[00:00:07]
EVERYONE'S GETTING ALL NICE AND QUIET, SO I GUESS WE BETTER START THIS THING, HUH? ALRIGHT,
[1. CALL TO ORDER]
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER AND, UM, IF WE COULD GET THE EXPLANATION, UH, FROM OUR INTERPRETER.THE FOLLOWING WILL BE INSTRUCTIONS FOR OUR SPANISH SPEAKERS VIA ZOOM.
AND AS A REMINDER, IF WE COULD PLEASE SILENCE ALL CELL PHONES AND OTHER, UH, COMMUNICATION DEVICES, WHATEVER THEY ARE.
UH, AND WITH THAT, A LIVE WEBCAST OF THE MEETING MAY BE VIEWED ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
AND THE NOTICE AGENDA AND INFORMATION IS ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE TO INFORM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT THEY MAY SUBMIT, UH, GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OR PUBLIC COMMENT ON A SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEM IN NUMBER OF WAYS, EITHER IN PERSON BY SUBMITTING ONE OF THESE SALMON COLORED, UH, SLIPS THAT ARE AT THE BACK, UM, EITHER BY ZOOM, BY PRE-REGISTERING ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE, OR BY EMAILING EITHER ONE OF THOSE AT LEAST FOUR HOURS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING.
ALL WRITTEN COMMENTS RECEIVED OR DISTRIBUTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL PRIOR TO THE MEETING AND PUBLISHED ON THE CITY WEBSITE IF THEY'RE RECEIVED BY THE DEADLINE.
WITH THAT, CAN WE HAVE ROLL CALL, PLEASE? GOOD EVENING.
COUNCIL MEMBER MOLINA PRESENT, VICE MAYOR YAMANI.
IF WE COULD PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I'LL ASK, UH, COUNCILMAN BUSH, IF YOU WOULD LEAD US, PLEASE.
RIGHT HAND OVER YOUR HEART AND REMAIN STANDING FOR THE INVOCATION.
READY? BEGIN MY PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
THIS IS DUE THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
HELLO, MY NAME IS JOE MENDOZA.
THANK YOU, LORD FOR THIS WONDERFUL EVENING.
WE ASK YOU THAT YOU BE WITH US, LORD.
ALL RIGHT, JUST HALF A SECOND HERE.
AND, UH, I'M GONNA TAKE SOMETHING JUST SLIGHTLY OUT OF ORDER SO WE CAN GET, UH, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE PRESENTATION SO THAT WE CAN, UH, MOVE SOME, UH, PEOPLE HERE ALONG JUST A LITTLE BIT, UH, THE, UH,
[7.1 Introduction of New City Employees ]
INTRODUCTION OF NEW EMPLOYEE, UH, CITY EMPLOYEES, IF WE CAN BRING THAT ONE FORWARD.AND I'M GOING TO, UH, FIRST GO WITH THE, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT.
GOOD EVENING, UH, MR. MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, MY NAME'S DAN MCGUIRE.
I'M A FIREFIGHTER ENGINEER FOR THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY.
UH, I HAVE THE HONOR WITH, UH, MY COLLEAGUE HERE, FIREFIGHTER DIVINE OF BEING THE ACADEMY COORDINATORS FOR THE 2024 NATIONAL CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, ACADEMY.
UH, WE HAVE FOUR RECRUITS, UH, FOR THIS ACADEMY.
UH, WE'VE GOT, UH, IN FRONT OF YOU HERE, UH, DYLAN KELLY, JONATHAN CORNWELL, AND CHARLES STRAFORD.
UH, THEY'RE ARE THREE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.
AND THEN WE HAVE AN OPEN ENROLL IRVING CARILLO.
UH, HE'S ACTUALLY OUR SECOND OPEN ENROLLEE WE'VE EVER HAD.
LAST YEAR, WE, UH, STARTED THE PROGRAM WITH ARMANDO MARTINEZ, WHO'S NOW A FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE.
UH, AND WE'RE HOPING TO, UH, DO THE SAME THING, UH, WITH CARRILLO.
UH, HE'S GETTING THE SAME EXACT TRAINING AS ALL THE OTHER RECRUITS.
UH, IT'S A TOTAL OF A 12 WEEK FIRE ACADEMY WHERE YOU JUST, UH, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF WEEK THREE RIGHT NOW.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON 'EM ALL DAY.
[00:05:01]
AND WE HAD A GUY AT THE TOP OF 105 FOOT AERIAL, AND THAT'S WHEN WE HIT THE TORNADO WARNING.THAT'S WHEN EVERYBODY SHUT IT DOWN AND EVERYBODY PACK IT UP.
UH, SO THAT WAS A NEW ONE FOR ME, BUT, UH, WE JUST WANTED TO, UH, INTRODUCE 'EM AND WELCOME 'EM TO THE CITY.
YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR 'EM? ALRIGHT, ARE YOU GUYS EXCITED? YES, SIR.
ALRIGHT, WELL IT IS CERTAINLY A PLEASURE TO HAVE ALL OF YOU ON, ON BOARD AND, UH, FOR YOUR TRAINING.
I HEAR YOU GUYS PUT IN WHAT, A 12 HOUR TODAY ABOUT THAT, SIR.
AND, UH, SO WITH THAT, HOW ABOUT IF WE HAVE YOU DO THE, UH, UH, THE WALK, COME, COME UP HERE AND SHAKE HANDS WITH THE, UH, THE COUNCIL AND OUR OTHER LEADERS? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME BOARD.
WELCOME YOU A PHOTO WHO'S TAKING A PHOTO? YOU ALRIGHT.
NEXT WE HAVE OUR, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT, AFTERNOON MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I DON'T HAVE THAT MANY PEOPLE RIGHT NOW TO INTRODUCE
SO THEY'RE, UH, IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT.
AND WE'RE REAL CLOSE TO GETTING TWO MORE FROM THE NEXT ACADEMY.
BUT I DO WANT TO INTRODUCE TWO PEOPLE IF THEY COULD COME UP HERE WITH ME.
SO I'LL START WITH, I'LL START WITH LEONA BOWS.
SO SHE, UH, CURRENTLY WAS TEACHING JAPANESE TRANSLATION FOR THE SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, REALLY WHERE SHE GREW UP.
AND IT'S PRETTY UNIQUE BECAUSE SHE IS FITTING IN IMMEDIATELY.
SHE WAS NOT IN THE MILITARY, BUT SHE DID MARRY A SAILOR, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
HER BEST ATTRIBUTES IS THAT SHE'S GOT A PERSONA PERSONALITY.
IT CAN BE A LITTLE AWKWARD, BUT IT'S REALLY FUN.
UM, OKAY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SHE WANTS PEOPLE TO KNOW IS THAT SHE WAS RAISED IN JAPAN AND HER FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO HER.
SHE'S GOT TWO YOUNG CHILDREN AND SHE LOVES SCARY MOVIES.
AM I SUPPOSED TO? YEAH, IF YOU WANT TO, YOU CAN, YOU CAN.
HELLO EVERYBODY, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
UH, NEXT I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR NEWEST POLICE OFFICER, CHRISTINA SOTOS.
SOME OF YOU WERE AT THE, UH, PROMOTIONAL WORKSHOP OR PROMOTIONAL CEREMONY THAT WE HAD RECENTLY.
AND, UH, CHRISTINA HAD BEEN VOLUNTEERING WITH OUR DEPARTMENT FOR FREE.
SHE WAS A RESERVE OFFICER AND SHE WAS UBER COMMITTED, AND SHE WAS COMING IN EVERY SINGLE DAY TO SHOW HERSELF, SHOWCASE HERSELF.
WHAT SHE WANTS PEOPLE TO, TO KNOW IS THAT SHE'S ETHICAL, SHE EMBRACES NEW TECHNOLOGY, WHICH IS AWESOME BECAUSE TECHNOLOGY'S CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
AND SHE'S ROOTED IN EMPATHY AND FOSTERING COMMUNITY RELATIONS.
UM, I ASKED HER WHAT HER FAVORITE BAND WAS AND SHE SAID BAND 1, 1 2 1 12 1 12.
THAT'S ALL I, I, I WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN EITHER, SO DON'T WORRY.
I MEAN, JUST HER, HER SPECIAL, UH, TALENT IS THAT SHE'S AN UNDERGROUND COMEDIAN AND SHE CAN JUGGLE.
SHE DIDN'T BRING ANYTHING TO JUGGLE TODAY.
UH, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
UM, I'M SUPER, SUPER EXCITED FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND,
[00:10:01]
UM, BUT I'M JUST EXCITED TO BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND SERVE SO FORWARD TO MEETING EVERYONE AND BEING, YOU KNOW, BEING A OKAY.IS ANYTHING LIKE 9 1 1, 1 1, 2.
YES, I WAS, WAS ARE YOU STAND HERE? NO, NO.
WE NOW HAVE, UM, UH, FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
ADRIANA WASN'T ABLE TO ATTEND TONIGHT, SO I'LL INTRODUCE HER AT THE INTRODUCTIONS IN MARCH.
AND SO THEN WE HAVE ENGINEERING PUBLIC WORKS.
YOU'RE, UH, WE, UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO INTRODUCE TWO NEW EMPLOYEES TO OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM.
UH, I'M GONNA FIRST BRING UP OUR EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR, RUBEN WTA, TO INTRODUCE MARCOS MAYOR CITY COUNCIL, UH, MRTA EQUIP MAINTENANCE, UH, FOR THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY, MARCOS PESQUEDA, UM, FEELING A LITTLE SICK, SO HE DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS HEALTHY TO STAY, STAY HIS HOME.
UH, WELL HO HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS WILL ALL GET TO MEET MARCOS IN PERSON.
I HAD A OPPORTUNITY TO MEET HIM, UM, ABOUT A WEEK OR TWO AGO, AND, UH, HE'S VERY EXCITED TO BE PART OF OUR TEAM AND, AND HELP WITH, UH, OUR, OUR SHOP AND, AND WORKING ON OUR VEHICLES.
SO, NEXT WE'RE GONNA BRING UP CHRIS GARCIA, OUR FACILITIES MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR TO INTRODUCE, UH, OUR, ONE OF OUR NEW CUSTODIANS.
COUNCIL, PLEASURE BEING HERE TODAY.
I'M THE FACILITIES MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR HERE FOR THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY, AND I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF TODAY INTRODUCING OUR NEW CUSTODIAL STAFF.
UH, SHE'S A LOCAL HERE TO NATIONAL CITY.
SO SHE'S VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA.
UH, SHE HAS FIVE YEARS EXPERIENCE WORKING IN CUSTODIAL AND HOUSEKEEPING EXPERIENCE.
SO, UH, SHE HAS, UH, MOSTLY PRIVATE SECTOR WITH, UH, DAVID'S CUSTODIAL SERVICES AS WELL AS WORKING AT PARADISE VALLEY.
ASSISTED LIVING, WORKING AS A TEAR, TEAR TAKER, AND, UH, AND HOUSEKEEPER.
UH, SO FAR HER TIME HERE HAS BEEN GREAT.
SHE'S BEEN A GREAT TEAM PLAYER AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING HER STICK WITH, STICK AROUND WITH US.
SO THIS IS JESSICA, JESSICA
THAT COMPLETES OUR NEW EMPLOYEES.
AND, UH, SO NOW WE'RE GONNA GET
[5.1 Presentation - Update on Local Emergency Caused by Severe Rainstorm and Flooding]
INTO THE PRESENTATION.THIS IS ON AN UPDATE OF THE LOCAL EMERGENCY THAT WE'VE HAD THAT HAS BEEN BEEN CAUSED BY THE, THE SEVERE RAINSTORM OF, UH, TWO WEEKS AGO AND LAST WEEKEND.
AND, AND, UH, LOOKS LIKE WE GOT MORE COMING IN LATER ON THIS EVENING.
BUT, UH, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO OUR CITY MANAGER TO GET THINGS STARTED.
THANK YOU, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
ON MONDAY, JANUARY 22ND, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY
[00:15:01]
EXPERIENCED AN EVENT, UM, THAT IS KIND OF BEING REFERRED TO AS A THOUSAND YEAR, UH, STORM EVENT.AND CITIES AND COUNTIES EXPERIENCED RAINFALL OF THREE INCHES IN A SINGLE, UH, 24 HOUR PERIOD THAT EXCEEDED THE AVERAGE WET MONTH.
AND RIVALS, UH, THE RAINFALL NEEDED TO SPUR A 100 YEAR FLOOD EVENT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA HEAR MORE DETAILS ON, ON THOSE, UH, STATISTICS AND, AND REPORTS, UH, FROM THE TEAM LATER.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO KICK OFF THIS REPORT BY SAYING, NUMBER ONE, THIS IS OUR FIRST REPORT.
UM, WE'LL BE BRINGING BACK ANOTHER STORM UPDATE, UH, AT OUR NEXT, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEETING, AND WE'LL KEEP THEM ONGOING AS NEEDED.
UM, IT IS, IT, IT GOES, IT JUST, I CAN'T EXPRESS HOW PROUD I AM OF THIS TEAM, THIS CITY OF NATIONAL CITY TEAM, OF WHICH I AM BLESSED TO BE A CITY MANAGER.
UM, I JUST, I JUST CAN'T SAY ENOUGH.
I AM SO HAPPY WITH THEIR PERFORMANCE.
THEY WORK VERY HARD, UM, AT ALL LEVELS.
UM, AND OUR PARTNERSHIPS, WHICH YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, TEAM RUBICON AND EDCO, JUST TO NAME A FEW.
IT'S JUST AN INCREDIBLE SITUATION.
SO, UM, WE, UH, I GUARANTEE THAT IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THE TEAM THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, UM, THAT WE DID NOT HAVE THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, THE RESPONSE WOULD'VE BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE DRASTIC.
IT WOULD, IT WOULD'VE BEEN A MORE DRASTIC SITUATION.
NOT THAT IT WASN'T, NOT THAT IT DIDN'T IMPACT ALL OF US PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY AND, AND IN OUR FAMILY LIVES AND, AND IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, THROUGHOUT THE LAST TWO WEEKS, UM, BEFORE WE JUMPED TO THE PRESENTATION, WHEN I WAS OUT DOING SANDBAG, UH, WORK, UM, RIGHT HERE NEXT DOOR, NEXT TO THE LIBRARY, UH, A YOUNG GENTLEMAN NAMED ROBERTO SATELLO.
ROBERTO, COME FORWARD WITH YOUR FAMILY.
ROBERTO SATELLO WAS OUT PLAYING BASKETBALL.
THE BASKETBALL COURTS ARE, WERE RIGHT NEXT TO THE, TO THE SAND.
UM, AND PLEASE COME THE FAMILY PLEASE, BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONES THAT RA THAT RAISE THIS YOUNG MAN,
I SEE
I, FIRST TIME I GET TO MEET YOU, UH, ROBERTO'S FATHER IS ROBERTO SENIOR, AND I THINK HE HAS, UH, A SISTER, YOUNGER SISTER NAMED CARLA JOANNE.
AND HE HAS, UH, TWO OLDER SISTERS NAMED ALEX AND TALIA.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER KIDS, BUT THIS ONE YOU RAISED RIGHT, BECAUSE HE DROPPED
HE DROPPED THE BASKETBALL AND WENT TO WORK.
AND I HOPE THIS SMALL GESTURE OF THIS CARD THAT I WOULD, UH, GIFT CARD, THAT I'D LIKE TO PRESENT THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU ROBERTO, PLEASE.
PLEASE, UH, ROBERTO, COME FORWARD.
IT'S JUST A SMALL THANK YOU, ROBERTO, FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE.
I, I HOPE, I HOPE THIS LITTLE EVENT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING, BUT YOU'RE SOMETHING SPECIAL.
AND I KNOW THERE WAS ANOTHER FRIEND TOO WITH YOU THAT HELPED OUT TOO.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK HIM AS WELL, BUT SHARE THIS BECAUSE THESE ARE THE, THESE ARE THE MOMENTS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL IN YOU AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW, BUT THE BOSS OF THE CITY WAS SHOVELING THE SANDWICH FOUR HOURS, AND I DID ALMOST LAST LONGER THAN YOU.
YOU KNOW, THAT YOU, YOU NOTICED, YOU SAID ALMOST.
I WAS ASKING THE MAYOR FOR THAT.
THE BEN GAY FOR THE BACKGROUND
SO, UM, IT JUST, IT WAS JUST AMAZING FOR ME TO SEE THAT I, I, YOU SHOULD BE SO PROUD PARENTS.
THANK YOU, REBECCA, FOR COMING DOWN.
SHE THOUGHT, SHE THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE.
SO WE HAD TO LOOK YOU UP AND GOOGLE YOU AND EVERYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE CAME.
AND HE WAS LIKE, MOM, SOME GUY, SOME GENTLEMAN TEXT ME.
I'M, WE ARE VERY PROUD OF HIM.
AND THE FACT THAT YOU'VE ACKNOWLEDGED HIM IS VERY SPECIAL FOR US.
WELL, IF I COULD, YOU KNOW, IT, IT WAS REALLY SPECIAL BECAUSE HE CAME OVER AND NOT ONLY DID HE JUST SAY, OH, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE, YOU KNOW, HOUR AFTER HOUR, HE WAS JUST RUNNING FROM ONE PERSON TO THE NEXT.
THE MOMENT THEY WOULD WALK UP, CAN I HELP YOU? CAN I HELP YOU? CAN I HELP YOU? AND IT WAS JUST CONSTANT.
HE WAS, YOU KNOW, AND HELPING LOADING CARS AND YOU NAME IT,
[00:20:01]
EVERYTH, EVERYTHING.AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND SO I SAY FIERCELY, FIERCELY PROUD.
SO NOW, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
WE'LL GET TO THE PRESENTATION AND I THINK THE KICKOFF WAS GONNA BE MARTA JUAREZ FROM PUBLIC WORKS.
UH, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, COMMUNITY ESPECIALLY.
UH, MY NAME IS MARTA JUAREZ AND I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS.
DOES SOMEBODY HAVE THE REMOTE? OKAY.
OR YOU CAN JUST, JUAN, YOU CAN DO IT.
UM, SO I HAVE THE, UH, PLEASURE OF GIVING YOU A LITTLE BIT OF THE DR OKAY.
A LITTLE BIT OF THE FACTUAL SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND AS TO WHAT HAPPENED.
UH, WE WERE ALL SCRATCHING OUR HEADS, UM, ON JANUARY 22ND, WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE, RIGHT? UH, WE SAW THE RAIN COMING DOWN VERY, VERY QUICKLY.
SO I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF THAT BACKGROUND.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, UH, THIS REPRESENTS THE FORECAST THAT WE RECEIVED RIGHT IN, IN OUR DEPARTMENT, ENGINEERING PUBLIC WORKS, AS WELL AS FIRE, PD, OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
UH, WE'RE VERY DILIGENT ABOUT ALWAYS TRACKING THE WEATHER BECAUSE IT IMPACTS THE WORK THAT WE DO DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE JOINED THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS, UH, PRESENTATIONS THAT ALWAYS HAPPEN, SPECIFICALLY ANYTIME THERE'S ANY KIND OF STORM IN THE FORECAST.
AND THIS WAS THE, THE FORECAST THAT WE RECEIVED JUST, UM, A COUPLE OF DAYS PRIOR TO THE STORM.
AND IT INDICATED THAT FOR OUR REGION, WE WOULD GET ONE AND A HALF TO TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL OVER THE COURSE OF FOUR DAYS, SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.
AS WE ALL KNOW AND EXPERIENCE FIRSTHAND, WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WAS VERY DIFFERENT, RIGHT? SO THIS IS A SCREENSHOT FROM ONE OF THE, THE NEWS CHANNELS.
UM, AND IT SHOWED HERE THAT OVER A 24 HOUR PERIOD, NATIONAL CITY RECEIVED 4.25 INCHES OF RAIN TOTAL.
UM, THAT WAS AN INCREDIBLE EVENT.
WE WANTED TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT AND REALLY GET THE FACTS.
YOU KNOW, THE HUMAN SIDE, WHICH YOU'LL ALL SEE IN IN A MINUTE, IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED TO, TO, TO RESIDENTS, TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, BUSINESSES, ET CETERA.
BUT AS WE WERE LIVING IT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY WHAT WAS, IT WAS LITERALLY RAINING, UM, CATS AND DOGS OUT HERE, RIGHT? SO, UM, AS THE, THE ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS THAT WE ARE, WE, WE DUG A LITTLE BIT DEEPER, SO JUST WANTED TO SHARE SOME OF THE STORM METRICS WITH YOU.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TOSSED AROUND THAT THIS WAS PERHAPS A THOUSAND YEAR STORM.
AND I JUST WANNA EXPLAIN THAT.
I KNOW WE HEAR A HUNDRED YEAR STORM, 500 YEAR STORM, A THOUSAND YEAR STORM.
THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE WON'T SEE RAIN LIKE THIS AGAIN IN A THOUSAND YEARS OR IN 500 YEARS OR A HUNDRED YEARS.
IT'S REALLY, UH, A SIMPLIFICATION OF A PROBABILISTIC MODEL, RIGHT? SO THE STATISTICS THAT WE HAVE FOR, FOR HISTORICAL RAIN, AND THE WAY THAT THE METEOROLOGISTS FORECAST, UM, THEY, THEY RUN A PROBABILITY.
SO A 100 YEAR STORM IS A STORM, A RAIN INTENSITY THAT HAS A PROBABILITY OF 1%.
THERE'S A 1% CHANCE THAT WE'LL GET A HUNDRED YEAR STORM, RIGHT? AND SO THE DATA THAT WE GATHERED, WE HAD OUR EXPERT CONSULTANTS WHO HAVE, YOU KNOW, BACKGROUNDS IN, UM, IN, IN, IN THIS TYPE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING.
UM, IS THAT REALLY THE, THE ACTUALS SPECIFIC TO NATIONAL CITY? WERE WAY ABOVE THAT.
THERE'S THREE RAIN GAUGES, A NATIONAL CITY THAT, THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACCESS THE DATA FOR, UM, ONE AT OLIVE WOOD, ONE AT, UH, PALMER WAY, AND ONE NEAR HARON.
AND THE RAIN GAUGE TOTALS FOR THAT WERE IN THE RANGE OF 1.8 AT OLIVE WOOD AND 3.4 INCHES AT, AT THE HARON RAIN GAUGE OVER THE A PERIOD OF THREE HOURS.
SO THIS WAS AN INCREDIBLY INTENSE RAIN EVENT.
UH, THE DATA THAT WAS PLOTTED HERE, I'LL JUST, YOU KNOW, SIMPLIFY THIS, BUT EFFECTIVELY WE PLOTTED IT AGAINST THE PROBABILITY OF A 50 YEAR, A HUNDRED YEAR, 200, 500,000 YEAR STORM, AND WE WERE WAY ABOVE THAT.
SO, TO CALL IT A THOUSAND YEAR STORM IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN WHAT WE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED DURING THOSE THREE HOURS ON THAT MONDAY MORNING, JANUARY 22ND.
THE LAST THING THAT I WANNA SHARE WITH YOU ALL HERE IS THAT THE OTHER THING THAT WE TRACK REGULARLY AS
[00:25:01]
WELL IS THE, THE TIDAL INFLUENCE IN NATIONAL CITY.AND, UH, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE INFLUENCE, UM, OF THE MOON ON THE EARTH AND THE TIDES IS VERY IMPACTFUL FOR US, ESPECIALLY ABOUT 10 TIMES A YEAR, WE SEE KING TIDE WITH NO RAIN WHATSOEVER.
DURING A KING TIDE, YOU WILL SEE FLOODING DURING THE REALLY LOW LYING LEVELS AR AREAS OF THE, OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE, WE ACTUALLY HAD A LITTLE BIT OF HELP FROM MOTHER NATURE, AT LEAST IT DIDN'T HURT US THAT MORNING.
RIGHT? UM, THIS WAS THE TIDE CHART FROM THAT MORNING OF JANUARY 22ND.
AND THANKFULLY, THE HIGH TIDE HAD ALREADY PASSED.
IT WAS APPROXIMATELY AT 6:00 AM AND BY THE TIME THE STORM HIT, THE TIDE WAS, WAS, WAS COMING DOWN.
SO THE, THE HEAVIER RAIN, UM, BY NOON, BY THE TIME THAT THE WATER WAS COMING DOWN THROUGH THE CHANNELS AND WATERWAYS, WE WERE ACTUALLY AT LOW TIDE, WHICH, WHICH ASSISTED THE WATER IN, IN MAKING ITS WAY OUT TOWARDS THE, THE OCEAN.
SO, JUST WANTED TO PRESENT THOSE FACTS AND, AND SOME OF THE SIGNS BEHIND WHAT WE SAW THAT DAY.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, CITY STAFF, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
I AM THE FIRE CHIEF OF THE NATIONAL CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UH, THE MAP YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU, UH, THIS, THESE ARE THE, AS ASSESS, THE SELF-REPORTED ASSESSMENTS RESULTS FROM OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, IN TOTAL, THERE WERE 209 ASSESSMENTS COLLECTED OVER THERE AS THE RESULT OF THE STORM.
OUT OF THOSE 209 ASSESSMENTS, UH, 171 OF 'EM WERE HOUSEHOLDS THAT WERE IMPACTED BY STORM THROUGH DAMAGE, UH, AND DEBRIS FLOWS.
AND THERE WAS 38 IMPACTED BUSINESSES.
NOW, THESE ARE SELF-REPORTED, UH, ASSESSMENTS ON HOMES PROVIDED THROUGH THE COUNTY, OES BY INDIVIDUAL, HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESSES.
THIS IS AN ONGOING PROCESS, UH, AND THUS FAR, UH, OES STAFF COUNTY OES STAFF HAS BEEN ON HERE IN, IN NATIONAL CITY, ASSESSING ALL OF THESE, UH, IMPACTED AREAS.
THEY'VE COMPLETED 80, AND I NEED TO GO BACK ONE.
UM, THE RED DOTS INDICATE MA UH, MAJOR DAMAGE AS REPORTED, AND THE GRAY DOTS INDICATE MINOR DAMAGE AS REPORTED, AND THEY HAVE THEIR PARAMETERS OF THE COUNTY, WHICH MEASURE, UH, THOSE THRESHOLDS.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE AREAS THAT WE NORMALLY EXPECT TO FLOOD DOWN BY 18TH.
I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN DO THE POINTER, BUT, UH, AS YOU'RE AWARE, WITH THE CITY 18 NATIONAL CITY BOULEVARD, YOU SEE A CLUSTER OF RED DOTS.
THAT'S A, A USUAL LOW SPOT HERE IN THE CITY, UH, OVER TO THE EAST.
UH, ON THE VERY FAR EAST IS, THAT'S THE EIGHTH.
AND, AND, UH, PARADISE VALLEY ROAD PLAZA, WHERE WE HAD FIVE HOMES SEVERELY IMPACTED IN THE NORTH NORTHERN BORDER OF THE CITY.
YOU HAVE, UH, HAPPY HOLLOW TRAILER PARK, AND THEN THE 8 0 1 APARTMENTS, WHICH WAS ANOTHER AREA OF MAJOR, UH, MAJOR IMPACT TO THE STORM.
UH, AGAIN, ON THIS SLIDE, WE HAVE 80 SITES ASSESSED THUS FAR, AND VERIFIED BY COUNTY OES STAFF.
OUT OF THOSE 80 SITES, 44 ARE CONSIDERED MAJOR AT THIS POINT.
22 ARE MINOR, 10 WERE UNAFFECTED, UH, THROUGH THEIR FINDINGS AND THUS FAR, AND FOUR HAD NO EFFECTS.
UH, THIS IS AN ONGOING PROCESS, SO WE ARE NOWHERE NEAR, UH, FINISHED WITH THAT ASSESSMENT, AND THAT'LL BE PROVIDED AT THE NEXT COUNCIL BRIEFING WHEN WE HAVE A MORE DETAILED REPORT.
UH, STEVE MANGANELLO, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORK CITY ENGINEER.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO JUST, UH, SPEAK ABOUT OUR, OUR WINTER STORM PREPAREDNESS.
SO WE ACTUALLY STARTED PREPARING FOR THE, THE RAINY SEASON, WHICH TYPICALLY STARTS NOVEMBER 1ST.
BACK IN OCTOBER, UM, WE, WE STARTED UPSTREAM, UM, OFF OF PARADISE VALLEY ROAD.
UM, THAT AREA OF THE CITY DOING, TAKING ON A MAJOR, UM, A MAJOR CLEANUP EFFORT TO DE VEGETATE OUR, OUR CHANNEL UP THERE.
UH, IT REQUIRED A LOT OF SILT REMOVAL, UH, A LOT OF INVASIVE SPECIES AND, AND PLANTS.
AND, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF A COUPLE MONTHS, WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, TO REMOVE, AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, A LOT OF VEGETATION, MANMADE DEBRIS, SILT, SEDIMENT, AND YOU CAN SEE, UH, AT THE END OF THIS, UH, SO BASICALLY BY THAT FIRST WEEK OF DECEMBER, WE HAD THAT WHOLE AREA, UH, OF THE VEGETATED PROPORTION OF OUR, OUR CONVEYANCE SYSTEM CLEARED OUT, UM, IN REALLY GOOD, GOOD CONDITION.
UH, FAST FORWARDING TO THE PREPARATION FOR THE EVENT THAT OCCURRED ON JANUARY 22ND, UM, FOR ANY
[00:30:01]
STORM EVENT WHERE, WHERE IT'S ESTIMATED TO HAVE ONE INCH OR GREATER OF RAINFALL IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD, WE WILL DEPLOY OUR CREWS THREE TO FOUR DAYS IN ADVANCE.WE DID THAT, UM, WE DID THAT FOR THIS EVENT ON THURSDAY THE 18TH.
WE STARTED GOING OUT TO ALL OF OUR CHANNELS AND, AND CLEARING OUT, UH, DEBRIS, ALL OF OUR CULVERTS, ALL OF, UH, THE INLETS IN THE HOTSPOTS WHERE WE, OR THAT ARE KNOWN TO FLOOD DURING, UH, RAIN EVENTS OR TIDAL INFLUENCE AREAS.
AND WE COMPLETED ALL THAT WORK, UM, WELL INTO, UM, INTO SUNDAY.
SO OUR CREWS ARE OUT THERE FOR FOUR STRAIGHT DAYS, CLEARING OUR ENTIRE CHANNEL SYSTEM, UM, TO THE BEST EXTENT POSSIBLE.
SO WHAT HAPPENED, UM, YOU KNOW, AS MS. JUAREZ REPORTED, WE HAD A, A CATASTROPHIC AND HISTORIC EVENT WITH OVER THREE INCHES OF RAIN JUST COMING DOWN AT AN INTENSE RATE, UH, OVER A THREE HOUR PERIOD.
WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT WITHIN AN HOUR, UH, DEBRIS FROM NORTH OF NATIONAL CITY, UM, WASHED DOWN.
WHY DID THAT HAPPEN? UH, THE FORCE OF THIS RAIN AND THE STORM WAS UPROOTING TREES.
IT WAS PULLING LOOSE VEGETATION, AND WE'RE, UNFORTUNATELY DOWNSTREAM OF ALL OF THOSE UPSTREAM AREAS.
UM, SO WHILE OUR CREWS DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB GETTING AHEAD OF THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, LAST OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, AND CLEANING OUT NATIONAL CITIES AREAS, THERE WAS A LOT THAT CAME DOWN FROM NORTH OF US AND COMPLETELY CLOGGED THIS CULVERT.
UM, VERY QUICKLY, THE CHANNEL OVERFLOWED AND HOMES WERE FLOODED, AND IT WAS, UH, IT WAS DEVASTATING, AND WE WERE VERY EMPATHETIC TO, UM, TO THOSE THAT HAD TO EXPERIENCE THIS.
UM, SO THEN WHAT, WHAT WAS OUR RESPONSE? WELL, DURING THE EVENT, UM, AS THE WATER LEVELS ROSE, UH, STREETS STARTED FLOODING, WE HAD, UM, SOME SLOPES, UM, START TO FAIL, AND SOME MINOR MUDSLIDES AND, AND SLOUGHING OCCUR, AND OUR CREWS WERE OUT THERE, UM, SETTING UP TRAFFIC CONTROL SO THAT CARS WOULD NOT DRIVE THROUGH THESE AREAS USING OUR EQUIPMENT TO REMOVE LARGE DEBRIS.
AND YOU CAN SEE IN THE BOTTOM, BOTTOM LEFT, THIS, THIS STORM WAS SO FIERCE THAT A CAR WAS LITERALLY LIFTED DUE TO THE INTENSE RAIN AND FLOODING, UM, FROM A PROPERTY ON THE 3,600 BLOCK OF EIGHTH STREET AND WAS TRANSPORTED, UM, HALF A MILE DOWNSTREAM WHERE IT LANDED.
UM, AT HARBISON AND PLAZA BOULEVARD, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR CREWS FIRE PD WERE, WERE THERE TO HELP, UH, EVENTUALLY REMOVE THE CAR.
THANKFULLY, NO ONE WAS HURT, BUT THIS JUST KIND OF GIVES, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE ON, ON HOW INTENSE THIS EVENT WAS.
UM, AS SOON AS THE RAINS STARTED TO SUBSIDE, OUR CREWS WORKED THROUGH THE NIGHT, UH, CLEARING OUT STREETS, MUD DEBRIS, UH, TRYING TO HELP SOME, SOME OF THE AREAS THAT WERE HIT THE HARDEST, AND EVEN IN THE DAYS AFTER, UM, GOING OUT TO SOME OF THE, THE PRIVATE PROPERTIES AND, AND, UM, PROVIDING SOME, SOME RELIEF WITH, WITH FRESH DIRT AND, AND STARTING TO REBUILD, UH, SOME OF THE ACCESS WAYS.
AND HERE'S JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF SOME BEFORE, AFTER PHOTOS, UH, WHERE WE HAD SOME CUSS OF INTENSE RAIN, SOME, SOME SLOPES FAIL, AND, AND SOME CLEANUP EFFORTS, AND EVEN GETTING INTO SOME OF THE RESIDENTIAL STREETS WITH OUR SWEEPERS.
UM, AND THEN STARTING TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT WEEK OF RAIN WITH, WITH SOME, UH, SOME SANDBAGS AND, AND, AND OTHER MEASURES.
AND, AND EVEN WE HAD, WE EVEN HAD A FEW SINKHOLE OCCUR.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE FAR RIGHT, JUST, UH, SOME TEMPORARY, UM, UM, COVERS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT, UH, TO NOT FURTHER DAMAGE, UH, FOR THESE UPCOMING STORMS. UH, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN OVER TO, UH, CHIEF HERNANDEZ.
CHIEF HERNANDEZ FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I WANT TO, I WANNA BUILD ON WHAT SHILL WAS TALKING ABOUT.
YOU KNOW, WE WERE THE ONES THAT WERE ORIGINALLY RECEIVING THESE CALLS, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, WHICH IS ON THE LEFT SIDE, THOSE DOTS INDICATE WHERE THE CALLS WERE BEING, UH, SENT TO, WHICH IS PRETTY INDICATIVE OF WHAT SHILL WAS TALKING ABOUT.
THE AREAS THAT WERE FLOODING, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, THE, UH, CHART THAT I HAVE TO THE RIGHT, THAT KINDA SHOWS YOU THE LEVEL OF CALLS THAT WE GOT BETWEEN NINE AND 2 45 IN THE AFTERNOON.
[00:35:01]
SO WE RECEIVED ABOUT THREE TIMES WHAT WE NORMALLY GET DURING THAT TIME, WHICH WAS 359 CALLS.IT WAS SO BUSY AT THE SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT'S 9 1 1 CENTER THAT THEY WERE, WE WERE GETTING THEIR OVERFLOW CALLS, I'M ASSUMING IT WAS RELATIVELY CLOSE TO OUR BORDER BY DIVISION, SO WE WERE GETTING A LOT OF THEIR CALLS.
SO WE HAD FULL STAFFING AT THE TIME, AND OUR OFFICERS WERE GOING OUT DIRECTING TRAFFIC AND TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE THAT WERE STUCK IN THEIR VEHICLES OR WERE CALLING IN THEIR RESIDENCE.
SO, WITH THAT, I DON'T KNOW WHO I KICK IT OVER TO.
AND, UH, AND CHIEF HERNANDEZ, UH, AGAIN, MENTIONS THE, THE INTENSITY OF THE RAIN.
I MEAN, I THINK WITHIN AN HOUR WE KNEW THAT WE WERE IN FOR AN UNPRECEDENTED EVENT.
NORMALLY WHEN YOU HAVE AN INCH AND A HALF OR TWO INCHES, WE KNOW, UH, THROUGH YEARS OF SERVICE WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN HERE WITHIN THE CITY.
BUT QUICKLY, WITHIN THE FIRST HOUR, WE KNEW THAT WE HAD TO PRETTY MUCH PUT ALL HANDS ON DECK.
SO ALL THE DIVISIONS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, FROM THE OPERATIONS RESPONSE CREWS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR RE UH, FOR RESPONDING TO EMERGENCIES, TO OUR FIRE PREVENTION STAFF, WE'RE OUT ON THE FIELD ASSESSING, ASSISTING.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TABLE HERE ON THE LEFT OF THE, OF, UH, THE SLIDE, IT SHOWS THE 24 HOUR PERIOD OF, UH, CALLS FOR SERVICE IN HERE TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN NATIONAL CITY.
WE MEASURE OUR DAY IN A 24 HOUR CLOCK TOTAL FOR BOTH DAYS, OR THE, OR THE 24 HOUR PERIOD WAS 117 CALLS FOR SERVICE.
A NORMAL DAY FOR US IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS, ANYWHERE FROM 25 TO ABOUT 30, SOMETIMES 35 ON A BUSY DAY.
UH, THAT IS EXTREMELY IMPACTFUL TO US.
AND, UH, WE HAVE A SYSTEM CALLED AUTOMATIC AID, WHERE THE CLOSEST UNIT RESPONDS.
WE HAD ENGINE COMPANIES FROM THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, UH, IMPERIAL BEACH, CHULA VISTA.
I WAS TOLD AS FAR AS O AWAY AS VIAS, FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME TO ASSIST US THROUGH THOSE PREEXISTING AGREEMENTS.
ADDITIONALLY, WE HAD THE LIFEGUARDS FROM IMPERIAL BEACH REASSIGNED TO OUR CITY TO ASSIST, UH, WITH, UH, WITH ALL OF THE WATER RELATED EMERGENCIES.
AT ONE POINT, WE HAD 16 ACTIVE RESCUES HERE WITHIN THE CITY, AND THOSE ARE FLOOD RESCUES, SO EXTREMELY OVERWHELMING, UH, TO THE POINT WHERE WHAT THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, JUST TO OUR NORTH WAS ALSO SEVERELY IMPACTED.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY 28 YEAR CAREER, UH, WE WERE CONTACTED BY OUR DISPATCH CENTER AND ASKED TO INITIATE WHAT IS CALLED AREA COMMAND, WHERE OUR BATTALION CHIEF, UH, WHO IS IN CHARGE FOR THE DAY, IS ROUTED EVERY SINGLE CALL AS THEY WERE OVERWHELMED.
AND THEN THAT BATTALION CHIEF THEN TRIAGES THOSE RESPONSES AND ASSIGNS THE APPROPRIATE UNITS.
IT'S CRITICAL OF IMPORTANCE TO THE PUBLIC, UH, TO, TO FOLLOW THE, OR THE ORDERS AND THE WARNINGS, UH, AND THE SHELTER IN PLACE DIRECTIVES, BECAUSE THAT, OF THOSE 16 CALLS THAT WERE, UH, ON THE IMMEDIATE PENDING QUEUE FOR, FOR RESCUES, MANY OF THOSE COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED BY JUST SIMPLY NOT CROSSING, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE ELEVATE THOSE, UM, DEEP SPOTS IN THE ROADWAYS.
AGAIN, ON THE PHOTOS AT THE VERY TOP LEFT, WHAT YOU SEE IS OUR, OUR AERIAL LADDER THAT'S OFF OF, UH, PARADISE VALLEY AND EIGHTH.
THAT WAS AN ACTIVE RESCUE OF A YOUNG LADY THAT WAS PLUGGED OUT OF A WINDOW.
UH, THE, THE LADDER TRUCK IS ON, ON, ON PARADISE VALLEY ROAD, REACHING DOWN INTO EIGHTH, UH, THE SECOND ONE FROM THE TOP THAT IS, UH, AN AREA AROUND RING ROAD.
IT'S, IT'S HARD TO SEE, BUT BEHIND THAT FIRE ENGINE, THAT WATER WAS ABOUT CHEST DEEP, AND THAT OVERFLOWED THE SWEETWATER RIVER CHANNEL.
SAME THING TO THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT.
I SPOKE TO THAT, SOMEONE DECIDED TO DRIVE THROUGH THAT, AND THEN THAT'S THE RESULT RIGHT THERE.
THAT HAPPENED MANY, MANY TIMES.
THE BOTTOM LEFT IS, UH, OUR CAR SAVING A DOG.
WHO DOESN'T LOVE A DOG? THEN IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, THE
AGAIN, UH, IT'S BEEN MENTIONED THAT, UH, BY, UH, CITY MANAGER MARTINEZ, IT WAS A TEAM EFFORT, UH, ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER WITH PD, WITH PUBLIC WORKS.
UH, IT'S JUST AS MENTIONED, UH, HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE ALL, ALL HANDS APPROACH THAT HERE IN THE CITY, FROM THE TEAMWORK THAT WE ALL HAVE, IT'S WOULD'VE BEEN A VERY, VERY DIFFERENT AND DRASTIC EVENT.
AND, UH, THAT IS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
DON'T KNOW WHO'S NEXT, UH, THE RECOVERY EFFORTS.
I BELIEVE THAT'S CHIEF HERNANDEZ START.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBER, CITY MANAGER, MY COLLEAGUES, AND OF COURSE, THE RESIDENTS OF NASHVILLE CITY.
UM, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE HERE.
UM, I'D LIKE TO START BY SAYING, I THINK ALL OF
[00:40:01]
OUR COLLEAGUES HAVE MENTIONED THAT, UH, WE HAD AN AMAZING FLOOD, AN AMAZING EVENT HERE AS THE WATER STARTED TO RECEDE.AND ON THE 23RD, UH, OF THE MONTH, WHEN WE GOT A CHANCE TO DRIVE AROUND THE CITY, WE REALIZED THE AMOUNT OF DEVASTATION THAT WE SAW, UH, VEHICLES, DEBRIS, UM, UH, AMAZING, UH, BELONGINGS AND THINGS THAT WERE PRECIOUS TO OUR RESIDENTS.
UM, I WAS, UH, PRIVY TO SEE, AND IT WAS DISHEARTENING.
UM, HOWEVER, WE KNEW THAT THERE NEEDED TO BE A REMOVAL OF, OF THINGS SUCH AS VEHICLES, PIECES OF HOMES, CLOTHING, THINGS THAT TRULY WERE IMPORTANT TO, UM, OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO TOUR 3,600 BLOCK OF EAST EIGHTH STREET.
AND THE FIRST THING THAT I SAW WAS COMPLETE DEVASTATION.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DID SEE WAS A VERY, VERY LARGE BIN, UH, WITH EDCO ON THE SIDE.
UH, EDCO HAS BEEN AROUND FOR, FOR YEARS.
UH, IT'S A FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS THAT IS, THAT STARTED IN THE SIXTIES.
UH, AND IT HAS BEEN AN AMAZING PARTNER FOR THE CITY OF NASHVILLE CITY.
NOT ONLY DID THEY COME TO THE AID OF THE CITY, BUT THEY, THEY'RE HERE, UH, AND WORK WITH OUR, UM, OUR CITIZENS TO PROVIDE TRASH HOLLOWAYS, UM, THAT ARE FREE.
UH, BUT IN THIS INSTANCE, THEY PROVIDED DUMPSTERS BY, BY THE, BY THE TONS, IF YOU WILL, UM, TO OUR RESIDENTS, AND ALLOWED, UM, US TO REMOVE THE DEBRIS.
SO A GLIMPSE OF THAT, UM, UH, FOR YOU ALL.
UH, WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 57 ROLL BINS THAT, THAT WERE PROVIDED APPROXIMATELY 289.32 TONS OF DEBRIS REMOVED, AND APPROXIMATELY 578, 578, 644 POUNDS OF DEBRIS REMOVED AND GROWING EVERY DAY.
AND IN FACT, THEY'RE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH US TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE BINS AND REMOVE THE DEBRIS THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY HERE.
THE NEXT ITEM IS TEAM RUBICON.
I THINK MANY OF US HAVE HEARD ABOUT THEM, HAVE SEEN THEM, I HEARD VERY BRIEFLY ABOUT TEAM RUBICON, UH, BUT A GLIMPSE OF WHO THEY ARE.
IN 2010, THERE WAS AN AMAZING EARTHQUAKE, UH, IN HAITI, A 7.0 EARTHQUAKE.
UH, AND THERE WAS, UH, NOT MUCH RESOURCES THAT WERE GOING INTO THAT REGION.
HOWEVER, THERE WAS ONE GENTLEMAN BY THE NAME OF JAKE WOOD, WHO WAS A VETERAN, UH, DECIDED THAT HE NEEDED TO COME TO ACTION.
SO HE GRABBED SIX OTHER VETERANS.
THEY HEADED OUT TO HAITI, AND THEY DID THEIR BEST.
NOW, TO DATE, 160,000 MEMBERS ARE PART OF TEAM RUBICON, AND 30 OF THOSE MEMBERS ARE HERE WORKING TODAY AS WE SPEAK CURRENTLY AS WE SPEAK.
HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? IT'S RELATIONSHIPS, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S, IT'S MAINTAINING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND BEING VERY, VERY POSITIVE AND ALWAYS KEEPING YOUR EARS TO THE GROUND.
WELL, I GOT A, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM A POLICE OFFICER, UH, AND HE WAS SERGEANT WADE WALTERS, AND HE SAID, HEY, ROBERT, QUESTION FOR YOU.
WOULD YOU MIND IF I GAVE YOUR NUMBER TO THIS INDIVIDUAL BY THE NAME OF KEVIN FROM TEAM RUBICON? I SAID, ABSOLUTELY, LET'S DO IT.
SO ON THE 24TH, WE SPOKE, AND ON THAT FRIDAY TO RUBICON CAME INTO OUR CITY MOBILIZED, AND THEY'RE HERE TODAY.
UH, THEY'RE WORKING WITH SOME OF OUR RESIDENTS DIRECTLY BEHIND ME BY COMING INTO THE HOUSES, REMOVING THE MUD FOOTS OF LITERALLY FEETS OF TONS OF MUD, RIGHT? DEBRIS, CLOTHING.
THEY'RE ALSO REMOVING DRYWALL AND, AND, AND HELPING THE CITIZENS.
AND THEY'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS THEY'VE DONE TODAY, AND AS THEY WILL DO TOMORROW.
WITH THAT, THEY'VE ALSO PLUGGED IN 2,700 HOURS, AND THEY'RE CONTINUING TO DO THAT AS WE SPEAK.
ANOTHER, UH, INDIVIDUAL GROUP CALLED DISASTER AID, UH, WHEN I, UH, VISITED 3,600 EAST EIGHTH STREET, WAS ALSO THERE.
THEY ALSO PLUGGED IN 61 HOURS AND CONTINUED TO HELP THE RESIDENTS AT 3,600 EAST EIGHTH STREET.
LASTLY, THE NATIONAL CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM, HAS ON THEIR ENGINES ON A DAILY BASIS, EIGHT TO 10 CARDS, AND THEY'RE CALLED SAVE CARDS, AND THEY'RE PROVIDED BY THE CALIFORNIA FIRE FOUNDATION.
AND WHAT THEY ARE IS IF WE GO TO AN EMERGENCY, UH, UH, UH, SUCH AS A FIRE, WE'LL PROVIDE THAT CARD.
IT'S TWO, $250 CARD TO THOSE RESIDENTS.
I KNOW THIS IS NOT A LOT, BUT WE'D LIKE TO THANK YOU.
UM, RATHER, WE'D LIKE TO PROVIDE THIS TO YOU AND MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT YOU.
[00:45:01]
APPROACHED BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE NATIONAL NEST CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND THEY WERE PROVIDED OVER $30,000 WORTH OF CARDS.WE PROVIDED THOSE TO PEOPLE AT SUMMER CREST.
WE PROVIDED THEM TO OUR RESIDENTS AT 3,600 EAST EIGHTH STREET.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT, UH, FOR OUR RESIDENTS THAT ARE ON 16TH AND N AVENUE AS WELL.
SO, ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO, UH, WORK FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
THERE IS THE, THE PHOTO OF THE SAFEGUARDS IN ACTION, AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S, UH, OUR, UH, OUR RESIDENTS WERE VERY THANKFUL ON TOP OF THE $250 THAT THEY RECEIVED THROUGH THE SAFEGUARD PROGRAM.
THEY WERE ALSO GIVEN A HUNDRED DOLLARS WORTH OF, UH, GROCERY CARDS.
SO, AGAIN, UH, A NOW POURING OF SUPPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY BY VERY MANY, MANY PEOPLE FROM THE OUTSIDE.
UH, CARLOS IRID, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY.
UM, WANTED TO PROVIDE A RECAP OF THE HOUSING ASSISTANCE WE PROVIDED SINCE THE FIRST DAY OF THE STORM, UM, THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF OUR ENTIRE HOUSING TEAM ARE BEHIND ME HERE TODAY.
UM, AND THE FIRST DAY, AS NOTED, EARLY IN THE PRESENTATION, WE WERE EXPECTING IT TO BE A NORMAL, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WE NORMALLY RECEIVE ONE TO TWO INCHES.
SO THERE WAS NO IMPLEMENTATION OF AN EMERGENCY PLAN, UH, OR, UH, SHELTER, UH, FOR THE STORM.
UM, AND AS NOTED BY THE ASSESSMENT, THERE'S ABOUT 44 TO 48 HOUSEHOLDS THAT WERE IMPACTED, UM, HEAVILY IMPACTED AND RELOCATED 48 HOUSEHOLDS TO THE RAMADA AIM.
43 HOUSEHOLDS WERE FROM HAPPY HOLLOW MOBILE HOME PARK.
UH, THE AMERICAN, UH, RED CROSS THEN IMPLEMENTED THE LINCOLN SHELTER THAT THAT SAME DAY.
UH, BUT WE HAD TO MOVE QUICKLY BECAUSE THERE WAS A WHITEWATER SITUATION IN SEVERAL AREAS OF NATIONAL CITY.
UH, WE'VE ALSO WORKED TO PROVIDE TENANT RELOCATION ASSISTANCE WHERE IT'S POSSIBLE, WHERE WE'VE PROVIDED 10 MONTHS OF RENT AND UTILITIES, AVERAGING 5,600 PER HOUSEHOLD IS THIS PARTICULARLY DUE TO THE FIRST, TO THE FIRST FIRST FLOOR OF HIGHLAND VIEW APARTMENTS.
UH, WHICH THE CONDITIONS, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY, UM, WE'RE PRETTY BAD, AND, AND WE HAD TO TAKE ACTION AND, UH, RED TAG THE, THOSE UNITS, UH, BUT WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO THOSE FAMILIES TO RELOCATE.
UH, THERE WERE, UH, FIVE OTHER SECTION EIGHT RECIPIENTS OUTSIDE OF THAT PROPERTY THAT RECEIVED THAT RELOCATION ASSISTANCE.
APPROXIMATELY $162,000 OF ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED THIS PAST WEEKEND.
WE WORKED WITH SOUTH BAY COMMUNITY SERVICES TO PROVIDE 10 DAY, UH, MOTEL PLACEMENTS TO 42 HOUSEHOLDS, UH, THAT WERE SEVERELY IMPACTED.
AND OUR NEXT STEPS INCLUDE WORKING, UH, THROUGH THE ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY, UH, THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO TO CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR THE NEED, THE, THE GREATEST NEED AND, AND, AND PROVIDE THAT, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH DIRECT HOUSING ASSISTANCE OR OTHER HOUSING PROGRAMS. UH, I'D LIKE TO PASS IT OVER TO WALTER AMITY, OUR IMMER EMERGENCY OPERATIONS COORDINATOR.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS, CITY STAFF, AND THE PUBLIC.
UH, WE'VE HEARD ABOUT, UH, THE TEAM CONCEPT, AND IN PREPARATION FOR LAST WEEK'S, UH, STORM, UH, WE GOT OUR TEAM TOGETHER AT A LEVEL TWO.
UH, WE HAD, UH, OUR DIRECTORS FROM DEPARTMENTS THAT WERE IMPACTED, UH, COME TO OUR EOC AND DISCUSS, UH, DIFFERENT AR ISSUES, UH, FROM THE PREVIOUS STORM AND THE STORMS THAT WERE COMING.
UM, THE STORM THAT CAME, THE, THE END OF LAST WEEK WASN'T AS AS HARD AS, AS WE THOUGHT.
UH, BUT TODAY'S STORM ACTUALLY, UH, IS PROOF THAT WE ALWAYS NEED TO CONTINUED PREPARE.
AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THAT, UH, WE DISCUSSED IN THESE, UH, EOC MEETINGS WAS THE DEBRIS REMOVAL AND THE DEBRIS MANAGEMENT.
AND, AND ONE OF THE, THE, THE BEST THINGS THAT WE DID WAS BRING, UH, TEAM RUBICON AND EDCO, UH, TO THE TABLE SO THAT THEY CAN, UH, HAVE FACE TO FACE, UH, COMMUNICATION AND POINTS OF CONTACT.
AND, AND NOW THEY ARE MORE, UH, COORDINATED WHERE TEAM RUBICON GOES.
THEY MAKE THE REQUEST TO HAVE A DUMPSTER, UH, PRESENT.
AND SURE ENOUGH, EDCO PROVIDES THAT AND, AND, UH, AND, UH, PROVIDES THAT TO A SERVICE SANDBAG OPERATIONS.
SO WE PROVIDED OVER 4,000, UH, SANDBAGS, UH, TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
UH, THAT'S ABOUT 105, UH, YARDS OF
[00:50:01]
SAND.UM, THE BEST PART ABOUT OUR OPERATIONS WAS THE SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEERS.
AND WE PRESENTED A, A, A GIFT CARD TO ONE GENTLEMAN, BUT THE OTHER GENTLEMAN WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST ONE THAT SHOWED UP, AND HE GOT THE OTHER ONE TO COME IN ON IT,
UM, BUT THEY BOTH DID AN AWESOME JOB.
UH, WE HAD VOLUNTEERS JUST GETTING OUT OF THEIR CAR, AND THEY SPENT HOURS, UH, SHOVELING, UH, SAND.
WE ALSO HAD MAYOR AND, AND, UH, CITY STAFF, UH, HELP OUT.
AND IT WAS DEFINITELY ONE OF THOSE, UM, PROUD MOMENTS THAT YOU, YOU LOOK AT, UH, IN HINDSIGHT.
AND FINALLY, WE HAD CERT, UH, WE HAD ACTIVATED CERT SHORTLY AFTER THE, UM, THE STORM, UM, CERT WAS REALLY INVALUABLE IN, UH, BEING A LIAISON, UH, FOR US WITH THE HOMEOWNERS CAL OES FEMA WHEN THEY CAME IN, BECAUSE THEY WERE, THEY HAD THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HOMEOWNERS AND WAS ABLE TO SHOW THE HOUSES, UH, ESPECIALLY THE ONES ON THE EAST EIGHTH STREET.
UH, THEY WERE ALSO INVOLVED IN OUR SANDBAGGING OPERATIONS, GIVING OUT INFORMATION, UH, REGISTERING PEOPLE TO FIND OUT WHERE THEY, THEY LIVE, SO THAT LATER ON WE CAN, UH, ANALYZE THAT, THOSE ADDRESSES AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE CAN DO, UH, PROVIDED SANDBAGS AND, UH, IN SOME INSTANCES, UH, HELPED SHOVEL, UH, DIRECT TRAFFIC AND LOAD THOSE SANDBAGS.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR OUR CERT MEMBERS.
UH, WE HAD FOUR CERT MEMBERS SHOW UP, UH, PROVIDING OVER 50 HOURS OF SERVICE, UH, THROUGHOUT THAT EVENT.
I'M THE MANAGEMENT ANALYST TWO FOR LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES.
HOWEVER, I WAS PULLED TO ASSIST, UM, WITH COMMUNICATIONS ON THIS WEATHER EVENT AND THE EOC.
UM, SO OUR GOAL AS A TEAM WAS TO PROVIDE A UNIFIED MESSAGE, UM, TO PROVIDE THE PUBLIC WITH WEATHER UPDATES, PARK AND OR ROAD CLOSURE, STORM PREPAREDNESS INFORMATION, AND A NUMBER OF OTHER RESOURCES.
METHODS OF DISSEMINATION WERE THROUGH CONSTANT CONTACT, WHICH IS A PLATFORM WE USE TO SEND OUT EMAILS.
CURRENTLY, OUR, UM, SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE OVER 9,000, WHICH, WHICH INCLUDES RESIDENTS, UM, ANYBODY THAT ATTENDS OUR PROGRAMMING OR OUR ACTIVE BUSINESS LICENSE.
UM, WE ALSO PROVIDED, UM, MESSAGES THROUGH FACEBOOK UP, UM, FACEBOOK STATUS UPDATES, STORIES, INSTAGRAM POSTS, AND SEVERAL, UM, ON X, WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS TWITTER.
UM, WE ALSO ENCOURAGED, UM, OUR RESIDENTS TO APPLY OR TO SIGN UP FOR ALERTS THROUGH ALERT SAN DIEGO, WHICH PROVIDES THE LATEST EMERGENCY UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
ADDITIONALLY, I'D LIKE TO THANK OUR LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES TEAM FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION TO OUR PATRONS, PROGRAM ATTENDEES AND SENIORS IN PERSON.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES THAT'S A COMMUNITY THAT'S NOT ONLINE, SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY RECEIVE THE INFORMATION AS WELL.
UM, LASTLY, WE WANNA CONTINUE TO PROMOTE OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND OUR EMAIL LISTS SO THAT RESIDENTS AND ACTIVE BUSINESSES RECEIVE THE LATEST WEATHER UPDATES, AND ALSO THE LIBRARY AND OUR COMMUNITY SERVICES CENTERS ARE, WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE WITH INFORMATION.
UM, UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO, UM, ASSESS, UH, THE SITUATION.
UM, WE'RE ABSOLUTELY MONITORING THE WEATHER, UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, UPSTREAM, UH, FEDERAL AND STATE RESOURCES THAT CAN COME TO ASSIST US.
SO THIS IS NOT OVER, AND WE WILL BE PROVIDING, AS I MENTIONED, A ADDITIONAL UPDATE AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING.
WE'RE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
IF THERE ARE DIRECT QUESTIONS, WE CAN TAKE THIS RIGHT NOW.
OTHERWISE, WE'VE GOT A LIST OF PUBLIC SPEAKERS, IF YOU GUYS ARE OKAY.
UH, HOW CAN, HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY SAY THANK YOU? IT'S, IT'S INCREDIBLE TO ME THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS DEMONSTRATED THE BEST OF ITSELF.
UH, YOUNG MEN LIKE, UH, THE YOUNG GENTLEMAN, ROBERTO, AND, UH, OUR SERVICE MEMBERS, OUR PD AND FIRE AND, AND EVERYBODY.
UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S INCREDIBLE TO ME THAT, THAT YOU WORKED SO HARD AND NATIONAL CITY IS, IS BETTER FOR IT.
MY QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE 10 DAY, UM, STAY FOR THE, THE HOUSEHOLD'S MOST IMPACTED.
THERE'S A 10, YOU MENTIONED ON THE SLIDE, 10 DAYS, UM, STAY AT A HOTEL, WHAT HAPPENS AFTER 10 DAYS? SO THEY'LL BE WORKING WITH, UH, SOUTH BAY COMMUNITY
[00:55:01]
SERVICES TO FIND OTHER RE HOUSING RESOURCES IN THAT TIME PERIOD.WE'RE HOPING TO SOLIDIFY THE COUNTY'S ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OUTTA THE $10 MILLION THAT WAS ALLOCATED LAST WEEK, TO SEE HOW WE CAN FURTHER ASSIST THOSE FAMILIES AND, AND, AND WAITING FOR ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE STATE AND POSSIBLY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO, UH, IT'S, WE NEED TO BE PATIENT FOR THAT TO KIND OF PROCESS THROUGH AS PROGRAMMING, BUT WE HAVE A MASTER DATABASE AND WE'RE COORDINATING THAT EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE ASSISTANT NEEDS TO GO, REFINING THE ASSESSMENTS AND KEEPING TABS ON, UH, WHERE, WHERE PEOPLE NEED THE MOST HELP.
UH, 2 1 1 IS AN EXCELLENT RESOURCE AT THIS TIME FOR ANYONE THAT NEEDS HELP.
THEY'RE STILL COLLECTING THE ASSESSMENT INFORMATION, AND SO WE ARE COLLABORATING WITH ALL OF THE RESOURCE AGENCIES AND VOLUNTEER AGENCIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ONE POOL OF INFORMATION AND WORK FROM THERE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.
[6. PUBLIC COMMENT]
OF SPEAKERS, AND SO HOPEFULLY, UH, SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ANSWERED, YOU KNOW, IN THE PRESENTATION, AND MAYBE OTHER IDEAS HAVE COME UP TO YOU AS A RESULT OF THAT OR OTHER THINGS YOU WANT TO ASK.SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE, I'M GONNA NAME OFF THREE PEOPLE AT A TIME, AND SO I WOULD ASK FOR YOU TO ALREADY BE PREPARED TO COME UP, SO THERE'S NOT A LONG WAIT BETWEEN SPEAKERS AND, UH, WE WILL GIVE EACH ONE THREE MINUTES.
AND DO WE HAVE ANY IN THE, UH, ZOOM ROOM, UH, FOR THIS? WE HAVE ONE.
UM, WHY DON'T WE GO AHEAD AND, AND TAKE THAT ONE FIRST AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL CALL IT THE SPEAKERS.
WE MIGHT HAVE TO COME BACK TO THAT ONE.
WE WILL COME BACK TO THAT ONE THEN.
FIRST WE HAVE, UH, JUAN ANTONIO VASQUEZ TO BE FOLLOWED BY HAL LINSKY.
AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, CYNTHIA FULLER, UH, ES SO FIRST OF ALL, JUAN ANTONIO VAZQUEZ.
WHAT IS THE HIGHLAND VIEW APARTMENTS.
IF WE COULD GET THE TRANSLATION ON THAT.
IS OUR TRANSLATOR ON CARLOS? YES.
[01:00:11]
LOUISA, ARE YOU ABLE TO INTERPRET FOR ME, PLEASE? OH, HERE WE GO.CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? THANK YOU.
AND, AND, AND AFTER THIS, I'M SORRY.
AND AFTER THIS THEN CAN YOU ELEVATE ME AGAIN? YES, I WILL.
I'M A RESIDENT OF HIGH, UH, HIGHLAND VIEW APARTMENTS.
FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA THANK, UH, THE CITY FOR ALL THEY HAVE DONE.
I WANNA PARTICULARLY THANK, UM, SUPERVISOR VARGAS AND COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ FOR ALL THEIR HELP.
UH, IF NOT FOR THEM AND THEIR HELP.
UH, WE'D BE IN HOMELESS RIGHT NOW.
UM, AS RENTERS, UH, WE ARE SUFFERING, UH, A LOT OF IMPACTS.
AND HAD WE NOT JOINED TOGETHER, WE'D ALL BE IN THE STREETS RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE SHOULDN'T BE TREATED AS CRIMINALS.
AND SOME OF THESE, UM, APARTMENTS ARE NOT TREATING US THE WAY THEY SHOULD.
UH, WE NEED THE LAWS TO BE ENFORCED TO PREVENT SUCH ABUSIVE COMPANIES FROM DOING WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO THE RENTERS IN SAN DIEGO.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
NEXT WE HAVE HAL LINSKY TO BE FOLLOWED BY CYNTHIA FULLER.
UH, ES TO BE FOLLOWED BY SHERRY GOGI.
EVENING, MR. MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
UH, MY NAME'S HAL BRIAN BALINSKI.
UM, I LIVE AT 36 29 EAST EIGHTH STREET, WHERE THE, THE HORRIBLE FLOOD OCCURRED.
UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WATER THERE.
UM, THAT HOUSE, MY HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1963.
I BOUGHT IT FROM THE ORIGINAL OWNER.
ANYWAY, MY HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1963.
IT IS RIGHT NEXT TO PARADISE CREEK, WHERE THE, THE HORRIBLE FLOOD OCCURRED.
UM, THE EL NINO YEARS OF 83 TO 86 WHEN I WAS THERE, WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WATER.
THE DITCH NEVER OVERFLOWED ITS BANKS.
UH, CONSEQUENTLY, I WANT TO POINT OUT THE REASON OUR WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS DESTROYED IS BECAUSE OF THAT STEEL GRATE.
IT WAS PUT IN THE DRAINAGE DITCH AND IT ALL BACKED UP WITH DEBRIS AND OVERFLOWED AND DESTROYED OUR FIVE HOUSES.
SO BASICALLY THAT'S WHAT IT IS, THAT THAT STEEL GRATE SHOULD HAVE NEVER PUT, BEEN PUT THERE, AND THE DITCH WOULD'VE NEVER OVERFLOWED.
UM, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY WHO HAS LOOKED AT IT AND TOOK PICTURES, HAS REALIZED THAT.
ANYWAY, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
UM, CYNTHIA FULLER KIONE, FOLLOWED BY SHERRY GOGI, FOLLOWED BY MARIA ALMAN.
GOOD EVENING MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
YOU KNOW ME AS A NATIONAL CITY RESIDENT AND A LONGTIME SAN DIEGO FOOD SYSTEM ACTIVIST THAT IS ESPECIALLY ACTIVE FROM HERE TO THE BORDER.
THERE'S A GROWING CONSENSUS AMONG THOSE I SERVE THAT LOCAL FLOODING EVENTS MAY WELL BE THE RESULT OF 100 PLUS YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT HERE, NOT JUST IN NATIONAL CITY, BUT THROUGHOUT THE CHOLOS CREEK WATERSHED.
COLLECTIVELY, THE NAVY PORT CITY AND MORE HAVE ADVERSELY CHANGED A ONCE PRODUCTIVE AREA OF KUAI SETTLEMENT THAT PROVIDED A RARE BOUNTY OF SEAFOOD AND OTHER NOURISHING NATURAL FOOD SOURCES.
THE DEGRADED LANDS BECOMING WHERE RED LINE POPULATIONS WERE PUSHED TO SETTLE, ESPECIALLY IN THE 1950S TO PRESENT DAY.
A LOOK AT THE AREA'S HISTORY CLEARLY SHOWS THE WATERSHED BEGINNING TO BE CUT OFF FROM THE BAY WITH A NAVY INFILLING THE MOUTH OF CELLOS CREEK AND THE SURROUNDING WETLANDS.
IN 1919, ALL BAYFRONT DEVELOPMENTS SINCE COMBINED WITH TWO LIMITED INVESTMENT IN SUPPORT OF RESIDENTS, HAVE LEFT RAINFALL AND OTHER WATER FLOWS.
NOWHERE TO GO BUT INTO THE RESIDENCES, BUSINESSES AND VEHICLES BEING DAMAGED WITH EXCESSIVE STORMS. HOME OWNERSHIPS, HOME OWNERSHIP RATES IN OUR AREAS ARE THE LOWEST IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, 27% AND 32% RESPECTIVELY IN THE 9 2 1 1 3 AND 9 1 9 5 0
[01:05:02]
ZIP CODES COMPARED TO 54% AVERAGE COMMUNITY WIDE.UM, COUNTYWIDE LANDLORDS ARE NOT COMMONLY ACCOMMODATING OF RENTER MISFORTUNES.
AND WE ARE ALREADY SEEING, UM, THAT THE RESIDENTS ARE BEING APPROACHED BY, UH, REALTORS AND PROPERTY DEVELOPERS MAKING, UH, UH, ACQUISITION ATTEMPTS AT BELOW MARKET PRICING THESE ATTEMPTS RISK PERMANENTLY PUSHING RESIDENTS OUT OF THEIR HOME NEIGHBORHOODS OF 50 PLUS YEARS.
MAYBE I'M WRONG, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS ONE TIME KUMA EDEN, IS NOW MANY CURRENT RESIDENTS.
HOW EMERGENT IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ESSENTIAL.
AND ALL EFFORTS ADDRESSED HERE TONIGHT ARE SO TRULY VERY MUCH APPRECIATED, BUT ALSO IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER OUR REPARATIONS FOR PAST NEGLECT.
WE NEED A PLAN FOR ACTIVATION THAT LIMITS LONG-TERM HARM TO RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES, AND STARTS OR ACCELERATES ACTIVITIES INVESTING IN RESIDENTS FUTURE HERE, WE NEED AS MUCH RESTORATION OF LOST WATERSHED AND NATURAL BOUNTY AS POSSIBLE.
YOU MAY BE WONDERING WHY A FOOD ACTIVIST LIKE ME IS SPEAKING TO THIS NEED.
FOOD INSECURITY AND HOUSING INSECURITY GO HAND IN HAND.
THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE ARE OVERDUE HOPE OF GETTING BEYOND PERPETUAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
THE PATH FORWARD ISN'T CRYSTAL CLEAR YET, BUT I WANTED TO ARTICULATE WHAT SURELY IS AN IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL THOSE IN LEADERSHIP IN THIS MOMENT OF CRISIS TO EXPAND THEIR FOCUS TO THE BROADEST POSSIBLE RESTORATION OF ALL THAT'S BEEN LOST FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SHERRY GOGI BE FOLLOWED BY MARIA ALMAN AND FOLLOWED BY THAT BY ERIC VARGAS.
CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF.
I WANT TO THANK, UH, THE COUN COUNCIL MEMBER, MOLINA, ANI RODRIGUEZ, AND THE MAYOR COMING OUT TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE HELPED, WE APPRECIATED THAT.
I WANNA REALLY THANK NATIONAL CITY PD AND NATIONAL CITY FIRE 'CAUSE THEY WERE THERE FOR US AFTERWARDS.
NOW IT WAS REAL SURREAL WATCHING MY HOME UP HERE AND ALL MY NEIGHBORS, AND IT IS ALL BECAUSE OF THE PARADISE CREEK FIASCO THAT HAS BEEN PUT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYBODY SAYING WE WERE THERE.
WE ALMOST LOST MY HUSBAND THAT DAY BECAUSE OF THE HIGH BLOOD WATERS.
WE WOULD BE HAVING A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION TONIGHT IF THAT HAD OCCURRED.
BUT I'M ASKING YOU FROM MY HEART, FROM MY NEIGHBOR'S HEART.
WE'VE LIVED THERE FOR 21 YEARS.
THEY'VE LIVED THERE FOR 47 YEARS.
THE WATER GOES BEHIND OUR HOME AND THAT CANAL, AND IT'S NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM.
THE POINT IS IT DOES ITS PURPOSE.
WHEN THAT WAS PUT IN, YOU GUYS KILLED US LAST YEAR.
WE WERE FLOODED OUT THE FIRST TIME SINCE I'VE BEEN THERE OVER 20 YEARS BECAUSE OF THAT GRATE AND THAT BIG OLD BOWL OF WATER THAT DOESN'T GO ANYWHERE.
YES, WE HAD REALLY BIG WATER COMING IN.
WE HAVE, WE CAN BLAME IT ON THE SOUNDING SAN DIEGO COUNTY.
ALL THE EVERYTHING'S COMING TO US.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THAT GRATE WAS NOT THERE, WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS, THAT CAR THAT WAS IN, PARKED IN FRONT OF MY NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE, THAT ENDED UP OVER AT THE GAS STATION IN HUON BECAUSE THE WATERS CAME THROUGH OUR HOMES IN THE DRIVEWAY.
THERE WAS NO WATER IN THE CREEK.
THAT CREEK'S THERE FOR A REASON.
AND YOU GUYS, OUR CITY, LET THAT BE BLOCKED.
IF IT WAS OPEN, THAT CAR WOULD'VE STAYED THERE.
AS IT WAS, IT WENT PAST HER HOUSE IN THE CREEK WHERE ALL THE WATER'S SUPPOSED TO GO, WHERE THE WATER ENDED UP GOING AND THEN CONTINUED OVER TO THE GAS STATION.
YOU BYPASSED THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THAT WATER KEEP GOING AND FLOWING.
INSTEAD, IT WENT INTO OUR HOUSE.
WE'RE NOT GETTING ALL THE ASSISTANCE.
EVERYBODY ELSE IN TOWN OF GIDDING.
[01:10:01]
WE HAD TO GO TO OUR FRIENDS AND GET PLACES TO STAY.WE HAD TO GO SLEEP ON PEOPLE'S COUCHES.
AND THEN I GET A PHONE CALL A WEEK LATER THAT I CAN GO TO A HOTEL.
WHERE WAS THAT WHEN WE NEEDED IT? WHEN I CALLED YOU THE DAY AFTER SHE JUMPED ON IT.
SHE BROUGHT US ALL KINDS OF BINS.
WE HAD THIS NATIONAL CITY FIRE AND DEPARTMENT.
NATIONAL CITY IS GOOD THAT AFTER THE FACT, NOW WE'RE ALL REELING.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO.
WE'VE LOST EVERY SINGLE THING.
THAT'S 21 YEARS OF OUR LIFE RIGHT HERE IN NATIONAL CITY, AND EVERYBODY KNOWS ME.
I'M ALWAYS GIVING TO NATIONAL CITY.
ANYTHING I CAN, I AM NOT ONE TO TAKE OR ASK FOR ANYTHING.
WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO, WELL, I TAKE THAT BACK.
WE'RE GIVING MORE STUFF OUT ON SATURDAY
WE WERE SCARED, BUT MY HUSBAND WAS THERE.
WE'VE LIVED THERE WITH THIS FOR THREE YEARS, AND WE'VE NEVER SEEN IT LIKE THAT.
THAT WATER FLOWED RIGHT WHERE IT'S SUPPOSED TO GO TODAY.
THERE'S NOTHING IN OUR HOMES TO TAKE IT AWAY, BUT IT WENT RIGHT.
WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GO IN THE CANAL.
SO PLEASE THINK ABOUT THAT, TAKE THAT OFF AND MAKE IT RIGHT FOR US AND OTHER PEOPLE.
TO BE FOLLOWED BY ERIC VARGAS TO BE FOLLOWED BY JOSHUA AND, UH, LOPEZ.
SO WE, WE HAVE MARIA, UH, MARIA, THE PERSONAS.
WE HAVE ANY WE COULD HAVE THE INTERPRETATION PLEASE.
HMM? CARLOS, WE'RE UNABLE TO HEAR YOU.
I SEE THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING, BUT WE'RE UNABLE TO HEAR YOU.
[01:15:15]
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES.GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I AM MARIA ALEMAN AND I AM A RESIDENT OF HAPPY HOLLOW.
I'VE BEEN THERE FOR 27 YEARS, AND BY THE WAY, UH, CELEBRATING 39 YEARS, UH, NEXT WEEK.
AND I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT WE NEED A LOT OF HELP AT HAPPY HOLLOW.
WE'VE HAVE OVER 35 FAMILIES WHO HAVE COMPLETELY LOST THEIR HOMES.
MANY OF US HAVE SUFFERED SEVERE IMPACTS AS WELL.
AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ.
UH, MR. JOSE LOPEZ FROM THE ACE GROUP FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP THAT WERE OUT THERE STANDING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH US AND HELPING US OUT DURING THIS SITUATION.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE NATIONAL CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS, UM, MS. RAMOS, UM, WHO ALSO, UH, DID A LOT FOR US, UH, TO GET US SOME HELP AFTER, UH, THESE RAINS.
UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, STAYING AT A HOTEL THANKS TO THE ASSISTANCE FROM THE CITY.
AND, UM, THE FAMILIES THAT LIVE AT HAPPY HOLLOW, UH, CAME TONIGHT TO ASK YOU FOR YOUR HELP, AT LEAST IN KEEPING RENTS FROM BEING INCREASED CONSTANTLY.
UH, MOST OF US ARE LOW INCOME FAMILIES, AND I INCLUDE MYSELF IN THAT STATEMENT.
UH, THERE ARE OTHER FAMILIES WHERE ONLY ONE PERSON OUT OF THE HOUSEHOLD CAN WORK.
AND IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO COVER THE RENTS WHEN THEY'RE BEING INCREASED AT TIMES EVERY THREE MONTHS.
I MEAN, IF THEY'RE GOING TO INCREASE RENTS FOR THEM TO DO IT ONCE AND NOT CONSTANTLY, THEN THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD LIKE THE CITY'S HELP WITH THE MOST.
WE NEXT WE HAVE ERIC VARGAS TO BE FOLLOWED BY JOSHUA AND LOPEZ TO BE FOLLOWED BY JANICE LUNA RENOSO.
HELLO, MY NAME IS ERIC VARGAS AND I AM THE NATIONAL CITY COMMUNITY ORGANIZER FOR ACE, THE ALLIANCE OF CALIFORNIANS FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT.
OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS, I HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AND SPOKEN WITH MANY RESIDENTS OF NATIONAL CITY, MANY OF WHICH ARE WITH US HERE TODAY.
I'VE HEARD ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES, SOME OF THEM HAVING LOST EVERYTHING, AND THEY TOLD ME ABOUT HOW THEY FEEL NEGLECTED.
THEY'VE BEEN TREATED UNJUSTLY AND HUMANELY, AND WITH COMPLETE DISREGARD AT THE SAME TIME.
I WITNESSED THEIR INCREDIBLE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE.
I SAW HOW NEIGHBORS WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY STRANGERS ALL COME TOGETHER TO HELP AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER, SUCH AS MAKING TACOS OUT IN THE PARKING LOT OF THEIR RESIDENCE AND SHARING IT WITH THE COMPLEX NEXT TO THEM.
I'VE ALSO SEEN HOW THEY'VE BEEN WORKING TOGETHER TO FIGHT FOR WHAT THEY DESERVE.
IT WOULD'VE BEEN GREAT FOR YOU TO WITNESS IT, MR. MAYOR, AND I'M SURE THE IMPACTED RESIDENTS WOULD'VE APPRECIATED YOUR PRESENCE INSTEAD OF YOUR ABSENCE.
I DID SEE COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ COME OUT TO THEIR PROPERTIES AND SPEAK TO THEM MULTIPLE TIMES.
SO I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER FOR YOUR SUPPORT, THE SUPPORT OF ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE HELPED, AND ALL THE WORK THAT THE CITY HAS DONE SO FAR.
WHAT THIS CRISIS HAS SHOWN IS THAT BAD ACTORS LOVE AND HOPE FOR DISASTERS LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN SO THAT THEY CAN CAPITALIZE ON THEM.
SO THERE IS MORE WORK TO BE DONE BECAUSE THIS CAN HAPPEN AGAIN, AND WE NEED TO LEARN FROM THIS AND ADAPT.
THE RESIDENTS OF NATIONAL CITY DESERVE BETTER.
THEY DESERVE PERMANENT PROTECTIONS.
RENTERS NEED PROTECTION FROM EVICTIONS, HIGH RENT PRICES, AND FROM BAD ACTORS WHOSE BUSINESS MODEL IT IS TO SCREW OVER HARDWORKING PEOPLE EVEN AFTER THEY LOST EVERYTHING.
I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL TO MAKE SURE THESE PROTECTIONS COME TO NATIONAL CITY.
THANK YOU JOCELYN LOPEZ TO BE FOLLOWED BY JANICE LUNA RENOSO TO BE FOLLOWED BY ANTHONY.
AND I THINK THE LAST NAME IS VELO, BUT I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE ON THAT ONE.
I'M A MEMBER OF ACE AND I LIVE AT THE HIGHLAND VIEW APARTMENTS.
I LIVED THERE FOR EIGHT MONTHS, AND I HAVE LIVED IN NATIONAL CITY FOR EIGHT YEARS.
WE APPRECIATE THE CITY'S RESPONSE, BUT I FEEL
[01:20:01]
THAT THERE IS MORE.WE NEED TO BE PREPARED AND PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN.
I AM 26-YEAR-OLD AND I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.
THE EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN ME THAT WE NEED PROTECTIONS AS TENANTS TO PROTECT US FROM GREEDY COMPANIES THAT TRY TO BENEFIT FROM OUR CRISIS.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK, THANK COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ FROM BEING WITH US SINCE DAY ONE.
I ALSO WANNA THANK MY NEIGHBORS AND COMMUNITY FOR HELPING ONE ANOTHER.
IF IT WASN'T FOR US STICKING TOGETHER, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN EVICTED BY NOW.
I HOPE WE CAN COUNT ON YOUR SUPPORT TO PASS LAWS THAT WILL PROTECT US FROM EVICTIONS AND RENT INCREASES SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO LIVE HERE IN NATIONAL CITY BECAUSE NATIONAL CITY IS MY HOME.
JANICE LUNA RENOSO TO BE FOLLOWED BY ANTHONY, AND I THINK IT'S AVALOS, BUT I MIGHT NOT GONNA SWEAR ON THIS.
MY NAME IS JANICE LUNA RENOSO.
I'M A NATIONAL CITY RESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR MUNDO GARDENS.
WE ARE A COMMUNITY GARDEN, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, SOCIAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATION.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE, YOU KNOW, TO REPEAT THE, AND EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF CARING FOR CLIMATE AND CARING FOR, FOR COMMUNITY.
UM, THE YEARS OF DISINVESTMENT IN OUR BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING NATIONAL CITIES, SOUTHEAST SAN DIEGO AND SURROUNDING AREAS IS SHOWING UP.
IT SHOWS UP, YOU KNOW, LIKE IN THE PANDEMIC, AND IT'S SHOWING UP NOW.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, A LESSON LEARNED.
WE'VE BEEN SINGING THE SAME SONG, BUT NOW, UM, WE'RE PUTTING OUT FIRES OR CLEARING UP THE FLOOD.
WE, UM, WERE PRESENT IN LAST YEAR'S RECOVERY, UM, RESCUE AND INTAKE THAT WAS TAKING PLACE AT THE JACKIE ROBINSON, Y-M-C-D-Y-M-C-A, WHERE HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS FROM NATIONAL CITY WE'RE SEEKING ASSISTANCE.
I WAS ABLE TO GET EYES AND WORK DIRECTLY FROM THE DATABASE CREATED BY THE SOUTHEAST, UM, DISASTER RELIEF TEAM, AND SEEING THAT THERE WAS OVER 50 FAMILIES THAT WERE REGISTERED WITH US.
I DO ENCOURAGE US TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER.
I'M VERY ENCOURAGED TO HEAR FROM YOUR LEADERSHIP AND STAFF THAT YOU KNOW, THE INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT, UH, SINKING THAT INFORMATION AND SEEING WHERE THE OVERLAP IS.
AND ALSO THAT THE LEADERSHIP TEAM, THERE ARE GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS, NOT EVEN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAD TO STEP UP TO SERVE THE SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY, THE NATIONAL CITY COMMUNITY, AND ANYONE THAT CAME TO THE DOOR.
I'M LOOKING AT YOUR SIGNAGE HERE ABOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE, COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, CULTURE, AND I JUST REALLY WANNA GIVE THEM A SHOUT OUT AND ENCOURAGE OPEN THAT, UM, COMMUNICATION BETWEEN YOU ALL AND THOSE THAT ARE SERVING YOUR RESIDENTS.
UM, SO COMPASSIONATELY, WE NEEDED A LOT OF SPANISH TRANSLATION BECAUSE OF A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS FROM NATIONAL CITY NEEDED THE TRANSLATION.
UM, AND AGAIN, JUST LOOKING IN TO SEE HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER COLLABORATIVELY.
WE WILL BE, UM, SETTING UP A, I GUESS A VOLUNTEER DATABASE AND MOBILIZATION CENTER AT THE VISION CULTURE FOUNDATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OLIVE WOOD GARDENS, UH, WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE SOUTH REGION FOOD INSECURITY WORK GROUP WITH THE COUNTY YOU JUST HEARD FROM CYNTHIA AND READY TO COLLABORATE WITH THE CITY.
I'M, I'M HOPEFUL TO OUR CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'LL BE HAVING TOMORROW TO JOIN YOU AT THE MLK CENTER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, ALONG WITH CONGRESSMAN VARGAS.
SO, REALLY NOT WAITING, UM, AS WE HAVE BEEN SERVING NATIONAL CITY OUTTA SOUTHEAST WITH THE SOUTHEAST, UM, DISASTER RELIEF LEADERSHIP TEAM THERE.
AND THEN CONTINUING THAT AT OUR LOCA PARTNER LOCATIONS, WHETHER IT'S OLIVE WOOD, WE'LL BE AT 2 4 4 0 HIGHLAND AVENUE BEGINNING TOMORROW, AND THEN READY TO MOVE INTO, UH, A PARTNERSHIP AND SPACE WITH THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY AND EVERYBODY ELSE THAT'S WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP.
ANTHONY ALOS, I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS YOU, BUT I WAS HAVING A HARD TIME READING THE LAST NAME
YOU SAID IT PERFECTLY THE FIRST TIME.
EVERY TIME YOU'VE SAID IT, YOU'VE SAID IT PERFECTLY, WHICH MEANS ALRIGHT.
BUT YEAH, YOU CLEARLY ARE COMFORTABLE WITH MEXICAN CULTURE.
UM, SO MAYOR, UH, MORRISON CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY, I JUST WANNA SAY, WOW, UM, THAT, THAT WAS, THAT, THAT FELT LIKE A THOUSAND YEAR STORM, THAT FELT LIKE A THOUSAND YEARS WORTH OF WORTH OF WORK.
AND I JUST WANT TO BE A REMINDER THAT FOLKS REALLY DID DO THE IMPOSSIBLE OUT THERE.
IT, I CAN STILL SEE THE FACES OF VOLUNTEERS ON THAT FRIDAY, ON THAT SATURDAY THAT ARE WORKING IN MULTIPLE SPACES IN NATIONAL CITY, IN SOUTHEAST AND THE BORDER AREAS.
[01:25:01]
AND IT, IT WAS MORE THAN EXHAUSTION, RIGHT? IT, IT WAS A LEVEL OF DEFEAT, BUT UNWILLINGNESS TO QUIT.IT REALLY MADE ME FEEL SOME KIND OF WAY.
AND SO THE REASON WHY I WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU ALL IS BECAUSE I RECOGNIZED THAT IN THEM, THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYMORE TO GIVE.
THEY HAD NOTHING LEFT IN THE TANK, AND THEY STILL SHOWED UP THE NEXT DAY WITH NOTHING IN THE TANK UNTIL THEY WERE LITERALLY BREAKING DOWN, RIGHT? UM, CRYING WITH SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO HELP BECAUSE THIS IS JUST THAT HEAVY, AGAIN, A THOUSAND YEAR STORM, THAT MEANS SOMETHING.
AM I WASTING TOO MUCH TIME?
THERE WERE SOME REPORTS OF PEOPLE GOING TO GET RESOURCES, SANDBAGS BEING TURNED AWAY BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T FROM NATIONAL CITY.
I UNDERSTAND THERE'S A VERY LIMITED AMOUNT OF RESOURCES.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE MAYBE THE MANPOWER TO, TO FILL THOSE SANDBAGS, BUT IN THESE SITUATIONS WHEN WE'RE RECOGNIZING THAT WE HAVE A THOUSAND YEAR, UM, CIRCUMSTANCE, WE CAN, WE HAVE TO START TAKING THAT LENS INTO EVERY DECISION THAT WE'RE MAKING.
SO WHAT DOES IMPOSSIBLE THOUSAND YEAR INVESTMENTS LOOK LIKE WHEN IT COMES TO THOSE THAT ARE ON THE GROUND, DOING IT WITH NO RESOURCES AND DOING IT UNTIL THEY'RE LITERALLY BREAKING? RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND SO MAKING SURE THAT THE SOUTHEAST, UM, DISASTER RELIEF TEAM IN COMBINATION WITH ORGANIZATIONS LIKE VISION CULTURE HERE IN NATIONAL CITY, MUNDO GARDENS, UM, I REALLY HOPE THAT YOU CAN FIND A WAY TO CONNECT WITH THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING SO THAT YOU CAN GET FROM THEM THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT NATIONAL CITY RESIDENTS THAT HAVE COME THROUGH THERE.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU IN OUR LAST MEETING, WE HAD QUITE A FEW NATIONAL CITY RESIDENTS AND THAT'S WHY WE NEEDED THE, THE BILINGUAL, UM, TRANSLATOR.
SO AGAIN, WE REALLY NEED SUPPORT ON THE GROUND LEVEL AND WE REALLY NEED THAT THOUSAND YEAR SUPPORT.
WE NEEDED TO BE AS, AS SPECIAL AS THAT FEELING WAS WHEN YOU FIRST SAW THE FLOODWATERS.
THAT IS ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
AND WOULD ASK NOW IF, IF, UH, STAFF HAS ANY COMMENTS BASED ON ANYTHING THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT UP TO THIS POINT? UH, WE HAVE NONE, MAYOR.
I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AT THIS POINT.
WOULD WE LIKE TO TRY THE ONE ON ZOOM, PLEASE? YEAH, DO DO.
SEE IF WE CAN GET A HOLD OF THEM.
I'M WITH, SO PHILIPPINE PERFORMING ARTS COMPANY.
WE'RE BASED OFF OF, UM, WE'RE 1 0 2 EAST 16TH STREET.
WE ARE A NONPROFIT THAT HAS BEEN A NATIONAL CITY SINCE 1974.
UM, AND THIS IS ACTUALLY OUR FOURTH FLOOD DUE TO THE CHANNEL ACROSS, UH, THE STREET.
UM, OUR FIRST ONE SINCE THE SEVENTIES WAS 2014.
THEN WE HAD ANOTHER ONE IN, UH, THE FALL OF 2018.
AND THEN THREE MONTHS LATER, THE CHANNEL FLOODED AGAIN IN 2019.
UM, AND SO HERE WE ARE AGAIN WITH OUR FOURTH FLOOD IN 10 YEARS.
AND JUST AS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, IT'S BEEN REALLY HARD, UM, AND EXHAUSTING, UM, GETTING BACK TO OUR STUDENTS AND THE COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE.
UM, BUT WE JUST HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REACHED OUT IN THE PAST FOR HELP AND WE'RE JUST HOPING THAT IN THE FUTURE WE CAN HAVE SOME SORT OF ASSISTANCE.
COMMENTS? UM, WE DID HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO PUT DOWN UNDER, UNDER GENERAL COMMENTS OF PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT SECTION HASN'T COME UP YET.
UH, IT WASN'T TO THE SPECIFIC TO THIS ITEM, AND SO MAYBE SOME CONFUSION ON THAT.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS, I'M LOOKING TO SEE IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING AT THIS POINT.
WILL YOU WANTING TO SPEAK TO THIS ITEM? YES.
UH, PLEASE COME ON UP AND IDENTIFY YOURSELF.
AND FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR, UH, RECOGNIZING MY TIME.
EVERYONE HERE THAT'S PRESENT TODAY.
I KNOW THE RAIN HAS BEEN VERY HECTIC LATELY, BUT THANK YOU FOR COMING.
[01:30:01]
MY NAME IS LUIS VASQUEZ GAMMA.I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT AT THE HIGHLAND VIEW APARTMENTS FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS AT 1 31 NORTH HIGHLAND AVENUE.
I COME TO DATE TO PRESENT A MATTER OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON JANUARY 22ND, I LOST EVERYTHING, MY CAR, MY HOUSING, EVERYTHING FOUND IN THERE.
I REMEMBER AROUND NINE TO 10:00 AM WATER RUSHED IN TO MY APARTMENT, DIRTY WATER AROUND FOUR TO FIVE FEET OF WATER, RUSHED IN AND DROVE ALL OF US OUT.
WHEN I STEPPED OUT, THE WATER WAS DRAGGING ME TO THE WALL, NEARLY DROWNING ME.
IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO ESCAPE THE APARTMENT.
I WAS TRAPPED IN THE BUILDING.
I NEARLY HAD THE CLAW ON MY WAY OUT OF THERE.
IF I HADN'T MOVED AS QUICKLY AS I DID, I WOULD'VE BEEN ELECTROCUTED AND DROWNED.
WHEN I STEPPED OUT, I SAW MY NEIGHBORS TRAPPED IN THEIR CAR.
WE ALL HAD TO WORK TOGETHER TO SAVE EACH OTHER IN THAT VERY MOMENT.
AND WHEN WE CAME BACK, WE WERE PROMISED THAT IF WE MOVED OUR FURNITURE, IF WE MOVED OUR BELONGINGS, THE STUFF WE HAD LOST, THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO COME BACK AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE MANAGEMENT AND THE LANDLORD WOULD TRY TO GET THE HOUSING SITUATION UNDER CONTROL.
INSTEAD, WE WERE GIVEN EVICTION NOTICES.
WE WERE TOLD THAT WITHIN 10 DAYS WE ALL HAD TO BE GONE.
NOW, THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF WE HAD HAD LAWS TO PREVENT THIS KIND OF DISGUSTING BEHAVIOR FROM THESE LANDLORDS.
MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR CORPORATIONS, FORCING THE ELDERLY, DISABLED AND HARDWORKING FAMILIES OUT OF THEIR HOMES.
PEOPLE WHO NEVER MISSED A PAYMENT, PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED EXTREMELY HARD TO LIVE THERE.
AND ALSO, WE GOT SITUATION WHERE RENTS ARE INCREASING.
WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE'LL BE ABLE TO EAT OR HAVE HOUSING FOR THE MONTH.
WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT RENT CONTROL IN NATIONAL CITY.
COUNTLESS OTHER COUNTIES HAVE DONE IT.
THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO PREVENT THIS KIND OF INJUSTICE TO PREVENT THESE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR COMBINATIONS, THAT BLACKSTONE GROUP TO PREVENT THIS KIND OF INJUSTICE.
I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS, AND I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN, AND I WILL NOT BE SILENCED.
THANK YOU TO COUNCILMAN RODRIGUEZ FOR ALL THE HELP THAT HE AND THE CITY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO.
WE CANNOT BE THINKING DAY TO DAY WHETHER NEXT WEEK WE'LL BE HOMELESS OR NOT.
NOW, THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY SPEECH.
I BELIEVE WE ARE NOW AT THE END OF SPEAKERS.
UH, SO WE'VE HEARD FROM STAFF, WE'VE HEARD THE REPORTS ON, UH, THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE AND THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO, TO WORK ON FROM A CITY LEVEL.
UM, WE DO ALSO KNOW THAT THE COUNTY IS TAKING CERTAIN ACTIONS AND, UH, THEY'RE, ACCORDING TO THEIR REPORT THAT THEY CAME OUT WITH, THEY'RE COMING BACK WITH MORE ACTIONS AND THAT WILL INFECT US COUNTYWIDE.
AND, UH, THE ACTIONS THEY TOOK THE OTHER DAY WERE FOR SPECIFIC, UM, AREA CODES, WHICH WE WERE ONE OF THEM.
AND, UH, BUT NOW THEY'RE LOOKING AT GOING BEYOND THAT POINT.
AND SO WE'RE WAITING TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE GONNA BE COMING BACK WITH.
UM, AND TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH THAT, WITH THAT MEMBER
[8. REGIONAL BOARDS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS]
RODRIGUEZ.UM, I REALLY WANT TO COMMEND, UH, OUR CITY STAFF.
UM, THAT SAME EVENING I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH BEN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHOWING UP.
UM, AND HAPPY HOLLOW EARLY IN THE MORNING, THE FOLLOWING DAY.
UH, THANK YOU FOR OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM THAT I KNOW WAS OUT THERE, UH, IN PREPARATION FOR THIS.
BUT THEN AFTERWARDS, THANK YOU FOR OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, OUR POLICE STAFF.
I, I LITERALLY, MM-HMM,
I SAW FIRE CREWS SWIMMING TO SAVE OTHERS, WHICH WERE STUCK IN THEIR HOMES.
UM, THANK YOU TO OUR ADMIN STAFF AT THE CITY.
I KNOW WE'VE PUT A LOT OF OVERTIME OVER THE LAST, LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UH, THANK YOU TO THE EDCO STAFF THAT WERE THERE DILIGENTLY EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
UM, AT HAPPY HOLLOW IN PARTICULAR, THEY SHOWED UP AND THEY JUST BROUGHT IN A CREW OF LIKE 10 GUYS THAT JUST HELPED OUT FOR TWO DAYS STRAIGHT.
THANK YOU TO TEAM RUBICON, WHICH HAS HELPED A LOT OF FAMILIES ALREADY IN THE CITY.
THANK YOU TO ACE OUR LOCAL NONPROFIT FOR ADVOCATING
[01:35:01]
FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.AND THANK YOU TO MANY VOLUNTEERS.
UM, ESPECIALLY, UH, JOE MENDOZA, UH, SHOWING UP, HELPING PEOPLE MOVE THEIR THINGS OUTTA THEIR HOUSE.
THE MINISTRY OF JERUSALEM THAT'S HELPED DELIVER FOOD TO COUNTLESS INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT OUR CITY.
OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS, UH, ROSE MONTANO HAS DONE THE SAME, HELPING A TON OF PEOPLE OUT.
UM, SHE WAS TEXTING A LOT OF THE MOBILE HOME PARK RESIDENTS AS THIS WAS OCCURRING, AND, UM, UH, WAS IN COMMUNICATION WITH THEM THROUGHOUT AND HAS BEEN ABLE TO OFFER A LOT OF GOOD SERVICES.
UM, I DUNNO IF ANYBODY KNOWS THEM, I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THEM BEFOREHAND, BUT THEY JUST SHOWED UP WITH FOOD AND CLOTHES.
UM, THEY JUST SHOWED UP, UM, WHICH WAS FANTASTIC TO SEE.
UM, MANY OF US KNOW THE UBA FAMILY.
THEY'VE BEEN VERY GENEROUS TO OFFER UP ANY OF THEIR COMPLEXES AND INDIVIDUAL APARTMENTS FOR FAMILIES TO STAY IN, INCLUDING MARKET ON EIGHTH.
UM, THERE'S A TACO SHOP ON THIRD AVENUE.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW THEIR NAME, BUT THEY JUST SHOWED UP ONE DAY WITH LIKE A THOUSAND BURRITOS, UM, OVER AT THE MOBILE HOME PARK.
AND THE APARTMENTS NEXT DOOR, ALL THE RESIDENTS, I MEAN, THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY KITCHENS TO COOK, RIGHT? SO FOLKS JUST SHOWED UP AND, AND, UM, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL TO SEE AND TO WITNESS A REALLY NICE LADY, UH, A DAY AFTER, UH, SHOWED UP WITH PO FOR A HUNDRED PEOPLE.
I DUNNO WHO COOKS FOR A HUNDRED PEOPLE PO.
BUT THE LADY SHOWED UP AND IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE.
UM, THERE WAS AT QUERO LAST WEEK AT 1 31 NORTH HIGHLAND.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THEY ARE, BUT THEY JUST SHOWED UP.
THEY HAD THEIR THING UP, AND IT, IT WAS, IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER DURING THIS, UH, VERY DIFFICULT MOMENT.
SO, UM, TO THE PAIN THAT MANY OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE FEELING, INCLUDING, UH, THE 38 FAMILIES AT HAPPY HOLLOW.
UM, I'M, I'M, I'M TERRIBLY SORRY TO EVERYBODY.
UM, I REALLY WANT TO COMMEND THE OWNER FOR HAPPY OF HAPPY HOLLOW, UH, FOR AT LEAST SHOWING UP AND SPEAKING WITH RESIDENTS.
UM, THE OFFER WAS $350 LESS IN RENT FOR ONE MONTH AND NOT HAVE THE INCREASE IN RENT FOR ONE MONTH.
SO THAT, I THINK, UM, IS, UM, UH, MORE THAN SOME OF THE OTHER LANDLORDS HAVE DONE, UM, TO THE 24 FAMILIES AT THE 1 31 NORTH HIGHLAND APARTMENTS, UH, WHO RECEIVED EVICTION NOTICES FOUR DAYS AFTER LOSING ALL OF THEIR POSSESSIONS.
I FEEL YOU, AND I HEAR YOU, AND I'M WITH YOU, TO THE SIX FAMILIES AT THE PARKVILLE APARTMENTS WHO HAVE BEEN TOLD EVERY SINGLE DAY TO JUST LEAVE, WE'LL GIVE YOU TWO MONTHS RENT AND JUST LEAVE.
THEY DIDN'T WANT TO PUT ANYTHING IN WRITING, BUT THEY'RE JUST TELLING PEOPLE TO LEAVE.
UM, SO THERE'S A COLLECTIVE PAIN AND A COLLECTIVE SHOCK THAT I THINK IS HARD FOR US TO COMPREHEND.
AND, YOU KNOW, I I STILL VIVIDLY REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING DAY, UM, JUST, JUST SHOWING UP AT THE, AT THE MOBILE HOME PARK AND AT THE APARTMENTS NEXT DOOR.
AND THERE WAS A SENSE OF JUST DISBELIEF, FOLKS WALKING BACK INTO THEIR PLACE AND EVERYTHING GONE RIGHT.
UM, EVERYTHING TOTALED, EVERYTHING DAMAGED.
AND, UH, IT WAS ESPECIALLY HEARTBREAKING WHEN FOLKS WERE TRYING TO GET OUT THEIR PERSONAL BELONGINGS OUTTA THEIR BEDROOM SETS.
I MEAN, FOR MANY OF US, YOU KNOW, OUR BEDROOM IS LIKE THE MOST, UM, SACRED PART OF OUR HOME, RIGHT? IT'S OUR, IT'S OUR PLACE.
AND SO TO, TO EXPERIENCE PEOPLE REMOVE THEIR ITEMS OUT OF THERE AS THERE WERE WEEPING, WAS HEARTBREAKING TO EXPERIENCE AND TO BE A PART OF IT.
SO, UM, SO I SAY ALL THAT TO SAY THAT, UM, I THINK MANY OF US HAVE BEEN CARRYING A COLLECTIVE PAIN THROUGHOUT THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED, UM, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT ARE FACING EVICTION ON TOP OF, UH, THAT OR WERE FACING EVICTION.
AND SO I, I REALLY WANT TO COMMEND, UM, UH, UH, COUNTY SUPERVISORS.
AND THAT WAS, UM, UH, CHAIR NORA VARGAS, UH, SUPERVISOR MONICA MONTGOMERY, STEP, TARA LAWSON REAMER AND JIM DESMOND FOR SUPPORTING THE EMERGENCY ORDINANCE, WHICH ESSENTIALLY MEANS THAT, UM, RETROACTIVE TO JANUARY 22ND, OVER 60, A 60 DAY SPAN, FOLKS CANNOT GET EVICTED AS A RESULT OF THIS.
UM, AND IT ALSO ALLOCATED $10 MILLION TOWARDS EMERGENCY FUNDS, UM, FOR, FOR IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
AND SO, UM, I REALLY WANT TO COMMEND THEM BECAUSE THEY ACTED SWIFTLY.
THEY HEARD WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON THE FIELD, ON THE GROUND, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO PUT AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE AND GET IT GOING.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT GOVERNMENTS ARE ABOUT.
I THINK WE HAVE TO LISTEN AND I THINK WE HAVE TO ACT.
AND SO I, I REALLY WANT TO COMMEND ESPECIALLY THE, UM, UH, HOUSING TEAM THAT HAS BEEN ACTING AS DILIGENTLY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
BUT I THINK I DO THINK WE NEED TO ACT TO HALT EVICTIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE GONNA GO OVER SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES, MAYBE BE BETWEEN
[01:40:01]
THE COUNTY ORDINANCES AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE RESIDENTS ARE ASKING.BUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT RESIDENTS ARE ASKING ARE VERY REASONABLE, UM, UH, ENSURING THAT RESIDENTS CAN COME BACK TO THEIR UNITS AND AT THE CURRENT RENTAL RATE.
SO FOR, FOR WHAT THAT MEANS IS, YOU KNOW, MARKET RATE RENT RIGHT NOW IS ABOUT 500 TO A THOUSAND DOLLARS MORE THAN RESIDENTS PAY CURRENTLY BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN THERE FOR 10 AND 15 YEARS.
RIGHT? SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, UH, INDIVIDUALS DON'T GET DISPLACED OR THEIR RENTS INCREASED, UM, AS A RESULT OF A NATURAL DISASTER.
AND SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US AS LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO ACT DURING THE TIME OF CRISIS, WHICH IS WHY I'M INTERESTED IN PURSUING LEGISLATION TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS PRIORITIZED IN OUR COMMUNITY AND WE PROTECT THE MOST VULNERABLE.
UM, I DID PLACE A POLICY 1 0 5 REQUEST MM-HMM.
AND SO I PLACED THAT 1 0 5 BE BEFORE THE COUNTY HAD VOTED ON THEIR ITEM.
SO I WASN'T SURE IF IT WAS GONNA PASS OR NOT.
SO I, I, I DO, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO THAT AT THE END OF THE MEETING.
UM, UH, BECAUSE I DO BELIEVE SOME OF THE ITEMS COVERED BY THE COUNTY ORDINANCE ARE NOT COVERED BY WHAT RESIDENTS ARE EXPERIENCING AT THE MOMENT.
AND SO, UM, I REALLY WANT TO, UM, SAY SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TIMES, DIFFICULT EXPERIENCES BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER.
AND FOR ME, IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL TO SEE OUR COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER, UM, IN WAYS THAT WE HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.
TO SEE, YOU KNOW, FOLKS THAT NEVER HAD AN INTERACTION JUST RANDOMLY EAT TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY'VE EXPERIENCED A CATASTROPHE TOGETHER, IS, IS, UH, BOTH FASCINATING AND, AND REALLY FUN TO BE A PART OF.
UM, SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR HANGING IN THERE.
NATIONAL CITY IS SPECIAL BECAUSE OUR RESIDENTS ARE SPECIAL.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TOGETHER.
UH, BUT I DO THINK THERE ARE SOME GLARING, UH, HOLES THAT WE HAVE TO FILL WITH REALLY GOOD POLICIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROTECT OUR TENANTS AND ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS ON THAT.
UM, INDEED WE DO HAVE WHAT THE COUNTY HAS PASSED AND WHAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE BRINGING UP IN THE NEXT, NEXT COUPLE WEEKS.
THERE IS THE 1 0 5 REQUEST, WHICH IS DIRECTLY RETI, UH, TITLED TO OR TIED TO WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING RIGHT NOW.
I AM GONNA BRING THAT FORWARD SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE END OF THE MEETING BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE WILL BE INTERESTED IN THAT.
WE CANNOT DISCUSS THE, THE MERITS OF IT OR THE ISSUE TONIGHT, BUT WE CAN VOTE ON BRINGING IT UP ON THE FUTURE AGENDA, WHERE THAT POINT, IT CAN BE DISCUSSED.
AND, UH, AND HOPEFULLY BY THAT TIME, WE'LL HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT THE COUNTY'S DOING AND, AND TO SEE WHERE, WHERE THERE ARE GAPS AND WHERE THERE'S NOT REDUNDANCIES OR WHATEVER.
UM, LET ME JUST SAY, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AND I APPRECIATE, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ATTENTION AND A LOT OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE DOWN WITH, UH, HAPPY HOLLOW AND WITH THE, UM, UM, PARK APARTMENTS THERE, THE, UM, BUT IF YOU NOTICE THOSE DOTS, IT'S BEEN GOING ON ALL OVER THE CITY.
AND THERE HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, SOME AREAS WHERE IT'S A CLUMP OF HOUSES, OTHER AREAS WHERE IT'S ONLY A SINGLE HOME, AND THERE HAS BEEN WORK BEEN GOING ON.
AND I, I CAN HONESTLY SAY, I KNOW THAT ALL THE MEMBERS UP HERE AND OUR STAFF AND EVERYTHING ELSE, AND VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN WORKING ALL OVER THE CITY CONSTANTLY.
AND ONE OF THE NUMBERS THAT SHOWED UP THERE, WHEN THEY SHOWED ABOUT HOW MUCH TONNAGE HAD BEEN TAKEN OUTTA DEBRIS, IT DID NOT SHOW YOU REMEMBER THAT SATURDAY, IMMEDIATELY AFTER WE ALREADY HAD PLANNED A HOLLOWAY DAY, A TRASH CLEANUP DAY THAT DAY, IT WAS ONE TRUCK AFTER ANOTHER, PEOPLE BRINGING STUFF OUTTA THEIR HOMES AND WAS DUMPING.
AND THAT NUMBER DIDN'T COUNT IN THOSE, IN THOSE NUMBERS THAT COUNTED AS A SEPARATE, SEPARATE DEAL.
'CAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DIVIDE IT ALL OUT BETWEEN JUST PEOPLE BRINGING THEIR BACKYARD STUFF AND PEOPLE THAT WERE BRINGING STUFF OUT OF THEIR HOUSES AND MATTRESSES AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WAS GOING ON.
UH, AND THAT WAS HAPPENING FROM ALL OVER THE CITY AND VOLUNTEERING.
A LOT OF TIMES IT WASN'T PEOPLE BRINGING THEIR OWN STUFF, IT WAS THEIR NEIGHBORS OR SOMEONE THEY DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT WAS PICKING UP, YOU KNOW, USING THEIR PICKUPS TO PICK UP AND TAKE ALL THIS STUFF OUT OUTTA THEIR HOMES.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ONE HOME, I REMEMBER OVER ON, UH, SECOND STREET, UM, THEIR BACKYARD IS ALMOST LIKE A HAPPY HOLLOW.
IT IS LITERALLY ALL FOUR SIDES.
IT JUST DROPS DOWN IT'S LEVEL, BUT IT DROPS DOWN ABOUT EIGHT TO 10 FEET BELOW THE REST OF THE, UH, THE REST OF THE, THE TOPOGRAPHY.
[01:45:01]
IT HAS A HUGE DRAIN THE SIZE OF A MANHOLE COVER IN THE MIDDLE OF IT, JUST IN CASE WATER GETS IN THERE.AND THAT ALWAYS DRAINS IT OUT.
THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THE WATER LEVEL WAS SO HIGH IN OUR CITY THAT BECAME A GEYSER, AND IT WAS SHOOTING UP.
THAT WAS, IT BECAME A RELIEF VALVE, AND IT WAS SHOOTING UP AND FILLED, AND THE WATER WAS, AND THE WATER MARK WAS RIGHT TO THE TOP OF MY HEAD, WHICH I'M SIX FOOT, SO THAT WAS THEIR WATERMARK IN THEIR HOUSE.
AND THESE YOUNG BOYS, YOU KNOW, YOU, UH, THEY, THE BOYS' BEDROOM, ONE OF THEIR BIG THING WAS THEY WERE TEENAGE BOYS.
THEY LOVED MUSIC, AND EACH ONE HAD A GUITAR.
EVERY ONE OF THEIR GUITARS WERE RUINED, YOU KNOW, AND THAT WOULD, TO MEN, TO THEM, THAT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS HUGE EVEN BECAUSE THAT WAS, THAT WAS THEIR LIFE WAS PLAYING GUITARS TOGETHER AND, UH, UH, AND THEY WERE ALL WARPED AND LITERALLY HAD TO BE THROWN IN THE TRASH.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND YOU WATCH THAT KIND OF STUFF HAPPENING.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S DRAMATIC THROUGHOUT OUR CITY.
AND, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, AND I APPRECIATE THE PEOPLE THAT WERE WORKING THROUGHOUT OUR CITY AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON, THE VOLUNTEERISM, AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE ON THE, THE SANDBAGS, THINGS ALONG THAT LINE, PEOPLE WOULD JUST, PEOPLE WOULD COME AND GET SANDBAGS AND THEY'D GO, C, CAN WE COME BACK AND HELP? YEAH.
NEXT THING YOU KNOW, THEY'D BE BACK ABOUT A HALF HOUR LATER.
WHERE'S A SHOVEL? WHERE CAN I, HOW CAN I HELP? AND, UM, WORKED ON INTO THE NIGHT, UH, TO HELP EVERYBODY.
THAT KIND OF VOLUNTEERISM IS WHAT HAS BEEN GREAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE AREAS WHERE THERE ARE GAPS.
I AGREE WITH, UH, COUNCILMAN RODRIGUEZ, AND TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO AND WHAT WE CAN'T.
WHAT HAS SHORT-TERM, UH, RESULTS? WHAT HAS LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES, EVERYTHING ELSE, AND BALANCE THAT OUT AND LOOKING FOR, UH, FOR ALL PARTIES THAT ARE INVOLVED, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THIS HAPPENS.
NOW, PERSONALLY, YOU KNOW, IT WAS MENTIONED A WHILE AGO ABOUT, UM, SAN DIEGO AND, AND, UH, SHELL TOWN, UH, SOUTHWEST AREA.
UH, I WAS ACTUALLY BORN AND RAISED AT 38TH AND GAMMA, UH, THE ALLEY.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE A STREET IN THOSE DAYS.
UM, THAT'S WHERE I WAS BORN AND RAISED TILL MY, UNTIL MY PARENTS MOVED OVER INTO NATIONAL CITY.
UM, AND THAT WAS THE AREA WHERE SAN DIEGO PRETTY GOT, GOT HIT THE WORST RIGHT THERE AT 38TH, GAMMA AND BETA, UH, WHERE ALL THOSE CARS GOT RAMMED INTO EACH OTHER, AND ALL THAT CRAZINESS HAPPENED.
UM, SO I'VE BEEN HERE MY ENTIRE LIFE.
WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE WHAT WE SAW TWO WEEKS AGO, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE AREA.
UM, AND SO WHILE THERE WAS, IN THAT THREE HOUR TIME PERIOD OVER THREE INCHES, NOW WE GOT FOUR AND A QUARTER INCHES TOTAL.
BUT IN THAT THREE HOUR TIME PERIOD, OVER THREE INCHES, WE ARE NOT DESIGNED.
NOTHING WE HAVE HERE IS DESIGNED FOR THAT.
AND IT HIT THE HARDEST OF ALL PLACES.
NATIONAL CITY AND SOUTHEAST SAN DIEGO.
THE, UM, BASICALLY THE, SO CREST AND SHELL TOWN AREA GOT HIT THE HARDEST OF THE ENTIRE COUNTY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A FREAK SITUATION AND THAT NONE OF US COULD HAVE ANTICIPATED AT THAT LEVEL.
UM, BUT YET THE PEOPLE OF NATIONAL CITY ROSE UP.
AND BOY, I'LL TELL OUR HEARTS, GO OUT TO THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAVE LOST SO MUCH.
AND ONLY THING WE CAN, I'M NOT GONNA SAY THE ONLY THING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW IS TO TRY TO ALLEVIATE AS MUCH OF THAT AS IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.
AND I THINK TO THIS POINT, I THINK THERE'S, YOU KNOW, I STAFF HAS BEEN DOING, UH, AND I DO THAT AT ALL LEVELS, HAS BEEN DOING PHENOMENAL WORK, TRYING TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN, TRYING TO COORDINATE WITH EVERYTHING.
THAT MORNING THEY SET UP A MAKESHIFT EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER.
IT WAS OVER IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND THE FRANTICNESS WAS UNREAL TRYING TO COORDINATE EVERYBODY ALL AT ONCE, AND ALL THE CALLS THAT WERE COMING IN AND MAKING SURE, BECAUSE AS I SAY, UH, THE MOMENT THAT THAT FIRST INCH HIT, WE KNEW WE WERE IN TROUBLE, AND EVERYONE STARTED RESPONDING TO IT.
AND IT WAS ALL HANDS ON DECK ALL DAY, ALL NIGHT, AND HAS BEEN EVER SINCE.
UM, AND SO I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE, NOT ONLY BY OUR CREWS, UM, AND EVEN, UH, THIS LAST WEEK, PEOPLE OUT OF FINANCE, WE PUT, TOOK EVERYONE AND SAID OUT INTO THE STREETS AND, YOU KNOW, SO EVERYONE WENT OUT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE EMERGENCY PEOPLE WERE DEALING WITH EMERGENCY, EVERYTHING THAT WASN'T, WASN'T NON-EMERGENCY.
WE HAD EVERYONE OUTTA THE OFFICES, OKAY, YOU, YOU'RE GOING OUT.
AND THOSE WHO DIDN'T, COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING ELSE TO DO, WE PUT 'EM ON SANDBAGS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SANDBAG DUTY.
SO IT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS AWESOME TO BE A PART OF THIS COMMUNITY.
WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK TO MAKE THE THINGS RIGHT, BUT FOR EVERYBODY.
[01:50:01]
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S GONNA BE A BIG TASK.WE'VE NEVER HAD ANYTHING AT THIS LEVEL IN OUR CITY'S HISTORY.
UH, PROBABLY THE CLOSEST THING, AND IT WASN'T NEAR AS POPULATED, WAS BACK WHEN THE FLOOD OF 1917 AND THAT WIPED OUT SWEETWATER RESERVOIR KILLED, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE, AND, UH, TOOK OUT ALL OF BONITA AND SOUTHERN, UH, SOUTHERN NATIONAL CITY, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S THE LAST TIME THERE WAS ANYTHING EVEN CLOSE TO THIS LEVEL.
SO, UM, AND, AND I HEARD WHAT WAS MADE MENTION, UH, THE ONE LADY WAS MENTIONING ABOUT THE KIND OF THE OVERBUILDING, UH, THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON.
UM, WE NEED TO TALK TO THE STATE ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THEY'VE ASSIGNED US WHAT THEY CALL ARENA NUMBERS, REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS.
AND SO WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY ABOUT 19,000 HOUSING UNITS IN NATIONAL CITY RIGHT NOW.
AND THEY GAVE US A NUMBER IN NATIONAL CITY SAYING OVER THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS, WE HAVE TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL 5,300 IN NATIONAL CITY.
IF YOU THINK WE'RE OVERCROWDED RIGHT NOW AND NOT MUCH SPACE FOR WATERSHED.
BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT, UH, THAT'S WHAT'S COMING DOWN FROM ON HIGH.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I REALLY APPRECIATE, AND I KNOW WE ALL DO, ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE SHOWED UP TONIGHT, WE ARE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, CAN WE MAKE EVERYTHING HAPPEN INSTANTANEOUSLY? NO
UM, ARE WE GONNA MAKE EVERYONE A HUNDRED PERCENT HAPPY? NO.
PROBABLY, I, I DON'T SEE HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
BUT WE ARE GONNA DO OUR VERY BEST TO ALLEVIATE AS MUCH OF THE, THE HASSLES, THE PROBLEMS, THE FEARS, THE ANXIETIES, AS IS ALL AT HUMAN HUMANLY POSSIBLE.
AND, UH, I'VE SEEN THE WORK OF THIS STAFF, PARTICULARLY THIS LAST COUPLE WEEKS, HAS BEEN AMAZING.
AND I SAY, UM, I'VE SEEN THEM THROUGH THE DECADES, BUT THIS LAST, THIS LAST TWO WEEKS HAS BEEN AMAZING TO WATCH WHAT THE STAFF CAN DO AND, AND WHAT THE CITIZENRY HERE CAN DO.
AND, UM, AND I SAY, SO I THINK COLLECTIVELY WE'RE ALL GONNA SAY, WE'RE GONNA FIND AS MANY SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS THAT INDIVIDUALS AND IN, AND DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY WITHIN NATIONAL SEA ARE HAVING AND MAKE THIS THING ALL WORK.
UM, WITH THAT, UNLESS THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE I'M GOING TO BRING FORWARD ITEM, UM, WHAT IS IT? UH HUH.
AND, UH, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S PROPER WITH WHAT WE'RE, WITH, WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW, LET'S NOT HOLD THAT OFF THE END OF THE MEETING.
UH, IF NOTHING ELSE, IF THOSE OF YOU WANNA LEAVE BEFORE IT STARTS RAINING AGAIN,
UM, LET ME JUST STATE FOR THE RECORD, THE 5 0 1 REQUEST, OR THE 1 0 5, I'M SORRY, 1 0 5 REQUEST.
IT IS, UM, THIS WILL BE TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE NEED TO DO, WHAT LEGALLY WE CAN DO, WHATEVER AREAS WE NEED TO DO EITHER IN RESOLUTIONS, ORDINANCE, WHATEVER ELSE.
UM, HOPEFULLY BY THAT TIME I SAY, LOOK, A LOOK AND SEE WHAT THE COUNTY HAS, HAS COME FORWARD BY THAT TIME.
SEE IF THERE'S GAP, WHAT AND GAPS ARE THERE, WHAT WE CAN DO OR WHAT WE NEED TO TAKE TO A HIGHER LEVEL OR WHATEVER ELSE TO FILL GAPS.
AND, UH, TO MAKE EVERYONE AS WHOLE AS POSSIBLE.
WHAT WE CANNOT REALLY DISCUSS THE MERITS OF IT OR THE, OR THE SPECIFICS OF IT TONIGHT.
'CAUSE THIS, WHAT THIS DOES IS PUTS IT ON A FUTURE AGENDA, WHICH WILL BE OUR NEXT, OUR NEXT AGENDA, WHICH WOULD BE IN TWO WEEKS.
SO WITH THAT, IF WE CAN HAVE A MOTION TO GO AHEAD WITH THAT.
AND I, I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO, UM, MOVE FORWARD.
AND MR. MAYOR, JUST AS A POINT OF CLARIFICATION FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY UHHUH
UM, THE COUNTY DID PASS AN ORDINANCE, UM, AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE THAT ADDRESSES THE ISSUE OF EVICTIONS AND PROHIBITS, UH, ANY EVICTIONS DURING THE EMERGENCY, UM, WITHOUT JUST, CAUSE NOW THE DEFINITION OF JUST CAUSE IS VERY LIMITED.
UM, IT BASICALLY INDICATES THAT
[01:55:01]
JUST CAUSE OCCURS IF THE TENANT, UM, BY ANY ACT OR OMISSION TO ACT CAUSES AN IMMINENT HEALTH OR SAFETY THREAT.UM, IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR THE TEMPORARY RELOCATION OF A TENANT FOR REPAIRS THAT ARE NECESSITATED BY THE DAMAGE.
UM, IT IS NOT SPECIFIC AS TO THE TYPE OF RELOCATION BENEFITS THAT NEED TO BE OFFERED.
IT REFERENCES STATE LAW AND LOCAL LAW.
STATE LAW DOES PROVIDE FOR ONE MONTH OF RELOCATION.
UH, BUT THEIR PARTICULAR ORDINANCE DOESN'T GO INTO MUCH DETAIL THERE.
UM, IN TERMS OF RENTS, IT DOES, UH, LIMIT ANY INCREASE, UM, OF RENTS DURING THIS TIME, UM, TO NO AMOUNT GREATER THAN THE CPI FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
AND, AND THAT HAS A CAP ON IT, DOESN'T IT? UH, NOT IN THEIR ORDINANCE.
UM, SO I, I THINK THE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP THAT I WOULD SAY ARE THE GAPS, UM, I THINK THERE'S BEEN A DISCUSSION ABOUT A RIGHT TO RETURN, UM, AT THE SAME RENT.
SO IF A TENANT IS RELOCATED OR TEMPORARILY RELOCATED FOR REPAIRS, THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO RETURN, UM, AT THE SAME RENT.
UM, THE OTHER ISSUE IS SPECIFIC RELOCATION REQUIREMENTS, SO BEING VERY SPECIFIC AS TO HOW MUCH RELOCATION BENEFITS ARE REQUIRED.
UM, SO THOSE ARE WHAT I SEE AS THE GAPS, AND THAT'S WHAT I WOULD BE FOCUSING ON IN BRINGING BACK TO YOU.
MY THOUGHT IS THAT, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE SOME CONSISTENCY BETWEEN WHAT THE COUNTY IS REQUIRING AND WHAT WE'RE REQUIRING.
SO I WOULD BE BUILDING INTO THE, UM, THE ORDINANCE, THE PROVISIONS THAT THE COUNTY HAS, BUT WE DO HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE MORE RESTRICTIVE, UM, SO WE CAN INCLUDE MORE RESTRICTIVE ELEMENTS TO, TO OUR ORDINANCE.
THAT'S KIND OF THE DIRECTION THAT YOU'RE GOOD WITH.
THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE HEADING.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION AND CLEARLY IT'S A LOT OF OUR RESIDENTS CONCERNS, SO THANK YOU.
AND WE DO HAVE ONE PUBLIC SPEAKER ON THIS.
SO I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE PUBLIC SPEAKER TO SPEAK, HUH? I CAN WAIT TILL AFTER THE PUBLIC SPEAKER TO SPEAK.
UH, GEORGE H UH, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND CITY STAFF, JUST FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT ALL OF YOU HAVE DONE TO HELP YOU, THE COMMUNITY AND, AND, UH, WITH REBUILDING.
UM, I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, THE FACT THAT GOOD LANDLORDS DO EXIST, AND SOME OF THEM ARE AMONG THOSE WHO ARE FACING LOSSES AS WELL.
SO WHAT I HOPE HAPPENS, AND I KNOW WE'RE NOT DISCUSSING SPECIFICS TO THAT, BUT WHAT I DO HOPE CAN HAPPEN IS THAT THERE CAN BE A BALANCED APPROACH.
IT TAKES THOSE LOSSES INTO CONSIDERATION AS WELL AS THOSE THAT ARE FACING ALL THE TENANTS, UM, A BALANCED APPROACH.
UH, THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD WANNA HIGHLIGHT AND HOPE FOR IS, IS CLARITY.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CLARITY AND LANGUAGE IN TERMS OF DEFINITIONS, UH, DURATION AND APPLICABILITY.
SO CLARITY IS VERY IMPORTANT, AND THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT I WOULD WANNA HIGHLIGHT AS YOU ALL MOVE FORWARD.
UM, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING THAT ALL OF YOU'RE DOING.
UH, FIRST OFF, UM, EXCUSE ME, MAYOR, ANOTHER CITY CLERK.
YOU DO HAVE ONE MORE SPEAKER? I DO.
GOOD EVENING, MR. MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I AM THE MANAGING ATTORNEY OF THE HOUSING TEAM WITH THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO.
UM, AND WE WANTED TO VOICE OUR SUPPORT AND RAISE A FEW POINTS, UM, FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT NATIONAL CITY SHOULD IMPLEMENT ITS OWN ORDINANCE.
UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE ORDINANCE AS WRITTEN DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR A NUMBER OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
AND ONE THAT WE'VE SEEN COME UP IS IN THE CONTEXT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVE OUTSIDE THE FLOOD AFFECTED ZIP CODES, BUT WORK IN THESE AREAS AND THEY'RE NO LONGER ABLE TO WORK BECAUSE THEIR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT WAS DAMAGED OR DESTROYED BY THE FLOOD.
UM, THESE ARE TENANTS WHO EXPERIENCE A LOSS OF INCOME DUE TO FLOOD, BUT BECAUSE THEY DON'T LIVE IN THESE ZIP CODES, THEY COULD BE AT RISK OF EVICTION FOR NOT PAYING THEIR RENT.
UH, ANOTHER POINT AS, UH, SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS ALREADY RAISED IS THAT IT DOES NOT SPECIFY CURRENTLY THE DETAIL OR TYPE OF RELOCATION ASSISTANCE THAT MUST BE PROVIDED TO EFFECTIVE TENANTS.
AND IN WHAT AMOUNTS? AN ADDITIONAL POINT IS BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING FROM THE COUNTY, IT APPEARS THAT THEIR INTERPRETATION OF THE FLOOD REFERS SPECIFICALLY TO THE
[02:00:01]
EVENTS OF JANUARY 22ND, AND IT WOULD NOT PROTECT THOSE WHO MAY HAVE SUFFERED FLOOD RELATED DAMAGES FROM SUBSEQUENT RAINSTORMS, INCLUDING THE ATMOSPHERIC RIVER THAT'S CURRENTLY PASSING THROUGH SAN DIEGO COUNTY THIS WEEK.UM, ANOTHER POINT WOULD BE THAT THE ORDINANCE IS ALSO SET TO EXPIRE ON MARCH 30TH, 2024.
AND THAT WOULD BE, EVEN IF THE DISPLACED TENANTS ARE STILL NOT ABLE TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES, AND THE LOCAL EMERGENCY IS STILL IN EFFECT, WHAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND IS THAT AN EVICTION PROTECTION ORDINANCE RELATED TO THE FLOOD NOT EXPIRE BASED ON AN ARBITRARY DATE, BUT RATHER EXPIRE 60 DAYS AFTER THE LOCAL EMERGENCY IS LIFTED.
UM, ANOTHER POINT THAT WE HAVE IS THAT THE COUNTY ORDINANCE AFTER IT EXPIRES, WOULD ALLOW A LANDLORD TO EVICT FLOOD AFFECTED TENANTS.
IF THERE UNITS HAVE NOT YET BEEN REPAIRED, TENANTS MUST HAVE THE RIGHT TO RETURN AND RESUME THEIR TENANCY AT THE SAME RENT THEY WERE PAYING BEFORE THEY WERE DISPLACED, EVEN AFTER THE ORDINANCE EXPIRES.
A LANDLORD MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO EVICT A TENANT BECAUSE THEY NEED TO MAKE REPAIRS TO A RESIDENTIAL UNIT THAT WAS DAMAGED BY A FLOOD.
AND THE LAST POINT THAT WE WANTED TO RAISE IS THAT THE COUNTY ORDINANCE AS WRITTEN, HAS SOME AMBIGUITIES REGARDING EVICTION NOTICES THAT WERE SERVED, OR LAWSUITS THAT WERE FILED PRIOR TO JANUARY 22ND, 2024.
THE AMBIGUITY THERE WILL UNDOUBTEDLY RESULT IN LITIGATION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE ORDINANCE AS WRITTEN APPLIES TO CASES WHERE A NOTICE WAS GIVEN PRIOR TO JANUARY 22ND, 2024, AND WHETHER AN UNLAWFUL DETAINER ALREADY IN PROCESS PRIOR TO JANUARY 22ND, 2024 CAN PROCEED, NATIONAL CITY COULD PASS AN ORDINANCE THAT CLARIFIED THIS AMBIGUITY AND EXTENT PROTECTIONS TO TENANTS WHO ARE FLOOD IMPACTED, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOTICE FOR.
PLEASE WRAP UP BEGAN BEFORE JANUARY, 2020 SECOND.
THAT CONCLUDES THE ZOOM COMMENTS.
NOW, UH, MEMBER BUSH, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR.
AND, UM, I DON'T WANT TO, UH, REHASH EVERYTHING.
MY, MY COLLEAGUES, UM, AND STAFF SAID, BUT FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SACRIFICE, YOU TO THE RESIDENTS WHO CAME OUT.
UM, I, FOR ME, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR MY COLLEAGUES, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME VIBE.
WE, WE HEAR YOU WE'RE LISTENING.
UH, WE WANT TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TOO.
SO HEARD THE CONCERNS FROM, UH, MISS GOE AND THE RESIDENTS ON OFF OF EIGHTH STREET ABOUT THEIR FLOODING.
SO WE AS A CITY WILL INVESTIGATE THAT.
UM, AND SO, SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR SHARING THAT DETAIL.
I THINK AT THIS POINT, UM, I, I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE LOVE FROM NOT JUST, UH, THE COMMUNITY, BUT STAFF, UM, MY, MY COLLEAGUES WHO EACH AND EVERY ONE HAS BEEN, UM, OUT THERE HELPING THE RESIDENTS.
UM, IT, IT'S JUST, IT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING TO SEE AND IT'S, IT'S WHAT'S NEEDED.
UM, SO THAT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, I STILL THINK THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE OBVIOUSLY THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF CHAOS.
THIS WAS PROBABLY THE WORST NATURAL DISASTER TO EVER HIT, UH, NATIONAL CITY SINCE WE WERE INCORPORATED 1887.
SO, UM, DO ASK FOR STILL FOLKS LOVE AND PATIENCE IN THAT BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF CHAOS AND, AND WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH IT.
UM, BUT I, I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THAT.
SO ON THIS ORDINANCE, UM, I, I THINK, UM, I I, I REALLY WORRY ABOUT HEARING ALL THE RESIDENTS THAT CAME LAST WEEK AND THIS WEEK.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, WE ARE NOT SAYING IT'S EVERY LANDLORD, NO ONE SAID THAT, BUT, BUT IT'S ENOUGH WHERE IT'S AN ISSUE.
AND THE UGLY SIDE OF THIS DISASTER IS PEOPLE DO TAKE ADVANTAGE.
UM, AND THERE ARE SCAMMERS OUT THERE.
SO WE JUST GOTTA BE AWARE OF THAT.
AND, UM, WHAT I WORRY ABOUT SPECIFICALLY, WHY I THINK WE SHOULD BRING THIS UP, I DON'T THINK IT'S REDUNDANT FROM THE COUNTY.
I DID TALK TO THE COUNTY, UM, SUPERVISOR NOR VARGAS, UM, ABOUT THIS.
AND SHE WAS, UH, ENCOURAGING US TO DO THIS AS WELL.
UM, BUT, UM, I, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD TEMPLATE FOR US AND WE CAN GROW FROM THAT.
AND, AND LET'S REMEMBER THAT THE, THE COUNTY IS, IS MASSIVE.
AND SO THE COUNT, LIKE WE ARE, I THINK, BEST EQUIPPED TO GO INTO THE DETAILS AND TO, INTO EXPAND ON THIS BECAUSE, UM, WHAT I'M WORRIED ABOUT IS THERE ARE THOSE BAD ACTORS AND THOSE LANDLORDS THAT ARE GREEDY AND THAT WILL USE THIS TO USE PUBLIC RESOURCES TO REPAIR THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR APARTMENTS AND THEN JACK UP THE RENTS TO MARKET RATE INPLACE TENANTS.
AND I THINK, I THINK THAT WILL, THAT COULD HAPPEN IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
SO THAT'S WHY I APPRECIATE, UH, YOU COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD.
UM, AND I, I HOPE THAT, UM, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY.
SO WE, WE, WE TREAT IT AS SUCH WITH, WITH THE LOVE WE, AND, YOU KNOW, THE JUST, UM, JUST, JUST THAT LOVE AND THAT COMMITMENT TO, TO OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND I, I DO WANT, I APPRECIATE THE LEGAL AID.
UM, I, I WOULD JUST ADD ON TO, TO THE, UM, OUR CITY ATTORNEY THAT, THAT WE WOULD LOOK AT THOSE ISSUES.
SO LOSS OF INCOME FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, THE TYPE OF RELOCATION ASSISTANCE, NOT DETAILED, SOME OF THOSE AMBIGUITIES.
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YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE US TO, TO IDENTIFY THOSE AND, AND WORK THOSE OUT.AND YEAH, I, BUT, BUT I ONLY THING IS I DON'T WANT US TO GET OFF ON THE DEAL OF THE, THE BAD ACTORS BECAUSE REALITY IS IN LIFE.
THERE'S BAD ACTORS ON ALL SIDES, AND THERE'S GOOD ACTORS ON ALL SIDES.
AND, AND WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT WE NEED TO LIFT UP THE GOOD ACTORS ON BOTH SIDES AND MAKE SURE THAT WE DEAL, YOU KNOW, WITH THE BAD ACTORS AND WITHOUT PUNISHING THE GOOD ONES ON BOTH SIDES.
AND, UH, UM, AND I SAY I, I THINK WE CAN BE FAIR ABOUT IT AND FIND WAYS TO, TO WORK, WORK THAT OUT, AND, UH, COME TOGETHER FOR THE, OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
WE'VE SEEN EXCELLENT EXAMPLES OF THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF THIS, THIS COMMUNITY COMING TOGETHER, WORKING TOGETHER AND MAKING GREAT THINGS HAPPEN.
AND, UH, I THINK WE'RE GONNA SEE EVEN, EVEN MORE.
UM, I KNOW THEY'RE HAVING ALL KIND OF BATTLES OVER IN SAN DIEGO.
I LISTENED TO A COUPLE OF THEIR COUNCIL MEETINGS.
IT WAS NOTHING LIKE THE SAN DIEGO ONES.
AND SO, UH, UM, SO WE MUST BE DOING AT LEAST SOMETHING, RIGHT? UH, SO WITH THAT, WE DO HAVE, COULD YOU GUYS PUSH YOUR BUTTONS FOR THE, ON THE MOTION? WE HAD A MOTION AND A SECOND.
I REMEMBER WHO WAS BUSH SECONDED.
OKAY, SO WE HAD A MOTION AND A SECOND.
AND THIS IS TO BRING, PUT THAT ONTO AN A TO THE NEXT AGENDA, WHICH WILL BE ON THE 20TH.
AND, UH, AND AT THAT POINT THEN WE CAN DISCUSS THE MERITS, WE CAN DISCUSS ALL THE DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES, UH, LISTEN TO BOTH SIDES, ALL SIDES, WHATEVER.
AND, AND SEE WHAT WE CAN COME UP WITH.
SO WITH THAT, WE DO HAVE A MOTION.
AND SECOND, I SEE NO OTHER DISCUSSION, PLEASE VOTE.
MOTION TO APPROVE UNANIMOUSLY.
WITH THAT, UH, COUPLE OF THINGS.
I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR THE TRANSLATORS, LOOKS LIKE FOR THE REST OF THE MEETING.
SO, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE THE TRANSLATOR A BREAK AND UH, 'CAUSE WE HAVE TO PAY THEM BY THE HOUR, FOLKS.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VERY SHORT BREAK.
LET'S TRY TO KEEP IT TO FIVE MINUTES, GET BACK AND GET THE REST OF THE AGENDA TAKEN CARE OF.
AND, UH, SO WE CAN HOPEFULLY GET OUT HERE BEFORE THAT RAIN STARTS UP AGAIN, BECAUSE IT'S SUPPOSED TO HIT HARD AGAIN A LITTLE BIT.
SO, COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF WE CAN GET YOU ON UP TO THE DAIS.
WAS THAT LOUD? THAT WAS BRILLIANT.
ALRIGHT, WE'RE GONNA CALL THE MEETING BACK TO ORDER SILENT ROLL CALL WITH ALL MEMBERS PRESENT ON THE DAIS.
IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE CRAZY 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WORK AROUND AND WE KIND OF JUMBLED THIS MEETING AROUND A BIT.
UH, LET ME JUST STATE FOR THE RECORD, UH, ITEM 9.3 IS ON THE AGENDA.
THAT ONE IS BEING, BEING PULLED THAT WE BROUGHT BACK AT, AT A FUTURE MEETING.
SO I'LL JUST STATE THAT UP FRONT IN CASE WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE SCHEDULED TO SPEAK ON THAT.
BUT JUST IN CASE ANYONE'S INTERESTED.
UM, WITH THAT, WE ARE INTO PUBLIC COMMENT.
WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF PUBLIC, UH, COMMENTERS, UH, COMMENTATORS HERE, HUH? ON AGENDA PUBLIC.
THIS IS OUR, UM, SO THIS IS OUR PUBLIC ORAL COMMUNICATION.
UH, START OFF WITH, UH, JEFFREY SCHROCK TO BE FOLLOWED BY LUIS VASQUEZ GAMMA.
WELL, HE, HE WAS THE ONE WHO SPOKE.
SO HE ALREADY SPOKE, BUT HE SPOKE UNDER FIVE ONE.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL STAFF AND NATIONAL CITY RESIDENTS.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO FEEL NUMBER ONE FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE.
UM, I CAN HONESTLY SAY I REALLY ENJOYED MYSELF DOING VOLUNTEER WORK, HELPING OUR RESIDENTS.
A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND IN NEED.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? I LIKE TO HELP PEOPLE IN NEED BECAUSE THEY'RE IN NEED AND THEY'RE HUMAN BEINGS.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S CALLED BEING A HUMANITARIAN.
IT'S JUST LIKE LEAVING A, A DOG OUT IN BELOW ZERO TEMPERATURES.
YOU KNOW, I'M THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT'LL BRING THAT DOG IN OUT OF THE COLD, YOU KNOW, AS OPPOSED TO LET IT FREEZE TO DEATH.
AND I'M VERY, UH, HAPPY ABOUT THE WORK WE DID IN 3,600 BLOCK EAST EIGHTH STREET, MAKING FRIENDS WITH SHERRY AND HER HUSBAND, AND THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THAT AREA.
I'M VERY PROUD OF HOW, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE PATIENT PEOPLE
[02:10:01]
WERE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO, TO HELP THE VOLUNTEERS, HOW WE ALL WORK TOGETHER, THE HOMEOWNERS, THE CITY RESIDENTS.UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MAYOR
I, UH, ENJOYED DOING THE WORK, AND I CAN ACTUALLY, WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE WORK GETTING DONE.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO SEE EVERY DAY THINGS ARE GRADUALLY IMPROVING.
AND I, YOU KNOW, GOD BLESS OUR CITY.
I LOVE ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS, ALL OUR CITY.
I THINK Y'ALL ARE DOING A GREAT JOB.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THE UNITY OF OUR RESIDENTS COMING TOGETHER WITH OUR CITY, CITY OFFICIALS.
IT WAS SO NICE TO SEE, UH, BEN MARTINEZ, OUR CITY MANAGERS, MAYOR MORRISON, UH, OTHER PEOPLE AROUND THE CITY, UH, PITCHING IN DOING ACTUALLY BLUE COLLAR HARD LABOR WORK.
I MEAN, MAYOR MORRISON'S, WHAT, 7, 2, 7, 3 YEARS OLD.
AND TO SEE HIM OUT THERE, MAN, HIS AGE OUT THERE WITH A BACK BRACE ON AND WALKING, YOU KNOW, WITH A WHEELBARROW, IT WAS GREAT.
IT'S, IT, IT MADE ME FEEL PROUD TO BE A NATIONAL CITY RESIDENT.
I, I'M GLAD THAT YOU ENJOYED MY PUNISHMENT,
WELL, I'M SORRY THAT IT WAS PUNISHMENT, BUT, BUT YOU KNOW, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT? OKAY.
IT'LL SERVE YOU WELL IN THE LONG RUN.
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU DID A GOOD JOB.
IT WAS GOOD TO SEE EVERYBODY OUT THERE.
CITY DEFENSES COME TOGETHER WITH OUR, WITH OUR RESIDENTS.
AND, UH, WE ARE AT OUR BEST WHEN WE CAN COME TOGETHER AS ONE, PUT OUR DIFFERENCES TO THE SIDE AND UNITE TOGETHER AS A CITY FOR THE BETTER, BEST, BETTER OF NASHVILLE CITY.
WE ARE AT OUR FINEST AND NOTHING CAN STOP US.
AS LONG AS WE'RE MOTIVATED TO DO WHAT WE WANT TO DO.
THE CITY CAN DO WHAT WE WANT DO.
THE STATE DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL US WHAT TYPE OF TAX LAWS WE CAN PASS.
YOU DON'T HEAR THEM COMPLAINING ABOUT THE, THE STATE SALES TAX BEING PERMANENT.
SO WHY, WHY DO THEY, WHY DO THEY WANNA GRAB THE, OUR, OUR, OUR TAX DOLLARS AND TELL US HOW WE CAN, UH, HAVE TAXES IN OUR CITY? IF OUR VOTERS WANT IT, THEN OUR VOTERS ARE GONNA GET IT.
AND THAT'S OUR MESSAGE TO THE STATE.
SO THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR COMING TOGETHER.
AND GOD BLESS NATIONAL CITY AND ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS AND MM-HMM,
EVERYBODY HAVE A GOOD EVENING.
LET'S GET READY FOR ROUND TWO.
UH, UNA RENOSO, SHE SPOKE EARLIER AND I THINK SHE WAS OKAY, SO HERS WAS UNDER FIVE ONE.
I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT POLICE BRUTALITY REGARDING THE NCPD.
UH, IN 2017, NATIONAL CITY PAID 1.5 MILLION TO A MAN SHOT IN THE ARMED BY A POLICE OFFICER TO SETTLE THE FEDERAL LAWSUIT, WHICH LISTS EXCESSIVE FORCE FAILURE TO PROPERLY TRAINED BATTERY AND NEGLIGENCE.
ANOTHER 300,000 WAS PAID IN 2020 TO THE FAMILY OF A MAN WHO PASSED AWAY FROM BRAIN DAMAGE CAUSED BY RESPIRATORY ARREST AND INADEQUATE MEDICAL CARE CAUSED BY NCPD SANDAL VERSUS NATIONAL CITY.
A CASE RECENTLY SETTLED BENARD VERSUS NATIONAL CITY, WHICH RESULTED IN A DEATH.
CUMMINS VERSUS THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY AND EX OFFICER SUING FOR DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT, A STATE OF UMA VERSUS NATIONAL CITY ALSO RESULTED IN A DEATH.
THESE ARE SOME CURRENT CASES IN LITIGATION, AND YOU KNOW WHAT ALL THESE CASES HAVE IN COMMON? THE NATIONAL CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT ABUSING THEIR AUTHORITY.
SO IN LIGHT OF THAT, I'M WONDERING HOW MUCH THE CITY SPENDS IN SETTLEMENTS OF LAWSUITS THAT ARE NOT PUBLICLY DISCLOSED, LIKE THE SANDAL VERSUS NATIONAL CITY CASE, WHICH WAS RECENTLY SETTLED.
OR PERHAPS A BETTER QUESTION WOULD BE, WHAT DOES THE CITY SPEND ON, ON THE RETAINER OF LAWYERS? THERE SEEMS TO BE A MODEL AMONG ALL OF YOU, WHICH IS STATUS ABOVE ALL ELSE, BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT ONCE MENTIONED ANY OF THESE ISSUES RELATED TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THE LIKE OF TRANSPARENCY WE HAVE IN NATIONAL CITY.
WHEN OFFICER F DAVIS IS INVOLVED IN TWO DIFFERENT CIVIL LAWSUITS THAT RESULTED IN TWO DEATHS, BANDARI VERSUS NATIONAL CITY RESULTED IN A DEATH OF TONY WILSON, A STATE OF OMA VERSUS NATIONAL CITY RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF BRIAN ANA.
POLICE MISCONDUCT IS A RECURRING THEME WITHIN THE NCPD.
ACCOUNTABILITY AND PROFESSIONALISM IS NEEDED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.
UH, NEXT WE HAVE RANDY CASTLE, MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, I THINK I GOT THIS ON THE WRONG ONE.
WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE YOU SOME LATITUDE.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO COME OUT.
I WANTED TO SAY, UM, I HAVE SEEN ALL OF YOUR FACES AROUND AND I LOVE THE FACT THAT YOU'VE ALL COME OUT TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITIES THAT YOU SERVE.
UM, I'M VERY PROUD TO BE HERE IN NATIONAL CITY AND TO HAVE BEEN A PART OF THIS AND SERVE WITH YOU GUYS.
UM, WITH THAT SAID, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO UM, POINT OUT.
ONE OF THEM IN PARTICULAR, UM, I WAS OVER AT THE EIGHTH
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STREET PROPERTY AND, UM, HELPING TO SERVE OVER THERE.AND WE ALL KNOW THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL AND WE ALL KNOW THAT WE ARE PROBABLY GONNA START TO SEE MORE OF THESE ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS COMING THROUGH.
WE'RE ALL GONNA START TO SEE POTENTIALLY MORE FLOODING HAPPENING.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE, UM, THINGS THAT WE HAVE PUT INTO PLACE.
UM, SPECIFICALLY THE PARADISE CREEK, UH, WATER, UM, BASIN THING.
THAT RETENTION BASIN, RETENTION BASIN, UM, SPECIFICALLY THAT WHEN IT WAS DESIGNED, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IT WAS DESIGNED WITH THIS SORT OF RAIN, FAIR RAIN RAINFALL OR ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS, UM, COMING THROUGH.
I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ENGINEERING, UM, MAYBE CITY STAFF TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THOSE ENGINEERINGS AND SEE IF THERE'S SOME WEIGHT THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY, UM, CHANGE IT OR HELP IT.
BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT IT WAS THE GRATE ALONE THAT ACTUALLY, UM, OVERFLOWED.
YES, WE DO NEED TO GET ON SAN DIEGO TO COME CLEAN UP THEIR MESS BEFORE MAYBE WE CAN HAVE THE GRATE INSTALLED ON SAN DIEGO'S SITE SO THAT THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, HELP OUT WITH THAT.
UM, BUT THAT IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT WAS BUILT WAS A DAM AND THE GRAVEL WALL IS NOT A LEVY.
AND TO WATCH ALL THAT MUD AND THAT WATER ENTER INTRUDE INTO THOSE PEOPLE'S HOUSES WAS JUST COMPLETE DEVASTATION.
TO WATCH PEOPLE LOSE 40 YEARS PLUS OF MEMORIES TO WATCH THEIR WEDDING PITCHERS WATCH THEM PULLING THEM APART, TRYING TO SALVAGE WHAT THEY COULD WAS GROSS.
UM, SO THAT, THAT WAS NUMBER ONE.
NUMBER TWO, UM, I AM, I DO STAND WITH MR. RODRIGUEZ ON, UM, HAVING TENANTS, UH, FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL AND BEING BACK INTO THEIR HOMES WITHOUT AN INCREASE OF RENTS BECAUSE IT IS GROSS TO SEE, UH, FEMA MONEY, UM, CAL OES MONEY, ANY OF THAT KIND OF MONEY COME IN AND REMODEL THESE PROPERTIES FOR THE HOMEOWNERS AND THEN NOT THAT BE PLACED BACK DOWN ONTO THE TENANTS, UM, ESSENTIALLY.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING COME FORWARD ON THAT TO HELP PROTECT THEM.
I DON'T THINK I HAVE A TIME LIMIT ON HERE.
I DON'T THINK THEY STARTED IT.
UM, I, WE DON'T MAKE COMMENTS ON THIS, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO GO OUT AND TAKE A LOOK AT THAT RETENTION BASIN.
IT IS AN INTERESTING SITUATION OUT THERE.
UH, 'CAUSE IT HAS ONE LAYER AND IT HAS A RELIEF, UH, THAT GOES INTO THE, UH, INTO THE CULVERT.
IT HAS ANOTHER, IT'S A MANHOLE SIZE RELIEF THAT GOES IN THERE.
THEN IT'S GOT A SPILLWAY THAT GOES IN THERE.
AND THERE WAS SO MUCH WATER WENT INTO THAT THING THAT IT OP IT OVERPOWERED ALL THREE OF THEM AND WENT OVER THE TOP.
UH, AND THERE'S, THERE'S FILM OF THAT.
UH, SO SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA NEED TO BE LOOKED AT.
UM, WITH THAT, THAT'S ALL THAT WE HAVE UNDER PUBLIC COMMENT.
NEXT WE GO TO OUR REGIONAL BOARDS MAYOR AND COMMITTEE REPORTS.
UM, I'M GOOFING ON THAT ONE TONIGHT ON OUR, ON OUR ZOOM ZOOM'S.
AND THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SPEAK TONIGHT.
I AM A PARENT AND A PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATOR CONCERNED REGARDING THE CONTINUAL FLOW OF INFORMATION REGARDING THE DANGERS MARIJUANA USE AMONG CHILDREN AND YOUTH.
ANOTHER ARTICLE FROM A B, C 10 NEWS SAN DIEGO WAS RECENTLY PUBLISHED, DESCRIBING YET ANOTHER DEVASTATING SITUATION WHEN A YOUNG GIRL MAYA ACCIDENTALLY INGESTED MARIJUANA.
THE GIRL'S MOTHER WAS QUOTED STATING, I NEARLY LOST ONE OF MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS TO A CEREAL THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE THE HARMLESS STORE SHELF BRAND JACKS EXCEPT SPELT WITH A Z.
THE MOTHER IS A SWIM TEACHER AND ROUTINELY TAKES SNACKS TO PRACTICE.
AND WHILE SHE DOESN'T USE MARIJUANA IN ANY FORM, SOMEONE ADDED THE THC EDIBLE TO THE SNACK BAG.
IT TOOK ONLY A FEW MINUTES FOR MAYA TO COMPLAIN ABOUT DROWSINESS AND STOMACH PAIN.
POISON CONTROL WAS CALLED AND THE FAMILY WAS, UM, INSTRUCTED TO GO IMMEDIATELY TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM.
AND WHEN MAYA WAS ADMITTED, SHE SLIPPED INTO A 30 HOUR COMA.
NATALIE LOBB, A NATIONALLY RENOWNED CHILD ABUSE PEDIATRICIAN AT RADY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, STATED THAT MARIJUANA POISONINGS HAVE SKYROCKETED.
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200 HOSPITAL CASES IN 2023 ALONE.AND SHE GOES ON TO SAY, WE WERE SEEING A HANDFUL OF KIDS A YEAR, MAYBE THREE TO FIVE, AND NOW WE'RE SEEING HUNDREDS A YEAR.
TEST POSITIVE SYMPTOMS INCLUDE TROUBLE BREATHING, TROUBLE WITH ELECTROLYTES AND VOMITING.
AND MARIJUANA MAKES CHILDREN VERY SICK AND CAN CAUSE CHILDREN TO DIE.
MAYA'S PARENTS, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER CONCERNED RESIDENTS, ASK WHY THIS IS ALLOWED TO HAPPEN.
HOW CAN A HIGHLY INTOXICATING PRODUCT HAVE NO REGULATIONS, HOW IT CAN BE ADVERTISED OR PACKAGED, A TARGET MARKET CLEARLY TO CHILDREN SHOULD IN NO WAY BE PERMITTED.
WE'RE ASKING THIS COUNCIL TO PRIORITIZE, TO PRIORITIZE THIS DEVASTATING SITUATION.
UM, GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, AS A PUBLIC HEALTH ADVOCATE, I WANTED TO RECOGNIZE FEBRUARY AS HEART HEALTH MONTH.
WE ALL NEED TO TAKE, UM, OUR HEART HEALTH SERIOUSLY AS HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IS THE MOST COMMON UNDERLYING CONDITION IDENTIFIED.
WE KNOW RESEARCH REGARDING SMOKING TOBACCO IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART DISEASE, AND STROKE.
BUT DID YOU ALSO KNOW THAT SMOKING MARIJUANA IS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE SAME PROBLEMS? A HARVARD RESEARCH RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY FOUND THAT PEOPLE WHO SMOKE MARIJUANA FACED A HIGHER RISK OF DYING, OF COMPLICATIONS OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE THAN, UH, MARIJUANA.
MOST PEOPLE WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE KNOWN AS HYPERTENSION, DON'T KNOW THEY HAVE IT BECAUSE THERE ARE NO SYMPTOMS OR WARNING SIGNS.
IT HAS EARNED THE NICKNAME AS THE SILENT KILLER.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IS PREVENTABLE.
DAILY EXERCISE, HEALTHY DIET, NO SMOKING OF ANY KIND, MARIJUANA OR TOBACCO ARE THE KEYS TO KEEPING YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE UNDER CONTROL.
I HOPE ALL WILL TAKE THE PRECAUTIONS THAT WILL KEEP OUR HEARTS HEALTHY.
THE MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, ALONG WITH POLICYMAKERS, NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB COMMUNICATING WHAT, WHAT'S KNOWN ABOUT THE HEALTH RISK OF SMOKING, TOBACCO AND MARIJUANA.
AND MAYOR, THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON ZOOM AND I DID JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT WE HAD ONE WRITTEN COMMENT FROM TED GOTCHU.
AND THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.
WITH THAT THEN WE DO GO INTO OUR REGIONAL BOARDS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS.
I'LL START DOWN HERE ON MY LEFT.
UH, VERY LITTLE REPORT OTHER THAN THE SAND ACT PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE IS MEETING NEXT FRIDAY.
AND, UM, AMONG THE ITEMS TO DISCUSS, WE'RE GOING TO, UH, DISCUSS THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, UM, AND THE ICE DEPARTMENT'S INCLUSION WITHIN THE, UM, UM, ARGIS, UH, ARGIS.
UM, IN ANTICIPATION OF MANY OF THE RHETORIC AMONG OUR FEDERAL ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THEIR ANTI-IMMIGRATION STANCE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE FOLLOW STATE LAW AND THAT NO LOCAL AGENCY IS WORKING WITH A FEDERAL AGENCY TO DEPORT ANY, UH, INDIVIDUALS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE AN ONGOING DISCUSSION.
UM, NEXT FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH.
I HAVE MTS, UH, THIS, UH, THURSDAY, SO NOTHING SHORTBOARD UNTIL THEN.
UM, OH, ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, I'M SORRY.
THE, UH, THE ONE UPDATE, UH, FROM THE FLOOD IS, UH, THAT MTS WILL BE PROVIDING, UH, FREE TRANSIT PASSES TO ALL THOSE IMPACTED IN THE, IN THE, UM, IN THE, IN THE FLOODS.
UH, THEY'RE GOING TO BE DIS USING, UH, LOCAL, UH, COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFITS.
UH, URBAN COLLABORATIVE WAS ONE OF THEM THAT THEY MENTIONED TO ME THAT'S GONNA BE DISTRIBUTING THESE PASSES.
I THINK THEY MIGHT HAVE AUTHORIZED, UH, SOME MORE.
UM, SO, BUT, UH, FOR NOW, FOLKS CAN CONTACT ME, UM, AT, AT LEAST AT THIS POINT, SO I CAN, UM, CONNECT THEM TO MTS STAFF FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
SO IT'S STILL, UM, IT'S STILL UNDER WORKS, BUT THEY ARE PROVIDING THOSE, UM, TRANS PASSES TO FLOOD VICTIMS. OKAY.
UM, THE SANDAG BOARD OF DIRECTORS MET JANUARY 26TH, AND WE DID RECEIVE THREE REPORTS.
UH, ONE WAS, UM, THE RESULTS OF AN AUDIT DONE BY, UH, THE FIRST AUDIT DONE, UH, BY OUR NEW INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE AUDITOR.
UH, THIS WAS AN AUDIT, UH, PRESENTING, UM, DETAILS ABOUT BOARD MEMBER AND EMPLOYEE TRAVEL AND OTHER BUSINESS RELATED REIMBURSEMENTS.
UM, OVERALL IT WAS A, UM, A GOOD AUDIT.
UM, IT DID POINT OUT SOME OF THE
[02:25:01]
DEFICIENCIES.UM, HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO MISUSE OF FUNDS.
WE ALSO RECEIVED A TOLL ROAD OPERATIONS UPDATE WITH THE ONGOING ISSUE, UM, THAT DISCUSSED IN THE PAST, UM, AND THE NEED TO REPLACE THE OPERATOR THAT DOES, UH, COLLECTION OF THE TOLLS.
AND LASTLY, WE HAD A VERY GOOD DISCUSSION.
WE WERE ABLE TO SEE, TO VIEW AN INITIAL CONCEPT FOR THE 2025 REGIONAL PLAN, UM, AND DISCUSS AMONGST OUR REGIONAL.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO SIT WITHIN TABLES IN OUR REGIONAL AREAS AND, AND TALK WITH, UM, REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE NEIGHBORING CITIES, UH, ABOUT THAT INITIAL CONCEPT.
AND, UM, MUCH MORE WILL BE DISCUSSED REGARDING THIS REGIONAL PLAN.
ONE OF THE FOCUSES, UM, THIS TIME AROUND WAS, UH, THE DIFFICULT TARGET THAT, UH, THE REGIONAL PLAN MUST MEET, UH, TO REDUCE, UH, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN ORDER AND, AND THEN GET A PAY A PLAN PASSED.
THE WHOLE PURPOSE FOR, WHICH IS TO SECURE FUTURE FUNDING FROM FEDERAL, STATE, UM, AND OTHER RESOURCES, UH, WITHOUT A REGIONAL PLAN.
THAT TYPE OF FUNDING, MANY, MANY MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WOULD NOT COME TO SAN DIEGO.
SO WE'RE WORKING HARD FOR THAT.
WE WILL MEET NEXT THIS COMING FRIDAY.
UM, AND YOU'RE WELCOME TO ATTEND IN PERSON OR VIEW IT ON, UM, LIVE.
UH, AND THEN ALL OF THE RECORDED MEETINGS ARE ON YOUTUBE.
UM, THANK YOU MAYOR FOR SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY POWER, UM, THE, UH, ORGANIZATION, A NON-PROFIT ENTITY HAD SLASH ELECTRICITY GENERATION PRICES APPROXIMATELY 18% YEAR OVER YEAR ON AVERAGE FOR CUSTOMERS AS PART OF ITS ONGOING EFFORTS TO PROVIDE CLEAN ENERGY AT THE GREATEST POSSIBLE VALUE FOR ITS CUSTOMERS.
THE SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY POWER BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVED NEW RATES THAT WILL RESULT IN CUSTOMERS SEEING AN AVERAGE DECREASE OF 17.7% TO THEIR ELECTRICITY GENERATION COSTS COMPARED TO THEIR RATES IN 2023.
THERE'S NEW RATES WHICH WERE APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY WILL TAKE EFFECT ON, UH, HAS TAKEN EFFECT.
SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY POWER SOURCES ELECTRICITY FOR ITS CUSTOMERS WHILE SDG AND E TRANSMITS AND DELIVERS THAT POWER TO CUSTOMERS, HOMES, AND BUSINESSES.
FOR FULL BREAKDOWN OF HOW ELECTRIC, ELECTRIC BILLS IN SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY POWER SERVICE AREAS WORK, PLEASE VISIT SD COMMUNITY POWER.ORG FOR SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY.
THERE ARE NO REPORTABLE ITEMS, MR. MAYOR FOR METRO WASTE WATER.
JPA, NO REPORTABLE ITEM FOR SWEETWATER AUTHORITY.
UM, WE, THE FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE MET, UM, UM, THE OTHER, UH, YESTERDAY MM-HMM,
UM, THIS IS JUST TO HELP THOSE, UM, UM, OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR RATE PAYERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, NOT TO BE, NOT TO DISCONNECT THEIR, THEIR UTILITY OR THEIR WATER DURING THIS TIME OF NEED.
THOSE THAT ARE FLOOD RELATED, YES.
AND THIS WILL COME TO THE FULL BOARD.
ALSO ON, UM, SWEETWATER AUTHORITY, UH, THERE WAS A PLANNED RELEASE OF WATER FROM LOVELAND RESERVOIR TO COME DOWN TO SWEETWATER RESERVOIR.
AND IT HAPPENED TO ALSO FALL ON THAT MONDAY OF THE BIG RAINSTORM.
UH, AND SO THE, THAT'S IN SOME AREAS THAT WOULD BE A BAD DEAL THAT DOWNSTREAM, BUT THERE IS NOTHING, THERE ARE NO HOUSES OR ANY COMMUNITIES BETWEEN THOSE TWO.
SO IT BASICALLY FLOWED DOWN INTO SWEETWATER RESERVOIR.
UH, AND, AND YET, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A LARGE DISCHARGE OF WATER FROM LOVELAND, THAT WATER HAS ALREADY BEEN MORE THAN REPLACED IN LOVELAND.
SO, UM, SO I SAY LOVELAND WAS GETTING, AT THAT TIME IT WAS AT 84% BE, UH, FULL WHEN WE STARTED RELEASING WATER FROM IT.
'CAUSE WE DID NOT WANT IT TO GET TOO FULL.
AND, UH, AT THE SAME TIME, IT WAS DURING EXTREMELY WET TIME.
THAT'S WHEN YOU WANT TO RELEASE IT, BECAUSE THEN THERE'S LESS, LESS GETS SATURATED, UH, GETS SOAKED INTO THE SOIL, MORE OF IT WILL ACTUALLY MAKE IT DOWN.
SO WE'RE ESTIMATING APPROXIMATELY 80% OF THE WATER THAT WAS RELEASED ACTUALLY MADE IT DOWN TO SWEETWATER, UH, DAM, WHERE WHEN THEY RELEASED IT HERE, WHAT'S THAT BEEN ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, UH, ONLY 40% OF THE WATER GOT DOWN THERE BECAUSE THEY RELEASED IT DURING A DRY PERIOD.
[02:30:01]
A ROUND SWEETWATER RESERVOIR BECAUSE IT IS A, A DRINKING, UH, RESERVOIR.UH, WE HAVE WHAT THEY CALL AS AN S SYSTEM.
IT'S LIKE A, A BIG CANAL THAT SURROUNDS ALL AROUND IT.
SO, 'CAUSE YOU GOT HOUSES AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN THAT COMMUNITY THAT THEY BUILT AROUND THERE.
AND SO THE RUNOFF FROM THE, UH, THE STREETS AND EVERYTHING ELSE ENDS UP DOWN THERE.
WELL, IT'S PICKED UP IN THAT HERS SYSTEM.
SO, AND THEN IT GETS TREATED, UH, BEFORE IT EVER GOES INTO THE, UH, INTO THE RESERVOIR.
UM, THE ONLY PROBLEM IS FOR THE FIRST TIME, UH, IN A REGULAR RAIN, UH, SITUATION, THE U SYSTEM OVERFLOWED.
AND SO THERE WAS SOME OF THAT CONTAMINATION DID GET INTO THE RESERVOIR.
SO HERE FOR, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, WE'RE GONNA BE BUYING, UH, TREATED WATER FROM COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY, WHICH IS EXPENSIVE.
AND THEN THE, THE RESERVOIR WILL NATURALLY TAKE CARE OF THE CONTAMINANTS, AND THEN IT CAN BE TREATED AND IT'LL ALL BE FINE.
UM, THAT WATER THAT WE HAVE IN SWEET WATER RESERVOIR THAT IS GROUND RUNOFF IS THE CHEAPEST WATER THAT'S AVAILABLE TO US.
AND, UH, THE WATER THAT WE BUY FROM SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE WATER THAT WE CAN USE.
SO WE DO THAT ONLY WHEN WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO.
BUT SO FOR ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO USE SOME OF THEIR WATER.
AND THEN THE, THE SYSTEM WITHIN THE NATURAL ECOSYSTEM OF THE, THE RESERVOIR WILL TAKE CARE OF THE, THE SITUATION ENOUGH, SO THEN WE CAN TREAT IT AND IT'LL BE PERFECTLY FINE.
UM, ANYWAY, SO THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON WITH, UH, UH, SWEETWATER AUTHORITY ALSO.
UH, WITH THAT, I THINK THAT'S ALL.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, COUNCIL CITY STAFF AND RESIDENTS ARE HERE LIVE VIA ZOOM.
I AM NARANJO YOUR PORT COMMISSIONER, REPRESENTING THE CITY OF NASHVILLE CITY FOR THE PORT OF SAN DIEGO HERE TO PROVIDE YOU UPDATES ON YOUR 34 MILES OF PUBLIC THAILANDS.
SO TO WRAP UP ON JANUARY 18, WE HAD A REGULAR BOARD MEETING, AND IT WAS A VERY SHORT MEETING.
UH, WE DISCUSSED LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, SO I'M GONNA SHARE WITH YOU WHAT I SHARED, WHAT I GAVE FEEDBACK AND DIRECTED STAFF.
I DIRECTED PORT STAFF TO INCLUDE UNDER PUBLIC SAFETY AND ACCESS SUPPORT LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS THAT UPHOLD, THAT UPHOLD THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN AROUND THE PORT OF SAN DIEGO.
THIS INCLUDES ADVOCATING FOR POLICIES AND PROJECTS THAT RECOGNIZE AND RESPECT INDIGENOUS CULTURAL HERITAGE SUPPORT, TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY AND ENHANCED CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATION WITH INDIGENOUS NATIONS IN DECISIONS AFFECTING THEIR TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES.
I ALSO INQUIRED ABOUT THE SENATOR ALEX PADILLA AND CONGRESSMAN ROBERT GARCIA'S, UH, THE CLEAN SHIPPING ACT BILL, WHICH IS AIMED TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF PORTSIDE COMMUNITIES AND ADDRESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IMPACTS OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS.
THE NEXT UPDATE I HAVE FOR YOU IS THAT I HAD RECENTLY THE PRIVILEGE OF REPRESENTING THE PORT OF SAN DIEGO AT THE ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC PORTS CONFERENCE.
SO THE ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC PORTS A PP IS A TRADE AND INFORMATION ASSOCIATION, FOUNDED IN 1913 AS THE PACIFIC COAST ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC PORT AUTHORITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING INCREASED EFFICIENCY AND EFFECT EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PORTS OF THE PACIFIC.
THEY HELD THEIR ANNUAL WINTER CONFERENCE IN OAHU, HAWAII, WHERE WE LEARNED BEST PRACTICES ON GOVERNMENTS, CLIMATE RESILIENCY, CYBER SECURITY, ET CETERA.
IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHERE, AGAIN, I GOT TO NETWORK WITH PORTS FROM FIJI, UH, PORTS FROM GUAN, UH, PORTS FROM, UM, CLOSE, UH, TO STOCKTON LONG BEACH AND OTHER PARTS OF THE, OF THE COUNTRY.
WE ARE SCHEDULED TOMORROW TO HAVE A SPECIAL OPEN SESSION AND SPECIAL CLOSED SESSION FOR OUR OPEN SESSION.
TOMORROW WE'RE GOING TO BE CONSIDERING ADOPTING A RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING EXISTENCE OF LOCAL EMERGENCY BY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE SAN DIEGO DIEGO UNIFIED PORT DISTRICT.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A CLOSED SESSION.
FOLLOWING THAT, WE WILL HAVE OUR REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING, WHICH IS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH.
AGAIN, YOU CAN FIND OUR AGENDAS ON OUR WEBSITE.
I DO ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO FOLLOW WHAT WE'RE DOING AT THE PORT OF SAN DIEGO.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, COASTAL COMMISSION IS IN TOWN.
AND UNFORTUNATELY WE WEREN'T ABLE TO MAKE THE DEADLINE TO PUT OUR BALANCE PLAN ON THIS AGENDA.
BUT I DO WANNA JUST TAKE A MOMENT AND I WANNA REALLY GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO CITY STAFF.
THE PORT STAFF, OUR PORT CONSULTANT, ALISON WOLF, WHO WORKED REALLY JUST SO MANY HOURS TO TRY TO MAKE THAT DEADLINE FOR FEBRUARY AND WE WEREN'T ABLE TO MAKE IT.
BUT, UM, BUT THERE ARE, WE DO HAVE THE GOAL TO GET IT ON THE COASTAL COMMISSION AGENDA FOR APRIL.
SO I ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM MARKET CALENDARS APRIL AND HOPE THAT WE CAN GET IT THERE.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT, AND I'M HERE TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
[02:35:01]
MALIA.THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER NARANJO.
UM, I DO WANNA ADD, THE REASON WE DIDN'T MAKE IT ONTO THE FEBRUARY AGENDA IS BECAUSE OF THE HARD WORK THAT THE CITY AND THE MAYOR AND OUR COMMISSIONER, UH, PUT FORTH IN SUGGESTING, UM, WHAT, YOU KNOW, COUNTER OPINIONS ON WHAT, UH, THE COASTAL COMMISSION WAS ASKING FOR.
AND, AND SO, UM, I THINK THE PLAN THERE WAS, UH, A VERY GOOD PLAN.
IT WAS A NEW IDEA, NEW IDEAS, AND, AND SO THEY, THEY WANTED MORE TIME TO REVIEW ALL OF THAT.
SO I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD THAT WE DIDN'T MAKE IT ONTO THE FEBRUARY AGENDA BECAUSE IT WILL GIVE THE, UH, COMMISSION OR THE, UM, UH, THE, THEIR BODY, IT WILL GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO REVIEW WHAT NATIONAL CITY HAS PROPOSED AND HOPE THAT THEY WILL AGREE TO IT.
SO I KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED ON THAT.
YES, I DO AGREE WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
KEEPING OUR FINGERS CROSSED ON THAT.
YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S QUITE A BATTLE GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN, WITH THE COASTAL COMMISSION STAFF.
WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WITH THE COASTAL COMMISSION YET, BUT WITH THE COASTAL COMMISSION STAFF ON, ON THIS ISSUE.
'CAUSE AS YOU KNOW, VE GOT GAYLORD PROJECT BEING BUILT HERE TO THE SOUTH, AND YOU CAN, ONCE IT'S DONE, YOU CAN RENT FOR THE NIGHT OF ROOM CLOSET FOR $300 A NIGHT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S THE CHEAPY, CHEAPY VERSION THERE.
UM, FOR US, THE COASTAL COMMISSION STAFF WANTED US TO PUT TENT CAMPING FOR OUR, OUR AREA.
SO ANYWAY, UM, SO ANYWAY, THAT WAS, THAT WAS KIND OF THE BATTLE THAT WE WERE GOING ON.
AND, UH, UH, SO ANYWAY, SO THAT'S, UH, IT'S GONNA BE INTERESTING AND, UH, HOPEFULLY WE'LL, WE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO, UH, COOLER MINDS ARE GONNA PREVAIL.
WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO GET THIS THROUGH STAFF, BUT EVEN IF WE DON'T, THEN WE'RE GOING BE GOING TO THE COMMISSION.
AND SO, YEAH, I THINK THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO, AGAIN, REITERATE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, COASTAL COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE, WHO ARE, WHO ARE WE AS A CITY, OUR UNIQUENESS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A POLICY, A STATEWIDE POLICY TO MANDATE LOW COST ACCOMMODATION.
AND OF COURSE, WE WANT EVERYBODY TO HAVE ACCESS.
AND THAT, AND NATIONAL CITY IS NOT OPPOSED FOR, YOU KNOW, ACCESS.
IT'S, IT'S ABOUT MAKING SURE IT MAKES SENSE.
AND WE HAVE OTHER PARTS OF THE SAN DIEGO BAY WHERE THERE'S NOT LOW COST ACCOMMODATION.
SO WE, WE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS TOO.
UH, DOES NOT HAVE THE LOW COST ACCOMMODATIONS.
AND, YOU KNOW, AND THEY, I THINK THEY FINALLY SAID, WELL, WE NEED TO DRAW KIND OF A LINE IN THE SAND AND START ENFORCING THIS.
AND WE'RE GONNA START WITH A COMMUNITY THAT ALREADY HAS, UH, THAT BASICALLY HAS THE LION'S SHARE OF LOW, LOW COST ACCOMMODATIONS IN THE SOUTH BAY AND HAS NOTHING ELSE.
AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE'RE GONNA USE, MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE THERE SOMEWHERE.
I DO, BEFORE I RECOGNIZE, UH, MEMBER BUSH GOT A QUESTION FOR YOU, I DO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR LAST NIGHT, UH, AT OUR WORKSHOP FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE.
AND WE ALSO HAD, UH, UH, RON THERE FROM, FROM THE PORT, UH, AS WE'RE DEALING WITH ANOTHER THORNY ISSUE.
AND, UH, UH, BUT, UH, WE DO DO APPRECIATE BOTH YOUR, UH, YOUR PRESENCE AND ALSO YOUR COMMENTS LAST NIGHT.
AND ECHO THAT, UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER FOR YOUR HARD WORK, UH, COMING TO US, PROVIDING THE UPDATES.
AND, AND YESTERDAY, UM, ON THE NOTE FOR THE ELECTRIC TRUCK VEHICLES, WE GAVE DIRECTION OF STAFF.
AND I'M SORRY, BEN, NOT TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT I, I DID FORGET TO ASK YOU IF, UM, YOU ALL HAVE, IT WAS JUST SINCE LAST NIGHT.
BUT, UM, IF YOU ALL HAD, HAD A CHANCE TO REACH OUT TO PORT STAFF OR WILL THAT BE HAPPENING THIS WEEK IN TERMS OF GETTING, UM, BE BECAUSE THEY REALLY THINK THAT, UM, UH, IS IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE ABOUT THAT, OUR P PROCESS THAT WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED TOMORROW.
SO YEAH, IF WE COULD JUST STAY ON THAT.
UM, AND, AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONER FOR, I, I REALLY LIKE THE PROPOSAL ON THE KUMEYAAY COMMUNITY.
I THINK, UH, WE ALL SHOULD DO A BETTER JOB OF, UH, RECOGNIZING THAT.
UM, AND THEN THE FINAL THING, I, I WANT TO, UH, UH, UH, POINT OUT, LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT ASSEMBLY MEMBER DAVID ALVAREZ, IS PROPOSING A PORT REFORM BILL.
SO I WON'T GO INTO ALL OF THE DETAILS ABOUT IT.
UM, SO I HAD A, A BRIEFING LAST WEEK MYSELF AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LUIS MOLINA TO GET AN OVERVIEW OF IT.
SO IT'S STILL IN THE AMENDMENTS PROCESS.
UM, SO, UH, I HOPE THAT THAT GETS BROUGHT BACK TO, TO COUNCIL BECAUSE, UM, IT WILL ADDRESS A LOT OF THE ISSUES AND THE CONFLICTS THAT I WON'T GET INTO RIGHT NOW.
'CAUSE I'M TRYING TO BE POSITIVE IN A SLATE.
BUT A LOT OF THE CONFLICTS WE'VE HAD WITH THE PORT FOR DECADES, LIKE, NOT JUST FOR THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS, BUT FOR DECADES.
AND I FEEL LIKE THAT'S A BIG FIRST STEP.
IT'S STILL IN DRAFT FORM, SO WE STILL NEED TO GIVE OUR INPUT TO IT, BUT I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF LIKE, HOPE AND AND PROMISE THERE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH WITH THAT.
[9. CONSENT CALENDAR]
ARE GONNA BE GOING INTO CONSENT CALENDAR.THIS IS ITEMS NINE, ONE THROUGH NINE NINE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NINE THREE, WHICH IS BEING PULLED OFF
[02:40:01]
THE AGENDA.WHAT IS THE PLEASURE OF THE COUNCIL? I DO NOT HAVE ANY SLIPS TO HAVE ANYTHING PULLED.
SECOND, MR. MAYOR, WE HAVE A MOTION.
SECOND, COULD YOU PLEASE HIT YOUR SWITCHES? OKAY, THERE THEY ARE.
UM, SO NO DISCUSSION, PLEASE VOTE.
[10.1 Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Section 18.060.10 of Title 18 (Zoning) of the National City Municipal Code Related to the Measurement of Height for New Structures.]
PUBLIC HEARINGS.OUR FIRST ONE IS THE INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION, UH, 18.060, UH, POINT 10 OF TITLE 18 ZONING OF THE NATIONAL CITY MUNICIPAL CODE RELATED TO THE MEASUREMENT OF HEIGHTS, OF NEW STRUCTURES.
UM, STAFF, I KNOW WE BROUGHT THIS BACK AND I THINK WE MADE, THERE WERE SOME ADJUSTMENTS MADE.
UH, GOOD EVENING MAYOR, VICE MAYOR STAFF, UH, COUNCIL STAFF, AND THE PUBLIC MARTIN REEDER PLANNING MANAGER.
UH, AS YOU MENTIONED, WE DID SEE THIS THE LAST TIME, THERE WAS A BIT OF A LACK OF SPECIFICITY WITH REGARD TO THE HEIGHT THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, LOTS WITH SLOPE ON THEM AND OUR HEIGHT DISCUSSION THAT RELATED TO THE, UH, THE HEIGHT OF A BUILDING ABOVE THE GRADE.
WE HAVE A COUPLE PROJECTS ON STEEP PROPERTIES AND WE HAVE THE, UH, THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN NOW, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE BURDENSOME.
SO WHAT WE, THIS IS WHAT IT ORIGINALLY SAID.
WE HAVE, UH, THE BOLD PART THERE IS, IS WHAT WE'RE CHANGING BASED ON YOUR, ON YOUR, UH, INPUT THE LAST TIME.
I THINK WHAT IT SAID PREVIOUSLY WAS THAT ON SLOPE LOTS, THE HEIGHT SHOULD BE MEASURED FROM THE AVERAGE GRADE TO THE TALLEST POINT OF THE STRUCTURE, WHICH OBVIOUSLY WASN'T VERY SPECIFIC.
SO WE ARE, WE ARE SUGGESTING, UH, BASED ON YOUR INPUT THAT IT SAY ON SLOPE LOTS, THE HEIGHT SHALL BE MEASURED FROM THE AVERAGE ELEVATION OF THE FINISHED GRADE AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE BUILDING TO THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE STRUCTURE, WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER AREA CITIES.
AND, UH, WE FEEL THAT THIS IS A, A GOOD CHANGE.
HOPEFULLY YOU AGREE AND, UH MM-HMM,
WE'D COME BACK WITH A SECOND READING AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THE STAFF? YES.
I JUST WAS GOING TO, IT WAS THERE.
YEAH, BUT WE, WE HAVE TO OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING.
SO I WANNA OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING.
DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS? NO, THERE ARE NONE.
UH, WITH THAT I'D LIKE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
PLEASE HIT YOUR SWITCHES HERE SO WE GET THOSE IN THERE.
THIS IS A CLOSED PUBLIC HEARING MOTION TO APPROVE UNANIMOUSLY.
AND THIS IS FOR, UH, INTRODUCTION ONLY AT THIS STAGE.
UM, MOVE TO INTRODUCE AND I WILL SAY I WAS REALLY ANNOYED AT IT BEING HELD OVER.
I THOUGHT THE LANGUAGE WAS FINE, ACTUALLY IS BETTER.
SO I'LL GIVE YOU A SHOUT OUT, MAYOR.
LIKE THE LANGUAGE AND STAFF, THE LANGUAGE IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE MORE CLEAR.
I WAS ANNOYED THAT IT WAS HELD OVER, BUT ACTUALLY TURNED OUT TO BE, UH, MAKE MORE SENSE.
I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE OR INTRODUCE ORDINANCE INTER FOR INTRODUCTION.
HAVE THE HIT THE SWITCHES ONCE AGAIN.
ONCE WHOEVER'S GONNA, WHOEVER'S GONNA SECOND THERE.
UH, YEAH, I, I, I DIDN'T LIKE HOLDING IT OVER, BUT IF WE DIDN'T SOONER OR LATER IT WAS GONNA COME BACK AND BITE US.
I'M SORRY, BUT, SO IT'S, SO IT IS GOOD FOR US TO CLEAN IT UP AT THIS STAGE OF THE EIGHT, UM, WITH THAT.
THIS WILL STILL BE COMING BACK TO US FOR ADOPTION.
[Items 10.2 & 11.1]
HAVE ITEMS 10.2.THIS IS A ONE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS HOME, HOME ARP, UH, LOAN TO, UH, UNION TOWER PROJECT AND HUD SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENT TO THE, UH, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2324.
I'M GOING TO, UH, RECUSE ON THIS ITEM.
BOTH, UH, 10.2 AND THE NEXT ONE.
UH, THE WAKELAND, UH, COME ON NOW.
HOUSING IS INVOLVED AND I A FORMER BOARD MEMBER, SO OKAY.
EMPHASIS ON FORMER AND I EXPECT I'LL BE BACK IN ABOUT 30 SECONDS.
SO THIS ONE, UH, IS BEFORE US AND, UH, ANY STAFF PRESENTATION ON THIS.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
IT'S CARLOS GEARY, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY.
I DO NOT HAVE A FORMAL PRESENTATION FOR THIS ITEM AND CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS FROM CITY COUNCIL AT THIS TIME.
UH, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING HERE.
IN THAT CASE, I WILL OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING.
WE DO HAVE A, UH, SPEAKER, UH, REBECCA LOUIE,
[02:45:02]
YOU GET THE EASIEST JOB OF THE WHOLE NIGHT.UH, GOOD EVENING MAYOR MORRISON AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THIS REQUEST TO BRING ADDITIONAL FUNDING INTO THIS PROJECT.
AND I REALLY WANNA THANK YOUR HARDWORKING AND AMAZING HOUSING STAFF WHO HAVE HUSTLED TO GET THIS DONE IN TIME WHILE ALSO DOING SOME REALLY AMAZING STUFF FOR THE FLOOD VICTIMS. WE'RE IN A SIMILAR SITUATION AT WAKELAND.
WE HAVE 57 HOUSEHOLDS DISPLACED AND I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS RIGHT NOW AND IT REALLY, I SEE THE DIFFERENCE OF BEING A NONPROFIT OWNER.
I HAVE TO SAY HOW MUCH WE'RE ABLE TO HELP VERSUS SOME MUCH OF THESE OTHER SKILL ME LANDLORDS OUT THERE.
UM, BUT I JUST WANNA SAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY CHALLENGING TIMES IN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.
I'M SURE YOU'RE HEARING IT RIGHT AND LEFT.
IT'S THE WORST I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY 20 YEARS IN THIS INDUSTRY.
MY HAIR IS FALLING OUT IN CHUNKS.
CONSTRUCTION PRICES ARE RIDICULOUS.
INSURANCE PRICES ARE THROUGH THE ROOF.
UM, SO THIS ASSISTANCE REALLY HELPS ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, I WAS SITTING THERE SCRIBBLING OUT SOME MATH.
UM, WE'VE USED, YOU KNOW, IN TOTAL YOU'LL PUT 8.7 MILLION INTO THIS PROJECT, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A LOT 'CAUSE IT IS.
BUT WE'LL HAVE USED IT TO BRING IN 56.5 MILLION IN OTHER RESOURCES, INCLUDING 17 MILLION IN STATE FUNDING, 36 MILLION IN TAX CREDITS, THREE AND A HALF MILLION IN COUNTY FUNDS.
YOU'RE ACTUALLY GETTING A REAL LOT FOR YOUR MONEY 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA BE 74 AMAZING HOMES.
HOMES FOR VETERANS, HOME FOR BIG FAMILIES.
I THINK THAT'S ALL THE SPEAKERS THAT WE HAVE.
UH, MAYOR, WE HAVE SPEAKERS IN ZOOM.
GOOD EVENING COUNCIL, A MAYOR.
I'LL KEEP MY REMARKS SHORT, BUT WE'RE HERE IN SUPPORT OF WAKELAND OF COURSE.
AND, UM, THEIR REQUEST AND THE SPENDING, WERE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS IMPORTANT PROJECT.
AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HOUSING MORE NATIONAL CITY RESIDENTS, UM, ON OUR PROPERTY ONCE THIS THING IS BUILT.
AND SAM, MARIO ESTRADA, PLEASE UNMUTE.
HEY THERE EVERYBODY, THIS IS ACHE ESTRADA.
I JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR HEARING THIS ITEM AND FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING.
UH, I'M ALSO SPEAKING IN SUPPORT AND IN PARTNERSHIP OF, UH, WAKELAND AND THIS ITEM.
AND VIJU, UH, APPRECIATE THIS COUNCIL SUPPORT MOVING FORWARD.
I AM THE CFO AND COO OF THE NATIONAL CITY PARK APARTMENTS.
AND I'M HERE IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL CITY, UH, AND THANKING YOU VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE FOR ALL THE GREAT SUPPORT AND OF COURSE, UH, OF WAKELAND SO WE CAN HOUSE MORE LOW INCOME FOLKS IN NATIONAL CITY.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE COMMENTS, MAYOR.
WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING? I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
CAN YOU HIT YOU GUYS SWITCHES THERE? THEY'RE OKAY.
UM, LET ME JUST SAY BEFORE WE VOTE ON THIS, TO ME, THIS WAS ONE OF THE SMARTER MOVES THAT WE MADE.
THERE WAS, AT THE TIME WE HAD OUR FUNDING, IT WAS DECIDED TO SPLIT IT IN HALF BETWEEN THIS PROJECT AND THE MAC PROJECT.
MAC PROJECT IS MUCH FARTHER DOWN THE ROAD.
AND, AND SO THEREFORE, IF WE'D HAVE SPLIT IT, THERE WOULD'VE NOT BEEN ENOUGH FUNDING FOR EITHER PROJECT TO GET OFF THE GROUND.
SO BY DOING THIS, THIS PROJECT IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE ABLE TO START, YOU KNOW, BEING SHOVEL READY AND GET GOING.
AND THEN BY THE TIME THEY'RE NEEDING THE FUNDING FOR THE OTHER PROJECT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO WORK ON WORK ON THAT ONE.
AND, UH, SO I, TO ME, I THINK THAT'S A, IT WAS A SMART MOVE, UH, TO, TO TAKE THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS AVENUE OF FINANCING SO THAT WE MAKE, MAKE THIS PROJECT HAPPEN.
OH, JUST FOR CLARITY, THIS IS THE CLOSE OF PUBLIC HEARING ONLY, RIGHT? OH, OH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
MOTION TO APPROVE UNANIMOUSLY.
NOW, FOR THE MAYOR, I, YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION AS DIRECTED BY STAFF SECOND.
YOU HAVE SOMETHING SAY, I GOT, I GOT IT.
WELL, YOU WANT SAY SOMETHING? YES.
NO, I, I JUST REALLY WANNA MAKE, UH, COMMEND WAKELAND, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DECIDING TO INVEST IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, SO, SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR OUR LEADERSHIP, FOR WORKING SO HARD TO GET US
[02:50:01]
TO THIS POINT.UM, AND, UH, FOR A LITTLE CONTEXT, UH, I KNOW WE SPOKE ABOUT THIS EARLIER, BUT CAN YOU REITERATE THE TIMELINE AND WHAT THAT'S LOOKING LIKE ONCE THIS MOVES FORWARD? YEAH.
SO, UH, STAFF IS WORKING DILIGENTLY TO CLOSE ON, ON THE PROJECT WITH THE OTHER FUNDING SOURCES.
WHEN I STARTED IN THE INDUSTRY, THERE WAS ONLY THREE FUNDING SOURCES IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THERE WAS TAX CREDITS, STATE MONEY, AND MAYBE A LOCAL DONATION OF LAND.
NOW IN THESE COMPLICATED DEALS, YOU HAVE SEVEN TO NINE VERY SOPHISTICATED FUNDING SOURCES, VERY SHORT TIMELINES.
AND I'M IMPRESSED THAT EVERYONE HAS PULLED TOGETHER ON THIS.
UH, IT'S WORKING OUT THAT THIS PROJECT WILL, UH, BREAK GROUND IN THE SUMMER OF THIS YEAR.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ANOTHER ONE COMING ON OUT OF THE GROUND.
NO, THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN FOR WORKING SO DILIGENTLY ON THIS.
AND, UM, THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, I THINK WHAT WAS, UH, VERY IMPORTANT IS THAT NOT ONLY IS IT IN A COMPLEX THAT IS THE LARGEST COMPLEX OF AFFORDABLE UNITS IN THE COUNTY, UM, UH, BUT THE A HUNDRED NEW UNITS ARE ESPECIALLY ACCOMMODATING FOR FAMILIES.
THEY ARE ONE, TWO, AND THREE BEDROOM UNITS.
SO THE THOUGHT THAT WE'RE BUILDING HOUSING FOR FAMILIES SO THEY CAN STAY AND GROW AND BE IN FOR A LONG TIME IS CRITICAL FOR US TO CONTINUE TO FUND.
SO, THANK YOU, UH, FOR OUR ENTIRE COUNCIL.
THANK YOU MAYOR, FOR CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT.
I THINK IT'S CRITICAL FOR US TO CONTINUE TO DO IT.
OVERALL, I, I'M VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO THE GROUNDBREAKING AND NATIONAL CITY FAMILIES TO HAVE A PLACE TO STAY FOR A GENERATION.
AND I, I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO LOOK IN THE REPORT 'CAUSE THERE WAS A BREAKDOWN IN THERE THAT GIVES OF THE DIFFERENT PERCENTAGE ON, UH, AVERAGE, UH, MEDIAN INCOME AND WHETHER IT'S AT 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%.
AND IT'S AMAZING HOW HIGH THOSE NUMBERS HAVE BECOME.
UH, IT'S JUST, THAT'S, THAT'S OUR CHANGING WORLD.
AND, UH, SO, UM, WITH THAT, LET'S SEE.
UM, THIS IS WHEN STARS ALIGNED.
IT HAPPENS WHEN EVERYBODY WORKS TOGETHER, IT HAPPENS.
AND WE CAN DO IT EXPEDITIOUSLY.
JUST LIKE WHAT CARLOS HAD SAID EARLIER, THIS WOULD ALSO BE THE FIRST PROJECT UNDER PLA, CORRECT? UH, TECHNICALLY IT'S NOT UNDER THE CITY'S PLA, UH, BUT THEY ARE FOLLOWING, UH, PLA STANDARDS AS A PROJECT.
THEY'RE VOLUNTARILY P UH, FOLLOWING THE PLA, THEY BETTER SINCE IT'S THE BUILDING TRADES.
WELL, I JUST WANTED TO THANK, UM, THE WORK OF THE STAFF.
SO, UM, IT WOULD, IT WOULD, IT'S REALLY NICE TO SEE IT HAPPENING AND COME TO FRUITION, UH, SOONER THAN LATER, LIKE YESTERDAY.
AND SECOND, IF YOU NO DISCUSSION, PLEASE VOTE.
MOTION TO APPROVE UNANIMOUSLY.
WE GO INTO STAFF REPORTS AND, UH, FIRST ONE IS THE UNION TOWER PROJECT.
ALSO THE CLOSING DOCUMENTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND PERMANENT FINANCING FOR $8 MILLION.
FINANCE, HOUSING AUTHORITY, LOAN AGREEMENT, AND RELATED DOCUMENTS.
THIS IS SO IT'S JUST
MR. CHAIRMAN, WE HAVE A MOTION.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I MAKE A MOTION OR I SECOND THE MOTION.
HE'D ALREADY PUSHED THE BUTTON.
ANY DISCRETION? VERY SUPPORTIVE.
MOTION TO APPROVE UNANIMOUSLY.
WHAT I NEED TO GO GET, I NEED A BREAK AFTER ALL THAT EFFORT.
YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE, BUT HE WAS QUIETER THAN YOU ARE.
WE'RE GONNA BE HERE FOR A WHILE.
[11.2 Proposed Amendment to the Local Preference for CDC-HA Assisted Affordable Housing Projects.]
WE HAVE, UH, 11.2.THIS IS PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE LOCAL PREFERENCE FOR, UH, CDC HA, UH, ASSISTED AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS.
THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
I DON'T HAVE A FORMAL PRESENTATION.
UH, JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT WE WERE TRENDSETTERS BACK IN 2016
[02:55:02]
BY PUSHING LOCAL PREFERENCE.UH, WHAT IT ALLOWED US TO DO IS, UH, TO BASICALLY ASSURE THAT THE 200 UNITS THAT WE DEVELOPED AT PARADISE CREEK APARTMENTS, UH, GAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO NATIONAL CITY FAMILIES.
UH, SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS A GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT.
BUT, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENED IS, UH, OTHER PLACES IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAVE FOLLOWED SUIT.
AND SO THE STATE HAS ACTUALLY ADOPTED POLICIES PROMOTING LOCAL PREFERENCE.
AND SO WE'VE, UH, STRENGTHENED THE POLICY TO REFLECT THAT AND ALSO TO OPEN IT TO PROJECTS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY UNDER A GROUND LEASE.
UH, SO TYPICALLY WE, WHEN WE DO LARGER PROJECTS, IT'S ON LEASE LAND FROM THE HOUSING AUTHORITY.
WE'RE NOW DOING PROJECTS THAT AREN'T ON LAND OWNED BY THE DEVELOPERS.
SO THIS WOULD BE APPLICABLE TO THOSE PROJECTS AS WELL, SUCH AS PART OF KIMBALL HIGHLAND AND THE UNION TOWER PROJECT.
WHAT IS YOUR PLEASURE? I JUST WANTED
UM, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO NATIONAL CITY FAMILIES TO BE PRIORITIZED WHEN WE AS A CITY CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR HOUSING STOCKS.
THAT WHAT, WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO SEE IS LIKE THE STATE PROJECT NEXT DOOR AND IT ENDED UP BEING LOW INCOME AND THEN WE FOUND OUT THAT SO MUCH OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE ARE FROM SAN MARCOS, POWAY, EL CAJON, NORTH COUNTY, EVERYWHERE ELSE, BUT
AND, AND YET, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BUSTING OUR TAIL TO PUT IN LOW INCOME HOUSING AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S LOCAL PREFERENCE IF WE'RE, YOU KNOW, UM, ALRIGHT.
I PRESSED THE BUTTON, BUT I, I'LL SECOND IF, OKAY.
WE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND SHOULD BE FLIPPED, RIGHT? RODRIGUEZ, YOU MADE THE MOTION? I DON'T THINK SO.
[11.3 Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Review]
GO TO THE FISCAL YEAR 2023, THE BUDGET REVIEW.UH, CITY MANAGER, YOU GOT ANYTHING TO SAY OR DO WE WANT TO TURN IT RIGHT OVER TO NO, NO INTRODUCTION.
WE DO HAVE A PRESENTATION IF YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR IT.
WE CAN KEEP IT AS BRIEF AS WE CAN UNLESS THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT GO FOR IT.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR CITY COUNCIL.
I'M MOLLY BRENNAN, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR.
THIS EVENING I'M PROVIDING THE FOURTH QUARTER FISCAL YEAR 20 22 23 BUDGET REPORT.
THE STAFF REPORT SUMMARIZES THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES BUDGET TO ACTUALS.
UH, IN ADDITION, IT PROVIDES AN UPDATE OF THE FUND BALANCES AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2023, AND REQUESTS RATIFICATION OF A FEW BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS.
THE NUMBERS ARE UNAUDITED, BUT WE FELT COMFORTABLE BRINGING FORWARD THIS ITEM NOW AS THE FINAL AUDIT NUMBERS SHOULD BE ALMOST THE SAME.
FINANCE STAFF STAFF IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE FINAL TOUCHES FOR FISCAL YEAR 23 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTS WITH OUR EXTERNAL AUDITOR.
AND THOSE REPORTS WILL BE PRESENTED AT A FUTURE MEETING.
AS A REMINDER, THE REPORT TONIGHT IS FOCUSED ON LAST FISCAL YEAR.
NEXT MONTH IN MARCH, FINANCE STAFF WILL RETURN WITH A MID-YEAR BUDGET UPDATE FOR OUR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
AND THAT WILL INCLUDE UPDATED PROJECTIONS GIVEN THE RESULTS OF THE, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING FOR LAST YEAR AND HOW WE HAVE BEEN TRENDING FOR THIS YEAR.
THE SLIDE IN FRONT OF YOU IS A TABLE FROM THE STAFF REPORT THAT IS A COMPARISON BETWEEN FISCAL YEAR 23, BUDGETED GENERAL FUND REVENUE AND ACTUALS.
UM, YOU CAN READ ALL ABOUT IT IN THE STAFF REPORT.
SINCE I'VE BEEN ASKED TO BE BRIEF, I WILL NOT GO INTO DETAILS EXCEPT POINTING OUT THE BOTTOM LINE, WHICH IS THAT WE ENDED IN A VERY POSITIVE PLACE WITH OVER $4 MILLION OF REVENUE OVER WHAT WE HAD BUDGETED ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE.
IN THE GENERAL FUND, THIS IS A SIMILAR GRAPH.
UH, AGAIN, THERE ARE A MAJORITY, UH, A VARIETY OF SAVINGS IN DIFFERENT AREAS, WHICH TOTAL, UM, ABOUT 7.8 MILLION LESS IN SPENDING THAN WE HAD BUDGETED.
HOWEVER, ABOUT 5.3 MILLION OF THAT IS GOING TO BE CARRIED OVER INTO FUTURE FISCAL YEARS FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS.
SO THE PREVIOUS SLIDES, THOSE ARE SHOWING BUDGET VARIANCES TO ACTUALS, BUT WHEN YOU COMPARE ACTUAL REVENUE TO ACTUAL EXPENDITURES, WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US FOR THE GENERAL FUND? SO THAT LEFT US WITH ABOUT 5.1 MILLION TO THE GOOD OF REVENUE EXCEEDING EXPENDITURES
[03:00:01]
IN FISCAL YEAR 23.AND THAT IS BROKEN DOWN INTO A COUPLE COMPONENTS OF FUND BALANCE.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE CHANGE IS IN THE, IN THE LAST COLUMN.
AND THE, UH, MAJORITY OF THAT IS THE 1.2 MILLION IN ASSIGNED.
THAT IS THE CARRYOVER FOR CONTINUING CAPITAL PROJECTS.
AND THEN AN ADDITIONAL 3.5 MILLION IN UNASSIGNED.
AND THAT IS THE, UH, POOL OF MONEY THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR CITY COUNCIL TO PROVIDE DIRECTION ON MAKING FUTURE ALLOCATIONS FROM.
AND AS A REMINDER, YOUR CITY COUNCIL RESERVE POLICY 2 0 1 SETS THAT FUND THAT UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE PORTION AT A THRESHOLD OF 10% OF GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES.
AND CURRENTLY THE, WITH THIS NEW INFORMATION, THE BALANCE IS AT ABOUT 30% FOR FISCAL YEAR 23 EXPENDITURES.
UH, DID EXCEED APPROPRIATIONS AS SUMMARIZED ON THIS SLIDE IN THESE PARTICULAR FUNDS, THESE NOT IN THE GENERAL FUND, BUT IN SOME OF OUR ADDITIONAL SMALLER FUNDS.
SO BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE BY STAFF TO CORRECT THE SHORTFALLS, AND WE ARE SEEKING RATIFICATION BY CITY COUNCIL OF THESE ADJUSTMENTS.
FUNDING FOR THE APPROPRIATIONS IS AVAILABLE FROM FUND BALANCE OF THE RESPECTIVE FUNDS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE PENSION OBLIGATION FUND, WHICH WILL BE MADE WHOLE IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
ANYTHING FROM ANYONE? ALL RIGHT.
WE DO NEED TO DEAL WITH THOSE, THOSE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE.
I THINK THE VICE MAYOR WANTS TO SPEAK
UM, THANK YOU, UM, DIRECTOR BRENNAN FOR YOUR REPORT.
UM, THIS, UM, SHOWS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THE BUDGET VERSUS THE ACTUAL THAT I HAVE BEEN REQUESTING FOR, AND THIS LOOKS, UM, REALLY, ALTHOUGH IT'S AN AUDITED, YOUR, YOU'RE, YOU SAID YOU'RE CONFIDENT THAT THE NUMBERS WILL, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, TWEAK A LITTLE, BUT IT WILL MAINTAIN SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE ASKED YOU EARLIER.
YOU EMAILED THE ANSWER, AND THANK YOU FOR THOSE ANSWERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, AS MUCH AS WE LOOK VERY GOOD WITH OUR 2023, OF COURSE NOW WE HAVE, UM, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE 24 BUDGET.
NOW WE HAVE, UM, MORE THAN SPECIFIC NUMBERS THAT WE CAN, THAT WE CAN WORK WITH.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, TO, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN CALL THE ATTENTION OF, UM, MY COLLEAGUES HERE THAT, UM, SALES AND NEW STACKS, THAT'S THE, THE LARGEST SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR THE CITY, UM, WHICH IS ABOUT 42%.
UM, OTHER REVENUES, IT'S ABOUT 30%.
UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THAT, UM, THE 1 CENT SALES TAX IS GONNA SUNSET IN FIVE YEARS.
SO WE HAVE TO LOOK INTO, INTO, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO MOVING FORWARD? WE GOTTA, WE GOTTA BE PROACTIVE IN MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THIS POSITION WILL BE HEALTHIER MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR PEOPLE.
UM, WE HAVE SERVICE, A HUNDRED PERCENT SERVICE AS A FULL SERVICE CITY TO PROVIDE TO OUR, TO OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, CITIZENS HERE IN NATIONAL CITY.
I AM, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, AS MUCH AS IT'S NOT AUDITED, I SEE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THE, THE, THE, THE, UM, THE SAVINGS THAT ARE ALREADY BEING DONE, YOU, I MEAN THE, THE DILIGENCE THAT ARE BEING SCRUTINIZED, UM, IT'S NOT JUST A NUMBER THAT WAS YOU NOMAN THAT WAS THERE.
IT'S NOW A NUMBER THAT SAY, OKAY, THIS IS THE BUDGET.
AND SO NOW WE SEE VARIANCE, WE SEE WHAT WE'RE SAVING, WE SEE WHAT, WHAT, UM, WE'RE EXPANDING.
WE ALSO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THE CI PS THAT ARE NOT, UM, TOUCHED OR ARE, ARE JUST BEING, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, IT'S THERE, BUT IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT COMPLETED YET.
WE WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE WITH THAT.
ALSO WITH OUR DIRECTOR MANGANELLO, UM, WHO'S HERE.
UM, AND OUR CITY MANAGERS EYES AND EARS OPEN ON ALL THOSE NUMBERS IN ORDER FOR US TO, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, BE MORE RESPONSIBLE, UM, LEADERS HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS ACCOUNTABLE TO OUR PEOPLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I AM, I AM, UM,
[03:05:02]
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, WE SEE OUR ASSIGNED.UM, I KNOW I HAVE REQUESTED A, UM, A QUESTION ON WHAT, WHERE ARE THESE NUMBERS ASSIGNED TO? ARE THEY BE, ARE THEY MOVING? ARE THEY NOT MOVING? UM, WHAT ARE THE CARRYOVERS, THE UNASSIGNED? UM, IT'S, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, IT'S VERY HEALTHY.
AT LEAST WE SEE THAT NOW, UM, WITH, WITH THE RIGHT NUMBERS.
UM, THERE ARE FUN BALANCES, UM, LIKE GAS TAX, BA, UH, FUND THAT I, I HAVE QUESTION TO OUR DIRECTOR EARLIER.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THOSE WERE ALSO ANSWERED.
AND SO I AM, UH, MORE CONFIDENT AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, PLEASED TO SEE A REPORT THAT, UM, WE HAVE, AT LEAST WE, WE CAN SAY WE ARE CONFIDENT WITH THIS NUMBERS.
MAYOR, COULD WE GET A CLARIFICATION ON THE SUN SETTING OF THE, UH, UH, SALE, OUR DISTRICT TAX? YES, I CAN LOOK THAT UP.
I CAN LOOK IT, YES, I WILL LOOK THAT UP.
I THINK WE'RE CLOSER TO 15 YEARS OUT.
UH, FIVE MORE YEARS LEFT, HUH? MM-HMM,
IT, IT'S LONGER BE BECAUSE WE DID AN EXTENSION.
IT WASN'T UP YET WHEN WE DID THE EXTENSION.
THE EXTENSION WAS FOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 YEARS.
SO, BUT WE, WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK THAT UP.
UM, SO ONE, LEMME MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, DEAL WITH THAT.
WELL, DO WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THIS MAYOR? WELL, WE DO, BUT DID, DID YOU ALSO HAVE SOMETHING? OKAY.
ONLY THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT A COUPLE OF THINGS, REALIZING THE DATES THAT THIS WAS FOR, SO SALES TAX WAS DOWN.
A LARGE PART OF THAT, AS I UNDERSTAND, WAS ABOUT HALF OF THAT WAS BECAUSE THE MILE OF CARS.
AND THAT WAS WHEN THERE WAS A DOWNTURN IN THE ECONOMY.
THERE WAS PEOPLE WERE NOT BUYING, AND THEN THE OTHER THING WAS THE SUPPLY ISSUE.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE CARS TO SELL.
AND SO, SO THAT WOULD ATTRIBUTE TO SOME OF THAT.
UM, AND, BUT THE OTHER PART WAS JUST PEOPLE WEREN'T BUYING AS MUCH STUFF.
AND SO WE CAN WE TO TAKE A LOOK AND SEE HOW THOSE NUMBERS ARE LOOKING NOW, AS OPPOSED TO, THEN THE OTHER THING IS, THIS DOESN'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ON THIS BUDGET, WE'VE ADDED A NUMBER OF NEW PERSONNEL POSITIONS, AND THOSE ARE JUST IN THE HIGHER, A LOT OF THOSE HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN HIRED YET.
AND BUT THAT'S GONNA REFLECT ON THIS NEXT BUDGET.
AND IT'S NOT SHOWING IN HERE YET.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS TO THIS.
THIS IS 23 MAYOR, AT LEAST WE HAVE NOW A, A SPECIFIC NUMBER THAT WE CAN USE FORWARD TO THE 2024.
WE CAN, BUT REALIZE AS I'M SAYING, WE, WE ADDED, WE JUST ADDED A BUNCH OF NEW POSITIONS TO HIRE AND THOSE HAVEN'T, A LOT OF THOSE, MOST OF THOSE HAVEN'T BEEN HIRED YET.
AND SO THEY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN REFLECTED ON THIS.
SO THO THAT WILL BE INCREASING OUR, UH, EMPLOYEE COST.
SO THERE'S A LOT, THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS ON THIS.
UM, REMEMBER RODRIGUEZ, THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.
AND, AND AS CLARIFICATION AND FROM THE DISCUSSIONS THAT I REMEMBER REGARDING THE BUDGET, I DO NOT THINK WITH THE ADDITIONS IT WAS OVER THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS YEAR.
I, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KIND OF CLARIFY THAT.
UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO, TO, UM, POINT OUT THAT THE SALES TAX AMOUNT, UH, FOR 2223 WERE PROBABLY REFLECTIVE OF THE SUPER HIGH INTEREST RATES THAT POPPED UP RIGHT AFTER COVID.
UM, AND MANY FOLKS JUST DIDN'T WANT TO BUY NEW CARS.
THAT, THAT WAS PART OF THE POINT I WAS SAYING THE CONFIDENCE IN THE ECONOMY.
SO, SO I THINK THAT WAS A BIG PART OF IT.
AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION ON THE FUND BALANCE, UM, CAN YOU, UH, UH, DIRECTOR BRENNAN, THE, UH, ECONOMIC CONTINGENCY RESERVE THAT WE HAVE AT THE CITY, WHAT IS OUR CURRENT POLICY FOR THE RESERVE? AND DO WE HAVE IT MET AND YEAH, NO, I KNOW IT'S HERE.
I JUST
I DO NOT REMEMBER THE EXACT PERCENTAGE THAT THE RESERVE IS.
I CAN TELL YOU THE CURRENT BALANCE IS 12.8 MILLION.
I THINK IT, IT, UM, THE LAST BUDGET CYCLE, IT WAS BROUGHT AS ONE OF THE ENHANCEMENT ITEMS TO FULLY FUND THE RESERVE.
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE FINAL BUDGET.
SO I THINK IT'S SLIGHTLY BELOW THE TARGET CURRENTLY.
AND THE TARGET IS, YOU DON'T REMEMBER 25? I THINK I REMEMBER 20%.
UM, WE MIGHT BE 25, I THINK IT WAS.
UM, AND THEN THE UNASSIGNED GENERAL FUND BALANCE, YOU MENTIONED THE, UM, TARGET THROUGH OUR POLICY IS 10%.
AND WHAT DO WE HAVE IT CURRENTLY AT? IT'S AT ABOUT 30% AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2023.
SO, UM, I MEAN, I REALLY WANT TO COMMEND OUR, OUR, OUR STAFF FOR REALLY MAKING OUR MONEY STRETCH AND BEING A FULL SERVICE CITY, MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO FUND A LOT OF THE PROJECTS
[03:10:01]
THAT WE HAVE AND UTILIZE OUR, UM, UH, PUTTING OUR MONEY TO GOOD USE.UH, SO WE, SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WE DO HAVE A BUDGET SURPLUS AND THAT'S GOING TO ENHANCE OUR UNASSIGNED GENERAL FUND BALANCE.
ALTHOUGH WE HAVE NEW HIRES THAT ARE GONNA BE PART OF THE 2324 BUDGET CYCLE, WE ARE IN REALLY GOOD ECONOMIC STANDING.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT.
I KNOW THAT THE BUDGET HAS BEEN A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION OVER THE LAST, UH, YEAR OR SO, BUT IT'S GOOD TO REITERATE, UM, THAT THE NUMBERS DEMONSTRATE THAT OUR ECONOMY IS STILL STRONG AND, YOU KNOW, ONCE THE UM, UH, UH, ECONOMY FULLY COMES BACK AND THE RATES HOPEFULLY LOWER DOWN, THERE'S MUCH MORE SPENDING.
AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE CARS AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE.
SO, UM, ALL IN ALL REALLY GOOD NEWS AND, UM, THAT'S GREAT.
I, I'M TRYING TO HELP, I BOUGHT A NEW CAR OFF OF THE MILE BOUGHT WEEKS AGO.
YEAH, I'M, I'M, I'M DOING MY PART
UH, WHAT WE NEED TO DO HERE, WE NEED TO ACCEPT AND FILE THE REPORT AND WE ALSO NEED TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION, WHICH IS FOR THE DIFFERENT CHANGES TO ACCEPT MR. MAYOR AND TO, UH, TO ACCEPT AND FILE AND TO, AND FOR THE RESOLUTION RECOMMENDATION, ACCEPT AND FILE THIS REPORT AND ADOPT THE RESOLUTION RATIFYING BY THE ADJUSTMENT AS DETAILED IN EXHIBIT A OF THIS REPORT.
WHO DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I WILL SECOND.
ALRIGHT, SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
[11.4 Reorganization of the City Manager’s Office, Departments, and Divisions]
WE HAVE A REORGANIZATION OF THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, DEPARTMENT'S, DIVISIONS.I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO THE CITY MANAGER.
THANK YOU, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS COMPLIMENTARY AS I HAVE BEEN TONIGHT AND IN THE PAST OF OUR ORGAN OF OUR STAFF, UM, THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
UM, AND I TAKE SERIOUSLY THE, UH, CHARGE THAT HAS BEEN GIVING ME AS YOUR NEW CITY MANAGER TO CREATE THE MOST EFFICIENT AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION, UH, IN THE HISTORY OF NATIONAL CITY.
UM, SO, UH, IN PUTTING THIS REPORT TOGETHER, THIS REORGANIZATION REPORT, I WANTED TO GO OVER THE REASONS WHY, UM, UH, I DID IT.
I FEEL THAT THE TWO DEPUTY CITY MANAGER APPROACH IN THIS NEW ORGANIZATION WOULD UM, DIVIDE, UH, EXPERTISE AND FUNCTIONAL AREAS.
AND THIS WOULD ALLOW FOR, UH, MORE FOCUSED APPROACH TO MANAGING VARIOUS, AS VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE MUNICIPAL OPERATIONS.
UM, I THINK IT WILL INCREASE EFFICIENCY.
UH, THE WORKLOAD OF A CITY MANAGER, AS I'VE NOTED IN THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS, CAN BE OVERWHELMING
WE HAVE A LOT OF ACTIVITY, AND WE'RE VERY BUSY.
SO THE INCLUSION OF TWO DEPUTY CITY MANAGERS WILL ALLOW FOR A MORE EFFICIENT DISTRIBUTION OF TASKS, UM, REDUNDANCY AND CONTINUITY IN ABSENCE OF THE CITY MANAGER, BECAUSE THE CITY MANAGER CANNOT BE PRESENT AT ALL TIMES AND ALL PLACES AND ALL OCCASIONS.
UM, LIKE, LIKE THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
AND IT ENSURES THAT CRUCIAL, UH, DECISION MAKING AND OPERATIONS CONTINUE SMOOTHLY, UH, WITHOUT, UH, DISRUPTION.
UM, ANOTHER BENEFIT OF THE, UH, TWO CITY MANAGER STRUCTURE THAT I'M PROPOSING IS, UH, BRINGING TOGE, UH, BRINGING A DIVERSE SKILL, SKILL SETS AND PERSPECTIVES.
SO IN CHOOSING THESE TWO DEPUTY CITY MANAGERS, I WOULD, UH, ENSURE THAT THEY, THEY DO BRING THOSE, UM, UH, DIVERSE SKILL SETS AND PERSPECTIVES, UM, AND THAT THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, SOLUTION ORIENTED.
UH, I, I, I JUST HAVE NO PATIENCE FOR ANYTHING BUT LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS.
WE CAN ALL GRIPE ABOUT PROBLEMS AND, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
BUT LET'S JUST MOVE TO MOVE TO SOLUTIONS.
UM, HAVING DE UH, TWO DEPUTY CITY MANAGERS ALLOWS FOR BETTER SUCCESSION PLANNING, UM, AND ONE COULD EVEN POTENTIALLY BE GROOMED, UH, TO TAKE OVER AS CITY MANAGER.
UM, THE PRESENCE OF, UH, TWO DEPUTY CITY MANAGERS WILL IMPROVE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS BECAUSE, AGAIN, AS MUCH AS I LIKE TO TALK AND SOCIALIZE, I CAN'T BE IN ALL PLACES AT ALL TIMES.
SO, UM, UM, I, I PRESENT THIS ORGANIZATIONAL CHART TO YOU AS, AS SOMETHING THAT I'VE EXPERIENCED OVER THE LAST EIGHT MONTHS.
I, I ONLY HAVEN'T, I HAVEN'T ONLY BEEN DOING THE JOB IN
[03:15:01]
ACCOMPLISHING TASKS AS DIRECTED BY THE MARIN CITY COUNCIL, BUT I'VE BEEN STUDYING THE ORGANIZATION AND, AND LOOKING AT HOW IT CAN BE IMPROVED.AND SO IT'S, AT THIS POINT, ONLY IN, AT THIS POINT, EIGHT MONTHS LATER, THAT I'M, UH, PROPOSING THIS.
UM, AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THIS WOULD STAY FOREVER, BUT I, I THINK THIS IS, THESE ARE, THESE ARE GOOD CHANGES FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
UM, FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO, TO HAVE THAT SORT OF FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY IN HOW WE RESPOND TO CHALLENGES.
AND AGAIN, STRATEGIC PLANNING.
UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE CITY MANAGER TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, ENSURING A WELL-ROUNDED APPROACH CONSIDERING VARIOUS FACETS OF, OF, UH, MUNICIPAL GO GOVERNANCE.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT THIS, THIS NEW STRUCTURE WILL OPEN THE DOOR TO GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.
THIS IS NOT A TOP HEAVY MOVE TO, UH, EMBOLDEN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND CREATE A MORE IVORY TOWER APPROACH.
UM, THIS IS GOING TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR MID MANAGERS AND, AND LINE STAFF.
UM, AND ABSOLUTELY IT WILL, AND IT MUST INCREASE OUR LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE.
UM, THE CITY MANAGER IS COMMITTED TO PROVIDING, AS I SAID, THE COMMUNITY TO, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY, THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, WHILE BEING FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, I TAKE THIS VERY SERIOUSLY.
I'VE DONE THIS IN OTHER JOBS, UH, SUCCESSFULLY.
AND, UM, FRANKLY SPEAKING, IT'S LONG OVERDUE, UM, FOR THIS ORGANIZATION.
UM, AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA DO IT.
I'M VERY CONFIDENT IT WILL HAPPEN.
IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING, AND, AND WE'RE GOING TO REACH, UH, UH, UH, THE, THE, UH, THE REPUTATION AND THE, UM, AND THE LEVEL OF A ORGANIZATION THAT IS BUSINESS AND RESIDENT FRIENDLY.
UM, AND, UM, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT GOES IN FOR EVERYTHING.
AND, UM, WE TALK ABOUT BUDGETS AND NUMBERS.
IT REALLY, A LOT OF THAT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, BUDGETS AREN'T JUST BASED ON ECONOMIES AND, AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, UM, ECONOMIC WOES AND, AND GAINS.
THIS CHALLENGE IS US AS AN ORGANIZATION TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, OF SITUATIONS.
SO, UM, I REALLY FEEL THAT WE WILL BE BETTER POISED TO DO SO WITH THIS STRUCTURE.
AND, UM, LIKE I SAID, I'VE DONE IT BEFORE SUCCESSFULLY IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, I WOULD ASK THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION TO, UH, ADD THE POSITIONS AGAIN TO DEPUTY CITY MANAGERS, UH, AND ASSISTANT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, POSITION FINANCE DIRECTOR, CITY LIBRARIAN, AND EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT THREE, AND VACATE THE, THE, THE POSITIONS LISTED IN THE STAFF REPORT.
UM, I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS AND, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO IMPLEMENTING THIS PLAN.
UH, CITY MANAGER AT, UM, BRING THIS AT THE REQUEST OF A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS JUST NOW.
UM, CAN, CAN THERE BE MORE LATITUDE ON, FOR THE COUNCIL OFFICES? SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY, IT WOULDN'T JUST HAVE TO BE ONLY EXECUTIVE LEVEL THREE.
I MEAN, IF THEY WANTED TO DO, I DON'T KNOW, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE OR, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO IT'S NOT TIED JUST TO THAT ONE POSITION, HUH? UH, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF COUNCIL MEMBER BUSH WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON THIS, BUT I THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA BECAUSE IT DOES ALLOW FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY IN TERMS OF THE TYPE OF PERSON WE CAN HIRE.
AND MEMBER BUSH, SINCE YOUR NAME'S ON HERE, THEY LISTED.
I KNOW YOU JUST MENTIONED IT TO ME, BUT, SO YOU'RE GOOD? YES.
YEAH, I'M WELL, SO YEAH, I, THE MOTION THAT, UM, I WAS GOING TO MAKE, I THINK PROVIDES A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBILITY, SO I COULD TALK ABOUT THAT.
MY INTENT IS TO HAVE EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT THREE POSITIONS.
SO I'VE BEEN BACK AND FORTH EXTENSIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, UH, BEN ABOUT THIS.
BUT I THINK IT ALSO PROVIDES FLEXIBILITY IF, UM, BECAUSE FIRST WE HAVE TO OPEN THE POSITION AND THEN THERE'S OPPORTUNITY, EVEN SHARE THE POSITION.
SO WE'RE NOT AT THAT PHASE YET.
I THINK FIRST IS AUTHORIZATION.
UM, BUT, UM, YEAH, BUT I, I JUST WANT TO SAY, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU, BEN, FOR WORKING ON THIS AND FOR DOING IT, UM, OVER THE HOLIDAYS.
YOU KNOW, WE JUST HIRED YOU, WHAT I THINK NOVEMBER, SO I KNOW THIS TAKES A LOT OF TIME.
[03:20:01]
WE'VE, YOU KNOW, BEEN THROUGH CRISES, OBVIOUSLY UNPRECEDENTED IN THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS.UM, SO WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH AND, YOU KNOW, WE ARE A COUNCIL MANAGER, UH, FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
SO WE WANT TO EMPOWER YOU AS OUR CITY MANAGER TO ORGANIZE THE CITY BASED ON WHAT YOU FEEL, YOUR EXPERIENCE, YOUR UNIQUE, UM, YOU KNOW, IDEAS, UM, SUBJECT TO, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL APPROVAL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DID THIS FOR OUR, OUR PREVIOUS, UM, CITY MANAGER.
AND, YOU KNOW, AFTER TRYING OUT SOME OF THE NEW IDEAS, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THEM WORKED, SOME DIDN'T.
AND I THINK THAT'S LIKE WHAT YOU AS A CITY MANAGER ARE ADDRESSING HERE.
UM, AND I'LL SAY ONE THING I APPRECIATE ABOUT THIS OVERALL PLAN IS, UM, IT'S, IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THE ONE THAT ARMANDO BRAINSTORMED AND VERBALLY TOLD ME JUST BEFORE HE, UH, PASSED AWAY.
SO I APPRECIATE, I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THE EXTENT THAT HE'S TALKED TO YOU ABOUT, UM, THAT PLAN OR HE DID TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT PLAN, BUT I, I JUST REALLY APP APPRECIATE YOU, UM, BEING OPEN AND INCORPORATING SO MANY OF HIS, HIS CONCEPTS THAT I SEE, UH, HERE.
SO, UM, UH, WITH THAT, I, I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED REORGANIZATION AND STAFF POSITIONS, AND WOULD ADD AUTHORIZATION FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO ADD FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME POSITIONS, INCLUDING EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, ONE, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, THREE POSITIONS FOR ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO REQUEST THAT PROVIDED THAT THE POSITIONS DO NOT EXCEED THE ALI ALLOTTED BUDGETS FOR FY 24.
OH, OH, ONE THING I'LL ADD TO THIS, THE INTENT, I'M OPEN TO IDEAS AMENDMENTS.
SO THE FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY, THAT'S THIS ONE INTENT.
IF THERE'S A DISPUTE OR SOMETHING THAT'S UNCLEAR THAT I THINK BEN DOESN'T AGREE WITH, SO, 'CAUSE THERE MIGHT BE MENTION SOME OTHER ADMIN POSITIONS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY CO YEAH, WELL, THAT'S WHAT I WAS JUST WONDERING.
'CAUSE YOU JUST SAID EXECUTIVE LEVEL ONE, TWO, OR THREE, BUT YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE LIKE AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, WHICH IS A DIFFERENT LEVEL.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE JUST, IF WE JUST PUT ASSISTANT AND THEN THAT, THAT YOU CAN EE EXISTENCE AT ANY OF THE OUR EXISTING, UM, UM, P POSITIONS, EXISTING POSITIONS, CLASSIFICATIONS.
'CAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE THOSE CLASSIFICATIONS AND THEN YOU, THEN THAT GIVES YOU FLEXIBILITY.
UM, I, I WOULD JUST SAY THAT, UM, YEAH, AND I THINK IF THERE'S A DISPUTE OR SOMETHING UNCLEAR THAT, SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE HAVE AN IDEA FOR POSITION AND BEN, UM, AS, AS CAPACITY CITY MANAGER, IF HE DOESN'T AGREE WITH IT, OR IF WE DO SOMETHING THAT MAYBE MAJORITY COUNCIL DOESN'T AGREE, THEN IT CAN BE BROUGHT BACK TO COUNCIL.
BUT MY INTENT IS TO PUT SOME MORE CLARIFICATION THAT, UH, THAT MAYBE WASN'T, UH, CLEAR WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, OUR BUDGET.
SO I THINK THIS ADDS MORE, MORE CLARITY WITH SOME FLEXIBILITY AND, AND ACCOUNTABILITY ULTIMATELY.
UH, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, UH, AND BECAUSE I'VE TAKEN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ROUTE THROUGH SPEAKING WITH OUR ATTORNEY AND OUR CITY MANAGER TO HIRE CONSULTANTS, UM, TO HELP DO, UH, EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH TO THE COMMUNITY, IT, IT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS STILL, UM, IF WE'RE CONSIDERING ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF FOR THE, WITHIN THE CHART, IF THAT IS ALSO INCLUDED OR IF YOU WANT THAT TO BE, UM, EXPLICITLY WRITTEN ON THERE.
BUT THE MEMO THAT WE WERE GUIDED EARLIER ON HOW TO UTILIZE THE FUNDING ALSO HAD AN OPTION TO UTILIZE CONSULTANTS TO DO EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH.
MY PROPOSAL, OR AT LEAST HOW I WROTE THIS OR WHAT MY THOUGHT WOULDN'T CHANGE THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, UM, OUR CITY ATTORNEY AND, AND OUR CITY MANAGER HAD ALREADY STATED THAT, AND AS THEY TOLD ME, AS LONG AS IT'S NOT LIKE REDOING STAFF WORK, SO IT'S SEPARATE.
SO THAT EDUCATION, I ASSUME WOULD, YOU KNOW, COVER THAT.
BUT I VIEW THIS AS IN ADDITION TO THAT, SO NOT REVERTING THAT OR CHANGING THAT TO, TO BE CLEAR.
AND I THINK IF THERE'S ANY UNCLARITY, THEN, YOU KNOW, BEN IS THE CITY MANAGER, LIKE HAVING THAT AUTHORITY.
BUT IF THERE'S DISPUTES IN THE FUTURE, THAT'S WHERE THEN I THINK WE CAN COME BACK TO COUNCIL.
BUT I FEEL LIKE IT WAS CLEAR AND NOW IT'S ADDING MORE, UM, KIND OF PARAMETERS.
I'M, I'M GOING TO ASK THE CITY ATTORNEY TO ANY CLARIFICATION THAT HE'S LOOKING FOR OR THAT HE HAS ISSUES ON? NO, I, I, I THINK, I THINK THESE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
IS WHAT, WHAT'S BEING BROUGHT TODAY ARE KIND OF PERMANENT STAFF POSITIONS.
SO THAT WOULD BE SEPARATE AND APART FROM WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, ALTHOUGH YOU ARE SUBJECT TO THE BUDGET A, A ALLOCATIONS, SO, RIGHT.
DOES THAT AN ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES.
UM, AND I DO WANT TO JUST MENTION A FEW, UH, WORDS.
UM, I THINK, I MEAN, SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL 2020 YET TO WHERE WE ARE NOW, UH, IN TERMS OF OUR CITY STAFF, UM, WE'VE SEEN A DRASTIC, UH, SHIFT.
[03:25:01]
YOU SO MUCH, BEN, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND HAVING A CSEP BOY, THE ATTITUDE AND SURROUNDING YOURSELF WITH INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE THAT ATTITUDE THAT WANNA MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.AND I CAN GO LINE BY LINE INTO EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT AND HOW THAT PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN WHAT WE EXPERIENCED THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT HAD A MAJOR ROLE IN THAT AND DID IT, UH, EXTRAORDINARILY WELL.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE OF OUR LEADERSHIP.
AND, AND SO I REALLY COMMEND YOU, BEN, I COMMEND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR DIRECTORS AND MANAGERS THAT CONTINUE TO FIGHT ON BEHALF OF OUR, OF OUR RESIDENTS, BECAUSE OUR RESIDENTS DESERVE A VERY WELL-FUNCTIONING CITY.
THAT IS THE INTENT OF THIS, UH, REORGANIZATION.
SO IF I UNDERSTAND THE MOTION WAS JUST, WAS CHANGED TO MODIFY THAT LAST LINE TO EXISTING, UH, EMPLOYEE CLASSIFICATIONS.
IS THAT ALL EXISTING CLASSIFICATIONS AND FOR ALL, AGAIN, JUST REITERATE FOR ALL COUNTS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS YEAH.
'CAUSE IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE IT WAS JUST MENTIONED ME AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LEWIS MOLINA.
SO THAT WOULD BE OF AN EL ELIGIBILITY.
THIS IS, UM, I, I'M VERY POSITIVE.
I FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT THIS REPORT.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, I'M SORRY,
THE TIME THAT WE HAD A BRIEFING AND WE SAT DOWN, UM, I, I FOUND A LOT OF POSITIVITY IN THE WAY YOU PRESENTED THIS, UH, DURING THE BRIEFING.
AND, AND ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE PARTS ABOUT IT WAS THE TOP PRIORITY.
THE VERY FIRST BULLET POINT WAS, UM, SO THAT INDIVIDUALS THAT WORK FOR OUR CITY WOULD HAVE A SENSE OF PURPOSE.
AND I THINK, UH, PEOPLE DO HAVE A SENSE OF PURPOSE WORKING HERE FOR NATIONAL CITY, BEING FROM NATIONAL CITY, UH, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT FROM NATIONAL CITY, BUT THEY'RE COMING HERE AND VOTING ALL OF THIS TIME TO, TO MAKE NATIONAL CITY BETTER.
I THINK THAT IS, UM, ABSOLUTELY KEY TO, UM, TO BOLSTERING THE FAMILY THAT WE FORM HERE.
RIGHT? UM, AND, AND SO THIS CONCEPT OF, UM, REOR REORGANIZING ALL OF THESE POSITIONS, TO ME, IT, IT, IT IS SO CLEAR THAT IT IS PEOPLE FIRST, AND I APPRECIATE YOU FOR THAT, AND ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM THAT, UM, HELPED CREATE THIS.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST.
UH, SO YEAH, I'M VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THESE CHANGES.
OH ONE, SORRY, ONE LAST THING I WAS GONNA MENTION, UH, ALSO DURING THE BRIEFING, ONE THING THAT YOU DID MENTION VERY CLEARLY WAS, UM, I HOPE IT IS CLEAR WHEN YOU PRESENTED THIS, I HOPE IT IS CLEAR THAT, UM, THAT, THAT I HEARD THAT, THAT I, THAT I LISTEN, THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID.
THOSE WERE YOUR WORDS, AND I WANNA SAY YES, I THINK YOU DID.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAD A SECOND ON THAT YET.
I'M EXCITED FOR THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE DOING AND FOR THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE GONNA DO.
I'VE KNOWN YOUR CALIBER FOR A LONG, LONG TIME, AND I SEE HOW YOU WORK, AND I SEE THAT YOU LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER MOLINA SAID PEOPLE FIRST.
AND SO I'M EXCITED FOR YOU TO EXECUTE THIS.
UM, I'LL STILL MAKE IT LOOK PRETTY
LET'S DANCE, LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN.
AND, UM, I'M, I'M HAPPY FOR, FOR, FOR THIS, UM, MOVING FORWARD, BEN.
CITY COUNCIL, IF I CAN JUST ADD, UM, I, I, I APPRECIATE THE VOTE OF CONFIDENCE.
UM, UH, I'M JUST DOING WHAT I'VE LEARNED, WHAT I'VE SEEN, UH, IN MY TRAVELS.
I LEFT NATIONAL CITY MANY YEARS AGO, UM, AND I CAME BACK.
I DIDN'T EXPECT TO BE IN THIS POSITION.
THE PRODIGAL SON HAS RETURNED, COULD BE.
AND SO I, UH, BUT, UM, I, I CAN PROMISE YOU GOOD THINGS ARE, ARE COMING.
UM, WE, WE, WE HAVEN'T EVEN SCRATCHED THE SURFACE OF WHAT WE CAN DO.
SO I'M VERY PROUD OF THE TEAM.
I'M VERY PROUD OF THE ORGANIZATION, BUT, UH, MY EXPECTATIONS, UH, FOR WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE, WE HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED.
AND, AND THE MAYOR WAS HERE, UH, AS, AS A COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND, AND, UH, I DON'T REMEMBER YOU FOLKS, UH,
I WAS, I WAS IN ELEMENTARY, UH, AS A, AS A VERY YOUNG PERSON.
[03:30:01]
ACHIEVED A LOT.AND THE MAYOR WOULD REMEMBER THAT.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, VICE MAYOR IMANI WOULD REMEMBER THAT AS A, AS A BUSINESS PERSON, IT WAS, OH, IT WAS INCREDIBLE TIME.
SO, UH, THAT, THOSE ARE MY EXPECTATIONS, YOU KNOW, THE, LIKE, TO RETURN TO, TO THOSE DAYS WITHOUT A REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, BUT WE CAN STILL DO IT.
SO, UM, WELL, BEN, LET ME JUST, LET ME JUST SAY THAT, UH, GOING BACK TO THOSE DAYS, UH, WE HAD A CITY MANAGER, UM, NICE GUY AND EVERYTHING.
UH, HE WAS KIND OF HARD TO FIND SOMETIMES
'CAUSE HE WOULD, HE WOULD HAVE A BACKPACK AND HAVE SOME SPRAY CANS AND HE WOULD GO AND SPRAYING OUT GRAFFITI.
UH, BUT IF YOU CALLED HIM, HIS PHONE WAS ALWAYS FULL.
HE KEPT, I DON'T THINK HE DELIBERATELY KEPT HIS MESSAGE BOX ALWAYS FULL SO THAT NOBODY COULD GET TO HIM, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS FULL NO MATTER WHAT.
UH, AND, UH, BUT I WILL SAY WITH WITH BEN, UM, BEN DOES WORK SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
UH, HE ANSWERS HIS PHONE IMMEDIATE, UH, AND HE'S NOT AFRAID TO GO GET HIS HANDS DIRTY.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HE WAS OUT THERE SHOVELING SAND AND, AND EVERYTHING ELSE WITH THE REST OF US.
AND I MEAN, HE WAS JUST, I MEAN, YEAH.
SO, UH, AND WHEN STAFF'S A LOT OF TIMES OUT ON AN INSPECTION SITE AND TRAVELING THROUGH THE MUD, HE'S RIGHT THERE WITH HIM.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A TOWN LIKE NATIONAL CITY NEEDS AND DESERVES A HANDS-ON CITY MANAGER.
AND I THINK, UH, I THINK YOU'RE GETTING READY TO GET A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE HERE YESTERDAY, BEN.
BUT, BUT REMEMBER YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU GOTTA GET BETTER AND BETTER.
DID WE HAVE A VOTE ON THAT? DID WE ACTUALLY VOTE ON THAT ONE? NOT YET.
I DIDN'T THINK SO, BUT WE, NOT YET YET.
BUT I WANTED TO STATE FOR THE RECORD THAT WE HAD TWO WRITTEN COMMENTS FROM TED GOTCH AND MARGARET GOTCH ON THIS ITEM.
MOTION TO APPROVE UNANIMOUSLY.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER THINGS FOR STAFF REPORT? UM, MAYOR CITY
[12. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT]
COUNCIL, I JUST WANT TO ADD THAT, UM, I'M GONNA ATTEND A CONFERENCE.I, THIS WAS, UH, PLANNED MONTHS AGO.
IT WOULD BE MY FIRST CITY MANAGER'S CONFERENCE IN LOS ANGELES, UH, OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS.
AND I'M SURE I'LL RUN ACROSS SOME OF THE TELL YOU THE REPORT JUST CAME ACROSS YOUR HOTEL.
THERE HAS BEEN FLOODED
SO I'M AFRAID YOU MIGHT HAVE A PROBLEM.
NO, I, I WILL, I WILL, UM, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, COLLECT WHAT I CAN IN THE WAY OF GOOD IDEAS, UH, AND, UH, AND RUB SHOULDERS WITH, UH, THE, THE CITY MANAGERS AROUND THE STATE.
AND, UM, AGAIN, I AM SO, I AM SO THRILLED, UM, AS AN OLDER MAN NOW, I WAS, I WAS A VERY YOUNG MAN.
I REMEMBER
AND, UH, AS YOUR CDC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MANY YEARS AGO, AS A VERY YOUNG MAN, VERY YOUNG MAN, UM, I THINK I'VE LEARNED A LOT.
AND I'M REALLY MOTIVATED BY, UH, THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL'S CONFIDENCE IN ME, AND THANK YOU.
WAIT, WAIT, WAS THAT YOUR CITY MANAGER'S REPORT? YES, SIR.
[13.1 POLICY 105 REQUEST - Consideration of Ordinance Exercising Police Power - Evictions Requested by Councilmember Rodriguez]
WE HAVE OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS REPORTS START DOWN HERE.UM, NOTHING TO REPORT, JUST TO REITERATE, OUR STAFF, UM, I HAVE GOTTEN A CHANCE TO SEE HOW OTHER CITIES HAVE REACTED TO THIS CRISIS, AND I'M VERY PROUD.
I MEAN, IT WAS LIKE A COMPLETE EFFORT.
SO I'M JUST SO THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU.
I, I JUST DO WANT TO THANK CITY STAFF AND EVERYBODY, ALL OF THE VOLUNTEERS, UH, ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT CAME TOGETHER FOR THOSE THAT, UH, WERE MOST IMPACTED.
UM, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF NEED, BUT THERE ARE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING.
AND I DO ASK FOR PATIENCE, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, RECEIVING SERVICES AND THIS AND THAT.
THERE'S LIMITED RESOURCES, BUT PLEASE TRUST.
UM, I, I KNOW FIRSTHAND FROM CITY STAFF THAT WE ARE TRYING OUR BEST TO, UH, HELP AND TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND, AND JUST A LITTLE BIT OF PATIENCE AND, AND SOME, UM, SOME GRATITUDE AND, AND GRACE IS, IS NEEDED, BUT MY HEART DOES GO OUT TO ALL PEOPLE WHO WERE AFFECTED BY THESE FLOODS.
I I JUST CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE HAVING A HOME,
[03:35:01]
YOU KNOW? AND ALL OF MY BELONGINGS GONE.UM, AND I DO WANNA THANK, UH, STAFF.
UH, THE LAST TOWN HALL THAT I HELD, UM, AT CASA DE SAUD, IT WAS, UH, VERY WELL SUPPORTED.
THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING ALL OF THE INFORMATION.
I DO ALSO WANNA THANK, UM, SUPER, UM,
UH, MY MIND IS GOING, I DON'T KNOW WHERE, UM, FOR, FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT SHE HAS DONE IN NATIONAL CITY.
AND, AND THEN ALSO HER LEADERSHIP AT SANDAG.
ALSO, UH, THERE WAS A LOT OF COMMENTS ABOUT THE FLOODING AND THE FACT THAT THE SOUTH BAY, UH, SOUTH CREST AND, AND, AND PLACES.
SHE, I THINK SHE SAID, UH, THE MOST IMPACTED WERE PLACES, UH, SOUTH OF THE EIGHT, UH, WHICH MEANS SOMETHING TO PEOPLE AROUND HERE.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE ATTENTION AND, AND I HOPE YOU ARE ABLE TO REST.
UM, AND A CITY MANAGER, PLEASE, SEVEN DAYS.
YOU KNOW, YOU COULD PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN AND PLEASE WORK LIFE BALANCE A LITTLE BIT.
UM, UM, I HOPE YOU'RE ABLE TO REST TOO.
REMEMBER GIOVANNI? THANK YOU, SIR.
UM, WELL, YEAH, IT WAS, UH, DEVASTATING TO, UM, SEE, UM, EXPERIENCE, UM, HELP.
UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, DO COME TOGETHER AND, AND, AND HELP OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR BUSINESSES, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, UH, PACIFY THEM OR, OR, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, JUST LISTEN TO THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE ALSO SCARED, AFRAID, ANGRY, UM, OF, OF, OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
AND, AND WE'RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, RAIN'S STILL GONNA COME UNTIL THURSDAY, SO HOPE AND PRAY THAT, UM, IT WILL NOT BE LIKE THE 22ND THAT REALLY, UM, CAUGHT US OFF GUARD AND, UM, AND, UM, DISPLACED A LOT OF OUR RESIDENTS, UH, FROM THEIR HOMES AND, UH, LOST MOST OF THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, BELONGINGS.
AND THANK YOU, BEN, FOR, UM, TAKING THAT LEADERSHIP.
I KNOW THAT YOU WERE BOMBARDED FROM US, UM, OF PHONE CALLS OF, UH, TEXT MESSAGES, BUT YOU HANDLED IT GRACIOUSLY, UM, NOT PULLING YOUR HAIR AND NOT LOSING YOUR, UH, YOUR, UM, GRACIOUSNESS.
UM, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE ALREADY LOSING IT TOO.
AND WE TEXT YOU AND SAID, NOW, BEN, NOW RIGHT NOW BEN.
UM, AND THAT GET TO IT ATTITUDE THAT YOU RELATE TO, UM, YOUR STAFF, UM, AND THE STAFF BEING THERE SUPPORTING YOU.
AND, AND I THINK WHEN WE HELP EACH OTHER, UM, WE ALL SHINE.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, YOUR STAFF MAKES YOU SHINE.
IF THEY DON'T, THEN, UM, YOU DON'T MAKE A SHINE, RIGHT? SO, UM, THANK YOU BEN.
I'M EXCITED FOR YOU TO REALLY EXECUTE THIS PLAN THAT YOU HAVE.
UM, I THINK, UM, WE HAVE A BIRTHDAY BOY TOMORROW.
OUR, UM, OUR DIRECTOR, CITY ENGINEER, AND PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I, I THINK, UM, I'VE, I'VE KNOWN YOUR BIRTHDAY FOR A LONG TIME.
TOMORROW'S YOUR BIRTHDAY BOY HERE.
THANK YOU FOR ALSO YOUR, UH, PERSEVERANCE, UM, THE INTEGRITY THAT YOU HAVE PUT BACK TO THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS.
I THINK THAT, UM, THAT, UM, MEASURES A LOT FOR THE STAFF, UM, TO SEE THEIR LEADER.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ALL, UM, ORGANIZED AND, AND TAKING CARE OF OUR PEOPLE.
UM, THE, I MEAN, UH, FEBRUARY 24TH, UH, WE HAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING AT DISTRICT THREE AT THE, AT, UH, THE HARBISON PLACE, THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS THERE.
UM, THAT'S THE 24TH FROM, UH, 11 O'CLOCK.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A MEETING.
ALL, ALMOST ALL THE DIRECTORS, UM, WITH OUR CITY MANAGER WILL BE THERE.
AND, UM, AND, UM, I WOULD LIKE FOR ALL OF US TO BE THERE TO AT LEAST THESE ARE, THESE ARE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS THAT THE, UH, THAT WE COME TO OUR PEOPLE AND WE ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS AND, AND YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THEY CAN SEE THAT WE ARE SENSOR VERY SINCERE IN, IN PROVIDING OUR, OUR, UH, SERVICES.
SO, UH, THAT'S THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY, A HARVEST SOME PLACE.
UM, EVERYTHING IS, UH, GONNA BE, UM, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A, UH, MEETING ON THE 19TH.
I HOPE YOU'RE BACK BY THEN, BEN.
SO, UM, THANK YOU MR. MAYOR, AND, AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AGAIN, BEN.
AND TO THE STAFF, TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO'S GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I'M SLOWLY PUTTING DOWN NAMES HERE, JUST LIKE WHAT BEN SAID.
SO I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE RESULT OF, OF THIS.
[03:40:01]
AND, UH, STEVE, MAYBE AFTER TOMORROW THEY'LL, THEY'LL STOP CARDING YOUAND UH, THE, UH, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A FLOOD WATCH TILL 9:00 PM TONIGHT, WHERE NOW AT 10, THEY JUST EXTENDED IT TILL SIX O'CLOCK TOMORROW MORNING.
AND THEY SAY IT RAINS SHOULD BE HITTING US AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS IN ABOUT AN HOUR.
[14. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT]
ATTORNEY.YOU GOT ANYTHING TO REPORT? MAYOR
WITH THAT, UH, WE ARE ADJOURNED.