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Since a dedicated deployment on First Street may not be feasible under current police <br /> staffing, the Council should consider directing the City Manager to either deploy Reserve <br /> forces of the PD or contract with the County Sheriff to back up SAPID Operations to assist <br /> with deterring drug use/crime and attraction from transients and others along First St <br /> and other Santa Ana streets. <br /> The City can use the unused salaries budgeted for the new, additional officers for FY 22- <br /> 23. <br /> I am not clear what if any role the Quality-of-Life Team should play in this situation. The <br /> feedback I got from City Net in this regard was hazy and lacked clear specifics. Of <br /> course, they were not available over the weekend as they only work Monday-Friday. <br /> It is also not clear what value City Net provides since the County Shelters are at capacity <br /> and they can only work with the Police Department for a placement at Lumanati when <br /> an individual has a 90-day relationship within the City. <br /> Amanda of City Net told me that a possible reason for the unusual bulge in the First <br /> Street transient population may have been due to the dry(vs wet) weather. Yet, it has <br /> been more than a few days since the last rain and this does not seem feasible. <br /> One possibility is that it was rumored that a large distribution of crack cocaine hit First <br /> St early in the day. I do not have evidence of this, but, as I stated in the above, did <br /> observe what seemed to be drug use along First St. <br /> This is a very serious condition and I hope it is just an aberration. Children will or have <br /> moved into the affordable apartments next to 2222. Children and families visit our Zoo. <br /> Also, as most of you know, senior citizens, most of them women and many disabled, live <br /> at 2222 East First St. <br /> Children, families, the elderly and the disabled should not fall victim to circumstances <br /> outside their control. <br /> It is obvious that with the County shelter at capacity for the short term, the limitations <br /> on a placement at Lumanati, and the limits of Police resources, there is a critical need to <br /> reconsider how current resources can be more effectively used. <br /> There is no fast sustainable answer, but we should agree not to let that limit us in the <br /> short term. <br /> VICTOR D MENDEZ <br /> 3 <br />