[00:00:01] YOU CAN BE HEARD. GREAT. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. THIS IS THE CLOSED SESSION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTR ICT ON NOVEMBER 19TH, 2024, BEGINNING AT 11:04 A.M.. MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? [ROLL CALL] YES, PRESIDENT ECHOLS. THANK YOU. MADAM CLERK, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON CLOSED SESSION AGENDA FOR TODAY? NO, WE DO NOT, PRESIDENT ECHOLS. WELL, GOOD. SO IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS ABOUT MEETING PROCEDURES, WE WILL ADJOURN TO THE OTHER ROOM AND BEGIN. [CLOSED SESSION ITEMS] THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. THIS IS THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT ON NOVEMBER 19TH, 2024, BEGINNING AT 1:39 P.M., AND WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAYED START. MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE TAKE THE ROLL? [ROLL CALL] YES, PRESIDENT ECHOLS. THANK YOU, AND DIRECTOR MERCURIO, CAN YOU PLEASE LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE? [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] THANK YOU. [LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT] DIRECTOR ROSARIO, CAN YOU PLEASE DO OUR LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT? THANK YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO HUMBLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE TOGETHER ON LAND THAT IS THE TRADITIONAL, ANCESTRAL AND SHARED HOME OF MANY DIVERSE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES. MANY PEOPLE USE THE TERM OHLONE TO DESCRIBE THE CULTURES AND HERITAGE OF PEOPLES ALONG THE CENTRAL COAST OF CALIFORNIA. IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT INDIGENOUS CULTURE IS NOT THE SAME ACROSS LANDS AND ECOSYSTEMS. EACH IS UNIQUE, UNIQUE AS THE LAND ITSELF. AS TIME IMMEMORIAL, THE OHLONE PEOPLES HAVE AND DO LIVE IN RECIPROCITY AND RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE. UNDERSTANDING THE SEASONS AND CYCLES OF THE NATURAL WORLD. MANAGING RESOURCES FUNDAMENTAL FOR SURVIVAL, AND IMPORTANT TO CULTURAL PRACTICES, ALL THE WHILE PASSING DOWN THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE OF READING AND TENDING TO THE NATURAL WORLD. PLEASE STAND WITH ME IN EXTENDING GRATITUDE TO THE ANCESTORS, ELDERS AND RELATIVES OF THE LOCAL CHOCHENYO SPEAKING OHLONE PEOPLES, AS WELL AS THE ALL INDEPENDENT FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES. WE HONOR WITH GRATITUDE AND THE LAND ITSELF, THE WILDLIFE LIVING WITHIN THIS LAND, AND THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE STEWARDED IT SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL, AND WHO CONTINUE TO REMAIN DEEPLY CONNECTED TO IT TODAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AT THIS POINT, I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE TODAY'S AGENDA. [APPROVAL OF AGENDA] I'M HAPPY TO MAKE A MOTION. THANK YOU. SECOND. OKAY. SO MOTION BY DIRECTOR SANWONG AND SECOND BY DIRECTOR MERCURIO. OH, I'M SORRY. OH. I'M SORRY. ROSARIO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? OKAY. MOTION CARRIES. OKAY. AT THIS POINT, ASK THE CLERK TO EXPLAIN HOW TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS, AND FIRST OF ALL, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT ARE NOT ON THE [PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA] AGENDA TODAY? YES. PRESIDENT ECHOLS, WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM. GREAT. OKAY. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT CAN DO SO BY SUBMITTING AN EMAIL, LEAVING A VOICEMAIL OR COMMENT IN PERSON AT THE PODIUM. THE SUBMISSION OF PUBLIC COMMENTS WAS NOTICED ON THE AGENDA AND IN THE BOARD PACKET, WHICH WAS POSTED TO THE PARK DISTRICT'S WEBSITE. ALL EMAILS RECEIVED PRIOR TO THE DEADLINE OF MONDAY, NOVEMBER THE 19TH HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO THE BOARD AND EXECUTIVE TEAM. ANY EMAILS THAT HAVE COME IN AFTER THIS DATE WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE BOARD AFTER THIS MEETING. [00:05:02] OKAY, AND YES, WE DO HAVE THREE MEMBERS OF THREE PEOPLE HERE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, AND THE FIRST ONE AND EACH ONE OF YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. THE FIRST ONE IS GOING TO BE RENEE PATTERSON. THANK YOU. HELLO. GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD MEMBERS. MY NAME IS RENEE PATTERSON. I'M AN ADMIN ANALYST TWO IN OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS SERVICES, AND TODAY I'M HERE TO REMIND YOU, AS I TRY TO DO AT EVERY BOARD MEETING, THAT THERE'S A PERBS FILING OUT THERE WITH THE--PERBS IS STATE OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEE BOARD. THERE'S A PURSE FILING WITH AFSCME. IT WAS FILED FOR UNFAIR PRACTICE CHARGE ON AUGUST 26TH, 2022. SO QUITE A LONG TIME AGO. AS FAR AS I KNOW, NOTHING HAS BEEN ADDRESSED AS FAR AS THIS ITEM GOES. THE CHARGES WERE FOR BAD FAITH, BARGAINING, INTERFERENCE, DIRECT DEALING, AND UNILATERAL IMPLEMENTATION. SO JUST A REMINDER THAT IT HASN'T BEEN SETTLED IN ANY WAY AS FAR AS I KNOW, AND SO IT'S JUST A REMINDER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE MR. JIM WATT, AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, SIR. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS JIM WATT. I'M A RESIDENT OF KENSINGTON. I'M ALSO ON THE KENSINGTON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT BOARD, AND I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY CONCERNS ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF A FIRE COMING FROM TILDEN PARK. RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE A SITUATION WHERE THE PARK ABUTS KENSINGTON ON THE EAST SIDE, AND IT HAS A VERY STEEP HILLSIDE. WE HAVE GOATS THAT COME IN, HAVE BEEN COMING IN NOW FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. THEY CLEAN OUT A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF VEGETATION ALONG THAT PARK, ALONG THAT TRAIL THAT GOES FROM THE END OF GRIZZLY PEAK DOWN TO OUR KINDERGARTEN SCHOOL, AND CONTINUES ON OVER TO EL CERRITO. HOWEVER, A LOT OF BRUSH REMAINS, AND CERTAINLY THE ROUGHLY AT BEST 20FT OF AREA THAT THE GOATS HAVE CLEANED OUT IS CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO PREVENT A FIRE THAT MIGHT BE COMING FROM EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK, PARTICULARLY IN THAT LATE FALL SEASON WHEN THE WINDS ARE BLOWING FROM THE EAST FROM AND COULD EASILY PUSH A FIRE ON UP THE HILLSIDE. SO I'M HERE TODAY TO SEE WHAT IT IS THAT THE WHAT THE THAT THE PARK CAN BE DOING ABOUT FURTHER CLEARANCE OF SOME OF THE BRUSH ALONG THAT HILLSIDE AND TO ALSO MENTION TO YOU THAT AS A MEMBER OF THE FIRE OF THE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT, THAT WE HAVE SOME SURPLUS CASH AND WE WOULD BE WILLING TO SPEND SOME OF OUR MONEY AS WELL IN AN EFFORT TO SEE IF WE CAN'T GET SOME OF THAT HILLSIDE FURTHER REDUCED. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT TAKING IT DOWN COMPLETELY, BUT DOING WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING IN A NUMBER OF AREAS ALONG THE RIDGELINE HERE TO CERTAINLY THIN OUT THE AMOUNT OF OF TREES AND BRUSH, THEREBY REDUCING THE REAL THREAT OF A SERIOUS FIRE. SO THAT'S WHAT I'M HERE FOR. I'D LIKE TO WE WILL BE MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT AS A BOARD. WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THIS. I AM FULLY, FULLY ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL BE SETTING ASIDE. WE HAVE A RATHER SIGNIFICANT CASH SURPLUS EVERY YEAR. WE'LL BE SETTING ASIDE SOME MONEY IN ORDER TO HELP TO FACILITATE THIS, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE'RE VERY CONCERNED THAT WHEN WE GET THOSE DIABLO WINDS BLOWING IN, AND THAT WIND SOMETIMES IS BLOWING UPWARDS TO 40 AND 50 MILES AN HOUR, THAT THIS COULD BE A REAL SERIOUS THREAT TO US. SO THE SOONER THAT WE CAN GET ON THINNING OUT THE BRUSH, THE BETTER. SO HOPEFULLY I CAN GET YOUR SUPPORT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. WATT. WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND WE APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO PREVENT FIRE AND I'M GOING TO LET MY GENERAL MANAGER RESPOND. [00:10:01] YEAH, JUST REALLY BRIEFLY, FOR THE RECORD, I KNOW OUR FIRE CHIEF IS WATCHING. SHE JUST TEXTED ME THAT SHE WAS LISTENING, BUT, SIR, IF YOU ALSO ARE DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER BEHIND THERE, MAX CAN ALSO TAKE DOWN YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND ANY OTHER. HE CAN PROVIDE HIS INFORMATION AND MAKE SURE THAT WE RELAY ALL OF THAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY. OUR CHIEF IS HERE, BUT I'M HAVE THIS KIND OF CROSSES OVER INTO OPERATIONS AS WELL. SO MAX IS BEHIND YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS ANTHONY KNIGHT. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, SIR. HELLO. MY NAME IS ANTHONY KNIGHT AND I HAVE A SHORT COMMENT WHICH I WOULD LIKE TO READ. I'M A LONG TIME KENSINGTON RESIDENT. I LIVE ABOUT TWO BLOCKS AS THE CROW FLIES FROM THE WILDCAT CANYON BORDER OF TILDEN PARK. I'M HERE TODAY IN SUPPORT OF MY NEIGHBOR, JIM WATT, A BOARD MEMBER OF THE KENSINGTON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT. IN GOOD WEATHER, I WALK THE PARK EVERY DAY. MY FAVORITE WALK IS ALONG THE OLD SCHOOL TRAIL, WHICH FOLLOWS MOST OF THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF KENSINGTON AND WILDCAT CANYON FROM GRIZZLY PEAK TO KENSINGTON HILLTOP SCHOOL. THERE ARE RESIDENCES ALL ALONG ONE SIDE OF THE TRAIL, AND WILDCAT CANYON IS ON THE OTHER. THE CANYON SIDE IS LARGELY CHOKED WITH YEARS OF ACCUMULATED VEGETATION. TALL TREES SUCH AS EUCALYPTUS, SMALLER TREES AND BUSHES, AND A VARIETY OF UNDERGROWTH SUCH AS POISON OAK. MANY KENSINGTON RESIDENTS FEAR THAT THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP A FIRE, WHICH GETS STARTED IN THE CANYON BELOW FROM BEING SWEPT UP THE SLOPE BY DIABLO WINDS INTO KENSINGTON HOMES AND THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IT IS NOT AN UNGROUNDED FEAR. EVERY FIRE SEASON, THE NEWS BRINGS REPORTS OF FIRES ALL OVER THE WEST, MANY OF WHICH DESTROY HOMES AND TAKE LIVES. THE OAKLAND CLAREMONT FIRE IS ONE EXAMPLE, STILL FRESH IN THE MINDS OF EAST BAY RESIDENTS, AND OUR INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE INCREASINGLY REMINDING US OF THE RISK BY CANCELING THE FIRE COVERAGE OF KENSINGTON HOMES. MANY OF US BELIEVE THAT THE UNCHECKED FUEL LOAD IN WILDCAT CANYON CONTRIBUTES SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE RISK. WE'VE WATCHED AS EAST BAY PARK CREWS HAVE UNDERTAKEN LARGE SCALE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECTS ALONG NIMITZ WAY ON THE RIDGE TO THE WEST OF WILDCAT CANYON, AND MORE RECENTLY, THEY HAVE DONE THE SAME THING ALONG SOUTH PARK DRIVE IN TILDEN PARK AND FISH RANCH ROAD. WHAT IS STRIKING IS THAT CONSIDERABLE RESOURCES ARE BEING SPENT IN AREAS WHERE THERE ARE NO RESIDENCES OR OTHER STRUCTURES. WE ARE OF THE OPINION THAT THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND OF RESIDENTS WHO OCCUPY THOSE PREMISES COMES FIRST, AND WE WOULD LIKE A VOICE AT THE TABLE WHEN DECISIONS ARE MADE ON WHICH AREAS IN OUR WARD ONE SHOULD BE CLEARED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. KNIGHT. DIRECTOR ROSARIO. YEAH. I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING YOUR CONCERNS? I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT, WE JUST RECENTLY HAD A TOUR OF THE COLLABORATIVE COLLABORATION BETWEEN OURSELVES AND LOCAL EAST BAY MUD AND UC BERKELEY, AND ONE OF THE FACTS THAT WAS STATED IN THAT PRESENTATION WAS THAT 95% OF THE FIRES, WILDLAND FIRES, THAT START, START WITHIN 100FT OF A ROAD AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE A HUGE CONCENTRATION OF FUEL MITIGATION EFFORTS ON OUR MAJOR ROAD ENTRANCES THAT YOU SEE A FISH RANCH ROAD, CANNON. SO WE'RE NOT WE'RE NOT WE'RE CONCENTRATING ON THE HIGHEST INCIDENCE RATES BUT WE'RE NOT WE'RE NOT FORGETTING THE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE HOMEOWNERS TO. SO WE'LL GET THERE EVENTUALLY, BUT OUR FIRST OUR FIRST TARGET IS WHERE THOSE FIRES INITIALLY START AND THAT IS AS STATISTICS NOTE IT'S 95% OFF OF MAIN ROADS, SO HOPE YOU CAN TAKE SOME CONSOLATION WITH THAT. THANK YOU. CAN I RESPOND TO THAT. I'M SORRY. SINCE THIS IS PUBLIC COMMENT, NOT ON THE AGENDA, WE CAN'T ALLOW A BACK AND FORTH, BUT JUST TO PUT A FINER POINT ON IT, REALLY OUR NEIGHBORS AND OUR PERSONNEL AND THE SAFETY OF EVERYONE CONCERNED IS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY, AND THE PLAN THAT [00:15:05] THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS CURRENTLY CARRYING OUT IS VERY STRATEGIC IN HOW THEY'RE GOING ABOUT THAT. WE'VE REALLY GOT SOME REALLY INCREDIBLE PEOPLE, BOTH OUR CHIEF AND ASSISTANT CHIEF WHO ARE WORKING ON THIS, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAPPY TO GET YOU MORE INFORMATION ON THAT. IT'S ONE OF MY BIG PRIORITIES IS TO REALLY LET NEIGHBORS KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT? WHAT WE'RE DOING. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE RIGHT THERE ON THE BORDER RIGHT NEXT TO TILDEN PARK, AND I'M ACTUALLY NOT THAT FAR AWAY FROM YOU, SO I GET IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO GET YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT WE ARE DOING. OKAY. OKAY. IS THAT IT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? NO MORE. NO MORE, OKAY. ALL RIGHT, AND IF YOU ARE HERE TO GIVE A COMMENT REGARDING AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA, THE CLERK WILL CALL YOU TO SPEAK AFTER THE ITEM IS DISCUSSED, AND DO WE HAVE, AT THIS POINT ANY OTHER EMAILS OR SPEAKERS CARDS FROM PEOPLE FOR ITEMS? OH WAIT, NO, WE ALREADY DID THAT PART. WHY DO I HAVE THIS TWICE? OKAY. ANYWAY, DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? NOPE. OKAY. [CONSENT CALENDAR] AT THIS POINT, I WILL ASK FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. SO MOVED. SECOND. IS THERE A SECOND? AND ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR FIRST, BEFORE WE TAKE THE VOTE, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR TODAY? THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS FROM DIRECTOR ROSARIO AND DIRECTOR MERCURIO. I BELIEVE THE QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED FOR ROSARIO. I PUT THE LAST QUESTION ON YOUR ON THE DAIS A RESPONSE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THAT, BUT RIGHT. IF YOU HAVE NOT DEBORAH IS HERE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. IT WASN'T EMAILED? YEAH, BUT IT CAME TO YOU AT 10:30 THIS MORNING. DID YOU SEE IT? I WAS JUST TRYING TO CHECK AND SEE. I SEE SOMETHING HERE. I'LL TRUST THAT IT IS SATISFACTORY. YES. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. YEAH. OKAY, THEN. IN THAT CASE WE HAVE A MOTION THAT WAS MADE AND SECONDED. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? THE MOTION CARRIES. OUR NEXT ITEM IS FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIVISION, AND THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE 2023 ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT. [FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIVISION] ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M DEBORAH SPAULDING, ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OF FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES, AND GIVE ME A SECOND WHILE I PULL UP THE PRESENTATION HERE. ALL RIGHT. I'M PLEASED TO PRESENT OUR 2023 ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT. BEFORE I BEGIN, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE STAFF WHO PULLED ALL THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER. WE HAVE KIM BALINGIT, OUR ACCOUNTING MANAGER, WHO'S HERE TODAY, DAVID SUMNER, OUR AUDIT MANAGER, AND THEY'RE SUPPORTED BY MELISSA FISH AND DANNY NGUYEN, WHO ARE OUR ACCOUNTANTS. I ALSO WANT TO THANK LINDSAY ZIMMERMAN, OUR AUDIT PARTNER FROM BROWN ARMSTRONG, AND ALSO ANNOUNCED THAT WE HAVE A NEW ASSISTANT FINANCE OFFICER, KAREN SEACAT, WHO IS NOT HERE TODAY, BUT SHE STARTED JUST TWO WEEKS AGO, AND SHE'LL BE PART OF OUR AUDIT TEAM GOING FORWARD. I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE'RE VERY LATE IN BRINGING THIS TO YOU THIS YEAR. WE HAD SOME STAFFING AND OTHER ISSUES THAT DELAYED THINGS, BUT GLAD TO HAVE IT TO YOU TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE. YOU'LL BE SEEING THIS AT THE NORMAL TIME, WHICH IS JUNE JULY. SO NEXT, I'M GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH THE ACFR AND JUST POINT OUT A FEW IMPORTANT PAGES AND TABLES, AND STARTING OUT HERE, WE HAVE THE LETTER FROM THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING HERE IS THE FIRST SENTENCE IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH WHERE WE'RE GETTING OUR UNMODIFIED AUDIT OPINION. SO IT SAYS IN OUR OPINION, THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS REFERRED TO ABOVE PRESENT FAIRLY IN ALL MATERIAL ASPECTS, THE RESPECTIVE FINANCIAL POSITION OF THE GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES. ET CETERA. ET CETERA. SO THAT'S OUR CLEAN AUDIT OPINION, AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE HAVE THE GFOA CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING. THIS IS THE ONE FOR 2022. WE HAVE APPLIED TO RECEIVE IT FOR 2023, AND WE'LL KNOW IN A FEW MONTHS IF WE RECEIVE THAT WE EXPECT TO RECEIVE IT, AND THIS IS THE 22ND YEAR THAT WE'VE RECEIVED THAT CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT, AND NOW I'M GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE TABLE, SOME OF THE COMPARATIVE TABLES IN YOUR IN THE ACFR ITSELF. [00:20:07] SO THIS ONE'S ON PAGE 20 OF THE ACFR, AND THIS IS THE MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS SECTION, WHERE WE COMPARE THE PERFORMANCE IN 2023 TO THE PRIOR YEAR, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN THE CHANGE FROM THE PRIOR YEAR. SO JUST WALKING YOU DOWN FROM THE TOP, YOU CAN SEE AN INCREASE IN CURRENT AND OTHER NET ASSETS AND THAT'S PRIMARILY RELATED TO REALLY STRONG INVESTMENT EARNINGS, AND THEN FURTHER DOWN CAPITAL ASSETS, AND THAT'S AGAIN A BIG INCREASE RELATED TO THE FOLEY ACQUISITION, THE SIBLEY MCCOSKER PROJECT AND SEVERAL OTHER FIXED ASSET PROJECTS THAT WERE CAPITALIZED DURING 2023. LOOKING AT THE LIABILITIES, YOU'LL SEE A DECREASE IN OUR LONG TERM LIABILITY THERE, THE -15.58 MILLION, AND THAT'S RELATED TO US PAYING OFF OUR MEASURE WW BONDS. SO AS WE PAY OFF THAT LIABILITY THAT DECREASES, AND THEN BRINGING YOU DOWN TO THE BOTTOM LINE, YOU CAN SEE OUR TOTAL NET POSITION FOR THE FIRST TIME HAS CROSSED OVER TO 1 BILLION. SO THAT'S EXCITING. SO AN INCREASE OF 71 MILLION OVER THE PRIOR YEAR, AND NOW WALKING YOU THROUGH THIS, THE TEN YEAR HISTORY, SO YOU CAN SEE OUR TOTAL NET POSITION FOR THE MOST PART A NICE STEADY INCREASE, AND THE LINE BELOW THAT IS SHOWING NET INVESTMENT IN CAPITAL ASSETS. I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THAT DECREASE THAT YOU SEE IN 2023. THAT'S AN ACCOUNTING ADJUSTMENT, A ONE TIME ACCOUNTING ADJUSTMENT, WHERE THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION HAS IDENTIFIED FOR MANY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, NOT JUST US, THAT WE NEED TO ACCOUNT FOR THE FACT THAT SOME OF OUR ASSETS ARE ACQUIRED USING BOND FUNDS, WHICH ARE NOT YET PAID OFF. SO WE HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT, THAT WE DON'T FULLY OWN THOSE ASSETS UNTIL WE'VE PAID OFF THAT DEBT. SO THAT'S A ONE TIME ADJUSTMENT. YOU WON'T SEE THAT IN THE FUTURE, AND NOW THIS IS THE SAME INFORMATION BUT DEPICTED BY ACTIVITY. SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE WHAT YOU'RE USED TO SEEING WHEN WE BRING YOU OUR QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORTS. SO UP AT THE TOP WE HAVE REVENUES, AND THEY'RE PRESENTED SHOWING YOU THE REVENUES WHERE WE'RE DOING SOMETHING TO EARN THE MONEY. SO PROGRAM REVENUES FOR CHARGES FOR SERVICES, YOU CAN SEE A SLIGHT DECREASE THERE AND THEN SOME NICE INCREASES FOR GRANTS AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED, AND THEN BELOW THAT WE HAVE OUR GENERAL REVENUES. SO THOSE ARE REVENUES WE EARN NOT BY DOING ANY PARTICULAR ACTIVITY. THEY JUST COME INTO US. SO INCREASE IN OUR PROPERTY TAXES AND IN OUR GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND, AND THEN LASTLY WE HAVE THE INCREASE IN INVESTMENT EARNINGS THERE. THEN LOOKING AT THE EXPENSE SIDE AGAIN FUNCTIONALLY THIS IS MORE OF HOW YOU'RE USED TO SEEING IT PRESENTED. SO YOU CAN SEE A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANT TO POINT OUT. THE DECREASE IN THE EXEC AND LEG DIVISION IS BECAUSE WE BROKE OUT HUMAN RESOURCES. SO THAT'S NOW THE FOURTH LINE ON THAT TABLE, AND SO YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM IT TIES TO THE OTHER STATEMENT THAT YOU SAW ON PAGE 20. NEXT I'M GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH SOME SUMMARIZED INFORMATION. THIS COMES FROM INFORMATION THAT'S CONSOLIDATED ON PAGE 34 AND 35 OF YOUR ACFR, AND JUST WALKING YOU THROUGH THE CHANGES IN FUND BALANCE HERE. SO THIS IS ALL OF OUR FUNDS AGGREGATED. YOU'RE USED TO US TALKING ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND AND FUND BALANCE AND THE GENERAL FUND, BUT THIS IS ALL OF OUR FUNDS TOGETHER. SO THE CHANGE IN RESTRICTED OR SORRY THE CHANGE IN NON SPENDABLE. THAT'S REALLY THINGS THAT ARE IT'S NOT MONEY. SO THINGS LIKE UP AT CENTRAL STORES WE HAVE INVENTORY. SO A SLIGHT DECREASE THERE, AND THEN THE CHANGE IN RESTRICTED FUND BALANCE IS US USING UP OUR BOND PROCEEDS AND PUTTING THEM TO COMMITTED FUND BALANCE. SO ONCE WE ALLOCATE THEM TO A PROJECT THEY'RE COMMITTED. SO YOU SEE THAT INCREASE THERE, AND NOW REALLY LOOKING IN MORE DETAIL AT THE GENERAL FUND. THIS IS ON PAGE 101 OF THE ACFR, AND YOU'RE SEEING WHAT OUR ORIGINAL BUDGET WAS, THE FINAL BUDGET AND THEN HOW THE ACTUALS TURNED OUT, AND I'LL JUST DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE VERY BOTTOM. YOU CAN SEE THE INCREASE IN FUND BALANCE FOR THE END OF THE YEAR, ABOUT 6.8 MILLION OVER THE PRIOR YEAR. LASTLY, THERE ARE QUITE A FEW PAGES IN OUR ACFR THAT TALK ABOUT OUR PENSION AND OUR OPEB, AND SO JUST SUMMARIZING SOME OF THAT INFORMATION HERE. SO THIS IS PAGE 102 TO 117 IN THE ACFR. AT THE TOP WE HAVE OUR EBRPD RETIREMENT PLAN. THAT'S THE PLAN WE HAD BEFORE CALPERS, AND THE NUMBER THAT IS SHOWING UP AS A NEGATIVE ACTUALLY IS SHOWING THAT WE HAVE AN ASSET FOR THE GENERAL PLAN THERE AND JUST A SMALL LIABILITY FOR THE SAFETY PLAN. THOSE ARE BOTH CLOSED PLANS AND WE ARE MAKING GREAT PROGRESS TOWARDS GETTING THEM FULLY FUNDED. SO THAT'S REALLY GOOD NEWS. FURTHER DOWN ON THE PAGE YOU SEE OUR CALPERS RETIREMENT PLANS, AND THOSE ARE SOME PRETTY BIG NUMBERS. [00:25:03] SO 128.4 MILLION IS OUR LIABILITY FOR MISCELLANEOUS PLAN, 32.3 MILLION FOR OUR SAFETY PLAN, AND YOU'LL SEE ON THE NEXT SLIDE THAT THOSE. THOSE AMOUNTS HAVE HAVE NOT BEEN TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION CONSISTENTLY THE WAY WE WANT THEM TO, BUT OUR OPEB PLAN, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS AGAIN, YOU'RE SEEING A NEGATIVE NUMBER THERE, WHICH IS AN ASSET. SO THAT'S GOOD NEWS. THAT PLAN IS MORE THAN 100% FUNDED IN TOTAL. OUR PENSION AND OPEB LIABILITIES DID INCREASE BY 9.6 MILLION IN 2023. I ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT WE HAVE A SUPPLEMENTAL PENSION TRUST, WHICH AT THE END OF LAST YEAR HAD A BALANCE OF 8.2 MILLION, AND SO AGAIN, THIS IS SHOWING YOU THE HISTORY FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS, AND YOU CAN SEE THE TREND LINE FOR THE OPEB PLAN FOR OUR EBRPD GENERAL RETIREMENT PLAN AND OUR SAFETY PLAN NOW ABOVE 100% FUNDED OR VERY CLOSE TO IT. WHEREAS THE CALPERS MISCELLANEOUS AND CALPERS SAFETY PLAN HAVE JUST BEEN BOUNCING AROUND AT ABOUT 70% FUNDED, AND THERE'S A LOT MORE THAT I COULD GET INTO ABOUT THAT, BUT JUST LEAVE IT THERE FOR NOW. SO THAT'S THE LAST SLIDE THAT I THE LAST, I GUESS, INFORMATION I WANTED TO TALK THROUGH IN DETAIL. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER LETTERS IN THE PACKET. THERE'S THE AUDITOR'S COMMUNICATION WITH THOSE CHARGED WITH GOVERNANCE. SO THAT'S THE LETTER TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. WE ALSO HAVE OUR APPROPRIATIONS LIMIT LETTER, WHERE THEY REVIEW OUR GANN CALCULATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SPENDING WITHIN THE GANN THRESHOLD, AND THEN THE SINGLE AUDIT REPORT, WHICH IS THEIR REVIEW AND AUDIT OF OUR FEDERAL GRANT FUNDS. SO WE'RE REQUESTING THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACCEPT OUR 2023 ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT. THANK YOU. OKAY. DIRECTORS COMMENTS. QUESTIONS FOR DEBORAH? DIRECTOR MERCURIO. SO SOME OF US HAD A CHANCE TO SEE THIS ALREADY, BUT IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD REVIEW, BUT I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT THAT YOU KNOW, WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THAT IT TAKES TO PUT THIS TOGETHER. I MEAN, IT'S JUST SO MANY PARTS AND SO MANY FOLKS ARE INVOLVED IN IT, AND YOU KNOW, I'VE NEVER BEEN AN ACCOUNTANT, BUT SOMETIMES I THINK, LIKE, ONE. SO I FEEL, YOU KNOW YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ABOUT ABOUT THIS, AND ALSO JUST TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF, YOU KNOW, THOSE TRAILS AND THOSE PARKS DON'T JUST GET THAT WAY AUTOMATICALLY. YOU KNOW, IT TAKES IT TAKES A TEAM TO DO IT. THOSE FOLKS NEED FUNDING TO DO THEIR WORK, AND SOMEBODY NEEDS TO SHEPHERD ALL THE FUNDS, AND THAT'S WHAT YOUR GROUP DOES, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT JUST NEEDS TO BE POINTED OUT AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR NOW BUT WE HOPEFULLY WE POINTED OUT MORE THAN THAT, BUT YEAH GREAT JOB, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOU KNOW, THE LONG RUN OF OF AWARD WINNING FINANCIAL, YOU KNOW, FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS, AND IT IS GREAT. IT DOES A LOT TO INSTILL CONFIDENCE IN THE COMMUNITY IN, IN THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, I THINK. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ANYONE ELSE? DIRECTOR SANWONG. YES. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THIS PRESENTATION, AND ALSO FOR THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION WITH THE FINANCE COMMITTEE. AS DIRECTOR MERCURIO MENTIONED, I KNOW THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GO IN DEPTH INTO THIS PRESENTATION. I APPRECIATE THE YOU KNOW, SHARING THE PAGE NUMBERS AND THE REPORT. IT'S JUST HELPFUL TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT BOTH THE SLIDES AND THE REPORT AT THE SAME TIME. SO I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD IDEA. SO THANKS FOR LISTENING TO MY IDEA AND DOING THAT TODAY. I THINK IT WAS HELPFUL, AND YOU KNOW, HEARING DIRECTOR MERCURIO TALK ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, THE TRAILS AND PARKS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT AUTOMATIC. IT MADE ME ALSO THINK ABOUT HOW YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING SAFE ACCESS TO OPEN SPACE AND, YOU KNOW, THE VALUE OF, YOU KNOW, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISION SPECIFICALLY, AND I GUESS OUR AGM OF PUBLIC SAFETY MIGHT HAVE STEPPED OUT, BUT BUT SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, BUT MAYBE A MONTH AGO, WE HAD SOME AWARDS THAT WE GAVE TO MEMBERS OF OUR MARINE SAFETY UNIT FOR RESCUES, SPECIFICALLY AT LAKE DEL VALLE, AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT MARINE PATROL UNIT AT THE LAKE TO BE AVAILABLE FOR SAFETY AND I ALSO WANT TO THINK ABOUT SAFE ACCESS TO OPEN SPACE. I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, OUR ABILITY TO YOU KNOW, BE ABLE [00:30:07] TO ADDRESS WILDFIRE RISK, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST SAYING THAT ALL THAT DOES COST MONEY TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS, YOU KNOW, SAFE ACCESS TO OPEN SPACE, AND I THINK ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF BEING OUR TWO COUNTY DISTRICT ACROSS ALAMEDA AND CONTRA COSTA COUNTY IS OUR ABILITY TO SCALE IN REGARDS TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY UNIT, AND I THINK I'M SHARING THIS RIGHT NOW AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THIS AUDIT REPORT, BECAUSE THE AUDIT REPORT IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MEETING ALL OF THE GUIDELINES AND THAT WE'RE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THAT, YOU KNOW, ECONOMY OF SCALE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE SAFE ACCESS TO OPEN SPACE, AND I KNOW WE'VE RECEIVED SOME CRITIQUE FROM OTHER AGENCIES ABOUT NOT HAVING OUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE, BUT IT IS AVAILABLE, AND THIS REPORT IS ONE OF THOSE ITEMS THAT CAN BE REFERENCED AND REFERRED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING ALL THE BEST PRACTICES AND ALL THE GUIDELINES AND I THINK THAT THE CERTIFICATE WE RECEIVE IS AN IMPORTANT ONE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND THE REQUIREMENTS, AND I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT TODAY AS THIS IS PRESENTED. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR WAESPI. SURE. I JUST WANT TO OFFER MY THANKS FOR WHAT A GREAT DOCUMENT, AND AS MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALL SAID, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE THIS DOCUMENT HERE. IT'S VERY TRANSPARENT. IT TELLS EVERYBODY WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND IT SEEMS TO BE THAT WE'RE DOING IT CORRECTLY AND WITHOUT ANY FLAWS. OR I LOVE THESE, WELL, I WON'T USE THE TERMS THEY USE. THERE WERE NO SUCH MISSTATEMENTS. THERE WERE NO DISAGREEMENTS AROSE BETWEEN MANAGEMENT AND THE AUDITORS, AND I THINK WHAT DOES IT SAY? THIS REPORT IS LACKS ANY DEFECTS OR BLAH, BLAH, BLAH BLAH. I LOVE READING THAT IN THE SUMMARY STATEMENT. THANKS FOR DOING THIS AND CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN. I ASSUME YOU'RE APPLYING FOR THE GFOA AWARD FOR THIS YEAR, AND I HOPE YOU WIN YOUR 250TH IN A ROW, OR WHATEVER IT IS AT THIS POINT. 13TH OR 14TH, AND I'M VERY PROUD OF THAT. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE REPORT, AND I AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUES THAT THIS IS A REALLY GOOD REPORT AND VERY HAPPY TO RECEIVE IT, AND HAS A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION, AND I KNOW YOU ALL WORKED VERY HARD ON IT. SO THANK YOU. GREAT. THANK YOU, AND WITH THAT WE CAN WOULD SOMEONE LIKE TO MOVE ACCEPTANCE OF THE REPORT? SURE. YEAH I MOVE ACCEPTANCE OF THIS REPORT. SECOND. THANK YOU. SO MOVED BY DIRECTOR MERCURIO AND SECONDED BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER ITEM. WE HAVE ANOTHER FINANCE ITEM. I'LL TAKE A SECOND TO PULL THAT UP. THERE WE GO. ALL RIGHT. I'M JUST GOING TO QUICKLY HAND IT OVER TO BILL THORNTON WHO'S HERE FROM EMPOWER, AND HE'S GOING TO PRESENT TO YOU THE THIRD QUARTER REPORT FOR OUR DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR THE PARK DISTRICT. I BELIEVE THIS IS THE SECOND TIME BILL HAS COME BEFORE YOU, AND WE'RE INTENDING TO HAVE THIS BECOME A MORE REGULAR FEATURE WHERE YOU WHERE YOU RECEIVE THESE REPORTS. WE'RE THINKING TWICE A YEAR. SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO BILL AND LET HIM TAKE IT AWAY. YOU PROBABLY WON'T NEED THIS. GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD TO SEE EVERYONE AGAIN. AS DEB SAID, I WILL GO THROUGH THE REPORT FOR THE DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN. LET ME SEE IF I CAN MAKE THAT A LITTLE BIGGER. I WON'T SPEND A LOT OF A LOT OF TIME ON THE CAPITAL MARKETS SECTION. EXCUSE ME? WE ALWAYS INCLUDE THAT JUST AS KIND OF A REVIEW ON THE INVESTMENT MARKETS. YOU KNOW, JUST IN SUMMARY, I'LL SAY IT'S BEEN A BIG COUPLE OF WEEKS POST-ELECTION. THE MARKETS WE'VE SEEN VOLATILITY CERTAINLY BOTH ON POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SINCE THE ELECTION AND NOW I THINK WE'RE TO THE POINT OF KIND OF DIGESTING DIRECTION, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE THINGS GOING TO SHAKE OUT AS FAR AS POLICY AND APPOINTMENTS AND THINGS ALONG THAT LINE, BUT AT THE, AT THE CORE, I WOULD SAY WE'RE IN A VERY GOOD SPOT ON THE ECONOMY WISE, RIGHT? GDP CONTINUES TO BE VERY SOLID AT JUST ABOUT 3%. I THINK WE WERE 2.8% WAS THE ADVANCED ESTIMATE FOR Q3. INFLATION HAS BEEN THE BIG DATA POINT FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. [00:35:02] WE'VE SEEN THAT COME BACK DOWN CLOSER TO THE FED TARGET, DEPENDING ON WHAT BENCHMARK OR WHAT MEASUREMENT YOU'RE USING. CPI IS ABOUT 3% IN THAT BALLPARK. PCE IS CLOSER TO THAT 2% TARGET. SO WE'VE CERTAINLY SEEN THAT IMPROVE. EMPLOYMENT CONTINUES TO BE VERY STRONG. THAT'S THE ONE AREA WHERE WE SEE MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF SOFTENING IN THAT MONTHLY JOBS CREATED NUMBER. YOU SEE ON THE SLIDE HERE ON PAGE SIX ON THE LEFT. THAT'S BEEN A, IT HAS BEEN VERY ROBUST. WE DID GET THE OCTOBER NUMBER SINCE WE PUBLISHED THIS CHART, AND THAT CAME IN AT 12,000. SO MUCH LESS THAN WHAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST SEVERAL, SEVERAL YEARS, REALLY. SO THAT HAS GIVEN THE FED A LITTLE BIT OF ROOM TO BE ABLE TO COME IN AND LOWER INTEREST RATES, BUT THAT'S REALLY BEEN THE ONE DATA POINT THAT WE'VE STARTED TO SEE MAYBE SOFTEN. STILL AT 4.1% UNEMPLOYMENT, WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER FULL EMPLOYMENT. SO IT CONTINUES TO BE VERY ROBUST, BUT MAYBE THAT'S THE ONE AREA WHERE THE FED HAS POINTED TO. THAT SAID, IT GIVES THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING INTEREST RATES DOWN A LITTLE BIT. I THINK A LOT OF THE MARKET IS, IS DIGESTING THE FACT THAT THE INTEREST REDUCTION CYCLE, THE CUT CYCLE LOOKS TO BE MUCH LONGER THAN THE INTEREST RATE HIKE CYCLE DID. SO THAT'S BEEN ANOTHER SOURCE OF VOLATILITY, BUT HOW THAT TRANSLATES TO THE MARKETS, AND I'LL JUMP AHEAD A FEW SLIDES. PAGE TEN SHOWS JUST WHERE WE WERE AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER. IT'S BEEN A FANTASTIC YEAR ON STOCKS RIGHT? YOU KNOW, AS YOU COME DOWN THAT YEAR TO DATE, THE SECOND COLUMN OF NUMBERS, EVERYTHING'S SOLIDLY INTO DOUBLE DIGITS. THE COLUMN NEXT TO IT OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS. S&P'S 36% PLUS, MID CAPS, SMALL CAPS UP 29, 26%. IT'S BEEN A A VERY GOOD EQUITY MARKET I THINK, WHICH COULD POSSIBLY LEAD US TO EVEN A LITTLE MORE VOLATILITY AS WE GET INTO THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS OF THE YEAR. IF THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY IN POLICY DIRECTION, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A CATALYST TO SAY, HEY, I'VE GOT I'VE SEEN SOME REALLY GOOD GAINS OVER THE PAST YEAR. LET'S TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT OFF THE TABLE. SO, I WOULDN'T BE A SURPRISE TO SEE IF THAT ADDS TO THE, TO THE VOLATILITY A LITTLE BIT. ON THE FIXED INCOME SIDE. YOU DON'T THINK OF FIXED INCOME AS BEING VERY VOLATILE, BUT THAT'S BEEN REALLY WHERE WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF CHANGES IN INTEREST RATES. SO THIS CHART LOOKS AT THE LIGHT BLUE LINE IS WHERE INTEREST RATES WERE THE YIELD CURVE AS OF THE END OF THE YEAR, THAT DARKER SOLID BLUE LINE WHERE WE WERE AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER. THAT DARKER BLUE LINE HAS ESSENTIALLY MOVED UP A LITTLE BIT POST, NOT JUST POST-ELECTION. EVER SINCE THE FED DROPPED 50 BASIS POINTS IN SEPTEMBER, RATES HAVE STEADILY INCREASED SINCE THEN. AGAIN, I THINK AS INVESTORS DIGEST THE FACT THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE AGGRESSIVE RATE CUTS LIKE A LOT OF INVESTORS THOUGHT WE WERE AND HOW THAT TRANSLATES INTO RETURNS FOR FIXED INCOME, REALLY THE THIRD QUARTER WAS ALL OF THE POSITIVE PERFORMANCE FOR THE YEAR. THE QUARTER THE AGGREGATE BOND INDEX WAS UP A LITTLE OVER 5%. WE'VE LOST A FEW PERCENT OFF OF THAT. WE'RE CLOSER TO A LITTLE UNDER 2% NOW, YEAR TO DATE, BUT STILL STILL POSITIVE ON FIXED INCOME, BUT THAT'S BEEN THE AREA WHERE WE'VE SEEN A LITTLE A LITTLE MORE VOLATILITY THAN WE'RE THAN WE'RE USED TO SEEING. QUESTIONS FROM A MACRO STANDPOINT. IF NOT, I WILL SKIP AHEAD TO STARTING ON SLIDE 21. SO WE JUST LOOK AT ASSET VALUES OF THE FUNDS OF THE TWO PLANS. THE 457 PLAN WE TOTAL ON PAGE 22 AS OF THE END OF THE QUARTER, A LITTLE OVER 145 MILLION. THE 401A PLAN WAS A LITTLE OVER 12. SO A LITTLE NORTH OF 157 MILLION TOTAL. SO WE CERTAINLY HAVE PARTICIPATED WITH THE INCREASE IN IN THE MARKET IN BOTH PLANS. THIS NEXT SECTION OF OF PAGES IS WHAT WE LOOK AT FROM A STYLE ANALYSIS STANDPOINT. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT EACH OF THE FUNDS AND HOW WELL THEIR PERFORMANCE CORRELATES TO DIFFERENT BENCHMARKS. OUR GOAL HERE WHEN WE'RE MONITORING THE FUNDS IS IF WE HAVE SUGGESTED ADDING A FUND IN A SPECIFIC CATEGORY, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S PERFORMING IN THAT CATEGORY. SO THE WAY THIS PAGE IS SET UP AND THIS IS LOOKING AT THE INTERNATIONAL FUNDS, THAT TOP LEFT CHART IS A POINT IN TIME AVERAGE FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, AND THEN THE CHART ON THE BOTTOM IS LOOKING AT ROLLING 36 MONTH PERIODS. SO WE CAN SEE ANY KIND OF DRIFT WITHIN THE FUND, AND THEN THE ACTUAL PERCENTAGES ARE BROKEN OUT ON THE, ON THE FAR RIGHT. [00:40:03] INTERNATIONAL FUNDS ON 25. I WILL SAY I'M THERE'S NO SURPRISES IN ANY OF THE CATEGORIES. EXACTLY WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT THE FUNDS TO BE DOING FROM A FROM A STYLE AND AVERAGE STYLE AND A DRIFT STANDPOINT. THE REAL ESTATE FUND IS ON 26, THE DOMESTIC EQUITY FUNDS ARE ON 27 AND SPILLS OVER INTO INTO 28. IDEALLY, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT TOP LEFT CHART, WE'RE TRYING TO GET EXPOSURE TO ALL OF THE ALL OF THE AREAS OF THAT CHART AND THE LINEUP IS ABSOLUTELY DOING THAT. THE ONE FUND THAT MAYBE SEEMS A LITTLE BIT OUT OF PLACE. IT'S THE ZERO SYMBOL. THE INVESCO DISCOVERY FUND. WE KEPT THAT FUND FROM THE PREVIOUS PROVIDERS DONE REALLY WELL. I WILL SAY ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT FUND, IT DOESN'T TRADE A LOT. SO IF THEY FIND A SMALL CAP STOCK, TAKE A POSITION IN IT AND IT GROWS INTO A MID-CAP STOCK, THEY DON'T AUTOMATICALLY GO OUT AND SELL THAT IF THEY THINK THERE'S STILL ROOM FOR THAT STOCK TO GROW. SO YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE MID-CAP EXPOSURE THERE, AND THAT'S JUST A BYPRODUCT OF SUCCESSFUL STOCK PICKING AS MUCH AS ANYTHING ELSE. SO THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR WITH THAT FUND, AND THEN THE TARGET DATE FUNDS ON ON PAGE 29, AMERICAN FUNDS TARGET DATES HAVE DONE FANTASTIC. SO NO CONCERNS THERE. SAME THING WITH THE BOND FUNDS ON 31. SO THAT'S THE STYLE ANALYSIS PORTION. THE NEXT FEW PAGES I THINK ARE PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT. THIS IS WHAT WE CALL THE FUND MONITORING REPORT. I WILL PREFACE THIS. THIS IS PERFORMANCE VARIANCE, NOT ACTUAL PERFORMANCE. SO IN THE CASE OF THE WE'LL TAKE THE FIRST FUND THE T ROWE PRICE OVERSEAS STOCK FUND. THAT'S IN THE FOREIGN LARGE BLEND CATEGORY WITH MORNINGSTAR. ITS MARKET BENCHMARK IS THE MORGAN STANLEY IFA INDEX. YOU CAN SEE ON THE THIRD LINE THERE. SO VERSUS THE IFA INDEX YEAR TO DATE, IT'S ABOUT 2% BEHIND THE INDEX. THOSE FIRST SIX COLUMNS OF NUMBERS IS MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE VARIANCE VERSUS THAT MARKET BENCHMARK. OVER UNDER WHERE IT SAYS PEER RETURN RANK WE'RE LOOKING AT PERFORMANCE VERSUS THE MORNINGSTAR CATEGORY. SO VERSUS OTHER FUNDS IN THE FOREIGN LARGE BLEND CATEGORY. FOR THE ACTIVELY MANAGED FUNDS WE TYPICALLY LOOK MORE AT THAT PEER RETURN RANK, AND IDEALLY WE'RE LOOKING FOR LOWER NUMBERS IN THOSE PEER RETURN RANKED COLUMNS. IT'S A PERCENTILE RANK. AS YOU COME DOWN THE PAGES THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE, YOU KNOW, NEXT FEW PAGES, THE FUND MONITORING SECTION, THE FUNDS LOOK REALLY GOOD. YOU'LL SEE SOME SOME VARIANCE, SOME UNDERPERFORMANCE OR EVEN OUTPERFORMANCE IN THAT ONE YEAR COLUMN VERSUS THEIR PEERS, VERSUS THEIR PEERS, BUT OVER THE THREE, FIVE, TEN YEAR NUMBERS, FUNDS LOOK VERY GOOD. I WILL SAY THE ONE ONE COMMENT I HAD REALLY IS THAT T ROWE PRICE OVERSEAS STOCK FUND. ANOTHER FUND THAT WE KEPT FROM THE PREVIOUS PROVIDER THAT HAS BEEN IN I THINK THE PLAN FOR QUITE A WHILE. THE MANAGER, THE LEAD MANAGER ON THAT FUND IS RETIRING AT THE END OF THE YEAR. HE'S BEEN ON SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE FUND. I THINK THAT'S 16 YEARS. 18 YEARS. THEY ADDED A CO-MANAGER SEVERAL YEARS AGO, JUST AS SUCCESSION PLANNING FOR JUST THIS TIME PERIOD. SO THAT PERSON HAS BEEN ON THE FUND. THEY'LL TAKE OVER FULL TIME AS THE AS THE SOLE MANAGER AT THE END OF THE YEAR. ANY TIME THERE'S A FUND MANAGER CHANGE, IT'S JUST AN I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT'S A RED FLAG. IT'S A YELLOW FLAG. RIGHT. WE'RE JUST GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE A LITTLE CLOSER LOOK AT IT. SO THAT'S THE ONE FUND THAT WE'RE MAYBE IN COMMUNICATION WITH T ROWE EVEN MORE THAN USUAL, BUT AS YOU COME DOWN THE PAGES, THE PEER RETURN RANKS LOOK, LOOK REALLY GOOD. I MENTIONED THE AMERICAN FUNDS TARGET DATE STARTING ON THE BOTTOM OF PAGE 33. TOP DECILE OVER THE FIVE AND TEN YEAR TIME PERIODS. THEY DO A FANTASTIC JOB THERE AND DON'T TAKE ON A LOT OF RISK TO DO IT. THEY JUST THEY'VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN THE TARGET DATE SIDE. SO YEAH, I'M NOT CONCERNED FROM A PERFORMANCE STANDPOINT BY ANYTHING IN THE FUNDS IN THE LINEUP. PER THE IPS, THE INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT, IN ADDITION TO THE PEER RETURN RANKS. WE DO LOOK AT PERFORMANCE VERSUS A BASKET OF BENCHMARKS. THAT'S THAT IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH, I'LL SAY, THE SAME ALLOCATION AS THE ALLOCATION OF THE FUND. SO JUST AS A DOUBLE CHECK, I'LL SAY ON THE PERFORMANCE, IS THE FUND OUTPERFORMING ITS MARKET BENCHMARKS IN THE SAME ALLOCATION, AND YOU CAN SEE ON PAGE 36. ABSOLUTELY, YOU KNOW, OVER THE PAST YEAR THE SHORTER DATED FUNDS ARE A LITTLE BIT BEHIND [00:45:03] BUT FOR THE 5, 10-YEAR TIME FRAMES ALL THE FUNDS LOOK REALLY GOOD. SO NOT AGAIN. NO NO CONCERNS FOR US THERE. THIS NEXT SECTION I WON'T SPEND ANY TIME ON. IT'S WHAT WE CALL THE SCORECARD REPORT. IT'S JUST CRITERIA PRESENTED IN A MORE VISUAL WAY BASED ON THE CRITERIA OF THE INVESTMENT POLICY. YOU SEE A LOT OF GREEN. EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING PASSING AGAIN, NOT CONCERNED BY ANYTHING, AND I WILL END WITH THE EXPENSE SIDE. SO I ALWAYS SAY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOTS OF THINGS IN THE MARKET THAT THE BOARD OR ANY INVESTOR CAN'T CONTROL. EXPENSES IS THE ONE THING THAT YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTROL OVER. RIGHT. SO AGAIN WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN THE PEER RANKS LOWER NUMBERS. YOU KNOW IT'S AGAIN A PEER RETURN A PERCENTILE RANK, AND AS YOU COME DOWN THE PAGE ABSOLUTELY. YOU KNOW WE'RE LOOKING FOR WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE MOST COST EFFICIENT SHARE CLASS FOR EACH OF THE FUNDS. I WILL SAY WHEN WE LOOK AT FUNDS, EXPENSES IS IMPORTANT. IT'S NOT THE OVERRIDING FACTOR, BUT IT'S A LARGE FACTOR IN OUR REVIEW, AND AGAIN, NO CONCERNS. WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANY CHANGES REALLY IN THE EXPENSE RATIOS OF THE FUNDS. SO NOT A CONCERN THERE. SO JUST IN SUMMARY I'LL SAY THE LINEUP LOOKS REALLY GOOD. WE'RE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT ANYTHING BY ANY MEANS. THE FUND MANAGER CHANGE ON THE OVERSEAS STOCK IS SOMETHING WE'RE IN TALKS WITH T ROWE WITH, JUST TO KIND OF MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S GOING OKAY. I WILL SAY THAT'S ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF SCALE. WE HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF ACCESS TO ANYBODY THAT WE WANT TO SEE AT ANY OF THE ANY OF THE, ANY OF THE FUND MANAGERS. SO THAT'S BEEN A THAT'S BEEN A PLUS, BUT WITH THAT, THAT IS MY REPORT, AND CAN I ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING? SO DIRECTORS ANY QUESTIONS COMMENTS. DIRECTOR ROSARIO WHAT'S YOUR WHEN YOU I LOVE THOSE DRIFT GRAPHS. WHAT'S YOUR STRATEGY WHEN YOU SEE A FUND STARTING TO DRIFT IN THE NEGATIVE? SURE. SO WE WANT TO KNOW WHY, RIGHT? LIKE THAT'S WHERE WE START, AND WE START WITH THE ASSET MANAGER. SO WE WILL GO BACK TO THE PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT TEAM OF WHATEVER THE FUND IS AND SAY, HEY, THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE NOTICING. WHAT'S THE THESIS BEHIND IT? YOU KNOW, IS THIS A CONSCIOUS EFFORT THAT YOU'RE MAKING? ARE YOU SEEING BETTER OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS SUBSET OF STOCKS THAT'S PUSHING YOU THERE? DO YOU THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE A CONTINUOUS, YOU KNOW, A LONG TERM TREND. OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR A YEAR OR TWO WE'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE WHERE WE SEE IT, BUT OUR INTENT IS TO MOVE BACK. SO SO DRIFT IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR ANY FUND, ESPECIALLY ANY ACTIVELY MANAGED FUND, BUT THAT'S KIND OF THAT'S OUR BACKGROUND ON IT. WE EXPECT TO SEE IT. WE EXPECT IT TO BE MANAGED. YEAH. THANK YOU. SURE. DIRECTOR SANWONG. YES. I THINK MY QUESTIONS MIGHT ACTUALLY BE MORE FOR DEB REAL QUICK. I JUST WANT TO REVIEW. SO OUR AGREEMENT WITH EMPOWER FOR THESE PLANS. THE TWO PLANS, THE DISTRICT'S 457B AND 401A PLANS. IT'S FOR THIS REPORT TO BE DELIVERED TO THE FULL BOARD QUARTERLY. IS THAT? SO WE RECEIVE THE REPORT QUARTERLY--WE BEING STAFF. OKAY. MY THOUGHT WAS TO BRING IT TO THE BOARD TWICE A YEAR. I THINK THAT'S FINE. OKAY, AND THAT WE WOULD HAVE BILL IN PERSON ONCE, AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE THEM PRESENT REMOTELY ONCE. I THINK THAT'S FAIR. YEAH. I JUST WANT TO CONFIRM THAT. SO WE AS AN ORGANIZATION RECEIVE THIS QUARTERLY AND THEN AS A BOARD, WE'LL SEE THIS TWICE A YEAR AND THEN ONCE IN PERSON. SO THANK YOU FOR JOINING US IN PERSON, BY THE WAY. I THINK THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD IDEA IN TERMS OF THE CADENCE. I JUST WANT TO CONFIRM THAT, AND YOU KNOW, THE OTHER POINT, LISTENING THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION THAT I AM THINKING OF IS, I KNOW WE'RE COMING UP ON ONE YEAR SINCE WE MADE THE TRANSITION TO EMPOWER, AND I KNOW THAT THERE HAS BEEN SOME COMMENTS RECEIVED, YOU KNOW, ABOUT YOU KNOW, WITH ANY NEW PROVIDER, THERE'S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT SYSTEM IN TERMS OF LOGGING IN AND IN TERMS OF THE USER EXPERIENCE OF THE PLATFORM AND I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO CONSIDER AT SOME POINT OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, SOME WAY TO EITHER HAVE SOME SORT OF SURVEY OR MAYBE EMPOWER. YOU MIGHT ALREADY HAVE SOME OF YOU KNOW, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION DATA IF WE ARE WORKING ON A SURVEY RIGHT NOW. [00:50:06] SO WE'LL HAVE THAT OUT IN THE NEXT, I THINK COUPLE OF MONTHS. THAT'S PERFECT. YES. SO, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT TRYING TO CREATE EXTRA WORK. IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT ALREADY EXISTS, WE AGREE IT'D BE HELPFUL TO SEE. GOOD IDEA TO SEE HOW IT'S GOING. COOL. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. ANYBODY ELSE? YES. DIRECTOR WAESPI. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE REPORT AND WELCOME EMPOWER. IT'S BEEN A YEAR, ALMOST LIKE WE'VE SAID. I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WAS SOME CONTROVERSY AROUND HERE, AND THERE WAS. I'M INTERESTED IN WHAT THE PARTICIPATION RATE IS FROM OUR MEMBERS HERE AT THE REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT. I WILL PLEAD A LITTLE BIT OF IGNORANCE SINCE I'M ON THE INVESTMENT SIDE, BUT I KNOW THAT WE MEASURE IT. I JUST DON'T HAVE IT. I DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION, BUT NOT IN MY HEAD AT THIS SECOND. SO LET ME GET IT AND I CAN EMAIL IT TO EVERYBODY. OKAY, AND I GUESS MY SPECIFIC QUESTION IS THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, WE ALL SAW THE FOLKS COMING TO THE BOARD SAYING WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE EMPOWER AND BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. I'M WONDERING IF THAT OCCURRED. I'D BE INTERESTED IN WHAT WHAT WE STARTED AT WHEN WE TRANSFERRED OVER FROM ICMA TO WHAT WE'VE GOT NOW. YEAH. I CAN TELL YOU ANECDOTALLY WITHOUT THE NUMBERS, WE HAVE SEEN A DECREASE IN A LOT OF OUR RETIREES LEAVING THE PLAN, BUT WE'RE SEEING NEW EMPLOYEES, CURRENT EMPLOYEES JOINING THE PLAN. SO I CAN GET YOU THE SPECIFICS, BUT THAT'S THE OVERALL TREND. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE REPORT. VERY INTERESTING AND I ENJOYED HEARING YOUR INSIGHTS ON WHERE THINGS ARE NOT NECESSARILY HEADED. YOU WEREN'T PREDICTING ANYTHING, BUT IT'S JUST INTERESTING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW THE MARKET IS INTERNALIZING A LOT OF WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE LAST MONTH OR SO AND SORT OF LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT'S AHEAD. SO THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK, AND WITH THIS LET'S SEE, IS THIS AN ACTION ITEM, TOO? I BELIEVE IT IS. SO. YES. SO WE I NEED A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2024 DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN INVESTMENT REPORT. SO MOVED. THANK YOU. DENNIS. I'LL SECOND. OKAY. SO MOVED BY DIRECTOR WAESPI AND SECONDED BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I DIDN'T ASK FOR ANY NAYS, BUT I DIDN'T HEAR ANY, SO MOTION CARRIES. OKAY. SO NEXT UP WE HAVE ALLYSON HUMAN RESOURCES. [HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION] GOOD AFTERNOON, PRESIDENT ECHOLS. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. I'M ALLYSON COOK, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, BUT ALSO HERE IN MY CAPACITY AS ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OF HUMAN RESOURCES. I'M SEEKING AUTHORIZATION TO ADOPT AN AMENDMENT TO THE PARK DISTRICT'S SALARY SCHEDULE TO IMPLEMENT CERTAIN STRUCTURAL CHANGES TO OUR CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION SYSTEM, IN LINE WITH BEST PRACTICES, AND IN LINE WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF A DISTRICT WIDE CLASS AND COMP STUDY PERFORMED BY RALPH ANDERSON. I BELIEVE THE REPORT SUFFICIENTLY SETS OUT ALL THE CHANGES THAT WE'RE SEEKING TO MAKE. SO I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR TAKE ANY COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD. OKAY. ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENTS FOR ALISON. DIRECTOR ROSARIO. I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK. I THINK FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN, EVERYTHING LOOKS REALLY FAIR, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. SO I APPRECIATE THE IN-DEPTH STUDY HERE. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? DIRECTOR SANWONG. YEAH. IT MIGHT JUST BE HELPFUL IN THE PREPARED REPORT JUST TO MENTION, YOU KNOW, THAT CLASS AND COMP STUDY WAS OCTOBER 2017 AND THEN DECEMBER 2020, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECEIVED IT. IS THAT CORRECT? JUST IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING. IT ALL PREDATES ME, BUT THIS WAS A DISTRICT WIDE CLASS AND COMP STUDY AUTHORIZED BY THE BOARD THAT WE WORKED WITH OUR UNIONS ON, AND THEN THEY ACCEPTED THE REPORT THEREAFTER AND IMPLEMENTED SEVERAL OF THE CHANGES STARTING IN 2021 FOR AFSCME, AND THEN IMPLEMENTED ONE ISSUE FOR THE UNREPRESENTED AND CONFIDENTIAL AND THEN WE DID SOME WORK FOR THE POLICE ASSOCIATION DURING SUCCESSOR NEGOTIATIONS IN 2022. [00:55:04] SO THIS IS THE LAST STEP OF THE TECHNICAL CLEANUP. YEP, AND AS YOU SAID, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION THAT CAME FROM THE REPORT ITSELF. MOST OF IT IS SOME OF IT IS ALSO BASED ON BEST PRACTICES SINCE THERE HAS BEEN SOME TIME, BUT YES, SOME OF IT COMES OUT OF DIRECT RECOMMENDATIONS BY RALPH ANDERSON. GREAT. THANK YOU. OKAY. WELL, ALLYSON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS. IT'S JUST A CONTINUATION OF DIGGING INTO MANY UNRESOLVED MATTERS AND WORKING THROUGH THEM AND BRINGING FORWARD SOME REALLY SOLID CHANGES THAT ARE HOPEFULLY THEN APPROVED BY THE BOARD, AND I JUST REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THAT WORK, NOT JUST TODAY, BUT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. THANK YOU, AND I CAN'T TAKE ALL THE CREDIT. I WANT TO GIVE A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALLIE ADAMS, WHO REALLY WAS INTEGRAL IN BRINGING THIS FORWARD TO THE BOARD. SHE WAS PATIENT WITH ALL MY QUESTIONS AND HELPED ME COME UP WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS, SO I HAVE TO GIVE HER MOST OF THE CREDIT. WELL THANK YOU ALLIE AS WELL, AND EVERYBODY ELSE WHO IS INVOLVED. ALL RIGHT. SO THIS ONE ALSO IS ASSUMING NO ONE ELSE HAS ANY COMMENTS. DOES SOMEONE WANT TO MAKE THE MOTION? I'LL MOVE. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR ROSARIO. SECOND. OKAY, SO MOVED BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO AND SECONDED BY DIRECTOR MERCURIO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. OKAY. WELL, NEXT WE HAVE THE DEL VALLE REGIONAL PARK 2024 PILOT WRAP UP. [GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS] OKAY, WELL I MY NAME IS LISA GOORJIAN. I'M THE ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OVER OPERATIONS AND I'M SO EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY. SO HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE A NICE WRAP UP FOR THE MEETING. SO THE VERY FIRST THING I WANT TO DO IS JUST REALLY THANK THE BOARD AND IN PARTICULAR, DIRECTOR SANWONG AND SABRINA, OUR GM, FOR REALLY ENCOURAGING US TO WORK ON THIS PILOT PROJECT. THIS IS, I THINK REALLY SORT OF FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SOME OTHER PILOTS THAT THE GENERAL MANAGER HAS ENCOURAGED AND YOU'VE SUPPORTED, AND I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THEM BECAUSE THEY REALLY REFLECT SUPPORTING STAFF TO REALLY WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE A SYNERGY ON, ON PARKS THAT ARE, ARE OLDER PARKS THAT ARE LOVED, THAT MAYBE NEEDED A LITTLE BIT OF REEXAMINATION OF HOW WE OPERATE THEM TO BRING SUCCESS TO THEM. SO MANY TIMES WE FIND OURSELVES LIKE, WELL, THIS IS HOW WE'VE ALWAYS DONE IT, AND MAYBE SOMETIMES THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE CAN DO, AND SO I THINK THIS IS REALLY A GREAT EXAMPLE. SO THIS WASN'T SOMETHING THAT JUST STAFF DID. WE DID IT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NEIGHBORS. WE MET WITH THEM BACK IN FEBRUARY. THEY REALLY HELPED US THINK ABOUT NOT ONLY MAKING IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE NEIGHBORS TO TRY TO GET IT IN AND OUT OF DEL VALLE AND WE'LL HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THAT OPERATES NOW, BUT ALSO WITH ALAMEDA COUNTY AND THE STATE. SO REALLY, THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP BEYOND SORT OF IT'S AN INCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP, AND WE LOOK CONTINUALLY WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS. SO IT'S I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE SUPPORT THAT WE'VE GOTTEN AND LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT, AND JUST THE OTHER THING IS IT'S SELENEY WILL GO INTO THIS, BUT JUST AGAIN THANKING ALL OF THE STAFF. SO I DID TALK A LITTLE BIT BEFORE, BUT OFTENTIMES WHAT WE FIND IS THAT THERE'S THERE ARE ISSUES THAT ARE HAPPENING, AND SO WE SORT OF COME IN TO OUR ONE LITTLE PIECE OF THEM AND TRY TO SOLVE THEM, AND SO THIS EFFORT, YOU'LL SEE, WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STAFF TO SPEND TIME TO LOOK AT SOME ISSUES STRATEGICALLY AND HOLISTICALLY, AND SO AGAIN, WE'RE NOT DONE, BUT I THINK IT WAS JUST SUCH A NICE MODEL TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE OPERATE OUR PARKS AND REALLY RECOGNIZING THAT THERE'S PARK OPERATIONS, THERE'S INTERPRETATION AND RECREATION, BUT THERE'S ALSO IS IN CONNECTIVITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND FINANCE AND HOW DO PEOPLE PAY FOR THINGS, AND SO IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BRING THAT ALL TOGETHER. SO WITH THAT THANK YOU AGAIN, AND I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO SELENEY SANCHEZ. SHE IS JUST TO GIVE HER A LITTLE BIT OF AN INTRODUCTION. WAS THE ACTING UNIT MANAGER FOR UNIT ONE THIS SUMMER AND SO SHE REALLY HELPED OVERSEE THIS, AND SO WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR HER TO GIVE THIS PRESENTATION. [01:00:08] SO THANK YOU. YOU DON'T HAVE TO. OH, ACTUALLY, I SAID I'D HELP HER SET THIS UP. SORRY I FORGOT. THANK YOU, LISA, FOR THAT INTRODUCTION. HELLO, BOARD. MY NAME IS SELENEY SANCHEZ, AND AS LISA STATED, I WAS ACTING UNIT MANAGER OVER THE SUMMER, OVERSEEING UNIT ONE THAT INCLUDES DEL VALLE AND SEVERAL OTHER LOCATIONS. AS SOME OF YOU MAY RECALL, BACK IN JULY I PRESENTED THE PILOT DEL VALLE KIOSK PROGRAM AT THE BOARD OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, WHERE I DISCUSSED HOW WE WERE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING THIS PLAN, AND TODAY I AM BRINGING YOU SOME OF THE RESULTS. SO THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THIS PILOT PROGRAM WERE TO IMPROVE VISITOR EXPERIENCE, REDUCE WAIT TIMES, IMPROVE SAFETY AND IMPROVE ACCESS FOR NEIGHBORS AND STAFF. SO AS IT STANDS, EVERYONE WHO ENTERS DEL VALLE MUST FUNNEL THROUGH THE KIOSK THAT INCLUDES PARK VISITORS. LIKE I SAID, NEIGHBORS, STAFF, PUBLIC SAFETY. A LOT OF PEOPLE GET FUNNELED THROUGH THERE AND WAIT TIMES CAN OFTEN GO UP BEYOND TWO HOURS AT PEAK TIMES WHEN PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET TO WORK ON TIME, THAT CAN PLAY A ROLE IN HOW EARLY THEY'RE TRYING TO GET TO WORK. SOME OF THE SAFETY COMPONENTS THAT COME INTO QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH STAFF GOING AROUND THE KIOSK ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE LANE WHICH IS INCREDIBLY UNSAFE AS THEY'RE DRIVING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC TO GET TO WORK ON TIME. PUBLIC SAFETY PUT AN END TO THIS PRACTICE, AND THAT CREATED FURTHER SLOWDOWNS IN THE LINE. THE OTHER THING THAT TENDS TO SLOW DOWN AT THE KIOSK IS EVERYBODY WANTS THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED AT ONE PLACE. SO THEY WANT TO PAY. THEY WANT TO ASK YOU WHERE THEY'RE GOING. WHERE IS THEIR FAMILY, WHERE'S THE GOOD FISHING? ALL SORTS OF QUESTIONS. RIGHT, AND THEN YOU HAVE CAMPERS THAT YOU'RE CHECKING IN WHEN THE CAMPGROUND KIOSK IS NOT STAFFED. THAT CAN BE ANYWHERE FROM A FIVE MINUTE TRANSACTION TO A 20 MINUTE TRANSACTION, AGAIN, PENDING THE AMOUNT OF QUESTIONS FOLKS HAVE AS THEY'RE COMING INTO THE PARK. SO THAT IS THE MAIN THING THAT WE WERE TRYING TO ADDRESS. THE OTHER THING, AND OF COURSE ONE OF THE MORE IMPORTANT ONES IS NEIGHBOR ACCESS. THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT LIVE BEYOND THE KIOSK, AND THEY WERE OFTEN HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING TO THEIR HOMES DUE TO THE LONG WAIT TIMES, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE SINCE 1977. LISA ALREADY HIGHLIGHTED THIS, BUT THIS WAS REALLY A CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL CROSS-DIVISIONAL EFFORT. WE MET BI-WEEKLY, AND EVERYONE HAD A REPRESENTATIVE AT THOSE MEETINGS THAT'S LISTED ON HERE. SO BUSINESS SERVICES HELPED OUT WITH RESERVATIONS, AND PREPAYS, FINANCE GAVE US A TRACKING CODE AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR TIME CARDS. INFORMATION SERVICES PUT A LOT OF TIME, EFFORT AND MONEY INTO IMPROVING CONNECTIVITY AT DEL VALLE AND MANY OTHER EFFORTS WERE PUT FORTH. THE PILOT LASTED FROM MEMORIAL DAY TO LABOR DAY, BUT CONVERSATIONS BEGAN IN FEBRUARY, AND THEN IN APRIL, A CROSS-DIVISIONAL TEAM WAS PUT TOGETHER TO DISCUSS AND BRAINSTORM HOW TO BEST APPROACH THIS PROBLEM. IN MAY, PUBLIC AFFAIRS PUT OUT A PRESS RELEASE ABOUT THE PILOT, AND THEN MEMORIAL DAY, OUR PILOT BEGAN. NOW WE HAVE COMPILED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE'VE PUT TOGETHER, AND SO THE TOTAL COST TRACKED FOR THIS PILOT WAS $61,068, 36,320 OF THOSE WERE IN STAFF TIME, AND THAT IS LARGELY OVERTIME, AND THEN $24,748 WAS IN CONTRACT EXPENDITURES, WHICH WE WILL TOUCH ON A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH IN THE LATER ON IN THE PRESENTATION. THE PRIMARY THING THAT CHANGED FOR THIS PILOT WAS FEE CONSOLIDATION. SO THE ENTRY FEE INCREASE FROM $6 TO $10 ON WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS, AND THAT WAS A FEE CONSOLIDATION. [01:05:06] SO IT WAS INSTEAD OF JUST PAYING FOR $6 FOR PARKING, $2 FOR YOUR DOG, $4 FOR YOUR TRAILER. ALL OF THOSE WERE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AND CONSOLIDATED DOWN TO THIS $10. THERE WERE SOME NERVES ABOUT THE INCREASE IN FEES AND SORT OF THE REACTIONS WE WOULD GET, BUT WE WILL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE POSITIVES WE SAW OUT OF THAT. THE CONSOLIDATED FEES ARE BEING ADVANCED FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BOARD NEXT MONTH. THE OTHER BIG COMPONENT HERE WAS PULLING QUESTIONS AWAY FROM THE KIOSK, WITH PEOPLE COMING IN TO CAMP AND PICNIC AND SWIM AND BOAT. WE WANTED TO SPREAD OUT WHERE FOLKS CAN GET ACCESS TO INFORMATION. SO INTERPRETIVE AND RECREATION SERVICES ASSISTED AND TOOK THE LEAD ON ESTABLISHING A EAST BEACH INFORMATION TABLE ON TOP OF THE VC, THE VISITOR CENTER FOUND ON THE WEST SIDE. BOTH OF THESE WERE STAFFED BY BOTH REGULAR AND OVERSTAFFED OVERTIME STAFF. SORRY, AND IT DROVE ACTUALLY MORE TRAFFIC TO THE VISITOR CENTER. SO FOLKS COME IN TO THE EAST SIDE. THAT'S KIND OF THE PRIMARY SIDE. IF YOU'VE BEEN TO DEL VALLE, THAT'S WHERE MOST PEOPLE COME IN. THAT'S WHERE THE BOAT LAUNCH IS. THAT'S WHERE THE MARINA IS. SO HAVING THIS TABLE ON THE EAST SIDE REALLY DROVE AN INCREASE IN TRAFFIC TO THE VISITOR CENTER. MOST OF THE QUESTIONS PEOPLE HAD WERE ABOUT HOW TO GET AROUND WHERE THEIR FAMILY WAS, REPORTS OF BROKEN ITEMS AND INSPECTION QUESTIONS. THERE WERE. OF 20,000 PEOPLE SERVED BY THE I&R STAFF AT DEL VALLE. 2444 OF THOSE WERE SERVED AT THIS INFO BOOTH. THERE WAS A SURVEY SHARED TO THOSE WHO PREPAID. TO THOSE WHO HAD RESERVATIONS, AND ON A WEBSITE ON THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS WEBSITE, CONTACT US FORM. WE HAD 56 PEOPLE RESPOND, AND 15 OF THOSE INDICATED THAT THEY WANTED TO BE CONTACTED IN REGARDS TO THEIR EXPERIENCE, AND THOSE RESPONSES ARE CURRENTLY IN PROCESS. WE SAW AN OVERWHELMING POSITIVE RESPONSE TO THE PILOT. SO THE SCALE WAS FROM STRONGLY DISAGREE TO STRONGLY AGREE, AND THESE WERE THE TOPICS THAT FOLKS WERE RATING, IN ADDITION TO SEVERAL OTHER QUESTIONS. APPROXIMATELY 79% OF RESPONDENTS EITHER AGREED, STRONGLY AGREED, OR NEITHER AGREED OR DIDN'T TO THE FEE INCREASE. SO A LOT OF THEM WERE FINE WITH SEEING THAT FEE INCREASE, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS ALSO REFLECTED WHEN I TALKED TO STAFF AT THE KIOSK. YOU KNOW, I'D SWING BY, CHECK IN. HOW'S IT GOING? HOW'S THE PILOT? WHAT KIND OF RESPONSES ARE YOU GUYS GETTING? YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF NERVES OF OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, AND IN FACT, WHEN THEY EXPLAINED ALL THE FEES THAT WERE CONSOLIDATED DOWN TO THE $10 FOLKS WERE HAPPY TO PAY. SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED IN THE SURVEY THAT WAS NOT RELATED TO THE PILOT ITSELF WAS FOLKS REQUESTING CELL SERVICE AT DEL VALLE. I'VE HAD TO TRAIN A LOT OF PEOPLE ON HOW TO USE A PAYPHONE AT DEL VALLE. SO SOME OF THE LESSONS WE LEARNED, I WOULD SAY THAT ONE OF THE BIGGEST POSITIVES WE SAW COME OUT OF THIS PILOT, AND SOMETHING THAT WE PLAN ON USING IN THE FUTURE, WAS THE USE OF THE CITY RISE TRAFFIC CONTROL PLAN. WE USED IT ONLY ON THE HOLIDAYS. SO THAT WAS 4TH OF JULY AND LABOR DAY. WE WERE A LITTLE LATE ON THE GAME FOR MEMORIAL DAY AND IT ACTUALLY WASN'T TOO BUSY THAT HOLIDAY, SO IT WORKED OUT OKAY, AND WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT HAVING CITY RISE GET THIS TRAFFIC PLAN APPROVED BY THE COUNTY, SOMETHING THEY DO ALL OF THE TIME, REALLY HELPED EASE SOME OF THE COMMUNICATION THAT WE WERE HAVING WITH THE COUNTY. IN REGARDS TO TRAFFIC ISSUES AT DEL VALLE PARK, VISITORS AND DRIVERS GENERALLY RESPECT TRAFFIC CONTROL MEASURES IMPLEMENTED BY THESE FOLKS. YOU KNOW, THE ORANGE SIGNS, THE CONES, THE FLAGGERS, SO THEY'RE USED TO SEEING THOSE TYPES OF THINGS AND SLOWING DOWN, PAYING ATTENTION, FOLLOWING DIRECTION, AND THAT REALLY TOOK A LOT OF THE PRESSURE FROM PARK STAFF AND PUBLIC SAFETY STAFF THAT GENERALLY HAVE TO STATION THEMSELVES IN A LOCATION TO TURN PEOPLE AROUND WHEN DEL VALLE REACHES CAPACITY ON HOLIDAYS. SO IT FREED UP ALL OF THOSE FOLKS TO CONCENTRATE THEIR EFFORTS INSIDE OF THE PARK AND TO VISITOR SERVICES. [01:10:04] RATHER THAN ARGUING WITH PEOPLE UP ON THE ROAD ABOUT TURNING AROUND OR FINDING A DIFFERENT PLACE TO BARBECUE FOR THE HOLIDAY FOR STAFFING. WHILE WE DID UTILIZE A LOT OF OVERTIME WE DON'T THINK THAT'S A SUSTAINABLE MODEL LONG TERM. SO WE WILL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO, YOU KNOW, WORK TOWARDS A SOLUTION THERE. THE FEE CHANGES, AS I STATED, HAVE BEEN RECEIVED WELL, AND THERE WAS GOING TO BE AN EFFORT TO MOVE THAT FORWARD AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING. COMMUNICATIONS. A LOT OF CONNECTIVITY ISSUES WERE HAPPENING OUT THERE, AND WITH THIS CONCENTRATED EFFORT, WE SAW A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS. A LOT OF THE TIMES THE CONNECTIVITY WOULD SLOW DOWN TRANSACTIONS. SO YOU'RE RUNNING A CREDIT CARD TRANSACTION AND YOU'RE WAITING MINUTES OFTENTIMES FOR THAT TRANSACTION TO GO THROUGH. SO A LOT OF THE CONNECTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS THEY HELPED SPEED UP THAT PROCESS AND THAT RATE OF TRANSACTIONS MOVING THROUGH THE KIOSK, AND FINALLY, AS I STATED THE TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS. ONE OF THE PIECES IN THIS PILOT WAS TO DIVIDE THE LANES COMING INTO THE KIOSK SO THAT ALL PARK VISITORS DAY USE VISITORS WERE ON ONE LANE, AND THEN ALL STAFF AND NEIGHBORS AND CAMPERS WERE IN THE LEFT LANE. SO SEPARATING THEM AND KIND OF HAVING A EXPRESS LANE ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE REALLY HELPED ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE SLOWDOWN THAT HAPPENS WITH PEOPLE THAT MAYBE NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO DIRECT THEM TO THE APPROPRIATE LOCATION FOR THEIR CAMPSITES. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REPORT. DIRECTORS COMMENTS. OKAY. DIRECTOR SANWONG, I'D LIKE TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK FIRST, IF YOU DON'T MIND, AND JUST TO START BY THANKING BOTH SABRINA AND LISA, REALLY, FOR YOU KNOW, ADVANCING THIS DEL VALLE KIOSK PILOT PROJECT AND SCHEDULING THIS REVIEW FOR TODAY'S BOARD MEETING. I THINK IT'S REALLY GREAT FOR ALL OF US TO BE ABLE TO HEAR THIS AND FOR IT TO BE RECORDED AS A PART OF OUR BOARD MEETING PROCESS. I ALSO REALLY WANT TO THANK ALL OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT STAFF WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE PILOT PROJECT. IT'S JUST AMAZING TO SEE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE IT THIS YEAR. IT HADN'T REALLY BEEN ON OUR WORK PLAN FOR 2024, AND SO I THINK THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT FOR US TO ALSO RECOGNIZE BECAUSE, YES, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE HAD BEEN THE COMMENT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAD ALWAYS BEEN DONE, BUT I THINK SO MUCH HAS CHANGED, EVEN, YOU KNOW, SPENDING TIME OUTDOORS, HOW THAT HAS INCREASED SINCE THE PANDEMIC, AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE SEEN INCREASES IN, IN VISITORS TO DEL VALLE BECAUSE OF THIS INTEREST IN BEING OUTDOORS AND BEING IN NATURE. I WANT TO SHARE, YOU KNOW, THE CATALYST FOR THIS KIOSK PILOT PROJECT BEGAN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. SO PRIOR TO THAT FEBRUARY MEETING WITH THE RANCHERS THE M3 RANCH, WHICH THE ACCESS TO THE M3 RANCH HEADQUARTERS IS AT THE END OF THE ALAMEDA COUNTY ROAD, SO ALAMEDA COUNTY MAINTAINS THE ROAD LEADING INTO DEL VALLE PARK, AND THROUGH THE KIOSK AND PAST THE KIOSK OVER THE BRIDGE. THAT ENTIRE ROAD IS MAINTAINED BY ALAMEDA COUNTY AND M3 RANCH. THEIR PRIMARY ENTRANCE AND THEIR HEADQUARTERS IS AT THE END OF THAT ROAD, AND SO THAT'S WHY IT WAS APPROPRIATE FOR THEM TO REACH OUT TO ALAMEDA COUNTY, AND THE ALAMEDA COUNTY SUPERVISOR, WHO REPRESENTS THAT AREA, AND M3 RANCH HAD RAISED CONCERNS AND ACCESS AND THE NEED FOR BETTER COORDINATION WITH EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT. SO SHORTLY AFTER THAT CONVERSATION, THEY REACHED OUT TO ME, AND THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE ASPECT OF THIS, YOU KNOW, MULTI-STAKEHOLDER SITUATION AT THE DEL VALLE KIOSK AND I WANT TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND JUST TALK ABOUT WHY, YOU KNOW, ONCE I HEARD THIS, YOU KNOW, DEL VALLE IS SO IMPORTANT FROM THAT MULTI-STAKEHOLDER STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVE. THERE'S MANY STAKEHOLDERS. IT'S NOT JUST EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, IT'S NOT JUST THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA WHO OWNS BOTH THE LAKE AND THE IMMEDIATE LAND AROUND LAKE DEL VALLE. IT'S NOT JUST THE RANCHERS, INCLUDING LARGE RANCHERS LIKE M3 RANCH OR ALAMEDA COUNTY ROAD WHO MANAGES THE ROAD. SO I JUST WANT TO SHARE A QUICK BRIEF HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF DEL VALLE AND WHY DEL VALLE IS JUST SO IMPORTANT. SO OVERALL, YOU KNOW, OUR REGIONAL PARK, DEL VALLE REGIONAL PARK, LOCATED SOUTH OF LIVERMORE IN UNINCORPORATED ALAMEDA COUNTY, IT SPANS 4395 ACRES AND ITS CENTERPIECE, LAKE DEL VALLE. [01:15:05] IT'S NOT A NATURAL LAKE. IT WAS CREATED IN 1968 WHEN THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, DWR, AND THE US, EXCUSE ME, US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS. THEY CONSTRUCTED DEL VALLE DAM. THE LAKE HAS MANY PURPOSES. CERTAINLY RECREATION IS THE ONE THAT WE'RE FAMILIAR WITH, BUT IT'S ALSO USED FOR FLOOD CONTROL IRRIGATION, PRIMARILY FOR THE LIVERMORE VALLEY WINERIES WATER SUPPLY, AND IT'S JUST SUCH A VALUABLE, INVALUABLE RESOURCE FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND WHEN I TALK ABOUT HOW EXTENDS BEYOND RECREATION, YOU KNOW I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO SHARE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE LAKE WAS CREATED AND ONE REASON WHY IT'S, YOU KNOW, MANAGED BY CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IS THAT IT IS THE PRIMARY DRINKING WATER RESERVOIR FOR 600,000 PEOPLE IN ALAMEDA AND CONTRA COSTA COUNTIES AND ALSO AN INDIRECT SOURCE FOR 2 MILLION PEOPLE IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY IN REGARDS TO FLOOD PROTECTION, THE ARROYO DEL VALLE WATERSHED. SO THAT'S THE CREEK THAT LEAVES DEL VALLE LAKE. THE US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS MANAGES FOR FLOOD PROTECTION, AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IF YOU LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORY, FOR EXAMPLE, PRIOR TO 1968, PLACES LIKE DOWNTOWN PLEASANTON WOULD REGULARLY FLOOD WHEN WE WOULD HAVE A LARGE RAIN EVENT IN THE AREA, AND SO LAKE DEL VALLE HELPS PREVENT THAT FLOODING AS MANAGED BY THE US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, AND SO, WITH THE VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS I'VE MENTIONED THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S TWO PARTS OF STATE OF CALIFORNIA, RIGHT? IT'S WITH DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES. IT'S IN REGARDS TO THE DRINKING WATER SUPPLY WHERE THE WATER IS ACTUALLY BROUGHT IN FROM THE SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA THROUGH THE SOUTH BAY AQUEDUCT, AND THAT SOUTH BAY AQUEDUCT SERVICES THREE STATE WATER PROJECT CONTRACTORS. SO THERE'S ZONE SEVEN WATER AGENCY, THAT'S DUBLIN, LIVERMORE, PLEASANTON AND SAN RAMON DOHERTY VALLEY. THERE'S ALAMEDA COUNTY WATER DISTRICT, WHICH PROVIDES DRINKING WATER TO FREMONT, NEWARK AND UNION CITY, AND THEN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT, WHICH SERVES ALL THE RESIDENTS IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY. VALLEY WATER. SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DOESN'T TYPICALLY USE DEL VALLE FOR PRIMARY STORAGE. IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT AGENCY. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN STORAGE, SO THEY TYPICALLY WILL BYPASS DEL VALLE, BUT THE SOUTH BAY AQUEDUCT, THEY'LL USE DEL VALLE TO TRANSFER THAT WATER TO SANTA CLARA COUNTY, AND I JUST THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO MENTION ALL OF THESE THINGS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, DEL VALLE IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF BOTH OUR WATER SYSTEM, BUT ALSO OUR RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES. YOU KNOW, I EVEN HAVE ON HERE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS EITHER THE STARTING POINT OR THE END POINT. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT OUR 28 MILE MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL OHLONE WILDERNESS TRAIL, WHICH I THINK IS SUCH AN AMAZING RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HERE AT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT OFFERS THIS 28 MILE TRAIL. YOU KNOW, IT GOES IT CONNECTS DEL VALLE TO OHLONE WILDERNESS, TO SUNOL, ALL THE WAY TO MISSION PEAK IN FREMONT, AND THAT'S SO INCREDIBLE THAT WE OFFER THAT, AND, YOU KNOW, DEL VALLE IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF THAT TRAIL, AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW EARLIER WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT OUR AUDIT REPORT, I MENTIONED PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOW IMPORTANT PUBLIC SAFETY IS IN REGARDS TO YOU KNOW, PROVIDING AND MANAGING SAFE ACCESS TO OUR OPEN SPACE, AND I DID WRITE A FEW NOTES HERE, TOO, TO TALK ABOUT WILDFIRE RISK. CERTAINLY, 2020 WAS A REALLY CRITICAL YEAR FOR DEL VALLE IN TERMS OF THE SCU FIRE THAT WE EXPERIENCED, AND IT REALLY DID DEVASTATE A LARGE PART OF THE DIABLO RANGE, INCLUDING THE AREA AROUND DEL VALLE AND I KNOW FOR ME PERSONALLY, THAT'S THE YEAR THAT I SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF ZONE SEVEN, WATER AGENCY, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND THREE MONTHS BEFORE THAT FIRE, WE CELEBRATED THE OPENING OF OUR OZONATION TREATMENT PLANT AT THE DEL VALLE WATER TREATMENT PLANT, WHICH IS LOCATED RIGHT NEXT TO LAKE DEL VALLE, AND I WANT TO THANK, YOU KNOW, EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT FIRE FOR, YOU KNOW, WORKING IN COORDINATION WITH CAL FIRE DURING THAT 2020 SCU FIRE. I KNOW THEY WERE ON THE FRONT LINES AND THEY HELPED PROTECT VITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING THAT DEL VALLE WATER TREATMENT PLANT. WITHOUT THEIR SERVICES DURING THAT TIME, THAT WATER TREATMENT PLANT COULD HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED. SO MY FINAL POINT, YOU KNOW, AS WE I THINK AS WE CLOSE THIS PILOT PROJECT, I THINK WE'VE REALLY LEARNED A LOT, AND WE'RE REALLY YOU KNOW, PIVOTING, BUT WE STILL HAVE A CONVERSATION GOING FORWARD IN REGARDS TO THE KIOSK SITUATION, I THINK THIS PILOT PROJECT REALLY SETS US UP FOR, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT STEPS AND FOR US TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS THAT ARE INVOLVED AT DEL VALLE, AND, YOU KNOW, I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT WE'RE [01:20:03] ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THIS PILOT PROJECT TO SHOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO, WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CONTROL HERE AT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, AND HOW WE WANT TO WORK WITH ALL OF THESE OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO FIND YOU KNOW, WHAT THE APPROPRIATE NEXT STEPS ARE GOING TO BE. SO WHETHER THAT'S WORKING WITH ALAMEDA COUNTY AND THEIR TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY TO RESTRIPE THE ROAD, TO MAYBE CHANGE SOME OF THE TRAFFIC FLOW COMING IN AND OUT OF THE PARK. I THINK THAT WE'RE REALLY WELL POSITIONED TO CONTINUE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH ALAMEDA COUNTY AND THEIR PLANNING DEPARTMENT. I KNOW THIS IS A LOT TO SAY, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THAT I JUST THINK IS SO IMPORTANT FOR OUR PARK DISTRICT AND FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT I LIVE IN, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST AGAIN, WANT TO THANK, YOU KNOW, THE PARK DISTRICT FOR DOING THIS AND FOR REALLY PRIORITIZING IT. I'M REALLY THRILLED TO SEE THIS HAPPENING HAS HAPPENED AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO GOING FORWARD. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? DIRECTOR ROSARIO. A PERFECT SEGUE. WHAT I WAS GOING TO ASK IS WHAT KIND OF DATA DO WE COLLECT AND HOW, AND I MEAN, DO WE GET AN AVERAGE TIME OF TRANSACTION, A NUMBER OF NUMBER OF PEOPLE FLOWING THROUGH DIFFERENT LANES TO YOU KNOW, TO ASSESS THE SITUATION AND ALSO AND IT LOOKED LIKE FROM THE PICTURES OF THE WITH THE CONTRACTOR SETTING UP THE CONES, IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS A LANE IN THE MIDDLE. IS THERE IS THERE MAYBE SOMETHING TO LOOK AT. MY QUESTION IS, IS THERE CAN WE MAKE THAT LANE PERMANENT IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WORKED YOU KNOW, HAVING A PERMANENT LANE THERE IS IT WIDE ENOUGH? YEAH. SO I THINK THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. SO JUST WITH REGARD SELENEY HAD MENTIONED THAT THE THAT OUR TRAFFIC CONTROL CONTRACTORS, GOT AN APPROVED TRAFFIC PLAN FROM THE COUNTY. SO THAT WAS THOSE WERE JUST FOR THOSE TIMES, AND THEN, AS I HAD MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, WE ARE WORKING WITH ALAMEDA COUNTY TO LOOK AT THE, THE ROAD CONDITIONS. SO IT'S THE COUNTY ROAD. SO ANY RESTRIPING OR LOOKING AT SPEED LIMIT OR ANY OF THAT, THAT REALLY YOU KNOW, IT'S A COUNTY ASSET. SO WE NEED TO PARTNER WITH THEM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE DOING. NOW THAT WE HAVE INFORMATION FROM THE PILOT STUDY AND HAVE THAT APPROVED TRAFFIC PLAN AS PART OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE BRINGING TO THEM WITH REGARD TO THE DATA THAT WE COLLECTED. I WOULD JUST SAY WE PROBABLY DIDN'T HAVE AS MUCH DATA, THE SPECIFIC DATA THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR RIGHT NOW, AND I WOULD SAY PARTLY THAT'S BECAUSE THIS WAS A REALLY IMPROMPTU EFFORT THAT WAS JUST YOU KNOW, KIND OF BY THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH PUT IN PLACE TO BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING, YOU KNOW, OVER MEMORIAL DAY. I THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT AS, AS WE SAID, THIS ISN'T WE'RE NOT AT THE END. THIS IS LIKE WE'RE CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH LEARNING FROM THIS AND LOOKING AT WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO. SO I THINK GETTING THAT SORT OF THROUGHPUT INFORMATION IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO COLLECTING. I THINK WE WANT TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE? AND SO I THINK ANECDOTALLY, WE KNOW IT WAS A LONG TIME TO GET THROUGH THROUGH THE KIOSK. WE'VE MADE SOME IMPROVEMENTS. IT'S NOW GOING FASTER. SO MAYBE WE'RE AT A POINT NOW WHERE WE CAN TRY TO COLLECT DATA, AND ALSO RECOGNIZING THE STAFFING CONSTRAINTS OF WE'RE JUST TRYING TO GET MORE STAFF THERE. THAT WAS PART OF IT. RIGHT? WE TALK ABOUT STAFFING ON A MINIMAL STAFFING MODEL, AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO MAKE THESE OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS BOTH FOR THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE AND ALSO OUR STAFF, TO BE ABLE TO DO THEIR JOBS WHEN THERE'S NOT ENOUGH STAFF. SO ANYWAY, I THINK THESE ARE GREAT. I LOVE THAT YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION. YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY PRO DATA, SO WE LIKE THAT, AND ALSO THAT'S PART OF I THINK OUR NEXT STEP. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE THE PILOT PROJECT NEXT YEAR. SO AS SELENA MENTIONED, THE FEE STRUCTURE IS GOING TO BE COMING FORWARD TO YOU NEXT MONTH AS PART OF ADOPTING THE FEE SCHEDULE FOR 2025. SO THAT PART OF IT, WE BROUGHT THAT FORWARD TO THE BOARD OPERATIONS COMMITTEE LAST MONTH, AND SO YOU GUYS SAID YES. SO THAT'S MOVING FORWARD. SOME OF THE OTHER EFFORTS, I THINK THE THINGS THAT WE THOUGHT REALLY WORKED WELL, LIKE THE TRAFFIC CONTROL, I THINK WE WANT TO BRING THAT FORWARD. SOME OF THE OTHER WE WANT TO LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO. [01:25:01] SO SELENEY MENTIONED I THINK THE PREPAY. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE KIND OF HAD LUKEWARM RESULTS WITH, SO WE DON'T WANT TO GIVE IT UP, BUT WE SORT OF WANT TO REVISIT THAT. WE'RE INTERESTED IN, AGAIN, TALKING TO THE NEIGHBORS A LITTLE BIT MORE, FOLLOWING UP WITH THEM, FOLLOWING UP WITH THE COUNTY. SO I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'LL FRAME IT QUITE AS A PILOT THE WAY WE DID, BUT I THINK MORE FROM AN ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, AND THEN SPEAKING OF THE NEIGHBORS, WHAT'S YOUR THEIR INITIAL REACTIONS TO THE TO THE PILOT? WELL, I THINK THE NEIGHBORS HAVE HAD THE MOST CONVERSATION WITH RICK PARENTI, THE PARK SUPERVISOR THERE, AND HE SAID THAT THE FOLKS THAT HE HAD TALKED TO HAD BEEN PRETTY POSITIVE ABOUT IT, BUT THAT CERTAINLY WASN'T EVERYBODY, AND SO I THINK THAT'S PART OF THIS FOLLOW UP. LOOKING FORWARD TO ALL THE FOLLOW UP AND LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR AS A CITIZEN. DID YOU HAVE A QUICK. YEAH. I WANT TO FOLLOW UP TO THESE QUESTION ABOUT THE NEIGHBORS. I KNOW THAT WHEN WE ANNOUNCED WE WERE DOING THIS PILOT PROJECT, THEY WERE THE MAJORITY. I MEAN, EVERYONE'S GOING TO HAVE THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL OPINION, BUT THE MAJORITY OF THE NEIGHBORS WERE VERY, VERY HAPPY THAT WE DECIDED TO LAUNCH THIS PILOT PROJECT BECAUSE THEY FELT LIKE THEY WERE BEING LISTENED TO AND THAT WE WERE TAKING ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THEIR COMMENTS TO US. SO I THINK THAT WE SHOULD FEEL LIKE WE REALLY DID A GREAT THING IN TERMS OF RESPONDING TO SOME OF THEIR CONCERNS PRIOR TO 2024. DURING THE PILOT, THERE WAS SOME FEEDBACK FROM THE NEIGHBORS, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK A PILOT PROJECT IS JUST THAT. IT'S US GOING OUT THERE AND TRYING SOME DIFFERENT THINGS AND SEEING WHAT WORKS, AND SO I THINK MOVING FORWARD, I WOULD VIEW THIS ALL AS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS. WE'RE GOING TO LEARN AS WE GO, AND, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE ONE SMALL THING CAN ALSO HELP IMPROVE THINGS ON A LARGER SCALE. SO, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THE CONNECTIVITY AND THE COMMUNICATIONS, YOU KNOW, AS THAT IS LOOKED AT AND POTENTIALLY CONTINUES TO BE IMPROVED, THAT COULD REALLY BECOME A GAME CHANGER IN TERMS OF OPERATIONS POTENTIALLY DOWN THE ROAD. OKAY. DIRECTOR MERCURIO. YES. THANK YOU. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE LONG, EPIC JOURNEY THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOWN THIS YEAR. IT'S IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE EVEN, BUT I'M KIND OF THINKING I'M WONDERING ABOUT THE CONSOLIDATED FEE STRUCTURE. DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF IF THAT WAS REVENUE NEUTRAL OR HOW THAT AFFECTED IN NO SIGNIFICANT WAY OR WHAT WAS THAT? WE ARE STILL LOOKING AT THAT. SO SOMETIMES IT TAKES US A WHILE WITH OUR TO RECONCILE THAT. SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING AT. YEAH. IT'D BE INTERESTING TO SEE. I MEAN, NOT THAT CONTROLS EVERYTHING, BUT IT'S JUST INTERESTING TO KNOW, AND THEN LOOKING AT THOSE PHOTOS THERE, THAT KIOSK LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN THERE A WHILE NOW, AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT OPERATIONALLY THINGS ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT. DO WE HAVE DO WE THINK THAT MIGHT NEED TO BE ALTERED, IMPROVED TO FIT THIS NEW SITUATION THAT WE ARE CREATING OUT THERE? YEAH, I THINK ALL OF THAT. I THINK THIS WAS THIS SUMMER WAS JUST THE FIRST STEP OF US SORT OF REEXAMINING HOW WE OPERATE IT. SO YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO FIND A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BUILDING ITSELF. BECAUSE IT IS MOST OF THE ASSETS ARE OWNED BY THE STATE, AND SO WE OPERATE THEM. SO IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE A CONVERSATION WITH OUR STATE PARTNERS. OKAY. YEAH. YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING IF THERE'S ANY WAY TO IMPROVE THE WORKING CONDITIONS FOR THOSE THAT HAVE TO BE IN AND AROUND IT. MAYBE THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. YEAH. THAT'S WONDERFUL, AND THEN THE LEFT LANE PASSAGE ELEMENT OF THIS TO ME, I LOOK AT THAT AND I SORT OF THINK ABOUT HOW THAT REALLY DEPENDS ON COMPLIANCE WITH, WITH PROPER USE OF THAT LANE. I CAN ENVISION SOMEBODY GETTING IN THERE THAT SHOULDN'T BE IN IT, YOU KNOW. HOW WAS THAT? HOW DID THAT GO? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY? IT'S. YEAH. WELL, WE TRIED TO GET THEM THROUGH THE KIOSK AS QUICKLY AS WE COULD. NO, WE DID HAVE A FEW ISSUES WITH COMPLIANCE JUST BECAUSE THE SIGNAGE WAS TEMPORARY, AND SO NOT NECESSARILY VISIBLE WHEN PEOPLE ARE COMING DOWN THE ROAD AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. YEAH. SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AS WELL WITH THE COUNTY, BUT WE DID SEE A FEW PEOPLE MAKE A MISTAKE AND GO INTO THE LEFT LANE, AND WE JUST TOOK CARE OF THEM [01:30:03] AND PUT THEM THROUGH. WHEN THERE WERE NO PEOPLE IN THAT EXPRESS LINE, THERE WERE PEOPLE FROM THE DAY USE LINE THAT WERE ABLE TO ENTER SO THAT WE COULD GET PEOPLE THROUGH MORE QUICKLY AS WELL. SO IT WASN'T LIKE AN EXPRESS LANE, LIKE AN HOV LANE WHERE LIKE, THOSE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE ALLOWED THERE. IT WAS DEFINITELY AN ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT WHERE IF FOLKS WERE WAITING FOR A LONG TIME AND THE DAY USE LINE AND THERE WASN'T ANYBODY IN THE LEFT LANE, WE'D BRING THEM ON OVER TO GET THEM THROUGH. YEAH. OKAY. DYNAMIC SITUATION. THANK YOU, AND THEN IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ONE SINGLE BIGGEST IT'S ONE SINGLE ELEMENT THAT HAD THE BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT ON THE CONDITIONS OUT THERE. YOU KNOW, ONE CHANGE THAT OR 1 OR 2 CHANGES THAT. REALLY CAUSE THE GREATEST BENEFIT IMPROVEMENT IN CONDITIONS OUT THERE? YES. STAFFING THE CAMPGROUND KIOSK FULLY DURING THE SUMMER WITH SEASONALS AND OVERTIME STAFFING THAT INFORMATION BOOTH. MOVING THE FISHING PERMITS DOWN TO THE MARINA AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE FEES. SO NOW, RATHER THAN HITTING A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT BUTTONS, EVERYONE'S HITTING ONE, AND A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE HOLDING UP THE LINE WERE DIRECTED TO THE APPROPRIATE LOCATION FOR THEM TO GET THEIR ANSWERS. YEAH. OKAY, GREAT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. YES, PLEASE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPORT. SO BETWEEN MEMORIAL DAY AND LABOR DAY, HOW MANY FOLKS TRAVELED THROUGH THAT? YOUR KIOSK. UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS, BUT I CAN GET THEM TO YOU. OKAY. YEAH. SO. OKAY, SO, AND ONLY 56 AND ALL OF THEM WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN A SURVEY, RIGHT? NO. SO THE ISSUE WITH THE SURVEY WAS THAT WE WERE GOING TO USE A QR CODE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE THERE'S NO SERVICE OUT THERE, PEOPLE CAN'T SCAN IT AND COMPLETE THEIR SURVEY. SO THE SURVEY WAS ONLY SENT TO PEOPLE WHO HAD RESERVATIONS, TO PEOPLE WHO UTILIZED THE PREPAY, AND TO FOLKS WHO WENT TO THE DISTRICT WEBSITE THAT WAS SET UP FOR THE PILOT AND USED THE CONTACT FORM THERE. I HESITATE TO ASK THIS, WAS THERE A NUMBER ASSOCIATED WITH THAT? I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE IT WAS SENT TO. I JUST KNOW THAT THERE WERE 56 RESPONDENTS. OKAY. SO I'M HAPPY YOU'RE ADDRESSING THIS. I LIKE THE IDEA OF SEPARATE LANES. I THINK YOU MENTIONED STAFF AND RESIDENTS CAN GO THROUGH THAT LANE. HAS THERE BEEN ANY THOUGHT OF POSSIBLE FOUNDATION MEMBERSHIPS IF YOU'RE A MEMBER OF THE FOUNDATION? I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT IF THE PRICE IS RAISED TO TEN BUCKS, WHY ANYBODY WOULD JOIN THE FOUNDATION JUST SO THEY CAN GET IN THERE AND DO ALL THE STUFF THEY CAN DO WITH ALL THAT GREAT FOUNDATION MEMBERSHIP MONEY. SO YES, I DID NOT ORIGINALLY PRESENT THE FULL LIST. MEMBERS WERE INCLUDED IN THAT, AS WELL AS CAMPERS, NEIGHBORS, STAFF. THANK YOU, AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU IF THE GOALS OR THE OBJECTIVES WERE TO REDUCE WAIT TIMES AND IMPROVE THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE, I THINK GETTING PEOPLE DOWN THROUGH THAT CHOKE POINT AND SEPARATING, DISPERSING, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU BUY A FISHING PERMIT, WHERE YOU BUY OR YOU GET INTO THE CAMPGROUND IS REALLY GREAT, BUT THERE WILL STILL BE A MAYBE A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE AS YOU'RE COMING DOWN THAT ROAD. I KNOW IF YOU'RE IN LINE AND YOU'RE WAY UP AT THE TOP, ALL THE SIGNAGE YOU CAN GET STILL DOESN'T GET PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. IS THERE ANY THOUGHT OF USING, AND I KNOW STAFFING COSTS A LOT OF MONEY, BUT HAVE WE EVER THOUGHT OF USING THE TRAILS VOLUNTEER TRAILS PATROL? BECAUSE THOSE GUYS AND YOU TALK ABOUT SAFETY, THOSE GUYS WEAVE THROUGH PARKING LOTS ALL THE TIME. WHEN WE'RE INVITING GUESTS TO COME TO OUR PARK EVENTS. THEY'RE CONTROLLING TRAFFIC. THEY'RE DOING ALL KINDS OF GREAT STUFF. COULD WE USE THOSE FOLKS? BECAUSE THEY'RE ALSO PRETTY SMART PEOPLE AS A GROUP, IN MY OPINION, AND SO TO ANSWER QUESTIONS LIKE, HEY, I'VE GOT A PARK PASS, WHERE DO I GO AND SO UP AT THE TOP OF THE HILL, YOU CAN BE DIRECTING PEOPLE RATHER THAN CHOKING THEM ALL RIGHT DOWN AT THE KIOSK AND HAVING EVERYBODY WANDER AND MAKE LAST SECOND DECISIONS BECAUSE THEN THEY COULD EVEN ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT WHICH WAY DO I GO, WHERE'S THE FISHING? WHERE'S THE BEST SWIMMING, WHERE'S THE CAMPGROUND? THINGS LIKE THAT. THEY CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION WHILE THEY'RE WAITING IN LINE, AND I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT SAFETY ALL THE TIME. HAS ANYBODY, I MEAN, I'VE BEEN OUT THERE SINCE 1975. HAS ANYBODY BEEN RUN OVER AT THE KIOSK? I KNOW IT'S A THREAT, BUT HAS IT EVER HAPPENED THAT I DON'T KNOW, WE CAN FOLLOW UP, BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY IS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS INFORMATION. THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL. I THINK THERE'S NOTHING PRECLUDING US FROM EXPLORING WORKING WITH THE VOLUNTEER SAFETY PATROL. [01:35:02] SO THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP. GREAT. THANK YOU. WELL, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ALSO EXTEND MY THANKS. SELENEY, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU JUMPING IN AND LEADING THIS PROJECT, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE ALSO THE CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING AND ROLLING OUT THIS PILOT PROJECT AND REALLY GETTING SOME GOOD INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT COULD WORK BETTER. IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'VE GOT A LOT OF INFORMATION TO WORK WITH GOING FORWARD, AND I APPRECIATE THAT, AND LISA AS WELL FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT AND OF COURSE, OLIVIA, FOR ALSO EXCUSE ME RAISING THIS UP. SO YEAH. SO I THINK MY COLLEAGUES HAVE COVERED MOST OF THE QUESTIONS AND OTHER COMMENTS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO ALSO SAY THANK YOU. SO THIS IS AN INFORMATION ITEM SO WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE A VOTE. SO UNLESS THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE I THINK WE'RE GOOD. SO DID WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLOSED SESSION? NO, PRESIDENT ECHOLS, WE DON'T. GREAT. DO ANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE PROPOSED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT THEY'D LIKE TO RAISE AT THIS POINT? [PROPOSED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] I'LL JUST SHARE ONE. SURE. YEAH. SO I THINK I HAD MADE THE REQUEST THAT, YOU KNOW, TODAY WE WOULD CONSIDER POSSIBLY HAVING THIS BOARD MEETING IN LIVERMORE SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THIS IS THE DEL VALLE KIOSK PILOT PROJECT, AND IT'D BE NICE TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT THIS CLOSER TO WHERE THE PARK IS LOCATED, AND MAYBE THE COMMUNITY THAT MORE FREQUENTLY. VISITS THE PARK, AND I KNOW THAT WAS A VERY TALL ORDER IN TERMS OF BEING A REQUEST, BECAUSE WE DON'T TYPICALLY HAVE BOARD MEETINGS IN OTHER LOCATIONS ASIDE FROM OUR ANNUAL MEETING AT BIG BREAK IN OAKLEY. I WOULD LIKE FOR US, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT 2025, TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT POTENTIALLY BE ABLE TO COORDINATE A BOARD MEETING IN OTHER LOCATIONS, AND I KNOW THAT AS WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION IN REGARDS TO OUR CALENDAR AND AGENDA SETTING, THIS IS A TOPIC THAT HAS COME UP ON THE BOARD, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE WE HAVE PRETTY GOOD INTEREST IN THIS, AND I WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE THAT WE CONSIDER YOU KNOW, LIVERMORE TO BE A LOCATION FOR A FUTURE BOARD MEETING AND WHEN WHEN THAT'S DETERMINED, YOU KNOW, TO MAYBE HAVE AN AGENDA SET THAT MIGHT HAVE A NUMBER OF ISSUES LOCAL TO THAT AREA. I KNOW IT'S NOT ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING LIKE OUR AUDIT REPORT ALSO ON THE AGENDA AT THE SAME TIME, BUT IT'S JUST IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, TO PRESENT THE AUDIT AT SOME OTHER LOCATION ACROSS ALAMEDA AND CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, AND I'M HAPPY TO HELP, YOU KNOW, COORDINATE THAT POTENTIAL POSSIBILITY OF US HAVING A BOARD MEETING IN LIVERMORE. I'D REALLY LIKE IF WE DID THAT. I'D LIKE TO REACH OUT TO ZONE SEVEN WATER AGENCY AND POTENTIALLY HAVE OUR BOARD MEETING IN THEIR BOARD ROOM, AND I THINK THAT THERE THERE COULD BE SOME INTEREST IN THAT, AND I GUESS THAT'S MY REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. OKAY. THANK YOU. IF I MAY, I THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WAS I WAS ASKING FOR AS WELL WHEN WE WERE QUERIED ON THAT. SO I AGREE WITH YOU. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF VALUE TO THAT AND ESPECIALLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA WITH THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE. I THINK WE NEED TO DO IT. SO, BUT ALSO OTHER PLACES AROUND THE DISTRICT AS WELL, AND IT ALSO HELPS, LIKE YOU SAY, TO COORDINATE IT WITH SOME ISSUE, SOME TOPIC THAT IS GERMANE TO THE AREA THAT YOU'RE GOING TO. SO YEAH, JUST TO ADD ANOTHER LAYER OF COMPLEXITY ONTO IT ALL, BUT IT'S THERE'S A LOT OF VALUE TO IT I THINK. YEAH. YEAH. I ALSO SUPPORT HAVING SOME BOARD MEETINGS OUTSIDE THE BOARD ROOM IN ADDITION TO THE BIG BREAK. SO WHETHER IT'S ONCE A QUARTER OR EVEN IF WE START OUT TWICE A YEAR OR WHATEVER IT IS, I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT SENDS A POSITIVE MESSAGE TO SAY, HEY, WE'RE NOT JUST SITTING BEHIND THE DESK OVER HERE. YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY. SO AT THIS POINT, THEN WE CAN MOVE TO BOARD COMMENTS, AND I'M GOING TO MIX IT UP A LITTLE BIT AND START WITH JOHN, AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND THIS WAY. [BOARD COMMENTS] DEE, OLIVIA AND DENNIS. ALL RIGHT. WELL THANK YOU. SO SINCE I WAS I MISSED THE LAST BOARD MEETING. MY LIST IS EXTENSIVE. SO I WAS AT THE OCTOBER 15TH BOARD, AND I'M GOING TO GO FAST TOO, WITH ONLY A LITTLE BIT OF COMMENT. LET'S SEE IF I'M SUCCESSFUL IN THAT. ON OCTOBER 15TH, I WAS AT THE BOARD MEETING. ON THE DAY AFTER THAT, I HAD A PHONE MEETING WITH BECKY BREMSER TO TALK ABOUT A POTENTIAL EASEMENT. TRAIL EASEMENT OFF OF COLLIER CANYON ROAD. ON OCTOBER 18TH, I WAS AT THE EAST BAY LEADERSHIP COUNCIL BOARD MEETING. [01:40:04] THAT WAS A ZOOM MEETING. THEY KIND OF ALTERNATE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN ZOOM AND IN PERSON. ON THE SAME DAY, LATER ON THE 18TH, I WAS AT THE BOARD SITE VISIT FOR A TIME ANYWAY, AT CRAB COVE IN ALAMEDA. ON OCTOBER 22ND I TOOK A HIKE. I INVITED A PACK MEMBER, BRUCE HENRY, UP TO HIKE THE BLACK DIAMOND TRAIL WITH ME AND MY WARD. KIND OF A LITTLE WARD VISIT ON THE 23RD OF OCTOBER. WE HAD THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE 25TH OF OCTOBER. I HAD MY WARD MEETING AS PART OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEETINGS THAT WERE ESTABLISHING NOW, AND WE MET WITH CONTRA COSTA COUNTY SUPERVISOR CANDACE ANDERSON IN HER OFFICE IN DANVILLE, AND THEN LATER THAT DAY, A TOTALLY FUN THING THAT WE GET TO DO FROM TIME TO TIME. WE HAVE THESE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO. I WENT TO THE OUTDOOR AFRO GLAMP OUT CELEBRATION, WHICH I BELIEVE IT WAS A BIG MILESTONE IN THERE. I FORGET WHAT THE ANNIVERSARY WAS. IT WAS A BIG ANNIVERSARY FUNDRAISER THING AND WE'RE SPONSORS OF THAT. REALLY INTERESTING AND REALLY FUN AND VERY INSPIRATIONAL AS WELL. LET'S SEE, WHERE AM I HERE? OH, YEAH. ON THE NEXT DAY, ON OCTOBER 26TH. THERE WAS A CLIMATE MARCH IN WALNUT CREEK THAT I PARTICIPATED IN. UP AND DOWN, LITERALLY UP AND DOWN THE STREETS OF WALNUT CREEK, DOWNTOWN WALNUT CREEK. TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE CRISIS THAT WE HAVE IN REGARDING CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THERE WAS KIND OF A RALLY WITH THAT BEFOREHAND, TOO. ON THE 28TH OF OCTOBER, I WAS THE DESIGNATED BOARD MEMBER FOR THE PAC MEETING HERE, AND THEN ON THE 29TH OF OCTOBER, WE HAD THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. THE DISTRICT'S STEWARDSHIP SEMINAR, WHICH I HAD NEVER. WELL, I DON'T THINK IT'S BEEN OFFERED IN PERSON FOR A LONG TIME, BUT I WASN'T REALLY AWARE OF THAT, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT EDUCATIONAL THING. IT WAS IN TILDEN. ON THE 31ST OF OCTOBER, EAST BAY MUD DIRECTOR FOR WARD 7TH APRIL CHAN HAD A WHAT THEY CALL A BRIEFING. I GUESS ALL OF THEIR BOARD MEMBERS GET TO HAVE AN ANNUAL BRIEFING IN THEIR WARD, AND THE GENERAL MANAGER AND THE DIRECTOR DID A PRESENTATION, AND IT WAS GREAT. IT WAS VERY EDUCATIONAL TO LET US KNOW WHAT EAST BAY MUD IS UP TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY DO, HOW THEY DO IT, AND WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO NEXT? THAT WAS REALLY GOOD, AND A LITTLE BIT OF NETWORKING IN THERE TOO, WHICH IS ALSO GOOD. ON NOVEMBER 3RD THROUGH THE FIFTH, THE REASON I MISSED THE LAST BOARD MEETING WAS BECAUSE I WENT TO THE CSDA (CALIFORNIA SPECIAL DISTRICTS ASSOCIATION) LEADERSHIP COUNCIL. I COMPLETED MY SECOND YEAR, AND I JUST REMEMBERED THAT I FORGOT TO BRING THE FRAMED CERTIFICATE THAT I RECEIVED, BUT ANYWAY, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE A CERTIFICATION IN THAT SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT. I CAN SAY THIS THE SECOND YEAR IS MUCH BETTER THAN THE FIRST YEAR. VERY, VERY INTERESTING AND SMALLER GROUP. ON NOVEMBER 6TH WE HAD THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING. ON NOVEMBER 7TH, THE REGIONAL PARKS FOUNDATION. I GUESS WE WOULD CALL THAT A BOARD MEETING AND RETREAT. AGAIN, VISITING THE WONDERFUL BRAZILIAN ROOM IN TILDEN FOR THAT, AND THAT WAS REALLY GREAT TO MEET SOME NEW FOLKS. ON NOVEMBER 12TH, I DO THIS ONCE IN A WHILE. I HAD LUNCH WITH DIRECTOR EMERITA BEVERLY LANE, AND WE TALKED FOR THREE HOURS, AND IT WAS GOOD. IT WAS VERY GOOD. VERY HELPFUL. ON NOVEMBER 13TH, I ATTENDED THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WITH SENATOR SKINNER AND ASSEMBLYMEMBER, BAUER-KAHAN IN TILDEN BOTANIC GARDEN, WHERE THEY PRESENTED US WITH THE THEY'RE NOT HERE RIGHT NOW, BUT THE PROCLAMATIONS FOR THE OUR 90TH ANNIVERSARY. ON NOVEMBER 13TH, WE HAD THE I WAS AN ALTERNATE FILLING IN. I GUESS I WAS FILLING IN FOR COLIN ON THAT THE BOARD LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING, AND THEN I STUCK AROUND A LITTLE LONGER AND GOT TO GO TO ANOTHER MEETING THAT DAY AT THE [01:45:01] ECOLOGY COMMITTEE MEETING AND THEN THE DAY AFTER THAT, ON THE 14TH, I MET WITH OUR GENERAL MANAGER HERE. THAT'S ALWAYS A VERY PRODUCTIVE FEW HOURS THAT WE SPEND TOGETHER, AND THEN LATER ON THAT DAY, ON THE 14TH I ATTENDED THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MAYOR'S CONFERENCE MEETING WHERE I HAD THE GOOD LUCK TO SIT AND HAVE DINNER WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER OF COUNTY CONNECTION IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, AND HIS I GUESS SHE'S, RUBY HORTA, IS THE DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER. WE TALKED ABOUT THINGS AND WE DECIDED WE JUST DECIDED THAT, WELL, THEY WERE INTERESTED IN MAKING A CONNECTION WITH THE PARK DISTRICT IN TERMS OF HOW CAN THAT BUS SYSTEM HOW CAN IT INTERACT WITH, WITH OUR PARK USERS AND OUR TRAIL USERS AND I HAD A FEW IDEAS THAT. SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE CONTACTING US TO SEE IF THERE WAS SOME WAY TO, YOU KNOW, DO SOME KIND OF A MARKETING THING WHERE BOTH OF THE AGENCIES CAN WORK TOGETHER TO HELP EACH OTHER, AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. I THINK THAT'S I THINK THERE'S A WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE AND WHATEVER WE DO GETS PRODUCED, IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT. IT'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AND PUBLICIZE TO HELP THE USERS AND THE BUS USERS. LET'S SEE HERE, AND THEN ON THE 18TH, WHICH IS YESTERDAY CONTRA COSTA SPECIAL DISTRICTS ASSOCIATION MEETING FOR CONTRA COSTA. SO THAT WAS THE ONE WHERE THEY THEY NEEDED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO OUR PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND SCOTT BARTLEBAUGH, WHO WE ALL KNOW FROM THE MOUNTAIN BIKING COMMUNITY, WAS SEEKING APPOINTMENT THROUGH THAT BODY BECAUSE HE HE'S A BOARD MEMBER ON ANOTHER SPECIAL DISTRICT TO GET APPOINTED AND THEY APPROVED HIM. SO WE'LL BE HEARING ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THE NEAR FUTURE, AND THEN THE PRE BOARD MEETING CALL ON THE PHONE YESTERDAY AND THAT'S ENOUGH FOR ME. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR ROSARIO. YES. YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO MISS ANY MORE MEETINGS. EXCUSE ME. SO AFTER THE OUR LAST BOARD MEETING ON THE FOURTH. ON THE 10TH, I ATTENDED THE CLAREMONT CONSERVANCY. CLAREMONT CANYON CONSERVANCY'S ANNUAL MEETING AND AT THE CLAREMONT HOTEL. THEY HAD A GREAT SPEAKER ON INSURANCE POLICY. SHE WAS FROM UNITED UNITED POLICY, WHICH HELPS HOMEOWNERS. SHE'S AN ADVOCATE FOR HOMEOWNERS. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF REALLY GOOD INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO GET, HOW TO GET INSURANCE IF YOU'RE NOT COVERED, AND I MEAN, I THINK SHE SAID THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY'VE ACTUALLY RECOMMENDING INSURANCE COMPANIES THAT WEREN'T PREVIOUSLY APPROVED, SO THEY'RE LIKE BORDERLINE INSURANCE COMPANIES. THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THEY'VE HAD TO DO THAT BECAUSE IT'S SO HARD TO GET INSURANCE THESE DAYS, BUT THERE ARE. SHE HAD SOME GREAT GUIDELINES AS TO HOW TO SELECT THOSE INSURANCE COMPANIES, AND THEN ON THE 11TH I ATTENDED, WELL, I SHOULD SAY I GAVE A TALK TO THE MORAGA ROTARY CLUB AND AT THE MONASTERY RESTAURANT, AND WE WERE AS A THANKS. THEY GAVE US A IN OUR NAME. THEY DONATED $25 TO MARLENE IN THE PHILIPPINES. IT'S PART OF KIVA, WHICH THEY GIVE SMALL BUSINESS LOANS TO PEOPLE TO BE SELF-SUSTAINABLE AND BUSINESSES, AND SO THEY GAVE US THEY LOANED $25 TO THIS WOMAN IN OUR BEHALF, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY, VERY TOUCHING. GOOD GROUP, AND THEN ON THE 13TH. I ATTENDED THE RECOGNITION FROM NANCY SKINNER AND RBK THAT WAS THAT WAS WONDERFUL. IT WAS NICE TO SEE OUR WOMEN EMPOWER DOING GOOD WORKS, AND THE GARDEN WAS JUST SPECTACULAR. THAT WAS A GREAT IDEA TO HAVE THAT HAVE IT THERE INSTEAD OF INSPIRATION POINT, TOO WINDY UP THERE, AND THEN ON THE 14TH HAD MY GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS WITH THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE MET WITH MAYOR GINA DAWSON, AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I'VE HAD LAFAYETTE AND MORAGA ALREADY, AND ONE OF THE ONE OF THE COMMON THEMES THAT THEY HAVE IS E-BIKE [01:50:04] SPEEDING E-BIKES ON THE LAFAYETTE MORAGA TRAIL AND THE IRONHORSE TRAIL. SO YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE KIND OF A THEME ESPECIALLY ON OUR COMMUTE TRAILS, AND SO WHAT I RECOMMENDED WAS THAT THEY ENCOURAGED THEIR CITIZENS TO HAVE THEIR CITIZENS REPORT THOSE INCIDENTS, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN OUR PUBLIC SAFETY CAN, CAN DO SOME KIND OF DATA ANALYSIS AND THEN RESPOND ACCORDINGLY WITH AN SCU UNIT OR INCREASED OVERSIGHT ON SOME OF THOSE SECTIONS OF TRAIL AND THEN I ATTENDED THE PAC TOUR OF THE FUEL BREAK, WHICH I ALLUDED TO EARLIER IN MY COMMENTS TO A PUBLIC COMMENT, BUT IT WAS VERY, WELL, VERY WELL DONE, AND IT WAS GOOD TO HEAR FROM OUR PARTNERS, UC BERKELEY AND EAST BAY MUD AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING, WHAT THEY'VE DONE, AND THEY'RE GOING TO DO. SO IT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT COLLABORATION, THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT COMING TO FULL FRUITION THERE AND THEN. I'M HERE TODAY AND I'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO OPERATIONS COMMITTEE TOMORROW. OKAY. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR SANWONG. YES. SO REALLY, THE ONLY MEETING THAT I'VE HAD IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS WAS THE ECOLOGY COMMITTEE MEETING ON NOVEMBER 13TH WHICH I FOUND REALLY INSIGHTFUL. ONE OF THE PRIMARY TOPICS WAS REVIEWING SOME OF THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS IN REGARDS TO WATER QUALITY AT ALL OF OUR LAKES, AT ALL OF THE BODIES OF WATER THAT WE MANAGE, AND WE TALKED QUITE A BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE SEDIMENT THAT HAS ACCUMULATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKES FOR VARIOUS REASONS. SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL HEAR MORE. IN REGARDS TO THIS, I MEAN, WE'VE HEARD QUITE A BIT ALREADY THROUGH SITE TOURS AND OTHER MEETINGS, BUT I THINK THAT AFTER THE ECOLOGY COMMITTEE MEETING, I THINK WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME INPUT ON SOME IDEAS GOING FORWARD IN REGARDS TO THAT TOPIC. WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT MOSQUITO ABATEMENT PROGRAMS AT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT OR THAT ARE HAPPENING AT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT. I THINK THE MAIN TAKEAWAY IS THAT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, WE DON'T APPLY ANY OF THE TREATMENT IN REGARDS TO MOSQUITOES. SO THAT'S DONE BY THE RESPECTIVE COUNTY MOSQUITO ABATEMENT AGENCIES. SO THAT WAS ALSO VERY HELPFUL. I WILL SHARE. YOU KNOW, IT'S SO TOUGH FOR ME. I'VE HAD A NUMBER OF CONVERSATIONS AND MEETINGS AND ALSO SPENT SOME TIME PUTTING TOGETHER DIFFERENT I GUESS, EMAILS, DIFFERENT WRITE-UPS IN REGARDS TO THREE TOPICS. SO I'M NOT REALLY SURE HOW TO MENTION ALL THIS. I GUESS SOME OF THIS IS COMING FROM EMBARCADERO MEDIA. THEY ARE THE PUBLISHERS OF THE PLEASANTON WEEKLY AND LIVERMORE VINE, AND NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE NOVEMBER ELECTION. NOVEMBER 5TH ELECTION IS OVER. THEY REALLY ARE PLANNING ON FOCUSING MORE ON THINGS HAPPENING AT THE LIVERMORE AIRPORT AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, OUR WORK AND LIAISON WORK WITH THE LIVERMORE AREA RECREATION AND PARKS DISTRICT, AND SO I GUESS I'LL JUST SHARE THAT WITH YOU, THAT THERE MAY BE SOME THINGS COMING HERE, AND I'LL WORK WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER ALSO IN TERMS OF SOME OF THAT COORDINATION WITH EMBARCADERO MEDIA, AND I HAVE TO IMAGINE THAT THE OTHER NEWSPAPER IN THAT REGION, THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER, WILL LIKELY ALSO START PICKING BACK UP SOME OF THESE STORIES. NOW THAT THE NOVEMBER 5TH ELECTION IS OVER. THE OTHER TOPIC THAT I'VE HAD A NUMBER OF CONVERSATIONS WITH SINCE THE NOVEMBER 5TH ELECTION IS THE GARMS STAGING AREA. ON PLEASANTON RIDGE IN PLEASANTON. SO I THINK I JUST WANT TO SHARE. I THINK WE CAN ANTICIPATE THAT THERE MAY BE SOME DIFFERENT COMMENTS OR THAT MAY BE COMING UP AND EMERGING AS ANOTHER TOPIC. OKAY. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR WAESPI. THANK YOU. ON NOVEMBER 6TH, I ATTENDED THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING. THERE WERE A NUMBER OF GREAT TOPICS, INCLUDING THE VERY LONG AND DIFFICULT AND ARDUOUS PROCESS OF REVISING OR LOOKING AT THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES. SO STAFF DID AN INCREDIBLE JOB AND DID A LOT OF WORK. I AM TOLD YOU GUYS ARE ALL GOING TO GET A PREVIEW COPY OF IT. PLEASE READ IT. IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. IT IS OUR GUIDELINES FOR DOING BUSINESS, AND IT'S AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENT THAT WAS WORKED ON A LOT. SO IT DESERVES LOOKING AT. ON NOVEMBER 7TH AND NOVEMBER 8TH, I ATTENDED CHAUTH THE CELEBRATION FROM THE HINDU GROUP THAT HAS BEEN WITH US FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. [01:55:03] THESE ARE PHOTOS OF THEIR CELEBRATION. THIS IS COREY LAKES. PART OF THE TRADITION IS FOR FOLKS TO GIVE THANKS TO THE SUN GOD FOR ALL OF THE ABUNDANCE THAT THE SUN BRINGS US. SO THE TRADITION SUGGESTS THAT YOU BE IN THE WATER AT SUNSET, AND THEN ONCE AGAIN THE NEXT DAY ON SUNRISE. YOU SHOULD BE IN THE WATER. THERE'S LOTS OF FEASTING, CELEBRATION GIVING OF THANKS. THIS WAS AN INCREDIBLE GROUP, AS IT HAS BEEN FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS. IT'S FILLED WITH CONTROVERSY OF OF HOW CAN WE LET THESE HORDES OF PEOPLE IN HERE, CROWDS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE UNRULY, AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO CONTROL IT? THEY'RE JUST VERY, VERY PEACEFUL FOLKS THAT COME AND ARE VERY REVERENT. I BEGGED THE STAFF TO MONITOR IT, SAY, IF ANYBODY'S LITTERING, TELL ME IF YOU SEE ANY EXTRA LITTER, IF ANYBODY'S DOING ANYTHING UNTOWARD OR WHY WOULD THIS BE A PROBLEM? I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING BACK. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY DO. I HOPE THEY DO A CRITIQUE OF THE EVENT. THE LEADER OF THE GROUP CONSTANTLY WANTS TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE THERE. I THINK THEY CONTINUE TO DO BETTER AND BETTER EVERY YEAR. YOU KNOW, I WELL, ANECDOTALLY, THEY USED TO GIVE OUT WRISTBANDS, WHICH WERE PROBLEMATIC. THERE'S ALWAYS ONE PERSON THAT WILL THROW THEIR WRISTBAND OUT WHEN THEY'RE DONE. THEY ELIMINATED THAT. THEY'RE VERY CONSCIOUS OF LITTER AND EVERYTHING ELSE. SO THIS YEAR IT'S A HAND STAMP THERE. I'M ASSUMING THERE WAS NO LITTER. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR BACK FROM THE PARK STAFF IF THAT'S CONTRARY. ANYWAY, IT WAS A GREAT EVENT. ON THE 13TH OF NOVEMBER, I ATTENDED THE ALAMEDA COUNTY SPECIAL DISTRICT ASSOCIATION MEETING. GREAT GROUP OF FOLKS THERE. SOME OF THEM VERY HAPPY FOR BEING REELECTED AND IT WAS A FESTIVE OCCASION AND THE BEST PART ABOUT IT WAS DEVAN REIFF, OUR PRINCIPAL PLANNER, WHO CAME AND GAVE A PRESENTATION ON HOUSE AND IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD DEVAN SPEAK, HE'S REALLY A PASSIONATE PERSON WHO HAS PROMOTED HOUSE BILL MORE THAN I THINK ANYBODY ELSE, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, NOTED THE INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE DOWN AT THAT HAYWARD SHORELINE, THAT SLEEPY LITTLE SHORELINE THAT NOBODY GOES TO. YOU HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIMENT WITH HORIZONTAL LEVEES AND ALL THE THINGS WE'RE DOING TO ADAPT TO SEA LEVEL RISE AND CLIMATE CHANGE, AND DEVAN DID A GREAT JOB DOWN THERE, AND ALSO ON THE 13TH, I ATTENDED THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING, AND THEY LAUNCHED THEIR PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR. THE LEGISLATIVE AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS GROUP, THEY CONTINUE TO SEARCH FOR NEWER AND BETTER THINGS TO DO. I REALLY ADMIRE THEIR STUFF. WE DID RECOMMEND TO THE FULL BOARD APPROVAL OF THEIR PLAN FOR THIS COMING YEAR, AND I HOPE THEY'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE A PRESENTATION TO THE FULL BOARD, BECAUSE THEY'RE DOING GREAT THINGS, AND YOU ALL SHOULD HEAR IT, NOT JUST THE COMMITTEE. ON NOVEMBER 16TH, THIS LAST SATURDAY, I ATTENDED THE PAC MEETING AND THE JOINT MEETING WITH THE CITY OF BERKELEY, EAST BAY MUD AND EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT AND ALL OF OUR FIRE EFFORTS. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND OUR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS FOLKS THAT SPOKE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE, I THINK THEY REALLY GOT A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. IN OUR EFFORTS IN FIRE PRE-FIRE MITIGATION AND EVEN SOME THERE WERE SOME GREAT EXAMPLES OF SOME SUPPRESSION EFFORTS THAT TOOK PLACE WHICH WHEN YOU COMBINE PRE-FIRE MITIGATION AND, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, CLEANING UP THE FORESTS. WHEN A FIRE DOES START, YOU CAN STOP IT WITH SUPPRESSION, AND IT WAS PROVEN ON A CASE STUDY WE HAD UP THERE JUST ABOVE THE TILDEN GOLF COURSE, AND THAT'S IT FOR ME. THANK YOU. GREAT. ALL RIGHT. SO STARTING WITH NOVEMBER 6TH, I ALSO ATTENDED THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD ABOUT, AND ON NOVEMBER 7TH ATTENDED THE REGIONAL PARKS FOUNDATION BOARD MEETING AND RETREAT, AND I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY HOW HOW REALLY HOW PRODUCTIVE. I FOUND THE CONVERSATION AROUND BOTH THINKING BIG PICTURE ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE REGIONAL PARKS FOUNDATION AND ALSO OUR SHARED PRIORITIES AND HOW BEST TO TARGET RESOURCES, AND IT WAS REALLY IT WAS REALLY ASIDE FROM BEING IN THE BEAUTIFUL BRAZILIAN ROOM. IT WAS ALSO A REALLY PRODUCTIVE DAY. ON THE 13TH, I ATTENDED THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AT THE BOTANIC GARDEN IN TILDEN PARK WITH DEE [02:00:08] ROSARIO AND JOHN MERCURIO AND NANCY SKINNER AND REBECCA BAUER-KAHAN, AND IT WAS IT WAS REALLY A LOVELY EVENT AND OF COURSE, OUR GM WAS THERE AS WELL, AND A NUMBER OF STAFF FROM PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND, AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, AND I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR THEIR WORK TO MAKE IT A VERY YOU KNOW, REALLY A NICE CELEBRATION, VERY SIMPLE AND VERY IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY. WE WERE LUCKY. LATER THAT DAY, I ATTENDED THE BOARD LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, AND THEN ALSO THAT EVENING, THE RETIREMENT PARTY FOR SUSAN WENGRAF, WHO'S VICE MAYOR OF BERKELEY AND HAS SERVED BERKELEY FOR OVER 30 YEARS, 16 YEARS AS A COUNCIL MEMBER AND AS A CHIEF OF STAFF BEFORE THAT, AND REALLY, IT'S GOING TO BE BIG, BIG SHOES TO FILL THERE. SHE ALSO SERVED AS THE CHAIR OF THE EAST BAY WILDFIRE COALITION, WHICH WE'RE A TECHNICAL ADVISOR TO, AND ANYWAY, SO SHE WILL BE MISSED, BUT SHE WILL STILL BE AROUND. I KNOW SHE'LL STILL BE WORKING HARD BECAUSE SHE'S THAT KIND OF PERSON, AND ACTUALLY, IN THE SHORT TERM, SHE WILL BE SHE WILL BE ACTING MAYOR WHILE JESSE ARREGUIN HEADS OFF TO THE STATE SENATE, AND THEN ON THE 16TH OF NOVEMBER, I ALSO ATTENDED THE PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE SITE VISIT AT THE GRIZZLY PEAK FUEL BREAK, AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY AGREE WITH DENNIS, AND DEE ALREADY SAID IN TERMS OF WE YOU KNOW, WE GET THESE INCREDIBLE PRESENTATIONS HERE, AND I'M ALREADY JUST SO IMPRESSED WITH THE WORK THAT OUR CHIEF AND ASSISTANT CHIEF AND ALL OF THE TEAM ARE DOING ON FIRE PREVENTION, BUT THEN WHEN YOU ACTUALLY SEE A SITE WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A CATASTROPHIC FIRE, IT WAS THE SAME NIGHT THAT THE TUBBS FIRE STARTED WITH THOSE HORRENDOUS WINDS. I REMEMBER IT WELL, AND YOU KNOW, FIRE, FIRE TOOK OFF RIGHT BEHIND THE GOLF COURSE, RIGHT BEHIND THE NEIGHBORS UP THERE. ACTUALLY, A FRIEND OF MINE LIVES, THAT WAS PRACTICALLY HER BACKYARD, AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST HAVING HAD ALREADY DONE SOME PREVENTION WORK UP THERE AND THEN EVERYONE WAS ABLE TO JUST, YOU KNOW, JUMP ON IT REALLY QUICKLY AND GET IT TAKEN OUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT FIRE, YOU KNOW, ALONG WITH THE FIRES THAT WE HAD IN JULY WHERE WORK HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE, THOSE COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC TOO. SO IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TO PROVE THE NEGATIVE, BUT OUR PEOPLE ARE DOING SUCH AN AMAZING JOB, AND I JUST THINK WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT EVEN MORE WAYS TO GET THE WORD OUT BECAUSE I'M CONSTANTLY, YOU KNOW, GETTING QUESTIONS LIKE THE GENTLEMEN WHO WERE HERE TODAY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THOSE NEIGHBORS WHO LIVE ON THAT THE SIDE AND THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, THEY SEE US DOING WORK, BUT THEY DON'T REALLY THEY DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE OVERALL PLAN TO REALLY FEEL SECURE. I MEAN, WHEN I HEARD THIS PRESENTATION UP THERE AT AJAX PLACE ABOVE THE GOLF COURSE, I WAS JUST LIKE, I MEAN, IT REALLY, I WAS, YOU KNOW. NO, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE DONE. I DON'T WANT TO JINX IT. THERE'S SO MUCH MORE WORK TO BE DONE. THERE'S SO MUCH RISK OUT THERE. THERE'S, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION WITH RESPECT TO FIRE BUT, YOU KNOW, HEARING THESE FOLKS TALK AND THEIR STRATEGY AND THE THOUGHT BEHIND IT AND THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING, IT'S ALL VERY REASSURING, AND I KNOW THAT LOOK, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME, BUT BUT THEY THEY ARE THEY'RE DOING OUTSTANDING WORK, AND I JUST WANT MORE PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT IT BOTH BECAUSE I THINK THEY SHOULD, BUT ALSO BECAUSE I THINK PEOPLE WOULD FEEL REASSURED. SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO WORK ON GETTING THAT MESSAGE OUT. ON THE 17TH, I ATTENDED THE PUBLIC WORKSHOP AT NORTH BASIN, MCLAUGHLIN EASTSHORE PARK. IT WAS A REALLY GOOD EVENT. GOOD. GOOD TURNOUT. YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY'LL CONTINUE TO TAKE INPUT AND SURVEY, THERE WAS JUST FROM WHAT I SAW ON THE VARIOUS BOARDS WHERE YOU COULD PUT DOTS IN THE FEEDBACK THAT THEY'D GOTTEN, IT SEEMED THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DID NOT WANT THAT SPACE CHANGED VERY MUCH, AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SPACE, AND I, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO DO A LOT WITH THAT SPACE, BUT WE CAN CLEAN IT UP AND, AND YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW THAT IT'S THERE, AND THEN FINALLY ON THE 18TH, I ATTENDED THE PRE-BOARD MEETING PHONE CALL TO PREPARE FOR TODAY AND THEN AFTER THAT ATTENDED A PHONE CALL OR A ZOOM CALL RATHER WITH SOME LEADERSHIP FROM AFSCME 2428, AND THAT BRINGS ME TO TODAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. [02:05:07] SO I GUESS THAT MEANS IT'S TIME TO WRAP UP. I DO WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING IS IN THE EVENING. SO THAT IS SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 3RD, 2024 AT 6 P.M.. THE CLOSED SESSION, I BELIEVE, STARTS AT 4 P.M., AND TODAY'S MEETING, THE MEETING OF NOVEMBER 19TH, 2024 IS NOW ADJOURNED AT 3:43 P.M.. THANK YOU. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.