City Council Meeting December 2, 2014

0:00:05good evening everyone welcome to the meeting of the El Cerrito city council thank you all for coming we will start out with roll call councilmember Bridges councilmember Friedman yeah councilmember Lyman here mayor Pro tem benesini here mayor Abelson here and tonight it's my turn to lead us in

0:00:29the Pledge of Allegiance or a moment of silence I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all are there any Council Communications tonight

0:00:57yes thank you mayor I just wanted to make a couple of announcements uh first there's a community meeting tomorrow Wednesday December 3rd to discuss Community Choice aggregation a really important issue in the city the discussion will be about the city joining the Marin clean energy

0:01:14entity which produces or purchases electricity on behalf of its members the meeting will be here at City Hall from 6 30 to 8 30 and again it's tomorrow Wednesday December 3rd may I also make an assignment report it looks like we can as part of my duties as liaison to the economic development

0:01:37committee I wanted to just report to the council and the public that we will uh the committee is hosting an end of year happy hour on Friday December 5th from 5 to 7 pm at the theater and um she made an S um and it will be from 5 to 7 pm and the uh the point of the meeting is to have a

0:02:01social with the business community and to do networking at the meeting so the committee it's their first annual event and they're very excited about it thank you very much Rebecca I wish you had brought her to all the previous meetings instead of waiting to the last meeting

0:02:22excuse me if you don't mind is is the person I'm most oh there's okay [Laughter] I'm sorry my grandson is in the room at least I think he is right can I see him and that's last meal oh there he is had to make sure um I have an announcement if I may yes um I just want to remind the community

0:03:12of the El Cerrito Community blood drive that's at the community center in the Garden Room and that is this Thursday December 4th and it's noon to 5 p.m so you can schedule your appointment you can log on to redcrossblood.org um and enter the sponsor code El Cerrito

0:03:34all one word or you can call the Red Cross at 1-800 Red Cross which is 1-800-733-2767 and that's uh with regards to a blood drive for this Thursday uh noon to five okay I know Jan do you have any anything are there any staff announcements okay uh with that we will move on in on

0:04:09the agenda um are there any oral Communications from the public on items not on the agenda I have no speaker slips okay thank you with that we will move on to the adoption of the consent calendar which is items number 6A through 6D so moved seconded and I just want to make sure that

0:04:30everyone understands that how much we appreciate the public voting on measure R and the passage of measure R so it is two of the agenda items uh have to do with measure R passing and and we really appreciate how much the community came out in support of measure r

0:04:49okay so the motion for adoption of the consent calendar was made by council member Friedman and seconded by council member benicini all in favor please say aye aye any opposition any abstention motion cares unanimously with that we will move on um on our agenda to recognition of City

0:05:13Council Members leaving office and this one is a really sad one for me because it means that we're going to lose somebody about whom we really care and uh somebody who has been a very enthusiastic supporter of the city and of things that are important to the city

0:05:35and our community and it's been a real joy and pleasure to work with a council member and mayor Pro tem Rebecca benicini so I was coming up with some things that I wanted to say about Rebecca and I just kept coming up with the word she's great or things that said

0:05:58more or less the same thing and um part of what I think that Rebecca represents is what I think that has been very successful on this Council on Rebecca's time on this Council and that is that we have been a team and I think Rebecca personifies that team working together you know each

0:06:21expressing our own opinions but working together is a team to make whatever it is we're working on happen and I think that's the sign of a of a good counsel uh each person though brings something special to the council and um Rebecca has been a person who does that she's consistently positive

0:06:45but she frequently asks questions and um always in a very positive and pleasant way but still you ask questions and that's still good and um I think that it's been very helpful and I think that we're really going to miss you here but you know what you can come back

0:07:05anytime you want and bring along Katie Brothers so thank you very much thank you such a fantastic member of our Council thank you so much anyone else who'd like to say something yeah when I came back on the console after a short eight year Hiatus I was blessed to be sitting right

0:07:27next to Rebecca so she did a fantastic job of patiently teaching me the things that had changed in eight years and sort of helping guide me along and was always an inspiration because you've always so well prepared and so articulate and you pick your spots carefully when you dive

0:07:46into something you dive really deep and you know you and Scott and Katie and Jake and Luke and Alex Luke and Alec okay the twins you know are just a wonderful family and such a treasure in our community and you know I'm really glad that Luke and Alec are here but I

0:08:07wish they had waited four more years we could have had you for another term but thank you so much for for everything you've done I too want to give my appreciation for your four years of service it's been a pleasure working with you what I remember the most is your passion for

0:08:26certain items and hey Jan can you can I you take your pen for a second and when you are very passionate about something you click you click your PIN with with a great amount of diligence and and uh and it was the the sign at which I knew you were you were prepared to say some very

0:08:45poignant remarks and so I do miss will miss the uh the passion you bring to the job we will be losing a strong voice for the community but we'll be gaining a very active Community member so thank you thank you oh I'm never good at this well Rebecca you're well spoken you're

0:09:15one of them most well-spoken um council members I've ever been with and I was pleased to be your Dias mate after Mark booted you down here um but you know one of the things I admire is that you're very well spoken you're very thoughtful and you have an uncanny expertise to ask questions about

0:09:40development that you have such Insight because of your day job and I think that really served our Council well really well um I think that you were very very good at recognizing and um verbalizing to our residents and our members of our staff on not only their public comments

0:10:06but also supporting our staff in a very strong way um I think that you were always really really prepared and I think that you always gave excellent reasons for why you were voting the way you voted and I think that such a admirable thing to do and it it helps our residents understand the

0:10:29typical this sometimes that we're in oh besides the pen clicking what you really didn't know is for uh nine months she sat behind the diets doing this because she had carpal tunnel in both of her hands the whole pregnancy it was the most amazing thing the poor woman could

0:10:51hardly write so she's not only a super Council woman she's a super mom um and personally there's this half of the day us has all been pregnant before but um to carry Twins and do this job this half this third um you know that's really it's it's really hard I work In Obstetrics and you know

0:11:14to to see you come in here with carrying twins and doing this job and your day job was quite admirable um and you definitely what we missed and as Janet so stated I hope you do come back oh thank you so much can I speak now it's so gratifying to hear these words and I hope you'll

0:11:35indulge me I was pregnant with Katie when I first got on the council and every time I go to meetings she'd say to me when she learned to speak of course mommy is it going to be a long meeting or a short meeting or how long is it going to be so I've always spoken to her

0:11:47about these meetings and I thought for the last meeting it would be great for her to be here with us um my two sons and husband are at home a bit sick sadly so they'll be watching maybe right now or later on tonight so thank you so much family members um what I want to say to you all is that

0:12:02you were I when I first joined the council one of the most controversial issues we talked about was the animals ordinance and I had after going through that experience a great idea for maybe a reality show called The Fifth chicken anybody on the council will know that

0:12:15the fifth chicken is a reference to the number of chickens at which neighbors who'd like or residents who'd like to have chickens in their yard they'd have to get unanimous consent from their neighbors in order to get the fifth chicken and the reality show is going to

0:12:28be about how we up here talk about and draw lines like on this Council setting policies and regulations is all about deciding where is the line going to be and what are we going to allow people to do easily or readily and what are the policies going to be and how does this all work in our

0:12:44neighborhood as I moved on through the years on the council I realized that this might we'd have to Market this to PBS or some very non-controversial television show because as everybody I've worked with here has been so like so professional and so concerned with

0:13:01their ethics and with doing their job well and you would all be shocked at how much we talk about all all the residents and individual residents and what would they think about this and you know how are these policies going to actually impact everyone that has to live under

0:13:15them so it became a terrible idea for a reality show maybe a good idea for a book I don't know or maybe it would be something that would just really teach people or show people the behind the scenes of what goes on in in local government and all types of governments

0:13:29and I talk about this a lot with um we have an au pair who takes care of our twins from Brazil and she comes from a town exactly the same size as El Cerrito and we talk a lot about the differences between politics and our two cities and she's just amazed at how how seriously

0:13:44we all take this and how we are out here as truly volunteers and people who are just really dedicated to trying to come up with the best options for our city so I I've had a wonderful time during my four years I am I'm I will be very um interested in helping you gave as you

0:14:03transition onto the council or anything I can do there's so many exciting things coming up I'll be watching as we go through the Community Choice aggregation process the climate action plan updates implementation of San Pablo Avenue specific plan so I have fantastic high

0:14:17hopes for you all and as Greg mentioned I'm I'm looking forward to being an active resident and to being supportive of all the policies that will help us in the future so I do want to acknowledge my family members who are watching at home my husband and my two sons without

0:14:31you guys have been actually there are two sides of the teeter-totter I think my husband is an extremely supportive and the boys have been extremely demanding but that's all they can do at 11 months old and my nieces and nephews who couldn't be here tonight but have

0:14:44been very fascinated that I'm on the council hello um Brooke Nick and Nicole Sarah and Gia and baby Canyon and Cora if you're watching too thank you family members and thank you to see the public for electing me and thanks for all of your input over the years I've Loved getting

0:15:00to know you and hearing your stories thank you so at this time it goes at this time it gives me great honor to present outgoing council member benicini with this clock that's been in great thank you and as a Memento of this occasion and then of course we have some flowers am I okay thank you

0:15:33do I take a picture do we take a picture Katie say cheese thank you I have too much to carry now I guess candy will have to help so with that we're going to have a 15 minute recess for people to talk while we reconvene and install the new city council so thank you all so please stay

0:32:24[Music] thank you guys no way you got a rap wrap your gavel one last time good evening everyone I hope you enjoyed your break there's not a whole lot that stands between us now and the cake which is really fantastic so when we go out in the other room and you look at the cake

0:33:05you can actually see pictures of various scenes in the city so take a look if you get there fast enough so there are pieces left um so at this point in time we go on to the swearing in and seating of the newly elected officials and the administration of the oath and of office and presentation of

0:33:32certificates of election and that will be done by our city clerk if you raise your eye please state your name do you solemnly swear solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States the Constitution and the constitution of the State of

0:33:59California against all enemies foreign and domestic that I will bear true faith and Allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California but I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion

0:34:30and that I will well and Faithfully discharge and Faithfully discharged the duties upon which I were about to enter congratulations [Applause] Janet did you want to renew renew the oath sure okay please raise your right hand I Jana Abelson dude hi Janet Abelson dude solemnly swear solemnly

0:35:03swear that I will support and defend that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California and the constitution of the State of California against all enemies born and domestic against all enemies

0:35:18foreign and domestic that I will bear toothpaste and allegiance that I will bear 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 California and the constitution of the

0:35:32State of California against all enemies foreign and domestic against all enemies foreign and domestic I'm going to take this obligation freely that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion or

0:35:49purpose of evasion and that I will well and Faithfully discharge and that I will well and Faithfully discharge the duties upon which the duties upon which I'm about to enter I am about to enter congratulations and I do have some certificates to distribute to you

0:36:11thank you so now so next we go to the um this is an opportunity for the new members or newly restoring members to speak if they want to Gabe would you like to see sure sure and uh I'm just so very honored to uh be at uh City Hall my first day and being sworn in and uh to have a full house

0:36:56here uh which includes uh my partner is 17 years uh Mr Glenn other cut uh my dear Mother Isidro guinto uh my uh relatives the Aquino family uh the and uh relatives on my dad's side uh uh Darlene attorney Darlene De Guzman and her partner Leonardo and uh and I see a

0:37:24lot of uh electives here and I would uh I'd like to thank the honorable mayor of Hercules for uh being here and uh she is the first woman here philam Philippine American to be re-elected uh as mayor again so I congratulate uh mayor honorable mayor Myrna de Vera thank you

0:37:54and I also would like to say hello to uh I see faces here uh my Dean my neighbors Dean Jones and uh the Haller family and I also see uh Belinda Dan on uh down the street there and so many of uh my uh I do see uh people from my uh senior committee and so many uh

0:38:26people that have volunteered with me through the years here in El Cerrito uh I see uh I have here by board members from The Stonewall Democratic Club and I would like to welcome them and thank you for coming out here that means a lot to me thank you and I would like to also

0:38:46acknowledge friends and family and pardon me if I can't see you all but I will do my best and I'd like to start out with my husband Howard Abelson and um also I would like to acknowledge my daughter-in-law Christina Perez Abelson and her mother Kathy Perez and my if you haven't

0:39:14figured it out yet my grandson his name is Marcos Antonio Perez Abelson and he's almost two months old and so I'm very happy that they could all be here I'd also like to um thank the many friends who helped get me here and um read a Xavier uh Maria Alegria uh Joan Carpenter of course

0:39:46um Rita and her husband I mean Reed and her husband Glenn price and behind them I see Mary Queen and I don't oh there's Dawn and their daughter and uh then I can't quite see anyone uh back further I'm sorry but and then over on the other side um uh Shirley thank you for coming

0:40:18and um I'm actually having a little hard time seeing who's out there so um I just want to thank you all for coming um Bill Jones I think isn't that you out there former council member and Mayor Bill Jones thank you for being here and thank you for all the many things that you've done

0:40:42for the city and um I think I see Rebecca in the back hi Rebecca and so I would like to thank you all for coming and I also want to thank everyone who I know that Denise home is here but I don't know where she is I think she's here um there you are I hi Denise um but before we all leave I wanted to

0:41:10uh say make a few comments about the highlights of last year because I think we're starting out this year in a really good place because of all of the work that was done last year one of the most um difficult things that we did last year but the one that I think gives me

0:41:29the most pride is the San Pablo Avenue specific plan and complete speech plan that was an amazing amount of work done by our staff who really outdid themselves in doing a great job and I think that's going to take us a long way in the future and it's going to make it a

0:41:52lot easier for us to really see some benefits in our city in the in both the near term and the long term um we were one of the first 20 communities Nationwide to receive the star communities certification we got a we scheduled a Community Choice aggregation public hearing that I

0:42:16believe is set tomorrow or tomorrow in here Aulani Gardens broke ground that's an affordable housing project it is located behind Marshall's store you may have seen it going up we acquired eight Acres of the hillside Natural Area sometimes known as Madera open space

0:42:40we the Recreation Department received 13 parents press best of Contra Costa awards for youth programs not one but 13. that's pretty good we continue to increase enrollment in a variety of enrichment wellness and safety programs for all ages we did a recent pod exercise and it was the only city in

0:43:06Contra Costa County to run the exercise at this scale what this exercise involved is simulation and I apologize if I don't say all of the words technically correctly but we simulated a major emergency and the distribution of medication to a very large number of people during

0:43:28that emergency I forget what we were simulating was it thirty thousand or something close something like that and so the exercise was getting people through this process using volunteers among others to do that and it was pretty amazing and I think that they did a pretty good job

0:43:48considering that it was all done on a volunteer basis and I feel fairly confident that were it to be the real thing we would survive we also did a smoking pollution protection ordinance that I'm personally very proud of we passed a biennial budget which means that instead of

0:44:08having to deal with the budget every year now it's only going to be every other year and that'll save us time to do other things in the off year we completed the construction of the Central Avenue and Liberty streetscape project and Municipal solar project we almost completed and it really looks

0:44:28pretty complete if you go out there and look at it now the Aulani Greenway Natural Area in Green Garden Project which is located on the south side of Fairmont at the BART station the Plaza BART station and it's beautiful if you ever get if you get a chance go over and

0:44:46look at it it really looks outstanding in addition to doing its job to catch storm water and cleanse it to handle the the flooding that occurs from time to time in that particular area when it rains of course it's just an amazing project and it's beautiful besides and I'm I think you're

0:45:10going to be proud of it we also got a huge Grant thanks to our fire chief for a new ladder fire truck worth how much just over a million dollars so I think that's something to be very excited about and if that wasn't enough we also got a grant for some additional

0:45:31apparatus the police department made significant growth this year also and we added Denzel who's our second canine and he is partners with Corporal Michael Hernandez and they add to our Readiness and service to El Cerrito they help us make they help make it safe for

0:45:54all of us um we also realized the need to enhance our training in interacting with the growing mental health population mentally ill population by training over 25 percent of our Patrol force and how to more effectively manage mentally ill persons connect the persons with appropriate

0:46:17care services and reduce the incidence of force required to take the subjects into protective custody I think this is something we all recognize with the incidents that have happened just recently we realized just how important that kind of training is and so I'm very

0:46:37thankful that our police department and I uh thank our chief for being at the head of that um for for doing that and I think I just saw that the fire chief is right next to her so thank you for the for the work that you did in getting that very large Grant um the um Crisis Intervention team or

0:46:58CIT members are Specialists and by the end of 2015 we anticipate having 100 percent of our Patrol officers trained in this program the CIT program so it's really been a great year and um I I think that it's because everyone here worked together everyone on staff

0:47:22work together and our community helped us do it and so I want to thank everybody here in this room for a great year really and I look forward to um turning the gavel over to our new mayor for an even better year and if that wasn't enough by the way we passed major R and thank you for that

0:47:45thank you to our community for voting yes 70 percent yes in our community so thank you so with that um we um let's see what is the next step thank you okay so now we have the council reorganization and I believe this is the point at which I turn it over to the city clerk is that

0:48:10true were there any public speakers that wanted to speak on the last item before we move on to item 10. hey I think that the council I just wanted to thank mayor Abelson for the leadership and strength that you've provided for the city of El Cerrito I know this isn't your first

0:48:31time and you're saving us shows you also have an incredible sense of fairness and I think that's really important in our city and one of the things that Janet has the ability to do that many of us don't have and that is she works very well with other agencies um Janet has tentacles that reach very

0:48:51very far she knows everyone in transportation she knows the school officials she knows PTA um and it's it's extends so much bigger than our little city boundaries and it's amazing amazing thing so in appreciation I have a plaque to present to you thank you one of the many that's

0:49:20probably on your wall [Applause] thank you thank you thank you very much and it really is a joy to serve the city everyone here is is great to work with and I think that's what makes it all worthwhile so um thank you all for being you so with that I don't do we get to say

0:49:57something okay yeah uh Janet I I think every year but too that I've been on the council I've had the joy of serving with you and I've learned a lot from you and just always Marvel that your graciousness to all people and your tremendous capacity to go to meeting

0:50:16after meeting after meeting and always with a smile on your face I I don't have that patience but I can admire it in you and when you go to those meetings you're always thinking of what's best for the citizens of El Cerrito and how can you use the role that you're in sometimes very important

0:50:35leadership roles in order to advance our community and all the communities in our region and state so you're a tremendously big-hearted person and we can see it where every time you interact with your grandchild or with any citizen of El Cerrito you're just a special

0:50:51person besides a really great elected official and thank you for everything thank you [Applause] well Janet I've worked with you for six years and I'm looking forward to working with you for the at least the next two and so uh thank you for all of your contributions on behalf of El Cerrito

0:51:16thank you I'd like to say a few words to uh uh mayor Abelson uh mayor Abelson you have been uh an inspiration to me uh and uh you and I have been on the road uh back and forth to Concord Martinez down in Los Angeles and uh and I've learned so much from you and uh and I

0:51:41look forward in working with you the next four years and uh you and I belong to uh the senior committee and uh um and uh that uh and you serve that with an open heart and uh I hope to uh follow that as well so uh thank you for everything and I look forward and working with you in

0:52:05the next four years thanks I you may want to see whether or not there are members of the public who want to comment on on these items are there members of the public who would like to comment no so I believe the next item is reorganization of the city council and

0:52:36um I declare oh maybe shall I declare the offices of Mayor and mayor Pro tem I think he wanted to speak okay I'm very sorry mayor Ableton members of the council ladies and gentlemen my name is Chris Peoples I'm a sort of a Transit activist and for the past 17 years I've served on

0:53:14the board of AC Transit I've been my great pleasure to work with Janet long before I served on the AC Transit board but for AC Transit she's she has served continuously on our accessibility advisory committee has been chair of it more times than you can imagine

0:53:33many of those Regional entities that you talked about I also serve on WIC Tac often various MTC committees various other things and the thing I respect most about Janet is she's absolutely indefatigable she sews up everywhere she's read the agenda she knows what's going on and

0:53:57she's very smart and I wish you the best of times for your next four years and for the four years after that [Laughter] [Applause] so Janet's here if we're going to move on to item 10. okay top of that the other page back to the um place we I think we need to be on the agenda which is to call for

0:54:34the reorganization of the city council and I declare the offices of Mayor and mayor Pro tem vacant and called for nominations for the office of Mayor I nominate council member uh Friedman for office of Mayor um are there any further nominations I move that nominations be closed

0:54:56second all right all in favor of closing nominations and selecting council member Freeman as mayor please say aye aye and no opposed thank you councilmember Freeman is mayor of the city of El Cerrito [Applause] thank you those of you who know me that know that I might wield this every now and then

0:55:25right um so should I make my comments or we do the mayor Pro tem first so let's see the mayor Pro tem first uh call for nominations for office of Mayor Pro tem I nominate Greg Lyman any further nominations if no further oh would somebody like the closing nomination oh I move to close

0:55:48do we have a second second okay all in favor say aye aye the motion carries unanimously nominations are closed all those in favor of selecting council member Lyman is Mayor Pro tem indicate by saying aye congratulations mayor Pro tem live okay this is one of the few times when

0:56:16we've had a Full House when people aren't angry about something I hope we can repeat this Choice occasion no cell phone towers or you know things that people really get upset about I want to thank my friends and family who are here particularly my wonderful life

0:56:33Carolyn and my terrific son prahlad and uh in the interest at times I'm just going to say the first names of friends who are here rather quickly Victor Vince Joel Phil Connie Eugene Steve Susan Bill Glenn Reed Denise Tom Allen Barbara and Dave and if there's more than one Dave or Al

0:56:56or something you're all my friends El Cerrito is a gem of a city a quiet Gem of a city our city staff has a long history of doing more with less over the past six years we've had to cut 15 positions in order to balance the budget yet despite that we've created a model

0:57:16climate action plan opened a wonderful recycling center and received recognition as a sustainable City and all the other things that Janet listed earlier we have an Engaged Community with over 200 citizens volunteering on boards and commissions we have a city council where

0:57:34we all get along and no one feels the need to make his or her Point by diminishing a colleague we don't always agree which is good because it makes for better public policy but we all respect one another and I want to thank the members of the public who attend Council meetings

0:57:51regularly and add their insights and constructive criticism they also give their input respectively respectfully and with passion and logic if you ask most El cerritons who is on the city council or who the city manager is they probably could not name one or two people more than one or two people

0:58:09at most and I think that's not a bad thing if we are engaged in unethical activities or consistently made decisions that we're not in the best interest of the citizens or spend city council many meetings being screened at or screaming at each other people would

0:58:25more than likely know our names but the town set by our city manager and my colleagues is one of quiet and humble competence the same goes for all of our city staff many of whom who are here tonight who have struggled with fewer resources I especially want to thank

0:58:41every dedicated employee in the labor unions that represent them for working to restructure contracts and pensions in order to preserve city services for our citizens thank you all for your sacrifices and then in the coming year I see a continuing challenge to maintain those services at

0:59:04a high level with few opportunities to expand our tax base uh that's a challenge we know we have many vacancies uh commercial properties the city does not control those properties so we have to creatively work with the property owners and with businesses who would like to come into our city to be

0:59:25able to expand our base also the majority of our Council has consistently made the expansion of transit-oriented development a priority and we must continue to look for ways to maximize the benefit of the two BART stations and the bus lines that serve our city living within our means we still have

0:59:43major challenges and opportunities among the big challenges we need a new library slash Community Center Learning Center Senior Center all in one and this next year is a crucial time for extensive Community engagement in the process leading up to a potential vote

1:00:01in 2016. we also need a new public safety building and we have a large amount of deferred maintenance on city property and Parks and Recreation facilities I consider the two biggest dangers we Face both locally and globally are global warming and poverty in the

1:00:20widening gap between the rich and the poor unfortunately we in wealth in El Cerrito do not have the ability to solve either of these problems but we can make an important difference I already talked about our climate action plan and sustainable cities designation also our citizens are

1:00:38Regional leaders and Recycling and composting in our creative City staff is always looking for creative ways to be a Greener City and the coming decision about joining the Marine clean energy joint Powers Authority is another chance to do our part uh we passed a model smoking ordinance

1:00:56regulating smoking in our city and the second part will be coming up I think within a month to regulate tobacco retailers and take our city to the top among cities in our region and state in regulating the important environmental and health hazard of smoking in terms of poverty I want El Cerrito to

1:01:17join several of our neighboring communities and raising the minimum wage we all know that the small increases in the minimum wage in recent years have not come close to keeping up with inflation and those who live and work in our city who are trying to get by on

1:01:32minimum wage jobs need and deserve to get a raise the other long-term poverty solution we can be a part of is through improving the quality of public education and the opportunities that young people in our community have to succeed the city council is not responsible for public

1:01:49education but as people who care about the future of our children and the quality of life in our community we need to work with the school district in their ongoing efforts to give young people the tools they need these are some of the big picture issues I see for El Cerrito but I also think we

1:02:07need to focus on the little things every interaction with a citizen by staff or council members has to be done with dignity respect and recognizing the importance of the issues that they bring I'd also like El cerevo be known as a city where City officials actually use

1:02:24their turn signals when they make a turn and lastly those who know me know that I'm not the most patient person I'd like our Council meetings to be a little more efficient and not end up dealing with the most complicated and controversial issues late at night our citizens city

1:02:43city staff and most of my Council colleagues have to be at work or school the first thing Wednesday morning so let's make the best use of our time so please understand if I gently but firmly nudge things along from time to time it's not with the intention of squelching public common and

1:03:01participation so thank you to my colleagues and the citizens of El Cerrito for giving me this opportunity to serve in this role for the next year thank you [Applause] any other remarks from council members sure I'm as mayor Pro tem I look forward to uh filling in for you when you're not

1:03:29able to attend Regional meetings or when you're not able to to conduct our our meetings and I just need to know is the Tie going to be a regular thing Greg already uh quized me about this tie because often We Don't Wear Ties to city council means I said well for the being

1:03:48becoming mayor it's a special occasion and this is the Tie I was married in so it has special significance so I'm going to go back to the Tyler State in days to come thanks Greg good thank you and Gabe feel free to follow suit or do whatever you like to Janet ninja thank you you can start

1:04:10wearing ties now and I'll put my hair turn signal on uh any public comments no speaker slips all right we're one step away from the sparkling cider and cake you're here the next regular city council meeting will be held on Tuesday December 16th at 7 pm and I invite everybody to join us

1:04:40in the lobby for cake and refreshments and thanks so much for being here we're adjourned foreign