CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
Contact: 831.620.2000 www.ci.carmel.ca.us
Mayor Dale Byrne
Councilmembers Jeff Baron, Hans Buder, Bob Delves, and
Alissandra Dramov
All meetings are held in the City Council Chambers
East Side of Monte Verde Street
Between Ocean and 7th Avenues
Special Meeting
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
3:30 PM
HYBRID MEETING ATTENDANCE OPTIONS
This meeting will be held in person and via teleconference ("hybrid"). The public is welcome to attend the meeting in person or remotely via Zoom, however, the meeting will proceed as normal even if there are technical difficulties accessing Zoom. The City will do its best to resolve any technical issues as quickly as possible. To view or listen to the meeting from home, you may also watch the live stream on the City's YouTube page at: https://www.youtube.com/@CityofCarmelbytheSea/streams. To participate in the meeting via Zoom, copy and paste the link below into your browser. https://ci-carmel-ca-us.zoom.us/j/86986722919
Webinar ID: 869 8672 2919
Passcode: 392594
Dial in: (253) 215-8782
HOW TO OFFER PUBLIC COMMENT
The public may give public comment at this meeting in person, or use the Zoom teleconference module, provided that there is access to Zoom during the meeting. Zoom comments will be taken after the inperson comments. The public can also email comments to [email protected]. Comments must be received at least 2 hours before the meeting in order to be provided to the legislative body. Comments received after that time and up to the beginning of the meeting will be made part of the record.
PUBLIC COMMENT GUIDELINES FOR SPECIAL MEETINGS
During Special City Council Meetings, public comments are permitted on items listed on the agenda. After each item on the agenda is introduced, the Mayor will invite public comment on that item. Each speaker has 3 minutes to speak unless otherwise adjusted by the Mayor. While stating your name is optional, it helps to identify speakers in the meeting minutes. Remote or in-person participants who do not comply with the requirements of the Brown Act will be muted.
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL - 3:30 PM
ORDERS OF BUSINESS
Orders of Business are agenda items that require City Council discussion, debate, direction to staff, and/or action.
1) Discussion of Letter from Vinz Koller Received August 29, 2026 and request for direction from City Council
ADJOURNMENT
This agenda was posted at City Hall, Monte Verde Street between Ocean Avenue and 7th Avenue, Harrison Memorial Library, located on the NE corner of Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Street, the Carmel-bythe-Sea Post Office, 5th Avenue between Dolores Street and San Carlos Street, and the City's webpage (http://www.ci.carmel.ca.us) in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED AFTER THE POSTING OF THE AGENDA Any correspondence or supplemental materials related to items on this agenda that are received after the agenda has been posted will be distributed to the City Council and made available for public review at City Hall (Monte Verde Street between Ocean and Seventh Avenues) during regular business hours.
Written comments emailed to the City Clerk will not be read aloud, but will be posted online with the related agenda at: https://carmelbytheseaca.portal.civicclerk.com/.
SPECIAL NOTICES TO PUBLIC
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk's Office at 831-620-2000 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting to ensure that reasonable arrangements can be made to provide accessibility to the meeting (28CFR
35.102-35.104 ADA Title II).
CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
City Council
Staff Report
September 1, 2026
ORDERS OF BUSINESS
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Pierik, City Attorney
APPROVED BY: Brandon Swanson, Acting City Administrator SUBJECT: Discussion of Letter from Vinz Koller Received August 29, 2026 and request for direction from City Council
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Motion confirming that the Draft Recruiting Brochure for the City Administrator Position and the Draft Recruiting Timeline will be subject to revisions during deliberations by the City Council following public input during the Regular City Council as scheduled on September 1, 2026.
2. Motion authorizing the City Attorney to respond to the Letter from Vinz Koller consistent with the discussion in this Staff Report.
BACKGROUND / SUMMARY:
On August 24, 2026, there was a closed session of the City Council on the subject of Public Employee Appointment for the position of City Administrator.
The closed session was authorized by Government Code Section 54957 which allows closed sessions for the subject of considering the appointment of a public employee.
Prior to the closed session, there was a discussion about the subject of the closed session. Acting Assistant City Administrator Marisa Bermudez confirmed that there would be public input on the recruiting process to be held at the Regular City Council meeting on September 1, 2026. In fact, the Agenda Packet for the September 1, 2026 City Council meeting was released on August 26, 2026 which includes a Staff Report by Marisa Bermudez on the following subject:
“Receive an update regarding the status of the City Administrator recruitment; provide direction to staff regarding the recruitment process, schedule, and next steps; and consider adoption of Resolution 2026-067 establishing a revised salary range for the City Administrator position.”
There are four Attachments to the Staff Report for September 1, 2026 which are all available for Council questions, public input and Council direction following public input including:
1. Resolution 2026-067
2. CA salary survey
3. Revised City Administrator Recruitment Timeline
4. City Administrator Brochure - Draft
Prior to going into closed session on August 24, 2026, the City Attorney recommended that the Council not make any decisions and to defer those decisions until after community input at the City Council meeting scheduled for September 1, 2026.
On August 29, 2026, the City received a letter from Vinz Koller which is Attachment 1.
Mr. Koller takes the position that the closed session on the topic of working with the City’s recruiter and staff to develop a recruiting brochure at the closed session on August 24, 2026, was a violation of the Brown Act.
There is legal support for the closed session held on August 24, 2026. Further, there was no action taken by the City Council in the closed session on August 24, 2026 as the contents of the Draft Recruiting Brochure and the Draft Timeline are subject to revisions following public input at the September 1, 2026 City Council meeting.
However, in order to avoid any issues on this subject, the recommendations are:
1. Motion confirming that the Draft Recruiting Brochure for the City Administrator Position and the Draft Recruiting Timeline will be subject to revisions during deliberations by the City Council following public input during the Regular City Council as scheduled on September 1, 2026.
2. Motion authorizing the City Attorney to respond to the Letter from Vinz Koller consistent with the discussion in this Staff Report.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
August 24, 2026 Closed Session by City Council.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Letter From Vinz Koller regarding Aug. 24, 2026 Closed Session