Verbal CommunicationsFrom:Yuki torrey
To:PublicComment
Subject:Verbal Communications - Non Agenda Item
Date:Tuesday, August 4, 2020 12:31:01 AM
Hello I am Yuki Torrey and I graduated from Los Gatos High School in 2018 and am
currently a University student. I am contacting you to see if the Town Council has a plan to address sending on Law enforcement and having a community discussion about Law
Enforcement in our Town.
I recently learned that 37% of the general fund goes to LGMSPD, and I am contacting you to urge to take action to defund from the police department and take action to invest in
community solutions to combat racism in our community. We need to implement community solutions ( and I do not mean community policing) to keep BIPOC in our community safe, and
37% of the general fund going to law enforcement is unacceptable. There have been efforts in Los Angeles and other cities to shift funds to invest in community and solutions that will
create safety and not continue the cycle of criminalization of marginalized people.
Thank you for your time and consideration.Yuki Torrey
August 4, 2020
Dear Madam Mayor, Council members and Town Staff,
Thank you for working for us thru this tough time with so many challenges. We
appreciate your commitment.
Regarding Public Comment on items NOT on today’s Council Meeting Agenda:
While the Town has been able to manage police services so that there is good
response times, lower than average for the County crime rates, and good overall
community engagement between police and citizens. I also recognize that 78%
of our officers have completed crisis training (2017/18 Santa Clara Grand Jury
Report), and the Town has recently provided additional funding for such training,
many citizens support such further training, not just for crisis, but to deal with
racial and social issues that are now manifesting in Town. Such issues are
festering in various neighborhoods and social confrontations are increasing, both
in numbers and severity that could lead to violence. Additionally, growing data
shows mental and emotional instability increasingly leads to escalating physical
conflicts and threats that lead to harm and later police involvement.
Further, there could be significant benefit, both in quality of service, emotional
and social outcome and cost reduction, it the Town also contracted for
professional social service providers to work with first responders to assist such
calls when at the time of notice such responders were deployed. This could
reduce aggressive confrontations, the possibility of further escalation (as shown
in other communities) of short and long term consequences for all parties
involved.
Perhaps further contracting with other surrounding municipalities or the county
(as we do for fire services) could be a good part of such a remedy.
Please agenda this for further research, discussion and action based on
resources needed to provide such care to our folks. Additionally, as sworn
officers retire/depart our PD, this could be a way of replacing with such well
qualified social workers who could also be engaged with our fire services
emergency responders.
Thank you for your consideration of this issue and I believe there is a good
number of folks in our Town who would like to help with any further research as
needed to determine the best methods going forward.
Take care,
Lee Fagot
From: Rob Moore
Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2020 2:22 AM
To: Town Manager <Manager@losgatosca.gov>; Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Public Comment Town Council 8/4
Dear Mayor and Town Council,
My name is Rob Moore and I am a resident of Los Gatos and a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.
As you know, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and so many unnamed others have been killed because of our country’s systematically racist criminal justice system. In our town, we have heard the outcries from so many members of our community and seen injustice in front of us every day. Our town has a history of racism that affects our black and brown neighbors every day. As the elected representatives of our town, we have trusted you with our votes to right this wrong. In the multiple, peaceful demonstrations we have seen in our town, thousands of organizers and protesters have called for Los Gatos to take steps towards making our town a more accepting place for all.
In light of all of this, I ask that in today’s review of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department, you reallocate some of the funds currently directed toward the police department to other programs and alternative forms of policing, such as community policing, community development, affordable housing, and/ or a specific diversity, equity, and inclusion line item. As mentioned by Los Gatos residents involved in coordinating demonstrations, our town allocates significantly more funding to our police department than our neighboring towns like Saratoga.
I believe this is a small request to begin to address the massive inequities and systems of oppression that have been perpetuated by centuries of governmental inaction. Though this will not fix the problem, it will move our town in a positive direction and demonstrate a tangible commitment to addressing systematic racism.
Thank you for all you do for the Town of Los Gatos and for your consideration.
Yours in service,
Rob Moore
From:Kira Barsten
To:PublicComment
Subject:Verbal Communications – Non Agenda Item
Date:Tuesday, August 4, 2020 10:23:26 AM
Hello Mayor and Council Members,
I am writing to you to emphasize the importance of revisiting the Town's budget in light of
our nation's reckoning with racial inequities.
I would like to see the Town Council genuinely discuss opportunities to reallocate funding
and resources from the LGMSPD into professional social workers who can deal with non-
violent incidents (youth intervention, mental health resources, etc.). We ask police to do too
much, and this is not a efficient use of resources.
I also would like to see more discussion around the use of funds, as well as Town policies,
to promote and support more affordable housing efforts. Los Gatos is economically and
racially segregated in effect due to 1) a racist and discriminatory past, but now 2) very
expensive housing. This is also relevant to your pandemic response, as many folks losing
their jobs will struggle to afford housing. Furthermore, this is a matter of sustainability; the
more expensive it is to live in Los Gatos, the more people will have to drive to work in our
town rather than live here.
Please revisit the budget and direct staff to develop ACTION plans for addressing these
concerns.
Thank you,
Kira Barsten
Resident
From:Sarah Hollingsworth
To:PublicComment
Subject:Verbal Communications - Non Agenda Item for August 4, 2020 Council Meeting
Date:Tuesday, August 4, 2020 4:16:50 PM
Hello Councilmembers,
I am so pleased to know that several councilmembers have expressed support of the Black
Lives Matter Movement. By saying this, I know that many of you are committed to workingtoward a more equitable future for ourselves and the legacy we leave for our children. It is
time to take anti-racist action by dismantling the structures of white supremacy on which thiscountry and our cities and towns were built.
As it stands, there are not effective strategies implemented to support our marginalized
residents. It is imperative that we divest from police and invest in community-led services thatare trained and funded to help our community thrive. Such services are needed regarding
homelessness, mental health, domestic violence, at-risk youth, and veteran services, just toname a few.
This information is not new, and plans to implement these services are already available from
organizations that have done the research. It is a matter of having those same BIPOC at thetable to help make these decisions. Our country was intentionally built with oppressive
structures in place, but it is possible to re-imagine an equitable and just society.
Speaker, producer, and best-selling author, Austin Channing Brown encourages us saying,"What if instead of longing for ease, we were made for more - made to advocate, made to dig
in, made to speak out, made for complexity, made for this moment? What if we believed sodeeply in our own capacity to rise to this occasion that getting to work wasn’t a tiring chore,
but a life-giving opportunity to invest in something larger than ourselves?"
Thank you, Sarah Hollingsworth
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