[14:59] The Santa Cruz County Board of
[15:01] Supervisors calls this meeting to order
[15:02] on September 2nd, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. in
[15:06] the Board of Supervisors meeting room
[15:08] 120 located at 2150 North Congress
[15:10] Drive, Ngalas, Arizona, 85621.
[15:13] Former student Victor, would or excuse
[15:16] me, Dr. Diaz, would you please uh lead
[15:18] us in the pledge of
[15:19] » Allegiance
[15:27] to the stands nationy
[15:33] andice for all.
[15:37] » Thank you, sir.
[15:40] [snorts]
[15:41] » We'll go to item B, adoption of the
[15:44] agend uh of agenda. Mr. manager.
[15:48] » Mr. Chair, there's uh there's one change
[15:50] to the agenda. We're going to move
[15:54] item six
[15:58] to action items from the consent
[16:00] » Under consent. Okay.
[16:02] » Thank you.
[16:03] » Do I have a motion?
[16:05] » I move the chair.
[16:06] » Second.
[16:08] » Okay. There's been a motion and a second
[16:10] uh with the uh um aforementioned uh
[16:14] change number six on the consent agenda.
[16:18] Move to uh H action items. We'll go to a
[16:22] vote. All those in favor, please signify
[16:23] by saying I. I.
[16:25] » I. Motion carries unanimously.
[16:28] Call to the public. Just a reminder for
[16:31] call to the public, we do ask uh that
[16:34] that uh each length be limited to three
[16:37] minutes. And if you could please state
[16:40] your name and your address um prior to
[16:42] beginning, that would be greatly
[16:43] appreciated. Ben Lameli.
[16:56] » Good morning everybody. I'm Ben Lee 546
[16:59] Camino Ramanote in Rio, Arizona. I want
[17:03] to talk about public health and safety
[17:05] because everyone has a constitutional
[17:09] and human right and even the pledge of
[17:11] allegiance says we all have a Equal
[17:14] justice for all. We all have a human
[17:17] constitutional right to clean air, clean
[17:21] water, clean food, and the pursuit of
[17:24] happiness, which means peace and quiet
[17:26] in our neighborhoods, too. We need to
[17:29] enforce our codes in our neighborhoods.
[17:31] There's too many things popping up there
[17:34] that need to be addressed and have been
[17:37] chronicled for some time now. Science is
[17:39] important. We're going to hear some
[17:41] science today. I've always advocated for
[17:43] good science because science should be a
[17:45] quest for the truth, the whole truth.
[17:48] And nobody has a right to risk our
[17:52] public health and safety through
[17:54] pollution, contamination, or other ways
[17:58] of risking our safety. We all deserve to
[18:01] be safe, to have good clean food, good
[18:04] clean water, good clean air. Those are
[18:06] essential and they all come from our
[18:08] environment. So we cannot separate
[18:10] ourselves from our earth, from our
[18:13] environment and from each other because
[18:16] we depend on each other for everything.
[18:19] No man is an island. We all need to work
[18:22] closely together. We have a
[18:24] comprehensive plan coming up and so the
[18:26] science there is going to be very
[18:28] important and everything is tied
[18:30] together. the water, the watersheds, the
[18:33] mountains and and I saw that as we
[18:36] started the meeting today from the
[18:38] mountains to the lakes and the rivers.
[18:40] It's very important our watershed is
[18:43] also our airhed. So we need to take care
[18:46] of our air, our water resources and our
[18:49] soils, the land itself.
[18:51] This land is your land. This land is our
[18:53] land. And we need to all have a
[18:56] responsibility,
[18:57] meet up to that responsibility to do our
[19:00] part. Yes, every drop of water counts,
[19:03] but we have seen the presentations by
[19:06] other scientists how our groundwater
[19:09] tables are plummeting and that does not
[19:13] spell for a good future. We're entering
[19:15] into the comprehensive plan and so we
[19:18] need to be very conscientious of what
[19:20] our scientists, local and other
[19:23] scientific resources are telling us.
[19:25] Thank you very much for this
[19:26] opportunity. Thank you for caring. I
[19:28] know you got a lot on your shoulders and
[19:31] every one of us here needs to do our
[19:33] part. Thank you very much, gentlemen.
[19:35] » Thank you, Ben.
[19:38] Chris workovven.
[20:00] » Good morning supervisors and everyone
[20:03] here. My name is Chris Workovven and I
[20:05] used to live in Senoida.
[20:07] Not anymore because truck traffic and
[20:10] compromised ADQ permits have started to
[20:12] lower quality of life for me and others.
[20:15] Today already after one year of
[20:17] monitoring.
[20:18] » Where do you live? Your address
[20:20] » At the moment?
[20:20] » Yeah.
[20:21] » Morana
[20:22] » 7905 North Cold Train Lane.
[20:26] Thank you.
[20:29] Today, already after one year of
[20:31] monitoring, ASU will present data
[20:33] confirming the Calabasasa's airsmart
[20:36] program has produced a true baseline of
[20:40] PM2.5,
[20:42] the smallest
[20:44] regulated particle.
[20:47] This validates the calculated annual
[20:50] background concentration of PM2.5
[20:53] which determines how much PM2.5
[20:56] the Hermosa mine can release to be
[21:00] compliant with national standards.
[21:03] PM2.5 requires careful monitoring
[21:07] because of its wellstudied
[21:09] correlation with Parkinson down to very
[21:12] low concentrations.
[21:15] Some conclusions and recommendations
[21:18] on this subject.
[21:21] Background 2.5 concentrations are nearly
[21:24] twice as high as used by SA 32 in its
[21:30] air permit application
[21:33] over time and across downwind area of
[21:36] the Hermosa mine that was found by the
[21:39] airsmart people.
[21:42] There is a 30% exceedence
[21:46] uh of the national standard when adding
[21:49] the mine emissions listed in the granted
[21:52] air permit.
[21:55] Airs smarter airs smart monitors are
[21:57] close are as close as one and a half
[22:00] miles from the Hermosa mine. But
[22:02] surprisingly the only ADQ air monitor
[22:06] used is 41 miles away and not in a
[22:11] mountain area with mineralized soils and
[22:14] with very different climate conditions.
[22:18] Before submitting its first air permit
[22:21] application, South 32 had four years to
[22:24] assess air quality on site.
[22:27] ADQ did not request any on-site
[22:31] assessment by which public health was
[22:34] unnecessarily compromised.
[22:37] The EPA rule to use best available data
[22:41] with an adequate margin of safety was
[22:44] clearly abandoned.
[22:49] This new evidence, which we will talk
[22:51] about later, must lead to a 30%
[22:54] reduction in mine output to obtain true
[22:58] compliance with national standards.
[23:01] Renown Barrow Neurological Institute of
[23:04] Phoenix found in 2003
[23:07] the relative risk on Parkinson is not
[23:10] zero below the current national PM2.5
[23:14] standard.
[23:16] Santa Cruz County is therefore asked to
[23:19] determine premature death and society
[23:22] health cost
[23:24] um when PM2.5 increases from this
[23:27] background to the national standard.
[23:30] use the available EPA software.
[23:34] Community science groups will keep
[23:36] publishing findings when methodologies
[23:39] of regulators and judgment of elected
[23:43] officials is found to be compromised.
[23:47] Thank you for your attention.
[23:48] » Thank you, Chris.
[23:52] » Jay Thompson.
[24:09] Good morning, supervisors, county
[24:11] management, Dr. Lim, and members of the
[24:14] public. My name is Jay Thompson from Rio
[24:16] Rico. Today, I'm speaking with my
[24:18] engineering and analyst hats on and on
[24:20] behalf of our experts. Since many of you
[24:23] come from education,
[24:25] I want to frame this as a simple look
[24:27] for. In other words, what is most
[24:29] important to list listen for for do in
[24:31] Dr. Lim's airsmart presentation. First,
[24:34] the data you will see is independent,
[24:35] transparent, and scientifically
[24:37] calibrated. The kind of data set anyone
[24:39] anywhere in the world can download,
[24:41] analyze, and verify. That's happening.
[24:44] And the purpose of the communitybased
[24:46] monitoring, it removes questions of
[24:48] trust, access, and interpretation. The
[24:51] data stands on its own. Next, Airsmart
[24:53] now has produced over 6 million one
[24:55] minute observations and the report will
[24:57] state that all monitors are calibrate
[24:59] calibrated against EPA reference
[25:01] monitors. The reports will also state
[25:04] the quality of data is defensible and
[25:06] reproducible. It's not modeling, not a
[25:09] consultant's interpretation. It's direct
[25:12] measurements. Second, listen for the
[25:14] pattern of findings. Number one, air
[25:17] quality is clean on average. However,
[25:19] it's punctuated by frequent acute dust
[25:21] events and then those events are not
[25:24] evenly dist distributed across the
[25:26] county. We all see that the documents
[25:29] show that 33,000 plus sensor minutes
[25:31] above the EPA PM10 standard and 10 to 14
[25:35] times the spread between the most and
[25:37] least exposed sites. That is exposure
[25:40] inequity visible only because a network
[25:43] has more than 20 sensors across homes,
[25:46] schools, and businesses. Today we're
[25:48] adding more as we speak. Third, listen
[25:50] for the baseline. Year one is pre-oper
[25:53] operational record for the mine. It's be
[25:56] the before mining data set. As the
[25:59] report will note, only a minority of
[26:01] year one events came from the direction
[26:03] of the mine. That's exactly what a
[26:04] baseline should look like and is the
[26:07] foundation for measuring all future
[26:09] increases. Finally, remember this
[26:11] distinction. South 32 has a monitoring
[26:14] program that is being seen as being
[26:16] designed to protect South 32. Airsmart
[26:19] is designed to protect the community
[26:21] health. South 32 operates three
[26:23] stations, reports with a month delay,
[26:26] and provides no real-time PM10 or PM2.5.
[26:29] That's the stuff that gets deep in our
[26:31] lungs and impacts our health. Airsmart
[26:34] provides countywide real-time public
[26:36] data and captures acute events that
[26:38] their system cannot see. So our goal
[26:40] today is understand the difference
[26:42] between mind focus program and a public
[26:44] health program. Dr. Limb's presentation
[26:46] will make that clear. This is about real
[26:49] protections. Thank you.
[26:52] » Thank you sir.
[26:55] Debbie Gonzalez.
[27:03] » Good morning everyone. supervisors, um
[27:06] » Morning
[27:07] » Management and law enforcement. Um I am
[27:10] here to speak this morning about the um
[27:14] traffic safety on Dukane Road. Since the
[27:18] COVID pandemic, we've seen, by the way,
[27:21] I live on 100 Dukane Road. I didn't
[27:24] mention that.
[27:24] » Thank you.
[27:25] » Yeah, thank you. Um, so living on Dukane
[27:29] Road and I must disclose I'm also serve
[27:32] as a school board member for Santa Cruz
[27:35] Elementary District 28 which is commonly
[27:39] known as Little Red. Um, so I'm on their
[27:42] board and so uh I have a deep concern
[27:45] for the safety issues of that the
[27:49] traffic increase has um recently
[27:53] occurred. Initially with the COVID
[27:55] pandemic, um we saw a sharp increase in
[28:00] recreational vehicles. Not very pro
[28:03] problematic for us, but it caused a lot
[28:06] of commotion over the weekends. That's
[28:08] part for the course. But when the wall
[28:11] construction for the border wall began
[28:14] in spring of this year, it was instantly
[28:19] much more um dangerous to travel, walk,
[28:24] ride your horse, whatever along Dukane
[28:26] Road. I wanted to raise that um
[28:30] awareness for everyone.
[28:32] And I wanted to thank the uh county
[28:35] management for working with uh the
[28:38] residents along uh Dukane Road and the
[28:42] school to try to figure out ways to
[28:45] provide a immediate answer to safety
[28:49] concerns especially as it relates to the
[28:51] school and um we appreciate that. So, I
[28:56] wanted to also say thank you. And I also
[28:58] want to say thank you to the sheriff
[29:00] deputies that have been um showing up
[29:02] more to patrol and to sit parked,
[29:06] especially in the school zone. But, u
[29:09] especially this past week, I wanted to
[29:11] say thank you. So, that's all I have to
[29:13] say, and I did it in two minutes. Thank
[29:16] you.
[29:16] » Thank you so much. And thank you for you
[29:18] do for all you do for the school
[29:19] district.
[29:21] » Uh Martha Mona
[29:26] I hope I pronounced that right. If not,
[29:27] I apologize.
[29:28] » Oh, it's all good. Yes. Hi. Uh, good
[29:30] morning. My name is Marta Mona. I live
[29:32] on um Emily Lane in Patagonia.
[29:37] Um,
[29:40] okay. So, my name is Marta Mona and I
[29:43] talked about Cross Creek Connector a few
[29:45] weeks ago. Cross Creek Connector is a
[29:47] new road that was built with the main
[29:48] purpose of the mine trucks to get to the
[29:50] mine and back. Now there are probably
[29:52] almost a hundred trucks going back and
[29:54] forth there all the time. I feel that
[29:56] two weeks ago I was listened to and
[29:58] thanks to uh the management Christopher
[30:01] Young, some ideas and solutions have
[30:03] taken place. My neighborhood has been
[30:05] concerned about the high number of truck
[30:07] trucks idling on the side of the road
[30:09] close to road number um 82 on a regular
[30:12] basis causing pollution and
[30:14] unfortunately littering. However, the no
[30:17] parking signs have been placed on the
[30:19] side of the road. there is less trash
[30:21] and we have been promised a fence making
[30:24] it possible for the making it impossible
[30:27] for the trucks to idle. So, thank you. I
[30:30] really appreciate that. I wanted to
[30:32] thank the county supervisors for their
[30:34] work and time and yet um I'm afraid that
[30:38] there is still so much that should be
[30:40] done. the residents on the other side of
[30:43] Cross Creek connector. And if I have
[30:44] time, I would like like to read a little
[30:47] bit um like a short email that I got
[30:50] from uh one of our neighbors. Do not
[30:52] want trucks, especially mine trucks, to
[30:55] idle on the other side as well. There is
[30:59] no reason why 10 or more vehicles at the
[31:02] same time should be idling there.
[31:05] uh it is not healthy for anybody who
[31:07] lives there and there is no reason why
[31:08] these people should be exposed to this
[31:11] amount of pollution. These vehicles
[31:13] should not station there. It is not safe
[31:15] and it's not healthy. Uh we would also
[31:18] like to prevent the deaths of wildlife
[31:20] on that road. We think that proper
[31:22] signage with speed regulation and watch
[31:24] for animals on the road message might be
[31:27] the only thing that makes the drivers
[31:29] more careful as d as they drive up and
[31:32] down the road. Um, so there was a turtle
[31:35] that got run over on Cross Creek
[31:37] Connector some time ago and it drew huge
[31:39] attention from residents or or and
[31:41] organizations like UFA, Arizona Game and
[31:44] Fish, Center for Biological Diversity
[31:46] and ADAT to name just a few and
[31:50] something has to be done about it. I
[31:52] have seen dead animals so many times on
[31:55] this road. There is also um an idea of
[32:00] building some type of coverts crossing
[32:02] like culverts for animals to cross since
[32:04] the washes used to be a natural and safe
[32:07] habitat for a lot of animals and they
[32:10] are not anymore. Um and we have to do
[32:13] something about it and signage and
[32:15] coverts might be a really good solution
[32:17] and we hope we have the county support
[32:20] as we are talking to other agencies and
[32:22] stakeholders. And at the very end,
[32:24] something really important. We're
[32:25] concerned about dust and pollution. It
[32:28] starts on Cross Creek Road and keeps
[32:30] going up on Harsha. There are many
[32:32] people concerned about our health and
[32:34] well-being and wildlife. Of course,
[32:36] there's this huge impact in our lives
[32:38] and we want to make sure that the
[32:39] problems are addressed and solved. Uh we
[32:42] did not we did not ask for this bullion
[32:45] and we don't want it. We hope we have
[32:47] your support and you can help us to
[32:49] overcome some of these issues.
[32:52] Thank you.
[32:53] » Thank you, Martha.
[32:54] » Yeah. Uh I don't know how that works. I
[32:56] uh I got a just an email from my from
[32:59] one of the neighbors, but I don't know
[33:00] if I can read it or later or how how
[33:02] would that work?
[33:03] » If you could forward that to uh the
[33:05] clerk of the board, Miss Alma, I could
[33:07] » And then that way we can all receive
[33:08] that.
[33:09] » Okay. Thank you.
[33:10] » Thank you, M.
[33:12] » Okay, that does it for the slips. Is
[33:15] there anyone else who would like to uh
[33:16] come up to the podium for a call in
[33:18] public? Yes. Come on up, please. Thank
[33:20] you.
[33:25] Thank you.
[33:27] » Thank you so much, Wendy Islas, Ral
[33:29] Rico. Um, good morning.
[33:31] » Morning, Wendy.
[33:32] » Morning,
[33:32] » Chairman, board of supervisors. Uh, I'd
[33:35] like to recognize um Dr. Lynn for being
[33:37] here today to present his research. And
[33:40] also, I'd like to thank Calabasas
[33:41] Alliance for their ongoing and steadfast
[33:44] advocacy. We truly are at a crossroads
[33:47] when it comes to protecting our
[33:49] environment, our water, our air, our
[33:51] land, our wildlife.
[33:53] It is evident we need to implement
[33:55] essential and independent testing for
[33:58] water quality given the mining projects
[34:00] that we have in our county. I see on the
[34:03] agenda today that you're renewing
[34:05] contracts with South 32. What I have yet
[34:07] to see on any agenda, unless I've missed
[34:09] it, are contracts for independent water
[34:12] testing. Um I think that we um all know
[34:16] the importance and essential
[34:20] necessity for this. Mr. Workovven
[34:23] mentioned how Parkinson's can be caused.
[34:25] I'm here to share that I am witness to
[34:27] my mother who has Parkinson's and I'm
[34:30] witness daily to her um debilitating
[34:34] state and it's not fun to watch. It's
[34:37] not fun I'm sure to go through it. And
[34:40] we also know that contaminated air and
[34:43] water will cause other um diseases.
[34:47] I also would like to mention two other
[34:49] items um unrelated on the agenda. I've
[34:52] seen for the last three or four years a
[34:55] quite a number of duplicate warrants
[34:57] coming out of the school district and
[34:59] I'm wondering if there's been any audit
[35:01] regarding this. There's a very large
[35:04] what $34,000 sum on today's agenda and
[35:07] I'm just curious what's going on or why
[35:09] this keeps happening. I have gone and
[35:11] done my own audit and I'm happy to share
[35:14] my results, but I feel that that should
[35:16] be something that you all should be
[35:17] doing. And lastly, I would like to
[35:19] request again um the opportunity for the
[35:22] public to call in for a call to the
[35:24] public remotely. So, thank you so much
[35:26] for your time.
[35:27] » Thank you.
[35:28] » Thank you.
[35:30] Any
[35:33] any other folks?
[35:38] Okay, seeing none, we'll go ahead and
[35:40] move to item D, current events, uh,
[35:43] supervisors, and I will start off to my
[35:45] left. Supervisor Mleta.
[35:48] » Good morning. Good morning, Mr.
[35:50] Chairman. I have several items to
[35:52] report. Uh, I had the privilege of
[35:55] meeting with uh uh our two uh our county
[36:00] manager and and Chris Young along with
[36:03] the mayor of city Nogalas and the the
[36:06] current city manager. And it was a
[36:09] really fruitful meeting, one of the best
[36:12] I've had with the city and and I want to
[36:14] thank them and I want to thank staff
[36:16] too. It seems like uh good things are
[36:20] happening with us in the city and that's
[36:22] that's great to see. Uh it's it's
[36:26] important as uh Mr. Davis has uh really
[36:30] pushed for it and I want to thank him
[36:32] for continuing to to do that. Um on 8:26
[36:37] I attended the educational leadership
[36:39] consortium. Uh superintendent of schools
[36:42] did an amazing job with that. Thank you
[36:44] for inviting us. uh 8:28 Friday uh
[36:49] Supervisor Davis uh uh invited Senator
[36:52] Ggo to host a town hall and is a very
[36:57] successful event. Thank you for doing
[36:59] that. We really appreciate it. And
[37:01] yesterday I I had the privilege of
[37:04] attending an event for Senator Cali. It
[37:07] was men's mentorship initiative. He's
[37:11] pushing for for
[37:13] us to help kids with single parents. He
[37:17] feels that a lot of uh kids with single
[37:20] parents are falling through the cracks
[37:22] and uh so he's pushing for that. And he
[37:26] he uh uh had a a good Q&A with uh quite
[37:29] a few people from Tucson. Uh we were one
[37:32] of the few that were weren't from
[37:34] Tucson, so it was nice that they invited
[37:36] us. Um, but uh it's good to see Senator
[37:41] Kelly uh really uh uh coming out and and
[37:44] and I also invited him to come down uh
[37:48] and uh do do some something here for our
[37:52] county uh a Q&A sometime soon hopefully.
[37:57] Uh and that's all I have to report.
[38:00] » Thank you, sir. Vice Chair.
[38:05] Good morning.
[38:07] So, Senator Go held his first town hall
[38:09] in New Galas at the 1904 historic
[38:12] courthouse. The event was great. It was
[38:15] a great success and full house made
[38:17] possible through tremendous teamwork and
[38:20] effort. Special thanks to Maya Donnelly,
[38:22] Carrie Munoz, and the entire staff for
[38:25] all their work. U Maya worked really
[38:29] hard like before and during the town
[38:32] hall. She also helped us coordinate and
[38:35] got a hold of the Nugalas High School
[38:37] Apaches. So, thanks for that Maya. I
[38:39] really appreciate that. Also, a special
[38:42] thanks to the Nugalas High School
[38:43] Mariachi for joining us at the center
[38:46] gayos town hall and welcoming our
[38:48] community with their beautiful music
[38:50] during the town hall. We also thank
[38:52] Mexico Dansa Machica for creating a
[38:54] unique atmosphere with their music,
[38:56] drums, and dance before the town hall
[38:58] began. We also thank uh Abby Cume right
[39:03] student from Guatimundi for her
[39:05] beautiful re rendition of the star
[39:07] spangled banner. She did an amazing job.
[39:10] I also want to thank county manage
[39:12] management Mr. Valdez, Mr. Shalis for
[39:14] supporting this idea and helping bring
[39:16] Senator Ggo to Nugal in Santa Cruz
[39:18] County. This all started like four or
[39:20] five months ago when we met with the
[39:22] senator in Phoenix and since then we
[39:25] worked together to make this town hall a
[39:27] reality. so that our community could
[39:29] have an opportunity to ask those
[39:31] questions that are having an impact in N
[39:34] gallas and Santa Cruz County. I also
[39:36] want to thank all the community members
[39:38] who attended and participated during
[39:40] this town hall.
[39:42] I also it was also a pleasure to see the
[39:45] city manager Mr. Fontes, Councilman
[39:47] Bonas, newly newly elected officials,
[39:50] Mr. Lu Para and Mr. Diaz. It was a it
[39:53] was great to see the city of Ngalas in
[39:54] Santa Cruz County come together in
[39:56] support of and participate in this
[39:59] important town hall meeting. I want to
[40:01] thank Jordan Toyo sound Arizona director
[40:05] in the office of Senator Ggo. He worked
[40:07] very closely to bring the senator to
[40:09] Nalas and it was a pleasure
[40:11] collaborating with him to make this
[40:13] event happen. We truly appreciate his
[40:15] partnership and dedication in making
[40:17] this possible. Lastly, I want to thank
[40:19] Senator Ggo Ruben Ggo for his first town
[40:23] hall in Nalis and we hope it will be the
[40:26] first of many more to come.
[40:29] I also got a chance to attend the
[40:31] Arizona Sonora mega region industrial
[40:34] capabilities mission in Nugal Sonora at
[40:36] the US consulate in Ngalas, Mexico.
[40:39] There was it was a one-day program
[40:40] designed for Arizona companies, regional
[40:43] businesses, leaders interested in
[40:44] crossber manufacturing suppliers,
[40:47] relationship, investment opportunities,
[40:49] and industrial cooperation. The morning
[40:52] features several presentations followed
[40:54] by a tour of local manufacturing
[40:56] companies. In the afternoon, I had the
[40:58] opportunity to participate in the tour
[41:01] which provided me with a better
[41:02] understanding of the manufacturing
[41:04] industry and a more complex perspective
[41:06] on the opportunities and challenges
[41:08] within this region. Yesterday, I
[41:11] attended the Jed transformative
[41:14] transformation summit. It was I was
[41:16] invited by I was invited to attend the
[41:18] Jed Summit, an event focused on career
[41:21] and technical education, CTE, workforce
[41:24] development and preparing students for
[41:26] the jobs of the future. Some of the
[41:29] highlights included hands-on
[41:31] demonstration featuring drone
[41:32] technology, medical stimulation, and
[41:35] other CT equipment. Industri industrial
[41:38] panels leaders leaders from
[41:40] construction, aerospace, optics,
[41:42] manufacturing and healthcare discuss
[41:45] future workforce needs and the skills
[41:48] employees are seeking and they also
[41:52] provide a district update an overview of
[41:54] the regional CT growth accomplishments
[41:57] and strategic planning for the future.
[42:01] So those are my my updates.
[42:02] » Thank you sir. [clears throat and cough]
[42:04] I just have a few. Um I want to thank we
[42:07] serve uh the group of realtors for
[42:09] allowing us to uh um be part of their
[42:11] meeting recently. Um also took part in
[42:14] the US international boundary and water
[42:16] commission roundt uh located in Tubac. I
[42:19] know there was a few folks here that
[42:20] were part of that. Thank you so much for
[42:22] being there. Very important. Um I was uh
[42:26] part I I was able to um be present at
[42:30] the best of Santa Cruz County awards.
[42:31] I'd like to thank the Ngalas
[42:33] International for that as well as the uh
[42:35] I know the Green Valley uh paper.
[42:38] They're basically one and the same same
[42:40] owners. So, thank you for that. Uh first
[42:43] things first, South Southeast area cross
[42:45] regional strategic planning. Also part
[42:48] of the watershed group steering
[42:50] committee meeting. Uh I also was at the
[42:53] Senator GGO's town hall. Thank you um to
[42:56] uh Vice Chair Davis. Thank you uh um
[43:00] Supervisor Mleta and thank you for all
[43:02] the folks that showed up that asked some
[43:03] some very good questions. um yesterday
[43:07] took part in my samba meeting um was uh
[43:10] lucky enough to be uh to help with the
[43:13] NHS that's national honors society
[43:15] faculty council um meeting uh held two
[43:19] days ago uh to choose the NHS students
[43:23] um or who would be inducted into NHS
[43:25] which happens tomorrow evening at 7
[43:27] o'clock at the high school. Uh that was
[43:29] quite an um an event and uh community
[43:32] check-in yesterday in Elgen. I want to
[43:34] thank those folks who uh accompanied me
[43:36] to Elgen for the check-in and then after
[43:39] the check-in we uh we had uh an
[43:42] extensive discussion um and folks were
[43:45] able to see you know what's happening
[43:47] with the bridge um in the Baba Kamari
[43:50] Bridge at Elgen. So thank you to all
[43:53] those folks who took part in that. And
[43:55] lastly, I promised this person that I
[43:56] would apologize in person. She said I
[43:59] did not have to, but I'm going to. and
[44:01] Mitten um uh called me on Friday. I
[44:04] wasn't able to call her back, but then I
[44:06] looked back at my emails and uh it was
[44:09] buried about a month ago. So, I called
[44:11] her yesterday and uh we we came up with
[44:15] a a plan of action. So, I wanted to
[44:17] personally apologize to her for for
[44:19] missing that uh that email and not
[44:21] responding within uh 24 48 hours. So, I
[44:25] apologize for that. So, with that, I
[44:27] will turn it over to
[44:30] Mr. manager.
[44:32] » Mr. Chair, members of the board, uh,
[44:34] [clears throat] County Manager
[44:35] Association made in TubeBck a couple
[44:37] weeks ago. We discussed uh the bills and
[44:40] the resolutions that you guys will all
[44:41] be hearing in October. So, there's some
[44:43] interesting ones. There's more to come.
[44:46] Um, also attended Santa Cruz Provisional
[44:48] College and South 32 automated
[44:52] industrial technology program. It was a
[44:54] ceremony uh to introduce their cohorts.
[44:57] It's nice to see uh local people trying
[44:59] to further their education and their
[45:01] career. Um I also attended the Moonshot
[45:05] uh pitch competition. That's where local
[45:08] entrepreneurs myself and supervisor
[45:10] Davis, they uh get to pitch their uh
[45:14] basically uh their company to a panel.
[45:18] It's a competition. They get po uh
[45:20] pointers and and what they could do
[45:22] better and what they're doing right. So,
[45:23] it was it was nice to see local local
[45:26] people that go through that process.
[45:28] » Isn't there like a $5,000 prize or
[45:30] something like that?
[45:32] » I I think it was 2500 for this one and
[45:35] then
[45:36] there's another one. So, one
[45:38] » State level. Yeah. Yeah. For this one
[45:40] was 2500.
[45:43] So, Stephanie, I forgot to say Stephanie
[45:45] Bermudez is doing a great job working
[45:47] with entrepreneurs and local businesses
[45:49] and helping them prepare for to pitch
[45:52] this, get feedback, improve their
[45:53] business plan. So, thanks for her. She's
[45:56] Miguel's native and doing great here,
[45:58] too.
[45:59] » I agree. I agree, sir. And lastly, I
[46:02] want to congratulate Marisa Chavez and
[46:05] having uh for his uh the birth of his
[46:08] second grandchild. So, congratulations.
[46:10] » Congratulations.
[46:12] » That's all my report. Thank you, sir.
[46:14] » Thank you, sir.
[46:15] » Okay, we'll move to item E. E1, finance,
[46:18] cash, and investment expenditure and
[46:20] revenues report.
[46:30] Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the
[46:31] board. For the cash and investment
[46:34] report, in the general fund, we have an
[46:36] overall balance of 20,560,124
[46:41] with an invested amount of 17,23,235.
[46:45] For the road fund, we have an overall
[46:47] balance of 5,210,634
[46:51] with an invested amount of 5,266,519.
[46:56] For the flood control, we have an
[46:58] overall balance of 2,364,270
[47:02] with an invested amount of 317,48.
[47:06] For the jail district, we have an
[47:08] overall balance of 5,641,967
[47:12] with an invested amount of 4,523,744
[47:18] a total overall balance of 55,620,940
[47:23] and an invested amount of 29,312,114
[47:28] and an estimated end of month balance of
[47:30] 6,16,829.
[47:35] Thank you, madam vice chair. Any
[47:37] questions?
[47:39] » No, sir.
[47:40] » Thank you.
[47:43] [snorts]
[47:44] » Any other department updates?
[47:49] » Come on up.
[47:56] Good morning, Chairman Fanning,
[47:58] Supervisor Davis Mera, County
[48:00] Management, members of the public. My
[48:02] name is Sidamante. I am with Arizona at
[48:05] Work. Um we are a one-stop center that
[48:08] provides career services, job
[48:10] opportunities, um workshop, workshops
[48:14] for resume writing, um application tips,
[48:16] mock interviews, and I am here to um
[48:21] provide an update of what we're doing.
[48:23] Uh we have a current event that we're
[48:26] going to be having October 14th. It's
[48:27] our annual job fair. It's a job fair and
[48:31] community resource expo. Last year we
[48:33] had great success. We had about 700 job
[48:36] seekers attend. Um more than a hundred
[48:40] employers and community organizations
[48:41] attend and provide their services,
[48:43] interview applicants. Um there were a
[48:46] lot of hires uh that were done. This
[48:48] year is going to be at the Ngales the
[48:51] city of Ngales recreational uh center.
[48:54] We have I have flyers that I'm going to
[48:56] be providing there. Um, they're going to
[48:58] be in the back if you guys wish to
[49:01] participate. We always look for
[49:02] volunteers. Um, and there's going to be
[49:06] transportation available. And we we like
[49:09] this this this spot specifically only
[49:12] because it's closer to um our job
[49:16] seekers, the people whom we serve. Um,
[49:18] so we're very happy that the city of
[49:20] Nales was was able to provide this this
[49:23] location for us. And the other reason,
[49:26] any questions regarding our job fair,
[49:28] annual job fair?
[49:30] » I just have a comment and I want to
[49:32] apologize ahead of time. I will be out
[49:34] of town October 14th.
[49:36] » Okay. We'll we'll we'll still save your
[49:38] shirt.
[49:39] » We're making some shirts for board of
[49:41] supervisors.
[49:41] » I love that event and
[49:44] I'm sad that I won't be able to attend.
[49:48] » Thank you so much.
[49:48] » Quick question, SA.
[49:49] » Yes.
[49:50] » For those that need transportation,
[49:52] how's that?
[49:53] » Yes. So, the transportation is a free
[49:56] roundtrip transportation. They are
[49:58] picked up at the Pimeiala Museum. Okay.
[50:01] » And uh transportation will begin at 8:30
[50:03] a.m. The event starts at 9:00 and the
[50:06] last pickup to the fair will be at 100
[50:09] p.m.
[50:11] » There would be uh there's two shuttles,
[50:13] okay,
[50:13] » That are that are transporting our job
[50:15] seekers.
[50:16] » Yes, sir.
[50:17] » Clarification. Go ahead.
[50:18] » Yeah, the flyer says October 14th and up
[50:21] there it says October 15. Okay, that is
[50:23] actually an and um that's not the um
[50:28] that's not the
[50:29] » That's not the um flyer. So, I apologize
[50:32] for that.
[50:33] » So, it is the 14th.
[50:34] » It is the 14th. Yes. Last year it was
[50:37] the 15th. So, I think there was a
[50:38] confusion there.
[50:39] » Thank you, madam.
[50:40] » Thank you.
[50:41] » Yes, of course. And then I also want to
[50:43] introduce um Tanya Ernnandez, one of our
[50:46] workforce development specialist. She is
[50:48] here to share a successful um
[50:50] participant and his
[50:53] um path with Arizona Network.
[50:58] » Good morning, Board of Supervisors. My
[50:59] name is Tanya. Morning uh members of the
[51:02] public. Um I've been working uh with
[51:06] Arizona Work for three years. I love
[51:08] what I do and I love to share my success
[51:11] stories. I have with me Luis Gahiola. Um
[51:14] he started the program in July 9th. Um
[51:18] he got his CDL license. Um he got his
[51:23] permit in July 22nd, his license, actual
[51:27] license on August 27th. Um and he's here
[51:32] with me to share his his experience.
[51:37] » Good morning everybody. My name is Luis
[51:38] Kiola. Uh I just like to share a little
[51:40] bit. I want to thank Tanya and Zida for
[51:43] helping me and being with me this entire
[51:45] time having me under their wing. Um it's
[51:48] been a journey for me. Uh I got laid off
[51:51] from my job since March and I haven't
[51:53] had a job since then. So it's been a
[51:56] struggle but um they've been under
[51:59] they've been holding me down, been
[52:00] patient with me and very showed me a lot
[52:02] of confidence within myself to get this
[52:04] license. And I'm proud of myself and
[52:06] proud of them for being with me the
[52:08] whole time because without them, I
[52:09] wouldn't be where I'm at right now.
[52:11] Already seeking a CDL uh job pretty
[52:14] soon. And uh I just want to thank them
[52:16] very much and thank everybody.
[52:19] » Do you have a job yet?
[52:20] » Not yet.
[52:22] » We might have openings here at the
[52:23] county. So
[52:24] » Yes, I did put an application here at
[52:26] the county and I talked to Mr. T Romero.
[52:28] So I'm seeking
[52:30] » Perfect.
[52:31] » Thank you.
[52:32] » Congratulations.
[52:32] » Thank you.
[52:34] Quick question and it's not a question
[52:37] more than anything it's a comment. So SA
[52:39] da thanks for like you said sharing
[52:42] those su successful stories because
[52:44] there's a lot of stuff going on a lot of
[52:46] positive stuff going at the county and
[52:48] sometimes those stories get varied. So
[52:50] this shows like the effort the the the
[52:53] team work your effort as a community
[52:55] member trying to improve your life. So I
[52:58] always love to to hear these stories
[53:00] when I go and visit you guys. I know how
[53:02] hard you guys work. So, thanks for
[53:04] bringing those stories. I hope keep
[53:06] bringing more and more of those stories.
[53:08] We appreciate them
[53:09] » And congratulations on that.
[53:11] » Thank you very much.
[53:13] » Great story. Any other departments?
[53:21] » Okay. And let us know if you can't find
[53:24] a job.
[53:25] » We know a lot of produce people.
[53:30] » All righty. We'll move to E3 awards
[53:32] recognition and accomplishments. Uh
[53:35] recognition of Cecilia A Mahia, public
[53:38] fiduciary director in honor of her
[53:40] retirement and an appreciation of 35
[53:43] years of dedicated service. Um Miss
[53:46] Cecilia, Miss Mahia, will you come up to
[53:48] the podium, please? another great story
[53:53] » And I'm going to read something on
[53:55] behalf of the county and then we'll give
[53:58] you a few minutes to uh
[54:01] » Say a few words.
[54:02] » Okay.
[54:02] » Okay. Uh today on behalf of Santa Cruz
[54:05] County and the board of supervisors, it
[54:07] is my privilege to recognize Cecilia
[54:09] Mahia, director of the office of the
[54:12] public fiduciary as she prepares for her
[54:15] retirement. Cecilia began her career
[54:17] with Santa Cruz County on November 12th,
[54:19] 1990 and will retire on September 16th,
[54:23] 2026. That represents more than 35 years
[54:26] of dedicated service nearly 36 years to
[54:29] Santa Cruz County as an and its
[54:31] residents. Throughout her career,
[54:33] Cecilia has served with professionalism,
[54:35] integrity, compassion, and dedication.
[54:38] As director of the public fiduciary, she
[54:40] has carried an important responsibility
[54:43] serving some of the most vulnerable
[54:44] members of our community as a
[54:46] courtappointed guardian or conservator
[54:48] and administering uh estates when no one
[54:51] else is willing or able to serve. This
[54:53] work requires sound judgment,
[54:55] compassion, and a strong commitment to
[54:57] protecting the dignity and interests of
[54:59] those the county is entrusted to serve.
[55:02] For nearly 36 years, Cecilia has
[55:04] provided steady professional leadership
[55:06] and dedicated service to Santa Cruz
[55:08] County. Cecilia, Santa Cruz County is
[55:10] grateful for your for everything you
[55:12] have contributed during your many years
[55:14] of service. Your dedication to this
[55:16] organization, and most importantly to
[55:19] the people of Santa Cruz County is
[55:21] sincerely appreciated. On behalf of
[55:23] Santa Cruz County, the board of
[55:24] supervisors, your colleagues, and the
[55:27] residents you have served, thank you for
[55:29] your outstanding public service. We
[55:31] congratulate you on your retirement and
[55:33] wish you happiness, good health, and
[55:35] many wonderful years ahead.
[55:37] Congratulations, Sicilia, and thank you
[55:38] for nearly 36 years of dedicated service
[55:42] to Santa Cruz County.
[55:45] [applause]
[55:49] » And with that, the floor is yours.
[55:52] » Oh my god, I'm going to cry.
[55:56] Thank you. Thank you members of the
[55:57] board, members of management, and all
[56:00] the public.
[56:02] Thank you for the trust that you've
[56:05] given me in all these years.
[56:08] Um,
[56:12] and I also want to thank my staff.
[56:15] They've been wonderful. They've been
[56:17] great. They're team members.
[56:20] Um,
[56:22] my deputy Giovanni, my Toena, Are
[56:26] here present. Uh, the other staff are
[56:29] out on the field because we have a
[56:31] schedule to keep.
[56:34] Um, I can't believe I've walked these
[56:38] hallways for 35 years, met a lot of
[56:42] amazing people along the way, met a lot
[56:45] of new friends, colleagues.
[56:49] It's just Santa Cruz County is an
[56:51] amazing place to work. It gives you an
[56:55] opportunity to expand
[56:57] and
[56:59] the opportunities, the people and the
[57:02] community that I've served, it's it's
[57:05] been an honor working,
[57:08] but I decided that it's time for me to
[57:11] move on to other adventures.
[57:16] Thank you.
[57:18] » Thank you.
[57:20] » [applause]
[57:23] » In the short time that I've known you,
[57:26] um, the words that come to mind when
[57:28] when to describe you are are humble and
[57:31] genuine. And so, you are very much
[57:34] appreciated. And with that, would you
[57:36] like
[57:36] » Thank you.
[57:37] » Yes. Uh, I'd be honored. It is a true
[57:40] honor. And look at that smile. I love
[57:44] your smile. You You've made so many
[57:47] people's days. you know, especially
[57:49] these people you work with, a lot of
[57:51] them are going through tough times,
[57:53] » And I want to thank you for that. You
[57:56] you uh are a true leader,
[58:00] » And I had the opportunity to uh hire you
[58:05] for that position, I believe.
[58:07] » Yes.
[58:07] » Uh and be a part of it. And and and
[58:10] you've done an amazing job.
[58:12] » Thank you.
[58:13] » You are a true leader, and we're going
[58:14] to miss you. Um, we have this very nice
[58:19] little uh momentto here and it says
[58:23] presented to Cecilia A Mahia, public
[58:27] judiciary director, Santa Cruz County in
[58:30] recognition and appreciation for 35 of
[58:33] dedicated public service to Santa Cruz
[58:36] County. Your commitment, leadership, and
[58:39] dedicated service have made a lasting
[58:42] impact on county and the community you
[58:45] faithfully served November 13, 1990
[58:49] through September 16, 2026.
[58:52] With gratitude and best wishes on your
[58:55] retirement on behalf of our board and
[58:58] Santa Cruz County, thank you.
[59:01] » Thank you.
[59:52] That's a lot of
[1:00:08] Mr. Chairman, members of the board is
[1:00:10] can I make a comment on
[1:00:12] » Absolutely. I
[1:00:14] » And I and I've spoken before on on uh on
[1:00:17] Cecilia's um management of her
[1:00:20] department.
[1:00:22] You know, she has to manage not only the
[1:00:24] operational of dealing with all the
[1:00:26] awards, but she also has a
[1:00:28] responsibility with her staff and to
[1:00:30] deal with so many different uh bank
[1:00:31] accounts. uh checking accounts of of
[1:00:34] dealing with all the of of the of the
[1:00:36] warts. I mean, at one point she might
[1:00:38] have maybe 50 or or 60 bank accounts and
[1:00:40] every year she has to reconcile that and
[1:00:43] present it to the auditors and present
[1:00:44] it to us. And uh you know, she's always
[1:00:47] on time. She's always reconciled to the
[1:00:49] penny uh on all those accounts. So,
[1:00:52] credit to her and her team. I mean,
[1:00:53] she's she's amazing. We're going to miss
[1:00:55] her, but she she does really really
[1:00:58] great work, you know, all around.
[1:01:01] » Thank you. Thank you.
[1:01:02] » I want I want to say something really
[1:01:03] quick, too.
[1:01:04] » Please do.
[1:01:04] » So, Cecil, I know you're retiring, but
[1:01:06] yesterday I received a call from
[1:01:08] somebody in the community. So, we're
[1:01:10] gonna before you leave, I'm going to
[1:01:12] stop by
[1:01:14] to give you their to try to set a
[1:01:16] meeting before you leave. [laughter]
[1:01:26] » Well done.
[1:01:26] » That's true.
[1:01:27] » Well done.
[1:01:29] Okay, we will
[1:01:30] » We need a favor, assistant.
[1:01:34] » We'll go ahead and move to uh item F1
[1:01:37] uh report on year one, air quality
[1:01:39] monitoring by Dr. Chris Lim, associate
[1:01:41] professor, Arizona State University. And
[1:01:44] I know Robin, you wanted to say a few uh
[1:01:46] introductory words for Dr. Lim.
[1:01:51] » Thank you, supervisors, our county
[1:01:53] management, and our audience. Thank you.
[1:01:55] Uh my name is Robin Luck. president of
[1:01:57] the Calabasas Alliance. First, before I
[1:01:59] introduce Dr. Lim, I want to acknowledge
[1:02:02] uh Dr. Denise Moreno Ramirez, who grew
[1:02:05] up in Ngalas. She uh went through the
[1:02:08] entire public school system here, no
[1:02:10] Gallas Unified School District. Um and
[1:02:13] is now the assistant director of the
[1:02:15] Earth League secretariat at the ASU,
[1:02:18] Julie Anne Wriggley Global Futures
[1:02:20] Laboratory, which is an international
[1:02:22] voluntary alliance focused on
[1:02:24] sustainability and climate change where
[1:02:26] the top scientists around the world are
[1:02:28] working to solve these monumental
[1:02:30] challenges.
[1:02:32] The work we do in Santa Cruz County
[1:02:34] would have not come together without
[1:02:36] her. So now, Dr. Chris Lim, our guest
[1:02:39] today, is an associate professor of the
[1:02:42] new school of technology for public
[1:02:43] health at Arizona State University,
[1:02:46] guided by the motto, environment becomes
[1:02:49] health and inequality. His health and
[1:02:53] urban modeling lab combines sensor
[1:02:55] networks, global spatial and population
[1:02:57] health data, AI, and community
[1:02:59] partnerships to turn environmental
[1:03:02] signals into actionable placebased
[1:03:05] solutions. Dr. Lim currently leads an
[1:03:07] NIH funded study examining air
[1:03:10] pollution, heat, and 911 activations in
[1:03:13] the US and is a member of the University
[1:03:15] of Arizona Super Fund team. He completed
[1:03:18] his post-doal training at the Yale
[1:03:21] School of the Environment and obtained
[1:03:23] his PhD from the NYU School of Medicine.
[1:03:26] Dr. Lim along with his team at ASU and
[1:03:28] UVA are the chief investigators for the
[1:03:31] airsmart program. It is a great
[1:03:33] privilege for the Cowbas Alliance to
[1:03:35] work with him and his team. Chris, all
[1:03:38] we can say is thank you. Come on.
[1:03:48] Good morning. Um, Chris,
[1:03:50] » Morning.
[1:03:51] » Good morning to the public. Thanks for
[1:03:53] having me here today. Um, I'm really
[1:03:56] pleased to share the results of the year
[1:03:58] one of the AirSmart program. As Robin
[1:04:00] mentioned, um I'm currently at ASU, but
[1:04:03] as of a few months ago, I was at
[1:04:04] University of Arizona where um I work
[1:04:08] with Calabes Alliance and other members
[1:04:10] of the public to establish the sensor
[1:04:12] network and um collect the data that's
[1:04:14] being presented here. Uh next slide,
[1:04:16] please.
[1:04:18] Um so what Aerosmart is is a network of
[1:04:22] real-time sensors with a free public
[1:04:25] online dashboard. Um so so far we have
[1:04:29] 11
[1:04:31] um PM sensors particular matter sensors
[1:04:33] for called quant modular air um
[1:04:37] installed across homes, schools and
[1:04:39] businesses across Santa Cruz County. We
[1:04:41] also have additional 13 or 13 or so um
[1:04:45] lowcost sensors called purple air also
[1:04:48] installed across um uh Santa Cruz
[1:04:50] County. Um I added those plus signs
[1:04:52] there to show that we're um in the
[1:04:55] process of expanding this network over
[1:04:57] time. Um the dashboard is bilingual. Um
[1:05:00] the data is open and real time um free
[1:05:04] to download the data and there is zero
[1:05:06] cost to host the sensors to the public.
[1:05:10] Before these sensors are installed
[1:05:11] across the community, we also place
[1:05:13] these right next to reference uh PDQ or
[1:05:17] ADQ EPA reference monitors in Tucson. Uh
[1:05:20] we do this so that we can assess their
[1:05:23] accuracy against these more expensive
[1:05:25] regulatory monitors. Um next slide
[1:05:28] please.
[1:05:32] Um so this is what the dashboard online
[1:05:35] dashboard looks like. So um is it shows
[1:05:38] a map of where the sensors are located
[1:05:40] across uh the county. Uh when when you
[1:05:43] click on the on the dodge you can see
[1:05:45] what the levels show. The dashboard also
[1:05:48] has uh real-time plots and graphs
[1:05:50] showing changes over time as well. Um on
[1:05:53] the right is a picture um I believe in
[1:05:56] um the town of Patagonia with a sensor
[1:05:58] installed um under a gazebo. Um and
[1:06:02] these sensors are pretty small,
[1:06:03] lightweight. Um they just require um
[1:06:06] cell signal and electricity. Next, next
[1:06:10] slide, please.
[1:06:12] So um in Santa Cruz County there's just
[1:06:15] one EPA monitor covering the entire
[1:06:17] county in Ngalas the post office. Um in
[1:06:21] the past um the county was in non
[1:06:23] attainment for PM2.5 which are the
[1:06:26] smaller particles. Currently it's
[1:06:28] obtainment for PM10 the coarse dust
[1:06:30] particles. The next closest monitor is
[1:06:34] in Green Valley. Um so again there's a a
[1:06:37] big l gap of um air pollution data
[1:06:41] across across the city but also the
[1:06:43] county. Um air pollution levels can vary
[1:06:46] um minute by minute, second by second.
[1:06:48] They can change very rapidly over time
[1:06:50] and over short distances and these uh
[1:06:53] regulatory monitors cannot capture this
[1:06:55] uh very well. Uh again there's just one
[1:06:57] monitor across the the location and they
[1:06:59] report hourly values as well. It's uh it
[1:07:02] it it misses a lot of these real-time
[1:07:04] short changes in air pollution. Next
[1:07:07] slide, please.
[1:07:09] Um as we all know, the county's air
[1:07:11] pollution sources and profiles are
[1:07:13] changing over time. Um there's a big
[1:07:16] mine that's being developed with
[1:07:17] construction operations, heavy truck
[1:07:19] traffic on rural roads. There's also the
[1:07:21] border activity with the wall
[1:07:23] construction, materials transport, and a
[1:07:25] lot of idling trucks as a lot of the
[1:07:27] members of the public has already
[1:07:28] commented. uh wildfire smoke can carry
[1:07:31] uh carry smoke over long distances but
[1:07:34] also more regional sources as well. Uh
[1:07:36] the PM itself can also change uh the
[1:07:39] metal composition due to these changing
[1:07:41] activity patterns um can change as well.
[1:07:46] Next slide please.
[1:07:49] Uh so far what we have collected is more
[1:07:51] than 6 million one minute observations
[1:07:54] across these sensors more than 14 months
[1:07:57] of measurements. Uh we all again we also
[1:08:00] um colllocated these sensors across the
[1:08:03] across the EPA monitors and they show
[1:08:05] very high agreements against the EPA
[1:08:07] monitors. Um we have also observed very
[1:08:10] um high pollution days. So we found six
[1:08:13] site days above uh the EPA regulatory
[1:08:17] 24-hour um um regulatory limit of 115
[1:08:22] micrograms per meter cubed. Next slide
[1:08:24] please.
[1:08:27] Um and this is what a one one day of
[1:08:30] sensor measurements look like. So this
[1:08:32] is at um at Linia AC close to the um the
[1:08:37] Ngalas border. Um so this shows very u
[1:08:41] rapid changes as you can see in PM10
[1:08:43] levels across time and across minutes.
[1:08:46] Um AC in the early mornings we pick up a
[1:08:49] uh an elevated signal as well maybe due
[1:08:52] to traffic in the region or other
[1:08:54] sources. But the point of this plot is
[1:08:56] to show that again um the the one hour
[1:08:59] averages really miss these peaks that
[1:09:01] you're seeing um changing rapidly over
[1:09:03] time. Uh there's also a lot of um spikes
[1:09:07] in high uh PM dust levels. Um so uh on
[1:09:10] this particular day we had um 93 um
[1:09:14] spikes above the 150 uh the limit. Um
[1:09:17] although the the EPA limit is for the
[1:09:19] daily average. I just put that there to
[1:09:22] show uh kind of to kind of compare
[1:09:24] against um what you see here. And on one
[1:09:27] day we also found more than 300
[1:09:29] micrograms per meter cubed um which is a
[1:09:33] huge um um exposure profile that people
[1:09:36] are being exposed to.
[1:09:39] Next slide please. Um and also these
[1:09:42] dust exposures and PM exposures are
[1:09:45] unequal across sites. Um as I mentioned
[1:09:47] earlier the air pushion levels can vary
[1:09:50] a lot uh depending on the location um as
[1:09:53] well as time. So um we in the Linia
[1:09:56] location we found more than 135 hours
[1:09:59] above 150 in one year. uh at the
[1:10:02] treehouse site by the in the Patagonia
[1:10:04] Mountains, we observed a a thousand plus
[1:10:09] hourly peak at this location. And th
[1:10:12] this value across locations can vary as
[1:10:15] much as 10 to 15 times.
[1:10:18] Um and and the treehouse we found more
[1:10:21] than 6,000 minutes above 150 um 1100
[1:10:25] more than 500. Um, and this number was
[1:10:28] also pretty high at the Little Red
[1:10:30] Schoolhouse as well. Uh, next slide,
[1:10:33] please. Uh, we can also pick up and
[1:10:36] detect dust storms. So, this is um one
[1:10:38] one event that we picked up in August of
[1:10:41] 2025 when the the monsoon rolled in with
[1:10:44] with the dust. Um, and across all
[1:10:47] sensors, we saw this elevated um event.
[1:10:50] Um and these sensors again are able to
[1:10:53] pick up these minute by minute, hourly
[1:10:55] by hourly um PM events. Um and this dust
[1:11:00] storm lasted more than four hours. All
[1:11:02] sensors captured it and this was above
[1:11:05] the 24 24-hour standard as well. So this
[1:11:09] sensor network can pick up not just
[1:11:11] minute-by-minute averages but all these
[1:11:13] regional events that are driving um
[1:11:16] these air pollution episodes as well. Uh
[1:11:18] next slide please.
[1:11:21] Um, one point I would like to mention
[1:11:23] um, in this presentation is that
[1:11:25] although there are these EPA regulatory
[1:11:27] standards, they're not um,
[1:11:31] I I would have to say that the standards
[1:11:33] are behind by a couple of years what the
[1:11:35] science scientific evidence shows. Um,
[1:11:38] so um, a lot of recent papers and
[1:11:41] studies have found that there is no safe
[1:11:43] number when it comes to air pollution
[1:11:46] um, even below the EPA standards. Um
[1:11:49] although EPA standards are for daily or
[1:11:51] annual averages um all these minuteby
[1:11:54] minute second by second um short
[1:11:56] episodes can trigger um health effects
[1:11:59] like asthma, heart attacks, cardiac
[1:12:01] arrest, stroke. Um our bodies are very
[1:12:05] sensitive to these uh short-term
[1:12:07] exposures. Uh things like dust storms as
[1:12:09] well can also um trigger health effects.
[1:12:13] uh things like mortality, premature
[1:12:15] mortality, um respiratory impacts,
[1:12:17] cardiovascular impacts and all just uh
[1:12:20] pretty much every body system you can
[1:12:22] think of. Air pollution is impacting um
[1:12:24] your organs and body systems as well. Uh
[1:12:27] next slide please.
[1:12:30] Um also um our monitors, our network
[1:12:34] also um although it's expanding, there's
[1:12:36] a lot of potential hotspots with no
[1:12:39] monitors. Um the networks are mostly
[1:12:41] west so far around Patagonia and Ogalas.
[1:12:44] So there's a lot of uh locations within
[1:12:46] the county with no monitors yet which
[1:12:48] we're um working to um address. Um we as
[1:12:53] the members of the community knows the
[1:12:54] the ongoing construction moves a lot of
[1:12:56] the heavy trucks over dirt roads which
[1:12:58] can kick up a lot of these dust
[1:13:00] short-term dust events that can trigger
[1:13:02] the health impacts. Um, and what we're
[1:13:05] trying to do with the sensor network is
[1:13:07] to quantify how their occlusion levels
[1:13:09] are changing in the community over time.
[1:13:11] Uh, next slide, please. Um, thank you.
[1:13:15] Any questions or comments?
[1:13:20] » Sure.
[1:13:21] » Okay. So, [clears throat]
[1:13:24] just a quick question. So
[1:13:27] you said that that you guys have 13 airs
[1:13:29] smart like sensors [clears throat]
[1:13:32] » Plus how many would you want to have?
[1:13:35] How many more like to cover the the
[1:13:37] region or the area?
[1:13:38] » Uh that's a good question. So um
[1:13:41] obviously more the better is the I guess
[1:13:44] the easy answer, but at least 20 um
[1:13:46] » At least 20
[1:13:47] » 20. So um just to clarify, we have um 10
[1:13:51] of like the more expensive sensors and
[1:13:53] 15ish of the purple airs and they do
[1:13:57] different things. The more expensive
[1:13:58] sensors are able to pick up dust, the
[1:14:00] coarse particles. Lower cost sensors
[1:14:03] pick up the fine particles. Um so they
[1:14:05] are kind of a mix of two sensors, but
[1:14:08] overall maybe doubling the number would
[1:14:10] be ideal for both of these sensors.
[1:14:12] » So like 30.
[1:14:14] » Yep. Uhhuh. A and once you put on these
[1:14:17] sensors, who maintains them or how often
[1:14:19] do they use?
[1:14:20] » Yeah. So, so far we've been working with
[1:14:21] the community group Calabasus Alliance
[1:14:23] and other um members of the public that
[1:14:25] are hosting these sensors at their homes
[1:14:27] or businesses. Um but we do have plan or
[1:14:30] my students from UOVA or ASU will come
[1:14:32] down and help them um maintain these as
[1:14:35] well as installations.
[1:14:44] Sorry. Thank Thank you for the
[1:14:46] presentation. Thank you for your
[1:14:48] research, sir. Um, you said EPA only has
[1:14:52] one sensor in Santa Cruz County.
[1:14:56] » I think we need to reach out to the EPA
[1:14:58] » So they can put more more sensors here.
[1:15:01] » Right.
[1:15:02] » Are you also do you all doing water as
[1:15:05] well or just air?
[1:15:06] » Just just air.
[1:15:07] » Just air. Okay.
[1:15:09] » Okay. Thank you.
[1:15:11] » Thank you.
[1:15:12] » Ask another question
[1:15:13] » Please. So, so you said something also
[1:15:16] when it comes to EPA that uh
[1:15:20] there's their their standards are
[1:15:21] behind.
[1:15:22] » Uhhuh.
[1:15:23] » So, so what can it be done?
[1:15:25] » Um that's a good question. Um I would
[1:15:28] say that you know minimizing just any
[1:15:31] sources of air pollution is the primary
[1:15:34] um need right now um across not just
[1:15:38] here but across everywhere. Um just like
[1:15:40] I mentioned any any level of air
[1:15:43] pollution is unhealthy for you. Um in
[1:15:45] terms of like the intervention side um
[1:15:48] ways to protect yourself are things like
[1:15:50] air purifiers
[1:15:52] u masks during really high air push days
[1:15:54] or wildfire days. Um eating a healthier
[1:15:56] diet, things like that are personal
[1:15:58] level things you can do. Overall
[1:16:00] minimizing the sources is the most
[1:16:02] important thing.
[1:16:04] » Thanks for your presentation.
[1:16:05] » Thank you.
[1:16:08] And I have one one other question.
[1:16:11] You mentioned the Ngalas border sensor
[1:16:14] was one of the ones that was really
[1:16:16] peing high.
[1:16:18] » That's one of my big fears because of
[1:16:21] the factories
[1:16:23] » In Mexico
[1:16:25] » And it just
[1:16:27] a lot more activity in Mexico
[1:16:31] » And everything pretty much.
[1:16:32] » That's a huge potential source as well.
[1:16:35] For sure.
[1:16:38] Um I want to say thank you. Uh my you
[1:16:41] know personal story and and we were
[1:16:43] always told that it was the dust in the
[1:16:46] air. My dad um had valley fever
[1:16:49] » Back in the day turned into menitis in
[1:16:51] the hospital for three months. So I I
[1:16:53] understand the implications of of dust
[1:16:56] in the air. So thank you on that. My
[1:16:58] question is South 32 was mentioned quite
[1:17:00] often and well a few times in your
[1:17:02] presentation are and I know they have
[1:17:05] air monitoring
[1:17:06] » And one of the things that that I've
[1:17:08] attempted to push for and maybe you can
[1:17:11] help me out with this is is there any
[1:17:13] collaboration between what ASU is doing
[1:17:16] perhaps U of A and South 32 so that
[1:17:20] » Whatever particles are in the air
[1:17:22] whether they're they're they're um um
[1:17:25] picked up by by your monitors or by
[1:17:28] theirs. Is there any collaborative
[1:17:29] efforts between the two?
[1:17:31] » Yeah, I we've had a couple of chats and
[1:17:33] I think um our monitoring efforts are
[1:17:35] complimentary. Um what we're measuring
[1:17:37] is real time air pollution. What they're
[1:17:39] me measuring is long-term metals in the
[1:17:42] PM which are very different things. So I
[1:17:44] think um by I mean our data is also open
[1:17:47] data. So we're sharing this on the
[1:17:48] website so people anyone can look at it.
[1:17:50] Um and I think their plan is to do so as
[1:17:53] well. I think um we can definitely chat
[1:17:56] more to integrate our efforts a little
[1:17:57] more closely over time.
[1:17:59] » Wonderful. Thank you. And and I'll allow
[1:18:02] for one question if there's a question
[1:18:03] from the audience if anyone has any
[1:18:05] questions. But Rob, go ahead. No,
[1:18:07] » Hold on, Robin.
[1:18:07] » I I I agree with uh Mr. Fannon. I think
[1:18:10] the
[1:18:11] » If you can collaborate with South 32
[1:18:13] early
[1:18:14] » Like right now. I mean and I said it in
[1:18:16] other meetings if anybody and they were
[1:18:18] willing to to collaborate get together
[1:18:21] and if you join forces
[1:18:24] uh gather all data you know
[1:18:25] » Y really encourage that as well.
[1:18:28] » Yeah sure
[1:18:28] » Anything to do with with safety is
[1:18:31] important. Robin did you have a question
[1:18:34] » Please?
[1:18:38] Um, I think it's important to know I
[1:18:40] Does everybody remember what happened
[1:18:42] during the summer with the fires coming
[1:18:44] in from Canada and New York? Stuff like
[1:18:47] that. We hope to God that never happens
[1:18:50] here because the emergency room spikes
[1:18:53] went like up 300% just in New York City.
[1:18:56] So, this is really, really important. We
[1:18:58] do have right now we're going to be
[1:19:01] putting out 10 more of the quant
[1:19:04] modulars. Those units are cell phone
[1:19:07] bone powered and normally there's a $500
[1:19:11] fee for anybody that you know takes one.
[1:19:14] ASU is picking up the complete tab $500
[1:19:17] per year per unit. So I'm incredibly
[1:19:20] grateful for that. They're also going to
[1:19:22] buy some more purple airs and there's
[1:19:23] also some other types of equipment
[1:19:25] coming. So we're we're happy about that.
[1:19:27] Um, as far as collaboration, you know,
[1:19:31] we've struggled a little bit in in our
[1:19:33] conversations uh with South 32 on that.
[1:19:36] But, um, we we need to do bigger
[1:19:38] science. We need to uh, for instance,
[1:19:41] the um, the EPA unit that's that is on
[1:19:44] the uh, the post office. We're going to
[1:19:47] put one of the the quants up there um
[1:19:50] and and just to make sure things are you
[1:19:53] know that all these these devices are
[1:19:55] very close in the data that they track.
[1:19:58] So I just wanted to you know comment and
[1:20:00] again thank you all.
[1:20:02] » Thank you and thank you Dr. Lim very
[1:20:04] much appreciate it. Can
[1:20:06] » One last comment or or ask c can we have
[1:20:11] that uh web information? Oh yeah.
[1:20:13] » So we can monitor
[1:20:15] » Or or our community if they want maybe
[1:20:18] we can post it on our uh website. Yes
[1:20:21] sir.
[1:20:25] » Yeah we'll we'll do one question and
[1:20:27] that's that's
[1:20:36] » Chris I'm sorry. Can you come up to the
[1:20:38] so that we can get it on on Thank you
[1:20:41] sir.
[1:20:44] » [clears throat]
[1:20:44] » My question is about the average levels
[1:20:46] you have seen. Uh how does that compare
[1:20:50] with the average level seen in the state
[1:20:52] and nationwide?
[1:20:54] Better worse for
[1:20:57] » For PM 2.5 for PM.
[1:20:59] » Okay. Um I mean the the the sources of
[1:21:02] air push are very different from other
[1:21:04] places in the US. So definitely a lot
[1:21:06] more dust, the larger particles, a lot
[1:21:09] more peaks as well as you've seen on the
[1:21:11] plot. Um PM the final particles are tend
[1:21:14] to be cleaner than um rest of the um
[1:21:18] state or nation, but the dust is
[1:21:20] definitely um a big issue here.
[1:21:25] » Thank you very much. Chris, did you have
[1:21:28] something that you would like to add?
[1:21:33] » Okay, very good. Thank you. Thank you,
[1:21:35] sir. Great. Thank you.
[1:21:36] » Thank you for all you do.
[1:21:38] » Okay. At this time, we'll move to uh
[1:21:40] item F2, Santa Cruz County Strategic
[1:21:43] Workforce and Wage Growth Plan, uh by
[1:21:46] John Brower, Dr. Victor Diaz, and Randy
[1:21:49] Tillery from West.
[1:21:53] You guys want to come up?
[1:21:56] Supervisor Fanning, Supervisor or sorry,
[1:21:59] Chairman Fanning, Supervisor Mleta,
[1:22:01] Supervisor Davis, uh, County Leadership,
[1:22:04] members of the public. A little less
[1:22:07] than a year ago, uh, we approved a
[1:22:09] collaboration agreement with South 32 to
[1:22:11] do a workforce development strategic
[1:22:13] plan. And so, uh, we created a RFQ
[1:22:18] and then we create, we had a team
[1:22:20] together to evaluate the submitts. And
[1:22:22] the winning submitt was from West Ed and
[1:22:24] that's where these fine young gentlemen
[1:22:26] are from this morning. Um and so for
[1:22:29] about seven months, seven, eight months,
[1:22:32] uh we've been working with them, uh the
[1:22:35] executive committee with the three
[1:22:37] superintendents from the local high
[1:22:39] schools, Maya Donnelly here in the here,
[1:22:42] uh along with Greg Lucero, who's also
[1:22:45] here from the community college. Thank
[1:22:46] you for being here, Greg. Uh and and
[1:22:48] South 32. We work through this project
[1:22:51] which is a hugely important project
[1:22:54] because what we what we saw before this
[1:22:56] is we saw a lot of entities working in
[1:22:58] silos and so it was agreed upon that we
[1:23:02] would do this and this would be the one
[1:23:05] for everybody to work towards. Uh and so
[1:23:09] they're going to give you a presentation
[1:23:11] as far as their findings and what we
[1:23:12] plan on doing moving forward regarding
[1:23:14] workforce in the county. Um,
[1:23:18] Mr. Fanning, you already mentioned Dr.
[1:23:20] Diaz, former student, high school, Riri
[1:23:23] from Ririco High School.
[1:23:25] » I think it was Mountain View
[1:23:28] » Elementary
[1:23:29] » That long ago. All right. Uh, and I'll
[1:23:31] just read on the on the websites their
[1:23:33] their biographies.
[1:23:35] So, I'm not going to read it. I'll just
[1:23:37] read the first couple sentence. Dr. Diaz
[1:23:39] brings commitment, academic opportunity,
[1:23:41] wide range of experiences, and public
[1:23:43] education to work he leads to West Ed.
[1:23:46] Dr. Diaz leads and supports projects
[1:23:48] related to building and sustaining
[1:23:49] highquality educated workforce and
[1:23:51] schools across the country. Uh second we
[1:23:55] we have Mr. John Brower.
[1:23:58] His background is in promotion of
[1:23:59] economic mobility and DEI through
[1:24:03] facilitating the development of
[1:24:05] workforce strategic plans, professional
[1:24:07] development and contextualized learning
[1:24:09] resources that build a competitive
[1:24:11] workforce and improve access to career
[1:24:13] pathways as part of industrydriven
[1:24:15] workforce development and education uh
[1:24:18] partnerships.
[1:24:20] And then third, we have Randy Tiller.
[1:24:24] Randy Tiller has 29 years of experience
[1:24:26] related to building and implementing
[1:24:28] workforce development, community
[1:24:30] development, and educational strategies
[1:24:32] to increase economic mobility for
[1:24:34] vulnerable lowincome communities and
[1:24:36] individuals. So, without further ado,
[1:24:38] gentlemen, the floor is yours.
[1:24:42] » Thank you, sir.
[1:24:44] » Um, supervisors, uh, county leadership
[1:24:46] members, community members, it's it's
[1:24:48] really an honor to be here today. Um I
[1:24:50] would be remiss if I didn't sort of
[1:24:52] really thank the community overall for
[1:24:54] being so gracious in terms of welcom
[1:24:56] welcoming us here. People have been
[1:24:57] incredibly giving um throughout this
[1:25:00] process and it's been a real honor to
[1:25:01] get to get to come here. Um West Ed just
[1:25:04] by background is a national not
[1:25:06] for-profit um that focuses on
[1:25:08] educational early learning and economic
[1:25:10] mobility solutions um to build kind of
[1:25:13] thriving thriving communities which are
[1:25:15] really good places for people to learn
[1:25:16] and grow. Um we are a we are a not
[1:25:19] for-profit but we are actually a joint
[1:25:21] powers agreement of a number of states
[1:25:24] of of US states. So essentially we all
[1:25:26] kind of work for you um at some level
[1:25:28] and it's important to know that that we
[1:25:30] work on behalf of states on behalf of
[1:25:32] communities like this to really help
[1:25:34] them figure out kind of what are the
[1:25:35] most important things they need to do
[1:25:36] advant to advance community and economic
[1:25:39] welfare um in those communities. Um the
[1:25:42] study was um a great honor to do this. I
[1:25:45] will mention a little bit about some of
[1:25:47] just some of the very kind of high level
[1:25:48] components of the study and this is a
[1:25:50] very high level summary. Um it is backed
[1:25:52] up by very detailed documents. The full
[1:25:54] plan is 175 pages long. It's accompanied
[1:25:57] by an economic and workforce analysis
[1:26:00] that looks at all the labor market data,
[1:26:01] community data, and other sources with
[1:26:03] both quantitative and qualitative. Um
[1:26:05] Dr. Diaz, I'll have to get used to
[1:26:07] calling you that. um uh actually led the
[1:26:10] community engagement portion of this
[1:26:11] where we really talked to as many people
[1:26:13] as we possibly could to get people's
[1:26:15] inputs on sort of on what was happening
[1:26:17] here in the community. Um next slide.
[1:26:23] Hello.
[1:26:26] Oh, here we go. Uh so this is just very
[1:26:28] quickly about kind of our basic
[1:26:30] framework. And one of the things to
[1:26:32] understand about workforce development
[1:26:34] as a field of practice. People think
[1:26:36] it's sort of job training or it's
[1:26:37] education. Um workforce development
[1:26:40] actually emerged in the late 1990s
[1:26:42] because of the failure of federal job
[1:26:44] training programs. So there were massive
[1:26:46] investments in training alone thinking
[1:26:48] that you could move people out of
[1:26:49] poverty if you just provided more
[1:26:50] training in the community. And what they
[1:26:52] began to realize is that that by itself
[1:26:53] was not enough. So the study, the
[1:26:55] national study of the Job Training
[1:26:57] Partnership Act in the mid 90s found
[1:26:59] that just making a lot more training
[1:27:01] available did not move individuals out
[1:27:02] of poverty, particularly adult learners
[1:27:04] who were really kind of have were in
[1:27:06] that kind of intergenerational poverty
[1:27:08] pool where families had just been poor
[1:27:09] over over a number of generations. So
[1:27:12] the goal was to connect um job training
[1:27:15] and education strategies with economic
[1:27:18] development strategies really focused on
[1:27:20] bringing employers into the equation. So
[1:27:21] you had educators and workforce
[1:27:23] professionals working much more directly
[1:27:24] with business and industry around their
[1:27:26] pain points and needs um to really help
[1:27:29] them problem solve for what are the
[1:27:30] needs of an industry. You know I could
[1:27:32] go to any employer and say look the
[1:27:33] labor market you know data says this so
[1:27:35] I think this is your problem. They're
[1:27:36] going to be like no I have these other
[1:27:38] three things that I really need in my
[1:27:39] workforce. So having that employer voice
[1:27:41] at the table and really thinking about
[1:27:43] the ways in which a county wants to
[1:27:45] expand its economic base and to bring
[1:27:47] more jobs in the region is an important
[1:27:49] component of the work as as well. And
[1:27:51] finally, it's also connecting it to
[1:27:52] community development, which is what are
[1:27:54] the needs of residents. You know, you
[1:27:56] you can you can have jobs available for
[1:27:58] people have to get to jobs. They have to
[1:28:00] get to training programs. So, in this
[1:28:02] case, we found issues related to
[1:28:03] transportation, related to child care,
[1:28:05] um related to housing costs that people
[1:28:08] identified that the residents in the
[1:28:09] community identified that yeah, you can
[1:28:11] talk about training programs. If people
[1:28:13] can't get to that training program, then
[1:28:15] it's not really going to help them. Um
[1:28:17] and it's worth noting that um in in
[1:28:19] working closely with Chris that we
[1:28:21] really have been sharing information
[1:28:22] back. So this also informs the county
[1:28:24] general plan that we owe a local plan
[1:28:26] and other plans that are being created
[1:28:28] in the region. The idea is that all
[1:28:30] these things should work together. There
[1:28:32] should be like one voice, one community
[1:28:34] people. I mean the different things are
[1:28:36] going to happen but it's how you connect
[1:28:37] it together. And we call it the people,
[1:28:38] programs and jobs framework. You know
[1:28:41] that you have to really be thinking
[1:28:42] intentionally about the aspirations um
[1:28:44] assets. Oh, there's a typo. And
[1:28:46] challenges faced by residents,
[1:28:48] communities, and special populations
[1:28:49] seeking to create wealth and access
[1:28:50] opportunity. What do people say they
[1:28:52] want to do? What are they bringing to
[1:28:53] the table? Just because someone's
[1:28:55] low-inccome doesn't mean they don't have
[1:28:56] skills. Doesn't mean that they don't
[1:28:58] have assets. And how do you build upon
[1:28:59] those assets? Then programs. What is the
[1:29:02] education and training infrastructure
[1:29:04] look like? What's being offered by the
[1:29:05] provisional college? What's being
[1:29:07] offered through K12 CTE programs? what
[1:29:09] kinds of programs are on the the
[1:29:11] eligible training provider list, the
[1:29:12] ETPL list managed by the workforce
[1:29:14] development board and how you think
[1:29:16] about that infrastructure and how it's
[1:29:17] responding to both the needs of people
[1:29:19] and employers. And finally, jobs. It's,
[1:29:22] you know, occupational demand, what's
[1:29:23] happening um in the labor market, what's
[1:29:26] happening in your local economy, but
[1:29:27] most importantly, what are employers
[1:29:29] saying that they need? you know, how do
[1:29:31] you center the employer voice and the
[1:29:33] resident voice within a conversation
[1:29:35] that builds a coherent cohesive plan for
[1:29:38] really moving over? So, there's going to
[1:29:41] be three parts to this and it's going to
[1:29:42] be way too fast and it's going to be way
[1:29:44] too high level. So, we will obviously
[1:29:46] share all the resources with you that
[1:29:47] sort of set behind this. Um, Dr. Diaz is
[1:29:50] going to talk about the community
[1:29:51] engagement we did and what people really
[1:29:52] told us. John's going to talk about um
[1:29:55] regional industry and some of the major
[1:29:57] recommendations of the plan. And then
[1:29:59] I'm going to talk about implementation
[1:30:00] at the back end. How are we going to
[1:30:02] move this forward? What have people sort
[1:30:04] of agreed to sign on to and what does it
[1:30:06] mean to create a regional collaborative
[1:30:08] that pulls the best of every system that
[1:30:10] pulls the best from industry and that
[1:30:12] really recognizes the assets with within
[1:30:14] the community and building together kind
[1:30:16] of more more coherently. So Victor,
[1:30:22] » Thank you. Uh next slide, please.
[1:30:24] [clears throat] Yes, Mr. chair, members
[1:30:26] of the board, uh, members of county
[1:30:27] leadership, and members of the
[1:30:28] community. My name is Vicas, and I'm
[1:30:30] just so happy to be here with you all
[1:30:32] today. It's been an absolute honor to
[1:30:33] work on this project. Uh, I am a member
[1:30:35] of the first graduating class of Rick
[1:30:37] High School. Go Hawks. Um, and it is
[1:30:39] always an honor to get to bring the
[1:30:41] resources and the expertise of our
[1:30:42] organization to this community. Um, and
[1:30:45] and this project has been just an
[1:30:46] absolute uh honor for me professionally
[1:30:48] and personally. Um, I know people are
[1:30:51] really eager to hear about the the
[1:30:52] what'ss, the so whats, the now whats of
[1:30:54] of our report, but I think it's
[1:30:56] important for us to also uh capture the
[1:30:58] how uh and how we how we came to to the
[1:31:01] place where we have this plan. Um, and
[1:31:03] so one thing uh that Randy mentioned
[1:31:05] that's very important to us is that we
[1:31:06] were very responsive to the community.
[1:31:08] Uh, we wanted to make sure we were in a
[1:31:10] listening stance for several months and
[1:31:12] in several different ways and and very
[1:31:14] much respecting the assets uh that we
[1:31:16] have here in the community. We know that
[1:31:18] we have urban, we have rural
[1:31:19] communities. We know that um our
[1:31:21] bational, international, bilingual
[1:31:23] character is a strength that isn't
[1:31:25] always viewed that way in the outside
[1:31:27] world. Um we also know that there are
[1:31:29] several different anchor industries
[1:31:30] that's very different from other rural
[1:31:32] communities um and and economies, not
[1:31:35] just in the state, but in the country.
[1:31:36] Uh we know that the labor market isn't
[1:31:38] always the truest indication of economic
[1:31:40] activity. And we also know that what we
[1:31:42] experience in the community um the way
[1:31:45] we experience in the community, excuse
[1:31:46] me, is a group of people who really do
[1:31:49] care about the future of the region. And
[1:31:51] so we took a very assetbased framework
[1:31:53] in the way that we integrated and
[1:31:55] interacted with the community. Uh next
[1:31:56] slide, please.
[1:31:59] In terms of uh making sure that we
[1:32:01] captured community voice from March
[1:32:03] through July, uh we engaged residents
[1:32:05] and stakeholders through several
[1:32:07] different processes. We did interviews,
[1:32:09] we did focus groups. Uh we launched a
[1:32:10] communitywide survey and we also held uh
[1:32:13] planning convenings ac across the
[1:32:14] county. Uh we did 12 initial interviews
[1:32:17] with priority stakeholders that really
[1:32:19] helped to set the context and to gather
[1:32:21] different perspectives in the region. Um
[1:32:23] we then developed using those uh what we
[1:32:25] found in those surveys um I'm sorry in
[1:32:27] those interviews we developed and
[1:32:28] implemented a communitywide survey uh
[1:32:31] where we gathered information from a
[1:32:33] wide variety of industry leaders
[1:32:35] residents and educators and then in May
[1:32:38] our team was here for three days where
[1:32:39] we conducted seven different focus
[1:32:41] groups in different regions around the
[1:32:43] county. Uh several people in this room
[1:32:44] participated in those and so thank you
[1:32:46] very much to those who did. Uh we also
[1:32:48] had a advis executive advisory
[1:32:50] committee. Again we have some members of
[1:32:51] that committee here. Thank you so much
[1:32:52] for participating in that committee
[1:32:54] that's met each month and very recently
[1:32:56] we have launched a group of champions uh
[1:32:59] to discuss the implementation and the
[1:33:00] governance for this plan. Uh next slide
[1:33:03] please.
[1:33:06] So some themes that we heard from the
[1:33:08] community um Randy already mentioned
[1:33:10] this notion of working in silos and I
[1:33:13] think it's really important to really
[1:33:14] understand you know where that comes
[1:33:16] from. Uh in the work that I do I find
[1:33:18] often silos come from very well-intended
[1:33:20] places. it's usually somebody who's
[1:33:22] doing extra work to overcome the
[1:33:24] shortcomings of a system. Um they do
[1:33:27] that work in a way that isn't always
[1:33:29] collaborative because um they're just
[1:33:31] kind of focused on putting their head
[1:33:32] down and doing the best job that they
[1:33:34] can. Um so even in in understanding what
[1:33:36] silos come from, it was important for us
[1:33:38] again to take a very assetbased
[1:33:39] framework to understand that again silos
[1:33:42] do come from well-intended places, but
[1:33:44] they do lead to um people not always
[1:33:47] rowing in the same direction or even
[1:33:49] understanding that they're in the same
[1:33:50] boat. Um we also saw from community
[1:33:53] voice that the region contains immense
[1:33:55] assets. Um but those assets are not
[1:33:58] leveraged to increase opportunity for
[1:33:59] residents in any systemic or strategic
[1:34:02] way. There's a lot of individual effort
[1:34:04] that's happening again at a very high
[1:34:05] level but it's not always coordinated.
[1:34:08] Um one reason why that is happening and
[1:34:10] and why that impacts workforce is
[1:34:12] inadequate access to child care and
[1:34:14] transportation. We see though we saw
[1:34:16] those as consistent barriers for adults.
[1:34:18] Uh we also saw housing identified as a
[1:34:20] concern for the workforce where we have
[1:34:22] people who commute into Santa Cruz
[1:34:24] County to work but cannot afford homes
[1:34:26] in certain part of the counties. Um
[1:34:28] there were also concerns about talent
[1:34:30] that leaves the region both in terms of
[1:34:32] young people who need to leave the
[1:34:34] county to seek a bachelor's degree in in
[1:34:36] other places. Um as well as working
[1:34:38] adults who might find that they plateau
[1:34:41] in their career and in order to seek
[1:34:42] more career opportunity they have to
[1:34:44] look outside the county. Um in terms of
[1:34:47] looking at a couple of solutions that
[1:34:49] came from the community, one was the the
[1:34:51] need for the provisional college uh to
[1:34:53] be strengthened in order to have more
[1:34:55] training available in the region. And
[1:34:57] another that industry and education need
[1:34:59] to work more closely together so that
[1:35:01] employers are investing in upskilling
[1:35:03] their their current workers. Uh and we
[1:35:05] do have this nice quote from one of the
[1:35:06] committee members who participated in um
[1:35:09] in one of our uh focus group sessions.
[1:35:12] Uh, and so with that, I will pass it off
[1:35:13] to John to go into a bit more of what we
[1:35:16] found in in our work.
[1:35:19] » Thanks. Next slide, please.
[1:35:26] » Thank you. Um, uh, happy to be here
[1:35:29] today. Uh part of my background uh even
[1:35:32] before I worked at West Ed is in uh
[1:35:35] putting together workforce development
[1:35:37] partnerships uh in just about every
[1:35:39] industry of the economy in several
[1:35:42] different ways and in different sectors
[1:35:44] and in different regions. So the um goal
[1:35:48] of this is um always trying to move the
[1:35:51] workforce system
[1:35:53] uh to being one that is obviously
[1:35:56] recognizing that it's a dual customer
[1:35:58] model that it's obviously engaging
[1:36:00] employers in industry and then also job
[1:36:02] seekers and folks looking for work. Um
[1:36:05] and out of that for job seekers um it's
[1:36:09] a one part of their personal
[1:36:11] identification uh in addition to our our
[1:36:14] family and our
[1:36:16] jobs are also one way that we think
[1:36:17] about ourselves health in relationship
[1:36:20] to that. Um the other axiom I've kind of
[1:36:23] come to believe in and part of how we
[1:36:25] approach this study and this work is
[1:36:27] starting with the jobs. This isn't about
[1:36:29] a supply side uh situation. It's about
[1:36:32] finding out where industry and employers
[1:36:34] are looking at it from a problem solving
[1:36:36] perspective and where they're where they
[1:36:38] are and where they're trying to go to
[1:36:39] move. So the quantitative analysis that
[1:36:42] we did, we drew on LCAST which takes uh
[1:36:45] Bureau of Labor Standards data, state
[1:36:47] employment um projections from the state
[1:36:49] of Arizona, uh US Census Bureau,
[1:36:52] American Community Survey data, and then
[1:36:55] um other studies like the Ernston Young
[1:36:57] study done for um South 32's project.
[1:37:01] And we we looked at those for sources to
[1:37:03] assess industry trends, occupational
[1:37:06] demand, wage progression pathways. Um
[1:37:09] because to us part of this isn't just
[1:37:11] where folks are in terms of immediate
[1:37:13] employment, but thinking about it from a
[1:37:15] career pathway uh as well as as um
[1:37:19] retention that um Victor talked about
[1:37:21] earlier. Can folks stay and come back if
[1:37:24] they see some pathways forwards for them
[1:37:26] in addition to skills gaps that
[1:37:28] employers see and need relative to it
[1:37:30] and your economy as it changes. your
[1:37:32] ability as a a community to address
[1:37:35] those skills gap and and who can help do
[1:37:37] that. And then just overlaying that with
[1:37:39] demographic patterns across the county.
[1:37:42] Um if you'll notice the um slide that
[1:37:45] we've got up here um is kind of our
[1:37:48] summary of of that that piece of of kind
[1:37:52] of overall what we saw. We kind of
[1:37:54] prioritized in this um uh different
[1:37:58] industry sectors. We uh looked at it
[1:38:00] both in terms of particular sectors but
[1:38:02] frankly also parts of um the regions of
[1:38:06] the county. We didn't consider the
[1:38:08] county one big particular region and
[1:38:10] understood that things like um tourism
[1:38:12] or other things may have a particular
[1:38:14] value in Tubac that maybe also cuts
[1:38:18] across but in a different manner in the
[1:38:19] east part of the county for instance or
[1:38:21] how is manufacturing working from a
[1:38:23] bational perspective and those kinds of
[1:38:25] things and and those are described in
[1:38:27] much more detail um in relationship to
[1:38:31] the report itself. So it um the primary
[1:38:36] piece of this I think for you moving
[1:38:38] forward is to think about which industry
[1:38:39] sectors uh you all may want to
[1:38:42] prioritize that the executive team has
[1:38:44] been talking about as um some initial
[1:38:47] action teams and focus on um Rome like
[1:38:50] Naggalis wasn't built in a day. So you
[1:38:52] may want to figure out relative to the
[1:38:54] sectors that you have moving forward. Um
[1:38:57] some of the the labor market drivers
[1:38:59] that we saw in particular were clustered
[1:39:01] around wholesale trade. the logistics
[1:39:04] obly obviously the aspect of this um uh
[1:39:08] infrastructure and construction
[1:39:10] obviously is another area that whether
[1:39:12] that's the family housing that folks
[1:39:14] raise to all the things that you're
[1:39:15] seeing having to deal with relative to
[1:39:18] general infrastructure in the county. Um
[1:39:21] healthcare is another one that folks um
[1:39:23] kind of raised um as as one of those six
[1:39:26] sectors. Next slide please.
[1:39:31] Um the other is just to get what you'll
[1:39:34] get in the study as well is to sort of
[1:39:35] understand how we framed this piece um
[1:39:39] in terms of the employment and um career
[1:39:43] pathway pieces of this. I mean part of
[1:39:45] this and again we really heard a couple
[1:39:47] of different things uh um supervisor
[1:39:51] Donnelly was talking about the fact that
[1:39:53] they uh had seen students where roughly
[1:39:55] 30% of those students that are
[1:39:57] graduating don't really have an idea of
[1:39:59] what they're going to do next. They 70%
[1:40:02] know they're going to go to UOVA,
[1:40:03] they're going to go to Puma Community
[1:40:04] College, they're going to go to ASU,
[1:40:06] going to go into the military, they've
[1:40:08] got an employment idea. A lot of folks,
[1:40:11] uh, younger folks in particular, uh,
[1:40:13] wondering what their future holds and
[1:40:15] what could the the future in the county
[1:40:17] hold for them in relationship to to the
[1:40:20] system. Others, folks leaving, is there
[1:40:22] something to come back to as part of
[1:40:24] that? If I go off to college or I go off
[1:40:26] to the military, what can bring me back
[1:40:29] and contribute to the economy and shared
[1:40:31] prosperity. So we we provide kind of
[1:40:33] basic analysis for you of entry level,
[1:40:36] middle skill employment and more
[1:40:37] advanced skill employment relative to
[1:40:39] those sectors. Again, this is a starting
[1:40:41] point, but this is a way to go have a
[1:40:43] conversation with industry along with
[1:40:45] all of the stakeholders that you've got
[1:40:48] to figure out where those skills gaps
[1:40:50] are, where those opportunities are, and
[1:40:51] what those pathways are talking to. Next
[1:40:55] slide.
[1:40:57] Um so some of the pieces that uh uh
[1:41:01] again the sectors a little bit of a
[1:41:03] description relative to those obviously
[1:41:04] trade supply and and logistics and that
[1:41:08] can cut across both what you've seen in
[1:41:09] produce has been one of your primary
[1:41:11] pieces you obviously have manufacturing
[1:41:13] going back and forth and manufacturing
[1:41:15] is now all about supply chain and
[1:41:18] management and how do you uh uh
[1:41:21] including AI and all that kind of moving
[1:41:23] forward. healthare. We tried to take
[1:41:25] into account what you've been having to
[1:41:27] deal with in terms of work that's
[1:41:28] already been done and pipelines that the
[1:41:30] provisional college and uh school
[1:41:32] districts have done relative to health
[1:41:34] care as well as some other areas
[1:41:35] relative to your needs around mental
[1:41:37] health and behavioral health uh in your
[1:41:39] chip plan and and other plans that you
[1:41:42] have. Again, trying to build off of of
[1:41:44] other regional plans that you've got
[1:41:46] going on. Um manufacturing construction
[1:41:49] I already talked about. There's quite a
[1:41:50] bit of public sector employment
[1:41:52] opportunities uh uh for folks um and
[1:41:56] including you just saw it the gentleman
[1:41:59] truck driver is maybe a place to come
[1:42:01] and talk to and thinking about that in
[1:42:03] whole and both in terms of the county
[1:42:06] and municipalities but frankly also um
[1:42:08] the state and fed. Uh one of those was
[1:42:11] Customs and Border Patrol has quite a
[1:42:14] bit of openings and an aging workforce
[1:42:15] that you may want to think about that
[1:42:17] Fed partnership. That's the kind of
[1:42:18] thing you could have a conversation with
[1:42:21] Senator Ggo or other folks kind of
[1:42:23] moving forward. Hospitality, recreation,
[1:42:25] and tourism is obviously a a big um
[1:42:29] value for you all. In another area, um
[1:42:32] we also tried to talk about a little bit
[1:42:33] a lot of entry- level jobs seem to be
[1:42:35] that retail uh kind of entry level
[1:42:38] low-wage jobs. Can you build uh some
[1:42:42] pathways up and out of that relative to
[1:42:43] other kinds of professional services,
[1:42:45] entrepreneurship, and other things like
[1:42:47] that? So uh those are some of the
[1:42:49] primary sectors we've lifted up for.
[1:42:53] Next slide.
[1:42:55] Um and these are just two examples. The
[1:42:57] other thing that we did uh again was to
[1:43:00] frame this within a longer term not just
[1:43:02] the immediate but for you all to think
[1:43:04] about um what you can do over the next
[1:43:07] uh year to 18 months something more over
[1:43:10] the next one to three years and then uh
[1:43:12] three to seven years in relationship to
[1:43:14] particular sectors. And so to give you
[1:43:16] again uh all the stakeholders coming
[1:43:19] together how does this fit within those
[1:43:21] other plans but also where you go again
[1:43:24] ngalis and real work bu next slide
[1:43:30] and then some of our major
[1:43:31] recommendations
[1:43:32] uh frankly and and uh I think Ry's going
[1:43:35] to lace a little bit more of what this
[1:43:37] might look like but one is is just
[1:43:39] create a a workforce collaborative with
[1:43:41] form a formal governance structure
[1:43:42] decision making and implementation
[1:43:45] process
[1:43:46] And uh I think Chris and others will
[1:43:49] down the line share with you what that
[1:43:50] might look like. But something that
[1:43:52] won't go away that it's not built on
[1:43:55] personal relationships or a couple of
[1:43:58] specific relationships. Something more
[1:43:59] formal that over time folks are invested
[1:44:02] in and everybody knows why everybody is
[1:44:05] there and what they're going to get out
[1:44:06] of being in that particular partnership
[1:44:09] from different parts of the camp. um of
[1:44:11] building a clearly mapped regional
[1:44:13] pathway system to support career
[1:44:15] navigation. Uh again, that kind of thing
[1:44:17] will certainly help both the school
[1:44:19] districts, um Arizona Works, uh young
[1:44:23] people, families, everyone um to figure
[1:44:26] out where they're going. Another is
[1:44:28] obviously the role and positioning of
[1:44:30] the provisional college as a central
[1:44:31] training in addition to the schools for
[1:44:34] for doing that and in partnership again
[1:44:36] with Arizona Works. um tying the
[1:44:39] regional workforce strategy into your
[1:44:41] your regional economic development
[1:44:43] strategies and trends. So some things
[1:44:45] may be changing moving forward relative
[1:44:47] to manufacturing or infrastructure
[1:44:50] projects you're doing or whatever you're
[1:44:52] doing in there and just again tying it
[1:44:54] to those larger efforts that you've got
[1:44:56] successes. Um and then adopting sector
[1:45:00] strategies uh within the framework to
[1:45:02] address the needs and growth of those
[1:45:05] priority industries. Again, starting
[1:45:07] with the jobs, really engaging the
[1:45:09] employers uh in them and understanding
[1:45:12] where they're what they're trying to do
[1:45:13] from a problem solving standpoint is one
[1:45:16] really important way. And then looking
[1:45:17] at this to adopting strategies to stop
[1:45:20] the the talent drain. One of the
[1:45:22] principles that we put in the plan for
[1:45:24] instance is the idea of having an action
[1:45:27] team looking at workbased learning. the
[1:45:29] idea of building social capital, which
[1:45:31] right now in a lot of ways is built more
[1:45:33] on sort of familial relationships as
[1:45:36] opposed to having that kind of business
[1:45:38] connection, industry connection, so
[1:45:40] folks understand what the possibilities
[1:45:42] are for employment, for career
[1:45:44] awareness, what the the nature of the
[1:45:46] work is like, um what they may need in
[1:45:49] terms of education skills. So those are
[1:45:52] some of the major recommending
[1:46:03] force for me in this work is that
[1:46:07] everything that I've learned in 29 years
[1:46:09] about how you advance the economic
[1:46:10] interests of residents about about how
[1:46:12] you help industry kind of build more
[1:46:14] collective wealth about how you pull
[1:46:16] communities together the ability to
[1:46:19] actually realize economic mobility and
[1:46:20] economic IC growth is highly reliant on
[1:46:22] the relationships between systems.
[1:46:25] There's no single system that's going to
[1:46:26] step in and sort of solve this problem.
[1:46:28] Economic development is going to solve
[1:46:29] it. The college by itself isn't going to
[1:46:31] solve the workforce board, but it's the
[1:46:33] collective actions and how you build
[1:46:35] across systems strategies that everyone
[1:46:37] agrees to row in the same direction on
[1:46:39] that really builds economic strength and
[1:46:42] helps residents realize economic
[1:46:44] opportunity. Um, and so the core
[1:46:47] recommendation for this plan is really
[1:46:49] built around that recognition. There's a
[1:46:50] there's a long and storied history
[1:46:52] around what's called workforce
[1:46:53] intermediaries where you have exactly
[1:46:56] this kind of structure. So your economic
[1:46:58] development players, business and
[1:46:59] industry, education, higher education,
[1:47:01] workforce development sit at a common
[1:47:03] table to build strategies that really
[1:47:06] can connect residents with economic
[1:47:08] opportunity and build more e economic
[1:47:10] opportunity for the for the future. And
[1:47:13] so that was one of our core
[1:47:14] recommendations and it builds upon all
[1:47:16] those things that Victor was describing
[1:47:18] about rowing in the same direction. and
[1:47:19] how come we're all doing different
[1:47:20] things if we could just all get on the
[1:47:22] same page. There was a ton of quotes
[1:47:24] from people that we could have put up
[1:47:25] that basically said that exact same
[1:47:27] thing. What this would do is it would
[1:47:30] create a shared space for decision-m by
[1:47:32] educators. Um, and this has come up.
[1:47:34] It's like, well, if we all agree to do
[1:47:35] this, how do I know that this entity
[1:47:37] over here isn't going to continue to do
[1:47:38] its own thing and isn't going to be part
[1:47:40] of this? So how do you kind of create
[1:47:42] common understanding for that shared
[1:47:44] decision- making and how do you ensure
[1:47:46] that all not only that the public
[1:47:47] systems involved are at the table but
[1:47:49] the business and industry are also at
[1:47:51] that table making those decisions and if
[1:47:54] there's a need for a collective
[1:47:55] conversation around transportation and
[1:47:57] logistics then you can spin up an
[1:47:59] initiative where you're pulling in
[1:48:00] dozens of employers in that sector to
[1:48:02] kind of dig deep about to do some
[1:48:04] collective problem solving just around
[1:48:05] the needs of that industry. So this
[1:48:08] shared table that would get created then
[1:48:09] would some cross agency collaboration
[1:48:12] around specific implementation
[1:48:14] priorities. So you have 15 people
[1:48:16] sitting at a table. We're going to work
[1:48:18] on these five things this year that are
[1:48:20] really important. How are we going to
[1:48:21] assign people from our agencies to work
[1:48:23] on this together? And then how are we
[1:48:25] going to measure that it's being
[1:48:26] effective and it's actually getting
[1:48:28] done. So it's not just a place where
[1:48:30] people talk. I'm working with a state
[1:48:31] right now where they've created a new
[1:48:33] cross education inter agency council
[1:48:34] where they're going to slap each other
[1:48:35] on the back a lot but they're not
[1:48:37] actually going to change what happens on
[1:48:39] the ground. The idea is that this is not
[1:48:41] only sort of shared decision- making and
[1:48:43] agreement, it's driving action within
[1:48:45] the community. And then so this can
[1:48:47] support like I was saying any number of
[1:48:49] broader industry specific kind of kind
[1:48:51] of kind of sector initiatives. So you
[1:48:53] know there's different ways in which
[1:48:55] these kinds of collaborives get framed.
[1:48:56] One of the one of the things they talk a
[1:48:57] lot about are sector collaboratives,
[1:49:00] industrydriven sector priorities where
[1:49:01] you create a room where initially the
[1:49:03] employers are kind of talking to each
[1:49:05] other. there's some agreement about what
[1:49:06] the primary needs of the industry, not
[1:49:08] just individual employers are. The
[1:49:10] educators are watching and listening and
[1:49:11] learning from that conversation and then
[1:49:13] they all agree together about how to
[1:49:15] move to advance advance manufacturing in
[1:49:17] the region or another industry that you
[1:49:19] want to focus on. Having this kind of
[1:49:21] collaborative and having it be formal
[1:49:23] and having it have formal operating
[1:49:25] agreements and a and a common shared
[1:49:26] charter strengthens the ability of the
[1:49:29] county to apply for funding of this
[1:49:31] group of entities. I can think of no
[1:49:33] fundamentally really important funding
[1:49:35] source for this work when they're not
[1:49:36] asking about the partnerships you have
[1:49:38] around you. And do business and industry
[1:49:40] have skin in the game? And this is where
[1:49:42] you come to agreement. What are the
[1:49:44] funding sources? One of the parts of the
[1:49:45] plan includes a really exhaustive almost
[1:49:48] a little bit way too long inventory of
[1:49:50] all the funding sources that you could
[1:49:51] potentially be looking at as a part of
[1:49:52] this. But rather than people competing
[1:49:54] with each other about who's chasing
[1:49:56] dollars, it's making collective
[1:49:58] decisions. We should go after this. This
[1:50:00] partner can be the lead and going to
[1:50:02] support these strategies that we all
[1:50:03] agree on or we have something that can
[1:50:05] fund the whole collaborative and we have
[1:50:07] a nonprofit who can be the 501c3 to
[1:50:09] receive the money and we all decide
[1:50:10] together how that money is going to be
[1:50:12] administered. These are really important
[1:50:14] steps forward for advancing community
[1:50:16] interest as a whole is your ability to
[1:50:18] talk about money. And at the end of the
[1:50:20] day, these things sometimes break down
[1:50:21] about the inability to talk about money.
[1:50:24] And then at the end of the day is also a
[1:50:25] space we can be sure that the plan like
[1:50:27] that we've created and future versions
[1:50:29] of that plan that that this group sort
[1:50:31] of renews and refreshes are aligned to
[1:50:34] your other kind of planning in the
[1:50:36] region. You we owe a local plan. There's
[1:50:38] a recompete plan with the Department of
[1:50:39] Commerce which has some really amazing
[1:50:41] things in it that we tapped into. Um
[1:50:43] your count your regional economic
[1:50:45] development strategy managed by Thiago
[1:50:47] and the county general plan like there's
[1:50:50] going to be different flavors in each of
[1:50:51] these things. But if there's some really
[1:50:53] core strategies that everyone agrees
[1:50:55] need to be need need to sit in the
[1:50:57] middle of this. It creates a framework
[1:50:58] for doing that. Next slide. I know I
[1:51:00] talk way too fast.
[1:51:03] Um this is just a little bit about the
[1:51:04] structure. These things differ in a tent
[1:51:07] a little bit. These kind of formal
[1:51:08] collaboratives, you always have some
[1:51:10] kind of we call a champions table. It
[1:51:12] can be, you know, a governance council.
[1:51:14] You can call it whatever you want, but
[1:51:15] you have some number of folks who sit at
[1:51:17] a table who represent their agencies and
[1:51:20] have decision-making authority who are
[1:51:21] coming to agreement about what the
[1:51:23] priorities are going to be that they're
[1:51:24] all going to work on together and that
[1:51:26] that drives the creation of action
[1:51:27] teams, which I talked about a little bit
[1:51:29] in the prior slide, or industry sector
[1:51:31] discussions. And there's a backbone
[1:51:33] function. So, what you're you're
[1:51:36] building a distributed agency, right?
[1:51:39] That it's not its own entity, but it
[1:51:41] pulls upon the resources and capacity of
[1:51:43] all the agencies and and industry that
[1:51:45] are that are participating at it. But
[1:51:47] someone's got to sort of be sure the
[1:51:48] meetings get scheduled. There has to be
[1:51:50] a communication strategy involved. Um
[1:51:52] there's a number of things that this
[1:51:54] entity has to have if this is going to
[1:51:55] be an effort that you you can broadcast
[1:51:57] to the community and say like look what
[1:51:59] we're doing together. We were talking
[1:52:01] about an issue yesterday. We had a
[1:52:02] champions meeting yesterday afternoon.
[1:52:04] You have the oncoming issue around kind
[1:52:06] of Medicaid eligibility and and
[1:52:08] nutrition assistance programs where
[1:52:10] people have to demonstrate their ability
[1:52:11] to work or demonstrate that they're
[1:52:12] working in order to be able to continue
[1:52:14] to receive those benefits became a very
[1:52:16] animated discussion. There's lots of
[1:52:18] different perspectives, but the general
[1:52:19] agreement was this is a problem that no
[1:52:22] one agency can solve. But an entity like
[1:52:24] this where everyone agrees to work
[1:52:25] collaboratively around what's going to
[1:52:27] be a really dire community need here. Um
[1:52:29] this is what this would enable you to
[1:52:31] sort of tackle together. Everyone looks
[1:52:33] at the same information. Everyone agrees
[1:52:35] about the roles that different entities
[1:52:36] can play. You can have a collective
[1:52:38] conversation with industry about how
[1:52:39] they're going to help support the
[1:52:40] ability to actually for for more people
[1:52:42] to be able to work to keep their health
[1:52:44] benefits. Um it's exactly that kind of
[1:52:47] problem solving um that this supports.
[1:52:50] Next slide.
[1:52:53] So these are some of the initial
[1:52:54] recommendations
[1:52:56] um and these are all based on
[1:52:57] discussions we have had and you know so
[1:53:00] we have had this executive advisory
[1:53:02] committee we've met with every month
[1:53:03] throughout this a lot of these things
[1:53:04] have been sourced through them we
[1:53:06] reviewed this list yesterday with the
[1:53:07] champ with this group of champions that
[1:53:09] we have um so the the Santa Cruz County
[1:53:12] Office of Education seemed like a really
[1:53:14] good place neutral space to house this
[1:53:16] one of the important principles here is
[1:53:18] it doesn't represent the interests of
[1:53:19] any single organization
[1:53:21] But it's an entity that everyone agrees
[1:53:23] agrees could play a neutral role in
[1:53:25] pulling people together, scheduling the
[1:53:26] meetings, housing some staff to support
[1:53:28] the work of the group and that there
[1:53:30] would be a champions group. This group
[1:53:32] to grew by two yesterday. Um, but what's
[1:53:35] most important are not necessarily the
[1:53:37] individual names here, but you have
[1:53:39] representatives from the important
[1:53:40] government entities that need to be
[1:53:42] involved. You have representatives from
[1:53:44] your anchor industries and drivers. Um,
[1:53:47] so employers are always sitting at this
[1:53:48] table. And then you have all the you
[1:53:50] have the education continuum also
[1:53:52] involved and it doesn't mean that other
[1:53:54] people can't be involved. There's going
[1:53:55] to be a lot of committees that get spun
[1:53:57] up. There's going to be a lot of work to
[1:53:58] do and people can definitely connect and
[1:54:00] tap into this. But you have to have one
[1:54:01] place where the people who actually have
[1:54:03] to do the work sit in the same space and
[1:54:05] figure out kind of what's what's most
[1:54:06] important. And in fact, the the first
[1:54:09] step that we actually took yesterday was
[1:54:11] to schedule a champions meeting at the
[1:54:12] end of September. So the idea is this
[1:54:14] group will meet for the first time and
[1:54:16] it's going to be like for a whole day
[1:54:17] for like five or six hours to talk about
[1:54:19] governance and decision- making and
[1:54:20] begin the process of setting priorities
[1:54:23] and nobody bulked at that which is
[1:54:25] really important to identify that this
[1:54:28] was
[1:54:29] um that nobody balked everyone was sort
[1:54:32] of on board I guess. Um and so what that
[1:54:35] shows to me as someone who has had to do
[1:54:37] this in a number of places um is that
[1:54:40] there's a level of community willingness
[1:54:42] here. there's a level of common
[1:54:44] understanding of a problem that needs to
[1:54:46] be solved collectively and not
[1:54:47] individually. Um and then we have some
[1:54:50] other recommendations for action teams
[1:54:52] that there should be an economic
[1:54:53] development team which can be the
[1:54:54] county's existing economic development
[1:54:56] efforts can actually be that part of
[1:54:57] this group. um but also will sit on the
[1:55:00] team you we have SEC economic
[1:55:01] development up there an education team
[1:55:03] where we're going to leverage the
[1:55:05] existing consortium meetings among the
[1:55:07] districts um through the county office
[1:55:09] to have those hard district you know
[1:55:10] conversations among the the the K12
[1:55:13] districts and a workforce team that'll
[1:55:15] be led by the provisional college and
[1:55:16] the workforce board and we'll have
[1:55:18] employers involved in every part of this
[1:55:19] that we can and then we will stand up
[1:55:22] some sector initiatives we're
[1:55:23] recommending manufacturing construction
[1:55:24] and infrastructure and trade supply
[1:55:26] chain and logistics healthare came up
[1:55:28] yesterday, the group could get together
[1:55:30] and say like, "No, it's going to be
[1:55:30] these two, not these two just because
[1:55:33] West um recommended them." And finally,
[1:55:37] I think before we get to questions, I
[1:55:38] want I just want to read the vision
[1:55:40] statement that the executive committee
[1:55:42] co co-crafted with us that actually
[1:55:44] drives this and it's actually on the
[1:55:45] first page of the executive summary of
[1:55:47] the report and I think it really
[1:55:49] captures what people really feel about
[1:55:52] this. Santa Cruz County will build a
[1:55:54] workforce development system rooted in
[1:55:56] its bational identity and bilingual
[1:55:58] strengths, connecting every resident
[1:56:00] from youth to adult learner to quality
[1:56:03] jobs at economic mobility and
[1:56:05] positioning the county as a model border
[1:56:06] economy where community and industry
[1:56:08] thrive together. I think captures the
[1:56:11] plan really. With that, I think we'd
[1:56:13] have some time for questions. We talked
[1:56:15] a lot.
[1:56:19] vice chair
[1:56:25] just as when you started doing this once
[1:56:27] again thanks for the presentation a lot
[1:56:29] of information so when it comes to
[1:56:32] stakeholders and and the advisory
[1:56:34] committee right from the beginning do
[1:56:37] you feel that somebody was missing or
[1:56:40] you would have liked to have somebody
[1:56:41] else just from the origin
[1:56:47] Um I mean I don't know about specific.
[1:56:49] So we made a real effort to be in every
[1:56:50] part of the county because we we
[1:56:52] understood the regionalism in different
[1:56:53] parts of the county was really important
[1:56:54] that the character of East County is
[1:56:56] very different than the character of
[1:56:57] Tubac and the character of Rio Rico and
[1:56:59] and the Ngala. So we made a real effort
[1:57:01] to that. I'm not aware of any we would
[1:57:04] like to have had more individuals. I
[1:57:06] mean I think a total we had between 200
[1:57:08] and 250 folks who did surveys or were in
[1:57:10] the interviews or or came to community
[1:57:12] meetings that we run. you always would
[1:57:14] like to see more. One of the things
[1:57:16] about a plan like this and an effort
[1:57:18] like this is it's not it's not one and
[1:57:21] done, right? You don't do this like,
[1:57:23] "Okay, we're done now. No one else no
[1:57:24] one else gets a word." You know, one of
[1:57:26] the things I put into kind initial work
[1:57:29] plan was was after after the group
[1:57:30] begins working, you know, like in a
[1:57:32] couple of months, like in November,
[1:57:34] maybe you have a community celebration
[1:57:35] of this where people are prizes the plan
[1:57:38] where there's like something like an
[1:57:39] event that you can pull people in to get
[1:57:40] more voices to the table. You always
[1:57:43] want more voices included and that's
[1:57:45] probably the most important principle of
[1:57:46] this. But I I don't I don't feel like we
[1:57:48] missed anyone specifically. We tried to
[1:57:49] hit all the industries. We toured a
[1:57:52] warehouse. We saw we saw the port. We
[1:57:54] really kind of tried to be as much as we
[1:57:56] could, but you can always do more.
[1:58:00] » Anything else?
[1:58:03] » I just want to thank you for recognizing
[1:58:05] the different regions
[1:58:08] because Santa Cruz County is really
[1:58:11] different. every different region.
[1:58:13] Eureales,
[1:58:15] tube, ammo, and uh cenoida, Patagonia.
[1:58:21] Yeah, we're we're really different and
[1:58:24] uh we have different needs. Uh and thank
[1:58:28] you for your study. It it seems like
[1:58:30] it's really detailed and uh I'm excited
[1:58:35] personally.
[1:58:36] » Yeah, it's so detailed it's a little
[1:58:37] overwhelming even. I'll admit that.
[1:58:39] [laughter]
[1:58:39] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, one of the things
[1:58:41] about the regional aspect of this is
[1:58:43] that look, when you form a group like
[1:58:45] this, you're going to make decisions
[1:58:46] that not every single per not every
[1:58:48] single person or every single region is
[1:58:50] going to be their top priority. It's
[1:58:51] going to make them completely happy.
[1:58:52] What's important is that everyone's in
[1:58:53] her has been heard in the process. And
[1:58:55] there's transparency about the decisions
[1:58:57] that were made or the folks, you know,
[1:58:59] the directions that were chosen. And
[1:59:00] that's what the structure that we have
[1:59:02] recommended should do. It should be an
[1:59:04] open transparent transparent form, you
[1:59:06] know, forum. And we tried to be sure
[1:59:08] every so one of the things we paid
[1:59:10] attention to yesterday that came up in
[1:59:11] the meeting is we needed another
[1:59:13] representative from East County because
[1:59:14] they weren't as strongly represented. So
[1:59:16] we're trying to address that as well.
[1:59:18] » Perfect. Thank you. Thank you again.
[1:59:22] » Speaking of the the East County, um I
[1:59:24] have a name that I'd like and we'll see
[1:59:27] if he's interested if you're interested.
[1:59:28] Josh Montesana. Um he's someone who's
[1:59:32] attempting to, if I'm not mistaken,
[1:59:34] Chris, you revitalize the uh the chamber
[1:59:37] in that area. So that's
[1:59:41] okay. Yeah. Um a couple things I have to
[1:59:43] say. First of all, um I know you call it
[1:59:46] rowing in the same direction. Um I'm a
[1:59:48] firm believer in in that I I always say
[1:59:52] get your arrows pointing in the same
[1:59:53] direction.
[1:59:54] » Everyone's arrows are pointing in a
[1:59:56] direction. And people have heard me say
[1:59:57] this before, but if you want to get
[1:59:59] something done, they all have to be
[2:00:00] pointing in the same direction. So that
[2:00:02] that I agree wholeheartedly with that. A
[2:00:05] [snorts] couple recommendations about
[2:00:07] industry. Um especially from the eastern
[2:00:10] portion of the county, the wine
[2:00:11] industry. That's something that that you
[2:00:13] might want to tap into.
[2:00:14] » Um also the hotel uh hotel motel
[2:00:18] restaurant management.
[2:00:20] » A thought there. Um, I love the idea of
[2:00:25] the first step is getting everyone in
[2:00:26] the same room and a shared space for
[2:00:29] decision making. So, I'm very very
[2:00:31] excited about that. And, um, I know
[2:00:34] there's a lot of different personalities
[2:00:35] and a lot of different thought
[2:00:37] processes, but getting them all in the
[2:00:39] same room and starting to turn those
[2:00:41] arrows
[2:00:42] » Or the ro or those ores rowing in the
[2:00:44] same direction. I know it's going to be
[2:00:46] a chore, but but uh like like I think
[2:00:49] someone stated, having everyone in the
[2:00:51] same in the same room at the same time,
[2:00:54] I think that's a step in the right
[2:00:56] direction. Um so, thank you. What great
[2:00:59] work. And lastly, and I say this in
[2:01:01] justest,
[2:01:02] um you know, talent leaving,
[2:01:06] still waiting for Dr. Diaz to come back
[2:01:08] home.
[2:01:12] [laughter]
[2:01:15] Well, Supervisor Fanning. Um, I will say
[2:01:18] although I've called Phoenix uh my me
[2:01:20] and my family called Phoenix home for
[2:01:21] almost 20 years, this is always home to
[2:01:23] me. Um, I'll be leaving here to have
[2:01:25] lunch with my mother uh who still lives
[2:01:27] in Rico. Um, I have so many family
[2:01:29] members who still live here who are who
[2:01:30] are buried here. Uh, this will always be
[2:01:32] home. And I think that's an important
[2:01:34] part to also talk about here. It didn't
[2:01:36] get mentioned much, but Santa Cruz
[2:01:37] County is part of a larger
[2:01:38] infrastructure in southern Arizona. Um
[2:01:40] um it's impossible to to put Santa Cruz
[2:01:43] County on an island uh devoid from
[2:01:45] talking about Puma County, from talking
[2:01:46] about Maricopa County um and and
[2:01:49] Interstate 19 on and interstate 10, soon
[2:01:52] to be Interstate 11. And so um I think
[2:01:55] uh one of the things I I really
[2:01:56] appreciate about my positionality here
[2:01:58] is the ability one to communicate to
[2:02:00] folks early in this project that there
[2:02:02] isn't just one Santa Cruz County. Uh
[2:02:04] there's so many different communities
[2:02:05] here and two the connectivity that does
[2:02:07] exist in other places. Uh, and so, uh,
[2:02:10] yeah, like I said, I will always
[2:02:11] consider this place home, even if my
[2:02:13] address is in a different
[2:02:15] » I know. I'm just giving you grief. And,
[2:02:16] you know, it's been said a couple times
[2:02:18] today, and I want to I want to, uh, draw
[2:02:20] everyone's attention to our our motto.
[2:02:23] Um, and thank you to Shannon and the
[2:02:25] folks that were responsible for that. It
[2:02:27] was mentioned by uh, Supervisor Mleta.
[2:02:29] It's been mentioned here. The place of
[2:02:31] amazing places. Santa Cruz County, the
[2:02:33] place of amazing places.
[2:02:35] » We also want to just give a special
[2:02:36] thanks to Chris Young. He has been an
[2:02:38] extraordinary champion working beside us
[2:02:41] and dealing with really complicated
[2:02:42] issues and how to get things scheduled
[2:02:43] and when we could come out and it's it's
[2:02:45] been a real joy to work with him and the
[2:02:48] county on this. It's been great.
[2:02:50] » Thank you gentlemen.
[2:02:51] » Just really so when it comes to talent
[2:02:56] returning like I heard that Lisa Favlla
[2:02:59] somebody that went to the high school
[2:03:00] with me she's returning after a lot of
[2:03:02] years she's going to work for N USD as a
[2:03:05] psychologist. So that's something good.
[2:03:07] Uh I already offer my help and
[2:03:09] everything. But I I I have another
[2:03:12] question. So I see a lot of like
[2:03:13] information, a lot of theory, a lot of
[2:03:15] concepts this space uh that we need to
[2:03:19] work together. So when it comes to like
[2:03:21] putting all this into practice, when do
[2:03:24] we expect to start seeing some of that
[2:03:26] and how what do you envision? How would
[2:03:28] that work all this information into like
[2:03:32] » So we're starting this month. Okay.
[2:03:35] » Essentially, so we're convening we're
[2:03:37] convening the champions group. They've
[2:03:38] all agreed to come together for an
[2:03:40] entire day to begin to sift through the
[2:03:42] plan and prioritize and we'll help them
[2:03:44] with that process to identify some
[2:03:46] initial some of the most important
[2:03:48] things we'll be able to identify some
[2:03:49] things that can get done this year. And
[2:03:51] we talked about that a lot yesterday.
[2:03:53] There's some things that just we should
[2:03:54] try and get some wins for the county and
[2:03:57] for people in the county right away
[2:03:58] while you're building towards
[2:03:59] recommendations that are three years out
[2:04:01] or seven years out that take longer to
[2:04:03] get to. If this doesn't move to action
[2:04:06] quickly, it'll it'll it'll stop. So the
[2:04:09] and the goal is for it to be very
[2:04:11] public, have a communication strategy
[2:04:13] that people know what's happening
[2:04:14] because one of the gaps we encounter is
[2:04:15] just an awareness gap. You know, adults
[2:04:18] don't know what's available for
[2:04:19] opportunities in many ways or they might
[2:04:21] know kind of vaguely, but they don't
[2:04:22] know how to get there. So how do we
[2:04:24] address if there's going to be a lot of
[2:04:26] retirements and customs and border
[2:04:27] patrol, how do we ensure that local
[2:04:29] residents are getting access to those
[2:04:31] jobs? because wouldn't you want local
[2:04:32] residents representing the culture of
[2:04:34] the community actually playing that role
[2:04:36] um on the border? So, it's going to be
[2:04:38] how quickly we can move. The most
[2:04:40] important thing will be not to try and
[2:04:41] do the top 100% of things all at the
[2:04:44] same time. So, to create some priorities
[2:04:46] right away. I'm sure there's going to be
[2:04:47] opportunities for Chris to come back and
[2:04:49] brief um all of you on sort of what's
[2:04:51] what's happening and how it's moving. Um
[2:04:53] but it has an implementation plan.
[2:04:56] Everything here is meant to move to
[2:04:57] action right away. So, that's that's our
[2:04:59] goal. And when you said that like for a
[2:05:02] lot of this to be transparent and people
[2:05:04] know like all this information is this
[2:05:06] the committee or the community overall
[2:05:10] like to know what's going on?
[2:05:11] » No, it's for everyone.
[2:05:12] » And how is that going to be shared with
[2:05:14] for example with the with the community
[2:05:16] besides like meetings like this?
[2:05:17] » So so it's important to understand that
[2:05:19] this is just the beginning of the
[2:05:22] process. Um, now that we have the plan
[2:05:24] that now that we have the the asset
[2:05:26] mapping, uh, this as mentioned up there,
[2:05:29] it's now going to go be seated in in
[2:05:32] Maya Donley County School
[2:05:33] Superintendent's office and she's
[2:05:36] already identified a staff member that
[2:05:37] can take on these additional
[2:05:38] responsibilities. Um, and so there will
[2:05:41] be a work plan once that once we have
[2:05:44] that first initial meeting in September.
[2:05:46] One of the subjects that will be talked
[2:05:47] about will be how do we make sure that
[2:05:49] the community knows what we're doing and
[2:05:51] and we're advertising and so that'll be
[2:05:53] part of the discussion at the end of the
[2:05:54] month. Um but also as you know Maya's
[2:05:57] office is out there in the public with
[2:05:59] the literacy bus with the different
[2:06:01] grants and programs that she already
[2:06:02] has. So it'll be a very transparent uh
[2:06:06] and publicized
[2:06:08] uh process that we're going to go
[2:06:10] through.
[2:06:10] » Okay. and less common. So the
[2:06:14] government, industry and education,
[2:06:15] those are the stakeholders who are on
[2:06:18] board right
[2:06:19] » Right now. Am I correct? So I would just
[2:06:22] recommend to try to include um
[2:06:23] nonprofits because we have a lot of
[2:06:25] them,
[2:06:25] » Right?
[2:06:26] » You know, like a lot of nonprofits that
[2:06:27] even some of them are here with us in
[2:06:29] this meeting. So
[2:06:30] » So one thing that if the the a couple
[2:06:33] slides before what you saw, you saw some
[2:06:34] arrows coming down from this this core
[2:06:38] group. And so you have things like child
[2:06:40] care, housing, as you guys already know,
[2:06:42] we're doing those studies. Um, so there
[2:06:44] will be a lot more to it than just that
[2:06:46] core, but that will be the core that
[2:06:47] meets probably monthly depending on how
[2:06:50] Maya wants to run it. But there'll be a
[2:06:52] lot that comes off of that. Uh, because
[2:06:54] as was mentioned in the presentation,
[2:06:56] you can't just provide training. You
[2:06:58] have to look at transportation, child
[2:07:00] care, housing, everything else. And then
[2:07:02] nonprofits are the ones who play a huge
[2:07:04] role in those activities.
[2:07:08] Good. Well, thank you for your
[2:07:09] presentation and thank you, Chris, too.
[2:07:12] » Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen.
[2:07:14] » Safe. Safe.
[2:07:15] » Mr. Chairman, members of the board, can
[2:07:17] I I have a question on on on the
[2:07:18] presentation. Would that be okay?
[2:07:20] » Yeah.
[2:07:20] » I know one of the slides mentioned um
[2:07:24] some some jobs that were looked at,
[2:07:26] multiple jobs, and some medium wages.
[2:07:28] And I I may have missed it, but were
[2:07:30] those medium wages uh at the local level
[2:07:33] or is that a national level on those?
[2:07:35] All the data all the data is Santa Cruz
[2:07:37] County. It is that Yeah. Yeah. that we
[2:07:38] pulled and that that that slide is
[2:07:40] important because it draws the dist a
[2:07:42] lot of times when you do training
[2:07:43] programs everyone's training for those
[2:07:45] entry level jobs only. It's important to
[2:07:46] understand what you know what jobs you
[2:07:48] can get with a high school diploma,
[2:07:49] which jobs require some additional
[2:07:51] training and which jobs require um a
[2:07:53] bachelor's degree and having that in
[2:07:56] front of you because if you're just
[2:07:57] building for an entry level job then
[2:07:59] you're not saying but then how does that
[2:08:00] person get from that job to the next to
[2:08:02] the next rung on the ladder? So, we're
[2:08:04] always talking about career pathways,
[2:08:05] occupational ladders, staff credentials,
[2:08:08] things like that. So, thank you.
[2:08:11] » Thank you again.
[2:08:14] Okay, at this time, we'll move to item
[2:08:16] G. I have a motion to exit regular
[2:08:19] session and move into flood control.
[2:08:21] » I move second.
[2:08:22] » It's been moved and seconded. Any
[2:08:24] further discussion? Hearing none, all
[2:08:27] those in favor, please signify by saying
[2:08:29] I.
[2:08:29] » I.
[2:08:30] » Motion carries unanimously. Allan, give
[2:08:32] us the news.
[2:08:33] » Yes, sir. Chairman Fanning, Supervisor
[2:08:37] Davis, Mera.
[2:08:40] Uh, this is the flood control district
[2:08:44] uh re report and it's going over u
[2:08:47] what's kind of been happening in August.
[2:08:49] Um, so we did finally get some more rain
[2:08:52] uh pretty much countywide, two inches on
[2:08:54] all gauges.
[2:08:56] Um we are still below um here in the
[2:09:00] Ngalas area uh where
[2:09:04] uh the average
[2:09:06] rainfall for the month of August is 4.43
[2:09:10] in we received uh approximately 3 in. Uh
[2:09:14] some outliers um Casablanca Road at uh
[2:09:19] the Highway 82 received over five inches
[2:09:22] of rain and then the town of Patagonia
[2:09:25] as well uh received a little bit more of
[2:09:27] three. Uh one thing I want to note is
[2:09:30] that we are um could be experiencing an
[2:09:33] uptick in monsoon uh moisture. Um and
[2:09:36] that's should be happening within the
[2:09:38] next few days. Uh there is a tropical
[2:09:40] storm uh Marie that's coming up the
[2:09:42] coast off of Baja and some there'll be
[2:09:45] some additional uh moisture that is
[2:09:47] going to be invected into the area. So
[2:09:49] we should expect an uptick in some of
[2:09:50] the storms. Of course we don't know
[2:09:52] where they're going to be. They're going
[2:09:54] to probably be intense because most of
[2:09:56] the storms nowadays are intense in in in
[2:09:59] uh we have straight line winds, tornatic
[2:10:01] type of uh storms that have been
[2:10:03] happening in in August. Um so that's the
[2:10:07] rainfall. Uh uh moving on to flood plane
[2:10:10] management. Um the district received 227
[2:10:14] flood reviews in August. 199 of them
[2:10:17] were in Santa Cruz County. 27 in Ogalas
[2:10:20] and one in Patagonia. We received uh 10
[2:10:23] flood plane use permit applications.
[2:10:26] Seven in Santa Cruz County and three in
[2:10:28] Ngalas.
[2:10:30] Not site reviews and uh we had a a few
[2:10:34] drainage complaints. So moving on to
[2:10:38] projects. Uh first is the Ephrom Canyon
[2:10:41] project which is u mainly a retention
[2:10:44] detention uh project that's happening
[2:10:46] off of Ephrom Canyon. Um, we have been
[2:10:50] looking for some grant opportunities and
[2:10:54] our engineering contractor, Soliss
[2:10:56] Engineering has applied for grant monies
[2:10:59] from two FEMA grant programs, flood
[2:11:01] mitigation assistance and building
[2:11:03] resilient infrastructure and communities
[2:11:05] and that happened last month.
[2:11:08] Moving on to Patagonia Regional Flood
[2:11:10] Control uh project and that's um
[2:11:13] something that's coming out of our
[2:11:15] community agreement with South 32. Um we
[2:11:19] had our second phase uh kickoff meeting
[2:11:22] yesterday with our consultants and u we
[2:11:26] have some pretty high tone consultants
[2:11:28] have been doing some amazing work in the
[2:11:31] uh town of Patagonia to try to resolve
[2:11:33] some of the flood plane excuse me some
[2:11:35] of the flooding issues that we have in
[2:11:36] the town. Uh the first phase uh happened
[2:11:39] yesterday. Uh we all got together to
[2:11:42] discuss some of the alternatives. Some
[2:11:44] of the alternatives in Patagonia being
[2:11:46] uh retention detention, multiuse
[2:11:48] retention detention that would look at
[2:11:50] parks and things like that. Um we were
[2:11:53] we looked at some storm drain designs.
[2:11:57] Um we're looking uh to uh perhaps work
[2:12:00] with the Nature Conservancy on doing
[2:12:02] some watershed restoration and some
[2:12:04] restoration of Cenoida Creek just
[2:12:06] immediately upstream of Patagonia. Um
[2:12:10] there's some modeling that was um
[2:12:13] presented during to during the meeting.
[2:12:15] It was a you know very high tone type
[2:12:17] modeling uh 2D type modeling with flow
[2:12:20] vectors so we could see where all the
[2:12:22] excess water is going through the two
[2:12:24] year the 10 year the 100year events uh
[2:12:27] those sort of things um and one of the
[2:12:29] main places that we identified for you
[2:12:32] know maybe perhaps um a project is the
[2:12:34] bridge there it's um
[2:12:37] highway 82 right there in Patagonia so
[2:12:40] that bridge is kind of constricting flow
[2:12:42] right there and some of it's going over
[2:12:43] the top u river Right. Um so
[2:12:48] the next steps there will be a public
[2:12:51] meeting um and that should happen
[2:12:53] sometime in October and then it'll be at
[2:12:56] the uh um
[2:12:59] uh town's
[2:13:01] um
[2:13:03] » Town office there. Yeah.
[2:13:05] So that's what we got going forward. Uh
[2:13:08] moving on to Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo is
[2:13:11] a subdivision that's been uh built uh
[2:13:14] designed in 1974.
[2:13:16] Uh circa uh final report submitted um
[2:13:20] 8626 waiting for final acknowledgement
[2:13:23] and approval from the uh from the
[2:13:25] county. So it's it's on our desk. We're
[2:13:27] reviewing it. Um
[2:13:30] three individual private floodgate
[2:13:31] designs have been identified for for
[2:13:34] individual people. Uh what we're looking
[2:13:36] at is trying to provide some floodgates
[2:13:39] that are for folks that are receiving u
[2:13:43] flooding from the street uh that's been
[2:13:45] exasperated by folks driving down the
[2:13:49] road. These uh private individuals have
[2:13:53] a home that's built below the road in
[2:13:55] their driveway and so they're
[2:13:58] [clears throat] getting water that's
[2:13:59] flowing into their into their properties
[2:14:01] right there. So we looked at three
[2:14:03] different designs. One is pretty high
[2:14:04] tone. Um, an automatic floodgate. Uh, we
[2:14:08] looked at a different one that I
[2:14:09] described last time that was an aluminum
[2:14:12] type floodgate that can be constructed.
[2:14:15] And then also now we're looking at a a
[2:14:18] high-grade plastic type of floodgate
[2:14:21] that can be snapped together. So, we're
[2:14:24] looking at those three different
[2:14:25] options. [clears throat] We're looking
[2:14:26] to do a demonstration project for a
[2:14:29] couple of different uh individuals there
[2:14:31] in Monte Carlo. And the idea is that we
[2:14:34] would create a a policy and process that
[2:14:37] folks could apply um and and get these
[2:14:40] floodgates. And so that's kind of where
[2:14:42] we're going forward. Um on a more
[2:14:45] tactical level, uh Monte Carlo, uh we
[2:14:49] did receive our uh new phase 2 report uh
[2:14:53] from CMG. And again, you know, we're
[2:14:56] looking at very high tone type of
[2:14:58] modeling that's basically identifying
[2:15:00] areas of breakout within some of the
[2:15:02] drainage channels within the
[2:15:04] subdivision. And now we're going to a
[2:15:08] design phase uh where u there'll be a
[2:15:11] design layout. And that layout will look
[2:15:14] at um different areas where we might
[2:15:16] have to have acquisition and easements
[2:15:18] and rightaways as far as putting in some
[2:15:20] new flood control structures. Some of
[2:15:22] the new structures could be channels,
[2:15:24] could be some bank protection, uh that
[2:15:27] sort of thing. Um,
[2:15:29] another thing that was identified within
[2:15:31] the report is looking [clears throat] at
[2:15:34] uh three
[2:15:35] retention detention uh basins that are
[2:15:38] immediately upstream of the subdivision
[2:15:41] um and making sure that those are
[2:15:43] maintained on a regular basis, annual
[2:15:45] basis. And also looking at the main
[2:15:48] Monte Carlo basin uh which uh has
[2:15:53] received quite a bit of sediment and
[2:15:54] that sediment is redirecting some of the
[2:15:57] flow within the basin. So, um we're
[2:16:00] looking at having somebody to go in
[2:16:02] there and remove some of the sediment
[2:16:03] and and also making sure that that basin
[2:16:06] is, you know, uh function as it should.
[2:16:10] Um so, there's that. And also one of the
[2:16:13] other recommendations was that on an
[2:16:16] annual basis and after storm events to
[2:16:19] um do some inspections of some of these
[2:16:21] basins and the uh different drainage
[2:16:24] channels and things like that. So going
[2:16:26] forward um like I said I think the next
[2:16:30] uh phase is going to be a design phase
[2:16:32] where we're actually going to see where
[2:16:34] these potential flood control projects
[2:16:36] can happen within the subdivision and
[2:16:39] then at that point identify what kind of
[2:16:41] acquisition and then uh look for
[2:16:44] additional funding as far as taking care
[2:16:46] of some of the flood control projects in
[2:16:48] that area.
[2:16:51] So
[2:16:52] that's it for my presentation. Um the
[2:16:56] town of Patagonia is going to have a
[2:16:58] flood and flow meeting here coming up
[2:17:00] this month and so we'll have something
[2:17:01] from them. Um oh I there is one that I
[2:17:04] forgot was the Ngalas uh wash. So,
[2:17:07] Ngalas Wash um we have received
[2:17:11] um the incident report from our uh
[2:17:14] consultant. Um and so that incident
[2:17:17] report has been [clears throat]
[2:17:19] submitted and we also have a rainfall
[2:17:21] analysis of that particular storm so we
[2:17:23] could kind of understand
[2:17:25] um you know why that storm happened and
[2:17:28] why we had the flows we did. And so we
[2:17:30] have a pretty good understanding of of
[2:17:32] what to expect in the future. And um
[2:17:35] this sort of storm is something that we
[2:17:37] could probably um have on a uh every
[2:17:41] other year uh interval. So two-year
[2:17:45] event, something that you know heavy
[2:17:48] monsoon type watershed wide type of
[2:17:51] storm will create the kind of flows that
[2:17:53] we saw within uh Sonora and also which
[2:17:57] ends up down the Ngalas Wash. So
[2:18:00] something we could maybe plan for in the
[2:18:02] future.
[2:18:04] That's it. Did you have any questions?
[2:18:08] » Sure.
[2:18:09] » Thanks for your update, Alens.
[2:18:10] » Yes, sir.
[2:18:11] » When it comes to the demonstration
[2:18:13] project in in Monte Monte Carlo with
[2:18:15] those two or three families, do we have
[2:18:17] a date for that?
[2:18:21] » No, sir.
[2:18:21] » No, no. I' I've been given the green
[2:18:24] light to purchase the the structures.
[2:18:27] So, whenever you want me to do that, I
[2:18:29] can. Uh we need to reach out to those
[2:18:31] folks
[2:18:32] » To make that's what they want sort of
[2:18:34] thing.
[2:18:35] » Yes. At least let's let's talk to them
[2:18:36] to to make sure if that's the way they
[2:18:38] want to go.
[2:18:39] » Yeah, absolutely.
[2:18:40] » So we can move forward
[2:18:41] » And moving forward with that and then
[2:18:43] also also moving forward with this this
[2:18:45] project that that we're working on too.
[2:18:48] » Thank you.
[2:18:48] » Yes, sir.
[2:18:49] » Thank you.
[2:18:50] » I I have a question on the effort
[2:18:53] project.
[2:18:54] » Okay.
[2:18:54] » You know, you said Caliss uh applied for
[2:18:57] some grants. How much money do we
[2:19:00] realistically need to
[2:19:02] begin that project because I know it's
[2:19:05] been on hold. I thought it was like 80
[2:19:08] 80 million, right?
[2:19:10] » Mr. Chair, members of the original cost
[2:19:13] estimate came in around 80 $80 million
[2:19:17] [clears throat] because of
[2:19:19] the submitt for the grant uh and the
[2:19:22] scope of the of the work that was going
[2:19:24] to be conducted
[2:19:26] essentially that BM that we were going
[2:19:27] to construct was deemed as
[2:19:29] jurisdictional dam. So that's what it
[2:19:33] needed to be a pump. It had a lot of
[2:19:35] requirements. Since then, we we've
[2:19:37] revised the scope and and and looked at
[2:19:39] a an offline basin. Um
[2:19:44] that
[2:19:46] would do would reach the similar
[2:19:47] results. That's closer to a 2530 $30
[2:19:51] million
[2:19:53] project. Mr. Mayor, good question. Go
[2:19:56] ahead. No,
[2:19:56] » No, finish. I'm sorry.
[2:19:59] » These grants that were
[2:20:01] that we're applying um
[2:20:04] have the potential to if we're
[2:20:06] successful to bring in about $10 million
[2:20:09] » And and we already have 10 for that
[2:20:12] project.
[2:20:14] » Initially we had $12 million in that
[2:20:16] project.
[2:20:17] » We would need like maybe like three
[2:20:18] more. Well, the period of performance is
[2:20:22] about to end for for the resilient
[2:20:25] community and it's because we had to
[2:20:27] change gears with with uh what we were
[2:20:32] trying to construct. So, at this point,
[2:20:34] we're not going to hit the we're not
[2:20:37] going to be able to complete the project
[2:20:39] before the period of performance. So,
[2:20:42] that's why we're applying for a
[2:20:43] different grants.
[2:20:46] » Thank you. Thank you, Ellen. I I you me
[2:20:49] you at the very end of your discussion
[2:20:51] you talked about future expectation by
[2:20:54] looking at to see what happened um you
[2:20:57] know in uh that the last rain that
[2:20:59] created what it did create with the wash
[2:21:01] and so forth in Mexico and in the United
[2:21:04] States.
[2:21:04] » You also mentioned we have an upcoming
[2:21:06] storm activity.
[2:21:09] » Do you see them similar power?
[2:21:13] [clears throat]
[2:21:13] » It's it's a it's a degrading tropical
[2:21:15] storm. So there could be rainbands
[2:21:17] coming across
[2:21:18] » Okay
[2:21:18] » The state which would be um have the
[2:21:21] potential of having you know as much as
[2:21:23] seven inches of rain falling. However I
[2:21:26] don't think that's what's going to
[2:21:26] happen. Okay. It's more of an ad vection
[2:21:29] of the of moisture coming from that
[2:21:31] particular storm. So and in in in when
[2:21:34] that kind of scenario sets up it's going
[2:21:36] to be on an individual basis of you know
[2:21:39] where this is where these storms going
[2:21:40] to happen. So wherever the you know you
[2:21:43] know wherever the the proper dynamics
[2:21:45] are happening then there's going to be
[2:21:46] more moisture um in order to feed those
[2:21:49] sort of storms. So it's it's going to be
[2:21:51] really hard to predict where exactly
[2:21:52] it's going to happen until you can kind
[2:21:54] of see it happening so to speak. But but
[2:21:57] I just wanted to mention that um that
[2:21:59] you know that's that's what's coming
[2:22:01] across my desk right now.
[2:22:03] » Wonderful.
[2:22:03] » So I I don't think it's like all hands
[2:22:05] on deck or something. just just that
[2:22:07] more more of a an observation of of to
[2:22:10] uh try to educate everybody on what some
[2:22:13] of the monsoon storms are like and what
[2:22:15] what drives them.
[2:22:17] » Gotcha. Thank you. Any uh number four,
[2:22:20] any public comment?
[2:22:24] » Thank you, sir.
[2:22:25] » Yes, sir.
[2:22:27] » Okay. Uh with that, um do I have a
[2:22:30] motion to reconvene into regular
[2:22:32] session?
[2:22:32] » Move to second.
[2:22:34] » Move to adjourn.
[2:22:36] flood control and move into general
[2:22:39] session.
[2:22:41] » Second.
[2:22:42] » Okay, we have a motion to second. Any
[2:22:43] further discussion? Hearing none. All
[2:22:45] those in favor, please signify by saying
[2:22:47] I.
[2:22:47] » I. Motion carries unanimously.
[2:22:50] » Okay, we're going to move to H action
[2:22:51] items. I'm going to go to number six
[2:22:54] under consent agenda first. That was
[2:22:57] discussed at the beginning of our
[2:22:59] meeting to move into action items. Um so
[2:23:02] with that number six discuss discussion
[2:23:04] possible action to improve proposal with
[2:23:07] Wilder Landscape Architects to document
[2:23:10] uh landscape related impacts from border
[2:23:13] wall construction in the loil area in
[2:23:15] the amount of 8,680
[2:23:18] including authorized reimburseable
[2:23:20] expenses. Do I have a motion?
[2:23:23] » Move second.
[2:23:24] » It's been moved and seconded. Discussion
[2:23:28] Mr. Manager.
[2:23:29] » Mr. Um this is an attempt from the
[2:23:31] county to look at the repairing area
[2:23:34] that's in the loil area. Um it's poss
[2:23:37] it's about a half mile that we're going
[2:23:40] to monitor. So what the goal is to
[2:23:42] inventory everything exit the existing
[2:23:45] conditions that we see now and see if
[2:23:48] because of the wall and
[2:23:50] um see if if they deteriorate uh dur
[2:23:55] through the year. So we're going to
[2:23:56] monitor this if if we show
[2:24:00] We're going to use this as as almost a
[2:24:02] pilot project to understand what's
[2:24:03] really happening. Um if we see that uh
[2:24:07] if we're seeing much deterioration or
[2:24:10] the the repairing area, you know, not
[2:24:15] the the trees and the vegetations and
[2:24:17] and also the wildlife not flourishing
[2:24:21] the way we were used to because this is
[2:24:22] the wall is the first time we ever, you
[2:24:24] know, it's been a barrier in that area.
[2:24:26] So, we're going to just monitor it. Um
[2:24:28] there's different techniques that the
[2:24:30] welder will use to monitor that and
[2:24:32] we'll do it on a yearly basis to uh to
[2:24:35] see what impacts that wall had on that
[2:24:38] area. Um our goal is to if there is
[2:24:41] impacts is to go after um
[2:24:43] [clears throat]
[2:24:44] grant money um and sit with our
[2:24:47] delegation see what we could do to
[2:24:49] mitigate all the any impact that have
[2:24:51] occurred because of the of the port
[2:24:53] hole.
[2:24:56] » Wonderful. Thank you sir. And there's
[2:24:58] some beautiful trees there. I mean,
[2:25:01] really old trees. Uh, and initially
[2:25:05] that's where Santa Cruz crosses to
[2:25:07] Mexico, right? Right in that area.
[2:25:10] » That was Yeah, you're correct, Mr. uh,
[2:25:13] members of the board, uh, that was a
[2:25:15] port of entry at one point.
[2:25:18] » The Santa Cruz River actually crosses
[2:25:22] into Mexico there, right?
[2:25:26] the rivers outside uh the the area we're
[2:25:29] going to monitor but not by much.
[2:25:33] » Sir
[2:25:33] » And Mr. chair and board the as a
[2:25:36] technical measure. Uh we recommend that
[2:25:39] there be a contract with Wilder. Uh and
[2:25:42] so if the board well the procurement
[2:25:44] policy that the board has already
[2:25:47] approved a couple of years ago uh allows
[2:25:49] for uh I think county management or the
[2:25:53] finance director to sign a contract. It
[2:25:56] would be helpful if the uh board
[2:25:59] authorizes
[2:26:01] county management to sign any contract
[2:26:03] with Wilder.
[2:26:06] » Thank you.
[2:26:07] » Any further discussion?
[2:26:09] » No, I just want to thank um county
[2:26:10] management for uh taking this proactive
[2:26:13] initiative and document that area on the
[2:26:16] east side and document it right now and
[2:26:19] the impacts it's going to have for
[2:26:21] building that fence, the border wall.
[2:26:24] And like you say, like maybe in the
[2:26:25] future hopefully like we're going to
[2:26:26] have that documentation and if we need
[2:26:28] to apply or make a case on on the on
[2:26:32] what happened there, we would have that
[2:26:33] information. So it's good to to be be
[2:26:37] proactive.
[2:26:39] » I concur.
[2:26:40] » Mr. Chair,
[2:26:42] » Bob, do we need to amend the the motion
[2:26:45] or are we good with it?
[2:26:48] The motion as it is certainly is to uh
[2:26:52] accept the proposal and that's fine. But
[2:26:55] yes, I think uh supervisor it would be
[2:26:59] helpful if the board further authorizes
[2:27:02] the county management to sign uh on
[2:27:05] behalf of the county the any contract
[2:27:07] with Wilder and then you
[2:27:10] » Yeah, just just a friendly amendment,
[2:27:13] Mr. Chair, to my motion. Move to approve
[2:27:17] uh allowing uh staff a county manager to
[2:27:22] sign.
[2:27:25] » Second.
[2:27:26] » Okay. Any further discussion?
[2:27:30] » Move forward with the vote. All those in
[2:27:31] favor, please signify by saying I.
[2:27:33] » I.
[2:27:33] » I.
[2:27:34] » Motion carries unanimously. Thank you
[2:27:36] for uh recommending to take that off a
[2:27:38] consent agenda. I think it's incredibly
[2:27:40] important. With that, we'll move back up
[2:27:42] to H. Um action items. Number one,
[2:27:46] discussion possible action to approve
[2:27:48] and adopt proclamation declaring a
[2:27:51] September 2026 as suicide prevention
[2:27:53] awareness month throughout Santa Cruz
[2:27:55] County. Vice Chair.
[2:27:59] Okay.
[2:28:00] » Oh, wait a minute. Um, do I have a
[2:28:02] motion?
[2:28:03] » I move.
[2:28:04] » I'll second.
[2:28:06] » Okay, it's been moved and seconded. At
[2:28:09] this time, this will be considered
[2:28:11] discussion.
[2:28:12] » So, I'm going to read the the
[2:28:13] proclamation, right?
[2:28:16] Proclamation September 2026 suicide
[2:28:19] prevention awareness month. Whereas
[2:28:22] suicide is a serious public health
[2:28:24] concern that affects individuals,
[2:28:26] families, friends, workplaces, schools,
[2:28:29] and communities throughout Santa Cruz
[2:28:30] County. And its impact reaches people
[2:28:33] all ages and backgrounds. And whereas
[2:28:36] mental health challenges, substance use,
[2:28:39] isolation, trauma, significant life
[2:28:42] changes, and other circumstances may
[2:28:44] increase vulnerability, making
[2:28:46] prevention, early identification,
[2:28:48] intervention, and timely access to
[2:28:51] appropriate support critically
[2:28:53] important. And whereas rural and border
[2:28:56] communities may experience unique
[2:28:58] barriers to accessing behavioral health
[2:29:01] services including transportation,
[2:29:04] providing a availability, financial
[2:29:07] limitation, stigma, and lack of
[2:29:08] awareness about available sources. And
[2:29:11] whereas suicide prevention requires
[2:29:14] collaboration among healthc care and
[2:29:16] behavioral health providers, schools for
[2:29:20] first responders, law enforcement,
[2:29:22] courts, government agencies, nonprofit
[2:29:24] organizations, families, community
[2:29:27] leaders, and residents. And whereas
[2:29:30] increasing awareness of suicide warning
[2:29:32] signs and available resources encourage
[2:29:35] individuals to seek help and creating
[2:29:38] supportive environments where
[2:29:39] conversations about mental health can
[2:29:42] occur without shame or judgment can help
[2:29:45] save lives. And whereas Santa Cruz
[2:29:48] County recognizes the dedication of
[2:29:49] behavioral health professionals, health
[2:29:52] care providers, first responders,
[2:29:55] educators, law enforcement, social
[2:29:57] service agencies, community
[2:29:59] organizations, families, and families
[2:30:02] affected by suicide. And whereas every
[2:30:06] resident in Santa Cruz County can
[2:30:08] contribute to suicide prevention by
[2:30:10] promoting connection, compassion,
[2:30:13] understanding, and hope. and by helping
[2:30:15] individuals experiencing emotional
[2:30:17] distress connect with appropriate
[2:30:19] resources and support. And
[2:30:23] whereas proactive parents who raise
[2:30:26] safety concerns in family court deserves
[2:30:29] to be heard on the evidence rather than
[2:30:32] dismissed. And children deserve to be
[2:30:35] believed. And whereas suicide prevention
[2:30:38] awareness month provides an important
[2:30:40] opportunity to educate our community,
[2:30:42] reduce stigma, strengthen partnership,
[2:30:44] promote prevention and early
[2:30:46] intervention, and reaffirm that suicide
[2:30:49] prevention is a responsibility shared
[2:30:52] throughout our community. Now,
[2:30:54] therefore, be it proclaimed that Santa
[2:30:57] Cruz County Board of Supervisors hereby
[2:30:59] recognizes the month of September 2026
[2:31:02] as suicide prevention awareness month
[2:31:05] throughout Santa Cruz County, Arizona,
[2:31:07] and encourages all residents,
[2:31:09] businesses, schools, healthc care
[2:31:11] providers, government agencies,
[2:31:13] nonprofit organizations, faith and
[2:31:15] community organizations, and other
[2:31:17] community partners to participate in
[2:31:19] suicide prevention awareness efforts.
[2:31:22] Learn to recognize warning signs,
[2:31:24] promote available resources, support
[2:31:26] individuals and families who may be
[2:31:28] struggling, and work together to build a
[2:31:31] community rooted in hope, connection,
[2:31:34] compassion, and resilience. Pass and
[2:31:37] adopted this second day of September,
[2:31:39] 2026.
[2:31:41] » Thank you, sir.
[2:31:44] Okay, we'll move to uh the vote. All
[2:31:46] those in favor, please signify by saying
[2:31:48] I.
[2:31:48] » I.
[2:31:49] » Motion carries unanimously. Thank you,
[2:31:51] sir. Item B, September 14th through
[2:31:55] September 20th, 2026 as National Diaper
[2:31:57] Need a Awareness Week. And I'll ask uh
[2:32:01] Supervisor Metta, if you could please
[2:32:02] read that proclamation.
[2:32:03] » Honored, Mr. Chair.
[2:32:04] » Prior to do I have a motion to accept
[2:32:08] and move.
[2:32:09] » Okay, it's been moved and seconded.
[2:32:11] » Um, go ahead.
[2:32:13] » Okay. Thank you, sir. In the irony
[2:32:16] because I'm having issues in my district
[2:32:20] with someone throwing diapers on the
[2:32:23] frontage road right before right in
[2:32:25] front of Calabas's school. I I had a
[2:32:30] a text this Sunday where someone
[2:32:33] saw a bunch of diapers thrown in the
[2:32:37] middle of the street and this has
[2:32:38] happened quite a few times in the last
[2:32:41] year. We're hoping to maybe set up some
[2:32:44] cameras or something to see if we can
[2:32:46] catch this person unfortunately.
[2:32:50] So the proclamation is diaper need
[2:32:54] awareness week September 14th through
[2:32:56] September 20th 2026. Whereas diaper need
[2:32:59] the the condition of not being able to
[2:33:02] afford a sufficient supply of clean
[2:33:05] diapers to keep babies and toddlers
[2:33:07] clean, dry, and healthy can adversely
[2:33:11] affect the health and well-being of
[2:33:12] children and their families. And whereas
[2:33:16] national surveys and and research
[2:33:18] studies reported that nearly one in two
[2:33:21] families struggles with diaper need and
[2:33:24] 48% of families delay changing a diaper
[2:33:27] to extend the availability of supply.
[2:33:30] And whereas a daily or weekly supply of
[2:33:33] diapers is greatly and eligibly uh
[2:33:37] required for babies and toddlers to
[2:33:40] participate in child care programs and
[2:33:43] quality early education programs that
[2:33:46] enable children to thrive and parents to
[2:33:49] work. hand. Whereas many parents
[2:33:52] struggling with diapers need report
[2:33:54] missing an average of five of
[2:33:59] of work each I'm sorry an average of
[2:34:03] five days of work each month due to the
[2:34:06] insufficient supply of diapers and
[2:34:08] whereas without enough diapers
[2:34:12] babies and toddlers risk infection and
[2:34:15] health problems that they may require
[2:34:17] medical attention resulting in medical
[2:34:20] costs and parents may be prevented and
[2:34:24] access from accessing child care need to
[2:34:28] go to work or school nearby
[2:34:32] destabilizing the family's economic
[2:34:35] prospects and well-being. And whereas
[2:34:38] the people of Santa Cruz County
[2:34:39] recognize that diaper need is a public
[2:34:42] health issue and addressing diaper need
[2:34:45] can lead econ to economic opportunity
[2:34:48] for states families and communities and
[2:34:52] improved health for children. Thus
[2:34:55] ensuring all children and families have
[2:34:58] access to the basic necessities required
[2:35:02] to thrive and reach their full
[2:35:04] potential. And whereas Santa Cruz County
[2:35:07] is proud to be home to trusted
[2:35:10] community-based organizations, including
[2:35:13] that recognize the importance of diaper
[2:35:16] and ensuring uh health and providing
[2:35:20] economic stability for families and thus
[2:35:24] distur
[2:35:26] I'm sorry distribute
[2:35:29] diapers to families through various
[2:35:31] channels and whereas through their
[2:35:34] important work of addressing diaper
[2:35:36] need. Diaper banks play a critical role
[2:35:39] in supporting families, improving infant
[2:35:42] health and well-being, and advising our
[2:35:45] local and state economic growth. Now,
[2:35:48] therefore, the board of supervisors,
[2:35:51] Santa Cruz County, do hereby proclaim
[2:35:53] the week of September 14th through
[2:35:57] September 20th, 2026 as National Diaper
[2:36:01] Need Awareness Week.
[2:36:03] and passed and adopted this second day
[2:36:07] of September 2026. The chairman John
[2:36:10] Fanning, Vice Chairman Luc Carlos Davis,
[2:36:12] and yours truly.
[2:36:15] » Thank you,
[2:36:17] » Mr. Young.
[2:36:20] » I just wonder if we could take a picture
[2:36:21] uh with the for the proclamation with
[2:36:24] the group.
[2:36:25] » And I don't know if they I don't know if
[2:36:26] you guys would want to say something. I
[2:36:28] don't know if that's possible.
[2:36:30] Miss Molina,
[2:36:32] » There's circle
[2:36:33] » Put on the spot
[2:36:36] » If anyone would like to uh come up and
[2:36:38] » Thank you for what you do, by the way.
[2:36:40] We really appreciate it.
[2:36:46] » So, good morning to everyone. Um, we've
[2:36:49] we've all been waiting patiently for
[2:36:51] this and thank you so much for allowing
[2:36:53] us to to be here. So, Patty Molina with
[2:36:55] Maroposa Community Health Center. Uh
[2:36:57] suicide awareness month is a really
[2:36:59] important month for people to be aware
[2:37:01] of and to understand that there are
[2:37:03] resources out there for people to get
[2:37:04] and that we need to dismiss the stigma
[2:37:07] that a lot of people have because it's
[2:37:09] important to get the help and you need
[2:37:12] to uh take care of yourself in all
[2:37:15] levels of whatever profession you're in.
[2:37:16] And so there's really significant um
[2:37:19] impacts that this month has for a lot of
[2:37:22] different people and their families who
[2:37:24] have gone through this. So, we're
[2:37:26] creating an awareness for the entire
[2:37:28] month and we're going to have different
[2:37:29] activities throughout the month that we
[2:37:31] hope that the community will join us
[2:37:33] for. They'll all be posted on social
[2:37:35] media. Just to name one in particular,
[2:37:37] we are going to have uh a table at the
[2:37:40] national um night out, right? That's
[2:37:42] what it's called. Uh at the park and
[2:37:45] then we'll also have a walk on the 16th
[2:37:48] starting at 8 a.m. from city hall down
[2:37:50] to the border and back if you'd like to
[2:37:52] join us as well for that. So, thank you
[2:37:54] so much.
[2:37:55] » Wonderful. If we could have uh Yeah,
[2:37:58] let's
[2:38:01] Thank you. If we could take a picture at
[2:38:03] this time, if you'd like to come on up,
[2:38:04] that would be greatly appreciated.
[2:38:12] » You bet.
[2:38:31] Of
[2:38:44] course.
[2:38:49] » Turn sideways.
[2:39:05] » [applause]
[2:39:10] » Does anybody wants to say something
[2:39:11] else? Add something else.
[2:39:14] It would be good when you have the
[2:39:16] flyers or anybody like share it with us
[2:39:18] so we can see if we can share it through
[2:39:19] through Shannon
[2:39:21] to promote those events.
[2:39:23] » Yeah. Um I'm happy to share them. Okay.
[2:39:26] Thank you.
[2:39:27] » And thank you for all that you do,
[2:39:28] folks.
[2:39:28] » Yeah.
[2:39:29] » But I do I think it's important to
[2:39:30] acknowledge that the members that are
[2:39:32] here with us, Service of Peace, CAC, and
[2:39:34] Kodak.
[2:39:35] » Hi, come over here.
[2:39:36] » Kodak. Yes.
[2:39:37] » You could all introduce yourselves.
[2:39:39] » Yeah. Don't don't be shy.
[2:39:42] » You do great things for our community.
[2:39:47] » Good morning. I'm Aaron Soul. I'm a
[2:39:49] community health worker for CEKC, which
[2:39:50] is Southeast Arizona Health Education
[2:39:53] Center.
[2:39:54] » Thank you. Hello everybody. My name is
[2:39:56] Lupita Gonzalez, certified community
[2:39:58] health worker also for CEK.
[2:40:01] » Good morning. Felix, certified community
[2:40:03] health worker for CEK.
[2:40:06] » My name is Alberto Daso. I'm a counselor
[2:40:08] and case manager for Kodak, a behavioral
[2:40:10] health agency.
[2:40:12] » Thank you.
[2:40:15] » I'm also representing Blanca Costa
[2:40:17] Circles of Peace. Thank you so much for
[2:40:18] this opportunity. This may be routine
[2:40:20] for all of you, but it's something very
[2:40:22] special, something we look forward to as
[2:40:24] an alliance. Thank you.
[2:40:30] » Thank you. Thank you everyone.
[2:40:32] » No, thanks again for all your work.
[2:40:35] » Thank you.
[2:40:37] [applause]
[2:40:39] » Okay, with that we'll take go to vote.
[2:40:42] All those in favor, please signify by
[2:40:43] saying I.
[2:40:44] » I. I.
[2:40:45] » Motion carries unanimously.
[2:40:47] » Okay. Lastly, um, under this portion,
[2:40:50] uh, 1 C, uh, do I have a motion to
[2:40:54] approve September 18th, 2026 as Rotary
[2:40:57] International District 5500 day?
[2:41:00] » I move.
[2:41:01] » No,
[2:41:03] » Then I will second it.
[2:41:05] » Just kidding. I'll second. [laughter]
[2:41:08] » All right, it's moved to second it. It's
[2:41:11] going to be a two-1 vote
[2:41:14] and I will go ahead and read it under uh
[2:41:18] comments. Whereas Rotary International
[2:41:20] is an international service organization
[2:41:22] comprising 46,000 clubs in more than 200
[2:41:25] nations with 1.2 million individual
[2:41:28] members providing approximately 47
[2:41:31] million volunteer hours each year and
[2:41:33] whose stated purpose is to bring
[2:41:35] together business, professional, and
[2:41:37] community leaders to provide
[2:41:38] humanitarian service. In addition, the
[2:41:41] Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members
[2:41:43] to advance world understanding,
[2:41:45] goodwill, and peace by improving health,
[2:41:48] providing quality education, improving
[2:41:49] the environment, and alleviating
[2:41:52] alleviating poverty. And whereas Rotary
[2:41:55] International District 5500 has been
[2:41:57] created within this larger international
[2:41:59] organization to encourage and foster the
[2:42:02] ideal of service as a basis of worthy
[2:42:05] enterprise with more than 50 Rotary
[2:42:07] clubs and approximately 1,400 members in
[2:42:10] southern Arizona working together in
[2:42:12] community to be of greater service to
[2:42:14] those in need throughout southern
[2:42:15] Arizona. hand. Whereas district 5,500
[2:42:19] have joined together to bring Rotarians,
[2:42:21] Rotary youth, and other others to a
[2:42:24] district conference at the Tubback Golf
[2:42:25] Resort and Spa on September 18th and 19,
[2:42:28] 2026 to share ideas and initiatives for
[2:42:31] local and global service projects and to
[2:42:34] build greater awareness of the services
[2:42:36] that Rotary provides. And whereas
[2:42:38] District 5500 fosters high ethical
[2:42:41] standards in all aspects of personal,
[2:42:43] professional, and community life. And
[2:42:45] whereas district 5500 part of a global
[2:42:48] network values diversity and celebrates
[2:42:50] the contributions of people of all
[2:42:52] backgrounds regardless of their age,
[2:42:54] ethnicity, race, color abilities,
[2:42:57] religion, socioeconomic status, culture.
[2:43:00] hand. Whereas Rotarians have been
[2:43:03] anticipating gathering in person to
[2:43:05] educate, inspire, and engage one another
[2:43:08] on topics relevant to the southern
[2:43:09] Arizona communities they serve and enjoy
[2:43:12] learning from one another across varied
[2:43:14] types of collaborations. hand. Whereas
[2:43:17] the district 5500 conference offers
[2:43:19] Rotarians, Rotary youth, and others to
[2:43:22] chance to a chance to grow together
[2:43:24] through the shared goals of enhancing
[2:43:26] mutual collaborations on international,
[2:43:28] regional, and local humanitarian efforts
[2:43:31] as well as exposing the wider world of
[2:43:33] Rotary to Rotarians interested in
[2:43:36] providing leadership for Rotary's
[2:43:38] efforts in the future. Now, therefore,
[2:43:41] the board of supervisors of Santa Cruz
[2:43:43] County, Arizona, does hereby proclaim
[2:43:45] September 18th, 2026 as Rotary
[2:43:48] International District 5500 day in
[2:43:51] Tubac, Arizona, and encourage all
[2:43:54] residents to join us in honoring all
[2:43:56] Rotary Clubs in Rotary International
[2:43:58] District 5500 for their commitment to
[2:44:01] humanitarian efforts throughout the
[2:44:03] world to provide service to others,
[2:44:05] valuing diversity and inclusion,
[2:44:07] promoting high ethical standards, and
[2:44:09] advancing world understanding, goodwill,
[2:44:11] and peace through its fellowship. In
[2:44:13] witness whereof, we have here unto set
[2:44:15] our hand and caused the seal of Santa
[2:44:17] Cruz County to be affixed the second day
[2:44:19] of September, 2026, signed by myself,
[2:44:23] uh, Vice Chair Luis Carlos Davis, and
[2:44:27] member Rudy Mleta and future Rotarian
[2:44:30] hopefully.
[2:44:34] [laughter]
[2:44:35] » Is that Is that a motion? No, that's not
[2:44:41] okay. With that, uh we'll we'll go to a
[2:44:44] vote. Uh all those in favor, please
[2:44:46] signify by saying I.
[2:44:47] » I.
[2:44:49] Um passes unanimously. Okay. With that,
[2:44:52] we'll move to uh um
[2:44:55] » Mr. Chair.
[2:44:56] » Yes, sir.
[2:44:56] » I miss you saying Davies.
[2:44:58] » Davies.
[2:44:59] » Yeah, you said Davies now.
[2:45:00] » I apologize. [laughter]
[2:45:03] » It will not happen again. No disrespect.
[2:45:05] I apologize. as I'm going to go back up
[2:45:07] to H2 discussion possible action to
[2:45:10] approve and authorize partial release of
[2:45:12] substitute assurance agreement number
[2:45:14] 2025-0667
[2:45:18] specific to lots 48-61
[2:45:21] inclusive and 63 through 78 inclusive
[2:45:26] um two back golf resort development unit
[2:45:29] number two do I have a motion
[2:45:30] » Move to approve second
[2:45:32] » Been moved and seconded any further
[2:45:34] discussion hearing none all All those in
[2:45:36] favor, please signify by saying I.
[2:45:38] » I. Motion carries unanimously. And now
[2:45:41] um I consent agenda. Do I have a motion
[2:45:44] to approve the consent agenda as
[2:45:45] presented minus number six?
[2:45:47] » I move. Second.
[2:45:49] » Been moved and seconded. Any further
[2:45:51] discussion? Hearing none. All those in
[2:45:53] favor, please signify by saying I.
[2:45:55] » I.
[2:45:55] » I. Motion carries unanimously. And last
[2:45:58] but certainly not least, uh least um Jay
[2:46:02] adjournment. Do I have a motion to
[2:46:04] adjurnn?
[2:46:05] move to journ.
[2:46:06] » Yes, sir.
[2:46:08] » You had mentioned I think you mentioned
[2:46:10] this earlier and we have a board meeting
[2:46:12] before then, but we do have a you had
[2:46:14] asked me to to make sure we have the
[2:46:16] Santa Cruz County Fair September 18th
[2:46:18] also coming up.
[2:46:20] » Very good.
[2:46:21] » So, I want to make sure we got that. We
[2:46:22] have a board meeting before that, but I
[2:46:23] know that you wanted to mention that.
[2:46:25] » Yes, most definitely. Thank you, kind
[2:46:26] sir. Hope to see everyone out there. A
[2:46:28] lot of fun for the family. Okay, with
[2:46:31] that, do we have a motion?
[2:46:34] Move to ajourn.
[2:46:35] » We did.
[2:46:35] » Did we?
[2:46:36] » Uhhuh.
[2:46:36] » Yeah. Before I was rudely interrupted.
[2:46:38] » Oh yeah.
[2:46:39] » Yeah. Before you were rudely
[2:46:40] interrupted. [laughter]
[2:46:42] » Okay. We have a motion and a second. All
[2:46:44] those in favor, please signify by saying
[2:46:46] I. I.
[2:46:48] » We are now adjourned at 12:01. Thank
[2:46:51] you.