Of service, let's have a day of cleanup, and let's make sure we put our our blood, sweat, and tears into this park and make sure we make it available for the families.

As we talk about the importance of this park, I'm a proud graduate of Lincoln High School.

At that time, Lincoln High School didn't have a baseball field.

And I remember we used to have a walk down here, and this is where we practice.

We're gonna be doing painting, trash pickup, brush removal, and working on this playground behind me.

We're removing weeds and import importing new sand.

This park has been in this condition for a very long time.

And these are the kinds of incremental improvements we can make to help bring it up for the next generation of ball players, whether it's soccer, basketball, baseball, softball.

This park is for you, and that's what we hope to bring to all of you as part of little projects like this.

Thank you to San Diego FC for always stepping up and coming out and helping the community.

I want to thank the Harvey Family Foundation for making this their home, continuing to make this their home.

To make sure that we're getting the resources and the attention that this park deserves.

Before any storm, the city employees clean and clear storm drains.

During the storm, city employees monitor storm drains for any issues.

We have a critical drain in our area that we have to go inspect and monitor, prevent any flooding.

When it rains, uh, water starts flowing down the alley.

We have to uh monitor that.

Check for any loose debris, the leaves, we gotta pick them up.

Uh that way the water has somewhere to go and uh prevent any blockages in our drain station.

Many homeless and businesses are located in low-laying areas and are prone to flooding.

We have pumps set up here along the alleys.

Uh, whenever the rain picks up, uh, we go out and run these pumps and control any water to prevent any flooding.

Flood prevention is a stormwater department's primary focus all year round.

Before the rainy season, our stormwater channels team is removing tons of sediment and invasive vegetation from the channels to allow stormwater flows to be conveyed during the rainy season.

We try to remove the debris and try to grade the channel.

We already did the invasive removal, so we see a lot of castor beans, a lot of a rondo.

Our job is to restore the channel as it was before the storm, fix the banks so there's no degradation of the channel that might go into homes or private property.

During the rainy season and during a rainy event, our city forces are monitoring channel locations and responding to any issues as they arise.

If you see something, report it.

If you see illegal dumping in drains in channels, report it on the Get It Done app.

Together, we can work to reduce flood risk in San Diego.

Electrification of a building is removal of natural gas burning systems.

So switching from gas furnaces and kitchens to electric systems, which allows us to remove uh greenhouse gas emissions from the environment.

The financing agreement is cash flow neutral.

We're essentially shifting our operating costs from energy bills over to loan repayment across a 25-year term and with no upfront cost to the city.

Construction should begin in summer of 2026 and will last for around two years since we have so many projects to uh to to get completed.

Hi, I'm Bethany Bizak.

It takes a lot to keep the eighth largest city running.

A lot of buildings, roads, sidewalks, street lights, parks and reservoirs, and a lot of vehicles.

In fact, San Diego has more than 5,000 vehicles in its fleet.

Think trash trucks, fire engines, and police cars.

All of these vehicles need fuel and regular maintenance.

But over the past several years, fuel prices have continued to rise, and that's directly impacting San Diego's budget.

All right, good morning.

I will now call the city council meeting on Monday, April sixth, twenty twenty-six to order.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thank you, Council President.

Councilmember Campbell.

Councilmember Whitburn.

Councilmember Foster.

Councilmember Von Wilbert.

Present.

Council President Pro Tem Lee.

Councilmember Campillo.

Here.

Councilmember Moreno.

Councilmember Ela Rivera.

And Council President Lacava.

Present.

Also attending the meeting, our city attorney Heather Ferber, independent budget analyst Charles Monica, and myself, your city clerk, Deanna Fuentes.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

A quorum is now present.

We will begin this morning with an invocation by Clerk Fuentes, followed with the land acknowledgement and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilmember Foster.

Despite enduring the horrors of genocide and colonization, the Kumeya spirit remains unbroken.

Today they carry their legacy forward, ensuring that their traditions continue to thrive in gratitude and strength.

I'd like to highlight the slide on the screen that reviews that for today's meeting.

If you are in the virtual queue, please be sure to raise your hand by pressing star nine or the raise your hand icon.

No further in-person testimony will be taken once the council begins virtual testimony for better meeting management purposes.

Each speaker will have one minute per item per person, a maximum of three minutes.

Please continue.

Sorry.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you.

With that, please read the closed session items into the record and proceed with public comment.

Conference of legal counsel existing litigation presented to California Government Code Section 54956.9 D one.

CS1 to Tatiana Badalov versus City of San Diego.

CS2 is Carmel Mountain Ranch Business Communication Community Association versus City of San Diego.

Conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation initiation of litigation pursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.9 D4.

CS3 number of cases one conference with labor negotiators pursuant to California government code section 54957.6 CS4 designated management team representatives.

The purpose of this closed session is to review the city's position and instruct the city's nickname designated representatives regarding meeting conferred negotiations for successor memorandum and of understanding with various employee unions.

Conference with the councils, significant exposure to litigation percent of California Government Code Section 54956.9 D2 is CS5, number of cases one.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

Oh please proceed with public comment.

Thank you.

I see nobody here in Council Chambers.

I've received no slips.

I've started the five minute timer going to those participating remotely.

We have four speakers in the queue.

Hector, if you can please unmute and let me know which item or items you wish to speak to.

I'd like to hi, Hector.

I'd like to speak to them all.

You'll have three minutes, please proceed.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah.

Where do you guys have been all this time, man?

You've canceled all the meetings.

What does that mean?

Is that a danger sign?

You're gonna like blow everything by everybody.

You canceled a lot of meetings, man, more than half of them the last couple months.

I was just wondering.

And then I know you can't answer, but anyway, with all those all those attorneys on all this stuff.

How about if we lay off all the attorneys that work for the city on the main guys for a couple months and put all the money into paving the roads, and then all their other guys below them, they can run with the ball.

I'm sure they can.

They've got so many guys.

Looks like you got about 20 cases or a lot of cases on the agenda.

So if we just gave them a pass for a couple months, we'd save a lot of money.

And then there the other guys could get training on how to do the job, which they can.

So that would be a way to save money.

And then uh I don't know, the longer you guys everyone's suing you like crazy, so I don't know if there's any any easy way out of it.

So uh good luck to you guys, man.

Okay, goodbye.

Next is the original.

If you can please unmute and let me know which item or items you wish to speak to.

Yes, all of them.

Please proceed.

So uh Jennifer, I'm just wondering what is democratic blue.

I didn't know that that was actually a color.

That's interesting.

Um, and everything you guys do in the dark will come to the light.

So no matter how much you try and hide things by going into closed session and not being transparent with the people, this is done on purpose to obfuscate and to make sure that the people don't know what you're really facing, and then we just wind up paying the bill for your negligence, um, like the roads and there's continual injuries and sidewalk uh litigation or things from Trippin' Falls.

I mean, and these are from you know, years prior that it's like these things are still happening because you guys aren't upkeeping with the infrastructure like you should be.

You need too much money, especially even like with the storm drains and the storm infrastructure that's gonna continue to have issues.

There's gonna continue to be litigation because you guys need billions of dollars just to be able to upkeep all of that infrastructure.

So we're gonna just be continuing to pay, and then this um potential initiation of litigation.

You don't want to tell us what that's about, but you're gonna be going after somebody, and like Hector was saying, it's like you guys have all these attorneys that we pay for to cover your ass when it's like the reason why they're there is because you're not able to keep up with the things that you guys are supposed to be doing, and then we sit here and we have labor negotiations and things like that, and you know, it's like we constantly give people raises and everything, but uh all of your services and everything that you're supposed to be doing is is uh significantly um you know just falling to the wayside, and it's it's very sad to see how much money that you guys come across and have to spend and how much more you need all the time and how much you're in debt and how much we we give loans and we get into you know um bonds and all of these things.

It's like obviously it's not working if you guys can't manage the money correctly.

I mean, you know, and you always want to act like it's someone else, like it's Trump doing all of these things.

Sure, those are things that are affecting uh the world around us, but it's like you want to use that as a scapegoat to act like that's why these things are happening, why you're enabled and uh unable to do the things that need to be done.

So I think that you guys need to really start, you know, thinking about these times in closed session.

I mean, why does it have to be hidden like that?

Why?

And and when you know that it does need to be, that's when people should worry because you should be very transparent and say, yeah, this is what's going on, just like this whole pre-litigation demand and all of this.

Like you barely just give just enough information so that you act like you're being transparent, but at the end of the day, we don't find out about what you did until it comes up on one of the other agendas.

You don't tell us like uh reporting outside of closed session, so that's the problem, and it needs to um be managed to be.

Your time has concluded.

Next is 8700, if you can please unmute.

Uh thank you.

Uh thank you, all of them, please.

Please proceed.

Uh on consent, CS1, injuries sustained from trip and fall on raised sidewalk.

Here's my direction.

I don't know what the uh extenuating circumstance circumstances were on this that caused the accident.

Yet uh use the spirit of the law for both parties.

Uh victim of litigation, number one.

The city must claim the self-advocacy and prevent this from happening.

Number two would be the victim of poor sidewalk maintenance.

Uh again, the public this time must claim the self-advocacy and prevent this from happening.

Daily, there are many risks when I walk.

Yet I find prevention is the key.

Dear public, be your own safety ambassadors now.

CS2, alleged stormwater pipe failure at a commercial business park.

Here's my direction.

Do we have an umbrella policy, an umbrella plan for systemic safety, i.e., prevent the disastrous impact of the perfect storm on our water pipes and an overall system.

It helps when we look for lessons learned.

Thank you.

Uh CS3, number of cases one.

Why is it on consent?

This doesn't make sense to me.

It states that the city attorney will discuss for me, unless it's pulled.

I don't remember any discussion on a consent item.

This seems inappropriate to me.

Thank you.

Purpose is to review the city's position, my direction, with as many fine minds, 70 plus five minds.

I trust that this review during these challenging, uncertain and deficit times will set priorities for FY27 and beyond that are fair, equitable, and physically responsible, please, CS5.

My direction on this case of a pre litigation demand discussion seems appropriate.

This is the right way to present these kind of one cases.

Thank you very much for listening.

Have a beautiful day, and it's going to be a great week.

Love to all.

Thank you.

Next is Blair Beekman.

If you can please unmute and let me know which items you'd like to speak to.

You'll have one minute, please proceed.

Sure.

Thank you.

Hi, Blair Beekman.

Um happy return to everyone.

It's been a long two weeks.

Uh thank you that you're back.

Um to quickly offer a poem on our first day back.

Uh, to imagine a deep blue, like from where our stars and universe has come from.

That's my poem.

Okay, with 43 seconds.

Uh Carmel Mountain Ranch Business Comm Association versus City of San Diego.

This is about a storm alleged stormwater pipe failure of February 6, 2024.

Um, wow, this is around the same time as the big storm issues.

Uh so uh thank you that we're working uh we're trying to address these sort of issues and the dam issues as well.

Um, you guys have taken a real special interest in the dam issues.

You were talking about that immediately after the initial stormwater issues.

So good luck how you're talking about this issue openly and publicly with everyone.

Good luck that we can come to agreements on stormwater issues and uh what that entails for all of us.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Your time has concluded.

The five minute timer had also concluded, so no additional speakers will be taken, and that concludes public comment on the closed session agenda.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

We will now recess into closed session and a reconvene council today at 2 p.m.

or shortly thereafter 26.

Clerk, please call the role.

Thank you, Council President.

Councilmember Campbell.

Councilmember Whitburn?

Here.

Councilmember Foster.

Council Member Von Wolper, Council President Pro Tem Lee, Councilmember Campillo, Councilmember Moreno.

Present, Councilmember Elo Rivera, and Council President LaCava.

Present.

Also attending our assistant city attorney, Michelle Garland, independent budget analyst, Charles Matica, Council Affairs Advisor in the Mayor's Office, Coda Zeizer, and myself, your city clerk, Deanna Fuentes.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

A quorum is now present.

Uh let's start off by asking the mayor's office, council members, city attorney, independent budget analysts or city clerk whether you have any comments for this afternoon.

Not seeing any.

We'll move along.

Clerk, please go over how the public can offer their testimony.

Thank you.

I'd like to highlight the screen on the slide on the screen to review the public testimony procedures.

The order of these items that will be taken today are also found on the agenda summary found online or at the table in the back of the room.

If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip looking at the entrance of chambers and bring it to the front of the room into the clear box.

Council ambassadors are available near the entrance and can assist you with questions and speaker slips.

No further in-person testimony will be taken once the council begins virtual testimony.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

So with that, Clerk, please introduce item 200.

Item 200 is the fiscal year 2027 business improvement district budgets annual appropriation process.

If you'd like to speak on this item, please be sure to raise your hand by pressing star nine or the raise your hand icon, or if you're here in council chambers, now's the time to submit your speaker slip to the front of the room.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

As I watch staff settle in, when you're ready, introduce yourselves for the record and let us know how much time you need for the presentation.

Good afternoon, Council President Lacava and City Council members.

My name is Sean Playstead, Small Business Engagement Specialist with the Economic Development Department.

With me today is Sean Caraffin, program manager.

We respectfully ask for five minutes for the presentation.

When you're ready.

Bid association managers have developed a variety of successful strategies to increase business and invest in their communities.

Some districts choose to strategically deploy assessments to develop and market their own unique identity.

This is usually done through large-scale events, neighborhood promotions, and targeted social media campaigns to highlight assessment paying businesses.

In the Elkoh and Boulevard bid, they focus their resources on amplifying outreach and revitalizing unused areas in the district to create new business hubs.

They also support their businesses through placemaking.

Community activated lots transform once vacant lots into vibrant community gathering places.

Ferret 44 and Pop-Up Winona each attract over a thousand local visitors per week, driving over $1 million in annual spending directly to the businesses within a four-block radius.

All these metrics are provided in the bids annual performance reports.

Bids are required to post an annual performance report to their website, summarizing activities during the fiscal year and detailing revenue and expenditures.

Each year, the council considers approving a one-year extension to the agreement, which includes two six-month periods.

Per state law, the council must take eight actions over two council meetings.

During this meeting, council will consider appointing the respective advisory board for each bid, approving the fiscal year 2027 budget reports for each bid, declaring the council's intent to collect assessments from businesses, and set May 11th, 2026 as the noticed public hearing date.

In addition, an action will be added this year to allow the economic development department to continue to directly manage the San Isidro bid, including waiving sections of Council Policy 900-7.

During the second meeting, the council will consider confirming the actions taken at this meeting, authorizing the city's CFO to appropriate transfer and expend assessment revenues, approving the third amendment to the fiscal year 2024 bid management agreements with the nonprofit associations, and authorize the mayor to execute the contracts.

As part of their agreement, the Economic Development Department collaborates with bid managers to better understand each district through metrics.

The metrics provided are for fiscal year 25 and provide information regarding the ratio of assessment versus non-assessment spending, business losses and gains, job losses and gains, vacancy rates, and rental rates.

These are included with the staff report as attachment F.

Metrics are also provided by other city departments.

These include building permits, both applications and approved, public projects, private investment, and public investment.

These are also included in the staff report as attachment G.

Accountability provisions remain part of the current agreement.

These provisions include the requirement of an anti-harassment, non-discrimination, and inclusion policy signed by all board members and staff, and the requirement that all board members and staff attend a related training.

Also included are additional conflict of interest processes.

A final summary of council actions required for the fiscal year 2027 business improvement district budgets is shown on this slide.

We're available to answer any questions.

Thank you.

All right, thank you very much for your presentation.

Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you, Council President.

We do have quite a number of speakers, so we will be going down to a minute each.

If you can please come forward when I call your name to the yellow reserve seats, we have Sunny Lee, Jacob Edwards, Ben Nichols, Petros Hagos, Wells Cotch, Blair Beakman, and Michael Trimble.

If you can all please come forward to the front row.

Sunny Lee, if you can come up to the microphone.

You have time seated to you by Vanessa Bernal.

If you can please raise your hand.

Thank you.

And Art.

Um Zetter Zetterzoy.

Thank you so much.

You'll have three minutes.

Please proceed.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council President and Council members.

My name is Sunny Lee, and I'm here on behalf of the San Diego Business Improvement District Alliance, representing all 18 business improvement districts and more than 15,000 small businesses across the city.

Something that is aligned to bid budgets is the business the small business enhancement program.

And we're here today to ask the city to codify and stabilize the SPEP Council Policy 900-15, ensuring consistent predictable funding for bids and for programs aligned with small businesses.

Retail and restaurant businesses in particular are operating on very thin margins, and many are at risk.

And when small businesses struggle, the city feels it.

We see it in lost sales tax revenue, reduce visitor spending, increased vacancies, and declining activity in our commercial corridors.

Small businesses are not a small part of our economy.

They're the foundation of it.

They employ our residents, they generate critical revenue, and they create neighborhoods that people want to live in and visit.

Many of our districts are also destinations.

They attract visitors, support tourism, and contribute directly to sales tax and TOT.

When our neighborhoods are vibrant, people come, they stay longer, and they spend more.

Business improvement districts are your partners on the ground in this work.

We're supporting businesses every day, helping them navigate challenges, stay open, and continuing to the local economy.

And SBEP is a tool that supports that work.

It's a proven program that strengthens businesses, supports our neighborhoods, and protects the city's revenue.

And right now it's operating without a stable foundation.

And we're just asking to put that foundation back in place.

So you're going to hear from several district leaders today who are seeing these challenges firsthand and can speak to the real impact of their communities.

And we respectfully ask that you codify and stabilize SBEP by reinstating Council Policy 900-15 and investing in our businesses.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jacob Edwards.

Hello.

I oppose uh discussion of such budgets only because I think we should be discussing uh much more concerning budgets.

Uh that's budgets that is uh uh mafia related.

It is uh uh mafia in our government.

So these safe sleep tent camp sites is uh are very concerning.

At B Lot Tent Camp Shelter, all these folk are recruited from the Department of Homeland Securities database.

They're from all over the country.

The Department of Ham Homeland Securities database comes from mass data collection of U.S.

citizens over many years.

They get these profiles spot on.

Anything you do on a digital advice, anything you look up, anything you post, every picture you post, goes to a digital profile for you.

Now at BLOT Tent Camp Shelters, safely.

Thank you for that concluding statement.

Ben Nichols.

Hello, my name is Benjamin Nichols, and I'm the executive director of the Hookerist Business Association.

The SBIP and business improvement district programs are vital parts of our neighborhood's economy.

Just this past quarter, these funds supported our holiday and Valentine's Day shopping campaigns, a community mixer.

We cut three ribbons for new businesses, and last month we launched our still fabulous campaign to support businesses during the many public construction projects in Hillchrist.

What makes this program exceptional and important is that every dollar you invest through the business improvement district program, we generate an additional 19 dollars in expanded services.

That kind of leverage is rare, and it's why this program is so important.

Please support this program and the related small business enhancement program.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And sorry, Petros, I didn't see here that you did say that you're donating your time to Wesley.

Thank you.

So, Wesley, you also have Sophia Castellon, if you can raise your hand.

And Tutie Thomas.

Thank you so much.

So that'll give you four minutes.

Hello, Council Members.

My name is Wesley Quatsch.

I am the director of Business Corps Enhancements at City Heights CDC.

So I oversee our business improvement district in City Heights, which consists of over 500 small businesses along University Avenue.

My grandparents actually have a business in my district as well, and my uncle have it just have a business in Tutis District off Boulevard.

I'm here in support of item 200 of the FY27 bid budgets and reinstating the small business enhancement program funding, also known as SBEB.

I also want to thank the city's uh EDD team for all their uh partnership and support over the years.

Well, thank you, Sean, Sean, Christy, and everyone else.

Uh City Heights is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in our region, home to many refugees and new Americans who rely on their small business as a pathway to opportunity.

These businesses are family livelihoods and cultural anchors in a historically underserved community.

Um I understand the city is facing a multi-million dollar budget deficit.

Uh this program is less than one percent of that.

I know that cutting this won't solve the deficit, but it will impact neighborhoods just like ours.

Our businesses are recovering from the pandemic still, and while they're recovering, we got hit with uh construction on the corridor uh for almost three years.

So a lot of businesses were shut down during that time.

Um, commerce was affected.

Uh this funding supports clean and safe streets, small business assistance, and events that bring people to our neighborhood, like our annual Taste City Heights event uh this fall.

Uh without it, we'll see negative impacts in our community.

Uh if we are serious about equity, we cannot balance the budget on the backs of communities like City Heights.

And I urge you to reinstate and fully fund the small business enhancement program.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next is Blair Beekman.

Hi, thank you, Plair Beekman.

Um interesting item.

I'm hoping this item can have relationships to um the old parking commissions that have kind of been thrown under the bus, so to speak.

Is that a way this this effort here can invite the parking commission and that sort of dialogue to the process?

And how are we creating a future public process for parking issues?

I hope this item can do that.

Of course, the work I do with tech accountability can lend itself greatly in how you're uh gonna create your committees here and what they'll be talking about.

Um tech accountability uh ideas and procurement is a really just it's a really good future to be sustainable future for local neighborhoods to be working on.

And um, you know, tech accountability can help one of the other person's item uh how we talk about our issues.

Uh good luck.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And then Michael Trimblay is our last speaker here in council chambers before we go to those participating remotely.

Good afternoon, Michael Trimble with the Gasland Quarter Association.

Uh we are definitely in support of the FY27 bid budget renewal, and I'm also here to support the big communities reinstatement and stabilizing the small business enhancement program through council policy 915.

In the gas lamp, our small businesses are facing rising rent, labor insurance costs, utility costs rising, and also dealing with reduced consumer spending and the ongoing challenges that impact downtown operations every day.

These businesses are not only the heart of the neighborhood, they are a major driver of sales tax, tourism jobs, and economic activity for the city.

SBEP is a proven tool.

It helps business districts provide direct support, strengthens corridor stability, and protect the revenue-producing small business base of our city.

We're asking you to restore the structure, the predictability, and the partnership through council policy 915.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sorry at the five-minute timer here in Council Chambers going to those participating remotely.

We currently have eight speakers in the queue, starting with Chris Gomez.

If you can please unmute, you'll have one minute one minute, please proceed.

Hello, my name is Chris Gomez.

I'm the chief executive administrator for the Little Italy Association.

I am requesting uh that city council move forward with uh the one year extension of FY27 budgets.

Uh, also we are requesting that um the SBEP um allocations that have been historically given to the bids that support our operations and offsetting our expenses uh to benefit our communities, not only our business communities but the surrounding residents that enjoy those local businesses uh be it's reinstated to their full capacity with um um the reinstatement of council policy 900-15.

The Little Woodly Association represents over 700 businesses uh that also are the backbone of our little at least community.

There are 48 square blocks.

Residents, guests, visitors enjoy little at least as a as a premier community of San Diego, and we request that you move this item forward and reinstate SPAP to its full capacity.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next we have Jacqueline, if you can please unmute.

Jacqueline, I can't unmute for you, but there should be a thank you so much.

I'm sorry about that.

Please proceed.

Thank you.

My name is Jacqueline Schlumpney Garcia.

I'm the executive director of the Diamond Bid and also the Secretary of the Bid Alliance.

I'm here to say thank you for the support from EDD for the budget renewal for 2027.

We are always working on the Diamond Bid and D4, and we're facing limited opportunities when we have less money to manage all of the requirements of our bid contracts in the city.

We would like to continue to have the SPEP dollars for the future and know that we can count on that to help with resources for classes and all kinds of space making opportunities for our community, which is an underserved area of San Diego.

Please support our community with the SBEP dollars and please codify and stabilize SPEP through Council Policy 900-15.

Thank you so much for your time, and we really appreciate you guys.

Have a good day.

Thank you.

Next is 8700.

If you can please unmute 8700 star six to unmute, Star Star 6 unmute.

There you go.

Thank you so much.

Joyce and Yata, love the bids.

Yes to approve sub-items A, B, and C.

My focus is on the gas lamp quarter bid.

It's from attachment B, budget narratives, love the narratives.

So let's focus on social media platforms.

25 plus million total impressions in 2025.

Is that fabulous?

And let's see, let's have more use of AI, such as Placer AI for data informed decision making.

Love the GQ Safe Committee, a merchant-led body designed to strengthen community communications between the businesses, SDPD, city departments, and service providers.

And that's just getting rolling.

So let's watch what comes out of that GQ Safe Committee.

I think it's going to be very valuable.

Love to all.

Thank you.

Next is the original.

If you can please unmute.

See, the problem is that nonprofits are for profits, and there is no transparency when you guys give them this money.

You don't even hold them accountable.

And that's the problem when the government contracts with these entities, they wound up profiting and you know, not really giving as much of a service as they potentially could because there is no checks and balances.

It's like they could do whatever they want, free nilly willy, and uh they're profiting off of all of these things.

So you know, as you can see that you know, you guys don't hold uh dreams for change accountable for the things that they are doing with their contract, their nonprofit, and so there is a proof in your actions that you can't be trusted to be choosing and selecting these entities because the ones that you choose and select are engaged in fraud, waste, and abuse, and nobody's holding them accountable.

So small businesses should be able to benefit off of this money.

But when you have nonprofits coming in, they're the ones that are going to benefit more than that community.

Your time is concluded.

Chad, if you can please unmute, and I will note that there are only 10 seconds left to the five-minute timer.

No additional speakers will be taken once that timer does conclude.

Chad, please proceed.

Hi, I'm Chad Bankowski, the executive director of North Park Main Street.

I would like to uh mimic what my other um bid members have already said in codifying council policy 900-15.

Uh, just today, um, with the cost of rising businesses, I've had two meetings with businesses that are concerned about having to close our doors with open with rising costs in the community.

And one of the areas that the city can show support for small businesses is through the SBEF program with 98% of all the businesses of San Diego classifying as small businesses.

That's 60% of the workforce.

So the city reinvesting and codifying the SBEP program will showcase the businesses of San Diego that they still want to invest, even though these times are hard.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next is Dominic Lamandry.

If you can please unmute, and as noted, the five-minute timer has concluded.

There are three speakers in the queue.

No additional speakers will be taken.

Please proceed.

Hi, this is Dominic Lamandrew with the East Village Association.

I am calling today to join my colleagues in voicing my support for the um institution or reinstitution of the SVEP program.

Council policy 900-15.

The SVEP program has been around uh a long time in the city of San Diego, and all those years that it's been around, it's been supporting our business improvement districts as well as our P bids to assist in our support of small businesses that we encompass.

Thank you and support SP.

Our next speaker is 8813.

If you can please unmute after that is Zoom user 8813.

There you go.

Okay, uh Colin Swellow here.

So okay, so I guess I'm just here to call out the obvious.

Um complex of interest and honestly, uh, the level of hypocrisy is hard to ignore.

Um you guys talk about small business enhancement programs now, but where were you all when small businesses were actually being crushed during COVID?

People lost everything, their businesses, their livelihoods, gone.

And they were left to figure it out on their own.

So yeah, no real support, no real advocacy.

Kind of uh hypocritical and a slap in the face to all of them now, right?

Okay, so um what else did I want to point out?

Yeah, it's just absolutely ridiculous how you all conduct yourselves and you know.

It's it's never with full transparency, real oversight, and the public actually having to say the obvious when you know many aren't your time has concluded, Zoom user.

If you can please unmute.

All right, Al here.

Yeah, I got a different, a more positive attitude on this different angle.

Why don't all you guys get together with the mayor, draft a letter to our glorious president Trump?

He mentioned he was going to give everybody $2,000 bonus payment or something.

If you make less than 100,000, that would energize our whole county.

Just imagine everybody got a $2,000 cash from the president from whatever he wants to do.

He could you could do with the Easter bunny.

You know, those Easter bunnies are gonna go hog wild now in these uh president parade, anti-king parade.

Everyone's gonna be using those Easter bunnies, but draft a letter to Trump.

Brown knows them a little bit.

He might go for it.

Just remind him, man.

Give them however angle you can do it.

But just imagine everybody gets two grand tax-free in the mail.

Small business will go crazy.

We'll be going out to dinner, going to the movies.

Okay, bye.

Thank you.

That does conclude public comment on this item.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

So now we'll turn it over to council members for questions and comments, entertain a motion.

We'll start out with the chair of the EDIR committee, Councilmember Campio.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you to our EDD staff for the good work on this year after year after year, and of course, the small businesses that make up our uh bids uh for their good work putting people to work, providing great services out in our community.

And of course, I appreciate all the members of the public who came in to speak today, uh, both in person and virtually, and of course, the letter here uh discussing council policy 900-15.

I definitely appreciate your advocacy for SBEP uh as it comes through the new process as it relates to the item before us today.

We did hear this at EDNIR, where it passed 4-0.

Uh, and I'm happy to make a motion to approve staff recommendation on item 200.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, sir.

So we have a motion by Council Member Campio to move the staff recommendation.

We'll go next to Councilmember Whitburn.

Thank you, Council President.

I too am pleased to support the item and uh appreciate the work of our business approved districts.

Our bids are some of the most effective locally driven organizations that we have to support small businesses at a strength in our neighborhoods.

Uh District 3 is home to a majority of San Diego's bids.

I want to recognize all of them, the Adams Avenue Business Association, City Center Business Approvement District, Downtown San Diego Partnership, the East Village Association, the Alcohol Boulevard Business Approvement Association, the Gasland Quarter Association, Hillcrest Business Improvement Association, Little Italy Association of San Diego, Mission Hills Business Improvement District, and North Park Main Street.

Every single one of these bids uh saw an overall increase in businesses this past year.

And more businesses means more jobs for San Diego.

And so that is something that we should all be proud of.

Our bids don't just support businesses through outreach training and advocacy.

They bring our neighborhoods to life.

There are events happening every single day in these neighborhoods and these business improvement districts from holiday festivals to weekly farmers' markets, always something to do with the business districts.

I want to highlight a few standout events that show how creative and community-centered our bids have become the city center bid, recognizing that 42% of downtown residents have pets hosted dogs of downtown, a celebration of people and pups that call our city center home.

North Park Main Street's North Park Music Festival brought together live music, live art, a book fair, and craft eats and drinks, featuring over 40 live acts and 40 creators in a single day.

A perfect way to welcome baseball season back into the neighborhood, and so on with all of the bids, all of the bids engage the community.

I will add a note uh business improvement districts exist to provide enhanced services, services above and beyond what the city provides.

That is their purpose.

I hope that that mission stays front and center as our bids continue to grow.

And I want to thank all of our business districts.

They're executive directors, all of the board members, the staff, the volunteers, all of the individual businesses and business owners in our bids.

Thank you for your continued partnership and for all the work that you do to help our neighborhoods succeed.

And I will second the motion to approve the staff recommendation.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Whitburn.

I came awfully close just bragging about District Three, but uh they say uh it ain't bragging if it's true.

So uh so we have a second by Council Member Whitburn uh on a motion by Councilmember uh Campillo will go next to Councilmember Elo Rivera.

All right, thank you, Council President.

Um thanks uh to the EDD team for all the work on this.

Um I just wanted to uh start by saying thank you to the District 9 um uh community members who are here today um doing a lot of really really good work um college area consistently uh excellent um and that's a big largely due to the leadership they have there, similar uh with Adams Avenue, um, where we have very experienced leaders of those organizations.

Um Wesley, thank you for the work that you've done since um coming over to City Heights.

Um we've noticed it.

Um we've heard very good things of the work that you're doing.

Um thank you for providing the stability that you have you have and um your team is doing great work as well.

Uh we always appreciate uh the partnership and to thank you for being here.

Um and I I am glad to see the progress that's being made on the spend down um since since last year.

Um so I just again want to say thank you uh to the other uh leaders who are here as well.

And the last thing I I did want to just kind of quickly touch on the advocacy around the small business enhancement program.

I the support from the council has been pretty consistent over the years for that.

I think what is fluctuating is the financial positioning of the city.

And so uh I know that small businesses are always being stretched, even in good times, and and that uh any sort of assistance that the city can provide um is not just appreciated, but like really does do great things.

We we know that.

Um I'll go back to you know why it is so important for the city to be resourced in a in a more dependable and deeper way than it has been in the past.

Um, it's so that we can invest in things like our small businesses.

And um when the city is is stretched thin and we're barely paying for the essentials um and you all are not seeing those ascent that essential work being done.

Um, there's very little that can be um there's there's much less to go around and to spread into worthwhile investments like um the small business programs.

And that's not because it's a nice to have, because it's not, it's something that's essential to the heartbeat of our um our city and our economy.

Um, but it's just what what ends up happening.

And so I just I feel like that's an important thing to say as we're entering a budget conversation and we're having conversations at a citywide level about um not just how we we spend money, but how we resource this city, and as that there are there are active efforts to defund essential city services.

And so long as those efforts are being made, that that is a much bigger threat to the funding for the programs that you all advocate for and the investments in small businesses than the will of this the council to invest in the small business uh community of San Diego.

So I just thought that was important to note.

Thank you again for your advocacy and uh I will be supportive of the motion.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Yel Rivera.

We'll go next to Councilmember Von Wilbert.

Um thank you for the presentation and the work.

We do not have any bids in my district, but our residents do enjoy bids all throughout the city.

And so thank you in particular, you know, to Hillcrest into downtown Little Italy.

We come often, and I just appreciate all the work that you do.

So thank you.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Von Wolpert.

Uh seeing nobody else on the lights, um, I'll jump in.

I have two business districts, uh business improvement districts in district one.

Uh so one to EDD.

I mean, for the good work you do in managing uh uh and navigating all the uh regulatory requirements uh that we have to do uh every year on this process.

We certainly appreciate um uh your attention to that detail.

Uh a couple of questions.

One, um, the collection rate in our bids, are they hovering 900 percent collections or and and is there a consistency across all the bids?

Yeah, again, Sean Caraffin, program manager with the economic development department.

Thank you for the question, Council President.

Uh the collection rate is just under 90 percent.

Um I will point out that the business tax certificate program is managed by the treasurer's office, so they can answer more detailed questions.

But we you know we do receive the report every month, so we are able to speak to that.

There is a uh variation between bids, and I would caution against uh interpreting it as anything to do with bid performance as they are not enforcement agencies.

However, the uh collection rate does range between about uh eighty-five percent on the low end and about ninety-three percent on the high end.

Okay, yeah, I wasn't uh yeah, I would I would agree this is not up to the bids, but I want to make sure if there's any action that operations or council could do to uh help with that, uh, but it sounds not unreasonable uh given the nature of this, which um uh you know, for those who don't know, these are self-assessments uh by the business owners themselves, and if I'm not mistaken, I think all the boards of all the bids are actually comprised of business owners in those districts.

Uh so while we just refer to them as nonprofits, they're actually uh very organically coming out of the business district uh itself.

Uh so I I do appreciate that.

Uh obviously SBEP was a hot topic, uh assuming that uh this uh action today was fairly routine.

Uh can you remind us where how SBEP gets funded, how or has it how it has gotten it in the past?

Uh sure.

The the council policy um sets a a number uh consistent with 20 dollars for each business tax certificate throughout the city to be designated uh as part of the small business enhancement program.

Uh that's council policy.

It is not the way the budget is determined.

Um so uh every year through the count through the council and the and the mayor, the budget process establishes what the actual budget will be for small business enhancement program.

If we adhere to the policy, what dollar amount is that?

It would be about two million.

Two million, okay.

All right.

Wanted to give some context to the good comments and uh supportive actions for those who showed up or spoke remotely.

So again, thank you that.

Uh of course um I want to give a shout out to Sonny Lee, who wears two hats today, including executive director of Discover PB and Jody Rudick, uh, who is the executive director of the La Jolla Village Merchants Association for managing both those uh the district one bids and furthering our community the small businesses in our walkable neighborhoods want to emphasize that.

And then I had a little bit of fun with my colleague in district three.

Um I I believe we really leave a lot up to the board and the business owners themselves about how those individual bids operate.

Um is that kind of how EDD balances in terms of managing it from an administrative point of view, and then live it up to the bids and their member respective members about how that particular bid functions.

Thank you for the question.

Yes, local leadership is extremely important and bid boards are made up of elected board members that are elected by the assessment payers.

Um so while the uh bid dues are mandatory, they're collected through the business tax certificate program as we as we discussed before.

Um, the leadership proposes a budget, the the organization proposes a budget, often approved by the board of the organization.

They workshop it with our staff working back and forth in an iterative process ultimately uh the economic development department brings forward a recommendation, but it does reflect uh the recommendations of each individual organization.

All right.

Well, thank you for uh taking a moment to answer some of those questions.

So again, I'll close off.

I especially want to recognize the two bids in my district, uh, but to all the executive directors uh as well as all the volunteers who step up and serve on the boards of all the bids across our city.

Thank you for that very good work.

So, with that, we do have a motion by Councilmember Campill and a second by Council Member Whipburn to move the staff recommendation.

Clerk, please call the rule.

Thank you, Council President.

I'm sorry, the voting system, please cast your vote that passes unanimously eight to zero with Council President Pro Tem Lee absent.

Thank you.

All right, again, thank you to staff for the good work.

So with that, Clerk, please introduce item S400.

Item S400 is the extension of software license and maintenance agreement with BMI Associates Inc.

for management of the San Diego Region Revolving Loan Fund.

Six votes are required pursuant to Charter Section 99.

If you'd like to speak to this item now, please be sure to submit your speaker slip to the front of the room or press star nine or the raise your hand item if you'd like to speak to this item and you are attending virtually.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

With that, I see staff have settled in.

Please introduce yourselves for the record and let us know how much time you need.

Good afternoon, Council President Lacava and Council members.

I'm Christy Marcella, Deputy Director of Economic Development, joined today by Angelica Paulino, Community Development Coordinator.

We will need approximately four minutes.

All right, when you're ready.

We are here today with a request for approval of an amendment to authorize a one-year with an additional optional year extension of the BMI Associates Inc.

agreement with the City of San Diego and to authorize the Chief Financial Officer to appropriate on an amount not to exceed $30,000 from the San Diego Region Revolving Loan Fund City Match Fund.

This action will result in no fiscal impact to the general fund.

I'd now like to hand it over to Angelica to provide further details about this item.

Thank you and good afternoon, Council members.

By way of background, the city's revolving loan fund or RLF is a loan program designed to provide affordable loans to small businesses who are otherwise unable to secure funding from a traditional lender.

Since 2004, EDD has used lending software called Portful, which is owned by BMI associates.

The software supports basic functions of the RLF, including but not limited to loan application intake, tracking incoming payments, managing the life of a loan, and carrying out federal reporting requirements.

The current agreement with BMI Associates was entered into in 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when EDD was carrying out a large-scale emergency loan program.

The decision to contract with BMI was born out of necessity to carry on operations without service interruption at a critical time.

The city entered the contract's final option year in 2025, which expires this month.

As a product, Portful has provided necessary functionality and support for the RLF program's success.

However, in our research, we've identified other robust loan management software products on the market to meet future demands of the program, which staff is currently working to secure.

This timeline captures the ongoing efforts of our team.

Our department began the research and procurement process over a year ago to identify a replacement for portfolio, which will streamline the lending process and provide additional industry standard tools to allow for increased efficiencies and better portfolio oversight.

The target date to have a new lending software online and functional was February 2026 to allow time for overlap with Portful and the new software provider to ensure smooth transition.

Unfortunately, procurement was paused in January 2026 with the implementation of AB 339, which coincided with the upcoming expiration of the contract with BMI Associates.

Due to this impact, EDD will not be able to complete the procurement process and onboarding of a new software provider before the expiration of the current contract.

To ensure no lapse in lending activity, loan servicing and accurate tracking, we are requesting an extension of the contract with BMI associates for one year with the option to extend one additional year to ensure ample time for coordination with various city departments, such as the Department of Information Technology and Department of Finance in an overlap period with a new service provider.

Thank you for your time.

We are happy to answer any questions.

All right, thank you for your presentation.

Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council President.

If we can have Jacob Edwards, Blair Beekman, and Andrea Ebbing, please come up to the front row.

Jacob, you can please come up to the microphone.

And we'll have two minutes.

Yes, as I stated in my last comment, I think we could discuss more important things.

Now the profiles of those folks recruited to B lot Tent Camp Shelter are those who would hurt somebody who would go along with causing harm and enjoy doing it.

And would listen to whoever's having them do it and enjoy it.

Well, they are paid to be there.

They pay them.

Then they place somebody like me there to terrorize me for my disposal.

Each one is given an individual task to torment and pester me, which is terrorizing.

Crashing cans all around me, making obnoxious noise, playing loud music that I hate.

Dogs barking behind me.

I mean, overall, it's individual assignments, uh, pestering and harassment, but entirely it is terrorizing.

Then these people are up for disposal.

Up for disposal.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen.

We've started to dispose of American citizens here in this country.

I don't know if I can continue on talking now because I'm so upset.

I've been terrorized, pestered, tormented, harassed.

Great links have been gone to set me up in crimes I've never would never commit.

Trying to have me killed.

They're early release inmates recruited up there to have me killed.

I mean, what I've gone through, folks, has been horrible.

But what I'm worried about most of all is our country, is our country.

We've come to a point of disposing of citizens and using such thank you.

That doesn't close your time, Blair Beekman.

Hi, Blair Beekman.

Um, you're back in the public meeting process here.

Um it works as a healing process for me myself.

Um so thanks that you have the patience uh with what you guys do here.

Um, for this item, uh I just been learning the wonders of uh thank you that uh it it's it's not a large request, it's kind of a simple item, and thank you for that.

And thank you that you brought it here before it's April 18th due date that um that we're trying to practice uh council person von Wilbert's ideas of better uh contract ideas for the future, that we do things beforehand instead of after.

It's a real sign of good accountability and uh good organization and uh you're trying to do nice things for this item.

So uh good luck in what it can be working towards.

Thank you.

Andrea Ebbing.

Hi, this is Andrea Ebbing, and I today want to advise that we take a look at these contracts and audit the people behind them, each individual uh person involved in the leadership of the organization, BMI Associates Inc.

in this case.

Um, had we done that with harm reduction, the CFO, who I was housed with in Las Colinas after years of prosecution and a fake 100,000 dollar warrant that we put the money down for, but found out it was fake the whole time, and I was tortured for because I was whistleblowing about contract issuance and how we need to do due diligence on the leadership teams of contracts that we contract with.

So in that process of spending eight days in 24 hour a day locked down isolation, not eating food or water, medication denied for my shingles five times a day.

I requested it.

Amy Knox, Amy Hernandez, the CFO of harm reduction.

I found out through her that she was actually the uh grant writer for the organization.

She wasn't a drug addict looking for money, she was a grant writer, and she was a whistleblower on the fact that the CEO was repeatedly overdosing in the office while testing drugs for the community.

And the last time I checked, we funded a major narcotics unit at our district attorney's office.

However, her announcement about the case in which the CEO flaunts her relationship with Summer Stefan, saying she is untouchable because of that relationship with Summer Stefan.

And when her CFO stepped forward, her CFO was shamed publicly about her plastic surgery and credit card payments.

Yet Summer Stefan has made $600,000 in credit card payments, which you can pull off of SD vote.com and use her 460 forms to find.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry the five-minute time requirements participating remotely.

We currently have four speakers in the queue, starting with the original.

If you can please unmute.

Obviously, you're gonna pass this.

You've come up against a wall, and you guys need to do it, otherwise you're not gonna have any software for this program.

And I don't know that this program should continue to exist when uh the financials in the city are you know, you guys are in debt and you're sitting here loaning out money, and of course, people need it, but the city also still needs to uh you know work, uh, but unfortunately there's racketeering going on, so the money gets put here over there, over here.

You say we're not gonna exceed this contract, then you do, and it's like who's to say that within this year that you guys have extended this contract and potentially longer, that within the time that you actually find the new entity that's going to take over, you know.

Are we gonna have wasted the money that you got into this contract with because it didn't need to be uh extended for such a period of time?

Um there seems to be you know a gross mismanagement of the funding that you guys get, and you want to sit here and act again, like I was saying during closed session, you always want to blame somebody else.

Yes, there are things coming down the pike that are causing uh issues with services, but you guys cause that to happen by influencing incentivizing and encouraging people to come across the border.

And right now the focus is you know, the Mexicans that have been here for a long time, and I feel like that's pretty interesting because the people that were coming across during the last several years were not Mexicans, they were from many other countries, and nobody wants to focus on that, but seemingly the focus is on the Mexican population, which they should be pretty pissed off about because it's the other people that uh need to be looked into.

But you guys can't be trusted um with any kind of funding, and and even the data that's collected uh within these types of um software programs.

There's no way to make sure that it's secure.

Um, you know, everything is like a mirror, so it's it's always accessible, and it's just um you know, uh you could also just wonder, you know, who your friends are, who's getting paid for doing these types of things.

Sorry.

Next is one of our ending in 8700.

After that will be Zoom user and 8813.

Uh thank you.

Uh Joyce and Yata C D3.

Uh, yes to approving this item.

Uh, this is from the staff report to start with.

Uh, a software system to support ongoing loan financing and future loans is important to fulfilling requirements of funding tied to the SD R L Fow for me.

22 years with this program, isn't that great?

Uh, a big thank you and appreciation for the help during the COVID-19 crisis.

I do want us overall to really work with the contract process to really shape it up.

I uh I don't know why you know we've got this April deadline this month coming up.

We could have done better, right?

Um so moving forward, love this phase me.

Love this phrase regarding start over.

Love this phrase providing access to capital in under resourced communities for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

No EOC or workforce agreement is required on this matter.

Okay, folks, the future is now.

Let's update and modernize now.

Thanks for listening up to all.

Thank you.

Next is Zoom user.

Then our final speaker will be 8813.

Please proceed.

Yeah.

Take my call.

Yeah.

Um that's a good deal.

Only doing it for one year.

Any kind of agreements you got with some software and computers, only do it one year.

Because AI is gonna change everything.

We just subscribe to that chat GDP or GPT.

Ask for 20 bucks a month, ask any question.

It'll give you detailed answers.

Like my girlfriend just got injured her shoulder, nerve damage or something.

And they printed out a 60-page question and answers that we had right there on the computer, Matt.

And Kaiser was not didn't want to do surgery on her.

And it was unbelievable what it details everything, man.

Charts, photos.

So anything with computers, only do agreements for one year.

Because it could all just change within a year.

We could have a robot from Elon ask him questions.

He'll tell us the answers and have all that information.

It's gonna be amazing, Matt.

So thanks for your time.

Have a good day.

Thank you.

Our final speaker is 8813.

If you can please unmute 8813, I can't unmute for you.

There you go.

Okay, thank you.

Gonzalo here.

Okay, so I just wanted to um point out that many of these deadlines and contracts, you know, they are in fact do make sure that things are uh on time and on schedule for um 2025, 2030, 2050, all in lockstep all for the implementation of the United Nations agenda for the 21st century, and a reminder to everyone listening, everyone in chambers online.

This is in fact what they are doing.

They're implementing that.

Um yeah, as far as people getting cozy and comfortable and putting their trust in AI.

Well, you know, that too is just um take advantage of it while you can.

But um, yeah, talk about collecting data.

Uh that's something to be mindful of.

And uh, yeah, again, I just want to um encourage people to do their due diligence and research United Nations agenda for the 21st century.

You can actually still buy the program on Amazon.

It's there.

Okay, that's my comment.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes public comment on this item.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

Uh, we'll turn it over to council for questions, comments, entertain a motion.

We'll start out again with the chair, the EDIR committee, councilmember Campio.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you again to our staff from our economic development department.

I will move approval of item S400.

Uh, this extension keeps a critical system running without interruption.

It's a tool that our small businesses rely on to access much needed capital, and the requested amount is modest, coming entirely from the R uh the revolving loan fund, no impact on the general fund, correct?

I'm seeing heads nodding from the staff.

Uh this action lets us keep directing capital to businesses that continue to face barriers to financing, helping to expand access to middle income jobs and upward mobility here in San Diego.

And that will conclude my motion.

All right, thank you, sir.

So we have a motion by council member Campia Campio to move the staff recommendation.

We'll go next to council member Campbell.

Thank you, uh, Council Chair.

I would like to second the motion.

All right.

So we have a motion by Councilmember Campio, second by Council Member Campbell to move the staff recommendation.

Next up, Councilmember Von Wilbur.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for the presentation and the work.

And this is a great program.

And the chair of EDNAR explained it better than I could, but it's wonderful we're getting capital small businesses.

I just want to particularly thank you for getting this to council before it expired in a few weeks.

So very much appreciate that.

Thank you very much.

All right, thank you, Councilmember.

Not seeing anybody else on the lights.

I'll extend my thanks as well for scrambling uh with the uh surprise of the state bill that you now have to navigate.

And I sure you're well on hand in trying to tackle that and being able to go back out for an RFP.

So thank you for your good work.

So with that, we uh have a motion by council member campaign, a second by council member Campbell to move the staff recommendation.

Clerk, please call the role.

I'm sorry, the voting system, please cast your vote.

That passes unanimously.

8 to 0 with council president pro tem Lee absent.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

And again, thank you to staff for the good work.

We will now take up non-agenda public comment.

The council members respect and appreciate the public's input and are fully committed to protecting every participant's free speech rights at council and committee meetings.

Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you.

Per rule 2.7 non-agenda public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda but within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city council.

Each speaker will have two minutes.

Please note if there are eight or more speakers on a single topic.

If you're joining us virtually, please raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you are a call-in participant, star nine.

If I can have the following individuals, please come up to the front row so that we can have proper meeting management.

Jacob Edwards, Zach, Zach Bar Barhursts.

Thank you.

Blair Beekman, Carlos Donato, Paul Kruger, and Andrea Ebbing.

Jacob, you can come up to the microphone, please.

Yes, Councilmember.

Men and women, thank you for hearing me out.

Um it's hard to talk about.

I do get emotional because I've been through a lot.

Um the gentleman back there is a good man.

The other guy stood there glaring at me.

Stood there glaring.

This needs to be confronted.

San Diego is way better than this.

This is not the place for this.

Actually, nowhere in the country is the place for this.

This isn't the first place I've been recruited to for my disposal.

I've been terrorized for years.

I've been on the disposal list for like three and a half years now.

Tricked from my home city to Atlanta, Georgia.

Same thing went on there.

I fled out here.

God knows what came with me.

It's terrifying.

But um those folk that are put up to do at B Lot Tent Camp Shelter.

They're people, they're human beings.

Regardless of what they have done to me, that's why I'm still there.

I'm fighting for them too.

After their profiles are tapped out, they'll just go to another profile.

If they're starting here, where will they stop?

There will be no stopping.

I know these people.

There's no limit to what they won't rob, steal, ravish, or murder.

People were in some big trouble if we don't confront this.

And these safe safe sleep sites are disposal grounds for United States citizens.

It needs to stop.

Please get it out of San Diego and our country.

Thank you for that concluding remark.

Zach.

How's it going?

Uh so I actually I spoke with you uh, Mr.

Elo River, about this about six months ago, months ago.

Uh Mr.

Whitburn, I've called your office like every week for the last four weeks trying to get back hold of Jay concerning a development in Midtown, which is 2629.

We're a street of duplexes and triplexes on Columbia Street, just north of Laurel, if you're familiar.

And through the complete communities initiative, they are now putting in next to the duplex that we run, me, my wife, my three little children.

We've got tenants in there.

They're putting up a 39-story or sorry, 39 unit uh five-story building with from what I understand from looking at the plans, five parking spots for 39 people on Columbia Street.

So we all of us who live on Columbia Street run duplexes and triplexes with tenants who need places to park.

So how this thing got pushed through is shocking.

It's been, I've reached out to your office so many times now.

Jay, I just saw before walking in here, finally called me back.

But your your office has not responded at all.

And this the complete communities thing, we're not the people that I think you're trying to punish.

We are, I'm a working musician in San Diego.

My wife is an overnight nurse.

We're trying to, we did everything we could to purchase a property in in 2020 prior to this initiative, the complete communities thing, which every thing that we had to do to uh we built a third unit, followed all of the rules, spent 150,000 our entire savings to be able to get our place permitted, only to find out as soon as we got it permitted that a developer could come in and build a 39-unit building without having to follow any of the rules that we followed.

And I would I just I would like to have a conversation with you about that.

So is there a way to your time has concluded?

Blair Beekman.

Blair Beekman, please come forward.

After that, we'll have Carlos, Paul Kruger, and Andrea Ebbing.

Hi, uh Blair Beekman.

Thank you for the meeting today.

Hopefully, there's someone the previous person can talk to after the meeting today.

Um I have two letters of my own that I've written recently to yourselves.

Uh, one about trying to better clarify the uh parking allocation issues for Balboa Park to Council President Lacaba and to Council.

Um, what exactly has been the uh more modified version of the uh you know from that previous council meeting on um uh statement on um the IRA guidelines, I think it's called.

There's a softer version available that I would very much like to uh read and understand.

I hope that can be available.

I can look it up, I can probably find it on my own with some work.

But I thought I'd write to you just to develop some sort of dialogue.

So hopefully someone can write back about that.

Um I've been real concerned about how to address our issues with what is a very uh nervous situation going on with war in Iran right now, how that will affect our local level.

I think we always are on a very high alert right now.

And but I still want to be talking about accountability and best practices, how we can be leaving flock, believe it or not, just so that conversation is available to us, because we do have choices, and I think we're more becoming more and more clear of those choices, but we can't better implement that stuff because we're at war, and so we can't talk about the good things in life.

What I'm trying to say we can, and that's what makes what we're going through special right now unique.

We're learning that we can have those conversations if we know how to frame them and create that space.

And when we create at least the space to talk about our best practices, that gives our national and international level really important examples of peace, believe it or not.

Thank you.

Thank you, Carlos Donato.

Thank you.

Uh hi everyone, council members.

My name is Carlos Donato.

I'm here on behalf of the Policy Research Center for Tobacco in the Environment, a collaboration between St.

San Diego and San Diego State University.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk.

San Diego probably promotes itself as a healthy outdoor-oriented city, a place where people enjoy clean air, active lifestyles, and vibrant public spaces.

Outdoor dining is a big part of that identity.

Families, residents, and visitors gather on patios across our cities expecting a clean and welcoming environment.

As a proud district nine resident, uh, this is also personal for me.

Many times when my kids, my wife, and I consider going out to eat uh on Elkahom Boulevard, uh, we end up choosing somewhere else because of the smell of smoke coming from the restaurant patios.

Uh it's discouraging when something as simple as enjoying a meal outdoors with your family becomes uncomfortable because of smoke drifting through dining areas.

What many people may not realize is that smoking doesn't just affect the air while someone's actively smoking, it also leaves behind toxic residues uh that can linger on tables and surfaces.

This residue contains more than 25 chemicals listed under California's proposition 65 as hazardous and human health.

Um even after smoking stops, patrons can pick up and absorb this type of residue simply by touching tables and surfaces in outdoor dining areas.

Right now, the city of San Diego is the largest city without the in the county without a comprehensive smoke-free outdoor dining policy.

Adopting a comprehensive smoke-free outdoor dining policy would reinforce San Diego's identity as a city that values health, cleaning environments, and welcoming public spaces.

It would also send a clear and consistent message that places where people gather to each should be free from involuntarily exposure to smoke and toxic residue.

Thank you for the time and for the attention being given to this issue.

We appreciate the opportunity to share our work and to be uh resourceful to the community.

I have also provided a briefing document for each council member, and I respectfully request that it be entered into the public comment.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

That has been distributed.

Paul Kruger, if you can please come forward, um good afternoon, council members.

I'm Paul Kruger from Talmage.

I was in the park on Sunday related to paid parking.

This was the line at the one kiosk that was working near the Oregon pavilion.

It was 30 minutes long, and um the locals in this line were very angry about having to pay for parking, and more than that, about the time that it took them to do it.

There were elderly right to the left here was an elderly woman who sat in a line in a one of those folding chairs for 30 minutes while her friend tried to figure out the parking and they missed the performance of their grandchild.

Um next uh slide, please.

The um there were no instructions on that kiosk because the instructions are only down on the kiosk that you're gonna see in a minute here.

That kiosk, I'll explain, was covered with a plastic bag.

And it was impossible to know if it was vandalized if it wasn't working if the city placed it there.

Um next slide.

The next slide's gonna show you a screenshot of uh camera uh that a fellow showed me.

He was one of two people that said the QR code was broken.

So what's the bottom line here?

It's that um my takeaway was that uh at least the tourists from other cities and countries, they are the I met a couple from Brazil.

They are willing to pay precisely because they don't know better.

They're not angry like the locals.

But it is totally unacceptable that there were not ambassadors there.

There were not the mayor's office that runs this, does not have people there helping those with questions and processing their payments.

It is it is government 101, and I would urge you first to please go there and see it yourself, and two to demand changes in how this is administered.

Thank you for that concluding comment.

And our last speaker here in Council Chambers, Andrea Ebbing.

Oh, I'm not up yet.

Maybe you could restart it.

Hi, this is Andrea Ebbing.

Um I survived a horrific violent crime on December 28th, 2020.

I was strangled and had my head split open on video by my ex who was subsequently felony charged.

He drove my daughters across the country with a permanently suspended license.

Shared an attorney with my county contracted rehab owner X, who also abducted my oldest daughter.

They were taken to two separate states by two felony charged perpetrators of domestic violence, with me as their name victim, and their shared attorney Ben Embry.

Um the courts allowed this and continued to work with my rehab owner ex on diversions.

And um instead of helping the victims, they removed charges from the RGIS system.

Ultimately, I was abandoned by the city.

I was an SDPD recruit, by the way, everybody.

I'm not anti-law enforcement, and look where I landed.

Um, and so I was abandoned, our just was altered, my ex was awarded six million dollars for diversion program, and then I had a rupture last year in a miracle of God, I survived.

My doctor said it was a hundred percent fatality rate with my ruptured aneurysm, cyberrachnoid rupture right behind my left eye, eight hour surgery.

I was in Sharp Grossmont SIC for a month and a half, and on November 4th, 2025, I had another uh embolism, two coils put in at Scripps La Jolla, Dr.

Giuseppe Amurati.

And our district attorney, instead of the legal thing to allow somebody to have brain surgery, issued a 100,000 dollar warrant on me for a failure to appear.

But that was fake because I was in Las Colinas for it recently, being starved of my medications before I was beat up by a San Diego police department, as according to this bail bonds.

Then Marcill came and does put down the 10 of that why did they take my bill away?

Like what was it?

Did they say they wanted to take the bond away?

Your time has concluded.

We all have to go on to those that are participating remotely.

We currently have nine speakers in the queue, starting with Barbara Gordon.

If you can please unmute.

Um, thank you.

Um as a public health advocate, I wanted to share with you that April is alcohol awareness month.

But despite the years of education, alcohol impaired driving continues to be a nationwide problem.

Drunk driving killed more than 13,000 people for the second year in a row.

This is according to a new report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

These crashes are a hundred percent preventable.

There's simply no excuse or reason to drive impaired.

Also, people aren't driving in getting impaired just from alcohol.

The number of people driving under the influence of other dangerous substance is also growing.

Nearly 12 million people drove under the influence of marijuana.

2.4 million drove with other illicit drugs in their system.

This was according to the national survey on drug use and health.

I really urge this council to implement strategies that could reduce the number of drunk and drug impaired driving drivers on the road.

A public awareness campaign that highlights the dangers of impaired driving or promotes alternatives like designated driver, ride share.

Also enhanced law enforcement, um, sobriety checkpoints, more patrols that are just focused on impaired driving.

I think collaborating with bars, restaurants, entertainment venues to promote safe drinking practices and promote transportation options.

Let us all rethink that decision to drink or use other substances before driving.

Thank you for letting me speak.

The original, if you can please unmute.

It is extremely concerning what is happening in the county of San Diego and women who or just anybody who uh whistleblows and is exposing the fraud, corruption, waste and abuse, and the um disagregious um acts that are taking place.

And uh, you know, Anthony Warner, uh SDPD deputy assaulted Andrea Ebbing.

Um, potentially almost killing her, having that she's had a ruptured aneurysm and was sla had her head slammed into the ground several times and was maced in the face.

Potentially could have led to her death when she was then taken to Las Calinas.

But the more one of the more concerning things is the contract that you have with bulk ambulances seems to be some kind of a rape mobile.

And this is not an unusual occurrence, in fact, in other states, it also happens where they are using ketamine and uh extremely um heavy narcotics or drugs, tranquilizers per se, actually, um, to drug women and/or men and have sex with them in the ambulance, which happened with Andrea Ebbing.

And um, it is sad to see that Prop 36 is being used in a way where it is almost as if these clients are being created.

They're being created by the actions that are taking place by not only the police but also EMTs and those that are in the jail system, and women are experiencing and even men are experiencing such atrocities that would lead them to need that Prop 36 to be used.

So when we have a district attorney who is getting pickbacks to put people into these types of programs and then tries to murder Andrea Ebbing for exposing it, we have a serious problem.

You guys actually have a serious problem on your hands that uh you're gonna not want to.

Laneymend.

Hi, good afternoon, council members.

My name is Melanie Mendoza Gasca, a resident of District 9, and I'm here on behalf of the Policy Research Center for Tobacco and the Environment, a collaboration between St.

San Diego and SDSU.

I'm here today to talk about secondhand and thirdhand smoke in outdoor dining areas.

San Diego is the largest city in the county without a comprehensive smoke-free outdoor dining policy.

Meanwhile, 15 out of the 19 other jurisdictions have already made this change.

Local research shows strong support for this change.

A recent surgery of San Diego County residents showed that 78% of residents support smoke-free outdoor dining, and 73% say they wouldn't eat in a restaurant if smoking were allowed on the patio.

Restaurants professionals also prefer smoke-free patios, but they've made it clear they can't do this alone.

For them, it really comes down to fairness.

If one restaurant goes smoke-free but others don't, they risk losing customers.

That makes it hard for any one business to take the first step.

Survey respondents have said they need a citywide policy, so everyone plays by the same rules.

Without a smoke-free outdoor dining policy, both patrons and workers are unprotected.

Indoor workplaces are covered under state law, but outdoor dining areas are not.

Local studies have found that patrons' hands and tables surfaces have higher levels of nicotine in patios where smoking is allowed.

This matters because chemicals and tobacco smoke do not disappear.

They stick to a surface, skin, and clothing, and can be observed into skin over time.

This kind of exposure is linked to respiratory issues, irritation, and other health risks.

A citywide smoke-free outdoor dining policy would create clear, consistent rules, support businesses, and protect workers.

Thank you for your time and for the attention being given to this issue.

We appreciate the opportunity to share work and to be a research for the community.

Have a good day.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next is Kathleen Lippett.

The five-minute timer has also concluded there were seven speakers in the queue.

No additional speakers will be taken.

Kathleen, please unmute.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

The city's continuing search for funds to backfill their 120 million dollar deficit are disturbing.

Many of the policies supported or adopted by the city were not in the best interest of the public, nor did the public want them.

The earlier public comment about smoke-free outdoor dining is a perfect example.

It is based on sound scientific research as well as that it is in the interest of public health.

Will the council listen?

I hope so.

It was a comment that was generalizable to many of the policies supported or adopted by this council.

Before adopting any policy or ordinance, a basic requirement should be an independent budget analysis of both the not just the revenue benefits, but the cost to the public.

Especially economic or public health and safety costs.

The city, like the county, is looking for funds wherever they were responsibly accumulated and where they don't deserve to be stolen.

Especially for things like zero carbon goals or supporting for-profit private industries like the marijuana industries, along with spending more taxpayer money to continue to fund things like socially equitable licenses, which is a laughable title.

Setting aside funds for future costs, otherwise known as planning ahead or rainy day funds is something that responsible city governments should engage in.

Better budgeting and transparency with members will help them understand that things like trying to take money from time has concluded.

8700, if you can please unmute uh thank you, uh Joyce and the other CD3 uh city clerk.

I may go over.

I I know that you know you'll stop me.

Uh I'm I'm out of sync with what I plan.

Okay, so uh Mr.

Coda Zeiser, uh heads up.

I really miss having you stay to the end of these meetings and listen to absolutely every public person that speaks on non-agenda public comment that's really important to me and to all the people of San Diego.

Thank you.

So a quick shout out to Blair Beekman for his beautiful, beautiful poem this morning at closed session.

Blair, you speak of peace.

Please continue and blessings on any healing your uh working with now.

Okay, a suggestion to the port of San Diego uh board regarding 250 million dollar Navy SEAL Museum project coming before the port board soon.

The first step to proceed will be the IEIR.

Now, for me, is it more feasibly responsibility, responsible to be content with the first facility that was completed last year on Kettner Boulevard rather than proceed with this grand vision now questionnaire?

Will you get the questions more?

Will you get the private funding or need more debt and therefore limit contributions to help the Navy SEAL families?

It's in the good and capable hands of all of you on the port board.

You know how I feel about the port and all of you on board.

I trust your decision all the way on this project.

Now I'm going to try to fit in a couple other things.

Be sure and look at the concluded 8813.

If you can please unmute.

Okay.

Are we?

Yes.

Okay, things.

Okay, go and follow here.

So um, yeah.

So I would just want to remind everyone that things get uh through, they get pushed through on these boards because the reality is the people on this dais are not working for the constituents within their districts.

And frankly, most constituents are too busy trying to survive a system that keeps them overworked and distracted to pay attention to.

It's just uh and it's it's pretty sad because the ones who are supposed to be serving them, it's just nobody's nobody's keeping them in line.

And if the people who do call in and try to point things out, are deemed like you know, we're crazy.

But anyways, everything being done here serves the bigger agenda, not the people, the courts, and these agencies will hand uh they will hand out small wins.

I've said this before, here and there, just enough to keep the people believing the system still works for them.

But those wins are a front, an act, a way to keep the people compliant in a system that continues to tighten around them.

And if you're listening and wondering why more people aren't paying attention, it's by design.

So don't get discouraged.

You know, it's the reality is that people are kept distracted with sports, entertainment, and just constant noise.

You know, they're living for the weekend just to numb out and escape the very system that they have to endure all week.

Um, and while that's happening, honestly, people are suffering.

It's so sad everywhere.

Injustices are not rare, they're constant within the system.

This board, no government agency is going to fix it.

These problems, you know, it's all because quite frankly, they are the source of them.

All of them.

And this is all by design.

Happy awakening.

I conclude your comments.

Thank you.

Zoom user, if you can please unmute again if you are raising your hand after the five-minute timer.

We will not be able to get to you today, but you can definitely email your comments to city clerk at sandiego.gov, and they will be distributive.

Zoom user.

I cannot unmute for you.

Please make sure.

There you go.

Please proceed.

Oh, thanks for taking my call.

I would like to pray for all of our brave troops that are in harm's way right now, fighting the war.

We've got at least 20,000 uh San Diegans over there fighting the war.

On the carrier Abraham Lincoln, the boxers, some other ships, and they're doing it for us, man.

I like to pray the man from Galilee who's born in Bethlehem.

And uh that he would have mercy on our city, San Diego, and watch over our troops.

Watch over our troops when he uh when they go out and fight fight the war for us.

I hope they all come.

I want to thank their families too for living here and being here.

I'm really grateful for that.

And I want to give them courage, make sure their missiles hit the mark.

Just pray for the people in Iran too, that they would know Jesus, and uh we don't want to kill the people in Iran, just the other guys that are crazy, they're killing their own people.

So I hope the Lord will have mercy on us and have mercy on the people of Iran too.

As uh our troops are over there, risking their lives, and they want to bring them home to their families, Lord.

They want to they want to hold their kids when they get back, but give them the clarity to do their jobs and follow the orders.

And uh thank you, thank you, Jesus.

Thank you.

That'll be it.

That could close your comments.

Uh yes.

Thank you.

Tony, if you can please unmute, then our final speaker is Judy String.

Tony, you are unmuted, but we do not hear you here in Council Chambers.

Not sure if the device that you're speaking into may be muted.

Can you hear me?

Yes, please proceed.

Yes, uh, I want to know why this council is enacting policies that are centered around Jewish feelings over Palestinian lives during a two-year-long live stream genocide.

Raul Camp Bio, how dare you make those racist remarks about how Israel shouldn't have to be a shield for the rest of the world all on its own?

What is Israel shielding the world from?

Who is it shielding the world from?

These Islamic, these Islamophobic remarks that you were making that you're making are totally unacceptable and totally unbecoming of a city council member.

Israel is costing the US billions, dragging us into Netanyahu's war with Iran, and you are supporting this baseless warmongering.

And President Joe Lakaba, you should be ashamed of yourself for the disrespect you showed Sean Eloh Rivera by not kicking out the Zionists that interrupted him twice during his deliberation on that issue.

You kicked out multiple people for less during that same council meeting.

I watched it with my own eyes because I was there.

You all serve the United States of America, not the United States of Israel.

Before you create ordinances that center Jewish feelings over Palestinian lives, why don't you make an ordinance calling for a ceasefire?

Why don't you make an ordinance condemning the live stream genocide that I've been having to watch for the last two years?

Y'all are way too cozy with that APAC money.

Y'all are way too cozy with these special interest groups, and we're paying attention to what you're doing.

We're paying attention to who you're funded by, and we will be recalling those of you and no longer voting for those of you that continue to put Israel over the United States of America.

That concludes your comments.

There you go.

Sorry.

As a retired public health worker, I still receive a great deal of information from the field and from my friends in the field, both national and international.

And I received today, this morning, from good friends that recently attended the commission on narcotic drugs held in Vienna, Austria, held every two years.

And in fact, her organization presented there.

And she knew that I would be happy to hear that there was a featured event called Women, Youth, and the Next Generation, bridging mental health, reproductive health, and substance use prevention across the life course of our young women.

This particular workshop that they provided underscores the importance for women to understand the role that drugs place in their mental health as well as their physical health.

And I understand it was extremely well received.

While there, they presented the recent information regarding marijuana use and pregnant and nursing women, pointing out that the recent research expresses concern for fetal brain development and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, as many of us should be concerned as well.

And the new research that continues to come in daily, pointing out that we need to care about our teens and our young women as they make choices regarding their sexual health and their pregnancy.

That marijuana is not something that should should occur during their pregnancy, that the research doesn't support it and doesn't help it.

And I hope that we can all work together to get this information out to our young women.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And that does conclude my agenda public comment for today's meeting.

All right, thank you.

Um having a little bit of a dilemma here because I see council member Whitburn is on the lights.

You know, I'm looking at the rules of council, so we are consistent.

No discussion or action on any matter of non-agenda public comment shall be permitted.

So with that guidance, sir, I leave it up to you.

Thank you, Council President.

I don't respond when a member of the public takes issue with something that I say uh or do.

That is totally fair game.

Uh, but uh when a member of the public um makes an inaccurate statement about a member of my staff.

I am going to defend my staff member.

Uh we had a member of the public uh say that a member of my staff had not gotten back to that individual.

I have an entire email chain of their correspondence.

So uh my staff is very good about getting back to constituents.

I'm proud of them, and I will defend their record.

Thank you.

All right, I knew you would use your discretion.

Thank you for your comments.

Uh so with that, does the city attorney have anything to report out from closed session?

Yes, there is one item to report out today.

Today the city council voted on closed session item number three to initiate litigation.

Once litigation is formally commenced, the action, the defendants, and other particulars will be disclosed to any person upon inquiry, unless to do so would jeopardize effective service of process or settlement negotiations.

The motion passed eight to zero with council member Lee absent.

That concludes my report.

All right, thank you for that report.

We will now adjourn council to the regularly scheduled council meeting on Tuesday, April 7th, 2026 at 10 a.m.