* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. YOU SAW [00:00:01] THAT? YEAH. ALRIGHT. GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME [CALL TO ORDER] TO THE MAY 6TH, 2025 MEETING OF THE MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. YOUR FIRST CLOSED SESSION IS EXISTING LITIGATION, CASEY VERSUS COUNTY OF MERCED, CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT CASE NUMBER S 29 0 4 3 5. NEXT CLOSED SESSION IS MEET AND CONFER AGENCY NEGOTIATOR, MARCY BARRERA AND BOARD CHAIR OR SUBCOMMITTEE TO BE DETERMINED. YOUR LAST CLOSED SESSION IS PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT APPOINTMENT COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICER. THE PUBLIC WILL BE PROVIDED AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON ANY MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED IN CLOSED SESSION PRIOR TO THE BOARD ADJOURNING INTO CLOSED SESSION. TESTIMONY IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON. OKAY. AT THIS TIME I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THE CLOSED SESSION ITEMS. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE [CLOSED SESSION] CLOSED SESSION ITEMS IS NOW CLOSED AND WE WILL NOW ADJOURN INTO CLOSED SESSION. GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME [10:00 A.M. REGULAR MEETING] BACK TO THE MAY 6TH, UH, 2025 MEETING AT THE MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. THIS MORNING WE HAD A CLOSED SESSION, CLOSED SESSION MEETING. I'M BY A UNANIMOUS VOTE. THE BOARD, UM, APPOINTED, UH, AS INTERIM COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICER, EFFECTIVE MAY 19TH, 2025. MARK HENDRICKSON. REGARDING THE OTHER ITEMS DISCUSSED DURING CLOSED SESSION, STAFF HAS BEEN GIVEN DIRECTION. WE'LL NOW START WITH THE INVOCATION LED BY STACY COOLEY. PLEASE STAND. AND THEN SUPERVISOR PACHECO WILL LEAD THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU. THIS MORNING I FELT LED TO READ A LITTLE STORY FOR YOU AND THEN I'LL SAY A QUICK PRAYER AFTERWARD. UM, I HEARD THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME ABOUT 25 YEARS AGO, AND IT STAYED WITH ME EVER SINCE. SO IF YOU'VE EVER HEARD IT, YOU'LL RECOGNIZE IT RIGHT AWAY. UM, BUT IF NOT, I PRAY THAT IT BLESSES YOU. UM, I SAW A STRANGE SIGHT. I STUMBLED UPON A STORY MOST STRANGE, LIKE NOTHING IN MY LIFE. MY STREET SENSE, MY SLY TONGUE HAD EVER PREPARED ME FOR HUSH CHILD. HUSH NOW AND I WILL TELL IT TO YOU. EVEN BEFORE THE DAWN, ONE FRIDAY MORNING, I NOTICED A YOUNG MAN, HANDSOME AND STRONG WALKING THE ALLEYS OF OUR CITY. HE WAS PULLING AN OLD CART FILLED WITH CLOTHES, BOTH BRIGHT AND NEW, AND HE WAS CALLING IN A CLEAR TENOR VOICE, RAGS. AH, THE AIR WAS FOUL AND THE FIRST LIGHT FILTHY TO BE CROSSED BY SUCH SWEET MUSIC RAGS. DO RAGS FOR OLD I TAKE YOUR TIRED. RAGS. RAGS. NOW THIS IS A WONDER I THOUGHT TO MYSELF FOR THE MAN STOOD, STOOD SIX FEET, FOUR. AND HIS ARMS WERE LIKE TREE LIMBS HARD AND MUSCULAR AND HIS EYES FLASHED. INTELLIGENCE. COULD HE FIND NO BETTER JOB THAN THIS TO BE A RAG MAN IN THE INNER CITY? I FOLLOWED HIM. MY CURIOSITY DROVE ME AND I WASN'T DISAPPOINTED. SOON THE RAGMAN SAW A WOMAN SITTING ON HER BACK PORCH. SHE WAS SOBBING INTO A HANDKERCHIEF, SIGHING AND SHEDDING A THOUSAND TEARS. HER KNEES AND ELBOWS MADE A SAD X. HER SHOULDERS SHOOK. HER HEART WAS BREAKING. THE RAGMAN STOPPED HIS CART. QUIETLY HE WALKED TO THE WOMAN STEPPING AROUND 10 CANS, DEAD TOYS. AND PAMPERS, GIVE ME A RAG, HE SAID GENTLY AND I'LL GIVE YOU ANOTHER. HE SLIPPED THE HANDKERCHIEF FROM HER EYES. SHE LOOKED UP AND HE LAID ACROSS HER PALM A LINEN CLOTH. SO CLEAN AND NEW THAT IT SHINED. SHE BLINKED FROM THE GIFT TO THE GIVER. THEN AS HE BEGAN TO PULL HIS CART AGAIN, THE RAGMAN DID A STRANGE THING. HE PUT HER STAINED HANDKERCHIEF TO HIS OWN FACE. AND THEN HE BEGAN TO WEAK TO SAAB AS GRIEVOUSLY AS SHE HAD JUST DONE HIS SHOULDERS SHAKING. YET SHE WAS LEFT WITHOUT A TEAR. THIS IS A WONDER I BREATHED TO MYSELF AND I FOLLOWED THE SOBBING RAGMAN, LIKE A CHILD WHO CANNOT TURN AWAY FROM MYSTERY, RAGS, RAGS, NEW RAGS WERE OLD IN A LITTLE WHILE WHEN THE SKY SHOWED GRAY BEHIND THE ROOFTOPS AND I COULD SEE THE SHREDDED CURTAINS HANGING OUT BLACK WINDOWS. THE RAGMAN CAME UPON A GIRL WHOSE HEAD WAS WRAPPED IN A BANDAGE WHOSE EYES WERE EMPTY, BLOOD SOAKED HER BANDAGE. A SINGLE LINE OF BLOOD RAN DOWN HER CHEEK. NOW THE TALL RAGMAN LOOKED UPON THIS, THIS CHILD WITH PITY. HE DREW A LOVELY YELLOW BONNET FROM HIS CART. GIVE ME A RAG. HE SAID, TRACING HIS OWN LINE DOWN HER CHEEK, AND I'LL GIVE YOU MINE. THIS CHILD COULD ONLY GAZE IN HIM. WHILE HE LOOSENED THE BANDAGE, REMOVED IT AND TIED IT TO HIS OWN HEAD. THE BONNET, HE SAID ON HERS. AND I GASPED AT WHAT I SAW FOR, WITH THE BANDAGE WENT THE WOUND AGAINST HIS BROW. IT RAN A DARKER, MORE SUBSTANTIAL BLOOD. HIS OWN RAGS. RAGS. I TAKE OLD RAGS, CRIED THE SOBBING, BLEEDING, STRONG, INTELLIGENT RAGMAN. THE SUN HURT BOTH THE SKY NOW AND MY EYES. THE RAGMAN SEEMED MORE AND MORE TO HURRY. ARE YOU GOING TO WORK? HE ASKED THE MAN WHO LEANED AGAINST A TELEPHONE POLE. THE MAN SHOOK HIS HEAD. THE RAGMAN PRESSED HIM. DO YOU HAVE A JOB? ARE YOU CRAZY? NEAR THE OTHER, HE PULLED AWAY FROM THE POLE REVEALING THE RIGHT SLEEVE OF HIS JACKET FLAT, THE CUFFED STUFFED INTO THE POCKET. HE HAD NO ARM. SO SAID THE RAGMAN. GIVE ME YOUR JACKET AND I'LL GIVE YOU MINE. SUCH A QUIET AUTHORITY IN HIS VOICE. THE ONE ARMED MAN TOOK OFF HIS JACKET. SO DID THE RAGMAN. AND I TREMBLED AT WHAT I SAW FOR THE [00:05:01] RAG MAN'S ARM, STAYED IN ITS SLEEVE. AND WHEN THE OTHER PUT IT ON, HE HAD TWO GOOD ARMS, THICKEST TREE LIMBS. BUT THE RAGMAN HAD ONLY ONE GO TO WORK, HE SAID. AFTER THAT HE FOUND A DRUNK LYING UNCONSCIOUS BENEATH AN ARMY BLANKET, AN OLD MAN HUNCHED WISENED AND SICK. HE TOOK THAT BLANKET AND WRAPPED IT AROUND HIMSELF. BUT FOR THE DRUNK, HE LEFT NEW CLOTHES. AND NOW I HAD TO RUN TO KEEP UP WITH THE RAGMAN. THOUGH HE WAS WEEPING UNCONTROLLABLY AND BLEEDING FREELY AT THE FOREHEAD, PULLING HIS CART WITH ONE ARM, STUMBLING FOR DRUNKENNESS, FALLING AGAIN AND AGAIN, EXHAUSTED. OLD, OLD AND SICK. YET HE WENT WITH TERRIBLE SPEED ON SPIDER'S LEGS. HE SKIDDED THROUGH THE ALLEYS OF THE CITY THIS MILE AND THE NEXT TILL HE CAME TO ITS CITY LIMITS. THEN HE RUSHED BEYOND. I WEPT TO SEE THE CHANGE IN THIS MAN. I HURT TO SEE HIS SORROW. AND YET I NEEDED TO SEE WHERE HE WAS GOING IN SUCH HASTE PERHAPS TO KNOW WHAT DROVE HIM. SO THE LITTLE OLD RAGMAN CAME TO A LANDFILL. HE CAME TO THE GARBAGE PITS AND I WAITED TO, TO HELP HIM IN WHAT HE DID. BUT I HUNG BACK HIDING. HE CLIMBED A HILL WITH TORMENTED LABOR. HE CLEARED A LITTLE SPACE ON THAT HILL. THEN HE SIGHED. HE LAID DOWN HIS PILLOW. HE PILLOWED HIS HEAD ON A HANDKERCHIEF AND A JACKET. HE COVERED HIS BONES WITH AN ARMY BLANKET AND HE DIED. OH, HOW I CRIED TO WITNESS THAT DEATH, I SLUMPED IN A JUNK CAR AND WAITED AND MOURNED AS ONE WHO HAS NO HOPE. BECAUSE I HAD COME TO LOVE THE RAGMAN. EVERY OTHER FACE HAD FADED IN THE WONDER OF THIS MAN. AND I CHERISHED HIM, BUT HE DIED. I SOBBED MYSELF TO SLEEP. I DID NOT KNOW. HOW COULD I KNOW THAT? I SLEPT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY AND IT'S NIGHT TOO. BUT THEN ON SUNDAY MORNING, I WAS AWAKENED BY A VIOLENCE LIGHT, PURE, HARD, DEMANDING LIGHT SLAMMED AGAINST MY SOUR FACE. AND I BLINKED AND I LOOKED AND I SAW THE FIRST WONDER OF ALL. THERE WAS THE RAGMAN HOLDING THE BLANKET MOST CAREFULLY, A SCAR ON HIS FOREHEAD, BUT ALIVE. AND BESIDES THAT HEALTHY, THERE WAS NO SIGN OF SORROW OR AGE. AND ALL THE RAGS THAT HE HAD GATHERED SHINED FOR CLEANLINESS. WELL THEN I LOWERED MY HEAD AND TREMBLING FOR ALL THAT I HAD SEEN. I MYSELF WALKED UP TO THE RAGMAN. I TOLD HIM MY NAME WITH SHAME FOR I WAS A SORRY FIGURE NEXT TO HIM. THEN I TOOK OFF ALL MY CLOTHES IN THAT PLACE. AND I SAID TO HIM WITH DEAR YEARNING IN MY VOICE, DRESS ME. HE DRESSED ME, MY LORD. HE PUT NEW RAGS ON ME. AND I AM A WONDER BESIDE HIM, THE RAGMAN, THE RAGMAN, THE CHRIST. FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR THE GRACE THAT YOU GIVE US DAILY FOR TAKING THE THINGS THAT ARE OFTENTIMES TOO HEAVY FOR US TO CARRY IN OUR OWN STRENGTH. WE ARE GRATEFUL THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALONE. AND AS YOUR WORD SAYS IN ONE PETER FIVE, SEVEN, WE ARE TO CAST OUR CARES ON YOU, FOR YOU CARE FOR US. WE OFFER THIS DAY TO YOU AND INVITE YOU INTO THIS MEETING. I PRAY THAT EVERYONE RECEIVES WHAT THEY NEED TODAY AND THAT WE WORK TOGETHER TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU'VE SET OUT FOR US. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOODNESS AND MERCY. I ASK FOR YOUR BLESSINGS AND FAVOR TO FOLLOW EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM AND EVERYONE WATCHING ONLINE. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE MERCY THAT YOU GRANT US DAILY. IN JESUS NAME WE PRAY. AMEN. READY, SALUTE I JESUS TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDERG GOD INVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. OKAY, BEFORE OR AFTER. SO RIGHT HERE I'M GONNA SAY IT'S NOW TIME FOR PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON ANY MATTER OF PUBLIC INTEREST WITHIN THE BOARD'S JURISDICTION. EXCLUDING ITEMS ON THE BOARD'S AGENDA. TESTIMONY IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON AND 30 MINUTES TOTAL. OKAY, AT THIS TIME I'LL OPEN PUBLIC [PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK] COMMENT. YO MENDEZ COUNTY COUNSEL HANSON, UH, CHIEF PROBATION OFFICER CHRIS HEN. I JUST WANTED TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION REGARDING OUR GRAND OPENING AND A RESOURCE FAIR AT OUR NEW PRETRIAL CENTER AND PATHWAYS TO WELLNESS. IT'S LOCATED AT, UH, FIVE 10 WEST 25TH STREET AND IT WILL BE ON MAY 31ST, WHICH IS A SATURDAY FROM NINE TO ONE. AND, UH, WE'LL HAVE OUR CHECK OUT. THE, SO WE HAVE CONSTRUCTION AND ROADS ARE CLOSED CURRENTLY FROM M TO MARTIN LUTHER KING FOR THE DOWNTOWN ROADWAY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. THEY'LL OPEN UP ON FRIDAY. UM, IT IS AN ACT OF CONSTRUCTION ZONE, SO WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE AWARE OF THAT. UM, RETAIL OUTLETS, PURCHASE FLOWERS FOR MOTHER'S DAY, MAKE SOME BRUNCH RESERVATIONS. SO WE ENCOURAGE, UM, FOLKS TO VISIT OUR DOWNTOWN FACILITIES. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. UH, STEVE RUSSOS HERE IN MERCED. I HAVE TWO THINGS I'D LIKE TO ANNOUNCE, UH, TWO WEEKS AGO WITH SUPPORT FROM THE [00:10:01] CENTRAL VALLEY OPPORTUNITY FUND AND THE SIERRA HEALTH FOUNDATION FLU MONG CENTER, WHICH IS OUR MONG ORGANIZATION HERE IN MERCED, WAS ABLE TO TAKE 34 MERCED FAMILIES AS A DELEGATION TO THE MONG NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE IN MINNEAPOLIS. THIS HAPPENS ONCE EVERY TWO YEARS. IT'S THE NATIONAL EVENT THAT BRINGS TOGETHER THE HMONG COMMUNITY FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND INTERNATIONALLY TO DISCUSS PRIORITIES RELATED TO COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. WE BROUGHT 18 YOUTH, WHICH IS A REALLY SPECIAL THING FOR US 'CAUSE THOSE ARE THE YOUTH THAT ARE GONNA COME BACK AND SHARE IDEAS ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING. WHAT ARE THEY LEARNING AROUND THEIR OWN PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. WE LEARNED ABOUT INCREDIBLE FINANCIAL, UH, PROSPERITY PROJECTS. THEY HAVE A NEW, UH, TECHNOLOGY, UH, EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM IN MINNEAPOLIS, HAPPENING WITH THE HMONG COMMUNITY WHERE COMCAST IS SPONSORING A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR PROJECT TO TRAIN PEOPLE IN NEW TECH SKILLS. SO WHAT WE HOPE TO DO IS BRING THOSE LESSONS AND IDEAS BACK HERE IN MERCED. SO WE'LL BE INDIVIDUALLY REACHING OUT TO YOU AND SHARING SOME OF THOSE EXCITING IDEAS AND SEEING HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD. A YEAR AGO IN THIS ROOM, SOME OF YOU, UH, WERE, UH, WERE, UH, FRIENDLY ENOUGH TO WEAR OUR HMONG VESTS HAD BAKED THE PROCLAMATION FOR THE HMONG AMERICAN DAY. AND NOW A YEAR LATER WE ARE CELEBRATING HMONG AMERICAN DAY AGAIN THIS WEEKEND, MAY 10TH AT CASTLE FROM NINE TO THREE. THERE'S SUPPORT FROM SEVERAL OF YOU THERE, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE A AIR SHOW GOING OVER OVERHEAD. UM, WE, I BROUGHT SOME FLOWER FLYERS THAT I'LL BRING OVER HERE. WE HOPE WE WILL GET PROBABLY EIGHT TO 900 PEOPLE TO ATTEND ALL KINDS OF VENDORS, MUSIC AND FESTIVITIES. AND WITH THAT, WE HOPE WE CAN LAUNCH ANOTHER 50 YEARS OF SUCCESS AND GROWTH WITH OUR HMONG COMMUNITY HERE IN MERCED COUNTY. THANK YOU. YOU CAN MOVE THAT PODIUM DOWN. OKAY. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING TO ALL BOARD OF SUPERVISOR BOARD MEMBERS OF MERCED. MY NAME IS BLANCA LUCRECIA LOSANO. I CAME HERE TODAY TO GIVE YOU GUYS THE NEWS THAT WHAT HAPPENED IN DELHI CA. ONE. WE HAVE A GROUP CALLED DPC, THAT'S MEANING DELHI PARENTS COMMUNITY THAT HAS BEEN FORMER 18 YEARS AND IS STILL PRESENT IN ACTIVE. THIS START WITH A TWO SISTER AND SOCORRO CAS. THEIR JOB IS TO GATHER PARENTS FROM COMMUNITY THAT HAVE CHILDREN FROM SCHOOLS, DELHI COMMUNITY, TO PREPARE FAMILIES WITH TRAINING STEP BY STEP ABMA. THUS HAIL RESULT CAME, UM, CAME FLEETS WITH THE SCHOOLS DISTRICT. HERE WE HAVE ALSO ANNIE ANNA MUNOZ. THEY'VE BEEN FAITHFUL SUPPORT OF DPC. THANK YOU FOR THE FAMILY CASRE THAT GAVE US OPPORTUNITY FOR PART DPC, MYSELF, BLANCA, AND MY DAUGHTER HA WITH OTHER GROUPS THAT FRIENDS COME TO JOHN OS TODAY. THANK YOU. THE FAMILY. CASRE JOHN OF SPECIAL DATE MAKE 6 20 25. TODAY IS A SPECIAL REWARD. THANK YOU FOR THE NOMINATE. GOD BLESS YOU. GOD BLESS YOU. AMEN. GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. BOARD MEMBERS. MY NAME IS HEIDI SANCHEZ AND I LIVE INHI AND I ALSO WANNA GIVE INFORMATION WHAT'S GONNA BE HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY IN DELHI, ERTA COUNTY. I AM STARTING A PROJECT CAUSE UM, ABACUS FUND, FAMILY CIRCUS. AND I WANTED TO WORK WITH CHILDREN AND FAMILIES TO GET INVOLVED WITH LIKE CIRCUS AND DRAMA AND DANCE. AND I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR, UM, ALSO CHILDREN TO GET INVOLVED AND DO SOMETHING IN THE COMMUNITY. AND, UM, I WILL BE TEACHING LIKE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES LIKE SPANISH AND LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH AND ART AND GRAPH AND JUST SO TO THE NON NOT ALWAYS, UM, SOCIALIZING AND SELF-GROWTH. UM, THE OTHER ONE THAT I WILL BE DOING ALSO, UM, ART AND COOKING AND, UM, ACTIVITY TO GET INVOLVED IN THE, IN THE EVENT. AND, UM, THE OTHER ONE THAT I HAVE, THEY CALLED PASSION FLOUR HEALING. UM, GETTING LIKE WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN IN VICTIM AND FAMILY RESOURCES, INFORMATION, HOW TO IMPROVE, UH, FAMILIES AND, UM, PROBLEMS IN THE AREA AND ALSO DO ACTIVITY. AND THE OTHER ONE, UH, IS LADY MC DANCE. SO GETTING, UM, CHILDREN AND FAMILY TOGETHER [00:15:01] AND DO DIFFERENT KIND OF MUSIC. MY GRANDFATHER WAS A BULLFIGHTER, SO WE'LL BE DOING, UM, MY MOM CHEATED HAWAIIAN DANCES AND WE'LL BE DOING MAMA MUSIC . AND SO, SO YEAH. SO THIS IS SOMETHING I'M LOOKING FORWARD FOR THE COMMUNITY AND, UM, ANYBODY THAT WOULD LIKE TO JOIN SOMETHING FUN AND SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT I WOULD LIKE TO GO IN DIFFERENT AREAS. I'M VERY HAPPY. LIKE MY MOM, BLANCA WAS SAYING ABOUT DPC IS ONE OF THE PROGRAM THAT HELP US, UM, IN BETTER TO EDUCATE AND FAMILIES AND, UM, OTHER PROGRAM AS WELL, LIKE PLTI VALLEY ONWARD. AND SO WE'RE VERY BLESSED AND THANK YOU FOR BOARD MEMBERS FOR THIS SPECIAL DAY. AND, UM, VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE TODAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED [PRESENTATIONS] FOR NON AGENDA ITEMS. AT, I SERVE ON THE BOARD AS THE VICE CHAIR. WE ALSO HAVE SOME OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD HERE, MARK HENDRICKSON, STEVE HOBBS, DARREN MCDANIEL, AND DALE JOHNS. SO IT'S MY PRIVILEGE TO SERVE ON THAT BOARD. WE WORK ON THE ISSUES AND PROBLEMS THAT OUR COUNTY FACES IN TERMS OF WORKFORCE AND HOW TO PROVIDE A AND DEVELOP OUR WORKFORCE HERE FOR THE JOBS THAT WE HAVE. SO TODAY IS MY PRIVILEGE TO, UH, INTRODUCE OUR DIRECTOR, ERIC SERATO, AND HE'S GONNA PRESENT OUR ANNUAL REPORT. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING, UH, HONORABLE CHAIR BOARD, UH, AND CEO MENDEZ. I WANNA START BY THANKING YOU FOR YOUR, UH, LEADERSHIP. UH, YOU HAVE GIVEN THIS DEPARTMENT THE AUTONOMY, UH, TO DO WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO AND ALSO THE GUIDANCE, UM, TO DO THAT WORK WELL. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR WORK. UH, I AM GOING TO TRY TO BE AS BRIEF AS POSSIBLE, BUT THAT IS PRETTY HARD FOR ME. UH, 'CAUSE I LOVE TO NERD OUT ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. UH, BUT WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE WORKFORCE AND THE LABOR MARKET. TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WORK OF DWI AND THE WORKFORCE BOARD AND THEN HAVE A NOD TO THE FUTURE. I DON'T SEE THE CLICKER HERE. AH, THANK YOU. I'LL START OFF WITH SOME EMPLOYMENT FACTS. WE ARE A COUNTY OF ABOUT 300,000 RESIDENTS, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR ME, 124,000 WORKERS. TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF SCALE, THAT'S ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER OF WORKERS AS SANTA CRUZ COUNTY OR MARIN COUNTY. WE ARE CERTAINLY NOT THE LARGEST IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY, BUT, UH, OUR WORKERS HOLD A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR ECONOMY. WHAT YOU HAVE THERE IS THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD THAT OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS ALWAYS THE HIGHEST IN FEBRUARY AND THE LOWEST IN SEPTEMBER BECAUSE OF THE SEASONALITY OF OUR JOBS. THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED WAS IN THE MID NINETIES, WHEN IN FEBRUARY OF, I THINK 1996, IT WAS 26.4%. UH, AND THE LOWEST EVER HAS COME TWICE IN THE LAST DECADE. FIRST IN SEPTEMBER OF 2019, AND THEN AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER OF 2022, AND THAT WAS 6%. SO WE ARE AT 11.3%, WHICH IS JUST, YOU KNOW, A HAIR LOWER THAN IT WAS THIS TIME LAST YEAR. WE ARE CONSISTENTLY ONE OF THE HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN THE STATE. THE SECOND HIGHEST IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY. HISTORICALLY, YOU CAN SEE THAT STANISLAU COUNTY RIGHT NOW IS ABOUT 7.2%, UH, FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH, WHICH IS PRETTY HIGH FOR THEM. AND MADERA IS AT 8.5%. THE STORY OF OUR UNEMPLOYMENT, UM, IS REALLY QUITE INTERESTING. WE WERE DOING BETTER JUST BEFORE COVID HIT. WE WERE IN THE LOW TENS, EVEN IN OUR HIGHEST FEBRUARY, UH, MONTH. UH, THEN WE HAD COVID, WE SKYROCKETED TO 13.8%, AND THEN AFTER THAT DIPPED DOWN TO AS LOW AS 2.4. AND NOW WE'RE GOING BACK UP TO THE ELEVENS. SO THERE IS A REALLY INTERESTING CONVERSATION TO HAVE ABOUT WHY THAT IS HAPPENING, BUT WE ARE SEEING THAT, UM, THAT PRESSURE ON OUR WORKFORCE. A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR JOB SECTORS. IN THE LAST YEAR, WE'VE HAD 3.9% OF OVERALL JOBS GROWTH, WHICH IS, UH, GOOD. IT MIRRORS OUR POPULATION. WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU ON THIS SLIDE ARE FOUR OF OUR KEY SECTORS. OUR [00:20:01] ECONOMY, OUR WORKFORCE SHED, AS IT'S CALLED, IS MADE UP OF ABOUT SEVEN SECTORS. THE ONES THAT YOU DON'T SEE HERE ARE CONSTRUCTION AND HEALTHCARE AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. BUT THESE FOUR TELL A REALLY INTERESTING STORY ABOUT THE WORKFORCE SHED OVER THE LAST YEAR. SO 17% OF OUR JOBS ARE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR. THAT INCLUDES, UH, EDUCATION, UH, AND GOVERNMENT. 10%, UH, OF OUR JOBS ARE IN AGRICULTURE, 8% MANUFACTURING AND 3% IN TRANSPORTATION WAREHOUSING. WE, BECAUSE ALMOST EVERYTHING IS MADE POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF OUR AG ECONOMY, AND YOU COULD EVEN ARGUE THAT MAYBE HALF OF THE TRANSPORTATION JOBS ARE RELATED TO AG AND MAYBE HALF OF THE MANUFACTURING JOBS ARE RELATED TO AG BECAUSE MANUFACTURING INCLUDES FOOD PROCESSING. BUT WHAT THIS SLIDE TELLS YOU IS THAT OUR WORKFORCE SCENE IS CHANGING. WE ARE GROWING IN PUBLIC SECTOR JOBS AND WE ARE SHRINKING IN TRANSPORTATION AND WAREHOUSING. OUR LABOR POOL IS SO SMALL THAT A DISLOCATION LIKE WE SAW AT THE SAVE MART CENTER, MAKES A BIG DEAL. AND THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN ATTRIBUTE PART OF THAT 9.1% DECLINE IN TRANSPORTATION AND WAREHOUSING. BUT IT'S AN IMPORTANT NOTE BECAUSE IN ORDER FOR AN ECONOMY TO MOVE, YOU NEED STRENGTH IN ALL OF THOSE SECTORS. THE BRIGHT SPOT ON THIS SLIDE IS THAT MANUFACTURING GROW GREW 13.1%. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT FOR AN ECONOMY THAT IS GROWING. AND AGRICULTURE ACTUALLY GREW 6.2% IN THE LAST YEAR, WHICH IS PHENOMENAL BECAUSE OTHER COUNTIES IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY HAVE SEEN THEIR SHARE OF AG JOBS ACTUALLY DECLINE. A LITTLE BIT OF ANALYSIS. WE'VE GOT SOME TAILWINDS AND SOME HEADWINDS IN TERMS OF OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. THAT 13% YEAR OVER YEAR INCREASE IN MANUFACTURING JOBS IS GREAT. IT MEANS THAT OUR ECONOMY IS THRIVING, THAT WE'RE BUILDING THINGS AND MORE ALIGNED WITH WHERE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS PLACING ITS INVESTMENTS. IT'S ALSO WHERE GOVERNOR NEWSOM IS PLACING ITS INVESTMENTS. MANUFACTURING IS A BIG DEAL BOTH TO THE STATE AND TO THE COUNTRY. AND SO THAT ALIGNS, UH, REALLY WELL. UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT HAS REMAINED STABLE. SO ONE OF THE VULNERABILITIES YOU MIGHT HAVE WHEN YOU ARE SO RELIANT ON THE PUBLIC SECTOR IS THAT THERE COULD BE DRAMATIC SHIFTS IN THAT EMPLOYMENT. AND WHAT I BELIEVE THIS COUNTY DID THAT WAS BRILLIANT IS IT DID NOT USE ITS ARPA MONEY TO CREATE NEW POSITIONS THAT WOULD ONLY BE LAID OFF, UH, WHEN THAT FUNDING SUNSETTED. SO WE ARE SEEING OTHER CITIES AND COUNTIES DOING MASS LAYOFFS. YOU HEAR ABOUT THE CITY OF LA LAYING OFF THOUSANDS, THOUSANDS OF WORKERS AT THE TAIL END OF THAT, UH, COVID EXPENDITURE. WE HAVE NOT HAD THAT. AND SO THAT CREATES STABILITY IN OUR ECONOMY. AND FOR THAT, WE ARE, WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL. UH, JOBS IN MERCED COUNTY ARE MUCH LESS VULNERABLE TO AI. WE ARE ESSENTIAL JOBS. WE ARE NOT TECH HEAVY. UH, THERE'S A NEW SAYING IN THE WORKFORCE WORLD, WHICH IS AI FIRST, AND THAT IS THAT COMPANIES ARE MAKING HIRING DECISIONS FROM AN AI FIRST LENS. THAT MEANS THEY'RE ASKING THE QUESTION, CAN AI DO THIS JOB? IF IT CAN'T, THEN WE WILL HIRE. IF IT CAN, THEN WE WILL FIND AN AI SOLUTION. WE DON'T HAVE THAT VULNERABILITY. SO THERE ARE OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE THAT ARE VERY NERVOUS ABOUT THIS. WE HAVE A LOT OF STABILITY. UNEMPLOYMENT IS STABILIZING THOUGH IT'S STILL HIGH. I TALKED ABOUT THAT 11.3%. THAT'S NOTHING TO CELEBRATE. BUT I LOOKED OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS AND THE SORT OF PEAKS AND VALUES OF THAT HAS FLATTENED OUT, WHICH MEANS STABILITY FOR OUR ECONOMY. AND WE'VE HAD A RELATIVELY LOW NUMBER OF LARGE LAYOFFS. STANISLAUS COUNTY TO THE NORTH HAS EXPERIENCED A LARGE AMOUNT OF THOSE LAYOFFS, UH, DUE TO CHANGES IN FOOD PROCESSING. OTHER COUNTIES THAT HAVE A GREATER DEPENDENCY ON WINE AS A COMMODITY ARE ALSO FEELING THE PINCH AS PRICES GO UP, UH, AND DRINKING HABITS, UH, CHANGE. AND WE ARE NOT THAT DEPENDENT ON THAT PART OF THE AG ECONOMY. AND SO OUR LAYOFFS HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY LOW. THERE ARE ALSO SOME REASONS FOR CONCERN. WE DON'T KNOW THE TRUE IMPACT OF TARIFFS. IT'S REALLY HARD TO PREDICT, IN PART BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE GOING TO STICK. UH, AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THAT THEY WILL LAST. BUT MOST PEOPLE IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS LIKELY GOING TO BE SOME SHORT TERM PAIN AT THE LEAST. AND SO FOR A COUNTY THAT IS TRYING TO GROW ITS MANUFACTURING SECTOR AND DOES NOT YET HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO DO THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT. THERE'S ALSO A POTENTIAL IMPACT FROM TARIFFS ON [00:25:01] IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. AS YOU KNOW, UH, THE PORTS OF LA AND LONG BEACH HAVE EXPERIENCED A 35% DROP IN CONTAINER MOVEMENT. AND WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF TRUCK DRIVERS THAT LIVE IN MERCED COUNTY THAT ARE DEPENDENT ON THAT FLOW. AND IN THE SHORT TERM, THAT COULD CAUSE SOME ECONOMIC PAIN. CONCENTRATION OF GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION JOBS IS ALSO A POTENTIAL VULNERABILITY, CERTAINLY NOT FOR MERCED COUNTY AS AN INSTITUTION, BUT WE ARE IN PART, DEPENDENT ON THE GROWTH OF UC, MERCED, IT IS NOW OUR LARGEST AND FASTEST GROWING FULL-TIME EMPLOYER IN THE COUNTY. AND IF THEY ARE EXPERIENCING SOME SHIFTS IN THEIR EMPLOYMENT BECAUSE OF GRANTS THAT COME OR DON'T COME, THAT COULD HAVE A TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT TO THE REST OF THE ECONOMY. ANOTHER ISSUE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT ARE ALL THE PRESSURES THAT ARE BEING PLACED ON OUR AG COMMUNITY, WHETHER IT'S IT'S WATER POLICY OR ADVANCED AUTOMATION OR AI OR EVEN, YOU KNOW, IMMIGRATION REFORM. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT ARE PUTTING DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON OUR AVAILABILITY OF AG JOBS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO PAY IT ALL LOT ATTENTION TO. THE NEXT ONE IS SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T REALLY TALK ABOUT, BUT I FIND FASCINATING. AND THAT IS THE CURRENT MISMATCH BETWEEN THE COLLEGE GRADUATES THAT ARE BEING PRODUCED OUT OF UC, MERCED, AND IN SOME PART MERCED COLLEGE AND THE AVAILABILITY OF JOBS. THERE ARE MORE BACHELOR'S AND MASTER'S DEGREE RECIPIENTS THAN THERE ARE JOBS AVAILABLE TO ABSORB THEM. AND SO IN THE SHORT TERM, THAT'S SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE A STUDENT POPULATION THAT IS LARGELY FIRST GENERATION AND LOCAL AND THEY'RE GROW, THEY'RE GRADUATING FROM UC, MERCED, UH, THEIR NUMBER ONE GOAL IS TO GET A JOB. AND SO THEY ARE, WHICH PLACES MORE COMPETITION FOR FOLKS THAT ARE GRADUATING OUT OF MERCED COLLEGE OR EVEN WHO USED TO BE ABLE TO GRADUATE OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL AND WALK INTO A FACTORY OR A MANUFACTURING FACILITY OR AN ENTRY LEVEL JOB TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT. AND SO THE TRAFFIC IN THAT SPACE IS SOMETHING THAT WE'LL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO, TO MONITOR. UH, LASTLY, COMMUTING REMAINS HIGH. WE HAVE ABOUT 27,000 PEOPLE THAT LEAVE THE COUNTY FOR WORK. THE NUMBER ONE PLACE THAT THEY GO IS STANISLAU COUNTY. BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF TRIPLE DOWN EFFECTS OF HAVING SO MANY PEOPLE SPEND TIME ON THE ROAD. THERE IS ALSO A REALLY INTERESTING FACTOID. THE CITY OF LOSANO HOLDS THE RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF ITS RESIDENTS THAT MAKE A FOUR HOUR . UH, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO KEEP THOSE PEOPLE HOME, UH, NOT JUST TO REDUCE THEIR COMMUTE SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE DINNER WITH THEIR FAMILIES, BUT ALSO 'CAUSE WE NEED THAT TALENT HERE. AND SO THE MORE THAT WE DO TO BUILD OUR ECONOMY, WE'LL, UM, SOLVE A NUMBER OF OF DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS. I'M NOW GONNA TALK ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE. UH, WIOA IS THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION OPPORTUNITY ACT. IT'S THE FEDERAL ACT THAT FUNDS ALL OF ALL OF OUR WORK. WE TRANCHE OUR SERVICES INTO THREE CATEGORIES, ADULT DISLOCATED WORKERS, AND YOUNG ADULTS. ADULTS ARE FOLKS THAT ARE FINDING THEMSELVES IN CHRONIC UNEMPLOYMENT. THEY MAY HAVE BEEN LET GO. THEY MAY HAVE UNDEREMPLOYMENT. DISLOCATED WORKERS ARE FOLKS THAT WERE LAID OFF FROM THEIR JOB, UH, NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN. WE SERVED 597 OF THOSE. 150 OF THOSE, UH, RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TRAINING. WE SKEW LARGELY MAIL. AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF REASONS WHY THAT IS THE CASE. BUT 66% OF OUR, UH, ENROLLMENTS ARE MAIL. THE THING THAT'S ALSO REALLY INTERESTING TO NOTE IS THE AVERAGE AGE. SO THE AVERAGE AGE OF AN ADULT CUSTOMER IS ABOUT 31 YEARS OLD, AND THE AVERAGE AGE OF A DISLOCATED WORKER IS 34 YEARS. THAT IS REALLY YOUNG. SO TYPICALLY A SYSTEM SEES PEOPLE COME INTO OUR JOB CENTERS WHEN THEY ARE MAYBE IN THEIR FORTIES. YOU KNOW, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING A LONG CAREER AND THERE'S BEEN A BIG DISRUPTION AND THEY NEED TO BE RE-SKILLED. IT'S NOT TYPICAL FOR A SYSTEM OUR SIZE TO SEE SO MANY PEOPLE ALMOST IN THEIR TWENTIES. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS WHY THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE. IT MIGHT BE THAT WE HAVE COLLEGE GRADUATES THAT ARE COMING TO US TO HELP, YOU KNOW, FIND THEIR FIRST JOB. IT COULD BE AN INDICATOR OF THE TURBULENCE, UH, IN THE ECONOMY. FOR FOLKS THAT ARE IN THE EARLIER PART OF THEIR CAREER. IT HAS CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE RELATIVELY LOW LEVEL OF EDUCATION IN TERMS OF COLLEGE GRADUATES THAT WE HAVE THAT THEY NEED TO BECOME RE-SKILLED SOONER THAN THEY OTHERWISE WOULD. AND THE OTHER CATEGORY OF YOUNG ADULTS, UH, THIS [00:30:01] WORK IS DONE BY MCOE. UH, THEY SERVE 215 INDIVIDUALS. 67 OF THEM, UH, RECEIVE VOCATIONAL TRAINING. THE AVERAGE AGE THERE IS ABOUT 20 YEARS OLD, WHICH, WHICH FITS, UH, BUT AGAIN, WE TEND TO SERVE, UH, MORE MALE YOUNG ADULTS THAN THAN FEMALES. I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT A FEW KEY PROGRAMS THAT WE TOOK ON THIS YEAR. WE, UM, DID SOME SERVICES IN CHILDCARE. THE PROBLEM TO SOLVE THERE WAS THERE WERE A NUMBER OF, UH, GRADUATES FROM, UH, REALLY NOVEL PROGRAM OUT OF THE MERCED ADULT SCHOOL, BUT THEY COULDN'T GET JOBS AT THE HEAD STARTS BECAUSE THEY LACKED ABOUT 150 HOURS OF WORK EXPERIENCE. WE CAME IN AND WE FILLED THAT GAP WITH MERCED COLLEGE. WE ARE FURTHER INTEGRATING OUR SERVICES, UH, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON ADULT LEARNERS AND HEALTHCARE PATHWAYS. UH, ONE NOTE OF MERCED COLLEGE IS IT IS NOT A TYPICAL COLLEGE. AND ITS PRESIDENT IS NOT A TYPICAL PRESIDENT. IT CONTINUES TO PUNCH ABOVE ITS WEIGHT. AND WE ARE INCREDIBLY LUCKY TO HAVE AN INSTITUTION LIKE THAT IN OUR BACKYARD. YOUTH INTERNSHIPS, YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. WE WERE ABLE TO PLACE, UH, A NUMBER OF COLLEGE STUDENTS IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTY AND OTHER CITIES. UM, IT WAS INCREDIBLE. IT PUT $2.71 MILLION OF WAGES BACK INTO THE ECONOMY, UH, AND COMPLETED ABOUT 146,000 HOURS OF PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICE. I WILL THEN GO TO A LITTLE BIT OF A COMPARISON. THERE IS A COMPANY CALLED FUTUREWORKS THAT DOES AN ANALYSIS OF EVERY, UH, REGION IN THE STATE IN TERMS OF THEIR WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE. AND THIS INCLUDES THE WORK THAT IS DONE OUT OF OUR WORKNET JOB CENTERS AND WITH OUR PARTNERS AT EDD VERB MERCED COUNTY. YOU CAN SEE THAT WE SERVED, UH, MORE THAN 2200 INDIVIDUALS. WE PLACED WITHIN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS, ABOUT 67% OF THOSE, THEY EARNED ABOUT $38,000. AND THE ROI ON THAT, THE COLLECTIVE EARNINGS WAS OVER $57 MILLION. RIGHT? THAT IS EVEN MORE EXCEPTIONAL WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE COMPARISONS. SO IN THIS REGIONAL COMPARISON, I HAVE A COUNTY HERE IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY THAT IS ABOUT TWICE OUR SIZE, WHICH MEANS THEY GET MORE RESOURCES FROM THE STATE THAN WE DO. AND BECAUSE THEY'RE MORE URBAN, UH, THEIR WAGES ARE HIGHER STILL. WE SERVED MORE PEOPLE, WE PLACED MORE OF THEM. THEY EARNED MORE MONEY HERE IN MERCED COUNTY. AND WE RETURNED $6 MILLION MORE INTO OUR ECONOMY THAN OUR COMPARATIVE COUNTY. UH, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, WHICH AGAIN, IF YOU REMEMBER REMEMBER, IS ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AGAIN. WE SERVED MORE INDIVIDUALS, WE PLACED MORE OF THEM. THEY DID BEAT US ON WAGES, OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE OF A HIGHER COST OF LIVING. BUT AGAIN, OUR ROI TO OUR RESPECTIVE COUNTIES WAS HIGHER. IT IS NO SURPRISE THEN THAT AT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKFORCE BOARD CONFERENCE, WHICH SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL JOINED US, WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE A PRESENTATION. WE WERE INVITED TO TALK ABOUT THE SUCCESS AS A RURAL COUNTY. UM, AND WE HAD INDIVIDUALS FROM ACROSS THE NATION COME AND HEAR HOW WE DID WHAT WE DID. I'VE TALKED ABOUT NORTH VALLEY THRIVE. I WON'T GET INTO THIS, UH, TOO MUCH, UH, BUT JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO LEAD. WE ARE THE ONLY WORKFORCE BOARD THAT LEADS A CALIFORNIA JOBS FIRST REGION ACROSS THE STATE. AND WE'VE BEEN TOLD NUMEROUS TIMES THAT WE ARE SORT OF THE TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF HOW TO DO THIS WORK. GREAT SOURCE OF PRIDE FOR OUR ORGANIZATION, THAT WE ARE LEADING THE STATE IN A MAJOR ECONOMIC, UH, PROJECT. DO WANNA TALK JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR SUSTAINABILITY. UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT FUNDING. UH, WE ARE FEDERALLY FUNDED. UM, THE PRESIDENT JUST RELEASED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER ABOUT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THAT HAS SOME OF US IN OUR WORKFORCE COMMUNITY PRETTY NERVOUS. IT IDENTIFIES A 35% CUT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. AGAIN, THIS IS JUST THE SKINNY BUDGET. SO THERE WILL BE LOTS OF ITERATIONS BEFORE ANYTHING BECOMES LAW, BUT IT IS SOMETHING FOR US TO LOOK AT. THERE ARE ALSO DOWNWARD PRESSURES ON THE STATE BUDGET, AS YOU KNOW, AND WE DO RECEIVE A PORTION OF OUR FUNDING FROM THAT ON THE UPSWING. UH, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THAT THE IRVINE FOUNDATION IDENTIFIED MERCED CITY AS ONE OF ITS SIX INVESTMENT COMMUNITIES, WHERE IT WILL POUR $220 MILLION OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. AND WE'VE HAD MEETINGS WITH THE FOUNDATION. THEY HAVE FUNDED US PREVIOUSLY TO THE TUNE OF ABOUT $400,000. AND THEY ARE LOOKING TO US AS ONE OF THEIR MANY PARTNERS IN ORDER TO DO THAT WORK. BUT THE GRAPH SHOWS THE GROWTH IN OUR BUDGET. SO IN 2020, WE WERE ABOUT 9.5%, AND 59% OF OUR FUNDING CAME FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WE HAVE GROWN TO $19.6 MILLION IN FIVE YEARS. AND THAT SLICE OF FEDERAL, YOU KNOW, THAT FEDERAL SHARE IS NOW ONLY 29% OF OUR BUDGET. SO WE HAVE GROWN, WE HAVE KEEP, WE HAVE KEPT OUR DEPENDENCY ON THOSE FEDERAL DOLLARS LOW. [00:35:01] AND IF I WERE TO SHOW YOU ANOTHER TREND LINE OF STAFF AND BENEFITS, IT WOULD LARGELY MIRROR THAT GREEN DASH LINE. SO WE'VE MANAGED TO FIND OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING TO FULLY CEMENT, UH, OUR DEPARTMENT. I'LL CLOSE WITH THIS. UM, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF HOW WE GO FROM GOOD TO GREAT. UH, BE BEGINNING IN JULY. WE'RE INTRODUCING A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR HOW TO SERVE YOUNG ADULTS ACROSS THE SPAN OF THIS YEAR. WE'RE OPENING THREE NEW JOB CENTERS, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING OUR FLAGSHIP CENTER, WHICH WILL BE OPENING IN NOVEMBER AT THE MERCED MALL. WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO LEAD ON NORTH VALLEY THRIVE WITH A FOCUS ON ADVANCED MANUFACTURING HERE IN MERCED COUNTY. WE'VE HIRED A NEW COMMUNICATIONS FIRM OUTTA SAN DIEGO THAT IS GOING TO REIMAGINE OUR COMMUNICATION CHANNELS, UH, INCLUDING MAYBE A NEW NAME FOR WORKNET OR FOR THE WORKFORCE BOARD. UH, THE FOCUS OF THAT IS ON HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH INDUSTRY AND BUSINESSES. WE'RE DEVELOPING NEW CAREER PATHWAYS. UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS. WE ARE THINKING OF NEW WAYS TO BRING ADVANCED TRAINING INTO OUR, OUR COUNTY AND OUR REGION. AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO APPLY AN INTENTIONAL FOCUS ON, UH, FURTHER DIVERSIFICATION OF OUR FUNDING SO THAT WE ARE EVEN LESS DEPENDENT ON GOVERNMENT FUNDS. AND THERE ARE SOME CREATIVE WAYS THAT WORKFORCE BOARDS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO SHARE THAT NEWS WITH YOU. OKAY. I WANT TO CLOSE WITH A THANK YOU, UH, TO PATRICIA HENSON. PATRICIA HAS BEEN OUR OFFICE ASSISTANT AND SECRETARY FOR 28 YEARS, AND SHE IS RETIRING AT THE END OF JUNE AND SHE'S HERE WITH US. I THINK SOMEWHERE THERE. STAND UP. PATRICIA, IF WE COULD ALL GIVE PATRICIA A ROUND OF APPLAUSE. SO PATRICIA IS THE HEART AND SOUL OF OUR ORGANIZATION, AND WE'RE HAVING A REALLY TOUGH TIME FIGURING OUT WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO. SHE'S BEEN, UH, INCREDIBLY GRACIOUS AND SUPPORTIVE OF ME, BUT REALLY SHE'S BEEN INCREDIBLY GRACIOUS AND SUPPORTIVE OF THE COUNTY AND OF THE WORKFORCE BOARD. AND, UH, WE WILL CELEBRATE HER AND WE HOPE YOU WILL ALL JOIN US. BUT, UH, DEFINITELY WANT TO THANK YOU, PATRICIA, FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK. THANK YOU. AND I'LL CLOSE WITH THAT. UH, TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. SUPERVISOR. OH, GO AHEAD. SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. ERIC, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I THINK I SAY IT EVERY TIME. THIS IS WHERE GOVERNMENT GETS IT, RIGHT? IT'S AMAZING EVERY TIME WE HAVE A MEETING WHERE WE HAVE PRIVATE SECTOR, GOVERNMENT AND LABOR ALL SITTING AROUND THE SAME TABLE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON. AND YOU CAN SEE THE RESULTS. AND I, AND A LOT OF THAT IS 'CAUSE OF YOUR LEADERSHIP. I WAS ACTUALLY GONNA GIVE A BIG THANK YOU TO YOU, BUT I THINK ACTUALLY NOW WE KNOW IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF PATRICIA, BUT, UH, EVERY TIME WE HAVE THE MORNING MEETINGS AND THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, WE COULD GO FOR TWO HOURS WHEN WE GET IN THE CONVERSATION AND THE SAME AND, AND YOU KEEP US TOGETHER AND KEEP US FOCUSED. BUT I APPRECIATE THAT, UH, MOVING FORWARD WITH WHAT WE SEE. SO YOU'RE NOT, YOU WEREN'T REAL CONFIDENT IN SAYING THAT, UH, HOW WE'RE GONNA BE REMAIN SUSTAINABLE, BUT YOU SAID THERE'S SOME OUTLOOKS THERE. SO MOVING FORWARD, HOW, HOW, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU SEE OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD? I, I THINK THAT WE WILL BE OKAY. THERE IS A 35% CUT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ACROSS THE BOARD. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF SUB-AGENCIES. THE ONE THAT SERVES US IS LESS LIKELY TO BE REDUCED THAN SOME OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE OUTLINED IN THE MAKE AMERICA SKILLED. AGAIN, EFFORT. WE ARE LESS DEPENDENT ON THAT FEDERAL DOLLAR THAN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. UH, THE STATE HAS INVESTED IN MERCED COUNTY'S WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD. WE ARE GOING TO BECOME EVEN MORE AGGRESSIVE ABOUT PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS. THERE ARE SOME OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN DEVELOP EARNED REVENUE FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO. AND SO WE'RE EXPLORING THAT AND WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE STATE. THERE ARE ALSO SOME THINGS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED IN THE REAUTHORIZATION OF WIOA THAT COULD BENEFIT US. AND THAT IS A CHANGE IN THE FORMULA AND THE ALLOCATION THAT WOULD ALLOW THE STATES TO RETAIN 10% OF THE MONEY THAT'S GIVEN TO EACH STATE AND THEN REALLOCATE TO THOSE REGIONS THAT ARE DOING WORK IN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING. SO IF WE WORK THIS JUST RIGHT AND SHOW OURSELVES TO BE A REALLY WORTHY INVESTMENT OF THOSE DOLLARS, WE COULD POTENTIALLY CAPTURE MORE THAN OUR PER CAPITA SHARE. IT'S GREAT. AND I KNOW EVERY YEAR, I ALWAYS LIKE TO MAKE THE COMMENT THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE MORE, UH, JOBS AVAILABLE THAN WE HAVE UNEMPLOYMENT PEOPLE IN MERCED COUNTY. AND FROM, FROM [00:40:01] WHAT I SEE IN JUST THE DISCUSSION I'M HAVING WITH MY CONSTITUENCY AND DISTRICT THREE AND BEYOND, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A MORE, 'CAUSE WE WENT THROUGH A TIME WHERE FOLKS WEREN'T WORKING, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE AT A TIME NOW WHEN FOLKS ARE WANTING TO GO BACK TO WORK OR THERE, THERE'S A, AN EXCITEMENT ABOUT MAYBE THEY DO HAVE A JOB, BUT HOW DO THEY IMPROVE UPON THEIR JOB? OR HOW DO THEY TRAIN TO MOVE UP? OR ARE WE SEEING THAT COUNTYWIDE? IT DOESN'T, DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT REFLECTS IN OUR NUMBERS, BUT JUST BY THE ATTITUDE AND THE FOLKS, THE, THAT I'VE MET WITH. THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M SEEING. I THINK THAT'S TRUE. THE THING TO KNOW, WHEN YOU COMPARE MERCED COUNTY TO OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE, WE CERTAINLY HAVE A HIGHER LEVEL OF UNEMPLOYMENT, BUT WE HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED THE TURBULENCE THAT THE COASTAL AND MORE URBAN AREAS HAVE SEEN. YOU REMEMBER DURING COVI, THEY HAD SKY ROCKET ROCKETING UNEMPLOYMENT, EVEN THROUGH THIS AI BEAM, UH, AI BOOM. THERE ARE PARTS OF THE BAY AREA THAT ARE VERY NERVOUS ABOUT THE JOBS THAT THEY ARE SHEDDING AND THEY'RE SHEDDING JOBS 3000 AT A TIME. UH, WE ARE NOT SEEING THAT KIND OF TURBULENCE. SO EVEN THOUGH OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS STUBBORNLY HIGH, IT'S DEMONSTRATING A STABILITY THAT KEEPS US HEALTHY. IF THAT MAKES SENSE. YEAH, IT DOES MAKE SENSE. WE ONLY FEED THE WORLD FROM MERCED COUNTY AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE CONSISTENT ALL THE TIME. THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. THANKS ERIC. THANK YOU. UM, I SEE NO OTHER FURTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, NEXT WE HAVE VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION. I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME EVERYONE WHO IS HERE TODAY FOR OUR VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION CEREMONY. THIS YEAR MARKS THE 51ST ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK. MERCED COUNTY'S PROGRAM WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1999. WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE VOLUNTEERS IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND THE WIDE ARRAY OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THEY PROVIDE WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THEIR COMMITMENT, TIME, AND ENERGY. FIRST OFF, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE AND THANK OUR STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS, OR I'M SORRY, OUR SCREENING COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO SCORED THIS YEAR'S NOMINEES. AND IF YOU ARE HERE, I'D ASK IF YOU RAISE YOUR HAND. UH, DISTRICT ONE WAS JEREMIAH GRINS. IT WAS HIS FIRST YEAR. IS JEREMIAH HERE? UH, DISTRICT TWO, TRACY PERRETTI, HER FOURTH YEAR DISTRICT THREE, JEANIE KNIGHT, HER FOURTH YEAR DISTRICT FOUR, CHARLENE BELLI, HER SEVENTH YEAR AND DISTRICT FIVE, ANN MCCAULEY AND HER, THERE'S ANN. THANK YOU. WE RECEIVED MANY FANTASTIC NOMINATIONS THIS YEAR. MEMBER ADAM GRAY'S OFFICE. JOE BALLAST FROM SENATOR CA, UH, ANA CABALLERO'S OFFICE. AND JULIAN VILLA FANIA FROM ASSEMBLY MEMBER ESMERALDA'S OFFICE. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. AFTER WE'RE DONE PRESENTING ALL THESE, UH, CER ALL OF THE CERTIFICATES, WE'LL GATHER UP FRONT FOR A GROUP PHOTO, WHICH WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF RECEPTION IN THE LOBBY AREA OUTSIDE THE BOARD CHAMBERS. UM, THE, UM, THERE'LL ALSO BE A PHOTO SCREEN SET UP AT THE RECEPTION WHERE YOU CAN TAKE A PHOTO WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, OR MAYBE THE CEREMONY. AND WE'LL START WITH DISTRICT ONE. JIM. GOOD MORNING. THE, UH, 2025 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR FOR DISTRICT ONE IS MS. ESPERANZA POLITO. UH, SHE WAS NOMINATED BY ERNESTO POLITO AND SHE VOLUNTEERS FOR UNIDOS, THE, EXCUSE ME, UNIDOS MARIA. AND SHE, UH, DOES CLOTHING AND FURNITURE DONATIONS. SHE'S THE TRUE SPIRIT OF SERVICE AND COMPASSION IN MERCED COUNTY. AS A VOLUNTEER RADIO HOST ON 1390 AM MS. P PLATO'S INVOLVEMENT SPANS ACROSS COUNTLESS COMMUNITY EFFORTS. SHE'S WELL KNOWN FOR ORGANIZING CLOTHING AND FURNITURE DRIVES FOR FAMILIES IN NEED, AND FOR ALWAYS OFFERING A HELPING HAND. OFTEN BEFORE ANYONE EVEN ASKS WHETHER IT'S THROUGH HER WARM VOICE ON THE AIRWAVES OR HER TIRELESS BEHIND THE SCENES WORK. MS. PLETA OPENS HER HEART TO ANYONE FACING HARDSHIP. HER SELFISHNESS, GENEROSITY, AND UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO OTHERS MAKES HER NOT JUST A GREAT COMMUNITY LEADER, BUT AN INSPIRATION. WE TRULY APPRECIATE THE WORK PERFORMED BY MS. POLITO AND ARE PLEASED TO RECOGNIZE HER TODAY. [00:46:06] ROSA, IS IT NOT WORKING? IS IT ON? OH, JUST, SO I JUST WANT A GREAT THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO FOR THE COMMUNITY AND FOR THE COUNTY OF MERCED ON BEHALF OF THE PORT OF SUPERVISORS CERTIFICATE IN PEN. OKAY. OOH, A WHOLE LOT MORE. THANK YOU, , ON BEHALF OF CONGRESSMAN GRAY, CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU. OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. ON BEHALF OF STATE SENATOR ANNA CABALLERO, CONGRATULATIONS. GOD BLESS. THANK YOU. OH, . OOPS, I'M SORRY. SORRY, EVERYONE. MY ENGLISH IS BROKEN. I'M TRYING TO EXPLAIN IN SPANISH, BUT [00:51:58] THERE, I'M GOING NEXT BECAUSE THE VIDEO, WELL, SOMEWHERE IN THAT DAY WHEN SHE SAID THAT, UH, WHEN THEY CALLED HER TO TELL HER SHE WAS GONNA BE RECOGNIZED, SHE THOUGHT IT WAS A FAKE CALL. TELL SUSSER, FINDING OUT THAT IT WAS REAL. SO, UH, AGAIN, THANK YOU TO MS. POLITO. OKAY. I HAVE ONE CORRECTION I HAVE TO MAKE. I DEMOTED CONGRESSMAN ADAM GRAY WHEN I INTRODUCED KARTHIK, SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE KARTHIK IS REPRESENTING CONGRESSMAN ADAM GRAY. SO, OKAY. UM, FOR DISTRICT TWO, THE VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR IS LISA COFFEE. SHE WAS NOMINATED BY JESSICA ESCOBAR FOR HER WORK AT THE D STREET SHELTER. MS. LISA COFFEE, EXCUSE ME, IS THE HEART BEHIND THE SERVICE AT THE D STREET SHELTER LEADING WITH COMPASSION, CONSISTENCY, AND QUIET STRENGTH. WHILE MANY VOLUNTEERS LEND THEIR TIME, MS. COFFEE HAS STEPPED INTO A KEY LEADERSHIP ROLE, PLANNING, PURCHASING, PREPARING, AND DELIVERING MEALS WITH REMARKABLE DEDICATION. SHE OVERSEES EVERY DETAIL FROM MENU COORDINATION TO CLEANUP, ALL WHILE MENTORING OTHERS AND ENSURING EACH ACT OF SERVICE IS CARRIED OUT WITH CARE AND DIGNITY. EVEN AFTER A FULL DAY'S WORK, MS. COFFEE ARRIVES WITH A SMILE AND SETS THE TONE FOR THE TEAM NEVER ASKING FOR RECOGNITION AND ALWAYS PUTTING OTHERS FIRST. HER TIRELESS COMMITMENT AND UNWAVERING GENEROSITY HAVE MADE A LASTING IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF THOSE WE SERVE. AND MS. MS COFFEY'S LEADERSHIP DOESN'T JUST MAKE OUR EFFORTS POSSIBLE, IT MAKES THEM MEANINGFUL. IT IS TRULY MY HONOR TO PRESENT HER WITH THIS AWARD TODAY. OKAY. MY NAME IS LISA COFFEY. I'VE WORKED WITH MERCY MEDICAL CENTER FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS, AND WITH THEM I'VE GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO START, UH, VOLUNTEERING WITH THE D STREET SHELTER WHERE WE GO IN AND WE'RE COOKING MEALS AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH. I'M TRY TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE, HOPEFULLY SOON, . AND THAT'S HOW I ACTUALLY GOT INTO THE VOLUNTEERING. I GOT INVOLVED AT THE D STREET SHELTER THROUGH THE HOSPITAL WHERE I WORK. I AM, UH, THE SUPERVISOR OF NUTRITIONAL SERVICES AND THE VICE PRESIDENT CAME AND SAID, HEY, WE WOULD LIKE TO STOP, START IMPLEMENTING THIS. AND I SORT OF WAS PUT IN MY LAP AND I RAN WITH IT. , I JUST COME UP WITH THE MENUS AND GET EVERYBODY TO VOLUNTEERED IN THAT'S GONNA HELP SERVE. AND WE GET IT TOGETHER. WE SHOW UP AND WE HAVE FUN. OH GOD. VOLUNTEERING. HOW DOES IT MAKE ME FEEL? IT MAKES ME VERY HUMBLE WITH WHAT I HAVE. I'M VERY GRATEFUL EVERY DAY THAT I'M IN THE POSITION I AM. AND ANYTIME I CAN STEP UP, HELP SOMEBODY ELSE, WHETHER IT'S BY FOOD, TALKING OR JUST LISTENING, THAT'S WHAT I ENJOY THE MOST. OH GOD. MY MOST MEANINGFUL, [00:55:01] IT WASN'T ACTUALLY AT THE D STREET SHELTER. IT HAS BEEN AT THE HOSPITAL. WHEN I WAS A COOK, I HAD A PATRON THAT KEPT COMING DOWN AND WE GOT TO TALKING AND I FOUND OUT THAT HER HUSBAND HAD HAD A HEART ATTACK. MINE HAD TWO. AND WHEN YOU'RE IN THAT POSITION, YOU FEEL LOST. AND SO I STARTED TAKING MY MEAL BREAKS WITH HER AND JUST TRYING TO BE THERE, SIT AND LISTEN TO HER, GIVE HER ADVICE, AND THROUGH IT ALL, I, YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST BEING ME. AND THE NEXT THING I KNOW, I GOT A THREE PAGE HANDWRITTEN LETTER SENT TO ME WHERE SHE WROTE, WHERE I HAD HELPED HER. AND TO ME, I WAS SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT BECAUSE SHE WAS JUST LOST. AND I THINK I GAVE HER THE COURAGE TO STEP UP AND KNOW WHAT HAD TO SHE HAD TO DO. AND TO LET HER KNOW THAT WE'RE ALL LIKE THAT. WE ALL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THOSE STRUGGLES AND THAT THERE'S A LIGHT AT THE END, JUST AS LONG AS YOU JUST KEEP HOLDING ON . OH GOD. WHEN I FOUND OUT I WAS RECEIVING IT, I THINK MY MOUTH HIT THE FLOOR , JUST TO BE HONEST. AND THEN I WAS WONDERING, I WAS TOLD I HAD BEEN NOMINATED, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW BY WHO. AND THEN I FOUND IT WAS JESSICA ESCOBAR. AND TO ME, HER DOING IT, IT MADE ME FEEL VERY HUMBLE. AND I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS SORT OF PROUD THAT SHE THOUGHT THAT MUCH OF ME TO DO IT. AND TO ME, I JUST WAS BEING ME. I JUST, THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY IS I WAS BEING ME. I'M DOING WHAT I LOVE TO DO. OH GOD, THERE ARE SO MANY PLACES YOU CAN GO TO THE COUNTY, YOU CAN ASK, LOOK AT YOUR LOCAL, UH, BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB. THEY'RE ALWAYS WANTING VOLUNTEERS. THE HOMELESS SHELTERS, IF YOU WALK IN AND SAY, HEY, I'D LIKE TO VOLUNTEER, I'M SURE THEY'LL FIND SOMETHING FOR YOU TO DO. THERE IS SO MUCH, ESPECIALLY IN THESE COUNTIES WHERE, LIKE ONE OF THE POOREST COUNTIES AND THEY NEED IT THE MOST. IT'S JUST, IF YOU WANNA DO IT, STEP UP. THERE'S PLENTY OF AVENUES TO GO TO. AND IF NOT, ASK SOMEBODY, SOMEBODY ELSE MIGHT KNOW. MS. COFFEY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU CONGRESSMAN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WELL, THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS. YOU'D LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING? OH, JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH. I FEEL, AS I SAID, VERY HONORED. HUMBLED JESS. SHE'S AMAZING PERSON. AND IF I JUST GET A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT SHE IS, I'LL BE HAPPY IN MY LIFE. . BUT THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR THIS. IT'S VERY MEANINGFUL. SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. UH, FOR OUR DISTRICT THREE INDIVIDUAL IS DORA GARCIA, NOMINATED BY ME. UM, THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT SHE VOLUNTEERS FOR IS ATWATER YOUTH BASEBALL. YOU GUYS KNOW BASEBALL AND ATWATER. IT'S, AND IT ACTUALLY SUSTAINS TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THERE. WE, WE, WE REALLY LOVE OUR BASEBALL THERE. [01:00:01] MS. DORA GARCIA DISPLAYS EXCEPTIONAL LEADERSHIP QUALITIES AND UNWAVERING DEDICATION TO THE YOUTH SPORTS. AS PRESIDENT OF THAT WATER YOUTH BASEBALL, THROUGH COUNTLESS VOLUNTEER HOURS, MS. GARCIA HAS PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN SHAPING THE LIVES OF YOUNG ATHLETES. ORGANIZING NOT ONLY THE GAMES AND PRACTICES, BUT ALSO BUILDING A CULTURE ROOTED IN TEAMWORK, SPORTSMANSHIP, AND PERSONAL GROWTH. HER PASSION AND COMMITMENT HAVE HELPED THE PROGRAM THRIVE, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN TO PARTICIPATE IN SPORTS AND MAKE LIFELONG MEMORIES. MS. GARCIA'S DEVOTION TO THE YOUNG OF OUR COMMUNITY REFLECTS THE VERY BEST OF PUBLIC SERVICE. AND MERCED COUNTY IS PROUD TO RECOGNIZE HER AS A TRUE CHAMPION FOR OUR KIDS. MS. GARCIA, THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO. HELLO, MY NAME IS DORA GARCIA AND I AM PRESIDENT OF ATWATER YOUTH BASEBALL. AND, UM, I KNEW THAT AS SOON AS MY CHILDREN WERE OLD ENOUGH TO PLAY THAT I WAS GONNA BE SIGNING 'EM UP. AND IN 1990, THAT'S WHAT I DID. I SIGNED UP MY SON CHARLES FOR T-BALL. IT'S VERY ENJOYABLE TO ME TO BE PUTTING SMILES ON THESE CHILDREN'S FACES. UM, IT MAKES MY DAY, IT MAKES MY WEEK. IT, IT, IT'S WHAT DRIVES ME TO GO OUT THERE EVERY DAY. UM, OF COURSE, MY GRANDCHILDREN ARE IN THE LEAGUE AND, UM, THAT IS THE MAIN REASON THAT I STEPPED UP TO BE PRESIDENT THIS YEAR. BUT 465 CHILDREN ARE GONNA BENEFIT FROM THAT. AND WATCHING THEM PLAY THEIR GAMES, BE OUT THERE FOR THEIR PRACTICES AND COMPETE, UH, TO GET BETTER AND TO WIN, UH, OR EVEN TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AND MAYBE MAKE THE WORLD SERIES IS A THRILLING TO ME. IT, IT REALLY DOES INSPIRE ME TO CONTINUE DOING THIS FOR THE CHILDREN OF ATWATER AND ALL OF MERCED COUNTY. YES. UH, A MOMENT THAT STANDS OUT AND VERY MEANINGFUL TO ME IS THE DAY THAT GREG MCDANIELS, WHO WAS ACTUALLY THE FOUNDER OF ATWATER YOUTH BASEBALL IN 1992, ASKED ME IF I WANTED TO BECOME A COACH IN A, A BOYS DIVISION THAT WAS COMPLETELY RUN BY, BY MALES THAT WERE VERY DOMINATING AND HAVE VERY BIG NAMES, EVEN TILL THIS DAY. UM, AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT I DOVE IN. AND I HAVE BEEN COACHING EVER SINCE OVER 40 YEARS, COACHING, UH, SPORTS WITH YOUTH AND ADULTS. WHEN I FOUND OUT I WAS RECEIVING THIS AWARD FOR VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR, UM, I WAS SHOCKED. UM, STILL AM. UM, AND NOW THAT IT HAS SUNK IN, IT'S, I'M VERY HONORED. I, I FEEL VERY SPECIAL AND HONORED, UH, TO RECEIVE THIS. I'VE BEEN WITH THAT WHAT BASEBALL BOARD FOR 30 YEARS, UM, INVOLVED IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. AND THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THAT I'VE STEPPED UP TO BE AND TAKE ON THE PRESIDENCY. UM, SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, IT'S VERY SPECIAL TO ME, VERY REWARDING. AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU ARE TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN TO VOLUNTEER AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD. DORA, COULD YOU COME UP PLEASE? AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, GREG MCDANIEL IS NOT RELATED TO ME. IMMEDIATELY. WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH. HELLO, DORA. ON BEHALF OF THE MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, I'D LIKE TO PRESENT YOU WITH THE CERTIFICATE, HONORING YOU AS OUR VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR FOR DISTRICT THREE. THERE'S A CHALLENGE COIN AS WELL AND A LAPEL PIN THAT YOU CAN WEAR TO ALL THE BALL GAMES. . THANK YOU. I'M HONORED. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING? UM, WELL, THERE'S A LOT I'D LIKE TO SAY. GOOD. I USUALLY YOU DO. SO LET'S . I, LIKE I SAID, I'VE BEEN, UM, AFFILIATED WITH THAT WATER YOUTH BASEBALL FOR OVER 30 YEARS. UM, AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I STEPPED UP TO TAKE ON PRESIDENCY. AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE LEAGUE WAS FOLDING MM-HMM . AND I WAS TOLD, UH, TWO DAYS PRIOR, UH, THAT I NEEDED TO COME UP WITH A NEW BOARD. AND THIS NEW BOARD IS FLOURISHING. THEY ARE AMAZING. UH, WE HAVE GROWN OUR LEAGUE 165 KIDS THIS YEAR. UM, THOSE, THOSE BOARD MEMBERS ARE, UM, MELEE AND ANGIE, HEATHER PRICE, JEAN WONDER, ANGELINA GARCIA, ARMANDO GARCIA, BRAD KESSLER, DIANA QUINTANA, CARLOS QUINTANA, AND KATIE MESSA. AND THESE PEOPLE STEPPED UP OVERNIGHT TO SAVE THIS LEAGUE AND ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN ALL THESE CHILDREN'S LIVES. NOW. UM, I WANNA THANK MY HUSBAND, UH, BECAUSE I'M AWAY FROM HOME A LOT AND I AM VOLUNTEERING TO THIS PROGRAM [01:05:01] BECAUSE I LOVE IT. . I LOVE IT. I LOVE THE CHILDREN. I, I LOVE THE COACHES. I LOVE THE PARENTS. I LOVE EVERY ASPECT OF IT. UM, I TRAIN THE UMPIRES, I SCHEDULE 'EM, I PAY 'EM. UM, IT'S A CONSTANT WORK, BUT IT'S SO WORTH IT AND I LOVE IT. AND I THANK YOU. I ALSO WANT TO THANK, UM, UH, THE SUPERINTENDENT, UH, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF ATWATER SCHOOLS, UM, T LA BO AND AARON AARON DEL WORTH. AND THAT'S BECAUSE ATWATER YOUTH BASEBALL WOULD NOT EXIST IF THEY DID NOT ALLOW US TO USE THEIR FIELDS. WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE THEM, AND 465 KIDS ARE BLESSED TO HAVE THEM. UH, AND THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT. I'LL TAKE MM-HMM . ON BEHALF OF CONGRESSMAN ADAM GRAY, US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO AND, UH, CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. ON BEHALF OF STATE SENATOR ANNA CALO, CONGRATULATIONS AND GO OUT WATER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. BEAUTIFUL ON. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT. SO YOU CAN SEE WHY OUR HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE SUCH A GOOD PROGRAM. IT'S ALL BECAUSE SHE GETS 'EM WHEN THEY'RE LITTLE AND BUILDS 'EM UP AND ALL THE WAY INTO THE PROS. THAT'S RIGHT. GOT WATER PERSON, . LET'S GET A PICTURE. THANK YOU DORA. SUPERVISOR PER, UH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. WELL, UH, I'M HONORED TO, UM, ANNOUNCE THE WINNER FOR DISTRICT FOUR AS THE DELHI PARENTS COMMITTEE, AND THEY WERE NOMINATED BY, UH, HEIDI, UH, SANCHEZ LAZANO, WHO'S HERE WITH US TODAY. AND, UH, THIS GROUP SERVES THE DELHI AREA, UH, AND GIVES GENERAL COMMUNITY SUPPORT. THE DELHI PARENTS COMMITTEE FOUNDED BY MERE, UH, CSRA AND SRO CSRA IN 2007 HAS BEEN A PILLAR OF COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATIONAL ADVOCACY FOR THE PAST 18 YEARS. MEETING MONTHLY, THIS DEDICATED GROUP WORKS TIRELESSLY TO ENGAGE PARENTS IN THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION, TIES WITH THE PUBLIC AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS, AND CHAMPION BETTER ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL STUDENTS THROUGH THEIR EFFORTS. THE COMMITTEE HAS CREATED A POWERFUL PLATFORM FOR PARENTS TO BECOME ACTIVE LEADERS AND CHANGE MAKERS IN THEIR COMMUNITY. THEIR UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING EDUCATION AND UPLIFTING FAMILIES MAKES THE DELHI PARENTS COMMITTEE A TRULY DESERVING RECIPIENT OF THIS HONOR. AND I AM PROUD TO PRESENT THIS AWARD TODAY, DEL PARENT COMMITTEE, PC [01:10:35] WHILE WE WAIT FOR, FOR THEM TO COME UP TO THE STAGE. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, IT'S KIND OF, THIS IS KIND OF AN AMAZING GROUP. UM, WHEN YOU, YOU TALK ABOUT PEOPLE TO HELP, UH, THOSE IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A GROUP THAT REALLY EXEMPLIFIES THAT, UM, OH, COME ON UP ALL THE WAY IF YEP. . THEY DON'T NEED TO SEE ME . YOU GUYS DO ALL THE HARD WORK. BUT, UH, ANYWAYS, UH, I, I GO TO THEIR, UH, ANNUAL, UM, DINNER THAT'S A POTLUCK. AND, UH, AND IT IS JUST AMAZING TO SEE THE VARIETY OF PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE. AND WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT IS, UH, FOR ANY OF YOU WHO HAVE TRIED TO WORK WITH A GOVERNMENT AGENCY, RIGHT? IT'S VERY DAUNTING AND OVERWHELMING AND IT'S HARD TO KNOW LIKE WHERE TO GO AND HOW TO DO IT. AND, AND THESE LADIES, UM, HAVE LIFTED UP THEIR COMMUNITY IN A GREAT WAY. AND, UH, ANYWAYS, IT'S JUST AN HONOR TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO HONOR YOU AND, UH, TO THANK YOU, UH, FOR ALL YOUR GOOD WORK. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING. AT ONE OF THE DINNERS, I SAT NEXT TO THE, UH, THE TWO ATTORNEYS THAT USED TO COME, WELL, ONE OF THEM, ONE ATTORNEY, RIGHT. THAT USED TO COME TO DELHI AND HELP PEOPLE, UH, WITH THEIR IMMIGRATION STATUS, RIGHT. COME AND TRY TO HELP 'EM DO THE PAPERWORK TO BECOME CITIZENS. AND, UH, SO ANYWAY, SO THAT GROUP, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF STARTED AND THEN, AND THEN THIS GROUP KIND OF CAME OUT OF THAT IS WHAT CAN WE DO THEN TO NOT ONLY HELP 'EM BECOME CITIZENS, BUT HELP THEM TO ENGAGE AND BE ACTIVE MEMBERS IN THE COMMUNITY. AND, AND THERE'S NO GREATER EXAMPLE IN MY DISTRICT OF FOLKS DOING THAT. SO IT'S MY HONOR TO, UH, CONGRATULATE ALL OF YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. AND KORA, I ASSUME YOU'RE GONNA BE THE ONE TO DO SOME, MADA IS GONNA TALK. OKAY. MADA FOR ME THIS TIME. . THANK YOU. THANK YOU, LLOYD. YOU'RE WELCOME. UM, TO ME, IT'S, IT IS A PLEASURE AND I, AND AN HONOR, UH, TO RECEIVE THIS RECOGNITION IS NOT ABOUT CASA'S FAMILY, IT'S ABOUT, UM, THE, UH, MY COMMUNITY IN DELHI. UM, THANKS, THANKS TO, UH, THREE ORGANIZATION THAT I STARTED WORKING WITH UNITED FARM WORKERS. I MET CESAR CHAVEZ AND DOLORES HUTA. THAT'S WHAT REALLY INSPIRED ME AT THAT TIME. THEN AFTER I STARTED WORKING WITH, UM, CALIFORNIA RURAL LEGAL ASSISTANT FOUNDATIONS, ANOTHER ORGANIZATION THAT THAT FIGHTS FOR, FOR THE, UM, IMMIGRANT COMMITTEE, I IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY AND THE OTHER ORGANIZATION, UM, IMMIGRANT LEGAL, LEGAL RESOURCE CENTER FROM SAN FRANCISCO THAT LLOYD SAID, UM, THAT ORGANIZATION, THERE'S, THERE, THERE'S TWO ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT OUR COM OUR, UH, DPC GROUP IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S BECAUSE OF THE ALLIANCE OF THE RELATIONSHIP. THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, WHAT IS THE OUTCOME. IT'S NOT ABOUT MY BEING, BEING A FAMOUS, UH, IT'S ABOUT GIVING, UH, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHERS TO, TO SEE THAT HOPE TO SOMEONE IS, UH, FIGHTING FOR, FOR THEIR RIGHTS. AND I'M REALLY LIKE SO SAID IN HER, UM, VIDEO, UM, THAT, THAT THE PARENTS HAVE, UH, AN EXAMPLE TO, TO, IF KORA AND MI CAN DO IT AND MI CAN DO IT, THAT IT'S BLIND. I CAN DO IT. AND I REALLY, I REALLY, THANKS LLOYD. AND THE LAST, UH, FOUR PICNICS THAT WE HAVE, UH, EVERY YEAR HE'S BEEN SUPPORTING US. ALSO, I THANK, UM, HEIDI FOR NOMINATING OUR, UM, UH, OUR GROUP. THANK YOU, LLOYD. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COULD YOU, COULD YOU, COULD YOU NOTICE THE PASSION IN HER VOICE? UH, THAT'S HOW SHE IS, UH, ALL THE TIME. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, [01:16:58] . THANK YOU EVERYBODY HERE. AND THIS IS PAPERS NOT MINE. IT IS, UH, I SAY, THANKS, MY LORD AND MY GOD, HE CARES ME. HE LOVES ME, AND I HAVE A GOOD, GOOD DREAM. NOW, STAY HERE. THE UNITED STATES IS THE LAND OF THE GOD. THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR SILVERA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. IT IS, IT IS MY HONOR TO INTRODUCE THE DISTRICT FIVE VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR. THE MORNINGSTAR PACKING COMPANY IS A TOMATO PROCESSING COMPANY BASED IN DISTRICT FIVE AND ALSO DISTRICT ONE. UM, AND IT'S BEING HONORED TODAY FOR ITS EXTRAORDINARY GENEROSITY AND COMPASSION IN THE WAKE OF A DEVASTATING FIRE IN THE SAN ANELLA MOBILE HOME COMMUNITY, WHEN A PROLONGED POWER OUTAGE STEMMING FROM THE FIRE LEFT SEVERAL FAMILIES WITHOUT ELECTRICITY. DURING EXTREME SUMMER HEAT, MORNINGSTAR STEPPED UP AND WITH SWIFT AND SELFLESS SUPPORT, THE COMPANY DONATED AND INSTALLED A LARGE SCALE GENERATOR WITH DIESEL FUEL TO RESTORE POWER. AND BEFORE INSTALLATION WAS COMPLETE, PROVIDED COMPLIMENTARY HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS AT THE HOTEL MISSION DAY TO ENSURE RESIDENTS HAD A SAFE PLACE TO STAY. MORNINGSTAR'S RAPID RESPONSE AND UNWAVERING COMMITMENT BROUGHT CRITICAL RELIEF AND COMFORT DURING A TIME OF CRISIS. THEIR ACTIONS REFLECT TRUE COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP, AND WE ARE PROUD TO RECOGNIZE THEM FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS. IT IS TRULY MY HONOR TO PRESENT THEM WITH THIS AWARD TODAY. HELLO, I'M SHANNON COOK. I AM ONE OF THE SALES DIRECTORS HERE AT HOTEL MISSION DAYO. UH, WE FIRST LEARNED OF THE FIRE. UH, WE HAD A MEETING AND WE GOT TOGETHER TO SEE HOW AS A COMMUNITY WE CAN HELP THE PEOPLE. SO MY NAME'S MARCUS CHAVEZ. I'M WITH THE, UH, MORNINGSTAR TRUCKING COMPANY. AND, YOU KNOW, IT BASICALLY IT WAS THE ENTIRE, UH, ENTERPRISE THAT CAME TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, WITH MORNINGSTAR PACKING, LIBERTY PACKING, UM, MORNINGSTAR TRUCKING, AND THE HOTEL MISSION DI THAT JUMPED IN TO HELP THE RESIDENTS OF SALMONELLA. ONCE, UH, WE HEARD ABOUT THE FIRE, AND, YOU KNOW, THE OWNER AND THE FAMILY WANTED TO HELP THE INITIAL MEETING, I BELIEVE WE HAD SOMEONE FROM OUR ORGANIZATION HAD ATTENDED ONE OF THE MEETINGS IN MERCED AND FOUND OUT ORIGINALLY [01:20:01] THE NEXT DAY, WE GOT TOGETHER AS A TEAM AND KIND OF COLLABORATED REALLY QUICK TO SEE HOW WE COULD HELP THE FAMILIES THAT WERE AFFECTED BY THE FIRE. UM, FOR US, WE DECIDED TO OPEN UP SOME ROOMS, UH, FREE OF CHARGE FOR THE GUESTS THAT WERE AFFECTED, OR THE PEOPLE THAT WERE AFFECTED AND BROUGHT THEM TO THE PROPERTY, UM, AND OFFERED, UH, HOTEL LODGING FOR THEM FOR FREE. THAT WAS ONE THING THAT WE DECIDED TO DO RIGHT AWAY, TO ASSIST WITH THE PEOPLE AFFECTED. UM, ANOTHER THING WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE WEREN'T WANTING TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES. THEY WERE AFRAID OF VANDALISM. AND SO, UH, WE DID SET UP A SECURITY CAMERA TO KIND OF KEEP AN EYE ON THE AREA, UM, WHERE THE GENERATOR WAS GONNA BE SET UP. WE ALSO, UM, SENT FOOD OUT TO FEED THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE AFFECTED. UM, WE TRIED AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST THING FOR THESE FAMILIES AFFECTED. WELL, AT LEAST FOR ME, WHEN I SHOWED UP ON THE SITE, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ROSS OLIVERA ASKED ME, HEY, CAN YOU GO TO LIBERTY, GRAB A GENERATOR, HOOK UP TO IT, AND, AND GET IT OUT THERE? AND, UH, WE'LL HAVE OUR HEAD ELECTRICIAN, MARK DUN, GO, GO OUT THERE WITH YOU AND TELL YOU WHERE TO PLACE IT SO THE GUYS CAN START WORKING AND TRY TO HOOK UP THE POWER. YOU KNOW, I HAD MYSELF, I HAD NEVER BEEN OUT THERE, SO I SHOW UP OUT THERE AND YOU JUST LOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT'S BURNED DOWN, AND YOU'RE LIKE, I COULDN'T BELIEVE. IT'S LIKE, WOW, I'VE NEVER REALLY SEEN SOMETHING IN PERSON. YOU SEE IT ON THE NEWS, BUT SEEING IT IN PERSON'S DIFFERENT. AND, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT WHEN I WENT WITH HIM TO ONE OF THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE COMING UP TO US AND, YOU KNOW, THANKING US FOR, FOR GOING OUT THERE. WE WERE BARELY TRYING TO GET THINGS HOOKED UP AND GOING, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE, YOU COULD TELL YOU WERE REALLY HELPING SOME PEOPLE, BECAUSE WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF YOU, THEY START CRYING. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT REALLY HITS HOME. SO, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER THAT GENERATOR WENT OUT, IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT TIME OF THE NIGHT IT WAS, THEY WERE CALLING, UH, EITHER MYSELF OR SOMEBODY ELSE. WE WERE GOING OUT THERE TO GO CHECK IT AND GET IT BACK ON ASAP FOR THE, FOR THE WHOLE COMPANY. I'M VERY PROUD TO SEE EVERYBODY WORK REALLY HARD TOGETHER, UM, AND, AND COME TOGETHER FOR THE PEOPLE IN SALMONELLA. WE WERE WORKING DIRECT WITH INDIVIDUALS. THEY HAD OUR CELL PHONE NUMBERS. THEY COULD TEXT US ANY TIME IF SOMETHING, THEY NEEDED SOMETHING, IF SOMETHING WENT WRONG. AND I THINK THAT ALONE WAS ABLE TO EXPEDITE THE HELP FOR THE PEOPLE ACROSS THE STREET FROM US. I WAS SURPRISED, UH, YOU KNOW, DIDN'T KNOW HOW THAT CAME UP BECAUSE I MEAN, THAT WAS LAST SUMMER WHEN WE GOT ALL THAT DONE. AND I MEAN, THE PEOPLE WHEN THEY CAME OUT TO, TO THANK US, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WENT TO SEVERAL, YOU KNOW, MEETINGS OUT THERE WITH THEM. I MEAN, TO US, THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU. WE WEREN'T REALLY EXPECTING TO, YOU KNOW, GET RECOGNIZED FOR, FOR WHAT WE DO. THAT'S NOT, UH, MORNINGSTAR ALWAYS HELPS. IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE ROOFER FAMILY. THEY'RE A REALLY GREAT FAMILY. UH, THIS, THIS, THIS COMPANY'S NOT A CORPORATE COMPANY. IT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A GREAT FAMILY THAT, YOU KNOW, BELIEVES IN HUMAN RESPECT. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL ABOUT SELF-MANAGEMENT AND WHAT DO WE DO? YOU KNOW, IT BASICALLY, IT'S ABOUT HUMAN FLOURISHING AND WHAT DO WE DO TO, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE EVERYBODY LIVE A GREAT LIFE. AND, AND THE OWNER AND THE FAMILY HAVE ALWAYS PUSHED THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, BEING HERE FOR THESE MANY YEARS AND WORKING FOR THIS COMPANY, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, IT WAS NO SURPRISE THAT WHEN WE WERE DOING WHAT WE WERE DOING, IT WASN'T THE FIRST TIME WE, WE'VE DONE OTHER THINGS, JUST NEVER GOT RECOGNIZED. SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT, THAT THEY'RE FINALLY BEING RECOGNIZED BECAUSE THEY'RE ALWAYS DOING THINGS AND THEY DON'T DO IT FOR RECOGNITION. BUT I'M GLAD THAT FINALLY THEY'RE GETTING SOME RECOGNITION FOR, FOR MANY THINGS THAT THEY'VE DONE. THIS IS JUST ONE OF MANY, WELL, UM, I THAT IT'S VERY KIND OF OUR COMMUNITY, UM, TO NOMINATE US. OUR OWNER IS VERY HUMBLE. UM, HE WILL GO ABOVE AND BEYOND TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY, AND HE NEVER WANTS RECOGNITION. SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S EXCITING. I'M HAPPY, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY'RE GETTING ACKNOWLEDGED BECAUSE THEY DO A LOT FOR OUR COMMUNITY. IF I COULD HAVE MARCUS AND SHANNON COME UP, SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MORNINGSTAR COMPANY. IT'S, IT'S TRULY WHEN, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HONORING PEOPLE, YOU CAN HEAR IN, IN BOTH OF THE, THEIR PIECES IN THE VIDEO THERE. THEY DON'T DO IT FOR THE RECOGNITION, AND QUITE HONESTLY, THEY DON'T WANT THE RECOGNITION, UH, FOR, FOR WHAT THEY DO. UM, THIS IS JUST ONE OF MANY MARKETS. YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD IN, IN THAT THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE WAYS THAT THE MORNINGSTAR COMPANY, THE ROOFER FAMILY, GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND TO, NOT TO TAKE AWAY THUNDER FROM, FROM WHAT THEY DID IN SANTA ANELLA, BUT IF YOU GO AROUND ANYWHERE IN LOSAN, YOU GO TO ANY HIGH SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOOTBALL STADIUM, YOU'LL SEE A SCOREBOARD THAT ARE, THEY'RE NOT CHEAP, BUT THE MORNINGSTAR COMPANY WANTS TO GIVE BACK [01:25:01] TO THE COMMUNITY, AND THEY SUPPORT THOSE TO THE POINT WHERE THEY JUST DID THE ONE AT THE SPRING FAIR, AND YOU CALL THEM BECAUSE THEY GOT SUCH A GOOD CONNECTION WITH THE PEOPLE THAT PUT UP DIGITAL SIGNS BECAUSE THEY PUT UP SO MANY OF 'EM. UM, SO AGAIN, ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, IT'S REALLY OUR GREAT HONOR TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE YOU GUYS FOR, FOR THE GOOD WORK YOU DID WHEN THIS WAS, THIS WASN'T LIKE WE CALLED THEM AND SAID, HEY, COULD YOU HELP? IT WAS, THEY SHOWED UP AND SAID, HEY, HOW CAN WE HELP? AND AT THE SPEED OF BUSINESS, WE'RE ABLE TO DO THINGS THAT, QUITE HONESTLY, IN GOVERNMENT, WOULD'VE TOOK US A LOT LONGER. AND, AND, AND JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT WHEN THIS HAPPENED. THIS WAS IN JULY. THIS WAS, THESE ARE 110 DEGREE DAYS GOING ON, AND FOLKS DON'T HAVE THEIR, DON'T HAVE HOME, DON'T HAVE AIR CONDITIONING, AND THEY JUST STEPPED UP TIME AND TIME AGAIN THROUGHOUT THAT WHOLE PROCESS. WE'RE A PART OF IT FROM THE START TO THE FINISH. SO, AGAIN, MY HONOR, SO ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, HERE'S A LITTLE CERTIFICATE, AND HERE IS A COUNTY PIN AND A COUNTY CHALLENGE COIN. MARCUS, I WILL GET ANOTHER CHALLENGE COIN THAT'S COMING. I'LL GET IT TO YOU AT THE BREAK. SO, SHANNON, WANNA SAY ANYTHING? I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR, UH, ALLOWING US TO BE HERE AND, UM, IT'S AN HONOR TO REPRESENT HOTEL MISSION DAY, OO AND, UH, MORNINGSTAR. YEAH, I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU. UH, YOU KNOW, IT WAS DEFINITELY A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT WITH ALL THE, UH, FACTORIES COMING TOGETHER FROM LAS VANIS PACKING TO LIBERTY PACKING, MORNINGSTAR TRUCKING HOTEL MISSION, RO, UM, EVERYBODY FROM EACH ONE OF THOSE FACILITIES HAD A PART IN WHAT WE DID. UM, AND IT WAS TRULY A TEAM EFFORT. AND IT WAS NEAT TO SEE THAT. I DON'T KNOW IF THE LADY FROM THE UNITED WAYS HERE IS THAT YOU, THEY WERE THERE. I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO YOU BECAUSE WHEN WE WERE AT THOSE MEETINGS ALL THE TIME, YOU HAD TO HANDLE EVERYTHING THAT WAS GETTING THROWN YOUR WAY, AND YOU HAD TO TAKE ALL THE BAD, AND THEY WOULD PRAISE US. BUT I KNEW YOU WERE DOING A LOT OF THE REAL WORK WORKING WITH, AND THE WAY YOU HANDLED ALL THAT WAS, WAS, WAS SOMETHING ELSE. UH, SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR THAT, 'CAUSE THAT THAT TAKES A LOT. AND SO IT DID GET RECOGNIZED, AND WE DID TALK ABOUT THAT. SO, ANYWAYS, BUT, YOU KNOW, LAST AND FOREMOST, UH, YOU KNOW, I WANNA THANK THE, UH, ROOFER FAMILY. UM, THAT FAMILY FINALLY GETTING RECOGNIZED. IT'S BEEN SO MANY YEARS THAT THEY'RE ALWAYS GIVING, THEY'RE ALWAYS DOING THINGS. IT'S NEVER FOR RECOGNITION, AND THEY'RE ALWAYS, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY NEVER HESITATE TO HELP. AND LIKE SCOTTY WAS SAYING THAT, UH, YOU GO ANYWHERE IN TOWN AND YOU'RE GONNA FIND MORNINGSTAR SOMEWHERE THEY'RE HELPING OUT, WHETHER IT'S THE ANIMAL SHELTER, THE SIGNAGE THERE, ALL THE SCHOOLS EVERYWHERE. AND THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE UNKNOWN THAT MORNINGSTAR IS ALWAYS DOING. UM, SO I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE ROOFER FAMILY, AND THANK YOU, SCOTTY. PERFECT. THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN. YOU GUYS WANT, YEAH. SO HALF OF US HOUSE REP? YEAH. OKAY. AT THIS TIME, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE OUR VOLUNTEERS UP TO THE FRONT FOR A GROUP PHOTO. SO EVERYBODY COME UP PLEASE. WE JUST GONNA STAND HERE BEHIND THEM OR OUT FRONT. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GO OUT THERE. WE ARE. OKAY. SNEAK FOR ONE. OH, WE'LL MOVE UP, MOVE UP FRONT A LITTLE BIT, AND I'LL MAKE A SECOND. WELL, A LITTLE BIT [01:30:07] UP FRONT. DID YOU GET US ALL? ONE, TWO. SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA TAKE ITEM NUMBER 20, SO IF I CAN GET MY COLLEAGUES BACK UP, AND THEN WE WILL, THEN WE'LL BREAK FOR A RECEPTION. OKAY. LIKE, I, LIKE I MENTIONED, BEFORE WE TAKE A BREAK, [CONSENT CALENDAR ] WE WERE GOING TO CONSIDER, UH, ITEM NUMBER 20. ITEM 20 ARE CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION TO HOTEL MISSION, TO ORO, THE MORNINGSTAR PACKING COMPANY, UNITED WAY, PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY, AND TRIASE ELECTRIC FOR THEIR DEDICATED SERVICE AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THOSE AFFECTED BY THE JULY, 2024 ELLA MOBILE PARK HOME FIRE. OKAY. CHAIR. MOTION TO APPROVE. HOLD ON. HOLD, HOLD ON. GOT SOME REMARKS. YEAH. AT THIS TIME, UM, I WILL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR CONSENT. ITEM CALENDAR NUMBER 20, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR CONSENT. CALENDAR. ITEM NUMBER 20 IS NOW CLOSED. WE WILL HAVE TO TAKE THIS ITEM MANUALLY. UM, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR, I DO, I HAVE A MOTION? SO THERE, MOTION TO APPROVE. SAY AGAIN. SILVER MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND BY SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED TO SAY NAY? MOTION UNANIMOUSLY CARRIES. AS YOU JUST HEARD, WITH THE DISTRICT FIVE VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION IN JULY OF LAST YEAR, A FIRE DESTROYED SEVERAL MOBILE HOMES IN A SAN ANELLA MOBILE HOME COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION TO HOMES THAT WERE DESTROYED, THE FIRE ALSO DAMAGED ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND LEAVING SEVERAL HOMES WITHOUT POWER. FOR MONTHS, MANY INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS STEPPED UP TO ASSIST THE INDIVIDUALS DISPLACED AND AFFECTED BY THE FIRE, A COUNTY TEAM THAT INCLUDED THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE, COUNTY COUNCIL, HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND RECOVERY SERVICES, PUBLIC WORKS. AND THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE WORKED IN COLLABORATION WITH VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS TO ENSURE THAT THE NEEDS OF THOSE AFFECTED WERE IDENTIFIED AND RESOLVED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AMONG THOSE, EXCUSE ME, WHO DEDICATED EFFORTS INCLUDED HOTEL MISSION TO ORO, WHO OFFERED NO COST ACCOMMODATIONS TO FAMILIES WHO WERE DISPLACED OR WITHOUT POWER. THE MORNINGSTAR PACKING COMPANY DONATED EMERGENCY GENERATORS AND THE FUEL TO POWER THEM. UNITED WAY PROVIDED THE NECESSARY FUNDING TO ENSURE THE IMPROVEMENTS WERE MADE AT NO COST TO THE RESIDENTS. PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY COLLABORATED CLOSELY WITH THE COUNTY AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO ENSURE THAT POWER WAS BROUGHT TO THE SITE. TRIASE ELECTRIC PROVIDED THE NECESSARY LABOR AND EXPERTISE TO BUILD THE NEW S SYSTEM. EXPEDIENTLY. THANKS TO THE AFOREMENTIONED PUBLIC-PRIVATE, NON-PROFIT COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS, THE AFFECTED COMMUNITY IS BACK ONLINE. AND CAN I HAVE THE REPRESENTATIVES FROM HOTEL MISSION TO ORO, THE MORNINGSTAR PACKING COMPANY, UNITED WAY, PACIFIC GAS ELECTRIC COMPANY, AND TRIASE ELECTRIC. JOIN ME UP FRONT, PLEASE. I THINK MY COLLEAGUE SAID IT BEST WHEN HE TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU GUYS, EVERYBODY COMING TOGETHER TO GET THIS DONE WAS ABLE TO DO IT QUICKLY AND, UM, MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN THAN GOVERNMENT MOST OF THE TIME. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION AND, AND GETTING THOSE PEOPLE BACK TO, UM, BACK TO THEIR HOMES. ANYBODY LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING? NO. , WHY? YOU ALWAYS GOT SOMETHING TO SAY. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I WAS THE MOST FORTUNATE PERSON ON THIS PROJECT BECAUSE THE FOLKS THAT YOU SEE UP HERE, AS WELL AS THE COUNTY OFFICES, EVERY DAY WE WERE IN CONTACT. AND FOR ME, THIS IS [01:35:01] LIKE BACK HOME WEEK BECAUSE WE HAD NOBODY WITH EGOS AND EVERYBODY JUST WANTING TO GET THE WORK DONE, WE RAN INTO ISSUES WHERE WE WERE TOLD WE WOULDN'T HAVE PARTS FOR 14 TO 18 MONTHS GETTING COMING FROM A MANUFACTURER. SO OUR ELECTRICIAN, WHICH I DON'T SEE HIM HERE, UH, HE WAS ABLE TO, UH, WE WENT AHEAD AND SOURCED THEM FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES AND GOT THE JOB DONE AND HAD, UH, PG E CAME BACK IN AND SAID, THOSE PLANS LOOK GOOD. SO EVERYBODY WAS VERY VITAL AT GETTING THIS DONE. I BELIEVE IF ONE PERSON WASN'T ON THE A TEAM, WHICH I CALL THEM, UH, WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING THIS JOB DONE IN UNDER FIVE MONTHS. THANK YOU. WELL SAID. THANK YOU. OKAY. YOU'RE STILL WELL EXCEPT FOR NATHAN. HE JUST LOOKS THAT'S TRUE. YEAH, RIGHT THERE. NOW YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE. OKAY. ON THREE. 1, 2 3. OKAY. AT THIS TIME, WE WILL TAKE A 15 MINUTE BREAK. UM, THERE'S BE OR COOKIES, COFFEE WATERS IN THE, UH, IN THE HALL OUTSIDE IN THE FOYER, SO PLEASE HELP YOURSELF. 15 MINUTES. OKAY. THE MEETING IS, IS THE MEETING IS NOW BACK IN SESSION AT THIS TIME, UH, WE WILL, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE REMAINDER OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR. HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO POLL ITEM 10 FOR DISCUSSION FOR A SEPARATE DISCUSSION, CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS, OR ITEM NUMBER 10. IS THAT DO OR WE WANNA DO CONSENT CALENDAR FIRST? LET'S DO CONSENT CALENDAR FIRST, AND THEN WE WILL HOLD OFF ON VOTING ON NUMBER 10. OKAY. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS ONE THROUGH 19, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NUMBER 10. PLEASE NOTE, ITEMS ONE THROUGH THREE REQUIRE A FOUR FIFTH VOTE. OKAY. AT THIS TIME, I WILL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS ONE THROUGH 19, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 10. OKAY. UH, I'M ALSO, AS WELL AS THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PRESENTATION, IF ANYBODY HAVE COMMENTS ON THAT OR QUESTIONS. OKAY. PUBLIC COMMENT, PERIOD. FOR CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS I WENT THROUGH, UM, 19, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NUMBER 10 IS NOW CLOSED. UM, BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD. WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? I HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR SRA. SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PEREIRA. CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE. THE MOTION UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. OKAY. ITEM 10. WE'RE GONNA DO, OH, YOU WANNA DO THE PUBLIC WORKS AND STUFF? OH, YEAH. RIGHT NOW. OKAY. WE'LL DO THE PUBLIC WORK STUFF. OKAY. UM, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND READ THE PROCLAMATION AND I'LL BRING UP DIRECTOR BRAY. OKAY. WELL, THIS IS A PROP PROCLAMATION FOR NATIONAL PUBLIC WORKS WEEK PEOPLE, PURPOSE AND PRESENCE IS THE THEME. PUBLIC WORKS PROFESSIONALS FOCUS ON INFRASTRUCTURE, WHEREAS PUBLIC WORKS PROFESSIONALS FOCUS ON INFRASTRUCTURE, FACILITIES AND SERVICES THAT ARE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT COMMUNITIES AND TO PUBLIC HEALTH, HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE AND WELLBEING OF THE PEOPLE OF MERCED COUNTY. AND WHEREAS THE SUPPORTIVE AND UNDERSTANDING AND INFORMED CITIZENRY IS VITAL TO THE EFFICIENT OPERATION OF PUBLIC WORKS SYSTEMS AND PROGRAMS SUCH AS STREETS, HIGHWAYS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL, DRAINAGE, FLEET MANAGEMENT, AND PARKS. AND WHEREAS THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND COMFORT OF THIS COMMUNITY GREATLY DEPENDS ON THESE FACILITIES AND SERVICES AND THE QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE FACILITIES AND THEIR PLANNING, DESIGN, AND CONSTRUCTION IS VITALLY DEPENDENT UPON THE EFFORTS AND SKILL OF PUBLIC WORKS. EMPLOYEES AND PUBLIC WORKS PROFESSIONALS, UM, ARE RECOGNIZED AS FIRST RESPONDERS PROVIDING VITAL SUPPORT TO EMERGENCY RESPONSE PARTNERS HELPING PROTECT ESSENTIAL SERVICES AND RESTORING THOSE SERVICES FOLLOWING AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. AND WHEREAS THE EFFICIENCY OF THE QUALIFIED AND DEDICATED PERSONNEL WHOSE STAFF PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTS IS [01:40:01] MATERIALLY INFLUENCED BY THE PEOPLE'S ATTITUDE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK THEY PERFORM NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED. WE, THE MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DO HEREBY DESIGNATE THE WEEK OF MAY 18TH THROUGH THE 24TH, 2025 AS NATIONAL PUBLIC WORKS WEEK. AND WE URGE ALL CITIZENS TO JOIN WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND ACTIVITIES, EVENTS AND CEREMONIES DESIGNED TO PAY TRIBUTE TO OUR PUBLIC WORKS PROFESSIONALS, ENGINEERS, MANAGERS, AND EMPLOYEES. AND TO RECOGNIZE THE SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS THEY MAKE TO PROTECTING OUR NATIONAL HEALTH, SAFETY, AND ADVANCING QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL. THEY SHOULD ALSO GET A CERTIFICATE FOR BEING HERE FOR AS LONG AS THEY HAVE BEEN. SO, UM, NATHAN, WOULD YOU COME ON UP PLEASE? YEAH, JOSH, HE WAS GONNA SAY A FEW WORDS. OH, GO AHEAD. JUST SAY A COUPLE WORDS. YEAH. EXCELLENT. WELL, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. YEAH, ALMOST STILL. GOOD MORNING. UH, BOARD CHAIR AND VICE, UH, CHAIR AND, UH, BOARD SUPERVISORS. IT'S WITH MY HONOR, UH, TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, THE HARD WORK AND THE DEDICATION THAT THE PUBLIC WORKS STAFF, UH, PUTS FORWARD EVERY DAY. UH, YOUR COMMUNITY BENEFITS FROM THEIR HARD WORK AND THEIR DEDICATION. SO, UH, ON BEHALF OF, UH, UH, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, WE THANK THE BOARD FOR THIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THIS RECOGNITION. UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU WANNA COME ON UP HERE, NATHAN, YOU WELCOME. WE SHOULD ASK THE REST OF THE CREW TO COME UP HERE TOO. GO AHEAD AND PUBLIC WORKS. COME ON UP. AREN'T YOU COMING OUT? YOU DON'T LIKE OUR PUBLIC WORKS OR WHAT? WE DON'T TAKE PICTURES. ALRIGHT. THAT WAS, THAT WAS CLUNKY. . WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT. THAT IS A NORMAL, THERE YOU GO. WELL, THE, THE ISSUE IS HE SHOULD DO FEA AND DR. SULLIVAN. HE SHOULD HAVE JUST DONE YEAH, HE COULD HAVE WIDE ANGLE NOW. YEAH. NOW WE, YEAH. JUST DO THIS. BEEN EASIER IF THEY STAYED IN THE AUDIENCE AND TOOK THE PICTURE THIS WAY, , I JUST DON'T, I WILL, I'LL MOVE YOU. I, I, I DO WANNA SAY ONE MORE THING, AND NATHAN ASSURED ME THAT HE SAID, DON'T WORRY, WE ARE STILL WORKING TODAY, . SO, UH, I, I APPRECIATE THE, ALL THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS DO. I KNOW THAT WE ARE CONSISTENTLY CALLING NATHAN, UM, ABOUT THE DIFFERENT, UH, THINGS THAT WE SEE, AND YOU GUYS ARE VERY GOOD AT GOING OUT AND GETTING, TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS. AND SO FOR THAT, UH, I APPRECIATE IT AND I KNOW THE REST OF THE BOARD DOES AS WELL. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, TO KEEP CONSISTENT, UM, BEFORE WE GO TO NUMBER 10, WE'RE GONNA HAVE DEPUTY DIRECTOR ZA GRAY, WHO WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION REGARDING ITEM NINE, UH, THE PROCLAMATION FOR OLDER AMERICANS MONTH. IS SHE HERE? THERE, SHE'S [01:45:02] BUS RIDES NOW. HEY, BEACH ALTERNATIVE. GOOD. GOOD AFTERNOON. I SHOULD SAY IT WAS MORNING WHEN I WROTE THIS. SO, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME, CHAIR AND BOARD, CEO MENDEZ AND COUNTY COUNCIL HELSON. I AM FELICIA GRAY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADULT AND AGING SERVICES. UH, MAY, 2025 MARK'S OLDER AMERICANS MONTH. WHEN WE EMBRACE THE THEME FLIP THE SCRIPT ON AGING THIS MONTH ENCOURAGES US TO CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES AND PERCEPTIONS WITHOUT ABOUT AGING, HIGHLIGHTING THE VITALITY, RESILIENCE, AND CONTRIBUTION OF OLDER ADULTS IN OUR SOCIETY. IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE DIVERSE EXPERIENCES OF OLDER AMERICANS AND PROMOTE THE IDEA THAT AGING CAN BE A TIME FOR GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY, AND CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT BY FLIPPING THE SCRIPT. WE ADVOCATE FOR POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT EMPOWER OLDER ADULTS, ENSURING THEY LEAD ACTIVE, FULFILLING LIVES, AND ARE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE. LET'S COME TOGETHER TO HONOR AND SUPPORT THE OLDER GENERATIONS, REDEFINE AGING AND CREATE A COMMUNITY THAT VALUES EVERY STAGE OF LIFE. TOMORROW WE HOST OUR ANNUAL OLDER AMERICAN RECOGNITION LUNCHEON AT THE MERCER COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR MANY PROGRAMS FOR OLDER ADULTS AT THE PLEASE CALL OUR AREA AGENCY ON AGING AT 2 0 9 3 8 5 75 50, OR STOP BY AT 8 51 WEST 23RD STREET, MERCED, CALIFORNIA. AND CHECK OUT OUR EVENTS CALENDAR ON OUR MERCED COUNTY WEBSITE ON THE AAA PAGE. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THAT IS ONE OF THE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS THAT I HAVE, AND I GOTTA TELL YOU, UM, IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITES TO GO TO JUST BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ARE REALLY ENGAGED AND I, I'VE LEARNED A LOT. UM, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE PLANNING SOME REALLY GOOD THINGS FOR TOMORROW, SO IF YOU'RE ABLE TO MAKE IT OUT, I, I'D, I'D, UH, ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO. OKAY. NEXT WE HAVE PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR, DR. SULLIVAN, WHO WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION REGARDING, REGARDING ITEM 11, THE PROCLAMATION FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WEEK. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR BOARD, CEO MENDEZ. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. UM, AS YOU WILL HEAR SHORTLY, EMS IS A VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC THAT BRINGS UP QUITE A BIT OF PASSION IN THE COMMUNITY. AND SO THIS, UH, MAY 18TH THROUGH 24TH IS THE 51ST ANNUAL NATIONAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WEEK. BUT THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'RE BRINGING A PROCLAMATION BEFORE YOUR BOARD TO RECOGNIZE THE ESSENTIAL WORK OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. UM, THIS IS NOT LIMITED TO THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL, UH, THE EMS AGENCY, UH, UNDER WHICH, UH, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UH, IT SERVES UNDERNEATH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, BUT IS ALSO FOR OUR PARAMEDIC AND EM, UM, EMT SERVICE WORKERS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY RESPONDING TO CALLS AS WELL AS OUR CITY AND COUNTY FIRE. AND FOR IN THE FIRST RESPONDING ORGANIZATIONS AS A WHOLE, IN ADDITION TO OUR HOSPITALS WHO RECEIVE, UM, THESE ARE, ARE RE RESIDENTS WHO ARE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF NEED. THIS WEEK'S, THIS YEAR'S PROCLAMATION THEME IS WE CARE FOR EVERYONE. AND NOTHING REALLY SUMS UP THE EMS SERVICE MORE THAN THAT. AND SO I THANK YOU FOR THIS RECOGNITION AND, UM, JOINING ME AND RECOGNIZING OUR EMS PROFESSIONALS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. THANK YOU. OKAY, NOW WE'RE GONNA BRING BACK ITEM 10, AND FOR THAT I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT. IS THERE ANYBODY FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBER? HARRIS, GOOD AFTERNOON. I KNOW YOU THOUGHT I WAS HERE TO ACCEPT THE AWARD ON AGING ADULTS, , NOT THAT YOU MENTIONED. NO, I'M NOT THAT. AND, UH, AND NOT AS A SITTING COUNCILMAN FOR THE CITY OF MERCED. I'M HERE AS A RESIDENT OF MERCED WITH OVER 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN EMS MANAGEMENT. THAT'S EMS MANAGEMENT FOR C FOR SYSTEMS RUN BY COUNTIES, SYSTEMS RUN BY CITY FIRE AND SYSTEMS RUN BY PRIVATE, UM, AMBULANCE COMPANIES, INCLUDING MY SIX YEAR TOUR AS VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF RIGS BACK IN THE, UH, EARLY TWO THOUSANDS. I COME BEFORE YOU BECAUSE THE, UM, EXTENSION PROPOSED, UH, I THINK HAS SOME ISSUES ON IT. AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE YOU TO DO IS TO CONTINUE THIS ITEM UNTIL WE CAN GO TO THE EMCC AND TALK IT OVER THOROUGHLY. UH, REMOVING THE PENALTIES FOR LATE CALLS REMOVES ACCOUNTABILITY, AND IT REMOVES A, A SECURITY BLANKET THAT'S THERE, AND THAT NEEDS TO BE THERE. THERE ARE WAYS THAT I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT, UH, THE PROVIDER IS GOING TO DO AN EXTENSION AND IT'S GONNA BE UNDER TERMS [01:50:01] THAT ARE NOT AS FAVORABLE AS THEY COULD BE. AND IT'S NECESSARY. THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT AN EXTENSION IS NECESSARY FOR THIS CONTRACT. UH, SO AS WE CAN GO INTO THE NEXT RFP, BUT THERE ARE WAYS, INSTEAD OF USING, UM, THE HAMMER, UH, WE CAN USE THE, THE, UM, CARROT TO INCENTIVIZE THE PROVIDER FOR EXTENDING THE CONTRACT. UM, NOWHERE HAS IT EVER BEEN SUCCESSFUL, SUCCESSFUL TO SAY THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES. SO BY PUTTING IN, BY PUTTING IN PENALTIES, THAT SHOULD BE THE LAST ITEM THAT WE DO. WE CAN DO THIS, WE CAN KEEP THE SECURITY OF THE CONTRACT WITH INCENTIVES, BUT WE CAN'T ELIMINATE THE PENALTIES. THERE HAS TO BE SOME ACCOUNTABILITY. SO I URGE YOU TO, UH, CONTINUE THIS. THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO RISK IN THAT. WE HAVE TILL THE END OF JUNE BEFORE THAT CONTRACT IS UP. AND LET THE E-M-C-C-A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN EMS TALK IT OVER. UM, I CAN THINK OF AT LEAST TWO OR THREE WAYS TO DO INCENTIVES THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD HELP THE PROVIDER MORE THAN ELIMINATE PENALTIES. THANK YOU. OKAY. IS THERE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? OKAY, I WILL CLOSE PUBLIC ITEM FOR THIS ITEM AND BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD. UM, I, I, I PULLED THIS BECAUSE I HAD SOME QUESTIONS AND I, I'VE BEEN, UM, AND I TALKED TO, UM, DR. SULLIVAN AND, AND MR. WILLIAMS ABOUT IT YESTERDAY BECAUSE I, THAT I SHARED IN SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS IN REGARDS TO, UM, THE ACCOUNTABILITY ASPECT OF IT. AND SO I'D LIKE YOU TO KIND OF SPEAK ON THAT AND WHY THIS HAS TO BE DONE, UM, SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. UM, SO THANK YOU. HELLO AGAIN. AND YES. UM, SO JUST TO PUT THIS IN CONTEXT, EVERY FIVE YEARS WE GO OUT FOR AN RFP BID TO PROVIDE, UM, A CONTRACT THAT IS A NOCO CONTRACT TO THE COUNTY. IT IS, IT ALLOWS US TO HAVE AN EXCLUSIVE OPERATING AREA. WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WHOMEVER WINS THAT BID IS THE ONLY PROVIDER WHO CAN PROVIDE SERVICES, NOT JUST TO MERCED CITY, BUT TO THE COUNTY AS A WHOLE. UH, WE HAVE BEEN UNDERWAY FOR OUR NEXT FIVE YEAR RFP FOR QUITE SOME TIME. HOWEVER, IT HAS BEEN HELD UP EXTENSIVELY BY THE STATE. UM, SO WE ARE STILL WAITING, UH, TO GET THAT FINAL RFP OUT. AND SO THAT FOUND, WE LIKE TO GIVE WHOMEVER WINS THAT RFP SIX MONTHS TO RAMP UP BEFORE THEY TAKE OVER THE, THE SERVICE DELIVERY WITHIN THE COUNTY. SO, TO ENSURE THE INTEGRITY OF THE RFP PROCESS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A CON CONSISTENCY AND CONTINUITY OF SERVICE, WE EXPORT ACTUALLY MULTIPLE OPTIONS IN TERMS OF GIVING, UH, PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES TO THE, TO THE COMMUNITY DURING THE PERIOD OF TIME IN WHICH WE'RE EXECUTING THE RFP. UM, CURRENTLY SAMHSA, OUR, OUR EXISTING PROVIDER IS PERFORMING WELL THIS YEAR. THEIR MOST RECENT RESPONSE TIME DATA CAME OUT, AND THEY ARE MEETING THEIR 90% AND EXCEEDING THEIR 90% THRESHOLD FOR, UH, TIMELY CALLS. WE DID ALSO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER PROVIDERS, UH, SIMILARLY TO WHAT THIS, WHAT IS OUTLINED IN THIS CONTRACT, BECAUSE THIS IS A CON, UM, A, A NON-GUARANTEED CONTRACT IN THE, IN THE RFP SENSE, ESSENTIALLY, I, ANY SERVICE PROVIDER TAKING THIS ON WOULD BE DOING US A FAVOR. AND SO NO SERVICE PROVIDER WAS WILLING TO DO SO IF THEY WERE GOING TO BE SUBJECT TO FINES AND PENALTIES. SO I ALSO WANNA SPEAK TO, UH, A REALLY IMPORTANT DISTINCTION IS THAT UNDER OUR CURRENT CONTRACT, SIMPSON RIGS DOES OWE US SIGNIFICANT FINES AND PENALTIES. THIS IS NOT WAIVING THOSE FINES AND PENALTIES. THEY WILL STILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE FINES AND PENALTIES. THIS IS PAUSING THE FINES AND PENALTIES DURING THIS TRANSITIONARY PERIOD. WHILE WE EXECUTE THE RFP, THE EMS AGENCY WILL CONTINUE WITH THE SAME LEVEL OF MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT OF SIMSA. UM, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MEET REGULARLY WITH BOTH SAMSA AND THE EMCC. THIS ITEM WAS NOT BROUGHT BEFORE THE EMCC BECAUSE IT IS NOT PART OF THAT RFP PROCESS. IT IS A CONTRACT EXTENSION OF THE EXISTING CONTRACT THAT DID GO BEFORE EMCC. THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO SAY TOO, IS THAT THE REASON THAT THIS, THE TIMELINESS IS SO IMPORTANT IS FOR THE CONSISTENCY OF THOSE SERVICE DELIVERY AS WELL AS [01:55:01] THE CONSISTENCY OF STAFFING. IF WE WERE TO BRING ANOTHER ENTITY IN, THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN STAFFING OF OUR LOCAL EMS AND PARAMEDIC TEAM HERE, UM, BECAUSE IT WOULD BE FOR SUCH A UNCERTAIN CONTRACT TERM. SO, UH, UH, DOING THIS EXTENSION WITH SIMSA ALLOWS US TO KEEP CONTINUITY OF SERVICES, WHICH AGAIN, RIGHT NOW ARE MEETING THE THRESHOLD FOR, UH, QUALITY SERVICE DELIVERY AND WOULD MAINTAIN OUR LOCAL STAFFING LEVELS. AND I WILL TAKE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. SO, SO E ESSENTIALLY THIS, THIS, THE SIMPSON RIGGS, BY HAVING THIS AGREEMENT, PROVIDES THIS SERVICE ALL ACROSS THE COUNTY. AND SO IF WE DID NOT HAVE THIS, WE WOULDN'T HAVE, WE'D HAVE UNDERSERVED AND LIKE A HUGE AMOUNT OF UNDERSERVED POPULATION. YES. SO THE REASON THAT WE DO AN, UH, A EOA OR AN, OR AN EXCLUSIVE OPERATING AREA IS BECAUSE OTHERWISE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IS THAT COMPANIES WOULD COME IN AND THEY WOULD BE AROUND POPULATION DENSE CENTERS. SO THEY WOULD STAY IN MERCED CITY. WHAT THEY WOULD NOT DO IS PUT UP A CAR IN DOS PALOS OR DELHI OR PLANADA. UM, SO HAVING THE EXCLUSIVE OPERATING AREA MAKES THE, THE ENTITY HAVE RESPONSIBILITY ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTY, CARVING OUT THE CITY OF MERCED MAKES THAT WHOLE MODEL FALL APART AND WOULD RESULT IN, UH, POOR OR POORER SERVICE TO THE REST OF THE COUNTY. OKAY. THANK YOU SUPERVISOR SILVERA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I JUST, I I, I DID GET SOME SOME PHONE CALLS AS WELL. AND, AND LISTEN, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF AS PART OF OUR DUE DILIGENCE, YOU EXPLORE ALL OPTIONS. IF SIMSA LEAVES ON THE FINAL DAY OF THEIR CONTRACT, THERE ARE POTENTIAL THAT YOU CAN FIND SOME KIND OF AMBULANCE SERVICE THAT COMES IN, IN A TRIAGE SETTING OR WHATEVER. ANYBODY THAT COMES IN IS GONNA REQUIRE THE SAME THING. THEY'RE NOT GONNA, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO SAY TO YOU THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA BE HELD LIABLE TO THE FINES AND THE PENALTIES. I DON'T WANNA SPEAK ON BEHALF OF SIMPSON RIGS, BUT I THINK, I FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE A, A DUTY, UM, THEY HAVE MORALS AND VALUES THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA GET THIS SIX MONTH EXTENSION ALL OF A SUDDEN SAY, HEY, WE'RE NOT GONNA GO TO CALLS, OR WE'RE JUST GOING TO THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW. AND, AND JUST IN CASE, IF ANYBODY WAS WONDERING IF, TROY, I DON'T WANT YOU TO TAKE THIS, BUT IF THEY DECIDED TO DO THAT, I, I I WOULD ASK YOU TO READ THE ACTUAL CONTRACT THAT WE'RE EXTENDING AND IT SAYS TERMINATION WRITTEN NOTICE, THE AGREEMENT MAY BE CANCELED IMMEDIATELY BY, WITH WRITTEN MUTUAL CONSENT. FAILURE TO PERFORM SUBJECT TO SECTION SIX COUNTY UPON WRITTEN NOTICE TO CONTRACTOR MAY IMMEDIATELY TERMINATE THE AGREEMENT IN THE EVENT OF MATERIAL BREACH AS DEFINED IN SECTION SIX A. SO I WANT EVERYBODY, THE, THE CALLS THAT I GOT'S CONCERN IS, IS THAT IF ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU HAVE THAT, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO FINES AND PENALTIES. I I'M GLAD THAT YOU CLARIFIED DR. SULLIVAN. THIS DOESN'T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST. IT'S TALKING FOR THAT SIX MONTH EXTENSION PERIOD. UM, I, I WOULD, I WOULD, AND OUR, OUR LIMS A DIRECTOR IS HERE. WE WOULD BE WATCHING THAT. AND, AND, AND IF, IF FOR SOME REASON THEY JUST DECIDED THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA GO TO CALLS ANYMORE, WE WOULDN'T BE IN BUSINESS WITH THEM ANYMORE. THAT'S AND PART OF THE CONTRACT. SO, AND THEN I JUST DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT ALSO IS THIS, THE STATE HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE IN DEALING WITH THIS RFP PROCESS. WE ENGAGED THIS PROCESS EARLY. I WAS SHOWN A TIMELINE. I, I BELIEVE ALL OF US WERE SHOWN A TIMELINE ON OKAY, WITH, WITH WHAT I WOULD CALL MORE THAN REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT BECAUSE THE STATE HAS TO BLESS THE RFP BEFORE WE CAN PUT IT OUT ON THE STREET. THE STATE HAS TO BLESS IT. THEY HAVE EVERY EXCUSE IN THE WORLD OF WHY IT'S TAKING THEM SO LONG AND, AND, AND WHOEVER THE NEXT CONTRACTOR IS, THEY GOTTA BE ABLE TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO, TO, IF IT STAND UP AND SET UP A, A NEW SYSTEM, RIGHT? SO AMOUNT OF TIME, AND THIS IS WHERE WE END UP IN THIS SIX MONTH CONTRACT WITH THE POTENTIAL TO EXTEND BY THREE MONTHS, BECAUSE I'M STILL NOT CONFIDENT THE STATE MISSED A DEADLINE YESTERDAY THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE RFP THAT WE'VE WORKED HAND IN HAND WITH THEM ON EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE REQUESTED OF US IN REAL TIME. WE HAVE SUBMITTED BACK TO THEM WITH THE CORRECTIONS THEY WANTED, WAS PROMISED BACK TO US IN TWO WEEKS. I BELIEVE YESTERDAY WAS THE DEADLINE CLOSE OF BUSINESS YESTERDAY. WE STILL DON'T HAVE IT BACK. AND SO ULTIMATELY, WHATEVER YOU THINK OF SIMPSON RIGS AND THE SERVICE THEY'RE PROVIDING, THEY'RE THE PROVIDER THAT WE HAVE. THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE PROVIDER THAT WE KNOW. AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT I'M, WE'VE DONE OUR DUE DILIGENCE, WE'VE LOOKED INTO IT. I DON'T SEE A BETTER OPTION THAN THE ONE THAT WE HAVE FORWARD. AND QUITE HONESTLY, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY REASON TO POSTPONE, DELAY OR PROLONG THIS. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UM, I JUST WANNA THANK SUPERVISOR SILVERA FOR BEING ON THIS COMMITTEE. I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT [02:00:01] HE HAS BEEN ON THIS COMMITTEE SINCE, SINCE HE WAS ELECTED TO THIS POSITION. AND I CAN JUST KNOW IN SIDE CONVERSATIONS, HIS FRUSTRATION HAS BEEN THIS PARTICULAR ITEM AND TRYING TO RESOLVE WHAT'S HAPPENING. I, I THINK WHERE MY QUESTION IS THOUGH, AND I, I DID RECEIVE SOME PHONE CALLS AS WELL, AND I GOTTA SAY MY CONSTITUENCY, UM, I RECEIVED A LOT OF COMPLAINTS, UH, ON THIS. AND A LOT OF IT IS RIGHT NOW WE'RE SAYING WE DON'T HAVE, WE'RE AFRAID GOING TO THE NEXT LEVEL, THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE FOLKS THERE AND THERE'S GONNA BE DELAYS. I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE EXPERIENCING THAT RIGHT NOW WHERE WE ARE. AND, AND IT GETS FRUSTRATING. I MEAN, I'VE HAD SOME WITH PREVIOUS DIRECTORS WHERE I, I'VE HAD TO SIT FACE TO FACE WITH FAMILIES WITH COMPLAINTS WHO LOST FAMILY MEMBERS, AND THEY JUST DIDN'T THE, THE PROCESS, THE WAY IT WAS HANDLED. BUT, UM, ONE, ONE QUESTION THAT GETS TO ME THOUGH, AND, AND TALKING WITH THE CITY OF MERCED FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SIMPSON WOULDN'T WANT TO INCLUDE THIS, BUT IF THEY HAVE AN AMBULANCE, UM, AVAILABLE WITH SOMEBODY, WHY WOULDN'T YOU TRY TO KEEP THEM WITHIN YOUR SYSTEM? ESPECIALLY IF IT'S LOCATED IN THE CITY OF MERCED AND WE NEEDED SOME ASSISTANCE INSTEAD OF FOR FIRE TO BE ON A CALL AND HAVE TO BE THERE FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF TO WHERE THEY WOULD BE, HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO CALL IN THEIR AMBULANCE SERVICE JUST ON A ONE TIME OR JUST ON AN EMERGENCY SITUATION? I, AND, AND THAT'S WHERE MY QUESTION IS. I, I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY EVEN WITH THE SIX MONTHS EXTENSION THAT COULDN'T BE INCLUDED WITHIN THIS, BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE I, I AM MORE LEANING ON THE SIDE OF MY CONSTITUENCY, AND IF IT'S A ALIVE OR DEATH SITUATION, I DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR SOMEBODY TO COME OUTTA CILLA OR SOMEBODY TO COME OUTTA STANISLAUS COUNTY WHENEVER WE DON'T HAVE AN AMBULANCE AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY'RE HELD UP AT THE, AT THE HOSPITAL. IT IS JUST, I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S AN EASY QUESTION, BUT I CAN NEVER REALLY GET A GOOD ANSWER. SURE. UM, SO ESSENTIALLY THIS GETS STEPPED BACK TO THE EX, THE EOA QUESTION. SO WHEN A, WE BREAK AN EOA TO ALLOW A NON-CONTRACTED PROVIDER IN, UH, IN A NON-MEDICAL EMERGENCY. SO IF THE, THE, THE, THE RULE, ALL OF THIS WOULD BE OFF THE TABLE IF WE HAD A MASS CASUALTY EVENT OR OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT AS PART OF DAY-TO-DAY SYSTEM ALLOWING, UH, A BREAK OF THE EOA TO BRING ALTERNATIVE UM, PROVIDERS IN, WE WOULD THEN HAVE, WE'D HAVE TO HAVE JUSTIFICATION TO DO THAT AND NOT ALLOW OTHER ALTERNATIVE PROVIDERS IN. ONCE WE BREAK THE EOA, THAT'S WHEN WE LOSE SERVICE TO THE, THE RURAL PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE RURAL PARTS OF THE COUNTY. BECAUSE THE, THE, THE, THE WAY THAT EMS IS FUNDED, THE WAY THAT EMS RESPONSE IS FUNDED IS NOT BY SHOWING UP ON SCENE, IT'S BY THE TRANSPORT. UM, WE COULD TALK FOR A LONG TIME ABOUT IF THAT MODEL MAKES SENSE. UM, I WOULD SAY NO, BUT THAT IS WHAT IT IS RIGHT NOW. AND SO IF WE ALLOW THAT TRANSPORT TO HAPPEN BREAKING THE EOA, THEN UH, IT, IT LEADS US OPEN TO, WELL, WHY CAN'T WE COME IN IF THERE'S A SURGE OVER HERE, WHY CAN'T WE COME IN FOR THIS? SO THE, IT BREAKS THE FINANCIAL MODEL OF HOW TO SUSTAIN SERVICE FOR THE WHOLE COUNTY. UM, AND AGAIN, SO IF, IF YOU COULD ACRONYM EOA SURE. IT'S THE EXCLUSIVE OPERATING AREA. SO BASICALLY WHAT IT SAYS IS THAT ONLY OUR CONTRACTED PROVIDER CAN COME IN AND PROVIDE SERVICES WITHIN THE COUNTY OF MERCED. OKAY. AND I APPRECIATE THAT. SO WHAT I'M WONDERING IS, BUT HOW COME WE'RE SEEING OTHER, OTHER COUNT, OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS COME IN YEP. COME IN OUT OF, OUT OF COUNTY THAT IS PART OF THE OFFICIAL MUTUAL AID PROGRAM. SO OTHER SURROUNDING COUNTIES ALSO HAVE EXCLUSIVE OPERATING AREAS, UM, AND THEIR COMMUNITY PROVIDERS WHO ARE IN THEIR EXCLUSIVE OPERATING AREAS COME IN AND SERVE OUR COUNTY. AND THEN WE ALSO GO BACK AND SERVE THEIR COUNTY. SO IT'S A SYSTEM THAT WORKS BY THAT MUTUAL AID PROCESS, BUT ONE PROVIDER PER AREA. SO, SO IT'S THE ONE PROVIDER THEN WHO CONTRACTS OR MAKES THE AGREEMENT FOR THE MUTUAL AID. THAT'S RIGHT. SO HOW COULD WE, YOU WOULD THINK SIMSA WOULD WANT TO HAVE THAT AGREEMENT BEING THAT WE HAVE A AMBULANCE SERVICE SITTING AT A FIREHOUSE HERE IN THE CITY OF MERCED, THAT THEY WOULD PROBABLY, I MEAN, I'M SORRY, I'M A COMMON SENSE KIND OF GUY, AND IT JUST MAKES COMMON SENSE THAT IT WOULD BE CHEAPER TO PROBABLY USE ONE OUT OF MERCED THAN ONE OUT OF ANOTHER COUNTY. I, IT'S, AND I KNOW THAT'S NOT A QUESTION TO YOU, AND KRISTEN, I APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU'RE DOING, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND IT TO FIGURE OUT, OR IT SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE A SIX MONTH CONTRACT RIGHT HERE. I THINK IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. AND I, I WOULD, [02:05:01] I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT CONSIDERATION FOR CLARIFICATION WHEN WE SAY SO, UM, IN THIS, UM, IN THIS, UH, AGREEMENT, UM, DOES IT PROHIBIT SIMSA FROM THEN, UM, DOING A LETTER OR MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING OR, OR, UH, WHAT THE CITY OF MERCED TO HAVE THEIR AMBULANCE, UH, BACK, BECAUSE I MEAN, THIS IS WHAT I'M GETTING TO IN MY HEAD. MR. HARRIS MADE SOME, SOME GREAT POINTS. AND, AND SO AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT, I, UM, I WAS THINKING, YOU KNOW, THE CARROT ALWAYS WORKS BETTER. AND SO, UH, SIMPSON CURRENTLY IS DOING A GREAT JOB, RIGHT? UM, YOU SAID THEY'RE MEETING THEIR 90%. UM, AND SO I WANNA KEEP THAT GOING , RIGHT? AND, AND DISPEL FEARS. SO, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW THIS IS 11TH HOUR QUARTERBACKING, I GUESS. SO I'LL JUST SAY SOME THINGS AND IF IT WORKS, IT WORKS. IF IT DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T. BUT, BUT COULD SIMSA, UM, MAKE AN AGREEMENT WITH MERCED, UH, TO, UH, A MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT? AND THEN, UM, IF SIMSA IS UNABLE TO MAKE THEIR TIMELY, I MEAN, IF THEY CAN MAKE THE CALL, THEY MAKE THE CALL, BUT IF THEY CAN'T, THEN, THEN THEY COULD MUTUAL AID WITH THE CITY OF MERCED. UM, AND I'M JUST KIND OF THINKING OUT LOUD, AND MAYBE THAT WORKS, MAYBE IT DOESN'T. BUT, UH, THE OTHER THING WOULD BE IF THEY HAVE FINES THAT COULD WE, UM, COULD WE, YOU KNOW, UTILIZE THOSE FINES AS A CARROT TO KEEP THEM AT THEIR 90%, HITTING THEIR 90% MARK? I'LL ANSWER THE SECOND QUESTION. UM, THEIR FINES GO INTO AN EMS POOL FOR ENHANCEMENTS TO THE SYSTEM. SO THAT WOULD BE A DISCUSSION POINT WITH EMCC. AND THEN I'M GOING TO DEFER TO OUR EMS ADMINISTRATOR, TIM WILLIAMS, FOR YOUR FIRST QUESTION. SURE. THANK YOU. SO THANK YOU. UM, YEAH, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, UH, THEY COULD REACH AN AGREEMENT WITH, UM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, CITY OF MERC SAT, THEY NEED, WANTED TO, BUT I, I WANNA POINT OUT THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALREADY A MECHANISM IN PLACE THAT, UM, ALLOWS THE MERCED CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT IF THEY'RE ON SCENE FOR A PROLONGED AMOUNT OF TIME, THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY, ESPECIALLY WITH THEIR A LS FIRST RESPONSE, IT JUST STARTED IN JANUARY, THAT THEY CAN REQUEST A BLS UNIT FOR TRANSPORT FROM SIMSA. RIGHT? SO MAKE SURE WHEN YOU'RE SAYING A LS AND BLS YEAH, SO, I'M SORRY, ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT AND BASIC LIFE SUPPORT. AND SO, SO YOU HAVE A, SO FOR THE MOST PART, CITY OF MERCED IS MADE UP OF, UH, BASIC LIFE SUPPORT, BUT RECENTLY THEY JUST INJECTED AN ENHANCEMENT TO THE SYSTEM, WHICH WAS AN ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM, AND THEY RUN OUTTA STATION 53. AND SO I KNOW THAT THIS MODEL HAS WORKED BECAUSE THEY'VE DONE THIS. SO WHEN THEY'VE BEEN ON SCENE AND THEY'VE HAD A, A SICK PATIENT THAT NEEDS TO GET OFF SCENE, THEY'VE ASKED FOR HOW FAR AWAY THE, THE ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM IS, AND THEY WERE GIVEN AN ETA AND IT'S EXTENDED, THEN THEY'VE REACHED OUT ON MED NINE TO CALL THE SIMPSON DISPATCH CENTER TO REQUEST A BLS UNIT FOR TRANSPORT. SO THEY USE THEIR MEDICS AND THEY USE THE TRANSPORT UNIT FROM SIMPSON TO GET THAT PATIENT TO THE HOSPITAL. SO THERE'S NO DELAY. YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF LIKE THAT MODEL WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT STILL USING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE, THE CONTRACTED PROVIDER UNDER THE EOA. RIGHT. AND, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THE OTHER CONCERN I HAVE IS, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THEY HAVE ONE, YOU KNOW, AMBULANCE THERE AT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND IT SETS AT A STATION. IT'S NOT RESPONDING. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE GONNA CALL FOR AN AN AMBULANCE, THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE BRING IT OVER AND, AND, AND SO THEY CAN ACTUALLY TRANSPORT A PATIENT. I DUNNO HOW IT WOULD WORK, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, BUT WE ALREADY MAYBE HAVE A MUTUAL AID COMING OR WE HAVE SOMEONE FROM, FROM THE WEST SIDE COMING TO THE EAST SIDE TO RUN THAT CALL. AND SO I'M MORE CONCERNED, I GUESS, FROM THE EMS AGENCY THAT'S GONNA CAUSE MORE OF A DELAY UNLESS IT'S ACTUALLY IN THE SYSTEM RUNNING CALLS, YOU KNOW, WHICH IT'S NOT ALLOWED ON THE EOA. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS ENVISIONED, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THEY'VE, THEY'VE COME AND TALKED TO THE MS AGENCY AND THEY'VE, AND THEY'VE, THEY WANTED TO KIND OF LOOK AT A SURGE PLAN, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THERE WAS A SURGE ON HOW TO UTILIZE THEIR, THEIR RESOURCE, I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE IF, IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, A MASS CASUALTY OR IF THERE'S, THERE'S RESOURCES THAT ARE JUST DEPLETING OUR SYSTEM AND WE CAN'T EVEN GET FROM THE OTHER MU FROM THE OTHER COUNTY'S MUTUAL AID, I THINK THERE'S, THERE COULD BE A BENEFIT. BUT I THINK THE DAY TO DAY, YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST FACE IT, WE'RE NEVER GONNA HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE'S GONNA MAKE THE COMPLIANCE. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE 90 PERCENTILE AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S GONNA BE THESE LATE CALLS. WE DON'T LIKE IT, BUT IT'S JUST THE REALITY OF IT. AND, BUT WE LOOK REALLY AT THE, THE LONG EXTENDED, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, SEEING DELAYS, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REALLY AFTER. SO I WOULD JUST CAUTION, YOU KNOW, UM, AGAIN, JUST TRYING TO PROTECT THAT EOA, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WHEN WE'RE GONNA USE THE CITY OF, CITY OF THE, OR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, CITY, CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT'S ASSET THAT WE'RE JUST BEING VERY MINDFUL OF THE EOA AND WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, AND JUST USING IT JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE ONE, WE HAVE ONE, YOU USE IT WHEN IT'S REALLY NEEDED AS I GUESS IS THE, THE, THE PICTURE I'M TRYING TO POINT OUT. SO ANYWAY, BUT, BUT ISN'T THAT HOW MUTUAL AID WORKS? THAT IS HOW WE ONLY, I MEAN, YEAH. YOU KNOW, IT'S, YEAH. OKAY. IT, IT, ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE HAD YOU SPEAK FIRST TOO, , BUT ANYWAYS, [02:10:01] THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT YESTERDAY, WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC IF THEY, OKAY. OKAY. UM, A, A PART OF THIS DISCUSSION, UM, IS BECAUSE OF ALLEGED BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. UM, I, I, I STILL THINK THAT I, WELL, WHAT'S, SO, UM, ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? ANY MORE DISCUSSION? SO, ONE SECOND. SO WHO GOT THE I DIDN'T, I'M NOT SURE THE WHOLE, WHAT'S THE QUESTION? THE LETTER, NOT THE WHOLE BOARD DIDN'T SEE THE LETTER? NO, JUST THE, UH, CHAIR AND PARTICULAR, IT'S INFORMING PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT PEOPLE ARE REPRESENTATIVE. SO, SO WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO HERE? WHAT'S THE OF THE BOARD? YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S, IT REQUIRES A MANUAL VOTE. SO STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS WHAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU. OKAY. SO I THINK YOU'RE EITHER LOOKING FOR YEAH. A MOTION OR, OKAY. SO WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? I'M READING A LETTER RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE TO TAKE THIS MANUALLY. I DIDN'T, DIDN'T GET IT. SUPERVISOR PEREIRA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. SO WHAT THE, THIS THE LETTER FROM THE CITY, WHAT, WHAT DID THAT SAY? I MEAN, WHAT'S THE, UM, SYNOPSIS OF IT? I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T SEE IT. SO YEAH, I, SO I THINK THE LETTER, UH, BASICALLY REAFFIRMED SOME OF THE COMMENTS MADE BY THE CITY REPRESENTATIVE. WELL, I GUESS YOU WEREN'T REPRESENTING THE CITY AT THIS TIME, BUT WE DO HAVE THE CHIEF THAT I THINK IS PREPARED TO MAYBE SUMMARIZE ON YOUR, UH, FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR BENEFIT. YEAH. CHIEF WILSON. GOOD AFTERNOON. BOARD. UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. UH, CASEY WILSON AND OUR FIRE CHIEF WITH THE CITY OF MERCED FIRE DEPARTMENT. YES, WE DID SUBMIT A LETTER, UM, REALLY JUST HIGHLIGHTING OUR CONCERNS, UH, ON BEHALF OF THE IMPACTS, UH, THAT IT COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE IN THE CITY OF MERCED. UM, JUST TO RECAP A LITTLE BIT, UH, WE, THE CITY OF MERCED ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTANDS THE NEED FOR AN EXTENSION. WE UNDERSTAND THE, UH, MOST OF THE TERMS WITHIN THE, UH, EXTENSION. WE DON'T REALLY SEE ANY MAJOR ISSUE WITH THAT. UM, WE UNDERSTAND THE DELAY, UH, THAT THAT WAS OUT BEYOND THE CONTROL OF THE COUNTY, AND THAT, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH FOLKS HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD IN, UM, HANDLING THAT IN A TIMELY MANNER. WE UNDERSTAND THAT THOSE WERE AT THE STATE LEVEL. UM, ABSOLUTELY, UH, NO CONCERNS. WE UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR AN EXTENSION AND, AND TO BE HONEST, THE CURRENT CONTRACTOR PROVIDER HAS BEEN DOING, UM, A VERY GOOD JOB IN, IN COMPLIANCE. IT APPEARS, AT LEAST FROM OUR FIELD RESOURCES AND, AND SOME OF THE NUMBERS. SO, UH, CURRENTLY WE DON'T SEE A MAJOR SIGNIFICANT ISSUE. UM, SO THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE'RE WANTING TO HIGHLIGHT HERE. WHAT WE ARE WANTING TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT REMOVING THE FINES COULD POTENTIALLY LEAD TO A LACK OF COMPLIANCE AND NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE SYSTEM. THAT IS A CONCERN THAT I HAVE AS THE FIRE CHIEF, THAT WE WILL BE BACK TO A SITUATION WHERE WE WERE YEARS AGO WHEN THEY WERE SHORT STAFFED AND THEY HAD SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES, UM, THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GET AMBULANCES, SPECIFICALLY ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT AMBULANCES ON SCENE. THAT'S GONNA TIE UP OUR RESOURCES FOR EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME. AND AS YOU KNOW, UM, MUTUAL AID IN THE CITY OF MERCED, WE'RE KIND OF ON THE ISLAND. OUR MUTUAL AID IS EITHER COMING FROM THE WEST SIDE, IT'S COMING FROM, UH, CILLA, MODESTO, TURLOCK, UM, THESE AREAS OUTSIDE. THE DIFFERENCE FROM TWO TO THREE YEARS AGO TO TODAY IS WE HAVE A FIRST RESPONDER ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT PROGRAM. WE HAVE AN, AN AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY. UM, WE, WE HAVE THE TRAINED FOLKS AND WE DO HAVE AN AMBULANCE. IT IS NOT STAFF 24 7, BUT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO CROSS STAFF THAT AND GET THAT AMBULANCE ON SCENE. I WOULD SAY IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES, MUCH QUICKER THAN MUTUAL AID RESOURCES WOULD BE ABLE TO GET ON SCENE. SO, UH, ALL WE ARE LOOKING FOR, WE ARE, WE DO NOT WANNA STAFF THE AMBULANCE ON A DAILY BASIS AND TRANSPORT PATIENTS ON A DAILY BASIS. THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN RIGHT NOW. WE'RE IN INTERESTED ENSURING THAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY IS MET AND WE MAKE SURE THAT IF WE HAVE THE RESOURCES, WHICH WE DO THE PARAMEDICS AND WE HAVE AN AMBULANCE, THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO USE IT IN THE SYSTEM BEFORE WAITING FOR AMBULANCES TO COME ON A MUTUAL AID BASIS OUT OF MODESTO OR TURLOCK OR OUTSIDE THE AREA. BECAUSE WE CANNOT ALWAYS GUARANTEE HOW FAST THOSE RESOURCE RESOURCES ARE GONNA GET HERE. UM, THE EOA MAKES IT EXCLUSIVE THAT WE WOULD BE IN VIOLATION OF THAT EOA IF WE WERE PUT INTO A SITUATION WHERE WE HAD TO TRANSPORT A PATIENT. AND I DON'T WANNA PUT MY EMPLOYEES AND THE COMMUNITY IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY'RE FORCED TO MAKE A DECISION THAT IS AGAINST THE POLICY OR AGAINST, UH, THE EOA. SO ALL WE'RE LOOKING FOR, AND THAT CAN BE IN, THAT COULD BE DONE IN [02:15:01] A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS. ONE COULD BE AN EXCEPTION WITHIN THIS EOA EXTENSION. ANOTHER WAY COULD BE A SURGE POLICY. UM, WE CAN FIGURE OUT THE MECHANICS TO MAKE SURE THAT AMBULANCE GETS ON SCENE IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME AND TRANSPORTS THAT CRITICAL PATIENT. THIS IS, AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A, I HOPE IT'S NOT A DAILY OCCURRENCE, BUT OUT THE FINES IN PLACE, THERE'S A, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE COULD BE IN A SITUATION THAT WE WERE A FEW YEARS AGO AND WE JUST DON'T WANNA BE IN THAT SITUATION. THANK YOU. UM, SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. NO, THANK YOU CHIEF. UM, IT, IT SEEMS, IT SEEMS LIKE FOR THE SHORT TERM WE'RE PROBABLY NOT ABLE TO GET IT DONE, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE ONGOING. IS THERE SOMETHING THE COUNTY CAN DO IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING FORWARD? IN MY OPINION, UH, AT MINIMUM I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UH, STAFF DIRECTED TO WORK ON A SURGE POLICY FOR US WITH A TIMELINE BEFORE JULY ONE, SO THAT WE HAVE THIS IN PLACE. I THINK THIS IS A GOOD PRACTICE, UH, MOVING FORWARD WELL BEYOND, UM, THIS CONTRACT, EVEN IN THE NEXT CONTRACT THAT'LL GIVE US THE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO UTILIZE THAT RESOURCE. SHOULD WE HAVE A PATIENT THAT HAS CRITICAL NEEDS THAT NEEDS TO GET TO A HOSPITAL, WHAT USUALLY TRIGGERS A SURGE POLICY? UM, YOU, WE WOULD HAVE TO, UH, LOOK BACK, UH, THROUGH, UM, THEIR PARAMETERS. SO WE COULD USUALLY IT'S LIKE A EXTENDED ET OVER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, SAY 15 MINUTES, 20 MINUTES, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I DUNNO IF THERE'S SO MANY CALLS WITHIN A CERTAIN SYSTEM STATUSES WE COULD USE. THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS WE COULD WORK OUT, AND WE HAVEN'T REALLY HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS. THAT'S REALLY WHAT I'M REQUESTING TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN UTILIZE THAT RESOURCE. AND OF COURSE, WE DON'T WANT TO DELAY RESPONSE, RIGHT? RIGHT. WE WANT, WE WANNA, THE, THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO GET THE PATIENT THE INCREASE HOSPITAL QUICKER. UM, YOU KNOW, THIS SHOULD BE THE ANOMALY. UH, I PERSONALLY AM NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE, UM, REIMBURSEMENT SIDE OF IT SO MUCH AS GETTING THE PEOPLE TO THE, THE DESTINATIONS THAT THEY NEED. RIGHT ON. THANK YOU CHIEF. THANK YOU SUPERVISOR SILVERA. THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. CHIEF, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. UM, QUESTION FOR YOU. DO YOU GUYS HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UM, BE REIMBURSED FOR YOUR SERVICES? UH, WE DO. WE DO HAVE ALL THE, UM, ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL. THE ONE PIECE THAT WE DO NOT HAVE IS A BILLER IN PLACE BECAUSE WE DON'T CURRENTLY BILL FOR THOSE SERVICES. SO WE DO NOT HAVE A BILLER. OKAY. PERFECT. THANK YOU. AND THEN MY NEXT QUESTION IS FOR MR. WILLIAMS, IF YOU COULD COME BACK UP HERE, TIM, I APPRECIATE IT. IN, IN THE LETTER FROM THE CITY, IT SAID, WE RESPECTFULLY ASK THAT THE CONTRACT AMENDMENT EXTENSION INCLUDE LANGUAGE PROVIDED AND EXEMPTION. IF, IF PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ARE NOT MET DURING THE EXTENSION PERIOD, OTHER CERTIFIED ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT PROVIDERS, WHICH HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY MERCED COUNTY, WOULD BE PERMITTED TO OFFER EMERGENCY TRANSPORTERS WITHIN THE EOA. UM, WHILE MUTUAL AID IS A VALUABLE SUPPORT MECHANISM, IT CANNOT BE THE COUNTY'S ONLY LINE OF DEFENSE RELYING ON, ON IT ALONE RISK LEAVING. CRITICAL NEEDS UNMET. THIS IS NECESSARY TO SAFEGUARD PUBLIC HEALTH, ENSURE RELIABLE EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONSE FOR MERCED CITY RESIDENTS AND THOSE THAT RECEIVE SERVICE BY CONTACT WITH MERCED COUNTY. SO MY QUESTION IS TO YOU AS, AS, AS THE EMS ADMINISTRATOR, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE IN A CONTRACT OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, THAT THE EMS ADMINISTRATOR COULD APPROVE? I KNOW I'M PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BRINGING ANOTHER PROVIDER IN. I JUST WANNA CLARIFY, I'M SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT THE AMBULANCE THAT SITS IN THE CITY OF MERCED. IF, IF, IF, IF A SURGE POLICY AS, AS THE CHIEF JUST MENTIONED, I WANT TO, IF, IF CONVERSATIONS ARE GONNA GO ON ABOUT WHAT DOES A SURGE POLICY LOOK LIKE, WHEN WOULD THAT BE TRIGGERED? IS THAT HA IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE DONE IN A CONTRACT OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE BY, BY LIMS A BY THE IMSA? IT CAN BE DONE BY THE LOCAL EMS AGENCY. I MEAN, A CALL TO THE ADMINISTRATOR, UH, NOTIFYING US THAT THERE IS SOME ISSUES OUT THERE FOR AS FAR AS THERE SURGE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE, THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH UNITS. EVEN THE MUTUAL AID CAN'T EVEN, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, SUFFICE. THEY CAN CALL US. WE CAN EVALUATE IT AND WE CAN MAKE A DECISION. OKAY. THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I NEEDED ON THAT. I JUST, 'CAUSE I, I'M GONNA GO BACK TO SOME OF THE CHIEF'S COMMENTS NOW IS JUST, THEY NOT LOOKING TO BE THE EMS PROVIDER FOR THE CITY OF MERCED, WHICH I'M JUST GONNA GO ON RECORD AS SAYING THAT I WOULD NEVER BE IN SUPPORT OF BE BECAUSE OF, OF, OF COMMENTS THAT DR. SULLIVAN SAID IN ORDER TO GET A 24 HOUR CAR IN DOSS PALACE AND IN THE LA GRAND, LA GRANDE LUMADA AREA. IF YOU LOOK AT IT ON PAPER, IT DOESN'T WORK. THE THE AMOUNT OF CALLS THEY RUN VERSUS VERSUS THE, THE COST TO HAVE THAT STAT, THAT DOESN'T WORK. YOU NEED THE POPULATION CENTERS NOW, SO WE CAN, WE ALL CAN AGREE TO THAT. SO LET'S GET PAST THAT. THE, THE NEXT POINT IS, IS, AND, AND I'M GONNA ASK MR. SMITH TO COME UP HERE IN A SECOND, IS WHY IN, IN A SITUATION WHERE IF, IF THE SYSTEM IS STRIPPED YOU, YOU [02:20:01] BREAK AN MCI OUT ON THE WEST SIDE, YOU GOT UNITS TIED UP OUT THERE, AND, AND IT'S JUST THE WAY THAT IT WORKS. WE CAN'T HAVE AN AMBULANCE ON EVERY CORNER. IT DOESN'T WORK, RIGHT? BUT STARS ALIGN. LAU COUNTY'S GOT SOMETHING BIG GOING ON. YOU BREAK SOMETHING OUT ON THE WEST SIDE, MAYBE MADERA'S GOT SOMETHING GOING ON. IT'S POSSIBLE, PROBABLY NOT LIKELY. WHAT WOULD BE THE CHALLENGE WITH SAYING, HEY, WE HAVE A RESOURCE THAT'S HERE. WHY, WHY WOULDN'T WE WANT TO USE THAT COMMENT? SIR, SORRY TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT. SUPERVISOR RA. MY NAME IS TROY SMITH. I'M THE CEO FOR EMSA RIGGS. I'VE MET WITH, UH, MR. SILVERA AND MR. MENDEZ WITH REGARDS TO THE EXTENSION OF THIS CONTRACT. UNDERSTAND EO OPERATING AREA, THAT MEANS IT'S EXCLUSIVE TO A SINGLE PROVIDER. THERE'S ALSO THINGS THAT WILL GET, POTENTIALLY GET TRIGGERED IF THAT EOA IS VIOLATED BY ANOTHER, UM, ANOTHER ENTITY COMING INTO THE CONTRACT, EXCLUDING, UH, MULTIPLE CASUALTY INCIDENTS LIKE MCI AND EXCLUDING MUTUAL AID. SO IT IS POSSIBLE TO LEVERAGE UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IF YOU DO ALLOW CERTAIN SCENARIOS TO OCCUR, AND THERE ARE TRANSPORTS FOR THAT, IT COULD VIOLATE THE EOA NOT ONLY AS IT EXISTS TODAY. , THE REQUEST THAT WE MADE FOR THIS EXTENSION IS CONSISTENT WITH THE INDUSTRY, NUMBER ONE. NUMBER TWO, IT IS CONSISTENT WITH PRECEDENT THAT HAS BEEN SET PREVIOUSLY WITH THIS EOA WITH A PREVIOUS EXTENSION WHEN THE RFP WAS DELAYED AS WELL. YOU HAVE MY COMMITMENT THAT WE HAVE STAFFED, WE HAVE THAT. AS I'VE TALKED TO DR. UH, MR. RA, AS WELL AS MR. MENDEZ REGARDING OUR EMT STAFF. OUR FULL-TIME PARAMEDICS ARE THE HIGHEST THEY'VE EVER BEEN OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. WE HAVE 10 MORE THAT ARE GONNA BE STARTING IN JUNE. WE'RE TARGETING TO HAVE STARTED IN JUNE AS WELL. WE ARE NOT LOOKING TO, TO CHANGE THE COMPLIANCE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE. WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR IT EVERY SINGLE DAY, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH 10 MILLIONS. I'M PROUD TO SAY WE HIT IT FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL, AND WE'RE TARGETING TO HIT IT FOR THE CONTINUUM MONTHS GOING FORWARD. SO IT IS NOT OUR INTENT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM TO DIMINISH THE QUALITY OF SERVICE, UH, IN ANY WAY THAT WE'VE DONE. IN FACT, WE'VE CONTINUED TO ESCALATE THE LEVEL OF SERVICE, WHETHER IT'S BEEN ADDITIONAL VEHICLES, WHETHER IT'S BEEN ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, WHERE IT'S BEEN BONUSES, A NUMBER OF FACTORS THAT WE'VE DONE TO BE CREATIVE, TO TRY TO GET THE STAFFING THAT WE WENT THROUGH DURING COV THAT HAD A DRAMATIC IMPACT ON OUR ABILITY TO RECRUIT TO THIS COMMUNITY. AND I THINK WE'VE WORKED WITH THE, THE, UM, COLLEGE HERE IN, IN MERCED AS WELL, TO DRIVE THAT ADDITIONAL STAFFING. AND YOU'RE SEEING THE RESULTS OF THOSE. WE HAVE A SUPERVISOR THAT GOES EVERY SINGLE DAY TO SIT AT THE HOSPITAL TO CLEAR PATIENTS, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE WHAT'S CALLED APO OR AMBULANCE PATIENT OFFLOAD TIME OR WALL TIME. IT IS A SERIOUS ISSUE HERE IN MERCED. IT IS A SERIOUS ISSUE ACROSS THE US. SO WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF CREATIVE THINGS TO GET US TO THIS POINT, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT OPERATION INTACT GOING FORWARD THROUGH THIS EXTENSION AND POTENTIALLY THROUGH THE RFP. HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS? NO, THANK YOU. JUST, JUST, THAT WAS JUST THE QUESTION. I'M HEARING THAT YOU HAVE A RESOURCE THERE. IF SOME REASON YOU'RE IN SOME KIND OF SURGE CAPACITY THAT I JUST EXPLAINED, W WOULD, WOULD, WOULD BE THE CHALLENGES TO SAYING, HEY, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THERE'S A PATIENT IN NEED AND WE NEED TO GET TO THE HOSPITAL. AND IF WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR AN AMBULANCE, IT'S GONNA TAKE AN HOUR TO GET HERE. WHEN WE HAVE A RESOURCE THAT COULD BE 10 MINUTES AWAY, WE WILL WORK WITHIN THE EMS AGENCY TO, TO OPTIMIZE THE PATIENT'S, UM, RESULT. PERFECT. THANK YOU, SIR. APPRECIATE IT. SUPERVISOR PEREIRA. YEAH, MR. SMITH. I, YEAH. YEAH. SO I, I WANNA THANK YOU AND YOUR COMPANY FOR STEPPING UP AND, AND, AND GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE'D HOPED YOU'D BEEN ALL ALONG, RIGHT? I KNOW IT'S NOT BEEN EASY AND THERE'S BEEN EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES THAT HAVE PUT YOU THERE. AND, UM, AND I HOPE YOU DON'T TAKE THIS, UH, CONVERSATION AS A SLIGHT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MY RESPONSIBILITY AND I BELIEVE MY COLLEAGUES ARE JUST TO THE, THE PEOPLE OF OUR, OUR COUNTY AND, AND YOU KNOW, MORE, MORE SPECIFICALLY SOMEBODY WHO'S IN A HEALTH CRISIS, RIGHT? UH, AN EMERGENCY. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THE, YOU KNOW, YOU COMING UP AND, AND KIND OF BEING WILLING TO, TO SHARE, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU'RE AT AND, AND THAT YOUR WILLINGNESS TO WORK WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE CITY. BECAUSE IF THERE'S AN AMBULANCE THERE, AND, AND IT WAS MY, YOU KNOW, MY LOVED ONE THAT NEEDS AN AMBULANCE, 10 MINUTES VERSUS 45 MINUTES IS A, IS A BIG DIFFERENCE. AND, AND I, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T GET THE CALLS TODAY THAT I GOT SIX MONTHS AGO OR, OR A YEAR AGO. AND SO I APPRECIATE [02:25:01] THAT. AND ANYWAY, SO I'M JUST CONCERNED THAT WE GET THE BEST CARE FOR OUR PEOPLE, WHICH IS WHAT YOU JUST SAID YOU CARE ABOUT TOO. AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT, AND I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND, AND, YOU KNOW, SO HOPEFULLY THE, THE CURRENT AGREEMENT, UM, FACILITATES THAT AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HEARING MR. HARRIS'S AND, AND THE CHIEF'S, UH, CONCERNS, YOU KNOW, CONCERN ME AS WELL. SO I'M GLAD WE'RE MAYBE HAVE A DIALOGUE THAT GETS US ALL PAST THAT AND WILLING TO WORK TOGETHER AS WE GO FORWARD, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN NOW AND DECEMBER 31ST AND, AND MAYBE BEYOND. SO, THANK YOU. YES, SIR. OKAY. ARE YOU, OH, SORRY. ALL RIGHT. IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY, SO HERE'S WHAT, UH, I'M PROPOSING, UM, THAT WE, WE STAY THE COURSE WITH THIS, UH, AMENDMENT OR THIS EXTENSION, BUT WE ALSO DIRECT STAFF TO WORK WITH THE CITY, UM, TO ADDRESS THE SURGE ISSUES THROUGH LIM SSA. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? ARE WE GOOD HERE TO SEARCH POLICY? GO AHEAD, SUPERVISOR SILVERA. YEAH. NO, I, I, IN PRINCIPLE, I DON'T HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH THAT. I JUST, I GUESS WHEN YOU CLARIFY, I WANT MORE CLARIFICATION ON WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY WORK WITH THE CITY ON, SO I, I GUESS I WANT IT MORE SPECIFIC. DO, DO YOU WANT POLICY? YOU WANT, YOU DO YOU WANT, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THE CITY'S A PLAYER IN IT, BUT IT'S GONNA BE THE LIMS OF THAT, THAT WOULD BE THE ONE THAT CREATES THE SURGE POLICY. AND, AND, AND IN CONSULTATION WITH THE ZI JUST DON'T WANT IT UNCLEAR. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. OKAY, THEN, THEN I CAN, I'M GOOD WITH THAT. AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, IF THERE'S NO OTHER COMMENTS, MR. CHAIR? I DO, OH, GO AHEAD. SUPERVISOR PRAYER. UH, YEAH. SO THE, THE, THE ONE CONCERN I HAVE IS IF WE DO A SEARCH POLICY, UH, I'M, I'M KIND OF HOPING THAT, THAT, THAT IF THE CITY OF MERCED IS SO INCLINED IS THAT IT COULD ALSO BE A MUTUAL AID, YOU KNOW, MORE THEN THAT, THAT WOULD BE GOOD. ANY, ANYBODY ELSE? SO, SU SUPERVISOR, VERA, DO YOU WANNA MAKE THE MOTION? YEAH, MY MOTION WOULD BE IS, IS THAT WE APPROVE ITEM NUMBER. I BELIEVE IT'S, I LOST 10. 10. APPROVE ITEM NUMBER 10. AND THEN ADD IN THERE THAT WE'D HAVE THE, THE EMS ADMINISTRATOR HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY TO DISCUSS WHAT A SURGE POLICY WOULD LOOK LIKE. THAT'S MY MOTION. OKAY. IS THERE A SECOND? I WILL SECOND THAT. OKAY. SO WE HAVE TO TAKE A MANUAL VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? OKAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? SAY, SAY NAY. MOTION PASSES. OH, SUPERVISOR SILVER. NO. OKAY. WE'LL, WE'LL NOW [BOARD ACTION] MOVE ON TO BOARD ACTION, BEGINNING WITH PUBLIC WORKS. ITEM NUMBER 21. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR PUBLIC WORKS. ITEM 21, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR PUBLIC WORKS. ITEM 21 IS NOW CLOSED. WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? SOME COMMENT. OH, I'M SORRY. SUPERVISOR RA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE NOW THAT I'M, UH, I GRABBED THE WRONG ITEM, A DECK IN IT. HOLD ON A SECOND ITEM. I DON'T KNOW. MY DEAL'S NOT WORKING OVER HERE TOO WELL. THERE WE GO. ITEM 21. UM, THIS, I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THIS ITEM. THIS IS, THIS IS A CONTINUATION. WE HAVE TOMORROW GROUNDBREAKING, EXCUSE ME, A RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE JERRY O'BANION LIBRARY, AS WELL AS THE REMODEL OF THE DALE HILL HALL. AND THIS IS AN EXTENSION OF THAT. THIS IS ANOTHER GRANT THAT WE WENT AFTER, UH, A CLEAN CALIFORNIA'S LOCAL GRANT, UM, PROGRAM. AND THIS IS AUTHORIZES, UH, STAFF IN THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO ACTUALLY PUT THIS OUT ON THE STREET SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUING TO WORK ON THAT WHOLE PARK. AND EVENTUALLY WE'LL GET THROUGH IT, AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO FO AT LEAST FOR ME, CONTINUE TO FOCUS GRANTS AND GRANT EFFORT ON SOME OF OUR OTHER PARKS IN THE COUNTY. BUT DIDN'T WANT TO, UM, LET THIS GO WITHOUT, THIS IS A $2.89 MILLION GRANT, UH, FOR, UH, THE O'BANION PARK AND DUST PALACE. OKAY, SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR RE SECOND ADVISED SUPERVISOR PEREIRA, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE. OKAY. NEXT, WE HAVE, UH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND RECOVERY SERVICES, ITEMS 22 AND 23. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR BHRS ITEMS 22 AND 23, [02:30:01] THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR BHRS. ITEMS 22 AND 23 IS NOW CLOSED. UH, BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD. I HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PEREIRA. SECOND BY SUPERVISOR RA, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE. THE MOTION PASSES. NEXT, WE HAVE HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY ITEMS 24 THROUGH 29. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR HSA ITEMS 24 THROUGH 29. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR ITEMS 24 THROUGH 29 IS NOW CLOSED. BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD. WE HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR RA. SECOND ADVICE SUPERVISOR PEREIRA. UH, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE UNANIMOUSLY. MOTION UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. NEXT WE HAVE PROBATION ITEMS 30 AND 31. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR PROBATION ITEMS 30 AND 31. OKAY. UH, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR PROBATION ITEMS 30 AND 31 IS NOW CLOSED. UH, BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD. WE HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PEREIRA, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR RA. UH, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. NEXT WE HAVE SHERIFF ITEMS 32 AND 33. I'M SORRY. SORRY. TOOK YOUR RULE. GO AHEAD. ITEMS 32 AND 33. THANK YOU. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR SHERIFF ITEMS 32 AND 33 PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. FOR SHERIFF ITEMS 32 AND 33 IS NOW CLOSED, BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD. I HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR VERA, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO. PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. NEXT WE HAVE COMMUNITY ECONO AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. ITEM 34. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR CED ITEM 34, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR CED ITEM 34 IS NOW CLOSED. AND BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD. MOTION BY SUPERVISOR RA, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO. UH, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. NEXT WE HAVE RETIREMENT ITEM 35. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR RETIREMENT. ITEM 35, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR ITEM 35 IS NOW CLOSED. I HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR VERA, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO. UM, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. NEXT WE HAVE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES. ITEM 36. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS A CLERICAL ERROR ON BOARD AGENDA ITEM FOR THIS ITEM, WHICH REFERENCES SECTION 10.2 OF ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY NUMBER 2, 2 4, HOWEVER, IT SHOULD STATE SECTION ONE, 1.2. OKAY. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES. ITEM 36, PUBLIC COMMENT, PERIOD FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES. ITEM NUMBER 36 IS NOW CLOSED. BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD. SILVERA CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. NEXT, WE HAVE, UH, COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE ITEMS 37 AND 38. PLEASE NOTE THAT ITEM 38 INCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF A 10% BASE WAGE INCREASE, 7%, YEAR ONE AND 3% YEAR TWO FOR UNIT 20, WHICH INCLUDES THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ASSISTANT COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, DEPUTY COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, COUNTY COUNCIL, AND APPOINTED AND ELECTED DEPARTMENT HEADS. OKAY, AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR, UH, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO. UH, CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. OKAY. NEXT WE HAVE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, ITEMS 39 THROUGH 41. UH, SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UM, ONE OF THESE ITEMS IS OUR DISCRETIONARY FUNDS, UH, OUT OF MY DISTRICT ON ITEM NUMBER 39. I JUST WANNA, [02:35:01] UH, SAY THANK YOU TO LINDSEY JOHNSON FOR WORKING ON THIS. UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE DUMPING A LOT OF TRASH IN MY DISTRICT, RIGHT OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS INTO A LOT OF MY GROWERS' FIELDS AND EVERYTHING ELSE. UM, THIS IS A, AN AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE DOING A SET ASIDE. SO WHEN FOLKS ARE DOING CLEANUPS, UM, THEY RECONQUEST A VOUCHER, UH, TO BE ABLE TO HAUL IT TO THE DUMP WITH NO CHARGE. I UNDERSTAND THERE'S STILL TIME, THERE'S STILL GAS INVOLVED, BUT I THINK THIS IS ONE THING THAT I CAN DO WITHIN MY DISTRICT, JUST FOR A LITTLE BIT OF HELP OF FOLKS BEING ABLE TO GET, UH, STUFF THAT KEEPS GETTING DUMPED ON THEIR PROPERTY, UH, OVER TO THE TRASH AND BE ABLE TO HELP THEM OUT THROUGH THIS PROCESS. ALTHOUGH, I LIKE TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT MATTRESSES ARE STILL FREE AND YOU'RE JUST LAZY IF YOU'RE DUMPING 'EM JUST OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS IN OUR DISTRICTS. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. YOU'RE WELCOME. SUPERVISOR VERO. THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. ALSO IN ITEM 30, EXCUSE ME, 41 IS SPECIAL PROJECTS, UH, DISTRICT PROJECT FUNDS GOING $19,470 TO, UM, THE LOST MANUS VETERANS HALL FOR A CEILING AND RES STRIPING OF THE PARKING LOT THERE. AND SO I ALSO WANT TO THANK TAMARA AND LINDSAY FOR, UM, GETTING THIS PUT TOGETHER IN RELATIVELY SHORT ORDER FOR ALL OF OUR CONSIDERATION. AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE MY COLLEAGUES TO VOTE YES. OKAY. ANYONE ELSE? OKAY. UM, SO IT'S BACK. UH, THE PUBLIC CONDUCT IS CLOSED. UM, KAY. DO I HAVE A MOTION? DO I HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PERERA. SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO. CALL FOR THE VOTE. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. NEXT, WE HAVE BOARD APPOINTMENTS, ITEMS 42 THROUGH 45. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR BOARD APPOINTMENTS. PLEASE RECORD THE VOTE. THE MOTION UNANIMOUSLY PASSES. [REPORTS/BOARD DIRECTION] AT THIS TIME, WE WILL HAVE BOARD REPORTS STARTING WITH SUPERVISOR RA. HOLD ON. YEAH, WHENEVER WE HAVE THE VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR PRESENTATIONS, I WANT TO CONGRATULATE AGAIN, ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR. UM, GOOD FOLKS OUT THERE DOING GOOD WORK, AND IT'S NICE TO BE ABLE TO HONOR SOME OF THOSE FOLKS. UM, I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MAYDAY FAIR. WE JUST WRAPPED THAT UP ON SUNDAY. UM, IT WAS, IT WAS A TYPICAL MAYDAY. WE HAD, UH, SOME REALLY NICE WEATHER DAYS, AND THEN WE HAD, WE ACTUALLY, THE RAIN CAME, IT DIDN'T ACTUALLY RAIN DURING THE FAIR. IT ACTUALLY RAINED LIKE A COUPLE DAYS BEFORE THE FAIR. UM, BUT THAT WEEK, I TELL PEOPLE YOU'VE NOT EXPERIENCED A TRUE MAYDAY UNLESS YOU'VE EXPERIENCED ALL FOUR SEASONS IN THAT, IN THAT WEEK OF THAT FAIR. WE ALMOST GOT THERE. WE, WE, WE, WE HAD THE WIND, WE HAD THE COLD. WE HAD SOME BEAUTIFUL SUNNY DAYS. UM, WE JUST DIDN'T GET THE RAIN THIS YEAR. SO, UM, JUST WANNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO CINNAMON. OUR FAIR MANAGER. THIS IS HER FIRST FAIR AT THE HELM. UM, I ALSO WANT TO CONGRATULATE AND THANK ALL OF THE FAIR BOARD MEMBERS ALL WHO WERE WORKING VERY TIRELESSLY THROUGH WHATEVER THE, UM, HICCUPS THAT MAY HAVE COME UP. I CAN TELL YOU THAT AT TUESDAY NIGHT, AT 11 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT, THERE, THERE, THERE WAS A FOUR, FOUR AND A HALF FOOT HOLE WHERE ONE OF THE FOOD VENDORS WAS GONNA BE THE NEXT DAY. 'CAUSE A WATERLINE BROKE AND YOU HAD STAFF, YOU HAD FAIR BOARD MEMBERS, YOU HAD THE CEO OF THE FAIR. ALL RIGHT, IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT, MAKING SURE THAT THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER. WANNA THANK DPW STAFF? BECAUSE JUST KIND OF AS A PRECAUTION, THEY BROUGHT OVER SOME STEEL PLATES TO PUT UNDERNEATH THAT FOOD VENDORS, ALL THE LITTLE THINGS THAT IF YOU ASK 99.99% OF EVERYBODY THAT WENT TO THE FAIR, THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. BUT THOSE OF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND THEY STRESS A LOT ABOUT IT. BUT OVERALL, GREAT FAIR ARE, UM, JUNIOR LIVESTOCK AUCTION CULMINATED ON SATURDAY. WE HAD A FRIDAY SALE. UM, THE COMMUNITY NEVER CEASE US TO AMAZE ME OVER $1.1 MILLION IN SUPPORT THAT WENT TO YOUTH AND THEIR LIVESTOCK PROJECTS THIS YEAR. UM, BUT, BUT OVERALL, JUST A REALLY GOOD FARE. ATTENDANCE SEEMS TO BE UP. UM, ALL THE NUMBERS WILL COME ON AND COME IN AND GET CRUNCHED, BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK BY MANY PEOPLE TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. UM, I WANNA THANK ALL, ALL MY FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES FROM COUNTY LAND THAT CAME OVER FOR COUNTY DAY. UM, WE HAD A NICE LITTLE LUNCH AND, AND I GOT TO SAY A FEW WORDS, AND IT JUST REALLY IS, I WANT SHARE WITH THEM WHERE THE PASSION FOR THE FAIR COMES WITH. AND I COULDN'T HAVE TIMED IT ANY BETTER THAT LIKE SOME OF THE FAIR BOARD MEMBERS WERE IN THERE. SOME OF OUR, THE MORNINGSTAR COMPANY, THEIR, THEIR GUY HANS WAS ACTUALLY IN, IN THERE FOR, FOR THAT MEETING. AND IT JUST, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE GENERATIONS, MEANING FATHER OR OR MOTHER SERVED ON THE FAIR BOARD AND NOW [02:40:01] GENERATION LATER, THEIR KIDS ARE SERVING ON THE FAIR BOARD. SO JUST A REALLY GOOD, GREAT COMMUNITY EVENT SUPERVISOR PRAYER WAS OUT THERE. HE ALWAYS BRINGS SOME ANIMALS OVER TO THE HENRY MILLER FARM. UM, ALL MY COLLEAGUES AT ONE POINT, I SAW YOU GUYS OUT THERE. SO I WANT TO, TO THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, DAVE BRT, YOU GUYS MIGHT NOT KNOW DAVE. I KNOW DAVE REALLY WELL. HE'S WORKED OUT OF THE, UM, DPW ROADS YARD OVER ON THE LOS VANIS SIDE. I WANT TO CONGRATULATE HIM THAT HE'S JUST RECENTLY PROMOTED TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS OVER ROAD MAINTENANCE. SO HE'LL BE WORKING THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE COUNTY AND NOT JUST ON THE WEST SIDE. I DID TELL HIM THAT, THAT I WAS BEING SELFISH. AND I, I, I'M, I'M SAD THAT HE'S NOT GONNA BE JUST ON THE WEST SIDE, BUT I, YOU GUYS ARE ALL GONNA BE THANKFUL THAT YOU HAVE DAVE WORKING ON BEHALF OF ALL MERCED COUNTY RESIDENTS. I WANNA SAY, UM, THIS IS RAUL'S LAST MEETING. I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME WITH US. AND AS ALWAYS, YOU STILL HAVE A FEW MORE DAYS TO GO, AND I KNOW YOU'LL FINISH STRONG, BUT THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR, FOR BEING A PART OF THIS, FOR PUTTING UP WITH THE CRAZINESS THAT IS ME. UH, AND I WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST IN ALL YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS, SIR. THANK YOU. AND THEN THE LAST THING THAT I HAVE IS, I'M GONNA TAKE A LITTLE TIME TO READ THIS LETTER. SO I, I GOT A CALL, LEMME SEE THE TROPHY LAST WEEK FROM, UH, TODD, MAINE FROM PROCURE AMERICAN. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHO PROCURE AMERICA IS, IT'S, IT'S A VENDOR THAT, THAT WE MET THROUGH CSAC AT ONE OF OUR ANNUAL CONFERENCES. AND, AND WHAT THEY DO IS, IS THEY COME IN AND THEY LOOK AT YOUR GOVERNMENT PROCESSES. AND ONE OF THE ONES THAT'S JUST EVERYBODY CAN, UH, THINK ABOUT IS, IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A BIG ORGANIZATION. WE HAVE A LOT OF PHONES, RIGHT? THEY COME IN AND IT'S NOT JUST THEM, THEIR STAFF. THAT, THAT, THAT DOES, GIVES THEM ALL OF THE, THE DATA THAT THEY NEED. AND THEY, THEY, THEY CAN TELL YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, WE PROBABLY HAVE PHONE LINES THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR THAT WE DON'T USE, OR WE HAVE COUNTY ISSUED CELL PHONES, AND THEY LOOK AT THINGS LIKE 10% OF YOUR PEOPLE A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN, THAN WHAT THEY ACTUALLY FOUND HERE. AND THAT'S A TESTAMENT TO THE GOOD WORK WE'RE DOING. SO, THAT BEING SAID, I GET THIS LETTER AND IT SAYS, DEAR SUPERVISORS, ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE PROCURE AMERICAN TEAM IS OUR GREAT HONOR TO PRESENT YOU WITH THE ENCLOSED HERO AWARD FOR 2024. PUBLIC SERVANTS LIKE YOU ARE THE BACKBONE OF OUR COMMUNITIES, ESPECIALLY IN TIMES WHEN LOCAL GOVERNMENT BUDGETS ARE UNDER IMMENSE STRESS. YOUR DEDICATION DURING THAT VITAL SERVICES CONTINUE TO BE PROVIDED TO THOSE IN NEED. WE'RE PROUD TO PARTNER WITH YOU ON YOUR PROJECTS THAT AIM TO GENERATE RESOURCES FOR IMPORTANT, UH, COMMUNITY INITIATIVES. YOUR RELENTLESS EFFORT IN SEEKING NEW SOLUTIONS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THE COUNTY'S FINANCIAL HEALTH. YOU HAVE BEEN AN IMPACTFUL GUARDIAN OF THE PUBLIC'S INTEREST AT PROFESSIONAL ON THE HIGHEST CALIBER, AND A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH. IT IS BECAUSE OF YOUR UNWAVERING COMMITMENT THAT WE ARE THRILLED TO HONOR YOU WITH THE 2024 MEMBER OF OUR HERO COMMUNITY. SO THEY SENT ME THIS, I'M, I, WE DON'T DO THIS AND WE DON'T GET A LOT OF RECOGNITION, BUT IT WAS A PRETTY COOL TROPHY, AND I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW IT OFF. AND SO I WANT TO THANK PROCURE AMERICA. I KNOW THAT THERE ARE PARTNERS OF US, BUT IT IS SPECIAL WHEN SOMEBODY RECOGNIZES THE GOOD WORK THAT, THAT WE, UH, THE LEDGE DIRECTOR FOR, UH, ASSEMBLYMAN ROBERT REVA WAS ONE OF THE SPEAKERS, AND, UM, ACKNOWLEDGED THAT SACRAMENTO WAS, UH, PART OF THE HOUSING PROBLEM, AND THAT THE LEGISLATURE HAS KIND OF REALIZED THAT. AND THAT, UH, THERE, YOU KNOW, THEY KIND OF, I DUNNO IF YOU'VE NOTICED, THERE'S A BIT OF A TONE CHANGE. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST BECAUSE THE GOVERNOR WAS GONNA RUN FOR PRESIDENT. BUT, UH, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S FILTERED DOWN AND THAT THE, UM, UH, THAT THE, THAT THE, OUR THE PEOPLE THAT REPRESENT US IN SACRAMENTO ARE STARTING TO REALIZE THAT SOME OF THE POLICIES THEY PUT IN PLACE, UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, HAVING PROP 47 KIND OF GET, UH, HEMMED IN WAS, UH, START OF THAT ON THE CRIMINAL SIDE. AND, UH, SO IT JUST WAS REFRESHING TO HEAR, UH, THAT, UM, THAT THERE MAY BE SOME RELIEF COMING FOR THOSE OF US WHO, UM, ARE, ARE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, UH, TEE UP AND GET HOUSING BUILT. I, I, THE ONE THING THAT I DIDN'T HEAR WAS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO WITH THE BUDGET IN SACRAMENTO SO MUCH. UH, THEY'RE KIND OF A LITTLE BIT MUM ON THAT. BUT, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL FIND OUT, UH, SOON ENOUGH. UM, I'D LIKE TO THANK, UH, MY COLLEAGUE, SUPERVISOR RA. UM, YOU KNOW, HE THANKED US FOR GOING OVER TO THE FAIR. UH, HOWEVER, UM, IF, IF, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WERE AT THE FAIR AND YOU'VE BEEN THERE WITH, WITH SUPERVISOR SRA, YOU KNOW, HE HAS AS MUCH PASSION FOR THAT FAIR AS ANYBODY. AND, UH, AND HE'S IN A POSITION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, WHICH IS, WHICH IS EVEN, EVEN MORE IMPORTANT. AND, UH, HE TAKES THAT SERIOUSLY. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, EVEN FOR ME, I, THERE'S A, A COUPLE OF MY CONSTITUENTS WE'RE OVER THERE FOR THE FIRST TIME, UH, AND PARTICIPATING IN THE LIVESTOCK AUCTION. AND, AND, UH, SO AFTER I BOUGHT AN ANIMAL, I WAS GETTING READY TO LEAVE, I, UH, WENT OVER, YOU KNOW, AND, AND HIS QUESTION, YOU KNOW, AND I WANTED TO INTRODUCE 'EM, BUT HE WANTED TO KNOW WHO WERE THEY, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY'RE NEW BUYERS AND HE WANTED MAKE SURE THEY FELT WELCOME AND THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY HICCUPS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. [02:45:01] AND, AND THAT'S JUST KIND OF THE GUY HE IS. AND SO, THANK YOU FOR THAT. I APPRECIATE IT. YOU MAKE MERCED COUNTY LOOK GOOD. UH, I'D LIKE TO, UH, CONGRATULATE, UH, DAVE, UH, FOR HIS PROMOTION. UM, I DON'T KNOW, DAVE, UH, WELL, SO IT'LL BE, UH, INTERESTING TO, TO GET TO KNOW HIM BETTER. UH, IF, UH, IF OUR PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR LIKES 'EM, THEN I LIKE 'EM. AND, UH, SO, UH, I WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT FOR CCL FIX. THOSE OF YOU THAT WANNA SEE THINGS FIXED IN MERCED COUNTY, ESPECIALLY ILLEGAL DUMPING AND, AND POTHOLES, WHICH MOST OF YOU DO, C CLICK FIX IS A GREAT WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE COUNTY, UH, STAFF AND GET THOSE ISSUES RESOLVED. AND THEN, RAUL, I WANT TO, UH, UH, THANK YOU. IT'S BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU. UH, YOU ARE, UH, A MAN WITH A BIG HEART, UH, WHO CARES ABOUT EVERYTHING HE DOES, AND I APPRECIATE THAT IN YOU, AND I'M GLAD I GOT TO EXPERIENCE THAT FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. AND I WISH YOU WELL AND YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS. AND, UM, IT'LL, UH, YOU KNOW, I'LL MISS SEEING YOUR BIG SMILE AND YOUR ENTHUSIASM FOR, UH, BRINGING THIS TOGETHER AS A TEAM, UH, THAT WAS NOTICED BY ALL THE STAFF. AND, AND I'M GONNA MISS THAT. SO, UM, ANYWAYS, WISH YOU WELL IN THE FUTURE. AND THAT'S IT, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR PACHECO. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UH, I ALSO ATTEND, UH, CSAC WITH, UH, SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES. UM, AND ONE OF THE SESSIONS I WATCHED A WATER PRESENTATION BY OUR VERY OWN LISA MCBRIDE. SHE DID A GREAT JOB WITH THAT. I WANT TO THANK HER FOR, UH, GIVING SUCH A GREAT PRESENTATION AND REPRESENTING, UH, MERCED COUNTY, UH, VERY WELL DOWN THERE. UH, ON FRIDAY, THE 28TH OF APRIL, I ATTENDED THE GRADUATION OF 10 NEW CUSTODIAL DEPUTIES IN FROM THE CORE ACADEMY IN FRESNO. UH, VERY IMPRESSIVE. I WANNA JUST SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE, UH, INDIVIDUALS AND WISH THEM WELL IN THEIR FUTURE CAREERS WITH MERCED COUNTY. UH, LAST THING I WANNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LEAGUE, GRAND HIGH GIRLS SOFTBALL TEAM. THEY ARE BACK TO BACK SOUTHERN ATHLETIC LEAGUE CHAMPIONS THIS YEAR WITH A 14 OH RECORD. UH, AND THEY'RE OFF TO THE PLAYOFFS. SO I JUST WANNA THANK CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM AND GOOD LUCK IN THE PLAYOFFS. UH, I ALSO WANT THANK, UH, SUPERVISOR SILVERA FOR THE IN AFFAIR. WE SAW, WAS IT THE LITTLE HANDS, LITTLE HANDS DISPLAY, UH, VERY IMPRESSIVE, UH, UH, DISPLAY OVER THERE, UH, GEARED TOWARDS CHILDREN AND, AND ADULTS TOO, UH, ABOUT LEARNING, UH, AGRICULTURE IN MERCED COUNTY. VERY IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY OVER THERE. THERE, UH, LUCKY TO HAVE THAT. UH, AND THEN I DO WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO RAUL. UM, HE HELPED ME GET ACCLIMATED INTO, UH, INTO BE ON THE BOARD FOR A SHORT TIME, BUT I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE. SO THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. IT'S BEEN A PRODUCTIVE AND ENGAGING COUPLE WEEKS. UM, WE CONTINUE TO BRING COUNTY SERVICES DIRECTLY TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH OUR ATWATER MOBILE DISTRICT OFFICE HOURS. UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR WHO STOPPED BY AND SHARED CONCERNS AND ASK QUESTIONS. AND I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE OUR CONGRESSIONAL REP, WHO IS HERE AS WELL AS THE STATE REPS TO DO THESE MOBILE DISTRICT OFFICE HOURS WITH ME. UM, I GET A LOT OF FEDERAL QUESTIONS, AS WELL AS STATE QUESTIONS. AND IT'S, UH, BEFORE COVID WE ALL WORKED TOGETHER ON THAT. SO I'M INVITING YOU TO, TO DO THAT AND WORK WITH THE CITY OF OUT WATER. UM, ALSO, I WRAPPED UP A SERIES OF CRITICAL MEETINGS IN SACRAMENTO WITH THE, UH, FINISHED THE 99 COALITION. WE'RE WORKING HARD TO IMPROVE AND SECURE INVESTMENTS FOR OUR VALLEY, UH, FOR THE MOST VITAL TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. ALSO, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF SPEAKING IT, ATWATER HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR GOVERNMENT CLASSES. UH, THEIR QUESTIONS AND THE SUZANNE WERE GREAT REMINDER OF THE IMPORTANCE OF CIVIC EDUCATION FOR OUR YOUTH INVOLVEMENT. SPECIAL THANK YOU TO REAGAN MURPHY, WHO ACTUALLY WENT OUT THERE WITH ME. AND WE WERE ENCOURAGING, UH, MOST OF 'EM OUT OF 150 KIDS, I THINK ONE PERSON RAISED THEIR HANDS WHO HAD ALREADY REGISTERED TO VOTE. SO WE WERE ENCOURAGING 'EM TO CONTINUE TO, TO DO THAT. UH, ALSO I ATTENDED, UH, MERCED SPRING FAIR, AND, UH, OUR COLLEAGUE OVER ON THE WEST SIDE IS VERY PASSIONATE. AND, UH, EVEN THOUGH I, I GET THERE WHEN I TEXT HIM FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, I KNEW I WAS SUPPOSED TO GET THERE AT 11, BUT HE SAYS, NO, YOU NEED TO GET HERE NOW. SO I WAS THERE FROM 9:00 AM TILL ALMOST FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON. AND THE WHOLE TIME WE WERE BUSY. I THINK I GOT MORE STEPS IN THAT DAY THAN ANY OTHER DAY OF THE WEEK. AND, UH, THOROUGHLY EN ENJOY THAT. UH, ALWAYS FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO OUR, FOR OUR LOCAL YOUTH, AGRICULTURE AND SMALL BUSINESSES. UH, ALSO, MR. CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS THIS AFTERNOON TO RECOGNIZE SINCERELY THANK OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, UH, RAUL LA MENDEZ FOR HIS SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP OVER THESE PAST THREE YEARS. RAUL, YOU STEPPED INTO THIS ROLE IN 2022 WITH A STEADY HAND, A THOUGHTFUL APPROACH, AND A GENUINE COMMITMENT TO DO THE RIGHT BY THE PEOPLE OF MERCED COUNTY. [02:50:01] AND FROM DAY ONE, YOU LED WITH PROFESSIONALISM, INTEGRITY, AND DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF PUBLIC SERVICE ON BEHALF OF THE RESIDENTS OF DISTRICT THREE, AND TRULY ON BEHALF OF US HERE IN MERCED COUNTY, I WANT TO THANK YOU, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP, YOUR PROFESSIONALISM, AND YOUR HEART FOR THIS COUNTY. WE WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST IN THE ROAD AHEAD, AND WE HOPE WE, WE HOPE YOU LEAVE KNOWING THAT YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE. GOD BLESS YOU, AND THANK YOU, RAUL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. SUPERVISOR RA. YEAH, I DID. I GOT A BIG THING. WE GOT A BIG THING GOING OUT ON TOMORROW OUT ON THE WEST SIDE. AND THAT IS, UM, TOMORROW IS THE RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE NEWEST LIBRARY. 'CAUSE IN CASE YOU GUYS HAVEN'T FIGURED, WE'RE NOT CLOSING LIBRARIES IN MERCED COUNTY. UH, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA BE DOING A RIBBON CUTTING TOMORROW ON THE NEWEST LIBRARY IN MERCED COUNTY. UM, IT'S GONNA BE THE JERRY O'BANION LIBRARY. AND JUST BEFORE THAT, WE WILL BE DOING KIND OF A RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE LORRAINE STREET BRIDGE PROJECT IN DOS PALACE, WHICH WAS HELP FUNDED THROUGH MEASURE V. UM, AND THEN AS WELL AS, AS WHILE WE'RE THERE AT THE JERRY BANON LIBRARY RIBBON CUTTING, IT'S ALSO GOING TO BE THE, THE, THE GRAND REOPENING OF THE NEWLY REMODELED DALE HILL HALL COMMUNITY CENTER. UM, SO I'LL HAVE PLENTY OF COMMENTS TO SAY ON THAT TOMORROW, BUT I ENCOURAGE ALL MY COLLEAGUES TO COME OUT AND IF ANYBODY WANTS TO JOIN US. AND THEN AFTER THAT, UM, I'M, MY FRIEND OVER AT THE LIONS CLUB WILL BE BARBECUING SOME HOT DOGS, AND WE'LL HAVE SOME CHIPS AND SOFT DRINKS FOR FOLKS TO ENJOY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. SUPERVISOR PEREIRA. THANK YOU. UH, AS AN OLDER GUY, SOMETIMES YOU FORGET STUFF, AND I DIDN'T WRITE IT DOWN, BUT, UH, DO ALL OF YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST SATURDAY? YEAH, I DIDN'T THINK SO. THE, UH, THE HILMAR HIGH SCHOOL, FFA WON THE STATE DAIRY JUDGING CONTEST. AND SO, UH, AS A PAST DAIRY JUDGER MYSELF, UH, I KNOW THE TIME AND EFFORT AND ENERGY THEY PUT INTO, UH, TO BEING ON THAT TEAM. UM, OF THE, OF THE FOUR MEMBERS, UH, THREE OF 'EM WERE FROM MY DISTRICT. AND I'LL HAVE TO ADMIT, ONE OF THEM IS FROM SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL'S DISTRICT, UH, A YOUNG GAL NAMED CARLY MAC, WHO, UH, UH, GOES TO HILLMER HIGH SCHOOL. AND, UH, ANYWAYS, THEY DID A GREAT JOB, AND NOW THEY'LL BE OFF TO, UH, INDIANA, INDIA, OR IS IT KENTUCKY NOW? MM-HMM . INDIANA. INDIANA, TO THE NATIONAL CONTEST TO REPRESENT CALIFORNIA. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO M-R-F-F-A SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL . I DID HAVE A LITTLE MORE, AND HOW COULD I NOT TALK ABOUT ITEM NUMBER 14, MAY 15TH. NEXT THURSDAY IS LUKE BRYAN CONCERT HERE IN MERCED COUNTY. MM-HMM . UH, I WOULD TELL YOU TO RUN OUT THERE AND GET TICKETS, BUT GUESS WHAT? IT'S SOLD OUT. BUT, UM, REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. AND, UH, IT SHOULD BE A GOOD DAY FOR MERCED COUNTY. LIKE I SAID, I WAS TALKING WHEN I WAS WITH THEIR PRODUCTION STAFF, I ASKED THE SECURITY GUY FIRST. FIRST THING I, YOU ASK HIM IS, WHAT, WHAT'S THE BIGGEST COMPLAINTS? IS IT NOISE? IS IT WHATEVER? AND HE SAYS, NO. ALL THE STORES IN THE SURROUNDING AREA WOULD BE SOLD OUT OF BEER AND SNACKS FOR DAYS AFTERWARDS. SO I THINK THAT'S GOOD FOR THE, UH, ECONOMY. AND SO WITH THAT, I JUST ASK EVERYBODY TO PLEASE FILL UP YOUR TANKS AS YOU LEAVE THE COUNTY. THANK YOU. OKAY, MR. HAN. UH, IS EVERYBODY DONE? NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. . UH, NO, I, I TOO, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANKS RAUL. UM, FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, WE'VE HAD A GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP, PROBABLY AS GOOD AS ANY CEO AND COUNTY COUNCIL CAN HAVE. UM, I'M NOT GONNA SAY GOODBYE 'CAUSE WE GOT A COUPLE DAYS LEFT, AND, UH, I THINK I OWE YOU A GOLF GAME IN THE FUTURE, SO THANKS, RAUL, ACTUALLY. OKAY. I'M GONNA TAKE A LITTLE THINGS OUT OF ORDER AND LEAVE, LET RAUL HAVE THE LAST WORD. UM, I, I DID HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO THE FAIR. I WANTED TO GO AGAIN, UM, FOR THE AUCTION, BUT I, I JUST DIDN'T HAVE TIME IN MY SCHEDULE. UM, I ALSO, LAST WEEK WENT TO SACRAMENTO AGAIN TO TESTIFY AGAINST ASSEMBLY BILL 1441, WHICH MANDATES THE, AN INDEPENDENT ADVISORY COMMISSION, UH, TO REDRAW DISTRICT LINE, SOMETHING THAT THIS BOARD SUCCESSFULLY DID, UM, AND WASN'T SUED LIKE OTHER COUNTIES WERE, BECAUSE WE DID IT THE RIGHT WAY. AND THAT WANTS TO BE TAKEN AWAY FROM US. AND SO WE'RE FIGHTING SACRAMENTO AGAIN, UH, FOR UNFUNDED MANDATES. AND REALLY, IT'S SOMETHING TO TAKE AWAY LOCAL CONTROL. AND, AND THAT'S JUST NOT SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HERE, WE'RE HERE ON THE GROUND. UM, WE TALK TO THE PEOPLE MORE SO, AND, AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO. UM, I ALSO HAD, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY, AND I, I WOULD ENCOURAGE ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES TO DO IT, IS, UM, [02:55:02] UH, I GOT TO TOUR THE SCA, THIS COURTHOUSE, AND WE GOT TO GO ALL THE WAY UP TO THE TOP OF THE COURTHOUSE WHERE THEY'RE DOING THE CONSTRUCTION. AND, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT AFRAID OF HEIGHTS, PER SE, IT'S MORE OF THE FALL. BUT, UM, WHEN YOU GET ALL THE WAY UP TO THE TOP, IT'S, IT'S A REALLY COOL THING TO SEE. AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL THE DETAIL WHEN YOU GET RIGHT UP CLOSE TO IT. I MEAN, THIS IS A, THIS BUILDING'S 150 YEARS OLD AND EVERYTHING IS LIKE WOOD, SO ORNATE. I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, I TELL PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, THERE'S THE STATUE, THE JUST, I THINK IT'S JUSTUS OR WHATEVER AT THE TOP. AND WE WENT ALL THE WAY UP THERE, AND IT'S THREE PIECES OF WOOD PUT TOGETHER. AND IT'S SO DETAILED THAT THERE'S, SHE HAS HER TOES AND THEY'VE, UH, PUT A TOENAIL ON HER, HER TOE. IT'S, IT'S, THE DE LEVEL OF DETAIL IS PHENOMENAL. UM, I ALSO, YESTERDAY DID YOU TRIM IT? YEAH, NO, I DID NOT TRIM IT. UH, YESTERDAY, UM, ALSO WE HAD THE REDEDICATION CEREMONY BECAUSE YESTERDAY WAS THE, UM, HUNDRED 50TH DEDICATION, UH, ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEDICATION OF THE COURTHOUSE. AND ACTUALLY LAST MONTH ON APRIL 19TH, WAS THE HUNDRED 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF MERCED COUNTY, BEING A COUNTY, WHICH IS KIND OF A COOL THING. AND THEN, UM, UH, ALSO CONGRATULATE MERCED HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL, UH, FOR WINNING THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP, WHICH I THINK IS, IS REALLY COOL. OKAY. AND THEN ALSO, UM, AND FINALLY, AND I AND SI KNOW YOU'RE GONNA SAY, HAVE SOME STUFF TO SAY, BUT I WANTED TO SAY, UM, UH, I KNOW THIS IS YOUR LAST MEETING WITH US, UM, BUT I KNOW YOU'RE STILL HERE UNTIL THE 18TH. AND I READ A QUOTE BECAUSE, AND IT REMINDED ME OF YOU, AND IT'S ACTUALLY FROM TOMMY THEOR, AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I READ THIS QUOTE FROM TOMMY THEOR, AND I'M GONNA READ IT. BUT, UM, IT SAYS, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE, UH, BETWEEN THE IMPOSSIBLE AND THE POSSIBLE LIES IN A MAN'S DETERMINATION. AND I THINK THAT WHEN YOU GAVE US YOUR WORD AFTER YOUR RESIGNATION, THAT YOU WERE GONNA FINISH STRONG. I HAVEN'T, YOU REALLY HAVE. AND THAT'S BEEN, UM, VERY IMPRESSIVE TO ME. UM, YOUR DEDICATION, I KNOW YOU'RE STILL HERE TO THE 18TH, BUT YOUR DEDICATION, COMMITMENT TO MERCED COUNTY HAS BEEN ADMIRABLE. UH, I RESPECT YOU. I TRUST YOU. UH, I TRUST YOUR ADVICE AND APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP. YOU ARE A GREAT MAN OF INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND JUDGMENT, EXCEPT FOR YOUR CHOICE IN SPORTS TEAMS, , UM, EVERYONE IN MERCED COUNTY WORKS REALLY HARD, AND I WAS A PARENT TODAY. WE SAW ALL THE PUBLIC WORKS PEOPLE, I MEAN, EVERYBODY DOES A GREAT JOB HERE IN MERCED COUNTY, BUT THE ONE PERSON THAT HAS TO REALLY SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATE FIVE DIFFERENT IDEAS AND FIVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF OPINIONS AND IS AVAILABLE ALL THE TIME, IS, IS THE CEO. AND SO, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, AND YOU'VE DONE A VERY GOOD JOB WITH THAT. UM, I KNOW THAT YOU ARE A COLLEAGUE, YOU'RE A LEADER, BUT I ALSO CONSIDER YOU A FRIEND. UM, I WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST IN YOUR FUTURE. UM, AND, UH, THANK YOU AND, UM, GOOD LUCK. THANK YOU, SIR. CEO. OKAY. THANK YOU. I THOUGHT WE WERE MAYBE GOING FOR THE LONGEST MEETING IN MY TENURE, AND I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY PRETTY CLOSE. SO I'LL, I'LL TRY TO KIND OF TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME HERE. UH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME I'LL EVER REFER TO YOU AS JOSH, SCOTT LLOYD, DARREN, JIM. AND IT'S BECAUSE, UM, AS YOU KNOW, MY, THIS IS MY LAST MEETING WITH YOU, UH, MY LAST STAY WITH THE ORGANIZATION AS MENTIONED, MAY 18TH. AND I DID WANT TO TAKE SOME TIME TO JUST MAKE SOME FINAL REMARKS. UH, FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO THANK, UH, THIS BOARD AND YOUR FORMER COLLEAGUE, UH, RODRIGO ESPINOZA, FOR PROVIDING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE RESIDENTS OF MERCED COUNTY AS COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICER. NOT QUITE CHIEF YET, I GUESS, BUT, UH, COUNTY, UH, THREE PLUS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. UH, THEY HAVE BEEN VERY REWARDING TO ME ON A PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL LEVEL. UH, I FEEL LIKE I'VE, UH, DEVELOPED GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL OF YOU BOTH IN THOSE, UH, PROFESSIONAL AND, UH, PERSONAL LEVEL. UM, AND I DO WANNA WISH THIS BOARD, UH, MUCH SUCCESS. I THINK BURSET COUNTY HEARD IT, HEARD ME SAY IT TIME AND TIME AGAIN, HAS A VERY BRIGHT FUTURE. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE A PART OF THE RECENT HISTORY. UH, SECOND, I, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR COUNTY EXECUTIVE TEAM, OUR ENTIRE STAFF. BUT I'D BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T, UM, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZE MARK HENDRICKSON, MARCY BARRERA, WHO I KNOW IS NOT HERE ATTENDING TO AN APPOINTMENT. UH, VANESSA ANDERSON, SAM MONIZ. AND THEN OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA POINT OUT OUR DEPUTY CLERK STAFF AS WELL, LED BY TAMARA. AMAZING TEAM. WE'RE HERE EVERY DAY. UM, WE'RE ALL HERE EVERY DAY. AND YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE FOR ME FROM DAY ONE, WHICH I'M SUPER, JUST GRATEFUL FOR. IT'S BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO WORK ALONGSIDE ALL OF YOU. UH, WOULD ALSO LIKE TO OBVIOUSLY THANK COUNTY COUNCIL. [03:00:01] WE ARE THE BEST CEO COUNTY COUNCIL TEAM IN THE STATE. I'M CONVINCED OF THAT. UH, AND IT'S TALENTED TEAM, TOM, JEN, ARENA ANN, AND THE REST OF THE STAFF. UH, THE MOST POWERFUL LAW OFFICE IN MERCED COUNTY RESIDES ON THIS FLOOR. YOU CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK FOR SURE. UM, THIRD, THE, THE DEPARTMENT HEAD, UH, LEADERSHIP TEAM. MANY OF YOU ARE STILL HERE. UH, PROBABLY MY PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT, GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IS BEING ABLE TO, UM, WHEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY, ASSEMBLE A TEAM THAT IS POISED TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THIS BOARD, THIS COMMUNITY WELL, DESPITE WHATEVER THE FUTURE MAY BRING APPOINTED AND ELECTED OFFICIALS TOGETHER, COMING TOGETHER TO GOOD MAKE, UH, DO GOOD WORK FOR, FOR THIS COMMUNITY. SO, UM, REALLY PROUD OF THAT. UH, TENURE HERE HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE FOR SURE. UH, TOO OFTEN WE FOCUS ON THE NEGATIVE IN GOVERNMENT. I'M GONNA, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT, FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE. SO A SAMPLE OF THE THINGS WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED TOGETHER HERE IN, UH, THREE PLUS SHORT YEARS. UH, SEAMLESS TRANSITION IN LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS. BOARD EXECUTIVE, UH, OBVIOUSLY THE, UM, UH, THE LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN SOUND DELIVERY OF BALANCED BUDGETS TO MAINTAIN OUR ORGANIZATION'S SOUND, FISCAL STANDING, UH, IMPROVED AGENDA MANAGEMENT PROCESS. I THINK WE, UH, POST STARTED POSTING 48 HOURS EARLIER THAN WHAT HAD BEEN THE HISTORY HERE AND THE PROCESS, MAKING OUR INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC EARLIER SO THAT THEY COULD BE INFORMED. SOME MORE TRANSPARENT COMPLIMENT. OBVIOUSLY TAMARA AND HER TEAM DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE WORKED, UH, WITH US TO MAKE SURE WE HIT THOSE DEADLINES. UH, LABOR AGREEMENTS THAT ARE MEASURED, SUSTAINABLE AS, UH, OBVIOUSLY YOU SAW AN EXAMPLE TODAY. APPRECIATE OUR BARGAINING GROUPS WORKING TOGETHER SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, BENEFITS, WAGES FOR OUR EMPLOYEES, OUR MOST, UH, WONDERFUL ASSETS, RIGHT? UM, CAPITAL PROJECTS. YOU KNOW, YOU TALKED ABOUT THOSE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER TODAY. UM, THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF THEM, SOME OF WHICH I INHERITED AND JUST KIND OF KEPT GOING, KEPT THEM GOING AND, AND NEW ONES THAT KIND OF AROSE OR AROSE. UH, NEW AND IMPROVED ROADS, PARKS, COMMUNITY CENTERS, PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES, AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, JUST SUPER, UM, HAPPY WITH HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DELIVER THOSE PROJECTS DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE'RE MAYBE NOT AS, UH, WEALTHY AS SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES OR OTHER COUNTIES. UM, RESPONSE, EFFECTIVE RESPONSE AND RECOVERY FROM A FLOOD EMERGENCY SITUATION HERE THAT DEVASTATED OUR COMMUNITIES. SUPER PROUD OF HOW OUR TEAM CAME TOGETHER, OBVIOUSLY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE BOARD. AND WE HAD THE MECHANISMS IN PLACE TO BE ABLE TO, UH, RESPOND QUICKLY, HELP OUR COMMUNITIES, UM, RECOVER FROM THOSE, UH, DEVASTATING EVENTS OF 2023. UM, COUNCIL COMMERCE CENTER, UH, SOME OF THAT WORK IS OBVIOUSLY PRETTY AMAZING. HAD NO IDEA UNTIL I ARRIVED HERE, WHAT ALL WAS HAPPENING OUT THERE. AND IT'S EVEN GONE TO A HIGHER, HIGHER LEVEL OVER THE COURSE OF THE, UH, THE TIME I'VE BEEN HERE, INLAND PORT, AND JUST NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND CONCERTS AND OTHER WAYS OF PROMOTING THAT FACILITY. UH, CHANGES TO COUNTY POLICY THAT HAVE MADE MEANINGFUL IMPACTS, SUCH AS, UH, WITH THE, UH, WAY WE MANAGE OUR WATER RESOURCE, THE WAY WE ADDRESS THE HOMELESS ISSUE HERE IN THIS COMMUNITY. SUPER PROUD OF THAT. UH, PRESERVATION OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES, WHETHER IT'S FIRE, WHETHER IT'S EMS, WHETHER CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS AND APPROACHES. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UH, A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT COMPLIMENTS THE MISSION, VISION, VALUES OF THIS ORGANIZATION. THAT IS BASICALLY THE, THE, THE GUIDE FOR US AS AN ORGANIZATION. AND SO APPRECIATE THE BOARD WORKING ON THAT PLAN, GETTING THAT DONE, ADOPTING IT, AND SUPPORTING IT. IN CLOSING, MUCH LIKE MY PREDECESSOR MR. JIM BROWN A FEW YEARS AGO. I THINK I WAS GOING INTO HIS, HE'S A SWIMMER, SO THERE WERE FLIPPERS. UH, HE PROVIDED ME GREAT SUPPORT. UH, AS I JOINED, AS I JOINED THIS ORGANIZATION, I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO KIND OF PAY THAT PROFESSIONAL GESTURE FORWARD. LAST WEEK, I MET WITH OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS, UH, FOR THE VERY LAST TIME, AND I PASSED TO THEM LEADERSHIP BATONS THAT WERE A SYMBOL OF THE LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY THAT WE ALL HOLD. AND I ASK, I THINK TWO THINGS. ONE, SUPPORT THE INDIVIDUAL THAT SUCCEEDS ME AND THAT THE BOARD SELECTS. BUT ALSO AS YOU'RE LEAVING YOUR POST, MAKE SURE YOU DO IT WITH GRACE, PROFESSIONALISM, AND TRY TO HELP THE NEXT PERSON BE SUCCESSFUL. UM, SO AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE [03:05:01] TO PASS MY LEADERSHIP BATON TO MR. MARK HENDRICKSON AND WISH HIM WELL AS HE, UH, OBVIOUSLY SUCCEEDS ME IN THIS POSITION AS INTERIM CEO. UH, UPON MY DEPARTURE, I WOULD LIKE MARK TO COME FORWARD. AND WE'RE GONNA DO THE CEREMONIAL, UH, PASSING OF THE BATON. THIS BATON IS, UM, KNOWN AS 26.2. AND SO I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT, AND I'M GONNA, UH, PASS IT ON TO MR. HENDRICKSON. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NO. OH, YEAH. HOW MANY POINTS? THREE POINT . OKAY. UM, THIS CONCLUDES THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING FOR MAY 6TH, 2025. AND THE NEXT REGULAR SCHEDULED BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING WILL BE HELD AT 10:00 AM ON TUESDAY, MAY 27TH, 2025. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.