City of Hollister California City Council, 22 Jan 2022

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From YouTube: Hol CC 012222 Special

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Hollister City Council Special Meeting - January 22, 2022

A

Good morning welcome everyone to our special city council meeting of january 22nd, 20 20. council member rescindus. Will you lead us in the pledge of allegiance.

B

Ready pledge, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands. One nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

A

Thank you, sir roll call please.

C

Vice mayor perez.

D

C

Council member resundus.

E

Present councilmember morales president councilmember burns here mayor velasquez here.

C

Police chief reynoso.

F

E

C

E

G

E

The agenda for the city of hollister city council, special meeting of january 22nd 2022, was posted on the bulletin board on january 18th 2022 at 10 a.m, per government code, section 54956.

A

Thank you very much. We will now move to item a1.

G

C

Sorry, um uh can you hear me.

A

C

Okay, um good morning, uh mayan city council. This agenda item is for the purpose of revisiting the proposal presented by staff during the december 20th 2021 city council meeting regarding the adoption of a speed, cushioning policy for the city of hollister, as mentioned during that meeting, implementing such a policy would standardize the request, the review and the approval process of speed for speed cushions, as requested by city council. During that meeting staff is bringing this item before you once again in order to discuss the proposed policy in more detail.

C

We hope that during this time we can answer any questions that you may have provide additional clarification and hopefully obtain a clear understanding of your requests and concerns so that we can update the policy accordingly and bring it before you at a later date for review and adoption consideration as such. uh If it is a pleasure of the council, we can either begin by answering a few questions that would that were sent to us uh previously or we can start out together um as a group and and those questions can be answered through this process.

C

So um also frederick venture from kimblinghorn is online and he is also um providing his support.

A

How would like, how would the council like to continue.

B

Mr mayor, I I'd feel kind of jumping right into discussion and not having to go through everything like all over again. Okay,.

A

Rest of the council feel that way I do yeah. Okay, let's move straight into discussion on it. Did you want to start, mr resendez? No, not not that comfortable, just comfortable enough.

A

I can't okay. So who would like to start the conversations? Mr burns, I see you moving to the microphone.

H

Thanks mayor, actually, I'd like to th, this is uh we're going to take public comment on this correct. Yes,.

A

We are you want to go. I.

H

Think that would be good to begin if.

A

H

Council supports that recommendation, sir.

A

Let's see if they're comfortable enough to start who do we have.

A

Do we have any public comment? We.

C

Have no speaker, okay, but I think and no hands raised on zoom.

A

But listen, has you had some comments uh from the public in the past? You want to read.

C

um Not from from the public but from um council, so I can go through those. Maybe that'll start up the discussion. That's.

A

Fine, that's fine.

C

Okay, should I start go.

A

C

So one of the questions was: if staff has received proper training to install uh these questions, so no the only um uh training if it's internal uh within the office staff we haven't, received any training, I'm not sure if there is anything out there, um but I think you know developing the process would be. um You know, training that would specify the training and steps that we would need to take.

C

um As far as the installation, actual installation, um our city staff has been installing them from our city, staff from the yard has been installing them. So um I'm not sure if there's any specific training for the installation, but I know that they have been installing them and haven't heard of any issues. Yet another question is: if we're prepared to carry out the demand, um so as it is now, staff is receiving requests from the public, um regardless of having a policy for for getting uh speed, cushions installed like in their streets.

C

So even without a policy we are receiving these types of requests. So I think the policy would definitely help as far as standardizing something where it would let the public know the steps that they need to take or even if they are, um if they qualify, if their street or the area in question qualifies for the installation. So it would standardize that process and and answer questions ahead of time.

C

That way when it does come to staff, all the information is is collected, and then you know when it is submitted, it would be dated as it is now. um The requests are just coming in through email uh randomly, so there's really no way of um like really there's no process. So it's you know this would actually help make sure that everything that staff it needs in order to get these installed has been provided so that we're not wasting any time.

C

Another question was the cost, um I believe, they're roughly about three thousand dollars for installation. um We don't have. The another question was the digital processing. We don't have digital processing right now, we're not really set up. I think we are trying to move forward to to provide like more digital processing of many other items.

C

So um when we are ready to do within within the city, then uh I think it'd be great. You have to have it digitally processed um another one was um if needed so like the idea of having one assigned block rep is that um we have the city staff has one constant point of contact and this would avoid any misinformation, any confusion or- or you know, one individual saying something in another individual saying something else. So um you know it's.

C

I think it's really critical to establish one rep and, if possible, maybe what we can do is um within the process, have an alternative rep so that if that main rep walks away or is no longer the main or no longer rep, then we can have the alternative step up and become the rep, but it would, I think it would um cause issues if we allow further transfer of reps to be done without any limit or any anything being stabilized um and then do we have a form for the captain to agree to all these terms.

C

Well, we currently don't have a form, but I think it is important for um for them to review it. So we can definitely make it part of the of the review process for this um cushions, and that was it.

A

Thank you, okay, mr burns. Are you I.

H

A

Prepared thank you you're prepared, so.

H

Thank you for the presentation. I appreciate it very much. I want to uh acknowledge the proactive effort and the professionalism of uh the proposed policy. Having said all that, um I'm going to continue with my thoughts and I and I'm going to be consistent in that. I really don't see the need for a policy.

H

I think the process currently works as it is, and perhaps I'm a bit shell shocked still from the policy on the flagpoles and the flags, and so um I do think something important was brought up, though, in this morning's presentation already about having one representative- and I would agree with that, but I think we already kind of do as in one representative for each council district as we currently have in a mayor for city wide and I've had the personal benefit of uh having the speed cushions put down.

H

In my my district and so on, cerra vista, I inherited a project that my predecessor, marty, richmond, had and he had some success with getting the radar signage placed up there, and so I was pretty passionate about trying to push that forward and thank you to the city and the staff for actually having placed the speed cushions on ceravista and when I first saw that happening. I didn't quite understand why it had to go from union where the school is. That really was the the catalyst for the speed cushions all the way to sunny slope.

H

But as I drove it, it became readily apparent to me that if you're only going to do a portion of the street- well, I know as a driver. I would probably if I was trying to make time, I would go slow over the speed, speed, cushions and then go like crazy to catch up, and so it made sense.

H

It kind of set the tone from the moment you stepped onto the street and the appropriate supporting signage as warnings to let people know and and service is a reasonably well lit street as well, which I think is also helpful, and the bottom line is, I believe they work.

H

I've not heard any anybody complain about a cat or a dog or, more importantly, a child or a human being being struck by a car, and I think that it's they're a valuable resource on a limited basis now also say that I didn't- and I wasn't smart enough to be visionary enough to know that there would be some unintended consequences of that. And one of the immediate unintended consequences was. I received a complaint through social media and it was for highland and highland.

H

Is a street that runs parallel to sera vista, probably within I don't know uh three city blocks of uh cerra vista and so all of a sudden there was an increase in traffic and in speeding vehicles and there's a private school in that area as well, and so I intentionally went out based on the complaint I saw and I sat there- I parked there and I observed it for myself and the person that complained about it was spot on, and so I brought it to our chief of police attention uh chief renoso and he was on it like uh very quick I'll I'll I'll try to be less colorful here, um but and ultimately our pd went out.

H

They did they investigated it. They did a study, they they did everything and well. The chief didn't think that an enhanced enforcement would be appropriate. He absolutely based on the data that was arrived at and the observations thought that speed cushion should be placed down there as well, and it's my understanding that that will in fact happen because again, the intent is to slow traffic down to prevent the loss of life and or serious injury.

H

And so I think, based on my experience, that the system clearly works without the need for a formal policy, and I do like certain elements of the proposed policy and others I'm not so supportive of. I think it really puts citizens in an awkward position to necessarily have to take ownership for those, and when that happens, when people get angry, people can have a tendency to retaliate, and I don't want to go there. If somebody wants to be angry, let them be angry with tim burns for district 4 and I'll own, that.

H

Having said that, I I think there's a heavy burden on that person and a lot of time involved that I think, should be borne by the electeds and the appointed and the city staff, and so for that those reasons I'm going to recommend that we continue business as usual, recognizing that this policy could exist. If we find there's a need for it and as we grow with experience, I think we could probably even tweak the current policy. That's proposed to make it a better policy, and so for that those reasons.

H

Mayor and council, I'm not going to support this, but I do appreciate all the work that city staff has put into it very much. Thank you. Thank.

A

You, sir, just for clarification. You said radar, not radar, signs right.

H

No, no I'd have to put up. Let's go buffalo signs. If I was.

A

Going to put anything up, but thank.

H

A

Mayor, thank you. Sir council. Remember sanders yeah.

B

So I'm just going to say that I completely agree with council member burns at this point, sometimes with government we tend to over correct things and and put up too much red tape or bureaucracy, and it slows things down rather than getting things done, and I'd like to pride myself on saying that this council has done the complete opposite of that. We've worked together very diligently to get a lot of things done. um I I couldn't say it better than what he said. Let's just let's just get things going: let's get the speed bumps here.

B

Let's get them installed if they're. If we find at some point that this is becoming problematic, we need to revisit this. We need to implement a policy, then let's do it at that at that time, but right now one thing that we all know for sure, including what the staff mentioned is that this is very much needed. um There's gonna be unintended consequences. We know that there's gonna be overflow into other residential streets. We know that we're gonna put up more speed.

B

Humps, I'm hoping you've got to change the behavior of the people before we start seeing that impact and we are in the process of converting our entire city, I think into a more walkable bikeable community and we need more. In my opinion, roundabouts speed, humps protected bike lines, and this is gonna do just that. So, uh let's get it going. Let's get the speed humps here, let's get them installed and if anything comes up along the way, then let's revisit it then thank you.

A

Thank you vice mayor.

D

Good morning, um so in the interest of time I got like eight questions to address, but it just.

G

I agree with you guys: do.

A

D

um I totally agree, um you know I I would. It would be neat to see in one of our entrance ways, whether it's the north gate or the south or the west entrance to see hollister city of safe city or safe city or something instead of a city of speed homes.

D

You know I I agree that it's it's a behavior thing that we need to address and I don't think it's just on the police department. I think you know what, as a community, we can police ourselves. I mean get on your kid or get it on your adult.

D

You know whoever's, you know what everyone knows: who's who's, speeding out there and stuff and say um that's that's that's all I have to say, and I'm not. I think we're going to create too much and if we have to we can revisit this, but that's it.

A

Thank you, councilmember morales.

I

Thank you, um I think, in the future. If there's um complaints, I'd like to see the data I'd like to see the number of complaints to type um that way, instead of saying we have a lot of, then we it's a little bit um honestly understandable.

I

What are the areas what's the situation um and we can formulate how we can respond in my opinion, um so I agree that at this time I don't think we necessarily need a policy, but maybe a better understanding.

I

We definitely know the impacts of when we put speed bank speed bumps into different communities that it impacts other areas. So I like to see a better understanding and analysis of those situations in those communities and then, if there is a need for policy for that to be incorporated as part of the policy. Thank you.

A

Thank you give my comments. uh This has been a conversation for several years now.

A

I can remember one of the um we talked about bringing this here, because other cities were doing it and the first time I really saw it in an area where it's throughout the neighborhoods I was visiting a friend in sacramento and the neighborhood, an entire neighborhood had speed humps throughout, and I asked the question like wow: how did you guys uh have these installed? They said before those things were installed.

A

People were literally racing throughout our neighborhoods and since they've been installed, we've seen a complete change of of life here, so we started on that journey to try to find a way to do it.

A

We've we found a way, and I want to thank the public safety departments for working with the council to get something that would work. There's a lot of ways to do this. I completely agree with you, mr burns.

A

I think this is something that we should be handling from the city council side and have installed, because if we don't, we are going to be putting this issue of each neighborhood or one resident wanting them and the other ones not wanting them, or vice versa, like it's very interesting people that speed- and I can tell you time after time of people calling about people speeding in their neighborhoods and then seeing that same person that complained about that speed in other people's neighborhoods. And it's it's a shame.

A

You would think the public would understand that, but they don't, they dropped their kid off at a school and then they hit it. 40 50 miles an hour because they're late for work- and I don't know what happens in people's minds, but I can tell you this uh way of well well, you know we'll teach them. It just doesn't happen.

A

Radar signs, we start installing radar signs. It helped for a little while until people realize nothing comes of the sign and it doesn't take long before they're just racing around at high speeds. Again, we did anticipate the uh the balloon, squeezing the balloon effect of once you put them in one street. People will take another street. That really was not um unexpected. Mr venture, you you mentioned this. We had this conversation.

A

I think we have a way to do this. I really do- and I think when we talk about these really the the beginnings just always start with those, of course that have the problems we know a lot of these problems come from the streets that are next to the high speed streets, sunny slope, hillcrest 4th street people come in at a high speed, 40 45 55.

A

They expect to continue that speed down the residential neighborhood, so I would recommend we would start with a lot of those streets that begins the process of slowing people down and it does take multiple speed humps because you're right, if you only put one or two after they hit the second one they're going to make up for lost time, so you have to take it all.

A

The way through nash is another road that probably does should have speed humps because of the the school traffic, and we should be starting again around the school areas, because that's where parents seem to have a issue of dropping my kid off, kicking them out the door and hitting the gas pedal.

A

We can't have that, so we need to do that. The wider streets such as sally and some of the other ones, those need to go right away. So really the question becomes: how many do we order, because we have to budget for this? I think the projected number is correct at about three thousand dollars per install, that is materials and labor to do it right, probably a little less, but to be correct. That's that's what it's going to cost to do it, so we have to under that's per row per row.

A

So we've got to remember that so a street could probably take 10 rows from say union to a sunset or to a sunny slope. So we we have to understand that we have to budget for it, because uh if we don't we're going to be stuck again the as far as the training we spoke to the manufacturer early on, they gave lots of recommendations, videos you can watch as a matter of fact, our conversations going back and forth helped us adjust some of the speed humps to make sure their space.

A

So public safety, especially fire trucks, can go right over them by placing them in the middle and then three foot gaps on each side of that and it worked out well so the first effort we had to adjust a few, but that's what we do. We make sure we figure this out, so we can make it work and every area that I know of that we've put speed humps the neighbors were very grateful for it. They felt their lives, their their kids and their families. Their pets were in danger, so that was that was exciting.

A

Our partner agencies, san juan batista seminary county, have asked us for help also, if we could order more for them they want to. They want to install some too now that we know the price we could tell them. Basically, it's three thousand dollars a row and we can work with them, so we can order enough to uh help solve some of their problems. We see this in many many different places, but I again I agree with mr burns, mr resendez, that it's not about a policy. It's just.

A

We need to start to get these things involved. I are placed around the city and I think we could do it, as I mentioned off first again, starting near the schools, the wider streets and those off of the high speed streets, and if we do that, we're going to have a lot of success, there will be. Let me just make sure this is clear. There will be those that are angry and I'm I was shocked to hear some people flat out say those things are stupid.

A

They slow me down yeah until it's your neighborhood and your kid and all of a sudden. We are stupid because we don't have a cop sitting on your block, 24 7.. We can't do that. It just does not work.

A

It makes no sense for our police officers to be out there trying to catch you for going a few miles over your speed, the speed limit and then having that argument about it's a it's a speed, trap and we're just doing this for for money, no we're not we're doing this to save lives and to make our community better. So I would like to see a sign say, community of safe drivers and welcome to our speed humps too.

A

Oh, take that if you don't want to follow our rules, but uh I would say again, I I think it's been a good program, but I would say what we're going to need to do is give direction to a city manager in a budget to buy many more of these. I think the um the vendor was waiting to hear some of that, but I think, if we're really going to do this, we need to do it right and put an aggressive program together to get them throughout the city. So.

D

Go ahead, um the only thing I would add, and that's purely for visibility. Well, two is one not just around schools but parks. Thinking about that, but also the visibility of these speed homes at night. You know what I don't care. How many signs you put up? You don't know. I don't always look to the to the signs, because you know um I I pay attention to the road and I think if we could implement putting a white line around each speed, hump would be would help visibility at night.

D

That's just my opinion.

A

I I would say the one things I did like about these speed. Humps they're marked they're. Very you can visually. You can see them very clearly coming in.

A

You know, I think, if you're trying to paint the streets, what happens is with time that fades away and then people say well. I couldn't see it because that that paint faded away. The marks.

D

That's true, I don't think they're that bright, though not the ones not the ones over there on um west street and um at nights they're they're hard to see and they are rubber and so anything that's painted on rubber is coming off, and so I I would suggest that that's the only thing I would suggest.

A

Thank you any of the comments. Questions uh councilmember sanders, no.

B

I just I want to finish with what well a couple of things I want to really highlight what councilmember burns said is that this work is not unnoticed and it's not a waste of time, because if we ever need to come back and revisit, we've got a pretty solid foundation to work off.

B

So thank you for that to our staff and to the contractors, and then I really appreciate the pd also going out there and monitoring, because that's another part, there's gotta really typically be, and what we're saying is we gotta put up roadblocks to change people's behaviors, we're we're gonna have to do that and part of that is the ticketing. So all that plays a role in changing the behavior. um I agree with with the mayor on I just I want to get this ordered. I want to get it going.

B

Let's, let's move forward and yes, um we did it a little pilot to see what some of the problems were. I think we have a pretty good idea of how to install them and how to move forward. I'm very comfortable with that. Let's get this thing going and rolled out as soon as possible. In my opinion, thanks.

A

uh Mr city manager, yeah.

G

So what what it looks like you know, no policy, but we will work with the vendor to get a good uh volume discount.

G

We will also talk to san juan batista in the county if they want to join in that order, so that we can get even a better price and we'll bring that forward to in a near council meeting to as a budget appropriation to get some more well.

A

I I think we could. What I would recommend here is that we start with the number today, so we can come back and approve it at a city council meeting or we are adopting a policy here. Can we adopt the financial component of this.

G

I would defer that to jason.

A

Jason is that something we do today, or does that have to come back to a council member.

F

I think that's a.

A

F

A

F

A

F

A

Okay, I would, I would say, knowing the cost at three thousand dollars on per row, I would, I would say we start budget for at least three hundred thousand. That's a hundred hundred rows hundred rows. If you figure a streak, can take ten, you see how quickly that is used up. So we need to get moving on on this councilman burns.

H

Thank you mayor, uh mr city manager. I think I I I like very much what I heard you say, though, about a volume discount, and so I I don't know if there's uh volume pricing so for the first 300 you get at this price from 300 to 500. You get so it'd, be very helpful for us to to know what that is.

G

And I don't know.

H

How difficult an asset that is, but.

G

H

Think that would help this council to really invest the money wisely, because if we're going to go, if we're going to commit to this- and it sounds to me like we are- and I believe we should- then I'm also about the financial piece of it as well. Right.

G

I think what we'll do is we'll get some quotes and probably get different brackets of uh what the different prices are and just bring those options to the council and say which one do you want, which one council, which one do you want, and that way we you're not stuck on just 300 or or 300 000, or something like that, because it might be. If you spend an extra hundred thousand. You get double the amount of speed cushions and I would hate to have lost out on that deal because we set a dollar amount.

A

Absolutely true, I can't say when we first had those conversations. The first question that vendors wanted to know was: how many are you looking at, so I can give you guys a discount for more volume. So that is a very important question that needs to be asked: you're, absolutely right. Councilmember morales.

I

Thank you, um I'm. I would just caution for us not to just start putting speed bumps everywhere. I mean we're going from evaluating based on data and need to, let's put them everywhere, so we're going from one side to the other again with that data without looking at need, without looking truly of the evaluation in that community and then in the in the draft policy, um it said that the city of hollister will attempt to appropriate 20 000, so we were going from 20 000 to 300 000..

I

It's just uh I don't know. I would just say I think we're rushing way too fast into this. It's a huge increase in terms of what we thought we were going to appropriate we're going to evaluate you, let's just put them everywhere, so I would just say: if the community has an issue, they can bring it up. We can evaluate, and then we can put the appropriate measures to address their needs.

H

Thank you councilman burns. uh Thank you uh just for the community's benefit, um and and maybe uh council member morales as well. I can, I can tell you. I've now been on council about 13 months and one of the earlier projects soon after I was put on council as well as uh council.

H

Member now vice mayor perez was to assess our council districts and look for possible streets that could benefit from uh speed, control and and the speed cushions, and so I personally went out and looked at five different potentials and in one instance, it involved uh valley view. But valley view is a split jurisdiction street, but it is in close proximity and it is a walking path to an elementary school and and again I couldn't agree more with the mayor and vice mayor uh in in regards to schools. Priority one parks priority two.

H

um But having said that, I'm very encouraged by the fact hearing the city manager say that city of san juan batista has interest as well as the county of san benito, because I think there could be some opportunities for shared costs on streets like valley view and and that's actually as a street. As I recall that your district and mine kind of rub up against each other, and so um that's something that I would encourage you to go, look and draw your own conclusion, because I could see some collaboration there as well.

H

But you know I I think each council disc may have several streets possible. But I agree with you. We need to do the research in advance of doing the installation and we should not come to knee-jerk reactions.

H

But I can also say, for example, on highland avenue that the police research revealed at least one vehicle, as I recall that was in excess of 65 miles per hour. That's insane and that person actually should be in jail in my opinion, but that's simply my opinion and that's an excessive.

H

But but I do think we do need to move forward in a calculated and somewhat aggressive installation of these, and the beauty of them is if, if we find that they work and they slow down the speed and there's not a need for them to be a forever thing.

H

As I understand it can be relatively easily removed with minimal damage and and and and and we can call it good because again, I think what we've talked about as a council is to change people's behavior and it is going to take money and time to do that. But the reality is, you have one crash where one kid is killed or seriously injured.

H

I don't care what the cost is to put them on a road. You can't pay enough to bring that person back, and so we have plenty of schools. We have plenty of parks and I think that the the that the commitment is sound. I think it's firm and I think it's uh thoughtful, and so I couldn't agree more with everybody on this council um about how we move forward with this, but I think I think the data there's uh there's data to warrant moving forward on certain streets already, and so.

H

For that reason I think we move forward um and and commit to the process, and so uh thank you and again. I would encourage you, council, member morales, to go out and walk your neighborhoods. I know you have, but maybe look at them from a different perspective now and and I'm sure there's plenty of uh need in in district three as well. So thank you again.

A

Thank you. I do want to make something clear. This is not every street in the city.

A

Nowhere close, we have nearly 200 lane miles in the city and I can tell you laying down 100 rows, nowhere close to the entire city, and there will be many many many streets without it, but many of those streets won't need it. It's slowing people down before they get to some of these other neighborhoods that that makes this thing work. So any other questions or comments.

A

The direction is to get a price quote. I believe it was and we're. Okay with uh as we're doing now, the the council making decisions. Mr burns.

H

uh Thank you mayor. I I thought I was done, but obviously I wasn't um so, uh mr miller. I want to confirm that we have some already in uh in city possession, correct.

G

uh We have the cushions in in possession, we just don't have the anchor bolts.

H

Okay, so when the anchor bolts come in because I I I just want to put it out there as far as I'm as I'm aware, where in my district beverly is going to have them installed in.

G

Everybody, the next one, wants the anchor both.

H

Right and I've been out there as well, because uh that's kind of a neighborhood in my district that um I've focused a lot of attention in my first year um and the times I've been out there. It's like a racetrack too, and I mean it's like a channeled racetrack, because there it abuts no homes right, it's a it's a thoroughfare and and then um we talked about highland avenue or drive as well, based on what the pd's observations and confirmed through engineering.

H

As I understand it, correct and, and then I know that I've talked in the past about union avenue, I'm very concerned about union once it opens all the way up, all the way to fairview, with the new development out there and and I'd say we're months away from that happening too.

H

And um you know, and if it isn't speed cushions and that's an unusual because it's a curved road and it's also a very wide road and it'd- be a great place to do, drag races um again, because it doesn't really have any street residential homes that open directly up to it.

H

But once it gets up beyond the services school as the road narrows down and the development has now been extended- I don't remember the last street up there, but once it gets beyond there into the new development, it's going to blow all the way out to fairview I mean that's a traffic light to traffic light with a couple stop signs in between, so I don't know how they designed something to slow the traffic down on that road.

H

But again I would much prefer to be proactive than responsive and reactive and have something seriously ha are serious happen out there and go wow didn't see that coming, because I think if it's predictable in most cases it's preventable correct, and so I I'm all in for all the cushions. Okay.

G

All right, I'm sure, frederick, will uh come up with a good solution for us.

A

I appreciate that reminder there. There are going to do a start working on a traffic comic project for union right. Memorial was one of the next sets right.

H

Absolutely absolutely correct, so thanks, I just want to make sure I got mine. Thank you.

A

Good move, sir good move uh and was there anything else or is that clear, okay and then once we have that, then you can bring that to city council for the approval. Thank you. We will now move to item a2.

G

Thank you mayor. So the council asked that we bring back the rally into a special meeting so that the public could attend and also that to bring back the promoter for roadshows for the rally which is randy burke. uh So I we he's in the audience. So we can have him come up and have council ask the questions that they want of the motor or for uh from staff come on up yeah.

G

Yep yep mike, should be.

J

G

J

uh Today, ladies and gentlemen, I'm randy burke with roadshow street vibrations, entertainment I've been uh successfully producing your uh independence day, rally in the past and we're in the planning process of producing it for 2022.

J

I've been in town for three or four days. I brought my largest sponsor and subcontractor in from daytona beach. Florida they've been with with me for the entire duration that I've been here and actually before me, and we met with the city manager.

J

And went over uh the vision the vision was accomplished. I believe, prior to this meeting, when I came down and met with the mayor, councilman perez two members of the fire department, the chief of police and this city manager, brett miller, the city had a vision of the rally and the route of the rally since we're now looking at one-way direction of motorcycles, and they took the lead.

J

We looked at it, I'm in full compliance. We can make it happen. Our challenge were were the parklets, but we encourage the parklet participation that enables the brick and mortar businesses that serve food and beverage to come out into the sidewalk area and be more available to the visitors.

J

I think that's uh that.

A

J

Much brings me up to speed.

A

Thank you for coming out this morning. I know it's a a long drive, I think from reno. You drive in from five.

J

A

Five hour there you go at least it was not snowing this weekend yeah. I guess we can start with the council members. They have any questions or if you prefer, we can ask the public for any input. First, how do you all feel?

A

B

Like the idea of getting public input,.

A

All right, if that's okay, all right with everyone, do we have any public speakers today.

C

um We have no speaker cards and no hands raised on zoom.

A

Okay, go ahead, mr rossendes. Thank.

B

You um first off thanks for coming, it's good to see you thank.

J

B

um I do have some questions about like what other events have you put on that are that are similar to the hollister biker rally that might be well known to everybody. Thank.

J

You that's a good question. um My motorcycle rally in northern nevada, which is in september of every year I've been producing it in a safe and sound insane manager for 28 years.

J

It is depending like anything outdoors on inclement weather or not, but we can vary from 35 000 to 55, 000 guests and participants in 2019, which was the last year we were able to produce here. That was a projected number, I believe, by law enforcement.

J

So, yes, I also travel I'm kind of like a hired gun. I travel around the united states and help with other rallies, milwaukee sturgis laconia daytona, which our events here are dwarf compared to two 300 000 attendees. So I'm familiar with even larger events.

B

Another question thank.

A

You, sir, do you have more questions? Yes,.

B

I'm just wondering um how did this last year's cancellation affect you and and I'm assuming it's you're gonna? Is there any potential problems that you see in this year's future rally.

J

I think my challenge for the last two years, because we haven't been able to produce in 20 or 21, is that I never stop promoting and advertising my events.

J

uh We do it 12 months a year, and so what my biggest challenge is is, if I start promoting and spending um my budgeted money for advertising and marketing in january, and then uh we have february march uh and then and so on and something is uh canceled. I I can't get my money back from the vertical publications and the shows that I already would go to.

J

I go every march first weekend to daytona beach florida, it's the largest motorcycle event in the united states, with sturgis being number two and that's when I meet with my sponsors and my start meeting with my vendors, so I like to have a clear slate where I can look them straight in the eye and go you know we're going to have the event this year, we're going to have a plan for the next two or three or four or five years, and the sponsors that make plans and their budgets three and four years out.

J

They can say well good. You fit into our category of sponsorship and that's what they want to hear from me. I want to hear from them that they're going to come.

A

Thank you, sir. Any other questions from councilman burns.

H

uh Thank you mayor. First of all, mr burke, thank you very much for being here. I appreciate it. I've been looking forward to meeting you for months. um I do have a laundry list of questions that I would like to ask um remind me. You just said that you're you're, the the primary or the uh key. I don't know what the right word is here, but responsible for promoting other. uh Like events.

J

I, oh I own street vibrations. um I have a federal service mark to produce street vibrations and I have for the last 28 years. I do one in the spring and one in the fall.

J

I have an agreement here with the city for several years and I get the phone rings and somebody needs a part of their team to help manage and produce an event, I'm on an airplane and I'm there to help them. That happens every year.

H

Okay, so I'm curious during the last two years have been I'm hoping it's an anomaly and not the new normal as it relates to the pandemic and covet and and the other associated viruses. What have those other events gone on during the past two years, regardless of covet or have they also been delayed or canceled yeah.

J

That's pretty interesting, um but thank you for the question nevada, where I do street vibrations and also laughlin river run by las vegas.

J

We've been canceled for the last two years, my my business, because I'm a full-fledged entertainment production company. I was closed for 15 months, so I never had one customer uh now to answer the second part of that question. um It seems like the east coast and the south. Nobody stopped everybody kept producing.

J

So why we were so unlucky here in nevada in california was basically the concern for safety with the covet. But the safety of the covet was uh clear across the united states, but the other rallies were subjected to it.

H

Okay and part of the foundation, and the reason for my question was: I was curious, what, as a promoting professional, what your takeaways have been in relation to covet and safety for uh large events. Like this I mean I I'm I'm really concerned quite candidly and so yeah. I want to hear what your thoughts are. Sir, well.

J

This last year 2021, I produced street vibrations in the spring in june and in street vibrations in the fall and september, and they were as big in attendance and revenue as 2019..

J

I was pleasantly surprised, but generally in the motorcycle industry, there were feelings that the motorcycle enthusiasts had a lot of pent up energy because of not being able to travel as much with the coven, and so when they had an opportunity to come to an event like we have in reno. They jumped on it.

H

Okay, and so did did when, when the event happened in reno most recently, what kind of precautionary measures did you as the event organizer take to ensure the public safety as it relates to covid yeah.

J

Well, the governor's dashboard starting about march of 20 of 2020 was very strict. Everybody was shut down by the time we got around to june of 2021.

J

There was only masked policy inside the casinos and restaurants. Everything else was wide open and it stayed wide open. The governor of the uh of the state of nevada, steve sisilak, says that he's not going to close anything down again heck or high water.

H

Okay- and so we know california is a little different and, and certainly the counties are concerned, and so are the cities, and so um I don't know what it's going to look like in july in hollister. I do have serious concerns. I know that we we're seeing spikes and we've got a lot of challenges, and so in my mind we will absolutely not be through covet or whatever the current virus is that we're experiencing come july. So what kind of safety measures are you going to implement?

H

Assuming our rally goes forward to to try and minimize the public safety risk.

J

Well, first of all, we're an outdoor event, so if the state uh has any mandates uh that are directed through the health department, we will follow those mandates to the letter. um But I haven't talked to anybody from your health department and again I don't have a crystal ball either.

J

The only thing that concerns me and the question was asked before is when I put out four or five ten thousand dollars before an event to market and advertise it to have to turn around and spend almost that much money to tell everybody. It's canceled, it's crippling to me. I've had to do it twice right. So when.

D

J

Get a green light. I'd really, you know prefer that that green light stays on, but none of us have a crystal ball. None of us knows what's going to happen, but my glass is always half full and so I'm ready to march.

H

I appreciate that, unfortunately, my glass is usually cracked, um so um nice segue for me to ask a couple more questions, and- and um so I'm wondering if it costs you ten thousand dollars to promote and ten thousand dollars to cancel kind of leads to a bigger question that I'd like to involve. Maybe the city manager, the mayor and mr epperson in, and it relates to the current contract.

H

Now the city signed a five-year contract and for just transparency, I'm not I'm not enamored by the five-year contract period, regardless of whether you or anybody else for any other reason. um It's been explained to me that part of that was so that it would make a more effective promotion of the event, and I get that and so, but now we're into year three of a five-year deal and I'm not I'm not really excited about the language in the contract.

H

And that bothers me quite candidly and I I would like to see the contract rewritten for a three-year deal beginning this year, but part of that. I also think, is my concern about covet and and and so I have a question in all these comments.

H

I'm making is um if, if kobe continues at the current stage, that it is and and this city is being rocked- and this county is being rocked by coveted right now- how much advance notice would it take to be reasonable for you if we decide like we did last year, which was my first year on council to postpone or cancel the rally, because I want to be fair to you as well, and my second part of that would be it.

H

Ties back into the contract would be I'm pretty convinced, there's no provision in there that if we cancel it, um for uh you know, pandemic reason that that you get reimbursed for your expenses out of pocket and I'd like to that's kind of my, my my carrot to maybe rewrite the contract, because I think you should be compensated for that. If this council, out of an era of caution for public safety, does not uh authorize the the rally to go forward this year, I'm cautiously optimistic that it will go forward.

H

But I honestly don't know- and I just have to be honest with you, uh given the fact that you've driven five hours to be here with us today um and I don't want to see your partner you're out out-of-pocket uh your out-of-pocket expenses be for nothing, and so I think we you know- and I think honestly, if there were a way to actually uh document and show your out-of-pocket pocket expenses for the previous two years, that it didn't happen.

H

I would advocate that we reimburse you for that. Frankly, sir, so um again, long-winded comment, question wrapped in there how much advance notice do we need to provide you with in the event that this council is not comfortable moving forward because of public health concerns for this rally in july?

H

J

First of all, thank you for your generous thoughts that that's good business practice for both sides.

J

I believe, with all due respect, if I had a five-year contract and two of them have already been canceled, I only have a three-year contract now so to rewrite it. We'd just be rewriting the same thing. However, I don't write the contracts, the city writes them with my cooperation and so I'll welcome to bypass or place on top of our existing contract, um a new yearly contract, which we usually do that uh with the city.

J

We have a the master uh commitment for x amount of years, and then each year we update the contract, and so that kind of answers your question right there and we're prepared to do that with the city manager.

H

Thank you. I appreciate that, mr miller, mr epperson, that's my request and I recognize I'm one of a council of five, but I would like to do that. I'd also like to have a component in there and I- and I recognize sometimes from the other side, that you invest money. It doesn't work out, that's sometimes viewed as a cost of doing business and there's risk and there's reward, but because of the pandemic.

H

I I really would like this council to revisit, if, if mr burke could could validate his out-of-pocket expenses that that he went forward with in the past two years to um reimburse him for those costs, because it's not fair and it is good business and it's the right thing to do, and I don't know if it could come out of the arp money or wherever it comes out of, but um I think that would be the right and the ethical thing to do in that instance, um and so I I would like to have that contract, rewritten and- and um you know reviewing it- I I don't know who wrote it, but it wasn't.

H

It didn't meet my expectations and I'm a lay person, but but I've entered into numerous contracts, and so um I would like to see that happen um if the council, I'm sorry, if the council's supportive of that I've. I'd also like to ask, uh um I presume, sir, that there's some sort of an event insurance that and I'm not talking about uh if it gets cancelled, but if, if uh and maybe this is as a mr burke or a mr epperson question um in the event, somebody goes to the rally and gets hurt.

H

Oftentimes municipalities get sued, it's just the way it is, and so what what do we have to protect us or from any financial exposure in that regard, and I'll start with mr burke, if you have any thoughts on that, I don't know well.

J

Again, that's written into the contract. I think there's four different paragraphs in it that uh talks about uh the insurance, the amount. um The important part is the indemnification we indemnify each other. um I also have every one of my vendors has to provide insurance if they don't have their own, I buy it for them and they reimburse me through my own company.

J

So again, if we look at revisiting, I would say the revisit, maybe update. Instead of reinventing the wheel, update our 2020 for your uh approval, um I'm I'm fine with that, but I think we have at least four, maybe five major paragraphs in the contract that address insurance and indemnification.

H

Okay, uh city manager, can you respond as well in regards to the city's exposure risk and liability.

G

Yeah the I mean, like mr burke said, you know that they have to provide general liability. They identify us our big issue if it is a event away from the rally and or if it's a more of an employee injury for workers comp. Those are our concern, concerns.

H

Thank you, and- and I just want to be clear- I know you and I've talked and we've talked in in other environments as well. One of my reservations in past years has been believed by.

G

H

The past it was assumed or understood that if we had somebody, for example, in law enforcement, that was providing mutual aid, not in a mutual aid way, but as a contract, and they were to get hurt. The city would be responsible for their injury and their rehabilitation.

G

H

You've assured me that that's no longer the case that we have insurance that would cover that that wouldn't come out of the general fund is.

G

It am I saying that correctly for many years. That's what we thought the same thing because same thing, we will reimburse the the uh the contracting agency for any workers comp issues. What we found out is because they're working under our direction during the during the time of the event they actually fall under our workers, comp because they are technically working for us at that time.

H

Thanks for reaffirming what you've told me before, I'm probably going to need to be spoon-fed this for a while yeah.

G

We we try to remind our risk pool group that you know the rally is a fun thing, and so we don't scare them.

H

Right well and- and the risk is, is it may only be perceived, but you know again, I think we need to clearly define that for the residents of our community as well, that there is no uh huge liability or risk as a result of that type of a situation.

H

So, um mr burke, back to my other part of the question that I apologize, I probably buried it in a bunch of other words.

H

If we were as a council to decide that for risk of cova pandemic that we were not going to move forward with the rally, what would be a time frame that you would need to know by? I mean I I don't remember last year when we came to that conclusion, but I I think we're at least two or three months ahead of the game. This year, yeah.

J

H

And so I you know again, I respect you. I respect your your work product and I also understand I don't want to. You know, create unnecessary complications for you, but I do have the concern for.

J

You burns there is no good time, but if we had to take up and throw a dart at the dartboard um just prior to uh my staff and myself going to daytona beach, where we do the majority of our work for for all our west coast events just prior to the first week in march, so that I don't go and sell blue sky to vendors and sponsors at daytona beach to have to go back several weeks later and say you know the event's been postponed again.

H

Okay, I understand first week in march.

H

I did want to talk- and you just mentioned about sponsorship, and I and my understanding was one of the reasons to go into a five-year deal which I would have been ignorant about was to ensure a strong level of sponsorship.

H

Can you speak a little bit about that, and- and I don't know if you're at a position right now to publicly announce who I I know you mentioned- that there is one or one couple here that are sponsors, but talk a little bit more, because I am ignorant about sponsorship and the importance of sponsorship, not only for you as a promoter, but for the event itself and for the city as well. Please right.

J

Well, not only large corporations plan their budgets uh three four five years in advance, uh so so do small and medium businesses like myself, I'm always working three years out in advance or more depending on where I'm located and what event I'm doing so.

J

Major sponsors, I just lost one national sponsor for all of my events on the west coast um about a month and a half ago, they've been with me for five years and they said because we don't know what's going on and they plan five years in advance.

J

We are not going to be coming to the west coast for 2022..

J

That hurts a lot makes me work even harder. But if I have several of those- and I've only had one tell me that I'm a lucky guy.

H

H

Two more council, thanks for in in engaging me and allowing me to to run down this list. I appreciate it.

H

We've talked a little bit about the parklets and, and so um I'm curious, if they're damaged, at whose expense or or the repair is going to happen, and I like very much the idea of engaging those businesses that have the parklets, because my experience well distant was oftentimes many of our downtown businesses during the rally events go away, they shut down, they close and I and we have, I believe, increased the number of restaurants and other establishments that could benefit from this.

H

But I would like to hear more about what the thoughts are and and maybe suggest, that we engage uh hda in this or the chamber, because I think, there's an opportunity here as well, and I and I think that could make it a more of a a community-based event as well. So I see a lot of potential there, but I guess my question is simply you know what happens if the parklands get damaged at whose expense do they get repaired?.

G

Yeah I mean the parklets, the the people that have the parklets they're supposed to have them insured, and um so I think it would be any kind of damage like to a building or anything like that. If uh you know they caught the person, let's just say a motorcycle drove into it. You know they would get the the insurance from that person and that insurance would be responsible if it happened in the middle of the night, we didn't know who it was. Then it's going to be on the businesses insurance that cover that.

H

So I heard you say you think, and and do we have with every parklet that has a as an owner, do we have the their insurance records on fire.

G

They're supposed to when we renew them every year, they're supposed to.

D

G

More thinking about the different scenarios, that's what I was trying to say so yeah and then that was the the big incentive about the uh parklets was parades. The rally those are going to be the prime seats to to enjoy those activities or when we do the music downtown is that you could sit there and be part of the atmosphere and be rewarding for those restaurants, that people are sitting there and getting their food and beverages at that location.

H

And- and I would piggyback on that- I know that this council has been supportive of an idea of eventually creating an entertainment district downtown, and I think there are lessons that could be learned in that event. So also in regards to this rally, I know that this council has committed to having some some entity uh track the economic benefit that is generated as opposed to the I thinks- and I suppose and maybe- and you know all the all the approximates have we committed to an event or or not an event, but to an agency or.

G

Entity to do that, we have not committed to anybody. We did. I did the research for the now, I'm blanking on the it's delivered rivers, yeah lights and contact those people to find out. If what would be involved to get them to come here and figure all that out for us.

H

Okay, I I I really want to have that in place for this rally, I'm assuming this rally's going to go forward.

G

Yeah, I think that would be the best, because I mean, like you said we we've always done in the back of the envelope of what what we thought was going to be brought it. What we were bringing in, but that.

H

G

Be best to find out, and the back of the envelope was just really the people over that weekend, not what the echoing effect was.

H

Right I mean there's, there's a potential for a huge financial uh gain by this community, economically based on the number of people that come in and what the rally does.

H

But, but I think we've always talked in approximates, and I wouldn't like specifics and the only way we do, that is, have those people on board in anticipation of the event so that, after after this rally, we as a council can really sit down and talk about the pros and the cons, and I believe there are going to be far more pros and there will be cons. But but again I don't want to talk in in rough numbers or dirty math. I want to have real, clear.

G

Stuff yeah, the data is, is important.

H

Okay, so- and I guess my final question- and maybe it's a sense of timing- um it would be nice to hear our fire chief's uh perspective on this, as well as our police captain's perspective on this. um So maybe, when mr burke is done, sure.

K

H

So, thank you, mr burke, for for allowing me to ask some questions. I appreciate that I look forward to seeing an amazing production by you.

J

H

J

You for your support and thank you for your questions.

A

Thank you, councilmember morales.

I

Thank you. um I think this is for the city manager. If you could uh forward me a copy of the contract, I haven't seen it and um would like just a better understanding of of the details. Some of my questions are similar to councilmember burns um in terms of collaboration. Does the contract outline um working with like, for example, district one or the neighborhoods that that the um rally impacts and some of the businesses that are impacted or could benefit from the rally in terms of communication and collaboration?

I

So that's um that's one and then do we have um an idea uh when you bring in vendors if the tax revenue or the the sales tax does that go to the city, and maybe it may be a city manager question, but is that outlined in the contract as well.

G

I'll answer both those questions, real quick, so in the working with the district one or the businesses, the contract does not not state state anything about about that um and then for the sales tax. Yes, those vendors are to sign up with the state and record their sales in hollister.

G

uh Usually the next question is, I mean: do we know exactly what that sales tax is it? The problem is: that's only three days worth of sales for those organizations and when they submit it to the state they're submitting a month's worth. So that was always that's. Usually the next question: without sales tax.

I

So is there a way to, I guess the bottom line question is this: there's concern for the amount of money that the city of hollister spends on the rally in terms of not just being able to contract um police and provide the necessary infrastructure for the safety of our residents, but also um the amount of money that the rally needs for support and then how much money is actually brought in, and is it really beneficial to our community and does the community truly benefit from them from from it?

I

So that's basically the question that we're trying to answer. Apparently we haven't been able to answer that, even if we go back several years, um and so that's if we can put something in place, whether in the new contract or an amendment, to be able to identify that there has to be some sense of responsibility, at least from the city of hollister, to at least know whether this is actually costing us a lot more or this is actually beneficial to our community again from a data perspective.

I

So those were my basic questions is. I would like to see more collaboration with the community that it impacts on our businesses and I'd like to have a better understanding of whether this is negatively impacting the city and if it's actually bringing in revenue to our businesses and to the city of hollister, that it's not just a cost or burn.

A

Thank you vice mayor perez, the.

D

um I I live downtown uh downtown district um old town hollister, the good part just kidding, um um I'm close to downtown I'm between sev uh I'm on seventh between western monterey, so I'm directly impacted and I see the impact of the the biker rally and I also see the benefits of being on where I live, because I me I love interacting with people. So it's like it's awesome, but it is. It is an inconvenience at times uh just to get to a store.

D

You know what I don't mind: making those sacrifices. It's a good thing for our businesses, our community, um the um I do have concerns about how how much what the numbers are, and so my concern is about really getting some data.

D

You know what, as far as sales taxes when, when you go to your other events, do they ask for any type of sales tax um data or do they get any because, like brett, you were saying you know it's hard to get a a three-day, um some data for three days right, but um um I mean it seems that, instead of just finding a reason why we can't get some data, let's, let's find some reasons. Why? How?

D

Let's find a way to get some data, you know, there's got to be some way to get some type of numbers or something so I'm all for getting more data right.

G

You kind of maybe follow up based on councilman burns yourself and morale. I think that's where it would to bring in a third party that.

D

G

That and studies it and and finally gives us the exact numbers instead of us just saying well, this is what we perceive it to be because, yes,.

D

G

You say trying to get drill down into those sales tax dollars. We just don't have that information, and then we were spent just estimating and.

D

Then my my, I think one of my last ones questions is so actually for the last contract. Wasn't it put out for 180 000 and then we settled for 130.

G

D

Those numbers just.

G

Right in my head, yeah, we estimated uh usually our budget for the rally is 180 000 in the city's cost and that's where we started the for the contract or the bid to be 180.

G

um And actually we only had one, the mayor's, probably better at this, because he sat on the council at the time was the the bid of 135 000.

D

So so randy um there's not a lot of companies that do what you do.

J

No, you can count on.

D

Not as good as you at least.

J

Yeah well, I'm kind of one of the last men standing. um So many of the rallies like businesses across the united states are no longer viable, so we have.

J

The hollister rally is the is the largest motorcycle rally in the state of california, and there used to be three or four more um and they're no longer in existence. There's only one small one in los angeles.

J

The arizona bike week was closed down for a while, but it's back operating and the laughlin river run, which was always a very respectable rally for southern california people.

J

It is still on the shelf. The producer. There cannot come back and produce the show.

D

J

D

You um give me some information or speak to the fact of why it's not viable for some of these other cities to have those rallies anymore. What what happened.

J

Well, as far as the production companies um being to be successful in in any business, it's really important for consistency. Consistency year after year after year, and when you close down for one two three years, uh your sponsorship money and your vendors wander off. They they have to go, make a living, someplace else or place their marketing advertising money and promote money, someplace else.

J

So all of a sudden, you want to go back into business and- and you go to the back of the line, because um it's like starting all over uh with your uh national, regional and local vendors and sponsors.

D

I see yeah the um you know and it is part of hollister's history. I mean it's like people, see hollister or think about hollister, and it's so at the biker rally. You know it's it's part of our history, yeah.

J

D

Of our culture, yeah.

J

It's it's 75th anniversary this year. Yes- and I believe this is the 150th anniversary of the city this year. Yes,.

D

That's that's something uh I don't know if you're listening, john roble, uh maybe we can tie into that also, but uh yeah I just. I just wanted to ask those questions and- and um my thing is really about getting some data, so how we can move forward. I'd like to make sure that this, it's not just uh uh it's not just you that make some money. We want you to make money, but we'd like for the city to uh to do to to be on the receiving end.

D

Also, so, thank you uh maybe just kind of.

G

Add on to uh council member perez's question, I I think the big issue is it's really hard to charge a gate fee. Does any of the rallies charge a gate fee? Anyone I can think of maybe daytona, because it's.

D

Gorgeous no, I think no.

J

No thank you, mr miller, arizona bike week, charges a gate fee, it's about 40 dollars a person, but they have a major concert with major entertainment that cost several hundred thousand dollars per act and therefore they couldn't do it without that uh daytona beach, there's no gate fee, sturgis main street no gate fee.

J

If you get the full throttle, broken spoke uh some of the uh buffalo chip, uh some of the big campgrounds they'll, put the concert fee into your rental of your tent or the area. You put your rv, so it's all figured in in reno, I've been producing it for 28 years and it's free in the streets any make any model. Everybody's welcome.

G

Yeah, so that's usually difficult if you're not charging a gate fee where, like a concert or sporting event, you know you make up those differences uh through the gate fee. So that's a big issue, mr.

A

H

Go ahead, uh thank you, mayor um a comment and a question. We'll go with the comment. First, I really would like to see this tied uh nicely together with the 150-year anniversary. I, if you're saying it's a 75 year anniversary for the house or motorcycle rally and 150 for the city of hollister, um I think there's something to be said there. I'm not I'm not into marketing, but I think that that would be a good, a good tie-in and I'd really like to see that happen.

H

Mayor velasquez, you seem to be the subject matter expert on this that I know of um as it relates to the hollister independence rally and one of the things that just dawned on me has city staff or has counsel in past years, gone to other rallies to see how they are run and see what they do well and what the challenges are. I appreciate the answers I.

D

H

D

H

But but no, I, I think, there's a value and a benefit to that. uh You know if we've committed to a five-year deal and we're three into five and we're going to rewrite it for another two after this year. I think there's an opportunity to go to those and watch mr burke watch others in action and and just you know, figure it out. So that would be my question to you, sir, and my recommendation.

H

In the event we haven't, or if we have, let's start doing it again and vice mayor perez has already volunteered yeah, I mean I.

G

Could say for staff, the uh police department has gone to numerous different rallies to uh basically look at maybe like for security issues, and things like that. So probably our police chief could probably recommend some of the better rallies for you to attend and maybe maybe the safer ones to attend because we want you to come back. So um that's.

H

What I would recommend- oh definitely,.

G

H

So you know and and that's a great point um for public safety- I think there are.

H

There are different uh visions here and, and I think I'm going to always trust in our chief of police, our fire chief, um the subject matter experts for that that element, but I'm also you know- and maybe we send somebody that does economic development for the city of hollister, whoever those people are and and maybe send a council member uh vice mayor to tag along and to really get a sense of feel of flavor for it, and I think I think it's a good investment in my mind.

G

So I think, that's probably a very smart idea.

A

Did you have some of the same answers in this just.

B

Couple quick things: volunteering.

A

B

No definitely not the alternate um I'd like to hear from the fire department and then the pd on any questions, concerns updates from them and then, as far as the I've got a list of comments, I don't I don't know if I want to bore you guys with all of them, but real, quick as far as 150th um they're doing a fantastic job advertising. By the way I saw that they put up their website and they are advertising that the motorcycle rally is coming so they're doing a real, real good job, pushing that.

D

And if I can piggyback on that real quick um gary, I can't think of his last name um from corbin's he's doing a really awesome job out there, but promoting so I think they are. There is some advertisement already for these. I don't know if there's about the 75th but um yeah yeah it'd be great to tie that in because we are putting it out to the um motorcycle enthusiasts, not.

J

D

Of the city yeah.

J

We provided my core.

D

Of the world actually.

J

Yeah, so we provided mike corbin with uh promotional materials that he's put up on the web already that started last month.

D

J

I said we never stop, you know so yeah and mike corbin's, most supportive of our event and always has been, of course, mike corbin. Not only uh has a factory here in hollister, but we'll be with him in daytona beach, where he has his.

A

J

A

Yeah, that's a.

G

Yeah- and I just for the 150 group- accounts minor burns and council member perez is on the committee. I I thought their plan was the kickoff for the 150 was going to start on july 4th weekend with the rally and then have an activity every weekend up to 250 anniversary. So they were using this as a a major kickoff.

J

Yeah and if I could segue into your uh question about the 105th as luck would have it when my largest sponsor and I were doing the site inspection several days ago here in town, we met with the downtown association with daisy and susan omar was out ill. I think, and they brought up the the topic that they would like us to participate uh in the 105th, and we welcome that opportunity and they plan on getting back to us.

A

So maybe I can answer some of your questions first and about the history of it, and I I would say you mentioned mr corbin mr corbin is in the industry, is known throughout out the world and he is in our backyard. He was very involved in getting this whole thing started. A wealth of knowledge. He's put me in contact with many many people over the years to talk to about different rallies, uh introduce you so he extremely knowledgeable about these rallies and the difference they can make in communities.

A

You know some of the conversations they had in the past was- and I don't remember there were several years ago, but it was why, wouldn't you have the rally that was kind of more of their questions, like you guys? Have you guys are the birthplace of the american biker, all right you're, not having the rally that type of conversation- and you know we did talk at one time about trying to have city council members, but then there was well. You know.

A

How does that really look if we're flying city council members out to uh to an event to have you know you're gonna come back, say: oh look at them having fun, but it was decided to have law enforcement, go out and see what's going on and bring back information and they did so. There was a conversation about other rallies and why some are successful. Some are not and what you get is promoters that are trying to create something. That's not there very difficult to do.

A

We have and everyone, if you ask anyone throughout the country they know, hollister is the birthplace of the american biker right. That's how I gave him a better story. uh My sister lives in croatia and um she saw some people on bikes and went to go talk to him and say: oh that's, you know beautiful bike, my brothers from hollister mayor hollister and they said hollister. That's our dream to go to hollister and go to the rally over there.

A

That's how well-known it is throughout the world and at the peak we would have people from japan, germany, france, you name it. They were here because it was like that was the destination that was the uh the reality they had to go to so very rich history. You pointed out mr burns. 75 year, it's known it's known when.

E

A

Rally got started in 97, the numbers, I I think the promoters at the time were shocked about how many people came in and it grew and it grew, and it grew every I think, about 2004.

A

You couldn't even walk anymore. I mean that's how popular it was, and I can tell you at the time I happened to be a restaurant owner and my restaurant at the time made two months worth of business in one weekend and it was our what we called our christmas season. If you don't know, if you haven't been in business, every business has a season retail without christmas season. They're out of business restaurants depend on the summer season different things. Different events bring it in.

A

That's how critically important it was, and it made a big big difference, but there was always that conversation of well, it's only you making money or it's only you making money, and I at the time I'd point out. If I'm making money, everybody else is making money, because I'm spending a lot of money to get ready for this event, and I'm paying a lot of money to all these employees that we have to bring in to help and all the goods and so on.

A

So you know back then I advocated you guys really need to do a revenue study because that'll tell your true numbers rather than just guests, guesstimating and working off emotion, I'm saying well, I saw that vendor and he didn't report something to register. It's like that's, not where the money's at the money's out all the other uh hotels, restaurants, all these things that are happening and the employees then taking their money, they've earned. I had bartenders and staff making over two thousand dollars.

A

In a weekend I mean they were literally fighting for the positions to get there because they knew how much money and then they'd talk about all the things they would buy afterwards. So we would see this huge influx of cash and dollars going around and, yes, we paid payroll tax everything else, that's where the big money's at but there's ways to make sure of the other part. But it's really important- and I've said this over and over that we get that revenue study, because revenue study doesn't just tell you the sales tax from those vendors.

A

It tells you. You know that money goes around about six seven times and I I brought the story up um the example before about one of the seminars we were at at league of cities in southern california and riverside was doing a presentation about their event. The christmas tree lighting festival, I think, goes on for a week now or something like that. They at a time were struggling to keep it going because there were so many people saying this is just stupid, we're losing money.

A

It's a waste of time, look at all our staff has to work and on and on and on, and it was near closing. Well, they finally agreed to do a reference study. Lo and behold comes back, I think it's 20, 30 million dollars in revenue was bringing in all of a sudden. The naysayers were the biggest ones. You know hey. As I said, we need to keep going on with this thing and it's you know now. We know it's.

A

The true numbers are only there when you, when you go, get the true numbers emotionally telling a number doesn't do anything for us, but we can do simple things as far as addressing the vendor issue by simply uh asking each vendor to report their sales at the end of the event, what was your sales for the week yeah, so we can match later with somebody.

A

That's authorized to do it to match those numbers that reported to the state, but more importantly, for you to know if a vendor is reporting well, I only made 500 this week bad weekend. Sorry! Well, then we know that vendor shouldn't come back. I guarantee you that same vendor will come back. I didn't mean 500, I meant 5 000., that's how this it's a game being played, so we can do that and that these are pretty simple things to do, but we do have to ask for it as we do with anything.

A

uh You know the uh the rally did get started with a local non-profit group of people that were motorcycle enthusiasts. They lived the dream, they were excited to do it, they organized it. They made it happen. They made it very successful, but with everything eventually, they got squeezed out because the cost just they couldn't do it, and without having that additional cash volunteers are volunteers. Sometimes they don't want to do something. Sometimes they do, but you can't depend on that.

A

You need a you need that steady stream income- that's this is where the professional organizer organizers came, came in and we we had a few uh a few lemons before uh you came through, and one thing I've always appreciated about. You is you've always been honest up front you're, never playing a game. We had one that tried to run off matter of fact did run off with copywriting birthplace, american biker to own it himself, and when we found out, we said you can't that was you can't do that? It's like well too late.

A

I did it now. What are you gonna do about it? I said? Well, then, you're not gonna, be the promoter anymore. So you know these are the games that.

D

G

A

That's why having a professional is so important? Can we do it ourselves? We can, but it's one massive massive undertaking and one massive headache and then we'd have to be sending somebody across the country to go, promote it and so on, and so on, not not where we want to go do, but I would say um one of the things we really need to look at here is some of these empty lots that are never used for anything all year.

A

Long suddenly are getting paid thirty, forty thousand dollars to use their lot and not paying the promoter who's. Making this whole event happen. We we have to do something uh to make this fair, because we cannot keep having these. uh What? What would you call those vendors just coming out of the blue and tape?

A

What are they called ambushers.

J

And the ambushers come in.

A

To take advantage of it and get the free ride without paying the promoter or the city really anything, so we have to make sure we come up with a policy on that that that would, I think, would help all of us and avoid a lot of these problems, because sometimes these people bring in things that really are inappropriate for our community. They don't they just don't care, there's look too bad, so I would say: that's one major deal the workman's comp issues been worked out. That was a conversation for years.

A

I kept pointing out that that's not the way workman's comp works. This is how it works. I'm really appreciative that the city manager finally got that the factual answer about how workman's comp works, so that issue is done. The final issue is cobit, and you know.

A

February, 2nd I'll, never forget this 2020 when we got introduced to it in our in our community. Was that time we had to take this thing serious and at the time I said we have to do everything we can to protect everybody. We can until there's an answer to this.

A

We have an answer. Now we do have the vaccines. We have all these different things.

A

These numbers can come down, but I think there's a point in all of our lives where we ask everybody to do what they can to protect themselves, their family, those around them, but there's got to be a point where we have to move on with life and otherwise we're going to be going on forever.

A

I'll tell you if I'm in a crowd, I'm wearing a face cover if I'm hit in north people. I don't know well and know that they're not vaccinated, I'm wearing face cover, even with that.

A

I still got covered right before christmas. Thankfully I had all my vaccinations, so it was extremely mild for me, but I you know, I think, by the time summer comes around. You know everybody needs to understand. Either you've done your part to make sure you're safe your family's safe or we move on in life. Otherwise we're going to live the rest of our lives in hiding that I I personally I'm not ready for that anymore. I'm ready to start living my life and- and I hope we can move forward with this rally. Do it right.

A

It's a 150th anniversary of the city 75th of the rally good things are here and I'm looking forward to getting that answer from that. That company could do the revenue. But I think all the comments mr burns uh brought up earlier are very valid, and I appreciate that you're willing to work and talk about that contract, because I think it's important with the new council members also to have that input that buy-in. That makes it successful, because when we.

D

A

It all together, we succeed if we're not sure we're going to fail because we're just tearing it apart and it just doesn't work for for this community. So those are my my comments. Is there any other questions? uh Councilmember sent us.

B

I'd like to hear just a brief update from fire department. First, if we have any questions, you can ask me questions and a brief update from pd, and then I do have some remarks that I wrote down after after hearing everything. Thank you.

J

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,.

E

How are you doing.

J

E

Good, how are you good hanging in there hey good morning, mayor uh city council? Do you want me to wait till uh mayor comes back.

E

Okay, well, I'm just gonna some of the some of the the issues or concerns that the fire department may have for an event like this. So you know as the fire chief, it's my responsibility to try to look for the vulnerabilities within the community right and and and by by no means am I a naysayer I I'm just this is this is the kind of mindset that that kept me alive and brought me back in from the middle east right?

E

So with that said, um some of the things that I got to be concerned about is you know that we make a cognitive effort and understand that you know we're in a pandemic and we have diminished resources as it is.

E

um I don't want this to be a super spreader event, but the likelihood of it you know happening that way, especially with what we've seen over the last couple of weeks with the holidays, it could very well be so as long as we're cognitive of that also we've got uh if I can get collaboration with law enforcement and the the promoter along the way. So we can come up with refined methods and best practices for a large scale. Event like this will be um all on the same page.

E

A couple of months ago we met with randy the mayor uh police chief, and we took a look at the route going in and out of the city and it it seemed to look pretty decent. I think there could be a little bit of refinement in it just in the event. We need to do a a mass evacuation, so we have casualty collection points and all that which leads me up to the next thing.

E

um This is a little different large event than we would say any other uh organizations, um the garlic festival a few years ago.

E

We don't want to have another rendition of that, but I gotta say it: okay and I don't want to be the naysayer of this, but you to be cognitive of being able to address a situation like that, and we got to be ahead of it and and it would be negligent of us to hope that it doesn't happen and not mention it. But we've got a plan for that.

E

One of the other things and I wrote stuff down as we were talking along. I do see a huge value of council or even staff, going to rallies out of state the last year that I was on active duty in pennsylvania. They had multiple rallies in pennsylvania and I went to um one of their biker rallies and they do have three patch outlaw gangs coming in there and how they can find it and how they were able to support.

E

It was um a a good eye opener for me, because I've never been into an event like that outside of our own event, so it I would say it would be a good idea for us to go ahead and take a look at that and glean from them. Some best practices for us, um and the last thing I have is um the fire department we're already going to be um up staffing because it's the it's the fourth of july weekend. You know we got fireworks and all that good stuff.

E

So we're up staffing because of that we're going to upstaff, because it's a rally and then we got to maintain our continuity of service. So, even though we have these functions going on these events happening, I still got to take in into consideration.

E

We, we service, 1400 square area, miles of this community, so we're we're not going to have just the normal uh four fire engines on the street. We're probably going to have eight just to be safe. Any questions for me.

H

Thank you mayor uh chief, first of all, thank you for being here on a saturday. I really appreciate it.

E

H

um I was curious, you mentioned being prepared for a casualty or a mass casualty event. Yes, I presume, as part of our standard best practices, your your fire department staff train for that and you you'd be prepared. Yeah.

E

And under nfpa um 000, if I'm not uh incorrect in the numerical um identification of it, provides us a guideline and- and we take all of our lead in supporting law enforcement, so we're going to collaborate with the sheriff's office and hollister pd. Hollister pd has sent a couple of their officers out to active, active shooter training and which they're going to provide us our fundamentals. So we know how to support them to extricate, provide medical assistance and transportation for um our casualties.

H

Perfect and- and I know in other communities- I'm familiar with they'll often practice an airplane crash out at an airport, and I presume we do something like that, either here or in morgan hill or wherever, wherever that could be.

H

But but I'm wondering again if it wouldn't be beneficial to practice, something more applicable and appropriate to a motorcycle rally and- and you know, shut down the downtown for an afternoon or a day or whatever it looks like, and do that with law enforcement as well and allied agencies that would be involved in something like that because rather be prepared for it and not have to do it, then be unprepared for it and have to do it. Oh.

E

Yeah, absolutely and.

H

So in my mind you know: you're gonna, you're gonna perform how you practice and train. I I don't care whether you play soccer or you play the piano or, if you're a firefighter or a police officer. I believe that you'll get the benefit of that, and so I would you know the beauty is we have the time.

G

H

Still have six months before the rally's here approximately, and so I think that would be good. I did hear you say, chief that you had some concerns, maybe about the layout and and again, I'm not going to ask you to get into that here and now. But I would ask that you express that to mr burke to the city manager and to the mayor absolutely.

E

H

Those concerns can be addressed in advance again, there's nothing better than pre-planning. In my mind, correct.

E

H

So um and again I couldn't I couldn't agree more with you than to send a team of subject matter experts and whether it be the fire department, the police department, um the city administration or the council to future events. To look at that and, and frankly, mayor I'm, I for one am willing to take any of the the brunt of the abuse, the verbal of views about the appropriation of funds for something like this because, again, I think we're investing in our present and, more importantly, in our future.

A

To clarify that, I think that that argument was more about was from within the council, saying you're not going to go, I'm not going to let you go or that person go and so on. That's why that's.

H

Okay, okay, yeah again, I think that's just being smart.

K

H

um Again, chief, thank you. I appreciate your comments and your concerns.

G

uh Mayor can I add, to the like concerns of the route, I will say the police department, or through the chief we sit down. He has numerous meetings where we do a full layout of what what is the event's going to look like and it's picked apart. It's tweaked.

G

We really go through on a step-by-step basis, what all our concerns are right down to where k-rail is put where, uh where access points are going to be so you know, there's an initial plan of what the route is, but until we go start going through those meetings, we do not have a final route at as we speak so and then I also want to just remind everybody for this.

G

If, uh if covet allows us, um the rally will be on july, 1st, 2nd and 3rd, which has always been a concern in the past it being on the 4th is trying to get officers. I mean it's still going to be difficult, but at least um we're not doing it on the fourth of july, which has made it really difficult with fireworks and the rally going on, and so it does ease a little bit for us mayor. One.

H

Final question.

G

Or thought please.

H

uh You reminded me in your last comments how I I don't know if we're going to uh sponsor a fireworks event this year on the for the fourth weekend or that that period of time out at the airport, like we've done in the past. But I'm I'm curious and and it would be interesting to see how that all could tie into the rally in conjunction with 150 year celebration.

H

And so I just want to throw that out as another, not a concern but an opportunity. I would say correct.

G

uh Councilman perez has the committee been talking about fireworks, show on the on the fourth? Yes, okay, yeah, I've kind of been letting them do it, but I mean sooner or later, real soon we're gonna have to to make a decision, because then we need to have.

D

Doug that we will be presenting pretty in the near future, okay.

H

And again, I think this is an opportunity for mr burke to also co co, um announce that I, you know advertise that as part of the bigger grander deal and and and frankly, um our uh our um businesses as well, I mean you know it could become a great event to come to for an extended weekend. Often I go to conferences and they'll say if you want to stay or come in two days early, we'll give you the same rate, the discounted rate.

H

You want to say two days after same thing, and we do benefit from tot and people visiting our community at any time, and so, um but I think again, I think it'd be good to know if this council is going to move forward with that or not sooner than later I mean my experience has been, and it's only my impression that often these decisions are made uh when there's limited options, and so again I think that's part of the bigger conversation. Thank you and I will try to be quiet.

A

Thank you, sir any other questions or comments, and I think they wanted. We want to hear from the chief.

A

If you wanted to speak, go ahead and submit a card, if you haven't already yeah, we did in the beginning, but we'll we'll come back.

A

Chief, do you want to make any comments.

F

Sure, thank you um I'll try to be brief. um As you know, uh unlike the fire department, we have to hire officers from other parts of the state and other cities to supplement the requirement for public safety in our rally downtown event.

F

The brief discussion that we had when mr burke was here in regards to the the plan of returning traffic down e street would essentially increase the the footprint of the rally. It might not be necessary to add even more additional uh public safety personnel to make sure that that is um well taken. Care of and you're also going to be um enclosing several businesses that before and other rallies had a way out in and out to get their merchandise in.

F

So just like the city manager said, the final layout should be after the discussions with the public safety in the city, where it would be the best way to route people in and out of the downtown.

F

It's going to be really difficult to get people officers here for a holiday weekend. Law enforcement agencies throughout the state are understaffed, including ours. We have currently five vacancies and four people out on extended medical leaves uh due to surgeries.

F

It takes us a long time to hire people, so we are definitely gonna need to hire people from outside those law. Enforcement agencies that used to provide officers in the in the past are not available to us because of the holiday weekend and being understaffed, so I've reached out to um in the past to cdcr corrections, probation departments and try to supplement with them. I've also reached out to the highway patrol and they gave me initial figures.

F

um Highway patrol comes at a very high um rate as compared to other smaller agencies that used to assist us in the past, so you're looking for officers to supplement their uh to have to reimburse their the state at over a hundred dollars an hour for those officers they're also including mileage.

F

Our current uh chp office is understaffed as well extremely so if the chp is going to be able to help, we need to let them know as soon as possible and enter into a contract and they're going to have to try to find where these officers from across the state would have to come down to hollister and assist us in the rally that also comes with additional expenses, as as you would imagine, to have to house those officers in our community or nearby um uh well mentioned to the rally I mean to I mentioned to the council before about the incident in august, where we had 41 mongols, come into our community and take pictures at johnny's bar for those of you familiar with the outlaw motorcycle gang culture.

F

You, you know what that means. This has been considered or the hells angels have considered hollister their territory. There's been ongoing instances across the state and the nation of of uh incidents and shootings between those two motorcycle gangs and the mongols have been increasing their numbers and they're opening up clubhouses throughout the state of california.

F

So that is a big concern and that's something that we need to plan for and is the reason why we need to have security officers here to do the best job that we can to ensure the safety of the community during that holiday weekend. um You.

F

We already have during those events the corbin uh uh facility, their event and motorcycle um hollister. Motorsports has their events, so that also pulls uh police personnel to make sure that that area is being taken, care of or at least monitored, and we do not have any cameras or downtown cameras in those events. So we have to have people there to make sure that the event is occurring in a safe manner um and in the past you know, I think the mayor mentioned the volunteers and and how sometimes that doesn't work.

F

You know that also happened with this current promoter when we've had volunteer positions in in important positions of security or crosswalks, and those volunteers have walked away uh through um halfway through or at the beginning of the rally.

F

um The bear gardens have been manned by uh volunteers as well, and when you have people who are just volunteers or you know, they don't want to get into confrontations and cut people off, and that's been an issue in the past, so that necessity, the necessity to have security officers in there or officers to make sure that the drinking doesn't get out of hand so that it creates problems uh in there and outside the rally.

F

You know 90 of the rally there's no way to search people, there's no way to ensure that they're not carrying weapons or anything else. We put up all these rules about knives and weapons, and it's the culture of the motorcycle, uh um the especially the three patchers to carry weapons on them all the time and uh we do the best we can but they've, always there's not. Has it been a year where we're not finding weapons on the participants and people who come down here and the talk currently about the contract?

F

The contract was written by mr burke, it was not it's my understanding.

F

It was had not no city input and in that contract the city has no way to to cancel to get out of it, and I think there should be something addressed there, not just for covet for public safety, but if there's a possibility that we cannot find enough officers for this event, that should the city should have the option to to for public safety purposes, to not have the rally- and I don't think the rights of the city are properly addressed in that contract and uh city manager advised that uh the rally is happening on the first second and third, and that might make it easier.

F

It actually makes it harder for us, because it's still a holiday weekend and traditionally sunday, people start riding out of here early because they have to go to work the next day and this year the fourth is going to be a holiday. So we anticipate when this has happened in the past that sunday that we hope ends uh sooner still, there's still an issue for monitoring the bars and and and events that night, because people don't necessarily have to get home um and um we've in the past.

F

Also, um in regards to uh um one of the things I want to comment, is uh there used to be three or four larger or similar size rallies in california, and my understanding is the reason that has not um they're not happening anymore. It goes along the lines and, along with the the history of the rallies, the shootings that have happened in other ones, uh other states and the violence that that goes on there. It's not a moneymaker.

F

Whichever way you want to explain it and it's just an industry-wide, the the rallies that we went to in the past and um they're just not happening as well or as big as as they are, that the main ones that daytona and sturgis are still going, and uh we had the opportunity to go to the sturgis. I mean I'm sorry uh past captains to go to sturgis.

F

um I had the opportunity to uh go to the leesburg florida rally and we went to that one, because it's more along the same size as the hollister alley, and if council members or members in the city are anticipating or hoping to go to a rally, that's the one. I would uh suggest that you go to because leesburg is very similar to hollister in that.

F

At this event, it grows for that event hugely, and it's not like sturgis that you know there's nothing going on there until the rally they live for the for the rally and leesburg is a city in the community that has to work and operate all year long and then they have to ramp up for their event.

F

Their police chief actually has been to our rally as well and- and we looked at some of the things that they did over there, we learned from them and they've actually implemented some of the safety concerns and issues that we've done here. So there's a really good relationship. So that's the one. I would suggest that, if anyone's considering going to that, you would go to that rally.

F

um I think I covered uh everything as as I was taking notes. It's the biggest concern is finding public safety personnel for an event and um and uh and trying to ensure, as best we can safety uh which it it's not up to us. It's gonna be up to the people who who come to the rally.

A

Thank you, sir. Any questions from council councilman burns.

H

Thanks chief, I've heard I've heard what you've said uh quite clearly um if we were to commit to the rally and want to lock in public safety law enforcement personnel, how? How long would it take to get a commitment? I heard you talk about the highway patrol and I'm uh you know I I don't know- and I I don't know for security purposes if it would be appropriate to discuss a number of of uh law enforcement officers.

H

But how long? If this council said today we're moving forward with the rally? How long would it take you to get the council a financial, a dollar number for the number of personnel? You need and confirm that they're going to guarantee that those people come on board because again it's it's not fair to anybody to to take this thing till april or may and go oh no rally's off, um and- and so do you have a sense for that, sir.

G

Just real quick for carlos to say I will say public safety never discuss the number of officers that they have right. So I'll answer that question for him, but go ahead. Carlos for the rest.

F

And I want to say that for those of you that have been around since the beginning of the rally uh we've when the discussion was the huge amount expenses of of personnel um 2004 around there, we've never been to those numbers.

F

uh Since I've been a captain, um they're dramatically reduced, uh primarily because the inability to get as many and and we we we changed the way we we manage the the safety and but we don't discuss for obvious reasons how many um the those uh criminal element would take that information and and try to use it against us and and try to exploit um any um any perceived uh holes in our safety plan. But I did reach out to um in my conversations with chp.

F

um There is a concern based on their numbers if they will even be able to provide uh the numbers that I asked for. um But if the council was to go to move forward, I and in consideration of the promoters comments about march.

F

I say that I could reach out to cdcr probation departments, everyone that we've reached out to before and and get a commitment and and a possible as much as we can a possible number so that we can share that information with the council before that march date.

F

Hopefully, by next month,.

H

Thank you chief. I think that'd be very helpful. I I would also agree chief that, with regards to the contract uh current or future that there be a component in there that would allow the city to cancel. Obviously it would be at our expense, and I don't think the promoter should bear any of their out-of-pocket expenses if it was our choosing to do so, but but again just like with cobot.

H

If we can't appropriately police the event, um we shouldn't move forward with it and um there would be a financial cost for that, but but I think that should be part of the contract as well. um Mr prado, I can't let you get out of here today without having a question or two for you as well sir. So I did. I did hear also comments that corbin is a primary or has a a major event, and I my understanding in the in the past, when the rally was postponed or canceled, they still went forward.

H

And so can you tell me a little bit about what your familiarity is with the corbyn event and I presume that's either done through a special event permit or through it's part of their conditional use permit, and so can you can you talk to that? Please.

K

Absolutely thank you. Thank you. Councilmember tim, as I mentioned earlier by by the mayor, the city does have various private properties throughout downtown, and even you know throughout our um our city, corbin being one of them, and then we have a various uh throughout the downtown area.

K

There are some that are not necessarily vacant. um There are um like the house or muffler shop. We have jesse's pizza, grace, bible church. We have others that are are primarily private and they have a um a temporary use. Permit application that they that they apply for to have an event to have a vendor, establish them themselves there and be able to either. um You know, sell usually it's a retail sales that that they have in regards to the mike the corvette property.

K

That is a larger area, and so um because it's a larger area, they go through a public assembly. Permit they go through a little bit of a different process than than the other smaller areas like the the vacant lot. Next to the veteran memorial building and and hollister muffler shop and jesse's, all those go through the planning department they get a temporary use permit. We have standard conditions of approval that have been adopted by the city council for safety purposes.

K

um There's special conditions that says that if, at any time, the public safety officer notices that there are some issues that are going on in that area, that may be dangerous to the public that they have the ability to shut down, um and so all of that is um aligned and and um written on on our temporary use. Permit requirements. However, the core vent property- that's a little bit larger within the city of hollister city limits that that is, that is done. A little bit separately through through a public assembly permit, if I'm not mistaken,.

H

So I guess, let's talk about corbin's. First of all, I would presume there's a component for security involved in that and our police department, our fire department, weigh in on that to ensure that again it doesn't sound like we have the resources to provide off-duty police officers, or you know, reserve police officers or other others to deal with that, and so um my sense is that's being addressed proactively in advance and there's a there's, a history there as well. So so we can base our decisions on the past actions that have or have not occurred.

H

There um is there, for example, let's talk about the smaller uh venues like the gas station downtown here sure it seems like when they bring in all of that retail gasoline sales. There's the least thing on their mind. But but when that you know nine, nine ten eleven months out of the year, that's part of what they use to. So um it just feels like it changes the uh the nature of the business and, and so the code allows for that.

K

That's correct council member tim. As a matter of fact, there is a condition of approval. That's that's standard for, like the gas station that uh gas gasoline is, is not used that they that they lock their services for the gasoline. If they're gonna have an actual tent and they're gonna have retail sales on that on that particular site per se, um so so that we look at every individual uh private property and we analyze it through our development review committee.

K

um That's made up of not only planning, building and engineering, but also fire police, um and so we we make sure that we, we evaluate the the site thoroughly and uh it's been our common practice that for like the the gas station that they put up a lock on them on the gas stations, um so so no operation of the gases is um for public safety.

H

And that makes perfect sense to me. You don't want cars pulling in where there are people not paying attention, and you don't want the risk of a fire. I understand um how about the lot across the street on 7th. I think it is across from the vets.

H

How do you? How do you take a a piece of dirt and then all of a sudden have the authority to just do retail sales.

K

Yes, um good question customer tim so yeah that that's another common property that usually comes in and asks for a temporary use permit as well, and um normally they put up a tent on that site um and and normally they do retail sales on that particular property.

K

And so um our common uh application review is uh to make sure that uh there there is going to be an error um that, throughout the event and when, whenever the setup is is, um is finalized, that there is going to be an open area uh from one point to the other, um and not just you know necessarily just block that that whole um that whole lot with with merchandise or or um or product. And so we look at that safety aspect of it.

K

And you know they at that point: can they submit their application to submit a sketch and we review it? Police, fire, um the whole development review committee? And if we find that it's it's it's safe um to the to the best of the ability, then then we um proceed with the approvals with conditions of approval again, making sure that um at any point, if there is any type of uh perceived threat to the public, um that the police, department or public safety officer can shut down the the um the law.

H

So so in the past, does that also happen directly across the street? I'm gonna date myself. Now because I don't know the current businesses, but across the street, from where once upon a time used to be the jeep chrysler dodge dealership. um That's now a homeless encampment.

K

Between on san benito between, I would say, hill street and first street, possibly on the west side of uh yeah,.

H

K

Yeah in the past, um in the past, we have had temporary use permits uh for for that side as well, and um uh I I want to say that that's that's occurred in the past, where there's there would be uh tents set up there by uh the the retailer who who, who um is usually the the applicant who we deal with um the property owner, is required to sign off on the application, uh knowing well what's going to happen or what's being proposed to occur on that site by the applicant.

K

uh Normally we deal with with the actual applicant whether there be vendors that come in from different states or sometimes sometimes nonprofit organizations also also apply to be on on these sites. But it's mainly, we see a lot of uh retailers from from out of state that come in and want to sit up on those sites.

H

I'm also a little concerned about the kmart lot as well. The old kmart I mean that's a huge piece of property, yes, and I really think it puts our law enforcement in an awkward situation um to deal with it when it's happening, and so I think some preparation would be appropriate in advance, and I don't know if the council has the authority, through the uh municipal code to really take a closer look at that.

H

I'm I'm a little bit troubled by by the fact that you can have a vacant parcel sit vacant for 11 months and three weeks and two or three or four days and then generate income, and then it goes right back to where it is so. So I wouldn't. I would ask your professional opinion if there's some way that week, through some aggressive commitment and language to maybe going and amend the existing codes to make it more appropriate- and you know legal right and that probably be a mr epperson question as well.

H

But I again I think we have the time we've got six months and I've. I've seen this council move quickly on things right.

E

H

So I'd like to I'd like to look at that as well.

K

H

um Sorry you couldn't get out of here without me, bothering you.

K

Thank you for being here as well on a saturday.

H

K

H

Thank you so much. Thank you mayor.

A

Well, I do want to follow mr barnes great questions, I'm glad he asked them and um he brought up something really important, and you know when we talk about this, we should think of it as a rally zone, but he brought up. I thought was important with jesse's pizza, because here's a business that is in business all year long, but when the rally happens they get shut off and they rent space, which is great to me, that's fine.

A

They should be able to because they need to make up on some of that that revenue, but I think part of that would be to make sure that they do those that come in from out of town have to still pay the promoter a fee frequency setting up. So whatever that fee is, they can work it down to make sure the promoter is getting the fee, the other one. The other issue is those vacant lots that are not open.

A

11 months, you know three weeks out of the year, but suddenly spring open from people that are from out of town, make their money and leave and probably don't report most of the. If any of the sales tax that that's those are the areas I'm I'm most concerned about- and I think some of the other properties you mentioned are really important, so we got to make sure we're addressing those areas of key areas and even our own vets building.

A

We have people renting the courtyard, but are they going through the promoter type of a deal? You know we just got to make sure we're we're in control of this, so we're working with our partner, the promoter or whatever it is. So it's a little more clear and we don't have those I'm going to make a deal over here. So I don't pay you over. There make my money, I'm out of here type of thing that.

K

A

Sense we're going to work together. We got to work together and I appreciate those comments. I thought they're very important comments, uh councilmember resendez and then I see the chief.

B

Yeah, so just uh piggybacking on what the mayor and councilmember burns were talking about. Are they I'm assuming they are getting business license these ambushers? That's how I'm going to refer to them. They're getting business license right.

K

Part of the temporary use permit requirement that we have for the planning department on these uh smaller private properties is that they provide us with the business license, requirement a business license, and so.

B

So they're required to report their taxes as well. We.

K

Require yeah we require that they provide us with a business a license as a condition of we won't issue the temporary use permit, unless it shows evidence of that. Okay and.

B

Then I think the chief.

A

Yeah- and I do want to make one of the point it just occurred to me- and the chief mentioned this- an example is sturgis if anybody's ever visited sturgis during the off season, meaning non-rally season, it's a it's a vacant town, it's a ghost town, because everybody makes so much money just from the rally that they don't need to be there for the rest of the year. That's what we don't want to become.

K

A

Why I'm mentioning some of these vacant lots and vacant places and all of a sudden they open up, hey we're making enough money this weekend? We don't need to worry about ever opening a business. We don't want that if we have a retailer or a restaurant or somebody's doing business all year put out the parklet, you know make as much money as you can. We want to encourage this. We want.

K

A

Fill up your pockets with money from this weekend, if you're, not no yeah and we've got to be aware of that.

B

I know this is going long, but this is important and um I do have a long list of of notes that I was taking throughout this conversation so uh first off. I just want to thank all of you guys, because I know that you're working hard, the promoter's working, hard pd and fire department's working hard, but what I'm hearing and generally speaking, is that we need to know where we're going. So I would ask the council to make a commitment one way or the other at the end of this discussion.

B

What are we moving forward with and from what I'm hearing? It sounds like the the consensus or the general consensus of this council is that they are supportive moving forward. But I'd like to put that on the record. um So I do have some comments. I obviously work at a school um I'll be fully transparent. I have not got covid. I am around covet every single day. I've I've got my vaccinations. I've got my boosters, I wear my mask.

B

I don't make it a habit to go out and try to catch cover to be around people. I'm taking these precautions and the measures that are offered to me. The mayor made a great point about it. I don't have a crystal ball. I might be eating my words in a few months. I'll be honest. Please knock on wood now for two things right that number one that I don't catch covet but number two. I am not willing to shut anything down anymore because of this pandemic. I don't want the school shut down.

B

I don't want our business to shut down and I do not want our rally postponed another year because of covet I'm over it everybody's over it. We've got to learn to live with this.

B

We've got to take the best measures that we can, but I I'm just so fed up and I'm so frustrated, like probably many other people out there. So that's not even a concern to me at this point again. I might be having a different perspective in a couple months, because we are rational, a rational council here right. I just want to put that on the record, um so I thought that the promoter brought up some good points about the contract, no offense to you, sir, but we're we've kept.

B

We've had a five-year contract, but we canceled two years and then we're going to renegotiate another one. I think it sounds like more. We might just want to update the contract rather than renegotiate a total new contract, and I'm okay with that. As long as the promoter is okay with that, but a contract's, a contract we entered into this agreement- and I you know I'd really rather have him- have some input on that um and if he wants to update it, that's fine.

B

If we are then um some of the things that we can talk about are having commitments or participation from local nonprofits to be involved in it. Of course, an analysis of data is what I'm hearing from everybody right and even that's not going to be perfect. There are people making money off of this that are not going to be included in our analysis.

B

Right there's plenty of money to be made and we cannot get an exact measurement, but I'm hearing from the years past that's been a problem and a huge concern and it's still a concern. So we need to address it. The problem is, if we don't have a rally, we're never going to be able to address that right. We're never going to have the data and be able to analyze that um I'm not really in favor of reimbursement of lost costs to the promoter over the years. I'll be honest, but he's a private businessman.

B

I don't know if he recruited some of that recoup some of that money from grants that were out there, and I don't even think we should go. Ask that information. If we want to include that as a clause moving forward, then I'm perfectly okay with that. As long as there's no double dipping involved, um the fireworks uh are being advertised on the 150th website as well. So I saw that on there and then um again these empty lots. I I think that's something we probably need to address regardless right, kmart, the dirt lot.

B

We can't we can't turn into a city like the mayor, described as sturges that we're going to be having this these precious spots and then we're just going to leave them empty or have problems such just blight or homelessness. Just like the city of watsonville had and just kind of hoard those we need to make the best use out of our city, and I know we can't dictate what those private owners do, but we need to get a little bit more involved in on that in that process. Right, I'm wondering about the reporting of taxes.

B

The business license that type of thing, as far as going to other to other rallies, I'm I'm not necessarily in favor of the council going at all I'll be honest. I just think it's just not a good idea, we're here for a short time time, possibly right. I'd really like for of the city manager, uh the staff to go.

B

I I'm not in favor of just going to one rally I'd like to them to go to several, and if this the majority of the council agrees that the council should go or the mayor should go, then it should be offered to everybody. Not just one person up here would be my thoughts on that, but I don't think it's necessarily the best idea I'd. Rather let staff deal with that. I'm just being honest, I'm sorry, rick well I'll save my I'll say my my thoughts on that for another time.

B

I just think I think the staff should go and they need to go right and we're gonna. I would leave it to them on that um and then I.

G

B

Remember that we brought this up before, why did we commit to a five-year contract and mr burke brought it up? It was because of the the consistency aspect. That was a big thing. You can't go and get these people um invested, so to speak in your event and your community if you're going back and forth other we're not going to have it or not, and that's been a big problem, so we're not going to know how successful this can be.

B

If we keep waffling back and forth, I think that, like it was stated by the vice mayor was stated by the mayor. This is the home of the american biker rally. This is part of who we are hollister is looking to brand itself with the pinnacle parks, but we're also branded whether we like it or not, has the home of the american bikers here. The majority of the constituents in the community that I've spoken to are very much in favor of this.

B

We're never ever going to be fully prepared for a number of things that are going to come at us as far as liabilities right. But I have trust in our staff. I have stress in our community and I have trust in the people that are visiting our community, that they're going to do the best they can to ensure that we're safe and that we have a successful event year after year. But we really need to make a commitment to this and we really need to work out all the kinks as we go along.

B

But those are my thoughts. Thank you.

A

Thank you chief. I see your hand up.

F

Yes, thank you, mr mayor just came up uh when abraham was talking just so.

F

The council knows that the last event that the corbyn had we did have an agreement for security and he was supposed to have 12 security officers and only had two and uh so that necessitated officers being out there and uh fire was out there as well, and there was some other issues, so we can ask for a permit and ask them to to do to comply with what the public safety is, but at the end of the day you know they do whatever they want. My understanding is that he was cited.

F

He was issued several citations for those violations, so I hope it doesn't happen again and in regards to the contract. um The contract was uh lacking just for a lack of a better term and the fact that he did not have the contra the rally that he canceled it himself that wasn't even addressed in the contract. So there is an opportunity here for the city. It's my understanding is the the contract has been violated by the promoter, because he didn't give himself an out to be able to cancel it himself.

F

The the fact that he canceled it two times gives the opportunity for the city to go back and renegotiate or adjust or update the contract, but the the public safety and the rights and the and the protections to the city should be part of that contract, and it wasn't there before uh well expressed. So that's all I wanted to add.

A

Thank you. I do want to clarify, he didn't cancel we canceled on him. We didn't allow it to move forward. So it's very important. My.

F

Understanding and the conversations we had, we were waiting for him to cancel it, because if he didn't- and we did, we would be on the hook for.

A

That we, we voted as a council not to move forward. There was a consensus at the time not to move forward because we covered the first year and then again the second year. We had a long discussion about it and the majority felt it wasn't uh prudent to move forward with the rally.

K

A

Was I remember he was ready to move forward with the rally at that point. Just so we're clear.

F

Those are the conversations we had with him, not at the council about him not moving forward with it not being able to. So that's what I recall from it, but it's not addressed in the contract and the conversations I had with jason epperson about that that it wasn't appropriately addressed there. So this is an opportunity for the city to to put something in there that protects the city as well, not just the promoter.

A

Absolutely I think, when there is a opportunity to improve things, we do it. I think originally, that contract came from some of the other.

G

A

Past events and then it was improved on and improved on and that's part of the process. Each we learn and we improve and we make the adjustments yeah.

G

Maybe I should ask, maybe, uh for a majority I'll stop using the word consensus.

E

G

It sounds like by the promoter, some of the council kind of said it in in different ways that jason and I can the city attorney myself- can work with a promoter to just update some of these things and and put in some of those concerns. Because I mean the wording is a little loose in it. I mean there is uh our police chief can really stop any event when there is a public assembly permit, but we probably should have some clarity that, where there's no risk to either parties involved.

A

I agree councilmember sanders and then mr burns, I.

B

I I would say that we do it after the rally. I because my concern is that we're gonna stall or we're not gonna, get to an agreement and we're that's gonna hinder us from from getting the rally to go. I would say we can do that directly after the rally unless it's agreed upon upon the promoter, but I really am not interested in visiting it at this time. I'd rather rather much see that we have a commitment from the council to move forward with the rally. That's what I would like to see at this time.

H

Councilmembers, uh thank you mayor. So, unlike uh council member rosendes, I'm pretty adamant that we do rewrite the contract, but I am also uh morally and and ethically and sounds like legally committed as a council member to this year's event going forward absent public safety risk like covid and and so I'm not as optimistic as mr rezendez, but I am hopeful and and I'm willing to commit to that.

H

But I do think that there needs to be an element in the contract for for being cancelled for public safety reasons, whether it be health related as in the pandemic, or if our police department cannot secure adequate public safety personnel to staff. The event, then, in my mind, it's a no-go and I want. I do want that to be clear, um but I'm also willing to commit to it, and I would like to see the contract rewritten for whether it be three years or two years and just commit to this year. Minus the conversation.

H

I think I'm good with that, but I also had a different question for the first time now, I've heard that corbin violated the cup and they received several citations.

H

I also suspect that that's just the price of doing business and while it's an event, there's a events usually happen with a financial incentive in mind, and so I would presume when it comes time for this special assembly event. Whatever. I don't remember the words that mr perato used specifically, but this council could take a vote on that and if we say no.

D

H

Done before it gets started- and I know that could be a huge challenge, but I also think it's only fair to bring this out at this time because it may factor into the promoters decision on the event itself, and I for one am offended by the fact that they would misrepresent what has been suggested here that they're going to have 12. They had two and for the first time ever.

H

I've heard that now it not only that's brand new news to me, but it's also news that the pd had to be involved in the fire department and- and I would have thought that there could have been a they could have been hit with a bill for city staff time, although it doesn't sound like that happened either. But I would be hard-pressed to support the corbyn event based on the past history of this last year and again, I'm only speaking for me.

H

But um frankly, I thought this was a really good conversation, but I'm a little angry now and it's got nothing to do with the motorcycle event. It's got everything to do with what I just recently heard.

G

So abraham, do you remember how many citations they received.

K

I I know that they, they were site cited, but um yeah. The the uh it was a public assembly permit uh process, and that usually is uh directly planning is not necessarily involved with the public assembly and that's directly with the city council. um We're planning more with the private property. But I know that that they were cited multiple times as.

G

Chief mentioned so I mean pretty much. What abraham is saying is so in the near future, they're going to be asking for that, and you can have a nice frank conversation with them that you're not going to put up with that anymore.

H

Well, uh that's that's uh understatement from my perspective about putting up with it again I'm offended by it frankly and- and I wasn't here to be involved in it, but it speaks to their character of their commitment and their word and and honestly, I have a real problem with saying yes and and hopefully that the fact that they were cited, I would hope, in the staff report that's issued with their application.

H

That is detail specific. How many times were they cited? What were they cited for? I would like the chiefs or the pd's perspective on it. I would like the fire department or the fire chief's perspective on it, and, and I would like to know what what what the consequences were. The costs were.

H

The fines were I'm looking for a very comprehensive and detailed staff report and it's going to be really hard for me to go forward and vote yes on that at this time, and I think it's very important that mr burke hear that because I don't know how the two are: are interwoven or interlinked, but but to me there's something inherently wrong with that and I would say: shame on them correct. So I'm done.

A

Thank you, sir.

G

So I got basically one to one on and I probably should say not update. It probably is an addendum to the contract, because we do have a contract in place. We book, I think we can fairly come up with a benefit for mr burke and for the city, so I.

H

Light again, I'm not done so so mike my concern isn't about the money. My concern is about the other elements that we've.

G

H

The only point where it's a money issue for me is if the pd cannot move forward to get the necessary public safety personnel necessary to provide safe event for our community. Correct.

A

Thank you, sir uh vice mayor perez, so.

D

I I think we've got a couple different issues here. One is the contract. I think it needs to be updated, amended whatever you want to call that. I don't feel that we, the city of hollister, especially after the last bid of 130 000, he saved fifty thousand off the top. um I I understand small business or business, um I'm a small business. I take a lot of hits. I take a lot of them, but that's part of it, but the other thing is um it has to.

D

It has to be updated or amended, because if, if safety is ultimate, you know what correct.

G

D

And um the uh I'd like to see the eventually well that taken care of right away, I'd like to see us go in a direction today, also leaving here that way, they would be able to know which way we that way. Everyone knows which way we're going, but also that um in that, if we can't get the police, that's not going to happen, correct, correct the.

G

The safety of our community is most important.

D

Yeah and then um it's it's a good thing to address, so I mean do we have any vendors? That's that we're setting up at kmart.

K

No councilman press there was no. um In the past rallies there haven't been any uh that have set up. I came out, however, the temporary use permit for private properties does indicate that uh commercial or industrial site zones are the ones that are able to be able to have a temporary use permit on on their parking lot. We look at the ins and outs ingress egress. If there's going to be any parameters of, we try to avoid any type of fencing.

K

We just want to make sure that it's open and it's safe, but if in the future, because it is a general commercial site that is a potential for for it.

K

However, it is a fairly large area give or take if we anticipate more than 100 people at any given time that then that gets transferred from a from a temporary use permit that the planning department process, even though it's it's with the development review committee and every member is involved to then that of a public assembly permit and that's more city, clerk's office and city council that that deal with that to get presented to to you for for approval.

D

And- and uh I I don't even know if I should actually even speak on it- to quote the whole citation thing, because that's not what's on the agenda, so I'm not even going to speak on that one, but but just one last thing to say the. I would like to see a full staff report on that, because I'd hate to make any judgments without knowing all the incidents I mean, did 10 people come down with covet and they decided not to come to work.

D

I don't know, but you know what um but yeah and but if people aren't going to follow the what they agreed to on these assembly permits, shut them down. No.

A

Okay, thank you, sir. I do want to make uh one one quick comment, because I did hear the number about the 130 000. uh What the contract in the past was designed. It was 180 and then there was a credit for business licenses of about 30 thousand another credit for sales tax for another about 30 thousand. I think it was it was about 60 000. It was credited back, that's how they worked in the past, and so it's not like he got a cheaper deal. It's just. Those are credited up front.

A

Knowing the past history, that's how those numbers came. I'd.

D

Like to see those removed.

A

Yeah, well, that's kind of again these are some of the the numbers that make these things work, because one of the issues we found in the past was eventually enough promoters said: look you know, you're asking us to upfront the money and then credit back, it's a lot of cash. So why don't we? We know the numbers already.

A

You know they're going to be there based on history. So why are we paying that and that's when we came to the the numbers of the 130, whatever it was so just so.

D

Yeah yeah and before any of those numbers are solid. um Solidified I'd like to doubt out those numbers to come back before counseling.

A

Yeah so the conversations we can be. Having um any other question, I think we had a speaker card now.

G

We're still trying to figure out if we want to do the addendum to the contract so.

A

Let's hear from the speaker and then we can.

G

A

Yeah we had her uh sorry and then we'll come back.

E

um Priscilla jones.

L

This is coming from a standpoint of being a concerned citizen with the infrastructure of the ems system in the town. Is there a plan in place so that we, as citizens, know if an mci does happen at an event like this, a mass casualty incident that the ems system is not affected for emergencies that happen. You know it's fourth of july weekend, someone blows their hand up or something like that.

L

How would we know as citizens that you're not going to run out of ambulances, so is there a plan to bring in more? Is that on? Amr is that on fire, I'm just curious.

A

I will let the chief either.

L

Okay, good question yeah because I from what I understand, um hazel hawkins, just got upgraded to a level four trauma center yeah, but they wouldn't be able to handle a major incident so you're taking an ambulance.

L

It's gonna if calstar can't transport that would take at least three hours to get to valley medical to level one or natividad. So that's just a concern that, as like a mom, I would have because you know emergencies are going to happen regardless and for something huge to happen. Downtown.

L

It's not going to suck up all of the ambulances for the town and then we're all left with nothing.

E

Good question and and to answer it, what we have is a mutual aid plan with all different counties um with that um it can happen not just for a rally, but because we've got five fault lines in this community. It can happen now and then we will be drained of our resources in a matter of three medical aids. So we've got a contingency plan on an ongoing basis.

E

Having the rally just gives us a heightened state of awareness, because something can potentially happen, but something can potentially happen right now, so you got three ambulances in the county today, because you have one here in hollister, one in san juan batista and then one at.

A

D

E

Correct hollister hills, so so that's just for yesterday, today and tomorrow on monday, we're gonna go back down to two. So so we we do up staff our. If we can contract for an ambulance we we probably could, but it's going to be extremely expensive.

L

And that was my concern with the influx of people coming into the town.

E

K

L

Like a set number for every 20 000, you get another ambulance or is there.

E

Well, there there are numbers so um like for fire, it's uh for every one thousand people you have uh one firefighter for for police. I think it's one 1.5, I I can't remember what the what the statistics are, but that's, but that's a best practice. Okay, you know and we try to abide by by that by all means. So I.

L

Hope I answered.

E

L

E

L

That I was thinking, I think it would be a concern for citizens as well. If a major fight breaks out between two biker gangs- and it's like a you know- five people get stabbed and now all of the ambulance and resources for the city are allocated there and someone has a heart attack in another part of the city. Are they not going to receive care? Because of that? And I think that you know that's concerning uh and can hazel hawkins handle that or how would we, as citizens know that we're taken care of as well?

L

So it's just something thank.

A

You so, but, as the chief mentioned, you know, there's a mutual aid plan. Whenever there's a give you an example: when there is a large fire here, mutual aid is called and watsonville is here salinas gilroy as our partners. The reality is in public safety. Is, there is no way any one community could ever afford. Having the perfect scenario 24 7. we could, but you would not like your taxes on that. So that's why agencies work together, because we don't know when something major is going to happen.

A

As the chief point out that earthquake can happen anytime, you know numerous things can happen and mutual aid comes together to to make this thing work same as the hospital. Usually the complain about the hospitals, there's uh too many beds and nobody using it. Why do we have the hospital until the beds are full look at the coverage? And it's like why don't we have more beds?

A

You know this is. This is how it works and the hospital is always suffering from cash because they don't have enough patience until kobet hit right. So these are the realities of balancing government. The alternative is extremely high taxes, and I guarantee you if that were the case. Everybody very upset that we're spending so many tax dollars on on this also there's a balance, and when we find the right balance, we can get the roads fixed. We can do all these things which, by the way we are doing so good.

K

A

E

We do have one speaker on zoom carol, lenoir.

C

We will unmute you.

M

Good morning to everybody, I've been listening intently to the rally discussion.

M

um It sounds like you probably had it in the direction to have the rally, and since I live here 365 days out of the year, I would ask that you bump up some speed control, maybe even temporary speed cushion for those some part of the length of san benito street, not just on my block. It is a green light at south street and it is loud and it is fast and I'm really concerned also with people crossing the streets, uh the speed limit's 15. Now I don't need a motorcycle going by at 50.

M

they've done it if you've, never, you don't live where I live. So I'm telling you it's not good, um so I'm hoping for some enhanced speed control as they progress down south uh from south street. uh You also have e street. That's taken more traffic, which is my backyard, so I get it on both sides.

M

um So a little little bit of control. There would be really nice um and again I don't know where the covet's going. uh I think mr resendez is a little flippant with his comments. um I'm concerned about it. I probably won't attend because I don't know where everybody's been. I hope we don't turn out to be the hot spot that spreads it back out into all the other communities.

M

I really don't want that reputation, so, hopefully it'll settle down and we won't have any issue, but I don't think uh kovet, I'm I'm not tired of it. I want it to go away, but I also want a lot of safety precautions, so I really uh appreciate you and also I really wish you would listen to your police chief. You hired him he's a professional none of you work in law enforcement, except for maybe mr burns in the past.

M

um I think he should give him more credit for what he's he's saying. He he's been here a long time as well and I'd like to see you follow some of his recommendations. uh Thank you very much.

A

Thank you just for the record. We are the hot spot, we're above straight average way above the state average compared to other communities surrounding us. So uh shame on us uh all right, so you need direction on the denver contract and to go ahead and have conversations with the promoter. How does it I? I personally feel it's I'm fine with that. I think the promoter probably would uh like that himself because I'm I'm sure there's things in there that he's not very fond of. I don't know how to vice mayor. How do you feel.

A

Well, they'll, negotiate and they'll kind of go back and forth and councilmember morales.

A

You're fine with that, so they can we're going to say consensus, because I think if we use the word majority, the city attorney might not be happy about that word either.

A

On that part of it, yes, the other question was: are we going to.

G

E

Are you committed.

G

To moving forward, but that that.

A

Was that wasn't from staff? I think the only concern on mr burns. Maybe you could help me here, but if, for some reason the security issue cannot be accomplished, then we have a problem. I think we all agree on that yeah. So minus that is there a consensus to commit to the.

H

Mayor I'd like to suggest that um I'm certainly prepared to commit to it by no later than the first week in march.

H

But my the driving forces for me are going to be coveted, will be my number one priority and public safety and the pdb being able to recruit enough people to adequately and safely provide security for the event. And so um those are my two contingents.

K

H

I'm willing to commit to it by um you know by the first week in march I mean either we we move forward or we choose not to, and I think it would be ideal to maybe schedule a uh agendize. The item for whatever the first meeting in march is to make that make a commitment on that would be my recommendation mayor.

A

Thank you, sir uh vice mayor. First.

D

I I agree. um Actually I would like to even to modify that a little bit more to even okay, that right now and the only thing that would stop. It would be a mandatory shutdown by the state and or the security issue. Okay,.

A

D

Would like to work with the owner as much as possible, but I can go either way, though.

A

Okay, thank you. uh Miss morales.

I

I think you're going to have problems recruiting police, because every organization is just they don't they just don't have staffing. So um I think we need to look at the contract I need to. I think we need to look at alternatives, but um I I would say, agendas for the first week of march. I wouldn't like to approve it right now, but I think that it's beneficial for the community and I think we just need to be really realistic about our circumstances. At the moment.

A

Thank you. I would personally go with the vice mayor's recommendation. Other than shut down by the state or the lack of security is what you're and.

D

A

And in the contract, so I would, I would agree with that. I think that's what you're saying too yeah.

B

A

So I think the.

D

But so moving forward, but not committed to yes. Yes, yes,.

A

Okay, all right, sir.

H

Mayor there is one other item I I do want to bring up in relation to the to the rally and again I I I respectfully disagree with the council member resendez um we're just of differing opinions. If I I do think if the promoter can prove that they had out-of-pocket pocket expenses for both of the rallies that did not go forward that I would like to see us reimburse him for that up to an x amount of dollars or totally because again, um my my my understanding is during my tenure on the council.

H

We actually did uh vote not to move forward with it, um and I and I think, oh I don't remember the the vote count. I guess it doesn't matter. The bottom line was the majority voted not to um move forward and that if he had out-of-pocket expenses that he couldn't have anticipated, um I think we have a financial well, maybe not a financial obligation or responsibility.

H

But I'd say we have a moral responsibility to reimburse him for those and so clearly I know again: we've got one thumbs up and one thumbs down, but uh I I think I would like to to see what the rest of the council thinks about that and I'll accept the outcome regardless. Thank you.

A

Well, maybe uh 2020, it was very clear: there was not gonna, be a rally. I mean that was decision made pretty early, as this thing was happening 2021. That was a little more iffy. I think again, you were on board already. Maybe if there is numbers he can bring that while he's speaking with the city.

G

Yeah but respectfully asked of the council, I mean we I've gotten direction for jason and I to negotiate the addendum. That might be a piece that we we might need to get this, uh mr burke, to to agree with us. So it allows us to use that as a tool, and that might be something we would might end up in uh council member burns wants, or it might be something uh somebody else uh didn't want that to happen it just when we negotiate. We we need tools. So that's.

B

What I would request yeah, so just two points number one we need to ensure and I don't want to pry too much into his business. Did he or did he not recoup some of that money from the grants, the coveted grants that were available yeah.

G

We'll have that.

B

G

Part of our um conversations, okay,.

B

And then number two again: I think that moving forward, if we agree to that, that's my position that I'm okay with with um putting that in the contract, but not actually going backwards.

G

Like I said it would give us a tool to negotiate, because maybe there's a piece that he doesn't like that we might have to give up something to to get that. Okay,.

A

Thank you. Why don't we take a 10 minute break before we move to the next item.

B

E

E

E

E

H

G

A

All right this time we're going to resume the meeting of january 22nd, 2022 and we'll move to item three a3.

G

Thank you mayor uh this one. We, the council, requested, I bring back the a the american rescue plan for the council to discuss about it and also see if any public wanted to have any uh suggestions on how to spend the funds uh reminder again. We we get approximately nine nine point. Seven million of the american rescue plan act. The main goals was to respond to coven 19, uh responding to negative economic impacts, revenue loss and investment in infrastructure, which is broadband, water or sewer.

G

So, just recently, the department of finance came out with their final rule and actually made it a lot easier for smaller cities to spend these funds.

G

So I will start at the level of where I did the calculations for revenue loss we can if we want to to move basically the 9.7 into the general fund, but my feeling has always been that's not really the spirit of the funds, because once you move the money in you spend it, it's been used once where I believe we should be using some of these funds to invest on ways that it really invested for those monies. They keep turning revenue for the city so by so.

G

The main thing was to in looking to invest in businesses or more restaurants for the downtown area or make the downtown area more vibrant and enter small businesses. Also, so I threw down a basic plan in the agenda, which I believe is page 20 on the packets of page 24, that was suggesting was downtown. Revitalization, restaurant incentives and small business priorities to be about 2.5 million tourism. uh I suggested like 150.

G

I know we've got 150 anniversary coming up that would be under the tourism. uh We discussed that the last time uh something potentially for hazard pay for central employees. I did make it a million dollars which I do need to say. There was a typo is that the third block of things was for employees heart after january, uh but, like I say, that's more of a suggestion.

G

It's up to the council, where we go with these things, the funds and then uh because covet is still around to use some of the coveted 19 uh or you use it on cover 19 and building protection, which could be employee safety or just additional barriers. As we mean ppe, all the different items that we're continuing the need and then put the the revenue replaced about six million into into the general fund, but to spend it as we want in the future.

G

But um that is a suggestion. This is a council policy, so it's this is a topic. Starter is what what this was meant to be.

A

Okay, let's start talking who would like to go first, mr burns you're really quick at the speaker. Not this time.

H

A

You usually come down the line so whatever. If you want to wait for mr ascendant, that's why okay.

B

Okay, I do have a couple questions: um did we lay anyone off because of kovid.

G

No, we did not not because of cobalt.

B

Did any of our employees get covered pot like I know we don't know for sure 100, but do you think some of our employees got covered.

G

B

Are work related.

G

We've got quite a few of them, I would say I'm one of them and.

B

G

B

Being honest and then do we have a policy to pay for them like? Are they having to use their personal leave, or do we have something in place to cover covert related illnesses and not.

G

Necessarily taking policies in place, they had to change based on osho or cdc, but our main thing was: we did not want employees coming in if they were sick for fear that they were not going to get paid. We wanted people to stay home because one person staying home protected all the others. We didn't need one person coming in and then getting 10 people sick.

B

Okay, how are we doing with our bargaining units? Did we did covet affect their agreed upon raises? Are we on track to do them.

G

uh For the mouse the covet was not, uh it might have been discussed, but that was not part of the any of the agreements.

B

So people have been getting their raises, as agreed upon and covet has not impacted that correct. Are we considered employees? If so, uh what type of employees are we and are we going to consider giving ourselves a compensation for the job that we were elected to do.

G

Yeah, I do not believe this. That would be a legal question for jason, but I do not believe you are an employee when it comes to this, because the municipal code such sets, your pay.

B

Okay, those are my questions for now and I'd like to hear from the rest of the council. The public and I've got comments. Thank you.

A

Okay, I can make all my comments if you're not ready, sir.

H

I'm ready, but I can refer you. Oh.

A

Okay, uh I look at these dollars as a opportunity to invest in our community. We've. We've struggled for so many years and over the last few years, by paying off the debt, we've been paying off we're. Finally getting to the point of investing as we're doing with the roads. You know, as we said, most of the streets should be repaired in the next year only because we worked so hard, but this is an opportunity to take money invested in activities are going to bring even more revenue.

A

We've been very successful because of our planning over the last several years to bring in more business. That's been our focus near the airport and it's paying off in a lot of ways to bring in not only more employees but revenue.

A

Some of these will bring in several million dollars for us per year, but we're nowhere close to where we need to be to really flip this around, so that this growth, as far as industrial and commercial will really benefit us to make sure we can permanently hire what we really need in our community to make sure we're not only keeping us safe but making sure we're providing the best services and quality of life for our residents and that's been the goal. So I see these dollars as that opportunity.

A

These are one-time dollars and if we invest them incorrectly we're going to find ourselves having problems down the road, so we can kind of go out and spend the real quick and say: don't we all feel good only to come back and say oops now what do we do? I don't want to be in that situation. I want to make sure we're allocating dollars to really promote, um what's happening here for us in the northern part, to bring in more uh industry and really start now.

A

Shifting focus a bit more to the high tech part of this. So we can start bringing them in by doing a good campaign with a professional company that can do that campaign, giving those indus those businesses tours of our area showing them potential because of the airport, uh because amazon, because this other fulfillment center is here and more, are coming that the opportunities right here in hollister.

A

We have the major highways here and we have potentials. I want to make sure we're prioritizing that I love the idea of the downtown revitalization, the restaurant incentive. I want to make sure we're clear that what are we doing there making sure giving the building owners the incentive to upgrade their buildings to allow for restaurants, because what we don't want is situation where I want to open a restaurant, so give me some money and I'm shut down.

A

Six months later we got to incentivize the building orders, because that way, we're incentivizing the building owners to improve the facade of their building, also, which is very important, part, the more activity we have in the downtown, the more in love the residents are with their own community, and we've said this before and we're seeing it now with the parklets that people are are coming out and say wow what a great downtown never really been here before, but I love it. So we need to stay on that track.

A

So I really like that part of it. The tourism part. I don't know what that means. Yet I can say you know we are trying to get there, but we aren't there yet, and I think tourism part- maybe you can talk about. Maybe the the welcome to hollister sign the big one. I think the the sun guy in the past had given us a quote for the large hollister sign crossing the street at about a hundred and something thousand dollars.

A

If that's where we want to go, but I don't want to make sure I want to make sure we're not taking tourism and saying oh, let's spin in tourism and advertise coming to hollister, but we're really not ready for you just yet and we're not really getting enough out of that investment. I want to make sure that investment we're building we're building right now we're building foundation, yeah.

G

And I want to remind the council that I mean this is over a two-year period, so uh you know we have to spend the money uh boom yeah december 24th or committed by the 24th and pay it by the 20 yeah 26th. So.

A

And I agree uh so I just want to make sure what I'm saying is if we're focused on tourism, it's because we're trying to get to that point of bringing in consistent tourism, not just one-offs what we don't want to say. Let's have one event and bring somebody in let's, we can do that by a little better planning the hazard pay. I you know I've had a problem with this. um I think mr burns made a good point at one point about the public safety that was really out there.

A

I I do agree with that, and I think those were the people that day one they had no choice but to go out and protect our residents, even though they knew they were taking their own lives, putting their own lives at risk. So I I think we could work that number. I think a million is probably too high, but I I'm all right with that.

A

The kova 19 building protection I we found we do need to do some things to make sure we're safe and then the revenue replacement. I think what we need to start doing is taking those dollars and again put them to work as quickly as possible. We're trying to do the uh the roads, but you know the main road going uh through san felipe is a good place.

A

We can use those as in other words, the sooner we use them the better off. We can be as a community if it's used as an investment vehicle. If it's just used to store away or or not get a return from the dollars, the end result will be. We lose. We have one shot at this and I want to make sure personally, but we're we're doing things that are going to bring back revenue.

A

Those are my thoughts, mr burns here.

A

D

Let me turn this on. I'm.

H

D

Yeah as far as the um um the hero pay, um I.

D

It's um I think the front line workers deserve some stuff, uh some cash, um some recogni, most of all recognition. You know what thank you guys thank you, city of hollister, uh fire department, police department and the um the maintenance people ever and all the staff that did come in, and uh you know what, because it got scary for a while there, especially before all the um the vaccinations were out. You know, and it's not that it's not scary, now too, but still anyway.

D

So first of all recognition, um um um I I'm okay with this, the um my real. My real main thing is like the investment we're talking about for the um for the restaurant downtown revitalization, I think uh what what is? What does that consist of? What is what are we looking at? Are we looking at like people that have uh that are already in business, people that are starting business, people that are going out of business, which.

G

Well, I mean, I would say, probably a good example of them. Charles actually.

D

I wonder if we should take their public comment. First.

G

Yeah I mean there are different businesses that are different they're just needing that extra boost to get going. There are also buildings that they just don't have a kitchen they need in the kitchen.

G

We get a lot of businesses that open up and don't realize all the costs that are involved. If you put it in a new range, you got to have the right hood and all of a sudden businesses don't realize where they're at, I think, there's different combinations of it until we really get direction from council, where we weren't going to dive down dive too deep on these things, because uh you know, staff time is precious, but but those are the different things to look at.

G

What does it take it's having conversations with downtown businesses, what they're really going to need? I mean this is just to give us direction so that we can come up with a much better plan and just kind of ad for the downtown I've talked to the chamber and edc. They did bring a program that we could look into.

G

It's called the rad program, it's an actual app where businesses sign up and then also individuals sign up, but when individuals will basically like a credit card to be used at the downtown businesses, it's a a one-to-one match. So if a individual gets 20 worth of or purchases twenty dollars worth on, this rad app, the city would match twenty dollars. Now that money is now being spent on the local businesses, it's a good, easy way to kind of get a a a quick fix into the small businesses.

G

So that's one thing that we've looked at we're also kind of looking at maybe hire a couple of different staff that are just responsible for keeping the business areas clean and attractive, just making sure that people are enticed to come downtown not go. Oh, I like downtown, but that's really messy or that way so we're just looking at different things to really just keep downtown and and other businesses area. Because I wasn't one of the criticism there are other businesses other than downtown to keep them to keep them attractive and keep the people shopping.

G

Local, like they have been.

D

So has anyone has anyone thought about the broadband part of this? For our city, I mean coming in it's coming in yeah.

G

Yeah there's been, I mean, I know paul- is real good about making sure, with whatever projects we're doing the san juan batista waste water line is to make sure we have conduit and what everything so we connect our buildings. But that is the other thing. Is that really, I believe paul you can correct me there. It has been a lot of different discussions about bringing broadband and into hollister, so.

D

With that and under that category, or that that area that title have we thought um chief um renault, have we ever thought about, having like one of those mobile um cameras that we can take that trailer someplace and have a.

D

H

um Camera have we.

D

Have we ever explored that option.

F

uh Yes, yes, mr cosmo, uh yes, we have one and uh we use it during the rally, primarily it's a big slant board and yeah. That would be something that we could use temporarily to uh to place in situations where uh there's problems arising, but we'd much rather put permanent ones, but a temporary one would be very helpful for uh to keep it mobile. Okay,.

D

Yeah, I didn't know we had the mobile one good yeah.

G

And I would say, as part of the budget between it and npd, I have told them. I want to make sure that they're budgeting for additional cameras or maintenance of cameras on a regular basis, because those cameras have been such a tool to solve the different crimes and the fires.

D

G

Fires, it just keep our has been keeping our citizens safe. So.

D

um Yeah, the um and, of course, uh I'm all for the uh so basically if we went with what we have here, even though, and six million going into the general fund, we'd still be able to adjust it all the way around.

G

Correct yeah I mean, but the budget can always be changed so uh and if something's more successful, let's say we did a program and we saw an instant benefit. I would be coming back to you and saying this program really worked. Remember you put six million dollars in the in the general fund. Let's invest another half million another million, because we are seeing a benefit from it yeah. I think this should always be reevaluated on a regular basis to make sure that we are getting our best uh bang for the buck. As I say, okay.

D

A

Yeah um do just you brought the restaurant part up, but the reason I said the building owners is not it's because you mentioned this. There's such a cost in a new restaurant to go in it's the the hoods making ada requirements, and I think, if there's incentive for a building owner to do it, he's going to have to simply go find a client to rent it, and those two together now can have the dollars to actually make it happen, and you get 10 more restaurants in downtown.

A

Now you have a situation where people are. Tourists are coming over to come, spend time all.

G

I want is a thai food.

D

The thai food bag, and actually, actually you know both of them actually because I mean how many, how many buildings we have downtown that need some work on you know and hopefully, and uh what, if this doesn't even attract them to want to do something for their buildings, because there's some buildings that look like they don't want to do. Nothing.

G

Yeah, I think we would make sure that they're in that agreement that they have to provide a tenant or some kind of incentive within a reasonable time, so that it it not that they just throw the money into their building and then say: oh thank you for the free money. You know that yeah.

G

The idea is to get a return on our investment, so that yeah, we would definitely work with the attorney to make sure that there are performance measures within these things yeah, because it's not even just the hood, it's it depends if it's a change in uh how the how the business is being ran, it could now need sprinklers and stuff like that. So there's there's different thing: each building is probably going to need something more.

D

Different, not only that it's like because this is pretty much covered money. So how has covid impacted those businesses during this time and yes to get a future and return on it. But you know what um yeah.

G

Yeah, the big thing is, we don't want the current businesses that have been struggling and we've helped through cares, act and things like that. If I yeah you know, if you would have gave me another, you know ten thousand dollars, I could have survived and they close up, and now we have another vacant building. So it that's why I said it's going to be kind of a.

G

We really need to go through the different options, because what helps one might not help another, but it's like I say we we're trying to make sure that new business is open. Current ones are stay open and we have a good. It's just a good return on our investment right.

A

The other thing I was going to sorry and I'll be right with you. This morals is the the food truck concept that we talked about, bringing to the downtown that's a great opportunity again, it's just an instant boost of foot traffic in business for throughout the downtown, and it looks great that's a that. Brings tourism.

A

Miss morales go ahead.

I

Thank you um I'll go down the list as well, so I think the majority of the money is going to our general fund, so that gives the city a lot of flexibility to do a lot of the things that you've talked about. I think for businesses.

I

um 2.5 in relation to the total amount is, is a is a good number.

I

I would like to see a person dedicated to problem solving permit timelines, the workflow a public works individual to be specifically, I think, as our city manager mentioned, work on a lot of the issues that our businesses have to make sure that, if there's lighting or if things are not working, that um or there's a pipe that needs to be addressed, that that can be funneled through one person and they would have the relationship and be the liaison to problem-solve document and help to access other city resources.

I

Another area that I think the city needs to consider is how are we helping our businesses pivot to online services and being able to take orders and be able to facilitate that we are going to be um in in covet for a very long time. Potentially five to ten years and a lot of our businesses haven't pivoted to online service model, some have, but the majority have not.

I

I also want to make sure that the money that's being allocated is properly um administered and that serves all of our residents and for specific consideration to be taken for latino um business owners. They may not necessarily be part of the chamber or the business council, but they still exist and still need to access these funds.

I

So I want to make sure that there's, if any money is provided to whether it's through a contract or somehow provided to organizations that we take all efforts to make sure that we are providing services to all of our residents.

I

I am in favor of the tourism. I would like to see plans and, of course, measures outcome measures evaluated some type of data performance and report back on a quarterly basis, and I am in favor of the hazard pay, I'm open to the amount, but I do believe a lot of neighboring jurisdictions, including san benito county, has provided some type of pay, and so I think that it's um we should be fair and equitable.

I

A

Thank you, councilman burns. I think you're, the last one standing well.

H

At least for the first round, so, um mr miller, what is the drop dead? uh Probably not the right words, but uh sorry, it depends.

A

On the case of covet yeah, yes,.

H

Exactly when, when does this, money have to be spent by.

G

uh By december 24th december.

H

That's right december.

G

H

Okay, so we have we have. We have plenty of time, so there's no need or sense to rush to a decision here, and I appreciate you're saying that it's just trying to create the outline or the framework for how we're going to do with this, and so um I would recommend simply that we park this money in its totality in the general fund in earmarket, so that maybe special accounts, because I don't necessarily disagree with any of the amounts potentially allocated but they're.

H

So broad of the description, it's really hard to refine how that would be spent specifically, and so for me just looking at the at the wide range of things. First of all, I do want to talk about the hazard pay.

H

Please please please eliminate the word hero because you don't buy, you, don't pay, you don't reward, you don't give bonuses to heroes, heroes are they're trained, they respond and they perform and it's spontaneous and you could never pay them enough, but hazard pay for employees and- and I don't even necessarily know that I like the word essential, because I don't want to be the one that defines who's essential and who's non-essential.

H

We we have that challenge early in the pandemic and and and that's a word, that's a buzzword and it tends to frustrate people. But with regards to hazard pay for employees, are we limited to simply spending x amount of dollars only on city employees? Or could this be something that, for example, when I look at hazard, I look at school teachers.

H

I look at medical professionals, whether it be doctors or nurses. I look at our law enforcement, our fire service. I look at the clerks in the retail grocery stores, because I've got to tell you they're kind of essential to me, because if I can't buy it, I can't eat it.

H

And so- and I know that is much bigger, broader discussion, but I don't know unless the law requires or or the award of the money uh requires, that we limit it solely to the people that are employed by the city, because some of my heroes are the garbage men.

H

Some of my heroes are the clerks and I shop frequently and safely. A lot of my heroes are the school teachers, because you know what they're doing the hard work and, and unfortunately, we've heard. Some people complain about uh the schools being closed because of the risk.

H

But in some instances, because their kids aren't getting the education, they need to be successful and in some cases unfortunately, I've heard it's sometimes they view the school teachers and schools as a babysitting service. Shame on you, if you're one of those, but but I think that there are a lot of essential people that have experienced direct hazard, and so I would like to look at it on a broader scale than simply city employees. And I know that's a as a heavy ask, and I appreciate that.

G

Right, I think that's where you have the word essential, employee yeah there is. There is no restrictions, we just kind of based it off of other cities that gave it to the to their employees.

D

Because it was.

G

In another control right um but yeah, you can look it up in to other to other businesses.

H

And I would like to take that in and again, if we've got a couple years to really figure this out, I'm not looking at this as a christmas bonus or or just you know, I mean at the end of the day our city employees, um the council, remember resentes this point: none of our employees lost their job. There are a lot of people during the pandemic that have or are or will lose their job.

H

We didn't have anybody lose benefits, we did have people get ill and we did have people, our police cannot say no when their 911 call comes in sorry, we're not coming. You know fire department. No, sorry, no we're not coming can't our public works people. No, we need to maintain our streets. I I I'm most grateful for the people that deal with our sewage issue, because that would be a stinky mess. Otherwise I'm also very grateful for the people that deal with water.

H

I mean I can go down a laundry list of those people and I would really like to spend some time and um really look at that, because I don't know that you can pay people enough and and well I saw a six thousand dollar number.

H

I thought at one point, um if you look at like say our police or firefighters, uh we're coming up on two years in the pandemic now 24 months, my simple math would be that's about 250 bucks a month for each one of those people, that's an insignificant amount of money, but yet it's a. I see it more as a gesture of our our appreciation and I'm not trying to buy their loyalty, I'm simply trying to acknowledge their work and the the difficult circumstances they've worked through.

H

I don't know where I lay in the entire uh areas that you've laid out. This person should get this much because they came on to this point in time. I I think that might be more complicated than I'd like to see it. I'm certainly not supportive of anybody. That's teleworked from home for x amount of time and and maybe even people that have come to work but have worked in a closed environment.

H

I recognize there's still risk because you're still working with other co-workers, but that's a much. I have to think on that and think it through.

H

But I'd like to see the essential employee be look looked at on a broader range for other people in our city that have done yeoman's work and and again it's just a token of our gesture of thanks to them, because you know if the gas station isn't open, I can't get gasoline in some cases, so um much bigger, ask and- and maybe the awards are much smaller and at the end of the day it may simply just come down to a public. Thank you.

H

That would be uh where we go, but I would like to just see all the money parked in the general fund and earmarks you know. I don't know you put an enterprise, you, you pick the fund to put it in, so that it's not squandered. We know how to account for it right exactly, and I don't want it to see. You know I don't want to see it just trickle away and go how'd that happen.

H

I also would like maybe the council, to consider we've had a conversation in the past about changing how we communicate in our city in public safety. We talked about a dispatch center and I don't know what the numbers are for that. But I again I think that that might be an opportunity um where we could in fact invest some of this money and I do think that we get better service in our community.

H

If we take that task back on- and I know we've created conceptually an ad-hoc committee- and maybe that's a conversation for that, but but again I think all these things- I don't have a sense of urgency and I'm one of those people. As you know, I'm very happy that we had the rally come the conversation come today because I don't want to wait until april may or june.

H

At that point, I think it's unfair and reasonable, and it's too late, um but we have about two years as I as I track this thing to really come to some decisions.

G

Well, to a point by saying: put it put doing it as revenue loss. We do the general fund right, we've satisfied what we need to do right, so you actually have more time to do.

H

Whatever you want so so, that would be my recommendation and the final thoughts and comments on this are I'd like to know what other jurisdictions have done in all of these areas. Because again I could see easily spending some of this economic money.

H

I've been a a proponent for creating a assistant city manager job. I heard council member morales talk a little bit about what I'm going to call a unbudged person for community development, help them navigate through the challenges, um and I and I get this is one time money and when you hire people, those are reoccurring. Expenses.

G

I've heard that from the business community that they would like to see that also.

H

So for me, I I think money could be put there. uh I've also expressed since we no longer contribute money to ed. It was edc edc. I I would. I would like to see us, maybe go out and recruit a economic development director call them whatever you want to sell, hollister and and push it out there and again, maybe monies come from here, or these monies go to other dedicated places that give us the money to fund those other positions.

H

But I don't think we need to pull the trigger on any of this today, but and.

E

H

I understand you're just looking for some direction, so that would be my my comments. Thank you. Correct.

G

And thank you. A lot of those things could be kind of teased out during the budget process also because in that way it does give us time to look at the job description and roughly, we know where, like where those positions should be paid, and it's a bigger conversation.

E

A

Thank you vice mayor.

D

I I don't see the need to rush, but you know we we have put this off already as far as the issue about um showing our gratefulness and pain are allocating some of this money to our city staff. So if we are not going to come up with a answer for them today, I think that they deserve an answer soon.

D

As far as what what we're going to do because remember before it was oh christmas money, no, it wasn't christmas money, it's the same. It's the same spirit of of the culvert relief plan. It's the same spirit of that. It's it's! It's not a reward. It's not a christmas bonus. It's not a hero pay, um but um I think our employees deserve to get an answer as soon as possible. If we're not going to go forward with this amount today, um I think um the other thing it's like you were talking.

D

You brought up the word essential earlier and I was- um and I was wondering so what what's the definition of front lines front line worker you know there was some people that were in the offices and they went out to the front lines. They went out to the community pantry or to to pass out food and stuff like that. Let's say: is there a clear definition of that.

G

Yeah there is no clear definition. I mean one that one difficult piece of this, but even just the categories it was going to be myself, probably hr and the department head or supervisor to go pretty much employee by employee and figure out exactly what they did and say. Where are we going to put them? I mean police and fire was going to be easy. Then that's roughly half our staff, so I mean it's not. I don't want anybody to feel sorry that we had to do that.

G

But that's what what it was going to take is basically having those meetings and say: okay, this person is going to be put in this category.

D

Okay, that's yeah! That's what I wanted, especially about that the definition.

A

Thank you. I do have a couple more comments and I I liked what I heard yeah and it's true. We have hero. I agree with you. We need that that just can be offensive to uh yeah.

G

I just kind of I stole that wording from somebody up from another city, so.

A

I'll get rid of it next time. Trust me, I think the issue uh is to point out too the essential term who's essential we we're all essential and that it's very frustrating for people to hear like. Well, I'm not essential. I do this for you every day, yeah. Well, no, every every everybody contributes, and I heard what mr burns is saying about: grocery store clerks and so on.

A

People that uh pick up the garbage- and I.

E

Don't know well.

A

Let's we want to have that conversation later. We can do that, but let's just figure something simple: if you're looking at a million dollars, that's 10 000 people at 100, each I mean you know we can we can. We can find ways to make things. Work is what I'm trying to say um and it's you know at the end of the day: it's not the money, it's the thought, the appreciation of we know you were out there now you're, absolutely right. I remember the grocery stores there.

A

They were working people coming in not caring in the least and they were they were out there. A lot of people were, I don't want to just say one group or another, so we can. We can work through that parking it in the general fund as you're mentioning, I think, that's a great idea. It clears us.

A

What I would like to do is ask the council on things that we're ready to move on, such as the downtown restaurant expansion, those types of things. Let's get moving on these things because we're ready we got the parklets. Everything isn't ready to go on that and we just have to come up with that policy to make that work and even the uh if we go up for the food truck uh lot or something so we can kind of that's the start of the tourism part of this whole deal.

G

Right that was the one piece I was going to ask for, because I don't. If we waited, there might be businesses that are on the fence of either they keep moving forward or they close up. So that was the only one that would.

E

A

G

That we come up with something.

A

So that that would be a good thing to get moving, because I know there's been business owners or building owners asking about in senate and said: okay, they're they're they're out there and um every one of them wants to see more foot track. Foot traffic is added by more businesses. Nothing attracts business like you know, like a crowd and that's number one rule in any business. You have a crowd forming outside people coming we're seeing it now on the weekends when people would say our downtown's so dead.

A

There's no restaurant open, oh they're, open now, they're doing very, very well. I love driving down downtown, especially on weekends, and seeing so many people out in our downtowns and again you multiply that by you know, 10 more and you see the difference which leads starts to lead. The trickle effect of people now finishing dinner, going to go shop and the more stores been open because the biggest problem we've always had is people coming home from work at seven o'clock, eight o'clock and I'm just driving home, but now they're, driving home and saying hey.

A

That looks like fun at that restaurant or this brewery or so on. Let me stop and socialize with some friends and have a dinner, so it's exciting mr burns. Thank.

H

You mayor um so to just summarize what I've heard you say. If we had 10 more restaurants downtown, we could probably brand it as we're really cooking, but I'm sorry I couldn't. I couldn't.

D

G

Yeah we're on fire.

H

See I knew you'd one-up me and and so, but can.

G

We not bring up the fires.

H

Smoking now I guess my thought is on the on the on the businesses downtown I'd actually like to see something kind of like a uh a grant where um or a forgivable loan, where you're you sign off on x, amount of dollars and every year you're in business that that debt is reduced to where at some point, you have a zero balance, something that that.

A

H

I'm concerned that we we invest in businesses, uh we invest in buildings and the next thing we know they're gone and- and so they have to I'm more than happy to. You know very few of us get anywhere in life without a helping hand or boost up, but um I would like to see it's kind of like habitat for humanity, people when they get the benefit of being gifted that they physically build it.

H

They they they have a whole lot of investment, and so I'd like to see some sort of program like that, I know they exist and.

D

H

um I'd like to just see it kind of modeled after that, but but I'm I'm happy to move forward with that type of thing in the here and now. But but it needs to be uh structured and focused. Correct and.

G

We kind of throw it because I almost made this comment and then I realized, because we're moving for covering revenue loss. We can do whatever we want, but I want. I don't need somebody to come back like usually if we, if we use the arpa funds as a loan program, anything like that people had to pay it back with by december december 2024, but because we're doing as revenue loss putting in a general fund now coming up with our own program that we're not restricted to to the to those rules.

G

I just wanted just in case somebody you know was listening and said: oh you can't do that. I just want to.

A

Fully agree with mr burns and I think that's exactly right. What we don't want is here and then oh well, we decided we don't want to be open today and tomorrow it's the weekend we're going to go on holiday, yeah. Sorry, you got to pay this back somehow or show us, you know, earn it off. So I I fully agree- and I think my whole point was we need to have this conversation quickly, come up with those terms and promote it and try to get businesses ready for the summer season.

A

That's that's what I'm seeing here. It's like! How do we get them ready for the summer season to get this thing going as quickly as possible, and then we we move on the as we as we succeed. If I bet we keep coming out with more so I again, I love the idea of moving it into the general fund and coming out with the first phase of this uh and then the next phase of it and so on.

A

Maybe if we can have that, where we're focused on that part first, that's our first winner get out there, instead of making it too complicated. Today, let's just let's that's our first attack there, you go.

G

No, we just sorry, we just need a direction so that we can come up yeah.

D

Okay, I think moving forward with that one, and then um I guess, as far as for the employee pay, you said, you're going to have department heads come up with or you could come up with a full description of what front line office and all that is and then have department heads come up with a list of who falls in what area.

G

No, that would have been if the council agreed to the lump sum payout, the different categories- that's what then we would have to go through basically in play by employee, to determine what they were going to get paid. But right now I don't hear anything coming forward so that I mean right now, it's kind of a dead. I.

A

Personally, lean back to what mr burns said, what about all these other people that were there just because they didn't work at the city doesn't mean they weren't important to this community? We figured that out in a number and we can go from there as we move along. I.

D

I I can kind of agree with that too, but you know what we we're not we're. These are our employees.

D

These are I mean not that our residents don't mean anything, because uh I'm sure my son would like a hundred bucks, but uh um I I feel we are responsible for our community, but we are directly responsible for our employees and um so I'd like to see that I don't, I don't think we need to come up with the decision. I'll make another special meeting. There's please.

C

D

More special meetings or to rush that, but I would like to see it done in a timely manner, address that issue.

A

I see council member morales hand is up and then we'll come to you, sir, go ahead.

I

Well, I I am, I agree with council member, I'm sorry vice mayor perez. I think it's like trying to solve.

I

You know the issues of the world. It's just too much. I think, there's a the sphere that we're responsible for so that's what happens within the city of hollister. Our employees are our responsibility.

I

I think there's been a lot in terms of inability to hire our staff. Members are doing multiple jobs, the issue of dealing with additional jobs outside of their job specifications as a result of the pandemic.

I

I think if we are moving in the direction when we're looking at what do we need to do with for the future of hollister and and if we ask them to do you know data collection or outcome measures or performance measures in order for us to evaluate what they're doing and how we're doing in terms of providing services to our city and its effectiveness.

I

This is one of the ways in which government is allowed to do so so outside of this, we don't have any policies to do that, not that I've seen anyways um other areas and I'll bring in santa clara county there's policies in order to do recognition, event, um dinners, there's awards and that's within policy to be able to do the city of hollister does not have any of that this money, unless that's post, unless that policy is created and funds are allocated for that. This um is an opportunity for us to do so.

I

I think, for my recommendation. Strong recommendation is that we look and actually provide an answer, if not today, then shortly soon after, but I believe that we have an obligation to at least be able to respond to that and then have an end date and not continue it or for it seems like forever.

A

Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember.

B

Thank you, mr mayor, and so I'm going to talk about my job and I'm going to give you some very personal information. Obviously you guys know I'm a teacher I've never taken a day off during the pandemic. I've never called in sick. I've never had the luxury of taking a day off I've. My work changed. My workload has changed drastically. That's no secret right! I work with children that have coveted every single day when the pandemic first hit. I shared this with the with the mayor.

B

I think I said this at one meeting here I was told I wasn't gonna get a raise my annual raise, in fact we might have been laid off because of the funding that was happening. Okay right now, we're negotiating a raise.

B

I'm grateful for everything that I've done, but that you know I could probably make a ton of money if I worked in the bay area or something but there's a lot of perks that coming to work that come with working in education, it's very fulfilling personally right if a lump sum of money were to come to the school so to speak, I'd want that money invested in better technology for our kids, better curriculum I'd want my community and the students that I work with to be enriched and be invested in because, ultimately, in the grand scheme of things, it's going to make my job more easier.

B

It's going to uplift our entire community right. This is what I'm trying I'm bringing this up, because I don't. First of all I don't know if I said this, I don't make six thousand dollars a month. Much less been offered a bonus of six thousand dollars. Do we value our employees? 100 percent?

B

Do we value our pd, our fire department, of course, but this is what we signed up for as our jobs and when these things happen, if there's an earthquake, if there's a pandemic, if there's I don't know, the sewer goes out like we're called into action, and we know that we signed up for this okay. I live in a duplex I rent here and I'm bringing these up because I think a number of people are in the same position as me, and I would rather take this money and invest it in a way.

B

That's going to impact the quality of life for everybody here. I don't think this money is meant to be used for one-time use just to give to employees. It's the easy and the popular thing to do. The hard thing is to step back and to say no, but in the long run we're gonna invest in our community. We're gonna, invest in our economy, we're gonna, invest in our small businesses. We're gonna, invest in our infrastructure, because we're gonna generate more revenue, we'll be able to give raises.

B

I think we really need to look at the bigger picture and I'm not completely against all of these things that have been brought up, but we need to step back and look at the bigger picture, because, if we invested in the right way we're all going to win in a number of different ways- and I know it's hard to see when you've got- you know this being offered to you, but it really is the truth. We really need to invest the money in the right way and I think that's what the money was intended for.

B

I don't care what other um communities are doing as far as in that sense, I I really have faith that we can come up with some solutions here, um I'm fine with putting the general fund, but I really do think it needs to be earmarked. I don't think we're gonna be equitable, there's no way to be equitable, there's no way to measure who was more important or who was more value during these times.

B

um I really agree with the idea of of contracting out for somebody that we can hold accountable and for edc slash tourism.

B

uh Little things like other cities have class protection, and I know it's not aesthetically pleasing, but in these times that we're living in where it's so politically device, divisive and scary like I'd even like bulletproof windows. Right here, I'm sorry, but I do fear for my safety being in this position and with what's happened at the capitol I'd like bulletproof windows and I'd like partitioners here due to coven. In my opinion, I, like the idea of the I'm just going to call it the kovac credit card.

B

I don't know what else to call it, but because it's a stimulus, that's going to directly impact, not only our citizens, the essential workers, everybody here and our local businesses. We've talked about this for years, even before covet hit the food trucks, outdoor pop-up parks.

B

The sign of hollister like these are all things that are really going to change the look and the feel of our city and it's going to draw more people here, and I think we have a huge responsibility to do that for everybody not just for our employees, but it is, of course, going to impact our employees and our city overall. So those are my thoughts on that. Thank you.

A

Councilman burns.

H

Thank you mayor, mr miller, you talked about having the department heads uh determine who who, who would receive what and.

G

H

Right right well, and I think, there's still some merit and value to having them establish. Who was where, when and and and because at the end of the day we may be just talking dollars and and dollars are not. I don't mean to minimize that, but but we can always create a formula to plug it in to figure that piece out once we know who was where and when and and uh like you said pretty much all our police department was operational. They can't they can't sorry we're not coming our fire department.

H

Now we're no they're going to be there too, um and and- and so I think I would agree with council member perez and morales. I don't know where the mayor stands, but um I think it could be helpful to understand that better. To then understand the bigger picture, and- and at that point I don't know what's what's realistic- you know is or is that data that could be available in three months.

G

uh Yeah, where we would put up each person based on those categories.

H

Yeah, that's right, right and and then and then I think we can haggle about what that means and and and again I that for me, that's only part of the conversation because, as I've expressed you know, my interest is, are greater. You know school teachers uh store clerks, you know the tr, the trash haulers. I know trash haulers, don't work for us, but they're a contract for us. But yet uh you know.

K

H

And I'm sure I'm missing several other people that could be part of this conversation and- and so you know once we know what we know, then we can make a a what I'd hope will be a wise or smart decision and perhaps the other half of that conversation.

H

Maybe at the end of this you don't spend 9.6 million dollars on on this. Maybe you you slash the contributions by a half or a third. You keep the other part of that money available to do the second part of the project, which would then be. Let's talk about school teachers. Let's talk about store clerks, let's talk about anybody, anybody that might be eligible and we figure that piece out and again that way we don't keep our city staff waiting.

H

I do not think that this should be viewed as a bonus by any means um and again you know, could we accomplish the same thing by giving each one of our our our city staff a hallmark card signed by the council and the administration?

H

Theoretically, yes, realistically, no, and so I do think there should be some token goodwill gesture on behalf of this council, because you know I do appreciate the fact that we've we haven't, put these people in harm's way. Mr resendez was spot on with when you become a police officer, you become a police officer and you know there's an inherent risk and you sign up for it same thing with the fire department same thing, with code enforcement, same thing with our paramedics I mean they're they're motivated they're they're.

H

Driven to that I mean there's a reason they intentionally go towards danger when most of us run from it and that's how it should be, but you can't put a dollar value on that right and and so but but I think it's really a it's a goodwill gesture and I think it would also help to know more about what other cities are doing, because I agree with mr rosendes on this point too. It's the easy thing to do.

H

It's the feel good thing to do, but um I'm not I'm not persuaded that six thousand dollars is that number, and so I'd like to really see how it logistically lays out, and frankly, some of some of the information that you arrive at might mean that some some people get zero.

H

You know if, if you've been telling working at home for the entire covid uh pandemic up to the vaccination time, I might be inclined to say sorry. You've been you've been in a protective environment. I can't help you from what you've been exposed to from your own family and your friends. You do have some control over that so anyway, that would just be my two cents mayor.

A

Thank you, uh oh councilman morales your hand up.

I

Yes, thank you, um so I wanted to make two points. um One was, I am absolutely against hiring a consultant to do economic development or whatever well said. I would prefer to have an employee that would be, um and that- and it has, I think we can hold and kept an employee accountable. Just like we would we would. We would do so with the consultant. So I just want to make sure that that's very clear.

I

Second, um I think many of you know that I am a public employee as well, and I can tell you that I am one of those that had to telework and go into my work environment. We run 24 7 facilities and even though I was able to telework, I had to do three or four additional jobs. We were all called 24 7.. Some people did not take any time off for a year and a half um because they were we're dealing with a pandemic.

I

And yes, while we're all disaster service workers, it does take a toll and you are covering, and the fact that you are, um you know not necessarily running into the fire um taking on those three or four roles with pleasure and doing so because it benefits the community as a whole. That's something that that um doesn't necessarily need to be compensated, but public employees are just not compensated in general.

I

So while I understand that yeah some people, they don't care what neighboring jurisdictions do um when there's opportunities to be able to provide a token of appreciation, and it doesn't necessarily have to be money but just appreciation. True appreciation.

I

We will not have the issues that we have with the city of hollister in terms of being able to hire and retain employees, because they'll know that their council cares about not only what they do, but how they do it so like.

I

I said the amount of money I'm flexible on, but I do believe that there needs to be a sense of recognition for the number of jobs that they've done for the level of staffing that they've had to do with for over two years and for the ability to take on the additional work, and they do it with with um with pride and a sense of being able to devote themselves to the community that they serve because they're not here for the pay.

I

G

And if I can add in part of the other, when we kind of looked at this, it was also a thank you to the to the employees, families for allowing their st our staff member to come to work during this old time and potentially bringing kobe back to their house household. So that was it that's it.

A

Just going to say, maybe the answer is gift certificates to our local restaurants for all these people that, because you're right at the end of the day, I'm going to say this again: it's not about the money, it's about being acknowledged and appreciated, and if you can take the time to take your family out, because a city sees you as an important part. It's a win-win all the way around yeah.

G

And actually that is a good economic development for the local local businesses, because they are being spent here in halter.

A

Right and it's a winner that way uh do we have any speaker cards or speakers online.

E

Yes, um we have priscilla jones, um you can go up to the podium.

D

Now I'm getting really hungry.

A

It's one o'clock.

L

All right, okay, so I want to speak on your resume.

G

Sorry for that, better, okay.

L

On the revitalization of the downtown restaurants, uh my husband and I own two roles in town. We have been operating out of our home as a cottage food operation and we were born during the pandemic. So we have more than proven that the business is sustainable for a business like us, where we've started from the ground up no help from anybody we're working day in and day out, I'm still working.

L

My my job as a first responder working 14 hour shifts getting off going and doing the business so for people like us that little hand up would mean the world to us. We secured our building on san benito and seventh september of twenty twenty twenty.

L

We have been paying rent on that building in a lease option to buy and have put 75 000 into the project. But for someone like us, where you know we're limited with the cottage food operation, what we can make we're limited on the amount of sales we can do because it's just us sometimes our kids. If you see us at the farmer's market or wherever.

H

The kids are out there working.

L

But you know something like this would allow us to get our storefront completed, which right now we're in the the planning phase. The city has the plans we paid 20 000 just to get that going because we needed to get it going.

L

We would be bringing at minimum 15 jobs, something like that would put money right back into the economy, and you know we're major proponents of including the community and everything that we do so that would allow us to continue to do that, and you know we have bigger plans for our business even to the extent of providing financial literacy for our employees, for young kids that come and work for us. So it's so much more than just here's somebody, so you can open and make money.

L

You know it's kind of a thing for small businesses like us that are minorities that just need a little bit of help would mean the world too. So if you guys can consider creating a program or even some type of loan option to pay back, that would you know- and there are plenty of other businesses like us in town. I think that would benefit.

E

Benefit- and you know like you know, like my wife said, you know it's more than just you know. Yes, we want to, you, know, build our empire for us and our children, but it's you know community is big for us and that's something that you know. That is something that we even you know, while getting in and creating our business and building our business. It's going to continue to be a part of our.

K

Values our core values of what company you know what.

E

It is that our company's about um you know, speaking to.

K

E

K

E

Building you know the building that we, you know are purchasing um uh just using that you know to you know we are uh beginning phases of talks of hopefully thank you. You.

K

Know doing something on the side you.

E

Know our building and a mural, you know you.

L

Want to use your time yeah, he has his own.

E

L

Do you want to do.

A

You both have cards.

E

A

H

What's up with that.

A

E

Say you're in trouble, but um I mean again, like speaking to you, know just the community. You know I know.

K

Downtown you know, thinking about doing um you know, arts or or.

E

um You know just kind of revitalizing downtown and it's something that me and my wife have spoke to the uh offer, our yeah our building to do a mural for hollister. um When in the position you know once we finish, you know finalizing the securing the building. But uh you know that's just stuff that we offer just because of community. You know and um yeah and everything else.

L

Yes, the access to those funds would be.

A

You got to step up so because it's recorded, so that's without.

L

That much access to funds and help to get that project from where it's at right now with we went in and gutted the building and did everything that we could on our own. We're at the point now where the building is the old metropolis building.

L

We are at the very end of our lease option to buy in our risk at losing our investment, which we've already put thousands of dollars of our own hard-earned money into that. We're at the point where we need a hood and ansel system. The building does not have a kitchen like you spoke on earlier. Something like that is a major cost for a small business starting up, so these funds would definitely go directly to what you want to see them. Go to.

L

You know, and not many people know, but we've offered up our building. Well, we're not in there to zoo and the bulldog boxing so they're in there and they're using.

D

It so the kids have a space.

L

To continue so like we said community's important to us and it's been important to us and it's not something that we brag on. You know things that we do we just kind of do it, but we want to continue to be that pillar for the community to know that we're here you can come, do your school fundraiser and have a churro night and we've had a lot of requests for it. But, like I said, we're very limited.

K

L

Operation, I want my dining room back.

I

We haven't had.

L

Dinner in there.

K

In two years yeah, so it's yeah.

E

L

E

So, thank you just thank you for the consideration and.

L

Thank you guys for even considering bringing a program like this to other businesses like this as well, and we know others would benefit too so absolutely.

A

L

You thank you. Thank you.

A

Thank you, so city manager, what I've heard so far, then, is, I think, the council's in agreement. As far as moving the funds into the general fund earmarked as we move forward, I think I heard a consensus to start with the restaurant.

A

Maybe food truck program, so we get, we can be focused and we can accomplish and move to next thing, the next item and then uh come back with more ideas. As far as, if you're going to share some of the dollars, for whatever is considered, I hate to say it again, essential employees, but those that were out there, whether that be those who worked in the grocery stores, those who worked in the schools trash whatever it is.

A

How does that work, but that's down the line, let's get started on the first ones we all agree on, and then we can have the conversations on the next part councilmember uh for send us.

B

Thank you and then um just before we leave here I'd like the council to consider the downtown ark sign if it's only 150 000. I think that would um align nicely with our 150th celebration as well and we can unveil that around that same time. So I'd really like for us to to consider looking into that.

E

Okay, customers.

D

Also piggyback on that too, um I haven't- I don't know, what's going on with the arts, our city, arts committee, commission, um but you know what um it'd be nice too to unveil. um uh I don't know if you want to keep this hollister flag uh to unveil uh something new, maybe or I don't even know if this is our official city flag, because it's only an emblem but something to explore that also.

A

Thank you, sir councilmember.

H

Thanks my understanding was the the commission was working on the flag itself, and so I don't know where that is, but that would be good to know. I'd love to see a concept for the sign uh that council member rosendis is talking about. um Again. I can't I don't know.

H

150 000 bucks seems like a whole lot of money, but it's a one-time expense and and if it, if it tends to beautify the city of hollister and it's in a major uh part of our city, I could get behind that and- and I would love to see that too, because it's not likely we're gonna appropriate that kind of money for it. Otherwise, I would assume so um yeah.

E

A

H

Think you're spot on mirror with your comments.

A

We can get renderings there there's a gentleman that does these big signs. That's approached city manager, myself,.

G

A

In the past, so we can have him come up with something correct.

G

Right and I think we have a concept but.

A

He had other ideas just right, uh bring it in front of the council, so.

G

Can I get on the essential employee? I thought understanding was kind of go through use this, uh what we provided for you for the lump sum payment, but to kind of go through our current staff and see really where that, where people land to can you give you numbers of, we have, you know, say 100 front line, 20 that were in this category, but just for our own staff, not for outside the city.

H

Right that was my thought as well. Mr.

G

Miller um you.

H

Know and what I'd see that is a a two-phased approach. You know the other piece is going to be much bigger. It's going to be more challenging, it's going to be uh time-consuming to if we do as a council want to look at essential employees as in school teachers throughout the city of halster, whether it be elementary, whether it be free, whether it be you know, um high schoolers, I know that's going to take some time. I also know it's going to take some time.

H

If you want to look at grocery clerks throughout the city, I mean.

K

H

And so that's why I'm not convinced I was, I would sign off on six thousand dollars, because that would consume the lion's share of this, and I don't you know, and I'd rather have I'd rather have overage than have to find a way to cover underage. So um anyway,.

A

H

My understanding man.

A

Yeah and I would agree- and I think, as I mentioned, if we could tie this into rather than just cash- maybe a gift certificate program through the uh some kind of the businesses, whatever.

G

A

I think, then, I'd be more able to support. I I just have a hard time saying: okay, your group, you get so many thousands and you over here, here's a 25 bucks for you or something I just got to be a little more fair. Go ahead. Mr ascendant.

B

I think if we can do the co, I'm going to call it covet credit card or covet gift certificate for local businesses and then maybe offer it to employees and other first responders or essential workers in the city first, but then, ultimately, we should offer it to everybody in the community and first come first serve basis. You know that would be my suggestion, but I I think that's something we can do quickly. We can come up with a copic card.

B

uh Of course the business kitchens is huge and the arcs. I think those are the three that oh and then the analysis of the employees. Overall, I think, is what I'm hearing.

A

Okay, that good sir, that.

G

Gave us direction. Thank you all.

A

Right with everyone else,.

H

Mayor I'd just like to, I want to pin the city manager down a little bit more um to just, uh for example, the the discussion about department, heads and uh and the uh hazard pay employees essential employees, whatever we're going to call it. How can can we have that information by april 1st, oh.

G

I would think we should be able to get in the next two weeks- okay. Well, I I I'm wondering.

H

I'm going to.

E

I'll be realistic.

H

I'm willing to go until april, first, okay, we'll say april. First.

G

That we, you know, we will beat expectations.

H

Right right and no emphasis on april fools, and so, but you know, and then the other ones I don't know I I mean for me um again: we've we've had at least one public comment just recently and for me I think the business thing would be important. It's certainly going to be important to those guys if they want to apply for that that grant whatever we're going to call it. um So do we have a sense for what it would take to put that program conceptually in place.

G

Yeah we'll be working on it right away. It's uh it's probably trying to f we're. Just we will move on as quick as possible. It's just trying to find um sort of front to find the parameters come up with. uh What we feel is is a good program right, because I've.

H

Heard what you guys have said- and I support you 100 percent so but but again, are you.

G

H

As as quickly as possible, I'm.

G

Hoping within a month because I mean that's the face right.

H

K

G

Here today, because that's the faces, I always think about, is we have businesses that are just right there on the edge and we just don't need them to go under.

H

No well well they're the perfect example of who we want to give that boost to, to help them to succeed and.

G

H

Hope that they're in business 20 years from now and they've got 25 other if they want them, but um the timing's a factor as well correct, and so so, if we're we're in mid-march I'm sorry march, I wish um no. Actually I don't I'm mid mid to late january. So again by maybe march, we could have something before.

G

Council yeah, because the worst thing we could do is say yes and then six months we come up with something and they're like well great, that that still doesn't help right right.

H

Right and I and I've at least I've heard that be an emphasis of this council to want to move forward smart, not rush, but but bring it to the finish line. Correct and.

G

And I mean it is, like you say it's a late january, but I mean we would love to have businesses open by this summer right to help keep generating uh the the town, town vibe and everything like that, which is what generates the the sales tax revenue for us, and it makes us worthwhile.

H

Right well- and you know, and and and again I've heard council member rosenda's bring up the art commission in public art and stuff and and again I just heard these folks talk about how they would be open to a mural right.

G

H

Got 150 year celebration correct, I'm just I'm just yeah.

G

It all works together right, so thanks yeah now we will we'll make it a timely project.

A

The other, the other part, and I everything he says, correct um important, but since you're still here, abraham part of this is going to be the ability to move people through this process rather quickly, and that means you guys know this already. You find out about the ansel systems and so on. Ada most small business owners do not understand the pieces, and then we get the complaints in the public. Oh they drag their feet.

A

No, you know there's to get a facility open, especially with a health department, so on there's a lot of steps that happen, but if you cover those steps, you're aware of it early, it's going down to the level of cove tiling in the bathrooms in the kitchens and people. What are you talking about? Oh yeah, that's part of the deal so having a clear understanding. What's needed is going to help us move those applicants from the starting line to the finish line in a quicker time period.

A

If not, what's going to happen is oh no, my my friends are going to help me build this and we're going to have to say right. There you're not going to qualify for this grant if that's the way, you're going you're going to be in trouble out of the gate and then having those contractors that can line up with them. That know what our requirements are, so they can go through. The plan check quickly, go through the construction part quickly and get it done. Otherwise.

A

Any of these projects- and I know from experience on these- can take a long time and will break a company before they ever start. So it's very important to to know the true numbers in the process. Okay, so that's going to be to make this happen. We need the other part ready to go too absolutely yeah.

K

And we are more than happy to help with any.

H

K

uh We always encourage any business before opening, or even um you know at any time, please contact us 339 fifth street.

K

Our building official uh would be able to help generate any type of information, that's needed for ada requirements that are, um you know, required for for state compliance um about three years ago, or so we actually had somebody come into our community and just um submitted um basically lawsuits to various various businesses throughout and we um you know we were able to respond to that help out all the different businesses with the requirements that were needed to be able to help them come into compliance.

K

So at any time, please please um come to us right in front of the granada theater 3395th street, we'll be happy to sit down with anybody and to be able to.

A

Have that we get to check off this health department abc because again people don't understand the process. Yeah.

K

A

Figure, oh I'll get my alcohol license when I'm about to open yeah. No, it doesn't work that way. It's a long process in front of that. So all these pieces, please, let's get that checklist, yes and they're going to want to apply for this. Let's get the clear answers for everybody up front. Yes, yes, sir.

E

If I may paul de silva I.t director, um just chime in, we are kind of evaluating uh an online application to to be able to streamline the planning building process inspections, fire department, engineering code enforcement, uh the ability for for the residents to actually do stuff online apply for permits.

G

And all that so we're actually working. We.

K

G

E

K

Absolutely we're developing in the system right now complete.

E

Manual process right now, right, yes,.

H

Abraham once again, what was that address? I missed it.

K

Three: three: nine fifth street.

A

Thank you very much.

I

Thank you, so there's been a lot of talk about and all I care is like we have consensus, we have consensus, so I really truly don't understand what we have consensus on. I know that things are added and we didn't go through in terms of what we all agree on. We just keep bouncing around so again. I think business is going to be important, but I think, as mentioned, businesses get really frustrated because they don't understand the process, there's inconsistent information and they waste a lot of time and energy and money trying to understand it.

I

So unless we fix that people you can have money, people can apply, but if they get frustrated and then they close the doors or actually go somewhere else, it's not going to help anybody.

I

um Second, I don't know about the food trucks, but I think that the business allocation should be provided and then the community can apply for whatever it is that they need.

I

I don't think that we should take what it should be, um so I actually want to go, go through and and see what we actually did agree on. I know that there's a lot of concepts that I know I didn't agree on, but I want to know what is it that we do have consensus on that we are moving forward. So if that cleared.

A

Up that would appreciate it and that's what the city manager's going to bring back by march 1st, so we can have those discussions tonight or today. This afternoon we agreed on moving this dollars into the general fund earmarked. We moved agreed to move forward to create a program for a restaurant food truck program and brought back by march.

A

Abraham is gonna, make sure there's a list check-off list, so those that do apply understand what it takes to open a facility. By april, the uh city manager is going to provide more information as far as some of these others.

G

Or central employee list right.

A

And that's what we have talked about today. We don't have details on these items. Yet that's what the city, manager and staff is going to work on all right.

I

Can I ask, why are we excluding other businesses and instantly food truck and restaurants.

A

I

Why are we excluding other businesses, and why are we only moving forward with restaurants and- and I don't haven't seen a food truck, but why are we only moving forward with those two businesses.

A

Well, we're trying to incentivize more restaurants coming into the downtown area, to get more people to come out and enjoy their downtown and start off those smaller businesses doing that way in the downtown core. It's more of a focused effort, it's kind of like the parklets conversations were like well. Why can't we have a parklet here and there? Well, we don't own uh parking lots and a lot of times.

A

Landlords can't even do it because of insurance reasons, but what we do have is ownership of streets, so we focus with the parklist in the downtown core, so we have a focused area. When we have events and festivals, we have again a focus because we have more restaurants going on. That's what's going to finally lead to more tourism, that's what we want to do- encourage a core area by bringing in businesses such as restaurants or other uh small businesses that attract more more business, more foot traffic.

I

So I'd just like to urge the council to just make it business instead of just isolating it to restaurants and food trucks. One.

D

Of the reasons well, I would I have a tendency to agree, because you know what not every not every shop downtown is restaurant or or.

A

Yeah truck, maybe I can step back, there's an open vacancy in a building if you're our restaurant you're going to find out really quickly- and I have two people here that can tell you this. The cost of putting a hood system is upwards 60 to 80 thousand dollars, and people are always surprised by that. The cost of putting in a grease trap system would cost you another five to ten thousand dollars making your bathroom ada compliant for that service cost you quite a bit of money.

A

So opening a restaurant is something you'll run into 150 000 at a blink of an eye. Opening up a retail business is more about. You have your open space. Let me paint my walls. Let me put some shelving on and I'm ready to go. This is going to incentivize those businesses such as restaurants, to come to downtown restaurants, bring foot traffic foot traffic then starts to feed retail businesses. It has to go in hand in hand. It doesn't go so well the other way around.

A

So these are part of the the concepts and again a great example.

A

When we first started talking about the parklet program, this is something we talked about for 20 years and there was a big argument over the years about nobody wants to sit outside and have any dinner, and we said no there's plenty of people that like to do this and that argument continued for 20 years covid with all the craziness in the world brought us an opportunity to do it, and now people love being outside now, you're.

A

Seeing a a downtown, that's beginning to start to thrive that you didn't see two years ago, because nobody or we weren't, covered.

D

A

D

Outdoor dining.

A

But we're seeing it and that's leading to more restaurants that want to come to downtown, which means more retailers are going to want to come to downtown and it all comes together, and this is the the hardest business to get into. If you're going to do, something is going to be the restaurant entertainment type of business because it does have big upfront costs.

A

H

Mayor I've heard what you said and I don't disagree, but I'm wondering um if there would be the possibility- and I would suggest that that the program could be open to other people that would want to open a restaurant in a strip mall or something like that as well. I mean it's still also going to be beneficial and those costs are exponentially the same and significant, and so whether I want to open tim's sandwich stop in downtown, or I want to open it up next to uh in the in the in the kmart center.

H

That's pretty much a vacant uh shopping center now yeah.

E

H

Would I wouldn't want to make it so restrictive that it'd only be solely limited to.

A

Downtown, I don't disagree with you. My.

H

A

Why are we focused right now? The conversation.

H

K

All right- and I agree with you.

H

A

More restaurants, we have all over town the better off we all are. I.

H

A

Thank you. Thank you all right. uh Another conversation we're clearly now city manager. All right is there a motion to adjourn so.

D

A

Motion in a second uh roll call vote, please.

I

Vice mayor perez.

E

uh Yeah council, member sundes, councilmember morales, yes, councilmember burns.

H

No, I was kidding yes.

E

Mayor velasquez, yes, motion carries unanimously.

A

Thank you. Everyone have a good afternoon good weekend have a good day.

M

Recording stopped.

M