City Council Meeting December 4, 2012

0:00:01thank you for all coming tonight this is the December 4th 2012 regular city council meeting and I'd like to have a former roll call please councilmember benicini here councilmember Chang here councilmember Abelson here mayor Pro tem Lyman here and mayor Jones here thank you

0:00:23and uh council member benazini lead us in the pledge please rise and join me and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice law well thank you do we have any staff communication tonight thank you your honor I would like to introduce El Cerrito's

0:01:02new librarian Liz rulin um and she would like to come up and say a few words and introduce herself to the council we're excited to have her in the community Liz great welcome excuse me good evening mayor Jones and members of the members of the council my name is

0:01:20Liz Ruland I am new to the El Cerrito Library I've been there about two months I'm very very excited to be um serving the El Cerrito Community I come from um Contra Costa County Library I've been with the library for 12 years now I manage the Kensington library for seven

0:01:37years and I live in Berkeley so I'm very familiar with this area of the county and I'm just very pleased to be working at the El Cerrito library and I'll be working with staff in the coming month months to improve the look of the library and services there Etc and I

0:01:54welcome um any comments from the council and the larger Community thank you very much thank you any other staff communication Council yeah I've got at least one I think we all received in the mail a notification of a public participation hearing this is for PG E's smart meter program

0:02:19they've got a number of dates coming up uh not many of them not hardly any of them are near us but it is still an opportunity for you guys to provide a comment on Smart Meters their website it's at the actual the California Public Utilities Commission so cpuc dot CA dot gov slash puc is the

0:02:46website where you could find information out about the smart meter program that's that's going on the other thing that I would like to encourage people in the audience or at home is is our appointments we we do have appointments uh many appointments for our boards and commissions that are

0:03:07open um there is a it's called the Maddie act and that is available on our website so you can see what positions are open and I would encourage everyone to go and look at what positions are open and fill out an application I believe the application deadline is Monday December

0:03:3210th so next Monday so that's I'm encouraging everybody to go look at what boards and commission positions are available well thank you um next I'll ask the city clerk to announce the next agenda item please next item oral Communications from the public and we have one speaker slip

0:03:54Al Miller good evening mayor Jones it's a shame almost that's the last time I'll be able to say that and fellow council members I have two items tonight one is Saturday December 15th at nine o'clock halfway up Moser right where Sea View meets Mosher we will once again be

0:04:17erecting the magic of the Sunder shoddy holiday display uh I'm sorry I don't have the details on where to go earlier than that but anybody that wants to help with the installation of that if you show up then that's where the action will be after the trucks bring all of the Lambs and

0:04:37the dogs and the angels and the camels we get to see the fire department working out and part of their physical fitness program that day the other thing I wanted to say is just a quick thank you to the council as a whole but particularly to council member Chan and mayor Jones since this is their

0:04:55last one I know we'll hear more about the accomplishments of the council from the individuals leaving but I just wanted to add my thanks and one thing that it's kind of hard to convey because we haven't faced that problem for so long but it's just I want you to know that the people I talk to in

0:05:17the city and myself I'm very thankful for your efforts uh in keeping our Council going and keeping our city going and for the fact that we don't read about you in the West County Times for the mistakes you make or for unexplicable things you do [Music] and that's very nice thank you

0:05:38well thank you any other comments no mayor okay next agenda item please next agenda item for presentations of proclamation recognizing Terry McKeever well that's good one of the Pleasures that the council has recognizing residents for accomplishments and being a great

0:06:04representative of the city of El Cerrito and I think you'll see that both of the recipients tonight they not only are being recognized for something they did but I think you'll notice that they go above and beyond uh just the event that they're being recognized for being good people and uh

0:06:27contributing to the community as well as the greater good um Terry McKeever I for those of you you can get a copy of it this is uh the proclamation I'm not necessarily going to read the whole thing but what's interesting is this I got a call from one of our residents uh

0:06:47Jim godella right before the Olympics and he out of the blue and he says do you know who's coaching the the Olympic swim team this year and I said well Jim a matter of fact I do it's the Cal swim coach he says yeah but do you know that she lives in El Cerrito and I said no I I don't know she

0:07:09lived in El Cerrito which is great so like many of us um and throughout the country I guess we we watched on television and watched the Olympic Swim Team from elsewhere from the United States uh dominate a dominant performance and what is really interesting as the

0:07:31proclamation says is um Terry McKeever was is the first woman to coach the Olympic team in the history and there's not a whole lot of coaches if you go back the Olympics is every four years and it's quite an honor but what it also says is that she is one of the foremost coaches nationally

0:07:56and internationally currently in the swim profession so that's really good in our and really proud and happy that she lives in El Cerrito she she her it was a rough start to start out her uh her undergraduate and graduate education because she went to USC [Music]

0:08:24and actually though she didn't really have a choice her family was if you read about her family they all went to SC so but after coaching a little [ __ ] she came up to Berkeley and started her career at Cal and she's been here for uh 21 years which is a long time in the coaching

0:08:51profession to be at one University especially a major university like Cal she's had a lot of accolades Through The Years pac-10 coach of the year um she's been the American coach of the year she's been an assistant at the Olympics she's been at the head coach the World Championships she just has a

0:09:18lot of things but one of them going back to her undergraduate work one of the I think very uh one of the the characteristics that stands out is in 1983 she was USC's outstanding student athlete and that's quite an honor especially from a institution like SC um she is known and proud to have

0:09:47trained a lot of Olympic Champions throughout the years but what caught my eye was a couple weeks ago uh she she was mentioned in the news because one of the swimmers from the Olympic team a multi metal winner decided to come to Cal and in the article it points out

0:10:11that this swimmer was very serious about going to college and competing so much so that she's passed up several million dollars in endorsements and and whatever from that to pursue her college career and she would be one that just every program in the nation probably would

0:10:32like to have this athlete but what was interesting in the article it said that before they made the final commitment coach McKeever asked the athlete to sit down and go let's for the the two of them to go over what goals and accomplishments this student would like to see and make

0:10:54sure that Cal was a great fit for her now I can't imagine somebody like the football coach at Alabama who goes after and gets the best running back in the country to go up and say well wait a minute before you really sign the dotted line let's go over and see if Alabama

0:11:13fits your your uh your goals and I can't imagine them saying geez it looks like Alabama doesn't I'm sorry maybe you should go to another school yet that's the type of program that coach McKeever runs it at Cal so I I would like to read the first and the last paragraphs in in

0:11:36the proclamation here it says whereas Terry McKeever a resident of El Cerrito is regarded as one of the best swimming mentors in the United States she is head coach of Cal Berkeley's women's swimming and Diving program was assistant coach to the U.S Olympic women's team in

0:11:542004-2008 it was named head coach for the night for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London the first woman to serve as head coach of the U.S men Women's National Team at the Olympics and then all the accolades and we get down to the end therefore the city council of the

0:12:14city of El Cerrito does hereby recognize and commend Terry McKeever on her accomplishments not only as head coach of the U.S Olympic women's swimming team for 2012 Summer Olympics and head coach at California Golden Bear women's swim team but also for making strides for

0:12:34female coaches and Athletics and the field of swimming so coach McKeever thank you very much and would like to present this to you at this time [Applause] [Music] thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you great thank you thank you I just want to thank the mayor and the

0:13:41the council for this um honor it's very um I was very surprised when I got the email and am very humbled and I just appreciate it um kind of ironically when I was sitting back here um I bought my first home in El Cerrito in July of 2004 and had someone move me in so when I got home from the Athens

0:14:05Olympics um I walked in the brand new house in El Cerrito and um you know I've been here ever since and I met my husband since then I convinced him to move from San Francisco to El Cerrito so um and and just it's it's been um just actually buying that house and

0:14:24and moving there was a really really important step for me personally and and professionally and so it just kind of I I was just sitting there just thinking it's been a wonderful place to live and and um and I just appreciate the recognition from the city and and hopefully we'll

0:14:41get to bring a lot of more attention and notoriety to Cal and and the city in a very positive way so thank you very much for those of you that like to uh like how they met stories and with Valentine's couple months away you may want to look up on the Internet uh coach

0:15:06McKeever and how uh she met her husband and I won't spoil it other than to say it it involves uh Cal football in a backpack so you may want to take a look at that on the internet well thank you very much the next Proclamation that the city council would like to present is to Dr

0:15:28Carol Tang and Dr Tang is a resident of El Cerrito and a graduate of El Cerrito and grew up in El Cerrito she has been chosen as one of 12 California women distinguished as leading women in stem which stands for science technology engineering and math by the California stand Learning Network

0:15:53which is an organization that works to bring systematic change to how stem is taught and learned in California if you take a look at Dr Tang's credentials which is probably longer than Al Capone's rap sheet uh it is really it is really great she has a ba from paleontology from UC

0:16:20Berkeley and an MS and PhD in geographical science from the University of Southern California um she has worked as an assistant professor in geology at Arizona State University and was one of the first co-investigators with the uh NASA astrobiology Institute before becoming a

0:16:51senior science editor our educator excuse me at the California Academy of Science in 2001 and I I don't know about you but when was the last time you hung out with an astrobiologist there's there's not too many of them right doctor what what is really nice about this and

0:17:18the reason why that the council's recognizing Dr Tang besides living in El Cerrito and growing up and going through the schools was that she probably could have worked with her background in just about any place in the United States and probably any place in the world do an advanced

0:17:39research uh but instead she came back to the Bay Area and began working as as part of her work uh promoting the science technology engineering and math for our next generation and if you've been following uh some of the governmental and Private Industry goals one of them is is we're lacking

0:18:03and these types of people coming up and this program and program like it is trying to get more people into the Sciences so that we can continue to to go forward as as we all know things are exploding and going forward in a very fast way technology wise so I would just like to read the last

0:18:32paragraph here it says now therefore the city council the city of El Cerrito does hereby recognizing command Dr Carol Tang on her designation as one of 12 women honored as leading women in stem and for her significant contributions in working to advance and recognize the importance

0:18:51of education for youth so thank you Dr Tang you want to come up and we'll present the proclamation [Applause] it's funny that the official City photographs huh I really have to move this microphone down well I want to thank the mayor the council and the staff of El Cerrito for

0:20:09this great honor um as was mentioned earlier I grew up in um El Cerrito and was a product of the Richmond Unified School District proudly I went to um Fairmont El Monte Adams and El Cerrito High School only two of which are still around today and um I would say that my experience with

0:20:30the teachers and the community of el Cerritos really influence what I've done I believe that all children have something to share with the world and I know that the teachers of El Cerrito and the Richmond Unified School District believed in me and I got me to where I

0:20:45am and so I want to repay back not just the our community but the Next Generation let them have the same opportunities I had as well I talk a lot about uh growing up in El Cerrito and and um the kinds of passionate teachers who really made a difference in all of our

0:21:02lives and that is one of my motivating factors the other thing I did want to say about El Cerrito is it's funny because both sides of my family my mother's side and my father's side we've all congregated in El Cerrito by coincidence all none of us um we didn't start out here and so

0:21:18everyone's migrated here my cousins still go to El Cerrito High School and so somehow some some way thousands of miles away we all ended up in this great City and a year and a half ago I ended up buying a home here in El Cerrito as well and so kind of completing the

0:21:35circle and I hope that the kinds of changes that we're all working toward can make the school and educational experience my two-year-old son is going to experience at maybe Madera maybe the new Portola and El Cerrito High School hopefully he's going to be able to

0:21:50benefit from the passion that I receive but also a much more improved school system that has the funding and the support and the community passion behind it we're going to need that to look forward to the future so thank you so much for this honor today and I hope we

0:22:07all get to work together in in helping Force the Next Generation so thank you foreign [Applause] thank you very much um I got to ask you this and I know we talked a little bit before but I was reading an article that Virgin Airlines has a spaceship and if all goes well in

0:22:31the next 18 months within the next 18 months they're actually going to start taking passengers to go up high in the atmosphere do you have any desire to do that um I'll just tell you what I was a marine biology major at one time and I get so seasick ologist because everything

0:22:55happens already okay well I'll take your word for it and I'll stay right here also thank you very much next item please next item is the adoption of the consent The public's attention to item 5B we have the certified results attached to an updated item the county registrar's

0:23:27certification thank you is it true they had to count the votes three times on this one all right um okay okay I'm happy to move adoption of consent and calendar items 5A through 5c second it's been moved and seconded on the motion all those in favor aye aye opposed motion carries thank you

0:23:53next item please uh item six recognition of city council members who are leaving office which would be mayor Jones and council member Chang okay wait a minute we have a script here okay thank goodness okay um well it is as it's been pointed out uh council member Chang and and myself are

0:24:21will be leaving we're concluding our terms and we'll be leaving the the council and I'd like to ask council member Chang to acknowledge any of the family and friends she would like to at this point sure I just want to say my husband taking photos Wiley Osborne has been an

0:24:38amazing uh Rock of support through all this so thank him and family members who are at home good okay at this time well I would like to uh then recognize my family members here I've got my uh my wife and uh life partner are 38 years Gail is here and my son Christopher many of you know

0:25:06know Chris my daughter Haley and her husband James and my sister and her husband Brian thank you for coming my my father who's a great supporter and of all of us wasn't able to make it here tonight but uh I know he that he he thinks it's a special night and I appreciate that and

0:25:31I do want to say that uh if everything goes right come June we'll be welcoming a new member of the family as my daughter Haley and her husband James are expecting their first child so we're looking forward to that [Applause] so at this time I'd like to present council member Chang with plaque of the

0:25:56city and some some flowers thank you very much Anne it's been great thank you [Music] [Laughter] so much um so I can't believe it's it's happened already so quickly um actually I think back on four years ago when I first got started I actually got married four days on November 1st

0:26:36before the election it was a crazy year 2008 um and and just looking back kind of on my life Arc and what what where I've come from where I've been um having grown up in El Cerrito gone to Castro Adams and a little bit of El Cerrito High it's been such an honor and

0:26:57privilege to be able to afford to come back to elsewhere to live with my husband my mom's still in town my cousins and um and to really see the inside workings of all the staff the incredible leadership of Scott Hannon our city manager are my incredible Council

0:27:17colleagues currently and all the past you know great role models and leaders that really set the stage and made this probably I have to say I I feel so lucky to have been a cohort and a member of this leadership group of El Cerrito because I've said it in the past

0:27:37throughout the region it's you know this level of cooperation and collegiality and respect is not is just not common um it's we're very lucky lucky I think the region and really is starting to see us more and more as a leader um on you know the little city that can

0:27:57and that does and does a lot we get such a great bang for our tax dollars um and so I think everyone from you know from the the Street Maintenance folks to child care workers to the cops to the fire I mean everyone it's it's an amazing ecology that is the community

0:28:17that we live in um and and all the leaders you know from Al Miller and all the community groups out there everybody is doing their part and that's what makes it work and um I I never thought I didn't I didn't expect that coming in and it's just the most amazing gift

0:28:33um to have have witnessed it directly and to be inspired by all the amazing players um I have even more hope um in humanity because of you all in what you do and contribute um despite having gotten to witness the implosion of Redevelopment and the state budget and you know so many things but

0:28:55despite that we'll persist elsuda will still be here we we keep plugging away and if we keep going at the rate we've done for the last decade I mean it's it's incredible um what has changed so much so quickly and and in a way I feel like the more we change the more we get to stay the same

0:29:14in terms of you know keeping this next Generation like I got to grow up here and I think so many folks who did grow up here would come back if there was you know more vibrancy more life and we're starting to do that and I'm I'm loving that I can brag that we have a you know

0:29:28Hometown Brewery now and great theater and you know really beautiful streets and you know just change is good and and it's good because we all get a seat at the table we're all welcomed to be in the meeting rooms at the table um and that's not you know that's just

0:29:46not common and and I'm very proud of that and our heritage our Collective identity as a community in the the the Bay Area I think you know we're we're just a bunch of awesome leaders that are rock stars but everybody's so humble and just you know they don't they don't

0:30:05expect it they don't expect attitude and thanks but everybody does their part and um and and it's just it makes it work and so thanks thanks again for amazing ride I I'm looking forward to taking a seat next to Al Miller in the future on the other side of the dice

0:30:24uh looking forward to the San Pablo Avenue plan hopefully that'll come back to you all um you know we've got incredible resources and lots of people want to to live and work and and be a part of our community and I think again we're so unique in that most communities are like

0:30:42no we don't need more people we're good and and we realize we have this incredible resource called you know proximity location Transit walkability you know great Shops and and and resources and I think that's completely it is just so inspirational and it makes me really proud

0:31:04somebody else reading so um uh and there's just so much I I can't go go I don't want it going on but you know from the animal ordinance to the you know legalizing chickens to um you know supporting our theater to you know passing our budgets there's I I've grown multiple folds in my gray

0:31:27matter up there and um and I really appreciate that everybody's patience and opportunity to get to know you all through this so thank you well I have a few comments I hope I don't put you all to sleep on this one but uh you know what's interesting is some of you know that I I worked for cities in

0:31:52the past and it was department heads and would have to go to City Council meetings and at that time at least one city I worked for we had to go to Every meeting whether we had an agenda item or not and at that time we were meeting every week this was way back and but there was times after some of

0:32:13those meetings where I left the meeting and saying there is no way I would be on a city council no way not all the time but there weren't there were nights I went went home shaking my head saying I don't think so so when the the chance came to serve I really did hesitate

0:32:34I thought I had a fairly good background working in city government thought I had a good background to at least be considered but um really had to think about it and I it came down to check in with my family and as all of us know here you just don't run as an individual if you have a

0:32:56family uh it's critical that they support you it makes your job and your life a whole lot easier when you're serving on something like a city council and you also though you soon realize you're representing your family as well as yourself so I try to remind myself every time I I

0:33:17come to a council meeting that that very fact that we're representing our family and for the most part that's worked out but there was a few times where I put my foot in my mouth and wasn't very happy with the way things turned out and I would go home and Gail would say well how'd it go tonight and I

0:33:39say well I'll put my foot in my mouth again this time and usually she would say no that's all right it wasn't as bad as you think and and on being very supportive and but there was one time where I came back and and said you know geez I I really didn't do it it was

0:33:56actually at a meeting with another agency and she says well maybe that's something that had to be said and I said well yeah maybe but probably not the way I said it so um but for the most part it it's been great and I've got to uh thank my wife um eight years and I can't remember her

0:34:15ever commenting or complaining that well do you really have to go to that tonight or do you really have to uh do we really have to change our plans so that you can attend whatever the the issue was and um that is really great eight years of of that I really thank you

0:34:38the other thing is my my kids it was a big decision to make my kids was involved and really talked me into it they thought that I would be do uh have a pretty good shot and and would do well and I really appreciated that but I didn't know if they were thinking that

0:34:57maybe that's a way of getting me out of the house a little more or was it put up or shut up time since we used to engage and still do quite a bit in in politics and um but they've been great throughout and and uh people now that they're obviously adults uh people you can talk to uh on

0:35:19serious matters and and get some honest uh opinions so I like to thank them I think the biggest uh accomplishment uh is being part of an organization here the the city employees the resident volunteers serving on the boards and the committee and the commissions

0:35:40the council members as well as all the residents that we work together to provide what El Cerrito residents want and I really think that that's been the biggest accomplishment in eight years here it's an organizational effort and we all have important roles and

0:35:59responsibilities all to keep our community what it is a great community I think uh to start with a lot of the credit goes for keeping the organization functioning and focused on a daily basis goes to our city manager Scott Hannon um he shapes and encourages an environment of Service First and

0:36:22transparency and operation uh he encourages the use of of the staff's knowledge the their Progressive expertise and hard work at all levels in areas of the organization to implement the desired required and needed Services programs and projects whether it is at the city at the

0:36:46recycling center the senior center Public Safety on our streets at our homes or at our businesses they're permitting planning and inspection for buildings and other developments individual attention and sensitivity that is given to our child care participants the maintenance of our public spaces and

0:37:07Facilities interacting with neighbor neighboring cities towns and agencies getting sound legal advice and keeping our city physically sound and responsive to the requirements of being a general law city in California you will find serious employees who take pride in interacting and providing

0:37:28services to our residents not everything goes as planned this is a daily operation and nothing goes perfectly all the time but what impresses me is when things are not on track our staff has the desire and the ability and the creativity to correct and improve situations and go

0:37:50forward in a positive and productive manner my sincere thanks and appreciation to the men and women who work for the residents of El Cerrito and I'd like to specially thank Mary Dodge and Jerry Bradshaw for all the years of service that they've put in for us the city is better for it and I wish

0:38:11the best for them in the future there's a there's a lot of benefits nice things I should say also on being on the council and and one of them is meeting and getting to know former council members you begin to realize as you meet these people that El Cerrito has been

0:38:29fortunate to have good dedicated people who have served each will have a different point of view and unique experiences to bring to the job and and they did uh but most if not all serve to contribute to the operational success of the city and to improve the quality of life

0:38:52um I've been very fortunate and had the pleasure of serving with great people on three different councils along with my current fellow members here on the council I've had the pleasure to serve with former mayors and council members Sandy Potter Leticia Moore and new member Jan

0:39:10Bridges I've learned a great deal while sharing ideas and points of view with them all and I'd like to thank the current members for their dedication the leadership and the unwavering sense of purpose as we tended to the city's business these last few years uh Janet is is well known for

0:39:30representing the city of El Cerrito on Regional boards that has resulted in several grants as well as letting people know that El Cerrito is alive and well and Greg and his attention to detail which has served El Cerrito well especially on the waste management board

0:39:49and the Gilman's Sports field joint Powers Authority as well as many other things I also have to mention that at least the members here up here know that Greg is a great Oakland A's fan and he and his wife have uh I don't want to say religiously but uh have maintained all these years going to

0:40:14games and rooting on the A's and so it was very uh with a great deal of pleasure as you know in the Bay Area we had a great year of professional baseball for those of us that are in it and it was great to see Greg and see uh the satisfaction he got as the A's went

0:40:32through the season and kept up their tremendous uh winning and getting into the playoffs and what was nice was and I don't know if you guys uh know this but after the meetings we would have the A's usually played on Mondays going down the stretch and that on on Tuesdays I should

0:40:50say Tuesdays Mondays we used to meet Tuesdays the A's were playing and as soon as as soon as we were done out came the uh the smartphone and we would both look over just what had happened in the in the A's game and if it wasn't over by then we were following the the action

0:41:07out the door it was real pleasure to to do that Greg uh and I really appreciate you teaching me about sustainable living and transportation and the roles these will play in the future it's something I didn't know a lot about and now now I do and it's it's great

0:41:27thank you Rebecca um like to thank you for your critical analysis on on yeah in the study of the city's issues and your continuing interests in our education system as it relates to the city appreciated all that uh question sometimes comes up of uh people will ask why you're on the

0:41:51council I I don't think I could be on the council why and and how do you cope with the differing viewpoints and situations that one encounters even if it's not always you not always agree with it and it comes down to me it just comes down to one simple thing and and that is Trust

0:42:13if you're on a committee like this and you have trust that your other members have the best interests of the city in mind as we are discussing and debating the issues then you know you put out your ideas there you you talk about it a vote is taken and whether it is

0:42:32agreeable to you or not if you have that trust you know that it's going to be in the best interest of the city and um it is you know you do have to get used to it sometimes when you think you the greatest idea you have that you're putting to get uh forward is equal to

0:42:50the Cure of cancer and the four say I don't think so it is uh uh but if you have trust in in the people that are up here and Trust in what we're doing um that's fine and you just go forward and we go on to the next issue uh on all three councils that I served I

0:43:14don't think I've once doubted the sincerity of this the council members in this regard to my knowledge there weren't any hidden agendas or alternative motives less than honest reasoning it just didn't exist and if it did I'm not aware of it without the trust that you have among

0:43:32policy makers an organization can become dysfunctional and lack uh Direction and in the eight years I didn't experience this um it's interesting because when you have issues come up um there's one in particular that that I I'd like to share with you uh when we were trying to decide about a city hall

0:43:57where uh holding Public public workshops and public comment on whether we should build a new city hall there was a few people didn't think we should and you have to understand when you get up and you start uh Defending Your your ideas and your things you you can get excited and you

0:44:16can get a little carried away and I think that's what happened in this case but the testimony was going along when suddenly uh the presenter said the only and I'm paraphrasing but the only reason you want to build a city hall is so that you can get your name on

0:44:32a plaque and I it was one of the few times I've almost bursted out laughing because I what shot through my mind was you got to be kidding we're going to spend millions of dollars building a building so I can have my name on a 300 plaque out in front especially since in 10 years

0:44:52somebody's going to go by read the plaque and say who are these people so um with that that came to mind when I was I came across a a quote and it kind of captures one of the major reasons why I think we all serve and and pass council members have served and and I

0:45:15think you'll find few really good people serving in the future and it's by uh ancient Greek Statesman Pericles and he says what you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments but what is woven into the lives of others and I have no doubt that the past

0:45:36certainly the present and the future councils have has and will share these same sentiments is why we serve in closing and most importantly I'd like to thank the residents of El Cerrito for the opportunity to serve living in El Cerrito and raising a family I had never thought that I would serve

0:45:59on the council and have the privilege of representing my hometown as your mayor fortunate to have the faith support and Trust of a progressive and forward-thinking Resident base and I think we all know sitting here we really appreciate that uh most hardly residents have responded

0:46:21to situations by supporting issues that have served the community well especially these last few years just a few of them sales tax increase for improvements of streets and operations building quality schools Civic projects like City Halls and the community center

0:46:41Swim Center and the recycling center these are all signs of a progressive community that values the concept of community for me serving on the city council has been the Pinnacle of public and community service it's been both an honorable and a humbling experience

0:47:02as mayor as mere one represents the city and Regional boards and organizations you interact with public and elected officials from other jurisdictions and I'm always proud to tell the people about El Cerrito I'm even prouder when other people come up to me and complement our city

0:47:23it's been a great it's been a great eight years and a tremendous ride for a special community I've enjoyed every minute of it thank you all for making it possible thank you for the honor of representing you and with that Madam city clerk before turning over the agenda to you

0:47:45thank you for your professionalism your expertise your personal dedication and assisting the city council as well as maintaining and protect protecting the Integrity of the city business it's been greatly appreciated thank you please introduce the next uh item actually before we move on mayor we're

0:48:07going to stay with item six for a few minutes it's my pleasure actually to recognize you for your service and I do have a few items uh for you to take home and put on your wall it's a plaque with your name recognizing your service and of course because you were mayor of the plaque with the big

0:48:29old gavilions and and mayor before you uh before you relinquish your your Podium um I I do want to start a round of recognition comments uh for both council member uh Chang and and yourself um and it's been a pleasure serving with you for the for the last four years I I

0:48:57remember when we met and how um excited you were about the things that that are involved in your life and it's been a pleasure um to serve with you and the passion that you have and the interest that you have and I'm hoping that you will um I actually want to take you up on

0:49:15your offer to sit on the other side of the diocese and continue to serve the city uh with your passion and interest in and so hopefully we will see you um as as time goes by and you will continue to contribute to our community it's been a pleasure um bill it a pleasure to serve with you

0:49:34I eight years ago I worked on your campaign and I've known you since um however uh what I find serving with you has been is your professionalism your preparation your um patience on on working through items and so I want to thank you very much for all of that um and and it's your sense of justice is

0:50:00is enviable um and it comes out in certain topics um two that that of course everyone will remember is one how PG e continues to uh increase rates and and every every two weeks for a while there we were getting PG e rate increases and you would come and hold it up and and give your

0:50:21comments again but when there's something like Redevelopment or the state budget uh something you guys don't know at home is is and Bill he did it tonight when he has something that's on his mind he he takes the time and prepares pages of comments um and in sitting next to you and seeing

0:50:43how well prepared you are the amount of research and thought you put into those comments is it's it's really appreciated but what you don't know at home is that they're in Technicolor and and who's there there he prints them out and things that he really wants to

0:50:59emphasize are in this bold red text and and that's when you know he's going to come out with a little fiery you know tonight's has just a little bit of red and a whole bunch of yellow so Bill thank you very much for your eight years of service I'm happy to follow up those comments

0:51:18and then Janet you can go go last I've had such a great time on these last two years learning from both of you and your enthusiasm just like Greg mentioned comes through on so many issues and I've loved coming to meetings and getting to hear what your perspectives are on

0:51:33things and you have so much to be proud of um that you've accomplished here but one thing that you may not know that you did accomplish is that it's because of your enthusiasm for Bike To Work Day that I asked my banker my husband that we allow me to spend some money on a brand new

0:51:48bicycle and it was because I knew I was going to see on bike to work day that I bought this bicycle and began biking to work and he's been tracking how much I've been saving in gas or bus fare to make sure that I was paying off the bicycle expenditure that I made so I

0:52:02it's because of you that that we made that leap and he allowed the allocation to go forward outside of our regular monthly budget um and I I agree with Greg I can't wait to see what you're going to do in the community and I'm sure you're going to continue to work on all the things that

0:52:15that you've made known to be be of really high importance to you and I'm sure you'll see your San Pablo Avenue specific plan baby come through when it when it does hopefully shortly here in the next couple months and Bill um when I first met you I think the things I had heard a lot about you and

0:52:31whether or not you were going to be a tough guy or a straight shooter or you know a big teddy bear on the inside I think you're so you're all these aspects of things that come out during the council where you're you're very direct and to the point but also I really

0:52:48appreciate the way you want to listen to what everybody has to say so you guys have taught me a lot about how to act on the council and there there's one thing I know that you'll be happy about Bill is you won't every time you introduce me from now on you can just say Rebecca you

0:53:01won't have to pronounce my last name from now on hmm I don't know why I don't know um but I know there are some things that you are passionate about yourself and we will look forward to seeing you in future meetings to speak about some of those things that I know that you feel

0:53:21like there are some ties that are still undone but I'm sure in the next couple of years you'll see some of things you're interested in in pursuing in the city come to a full hearing before the count the next councils so thank you so much for your service and I guess I get to close up on on the

0:53:37council comments and it actually gives me a lot of pleasure to be the one to do that because it gives me uh the ability to say how much that I've enjoyed working with us as a team not just individually which I've I've enjoyed working with all of you but us as a team

0:53:55um we've been together now for I guess what two years and some of us longer and it's it really is a family um and I've gotten to know the families of everyone else here and many of whom are here today and I'm going to really miss both you and Anne uh you Ann and

0:54:16Bill as part of that family but you know family doesn't really go away they're still around so I think I'll always consid consider you to be part of that family and I look forward to seeing you in the community and and at many different events still and um I especially want to tell you Ann how

0:54:38much I appreciate your enthusiasm and willingness to try things that um you know what I'm talking about and um and willingness to say yes and and um and stick with it and I do appreciate that and Bill I've really got I thought I knew you before I think but I've

0:54:59really gotten to know you I think a lot better and I've really appreciated that opportunity and um that friendship and working with you on both of you on the council has has been a great experience and it's the kind of council that I would hope that anyone on a council

0:55:18would get to work on because I think it's a council that respects the other members of the council and not not all councils do that so I think it's something that we should all remember and continue in the future those of us who will continue on and for those of

0:55:37you you who are the two of you who are who are not continuing on I hope to see you out in the audience and continuing on as good citizens of this city and do the wonderful things that you both have done and um I'm really going to miss you so I know we're about to take a a brief

0:56:01break so that we can so the city clerk can reorganize the dice um I I would actually like to take a picture with you Bill if we could all as a council uh assemble down below to to during the break to take a quick picture um and if at this time if there's anybody who wants to come forward and

0:56:20has any remarks this would be your opportunity so with that we will move to the next agenda item which is item seven which is a which is a break right brief reset great thanks item is the swearing-in of of council member my mayor protein Simon and councilmember Friedman so if I can ask

1:04:12you to stand and raise your right hand after me I please state your name Mark Friedman do you solemnly swear that I will support and defend I will support and defend the the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution

1:04:34of the State of California against all enemies foreign and domestic and all enemies that I will bear true faith and Allegiance true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of

1:04:53California constitution of the State of California I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation mental reservation wait a minute or purpose of evasion or purpose of evasion and that I will well and Faithfully discharge Faithfully discharged the duties upon

1:05:21which the duties I'm about to enter I'm about to answer congratulations thank you I do have one more thing the presentation of the certificates of Elections never got one of these before yeah [Music] so I will as mayor Pro tem call forward the reorganization of the city council

1:06:16and with that declaring the offices of Mayor and mayor Pro tem vacant I'm calling for nominations for the office of Mayor I nominate council member Greg Lyman for office of Mayor of the great city of El Cerrito I move the nominations to be closed all right and there's is there a second to closing

1:06:36nomination second all in favor of closing nominations please say aye or night bye unanimous and all those in favor of selecting mayor Pro tem Lyman as mayor into indicate by saying aye aye mayor Pro tem Lyman has been selected mayor of El Cerrito thank you [Applause]

1:07:06so my First Act I call for nominations for office of Mayor Pro Tem I nominate council member Janet Abelson for office of Mayor Pro Tem are there any further nominations I move the nomination speak close I second the motion thank you all those in favor of closing nominations indicate by

1:07:28saying aye aye No No's the motion carries unanimously nominations are now closed all those in favor of selecting council member Abelson as mayor Pro tem indicate by saying I I motion carries unanimously uh council member Abelson has been selected mayor Pro Tem [Applause]

1:07:56um mayor Pro tem Abelson if you do you have any remarks or comments at this time well the only thing I would add to what's already been said earlier is although I think we really worked with a good Council before I think that the council uh that this Council will

1:08:13represent is going to be a good Council too not maybe even just a good one but as was the last one a great Council to work with and I really do look forward to that and I look forward to facing the challenges that I know we will have ahead of us together and I think we can

1:08:31do so in a way that is effective for the residents of our city and thank you and congratulations thank you well I'm my remarks are all that's uh holding you up from our cake in the lobby so I did put some performance arts down but it's only one page so I promise

1:08:52I as I Was preparing tonight I realized um how very grateful humble and optimistic I am I'm grateful for the foundation and support that my parents Virginia and Sandy uh gave me my wife Mary who's here as well and my daughter Hannah they've given me support for decades I'm

1:09:15grateful for all the support from my friends and the voters of El Cerrito who have re-elected me like every public project and I feel that way sometimes um it took a long time and a lot of support to get to for me to get here this evening so I want to thank everyone

1:09:33who's helped me and very grateful I'm humble that the voters did re-elect me they extended their trust in me with four years of service I now realize and it's been said tonight how much the councils that preceded us contributed to the foundation of our recent successes

1:09:55like the paving of El Cerrito the beautifying of San Pablo Avenue the rebuilding of the recycling center to name a few of our successes I realized this coming year and that every year is a new foundation for future Council successes we sit up here we are just temporary

1:10:16stewards of the Public's Trust and they expect us to keep the cities services and business moving humbly I accept the assignment that as mayor I am responsible for the transparent efficient professional and civil discourse of both the council and the public at these meetings

1:10:40I'm optimistic I'm optimistic this coming year we'll set the foundation for us to finish the city strategic plan see the San Pablo Avenue art installed adopt the San Pablo Avenue specific plan and attract new businesses to El Cerrito this year we'll start we'll see us hopefully we'll see the

1:11:07start of the general Plan update and solidifying support for upgrading our major city infrastructure the library Senior Center and Public Safety buildings I'm optimistic the city revenues will stabilize really I'm optimistic about that one we will adopt a balanced budget

1:11:28and be able to support these long-awaited initiatives and that concludes my remarks I don't know if any there's any other remarks um council member thank you yeah I really just have a few very short I didn't write anything um I just want to thank the voters of El

1:11:49Cerrito for bringing Jan and I out of semi-retirement and for reelecting Greg when I was considering getting back into The Fray I had a lot of great memories from before and a few memories that were not quite as pleasant and everybody told me it's a great Council the staff is

1:12:10great and the city is really entering has entered a period where people are getting along and working together on behalf of all the citizens in a really positive wonderful way and that's what I've observed and so that's why I'm honored to be able to serve with my

1:12:28colleagues and to further that um I really want to thank the people who helped me most in my arduous campaign that's Scott Lyons my Treasurer who had to leave he was here with Katie and my wonderful wife Carolyn Saeed who was there every step of the way stuffing

1:12:48envelopes walking freezing staying up late at night as I drag myself in after making phone calls oh I didn't have to do any of that so it's really an honor to be here and I know we have a lot of priorities that are really important I hope to be able to offer my skills and talents to meld

1:13:09with the wonderful team that's already here with staff and uh Council uh last time I served we were meeting over at the community center and the public was sitting in a very uncomfortable metal folding chairs and uh you know it was a drafty building where we would hear the

1:13:28classes from the other side of the community center and I particularly remember remember every night was the Japanese uh what's that thing called nagati or something like that where they go oh throughout the meeting so it's a pleasure to be in this beautiful building and I really thank

1:13:46our wonderful city manager Scott and Karen pincos and the rest of the staff who made this dream which I had when I first entered the trailers of the previous City Hall um that we would someday have a beautiful building like this so it's great to be serving up here in such a

1:14:02wonderful environment and to be able to serve the public once again and thank you all very much so after we adjourn which we're about to do please join us in the lobby for a celebration um it's with pleasure that I moved to the next item adjourning this city council the next regularly scheduled

1:14:23city council meeting will be December 18th and with that [Applause] um