Regular City Council Meeting — Reorganization December 20, 2022

0:00:07please take a seat thank you if there is one only if there is one right okay if everyone can please find their seat s okay hey thank you everyone for joining us mayor mayor we turned this mic on good evening everybody the December 20th regular city council meeting it's called

0:00:46to order at 706 uh city clerk please call roll mayor Quinto here Ableton here council member for Delhi here council member rednick President we have a quorum Nexus pledge of all Pledge of Allegiance please stand I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

0:01:11and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all a teleconference and public comment instructions Madam city clerk thank you mayor this meeting is being held in person with an option to participate via Zoom although plenty of you are joining

0:01:38us in person tonight which is fantastic for those of you participating remotely please remember to keep your microphone on mute whenever you are not speaking if you are participating in person and also logged into Zoom please ensure your audio in zoom and your device are muted

0:01:53to avoid any audio feedback closed captions are available by participating in the media meeting via Zoom for members of the public who wish to provide public comments tonight the mayor will announce the time for public comment on each applicable item for each period of public comment in-person

0:02:09requests will be heard first followed by remote requests to speak in-person requests are submitted here to the city clerk with the speaker card anytime in advance of the item being heard remote requests are submitted by selecting the hand icon when the period for public

0:02:23comment is announced remote requests by phone are submitted by dialing star 9.

0:02:28instructions are also provided on page one of the agenda and will be displayed with the speaker timer for each period of public comment that concludes my instructions thank you mayor okay very good we will next go to uh Council and staff Communications and I'd like to

0:02:42introduce city manager Karen pincos good evening thank you your honor welcome everyone it feels like a family reunion today um so this will be my last report on the city's local emergency as the emergency will end on December 31st 2022.

0:02:58yes that's what I agree so while the emergency may be behind us we do know that covid remains in our environment many of you are masked up good job so as always we encourage folks to get vaccinated be cautious and test often and once again the federal government is making free covet tests

0:03:17available to households so be sure to take advantage of that sign up online through either the US Postal Service or you can find information in all sorts of details on the County website at www.coronavirus.cchealth.org I'd like to remind the city council and let the community know that for the

0:03:38holidays City Hall will be closed beginning on Thursday December 22. we will reopen on Tuesday January 3rd 2023 at that time City Hall will return to its pre-pandemic hours which is Monday Wednesday Friday 8 to 4 every other Friday that is Tuesday Thursday 8 to 6

0:03:56and closed every other Friday on the open Fridays are planning building and Public Work services will be available by appointment during the holiday break some services and programs of course will continue all of our information is posted on the city's website at

0:04:13www.el.cerido.org and will also be posted on the city's various social media accounts as I reported at the last city council meeting we have a community survey underway to gather resident opinions on important topics such as safety Transportation infrastructure Community

0:04:29engagement and much more right now the survey is only available to randomly selected households in El Cerrito so if you received a letter in the mail concerning the survey you've been randomly selected so we encourage you to submit your response you can return it

0:04:42by mail in a postage paid envelope or you can complete the survey online at the link that is provided however beginning on December 28th the survey will open to all residents and the links will be available on the city website and our VR social media accounts so

0:04:56please keep an eye out for that and finally um just owing to the occasion this is our last city council meeting of the year and what a year it has been we've had a lot of challenges this year as we've made our way out of financial crisis we've made our way through the

0:05:13pandemic it's been a difficult year for me and a few of us personally as well but we're now in recovery mode and on behalf of the staff team I just want to appreciate the city council's patience and understanding we're still working with a lot of several vacant positions

0:05:29but we're doing our best to recruit new staff and we're hiring by the way anyone interested check out our website please apply we've got some really amazing positions available and we're a really cool place to work so but we are trying to keep up with our ever increasing workload and despite

0:05:45these challenges we know how much we've accomplished this year we'll continue to work hard to do our very best to provide the services that the community wants and deserves it's a team game we all made it through this together and now that the year and the emergency

0:06:00is behind us we really look forward to the future so I'd like to thank the council for your support this year I especially like to thank you Janet of my 21 years here in El Cerrito you've always been on the council so I don't know a council without you and it's

0:06:12going to be so weird to not see you're sitting there um so you're going to get all the accolades later but I just want to thank you so much for your support the entire time I've worked here and to the rest of the council and our incoming council member I'm very grateful to you all I'm

0:06:28so excited to work with you and for everyone on behalf of the entire city staff team thank you for your service We wish all of you the very best holiday season and a very happy and healthy New Year that concludes my remarks your honor thank you so much thank you city

0:06:43manager Ken Pinko send will return to the council I wanted to check and see if anyone has any updates uh we'll start over here council member Fidelity good evening everyone welcome back I I want to begin by just saying once again thank you thanking the shoddy committee for the efforts on

0:07:03making our Moser Hillside making us proud again during the holidays and I know that former mayor Greg Lyman is here and the BART keys are here they've been instrumental in making that happen every year so go visit it I think we have about another week and a half left

0:07:18here before it comes down there's a new batch of signs in City Hall to declare that El Cerrito is United against hate we hope anyone that wants to put those in the window will pick one up if someone needs to have them deliver it have them contact me we're trying to get

0:07:34the our retail business folks putting them in the windows so if you see an empty window let's put a sign in there talking about that we won't accept hate in El Cerrito good news I also hear is that on the at our community center where we've had overgrown trees taking away some of

0:07:52our solar power getting in the way of our solar panels those are being worked on with the thanks of the the school district and trustee Leslie reckler The Cutting and trimming of those are going to be happening so we'll get some more power from our solar panels thank you

0:08:08very much happy holidays everyone okay next we'll go to councilmember Abelson um thank you very much uh next we'll uh start over here uh mayor Pro Tem thank you mayor I just want to extend a big thank you to Sakura Kai Taiko that performed for us this evening um I especially want to thank Carolyn hi

0:08:39sheida my neighbor who is also a member of that group and for bringing such wonderful sound and energy to our meeting this evening okay thank you guys all for being here and wishing you all very happy holidays El Cerrito has a lot of holiday spirit going on um you know we talked about the shoddy

0:08:59uh shoddy lights and then all around the town we have so much going on so thank you so much for being here and uh we're excited to get the show on the road okay yeah definitely we want to get this show on the road but I also wanted to mention that I did receive a phone call

0:09:14today from the chief of staff for our future congressman John garamande and uh the chief of staff Bradley mentioned to me that uh that on Thursday the vote in Congress for some of the earmarks that I requested um wearing my Marine clean energy hat that will be voted in and that will mean

0:09:37750 thousand dollars uh to uh green hardened low-income homes here in the Marin County Marin clean energy uh area which is most of Contra Costa County uh parts of Napa and all of Solano County uh and Marin County so that's 750 000 that will go to low-income homes to

0:10:01change over to heat pumps and put some double pane windows and I'm grateful to Congressman garamende for delivering that also we have some great news that also in that incoming vote on Thursday 300 million will be allotted to the future biohub that will be built in

0:10:25the city of Richmond at the Richmond Field Station UC Berkeley so we're excited to that that means jobs jobs uh for uh this area and look forward to having the biohub uh here in Contra Costa County in West County in the city of Richmond and that will coincide with what they're doing at UC

0:10:48Davis so from UC Davis to the city of Berkeley and I'm letting the mayor of Berkeley who's here uh Jesse Aragon know that uh for it's great to finally have uh UC Berkeley build at the city of Richmond at the Richmond organization so I'm looking forward to that so next we'll go to oral Communications

0:11:10from the public now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments regarding matters not on the agenda and consent items in-person speakers can submit a speaker card to the city clerk and remote speakers should use the raise hand feature to request to speak please

0:11:29remember to identify yourself and your city of residence at the beginning of your comments Madam City Clerk at this time we only have three members requesting to speak okay so we'll go to our first speakers in person is Buddy akasich followed by Dave Weinstein good evening everyone and big broad

0:12:05smiles and good cheer this is December we're all happy we're always pleasing this is a celebration time I didn't know I was going to be first I mean I could I'd be ready if I was 14th or I'm buddy activist and I live at Hana Gardens it's actually buddy's place but

0:12:25some some sometimes we call it Hana Gardens and I'm here to speak on behalf of the eqc the city of El Cerritos Environmental Quality committee and I had anticipated being down on the list but um what I'm wanting to say about the eqc and the feelings that we have related to trying to do our best

0:12:51job for the city of El Cerrito um all I'm asking is make it really simple all I'm asking is to attempt to transition from a monologue framework to a dialogue framework that's all and what I would metaphor you with is supposing you went to Echo Canyon and numbers of families walked up to the

0:13:21rim of the canyon and yodeled and they got a yodel back from Echo Canyon and then you walk up to the same place where they were standing and you yodel and nothing comes back we want it to be two-way communication happy holidays to everyone a pleasure to be here a pleasure to see you thank you

0:13:43thank you our next speaker is Dave Weinstein good evening hi I'm Dave Weinstein live in El Cerrito I'm the president of the historical society and of Trail Trekkers but I'm speaking more or less as an individual I really want to start by thanking Janet Abelson I've been a volunteer on City

0:14:06committees since the mid 90s and it's really important that the city understand and work really well with members of the community because members of the community are as important I think to the city as members of the city council I think that we all voted for you guys but that's not

0:14:22the end of our involvement people really want to get involved in a lot of things and like buddy I'm also on the Environmental Quality committee you know Janet had been on a number of um committees that I served on mostly about Recycling and garbage back in the 90s

0:14:35and then when it came about that the old Cerrito theater was about to be internally demolished it was Janet who really worked hard and I think that if it wasn't for Janet working as the first member of the council to really get behind trying to save that theater that we might not have the

0:14:52Cerrito Theater now and so we really have to thank Janet and always um remember that and I would like to welcome the new Council it's so good to have um these dedicated people and I want to emphasize you know as as buddy was saying I've been on the Environmental

0:15:06Quality committee you know with buddy I've been on for 14 years and my term expires in February and I'll be gone but you know it's important that the um City work with is volunteer committee members and you know take them seriously and try to let them um really make an impact

0:15:25it's a way to uh you know really get people involved and take advantage of the incredible expertise that so many people in um El Cerrito have and um I'd like to conclude by saying that there are a couple of events coming up that people might find interesting on the

0:15:4021st of January a filmmaker Judy Irving remember the parrots at Telegraph Hill that was just one for many movies she's going to be speaking on Saturday January 21st on behalf of the trail trackers four to six showing clips of her movies four to six p.m at the community center

0:15:56and then do you guys remember 100 years ago when El Cerrito went insane a Ouija board drives Four Women insane the entire city of El Cerrito's Ouija board crazy well if you want to hear about the first time El Cerrito or maybe the last time El Cerrito made the New York Times

0:16:13in the Brooklyn Eagle you should attend this event Sunday January 29th the Garden Room of the community center put on by the elsewhere Historical Society it'll it'll shock you okay well thank you very much and good luck in the new year thank you thank you our next speaker is

0:16:30we'll go to a remote speaker howdy Gowdy how do you should be able to unmute and begin your time now thank you my name is howdy Gowdy and I live in El Cerrito mayor Quinto mayor Pro tem modiyama and council members um I know you've all heard me make some comments sometimes critical times and I

0:16:53want to be clear that my comments are always directed at you know practices policies and decisions not individuals of Staff or counsel and my comments are always made in the spirit of trying to make the city a better place and this particular comment uh relates

0:17:10to the relationship of the Environmental Quality committee uh to the city council on staff and while I'm currently chair of the eqc my comments are my own and I'm not speaking for the eqc um the members of the eqc have a wide range of personal and professional experience and expertise regarding

0:17:31environmental policies and issues this knowledge has been used to make five formal recommendations over roughly the past three years unfortunately there's been a consistent lack of Engagement with these recommendations and the prevailing practice is to place our recommendations

0:17:50into the council's general public comment record as opposed to a more prominent part of the agenda that allows the council to comment if they choose as a result the eqc voted unanimously on October 11 2022 to send a memo to the city manager good faith to try to engage staff in a

0:18:12dialogue about improving the method of handling eqc input and continued hopes of bettering the city and our relationship to it the content of that memo has been provided to you with my Written Letter submission after waiting for two months and repeatedly asking for updates and

0:18:33feedback it was reported back to the eqc at their December 12th meeting that the memo was received by the city manager but no action would be taken in resolution 2008-13 the city council expressly assigns that you can see the responsibility to serve in an advisory capacity to the city

0:18:54council staff other boards commissions and committees and the residents of the city with regard to environmental quality issues within the city of El Cerrito however in trying to exercise that responsibility the eqc has been repeatedly denied a timely well-reasoned

0:19:12response or dialogue of any kind which undermines the ability of the eqc to serve the community this pattern has culminated in the most strikling denial of all which is choosing no response to a memo explicitly asking for a dialogue about ways to improve communication between

0:19:31the eqc council staff and other advisory bodies offering no reaction at all to a well-intentioned proposal to improve outcomes for the city with regards to council established advisory bodies is highly disrespectful behavior and it should not be normalized as an acceptable business practice howdy

0:19:51can you please wrap up your out of time thank you please provide direction to staff to remedy this damaging disregard of the eqc's effort to help improve the city the dismissive treatment of the eqc erodes the spirit of volunteerism in the city and diminishes our community

0:20:08potential thank you our next speaker our final speaker is Robin Mitchell Robin you should be able to unmute and begin your time now uh thank you can you hear me yes yes uh mayor and City Council Members my name is Robin Mitchell I'm currently the chair of the urban Forest committee

0:20:25however my remarks are personal and not do not represent that committee as a member of the urban Forest committee I've been attending the Environmental Quality committee meetings regularly in order to form inform the eqc about the urban Forest committee activities and to

0:20:38learn about the eqc activities so that we can collaborate when it seems appropriate I'm familiar with the letter that the eqc wrote to City staff in an effort to improve Communications between that committee and the city council as well as other committees and commissions

0:20:50and I believe those recommendations should be taken seriously by the city the most important aspect of the recommendation concerns the fact that right now the only way the eqc and presumably any other committee can communicate to the city council is through the three-minute public comment

0:21:04period which is an extremely limited method of communicating important policy topics this Avenue of communication does not allow for a thorough presentation of the topic and most importantly does not allow dialogue between the EQ see in the city council on that topic during public

0:21:20meetings dialogue which could occur if the presentation was agendized the way the communication exists now there is no possibility of collaboration between the eqc and the city council to thoroughly understand the topic and come to an agreement about the best path forward

0:21:35thoroughly discussing the communication recommendations from the eqc and coming up with a method to communicate effectively to the city council would benefit all the advisory bodies many of the members of The Advisory bodies are experts in their fields and they can

0:21:49contribute significantly to improving the city if a sound communication mechanism is developed in terms of the Peril that our planet is in due to global warming the clock is ticking and we don't have a moment to lose recommendations from the eqc the urban Forest committee and other advisory

0:22:05bodies is more critical than ever and the council would be wise to develop a method of communicating effectively with those advisory bodies to take advantage of their expertise in my experience collaborative teamwork results in the most robust Solutions this is what the city needs to Foster

0:22:22because we are in dire need of robust Solutions thank you thank you thank you mayor that does conclude a request to speak okay very good thank you very much next we will go to adoption of the consent calendar we have a declare and certify the results of the November 8 2022 General

0:22:42municipal election B authorized city council and City advisory meetings to be held via teleconference pursuant to Abe AB 361. see second read in adoption of the ordinance rezoning properties located in the San Pablo Avenue specific plan area and D Transportation impact

0:23:01fee annual report for fiscal year 2021-2022 anyone like to move that so moved second Okay I uh moved by council member Rudnick and second by council member Abelson Madam sir clerk all those in favor say aye aye aye host Jim Carrey's okay great uh now we have a a presentation and uh

0:23:28we have uh the city clerk that will uh um also speak on this as well and uh and this is a recognition of city council member Janet Abelson and uh I personally wanted to mention uh that council member Abelson was first elected in 1999 and has served as mayor five

0:23:53times she has been a continuous advocate for the needs of the disabled and for improved accessibility in all modes of transportation and access in El Cerrito and the Bay Area she served on the whitak board for 20 years CCTA for 18 years MPC for 12 years the BART accessibility task force for more

0:24:19than 20 years and the AC Transit accessibility advisory committee for over 30 years she has been active in the league of California cities for over 23 years serving as the East Bay division president in 2015. she played a lead role in creating the city's eqc and was

0:24:40involved with El Cerrito Earth Day activities for decades tonight we are recognizing council member and mayor Abelson for her 23 years of Public Service to the city of El Cerrito to the community and the greater East Bay Area and we have a couple of presentations

0:25:03and we'll start with a special presentation from the mayor Pro Tem we're bringing it so I am standing in for Senator Skinner so um it's really not me as a council person so this is this beautiful resolution uh for honorable Janet Ableton so I won't read the whole resolution

0:25:44um but I do want to call out a particular whereas the whereas Janet Abelson is the recipient of numerous Awards and accolades including selection as a 2006 14th Assembly District Woman of the Year in 1998 California Transportation Foundation citizen of the Year Janet

0:26:06earned her bachelor's degree in English and a master of business administration degree in management from San Francisco State University and she has been a resident of el Sergio since 1970.

0:26:18as a result of retireless hard work and unwavering commitment Janet Abelson has compiled an impressive record of personal and Civic achievements a record that has earned her the admiration and respect of those persons who have had the privilege of associating with her

0:26:34now therefore be it resolved by Senator Nancy Skinner that she takes great pleasure in commending The Honorable Janet Abelson upon the occasion of her retirement as a member of the El Cerrito city council applauds her for her admirable record of responsible citizenship and dedicated service and

0:26:53for enhancing the lives of the people of El Cerrito and the East Bay Region and conveys her warm best wishes for further achievement and personal satisfaction in the future foreign [Applause] next I would like to introduce a fellow El Cerrito Gaucho my classmate and he is

0:27:45our longtime County Supervisor John Joya [Applause] good evening I've been honored to represent El Cerrito and most of West Contra Costa County On The Board of Supervisors since 1999 the year that Janet was elected to office so I was I took office earlier that year so I've had the pleasure and

0:28:17honor of working with Janet for nearly 24 years and I have a county resolution I'm not going to read it but I I wanted Janet to be here I know you have another event Community event coming up on on a Sunday but really to honor you on your last meeting because you have been an amazing voice

0:28:39on so many causes especially Transportation issues for people with disabilities for seniors why you've covered all Transportation issues you've been a special and impactful voice for people who need Transportation who have no other options and I can think of two um two issues we

0:29:05worked on many issues together I can think of two that were my favorite um and it was because working with you was always about doing things differently and not following the flow and not giving in and fighting back and one of those you may remember which was before measure J

0:29:26in 2004 uh was an effort um among a few of us to create a pilot program so every single high school student low-income high school student could get a free AC Transit bus pass um remember that um and we worked on that with colleagues in Alameda County to get some funding

0:29:49from MTC to show that this was a really important thing and there was some pushback at first um and I still have some pictures where at some meetings where where you where you participated and advocated and in the end we were successful in getting that program started and as you know

0:30:07that formed the basis for funding in measure J in 2004 to create free bus pass programs for high school students here in West Contra Costa so that was and it was because I think you were always a community activist even when you were in your governing role and saw

0:30:26that as an important way to to bring an issue across the finish line and I especially think the public should know that your strong voice in 2004 with measure J with the transportation sales tax is the reason we had more funding for Transit more funding for Paratransit

0:30:45you know more funding for uh seniors that need to use Transit because you were the loudest voice there now there were allies and other people um you know I recall being in many late night meetings with you we both served on that measure J committee with the Transportation Authority and I and so

0:31:05people today are benefiting from your advocacy and your work over your 20 nearly 24 years so I I just wanted to be here to acknowledge that and say that many people around this County who who enjoy the benefits of those policies don't know that you were a loud voice in many of them and I just wanted

0:31:28to advocate for the public to understand your role in improving our transportation Network so many other issues I won't you know folks know your many issues they'll talk about them more on a Sunday but I just wanted to acknowledge that and thank you for the pleasure of being able to work with you

0:31:46for nearly 24 years I have a resolution I can present it now later however you want to do that and uh and and of course we'll I mean we miss seeing you roll around El Cerrito uh I mean it was not uncommon to see you and in fact you know when you advocated for Transit you did

0:32:05so you know with the experience of a writer that relied on Transit and I think that comes with a more powerful voice thank you and you were there I know you were there together right we did it together she's a great Ally as you all know thank you thank you John uh next I'd like to

0:32:53introduce uh Sam Cagle uh from the league of California cities foreign [Applause] good evening again I am Sam cagil I'm the regional public affairs manager for the East Bay division of the league of California cities and I come here tonight with mixed emotions I'm here to congratulate council member

0:33:21Abelson on a long and successful tenure in your local government service and to wish you the best but of course it's hard to say goodbye and we're going to miss having you engaged and around um 23 years of serving on city council is such an accomplishment and such a

0:33:37tremendous gift to your community I've been at the league of California cities for about 14 years and recall you being involved when I began my job there I was working in our Sacramento office and met you and got and got to engage with you when you would attend

0:33:53conferences policy committees legislative action days you were a fixture of our organization you were always there and participating fast forward six years of my 14 years with the league of cities and I moved out to the East Bay to be the regional public affairs manager here

0:34:10I was handed a board of directors of wonderful and hard-working Mayors and council members including you soon after became the East Bay division president and we got to work closely together I will always be grateful for having you as one of my first presidents you had

0:34:30been engaged in East Bay politics for many years and helped me get to know the lay of the land I just loved our conversations around your history here in the East Bay I'm so happy that I can be here today to say thank you for your guidance and partnership additionally thank you for being very

0:34:48engaged with Cal cities I don't think you ever missed a conference or legislative action day which is our annual trip to Sacramento to Lobby our legislators and throughout the years you served on several policy committees including housing community and economic

0:35:01development and administrative Services community services and governance transparency and Labor Relations not only did you serve and lend your voice to these committees that help us shape policy in the direction of our advocacy as an organization but thank you for having a leadership style that

0:35:19encouraged everyone to be involved to this day your entire council is involved with the league of California cities and it's been so great to have members like mayor Quinto who is now a past president of the division as well and serves through our diversity caucuses and on policy committees mayor

0:35:36Pro tem otayama thank you for your service on housing council member fideli thank you for your service on Transportation councilmember Rudnick thank you for your service on Public Safety Council member elect weisinger congrats on your election and I look forward to working with you and getting

0:35:52you engaged as well moving forward no pressure um but it's not any trouble let me know okay noted um but it's not just your Council but other Mayors and council members in the east in the East Bay that you encouraged to get involved you leave behind a legacy of solid leaders and advocates in

0:36:14Cal cities and I'm grateful for that um to wrap up thank you council member Abelson for your dedication to Cal cities the East Bay Division and for your tireless advocacy for your city and cities Statewide I wish you the very best foreign [Applause] next we have a general public comment

0:37:03now is the time of members of the public who wish to provide public comments to council member Abelson uh in-person speakers can submit a speaker card to the city clerk and remote speakers should use a raised hand feature to request to speak please remember to identify yourself and your city of

0:37:20residence at the beginning of your comments Madison City Clerk thank you mayor we have just a couple of speakers so far so if you can just confirm the three-minute timer three minutes perfect so we'll do our in-person speakers first starting with Greg Lyman Janet

0:37:48thank you for your years of service that sounds so simple but I served with you for 12 years and saw first hand your tireless commitment to our city you traveled far and wide to represent us giving much of your time and energy we thank you and we thank your family

0:38:11for supporting you in that endeavor together with many council members over the years we passed many legislations that we're proud of smoking ban local minimum wage and the San Pablo Avenue specific plan to name a few I know your commitment to our city will take on a new look and I look forward to

0:38:36working with you from this side of the diocese congratulations [Applause] sorry I'm having problems with my Mike can you guys hear me okay so the next speaker is Mark Friedman followed by John stashik Mark Friedman from El Cerrito this is the end of the Abelson era

0:39:11not just Janet but Howard served as mayor and council member before Janet but I think Greg served the longest with you I'm second uh Gabe is third but everybody that you touched their lives have been changed and our city has been changed I've never met anybody who loved

0:39:30going to meetings more than you Janet it is amazing anywhere I would go in this state and I happened to mention I was from El Cerrito or served on the council said oh you know Janet Abelson yeah I know Janet I was at this meeting with her I was in this conference with

0:39:47her you were such an ambassador for our city and such a public servant not just on the council but with the schools with Community groups everywhere you went you spread a message of positivity and let's get together and make this a better place to live it's an honor and

0:40:05privilege to serve with you Janet and thank you so much foreign leave it to Janet to pack the house you don't often see a council chamber this full I can think of a few times but they're coming out in force For You Janet this is a real honor to be here and see you off but

0:40:44I want to thank you personally for the good you've done for El Cerrito keeping this city making the city great always trying always trying personal friendship our time at fat apples and I wish you well on your next Endeavor whatever that is we're going to see each other around town

0:41:05and I have something to present to you right now that'll recognize your service to El Cerrito here it is the big reveal and this will be uh oh you made it six turns I love that fired now can put them so you just look at it all the time watch it we have the Albany mayor here

0:42:04[Laughter] you got so much damn stuff on your wall in your house yeah maybe this has to go outside because I don't know thank you guys thank you have fun with that [Laughter] that's hard to beat okay our next speaker is Peggy McQuaid good evening Council and staff I'm Peggy

0:43:14McQuaid now former council member and mayor of the city of Albany and uh I heard what you said okay we don't forget nobody [Laughter] I just want to say thank you Janet on a more personal level these people sitting here these middle-aged people I've known Janet since they were little

0:43:38little little kids and they grew up and they all worked for me at Albany pool and then they kept growing somehow and now they have Littles but the point of that is simply that we've been friends a long long time and I just always appreciate your friendship and as I move through my career in city

0:43:59government I appreciate your mentorship and working with me and talking about all these issues and I look forward to more lunches in El Cerrito all we're always in El Cerrito we got to start moving over the Border a little bit um but yeah and I look forward to continuing that

0:44:18thank you [Applause] speaker is remote Dave chaparro Dave you should be able to unbeat and begin your time now hello good evening honorable mayor city council members members of the public and City staff my name is Dave chappara I am the iff local 1230 Department representative

0:44:46for the city of El Cerrito uh I just want to take a moment to thank Janet for her couple of decades plus of service you have actually been on that Council for obviously my entire career but withstanding two individuals the careers of everyone else that works for the city

0:45:03of or that is a member of iff local 1230. you have always supported us in every single way you have been an ear to listen to us um and have been very clear with us in helping us get through all the challenges that arise you have been a supporter of not just the fire

0:45:19department but all public safety and on behalf of local 1238 just want to thank you for years of service and wish you the best in the future thank you mayor that does conclude our public comments okay okay we'll bring it back to the council and I know our your colleagues would like to say a few words

0:45:42so uh let's start uh to my right and we'll start with council member rodnick councilmember Abelson it has been such a pleasure to serve with you when I think of you I think of fire you are not just that you love fire service because I do too we're fire families but

0:46:03you have a fire in you to make sure that the world knows that El Cerrito is a community that cares that El Cerrito is a community that is uh it is a it's not a secret you know that this this community is the place where we know each other we care about our services

0:46:24and we care about the people who live here we care about the stakeholders who come here and our community is so much better because of your service so thank you so much yeah Barefoot time thank you mayor so I want to say thank you so much Janet for encouraging me to run for office and

0:46:47being the kind of example I would see you all the time when I was commuting on Barts I would see you in town I know that you went to every single meeting um for us every time I talk to you you are going to yet another meeting as everyone talks about you love meetings

0:47:05but that you took so much your retirement energy to to really bring resources to us to make sure that El Cerrito was at the table and I really want to say thank you so much thank you yes well there's some general themes here and I'm going to repeat some of them but they're worth repeating because

0:47:29Janet is special uh earlier this month the West County Contra Costa Transportation advisory committee wicktech honored Janet for her more than 20 years and as El Cerrito's uh WIC attack director now I said it wasn't easy following someone that's made so much progress and had so many achievements in

0:47:49the East Bay to assure greater ADA compliance and transportation issues what I really meant was that it's really never easy simply to follow Janet anywhere she's always on the bus she's always in her chair going hither and fro riding buses riding Bart taking trains to

0:48:08Sacramento flying to conferences waiting at bus stops and speeding along the Ohlone Greenway so it's uh we finally caught up with you right here so stay here a few more minutes she has been the very symbol of our town as someone else said everywhere we go people ask about

0:48:25her know you her endorsement me works miracles for people right Carolyn um and and and for those campaigning for city council and in the past all she had to really do is put her name on the ballot and she would win she would win the name Ables and wins um I was one of those lucky folks to get

0:48:46her endorsement in 2016 but not before years of trying to convince me to run I always had some excuse why I couldn't run year after year after year but finally I ran out of reasons and I want to thank you Janet for never giving up on me because this has been the

0:49:02challenge of my life and a challenge that you've made look so very easy in so many ways I won't go into the various things and the issues that others have mentioned that she's worked on um but as someone I do want to repeat that it in Council and on WIC Tac and

0:49:17CCTA her views on transportation and the services for aging citizens and ADA compliance are listened to with great respect and we follow those and again this is really the end of an era but the good news is that Janet says she will be around to be on more committees to be at

0:49:38more meetings which we've all said she will be there and I want I'm just happy because I grew up with my two little girls walking down Pomona and always stopping at her house at Halloween I'll be there next October Janet thank you very much there's my son who dran it he used to be a baby that's

0:49:54right thank you Janet we love you thank you for making our city in so many ways so I will have more to say but before I say anything um I'd like to find out if we have a motion to approve the resolution honoring councilmember Abelson for 23 years of service to the city of El

0:50:18Cerrito affected we have a motion by Motel I'm on a second by rudneck Madam City Clerk my apologies all those in favor say aye aye any opposed motion carries okay and finally I have something here you I have uh something very special to give to uh my partner the last uh at least 10 years

0:50:52um going on 15 years I think it's about 15 years we have known each other by volunteering together but I remember starting at Earth Day yeah yeah but I remember the first time um when Glenn and I moved to El Cerrito we moved in we moved back to El Cerrito back in 2001 and I did receive a phone

0:51:12call from none other than Janet Abelson who asked if I'd like to pitch in and help out and volunteer for a community and she had a great project for uh residents to work on and that was a Cerrito theater so again yeah so Janet thank you for that then thank you for uh

0:51:31you know reaching out to me those many years ago and this is uh something that the council has for you it's a resolution of recognition for councilmember Abelson for 23 years of dedicated service to the city of Cerrito and the East Bay Region so I'm I'm not going to read this but I

0:51:54wanted to let you know that I have spent more time with you Janet than anybody else so uh no I spent more time than you than I've spent with my own mom so know how much and you and I have had some battles but for the most part we always made up and we got along and uh uh but know how

0:52:19much uh I appreciate you and appreciate your longtime leadership with Transportation but also with uh your uh creating Earth day here in El Cerrito and making El Cerrito the greenest city in Contra Costa County so wherever I go up and down the state people do ask when

0:52:39they hear El Cerrito they say oh you know Janet Abelson I said yes I do and she's my partner on the council so again it's not going to be the it's going to be uh it's going to be so different not having you uh with us but I know you will be with us and and I know we will continue

0:52:58to work together on the other things that we work together for together uh Gina I'm going to present this to you and then uh the council after this we'll take some photos downstairs uh down at the uh area over here then foreign thank you foreign [Laughter] [Applause]

0:55:44foreign would you like to say few words sure um first of all I'd like to start out by introducing my family and uh because I always mess up I wrote it down in the hopes that maybe this time I would get it right um and it's not in any particular order that I do want to start out with my

0:56:42husband Howard Abelson also a former council member and mayor um from the 80s and Bart board and board director so um my oldest daughter Rachel was unable to be here tonight um because she had to be in court she's a deputy district attorney and um her husband she has a husband Chris

0:57:18who's a firefighter with Cal Fire um my son Joel is here Joel is also a firefighter but Mark uh closer to home and um he works for North County Fire did I say it right Joel I did say it right okay and his wife uh Christina Perez Abelson oh who is very very very hard working

0:58:01and we all love her to death um and um she had she has her law practice in the same office that um Howard had his uh malpractice in and um so and that would be in Richmond California okay and their son I don't see he's here laughs and um his sister did Christy did Sophia get oh

0:58:43Sophia that one didn't manage to get here what she had to work late so we we in our family do know I think that if you have to work late that takes priority [Laughter] um then um let's see hopefully I don't mess this up okay then uh next is my daughter Ruthie Abelson

0:59:15uh who's a real estate agent in uh West County in Augusta County and um she has started joining things that I'm a member of and that's because somebody I know the former council member and mayor in El Cerrito has been working on her thank you Jane Jane Barky so she's been um making sure that uh

0:59:50there's the Next Generation to replace this I think uh anyway um I I appreciate that much and my um once she was my youngest daughter but she no longer holds that honor because I kept on going that that would be Miriam Abelson [Music] we used to work at the pool in both

1:00:23Albany and El Cerrito and even if they think at the same time maybe yes because most abelsons are known for having more than one job Miriam is now a um professor at Portland State University in Portland um and she's got tenure and and accompanying her is her Partners uh

1:00:54Shelley [Applause] so they probably came the furthest to be here um my absentee um fifth child [Laughter] is uh doing the things sort of the new way I guess you could say um she lives in a tiny house you may may have heard of those and um she is engaged to um her partner Brendan

1:01:30and um so I'm hoping that they can get pick out a venue because they've already kind of picked out a date but they can't seem to come up with a venue um and they come down here every so often looking for one um but anyway she's um she's actually she's my youngest

1:01:52child by a long shot and um she I think resented the most by being on the council [Laughter] you probably would get the award for that um if we were if she were even here she's probably afraid to come down here during a ceremony like this for fear I would make her do something

1:02:18you know like write name tags out or some you know some some task um I um but anyway those that's my family did I mess up helps when you write it down that's for Carolyn I'm actually so happy that Carolyn is coming on board um she actually went to school with my

1:02:49kids a couple of them Miriam and uh Ruthie right she's sandwiched in between them in age but I thought that you were one thing but my kids on the way over said that you were in fact the school mascot [Laughter] but I think that's really cool and I think no one should hold that

1:03:20against Carolyn but my um my two daughters that are surround her in age um are still good friends with her so I think that's giving you an inkling of the kind of person that you're going to be working with up here uh starting in a few minutes yeah and I think you'll enjoy Carolyn

1:03:54um the um the main thing I wanted to talk about very very briefly was why did I run for the city council and there were specific reasons that I had in mind and you probably could kind of guess them um they had to do with um San Pablo Avenue and the development that would go on there and that it would

1:04:29include all people not just people who had a lot of money um but all people we now have a solution to that and that's in our um specific the grounds for it are in our specific plan and um with an addendum coming on our um the um addition to our general specific I'm not

1:05:00saying this right the specific would you like to help me Skye the amendment to the specific plan that the council recently adopted and will be going into effect and for those of you don't know sky is our wonderful City attorney so he's he's been with us most of the

1:05:21most of the time I was on the council I think since 2008 councilmember Abelson it's been a pleasure yeah and uh I sort of thought after a while he would go not want to stay or something but uh Karen made sure he was happy didn't you and my favorite client yeah Karen has done a really good job for us

1:05:48on that and many other things but the other thing that I was really concerned about was protecting our climate and over the time that I was on the city council I saw things going further and further downhill so that one was very difficult to deal with but I'm happy to say that we um

1:06:16I didn't get our last meeting past emotion supporting uh going the next step on our climate action plan and that means that um it'll continue and it can continue without my having to be here so um I appreciate that I consider it a gift um of sorts and I want to thank the my

1:06:48fellow members of the council here for um working with me and working with our staff to make this a reality because it was really it was really and still is really important to me and I'm happy to see that you think it's important too so um with that I think we've gone on for

1:07:16quite a while and certainly I have and with that I will um in my comments I guess thank you Jim [Applause] okay okay what happens it just in a moment we'll have our swearing in for newly elected council members oh she's leaving okay she's gonna sit right there what else jacket

1:09:22[Applause] okay uh next is administration of oath of office and presentation certificates of election thank you mayor tonight I have the pleasure of presenting and facilitating the swearing-in of two members elected to city council at our November 8th general election first is Gabriel Quinto

1:09:58who is being sworn in tonight for his third four-year term which will end in December of 2026. he was first elected to the city council in 2014 and has served as the mayor in 2018 and most recently in 2022 at this time I would like to invite mayor Quinto to the front

1:10:15as well as Alameda County Superior Court Judge peleos Lamas who will be delivering the oath of office foreign [Applause] class of 81 El Cerrito High School [Applause] I gave your own Pinto I Gabriel Tinto do you solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the

1:11:07Constitution of the United States that I will can you repeat that and I'll support and defend the Constitution of the United States that I will support and defend uh the Constitution of the United States of California and the constitution of the State of California against

1:11:30against all enemies foreign and domestic bear true faith and Allegiance and that I will bear fruit true faith and Allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and and the constitution of the State of California that I take this obligation freely without any mental preservation or

1:11:57purpose of evasion and I will well and Faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter the duties in which I am about to enter [Applause] and I'm going to present you with your certificate of election and your El Cerrito flowers [Applause] foreign

1:13:03would like to say uh thank you and it's been amazing to uh run with my dear friend and fellow El Cerrito grad and Cal State Long Beach grad uh Carolyn weisinger and I look forward to working with you in the next four years with this amazing Council and the best staff

1:13:25that uh that we have here you will enjoy your years here in El Cerrito and welcome back I know you were thinking of moving to Long Beach but I'm glad you stayed here in El Cerrito so I'll have more to say later and uh I'll bring this back to you perfect thank you mayor and now we'll

1:13:47have an opportunity if any of the council members would like to share comments you can start with council member fideli yes yes well Gabe congratulations on your re-election Hometown boy makes good um it's not easy to be mayor and run for reelection but you did it right so

1:14:05congratulations again as we as a city continue to move toward greater Financial sustainability it's been another year of working through the problems and trying to apply uh some solutions I want to specifically commend the mayor for his efforts constantly to get uh address unfunded mandates didn't

1:14:28quite get there this year but we will get there next year hopefully and your efforts to pass a project labor agreement here for the city of El Cerrito you were the key person behind that and I know all Janet Abelson with Janet yeah okay oh hi there you are she is still here she is still here okay

1:14:452017 is when we started this project so uh Janet and I drove out to Concord to meet with Bill Whitney from building and trade so that's how long we've been trying to get this done something to celebrate and I know that over the next four years years you will continue to be

1:15:02in my mind at least El Cerrito's ambassador to the other cities legislators because of your work on Cal cities and all the other subcommittees and entities that you sign up for and you will continue to be an advocate for Public Service as you continue to assist

1:15:18young candidates and officials who are needing of mentoring you're very good at that you seek them out and they become good legislators and public policy folks so four more years Gabe congratulations thank you so much [Applause] congratulations uh Gabe and it's been such an honor to

1:15:45work with you and to learn from you you are an amazing mentor to everyone around you and I have benefited from that and I really am appreciative of it and um I think you know you're one of the people that have really raised the profile of El Cerrito regionally and

1:16:03Statewide and even nationally now with all the lobbying and work that you do to to make sure that El Cerrito is at the table whenever they're whenever we have needs and resources are available to us and I really appreciate all the work that you're doing with MCE and all the

1:16:20climate actions that that represents for our city so thank you so much thank you after those comments from my colleagues it's really hard to add anything else because both of them put it perfectly it really encapsulates who you are and what you do but I do want to add that he is a

1:16:39former punk rocker and we'll always remain that punk rock spirit and can work a room like nobody else it is incredible to watch to watch mayor Quinto because you're still still mayor for a few more moments at work because he really wants to convene he wants to get together he wants to really create

1:16:59this body where people are here for action and he walks the walk so thank you so much thank you so much it's a pleasure thank you now it would be the time for any members of the public who would like to provide comments for mayor Quinto in person requests can to speak can be

1:17:20submitted to me up front here and if anyone on Zoom would like to speak you can raise your hand oh and I apologize I do have one request to speak from John Joya very short because I know you have a long night I just first mayor Gabe congratulations and um I I just wanted

1:17:46to to say that you know the ability for us to be effective in local government is about Partnerships and working together and I've always appreciated you know your friendship professionally personally working together uh now with Janet off the council you are now right

1:18:01the most senior member of the council whatever that means right and uh um but I just want to say I I think you have also always understood the importance of linking El Cerrito to the regional issues and and the connection between those Regional issues and El Cerrito issues of why it's important to

1:18:20advocate for those Regional policies that improve life in El Cerrito right as well as in our region in general so I look forward to continuing to work together and continue partnering and and having that relationship that results in better outcomes for all of our residents

1:18:35here in West Contra Costa so congratulations fellow Gaucho thank you John [Applause] thank you and again congratulations American Joe thank you next is Carolyn weisinger who is being sworn in tonight for her first four-year term on city council ending in December 2026 and at

1:18:58this time I would like to invite Carolyn up to the front as well as Contra Costa district attorney Diana bechton who will be delivering the oath of office thank you please raise your right hand to be sworn I I Carolyn Renee weisinger do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will

1:19:34support 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 against all enemies

1:19:49foreign and domestic foreign and domestic that I will bear true faith 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

1:20:05constitution of the State of California that I take this obligation freely that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion or purpose of evasion and that I will well and that I will well and Faithfully

1:20:23discharge and Faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter the duties in which I am about to enter so congratulations and thank you for your service black LGBT member of the El Cerrito city council and it's over 100 Year history [Applause] got to have the official certificate of

1:21:12election [Laughter] there you go [Laughter] all right baby why [Music] and now council member white singer I invite you to join the Council of the days [Applause] accounts remember the floor is yours thank you so much Holly and Karen and mayor Quinto and vice mayor motiyama I'm

1:22:20just so excited and so thrilled to be here I'm not gonna waste our time talking about policy we did that for almost a year now but there's so many people here in this room and I'm gonna try and thank as many of them as I can first I want to thank the citizens of El

1:22:35Cerrito yes give yourself a hand clap you know they said that a youngish black queer woman who talks so openly about race and about social justice issues could not win in the city of El Cerrito and you all disprove that so I just want to thank you all for trusting me

1:22:55um with this role I want to thank the people who I met on the campaign Trail first um folks like where's John station I want to Jake I want to thank John stasics I want to thank Jeff from this from the chamber as well I love to talk to John because John represents the

1:23:10person who I thought that I would not get to vote for me I remember talking to him when we first announced and he talked my ear off for 30 minutes and I got off that phone like John and that man is not gonna vote for me and he he because we don't agree on a lot of

1:23:24things but he one thing that we did agree on is that we love El Cerrito so I want to thank Jeff I want to thank John and the rest of the members of the chamber I want to thank TT Miss Pat Durham [Applause] um always made sure that I remember that night I'm out just a black person coming

1:23:40onto this Council but she made sure I knew the history of black people in this city especially how we had to fight for things like the MLK parade 30 years ago before I even got here so thank you Miss Pat I want to thank Greg Lyman where is Greg Lyman from El Cerrito dims I I want

1:23:56to thank you Greg because when I ran for school board in 2020 he he talked to me and then he finally in a very polite way that kind of hurt my feelings but not in a bad way let me know that it was going to take more than charm to win over the the citizens of El Cerrito and so I made

1:24:12sure to do my homework for the next two years and when he came around and said that he was going to endorse and support me I knew that I had done a good thing so thank you so much Greg and the rest of the members of the El Cerrito Democratic Club I want to thank

1:24:26this is gonna be the only time I'm gonna do this from the diet is because I know that I can and I know that we are room full of Gauchos when I say go say go Gauchos Go Go Gadgets I want to thank there is a woman in the back of this room right now and she is looking down but her name is Miss

1:24:42Marilyn O'Brien and she was my leadership teacher at El Cerrito I don't know if I'm her only leadership student who actually ended up leading the city of El Cerrito but I just want her to know that all those days that my mom brought me to school at seven o'clock in the morning

1:24:57to leadership class were not in vain because she taught us truly about what it took to be leaders not just in the city but around the world so thank you Miss O'Brien thank you to all the El Cerrito gacho family all of my classmates who don't live in El Cerrito anymore but call their

1:25:14parents who still live here and told them to vote for me including including Ruthie and Miriam who were the ones who called Janet and told her she had to endorse me so thank you that's right go Gauchos um I want to thank my family because you know we've been here in West Contra

1:25:33Costa a very long time and I did this on Saturday I'm gonna do it again grandmother she told me we've been here since you were what maybe eight 10 years old grandmother is 87 years old now so I'm just so thankful and honored that we came here from a small City in Louisiana

1:25:49we built a legacy here in the city you all have heard the store in the campaign Trail by my uncle who started the first black business and we've been here a very very long time so I'm glad that she is the one that's still here to see me do this I'm definitely wearing my grandfather's

1:26:09cufflinks who he said he would never run for office because he didn't want y'all in his business and I didn't either but I'm I think and I do have my cousin in my pocket my cousin Brittany who did not get to live to see this day um who was with me when we ran in 2020.

1:26:24um who else do I need to think I want to I'm glad that Granny Morris is here granny Morris the Morrisons were one of the first black families here in El Cerrito I knew that growing up as a child um she told me a couple of months ago she said I never paid attention to who

1:26:37was running for Sydney Council so I'm glad that I finally gave her a reason to know who she was voting for for El Cerrito city council some of you know me from this parade that we are not going to name that I used to run but it's a big parade that happens in June I want

1:26:52to thank Lisa Williams because Lisa really taught me what it means when you have intergenerational Strife in a marginalized Community because we've butted heads a lot but she was always the one that was there even when we were not seeing eye to eye to tell me that I

1:27:07still had to be fierce because it was going to be hard to do what I was doing so thank you Lisa I want to thank my campaign team I know that Igor is there in the back Igor if this all started in January where I saw eager and event I said I want to run for elsewhere because

1:27:19oh my goodness Carolyn that's so great I want to help you and then later on we brought champagne thank you for thank you to D.A becton for winning in June so that I could have champagne the meanest campaign manager that you will ever have but she got me across the finish line and

1:27:39finally I want to thank my parents I want to thank you know my I've always told people my El Cerrito story starts here where my mother got her second job at the El Cerrito Plaza at the Walden bookstore so I literally grew up here in the El Cerrito Plaza at El Cerrito High

1:27:53School so I want to thank my mother I want to thank my father who gave me that charm that if I didn't know the answer I can at least try Maryland to think and I knew it and y'all voted for me anyway um so I just want to thank you I could thank everybody oh the council

1:28:08Council I want to thank you Paul fedelli Mayor Kinto mayor Quinto who is my fellow Gaucho and mayor of fellow Long Beach 49er thank you vice mayor multiyama and Dinky Tessa who's been like you know I learned that you know I'm going to block both of you all this

1:28:23guy says I can't talk to Paul and Tess anymore on social media so y'all getting blocked but I love y'all anyway thank you thank you for supporting me and I hope that I that I can trust and um that can make all of you all proud and that we can all do this again in four years

1:28:36and that you will still love me thank you oh wait wait wait wait wait one last thing someone asked me a long time ago um did I have a mentor and for better or worse I do have a great group a large group of black elected women who are very invested in me doing well in this

1:29:02position and they have told me so I don't have one Mentor I have cerebral so one of them is our D.A becton who as long as I'm not showing up on her desk then we are all good um I want I don't know if Tiffany is here but definitely um assembly member Lori Wilson

1:29:18um our new state controller Malia Cohen who could not be here with us tonight um San Francisco mayor London read all these amazing black women who have poured into me and I know will continue to pour into me and send me messages telling me that I better not mess up so

1:29:32that next we'll take any comments from the council members perhaps we can start with councilmember Rudnick this time sure we're so excited to have you this is so it's such a fresh breath of fresh air it's been a long night but I'm just I'm so thrilled I can't wait to

1:29:57collaborate with you and I I think that El Cerrito is better off because you're right here thank you [Applause] welcome Carolyn and or council member why singer it's an honor to be on the council with you I am so excited about the energy you bring to this and I am

1:30:22really waiting for you to kick my butt laughs yeah Caroline uh you know you are the most prepared council member that that I've met in a long long time and you've done your homework early on you took the trainings that I was giving through victory at equality California

1:30:44so uh you know and for you to take the top vote um you know I am just so in awe of you already uh so but I know um you know we have a lot of work to do and you're going to spend less time in San Francisco because we have a lot of work here in El Cerrito so uh you know

1:31:06like like you San Francisco was my home for a long time but uh I'm spending less and less time there and I'm glad to be in Elsa reading again and uh and this is your town your hometown just like ours and I want to welcome you here the council and I'm going to make sure that

1:31:25we all work together we're five different uh uh thinkers and what we do and how how we do things but I welcome you and to this Council to El Cerrito and I look forward to your Regional leadership and we'll see a lot of you uh you know when it comes to Cal cities and

1:31:45I'm looking at Sam Cagle here let's get her to work and uh and you know this is uh uh something that that history that was made with you getting this top vote and I salute you and I congratulate you so thank you again thank you Carolyn thank you for winning congratulations and welcome

1:32:12Carolyn you began as everyone knows as a superstar student body President right and now mascot too so you were that Gaucho running around the field I didn't that's really being a superstar um and for those who follow social media you know that Carolyn is a superstar on

1:32:29many platforms uh and as it turns out you ended up being the Superstar candidate in this last campaign in El Cerrito um now it's time for you to be a superstar council member because we have a lot to do as the former mayor has said and we welcome your energy and your

1:32:47ideas I personally like your theme of being a practical Progressive uh because I believe the good should never be the enemy of the perfect we need to get what we can get move forward work together and be positive about it and you are positive I love your positiveness and I

1:33:08just want to say that if you and if you did nothing else but get elected in El Cerrito I would be proud of you and our city that supports a diverse El Cerrito so much so thank you very much welcome aboard [Applause] now would be the time for any members of the public who would like to speak

1:33:32provide comments for council member council member y singer I have to wrap my tongue around that uh in person requests can be submitted to me and online by Race using the raise hand feature and we do have John Joy is signed up again to speak Carolyn so from the oldest El Cerrito

1:33:58Gaucho in office representing El Cerrito residents to the youngest El Cerrito Gaucho and office representing El Cerrito um your election your historic election says a lot about you and a lot about El Cerrito um and I think others have referred to this your ability to connect and

1:34:23communicate and appeal and relate to so many communities here in El Cerrito our diverse Community says a lot about your ability I think to work to bring people together in the interest of the whole city and it says a lot about El Cerrito a city you know that we we spend time in

1:34:47in high school and lived in and how this city has become more diverse um more tolerant um and sees the value the intelligence the integrity and the honor that someone like you brings to the office and I know that your your efforts in getting elected are built on the efforts

1:35:12of so many other people here like Pat Durham or Leticia Moore um their work their election laid the groundwork for um and I think that's important to acknowledge for for you and um um obviously I look forward to continuing to work with you outside of a campaign now and in in in in the great

1:35:33things that can be done in working together the partnership between the city and county and obviously you made no secret of your Gaucho Pride by wearing green today so um congratulations on your historic election and um and on who you are and who this city is thanks

1:35:51[Applause] okay that does conclude our presentations tonight uh another round of applause for both of our elected council members and with that mayor we are ready to move on to the next item okay uh next is policy matters and we are going to have the El Cerrito Council reorganization

1:36:22and with that I have something for okay there's a plaque yeah mayor this would actually be the time for you to provide your remarks okay I I will do that now thank you good evening again everyone uh as you know over the last couple of years the city has dealt with many challenges we

1:37:04have had to face and Tackle Financial issues and we've had to deal with the impacts of the Cobalt covid-19 pandemic it's been a challenging full-time full-time but difficult decisions we've taken the act the right actions to fix past mistakes and we've made a great

1:37:23deal of progress our city is backed on stable ground and we have turned things around and we are now in a position where we can Envision a healthy and sustainable future the topic of sustainability that I discussed a year ago when I was appointed mayor had connected everything we have worked on

1:37:43in 2022 during my year as mayor many of the highlights of the past year have all revoked around making sure revolved around making sure that El Cerrito continues to be a sustainable and stable City we have worked to fulfill the city's short-term goals as well as our

1:38:01long-term vision and we have focused this year on finishing what we have started we have been committed to several themes this past year fiscal sustainability environmental sustainability economic sustainability public health and safety and equity and inclusion overall

1:38:21the city has been laser focused on providing stability in our budget and ensuring that we have a safe healthy and welcoming Community I've been dedicated to supporting our city staff team as well and we all continue to recover from the pandemic conditions and restore

1:38:39Services especially now that our local emergency ends on December 31st one accomplishment worth noting is that the else the California state auditor updated the local high-risk program dashboard to reflect El Cerrito's fiscal year 2020 2021 financial statements and

1:39:00our City's designation improved to moderate risk from having been considered high risk for the past four years this shows that the state audit this shows that the state ought to recognize a clear Improvement in the city's financial position as of the last fiscal year this progress is due to the

1:39:21leadership of the city council the engagement of our residents and our community and the dedication of our city staff team make no mistake our work is not done and we will continue and we will not stop working to keep improving our financial position ensure that we are

1:39:41spending within our means and increasing our general fund and our emergency reserves but we are proud of our significant progress as a city as we are now in the black our hard work is paying off and we are committed to continuing in the right direction towards fiscal sustainability

1:40:01other accomplishments that I'm very proud of this year include dealing with our pension liability as the city council kicked off the process of opening a section 115 trust to address our program obligations and working with our financial Advisory board on the process of creating and funding the

1:40:22trust we have also taken action to eliminate our opeb other post-employment benefits liability and as of this year all employees have increased their contribution to Calpers signing a project labor agreement with the Contra Costa building and construction trades Council which

1:40:41expresses the city's strong support of Labor rights Fair wages and the creation of quality jobs in this community for future Public Works projects the San Pablo Avenue specific planned update approved the city council will continue to provide the pro platform for

1:40:59sustainable development along our main commercial Corridor we look forward to Major projects to begin in the coming months which will all contribute to the city's property tax base once they are completed some of the items that I am looking forward to working on with this

1:41:16Council in the coming year are updating the city's strategic plan updating the climate action plan continued to prioritize public safety especially in crime prevention and emergency preparedness promoting housing for all and of course supporting the El Cerrito Plaza BART station housing

1:41:36project which is one of the largest Economic Development projects in this City's history along with building a new library facility that will suit the entire Community I am proud that we have been able to work to ensure our city is safe inclusive and accessible to all

1:41:57where we use an equity lens in all that we do and that we are careful with our financial reserves as I said before being a sustainable City means that we must be realistic about what the city can do and cannot do and that we are being mindful of our staff's capacity

1:42:16and respect of the work that they do and that we are thoughtful and strategic about how we allocate our precious resources our vision for sustainability continues in all areas that the City Works and I know in the coming years that we will continue to ensure that we

1:42:36are meeting our present needs while planning for the future El Cerrito is indeed building in our progress and moving our city forward and I'm grateful to have been part of such an impactful year as your mayor I also want to thank uh here in the audience my partner of 27 years

1:42:57Glenn other cat way back there uh thank you he barely attends events and but this one I twisted his arm to attend so thank you for attending but I also uh want to say that we have a room full of former mayors who I consider my um you've always been there and given me

1:43:25advice and I look forward to continuing that to learn about the history of this town where I grew up and where I was raised and to see it where it's at now I remember when we were thinking of moving here we still had there were still trailers here after the earthquake so

1:43:46know how much this city has gone through we've gone through a lot of ups and downs and uh look forward to seeing better days ahead so again with the mayors that we have here I want to point out this new generation of leadership with Carolyn weisinger Council council

1:44:04member weisinger here and council member Rudnick with our new mayor and I see a Richard Mayer Cesar zepeda and I look forward to working with you in the future and look forward to your swear again and I will be there and I also want to say thank you to uh Sam Cagle

1:44:25who has uh been there and has encouraged me to apply for these things that I thought well why should I do that and now I know why we do that and now that uh we see the rest of the council participating regionally uh I hope we can uh I look forward to having an including council

1:44:47member yeah I Do councilmember weisinger by fellow 49er at uh El Cerrito Gaucho uh you're going to be included in all this and then some and these are the uh things that small cities can do we can collaborate with our partners in the county with John Joya and the reasonable boards that we

1:45:09belong to and collaborate with our partners in the county state and federal level but we cannot do this all on our own we've tried to do this before we're not going to do this again we're going to collaborate and that's what we do as a small City so no more politics we're

1:45:27just going to do what is right and that is to make sure that our budget stays in the black for now on we're not going to overspend and we're going to watch this carefully and I look forward to the new leadership of the mayor Pro tem the future mayor of El Cerrito

1:45:45I can't believe that you are the first you will be the first first Japanese American mayor here in El Cerrito and the Japanese Community has been here from the beginning so it's about time and and I know the Japanese American community and this community as a whole

1:46:08will uh support you so again I wish you all the best so uh that's my thank you and Madam city clerk what do we go from here we can go to council member Commons for your year as mayor so we can start over here with councilmember weisinger uh well yes thank you mayor I'm sorry

1:46:28you're still the Marie for a couple of more seconds thank you mayor Kinto yes for your support and you know that I'm always open I mean I'm to me I'm already on Cal City so we don't even have to think about that but I thank you for your your dedication to the community I

1:46:42got to see it firsthand on the campaign Trail um and it was really a huge help for anything that I didn't know and I heard you talk about I could go home and as you said continue to study and continue to be prepared um and I know that I can continue to call you anytime and we

1:46:56worked this out together as a council member councilmember fideli yes just just briefly I think Gabe and I have something in common because being the mayor right before you we had two of the toughest years with covid and financial issues and a lot of other issues coming now and with

1:47:20the help of Staff we've moved forward one thing that I have said before and it's still true is that as our city begins to restaff and get our act back together and pick certain projects and services that we can start financing again we need to be patient because I

1:47:41mentioned that the council all of us have our priorities and the public have their priorities in our city and a limited staff can only do so much so we the more secure we get the more financially secure we get the more we can do the more we can get our projects

1:47:58done with the new mayor and the more the public can be happy about our positive city thank you mayor foreign are leaving big shoes to fill so I look forward to your support to be as good as you have been as a mayor for our city so thank you for all of you done another big thank you

1:48:28[Applause] for your service foreign we're going to make her a mayor now right yeah we gotta do it I now declare the offices of Mayor and mayor Pro tem to be vacant city clerk please proceed thank you mayor Quinto at this time nominations for mayor can be made nominations do not require a second do I

1:49:10have any nominations for the office of Mayor I nominate mayor Pro tem Lisa motoyama as mayor do I have any other nominations hearing none do I have a motion see I have to look at my own script I wrote it and I'm getting myself mixed up do I have a motion to close the

1:49:33nomination period and select council member motiyama as mayor for 2020. I still move do I have a second second all those in favor say aye aye any opposed motion carries congratulations foreign [Applause] up to the front as well as Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Joni hiramoto who

1:50:04will be delivering the oath of office please raise your right hand and repeat after me I Lisa Moto Yama I Lisa motoyama do solemnly swear do you solemnly swear that I will support and defend I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and

1:50:44the constitution of the State of California and the constitution of the State of California against all enemies against all enemies foreign and domestic foreign and domestic that I will bear true faith I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the

1:51:01Constitution 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 that I take this obligation freely that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation without any mental

1:51:19reservation or purpose of evasion or purpose of evasion and that I will well and Faithfully that I will well and Faithfully discharge the duties discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter the duties that I am about to enter congratulations and thank you for your

1:51:39service [Applause] thank you hey thank you City Clerk next is uh nominations for mayor Pro Tem mayor motiama you have the floor if you're like oh yeah I do have some prepared comments so bear with me for a few minutes so I would like to begin my mayoral year with gratitude for all that I have

1:52:58learned and experienced and the people I have met over the last two years as your council person I have learned how hard our city staff work to provide important services for the community and how dedicated they are and I have learned that there is a variable Army of volunteers alongside

1:53:17them that add the extra specialness to our city putting in thousands of hours and energy in service of our community from newer groups like The El Cerrito rollers and strollers to long-standing groups like The El Cerrito Garden Club and the El Cerrito Arts Association

1:53:35school-based PTA and PTSA parents sports like El Cerrito Youth Baseball the El Cerrito Tennis Club the Spurs FC church-based programs like Saint Peter's and Christ Lutheran Community safety like fire safe El Cerrito and the volunteers and Police Service groups like at the little Hill Senior

1:53:59strollers City commissioners and committee members and individuals like our pickleball Ambassador and my neighbor that picks up trash along Ashbury while she walks her dog in the evening to make her daughter's walk to school nicer in the morning as well as so many other groups and

1:54:16people that care so much about El Cerrito if I didn't mention your group or your efforts and think I should know more about you please let me know I want to represent and highlight the best of El Cerrito I am very proud to be the first Japanese-American mayor for El Cerrito

1:54:38am very proud to serve with my fellow council members that truly represent all parts of our community I know we are the Envy of many of our neighboring cities because we are diverse but United in effort to make El Cerrito constantly better because representation matters we are

1:54:57making a difference by showing up I want to thank my colleagues for showing up with their best selves the way we have learned to through the example of council member abelson's tirelessly showing up for El Cerrito over the last 23 years my shared vision for El Cerrito is to

1:55:15maintain our special small town quality of a caring community that is inclusive diverse in every sense and dynamic and flexible in meeting the needs of new and existing residents we as a council have been working hard this past year focusing on financial sustainability and restoring stability

1:55:35so that we can begin to look at enhancing our community we are on the right path to further refine that we will be restarting a strategic planning process cut short by the pandemic we will be updating our Citywide strategic plan beginning early next year which will be

1:55:51our roadmap for the next five to ten years it is critically important that we have robust Community input starting with our community survey to affirm our mission vision and values and set new goals and objectives building upon the work that we have accomplished both before and after the

1:56:09pandemic we know that fiscal site stability is the foundation and will continue to be a key Focus as we approach our mid-year budget review and next fiscal Year's budget our budget reflects our values and must ensure that we are responsible with our finite resources

1:56:28we want everyone who lives and works in El Cerrito to feel safe protected and prepared from bicycle patrols to evacuation drills to remaining United against hate and violence we have much we can do to support safety and each other we want to continue our environmental

1:56:45leadership in our region and as we Embark upon an updated climate action plan for our community we will seek to be Innovative and thoughtful about how we protect our planet integrating climate supporting actions and choices in all aspects of City functions from

1:57:00procurement to infrastructure we want to improve our built environment and public spaces seeking additional resources to focus especially on housing Economic Development and our public facilities this includes the new Transit oriented development underway at the El

1:57:17Cerrito Plaza BART station where the city has a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a community Hub incorporating a new library and Gathering Place along with new homes serving people of all incomes we want to maintain our community spirit and quality of life ensuring that

1:57:34everyone in our diversity feels welcome included through events and arts and Community Gatherings that are again possible to bring us together joyfully finally none of these things can happen without the community being engaged and involved and we can facilitate this by

1:57:51making sure we are working as efficiently and transparently as possible we will continue to increase our Outreach to the community and seek input and feedback that will help guide the city council to work with our city staff team to develop the policies to fulfill our Collective vision and goals

1:58:10Our Best Is Yet To Come and we will keep moving El Cerrito forward to fulfill our mission which is serving leading and supporting our diverse and transit-rich Community by providing exemplary and Innovative Services Public spaces and infrastructure ensuring Public Safety

1:58:28and creating an economically and environmentally sustainable future in closing I would like to thank my colleagues for their support thus far and for their support this coming year as we were to keep El Cerrito moving forward I want to thank City staff for their dedication to their work and just

1:58:48acknowledge how often they go the extra mile for a residence I want to thank my family who are here this evening for giving me the support to take many hours away from them for so many meetings and events I know that serving as your council person and now your mayor is a privilege

1:59:07and a huge responsibility and that I carry your hopes expectations and aspirations for El Cerrito because they are mine as well beautiful thank you now would be the time for council member comments we can start with council member rednick I just gave her the comment I said it was so

1:59:33beautifully said so I I really look forward to uh mayor morayama and the first one I got to say mayor murayama leadership um this is historic this is important and the whole community's so lucky to have you thank you for your service and uh I wanted to hand the gavel over

1:59:57thank you [Applause] yes Madam mayor motayama there will never be better alliteration in this town when addressing your mayor Madame mayor motion congratulations the city is in good hands with you as our mayor and it's been evident that you're a quick learner and

2:00:22you relish the opportunity to help us out as many have said we have many challenges ahead but with your background we will be aided in our goal to build more housing that serves all economic levels and with your leadership we can head toward a Renaissance at the

2:00:38El Cerrito Plaza with a library and Beyond and though you would originally come from Southern California we're so proud that you will be representing our long-established Japanese Community here in El Cerrito which I grew up with so I'm very excited about that finally two

2:00:55years ago um uh when you were first elected along with Tessa Rudnick you brought new ideas and scrutiny to a city that was needed a review of our financial issues and as mayor in 2021 I was so happy that both of you served on the budget subcommittee that dealt with our

2:01:14Fab to get us to a better place and all I can say is heading toward next year you should get some vitamin supplements because the budget will be your budget and it's your job to pass it and get support from our community so thank you for taking on that task foreign

2:01:34and I've only been on the council for five minutes but I will say I always I consider you still one of the most thoughtful members of this Council mayor motiama and so I know that the city is in great hands I look forward as council member fideli said working with you

2:01:51supporting the Tod supporting housing and since its public record I can say that I've moved into Mayfair just today so so I look forward to continuing to make El Cerrito that is you know Equitable and accessible for all of our community members and if Rachel from the little

2:02:11Hill is watching we still have our bet going to see how how soon I can make you laugh but I think I just won you just left so there you go hmm okay thank you everyone we are now mayor mochiyama ready to move on to nominations for mayor Pro tem I I want to step in because I want to be the one

2:02:30that does this but before I do I just want to say that a couple years ago this Council changed its policy for its preferred lineage to the mayorship from just those that got the most votes to those that hadn't been mayor yet should be mayor because mayor Greg Lyman pushed through the effort

2:02:50that that was important and it is important you do learn a lot you become better so I'm very honored today to put in in line for 2024 and nominate mayor Pro tem Tessa Rudnick [Applause] okay are there any other nominations okay hearing no more nominations is there a motion to close a nomination

2:03:25period and select council member Tessa Rudnick as mayor I so move do I have a second take it I have a motion by council member fideli in a second by council member weisinger all those in favor say aye aye any opposed motion carries [Applause] December Tessa ragnik have been selected

2:03:55as mayor Pro Tem we like our flowers in El Cerrito if you haven't noticed I will keep it incredibly brief I'd like to just use this opportunity to thank the people that helped support me in the seat the biggest thank you first and foremost my husband Chief Danny

2:04:26Green he's back there uh he's the one who should be celebrated every day I'd like to thank Shira and Kaleo who are also here for being a source of light and being extra patient with me I'd like to thank my mom and my stepmom and my sisters and my entire family I'd like to thank my best friends Doris

2:04:47Padilla Daryl Monty and Benny gebo I'd like to thank I also work in local government so I'd like to thank my colleagues in local government in my day job they're brilliant and they inspire me to operate at my best and they also understand that I wear different hats

2:05:02I'd like to thank my mentors there's way too many to name but I'd like to call out Donna la sala specifically by name uh thank you to those who provided me with off hours telephone support and shared their sequences of words with me I'd like to thank my campaign manager

2:05:18Deanna Delphine Polk she's a Virgo if you didn't know I'd like to thank the El Cerrito Community our residents our businesses and any stakeholder who cares about our little city special shout out to those of us who grew up in the bay and have chosen to stay yeah it is really hard to choose to stay

2:05:40but we do it because we love this community and I honor you in the seat uh to the important people that I've lost my dad Charles Rudnick my grandparents I carry them with me every day thank you to my Council colleagues you each have unique superpowers and you're

2:05:56committed to both the pet the present and the future of El Cerrito it is really such an honor to serve with you and last but not least to the El Cerrito City staff who are public sector heroes in their own right and they're the ones who are doing the hard work and in every

2:06:11corner of this city we thank you so much thank you okay and any remarks from Council sorry with council member weisinger I'll make mine very brief I'm I'm happy to be with you my friend Tessa and I look forward to having our starting good trouble with you that's not done on social media

2:06:39because look at Skye looking at me I just want to say that with your election two years ago it's very exciting that this somewhat said we've opened up finally a new generation of leaders here in El Cerrito Carolyn and and Tessa and with more energy and willing to modernize and recast the city

2:06:59for the new residents as you mentioned that need and want to stay here your technical expert expertise your recycling expertise and yes your daughter Shara are reasons that this city enjoys and depends on you so much I personally like the fact that you've said that you will never vote for our

2:07:19meetings going past 11 o'clock and I think that means that you also respect your elders so thank you very much I I concur with my colleague and I want to say congratulations and uh you know doing what you're doing a full-time job being a mom and uh to to two great kids and uh Panda Morgans and

2:07:43all that you're doing triple duties so uh congratulations I look forward to working with you the next couple of years when uh this year when this coming year when you're mayor Pro tem meant especially the year after when your mayor so look forward to working with

2:07:58you and with nairobiyama and I want to say congratulations as well mayor Pro tem Rudnick and I hope you enjoy your year and it's been really great working with you on some main things including the the financial subcommittee and I look forward to continuing to work with you to make

2:08:16things better thank you all thank you [Applause] so Madam clip should I call for public comments okay now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments on the council reorganization in-person speakers can submit a speaker card to the city clerk

2:08:41and remote remote speakers should use the raise hand feature to request to speak please remember to identify yourself and your city of residence at the beginning of your comments Adam City Clerk any takers we do not have any requests to speak on this item thank you city clerk thank you

2:09:00everyone for respecting our time okay the next item is city council local and Regional liaison assignments no nothing anyone have any liaison assignments reports I'll be incredibly brief and it's definitely worth going onto the recycle more website to find out some of our hazardous household

2:09:22waste participation numbers El Cerrito was incredibly high in our participation we are one of the highest ranking waste diver hazardous waste participants in the state of California so we should be really proud of that okay so can I get that pass it over thank you

2:09:50so it is now 10 a 9 17 and we are adjourned the next regular scheduled city council meeting is Tuesday January 17th 2023 at 6 pm [Applause] okay