SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

SPECIAL DISTRICTS ASSOCIATION

MINUTES

JULY 26, 2004 at the Cabernet Bistro, Solvang

 

Attendees:

Attendees:

Position

Representing:

Arnold, Chuck

Director

Montecito Sanitary District

Barnard, Kevin & guest

Manager

Los Alamos CSD

Bernstein, Mitch

General Manager

S B Coastal Vector Control Dist

Blair, Charles

Director

Vandenberg Village CSD

Campbell, Tim

Director

Cachuma Resource Conservation Dist

Carastro, Joseph

Director

Embarcadero Municipal Improve Dist

Clark, Candyce & guest

Secretary

Los Alamos CSD

Cunningham, Jack

Director

Goleta Water District

Dubroff, Henry

Guest Speaker

Editor & Publisher, Pacific Boast Business Times

Fox, John

Director

Goleta Sanitary District

Herrera, Bob & guest

Director

Los Alamos CSD

Meyer, Larry

Director

Goleta West Sanitary District

Nation, Mark

General Manager

Goleta West Sanitary District

Raggio, Jim

CEO

Lompoc Healthcare District

Schlottmann, Cathy

Director

Mission Hills CSD

Souza, Daryl

Director

Santa Maria Valley Water Conserv Dist

Stone, Thomas F.

General Counsel

Isla Vista Rec & Park District

Tuvenchalk, Eva

Planner

Hatch & Parent

Warnstrom, Susan

Director

Mission Hills CSD

Wilson, Larry

Director

Montecito Water District

 

 

Call to Order: President John Fox called the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m. at the Cabernet Bistro in Solvang. The attendees were introduced. "Happy Birthday" was sung to Chuck Arnold.

Guest Speaker: Henry Dubroff, Editor & Publisher, Pacific Coast Business Times: Mr. Dubroff has been a business journalist for over 20 years, previously being with the Denver Post and the Denver Business Journal. The Pacific Coast Business Times serves the tri-counties of Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. It was noted the tri-county population is about 1.4 million. Additionally, the three zip codes of Montecito, Hope Ranch, and Westlake are the most affluent in southern California. This tri-county area has many publicly-traded companies. There is innovation and entrepreneurship fostered by UCSB, Cal Poly, and institutions of higher education. UCSB, UCLA, and USC are important to southern California. An example is Amgen which has a net profit of $5 million every 90 days. The region also has some very common challenges including housing, transportation, and the workforce. Mr. Dubroff said there is not a lot of networking among businesses and business owners outside of the south coast. The Highway 101 corridor would benefit from an improved political perception of economic development. Mr. Dubroff said that Channel 3 (KEYT), the L.A. Times, and the Pacific Coast Business Times are the only media that have a regional perspective. It was noted that oil is still a $1 billion business in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. There is innovation of agribusiness.

The current situation is that job growth is flat or declining while personal wealth is increasing. Thus there will be more demand for services but not jobs. There is some job growth occurring in Ventura County.

Update on the State Budget: President John Fox said that the LOCAL proposition will be on this November’s ballot. It is anticipated that schools will oppose the LOCAL proposition. The State budget has not yet been resolved. It appears the coalition is holding together. $350 million will be coming from special districts for 2 years, with fire, police, healthcare, vector control, and veterans’ administration districts exempted.

Approval of Minutes: Motion, second, to approve the Minutes of June 28, 2004 as amended. Unanimous.

Treasurers Report: Chuck Arnold reported we have a total of $3,546.63.

Executive Board Meeting Report: It was noted that future speakers will include Rob Almy, Salud Carbajal, and Sheriff Jim Anderson.

CSDA Board Election: John Fox is seeking re-election to the CSDA Board of Directors. Motion, second, to support John Fox for the CSDA Board. Unanimous.

Santa Barbara LAFCO Report: There will be a LAFCO meeting next week Thursday. The CaLafco Conference will be the first week of September at Disneyland. The draft of the Lompoc Valley MSRs is not yet out.

New Business: None.

Old Business: None.

Adjournment John Fox adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m. The next meeting will be held at the Elephant Bar in Goleta on Monday, August 23, 2004.

s/ Cathy Schlottmann

Cathy Schlottmann

Secretary, SBCSDA