hello friends! - santa barbara county...hello friends! my first months since being elected have been...
TRANSCRIPT
Representing Santa Barbara County’s Third District
SUMMER 2017
Meet Third District
Staff
Third District
Welcomes Guadalupe
5th Graders
New Third District
Planning
Commissioner
General Updates
In this newsletter
Hello Friends!
My first months since being elected have been quite active starting last November with a statewide training for new county supervisors, stepping into the chair of the Board in January, assembling a team to serve you, and setting up three offices—in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Solvang. My staff and I have met all the County department heads, toured their facilities and learned about their programs, so we can work together to meet the needs of our Third District.
During the heavy winter storms, the Third District experienced serious mud slides in El Capitan Canyon, bluff erosion in Isla Vista, along with road and bridge washouts in Refugio Canyon, the Santa Ynez Valley and Casmalia. This summer’s Whittier Fire is smoldering as I write this. I am so grateful to our firefighters and sheriff deputies on the front lines, to those supporting their efforts at incident command and dispatch, and to all the cooperating partners including Red Cross, Public Health, Animal Services, and Public Works. At the County Emergency Operations Center, staff worked day and night to protect services to county residents. The rapid response and coordination across agencies was extraordinary.
These events stands as a sharp reminder to plan ahead for emergencies at home, at work, and on the road. Also, please help us help you by signing up for emergency alerts at awareandprepare.org.
I hope you enjoy this first newsletter. We plan to issue one each quarter to let you know what is happening at the County and what your Third District team has been working on.
My warmest regards,
Meet The Staff
Jefferson Litten, Chief of Staff
Jefferson joins Supervisor Hartmann’s team with experience in education, management, and non-profit leadership. Most recently, as the Director of Energy and Climate programs for the Community Environmental Council (CEC), Jefferson led CEC’s initiatives, promoting renewable energy, sustainable transportation, and energy efficiency solutions across the Central Coast.
Key Subject Areas: Energy, Water, and Economic Development
Gina Fischer, District Representative
If you have called to schedule time to meet with Supervisor Hartmann in the past six months, chances are you have come in contact with Gina Fischer, District Representative & Scheduler.
Gina joins Supervisor Hartmann’s team with experience in political organizing and non-profit leadership, serving as the Director of Public Policy and Community Engagement at Planned Parenthood California Central Coast and as the Community Programs Manager for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. Under her leadership, the Foodbank earned national recognition for creating innovative programs aimed at ending the childhood hunger crisis in America.
Key Subject Areas: Isla Vista, Goleta and Scheduling
Alma Hernandez, District Representative
Alma specializes in constituent services and community partnerships in the northern parts of the district, including: Guadalupe, Vandenberg Village, Casmalia and Tanglewood.
Alma’s experience is working in rural, largely immigrant, communities developing leadership through cooperative efforts and placing community members at the forefront of decision-making processes. Alma served as Director of Guadalupe's Little House by the Park, where her focus was on promoting open, communal, multicultural and artistic spaces.
Key Subject Areas: North County, Housing, Open Space and Trails, Family Services, and Communications
Elizabeth Farnum, District Representative Elizabeth has lived in Santa Barbara County for almost 30 years and joins Supervisor Hartmann’s team with experience in law, planning, and non-profits. Elizabeth has previously served as Assistant City Attorney in Lompoc, Deputy Counsel for the County of Santa Barbara, Third District Planning Commissioner, and most recently as District Representative for Supervisor Doreen Farr.
She also served on the board of several non-profits, including the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, We Watch, The Fund for Santa Barbara, and Veggie Rescue.
Key Subject Areas: Santa Ynez Valley, Land Use, and Water
County Passes Balanced Budget
In June, the Board passed a balanced budget. In light of the County’s budget challenges, this was a difficult process as each department was asked to make budget cuts. Despite hard decisions, the Board was able to provide funding for a number Third District priorities including:
Repairing storm damaged roads including the Lompoc-Casmalia Road, Refugio Road and Alisal Road
Securing office space for the Isla Vista Community Services District
Full public safety staffing for the Isla Vista Foot Patrol
Increasing funding for libraries countywide
Restoring several social service positions
Adding funds to pursue a Countywide Economic Vitality Strategy
Click here for more information about the County Budget.
Third District Welcomes
Guadalupe 5th Graders
On April 25th, our office had the honor of host-
ing 52 students from Mary Buren Elementary
School to tour the historic Santa Barbara
County Courthouse and the Board of Supervi-
sors hearing room to learn basic government
functions including meeting procedures and
how to advocate before the Board. Click on
either image to the left to view a video of their
visit.
Water and Energy Initiatives
Along with Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and Assem-blymember Monique Limón, Supervisor Hartmann helped promote the Drought Emergency Task Force. Joan appreciates the ongoing participation by the Water Districts throughout the County. They agreed on a set of regional projects for which they will seek funding from the State. The agencies and the County are continuing to work together on other strategies to achieve greater water security going forward. Along with Supervisor Das Williams, Supervisor Hart-mann sponsored a resolution affirming Santa Barbara County’s support for the prevention of climate change and the County’s support for the Paris Climate Agreement. Through this resolu-tion, Santa Barbara County signed onto the "We Are Still In" effort alongside 125 cities, 9 states, 902 businesses and investors, and 183 colleges and universities supporting climate action to meet the Paris Agreement. See Video Community Choice Energy, a powerful tool to help our County shift towards re-newable energy, will be coming to the Board in September.
Committee Assignments
Supervisor Hartmann was appointed to serve on the Board of the Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD), the Santa Barbara County Associa-tion of Governments (SBCAG), First 5 Commis-sion, KIDS Network, Adults and Aging Network, the Law Library, and as an alternate on the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).
Representing Santa Barbara County’s Third District
SUMMER 2017
Supervisor Hartmann Travels to Washington, D.C. to Discuss Camp 4 Legislation
Last spring Supervisor Hartmann traveled to Washington, D.C. and to Sacramen-to lobby on issues critical to the Third District. In Washington, D.C., Supervisor Hartmann met with Congressional and White House officials about House Bill 1491, a piece of federal legislation regarding the annexation of the Camp 4 Prop-erty into Federal Trust by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians (the Tribe).
During her visit, she asked that Congress delay action on the bill, thereby allowing time for the County and the Tribe to reach a local agreement regarding the Camp 4 Property. The County Ad Hoc Committee meets with Tribal leadership regularly with the goal of reaching an agreement that meets the Tribe’s needs for housing, a tribal center, and preserving the Tribe’s culture while protecting County interests and the rural character of the Santa Ynez Valley.
Supervisor Hartmann characterized her meetings in Washington, D.C. as produc-tive and positive stating, "We heard from everyone that we met with that there is a strong preference that a local agreement be reached. This feedback was encour-aging as I firmly believe that a local agreement between the Tribe and the County is a more appropriate solution than the proposed federal legislation.”
Supervisor Hartmann continues to track and lobby about this legislation which has to date not been brought to the House of Representatives floor for a vote.
In Sacramento, Supervisor Hartmann met with Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Assemblymember Monique Limón, and key committee members regarding sever-al pieces of legislation including a bill concerning the Camp 4 property and a bill related to the Isla Vista Community Services District.
Since being sworn into office, a lot of changes have happened in IV, so here are some of the activities the Third District office has been involved with.
This winter brought heavy storms and lots of rain helping to alleviate severe drought conditions, however, Oceanside Del Playa Dr. saw cliff erosion at acceler-ated rates not experienced for a nearly a decade. There was one balcony collapse and mandatory evacuations, but thanks to the responsiveness of our public safety officers and County building inspectors, there were no injuries reported. Immedi-ately following the first round of heavy storms, the Third District worked with vari-ous County departments to create a special emergency management information webpage for the public: Click Here
In March, the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) was officially formed and the Board of Directors were sworn into office. The County’s appointee to the IVCSD is recently retired County Auditor-Controller, Bob Geis. Mr. Geis brings a wealth of knowledge about County processes and procedures to the IVCSD and was instrumental in helping secure office space for the IVCSD at the Community Resource Building at 970 Embarcadero del Mar.
In very exciting news, the County was recently awarded a $435,000 grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, for the construc-tion needs of the Isla Vista Community Center. This grant will allow for Phase II construction to begin later this summer, and while it means the Community Center will not be ready to open this fall as anticipated, the final product will better serve the needs of the community.
News from Isla Vista
OFFICE HOURS
The Third District is geographically the largest and most diverse district in the coun-
ty, spanning from UCSB, Isla Vista, up the Gaviota Coast, into the Santa Ynez Val-
ley and up to Vandenberg Village and Guadalupe. We hold regular office hours
throughout the district. Here’s where we’ll be next:
Guadalupe
Wednesday, July 26 from 5pm-7pm, at Riverview Townhomes Community Room
220 Calle Cesar Chavez in Guadalupe
Vandenberg Village
Thursday, July 27 from 2-4pm at Vandenberg Village Library at 3755 Constella-
tion Road in Vandenberg Village
Solvang
Wednesday, August 23 from 5-7pm at 3rd District Solvang office at 1745 Mission
Dr. in Solvang
Los Alamos
Wednesday, September 6th from 4-6pm at Bedford Winery at 448 Bell Street in
Los Alamos
Isla Vista
Thursday, September 14 from 1:30-3pm, location to be determined
If you would like an appointment with Supervisor Hartmann, please call 805
-568-2192 or email Gina at [email protected]
Supervisor Hartmann Names New Third District Planning Commissioner
Cerene St. John is the new Planning Commissioner for the Third District after previous Planning Commissioner Marell Brooks announced her resignation in the spring.
Supervisor Hartmann commended Brooks for her service on the Commission, stating, “I am very appreciative of all the hard work Marell has done representing the interests of Third District resi-dents on so many diverse land use issues over the past years. She has performed an invaluable ser-vice to the Third District.”
St. John is a practicing attorney and a former Dep-uty City Attorney to the City and County of San Francisco. St. John also served as the Solid Waste Program Manager for the City of Sunnyvale. St. John manages her own firm providing solid waste, recycling consulting and legal services for cities and coun-ties throughout California. In this capacity, St. John has drafted and negotiated franchise agreements, procurement documents and ordinances for jurisdictions including the County of Santa Clara, the cities of Tustin, Napa, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Mirage, Mission Viejo and Sunnyvale.
“Cerene is a superbly qualified candidate in all ways and I am so pleased that she has agreed to step into this position,” said Supervisor Hartmann. “I have the utmost confidence that Cerene’s experience working with local governments and stakeholders will help make her an exceptional Planning Commissioner.”
Santa Barbara Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann
Santa Barbara office
105 East Anapamu Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone: (805) 568-2192
Solvang office
1745 Mission Drive
Solvang, CA 93463
Phone: (805) 686-5095
Santa Maria office
511 East Lakeside Parkway, Suite 111
Santa Maria, CA 93455
Phone: (805) 346-7210
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Jefferson Litten, Chief of Staff Elizabeth Farnum, District Representative
[email protected] [email protected]
Gina Fischer, District Representative Alma Hernandez, District Representative
[email protected] [email protected]
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