Community Advisory Board

Office of Community City of Santa Rosa Engagement 637 First Street Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes Wednesday, July 22, 2020 6:00 PM DUE TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE GOVERNOR'S EXECUTIVE ORDERS N-25-20 AND N-29-20 WHICH SUSPEND CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS OF THE BROWN ACT, AND THE ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE COUNTY OF SONOMA TO SHELTER IN PLACE TO MINIMIZE THE SPREAD OF COVID-19, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS WILL BE PARTICIPATING VIA ZOOM WEBINAR. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING BY VISITING: https://srcity-org.zoom.us/j/94828731330 OR BY DIALING 877 853 5257 AND ENTERING WEBINAR ID: 948 2873 1330 THE MEETING WILL BE LIVE STREAMED AT HTTPS://SANTA-ROSA.LEGISTAR.COM/CALENDAR. CLICK ON THE "IN PROGRESS" LINK TO VIEW. THE MEETING CAN ALSO BE VIEWED ON COMCAST CHANNEL 28, AT&T U-VERSE CHANNEL 99, AND AT HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/CITYOFSANTAROSA Public Comment may be submitted by 5:00 pm, the Tuesday before the Community Advisory Board Meeting via e-mail at communityengagement@srcity.org, recorded voice message at 707-543-3080. E-mail comments and recorded voice message comments will be read into record or played (up to 3 minutes each) at the time that Agenda Item is discussed during the Community Advisory Board Meeting. 6:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL Meeting called to order at 6:00 p.m. Member Divine left the meeting at 6:45 p.m. Member Chaparro left the meeting at 8:00 p.m. City of Santa Rosa Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 10 Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020 Present:11 - Chair Cherie Barnett, Vice Chair Vincent Harper, Board Member Daniel Chaparro, Board Member Veronica Cruz, Board Member Danielle Divine, Board Member Kevin Foster, Board Member Leslie Graves, Board Member Carley C. Moore, Board Member Jacquelynne Ocana, Board Member Cecile Querubin, and Board Member Keith Roberts Absent: 2 - Board Member Michelle Escobar-McGarry, and Board Member Jennielynn Holmes 2. OATH OF OFFICE Member Kevin Foster received his Oath of Office. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS Duane DeWitt (Caller 1) made public comment on Roseland Creek Community Park community input process. Mr. DeWitt stated that a group of Roseland residents attended the January 14, 2020 City Council meeting to express dissatisfaction with the proposed Park Master Plan and the community engagement process. He also stated that there was a community meeting held on March 4, 2020 and most left upset and frustrated. Mr. DeWitt stated that there were no City staff there to share their ideas with and there has not been any follow-up from the meeting. Now there are homeless individuals living in the undeveloped space. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES February 26, 2020 Regular Meeting Minutes. A motion was made by Board Member Ocana, seconded by Vice Chair Harper, to approve the February 26, 2020 meeting minutes. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Barnett, Vice Chair Harper, Board Member Cruz, Board Member Graves, Board Member C. Moore, and Board Member Ocana Absent: 2 - Board Member Escobar-McGarry, and Board Member Holmes Abstain: 5 - Board Member Chaparro, Board Member Divine, Board Member Foster, Board Member Querubin, and Board Member Roberts 5. CAB ANNOUNCEMENTS Member Roberts: Santa Rosa Metro Chamber Young Professionals Network (YPN) will host a dialogue on race and community action, Wednesday August 5 at noon. Zoom information is posted on the YPN website. Member Harper: Census Action Week coming up starting on August 1 with a City of Santa Rosa Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 10 Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020 census caravan in northwest Santa Rosa. Also announced that Community Action Partnership is continuing Community Conversations on Race each Monday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Member Graves: The City of Santa Rosa will hold a meeting on the General Plan Update in Spanish on Saturday, July 25 - information is available on City's website and Facebook page. The second announcement is there is an event at Courthouse Square on Friday, July 24 called Occupy Courthouse Square from 4-6 p.m. The third announcement was another event called Action Orange on Saturday, July 15 starting at 1 p.m. in Courthouse Square. Chair Barnett: Attended the Mayor's check-in with Board, Commission and Committee Chairs. Mayor wants to make sure that all board members sign up for City Connections newsletter. On August 3 and 4, City Council will hold Goal Setting Session. There will be a budget update in September and the City received a $95 million settlement from PG&E from the Tubbs fires. Community will be able to provide input on how that money will be used. Public Comment: 1. Lacinda Moore made public comment, thanking the CAB for their work and for working with her throughout the years. 2. Gregory Fearon asked if the CAB would be making any requests to the City Council during the City Council Goal Setting Session. 3. Delashay: Made public comment regarding the hiring of an Equity Officer. How does the Board feel about a national search being conducted instead of locally? How does the Board feel about the salary - believes the pay is around $200,000? Are they reaching out to all communities, thus being Black community and communities of color for this job description and why is it not staying within Sonoma County and why are we going nationally for that position? Why would we want someone nationally come represent us locally when they are not from here? Would like to know the Boards take on that. 6. STAFF UPDATES 1. Staff welcomed Magali Telles to the City of Santa Rosa. Ms. Telles has been selected as the new Division Director of Community Engagement. 2. COVID-19 Update a. 2,241 cases b. 990 active c. 22 deaths d. On July 13, the State of CA issued new restrictions for Sonoma County and other counties across the state. These new restrictions require the closure of indoor City of Santa Rosa Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 10 Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020 gyms, fitness centers, hair salons, worship services, malls and other operations. e. For full details of order visit socoemergency.org f. Visit srcity.org/preventthespread to view what is open in Sonoma County and reporting a violation related to the pandemic. You will also find News Alerts from the City and other important information 3. Wildfire Season Prep a. Know Your Alerts i. Sent as Water Bill insert ii. Information is on the City’s website: srcity.org/emergency as well as a News Flash on the homepage iii. Distributed via social media posts and City Connections b. Evacuation Planning Toolkit i. Information is on the City’s website: srcity.org/emergency as well as a News ii. Distributed via social media posts and City Connections c. Community Wildfire Protection Plan i. In process of being developed for the City Wildland Urban Interface areas. ii. Community-based plan focused on identifying and addressing local hazards and risks from wildfire. iii. Public input period closed June 2, 2020 iv. Finalized plan will be available soon. d. Weed Abatement i. Website: srcity.org/weedabatement ii. Email: weeds@srcity.org <mailto:weeds@srcity.org> 4. Finley Safe Social Distancing Site Update a. 52 participants b. 51 tents occupied c. Updated as of 6/24 Public Comment: 1. Roman Campos made comment about evacuation sites particularly around COVID-19. Asked Shirlee Zane about plans for isolating vulnerable populations in evacuations sites during a disaster but did not receive and answer. Would like to know more information about that. Federal funding for unemployment running out in a few days. Rental assistance is only be provided by CAP Sonoma right now. Latinx community being impacted the greatest by this and its hard to find help right now. Suggested that the $95 settlement with PG&E should go to people who are accruing rent debt and more assistance programs impacted by the pandemic. Would like more advocacy for this population. City of Santa Rosa Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 10 Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020 2. Gregory Fearon made public comment about information getting out to the public. Comcast channels are lowly used and library has equipment for video production. Would like it to be put on CAB's agenda. Do what you can to light a fire under the City to work with the library to loan out equipment so people can make videos about what they care about and share with the community. 3. Lacinda Moore thanked staff for updates to the CAB. CAB Members can then take the information back out to the community. 7. SCHEDULED ITEMS 7.1 PRESENTATION - SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN UPDATE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT STRATEGY The 2050 General Plan Update Project Team will provide the CAB with an overview of the Community Involvement Strategy and ask for feedback from the Board. The General Plan Update Project Team, including City Staff and staff from MIG, provided the CAB with an overview of the General Plan Update and the project's Community Involvement Strategy. Information about the General Plan Update and the draft Community Involvement Strategy can be found at https://srcity.org/3079/General-Plan-Update. The full presentation can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUm3AfTPIjY. The CAB then asked questions regarding community input, metrics of success, tracking of demographics, inclusion and diversity on the Community Advisory Committee, and the Kaiser Grant. Public Comment: 1. Gregory Fearon of Santa Rosa Together made public comment about the General Plan Update Community Advisory Committee. Cautioned about using some strategies that have been used before with these types of committees. The Brown Act made it too difficult to gel as a committee and also made it difficult to participate. This group needs to be able to engage with staff with new ideas from the community, not engaging the community with what staff thinks they should know about. 2. Stephanie Toves made comment about surveys and that there may be fears in filling out surveys from community members. They might not feel comfortable or safe enough to do that. There needs to be a relationship built with the community first and having committees might scare people away. Maybe the General Plan isn't called that, it's called something else so the community understands that. CAB Members could have more qualitative conversations with the people in their areas. Having committees and groups are great, but City of Santa Rosa Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 10 Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020 keep in mind they might be scary to join. 7.2 PRESENTATION - UPDATE ON COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT PLAN Community Engagement staff will update the CAB on progress made towards the goals and objectives of the Community Empowerment Plan. Community Engagement staff provided the CAB with an overview of the Community Empowerment Plan (CEP) and updates on implementation of the CEP. These updates include: conducting one-on-one meetings with community members from Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities; conducting community listening sessions with BIPOC communities - 3 have been completed as of this presentation; attending marches and rallies - both staff and Council Members have attended several marches and rallies; conducting a study session and public input forum at City Council's meeting on June 30; and holding the first Council Public Safety Subcommittee meeting on July 1. In addition, staff also reviewed what the themes are being heard from the community input at these sessions. The full presentation can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=ZUm3AfTPIjY The Community Empowerment Plan is available in English and Spanish at: https://srcity.org/1537/Community-Empowerment Public Comment: Roman Campos made public comment about the request for proposal for the Independent Police Auditor and concerns around Auditor's scope of work and measures to hold officers accountable. Also concerned that the Auditor will have a law enforcement background and there needs to be full transparency. He also made comment on how once the police stopped showing up to the protests, all violence stopped. He also made comment on the Commission on Human Rights (HRC) report and encourages CAB to read it. Finally, he made comment on number of calls for service reported out at two meetings and how they don't match. Caller 3 (Melissa) made public comment on not feeling it comforting that SRPD cannot ensure officers will follow policy and asked what the consequences are for violating these rules. Need transparency and a public statement that SRPD condemns police brutality and will do better. Seeing a lot of talk of it but nothing is guaranteed and doesn't feel better as citizen that police brutality will stop. Look at possible human rights violations and do something about it quickly. Feels like we've had a lot of listening session and so many meetings and it's been a month and not a lot of traction. Charlotte made public comment the upcoming Public Safety Subcommittee City of Santa Rosa Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 10 Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020 meeting is not showing the correct date. Would also like agenda items for that meeting to be made available prior to meeting and not the day of. She made another comment about the HRC Report and that it hasn't been heard or covered by the City. Stated that the police has controlled the narrative around attacks on protesters, while protecting officers and members of the community who don't agree with the Black Lives Matter movement. The report speaks of the experiences of the protesters in the Black Lives Matter protests. Made public comment on de-escalation - should come before use of force. Danielle Delario made public comment about CAHOOTS. Out of 24,000 calls, police back up was only asked for 124 times. Program in Eugene, OR. Mobile Support Unit here in Sonoma County does not function the same way as CAHOOTS. Trained in 9-1-1 and divert calls to CAHOOTS. Program deals with conflict resolution, welfare checks, substance use, suicide threats and more, and rely on crisis informed de-escalation and harm reduction techniques. Police wear far too many hats and this will take some off the plate. Hoping this is something we can start here right away. Evan Phillips made public comment on the HRC Report and how important it is for the CAB and City Council to read it. Is disappointed with Chief Navarro's response to the report. Wanted to point out the hypocrisy of the safety of protesters. Gave example of Back the Blue protest and the police presence there for safety but no police presence at other protests when protesters had guns pulled on them and people trying to drive cars through them. Also made comment on a social media post from SRPD that made the case for defunding the police. Also asked if Officer Kenny Farrigno has been held accountable for his social media post and ethic code violations, advocating for police policy. Kimmie Barbosa made public comment about being tear gassed three times and how she helped others wash tear gas out of their eyes. She also made public comment on the language used by Chief Navarro uses when speaking to the public. Also spoke to concern that the HRC Report hasn't been addressed and that the Auditor RFP isn't about accountability but about finding best practices. Need to identify all mutual aid agencies involved in the protest response. Need a hearing on the components of the After Action Report. Need to know all SRPD policies that governed the use of force. Made comment on the listening sessions and that she doesn't see much outreaching happening in the community. We are feeling unheard. Colin Metcalfe made public comment on the characterization of protestors by Chief Navarro. Made comment on use of force during one protest. Seems like police are targeting their own citizens. Made comment that 8cantwait is not enough. Glad to see in presentation slides that staff has heard that the community is interested in investing in abolition. We need abolition of the police and defunding of the police. Also made comment about City Council looking at City of Santa Rosa Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 10 Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020 the HRC Report. Caller 4 (Libby) made public comment about riot gear - came out before anything ever escalated. Police escalated the situation and protesters were trying to protect ourselves. Appalling that Chief Navarro continues to characterize us in this way. It's terrible that none of this board have looked at the HRC Report. Made comment about defunding the police. Ann-Marie Daniels made public comment about 8cantwait policies without accountability. De-escalation that is described is not lining up with what the community thinks it is. De-escalation is not about showing up in riot gear and if someone throws a water bottle at you they shouldn't be tear gassed. Also made comment on the HRC Report - essential part of conversation that hasn't been looked at or purposely not being discussed. Accountability - when policies are broken and when human rights are violated, people are held accountable. Jobell made public comment on the CHR Report and the After Action Report. Grievances have been brought up and not addressed by the Chief or SRPD. The white porche incident hasn't been dealt with. At protest for Vanessa Guillen approached Officer Frank Sadino and asked him what SRPD's stance was on protecting protesters from angry, racist people and he responded with if protesters get out of the street then it wouldn't happen. Officers are showing protesters aren't concerned with safety of the protesters and you can't stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter without addressing these things. Police are supposed to protect community and this is our First Amendment Right. Robert Edmonds (former CAB Member) made public comment about what he has heard from other public commenters during this meeting. The City needs true independent oversight like IOLERO model. There might be a MOU with IOLERO to provide oversight. Independent auditor model has been shown to be insufficient. Seems disingenuous to have the current Chief of Police, the Mayor - a former Chief of Police, and another retired high ranking member of SRPD making the decisions and heading this process. Concerned Citizen (Angel) made public comment about characterization of protesters made by Chief Navarro. Also asked that the CAB review the HRC Report. Asked how they should feel safe in the community when people that are appointed to protect you are the people you need protection from? Made comment about listening sessions and asked staff about where they are going out to and if they are really listening to the community or just saying that to shut the community up. Not seeing any action being made, hearing plan of action. Rex Green made public comment on how we got here and the human rights violations. Officers were created to keep Black people, slaves, in line and to return them to their owners. Police have been raping and murdering our City of Santa Rosa Meeting Minutes Page 9 of 10 Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020 community. Sex workers and trans women have been harassed by police. Human rights violations aren't from the first protest. Ongoing since police was first created. 8cantwait doesn't do anything. Abolition first. Defunding the police. Teach officers to see human beings in their community. Chief Navarro doesn't see us as people. Chancho made public comment about accountability being key. SRPD, Sonoma County Sheriff and Probation Department is a racist system. Positions in high power need to be dealt with. Need to look into human rights violations. Made comment about defunding the police and the Mayor needs to step down. Also asked that the HRC Report be put on a future agenda. Emma made public comment about systematic racism. Ignoring ripple effect of legacy of racism is ignorant and hurtful. People have lost their lives, freedom and dignity due to the police. Issue is not new and not getting better. Asked that the CAB review the HRC Report. Also asked that abolition be explored. 8. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS This schedule is tentative and subject to change pending final publication and posting of the Meeting Agenda. This time is reserved for discussion whether to place matters on a future agenda for further discussion. A. Preparations for Wildfire Season and Weed Abatement (Sept. 2020) B. Downtown Station Area Specific Plan Update (Staff Update) C. CAB Strategic Plan Review and Revision (ongoing) D. Civic Engagement and Education Strategy (September 2020) E Community Empowerment Plan Goal 1 Report (October 2020) F. Community Engagement Strategic Plan (TBD) To be added to the schedule: - Commission on Human Rights Report - City Council Goal Setting Report Public Comment: The public commenters have asked that the following be added to future agendas: Chancho - Defunding the police and adding money to housing to help the homeless; Commission on Human Rights (HRC) Report Evan Phillips - Strongly encourages Board to request that Mayor Schwedhelm and Council Member Olivares recuse themselves from law enforcement items and decisions; encourage Council to make two ballot measures for this upcoming elections: partisan ballot, showing party affiliation and direct public vote for Mayor. Put pressure on Council to review the HRC Report. City of Santa Rosa Meeting Minutes Page 10 of 10 Community Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020 Kimmie Barbosa - HRC Report on your agenda and pressure City Council to put it on their agenda; police oversight for SRPD Caller 5 (Libby) - HRC Report on agenda; look into Lexipol and our relationship with Lexipol Jobell - add HRC Report to next agenda; police oversight options Colin Metcalfe - Independent oversight of SRPD; discussing with Mayor Schwedhelm and Council Member Olivares about recusing themselves from law enforcement items. Charlotte - HRC Report; pressure City Council and Public Safety Subcommittee to address HRC Report; discussing with Mayor Schwedhelm and Council Member Olivares about recusing themselves from law enforcement item; pressure Board of Supervisors on Evelyn Chetham Ordinance. Danielle Delario - HRC Report, defunding police to fund other programs like CAHOOTS; independent oversight of SRPD; looking into Lexipol Roman Campos - Look at RFP for Independent Investigation for After Action Report; echoes everything else; MOU with IOLERO; HRC Report 9. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 10:25 p.m. A motion was made by Board Member Querubin, seconded by Board Member Roberts, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 9 - Chair Barnett, Vice Chair Harper, Board Member Cruz, Board Member Foster, Board Member Graves, Board Member C. Moore, Board Member Ocana, Board Member Querubin, and Board Member Roberts Absent: 4 - Board Member Chaparro, Board Member Divine, Board Member Escobar-McGarry, and Board Member Holmes The City of Santa Rosa does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admissions or access to, or treatment of or employment in, its programs or activities. Disability-related aids or services, including printed information in alternate formats, to enable persons with disabilities to participate in public meetings are available by calling (707) 543-4676 one week prior to the meeting. (TTY Relay at 711). Any writings or documents provided to a majority of this meeting body prior to this meeting regarding any item on this agenda are available for public review in the City Clerk's Office, Room 10, City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave, during normal business hours.