1 BURLINGAME CITY COUNCIL
Approved Minutes
Regular City Council Meeting on October 6, 2025
1. CALL TO ORDER
A duly noticed meeting of the Burlingame City Council was held on the above date in person and via Zoom at 7:00 p.m.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by John Hockridge.
3. ROLL CALL
MEMBERS PRESENT: Brownrigg, Colson, Pappajohn, Stevenson, Thayer MEMBERS ABSENT: None
4. REQUEST FOR AB 2249 REMOTE PARTICIPATION
There were no requests.
5. REPORT OUT FROM CLOSED SESSION
a. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957.6 EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS: BURLINGAME POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, BURLINGAME POLICE SERGEANTS ASSOCIATION, ASSOCIATION OF POLICE ADMINISTRATORS, AND TEAMSTERS 856
City Attorney Guina reported that direction was given but no action was taken.
6. UPCOMING EVENTS
Mayor Stevenson reviewed upcoming events in the city.
2 7. PRESENTATIONS
a. PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING OCTOBER AS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
Mayor Stevenson introduced Karen Ferguson, the Executive Director of Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (“CORA”) to accept the proclamation recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Ms. Ferguson thanked the Council for the proclamation. She discussed the importance of bringing public awareness to this topic, noting that many in the community have been directly or indirectly affected by domestic violence. She explained that CORA recently opened satellite offices in East Palo Alto, on the Coast, and in North Fair Oaks.
CORA Boardmember Meaghan Hassel-Shearer thanked Ms. Ferguson and her staff for all their efforts. She highlighted CORA’s continued innovation and outreach.
Councilmember Pappajohn thanked CORA for their hard work on behalf of the community.
Councilmember Colson thanked CORA for their outreach efforts. She discussed the importance of programs like “Speak Out,” which educates merchants and hoteliers on how to assist victims.
Vice Mayor Brownrigg discussed the courage needed for someone to seek assistance for domestic abuse and framed CORA’s service as empowering survivors.
Councilmember Thayer discussed CORA’s stickers that are in bathrooms alerting individuals to crisis hotlines.
Mayor Stevenson opened public comment. No one spoke.
Mayor Stevenson read the proclamation and thanked CORA for the work they do in the community.
b. INTRODUCTION OF BAWSCA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER TOM SMEGAL
Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency’s (“BAWSCA”) new CEO Tom Smegal introduced himself to the community. He noted that his background is in civil engineering and that he used to be on the board of BAWSCA. He noted that Burlingame gets 100% of its water from the San Francisco Regional Water System and its reservoirs.
Mr. Smegal outlined BAWSCA’s main responsibilities:
• Acting as a collective counterweight to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (“SFPUC”), negotiating fair pricing and cost-sharing for water, and reviewing and auditing capital investments and utility charges
3 • Coordinating conservation programs tailored to local agency participation, running regular technical meetings for continuous improvement, and providing education about new state water regulations. • Advocating for long-term water reliability through planning documents.
Councilmember Colson voiced her appreciation for the update and recommended that Mr. Smegal present to interested community groups.
Councilmember Pappajohn thanked BAWSCA for their advocacy and conservation focus.
Councilmember Thayer discussed BAWSCA’s environmental education and the Hetch Hetchy tour she went on.
Vice Mayor Brownrigg discussed claims that Northern California lags behind Southern California in per capita water conservation. Mr. Smegal replied in the negative. He stated that BAWSCA agencies have some of the lowest per capita usage rates in the state.
Vice Mayor Brownrigg expressed a concern that with so much conservation baked into current usage, future droughts may yield diminishing returns from further conservation requests. Mr. Smegal replied that it would be important for SFPUC and member agencies to anticipate that reduced water use in non-drought times could limit emergency measures.
Vice Mayor Brownrigg and Mayor Stevenson discussed the challenges of balancing incentives so that growth (building new housing) and environmental stewardship (protecting rivers and wildlife) are encouraged, not just an all-encompassing focus on avoiding water shortfalls. Mr. Smegal replied that this is a valid tension, and one he’s open to exploring further.
Mayor Stevenson opened the item up for public comment. No one spoke.
Mayor Stevenson thanked Mr. Smegal for his presentation.
8. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Grace discussed the Library’s Banned Book Week display. She voiced concern about the focus on LBGTQ+ themed books and noted that some of the books featured explicit content.
Gerard Manning asked the Council to ban gas water heaters in the city as it would assist in combatting climate change.
Mary Hockridge thanked the Council for their work on behalf of the community.
4 9. APPROVAL OF CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Stevenson asked the Councilmembers and the public if they wished to remove any item from the Consent Calendar. Vice Mayor Brownrigg pulled items 9c and 9g, and Councilmember Colson pulled 9e.
Vice Mayor Brownrigg made a motion to adopt Consent Calendar items: 9a, 9b, 9d, 9f, 9h, 9i, 9j, 9k, 9l, 9m, and 9n; seconded by Councilmember Colson. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote, 5-0.
a. APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FOR THE SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
City Clerk Hassel-Shearer requested Council approve the City Council Meeting Minutes for the September 15, 2025 City Council Regular Meeting.
b. SECOND READING AND ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE ADDING SECTION 11.06.055, “PRIVATE TREES AND PRIVATELY-OWNED VEGETATION (PUBLIC NUISANCE)”, TO CHAPTER 11.06 OF TITLE 11
OF THE BURLINGAME MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING THE MAINTENANCE OF PRIVATE TREES AND VEGETATION ON PRIVATE PROPERTY; CEQA DETERMINATION: EXEMPT PURSUANT TO STATE CEQA GUIDELINES SECTION 15378 AND 15601(b)(3)
Assistant City Attorney Burke requested Council adopt Ordinance Number 2040.
c. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS APPROVING THE AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDED AND RESTATED
WATER SUPPLY AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO AND
WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS IN ALAMEDA COUNTY, SAN MATEO COUNTY, AND SANTA CLARA COUNTY AND APPROVING THE UPDATED TIER 2 DROUGHT RESPONSE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Vice Mayor Brownrigg stated that he pulled this item due to the community-wide significance of the water supply agreement.
DPW Murtuza stated that the amendment to the water supply agreement addressed issues facing agencies like Mountain View, which has to purchase more water annually from San Francisco than they use due to high conservation rates. He explained that the amendment would relieve these agencies, freeing up water for others and avoiding unfair penalties.
DPW Murtuza explained that under the new agreement, if one city exceeds its water allocation but others do not, penalties would be applied proportionally, not punitively to the whole jurisdiction. He added that this is tied to an update of the Tier 2 Drought Response Plan, which reallocates drought-time water based on demographics, historic usage, and conservation.
Councilmember Pappajohn asked if other cities had adopted the amended water supply agreement. Mr.
Smegal replied that 24 of the 26 agencies have approved the amended agreement.
5 DPW Murtuza stated that Burlingame has never exceeded its allocation, originally set at 5.23 million gallons per day, currently averaging 3 to 3.2 million gallons per day.
Vice Mayor Brownrigg discussed concerns about whether risk modeling properly considers multi-year droughts or environmental tradeoffs, not just fair supply allocation.
Mayor Stevenson opened the item up for public comment. No one spoke.
Vice Mayor Brownrigg made a motion to adopt Resolution Number 109-2025 and Resolution Number 110- 2025; seconded by Councilmember Pappajohn. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote, 5-0.
d. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH MCCi, LLC FOR THE CONTINUED USE OF LASERFICHE AS THE CITY’S
ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, USE OF LASERFICHE FORMS, AND MIGRATION OF THE CITY’S RECORDS TO THE LASERFICHE CLOUD, FOR A NOT-TO-EXECEED AMOUNT OF $173,275.81 OVER A THREE-YEAR TERM
City Clerk Hassel-Shearer requested Council adopt Resolution Number 111-2025.
e. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION DECLARING LASERFICHE A TRUSTED SYSTEM AND ADOPTING (1) A RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICY, (2) PROCEDURES FOR MANAGING RECORDS, AND (3)
PROCEDURES FOR SEARCHING, STORING, AND DELETING RECORDS IN LASERFICHE
Councilmember Colson thanked the City Attorney’s Office and City Clerk for working on this project to organize the City’s records. She asked what assurances are being made regarding the protection of personal or sensitive information on the new system. City Clerk Hassel-Shearer replied that while the City has been given every assurance by MCCi, LLC about the security of the Laserfiche Cloud system, Human Resources and Police records would not be moved to the Cloud until further security measures and certificates were given to the platform.
Councilmember Colson thanked staff for the incremental approach that they were taking to moving records to the Laserfiche Cloud.
Councilmember Colson made a motion to adopt Resolution Number 112-2025; seconded by Councilmember Thayer. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote, 5-0.
f. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH GROUP 4 ARCHITECTURE TO PROVIDE AUDI-VISUAL
TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE MAIN LIBRARY LANE COMMUNITY ROOM FOR A NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF $47,700
City Librarian McCulley requested Council adopt Resolution Number 113-2025.
6 g. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION REJECTING ALL PROPOSALS FOR THE LEASE OF THE GREYHOUND
BUS DEPOT AND AUTHORIZING STAFF TO READVERTISE THE LEASE OF THE GREYHOUND BUS DEPOT
Vice Mayor Brownrigg discussed re-advertising the lease for the depot. He stressed the importance of making sure that the future tenant can pay for the lease and that staff take a creative approach in order to ensure community-oriented proposals.
Councilmember Colson advised more outreach and open houses for potential tenants.
Parks and Recreation Director Glomstad stated that she would share the new RFP with Council to aid in distribution.
Mayor Stevenson opened the item up for public comment. No one spoke.
Councilmember Colson made a motion to adopt Resolution Number 114-2025; seconded by Mayor Stevenson. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote, 5-0.
h. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE FIRST
AMENDMENTS TO TWO MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CITY OF BURLINGAME AND THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO AND THE CITY OF EAST PALO ALTO; AND FIRST AMENDMENTS
TO PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENTS WITH PLACEWORKS AND COMMUNITY PLANNING COLLABORATIVE, EXTENDING THE MOU AND AGREEMENT TERMS FROM DECEMBER 31, 2025, TO DECEMBER 31, 2026, FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ELEMENT COLLABORATIVE PROJECT
CDD Zayer requested Council adopt Resolution Number 115-2025.
i. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION REJECTING ALL BIDS RECEIVED FOR THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY HEADWORKS CONCRETE CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, CITY PROJECT NO. 86830,
AND AUTHORIZING STAFF TO REVISE THE BID DOCUMENTS AND RE-ADVERTISE THE PROJECT
DPW Murtuza requested Council adopt Resolution Number 116-2025.
j. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION AWARDING A $648,880 CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT TO MARINA
MECHANICAL SERVICES FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS CORPORATION YARD ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM UPGRADE PROJECT, CITY PROJECT NO. 85630, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT
DPW Murtuza requested Council adopt Resolution Number 117-2025.
7 k. APPROVAL OF QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORT PERIOD ENDING JUNE 30, 2025
Finance Director Yu-Scott requested Council approve of the quarterly investment report period ending June 30, 2025.
l. OPEN NOMINATION PERIOD TO FILL THREE VACANCIES ON THE PARKS AND RECREATION
COMMISSION
City Manager Goldman requested Council open the nomination period to fill three vacancies on the Parks and Recreation Commission.
m. OPEN NOMINATION PERIOD TO FILL TWO VACANCIES ON THE BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION
City Manager Goldman requested Council open the nomination period to fill two vacancies on the Beautification Commission.
n. OPEN NOMINATION PERIOD TO FILL ONE VACANCY ON THE TRAFFIC SAFETY & PARKING
COMMISSION
City Manager Goldman requested Council open the nomination period to fill one vacancy on the Traffic Safety & Parking Commission.
10. PUBLIC HEARINGS
There were no staff reports.
11. STAFF REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
There were no staff reports.
12. COUNCIL COMMITTEE AND ACTIVITIES REPORTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
There were none.
13. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Councilmember Pappajohn asked for a discussion on gas water heaters.
Vice Mayor Brownrigg asked for an update on the Rollins Road Specific Plan.
Councilmember Colson asked for an update on State public lands on the Bayfront.
8 14. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The agendas, packets, and meeting minutes for the Planning Commission, Traffic, Safety & Parking Commission, Beautification Commission, Parks & Recreation Commission, and Library Board of Trustees are available online at www.burlingame.org.
15. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Stevenson adjourned the meeting at 8:24 p.m. in memory of Marie Heathcote.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/
Meaghan Hassel-Shearer
City Clerk