Over 38 Innovative Projects Introduced to Elevate our Community
Challenges that face our community present opportunity to enhance our quality of life. Since my election to city council in 2020, over 38 innovative projects have been introduced to elevate our city - Thousand Oaks the gem of California.
01
Public Safety - Chilean Burglary Groups in Thousand Oaks
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I met with the FBI teams from Ventura and Los Angeles to evaluate federal resources focused on addressing the Chilean Burglary Groups in our community.
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In Washington, DC, I lobbied Homeland Security to require Chile's compliance with the ESTA tourist and business visa travel program by making their criminal database digitally accessible to the other 39 participating countries.
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As mayor, letters from the City of Thousand Oaks and the Ventura County of Governments were sent to the Speaker of the House, Homeland Security, DOJ, and the Secretary of State, demanding that Chile adhere to ESTA requirements.
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The Speaker of the House threatened to withhold funding if Chile did not make their criminal database digitally accessible to the other 39 ESTA countries.
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Two weeks later, Chile announced that they would comply.
02
Public Safety - License Plate Readers
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License Plate Readers (LPRs) are increasingly vital law enforcement tools that record vehicle license plates and locations in a shared database.
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In collaboration with the Thousand Oaks Police Department and Ventura County Sheriff's Department, LPRs have been strategically installed throughout the city to combat crime.
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Since their implementation, LPRs have played a crucial role in apprehending a variety of criminals, including a rapist, a bank robber, car thieves, armed robbers, and members of the Chilean Burglary Group.
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I reached out to city officials from Calabasas to Ventura, Simi Valley to Westlake, and Agoura, encouraging them to install LPRs in their cities so we can work together to keep Ventura County safe.
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Now, LPRs are in place in all Ventura County cities, except Ojai.
03
Public Safety - Presentations in Our Schools
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In collaboration with the Ventura County Sheriff, I am working on reintroducing public safety presentations in all Ventura County schools.
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This initiative aims to raise students' awareness of safety and help them see the human side of sheriff's deputies and police officers.
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The program is still in development and not yet available.
04
Reduce Water Rates
Sustainability and Reuse
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Each day, between 8 to 10 million gallons of high-quality water from our local wastewater treatment plant are released into the environment.
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By applying desalination treatment techniques and redirecting this water to the Calleguas Water Treatment Plant for reuse in our homes, we can achieve 60% independence from imported Los Angeles water and reduce our water bills by an average of $600 per year.
05
Education - Invest in our City's Children
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Support students by establishing Learning and Tutoring Centers within our apartment developments.
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I’ve negotiated with developers of new apartments to include these centers, offering students a quiet place to study and meet with tutors, helping them better understand their material and improve their grades.
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Developers see the community benefit to the city and the students.
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This initiative strengthens education through public-private partnerships, empowering our students to reach their full potential.
06
Support Job and Business Growth
ADA Compliance Workshops
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Business owners in Thousand Oaks have faced tens of thousands of dollars in fines for unknowingly failing to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
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To help educate business owners and prevent these potentially devastating penalties, the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce has conducted ADA Compliance seminars.
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At City Hall, I have advocated for providing business owners with a list of common ADA violations and resources for consulting services when they renew their licenses. This will help them avoid costly fines that could jeopardize their businesses.
07
Support Job and Business Growth
Business Development Workshops
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The COVID lockdown caused over 30% of our local businesses to close permanently - never to open again.
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We are still facing high vacancy rates and ongoing business closures.
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To help businesses open and thrive, the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce offers a series of workshops for new and existing business owners, designed to take their companies to the next level.
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The success of these workshops has given the Chamber the motivation to conduct another series soon.