Honoring Commitments to the Public

R1

The County Administrative Officer and the City Managers should establish a formal process by December 31, 2020 for their departments to validate and verify the accuracy and currency of website information. (F1, F2, F5)

R2

We continue to recommend that all organizations create and regularly update formal records of the actions they take to address Grand Jury recommendations, and to share those records with the public, in accordance with CA Penal Code Section 933(c). (F1, F2) DeLaveaga Golf Course

R1

The County Administrative Officer and the City Managers should establish a formal process by December 31, 2020 for their departments to validate and verify the accuracy and currency of website information. (F1, F2, F5)

R2

We continue to recommend that all organizations create and regularly update formal records of the actions they take to address Grand Jury recommendations, and to share those records with the public, in accordance with CA Penal Code Section 933(c). (F1, F2) DeLaveaga Golf Course

R3

The County Administrative Officer and the City Managers should establish ‘SMART’ goals for website quality assurance and manage these goals beginning in 2021. (F3, F4, F5) Requested 2020 Responses:[21] City of Capitola The City of Capitola partially disagreed with Findings 1, 2, and 3. They update information on a regular basis. There have been occasions when old data did not get removed after updated data was added. Stale and inaccurate data is corrected and replaced whenever found. The City is in the process of updating its website platform to make this task easier for departments. They also stated that SMART (Specific + Measurable + Attainable + Relevant + Time-Bound) is not a methodology that the City of Capitola has adopted. The City of Capitola disagreed with Finding 5.They stated that If data is determined to be incorrect or out-of-date, they remove or correct the data. The City does not knowingly keep incorrect or out-of-date information on the City website. The City of Capitola, addressing Recommendation 1, agreed to implement in the future a formal process by December 31, 2020, for their departments to validate and verify the accuracy and currency of website information. Regarding Recommendation 3 the City of Capitola felt that establishing SMART goals for website quality assurance and managing these goals beginning in 2021 needed further analysis. City of Santa Cruz The City of Santa Cruz agreed with Findings 1, 2, and 5.[22] Honoring 2019-2020 Commitments published June 7, 2023 2022-2023 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 337 The City of Santa Cruz addressing Recommendation 1 agreed to implement a formal process by December 31, 2020 for their departments to validate and verify the accuracy and currency of website information.[22] City of Scotts Valley The City of Scotts Valley partially disagreed with Findings 1 and 2. The City of Scotts Valley responded in 2020 that they post all City Council, Committee and Commission agendas on the City website’s Agenda Center. Some commissions/committees meet only as needed and a committee’s last meeting may have been a year or more in the past. Thus, even though these agendas and minutes may appear out of date, the content is current. Similarly, the City maintains various plans and documents on its website and although they may be dated years in the past, the posted documents are still the most current. The City updates its website content regularly. They do not have the resources for a dedicated webmaster and staff manages the website on a departmental level. City staff reviews and updates City webpages on a regular, although not regimented, schedule. The City of Scotts Valley partially disagreed with Finding 3. They implemented a major upgrade to their website in May 2018, moving from an antiquated website to the current, highly functional and easy-to-navigate site. The City of Scotts Valley has not adopted the formal goal paradigm of Specific + Measurable + Attainable + Relevant + Time-Bound. However, the City maintains the goal, as an operational prerequisite, to provide current, timely and useful information to the public. The City of Scotts Valley disagreed with Finding 5. When the City identifies outdated or inaccurate information on its website, it is rectified as soon as is practically feasible. They view their website as an important communication and engagement tool with the community and do not allow erroneous information to persist on their website. The City of Scotts Valley felt that they needed further analysis regarding

R3

The County Administrative Officer and the City Managers should establish ‘SMART’ goals for website quality assurance and manage these goals beginning in 2021. (F3, F4, F5) Requested 2020 Responses:[21] City of Capitola The City of Capitola partially disagreed with Findings 1, 2, and 3. They update information on a regular basis. There have been occasions when old data did not get removed after updated data was added. Stale and inaccurate data is corrected and replaced whenever found. The City is in the process of updating its website platform to make this task easier for departments. They also stated that SMART (Specific + Measurable + Attainable + Relevant + Time-Bound) is not a methodology that the City of Capitola has adopted. The City of Capitola disagreed with Finding 5.They stated that If data is determined to be incorrect or out-of-date, they remove or correct the data. The City does not knowingly keep incorrect or out-of-date information on the City website. The City of Capitola, addressing Recommendation 1, agreed to implement in the future a formal process by December 31, 2020, for their departments to validate and verify the accuracy and currency of website information. Regarding Recommendation 3 the City of Capitola felt that establishing SMART goals for website quality assurance and managing these goals beginning in 2021 needed further analysis. City of Santa Cruz The City of Santa Cruz agreed with Findings 1, 2, and 5.[22] Honoring 2019-2020 Commitments published June 7, 2023 2022-2023 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 337 The City of Santa Cruz addressing Recommendation 1 agreed to implement a formal process by December 31, 2020 for their departments to validate and verify the accuracy and currency of website information.[22] City of Scotts Valley The City of Scotts Valley partially disagreed with Findings 1 and 2. The City of Scotts Valley responded in 2020 that they post all City Council, Committee and Commission agendas on the City website’s Agenda Center. Some commissions/committees meet only as needed and a committee’s last meeting may have been a year or more in the past. Thus, even though these agendas and minutes may appear out of date, the content is current. Similarly, the City maintains various plans and documents on its website and although they may be dated years in the past, the posted documents are still the most current. The City updates its website content regularly. They do not have the resources for a dedicated webmaster and staff manages the website on a departmental level. City staff reviews and updates City webpages on a regular, although not regimented, schedule. The City of Scotts Valley partially disagreed with Finding 3. They implemented a major upgrade to their website in May 2018, moving from an antiquated website to the current, highly functional and easy-to-navigate site. The City of Scotts Valley has not adopted the formal goal paradigm of Specific + Measurable + Attainable + Relevant + Time-Bound. However, the City maintains the goal, as an operational prerequisite, to provide current, timely and useful information to the public. The City of Scotts Valley disagreed with Finding 5. When the City identifies outdated or inaccurate information on its website, it is rectified as soon as is practically feasible. They view their website as an important communication and engagement tool with the community and do not allow erroneous information to persist on their website. The City of Scotts Valley felt that they needed further analysis regarding

R5

The City of Santa Cruz City Manager should perform a lessons learned activity and then update the City’s relevant policies and operating procedures to avoid a future repeat of the DeLaveaga Golf Course’s restaurant/lodge shutdown and renovation no later than second quarter 2021. (F4)

R1

The County Administrative Officer and the City Managers should establish a formal process by December 31, 2020 for their departments to validate and verify the accuracy and currency of website information. (F1, F2, F5)

R3

The County Administrative Officer and the City Managers should establish ‘SMART’ goals for website quality assurance and manage these goals beginning in 2021. (F3, F4, F5) Requested 2020 Responses:[21] City of Capitola The City of Capitola partially disagreed with Findings 1, 2, and 3. They update information on a regular basis. There have been occasions when old data did not get removed after updated data was added. Stale and inaccurate data is corrected and replaced whenever found. The City is in the process of updating its website platform to make this task easier for departments. They also stated that SMART (Specific + Measurable + Attainable + Relevant + Time-Bound) is not a methodology that the City of Capitola has adopted. The City of Capitola disagreed with Finding 5.They stated that If data is determined to be incorrect or out-of-date, they remove or correct the data. The City does not knowingly keep incorrect or out-of-date information on the City website. The City of Capitola, addressing Recommendation 1, agreed to implement in the future a formal process by December 31, 2020, for their departments to validate and verify the accuracy and currency of website information. Regarding Recommendation 3 the City of Capitola felt that establishing SMART goals for website quality assurance and managing these goals beginning in 2021 needed further analysis. City of Santa Cruz The City of Santa Cruz agreed with Findings 1, 2, and 5.[22] Honoring 2019-2020 Commitments published June 7, 2023 2022-2023 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 337 The City of Santa Cruz addressing Recommendation 1 agreed to implement a formal process by December 31, 2020 for their departments to validate and verify the accuracy and currency of website information.[22] City of Scotts Valley The City of Scotts Valley partially disagreed with Findings 1 and 2. The City of Scotts Valley responded in 2020 that they post all City Council, Committee and Commission agendas on the City website’s Agenda Center. Some commissions/committees meet only as needed and a committee’s last meeting may have been a year or more in the past. Thus, even though these agendas and minutes may appear out of date, the content is current. Similarly, the City maintains various plans and documents on its website and although they may be dated years in the past, the posted documents are still the most current. The City updates its website content regularly. They do not have the resources for a dedicated webmaster and staff manages the website on a departmental level. City staff reviews and updates City webpages on a regular, although not regimented, schedule. The City of Scotts Valley partially disagreed with Finding 3. They implemented a major upgrade to their website in May 2018, moving from an antiquated website to the current, highly functional and easy-to-navigate site. The City of Scotts Valley has not adopted the formal goal paradigm of Specific + Measurable + Attainable + Relevant + Time-Bound. However, the City maintains the goal, as an operational prerequisite, to provide current, timely and useful information to the public. The City of Scotts Valley disagreed with Finding 5. When the City identifies outdated or inaccurate information on its website, it is rectified as soon as is practically feasible. They view their website as an important communication and engagement tool with the community and do not allow erroneous information to persist on their website. The City of Scotts Valley felt that they needed further analysis regarding

R6

The City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department and the City of Santa Cruz City Manager should add a formal process to the Operation Plan by addressing needed capital improvements, maintenance schedules, facility inspections, water use, variable pricing, charitable policies, operations review, and basic stakeholder roles and responsibilities. Stakeholders include the Santa Cruz City Council, the City’s Parks and Recreation Department, the City’s Parks & Recreation Commission, the Operator, the DeLaveaga Golf Honoring 2019-2020 Commitments published June 7, 2023 2022-2023 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 331 Course Superintendent, the City’s Building Department and the City’s Public Works Department. (F5) Requested 2020 Responses:[4] The City of Santa Cruz partially disagreed with Finding 4 as related to Recommendation 5, that there was a failure to conduct thorough, regular on-site inspections of the DeLaveaga Golf Course’s restaurant/lodge, resulting in excessive renovation costs to the City of Santa Cruz. This contributed to more than doubling the original estimates to bring the building up to code. They stated that many of the issues discovered during the golf lodge renovation were interior to the building (e.g. electrical, plumbing, rotting wood, etc.). These issues were not evident in general facility inspections. The fundamental cause of the facility issues and exorbitant costs to renovate was a lack of ongoing capital improvement investment into the building over time. Due to limitations of City budgets, and to some degree, the local political will to invest in the golf course, funding was not sufficiently appropriated to maintain the golf lodge over time. Therefore, the result was a costly repair due to years of virtually no maintenance. The City of Santa Cruz stated that this is an important lesson as other facilities at the golf course including the maintenance facility, golf cart barn, and driving range, among others, are in desperate need of investment. Otherwise they may face similarly expensive capital needs in the future. This is also true of many City-owned buildings such as the Civic Auditorium, Public Works Corp Yard and the Parks Yard, Market Street Senior Center, Harvey West Park facilities, and many more. Investment in an aging portfolio of City-owned assets is critical for the future. Regarding Finding 5, as related to Recommendation 6, the City of Santa Cruz felt that they needed further analysis on whether or not the City Manager should perform a lessons learned activity and then update the City’s relevant policies and operating procedures to avoid a future repeat of the DeLaveaga Golf Course’s restaurant/lodge shutdown and renovation no later than second quarter 2021. The City of Santa Cruz stated that as of July 2020, there are no specific plans to do this, although it would be a helpful exercise and the Parks and Recreation Department would support it. The Parks and Recreation Department responded, indicating it would discuss with the City Manager’s Office a plan to chart a course of action related to this recommendation before the end of calendar year 2020. 2022-2023 Update: Were Commitments Kept? In response to this jury’s request for an update, the Parks and Recreation Department indicated budgeting, and the Santa Cruz City Council approved funding to assess facilities and develop a long-term Capital Investment Plan as outlined in Budget, Fiscal Years 2023-2027.[5] Additionally, the City Council appropriated funding for critical infrastructure and facility upgrades in FY 2023.[6] The Parks and Recreation Department will initiate these projects in 2023. The completion of the study is estimated to be in June 2023, and the improvements to the driving range and golf course assets are estimated to be in October 2023.[7] Honoring 2019-2020 Commitments published June 7, 2023 332 . Fail in the Jail[8] Summary: On September 28, 2019 an unplanned power failure at the Santa Cruz County Main Jail resulted in the loss of critical capability to provide safe and secure operation of the jail. While the risks were known well in advance of the failure event, steps to manage and mitigate the risks were not taken. Established, comprehensive policies for management in a power failure emergency were in place, but those policies were not followed. Evidence of process improvement and risk management practice after the event was lacking. Key 2020 Findings:

R7

The City of Santa Cruz should complete and then implement their Master Plan for Coral Street, including consideration of limiting vehicle access. The City of Santa Cruz should report to the Grand Jury on the status of Coral Street no later than December 31, 2023. (F7) Tangled Web

R8

The City of Santa Cruz should verify that their commitment to automate the Honoring 2019-2020 Commitments published June 7, 2023 2022-2023 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 343 process for updating their website has been completed by October 31, 2023. (F8)

R10

The Santa Cruz County Clerk should outline steps that have been taken to make voter registration data more secure by September 30, 2023. (F9)