Board of Supervisors approve $10 million for direct relief in Pajaro long-term recovery plan.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a long-term recovery plan for the North County community of Pajaro on Wednesday, Dec. 6, distributing $20 million in state funds. 

The supervisors agreed Tuesday to reconvene a day later to continue the conversation after several residents and allies voiced the struggles they are still facing, 10 months after floods that displaced thousand of residents from Pajaro in March. 

Many requested $12 million of the $20 million total be allocated for direct relief, instead of the $6 million the Department of Emergency Management proposed. 

“We are in a desperate need to recover from this flood," business owner Frank Chavez told the board on Tuesday, describing current times as continued survival mode. "We would like to have you reconsider the allocation of these funds for the actual recovery of our needs and the well-being and restructuring of our community.

"It's hard to look forward to when we're still dealing with the impacts of the flood."

Carmen Herrera-Mansir, executive director at El Pajaro Community Development Corporation, supported $12 million for direct relief. Herrera-Mansir noted businesses in Pajaro have received little to no aid. “Many of them are at the brink of bankruptcy,” she said. Many speakers echoed her view that residents and businesses should be a priority, rather than infrastructure projects.

On Dec. 6 when the board reconvened, DEM presented three proposals, cutting funds from different areas to put more into direct aid.

Proposal A included increasing relief to $9 million, cutting funds for a welcome sign ($500,000), a housing study ($500,000),  recreation upgrades at Pajaro Middle School ($2 million) and leaving $3 million in place for community grants. 

Proposals B and C proposed $12 million for relief, based on what several people voiced during public comment, and reducing or eliminating funds from other areas. In Plan B, community grants were eliminated while in C they were reduced by half.  

The board moved forward with option A, with a modification Supervisor Luis Alejo suggested: moving $1 million from community grants to direct relief for a total of $10 million. 

DEM Director Kelsey Scanlon says the department will return to the board early in 2023 to implement the relief disbursements as soon as possible. “Our first priority is going to be contracting for dissemination of the economic assistance for individuals, undocumented residents and small businesses,” she says. 

The $20 million funds have an expiration date, and must be spent by the end 2025.