CORRESPONDENCE - 85A - Laserfiche WebLink

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Salas, Diana From: Nathaniel Greensides <mynci90@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2020 7:51 PM To: eComment Subject: Public Comment for Agenda Item No. 85A - May 19 City Council meeting I am Nathaniel Greensides and I am in support of the item. I do appreciate all that the City Clerk's office and City Manager's office has done all throughout the COVID-19 crisis and hope that we may be able to find a workable solution to keep residents engaged. Many residents of Santa Ana waited to be able to speak via telephone on May 5th to request that city council not only maintain the Rent Freeze, but EXTEND it as well so as to align with the eviction moratorium. They were not able/allowed to do so. There are a lot of community members who don't have access to email - many of which are older and/or Spanish speaking - and they should be able to thus call in and make public comments especially on matters which directly regard the community. Those who were unsuccessful in malting their voice heard at the last meeting (on May 5th) were severely discouraged especially since the matter was regarding the ability to remain in Santa Ana. Before COVID-19, it was much easier for residents to show up to City council chambers and make public comments on both specific agenda items as well as non -agenda items. Accessibility of making comments in City Council Meetings has decreased with each and every city council meeting held since the shelter in place emergency orders were put into effect. Residents who wish to remain civically engaged during this pandemic should still be able to make public comments by calling in and waiting their turns. Furthermore, the changed procedure of allowing public comments on agenda items ONLY via ecommentsna,santa-ana.org was not previously the procedure. (Previous avenues included YouTube Live comments as well as " [PROVIDING] A COMMENT AT THE TIME THE ITEM IS BEING DISCUSSED") As such, people were blindsided by the change. Thank you again for continuing to find ways to allow for community engagement and input on city matters. Sincerely, Nathaniel Greensides