Scotts Valley leaders consider risks, rewards of pension bonds
Scotts Valley leaders decided Wednesday to take a closer look at potentially risky pension obligation bonds to help pay the city’s roughly $19.8 million in unfunded pension debt. The debt has almost doubled since 2010, records show.
Pension obligation bonds are bonds that local governments issue when interest rates are low to help pay off unfunded pension liabilities. However, many experts consider those bonds risky because if the market crashes, the city’s debt grows.
None of the council members were excited about the prospect of pension obligation bonds. City Manager Tina Friend said city staff would return with more information and options. 📰 Read Kara Meyberg Guzman’s story.
School reopening update
Families can expect “several” local elementary schools to reopen with a mix of in-person and online classes this spring, County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah said in a county office of education board meeting Thursday.
Schools can apply for a waiver to reopen kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms, now that the county’s COVID-19 case rate has dropped below a threshold. The waiver must be approved by County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel and the state public health department. Newel said this month that she would support school reopening waivers.
Whether schools will have access to state and federal funds for reopening depends on their ability to meet safety requirements, most significantly on COVID testing, Sabbah said. The county office of education is trying to increase staff testing from every other month to every other week. A new state proposal would require regular testing of students too.
“I think it's going to be a challenge for us to be able to add students to the surveillance testing process,” Sabbah said. “Since we haven't seen a lot of in-school transmission, it does seem unnecessary.” Sabbah added, “But if it is a requirement to get funding, it could motivate us to do that. But of course, that would require a process to get approval from parents and a protocol for parents who decide to opt out their children and what the implications are for that.”
Sabbah said that teacher and staff labor unions have agreed to participate in school reopening after staff receive their second dose of vaccine. About 2,600 kindergarten to 12th grade teachers and staff in the county will have received their first dose by Sunday, representing about half of that labor pool, Sabbah said.
State models predict a surge of COVID cases mid-March with an April peak, due to a new variant that emerged in the United Kingdom that may be more infectious than previous strains. In California, the spring surge is predicted to be larger than the surge this winter.
Sabbah said he wants to make sure the safety protocols are strong enough that a surge won’t delay school reopening.
“We're hoping that because we have such low in-school transmission rates, because we have our protocols down tight, because we’ve vaccinated all of our staff that we will be able to continue to move forward with their plans for reopening in person, even if they're if a surge takes place,” Sabbah said.
— Kara Meyberg Guzman
Promotion from Santa Cruz Local
Did you know Santa Cruz Local has a podcast?
The Santa Cruz Local podcast showcases our deepest investigative and community-driven work. Scroll to bottom for more ways to listen.
Two new committees address police reform in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County
The Santa Cruz County Criminal Justice Council and a new Watsonville city committee recently launched separate efforts to help improve law enforcement agencies in the county.
The Watsonville Ad-Hoc Committee on Policing and Social Equity first met in December in the wake of local and national calls for police reform. The committee includes Watsonville police, activists, nonprofit leaders and elected city leaders. It plans to study several aspects of policing, narrow its focus, then make recommendations for potential city council actions for Watsonville police in the fall.
Santa Cruz County’s Criminal Justice Council for more than 30 years has tried to prevent crime and gang activity by coordinating city and county elected leaders, law enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office, public defender and nonprofit and education leaders.
The council met this month and formed an Ad Hoc Committee on Law Enforcement Policies and Procedures. The committee aims to create common standards for law enforcement officers across the county. The idea is that residents should count on similar service from patrol officers and deputies. The standards may address the fair treatment of suspects, victims and others who come in contact with law enforcement.
The new committee plans to work with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and police in Capitola, Watsonville, Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz. 📰 Read Stephen Baxter’s story.
Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 Online and by phone
Leaders ask governor for help with homeless camp at Highways 1 and 9
The letter asks Caltrans to handle removal of the camp because they said it has an “immediate safety concern.”
About 4.5 tons of trash has been removed from the camp, according to the letter. Police have been called to the intersection 90 times in the past year. Firefighters have responded to 230 calls related to medical emergencies, fires and other matters at the site. The city expects to spend $4 million this year on “services, support and cleanup” related to the homeless, not including police and firefighter time, according to the letter.
State support could mean hotel vouchers, National Guard help with transportation and shelter, or a trailer program similar to one already in place for county youths, according to the letter.
1:30 p.m. Syringe litter, drug use status reports
The board will hear representatives from the Sheriff’s Office, Santa Cruz County Superior Court and the county’s Health Services Agency discuss injection drug use and syringe litter. Potential changes and recommendations are expected in May.
Santa Cruz City Council
1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 Online and by phone
New rules proposed for homeless camps in Santa Cruz
A new version of the city’s camping law is set to be considered by the Santa Cruz City Council on Tuesday.
The law would designate legal and illegal places to camp in the city from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Parks, beaches, downtown, areas prone to fire or flood and areas that block access to emergency responders would be illegal for camping. Violators could receive infraction tickets and $20 fines. Two tickets in one month could prompt a police officer to take the person to jail to be cited and released, Santa Cruz Police Chief Andy Mills said during a news conference Friday. Mills said police also will be paid overtime to patrol beaches, parks and downtown.
Mills said the rules try to prevent “entrenchment” at camps like the ones near Highways 1 and 9 and in the benchlands of San Lorenzo Park. Homeless advocates have said that criminalizing tent camps does nothing to solve a lack of housing. It also does not address any Santa Cruz County strategies to prevent, track or house the homeless.
“It will be one tool that we can use in addressing some of the negative effects that we've seen of camping, and will set standards for behavioral and environmental quality that will hopefully help to address some of the negative effects that we’ve seen,” said Santa Cruz Planning Director and Homelessness Response Manager Lee Butler.
The proposed law is co-sponsored by Mayor Donna Meyers and Councilmembers Martine Watkins and Renee Golder. It is a version of a revised camping law that was floated in 2019 and later punted.
Santa Cruz United, which led a successful recall movement against Santa Cruz city councilmembers Chris Krohn and Drew Glover in 2020, sent an email to members Thursday that urged them to support the proposed law.
Camping would be outlawed in red areas, according to a new proposal. (City of Santa Cruz)
Update to the city’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan
The Santa Cruz city water director has proposed a new strategy and rules to deal with water shortages during droughts. The council is expected to vote on the plan Tuesday.
The city’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan was last updated in 2009, when water demand was greater and conservation rules had a larger impact. State guidelines for these plans also have changed. An update to be considered by the council Tuesday includes:
“Considerably lower” amounts of water that customers are allowed to use during shortages
A new tool for customers to access their water use details
“Water conservation alone will only aid the city to a certain degree,” according to the plan. New water supplies “such as aquifer storage and recovery, water transfers, advanced treated recycled water and others have the potential to alleviate the supply gap, reduce the frequency and severity of shortage experienced, and limit the need to implement this plan,” the authors wrote.
Discussion of UC Santa Cruz’s Long Range Development Plan
An advocate hired by city and county elected leaders to organize against UCSC’s long range growth plans will provide an update to the city council Tuesday.
The proposed enrollment growth from about 18,000 to 28,000 students was announced by then-UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal in 2018. Shortly after, city voters approved Measure U, which directed city officials to “to take policy and legal actions to limit the growth proposed for UCSC by the UC Regents; and to eliminate or, at a minimum, reduce the adverse effects of additional UCSC growth, particularly in the areas of housing, traffic, quality of undergraduate education, and water.” Advocate Morgan Bostic’s expected $120,000 in fees is split evenly by the city and county, according to records.
Measure U also directed city officials to “actively and fully participate in” the campus’ Long Range Development Plan process, which is underway. The plan guides but does not prescribe campus development, similar to a city’s General Plan.
Proposal to return California Avenue and Bay Street intersection to three-way stop
In December, city workers moved a three-way stop on Bay Street from California Avenue to California Street to align with the new rail trail. City staff want to add permanent stop signs back at the original location — and keep the California Street stop signs. Temporary stop signs have been added back to California Avenue and Bay Street.
The project costs $2,000. The council is set to consider the proposal on its consent agenda Tuesday. City staff have also proposed a study of replacing the two three-way stop intersections with roundabouts or a traffic signal system.
Watsonville City Council
5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 Online or by phone
Apartment complex proposal on Main Street
Tuesday, the council is scheduled to consider a proposal for a four-story apartment and retail complex for a vacant lot at 558 Main St. between East Lake Avenue and East Fifth Street in downtown.
The project includes:
50 apartments (15 studios, 29 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units). Ten of those units would be dedicated as affordable, based on area median income.
A first-floor 56-space parking garage and restaurant space
The city planning commission recommended approval in a 5-1 vote, with one member absent.
A 53-unit affordable housing project proposed on Freedom Boulevard
The city council is also scheduled to consider an affordable housing project proposed for a vacant lot at 1482 Freedom Blvd., next to a Wendy’s restaurant between Atkinson Lane and Crestview Drive.
The proposal by Hayward-based nonprofit developer Eden Housing calls for:
Two three-story buildings
53 rental apartments (11 one-bedroom, 26 two-bedroom, 14-three bedroom units). All units would be dedicated as affordable for people with very low incomes: four units for households who make 25% or less of area median income, 13 units at 30% area median income, 19 at 40% and 16 at 50%. One unit would be for the manager.
Six of the apartments would be preferentially rented to people with developmental disabilities.
A 100-space parking lot
Very-low income units are rarely built in Watsonville. As of July, Watsonville staff had permitted 21 affordable units in about five years. State requirements call for Watsonville to permit an additional 148 very-low income units by the end of 2023.
Capitola City Council
7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25 Online or by phone
Library project delayed at cost of $582,000
The new Capitola Branch Library is expected to finish construction in April, more than one year behind schedule, according to a city staff report. Rain and a conflict between Pacific Gas & Electric Co. utility lines and construction work has delayed the project, staff wrote. The contractor has charged the city more than $582,000 for delays caused by city documents that placed the building too close to the wires. PG&E was forced to move the wires, city staff wrote. The council is expected to vote on the cost increase. The project remains within budget, according to the staff report.
The council also will consider budget principles and goals for fiscal year 2021-2022. The council will name key projects and programs.
The council will discuss the city’s memorial plaque and bench program. City staff are almost out of spaces to place memorial plaques and benches because most people request locations with ocean views. The council may consider new locations such as Cliff Avenue on Depot Hill. Staff said the areas have potential concerns.
Santa Cruz Local is producing a podcast series on distance learning and the state of education in Santa Cruz County. Your input will guide our reporting.
