The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 7 approved a rotation schedule for the board chair and vice chair, designated the public works director as applicant agent for a federal pre-disaster mitigation grant tied to the Ephraim Canyon flood project, authorized hiring a vacant detention booking clerk, and approved a $17,008.62 key-control system for jail staff. The board also approved its consent agenda, which included grant acceptance items and a community health needs assessment.

The board voted to adopt a three-term rotation for chairman and vice chairman covering January 7, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2028. Under the adopted schedule the first term runs Jan. 7–April 30, 2026, with the current chair serving as chairman and John Fanning as vice chairman; the second term runs May 1–Aug. 31, 2027, with John Fanning as chairman and Lisa Douglas Davis as vice chairman; and the third term runs Sept. 1–Dec. 31, 2028, with Luis Carlos Davis as chairman and the current chair as vice chairman. A motion to adopt the schedule passed without recorded opposition.

On flood control business the board approved Resolution No. 2025-1 to designate the public works director as the applicant’s agent for the pre-disaster mitigation grant identified in the meeting as PDMC-PJ-09-AZ-2019-001EMF-2020PC0014. County staff presented the request as necessary to move forward with the Ephraim Canyon retention/detention pond project; the board approved the designation by voice vote.

In jail-district business the board authorized filling a budgeted vacant detention booking clerk position and approved quotation Q-01686-3 from Genesis Resource Inc. for an automated key-control system for jail employee key access at a cost of $17,008.62. The sheriff’s office told the board the purchase will be paid from jail-district funds and that the electronic system replaces a manual key-control practice to improve accountability and tracking.

The board approved the consent agenda, which included several routine and grant-acceptance items. During discussion the chair thanked Representative Contreras Hernandez for securing funding connected to two consent items, and a supervisor said they look forward to results from a community health needs assessment contained in the consent items.

Procedural motions to recess into flood-control and jail-district sessions and to reconvene in general session passed by voice vote.

Votes at a glance
- Rotation schedule for chairman/vice chairman (Jan. 7, 2025–Dec. 31, 2028): motion adopted by voice vote; no roll-call tally recorded.
- Resolution No. 2025-1 (designate public works director as applicant agent for PDMC grant for Ephraim Canyon): motion adopted by voice vote.
- Authorize hiring: vacant detention booking clerk (budgeted): motion adopted by voice vote.
- Approve quotation Q-01686-3 with Genesis Resource Inc. for jail key-control system, $17,008.62 (jail-district funds): motion adopted by voice vote.
- Consent agenda (includes items funded in part by Representative Contreras Hernandez and a community health needs assessment): adopted by voice vote.

What the board said
Chairman Morello opened the rotation discussion, describing the three 16-month rotations that will total three terms from 2025 through 2028. When the board called for the vote the chair noted, “Hearing none, all in favor?” and the board answered in the affirmative.

Why it matters
The chair/vice chair rotation sets leadership for the next several years and the grant designation clears a procedural step required to pursue federal pre-disaster mitigation funds for a local flood-control project. The jail purchases and hiring affect day-to-day operations of the county jail and are funded from the jail district budget, not the county general fund.

Next steps
The public works director will proceed as the county’s designated applicant representative for the PDMC grant; county staff will begin the administrative work tied to that grant application and project reporting. The sheriff’s office will proceed with the Genesis Resource Inc. purchase and the county will start the recruitment process to fill the vacant booking-clerk position.