Board of Supervisors

The Board would adopt the final recommendations of a two-supervisor subcommittee (Supervisors Cummings and De Serpa) that would reshape how the County gives grants to local nonprofits under the CORE Investments program. Funding would be narrowed to three safety-net areas — Food and Nutrition, Housing and Homelessness, and Health — with priority for seniors, people with disabilities, children and families, and other vulnerable people regardless of gender or immigration status. A yes vote would set aside up to $1.5 million for food assistance (naming Grey Bears, Meals on Wheels, and Second Harvest Food Bank) on a three-year cycle and keep $1.5 million for the County's Housing for Health Division, leaving roughly $2 million open to other nonprofits on a two-year cycle with funding tiers of up to $25,000, $100,000, and $350,000. It would also end the third year of the current funding cycle (except the Housing for Health set-aside), pay the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County up to $80,000 to run the application review, create a two-member Board subcommittee to review recommendations, and require final funding decisions by the first Board meeting in May 2027.

This is the final vote on an ordinance that sets custom development standards — a "Planned Unit Development" — for three parcels identified by assessor parcel numbers 025-032-33, 025-032-34 and 025-032-35, under Application No. 251276. A Planned Unit Development lets the County write tailored rules for a specific site instead of applying the standard zoning rules. The Board already approved this ordinance in concept on September 15, 2026, and scheduled it for a second reading and final adoption on September 29, 2026. A yes vote adopts the ordinance as written.

Under the county's mobile home park rent rules, when a park owner makes a capital improvement (a major upgrade to the park), part of the cost can be added to residents' rent, spread over ten years, plus an interest-like "rate of return" on the unpaid balance. The Board of Supervisors sets that rate each year, and it has been twelve percent (12%) since 1982. The Mobile and Manufactured Home Commission held a public hearing on July 15, 2026 and voted to recommend keeping it at 12%. A yes vote accepts that recommendation and leaves the rate unchanged.

This is the final step in a labor contract for the county's Law Enforcement Middle Management Unit \u2014 the supervisory ranks in law enforcement. The Board already approved a tentative three-year agreement with this group on August 25, 2026, and those terms have now been written into a formal Memorandum of Understanding (the written labor contract). A yes vote approves that contract and lets the Human Resources Director sign it.

The county would formally accept $1,781,217 in state disaster money from the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and add it to the budget of the Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience. The money reimburses part of what private property owners paid up front to fix storm-damaged streambanks under the federal Emergency Watershed Protection Program after the 2023 winter storms. A yes vote lets the county pass $1,073,840 back to participating property owners, apply $239,968 to the local share of construction change orders, and set aside $467,409 in the program's restricted fund as contingency until the program closes.

The county would renew its contract with Carelon Behavioral Health for three years, through June 30, 2029, at a total of $2,126,564, to review and authorize care for people on Medi-Cal who are admitted to psychiatric hospitals or residential drug and alcohol treatment. Carelon does the state-required "concurrent review" work: near-daily clinical case reviews, timely authorization decisions, and physician-level review when medical necessity is disputed. A yes vote approves the agreement (Contract No. 27H0176) and lets the Health Services Agency Director or a designee sign it.

The county would sign a new contract (No. 27H0464) with Front St., Inc. for up to $904,833 to keep providing on-site supportive housing services at Harvey West Studios and nearby supportive housing sites, plus "Housing Connector" staff who work alongside the county's Full-Service Partnership behavioral health teams. Services include daily living support, peer mentorship, an on-site registered nurse for health and medication coordination, eviction-prevention help, stabilization planning, and connections to behavioral health care. The Housing Connectors help clients build a housing plan, fill out applications, navigate benefits, and work with landlords and the Housing Continuum of Care. A yes vote approves the agreement and lets the Health Services Agency Director or a designee sign it.

The county would amend its existing pay-per-service contract with New Life Community Services, adding $319,000 for a new total of $5,286,509 in Fiscal Year 2026-27. The extra money funds a new "Recovery Residence" — sober housing where residents must also attend outpatient substance use treatment from a county Drug Medi-Cal provider. Beds would serve adults with substance use disorders who have low-level criminal charges and are referred through the county's RENEWPath program. A yes vote approves the amendment and lets the Health Services Agency Director or a designee sign it.

The county would sign a $1,001,838 agreement with Abode Services for fiscal year 2026-27 to help people find and keep permanent housing, including help paying rent. The new agreement widens the program so that people eligible for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program can also receive housing navigation and rehousing rental assistance. A yes vote approves the agreement and lets the Director of Human Services, or a designee, sign it.

Hello Housing, a regional nonprofit, has run the County's Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Incentive Program since 2023 under a three-year contract that expired June 30, 2026. This item would ratify a third amendment extending the contract term through December 31, 2026 so the nonprofit can use the roughly $90,000 still left in the original contract budget and keep helping homeowners who are still building their ADUs. No new money is requested. Staff say they will bring a proposal for a new contract to the Board later this fall to continue the program into Fiscal Year 2027-28.

The County would hire Splashtacular, LLC, a Kansas-based commercial waterslide manufacturer, for up to $523,328.96 to design, build, install, test and start up a replacement waterslide at the Simpkins Family Swim Center. The price is a base contract of $475,753.60 plus a 10 percent contingency of $47,575.36. A yes vote also lets the Parks director sign the agreement and approve minor changes or change orders that stay within the contingency and don't materially change the work. This contract replaces an agreement with WhiteWater West Industries Ltd. for up to $645,526 that the Board approved on June 30, 2026 and that the County has since terminated.