[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:03]
IT'S 5:00. I'M CALLING TONIGHT'S MEETING TO ORDER.
ALL FIVE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE PRESENT.
NEXT IS THE PLEDGE CUB SCOUT PACK 770 PLEASE STAND AND COUNCIL, PLEASE STAND.
OKAY, CUB SCOUTS. PLEASE LEAD US.
[INAUDIBLE]. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
THANK YOU. NEXT IS PRESENTATIONS.
[PRESENTATIONS]
THE FIRST ONE WILL BE BY COUNCIL MEMBER BURKHOLDER PRESENTING BOB DIXON, SCOUTMASTER OF TROOP 748.I'M ESPECIALLY PLEASED TO BE GIVING YOU ALL THIS PRESENTATION AND PROCLAMATION, HAVING TWO BOY SCOUTS THAT ARE ABSENT BECAUSE THEY'RE IN SPORTS, BUT IT HIGHLIGHTS THE FLEXIBILITY OF SCOUTING AND THAT YOU CAN DO MORE THAN ONE THING.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO JUST DO SCOUTING.
SO I APPRECIATE THAT A PART OF BOY SCOUTS AND I WILL READ THE PRESENTATION AND THEN CALL MR. DIXON. THIS IS A PROCLAMATION.
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN CARLSBAD.
WHEREAS THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA PROVIDES YOUTH PROGRAMS OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND VALUES BASED LEADERSHIP TRAINING, WHICH HELPS YOUNG PEOPLE BE PREPARED FOR LIFE. AND WHEREAS THE BOY SCOUTS ARE COMPOSED OF MORE THAN 1 MILLION YOUTH MEMBERS BETWEEN THE AGES OF FIVE AND 21, AND MORE THAN 628,000 VOLUNTEERS IN LOCAL COUNCILS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND ITS TERRITORIES.
AND WHEREAS THE BOY SCOUTS FIRST ESTABLISH A PRESENCE IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA OF CARLSBAD IN 1923, AND THEY ARE CELEBRATING THEIR CENTENNIAL IN CARLSBAD IN 2023.
AND WHEREAS IN 1927, THE BOY SCOUTS BEGAN HOLDING MEETINGS AT THE SCOUTING CENTER IN HOLIDAY PARK TO TEACH OUTDOOR SKILLS, LEADERSHIP AND GOOD CITIZENSHIP TO HUNDREDS OF SCOUTS.
AND WHEREAS IT IS THE MISSION OF THE BOY SCOUTS TO PREPARE YOUNG PEOPLE TO MAKE ETHICAL AND MORAL CHOICES OVER THEIR LIFETIMES BY INSTILLING IN THEM THE VALUES OF THE SCOUT OATH AND SCOUT LAW.
AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF CARLSBAD VALUES THE CONTRIBUTIONS BOY SCOUTS MAKE TO THE CARLSBAD COMMUNITY.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, COUNCIL MEMBER MELANIE BURKHOLDER ON BEHALF OF THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL, COMMEND THE PAST AND PRESENT SCOUTS, SCOUT PARENTS AND SCOUT LEADERS OF THE BOY SCOUTS FOR THEIR DEDICATION TO THEIR MISSION AND LONG AND VALUABLE SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY OF CARLSBAD.
MR. DIXON. IF YOU'D LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
I FEEL LIKE HALF OF THOSE 628,000 VOLUNTEERS ARE HERE.
WELL, I JUST WANT TO ECHO A LITTLE BIT OF THAT.
THANKS TO ALL THE PARENTS AND THE SCOUTS AND ALL THE TRAINED LEADERS THAT WE HAVE THAT HAVE BEEN MAKING IT WORK SO WELL IN CARLSBAD FOR MANY YEARS AND I WISH I HAD TIME TO INTRODUCE AND THANK EVERYBODY.
BUT IT'S THE MAJORITY OF THE GROUP HERE.
AND IT'S JUST SO MUCH BETTER A COMMUNITY BECAUSE OF ALL THE WORK THAT EVERYBODY PUTS INTO THIS.
AND WE'RE RAISING SOME FINE YOUNG MEN AND NOW WOMEN, YOUNG WOMEN AS WELL.
SO WE'LL KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND WE'LL DO THIS AGAIN IN ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS.
I INVITE MAYOR PRO TEM BHAT-PATEL TO PRESENT TO CATHY PUCHER, THE CHAIR OF STARTUP SAN DIEGO.
AND IT'S MY PLEASURE TONIGHT TO RECOGNIZE THIS WEEK AS SAN DIEGO STARTUP WEEK IN THE REGION.
CATHY PUCHER, CHAIR OF THE STARTUP SAN DIEGO BOARD, IS HERE WITH US.
AND IF YOU WERE DOWN IN THE VILLAGE YESTERDAY AROUND THE NEW VILLAGE ARTS, YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN HER AND A FEW HUNDRED ENTREPRENEURS, FOUNDERS AND STARTUP ENTHUSIASTS THAT WERE GETTING INSPIRED HERE IN CARLSBAD.
AND STARTUPS AREN'T JUST TECH COMPANIES OR CODERS WITH A GOOD IDEA.
IN FACT, IN THE PAST TEN YEARS OR SORRY, IN THE PAST YEAR, TEN CARLSBAD STARTUPS AND INNOVATION COMPANIES HAVE RAISED MORE THAN $17.4 MILLION IN CAPITAL TO HELP THEM GROW. AND CARLSBAD HAS BEEN A HOTBED FOR ENTREPRENEURS, STARTUPS AND THE NEXT GENERATION OF COMPANIES THAT WILL POWER OUR ECONOMY.
[00:05:06]
AS SOMEBODY WHO'S MARRIED TO AN ENTREPRENEUR, I KNOW HOW MUCH WORK GOES INTO IT.AND WHEREAS STARTUPS ARE A CORE PART OF THE CITY'S INNOVATION ECONOMY, DRIVING NEW INVESTMENT, HIGH WAGE JOBS, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, AND PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT CHANGE THE WORLD. AND WHEREAS IN THE PAST YEAR, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, TEN CARLSBAD STARTUPS AND INNOVATION COMPANIES RAISED MORE THAN 17.4 MILLION IN CAPITAL TO USE FOR FURTHER GROWTH. AND WHEREAS STARTUP SAN DIEGO, AN ORGANIZATION SUPPORTING STARTUP ACTIVITY IN THE GREATER SAN DIEGO REGION, CREATED SAN DIEGO STARTUP WEEK IN 2013.
AND WHEREAS, THROUGH THE FOCUS OF ACCESSIBILITY, STARTUP WEEK BREAKS DOWN BARRIERS FOR THOUSANDS OF FOUNDERS, TALENT, VETERANS, STUDENTS AND GOVERNMENT BY HOSTING EVENTS AND CONNECTING INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES WITH RESOURCES.
AND WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO INVITE MISS PUCHER TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE RECOGNITION.
SO I WANT TO THANK THE CITY OF CARLSBAD FOR SUPPORTING OUR KICKOFF YESTERDAY, AND I WANT TO ESPECIALLY THANK MATT STANFORD FOR ALL HIS SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT SO THAT WE COULD MAKE YESTERDAY HAPPEN.
SO YESTERDAY THE STREETS OF DOWNTOWN CARLSBAD WAS AMAZING.
IT HAD SUCH A HIGH ENERGY, AND YOU HAD PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER NORTH COUNTY AND BEYOND ENJOYING THE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM FROM A VIEWPOINT OF CARLSBAD.
WE BROUGHT EVERYONE TOGETHER AND REALLY CELEBRATED THE ECOSYSTEM FOR STARTUPS, AND ENJOYED THE IMPACT THAT THE STARTUP COMMUNITY HAS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AS YOU MENTIONED, STARTUP WEEK IS A WEEK, SO WE KICKED OFF YESTERDAY.
AND THEN ON THURSDAY WE'RE HOSTED AT SDSU WHERE I WORK.
AND THEN WE'LL BE AT QUALCOMM ON FRIDAY AND ENJOY THE CELEBRATION TO END IT AT QUALCOMM AS WELL.
WE'VE HAD OVER 1400 REGISTRATIONS.
WE THINK THAT OVER 400 ENJOYED THE STREETS AND THE ACTIVITY IN CARLSBAD YESTERDAY.
WHAT DID THEY ENJOY? WE HAD OVER 500 EXPOS OF DIFFERENT STARTUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING STARTUPS AT THE TABLES AT PURE BREWERY.
WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO WALK UP AND GET MENTORING.
WE HAD A BUILT IN NORTH COUNTY PANEL, AND WE HAD THE FOUNDER OF YORI SPEAK ABOUT JUST AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY TO GET TO WHERE HE IS NOW AND I ENJOY HIS CLOTHES VERY MUCH.
AND THEN FABULOUS NETWORKING AND SO MUCH MORE.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE RECOGNITION AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE IN CARLSBAD.
WE'RE GOING TO DO A GROUP PHOTO.
AFTER THE BOY SCOUTS INVITE ALL THE SCOUTS TO COME FORWARD WITH ALL THE SCOUTS.
ANYBODY WHO'S INVOLVED IN THE SCOUTS, INCLUDING PARENTS, COME ON UP RIGHT UP HERE.
AND WE'RE GOING TO STAND BEHIND.
[00:16:32]
. WELL, THAT WAS FUN.[00:16:35]
NEXT IS PUBLIC COMMENT.[PUBLIC COMMENT]
I HAVE TO READ THE FOLLOWING.THE BROWN ACT ALLOWS ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC TO COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA.
PLEASE TREAT OTHERS WITH COURTESY, CIVILITY AND RESPECT.
NO ACTION CAN OCCUR ON ANY OF THESE ITEMS. WE WELCOME CLAPPING DURING THE CEREMONIAL PRESENTATIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
THE CLERK WILL CALL YOUR NAME, COME UP TO THE PODIUM.
YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES AT THE 2.5 MINUTE MARK, THE LIGHT WILL TURN YELLOW.
THAT'S GIVING YOU A NOTICE THAT YOU ONLY HAVE 30S LEFT.
TO BE FAIR, EVERYBODY GETS THE SAME THREE MINUTES.
I'VE ASKED THE CLERK TO TURN OFF THE MICROPHONE AT THE CONCLUSION OF THOSE THREE MINUTES.
PLEASE CALL THE FIRST SPEAKER, MARY LUCID, FOLLOWED BY LINDA DANIELS.
IT'S SO TOUCHING TO SEE THE SERVICE PEOPLE HERE, THE SCOUTS, THE PEOPLE THAT GIVE BACK TO OTHERS.
I'M REALLY ENCOURAGED BY THAT.
THE SENIOR CENTER NEEDS HELP, AND I INVITE ALL COUNCIL PEOPLE TO BROADEN THEIR VIEW.
AND HOPEFULLY SCOTT CHADWICK CAN HELP THEM WITH THE SPEEDING UP, YOU KNOW, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE FOR SENIORS, AND THEY CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO COMMENT CARDS OR RESPOND TO COMMENT CARDS.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO? WE CAN GET PEOPLE INVOLVED IN COMING TO THE SENIOR CENTER.
MAYOR KEITH BLACKBURN, YOU'RE A POWERFUL PERSON HERE.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE SENIOR CENTER LATELY? BECAUSE WE'D LIKE TO HAVE YOU COME AND HAVE LUNCH, SEE THINGS AND MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP THE SENIORS AND TO IT'S SUCH AN ASSET TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.
WHEN'S IT GOING TO GET DONE? YOU HAVE THE POWER AND THE INTELLIGENCE, AND I UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE THE MONEY, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING BECAUSE YOU DON'T SEE IT AT THE SENIOR CENTER.
YOU DON'T SEE THAT AND WE NEED TO SEE THAT.
[00:20:01]
THE SENIORS NEED SOME GAMES, SOME PEOPLE TO INTERACT, AND, I DON'T KNOW, JUST TALK TO THEM AND FEEL WELCOME.THEY WERE CLOSING OFF THE CAFETERIA, BUT NOW ERIC SAYS HE'S GOING TO ALLOW SENIORS TO BE THERE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT [INAUDIBLE] IS GOING TO SAY, MUCH LESS KYLE LANCASTER, BUT HOPEFULLY.
THE CITY COUNCIL CAN ENCOURAGE THAT, SO THAT MORE SENIORS CAN TALK TO OTHER SENIORS AND HAVE FUN AND INVITE THE PUBLIC IN. SO THE SENIOR CENTER IS OPEN.
SO PLEASE COME TO THE SENIOR CENTER AND PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO PLAY SOME GAMES WITH SENIORS.
ALL THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO HOBBLE UP.
LINDA DANIELS, TEN YEAR RESIDENT OF CARLSBAD.
CHRISTINA KAY GOT RIGHT BACK TO ME AND THEY THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA.
IT IS A WAY TO EDUCATE OUR RESIDENTS AS TO HOW THEY MIGHT APPLY FOR REBATES AND INCENTIVES FOR MANY SOURCES, INCLUDING FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AVENUES, WHICH MAY VERY WELL INCREASE INCREASE THE USE OF HEAT PUMPS AND ALL THE OTHER KINDS OF APPLIANCES AND HOME, WE CAN KEEP OUR RESIDENTS INFORMED.
RESIDENTS WANT TO KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING TO CURB OUR GREENHOUSE GASES AND TO MEET OUR GOALS.
SOME OF US HAVE ALREADY MET TOGETHER, 350 SAN DIEGO, SDBEC WHICH SAN DIEGO BUILDING ELECTRIFICATION COALITION AND THE SIERRA CLUB TO ADDRESS SOME ISSUES WE WILL BE DISCUSSING WITH KATIE LATER THIS WEEK.
THE MOST IMPORTANT OF WHICH IS HOW TO PAY FOR THE REBATES AND INCENTIVES AND PILOT PROJECTS THAT ARE LAID OUT AS ACTION ITEMS. GOALS ARE GREAT, BUT HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THEM? WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM TO ADVANCE THESE REBATES AND INCENTIVES? HOW WILL THEY BE IMPLEMENTED? IMPLEMENTATION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF A CAP PLAN.
FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S ELECTRIC LEAF BLOWERS THAT ARE PROPOSED.
THEY'RE MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE THAN GAS.
THEY'RE QUIETER, SO THERE'S NO NEED TO WEAR EAR PLUGS ANYMORE.
AND BECAUSE THERE'S NO GAS COMING OUT, THE GUYS CAN NOT WEAR MASKS ANYMORE.
THE WORST THING ABOUT THE ENCINITAS IS ONE IT DOESN'T GET ENFORCED.
THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO HAS AN EXTREMELY DETAILED CAP WHICH OUTLINES THE PLAN THE CITY LEAD.
IT COULD BE HOUSING PARTNERSHIPS LIKE WITH SEQUA, EPA, THE IRA, WHERE THE MONEY COULD COME FROM, ESTIMATED COSTS, AND FINALLY THE STATUS IN PROGRESS ONGOING NOT STARTED.
I'D VERY MUCH LIKE TO SEE OUR PLAN INCLUDE HOW WE WILL BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE OUR GHG EMISSION GOALS.
THE EPA IS WORKING WITH SEQUA ON CLIMATE SOLUTION PLANNING GRANTS CSBG.
IT'S A REGIONAL WAY TO GRANT MONEY.
LET'S BE SURE TO JUMP ON THIS.
REMEMBER, OUR GOAL IS TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES.
HELLO. I'VE BEEN COMING DOWN HERE FOR THE WINDSOR POINT APARTMENTS.
LAST FRIDAY, YOU FOLKS HAD A SHOOTING DOWNTOWN A BLOCK AND A HALF AWAY FROM MY HOUSE.
THEY BLOCKED OFF THE ROADS AND STUFF LIKE THAT ON IT.
SUNDAY NIGHT, ME AND MY WIFE WERE COMING HOME FROM A CONCERT IN SAN DIEGO.
THAT WAS AN EXPERIENCE I DON'T WANT TO TRY AGAIN.
[00:25:04]
NOW, SAME THING IS HAPPENING, STARTING TO HAPPEN HERE IN CARLSBAD, RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.EVERYBODY'S GOING INTO THE SMART AND FINAL TRASH CANS.
AND THEN THEY'RE COMING OUT WITH A BUNCH OF STUFF, BUT THEY'RE STAYING IN THERE AND THEY'RE SMOKING.
THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF STUFF ON A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
I WANTED TO SHOW PICTURES, BUT I CAN'T.
I WENT TO ENCINITAS BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO THEY'RE PARKING OUTSIDE.
MY DAD'S HAD A BARBER SHOP OUT THERE SINCE 1980, 40 OR 43 YEARS.
I WANT TO PUT THAT I'LL SHOW YOU FOLKS THAT THE ALL THE STUFF THAT THEY HAVE OUT IN THE FRONT.
I HAVE THE GENTLEMAN, MR. ROGERS, FROM WINDSOR POINT APARTMENTS, WHICH IS FALLING DOWN, SLEEPING IN MY FRONT YARD.
I HAVE TO GO OUT THERE MY IN-LAWS HAVE BEEN THERE SINCE 1900S, 1913, AND SHE HAS TO CALL ME OVER SO I CAN GET THAT GUY OUT OF HER YARD AND STUFF.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON HERE TO FIX THAT AREA THERE.
BUT I WANT TO SHOW IT TO YOU FOLKS, BUT I CAN'T.
THERE'S PICTURES. I HAVE HUNDREDS OF PICTURES THAT I WANT TO SHOW YOU, BUT I CAN'T.
SO HOW DO I GET THOSE TO CHANGE IT SO SOMEBODY FROM US CAN GO OUT THERE AND PUT IT ON THERE.
YOU'RE GOING TO PUT THERE IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE.
DO YOU HAVE THE HIGH RISE ACROSS THE STREET? 5 MILLION, 4 MILLION, 3 MILLION APARTMENTS, CONDOMINIUMS. THEY'RE RIGHT NEXT TO THEM.
HOW YOU GOT THEM IN THERE? BUT YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR MIDDLE CLASS.
AND SHE CAN'T. SHE'S NOT A MILLIONAIRE.
SHE CAN'T AFFORD A MID INCOME HOUSING IN OUR AREA.
IT'S TOO HOT. SHE HAS TWO HUSKIES.
SO HOW DO I GET YOU FOLKS TO CHANGE THE THINGS SO I CAN SHOW YOU FILMS AND VIDEOS AND PICTURES.
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO WHERE TO START.
WILL YOU TALK TO HER? SHE WILL HELP YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO BE ABLE TO SHOW US THE PICTURES, WHETHER IT BE ON SCREEN OR WHETHER IT BE JUST PICTURES THAT WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS.
THANK YOU. NEXT IS CONSENT CALENDAR.
[CONSENT CALENDAR]
DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR? YES. WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER ON ITEM NUMBER 2.PLEASE CALL THAT SPEAKER MARY LUCID.
HELLO. I'M SO GRATIFIED TO HEAR THAT SCOTT CHADWICK ACTUALLY RESPONDED IN A POSITIVE MANNER, BECAUSE I'M CERTAINLY ASKING HIM TO COME TO THE SENIOR CENTER.
THE FOOD USED TO BE MORE PLENTIFUL AND I UNDERSTAND COVID, TV TRAYS.
BUT NOW LET'S HAVE SOME ICE CREAM SANDWICHES.
HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST? LET'S HAVE A LITTLE SALAD BOWL.
BACK TO THE GOLD STANDARD THAT SOME PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE EXISTS.
WE DON'T NEED TO BE TOLD WELL, WE'RE WORKING ON IT.
YOU KNOW, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE FOR SENIORS.
AND IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO SPEND, WHY NOT UPGRADE AND SERVE SALADS, SERVE DESSERTS? DO MORE.
WHO'S OVERSEEING THAT? YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF POWAY GOT A FOUR NO, $20 MILLION GRANT TO FOR THE ARTS OVER A FOUR YEAR PERIOD FOR THE STATE FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
WE DON'T HAVE GYM EQUIPMENT OUTSIDE.
WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? WE NEED IT.
WE NEED MORE SUPERVISION AT THE SENIOR CENTER TO UPGRADE THE STANDARDS THAT WERE PRE-COVID
[00:30:10]
AND THE EXCUSES THAT ARE GIVEN.WELL. SOME PEOPLE GET BIG BUCKS TO MANAGE THE EMPLOYEES, SO MAYBE THEY COULD BE TAUGHT HOW TO DO IT BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY.
SO LET'S FIND IT AND LET'S UPGRADE THE SERVICE AND LET'S NOT BE NEGATIVE.
ISN'T THAT A WORD WE USE AROUND HERE? THIS IS A POSITIVE CITY WITH SENIORS WHO NEED AND DESERVE A LITTLE BIT OF JOY IN THEIR LIFE.
NOT OH WELL, WE'VE GOT PAPERWORK TO DO.
OH NO. WELL, WE CAN'T DO THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHO WANTS TO HEAR THAT? THAT'S NOT VERY POSITIVE AND WE HAVE VERY SMART PEOPLE WHO ARE PAID A LOT OF MONEY TO OVERSEE AND HELP THE SENIORS.
CONTINUE ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR, AS ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS WISH TO PULL A ONE OF THE ITEMS. OKAY MOTION PLEASE MOVE CONSENT ITEMS ONE THROUGH TWO.
[3. ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. CS-460 – NON-STOREFRONT RETAIL MEDICINAL CANNABIS DELIVERY SERVICE BUSINESSES]
YEAH, THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME WE TITLE THE ORDINANCES STARTING AT YOUR NEXT MEETING, YOUR NEW CHAPTER 120 WILL BE IN EFFECT.SO THIS IS AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 8.90, ADDING CHAPTER 8.95 AND REPEALING SECTION 5.040.160 OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE TO ALLOW NON STOREFRONT RETAIL MEDICINAL CANNABIS DELIVERY SERVICE BUSINESSES CONSISTENT WITH THE MEDICINAL CANNABIS PATIENTS RIGHT TO ACCESS ACT, ALSO REFERRED TO AS SENATE BILL 1186.
ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON THIS? MOTION PLEASE.
MOVE ADOPTION OF THE ORDINANCE AS RECITED BY THE CITY ATTORNEY.
SECOND. PLEASE, VOTE. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[4. ANNUAL CARLSBAD SISTER CITY PROGRAM UPDATE]
ITEM NUMBER FOUR.CITY MANAGER, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS THE ANNUAL CARLSBAD SISTER CITY PROGRAM UPDATE AND MAKING OUR PRESENTATION, OR AT LEAST INTRODUCING OUR PRESENTER AS OUR LEGISLATIVE AND CONSTITUENT SERVICES DIRECTOR, SHEILA COBIAN.
SHEILA, GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I HAVE A, HERE IT IS [INAUDIBLE].
FORWARD MEANS SOMETHING LIKE THE GREEN BUTTON.
OKAY, WE'RE A MEMBER OF SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL, AND THOSE OF YOU WHO'VE HEARD MY HARANGUES BEFORE KNOW THAT IT'S PART OF WHAT DWIGHT EISENHOWER STARTED IN 1956. IT'S CITIZEN TO CITIZEN DIPLOMACY, AND WE'RE DOING IT MOSTLY NOW WITH HIGH SCHOOL KIDS.
SO WHAT WE'VE GOT IS OUR MISSION IS TO TAKE CARLSBAD TO THE WORLD AND BRING THE WORLD TO CARLSBAD.
AND WE'RE DOING IT MOSTLY THROUGH CARLSBAD HIGH SCHOOL IN SAGE CREEK HIGH SCHOOL.
SO OUR FUTTSU HAS BEEN OUR SISTER CITY SINCE 1988.
I'LL GET INTO THAT BRIEFLY A LITTLE BIT.
I MENTIONED MR. YOSHIRO FUJIMURA BECAUSE HE IS A HEROIC PERSON.
I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO GO INTO A SUMMARY OF WHAT HE DID, BUT I REFER YOU TO OUR WEBSITE AND THAT'S ALSO TRUE FOR OTHER SISTER CITY MR. JIRI SLACH WITHIN DAYS AFTER THE VELVET REVOLUTION SOUGHT OUT ESTABLISHING A SISTER CITY BETWEEN KARLOVY VARY OR CARLSBAD, AS WAS KNOWN FOR 500 YEARS AND US.
SO HE'S ALSO HIS STORY IS THERE AS WELL.
OUR ANNUAL PROGRAMS INCLUDE THE YOUNG ARTISTS AND AUTHORS SHOWCASES WHERE WE GIVE AWARDS.
EXCUSE ME, SISTER CITY INTERNATIONAL GIVES REWARDS TO STUDENTS FOR POETRY, ART AND SO ON.
THAT'S RIHANNA DOHERTY AND ISAAC DANON, HEY, HELLO.
[00:35:03]
THEY WERE ESCORTED ON A TRIP THIS SUMMER TO FUTTSU BY OUR SECRETARY, DIRECTOR AND ARTIST WHO IS SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO HER.THAT'S LAUREN BARKER, AND ALSO RIHANNA'S MOTHER IS ALSO A DIRECTOR.
OH MY GOODNESS, THERE'S SO MUCH I CAN SAY, BUT TIME ISN'T AVAILABLE.
WE ALSO HAVE THE RINGING OF PEACE BELLS PROGRAM, WHICH WE HAVE DONE SINCE IT HAPPENED.
LET ME SEE [INAUDIBLE] MOVE RIGHT AHEAD.
OKAY. IN THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA, WE DID A PEACE BELL RINGING.
AND WE TRIED TO DO THAT EVERY FEW YEARS.
PEACE, AS WE KNOW MORE AND MORE IS NEEDS TO BE WORKED ON.
OUR FIVE STUDENTS THERE, THERE'S ISAAC ON THE LEFT.
THEY WENT TO FUTTSU THIS SUMMER.
THEY SPENT TEN DAYS IN HOMES AND RIHANNA'S RIGHT NEXT TO HIM.
I'M SHOOTING THROUGH THIS RATHER QUICKLY SO THAT WE CAN SEE THEM.
IN ONE CASE WITH A MASTER SWORDSMAN, THESE ARE TWO SAGE CREEK STUDENTS FROM A PREVIOUS VISIT.
AND TO THE RIGHT, ALSO WITH MASTER MAMAS, YOU LIVE WITH THE KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS IN THEIR HOMES.
YOU SLEEP ON TATAMI MATS OR BEDS, WHATEVER IS AVAILABLE.
OUR KIDS EXPERIENCE AN IMMERSION IN A BEAUTIFUL CULTURE.
WE ALSO TEACH THEM ENGLISH IN THESE CLASSROOMS, THAT'S THERE.
YOU SEE RIHANNA SITTING IN THE FRONT HERE.
WE HAVE CULTURAL IMMERSION, AS I MENTIONED, MEDITATION.
WE'VE GOT MARTIAL ARTS AND BEHIND THE TIMES SLOT IS A SHRINE WITHIN A HOME.
THE JAPANESE HOMES HAVE THE SHINTO OR BUDDHIST AND OR SOMETIMES BOTH SHRINES.
YOU GET TO SEE THAT AND FEEL IT WHEN YOU LIVE IN THEIR HOMES.
THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH THAT WE'VE DONE.
AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS WAS THE MARVELOUS RECEPTION WE HAD WITH OUR MAYOR PRO TEM MADE A PROCLAMATION AND WE HAD MARIACHI MUSIC. WE HAD TAIKO DRUMS SHAKING THE EARTH.
WE HAD VERY GOOD, LOVELY FOOD CONTRIBUTED BY RUBIO'S, ONE OF MY FAVORITES, LEGOLAND.
THEN THE NEXT DAY ARE VERY TALENTED.
MAYOR ADDED TO HIS RESUME THE TITLE OF BRICKLAYER.
HE HELPED US OUT WITH CONSTRUCTING A BEAUTIFUL PIECE, WHICH WE HOPE TO SHOW YOU LATER.
LEGOLAND SPONSOR THAT FOR US AGAIN, WE'VE HAD GREAT SUPPORT AND I'M DOWN TO 13 SECONDS.
SO LET ME SAY WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE DOING A REACH OUT, AND WE ARE DOING IT WITH IRELAND TO TRY AND GET A FUTURE SISTER REGION CONNECTION ACROSS THE BORDER IN IRELAND.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL? MS. ACOSTA.
THANK YOU, I WANTED TO THANK YOU, MR. HASSAN, AND ALL THE FOLKS AND THE STUDENTS FROM SISTER CITIES.
I THINK THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PROGRAM.
AND THEN WIT FUTTSU, IT'S SO EXCITING THAT WE HAVE THIS OTHER PROGRAM AS WELL THAT IS SO VIBRANT.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
MISS BHAT-PATEL? YES, THANK YOU AND THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION AND UPDATE.
IT WAS REALLY AWESOME TO HEAR ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES AND ALSO WATCH SOME OF YOUR EXPERIENCES.
SO REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. BUT YES, I LOVE THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S A CULTURAL IMMERSION HAPPENING WITHIN OUR OWN COMMUNITY AND THAT WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT DIFFERENT CULTURES. SO REALLY APPRECIATE THAT ASPECT OF THINGS.
AND THANKS AGAIN FOR WHAT YOU ALL DO.
[00:40:09]
HOUR. TOM, THANK YOU FOR DOING WHAT YOU DO.[5. REPORT ON TRAFFIC SAFETY IN CARLSBAD, INCLUDING TRENDS, IMPROVEMENTS COMPLETED AND NEXT STEPS FOLLOWING THE TRAFFIC SAFETY EMERGENCY]
NEXT IS ITEM NUMBER 5.I WILL BE MAKING THE PRESENTATION.
AND I'VE GOT A LITTLE HELP FROM SOME FRIENDS.
ALL RIGHT. WELL, UNLIKE OUR PREVIOUS PRESENTATIONS, THE ONLY RECOMMENDED ACTION TONIGHT IS TO RECEIVE THE REPORT BECAUSE THE CITY IS LOCAL TRAFFIC SAFETY EMERGENCY ENDED ON SEPTEMBER 8TH.
WE ARE NOW ABLE TO BRING YOU A FULL 12 MONTHS OF DATA TO SHOW WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, HOW WE WILL CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE THE IMPORTANT ISSUE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY AS PART OF OUR DAILY MISSION.
NOW LOOKING BACK, E-BIKE USE INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND ONCE SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES BEGAN TO REOPEN AND MORE CARS WERE ON THE ROAD, WE STARTED TO HEAR CONCERNS ABOUT SAFETY AND THE DATA UNFORTUNATELY SHOWED A TROUBLING INCREASE IN COLLISIONS.
NOW, THE VERY REAL HUMAN IMPACT HIT HOME WHEN, UNFORTUNATELY, WE ALL EXPERIENCED TWO FATAL COLLISIONS OVER THE COURSE OF TEN DAYS BACK IN THAT FATEFUL AUGUST OF 2022.
NOW, I DON'T THINK ANYONE WILL EVER FORGET THE FAMILY MEMBERS WHO STOOD BEFORE US IN THIS CHAMBER.
THEIR PAIN WAS UNIMAGINABLE AND IT REALLY WAS SHARED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
E-BIKE SAFETY, THOUGH, WAS NOT A NEW ISSUE BY THAT POINT.
AND NOW WE WERE ENTERING BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON.
THE FIRST FULL RETURN TO IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION SINCE THE PANDEMIC HAD STARTED.
THIS WOULD MEAN THOUSANDS OF CARS ON LOCAL STREETS, RIGHT ALONGSIDE BIKES AND E-BIKES.
AND I WILL ADMIT THAT THIS WAS SOMEWHAT OF AN UNUSUAL APPROACH TO TAKE, BUT WE FELT VERY CONFIDENT THAT OUR DATA SUPPORTED THE FINDINGS THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED. CONDITIONS OF EXTREME PERIL TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY WERE THREATENING OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEY REQUIRED AN IMMEDIATE AND FOCUSED RESPONSE.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF OUR LOCAL EMERGENCY RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT MEDIA COVERAGE, AND WE PARTNERED WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS TO QUICKLY GET THE WORD OUT DIRECTLY TO OUR PARENTS, TO PARENTS. AND WITHIN THOSE FIRST FEW WEEKS, THERE WERE TANGIBLE CHANGES FROM INCREASED TRAFFIC PATROLS, SPEED FEEDBACK SIGNS, DIGITAL MESSAGE BOARDS AND GREEN PAINT ADDED TO BIKE LANES, BANNERS AND SAFETY CLASSES.
AND JUST LIKE ANY OTHER EMERGENCY, THIS WAS A 24/7 OPERATION.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO LAUNCHING THE IMMEDIATE ACTIONS, THE TEAM WORKED TOGETHER TO CREATE THIS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WHICH WE ULTIMATELY COMMITTED TO BRING BACK BEFORE CITY COUNCIL WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE RATIFICATION OF THAT LOCAL EMERGENCY.
THE PLAN WAS BUILT AROUND THE THREE E'S OF TRAFFIC SAFETY EDUCATION, ENGINEERING AND ENFORCEMENT.
I DO WANT TO SPEND A LITTLE TIME GOING OVER WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED IN EACH OF THESE AREAS.
BUT FIRST, I'D LIKE TO GET THROUGH THE HEADLINE OF TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION, AND THAT'S THE RESULTS.
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 12 MONTHS WORTH OF DATA? THE SHORT ANSWER IS WE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE ACROSS ALL MODES OF TRAVEL.
INJURY COLLISIONS ARE DOWN 13% YEAR OVER YEAR.
NOW, I ALSO WANT TO EMPHASIZE THIS IS A YEAR'S WORTH OF DATA.
THE MORE DATA WE GET, THE BETTER WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE THIS IS, ALL OF THIS IS HEADED.
AND HERE IS WHAT THE LAST TWO YEARS LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF BIKE AND E-BIKE COLLISIONS ONLY.
[00:45:03]
BECAUSE THE NUMBER OF BICYCLE COLLISIONS IS RELATIVELY SMALL COMPARED TO CITIES OR TO CARS, THE PERCENTAGE CAN CHANGE QUITE A BIT OVER TIME.NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE SPECIFIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM OUR SAFER STREETS TOGETHER PLAN, WHICH WAS PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL LAST SEPTEMBER.
CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZED 12 OR I'M SORRY, 18 NEW ACTIONS PRESENTED IN THE PLAN, AS WELL AS EXPEDITING DOZENS OF PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES THAT WERE ALREADY UNDERWAY.
I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH WHAT A SIGNIFICANT EFFORT THIS HAS BEEN WITH STAFF FROM ALL DEPARTMENTS PLAYING A ROLE, WORKING EITHER DIRECTLY OR BACKFILLING OTHER WORK TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF THE OTHER DAILY SERVICES OF THE CITY CONTINUED AT THE HIGH LEVEL, EVEN AS WE MARSHALED RESOURCES TO ADDRESS THIS EMERGENCY.
WHETHER IT'S OUR TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR OUT ON A SUNDAY INSPECTING A RECENT PROJECT, OR A POLICE OFFICERS WHO ARE PICKING UP EXTRA SHIFTS, OR A COMMUNICATION TEAM PERSONALLY VISITING EVERY SCHOOL IN THE CITY, AND EVEN HAND-DELIVERING YARD SIGNS TO OUR RESIDENTS WHO WANTED THEM.
AND HERE ARE JUST SOME OF THE NUMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH STAFF'S EFFORTS.
TO DATE, NEARLY 12,000 RESIDENTS HAVE MADE A PUBLIC COMMITMENT TO SAFER STREETS.
THAT'S MORE THAN 10% OF OUR POPULATION.
350 BUSINESSES HAVE JOINED THE CAMPAIGN.
ON THE ENGINEERING FRONT, WE HAVE MORE THAN 100 PROJECTS UNDERWAY AND HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED 2552FT OF NEW AND IMPROVED SIDEWALKS AND ENHANCED BIKE LANES AT 43 LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
NOW HERE YOU CAN SEE THESE IMPROVEMENTS ON THE MAP.
AND BEHIND EACH ONE OF THOSE DOTS IS A PROJECT TEAM AND A DESIGN PLAN AND A CONSTRUCTION CREW, AND THE COORDINATION OF PUBLIC NOTIFICATIONS ABOUT DETOURS AND SAFETY INSPECTIONS AND THE LIST GOES ON.
TO BE CLEAR, AND AGAIN, I KNOW I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR ON THIS, BUT THIS WAS AFTER 12 MONTHS.
FINALLY, I DO WANT TO RECOGNIZE OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, WHICH NOT ONLY REDEPLOYED RESOURCES OVERNIGHT TO ENSURE SCHOOLS WERE WELL COVERED DURING THOSE EARLY MONTHS, BUT THEY TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO IMPLEMENT HANDS ON SAFETY TRAINING AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS.
THAT INCLUDES 1065 WRITTEN WARNINGS, 2533 CITATIONS.
THAT IS AN INCREASE OF 129% IN ENFORCEMENT CONTACTS DURING THE EMERGENCY.
I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT 45% OF THE CITATIONS ISSUED DURING THE EMERGENCY WERE CONSIDERED WARNING CITATIONS, MEANING THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE IN WRITING, THEY DIDN'T IMPOSE A FINE.
THAT IS BECAUSE CITATIONS WERE NOT THE REAL GOAL.
WE WEREN'T OUT HERE TO TRY AND BUST PEOPLE.
WE WERE OUT HERE TO TRY AND CHANGE BEHAVIORS.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE DATA TRULY SHOWS THIS.
OF COURSE, WHEN NECESSARY OUR OFFICERS DID ISSUE CITATIONS.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE THAT HOW THOSE BROKE OUT ACROSS ALL MODES OF TRAVEL CARS HAD THE MOST.
BUT THAT IS JUST BECAUSE THAT'S NOT BECAUSE WE WERE TARGETING DRIVERS.
IT'S BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE DRIVERS THAT ARE ON THE ROAD.
E-BIKES WERE HIGHER THAN PEDAL BIKES, WHICH CORRELATES TO THE COMPLAINTS WE TEND TO GET ABOUT RECKLESS DRIVING, AND MANY OF OUR E-BIKE RIDERS MAY LACK THE EXPERIENCE WITH TRAFFIC RULES. IN ALL CASES, OUR OFFICERS TOOK THE TIME TO EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT THE RULES OF THE ROAD WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF IMPROVING TRAFFIC SAFETY.
[00:50:05]
OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT IS ALSO BEHIND ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS TO DATE, WHICH HAS BEEN PARTNERING WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE SPECIFICALLY TAILORED E-BIKE SAFETY CLASSES, WHICH SCHOOLS CAN USE AS A REQUIREMENT TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO PARK THEIR E-BIKES ON CAMPUS.TO DATE, WE'VE OFFERED 24 OF THESE TRAININGS AND WE HAVE OVER 1000 STUDENTS, 1000 STUDENTS THAT HAVE SAFETY CERTIFICATES NOW. FINALLY, WITH CITY COUNCIL SUPPORT, WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED WITH OUR STATE REGULATORS OR OUR STATE LEGISLATORS TO PURSUE OUR NEW E-BIKE REGULATIONS.
AS YOU KNOW, PASSING NEW LEGISLATION AT THE STATE LEVEL CAN TAKE A LITTLE TIME BUT WE HAVE SEEN SOME GOOD PROGRESS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE THOSE EFFORTS. SO BEFORE I WRAP UP, I WOULD LIKE TO ONCE AGAIN THANK CITY COUNCIL FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS.
WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT YOU.
THE COMMUNITY COULDN'T BE IN THE POSITION THAT IT IS IN WITHOUT YOU.
THAT SAID, NOT ONLY HAS CARLSBAD MADE A REAL DIFFERENCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, BUT WE HAVE BEEN SINGLED OUT FOR OUR INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO TRAFFIC SAFETY, EARNING REGIONAL, STATEWIDE AND NATIONAL AWARDS FOR OUR SAFER STREETS TOGETHER PROGRAM.
AND NOT ONLY HAVE DOZENS OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS REACHED OUT TO LEARN ABOUT OUR EFFORT, BUT WE'VE BEEN INVITED TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS PROGRAM AT INDUSTRY CONFERENCES, SHARING WHAT WE'VE LEARNED AND HELP OTHERS ADVANCE THEIR TRAFFIC SAFETY GOALS.
NOW, AS I MENTIONED AT THE ONSET, THE END OF THE LOCAL EMERGENCY SIMPLY MEANS THAT WE'VE SUCCESSFULLY TRANSITIONED OUR EFFORTS BACK INTO OUR DAILY OPERATIONS, THE PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES THAT WE WERE ABLE TO LAUNCH AS A RESULT OF THIS EMERGENCY HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE AND WILL CONTINUE.
NOW, FINALLY, I DO WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE NAME OF OUR CAMPAIGN, WHICH IS SAFER TOGETHER.
AND REALLY, IT STARTS UP HERE WITH CITY COUNCIL, WITH OUR TRAFFIC AND TRAFFIC SAFETY AND MOBILITY COMMISSION, WITH OUR CITY STAFF AND THE MANY COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO STEPPED UP TO DO THEIR PART.
AND ULTIMATELY, OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE WILLING TO TAKE A STAND FOR SAFETY.
SO BEFORE I CONCLUDE THIS PRESENTATION, I DID WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EFFORTS OF THE FOLLOWING KEY MEMBERS OUR TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR, TOM FRANK AND HIS TEAM, OUR COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR CHRISTINA RAY AND HER TEAM CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER DAVID GRAHAM AND HIS TEAM, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES, KIM YOUNG, OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM.
AND WHEN I SAY TEAM, THERE'S TOO MANY TO NAME, BUT IT'S THE FOLKS IN STREETS AND FACILITIES, THE THE FOLKS THAT WERE ACTUALLY DOING A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WAS REQUIRED FOR THIS.
OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, STARTING WITH OUR CHIEFS, OUR CITY ATTORNEY, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, AND OF COURSE, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, JEFF PATERNO, WHO TRULY LED THIS CHARGE FROM DAY ONE TO ITS CONCLUSION.
SO WITH THAT SAID, WE WILL HAVE KEY OR KEY TEAM MEMBERS AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, BUT WE HAVE A WE WOULDN'T BE DOING THIS RIGHT IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A VIDEO TO END THINGS WITH.
SO IF YOU COULD GO AHEAD AND ROLL IT.
[00:55:34]
. THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS? YES. PETE PENSEYRES.GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS PETE PENSEYRES.
I'M AN OCEANSIDE, CARLSBAD RESIDENT, I WAS IN OCEANSIDE FOR WAY TOO LONG.
AND WE I THINK WE HAVE A WAYS TO GO THERE TO DRAW THAT OUT AND MAKE IT WORK FOR US.
BUT JUST HAVING THE RESOLUTION IS A GOOD FIRST START.
I WANT TO THANK ESPECIALLY THE POLICE, FOR SENDING SIX OF THEIR OFFICERS THROUGH THE SMART CYCLING PROGRAM AND THEN TAKING A WEEKEND SEMINAR AND BECOME LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS CERTIFIED INSTRUCTORS.
THEY HAVE A LITTLE CERTIFICATE SO THEY CAN PARK ON CAMPUS.
EVERY TIME A KID RIDES TO SCHOOL, IT TAKES FOUR CARS, FOUR CAR TRIPS OFF THE ROAD.
PARENTS HAVE TO DRIVE THEM DOWN, THEY HAVE TO GO HOME.
THEY DRIVE DOWN, PICK THEM UP AGAIN, BRING THEM HOME.
AND WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO KILL THAT.
SO WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S SAFE.
I WANT TO THANK, ESPECIALLY THE STAFF, THE ENGINEERING STAFF, ALL THE STAFF FOR THIS SAFER STREETS TOGETHER ACTIONS THAT ARE BASED ON THAT THREE LEGGED STOOL, THE EDUCATION, THE ENGINEERING AND ENFORCEMENT THAT WAS TRANSFORMATIONAL.
ANY ONE OF THEM THAT WOULD BE MISSING AND IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK.
SO I GUESS THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
THANKS VERY MUCH. AND LET'S KEEP GOING.
ANY OTHER SPEAKERS? NO, THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? MISS LUNA? YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF MY, YOU KNOW, AFTER A NEW BIRTHDAY, I THINK MY EYES ARE GOING WORSE.
CAN YOU PUT THE SLIDE UP ON THE 22 TO THE 23 COMPARISON, TINA? [INAUDIBLE] I DON'T SEE IT.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT 22 I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M LOOKING AT THIS.
RIGHT. SO JANUARY WE WERE AT WHATEVER 6 OR 7.
AND THEN IN 2023 WE WERE HIGHER.
AND THEN APRIL WE WERE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, MAY A LITTLE HIGHER.
OKAY, SO IT'S SORT OF EVENS OUT.
OKAY. IT EVENS OUT, BUT IT'S STILL LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
OKAY. AND THAT'S AND OF COURSE THAT'S OUR HIGH SEASON, YOU KNOW, MAY JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST.
SO THAT'S SORT OF WHAT I WAS SEEING WAS HAPPENING THERE.
THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? MISS BURKHOLDER, I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION.
THANK YOU. THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL THINGS THAT I'VE SEEN OVER THE COURSE OF MY SHORT TIME ON COUNCIL, BUT MY BOYS WENT THROUGH THE TRAINING AND THEY HAVE THEIR LITTLE CERTIFICATES TO GO ON CAMPUS.
[01:00:02]
OF COURSE ONE'S DRIVING NOW.BUT ANYWAY, SO THE QUESTION I HAVE IS REGARDING THE HAWK SIGNAL AT VALLEY AND TAMARACK.
I'VE LOTS OF CONCERNS FROM CONSTITUENTS THERE.
THANK YOU. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF SLIDES TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
FIRST OFF, REGARDING THAT INTERSECTION AND THAT ROAD SEGMENT.
SO IF YOU REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE EVALUATING THE CONCERNS REGARDING THE HAWK PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL, WE ACTUALLY INCLUDED IN OUR PLAN TRAFFIC CALMING PROJECTS IN THAT SAME SEGMENT.
SO I WANTED TO JUST START OFF AND HIGHLIGHT OUR THREE PHASED APPROACH THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE PLAN.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE'RE JUST KICKING OFF THE TAMARACK AVENUE COMPLETE STREETS PLAN.
NEXT SLIDE. SO THE NEXT STEPS IS WE'RE ALSO, AS MANY ARE AWARE, WE'RE UNDERGOING THE EAST WEST CORRIDORS, STREET RESURFACING AND RESTRIPING PROJECT.
SO AS A PART OF THAT WE'RE RECONFIGURING THE TRAVEL LANES.
AND THAT WILL HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR.
AND WE WILL START THAT THE PUBLIC OUTREACH ON THAT MID NEXT YEAR, MID 2024.
IF WHEN WE DO COLLECT THAT DATA, IF WE DO EVALUATE AND SEE THAT THERE IS A LOWERING OF THE SPEEDS IN DIFFERENT SEGMENTS, WE WILL BRING BACK REPORTS TO THE TRAFFIC MOBILITY COMMISSION, ULTIMATELY TO YOU, THE CITY COUNCIL, FOR RECONSIDERATION, TO SEE IF WE CAN LOWER SPEED LIMITS ALONG CERTAIN SEGMENTS OF THAT ROAD CORRIDOR, SIMILAR TO LIKE WHAT WE DID ON SOUTH CARLSBAD BOULEVARD BETWEEN ISLAND WAY AND SOLIMAR DRIVE.
SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS DIRECTLY, WE DID.
BRING BACK A REPORT TO THE TRAFFIC MOBILITY COMMISSION IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR.
AND AS A PART OF THAT, WE WE COLLECTED DATA IN THE FEBRUARY TIMEFRAME OVER A FOUR DAY PERIOD.
WE ANALYZED WE VIDEO RECORDED THE OPERATIONS OF THAT INTERSECTION, AND THERE WAS OVER 209 DIFFERENT EVENTS, WHICH WE ANALYZED.
AND SO WHAT WE FOUND IN ADDITION TO THE DATA IS WE INTERVIEWED PARENTS AND RESIDENTS AND THE PRINCIPALS AND WE FOUND OVERALL THAT THE SIGNAL IS FUNCTIONING AS INTENDED.
AND WE WILL BE ADDRESSING THOSE CONCERNS AS PART OF THAT TAMARACK TRANSFORMATIVE CORRIDOR PROJECT, THAT COMPLETE STREETS PLAN. SO WITH THAT, WE SINCE THAT STUDY IN APRIL, THERE HAS BEEN ONE ADDITIONAL KNOWN COLLISION REPORT, AND THAT WAS A DUI OF A MOTORCYCLIST THAT HIT ONE OF THE RAISED.
SO WE DID DO A REVIEW OF THE GENERAL AREA OF THE HAWK SIGNAL REGARDING ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY WITH THE CURRENT LIMITATIONS, BASED ON OUR HANDWRITTEN CITATIONS, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO TYPICALLY OUR ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS ARE RECORDED BY LOCATION OF ENFORCEMENT, NOT LOCATION OF VIOLATION. AND SO OFTENTIMES THE TRAFFIC STOP MAY BE SEVERAL BLOCKS DOWN THE ROAD, OR IT MAY ACTUALLY BE ON AN ADJACENT STREET.
SO TO TIE AN ENFORCEMENT ACTION TO A SPECIFIC LOCATION UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM CURRENTLY WOULD REQUIRE ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH EACH CITATION ISSUED BY OFFICERS AND TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHAT LOCATION IT IS.
WE EXPECT THAT TO BE CHANGED AS WE ARE GOING TO START ROLLING OUT OUR E CITATION DEPARTMENT WIDE, WHICH IS GOING TO PROVIDE US THE ABILITY TO HAVE EVERYTHING COMPUTERIZED AS FAR AS OUR DATA FOR ENFORCEMENT GOES.
[01:05:03]
BUT WHETHER THEY'RE TIED SPECIFICALLY TO A VIOLATION OF THE HAWK OR NOT IS WITHOUT GOING PIECE BY PIECE THROUGH EACH ONE WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY.I'VE NEVER GOTTEN A TICKET SO I WOULDN'T KNOW THAT THEY WERE WRITTEN STILL.
WHEN YOU WERE SPEAKING, TOM, IT MADE ME THINK THAT WHEN THE SLIDE THAT HAS THE COMPLETE TAMARAC CORRIDOR ON IT, THE SENTENCE ABOVE THAT THE BULLET POINT ABOVE THAT WAS ABOUT THE SURVEY.
SO I'M UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO ESSENTIALLY RE SURVEY BECAUSE THE SPEED TABLES ARE IN.
I SEE [INAUDIBLE] SHAKING HER HEAD.
SO SAY WITHIN SIX MONTHS WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO EVALUATE THAT.
IF THERE IS, A IF WE DO SEE A LOWERING OF THE 85TH PERCENTILE AND WE ARE ABLE TO REDUCE THE SPEED LIMIT, WE WOULD THEN BRING BACK A REPORT TO THE TRAFFIC SAFETY AND MOBILITY COMMISSION AND THEN ULTIMATELY YOU FOR REVIEW.
OKAY. THANK YOU. AND LAST QUESTION.
SORRY YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT EVENTS AT THE LOCATION.
JUST GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WOULD BE AN EVENT IN YOUR DEPARTMENT.
SO WHEN WE WERE DOING THE EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL, AN EVENT WOULD BE WHEN SOMEONE ACTIVATES THE SIGNAL TO CROSS, HOW THE DRIVER AND THE PEDESTRIANS FUNCTIONED, HOW THEY PERFORMED.
SO REALLY WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR IS IF THE VEHICLE STOPPED APPROPRIATELY OR IF THEY DIDN'T STOP.
OKAY. THANK YOU. THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MISS ACOSTA.
GREAT. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GREAT WORK.
AND I'M SO PLEASED TO SEE THIS REPORT.
I JUST WANTED TO ASK A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S ENDING AND WHAT'S CONTINUING, BECAUSE THE STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARATION IS ENDED AND WE'RE RECEIVING THESE RESULTS.
AND I DID HEAR SOME COMMENTS ABOUT CONTINUING TO MONITOR SOME THINGS.
SO I PROBABLY HAVE A QUESTION FOR EACH OF YOU RELATED TO THAT REALLY QUICKLY.
ARE THERE STILL YARD SIGNS AVAILABLE AT THE LIBRARY IN CITY HALL, OR ARE WE KIND OF JUST CLOSED THAT OUT OR WHAT'S GOING ON? SO WE DID.
HI, KRISTINA RAY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR WE DID JUST REPLENISH OUR SUPPLY.
WE STILL ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO TAKE THE PLEDGE.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE, I GUESS, MAYBE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THIS VERY INTENSIVE EFFORT IS WE HAVE ALL OF THE PRINCIPLES ON SPEED DIAL NOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY CLOSELY WITH THEM, AND THEY'VE BEEN SO GREAT ABOUT SHARING INFORMATION, WHETHER IT'S A TRAINING OR WE'RE JUST ABOUT TO PUT OUT SAFE TIPS FOR HALLOWEEN FOR PEDESTRIANS.
I THINK WHAT YOU'LL SEE THAT'S DIFFERENT, AS OPPOSED TO SOMETHING EVERY SINGLE WEEK COMING OUT MORE RELATED TO HOLIDAY WEEKENDS OR HALLOWEEN OR, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR THAT NEEDS ATTENTION JUST BECAUSE OTHERWISE I THINK PEOPLE MIGHT NOT FOCUS THE WHOLE TIME.
BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY BE CONTINUING WITH ALL OF THAT.
AND THEN WE HAVE ALL THESE PARTNERSHIPS.
SO CERTAINLY WE HAVE PRESCHOOLS.
WE HAVE PLACES OF WORSHIP FAR BEYOND THE SCHOOLS.
SO I THINK IT'S BEEN VERY POSITIVE FROM THAT REGARD.
GREAT. AND RELATED TO THAT, WE HAVE THE MESSAGING SIGNAGE.
SO WILL THOSE CONTINUE TO BE ON OUR STREETS THAT SAY LIKE SLOW DOWN CARLSBAD AND THOSE KINDS OF MESSAGES GRADUALLY PHASE THOSE OUT? THEY ARE STILL AT ALL THE SCHOOL SITES, WHICH IS QUITE A FEW.
AND SO THAT WILL BE SORT OF ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
BUT I DON'T THINK OUR INTENT IS TO KEEP THEM OUT ALL OF THE TIME ANYMORE.
OKAY, GREAT. WELL, I KNOW THEY'RE REALLY HELPFUL ON LACOSTA AVENUE AT THE FIVE AND IT'S STILL THERE.
YES, AND I SAW NEXT DOOR IN ENCINITAS BECAUSE AN [INAUDIBLE] AS WE MERGE FROM ENCINITAS TO CARLSBAD, THEY HAVE THEM ON THEIR SIDE NOW NEAR HOME DEPOT. SO I SEE I'M GLAD THAT THEY ADOPTED A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING OVER THE LAST YEAR BECAUSE THEY'VE HAD SIMILAR SITUATION.
ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. AND THEN SIMILAR QUESTION, WHAT ARE WE CONTINUING TO MONITOR? SO AS WE DO THE RESURFACING AND RESTRIPING FOR MR. FRANK AND OUR TRAFFIC ENGINEERING TEAM WILL BE CONTINUING TO MONITOR THIS AND INCORPORATE THESE STRATEGIES INTO OUR REGULAR WORK.
IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH THAT'S CORRECT, COUNCIL-MEMBER.
[01:10:02]
SO WE HAVE QUITE A QUITE A BIT OF DIFFERENT STUDIES AND PROGRAMS THAT WE COLLECT DATA ON.SO JUST A COUPLE OF THOSE ARE ANNUALLY WE DO ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION COUNTS.
WE DO ANNUAL COUNTS ON OUR ROAD VOLUMES, AND WHEN THERE'S CONCERNS, WE DO SPEED STUDIES AS WELL.
SO AS AN EXAMPLE, WE'D LIKE TO GET BEFORE DATA.
SO WE HAVE A BASELINE TO DO BEFORE AND AFTER STUDY.
WE ALSO HAVE THE LOCAL ROAD SAFETY PLAN, WHICH WILL BE UPDATED PERIODICALLY.
IT'S JUST WE ALSO HAVE IN PLACE LIKE PERMANENTLY SOME ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION USER ACCOUNTS LIKE ALONG THE COASTLINE WHERE WE HAVE HIGH USERS. SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO TO ANNUALLY MONITOR THOSE AND INCLUDE THOSE IN OUR EFFORTS FOR OUR DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. GREAT. THANK YOU. I KNOW THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, THAT I JUST WANT TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON.
AND THEN FOR ENFORCEMENT, TOO.
ONE THING I DIDN'T HEAR TODAY THAT I HAD HEARD BEFORE WAS THE POSITIVE ENFORCEMENT, WHERE OFFICERS WOULD ALSO STOP BICYCLISTS AND BICYCLISTS AND SAY, HEY, YOU'RE DOING GREAT, ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE RIDING THEM LIKE YOU MUST HAVE GONE THROUGH OUR TRAINING.
YOU'RE FOLLOWING ALL THE RULES.
SO WHAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE? ARE WE GOING TO CONTINUE OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE SCHOOLS AND THOSE KINDS OF TRAININGS? THANKS, CHIEF. YES, ABSOLUTELY.
SO WE ABSOLUTELY INTEND TO CONTINUE THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SCHOOLS AS NEW STUDENTS COME IN.
IT'S GOING TO BE A CONSTANT EFFORT TO KEEP THEM EDUCATED AND RIDING SAFELY.
AS YOU KNOW, JUST THIS TODAY ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR WAS A $200,000 GRANT APPROXIMATELY FROM THE OFFICE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY, WHICH IS GOING TO BE A GREAT TOOL FOR THE NEXT YEAR TO PROVIDE US FUNDING TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL EDUCATION AND SPECIFIC ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES BICYCLE SAFETY ENFORCEMENT, MOTORCYCLE, PEDESTRIAN AND DUI.
AND IT ALSO REQUIRES AND IS GOING TO ALLOW US A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITIONAL EDUCATION.
AS FAR AS ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT SPECIFIC TYPES OF ISSUES THAT ARE ON THE ROADWAY.
AND THEN ALSO, AS I MENTIONED, ALSO, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING AND ROLLING OUT DEPARTMENT WIDE OUR E CITATION PROGRAM, WHICH IS GOING TO HELP US WITH OUR ANALYTICAL ABILITY AND ALSO OUR WORKING WITH ENGINEERING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE OVERLAYING OUR ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS WITH THE CRASH DATA WHILE IT'S ALL COMPUTERIZED.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF EXCITING THINGS OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
THANKS. MS. BHAT-PATEL? ANY CLOSING STATEMENTS FROM ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS? MS. LUNA? I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION.
I KNOW SOME OF THIS IS ROLLOVER MONEY THAT WE HAD.
AND SO WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A PLETHORA OF PROGRAMS. AND I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER ACOSTA HIT ON THOSE AND WE HAVE GRANT MONEY COMING IN FOR ENFORCEMENT.
SO OUR 24-25 BUDGET, I KNOW WE ROLLED OVER SOME INTO THIS BUDGET.
WHAT TYPE OF FISCAL IMPACT WILL WE BE HAVING.
DO YOU ANTICIPATE IN THE FUTURE? BECAUSE LET'S JUST ASSUME THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU GO THROUGH THE ROLLOVER MONEY, AND I DO NOTICE YOU DO HAVE IN THE STAFF REPORT NEXT STEPS THAT STAFF WILL CONTINUE TO CARRY OUT PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES IDENTIFIED IN THE SAFER STREETS TOGETHER PLAN AS DIRECTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
WHEN WILL THAT COME BACK TO US AND COUNCIL FOR IF YOU'LL NOTICE, WE'VE OPERATIONALIZED THE MAJORITY OF IT, OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'VE TAKEN, WHETHER IT'S POLICE OVERTIME.
AGAIN, SOME OF THE FUNDING THAT COUNCIL INITIALLY PROVIDED AUTHORIZED THAT WE DID NOT FULLY EXPEND ALL OF THE FUNDS THAT COUNCIL MADE AVAILABLE. SO THOSE ARE THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO CONTINUE TO DO SOME OF THAT.
THERE ARE A COUPLE PURCHASES WHERE THERE ARE HANDHELD CITATION DEVICES FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE PLAN ON USING THOSE ONE TIME FUNDS THAT COUNCIL HAD SET ASIDE.
WE'LL BE BRINGING THAT FORWARD AND THEN CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE GREEN PAINT APPLICATIONS.
BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE ARE OPERATIONALIZING THIS INTO OUR EXISTING SPEND.
MISS LOONEY, HAVE ANY COMMENTS? IT'S STELLAR.
WHAT MORE CAN I SAY? MS. BURKHOLDER.
MS. ACOSTA. JUST ONE MORE THING.
I WANTED TO THANK MR. HABER. I SEE HIM IN THE BACK, OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS DIRECTOR AND THE COUNCIL FOR WORKING ON E-BIKE LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS. WE ADDED THAT TO OUR LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM IN JANUARY AND THE COUNCIL PASSED THAT SO WE HAVEN'T SEEN A LOT OF PROGRESS YET.
[01:15:08]
BUT THERE ARE IDEAS THAT COME TO US THAT ARE NOT WITHIN OUR JURISDICTION, LIKE PEOPLE WILL ASK US, CAN YOU REQUIRE LICENSING FOR E-BIKERS? CAN YOU BAN THEM FOR A CERTAIN AGE AND REQUIRE AN AGE LIMIT LIKE 12 AND UP? THOSE KINDS OF THINGS WE CANNOT DO AT THE CITY, BUT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA CAN.SO WE ARE STARTING TO SEE A LITTLE BIT OF MOVEMENT THERE, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT.
BOTH COUNCIL-MEMBER BURKHOLDER, AND I HAVE BEEN TAKING POSITIONS ON THE LEGISLATION TO SUPPORT LEGISLATION THAT REQUIRES MORE EDUCATION AROUND AROUND E-BIKE RIDING RIDERSHIP AND SOME OF THESE OTHER GREAT IDEAS LIKE STUDIES, WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO AT THE DMV AND THE STATE LEVEL.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU, MR. HABER, AND TO THE COUNCIL FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THAT.
THANK YOU AND THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND OF COURSE, FOR ALL THE AMAZINGLY HARD WORK THAT'S BEEN PUT INTO THIS.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN A CULMINATION AND SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALL COLLECTIVELY WORKED TOGETHER ON, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M MOST PROUD OF IS SEEING THE RESULTS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE AND HOPEFULLY AS WE CONTINUE TO GATHER MORE DATA, WE'LL SEE THAT CONTINUE.
THE EDUCATION COMPONENT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR BEHAVIOR CHANGE.
AND AS A PERSON WHO WALKS, RUNS, BIKES, DRIVES, FOR ME, IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO SEE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY CHANGING OUR BEHAVIOR AND BEING COGNIZANT AS PEOPLE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO I HOPE THAT ALL OF US WILL CONTINUE THAT BEHAVIOR.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE.
WOULD YOU PUT SLIDE 27 BACK UP PLEASE? HOPEFULLY I PICKED THE WRONG THE RIGHT ONE HERE.
OKAY, THIS ONE SHOWS IS WHAT YOU SAID IS THAT THIS HAS HAD AN EFFECT ON A LOT OF OTHER AGENCIES.
SO I HAVE TO TELL A FUN STORY, WE HAVE A RETIRED POLICE LIEUTENANT WHO MOVED TO COEUR D'ALENE, IDAHO, AND HE CALLED ME AND SAID, THIS IS WEIRD, BUT THERE IS A SLOWDOWN CARLSBAD SIGN IN THE YARD TWO DOORS AWAY FROM ME, AND THAT'S A THOUSAND MILES FROM CARLSBAD.
SO HE SAID, WOULD YOU PLEASE MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO GET ME ONE? SO THEN THAT WAY IT'LL CAUSE CONVERSATION.
AND NOW THEIR CITY COUNCIL IS CALLING OUR CITY AND ASKING FOR INFORMATION SO THEY MAY IMPLEMENT THE SAME THING. SO YOU TALK ABOUT FAR REACHING 1000 MILES AWAY.
SO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE.
SO WE DON'T TAKE ANY VOTES ON THAT ONE.
IS THAT CORRECT? ITEM NUMBER 6, CITY MANAGER.
[6. CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT – ELECTED OFFICIAL’S USE OF THE CITY’S OFFICIAL LOGO, SEAL AND LETTERHEAD ]
YES. THANK YOU SO MUCH.ITEM NUMBER 6 IS CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT ELECTED OFFICIALS USE OF THE CITY'S OFFICIAL LOGO, SEAL AND LETTERHEAD AND MAKING HER PRESENTATION TODAY AS OUR CITY CLERK SERVICES MANAGER, FAVIOLA MEDINA, ALONG WITH OUR LEGISLATIVE AND CONSTITUENT SERVICES DIRECTOR, SHEILA COBIAN.
THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
MY NAME IS FAVIOLA MEDINA, CITY CLERK SERVICES MANAGER.
AND WITH ME TODAY IS SHEILA COBIAN, LEGISLATIVE AND CONSTITUENT SERVICES DIRECTOR.
THE ITEM BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING IS TO CONSIDER ADOPTING A RESOLUTION APPROVING A CITY COUNCIL POLICY REGARDING ELECTED OFFICIALS USE OF THE CITY'S OFFICIAL LOGO, SEAL AND LETTERHEAD.
[01:20:10]
SEAL AND LETTERHEAD AS PART OF THE MOTION.COUNCIL ALSO REQUESTED THAT STAFF SEEK EXAMPLES OF HOW OTHER CITIES HANDLE THE USE OF THE RESOURCES.
STAFF SURVEYED THE OTHER 17 CITIES IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY AND FOUND THAT MOST DO NOT HAVE A CITY COUNCIL POLICY GOVERNING THE USE OF THE CITY'S SEAL, LOGO OR LETTERHEAD.
HOWEVER, MANY DO HAVE THE CITY'S SEAL AND LOGO USED CRITERIA CODIFIED IN THEIR MUNICIPAL CODES.
SINCE THE MAJORITY OF THE CITIES DO NOT ADDRESS THE LETTERHEAD, PORTION OF THE INQUIRY STAFF ASKED SPECIFICALLY WHETHER OR NOT THEIR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE THE ABILITY TO USE CITY ISSUED LETTERHEAD TO EXPRESS THEIR PERSONAL OPINIONS ON MATTERS OF JURISDICTIONAL CONCERN, EVEN IF THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL HAS NOT TAKEN A POSITION ON AN ISSUE.
STAFF FOUND THAT THE CITIES OF EL CAJON, POWAY, SAN DIEGO, SAN MARCOS AND VISTA DO ALLOW FOR THE CITY'S USE FOR THE USE OF CITY LETTERHEAD UNDER THESE CONDITIONS.
THE LETTERHEAD WILL INCLUDE THE ELECTED OFFICIAL'S NAME, TITLE, AND CONTACT INFORMATION.
THE LETTERHEAD MAY BE USED BY THE ELECTED OFFICIAL FOR THE OFFICIAL CITY BUSINESS, AND TO EXPRESS AN INDIVIDUAL OPINION ON MATTERS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THEIR ROLE AS AN ELECTED CITY OFFICIAL.
HOWEVER, WHEN EXPRESSING AN INDIVIDUAL OPINION, ELECTED OFFICIALS SHALL CLEARLY STATE THAT THE OPINION IS NOT MEANT TO REPRESENT THE CITY OR CITY COUNCIL POLICY OR POSITIONS. RATHER, IT IS THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL OPINION.
STAFF HAS IDENTIFIED TWO POSSIBLE PROCESSES FOR INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS USE OF CITY LETTERHEAD.
THE FIRST ONE IS THAT THE ELECTED OFFICIAL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF THEIR OWN CORRESPONDENCE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ADOPTED CITY COUNCIL POLICY. SHOULD A FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBER FEEL THE CORRESPONDENCE DOES NOT MEET THE GUIDELINES SET FORTH IN THE POLICY? IT WOULD BE IN THEIR PURVIEW TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER WHO DRAFTED THE MATERIAL.
THE CITY MANAGER WOULD THEN EVALUATE THE CORRESPONDENCE TO SEE IF IT IS POLITICAL IN NATURE.
IF THE CONTENT IS POLITICAL IN NATURE, OR FOR BOTH, OR FOR PERSONAL USE, OR BOTH, THE CITY MANAGER OR DESIGNEE WILL NOT AUTHORIZE THE USE OF CITY LETTERHEAD FOR THE CORRESPONDENCE. THE OPTIONS BEFORE CITY COUNCIL ARE TO ADOPT A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS.
USE OF THE CITY'S LOGO, SEAL AND LETTERHEAD PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK TO STAFF AND DIRECT STAFF TO RETURN TO CITY COUNCIL AT A LATER DATE WITH A REVISED POLICY, OR PROVIDE OTHER DIRECTION AS DESIRED.
ELECTED OFFICIALS USE OF THE CITY'S OFFICIAL LOGO, SEAL AND LETTERHEAD.
DO WE HAVE SPEAKERS? THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? NO QUESTIONS.
HOW ABOUT COMMENTS, MISS LUNA? SO I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED.
WE HAVE A PLETHORA OF DATA HERE.
VERY COLORFUL IN NATURE ON WHAT OTHER JURISDICTIONS ARE DOING, BUT YET.
MOST DO NOT HAVE A POLICY REGARDING A CITY COUNCIL POLICY REGARDING CITY SEAL OR CITY LOGO.
THEY ACTUALLY CODIFIED IN THEIR MUNICIPAL CODES AS FAR AS LETTERHEAD.
THERE ISN'T ANYTHING VERY SPECIFIC TO IT EXCEPT THE CITIES THAT WERE MENTIONED.
THOSE CITIES DO HAVE A DISCLAIMER WITH IT, MEANING THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO USE THEIR LETTERHEAD, BUT THEY HAVE TO EITHER STATE THAT THEIR OPINIONS DO NOT REPRESENT THAT OF THE CITY, OR IF THEY DO ALLOW FOR THAT, IT'S NOT IN POLITICAL IN NATURE.
OKAY. SECONDLY, THE REASON WHY WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AS DETAILED AS WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE IS BECAUSE ARE YOU UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT'S NOT WHAT WE WERE ASKING FOR? THE LEVEL OF SPECIFICITY.
[01:25:04]
MOST CITIES DO HAVE THE USE OF THEIR CITY SEAL AND THEIR MUNICIPAL CODE, BUT THE MOTION WAS ASKING FOR A POLICY, NOT AN ORDINANCE.YES, WE ALWAYS DO SURVEYS TO OUR LOVELY CLERKS IN THE SURROUNDING CITIES, AND THEY RESPOND IN KIND WITH ALL THAT MATERIAL, ALTHOUGH THEY DIDN'T HAVE A POLICY, THIS IS WHAT THEY HAVE IN THEIR MUNICIPAL CODE, AND THEY WERE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT TO US.
OKAY AND IF YOU CAN GO TO THE POLICY GUIDELINES? THE TWO SLIDES YOU HAD.
WE ALSO HAVE THE ENTIRE POLICY IN WORD FORMAT.
IF YOU'D LIKE US TO BRING THAT UP.
WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD TO WHERE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD NEED TO RUN IT PAST? THERE YOU GO.
COULD YOU GIVE ME SORT OF A LITTLE OVERVIEW? SO WE HAVE CITY POLICIES.
SO IN CITY COUNCIL POLICY NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS KIND OF OUR UMBRELLA CITY COUNCIL POLICY, THE COUNCIL DID AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO BE ABLE TO DO IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.
HE TYPICALLY DOES THAT THROUGH ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS.
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS, DIRECT STAFF.
THEY DON'T DIRECT ELECTED OFFICIALS.
THAT'S ALL MY QUESTION. I GUESS I'M DOING THE QUESTION SECTION.
I DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS RIGHT NOW.
MARINATING ON THAT QUESTIONS, MISS BURKHOLDER.
I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND WE'RE HAVING A POLICY DISCUSSION ON WHEN A CITY COUNCIL OR A MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD CAN PUT THAT ON A LOGO AND SEND CORRESPONDENCE RELATIVE TO POLICY OR LEGISLATION OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
YES. DO YOU HAVE THE EXACT WORDING OF THE MINUTE MOTION? OH, THAT WOULD BE GOOD, THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT. WELL, THEY HAVE SUMMARIZED IN THE REPORT, IS DIRECTED STAFF TO RETURN WITH AN ITEM FOR CONSIDERATION AND ACTION RELATED TO ELECTED OFFICIALS.
USE OF THE CITY'S OFFICIAL LOGO, SEAL AND LETTERHEAD.
IN ADDITION TO WHAT MISS COBIAN, STATED, IT SAYS TO INCLUDE BACKGROUND, ANY BEST PRACTICES, ANY COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING AND OPTIONS FOR CITY COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION.
OKAY. I'M SORRY THIS ALL SEEMS REALLY COMMON SENSE TO ME, SO THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO CLARIFY.
MS. ACOSTA? THANK YOU. I THINK MINE ARE COMMENTS, NOT QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONS, MISS BHAT-PATEL? OKAY. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS EITHER.
WE'LL START FROM THE END AND WORK OUR WAY UP.
I DON'T THINK THIS POLICY MEETS THE INTENT OF WHAT OUR DIRECTION WAS.
SO AT THIS POINT, I COULD NOT SUBMIT IT.
I'M SORRY, I COULD NOT SUPPORT THIS POLICY THE WAY THAT IT IS WRITTEN.
I'M GOING TO GO OUT OF ORDER BECAUSE I PARTICIPATED IN PART OF THE REQUEST OF THIS AND JUST TO REMIND WHERE THIS ORIGINATED, A COUNCIL MEMBER OR I'LL SAY MAYOR, USED LETTERHEAD FOR A LETTER THAT WAS ADDRESSED TO ANOTHER AGENCY IN OUR COMMUNITY. THE QUESTION WAS CAME UP, IS IT PROPER TO USE LETTERHEAD IF IT WASN'T REPRESENTING THE MAJORITY OF THE CITY COUNCIL? AND THAT BROUGHT UP THE QUESTION OF WHAT IS OUR POLICY? THE ANSWER WAS WE HAVE NO POLICY.
SO THE DIRECTION TO OUR STAFF WAS, SHOULD WE HAVE A POLICY ON THIS?
[01:30:03]
NOW, READING SOME OF WHAT WE'VE LOOKED THROUGH, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME GUIDELINES AND SOME COMMON SENSE GUIDELINES.ONE OF THE OPTIONS, NUMBER TWO, IS THAT STAFF REGULATES IT.
I'M COMPLETELY OPPOSED TO HAVING BABYSITTERS.
WE'RE ALL ADULTS THAT WE DECIDE AMONGST OURSELVES WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE TO USE CITY LETTERHEAD.
I HAVE SOME OF MY OWN THOUGHTS THAT IF IT'S YOUR OWN OPINION, THAT AT THE TOP IN ALL BOLD LETTERS, THAT IT SAYS THAT THIS IS JUST MY OPINION, NOT REFLECTING THAT OF THE COUNCIL.
THEN YOU CAN USE THE LETTERHEAD AND HAVE YOUR OPINION.
I ALSO DON'T WANT TO GET IN THE WAY OF, LET'S SAY ONE OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WANTS TO WRITE A CONGRATULATIONS LETTER TO THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR. I DON'T WANT THEM TO BE HAMPERED IT'D BE NICE TO BE ABLE TO WRITE IT ON CITY LETTERHEAD AS A COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO THERE'S SOME BACK AND FORTH DISCUSSION ABOUT WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR A COUNCIL MEMBER TO USE CITY LETTERHEAD ON A LETTER, AND WHEN IS IT BETTER IF THEY DO NOT, OR IF THEY DO, SHOULD IT HAVE SOME KIND OF A DISCLAIMER IN VERY LARGE LETTERS ACROSS THE TOP? AND THAT WAS THE WHOLE INTENT OF BRINGING THIS FORWARD.
AM I CLOSE? IS THAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING? YES, SIR. GOOD ANSWER.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, MISS LUNA, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO. OKAY. MISS BURKHOLDER? MISS ACOSTA? THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU, MAYOR, FOR SUMMING UP WHERE THIS WAS COMING FROM, AND I COULDN'T AGREE MORE.
I DO THINK IT'S GREAT TO HAVE SOME GUIDELINES ON WHAT WE CAN DO AS A COUNCIL TO USE LETTERHEAD AND IT SHOULD SAY OUR NAME IF IT'S OUR INDIVIDUAL POSITION ON SOMETHING, IF IT IS CONTRARY TO A COUNCIL POSITION, THAT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO SAY THAT IT'S THAT PERSON'S INDIVIDUAL POSITION, BECAUSE WE HAVE ALREADY VOTED IN SOME WAY, OR ONE OF OUR COMMITTEES HAS ALREADY VOTED IN SOME WAY, LIKE THE LEGISLATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL.
AND I ALSO AGREE THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE THAT CALL SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MAKE THAT CALL. HERE'S A NOTE THAT I MIGHT SEND TO THE SISTER CITIES ORGANIZATION, CONGRATULATING THEM ON THEIR 100TH OR THEIR 100TH BIRTHDAY.
BOY SCOUTS WAS THE 100TH BIRTHDAY, BUT THE SISTER CITIES ON THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
SO SOMETHING LIKE THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT A COUNCIL MEMBER CAN SEND ON THEIR OWN LETTERHEAD THAT SAYS OFFICE OF COUNCIL MEMBER SO-AND-SO OR THE MAYOR, BUT WITH THE CITY LOGO.
SO I THINK WE'RE LOOKING FOR GUIDELINES.
I DON'T THINK IT NEEDS TO BE A CITY POLICY.
THAT'S THIS 4 TO 5 VOTES REQUIRED AND SO STRICT BUT WE SHOULD HAVE SOME OBJECTIVE GUIDELINES.
SO I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT THE MOTION WAS.
EVEN WHEN HEARING THE MOTION READ BACK TO US, I NEVER HEARD POLICY.
I DON'T THINK I HEARD POLICY, I LISTENED TWICE, BUT IT WAS ASKING FOR STAFF TO BRING BACK SOME MORE INFORMATION AND DO SOME COMPARISONS.
BUT IF WE NEED TO MAKE A MOTION FOR THAT, THEN I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
MISS BHAT-PATEL? SURE. THANK YOU, I UNDERSTAND THE SENTIMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN SHARED BY ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES, AND I THINK FOR ME JUST PERSONALLY, SIMPLEST WOULD BE TO NOT USE THE LOGO AND UTILIZE A USUAL WAY TO COMMUNICATE YOUR VIEWS, BECAUSE I THINK IT CAN CAUSE CONFUSION.
HOWEVER, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SUPPORT TO PROVIDE.
IF WE WANTED TO HAVE MORE CLARITY AND GUIDELINES.
I'D BE HAPPY TO SUPPORT IT, IF THAT'S THE PLEASURE OF MY COLLEAGUES.
THANK YOU. NOW THAT YOU'VE HEARD ALL OF US SPEAK ON IT, I'M GOING TO MAKE THE MOTION THAT STAFF HELP US PUT TOGETHER GUIDELINES AND TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHAT WE'VE ALL JUST DISCUSSED AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO US.
THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO ME IS THAT A COUNCILMEMBER IS SPEAKING ON A TOPIC THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH OUR LEGISLATIVE POSITION. THAT'S FINE IF THEY'RE MAKING THEIR OWN OPINION, THAT'S NOT PART OF OUR LEGISLATIVE POSITION OR THE POSITION OF THE MAJORITY OF THE COUNCIL.
[01:35:03]
THEN IN LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS OR HOWEVER YOU THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE, RIGHT UNDERNEATH THE LETTERHEAD OR THE LOGO, IT MUST SAY THAT THEY'RE JUST REPRESENTING THEIR OWN POSITION.I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT'S VERY CLEAR AND NOT HIDDEN IN THE BODY OF A LETTER.
I THINK THAT WE CAN SELF POLICE OURSELVES WITHOUT GOING THROUGH STAFF.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS TO ADD TO THAT? THAT'LL BE MY MOTION.
I'M SORRY, I CAN. SECOND, I ALSO HAVE A QUESTION TO CLARIFY.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING.
MAYOR, IF WOW, I JUST FORGOT MY QUESTION.
YES, YOU MAY, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO DISCLOSE IT YOU'RE ONLY YOUR OWN OPINION.
OH, NO, IT WASN'T THAT, I REMEMBER.
IT WAS IF THERE IS A PARTICULAR SOMETHING, SAY, LEGISLATION THAT I WANT TO SUPPORT OR I WANT TO OPPOSE THAT THE CITY HASN'T TAKEN A POSITION ON, I CAN STILL HAVE STAFF TALK WITH ME ABOUT THE BODY OF THE LETTER THAT WASN'T REMOVED FROM THE DISCUSSION, RIGHT? YEAH. YOU CAN HAVE STAFF HELP, BUT IF IT'S JUST YOUR PERSONAL OPINION, THEN THAT NEEDS TO BE VERY CLEAR.
AND HOWEVER, STAFF COMES UP WITH A RECOMMENDATION THAT BE BOLD ON THE LETTER.
MS. BHAT-PATEL? FOR CLARITY IF IT WAS OUR OWN PERSONAL VIEW, YOU CAN ONLY REVIEW THE NATURE OF OUR LETTER.
YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY HELP US WITH THE LETTER.
AND THAT'S THE, HOW WE HAVE HANDLED THIS PREVIOUSLY IS IN THE EVENT THAT COUNCIL WANTS TO MAKE AN ASK, THEY'LL SEND IT TO US AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS REVIEWING BASED OFF.
IS THE CONTENT POLITICAL IN NATURE? IF IT IS, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TOUCH IT.
AND YOU CAN'T USE THE LOGO IF IT'S FOR PERSONAL USE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TOUCH IT.
THAT'S ON YOU, SO AGAIN, JUST TO CLARIFY AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, IF IT'S EXPRESSING YOUR PERSONAL BELIEFS, THE EXPECTATION IS GOING TO BE DRAFTED BY THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
STAFF WILL REVIEW IT TO MAKE SURE CONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES.
AND MY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OPTION TWO AGAIN THAT WILL BE MAKING STAFF BECOME OUR BABYSITTERS.
IS THAT REASONABLE? MS. ACOSTA? THANK YOU. AND ONE ADDITIONAL THING, BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO FLOW WITH THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING, IF IT'S AN INDIVIDUAL OPINION IN THE LETTER.
THAT MEANS WE ARE SENDING IT OUT, NOT ASKING STAFF TO SEND IT ON OUR BEHALF TO ANOTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY OR TO A LEGISLATOR OR SOMETHING, BECAUSE THEN THAT WOULD BE INVOLVING CITY STAFF IN THAT AS WELL.
SO I THINK THAT SHOULD BE SPELLED OUT IN THE GUIDELINES.
OKAY. AND I GUESS I'LL ASK THE NEXT QUESTION.
WHEN YOU BROUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD QUESTION TO BRING UP.
I'M DISCLOSING THIS IS MY PERSONAL OPINION NOW, AM I PUTTING MY OWN STAMP ON IT, OR AM I PUTTING IN OUR MAIL? AND THEN THE CITY'S PAYING THE POSTAGE? NOW, I KNOW THAT'S A VERY MINIMAL AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT I JUST WANT TO CLEAR UP SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS.
IF IT'S A USE OF RESOURCES, THEN AND IT'S YOUR PERSONAL I'M GOING TO DEFER TO THE CITY ATTORNEY.
SO WE CAN ONLY USE CITY RESOURCES FOR CITY BUSINESS.
THANK YOU. ANY OTHER INPUT, SO I'LL LOOK TO STAFF.
DID YOU GET ENOUGH THROWN AT YOU? I DO FEEL THAT I HAVE ENOUGH, I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT MECHANISM YOU SEE TO HAVE THESE GUIDELINES IN A RESOLUTION AMENDMENT TO THE CODE OF ETHICS, BECAUSE YOU CLEARLY STATED YOU DON'T WANT A POLICY.
MS. BHAT-PATEL? I FEEL LIKE THE CODE OF ETHICS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE FOR IT TO LIVE, ESPECIALLY SINCE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GENERALLY REFERENCING.
AND THAT'S PASSED WITH RESOLUTION.
SO IS THAT ACCEPTABLE BY EVERYBODY AND IS THAT THE STAFF AGREE THAT'S THE PROPER PLACE?
[01:40:01]
IT WOULD FROM THIS, WELL, I'LL DEFER TO THE CITY ATTORNEY.I MEAN, THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES, WE CAN ACCOMPLISH IT IN THAT FORMAT.
PERFECT. ANYBODY HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS TO THAT? DO YOU NEED TO AMEND YOUR MOTION? I'M SORRY? DO YOU NEED TO AMEND YOUR MOTION? YES, I AMENDED IT.
I JUST IT'S THERE IS NO CONSEQUENCE FOR NOT FOLLOWING THE CODE OF ETHICS.
SO I GUESS MY ONLY CONCERN WOULD BE WRITING IT INTO THE CODE OF ETHICS.
THERE WOULD BE NO? ALL OF THIS IS KIND OF FLUFFY, BUT WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES IF WE DON'T DO WHAT THIS GENERAL GUIDELINE IS GOING TO TELL US TO DO? I GUESS THAT'S MY QUESTION.
IF WE FIND THAT WE CAN'T FOLLOW THEM, THEN THE NEXT STEP WILL BE THAT STAFF WILL HAVE TO BE OUR BABYSITTERS AND APPROVE THE LETTERS BEFORE THEY GO OUT, BUT I DON'T WANT TO RESORT TO THAT UNTIL WE'VE PROVEN THAT WE CAN'T TAKE CARE OF IT OURSELVES.
AND LAST QUESTION ABOUT HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU THINK YOU GUYS SPENT ON THIS BRINGING THIS TO US? MAYBE ABOUT 30 ? OKAY THAT'S A LOT OF TIME.
THANK YOU. OKAY, SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
DID YOU WANT ME TO TRY TO RECAP TO MAKE SURE WE GOT IT ALL OR IT'S UP TO YOU.
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO TAKE THAT CHANCE? I'M WILLING TO TRY.
FRIENDLY AMENDMENT. THEY'LL BE SOMEHOW INCORPORATED, APPENDED, INCLUDED WITH THE CODE OF ETHICS.
THEY WILL INCLUDE THAT IT'S OKAY, THE USE OF LETTERHEAD IS OKAY, IF YOU'RE SPEAKING ON A TOPIC THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE CITY'S LEGISLATIVE POSITION.
THE GUIDELINES WILL BE SELF-POLICED.
STAFF REVIEW OF ANY PARTICULAR PIECE OF CORRESPONDENCE WOULD BE OPTIONAL.
IF IT IS THE INDIVIDUAL COUNCILMEMBER'S OPINION, THE COUNCIL WOULD SEND THE CORRESPONDENCE, NOT STAFF AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER ACOSTA WANTING TO BE SURE THERE'S FLEXIBILITY FOR CONGRATULATIONS, TYPE LETTERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND LET'S PLEASE ADD THAT CANNOT BE USED FOR POLITICAL REASONS.
AND CANNOT BE USED FOR POLITICAL OR PERSONAL PURPOSES.
OKAY. IS THAT SATISFACTORY TO THE COUNCIL? OKAY, I MADE THE MOTION.
I THINK MS. BURKHOLDER MADE THE SECOND.
PLEASE VOTE. IT PASSES 4 TO 1.
I'M SORRY. MR. MAYOR, CAN I REQUEST A 15 MINUTE BREAK, PLEASE? WE ARE GOING TO TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK.
WE'LL RECONVENE AT TEN MINUTES TO 7.
5 MINUTES WON'T WORK. I'M SORRY? FIVE MINUTES WON'T WORK. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A TEN MINUTE BREAK AND RECONVENE AT FIVE MINUTES TO SEVEN.
OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, WE'RE BACK IN SESSION.
[7. POTENTIAL TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX INCREASE]
ITEM NUMBER 7, PLEASE.ITEM NUMBER SEVEN IS THE POTENTIAL TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX INCREASE.
AND MAKING OUR PRESENTATION TODAY IS OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, ZACH KORACH, OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR JASON HABER, AND OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER MATT SANFORD. GENTLEMEN.
THANK YOU, MR. CHADWICK. AND GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS JASON HABER. I'M THE CITY'S INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR.
AND THIS ITEM IS FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO RECEIVE A REPORT THAT WAS REQUESTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR REGARDING THE POTENTIAL PLACEMENT OF A TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX MEASURE FOR THE NOVEMBER 5TH, 2024 GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT AND TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND DIRECTION ON NEXT STEPS.
AS A REMINDER, TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAXES ARE ASSESSED ON OCCUPANTS OF HOTELS, MOTELS, RESORTS, AND SHORT TERM VACATION RENTALS IN CARLSBAD, AND THESE REVENUES CURRENTLY COMPRISE APPROXIMATELY 15% OF THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND REVENUES, TOTALING ABOUT $34 MILLION
[01:45:03]
IN FISCAL YEAR 2223.WE'LL PROVIDE SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON AN UPDATED FINANCIAL FORECAST FOR THE CITY.
AND AS REQUESTED, WE'LL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH POTENTIALLY PLACING A MEASURE ON THE NOVEMBER 2024 GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT.
WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO HAND IT OFF TO OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, ZACH KORACH, THANK YOU, MR. HABER, AND GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL.
WE'LL GET RIGHT INTO THE TOPIC OF FINANCIAL HEALTH.
BUT IDEALLY YOU ALSO WANT TO HAVE SAVINGS AVAILABLE ON HAND.
YOU WANT TO PLAN FOR FUTURE NEEDS THAT YOU KNOW ARE COMING.
YOU ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE THOUGHT ABOUT RETIREMENT SAVINGS.
TODAY WE'RE HERE TO TALK PRIMARILY ABOUT THAT FIRST PART, BUT IT IS ALL INTERCONNECTED.
FIRST, COUNCIL POLICY 86 IS A PENSION FUNDING POLICY THAT STRIVES TO MAINTAIN AN 80% FUNDED STATUS.
IN OTHER WORDS, FOR EVERY $100 OF OUTSTANDING PENSION LIABILITY.
WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE $80 SET ASIDE TO FUND THAT LIABILITY AT ALL TIMES.
NEXT, WE HAVE COUNCIL POLICY 74.
THAT TRANSLATES TO APPROXIMATELY $80 MILLION, WHICH THE CITY HAS BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE EVERY YEAR SINCE THE POLICY WAS FIRST ENACTED AND EVEN WELL BEFORE THEN IN ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY.
RESERVE WAS ALSO ESTABLISHED INITIALLY IN 2015.
THE BALANCE OF THAT ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY RESERVE IS CURRENTLY JUST UNDER $10 MILLION.
AND THEN LASTLY, COUNCIL POLICY NUMBER 91.
THIS POLICY PRIORITIZES FUTURE CAPITAL FUNDING AND STRIVES TO ALLOCATE GENERAL FUND RESOURCES EACH YEAR IN THE AMOUNT OF APPROXIMATELY $14 MILLION, OR 6% OF ESTIMATED TOTAL REVENUES WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND.AT THE CITY OF CARLSBAD USES A FINANCIAL FORECAST.
THIS WAY, IF WE SEE ANY SIGNS OF CONCERN, WE HAVE TIME TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, DURING THE GREAT RECESSION, THE CITY BEGAN TO PROJECT A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT.
THE CITY COUNCIL ALSO IMPLEMENTED PENSION REFORM AND CHANGED THE WAY EMPLOYEES QUALIFY FOR RAISES.
MANY CITIES ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
HERE WE HAVE A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVENTS DATING BACK TO MAY OF 2021 THAT REALLY RELATE TO THE CITY'S IDENTIFICATION OF THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT ORIGINALLY PROJECTED TO OCCUR IN FISCAL YEAR 26, AND SOME OF THE RELATED DISCUSSIONS TOWARDS REVENUE ENHANCEMENTS.
AT THAT TIME, THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECTED STAFF TO RESEARCH POTENTIAL REVENUE ENHANCEMENTS.
IN APRIL OF 2023, STAFF PRESENTED AN UPDATED FORECAST, WHICH AGAIN PROJECTED A FUTURE DEFICIT OCCURRING IN FISCAL YEAR 26, AND AT THAT POINT, THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECTED STAFF TO RESEARCH THE IMPACTS SPECIFICALLY OVER AND AROUND A TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX INCREASE.
MUCH HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS AND BEYOND.
AS THE CITY HAS TRANSITIONED FROM A GROWTH IN DEVELOPMENT TO MORE OF A MAINTENANCE CITY.
THAT HAS ALSO HAD AN IMPACT ON DEVELOPER FEES WITH LESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT.
[01:50:06]
DEVELOPER FEES HAVE TRENDED DOWNWARD OVER RECENT YEARS.AND THEN GENERALLY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE'VE CERTAINLY BEEN DEALING WITH UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS OF INFLATION, WHICH HAVE DRIVEN COSTS WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND AND REALLY CITYWIDE ON AN UPWARD TREND.
BUT THERE ARE WAYS THAT CITIES CAN ADDRESS A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT.
WE'VE USED THIS TERM IN THE PAST, IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANS.
AND THAT IS IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THE CITY IS FACING A DEFICIT RIGHT NOW, BUT RATHER WE ARE PROJECTING THAT ONGOING EXPENDITURES ARE TO BE INCREASING AT A FASTER RATE THAN REVENUES IN THE FUTURE, WHICH OVER TIME WILL INEVITABLY LEAD TO AN ACTUAL ANNUAL DEFICIT.
ONE QUESTION THAT HAS COME UP IS WHY THIS STRUCTURAL DEFICIT IS NOT ONE WE THINK CAN BE RESOLVED WITH MINOR CHANGES TO OPERATIONS, OR ALSO BY WAITING IT OUT UNTIL THE ECONOMY IMPROVES.
THE SIMPLE ANSWER IS, AGAIN, COSTS ARE INCREASING AT A FASTER RATE THAN THE CITY'S REVENUES BUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT, EVEN IF REVENUES WERE TO INCREASE OR EXPENDITURES WERE TO DECREASE IN A GIVEN YEAR, THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT STILL WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE RESOLVED.
THE TIMING FOR WHEN THE DEFICIT MAY BE PROJECTED TO OCCUR IS ONLY POSTPONED.
IN TERMS OF THE STEPS THAT AGENCIES CONSIDER TOWARDS ADDRESSING A DEFICIT.
EVALUATING COST RECOVERY LEVELS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION, CONSIDERING MORE SIGNIFICANT SERVICE LEVEL REDUCTIONS, AND THEN ALSO THE POTENTIAL FOR ASKING VOTERS IF THEY WANT TO APPROVE NEW REVENUE SOURCES.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE MANY WAYS THAT CITY STAFF HAVE WORKED OVER THE YEARS TO IDENTIFY EFFICIENCIES AND REDUCE ONGOING SPENDING FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERNAL AUDIT PROGRAM, WHICH NOT ONLY ENSURES ONGOING COMPLIANCE AND STRONG INTERNAL CONTROLS, BUT ALSO EVALUATES THE OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF VARIOUS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION.
IN TERMS OF BUDGET REDUCTION, BEGINNING IN FISCAL YEAR 23, AS DIRECTED BY THE CITY MANAGER, DEPARTMENTS WERE REQUESTED TO IDENTIFY 2% LEVEL OF REDUCTION TO THEIR RESPECTIVE BUDGETS THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR IN 23-24.
THOSE COMBINED EFFORTS OVER THE TWO YEARS ACHIEVED NEARLY $5 MILLION IN ANNUAL ONGOING SAVINGS.
AT THIS TIME, WE WERE IN A UNIQUE SITUATION WHEREBY INFLATION WAS AGAIN AT UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS, AND THE CITY WAS STILL UNSURE HOW ITS PRIMARY REVENUE SOURCES, SPECIFICALLY SALES TAX AND TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX, WOULD BE IMPACTED AND OR FULLY RECOVER FROM THE ADVERSE IMPACTS OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC.
THIS FORECAST APPLIED CONSERVATIVE ASSUMPTIONS ON BOTH THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE SIDE.
NOW THIS IS WHAT THE FORECAST LOOKS LIKE TODAY.
WE NOW SEE THAT THE FUTURE DEFICIT IS PUSHED OFF UNTIL FISCAL YEAR 28-29.
AND THE QUESTION WE WANT TO ASK OURSELVES IS WHAT DROVE THIS MASSIVE SHIFT OR THE POSTPONEMENT OF THREE FISCAL YEARS? WELL, SINCE THE PREVIOUS FORECAST WAS DEVELOPED, WE NOW HAVE TWO FULL FISCAL YEARS WORTH OF REVENUE DATA.
AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS IN THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES LIKE SALES AND TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX REVENUES, THEY HAVE INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD, WHICH WAS MAINLY DRIVEN BY THE LEVELS OF INFLATION THAT WERE EXPERIENCED, BUT ALSO COUPLED WITH THE CONSUMER DEMAND THAT WAS LEFT RELATIVELY UNIMPACTED, THAT RESULTED IN A POSITIVE IMPACT, AN INCREASE IN THESE SPECIFIC REVENUE SOURCES.
ON THE OTHER SIDE, LOOKING AT THE EXPENDITURES, WE ALSO HAVE TWO FULL FISCAL YEARS OF BUDGET REDUCTION EFFORTS, WHICH AGAIN DIRECTED BY THE CITY MANAGER AND ACHIEVING NEARLY $5 MILLION IN ONGOING REDUCTIONS, ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS POSITIVE SHIFT IN THE FORECAST OUTLOOK.
[01:55:03]
ALL OF THAT SAID, WHEN WE DO LOOK AT THIS FORECAST, THERE ARE SOME CRITICAL THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND.THE FIRST BEING THE PROJECTED ANNUAL DEFICIT HAS BEEN DELAYED, AND THAT IS A VERY GOOD THING.
IN OTHER WORDS, DESPITE THE CITY'S REVENUES STRONG PERFORMANCE DURING THE HIGH INFLATIONARY PERIOD, THIS IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE TIME IN NATURE, AND WE ARE MORE REASONABLY ASSURED AND CONFIDENT THAT EXPENSES WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AT A FASTER RATE THAN OUR REVENUES MOVING FORWARD.
FROM LINGERING INFLATION TO GEOPOLITICAL CONFLICT, TIGHTENING OF MARKETS, REDUCTIONS IN NEW CONSTRUCTION, AND THERE IS STILL ONGOING UNCERTAINTY REGARDING INTEREST RATE FLUCTUATIONS GIVEN THE FED'S 11 INCREASES SINCE MARCH OF 2022.
BUT THE EXPENDITURE GROWTH RELATIVE TO REVENUES CONTINUES TO INCREASE.
BUT AS WE CAN SEE IN PARTICULARLY THROUGH YEARS FIVE THROUGH TEN, MONITORING AND MANAGING THIS FORECAST IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO AND TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN, TO POSTPONE THAT FUTURE PROJECTED DEFICIT AS FAR OUT AS REASONABLY POSSIBLE.
THE CITY HAS IMPLEMENTED MANY EFFICIENCIES OVER THE YEARS AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO AS THEY'RE IDENTIFIED FROM THE DIGITIZATION OF PROCESSES ACROSS DEPARTMENTS TO OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AUDITS TO UTILITY METER MONITORING, THE CITY HAS BEEN ABLE TO NOT ONLY REPURPOSE STAFF TO FOCUS MORE SO ON TO FOCUS ON MORE CRITICAL DAY TO DAY TASKS AND OPERATIONS.
BUT IT'S ALSO SAVED FIXED, ONGOING COSTS FOR GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
AS OF JUNE 2023, THE CITY HAD APPROXIMATELY 28 ACTIVE GRANTS THAT WERE EITHER IN AN AWARDED OR STILL PENDING STATUS, VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY $21 MILLION, AND THAT IS BOTH THE GENERAL FUND AS WELL AS ALL OTHER FUNDS WITHIN THE CITY.
REGARDING THE REDUCTION IN ELIMINATION OF NON-ESSENTIAL SERVICES, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE BUDGET REDUCTION EFFORTS THAT WERE PUT FORTH OVER THE LAST TWO FISCAL YEARS FOR COST RECOVERY. JUST RECENTLY, EARLIER IN THIS CALENDAR YEAR, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED POLICY NUMBER 95.
THAT IS THE CITY'S COST RECOVERY POLICY.
THIS WAS ADOPTED FOR PURPOSES OF ALIGNING THE CITY'S COST RECOVERY LEVELS AGAINST ITS OWN COSTS FOR PROVIDING SERVICES, AS WELL AS ALIGNING WITHIN NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS TO MAINTAIN COMPETITIVENESS.
OTHER STEPS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED TO DATE WOULD BE MORE SIGNIFICANT.
SERVICE LEVEL REDUCTIONS FOR NOT SO MUCH NON-ESSENTIAL, BUT MORE ESSENTIAL SERVICE LEVELS.
AND THEN LASTLY ASKING VOTERS IF THEY WANT TO APPROVE NEW REVENUE SOURCES.
NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO GO OVER SOME BACKGROUND ON THE REVENUE OPTIONS.
THE CITY COUNCIL HAS REQUESTED STAFF TO RESEARCH TO DATE.
IN APRIL OF LAST YEAR, WE DID PRESENT FINDINGS OF THE REVENUE STUDY, WHICH SHOWED VOTER SUPPORT FOR A $0.01 SALES TAX INCREASE, WHICH WOULD GENERATE APPROXIMATELY $40 MILLION A YEAR IN ADDITIONAL REVENUE ONGOING.
THE FOCUS OF THIS PARTICULAR ASSIGNMENT WAS TO LOOK AT TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX, WHEREBY, FOR EXAMPLE PURPOSES, A 2% INCREASE IN TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAXES WOULD GENERATE APPROXIMATELY $6 MILLION ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
BUT IF THERE WERE A $100 FLAT PARCEL TAX APPROVED BY THE VOTERS, THAT WOULD GENERATE APPROXIMATELY $4 MILLION ANNUALLY AND JUST FOR AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE IN TERMS OF THE ADDITIONAL REVENUE THAT MAY BE GENERATED IF THE VOTERS WERE TO APPROVE A 2% INCREASE IN TOT BASED ON THE FORECAST MODEL HERE, THAT WOULD POSTPONE THE PROJECTED FUTURE DEFICIT BY ONE FISCAL YEAR OUT TO FISCAL YEAR 30.
THAT SAID, BECAUSE THIS IS AN ANNUAL ONGOING REVENUE OVER THE FIVE YEAR AND TEN YEAR TIME FRAME, THE 2% INCREASE IN TOT WOULD GENERATE BETWEEN 30 AND $60 MILLION, RESPECTIVELY, OVER THAT FIVE AND TEN YEAR PERIOD.
[02:00:02]
HERE WE HAVE A LOOK AT WHAT OTHER CITIES IN OUR REGION, HOW THEY HAVE RAISED NEW REVENUES IN THE PAST 15 YEARS, WITH SALES TAX BEING THE MOST COMMON, THEN FOLLOWED BY CANNABIS TAX AND THEN LASTLY TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX.I KNOW THE LETTERS ON THE SLIDE ARE A BIT DIFFICULT TO READ.
WE DID PRESENT THIS INFORMATION BEFORE, BUT THEN ALSO HERE, LOOKING AT IT GEOGRAPHICALLY IN MAP FORM, WE CAN SEE THAT THE GREEN SHADED AREAS REPRESENT JURISDICTIONS OR CITIES THAT HAVE INCREASED TAXES OVER THE LAST 15 YEAR PERIOD.
THANK YOU, ZACH, AND GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AS MR. HABER NOTED AT THE APRIL 4TH CITY COUNCIL MEETING, THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECTED STAFF TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF A TOT INCREASE TO OUR TOURISM INDUSTRY AND THE EFFECT THAT IT WOULD HAVE ON THE CITY'S BUDGET.
THE IMPACT THAT AN INCREASE WOULD HAVE ON OUR TOURISM INDUSTRY AND BUSINESSES.
AND FINALLY, WHAT THE COST AND PROCESS WOULD BE TO PLACE A MEASURE ON THE NOVEMBER 2024 BALLOT.
IN TERMS OF THE INDUSTRY'S CONTRIBUTION TO CARLSBAD'S ECONOMY.
THERE'S ALSO 417 CURRENT SHORT TERM VACATION RENTAL PROPERTIES LOCATED IN THE CITY'S COASTAL ZONE.
IN GENERAL, TOURISM HAS BEEN IMPROVING OVER TIME IN CARLSBAD.
THE SECTOR HAS, BY AND LARGE, RECOVERED FROM THE PANDEMIC IMPACT, ESPECIALLY IN PEAK SUMMER SEASON.
AND WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE ATTRIBUTES THAT MAKE CARLSBAD A UNIQUE DESTINATION THAT DRAWS PEOPLE IN AND GIVES THEM A REASON IN AN INTEREST FOR VISITING THINGS LIKE OUR TEMPERATE WEATHER, OUR SENSE OF PLACE, MIX OF AMENITIES LIKE THE BEACH OR LEGOLAND, PLACES TO SHOP AND DINE, AND THE ENJOYABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS ALIKE.
WHEN WE DEFINE OUR COMPETITION, WE AREN'T NECESSARILY JUST LOOKING AT OUR NEIGHBORING CITIES.
WE LOOK AT THE CITIES WITH COMMON ATTRIBUTES LIKE GEOGRAPHY, MIX OF LODGING OPTIONS, TOTAL CAPACITY OF LODGING ESTABLISHMENTS, NEARBY AMENITIES LIKE BEACHES OR AMUSEMENT PARKS, AND PROXIMITY TO MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE.
OUR COMPETITIVE SET FOR TOURISM IS ANAHEIM, CORONADO, DANA POINT, HUNTINGTON BEACH, LAGUNA BEACH, NEWPORT BEACH, OCEANSIDE, SAN DIEGO, SANTA BARBARA, AND SANTA MONICA. CURRENTLY WHEN WE LOOK AT TOT AS WELL AS THE ALL IN RATE, WHICH INCLUDES ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS OR FEES LIKE OUR TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, TOURISM MAINTENANCE DISTRICTS, ETC.
CARLSBAD CURRENTLY RANKS IN THE BOTTOM THIRD OF OUR COMPETITIVE SET.
FOR EACH 1% INCREASE, AN ADDITIONAL 3 TO $3.5 MILLION IS ESTIMATED TO BE GENERATED, AND A 2% INCREASE WOULD RAISE THE CITY'S REVENUES BY APPROXIMATELY $6 MILLION AND PUT US AT THE MIDPOINT OF OUR COMPETITIVE SET.
CONTINUING TO MOVE UP AN INCREASE OF 4% WOULD RAISE REVENUES BY APPROXIMATELY $12 MILLION, BUT WOULD PUT US AT THE TOP OF OUR COMPETITIVE SET, MAKING US LESS COMPETITIVE THAN OUR COMPETITION.
IN FACT, THE ONLY DECREASE IN TOT IN THOSE CITIES WAS DUE TO THE IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC.
AFTER CONDUCTING THE QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH, WE BROUGHT OUR FINDINGS FORWARD TO INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS THAT A POTENTIAL TOT INCREASE MIGHT HAVE ON THEIR BUSINESS AND ON THE INDUSTRY.
IN PREPARATION FOR THESE SESSIONS, WE CONTACTED EVERY HOTEL GENERAL MANAGER AT LEAST THREE TIMES.
WE WALKED THROUGH OUR FINDINGS TO ENSURE THE INDUSTRY FELT COMFORTABLE WITH OUR APPROACH.
HOTELIERS DID NOT HAVE ANY EXCEPTION TO THE METHODOLOGY THAT STAFF USED TO CONDUCT OUR RESEARCH.
[02:05:02]
WE ALSO PROVIDED A SUMMARY OF FEEDBACK PROVIDED, WHICH I WILL GO THROUGH IN A MOMENT.TO EACH HOTEL TO GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY EMAIL.
KEY POINTS INCLUDED THAT A RISE IN TOT, ESPECIALLY A SUBSTANTIAL ONE, COULD HURT COMPETITIVENESS IN GROUP TRAVEL, WHICH IS A DRIVER IN OFF PEAK SEASONS AND IS MORE SENSITIVE TO PRICE SHOCKS.
A RISE IN TOT COULD GIVE CITIES IN OUR COMPETITIVE SET, ESPECIALLY THOSE NEARBY LIKE THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, SOMETHING TO SELL AGAINST BY HIGHLIGHTING THAT THEIR DOLLAR WOULD GO FURTHER IN SAN DIEGO AND BE CLOSER TO AMENITIES LIKE THE CONVENTION CENTER OR THE AIRPORT.
SOME OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE RAISED TOT HAVE A DEDICATED PORTION OF THEIR TOT GO TO SUPPORTING TOURISM ABOVE AND BEYOND A POTENTIAL BID ASSESSMENT, OR HAVE AMENITIES LIKE A CONVENTION CENTER THAT DIRECTLY ASSISTS IN THEIR COMPETITIVENESS.
THE INDUSTRY NOTED A BELIEF THAT A SALES TAX WOULD BE MORE FAIR BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT TARGET A SINGLE INDUSTRY AND BE PAID BY RESIDENTS AND VISITORS ALIKE, ALL OF WHOM USE CITY SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND NOW I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO MR. HABER TO DISCUSS OPTIONS FOR MOVING FORWARD.
THANK YOU. SO AGAIN, THE COUNCIL DID REQUEST THAT WE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS AND COSTS THAT WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH PLACING A BALLOT MEASURE TO INCREASE THE CITY'S TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX RATE, SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO DO SO.
THIS SLIDE PROVIDES SOME OF THE BASICS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
FIRST OFF, A TWO THIRDS VOTE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OR FOUR VOTES WOULD BE REQUIRED TO PLACE ANY LOCAL TAX MEASURE ON THE BALLOT, AND THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD HAVE THE DISCRETION TO DETERMINE WHETHER THAT WOULD BE A GENERAL TAX.
AND EACH OF THOSE COME WITH A DIFFERENT THRESHOLD FOR VOTERS TO PASS THAT MEASURE.
A GENERAL TAX REQUIRES 50% PLUS ONE VOTE TO PASS.
A SPECIAL TAX WOULD REQUIRE A TWO THIRDS VOTE OF THE ELECTORATE TO PASS.
THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING MEASURES FOR THE NOVEMBER 2024 GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT WOULD BE AUGUST 9TH OF NEXT YEAR, AND THE SAN DIEGO REGISTRAR OF VOTERS HAS PROVIDED AN ESTIMATE OF BETWEEN 135,000 AND $175,000 TO PLACE THAT MEASURE.
SHOULD THE COUNCIL DECIDE TO PROCEED.
STAFF IS SUGGESTING A PHASED APPROACH, WITH THE FIRST PHASE FOCUSING ON DETERMINING BALLOT MEASURE FEASIBILITY THAT WOULD INCLUDE TASKS TO DEVELOP IMPARTIAL INFORMATIONAL MESSAGING.
I THINK ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ALSO DEVELOP A STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PLAN.
CONDUCTING ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH TO OUR HOTEL AND LODGING INDUSTRY, AS WELL AS OTHERS THAT MAY FEEL LIKE A TOT RATE INCREASE, MIGHT IMPACT THEIR BUSINESSES. WE WOULD CONDUCT RESEARCH AND ASSESS FEASIBILITY, POSSIBLY THROUGH ANOTHER COMMUNITY SURVEY AND RESEARCH COMPETING MEASURES THAT MAY BE ANTICIPATED ON UPCOMING BALLOTS AT THE END OF THIS PHASE.
STAFF WOULD BE PRESENTING RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL RELATED TO THE OPTIMAL ELECTION DATE.
A SECOND PHASE WOULD FOCUS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION AND BALLOT MEASURE PREPARATION.
AT THE END OF THAT PHASE, WE WOULD BE DEVELOPING AND PRESENTING FOR CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION A RESOLUTION TO DIRECT STAFF AND THE REGISTRAR OF VOTERS TO PLACE THE BALLOT MEASURE ON THE UPCOMING BALLOT, AND AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE CITY'S MUNICIPAL CODE TO INCREASE THAT TAX RATE, SHOULD THAT VOTE PROVE SUCCESSFUL. ESTIMATED COST FOR THE SECOND PHASE BEING $47,500, INCLUDING SOME BUDGET FOR ADVERTISING AND OUTREACH TO VOTERS. LET'S SEE IN TERMS OF OPTIONS FOR CITY COUNCIL.
AT THIS POINT, COUNCIL HAS THE OPTION TO DIRECT STAFF TO TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION AT THIS TIME.
[02:10:01]
RECOMMENDATIONS, AND TO BE PROVIDED WITH FURTHER DIRECTION TO MOVE FORWARD SHOULD THAT PROVE FEASIBLE AND THEN FINALLY, YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO PROVIDE US WITH OTHER DIRECTION AS DESIRED THAT COULD INCLUDE THINGS LIKE REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL RESEARCH OR LOOKING INTO OTHER POTENTIAL REVENUE MEASURES, OR RETURNING WITH POTENTIAL SERVICES OR BUDGET REDUCTIONS GOING FORWARD TO ADDRESS THE ANTICIPATED DEFICIT.THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.
FRED TAYCO FOLLOWED BY TRACY CARMICHAEL.
MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. MY NAME IS FRED TAYCO, AND I'M WITH.
BEFORE I GET INTO THE DETAILS OF OUR CONCERNS, IT'S IMPORTANT TO PLACE THESE CONCERNS IN CONTEXT.
WHILE MANY HAVE MOVED ON, THE HOTEL INDUSTRY IS STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF ITS RECOVERY.
SO WHILE YOU MAY SEE FOLKS AT OUR HOTELS, RESTAURANTS AND OUR ATTRACTIONS, YOU KEEP IN MIND THIS IS AN INDUSTRY THAT IS STILL IN ITS RECOVERY PHASE AND NOT YET RECOVERED.
SO MAKE NO MISTAKE, THE INDUSTRY HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT THE INDUSTRY STILL FACES ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL HURDLES THE AFOREMENTIONED INFLATION, WORKFORCE SHORTAGES, AS WELL AS SHIFTING CONSUMER TRAVEL PREFERENCES ALL CONSUME THE INDUSTRY.
WHAT MUNICIPALITIES CAN CONTROL, HOWEVER, IS THE SPEED WITH WHICH THEY RECOVER AND THAT'S WHY CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE IN FIERCE COMPETITION WITH EACH OTHER TO ATTRACT TRAVELERS. OUR FEAR IS NOT IS THAT, OUR FEAR IS THAT THE TOT INCREASE WOULD MAKE CARLSBAD LESS ATTRACTIVE, THEREFORE THEREBY HAMPERING ITS RECOVERY.
THE PROPOSED 2% INCREASE WOULD PLACE CARLSBAD AT THE UPPER END OF THE TOTAL RATES, WHICH WOULD POTENTIALLY HAVE VISITORS PAYING POTENTIALLY 15%. THE IMPACT WOULD BE TWOFOLD.
IMMEDIATELY, IT WOULD COULD LEAD TO VISITORS SEARCHING FOR MORE AFFORDABLE LOCATIONS, BUT THE LONGER TERM IMPACT COULD BE COULD IMPACT THE COVETED GROUP MEETINGS AND LARGE BOOKINGS ORGANIZED BY MEETING PLANNERS.
THE INCREASE COULD EXCLUDE CARLSBAD FROM CONSIDERATION.
AND FINALLY, THE INCREASED COMPETITION AND SHIFTING CONSUMER TRAVEL PREFERENCES IS A HIGH CONCERN IN THAT AFTER THE LIFTING OF THE TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS, THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY EXPERIENCED A WAVE OF PENT UP TRAVEL.
HOWEVER, CONSUMERS HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY PRICE CONSCIOUS SINCE, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THEIR DESTINATIONS, THERE ARE SEVERAL CITIES THAT ARE IN COMPETITION WITH CARLSBAD, AND A TOT INCREASE WOULD UNNECESSARILY ADVANTAGE THE COMPETITION.
SO IN CONSIDERATION OF ALL THESE FACTORS, WE BELIEVE NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO IMPLEMENT POLICIES THAT COULD DISADVANTAGE CARLSBAD'S HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM INDUSTRY, AN INDUSTRY THAT CONTRIBUTES OVER GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS TRACEY CARMICHAEL.
I'M A 36 YEAR RESIDENT OF CARLSBAD.
THERE'S A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS.
AS A RESIDENT IN MY 36 YEARS, I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS.
TONIGHT YOU'LL BE ADDRESSING A SALES INCREASE TAX OR A TOT, DUE TO THE DEFICITS.
THESE ARE VERY DIFFICULT TIMES FOR MANY OF THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, WITH THE RISE OF GAS PRICES, HOUSING, INSURANCE, UTILITIES, GOODS AND SERVICES.
[02:15:04]
YOU HAVE A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY AND A DUTY TO FISCALLY ACT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF RESIDENTS.ONE OF SHAKESPEARE'S BEST QUOTES.
YOU CAN SAY IN A DISCUSSION TO INCREASE TOT ISN'T DIRECTLY AFFECTING THE RESIDENTS.
HOWEVER, ALL VISITORS HAVE A CHOICE TO VISIT.
SPEND THEIR MONEY IN OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY OR NOT.
IF TOT IS RAISED, VISITORS MAY GO ELSEWHERE.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, IF THIS COUNCIL MAKES A DECISION PLACING THIS ON THE BALLOT FOR VOTERS, YOU'LL BE ASKING YOUR CONSTITUENCY TO DO THE JOB THAT YOU WERE ELECTED TO DO, DEFERRING YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE LEADERSHIP AND THE COURAGE TO MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS.
IN CLOSING, I BELIEVE THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTION FOR COMMON SENSE.
CHRIS WRIGHT, FOLLOWED BY TIM STRIPE.
GOOD EVENING. I AGREE WITH THE ISSUE OF INCREASING THE TOT IN THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, AS LONG AS IT CONSIDERS CAREFULLY THE EFFECT THAT IF TOO HIGH, TOURISTS MAY CONSIDER OTHER CITIES TO STAY FOR THEIR VISITS.
BUT I ALSO HAVE TO ADDRESS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
THE STAFF REPORT IN ITS ENTIRETY AND FOUND WITHIN A DISCUSSION OF THE APRIL 20TH, 2022 STRATEGIC PLAN MEETING AND CONCLUSIONS FROM A SURVEY WHICH PROVIDED RECOMMENDATIONS TO POSSIBLE INCREASES IN REVENUE.
NOT ONLY DID IT BRING UP THE TOT, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE OF HAVING CANNABIS BUSINESSES WITHIN THE CITY AND THE ISSUE OF A FUTURE SALES TAX INCREASE OF 1%. IN FACT, TONIGHT AND EVEN ON PAGE ONE OF THIS AGENDA PACKET ON APRIL 20TH, 2022, CITY STAFF PRESENTED THE FINDINGS OF THE REVENUE STUDY, WHICH SHOWED A 1% SALES TAX INCREASE WOULD GENERATE THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF NEW ONGOING REVENUE AND WAS SUPPORTED BY A MAJORITY OF CARLSBAD VOTERS.
I FOUND THIS ENTIRE STUDY THAT WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE CITY TO TBWBH BY A CONSULTING FIRM LOCATED IN SAN FRANCISCO. IT IS FILLED WITH CONCLUSIONS BASED ON THE INFORMATION OBTAINED ONLY FROM 894 RESIDENTS.
THE TAXPAYER PAID REPORT OF 50 PAGES CONVEYS STRATEGIES AS TO HOW TO SWAY THE VOTER, WHO DOES NOT WANT A SALES TAX INCREASE, TO FEEL THE OPPOSITE.
I FIND THE STUDY MISLEADING, AND FOR A STAFF TO INCLUDE A MISSTATEMENT ON THAT A MAJORITY OF CARLSBAD VOTERS WILL VOTE FOR A 1% SALES TAX INCREASE IS HIGHLY SUSPECT.
AS CITY STAFF TRIES TO REITERATE THIS MISLEADING STATEMENT WHEN THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY FOR THE TOT, IS AN ATTEMPT TO INDOCTRINATE THE CITIZENRY TO ACCEPT THIS NEBULOUS TRUTH.
I WILL EXPOSE THE CHICANERY EACH AND EVERY TIME IT IS MENTIONED IN THE AGENDA PACKET, AND ENCOURAGE COUNCIL AND CARLSBAD CITIZENS TO READ THE REPORT FOR THEMSELVES. THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, FOR VOTING AGAINST THE SALES TAX INCREASE TWICE.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND I KNOW YOU'LL MAKE A GOOD DECISION ABOUT THE TOT.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR BLACKBURN AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL.
[02:20:01]
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO ADDRESS YOU THIS EVENING ON ITEM NUMBER 7.MY NAME IS TIM STRIPE, FOR THE RECORD, AND I AM THE CO-PRESIDENT OF GRAND PACIFIC RESORTS.
WE ARE ALL VERY CONCERNED AND SYMPATHETIC TO THE ECONOMIC AND BUDGETARY CHALLENGES THAT THE CITY AND EVERY ORGANIZATION FACES NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. IN OUR OWN BUSINESS, SINCE THE PANDEMIC, WE HAVE SEEN LABOR COSTS INCREASE BY OVER 25%, INSURANCE BY 30%, AND FOOD AND OTHER OPERATING SUPPLIES OVER 35%.
IF I UNDERSTAND THIS ALL CORRECTLY, THE MAIN REASON THAT THE CITY NEEDS INCREASED REVENUES IS TO MEET PROJECTED INCREASED OPERATIONAL COSTS OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
WE ARE ALL SYMPATHETIC TO THE CITY'S NEEDS AND WE CERTAINLY WANT A FISCALLY SOUND CITY GOVERNMENT.
HOWEVER, I DO NOT AGREE THAT THE LODGING INDUSTRY SHOULD BE BURDENED WITH HAVING TO PROVIDE THE MAJORITY, IF NOT ALL THE FUNDS, TO BALANCE THE SHORTFALL IN THE CITY'S OPERATING BUDGET.
AS THE CONCEPT OF INCREASING THE TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX BY AS MUCH AS 20% CAME FORWARD.
AND WHILE I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO GO INTO THE DETAILS OF EACH MARKET SEGMENT DUE TO MY ALLOTTED TIMEFRAME, CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES ARE NOW MORE AWARE THAT THEY HAVE, AND THEY HAVE EVER BEEN ABOUT THE TOTAL COST OF AN OVERNIGHT STAY, WHICH INCLUDES TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX.
SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR THE CITY TO FURTHER RESEARCH AND EXPLORE THE IMPACTS OF RAISING THE TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX, AND THAT THE HOTEL COMMUNITY BE INVITED UP FRONT TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN EVALUATING THE IMPACTS OF SUCH A DRAMATIC CHANGE.
I, FOR ONE, DO NOT MIND PAYING MY FAIR SHARE, BUT IT DOES NOT SEEM EQUITABLE THAT THE LODGING INDUSTRY, WHICH CURRENTLY CONTRIBUTES OVER 16% OF THE CITY'S ANNUAL BUDGET, SHOULD BE SINGLED OUT TO FILL THE SHORTFALL IN THE CITY BUDGET.
THIS IS WHY I URGE THE CITY COUNCIL TO FURTHER STUDY ALL SOURCES.
BILL [INAUDIBLE] FOLLOWED BY ALVARO FRAILE.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBERS, MR. MAYOR. CAN SOMEBODY ELSE GRANT SOMEBODY THEIR TIME, I DON'T WANT TO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON IT BECAUSE I GOT TO TALK FAST.
BUT, TIM, WHAT TIM SAID WAS RIGHT ON.
IT'S CAUSED HUGE LABOR INCREASES, INSURANCE HAS GONE UP.
MY INSURANCE HAS GONE UP BY MORE THAN 30% THE LAST TWO YEARS.
BUT WHEN YOU GO TO TALK TO I'M THE MANAGING PARTNER FOR THE TWO HILTONS ON THE COAST.
WHEN YOU GO TO TALK TO GM'S, THEY'RE NOT AUTHORIZED TO TURN OVER PRIVATE FINANCIAL INFORMATION.
BUT I CAN AND I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
THEY DID ME A GREAT FAVOR, AND THEY INCREASED MY INTEREST RATE FROM 3.85% TO 6.5%.
NOW, FELLOW HOTELIERS SAID, BILL, HOW DID YOU GET SUCH A GREAT LOAN IF YOU WERE GOING OUT TO GET A HOTEL LOAN TODAY OR IF YOU HAVE TO REFINANCE YOUR HOTEL TODAY, IT'S GOING TO COST YOU A MINIMUM OF 8%.
WE'VE ALSO ANOTHER THING I CAN TALK ABOUT THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE HESITANT TO IS THAT WE'VE HAD TO SCALE BACK WHAT WE'RE CHARGING OUR CUSTOMERS BY $9 A NIGHT IN ORDER TO HIT THE SAME OCCUPANCY FIGURES.
WE'RE GETTING MORE COMPETITION FROM OCEANSIDE THAN WE EXPECTED.
[02:25:09]
TAX IS PUT INTO PLACE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOWER OUR RATES FURTHER OR OUR OCCUPANCY IS GOING TO DROP.IT'S NOT THAT, OH, WELL, WE CAN JUST CHARGE IT TO THE CUSTOMER.
NO, IT'S GOING TO COME OFF OF WHAT IT'S GOING TO COME OFF OF OUR PROFITS.
WE'RE WILLING, AT LEAST THE HILTONS ARE WILLING TO SUPPORT SOME KIND OF MEASURE.
IF THE CITY REALLY FEELS THEY NEED A TAX INCREASE, THAT'S MORE FAIR, THAT THAT DISTRIBUTES IT AMONGST THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, NOT PUT IT ON THE BACKS OF THE HOTELS, WHICH BESIDES EMPLOYING A LOT OF PEOPLE, WE ALSO HAVE OUR CUSTOMERS GO TO THE RESTAURANTS AND THE SHOPS AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN TOWN.
IF THERE WERE A QUARTER PERCENT SALES TAX INCREASE, FOR EXAMPLE, MY TWO HOTELS WOULD PAY $250,000 MORE BECAUSE WE DO ABOUT $10 MILLION IN FOOD AND BEVERAGE.
BUT THAT'S A LOT LESS THAN WHAT WE WOULD BE ASKED TO PAY IF WE HAD A 2% INCREASE.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR BLACKBURN AND MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS ITEM SEVEN ON THE AGENDA.
I'M THE CEO OF AZUL HOSPITALITY GROUP.
WE ARE A HOTEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY BASED OUT OF LITTLE ITALY IN SAN DIEGO.
IN THE MARKET, AND I'D LIKE TO SHOW OUR DISAGREEMENT WITH THE CONSIDERATION TO INCREASE THE TOT TAX FROM 10 TO 12%, AS WE BELIEVE IT WILL DEFINITELY IMPACT THE VOLUME OF BUSINESS THAT WE ATTRACT IN CARLSBAD.
AND I'D LIKE TO SAY TWO THINGS AROUND THAT.
PHILOSOPHICALLY, I STRUGGLE WITH THE CONCEPT, WE WENT THROUGH THE EXERCISE OF COMPARING ALL OF OUR TOT'S AT ALL OF OUR LOCATIONS, AND MAYBE THERE'S NO POINT IN COMPARING OUT OF STATE TOT, BUT OUR LAST HOTEL WE JUST OPENED WAS LE MÉRIDIEN IN SALT LAKE CITY, WHO HAVE A 6% TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX.
BUT EVEN LOOKING AT OUR NEIGHBORS, WE OPERATE HOTELS IN SAN DIEGO WHERE THE OCCUPANCY TAX IS 10.5, SAN DIEGO IS AN URBAN DESTINATION WITH A CONVENTION CENTER, GREAT BEACHES THAT ARE CLEAN SERVICES ETC.
I CAN COMPREHEND THE NEED TO HIRE TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAXES IN SUCH URBAN CITIES, IN MANY WITH MANY SERVICES, BUT I STRUGGLE TO UNDERSTAND WHY A RESORT, MARKET OR A SUBURBAN MARKET WOULD NEED TO GO UP TO 12% WITH MUCH MORE LIMITED SERVICE TO OFFER AND SUPPORT.
AND SECONDLY, I'D LIKE TO ADD, IF WE THINK THE GUEST DOES NOT CARE OR IT'S A HIDDEN COST THAT WON'T AFFECT GUEST DEMAND FOR OUR LOCATION, WE ARE IN STRONG DISAGREEMENT. WE'RE SEEING MORE AND MORE SENSITIVITY FROM THE GUESTS IN ALL ADDED FEES AND ASKING FOR MORE VISIBILITY.
YOU HEAR IT ALL THE TIME WITH RENTAL CARS.
SO APART FROM IRRITATING YOU, IT ABSOLUTELY DETERS YOU FROM BOOKING AND MORE AND MORE GUESTS ARE ASKING QUESTIONS AND HAVING COMPLAINTS AROUND [INAUDIBLE] TRANSPARENCY IN GENERAL. SAME THINGS FOR HOTELS.
IN FACT. THE BEST EXAMPLE IS BOTH MERIT AND HILTON.
I'M SURE OTHER BRANDS WILL FOLLOW, HAVE ALL BEEN RECEIVING PRESSURE AND HAVE MADE THE MOVE TO NOW PUBLISH RATES WITH THE FEES INCLUDED AT THE TIME OF RESERVATIONS, WHICH WASN'T THE CASE BEFORE. SO WHEN THE GUESTS ARE COMPARING HOTELS OR CITIES TO GO TO BEFORE, WE WERE ONLY COMPARING COMPETING ON THE GUEST ROOM RATE, BUT NOW THE FINAL RATES ARE A LOT MORE VISIBLE. SO AN INCREASE IN TOT WILL IMPACT THE RATE THE GUEST SEES FROM THE GET GO, WHICH WILL MAKE US LESS COMPETITIVE AGAINST OTHER DESTINATIONS.
BRET SCHANZENBACH, FOLLOWED BY ROB STIRLING.
ON BEHALF OF THE CHAMBER, WE'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO NOT SEND THIS TO THE VOTERS.
A 2% INCREASE IN TOT AND LOOK FOR OTHER OPTIONS.
WE'RE ALREADY, YOU KNOW, OUR BIGGEST COMPETITOR IN GROUP IS DEFINITELY THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO.
AND EVEN IF IT WAS MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR OTHER COMPETITORS HERE IN THIS MOST IMMEDIATE AREA, LIKE THE CITY OF OCEANSIDE AND THEIR GROWING PRODUCT THAT'S VERY WELL RECEIVED RIGHT NOW IN THE MARKET.
[02:30:06]
I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN TO EVENTS AND SEEN SEVERAL OF YOU AT EVENTS AT THE SEA BIRD THAT USED TO BE EVENTS HELD RIGHT HERE IN CARLSBAD.AND SO THEY'RE PEELING AWAY BUSINESS.
AND IF WE'RE HONEST, THEY HAVE THE SAME BEAUTIFUL WEATHER.
THEY HAVE A VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO LEGOLAND.
THEY HAVE MORE SAND ON THEIR BEACHES THAN WE HAVE.
THEY HAVE A BEAUTIFUL PIER AND A RAPIDLY REDEVELOPED DOWNTOWN THAT IS VERY ATTRACTIVE.
SO I DON'T WANT TO BE ALSO HIGHER TAXED THAN THEY ARE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE ANOTHER REASON TO POSSIBLY PUSH SOME OF OUR POTENTIAL GROUP BUSINESS FARTHER NORTH FROM US.
AND NOBODY'S TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THESE.
THAT'S NOT A THING. AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS TO NOT ALLOW DRIVE THRUS ARE BEING MITIGATED DAILY AS MORE ELECTRIC VEHICLES, HYBRIDS, EVEN MY GAS CAR THAT I STILL OWN SHUTS DOWN EVERY TIME I PAUSE, EVEN IRRITATINGLY SO AT STOP SIGNS, I MEAN.
SO THINKING OF DRIVE THRUS IS JUST THIS PLACE WHERE CO2 EMISSIONS AREPOLLUTING.
IT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT A THING AND THERE'S GREAT BUSINESSES.
SO THERE'S OTHER OPTIONS THAT CAN BE DISCUSSED THAT CAN BE PUT ON THE TABLE.
WE'D LIKE, AS THE CHAMBER WOULD LIKE TO SEE THOSE THAT WOULD BE POSITIVE FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
POSITIVE FOR BUSINESS WON'T NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE COMPETITIVENESS OF OUR HOTELS.
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK AT THOSE AND OTHERS.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS ROB STIRLING.
WITH THAT IN MIND, I'M DOWN EVERY DAY WITH MY SALES TEAM IN THE TRENCHES SELLING IN ALL MARKETS.
AND I CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOU'VE HEARD TONIGHT.
OUR BUSINESS HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT EVERY DAY ON ALL SEGMENTS, WHETHER THAT'S OUR TIME TO GENERATE REVENUE OR OUR OPERATING COSTS AND HOW WE CONTROL THEM.
THE CONSUMER IS VERY PRICE CONSCIOUS.
IT'S NOT SEGMENTED, AND YOU PUT IN A SHOPPING CART.
OUR GROUP PLANNERS ARE VERY PRICE SAVVY AND ARE VERY SENSITIVE AND UNDERSTAND THE TAX IMPLICATIONS AND HAVE SPREADSHEETS PUT TOGETHER THAT INCLUDE ALL COST.
OUR GROUP BUSINESS IS DOWN SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 20 AND 25% FROM PRE-PANDEMIC COVID LEVELS.
WITH THAT IN MIND, OUR TEAM FIGHTS EVERY DAY FOR EVERY ROOM NIGHT.
IT ALSO COULD POTENTIALLY DECREASE THE OCCUPANCY, DECREASE OUR RATE STRUCTURE AND IMPACT THE CURRENT TOT TAX CONTRIBUTION THAT YOU SEE TODAY. IT WOULD ALSO IMPACT THE BUSINESS LEVELS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS BRING TO OTHER BUSINESSES WITHIN THE CITY.
IF OUR OCCUPANCY GOES DOWN, IT ALSO COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT EMPLOYMENT IN THE MANNER OF THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WE EMPLOY AT EACH HOTEL LOCALLY. WITH THAT IN MIND, I APPRECIATE THE TIME I'M THERE DAY IN AND DAY OUT SELLING THIS WONDERFUL CITY.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS.
QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL,MS. LUNA? NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY. MS. BURKHOLDER? YEAH, I DO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT AND FOR ALL THE SPEAKERS THAT ARE HERE TONIGHT, MUCH WAS SAID ABOUT THE GROUP SALES RATES OR THE GROUP RATES. DO WE HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON WHAT PERCENTAGE OF TOT IS REFLECTED IN THE GROUP SALES? SO YES, WE DO.
ACCORDING TO SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH, ROUGHLY 15%, EXCUSE ME, 14.8% OF TOTAL ADR WAS DRIVEN BY OR EXCUSE ME, TOTAL OCCUPANCY WAS DRIVEN BY GROUP OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.
THAT GOES HIGHER IN OFF PEAK MONTHS.
SO IT'S A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT.
AND WHAT DOES THAT EQUATE TO IN DOLLARS?
[02:35:06]
WE CAN TELL YOU THAT THE GROUP ADR IS ON AVERAGE 10% HIGHER THAN FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TRAVELER, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TOTAL FIGURES.OKAY. AND THEN I THINK WHAT WAS MENTIONED WAS 32 MILLION IS THE TAX REVENUE THAT THE CITY RECEIVES FROM 34,000,030.
OKAY. AND THEN I'M JUST CURIOUS BY DISTRICT, IF YOU BREAK OUT THE RESORTS PER DISTRICT, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? [INAUDIBLE] . SO WE DO HAVE THE HOTELS AND STVR'S OR SHORT TERM VACATION RENTALS BY DISTRICT, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE THE ASSOCIATED REVENUE GENERATED.
RIGHT? YEAH, I WASN'T ASKING FOR THAT, BUT I DO APPRECIATE THAT.
SO YOU CAN SORT OF SEE IT'S HEAVY IN ONE AND TWO.
SO THERE'S A LOT GOING ON THERE.
AND I HAD THAT NUMBER, SOMEWHERE.
MAYBE I'LL FIND IT IN A SECOND.
ALL RIGHT. AND THEN I SEE THAT NOVEMBER 14TH MEETING.
IT INCLUDES THE FISCAL YEAR 23-24 FIRST QUARTER UPDATE.
WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION SHOULD WE EXPECT IN THAT UPDATE? BECAUSE I SEE A CONNECTION BETWEEN THAT BUDGET UPDATE AND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT.
THE FIRST QUARTER REPORT, WHICH IS SLATED FOR NOVEMBER 14TH, WON'T HAVE ANYTHING RELATED TO TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX AND THE POTENTIAL FOR AN INCREASE IN RATES, BUT IT WILL BE REPORTING OUT ON THE GENERAL FUND, AS WELL AS OTHER FUNDS WITHIN THE CITY AND THEIR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE DURING THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
SPECIFICALLY, TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX.
SO WE WILL BE ABLE TO EVALUATE AND REPORT OUT ON THE PERFORMANCE DURING THAT FIRST QUARTER.
DO WE KNOW HOW LONG THE OMNI HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS OF GETTING THE NCAA TOURNAMENT TO CARLSBAD? I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THAT COMPETENTLY.
I BELIEVE THE INITIAL LETTER WENT OUT WAS IT IN 20 THAT WE HAD THAT THE LETTER WENT OUT? I BELIEVE IT WAS 2020.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS TO GET A TOURNAMENT HERE FOR 3 TO 5 YEARS.
I'M JUST REALLY CONCERNED THAT THESE TYPE OF GROUP CONTRACTS THAT ARE EVENTS LIKE THAT MIGHT BE IMPACTED IF THERE WERE AN INCREASE IN THE TOT ONE OF THE SPEAKERS MENTIONED RESEARCH IN TO DETERMINE WHAT THE IMPACTS ARE OF THE TOT.
SO WHAT THINGS DID THE CITY DO AS FAR AS RESEARCH? SO WE EVALUATED THE TOT LEVELS IN OUR COMPETITIVE SET, AND WE ALSO EVALUATED OTHER CITIES THAT HAD PASSED TOT MEASURES. WE LOOKED AT THE YEAR PRECEDING THE YEAR IT WAS PASSED IN SEVERAL YEARS POST THAT PASSING.
WE DO HAVE SOME INFORMATION ON THAT IN EXHIBIT TWO AS WELL THAT SHOWS THE IMPACT TO THOSE CITIES.
OKAY. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS.
JUST COMMENTS. QUESTIONS, MS. ACOSTA? YES. THANK YOU.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE HARD WORK BEHIND IT.
I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE FORECAST AND ASK MR. KORACH A BIT ABOUT THIS.
THE TEN YEAR FORECAST WITH THE CHART OR THE BAR GRAPH GOES FROM BLUE TO ORANGE AND I WANT TO ASK YOU WHAT THE AMOUNT IS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CHART SO WE CAN SEE.
BUT FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T SEE BECAUSE IT'S FAR, IT'D BE EASIER TO JUST SAY WHAT THOSE AMOUNTS ARE, SO COME FISCAL YEAR 28-29, THE LINE TURNS ORANGE.
SO HOW MUCH? WELL, WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS? WHAT ARE WE NEGATIVE? NEGATIVE 4 MILLION? AND THEN GOING, SO WHAT IS THAT? IT IS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE QUESTION.
[02:40:07]
THAT AMOUNT IS $4.2 MILLION.AND THAT GROWS INCREASINGLY IN EACH OF THOSE OUT YEARS, ALL THE WAY TO FISCAL YEAR 33, 34.
AND THAT ANNUAL DEFICIT IS APPROXIMATELY $33 MILLION.
GREAT. THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTION.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO EQUATE THIS TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE WITH THE TOT.
IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE EVEN WITH THE 2%, WE'RE ONLY LOOKING AT 3 MILLION AVERAGE A YEAR, SO WE'RE NOT, THERE WAS A COMMENT MADE THAT HOTELS WOULD BE BALANCING THE CITY BUDGET OR SOMETHING.
THIS IS DEFINITELY JUST A TINY BIT OF WHAT WE NEED.
EVERY PERCENTAGE POINT INCREASE WOULD BE BETWEEN 3 AND 3 AND HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
SO A 2% INCREASE WE HAD REPORTED OUT WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY OR CONSERVATIVELY $6 MILLION.
AND TO YOUR POINT, THAT'S CORRECT.
WE HAD STATED THAT IF THE CITY COUNCIL WERE TO APPROVE PLACING 2% TOT INCREASE ON THE BALLOT AND VOTERS WERE TO APPROVE IT, THAT WOULD REALLY ONLY BE POSTPONING THAT PROJECTED DEFICIT BY ONE YEAR.
IT WOULD ONLY JUST PUT THIS OFF BY ONE YEAR.
SO WE HAVE A BIGGER PROBLEM THAN JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE TO GET 3 OR $6 MILLION PER YEAR.
THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE NEED TO CONSIDER AS A BIG PICTURE AND REALLY NOT JUST CONSIDER WHAT IT'S WHAT THE HOTEL ROOM RATE WOULD BE PER HOTEL BASED ON THEIR AVERAGE RATE.
BY THE WAY, I DIDN'T REALLY SEE MUCH ABOUT ROOM RATES EITHER.
SO WHEN WE'RE COMPARING OUR ROOM RATE IN CARLSBAD VERSUS, SAY, NEWPORT BEACH, I KNOW I'VE SEEN THIS IN OTHER CITY REPORTS THAT THEY ALREADY ARE A LOT HIGHER EVEN WITHOUT THE TOT.
LIKE THEIR BASE ROOM RATE IS HIGHER THERE THAN HERE, BUT I DIDN'T SEE THAT HERE.
WAS THERE ANY STUDY OR ANY COMPARISON DONE THIS TIME AROUND THAT WE DID NOT BRING INFORMATION FORWARD? TO YOUR POINT ON WHAT THE ADR IS SPECIFIC TO THAT MIX, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY RETURN WITH THAT INFORMATION.
WHEN WE HAD THE INITIAL CONVERSATION, THE CITY COUNCIL LOOKED TO TOT BECAUSE WE WERE KIND OF LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION SPECIFICALLY AROUND HOW WE CAN GENERATE MORE REVENUE WITHOUT HARMING OUR RESIDENTS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING SO MUCH INFLATION RIGHT NOW AND AFFORDABILITY ISSUES AND REALLY STRUGGLING.
SO I KNOW WE WERE ASKING FOR YOU TO BRING BACK A LOT OF INFORMATION.
WE HAVE A BIGGER STRUCTURAL DEFICIT ISSUE.
THANK YOU. QUESTIONS, MS. BHAT-PATEL? YES.
I KNOW THERE WAS MENTION OF THE SURVEY THAT WAS CONDUCTED, AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF YOU COULD LET ME KNOW HOW THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED AND JUST THE DATA THAT WAS UTILIZED.
SO IF YOU COULD WALK THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER.
YES, THAT WAS A RANDOM SAMPLE SURVEY OF, I BELIEVE, 894 RESIDENTS, LIKELY VOTERS IN THE UPCOMING ELECTION, AND CARLSBAD VOTERS AT THAT TIME, THEY WERE PRESENTED WITH A SERIES OF QUESTIONS RELATED TO A POTENTIAL SALES TAX INCREASE AND BALLOT AND THEY TESTED LANGUAGE ARGUMENTS BOTH IN FAVOR OF A SALES TAX INCREASE AND AGAINST A SALES TAX INCREASE.
THEY TOOK BALLOT TESTS OR SURVEY TESTS, RATHER AT THOSE INTERIM PHASES, AFTER RECEIVING POSITIVE ARGUMENTS, NEGATIVE ARGUMENTS, AND THEN IN COMBINATION WITH BOTH ARGUMENTS.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, THOSE SURVEY RESULTS SHOWED 58% OF THE RESPONDENTS INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD EITHER DEFINITELY OR PROBABLY VOTE IN FAVOR OF A SALES TAX INCREASE.
THAT SURVEY ALSO PRESENTED QUESTIONS ON A PARALLEL TRACK AROUND VOTER APPETITES RELATED TO CANNABIS AND THE SALE OF RECREATIONAL CANNABIS IN CARLSBAD, AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY, THE IDEA OF TAXATION SHOULD CANNABIS SALES BE AUTHORIZED IN CARLSBAD?
[02:45:07]
SUPPORT FOR THAT, I BELIEVE, WAS IN THE 30 TO 40% RANGE.I CAN LOOK UP THE EXACT DATA, BUT THAT WAS CONDUCTED IN THE SAME SURVEY AT THE SAME TIME.
I WILL SAY ONE FINAL QUESTION THAT WAS PART OF THAT SURVEY RELATED TO VOTERS OPINIONS AROUND HOW THE CITY MANAGES ITS FINANCES.
GREAT. THANK YOU. I JUST HAVE COMMENTS, THANKS.
I HAVE NO QUESTIONS, BUT I'M GOING TO START OUT WITH THE COMMENTS.
I'M HERE TO SAY THAT ORIGINALLY MY OPINION WAS THIS DOESN'T AFFECT OUR HOTELS.
THIS IS A 2% INCREASE THAT OUR TOURISTS WILL BE PAYING FOR OUR IMPROVED SERVICES.
I THINK THAT A LOT OF THE POPULATION BELIEVES THE SAME THING, BUT I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH OUR HOTEL OWNERS AND LEARNED AN AWFUL LOT ABOUT NUMBER ONE, I WAS WRONG, AND NUMBER TWO, HOW THAT WILL AFFECT THE HOTELS.
SOME ARE CONSIDERED SMALL BUSINESSES, AND THE CONCERN WAS PLEASE DON'T SADDLE THE SMALL BUSINESSES WITH THE CITIES DEFICIT ISSUES. ANOTHER THING THAT WAS BROUGHT UP THAT MADE A LOT OF SENSE WAS THE HOTELS ARE FEELING THE SAME INFLATIONARY PAIN THAT THE CITIES FEELING.
AND THEN WHEN THEY HAVE TO REHAB, THEIR CONSTRUCTION COSTS ARE MUCH HIGHER.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS DISCUSSED WAS THE POSSIBILITY OF A LOT MORE HOTELS COMING TO THE CITY.
AND THERE'S JUST DISCUSSION AT THIS POINT, BUT THERE IS SOME LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL FOR ADDITIONAL HOTEL NIGHTS, WHICH WOULD GENERATE MORE TOT.
SO I'M GOING TO SAY FIRST OF ALL.
I WAS WRONG WHEN I THOUGHT THAT THE 2% WOULD NOT AFFECT THE HOTELS THAT WOULD JUST BE PAID BY THE TOURISTS, AND THAT I FEEL VERY STRONGLY NOW THAT I DON'T WANT TO PUT THAT BURDEN ON OUR SMALL BUSINESS HOTELS.
SO I CANNOT GET BEHIND GOING ANY FURTHER.
WILL YOU GO NEXT? WELL, I LOOK AT IT. I MEAN, WE'RE GETTING BACK TO BUDGET, BASIC BUDGET.
AND I THINK THERE'S THREE STOOLS OR THREE LEGS TO THE STOOL IN EVERY BUDGET.
AND I DON'T THINK WE'VE EXPLORED THE THIRD STOOL AND THE THIRD LEG ENOUGH AND THE STOOL, AND THAT IS WE HAVE TO OVERTURN EVERY ROCK, EVERY ANYWHERE THAT WE CAN SAVE MONEY, ANY PLACE, ANY TIME.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK INWARD.
WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH YEAR, FIFTH YEAR.
YOU HAVE COME UP AND TAKEN US THROUGH FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN YEARS PLANNING.
AND YOU'RE SAYING. WE'RE GOING TO BE IN TROUBLE.
HOWEVER, I THINK YOU'VE DONE A GOOD JOB IN LOOKING AT OUR REVENUE, PROPERTY TAX, SALES TAX AND TOT.
HOWEVER, ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, I THINK WE NEED TO TURN OVER SOME OTHER ROCKS AND I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK INWARD AND TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE COST INTERNAL TO THE CITY.
I CANNOT IMPOSE A SALES TAX ON THE HOTELIERS, AS WELL AS A SALES TAX ON OUR CONSTITUENTS, WITHOUT KNOWING EVERYTHING THAT I NEED TO KNOW.
I FEEL LIKE I HAVE A LITTLE INFORMATION VACANCY IN THAT AREA.
IF I WERE JUST TO LOOK AT THE TOT TODAY, IT'S A BANDAID.
I DON'T THINK IT GETS US TO THE NUMBERS AS COUNCIL MEMBER ACOSTA DIDN'T EXACTLY SAY, BUT IT'S A BIG PICTURE AND I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK INTERNALLY TOO, AT OUR OPERATIONAL COST AND WHAT WE DO.
[02:50:04]
AND PROBABLY IF I HAD THE WHEREWITHAL LAST YEAR OR WHEN THE BUDGET CAME, IN ALL FAIRNESS TO STAFF, I WOULD HAVE ASKED YOU TO DO THAT. I DID NOT ASK YOU TO DO THAT.GOING FORWARD, I WILL FULLY ASK THAT TO TAKE A LOOK AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND THAT OUR CITY MANAGER TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. YOU GO BACK A FEW YEARS, QUITE A FEW YEARS.
FAST FORWARD AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN OTHER, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT CITY COUNCILS.
STAFF HAS INCREASED OUR CITY SERVICES.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'VE STAYED THE SAME IF THEY HAVE.
I THINK ALSO OUR CALPERS WHAT WE'RE WHAT WE'RE HAVING TO ABSORB ON OUR CALPERS, I THINK YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB IN LOOKING AT ALTERNATE INVESTMENTS.
HOWEVER, I AM NOT COMFORTABLE WITH GOING TO OUR CITIZENS AND ASKING THEM TO VOTE ON HOTELIER.
I THINK WE'RE JUST CANNIBALIZING OURSELF.
AND SECONDLY, A SALES TAX ALSO WITHOUT HAVING ALL THE INFORMATION.
SO I COULD NOT SUPPORT THIS TODAY.
MISS BURKHOLDER? THANK YOU. I ACTUALLY WROTE MY COMMENTS DOWN BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO FORGET ANYTHING, AND THEY MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN NORMAL.
AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A HIGHER PRICE POINT BEING FURTHER FROM THE AIRPORT CONVENTION CENTER, HAVING MORE THINGS TO DO IN SAN DIEGO IN GENERAL AND ALL OF THOSE ARE FACTORS TO CONSIDER BECAUSE THEY MAKE US LESS ATTRACTIVE TO THE MARKET, HAS BEEN WELL ESTABLISHED.
I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE RIPPLE EFFECT FOR RESTAURANTS, HOTEL STAFF, ETCETERA.
IF THE GROUP SELLS, AREN'T THERE, IF THE EVENTS AREN'T THERE AND STRONG BECAUSE IT'S MY EXPERIENCE AS A TYPICAL VACATION FAMILY, WE MIGHT PLAN A MONTH IN ADVANCE OR SIX WEEKS IN ADVANCE, BUT WITH THE GROUP SALES AND THE EVENTS, THE HOTELS HAVE A MORE OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAN FOR WHAT THEIR BUDGET IS GOING TO BE.
AND I'M THINKING, WITHOUT THOSE GROUP SALES, EVERYONE PAYS THE PRICE.
I DON'T NEED TO SAY THAT. OH, AND AS AN EXAMPLE, THE NCAA GOLF TOURNAMENT.
SO ADDITIONALLY, I THINK THE COUNTY AND THE STATE ARE CONSIDERED POTENTIALLY INCREASING TAXES ON THE SAME NOVEMBER BALLOT, WHICH COULD LEAD, OBVIOUSLY, TO VOTER EXHAUSTION AND PUT US IN A POSITION WHERE THE MEASURE WOULD NOT PASS AND THAT WOULD BE A COLOSSAL WASTE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
CONCERTS IN THE PARK WERE CUT AND THE LIBRARY HOURS WERE DECREASED.
AND I'VE HEARD A LOT OF DISGRUNTLED RESIDENTS RELATIVE TO THOSE TWO ISSUES.
SO IN MY PERFECT WORLD, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE STAFF IDENTIFY AREAS WHERE WE COULD CONTRACT SERVICES TO DECREASE OUR PENSION OBLIGATION AND HEALTH BENEFITS.
FOR THOSE REASONS, I WON'T BE SUPPORTING THIS, BUT I DO, HOWEVER, HAVE ANOTHER REQUEST.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR A SEPARATE ITEM TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES WITH AN AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING WITH FINANCE TO REDUCE ONGOING OPERATIONAL COSTS RELATIVE TO STAFF AND THE ORGANIZATION.
AND I'D LOVE TO HAVE MY COLLEAGUE CAROLYN LUNA SERVE WITH ME ON THE AD HOC COMMITTEE.
MY SEPARATE ASK IT'S A SEPARATE ITEM.
THANK YOU TO STAFF SO MUCH FOR THE REPORT AND FOR ALERTING US TO THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT.
[02:55:09]
THAT YOU BROUGHT THIS TO OUR ATTENTION.AND WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
I DO RECALL THE OTHER CONVERSATIONS, THE ONE THAT WE HAD WHERE WE WERE KIND OF GOING OVER OUR CIP'S AND TALKING ABOUT OUR FUTURE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT.
I REMEMBER TALKING A LOT ABOUT CANNABIS SALES TAX AND TOT.
YOU MAY REMEMBER THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE THERE, HOW STRONGLY I EXPRESSED MY CONCERNS ABOUT A SALES TAX BECAUSE I COULD SEE INFLATION AND AFFORDABILITY ISSUES TAKING CENTER STAGE FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
LOWER INCOME FAMILIES WOULD BE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED AND HURT FAMILIES LIVING ON THE VERGE, AND WE'VE BEEN PUTTING HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS AS A COUNCIL PRIORITY SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL SINCE I WAS SWORN INTO THE COUNCIL IN DECEMBER OF 2020, HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS HAVE BEEN AT THE TOP OF OUR CONCERNS.
WE WORK SO MUCH ON PREVENTING HOMELESSNESS.
I THINK A SALES TAX WOULD REALLY HARM OUR EFFORTS.
SO I FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT A SALES TAX IS A REGRESSIVE TAX AND WOULD HARM OUR RESIDENTS MORE THAN ANY OTHER REVENUE GENERATING MECHANISM.
TOT, WE DIDN'T SEE, WE DIDN'T KNOW AND SO NOW WE KNOW.
THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE HOTEL ROOMS. AND THANK YOU TO THE HOTELIERS AND THE OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, LIKE THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THAT WERE HERE EXPRESSING THEIR CONCERN AROUND NOT JUST HOTELS, BUT THE OTHER BUSINESSES LIKE RESTAURANTS AND LEGOLAND AND OTHER PLACES THAT ARE VISITORS ALSO SPEND MONEY AT.
SO I CAN SEE THAT WE ARE STUCK IN A REALLY DIFFICULT PLACE.
AND THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE AND THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT.
EVEN DOING THIS UNPOPULAR THING THAT MIGHT HARM US A LOT WOULDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM.
SO WE ALL HAVE A LOT OF TOUGH DECISIONS TO MAKE.
WE'VE GOT TO FIND WAYS TO LOOK FOR MORE REVENUE, BUT ALSO TO REDUCE COSTS.
AND I AM IN AGREEMENT THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE TO CUT COSTS, TO REDUCE REDUNDANCIES, TO FIND WAYS TO BE MORE EFFICIENT, TO FIND SERVICES THAT MAYBE AREN'T ESSENTIAL, THAT WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING.
I KNOW WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK IN THAT AREA AND THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US.
I KNOW THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT COST RECOVERY AND WE'VE MADE SOME DECISIONS TO SUBSIDIZE RESIDENTS FEES.
MAYBE WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT AGAIN.
BUT I DO THINK WE NEED TO BE VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS DISCUSSION.
NOBODY WANTS TO BE PRICED OUT OF CARLSBAD, WHETHER IT'S OUR RESIDENTS OR OUR GUESTS.
SO I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T MAKE A HASTY DECISION.
YES. THANK YOU AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND UPDATE.
AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT A COMBINATION OF WHETHER IT'S AT SOME POINT REVENUE INCREASES, IF WE AREN'T ABLE TO FIGURE IT OUT BY TIGHTENING OUR BUDGET.
BUT I DO THINK THAT WE NEED MORE INFORMATION FOR THE OPTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A WELL-INFORMED DECISION WITH REGARDS TO WHAT THAT COMBINATION WOULD LOOK LIKE.
RIGHT? AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE'VE DONE A REALLY GREAT JOB.
I MEAN, THAT'S THE TEAM DOING A REALLY GREAT JOB OF MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE IN LINE WITH OUR POLICIES, THAT WE'RE REALLY THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THE THINGS WITH, IN A CONSERVATIVE MANNER WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR FINANCES.
AND SO I THINK, REGARDLESS, I DON'T THINK THAT RAISING THE TOT WOULD BE ENOUGH FOR US TO STABILIZE WHATEVER PENDING SHORTFALL THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. I ALSO THINK IT WOULD HAVE A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON THE INDUSTRY, AND IT WOULD MAKE US LESS COMPETITIVE, WHICH I'VE HEARD, YOU KNOW, OVER AND OVER AGAIN FROM FOLKS, FROM INDIVIDUAL CONVERSATIONS, BUT ALSO TONIGHT.
[03:00:02]
AND I DO BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD HAVE A MORE HOLISTIC CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE CAN ADDRESS THIS POTENTIAL DEFICIT AND WHETHER THAT MEANS, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO THE TIGHTENING OUR BUDGET, BUT THEN ALSO THINKING ABOUT OTHER OPTIONS THAN WHAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED TONIGHT.SO THOSE WOULD BE MY COMMENTS AND THANK YOU AGAIN TO THOSE THAT SHOWED UP TO SPEAK.
SINCE THIS WAS FOR INFORMATION ONLY, YOU DO NOT NEED A VOTE FOR FOR CHOICE NUMBER ONE, DO YOU OR DID YOU GET ENOUGH JUST FROM THE CONVERSATION? A VOTE ALWAYS HELPS.
OKAY, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION ON OPTION ONE.
I THINK OPTION ONE WAS DO NOTHING.
IS THAT CORRECT? TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION ON TOT AT THIS TIME.
NO FURTHER. OKAY, MY MOTION IS FOR OPTION ONE.
I SECOND, AND THEN MAY I ASK A QUICK QUESTION? OF COURSE. OKAY.
IF WE TAKE NO ACTION AT ALL, WILL YOU ALL BE COMING BACK TO US WITH OPTIONS TO LOOK INTERNALLY AS WELL, OR WOULD WE NEED TO MAKE THAT MOTION TONIGHT? THIS IS JUST A MOTION ON TOT NOTHING MORE.
OKAY. THE OTHER ITEMS, WE CAN ASK TO BE BROUGHT BACK SEPARATELY.
DID YOU HAVE A OR DO YOU WANT TO HOLD ON TO THAT UNTIL YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO TALK WITH STAFF ABOUT WHAT IT IS EXACTLY YOU WANT THEM TO BRING BACK? SURE. OKAY.
SHOULD I MAKE THE MOTION THEN? YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE AD HOC.
YEAH. I'M JUST GOING TO MAKE THE SUGGESTION.
TALK TO STAFF, TALK TO CITY MANAGER, AND THEN BRING IT BACK NEXT WEEK.
OKAY. THEN THAT WAY, IT'S MORE THOUGHT OUT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE REST OF US.
OKAY. IS THAT OKAY? ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY THEN. CLOSING COMMENTS, MISS LUNA?
[COUNCIL COMMENTARY AND REQUESTS FOR CONSIDERATION OF MATTERS]
NONE. THANK YOU, MISS BURKHOLDER? YES. AT SANDAG LAST WEEK, I WAS, DISCOVERED THAT THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A LITTLE GLITCH WITH HIRING A CONSULTING FIRM FOR THE NEXT CEO, SO I'M ADDRESSING THAT ISSUE.OBVIOUSLY, IF YOU'D LIKE TO JOIN ME THERE, IT'LL BE AT 9 A.M.
THANKS. MS. ACOSTA? THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO LET FOLKS KNOW THAT THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY MEETS THIS THURSDAY.
AS USUAL, IT'S PRETTY MUCH AN ALL DAY MEETING.
PEOPLE CAN GO DOWN TO THE WATER AUTHORITY HEADQUARTERS OR THEY CAN STREAM IT ON THE WEBSITE.
THANK YOU. MISS BHAT-PATEL? YES. THANK YOU.
WE HAD QUITE A FEW NCT RELATED MEETINGS LAST WEEK.
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING FOR THE SEARCH FOR THE CEO, THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING, AND THEN I REPRESENT NCT ON SANDAG TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE, WHERE WE WERE DISCUSSING A RESTRUCTURING OF SOME OF THE FEES, WHICH THANKFULLY WAS NOT VOTED.
SO I'M THANKFUL FOR THAT AND THEN THIS COMING WEEK, I HAVE A SOCIAL EQUITY WORKING GROUP MEETING, AND THEN NEXT WEEK I WILL BE ALSO PART OF A CONVERSATION WITH REGARDS TO ANOTHER, AGAIN NCT RELATED TOPIC.
SO OTHER THAN THAT, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THIS WEEK IS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND, 2023 AT 5:30 P.M.
[ANNOUNCEMENTS]
CITY OF CARLSBAD BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS APPRECIATION EVENT THAT WILL BE AT THE CROSSINGS AT 5800 THE CROSSINGS DRIVE, CARLSBAD.[CITY MANAGER COMMENTS]
I JUST WANT TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO AGAIN, THANK THE OUTSTANDING PRESENTATION BY OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, ZACH, OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, JASON HABER, AS WELL AS MATT SANFORD, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER.THIS HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR A NUMBER OF MONTHS.
AND I JUST THINK THAT YOU GUYS DID AN EXCEPTIONAL JOB.
CITY ATTORNEY? NOTHING. THANK YOU.
CITY CLERK? THANK YOU. WE'RE ADJOURNED.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.