City Manager's Weekly Update

Week Ending January 18, 2019

Martin Luther King Jr. was the most important voice of the American rights movement, ensuring equal rights for all. He once said, "The time is already right to do what is right." Growing up, this was impressed upon me by my father, who was one of the first Fire Chiefs in Santa Clara County during the 70's to implement hiring practices to diversify the workplace. His actions taught me the value of equality and justice, and more important, to teach my children who are bi-racial, to never take their freedom for granted.

Jenny Haruyama, City Manager

City Offices Closed

City offices will be closed on Monday, January 21, 2019 in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Homeless Aid Funding Allocated to Santa Cruz County

Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) funding is allocated in the form of non-competitive block grants to Continuums of Care (CoC) based on the 2017 Point in Time count and the CoC’s percentage of the state’s homeless population. Santa Cruz County’s share of HEAP funds is $9.6 million. SB 850, which was approved in June 2018, established the California Emergency Solutions and Housing (CESH) block grant program to help address the needs of homeless individuals and families and help them obtain permanent housing. Santa Cruz County’s share of CESH is $890,000. Over the past 4-6 months, the County and Homeless Action Partnership (HAP) (Scotts Valley serves on the HAP Governing Board and Executive Committee) have been working together to develop a collaborative process with community stakeholders to develop guiding principles to inform how best to invest HEAP and CESH program funding. Part of this process includes the issuance of an RFP to solicit applications from qualified applicants for HEAP and CESH prioritized projects to meet critical community needs. RFP responses are due late February; the anticipated date to award project agreements is April 2019.

Visit Santa Cruz County 2019 Travel Guide

Plan your trip to Santa Cruz County with the 2019 Santa Cruz County Traveler's Guide! Scotts Valley is featured on page 33! Staff is coordinating with Visit Santa Cruz County to include the Glenwood Open Space Preserve into the guide given the recent completion of the west trails and anticipated opening of the east trails in Fall 2019.

Upcoming Council Meeting

The next City Council meeting is Wednesday, January 23, 2019. The agenda should be posted at the end of the business day by Friday, January 18, 2019. It is anticipated that the following items will be discussed:

Successor Agency: Annual Administrative Budget and Recognized Obligation Payments Schedule (ROPS)
Special Set Matter: METRO Annual Report
Consideration of Operation and Maintenance Agreements
Update of Maintenance Worker Job Descriptions
Discussion of FY 2019/20 Council Goals
Consideration of Council Committee Appointments