CLAREMONT CITY COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, May 26, 2026 - 6:30 PM
Video Recording is Archived on the City Website
https://www.claremontca.gov/Government/City-Council/Watch-a-Meeting
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Stark called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
MOMENT OF SILENCE
ROLL CALL
PRESENT COUNCILMEMBER: CALAYCAY, LEANO, MEDINA, REECE, STARK ABSENT COUNCILMEMBER: NONE
ALSO PRESENT Adam Pirrie, City Manager; Jamie Earl, Assistant City Manager; Alisha Patterson, City Attorney; Mike Ciszek, Chief of Police; Jeremy Starkey, Director of Finance; Melissa Vollaro, Director of Recreation and Human Services; Brad Johnson, Director of Community Development; Jeremy Swan, Director of Community Services; Shelley Desautels, City Clerk
CLOSED SESSION REPORT
There was no closed session meeting.
CEREMONIAL MATTERS, PRESENTATIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
This item starts at 01:27 in the archived video.
Katherine Loeser, Claremont Helen Renwick Library Librarian, provided an update on upcoming Library events.
UPCOMING FEDERAL HOLIDAYS
MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Council Items — None
Council Assicnment Reports
This item starts at 04:52 in the archived video.
Councilmember Reece reported that he attended the California Contract Cities Annual Conference and was appointed Vice President of California Contract Cities.
Councilmember Leano reported that Tri City Mental Health has approved its first draft of the Behavioral Health Services Act Expenditure Plan.
City Council Minutes
May 26, 2026
CITY MANAGER REPORT
This item starts at 07:19 in the archived video.
City Manager Pirrie reported on recent La Puerta Park construction activities and announced on May 11 Village South project applicants submitted a CEQA Statement of Reasons Report and is available for review and public comment until July 20. Lastly, he invited all to the Special Needs and Inclusion Program bingo night on May 29.
PUBLIC COMMENT
This item starts at 10:42 in the archived video.
City Clerk Desautels announced three general written public comments had been received.
Mayor Stark invited public comment.
Taylor Smith spoke in support of the managers at Le Pain Quotidien in Claremont.
Unidentified speaker asked the City Council to increase public transportation in the northern part of Claremont.
Unidentified speaker expressed concern related to the the City's current process for requesting an overnight parking restriction.
Isabel spoke about the Diego Rios incident.
Victor Rios spoke about the Diego Rios incident.
Unidentified speaker spoke about the Diego Rios incident.
Douglas Lyon, Claremont resident, questioned if the Council Chamber doors must remain open during nights with low temperatures.
There were no other requests to speak.
Mayor Stark closed public comment.
CONSENT CALENDAR
This item starts at 28:45 in the archived video.
Councilmember Medina pulled Consent Calendar Item No. 3.
City Clerk Desautels announced no written public comment had been received on Consent Calendar Items No. 1, 2, and 4-9.
Mayor Stark invited public comment on the Consent Calendar.
Unidentified speaker spoke to Consent Calendar Item No. 4 and questioned the need for military grade equipment.
City Council Minutes
May 26, 2026
There were no other requests to speak.
Mayor Stark closed public comment.
City Manager Pirrie responded to a question regarding military equipment and shared that the equipment can be used during emergency situations.
Councilmember Calaycay moved to approve the Consent Calendar Items No. 1, 2, and 4-9, seconded by Councilmember Medina, and carried on a roll call vote as follows:
AYES: Councilmember— Calaycay, Leano, Medina, Reece, Stark NOES: Councilmember— None
1. Adoption of a Resolution Approvinc the City Warrant Recister Adopted Resolution No. 2026-21, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA, ALLOWING CERTAIN CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AND SPECIFYING THE FUNDS OUT OF WHICH THE SAME ARE TO BE PAID, dated May 21, 2026.
2. City Council Minutes of May 12, 2026 (Recular)
Approved the regular City Council meeting minutes of May 12, 2026.
3. Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Adopting the 2026 Citywide Radar Speed Survey Implementing Decreased Speed Limits for Certain Streets (Funding Sources:
Measure M & Proposition C'
This item was removed from the Consent Calendar.
4. Annual Report for the Military Equipment Use Policy of the Claremont Police Department as Recuired by Assembly Bill 481 — Military Equipment: Funding, Acquisition, and Use (Funding Source: General Fund)
Received and filed the annual Military Equipment Report.
5. Traffic Collision Data for Calendar Year 2025 and California Incident -Based Report System (CIBRS) "Group A" Crime Data (Funding Source: General Fund) Received and filed the Traffic Collision data for Calendar Year 2025 and the California Incident -Based Reporting System "Group A" crime data.
6. Authorization to Enter Into an Acreement with AlarmCo Security Systems, Inc., for Alarm Monitorinc and Repair Services (Funding Sources: General and Cemetery Funds) Authorized the City Manager to enter an agreement with AlarmCo Security Systems, Inc., for an amount not to exceed $20,000 annually, for an initial agreement term of three years with two optional one-year extensions, for a total authorized agreement amount of $100,000.
7. Award of Contract for Graffiti Removal Services (Funding Source: Landscape and Lichtinq District Fund)
Awarded a contract to Urban Graffiti Enterprises, Inc. for graffiti removal services and authorized the City Manager to enter into an agreement in an amount of $4,500 monthly or $54,000 annually, for an initial contract term of three years with two optional one-year extensions, for a total authorized contract amount of $270,000.
City Council Minutes
May 26, 2026
8. Claremont Tourism Business Improvement District Annual Report (Funding Source:
General Fund)
Received and filed the Claremont Tourism Business Improvement District Annual Report.
9. Historical Property (Mills Act) Agreement #26-MA01, Between the City of Claremont and Michael Blickenstaff and Sabrina Fernandes Blickenstaff, Property Owners of 425 West Tenth Street
A. Authorized the City Manager to execute the Historical Property (Mills Act) Agreement between the City of Claremont and Michael Blickenstaff and Sabrina Fernandes Blickenstaff, property owners of 425 West Tenth Street; and B. Found this item is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Item Removed from the Consent Calendar
3. Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Adoptinc the 2026 Citywide Radar Speed Survey Implementing Decreased Speed Limits for Certain Streets (Fundinc Sources:
Measure M & Proposition C)
This item starts at 32:59 in the archived video.
Councilmember Medina stated that he pulled the item from the Consent Calendar to confirm his concerns expressed previously regarding the report that was produced.
Mayor Stark invited public comment.
Douglas Lyon expressed concerns and read from the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
There were no other requests to speak.
Vince Ramos, Associate Engineer, provided information regarding speed setting qualifications and State Law for setting speed limits.
Councilmember Calaycay moved to waive further reading and adopt Ordinance No. 2026-01, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING TITLE 10 OF THE CLAREMONT MUNICIPAL CODE TO SECTION 10.48.010 RELATING TO THE SPEED LIMITS ON CERTAIN STREETS, seconded by Councilmember Leano, and carried on a roll call vote as follows:
AYES: Councilmember— Calaycay, Leano, Medina, Reece, Stark NOES: Councilmember— None
PUBLIC HEARING
10. Public Hearing on City Vacancies and Recruitment Efforts as Required by Assembly Bill 2561 Funding Source: General Fund)
This item starts at 52:17 in the archived video.
Christi Giannone, Human Resources Manager, gave a PowerPoint presentation.
City Council Minutes
May 26, 2026
City Clerk Desautels announced no written public comment had been received.
Mayor Stark invited public comment and opened the public hearing.
There were no requests to speak.
Mayor Stark closed public comment and the public hearing.
Received and filed the staff report on the City's workforce vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts, in compliance with Government Code Section 3502.3.
ORDINANCES — None
ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS
11. Receive Polling Results from Fairbank, Maslin, Metz & Associates (FM3) Recarding the Placement of a Local Sales and Use Tax Measure on the November 2026 Ballot (Fundinc Source: General Fund)
This item starts at 1:00:50 in the archived video.
Katie Wand, Deputy City Manager, highlighted the staff report.
Richard Bernard, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3), gave a PowerPoint presentation.
City Clerk Desautels announced no written public comment had been received on this item.
Mayor Stark invited public comment.
Unidentified speaker questioned if members of the public were polled regarding affordable housing and the City's current rental assistance program.
Douglas Lyon asked the City Council to not move forward with placing a sales and use tax on an upcoming ballot.
Unidentified speaker questioned what background work took place before polling was initiated.
There were no other requests to speak.
Mayor Stark closed public comment.
Mr. Bernard responded to questions raised during the public comment period and confirmed information regarding affordable housing and the City's current rental assistance program was mentioned during the polling process and shared the background work that took place.
Councilmember Leano spoke in support of staffs recommendation to not place a sales and use tax measure on the November 3, 2026, ballot and hopes the information gathered through polling could be used in the future to help continue delivering first class services.
City Council Minutes
May 26, 2026
Councilmember Calaycay stated that he will not be supporting staffs recommendation regarding appropriation of funds as he did not support the initial recommendation to move forward with polling.
Councilmember Reece spoke in support of the comments made by Councilmember Calaycay and confirmed he will not be supporting the recommendation for appropriation of funds.
Councilmember Medina spoke in support of the polling results and spoke in support of staff's recommendations.
Mayor Stark spoke in support of the information gathered during the polling process as well as staffs recommendations.
Councilmember Leano moved to:
• Receive and file an overview of polling results from Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3); and
• Opt not to place a sales and use tax measure on the November 3, 2026 ballot; Seconded by Council Medina and carried on a roll call vote as follows:
AYES: Councilmember— Calaycay, Leano, Reece, Medina, Stark NOES: Councilmember- None
Councilmember Leano moved to appropriate $37,750 from unassigned General Fund balance to fund the agreement with FM3, seconded by Councilmember Medina, and carried on a roll call vote as follows:
AYES: Councilmember- Leano, Medina, Stark
NOES: Councilmember— Calaycay, Reece
12. 2026-28 Budget Process Update
This item starts at 1:41:32 in the archived video.
Jeremy Starkey, Finance Director, gave a PowerPoint presentation.
City Clerk Desautels announced two written public comments had been received on this item.
Mayor Stark invited public comment.
Bailey Southerland spoke in support of the City's Council decision to prioritize enhancements at the Guthrie Skate Park.
There were no other requests to speak.
Mayor Stark closed public comment.
The City Council received and filed the 2026-28 Budget Process Update.
City Council Minutes
May 26, 2026
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Stark adjourned the regular meeting of the Claremont City Council at 8:54 PM. The next regular meeting of the Claremont City Council will be held on June 9, 2026.
Mayor
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