Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee Meeting - March 21, 2018
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee Meeting - March 21, 2018
The Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee, chaired by Councilmember Kate, met on March 21, 2018, to discuss a range of public safety and community development issues. The agenda included non-agenda public comments, a consultant services agreement for fire department studies, cybersecurity presentations, a report on the fire dispatch center, HUD entitlement program allocations for FY19, and an informational presentation on the City of San Diego Parks Master Plan. The committee took action on the consultant agreement and the HUD allocations, both of which passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-Agenda Speakers (3 speakers, 2 minutes each):
- Martha Welch expressed frustration with police response times, questioned the use of housing funds, and alleged city dishonesty regarding police and fire resources.
- Joy Sanyata (District 3) honored Assistant Chief Paul Connolly of the San Diego Police Department for his work with the homeless and thanked the police department.
- Kelly McCormick raised concerns about marijuana manufacturing businesses in Mira Mesa, citing issues with smell, unpermitted construction, health risks from pesticides, and energy use. She noted that 93% of pot from LA/Orange County dispensaries was contaminated with illegal pesticide levels.
- Barbara Gordon echoed concerns about marijuana businesses operating without proper licenses, the smell, and the need for code enforcement resources.
- Kathleen Lippett mentioned concerns from the Mira Mesa Planning Group, including a chemist's warning about extraction processes and safety risks.
- Scott Shipman (new president of the San Diego Cannabis Delivery Alliance) advocated for regulation of cannabis delivery services to serve medical marijuana patients who cannot access dispensaries, and asked for a future agenda item on delivery.
- HUD Entitlement Program Allocations (FY19) – Public Comments: Over 20 speakers representing various nonprofit organizations (e.g., City Heights CDC, Episcopal Community Services, Ronald McDonald House, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, Second Chance, Kitchens for Good, Center for Community Solutions, Family Health Centers, Ocean Discovery Institute, St. Paul's Senior Services, Interfaith Shelter Network, Casa Familiar, Urban Corps, Chicano Federation, International Rescue Committee, UPAC, Jewish Family Service, Al-Masara Family Clinic) spoke in support of the funding recommendations, emphasizing the importance of CDBG funds for homeless services, workforce development, senior services, and community revitalization.
Discussion Items
- Item 1 – Consultant Services Agreement with CityGate Associates: Fire Chief Brian Fennessey and Assistant Chief Kevin Astor presented a request for an as-needed consultant services agreement with CityGate Associates for up to $850,000 over five years to support fire department operations, including EMS ambulance deployment, emergency command and data center review, and other studies. The committee approved the motion unanimously.
- Items 3 & 4 – Cybersecurity Presentations (Joint): The committee heard from city staff (Darren Bennett, CISO; Harrison Pierce, Office of Homeland Security) and external experts (Jesse Geit, San Diego Regional EDC; Rear Admiral Ken Slott, Cyber Center of Excellence; Dylan Boyer, Deloitte). Key points:
- The city averages about one cyber attack per second, but successful intrusions are rare due to best practices.
- The city is working on a regional cyber incident response guide and has initiatives like the CISO Roundtable and Cyber Center of Excellence.
- San Diego has 104 core cybersecurity firms employing 4,230 people, with a total economic impact of $2.37 billion.
- 75% of cybersecurity graduates leave the region due to lack of awareness of local opportunities; efforts are underway to improve internships and apprenticeships.
- Critical infrastructure (grid, water) remains at risk; tabletop exercises are planned.
- Discussion included questions about talent retention, coordination across city departments, and the role of cyber insurance.
- No action taken; informational only.
- Item 5 – CityGate Report on Emergency Command and Data Center (ECDC): Assistant Chief Kevin Astor and Stu Gary presented findings on the fire dispatch center, which handles over 200,000 calls annually. The current facility (built in 1990) is constrained, lacks space, and cannot be expanded. Recommendations include a new facility, potentially co-located with the county and CAL FIRE, with a joint planning study beginning next month. Staffing has improved (47 of 51 positions filled), and call handling performance is near best practices. No action taken; informational.
- Item 6 – City of San Diego Parks Master Plan: Robin Schifflet and AECOM consultants presented a three-year planning effort to update the parks master plan (last done in the 1940s). The plan will address park deficits, redefine park equivalencies, improve equity, and identify funding sources. Public outreach includes surveys, regional workshops, and online engagement. The contract for the plan is $1.4 million. Discussion touched on park definitions, impact fees, and incorporating canyons and joint-use facilities. No action taken; informational.
Key Outcomes
- Action Item 1 – Consultant Services Agreement: Approved unanimously (voice vote) to authorize a five-year, $850,000 contract with CityGate Associates for fire department studies.
- Action Item 2 – HUD Entitlement Program Allocations for FY19: Approved unanimously (voice vote) to recommend City Council approval of actions 1-21 and forward items 1-23, including $48.7 million in CDBG funds, $981,000 in ESG funds, and other allocations. The motion passed with a recommendation to council.
- Informational Items: Cybersecurity (3&4), ECDC report (5), and Parks Master Plan (6) were presented for committee awareness; no votes taken.
- Next Meeting: April 25, 2018.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everybody. We're gonna call the March 21st meeting of the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee supporter. We have a form consisting of myself, Vice Chair Bree, and Committee Member Gomez. We are going to uh start off with non-agenda public comments. We have three speakers who each have two minutes. Martha Welch, followed by Joy Sonyata, Kelly McCormick. And then we'll have two more after that. Two minutes. Martha Welch, and the meeting last we heard about the police yesterday in the meeting. They said two very good one and two days only as that's best spent in time up a week so I'm on the gave the phone to them and they didn't answer. I told you before that um the math doesn't go up because um there's I went to three three stations and they're closed and talked to an officer and they said, you know what, I don't have enough uh officers for that. Also on the TV says you train in Miramar is at the Marines or the community value. I don't know. But um I don't know what you do with that. You don't pay anything to those, also. Also, yesterday we have uh meeting also about Lou uh um uh housing, they uh they they money to the housing commission. What happened to the money? Because um we give if affording uh uh houses what what happened to the money. We had we millions of millions of millions went to the housing and we can't trust them because they did they all that money went to them. We didn't houses or anything like that. And also you promised us only two pots and and then in the district only. You told us, are you lying to us or something like that? Because I've heard some people have more shops in the district uh the district. So this is going on, all these lies you tell us, and what's it was it where's it getting us? Short of fire people, short of police and everything because you don't tell the truth to us. Uh uh unless you get if if you want to get ahead only to find out if you have trouble or something like this, how long it takes the animals to get to you. Um also I've seen also the ambulance, the problem with that, two fire trucks come first, you know that. I've seen it myself. And then in a couple of minutes the almos comes up. So you're wasting the police uh the police uh uh first and then the fire trucks will cost more money. So uh you're tying them up, uh you're tying the uh the fire up with ambulances too. So this is what goes on in the city. You lie to us about everything that goes on here. We've become help, we don't get help from the police. We found that out. Joy Signata, followed by Kelly McCormick, then Barbara Gordon. Good morning. I'm honored to be in front of this committee and have the opportunity to speak. Joy Sanyata District Three. I want to take some time to honor someone today. And I'll start with this. It was so amazing coming up this morning as I walked to uh City Hall and I saw that whole group of of people standing there ready in line with their faces so open in a beautiful way, and they're going to do the swearing in ceremony as citizens. So that was such an amazing way to start my day. And so from that I'll go into this part of government. Yesterday afternoon was tough, wasn't it, at City Council? And I stayed home and watched it on television and uh it was riveting uh to watch it, so thank everyone for that. But here's the person I want to honor. Assistant chief Paul Connolly. I saw him sitting there. I really could have tears.
openpublica.com