2023 Board of Supervisors meeting summaries
The following is the District 3 summary of County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors meetings, including links and more.
March 2023 meeting
March 14, 2023 - Regular meeting [agenda and video link]
Lastly, we are honored to welcome new appointments to County Boards and Commissions with Van Lan Truong to the Advisory Council to the Council on Aging, Dr. Lynn Liu to the Health Advisory Commission, and Don Draper to the Moscow Sister-County Commission.
The March 14, 2023 meeting was adjourned in the memory of Hung Duc Lai.
Twitter live meeting thread 03/14/23
February 2023 meetings
February 28, 2023 - Regular meeting [agenda and video link]
Our February 28 meeting was a big one for District 3 as we had three referrals on the agenda; our joint referral with Supervisor Chavez to invest in annual gun buyback events and gun violence prevention programming, our joint referral with Supervisor Simitian to continue community outreach and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, and a referral to receive a report back on allowing leave absences for elected officials.
We started the meeting with a celebration of youth arts as we proclaimed March 2023 as Youth Arts Month in Santa Clara County. Click HERE to see video of the youth art exhibit on display in the lobby of the County Government Center at 70 W. Hedding St., San José.
Item 28 When Young Moms Thrive Pilot Program Report was the first item we heard as we were joined by several outstanding local moms that shared their stories about how this program is making a difference in their lives.
Another major uplifting action was the Board’s unanimous adoption of Item 8 Childcare and Early Education Infrastructure Grant Program and Workforce Initiatives. We’re making a historic investment into needed childcare services that have been disrupted by the pandemic. There's a severe shortage in workers and facilities, and this will be a major boost to help our families, our children and the community overall. Click HERE for media coverage on Item 8.
Item 9 was our joint referral with Supervisor Chavez on Gun Buyback Events and Relinquishment Programs. Reducing gun violence is a top priority, especially since it’s the leading cause of death of American children and costs us $1.2 billion annually in Santa Clara County. By committing to annual buyback events and expanding our relinquishment programs we are enabling more safe and secure ways for residents to get rid of unwanted firearms. We held a press conference with Supervisor Chavez ahead of the meeting - video. Also, video of Supervisor Lee’s comments during the meeting, and media coverage.
Item 10 asked staff for a report back on allowing for elected officials to take a leave of absence if they face charges from our Civil Grand Jury. Issues with the prior County Sheriff caused distractions that negatively impacted morale at the County Sheriff’s Office. The report back from staff will give us an opportunity to see if we can prevent these disruptions to our services due to decisions made by our elected officials.
We were honored to join Supervisor Simitian in our joint referral to continue COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, Item 11. As federal, state, and local pandemic measures are being rescinded, we still have a responsibility to our public health. We’ll be receiving a report back to Health and Hospitals Committee on April 12, and to the full Board on April 18. Santa Clara County was a national leader in getting the first wave of COVID-19 vaccines, but only a third have received the latest bivalent booster. As of March 1st, existing patients and the uninsured may receive vaccinations only at VMC facilities. For more information please visit vax.sccgov.org or SCCFreeVax.org or call 408-970-2000. Press Release on this issue.
Items 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 were centered on staffing at our hospitals and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, VMC, and Item 27 on the VMC Master Plan. These items are all connected to our focus on expanding health care services, resources, staff, and facilities, with Items 15-20 adding more than 240 staff positions to our system of care. The presentation on Item 27 was thoroughly discussed and we reviewed goals for our facilities in Morgan Hill, O’Connor & St. Louise hospitals, and our main VMC campus in San Jose.
A couple of additional items to highlight are: Item 26 Distracted Driving Outreach and Education; Item 29 Winter Storm Recovery Assistance; and Item 23 Military-Style Equipment Use Report.
The February 28, 2023 meeting was adjourned in the memory of Kenneth Podgorsek; Bea Robinson Mendez; Bishop Oscar E. Dace; Walter Hays; and Melissa Baten Caswell.
Twitter live meeting thread 02/28/23
February 7, 2023 - Regular meeting [agenda and video link]
Our meeting began with a moment of silence in recognition of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. List of resources and links on how you can help the people impacted by this earthquake as we extend our thoughts and deepest condolences in response to this tragic event.
The Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Mid-Year Budget Review, Item 8 and our monthly Mental Health/Substance Use report. Item 16, were our two big items at this meeting.
While much of the report on the Mid-Year Budget review was positive, there were concerns as we are facing a potential deficit caused by stalled and declining real estate markets, plus negative impacts due to inflation. Also discussed during the budget review was the support for hybrid meetings and sustaining public participation online, and Supervisor Lee’s request for information on the seismic stability and retrofitting progress on County facilities, “Earthquakes are a reality for our community and we need to be prepared for when (not if) a major event shakes our neighborhoods.”
The biggest item was No. 16 Mental Health and Substance Use Report. This month’s report was focused on involuntary holds, treatment, and conservatorships. We’re making great progress in these areas and helping more of our neighbors in need, but we continue to need further expansion of beds and services to provide the full care our community needs. The adopted motion requested additional reports from staff. The next Mental Health and Substance Abuse report will be in April.
Item 18 was discussion on the winter storm damage to County Roads, and we are thankful to all the residents that were in attendance to share stories about how the damage to our roads has impacted their lives. The report noted that most County roads were open or passable, except for Mines Road, which had repair work scheduled to begin/underway. More information is available at CountyRoads.sccgov.org - and you can watch a video of the County’s Road Maintenance Workers called “After The Storm” that highlights the damage and repairs done.
The last big discussion was Item 58 Funding for the Office of the District Attorney for victim services and implementation of the Gun Violence Task Force, including the addition of nine staff positions. We want to call out the importance of the Gun Violence Task Force and request that we continue to use some of the strategies that are in the report, one being the Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVRO) and disarming folks who have an active restraining order. GVROs need to be further promoted in our community so that the public is aware of the process and how to apply. This process should be simple, straightforward, and transparent, with the application available in multiple languages. The adjudication of applications also needs to be timely so if there are supplemental resources that are needed for the courts to process applications quickly. After all, we are talking about potentially saving real lives in our community. As staff is added to the task force, there must be focus on the outreach and educational opportunities in getting this information out to all residents. The severity of recent mass shootings has once again called on us to host at least two gun buyback events annually.
Additional notes: Item 12 was the adoption of a referral to continue suspension by the County of Santa Clara of investments in Wells Fargo Securities. This referral extends the current suspension for another four years due to Wells Fargo Securities predatory behavior towards their customers. Item 17 was opening an RFP for Emergency Medical and Ambulance Services, and Items 19 & 21 were deferred to the next meeting due to the length of time that was spent on the Mid-Year Budget Review and the Mental Health report.
And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, during the County Counsel’s report it was announced that Deputy County Counsel Tony LoPresti was selected as our next County Counsel when Mr. James Williams moves onto the County Executive position later this year. We’re honored to welcome Mr. LoPresti to this new role - read more.
The February 7, 2023 meeting was adjourned in honor of several neighbors - Evelyn Ucovich, Charles Alexander, Barinder Ahluwalia, and Betty Gerard.
Twitter Live Meeting Thread 02/07/23
January 2023 meetings
January 31, 2023 - State of the County [agenda and video link]
President Ellenberg delivered the 2023 State of the County.
Statement from Supervisor Lee, "I want to congratulate my friend and colleague County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg on her excellent State of the County Address. I look forward to my continued partnership with Board President Ellenberg to expand access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment services, including the ambitious goal of adding 500 additional beds to our behavioral health system of care by 2025. "
Media coverage and full transcript of the State of the County by President Ellenberg
January 24, 2023 - Regular meeting [agenda and video link]
We welcomed the Lunar New Year while also once again being confronted by the scourge of gun violence. President Ellenberg held a moment of silence for the families impacted in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. Video of Supervisor Lee's comments - Enough is Enough.
Item 16 Report on the Trauma Recovery Center was the biggest item on our agenda. One of the many actions we took after the VTA Shooting in 2021 was to create a Trauma Recovery Center to support our community in the aftermath of a tragedy or major emergency. This first of it's kind program and facility will help the healing and recovery that so many of our neighbors need. It doesn’t require a death or an incident to be local for our community to be impacted. We currently have various resources like resiliency centers for those directly impacted and the new 9-8-8 hotline to get help. We are also thankful to have support from partners like AACI that are doing outreach to make sure everyone knows that help is available. Help is here, and more help is on the way. Staff hopes that we can have more resources available in April.
Another big item was number 8 Senate Bill 9/Urban Lot Splits Implementation Update. The State provided tools for local agencies to address the need for more housing. While our implementation of this measure is limited to unincorporated areas, there are several projects that can create more housing while preserving our neighborhoods. This item will come back to us for final approval. We're moving housing expansion forward, and want to thank Staff for their extensive outreach and community engagement on this effort. Slides from the presentation.
During the County Executive's Report, Dr. Smith provided updates on the damages and impacts from the recent extreme winter weather and storms. He noted that we are facing at least $27 million in damages, but that County roads are now passable and we will continue to seek federal support for our recovery and rebuilding efforts.
Three community safety items were discussed: Item 12 Protective Services Officer Training Report, Item 13 OCLEM Report on Policing, Use of Force, and Emergency Response; and Item 14 Gender-Based Violence Related Services Proposals. For items 12 & 13 we are seeing progress in expanding training and improving our safety. For Item 14 we’re keeping a focus on resources and outreach to our youth to prevent gender-based violence at it's roots. We have so many resources available for the community, but it's key that we are making everyone aware that they are available, and that it's ok to seek help or speak up to stop violence.
We also continued our conversation on the Levine Act during Item 58.
We want to thank UStar Productions and the Miss Vietnam California Organization for delivering our invocation. We also recognized January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day and presented a commendation for the Vietnamese American Service Center for contributions to the Vietnamese community and County residents on the occasion of the 2023 Lunar New Year of the Cat.
Lastly, we are honored to welcome new appointments to County Commissions with Ayanna Vanderbilt to the Domestic Violence Council and Dr. Anirudh Sreekrishnan to the Health Advisory Commission.
Twitter live meeting thread 01/24/23
January 17, 2023 - Special meeting [agenda and video link]
This special meeting was focused on setting our priorities and a report on Board referrals. Item 5 was to Review the County mission and core values, and current policy priorities and operational priorities, and Item 6 was a discussion on near-term focus areas within County priorities. Public health and social services remain a high priority for the County, and doing our work through a equitable lens that closes gaps in service.
We also discussed Item 9 Budget Equity Tool for FY 2023-2024. We have some outstanding resources available to us to improve services and expand resources. Overall, we had some very positive and constructive conversations about the work we have ahead.
Twitter live meeting thread 01/17/23
January 10, 2023 - Regular meeting [agenda and video link]
For the first time since March 2020, the Board of Supervisors met in-person at Board Chambers at 70 W. Hedding Street in San Jose. It was a special meeting for Supervisor Lee as it was his first in-person meeting and he was selected to serve as Vice President of the Board. We also welcomed our new colleague from District 1, Supervisor Arenas.
During the pandemic we took our meetings online, but as we returned to in-person meetings we wanted to keep the community's ability to connect with us online. Our Board meetings are currently being held in a hybrid format to allow public comment and engagement online. Supervisor Lee requested a report from the Board Clerk on providing that same hybrid access to committee meetings.
Another new change for 2023 is implementation of the Levine Act. This new law makes several changes to campaign finance regulations. We're currently working to apply an ordinance for the County of Santa Clara and work out the questions and concerns that have arisen to it's application.
The biggest focus from this meeting was Item 12 Mental Health and Substance Use Public Health Crisis Report. We continue to advance efforts to expand the workforce, increase the number of beds, and build new facilities to provide more care. A few highlights from the report include: Medi-Cal beneficiaries are getting reconnected to services after a lapse in care; we're answering beneficiaries' and families' questions about services and managed care system; and the need for support remains high with 23,888 crisis calls from June 2022 - November 2022. Click HERE for slides from the presentation.
Our public health continues to be a top priority, but as we adopt new County policies, we're also shifting our reports to the Health and Hospitals Committee instead of the full Board. Follow this link for case rates and data link.
Item 20 was the Office of Disability Affairs Activities Report. We're excited about the work ahead for the Office of Disability Affairs and how we are able to connect with our entire community and provide services and resources.
The January 10, 2023 meeting was adjourned in honor of our dear friend Lillian Dang.
Twitter live meeting thread 01/10/23