Baseline and

[13:00] Waterman. We accepted a check

[13:02] for $3 million from

[13:04] Congressman Aguilar to invest

[13:05] in 132 new affordable housing

[13:06] projects in the city of San

[13:08] Bernardino. Currently the

[13:11] county has given 5 million

[13:12] which will allow for 92

[13:14] additional units which is

[13:16] under construction now. But

[13:17] this will also add a phase five

[13:19] which is really great. I want

[13:20] to thank public works and

[13:22] county code

[13:23] for the great work they did

[13:25] during the Bloomington and

[13:26] Muscoy Earth Day cleanup. It

[13:28] was a great turnout. Want

[13:29] to thank all the volunteers.

[13:30] But one

[13:32] of the great things is our

[13:33] Sheriff's department arrested

[13:34] individual and also they

[13:35] removed an encampment which

[13:36] just an eyesore

[13:38] to the community. So hats off

[13:39] to our county code enforcement

[13:41] for removing that big

[13:42] encampment. Thank you

[13:43] for doing that. Also our office

[13:45] had a. We hosted a Fentanyl

[13:47] film contest screening contest

[13:49] here in San Bernardino where

[13:50] our students throughout our

[13:51] local high schools submitted

[13:53] videos and the winner was

[13:54] recognized

[13:55] with the scholarship. So we had

[13:56] four scholarships that were

[13:58] awarded for the amount

[13:59] of fifteen hundred dollars

[14:00] to those students in schools.

[14:01] Just a great event to bring

[14:02] Fentanyl awareness

[14:05] to our community. Also we

[14:06] attended the county Employee

[14:07] Excellence recognition along

[14:08] with my colleagues Supervisor

[14:10] Chair and Supervisor Hagman

[14:11] where 58 employees are

[14:12] recognized

[14:14] for the great work they

[14:15] continue to do in our county.

[14:16] Congratulations. Also

[14:18] participated in the Donate

[14:19] Live Month flag raising event

[14:21] at ARMC. Want to thank Andrew

[14:22] Goldfrack and the team for

[14:23] putting that together as they

[14:24] continue to get donors which is

[14:26] very very critical. And then

[14:27] this afternoon there is going

[14:29] to be a check presentation

[14:30] for $2 million as we look

[14:32] at potentially investing

[14:33] in phase three or phase two of

[14:35] our local animal shelter. I

[14:37] want to thank Congressman

[14:38] Aguilar

[14:39] for his continued investment

[14:41] in our county. Continues

[14:43] to deliver for our county. So

[14:44] thank you Congressman Aguilar

[14:45] and just want

[14:46] to highlight a few board items.

[14:48] Item 31, the HUD Action Plan

[14:50] which will be $1.27 million

[14:52] investment in the Colton

[14:53] Hunting Corporate Area

[14:55] for ADA ramps and sidewalks.

[14:56] And also there's a plan

[14:58] for affordable housing

[14:59] for fifth and Meridian which

[15:00] borders the city of San

[15:02] Bernardino and Rialto which

[15:03] will bring 106 affordable units

[15:05] which is great. 22 for units

[15:07] aging help foster youth. So

[15:08] this is a great investment.

[15:10] Also item 43 want to thank our

[15:12] preschool services department

[15:14] for making a $10 million

[15:15] investment for upgrading all

[15:17] our classrooms which will give

[15:18] our kids in our preschools the

[15:20] opportunity to compete

[15:21] with other schools

[15:22] in all kinds of Technological

[15:24] investments. And the last thing

[15:25] is, we continue to invest

[15:27] in our animal care group,

[15:28] item number 48, which is to

[15:30] make sure that we have housing

[15:31] and look

[15:32] at a more regional approach

[15:34] to our animal care. Thank you,

[15:35] Madam Chair.

[15:37] >> Thank you very much,

[15:38] Supervisor Cook.

[15:40] >> Yeah, I'm not sure that this

[15:42] is the proper time

[15:46] to say what I'm going to say,

[15:48] but anything you want. I have a

[15:50] knack for doing that. I think

[15:54] the subject of drones,

[15:58] it's one that very,

[16:00] very interested in because I

[16:04] represent an area that's, you

[16:06] know, mostly all desert, a lot

[16:09] of it,

[16:10] particularly the high desert.

[16:14] And I've lived here a long

[16:15] while, both

[16:17] in the military and as,

[16:20] as a civilian. And we have a

[16:23] history, quite frankly,

[16:25] at least in my district, the

[16:28] Mojave Desert, where somebody

[16:30] gets lost, they're out there

[16:32] hiking or what have you,

[16:34] and we never find them. And you

[16:38] say to yourself,

[16:40] how can we do this? The

[16:44] technology before we used

[16:47] to have, you know, airplanes

[16:48] and helicopters and everything

[16:50] else. And it always used

[16:53] to bother me when we. There was

[16:55] somebody lost out there

[16:58] in the Mojave Desert. It is

[16:59] absolutely huge,

[17:01] but it is very unforgiving. So

[17:06] the subject of drones is going

[17:08] to be something I'm going

[17:10] to be a pass on, on how we can

[17:13] use that technology. And

[17:17] obviously it comes down

[17:18] to money and everything

[17:20] like that, but it also comes

[17:24] down to perhaps saving one or I

[17:26] don't know how many lives. So I

[17:28] thought I'd mention that. I

[17:30] don't know if that's. This is

[17:34] the proper place for sure. But

[17:36] I would hope that we do this so

[17:38] that we don't have another

[17:40] accident where somebody is

[17:42] out there. They don't realize

[17:44] how unforgiving the desert can

[17:48] be even in cold weather because

[17:50] it's so vast. But, you know,

[17:54] I've kind of made a vow, not

[17:56] on my watch again. So that's

[17:58] the future that I'm going to

[18:00] try and advocate so maybe we

[18:05] can win a battle

[18:08] over the desert. Thank you.

[18:10] >> Thank you very much,

[18:11] Supervisor Armendarez.

[18:12] >> Yes, thank you, Chair. Lots

[18:13] of exciting things happened

[18:14] in the last couple weeks.

[18:16] In second district,

[18:18] we were able to tour a veterans

[18:20] retreat center that's being

[18:22] built currently in Mount

[18:23] Baldy. Excited

[18:25] to see what's going on

[18:27] with that. Hoping

[18:28] to build some sort

[18:29] of collaboration with them so

[18:31] we can help serve our vets a

[18:33] little bit better. The second

[18:34] district, we had our mobile pop

[18:35] up hours where we had over 11

[18:37] constituents come out and tell

[18:38] us issues that they had. And

[18:40] we're working on every one

[18:41] of those issues to see how we

[18:43] can help them and accommodate

[18:45] them with their needs. We did a

[18:46] check presentation

[18:47] for the arts for Palmetto

[18:48] Elementary School. We went to

[18:49] Fontana Unified School

[18:50] District, State

[18:51] of the district.

[18:55] >> I want to make sure thank

[18:56] everybody

[18:57] for the bring your child

[18:58] to work day. It was a great

[19:00] event. I had my kids here and

[19:01] for them

[19:02] to see all the interaction

[19:03] with people it was great

[19:04] for them to be here. So really

[19:06] enjoyed that event. I also

[19:07] attended the Empire Strikers

[19:08] Partnership Appreciation Night

[19:09] where they spoke about the

[19:11] partnerships that we've had

[19:12] through the years including

[19:14] San Bernardino counties. We

[19:15] spoke at the children's

[19:18] memorial flag raising ceremony

[19:21] with my colleague here, Mr.

[19:23] Baca and we went to a Earth day

[19:25] celebration luncheon

[19:28] at the former CSI. We went to

[19:30] Pinwell pledge campaign which

[19:32] is making awareness

[19:36] of child abuse. We were able

[19:38] to speak at that event for

[19:39] to a bunch of young kids

[19:41] from the Exchange club or they

[19:43] call it the Excel Club in

[19:45] Summit High School. We went

[19:46] to Fontana Unified School

[19:48] District's award ceremony

[19:50] for their students and staff.

[19:52] It was called meeting over and

[19:54] beyond the expectation. And

[19:56] honestly the only reason I came

[19:57] clear of it is my son actually

[19:58] received an award there

[20:00] for going over and

[20:01] beyond and that's how I heard

[20:03] about it. But it was exciting

[20:04] to see all the teachers and

[20:06] students that were acknowledged

[20:07] for going over and

[20:08] beyond what they are capable

[20:10] of doing. We also attended the

[20:13] Fontana Days parade. We had a

[20:15] community cleanup event in

[20:16] Fontana unincorporated area. I

[20:18] also spoke at the Asian

[20:20] Business Association's Inland

[20:21] Empire Health and Wellness. We

[20:23] talked about everything

[20:25] from warehouses to housing. We

[20:26] also were we supported the

[20:29] Sheriff's Department seat heat

[20:31] annual event and we also did a

[20:34] check presentation to

[20:36] Citadel. That concludes my

[20:38] comments.

[20:39] >> Thank you very much

[20:40] Supervisor Hagman.

[20:41] >> Thank you.

[20:43] >> Just want to kind

[20:45] of highlight item number 77

[20:46] which includes a 12.7 million

[20:48] investment for the Grow Basin

[20:49] outlet storm drain in the city

[20:51] of Ontario

[20:53] to include flooding issues. It

[20:54] was a busy month so I think

[20:56] we're all pretty busy.

[20:57] But some of the past events

[20:58] recently we attended the ribbon

[21:00] cutting for Prado Park's new

[21:02] entry Monument Gatehouse. The

[21:04] snack bar and boat dock really

[21:06] shouts out to Beata and the

[21:08] team that they've done the

[21:10] great job. These are part of

[21:11] the multimillion dollar

[21:12] investment in to Prado

[21:14] Regional Park. Thank you to

[21:15] Upland Women's Club who

[21:17] recently had me attend their

[21:18] 100th year anniversary. I also

[21:20] recently spoke at the Upland

[21:21] Foothill Quantum monthly

[21:23] meeting. And thank you to our

[21:24] service groups who do so much

[21:26] for the community. The city

[21:27] of Montclair also recently

[21:28] celebrated its 70th year's

[21:31] birthday or founding so

[21:34] congratulations

[21:35] to them. I was also honored

[21:37] to recently attend the

[21:38] Montclair's 38th annual

[21:40] Volunteer Awards and thank you

[21:41] all who serve our communities.

[21:43] Also recently attended Fire

[21:45] Ops one on one with the Chino

[21:46] Valley Fire District.

[21:49] Workforce Development recently

[21:50] held a job fair,

[21:51] an expungement event

[21:53] with the 4th district. It was

[21:54] at the Ontario Airport. They

[21:55] served four, they saw 466 job

[21:57] seekers and also 85 individuals

[22:01] started their record cleaning

[22:03] process. Family shelter also

[22:04] received 50,000

[22:06] from our office

[22:07] to serve families in need.

[22:09] Upcoming District events

[22:10] includes the SKAG General

[22:12] assembly starts tomorrow and

[22:14] all local governments around

[22:15] the region get together once a

[22:17] year. Our next shredding event

[22:19] is June 6th at the City of

[22:21] Chino and May 20th is our

[22:23] annual open house at the

[22:24] Chino's office between 5 and 7

[22:26] and I want to Also congrats

[22:30] to the San Bernardino County

[22:32] Library who recently honored us

[22:33] the Best of the Best Library

[22:35] in the region by Inland Empire

[22:37] readers. And finally,

[22:39] applications for the San

[22:40] Bernardino County Civil Grand

[22:42] Jury are currently being

[22:43] accepted through July 31st and

[22:44] visit our website

[22:46] to learn more.

[22:47] >> Thank you, thank you. As our

[22:48] Vice Chair mentioned,

[22:49] we had the opportunity

[22:50] to recognize the Public

[22:52] Service Recognition Week which

[22:54] is the first week in May, and

[22:56] San Bernardino county proudly

[22:57] joins our federal,

[22:58] state and local governments

[23:00] in honoring the dedication

[23:01] of public servants on

[23:02] across the entire nation. But

[23:04] this week really provides a

[23:05] meaningful opportunity

[23:06] to acknowledge the commitment,

[23:07] the integrity and the

[23:09] professionalism demonstrated

[23:10] daily by those who have not

[23:11] just taken jobs

[23:13] but have taken an oath

[23:14] to serve our communities. On

[23:16] April 29, the county proudly

[23:18] recognized this year's Public

[23:19] Service Awards Recipients,

[23:21] celebrating staff from

[23:22] across all of our organizations

[23:24] who have demonstrated

[23:26] exceptional service

[23:27] to our communities.

[23:28] Congratulations to all

[23:29] of the recipients and thank you

[23:31] for your dedication to the

[23:32] county and the departments that

[23:34] you support. We have a free

[23:36] chipping program coming up. As

[23:37] wildfire season approaches,

[23:39] residents of the third

[23:40] District who have cleared

[23:41] vegetation around their homes

[23:43] can take advantage of free wood

[23:44] chipping programs provided

[23:46] by the local Fire Safe

[23:48] Councils. They include Yucaipa

[23:50] and Oak Glenn, the Rim

[23:51] communities in the Big Bear

[23:53] area. And you can register

[23:55] at firesafenow.org and I would

[23:58] like to mention as I wrap up my

[24:00] comments that we have a number

[24:01] of speakers signed up

[24:03] on items not on today's agenda

[24:06] for the Lone Pine Canyon

[24:09] Quarry Project. That project is

[24:11] still going

[24:12] through the planning stages.

[24:14] This board will not be hearing

[24:16] that item anytime soon,

[24:17] but it is in the planning

[24:19] stages and public comment is

[24:21] open to be received in the

[24:22] Land Use Services Department.

[24:24] And you are more than welcome

[24:26] to stay and give your comments

[24:27] here at the board. The

[24:29] appropriate time and place

[24:30] for it to be considered is

[24:32] within the Land Use Planning

[24:34] Department, and that department

[24:35] is right across the lobby.

[24:37] Miguel is here, our Director

[24:39] of Land Use Services,

[24:40] with his hand raised,

[24:43] and he can direct anybody

[24:44] over there

[24:46] to provide public comment

[24:47] to the planner of that project

[24:48] so it can be received as part

[24:50] of the CEQA documents and then

[24:51] be a part

[24:52] of the official record. And

[24:53] again,

[24:54] you're more than welcome

[24:55] to do both.

[24:56] But if you're here today

[24:57] to provide comment as a part

[24:58] of the official record,

[24:59] it would need to be done

[25:01] through the Land Use Services

[25:02] Planning Department. And

[25:03] with that, Danette, do we have

[25:04] any additions or revisions

[25:05] to today's agenda?

[25:06] >> We have no changes

[25:07] to the agenda. Thank you,

[25:08] Madam Chair.

[25:09] >> Do we have any board members

[25:10] wishing

[25:11] to disclose any conflicts

[25:13] of interest on any items? All

[25:15] right. Seeing none,

[25:16] we will move on

[25:17] to our consent calendar,

[25:18] which today consists

[25:19] of items number two through

[25:21] 81. And I have a number

[25:23] of requests to speak

[25:25] on consent. We will begin

[25:27] with Maria Gamboa, followed

[25:29] by Amethyst Yates. Yes.

[25:44] Podiums on either side. You

[25:45] have three minutes

[25:47] for public comment. When you're

[25:48] down to your last 30 seconds,

[25:49] it will turn orange,

[25:51] and then it will flash red

[25:52] at the end of the three minutes

[25:53] and begin whenever you're

[25:54] ready.

[25:55] >> Well, my name is Maria

[25:57] Luisa Gamboa, and I was here

[25:59] about. Well, I'm with Gamboa,

[26:01] Counseling, private practice.

[26:04] I'm a provider for CPS. Have

[26:08] been for almost 20 years. And I

[26:11] was here about a year ago,

[26:13] not quite a year,

[26:18] and you really helped me out.

[26:21] My issue was I hadn't been paid

[26:23] for about four months, and

[26:25] after speaking here,

[26:28] I got all my pay

[26:30] within two weeks. So that was a

[26:32] huge success. So I just want

[26:34] to thank you for that. While I

[26:36] was here, I got the impression

[26:38] that you were very interested

[26:39] in the functioning

[26:44] of that program. It's the CAPS

[26:45] program. And what happened

[26:49] after that opened up the

[26:51] conversation

[26:54] about my participation,

[26:58] my providing services

[26:59] in that program. And they asked

[27:01] me if I had any concerns. So I

[27:03] said, well, okay,

[27:06] they're willing to listen. So I

[27:07] shared

[27:10] with them. I think there was

[27:12] about three concerns that I had

[27:13] that I had been trying

[27:15] to resolve for about those 20

[27:17] years. Well, maybe 15 years,

[27:19] and I had not been listened to.

[27:23] After speaking here,

[27:27] they were willing to listen.

[27:32] That was maybe around June, and

[27:34] we had some discussions. And

[27:36] out of those discussions, they

[27:39] presented what they were

[27:42] willing to negotiate on. It was

[27:46] really good. I was very

[27:49] surprised. In September, out

[27:53] of those three issues, they

[27:56] immediately accepted the

[27:59] amendment on one of them. This

[28:01] was regarding insurance

[28:02] coverages that we have

[28:04] to maintain. They were

[28:06] exorbitant for a person just

[28:09] in private practice. So they

[28:11] accepted the change. There's a

[28:14] huge long story,

[28:15] but I don't have time

[28:17] for here. But the other two

[28:21] that they said they would amend

[28:24] never happened. And I would

[28:27] make phone calls, I'd leave

[28:29] messages. I'd constantly trying

[28:32] to speak to someone,

[28:33] what's the update

[28:35] on this agreement? And I would

[28:39] just get the run

[28:40] around and run around. The

[28:42] person that helped me the most

[28:43] was Ms. Adams. Cheryl Adams.

[28:47] So she was very helpful. So

[28:50] anyway, what

[28:53] to bring it closer

[28:54] to now.

[29:01] >> Thank you. Amethyst Yates,

[29:03] followed by Andrea Myers.

[29:13] Excuse me, ma'am,

[29:15] if you'll wait just one second

[29:16] before you walk out the door.

[29:18] Victor, you may have to run.

[29:22] Thank you. Amethyst Yates.

[29:28] We'll move on to Andrea

[29:31] Myers, followed by Carlo. Last

[29:40] chance for amethyst yates.

[29:43] Andrea myers. All right,

[29:50] and then we'll move on to

[29:53] Carlo. Good morning, sir.

[30:00] >> Good morning, Board. Good

[30:01] morning, everybody. It's a

[30:03] pleasure

[30:04] to see everyone here. So

[30:05] on the item that I want

[30:06] to speak

[30:07] about is the programs run

[30:08] by and contracts offered

[30:13] by cfs. This is a substantial

[30:15] amount of money,

[30:17] okay? A substantial amount

[30:18] of money that I cannot,

[30:20] nor can the director of cfs,

[30:22] when I spoke to her,

[30:23] guarantee that these services

[30:25] from removals were based

[30:27] on false allegations. It's

[30:30] pretty much a kidnapping

[30:31] industrial complex. There's a

[30:33] lot of money that the taxpayers

[30:36] are paying

[30:37] to support these programs,

[30:39] businesses, and we cannot

[30:40] guarantee that these kids were

[30:43] not removed

[30:44] from false allegations,

[30:45] but were spending all this

[30:47] money with no accountability.

[30:49] Do you know the heartbreak

[30:50] people feel these families feel

[30:53] they see as professionals

[30:54] in their suits, lawyers,

[30:56] judges, and then they have

[30:58] to go do these services. Once

[31:01] they complete the services,

[31:02] CFS still says, hey,

[31:04] guess what? We're still going

[31:05] to adopt your kids out.

[31:09] Where's the accountability

[31:13] for this? There is none. So if

[31:14] you're not going to go ahead

[31:16] and give the kids back after

[31:17] providing all these services,

[31:19] then why pay for them at all?

[31:23] We have kids

[31:24] in group homes getting beat up,

[31:28] raped, tortured, starving.

[31:31] Where's the accountability? I

[31:33] asked the director herself.

[31:38] When she was outside here,

[31:40] and I spoke to her. She said

[31:41] there's a difference when a

[31:43] woman grow ups a child and when

[31:45] a man does it. So if this is

[31:46] the kind

[31:47] of leadership we have,

[31:49] then I suggest we start over.

[31:51] As the grand jury stated,

[31:53] we start over checking

[31:55] out these contracts, checking

[31:57] out all the hundreds

[31:58] of millions

[32:00] of dollars the county is paying

[32:01] for these services, because we

[32:02] cannot trust these people

[32:05] to stand there in front

[32:06] of court, to stand in front

[32:08] of the parents and say, yes,

[32:09] you will get your kids back

[32:11] when you complete these

[32:12] services. That the taxpayers

[32:14] of San Bernardino, the

[32:15] taxpayers of the state of

[32:17] California, and the taxpayers

[32:19] through Title 4E funding from

[32:20] Social Security, that's I think

[32:23] this year is about $50 billion

[32:25] out of Social Security going

[32:27] to these programs

[32:28] across the country. It's

[32:33] satanic, it's demonic, the

[32:36] suffering these families go

[32:39] through. And at the end

[32:41] of it, false allegations.

[32:45] Now, child abuse is real,

[32:49] but if you can, as a director,

[32:50] guarantee that removals,

[32:52] adoptions, and every which way

[32:55] in between is based

[32:57] on false allegations,

[32:58] then you need a new job.

[33:01] >> Thank you. That is the last

[33:02] request to speak that I have.

[33:03] Do I have any board members

[33:04] wishing to pull an item

[33:06] for discussion?

[33:07] >> Second

[33:09] >> I have a motion by

[33:10] Supervisor Hagman, a second

[33:11] by Vice Chair Baca. All those

[33:12] in favor?

[33:13] >> Aye.

[33:14] >> Any opposed? Any

[33:15] abstentions?

[33:16] >> With that, the consent

[33:17] calendar passes unanimously.

[33:18] >> Thank you very much. We will

[33:20] now move on

[33:21] to our discussion calendar.

[33:24] And starting with item number

[33:27] 82 is a report regarding

[33:28] implementation

[33:29] of remote public participation

[33:30] for Board of Supervisors

[33:32] meeting and outreach plan being

[33:33] presented this morning by

[33:34] Stephanie Shea.

[33:53] >> Stephanie Shea, Deputy

[33:54] Executive Officer I'm here

[33:56] today to present information

[33:57] on Senate Bill 707 regarding

[33:59] the implementation of remote

[34:01] public participation and the

[34:03] associated outreach plan. This

[34:06] presentation is just

[34:07] about five slides,

[34:08] and there'll be an opportunity

[34:10] for questions afterwards. So a

[34:12] little bit history about

[34:14] Senate Bill 707. It was adopted

[34:16] in 2025. It applies

[34:18] to counties with populations

[34:20] of over 30,000, and it will

[34:22] require counties like ours

[34:23] to provide remote options

[34:25] for public participation,

[34:27] to engage those members of the

[34:29] public who wouldn't

[34:31] traditionally participate in

[34:32] board meetings and offer them

[34:34] the chance

[34:35] to participate remotely. This

[34:38] bill will be effective actually

[34:40] July 1st of 2026. And we

[34:43] prepared for this. The clerk

[34:45] of the board has taken a lead

[34:46] on this effort and has secured

[34:48] a platform to provide remote

[34:50] public participation via

[34:52] telephone. The Clerk of the

[34:54] board will also establish a

[34:55] website to provide information

[34:57] on this process to include how

[34:59] to register, how to submit

[35:00] for public comment. The website

[35:03] will also include information

[35:04] about board meeting calendar

[35:06] dates and the agenda. And then

[35:07] lastly,

[35:09] we developed a targeted

[35:10] outreach plan, again

[35:11] with the goal to engage the

[35:13] public who don't traditionally

[35:14] participate

[35:15] in public meetings or

[35:16] in board meetings

[35:18] to participate remotely. And

[35:20] in doing so,

[35:21] our outreach plan includes a

[35:22] few Elements, we intend to

[35:25] provide advertisements and

[35:27] newspapers and provide county

[35:30] updates in both English and

[35:31] Spanish. Other elements

[35:33] of this plan include sending

[35:34] out newsletters, social media,

[35:36] sending out emails,

[35:39] and providing information

[35:41] on county websites. Our county

[35:45] is so large geographically that

[35:47] our county departments do a

[35:49] great job of providing events

[35:50] and utilizing their mobile

[35:52] units

[35:54] to again provide services

[35:55] to county residents

[35:57] across the county. So what we

[35:58] intend to do is we intend

[36:00] to partner with our county

[36:01] departments and share

[36:03] information, outreach materials

[36:05] that include QR codes and other

[36:06] information about this process

[36:08] in English and Spanish, hoping

[36:10] to partner with the county

[36:11] department so they can share

[36:12] that information

[36:14] at their events. And we also

[36:15] intend to partner

[36:17] with community groups, all

[36:18] with a goal to reach those

[36:20] in underserved areas. That

[36:23] concludes my presentation and

[36:25] I'd like to ask the board if

[36:26] there are any questions.

[36:32] Comment, please.

[36:33] >> When you are working

[36:34] with all the other departments,

[36:36] could you work

[36:38] with the board, Board of

[36:40] Supervisors directly also,

[36:41] because it's something we have

[36:43] platforms we can get

[36:44] information out on also.

[36:46] >> Yes. Thank you. This feels

[36:48] like a receive and file. This

[36:50] is. There's also recommendation

[36:52] on the board item

[36:53] for the board to find. We've

[36:55] made reasonable efforts

[36:57] for this outreach plan

[36:59] to engage those members of the

[37:00] public who wouldn't

[37:02] traditionally participate

[37:03] in and to find

[37:04] out the outreach plan

[37:05] to approve it,

[37:06] to find it reasonable. Thank

[37:08] you.

[37:09] >> I would welcome that motion

[37:10] since I do not have any public

[37:11] comment that I believe I know

[37:12] of.

[37:13] >> No. Thank you. Vice Chair

[37:14] for the motion and Supervisor

[37:15] Hagman for the second. All

[37:16] those in favor?

[37:17] >> Aye.

[37:18] >> Any opposed? Any

[37:19] abstentions:

[37:20] >> With that, item 82 passes

[37:22] unanimously.

[37:24] >> Thank you, Stephanie. Item

[37:25] number 83 is law enforcement

[37:27] agency's annual military

[37:28] equipment reports for the 2025

[37:30] calendar year,

[37:32] which is associated with

[37:33] Assembly 481 being presented

[37:35] by Deputy Chief Crosby. Good

[37:37] morning. I will open the public

[37:39] hearing. Morning, Sergeant.

[37:43] >> Good morning, Madam Chair

[37:47] and Board of Supervisors. My

[37:49] presentation this morning is

[37:51] related to California

[37:53] Assembly Bill 481. And this

[37:54] presentation is on behalf

[37:56] of the Sheriff's Department,

[37:58] the Probation Department and

[37:59] the District Attorney's office.

[38:01] With me, I have Sergeant Ian

[38:02] Golditch from our

[38:03] Professional Standards Unit.

[38:07] On January 1, 2022, Assembly

[38:08] Bill 481 became effective. And

[38:10] it requires law enforcement

[38:13] agencies and their local

[38:14] governing bodies to follow

[38:16] certain procedures followed

[38:17] prior to the funding

[38:19] acquisition and the use

[38:21] of military equipment. AB 481

[38:24] defines certain law enforcement

[38:26] equipment as military

[38:28] equipment. And here I'd like

[38:29] to just clarify that

[38:31] for purposes

[38:32] of this presentation, military

[38:34] equipment does not necessarily

[38:35] mean equipment that is used

[38:36] by the military,

[38:38] but it is equipment that the

[38:40] California Legislature defined

[38:42] for law enforcement

[38:44] to track as military equipment.

[38:47] Example of what is defined as

[38:50] military equipment

[38:51] for our purposes is listed

[38:53] in the PowerPoint. A highlight

[38:54] of some

[38:56] of those includes drones. It

[38:57] includes armored personnel

[38:59] carriers, command and control

[39:00] vehicles, certain 50 caliber or

[39:02] greater firearms or munitions,

[39:04] certain specialized firearms

[39:07] ammunition, any firearm or

[39:10] firearm accessory that's

[39:12] designed to launch explosive

[39:13] projectiles any breaching

[39:15] apparatus that is explosive

[39:17] in nature flashbang grenades,

[39:19] explosive breaching tools, tear

[39:22] gas and projectile launch

[39:23] platforms and munitions which

[39:25] includes 40 millimeter

[39:27] projectile launchers, beanbags,

[39:29] rubber bullets and specialty

[39:31] impact munition weapons. In

[39:34] March of 2022, each San

[39:36] Bernardino county law

[39:38] enforcement agency created a

[39:40] military equipment use Policy

[39:42] and an annual military

[39:46] equipment Report. These

[39:47] documents were uploaded and are

[39:48] publicly available on each

[39:50] of our respective websites.

[39:52] Each agency's military

[39:54] equipment use policy and the

[39:55] annual military equipment

[39:56] Report describes the following

[39:58] military equipment the

[40:01] inventory,

[40:03] the purposes and authorized

[40:05] uses, the fiscal impact, the

[40:08] legal and procedural rules

[40:09] governing the authorized use,

[40:11] the training that's required

[40:12] prior to equipment use,

[40:14] the procedures to ensure

[40:16] military equipment use policy

[40:19] compliance and public input

[40:21] procedures to register any

[40:23] concerns or questions and how

[40:24] the law enforcement agency

[40:26] shall respond to those on

[40:28] April 26th of 2022, the law

[40:31] enforcement agencies held a

[40:32] community engagement meeting.

[40:34] On that same date,

[40:36] at a regular meeting, the

[40:37] Board of Supervisors considered

[40:39] an open session agenda item

[40:40] regarding the law enforcement

[40:42] agency's policies and reports

[40:43] that provided

[40:45] for public comment.

[40:46] At this meeting, the Board

[40:48] adopted three ordinances, one

[40:49] for each the district attorney,

[40:51] probation, and the Sheriff's

[40:53] Department approving each

[40:54] agency's policy and military

[40:56] equipment funding,

[40:57] acquisition and use. Those

[40:58] ordinances are subject

[41:00] to annual review.

[41:02] In adopting the ordinances,

[41:03] the Board found that the law

[41:05] enforcement agencies had

[41:06] complied

[41:07] with government code section

[41:09] 7071 and that the military

[41:11] equipment followed these

[41:13] guidelines. Number one, it was

[41:15] necessary because there was no

[41:16] reasonable alternative that

[41:18] could achieve the same

[41:19] objective

[41:21] of officer and civilian safety.

[41:22] Used policies would safeguard

[41:24] the public's welfare, safety,

[41:25] civil rights,

[41:27] and civil liberties. It was

[41:29] reasonably cost effective

[41:30] compared to available

[41:31] alternates that could achieve

[41:33] the same objective of officer

[41:34] and civilian safety and the

[41:36] Board also found that prior

[41:37] equipment use had complied with

[41:39] any military equipment use

[41:41] policy that was in effect

[41:43] at that time. Our law

[41:45] enforcement agencies must

[41:47] create and post our annual

[41:48] military equipment reports

[41:50] to our public websites. These

[41:51] reports discuss our military

[41:53] equipment use, the inventory,

[41:54] and the fiscal impact

[41:56] for the prior calendar year and

[41:58] within 30 days of publicly

[42:00] releasing the those reports,

[42:02] the agencies will hold a

[42:03] community engagement meeting

[42:05] where the public may discuss

[42:06] and ask questions about the

[42:08] annual reports and our funding,

[42:10] acquisition and use

[42:13] of that equipment. This year.

[42:14] Our agencies uploaded our

[42:16] annual military equipment

[42:17] reports on April 9 and April

[42:19] 10, and those reports were

[42:20] for the 2025 calendar year.

[42:22] And today we are holding a

[42:24] public meeting

[42:25] during the regular Board of

[42:27] Supervisor meeting. Pursuant

[42:29] to the government Code section,

[42:31] the board shall annually at a

[42:32] regular meeting and as an open

[42:34] session agenda item that

[42:35] provides for public comment,

[42:37] evaluate and vote on whether it

[42:39] should renew the previously

[42:41] adopted military equipment use

[42:42] ordinances and determine

[42:44] whether each type

[42:45] of military equipment

[42:47] identified

[42:48] in the annual reports complies

[42:50] with the government code

[42:51] section. At today's meeting,

[42:53] you if the board finds that any

[42:55] military equipment identified

[42:56] in our reports does not comply

[42:58] with the government Code

[43:00] section, then the board shall

[43:02] then determine whether it will

[43:04] either disapprove renewal

[43:05] of authorization

[43:07] for that particular type of

[43:08] military equipment or require

[43:10] modifications to our use policy

[43:12] that will resolve the lack

[43:14] of compliance. That concludes

[43:16] my presentation and I'll be

[43:18] happy

[43:19] to answer any questions.

[43:21] >> Thank you very much. Any

[43:23] questions? I don't believe I

[43:25] have any requests to speak

[43:26] from the public on this item.

[43:28] I'll close the public hearing

[43:29] and I have a motion from

[43:31] Supervisor Hagman a second

[43:32] from Vice Chair Baca. All those

[43:33] in favor?

[43:34] >> Aye.

[43:35] >> Any opposed? Any

[43:36] abstentions?

[43:39] >> With that, item 83 passes

[43:40] unanimously.

[43:42] >> Thank you very much for the

[43:43] presentation this morning.

[43:45] Thank you. All right,

[43:46] item number 84 is our 202627

[43:48] budget financial update being

[43:50] presented by Matthew Erickson.

[43:51] Good morning, Matthew.

[43:58] >> Good morning, Chair Rowe,

[43:59] members of the board,

[44:00] I believe Luther's going

[44:01] to kick us off today.

[44:03] >> I'll just say some brief

[44:04] comments really quickly and

[44:05] then let Matthew take it away

[44:07] and get to the core

[44:08] of the conversation.

[44:09] But just as a brief overview

[44:11] of what we're going

[44:12] to be talking about today.

[44:14] This is our 2026 budget,

[44:16] our financial update. Our

[44:17] budget update. Matthew will go

[44:19] over our timeline as far as

[44:21] what comes next, when the board

[44:23] offices will each receive the

[44:24] budget book and those things.

[44:25] I'll just briefly touch on our

[44:27] county's fiscal strategy, some

[44:29] of the high level headwinds

[44:30] that we're foreseeing. Matthew

[44:32] then will jump

[44:34] into the meat and potatoes,

[44:35] the five year forecast, as well

[44:37] as our funding priorities that

[44:38] we're going to be recommending

[44:39] to the board as part

[44:41] of that next slide, please. So

[44:42] this is just very,

[44:45] very high level. But when

[44:46] Matthew and I sit

[44:48] down and we look

[44:49] at how we approach budgeting

[44:52] for this county, we start

[44:53] from the standpoint of prudent

[44:54] budgeting and that becomes our

[44:56] foundation and we establish

[44:57] that in this environment where

[45:00] we sit today and I'll touch

[45:01] on some of the headways,

[45:03] headwinds in just a moment. We

[45:05] are positioning for a slower

[45:06] growth environment. You have

[45:08] heard that from Matthew and I

[45:09] now

[45:10] for the past couple years.

[45:12] That continues to play out. We

[45:13] are seeing property tax slow,

[45:15] we are seeing some of our,

[45:17] our sales tax numbers fall

[45:19] from where they had been

[45:20] before.

[45:22] But we are still growing. We

[45:23] are not seeing a pullback. We

[45:25] are not, there's no recession,

[45:26] there's nothing like that.

[45:28] But it is not growing at the

[45:30] same pace that it had before.

[45:32] And Matthew will touch

[45:34] on that. When we have prudent

[45:35] budgeting and when we're

[45:36] positioning ourselves

[45:37] appropriately

[45:39] for the environment,

[45:40] what we're able to do is

[45:41] provide stable community

[45:43] services. We stabilize our

[45:44] operations, we kind

[45:46] of cut the peaks and valleys

[45:48] off and we ensure that we

[45:50] operate within the range to

[45:52] provide consistent and stable

[45:56] services to our public. That is

[45:57] Matthew and my goal. When we

[45:59] sit and we approach the budget

[46:01] and what we intend

[46:02] to recommend to the board,

[46:04] that's how we approach it.

[46:05] Next slide please, please.

[46:07] We've touched on these before

[46:08] with the board. We just want

[46:09] to hit them again.

[46:10] Geopolitical risks, those are,

[46:12] that's more situational

[46:13] at the moment. We're looking

[46:15] at what those impacts will be

[46:16] to us if any long term assessed

[46:18] value is really where we're

[46:20] seeing some significant risk

[46:23] and impact. Matthew again will

[46:25] touch on that

[46:26] in just a moment. Our HR1 or

[46:28] the federal big Beautiful bill.

[46:29] There are still impacts that

[46:31] are significant that are

[46:32] playing out for us and we're

[46:34] monitoring those. There is some

[46:36] mitigation

[46:37] to that that we're going

[46:39] to be recommending

[46:40] in this year's budget. The

[46:41] state budget is something we're

[46:43] looking closely at. There's a

[46:44] pretty big gap right now

[46:45] in what the,

[46:47] what did they call it? The LAO

[46:48] is forecasting versus what the

[46:50] Governor's office is

[46:52] predicting. So we're trying

[46:54] to look at what that means and

[46:55] where the state budget actually

[46:59] shakes out this month. We

[47:00] should actually learn more so

[47:01] that we hopefully will have

[47:03] more clarity soon. And then

[47:04] litigation. The state of

[47:05] California is incredibly

[47:07] litigious. Matthew is going to

[47:08] work look specifically and

[47:10] actually talk about the

[47:12] decision that we're going

[47:13] to ask the board

[47:15] to make today versus waiting

[47:16] for the future because

[47:17] of impacts

[47:19] to the county as well as some

[47:20] of our number of our cities

[47:22] in the county. So with that,

[47:23] this is some of the challenges

[47:24] that we're looking at. I'll

[47:26] turn it over to Matthew and

[47:27] he's going to dive deeper into

[47:28] the actual five year forecast

[47:30] numbers as well as some

[47:31] of the priorities

[47:33] in this budget. So, Matthew,

[47:35] take it away.

[47:36] >> Great. Thanks so much,

[47:37] Luther. I did want to step back

[47:38] really quick and just

[47:39] highlight, you know,

[47:40] our strategy. Luther talked a

[47:42] little bit

[47:43] about it and stated, you know,

[47:44] that it's just a big high level

[47:46] overview,

[47:47] but it's really fundamental

[47:48] to what we do

[47:49] within this organization.

[47:51] Although we are not immune

[47:52] to headwinds

[47:53] within the county, we, because

[47:56] we have a situation where we

[47:57] are always prudent, you know,

[47:58] in good times,

[48:01] the county tries to have a

[48:02] prudent process whereby we

[48:04] don't grow too much that allows

[48:06] us, in times where there's

[48:07] headwinds that are coming our

[48:09] way, to really address those in

[48:10] a little bit different way than

[48:12] some other entities you might

[48:13] see within the state of

[48:14] California and even within the

[48:16] nation as a whole are. So

[48:18] with that, I did want to jump

[48:19] into the five year forecast.

[48:20] This is where we get

[48:21] into a little bit more

[48:23] of the nitty gritty

[48:24] about what our forecast looks

[48:25] like

[48:27] for the upcoming five years.

[48:28] We'll kind of dive in. And I

[48:29] kind of first wanted to start

[48:30] with a review of what we went

[48:31] over last time. We, if you

[48:33] recall, met at the end of

[48:34] March and we went over just big

[48:35] picture things that are going

[48:37] on with our general fund. And

[48:38] so I wanted to dive

[48:40] into that first. So this is a

[48:41] reminder slide we went

[48:43] over this last time. Luther

[48:44] mentioned how assessed

[48:46] valuation growth is slower than

[48:48] what it has been. And really

[48:49] what that particularly means is

[48:51] that you can see

[48:52] in this slide that

[48:54] over the last 10 years we've

[48:56] had roughly 6.8% average

[48:58] assessed valuation growth.

[48:59] That's property tax growth that

[49:01] we've seen within our county

[49:02] every single year. Just

[49:04] for reference,

[49:05] every 1% property tax growth is

[49:07] about $10 million of new

[49:08] general fund dollars that are

[49:10] coming in. So we've become not

[49:12] reliant on,

[49:13] because we don't become reliant

[49:15] on, but we've seen roughly $68

[49:18] million every year in today's

[49:19] dollars that have been growing

[49:21] over the last 10 years.

[49:23] For a comparison,

[49:25] what we're projecting going

[49:26] into next year is about 2.23%

[49:28] assessed valuation growth.

[49:30] What that is,

[49:31] is that is not known yet. We

[49:33] find that out in June or July

[49:35] time frame what that growth

[49:36] will be. But that's tied to an

[49:37] economist that we have that has

[49:39] historically been pretty

[49:40] accurate with regards

[49:42] to next future years. And so

[49:44] we're using that just

[49:46] for some comparison. That is

[49:48] the lowest AV growth we've seen

[49:49] since about 2012. So it's quite

[49:51] a bit lower. It is still

[49:53] growth, as Luther mentioned.

[49:54] And so we really feel

[49:55] like we're going to be able

[49:57] to mitigate these things,

[49:58] but it is a really big issue.

[50:00] In addition to that,

[50:01] last time we talked a little

[50:02] bit about HR1, how we are

[50:04] seeing immediate impacts

[50:05] in our five year forecast tied

[50:07] to CalFresh administration

[50:09] impacts. That's tied

[50:10] to the shift

[50:11] from the federal government to

[50:12] the state and local share

[50:14] increases on CalFresh funding.

[50:15] On the administrative side,

[50:17] we also talked

[50:18] about how there's a lot

[50:20] of uncertainties with regards

[50:21] to HR1 specifically as it

[50:22] relates to CalFresh going

[50:25] into the future with regards

[50:26] to error rates,

[50:28] if you recall. And so although

[50:29] we do not know the dollar

[50:31] impact, what we want to do

[50:32] in this forecast is set aside

[50:34] $10 million ongoing just as a

[50:35] sort of set aside just to face

[50:37] that if it's comes our way.

[50:38] In addition to that,

[50:40] on the good side, the good news

[50:43] is we are projecting in our

[50:45] five year forecast retirement

[50:48] savings. This is tied

[50:50] to long term payment

[50:51] of obligations tied to pension

[50:53] funds that are falling off.

[50:55] In other words, meaning pension

[50:57] funds basically treat losses

[50:59] in the market

[51:00] like debt that you pay off

[51:01] over a very long time. And so

[51:03] what we've been doing is since

[51:04] about 2008, the Great

[51:05] Recession, we've been paying

[51:07] off basically long term debt

[51:09] into our pension system for a

[51:10] very long time that we are

[51:12] going to be seeing savings in

[51:14] the next several years

[51:15] associated with that. I do

[51:17] like to highlight that there is

[51:18] not complete certainty when it

[51:20] comes to those savings because

[51:21] it is tied to the stock market

[51:24] effectively. Our pension system

[51:25] invests our pension funds in a

[51:27] way that helps ensure that we

[51:29] have pensions into the future.

[51:30] But it's required

[51:32] to hit 7.25% every single year

[51:34] in order

[51:35] to be properly funded. And

[51:37] years when it isn't, we have to

[51:38] pay that back as the employer.

[51:40] And so although I'm excited

[51:41] about the 36.1 million

[51:44] in savings, that is not

[51:46] necessarily a guarantee

[51:47] about what we will be seeing.

[51:49] And then lastly we talked

[51:50] about employee costs with

[51:52] Teamsters negotiations coming

[51:54] up. We have roughly, along

[51:55] with our attorneys unit,

[51:57] we have roughly 58%

[51:59] of our workforce that's up

[52:00] for negotiations

[52:01] in the upcoming year. And

[52:03] that's a very notable impact

[52:04] that I'm going to go

[52:05] into right now a little bit.

[52:07] All right, so just to dive

[52:08] in a little bit more

[52:10] on the numbers,

[52:11] a little bit more specific,

[52:12] you know, employees are always

[52:13] our priority when we look

[52:15] at our forecast. And I'll go

[52:17] over this in a second. What we

[52:18] tend to do is try

[52:19] to be very careful

[52:21] on our revenue Projections,

[52:22] but we also like

[52:24] to be aggressive

[52:25] on our cost projections,

[52:26] meaning we like to plan for

[52:28] every possible cost that we can

[52:29] think of

[52:30] within our five year forecast.

[52:32] And so what we have is a pretty

[52:34] big, you know, variability

[52:36] with regards

[52:37] to our employee costs going

[52:39] into our five year forecast.

[52:41] The way I've broken this

[52:44] out is what has been approved

[52:46] by the board so far. So, right.

[52:47] We have negotiated MOUs right

[52:49] now that are already gaveled.

[52:50] The board has approved

[52:52] in our five year forecast

[52:54] that's about $56 million in

[52:57] general fund dollars that have

[52:58] been set aside just

[53:00] for approved MOU use. But

[53:02] in addition to that,

[53:03] we have a lot

[53:04] of unapproved MOUs

[53:05] through our five year forecast.

[53:06] What we historically do is just

[53:07] we plan, or I say we plan.

[53:09] What we put

[53:10] in the forecast is tied to

[53:12] historic MOUs that have been

[53:14] given and we just project those

[53:15] out. So it's, it's similar to

[53:16] what we've historically given

[53:18] is what we put

[53:19] into our forecast. And if you

[53:20] were to throw all of it

[53:22] into our forecast, it would be

[53:23] $228 million ongoing

[53:26] through that, through the

[53:28] 2030, 31 timeframe.

[53:29] In addition to that,

[53:30] another really notable impact,

[53:32] especially as it relates

[53:33] to mandates. This does not

[53:35] include impacts of HR1 that is

[53:37] separate our human service

[53:38] programs. So as you know,

[53:40] we provide monthly payments

[53:43] for foster youth,

[53:45] for adoptions. Our in home

[53:46] supportive services program

[53:48] requires a lot of ongoing costs

[53:49] that are basically mandated

[53:51] for the county. And the way we

[53:53] pay for those services is a

[53:54] combination of federal,

[53:56] state and local funding.

[53:58] With local funding, the state

[54:00] of California has set aside

[54:01] what's called realignment funds

[54:03] to help pay for those. Those

[54:05] are sales tax derived. And when

[54:07] we do not have enough

[54:08] of those realignment funds

[54:10] to pay for service growth,

[54:11] cost growth in those areas,

[54:13] then it is a general fund

[54:15] impact to the county. And so

[54:16] what you're seeing is up to

[54:17] $52 million ongoing

[54:19] through the forecast. This is

[54:21] general fund dollars that we're

[54:22] seeing as a potential need for

[54:24] our human service programs. A

[54:26] large reason for that.

[54:27] Historically we've actually

[54:28] talked

[54:30] about caseload growing. We do

[54:31] not necessarily see caseload

[54:33] growing, but another aspect

[54:35] of cost growth is inflation.

[54:37] And so, you know, each year the

[54:39] state increases the cost

[54:41] for foster families,

[54:42] for adoption families,

[54:44] for IHSS at a certain rate. To

[54:46] the extent that goes up and our

[54:48] realignment funds don't

[54:49] proportionately go up the same

[54:51] rate, then it requires

[54:54] additional general fund

[54:55] dollars. And that's what we're

[54:57] seeing. Luther talked a little

[54:58] bit about sales tax. We've seen

[55:00] more tepid growth

[55:01] in sales tax. Well, that

[55:02] directly impacts realignment.

[55:04] And so when the realignment

[55:05] funds don't come in,

[55:06] it's a general fund impact.

[55:07] And then lastly, public safety

[55:09] has always been a priority

[55:10] of this county and of the

[55:12] Board of State Supervisors. We

[55:13] have

[55:15] for years had funding set aside

[55:17] for different jail needs. We

[55:19] currently in the forecast at

[55:22] $8.7 million ongoing set aside

[55:24] for potential detention needs

[55:25] going into the future. If you

[55:27] recall, in 2024, Prop 36 was

[55:28] passed

[55:30] by voters that did not overturn

[55:34] Prop 47. If you recall, Prop

[55:37] 47 was in 2014. It kind

[55:39] of reduced penalties on certain

[55:40] crimes that then reduced our

[55:43] jail population. Prop 36 didn't

[55:44] overturn, but made certain

[55:46] crimes more stringent

[55:48] from a penalty perspective,

[55:49] you know. And so what we're

[55:51] doing is setting aside this

[55:52] 8.7 million in the event we see

[55:54] different impacts to our jails

[55:55] into the future. I will stop

[55:57] because I'm going to get even

[55:58] more detailed and ask any

[56:00] questions

[56:01] on this segment.

[56:02] >> Perfect.

[56:05] >> All right. So this is when I

[56:06] get kind

[56:07] of wonky and too nitty gritty.

[56:09] So I like to explain this

[56:11] spreadsheet because I know it's

[56:12] just a lot of numbers

[56:14] on there. So what you're

[56:15] looking

[56:17] at is our five year forecast.

[56:19] Every dollar that you're

[56:20] looking at is in millions. So

[56:22] that's,

[56:23] that's what that represents.

[56:24] Every dollar that you're

[56:25] looking at is ongoing

[56:27] in nature. We're not talking

[56:28] about one time money right

[56:29] here. We're talking

[56:31] about ongoing money. I like

[56:32] to say that positive is good

[56:33] for the forecast. It would

[56:34] result

[56:36] in surpluses and negative is

[56:37] bad for at least the forecast

[56:39] purposes as it contributes

[56:40] to a deficit. So if you see a

[56:42] positive, that means on the

[56:43] revenue side that we are seeing

[56:45] revenue growth. If you see a

[56:48] positive on cost side,

[56:49] that actually means cost

[56:51] savings,

[56:52] which you will not see

[56:53] in that you will see on cost,

[56:56] it will be negative. Right,

[56:57] because costs generally are

[56:59] negative. We don't have a lot

[57:00] of ongoing cost savings besides

[57:01] the retirement side.

[57:03] In addition to that,

[57:04] what you're looking

[57:07] at is incremental. And so what

[57:08] that means is each year

[57:10] represents how much more money

[57:12] we're getting

[57:13] in those line items compared

[57:14] to the prior year. So

[57:16] for property tax,

[57:17] for example, you'll see, you

[57:19] know, in line three in 26,

[57:20] 27, $21 million. That means

[57:22] we're seeing 21 million more

[57:24] in property tax in 2627

[57:27] compared to 2526. You could add

[57:31] the same in 27, 28, $22.5

[57:33] million. That's in addition

[57:35] to the 21 million. So if you

[57:37] look all the way to the right

[57:39] through the total five year,

[57:40] that's where you can see the

[57:41] total growth in revenue,

[57:43] the total costs

[57:44] through the five years. And so

[57:45] that's what we're looking at.

[57:46] What I always like

[57:48] to highlight,

[57:49] which I always look

[57:50] at whenever I'm looking

[57:51] at this spreadsheet, is the

[57:53] bottom right column and corner

[57:54] that really represents what

[57:56] we're facing from either a

[57:57] surplus or a deficit. The

[57:59] little brackets means we're

[58:01] facing a deficit. And I kind

[58:02] of want to walk you through,

[58:03] you know, what we're looking

[58:04] at and why we're looking

[58:05] at that right now. So as you

[58:07] know, as a county,

[58:09] we are always very careful in

[58:12] our budgeting and what you can

[58:13] and you can see that

[58:14] by the line one,

[58:17] the ongoing carryover. What

[58:18] that means is that we have

[58:20] roughly $60 million

[58:22] in ongoing money carried over

[58:23] from the prior year that was

[58:25] not spent. That was effectively

[58:27] like an ongoing surplus that we

[58:28] had set aside. That goes

[58:31] into the first step

[58:33] of the revenue that we bring

[58:34] in to going into next year,

[58:36] along

[58:37] with our property taxes, Prop

[58:38] 172, which is a half cent sales

[58:40] tax for our public safety

[58:42] departments and then other

[58:44] revenue. Other revenue this

[58:46] year is quite a bit higher than

[58:47] those out years. If you're

[58:49] looking at it, we're looking

[58:50] at $29 million that is mostly

[58:51] tied to, you know,

[58:53] interest earnings. We've talked

[58:55] about this a little bit

[58:57] in the past, but we are seeing

[58:59] with historic highs in rates

[59:02] on the Federal Reserve side of

[59:03] things that our treasury pool,

[59:05] our county treasury pool is

[59:06] making roughly 4% right now

[59:08] in yield or in interest

[59:09] earnings every single year.

[59:11] That compares to some

[59:13] of the prior years back in

[59:14] 2122 where those,

[59:16] those yields were

[59:18] like 0.5% or even 1%. So

[59:20] fortunately, we are seeing

[59:21] interest earnings growth and

[59:23] I'm building, we're building

[59:24] in about 10 million more

[59:25] ongoing

[59:27] into the forecast just tied

[59:28] to that. And in addition

[59:29] to that,

[59:31] we're seeing administrative

[59:32] costs, people may say the term

[59:34] cow cap, countywide cost

[59:35] allocation plan. It's really

[59:36] representative administrative

[59:38] services that we provide

[59:39] countywide to residents,

[59:40] I mean to our departments,

[59:42] those have grown. And that

[59:44] means we're receiving revenue

[59:46] associated with that.

[59:48] On the cost side. I mentioned

[59:50] before that we have planned MOU

[59:51] increases. So you're seeing

[59:53] quite a bit of in that 75

[59:54] million. It's just simply tied

[59:56] to projected MOU increases or

[59:58] salary cost increases

[59:59] for the county going

[1:00:02] into next year. We're going

[1:00:03] to go into more detailed

[1:00:04] on line Item nine,

[1:00:07] the ongoing request. That's

[1:00:09] going to be a lot of our

[1:00:10] funding plan that I'm going

[1:00:12] to talk

[1:00:13] to you guys a little bit

[1:00:14] about and

[1:00:15] in the next few slides. And

[1:00:16] then what we also like

[1:00:17] to do is that line item 10, our

[1:00:19] future estimated costs. These

[1:00:20] are costs that are not

[1:00:21] like built in,

[1:00:22] necessarily approved

[1:00:24] by the board at this point.

[1:00:26] But a lot of those costs

[1:00:27] represent those MOU costs that

[1:00:28] we're, we're placing in up

[1:00:30] to that 200/million dollars.

[1:00:31] So what I want

[1:00:32] to highlight is that

[1:00:34] in any given year, so

[1:00:36] for fiscal year 2627, the

[1:00:37] budget that we are entering

[1:00:39] into, we are mandated

[1:00:40] to have, you know,

[1:00:42] to have a balanced budget.

[1:00:43] That just simply means that our

[1:00:44] revenues match our expenses

[1:00:46] for the year. That's what we're

[1:00:47] mandated

[1:00:48] to do as an organization. What

[1:00:50] we like to do is go a step

[1:00:51] further and see how we're doing

[1:00:53] on an operating side

[1:00:54] of things, you know,

[1:00:55] and when I say operating, make

[1:00:57] sure our ongoing revenues match

[1:00:58] our ongoing costs. So what you

[1:01:00] can see is in 2627, if you look

[1:01:01] at that line 13, we have a $32

[1:01:03] million surplus going

[1:01:05] into this year. That's great.

[1:01:07] But what we also see is that we

[1:01:08] have deficits that we're going

[1:01:10] to be having to take care of

[1:01:13] in future years. That really is

[1:01:16] primarily as a result of the

[1:01:18] property tax that is not

[1:01:20] growing quite as fast as what

[1:01:22] we have gotten used to

[1:01:23] over the last several years,

[1:01:26] along with some, you know,

[1:01:28] our costs that are built

[1:01:29] in as well. What I do want

[1:01:30] to highlight is that, you know,

[1:01:33] we definitely, although it's,

[1:01:34] you know, you know,

[1:01:35] it is a bit

[1:01:37] of an issue that we want

[1:01:38] to be focused on going

[1:01:39] into the future. It is not

[1:01:40] something we are overly alarmed

[1:01:41] at. It is something that

[1:01:43] Luther and I are paying

[1:01:44] obviously close attention to. I

[1:01:45] like to highlight that this is

[1:01:47] a forecast. It is not

[1:01:48] like I know

[1:01:49] for certain what is going

[1:01:50] to happen. Even beginning in

[1:01:51] 2728, you know,

[1:01:53] we are paying a lot

[1:01:54] of attention

[1:01:55] to the property tax side

[1:01:57] of things because that,

[1:01:58] that will tell us a lot going

[1:01:59] into July, what's going on. We

[1:02:00] do like to be careful,

[1:02:01] but obviously we try

[1:02:03] to project out so that we are

[1:02:04] not overestimating our

[1:02:06] revenues. And that's certain.

[1:02:07] Certainly my hope this year,

[1:02:08] my hope would be that some

[1:02:09] of those revenues would come

[1:02:11] in better. In addition

[1:02:12] to that, those future estimated

[1:02:13] costs also are not approved

[1:02:15] by the board at this point. So

[1:02:17] what that means is we do have

[1:02:19] over $180 million in costs that

[1:02:21] are projected that are not

[1:02:22] necessarily approved. Those are

[1:02:24] certainly costs that we would

[1:02:25] be looking at to help mitigate

[1:02:27] any deficit if we had to going

[1:02:29] into the future. So as

[1:02:31] mentioned, we like to take a

[1:02:33] measured approach so that we

[1:02:34] don't overcorrect for anything

[1:02:36] in any certain year. Any

[1:02:39] questions on that? Because

[1:02:41] that's the five year forecast

[1:02:42] for you.

[1:02:43] >> All right.

[1:02:46] >> Each year we do talk

[1:02:47] about new county priorities.

[1:02:49] And so this is where we do.

[1:02:50] Even though, you know, we're

[1:02:51] facing some challenges going up

[1:02:53] into the next several fiscal

[1:02:54] years, fortunately, you know,

[1:02:56] we as a county are always

[1:02:57] prudent. You know, I mentioned

[1:02:59] we had six. I'll go back real

[1:03:01] quick. We have that $60 million

[1:03:03] in ongoing carryover. What ends

[1:03:05] up happening to our budget is

[1:03:06] we have one time funds that are

[1:03:08] then available

[1:03:09] to then allocate for a lot

[1:03:11] of one time purposes. And so I

[1:03:12] want to jump in there we go

[1:03:15] to the next slide. So despite,

[1:03:17] you know, some challenges that

[1:03:19] are headed our way, we really

[1:03:20] have an extraordinary amount of

[1:03:22] targeted investors investments,

[1:03:25] excuse me, going on

[1:03:27] into next fiscal year.

[1:03:29] Of that 273.7 million, most

[1:03:32] of that is one time. So we're

[1:03:34] talking 258, almost 260 million

[1:03:35] of one time costs that we're

[1:03:37] wanting to build

[1:03:39] in our investments for next

[1:03:41] year that we're planning for,

[1:03:42] along with roughly $15 million

[1:03:45] in ongoing general fund

[1:03:47] allocations. And I should step

[1:03:49] back for a second. This is all

[1:03:51] as it relates to general fund

[1:03:53] that we're talking about going

[1:03:54] into next year. So, you know,

[1:03:57] pretty exciting. We've got

[1:03:59] several different things that

[1:04:01] we're looking

[1:04:02] to do. I'm just going

[1:04:03] to highlight a few of those.

[1:04:05] So on the supporting vulnerable

[1:04:06] populations, we've got $22.3

[1:04:07] million to really support our

[1:04:10] underserved individuals

[1:04:12] within the county. One that I

[1:04:13] wanted to highlight is we are

[1:04:15] recommending to set aside $5

[1:04:17] million to support our reentry

[1:04:19] population. And so one of the

[1:04:22] things that we're considering

[1:04:23] and looking

[1:04:25] at as a county is a New

[1:04:26] Beginnings campus in the Glen

[1:04:28] Helen jail area. And that's a

[1:04:30] program that the sheriff is

[1:04:31] working with Behavioral Health

[1:04:33] and several other departments,

[1:04:34] including Workforce

[1:04:36] Development, to look

[1:04:37] at many different potential

[1:04:39] ways by which we can reduce

[1:04:40] recidivism within the county,

[1:04:42] but more importantly, trying

[1:04:44] to reduce homelessness of our

[1:04:45] jail population as they're

[1:04:47] reentering, you know,

[1:04:48] the population. In addition

[1:04:51] to that, I wanted to highlight

[1:04:52] development assistance. So, you

[1:04:54] know, one of the things that we

[1:04:57] did a few years ago the board

[1:04:58] did was set aside funding

[1:05:00] in A reserve to help

[1:05:02] with permit backlog. So we are

[1:05:03] looking at using some

[1:05:05] of that reserve this year

[1:05:06] to continue

[1:05:08] to help land use services

[1:05:09] with different permit backlog.

[1:05:11] And I also wanted

[1:05:12] to highlight that, you know,

[1:05:13] a few weeks ago

[1:05:15] during the board meeting,

[1:05:16] we talked on fees, we talked

[1:05:17] about how land use,

[1:05:18] we didn't want

[1:05:20] to increase fees too high

[1:05:22] in relation to a lot of our

[1:05:23] development and developer

[1:05:24] community. And as a result

[1:05:26] of that, we talked

[1:05:27] about having needing to maybe

[1:05:29] subsidize land use services a

[1:05:30] little bit this year in order

[1:05:32] to ensure that their budget is

[1:05:34] balanced. We did that

[1:05:35] in this as well. It was about

[1:05:37] $0.4 million. Also exciting is

[1:05:39] on the community service side,

[1:05:42] we've got $2 million. We

[1:05:43] mentioned it a little bit

[1:05:45] earlier. I think it was

[1:05:46] mentioned

[1:05:47] about the animal shelter in

[1:05:48] Bloomin. And so we're

[1:05:50] recommending to set aside $2

[1:05:52] million ongoing to support that

[1:05:54] new animal shelter for the

[1:05:56] operation side that will be set

[1:05:58] aside in a reserve that we're

[1:05:59] recommending as we continue

[1:06:01] to work through and develop the

[1:06:02] staffing plan. But we did want

[1:06:03] to ask the board

[1:06:05] to set that aside

[1:06:06] on an ongoing basis.

[1:06:08] On the capital needs side,

[1:06:09] we are always doing a lot

[1:06:10] within the county.

[1:06:12] On the capital needs side,

[1:06:14] we have 77.2 million

[1:06:15] for a wide array of different

[1:06:17] projects. A couple notable is

[1:06:19] on the public safety side

[1:06:21] specifically. That's where a

[1:06:22] lot of the one time funding is

[1:06:24] going towards. There is a need

[1:06:26] in the high desert

[1:06:27] for the district attorney

[1:06:28] to have a new office. And so we

[1:06:30] are using 11, 11.5 million of a

[1:06:33] reserve that would be set aside

[1:06:36] to begin starting that project.

[1:06:38] And a little bit over $30

[1:06:39] million is being recommended

[1:06:40] to be allocated to the

[1:06:42] Sheriff's department for a lot

[1:06:44] of different capital projects.

[1:06:45] Their Scientific

[1:06:47] Investigations Division

[1:06:49] building is in need of a new

[1:06:51] building. I know their

[1:06:53] specialized enforcement

[1:06:54] division. They're looking at,

[1:06:56] you know, a new building need.

[1:06:58] In addition to that, Big Bear

[1:06:59] has a patrol station that they

[1:07:01] are looking to, I believe,

[1:07:03] refurbish or improve. And so

[1:07:05] there's a wide array

[1:07:09] of capital projects. But a lot

[1:07:11] of the focus is

[1:07:13] on the public safety side.

[1:07:14] In addition to that, I want

[1:07:15] to talk a little bit about

[1:07:17] innovation and technology. And

[1:07:18] so yes, we have 57.5 million.

[1:07:20] What I'm most excited about for

[1:07:21] me because every time I can set

[1:07:23] aside money in a reserve,

[1:07:24] I'm excited is roughly $25

[1:07:26] million we're recommending

[1:07:28] to set aside in an enterprise

[1:07:31] system replacement reserve you

[1:07:33] may have on the board today

[1:07:35] on consent,

[1:07:37] we allocated the board

[1:07:39] allocated $40 million

[1:07:41] from a reserve for our new

[1:07:43] human capital management

[1:07:44] system. That's a huge

[1:07:46] enterprise system that we are

[1:07:47] going to be looking

[1:07:48] to implement

[1:07:49] over the next several years.

[1:07:51] What we thought is it would be

[1:07:52] great. We have a lot

[1:07:53] of reserves set aside

[1:07:54] for asset replacement. We have

[1:07:56] reserves set aside

[1:07:57] for building replacement. The

[1:07:58] next step is enterprise

[1:07:59] systems. We have a lot

[1:08:01] of enterprise systems that cost

[1:08:02] in the 10 to 20 to 30 million

[1:08:04] dollar range every time we need

[1:08:06] to replace these. And so

[1:08:07] setting aside a reserve that's

[1:08:08] designated just

[1:08:09] for that will. Will really set

[1:08:11] us up for the future. And we're

[1:08:12] excited about that

[1:08:16] on the financial security side.

[1:08:18] And this is where I wanted

[1:08:19] to talk a little bit more.

[1:08:20] Every year we do set aside and

[1:08:22] recommend to set aside money

[1:08:23] that just meets our 20% general

[1:08:25] purpose reserve that we have,

[1:08:26] our 5% ongoing contingency

[1:08:28] reserve that we have

[1:08:31] for uncertainties. But this

[1:08:32] year we have some issues with

[1:08:34] law enforcement liability. I'm

[1:08:36] going to stop right there on

[1:08:37] the priorities because I was

[1:08:38] going to jump right into law

[1:08:39] enforcement liability because

[1:08:40] it's a bit of an issue. Are

[1:08:41] there any questions

[1:08:43] on our priorities? All right.

[1:08:46] Okay. So Luther alluded

[1:08:48] to a little bit

[1:08:50] within the state of California

[1:08:52] as,

[1:08:53] as we've talked a little bit

[1:08:55] about, it is quite litigious.

[1:08:56] What we find is that on

[1:08:58] specifically law enforcement,

[1:08:59] although it's a lot of areas

[1:09:01] within government there with

[1:09:02] the increasing litigiousness

[1:09:04] of not just the state of

[1:09:07] California, but what we see

[1:09:08] in the nation,

[1:09:10] we see claims getting higher,

[1:09:11] we see judgments at time

[1:09:13] getting higher and it's really

[1:09:16] impacting our insurance. And

[1:09:19] so, you know, we as a county

[1:09:21] are basically partially

[1:09:22] like a hybrid model of self

[1:09:24] funded and we have excess

[1:09:25] insurance. And so as part

[1:09:27] of being self funded, we have a

[1:09:29] policy that the board has

[1:09:30] approved that we basically want

[1:09:32] to maintain our balances

[1:09:34] in any of our insurance funds

[1:09:36] at what's called an 80%

[1:09:39] confidence level. What that 80%

[1:09:40] confidence level means is that

[1:09:42] we roughly have 80% certainty

[1:09:43] that we'll be able to pay

[1:09:45] out claims in any given year.

[1:09:48] So that we are roughly 80%

[1:09:49] of the time we can pay

[1:09:51] out our claims, which is tied

[1:09:52] to our historical data

[1:09:53] on what claims has been. And so

[1:09:55] what this green bar is showing

[1:09:57] you is our projections,

[1:09:58] well first off our 25, 26

[1:10:00] number. But then going

[1:10:02] into that, our projections

[1:10:03] into the future

[1:10:04] of what we would need

[1:10:05] from a balance perspective,

[1:10:06] how many millions

[1:10:08] of dollars that we would need

[1:10:09] to have set aside to maintain

[1:10:11] that 80% confidence level.

[1:10:13] That's those green bars. What I

[1:10:14] wanted to highlight is that the

[1:10:16] blue bar, especially in 25, 26

[1:10:19] and then going into 26, 27, was

[1:10:22] what our current projection was

[1:10:24] of the balances that we had

[1:10:26] within that fund at this point

[1:10:28] in time and how short it is.

[1:10:29] So roughly what you're looking

[1:10:30] at for 2526 is $40 million

[1:10:34] of a balance. But we really, to

[1:10:36] have that 80% confidence level

[1:10:37] in accordance with policy,

[1:10:38] we'd have to have over 80

[1:10:40] million. So we are definitely

[1:10:41] short,

[1:10:42] which has gotten me concerned.

[1:10:43] And that's one

[1:10:44] of those areas where going into

[1:10:46] the future even we were looking

[1:10:47] at ongoing shortfalls. And

[1:10:48] really our policy calls

[1:10:49] for when we are short

[1:10:51] in that that we are

[1:10:52] to build up our reserves

[1:10:53] over a five year period to hit

[1:10:55] that 80% confidence level. So

[1:10:57] what we're recommending today

[1:10:59] for you and you know, going

[1:11:02] into our premiums into next

[1:11:04] year is a line that looks a

[1:11:05] little bit more like this. And

[1:11:07] the way

[1:11:08] by which we are really looking

[1:11:09] to Increase specifically the

[1:11:11] 26, 27 number is

[1:11:12] through a contribution or

[1:11:14] from one of our reserves, one

[1:11:16] of our general fund reserves.

[1:11:17] As you know,

[1:11:19] we set aside a lot of reserves

[1:11:20] for a lot of good reasons. And

[1:11:21] so we have a liability Reserve

[1:11:23] that's at $25 million right

[1:11:25] now. We're effectively looking

[1:11:26] to release that reserve. It's a

[1:11:28] general fund reserve,

[1:11:29] release it into this fund

[1:11:31] to help us begin to move

[1:11:33] towards that 80% confidence

[1:11:34] level. But we're not just

[1:11:37] recommending that. We have,

[1:11:39] you know, that $25 million

[1:11:40] liability reserve that we

[1:11:42] release. We are seeing premium

[1:11:43] growth within the county. And

[1:11:45] what that means is we are

[1:11:47] looking

[1:11:48] to increase our premiums.

[1:11:49] Currently in 25, 26, they're

[1:11:51] at 45 million going

[1:11:54] into next year. We are

[1:11:55] recommending that our premiums

[1:11:57] going into next year will be

[1:11:58] $69 million total. And what

[1:12:00] that means is our departments

[1:12:01] that pay into that, they will

[1:12:03] have a large increase going

[1:12:05] into next year. In addition

[1:12:08] to that, going into 20, 30,

[1:12:10] 31, it would be up to $80

[1:12:12] million. It's quite a large

[1:12:14] increase. Importantly, and I

[1:12:16] have a note down

[1:12:17] at the bottom,

[1:12:18] our biggest payer of law

[1:12:19] enforcement liability besides

[1:12:21] the county is our contract

[1:12:22] cities. The sheriff provides

[1:12:24] law enforcement services to 14

[1:12:26] different of our 14

[1:12:28] of our cities right now. And so

[1:12:29] any sort of cost we have

[1:12:30] on that side, we do pass on

[1:12:31] to our contract cities.

[1:12:33] Historically, notably for 26,

[1:12:34] 27 of that $24 million increase

[1:12:36] that I was talking about

[1:12:38] in premiums, $10.1 million is

[1:12:40] going to our contract cities.

[1:12:42] And that's what I wanted

[1:12:43] to talk a little bit about

[1:12:45] with you guys today. One

[1:12:46] of our recommendations is, you

[1:12:49] know, of that $25 million of

[1:12:51] the liability reserve that we'd

[1:12:52] like to set aside, we would

[1:12:53] like to support our contract

[1:12:55] cities by. By basically cutting

[1:12:57] that premium growth in half

[1:12:58] for the next year. So rather

[1:13:00] than $10.1 million increase, we

[1:13:02] would recommend a pure subsidy

[1:13:03] from the board of supervisors

[1:13:05] of $5 million that would go

[1:13:06] towards helping them pay. You

[1:13:08] know, a lot

[1:13:10] of our contract cities from a

[1:13:12] budgetary perspective have

[1:13:13] faced a lot of challenges, you

[1:13:15] know, similar

[1:13:16] to the counties,

[1:13:17] but sometimes it's even worse.

[1:13:18] And so we wanted to be in good

[1:13:20] partners recommend that we

[1:13:21] would roughly, you know,

[1:13:22] on a one time basis,

[1:13:24] cover their costs for one year

[1:13:25] at half their premium increase.

[1:13:27] And so that is a specific

[1:13:28] recommendation that we have

[1:13:30] for you today. So normally this

[1:13:31] is just a receive,

[1:13:33] but we did want

[1:13:34] to give our contract cities,

[1:13:36] who are, I'm guessing,

[1:13:38] probably paying attention

[1:13:39] to this meeting,

[1:13:40] some knowledge going

[1:13:41] into the future

[1:13:42] of their budgets,

[1:13:43] as they're planning their

[1:13:45] budgets, whether or not they

[1:13:46] can, you know,

[1:13:47] potentially see that and rely

[1:13:48] on that $5 million. So we are

[1:13:49] today asking you that

[1:13:50] to give us direction

[1:13:52] to include that

[1:13:53] into our budget going into

[1:13:54] June. So that is a

[1:13:56] recommendation in front

[1:13:57] of you guys today, I assume.

[1:13:59] We'll take that after we go

[1:14:00] through questions. Any

[1:14:02] questions

[1:14:03] on that?

[1:14:04] >> I'll tell you, our contract

[1:14:05] cities appreciate the support.

[1:14:06] I've been reached out to

[1:14:07] by several of them and they

[1:14:08] appreciate it.

[1:14:10] >> Excellent. Very good. All

[1:14:11] right. With that,

[1:14:13] that is what we have for you.

[1:14:15] Our next steps is that my

[1:14:16] staff,

[1:14:18] who I should have thanked right

[1:14:20] off the start, as Luther

[1:14:21] mentioned, they are working

[1:14:23] really, really hard right now

[1:14:24] to get a budget book that will

[1:14:25] be delivered

[1:14:27] to you and the public on May

[1:14:28] 19. That budget book will have.

[1:14:29] This has been a general fund

[1:14:31] focus in this meeting. The

[1:14:33] budget book will have every

[1:14:34] revenue source that we're

[1:14:35] talking about. It will have

[1:14:37] detailed pages by department

[1:14:38] about what's going on

[1:14:41] within each budget. And then

[1:14:42] on June 9, which is three weeks

[1:14:43] later, is when we would like

[1:14:45] to bring to the board the

[1:14:46] actual budget recommended

[1:14:47] budget for adoption. So

[1:14:49] with that, I will entertain any

[1:14:52] questions.

[1:14:54] >> I don't believe I have any

[1:14:55] requests to speak. Is that

[1:14:56] correct?

[1:14:57] >> That's correct.

[1:14:59] >> Okay, any questions? Come

[1:15:02] on, you gotta congratulate.

[1:15:04] Thank you so much. I know the

[1:15:05] five year forecast freaks me

[1:15:07] out always.

[1:15:09] >> It is. But I also been here

[1:15:11] long enough to know that you

[1:15:12] guys do a wonderful job

[1:15:13] of managing, you know,

[1:15:15] preparing for the worst,

[1:15:16] but hoping

[1:15:17] for the best as we go forward.

[1:15:18] Your team does a fantastic job

[1:15:20] preparing. Love the fact that

[1:15:21] we could take some long term

[1:15:22] vision,

[1:15:23] strategic investments not only

[1:15:25] for our residents,

[1:15:26] but our departments. That is

[1:15:27] also part of everything we do

[1:15:29] all the time. And that very

[1:15:30] thoughtful approach that you

[1:15:32] do. Even though we prepare

[1:15:34] for that worst, we hope those

[1:15:35] numbers change and that we have

[1:15:37] good outcomes going forward.

[1:15:39] But excellent work as always

[1:15:40] and we'll keep pressing on.

[1:15:43] I'll move it when you entertain

[1:15:45] that Supervisor Cook.

[1:15:49] >> Yeah. 100 years ago, used

[1:15:53] to send people to Washington

[1:15:58] D.C. to talk

[1:16:04] to people that could help you

[1:16:05] out with, you know,

[1:16:08] you needed money for a specific

[1:16:09] project or what have you and

[1:16:10] usually you'd bump in,

[1:16:18] you'd have to go through the,

[1:16:21] the most difficult person

[1:16:23] to deal with. And I'm trying

[1:16:25] to remember her name, dawn

[1:16:26] something or other that I don't

[1:16:31] want to say. She always said

[1:16:33] no,

[1:16:35] but she was the gatekeeper. Do

[1:16:36] you remember those days?

[1:16:38] >> I do, yeah.

[1:16:39] >> She never got a Christmas

[1:16:40] card for 10 years or something.

[1:16:41] But that's another story. And

[1:16:43] I'm just wondering because

[1:16:47] believe it or not, when you

[1:16:49] went back there and you talked

[1:16:50] to, particularly if you had a

[1:16:52] large project or what have you,

[1:16:54] you had something that you

[1:16:56] could talk to your elected

[1:16:57] representatives about, said,

[1:16:59] you know, we're desperate in

[1:17:01] San Bernardino county for this

[1:17:02] for the following reasons and

[1:17:04] unless they're stupid,

[1:17:07] they're going to meet

[1:17:08] with you and they're going

[1:17:10] to talk to you. And this is

[1:17:12] where they can always say no,

[1:17:14] but at least you get your day

[1:17:17] in court or day in Congress.

[1:17:20] And I used to look forward

[1:17:23] to that because, you know,

[1:17:27] a lot of things were going

[1:17:28] on and everything. You still do

[1:17:30] that where you have an agenda.

[1:17:32] It's almost like a game plan

[1:17:36] on how you, you pick

[1:17:41] out certain officeholders,

[1:17:45] particularly the stupid ones

[1:17:46] like Cook back there. You know,

[1:17:48] you figure, well, he's dumb,

[1:17:49] he's a dumb Marine. We can get

[1:17:51] over on him and get another

[1:17:53] $100 million. Now you never got

[1:17:55] that much money. I don't care.

[1:17:57] JC himself was back here.

[1:17:58] But if, if the source

[1:18:02] of the money is back there,

[1:18:07] I'm obviously advocating

[1:18:10] for a game plan on how you go

[1:18:11] back there and you can be real

[1:18:13] nice, smooth and everything

[1:18:14] like that, but that's

[1:18:17] oftentimes depending upon the

[1:18:19] situation in Washington and

[1:18:22] what have you. But I want some

[1:18:24] of my colleagues there,

[1:18:27] there now to go

[1:18:30] through the pain of meeting

[1:18:31] certain disgruntled people

[1:18:32] from your,

[1:18:34] your home communities. Because

[1:18:36] it works.

[1:18:37] >> Yeah, absolutely. I'm

[1:18:38] fortunate to have work

[1:18:40] for me, Leah Fletez, who is our

[1:18:42] legislative affairs and

[1:18:44] government relations sort

[1:18:46] of deputy executive officer.

[1:18:47] And they focus a lot with, you

[1:18:49] know, the federal stakeholders,

[1:18:51] state stakeholders and really

[1:18:52] looking for the county

[1:18:54] to ensure that we are

[1:18:55] advocating for all

[1:18:56] of our needs. But in addition

[1:18:57] to that, we do have a process

[1:18:59] by which we look

[1:19:00] for federal earmarks, you know,

[1:19:01] working with our,

[1:19:03] our local delegation. And it's

[1:19:04] something that they do a great

[1:19:06] job of really pursuing

[1:19:07] for the county.

[1:19:08] >> Yes.

[1:19:10] >> What was budget request.

[1:19:13] >> Very, very dangerous. Where

[1:19:16] I don't like it. People in

[1:19:24] Washington don't like it and

[1:19:25] it's used interchangeably.

[1:19:27] But I (inaudible) her head

[1:19:28] off as soon as they say that.

[1:19:30] Thank you for keeping it

[1:19:32] at a higher level. Don't get

[1:19:33] down

[1:19:34] to the level that these people

[1:19:35] in Washington are at. You're

[1:19:36] above them, you're no more.

[1:19:38] And you're more passionate

[1:19:39] because you're closer

[1:19:40] to the people.

[1:19:41] >> Thank you, sir.

[1:19:43] >> Yeah, thank you, Madam

[1:19:44] Chair. I want to thank Matt,

[1:19:45] finance team,

[1:19:46] department heads and Luther

[1:19:47] for really doing a great job

[1:19:48] with the budget. I know this is

[1:19:50] just the first bite

[1:19:51] at the apple. I know we're

[1:19:52] going to come back

[1:19:54] to formally adopt, but I think

[1:19:55] it's impressive the fact that,

[1:19:56] you know,

[1:19:57] our county staff has been able

[1:19:58] to make a lot of significant

[1:20:00] one time investments

[1:20:01] in the county to address a lot

[1:20:02] of the needs that we have. And

[1:20:04] you know, one

[1:20:05] of the ones I just want

[1:20:06] to highlight,

[1:20:07] I know you mentioned it

[1:20:08] earlier, was the $5 million

[1:20:09] investment for the Glen Helen

[1:20:10] Rehabilitation Center. One

[1:20:12] of the things we found out

[1:20:13] in the last point in time count

[1:20:15] is that our numbers did

[1:20:16] decrease in our county, but

[1:20:18] overall the formerly

[1:20:19] incarcerated numbers has

[1:20:20] increased. That's up

[1:20:22] to 28.6% now. So that's very,

[1:20:24] very significant. I know that's

[1:20:26] important for our sheriff

[1:20:27] Shannon Dykus and Behavioral

[1:20:29] Health to try to address and

[1:20:30] transition folks as they,

[1:20:31] they go

[1:20:32] from being incarcerated out

[1:20:33] to civilian life. And that is

[1:20:35] just a big number

[1:20:36] with our homeless population.

[1:20:37] But I just think it's a great

[1:20:38] job that you did

[1:20:39] in forecasting and sharing

[1:20:41] with the entire board. You know

[1:20:42] what the outlook is.

[1:20:43] But also one

[1:20:45] of the things we have

[1:20:46] to consider in mind. We've been

[1:20:47] very blessed

[1:20:49] with revenues being high

[1:20:50] American Rescue Plan act money

[1:20:51] that we're able to make

[1:20:53] significant investments. We

[1:20:54] received a lot of money from

[1:20:55] the state a couple years ago.

[1:20:57] >> You know, as we begin

[1:20:58] to look forward, you know,

[1:20:59] how can we leverage our dollars

[1:21:00] with state and federal matching

[1:21:01] dollars? It's something we have

[1:21:02] to consider. But Great job,

[1:21:03] Matt, with the budget and

[1:21:04] appreciate the good work

[1:21:05] to you and Luther.

[1:21:08] >> Thank you, sir.

[1:21:09] >> Any concerns

[1:21:10] about the liability reserves

[1:21:12] for law enforcement? No. All

[1:21:14] right. Would you like

[1:21:15] to make a motion?

[1:21:16] >> So move.

[1:21:17] >> Thank you. Thank you very

[1:21:19] much for the motion. And

[1:21:20] second, all those

[1:21:21] in favor?

[1:21:22] >> Aye.

[1:21:23] >> Any opposed? Any

[1:21:24] abstentions?

[1:21:25] >> With that, item 84 passes

[1:21:26] unanimously. Thank you very

[1:21:28] much. Thank you, Matthew.

[1:21:29] Thanks to your entire team.

[1:21:31] Number 85 is the countywide

[1:21:32] Unmanned Aerial Support

[1:21:33] Workshop being presented this

[1:21:35] morning by Luther Snoke.

[1:21:38] >> I'll let Trevor take a seat,

[1:21:39] but

[1:21:41] in the opening comments made

[1:21:43] by Supervisor Cook, he talked

[1:21:44] about drones. And it's very

[1:21:46] timely because that is the

[1:21:47] conversation that Trevor, as

[1:21:49] well as representatives

[1:21:51] from fire and sheriff will,

[1:21:53] will lead the discussion

[1:21:54] over the next 15 to 20 minutes

[1:21:56] or so to touch on. So I'll turn

[1:21:58] it over to Trevor, but I think

[1:21:59] he has a video that he's going

[1:22:01] to start with. Yeah, that we.

[1:22:03] We recorded this just

[1:22:04] to be safe. I wanted to do this

[1:22:06] as a live demonstration, but we

[1:22:07] thought this was a little

[1:22:09] smarter.

[1:22:10] >> Go ahead, Trevor.

[1:22:12] >> Thank you, Luther. And good

[1:22:13] morning, chair members

[1:22:14] of the board. I am Trevor

[1:22:16] Lijia, assistant executive

[1:22:17] officer with the county's

[1:22:18] public safety and

[1:22:19] communications portfolio. So,

[1:22:20] yeah, let's watch that video.

[1:22:21] [ VIDEO PLAYING ]

[1:22:39] So that video we just watched,

[1:22:41] it was. That was shot

[1:22:42] with an unmanned aerial system,

[1:22:44] AKA UAS, AKA drone. And I think

[1:22:47] that's the type

[1:22:48] of use that a lot of us think

[1:22:51] about when we think about this

[1:22:53] technology and the capabilities

[1:22:55] of these things. We think

[1:22:56] about, we go to a wedding,

[1:22:58] they fly

[1:22:59] over the wedding party,

[1:23:01] everybody waves. Right.

[1:23:02] But really with the technology

[1:23:04] capability growth that we're

[1:23:05] seeing,

[1:23:06] there's so much more than that,

[1:23:07] and that is why we are here

[1:23:09] today. And so

[1:23:12] at a high level, we're going

[1:23:14] to keep this, as Luther

[1:23:16] mentioned, to about 20 minutes.

[1:23:17] We're going to focus

[1:23:18] on four things. We're going

[1:23:20] to provide a quick overview of

[1:23:21] where we are today as a county

[1:23:22] related to UAS. We're going

[1:23:24] to hear

[1:23:25] from the sheriff's department

[1:23:27] in the fire district as they

[1:23:29] walk through their programs,

[1:23:31] since they're really leading

[1:23:33] in this space. And then we're

[1:23:35] going to close with a few

[1:23:37] recommendations and open it up

[1:23:38] for your questions and

[1:23:39] feedback. So in 2023, the

[1:23:40] county adopted its first formal

[1:23:41] UAS policy framework,

[1:23:42] and that was aligned

[1:23:44] with FAA regulations, and that

[1:23:46] gave us a solid foundation for

[1:23:47] safe and compliant operations

[1:23:49] today. And as the technology

[1:23:50] evolves with, especially

[1:23:52] with things like Beyond

[1:23:53] Visual Line of Sight, which

[1:23:54] we'll talk about more later,

[1:23:55] this is an area that we do want

[1:23:57] to keep current. We also

[1:23:59] established a multi

[1:24:00] departmental steering committee

[1:24:02] and that committee serves as a

[1:24:03] centralized forum

[1:24:05] to support coordination

[1:24:07] across departments, things

[1:24:09] like reviewing purchases,

[1:24:10] sharing information,

[1:24:12] promoting consistency and

[1:24:13] training,

[1:24:14] safety and operations. And the

[1:24:15] committee itself doesn't

[1:24:17] approve departmental programs

[1:24:18] or direct the operations and it

[1:24:20] continues to operate based

[1:24:21] on their specific needs

[1:24:23] within the framework

[1:24:25] of county policy and standards.

[1:24:27] And so as these programs

[1:24:30] continue to grow

[1:24:31] in scale and complexity,

[1:24:33] ensuring a strong county wide

[1:24:34] alignment will become

[1:24:35] increasingly important. So what

[1:24:40] this slide shows is that UAS

[1:24:41] use is expansive

[1:24:43] across multiple departments.

[1:24:46] As you can see,

[1:24:49] the county as a whole flew

[1:24:50] over 420flight hours last year.

[1:24:51] So not including sheriff and

[1:24:53] fire,

[1:24:54] which I'll let them speak

[1:24:56] to when they come up. But those

[1:24:57] flights supported a range

[1:25:00] of mission specific tasks.

[1:25:01] Everything

[1:25:02] from infrastructure inspections

[1:25:05] after a flood, aerial mapping,

[1:25:06] supporting fraud investigation,

[1:25:08] assisting

[1:25:09] with homeless encampments,

[1:25:10] as well as video production.

[1:25:15] And so with that quick overview

[1:25:16] I will turn it over

[1:25:18] to our subject matter experts

[1:25:19] in our public safety partners

[1:25:21] to share a bit about their

[1:25:22] programs. I'll invite them

[1:25:23] down now.

[1:25:25] >> So as they're coming down,

[1:25:26] both Sheriff Dikus and Chief

[1:25:27] Muncie, they're really

[1:25:28] at the forefront

[1:25:30] of applying this technology in

[1:25:31] ways that enhance first

[1:25:32] responder safety and improve

[1:25:33] situational awareness

[1:25:36] in the field. So we have Lt.

[1:25:38] Bashir and Battalion Chief

[1:25:40] Chris Bowden here, but I'll let

[1:25:41] them introduce themselves as

[1:25:42] they get started.

[1:25:45] >> Hi, I'm Lieutenant Jared

[1:25:46] Beshear. I oversee our

[1:25:48] Operational Technologies unit.

[1:25:49] One of the items that we cover

[1:25:52] is UAS within the county. Our

[1:25:56] current UAS program consists of

[1:25:58] our specialized enforcement

[1:26:00] division or our SWAT team. We

[1:26:02] have a limited deployment of

[1:26:04] drone as first responder or DFR

[1:26:06] in Victorville City and we have

[1:26:08] certified part 107 pilots

[1:26:09] running out of our real time

[1:26:11] information center. As we

[1:26:13] expand

[1:26:17] into this area cautiously,

[1:26:20] we have looked

[1:26:21] at multiple options in order

[1:26:23] to provide service

[1:26:24] for the county, not only

[1:26:25] at the city level, but also as

[1:26:26] a county wide and other

[1:26:28] departments within the

[1:26:29] Sheriff's department. One of

[1:26:31] these items is a mobile

[1:26:32] response. So as spoken

[1:26:34] about earlier,

[1:26:35] search and rescue issues

[1:26:36] in the county,

[1:26:37] we have a vast county. We would

[1:26:38] be able

[1:26:40] to deploy UAS technology out to

[1:26:41] these search areas or critical

[1:26:43] incidents that are located

[1:26:44] in these remote areas.

[1:26:46] For that, along with also

[1:26:49] having different options

[1:26:50] available to us including

[1:26:52] tethered and long endurance UAS

[1:26:53] systems for extended search

[1:26:55] operations or critical

[1:26:56] incidents. In addition

[1:26:58] to mobile response,

[1:26:59] we're looking

[1:27:00] at drone as a first responder.

[1:27:02] Our partners up in

[1:27:03] Victorville City have launched

[1:27:05] their DFR program

[1:27:06] with success early on

[1:27:08] for finding missing persons,

[1:27:11] identifying suspects

[1:27:13] of crimes and officer safety

[1:27:15] for our search and rescue

[1:27:16] personnel. We want to be able

[1:27:18] to leverage this technology

[1:27:19] in order to make it safer

[1:27:21] for them when they go out and

[1:27:22] do their searches and more

[1:27:24] efficient and more effective. A

[1:27:26] lot of the times when we go

[1:27:27] out and send our volunteers

[1:27:28] from the sheriff's department

[1:27:29] to do these rescues, they get

[1:27:30] into terrain that's very

[1:27:32] dangerous. And by being able

[1:27:33] to deploy a DFR to a location

[1:27:34] to confirm or deny the location

[1:27:35] of anybody actually being

[1:27:36] there, it increases their

[1:27:38] safety and makes it less likely

[1:27:39] that they'll be injured

[1:27:40] out there. We are continuing

[1:27:42] our specialized enforcement

[1:27:43] program with SWAT and how we

[1:27:47] handle critical incidents with

[1:27:49] their UAS technology and also

[1:27:51] looking to add to our

[1:27:52] specialized investigations

[1:27:53] division,

[1:27:55] specifically our homicide team

[1:27:56] for outdoor scenery

[1:27:58] construction. It's much more

[1:28:00] cost effective and efficient

[1:28:02] to be able to build out and map

[1:28:04] a crime scene versus the older

[1:28:05] technologies.

[1:28:07] To the left is just some of the

[1:28:08] areas that we've been looking

[1:28:10] at as a county to deploy drone

[1:28:11] as first responder and just

[1:28:12] seeing the legitimacy

[1:28:14] of those areas based on calls

[1:28:15] for service data and terrain.

[1:28:17] This is a early

[1:28:19] on map or an overview

[1:28:21] of the county. It just includes

[1:28:22] some

[1:28:23] of the sites that we're looking

[1:28:24] at as how we would implement

[1:28:26] Dronis first respond responder.

[1:28:27] This doesn't include any

[1:28:28] of the city stations. There's

[1:28:29] also outlying stations that we

[1:28:31] have an idea for, including

[1:28:33] Needles, Baker, Trona. Also the

[1:28:35] mountain areas are on here.

[1:28:36] You don't see them, but they

[1:28:37] would require a little bit

[1:28:39] different approach.

[1:28:40] But we are looking

[1:28:41] into the areas of Crestline,

[1:28:42] Lake, Arrowhead, Big Bear,

[1:28:44] Running Springs and Wrightwood

[1:28:45] area. The other ones,

[1:28:47] the far left is Mount Baldy.

[1:28:48] We have a lot

[1:28:49] of search missions that occur

[1:28:50] out there and it would just

[1:28:51] help in faster identification

[1:28:53] or location of victims.

[1:28:56] Everything will run

[1:28:58] through our Real Time

[1:28:59] Information center as a

[1:29:01] centralized location.

[1:29:02] But every piece of technology

[1:29:03] that we're implementing

[1:29:05] through our unit is to

[1:29:06] decentralize the technology so

[1:29:07] it is available to everybody,

[1:29:08] including the officer

[1:29:09] on the street. The goal

[1:29:11] from the start was to make sure

[1:29:12] that all this information was

[1:29:13] available to everyone. We

[1:29:14] believe by being able

[1:29:15] to get this technology along

[1:29:16] with our existing technology

[1:29:18] out to the deputies, we'll have

[1:29:19] better outcomes and more

[1:29:21] situational awareness.

[1:29:23] On this screen,

[1:29:24] the middle screen for the

[1:29:25] Real Time Information center,

[1:29:27] you'll see a drone feed that

[1:29:28] was coming in

[1:29:29] during an incident. On the

[1:29:30] right hand side you'll see

[1:29:31] deputy locations along

[1:29:32] with live stream from the

[1:29:34] armored rescue vehicles. This

[1:29:36] is just A very short clip

[1:29:39] for a matter of brevity

[1:29:49] for this situation. And these

[1:29:50] are all the feeds that come

[1:29:51] into our real time information

[1:29:52] center that's currently

[1:29:54] operating. So this would just

[1:29:55] be an added technology

[1:29:56] to give better information

[1:29:57] to the deputies

[1:29:58] in the field.

[1:30:04] >> Good morning. My name is

[1:30:06] Chris Bowden, a battalion chief

[1:30:07] with the fire district assigned

[1:30:09] out in the south desert. I'm

[1:30:11] also our program administrator

[1:30:13] for our robotics division. Our

[1:30:14] robotics division covers ground

[1:30:16] based, subterranean or indoor,

[1:30:18] underwater,

[1:30:19] and our UAS program. And with

[1:30:21] our innovative forward thinking

[1:30:23] courage

[1:30:25] of our administration, we are

[1:30:26] among the leaders

[1:30:27] in the fire service

[1:30:28] in this field right now. Some

[1:30:32] of our core capabilities that

[1:30:33] we lean on in our UAS program

[1:30:34] include thermal imaging and

[1:30:36] video imaging that we can take

[1:30:38] of incidents. We're currently

[1:30:40] able to get UAS

[1:30:42] over incidents pretty rapidly

[1:30:44] with one person in the field.

[1:30:45] And I'll go over where we're

[1:30:47] leaning towards developing

[1:30:49] that, making it even better.

[1:30:50] But those videos and the

[1:30:51] thermal imaging provide real

[1:30:52] time situational awareness that

[1:30:54] has not been available

[1:30:56] in the past

[1:30:57] to the first responders on

[1:30:58] scene and even still en route

[1:30:59] where they have a view

[1:31:01] of their incident from

[1:31:03] above that gives them, you

[1:31:04] know, a really good picture

[1:31:05] of what it is they're dealing

[1:31:06] with and allows them to

[1:31:08] appropriately allocate their

[1:31:09] resources to control the

[1:31:10] situation and keep it

[1:31:11] from expanding. We've been able

[1:31:13] to provide a scene, scene

[1:31:15] illumination, one incident

[1:31:16] in particular out

[1:31:17] in the south desert region up

[1:31:19] in the rim rock area. We had a

[1:31:20] hiker stuck

[1:31:22] in some rocks that we had

[1:31:23] to send rescuers in,

[1:31:25] and this was at nighttime. We

[1:31:27] were able to put the UAS up

[1:31:28] above the incident with a

[1:31:29] fairly bright floodlight that

[1:31:31] allowed the first responders

[1:31:33] to get in there and safely

[1:31:34] extricate that victim

[1:31:35] from the rocks and get him off

[1:31:37] to get some help. We provide

[1:31:39] advanced mapping with our

[1:31:40] drones both pre incident and

[1:31:42] post incident. We have a goal

[1:31:44] of 100% mapping of all

[1:31:46] of the fires that occur within

[1:31:48] the fire district's area. And

[1:31:49] so far we are able

[1:31:51] to meet that. And we can

[1:31:52] provide exact acreage and fire

[1:31:54] perimeters of all the fires

[1:31:55] that we have as we move

[1:31:56] forward. All

[1:31:58] of our drones are all weather.

[1:32:00] They can last

[1:32:01] in the higher winds. They can

[1:32:03] work

[1:32:04] in rain and low visibility. We

[1:32:06] have waivers from the FAA

[1:32:09] to carry more weight in on our

[1:32:11] drones than is primarily

[1:32:13] allowed by the faa. They've

[1:32:15] provided us waivers

[1:32:16] for heavy lifting,

[1:32:17] which will allow us

[1:32:19] to also progress

[1:32:21] into water delivery to fires

[1:32:23] from UAS so that we can get

[1:32:24] water in some of those areas,

[1:32:26] try and keep fires

[1:32:28] at smaller footprints until we

[1:32:30] can get ground resources

[1:32:32] in there and harder

[1:32:33] to reach areas. Our current

[1:32:35] fleet consists of 13, I'm

[1:32:37] sorry, 15 UAs. 13

[1:32:38] of them are rotor,

[1:32:40] wing or multi rotorcopters.

[1:32:41] And then we have two vertical

[1:32:43] takeoff and landing fixed wing

[1:32:45] units that can last a longer

[1:32:46] duration over an incident,

[1:32:48] providing us

[1:32:49] with a longer period

[1:32:51] of situational awareness.

[1:32:52] Within the fire district,

[1:32:54] we have 12 current park 107

[1:32:55] pilots that are operating our

[1:32:57] drones. Those are pretty much

[1:32:58] at this point on scene. That's

[1:33:00] between our suppression and

[1:33:02] fire marshal's office. We do

[1:33:04] have waivers that also allow us

[1:33:05] to fly what's called

[1:33:07] beyond visual line of sight,

[1:33:08] which allows our operators

[1:33:10] to utilize the cameras on the

[1:33:12] UAS as well as other

[1:33:13] intelligence that we have

[1:33:15] to see other aircraft

[1:33:16] in the area, make sure we

[1:33:18] deconflict and stay away from

[1:33:20] manned aviation and that we

[1:33:21] don't cause problems there.

[1:33:23] But we are waivered by the FAA

[1:33:24] to fly beyond visual line

[1:33:26] of sight,

[1:33:28] which really is a key

[1:33:29] for us as we move into what our

[1:33:31] program goals are and where

[1:33:32] we're headed. We're

[1:33:34] in the process of starting up

[1:33:36] our early aerial situational

[1:33:37] awareness program, or eisa,

[1:33:39] very similar

[1:33:40] to law enforcement's dfr, but

[1:33:43] for us it truly does provide

[1:33:45] situational awareness. Our

[1:33:47] personnel,

[1:33:51] this will be what people refer

[1:33:53] to sometimes as drone

[1:33:55] in the box. We'll have five

[1:33:56] docks located

[1:33:59] in two different cities

[1:34:01] in the county. Initially we're

[1:34:02] going to be placing two in

[1:34:04] Hesperia and three down here

[1:34:05] in San Bernardino City where

[1:34:06] some of our higher fire call

[1:34:08] volume is. Those aircraft will

[1:34:09] launch on the report

[1:34:11] of a fire. They'll be operated

[1:34:13] from our central fusion center

[1:34:14] which will be located

[1:34:16] in the basement

[1:34:18] of the fire headquarters

[1:34:19] by remote operators. They'll be

[1:34:21] able to get these UAs

[1:34:22] over scene of an incident long

[1:34:24] before fire apparatus and

[1:34:26] personnel ever get there,

[1:34:27] Providing them again that early

[1:34:29] situational awareness so that

[1:34:30] they can see what they're

[1:34:32] coming into. We also will have

[1:34:33] radar here

[1:34:35] in the valley which allow us

[1:34:36] to deconflict with. Because

[1:34:38] this is a heavily manned

[1:34:39] aviation area. So it allows us

[1:34:41] to deconflict with the manned

[1:34:43] aviation and make sure we're

[1:34:44] staying way out of the way

[1:34:46] of any manned aircraft. As we

[1:34:49] continue to move forward,

[1:34:50] we are working

[1:34:52] on establishing another program

[1:34:53] with pivotal which is a little

[1:34:55] bit larger UAS that will be

[1:34:57] deploying originally as

[1:34:59] unmanned. What we're looking

[1:35:01] at with that is heavier payload

[1:35:03] delivery. And we're working

[1:35:04] with the company

[1:35:05] to also use that to be able

[1:35:06] to deliver water to fires,

[1:35:08] which again will allow us to

[1:35:09] keep those fire footprints

[1:35:11] smaller. In addition,

[1:35:14] with our,

[1:35:17] with our innovation, we have

[1:35:18] two companies we're working

[1:35:20] with directly. One is

[1:35:21] developing a water dropping uas

[1:35:24] that's Ponderosa AI. They'll

[1:35:26] have hotspot detection

[1:35:27] capabilities through infrared

[1:35:31] sensing and it'll allow us

[1:35:33] again to help keep these fires

[1:35:34] mopped up and cleaned. Where

[1:35:35] Seneca is a different program.

[1:35:37] Seneca is an autonomous system

[1:35:39] that we'll be monitoring and

[1:35:41] we'll have control over.

[1:35:42] But these will launch the

[1:35:44] report of a fire in a

[1:35:45] particular area and they have

[1:35:46] the ability to deliver water

[1:35:48] to that fire in what's

[1:35:50] considered a swarmed

[1:35:52] capability. So there's multiple

[1:35:53] of these drones that will

[1:35:54] respond and start

[1:35:57] to put suppression efforts

[1:35:58] on these fires again in hard

[1:36:00] to reach areas until ground

[1:36:01] personnel can get there and get

[1:36:02] it under control and get it

[1:36:04] taken care of. And again, all

[1:36:05] of this is coordinated

[1:36:07] with manned aerial resources

[1:36:10] for deconfliction. As we

[1:36:13] continue forward,

[1:36:15] we're looking

[1:36:16] to add more EISA docks

[1:36:17] in the future years. We want to

[1:36:19] get better coverage throughout

[1:36:20] the county. Looking

[1:36:21] into covering some

[1:36:22] of the further out regions

[1:36:23] in the north desert, the south

[1:36:24] desert and even our mountains

[1:36:26] area eventually with the

[1:36:28] pivotal aircraft that has the

[1:36:29] ability to be crewed

[1:36:31] by a person. That will take a

[1:36:33] fair amount of training and

[1:36:34] policy that we'll need

[1:36:36] to develop,

[1:36:37] but that is one goal

[1:36:38] to eventually get

[1:36:40] to which would allow us

[1:36:41] to get rapid EMS care in hard

[1:36:43] to reach areas.

[1:36:45] In particular,

[1:36:46] what we're looking

[1:36:47] at is whole blood delivery

[1:36:48] for trauma victims, because

[1:36:49] whole blood saves lives. And

[1:36:51] with that we will be working

[1:36:52] with the FAA and private

[1:36:54] business partners in the

[1:36:55] Unmanned Air Traffic

[1:36:57] Management System or utmost.

[1:36:59] As you know, Amazon's getting

[1:37:01] ready

[1:37:02] to start launching drones for

[1:37:04] package delivery and there's a

[1:37:05] number of other private

[1:37:07] enterprises that are looking

[1:37:08] at using drones or UASs

[1:37:10] for their businesses. And so

[1:37:11] in order to de conflict all of

[1:37:13] these resources and not have

[1:37:14] them running into each other

[1:37:16] in the sky, the FAA is working

[1:37:17] on UTM integrations so that

[1:37:19] we're all staying away

[1:37:21] from each other. And this is

[1:37:23] just a quick overview

[1:37:24] of what we're looking at

[1:37:26] in the long distance. Some more

[1:37:27] sustained longer term

[1:37:29] situational awareness over the

[1:37:30] county where we can have

[1:37:32] something overhead, whether

[1:37:33] it's a fixed wing type aircraft

[1:37:35] at higher altitude or

[1:37:36] at the rate some of the

[1:37:38] technology is progressing.

[1:37:39] This could even be low earth

[1:37:41] orbit satellites that will

[1:37:42] provide us with real time

[1:37:43] information as far as going

[1:37:45] what's going on

[1:37:46] in the county. And that's all I

[1:37:48] have to speak to.

[1:37:50] >> Thank you both

[1:37:54] for coming up

[1:38:07] >> So what we just heard is

[1:38:08] these programs, they're already

[1:38:09] having a real impact and

[1:38:11] especially

[1:38:12] in the first responder safety.

[1:38:14] But at the same time,

[1:38:15] this technology

[1:38:17] within the systems, it's,

[1:38:18] it's evolving so quickly,

[1:38:20] really just

[1:38:21] in the last few years. I mean,

[1:38:23] this picture

[1:38:24] on the right here,

[1:38:25] I took that back in 2016 over

[1:38:26] 10 years ago on the top of

[1:38:27] San Timoteo landfill. And so

[1:38:29] while these platforms, like

[1:38:30] fixed wing quadcopters that we

[1:38:32] hear about,

[1:38:34] they look very similar today,

[1:38:36] but the technology that's

[1:38:37] available inside of them, it's,

[1:38:40] it's growing so quickly when we

[1:38:42] talk

[1:38:44] about autonomous flight dfr,

[1:38:47] beyond visual line of sight.

[1:38:48] So we're also seeing emerging

[1:38:51] use cases like evtol, that's

[1:38:53] electric vertical takeoff and

[1:38:54] land aircraft,

[1:38:56] particularly as we look towards

[1:38:59] 2028, like the Olympics and the

[1:39:00] future airspace demands in our

[1:39:02] county and our particular

[1:39:03] airports. So this evolution,

[1:39:05] it's a strength. But that also

[1:39:07] makes it more important that we

[1:39:08] maintain a common operating

[1:39:09] picture as these programs

[1:39:11] continue to grow. And so the

[1:39:15] question becomes,

[1:39:16] how are we headed

[1:39:18] in the right direction? And I'm

[1:39:19] sure you've heard this corny

[1:39:21] analogy, but like, it's

[1:39:22] like a flight path, right? You

[1:39:24] take off from Ontario to New

[1:39:25] York, you're generally,

[1:39:27] you're pointed

[1:39:28] in the right direction,

[1:39:29] but once you're airborne, you

[1:39:31] can start making small

[1:39:32] adjustments to make sure that

[1:39:33] you land exactly where you want

[1:39:34] to go. And I feel like that's

[1:39:36] where we are here today. These

[1:39:37] programs, they're taking off

[1:39:39] across the county. And we have

[1:39:40] an opportunity now

[1:39:41] to make those adjustments,

[1:39:42] whether it's around

[1:39:44] coordination or infrastructure

[1:39:45] or even policy,

[1:39:46] so that when we look back

[1:39:47] in five years,

[1:39:48] we're where we wanted to be.

[1:39:50] And so based

[1:39:51] on what we're seeing, we've

[1:39:52] identified a few initial areas

[1:39:54] for consideration. And the

[1:39:55] first three aren't necessarily

[1:39:57] decisions today. These are

[1:39:58] areas that we would value the

[1:40:00] board's input and come back on

[1:40:01] with more detailed

[1:40:03] recommendations. And the first

[1:40:05] is updating our policy

[1:40:06] framework to keep pace with

[1:40:08] evolving technology and

[1:40:09] regulations,

[1:40:10] and specifically that

[1:40:12] beyond visual line of sight.

[1:40:13] The second is strengthening

[1:40:14] information sharing and

[1:40:15] situational awareness

[1:40:16] across departments. There are

[1:40:18] programs out there like

[1:40:20] DroneSense and Fusis, which are

[1:40:22] software platforms that are

[1:40:23] used to coordinate drones drone

[1:40:25] operations in real time. And

[1:40:27] then third is establishing a

[1:40:29] working group to evaluate drone

[1:40:31] detection and mitigation. And

[1:40:32] so where we'd really value your

[1:40:34] input today is on the broader

[1:40:36] direction moving forward and

[1:40:37] looking ahead. The key question

[1:40:39] is how do we best support these

[1:40:41] programs as they continue

[1:40:43] to grow across the county. And

[1:40:45] so one area

[1:40:46] for discussion is what level of

[1:40:47] countywide coordination or

[1:40:49] support makes the most sense

[1:40:51] moving forward. And that focus

[1:40:52] isn't necessarily on

[1:40:53] centralization versus

[1:40:55] decentralization, but it's how

[1:40:56] do we ensure a common operating

[1:40:58] picture while continuing to

[1:41:00] support these departments and

[1:41:02] their individual missions. And

[1:41:05] then the second area is around

[1:41:06] real time information centers.

[1:41:08] Specifically, how can we

[1:41:10] enhance information sharing and

[1:41:11] situational awareness across

[1:41:14] the existing capabilities,

[1:41:15] as you heard with Fire and

[1:41:17] Sheriff and Office of

[1:41:19] Emergency Services. And the

[1:41:20] intent is not

[1:41:21] to replace what exists today,

[1:41:23] but to better connect those

[1:41:24] systems where it adds value,

[1:41:26] particularly as these programs

[1:41:27] like early Aerial Situational

[1:41:29] Awareness and DFR start

[1:41:31] to come into play. And so

[1:41:33] with that, I will turn it back

[1:41:34] over to Luther for any

[1:41:36] additional comments.

[1:41:38] >> Thank you, Trevor. I gotta

[1:41:40] make a comment

[1:41:41] on the corny analogy. That's

[1:41:43] one of my favorite analogies.

[1:41:44] So good job on the little dig.

[1:41:46] I guess the point here today is

[1:41:48] we have, we have, as Trevor has

[1:41:50] brought out, really started

[1:41:53] to advance

[1:41:56] in this space as a county. And

[1:41:57] we are doing exceptional. As

[1:41:59] you heard from Fire, we're

[1:42:02] leading the way. I think that's

[1:42:04] incredible.

[1:42:05] But as was mentioned, even

[1:42:07] like this, beyond visual line

[1:42:08] of sight, it's a limiting

[1:42:10] factor that we've placed

[1:42:11] on ourselves currently under

[1:42:13] our own policy that we don't

[1:42:15] allow that. So there's some

[1:42:16] modernization of our own

[1:42:18] policies and practices

[1:42:19] internally that need

[1:42:21] to happen, as well as some

[1:42:22] coming together and creating.

[1:42:24] We have the UAS committee which

[1:42:26] has been very effective. We

[1:42:29] need to take that to the next

[1:42:31] level and really put a group

[1:42:32] together to look

[1:42:33] at how do we do this in a

[1:42:36] collaborative way where we can

[1:42:38] either share resources or share

[1:42:40] information or both and be able

[1:42:43] to maximize our impact using

[1:42:46] these tools. And then, you

[1:42:48] know, the question here that

[1:42:51] really I welcome the board's

[1:42:53] input on is a discussion. Is

[1:42:55] Trevor mentioned. This isn't

[1:42:56] necessarily about

[1:42:57] centralization versus

[1:43:00] decentralization,

[1:43:01] but there is a question

[1:43:02] about do we want to look

[1:43:03] at minimum some sort

[1:43:04] of co location. We saw that

[1:43:05] there are real time crime, real

[1:43:07] time information centers that

[1:43:08] both sheriff and fire have.

[1:43:11] Does the board want us to bring

[1:43:14] that group together and really

[1:43:15] look closely

[1:43:16] at potentially coming back

[1:43:17] with a request

[1:43:19] for an investigation to create

[1:43:20] a single center that would

[1:43:22] make, that would make sense for

[1:43:24] all parties where we could have

[1:43:26] those synergies, where we could

[1:43:27] bring together investment and

[1:43:29] put it in one place. And then

[1:43:30] when we have events and

[1:43:32] emergencies, we could

[1:43:33] potentially have one co located

[1:43:35] area. But at the same time,

[1:43:38] during normal practice and

[1:43:39] normal routine,

[1:43:41] any security or privacy

[1:43:42] Requirements that were required

[1:43:44] by sheriff or fire could be

[1:43:46] maintained or others. So that's

[1:43:48] something that I think we

[1:43:50] should look at and I'd look

[1:43:51] to the board though to see if

[1:43:52] that's something you would

[1:43:53] support.

[1:43:55] But then also going forward,

[1:43:56] you know, based

[1:43:57] on what you're seeing

[1:43:58] out there, what you're

[1:44:00] experiencing,

[1:44:01] what you're seeing

[1:44:02] with the cities,

[1:44:04] what you're seeing in your own

[1:44:05] research and things that you've

[1:44:08] found,

[1:44:10] are there things that you would

[1:44:11] like us to be focused

[1:44:13] on as we continue to engage

[1:44:14] in this space?

[1:44:16] >> Supervisor Hagman, thank

[1:44:18] you.

[1:44:19] >> Many knows this has been

[1:44:21] some of my passion even back

[1:44:22] since Paul and I were

[1:44:24] in the assembly days. We

[1:44:26] actually wrote the first

[1:44:27] legislation on this in

[1:44:29] California. Yeah, way back

[1:44:32] when. It's a fantastic tool.

[1:44:33] But if you look at how fast it

[1:44:35] is moving right now, it makes

[1:44:36] sense the way things are set

[1:44:38] up. These are usually drones

[1:44:41] used by first responders that

[1:44:44] are brought to a scene,

[1:44:46] launched, monitored close

[1:44:47] by and stuff. But the future,

[1:44:48] next three or four years,

[1:44:50] just think we were 20 years

[1:44:51] ago, we didn't have cell phones

[1:44:52] and how far things are going.

[1:44:53] And I have a passion

[1:44:54] for the smart city,

[1:44:56] smart county applications to

[1:44:58] this going forward that there's

[1:44:59] a lot to do and I did some just

[1:45:01] looking. This started my

[1:45:04] passion a long time ago

[1:45:05] by visiting I think one

[1:45:07] of our international partners

[1:45:09] in South Korea where they had a

[1:45:11] smart city and the technology

[1:45:13] there even 12, 15 years ago was

[1:45:14] amazing of how they're able

[1:45:16] to work on this. Then recently

[1:45:19] I visited one of my cities in

[1:45:20] Ontario that has their real

[1:45:22] time fusion center. They cut

[1:45:24] out 40% of the calls just on

[1:45:25] alarm calls because they were

[1:45:27] able to set a drone

[1:45:28] out there first to see that

[1:45:30] there was not an incident going

[1:45:31] on is a malfunction. So it's

[1:45:33] also a resource saver when it

[1:45:35] comes to these things.

[1:45:36] But where do we go forward?

[1:45:37] The tech

[1:45:40] in five years are going

[1:45:41] to be changing completely. If

[1:45:42] anybody's watching

[1:45:44] international news right now,

[1:45:45] drones are everywhere and the

[1:45:46] warfighter mission. But this is

[1:45:47] something that could be a life

[1:45:48] saving mission for us. And it's

[1:45:50] not just the ones, it's going

[1:45:51] to be the ones out of line

[1:45:53] of sight. And they could be

[1:45:54] multiple departments with

[1:45:55] multiple different missions.

[1:45:57] Land use can use it

[1:45:58] for fire abatement surveys,

[1:46:00] permit checks, public works

[1:46:02] have their flood control to see

[1:46:03] if our sensors coming in. And

[1:46:06] how do we look, how do we plan

[1:46:09] for 10 years from now versus

[1:46:12] what was realistic? Today a lot

[1:46:13] of these things exist all

[1:46:15] over the world already.

[1:46:17] They're traffic like

[1:46:18] Synchronization, autonomous

[1:46:19] vehicle watching, smart

[1:46:21] utilities, just a number of

[1:46:22] smart devices that we can bring

[1:46:24] into a fusion session,

[1:46:26] fusion center of some sort.

[1:46:28] And just like with oes,

[1:46:30] when you come together to

[1:46:32] handle a crisis and the

[1:46:34] military has their central

[1:46:35] command,

[1:46:37] I definitely enforce some kind

[1:46:38] of center that we can

[1:46:40] cohabitate together versus

[1:46:41] building individual centers.

[1:46:44] That doesn't mean the mission

[1:46:45] changed for each one

[1:46:46] of our departments,

[1:46:48] but I think they try

[1:46:49] to coordinate as much

[1:46:50] of that information. And as we

[1:46:51] advance and bring

[1:46:52] on technologies going

[1:46:53] into the future,

[1:46:55] how we integrate that

[1:46:56] seamlessly

[1:46:57] into the software that we have

[1:46:58] for monitor stuff is very

[1:46:59] important. I also noticed that

[1:47:01] with like the Ontario fusion

[1:47:03] center, even the wealthiest

[1:47:05] city,

[1:47:07] we have had a difficult time

[1:47:09] to staff it 247 because it is

[1:47:11] costly for the staffing. The

[1:47:13] one time money

[1:47:14] to set up is one thing,

[1:47:16] but the staff. So can we do

[1:47:18] cross disciplines? Can we share

[1:47:20] the costs in some of these

[1:47:22] future drones that will stay up

[1:47:24] there for 24 hours a day and

[1:47:26] have wide verses? Can we share

[1:47:27] that upon the departments with

[1:47:29] their different mission sets? A

[1:47:30] lot of questions going,

[1:47:32] but I think it's definitely

[1:47:33] time to address our policy and

[1:47:35] where we're going

[1:47:36] to start planting this stuff

[1:47:37] in the future.

[1:47:42] >> Thank you, Chair. I

[1:47:43] appreciate Supervisor Hagman's

[1:47:45] comments. You know,

[1:47:46] I think we could look at a

[1:47:47] centralized location and I

[1:47:49] think the technology has come a

[1:47:51] long ways and will continue

[1:47:52] to change. You know,

[1:47:53] I believe we have to defer

[1:47:54] to our experts, you know,

[1:47:56] our sheriff and fire

[1:47:57] department,

[1:47:59] and get input probably

[1:48:00] from our cities too, and get

[1:48:02] their thoughts if they would

[1:48:03] like

[1:48:04] to also supplement or be part

[1:48:06] of this. I mean, the other

[1:48:07] thing just I don't know because

[1:48:08] I'm not in that world.

[1:48:09] But you know, looking

[1:48:10] at unmanned, you know,

[1:48:11] for water,

[1:48:13] for water droppings, I don't

[1:48:15] know if those make sense

[1:48:16] strategically to be in areas

[1:48:17] that are hot spots. I can't

[1:48:19] speak

[1:48:20] to that. I'm not a fire expert,

[1:48:21] but I know that that's a very,

[1:48:22] very critical thing.

[1:48:24] Especially when we look at,

[1:48:25] you know, hard to reach places

[1:48:27] where many engines can't get

[1:48:28] to sometimes, you know, there's

[1:48:30] narrow roads or other things.

[1:48:32] So I don't know if these should

[1:48:34] be placed strategically or we

[1:48:35] should look at one center. But

[1:48:36] I think it's something that we

[1:48:38] should have that discussion and

[1:48:39] allow our experts with the

[1:48:40] sheriffs and fire department

[1:48:41] to give recommendations

[1:48:43] to this board. But I think

[1:48:44] there's a good opportunity here

[1:48:46] as we continue to look at, you

[1:48:47] know,

[1:48:48] upgrading our technology.

[1:48:50] >> So good work, Supervisor

[1:48:52] Cook.

[1:48:55] >> Yeah, I Think this is

[1:48:57] extremely important

[1:49:00] for our area,

[1:49:03] for we're spread all

[1:49:05] over creation. You know,

[1:49:06] I don't want to go on about how

[1:49:09] large it is and everything

[1:49:10] else, but I think we have an

[1:49:12] opportunity to join forces,

[1:49:14] if you will,

[1:49:16] with the civilian side, if you

[1:49:19] will, with the military side.

[1:49:23] And because oftentimes, you

[1:49:27] know, we used to work together

[1:49:29] when somebody was missing

[1:49:31] in the desert

[1:49:34] for some reason, Lance

[1:49:36] Corporal rather, which I think

[1:49:37] we, I don't know,

[1:49:39] he's still wandering

[1:49:40] out there,

[1:49:42] and I just fear the worst.

[1:49:43] But we're certain individuals.

[1:49:45] The point I'm saying is I think

[1:49:47] both the county, the military

[1:49:51] and everything else have

[1:49:53] certain reform resources and

[1:49:55] certain, let's just say,

[1:49:59] opportunities

[1:50:01] to influence people in

[1:50:05] Washington. So that if we had

[1:50:07] one unified plan that we came

[1:50:11] together that would benefit

[1:50:12] both the civilian side and the

[1:50:14] military side, I'm sure we'd

[1:50:16] get special attention in

[1:50:18] Congress and the Senate.

[1:50:21] Geography is, you know,

[1:50:23] the people in the desert, you

[1:50:26] love it. I've mentioned it

[1:50:27] several times,

[1:50:29] but it's very unforgiving. And

[1:50:30] if bad things happen

[1:50:33] in the desert, you have to

[1:50:34] react quickly or the

[1:50:36] consequences will come

[1:50:38] into effect. So I think having

[1:50:40] this dialogue

[1:50:45] on how we could work together,

[1:50:48] I'll be honest with you, I

[1:50:49] don't think we work together

[1:50:51] enough joining, joining forces

[1:50:54] because, you know, let's face

[1:50:56] it, I'm on a different side

[1:50:58] of the fence now. But, you

[1:51:00] know, the military is

[1:51:02] over there. And I don't want

[1:51:04] to say there's trust issues

[1:51:05] on how we do things,

[1:51:07] but if we have the same goal,

[1:51:11] I think,

[1:51:13] and I'm speaking primarily of

[1:51:16] the desert regions and

[1:51:19] everything else, that if we had

[1:51:21] both the county and we do work

[1:51:24] together, but I want to

[1:51:26] maximize that because when

[1:51:29] something happens, whether it's

[1:51:31] training accident or you got

[1:51:33] to get to a hospital down in

[1:51:35] San Diego, time is very,

[1:51:37] very important. You can't argue

[1:51:38] about whose turf it is. You

[1:51:40] have to have, I think, a

[1:51:43] command post exercise where you

[1:51:45] actually go through this drill

[1:51:49] and you find out, okay,

[1:51:50] who's going to be responsible

[1:51:52] for this, this, this and this,

[1:51:55] and you practice it. So God

[1:51:56] forgive, forgive me, but, you

[1:51:58] know, I've seen it happen. And

[1:52:01] time is of the essence,

[1:52:03] so that something bad happened,

[1:52:05] you got to react quickly,

[1:52:08] whether it's a hospital or what

[1:52:10] have you. So just having this

[1:52:12] discussion and how we can do

[1:52:15] it, but it's human nature. We

[1:52:18] as on this, but we kind

[1:52:20] of operate on our own area and

[1:52:23] everything else. But when

[1:52:25] you're together and each

[1:52:27] provides certain assets that

[1:52:30] could expedite an emergency,

[1:52:33] and I won't even describe what

[1:52:35] kind could happen, that I think

[1:52:37] we might end up doing something

[1:52:40] which we all want to do,

[1:52:42] and that is save a life or two

[1:52:45] in an emergency situation. So I

[1:52:49] want to continue this dialogue.

[1:52:51] I'm glad that we're talking

[1:52:55] about it and anything we can do

[1:52:57] to have joint cooperation

[1:52:59] on this and actually go

[1:53:01] through it step by step. God

[1:53:04] forbid we have a tragedy,

[1:53:06] but it's something

[1:53:11] out there is lurking,

[1:53:12] it's going to happen. So that's

[1:53:15] my two cents.

[1:53:18] >> Supervisor Armendarez?

[1:53:20] >> I think I want to start

[1:53:22] with. I do not know the answers

[1:53:24] to this. I think this is a

[1:53:25] great opportunity for us to.

[1:53:27] To find out those answers,

[1:53:28] though. I think we should have

[1:53:29] some sort

[1:53:31] of group come together. Those

[1:53:32] who are at the table should be

[1:53:33] the ones who are educated

[1:53:35] in this. Whether, you know,

[1:53:37] with our police, our fire, our

[1:53:39] cities, everyone who's

[1:53:41] utilizing this technology. We

[1:53:43] should probably get

[1:53:44] in a room and figure

[1:53:45] out how we can create some sort

[1:53:47] of MOUs to work together. I

[1:53:48] think working together

[1:53:49] collaboratively is not just

[1:53:52] good government, but it's also

[1:53:54] creates an affordability factor

[1:53:56] where we can accomplish more

[1:53:57] with less. I think a command

[1:53:59] center could be a great idea.

[1:54:00] You know,

[1:54:03] regional. I don't know if it's

[1:54:04] under Office of Emergency

[1:54:06] Services where we have people

[1:54:07] there. I do understand the

[1:54:08] sensitivity depending

[1:54:10] on if you're working

[1:54:11] with fire or you're working

[1:54:12] with sheriff.

[1:54:13] But I also know we also have,

[1:54:15] you know, some of our SWAT

[1:54:16] people who are cross trained

[1:54:18] also who are medics and sworn.

[1:54:20] You know, maybe we can figure

[1:54:21] out how to get that done where

[1:54:22] we have people who are cross

[1:54:23] trained who can be there to be

[1:54:25] those eyes. I also don't know

[1:54:27] what the sensitivity

[1:54:29] of the footage is. You know,

[1:54:30] are they required

[1:54:32] like our body cams

[1:54:33] to be released, you know,

[1:54:35] those type of things. I think

[1:54:36] someone smarter than me has to

[1:54:38] vet all those issues and know

[1:54:39] what opportunities are there

[1:54:41] and also what hurdles we're

[1:54:42] going to deal with or what

[1:54:43] liabilities we're going

[1:54:45] to encumber by moving forward.

[1:54:46] I do believe that we have

[1:54:48] to fix the policy regarding

[1:54:49] line of sight, but also think

[1:54:51] there's a huge opportunity

[1:54:54] for us to work with our cities

[1:54:55] also if we can collaborate

[1:54:58] internally. I think it opens

[1:54:59] the floodgates for what we can

[1:55:01] do as the whole county

[1:55:04] with municipalities involved,

[1:55:06] so that we can all work

[1:55:07] together and utilize all our

[1:55:09] resources

[1:55:10] to be not just collaborative,

[1:55:11] but very strategic

[1:55:13] in how we plant the future of

[1:55:14] what this technology looks

[1:55:16] like. That's all my Comments?

[1:55:22] >> This is not my area

[1:55:25] of expertise. Same thing. I

[1:55:27] would just say that the only

[1:55:28] thing that I would want

[1:55:29] to keep in mind is some

[1:55:30] of the missions are different.

[1:55:31] So when I saw probation up

[1:55:32] there, I'm still curious, like,

[1:55:34] what does probation do with the

[1:55:35] drone? I don't know. I'm

[1:55:36] excited to learn. I wondered

[1:55:37] Health and Human Services. And

[1:55:38] then it was mentioned.

[1:55:39] Mentioned homelessness. So I

[1:55:41] can see that. I think that

[1:55:43] missions will vary depending

[1:55:44] upon the department. So I think

[1:55:46] it's. I like the idea of having

[1:55:48] a central working group, but we

[1:55:50] also have a special district

[1:55:51] involved, and I think we need

[1:55:53] to be careful

[1:55:54] in how we approach it.

[1:55:56] With a special district, I know

[1:55:57] we have different fleet

[1:55:59] services and things

[1:56:00] like that. That's an area when

[1:56:01] you talk about fire and fire as

[1:56:02] a special district. Just

[1:56:03] to keep that in mind,

[1:56:05] I don't know the answer,

[1:56:07] but I'm looking forward

[1:56:08] to the dialogue.

[1:56:11] >> If I would, I think,

[1:56:12] appreciate all the feedback. I

[1:56:14] think bringing a working group

[1:56:15] together is important and

[1:56:17] talking about these issues. If

[1:56:18] we all bring our heads

[1:56:20] together, bring experts

[1:56:21] into the room and talk

[1:56:23] about what we can do, how we do

[1:56:25] it responsibly and how we do it

[1:56:26] in a way that works

[1:56:28] with everyone, but figure

[1:56:31] out our way to do it, we can.

[1:56:33] We can make that happen. So

[1:56:35] Trevor and I will get together.

[1:56:37] >> We'll take the lead. I'll

[1:56:38] have Trevor be the lead for the

[1:56:40] county administrative office

[1:56:41] and start to work to outreach

[1:56:43] to the various departments

[1:56:45] around the county who are

[1:56:46] already involved

[1:56:47] in this or would like

[1:56:49] to be involved in this. And

[1:56:50] we'll start that dialogue

[1:56:51] about this specifically. So

[1:56:52] thank you all

[1:56:54] for your feedback.

[1:56:55] >> Very good. Thank you very

[1:56:56] much, Trevor. This is a receive

[1:56:57] and file. So with that,

[1:56:58] we will move on

[1:56:59] to our general public comments.

[1:57:01] We have a lot

[1:57:02] of speakers signed up

[1:57:04] to speak today. We look forward

[1:57:05] to hearing your comments. Due

[1:57:07] to the volume of speakers,

[1:57:08] we are going

[1:57:09] to limit today's public comment

[1:57:10] to two minutes per speaker.

[1:57:12] And again, when you get to the

[1:57:15] threshold where you have your

[1:57:16] last 30 seconds left, it will

[1:57:19] flash orange and then green or

[1:57:21] I'm sorry, then red. Our first

[1:57:23] request to speak is from

[1:57:25] Russell Drew, followed by

[1:57:27] Carol Pettigue. Good morning or

[1:57:34] good afternoon. Feel free

[1:57:36] to start anytime.

[1:57:38] >> Okay. I want to thank you

[1:57:39] for your discussion with Land

[1:57:41] Use services this morning. And

[1:57:44] we did have a meeting

[1:57:46] with them. So a lot

[1:57:47] of what we were going

[1:57:48] to say we've kind of talked

[1:57:50] about and we've kind

[1:57:51] of made an action plan. So

[1:57:52] thank you for that. So I won't

[1:57:54] go into my long speech. You've

[1:57:55] got the paper there in front

[1:57:56] of you. I would like

[1:57:57] to take this time though

[1:57:59] to thank our Supervisor Paul

[1:58:00] Cook and his office staff,

[1:58:02] especially Christopher

[1:58:04] Porter, for their great work

[1:58:05] in getting Lone Pine Canyon,

[1:58:07] which is the subject

[1:58:08] of what we came originally for,

[1:58:09] to get our road opened

[1:58:10] after the flooding. It was a

[1:58:12] mess and it's open again and we

[1:58:13] really enjoyed that. So again,

[1:58:15] thank you, Supervisor Cook,

[1:58:17] for all your efforts

[1:58:19] on our behalf have. And also

[1:58:20] the veterans group said

[1:58:21] to say hi and they want

[1:58:23] to see you in town. And that's

[1:58:25] all I'm going to say.

[1:58:26] >> Thank you, Carol. Carol

[1:58:29] Pettigue, followed by Linda

[1:58:30] Drew. Ms. Pettigrew Standell.

[1:58:35] >> I just think that the people

[1:58:37] here need to know what

[1:58:38] everybody that's not speaking

[1:58:40] now because we spoke what we

[1:58:41] were talking about

[1:58:43] in that meeting. Basically I'm

[1:58:46] here to voice concern

[1:58:48] about the proposed quarry

[1:58:50] in the Lone Pine Canyon area.

[1:58:52] I'm concerned that the quality

[1:58:54] of life in Phelan, Pinyon

[1:58:55] Hills, Lytle Creek, Hesperia,

[1:58:59] Devore and Wrightwood will be

[1:59:00] greatly affected. The effect

[1:59:03] on traffic, especially on the

[1:59:06] 15. The air, water and noise

[1:59:08] pollution, the ecology of the

[1:59:11] area and any other hazards it

[1:59:13] will create will be

[1:59:14] devastating. I believe the

[1:59:16] decision by the planning

[1:59:17] commission was possibly done.

[1:59:19] I'm not going

[1:59:21] to say illegally, but not

[1:59:22] correctly. I know the decision

[1:59:25] was made

[1:59:27] against the recommendations

[1:59:28] of their staff. The board needs

[1:59:30] to be. This is you guys. You

[1:59:32] need to be very concerned

[1:59:33] about this project. It needs to

[1:59:35] be considered very carefully

[1:59:36] and your situations need

[1:59:38] to be heard. Your constituents.

[1:59:40] Sorry. Need

[1:59:41] to be heard and served. Thank

[1:59:42] you.

[1:59:45] >> Thank you very much. Linda

[1:59:46] Drew, followed by Melissa.

[1:59:51] >> Good afternoon, board and

[1:59:53] audience. I'm representing the

[1:59:55] Lone Pine Canyon Protective

[1:59:57] alliance whose purpose is

[1:59:59] to stop development of the

[2:00:00] quarry which will devastate our

[2:00:01] communities. I'm a 45 year

[2:00:04] resident of Wrightwood, a small

[2:00:07] village high in the San

[2:00:08] Gabriel Mountains. And not only

[2:00:12] will this quarry project affect

[2:00:14] Wrightwood, it will reflect all

[2:00:17] the surrounding communities.

[2:00:18] Though this project needs

[2:00:20] to be stopped, reasons to stop

[2:00:22] it are numerous. I will focus

[2:00:23] on health issues today due

[2:00:25] to a finding called Vested

[2:00:27] Rights. Established

[2:00:28] in the 1920s, the Quarry

[2:00:29] Project would be allowed

[2:00:31] to move forward. Forward

[2:00:32] with no oversight,

[2:00:33] no environmental impact study,

[2:00:34] no conditional use,

[2:00:35] no adherence

[2:00:36] to modern day mining rules.

[2:00:38] The mining company can do

[2:00:39] whatever it wants

[2:00:40] with no regard

[2:00:41] to how illegal it would be

[2:00:42] in today's world for the next

[2:00:44] 147 years. Product being mined

[2:00:46] is calcium carbonate. The

[2:00:48] National Institute of Health

[2:00:49] notes that Blasting, drilling,

[2:00:50] crushing, sifting creates

[2:00:52] particles that can be blown

[2:00:53] by the wind up to 60 miles

[2:00:55] away. Further and greater winds

[2:00:56] which we do have on the top of

[2:00:58] our mountain that covers the

[2:00:59] entire tri community where we

[2:01:01] are. And down here, calcium

[2:01:02] carbonate poses risks when

[2:01:04] mining crushes the rocks

[2:01:07] into dust,

[2:01:08] which we then breathe.

[2:01:10] Inhaling such dust can cause

[2:01:11] respiratory, eye,

[2:01:12] skin irritation. Continued

[2:01:14] ingestion can lead to more

[2:01:15] serious conditions such as

[2:01:16] kidney,

[2:01:18] gastro and metabolic issues.

[2:01:19] At this point,

[2:01:20] we also know that Lone Pine

[2:01:21] Canyon contains a rock called

[2:01:23] actinolite which when blasted,

[2:01:24] drilled, crushed,

[2:01:26] produces asbestos fibers.

[2:01:27] These fibers are tiny enough

[2:01:29] to remain suspended in the air

[2:01:30] and are easily inhaled and they

[2:01:31] cause all kinds

[2:01:33] of disease. I see, I'm about

[2:01:35] down there. All kinds

[2:01:36] of things like methythelioma,

[2:01:38] cancer,

[2:01:41] asbestos and other cancers.

[2:01:45] And it's cumulative and you

[2:01:46] might not know for 10 to 40

[2:01:49] years that you might have. And

[2:01:51] it also is going to hurt the

[2:01:52] animals because the particles

[2:01:53] of the dust go

[2:01:54] on the plants.

[2:01:56] >> Melissa followed by Cheryl

[2:01:57] Derrick.

[2:02:01] >> Hi, my name is Melissa

[2:02:02] Manning. I also have handouts

[2:02:03] if somebody's able to pass

[2:02:05] those out. I have copies,

[2:02:07] eight copies for everyone. Do I

[2:02:08] take them

[2:02:10] down there when you're done?

[2:02:12] You can hand them to the clerk

[2:02:14] of the board over here,

[2:02:15] please. All right, thank you.

[2:02:16] Good morning again. My name is

[2:02:18] Melissa Manning. I'm a resident

[2:02:19] of Wrightwood and a member

[2:02:20] of the Lone Pine Canyon

[2:02:21] Protection Alliance. I want to

[2:02:23] share that vested rights were

[2:02:24] found,

[2:02:26] but the county really needs

[2:02:27] to evaluate the impacts. Fire

[2:02:28] risk, evacuation safety,

[2:02:29] groundwater, earthquake

[2:02:30] activity, radon, asbestos, air

[2:02:32] quality, even the PCT views

[2:02:34] that the SB county posted

[2:02:36] about on Facebook this last

[2:02:38] week are all parts of this.

[2:02:39] Lone Pine Canyon has a posted

[2:02:42] 5 ton weight limit and it

[2:02:43] literally just reopened. Thank

[2:02:45] you Paul Cook

[2:02:49] for fast tracking that. It

[2:02:51] reopened on April 16th. This

[2:02:55] project requires 80,000 pound

[2:02:57] Class 8 trucks opening or

[2:02:59] operating at 8 times the legal

[2:03:02] limit. It's not a minor

[2:03:06] adjustment. Approving this

[2:03:07] project without fully

[2:03:08] redesigning and rebuilding that

[2:03:09] road would result

[2:03:11] in structural failure. We are

[2:03:12] talking about

[2:03:14] like pavement degradation,

[2:03:15] sub base collapse. It happened

[2:03:17] so easy. It was

[2:03:18] like less than a foot of rain

[2:03:19] made the entire road collapse.

[2:03:21] Also there's what engineers

[2:03:24] called alligator cracking that

[2:03:26] we're concerned about and that

[2:03:27] is basically the road breaking

[2:03:29] apart under stress. It's also a

[2:03:30] public safety issue. The Lone

[2:03:33] Pine Canyon road is narrow,

[2:03:35] it's an evacuation route with

[2:03:37] limited shoulders and a single

[2:03:41] stalled or slow truck can

[2:03:44] create complete blockage which

[2:03:45] we've seen

[2:03:47] in the past when people

[2:03:50] like even today leaving, I had

[2:03:51] to go onto the other side

[2:03:53] of the road in order

[2:03:54] to pass a very slow truck. We

[2:03:55] have a problem

[2:03:57] in our community,

[2:03:59] our whole county being one

[2:04:00] of the top places.

[2:04:06] >> Cheryl Derrick, followed

[2:04:08] by Robert Kaggle.

[2:04:11] >> Thank you

[2:04:13] for having us. I'm a resident

[2:04:16] of Wrightwood and I also feel

[2:04:18] that this huge, huge endeavor

[2:04:21] will have catastrophic effects

[2:04:24] on our communities. We did have

[2:04:25] a nice meeting before,

[2:04:28] so I think we got some

[2:04:29] of this stuff straightened out.

[2:04:30] But I just wanted

[2:04:31] to voice my opinion.

[2:04:33] >> Thank you very much.

[2:04:34] Robert Kegle, followed by

[2:04:36] Andrew Firm.

[2:04:39] >> My name is Robert Kegle.

[2:04:40] Thank you

[2:04:41] for having us here and

[2:04:43] listening

[2:04:44] to us. I'm a resident at

[2:04:45] Indian Springs Ranch of Lone

[2:04:46] Pine Canyon Road. My family and

[2:04:47] I have been caretakers there

[2:04:48] for 35 years. Indian Springs

[2:04:50] Ranch is a Native American

[2:04:51] ranch where we used

[2:04:53] to host powwows and Native

[2:04:54] American ceremonies. Besides

[2:04:56] that, on the ranch, there's an

[2:04:57] archaeological site dating back

[2:04:59] to 1700s to 1800s. Now that I'm

[2:05:02] informing you that there's an

[2:05:03] archaeological site,

[2:05:05] it will be against the law

[2:05:06] for you guys

[2:05:07] to approve any plans

[2:05:08] to do any mining in the area

[2:05:09] until federal agents are there

[2:05:11] for federal review to determine

[2:05:12] that no cause will be harm

[2:05:14] to our site. So if you guys

[2:05:15] violate section 106 of the

[2:05:16] Historical Preservation act

[2:05:18] by approving these plans, there

[2:05:20] will be legal consequences.

[2:05:22] Thank you.

[2:05:23] >> Andrew Firm, followed by

[2:05:24] Jamie Carper.

[2:05:29] >> Give me a moment

[2:05:31] to raise this. Thank you. Good

[2:05:34] morning, supervisors,

[2:05:36] or afternoon. On behalf

[2:05:38] of the Lone Pine Canyon

[2:05:39] Protection Alliance, I'm here

[2:05:40] to address gross procedural

[2:05:41] defects regarding the proposed

[2:05:43] open pit quarry. Land use

[2:05:45] services failed to provide the

[2:05:46] community or immediate neighbor

[2:05:47] to the site Indian Springs

[2:05:49] Ranch with official notice

[2:05:50] for MRP 2020 500002. No notice

[2:05:54] was published via established

[2:05:55] media and this is a gross

[2:05:57] procedural defect

[2:05:58] under CEQA section 15072. The

[2:06:01] current mitigated negative

[2:06:02] declaration also improperly

[2:06:03] segments this project

[2:06:05] by masking a 148 year mining

[2:06:06] operation as a mere reclamation

[2:06:09] plan. This is another direct

[2:06:10] violation of ceqa.

[2:06:11] Furthermore, we have uncovered

[2:06:12] significant defects

[2:06:14] with an associated pattern of

[2:06:15] documented impropriety

[2:06:16] surrounding the torture. 2019

[2:06:20] vested rights determination.

[2:06:21] The site sits on the San

[2:06:23] Andreas Fault containing

[2:06:24] federally protected species and

[2:06:25] adjacent

[2:06:26] to culturally significant

[2:06:27] Native American sites. A

[2:06:29] mitigated negative declaration

[2:06:30] is legally indefensible here.

[2:06:31] We've already established a

[2:06:32] fair argument that significant

[2:06:33] impacts exist regarding

[2:06:34] groundwater in the Sheep

[2:06:36] Creek Wash. Seismic

[2:06:37] interference and federal

[2:06:38] species. Under California law.

[2:06:40] This fair argument mandates a

[2:06:41] full environmental impact

[2:06:42] report. We held an

[2:06:44] informational town hall on

[2:06:45] April 30th with over 170 in

[2:06:47] attendance who signed our

[2:06:48] physical petition and our

[2:06:50] online petition has now secured

[2:06:51] nearly 3,000 and growing

[2:06:53] additional signatories.

[2:06:55] Because

[2:06:56] of these missteps and the delay

[2:06:58] in fulfilling our Public

[2:06:59] Records act requests, the

[2:07:01] current timeline is

[2:07:02] insufficient. We respectfully

[2:07:04] request that the Board

[2:07:05] intervene and direct Land Use

[2:07:06] Services to extend the public

[2:07:07] comment period

[2:07:08] to no fewer than six 60 days

[2:07:10] from when the county provides

[2:07:11] results for our CPRA request.

[2:07:13] This will allow us

[2:07:14] to get the information needed

[2:07:16] to present our case and ensure

[2:07:18] it is

[2:07:19] in the technical record. And

[2:07:20] I'll finish

[2:07:21] with saying thank you

[2:07:22] for directing us to the Land

[2:07:23] Use meeting and having them

[2:07:25] have that initial conversation

[2:07:27] with us. We appreciate it.

[2:07:28] >> Jamie Carper followed by

[2:07:29] Lindsay Falb.

[2:07:35] >> Thank you and good afternoon

[2:07:37] Supervisors. I want

[2:07:38] to address a basic problem

[2:07:40] with the County's reliance

[2:07:42] on the vested rights finding

[2:07:43] of 2019. Even if some of the

[2:07:45] historical mining activity

[2:07:46] occurred somewhere

[2:07:47] on this property, that does not

[2:07:48] create an undefined open ended

[2:07:49] right for a much larger modern

[2:07:51] mining operation. The first

[2:07:53] issue is scope. A vested right,

[2:07:56] if it exists at all, has

[2:07:57] to be defined by what was

[2:07:59] historically lawful, actually

[2:08:01] conducted and continuously

[2:08:03] maintained. It cannot be

[2:08:04] treated as a blank check.

[2:08:06] But here the county is relying

[2:08:07] on a finding

[2:08:08] of vested mining rights without

[2:08:10] clearly defining the location

[2:08:12] boundaries, intensity methods,

[2:08:13] volume,

[2:08:14] duration and operational limits

[2:08:15] of such right.

[2:08:17] Without those limits, a narrow

[2:08:18] historic use is being turned

[2:08:19] into a broad modern

[2:08:21] entitlement. The second issue

[2:08:23] is expansion. The project now

[2:08:24] being advanced is far larger

[2:08:26] than anything shown in the

[2:08:28] site's historical mining

[2:08:30] record. The current provisional

[2:08:31] proposal involves resumed

[2:08:34] surface mining

[2:08:35] over a large area

[2:08:37] with drilling, blasting,

[2:08:38] crushing, screening, hauling,

[2:08:40] stockpiling and processing

[2:08:41] on an industrial scale. Even if

[2:08:43] mining occurred historically,

[2:08:44] that does not mean the county

[2:08:46] can assume the right extends to

[2:08:47] a much larger and more

[2:08:49] intensive modern quarry.

[2:08:51] Third, the parcel history

[2:08:53] matters APN 0356241 02, which

[2:08:55] is only about 12.8 acres,

[2:08:59] is a historic location of the

[2:09:01] historic old mine that was the

[2:09:03] former El Cajon property where

[2:09:05] limestone and dolomite mining

[2:09:07] began in 1924 and where 125 ton

[2:09:09] per day lime process processing

[2:09:11] facility was built. The other

[2:09:13] parcels have no history

[2:09:14] of mining or mining rights.

[2:09:16] Just being able to tuck them

[2:09:18] in with this other parcel and

[2:09:19] say they have grandfathered

[2:09:21] vested rights is just unlawful.

[2:09:23] So I'd like you

[2:09:26] to consider that

[2:09:27] in your decision

[2:09:29] with this proposal. Thank you.

[2:09:32] >> Lindsay Falb followed by

[2:09:33] Debbie Lopez hi, my name is

[2:09:36] Lindsay Falb and I'm a resident

[2:09:37] of Wrightwood I've been there

[2:09:39] for 32 years and my family has

[2:09:40] lived there for over 50. I'm

[2:09:42] asking the county

[2:09:44] to require a full EIR, ensure

[2:09:46] proper comprehensive and

[2:09:48] environmental review and not

[2:09:49] move forward

[2:09:50] without a transparent without

[2:09:52] full transparency and

[2:09:53] accountability. The lack

[2:09:56] of I want to focus on one

[2:09:58] critical issue is the lack of

[2:10:00] complete environmental

[2:10:02] oversight

[2:10:03] in the current CEQA review.

[2:10:05] This project is 285 acres

[2:10:06] of mining, decades

[2:10:08] of operation, blasting, truck

[2:10:10] traffic and permanent landscape

[2:10:11] alteration. It's being

[2:10:13] reviewed,

[2:10:15] it's been being reviewed under

[2:10:16] a mitigated necklace negative

[2:10:18] declaration that does not align

[2:10:21] with CEQA under CEQA's fair

[2:10:23] argument standards. If there is

[2:10:25] substantial evidence that a

[2:10:26] project may have significant

[2:10:28] environmental impact, a full

[2:10:29] environmental impact report is

[2:10:31] required that has not been met.

[2:10:34] Biological Resources this

[2:10:36] canyon supports wildlife

[2:10:38] including federally protective

[2:10:40] species such as golden eagles

[2:10:41] as well as other sensitive

[2:10:43] species

[2:10:44] like the coastal horned lizard,

[2:10:46] bighorn sheep and kangaroo

[2:10:47] rats. Blasting habitat

[2:10:49] destruction and long term

[2:10:50] industrial activities pose

[2:10:52] clear risk to these species.

[2:10:54] The current review does not

[2:10:56] demonstrate the adequate

[2:10:58] protocol level multi seasonal

[2:10:59] survey that should be

[2:11:02] conducted. Not only that, but

[2:11:04] this project will generate

[2:11:05] significant dust and

[2:11:06] particulate matter

[2:11:08] from blasting, crushing and

[2:11:09] constant track truck traffic.

[2:11:11] That means long term exposure

[2:11:12] to airborne pollutants

[2:11:15] for residents, especially

[2:11:16] children, families and

[2:11:18] vulnerable populations. Fine

[2:11:19] particulate matters is directly

[2:11:21] linked to respiratory issues,

[2:11:22] asthma and long term health

[2:11:24] impacts

[2:11:26] in a small mountain community

[2:11:28] like ours in Wrightwood where

[2:11:29] clean air is part

[2:11:31] of our quality of life. This is

[2:11:33] not a minor issue to us. It is

[2:11:34] a significant and lasting

[2:11:36] impact that has not been

[2:11:41] >> Debbie Lopez followed by

[2:11:43] Robin Crouch.

[2:11:47] >> Hi, my name is Debbie

[2:11:48] Lopez. I'm commenting on the

[2:11:50] Lone Pine Quarry. Thank you

[2:11:51] supervisors for listening today

[2:11:54] and I appreciate all my

[2:11:55] neighbors professional

[2:11:57] comments. Mine are more

[2:12:01] emotional and most important,

[2:12:03] the utmost important is the

[2:12:05] impact to the indigenous

[2:12:06] archaeological sites as well as

[2:12:08] these significant historical

[2:12:10] sites. That's my number one

[2:12:11] comment. Also I'm really

[2:12:13] concerned

[2:12:14] about the evacuation route. We

[2:12:15] only have three different

[2:12:17] routes we can use to evacuate

[2:12:18] in Wrightwood and we are

[2:12:20] evacuated quite a bit. When you

[2:12:22] evacuate you're saying goodbye

[2:12:24] to all your things in your home

[2:12:25] and it's a very stressful

[2:12:27] situation

[2:12:28] in particular because of the

[2:12:32] wildfire. I'm also worried

[2:12:33] about the flash point of the

[2:12:35] airborne particulates that the

[2:12:37] mine could release

[2:12:39] into the air. We are really

[2:12:41] coordinated when we do have

[2:12:44] to evacuate. But if there's one

[2:12:46] disabled mining truck on the

[2:12:53] road it would just spell

[2:12:56] disaster for the whole trying

[2:13:02] everybody trying to evacuate.

[2:13:07] Basically it's just Once again

[2:13:08] the indigenous sites is the

[2:13:10] most Important and the

[2:13:12] evacuation of Wrightwood is

[2:13:13] critical.

[2:13:18] >> Thank you. Robin Crouch,

[2:13:20] followed by Daniel Crowley.

[2:13:35] >> Hi, my name is Dan

[2:13:37] Crowley. Thanks to everyone

[2:13:38] in this room for listening and

[2:13:40] for giving me a few minutes

[2:13:41] to speak about a concern I

[2:13:42] have. I'm a lifetime San

[2:13:44] Bernardino county resident. I

[2:13:45] love this county. I grew up

[2:13:47] in Colton. I graduated from

[2:13:48] Aquinas High School. I

[2:13:49] currently live in Wrightwood

[2:13:51] and I've lived in Wrightwood

[2:13:52] for the last 33 years. I

[2:13:54] recently retired from a 38 year

[2:13:56] career with NASA. At the

[2:13:58] Armstrong Flight Research

[2:13:59] center on Edwards Air Force

[2:14:01] Base. I was the facility

[2:14:02] engineer. I supervised a team

[2:14:03] of engineers and architects

[2:14:05] managing facility operations

[2:14:06] and managing design and

[2:14:08] construction projects. I am

[2:14:09] sensitive to and very much

[2:14:11] appreciate the communication

[2:14:12] challenges associated

[2:14:14] with bringing change to the

[2:14:15] community. U5 own the county

[2:14:17] processes that deliver that

[2:14:19] change in this county. My

[2:14:21] concern. Seventeen days ago,

[2:14:23] I was surprised. My neighbors

[2:14:25] shared with me that a

[2:14:27] significant change to our

[2:14:29] community was announced. A

[2:14:30] mining operation may begin soon

[2:14:32] near our homes along the Lone

[2:14:33] Pine Canyon Road. And that

[2:14:37] operation would include

[2:14:40] blasting throughout the day and

[2:14:41] until 10pm so much

[2:14:43] for your quiet retirement,

[2:14:46] Dan. Again, I was surprised.

[2:14:47] My request to the board is

[2:14:49] to pause the approval process

[2:14:50] until the communities of

[2:14:51] Lytle Creek, West Cajon

[2:14:53] Valley, Phelan, Pinyon Hills,

[2:14:55] Oak Hills, Hesperia, Devore and

[2:14:57] Wrightwood can review and

[2:14:58] comment

[2:15:00] on this mining project.

[2:15:03] Again, please stop the project

[2:15:05] so that we can all understand

[2:15:06] the impact this mining

[2:15:07] operation will have

[2:15:09] on air quality, water quality,

[2:15:11] the wildlife in the canyon,

[2:15:12] our wildfire egress situation,

[2:15:15] potential increased traffic

[2:15:16] at the Highway 138 and

[2:15:18] Interstate 15 intersection, and

[2:15:20] particularly the associated

[2:15:21] increased commute times

[2:15:23] for commuters. Please know

[2:15:25] those

[2:15:26] of us who drive daily up the

[2:15:28] Cajon Pass Freeway already

[2:15:30] spend too much time

[2:15:31] in traffic, adding hundreds

[2:15:34] of hauling trucks

[2:15:35] to the traffic jam.

[2:15:39] >> Thank you very much. Chad

[2:15:44] Keel. Chad Keel, followed by

[2:15:45] Jill Carlton Payne.

[2:15:57] >> Hello, my name is Chad

[2:15:59] Keel. Like many

[2:16:00] of my neighbors,

[2:16:02] I'm deeply concerned

[2:16:03] about the quarry being proposed

[2:16:04] to start in Lone Pine Canyon.

[2:16:05] However, I thought I really

[2:16:07] shouldn't be worried because we

[2:16:08] have a supervisor who takes

[2:16:10] oaths very seriously.

[2:16:14] Supervisor Cook, I liked your

[2:16:15] individual board comment about

[2:16:16] drones and the people being

[2:16:18] lost. Because you made an oath

[2:16:20] before everyone here. You said

[2:16:21] no more missing people

[2:16:23] in the desert. You said, not

[2:16:25] on my watch. You took another

[2:16:29] oath when you joined the

[2:16:30] military and when you were

[2:16:31] sworn in to serve the

[2:16:33] constituents here today that

[2:16:35] you would defend this country

[2:16:37] Versus what? All threats,

[2:16:38] foreign and domestic. Paul

[2:16:40] Cook, you are a man

[2:16:42] of integrity and honor. You

[2:16:44] took these oaths. So as a

[2:16:45] constituent and someone who

[2:16:47] wants to hold you accountable

[2:16:48] to those oaths, you know,

[2:16:50] not just before me, but

[2:16:52] before God, will you stand up

[2:16:53] against foreign entities mining

[2:16:54] and extracting our minerals,

[2:16:56] ravaging our precious

[2:16:58] wilderness and destroying our

[2:17:00] Americana history? I would

[2:17:04] like to take the remaining

[2:17:06] of my time just to pray for

[2:17:07] Paul Cook. I pray you stand up

[2:17:09] for what is right and you

[2:17:10] uphold your oath you made

[2:17:12] before God and the American

[2:17:13] people you serve

[2:17:14] within your district

[2:17:16] of the county of San

[2:17:18] Bernardino. God give him the

[2:17:20] strength and the courage to

[2:17:21] uphold his oath and defend our

[2:17:22] precious American soil

[2:17:24] from foreign exploitation.

[2:17:26] Okay, thank you, Paul Cook.

[2:17:31] >> Jill Carlton Payne, followed

[2:17:33] by Kathleen Mitchell.

[2:17:37] >> Hi. Jill Carlton Payne,

[2:17:39] President, Timberline Lions

[2:17:40] Club. One of our eight pillars

[2:17:43] for Timberline Lions Club and

[2:17:44] the Lions Club International is

[2:17:46] the environment. I'm here

[2:17:48] to speak on that behalf. Thank

[2:17:49] you very much, supervisors, for

[2:17:50] allowing us the time today and

[2:17:52] directing us over to Land Use

[2:17:53] Services department. As you can

[2:17:55] see, there's been many things

[2:17:57] that haven't happened

[2:17:58] correctly. The importance of

[2:17:59] your intervention cannot be

[2:18:02] understated. This project will

[2:18:04] affect not only residents of

[2:18:06] Wrightwood, Pinion Hills

[2:18:07] feeling surrounding

[2:18:14] communities. The water after

[2:18:16] the drilling will be horrific.

[2:18:19] We've already just had Lone

[2:18:20] Pine Canyon redone just

[2:18:22] with the flood that we had in

[2:18:24] 2025. Can you imagine these

[2:18:25] trucks, what that'll cost the

[2:18:27] county going up there? That

[2:18:28] includes the State Road,

[2:18:30] Highway 138 with the trucks

[2:18:32] going there as well. The most

[2:18:33] important thing though is the

[2:18:36] vested rights was not done

[2:18:37] correctly and that has been

[2:18:39] proven. And documents will be

[2:18:40] shared with the Land Use

[2:18:42] Planning Commission and all

[2:18:44] of that that needs

[2:18:45] to be looked at because it'll

[2:18:47] impact as far as earthquakes,

[2:18:48] water quality, all

[2:18:51] of the surrounding communities,

[2:18:52] including Fontana, Devore, all

[2:18:55] the way down to Los Angeles if

[2:18:56] there's an earthquake

[2:18:58] with that drilling that goes

[2:18:59] on there. What's been done

[2:19:01] with the Rosemary Mine

[2:19:04] with the same applicant down

[2:19:06] in Fallbrook is horrific. And

[2:19:08] so we would ask that your board

[2:19:10] step

[2:19:12] in and do do the right thing.

[2:19:14] Make those contacts with your

[2:19:15] state representatives. We know

[2:19:16] you have those partnerships.

[2:19:18] Make those contacts

[2:19:19] with the planning commission.

[2:19:20] We know you have those

[2:19:22] partnerships. We know that

[2:19:23] people are coming up

[2:19:24] for election. We may be 3,000

[2:19:26] people, possibly five.

[2:19:28] But we will be reaching out

[2:19:29] to everyone from here to Los

[2:19:31] Angeles. You can bet on it. So

[2:19:33] we'd like to partnership

[2:19:34] with you to help stop this

[2:19:36] before it goes to litigation.

[2:19:38] We want to Prove.

[2:19:40] >> Thank you very much,

[2:19:41] Kathleen Mitchell, followed

[2:19:43] by Carlos.

[2:19:45] >> Well, hi,

[2:19:46] everybody. I gave you a packet

[2:19:48] of stuff about earthquakes in

[2:19:49] Wrightwood and the history

[2:19:50] of them. But I wanted to let

[2:19:51] you know I actually love the

[2:19:53] San Andreas Fault. San

[2:19:54] Gabriel's used to be down By

[2:19:56] Mexico Just 5 million years

[2:19:57] ago, and they've traveled up

[2:19:58] to their position in

[2:20:00] Wrightwood. In the meantime,

[2:20:02] they've grown. They're one of

[2:20:03] the fastest growing mountain

[2:20:04] ranges in the world. The San

[2:20:05] Gabriels are active and the

[2:20:07] San Andreas Fault is the reason

[2:20:08] because of that. So when I

[2:20:10] heard that there was going to

[2:20:11] be a mine that's actually

[2:20:12] drilling into the San Andreas

[2:20:14] Fault, releasing a lot

[2:20:15] of weight from the San

[2:20:17] Andreas Fault and shaking it,

[2:20:18] I thought

[2:20:20] of the grizzly bears that used

[2:20:21] to live in Lone Pine Canyon

[2:20:22] back in the day. And if you

[2:20:24] came

[2:20:26] across a grizzly bear sleeping

[2:20:27] in Lone Pine Canyon, would you

[2:20:29] poke it? Would you try

[2:20:31] to wake it up? Maybe not the

[2:20:33] best idea. We do expect an

[2:20:36] earthquake, a big one,

[2:20:37] and very likely originating

[2:20:39] in Wrightwood because that's

[2:20:41] the point of a huge amount

[2:20:42] of fault stress. That

[2:20:44] earthquake could start there

[2:20:45] today, any day. I know San

[2:20:47] Andreas runs right

[2:20:48] by you here. So the San

[2:20:50] Andreas is not just for

[2:20:52] Wrightwood, it's for all of

[2:20:53] Southern California. So if

[2:20:55] there's a mining approved pit

[2:20:56] mine approved for the Lone

[2:20:58] Pine Canyon, have you notified

[2:21:01] all the other counties

[2:21:03] of your intention to mess

[2:21:05] around with the San Andreas

[2:21:06] fault? So I think that's only

[2:21:08] fair that Los Angeles county

[2:21:09] and all surrounding counties

[2:21:10] should also know that you're

[2:21:12] going to do a deep mine

[2:21:14] along the San Andreas where

[2:21:16] it's very, very likely

[2:21:18] to be a point of epicenter.

[2:21:20] Thank you.

[2:21:22] >> Thank you very much.

[2:21:24] Carlo, followed by Leticia.

[2:21:36] >> Hello. And it's a little

[2:21:37] difficult to walk

[2:21:38] with one shoe and a sandal. So

[2:21:40] it's kind of cool having

[2:21:44] everybody stand up and speak

[2:21:46] on factors in the community,

[2:21:48] traffic, roads. But they get

[2:21:51] to go home to their families.

[2:21:55] They get

[2:21:57] to go and see their kids. They

[2:21:59] get to go home, put their kids

[2:22:02] in bed

[2:22:05] after having family dinner. No

[2:22:07] one trying to catch up

[2:22:11] to a parent meeting. Right. Or

[2:22:14] class that CFS made them do.

[2:22:18] They get to go home

[2:22:19] to their grandkids without the

[2:22:22] court or a social worker

[2:22:25] telling them that they're a

[2:22:26] detriment all of a sudden

[2:22:28] to meeting with their

[2:22:30] grandchildren that they've had,

[2:22:32] had access with for the last

[2:22:34] five years when the kids were

[2:22:35] taken for a false positive

[2:22:40] from Benadryl. Yeah, Benadryl

[2:22:48] can create a false positive

[2:22:54] test but I also have to talk

[2:22:56] about the issue

[2:22:58] with what does that look like

[2:23:00] for the taxpayer when that's

[2:23:05] proven in court? The CFS

[2:23:07] disregarded that did not care

[2:23:10] and continued

[2:23:12] to remove this child, these

[2:23:14] children, on that false test

[2:23:18] for the last five years,

[2:23:21] dragging this family. What kind

[2:23:27] of business is this? This is

[2:23:30] kidnapping by the state.

[2:23:33] Kidnapping by people. Who are

[2:23:35] these suits? We got

[2:23:36] to stop it.

[2:23:39] >> Letitia Howard, followed

[2:23:40] by Jane Hunt Ruble.

[2:23:55] >> I am here today as a parent

[2:23:57] and as the founder of Safe

[2:23:59] Haven Resource Foundation. I'm

[2:24:00] speaking

[2:24:02] about what's happening within

[2:24:03] San Bernardino County Children

[2:24:04] and Family Services and what is

[2:24:06] happening to families

[2:24:07] like mine. My children were

[2:24:08] removed based

[2:24:09] on a false allegation of a head

[2:24:11] injury that never existed.

[2:24:13] Medical records confirmed there

[2:24:14] was no injury. Despite that,

[2:24:15] my children remain in state

[2:24:17] custody where they have

[2:24:18] suffered many injuries. I

[2:24:20] completed every service that

[2:24:22] was required of me and still my

[2:24:23] children have not been

[2:24:25] returned. This Thursday there's

[2:24:27] a hearing to terminate my

[2:24:28] parental rights. That is not

[2:24:31] about safety, that is not

[2:24:33] about best interest

[2:24:34] of the child. That is a system

[2:24:35] refusing

[2:24:36] to correct its wrongdoing. Two

[2:24:37] weeks ago,

[2:24:39] I provided this board

[2:24:40] with a stack of evidence

[2:24:41] documenting proving the

[2:24:43] unlawful removal

[2:24:44] of my children.

[2:24:45] Since then I've heard nothing.

[2:24:47] No response, no accountability,

[2:24:49] no actions. That silence speaks

[2:24:51] value. For a long time I

[2:24:53] trusted the system. I believed

[2:24:55] that if I did everything right,

[2:24:56] my children would come home.

[2:24:57] But what I learned is that

[2:24:59] compliance does not guarantee

[2:25:00] justice and silence only

[2:25:02] protects the misconduct. So I

[2:25:04] stopped being silent and I

[2:25:06] created Safe Haven Resource

[2:25:07] Foundation. Safe Haven exists

[2:25:09] to make sure that no parent

[2:25:10] goes through this alone. We

[2:25:11] provide families

[2:25:13] with tools they were not given,

[2:25:14] how to document their cases,

[2:25:17] how to build affidavits, how to

[2:25:18] challenge false reports and how

[2:25:20] to protect the parents rights.

[2:25:22] We are also launching workshops

[2:25:24] focused on real action,

[2:25:27] helping parents prepare

[2:25:28] for prepare and file lawsuits

[2:25:31] against the county

[2:25:32] for unlawful separation

[2:25:33] of their families. Because

[2:25:35] families should not have

[2:25:36] to fight this hard

[2:25:38] to be heard. We came

[2:25:39] to this board, we asked

[2:25:40] for oversight, we asked

[2:25:42] for intervention and we. What

[2:25:43] we received was inaction. So

[2:25:45] since this board refuses

[2:25:47] to provide an oversight system,

[2:25:48] we are building our own. We are

[2:25:49] creating a community based on

[2:25:51] supports that actually serve

[2:25:52] parents time.

[2:25:57] >> Jane Hunt Ruble followed

[2:25:59] by Certainly Rice.

[2:26:08] >> Good afternoon. I'm here

[2:26:12] to speak about. I wanted

[2:26:13] to speak out about the item

[2:26:17] 84, but I got out there too

[2:26:19] late because my speech today is

[2:26:22] as usual, about community

[2:26:25] safety and public safety. And

[2:26:28] when I was listening to that,

[2:26:31] I really thank the police, the

[2:26:33] sheriff department and the

[2:26:34] county Fire department because

[2:26:37] over all these years they've

[2:26:39] all worked together,

[2:26:41] unlike some other counties.

[2:26:43] And I remember when Josie was

[2:26:45] in office, we had. Well, we

[2:26:48] have a big problem

[2:26:50] with fireworks still,

[2:26:52] and it's getting worse. And

[2:26:55] that was my. When Josie was

[2:26:57] in office, it used

[2:26:59] to be handled. The actual code

[2:27:00] enforcement law

[2:27:02] about fireworks, it used

[2:27:03] to be handled. We had to phone

[2:27:06] the county fire department

[2:27:09] reported. But then I learned

[2:27:11] they were not responsible. I

[2:27:12] mean, you'd phone it in. But

[2:27:14] of course, the people

[2:27:16] out there now, they. The new

[2:27:17] people that think it's okay

[2:27:18] to set off bombs,

[2:27:19] actually they've been going

[2:27:21] out about it and there's no and

[2:27:22] then it was handed over

[2:27:24] to the sheriff department.

[2:27:26] Took phone in

[2:27:29] on if you hear or see

[2:27:32] fireworks. But that's been. I

[2:27:33] still do it even though I know

[2:27:35] it doesn't work. So I got real

[2:27:36] excited. I think it was last

[2:27:38] year when I heard. I kept

[2:27:39] on asking him, why can't. This

[2:27:41] is totally futile. When I phone

[2:27:43] in, by the time you get

[2:27:45] out there, you don't see them

[2:27:47] doing it and they clean up

[2:27:49] afterwards too. So I'd like to

[2:27:52] see the county fire and county

[2:27:56] sheriff department coordinate

[2:27:58] and actually use drones because

[2:28:00] that's the only damn way we're

[2:28:02] going to stop this. Because I'm

[2:28:03] dreading this year because it

[2:28:05] was really bad last year.

[2:28:09] >> Rice, followed by Amethyst

[2:28:10] Yates.

[2:28:19] >> Hello. Thank you for having

[2:28:22] me today. I did not grow my

[2:28:24] children. I did not spray them

[2:28:25] in the face with oven cleaner.

[2:28:27] I did not beat them than

[2:28:29] for having a Bible. My name is

[2:28:30] Courtney. My children were

[2:28:32] removed because

[2:28:33] of someone else's violence,

[2:28:35] not mine. There was a person

[2:28:36] in their lives who hurt them,

[2:28:37] who beat them,

[2:28:39] who created the danger of them

[2:28:41] that they were living in. I

[2:28:44] stepped in. I tried

[2:28:45] to protect my children

[2:28:47] from the harm. I refused

[2:28:49] to ignore it. I refused

[2:28:51] to stay silent. I refused

[2:28:53] to let them be hurt. And for

[2:28:55] that protecting my own

[2:28:57] children, they were taken

[2:28:59] from me. Even your own findings

[2:29:03] shown that there was no abuse

[2:29:05] by me. You acknowledged that.

[2:29:07] You said I should have full

[2:29:09] custody. Yet instead

[2:29:10] of correcting the situation,

[2:29:12] my children were placed in a

[2:29:13] system that has its own long

[2:29:15] history of harm.

[2:29:17] For seven years,

[2:29:19] my sons have been

[2:29:20] in a group home. My oldest son,

[2:29:22] my child was beaten

[2:29:25] by a staff member

[2:29:26] in a small room,

[2:29:29] a place that was supposed

[2:29:31] to be safe, a place you trusted

[2:29:33] more than his own parents. So I

[2:29:34] asked you,

[2:29:37] how can you say that my son is

[2:29:39] in danger with me, but not in

[2:29:42] danger while being physically

[2:29:43] harmed

[2:29:45] under your supervision? You

[2:29:47] remove them

[2:29:48] from a parent who was trying

[2:29:50] to protect them and place them

[2:29:52] into an environment where they

[2:29:53] were hurt again and ignore the

[2:29:55] history, the patterns,

[2:29:57] the repeated failures

[2:29:58] of these group homes. You

[2:30:00] ignore the warning signs and my

[2:30:03] sons pay the price. This is not

[2:30:05] just about my family. This is

[2:30:08] about civil rights. It's

[2:30:10] about accountability. This is

[2:30:12] about a system that's punishing

[2:30:14] parents who trying to protect

[2:30:15] their children while failing to

[2:30:17] protect the children

[2:30:19] themselves. My sons deserve

[2:30:20] better.

[2:30:22] >> Amethyst Yates followed by

[2:30:25] Andrea.

[2:30:30] >> Good afternoon,

[2:30:32] chair members

[2:30:33] of the board. I found something

[2:30:36] out again about San Bernardino

[2:30:38] county and DCFS and the fact

[2:30:41] that they're not participating

[2:30:43] in some of these attempts

[2:30:45] to better the situation

[2:30:47] for parents and for children.

[2:30:49] One of those things I found out

[2:30:51] was that they are not

[2:30:53] participating in Disrupting

[2:30:55] Disparities group that's going

[2:30:59] clear across California. This

[2:31:02] group comes together to try

[2:31:04] to find solutions to the family

[2:31:05] separation and it's compiled of

[2:31:08] social workers and other

[2:31:10] professionals. However, San

[2:31:12] Bernardino is not a part

[2:31:14] of that. Why is that? Can they

[2:31:18] join in? Can they participate?

[2:31:23] I also want

[2:31:25] to share an opportunity with

[2:31:27] any board member here or any

[2:31:29] social worker or professional.

[2:31:31] There's an event coming up on

[2:31:33] June 5th and it's walking

[2:31:38] in their shoes. It's

[2:31:42] through one of our partners

[2:31:44] at Starting Over Inc. And the

[2:31:46] partner is Families Inspiring

[2:31:47] Reentry and Reunification for

[2:31:49] Everyone. My contact

[2:31:52] information can be provided

[2:31:54] after this. If not,

[2:31:55] I put my email address

[2:31:57] under the comment. So thank

[2:31:59] you.

[2:32:02] >> That's all I got.

[2:32:04] >> Thank you very much,

[2:32:05] Andrea. Followed by Delina

[2:32:06] Murillo.

[2:32:14] >> Good afternoon. You guys

[2:32:17] talked

[2:32:19] about the general fund today.

[2:32:20] That's in going to be

[2:32:22] in a deficit. And the general

[2:32:24] fund is funded by property

[2:32:28] taxes which you guys can't

[2:32:31] really increase. You have an

[2:32:32] uproar by the citizens. It's

[2:32:36] funded by realignment funds

[2:32:38] which include sales tax,

[2:32:42] vehicle licensing fees,

[2:32:45] can't make people buy new cars.

[2:32:47] Also funded by Title 4e funds

[2:32:49] which is for foster care,

[2:32:56] maintenance payments, training

[2:32:58] costs, basically all the costs

[2:33:00] that it costs

[2:33:02] to keep our children from us

[2:33:03] through cps. That's what's

[2:33:05] funding it. So would it be too

[2:33:10] provocative to suggest that the

[2:33:12] general fund deficit is going

[2:33:15] to be funded off the backs

[2:33:17] of our children being removed

[2:33:20] from us. You're right. It's a

[2:33:25] quick, easy way

[2:33:27] to make money. These officers

[2:33:28] and these CPS workers, social

[2:33:30] workers,

[2:33:32] are extremely aggressive. They

[2:33:35] are falsifying documents. They

[2:33:37] are running up

[2:33:38] into people's homes,

[2:33:40] taking their children

[2:33:41] off nothing. They create a

[2:33:45] problem, they create the trauma

[2:33:48] and then they create the

[2:33:50] program that treats the trauma

[2:33:52] to justify their own existence.

[2:33:56] And it keeps the program funded

[2:33:57] and the county funded

[2:33:59] for you guys to be able

[2:34:00] to spend the money. She's not

[2:34:05] lying. I'm embarrassed

[2:34:06] to live here.

[2:34:08] >> Delina Murillo, followed

[2:34:09] by Johnny Murillo.

[2:34:16] >> Good afternoon. My name is

[2:34:17] Delina Murillo, a certified

[2:34:19] human civil rights consultant

[2:34:21] and a mother to Genevieve and

[2:34:23] Jaylene. I am here today

[2:34:25] because I have raised serious

[2:34:27] concerns multiple times and no

[2:34:28] one will give me answers. I

[2:34:30] have contacted Jeannie

[2:34:32] Glasgow, Mia Moore, Lisa

[2:34:35] Smith, Kristin Hines, Kristin

[2:34:37] Brown. Every time I am told,

[2:34:39] we will look into it,

[2:34:41] we will get back to you. And

[2:34:42] then nothing. No follow up, no

[2:34:45] accountability, no answers.

[2:34:48] Instead I am told to go

[2:34:50] through my attorney. But when

[2:34:52] the system itself is failing,

[2:34:55] redirecting a parent is not a

[2:34:56] solution. It's avoidance. Here

[2:34:59] are the issues that remain

[2:35:01] unaddressed. Social worker

[2:35:02] Samaria Roman has shown bias

[2:35:04] and and lack of neutrality.

[2:35:07] Reports contain omissions,

[2:35:08] misrepresentations and hearsay.

[2:35:10] Not clear and convincing

[2:35:11] evidence. Social workers are

[2:35:13] signing reports about

[2:35:15] visitation they have never

[2:35:16] personally observed Supervisor

[2:35:18] signing reports appear to have

[2:35:19] inactive or invalid license

[2:35:21] based on public records. And

[2:35:24] still these reports are being

[2:35:26] used in court. There are

[2:35:28] serious due process violations.

[2:35:29] Evidence is being ignored.

[2:35:31] Reports are being withheld

[2:35:33] from the Grand Prix even

[2:35:34] after they filed

[2:35:36] for visitation. Grandparents

[2:35:37] are placed

[2:35:39] on supervised visits based

[2:35:40] on a hearsay from guardians who

[2:35:41] are the neutral but active

[2:35:43] parties seeking adoption.

[2:35:44] These grandparents were never

[2:35:46] properly considered

[2:35:47] for placement

[2:35:48] from the beginning. And most

[2:35:50] importantly, the guardians were

[2:35:51] never properly licensed

[2:35:53] during fostering,

[2:35:55] guardianship or until February

[2:35:57] 25 of 26. Over multiple years

[2:36:00] they have had my children been

[2:36:01] not compliance

[2:36:03] under the state. So who isn't

[2:36:05] there? Who's verifying all

[2:36:07] these compliances? Because

[2:36:10] right now it appears not none

[2:36:11] of one of you guys. No one in

[2:36:13] position is how does a home

[2:36:15] remain unlicensed for years?

[2:36:16] Johnny Murillo followed by

[2:36:21] Chena Hampton. Good afternoon

[2:36:36] everyone. I did not grope my

[2:36:39] child. I did not spray my child

[2:36:41] in the face with oven cleaner.

[2:36:43] I did not beat my child or the

[2:36:44] Bible. My name is Shay. Yet

[2:36:48] despite all

[2:36:49] of you that you guys have heard

[2:36:51] about me, I have been treated

[2:36:52] as if I have been judged

[2:36:54] already misrepresented and

[2:36:56] pushed through the system that

[2:36:57] I did not get the time to get

[2:36:59] the truth out. A social worker

[2:37:02] Foster 5 and Foster

[2:37:04] by information allegations

[2:37:07] about me for my son. My son was

[2:37:09] taken out

[2:37:12] of my custody and placed

[2:37:15] with someone else due

[2:37:18] to the fact my son was placed

[2:37:20] in foster care.

[2:37:23] But my son end up living out

[2:37:24] of state with his girlfriend.

[2:37:26] So as I found out that the

[2:37:28] county is paying this foster

[2:37:30] parent for my son a place

[2:37:33] to stay, I also was paying her

[2:37:35] too, out of my own pocket.

[2:37:38] This foster parent was getting

[2:37:40] $1275

[2:37:44] from the state and was getting

[2:37:45] $500 from. For me. Now when I

[2:37:47] talk to different social

[2:37:48] workers and everybody danced me

[2:37:50] around, talk to this person,

[2:37:52] call this person. Oh, we're

[2:37:53] going to look into it.

[2:37:55] Nothing's been done. So I'm

[2:37:57] here today to speak. This is

[2:37:59] more than just raising concerns

[2:38:00] for my son. It's so many other

[2:38:02] kids that are going

[2:38:03] through this for people

[2:38:05] to talk

[2:38:06] about getting foster care money

[2:38:08] through the system while

[2:38:11] they're bragging about buying

[2:38:12] $3,000 purses. I have a sworn

[2:38:14] affidavit of my son coming

[2:38:16] to get money for me cleaning

[2:38:18] supplies and me still

[2:38:22] furnishing paying where he was

[2:38:26] not living at. And no social

[2:38:28] worker, no one talked

[2:38:31] to him. I don't understand,

[2:38:32] like,

[2:38:33] how did this even get by?

[2:39:02] >> Good morning, Board of

[2:39:06] Supervisors. I had a speech cut

[2:39:08] out already, but I decided

[2:39:10] to not bring it up. I decided

[2:39:11] to just do it on the fly.

[2:39:19] Paul. Ms. Rowe, Jesse, the one

[2:39:22] that's running, which is a

[2:39:24] joke, and I'm going

[2:39:26] to be very frank. I'm upset

[2:39:27] at the fact that I have reached

[2:39:28] out multiple times as a

[2:39:30] consultant,

[2:39:31] as a project manager to try

[2:39:32] to see how we can build a gap,

[2:39:34] bridge the gap, you know,

[2:39:36] and the gap

[2:39:37] between the constituents of

[2:39:39] San Bernardino that are very

[2:39:40] upset. All these families that

[2:39:41] have been affected so

[2:39:43] drastically. And I keep coming

[2:39:44] to you guys time after time.

[2:39:47] Jesse, you're. I mean, I don't

[2:39:49] even know why you're running.

[2:39:51] I'm a little embarrassed

[2:39:53] for your, the rest

[2:39:54] of your team that's in front of

[2:39:56] you. I've con. I've asked you,

[2:39:57] what are you doing

[2:39:59] to help CFS families? How are

[2:40:01] you helping this issue? And you

[2:40:02] haven't done anything. Why

[2:40:04] haven't you reached out

[2:40:06] to me, Jesse? I'm curious. You

[2:40:08] hear multiple families coming

[2:40:09] month after month

[2:40:11] after month,

[2:40:13] and not a single one

[2:40:14] of you guys has done anything

[2:40:16] to try to resolve this. You

[2:40:17] guys created a consulting gig

[2:40:18] for it,

[2:40:20] and then you guys handed it

[2:40:21] off

[2:40:22] to somebody that was internal

[2:40:23] within you guys. What's up

[2:40:25] with that? Come on, Ms. Rowe.

[2:40:27] I'm talking to you directly. Why

[2:40:28] haven't you reached out? Why

[2:40:29] haven't you done anything

[2:40:30] on your end to try

[2:40:32] to see how we can codify this,

[2:40:34] how that we can come up

[2:40:35] with a solution together. Or is

[2:40:37] it that you just plainly and

[2:40:38] blatantly do not give a flying

[2:40:40] fuck? Because I think that's

[2:40:43] what's happening here at this

[2:40:45] point. I'm seeing that not a

[2:40:46] single one

[2:40:48] of you guys have taken the time

[2:40:51] to address these families. You

[2:40:53] guys have CFS representatives

[2:40:56] come and talk with.

[2:41:00] >> Roxanne Lewis followed by

[2:41:03] Nicole Norris. Actually, you

[2:41:05] cut my mic off. I was at

[2:41:07] under two minutes. Roxanne

[2:42:19] Lewis. Do we have Roxanne

[2:42:23] Lewis in chambers? Going once.

[2:42:25] Moving on to Nicole Norris.

[2:42:30] And after Nicole Norris will be

[2:42:31] Terry Lewis.

[2:42:34] >> My name is Nicole Norris. I

[2:42:36] grew up in the foster system. I

[2:42:38] was taken from my grandmother

[2:42:39] because my mother was abusing

[2:42:41] me and my sisters and brothers.

[2:42:43] And they gave me to my

[2:42:44] grandmother where I was very

[2:42:46] happy. Late at night they came

[2:42:47] and they took us back from her

[2:42:48] because they said she was too

[2:42:49] old

[2:42:50] to raise two little girls.

[2:42:52] They put us

[2:42:53] in another foster home with a

[2:42:54] lady who was even older than my

[2:42:55] grandmother,

[2:42:56] who never showed me any love,

[2:42:57] who never said, I love you,

[2:42:59] never came to none of my

[2:43:00] anything and never helped me

[2:43:01] with anything. It was

[2:43:02] like being on my own

[2:43:03] without the physical abuse, but

[2:43:05] mental abuse and now counseling

[2:43:06] and riddling to make me just

[2:43:08] sit there because they didn't

[2:43:11] care. And I just don't feel

[2:43:13] like it's fair that these

[2:43:15] families are being. Some

[2:43:16] of us were okay

[2:43:17] with our other family members,

[2:43:18] but we were still taken

[2:43:19] from them and put into the

[2:43:21] system that didn't treat us

[2:43:23] well at all. I just think that

[2:43:25] you guys have the power

[2:43:29] to change all that. I mean,

[2:43:31] you guys have that. You guys

[2:43:33] are smart. You guys went

[2:43:35] to school for this. And I know

[2:43:40] you guys can make a change

[2:43:41] for us. Just help us. Please

[2:43:42] help the other children. Thank

[2:43:43] you.

[2:43:45] >> Thank you. Terry Lewis,

[2:43:46] followed by Karen Reich. It

[2:43:47] was.

[2:43:52] >> My name is Terry Lewis. It

[2:43:54] was almost two years ago when

[2:43:55] my sister and I first started

[2:43:57] coming here about my niece and

[2:43:58] nephew being put into foster

[2:44:00] care. I'm the one who was the

[2:44:01] reporting party. And I called

[2:44:03] not based on any allegations of

[2:44:04] abuse or neglect or anything. I

[2:44:07] was looking for help for my

[2:44:08] niece because she has issues.

[2:44:10] I'll just say that issues. I

[2:44:12] called the sheriffs and talked

[2:44:14] to them, asked

[2:44:16] to get her evaluated. Nobody

[2:44:17] can do anything. And she had

[2:44:19] had a previous case

[2:44:21] at the hospital with cps. A

[2:44:23] social worker called CPS and

[2:44:27] they. Anyway, she completed a

[2:44:28] successful. Yeah, our whole

[2:44:32] family Participated

[2:44:34] in this case and we can. What

[2:44:37] was it called? Successfully?

[2:44:39] Yeah, it was closed

[2:44:40] successfully. Anyhow, I had

[2:44:42] called, they told me from

[2:44:43] Fontana, if I called,

[2:44:45] if I noticed any other

[2:44:46] problems,

[2:44:47] to please let them know. And

[2:44:48] they seemed

[2:44:49] to genuinely care. And I was

[2:44:51] at my wits end. And so I did,

[2:44:52] I called. But my mistake was I

[2:44:53] didn't call Fontana, where the

[2:44:55] people that they seemed

[2:44:57] to care, they were happy we

[2:44:59] successfully finished our case.

[2:45:03] Anyhow, I called the 800 number

[2:45:05] because I had lost the lady's

[2:45:06] number. And they came out

[2:45:09] like gangbusters, predators.

[2:45:10] Anyway, this is unacceptable. I

[2:45:13] don't know how you guys can sit

[2:45:14] there and listen

[2:45:16] to these people. I'm

[2:45:17] in tears listening

[2:45:18] to these people's stories. And

[2:45:20] you guys sit there week after,

[2:45:21] you don't even care. You

[2:45:22] haven't done anything. You

[2:45:24] provide funding

[2:45:25] to defend this shit. You

[2:45:27] instead

[2:45:29] of reform it and reunify. What

[2:45:30] happened to reunification? My

[2:45:32] niece and nephew have been

[2:45:33] in there almost two years

[2:45:35] for no reason. Our family, why

[2:45:39] aren't they following their own

[2:45:40] wit codes? And we're supposed

[2:45:42] to trust you people to be

[2:45:44] in charge? Oh, they might get

[2:45:45] adopted out.

[2:45:47] On what allegations? And you're

[2:45:49] supposed to go to family

[2:45:50] members who want them. The

[2:45:51] great grandmother wants them.

[2:45:53] The grandmother wants them,

[2:45:54] the aunt wants them.

[2:45:58] >> Karen Reich, followed by

[2:45:59] Steven Rogers.

[2:46:04] >> Hi, my name is Karen

[2:46:06] Reich. These were my two

[2:46:07] grandkids, Jovi, Milo and

[2:46:09] Chase. Well, three that were

[2:46:11] removed almost two years ago

[2:46:13] for no reason. They came

[2:46:15] on the first day of the

[2:46:17] investigation and they removed

[2:46:20] them. This is unacceptable.

[2:46:22] Two years for nothing. They

[2:46:24] weren't abused,

[2:46:26] they weren't neglected. They

[2:46:28] were in my care. What have we

[2:46:29] done so bad that we don't

[2:46:31] deserve to raise our own

[2:46:34] children? I want to know what

[2:46:36] I've done so bad that I don't

[2:46:38] deserve

[2:46:39] to have my own grandchildren

[2:46:40] in my career. I want

[2:46:41] to adopt them. I want them

[2:46:43] with me. But

[2:46:44] for some reason this,

[2:46:46] this guy ruled me out. Why?

[2:46:48] Why? Why did was I ruled out?

[2:46:52] Because CPS tricked us and got

[2:46:56] the kids from us. Now they're

[2:46:57] saying we failed

[2:46:59] to protect them from them. We

[2:47:01] failed to protect them

[2:47:03] from them. CPS themselves,

[2:47:04] have you ever heard

[2:47:06] of such a thing? It's

[2:47:09] unacceptable. Jeanne Glasgow,

[2:47:12] Betty Thompson Larkin, Dana

[2:47:14] Faulkner. They all need held

[2:47:16] accountable. All this is

[2:47:17] happening under Jeannie

[2:47:19] Glasgow's watch. She needs

[2:47:20] removed. That's all I have. I

[2:47:22] want my grandchildren home now.

[2:47:27] >> Steven Rogers, followed by

[2:47:28] Dennis Delamar.

[2:47:43] >> Honorable Chair Rowe.

[2:47:44] Steve Rogers, Redlands. I was

[2:47:47] here two meetings ago and

[2:47:52] after the meeting. I tried

[2:47:54] to make a request to meet

[2:47:57] with the CEO

[2:47:59] about what I was talking

[2:48:01] about and actually put

[2:48:03] in a request

[2:48:05] with the information folks.

[2:48:07] But I never received any other,

[2:48:10] any other communication

[2:48:15] from the county on my request

[2:48:17] to set up a meeting. I mean,

[2:48:19] in the old days I used

[2:48:20] to be able to go up to the

[2:48:22] fifth or sixth floor and,

[2:48:24] and set up these kinds

[2:48:26] of appointments. Now, I guess

[2:48:27] for security purposes. All I'm

[2:48:31] trying to say,

[2:48:32] it's very difficult

[2:48:33] to set something up. And this

[2:48:35] is the reason I come

[2:48:36] to the meeting today.

[2:48:40] Basically. I just recently came

[2:48:42] to understand that complaints

[2:48:43] that I made to the fraud,

[2:48:46] Waste and Abuse Unit have been

[2:48:48] referred

[2:48:52] to the district attorney.

[2:48:53] >> But the district attorney

[2:48:56] isn't doing anything. And this

[2:48:57] is what I want to meet

[2:48:58] with the CEO about is why there

[2:49:00] are certain factions here that

[2:49:03] apparently don't respond

[2:49:08] to the citizens. And I'm very,

[2:49:12] you know,

[2:49:13] my problems are nothing

[2:49:14] compared to these people that

[2:49:16] bare coming up here. Every time

[2:49:17] I come to the meeting I hear

[2:49:19] this and I agree with them.

[2:49:21] Something needs to be done.

[2:49:22] And really, it's a shame. It is

[2:49:26] really shameful

[2:49:29] to be a resident

[2:49:30] of this county. And our leaders

[2:49:34] apparently don't care

[2:49:36] about us and don't care

[2:49:38] about our problems.

[2:49:44] >> Dennis Delamater Delamar

[2:49:49] followed by Krisha Seal

[2:49:53] >> So Psalms 127:3 says,

[2:49:55] Children are an inheritance

[2:49:57] from Yahuwah. The fruit

[2:49:58] of the womb is reward. So what

[2:50:00] that means is that the Creator

[2:50:01] gives us parents rights,

[2:50:03] right? My children were taken

[2:50:04] away

[2:50:05] for four and two days based

[2:50:06] off the allegations,

[2:50:08] false allegations

[2:50:09] of a social worker. This system

[2:50:10] is reminiscent

[2:50:12] of slavery. I'll tell you why.

[2:50:13] Because there was a doctrine

[2:50:14] that they used called parents

[2:50:16] patriae, right? And that meant

[2:50:17] that the county or the state

[2:50:19] was the parent, right, that we

[2:50:20] don't have rights. I saw them

[2:50:22] lie and be able to like in

[2:50:24] slavery days. I'm a descendant

[2:50:27] of slave of a slave, right?

[2:50:29] Slaves saw them just take it.

[2:50:31] So I couldn't do nothing. I was

[2:50:33] powerless. So the issue is also

[2:50:35] In California there's 400,000

[2:50:38] allegations a year. No

[2:50:40] oversight,

[2:50:43] there's no family review board.

[2:50:45] Where's the family review board

[2:50:47] to track the numbers, right?

[2:50:50] It can't be about money.

[2:50:52] Because the things say in

[2:50:54] Malachi 4. 6 that the

[2:50:59] Creator, he will turn the

[2:51:02] hearts of the fathers

[2:51:03] to thechildren and children

[2:51:04] of the fathers. And if it don't

[2:51:10] happen, guess what he say? He

[2:51:12] said he will come and smite the

[2:51:14] earth with a curse. So this is

[2:51:16] what we're talking about.

[2:51:17] We're talking about Malachi

[2:51:19] 4. 6, that y' all got

[2:51:20] to figure it out. Because San

[2:51:22] Bernardino going to be

[2:51:23] in a world of trouble. Not

[2:51:24] from us, but from Yahuwah.

[2:51:25] Because y' all are separating

[2:51:27] rights of parents. And you can

[2:51:29] turn the blind eye,

[2:51:30] but your life is at stake.

[2:51:32] Your life is at stake. Your

[2:51:34] eternal life. That's it.

[2:51:48] >> My name is Krisha Kale. I've

[2:51:49] been up here a few times and

[2:51:51] I'm just gonna wing it this

[2:51:53] time because it's not like we

[2:51:55] expect a reaction because

[2:51:56] that's what we've been getting.

[2:51:58] Some of us been coming up here

[2:51:59] for years and. And years

[2:52:01] with no reaction,

[2:52:02] not even blink of your eye.

[2:52:03] Some of you guys sit up here,

[2:52:04] can make choices,

[2:52:05] but you stare

[2:52:06] at your phone instead

[2:52:07] of paying attention

[2:52:08] to what's going on. How many

[2:52:09] people got to come in here

[2:52:10] before you say, it's not an

[2:52:12] isolated incident no more? If

[2:52:13] you talk

[2:52:14] to anybody who's been up here,

[2:52:15] 90% of them is going

[2:52:16] to tell you perjury, Perjury,

[2:52:17] which is a crime,

[2:52:18] played a role

[2:52:20] in their kids not coming home.

[2:52:21] Perjury that your department

[2:52:22] probably teaches the social

[2:52:24] workers how to do. It's a big

[2:52:25] RICO act. All you guys are

[2:52:26] working together,

[2:52:27] whether you know it or not.

[2:52:28] When you remove a domestic

[2:52:30] violence person

[2:52:31] from the home, you go back and

[2:52:33] you make a report to cfs and

[2:52:34] the CFS comes and take that

[2:52:35] person's children because she

[2:52:37] failed to protect herself

[2:52:38] from an abuser and failed

[2:52:40] to protect her kids. Do you

[2:52:42] guys know that? Do you know

[2:52:44] that you play a role

[2:52:47] in these kids being removed

[2:52:49] from homes? So that person

[2:52:51] becomes a victim two times.

[2:52:52] And let's talk about last

[2:52:54] May, a year to the date. Six

[2:52:55] kids found starving in a home

[2:52:57] under CFS care in

[2:52:59] Victorville, California, ages

[2:53:01] 5 to 16. Have you made any

[2:53:04] changes to your organization

[2:53:05] since that happened? No, you

[2:53:08] haven't. Glasgow still

[2:53:11] in charge. Miya Moore still

[2:53:13] under her

[2:53:15] in every department. Not one

[2:53:16] person have you replaced since

[2:53:18] those six kids were found

[2:53:20] starving. How you starve a kid

[2:53:23] starving in their home under

[2:53:25] CFF care? CFS placed them

[2:53:28] there. Could those kids have

[2:53:30] one home? Could they have went

[2:53:33] home? Did they have parents who

[2:53:35] wanted them home. I'm sure they

[2:53:38] did. You guys celebrate

[2:53:40] adoption, but you don't mention

[2:53:42] the crying parents. It's like,

[2:53:43] wait a minute. I completed

[2:53:45] every course, I went

[2:53:46] to every class, but I don't

[2:53:48] give my kid back because how

[2:53:49] some social worker feels?

[2:53:52] >> Thank you very much. That is

[2:53:53] the last request

[2:53:54] to speak that I have. Our

[2:53:55] meeting stands adjourned. Our

[2:53:57] next regularly scheduled board

[2:53:58] of supervisors meeting will be

[2:54:00] held here in chambers, May 19th

Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting on 2026-05-05 10:00 AM

Agenda

Transcript