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SANTA CRUZ – From climate change to a community hospital, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider a wide range of pressing issues facing the county at its meeting next Tuesday.
Agenda items include a study session on developing climate action and adaptation plans, efforts to secure Watsonville Community Hospital, the fight against COVID-19 and a report on the county’s syringe service program.
Climate plans
The county’s Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience will share plans by December to develop a new climate action and adaptation plan for the most common weather conditions that are occurring as a result of climate change.
“The effects of human-caused global warming are already affecting our society, irreversible in the timescales of people alive today, and will worsen without attention and action in the coming decades.” A staff report is read. He mentions that 2017 winter storm events, 2020 CZU lightning complex fire and the 2021 atmospheric river As recent examples, the effects of climate change are felt most acutely.
In the year A preliminary study conducted in 2019 found that passenger and commercial vehicles on the road were the leading emitters of greenhouse gases, contributing 447,514 metric tons of CO2, or 61.4% of total emissions. Natural gas use for heating, water heating and cooking is the second largest contributor with 163,058 metric tons or 22.8% of 2019 emissions.
Achieving the reduction goals will require a “two-pronged approach,” including changes to county operations and “major land use and transportation policy changes,” according to the staff report, some of which will be further discussed Tuesday.
Watsonville Hospital
Representatives from the county’s health services agency will detail the ongoing and extensive effort to purchase Watsonville Community Hospital and transfer ownership to a newly formed charitable trust.
According to the staff report, the fundraising effort is $5.5 million short of the $67 million needed to purchase and operate the hospital as of Aug. 31. A fundraising official told the Sentinel this week that he is confident the goal will be met.
If and when the acquisition is consummated, Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Hospital Corporation will be designated as the not-for-profit purchaser. Ownership and operational responsibility are shared with the Pajaro Valley Health Care District, which has the same five board members.
Finally, the County Board will be asked to approve a $3 million short-term loan to finance the letter of credit necessary for the negotiations.
Additional items
Public health officials will update the board on the county’s ongoing COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. There have been cases of covid-19 after recent surgery. It started to declineAccording to the county The covid dashboard.
Health agency staff are recommending the allocation of eight more publicly available syringe disposal kiosks across the county. The locations are recommended after consultation with community members, law enforcement and public works officials.
If you go
What: Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors meeting.
When: Tuesday 9 am.
How: 701 Ocean St. Room 525 or zoom in: us06web/ZOOM.US/J/85163210200.
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