Good evening and welcome to this special meeting for Stockton City Council. Let's go ahead and do roll call. Council Member Blower. Present. Council Member Enriquez. Present. Council Member Ponce is absent. Council Member Padilla. Present. Council Member Villapadua. Present. Vice Mayor Lee. Present. And Mayor Fugazi. Present. We have a quorum. Wonderful. At this time, do we have any public comment? We do not, Mayor. Okay, so we're going to move on to item three, item for discussion. Council Member Enriquez. Yes, thank you, Mayor. Mayor and colleagues, I just wanted to share that University of the Pacific is my employer, so I would need to recuse myself. Okay. Thank you. Okay, so item 3.1, approve a resolution authorizing the city of Stockton to submit on behalf of the University of Pacific an application for fiscal year 2027 community project for a medical school in the city of Stockton. So, who will be presenting to us? Mayor, I would like to turn it over to President Callahan you got it yes welcome can never follow directions Thank You mayor Fugazi thanks to the entire council and to our city manager Johnny Ford I first wanted to say thank you if anybody questions the speed of government and the ability for a government to turn on a dime please have them call me because I can testify how fast this body moved Johnny and I talked late Thursday and this was on the docket that night and here we are less than two business days later doing this important work I'm just so grateful to all of you so thank you thank you very much You have a lot of the information. I'm just going to spend just a few minutes of going over some things on why we're here, why a school of medicine in Stockton, why University of the Pacific and why now. And it goes to the healthcare disparities. The healthcare disparities in Stockton, in the county, in the Central Valley, as you know, they are enormous and they are growing and they are largely derivative of a lack of physicians. We've been studying this for about a year now. If you look at the area, not just here in Stockton and our county, but in the entire Central Valley and truly south of Sacramento and the Bay Area and north of Los Angeles, every single county, every one, is below the bare minimum of physicians per capita. And that disparity is growing each and every day. One of the reasons for that is We have no medical schools. There are 12 MD-granting nonprofit schools of medicine in the state of California. Nine are in Southern California. Only three are in Northern California. And again, none in that entire Central Valley region. Of the nine in California, four have been built in the last dozen or so years. The last new medical school we had in Northern California was University of California at Davis nearly 60 years ago. So we think the need is very, very clear. Why Pacific? Well, there's really two reasons. One is we think it's our responsibility. We think it's our responsibility as the first and oldest university in the state of California. We think it's our responsibility as the first and oldest four-year university in the Central Valley. We believe that is part of what our responsibility is to our neighbors and our community. And second is the expertise. We have vast expertise in teaching the healthcare professions. We have our School of Pharmacy right here in Stockton. We have our School of Health Sciences with about 12 different allied health professions across all three of our campuses. We have our fantastic Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco. And we would be, when we open... and we are confident that we will open a school of medicine in 2030, we will be one of only 24 universities in the entire country, in the entire country that has a school of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and health sciences. So we think the need is there and we think we have the ability to drive this through with partnerships, with partnerships from the city of Stockton, from Congressman Harder who's been a huge advocate of this, with partnerships with the state, and the county and many of our local philanthropists and importantly healthcare providers to help provide those absolutely essential clinical experiences for our students particularly in their third and fourth year of their MD degree. So I can go on and on. The plan is if we're successful in moving forward, and we have not made that final decision, but we plan on doing that within the next, well, certainly this spring, I should say. Derivative in part on meetings like this. But we're growing in confidence that we're going to be able to do this. At its full, it will be a 400-student program. school, which would be the seventh school or college in Stockton at University of the Pacific. And importantly, the economic engine that a school of medicine provides for the community is amazing. So some of you are familiar with Thomas Pogue, who runs our Center for Business Policy at the Eberhardt School of Business. So Thomas did a study. And just the direct impact of starting a school of medicine for Stockton And the county is more than $800 million in the first 10 years. For the region, $1.3 billion, and that will grow and grow. And that does not include, quite frankly, the biggest economic drivers, which will be new research opportunities, new companies who want to come and align with a research school of medicine, and, of course, importantly, the untold dollars that are saved by having higher health care opportunities for our citizens. Do we have any public comment? We do not. Okay, so I would just like to start by saying I'm super excited about this for more than one reason. Last Friday, I met with the CEO for St. Joseph's, and I wasn't letting the cat out of the bag because we already had this posted. But as an educator, you know, we have our kids that grow up, and those that go to college usually end up ultimately going somewhere else. especially when it comes to med school. But to have somebody who can start in kindergarten, go all the way through, get their high school diploma, get their college bachelor's, and then go on to med school, and then do their residency here, they're going to stay here. And we need that. Instead of them saying, you know, oh, we're going away, we're not coming back. No. We're a great city. And if we can keep that capital, that human capital here, who will be future homeowners, maybe business owners, private practice, whatever, as well as be able to serve our community at large, I think it's a win, win, win, win, win, win, win all the way around. And so I'm excited about the opportunity. I look forward to it, seeing that you already have pretty much $70 million. for this project earmarked. Let us know how we can help with the others. I can't write you a big fat check, but I'm happy to go out and be a cheerleader for this project. And I look forward to having, you know, San Joaquin Medical Society, I know that the work that Lisa has tried to do to attract and bring medical uh... doctors here to stockton and how difficult it is and i remember talking to dean oppenheimer even at the school of pharmacy trying to bring in even professors and people are like oh i don't know but you bring a med school here uh... that that outlook on our city that perception of our city will change so thank you uh... moving on councilwoman padilla thank you mayor and i just want to say thank you to University of Pacific for bringing this opportunity to Stockton. For the public out there, I hope you understand how valuable this is to our city in the near future and the far future going on. If you could just explain briefly, if so, if we approve this letter of support, what is the next steps to completion of this project or for it to move forward? Yeah, so in terms of this particular grant, this is, as you know, a congressional appropriation from Congressman Harder, who's been a great advocate of this, that basically would cover a lot of the specialized equipment that you would need to have a 21st century school of medicine right here in Stockton. Lots of other dimensions to this project. Our timeline is, and we have it mapped out, I think, pretty carefully that we would open, we'd be welcoming that first cohort of medical school students here in Stockton in fall of 2030. I will say the process for accreditation. for a school of medicine is, suffice to say, quite arduous. And actually, I joked and I said, well, what's the fast track version of this? And they said, fall 2030. So that's the timeline that we're looking at. Okay. And as far as location, where would... this medical school be? Yeah, it's a great question. It will go on our current campus. We are a beautiful, as you know, 175-acre campus. There's about six different locations that we can put it. Some are easier than others. Some are more adjacent to some of the other healthcare, health sciences that we're doing now. That's a TBD, but we have the land. So that's not an issue. Okay. And again, I'm going to... say again how valuable this is, not only for getting the school here in our city and physicians for healthcare, but it adds on to other things. I mean, these individuals are gonna have places to live, need places to live. So our city is going to have to have future development, future business for these individuals that are coming here. And again, I can't thank you enough. Looking forward to this. And as Mayor said, echoing, our main goal here is for individuals to live here, work here, grow their family here, and grow their future here. So thank you again. Well, thank you, Councilmember. And if I could just say, and the Mayor and I have talked about this, there'll be lots of different kinds of students. My ideal student, my ideal student is a first-generation Stockton, a young woman or man who comes to our Pacific High School Institute to study pre-med for free for two weeks on our campus, comes then into our undergraduate pre-med programs through our community involvement program which really gives them the ability to be able to fund a Pacific education and then stay do their four years at our medical school, do their clinical rotations in year three and four at the vastly expanded, as you know, St. Joseph's Medical Center as part of Dignity Health, and then do their residencies here, and they will practice here. They will. So our hospitals better be gearing up for the vision to come as well. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman Blauer. Thank you, Mayor. President Callahan, I just want to thank you for being here. Today, it's not every day we get the president of the university to come do the presentation for us, so that really, you can tell that this is really, truly a big deal, and I'm just so excited at the prospect of it. The thought of bringing more doctors, and I echo the sentiments of my colleagues, that there's a good chance people will stay here, and we do need more physicians here. I know certain things like, finding a dermatologist in Stockton. There's like a small handful. Many of the specialties, it's hard to find here. So I absolutely see that as being a boon for the city and will help us down the road. And the other thing that you touched on, which I think is great, we recently had our council priority setting, and one of the main things we talked about was economic development. And what a wonderful economic development for the city of stockton to to implement this so i'm i'm just very very excited from time to time you know quite often we get things before us and you know sometimes you have to really look at it and really think about it and struggle which way am i going this is not one of those this is a a no-brainer so i'm fully in support and i just wish you nothing but the best in anything we can do to help you in this endeavor please please don't hesitate Well, thank you, Councilman Blauer. And I will say it's an honor for me to be here in front of the city council. So thank you. Vice Mayor Lee. Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, President Callahan, for the presentation. I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person. And I look forward to meeting you at some time in the future. But I'll just save us all a bunch of time. I agree with everything that the mayor said. Also, what Councilman Padilla said. My sister, ironically, did all of her pre-med work. education at UOP and then ended up having to go to Howard University to finish her doctorate degree before going into the Air Force. So I know personally how passionate people in the community are about health care and wanting to pursue their doctorate, having watched her do that. And so it's great. I'm sure she's going to be happy and also mad that she wasn't able to go to med school right here at home and she had to go all the way to D.C. But anyway, I think it's great for future opportunities, especially when we go around and talk with medical assistants who want to become RNs and then RNs who want to become doctors. To be able to continue to pursue this profession right here at home is important. So, of course, I support this as well. I do have one question, just a technical question, maybe for the city attorney or city manager's office. or maybe the mayor can help, when organizations apply through the city, what is the city's involvement with that application once that happens? And then secondly, is there any participation, oversight, not that we have to have oversight, I'm just trying to understand what is our role after they apply through the city? Aren't we the financial then overseers of the grant? That is correct. It's more of a pass-through that the grant will be coming through us. We will be filing the application on behalf of the University of Pacific. Okay. Okay. And if there's ever any ceremonial doctoral presentations, the whole council, we can become doctors of the university. But, no, again, this is great. And thank you for all the work that you're doing to lead the school and our community. Well, thank you, Vice Mayor Lee. And I will just add that Howard, of course, is a fantastic school of medicine. It is 3,000 miles away. We missed your sister, but let's make sure we have your sister's children come here to study pre-med and then come to the University of the Pacific School of Medicine. Councilman Villalpudo. Yeah, as well. I just want to agree with my colleagues. Thank you, President, for the presentation. Thank my colleagues for making this happen, as well as the city manager working quickly. This is a win-win, especially in our city, having more surgeons, having more doctors. This is going to provide jobs for... all around even even the business owners around restaurants all types of things so i'm very excited about that so i thank you and your team for everything you guys are doing in our community go tigers thank you councilmember i i was just as as my colleagues were speaking you know i thought about access uh and having some of my family members who've attended pacific who had dreams or aspirations of becoming a doctor. But then for whatever reason, it just didn't work out. But knowing that they could still live at home, they could still get that medical degree and be right here, I think will open up doors for more students. Because you look at CIP students, the reason why they're in CIP is because they have need. They're from here and they have needs that cannot they cannot overcome without that program. And from there, they could then, like I said, take that degree and come to Pacific for their medical school degree, I think will allow more, not less, to go on that pathway that they always dreamt about. And so, yeah. uh i'm we're all in full support i i think i'm uh if there's nobody else i will entertain a motion second we all want a second i guess i made the motion then if they seconded me so uh council please vote we actually have to do a roll call vote oh uh council member blower yes council member ricas is recused council member ponce is absent council member padilla yes council member via padua Yes. Vice Mayor Lee? I heard it. He said yes. And Mayor Fugazi? Yes. We have a full vote. Yes. Yes. Motion carries. Yes. 5-0. 5-0. Thank you. Yes, yes, yes. So let's go. Thank you all. We're indebted, and we will keep you. to date and like I said within this spring we will have we should be ready to make an announcement well I hope to still be around I'm a long timer not a short timer here in Stockton in 2030 and I'd like nothing more than to high-five our students as they come onto campus to get that medical degree and you know I have family members that like I said that I will be pushing in that direction so thank you very much thank you all Okay, with that, that is our one and only item on the agenda, so move to adjourn. Second. Okay, do we need to do a roll call on that? Can I just say adjourn? We're adjourned, thank you.