Regular City Council Meeting November 18, 2025

0:00:03Recording in progress.

0:00:10The November 18th, 2025 regular city council meeting is called to order at 602. Will the city clerk please call roll? Council member Matama here.

0:00:21Council member here.

0:00:23Council member Saltzman here. We have a quorum with mayor mayor Weissinger and mayor prom quinto absent.

0:00:31Uh the first item on the agenda is consideration under AB2449.

0:00:35City clerk, do we have any requests?

0:00:37We do not have any requests. Thank you.

0:00:40So please join me in the pledge of allegiance or a moment of silence.

0:00:46I aliance to the flag of the United States of America is teleconference and public comment instructions from our city clerk.

0:01:10Thank you. This hybrid meeting provides an option to participate in person or via Zoom with closed captions available.

0:01:17Meetings of the city council are subject to the Brown Act and are held for the purpose of conducting city business. The Brown Act also ensures the public's right to be heard. And while city council is not able to respond to your comments directly, your comments will be

0:01:29heard prior to council taking action.

0:01:32For members of the public who wish to provide oral testimony, the mayor will announce the time for public comment on each applicable item. Public comments will only be taken in person, and a request to speak can be submitted to the city clerk by completing a speaker card.

0:01:45The council's adopted rules of order and procedure specify that public speakers address the city council in an orderly and respectful manner, proceed their comments with their name and city of residents, and be respectful of time limits. Thank you, mayor. That concludes

0:01:59my announcement. Thank you.

0:02:02The next item on the agenda is council staff communications. City Manager, do you have any staff communications?

0:02:08Yes, thank you, your honor. I'm Karen Pinkis, city manager, and I would actually like to call up uh Chief Police Chief uh Paul Keith to give a report on incidents that happened over the weekend.

0:02:22Good evening, council members. I'm Paul Keith, your chief of police. Uh I'm up here tonight to talk about uh three significant collisions that we had over the last two weeks uh and to talk a little about uh some message for the public as a result. Um, so, uh, the

0:02:36first collision we had that was, uh, of serious significance happened on Friday, November 7th, about 6:30 in the evening.

0:02:43So, during the hours of darkness, uh, northbound motorists on San Pabell Avenue struck a pedestrian as they were crossing the street in a crosswalk, the intersection of San Pablo and Madison Avenue. Uh, in that incident, the pedestrian was treated for head injuries, an injured arm, and a broken

0:02:57collar bone. And the motorist told us that he did not see the pedestrian until he'd actually collided with the pedestrian. uh as he entered the intersection.

0:03:07Uh the following week on the 10th, which was a Monday, again about 6:49 at night, so after the sun had set, a northbound motorist rear ended an occupied car which pushed it across the median into the southbound lanes. Uh that motorist that had been struck was treated for

0:03:23injuries. Uh the driver, meanwhile, uh veered off the roadway, drove across the sidewalk and into the JV center parking lot where they collided with a park car.

0:03:32Uh, our police officers were actually already at the scene for a minor collision that had happened before that.

0:03:38So, our officer's bodywn cameras actually caught this motorist as they drove across the sidewalk and into the JV Center parking lot. Uh, now in that incident, we had a drunk driver. The driver of the uh the responsible vehicle was uh close to three times the legal

0:03:52limit on his blood alcohol. So, our officers uh assessed him for his intoxication level and ended up arresting him for drunk driving.

0:04:01This last Saturday at about 2:15 in the afternoon, a southbound motorist struck a pedestrian as she was crossing eastbound on San Pablo Avenue at Waldo Avenue again in a crosswalk. Uh once again, some similarities to the previous accident. In this case, the driver did

0:04:17not see the pedestrian until they'd actually collided with the pedestrian.

0:04:21In this case, the pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries um that were so bad that we called in a medical life flight to have her transported to a trauma center. Um so as of yesterday her condition was still critical uh but stable. So she had her condition had

0:04:36been upgraded meaning that she was no longer getting worse but she was still in very very critical condition. Uh in that case uh due to the injury suffered by the pedestrian and also the nature of the collision we impounded the vehicle to conduct a full medical in a full

0:04:51mechanical inspection. We also used our drone team to take aerial photographs of the intersection so that we could recreate a 3D model to assist with prosecution if that's where it goes. Um, our officers also requested an urgent DMV review of the driving privileges of

0:05:06the motorists involved in that collision. So, um, for those of you that aren't familiar with how it works, if officers, um, decide based on a person's driving that they're a hazardous driver, they can request a, uh, urgent reertification. So, basically what happens is the person has six days to go

0:05:25to DMV to get retested for their license. Otherwise, on the seventh day, their driving privilege is suspended automatically. So, they basically have six days to demonstrate that they can be a safe driver, otherwise they're automatically suspended. So, the driver

0:05:38is currently in that six-day period.

0:05:41Uh, on the police side, we've talked with public works. Um, CALR has an upcoming paving project for San Pabell Avenue that is uh in the planning stages. Um, public works is intending to work with CALR and prioritize some to work to prioritize some improvements at

0:05:56the intersection of Waldo and Madison in particular. Um, something to consider about CALR, and I'm sure the public works director could talk more about what it's like working with CALR, but um, San Pabell Avenue from our southern city limits up to Cutting Boulevard is

0:06:11state highway 123. So, CALR is the primary agency that has, uh, responsibility and ownership of that roadway. Um, it is sometimes challenging to work with CALR to get um, changes done to the roadway as a result. Um but our public works uh department, you know, goes through those hurdles and

0:06:29really advocates for safety improvements on San Pebble Avenue. Um a couple things to for takeaways, especially as we enter the holiday season. Um number one, uh if you are coming into the holiday season and you are drinking alcoholic beverages, for goodness sakes, don't get

0:06:46behind the wheel and drive. We've got really good Uber coverage. We've got great public transportation options.

0:06:52Call a friend, call a taxi, call an Uber or a lift. U, but do not get behind the wheel of the car. Our officers make on average six to seven DUI arrests a month. Believe me, you don't want to be one of those people. So, this goes out to the public. I know I don't need to

0:07:06tell the three of you, you know. Uh, but that goes out to u the members of you the residents of our city and the members of our community. Uh, the the second lessons, if you're a motorist, really stay aware, especially as night comes on. uh it's getting darker earlier. Be scanning and be on the

0:07:23lookout for pedestrians. Look for the pedestrian that you don't see and really be aware as you're driving on the roadway. And for pedestrians, um don't make an assumption that the car is going to stop. Really be defensive as you're crossing, especially busy streets like

0:07:37San Pabell Avenue. Um if uh we had motorists were more aware, we would have three crashes that wouldn't have happened in the last two weeks. Um, so that's uh the main message from me and I hope uh that gives you an update on some of these uh really significant collisions that we've been

0:07:53investigating. If you have questions, I'm available to answer those as well.

0:07:58Any questions? Yes, Saltzman. Well, just I wanted to thank you, Chief, for the department's response to all of these incidents and especially it sounds pretty scary what happened on Saturday and getting immediate medical attention and also I'm glad to hear that there's been some

0:08:14response on the driver for that DMV test. Do they have to do a written test or do they have to get in a car and do a test?

0:08:22I'm pretty sure it's a behind the wheel evaluation. So, it's not just a retake the test.

0:08:28That's what I wanted to check on. And then I also wanted to thank Avette and Jared. I know they've been working really closely with Calrans for the past year plus. I don't even know how long it's been now. Okay, two years to get them to, you know, invest in safety and

0:08:44not just repave because the scariest thing is if they repave with no safety improvements, it will just make drivers go faster because when there's smooth pavement, you end up driving faster. Um, the one thing about pavement when it's not good quality, it actually does slow

0:09:00cars down. You of course need good pavement, but so I just I didn't know if a vet if you have any updates you can share on where we're at. I know it's getting close. And if is there anything we can do to help advocate and have has Calrans been made aware of these three

0:09:15collisions that just happened to show them like how critical this is?

0:09:20Uh, good evening uh, mayor, council members, Iet Ortiz, the city's public works director. Yes, yes, and yes. Um but basically yes um whatever we can do to really urge Calrans to take more action. City staff has reached out recently to share um information about

0:09:37these recent collisions and asking them to see what immediate steps they can take uh now um and not necessarily wait for the paving project that's scheduled to start um in summer of 2026. that project scheduled to start summer 2026 and take about 12 to 18 months. So, we

0:09:56are asking them um to uh meet with us and discuss about immediate improvements that can be made. Um in terms of the status of uh that project, we can actually update we had planned on coming to council at your December 2nd meeting to present a cooperative agreement for

0:10:13that project because there's some sidewalk work that's also being done and the sidewalk is within the city's right of way. Although the the the street itself is CALR rightway. So we can definitely update you on any immediate steps that can be taken as well as the

0:10:27full scope of improvements that Calrans will be implemented as part of the paving project and other efforts.

0:10:33Thank you. And then on the improvements that are proposed for Waldo and Madison, can you tell us what those are specifically?

0:10:40Currently as part of the CALR project, I we can provide more information to you at the December 2nd meeting. I think there's a like a corridor wide improvements. For example, lane narrowing. We're going to uh restripe the uh lane stripes. So, it provides a narrower lane which um tends to calm

0:11:00speeds, but there's also enhanced um crosswalk markings and um enhanced uh visibility signage and a few other things along the corridor. But we definitely want to provide you a full um uh uh the full review of the project uh at the December 2nd meeting if if there's any way to get us a memo

0:11:21earlier because I'm getting questions now because of what happened over the weekend. People are asking, you know, what is the city doing? So if there's any way to get that information out there before, even if it's just a summary, even if it's just about the two

0:11:33intersections, I think that'd be very helpful if it is possible to share with us before then.

0:11:39Okay. And definitely we're in communications with Calrans and we can share information as it becomes available. Thank you.

0:11:45Thank you.

0:11:48And I just have one more announcement to make. I would like to uh call out um our assistant to the city manager, Will Provost. He has recently received the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at Pepperdine School of Public Policy, his

0:12:03professional certificate in public engagement. So congratulations to Will.

0:12:13And that's all. Thank you so much.

0:12:15Thank you, Mayor. If I may um interrupt just briefly before we go to council announcements, we are having some audio problems with Zoom and we want to reset the equipment very briefly so that we can hopefully correct that issue before we go on to the next item.

0:12:27Okay.

0:12:28Thank you.

0:12:34You want to recess for five minutes?

0:12:37Do we need to to recess or just wasn't sure how long it was going to take to it? Very brief. We just have to usually resetting and turning off and turning on the control panel settings will typically fix the issue. So that's what we're trying to do. It's just a very

0:12:54brief disruption as you can see. So this is not Audio check. One, two, three. Chris, if you can let me know if you can hear now.

0:13:31Audio check. One, two, three. Testing Zoom audio feed.

0:13:43Still no audio.

0:13:50We are streaming video and audio both on the city's website. It's just the uh audio on Zoom that is affected at this time.

0:13:59Testing. Testing.

0:14:05test.

0:14:32We're going to try rebooting the computer briefly to see if that fixes the issue.

0:14:39Oh, audio is back on.

0:14:42Great. Thank you. Okay.

0:14:44Thank you. Are there any announcements from any of the council members? No announcements. Okay. I just have one. I want to congratulate Keith Johnson, the ECS director of bands for receiving the Paul A. Shaggoyan Jazz Educator Award um from the California Music Education

0:15:05Association. So, it's a statewide award.

0:15:07So, congratulations to Keith.

0:15:10Okay. The next item is oral communications from the public. Now 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.

0:15:23Requests 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.

0:15:37Thank you. We have two requests to speak. So, I'll invite Buddy Akasich up followed by Janet Byron.

0:15:58Good evening, city council. I'm buddy activist, a resident of Elsto, California.

0:16:04I've been coming to these meetings, these city council gatherings for five, six years now. And just recently, I decided to start sitting on this side of the room. And what I discovered by doing that is there's a a significant visual obstruction.

0:16:26This I don't know what this does, but if you're sitting here, it completely blocks the view. You can't see Lisa or Rebecca. And then when Gabe is here and you got five of you, the the entire side here, we can't see you. And my I bet you there'll be some people down. You can't

0:16:47see us either.

0:16:48And u I think that I'm going to recommend that you consider changing the furniture. I think you could take this item here, bring it back over here, and that would improve significantly visual access and make us one, make us all a friendly group. We can see each other, we can

0:17:11hear each other. And then um I I had an additional point, but when you're a senior at my age, sometimes stuff just drops out on you. But uh so the visual and then and I think in in addition to the visual, there's a audio. So oh yeah, here's here's the thing. If you have

0:17:37this item here over here, then I don't have the public at my back.

0:17:44And just overall, I think it it makes for a more circular and that's really what we should do for a really tight democratic forum. This room should be in in a circle.

0:17:57And so I would recommend that you give strong due consider maybe sometime you guys come sit down here. You can see what I mean. I don't know what this does, but it's a visual obstruction. And uh I think that the overall experience for the part of the public and the city

0:18:16council will be improved significantly by changing the furniture a little bit and I I think I've made myself abundantly clear. It was a pleasure. Thank you.

0:18:27Thank you. Our next speaker is Janet Byron.

0:18:35Hello, I'm Janet Byron of Elserto and I'm representing Elserto Richmond Annex Walk and Roll which advocates for safer multimodal streets.

0:18:45Um, as Chief Keith told us, Elsto has had a terrible week for pedestrian and traffic safety on San Pablo Avenue. The incidents that he described demonstrate the risks that pedestrians take every time they try to cross streets at San Pablo Avenue. and especially trying to

0:19:03get get across to the other side. As the poor woman who was hit learned, she was taking her life into her own hands by trying to cross San Pablo.

0:19:13San Pablo Avenue is recognized as a high injury network in Contraosta County due to its disproportionately high rate of severe and fatal traffic collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists.

0:19:27We understand that such measure measures such as pedestrian beacons, stop lightss, longer time signals, and pedestrian scrambles are in the purview of Calrans. But Elsto's staff and the council have a big role to play in insisting that Calrans make Elserto's main street safe.

0:19:48One other thing Elserto can do to help us reach the goal of safer streets for all users is to adopt a vision zero policy. Vision zero policies are a public declaration by the jurisdiction that they prioritize safety over speed rather than vehicle throughput and capacity,

0:20:09especially for vulnerable and disproportionately affected people such as pedestrians, youth, seniors, and bicyclists. A vision zero policy would set the goal of eliminating fatal and severe injuries within a set timeline and it would show funders that Elserto is serious about making its streets safe

0:20:29for all users.

0:20:31So last year during the local road safety planning process, local road safety plan process, a survey was conducted and we were told that nine out of 10 respondents said that they want safer streets. Nine out of 10 and there were it was a high number of respondents. Um, and I just

0:20:53just should note that to date the local road safety plan and the results of the survey have not been made public and we request that they be released to the public so that the results can help to inform the city's policy decisions.

0:21:09Thank you very much.

0:21:11Thank you. And we do have one final speaker, Linda Kaine.

0:21:20Thank you. I want to to thank both of the members of the public that spoke and I did not hear about the woman hit crossing San Pablo so I'm very sad to hear I don't know what happened but wouldn't surprise me crossing San Pablo is scary and I wanted to second Buddy's

0:21:36comment it's not a lame comment I have sat over here not often but I was sitting here with Carol Kho when she got the presentation about recognition of respit care and so we were right in the front row where we needed to be to to step up where she needed to be to step

0:21:52up. And we couldn't really see what was going on. We didn't know when it was going to be her turn. And um and we had trouble seeing anything because if you're standing here, if I'm standing here, Buddy can't see through me. So, he certainly can't see you. And he doesn't

0:22:07also even get a view of who's ever speaking, you know, to perceive them.

0:22:11So, maybe this could be moved further back in the corner where you members could still see it. Anyway, that's just um I just wanted to say it's a good idea, buddy. Thank you. Okay, thanks.

0:22:23Thank you. That concludes our request to speak.

0:22:30The next item is uh presentations. The annual Shun Sundar Shotti Garden Club Awards. May we please have the presentation.

0:22:59Good evening, council members and members of the community.

0:23:04Each year, the Elsero Garden Club sponsors the Sundar Shotti Frontyard Garden Awards in the city of Elserto.

0:23:13Nominations may be made by members of the garden club or anyone in the community including the homeowner. From these nominations, three gardens are given awards without any ranking. All gardens are considered winners. The winners may not be members of the garden

0:23:33club. This award was named in honor of Sundar Shotti who you see in this photograph. He was born in the Punjab area of of uh India and early on was encouraged to study horiculture because of its importance to the region where he lived. He came to UC Berkeley in 1921

0:23:57where he received his bachelor of science degree in horiculture and further steady received a master's degree in subtropical subtropical horiculture.

0:24:10While attending UC he met the lovely lady that's in this picture, Dorothy Clark. They were married in 1934 and built and lived in their home on the Arlington in Elserto.

0:24:24Due to racial discrimination, he was unable to secure a job at the university level. Instead, he purchased and operated gas stations while at the same time continuing to study horiculture, contributing articles to prestigious journals.

0:24:44What you see in this photograph is a hobby of Sundar.

0:24:50These were Persian carpets that he built and maintained out of flowers. He and his wife purchased two lots adjacent to their property. It was said that in one Persian carpet there could be as many as 15,000 plants. He planted these plants so they would all bloop at once,

0:25:13creating this effect of the Persian carpet.

0:25:18Additionally, Sundar was known to have begun with a single star to create the hillside town of Bethlehem that now has become an Elserto community landmark.

0:25:32Sundar was a supporter of many community activities and a regular volunteer in the schools and over his 101 years he received many awards for his contributions.

0:25:46Sundar Shotti joined the Alerto Garden Club and in 1996 gave the club a grant of $500 to begin and used for the beautifification of the city of Elserto.

0:26:02Now we have this award carried out since 1996.

0:26:09To learn more about Sundar Shotti, you can go to YouTube and see the film called Mr. Shotti's gifts.

0:26:17Now each year in the spring, 10 to 12 judges from the club review front yard gardens nominated by the community and we consider design, drought tolerance, use of unique plants, interesting features, natives, harmony with the home, and most especially curb appeal,

0:26:39which is what makes these gardens unique.

0:26:44This year we had 23 nominations.

0:26:50This is the garden at 737 Eureka across from Elserto High School.

0:26:58It was it's owned and be designed by Rio Osawa.

0:27:04He had a vision based looking at an empty lot and he designed and used recycled materials. After many meetings with city planning commission and acquiring many permits, he built this unique home made out of four containers.

0:27:26This unique house is reflected in the garden and you can see the very geometric use of plants and the unique uh walkway going up to the front porch and all the variety of plants.

0:27:44It is a striking desert environment using grasses, reeds, and cactus with special use of the accent of the agave.

0:27:57And this unique artwork in the front, this rather orang-ish looking object uh is then reflected in the plants that grow in this garden. The garden has the use of ground cover, gravel, reads, grasses, and unique trees.

0:28:22The blue green color scheme then is interrupted by this really unusual orange.

0:28:32There, the different heights of the plants also make this an appealing garden. And what we're looking at here in the front is the front strip that is also carefully planted and planned.

0:28:47Rio also used boulders as accents in this garden.

0:28:54This unique planter at the entrance to the house has the orange that reflects the color of that artwork that you saw earlier. In the background of the second picture, you can see members of the Elserto Garden Club making the presentation.

0:29:14After we find out who the winners are, we go to each front yard garden and make the presentation in person. And each garden receives a sign that is placed in the garden for nine months.

0:29:31This garden at 1216 Norville is a completely opposite of the garden in Eureka. This one is what we would call almost a clutter of plants.

0:29:45It is owned by Anna Stern Stenberg Roberts and her husband Jeff Roberts.

0:29:52The person who nominated the garden said that they stood for a good 15 minutes picking out unique features. When club members went to present the award, we were surprised to learn that this was Anna's childhood home. She remembers it as having two severe rectangular lawns and no flowers

0:30:16at all.

0:30:18Over the years, she and her husband planted more and more wonderful flowers, especially pollinators.

0:30:28This garden is unique because of all the artwork that's featured here. The outstanding piece being the windmill and this piece of driftwood, which has been preserved with um a coating on the outside.

0:30:44The other thing that was unique about this garden is the tree that you see on the right, a finely pruned tulip magnolia tree.

0:30:58Here are some of the unique objects.

0:31:01This is a bathtub planted with very colorful plants and a wagon wheel and some odd little piece of sculpture. So, as you stood and looked at the garden, you would pick out all these fun features.

0:31:21There's one of the features that all of us cat lovers really enjoyed. They she did a lot with pelgoniums, which keeps the garden green all year round.

0:31:42This final garden at 752 Richmond is a carefully planned garden. The owner, Robin Nepetsky, found that the house was surrounded by really ugly junipers and some lawn, which she took out and did a careful job of planning and planting all on her own.

0:32:05This is a lush garden that goes beautifully with the house. It has a harmonious colors and lots of natives along with assorted other blooming plants.

0:32:20You can see in this picture the lushness of the garden.

0:32:28Another view with the curb appeal of these beautiful rock making a natural looking fence. You can see all the different colors and the unique brown is a smoke tree.

0:32:46This is the front strip that also is beautifully planted and maintained by Robin.

0:32:54I would urge each of you to drive by these three unique and wonderful gardens. Perhaps in the spring, one of you will nominate a garden for this award.

0:33:07Additionally, I would like to invite you to attend the Elserto Garden Club meetings, which are the second Thursday in the month, and we're now meeting at the Albany Community Center. I have left some brochures with Holly regarding the Elserto Garden Club and I'd urge you to

0:33:29take one and come and visit. Thank you so much for allowing me to make this presentation.

0:33:36Thank you so much. Are there any questions or comments from council members?

0:33:41Council member Seltzman, just wanted to say thank you for the presentation and for doing this. Um, I mentioned to Karen the other day that I'm very familiar with all these gardens. I primarily walk to get around Elserto and so I've noticed all of these and particularly the one on Richmond. I

0:33:57pass it multiple times a week. I've taken photos of it myself because I think it's so lovely. So I love that you do this every year and I think it's just shows kind of the joy and pride of Elserans in beautifying their city and so just thank you for your work. It's,

0:34:13you know, it's really been um I've been chairman of this committee for five years and each year I'm amazed at the gardens that are nominated and in spite of the fact that we only choose three three out of 23 it was a it was a difficult choice. There are some really

0:34:31amazing gardens in your community. I neglected to mention that I'm now president of the Elserto Garden Club. So I'm a rallying point. come and join us.

0:34:44Thank you.

0:34:44Thank you so much.

0:34:48The next item is adoption of the consent calendar which includes the following item item which is spending authority for universal building services for an amount not to exceed 115,000 for fiscal year 202526.

0:35:09Move approval. Okay.

0:35:12So there's no questions on them. Okay.

0:35:15The move by Saltzman, second by Kananis.

0:35:20All in favor say I.

0:35:22I.

0:35:24The motion carries with Mayor Weissinger. Mayor Prompkin to absent.

0:35:30Great.

0:35:32We're just going on in a very quick clip here. Um, the next item is a policy matters fiscal year 202526 first quarter general fund budget update through September 30th, 2025. Can we please have the staff report?

0:36:28Good evening, council members. Uh my name is Claire Coleman. I am your budget and financial services manager. Um I'm happy to be here this evening to talk with you. Can you hear me? Okay. Is that better? I'm here to uh to talk with you this evening about an update to the

0:36:41first quarter of the general fund. Um, one of the most important things that I want to emphasize is that our revenues and expenditures are highly cyclical and they depend um quite a bit on both the different types of revenue that we receive and then also on the different

0:36:56types of services and programs that the city offers. Um, so I'll talk about some of that cyclicality, but in particular the first quarter general fund update is a bit of uh too soon to tell for many of these categories. We'll provide the best information that we have available, but

0:37:11in many circumstances, we won't know until potentially midy year um whether how we're how we're trending. Um so let's get started. Um so overall, we're trending pretty similarly to where we were this time last year, both on the revenue and expenditure side. Um to begin with revenues, uh I'll talk

0:37:31about taxes in more detail on the next slide. So, licenses and permits are trending on budget, but they are lower than the prior fiscal year. Um, this is highly variable. So, one of the things that I'll talk about a few times this evening is permit activity. And permit

0:37:45activity are the building and plan check permits um that we receive that our fees are paid for. Um, those are highly cyclical and can vary uh throughout the year. It really depends. One major project can uh generate a lot of revenue because that's a lot of staff time

0:38:01required to provide that service. As a reminder, those are cost recovery based fees. So the city doesn't um we charge as much or less than what it cost us to provide the service. Um those permits can vary wildly. So for example, if a very large project were to come in the

0:38:15next two weeks, that would really change the revenue outlook for things like licenses and permits and then charges for services. Um so that's both in the public work side and the community development side. Fines and forfeitures are trending above budget and above the

0:38:30prior fiscal year. Um this is due to higher uh police uh citation activity in the current fiscal year. Uh in terms of use of money and property uh that is trending significantly higher because this time last year at the end of the first quarter last fiscal year we had

0:38:44not yet invested the section 115 trust that was done in November. And so this year we're seeing the returns from that.

0:38:50And so that's the use of money and property. That's the interest from the city's section 115 trust.

0:38:55Um, and then like I mentioned, charges for services are trending a little bit lower, and that's due to some permit activity. That's also due to the fact that in this uh recreation year, this summer, I believe we had nine weeks of summer camp instead of the typical 10.

0:39:08And so we had lower charges for services, which are the um program fees that people pay, but then also sometimes you'll see lower expenditures because those are fewer weeks of camp that we um pay instructors and such for.

0:39:20On the tax side, um the theme continues.

0:39:23They're highly cyclical. We don't receive property taxes at all until December. Um we sometimes will receive a very very small amount in the first couple of months. Um not in the first three months, but in the first six months of the year, but in general, property taxes are largely received in

0:39:37December, April, and June. Um in fact, the June payment is often after June.

0:39:43It's after a little bit late, but it be it's in June based on our um the city's finances. Um that's just the cycle of how the county remits those taxes to us.

0:39:52Um sales taxes are received on a two to threemonth lag from CDTFA. Um and the decrease from the prior year is uh we get a remittance from another public agency. Um it's a little bit of a niche situation, but they were a few weeks late on their payment and so it's just

0:40:08in the second quarter instead of the first this year. Um but we did already receive that payment, so it's not a missed payment at all.

0:40:14Council Yeah.

0:40:15Yeah. May I ask a question? Um when you talked about the the section 15 115 trust interest that interest goes into the general fund and does it stay in the 115 trust?

0:40:24So so it does stay in the 115 trust. The general fund includes uh the three primary components of the general fund.

0:40:30So the section 115 is in a se there how do I describe this best? So there's fund 101 which is the traditional general fund. The section 115 is considered a portion of the general fund but it is restricted and so that's in fund 103.

0:40:45But as we're doing the general fund report, it's all of the general funds um is really one general fund. But does that does that make sense? It does. So it does stay with the section 115. It's not being coingled. It's just the way that we're that we report this as a

0:40:57general fund.

0:40:58Thank Thank you.

0:40:59Instructor. Yeah. Okay. Um and then finally, the real property transfer tax is another highly volatile um revenue source. One month where we get an extra three house sales can completely change the city's picture and how we're trending. So, we believe that we are

0:41:14trending on budget for all of our major revenue sources at this time. Um, some of that, like I said, is highly cyclical and highly volatile. So, if there are any changes, staff will bring that to the council at midyear and recommend any adjustments that um that staff deem

0:41:28necessary or or want to recommend to the council. Um, but at this time, we feel that we are in a good position.

0:41:36On the department revenue side, a very similar story. Um you'll notice that a couple of departments are trending lower than the prior fiscal year. Um and this isn't absolute terms. This is the amount of revenue that we received this fiscal year versus the amount we've received

0:41:51last year. Uh for the sake of the presentation um for members of the community if they didn't have a chance to review the report, there's more detail on last year's financials. Um I didn't put it in the presentation for the sake of not having giant tables of tiny numbers in a PowerPoint. I didn't

0:42:06think that would be helpful. Um but this column in gray is comparing the current fiscal year to the prior fiscal year. Um we see a couple of declines. So I noted prior uh previously the community development and public works side. So that's the um the permit activity that

0:42:22has changed that I mentioned earlier.

0:42:23And then on the recreation side again the fewer the one fewer weeks of summer camp.

0:42:29On the expenditure side we are trending almost exactly on budget on the personnel side. Um and the 5% increase year-over-year is due to those negotiated cost of living adjustments and step increases um from the new bargaining agreements that the city has signed on the purchased professional and

0:42:45technical services. Many of those are consultant services. So if a project is delayed or if timing of temporary staff and support is um adjust throughout the year, it's a very cyclical expenditure.

0:42:56Um other purchased services include city-wide uh insurance premiums. So you may see that other purchased services is at 70% of budget. That's about where we would expect it to be given that a very large portion of that is the city's insurance premiums that we pay at the

0:43:09beginning of the year.

0:43:13On the expenditure side um by department staying by department um I just mentioned those insurance premiums. Um let me just yes um that's that 45% and that's the 18% increase.

0:43:27Insurance uh once again continues to go up very quickly. I know um assistant city manager or Logus can speak in more detail if you ever have questions about that. We are very lucky to have someone who is such an expert on MPA and our insurance program. Um but unfortunately

0:43:42those costs are going up very very quickly and those are housed in the administration department. So that's the reason for that increase and why it's at 45% of budget at this point in the year.

0:43:51Um otherwise most departments are trending very similarly to last year and very close to budget. Um the police department is trending slightly higher than last year but as the 24% will show you they're trending on budget and that 5% is just the personnel.

0:44:04Uh the decrease in public works uh is just some timing of major projects.

0:44:10In terms of fund balance projections um this is a simplified table of our fund balance. Um I encourage anyone interested in more detail to look at the report. There's a much more detailed um table that shows each component of this fund balance. Um but for the sake of

0:44:24this presentation, here's a brief uh kind of simplified version of it. Um in short, at this time, the city's total general fund balance uh is 24.2 million.

0:44:35Um that's pending the final audit. So that may change, but we think that that's uh an accurate number at this time. Um and with the change in fund balance, which is a decrease of 276,000, um that would have an ending fund balance of 23.9 million. Um if you recall the adopted budget, originally

0:44:53adopted budget um was balanced and then the change is the carryover of purchase orders from the prior year that was approved by council already.

0:45:03Um the projected unassigned fund balance, so not including the section 115 trust but including the EDRF is projected to be 38% of total fiscal year 26 expenditures.

0:45:16Um and that uh to reiterate that includes 3.7 million in discretionary reserves. So that's in addition to the 17% um and the the 13% EDRF and the 17% um uh un unrestricted reserve. Um on the EDRF side uh we received a question and and I would like to confirm that our EDF

0:45:35is currently funded above the policy rate. The policy rate is 13% which would be approximately 7 million and we currently have seven and a half million in the EDRF. And for those who don't come to to the many budget presentations, the EDRF is the emergency and disaster recovery fund.

0:45:51So I would just like to stop you there and because I get this question a lot, can you confirm that these are all additive?

0:46:02We are not counting the same reserve uh over and over again. So it is the EDRF at more than 13%.

0:46:11And then on top of that is the 17% unrestricted reserve. And then on top of that is our 115 trust. Is that correct? That's that's correct. And so if you think of it like layers as you're describing, you have 13% for the EDRF.

0:46:26You have 17% unrestricted or unassigned.

0:46:30Um, and that's a 30% reserve by policy that the city maintains. In addition to that, we have our section 115 trust. And then in addition to that we have about 8% in additional revenues at the and additional reserves at this time. And that 38% again does not include the

0:46:44section 115 uh section with the section 115 trust we're at 44%.

0:46:50Okay. Thank you.

0:46:55Uh so to sum up as I noted um we're trending overall quite similarly to last fiscal year. Um revenues and expenses are very cyclical. So staff will bring more information and any recommended adjustments if needed at midyear. Um and uh we look forward to providing more

0:47:10detail throughout the fiscal year. Thank you.

0:47:13Great. Thank you so much for that great presentation. Are there any questions from council members?

0:47:19Yeah, I have a question about the EDRF.

0:47:22How does it get to be beyond the target?

0:47:25Is there a decision made to allocate certain funds to that as opposed to the other reserve or how does that work? So, when the EDRF was originally established, the city council opted to put $9 million into the EDRF. At the time, the comprehensive financial policy

0:47:39did not have a specific percentage. It was estimated, I believe, at about 3 months of payroll. Um, the 9 million was actually in excess of that and it was just the decision of the council at the time. Um, I believe about a year ago, um, not even, the city council decided

0:47:53to take one a.5 million of that 9 million and shift it to the section 115 trust. Um and at this similar time um the FAB and the city council decided to officially amend the city's comprehensive comprehensive financial policies to set that 13%. So it was more was at the beginning and then actually

0:48:12some has been shifted. Um but there's it's still technically overfunded and then in the waterfall approach if it were to ever be below the 13% one of the waterfall components would be to add funds to the EDRF until it's at the 13% level.

0:48:26Okay. Thank you.

0:48:30No other questions. Okay. Um can you uh I know that our revenue sorry expenditures are much higher in this quarter. Is did we also pay the uh unfunded uh pension liability payment this time?

0:48:47Yes. So yes and um we did prepay our UI uh our unfunded actuarial liability. Um, but the way we account for it is to do what's called a a prepaid. And so we we account for it on a monthly basis. And so you wouldn't see it um as a giant sum at this time. You'll see it throughout

0:49:07the year as a component of payroll instead of a once a very large amount one time at the beginning. So yes, we did prepay it, but it is not going to be shown as a higher expenditure at this time. And the benefit of prepaying is reduced cost or reduced interest or

0:49:21um yes it is I believe a discount of three and a half% do you about three and a half% discount for prepaying it at the beginning of the year.

0:49:29Thank you. Okay.

0:49:32So now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments regarding this item. Request to speak can be submitted to the city clerk by completing a speaker card. Public comments will be taken in person only.

0:49:46Please remember to identify yourself and your city of residence at the beginning of your comments. City clerk, are there any comments?

0:49:53We do not have any requests to speak.

0:49:55Okay. So, any closing comments?

0:49:57Yeah. I want to ask another question.

0:49:59Okay.

0:50:00Ask um in the reserve balances that you show. I understand that the the cost of the pool repairs and the fire trucks and potentially the AV equipment here is not reflected in in that. At what point would we see those and if they pull from reserves, what point would that be reflected in the

0:50:19reserve balances?

0:50:20So that's when the council takes official action. So if the council were for example to adopt the um I believe there's a resolution in the next item um then that would go in as a budget amendment and then that would be reflected in any future financial reports. So at this time council has

0:50:35directed staff to pursue options but until the actual appropriation has happened that won't be reflected in our financial reports. So with the pool and the fire truck, does that appropriation happen when the next budget is made at that point for the fire engine? Yes, the fire

0:50:49engine will be with the next budget cycle because both of the payments will be in the next two fiscal years. So there's nothing in the current fiscal year. And with the pool, um that is also the case that none of the add there are no as far as I know, no additional pool

0:51:02expenses in the current fiscal year that have not already been appropriated by council.

0:51:06Right. And we will actually be bringing the pool. We um are receiving bids for the pool as we speak and uh we'll be bringing that back probably within the next couple of months, I would think. Um once we receive the bids and take a look at those and see if they're um within

0:51:21budget, uh we'll bring something back to the council for that part of the replastering December. Actually, perhaps at the next council meeting if all goes well.

0:51:32If it goes into next year, then it becomes an amended budget and it wouldn't be part of the it wouldn't be reflected in your reserve balances until till that until it's actually part of the budget. Is that right? I'm a little bit confused about what at what point it

0:51:46shows.

0:51:46Right. So, what would So, for the pool, for example, uh once we receive once we receive the bids and we have um a cost an actual cost that we would be asking for the council to fund the replster, we would bring that back to the council and then that would also be a budget

0:52:01amendment. So the council can amend the budget at any time. Um if for example we bring that back and the council amends the budget then in the next set of financial reports it would reflect it would be deducted from fund balance or wherever the council chooses to deduct

0:52:16it from.

0:52:18Okay. Thank you.

0:52:20So I have a follow-up question to that.

0:52:22I know that we did pass a resolution to purchase the fire engine so that but that initial deposit was already in the budget so that it does not show up affecting the fund balance.

0:52:35You passed a resolution or a motion resolution motion motion to it was a motion to authorize me to order the fire truck but no funds have been expended at this time and aren't planned to be until at least the next two fiscal years. So we don't expect a payment till the following

0:52:54fiscal year which we would then put into the budget and then the the second part the second payment would be in the 20 would be 2728 then uh fiscal year budget. So no no um funds have been expended for the firetruck but you did authorize me to go ahead and order it

0:53:14knowing that we would then need to budget for that in the next two fiscal years. So, so there I I thought there was an initial deposit that we had to make.

0:53:22No, when we submit that.

0:53:23Okay. We did not.

0:53:24Great. Okay. Any other comments, questions?

0:53:29We didn't pay any money.

0:53:30Okay. Thank you so much, Miss Coleman, for this really thorough report. I really always enjoy seeing your work.

0:53:39Okay.

0:53:43Next item is spending authority and contract award for audiovisisual upgrades to the emergency operations center and council chambers. Can we please have the staff report?

0:53:55Thank you, council member Moama. I'm Holly Charlotte, the city clerk. I'll be providing that report tonight. As you will recall, staff presented information to the city council on October 21st regarding the current condition and need to replace the audio video infrastructure in the city's emergency

0:54:12operation center or EOCC, aka the council chambers. At that meeting, the city council gave direction for staff to move forward with the project. Tonight, staff is presenting a recommendation to do so by authorizing a contract with Pacific Coast AV for the purchase,

0:54:28installation, and programming of the audio video system design that was completed in early 2025.

0:54:34For several years, staff has been working towards addressing the aging infrastructure in this space. In 2024, staff conducted an informal request for qualifications to engage a consultant who has AV expertise to assist staff in creating a comprehensive design that

0:54:51would allow us to plan a path forward and also understand the fiscal impact of that project.

0:54:58staff met with several consultants recommended by other public agencies during this informal RFQ process and ultimately selected Pacific Coast AV as the company presented the best and most well-informed team qualified to complete the design work at a competitive rate

0:55:13and had completed similar projects with surrounding public agencies including the city of Rio Vista, South San Francisco and the city of Benicia. Over a period of several months, staff worked with a consultant to create a comprehensive design that would improve

0:55:27reliability, align equipment with current technology, and support seamless hybrid meetings. The design replaces or modernizes the majority of the equipment in this space from the monitors to the microphones to the projector, uh the majority of the components that

0:55:44currently exist in here.

0:55:46Uh in addition, the design um also incorporates some new components into the infrastructure. This includes a web conferencing equipment that would provide seamless integration of all of the equipment in this space to provide a single seamless viewing feed for anyone

0:56:02who is participating in the meeting. So it would remove having standalone cameras. The only cameras would be the ones in this room. Everyone would see the same feed regardless of whether they were watching the broadcast. the uh they were participating on Zoom or watching

0:56:17our live stream on our website.

0:56:20Uh where space allows it, the design also increases a large amount of the monitor displays out in our lobby and the foyer as well as this primary meeting space. As you know, this is our EOC. So along with direct connection to each of the monitors in this room, increasing those sizes helps elevate the

0:56:38efficiency of the space when we are utilizing if we have to utilize it for the EOC. A new set of tabletop wireless microphones would be incorporated into the infrastructure which would allow a more versatile use of this space for hybrid public meetings that don't

0:56:53utilize the DAIS. So things like town halls and public meetings where we have people down here, but we want to make sure that audio is included and we have the ability to stream it. It gives us a lot more flexibility to do that. Uh in addition to the p uh to address the

0:57:08public comments we heard earlier, the reason our podium is placed where it is is specifically to make sure that we can pick up the audio from our patchwork hybrid system. So this would allow us to make that wireless and put it back in the middle of council chambers where it

0:57:24used to be several years um prior to COVID uh where the members of the public can address the council directly and it would not hinder anybody's view of participating in the meeting.

0:57:36Finally, the design design control panels would be programmed for one-touch change to the AV setup, which would allow us to easily accommodate the variety of different meeting types in this space both on and off the deis such as operating our EOC, running city council meetings, advisory body

0:57:52meetings, town halls, and other types of public meetings.

0:57:56The city's administrative policy allows the city to dispense with a formal procurement process in several circumstances, including when it's necessary to serve the best interest of the city. Staff believes that foregoing a formal request for proposal process at

0:58:10this time is appropriate in this case, considering the potential for additional system failures and increasing costs for equipment. Based on the informal selection process that was completed during the design phase, staff believes awarding the contract to Pacific Coast

0:58:24AV would be prudent as they were the only they were not only determined to be the best choice for design services, but are also able to to provide the purchase, installation, and programming of the design created. In addition, they offer on call equipment servicing and

0:58:39have local offices, which would allow the city the opportunity to continue utilizing the company's expertise to support the system moving forward. As I mentioned, we don't have any in-house expertise in the area of AV, and we are currently depending on contract

0:58:53consultants to help us uh navigate through challenges that we have with the system.

0:59:00Uh should the contract be approved, the work is expected to be completed in the at the latest in the latter part of February 2026, if not sooner. As discussed on October 21st, the project is not currently budgeted and staff would recommend a one-time allocation of

0:59:1591% of the cost from the general fund and a 9% uh onetime allocation from the integrated waste management fund in order to complete the work.

0:59:24The proposed action tonight is for the city council to consider authorizing the city manager to execute a contract with Pacific Coast AV for the purchase, installation, and programming of the design as presented with a 10% project contingency for a total amount not to

0:59:39exceed $348,940 as well as appropriate the necessary funds to complete the project. The IT manager, myself, and representatives of Pacific Cov are available to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.

0:59:53Thank you so much uh city clerk for that presentation. Do we have any questions from council? Yes. S council member sal.

1:00:00Um I'm in full support of this item.

1:00:03Just have a couple of questions. I understand that there might be some amount of time where we can't meet in the council chambers whether that might be a meeting or two. At that time if we're going to meet somewhere else is the plan for also anybody else. There

1:00:18are other bodies that meet in this chambers to have a plan there.

1:00:22Yes. So, we have already been having internal discussions about that and once we know what council's action is tonight, we will be reaching out to everyone. We have a small number of external groups that meet in here that we'll be communicating with that they may be disrupted. The vast majority of

1:00:37our board commissioning committees will likely be meeting in Hannah Gardens during that period. And once we know how we are going to move forward, um we will be having conversations with the contractor to get a better finite timeline of when the council would be

1:00:52affected by that. And we already have several options that we're discussing um in terms of having that meeting. And that does include trying to find even if it's a rudimentary way uh to have that meeting recorded and and utilize Zoom in that setup so that we can make sure we

1:01:07at least have a way to memorialize that meeting that that would be disrupted.

1:01:11Thank you. And then since SB77 was brought up here, when is the council going to get an update on our plans to implement that?

1:01:21Yes, thank you. Uh so I was actually just last week at the um the Cal's clerk's conference uh which goes over new new law and elections that and things that are coming forward. So we got a lot of information on SB77. I've also been having a lot of active conversations with our city attorney and

1:01:39we are still working through uh all of the regulation changes to make sure that those are all addressed in the council policy. Um we are working on getting another meeting of the ad hoc on the calendar hopefully before the end of the year. Uh but we want to make sure that

1:01:52we have everything accurate and dialed in before we bring that policy back to council. So it will likely be in the first part of the year that we'll be bringing back uh proposed revisions. the uh action that you take tonight will also help us in determining how we will

1:02:08comply with those regulations because we will then have the infrastructure in place in order to be able to comply with the the requirements.

1:02:15Thank you, Council Member.

1:02:19Thank you. I have a question about the budget appropriations. Why is why is the 9% coming from a different source, the integrated waste management fund, and what is that fund and is it just by coincidence that that 31,000 is very close to the contingency fee?

1:02:38That that part is a coincidence. Um the 9% was what finance had recommended um be allocated from the integrated waste management fund which pays a portion of like the general operating costs of the city. And so that was a way to reduce a little bit of the impact to the general

1:02:56fund because there is some funding available in that in the integrated waste fund as well.

1:03:03Okay, thank you.

1:03:07Great.

1:03:09Okay, so um I did have a couple of questions. Um just to confirm the monitors here are not going to be replaced. So we're we're we're continuing to use these same monitors here.

1:03:23That is correct. Unfortunately, because of the structure of the DAS itself, the monitors that are currently there are as large as they can be and because they're not failing, uh we did we opted not to include that in the upgrade. Okay. And then um there was a talk about the the

1:03:39the screen for the projection. Is there anything wrong with this one or it having the projector and the screen updated will increase the visual um the look of the resolution?

1:03:55The resolution. Thank you. Um it'll be a higher grade uh projector screen. Um anything else that you can think that you want to add to that or can you come up to the microphone?

1:04:11Sorry.

1:04:15Hi, I'm Eric your IT manager and as I was saying that having a new mo uh screen is ensuring that we have a new motor. So because as every meeting will bring it up and down or any other eventually the motor will fail. So having a new screen ensure that we have a longer run from our implementation

1:04:34before we run into issues there.

1:04:36Okay. And it will also put it under warranty with the rest of the work that's completed.

1:04:40Great. Thank you so much. I think.

1:04:43Okay.

1:04:48Okay. Are there any uh speakers on this item?

1:04:52We do not have any requests to seek.

1:04:54Okay. So, I'll just skip the announcement then. Okay. And are there any final comments from council? I'll move approval. Is there a second?

1:05:05Second.

1:05:06Okay. All in favor say I.

1:05:09I.

1:05:11Motion carries with Mayor Weissinger and Mayor Protempkinto absent.

1:05:17Okay, so the next item is city council local and regional liaison assignments. Are there any council reports?

1:05:29Give a couple. Um I attended the urban forest meeting on Monday, a week ago, the 10th and um I guess three of us, right, or went to the Veterans Day celebration at Sunset Cemetery, Sunset View Cemetery with um lots of other people and put flags on gravestones of veterans. Um it

1:05:54was actually rather hard to find the gravestones. It was kind of a a puzzle, but the the scouts that were there seem to enjoy that aspect of it, trying to search them out. Um, I also attended the West Kustra Costa County Integrated Waste Management meeting last Thursday. Th last Thursday

1:06:16and um the most recent contract was approved. No other really reports from it.

1:06:27Straightforward meeting.

1:06:29And that's all for me.

1:06:32Thank you. Um, on November the 6th, I attended the mayor's conference in Danville and we had we received a presentation on bringing Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to Contraosta County, which sounds like a great program that uh mails books every month to uh young readers uh particularly

1:06:53those that can't afford books. On November the 11th, I also attended the uh Lions Club flag planting at Sunset View Cemetery. And so, thank you to the Lions Club and to the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts that participated in that. On November 12th, I attended the Abag

1:07:11Housing Committee meeting uh and the joint uh Bay Area Housing Finance Agency meeting and listened to a presentation on plans for uh future housing bond.

1:07:22That's it from me.

1:07:25Okay, it is now 7:09 p.m. and we are adjourned. The next regularly scheduled city council meeting is Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025 at 6 pm. Thank you very much.