Regular City Council Meeting December 2, 2025

0:00:06The December 2nd 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 Pro Tem Quinto?

0:00:19Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Present.

0:00:20Thank you. Councilmember Saltzman? Here. Councilmember Katsanis? Here. Councilmember Motiamo? Here. We have a quorum. All right, the first item on the agenda is consideration under AV 24449. City Clerk, do we have any requests?

0:00:35Thank you, Mayor. We, do not have any requests. However, Mayor Pro Tem Quinto is participating in this meeting remotely pursuant to Just Cause exception under AB2449. This requires that for this meeting only, members of the public will be allowed to provide public comment, virtually via Zoom.

0:00:52In addition, all votes at tonight's meeting will be taken by roll call, with Mayor Pro Tem required to disclose any person over 18 that is present at his location, and if so, their relationship to him. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance or a moment of silence.

0:01:10Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

0:01:25All right, the next item on the agenda is Council Staff Communications. City Manager, do we have any staff communications?

0:01:35Karen Pinkos (City Manager): Thank you, Your Honor. Hello, everyone. It is Karen Pincus. I am remote tonight, from balmy, Michigan, where the temperature is 29 degrees. I hope you're all enjoying yourselves.

0:01:48This evening, I do have a few, staff communications, and I'm going to turn it over to Alex, for some updates, today. So, first and foremost, I just want to make sure that everyone is aware, we are inviting everyone to the State of the City that will be held on December 16th, between 5 and 6, at City Hall. That will be before the regular City Council meeting, where the reorganization will occur, and then after that.

0:02:13We will have cake.

0:02:15Which is our tradition, that is why we call it the Cake Meeting. So everyone is invited to the State of the City at 5 o'clock on December 16th.

0:02:22Secondly, I would like to let the public know, and Council and the public know, that we will be having our regular holiday closures that will be coming up, at the end, just in a few weeks, couple weeks. The City Hall will be closed between December 19th and January 5th. We will reopen on January 5th on Monday. There may be some, availability for some appointments for some

0:02:47business to be done during that time. And other city buildings will have different schedules. Those will all be,

0:02:54Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: two condiments in there to be in.

0:02:56Karen Pinkos (City Manager): Holly, could you mute that? Thanks.

0:03:01We will still… other buildings will have different schedules, and so we will, put those on our city manager update that will come out in a couple weeks, as well as on the website.

0:03:11Lastly, I would like to make sure that everybody saves the date as well for January 10th, which is a Saturday between 9 and 1 for the City Council Retreat to kick off the year and to start discussing City Council priorities,

0:03:26budget and strategic planning, and so that will be a big day for everyone, and I believe that will be held at the Arlington Clubhouse, but please look out for information on that.

0:03:35Again, in my upcoming City Manager update and on our website. And then I will turn it over to Alex to update you on one of the big topics of today, regarding our school district. Alex, please take it away.

0:03:49Thank you, Karen. Alex Orlocas, your Assistant City Manager. I just wanted to provide an update on the… on the notification of the potential strike that may be looming, expected to begin this Thursday, with the West Contraplasta Unified School District.

0:04:06So, I'd like to let you know that I have been in communications with the superintendent's office.

0:04:12As well as Chris Jones, our Recreation Director, and I both just got off the phone, with the superintendent herself.

0:04:20Talking about whether we can continue our city-run aftercare programs at the city's clubhouses that are located on district property.

0:04:32And so this is a extremely complex issue, and also given that there's labor unions involved as well, but the first step is to really understand from the school district on whether they will even permit us

0:04:47to actually provide childcare services. So that is our first starting point.

0:04:52The… the superintendent assured me that she will call me tomorrow morning to let me know the answer to that question. And whether it's yes or no, I have a series of next steps that I will be taking, but I will make sure to communicate with all of you on next steps.

0:05:11Thank you.

0:05:14All right, and that's all of our staff communications, Deputy Senior Manager?

0:05:19Sounds like that's a yes. All right, any announcements from the Council? So, start at the end with Councilmember Salzman.

0:05:26Well, first, I just want to thank Alex, Karen, and Chris for all their work. I've been talking to them for weeks about the potential strike, and I know you all put in a lot of energy trying to figure out if we can provide aftercare. So appreciated, and hope we're able to do that for parents, including me.

0:05:45And to all the parents dealing with the strike, I'm… I'm one of you, I feel for you, and I'll be out there with the teachers and hope to see you there as well. But I just wanted to mention today is…

0:05:57a special annual day, Giving Tuesday. It's a day to give to various great nonprofit organizations, and we have a lot of great organizations here in El Cerrito and the East Bay, so if you're looking to make year-end donations, want to help do some good, this is a great day to… to give to our local organizations.

0:06:18Councilmember Moriyama? Thank you, Mayor. I just want to congratulate the El Cerrito High School football team for beating Ukiah for the North Coast Section Division III Final, and they will…

0:06:32And they will get to the CIF NorCal Regionals, and the next game is on Saturday, not in El Cerrito.

0:06:40All right, thank you so much. For some mayoral announcements. On November… Mayor Weisinger, just a reminder, Mayor Pro Tem Kint continues… Hi, Mayor Pro Tem, I'm just not used to you being here to my left. Go ahead, Mayor Pro Tem.

0:06:53Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Thank you, Mayor. I just want to say, to you, Mayor, what a pleasure it has been to, work with, you, this past year, as mayor, and,

0:07:06And to our Council, and I just want to say congratulations to my colleagues, well done. And, look forward to, the, State of the City message, at the next Council meeting, and,

0:07:20Again, we're gonna go forward. So, I'm here in Rancho Mirage with 120, local elected officials and our sponsors, so we have meetings all week with, the League of California Cities, so, we will work on what our,

0:07:38What we would like to accomplish this next year, and usually we have 3 or 4

0:07:44points that we want to work on, and, so all of us will, participate on this, and, look forward to letting all of you know, what, our points will be to work on, and our, main goals. Know that with the state of California, we have,

0:08:04a lot of things happening and, deficit years ahead. So, you know, just want to let you know ahead of time, what's in store at the state level, so, we, know what we need to do, next year as local elected officials.

0:08:22Glad to join you here.

0:08:25Thank you so much, Mayor Pro Tem. And for mayoral announcements, on November the 14th, I issued a mayoral proclamation in recognition of the 80th anniversary of the Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, in Richmond, California, along with some of our friends at, from St. Peter CME who joined me there for their celebration.

0:08:44Some community announcements, and for this, I just went straight to my own personal calendar, because it is the holiday season, and there are a lot of announcements.

0:08:51So, first of all, if you can, or would like to, the Jenny K is having a night market every Thursday from 6 to 8.30 p.m. there at the Jenny K store up on Stockton. The El Credo Pancake Breakfast is this Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. Last I checked, there were still tickets available, so if you'd like to join us for that, I do believe this is where Santa Claus shows up.

0:09:15So yeah, you know, if you haven't been to a mall to see Santa Claus, come to the pancake Breakfast.

0:09:20The El Cerrito Makers Fair is Sunday the 7th from 12 to 4. I'm not certain if it's here, if it's at Hannah Gardens, but it's here in Civic Center area, so we look forward to seeing you there. And the big Sundar Shadi display, we are so… always so excited to see that go up. The setup per Grey Lyman is happening Monday… I'm sorry, the morning of December the 13th.

0:09:42Don't quote me on what time, if you know Greg… oh, there he is! What time is it, Greg? I got it right. I got it right? Okay, ask Greg for what time to show up for setup, and then the opening is at 5 p.m.

0:09:53Oh, look at me making stuff up and being right. All right, so we are excited for the Sundar Shadi display to go up. For anything that I have missed, and I feel like I have missed a lot.

0:10:03if you're following the Little Hill on Instagram, if you're an Instagram person, she always posts all the happenings here in El Cerrito. I know that we post as many of them as we can also on our city channels, so we are looking forward to that. Oh, one thing that we just got here on Council also, the St. John Senior Center Holiday Potlook and Sing-Along on Tuesday, December 9th.

0:10:21At 11.15 a.m, which is the music and sing-along, and the 12 p.m, which is the Potluck Lunch, so we are looking forward to joining St. John's Senior Center. I do want to thank, Alex and Chris, who have, as Councilmember Salzman said, been working very diligently with the school district. Just for transparency, I am a

0:10:41I'm employee of the school district. I am not a teacher, but this is something that's been very important to me because I am a substitute teacher in the school district. A lot of people have sent us letters about how the city can support community members and families during this time. I want to remind people

0:10:57Sometimes people romanticize protests, and they don't understand one very important thing. A protest, a lockout, a strike, all those things are meant to disrupt.

0:11:09So, if we can do anything here for the city, I'm hoping that we can do something that will not cross a picket line. We don't want to require any of our employees to cross picket lines, because at the end of the day, we do support workers. We do… I do support my payers over at the school board as well. This is like being in the middle of a family fight.

0:11:29Hoping that somebody will come to the middle and finally come to an agreement, but I want everyone to remember that the point of the strike is to disrupt so that people are starting to look at the issues the way that some of you are seeing the issues.

0:11:40You know, if you look at some of the historical protests, you think about things like the March in Selma for voting rights, but people forget to talk about Bloody Sunday when those people crossed the bridge and got hit with bull whips.

0:11:51and shot at. You know, we talk about things like the Montgomery bus boycott. Those women were walking miles to get to work, five-plus miles, having bloody feet.

0:12:01for their rights. So as much that we can do as a city, we will do what we can, but also remember, this is the point of the progress. The uncomfortability that you're experiencing, that is the point, to understand everything that our teachers do, everything that the workers at the school district do on the sites. Like I said, I'm a substitute teacher, but I feel like I'm really going to take the ultimate price and not cross that picket line, which

0:12:25will be a detriment to myself, but it's important, it's an important issue to stand with our workers and stand with our teachers. So that's what we'll be doing. Thank you again, Chris and Alex, for that.

0:12:34Y'all got me hot talking about protests. Okay.

0:12:38The next item on the agenda 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.

0:12:50Requests to speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card or by selecting the raise hand feature on Zoom. In-person requests to speak will be taken first.

0:13:00Please remember to identify yourself and your City of Residence at the beginning of your comments. City Clerk, please proceed.

0:13:07Thank you, Mayor. At this time, we have 11 requests to speak on this item. Excuse me.

0:13:13I will call our first speaker, Betty Buginis, followed by Avis Kadron.

0:13:25Betty Beginnis, El Cerrito?

0:13:27The Historical Society is hosting a panel December 13 about journalism in El Cerrito. As I prepare for this, my mind keeps coming back to the proposed library.

0:13:39In a highly congested area with limited paid parking that we wouldn't own, that in 30 years would become another problem we've dumped on future generations.

0:13:51If we had the kind of newspaper coverage we once had, we would know the actual cost of this project.

0:13:58We already have a library building we own. The county is responsible for providing library service. In-person use is declining.

0:14:08The city has more pressing needs.

0:14:10This will only add to the city's financial problems.

0:14:14Working with other agencies and private developers adds to the complexity and risks.

0:14:20With all the communications it sends out, the city could help fill the news void. Instead, our elected and appointed officials have intentionally deceived us, leaving out critical details, such as the fact that we would not own this library.

0:14:37Instead of saying how much this would cost us, you kept repeating that ridiculous statement that it would save us $10 million. You can't point to the petitions, surveys, or anything else as evidence people support this, because you've never given them honest, complete information.

0:14:56As this process goes forward, and you are tempted to continue to manipulate the public.

0:15:02Keep in mind that you could get your way and turn out to be horribly wrong, creating a huge mess for future generations.

0:15:11Do your part to ensure El Cerrito residents get accurate, fair, and complete information about what's going on in the city.

0:15:19Listen to their thoughts and ideas. It will help you recognize bad ideas for what they are.

0:15:27Our next speaker is Avis Kadron, followed by Greg Lyman.

0:15:37Good evening, City Council. My name is Avis Kadron, a resident of El Cerrito.

0:15:42I'm representing the Public Paths Committee with Trail Trekkers, which advocates to improve non-hillside public paths to complete El Cerrito's remarkable network of trails.

0:15:52I served on El Cerrito's Park and Recreation Commission from 2019 through 2023. During that time, we developed a plan with trail truckers to improve the non-hillside trails. The plan and recommendation was submitted to City Council on January 23rd.

0:16:092023. Unfortunately, my term was completed, and I was not able to see it come to fruition.

0:16:16Shortly after I joined Trail Truckers, and the Public Pass Committee was formed, we developed an extensive detailed plan on addressing the non-hillside trails.

0:16:26It's been a slow process, but mostly we…

0:16:30We recently, we have been chipping away. Unfortunately, Yvette has not been able to review the plan in its entirety.

0:16:37However, we have had a productive meeting with Yvette and her staff on November 3rd, where we are collaborating and addressing some of her requests and concerns, such as trail building standards, volunteer requirements, and risk management concerns.

0:16:51Although we find these requests a bit excessive, as other surrounding cities, such as Berkeley and Albany and Pinole, do not have these obstructions and barriers in place, we are very hopeful, hopeful that we will continue to move forward and have a plan in early spring to begin our first non-hillside trail improvement at Tasajara Park. Thank you.

0:17:13Our next speaker is Greg Lyman, followed by… followed by Diane Brenner.

0:17:17Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers, Greg Lyman, El Cerrito. I'm here tonight representing one of those nonprofits that Councilmember Saltzman mentioned, the Shoddy Holiday Display.

0:17:30We are an all-volunteer organization continuing the legacy of folk art display that Dorothy and Sundar Shadi started in 1949, 76 years ago.

0:17:40Members of our organization here tonight include Michelle Fideli.

0:17:45Donna Hauser and Scott Hauser, and I want to give a special shout out to the… to Donna and Scott, who have been part of the organization since 2002.

0:17:54Our organization thrives on the generosity of donors and volunteers.

0:17:58Please visit our website at shoddyholidaydisplay.com to donate and volunteer.

0:18:05We need docents to turn on the lights and off each night.

0:18:10Volunteers to help with setup and takedown, and we're looking for musicians to entertain people at, at 5 o'clock.

0:18:18The display will be installed, as the Mayor said, on Saturdays, December 13th.

0:18:23And will be taken down on Saturday, December 27th. Volunteers welcome for both of those events. 9 AM.

0:18:30It will be illuminated and available for viewing between 5pm and 9pm every night.

0:18:37from Saturday, December 13th through Friday, December 26th.

0:18:43We want to thank the city for their assistance, especially the warning motorists of the congested area signs that will be going up.

0:18:52We invite the City Council and staff to our lighting ceremony that the Mayor mentioned. It will be 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 13th. We'll be turning the lights on for the first time that night.

0:19:03Our year-round activities include repairing the folk art and take… and that takes donations and volunteers. We've been having, we had about 8

0:19:14restoration Saturdays that were important. So this year, we repaired many of the art pieces that Mr. Shoddy made, and the display will have more of Mr. Shoddy's pieces on display.

0:19:25We look forward to sharing this with the community. Thank you.

0:19:28Our next speaker is Diane Brenner, followed by Margaret Cojia.

0:19:36Good evening. Good evening, Mayor. Good evening, Mayor, City Council, and staff.

0:19:43I'm Diane Brenner.

0:19:45El Cerrito, and I'm here tonight to express my opposition to the proposed tax initiative for the BART Library. My opposition is based on what is not included in the initiative, and the lack of transparency on three key aspects of the project.

0:19:59Number one is cost. The initiative does not include a stated project cost for the BART Library project. It also doesn't include the target amount of revenue that this tax is intended to raise.

0:20:11We should all be wondering why those numbers are not disclosed. If the project hasn't been designed and hasn't been costed out, why are we being asked to start paying this new tax next summer? Who is imposing this time frame?

0:20:25How do we know that the tax rate of 17 cents per square foot over 30 years is going to be enough and not too much?

0:20:33Second is strategy. The strategy the proponents have chosen is to have a citizen group bring the initiative to the ballot.

0:20:41Because that way, the threshold to pass is only 50% plus one vote. If the city were to bring it to the ballot, it would require 67% to pass.

0:20:51Research paid for by El Cerrito taxpayers has twice shown that there isn't 67% in favor of this project.

0:21:00I want El Cerrito taxpayers to not be hoodwinked by this maneuver.

0:21:04Third is location. The BART location is the only location named in the initiative. Two things about that. First, it goes without saying that congestion in this area is only going to get much worse than it already is.

0:21:17Second, El Cerrito already has multiple large ground floor commercial spaces that are vacant.

0:21:24If we agree to pay to build this space for BART,

0:21:27and move our library in, we're sparing BART and their developer the trouble of finding and retaining a tenant for their 20,000 square foot space in a market where it's clear that that's going to be difficult.

0:21:39It's a very nice deal for them, and what are we getting in return? A 99-year lease that's going to cost us maybe upwards of $75 million.

0:21:49If this initiative makes it to the ballot next summer, I urge everyone not to vote for it.

0:21:53We can do better than this plan in El Cerrito, and El Cerrito taxpayers deserve better. Thank you.

0:22:00Our next speaker is Margaret Cochia, followed by Lori Schrey.

0:22:09Good evening, Mayor and City Council members and staff. I'm Margaret Cohee.

0:22:14And I'm here, to state my opposition to the Plaza Bart

0:22:21library plan. I agree with Ms. Brenner.

0:22:25everything she said, so I won't go into that, but I think the plan really has financial risks.

0:22:33And I would rather see renovation of the current location or some other property that the city owns for the development.

0:22:43Redevelopment of a library.

0:22:45I'm also opposed to the tax that will be used for the Plaza Library. Some homeowners in El Cerrito are on a fixed income, and I think this will… this will become a burden, given all the increases,

0:23:01That are currently, existing, So I would hope that

0:23:07City Council and Mayor takes this into consideration.

0:23:11Thank you very much.

0:23:14Our next speaker is Lori Shree, followed by Brian Richmond.

0:23:24Hi, good evening, Mayor and City Council members and staff.

0:23:28Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you tonight.

0:23:31My name is Lori Shrey, and I'm a resident of El Cerrito for the past 23 years. I'm here this evening to speak against the proposed library initiative, and here's why.

0:23:41I currently use our library almost weekly, but do not want to see another forever tax that will impact my taxes for the next 30 years.

0:23:50Here are my questions, and possibly some of your constituents may be asking as well. Are you prepared to have your tax base increase beginning on January 1st, 2026, for a library that doesn't have a concrete plan, an approved budget, or oversight for the project?

0:24:07Are you willing to pay for a library the city or its residents will never own?

0:24:13Are you ready to have the City Council increase this tax?

0:24:17Without being able to vote on it.

0:24:20Are you prepared to pay this tax that does not have a specific end date?

0:24:25Honestly, I would wholeheartedly support a tax that was well thought out to build a modern library that we could all be proud of and owned by the residents of El Cerrito, not a developer.

0:24:38Why has the City Council not explored other viable options, such as rebuilding the current library or repurposing some of the empty buildings in El Cerrito that already has adequate parking?

0:24:49I am not anti-library, but the current project initiative is wrong.

0:24:55To me, it is a reckless proposal that will only benefit the developer and the few people behind it.

0:25:02Thank you for your time.

0:25:04Our next speaker is Brian Richmond, followed by Marlene Metcalf.

0:25:10Hi, honor… excuse me. Hi, Honorable Mayor and City Council members and City Staff.

0:25:15I'm Brian Richmond, an El Cerrito resident. I'm a co-president of the El Cerrito Trail Trekkers and a board member with the El Cerrito Fire Safe Council. And I'm here just to talk again about the public paths that we're trying so hard to build.

0:25:30I've talked to you before about them, but we're trying to come every time to keep it top of mind, because in the past, it got close.

0:25:39and then for years and years, it keeps getting pushed aside. At this time, we're coming where we're… the trail truckers are offering to pay for all the materials and provide all the volunteer work. The city staff is working with us, but has also

0:25:53created more roadblocks and forms than any other city around us, which is frustrating. We're cooperating with the city, we just hope that this is the last

0:26:03goalpost. There won't be a new goalpost, and we're really eager to begin the work in the spring, assuming that we've, you know, created all the volunteer waiver forms and training videos and all the stuff that's being placed before us.

0:26:17One other comment I wanted to make, too, was just about the removal of eucalyptus in the hillside, which I wholeheartedly support. I'm so excited the city has gotten this grant. I just saw in the packet that the area they designated seems to be

0:26:35from my knowledge, the lowest risk fire risk area, not the highest risk fire area. So I would just urge the city council and the fire department to be involved to make sure that this half a million dollars, if we have this money, let's spend it where it's going to make our community the safest.

0:26:51I worry that's going to be spent in the lowest priority area, so I hope that before we commit to any contracts, that we take a close look at that.

0:27:01Thanks.

0:27:04Our next speaker is Marlene Metcalf, followed by Betty Yakosich.

0:27:16Hello, my name is Marlene Metcalf, I live in El Cerrito, have for 40 years.

0:27:21I wanted to address the topic of the proposed Library and, apartment.

0:27:30construction,

0:27:32I wanted to express, actually, my deep opposition to the proposed 30-year bond measure advertised as a project to build a new library.

0:27:40That will definitely cost at least $75 million.

0:27:44by 10 years of operation. Beyond the first 10 years, it will require

0:27:49Taxes either to be increased more, or else it'll be a cut in services.

0:27:54But nothing has been laid out to take care of that. I know that we have a nice, well-functioning public library.

0:28:00already in place on Stockton Street. I myself visit that library, I think, every day.

0:28:06So, I've kept a pretty good eye on the usage.

0:28:10And that library is owned by the city. No payments are needed. It can be expanded if necessary in the future with, a thoughtfully

0:28:18You know, designed expansion or renovation, because plans were apparently drawn up

0:28:2410 years ago, at least, for, building on top, building the second story.

0:28:29costed out, and spec'd out, and everything. So, if that's the choice, that would be something that

0:28:35could be addressed later. I think this proposal here, though, is… is, dangerously

0:28:43Not well thought out, and very, very, very expensive.

0:28:49If usage is going down, which my own eyes tell me that usage is going gradually down at the library, I don't really think we need an expanded area for a new library in the first place.

0:29:00I'm in my 70s, I live on a fixed income, and so do half the people on my block, and more than half the people in El Cerrito that I've been able to find out about.

0:29:08My property taxes, for example, with a 1,500 square foot house, with this stunningly expensive project proposal, will go up initially $255 a year immediately.

0:29:19And then reach $1,340 a year additional tax by 5 years.

0:29:25In nearly $3,000 a year by 15 years. And finally, $6,500 a year, more than now.

0:29:33After 20 years. Then we've got to look at beyond 20 years to the 30-year bond.

0:29:40In which point?

0:29:41If it becomes a forever tax, which has happened before, if you look at your property tax bills, there are measures that became forever taxes after

0:29:49being paid for 30 years. This bond money is to raise, at least, apparently, from what I can understand, a $20 million payment to pay a not-yet-revealed secret contractor to build a 770-unit apartment complex, taking up all the parking in the El Cerrito Plaza BART, making it

0:30:09Unusable for people who need to stop, park their car, and go to work on BART, because there won't be any parking. There'll be a couple of hundred spaces instead of 1,400 spaces. Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Betty Akasich, followed by Michael McDougal.

0:30:42Taking me longer and longer to… Take a few steps.

0:30:48The issue is aging.

0:30:51So my recommendation is you avoid it.

0:30:54Stay young.

0:30:57And, you know, in that spirit, I'd like to talk some more about this podium here.

0:31:05And, it made me think about the early Democrats The Greeks?

0:31:14Plato?

0:31:15Aristotle, Socrates, and the Acropolis.

0:31:20And… and… and how… I mean, my sense is that they were concerned about

0:31:26what I would call platonic democracy.

0:31:30Democracy based on the best information, The most clear perception?

0:31:37And I would submit that If you can hear somebody, but you can't see them.

0:31:43Your access to a democratic perspective is compromised.

0:31:51And compromises are made in this room.

0:31:55There's a… you know, I'm gonna turn around and say, so I wish I could take the mic with me.

0:32:00But you've got this… this whole column right here.

0:32:05Who can't see you?

0:32:07And so their access to making their best decision based on Platonic democracy is compromised.

0:32:16We can fix that. So what I'd like to recommend to specifically Rebecca, And Lisa…

0:32:24Is take advantage of the opportunity to go to sit down there.

0:32:29And see if you could see you. You can't.

0:32:32Now, what is… is this a bulletproof shield? What is this? Do we have to have this here? I think if you remove this, it would help a lot.

0:32:43But the other thing I noticed, it's on roller. I can roll it. What if I say, come on, help me roll it? What would you guys do?

0:32:51The police department would rush in, whatever, but we can make this room a better environment.

0:32:59To sit at the table of Important decisions, your best perception

0:33:07Democratic decision, what kind of table do you have? A round one?

0:33:15we can create, in the round right here, go to the Albany Senior… go to the Albany

0:33:21City Council meetings. It's in the round.

0:33:24Nobody is visually compromised. If you can't see the nuances

0:33:30The wrinkled brow, you know, you can hear their words, but you can't see them.

0:33:35You don't have the full picture. We can have the full picture here. Here, let me roll it over here.

0:33:42Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Next speaker is Michael McDougal, followed by Steve Price.

0:33:49Councillors, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, I'm waving towards Michigan, I think.

0:33:55the… on your consent calendar, you have two recommendations from the FAB that I think, are,

0:34:02Our chair has written, you know, a few words about… I just wanted to say a few words myself. One of them is that there's been a number of, long-term projections

0:34:10That we've seen in this council, when we're talking about the pool and other things like that, that have the sort of smiley face graph.

0:34:16Where we go down below our 17% unassigned reserve. And I just wanted to say that we recommend that we take action not to have that happen, right? That's a projection of how things will go if we don't change anything, and our recommendation is to, like, make the hard choices.

0:34:32To maintain our reserves, that was one recommendation. The other thing is we're very interested in the service delivery study, and there's been…

0:34:39sort of push and pull sometimes with information coming to Council, and then information coming to the public where we can see it, and the ask from the FAB is, if possible, to find a way for the public to get that soon enough that we can look at that in time to actually say something meaningful about it. So, thank you.

0:35:00Our next speaker is Steve Price, followed by Justin Ching.

0:35:08And Steve Price, El Cerrito.

0:35:11I'm a little concerned about the agreement with Caltrans to repave San Pabel Avenue

0:35:20it's certainly… our streets needs to be repaved. I'm concerned that,

0:35:26You know, when you start a repaving project, then you kind of preclude things from happening in the future, because this is maybe an opportunity to re-stripe the street for, improve, like, complete street use.

0:35:42I know there's been a lot of discussion in recent years about the future of San Pablo Avenue.

0:35:48Which I think is really good, but I think it's probably in the interest of the City of El Cerrito to maybe speed up

0:35:55thinking about what the future will be, because when we start repaving and we don't really have a plan, I mean, I'm concerned that somehow we're going to get something… the street repaved, and then we're going to actually have to go back and sandblast off the striping that we put down.

0:36:10To make it possible to fulfill a plan that we adopt in the future.

0:36:16I know El Cerrito has… is unique in the San Pablo Avenue, the length of it, in that our… our street with curb face to curb face is wider than other neighboring streets.

0:36:28So, it seems like our concerns about San Pablo Avenue are unique to San Pablo Avenue, and to our own interest, and that's why I think it's probably the interest of the City of El Cerrito to push forward to get things happening, quicker, and to,

0:36:46push on the county and the West Contra Costa Transportation Commission to really prioritize our needs and our interests for San Pablo Avenue in the future. And of course, we've had some very serious

0:36:59Accidents in recent… this month, especially. Just, pointing out the… the need to improve the safety of the street.

0:37:08So, you know, I don't think we can really put this off indefinitely. I think we have to actually start thinking about the future of our particular stretch, and actually initiate some serious planning. I know there's questions about, well, in the future, is there going to be

0:37:25Center-running transit, or side-running transit.

0:37:28But maybe we just need to speed up those discussions and get some resolution sooner rather than later.

0:37:35Thank you.

0:37:37Our next speaker is Justin Ching.

0:37:45Hi, good evening, Mayor, and fellow city leaders. My name is Justin Chang, and I grew up here, moved away for a while, and came back in 2013.

0:37:55Things are same but different.

0:37:58I'm here to speak and add to the voice about

0:38:04Not having another library tax, or having a new library tax that's, actually being quite misrepresented in my mind.

0:38:15Being in many different ways, but most notable of which is that it's being proclaimed as a $20 million library, which, in fact, some of my fellow citizens have pointed out.

0:38:26at the presentation that the proponents are saying, 17 cents a square foot, I did some calculations, it's definitely going to come over

0:38:3570-plus million over 30 years. The other thing, I'm gonna just add some… what I…

0:38:42bring to the table some maybe factual things, and you can always fact-check me. Taking use of, making use of AI, I kind of checked, whoa, has El Cerrito ever stopped or terminated

0:38:54taxes, voter-approved taxes, in the past 20-25 years. I use ChatGPT, and the answer is basically no.

0:39:03And you can test it out for yourself.

0:39:06So I'm really concerned, and it's…

0:39:09Because when I hear about the forever tax, I said, hmm, is that really true? Forever? Well, apparently so, you know, within the last 25 years or so.

0:39:17So that's one thing that citizens should take a note of. The other thing I just want to highlight is

0:39:23There's many needs, and some of our other citizens have brought up paving, or in the past, senior centers. I know the swimming pool needs a resurfacing.

0:39:35This library thing is a need.

0:39:38I'm sorry, it's a want, not a need, okay? Especially with a three times the current size library. Anecdotally, I've spoken to teenagers

0:39:48And I asked them, are you using libraries? They said, no, we don't use it. My neighbors have children, they take them there.

0:39:54Every once in a while, and they see very decreased usage of the library, even among their children, right?

0:40:00So… I want to ask the city leaders

0:40:04to reconsider. I know this has been talked about for Literally, like, 10, 15 years.

0:40:11Back then, there might have been a need to expand, Times have changed, right?

0:40:18Okay, so I asked the leaders to humbly consider the situation of today is quite different than in the past.

0:40:25You can access the entire world database knowledge from your home.

0:40:32Right? So…

0:40:34I do like libraries. I love the location. I used it in the, you know, when I was growing up. You don't need to expand, especially when it's 3X. There's many other issues that's wrong with this plan.

0:40:45Okay, that's… Thank you for your comments. So, I'll leave it at that.

0:40:50Mayor, that concludes our request to speak. Okay, thank you so much. The next item on the agenda is presentations. We have the State of the District presentation from the Contra Costa Community College. Can we please have the presentation?

0:41:19Thank you so much, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Mojdah Medizada.

0:41:24I serve as Chancellor to the Contra Costa Community College District, and I'm really thrilled to have the opportunity to share with you the state of the Contra Costa Community College District. Unfortunately, President of Contra Costa College, Dr. Kimberly Rogers, was under the weather and could not join us this evening.

0:41:43So, just a little bit about us, and I… Arrow or the clicker, yeah.

0:41:52curb.

0:41:53Better…

0:41:54There we go. So the Contra Costa Community College District came into existence in 1948, where the county population at the time, Contra Costa County, was just under 250,000. Just this past year, we celebrated our 75th anniversary with a

0:42:13population of nearly 1.2 million. Today, the Contra Costa Community College District

0:42:20approximately 50,000 students annually? I'm sorry, could you please speak into the microphone? Because when you cut out, other people can't hear you. Thank you. Thank you so much for that.

0:42:31And, your… the college in your backyard, is basically Contra Costa College, right here in West County. We are also supporting our residents at, Diablo Valley College, with two locations in Pleasant Hill.

0:42:47and our San Ramon campus, as well as Los Madanos College, supporting the east portion of Contra Costa County at their Pittsburgh, as well as their Brentwood locations.

0:43:01We also employ approximately 3,400 employees across all of our sites.

0:43:11And a little bit, kind of the broader context of the California Community College System. By the way, it's wonderful to be here. I recognize they have some educators on the Council as well, so wonderful to be here.

0:43:23We serve, across, what, the 116 California community colleges, approximately 2.1 million students. We are the largest system of higher education in the United States, and very proud of that.

0:43:43And, I am joined here this evening by one of our fabulous trustees, elected trustee. Mr. John Madakus joins us.

0:43:57Mr. Mattquez has actually been with the Contra Costa Community College District for over 55 years, starting as a student.

0:44:05as a professor, created our La Raza Studies program, and we are just really thrilled to have him as our longest-serving member on our governing board, of course, representing this part of the county. You can see we have a total of 5 elected governing board members.

0:44:22as well as a fabulous student trustee who is from Contra Costa College this year. She is a middle college, high school student, serving, really the… representing the 50,000 students across our three colleges.

0:44:40A little bit about the demographics of our student population. You can see in the blue bar the representation from an ethnicity perspective in comparison to the county. It's very clear that we serve a very diverse population across our three colleges.

0:45:00And…

0:45:01As we hone in a little bit more and focus specifically, at Contra Costa College, again, deeply diverse student population, 50% Hispanic or Latino, followed by our, Asian and African American populations.

0:45:23Across our three colleges, we offer more than 220 associate degrees and 330 certificates.

0:45:32And in your backyard again at Contra Costa College, I'll provide a few of those examples. We have a fabulous nursing program, a registered nursing program. We have an incredible

0:45:46culinary program, so many of our student graduates are supporting the food services right here in the city of El Cerrito with restaurants and so much more. An incredible automotive and collision repair program, and really so much more.

0:46:03You can also see that we have 81 transfer pathways across our colleges, with guaranteed admissions to the California State University system. So students, take their

0:46:15freshman and junior college years with us, and then transfer to four-year colleges directly. CSUs, UCs, privates, and so much more.

0:46:25We offer career and training industry-recognized, credentials, really flexible schedules, day, evening, weekend, of course, online, in-person, and hybrid classes as well.

0:46:39One thing that's, I think, really special about us is our free tuition program. You can see this past year, just over… nearly 23,000 of our students received free tuition. So students who enroll full-time

0:46:54Their first two years of college are basically free. And when I say basically free, it's because we also offer no-cost or reduced-cost textbooks through our Open Educational Resources program.

0:47:08We also are, amazing at providing basic needs for our students, including food pantries, online mental health support services, and technology loan programs.

0:47:21And, Giving Tuesday, of course, we also have foundations at all three of our colleges, and, have raised $3.2 million, just since 2020 that are provided to our students in the form of scholarships, emergency funds, as well as programmatic support.

0:47:42And this particular diagram really shows how we are in the center of so much. The two-way arrows, really point to the fact that we have students that are in high school that are taking classes

0:47:55at the college, really while they are, still, you know, really freshmen through seniors. When they graduate, of course, they can continue on with us.

0:48:04We have students that are in, in the adult learner programs that are taking classes at the colleges as well. Of course, our, lifelong learners that come and go, taking all kinds of courses, arts, drama, and so much more. We have students that transfer to the four-year colleges.

0:48:23But they also come back sometimes in the summertime and continue on and take classes that count towards their four-year degrees. And of course, building the future with our workforce and meeting the demands of our workforce partners.

0:48:40This particular diagram shows you a little bit about our high school populations.

0:48:46And it… it really is a… it's a depiction of the percentage of students that graduate from each of the high schools listed and come to each of our colleges. So you can see, for example, from El Cerrito High School.

0:49:02This past year, approximately 21% of the students that graduated from El Cerrito High School, came to Contra Costa College.

0:49:14Moving on, this, shows you the number or percentage of students that… I'm sorry, the percentage of CSU graduates and UC graduates that started at the community colleges. So we can see more than half of those that complete the CSUs

0:49:30started with us, and approximately 29% of UC graduates started with us.

0:49:36Some of our top transfer institutions are listed here for you, certainly Cal right here in our backyard. We have a lot of students that continue on to Cal State East Bay, San Francisco State University, and of course, what you don't see listed here are a lot of the private institutions, as well as out-of-state institutions.

0:49:55We also have transfer agreements with, Black serving, with our, HBCUs, historically Black, colleges and universities, and a high transfer rate, to those institutions as well.

0:50:10And we wanted to share with you, really, our, strong fiscal health. You can see that our annual budget, is just over $267 million.

0:50:20We have, strong reserves that we continue to maintain, and are really, thoughtful about ensuring that we are, incredible public stewards

0:50:31of public funds.

0:50:36We also recently conducted a economic impact analysis by a third-party organization, and you can see that we really provide value back to our communities. The annual impact of the Contra Costa Community College District

0:50:52Is, approximately $2.3 billion in added income annually.

0:50:57To our county, supporting just over 23,000, jobs.

0:51:03And of course, the return on investment is listed on the right-hand side here, indicating, really, how much of a return students, our taxpayers, and society gains as a result of participation and completion of our programs across our colleges.

0:51:23We also, are really one of the… we are THE lowest, really,

0:51:31paid, I will say, lowest supported, systems, of education within, the state of California. We certainly believe that

0:51:40our K-12 partners, our CSU and UC partners, also, deserve, to have, greater opportunities, given their fiscal challenges as well. But you can see that the California community colleges

0:51:56The most recent completed year, approximately $13,244 that are earned per full-time equivalent student. And of course, recognition that most of our students are actually part-time students.

0:52:11So this is based on a full-time equivalent, version.

0:52:17Those dollars that are provided to us really support our instructional services, so our teachers and our wraparound supports. They do not support, kind of, the day-to-day insurance of maintenance and operations of our facilities.

0:52:35And, you can see, that our most recent bond, Measure E, was passed in 2014. It's approximately just over 90% spent, at this moment. And we are deeply thankful and grateful to our community that

0:52:53passed the, Measure E bond in 2014. If you have, been to Contra Costa College most recently.

0:53:02You have probably seen our beautiful, Science Center, our STEM, and Innovation Center. This past… just this past year, we sent students to NASA. I mean, it's been, it's been quite, kind of a glorious opportunity for students.

0:53:20In our communities, to learn, and to do, to excel in, in, in really our, our world.

0:53:28We are, really at a place, I will just share with you, that we are, recognizing that we continue to have an aging infrastructure, so while, we, are thrilled at the opportunities that have occurred, thanks to our taxpayers.

0:53:46For modernizing many of our spaces, we still have, spaces that are in need, and this photo is a depiction of one of those areas where actually many of our middle college high school students, students that are on the Contra Costa College campus are taking classes.

0:54:05And again, as you can see, being over 75 years old, we have a considerable amount of space that continues to need renovation.

0:54:15And, we just want to share with you that, in 2024, we completed our facilities plans.

0:54:23And have prioritized our projects.

0:54:26We are in the process of seeking community input as well, and just are in the process of completing a poll for the potential of a future general obligation bond as early as 2026, and wanted to ensure that you are in the know about that.

0:54:47And with that, I just… this is a glorious picture of the center of the Contra Costa campus, where we, provide opportunities for employers to come in.

0:54:59And, really, our students to interact, with, employers as well. And with that, I will answer any questions that you may have.

0:55:10Thank you so much for that amazing presentation. I will open up to questions or comments from the Council.

0:55:17Councilmember Motiamo.

0:55:18Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for this great presentation. I have been to the campus, and, you know, it is a beautiful campus. Thank you. I have a question about the bond issuance. Is that slated for November or for June?

0:55:34We haven't really identified that, at this moment. It could be as early as June, but potentially November. Okay.

0:55:44And, how large of a bond are you going for? So we are, having taken a look at our facilities master plans, we have,

0:55:55Over a billion and a half in need, frankly, when we… when we kind of project out over the next 20 years or so.

0:56:03But we also recognize, that it is, important to be thoughtful about our community, and, really kind of the, where, kind of, taxes are for all of us. I am a resident of Contra Costa County. I pay taxes, right here in this county as well. So we are looking, at a tax rate of, approximately

0:56:25$10 per $100,000 in assessed value.

0:56:30That renders approximately, $960 million, in revenue, in tax revenue.

0:56:42Okay, thank you, that's… Over what? 900 million.

0:56:48It's approximately a 30-year time frame.

0:56:54And it just depends on the valuation.

0:56:58Councilmember Motiam, any other questions?

0:57:00No, thank you so much. You bet. Councilmember Cassanis?

0:57:04I don't have any questions. I want to thank you for your presentation. I enjoyed meeting you and talking to you in the lobby before this room was open. I, I went to Berkeley as a grad student and Santa Cruz as an undergrad. I also took

0:57:18community college courses at Cabrillo College, and West Valley College, and…

0:57:21Maybe someplace else. And they were wonderful experiences, and they were free, you know, unlike Berkeley. I just want to thank you for your work, and thank you for making this available to the community. It's something that I'm truly proud to have in the community in which I live.

0:57:35Thank you. Thank you so much. And, I will say, Janet Abelson was a near and dear friend and colleague to our hearts as well. She served on the Contra Costa College Foundation for many, many years, and served and supported so many of our students.

0:57:55Mayor Pro Tem, do you have any questions or comments?

0:58:00Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: I have a couple of comments. I just want to say hello to my dear friend and colleague, and thank you for the presentation. I was just going to,

0:58:14mention, our former colleague, Mayor Janet Abelson. Many years ago, we did attend the ground,

0:58:23the, grand shovel, ceremony, and, and to see, the buildings that, have been built, it, it's just, something that,

0:58:35I'm sure you are very proud of, but I know our residents here in West County are very, very proud of. Can you, speak more about,

0:58:46Contra Costa Foundation. I know this is Giving Tuesday, so, would love to, find out more what, how our residents can, help out. Many of them in El Cerrito are, graduates of Contra Costa College.

0:59:05Thank you so much. So deeply appreciate, that opportunity. So, Sarah Marcelino, is the executive director of our, college foundation. She's been with us since about 2016.

0:59:20And we have a fabulous link on the Contra Costa College website that provides the opportunity for individuals to, really donate, to our students.

0:59:31I will say,

0:59:36what is, I think, really amazing about the Contra Costa College Foundation, is that not only do they provide, scholarship opportunities for our students.

0:59:45But they also provide, what we call, kind of, emergency, funds for students to stay in school and complete their education.

0:59:56and frankly.

0:59:59Janet Abelson was one of the incredible members on the College Foundation Board, that helped introduce that. We have students who, for example, can't get to school because their car breaks down, and we provide an emergency grant to them.

1:00:16Up to $500 in that

1:00:19Kind of on the moment to ensure that they can

1:00:22you know, get the tires that they need, or the repairs that are necessary in order to continue on. And we find that students who actually take advantage of our emergency funds.

1:00:34are completing at a higher rate than those that don't as a result. It's really quite amazing, the opportunities that our… that our communities provide. But certainly also, you know, scholarships and so much more.

1:00:50Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Thank you very much. One more, question regarding,

1:00:55Contra Costa College. I know a few years back, they were discussing, building housing for, community college students. Is that in the pipeline?

1:01:09Yes, so there was actually… there were funds that were… that came through, from a, at the statewide level, came to our state chancellor's office, and we, submitted, proposals, for, all of our colleges,

1:01:25Actually, one of our colleges, Los Medanos College, was second in line to receive, potential, statewide dollars. Unfortunately, those dollars didn't materialize.

1:01:38So we are at the ready. We actually have plans for all three of our colleges, to provide housing solutions, but, unfortunately have not had the funding capability to move forward.

1:01:52Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Well, please keep us posted. Thank you.

1:01:54Thank you. Thank you.

1:01:56And again, thank you for this presentation. I do want to, again, honor Trustee Marquez, who is a good friend of mine and supported me to get on the Council, so thank you, Trustee Marquez.

1:02:07As well as Trustee Fernando Sandoval, a good friend of mine, and also Trustee Barrett, so I'm always thankful for the partnership over there at the, community college district. My cousin was actually one in the very first class of middle college, I believe, like, in 1997. I think there were only less than 10 of them back then, so to see how the program has grown and how Contra Costa was really one of the leaders in putting pathways

1:02:30or creating pathways for our students, coming out of the school district. My sister, when we talk about

1:02:37students who may not have the opportunity to go directly to four-year colleges, she opted to go into Contra Costa College, but she wanted to get away from Richmond. So she did go to Los Medanos, and she ended up actually with one of the preeminent

1:02:50choir teachers, Sylvester Henderson. She had the opportunity to study under him, so we have quite a history with Contra Costa College. And finally, when I left Cal State Long Beach, and I almost didn't graduate.

1:03:01Because I needed to take statistics. And I came back to Contra Costa College, and it was an amazing… I took it once and failed at Contra Costa. Then I found an amazing educator who really worked with me as far as my English brain, how to understand statistics, and so it was… if it was not for Contra Costa College, I would not be here as a graduate. I would have just snuck onto council.

1:03:21And I don't really have any questions for you, except for I know that, as I said, you all have worked very much with our school district as far as creating pathways. I know we didn't have it in the slideshow, but do we keep any type of data or statistics about the numbers of

1:03:35of kids who are opting specifically from El Cerrito to go into Contra Costa College and try and find those… activating those pathways also from the high school, which is very, very important. Yes, so we have college and career access pathway partnerships.

1:03:52with every high school in West Contra Costa, including El Cerrito, and they really focus on the technology-related pathways, and actually, I've had opportunities to speak at their graduations, and it's really wonderful to see students that are in high school.

1:04:11Take partnership classes.

1:04:13directly with us, at the college. And they are college classes, so they, they, they transfer directly to four-year institutions, and follow students throughout their career.

1:04:27And if I may just say one thing about that middle college high school program, this past year.

1:04:3390… 98%, excuse me, of the middle college high school students They earned their associate's degree.

1:04:42Meaning they're… they completed their first 2 years of college.

1:04:47The day before, they walk the stage to get their high school diploma.

1:04:52So, it is quite phenomenal. Before you all had middle college, we were already taking classes, and they… to this day, when I look on my transcript, it shows that I took, like, dance or aerobics or something, but it… I mean, it was important credits that helped students get through. I have also gone with the high school students to the Black College Expo that you guys host, which is very, very important, because for students who still want to

1:05:17four-year, don't want to go to a junior college, those HBCUs have been a saving grace for a many of, you know, subpar students. I hate to say it, but some folks need a little bit of extra help, and those HBCU schools have really been helping them, and Contra Costa has been very instrumental in getting kids

1:05:34introduced to them, but also when they do the HBCU Expo, they do on-the-spot acceptance.

1:05:40So, Contra Costa has been instrumental in getting them accepted into those HBCUs. So, I, like I said, I have no questions. I'm very familiar with the CCC, and, you know, I just love the work that you do, and how much you have really helped so many students, and continuing to help them get into those four-year universities. Thank you. I'm a proud alum of Diablo Valley College, so… There you go.

1:06:01Diablo Valley is where I did some of my teaching credentials. I've been all over the district.

1:06:07Thank you so much for any other questions from the…

1:06:12All right, thank you so much for the presentation. Thank you very much. You're welcome.

1:06:16All right, the next item on the agenda is the adoption of the consent calendar, which includes the Urban Forest Committee appointment.

1:06:25The Financial Advisory Board recommendations, Monthly Disbursement and Check Register Report for October 2025, spending authority and memorandum of Understanding with the City of Albany to implement the Albany-El Cerrito Wildfire Resilience Demonstration Project funded by a Joint California Coastal Conservancy grant.

1:06:46Cooperative agreement between the City of El Cerrito and Caltrans for the Caltrans State Route 123 Pavement Rehabilitation Project in El Cerrito, Caltrans project ID 0419000452.

1:07:01Do we have any… would anyone like to pull or have questions on an item? Yes, Councilmember Saussman? I'd like to pull item E.

1:07:09Okay… Thank you. Councilmember Watayama? Thank you. I have questions on, 7D and 7E, as well as 7C.

1:07:19And, 7B.

1:07:22So, DECB, correct? Okay. Any other, Councilmember? Any for you, Mayor Pro Tem? All right, so let's go ahead and start first with the questions, Councilmember Motiamo. Item B.

1:07:33Thank you. On the FAB recommendations, I have a question about, you know, I do, understand the desire to have the 17% reserve, and that's in our financial advisory, or financial policy.

1:07:52But I think the hard part here is, you know, we appreciate that you tell us to do it. I think there's no need to tell us, because we want to do it. The hard part is, like, what exactly are you guys recommending that we cut?

1:08:09to get there. I think that is the harder question, so it would be great if, you know, when you give us a recommendation, that it is more specific. So, I think that is,

1:08:23the hard part, and we… we are here in, I think, we had a public speaker talking about, we are here making compromises, and that is part of what we have to do, because we have to weigh

1:08:37What is… important to keep services going, as well as financial stability. So, I think the, you know.

1:08:49I appreciate the recommendations. I really appreciate that you guys have become much more active about giving us recommendations. I think in… specifically on the… on the 17%.

1:09:00It would be great to understand what is… what you guys are focusing on to cut

1:09:06That would allow us to maintain the 17%.

1:09:10I don't know if there's anybody…

1:09:13From the FAB that would like to respond. Councilmember, we do have the chair, David Carvelos, with us virtually, as well as the staff liaison, and we have another FAB member in the audience. Okay, thank you.

1:09:24David Carvel (FAB Chair): Hi, good evening, David Carvell, Chair of the Financial Advisory Board.

1:09:29I think…

1:09:33So, I wholeheartedly agree, and I think the solution is probably for us to collaborate and identify

1:09:42opportunities to cut in a smart way. So, I guess I'm not sure quite what the proposal is, whether it's working with you all on Council or some folks on, our staff, our wonderful staff here.

1:09:57But really, that's where we'll start to come up with solutions. I don't think, in a vacuum, we can just propose something. I think it really is an opportunity for us to collaborate more with you all and the city, staff in order to identify where can we cut in a way that,

1:10:14still enable us to provide as many services as possible. I think the service delivery study that's coming out early next year will also be helpful in terms of providing some feedback on, where we might be able to

1:10:27potentially edit, some of the work and the services, so that's another opportunity for us to, after that, to get together.

1:10:37And I think this is the broader point, which is, how do we, as a fab, time

1:10:42our work and our recommendations with you and the Council's guidance and voting. And so I think that second item, second recommendation we have is really a plea to try to figure out how can we work collaboratively prior to you all voting or making decisions in the Council. And I know we only meet once a month, you all meet twice a month.

1:11:02And so it can be hard to sync things up, but I'd love for us to try to find a way to work more collaboratively. We can create an ad hoc committee. I'm not sure what the processes are for participating with you all on the Council or with city staff, but we are very open to that and look forward to partnership.

1:11:20Thank you.

1:11:22All right, item C, Councilmember Motiampa. On the check register, I did see that there was a payment… another payment for the parking management plan, and I was wondering if there was an update on that, as well as the Del Norte Complete Streets project. I saw that there was a large payment for that as well.

1:11:41We do have the finance director online, but also, Jared, if you wanted to speak to that, you can come up.

1:11:49Jared Mullen, a Sustainable Transportation Program Manager and Project Manager of the Parking Management Action Plan. So we've completed data collection, which, believe it or not, was almost 25% of the project budget.

1:12:02So that accounts for a large share of the, the project, expenditures to date. We're also working through the administrative draft of the existing conditions, section.

1:12:13With, which then would then lead into the concept development and the community outreach, which we're looking to do in 2026.

1:12:23Thank you.

1:12:25All right, and then item… Oh, we've asked them? Okay.

1:12:35Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers, Yvette Ortiz, the City's Public Works Director. Your question about Del Norte? Yes, so I did see that we are making a very large payment to one of the contractors. Are we on track for completing by the end of this year? So, the contractor has definitely been doing a lot of work over the last few months.

1:12:55as you've seen… likely seen, the traffic signal poles are going up after all the underground work. There's a… the big, item,

1:13:03that's planned this month is to switch over the traffic signals, so meaning the new signals, signal poles will be activated, and the old ones will be removed. And that's the biggest, component of the work left.

1:13:18And we are really working hard to substantially complete by the project by the end of this month.

1:13:25There will be some continuing work in January, but the substantial work will be done, at the end of this month.

1:13:33Great. Thank you very much. Thank you.

1:13:35All right, item D, Councilmember Motiam. I have a question about the,

1:13:42the agreement, the MOU agreement, and the dollar amounts in the agreement. I see that we are getting $510,000 from the grant, but we are being asked to add $200,000 to revenue and expense.

1:13:59And I kind of want… I want to understand how that $200,000 works with this $500,000.

1:14:09Hi, good evening. Stephen Prey with the Public Works Department.

1:14:14So, the money… this grant, first of all, is a non-match grant. It's all reimbursable expenses.

1:14:23And there was no, we anticipate spending $200,000

1:14:29For reimbursement this fiscal year, and that was not part of the city's, 25 26 budget.

1:14:38And that's the reason for the, for the allocation now.

1:14:44Okay, thank you. So that we have to accrue costs before we can be reimbursed, so that's what this $200,000 is for. Precisely. So we bill

1:14:55after we've expended.

1:14:58And we get a check 30 days later.

1:15:02Thank you very much. All right, and so Councilmember Salzman has pulled item E for the… for discussion, so we'll… we can save your question for that time, Council… all right. All right, so do I have a motion to approve the consent calendar except item E?

1:15:16Moved. Second. All right, so moved by Councilmember Salzman, seconded by Councilmember Motayama. Can we take a roll call vote, please, City Clerk? Thank you, Mayor Weisinger? Yes.

1:15:27Mayor Pro Tem Quinto?

1:15:29Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: There's no one in this room except for me, and I am voting yes.

1:15:35Thank you. Councilmember Katsanez? Yes. Councilmember Mochiyama? Yes. Councilmember Saltzman? Yes. Motion carries. All right, thank you so much.

1:15:43So, Councilmember Salzman, for discussion on item E, the cooperative agreement between CDE of El Cerrito and Caltrans, for your questions. Yeah, I understand that staff have a presentation ready, and also that somebody from Caltrans is here to join us. I mostly, honestly, have questions of Caltrans, so…

1:16:07Okay, sorry.

1:16:09Did I cast it there?

1:16:15All right, good evening, Mayor and, Council Members. Jarrett Mullen, Sustainable Transportation Program Manager, and I'm also the City Staff Lead who's collaborating with Caltrans on this, on this project.

1:16:26So I do have a quick, like, verbal summary of the staff report that I can share with you all. Don't have slides, but I'll try to keep this quick.

1:16:37And as far as, Caltrans attendance, I do understand that, and yes, I do see, Hale Hakini, who's the project manager, she's on Zoom, she's the project manager for the, project I'm about to tell you about.

1:16:51And I believe, some other Caltrans staff may also be, in attendance, and I can let Holly, introduce them when I finish myself.

1:17:02So, to keep things brief, I can just summarize the four key elements of the staff report, related to this, this project. So, it's… first is the action, second the project, third is the city's role, and then fourth is the cooperative agreement itself. There's a lot of pieces here.

1:17:19So the action, at its core, what we're talking about, is really authorizing the City Manager to execute a cooperative funding agreement between the City and Caltrans. Of course, Caltrans is the California State Department of Transportation.

1:17:32The city would provide up to $400,000 for sidewalk and street tree work as part of Caltrans' State Route 123 pavement rehabilitation project.

1:17:43And, State Route 123 is maybe not the most common name for what we call, San Pablo Avenue. And, it basically stretches 7.4 miles, along San Pablo Avenue and Cutting Boulevard.

1:17:59between Petting and the I-80 interchange in Richmond and El Cerrito.

1:18:04And of course, it's called San Pablo Avenue, most commonly.

1:18:09And the project itself is an approximately $14 million pavement project, pavement rehabilitation project, just for the El Cerrito section of State Route 123, which, again, is from the I-80 interchange at Cutting Boulevard down to Cerrito Creek at the city line.

1:18:27And the, it's important for El Cerrito, obviously, because that encompasses about 80% of San Pablo Avenue in the city, which is our main street, an important commercial corridor, mixed-use corridor, transit corridor.

1:18:41The project is part of the State Highway Operations and Protection Program, otherwise known as SHOP.

1:18:48And it applies Caltrans' capital preventative maintenance strategy, CAPM. The scope includes repaving the street, basically, along the length of the project, limits.

1:18:59Curb and gutter removal and replacement, sidewalk and street tree, removals and replacements, and also road safety and complete streets features. Those include two new, flashing pedestrian beacons at the Sacramento Avenue crosswalk and at the Carlos Avenue crosswalk.

1:19:18High visibility signage and paving markings at all crosswalks, and new safety lighting.

1:19:26The project is wrapping up design now, and it should start construction in summer 2026 and last for about a year, into summer 2027.

1:19:38So the, city role, so in fall 2023, Caltrans staff engaged city staff to provide, info, and seek feedback.

1:19:49And since, State Route 123 is a state highway owned by Caltrans, we, collaborated, collaborated with Caltrans, seeking to shape the project, based on a few key policies.

1:20:03So, first is the Complete Streets Policy, which you've heard me talk about before, but it's instrumental in this because it states that all project types, including maintenance projects, are an opportunity to implement city policy, including the Active Transportation Plan and the San Pablo Avenue-specific Plan.

1:20:21We also have a number of maintenance agreements, with Caltrans for different features along the road, and it's relatively complicated. There's a staff report, or in the staff report, there's a table that kind of breaks down who's responsible for what.

1:20:35But, generally,

1:20:38The city owns the sidewalks, along San Pablo Avenue, and State Route 123, and then Caltrans is responsible for the roadway itself.

1:20:47And then there's shared, kind of, responsibilities between, traffic signals and the like.

1:20:54And then, finally, another key element here is the CAPM strategy does not include road geometry changes. Again, it's really focused on maintenance. With that said, we want to try to implement as many complete street features as possible with a maintenance project.

1:21:11So the city, city staff provided input, focused on pedestrian safety and connectivity upgrades, and we were really focused on, what we call marked uncontrolled crosswalks.

1:21:24Which are the crosswalks that don't have a traffic signal, basically. They're like a painted crosswalk across the road with, like, signs, or maybe no signs at all. Because we know those, those have great, safety needs.

1:21:38And, we, we also focused on sidewalk repairs. So, we identified,

1:21:459 sidewalk repair locations, and 16 street removal and replacement locations.

1:21:51And the tree removals were really precipitated by, curb and gutter work, that Caltrans was planning to do, but then again, street trees are in the sidewalks, so the city owns them, the city is responsible for them.

1:22:05As the… as is the sidewalk repairs. We also wanted to implement new mid-block crosswalks, so that's, some of the blocks, along San Pablo Avenue are particularly long, which is a barrier to pedestrian travel.

1:22:19So the San Pablo Avenue-specific plan calls for new, mid-block crosswalks, so we identified, 6 locations there that we requested.

1:22:29So the, the outcome in working with Caltrans and all these constraints that I mentioned, we are going to advance, three sidewalk repair locations.

1:22:39With the trees, we'll remove, replace, 16 street trees. And then the crosswalk upgrades, it's really a two-stage approach that's summarized in the staff report.

1:22:50So, with the cabin project, which is what we're working on right now, there'd be two RFBs, one, these are the flashing beacons, one installed at Sacramento.

1:23:00One installed at Carlos on the avenue.

1:23:03And then we'd put high-visibility signage at every crosswalk.

1:23:06And then Caltrans is looking to program a future safety project. So that would include 6 new mid-block crosswalk locations, and new beacons at Madison Avenue and at, Lincoln Avenue, which would replace the existing city-owned system there.

1:23:25That future safety project, however, is unfunded, so continuing collaboration with Caltrans is needed to deliver those upgrades.

1:23:37The last, last element here from the staff report is the cooperative agreement itself. So it's, it would authorize the city manager to execute an agreement up to $400,000 to pay for the sidewalk and street tree removal, that I discussed earlier.

1:23:56And that concludes my summary of the staff report. Hale Hakini, again, is on the line here from Caltrans. She can answer any questions you have.

1:24:08Thank you.

1:24:10Is it… can I proceed? First, I just want to thank Jarrett and Yvette for all the work you've done on this. I know you really have advocated for the city, and for our residents, and for everybody on San Pablo.

1:24:24Unfortunately, San Pablo is by far the most dangerous street in El Cerrito.

1:24:29It is where nearly all of the traffic fatalities and serious injuries happen. Staff are going to be bringing back a Vision Zero policy to the Council next year, but we cannot achieve that vision if we don't fix San Pablo. The rest of our streets

1:24:49have a lot less or less severe safety issues than San Pablo does. And…

1:24:56Of course, repaving a street is important.

1:24:59But repaving a street means cars will drive faster if you don't do anything to slow them down when you pave them, because smooth paving facilitates faster driving. It's also the right thing to do. I'm not advocating for not paving streets.

1:25:14But that's why when you repave streets, you have to make safety improvements, like we're doing with the Richmond Street project.

1:25:21I'm glad to see some safety improvements moving forward with this project, but I'm very concerned that most of them are in this hypothetical

1:25:32future project, especially with, you know, multiple state laws that really require Caltrans, particularly under the SHOP program, to have complete streets components, like SB 960 by Senator Scott Weiner that was passed.

1:25:48in 2024. So I… I guess I'd like to hear more from Caltrans about your commitment to these future projects, the timeline, I mean, are we looking at

1:25:592 years, 10 years, maybe never. What… what can we expect, and what can we do to make sure these projects happen? Because people are getting injured. A woman who's 70 years old nearly died, and still that still might happen. She's still not in a great condition.

1:26:18And many people have died on San Pablo. So we… we have to stop this, and it's because cars… car drivers are going too fast.

1:26:28And they're hitting people who are walking and biking, and sometimes hitting other people in cars. So, what can you tell us about the future projects and what we can do collaboratively to

1:26:39Protect the lives of El Cerritans and neighboring residents.

1:26:45Haleh Hakimi (CALTrans): Good evening, everyone. My name is Hale Hakimi. I'm the project manager on the CAPM project. Thank you, Jared, for the summary of the project.

1:26:55I have with me tonight our Traffic Safety Office Chief, Lester Lee, Traffic Safety Branch Chief, Amir Mahubi, and our Pedestrian and Bike Branch Chief, Greg Curry.

1:27:10To answer to your question, I will start, and then I will ask my team to jump in as the subject matter experts. So, as Jared mentioned, we try to include as many,

1:27:21safety and completed street components in our cabin project, but because of the limited budget, our hands were tied. So, we believe with the improvements that we are making on the pavement delineation and the new signing, the safety is going to be improved compared to the existing condition.

1:27:39As for the future projects, as mentioned, we are include… we are,

1:27:45considering programming a project to include the six mid-brock crossings, which I believe we are planning to do it for 2028, but I defer to Lester, who is also our safety program advisor, to provide more detailed information on that.

1:28:01And as Jared mentioned, the project is not funded yet, but that's something that we are trying to, program and,

1:28:11Get going as… as soon as possible.

1:28:15Lester, would you like to add something?

1:28:18Lester Lee (CALTrans): Yeah, thanks, Julia. So, the future, shop, project is actually a proactive safety project, that we're proposing. Currently, the state is also running into budget, constraints, especially in our shop program, and so.

1:28:35We haven't got our allocations and our targets yet, and so, so, we don't know currently what projects will get moved further out into our shop, or the later years in the shop, but…

1:28:47Currently, this project that was mentioned earlier, along with some other safety projects in the district, are still on the list, but we will need to determine, you know, to balance our budgets to… with the shop, just to see where the project lies, and so…

1:29:07So, what I'm hearing is there's no… we have no… it could be 10 years, because we just don't know, because the state's not prioritizing safety projects, and I'm not calling you out as individuals.

1:29:17Lester Lee (CALTrans): Yeah.

1:29:17because you're tell… I get it, you don't control the full budget, but we know the state's spending a lot of money on expanding highways. So that's a choice that the state is saying, we'd rather expand highways than save lives. So that is a choice that's being made, and it's extremely disappointing. Again, I'm not blaming you as individuals, but

1:29:37I really think we need to make this move forward. This is so cheap compared to adding a lane to a highway that's going to be underwater in 2050, but that's what the state is pursuing anyway, so…

1:29:50it just doesn't make any sense that we're allowing people to die on our streets. I hope we can continue to work together on this and get these projects to move forward as quickly as possible. A single other life lost on San Pablo is not acceptable.

1:30:10Councilmember Motiamo, I know you also had questions about this item.

1:30:13Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for the great turnout from Caltrans. I'm very impressed that

1:30:20You guys are all here. I have,

1:30:23Question for you guys about the road geometry, and when you guys say road geometry, what exactly do you mean?

1:30:35Haleh Hakimi (CALTrans): So, by route geometry, we mean, like, for example, as part of this, pavement rehabilitation, we could not

1:30:42make changes in the lane width, for example, to add bike lanes. That will be a road diet change, and that's not part of the code that this project is programmed for. So we could not spend that money on any road geometry, or, like, narrowing the median to increase the width of some lanes, for example.

1:31:05Okay, and would something like, expanding the curb bulb-outs at the corners also count as changing geometry?

1:31:14Yes. Okay.

1:31:16Right.

1:31:17Thank you so much. And now I have a question for Jarrett. So this is a city budget question, and I know,

1:31:27there's gonna be the $259,000 that you're, will be coming to… to Council for the next budget year, and is that gonna come from SB1 as well? Is there enough that we are generating from SB1 for that to be

1:31:45the source, or is that expected to come from general funds? Good evening. Yvette Ortiz, the City's Public Works Director. It will be coming from SB1, and there is,

1:31:56fund balance in SB1, to fund these improvements, so general fund would not be affected.

1:32:03Great, thank you so much. Thank you.

1:32:05All right, Councilmember Casanis? I have a question, and thank you for your presentation, and thank you for all the Caltrans people that are here as well. My questions were very broad, like, I'm curious how…

1:32:17how the city collaborates with Caltrans in identifying what our needs are. And I think about San Pablo, where, you know, all of us are on it one way or the other throughout the week.

1:32:28And the Caltrans people aren't necessarily. So there has to be some kind of feedback to understand, you know, what are the dangerous intersections, and why, and what do we experience as users. And I'm just sort of curious how that works, because there are clearly two different realms of responsibility.

1:32:41And, obviously, they overlap.

1:32:45I'll… I'll take… take a stab at this first, and then I'll hand it over to Hale. So it really is a collaboration. When the city looks at improvements or upgrades to San Pablo Avenue.

1:32:56We really look at our local plans, so key ones being the, you know, the active transportation plan, but along San Pablo Avenue, the San Pablo Avenue-specific plan is especially important.

1:33:08a third of the specific plan is dedicated to complete streets and transportation. So, a lot of the concepts and guidelines in there present a long-term vision for what the city really wants the street to look like.

1:33:22And, that's really our… that's really our North Star, for collaborating as we… we look at those plans first and foremost.

1:33:31Often, though, we do have to prioritize and focus, because there's just limited resources, budget, and time to deliver all these upgrades.

1:33:45So… so we focus on, really, often on, you know, safety and connectivity. So, for example, the mid-block crosswalks that I… that I mentioned earlier, the specific plan envisions 17 new mid-block crosswalks up and down the corridor, including the city-controlled part of the San Pablo Avenue north of Cutting.

1:34:03Yet we narrowed this down to… to 6. So we… we really looked at, areas where there had been, known safety incidents, you know, people crossing mid-block, which is a demonstration of demand, for a crosswalk there.

1:34:19Complementing, economic development, where we know there's, like, higher density of infill development, which means higher demand for a crosswalk, generally.

1:34:30And then we also looked at equity, so we did prioritize locations in, MTC-designated equity priority communities. So whenever we're making decisions like that, we, we usually do some sort of methodological prioritization to focus in on, on the key needs.

1:34:51And this is for a maintenance project, so, when it… when it comes to larger projects, like Richmond Street Complete Streets, obviously there's a huge, you know, public input, community input element there. For a maintenance project.

1:35:05Where the budgets are smaller, the scope is more constrained, we're relying mostly on those established points.

1:35:13But then that also overlaps with Caltrans. Caltrans has

1:35:18I forgot how many thousands of miles of state highway in the system, so they take a much kind of bigger perspective.

1:35:26So, Holly, could you, summarize some of the variables that, you and your team look at?

1:35:33Haleh Hakimi (CALTrans): Sure, I don't know also the length of the Catrans,

1:35:38main mile highways, but as Jared mentioned, we have been in close collaboration with the city from the beginning of the project in preliminary design and environmental, studies, and we… we have been trying to prioritize the city's needs

1:35:57Public's requests as part of… as much as possible as part of our project.

1:36:02But because of the budget constraints,

1:36:07we could not satisfy everything, and then we kept meeting with the city. We really worked closely together to compromise and see what are the priorities to include in our project, and that's how we came up with the,

1:36:24upgrading the RFPs, the rectangular flashing beacons at two locations, and we believe, as I mentioned, the new delineation will be increasing the safety of the corridor.

1:36:43Okay, thank you. All right, any questions, Mayor Pro Tem?

1:36:46Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Yeah, thank you, Mayor, I appreciate that. I just want to say thank you for the presentation, and it's good to see the collaboration with Caltrans and our staff. One question that I have is regarding the Waldo Street, San Pablo, which a lot of people from Richmond used to get to El Cerrito.

1:37:11Remember, we share San Pablo Avenue.

1:37:14In that part, with Richmond Attics and the City of El Cerrito, and I believe that is a corner, where the senior was hit. Are… are there going to be any, flashing beacons like what we see, on, Lincoln Street?

1:37:35Haleh Hakimi (CALTrans): So on one of those three… Jared.

1:37:38Holly, go ahead, you can take this.

1:37:40Haleh Hakimi (CALTrans): So, at Waldo Street, we are not adding any RFPs as part of our CAPM project, but I confirmed with our traffic signing that new signs are going to be installed at the locations, and the delineation is going to be upgraded, enhanced, and hopefully more visible.

1:37:57Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Thank you very much, I very much appreciate that. We have a lot of seniors that use that corner to cross the street, because it's such a long block with Stockton Avenue and Mosier, the two major streets that take you east and west, and nothing in between, so a lot of people use that Waldo Street crosswalk there, so very much appreciate what you said.

1:38:22And, just so you know, you know, we do have… the state of California will be, $18 billion right now in the hole. So, looking at what needs to be done and, and, what the LAO will say the beginning of the year, I doubt that, a lot of these things will be completed right away, but no.

1:38:45the importance of collaboration, and, so, Caltrans, thank you very much. I appreciate the, presentation.

1:38:54Haleh Hakimi (CALTrans): Of course, our pleasure.

1:38:56All right, so do we have any other questions or comments from the Council?

1:39:00Alright, do I have a motion to approve item E?

1:39:05I'll move? I'll stop.

1:39:07Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: second.

1:39:07Alright, one second. We… I actually lost connection, so I cannot get into anything. Zoom is still running. I was able to make Karen post, because it reverted to this computer, but I don't have access to any of my systems, so I need to

1:39:20note this, so I just want to make sure. So, so, we have a motion by Councilmember Motayama, and a seconded by Councilmember Cassanis to move item E.

1:39:30Thank you. Mayor Pro… Mayor Weisinger? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Quinto?

1:39:35Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: There's no one in the room here at the… at my hotel room, so I am voguing, I…

1:39:41Thank you.

1:39:42You. Councilmember Quetzanes? Yes. Councilmember Mojiyama? Yes. Councilmember Saltzman? Yes. Motion carries.

1:39:49Thank you so much to city staff, and thank you, Caltrans. Like, Councilmember Motayama said, there's so many of you, so thank you all for joining us tonight.

1:39:58The next item on the agenda…

1:40:01is… I've been flipping through my… Agenda here… alright.

1:40:07So the next item on the agenda is public hearings. The first public hearing is the proposed East Bay Sanitary Garbage and Organic Waste Collection and Post Collection rates and integrated waste management fees, effective January 1st, 2026. Can we please have the staff report?

1:40:27No.

1:40:29TBD? No, I'm just kidding.

1:40:54Good.

1:40:55No worries, thank you so much.

1:41:00Good evening, Councilmembers. My name is Amelia Timbers. I am the Operations and Environmental Services Division Manager at El Cerrito, and I'd like to pass it to Christina.

1:41:12Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. I'm Christina Laird, Management Analyst in the Operations and Environmental Services Division.

1:41:20This evening, we will be presenting our annual East Bay Sanitary Rates and Integrated Waste Management Fees.

1:41:32So here's our agenda.

1:41:34We will first go over, how the rates work.

1:41:39We will then talk about the new post-collection agreement, and I'd like to just take a moment and define post-collection, which is a phrase you'll hear a lot this evening in this presentation.

1:41:50When we talk about waste and recycling, we're talking about two phases. The first phase is collection, where materials are picked up at the curb and brought to a central processing

1:42:02location. The second phase is post-collection. So after the collection, it is processing how those materials are disposed of or sent to vendors who use them as feedstocks in the case of recycling.

1:42:17So, in this case, we are referring to the agreement, about the cost of disposing our waste after it is collected.

1:42:26We'll next go into 2026 rate changes.

1:42:30And then we'll discuss our zero-emission strategy, and we'll wrap it up with accomplishments.

1:42:39This is a little preview of the actions we are requesting you to take this evening.

1:42:44The first is to adopt a resolution establishing East Bay sanitary rates.

1:42:51And the second is to adopt a… another resolution, of integrated waste management fees.

1:43:04So, how El Cerrito residents pay for, and businesses pay for solid waste.

1:43:10And recycling is a little complicated.

1:43:13A residence bill has 3 parts.

1:43:16The first is the integrated waste management fee, and this funds curbside recycling services that the city provides.

1:43:25It funds the recycling center.

1:43:28Post-collection or processing of our recyclables, and mandatory regulatory compliance.

1:43:35The second element is, compensates East Bay Sanitary for picking up and disposing of our household waste, as well as other services East Bay Sanitary provides.

1:43:46And the third component.

1:43:48pays for public services for processing our household waste, and funds our participation in Recycle More, a regional agency El Cerrito is a part of, and benefits from on-household hazardous waste and other services.

1:44:08So, to summarize, residential rates are proposed to increase between 10.6% and 11.6%.

1:44:18Commercial rates are proposed to increase 10.3% to 11.2%.

1:44:26An important driver of this cost increase is our regional post-collection agreement.

1:44:30And I will hand it over to Christina to discuss that.

1:44:36Thank you.

1:44:37The city is currently in an existing post-collection agreement that started in 2013 and is set to expire at the end of this month.

1:44:47For the city's, existing agreement, the city

1:44:51East Bay Sanitary, excuse me, pays Republic $134.70 per ton for solid waste and organics processing on behalf of the city.

1:45:01And the post-collection processing fees also includes costs that cover the household hazardous waste programs in the region. And I will note that we have a very robust

1:45:14household hazardous waste program compared to other jurisdictions in the state. It's very highly accessible, more so than very many other facilities.

1:45:24Additionally, for the recycling, the city pays $55 a ton, which requires us to drive our trucks all the way to Napa to dispose of the recyclables that are collected curbside.

1:45:37Next slide, please.

1:45:41Through a competitive RFP process, the City recently joined a regional post-collection agreement with Republic that is managed by Recycle More, the West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority, the Joint Powers Authority that Amelia previously mentioned.

1:45:57Through this new post-collection agreement, we will be,

1:46:02Compensating Republic Services beginning January 1st, 2026, at a rate of $195.82% per ton for all three waste streams for garbage, organics, and recycling.

1:46:16This new agreement, we will no longer be bringing our recyclables to NAPA, so this will have a decrease in the city's currently recycling transportation costs, maintenance, toll, and fuel costs.

1:46:28This new agreement,

1:46:31Oh, and additionally, benefits, reduced greenhouse gas reduction, since we will no longer be having our vehicles on, as much road time, as we call it.

1:46:41Some value-added provisions in this new post-collection agreement include a continuation of providing compost to the city for our compost giveaways. This is a program that our residents are very passionate about. We get monthly deliveries of compost, so this new agreement

1:47:00continues to provide us those services, managed through RecycleMore.

1:47:05Additionally, through the new agreement, student-led tours will still be… sorry, student tours of Republic's recycling facility will continue, and that is coordinated through Recycle More and through the school district.

1:47:18And I know that it is a little bit confusing here in El Cerrito, as, Republic is not our service provider. However, they do service the West Contra Costa Unified School District.

1:47:31Additionally, the new post-collection agreement continues the robust household hazardous waste programs that I've previously mentioned. And additionally, with this new agreement, that was very, negotiated to the best of their ability,

1:47:47we will have predictable future post-collection rates. The first 3 years of the agreement have fixed rates, so for the first 3 years, we know exactly what that rate's gonna be. Following years do have fixed costs on the Consumer Price Index.

1:48:02So, we do have, somewhat of an expectation of, you know, what's coming on down the line there.

1:48:08The new 2026 East Bay Sanitary and IWM fee rates do include, reflect these new fees.

1:48:22Alrighty. So, before we get into this slide, I just wanted to introduce a former OESD manager and current principal of R3 Consulting Group, Garth Schultz. Garth, can you weigh…

1:48:35Garth and R3 are our partner, in making these complicated calculations.

1:48:42And, he can help with questions.

1:48:46But this slide in… Do you want to do it now?

1:48:52Okay.

1:48:53Sorry, I also forgot to introduce Cliff Feldman, the Executive Director of Recycle More in the West Contra Costa Waste Management Authority, also by Garth back there. He will be available to answer questions at the end of the presentation if you have any.

1:49:08Great, so on to the slide. This slide shows the different, kind of, components of the, rate, and as you can see, the, garbage and organics post-collection is the greatest share.

1:49:23And I just want to note, that also includes our HHW programs,

1:49:30that Christina went over just now, and those disposal costs did increase significantly, since the last PCA.

1:49:43So, this slide demonstrates what monthly bills will look like in 2026 for residential customers.

1:49:51Fun fact, 49% of our accounts are for 20-gallon carts, 47% are for 35-gallon carts, and approximately 4% are for 64-gallon carts. And this is, again, residential.

1:50:08This is the same slide, but for commercial.

1:50:11And it shows us what… bills in 2026 will look like, so it's a marginal increase.

1:50:22Now we're going to discuss our zero-emission vehicles update.

1:50:25We are continuing our existing strategy for zero-emission fleet electrification and fleet electrification. We're on a savings plan, saving for a electric recycling truck. After 3 years, we expect to be able to purchase one.

1:50:42While we are saving, we are able to let the market around electric trucks normalize, standardize, and settle, which reduces the risk of El Cerrito's investment when we are ready to make that investment.

1:50:56Operating electric recycling trucks is still very new.

1:51:01And waiting ultimately protects the city from market volatility.

1:51:08and other problems such as recalls, battery issues, etc. As an EV owner myself, I tell my friends to wait for the second or third model from a given company so that they can work out the kinks. And I recommend that to the city, too.

1:51:27Our peers in San Pablo do have residential collections served by Republic in EV trucks.

1:51:35San Pablo reports that customers are pleased with how quiet they are, and Republic has been able to pretty much

1:51:45Pretty much affect a one-to-one replacement of diesel for electric, which is really ideal, and wasn't clear that would be possible, so…

1:51:53So far, so good.

1:51:57As we noted before, we're saving fees for 3 years to purchase electric recycling trucks, which can cost about twice as much as internal combustion.

1:52:11We're also amidst our city's electrification plan.

1:52:15To help us move toward upgrading our infrastructure, so that once we get these trucks, we will be able to charge them.

1:52:22And now I'll hand it back to Christina for some reason.

1:52:27Thank you. I'd like to highlight some recent accomplishments that we've, had in Operations and Environmental Services Division related to solid waste and recycling.

1:52:37And sustainability. We did receive a 2025 Platinum Spotlight Beacon Award recently for reduced greenhouse gas emissions citywide. That's a great accomplishment and a great award.

1:52:51Additionally, as mentioned previously, we have collaborated with Recycle More on this regional post-collection agreement.

1:52:59We've also started a very ex… we're wrapping up, actually, a really great campaign with SB1383 grant funds that we received from CalRecycle. We have used these grant funds for advertising campaigns

1:53:15Last… earlier this year, and then just recently, beginning November, there are BART ads at both El Cerrito Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte BART stations that are promoting composting,

1:53:28of your holiday scraps. And additionally, other outreach that we've done is both East Bay San's collection trucks and our recycling collection trucks have been outfitted with

1:53:40New signage as well, as you can see in the photos here.

1:53:44Lastly, through this grant, we have begun a robust multifamily outreach program.

1:53:51We have an intern who is going out to all of the multifamily apartments in the city.

1:53:58And working with property managers and residents to get more, composting compliance through residents and availability, both, having containers available at, disposal containers at the apartments, as well as providing kitchen food scrap pails for the residents.

1:54:19Additionally, this year, Council approved and we purchased and installed 40 new dual, garbage and recycling receptacles for our parks, and those were installed throughout all the parks in the city.

1:54:33Lastly, we have outfitted our recycling truck drivers with tablets and new routing software that has been a collaborative process with East Bay Sanitary, and this is going to improve our services and our routing capabilities in providing service to residents.

1:54:49And now I'm gonna pass it back to Amelia to wrap us up.

1:54:54Chew.

1:54:55Our objectives for 2026 are to focus on continuing our work on composting adoption and on electrification planning, as discussed.

1:55:06In terms of new items, we'll be working with RecycleMore to implement the new post-collection agreement, which you've heard about.

1:55:13And we will put, what is likely our last new internal combustion engine recycling truck into service.

1:55:20Finally, we'll continue to work to diversify the types of materials that we accept at the RERC.

1:55:32So, returning to our request for this evening, staff respectfully,

1:55:38request that the Council adopt 2026 rates and East Bay Sanitary Collection… for East Bay Sanitary Collection and Post Collection rates.

1:55:47As well as integrated waste management rates.

1:55:50Thank you, and we're happy to take questions.

1:55:54Thank you so much. Any questions from the Council?

1:55:58I… I would love to hear from you, Councilmember. I don't have questions, but I'm just gonna make a few comments.

1:56:06Mostly want to thank

1:56:08Christina and Cliff for all the work that they've done. I am on that… on Recycle Moor, and it is extremely complicated and messy, and they've gone through a difficult period, and Cliff is new, and you step right into the fire.

1:56:23And it's, you know, I meet with Christina before we have each meeting and get a little…

1:56:30tutoring and education update, and I really appreciate it, and she preps me exceedingly well with notes ahead of time.

1:56:36And I… you just… You're a rock star. Thank you.

1:56:40And

1:56:41even after all our meetings, there's still many things in my mind that I'm confused about, and things that you said today kind of clarified things again, and it's a continual learning process, and I just… I thank everyone involved, both of you.

1:56:52For the presentation tonight, and the continuing

1:56:54advocacy work you do on behalf of the City of El Cerrito at these meetings, and in preparation of these meetings, and negotiations, and all that, and…

1:57:02I wish you had a… an easier entry point. I mean, you walked right into a very difficult period, and I commend you and how you handled it, and thank you for that.

1:57:13And, that's all I just, you know, that's all my only comment is one of appreciation, and thank you both, all three of you.

1:57:20All right, any other questions on here? Councilmember Motuyama?

1:57:24Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for this presentation. I know it's really…

1:57:28complicated stuff. I do have a bunch of questions. One is, you know, we've had this great relationship with NAPA. I do understand the greenhouse gas reductions, but we're, you know, in the staff report, we're talking about a $36,000 savings

1:57:46But a $400,000 cost increase. And even with…

1:57:52you know, all these other things, like, you know, that differential doesn't tell me that this is a good deal. So you also mentioned in your presentation that there are other benefits, such as the household hazardous waste collection and things like that, but we've been doing household

1:58:08hazardous waste, and kind of just wanting to understand, you know, I mean.

1:58:13I… I understand that there are weird and difficult things here. I, you know, that there was only one bidder in this quote-unquote competitive bid environment.

1:58:25But I guess, why are we changing things when it wasn't broken to begin with?

1:58:32Well, to kind of briefly speak to that, our current agreement is ending, and so a new agreement is necessary.

1:58:39With our current existing agreement, we have… we've been on our own. We didn't, you know, we were not as part of the regional agreement, so we were not able to benefit from the economies of scale.

1:58:53form the larger, larger agreement. An example of that, is in our existing post-collection agreement. There was a change in law clause that allowed Republic services to

1:59:06Charge additional

1:59:08fees to cover, you know, the SB 1383 implementation, for example. They had to do a lot of improvements at their facility.

1:59:16El Cerrito ratepayers were hit a little bit harder with that increase than other West County ratepayers due to, like I said, lack of the economies of scale. So that's one of the benefits of the regional approach.

1:59:31Additionally, Recycle More has, managed the Household Hazardous Waste Program, and that is not a city-run program. That is managed through Recycle More and

1:59:42Republic Services. So, and that's all tied into this post-collection agreement. So, as you kind of said, it does get a little tricky and messy. But those are some of the key benefits, as well as just the collaborative approach of being a team player in the region.

1:59:58$400,000 seems very expensive to be a team player.

2:00:03for El Cerrito. And so that's… that is, you know, my concern, and I think we've had a really…

2:00:09good system here, and if we don't like this provision, or this post-collection agreement, is there something, you know, is there a clause that says if the services aren't adequate or to our expectation that we can terminate this agreement, or we abound with the whole Joint Powers Authority?

2:00:28So, the city ourselves, we are bound to this agreement. However, Recycle Moore as the manager of the agreement. If there is any breach of contract, if there is anything like that, they can manage, and address things through the clauses in the agreement that way.

2:00:46Guy, would you like to speak to this? Sure, I'd like to just layer on to that that

2:00:52the PCA agreement is between RecycleMore and Republic. The city is not an individual party to that agreement. The city is a participant in it through the JPA. If there were ultimately a,

2:01:09a point at which the city wanted to evaluate withdrawing and re-pursuing individual services, we'd basically just have to look at the layers of agreements at the time. I don't have an answer for you, other than to say that it would be very complicated because of the layer of contracts.

2:01:28Okay, thank you. And I guess I just want to understand better why this is a good deal for us.

2:01:36And I don't know if you need to call on people in the back of the room or not, and…

2:01:42Here comes Yvette.

2:01:48Good evening. Both of the agreements were about to expire, and so there is no other deal. It's the other…

2:01:56Side is unknown, and going alone for, garbage and composting,

2:02:04we were very… yeah, likely higher cost on our own for garbage and, composting. So, you know,

2:02:13Joining a regional, regional agreement did give us stability, for the long term.

2:02:22And, of course, with the added benefits of reduced wear and tear on our trucks, fuel, toll, greenhouse gases, it was just a combination of those things, and we just don't have another deal. We just don't know what that is. And we did look at other options, and they just had a lot of risks.

2:02:39Karen Pinkos (City Manager): If I may, we did… our post-collection, our previous post-election agreement was with Republic Services, and as Yvette said, and as Christina said, and I don't know if Cliff maybe has something to add to this, because he came into the negotiations, but the way that negotiations seem to be going

2:02:57We were not assured by any stretch of the imagination that we would have had a better deal going on our own.

2:03:04And I did see, the Director of Recycle More, Oh.

2:03:11Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, virtually. Thank you very much. Cliff Feldman, Executive Director of Recyclemore. Not sure what the exact question is, but I think

2:03:20it boils down to, is changing over your recycling a good deal, is, I think, what was your concern. And, I just want to point out that your recycling tonnage is roughly about 20-21%

2:03:31of all the tons that flow through your system from your residence. So, when you talk about that $400,000 delta, sure, the $55 a ton is a much better deal than $195 a ton. I couldn't agree with you more, but that's just 20% component of your overall structure.

2:03:50When you look at the uncertainty with what you might be paying in the future for the other 80%, as, you know, the director elucidated.

2:03:58there is potential risk there for a much higher proportion of your overall tonnage at a much higher expense. When the agency conducted its RFP, the company was charging roughly $98 per ton.

2:04:13For their material-specific rate.

2:04:16Their response was $200 per ton.

2:04:18They increased it 50, you know.

2:04:21pretty significantly on the spot. We were able to negotiate an initial rate much below that, at roughly $158 per ton. Your current rate, which was expiring, is in that $130, $140 range.

2:04:34I don't know what you might have gotten by renegotiating that. Maybe you would get the $158 per ton, maybe you would get $220 per ton. But at risk here was the 80% of your tons that aren't related to the deal you had with NAPA. So, while staff did, you know, clearly point out there are some savings with,

2:04:54with fuel and tolls, what wasn't included was a detailed pro forma on the wear and tear of the vehicles, the additional greenhouse gas impact of driving up to Napa versus to drop the materials at Richmond.

2:05:07what the labor expense would be in driving those collection vehicles, which is roughly 60-70% of the cost of providing collection service, is the labor. So there's huge buckets of expense that weren't included in that, and I'm not saying anybody did anything wrong.

2:05:21it just… there are other factors that I think

2:05:25might want to be considered. In addition, in staying in the regional approach, as Christina pointed out.

2:05:31the household hazardous Waste Program is included in the post-collection agreement that is managed by RecycleMore, and that is one of the few programs that our board has direct control over the costs, and we're going to be looking at that very closely every single year to increase the services, to dispose of the materials at the lowest possible expense.

2:05:50And to continue to drive value through that component for the next 15 years of this agreement, because, again, that's one of the few areas we have direct control over, as opposed to the other components related to construction, demolition.

2:06:03processing, the recycling processing, the garbage disposal, and the compost processing. Those are fixed, kind of, processing pieces, whereas the household hazardous waste

2:06:13as Christina mentioned, is a robust program, and that is one of the major value-added benefits. So.

2:06:18I don't know if I even came close to answering your question, but I could talk about this stuff all day long, if you give me a chance. Well, thank you, that was very helpful. I also have two comments. First, it is the nature of these long-term agreements to have a significant jump when they are… when we go out for them again. Often.

2:06:35And then secondly, I think rather than kind of seeking

2:06:41savings in the PCA. Really, our options were avoiding worse costs.

2:06:49So, the coincidental savings of not going to Napa is

2:06:54Great, but we were trying to control, what we expected to be A significant inflationary situation.

2:07:04Thank you.

2:07:06I do have… we got a little bit of feedback, and I thought it was worth bringing up and asking staff here. You know, part of our climate adaptation plan is to actually educate the community as far as reducing

2:07:20Ways. Are we… and I know that we have other arenas that we get different fees and different taxes and put it in a bucket and try and service or educate the community. Have… do we have a plan to use any of these fees to create programs such as that, or have… or have we already done that?

2:07:37Are we considering that as we're going forward and kind of considering this agreement about race management?

2:07:44So, I would just note, one example of this is this advertising campaign that we rolled out, to encourage people to… you do more composting, to do more, plastics diversion. Ultimately, that diversion will reduce

2:08:01Our waste stream, which hopefully the idea is, will lower costs

2:08:06Over time, in the long term.

2:08:09Besides that particular one, we have kind of a variety of

2:08:13types of outreach we do regularly with the community. We have tours of the recycling center. There have been, in collaboration with, I believe, Recycled more maker, what is it, like a repair cafe? Do you have others you want to share?

2:08:32So, in addition to kind of balancing the other, obligations the recycling center manages, including,

2:08:42Our own processing of materials, and…

2:08:46substantial regulatory compliance, frankly. We do make an effort to Communicate with the public.

2:08:55And we would love to expand it, certainly.

2:08:58Alright, any other, questions from the Council before we go into the public hearing?

2:09:04Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: I, wanted to say something.

2:09:06You know, I apologize again, Mayor Pro Tem.

2:09:08Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: No worries, Mayor. I… just to comment, I wanted to thank, staff. Amelia, thank you for speaking about, EVs, and we're not ready… they're not ready for prime time yet. Looking at all the car manufacturers going through.

2:09:25massive recalls, all of them. So, a lot of people stuck on the road, and so I'm glad we are waiting, and we're waiting for the right opportunity, looking at what's happening on the federal level, a lot of, the grants that we were able to

2:09:45get regionally through MCE and the Air Board.

2:09:49those are going away because Trump doesn't support any of this stuff.

2:09:53But I'm excited about the future, and we're gonna continue with, what the Air Board and MCE

2:10:00Working collaboratively with, Recycle More to make sure that, we work on this. I'm excited to let the residents know about, Recyc- Republic Services, their project with Raven, and Chevron invested into this company, and, it was, finally permitted.

2:10:22By waiting, longer than usual through the air board. That is finally permitted, so a lot of our, green, clippings, green waste, will soon be.

2:10:36after Republic Services and Raven builds… builds the, machines to, turn our recycling into… our green waste into green hydrogen. So, excited about the future. There's a little blip with the federal government not supporting any of this stuff, so, stay tuned. So, you know, so I, I believe us

2:10:59Waiting for the right time to…

2:11:01for these EV trucks is a good idea, because it's prohibitively expensive, and speaking regionally to the other agencies that have these EV trucks, they're not ready for prime time, so we're going to wait for the right moment to invest, and we will keep you posted, looking at what's in store on the airport.

2:11:24working closely, with Republic Services and, our, trash haulers, and, this is the beginning of the green circular economy, and I'm very, very excited about it. Good to see this starting here in West Contra Costa County.

2:11:44Thank you so much, Mayor Pro Tem. And with that, the public hearing for the proposed East Bay Sanitary Garbage and Organic Waste Collection and Post Collection rates, as well as the integrated waste management fees, 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, or by selecting the raise hand

2:12:09feature on Zoom. In-person requests to speak will be taken first.

2:12:13Please remember to identify yourself and your city of residence at the beginning of your comments. City Clerk, please proceed.

2:12:19Thank you, Mayor. We do have one request to speak. It is virtual, so I will,

2:12:24Howdy Gowdy is our speaker. Howdy, you should be able to unmute and begin your time now.

2:12:32Howdy Goudey: Thank you, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Howdy Gowdy, and I'm in El Cerrito. So, I appreciate the deliberate efforts towards a,

2:12:43Zero emission, collection fleet, and, also think it's the right, move to be,

2:12:52not having the extended, you know, drive time and emissions for take… hauling recycling to… to Napa, so… good to see that.

2:13:03I do want to emphasize that I think this process should, be, much more…

2:13:11Attentive to reduction of… waste… Yo.

2:13:19at the source, rather than just focusing on hauling and disposing, hauling and disposing, and what do we have to pay for it. The real primary focus should be, how do we generate less waste? How do we help our community generate less waste? And if we invest in that through these,

2:13:38funding mechanisms, we can actually reduce the costs for our, you know, households over time, so…

2:13:47I think it's really important to… to bring that focused

2:13:51to the forefront, have it be an integral part of the reporting at this annual rate setting and other times before Council and the public, so…

2:14:02we really see what, efforts are happening. I mean, a number of them were outlined in the Climate Action Plan to reduce waste. We should be fully implementing them through this

2:14:14funding, and actually, we should be reporting the tons of waste in the individual three streams on a regular basis, publicly and very transparently, so we know what our progress is, we know as a community what's happening. And I actually…

2:14:32just occurred to me, I'm a little concerned about this, rate structure, not, not the…

2:14:38what the customer pays, necessarily, but what we're paying, through the Recycle More,

2:14:46agreement that, it's one price per ton of any of the three waste streams, and that seems to, unless I'm wrong, that seems to really miss the, you know, economic, guide points of, you know.

2:15:02more harm being more costly. It's like, you know.

2:15:05landfill should cost the most, recycling should cost something less, compost should cost something less, because… I mean, there are the real costs of dealing with the materials, but there's also, you know, the societal impacts and the externalities and everything, and so it doesn't send the right signal for each of the three streams to cost exactly the same thing, so…

2:15:27We should really re… structure that, and break out the individual pricing. Thank you.

2:15:33Thank you, Mayor. That concludes our request to speak. All right, do I have a motion to close the public hearing?

2:15:39Absolutely.

2:15:40Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Okay.

2:15:41All right, so I have a motion by Councilmember Motuyama, and I'll take Mayor Pro Tem. Will you second the motion?

2:15:47Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: I will.

2:15:48All right, so seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Quinto, can we take a roll call vote, please, City Clerk? Mayor Weisinger? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Quinto?

2:15:56Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: There's no one in the room here at the hotel, and I am voting aye.

2:16:00Thank you. Councilmember Gonzanes? Yes. Councilmember Motiamo? Yes. Councilmember Saltzman? Yes. Motion carries. All right. Do we have any final Council comments before we move on? Okay, so do I have a motion to approve the two resolutions?

2:16:19I will make a motion to approve them. Alright.

2:16:22Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Second.

2:16:24Now I'm concerned, I'm certain. Okay, so I have a motion by Councilmember Casanis and a second by Mayor Pro Tem Quinto. City Clerk, please call the roll. Mayor Weisinger? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Quinto?

2:16:35Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: There's no one in the room here in the hotel. I am voting aye.

2:16:38Thank you. Councilmember Katanis? Yes. Councilmember Motuyama? Yes. Councilmember Saltzman? Yes. Motion carries.

2:16:45All right, thank you so much, staff, and thank you so much to our EV Recycle More for that staff report. The next item on the agenda is the adoption of an amendment to the safety element of the El Cerrito General Plan. Can we please have the staff report?

2:17:55There it is.

2:17:58That's not the right presentation.

2:18:06There it is.

2:18:21All right. Good evening, Mayor Weisinger, Councilmembers. I'm Sean Moss, I'm the City's Planning Manager.

2:18:27And we are here tonight to talk about the update to the City's General Plan Safety Element.

2:18:40I can… sorry, I'm having trouble…

2:18:42Advancing the slides. Mouse click on the…

2:18:49There we go.

2:18:51All right, so tonight, I'm going to introduce the project team, give you an overview of the safety element. I'll explain what… what the safety element is, and, a bit about this update.

2:19:04And then we will review a summary of the feedback that we received through this public process and the responses to that.

2:19:15So the project team includes myself, Jeff Ballantyne, the city's senior planner who couldn't be with us tonight, but played an important role in this project.

2:19:23And Chase Beckman, the City's fire marshal, who I believe is available on Zoom in case there are any questions. Also here with me tonight is Eli Crispy from Placeworks, the City's consultant on this project.

2:19:37And Miles Barker, also from, Placeworks, is, could not be here tonight, but is, was also an instrumental member of the project team.

2:19:46I also just want to acknowledge the other city departments who played a role in this project and the update of the safety element, including Public Works, both the Engineering Division and OESD,

2:19:59The fire department, the police department, and the building division.

2:20:09So, we're gonna give you an overview of the safety element. So, what is a safety element? So, a safety element… so, as you, may know, every city and county in California is required to have a general plan.

2:20:22There are 7 required elements.

2:20:24Or topics, that are required to be included in the general plan. Safety is one of those topics.

2:20:33Typically, the elements of a general plan are organized as individual chapters of the general plan. El Cerrito's gen… current general plan is organized a little bit differently, where some of the elements are consolidated,

2:20:48within chapters, so you, you say that's why the, the redline version, of chapter…

2:20:55Of the chapter that you have tonight only, includes striking parts of that chapter.

2:21:02So the safety element identifies hazards of concern, and related issues, and it contains policies to protect our community against those hazards and natural disasters. And those… the identified hazards include seismic and geologic hazards, so, you know, earthquakes and

2:21:21landslides and things of that nature. Flooding, wildfire, hazardous materials.

2:21:29It also looks at emergency response and evacuation, and sea level rise.

2:21:37The safety element does play an important role in people's daily lives as it creates policies that affect public safety. It addresses the various safety concerns and hazards that I previously mentioned.

2:21:53With regard to natural, natural hazard mitigation, just… Grab my notes here.

2:22:14Alright, I'm getting ahead of myself.

2:22:16So with regard to natural hazard mitigation, the element identifies potential natural hazards, such as, such as floods and wildfires, as I mentioned, and includes policies to reduce risk and minimize damage to life and property in our community.

2:22:34With regard to emergency preparedness, the element identifies evacuation concerns and provides guidance on preparing for and responding to emergencies.

2:22:43That's a required… that is a required element of, sorry, required component of the element, which will be highlighted again on a future slide.

2:22:54It also looks at environmental hazards, addressing potential environmental hazards, such as air pollution and hazardous material handling, from a human health and safety standpoint.

2:23:08It looks at land use planning, and looks to guide land use decisions, identifying areas that are potentially hazardous for development, such as areas that are prone to flooding.

2:23:21Or landslides, or other hazards.

2:23:26So why are we updating the safety element? Because we are now required to update the safety element upon every update of the housing element, and the housing element is required to be updated every 8 years.

2:23:39Our current, safety element was adopted with the General Plan in 1999, so it's 26 years old.

2:23:48And as you know, the city recently, in… at the end of 2022, updated its housing element, and so, very shortly thereafter, we embarked on an effort to update the safety element. There are a variety of new requirements and, and,

2:24:06New requirements that I'll highlight on the next slide.

2:24:09For, related to policies and background information.

2:24:14There is a need to integrate this into other recent planning efforts, such as the county-wide local hazard mitigation plan and other efforts, and there have just been changes in community needs and priorities over the last 26 years, and so we want to kind of modernize our element and make it consistent with those.

2:24:36So changes… what new requirements are there? What changes in state law have happened recently?

2:24:43There are… Increased requirements for, the flood and wildfire sections.

2:24:51Specifically to identify responsible agencies for protecting against these hazards and ensure continued coordination, and to refine our current policies, to minimize the risk of new buildings, minimize risk for new buildings and essential facilities.

2:25:11There's also, a state legislation called SB379, which requires that we look at, climate adaptation and resilience, and prepare a vulnerability assessment, related to risks, of climate change.

2:25:29and develop adaptation and resilience goals. So, that vulnerability assessment and a lot of this SB379 work was actually done with the adoption of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, but the safety element incorporates that and references it.

2:25:47There's also other legislation, AB 2140, that requires incorporation of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. As I mentioned, that's an effort that was recently completed at the county level.

2:26:00The county coordinated among the various jurisdictions to prepare a county-wide local hazard mitigation

2:26:08plan, and then various jurisdictions have annexes to that plan, so El Cerrito has a… has an annex within that LHMP.

2:26:17And that increases our eligibility for hazard mitigation grant funding.

2:26:22And it syncs up and reinforces other safety and planning efforts.

2:26:28Then Senate Bill 99 slash Assembly Bill 747, requires that we show evacuation routes and assess evacuation-constrained areas.

2:26:39So specifically, there is… the Appendix A to the safety element document is an evacuation analysis.

2:26:50And the document also looks at, areas that have limited access, such as cul-de-sacs, and other areas that only have one point of access for emergency vehicles.

2:27:06So, the timeline for this project is, as I said, we started this shortly after, the housing element was adopted. So we started this effort actually right about this time, in 2023, so it's been almost 2 years, that we've been working on this project.

2:27:24We did, conducted initial research and analysis, in the, beginning half of 2024. That moved into policy development in 2024 and into 2025.

2:27:39The draft element was published earlier this year.

2:27:43The, and you can see those boxes there also highlight

2:27:49excuse me, some, community, events that we had.

2:27:54One was an open house in May 2024, that was in the very early stages of the project, that was just to kind of get,

2:28:03community feedback on, you know, what are the issues related to public safety that the community is concerned with. We got some good feedback at that meeting, which helped us shape the direction of the element and the initial policy development.

2:28:17Then, once we had a draft of the policies.

2:28:22We held another community open house that was in conjunction with a planning commission meeting in November of 2024. So the beginning part of that was a community open house, and then that rolled into the planning commission meeting, where the Commission, reviewed those draft policies and gave feedback on them.

2:28:40We then took the draft policies and created a draft of the, of the safety element itself, which was released earlier this year. There was a public review period and state agency review for that.

2:28:56And then the full draft of the document returned to the Planning Commission in October of this year, and the Commission recommended that the City Council adopt it.

2:29:07And here we are now, today, presenting it to you.

2:29:12So, with that, I'm gonna go ahead and turn it over to Eli, and then I'll come back at the end and talk to you more.

2:29:21Thank you, Shan. Good evening, Mayor Weisinger, members of the Council, Emmy, like Crispy with Placeworks, I'm the project manager on the consultant team side. And I'm going to go over the feedback and input that we received on the safety element and the components

2:29:36Involved in it, and how we have addressed and responded to those inputs and feedback.

2:29:42So, as Sean mentioned, there were several points throughout the process where members of the public

2:29:48Planning Commission, City Council members, as well as state agencies, were able to provide input and recommendations for the draft safety element.

2:29:57There was the workshop last year, and the official review period that occurred earlier this year.

2:30:03We also had, as Sean mentioned, an earlier workshop in May of 2024, where members of the public could provide some initial direction and identify their goals and priorities for what the safety element would contain.

2:30:19So, at the November 2024 meeting with Councilmembers and the Planning Commission, we did receive a handful of comments that are summarized here. These comments include requests to make sure that we had clarified particular issues in the safety element.

2:30:35That we would strengthen some of the policy language in the element, and that the safety element would be set up for effective implementation.

2:30:46And we have revised the policies and drafted the safety element in response to that input, as you see. And as part of these edits, we have really tried to make sure that the roles and responsibilities of not only city staff, but also of local and regional partner agencies are very clear and transparent.

2:31:03That the city's budgeting and capital improvement processes really integrate the recommendations of the safety element, and that they are planning for those long-term safety and community resilience components, and that there is coordination across city departments and with the regional partner agencies as the safety element is implemented.

2:31:23Members of the public had several comments as well. Some of them stated here. They had asked for the city to consider other hazards beyond wildfire when conducting a lot of the emergency preparedness and communication activities. That includes hazards such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, and power outages.

2:31:43There were requests to include HAM radio communication systems.

2:31:48in the city's emergency communications plans, and to ensure that all outreach conducted as part of emergency and hazard education and awareness is done multilingually and in a manner that is culturally appropriate to all El Cerrito residents and community members.

2:32:04On the topic of evacuation, there were members of the public who had asked for signage to be posted along public paths and stairways to support pedestrian evacuations.

2:32:14And that the city provide infrastructure for backup power of traffic signals along likely evacuation routes.

2:32:22We'd also seen policies asking us, or feedback asking us to consider policies around providing parking restrictions and traffic control strategies along key evacuation routes during red flag days where wildfire activity is at a higher risk.

2:32:41On the subject of wildfires and floods, members of the public requested some more funding and greater transparency to help implement the Hillside Fire Resiliency Plan. They had asked that some rebates

2:32:53For greater resilience to wildfire and flooding.

2:32:56home hardening, that that be linked to permits or property transfer processes. They had requested that some of the hazard maps that are in the safety element were updated, and that the information behind those maps is widely shared.

2:33:10And there were requests that the city expand its green infrastructure program and consider a adopted drain program.

2:33:17And on the topic of equity and community resilience, we receive requests from members of the public to improve home retrofits and emergency preparedness activities for small businesses.

2:33:27To increase education and awareness efforts for natural disasters and emergencies.

2:33:33Specifically aimed at members of the rental community and older adults, and in general, to continue emergency preparedness and response planning comprehensively with all members of the public as the city goes forward.

2:33:47So, El Cerrito does have within its borders areas that are designated as a very high fire hazard severity zone, and that means that by law, the city must submit a draft of its safety element to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CAL FIRE, so that they may have the opportunity to review and provide recommendations.

2:34:06As part of CAL FIRE's recommendations, they generally request that communities include several policies and pieces of various background information related to wildfire and evacuation in the safety element, just so there is effective planning and awareness of the issues.

2:34:23So, the city submitted a draft of the safety element to CAL FIRE earlier this year. CAL FIRE staff reviewed it. They have confirmed that it incorporates all of their standard recommendations.

2:34:34And then the Board of Forestry, the formal governing agency of CAL FIRE, held a hearing on November 4th, at which time they reviewed the safety element. And at that meeting, the board members really praised the element, they were very supportive of it. They requested some very minor technical changes, but they had no substantive edits.

2:34:56And so, in response, the project team has reviewed all comments from members of the public, from City Council, Planning Commission, the El Cerrito Fire Safe Council, and CAL FIRE, and we have made revisions in the element in response

2:35:09As with some of the earlier comments, we have provided greater clarity in the document in response to these comments. We have strengthened the policy language in a handful of key places.

2:35:18Specifically, we have made sure that some of the policies would be more broadly applicable, so instead of focusing on one or two hazards, they would apply to a larger number where it's relevant. And again, to make sure that city department roles and timelines for implementation are clear and transparent.

2:35:35We have also made sure to update the data and mapping citations in the safety element so that others, members of the public, staff down the road, can see where the information is coming from. And with that, I will pass it back to Sean. Thank you.

2:35:51So, I just wanted to talk a little bit about implementation of the safety element. So, implementation, will begin if the document is adopted.

2:35:59And the policy matrix at the back of the element provides a roadmap and a tool for implementation. So that policy matrix lays out every policy, it identifies who the responsible party is for implementing the policy and any other supporting policies.

2:36:16Or, I'm sorry, supporting parties such as city, city departments, outside agencies, etc.

2:36:22And then it looks at the relative cost, so, you know, just a, like, high, medium, low scale, of implementing each policy and the timeline, for doing such.

2:36:33The city will lead implementation, with, you know, in general, of our safety element, with support from other local, regional, and state agencies, as identified in the matrix that I mentioned.

2:36:47And many of the policies will require securing additional funding from various sources, and that's pointed out in that matrix as well.

2:36:59So, one of the, one piece of feedback that we got from the Planning Commission, when they reviewed the document, is that there, there was, at least one public comment submitted with regard to,

2:37:15Identifying public pathways, with signs.

2:37:20To aid, in the event of evacuations.

2:37:25And, there were some… we did make some changes to the policy language, with regard to earlier public comments, in this area.

2:37:36But…

2:37:38We've continued to receive, comments with regard to, you know, kind of making that policy more detailed.

2:37:46And the reason it, the reason it kind of takes the shape that it does is that, you know, this is a component of the general plan, and by its nature, it's general, it's providing policy, you know, general policy language, and so it doesn't, you know, doesn't create, kind of create detailed.

2:38:05you know, project details, within these policies. But at the Planning Commission's suggestion, the Planning Commission suggested, that staff kind of put together a very

2:38:16rough estimate of the cost of, providing signage of identifying the public pathways. And when I say public pathways, what we're talking about, you know, is a lot of the mid-block public pathways that we have, especially in the hills.

2:38:31That connect, you know, that are just, stairs and other pathways that kind of connect through the, through the middle of a block.

2:38:38And so, at the Planning Commission's suggestion, staff did put together, you know, a very rough estimate of

2:38:46Identifying those pathways with one sign at the end of each block, basically.

2:38:52And that estimate…

2:38:55Is, our staff's estimate was around roughly $38,000 to do that, with $25,000 roughly, again, being for labor and materials for installation, and the remainder being for, planning and design costs.

2:39:12For that project. So, that's just information for the, you know, for the Council's benefit.

2:39:20And then, lastly, with regard to implementation, I just want to highlight

2:39:24That, you know, it will be really nice to have an updated, modern safety element that does reflect the community's values.

2:39:33And the City's goals going forward with regard to public safety. And as a result, we will be able to reference this document, in, agenda bills and other materials to the City Council, with, you know, for, efforts related to public safety.

2:39:52And I just bring that up because, you know, all cities struggle with identifying funding for general plan update, you know, for both updating components of the general plan and updating, you know, comprehensive general plan updates.

2:40:07But it is something that was identified in the strategic plan, as a goal of the Council. So it's just kind of, food for thought, you know, we would really love to bring forward

2:40:21updates to other general plan elements, you know, either in a comprehensive fashion or one at a time. But again, you know, we have to identify funding for that, so it's just, you know, I'm just kind of putting it out there as food for thought for the future.

2:40:37So that concludes our… oh, actually, no, sorry.

2:40:42So staff's recommendation tonight is to adopt a resolution amending the El Cerrito General Plan, and adopting an update to the City's General Plan safety element, and finding that the element is consistent with the Certified General Plan Environmental Impact Report, or EIR.

2:41:02and that an addendum to that EIR has been prepared in accordance with CEQA guidelines section 15164. And that addendum is, one of the attachments to the agenda bill as well.

2:41:15So that concludes our presentation tonight.

2:41:18And we are available for any questions that you might have.

2:41:23I haven't had any questions from Council.

2:41:26Yes, Councilmember Sossman?

2:41:29So I… I apologize. I read the whole safety element over the weekend, and then I noticed at the very end of the weekend that the appendix was not included. So we just got it yesterday, and I didn't read it until a few hours ago. So I didn't get

2:41:44a chance to talk to staff about the appendix, which I think is very important. It's the evacuation plan. So I don't have questions about the safety element. I'm prepared to support that.

2:41:56But I have very big concerns about this

2:41:59evacuation plan, which makes a lot of, I think.

2:42:04faulty assumptions, and I'm surprised to see it, considering who prepared it, and I think they know better. And I don't know, it'd be helpful to know, like, it says at the beginning of this, kind of like, we… not we don't know what we're doing, but, like, this is a new thing that's happening, and that's being mandated.

2:42:20Can you tell us more about the process? And I'm seeing these evacuation plans from other cities, and they're all bad, so… and they're all bad in the same ways, which is they're assuming every single person has access to a car, which is not true. So, can you give us some context? And again, apologies for not being able to ask this ahead of time.

2:42:38Yeah, no apologies, and I apologize that the appendix was left out of the document, and I just want to clarify that it was included in the Planning Commission's packet, and they did review it. I apologize that it was initially left out of the Council's packet.

2:42:54The… so, yeah, I'll give a response, and then Eli might have more to add as well. But, the… yeah, the…

2:43:03the evacuation analysis is meant to, satisfy the requirements that we have to meet. And, you know, inasmuch, it looks at… it looks at roadway capacity.

2:43:18And it's… it's a worst-case scenario, so I understand your concern. Yes, in the event of a major disaster, we do not actually expect everyone to evacuate via their own personal vehicle.

2:43:33But what the evacuation analysis is trying to do is trying to evaluate roadway capacity and look… look at where

2:43:42the challenges might be as far as roadway capacity, and so, to that end, it looks at the worst-case scenario, and what if everyone, evacuated via a car, which, again, is not…

2:43:57You know, not going to happen in a real-world situation.

2:44:01So I'm concerned. It doesn't say that, though. It doesn't say, this is the worst case scenario, and we know this isn't going to happen. It says, this is just what we are assuming, and so it says ridiculous things, like, this analysis assumes that all evacuations would be by personal vehicle.

2:44:15Average vehicle ownership is 1.8 vehicles, and we assume that every single one of those vehicles would be taken.

2:44:22Which is a conservative assumption, which again doesn't… that doesn't make any sense. It is assumed that every employee has their own vehicle and will generate a trip during an evacuation.

2:44:33So, there are lots of people who either don't own a car, or maybe they have a car, but they don't have one for every family member. There are lots of people who can't drive. There are lots of kids and teens who can't drive, and might not be able to. Seniors, lots of other people. So.

2:44:49I get this is a worst-case scenario, I wish it had said that, and it said this is, like, modeling purposes, because it gives this idea that this is…

2:44:59this is the plan. And so, I don't know what next steps could be. I'd actually like to see this analysis or next steps on this analysis come back to the Council. So,

2:45:12I don't know if we could put together a motion tonight that approves the safety element, but asks for this part to come back, because I think we should discuss and discuss with our residents, like, what is your backup plan if your one or two vehicles are gone from the home? Like.

2:45:27when the strike is happening, if there's a teen at home and their parents are out to work, what are they supposed to do? Are we telling them, how do they get out safely without a car? So I know this is a little bit beyond the safety element, but it is within this evacuation analysis, so…

2:45:44I don't know if there's openness to coming back to the Council to have this discussion and figure out what our actual real-life plan is instead of this

2:45:53Worst case, sort of, Dark fantasy analysis.

2:45:59So, I just want to say one thing, which is that the evacuation analysis isn't… isn't meant to provide,

2:46:09Like, a plan or a roadmap for, you know, specifically for folks evacuating in…

2:46:17in an emergency. So there are other efforts that the city does, and other documents that are intended for that purpose. You know, like I said, you know, it looks at the worst-case scenario.

2:46:31I'm not sure if anybody,

2:46:34from the fire department or the police department, is here tonight that cares to, you know, comment or, offer… And I know this isn't our plan, it's just we're adopting this document. This document doesn't say any of the stuff you're saying, so anybody could pick this up and… it's just…

2:46:52it is bizarre that we're being required to do this thing, and all cities are adopting these things that make no sense, and I guess I just don't get the point we're spending money on it

2:47:02product that doesn't seem that useful. So it'd be great to hear from Fire if there's some useful part of this and how we could do a better job in the future. I assume we're gonna have to adopt something similar in the future of communicating better what this document is and what it isn't in the document.

2:47:22Is, is Chase online, too?

2:47:26Okay, copy that, Nas.

2:47:29That's why I'm here.

2:47:32Good evening, Council. I'm Eric Saylors, I'm your Fire Chief.

2:47:35I'm gonna talk specifically about evacuations so that we can frame this in context of this

2:47:41This report, because you didn't say anything that was wrong.

2:47:46But when we do deal with real-life emergencies, we take the emergency as it is, as it comes at us. And at that point, we establish evacuations, and evacuations

2:47:58happen through a law enforcement function, but one of the things that we provide to law enforcement when we start evacuations is

2:48:05who, what, where, when, and why. And we will give that to the county through CWS, and they will come back and they will push out those notifications of

2:48:14who needs to evacuate, where we want you to go, because to your point exactly, it is undetermined until the event starts. I can't tell you if Motor's gonna be open. It might be affected by the event and closed.

2:48:28So we may tell everybody, move in this direction. Who's going in that direction, and where we want you to go.

2:48:36And there might be large groups of people that will shelter in place. You stay here. Everybody else start to move in this direction. This is something that the fire department and emergency managers are trained and accustomed to doing in real-life scenarios.

2:48:51So that's what you should expect during an emergency. And…

2:48:57it may be challenging to connect this analysis to what you really expect to happen in an emergency, but I'm here to tell you confidently that your fire department is going to perform at that level in the real emergency, and this analysis

2:49:12is looking at, like you said, you know, I read through it again just now to refresh my memory.

2:49:18It is looking at 3 basic scenarios to try and get an idea of what road capacity will look like, and that may affect future planning.

2:49:28And make us help understand our capacities, but in a real-life emergency, we are operating, from a different point of questions, of where do we want you to go, who is going, and why we're sending you in that direction.

2:49:42And I hope that answers your question, and I am here available to you if there's any more details you want. I have every confidence in the fire department and what you and the county, everybody else, will tell people to do.

2:49:53I think we… what I'm thinking more about is proactive ahead of time, making sure people have a plan, because hopefully most people have, like, a go bag, the basics, but have they thought about what

2:50:03their person in their house does if the one vehicle is gone, like…

2:50:07I feel like so much of our society is so car-dependent that people haven't

2:50:12thought about those plans, about what to do, so this is sort of an opportunity through this to communicate about that, to make sure people do have a plan. Do they have a neighbor that can take them down the hill? Are they physically able to walk down a hill? If they're teen, maybe they are, you know? So, I don't know, I just… I think we need to…

2:50:30Look at this more creatively and communicate more creatively, because we've seen so many devastating scenarios where people tried to evacuate by car and ultimately weren't able to, and then are walking and

2:50:43flames are right behind them, and so we need to have some options for people ahead of time. I'm not… I'm sure you will do the best you can to communicate in the moment, but the more prepared people are.

2:50:55obviously, the better, and I know you know that. Yeah, the public education on the different hazards that we face in the environment

2:51:03really come through when you're talking about, well, is this a wildfire, or in this scenario, is this a hazmat spill, or is this an earthquake? And all of those pose different problems, and it's very hard to fit it into an appendix of an analysis. But to your point.

2:51:19Public education on what to be prepared for and what to expect in those events.

2:51:25will really improve people's outcome and survivability in those events. It probably is not going to come from an appendix like this.

2:51:32Okay, and then just, could somebody answer, are we gonna have to, like, redo this thing in a few years? I don't know what the requirement is, and…

2:51:41The requirement is that we redo it when we update the safety element, so that…

2:51:47Well, oh, are you talking about the safety element or the evacuation analysis? Evacuation analysis. Evacuation analysis, we would conduct that again with the next update of the safety element, correct?

2:51:59if I may, we would review the evacuation analysis to see if it still meets the requirements and is generally consistent with the practices at the time.

2:52:09And in those 8 years, if an update would be needed, it would be updated then, but if it still seems

2:52:15To meet the state law and is providing the service that it is meant to provide, then it probably would not need to be updated.

2:52:21Is there anything useful that it's providing to the city? I know we're required to do it.

2:52:26But, like, is it actually useful? Is it a thing we'll want to update, or probably just kind of leave the same if it meets the state requirements?

2:52:39I, I will say, the process of developing it was enlightening to me, because it, you know, it…

2:52:48It… it flushed out some things, that were kind of helpful to talk through with, you know, with the fire department and the police department, our first responders.

2:52:58Right? So, you know, we made changes to the document with regard to, for example, where the evacuation sites would be.

2:53:07So, you know, I think that was helpful to have everybody around the table agreeing that, like, yes, right now, Golden Gate Fields is a… is a good site for, you know, for people to congregate at, because there are still large parking lots there. But, you know, if that site were ever to be developed, that would need to be changed. So, you know, like, that's an assumption, for example.

2:53:30That could be updated in a future evacuation analysis.

2:53:36And if you don't mind, I would like to add in

2:53:39There were some useful outcomes of this analysis, something that we already knew on the fire department side, but it… it shows some gaps on actions we have to take in the future, and I'll just read this. The study found that fully evacuating affected areas may take up to 60 to 140 minutes for a hazmat spill.

2:53:5770, 80 minutes for a fire out of Wifel range, and 110 to 160 minutes for a fire out of Wildcat Canyon.

2:54:04Those numbers are too big to expect any sort of feasible evacuation during a wildfire, which then

2:54:13clarifies the problem for us. Something that we've known, but now it is here for the public to understand, which pushes us towards the direction of a leave early policy or recommendation if we have extreme weather. And…

2:54:25Candidly, we know that that is the answer that we're moving towards in the fire service, because

2:54:31160 minutes is way too much time to get out of the path of a fast-moving fire. So what we have to do is we have to do better at analyzing our severe weather events, and then coming up with some sort of messaging for leave early.

2:54:45So that aspect of it was very useful to the fire department.

2:54:48Great. Okay, thank you.

2:54:52All right, any other comments from the… yes, Councilmember Motiamo. Thank you for the presentation, and I know that this is a really, really, really dense document that you guys, you know, you could tell it took 2 years to create this, so kudos to you guys to getting this done.

2:55:08I have a question about the implementation, and I know this is a safety element, but can this, you know.

2:55:16this is mostly to the Place Works person here. Have cities used these, plans to… for fundraising purposes, and has that worked?

2:55:27Yes, it is my understanding that it has worked. Cities, some of the communities have noted

2:55:33That, when they go out for grant funding, or when they seek funding from other sources, they can point to an implementation matrix or table

2:55:40And say, you know, here is our timing, here is who we are going to coordinate with, here are funds that we could use to match a grant, for example.

2:55:49And they've been able to leverage that to get funding.

2:55:52Yeah, it's also been quite useful in doing annual department work planning when city staff can say, this is what the general plan identifies of what we should be doing in the next year or two, and again, here's who we should coordinate with, and here are funding sources, and so on. So it's my understanding that they have significantly helped implementation.

2:56:13And in fact, there's a grant that we're looking at applying for right now, or next year as well, that requires that we have a current safety element.

2:56:26Great. And then, I guess to ask the chief to come back up here.

2:56:39Thank you, Chief. In terms of our implementation, that this taking… now that the safety plan is roughly completed, I…

2:56:50when are we going to do the things that will allow us to implement, like, leave early? What's the… what's the timeframe for, like, really

2:57:00Drilling down into having real Ordinances or policies and things like that.

2:57:06To come out of this.

2:57:08I don't have any solid dates for pulling together some sort of process for leave early, because they're…

2:57:15although it's the obvious thing to do, there are some challenges beyond the fire department that cause that. And I literally just had this discussion with the new fire chief of East Bay Regional Parks today during lunch, talking about these leave yearly policies.

2:57:31But we are continuing to do tabletops, and we are continuing to do consistent command calls for our fire… for our fire battalion chiefs and captains, so they understand how to handle these processes. And, in the regional chiefs, this conversation is going on of how do we

2:57:48send out a message to ask people to leave early without the authority of actually giving an evacuation order because there's no event. Those are the challenges. Hopefully the National Weather Service, which the region has been having a constant conversation with.

2:58:02We'll start to help clarify some of the differences between red flag days, because one of the things we want to understand is a red flag day with 20 mile an hour winds, although it's a scary event.

2:58:12It's not something that terrifies us, but a red flag day with 60 mile an hour winds is a significant event, and it's something we have to recognize. And a red flag day with 90 mile an hour winds, like we saw in Southern California this year.

2:58:24That is a devastating event that we have to take action on immediately. And National Weather Service is working on categorizing those weather events like you would categorize hurricanes, so that then we can start to take appropriate action.

2:58:41Great, thank you.

2:58:43Alright, and with that…

2:58:45The public hearing is now open. Now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments regarding this item. Request to speak and be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card, or by selecting the raise hand feature on Zoom. In-person requests to speak will be taken first. Please remember to identify yourself and your City of Residence at the beginning of your comments.

2:59:05City Clerk, please proceed.

2:59:07Thank you, Mayor. We have two requests to speak on this item. We'll start with David Giorke, followed by Steve Price.

2:59:20Hello, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, Council people, and Office Staff.

2:59:25My name is David Jorki, and I'm an El Cerrito resident.

2:59:28I'm speaking on behalf of Janet Byron, who could not, be with us tonight.

2:59:34I'm representing the Public Paths Committee of the El Cerrito Trail Truckers, which has been formed to advocate for the urban path

2:59:42rights of way in El Cerrito.

2:59:45At the Planning Commission workshop on the safety element update.

2:59:49Our committee member, Janet Byron, strongly encouraged El Cerrito to prioritize adding street signage to all of El Cerrito's passable public paths

2:59:59Which are currently entirely unmarked.

3:00:04Not one of El Cerrito's public paths has a sign letting the public know that they are indeed on a public right-of-way.

3:00:13Policy 8.1814 in the draft updates

3:00:19States as a goal, identifying pedestrian paths, including stairs and trails, on evacuation maps.

3:00:26Also in the analysis, assumptions, number 2 states El Cerrito provides multi-use footpaths that provide non-motorized connectivity between various parts of the area.

3:00:36It goes on to say, although some residents could use these paths during evacuation, this analysis assumes that all evacuations would be by personal vehicle.

3:00:49The assumption ignores the reality on the ground that in the event of a fast-moving fire, such as what the fire chief described, roads may be blocked by debris, emergency vehicles, and the fire itself.

3:01:00The only safe option remaining may be to evacuate on foot.

3:01:05For some people, using the pass would be the fastest, and more importantly, the only way to get down the hill quickly and away from a fire.

3:01:13Likewise, the safety element update does not acknowledge

3:01:17That rather than an automobile, the personal vehicle for getting away fastest might be an electric bike or other mode of wheeled transportation.

3:01:27Also due to traffic and blocked roads.

3:01:31For instance, in the Oakland Hills fire of 1991, more than half of the 25 people who died were in their cars.

3:01:40Public paths on evacuation maps is great, but if El Cerrito truly wants to keep people alive in the event of a disaster, it should be, at a minimum, tell them where their public paths are on the ground.

3:01:52With signs, and acknowledge that in the cases, evacuating by car may not be the quickest and safest options.

3:02:01Given the discussion we've had tonight, there's a lot of moving parts to this.

3:02:04But some signs on the path is a pretty good idea.

3:02:08In your packets, Ms. Byron included a letter of three suggestions for the public signage of El Cerrito's public pass, including street signs, infrastructure signs, and customized pass signs developed by

3:02:18the El Cerrito Trail Truckers, City of El Cerrito, and the National Park Service, which resulted in trail markers we now have on the Hillside Nature area. Thank you for your comments. Thank you. Our next speaker is Steven Price.

3:02:38And Steve Price, I live in El Cerrito.

3:02:41And, I think my wife, Janet Byron, just took away one of my arguments.

3:02:48So, anyway, you know, this… this element is called a safety element. I guess that's what is required to be called by the state?

3:02:56But it's really a disaster preparedness element.

3:02:59Because I think everything that's discussed here is about disasters of one sort or another, and there's all kinds of safety issues that are in the city that are not a part of a disaster.

3:03:12For instance, we have a lot of seniors who live on San Pabel Avenue in affordable housing.

3:03:17And they're right on a street for which, you know, a senior just a few days ago was struck by a car.

3:03:24So isn't that a safety element, just being able to cross the street?

3:03:29Around of our schools, you know, the schools jam up with cars.

3:03:35In the morning and in the afternoon, when the schools start and when they close down.

3:03:41And, isn't that a safety element? That there's cars all over the place where children are moving around?

3:03:48And, you know.

3:03:52I looked at the general plan from 25 years ago, and looked in the transportation element, figuring, well, there must be something in there about safety.

3:04:00And, no, it's all about, you know, moving vehicles and parking them and maybe getting people to take other modes of transportation besides cars, which is very good, but transportation is about moving an object or a person from here to there.

3:04:17But it's not necessarily about safety, specifically. So, I know this is probably, you know.

3:04:27this… whether or not the state actually would accommodate these definitions of safety, expanded definitions of safety, but I think we really need to think about that. If it's not in this element, then it needs to be somewhere, and certainly not in the general plan as it exists right now.

3:04:44So, I think it's…

3:04:47We have to kind of, like, move things forward, think about how this might function in the future, and what safety actually means.

3:04:56So… Thank you.

3:04:59Thank you. Mayor, that concludes our request to speak. All right, do I have a motion to close the public hearing?

3:05:04I'll move.

3:05:06All right, so moved by Councilmember Motuyama, seconded by Councilmember Salzman. Can we please have roll call votes? Mayor Weisinger? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Quinto?

3:05:16Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: There's no one in the room here, and I am voting aye.

3:05:19Thank you. Councilmember Quizanes? Yes. Councilmember Mojiyama? Yes. Councilmember Saltzman? Yes. Motion carries. All right, do we have any final Council comments?

3:05:29No? Alright, do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. So moved by Councilmember Salzman and seconded by Councilmember Motayama. Can we please have the vote, City Clerk? Mayor Weisinger? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Quinto?

3:05:42Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: There's no one in the room here, and I'm voting aye.

3:05:44Thank you, Councilmember Solanis? Yes. Councilmember Motiamo? Yes. Councilmember Saltzman? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you so much, Sean, and staff, and our planner for being here for this great report. Thank you so much.

3:05:57The next item is Policy Matters, item A, award of Construction Contract for the swim center lap pool replastering Project, City Project Number C3050.9. Can we please have the staff report?

3:06:37Good evening again, Council. Yvette Ortiz, the City's Public Works Director.

3:06:42Tonight,

3:06:44City staff is requesting that the City Council take several actions related to awarding the construction contract for the pole, the lap pool replastering project.

3:06:55And these are listed here, and it includes awarding the construction contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, Burkits.

3:07:04Pole plastering, authorizing the city manager to enter into the contract in the amount of $228,103, and to approve potential change orders of about 15% at $34,215.

3:07:20Dollars and appropriated one-time allocation from the general fund reserves in the amount of $183,300.

3:07:29Before I get into the actual, bidding process for the project, I wanted to recap where we've been, because we have come to Council several times in the last few months, most recently in August and October, to provide a bigger picture of all the swim center needs in terms of

3:07:49repairs of failing, systems and upgrades to meet, compliance, specifically ADA compliance.

3:07:57And so Council has previously provided direction to City staff to continue, with the replastering components, as well as the parking lot work, including ADA and related improvements, which is stormwater treatment facilities, and then also EV charging equipment.

3:08:17The total cost for that, including the full design of a potentially future phase, which includes the deck, is $2,311,000.

3:08:29Currently, we're working on a phased implementations of the approved projects that Council has provided direction to move forward, including the replastering project, which we're awarding, we're asking Council to award tonight.

3:08:42And which would include an anticipated construction schedule of January to March of 2026.

3:08:48And then the second phase, that we're developing right now, we're,

3:08:53finishing up the construction plans, hoping to get a building permit very soon, and sending out to bid in December for award in early February. We would come back to Council to request approval of that contract.

3:09:11And then the schedule for construction of that, the parking lot and ADA-related improvements would be February to June. So we're still pretty much on track with the original schedule that we, presented to Council.

3:09:25So the current project, that we bid, includes the demolition of the existing plaster and tiles. This is the most urgent work that's shown here. It's failing.

3:09:37And so it includes the demolition, as well as the retiling and the replastering. And we added another component to the project, recently,

3:09:48And I want to add a little bit more about that. First, before I get into that, I want to talk about just the bidding process. We did advertise the project in the West County Times, East Bay Times, on November 4th.

3:10:02and 10th of this year, and the notice, the contract documents, and two addendums were made available to contractors to the city's online

3:10:12Planned room. Finally, the notice and the addendum was posted on the City's website.

3:10:18A non-mandatory pre-bid conference was held on November 10th, and four contractors attended, which was actually,

3:10:26Impressive, because usually you don't get, contractors attending a non-mandatory meeting, but there was interest. So, we had 4 contractors attend.

3:10:37We issued the first addendum to change the bid opening date from November 18th to 19th to provide a total of 15 days for the entire bid period.

3:10:47And then we issued Addendum number 2 to address the waterproofing of the pool's search tank.

3:10:52The search tank is right next to the lap pole and helps, keep the water level consistent when people come in and out of the…

3:11:01of the pool. And this is specialized work, that is very similar to what's being done as part of the lap pool replastering project.

3:11:09And so we can perform both tasks at the same time, most efficiently, because the pool would have to be drained either way. So this is the most effective way to move forward with this other component, and it actually was one of the contractors who brought up the question during the pre-bid conference.

3:11:29As a result, the City issued an addendum number 2 to include the waterproofing of the search tank as an additive alternate, so that it would allow the city to potentially award that part of the work if it was sufficient budget.

3:11:43And then, as part of Addendum number 2, we also issued a revised bid form that included that additive alternate.

3:11:56So, we received 4 bids on the bid opening date of November 19th, 2 p.m. The bids were publicly opened and read by the acting sitting clerk. All bids were checked for completeness, and Burkitt's Pool Replastering, who was the apparent low bidder at the time of the bid opening, was found to be responsive.

3:12:16A staff determined that the remaining 3 bids were non-responsive because they didn't… were not on the correct bid form that was provided as a part of Addendum number 2. Addendum number 2 was issued 4 days before the bid opening, which exceeds the 72-hour minimum for a material change to a project.

3:12:37So all bids did not, the remaining 3 bids did not use the right form, and then also USA Construction did not, had an incomplete bid bond form.

3:12:48As shown here on this slide,

3:12:51Burkits was, the parent low bidder at the bid opening, and also the bid submitted for both the base bid and the ad alternate were well below the engineer's estimate.

3:13:03We checked in with our design team and our project management team on, you know, the reasons why… which is great news, that the bids usually were, like, they're above the engineer's estimate, are very close to it, but this is significantly below, so we checked in with our project management team and designer as to why… what could have driven these costs.

3:13:25And I think, really it was because there was

3:13:29interest. There were several firms that attended the pre-bid conference. All the, at least 3 of the firms were local.

3:13:36Whole contractors to specialize in this work, and the engineer's estimate was developed assuming there would be a general… like, worst case, there would be a general contractor that had more overhead and additional costs for general

3:13:50conditions.

3:13:51So, ultimately, Burkitt's was the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.

3:14:02Let's see…

3:14:05So, as a result, City staff is requesting that Council authorize the award to them for both the ad alternate and the base bid.

3:14:14And to, authorize the city manager to do that change order amount of 15%.

3:14:23So, based on these recent bids that we received, the currently estimated cost for all the swim center improvements is about $316,000 less than what we previously presented to Council in August and October.

3:14:37And this does include some increased costs for project management and design costs for various elements of the work related to the parking lot and the deck replacement.

3:14:48So… but regardless, we are still coming below the previous cost estimate that we presented.

3:14:57Similarly, in the past, the City Council has allocated $700,000 for the swim center improvements. This includes $200,000 from Measure H, and then $500,000 from the discussionary general fund reserves.

3:15:13At this point, to continue to construct the replastering project.

3:15:18And, finish the bidding and design of the parking lot improvements. We're requesting an under $183,000… $183,300 to continue that work.

3:15:34Let's see, that concludes my presentation. I'm available to answer your questions, as well as Chris Jones and our project management from Swinerton, Albert, who's available virtually.

3:15:47All right, questions from the Council. I'll start with Councilmember Canis.

3:15:51Yeah, thank you, Yvette, for your presentation. And I apologize for not having a better sense of this in my head, but, you know, there have been so many numbers and changes and scenarios.

3:16:01Could you explain, after this… Proposed expenditure, what else is left?

3:16:07So, we would, we would bid the second phase, the parking lot work for the parking lot, which includes the ADA, the stormwater treatment that's required, and the EV charging, and we would bid that, we would get the bid results, we would come back to Council to award that

3:16:25contract, and so at that point, we would also ask for an additional appropriation for the cost of that construction contract. Did you put up your last slide? Is that… is it… if it's easily done, if it's not…

3:16:37I noticed that in the corner. If not, it's okay.

3:16:41Thank you.

3:16:44what… B.

3:16:47What was the… Engineer's estimate of that remaining portion?

3:16:57The engineer's estimate is included in, the, attachment to your agenda packet.

3:17:08Fantastic.

3:17:09Right.

3:17:12Let's see…

3:17:21Okay, I need to present.

3:17:25So I was a little bit thrown off by the… on the left side, where it says replaster plus parking…

3:17:30Vehicle charging, etc. So that's not…

3:17:33So, so what we're asking for right now is we're, just asking for the allocation to continue moving forward the elements that Council has previously approved, because Council only, approved $700,000.

3:17:48So, we're not exceeding the original cost estimate that was presented to Council. We're just asking for the allocations as soon as we get confirmed numbers.

3:17:57What's the relationship between the current estimate, the 1.9 million.

3:18:02And that work on the side that says replaster.

3:18:05Lot 80… 88, all that. Is that… that's not…

3:18:10So it… I don't understand why that's there. So, we can refer, attachment… the attachment, on your agenda packet includes the detailed cost. So, the detailed costs include $630,000 total for the replastering component.

3:18:26And then, additional, like, soft costs for the design, permitting, and, and,

3:18:34other, like, construction management costs for the parking lot work, so you'll see that's another

3:18:41That's another $252,000. So the total of those components, like moving forward with the construction of the replastering, while moving forward with the

3:18:52development of the parking lot work is the $883,000, because we need to continue doing that second phase, in order… because we're trying to meet this window of construction in this fiscal year. And the first phase is the $1.9 million.

3:19:07This… no, the total… the total, the both… both phases. Originally, the… both the plastering and the parking lot work was the $2.3 million, but now the total has been, reduced by $300,000 because we had so… the bids for the replastering was so much lower.

3:19:28Okay.

3:19:30All right, if I'm understanding it correctly, I think originally there was concerns and fears that it were going to be somewhere near 4 or 5 million.

3:19:37So we're… so that's… That number you're remembering includes… is… includes the deck replacement, and that Council hasn't authorized us to, like, move forward with permitting.

3:19:47And, you know, awarding that project, or at least bidding that project. What Council has authorized was the full design. So, Council authorized the full design for

3:19:58the replastering, the parking lot will work, and the deck replacement. So… but…

3:20:04Council has not authorized to move forward with the deck replacement in terms of permitting and bidding. So that's on hold until, we come back to Council as part of the budget process with a comprehensive capital improvement program.

3:20:20Okay, thank you.

3:20:22Appreciate it. All right, Councilmember Motiamo, did you have questions? Yes. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for your presentation. I think it's really clear. My question is, if we're saving $300,000, why do we need to, do a budget appropriation for $183,000?

3:20:39Right, so, that's because Council had only authorized $700,000, and so knowing, that the full cost was,

3:20:51greater, but waiting until we got the bids to confirm how much funding we actually needed. So, we're continuing to just come back to Council with these requests for allocations to keep the project moving forward, but also reporting on the total project cost, so you know where we stand.

3:21:11Okay, so that… that makes me feel like that there is, of course, the possibility that the

3:21:17parking and electric vehicle charging and the bioretention portion may also cost more than we are expecting, and so that savings would be gone. Is that why we're trying to preserve

3:21:30That cost saving?

3:21:32Right, I mean, we do have contingencies, for that second phase. We're holding 15% contingency for both the soft costs and the hard costs. Yeah, that… we're…

3:21:45holding… we're trying to hold to that $2.3 million, and if we need to re-scope the project, then we could present those options to Council. But, right now, you know, our engineer's estimate is staying really true to that August estimate.

3:22:03Great.

3:22:04And, I don't know if you're gonna explain the… the over… the…

3:22:12I can't remember what it's called, the other tank where that keeps the water level, is that, like, underneath the decking, or is that… where is this tank? I will ask our recreation director to…

3:22:24Help me answer that question.

3:22:33Good evening, Honorable Mayor and Council Members. I'm Chris Jones, the Recreation Director. The search tank is below the deck, in between the pool and, the pump room.

3:22:45Basically. And so, to re-plaster that, that means that portion of decking is coming off?

3:22:53No, it's similar to the replacer itself in that it's just as a factor of its age.

3:23:00Now is the time to do it, it's at the end of its useful life cycle, and doing it during the replaster project gets us an economy of scale, and actually really paid off. The engineer's estimate was $35,000, the bid was less than $4,000.

3:23:16Okay, I'm sorry, I'm… my mind is not understanding how we get to a tank underneath the deck without

3:23:23Moving the deck.

3:23:25Well, so they're gonna do… so it's a pit, right? And they're gonna do work inside the pit, just like the pool is a concrete shell with the plaster put on top of it. Okay, so there's some… some…

3:23:38person hole cover that you would lift up and go inside this other tank? Yes, there's a… there's, like, there's concrete panels on the deck that you can… that you… there's tools to pull it up, and there's a ladder, and you can go down, and there's, like, a,

3:23:53Kind of like how a surge pump works, you know, when the water hits a certain level, the pumps automatically kick on, and it'll either

3:24:01bring water into the search pit, because a lot of people are in the pool, and then when they get out, it adds the water back, so it keeps the water level steady. And that's important for circulation and filtering reasons.

3:24:16Okay.

3:24:18Thank you.

3:24:19All right, do you have any questions, Councilmember Salzman? No. Mayor Pro Tem, do you have any questions?

3:24:27Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Yes. Just a quick question regarding, the EV charging. You know, looking at,

3:24:37what's going on with EV charging, and know that cities like El Cerrito need to pay for this, whereas you see cities next door where they have more

3:24:50EV infrastructure than El Cerrito-Berkeley combined, because they have a lot more pollution. So I'm wondering, regarding if we don't have the money to spend on,

3:25:03And if it goes over budget, I'm wondering if we can, have the EV part as last, hoping that, better days are ahead of us. Yeah, so, can someone speak about that?

3:25:20Yes, thank you for that, suggestion. I think right now, what the… the scope of the project includes,

3:25:29It's level 2 chargers, but we're also doing the underground work, the conduit under the pavement.

3:25:37to include a larger conduit that could accommodate quick chargers level 3 in the future. So, current scope is level 2, that's, but equipped for, Level 3 upgrades in the future.

3:25:51as we're, you know, finalizing the design, and we're updating the cost estimate, if, you know, the cost estimate is below… above what we previously reported to Council, we would identify additive alternates, and we'll consider doing that with the EV charging component, because that's not a compliance measure.

3:26:10Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Yeah, yeah, no, thank you for that, because, you know, for the most part, we do have a lot of, homeowners that have EVs, more than the City of Richmond, but, you know, most are being charged at home, so,

3:26:26We have very few of that infrastructure. We just have it at a few places in the El Cerrito Plaza, so the majority of our EVs are not, done, yeah, but I know, many of the apartment, dwellers,

3:26:42have to have it done at a public place. So, just, you know, think about that in the future, because, you know, it's very, very expensive, and we're seeing more of that than

3:26:55You know, I don't know why MCE and the Air Board is putting all these things in the city of Richmond when hardly anybody, drives them in large numbers in that city. So, you know, just, you know, wanted to point that out. So, yeah, thank you. I appreciate that.

3:27:14Thank you, and if I could just add, too, that we're continuing to explore grants for some of the ADA improvements that are part of the… these next phases of the project.

3:27:24Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Yeah, I appreciate that. I… what I've heard from my colleagues at MCE is that, you know, we're not going to get it on the federal level, it has to be somewhere else. So, thank you, I appreciate the presentation.

3:27:38And I don't have any major questions. I did notice there were two items, and this is probably just a point of education for me. There were two items on the estimates that actually came in over our estimates, and that was the project management and the design.

3:27:52fee. Do you anticipate anything else coming? I mean, that was about a $40,000 swing right there. Do you anticipate anything else coming in higher, or…

3:28:02At this point, we were pretty much, well underway in terms of design. There were additional,

3:28:10design requirements related to the egress, for example. We… as part of the permitting process, we've consulted with both the fire department and the building department, and that added cost, we… as we presented Council various variations on… on the scope, so that added additional level of effort for our project management team. So, but at this point, we have a pretty solid plan, and done a lot of the

3:28:33the…

3:28:34not the engineering work, so I feel like our design costs for, the project as is, are pretty solid.

3:28:44Well, thank you for that, and 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, or by selecting the raise hand feature on Zoom. In-person requests to speak will be taken first. Please remember to identify yourself and your City of Residence at the beginning of your comments. City Clerk, please proceed.

3:29:05Thank you, Mayor. We do not have any requests to speak on this item. All right, are there any final Council comments?

3:29:11No, they are not. Do I have a motion to approve this item?

3:29:15So moved. Second. All right, so moved by Councilmember Salzman and seconded by Councilmember Motayama. City Clerk, can we please have the roll? Mayor Weisinger? Yes. Mayor Bertango?

3:29:27Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: I'm… there's no one here in this room, and I'm voting yes. Thank you.

3:29:31Thank you. Councilmember Quetzanes? Yes. Councilmember Mochiyama? Yes. Councilmember Saltzman? Yes. Motion carries. All right, thank you so much, Yvette and the staff, for that thorough staff report.

3:29:41And we're looking forward to going forward on this project. The next item is City Council Local and Regional Liaison Assignments. Are there any council reports?

3:29:53Any council reports on the dais? I will do a quick one. I… I attended the MCE meeting on behalf of

3:30:00Council Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem Quinta?

3:30:02It was interesting and long until 11.30 at night, but I learned quite a bit, and I actually misshaped the opportunity to attend.

3:30:12All right. Councilmember Motayama? On November the 20th, I attended the ABEG Executive Committee meeting, where we discussed Plan Bay Area 2050+. If any member of the public would like to comment on that plan, comments will be accepted until December 18th.

3:30:30I don't write anything for you, Councilmember Salzman? No. Mayor Pro Tem, do you have any reports?

3:30:35Mayor Pro Tem Quinto: Yeah, just a quick one. I just want to say thank you to, Councilmember Cassanis for, filling in for me. I know that was a difficult, difficult meeting. It was more than

3:30:475 hours long, and we usually don't have meetings that long. A lot of drama, a lot of, you know, stuff happening, and the vote was, and I just want residents to know.

3:31:00that, the, executive committee and the regular executive, board members of the 37, cities and counties in, that represent MCE, we voted to have a, separate finance committee

3:31:18And before that, the Finance Committee was always part of the Executive Committee, so I am good with that. We're moving forward on that, and

3:31:27Know that, things are very, very volatile right now, on the energy market, so, a lot of,

3:31:38risks that are involved with, energy right now, so, so please stay tuned, and, I invite, residents to attend our board meetings via Zoom. We meet the third, Thursday evening of the month.

3:31:56And that is, once a month. So, stay tuned. There, we also have an executive committee meeting that we meet on the first Monday of the month, starting at 12, and you can visit… you can see that meeting via Zoom as well.

3:32:12Thank you very much.

3:32:14Thank you, and the only report I have is that Mayor Pro Tem and I did attend the National League of Cities on November 18th through the 18th to the 22nd. I was so proud to be there with our Mayor Pro Tem, of course, who is now the President of Cal Cities. We talked about a lot of important things, especially in my Public Safety Committee meeting, that we're going to be bringing back. But one thing, no matter what

3:32:36topic we were discussing, everything always ended back with AI.

3:32:40And so I've already been having conversations with our city manager about where we're going and how we're going to start implementing policy and process in regards to that. That will probably be my last

3:32:50My last bit of business that I do before I leave the mayor's seat is make sure that we are on track to making sure that we have a policy set in place so that we're prepared in the future, not just for, you know, how… what our staff does, but also we talked a lot about public comment, which, of course.

3:33:05Councilmember Motayama and I are going to be wrapping up our ad hoc committee. One of the things I didn't say at the beginning of the meeting,

3:33:12about that, actually, is that now that we have the new SB bill that did go through as far as

3:33:18how we are doing virtual comments here in the chambers. Cities are taking a little bit longer to make sure that our chambers are ready to actually fulfill all of the missions in that bill, so that's what we're going to be working with Hollywood in the next couple of weeks, and also when we're going to start working in our chambers, we're going to make sure that our chambers is up to code for the upcoming changes in virtual capacities here.

3:33:40And with that, I don't know where my…

3:33:43But the time is now 9.35, and we are adjourned. The next meeting is the cake meeting on December 16th, so come ready for… Mayor Pro Tem, he chose the cake, so if you don't like it, blame him. All right, everyone, have a good evening.