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REQUEST FOR <br />COUNCIL ACTION <br />CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: <br />SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 <br />TITLE: <br />RECEIVE AND FILE LETTER TO THE <br />COUNTY OF ORANGE REGARDING THE <br />CITY'S SUPPORT OF COUNTY'S LEGAL <br />ACTION AGAINST THE ORANGE COUNTY <br />NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAM <br />{STRATEGIC PLAN NO. 1 and 51 <br />I Y MANAGER <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: <br />APPROVED <br />❑ As Recommended <br />❑ As Amended <br />❑ Ordinance on 181 Reading <br />❑ Ordinance on 2nd Reading <br />❑ Implementing Resolution <br />❑ Set Public Hearing For <br />CONTINUED TO <br />FILE NUMBER <br />Receive and file letter to the County of Orange related to County's legal action against the <br />Orange County Needle Exchange Program. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Beginning in February 2016, the Orange County Needle Exchange Program (OCNEP) began <br />operating a needle exchange program in the Civic Center adjacent to the City Council Chambers. <br />The program operations resulted in acute public safety concerns which compelled the City to <br />terminate the Memorandum of Understanding between the City and OCNEP, in November 2017. <br />During the almost two years of operating a needle exchange program by OCNEP, the quanities <br />of used and discarded syringes in the Civic Center became unmanageable, with no adequeate <br />plan of mitigration or disposal ever presented by OCNEP. The City and County of Orange, <br />through the Civic Center Authority, was forced to install various needle disposal bins in the Civic <br />Center in an attempt to mitigate needle litter in the Civic Center. <br />OCNEP submitted a new application to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), to <br />operate a mobile program in various cities, including Santa Ana. This application was approved <br />by the CDPH despite the City's strong objections and documented public safety concerns raised <br />by the Chief of Police. <br />On August 3, 2018, the County of Orange Board of Supervisors voted to commenece legal action <br />against OCNEP. The City Manager has written a letter (Exhibit 1) to County of Orange CEO, <br />Frank Kim, outlining the City's endorsement of the County's efforts to halt the operation of the <br />mobile needle exchange. <br />6513-1 <br />