[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:22] Good evening, everyone. Welcome to tonight's meeting of the Escondido City Council. Please rise for a moment of reflection and remain standing for the flag salute.
[0:31] Yes, please join me in a moment of reflection. We come to get tonight to say thank you. Thank you for the privilege, the blessing, the honor it is to serve here in the city of Escondido. We come to get tonight as diverse community. I'll commute from backgrounds, different beliefs, different presence in different futures.
[0:50] one common goal that is the betterment of this city. We come together tonight to seek guidance, wisdom, and discernment during deliberations that transpire this evening, and in doing so we lift up Councilmember Fitzgerald, Councilmember Christian Garcia, Councilmember Martinez, Deputy Mayor Joe Garcia, and Mayor White.
[1:08] May they be granted peace and wisdom as they lead our city into a bright and prosperous future.
[1:12] All
[1:18] right.
[1:36] We'll call this meeting to order and do roll call. Councilmember Fitzgerald.
[1:40] President.
[1:41] Councilman Christian Garcia.
[1:42] Here.
[1:43] Councilman Martinez.
[1:44] Present.
[1:45] Deputy Mayor Garcia.
[1:47] Here.
[1:48] And I, Mayor White, am here.
[1:49] We'll move on to National Community Planning Month.
[1:52] And whoever is part of that, please join me down at the podium.
[2:14] It's writing a small and smaller time.
[2:20] Okay, for National Community Planning Month,
[2:22] whereas National Community Planning Month provides an opportunity
[2:25] to recognize the importance of thoughtful community planning
[2:28] and the dedicated professionals, community leaders, residents, and stakeholders who help
[2:33] shape the future of our community.
[2:35] And whereas, effective planning helps communities thoughtfully consider land use, housing,
[2:40] transportation, infrastructure, economic vitality, environmental stewardship, public spaces,
[2:46] and the many factors that contribute to a strong and sustainable quality of life.
[2:50] And whereas, community planning is a collaborative process that benefits from the knowledge, experience,
[2:56] events, ideas, and participation of residents, businesses, community organizations, property
[3:01] owners, and public servants working together to understand community needs and priorities.
[3:07] And whereas the City of Escondito recognizes that thoughtful planning helps preserve the
[3:10] character and unique qualities of our community while creating opportunities for responsible
[3:15] growth, investment, revitalization, and continued prosperity.
[3:19] And whereas Escondito planners and community development professionals serve an important
[3:23] public role by providing expertise, coordinating complex projects, engaging the community and
[3:29] helping guide the responsible development and stewardship of our city.
[3:33] And whereas National Community Planning Month encourages residents to learn more about
[3:37] the planning process, participate in civic discussions, and contribute their perspectives towards building
[3:43] a community that serves present and future generations.
[3:46] And whereas the City of Escondito is grateful for the many individuals who contribute their
[3:50] time, knowledge, professional expertise, community perspective, to the ongoing work of envisioning,
[3:56] planning, and strengthening our shared community. Now therefore, I dain white mayor of the city
[4:00] of Escondito do hereby proclaim October 2026 as national community planning month in the city of
[4:06] Escondito and encourage all residents to recognize the value of thoughtful planning and meaningful community
[4:12] participation in creating a vibrant welcoming and prosperous Escondito for generations to come.
[4:17] Thank you
[4:25] appreciate it. Thank you so much. I want to see a couple of words this evening if I can take a couple of moments again. Yeah, thank you mayor.
[4:34] Really, really appreciate it council. All city management for recognizing October as national community planning month and highlighting the importance of community planning and shape in the city's future.
[4:46] My name is Garrett Smith. I'm the city planner here with the development services department and
[4:50] joint tonight by a number of my colleagues. Some up here with me, some sprinkled in the crowd,
[4:55] but I wanted to acknowledge this group and the countless people in all the departments of the
[5:01] city that work tirelessly every single day working for the community and various aspects attached to
[5:07] or directly part of community planning. You know, community planning is really more than maps,
[5:13] regulations, development proposals, and plans.
[5:18] It really is at its heart about the people establishing a shared vision with the community
[5:24] members and really looking towards creating a future where we live and work in a place
[5:31] that is desirable for us and our children and their children.
[5:35] Planning helps us identify what values we strive for and really look towards more equitable
[5:40] resilient community.
[5:41] Although community planning work, or I'm sorry, through community planning work, we do aim to thoughtfully plan for infrastructure, transportation, housing, parks, economic development, and looking towards that future growth.
[5:55] We definitely are grateful for the residents of the community, businesses, stakeholders, and the various organizations that greatly care for the city and participate in all sorts of different public processes, whether it be here tonight, or out in the park on the Saturday.
[6:10] today talking about community planning.
[6:13] We're also appreciative of our elected officials
[6:15] and city management who really try to strike that balance
[6:19] in community priorities, making decisions
[6:22] and strategically investing in efforts both
[6:24] to address current needs that we're dealing with right now
[6:27] as well as the future.
[6:29] As we celebrate National Community Planning Month,
[6:31] we really thank everybody who contribute their time
[6:34] and energy to make Escondido an even better place
[6:37] to live, work, and enjoy future generations.
[6:41] So, thank you for everybody.
[6:50] From Muck Shots.
[7:58] All
[8:17] right, before we move on to public comments and the consent calendar, I do want to update you all that item 15 has been pulled from the agenda tonight and a tentative agreement has been reached that will allow the artwork to remain in place, but I did want to say one thing.
[8:33] I
[8:38] have been somewhat disheartened by this whole process, and while I appreciate the many passionate people who involve themselves in this, to my knowledge nobody reached out directly to the homeowner and had a simple conversation.
[8:55] Ultimately, that's what was needed, and listening to the concerns on both sides and finding a reasonable path forward.
[9:01] That conversation has happened, and I'm glad it appears we have reached a solution.
[9:05] Moving forward, the city will be crafting a policy that will require permission from individuals and
[9:12] property owners whose private property and or persons personal likeness is incorporated into public art.
[9:18] But I'm happy to announce the artwork we'll stay.
[9:21] Thank you.
[9:26] Non-agenda public comment.
[9:29] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
[9:30] Yes, we have three.
[9:30] First is Nellie.
[9:42] It will be at the center podium.
[9:43] Yeah, yeah, right there, perfect.
[9:45] Thank you.
[9:50] Good evening, Mayor and Council members.
[9:59] I'm here tonight to speak about the city of Escondito's contract with ICE, and more importantly, about the voices of the students and young people who live in the city.
[10:07] A couple months ago, multiple schools across Escondito held student walkouts in response to ICE and the cities continued contract with them.
[10:16] Students took time out of their school day to make their voices heard, and to show that this issue matters to us.
[10:21] But despite those walkouts, despite students speaking out and despite the concerns being raised by young people in this community, the contract is still in place.
[10:32] That sends a message to students like me that our voices aren't being heard. And that's incredibly frustrating.
[10:40] These past months have been some of our scariest. Me alongside countless others, attend school stressing over whether if today is the last day we get to see a friend at school due to ice.
[10:50] Something this council needs to recognize is that young people are not just future members
[10:55] of this community.
[10:56] We are members of this community right now.
[10:59] We go to Escondito schools, we live in Escondito neighborhoods, and we have families, friends,
[11:04] experiences that are directly affected by decisions made in this room.
[11:08] When students across the city organize walk-outs to tell their government that they are concerned,
[11:13] those voices deserve to be listened to, not dismissed because we are young.
[11:19] With Escondito being a city where more than half of the population identifies as Hispanic
[11:24] or Latino, it's even more important that our city government considers how its decisions
[11:28] affect the people who actually live here.
[11:31] I'm asking this council to listen to the students who have already spoken, to the families who
[11:36] are concerned, and to the community members who have asked you to reconsider this contract.
[11:40] You have the ability to show young people that participating in our community actually matters.
[11:44] Please don't make us feel like our voices only matter when it's convenient to hear them.
[11:49] Thank you.
[11:56] Our next speaker is Maria Wallace.
[12:10] Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers.
[12:13] Currently, we're ignoring the Constitution.
[12:16] There is no rule of law. We have no due process.
[12:19] And we have a racist and stupid precedent that is vain and only cares about building projects dedicated to himself and ignores the American people.
[12:30] You four republicans go along with a national agenda and you're happy to let them pull your string like puppets because you're afraid to do the job.
[12:40] You're elected to do by the residents of Escondilo.
[12:43] In the meantime, I continue to give up and terrorize our neighbors.
[12:49] I continue to use our shooting range so later they can practice on us the residents of our city.
[12:56] and you have remained in complete silence.
[13:00] Mr. Joe Garcia, Christian Garcia, both of you look very proud
[13:05] to be celebrating El Grito de Independencia.
[13:09] However, you have no shame in voting
[13:12] for policies that hurt our Latino community.
[13:15] Mr. Judith Fitzgerald, you're very concerned
[13:18] about people being trafficked,
[13:20] but you have no problem supporting the trafficker.
[13:24] According to NPR program, 1A Gen White states that the federal government is paying about
[13:30] $1 million for immigrants to be taken to countries like Sierra Leone.
[13:36] Our own government is doing the human trafficking.
[13:40] Our own government is selling human things.
[13:43] Do you ever think about that?
[13:45] Do the right thing, Council.
[13:48] Council, don't renew the ice range contract.
[13:53] Thank you.
[13:57] Our next speaker is Lisa Richards.
[14:10] Lisa Richards, very, very simple. In the weekly meetings or weekly reports, everyone gives a weekly report.
[14:20] I haven't really heard City Manager give a weekly report.
[14:24] Basically, it's a no report this week, except when it was hot, and then the report was a tough.
[14:31] So what I'm interested in, and I think what people are interested in,
[14:37] What kind of grants and monies are we applying for?
[14:41] What are things that city manager manages?
[14:45] What are new priorities, things of that sort, so that we know the meat of what's going on.
[14:53] If that makes any sense.
[14:55] Short and sweet, it's all I wanted to say.
[14:57] Thank you.
[14:59] Wait, one more.
[15:00] Speaker, Mr. Mayor, you, Seth Miller.
[15:14] Good evening, my name is you, Seth Miller, and I'm here about the ICE range as well. And I applaud all the people who came before me to speak to close this ICE range, to speak on the unity which you speak in one voice, to say that we stand with our citizens, the people who live here that are in fear, that are in terror of ICE, and the ability to shoot them down in the street is what we're actually training here.
[15:42] That is the horror that we've been seeing throughout the country.
[15:45] That is the horror that we don't want to see here in this city, and we don't want to see it anywhere where the shooter has actually come from Escondito.
[15:53] We need to stand with each other in solidarity when it comes to the ethics of this whole situation.
[15:59] That not Escondito, not Escondito to be responsible for training people to fire and shoot at people and harm them, just for trying to be in America for a better life.
[16:10] We have our brothers and sisters of Latinx origin who are terrified just to go to events
[16:15] We have our brothers and sisters from Haitian origin who now have to close their events so that because they're afraid of
[16:22] People being rounded up whether they are on the list or not
[16:26] These brothers and sisters from Haiti Latinx wherever they're from they didn't come here to harm our nation
[16:33] They came here for a better life just like many other people and just like those other people
[16:38] what they want to do is contribute to our society.
[16:41] They come here to Escondito and they contribute,
[16:43] they come to San Diego, they contribute,
[16:45] they contribute wherever they go.
[16:47] But we have villainized them, we have tracked them down,
[16:50] we've hunted them down, and we've exported people,
[16:53] and some people who didn't deserve to be taken out
[16:56] or our nation.
[16:57] We've done this before in our history,
[16:58] and we have to apologize.
[17:00] We've done this to our brothers and sisters
[17:02] when it was the Mexican Repatriation Act in the 30s.
[17:05] And then we had to apologize because most of those people didn't deserve to be rounded
[17:10] up and sent out of this country just because they had a Latin last name.
[17:15] They were blamed for the great depression.
[17:20] So when we sent all of our brothers and sisters, some of who were actual citizens of this country,
[17:24] we made the great mistake and we had to apologize.
[17:27] Are we setting ourselves up for another tragedy that we have to apologize for because we should
[17:32] of known better from the history that we've had,
[17:35] rounding people up for the Japanese internment,
[17:37] for all kinds of things,
[17:39] we're rounding people up,
[17:40] sending them back down south into slavery,
[17:42] all the roundups we've done in this country,
[17:43] and we haven't learned,
[17:45] and we accept this with a new face to it,
[17:48] a new reason, a new explanation,
[17:51] and we sit back and we just accept it
[17:53] and say, oh, this meets my immigration goals.
[17:57] No matter how it's implemented,
[17:59] it meets my immigration goals,
[18:00] we need to put a humanity first,
[18:01] We need to put our hearts first, and we need to put our citizens first.
[18:05] And here in Nescan Dito, we're saying do not support this range, close the contract,
[18:10] so we do not contribute to the harm of our citizens.
[18:15] No further comment.
[18:18] Okay.
[18:19] Tonight on consent, items 1 through 8 and 12 through 14 are on consent, correct?
[18:26] Correct.
[18:26] Item number 9, 10, 11 have been pulled.
[18:28] Perfect.
[18:28] I'll make a motion to approve items 1 through 8 and 12, 13, 14.
[18:34] The motion is approved by
[18:46] 0,
[18:49] which brings us to item 9.
[18:51] Yes, and we have one public comment on this, Greg Oliver.
[18:55] As your reminders, Mr. Oliver comes forward when it's pulled from the public, staff presentation not required unless the council requests so.
[19:01] So, Mr. Oliver will deliver his comments right now.
[19:07] Hello, council. I had a couple of questions on item 9.
[19:11] For AB 118 and SB 89, individuals supervised under state realignment can move freely between
[19:19] Escondito and neighboring communities.
[19:22] How does the police department coordinate with San Diego County probation and nearby police
[19:28] agencies so that local officers don't waste grant funds duplicating monitoring work, being
[19:34] handled by county probation officers?
[19:37] That's one question.
[19:37] The second question is,
[19:43] resolution 2026154 explicitly mandates that grant funds shall not be used to supplant expenditures controlled by the City Council.
[19:53] What accounting controls are enforced by the police and finance departments to verify that these funds strictly support new supplemental monitoring activities rather than offsetting existing department operational costs.
[20:06] So those are my two questions.
[20:09] Thank you, Mr. Oliver.
[20:11] We will have either the police chief or a member of his staff get back to you with
[20:16] those.
[20:17] You're welcome.
[20:18] Perfect.
[20:21] Are we supposed to answer questions from the public during this time?
[20:24] You can if it's a legend asking the city manager.
[20:26] We can or we can take the, we can get the information.
[20:31] Sometimes the questions are not necessarily pertinent to acceptance of a grant.
[20:35] There were some questions there that might, again, require the finance department to, so it's your choice of which way you want to go.
[20:44] Would you please have either you or a member of your staff reach out to Mr. Oliver and answer his questions?
[20:48] I have a question. Are you able to, do you have any of the responses now, or do you need to get back?
[20:54] Are you able to answer the, it's, I don't know if it's a simple question, I answer, or do you need time to get back?
[20:59] If you can, I'd like to hear the answer.
[21:02] Okay, great.
[21:06] We'll have him get back to Mr. Oliver.
[21:07] I'm going to go ahead and make a motion to approve item 9
[21:10] and ask for a second.
[21:12] Perfect. Motion in second.
[21:14] Are there any other questions?
[21:15] I'd like to hear the answer.
[21:16] Is there a reason we're not letting him answer now, Mayor?
[21:19] Because it's not pertinent to the acceptance of the grant.
[21:23] Okay, but somebody has a question and it's agenda.
[21:25] As we will, we can answer.
[21:26] But we can ask questions.
[21:27] Please go. You're choosing not to answer the question.
[21:30] is this isn't on my voting thing you'd have to go to the consent calendar it'll
[21:35] auto-populate again and you can just vote on consent it'll be for this item the
[21:38] next item I remember level is already pulled the chamber so we do individual you
[21:42] can vote just on the consent calendar and it'll be logged for this particular item but
[21:46] we already we already love so you're resetting it yeah okay and I just want to
[21:49] say I'm gonna vote no because we are able to answer questions during agenda's
[21:53] items it's just the mayor's choosing not to so I'm gonna register a no for that
[21:57] Okay, and I want that to go on the record. Thank you. All right motion for one. Perfect. Thank you item number 10 is the fiscal year 2425 U.S. Department of Justice award
[22:08] Mr. Oliver
[22:14] surprise
[22:16] I had a couple of questions on this one too
[22:24] Actually, I think I yeah, I have two questions
[22:29] Because this 40,000 dollar grant funds part-time personnel salaries
[22:34] What's the department's plan when the grant allocation is fully exhausted?
[22:40] Will these part-time positions automatically sunset, or will there be an expectation
[22:44] to absorb these personnel costs into the general fund in future budget cycles?
[22:52] And that's one question.
[22:54] My other question was, what specific operational metrics will the police department track
[23:01] to measure the efficiency and community benefit of these grant funded hours and what internal
[23:07] accounting safeguards ensure these funds are spent exclusively on direct technician
[23:12] labor and not administrative expenses like training.
[23:19] Thank you, Mr. Oliver.
[23:20] No further public comments on this item.
[23:22] Would you or a member of your staff please respond to Mr. Oliver?
[23:25] Thank you.
[23:27] I'll go ahead and move to approve item 10 and ask for a second.
[23:34] Are we using the consent calendar at 10?
[23:36] Yeah, for the second time, third time, yes.
[23:38] Okay, because the items were pulled.
[23:40] Yeah, the only one we knew of ahead of time was the chamber,
[23:42] so that's why it's separate.
[23:43] Are there any questions or comments from the council?
[23:45] Yes, since you're not sharing the responses publicly,
[23:48] could we get those in writing for the full council
[23:50] so that we can make sure people can,
[23:54] not just Mr. Oliver, but the public listening
[23:55] can also have access to that response.
[23:57] They deserve the right to know, thank you.
[24:00] And I'm gonna go ahead and support the consent item,
[24:03] but I do think it's important to answer
[24:05] our constituents questions. As do I. Motion approved by zero. Thank you.
[24:11] That brings the chain. Go ahead. So I didn't vote on the other item because it didn't
[24:19] come up. I vote here on this one. Oh, oh, oh, you hear free fresh. I just get open.
[24:27] Okay, you can select your vote again.
[24:30] So, I'll populate it as, yes.
[24:31] If populate it as, yes, but I do, I'll vote.
[24:35] And you hit it again, I'll vote again.
[24:37] All right.
[24:37] I was just wondering if there was an issue.
[24:40] Okay, that's good.
[24:41] Thank you.
[24:43] Are you good?
[24:44] Yeah.
[24:51] Okay.
[24:52] Now it's on item 11.
[24:53] Okay, perfect.
[24:54] Item 11 is an assignment, assumption,
[24:57] and amendment of reciprocal parking agreement
[24:59] by and between the city of Escondito.
[25:01] So, yes, Candida Chamber of Commerce and Precision Club LLC.
[25:06] I'm wondering if I could comment before the presentation.
[25:10] Only because it was actually after hours last night that we received an email, I believe everybody, on the council received an email from the Jeopardy City Manager.
[25:20] Regarding a meeting that he had with the current Chamber of Commerce Chair, Yosemite Mendoza, and the incoming chair.
[25:33] There are some technical changes in there that unless staff has had an opportunity between
[25:41] then and now to meet with the chamber, get clarification, I think it's just to be able
[25:48] to present now with what they're asking, the changes that they're asking that were kind
[25:52] of outlined in that email.
[25:54] I think with such short notice, I don't know if staff is comfortable proceeding tonight in light of the potential changes of circumstance, and then also in practicing due diligence because it does have to do with real property belonging to the city, you know, especially when city property is involved, I think that the information really needs to be analyzed and staff needs to be given an opportunity to bring more accurate information to the conversation.
[26:23] in the presentation. So I think with that, I'd like to motion that we continue this item.
[26:28] I'll second that. I've received, even just today I've received conflicting information about this very thing.
[26:35] And I do not feel prepared to make a decision on this, I just don't, I don't know which bits of information are true and which ones are not so.
[26:43] And to say that I'm fully supportive, I believe in the Chamber of Commerce, I am supportive, but
[26:49] When it has to do with something like this with the city property,
[26:53] we really have to do our due diligence, do the right thing,
[26:57] and there's just too many technical things in there
[27:00] that I don't feel comfortable moving forward with.
[27:04] So thank you for the second.
[27:07] Does anybody else have any questions or comments?
[27:11] Boarding is open.
[27:12] Do you have what you need from us?
[27:13] Yes, sir.
[27:14] Okay.
[27:16] To continue the item.
[27:51] And motion approved, 5-0.
[27:53] Actually, I'm so sorry.
[27:55] Christian Epstein.
[27:56] Thank you.
[27:57] Okay, on to current business.
[27:59] Item 16 is a consultant services agreement with Jones,
[28:02] Lang, Lissal, America's Inc.
[28:05] for real property consulting services.
[28:08] Oh, and Mr. Mayor, did you want to go?
[28:10] We had the development services streamlining update first,
[28:12] but we could go to the present.
[28:15] That works too.
[28:16] Whoever gets to the podium first.
[28:17] Okay, JL, there you go, just, yeah, proceed since here.
[28:20] Sorry about that.
[28:21] No, you're totally fine.
[28:30] Mr. Mayor, definitely Mayor City Council members, before they begin their presentation, I just wanted to introduce a new employee.
[28:39] Well, you know Francisco Vargas very well, so he needs no introduction.
[28:44] But with Francisco tonight is Timer Pita.
[28:50] Timer's been with the city for about four months now.
[28:52] She is a management analyst in real property in the economic development department.
[28:57] She comes to the city after working as a government real estate consultant in central and
[29:01] southern California, so she knows real estate in California very well.
[29:06] And she grew up in San Diego County, and in her free time she enjoys exploring new restaurants
[29:12] with friends, and she's also, I guess, a former softball player, a former centerfielder.
[29:17] So just a little fun fact about timer.
[29:20] So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Francisco.
[29:23] Thank you.
[29:31] Good evening, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, members of the City Council.
[29:35] My name is Francisco Vargas, management analyst with Economic Development, and today I'm
[29:39] joined by my colleague.
[29:41] Good afternoon.
[29:42] My name is Timer Pytle.
[29:43] I'm the management analyst for Real Property.
[29:46] Today, we will be discussing a consulting services management agreement with Jones-Lang-Lissel
[29:51] America's Incorporated for Real Property Consulting Services.
[30:01] This presentation will begin with a review of key phrases in previous actions. Then proceed to an overview of the contract services and financial impact. Thereafter, we'll be the staff recommendation for the adoption of resolution number 2026-147, authorizing the mayor to execute on behalf of the city, a consulting service agreement with Jones Langley Sal, America's Incorporated for Rail Property Consulting Services. The presentation will conclude with a questions and answers
[30:31] portion.
[30:36] During this presentation, consulting service agreement may be referred to as CSA,
[30:42] Jones-Lang-Lassel-America's Incorporated as JLL, or Consultant, request for a proposal
[30:49] as RFP, Filskell Year as FY, and the Economic Development Department as Department.
[31:00] This timeline summarizes the key milestones that brought us to where we are today.
[31:04] On June 18, 2025, the City Council approved $300,000 in project funding as part of the fiscal year 2025-26 operating budget.
[31:15] Following that approval, City staff issued RFP number 25-13 for real property consulting services on July 14, formally initiating the consultant selection process.
[31:26] The RFP closed on August 1, 2025 with the City receiving three proposals for consideration.
[31:32] After completing the evaluation and selection process, the item was brought before the City
[31:38] Council on October 1st, 2025, when the City Council unanimously adopted Resolution
[31:43] Number 2025-19, authorizing the Consulting Services Agreement with JLL.
[31:48] On November 20th, 2025, the Consulting Services Agreement was fully executed, allowing the
[31:56] project team to formally move forward with the work, and on June 30th, 2026, the Consulting
[32:01] and services agreement reached the end of its initial term.
[32:09] Since the previous TSA was executed in November 2025,
[32:13] JLO has made progress on the portfolio.
[32:16] Some tasks included in the CSA are similar to those in the prior agreement,
[32:20] because they involve ongoing portfolio management activities that require periodic updates and refinement.
[32:28] Other tasks are intended to complete efforts that began during the last fiscal year.
[32:32] While progress has been made on numerous fronts, tasks 1 and 2 are highlighted as notable
[32:38] examples because they remain active, require periodic updates, or represent key ongoing initiatives.
[32:46] The tasks in the CSA before you today span across portfolio assessment, strategy and roadmap
[32:52] development, real property representation, real estate advisory, and portfolio strategy.
[33:00] Task 1 portfolio assessment focuses on finalizing and strengthening the city's real property portfolio.
[33:09] The consultant will incorporate targeted refinements, corrections, and updates identified
[33:14] by city staff to ensure the assessment reflects the city's current portfolio.
[33:18] This includes maintaining a comprehensive inventory of city properties with key information
[33:23] such as parcel number, addresses, asset types, acreage, improvements, and estimated fair market
[33:30] values.
[33:30] data will also be validated and updated to improve the accuracy and
[33:36] completeness of the portfolio information. In addition, the consultant will
[33:40] review and update least information across the city's real property portfolio and
[33:45] summarize applicable agreements. Together, these updates will provide the city with
[33:49] a more accurate and reliable foundation for ongoing portfolio management and
[33:54] future strategic decisions.
[33:56] Tax 2 will focus on developing a long-term goal and corresponding roadmap to guide the city's real property portfolio in future decision making.
[34:06] Gellow met with the city leadership to determine portfolio priorities and with this proposed CSA will report the consensus and provide recommendations.
[34:14] So the Festival Completion of Task 2 will be demonstrated via guidance on potential property acquisition opportunities that align with the city's priorities on long-term goals, strategies to promote and dispose of city owned properties in a way that maximizes value and advances the city's goals, as well as work with the city attorney's office on land related matters.
[34:37] Task 2 will help the city to find its long-term vision for the real property portfolio and
[34:43] develop a roadmap for achieving that vision.
[34:48] Task 3, real property representation, provides the city with ongoing real property advisory
[34:53] support as opportunities and transactions arise.
[34:57] The consultant will support city staff during meetings, negotiations, and potential real estate
[35:01] transactions providing technical and market expertise as needed.
[35:05] This may also include conducting sites worth of city owned properties with interested parties in coronation with city staff for active
[35:13] transactions the consultant will provide support from offer acceptance through closing including assistance with negotiations and
[35:20] transaction related activities.
[35:22] Importantly all activities will remain under the direction and oversight of city staff ensuring the city maintains control
[35:29] throughout the transaction process.
[35:30] In addition to providing real property representation, the proposed CSA will also allow for ongoing real estate consulting and advisory services on an as needed basis, the presentation of recommendations and updates to the Economic Development Subcommittee and City Council, including written reports and representations, continued acquisition and review of Title Reports to support city projects and real estate activities.
[35:59] Task 5, ill-property portfolio strategy shifts the project from portfolio assessment to long-term strategy and implementation.
[36:10] Building on the findings from Phase 1 and Priorities identified by city staff, the consultant will develop a real-property portfolio strategy focused on how the city can better manage and maximize the value of its assets.
[36:22] This includes identifying portfolio optimization and monetization opportunities such as potential
[36:27] surplus properties, estimated values, and recommended timelines for implementation.
[36:33] The consultant will also establish performance criteria and integrate a property analytics
[36:38] tool to support ongoing data driven portfolio management.
[36:41] Ultimately, this work will result in a long range real property management plan that identifies
[36:47] revised priorities, timing, and
[36:49] anticipated costs, and potential returns on investment.
[36:54] The goal is to provide the city with a clear road map for making strategic real-property decisions over the long term.
[37:01] In the Economic Development Departments 2026, 2027 budget, $300,000 has been allocated toward the proposed CSA as the not to exceed amount.
[37:11] The previous GSA also had a not-to-excite amount of $300,000 and after operating for seven months under the previous GSA,
[37:20] JLL was compensated $168,600 for services including but not limited to the development of the property and
[37:29] analytics tool allowing for visibility on the breadth and details of the portfolio, the creation of lease abstracts,
[37:36] enabling efficient information gathering and recommendations for organizational efficiency.
[37:43] The CSA under consideration tonight includes one additional option term for the next fiscal year from July 1st, 2027 to June 30th, 2028.
[37:55] Should the city and JLL choose to exercise this optional term, funds will be requested in the next fiscal year's operating budget.
[38:04] Staff recommendation tonight is for the City Council to adopt resolution number 2026-147 authorizing the mayor to execute on behalf of the city a consulting services agreement with Jones saying this I America's ink for real property consulting services and with that we think the council for their time and we open the dies for question.
[38:25] All right, there are no public comments, questions and comments, or motion from the council?
[38:33] Motion?
[38:34] I'll second.
[38:35] Council motion.
[38:36] It's Gerald and then.
[38:39] Thank you.
[38:39] I just wanted to say thank you.
[38:40] This was such an easy to follow progression as far as how we're going to get to task five
[38:48] and then what we're going to do from there.
[38:49] So I just want to say thank you for the presentation.
[38:51] Good seeing you Francisco and good to see you at your first presentation, Timer.
[38:57] Thank you, Council Member.
[39:01] Welcome to the team.
[39:04] So I had a question on, does this also include kind of visioning of potential city-owned
[39:13] losses at a different process, and would that be a different contract?
[39:16] Is this just identification of what the properties could be used for, because I'm thinking
[39:21] of one, for example, Washington and Ash, which I know that was a little complicated because
[39:26] it's a utility, but it's something that I would love for that speaks to be something phenomenal,
[39:32] not just I mean yeah affordable housing is great and that's the kind of the easy low hanging
[39:37] through of what it could be, but I'm pretty sure as we talk about what we want to see more of
[39:41] in our city like recreation or something for the community that would be such an ideal space for
[39:48] for a community asset. So I'm wondering if that's part of this process or is that a different process
[39:53] So I think it's going to look at what potentially could go there, maybe obstacles that are at a particular site.
[40:02] For example, that site has some soils issues associated with it.
[40:07] But this would lay this out in a very transparent so that the conversation about visioning has a platform to launch from, right?
[40:15] All right.
[40:16] Okay.
[40:17] Thank you.
[40:18] I'm excited about this.
[40:19] That's all my questions.
[40:22] Anybody else?
[40:23] Did anybody second your motion?
[40:25] I'll second it.
[40:26] Okay.
[40:27] Anything from you?
[40:28] All right.
[40:29] Please vote.
[40:30] voting is up here.
[40:33] JLL consulting agreement.
[40:43] Emotion approved?
[40:43] 5-0.
[40:44] All right.
[40:45] Thank you both.
[40:46] We'll now move on to the development services streamlining update.
[41:05] That's item number 18.
[41:07] Yeah.
[41:07] It's coming forward because it's a workshop item.
[41:09] Yeah.
[41:10] No council action required.
[41:11] When
[41:17] Kevin, I think your mic is muted if you want to make it clear.
[41:19] It is, thank you.
[41:20] I'll try that again.
[41:21] Good evening, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and City Council.
[41:23] My name is Kevin Snyder and I am your development services director.
[41:27] And I have the distinct honor of introducing a member of Team Escondido to my right is
[41:33] Macon Crooks, she's a management analyst too in the development services department.
[41:37] And she's been with us for about three years, but she has a long 10 year public service
[41:42] career of over 24 years working in both management and non-management roles.
[41:48] She holds a master's degree in public policy administration.
[41:52] In her spare time and free time, she is an avid member of a sports oriented family and
[41:58] she is also an avid outdoors woman.
[42:01] A fun fact about Megan, and when I say fun, I'm a little uncertain about this one, but Megan
[42:07] is one of those rare breed of people that puts chips in her sandwiches.
[42:10] Now, I don't get that, I don't understand it.
[42:14] If anyone else is, I appreciate that, but it is a rare breed of individual that I've
[42:19] encountered that likes that.
[42:21] Before I turn it over to Megan to present to you this evening, I just wanted to note something.
[42:27] So tonight we're going to talk to you about process improvements.
[42:31] And many of you, if not all, of you on the council know that this has been an endeavor now for
[42:36] several years.
[42:37] And what I want to note is that as evidenced by the lack of hair and the whiteness, I've been doing this a while over 30 years, and I can tell you working with and for many different communities, a lot of those communities talk about doing process improvements, but very few do them.
[42:56] And one of the major attractors for me in joining Team Escondito 10 months ago was the process improvement effort that this City Council and this staff started.
[43:08] And it is an exciting time for development services, I think it's an exciting time for the city because it is not just development services.
[43:15] We have lots of partners in this effort.
[43:17] But it is a unique opportunity to reset the dial, reset the expectations both internally and externally of how we do our work,
[43:25] how we serve the community.
[43:27] So I just wanted to commend the City Council's City Management and the entire City team for
[43:33] taking on the work on top of the work.
[43:36] And with that, I'm going to turn it over to Megan.
[43:44] Thank you, Mr. Snyder.
[43:47] Good evening, Honorable Marin City Council.
[43:49] My name is Megan Crooks, as he said, and I'm with the Development Services Department.
[43:55] It's my honor to get to come here and provide you this update on our streamlining endeavors.
[43:59] first, this evening.
[44:03] For the update, I will first walk you through the background and
[44:07] revisit the need for the streamlining. Second, I will go over the implementation that
[44:14] we've been working on and what we've delivered to date. And third, I will talk briefly
[44:20] about the ongoing efforts that we are working on this fiscal year and then I will summarize
[44:26] it by doing a brief look ahead.
[44:32] During the fiscal year 2022-23 City Council
[44:37] participated in a prioritization workshop and had prioritized the need for
[44:43] streamlining development services and also becoming more business-friendly.
[44:50] Part of that process was to form a new department. Engineering was its own
[44:58] department, and then there was community.
[45:00] Committee development, which was comprised of planning, building, code compliance. And those were brought together under one department coined the development services department. And with that, we look to form them to bring the services together with a customer focus and find those best practices that we're going to serve the customers together.
[45:31] After the department was formed,
[45:33] And the staff decided that it was necessary to have a streamlining study performed.
[45:40] To take a look at those services and see where the duplication of services were, and to focus on that.
[45:47] So after a competitive bidding process, the city hired, matrix consulting group,
[46:05] and
[46:05] with internal staff, external stakeholders,
[46:10] and they also worked with our internal departments
[46:13] within the city to see how we worked with them as well.
[46:20] All of that study resulted in a final assessment report
[46:24] which provided us 65 strategies
[46:28] that we could go forward and implement,
[46:31] which we have coined the Escondito process improvements
[46:34] for customers, otherwise known as EPIC.
[46:41] After we had the draft final report reviewed by the city manager's office,
[46:47] we were benefited by the city manager and city council authorizing us to move forward
[46:52] with funding and resources that allowed us to continue consultant services for
[46:58] the implementation of those 65 strategies, and
[47:02] And also for us to hire needed positions to improve our plan review times.
[47:11] With all of those resources, staff participated in work groups and trainings on third Thursdays
[47:18] of the month because the City Manager and City Council also authorized us to take one
[47:24] day a month to focus on these streamlining efforts.
[47:27] And from those efforts, we have delivered.
[47:31] You can see by the sheer volume of these deliverables that there's a lot of work that has been performed by staff, but I'm just going to highlight a few tonight.
[47:42] Our online building inspection scheduling was one really major lift.
[47:48] That was able to ease the customer's self scheduling and it also alleviated staff from having to answer phones all day long and manually enter schedules.
[47:59] those staff are now performing other functions assisting the public with
[48:04] streamlining other areas now. We also improve the contractor page which
[48:11] reformatted ease on both the customer side as well as the staff side for the
[48:18] contractors to more easily achieve their permitting. We formed a
[48:25] technology committee. We have an information systems business analyst assigned to our department
[48:31] and that technology committee meets with that analyst to prioritize our technology improvements
[48:38] and also talk about what those needs are. We provided training to all of our staff and when
[48:47] I talk about the staff, development services is broader than just that department. We also
[48:52] have incorporated our fire prevention staff that participate in
[48:57] development review are utility engineering staff and our
[49:01] environmental program staff have been part of that as well and we have
[49:06] focused training on customer communications, facilitation of projects and
[49:13] project issues, and other upscaling training for staff to be able to work
[49:19] more efficiently in the office and with technology.
[49:23] And finally, we also have completed a development guide which you have at your
[49:28] dius with you this evening in print copy, and that will very soon be online on our webpage.
[49:35] I have an excerpt from that development guide right here.
[49:39] It's a permitting guide.
[49:40] I keep calling it a development guide, sorry about that.
[49:43] But this is an excerpt to show that we've tried to provide a very usable format for
[49:51] residents, small business owners, as well as developers to utilize and understand what
[49:56] the process for development permitting is here in Escondido.
[50:01] And we've already heard from two internal customers that have used it when we sent it
[50:07] out to them in draft form and they found it very useful and easy to read.
[50:12] So, that was really good news for us.
[50:14] So, we have a positive outlook on how this will help enhance our customer service.
[50:20] We also created a mission statement and some guiding principles.
[50:25] You have that printout and copy it form at your diocese as well this evening.
[50:29] What the mission statement did and the process behind it was pulling all of the staff
[50:35] from different departments together to stand behind one purpose
[50:39] this and be able to start breaking down those silos that had been formed in the past.
[50:48] Our ongoing efforts, I wanted to emphasize that we always start with the City Council
[50:53] goals.
[50:54] So from the workshops that you work on and create priorities and goals, we start with those.
[51:01] And we will take those and we will continue our improvements but we will adapt to what the
[51:08] goals are or what they can become.
[51:13] Recently in the last Spring City Council workshop, we had the goal come from you to continue
[51:21] to evaluate process improvements.
[51:23] And that's exactly what we're doing right now.
[51:27] We will continue to improve.
[51:30] And as part of our new cultural shift with staff is that we're questioning things as we're
[51:37] doing them and we're asking does this make sense as we go and we can change things as we go and
[51:45] not have to be bound by policy and regulation all the time and work better in an area that we can
[51:55] improve things for that customer experience and then come back to the policy at a later time
[52:01] to see how we can adapt it.
[52:05] We are also working on technology improvements always.
[52:08] We don't want to get caught behind them as we move forward.
[52:14] Another exciting thing on our ongoing efforts
[52:17] is that we're developing a plan for public outreach.
[52:21] This is something that's fairly new
[52:23] to the Development Services Department.
[52:26] It's typically been a behind-the-counter type of service,
[52:28] But we're going to start reaching it outward to our customers.
[52:33] We have an array of customers.
[52:36] We have residents, small business owners, and we also have large developers.
[52:40] So we will be reaching out to them where they are.
[52:44] We will go to meetings, such as the Downtown Business Association.
[52:50] We will meet with the building industry association, and
[52:55] And we will also be working with our internal partners,
[52:59] community services and housing and neighborhood services
[53:01] to reach our residents and their communities.
[53:09] We are also working on a streamlined action plan
[53:12] this very fiscal year.
[53:15] We conducted a strengths, weakness, opportunities
[53:18] and threats analysis with our staff.
[53:22] And they were so exhilarated by all of the opportunities
[53:26] and coming together and talking about Escondito.
[53:31] They started getting behind some of the things they were coming up with
[53:35] and that analysis and really wanting to make a difference.
[53:39] And so they're already starting to come up with immediate improvement actions
[53:45] at the service area level.
[53:50] And that plan can be adaptable as those priorities change, as I said.
[53:55] but it's something that the staff were really excited about.
[54:00] Some examples of what those action plan items are.
[54:03] Our third-party self-certifications for instant permits in building.
[54:10] Developing across functioning administrative team,
[54:13] that's also servicing the department within the industry area of the department
[54:20] and not just clerical typework,
[54:23] but becoming more part of the development process and also combining permit processes such as a demolition permit
[54:32] that would take us from three separate permits for a demolition down into one where we do one shared plan review with all the
[54:42] service areas. So those are some things that we're looking on right now for the action plan. And also to look ahead,
[54:52] again we'll continue to look at our city council goals as they come to us and we
[54:59] will begin implementing our public outreach plan in January 2027. That's
[55:05] what we're shooting for. And then we are also working on a strategic plan
[55:10] this fiscal year with a work plan that would be attached to it. That's the goal
[55:17] is to have that completed this fiscal year and that will enable us to start taking those
[55:23] actions in future fiscal years. And then we will continue with our evaluation and work
[55:29] toward normalizing change and being adaptable and responsive and flexible with how we serve
[55:37] our customers to deliver the best customer service. So that concludes my presentation for
[55:45] before this evening, before we move into the questions,
[55:48] I also wanted to take a moment that I'm here tonight
[55:51] providing you this update, but there are almost 100 staff
[55:56] that participated in this process,
[55:59] not just from our department, but from fire prevention
[56:02] and from information systems and graphics
[56:08] has helped us with our public outreach materials,
[56:11] those utility engineering and environmental programs, they're all part of it.
[56:17] And so many staff have gotten behind this and are moving forward.
[56:22] It's a very exciting time and we're just really happy to finally get to present this to
[56:28] you and look forward to any comments or questions you may have for me.
[56:38] No public comments?
[56:38] Okay.
[56:39] I'm going to make my comments brief and just say that the improvements
[56:43] Since already have been noticeable, the frequency of emails, I think it's big for a lot of us up here.
[56:48] The frequency of the emails has gone from frequent, not so frequent, and it's been fantastic.
[56:55] So it's already noticeable.
[56:56] I've actually had people come to me and say that themselves.
[56:59] So thank you for all your hard work, and I look forward to seeing where this goes.
[57:03] Great.
[57:05] I want to echo that.
[57:06] So about a year ago, I would say that we went from receiving maybe two emails a month to about two a week.
[57:14] And then since then, it's just, it's essentially non-existent at this point.
[57:20] So already the improvements you guys have made has been fantastic.
[57:24] I know that the work that we are, every time that there's a project that's hitting a road bumper, a hiccup.
[57:30] I know who to talk to and continuously in the last, I would say three months.
[57:34] Business owners have been impressed by the responsiveness of our staff.
[57:37] So thank you guys already for the work you guys have been doing.
[57:40] I know that when I came on in early 23, this was one of the biggest things that I really wanted to tackle.
[57:49] And I remember saying that this is like you turning a cargo ship.
[57:52] And so, I think we're finally headed in the right direction.
[57:57] And you guys have been just doing such a great job.
[58:01] And I'm really excited about the improvements and continued improvements that I think are going to be seeing very shortly.
[58:06] So thank you again.
[58:10] Thank you for the information.
[58:11] I know it's taken years to get us here and I just appreciate all the 100 plus individuals
[58:16] who have contributed to this so far and thanks for giving them the name in that because
[58:21] I think a lot don't know how much work goes into this.
[58:24] Is there still need for anyone who wants to do a project and ask you to come to a counter?
[58:28] Is everything fully now available to start online?
[58:34] That's a great question, Council Member Martinez.
[58:39] The building permits that we have online are at about 80% right now, the ones that are
[58:47] not are fairly specialized, and we are almost at 100% with all the fire prevention as
[58:56] well.
[58:56] Those are currently in information systems sprint right now, so we're hoping that those
[59:03] will all be completed very shortly.
[59:07] And then we're going to be moving toward getting the planning process, which is a different
[59:13] process than the permits on fully online as well.
[59:17] Okay, and that's the one where they can check the status and where it sits in which department
[59:21] it's like, okay, perfect.
[59:22] Yeah, so that's still in process.
[59:24] Yes, for some things.
[59:26] Okay.
[59:26] And then I like the example that you gave about the demolition permits.
[59:31] And I recall when there had been some fires and there were some empty lots, but still pieces there and
[59:40] eventually they had to get fencing because you know became a problem for our public safety.
[59:45] And they just would I would wonder like the car wash for example on
[59:48] Eskina Boulevard that took forever to get demolished. So I know it takes a long time and you mentioned that there used to be three permits
[59:56] It's involving now has been streamlined to one which that's good news and that's a great example
[1:00:00] So, for folks to see kind of what's that benchmark and result of these new processes. So, noting that example, is there any kind of benchmark? I'm very visual. So, to say, from now on,
[1:00:17] for example, a restaurant used to take this many months before it could be permitted to operate. Maybe it used to take eight months. And now, because of these new processes that we've implemented, we've cut that down to like
[1:00:29] Like three to six months, anything like any kind of benchmark like that that you all can share now with these new processes?
[1:00:36] I'm going to take a stab at that council member.
[1:00:38] So are there benchmarks right now?
[1:00:40] No, but that is the goal.
[1:00:42] So one of the things that to get to this point, we had to identify the problems.
[1:00:46] We've identified a lot of the problems, we've identified a lot of the solutions.
[1:00:49] Now the next step is to set ourselves up to be measured by us and by the public and by you.
[1:00:55] And so we will be working towards having those benchmarks, having those timeframes.
[1:01:00] Now, I have to say we're only as good as our customers, right?
[1:01:04] So if plans come in and they're not in the best of shape, it may take longer.
[1:01:07] But if we can work with our customers to make sure that they have the best plans coming in,
[1:01:11] I think we can show a high level of performance.
[1:01:15] So that is kind of the next step as a part of this.
[1:01:17] I said earlier, the process improvement is a very
[1:01:21] the monumentous thing and it's a journey that doesn't end and so part of our never ending
[1:01:28] journey is to start measuring ourselves and you will see that over the next fiscal year
[1:01:36] where we will start setting those standards for ourselves and we will ask to be measured
[1:01:40] by them.
[1:01:41] Great.
[1:01:41] That's helpful and I would love to see that and I'm glad that we're going to get there.
[1:01:48] So yeah, thank you for your work on this, this is really great, I'm excited about what's
[1:01:52] ahead and for all the work that's been done to this, and I'm excited to see what those
[1:01:56] benchmen are in future updates when you share more about what the next phase is.
[1:02:00] So thank you so much.
[1:02:08] Thank you, Kevin.
[1:02:11] Thank you both and the all 100 or more employees that have been in the middle of this.
[1:02:17] Ever since I've been elected back in 2020, this was a major problem in the city.
[1:02:26] And you came in and said, you know, you had a huge job to do and you still do.
[1:02:32] But the difference can be seen and it's already been mentioned.
[1:02:37] Mine have been emails and stuff but it's personal conversations, how different things are.
[1:02:43] So, continue focusing on improving streamlining is great, absolutely necessary.
[1:02:53] The better coordination between departments, I think that is a huge, huge deal.
[1:02:59] That is making an impact for those that are applying for permits and then not knowing communication.
[1:03:06] Not knowing what's going on, where now we have tools to be able to improve.
[1:03:11] that's what please continue to do that, but recently I still have gotten questions regarding
[1:03:19] customers. They're trying to get information and that's been difficult. So, continue
[1:03:27] improving there. You know, you're doing great, continue to improve on that, better communication
[1:03:32] with the customers, and then I'll speak for those that may feel a little, it's a little
[1:03:40] difficult to navigate online applications, things like that, some people prefer to come
[1:03:47] to the counter. And they'll say, Joe, you know, and I say, well, you know, can you do
[1:03:52] it online and it's difficult for them. So let's not leave them behind. They'll be those
[1:04:00] that need help at the counter. So if we have some way to make sure that there is help for
[1:04:05] of those that would need that kind of help.
[1:04:12] And that's pretty much it.
[1:04:14] It's all great, great improvement.
[1:04:16] I really appreciate it.
[1:04:18] And just wanted to point out a couple of things
[1:04:20] that I still see that as you continue working,
[1:04:23] please don't leave those residents behind.
[1:04:26] Thank you.
[1:04:27] Thank you, Council Member.
[1:04:28] If I might just add, well, my goal is to have
[1:04:31] 100% online service availability.
[1:04:34] We will never stop helping people who walk
[1:04:36] into the counter who asked for our assistance.
[1:04:38] That is, I tell the team all the time, when someone's at the counter, they are the priority.
[1:04:43] And so we will never stop doing that, but at the same time we want to provide the opportunity for
[1:04:48] those that value the expediency and the ease of online interactions.
[1:04:52] We want to provide that service so that you can have both basically.
[1:04:56] And yeah, I just, and that triggered, thank you for that, and that just triggered something.
[1:05:00] I mean, and maybe at the beginning, an explanation of why 30 days is the initial time frame because I have gotten a few that don't get it, and so will why?
[1:05:12] Well, 30 days is the initial and there are reasons for that, I'm sure, behind that.
[1:05:17] There are and there are not, so one of the items that Megan mentioned earlier as we're working on a streamlining action plan to present to the city manager.
[1:05:25] And one of the goals of that plan is to look for opportunities to short in timeframes.
[1:05:31] There are several building permits that could be done in 24 hours or 72 hours.
[1:05:36] And so, working with our building official, our goal is to move those types of permits to a more expedient outcome for
[1:05:44] residents, for businesses so they don't have to wait 30 days to get a water heater permit as an example.
[1:05:49] They shouldn't have to wait 30 days, and so that is something we're working on right now to be able to implement and
[1:05:56] bring forward to the customers for, again, a higher level of customer service in a more timely manner.
[1:06:02] Even better news, thank you.
[1:06:09] Yes, thank you, Megan and Kevin.
[1:06:12] That was a really good presentation from May of 2025 to now, just the huge progress that has been made and the impact.
[1:06:21] And I think it really says a lot about what a city can look like when we are close to fully staffed because I know there were a lot of challenges when we were not staffed and we couldn't even take care of the things we were catching up on.
[1:06:37] So it makes such a huge difference and then also, you know, you were saying 100 staff members were participating and just seeing the pride and ownership of the staff members.
[1:06:48] You see that they're excited about it.
[1:06:53] They like being able to give a product to the customers that are here.
[1:06:57] Nobody likes to say no, and our thing was, what do we have to do to get to the yes?
[1:07:02] So making sure that staff is up to the numbers that we need, has been critical.
[1:07:08] So I'm very grateful that we are able to do that.
[1:07:10] And so staff is now free to be able to serve because that's why they want to work for the city of Escondito.
[1:07:18] Also January 20, 27, I'm excited about the public outreach plan that's going to be launching Ben.
[1:07:25] I think communication is so important when we spoke at the workshop, I recall thinking,
[1:07:32] can we have a concierge service, that one point of contact for that builder or whoever to come
[1:07:38] that will have all the information.
[1:07:40] And it just looks like from the feedback I received, it looks like we really are getting there.
[1:07:45] where the responses have been a lot more timely.
[1:07:50] And in terms of, as someone mentioned, sometimes when things are delayed,
[1:07:55] it's not because staff doesn't want to help.
[1:07:57] It's because what's on that application, or something was not submitted in a timely manner.
[1:08:01] But we do everything we can to get them to the yes.
[1:08:05] I do have a question because I may have been writing something down.
[1:08:08] And I missed when you were explaining, you were talking a little bit about the technology committee.
[1:08:13] Could you explain again what that's about?
[1:08:17] I want to make sure I understand it.
[1:08:18] I didn't hear at all.
[1:08:19] Thank you for asking that question.
[1:08:21] Council Member Fitzgerald and City Council.
[1:08:24] The Technology Committee was put together to initially,
[1:08:31] when we were even in the assessment,
[1:08:33] to brainstorm and ideate what are all the technology?
[1:08:40] Troubles, things we needed to troubleshoot,
[1:08:43] things we didn't have, things we needed training on, what was a software issue, a hardware
[1:08:48] issue, or a human issue, and they come together and everybody just kind of threw everything
[1:08:57] in the pot. They went through and formed a rating, a way to determine what would be the highest
[1:09:06] priorities and they did so by giving each issue a point.
[1:09:11] So how many customers would that issue, if that issue were remedied, how many customers
[1:09:16] would benefit from that improvement?
[1:09:20] How many staff would benefit?
[1:09:22] How many hours would it shave off of a staff's time so that they became more available to
[1:09:27] help customers?
[1:09:28] So they put this rating together and then they rated all the issues and they prioritized
[1:09:33] which ones we'd work on first, based on the biggest impact that the benefiting the issues would give us,
[1:09:43] such as the online inspections. That was huge. I mean, being able to allow people to do self-scheduling online
[1:09:51] and then to staff members are freed up to full staff members all day are freed up to now work on other things that we needed to work on.
[1:10:00] So we were trying to find ways to work smarter, not harder, and they continue to meet, and they work with our IS analyst who puts together what they're going to be working on in the information systems department for our improvements.
[1:10:22] so they're constantly involved in the prioritization of that and having people just putting in requests separately,
[1:10:32] this has put them all kind of in one place together, so that across the department everybody's seen what we're looking at
[1:10:41] and they're coming to decisions together as a team and trying the efficiencies in the technology as well.
[1:10:50] did you have anything else you want that okay did that yes it did thank you
[1:10:55] and that's and as you said the efficiency part of it and as things change I'm
[1:11:00] glad that you guys are going to keep a finger on the pulse so we can stay on
[1:11:03] the trajectory of being able to to provide better customer service to the
[1:11:06] residents business owners and the like so thank you for the presentation I
[1:11:10] appreciate all right I just want to reiterate one more time for all of us I think
[1:11:16] we're very pleased with the progress that has been made in development services so
[1:11:19] So thank you, and we're excited to see what the future holds.
[1:11:23] All right, this item's just received in file.
[1:11:25] We'll move on to item 17, which is a letter in support of the North County Transit District application to the Federal Transit Administration Fiscal Year grants for buses and bus facilities.
[1:11:37] All right, I have a 30 minute presentation to give.
[1:11:41] of. Anyway, this is just the NCTD is applying for grant. It's for bus security camera modernization.
[1:11:51] The systems that are currently on the breeze on the buses can even communicate with other
[1:11:57] ones and they're so outdated. So they're asking for the city to provide a letter of support
[1:12:04] support for their application as they seek to receive hopefully be granted these funds
[1:12:11] to be able to modernize the camera systems on the buses for not only the staff safety
[1:12:19] but also passenger safety.
[1:12:22] So unless there's anything else, that's the request.
[1:12:25] Any comments?
[1:12:26] Just one.
[1:12:27] Greg Oliver.
[1:12:40] Everybody's for more safety on the bus and I'm with them and I'm glad this is coming forward
[1:12:45] but I had a couple of questions. Modernizing bus security camera system typically involves upgrading
[1:12:52] digital recording, cloud storage, and automated analytics. What specific privacy safeguards,
[1:13:00] video retention limits, and law enforcement data sharing protocols will govern the video footage
[1:13:06] that's captured on the buses operating throughout Escondito neighborhoods? That's one question.
[1:13:13] The second question is,
[1:13:17] what mechanisms exist to ensure that the Escondito-based transit routes,
[1:13:22] particularly those serving low-income or youth-dense corridors, receive an equitable allocation
[1:13:29] of the modernized equipment and grant benefits? So those are my questions.
[1:13:35] W. Mayor Garcia, on item number one, I could speak to records retention specifically if you like.
[1:13:40] So, Mr. Oliver, records retention, this will be retained by the North County Transit District, so they have their own records retention schedule.
[1:13:46] I can get you in touch with their clerk, who manages that, but the city is not involved in the records retention for NCTD, so that's, I don't remember what you just want to let you know.
[1:13:54] That handles the retention, but I'm more concerned about the data.
[1:13:57] Yeah, that's what I wanted.
[1:13:58] Yeah, so on the rest, if you send me the questions, I will make sure that you get an answer because that's something I'm sorry, I will send you the
[1:14:07] Please, please, please send that to me and I'll make sure you get an answer on that. Thank you. Thank you sir. No for the public on this item.
[1:14:18] I actually thank you Mr. Oliver. I actually have the same question regarding the data, the attention rate data sharing. So I think it's
[1:14:27] something that we really need to look into, especially as this is becoming a more prevalent
[1:14:31] issue in government.
[1:14:33] Thank you.
[1:14:35] And I know this is just a letter support to ask for funding, right?
[1:14:39] The contract still, that's a whole different process, but in that I would like to know the
[1:14:43] company that they would be, you know, using particularly if they're going to be using, you
[1:14:49] know, flock or something of that kind of, I mean, you know, there's all these kind of
[1:14:53] So I would like to know kind of what who's in the business of business video monitoring because I know
[1:15:00] The flock right now is ALPRs and also they're also the, if you go to like home depot, those certain businesses, there's also these like towers with blue lights. Those are also tend to be like flock or similar. So I'd like to kind of know more about the technology. I do support the also for the funding request because it's, you know, I do think we should have modernized equipment. And if there's like a crime that's committed on the bus, they probably can't see the person's face because it's so outdated, right?
[1:15:29] So, I do support newer technology, but I would like to know more about the safeguards in place and kind of who's in the business of, you know, that could potentially receive this.
[1:15:40] So, same one like, yeah. Thank you.
[1:15:43] Sorry. I'm just going to say more specifically, whether or not it's got the ability to identify who we are, where it stores the data and who it shares it with.
[1:15:51] Yeah, and as far as I know, that's not the issue, but
[1:15:56] Send me the emails the questions and I'll make sure that you get answers to each one of those
[1:16:11] Send them to the to the city clerk. Yes. I can distribute their clerk. Yeah, I can send it to the clerk to NCTD
[1:16:19] Yes, I'll speak at the board meeting and say that there are a number of questions that need to be answered
[1:16:26] So we'll make sure that we don't violate the brown act. Thank you
[1:16:30] But, Mr. Oliver, you can't send it to me.
[1:16:34] Okay.
[1:16:38] Did you already make a motion?
[1:16:41] So, I move that we accept or that we send a letter of support for the request of the
[1:16:50] grant funding.
[1:16:52] That as the letter is provided in the packet.
[1:16:55] I'll second.
[1:16:57] If there are no other questions or comments, please vote.
[1:16:59] So voting is open.
[1:17:10] Motion approved 5-0. Does anybody have anything they want to put on a future agenda?
[1:17:16] All right, we'll go to councilmember subcommittee reports and other reports councilmember Fitzgerald.
[1:17:23] I have nothing to report. Thank you
[1:17:26] Sir
[1:17:29] All right a couple of things we had NCTD
[1:17:32] the marketing
[1:17:36] subcommittee we
[1:17:37] We discussed an increase in ridership, but training for frontline employees, but one of the reasons, and I think it's important that we all be aware of, there has been a large increase on incidents on the buses of violent actions happening on the buses, so I think this is something that we need to be, these questions are very important.
[1:18:01] I arranged for a tour at one safe place, for a number of community leaders did that on Monday, and we also had a homeless subcommittee.
[1:18:11] The mayor can speak to the presentation that we received there, and that will conclude my remarks.
[1:18:19] Thank you.
[1:18:20] To piggyback off of that for the homeless subcommittee, we received a presentation, the same one that was at the mayor symposium for the San Diego Rescue Mission.
[1:18:28] It was a presentation on a by-name list, and I know we put out an RFP for outreach workers,
[1:18:36] and this is a great practice for whoever gets the contract for these outreach workers to build a by-name list
[1:18:42] and collect valuable data that then the city can use to target specific needs and demographics on the streets.
[1:18:49] Last week I spoke at Redwood Terrace Retirement Community, which was a blast.
[1:18:54] It always surprised me, you know, those people stay there pretty much all day, but they are very
[1:18:58] in tune with what's going on around the city. And then Saturday night, my wife and I attended
[1:19:03] the Hope on the Hard Road Gala. Hope on the Hard Road is a nonprofit that serves young people
[1:19:09] with physical disabilities. And I think at one point everybody in the room had tears in their
[1:19:15] eyes. It was very moving. Hope on the Hard Road actually just moved to Escondito and we'll
[1:19:23] Also, the unveiling of passageway to the sun, a new painting that is inside of the center
[1:19:29] for the arts.
[1:19:30] And if you have five minutes, go check it out.
[1:19:32] It's fantastic.
[1:19:33] You can't miss it.
[1:19:33] It's enormous right there on the wall.
[1:19:35] And then on Saturday was the Great Day 5K, and the Great Day Festival, Great Day 5K started
[1:19:41] out as about 200 runners and is now evolved into over 2,000 runners that had signed up this
[1:19:47] past Saturday.
[1:19:48] And then Great Day Festival was, of course, a blast, and that will conclude my remarks.
[1:19:56] Thank you.
[1:19:57] Yeah, the Great Day Festival, Great Day Run, was a lot of fun.
[1:20:00] I did a great job sharing people and drinking coffee.
[1:20:03] So, we also had a clean energy alliance, risk assessment meeting.
[1:20:10] We have a lot of promising things to look forward to.
[1:20:13] I know I talked about the Clean Energy Alliance, and everyone's eyes glaze over.
[1:20:17] But trust me there's a lot of good things. Hopefully we're looking at the next year or two is we're going to be looking at a job who rates things go right
[1:20:24] On Saturday I was able to offer the first night of methodist church of recognition. They've been here for 140 years
[1:20:30] I think that was really something special to be part of that's the church that my family and I worship that and
[1:20:36] We also went to a steam gala on Friday to support local wineries and
[1:20:41] And last Saturday and Grito was at Grape Day on Saturday.
[1:20:47] It was Mexican Independence Day, it was a great event.
[1:20:50] If you haven't been able to go in the past couple of years, please go.
[1:20:53] There's a lot of vendors that we can support local organizers, local artists, it's a lot of fun.
[1:20:58] And as always, thank you to my community for the privilege of serving.
[1:21:03] Lots of fun activities happening.
[1:21:06] Well, I will be gone three days next week with my colleague, Deputy Mayor Joe Garcia.
[1:21:12] we will be at the California League of Cities in Anaheim.
[1:21:15] It's an annual convention with lots of workshops and keynote speakers.
[1:21:20] So we'll share more information when we return on that.
[1:21:23] Save the day.
[1:21:23] I've been getting asked this a lot and I'm happy that the date is still on,
[1:21:27] but not this Saturday, but the following Saturday September 26 at 9 a.m.
[1:21:32] is the splash pad ribbon cutting long awaited.
[1:21:38] So make sure you come to Grove Park at 9 a.m.
[1:21:40] on Saturday, September 26, I'll see you there.
[1:21:43] And then save the day for my next, it's my fall neighborhood celebration,
[1:21:48] which is called Viva Washington Park, celebrating all the amazing things
[1:21:53] that is Washington Park.
[1:21:54] On Saturday, October 17th, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., I am looking for volunteers
[1:21:59] and exhibitors for that day.
[1:22:02] So if you have a community-based organization, you're an artist,
[1:22:05] and you do really cool crafts, or you have an idea for celebratory activities.
[1:22:10] Please reach out to me and we can chat and again that is October 17th. That's my report
[1:22:18] City manager nothing to report any additional public comments
[1:22:23] Mr. Oliver two
[1:22:37] comments I
[1:22:38] have
[1:22:42] Occasion to speak with the people of the staff at this at city hall frequently and
[1:22:48] I'll tell you they're among the best people that I've ever worked with they're an outstanding group
[1:22:55] They're always helpful, they always know what they're doing.
[1:22:57] If they don't, they will find out and they will get back
[1:22:59] and they don't make mistakes.
[1:23:01] You know, make mistakes.
[1:23:01] I think it's remarkable.
[1:23:04] And I thank the city manager and all of you
[1:23:07] that have influence over what goes on with the staff
[1:23:09] and city hall for your human resources selection.
[1:23:14] It's pretty, pretty remarkable.
[1:23:17] The other thing I wanted to say
[1:23:19] was ICE continues to violate people's rights every day all over the country.
[1:23:31] Their First Amendment rights, their Fourth Amendment rights, their Fifth Amendment rights,
[1:23:35] their Sixth Amendment rights, their Eighth Amendment rights and their Fourteenth Amendment rights
[1:23:40] every day.
[1:23:41] And we underwrite them in Escondito, we give them a place to stay, we give them the place
[1:23:47] to be around a population that's greater than 50% Hispanic. And I think that's a criminal
[1:23:58] mistake. You shouldn't have a government agency that continuously operates outside of
[1:24:07] the Constitution carrying guns and appointing them at citizens. So I'm sorry for you.
[1:24:15] This
[1:24:19] meeting is adjourned.