Regular City Council Meeting August 19, 2025

0:01:09Be able to turn off.

0:01:19Okay, thank you, Mayor. We're ready whenever you are. Right.

0:01:22The August 19th Regular City Council meeting is called to order at 6.01 p.m. Will the City Clerk please call the roll? Mayor Weisinger? Present. Mayor Potem Quinto?

0:01:33Here. Councilmember Katzanes? Here. Councilmember Mojiyama? Here. Councilmember Saltzman? Here. We have a quorum. Thank you. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance, or Moment… I'm sorry.

0:01:43The first item on the agenda is consideration under AB 24449. City Clerk, do we have any requests? We do not, Mayor. Now, please join me for a Pledge of Allegiance or Moment of Thought.

0:01:54A delegation.

0:02:03Individual.

0:02:08The next item on the agenda is teleconference and public comment instructions from our city clerk.

0:02:13Thank you, Mayor. This hybrid meeting provides an option to participate in person or via Zoom with closed captions available. Meetings of the City Council are subject to the Brown Act and are held for the purpose of conducting city business.

0:02:26The Brown Act also ensures the public's right to be heard, and while the City Council is not able to respond to your comments directly, your comments will be heard prior to Council taking action. For members of the public who wish to provide oral testimony, the Mayor will announce the time for public comment on each applicable item.

0:02:42Public comments will be taken in person only, and a request to speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card.

0:02:48The Council's adopted Rules of Order and Procedures specify that public speakers address the City Council in an orderly and respectful manner, proceed their comments with their name and city of residence, and be respectful of time limits. Thank you, Mayor. That concludes my announcements. All right, the next item on the agenda is Council Staff Communications. City Manager, do we have any staff communications?

0:03:08Yes, thank you, Your Honor. I'm Karen Pincus, City Manager, and I just have a couple of,

0:03:13announcements. One, on behalf of our city clerk, I would like to encourage those who are interested in applying for boards, commissions, or committees to… we have several vacancies, and we are looking for, volunteers and applicants. You can find information on our website, which, as a reminder, is elcerito.gov.

0:03:32And I would also like to thank, and I'm sure the Council will talk about this during your remarks, but, I would certainly like to thank, the Office of Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, particularly Stella Greiler, her staff member.

0:03:44Will Provost, Chief Eric Sailors, all of our Public Works staff who worked together to put the wonderful Wildfire Preparedness Event on on Saturday.

0:03:54We counted at least a couple of hundred people, maybe more, that cycled through. It was a wonderful event with, vendors and, and booths out on the, out on the plaza, sidewalk chalk for the kids, and coloring books, and wonderful presentations.

0:04:10That were extremely informative. I know it was recorded, so we're hopeful to be able to link to that, once we receive information from, from the Assembly member's office, and especially would like to thank the Assemblymember. She came and moderated a panel of

0:04:25all of the district fire chiefs, and it was a very powerful presentation, and so just thanks to everyone who came, thanks to everyone, and I see Fire Safe Council back there.

0:04:35The Duncans, thank you for being there, too. And all of your folks that you worked with. It was a wonderful event, and we were really proud. We throw a good party here in El Cerrito, and I think that was a wonderful day. So, thank you. That's all I have.

0:04:47All right. Are there any announcements from any council members? We'll start with Councilmember Saussman.

0:04:53I just want to say happy first day of school to all the parents and kids in El Cerrito and West Contra Costa and some of our neighboring districts, too.

0:05:02All right, Councilmember Motuyama? Thank you, Mayor. First, I want to, echo our City Manager in thanking staff. Also, I want to thank staff for the National Night Out.

0:05:13and all the residents that participated, that was really great. And I see one of our hosts right in the audience here. And I also want to thank the residents for coming out for the wildfire preparedness.

0:05:25event, because one of the things that we learned from one of the presentations is that, you know, there is no way that, you know, the city can take care of every single resident in case of an emergency. So people really need to get to know their neighbors.

0:05:38and work together to, you know, if you need assistance for evacuating, things like that. So, I think it's really important that we had so many residents and neighbors come, and hopefully we can

0:05:50do this again next year. I do have one announcement, which is the

0:05:55August 23rd, this Saturday, the East Shore Alliance Football Club is having their first annual parade, starting at 10 a.m. at El Cerrito High School. So, I'm really excited about this, because I think our town deserves lots of nice parades.

0:06:11And also, BART will be having, 30 to 40 minute delays on Saturday night.

0:06:17from 10.30 p.m. until service ends at 1230 because of rail replacement between Del Norte and Richmond Station. So, if you are going to be on BART, please be aware of that. Thank you.

0:06:30All right, any other announcements, Councilmembers?

0:06:33Thank you so much. A few mayoral announcements. On July 24th, I issued a mayoral proclamation to honor the life and legacy of Chris Pierce, former principal at De Anza High School, as well as honoring the life and legacy of Jewel Tyus Williams and her extraordinary commitment to community through social justice initiatives and uplifting countless lives with her unwavering dedication to equity and care.

0:06:57On July 31st, I issued a mayoral proclamation commemorating the 90th birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and declaring July 25th… I'm sorry, July 2025 through July 2026 as the Year of Compassion. I was also able to meet with the… one of the, local, or actually visiting, members of His Highness

0:07:19court, and I was very excited about that.

0:07:22A couple of other notes that we don't have here. I wanted to also join Councilmember Motuyama in thanking everyone who did participate in National Night Out. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend because I had COVID.

0:07:34And so this is a reminder to everyone that COVID is definitely back, so please be safe and protect your family members and friends and neighbors as much as you can.

0:07:42I joined our city manager in thanking everyone who did participate in the wildfire preparedness. Of course, Assemblymember Buffy Wick's office, which we're… it's so great to always work with them. I thank you to our staff, our… our wildfire preparedness, our fire department that was here.

0:07:58And I want to also, give a shout out to Sue Duncan. I always say that the El Cerrito Fire Safe people, you know, as a person who didn't know a lot about fire safety when I became the council, as soon as I ran, they made sure to grab me and teach me. And so I'm always happy to see them holding our city accountable and also participating in that important event. And seeing so many people from across AD14 here in El Cerrito.

0:08:21was amazing. Many of them have not been to our city hall. They were marking on how beautiful it was, how amazing our city was, so thank you to everyone who visited. And another random note that I haven't even had a chance to share with our city manager, as many people know, I do live here in the Mayfair building. I don't know who doesn't know that now, but I was working out this morning in the gym, and I saw these people walking through, and I said they look like they're important.

0:08:44They have on blazers, and it turns…

0:08:47It turned out that they were people who were representing some of the people who are doing the development of the housing up and down San Pablo Corridor, so it was a pleasure to welcome them here for Atlanta, to talk about how we are a pro-housing designated city here in El Cerrito, and how we want to continue to work with them, and yes, continue building housing in El Cerrito. So thank you to those folks there.

0:09:08And that is it. The next item on the agenda is oral communications from the public.

0:09:13Now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments regarding matters not on the agenda, consent items, and presentation items. Requests to speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card. Public comments will be taken in person only. Please remember to identify yourself and your city residents at the beginning of your comments. City Clerk, please proceed.

0:09:35Thank you, Mayor. We have 6 requests to speak at this time. We'll go ahead and call our first speaker, Harold Schultz, followed by Janet Byron.

0:09:44You can go to the podium here, yes.

0:09:48I thought there would be a bigger turnout today.

0:09:50This evening.

0:09:52I'm opposed to the… Can you please pull the microphone down here? Thank you. I'm opposed to converting the parking lots on Richmond Street to bike lanes.

0:10:02That's all I have to say.

0:10:07El Cerrito, I'm resident of.

0:10:10Thank you. Our next speaker is Janet Byron, followed by Catherine Beers.

0:10:17Hello, I'm Janet Byron of El Cerrito Richmond Annex Walk and Roll, and I'm the West County Representative on the Contra Costa Transportation Authority's Countywide Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

0:10:29I wasn't able to attend the study session last month, but I wanted to thank the Council for supporting the design for the Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project, which was developed by city staff and consultants with extensive input from the entire community, including residents of Richmond Street.

0:10:48Now that the City has endorsed the project design, it goes to CCTA for implementation as part of a $28 million Safe Streets for All grant that is supporting 5 projects in the Contra Costa communities of El Cerrito, Antioch, Moraga, and Martinez.

0:11:05I spoke with Andrew Dillard, the CCTA Senior Engineer for the five projects, Who told me that

0:11:12As we saw at the City Council meeting, years and decades of documentation and planning led to this point.

0:11:19And that El Cerrito has gone above and beyond in terms of public outreach.

0:11:25Now we've learned that in an email to their members, the Richmond Street Neighbors Association, opponents of the project.

0:11:32said that the City of El Cerrito chose to dismiss our concerns and approve the project without accurate data, adequate community input, or a credible safety plan, and they are urging people to go over the Council's head by contacting their state representatives and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

0:11:52Donald Trump's Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, questions the science of climate change.

0:11:58He fought federal fuel economy standards, and he says that the federal government should not be funding safer streets.

0:12:04Encouraging people who are unhappy with the outcome of the city's planning process to contact the U.S. Department of Transportation under Duffy is, in my opinion, extremely cynical and a fool's errand.

0:12:18Numerous Richmond Street residents have contacted El Cerrito Richmond Annex Walk and Roll to thank us for leading the advocacy effort to make their streets less of a speedway and more of a place where they feel comfortable walking and even sending their kids to school by bike.

0:12:35I live on San Pablo Avenue, another speedway, but if I lived on Richmond Street, I would be over the moon about this project to beautify my street and slow down traffic by planting hundreds of trees, installing state-of-the-art traffic calming measures, including some bike lanes.

0:12:53The Richmond Street Complete Street is going to be a great asset for the entire community, and especially the people who live there.

0:13:00Thank you.

0:13:02Our next speaker is Catherine Beers, followed by Michael McDougal.

0:13:08This is the opportunity for consent items as well.

0:13:11Thank you, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Catherine Bierce, and I'm an active bicyclist here. I want to thank the Council for your leadership on the Complete Streets project and the Richmond Street bike lanes.

0:13:21Whenever we have change, it can feel scary for a lot of folks. Things as comfortable as parking can feel uncomfortable to have that change. I think what we all want is a neighborhood where our kids, our parents, and our neighbors can get around safely, whether they're walking, biking, or driving. Personal story.

0:13:39A few years ago, one of my friends was hit by a motorcyclist who was speeding, and he had to spend a couple days in the hospital with broken ribs and weeks in recovery.

0:13:47Bikes and cars can only safely mix at slow speeds, and this work makes the street a lot safer.

0:13:53Bike lanes aren't about taking things away. It's about adding choices and making our choices work for everybody. A parking spot only serves one person at a time, but a safe bike lane protects hundreds of lives each day.

0:14:04That's a turnout that makes our neighborhood safer, stronger, and healthier. As the mayor noted last month, no one owns the street.

0:14:10It's a shared resource for all of us. So I want to thank you all for keeping the bigger picture in mind to build a better city that's more welcoming, healthier, and safer for all. Thank you.

0:14:21Our next speaker is Michael McDougal, followed by Carrie Schulman.

0:14:26Hello, I'd like to talk about the… let's see, it's the fourth quarter cash and investment report on the consent calendar. So first off, I'll note, for the record that this report did not come before the FAB due to perfectly understandable scheduling requirements, so I'm speaking as a private citizen.

0:14:43And with that said, with a few corrections and clarifications, I recommend that you pass it as part of the consent calendar.

0:14:49I did review the report, I didn't find anything substantial that warrants pulling it from the calendar, but there are a few clerical corrections that I think would improve the record.

0:15:00So, the June earnings sections for the 115 Trust

0:15:04are shown as $64,007.07. This is the exact same figure to the penny that's reported for the Mechanics Bank money market for June. So, I actually did some math on this. That'd be about a 26% annualized return, which would be fantastic, but I don't think that's actually correct.

0:15:24So we should fix that typo for the record.

0:15:27The report describes the period as April 30th to June 30th, and so, a little bit pedantically, it's April 1st to June 30th.

0:15:34And finally, the cover memo, says, these funds are available for the net… to meet operating expenses for the next 6 months.

0:15:41And because the Section 115 trust, which I think we'll discuss later on today, is not available for operating expenses, it'd be better to clarify that language to something more like, the city can meet operating expenses for the next 6 months to not imply that all the funds listed are available to the city for operating expenses. That's all.

0:16:02Our next speaker is Carrie Schulman, followed by Buddy Akasich.

0:16:07Hello?

0:16:08Hello, City Council members. My name's Carrie Schulman. My partner and I have lived in El Cerrito for 15 years, and we are now raising our two children, aged 12 and 10, in this community that we love.

0:16:19I'm here today for three things. First, I'd like to thank you for approving the Richmond Complete Street Plan. Second, I'd like to ask that you please reinstate the bicycle Police Patrol. And third, I'd like to ask that you reinstate virtual public comments at City Council

0:16:37City Council and Committee meetings. First and most importantly, thank you for approving the Richmond Complete Street Project.

0:16:44You chose to prioritize safety over convenience. Adding bike lanes to Richmond Street is a key step towards creating a robust bicycle network in our city. You have given the choice of active transportation to our children, our commuters, and our seniors.

0:17:01Secondly, I'm asking that you reinstate the bicycle police patrol. Riding a bicycle enables police officers to cover the entire city, including the Ohlone Greenway. In addition, it enables them to see more and have a closer connection with the community.

0:17:17Some people might worry about the cost of e-bikes, but they are one-tenth the cost of a patrol car. In addition, the ongoing maintenance, and especially the lack of refueling cost, will bring in even more savings for El Cerrito.

0:17:31Third, I'm asking that you reinstate the virtual public comments at City Council and committee meetings. My kids are finally old enough to be left home alone, but up until recently.

0:17:43That was not the case, and my partner works long hours, so it was difficult for me to come to in-person meetings. Reinstating virtual public comments would enable more people to participate in our city's meetings.

0:17:55So thank you to all of you for attending this meeting, and all of the meetings, and all of the time you spend making our city such a great place it is. Thank you.

0:18:06Our next speaker is Buddy Akasage, followed by Hollis.

0:18:24Good evening, this is Buddy Activist, your…

0:18:28friend and neighbor from Hana Gardens next door.

0:18:31This letter, I think you have copies of, I've been led to believe. It was composed by Lisa Martinengo, and she's

0:18:40with her father this evening, couldn't be here, so I'm going to read this letter that she wrote, and I hope everyone listens carefully.

0:18:49And I want to praise the mayor for giving us 3 minutes, that we really need that.

0:18:56Thursday, August 21 has been designated as National Senior Citizens Day.

0:19:02A day to recognize and honor the achievements and ongoing contributions of older adults for our communities and nation. Established in 1988, the proclamation was intended to highlight the importance of senior citizens

0:19:17Encouraging communities to create environments where older adults can fully thrive, participate, and have access to the support and services that they need.

0:19:28Until recently, I thought our city government was supportive and appreciative of the senior community, but I'm not sure that's true now, especially in light of rather provocative comments made by several council members at your July meeting.

0:19:45Please keep in mind that older adults make up over 25% of El Cerrito's general population. That is a very large niche, to use the mayor's label. I say.

0:19:57If seniors are a niche, then so are swimmers that use the pool.

0:20:02So our local business owners, tennis and pickleball players, students, city staffers, really everyone is a part of a niche of some kind.

0:20:13Therefore, all of El Cerrito's niche segments deserve equanimity and respect when it comes to allocating funding and resources, but it seems to me that seniors have fallen off your radar almost entirely since possibly but before

0:20:30Those pandemic times.

0:20:32The community center is doing a fair job of providing some senior-related services.

0:20:38However, it can't replace a dedicated space as the city once prioritized.

0:20:45not only Citizens… Senior Citizens Day, but from now on, I ask you.

0:20:52to take the senior citizens of El Cerrito seriously.

0:20:57Please publicly commit to beginning to create plans for finding a space and budget for a dedicated senior center for our community.

0:21:07Whether that be with the county or independently. If you start now.

0:21:12Hopefully, by National Senior Citizens Day of 2026, we'll see some great progress towards this goal.

0:21:22On behalf of the senior community, we thank you.

0:21:26Our next speaker is Hollis, followed by Prem Paria.

0:21:40Hello.

0:21:41My name is Hollis Campbell. Can you pull the microphone? Thank you. Hello, my name is Hollis Campbell. I am here to talk about two things. First is businesses along Solano, and second is the El Cerrito Library.

0:21:55First, for businesses along Solano, I mean, sorry, San Pablo.

0:22:01I understand that.

0:22:02El Cerrito has been committing to many housing projects to get revenue based off of the

0:22:08You get property taxes. Another option would…

0:22:13be to encourage business growth along St. Pablo.

0:22:17Perhaps.

0:22:18Some ways of doing so would be to offer lower property taxes for small business owners who start up.

0:22:25That would encourage both job growth and increased spending in local community EA stores.

0:22:34Now, the other thing I'd like to talk about is the El Cerrito Library.

0:22:38I understand that the plan was that the old El Serio building, which is not currently up to numerous safety codes.

0:22:45would be turned into a senior birth assistant center.

0:22:49And that a new one will be built in the work name.

0:22:53parking lot.

0:22:55I understand this project has been delayed.

0:22:58And hopefully we'll be… It begins soon.

0:23:03And that is all I wanted to talk about. Thank you.

0:23:07Our next speaker is Prem Faria, followed by Joanna Pace.

0:23:17Thank you so much for this opportunity. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council Members.

0:23:23My name is Prem Poryar, I'm Nepali Caste Oppressed community members by profession, associate clinical social workers.

0:23:30And live nearby El Cerrito City Office with my wife and 3 children.

0:23:35I have already shared information on the caste resolution with you. Caste discrimination is one of the oldest forms of social exclusion in the world, and it is not confined to South Asia.

0:23:46Across the United States, caste-oppersed community members have reported discrimination in housing, employment, education, and even in access to public spaces.

0:23:57And I don't have that bitter experience. Caste discrimination is real, and even here in the US, adding caste as a protected category will ensure that

0:24:07El Cerrito stands for Dignity, Safety, and Inclusion for all its residents.

0:24:12On behalf of…

0:24:14my caste-oppressed community, I respectfully request that you consider place this resolution on a future agenda and adopt it. Thank you.

0:24:24Our final speaker is Joanna Pace.

0:24:30Good evening, Council and staff. I'm happy to report to you that the August 9th bus party on line number 7 went well. We had 29 participants.

0:24:39And everyone had fun. We all agreed it's something we should do again. So if you've got ideas for places to go, there are 42 number 7 bus stops in El Cerrito.

0:24:51So I encourage you to take the 7 sometime soon to give you ideas for where our next party will be. I also encourage you to take the 27 bus, you can catch it at El Cerita Plaza, and ride it all the way to the Amtrak station in Emeryville. So, I'll see you on the bus.

0:25:08That concludes our request to speak, Mayor. Thank you so much. The next item is adoption of the consent calendar, which includes the following items.

0:25:18Monthly disbursement and check register report for June and July 2025, FY24-25 fourth quarter cash and investment report, purchase of hybrid police vehicles, construction contract award for 2025 access modifications projects.

0:25:35And that…

0:25:36would be all. Do I have… are there any brief questions or requests by the Council to pull items off of the consent calendar?

0:25:44Councilmember Motayama? I don't want to pull anything, but I do have a couple of questions on the check register and a comment. I have a question about, 7B, the quarterly financial report, and, 7D.

0:25:59So, I'm sorry, you said 7A7B, and what was the last one? 7D? 7D, okay.

0:26:04E as in dog. E as in dog. All right, any other yes? I also have questions about 7B, though they may be the same as Councilmember Motiam. All right, now there's only 4 items on the consent calendar. Does somebody want to pull item C?

0:26:17Comment about Item C. Okay. I've spoken to the city manager about this already. All right, well, that's… Again, but I'll share my comment. I… it's just an observation. Councilmember, let's start at the beginning. Let's start with item A. Councilmember Motiamo.

0:26:31Thank you, Mayor. …

0:26:33my… first, I'll start with a comment. I don't know if the person already left or not, but if you look in the check register, you can see that we have purchased some electric bicycles for the police department to begin getting ready for bicycle patrol. So, it's something that I've been really looking forward to, and

0:26:52asking over and over again, and now it's finally happened, and I actually got to see the bikes on National Night Out, and they are really nice bikes, and hopefully you will also see them out in the community soon.

0:27:04I have a question about, … The AT&T Copper Landline Check?

0:27:12There's a number of those checks, and I just wanted to understand what they are for.

0:27:17Because I thought we were going voice over IP. Not all of our buildings are voice-over IP, and so the check that you saw was several different invoices for several different buildings. Okay, and is there a reason why we still have to have copper lines?

0:27:31Eric, would you like to try to…

0:27:34You don't often get Eric during the…

0:27:39Hi, Mayor, Councilmember, I'm Eric Eng, your IT Manager. As Karen pointed out, we have an alarm system and several, different monitoring services that require, still require copper

0:27:53lines. We're exploring with different vendors, trying to move off that right now. Okay, thank you. Thank you.

0:28:01All right, and then I… Councilmember Stauffman, I really understand you had a question on, or only on A, right? I'm sorry.

0:28:087B.

0:28:09So, go ahead, Councilmember Sosman.

0:28:12I just wanted to see if staff could make the corrections that were brought up by Mr. McDougal about the report.

0:28:27Hi, Crystal Reams, Finance Director. Yes, we can go ahead and make those corrections, though the typo was in the detail, but the spreadsheet is correct. Great, so maybe if one… whoever makes the motion to approve the consent calendar can make it clear that that's with the corrections.

0:28:41Yes, it's a receiving file, so that would be fine.

0:28:45I also have a question on 7B, and, I was wondering, you know, we do show, you know, even if it's, has a typo, we do show the interest earned by,

0:28:58by account, but we don't ever show the interest for the LAFE account. Is there… can we show that in the future? Because on $20 million, we should be getting significant interest, and I think that would be of value for us to understand. Of course, I can add that. Okay, thank you.

0:29:15All right, on to 7D, that's Councilmember Motuyama.

0:29:19Oh, wait, 7C was, Councilmember… Correct, yes, Councilmember Cassanis. Okay.

0:29:25My comment, just to ask for confirmation, is this includes the full cost of the

0:29:31automobiles, and all of their outfitting. And the reason I ask is because I remember, I don't know, a year or two ago.

0:29:38That there was a request for police vehicles.

0:29:40And I was struck that it didn't… the cost didn't seem that high. I was surprised at how inexpensive they were. And then many months later.

0:29:49an added cost came in, which was to outfit the vehicles with the various computer equipment, and all the safety features, and all that. So I just want to make sure that this number reflects the full cost, and there's not an added

0:30:00Additional cost later to add in

0:30:03Bulletproof glass, or whatever it is that… Goes into a police car.

0:30:07Yes, and…

0:30:09Lieutenant Caputo is here to answer specific questions, but yes, the upfitting is included in that. Oh, that's… thank you.

0:30:15All right, item 7D, Councilmember Motiam. Thank you, Mayor. On 7D, I think it's, really great to see this list of sidewalk repair projects, because I think that's one of the things that the community asks a lot about.

0:30:30And then, a thing that I hope that it will be added to our website.

0:30:36And then also kind of going with that kind of more clarity direction, I remember when we did the streets, the massive street repaving project, that we would have these maps that would show when, kind of, each segment would be done, so that even if you weren't living

0:30:55where the work was happening now, you knew that, you know, at some point it would be coming for your street, and I think that kind of clear…

0:31:04designation on the website would help people, because I think there is a misconception that we are not fixing our streets, even though we do keep talking about it in

0:31:14there are reasons, like, on Richmond Street and some other streets where we couldn't do repairs because of the EMUD, …

0:31:20pipe replacement work, so it would be nice if that would work for you guys to put that on our website. As a matter of fact, before I even asked, our Assistant to the City Manager, Will Provost, has already planned to put this in the City Manager update, and there is a website that will be listed.

0:31:36Great, thank you very much.

0:31:38All right, with no other questions, do I have a motion to approve the consent calendar with the corrections to item B? Yes, I move.

0:31:47Second. All right, so it's been moved by Councilmember Motiamo and seconded by Councilmember Salzman to approve the consent item with the corrections to item B. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed?

0:31:59Any abstentions? So our consent calendar does pass.

0:32:04On to our next item.

0:32:07The next item is public hearings, and the first is fire hazard, abatement hearing, and declaration. Can we please have the staff report?

0:32:24Good evening, Mayor Weisinger and City Council members.

0:32:28Chase Beckman here, Fire Marshal for the City of El Cerrito Fire Department.

0:32:32Join me this evening to introduce a resolution declaring identified properties within El Cerrito as public nuisances for the purpose of abatement.

0:32:40The Fire Department continues to educate our citizens the importance of defensible space and home hardening measures.

0:32:46We continue to drive the streets, denoting areas of concern.

0:32:50Following up with community member complaints, or scheduling home and site visits.

0:32:55There is still room for improvement.

0:32:57And the fire department will remain engaged.

0:33:01The properties that have not completed defensible space requirements are listed before you on Exhibit A.

0:33:07Thank you for your time. If you have any questions, I'm available.

0:33:10Alright, are there any questions from the Council?

0:33:15All right, no questions from the Council. Do I have a motion to approve the resolution declaring identified properties with Exhibit A? I'll move. Do I have a second?

0:33:25All right, so moved by Councilmember Motiamo and seconded, by Councilmember Salzman. City Clerk, will you please call the vote?

0:33:33All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. All right.

0:33:38The public hearing is now open. Now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments regarding this item. Requests to speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card. Public comments will be taken in person only. Please remember to identify yourself and your city of residence at the beginning of your comments.

0:33:56City Clerk, please proceed. Thank you, Mayor. We have no request to speak on this item. All right, do I have a motion to close the public hearing?

0:34:03Second. All right, so moved by Mayor Pro Tem Quinto, and seconded by Councilmember Multiyama. All in favor, please say aye.

0:34:11Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions?

0:34:15Any council comments?

0:34:19Great job, as usual. Thank you. Well, there we go. Thank you. Oh, did I… was I supposed to hit the gavel?

0:34:25No? Okay. You're okay, you closed the public hearing. Oh, oh, we need a whole…

0:34:30Do I have a motion to close the public hearing? No, no, no, you did. That's what I did, okay.

0:34:35Oh, oh, there's no one more resolution. Okay. Do I have a motion to approve the resolution overriding objections? I'll second. All right, moved by… I didn't hear who that smooth was. Councilmember Motayama, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Quinto. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed?

0:34:52Any abstentions? So the item does pass.

0:34:57That is the end of that item, correct?

0:34:59Yes, ma'am? Okay, don't make me think I'm crazy. The next item is cost hearing regarding the fire hazard abatement of a public nuisance for properties identified and pursuant to El Cerrito Municipal Code Chapter 16.26. May we please have the staff report?

0:35:13That's why the fire marshal's still standing there. Still there. I'm still here. Okay, go ahead.

0:35:21No need to introduce myself, but as mentioned, the fire department continues to do our fire hazard abandonment program.

0:35:28… Well, the purpose of this program is to remove weeds and dry grass.

0:35:33stubble, brush, rubbish, anything that's going to create a fire hazard or a public nuisance. Now, for the first round of 2005, notices were initially sent to parcel owners, notifying them that the hazards existed on their properties.

0:35:46With support from the fire department, many notified property owners abated the hazards on their own.

0:35:52Throughout our city, a small number of properties have not been abated by property owners. Thus, unabated properties were submitted to the city as

0:36:01Public nuisances.

0:36:03The property owners identified on the June 17th, 2025 City Council were notified that if they did not debate the hazards, the City would do so.

0:36:13They were given the opportunity at a public hearing to object to the City's plan to abate these conditions. On June 18th, 2025, the City then sent property owners identified a second notice, informing them that the City would perform abatement through its own staff or private contractor.

0:36:31However, three of the properties did not voluntarily abate their nuisances, nor contact the fire department to agree to a work plan.

0:36:39On July 16th, a notice was posted in plain view on each of the three remaining properties.

0:36:46The fire hazard Abandonment procedure provides ample process, excuse me, due process for the affected property owner, well beyond the minimum procedure statutorily required.

0:36:58The most important part of the procedure is that the property owners are allowed to contest

0:37:03Whether their property constitute a public nuisance or fire hazard.

0:37:07This matter appears before the City Council for the sole purpose of confirming the abatement costs already incurred by the City.

0:37:14The City Council should review the reasonableness of the costs of abatement as specified, and then determine the abatement cost to be assessed.

0:37:24The proposed resolution provides for confirmation of the report of abatement costs.

0:37:29Exhibit B specifies the administrative costs associated with the abatement of property.

0:37:35Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the proposed resolution as presented after the hearing.

0:37:41The abatement work has been completed, and the city is obligated to pay contractors a total of $4,200.

0:37:48Administrative and surcharge costs totaling $1,847.82 have been added, bringing the total cost to $6,000 $47.82.

0:38:00For the City to fully recover the direct and indirect costs already incurred, the City Council should confirm a staff report on the costs of abatement so that these costs can be forwarded to the County. Thank you.

0:38:13All right, are there any questions from the Council?

0:38:17No questions from the Council, so…

0:38:19The public hearing is now open. Now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments regarding this item. Requests to speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card. Public comments will be taken in person only. Please remember to identify yourself and your City of Residence at the beginning of your comments. City Clerk, please proceed.

0:38:37Thank you, Mayor. We have no request to speak on this item. All right, do I have a motion to close the public hearing? So moved. Second. All right, so moved by Mayor Pro Tem Quinto and seconded by Councilmember Motiamo. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? So, the public hearing is now closed. Are there any other Council comments?

0:38:58Yes, go ahead, Mayor Pro Tem. Thank you. I just want to say thank you to our residents. They know this is a fire danger zone, so I appreciate our neighbors.

0:39:09our residents. This is something very, very serious. We don't want to have another Santa Rosa fire here. So again, thank you to our residents for taking care of your yards and the abatement that needs to be done.

0:39:23all year round now. So again, thank you for your work, and thank you to our fire chief and firefighters, and again, thank you to our El Cerrito Fire Safe Group.

0:39:34Any other Council comments?

0:39:36I do want to make one quick comment, because I didn't get to make it when we talked about wildfire preparedness, but I want to thank Councilmember Motayama, because many of them may not know that she is actually our representative on the local wildfire preparedness or wildfire group. Her and former Mayor Fidelity did a lot of work in that, and sitting with her in the wildfire preparedness

0:39:57day, I learned a whole lot of things that I did not know. So, you know, as I said earlier, I'm still learning a lot about the city's responsibility when it comes to vegetation, wildfire, preparedness, and all those things. So thank you, Councilmember Motayama.

0:40:11And having said that, do I have a motion to approve?

0:40:15I'll move.

0:40:16All right, so moved by Councilmember Motuyama and seconded by Councilmember Salzman. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? So the item does pass. Thank you so much, Fire Marshal. Thank you.

0:40:31All right, the next item on the agenda is policy matters, and the first is the Financial Advisory Board recommendations. Can we please have the FAB report for this item?

0:40:46Chair White, thank you so much, it's good to see you. Good to see you, too.

0:40:53Oh, I don't need to come over there right now.

0:40:59I… I understand.

0:41:00Hello, everyone. I'm Kimberly White. As Chairperson of the Financial Advisory Board, thank you, Council, for inviting us to present. The presentation you're about to see

0:41:12Was researched and developed by our Vice Chair, David Carville. I'd like to introduce him so that he can walk you through the presentation.

0:41:26The base of the microphone with the renal… Here at the presentation.

0:41:32Good evening, David Carvell, Vice Chair for Financial Advisory Board.

0:41:37We have this presentation regarding two matters that we would like to discuss with the Council tonight.

0:41:43First is developing a maintenance fund, goes by different names, but really it's an opportunity to capitalize long-lived assets, and the second is setting aside

0:41:53additional budget for one-time expenses. We've noticed a trend over the last few years, and rather than be surprised every time these one-time expenses come up, we recommend some more proper budgeting.

0:42:04So I'm gonna go through both of them. So I'm not going to assume anyone here,

0:42:10remembers their accounting or ever took an accounting class, but essentially what we're trying to do is establish a maintenance fund, that's our recommendation. A maintenance fund

0:42:18would essentially set aside money to pay for what we call long-lived assets over the course of their useful life. So I put a couple words down there for definitions. So, a long-lived, meaning more than one year, right? So these are things that

0:42:31A fire truck, pool maintenance, a fire breathing apparatus, the things that just came before the Council for one-time expenses over the last few months.

0:42:40Assets being things that we own that don't have some type of value that we expect to utilize over that life.

0:42:47And then, they have a useful life.

0:42:49You know, just like things wear out, right, a…

0:42:52I'm gonna… not to pick on the marshal and the fire department, right, but those breathing apparati have a useful life of, I don't know what it is, 5 years, 8 years, 10 years, so we need to replace them every 5 years, 8 years, 10 years. So rather than

0:43:05come to the end of their useful life, 5 years, 8 years, 10 years, and say, oh, we've got to pay for all of this, we recommend essentially creating a maintenance fund that would set aside 1 tenth of that cost, or 1 fifth of that cost, over the life of that asset.

0:43:19This is how it would essentially work.

0:43:21We would… the recommendation is that you set aside money for these long-lived assets, and you as the city would decide which of the assets would be quote-unquote capitalized in this manner.

0:43:33And maybe you've heard it as a capital fund or a service fund. It goes by different names.

0:43:38But, essentially, I'm gonna use the example of the fire truck. In 2022, we bought a fire truck for $1.1 million.

0:43:45I believe, based on my reading, a fire truck has a useful life of 11 years, based on, some tables that you all maintain.

0:43:53In another 11 years, El Cerrito will have to pay $1.1 million to buy another fire truck.

0:44:00The problem with this current method is that come 11 years after we bought that fire truck, we now have a $1.1 million expense that we have to pay at some period of that… of time.

0:44:10What happens is the city's financial future, when that bill comes due, is uncertain. Maybe it's a great year, maybe it's a pandemic. So, rather than have a shock of a big one-time expense, what we recommend is a different method.

0:44:23I'm gonna pause. Any questions about how we currently do it, or the general overview of capitalizing assets?

0:44:31So then I'll share what we recommend. So the recommended, method would be to set aside some amount of funds every year to eventually pay the full cost of that item, or the replacement value of that item when it comes due.

0:44:45So, in this case, if it's a $1.1 million expense, it has a useful life of 11 years.

0:44:51We would then divide 1.1 million by 11 years, you'd get $100,000 a year.

0:44:56And eventually you'd set aside that $100,000. It's not like it's going to pay the fire truck company right now, you're setting it aside, it's growing interest, it's being useful over the period of life, but then

0:45:07Come 11 years, you've got to buy another fire truck. Well, you've got that pot of money already sitting there, and you don't have to go have a one-time expense, or you don't have to go find and scramble the money, scramble around to find the money.

0:45:19Why we recommend this? It's best for long-range planning. You pay a little bit every year instead of having a big-time shock. Again, who knows what the financial picture of the city or,

0:45:29other systemic issues might be, and also it smooths out your expense. So rather than paying $1.1 million all at once, you're smoothing it out over the life of that asset.

0:45:39And then it also minimizes future debt. So, say we come, and we haven't budgeted for it, and we need to pay a $1.1 million expense, and we need to take on debt. Well, rather than do that, if we had paid a little bit over time, we can, again, smooth it out. So there's lots of reasons to do that.

0:45:54Examples of things that have come up recently that could all have been budgeted for in a method like this. The pool replacement, right, a pool replacement might be a 20-year life, or a 30-year life.

0:46:05The breeding apparati for the fire department, another fire truck, a paratransit van, a vehicle, police cruiser, all things that have, again, these long-lived

0:46:15useful lives.

0:46:18Any questions about this first recommendation?

0:46:24Yes, I'll start here at the end with Councilmember Saussman.

0:46:28I just want to say thank you for this recommendation. I wanted to see if this is an appropriate time, and if not, maybe later, if we can hear from staff, because my understanding, I've recommended something similar since I got here, and even when I was campaigning. This is, you know, something we did pretty successfully, and BART established funds to do replacement, ideally ahead of failure, and it

0:46:51worked out really well and made the system more reliable. My understanding is staff are already working on this, so I'd like to hear what is already in process on this.

0:47:00Yes, hi, Finance Director Crystal Reams. Yes, that is something that we are actively working on and, plan on redoing our CIP, with the next biennial budget cycle. The City already has in place, CIP funds for, maintenance.

0:47:17And we have an internal service fund for vehicle and equipment replacement.

0:47:21The issue right now is that we're not funding them, and so…

0:47:25That's… that is the goal with the next biennial budget cycle, is to start funding those, but of course, the money has to come from somewhere.

0:47:34Thank you, I look forward to seeing that.

0:47:36Councilmember Motuyama?

0:47:38Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Fab, for putting this together. It's really nice to see, you know, a real presentation, and, you know, I do have questions about the other recommendations as well. But, on this one, I think,

0:47:55we are all agreed that this is really important, and I think I mentioned this before, but the reason we don't have this is that we're in such bad financial shape that we weren't… the city was not able to put anything aside. So, I think that,

0:48:12you know, it was not for… I think there was, …

0:48:16more of a emergency situation before, like, when I started in 2020,

0:48:22our general fund was neg… our fund balance was negative $110,000. So, I think this is, you know, timely, but we can't just catch up and say, okay, well, let's stop spending everything and put it all aside now, because there's no way that we can operate our city and

0:48:41fully fund that reserve. So I think it's, very prudent, but we just need to start funding it.

0:48:47And I think that that will be an important part of our budgeting work going into 25, or 26-27, right? Our next two-year

0:48:57budget cycle. I did have a question about the $5 million deficit you mentioned, and I was wondering where you saw that, because I looked… I brought my

0:49:09my budget workbook, my budget book, and I could not find that, so if you could tell me where that came from, that would be really great to know.

0:49:17Are you talking about the next section, the one-time expenses? It was on page 85.

0:49:24I don't believe it was in this, presentation, but I can… Yes, it was in the agenda bill. It was in the agenda? I think in the… Oh, you know what, I think that referred to, and I think I clarified this with, Director Reams,

0:49:39There was…

0:49:41Here, right? We had a conversation about this, I think, at our FAB meeting, that there was a confusion around whether there was actually a budget deficit going into the year, but you clarified that that was not the case. Yes, so I think the $5 million is referring to, the citywide. So it includes special revenue funds, CIP funds, self-sufficient funds, so not just the general fund. So there was not a $5 million deficit for general fund. Because everything that's not general fund, if we don't have the money there, we don't

0:50:06do it, right? Correct.

0:50:08Okay, so… so we do not have a $5 million deficit in our general fund expenditures and revenues.

0:50:16Correct. Okay, thank you. I think that…

0:50:20just so much disinformation that's happening with our budget. I really want to be super clear that if… if you're… if we're talking about a number, if we're talking about a deficit, that it's absolutely clear that it's

0:50:32where we're… where that information is, and whether or not we do have one. So, thank you for that. …

0:50:42So, I think, …

0:50:45you also included in your discussion about the maintenance reserve, kind of a limitation, or a sort of a combination of things. I know that we have these two funds, a CIP and vehicle, so I think,

0:51:00just to make sure that I'm understanding your recommendation, that you're not saying that we should mix those two together. You're okay with our… having the CIP and a vehicle

0:51:12fund, right? Because it sounded like you wanted to put it all together in one big maintenance fund, but I think that's not how we spend it, and that's not how it's funded either, so I just wanted to make sure

0:51:24About that? Yeah, it's a good question. Our recommendation is not providing any guidance to the city. We want you all to make the determination, and so however you think it's best, our recommendation is that we establish these maintenance funds for a variety of categories, not just vehicles. Okay. And so, any

0:51:43long-lived asset that the city feels is appropriate to be capitalized and paid for incrementally over the life of that asset is, is fair game, and that's what we recommend. Yeah, so the CIP is where the capital improvement program captures, stuff like

0:52:01roof of the community center, or heating, HVAC equipment, as well as, you know, anything related to, you know.

0:52:10maintenance and structure. Right. So, hopefully the…

0:52:15the vehicle stuff will stay in there, and I guess, where would we put the breathing apparatus for the fire?

0:52:22departments. It's actually titled the Vehicle and Equipment Replace. And Equipment. Okay, so that would be there. Okay, so I think so long as we're covering everything, I think that… that makes sense to me.

0:52:34And, you know, we're not trying to specify how or the different categories, we want to leave that to the finance team, and to the city to figure that out.

0:52:44Okay.

0:52:46So, I also have one…

0:52:49thing that I do take issue with, the idea that we're caught off guard. We always know that we have these things coming because we don't have the maintenance fund, so it's, you know, more of an analysis of what we absolutely have to do right now.

0:53:06And so, sometimes that changes, but we are no… in no means surprised that we have to do these things. And I think that's where,

0:53:17The one-time nature of these expenditures, it becomes, you know, we want to separate it out from the regular budget. And then also, when there's a budget request from staff for those one-time capital expenses.

0:53:33Sometimes, we don't even do those expenditures, because

0:53:38Procurement, or timing, or grant comes in, or something happens, and we don't actually need to use the full, allotted request.

0:53:49So, I think that there's a little bit more dynamicness in our budget, but we are no means surprised when we have to pay for

0:53:58Stuff breaking down or wearing out. So… Thank you.

0:54:03All right, from this side, Councilmember Cassanis. I have a question. I'm a little bit confused about the… how this relates to the initial 2% set aside.

0:54:13Are they separate items? The first item that we had recommended, and if I can remember it correctly, was to set aside a maintenance fund.

0:54:21If… so… Of 2%? No. I set aside a maintenance fund. This is separate. So, what we're recommending is two separate proposals. One is you have this

0:54:29maintenance funds, service funds, whatever you want to call it, that is, again, paying incrementally into these… for these assets that have long lives. Okay. The second recommendation, which we'll get to, is the 2% set-aside. Which you will get to, too. Which we'll get to next. I wanted to pause after this first one to make sure I addressed questions.

0:54:48Any other count questions? Okay, let's go ahead with the presentation. Okay, so, the next one is, this 2%. So, what we've seen over the last few years,

0:54:59and we can, you know, I can change the wording off guard, but, ideally, we've got these one-time expenses that come up and that the city has paid for. And so, we did some basic math here, right? So if we think about the amount of one-time expenses that have occurred over the last few years.

0:55:17The total expense budget for that year. You can see that one-time expenses as a percent of the budget have ranged from about 2% to 8%.

0:55:26And that's a lot.

0:55:28And what we're recommending is that the city set aside some funds, knowing that you're going to have to pay these one-time expenses. Who knows if it's going to be a million a year, or two million the next year, or 4 million the next, but there's some amount that the city will have to pay.

0:55:42And what we're trying to do is say, look, these one-time expenses come up.

0:55:46you're already making these payments, rather than be surprised at the amount. Hey, the pool, we actually thought it was going to be this, but we need to do some ADA compliance as well, it's going to go even higher. Rather than be surprised and then have to pay it all at once, what we're doing is trying to set aside so that you can

0:56:05pay less, at that one-time expense, so that there's a little bit of cushion, rather than having to figure out where to scramble and take funds from. Because every time that these one-time expenses come up, they come from somewhere. We're robbing Peter to pay Paul.

0:56:18And so, if we're going to do that, and we are, because there's always one-time expenses that come up, what we're recommending is that you set aside 2% of the budget to cover these one-time expenses, rather than setting aside zero, and then trying to find a million, or 2 million, or 4.5 million in any given year.

0:56:36Nope.

0:56:37Are we ready for questions, or are we still going? Yeah, I'm ready for questions, yeah. Okay, any more questions from the Council? I'll start on this side first, this time. Conceptually, how does that differ than

0:56:50Suggesting that we build a bigger, bigger reserve.

0:56:53Why not? Conceptually, they're similar, it's just how you want to phrase it. So you could build a bigger reserve of 19%, so take the current 17% and add 2%, that's essentially what this is.

0:57:05All we're trying to do is… is say, these budget requests happen.

0:57:09Where we don't want to be blind to that fact, and we're trying to enforce the more budgetary rigor to it. And you know they're going to pay a million or two million a year, so why don't we set aside some portion of that.

0:57:21So that way… If we meet… if we meet our reserve goals, would that satisfy the same thing?

0:57:26…

0:57:28Well, if you meet the current reserve of 17%, you'll still have these 1 million or 2 million one-time expenses. So, it's really trying to say.

0:57:37a better way

0:57:39let me sit back. When you have those… let's say you… we have the current reserve at 17%. Then, like, in this year, we have $4.5 million of one-time expenses that come up to the Council. That 4.5% is not budgeted for, and it needs to come from somewhere. We're going to cut this service so that we can save $100,000 and then put that towards the $4.5 million that we have to fund, right? So the city…

0:57:59in years when it doesn't have a big surplus, has to pull from other services. What we're trying to say is.

0:58:05Instead of…

0:58:07having to pull all of that $4.5 million from other places. If you had set aside 2% of the budget in that year, you would have a little bit of a cushion to start with, and then you could pull the

0:58:19From other services with less pain.

0:58:22Does that make sense? So let's say the budget, was $50 million, and we're pulling 2… we're 2%, right? So a million dollars would be set aside for these one-time expenses. So now you'd only have to find $3.5 million

0:58:37Taking it from other places, and you'd have a 1 million cushion already there that you could draw from.

0:58:45If I may ask a question before I go to the rest of the Council.

0:58:50I… is there an advice? Because even if we are saying that we're going to create this new fund, or wherever it is, and we're putting aside 2% to make sure that we're not caught off guard by one-time expenditures, but

0:59:05to me, and I could be wrong, fellow council members, but doesn't that mean that we are almost deciding in advance where we're gonna bring… find extra money

0:59:14So we're still cutting services, it's just that we're cutting it in advance instead of cutting it at last minute. Am I reading that wrong? You know what I mean? Like, we're…

0:59:25Where I'm going? That's what… Okay, okay, okay, we'll keep going.

0:59:30Does anyone else have a question? The goal is not to cut services, right? The goal is to have better budgeting up front, because every year, you're going to have these one-time expenses. So what we're trying to do is set aside some funds so that

0:59:45The other assumption that we're making here is that there is a surplus, right? That we're meeting the 17%, and we've got some left over. Otherwise, we're cutting from services. Right. I think that's… okay, I get that part. Okay. Councilmember Sauffman.

0:59:59Yeah, I mean, I think that's the problem. I mean, in an ideal world, we set aside more money. I mean, I think it's been great what the Council has done before I got here in building the reserves and getting out of the crisis that the city was in, but we're still in a tight spot, so I think

1:00:17what will be important as we get to the next two-year budget cycle is for input from the FAB, if you want to make this possible, telling us what we should cut to get there, because

1:00:27Unless the economy goes wild, which I'm not that hopeful about, considering the situation in our country right now.

1:00:35it looks like we're gonna go in the opposite direction, this would likely mean cuts to service, just in reality. So I think it will be important, when we actually get to the two-year budget, to say, if you still think this is a good idea at that point.

1:00:52where we find the money up front. Thank you for saying it much better than I, Councilmember Sauce. Oh, no, we're just talking about it, but I think what you said is really important, because it's…

1:01:02it's a zero-sum game unless, you know, revenues are coming in a lot higher than expected. It's hard. It's always easy to find new things to spend money on. There are so many things we would like to spend money on. I'm sure we all get constituent issues coming to us about, why can't we do this and this and this? And we all agree we should do all those things, but we have the limited money we have to work within.

1:01:25I agree, the way that it's been done over the past few years is not ideal, but I think what Councilmember Motayama brought up, it's not because we didn't see these things coming, it's because the…

1:01:38finances were really constrained, and so the city council and city management made the best decisions they could in a difficult situation. So hopefully we're getting into a less difficult situation. I think

1:01:51I'm hopeful with the establishment of funding our CIP and the vehicle and equipment replacement plan, as we start to fund those, we'll have

1:02:01fewer of these kind of bigger one-time expenses come up as we're planning for them ahead, but it's going to take some time to get there. Even if we start funding it in the next two-year budget cycle, we'll probably still, before that really gets going, have some more of these.

1:02:16But I don't know that it…

1:02:20does us any good to kind of put aside the money up front if we're gonna have to cut essential services. So…

1:02:28I'm not inclined to do anything at the moment. I'd like to see some recommendations from the FAB in the next budget cycle, that if you want us to do this, where the money comes from. Before I take more comments, I want to offer Chair White an opportunity to go ahead and speak.

1:02:46Oh, could you talk into the mic?

1:02:50Internet.

1:02:56Chair White, if I could… we're having technical difficulties, could you please utilize the microphone down here?

1:03:03Unless she can…

1:03:10We need to make sure everyone at home can hear as well.

1:03:17So, one of the things that we were looking toward when we talked about a better way of budgeting is to, you know, consider something that

1:03:26revisits our entire budget. Typically, public agencies and El Cerrito is one of them, we make some changes here and there, but we never, ever go and start all over, start afresh.

1:03:39And this is an opportunity for us to start afresh, so that we can maintain our public services and make sure that we have the resources for that, but think about whatever service levels we're going to have, and align our…

1:03:53resources, and largely staffing, that's, you know, the majority of our budget, with the

1:04:00With the service that we want to provide. And I'm just… and when we say a better way of budgeting, we have to be able to revisit that

1:04:08thing, because we haven't done it in a long time. I know it's painful and it's a lot of work, but it… you know, my experience is that you do free up some resources to be able to do those things, like set aside 2%, like fund some of your capital improvement projects.

1:04:27So we're not suggesting at all that we cut services, but to rethink the way that we budget, and to rethink the way that we assign our resources. And I hope that's helpful.

1:04:36Okay. I'll go to Councilmember Cassanis, and I'll come back over here. And Mayor, just if I may, we do also have one other FAB member here, and we are having problems with that microphone, so we would have to have you use the one down here. And I did want to hear from you, Member McDougal, so let's go ahead and take these two questions, and then we'll ask you to come up.

1:04:56Councilmember Cassanis? Can I add just one comment? I think what we're trying to say is.

1:05:02when you're setting your… if I, understand correctly, right, we try to create a zero budget, right? With revenues and expenses?

1:05:10Right? So, what that means is that you make your plan for the year, what you're going to spend, and what you're going to bring in. Then what happens is you have one-time expenses of a million or two million bucks. What we're saying is, start at the beginning, knowing that you're going to have an extra one or two million, so when you create your zero budget, that's already in there.

1:05:28and you already have some amount pre-planned that you're going to expense, and then you have your zero budget based off of that additional income, or that additional expense that you know you're going to pay. And that's, I think, the slight difference that we're advocating for, versus you make your zero budget, and then you still have these one or two million dollar expenses that

1:05:48again, not to use this phrase, catch you off guard, but, you know, that are… that come up that we end up having to pay. And if we had budgeted for some of that at the very beginning, when we were creating the initial budget, the impact and the pain would have been lessened.

1:06:00So let's go to Councilmember Cassanis. Going back to what I asked before, it strikes me that the appropriate path towards this is to look at the reserve amount.

1:06:10And to say, well, you know, if you feel that the reserves are insufficient because there's not enough of them to absorb these kinds of costs, then we need to re-approach it that way. And I personally, I don't know exactly what

1:06:21the established best practices for city reserves. I mean, I've done some research and see numbers all over the place.

1:06:27… But the other side, for me, and it's just personal.

1:06:32when I look at the reserves, and I look… I think about things like the pool.

1:06:35I don't know what's appropriate.

1:06:38Oof.

1:06:39For the reserves. So for what was appropriate to fund by pulling from reserves. For example, as we'll talk about later, there's a swimming pool.

1:06:45Is that an emergency expense? Is that something that we can reasonably pull from the emergency reserves? And I don't know. I want to hear people's opinions. But when I look at your proposal, I agree with, sort of, the spirit of it, is to have that cushion.

1:06:57But to me, it seems like the appropriate path towards that is to have the appropriate amount of reserves. And I'm not saying that we don't right now, I just would personally prefer the discussion to be around that.

1:07:08And then also a definition of what… what's allowed to be pulled from reserves.

1:07:13and do all these different, you know, fire, truck, whatever, are those appropriate expenses to be paid for by reserves? And then, in doing so, making sure there's a path forward to replenish the reserves.

1:07:24Yep. Yeah, very… I mean, … mechanically.

1:07:29they are very similar. I'm very fiscally conservative, since I don't want to touch the reserve. Part of it is the history the city's gone through, and just thinking those reserves are sacred. But that's, you know, not true. They're there for a purpose, and therefore they are for purposes, such as…

1:07:45Emergency expenses, and unanticipated expenses, if you said. Yeah.

1:07:50Okay, that's all for me. Councilmember Motuyama? Thank you, Mayor. And, so, thank you for this discussion. I think it's really important. A number of times as we were doing budgeting, I've… I've…

1:08:04asked to see more of a differential between expenses and revenue. Unfortunately, Because the expenses

1:08:15escalate faster than our revenue, we're always coming up against, you know, pretty much a zero fund balance. And…

1:08:24I think that one of the things that

1:08:27we are trying to do, and I… I do credit City Manager for being very transparent, like, we do have these

1:08:33separate one-time expenses that come to us, and we have to all discuss it and approve it. It's because I think in the past, some of those things were kind of mushed in, and people didn't know if there was a balanced budget, or how balanced it was, or what the… that difference was.

1:08:49So, I think it's important that when we talk about this differential.

1:08:55Is that it's, you know, there's stuff that we should take out of the budget on an annual basis, and those one-time expenses should rightly come from

1:09:04the reserve, because it's a one-time source. If we started taking $2 million out of revenue in order to have this extra cushion, that means we do have to cut $2 million from expenses. And, as we know, all of our expenses are people.

1:09:21And I think that that is, you know… and people are gonna not be able to provide the services that everyone's expecting. I think, you know, going…

1:09:31back to that whole senior center discussion, we can't afford the extra new person to man, or the number of people to man the senior center, because the

1:09:44personnel costs with their benefits and stuff, especially over time, is more than our budget can really handle. So it's not like there's not a space, it's… we can't afford the people. So, if we can't afford that right now.

1:09:58Expecting to take $2 million out of our expenses would be, you know, 2 or 3 people.

1:10:06And I think that we are…

1:10:09Doing, or will soon be doing, that service

1:10:12delivery study. I don't know if staff has an update on that.

1:10:17But that should tell us if we are efficiently delivering services. If it's not… if we're not, that's great. We don't… we can save some money there, but I have a feeling that

1:10:28you know, and I have, you know, a concern that we'll get that back, and they'll say, well, we're… we're understaffed, and then we'll… we'll have

1:10:37problems delivering the services that we have now in the long term with the budget that we have. And I think

1:10:44… this… Yeah. Having worked at a major city in the Bay Area.

1:10:52Not mentioning any names. You know, there is… some cities can do a big exercise of, you know, having…

1:11:03you know, moving the… moving the goalposts around and the expenses around, to make that differential. And what I don't want to have happen is that we do it artificially, because one easy way to make that 2% appear is to make really

1:11:21less conservative assumptions about our revenue, and say, yeah, you know, I bet last year was, you know, this year we got way more RPTT than we thought by $2 million. Let's just assume that for the next year. And then that's magic, 2%.

1:11:36But then, we're… we're gonna be…

1:11:40backpedaling and trying to make that up if it doesn't happen. So, I think there's kind of, on paper, we could show these things. I don't feel comfortable, like, imposing an absolute 2% now, because that's what we want.

1:11:55And having those games being played to kind of make it happen.

1:12:01The other thing is, you know.

1:12:04I think it's really important that we start putting some money aside on the expense side into these maintenance, you know, replacement, and equipment reserves, and I think that we can do incrementally small amounts every year. And I think that will get us to where we need to be, but having this sort of caveat of 2%

1:12:24It's gonna be really detrimental to us in terms of service delivery.

1:12:29I think this is why, you know, I was a person that I didn't want to have this discussion prior to our budget discussion, because I think when we, make these rules, they make sense. I mean, this is… what you're saying is absolutely right. We should have more of a cushion.

1:12:46But when you make a fiat, like, 2%, it really may hamstring us later.

1:12:51And I understand, kind of, the public feeling of, well, you guys messed up, you know, in the last decade, so we can't trust you to, like, put aside money when we're supposed to. So that feeling, I can understand, but, you know, making arbitrary rules

1:13:07like this, I think, will not allow us to be, …

1:13:13you know, resilient and dynamic when we have to be. I think that was, you know, when…

1:13:20COVID came, and our budget, the audit came, and all these bad things happened, you know, it's… it really did give everybody into action, and all kinds of… of changes were made, and I think we can do that if that should happen again, but

1:13:36to kind of say, well, you're gonna mess up, so we gotta take it from you now, is not some… the way that I hope that we can move forward. So, …

1:13:48you know, I do hope that, you know, we do have as a goal a $1 million surplus as our… our budget goal.

1:13:58we haven't met it. I think we're closer this year than we've ever been. But, you know, that's our goal, so we'll keep pushing towards it, and I think we'll get there. It might not be, you know, that's…

1:14:11plus or minus 2%, depending on, you know, escalation in time, but we are working towards it, so that's why I, you know.

1:14:21I am… Concerned about having a flat 2%

1:14:27Thing that does not look really, you know, at that fine-toothed look at, like, what expenses, like, who are we going to cut to get there?

1:14:36Before I… Vice Chair, before you answer that, I know that, Member McDougal is here, and I've read from the staff report that you actually voted a nay on this item, so I'd love to hear your… your thoughts around this.

1:14:51Thank you, Councillor, for the opportunity to talk. I was the dissent on this, for, I think, reasons that some of you have brought forward. I've got some notes on this. And I will… I want to also say that, like, I'm just one voice out of four. I wasn't in the majority, and I think you should take the FAB recommendation relatively seriously.

1:15:08But I did dissent, and I also want to say that the notes that I have now come after thinking for, like, a month, and, you know, like, I was nowhere near this articulate in the FAB meeting. So I hope that I can articulate my dissent sort of more clearly now, and recognize that I wasn't that articulate then.

1:15:26I do think that a 2% addition puts us into a 19% reserve case with sort of a special case for one-off items, and that was, I think, the core of my dissent, was that that didn't make sense. I've since… I mean, I spent

1:15:42many hours going over, actually, our last budget this weekend, and I have some comments about that.

1:15:47…

1:15:48And I was trying to dig into the 17% reserve, and my best understanding, and hopefully I'll be wrong, is that that actually comes from trying to have 2 months of our budget in reserve. 2 months works out to, like, 16…

1:16:02And that 2 thirds percent, which rounds up to 17. So, I think it does kind of mix and match if you put another 2% on top of that to be, like, 2 months and 2 weeks, and that…

1:16:14…

1:16:15I want to concur with the rest of the fab that I do think that, things that are regular maintenance, things that are part of capital projects.

1:16:24I think ideally should be budgeted for, cleverly.

1:16:29I think, personally, having thought about this again in my dissent for, like, a month, that a better way to do it is to,

1:16:37take every time that a so-called one-time expense comes to you as two things. One, as a request, and another thing as a strong note to do this better in the next budget.

1:16:47So there's some great examples of that. Like, the… the car… the police cars were on the consent,

1:16:54consent calendar today, and I, you know, of course, I thought about that, because I think about the consent calendar, and then I looked at the budget, and …

1:17:03the Chief Keith, had allocated,

1:17:09I think it's $310K a year towards vehicles in the budget. Now, I think it'd be great to have that in a vehicle replacement fund, but the chief did put that in the budget, and so when it came on the consent calendar, I'm like, okay, yeah, it's in the budget, let's say yes. And it's great that COPS took care of some of that.

1:17:27The pool, which I've got some statements prepared for when that comes up, I think is another good example. I was surprised when I read in the budget, like, around page 300, it's actually page 305, the,

1:17:40There is a note that says that, planning for replastering the pool is part of the

1:17:482026 budget, and executing on the replastering of the pool and doing the deck is part of the 2027 budget. Now, there weren't any numbers on there, but in the capital improvements plan, it was there. And so, really, I mean, when we go on to that pool item later, I'd encourage

1:18:07budgeting to think of that as not so much a one-time expense, and you know, I actually thought of it as a one-time expense, because in June it was listed in, like, one-time expenses, and I think that that set my head in the wrong space, but instead as an acceleration of something that we have already planned.

1:18:24And so we should, when we get those requests, you, when you get those requests, you should think of them, whenever possible, as an acceleration of something that's planned, if it's in the budget, or as something that was missed in the budget, and you need to consider very carefully, and make two notes. Does it make sense now?

1:18:42And there's another note for, like, when this comes up again, let's make sure that this is very much considered in the budget. So, …

1:18:50I've spoken at length. If you have any questions or anything like that, I'm happy to answer. All right, further questions from the Council?

1:18:59No further questions from the Council. I wanted to verify what the Council is being asked for tonight. Are we being asked to take action on these recommendations tonight?

1:19:11That is up to the Council. We… we do have one individual signed up to speak on this item, and then the Council can discuss and decide if they would like to provide staff direction.

1:19:24I'm sorry, Mayor, we also have the other recommendation regarding the Section 115 trust, which I also was hoping we could have

1:19:33a discussion about. Okay, and these are… those are… because I know there were two items, and that's… I guess that's my confusion. There was the recommendation for the 2%, and that was separate from the recommendation from the… the, mechanical vehicle…

1:19:48So there's two in the presentation, and there was the other recommendation that we received separately and asked to include in this discussion about the

1:19:58Section 115, trust. We can certainly, if the FAB has further on that in their presentation, let's go for it. I'm sorry, just to clarify, is that the second recommendation that's listed on the staff report? Because we have to make sure it's covered under the agenda item? Okay. Yes, it's listed in the staff. Okay, thank you.

1:20:15Sorry, go ahead. We don't have any slides on the 115. Essentially, we're keeping the status quo, but happy to answer questions about how we came to that, or, why we… why we decided that. We're happy that you're putting extra funds into the Section 115.

1:20:31Okay, yes, go ahead, Councilmember. So, why did you guys choose the, the… Conservative.

1:20:39risk level for this investment. And I wanted to understand, because it seems like there's

1:20:45there's, you know, there's a slightly higher risk level that's not really aggressive, that would have a higher return, so that if… for a few years, we could potentially have higher returns. So that's what I want to understand, like, what was the rationale in choosing this risk level?

1:21:02Yeah, there were a few, …

1:21:06A few things that we considered. One, if we just think about the macro environment, it's very uncertain.

1:21:12So, if we look… who knows? The next year could be great. The next…

1:21:21year could be terrible. Two years out could be great, two years out could be terrible. So because of that, there's what we call a lot of

1:21:28volatility. It could go up, it could go down, but it's gonna do one of those two things in pretty extreme direction.

1:21:34That was the first thing. The second was…

1:21:37making sure that we had the funds ready for when it would be used to support the CalPERS and the pension funds, right? We had that presentation from

1:21:46The consultant a few months back, talking about the CalPERS plans and the goal of trying to use the 115 to smooth out our payments.

1:21:54What, … when those payments are to be used to smooth out, you want them there.

1:21:59So, given the fact that there's a lot of potential volatility coming in the next few years, which means that

1:22:05it could go higher, could go low, and the fact that we wanted to have the funds available when they were needed, whenever you want to call upon them. Maybe it's 28, maybe it's 29, maybe it's 30, but regardless of what year you want to draw them, we want them there. And so if we were to take more increased risk by moving into a

1:22:22higher performing, but higher risk asset, we run the risk of not having that there. So, our decision was really, because of the macro environment and the fact that we wanted the funds to be present, when you draw upon them, whenever that is, we kept it at the level that we, the moderately conservative, I believe.

1:22:39Could be phrasing it wrong, but we sustained the level that we were at before.

1:22:45Can I just add a few things? I wanted to just go on the record, is I actually think that these are going to be, from… Mike Myers is the person who did the presentation from NHA back in May.

1:22:54And, …

1:22:56He indicated that these would be needed in the next 4 years, not… not, like, some, you know, ambiguous date, like, 2029, we want these funds to be there.

1:23:06And in the packet that you saw today, we paid $7.6 million towards our UAL, and so the plan, from the FAB at least, is that that money will be there in 2029, and that by, I think, if you look at that same presentation.

1:23:22I think we should exhaust the funds, by… over… over 4 years.

1:23:29Thank you. Also, there's another fab member in there. There's another fab member in…

1:23:34Okay, we just wanted to make sure we had… gave you an opportunity to speak. Any other questions or comments from the Council?

1:23:41That's one more. Yes, go ahead, Councilmember. On the moderate, the conservative risk level, what is the expected range of return?

1:23:51Or… on that.

1:23:53We have that. I don't have the… don't have it in the presentation, but we have that from…

1:23:58The person who manages our 115 trust.

1:24:05Finance Director Crystal Reams. I do not have that information handy, but we, we are in… we're not in an actively managed portfolio, so, the different categories of investments are…

1:24:21time-driven, and so that's kind of the main focus of how, how aggressive or conservative we want to be based off of how soon we want to use the funds. And so the moderately conservative was that 4-6 year range, and that's the initial investment portfolio that we,

1:24:40signed up for, and the FAB reviewed it and agreed to, to keep that at the same, same level due to the time, the use of funds. I'm just curious if, the return is at least in line with, you know.

1:24:54CPI of, like, 3% or something, or, you know, so that, you know, in 4 years, the expenses are going to escalate, and I'm assuming, you know, even if we have, you know, extra money today, that is not going to be quite as much as we hoped to have.

1:25:10In the future, so it's not no return, right? There is some… No, it's… we're definitely getting a return, and that's… it's in the, the cash and investment report, but it is moderate, based off of the time, but I can, come back with some, figures. Thank you.

1:25:26All right, so before I go into the next direction, any other… you have a comment, Councilman? I would just say, I… I support that FAB recommendation. I think it's totally appropriate for the reasons stated. You know, obviously, you can get a higher return if you take on more risk, and I think that's appropriate for

1:25:42you know, a long-term investment. You know, if you're a young person, you can be more aggressive with your investments than if you're 65 and nearing retirement.

1:25:48I also think that it's appropriate if you have excess cash to invest, and you don't, you know, you can kind of afford to lose some. We're not in that position, so I think it's totally appropriate to have a conservative investment policy.

1:26:01Thank you. So, given the direction from staff and regarding this item, so basically we're asking the Council, do we have a desire to take action, or rather provide direction to the

1:26:15staff. Mayor, if I may interrupt, I apologize. We have public comment on this item, and we need to do that before we have that discussion, and we also, if you could just momentarily

1:26:25reset yourself so that, IT can… we think that the podium was unplugged under the dais, so that's okay.

1:26:34Thank you, City Clerk.

1:26:37So you should have in your script for public comment? Yes, you are correct. Now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comment regarding this item. Requests to speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card. Public comments may be taken in person only.

1:26:53Please remember to identify yourself and your city of residence at the beginning of your comments. City Clerk, please proceed.

1:27:00Do you want to see… can you…

1:27:03Perfect, okay, I think we got it fixed. So, Hollis, go ahead and you can begin your time.

1:27:08Hello, I am Hollis. I live in El Cerrito.

1:27:12And I wished to comment on… First, the resolution.

1:27:18It seems a little impractical to put money aside in a specific maintenance fund over time if things have been planned out in advance due to the fact that they may not need it to be replaced. Instead, to me, it seems like it might be more reasonable to set up a fund for the upkeep and maintenance of it.

1:27:37required.

1:27:39units and… Devices and vehicles so that they do not need to be replaced.

1:27:47The other thing I want to remark on is the fact that you have mentioned the budget

1:27:53and its previous crises, and how it has been strained. Could you please comment more on its current state?

1:28:01And that's all I wanted to say.

1:28:04Thank you. That concludes our request to speak, Mayor. All right, so before we go into a vote, is there any other Council comments?

1:28:12All right? Do I have a motion to provide staff direction on either one of the recommendations that have been brought forward?

1:28:20So it does not look like… -oh, I keep seeing a hand move toward a microphone. Yeah, we don't need any… any council action on the 115 trust, because that's already what the status quo is, so I just want to make that clear.

1:28:35I just wanted to make sure that we were officially getting any… any staff direction, and it doesn't look like there's any staff direction. I do agree with you, Councilmember Saussman. Yes, it sounds like we are going to stick with what we're already doing for the fund balance. I'm sorry, the Section 115 trust, but we're not… it doesn't look like we're recommending any policy,

1:28:53direction on the first recommendation. Councilmember Cassandra? I have a question. I mean, when we get to the next budgeting process, I would like there to be a discussion of what are appropriate reserves, and what are the appropriate uses of reserves.

1:29:05So I don't know if that needs to be a staff directive or not, but that's kind of the outcome that I would like to see, just dive into that issue a little bit more. I don't think it has to be a staff directive. I think it's something that we would suggest, and that the city manager and the finance director will be able to take into account when they do start the budget process.

1:29:22So, City Clerk, now that… since we're not taking a vote or providing staff direction, is there anything else that's required of the Council? No, ma'am. All right, thank you so much to the Financial Advisory Board. We look for… thank you for your input. We look forward to continuing to have this collaborative conversation about our budgeting when budget season starts up again.

1:29:41All right, the next item on the agenda is the swim center lap pool renovation Study Session Budget Options. Can we please have the staff report?

1:30:19Good evening, Honorable Mayor and Council Members. I'm Chris Jones, I'm the Recreation Director.

1:30:26your Recreation Director. And I'm joined by Yvette Ortiz, Public Works Director, Crystal Reams, the Finance Director, as well as Danny Stringer, the Swim Center Design Designer.

1:30:40from Roger, Stringer, and McClelland, RS&M, who is on Zoom.

1:30:49So we're here tonight to discuss, ongoing, effort to …

1:30:56to identify costs associated with recommended and necessary repairs and improvements at the El Certo Swim Center.

1:31:04We started in March.

1:31:06When we discovered a big plaster issue, in the lap pool.

1:31:11And we contracted with RS&M, to develop a scope and cost estimates for the work.

1:31:18In May 2025, the City Council allocated $500,000 from the General Fund Unrestricted Reserves as a set-aside for a future project as we continue to

1:31:31investigate.

1:31:33In June, conceptual budgets were completed, and Council awarded RS&M a design contract for the full scope of,

1:31:44That you see on the right.

1:31:46And, today, and prior to today, RS&M completed their, assessment.

1:31:54And we brought on Swinerton Management.

1:31:58To help with construction options, and eventually serve as a project and construction manager.

1:32:05And, the full scope, which we have further detailed in the agenda bill, is talking about the pool replastering and deck rebuild.

1:32:16Ada and egress issues, both, in the parking lot and path of travel to the swim center gate, and then inside the swim center itself.

1:32:27Which includes things like restroom and shower upgrades.

1:32:30In addition to the path.

1:32:32A project of this size requires stormwater retention.

1:32:37facilities to be built, any vet can…

1:32:41Talk about that more if you're… if you're interested.

1:32:43And also because of Council goals, we included EV charging infrastructure while we're doing all the work, in the parking lot.

1:32:52And, you know, this project does support the city's goals of sustainability, accessibility, equity, and high-quality recreation services.

1:33:02So, we developed, 4 budget options, that have varying amounts of scope and options associated with them.

1:33:14The first two are partial scope options.

1:33:17Option one is a replaster only of the large pool. This would be considered a maintenance project, and so it would not trigger, additional, compliance work, like, such as ADA improvements.

1:33:31It would solve the most immediate need, which is restoring the swim center's plaster that's kind of reached the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced.

1:33:43If you deduct the $700,000 that the Council's already allocated for this project, additional funding needed for this option is $270,000 this fiscal year.

1:33:53This would result in the swim cent, the large pool being closed for 3 months, preferably January through March, and Yvette will talk about the timeline in a little bit about, you know, why we get there.

1:34:06And roughly, during that season, there could be revenue loss of $150,000.

1:34:12And so, option one solves our most immediate need, it's the most affordable. We should be able to operate the small pool during most of the construction. There may be days where the jackhammers are just too loud to let anybody in the facility, but for the most part, the small pool could operate.

1:34:29And as the finance director will talk about later in the presentation, it doesn't alter general fund projections.

1:34:36On the flip side of this, it does not solve any of our…

1:34:40required ADA requirements, and we know future work is necessary, and the longer it's delayed, the more expensive it will be.

1:34:50Option two is taking option number one and adding the parking lot and associated ADA stormwater and EV

1:35:00scope to that. So, the replaster inside the swim center, and the parking lot, and ADA improvements outside of the swim center.

1:35:09Basically, the cost here is about $2.3 million. That includes the $970,000 that was discussed in Option 1.

1:35:20And the parking lot balance is about $1.3 million.

1:35:26When you take away the $700,000 already allocated, additional funding needed for this year would be about $1.6 million.

1:35:35Again, the pool would be… the large pool would be closed for 3 months.

1:35:39The parking lot would take longer, it would take 5 months.

1:35:43But if it's… depending on how work is phased, if it's Parking lot work only.

1:35:50The community center should be able to operate a small pool

1:35:55should be able to operate as well. And, yeah. So, the parking lot doesn't necessarily affect operations, it's just the swim center work.

1:36:05So for 3 months of the large pool closed, it could be a revenue loss of up to $150,000. And basically, the advantage here is that we're… we are fulfilling

1:36:17past ADA obligations. We've had at least two big projects at the swim center now that have technically required, parking lot access improvements, and we've

1:36:28Kick the can down the road, so to speak.

1:36:31And it's doubtful that we would get…

1:36:34A building permit without completing… without completing these, … These repairs in the future.

1:36:42…

1:36:44Again, this option does not alter the general fund projections significantly. On the other side, we're still… don't address the ADA issues inside the swim center, and of course, future work would be more expensive.

1:36:57And now, Yvette can describe the timeline.

1:37:03Good evening, Council. Yeah, Chris covered all the details of the scope. I just… this is just a graphical representation of the timeline he was describing. Here, the first, few,

1:37:14Rose, schematic design, design development, and construction documents really are… develop the construction package that we bid.

1:37:23And what's important here is that we're trying to hit that, January timeline for construction, which is the slowest, season for the swim center.

1:37:33In order to do that, we need to allow for a two-month window in the orange color for the county health department to review the plans. And concurrently, the building department would be reviewing it. We assume a shorter time frame, but the long lead item is the health department.

1:37:50So, as you can see that, that review is supposed to start in September, so that we can bid out the project and start construction in January, meaning that

1:37:59Our design team of RSNM is… has been developing the design, and would be ready to submit, the package.

1:38:08both the, the plaster, the plaster package, which is the most time-sensitive, element, to the department by the end of August, pending council direction.

1:38:21So that's the most time-sensitive work.

1:38:23And then, secondly, option two, they're also, concurrently developing that, the parking lot improvements, including the ADA and EV, infrastructure.

1:38:35They're expediting that design, because we're… there's an opportunity for a grant, from the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project.

1:38:45And it's due in October, and you have to have 100% design plans and a building permit. So that's really… we're trying to be competitive for that, so we're moving forward with the design, and again, pending council direction would be ready to submit that.

1:39:01And it doesn't require a county health permit, so we just need to submit it to the building department. And we've been working closely with the building division, here at the city, in preparation for this project.

1:39:14And then we could bid around the same time or not. These are two separate packages. We really want to keep the plaster, as a separate project, because it allows us flexibility to award the most urgent work first.

1:39:29And we can, target specialty contractors to do that work separately from the parking lot work.

1:39:36Pres… Back to Chris.

1:39:41Okay, so now that we have, developed two full-scope options, …

1:39:48And we're going in order of cost, you can see. So, this next option, option three, is the phased full scope over two fiscal years. And the cost is about, you know, almost $4.4 million.

1:40:04…

1:40:05When you take away the $700,000, that's $1.6 needed this fiscal year, and about a little over $2 million next fiscal year.

1:40:13Still same, pool closure, 3 months.

1:40:17But then, when we do the deck in the 26-27,

1:40:23The pool could be closed up to 5 months, which, according to our designer, is a very conservative estimate, so hopefully it would be less than that. That's potential revenue loss of $400,000.

1:40:34And so this essentially implements the full scope of what we described. It resolves all the identified issues and brings EV charging to the community center and swim center. It's the most affordable full-scope option.

1:40:50And we can still operate the small pool during most construction this fiscal year. On the flip side, this would be two pool closures, two years in a row. We can't implement… and I should say, actually, with options one through three, we cannot implement the hybrid deck option, which was discussed at the last council meeting.

1:41:09Because if we do the plaster ahead of the deck work.

1:41:14They would essentially have to cut into the new plaster to do the deck work

1:41:19next fiscal year, and nobody would guarantee that, so we would have to, like, redo the plaster, which doesn't make any sense. So, there's no hybrid option here for this… for this full scope.

1:41:30And … and this… and now we're entering territory where funding would push the current unrestricted general fund balance projections below 17%.

1:41:45So, option three is really doing, doing the plaster, the parking lot as two separate bids in fiscal year 25, 26, which is this current fiscal year, and doing the deck, work next fiscal year. And

1:42:03Why we would want to separate that out is because we wouldn't want… that's a longer time frame, and we don't want to be closing the swim center during the summer months.

1:42:12And so we really do… would want to delay any DEC work, which is a longer timeframe, until fiscal year 26-27.

1:42:21And then, …

1:42:23this gives… we also… we would still want to pursue the design and get that done as quickly as possible, because the design team is working, and it's more efficient for them to keep going, and getting the package into the building department and the health department, and then bidding in the spring of 2026. This would allow us

1:42:42Just some contingency in case, you know, there's… the bids are high, and we have to rethink the scope, or just having a contractor bid early guarantees sometimes, not guarantees, but

1:42:53can provide lower costs, because a contractor can look out and project his work and provide lower bid prices for that. So, as Chris mentioned, it's a 5-month window, and that would be starting in October of 2026.

1:43:16Okay, and the final option is…

1:43:18Full scope next fiscal year. This would include the,

1:43:24hybrid deck option. It's a little over $4.7 million. Additional funding needed is a little over, $4 million. It would be one closure, next fiscal year, October through March… October 26th through March 27. Potential revenue loss, $250,000.

1:43:44…

1:43:46And as we've mentioned, in addition to all the other benefits of doing the full scope, this would allow for the one pool closure and the hybrid design.

1:43:55It is the most expensive, and it would certainly push, current projections of the general fund balance below 17%.

1:44:07The timeline for Option 4 is very…

1:44:10similar… exactly the same like you saw for option 3. The only difference is that it's all, all the con… well, it's very similar to the deck work that you saw in option 3.

1:44:23And so, the pool work, though, would happen concurrently, the replaster would happen concurrently with the parking lot work. They would all… within that same 5-month window.

1:44:32So, not much difference there.

1:44:39And it would presumably be one project, like, it would be bit together, as opposed to the other ones are separate.

1:44:45So this table just basically summarizes the budget of what we talked about, maybe to refer back to later, if you would like.

1:44:54It shows the… the total project cost.

1:44:59Approved funding, and funding needed, and when the funding is needed, or what… or, you know, if we don't know, when the funding will come.

1:45:10And then the potential revenue loss, per option.

1:45:15So, we've also mentioned before that, you know, there is potential revenue loss with the… pool closing.

1:45:23And, …

1:45:26Anyway, we have a… there's a number… there's a lot of different scenarios we could spin on how to make up that loss, especially this fiscal year. So, you know, on the extreme side of things, if we just kind of shut the doors and don't do anything for 3 months.

1:45:40That would save about $100,000 in part-time salaries. We currently have 3 vacant positions, right now in recreation.

1:45:50Of which we're recruiting for, or will be recruited for, and so there's some savings there. Three months of savings, even with backfill.

1:45:57You know, should… should be around $50,000, for example.

1:46:02unaudited, Recreation Department, exceeded revenue projections by a little over $100,000.

1:46:11We don't expect those trends to change too much this fiscal year, and so there's potential money there.

1:46:19As mentioned, the small pool can be used, during construction, and so while we probably wouldn't make as much revenue because we can't accommodate as many people, we would certainly make some revenue. Maybe, somewhere of a third to a half.

1:46:33And then we are talking to neighboring swim centers, the Richmond Swim Center at Kennedy High School, and Albany Swim Center at Albany High School, about

1:46:44Potential options, and we're exploring you know, different opportunities there, and if it makes… if it makes sense.

1:46:57So, the cost information that you're receiving today, and described in more detail in the staff report, unfortunately, the costs have increased since you last saw the numbers in June. There's, like, 3 primary factors that you see here, or, on the left.

1:47:13The first, the most significant being that after our design team did more detailed architectural and civil assessments, they identified additional ADA work and egress upgrades, that may need to be done in order to comply with the California Building Code.

1:47:30And the second is, there was an escalation factor of 5% applied to any of the work that's done next fiscal year, 26-27.

1:47:39So that… that's another element. And then the third element is the water… the water slide. Council has already, we already bought the… the slide, but after we bought the slide,

1:47:52we… and in order to comply with some Cal OSHA requirements, we did additional testing. Initially, we thought that the column supports and foundations could be reused.

1:48:02subsequently found that they can. So we have to rebuild those, and as soon as you start rebuilding columns and foundations, you touch the deck. And to touch the deck, you trigger all the ADA requirements that come with it.

1:48:15The cost $400,000 includes both the demolishing and rebuilding the support and foundations, the new electrical and piping connections to the slide, as well as all the soft cost project management, construction management, and contingency.

1:48:31And then the unknown costs, any of these, bid packages that are over a million dollars, the engineer's estimate, would be subject to the project stabilization agreement.

1:48:43That reduces the number of bidders that can bid on projects and can, lead to higher bid prices. We don't know what those are, but that's an unknown potential increase in cost for the deck work.

1:48:58Any of the work that involves the deck.

1:49:00Would be, subject to the project stabilization agreement.

1:49:04Concurrently, we're looking at ways to,

1:49:07save additional, dollars, or bring in the grant funding, like I mentioned, the… for the EV, there's a potential to bring in $75,000 to $100,000 per port.

1:49:19So, we are working… our design… our project management team is looking at that, and we'd be working with CPPG as well to submit any grant application.

1:49:27And we're also pushing our project management and design team to look at additional ways to refine the architectural scope of work inside the buildings, because we did do some renovations in 2019, so looking at, are there some

1:49:43Options to reduce that scope, given some of that recent work that was completed.

1:49:48And finally, we're also looking at any, Measure H, that we can contribute, either fund balance or some of the unused annual budget, that's not used for operations, so we're working with finance on looking at options to contribute, Measure H to offset any general fund.

1:50:05contribution.

1:50:15Hello, Crystal Reams, Finance Director. So let me first caution with, this is based off of unaudited, projections of our actuals, of how we're anticipating ending, fiscal year 25. We had a planned, deficit of $2.1 million.

1:50:34And we are looking like we will probably have a surplus of about $600,000. So, subject to change, but very, very, very good news. So the projections probably look a little bit different than the last ones that you saw. So the first, …

1:50:49The first slide is, just putting in that, removing the deficit projection and adding in the $600,000 surplus, so that, brings us right in line with our, reserve goals of where we want to be. That's our baseline, and then next slide.

1:51:07And then I just went through and, plugged all the numbers into the model, so that way you could see, exactly, exactly what this would look like with each option. It is…

1:51:17taking all of it from General Fund, but, as, Yvette said, we are going to be looking at Measure H to see what we can, what we can fund with Measure H as well. But this is worst-case scenario if General Fund had to pick up all the expenses, this is what we would look like. So this is option one. We do dip down a little bit. No, you're good, that's fine. Same with option two.

1:51:39It's spread out a little bit further, so, you can see the dip down where we would use those expenses, but it still keeps us pretty close.

1:51:46Option 3…

1:51:49This is where we start to get into, going below our, our reserve goals. And again, this is the picture in time based off of, based off of projections. As we, the further out our projections go.

1:52:03they're more of a… more of an estimate. They're not, they're not as, as confident, but we do dip down below, so… and then option 4, shows

1:52:14More significant dip down.

1:52:19Any questions? Any questions from the Council?

1:52:23Yes, Councilmember Motayama.

1:52:25Okay, thank you, staff, for this presentation. It's really, very detailed, and it's very helpful. We do have… I have one more slide. Oh, sorry. Blame Crystal. Go ahead, Crystal.

1:52:39She was nice enough to come explain her beautiful charts.

1:52:43So, I mean, just because, you know, initial, recommendation, given the City's, financial capacity, but also, work that we know needs to be completed, option 2 does seem to balance, the urgent needs.

1:53:02Compliance with affordability.

1:53:05It does make it so we can do the pool work and the parking lot, before the busy season.

1:53:13… The parking lot might be a little bit during the busy season.

1:53:18It preserves flexibility for future deck and interior work of the interior swim center work.

1:53:23And if we identified a whole bunch of savings, within the next 3 months, option 3 is still possible.

1:53:33By… by moving ahead, with this option number 2.

1:53:39Oops, sorry, I turned off the presentation. Was that your last slide? That was the last slide. Okay. Councilmember Motayama. Mayor, and thank you, staff, again, for the presentation.

1:53:50Actually, your presentation brought up some more questions for me, and I was wondering, when you say full scope for option 3 and 4, does that include the locker rooms and the interior?

1:54:05upgrades as well? It's like, is it everything, everything, or not including… it's just DEC and ADA and… No, it's every… it's everything. Everything, everything, okay.

1:54:17And, … So, … Is it possible, to get the health

1:54:29The department review for everything, all at once, and then carry out the work over time, if the plans include everything they need to review.

1:54:39I think we can ask, Danny to…

1:54:42To, answer that question, the City Clerk will bring them up.

1:54:48He is actually up on our screen. Danny.

1:54:51We can see you.

1:54:53Danny Stringer (RS+M): Yeah, can y'all hear me?

1:54:55Yes, we can, go ahead.

1:54:56Danny Stringer (RS+M): All right, a quick reintroduction, I'm Danny Stringer, I'm a professional civil engineer, and I'm doing a pool on this one. So as far as grouping the two projects together into a health department package.

1:55:09two parts on that. First is that we don't have the design complete for the full package in time to get the replaster done this, you know, January through March, like we were talking about.

1:55:22That's a much larger design project, which wouldn't be done until November, which means that construction schedule gets pushed deeper into the spring.

1:55:32The second part of that is if we do the full design project as a review set, they will take a lot longer to review it, because there's a lot more to look at. If it's just a replaster, that tends to be one to two months, like we were showing on our schedule. If we give them the accessibility parts, the restroom parts, and the replaster.

1:55:50You could be looking at 3 to 4 months of back and forth, depending on how picky, and on how many issues come up.

1:55:57Okay, thank you. And then…

1:56:02I have a question about the structure for the slide. You mentioned that in order to do… redo that structure, we'd have to redo the deck.

1:56:12So, in option 2, is that portion of the deck redo also included in that cost?

1:56:23Oh.

1:56:24Danny Stringer (RS+M): Sorry, guy.

1:56:25Go ahead, Denny. Option two just includes the parking lot work outside of the fence line. Okay. So, option one is the plaster, just the maintenance work. There's no deck work or column work. It's the… the slide is part of the option three.

1:56:41Okay, because I thought there was $400,000 in option

1:56:452 for that. So, basically, if we do option two, there's no slide until 2027, is that what we're saying?

1:56:56Fallen over. Okay.

1:56:59Is that… is that correct?

1:57:03Okay.

1:57:05That's a bummer. Yup.

1:57:07Okay, so I'll go with Councilmember Salzman, and then we'll come over to this side. Yeah. Thank you for this presentation.

1:57:15…

1:57:17I have a lot of questions, some of which I tried to get answered before the meeting, some of which I got answered, and some of which I haven't gotten satisfactory answers to. I think it's really important when we're considering this much money on this critical of an asset to have all the information.

1:57:34And to know, there's never 1, 2, 3, or 4 options. There's probably, like, 55 options, depending how you mix things.

1:57:41So it's very unclear to me

1:57:44it's pretty clear to me in options 1 and 2, what we're paying for, and what they relatively cost, because it's not that many different items. But when you start throwing in option 3 and 4, where there's a whole bunch of things, it's super unclear to me what costs what.

1:57:59And what is the importance level? So we know what the slide costs, we can all decide how important that is to us.

1:58:06But what are the locker room upgrades, and what do those cost? What are the various ADA upgrades, and what do those cost? I think that's really important to consider, because what we've seen with the ADA upgrades

1:58:19for the parking lot is twice in the past decade that Council has opted to not deal with those when doing other pool

1:58:28upgrades, and so I don't know when our next real opportunity will be to address some of these needs, and are we gonna defer, and some of these things might be really important, and I don't know how much they cost.

1:58:42And are we gonna come back in 5 years and be like, we really should have done that thing, and now it's $300,000 more money.

1:58:49I think it's really important to look at the different components, and for us to decide which things we want to move forward, even if it means moving forward more than is just an option 2. We might look at them and say, no, we agree, we should just do option two, but I don't feel like I have anywhere near enough information to endorse any of these options.

1:59:11the only thing I have enough information to do is to say no to option one, because I think it would be…

1:59:18I've…

1:59:21It would be unacceptable to me to defer again on needed ADA upgrades that we've been kind of wiggling out of. Legally, I understand. And I'm really surprised that in your recommendation, there's no mention that

1:59:37the need for the ADA upgrades, and that that's part of why it's so important. You mentioned all these other things, but what about accessibility and equity? I mean, those are important parts of our strategic plan.

1:59:50It should be important parts of all of our facilities, so…

1:59:54to me, option one is out, and at the least we need to do option two, but I really need a lot more information on the details of option three and four. And I get you are all very familiar with all of this, you've been knee-deep in it for a long time, you get it, but I don't. And so maybe it's the right option, but I just don't have enough information. So what more can be provided to us to show us the breakdown?

2:00:18down of the different costs of the different components, and more details about the different components, and why or why not

2:00:26you know, they're important enough to include. And also, more details. I understand, if you do the water slide, it triggers a bunch of other things, but if you do the locker room upgrade, does that trigger something else? We don't have this information. I'm sure you were trying to be concise, but I want all of that information. I can't make a decision without it.

2:00:45I could… I would just start and say that, …

2:00:51So, I guess the big picture-wise, the only…

2:00:54optional things are the EV charging and the water slide. And so once we… even once we go to replace the ADA lift at the lap pool, that requires changing out the anchors, …

2:01:09That will trigger all the necessary ADA work here, which includes the locker rooms, which includes, path of travel, which includes adding exits.

2:01:21all compliance. And so, in the recommendation, I think I said compliance and accessibility, I guess, is… is…

2:01:28is compliance, really. And so, we did not budget for, like, fancy locker room upgrades. We didn't budget for any

2:01:37Anything extra except for the water slide and EV.

2:01:43So, but these things you're talking about, when are we gonna have… come back and have to do them? Because the water slide, we could decide never, but at some point, we're gonna have to make these ADA upgrades. So I feel like we're not weighing

2:01:57Yeah. And you're telling us things get more expensive by approximately 5% every year, so if we're gonna come back in 4 years and have to do these things, and they're 20-some percent more expensive, like, is that really a good financial decision?

2:02:11Yeah, I would… and I think Karen wants to say something, but I would just say that the, …

2:02:17a number of things would lead to us having to do this. You know, we could…

2:02:21there could be litigation for ADA issues. And also, something could, you know, the health inspector could come out and say the conditions of the deck need to be remedied.

2:02:34You know, or just something could fail, and we decide it needs to be remedied, and that would trigger

2:02:41essentially the rest of the scope, except for EV and except for, the water site.

2:02:47I know we have two more questions. City Manager, did you want to go ahead and re… yes, if I may, I just want to say that, and I, you know, I totally appreciate,

2:02:56the comments so far. This has been… this was a very difficult staff report to write. This was a very difficult thing to put together, because there are so many different… you're right, there are multiple options. We tried to condense them

2:03:11Into options that really did truly

2:03:15Get where we were trying to

2:03:18balance between urgency, affordability, and then what we can… what we can put off, because it is a matter of affordability. You can't put Measure H and General Fund together

2:03:29and pay four or five million dollars worth of work. It's just not possible, and so we really struggled with making sure that we were trying to be as clear as we could on

2:03:39condensing these options to balance that out. It is… and I also agree with you about Measure H, which has been brought up, and the CIP. What I think the options 3 and 4 give us is if

2:03:55again, we just can't afford it. We don't have the money, and quite frankly, I don't think it would be in anyone's interest, and I don't think any of you would be interested in us

2:04:05setting aside or planning to appropriate any additional general fund surplus or bond balance just for this one project, because as we've discussed multiple times, and even earlier tonight, we've got a lot of things on our to-do list. We have to buy a fire truck, we have to buy more equipment, we have to

2:04:21fix the microphones in this room. So we have a very long list, and so I think that what our team was trying to accomplish with showing options 1 and 2 is that's the most urgent issue, is the replastering, that much we know. We do need to do that, and we would like to do it as soon as possible. The urgency we're bringing to you tonight

2:04:42Is because we really, if we can do this.

2:04:45If we can get a direction tonight, then we can start to have the design done and go out to bin and have it during the slow season.

2:04:53In January, so that's the goal of bringing this tonight. I would have loved to have been able to really hash this out a lot further. The three of us have talked about this a lot over the past month, and really plan this out. What I would prefer to do, as I think Councilmember Cassanis has talked about.

2:05:09is… is plan for this in the CIP, map out Measure H, map out fund balance, and…

2:05:15We can… we want to do that for op… if we were to do option 3 or 4, that's what we would do. Option 2 would allow us that as well, where we would look at the deck work, the internal swim center work, and we would plan for that in our CIP, as we're going to be redoing the CIP. We need to do an analysis of Measure H. Measure H is paying for a lot of things.

2:05:36Because when it was re, … when it was, …

2:05:41when it was passed as Measure A in 2000, it was mostly for the pool and a few other things, and then when it was re… …

2:05:48by the voters in 2019. For Measure H, the scope was increased, right? So it could be spent on anything in Park and Rec Master Plan, and that's what we've been doing. We've been trying to tackle some things here and there, some different projects, but

2:06:01We also looked into potentially going into debt and borrowing this money, which we… we haven't even… I'm bringing it up, we didn't even want to recommend that, because at a high interest rate, and paying that over time, I don't want to obligate general fund money to do that either. So we need to look at Measure H,

2:06:17more… we need to do a better analysis of all of that. So, that is what…

2:06:22our recommendation for option 2 is that we can at least get the urgent matter started with the replastering. We can then

2:06:31do the ADA improvements, you're absolutely right. It is an accessibility issue, it is a equity issue. It's also part of our climate action plan, as Chris pointed out, if we put in EV chargers and those types of things, so we can

2:06:43get that portion done, and then get that taken care of, then we can plan better and budget for the rest of the project within our CIP, maybe over the next two fiscal years, or if

2:06:54we're able to identify a lot of savings or maximize Measure H, we can do it in the next fiscal year or two, but getting the immediate issues so that we can start that project right away is why we

2:07:07Kind of synthesized it down into these four options.

2:07:11Let me go ahead and take these questions here at the end, and then we'll have several more, so we'll come back around. Councilmember… okay, Councilmember Cassanis? Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. I feel very similar to Councilmember Salzman, and I just feel like I don't…

2:07:26know enough to give an informed suggestion or recommendation, but wanted to sort of kind of

2:07:33thinking out loud at a very high level, I've heard a lot said about the whole community center needing a rehab.

2:07:40And I don't know the facility well enough to have a sense of what that means. But I'm kind of wondering how far off is that? And if it's not that far off.

2:07:49Perhaps some of this can be folded into that.

2:07:52And I just, again, I don't know the answer, I don't even expect you to know the answer, but I'm just sort of throwing that out as a thought process.

2:08:00So I would, you know, so fortunately, we were able to replace the roof, which was one of the biggest concerns, not the entire roof.

2:08:08But the community center, just like most of, the city's

2:08:14park and rec infrastructure was built in the 60s. And so, with not much improvements, Since. So, …

2:08:25And that's likely… As much as a house that's built in the 60s, you know, it's on kind of a… It's likely to be a bond… bond measure. Is that a correct assumption?

2:08:34We would need… I would think that we would need some sort of additional funding source,

2:08:40Other than what we can project now. I mean… Community centers are tens of millions of dollars, yeah. Yeah. Buildings are tens of millions of dollars. Yeah, so I think that if we were looking at rehabbing buildings, it would, you know, like we've been talking about the library, that's going to need a significant infusion of money, it's going to need… require us to go into debt service in some way.

2:09:00Whether it's bonding against a restricted fund or a specific revenue source, like Measure H, for example, although Measure H only gets us about $600,000, $700,000 a year.

2:09:11could we bond against it? That's what we want to take a look at. But, yeah, that certainly wouldn't get us a community center, it wouldn't get us any building, frankly.

2:09:21Mayor Pro Tem? Yep, thank you, Mayor. I just want to thank you for this thorough

2:09:27presentation, and this is my second or third time dealing with the pool and the community center, and …

2:09:34And I know we have some swimmers here that use the pool regularly, and I would love to hear from them. One thing that I know where I stand is to make sure that

2:09:45we never go back into extreme debt like we have in the past. So I want to make sure that this city stays fiscally prudent at all times, and not going back to those days of overspending and putting a temporary,

2:10:02activity center when we never had the money to do it. So, looking at that and looking at the presentations, you know, I know where I stand on this, and I'd like, option two.

2:10:15Because this is the most… prudent and,

2:10:20We're not going to be borrowing, you know, a lot of money on this. So, we'll be getting the job done that,

2:10:28should have been done in 2000, but that was done in the cheap back then, so we're still… that's why we had to deal with it in 2019 with the update. So, make sure that we do it right.

2:10:43The first time, and so looking at this and looking at chart number 3, option 2, that's where I stand. I'm not gonna even look at option 3 or 4.

2:10:55after hearing what the FAB had to say, we're not going to go in-depth like that. So, you know, know that I've been sending a lot of emails to staff regarding, EV,

2:11:07a lot of things dealing with EVs and what we're working on, on MCE and the air board and, the, a lot of the things we were able to get.

2:11:19Through our congressmen, but looking at that, our, there's some clawbacks that the Trump administration is doing on EV infrastructure.

2:11:28So I'm hoping in the future, when we look at that, that we'll be able to try getting closer to your mic, Mayor Program, I don't know what happened. …that we'll be able to,

2:11:37look at what's available. I don't think we'll have a lot available in the next 3 years, but hopefully in a future administration, we'll go back to our plan. But looking at what I'm doing on the Air Board and Marine Clean Energy.

2:11:51We're continuing to make sure that, we will work on EV infrastructure in the future. So, so option two is where I stand.

2:12:00want to make sure that we hear from our people that use the pool regularly, and I want to hear what they have to say. Thank you. I actually have a couple of questions, and I'm very, very concerned.

2:12:12And I almost could go with my council's peers with option 2, but I mean, those who've been watching us talk about maintenance and repairs for the last couple of months, you've heard me tell the story about deferring the maintenance on the car as a person who's broken down a lot of cars.

2:12:28I know it sounds like a very, very hokey story, but for those who haven't heard me talk about it is when you repair one thing on a car, and then suddenly the other things around it suddenly either don't work or don't match.

2:12:39And it sounds silly, but I mean, Yvette has already kind of talked about, now we've bought this slide, and there's all these other things that we need to do. We can't… we put out money for a slide, and now we can't use it. To Councilmember Sochman's point, we may never get the slide, but we've already purchased it.

2:12:55So, I'm really concerned, and I don't know if you all have any numbers around what are the things that would catch us off guard.

2:13:03If we did not do option 3, you know, we talk about maybe we'll get sued for ADA noncompliance.

2:13:09What happens if there's further breakdown in the pool because of continued use during, you know, the off times and option 2? Those are the things that I'm concerned about, because it was mentioned earlier on a different item about why are we so concerned about a pool and not other types of centers that we could bring into the city. Well, the pool is, for better or worse, it's one of the biggest revenue makers in this city. It actually brings in

2:13:32A lot of income to the city.

2:13:34So what are some of the dangers that you… some of the things that we may not see now, but could end up costing us more money? Not just increased, you know, amounts of bids out, but just things that might break that we don't see right now?

2:13:53I think the biggest one is the deck, the condition of the deck, and I think no matter what, we're recommend… we're recommending that that be deferred to fiscal year 26-27 at the earliest.

2:14:04Because of, you know, the construction window.

2:14:07And so, over the next few months, we could do testing on the deck to determine its condition. Danny can add more information about that, and then we could come back to Council with more information, like, yes, you know, we really do have to move forward with that deck work in 26 and 27 and not delay it any further.

2:14:26So we could provide more information, regarding Option 3.

2:14:30But still being able to move forward with option 1 and… the option 2, which does the plaster and the parking lot. The parking lot meaning ADA, which has been deferred, and so that's why we think it's a… and no matter which

2:14:45what work we do, which component, this ADA parking lot upgrade is, like, a basic part of it. We would have to do it no matter what, except for the plaster alone. And it sounds like this… the Council still has a lot of questions about the… I know Councilmember, again, Saussman brought up the different items within, option 3, or the things that need to be done.

2:15:05How much… More would we be paying?

2:15:09if we even push out this decision that we're being asked to make tonight, because I'm… I'm concerned about whether or not the Council will be able to come to a consensus about a direction tonight. So how… every time that we continue to have this conversation, how much are we losing?

2:15:23You could give a ballpark. Can I just jump in for a second? Because, I mean, the, you know, the, funding is shown… can we maybe put that one table back up with all of the options and all of the funding? We're not suggesting that we're not going to do the deck.

2:15:37We're suggesting that we're not going to do it this fiscal year, because we don't have the funding available to be able to do all of that this year. What we need to do is we need to

2:15:51we need to analyze this further there. Thank you. We need to analyze this further when it comes to our budget. The… the urgency about the option 1 and Option 2 is that we can get

2:16:04that started and do that this year within the construction window that Yvette was talking about. If we redo the entire everything else, option 3 or 4 is the full scope, which includes all of the internal work and the deck.

2:16:19that doesn't… we won't be able to do that to meet this construction window anyway. We have to put that off until the next year at the earliest. So if we did option 3 or 4, regardless of what the budget numbers were, we would be patching only this year and hoping and praying it doesn't burst over the next

2:16:40swim season.

2:16:41And then we wouldn't get to anything until the following fiscal year, and that is… has to do with the construction window and how long we close the pool. So it's… again, it's a lot of different factors.

2:16:53The urgency is the replaster issue, and that we want to get it done as soon as possible. If we wanted to do anything else, we don't have a choice but to put it off until 26-27,

2:17:04Because we don't have the ability to do it, and we certainly don't have the timing that doesn't work for the swim season. All right, so we have two more questions, and then we want to open it up to public comment. So, Councilmember Salzman?

2:17:16I just want to be really clear on what we're deciding. If we move forward with option 2, what we are saying is we are going to close the pool for 3 months this year, this coming up here, and then the following year, or the year after that, or sometime in the next few years, we're going to then close the pool again for 5 months.

2:17:36I just want to make sure the public and the council are clear that that is the decision we're making, because we're being told the deck work and all the ADA-related work must be done sometime in the next few years. We don't know exactly when, maybe we could push out a couple more years, but it just gets more expensive every year. But we have to do it.

2:17:57And that will take 5 months. Is that correct?

2:18:02Yes, yes. So every email I've gotten, and I assume it's similar from the few people left here, I know there were a lot more people before.

2:18:11talks about the importance of minimizing the pool closures. So.

2:18:16I don't feel like we're doing that, and I feel like we're being really jammed here, and I'm not saying it was intentional. I know it was challenging to get the information, but we're being jammed here, and I feel like we only have bad decisions in front of us. Because ideally, we'd be able to take some time and figure out what made the most sense.

2:18:36But either we go through with option 2 now.

2:18:41And we close it for 3 months next year, and then sometime in the next 3 years, we close it again for 5 months.

2:18:47And we spend more money because it's escalated. Or we decide to delay, which ultimately means we can't do option two next year, we have to delay a year. Maybe then we can find the money and make all the construction happen in one year, or maybe we can't.

2:19:04But ultimately, we're gonna have to do the stuff that's in option 3 or 4, at least parts of it. I don't think… I think we could decide to say the slide is done, we're not gonna do that, but we have to do the other work.

2:19:16So I just… I want to be really clear, and I don't feel like it's been made super clear. It's like, well, we could do this, or this, or this, but ultimately, we have to do the work in option 3 and 4, and we're going to have to close the pool again for 5 months. I just don't know that that's responsible. And we've been told at previous meetings

2:19:33that we could do the patching, and that would hold us for a year, so we could have the time to make the decision and try to find the funding and do the bigger project. So is something changed that now we don't think the patching will hold? And if so, I'd like to hear about that.

2:19:47No, what's changed is that the cost increased between tonight's meeting, and June.

2:19:53By about $1.1 million. I understand that, but I just heard a new concern that maybe the patching would break, and so is that really a concern? Well, so, no one…

2:20:04you know, no one will guarantee how long the patch will last. And so, is it advisable that, you know, is it reasonable to assume that we could patch it and delay the work till next fiscal year? Yes. Anything beyond that? Sure. Yeah, it would be, yeah.

2:20:22Yeah, and again.

2:20:24We… finding the 5… essentially $5 million to do the entire project, whenever we do it, is the biggest unknown.

2:20:34Option 1 and option two is… has more affordability for us, because we can… we could… again, worst case scenario, as Crystal pointed out, using full general fund.

2:20:45It is within the projections that we've given you, but we don't have any… we don't know where… how we could spend… how we could get $5 million without borrowing. Neither of these say we need…

2:20:58But neither… I'm sorry, 4.3 or 4.7. 3, especially if you take out the slide, is closer to 3. So I just… I want to be clear with the numbers. I'm not saying that's not a big number, it's still a very big number. Yeah, we still don't have it. I just want to be very clear about what we're talking about. So yeah, I'm not comfortable moving forward tonight. I just…

2:21:19I think it's a really bad decision to close the pool for 3 months next year, and then come back the following year, the year after that, and close it for 5 months, especially if we don't know if our partner pools… I was really hoping we'd have an agreement, but we'd have more information at this point about what options

2:21:38I mean, people are at that pool every day. It's very important to our community, so… I'm just…

2:21:44I'm probably going to abstain from any motion that moves forward tonight, because I just don't feel like we have the information we need. Also, we have to remember about, you know, we do have pools in the area. Kennedy High is underutilized.

2:21:57the pool over there, and the Richmond Plunge, as well as Albany High, and they've always been very, very generous to El Cerrito residents, because they use our pool all the time. And, with the water polo team, and,

2:22:12So it's always been working together with the other cities together when it comes to pool repairs. One last question from Councilmember Motiamo. Thank you, Mayor.

2:22:23I… Surprisingly, I am… Really getting my mind around doing all of it.

2:22:33And I know that we don't have enough information, but I would be really curious to see, you know, if we did loan ourselves the money instead of bonding against the Measure H, so we can charge ourselves very little interest

2:22:51I would be comfortable going below the 17%, because we'd have a note payable of that amount, like the $2 million that we're short.

2:23:02to kind of backfill when we, you know, as we get paid back over time, right? So why cannot we do that, and why, …

2:23:13Why wouldn't we do that and just get this done and do it right?

2:23:19Be done. I can speak to that.

2:23:21I would not be comfortable. The only fund that we would be able to borrow from would be IWM, and they have their own maintenance projects, so, I mean, we could probably borrow a small amount, but we wouldn't be able to, to borrow the entire amount.

2:23:41the loan through… Yeah, if we loaned ourselves our general funds, and then paid us back through Measure H.

2:23:50Could we not then… It doesn't… it doesn't bring in enough. We'd still have to analyze. We're only bringing in probably about $600,000, and it's already being used, in various different, aspects, to where we… we would have to completely

2:24:04shift the funds from… that are currently being, charged to Measure H back to general fund, and then we're… we're in the same position. But it looks like we can count on, like, $200,000 a year, right, to move from Measure H to the pool.

2:24:20At the most. At the most. Yeah. I would just… we have 200,000… appropriated this year.

2:24:29… But… 93,000 of that is fund balance.

2:24:34So really, it's more like $100,000 with current appropriations in Measure H. Yeah, and I just really…

2:24:43All of this has been very deliberate that we would not go below our minimum 17%.

2:24:50The Council has been extremely clear with me and with our team for the last 5 years on that. None of that has ever been… that's why we didn't even think that the Council would be interested in Options 3 and 4, because it would require us going below our fund balance, and that is not an option, certainly, that I would even recommend.

2:25:10I know it sounds crazy coming out of my mouth, but yeah, it shocked me. Okay, so with no other questions from the Council, let's go ahead. Now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments regarding this item. Requests to speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card.

2:25:27Public comments will be taken in person only. Please remember to identify yourself and your city of residence at the beginning of your comments. City Clerk, please proceed. Thank you, Mayor. We have two requests to speak. We'll first hear from Michael McDonald, followed by Norman LaForce.

2:25:43My apologies, Michael McDibble.

2:25:48I know you have a friend called Michael McDonald, which is why this happens.

2:25:51Singer, by the way, one of my favorites. So, once again, my name is Michael McDougal, I'm an El Cerrito resident, and I'll be brief, because I've already spoken to y'all a couple of times tonight, but I did want to reiterate a little bit the framing of this.

2:26:09this first came front of mind to me, because it was listed in June as a one-time cost, and the crack in the pool is sort of a new thing. But ever since, 2024, January even, when we started the budget process for last year.

2:26:24A replaster of the pool and a redo of the deck has been proposed for the next, cycle's, capital improvements project.

2:26:34And so, again, I think it… I really don't want to be sitting in your seat right now, because I don't think that this is, like, one of the easy ones. Sometimes I wish I could be sitting there, but, like, tonight is not one of those times.

2:26:46But I do want, you know, I think that it's important how you frame this in your mind as you're thinking about this. This is much more of an acceleration of a plan that was in place since 2024, somewhat accelerated by the fact that we've got, you know, now visible cracks in the pool, and not, a one-time cost that we haven't seen before.

2:27:07I just wanna…

2:27:08do that because we risk, sort of, the discipline of weighing this project against all the other priorities in the capital plan, and, like, that's why your job is hard, because we're not going to have… if we, you know, take this up as something tonight, you're not going to have all of the public process and all of the other things that come into a budget process, and so, you know, I just think this is really hard, and I want to thank you for

2:27:30Like, sitting in those chairs and doing that job.

2:27:33Thank you. Our next speaker is Norman LaForce.

2:27:46Good evening, Council. Norman LaForce, a longtime swimmer, architect of Measure H.

2:27:52…

2:27:54I would urge you to proceed with either option one or option two. If option two works within your budgetary concerns, you should do it. And the reason is that

2:28:06If you don't do that, the replastering now, you're gonna have… it'll… if you do it later in the year, it's gonna run into the major time when the pool is being used. The January to March period is probably the best time to do that.

2:28:19So, we really need to go forward with that. The replastering certainly needs to be done, and the other ADA components should be done now for the outside. You know, the pool is a major asset of this community. 78%

2:28:33of El Cerrito people voted for Measure H, which was a permanent $60 a year tax. I don't know how many other communities

2:28:43Vote permanent taxes with no sunset clause at that rate.

2:28:47And that was because people recognized that the pool was a critical and important asset. Talk to any real estate agent, they'll tell you one of the things they tell people all the time is, El Cerrito's got one of the best swimming pools in the East Bay.

2:29:00…

2:29:01The other thing is that, yes, Measure H, really, I… when I thought up Measure H with other people, was to have money for this kind of purpose, which was to set it aside to create a capital improvement plan for all the possible future needs that were going to be needed for, for the pool.

2:29:21So, I think options 3 and 4 can proceed later with… with working through how to use and best use Measure H. I personally don't think the hybrid deck is a good idea, but that's me personally. And lastly.

2:29:37What I don't want to see happen with our pool is what happened when I was on the City Council in the 1990s.

2:29:45we kept…

2:29:46deferring any maintenance work on that… on that pool, because we didn't really have the money. We really didn't have the money. Okay.

2:29:52And we had… we ended up in 1996 with the options where either we figure out how we're going to put a bond measure on to pay for a complete reconstruction, or as one of the consultants said, we'll just bulldoze the pool, and we'll repay… we'll pave it over, and you will no longer have a pool.

2:30:10I don't want to see that happen again. …

2:30:13One little historical, reminiscence here is that I'm amazed at how much money you have in your reserve. When I came on the Council in 1991, we had zero.

2:30:27Zero reserve, because the other councils had spent it down to cover for

2:30:32the Prop 13 disaster. So we rebuilt it. It can be done. You're in pretty good shape compared to what we were doing in 1990s. I appreciate all the work you do. I know it's hard to do sometimes, but really, you gotta make a decision tonight. I would urge you to do either option one or option two. Thank you.

2:30:53That concludes our request to speak, Mayor. Thank you so much. So, the issue in front of us, or the option in front of us, is do we… is providing staff direction

2:31:03regarding the options that have been put forward, I do want to definitely take comments from the… my council peers. It sounds as if

2:31:13I don't know if I influenced you to certainly start leaning towards Option 3, but you know, you can't always listen to me. I try to be a good mayor. But it sounds as if we're varying between option two and even verging on 3, so I just want to kind of keep that in front of us. Council comments. I know Mayor Pro Tem already had his hand up.

2:31:31I'm sticking with, option 2. Okay. All right, any other comments from the Council?

2:31:37I just… Sure. If we choose option 2, do we still have the ability to consider option 3? Because that's coming in, you know, 26-27.

2:31:50Yeah, so to maintain the timeline in option 3, we would need a decision over the next 3 months.

2:31:59And we'd be closing the pool twice next year.

2:32:02We would be closing it once this year. In the calendar year. Calendar year. That's how people think of the residents. Yes, yeah, January through March, and then October…

2:32:11mid-October, hopefully, through December. And can you remind me, and I don't want to go back through the slides again, but didn't you tell me… didn't you say in one of the slides that option 3 was contingent on

2:32:23finding additional savings, is that something that may happen within that 3-month period? The budget for options 3 and 4 is contingent upon

2:32:32Ident… you know, identifying both potential cost savings, as well as, grants for the EV charging.

2:32:42Okay.

2:32:44Any other comments from the Council?

2:32:46Is that realistic, to find either of those in 3 months?

2:32:51the EV… the EV charging, is due in October, right?

2:32:57And… In the application, or the award is due? The application's due in October. So we won't find out within 3 months of today.

2:33:06Probably not, yeah.

2:33:08And then the other part…

2:33:11What was the other part? Value engineering. Oh, sorry. Yeah, there's potentially some, architectural, …

2:33:21scope that we could cut back on, but we have to dig into that further with the… with RS&M and their sub-consultants.

2:33:29So, to Councilmember Motayama's question, it sounds as if you all are kind of still researching and looking into this. If we were to put forward a motion tonight to, say, for instance, go with option 2, would… if you did find those cost savings in the next 3 months, would we see you coming back before that time period? Absolutely.

2:33:48And again, we…

2:33:49We know we have to do the deck, we know we have to do all of this work, we would… that would allow us time to be able to indeed do that research, look for cost savings, but also plan for it in a future budget.

2:34:02We do want to space out the time we're closed, if that's possible. That is true, that if instead of closing twice in one year, we could space it out a little bit further, and again, look for better options for financing and utilizing Measure H.

2:34:18Okay, do I have a motion to provide staff direction? Here we go. Just, I don't have a motion, but I have an idea, so maybe it could be turned into a motion.

2:34:28I really… if it's just Option 2, I will either abstain or vote no. I could be convinced to vote for a move forward with option 2 today and have staff return in 2 months with a report on where we are at on securing grant funds, value engineering.

2:34:47And…

2:34:49I really want to see this budget without the slide and what it looks like, because that seems, like, very optional compared to the deck work.

2:34:56The slide sounds great. My daughter would use it every time she went to the pool, and I'm sure all of her friends would, but, like, that doesn't seem as urgent as replacing the deck. I think we need to kind of separate out some of these things and have an option 3A, 3B, 3C that we could look at. So.

2:35:14I would, even though I don't like it, I would be okay with moving forward with option 2, with the direction to come back in 2 months, with an update on the various subset of options on Option 3, including the different dates to do it. I would also say

2:35:32I'm not sure if October is a really good time to start work, because October tends to be one of the hottest months here. I know last year it was. Who knows what'll happen this year, but might not be a great time, but you guys can figure that out. But yeah, I'd be okay. I don't know where other people sit on that. So what I'm hearing, and I want to reiterate before someone gives a second.

2:35:52You're making a…

2:35:53Okay. I would like to speak to staff and our architect, or Swinerton, or whoever else. I don't know that 2 months is a reasonable time frame to be… for us to be able to come back with that,

2:36:06staff capacity, I don't know that we have the ability to do that. I don't know if Danny can comment on that. So what is reasonable? I mean, what that's telling me is that option 3 was never a real option.

2:36:18our recommendation is option two. I mean, but I wish you had written in here, we really actually can't do option three, because there's not enough time to figure… I just wish you would give this information, because we're kind of going back and forth over an option that sounds like it's not a real option for at least these dates. I think what we were really trying to do was demonstrate

2:36:37the ability to pay for the options 3 and 4, which we don't… we just… we wanted to provide all of the information to the council.

2:36:45our recommendation as option 2, because we don't believe reasonably, we have the funding to commit to options 3 or 4 at this point, but that doesn't mean that we wouldn't be doing that in the future, and I just want to ask whether Danny has any thoughts on how we might be able to provide more information to the Council for when the deck

2:37:05can be looked at, or any of these types of, issues that the Councilmember raised.

2:37:12Danny Stringer (RS+M): Yeah, absolutely, I can speak on that. So just to kind of reiterate what Chris and Yvette were saying during the presentation, is we are already deep into the design.

2:37:21We're planning on having Option 2 ready to be permitted if this is approved by the end of September, and then the rest of this should be ready by October, so if you're looking for 2 months for us to…

2:37:32evaluate value engineering and, you know, firm up some of these costs. That's very reasonable.

2:37:38I just wanted to make sure before the Council passed the… And if you come in two months and tell us, this is what we have, but we'll have more for you in two months, I think that's fine. I just don't want this to go another year, go to the budget.

2:37:50I think part of the issue here is we needed to start this earlier, and so I don't want to get into the same situation again, where in 6 months we're jammed again and have another bad decision in front of us. So, I just want to make sure that we have the updates. So, if it can be done, that is what I'd like to see.

2:38:09Can I just add, because I feel like I probably didn't do an adequate job describing the fact that this entire timeline that we've developed here is

2:38:19based on, like, the situation on the ground. Yeah. The ideal time to start planning for, like, when the deck would be past its

2:38:28useful lifetime was basically during the pandemic, you know? Absolutely. So, to, like, Councilmember Moriyama's point earlier, we… I mean, just… if… if this would have occurred during the pandemic, I mean, the pool would just close, you know? And yeah, there was…

2:38:44no thought of projecting out a $5 million, $4.5 million project. We had $0 in unbounds at that point. So I agree, this is not ideal whatsoever. And yes, I get the context, and I get that

2:38:59you didn't approach it this way because it's the way you would have liked to have approached it. It's the situation we're in. I just don't want to be in the same situation in a few months. Absolutely. Councilmember Motayama, then Council… I'm sorry, Mayor Pro Tem Quinto.

2:39:11I would like to make a friendly amendment to your motion. That's why I didn't even make a motion yet, so you can just go ahead and make the motion. Let's have Mayor Pro Tem make his comment, and then we can come back to your motion. Is that okay? We can, …

2:39:25Go on with… okay, go ahead. Well, I would like to make a friendly amendment to the conceptual motion that you said to include, you know, is 2 months enough time to

2:39:37take a look at possible funding, you know, looking at Measure H, well, is 2 months enough time to look at Measure H and come back with kind of a… a plan for us, if we… so that we are really looking at the additional $2 million that we need?

2:39:59Crystal can speak to our…

2:40:02a restaffing in two weeks. Yes. Oh, yeah, okay, sorry, I didn't hear what you said, yes. Yeah, we can… we can definitely make that a priority. Claire does come back, on the 2nd, so yay, we'll have…

2:40:14we'll have more staffing, but, but yeah, we are, trying to wrap up audit, but we can… we can definitely make it, make it a priority. Okay, so that… for this motion to…

2:40:24Do option 2, and …

2:40:28consider option 3 within the next 2 months, with all the different pieces of it, I would also like to include the financing.

2:40:37options. So is that your motion, Councilmember?

2:40:40I would even simplify it and say it sounds like your motion is to move forward with option 2, but still consider and ask staff to come back with an update on the possibility of option 3 in 2 months.

2:40:52With options. With options and option 3. Many more details and options within it. If I may, listening to the discussion, what I had

2:41:02noted was Option 2 approval with direction to return to Council within 2 months with more variations of Option 3 and more detailed information about potential funding options? Does that capture what you were… And just to be clear, I don't want to, like, say it needs to be exactly 60 days, but by the end of the, you know, the end of October is fine, whatever the date ends up being our Council meeting. Don't we need to have that information to move

2:41:27Make sure that we can move forward with Option 3 if that is a

2:41:31Opportunity, so what is that drop dead for that?

2:41:37Well, yeah.

2:41:39I would just say that we have some, like, extra time, because we were planning on bidding in the spring of 2026 for a fall 2026, so we actually have some extra time towards… so we can push things out a little bit, … Okay. To work these, … For the option 3 part. Options in, yeah.

2:41:57The deck part, okay.

2:41:59So, 2 months sounds good to me, and we will have time to deliberate if we can do off the deck and the other parts.

2:42:08So, we have a motion from Councilmember Motuyama to go forward with option 2, to have staff come back in… in 2 months with an update, and with more options, and more information about financing. And… and… Design and… And design and…

2:42:26additional things. I would like to go ahead and second that motion. Does anyone have any comments or questions before we take the vote?

2:42:36I'd like to make another motion. Oh, okay. Yeah, and that is just option two. Yeah, that's another… Oh, it's another motion, okay, go ahead.

2:42:44To just go forward with option two.

2:42:47Okay, City Clerk, so we have two motions on the floor now. So, first is the second for Mayor Pro Tem's motion.

2:42:57Okay, so it looks… Do you repeat the motion? The motion is to… the motion by Mayor Pro Tem is to go ahead with Option 2 full stop.

2:43:07The other motion is to go ahead with option 2, directing staff to come back in 2 months with additional options and additional information about the design and build-out and financing. Additional funding options. Additional funding options.

2:43:24We're not tonight… we would not tonight be making a decision on whether we would move forward with that.

2:43:30Oh, is there a second for Mayor Pro Tem's motion?

2:43:35I will second it.

2:43:36All right, so then we need to take a vote on the first… No, actually, so Parliament, parliamentary procedure that Council has adopted would indicate that the second motion on the table would be voted on first, so we would… because it is a

2:43:51Completely different motions, so we would take action first to vote on

2:43:57So there's a motion… the second motion was a motion from Mayor Pro Tem to go full… go full ahead with Option 2 with no additional caveats.

2:44:05And it was seconded by Councilmember Cassanis. I think we just need one minute to recheck the rules of procedure, because… because while the City Clerk may be correct, I'm not sure that a second motion should have been allowed before there was, before there was action on the first motion. That's what we need. We need, like, 2 minutes to just check on the parliamentary procedure piece.

2:44:27Oh, it's not… That's not a substitute.

2:44:32Yes, Catherine? It just strikes me between the two motions.

2:44:35Logistically, it makes more sense to consider Councilmember Quintos first.

2:44:40Well, it depends on the… it depends on the parliamentary procedures that are part of the Council, adopted rules of order.

2:44:48That's what our city clerk… I'm sorry, city attorney is… Perhaps this other… the broader motion could be withdrawn to consider his first. I mean, because if we pass the second, the broader one, his is moved. It sounds great, but it depends on what our… we have an adopted rule of order of the council, so that's what the city attorney is considering at the moment.

2:45:09I wish we could just go by what just sounds like it makes sense. Doesn't always work that way. Okay, so the Council has adopted Rosenberg's Rules of Order.

2:45:19And… I am looking here, so…

2:45:27When there are 2 or 3 motions on the floor at the same time, the vote should proceed first on the last motion made. For example, assuming the first motion is a basic motion.

2:45:38During the discussion of this motion, another member makes a second motion.

2:45:42which has a different intent. The second motion is voted on first. If that motion passes, the first motion is not considered. If that motion fails, then the council would go on to vote on the second motion. And I'm going to let the attorney confirm that, but that is my interpretation of what I am looking at for Rosenberg's.

2:46:18Okay, I think that's correct. I just wanted to make sure, because other parliamentary procedural rules,

2:46:24in addition to the order of the vote, also say whether or not a… whether or not a second motion can be made, whether… while there's already one that's been seconded, so I just wanted to confirm that. Okay, so the motion on the floor by Mayor Pro Tem is to move forward

2:46:40With option 2, with no additional caveats, seconded by Councilmember Cassanis, City Clerk, will you please call the vote?

2:46:48All those in favor, please say aye.

2:46:51Aye. Those opposed? Nay. Nay. Motion fails.

2:46:57Now we would move to the first motion that was on the table for approval of option 2, with direction to return to Council in 2 months, with more variation of Option 3, and more detailed information about potential funding options. Yes, please call the vote. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye.

2:47:15Any opposed?

2:47:17Motion carries with Mayor Pro Tem Quinteau voting no.

2:47:20Okay, thank you so much, and thank you so much to the staff. So, it looks like we are providing that direction for Option 2 with a follow-up in 2 months, so we look forward to seeing you all then.

2:47:31The next item on the agenda is City Council Local and Regional Liaison appointments. Are there any Council reports? Mayor Pro Tem? Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to report at the last Contra Costa LAFCO meeting where I'm Vice Chair, there was no protest,

2:47:48on, the finalization of the, merging, Kensington Fire and merging, Kensington Police, so,

2:47:59they had 3 chances in doing that, and there was no one that showed up at the meeting, so we are good with the combination of one public safety. This will be one big group, and it will be through attrition that they will… the group will get smaller.

2:48:18So that was count… and then, the last, meeting on the air board,

2:48:23We, looked at, higher prices, per gallon.

2:48:29And this is a strong, strong person,

2:48:32possibilities. So, we did discuss again that this is not going to be on the backs of working people, the poor, and people living in the exurbs, and rural areas. So, the governor is, supporting what the CEC and what, my group is looking at, and, we're all looking for a buyer for, the, Valero

2:48:55refinery. This is a national security issue, because the only place that can refine our oil is in Asia, where Russia and, China's located, so we don't want to have World War III there over oil, once again, so that's what we're working on.

2:49:14Thank you. Any other reports?

2:49:16Mayor, I'm sorry, Councilmember Salzman, and then we'll go with Councilmember Motiamo. I just wanted to ask that we adjourn the meeting in memory of AC Transit Director Chris Peoples, who passed away recently.

2:49:31Chris was a friend and a mentor to me. I've known him for a couple of decades. He served on the AC Transit Board for several decades, and I would argue he had one of the most, difficult elected jobs because he rep…

2:49:45he represented, up till this last redistricting, he represented all of Alameda County and West Contra Costa County, if you could imagine that size of a district. And what was so incredible about him was he actually showed up

2:50:00throughout his district. So you could see him in Hayward, in El Cerrito. I mean, I'm sure everybody remembers seeing him at El Cerrito events a bunch of times. To represent that massive of a district, and to really be there and represent the whole district.

2:50:14is just mind-boggling to me, because I know how… the challenge I faced being on the BART board, and that was a much smaller district.

2:50:22And he was always so giving of his time. When I was a young advocate just starting to work on transit issues, he gave me so much of his time, was always willing to talk through issues, was always willing to share his thoughts and advice, and even when we didn't agree on things, he was always willing to talk through things.

2:50:41And it will be a big loss to AC Transit, and to the whole East Bay, and to El Cerrito.

2:50:49And I just wanted to adjourn in memory of him. Thank you, Councilmember Motayama? I…

2:50:58attended a bunch of stuff, so on July 17th, I attended the ABAC Executive Board, the ACFA Committee and Finance Committee meetings. On April… sorry, July 23rd, I attended the East Bay Wildfire Coalition of Governments meeting.

2:51:14And on August 7th, I attended the Contra Costa County Mayor's Conference, and we had a presentation from Mark Dassaultnier, about, gun safety, and…

2:51:28I attended both the National Night Out and the Wildfire Preparedness Expo on last Saturday.

2:51:35Thank you. We have one more update from… Yeah, I wanted to announce the passing of the City of Hercules, the first African-American mayor.

2:51:43And that is, so that happened last month, and it's Mayor, Blackburn Herman Sr.

2:51:53Black, Black men, and he was, in Hercules, and, there will be, services on, at Wilson and Kratzer, Mortuary in Richmond on August 28th.

2:52:07at noontime, so again, if we can add, a third person to honor, our fallen, colleagues, for this evening. Thank you.

2:52:18Thank you so much, and I want to thank my Council peers, especially Councilmember Motayama, who stood in for me at the Mayor's Conference, and all of my colleagues that were able to attend National Night Out. As I mentioned earlier, I have had COVID, and so I have missed a lot of things. I have no liaison appointments.

2:52:35reports, but I do… I can say that before I got COVID,

2:52:39I was able to meet with the… his eminence, the 13th Cunneling, Riposh, Rinposh, who was here visiting and representing the court of the Dalai Lama, so we were excited to have

2:52:51him here. And I do want to acknowledge, as Councilmember Moti… I'm sorry, Councilmember Salzman mentioned, Director Peters, we are sad… Peoples. We are saddened about the passing of Director Peoples, as well as our first African American mayor in Hercules. However, unfortunately, we've also had our own

2:53:09passing here in El Cerrito, so tonight, it is now…

2:53:14It is 8.53 PM, and we will be adjourning in the memory of former El Cerrito Mayor Richard Mank.

2:53:21who passed away in July. Richard was proud to have served in the city for many years, which included the Design Review Board, the Planning Commission, the City Council, Municipal Codes Committee, and serving 25 years as an officer and representative of the City for the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control

2:53:39District.

2:53:40The next regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council is Tuesday, September the 16th, 2025, at 6 p.m. Thank you all so much, and we will see you then.