CITY OF CARMEL.BY.THE.SEA
CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, January 7,2025
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Mayor Byrne called the meeting to order at 4:30 pm.
Roll call: councilmembers Jeff Baron, Hans Buder, Bob Delves, Alissandra Dramov, and Mayor Dale Byrne were Present.
PUBLIC APPEARANCES
Julia Norman
Sara Hinds
Mattew Richardson
No name
Neal Kruse
Sylvia
Gail
Bryan Rosen
Catherine
Richard Kreitman
Craig Rose
TRW
ORDERS OF BUSINESS
Item 1 - Appointment of Mayor Pro Tempore iot 2025
Mayor Byrne appointed Councilmember Delves as the Mayor Pro Tempore for 2025' Item 2 - Discussion on council Appointments to Ad Hoc committees and potential appointments MayorByrnegaveabriefpreSentationsummarizingofpurposeandScopeofAdHocCommittees' Hemadearecommendationtoterminateallexistingstandingcommitteesandformnewonesif needed.
Public Comment:
Donna Jett
Tim Twomey
Cari White
PLEOGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Byrne led the pledge of allegiance.
City Council Special Meeting Minutes - January 7, 2025
Council gave consensus direction to terminate all of the existing ad hoc committees, and create ad hoc committees on an as needed basis.
Item 3 - Resolution 2025-01 confirming Councilmember appointments to outside agencies for 2025
City Clerk Romero gave a brief introduction of the item, stating that the beginning of each year, or as necessary, the council makes appointments to outside agencies. she added that the Resolution Exhibit A in the agenda packet lists the proposed appointments to the various outside agencies.
Public Comment:
Neal Kruse
Bryan Rosen
Mayor Byrne said he would like to make a change to the proposed list of appointees, to appoint Mayor Pro Tem Delves as the primary representative for carmel on TAMC and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water District Policy Advisory Committee (MPRWD PAC). Councilmember Baron said he has been deeply involved in TAMC over the years and would like the opportunity to be the primary representative. Mayor Pro Tem Delves said he agrees with the Mayor',s request for him to serve as Primary on TAMC.
Motion by councilmember Buder to approve Resolution 2025'01 as presented with the amendment to appoint Mayor Pro Tem Delves as the primary representative to TAMC and MPRWD PAC, seconded by councilmember Dramov, and approved 4-t-0-0 by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Buder, Dramov, Delves, and Mayor Byrne NOES: Councilmember Baron
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
Council took a recess at 5:50 p.m Council resumed the meeting at 6:01 p m' Item 4 - Fiscal yeat 2024-2025 Mid-Year Budget Report and Resolution 2025'02 Approving FY 2024-2025 Adopted Budget Amendments
AssistantCityAdministratorSwansonintroducedFinanceManagerJaymeFields,whogavea presentation on the FY 24-25 budget and proposed budget amendments' councilmember Dramov inquired about potential cost-sharing with Pebble Beach for the san AntonioPathwaypro'iect,cityAdministratorRerigconfirmedthatMayorByrnewillsoonbe meeting with a Pebble Beach representative to discuss this possibility. she asked about the ,p"oring expiration of the three-year reduced police staffing model. Mr. Rerig noted that contract negotiations with the Police Officers Association will begin shortly' City Council Special Meeting Minutes - January 7, 2025
Councilmember Buder raised a question about the practice of fully funding Capital lmprovement Pro.iects (ClPs) annually, despite multi-year project timelines. Finance Manager Fields explained that this approach ensures adequate funding for projects and prevents project delays due to unforeseen budget shortfalls. He asked about the estimated $950,000 repair cost for the Sunset Center retaining wall, questioning if it's a 1o-year or 30-year solution, given the uncertainty surrounding the future parking lot uses. Mayor Byrne said he's not comfortable approving almost a million dollars to repair 1 retraining wall and would like to look into alternatives to keep the cost down. Project Manager Hernandez emphasized the urgent need for repair due to the failing wall condition. City Administrator Rerig stated that staff will explore potential cost-saving measures for the project and emphasized that the Sunset elevator project is time sensitive for safety and accessibility reasons.
Public Comment
Maria Ruess
Council discussion resumed. Mayor Pro Tem Delves expressed concern that the current budget presentation may not accurately reflect the city's actual spending, as clP budgets rarely come close to spending what is budgeted for each fiscal year. He advocated alternative CIP forecast methods, more frequent budget updates, and a stronger focus on budget outcomes. He also requested information on the City's actual property tax revenue and proposed the creation of a potential finance standing committee to facilitate more in-depth budget discussions. councilmember Buder agreed with the idea of a finance standing committee, and Mayor Byrne suggested it be added to a future meeting agenda for discussion. Finance Manager Fields said that the City is researching the City's share of property tax revenue with the County and will present findings on the City's website.
Councilmember Baron pointed out that the $500,000 allocated for the Shoreline Coastal Engineering study comes from a grant specifically earmarked for planning purposes and cannot be used for construction. He suggested approving the $50,000 budget ad.iustment toward the elevator repairs at the Sunset Center. He said regarding the retaining wall project, perhaps there are Some cost savings if the city opts to not use expenSive materials, such as Carmel stone.
Mayor Byrne suggested the budget decision on the Sunset Center retaining wall be postponed until more detailed cost saving measures can be explored.
Motion by councilmember Baron to approve the Reso 2025-02, to approve the budget adjustrnents as proposed with the exception of modifying the Sunset elevator repair amount to $50,000, decrease the expected tax revenue to $745,000, and eliminate the $9OO,OO0 Sunset center wall budget adjustment, and revisit the wall at a future budget meeting, seconded by councilmember Dramov, and approved 5-0-0-0 by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Buder, Baron, Delves, Dramov, and Mayor Byrne
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
City Council Special Meeting Minutes - January 7, 2025
Item 5 - Receive a Status Report on the Police Building Renovation Project, review the Conceptual Design for renovating and expanding the Police and Public Works building on the existing site, and provide direction to staff
Police Chief Tomasi presented draft plans for renovating the Police Department and Public Works facilities at the existing site, emphasizing the architect's creative approach to meet the operational needs of both departments. Police Building Project Consultant, Fred Meuer, stated that if the renovation project is approved the project would be phased to minimize disruption to PW and PD operations during construction.
Councilmember Baron asked whether the estimated $30 million project cost includes purchasing additional property for a new PW yard. Mr. Meuer clarified that the $30 million is a preliminary estimate that does not yet include the cost of acquirlng a new PW yard site, as the location has not been determined. Councilmember Buder asked if any compromises to PD needs were made by the architect to accommodate the renovation plans. Chief Tomasi confirmed that the architects were able to design a solution that meets all the operational needs of the Police Department within the existing site.
Public Comment:
Donna Jett
Neal Kruse
David O'Neil
Craig Rose
Stacy Steele
Karyl Hall
Cindy Lloyd
Councilmember Baron voiced reservations about the feasibility of renovating the existing site, citing increasing costs due to the inherent constraints of the current location. He recalled his previous vote against solely pursuing renovation and emphasized the need to thoroughly explore the option of constructing a new building on an alternate site to make an informed decision. Baron also questioned the necessity of acquiring additional land for the Public works yard, given the current use of Rio Park, and suggested exploring potential cost-saving measures, such as eliminating the firing range. Councilmember Buder agreed with Councilmember Baron's concerns.
Councilmember Dramov expressed concerns regarding public feedback she has received regarding the project's escalating scope and costs. she advocated prioritizing immediate needs and raised questions about how the city plans to fund a $30 million project. Mayor Pro Tem Delves expressed concern that the project's focus may have shifted disproportionately towards improving Public works facilities, potentially overshadowing the needs of the Police Department Mayor Byrne said he agreed with the issues raised by all Councilmembers' Council directed staff to schedule a community meeting within the next few weeks to discuss the Police Department Building Project further and receive public input.
City Council Special Meeting Minutes - January 7, 2025
ADJOURNMENT
Council adjourned the meeting at 8.28 p.m.
APPROVED
Dale Byrne, M
ATTEST:
Nova City Clerk