Okay.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Welcome to the Environment Committee meeting of February 12th, 2026.

Our committee liaison, Sarah Jordan will provide information and instruction for the public to participate in today's meeting.

Thank you, Cherry Lil Rivera.

While members of the public are able to attend the meeting in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website and council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform.

Members of the public who do who wish to provide testimony via a call-in or an internet-based service option must enter the virtual speaking queue within five minutes after conclusion of in-person public testimony or before the virtual speaking queue is exhausted, whichever occurs first.

This will allow for better meeting management between the two platforms and ensure the committee is able to manage and conduct city business.

Also attending the meeting today is City Attorney Representative Dominic Gugliamo.

Mayor Representative Randy Wilde and IBA Representative Jordan Moore.

If you're in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it in the speaker slip box at the table at the front of the room.

Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management.

Members of the public can join the webinar by computer tablet or smartphone by accessing the link which is listed on the preamble language of the agenda on the city's webpage to join the Zoom webinar by telephone.

Please dial 16692545252 and when prompted.

If you wish to speak to a particular item, please wait for that item to be called and raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon or if you're calling participant by selecting star nine on your cell phone or landline.

If you raise your hand during the non-comment period, your hand will be lowered.

All right, thank you.

We've got a quorum.

Let's take up non-agenda public comment.

Um please proceed with public comment.

So I'll begin the five-minute timer for all those in the virtual queue to indicate if they wish to provide non-agenda public at this time.

Becky Rapp, please unmute and provide your comment.

Good afternoon.

My name is Becky Rapp, and I want to begin by thanking you for your continued focus on public health.

Environmental quality and equitable housing policy.

Your willingness to consider preventative strategies that protect residents by moving to restrict tobacco and marijuana housing in multifamily housing settings is really exciting.

As the city prepares for the upcoming land development code update, I'd like to draw your attention to item number 25.

This presents an important opportunity to add language, ensuring that any housing project, public or private, that receives public subsidies, includes a smoke-free requirement.

Your stated priorities include advancing environmental justice, reducing health disparities, improving housing quality, and protecting vulnerable residents.

Smoke-free affordable housing directly supports each of these goals.

And when public dollars are used to create or preserve affordable homes, we have a responsibility to ensure that those homes meet basic environmental health standards.

Smoke-free policies reduce indoor air pollution, lower fire risk, and these decrease long-term maintenance costs and promote housing stability.

And these are preventative, cost-effective, and consistent with the city's climate and public health commitments.

So expanding this requirement to all publicly subsidized housing would create policy consistency and reflect the city's commitment to protecting vulnerable communities.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your testimony.

Our next speaker is Madison.

Please unmute and share your comment.

Hi, thank you.

Good afternoon, Environment Committee.

So, as defined by state law, environmental justice means the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

So as we consider these environmental priorities, I urge you to examine packaging waste, litter, odor, and strain from marijuana retail.

I appreciate that Councilmember Campbell has included tobacco waste as a priority in San Diego.

She said that San Diego continues to face the negative impacts of tobacco use, including public health consequences, environmental harm, and litter in our communities.

It may be beneficial for the committee to explore additional strategies and potential solutions, including input from stakeholders and advocacy groups to address these challenges.

Several cities have also moved to restrict tobacco and marijuana smoking in multifamily housing settings, which could inform future discussion.

End quote.

Single-use plastics, foil pouches, and child resistant containers often end up as litter in the very communities that host these businesses.

Clean air, clean streets, and well-maintained public spaces are basic environmental protections that every community deserves.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is phone number ending in 8700.

You can unmute by pressing star six.

Key aspects of the Colorado River crisis.

Price and allocation.

Political motivation, water wars, i.e.

legal battles.

The problem.

Meaning more water is promised than actually flows.

With key agreements in place.

For instance, the Imperial Irrigation District has strong senior water rights.

And San Diego has historically financed conservation measures to secure supply.

Here are some questions from me.

Number one, who regulates cloud feeding for Colorado River when the snowpack is low?

Number two, with Mexico's water allocation low, does this exacerbate our TJ water pollution crisis, both systemically and politically?

Number three, when the pure water project is a go, and therefore much less water needing to be purchased.

How will that increase the public's water usage costs?

I don't trust the systems of MWD, SD, CWA, and others through which water pricing flows.

For me, this remains a cloudy day.

Please make the sunshine come through for the people of San Diego.

Thank you and love to all.

Thank you for your testimony.

The five-minute timer has concluded.

We have three hands remaining in the queue, and we'll take no other callers beyond these remaining individuals.

Terry Ann Skelly, please unmute and begin.

Good afternoon, Environment Committee Chair Ela Rivera.

My name is Terry Ann Skelly, and I'm a parent, a public health health educator, and a planning group member.

I appreciate reading your priorities for 2026.

I noted City Council Member Campbell's attention to reducing air pollution and the value of clean air.

Also, your recognition that tobacco product waste affects our environment.

And the strategy to reduce tobacco and marijuana smoking and vaping in multifamily settings as a policy as seen in other cities.

During February, which is American Heart Month, health organizations concur with you, emphasizing that avoiding secondhand smoke and vapor is critical for cardiovascular health.

Secondhand smoke and vapor causes nearly 34,000 premature heart disease deaths annually here in the United States.

Exposure increases non-smoker risk for heart disease and stroke by 25 to 30 percent, damaging blood vessels instantly.

And tobacco and marijuana smoke and vapor takes a higher toll on the less advantaged people.

I realize that this is an environment committee.

However, as we set priorities for 2026, we can imagine together what creating smoke-free, vape-free air in all our environments would actually be like.

Thank you for hearing my concerns this afternoon.

Thank you for your testimony.

Our next speaker is Blair Beekman.

Please unmute and begin.

Blair Beekman, I've given you permission to speak.

Please unmute and provide your non-agenda public comment.

Blair Beekman, one final call.

Please unmute and begin.

Hello?

We can hear you.

Please proceed.

Okay.

Yeah, if you can hear me now, I'll try to speak.

Uh, sorry.

I don't know what's going on with my system now.

Um, thank you.

Um I guess it's time to I'm calling from Hawaii right now.

I'm um here month, I'll be back in March.

Um thanks for the words of Joy, who I think really tried to help clarify uh I'm trying better.

I mean talking about water issues for a while now.

Um I'm trying to learn that you actually conversation uh the role of San Diego is in the water rate hike issues at this time and how much pure water is involved.

We have to have accountability with the pure water, it has to be more clearly explained by council persons uh when they can, you know uh what the role of pure water is in all of this, and then from that comes it back to Joyce who has got some serious reservations and complaints and how the current uh you know, water and utility system is over and how how they perform and the importance of uh starting the public process uh with them and that public asset access.

Um yeah, we have to learn how to cut together and and and having the full knowledge of the city of San Diego's role and what they're doing in going to those public meetings, that's vital.

So I hope I hope uh council will continue the efforts to be clear in the role of what pure water, how much it is costing us at this time.

I know you're trying.

Good luck in those continued efforts.

Um good luck that we work on uh de-escalation and demilitarization on upcoming uh ice issues uh for our community.

Uh they talk about it at the state at the national level right now.

Good luck to everyone.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And chair, this concludes non-agenda public comment.

All right.

Uh thank you.

Do we have any committee mayor, city attorney, or independent budget analyst comments?

All right, hearing none.

Any requests from continuance?

Nope.

All right.

And let's move on to our agenda beginning with our consent items.

Um any request to poll.

Okay.

Then let's hear public comment on the consent agenda.

Thank you, Chair.

The public comment period for the consent agenda is now open.

The consent agenda includes item number one, approval of the committee minutes from January 22nd, 2026.

I've not received any speakers of Sierra and Chambers.

So beginning the five-minute timer for those in the virtual queue to indicate if they wish to provide comment on the past committee minutes.

Each speaker will have one minute.

We will begin testimony with phone number ending in 8700.

You can unmute by pressing star six.

Please begin.

You will have one minute.

Thank you, Joyce and Yata D3.

Um, a contract with USP Tech for hydrogen sulfide order control odor control contract wastewater treatment.

Thank you, Chair, for mentioning uh the Ukraine war impact on chemical prices.

I really appreciated that.

A question.

Uh this item was on consent at committee on January 22nd.

Now it's uh was on consent at City Council meeting uh February 10th.

So no discussion for public on a contract for over 62 million dollars.

A statement from me.

USP Tech EOC, high under representation.

One black out of 67 people.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you for your comment.

Our next speaker, Blair Beekman.

Please unmute and begin.

Hi, uh Blair Beekman.

Hopefully you can hear me okay.

Um, yes, uh committee meeting.

Uh you spoke much about uh pure issues.

It was dedicated to pure water.

So I don't mind pure water this time.

Uh how we can be working on our pure water issues.

They're really important to me to describe uh table.

Um luck and number uh in a number of ways working together to solve our issues uh here in San Diego and for this nation.

Good luck what we can be doing together.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony and chair.

This concludes comment on the consent agenda.

All right, thank you so much.

I'll move the consent agenda.

Got a motion.

I will second that motion.

Uh all those in uh support of approving the consent agenda, say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

That passes unanimously two to zero.

And that brings us to our discussion agenda.

Sarah, if you would please introduce item two.

Thank you, Chair.

Item number two is the authorization to modify the existing software as a service agreement with Smart Energy Water for the My Water SD web portal and mobile applications as a result of SS4210 for an additional five-year term and reduction of term amount from 16.3 million to 5.5 million.

And if you're watching on City TV or the live stream online and you'd like to dial in to speak, please call 1669-2545252, inputting webinar ID 160, 732-9638 pound chair.

Thank you.

All right, if our presenters would please introduce yourself for the record, let us know which time you uh you'll need for your presentation.

Hello, uh, Michelle Costello.

I'm the deputy director with the customer support division with public utilities, and I bring with me Dandy Bagby, who is the uh systems performance and workforce analytics program manager within customer support as well.

We should need 10 minutes.

All right, thank you.

Please proceed.

All right.

So we are here today to share information regarding the existing um soil source certification between the city and Smart Energy Water, or SEW, who has been the vendor that built and maintains the My Water SD customer facing portal.

Um we can go to the next.

We'll we'll go through the overview here and we'll share some background, some customer value, uh features, uh web portal, user experience.

Um we'll give you an idea of what's coming, and um Dandy will explain um how we are reducing the not to exceed for this contract and uh finish with our existing action.

As we go to the background of this contract, we want to share that.

They spent uh in 2016, they spent a couple years building and developing the portal in 2018.

MyWater SD became the first customer-facing portal for customers.

In 2021, after just a few years of being live, was when the first term of this contract was expiring.

And so the first sole source agreement was awarded at that time.

Then last by the time 2023 rolled around, that was the time the the department had started to move towards Salesforce, and we were looking at replacing MyWater SD with a sales brand new Salesforce portal.

And at that time, I highlighted that we made a strategic decision to shift our efforts from a planned expense of about $9 to $10 million in 2026 for a new customer portal to focusing on our existing customer portal.

Our planned expenditure for the next five years is now approximately $3.5 million.

For this for this contract.

So I will hand it over to Dandy now.

Hi, good afternoon.

Thank you for having us today.

So one of the key elements to the portal is the series of integrations that exist between the portal itself and some of our other back-end systems, including SAP, and what that integration provides is a real-time responsive and accurate data update between systems.

So what the billing system and other systems reflect, customers are able to appreciate, able to see on the on the portal when they need to.

Often building an integration is the most one of the most complex and expensive parts of building an information system.

And so when a new tool is launched, often those integrations are the trickiest and most expensive pieces.

Realizing that some customers have multiple accounts, and so that doesn't include the count uh account of accounts necessarily, just account of customers that are registered.

We process about 20 million dollars in payments every month via about 42,000 successful transactions and roughly have about 50,000 unique logins monthly, too.

Some of the most important features of the MyWater SD application really is surrounding billing.

So customers are able to log in, they're able to download and print PDF versions of their bills.

They're able to look at consumption history and compare and contrast their consumption as it exists today or in the most current billing cycle to previous billing cycles.

They're able to set up or disable autopay at will.

They're able to manage their payment types, and that includes able to configure checking accounts or payment from a from a bank account or from a credit card or a debit card.

And of course, they're able to pay their bills as we've already mentioned.

They're also able to look at their past payments and any pending payments and take action there.

Also, they can set up some of their notification preferences, such as paperless billing and or enable or disable email alerts.

And lastly, and there's a few other features there too, but one of the other big big areas in the portal is the conservation tools that they can uncover and discover some other resources that might be helpful.

So this is a little bit uh maybe a little granular, but um I've grabbed some screenshots of our existing portal.

Um the upper left-hand corner is sort of shows some of the navigation within my account menu where um typically customers will log in and look at their profile.

They can look at their their current um, maybe they have a different mailing address set up so they can review that.

Um they can also look at that payment information, so those cards that are saved.

Um, also they can set up a guest user, which is a nice feature.

Um the billing account, uh, excuse me, the billing menu uh is is really where customers will head to look at their bills, look at those past and pending um payments.

Um, and also this is important too.

They're able to locate payment locations where they can go in in person and make a payment if they need to.

On the bottom uh sort of third or so of the slide, uh little screenshot of what that bill um the billing history looks like, as well as in the bottom right corner is um a little snapshot of what a bill looks like if they want to look at that.

And then lastly, upper right corner is the dashboard view.

So that's really what customers first see when they log in, and they can immediately see their um their usage currently and compared to last last year.

There's also a little button um beneath there that allows them to just click once and pay their bill from there.

So looking forward, um, we've got a couple of upcoming software fixes that we're looking into right now.

Um we're helping to refine our registration and password reset process just so that it is a seamless and smooth process and an experience for our customers.

Um similarly, we'd like to streamline some of the pay realist billing functionality and reduce hopefully um if possible some of our postage and printing costs by making that uh more of a an expected and streamlined experience for customers.

Um and then going forward as far as enhancements go, making improvements that are not currently included in the portal.

Um, we do, as I mentioned earlier, have quite a few customers that have many, many accounts.

Think of like a property manager, and right now the experience for those folks is a little um it's it's not ideal.

So we are gonna look into maybe improving that.

Um also we'd like to maybe add an option if possible uh for customers to pay by phone, so they don't have to actually use the portal.

Um but it is sort of in this universe where the that would be an enhancement that would be created by SEW.

And then perhaps a live chat as well.

So just another way for customers to reach us if they don't want to place a phone call or they want don't want to wait for us to respond to an email, then that could be a possibility for improvement going forward.

In discussing the not to ex not to exceed reduction, um, in the previous and the existing actually, the existing sole source that we're operating under right now that's about to expire, uh, there was provision where the city would be absorbing the credit card convenience fees on behalf of the customers.

And that total over the life of the over the term of this agreement is was about 14 and a half million dollars.

Shortly after this agreement was live, that policy was was shifted for customers to bear the expense of that convenience of using their credit or debit card.

And so you can see in the first couple of years, there's about um what is that, about $620,000 in credit card processing fees that the city paid.

And then once that policy was shifted, you can see that dollar amount went to nothing.

Um, and so that leaves about $14 million in sort of not to exceed that is not a current reflection of where we'll be headed for the next term.

So for the next five years, what we're expecting, and this is included in the staff report submitted, is about uh $3.5 million over five years, and that's about evenly split between the licensing fees and those potential enhancements that we discussed earlier.

So, lastly, the requested action.

So we uh recommend approval of an ordinance to authorize the mayor and or or his designee to approve the modification of the existing sole source certification between the city of San Diego and Smart Energy Water in two ways.

Uh, one for an amount not to exceed 5.5 million during a five-year period, cumulatively reducing the not to exceed limit from 16.3 million, and to extend the expiration date from April 20th, 2026 to April 20th, 2031.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Um let's hear public comment, please.

Thank you, Chair.

We've not received any slips here in chambers.

So beginning the five-minute timer for all those to indicate if they wish to speak in the virtual queue to item number two.

We will begin with phone number ending in 8700.

You can unmute by pressing star six, and you will have two minutes to share your comment.

Thank you, uh, Joyce and Yara D3.

First of all, PUD, you know I love you, and you have done some tremendous strides on uh you know customer service.

And I did my best with the backup.

I really looked at it.

So please excuse me on this.

Uh I'm I'm gonna show sort of a confusion on my part.

Uh what happened to the great results from the PAND's shadowing of the customer service and so forth of the PUD department.

Is the collaboration and the partnership with Smart Energy Water solid?

Was their history not a good story?

Also, too many funds involved.

How can our ACFR show the public what they need to see?

How many funds are there on the books of City of San Diego?

And how can we monitor and keep transparency and trust in how our money is going through these funds back and forth carry overs.

God only knows what's there.

I know we're doing our best, but we need to do better.

The EOC for this company underrepresentation in eight categories of the 135 admin employees.

So again, PUD, you have done some tremendous strides recently, and Panda has really partnered with you on that.

But I'm still beginning, no, I'm beginning to look more at Panda and the key performance indicators and these contracts and things to see how they really are serving the public.

So appreciate your listening and thank you in love to all.

Thank you for your comment.

Our next speaker, Blair Beekman.

Please unmute and begin.

Hi, Blair B.

Hopefully you can hear me okay.

Uh please say otherwise.

Um otherwise.

Uh thanks a lot for the words of Joyce Night.

It's really nice.

I'm just total amateur for any teeny tiny, it'sy bitsy little things.

Joyce really just made a clear, deep presentation and how to consider this item and it's asks.

It's thanks.

Uh a big thank you.

That you know, Council President von Wilbert and um uh Campbell, uh, like a year or two ago, really had to reorganize how the smart water meter process was working and how the PED was working.

Uh uh all were disanized, and they really helped bring them together.

And uh they've been doing a lot better work in the past three years.

It's a really important success story for San Diego.

Uh what we've been doing in the past three years.

I mean, and it involves the public.

It involves working with the public more and being clear.

I mean, it's the really good stuff.

I mean, that's why I get excited and wanting this stuff to go well, and uh it's really disheartening to hear about things like the parking commission stuff.

And so with that all said, um, Joyce Sonata has just uh she added uh an important depth about panda issues that I would like to know more about and just to hear their name more regularly uh in this process.

Uh it's really great to hear speak today.

I wish I could do the same.

I can't do that.

I can give you the big flash bang.

I don't want to say flash bang.

The one big, one big blast of uh, you know, one quick thought, one good thought.

Uh Joyce added a lot of depth.

Thank you for her words and and thank you for your guys' work that we continue working with the public, clear dialogue with each other, and uh we're working on building this uh better, hopefully.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony, and Chair.

This concludes public comment on item two.

Thank you so much.

All right, we'll turn to Council President Lakava to open things up.

Um, Chair.

Um I was actually pretty excited about this uh since I was the one that made the motion to have people pay for their own credit card fees for that convenience.

And we did that with the understanding that you could in fact pay directly out of your checking account.

So you could avoid uh the fees, which was uh, I think important to all my colleagues on the council and to the city.

And I see that in fact it did get incorporated and really has reduced the cost to PUD, which means a tiny reduction on the rates uh every little bit uh helps us going forward.

Um I guess I have to say to the public callers, I appreciate your questions.

I don't know that any of that is relevant to this particular issue.

Customer service and PUD is a whole different conversation besides this portal.

Um what PANA was doing with PUD on the customer service.

This has a little bit of an element of customer service.

Uh this doesn't have anything of ado about the uh advanced metering uh conversation either.

Uh so we do appreciate that interest by the public.

This wasn't the right place to raise those issues.

So you saw a lot of puzzled faces here in chambers.

Um I'm gonna add my own puzzled face to this conversation.

Uh that you did a right presentation, you did a lot of good work, so thank you for that.

I'm having trouble understanding the numbers.

So when we originally approved this, we approved it for not to exceed for 16 million.

We essentially only spent 2 million over the first five years.

So I'm kind of I don't really want to go back and revisit what we were thinking about for 16 million and ended up only spending two million.

Um, but I am curious about going forward where our licensing enhancement costs have been running pretty consistently of 261,000 a year, which is roughly 1.3 million over five years.

And then I heard you mention 3.5, they ask is actually 5.5.

So, how do I make sense of all those numbers?

You know, thank you for that.

Uh, and you're right.

I feel like I need a whiteboard to kind of draw it all up.

Um so essentially the 3.5 is the spend over the next five years.

The 5.5 includes the two that was already spent.

So because we're requesting the modification of the sole source, it's sort of a continuation of that total amount.

Oh, yeah.

That makes perfect sense.

And the 3.5 versus the 1.3 that we have historically spent is the extra cushion, an authorization, not an expenditure of funds.

But in case uh we want to do any enhancements or things.

Precisely, precisely.

And those will be uh determined as need arises as the ability on the on SEW's side exists for them to support those changes as well.

Okay.

Well, I really appreciate this.

Probably won't get the attention that it really deserves about how hard staff works to really figure out what we actually need to do customer service to run the city's operations.

Uh, but this is really a great example.

My idea for the credit card charge was brilliant beyond belief.

Um I'm sorry, I don't get the brag like this very often.

So then we balance it to make sure that we weren't um unnecessarily penalizing people when by giving them a no-cost option going forward.

But this portal, I use this portal all the time.

It works very, very well.

Some of the little tweaks you want to do in there probably are gonna be very important as well.

But this is a great example of the good stuff that you all do every day.

Uh, and thank you for that.

And with that, uh Chair, I will move the recommendation.

Thank you, Council President.

Um, thank you for the questions that you asked.

And I will second the motion.

Um thank you for the presentation and uh answering our questions ahead of the meeting.

Um with that, we've got a motion and a second.

Um we'll keep this simple.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

That passes unanimously and brings us to our next item.

Sarah, if you would please introduce that item.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Item number three is the 2026 environment committee work plan.

And if you're watching on the live stream or you'd like to call into the meeting to speak, please dial 1669-2545252 inputting webinar ID 16072-9638 pound.

Chair.

All right.

Um thank you so much.

Um presentation here.

Um I will kind of kick off the conversation to introduce our our work plan before we take public comment and then open it up to um to Council President Lacaba to add any feedback you have.

Uh so uh I first want to say thank you for sharing your priorities, Council President, and and want to thank Vice Chair Campbell as well.

Um the work plan that we have in front of us reflects our commitment to environmental justice, climate action, affordability, and accountability with the recognition that the climate crisis is not a future threat, but a present reality, and our responsibility is to meet that reality with urgency, equity, and transparency.

Um I'll walk through some of the pillars of the plan with a little bit of context for each one.

Environmental justice and climate resilience being at the center of the plan.

We know that climate change impacts working families and communities of concern first and worst, whether that's uh through flooding and extreme heat, wildfire risk, or poor air quality, and through climate resilient SD implementation.

We will be able to strengthen our city's ability to prepare prepare for, withstand, and recover from climate-related impacts that affect public safety, infrastructure, and economic stability.

We also remain committed to addressing the environmental and public health crises crisis in the Tijuana River Valley in partnership with our regional, state, and federal partners.

With respect to affordability and utility accountability, we know that environmental sustainability must go hand in hand with affordability, and that high utility costs are contributing to the high cost of living in San Diego.

So we're going to continue to prioritize oversight of water rates, electricity and gas costs, and we'll monitor compliance with our utility franchise agreements to ensure the public right-of-way is used in the public interest.

And we will continue engaging STG ⁇ E, San Diego Community Power, and our regional water agencies to promote transparency, accountability, and cost mitigation for our ratepayers.

Next, climate action plan implementation.

Moving on to natural resources and biodiversity.

Moving on to infrastructure investment and accountability.

As we saw just a couple years ago on January 22nd, 2024, the there is an urgent need to invest in stormwater infrastructure because the impacts of flooding can be catastrophic and life-changing, and at times even fatal.

So we're going to make sure that we're monitoring stormwater improvements, address repair backlogs, integrate resilience into our long-term planning.

We'll keep an eye on Pure Water SD, the largest infrastructure project in this city's history, which requires rigorous oversight and be sure to hold contractors accountable, ensure cost controls and protect our ratepayers as we advance into phase two of pure water.

And last but not least, in our energy future and public power.

These discussions are about transparency, competition, and ensuring our energy system works for residents, not just shareholders and executives.

And I look forward to working with our colleagues here to move this forward and deliver meaningful results for the people of San Diego.

Finally, Council President, I just wanted to add we wanted to make sure that we were as explicit as possible about ensuring that we're protecting the city city workers and ensuring compliance of the City of San Diego PLA on all contract service agreements coming to committee.

So we're going to be incorporating that into the work plan as well.

So with that kind of all laid out, we'll open it up for public comment and then I'll go to you, Council President, for any uh comments and additions you'd like to make.

Sarah.

Thank you, Chair.

I'll begin the five-minute timer for all those in the virtual queue to indicate if they wish to provide comment to item three.

We did not receive any speaker slips here in chambers.

We'll begin testimony with phone number ending in 8700.

You can unmute by pressing star six.

You will have two minutes.

Joyce and Yada D3.

Big thank you, Chair Ilo Rivera, for this work plan.

Twenty-six items on that main list.

That's very impressive.

And this is the kind of work the public really appreciates.

Thank you for that example and keep it rolling.

Now let's start with what's going next with our council, our committee member President Laklava.

Here are my likes, uh, President Lakava.

Thank you for the TJ pollution crisis.

Thank you for the tree canopy.

And thank you for preserving and expanding water and stormwater needs.

Those are my three big likes.

Now for uh Vice Chair Campbell, Miss You.

Uh, hope to see you next time at the committee meeting.

Uh, thank you for the same items that I mentioned on uh President Ottawa's list.

They're aligned up for me, and that that really looks solid and great.

Uh, I also like the use of your words, improved coordination, improved coordination.

So this is good stuff.

And as I said, you're really an example, a role model, I believe, for how this really really uh how it works and how much the public appreciates it.

So thank you for today.

Much success for the committee this year, and love to all.

Thank you for your testimony.

Our next speaker is Blair Beekman.

Please unmute and begin.

Uh uh related connections for a lot of these items.

Um environmental uh tech accountability, uh practices, as I try to say, you know, it's always um make can be easier to work on than you know, working.

If you practice good policies with environmental tech and data collection, it makes working with you know law enforcement tech easier.

Um what you can be working on, uh developing good policy practices.

I'm hoping that um is okay with water rise issues, sea level rising is Mr.

Beekman.

We've seem to have dropped you.

So we will move on to our next speaker.

Patrick McDone, please unmute and provide your testimony.

Good afternoon, Chair Elo Rivera and members of the committee.

This is Patrick McDonough, the senior attorney with San Diego Coast Keeper.

Uh, we are very encouraged by each of the memos that you've provided on this item, and we wholeheartedly agree with almost everything stated, especially with regard to pure water, the transboundary pollution crisis, cap compliance, sea level rise, water affordability, and environmental justice.

Uh, but we must once again really shine a spotlight on the stormwater funding deficit crisis, which has continued to balloon out of control.

The latest IBA figure is 3.74 billion over the next five years.

Uh, that figure is actually from over a year ago, so it's expectedly worse now, and we expect the new IBA report out soon.

The city's stormwater infrastructure is largely past its useful life, and the WiFi of funds which have kept the stormwater department afloat recently are done after this year.

That leaves a gap of nearly 200 million dollars unfunded in just OM needs in fiscal year 2027.

Because of the lack of funding, the city is forced to be reactive instead of proactive, which is costing taxpayers more and more.

Stormwater emergency CIP costs have doubled nearly every year.

Uh it was 17 million in 2022 and is now skyrocketed to 98 million in 2025.

Now we all know there are significant barriers to stormwater funding, like Prop 218, Measure E narrowly lost.

We've had other stormwater ballot measures drafted, but not actually put on the ballot.

In short, the city's efforts just haven't been good enough to meet the urgency demanded by this moment.

So stormwater funding must be one of the city's highest priorities this year and every year until we have a sustainable solution.

On a positive note, obtaining funding could turn this massive liability into an invaluable asset by implementing the multi-benefit projects that the city stormwater department has already identified.

All we need is the funding.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your comment.

And Mr.

Beekman, we'll come back to you.

We lost you at one minute, so we will restore one minute on the clock.

Please begin.

Thank you.

Hopefully, my mic will be working in a certain way.

Um, for this uh I wanted to the importance of working on uh sea level rise issues, uh preservation.

It's a conversation that I think also can be evolved with that doesn't offer retour, and that we learn to cut through and work in the report for clear.

You know, each side has an attitude and a point of view that can be relevant, but we have to be in agreement that there is sea level rise issues.

It's how to go about that.

That I hope city government can take a soft approach and be sensitive and and and good examples can be shared.

And I hope Council President Lakaba can be more sensitive and and know that uh we are speaking to the uh committee items themselves.

He has to be a little more sensitive to that.

Thank you.

Thank you for your concluding remark and chair.

This concludes public testimony on item number three.

All right, thank you so much.

Appreciate the public's feedback.

I will turn to Council President Lacaba to open up any conversation or entertain a motion.

Um no motion.

No motion.

Okay.

This is just one of the sure.

So let me write off the bat that the addition of the PLA was a good catch.

Um I appreciate you adding that in.

Uh, but I do want to thank you and Rosa for a requesting the priorities and then assembling the package here, so we have kind of guideposts of the work over the next um the rest of the year.

Um opening statement was so eloquent, I almost kind of don't want to say anything else, but um, but I do want to indicate that I remain steadfast in implementing our climate action plan and our resilient SD plan.

Uh these are the basis for San Diego being a national leader of climate, ensuring a better future for all San Diegans.

And for those members of the public that often criticize us about protecting the planet, saving the planet.

We're talking about protecting our quality of life.

We're talking about protecting our public health.

We're talking about protecting our economy.

That's the key.

The planet will do fine, whatever us humans do, but we're really talking about our population, especially those that are most vulnerable.

And that's why it is so important to me about our climate action plan and our resilient SD plan.

Should we be moving faster?

Yeah, absolutely.

Uh, but I realize there's also countless roadblocks that we've encountered in opposition every time we've turned.

Now I would say that when we lost sustainability and mobility as an apartment, um, the mayor and the operation side remain steadfast in their commitment that we would simply integrate climate action plan into every department work plan.

And I've seen it year after year, and we very much appreciate how we've actually made that part of our city business.

But we've also seen court rulings, the federal administration uh and individual behavior, and even the action, if I am understanding correctly the other day, in terms of turning away from renewable energy to expanding uh coal excavation and returning uh to that very, very dirty uh source of fuel uh was a big step backwards.

Um I think this administration will get the uh nomenclature of the dirtiest administration in however you want to use the word dirtiest.

Uh but it slows us down, but I'm not deterred, and I know my colleagues and staff are not either.

The external push on us is appreciated, and to the advocates, please do not let up because we work towards the goals.

I look forward to doing so on collaborative collaboratively as we navigate these challenges together.

Um I'll also add just real quickly.

Um somebody decided to take exception that I continue to advocate for the pure water program, and I never imagined even in the fifth year of being in office that I constantly have to talk about why we're doing pure water uh and how people leave out important context between the settlement, between not spending billions of dollars to improve the point loma treatment plant from advanced primary to secondary, and then dumping all that treated water out into the ocean, and that the program biggest infrastructure project ever uh is actually still under budget.

The authorization that uh the council approved years ago, uh, we're still under that target.

Uh so it's a remarkable project, and we are dipping our toes, so to speak, into phase two of pure water.

Uh, we have a pilot program that uh excuse me, a pilot plant that is underway.

Uh looking forward to that.

And to Coast Keeper and their continuing push on stormwater, I completely agree.

Um, I think I'd only say I think the public is not really raising the call in the way they should.

Um the tragedy that the the chair mentioned um is just one example of when they do rise up.

Uh, but we need San Diegans as a whole to realize that stormwater is an important thing.

It's a tough, tough budget conversation.

I don't think the commitment is any is shy at all.

It's just you gotta have the dollars.

All right, with that, uh I'll close.

I don't have any additions to the work plans that uh you all have drafted, sir.

All right.

Uh thank you, Council President.

I I appreciate you talking about kind of the headwinds that we um, you know, there's there's local headwinds, there's budgetary constraints, and then there's um the radical and it is radical.

Um very, very it's tragic and it's and it's gonna have impacts for generations.

Um the reversion to outdated um ways of thinking about the the environment.

Um you know um in an Orwellian, but also somewhat honest statement.

The EPA today announced that President Trump administrator Zelden deliver the single largest regulatory action in U.S.

history.

Um they're not hiding the ball in terms of how how big of an impact it will have.

Um but in terms of calling it a win um for the country or for anyone who cares about the environment rather than a gift to billionaires, um that's the part that is um a big a big lie.

Um so you know that makes what we do at the local level even more important, right?

And ensuring that we um are doing what we can to um protect the environment and protect our quality of life and our health and everything else that goes along with that.

Um so appreciate your recognition of that.

Certainly uh makes me feel even more uh appreciative of having um the opportunity to serve with you uh on this committee and serve as chair of this committee.

Uh one of the things that in times when humanitarian crises are are um right in front of our face and very real threats to like everyday survival are in front of us, those are often times when environmental work can feel gets deprioritized.

And um there's a tension often between some of the advocacy around environmental justice and climate resilience when those sort of challenges are are um are in front of us and those certain those challenges are very much in front of us right now.

And at the same time, we're gonna do everything we we can in this committee to tie those issues together and um make sure that we we recognize that um if we don't do the work that we need to do here in the environment committee and to uh uh to protect the environment and pursue environmental justice.

Um we will be doing a disservice to people.

And and so um just want to say thank you for you for you recognizing that and saying as much, and I look forward to working with you uh on that in this committee throughout the year.

So uh with that um that brings us to the end of our conversation about this.

No motion required here.

Um and we are at the end of our agenda, so I will thank Sarah and everyone um for helping make this meeting possible.

Uh thank you, Rosa, for putting together the work plan.

Um thank you to Council President to your staff and uh to Vice Chair Campbell staff for helping uh contribute as well.

And we will adjourn this meeting of the environment committee to the next regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, March 12th, 2026 at 1 p.m.

We're adjourned.