RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COTATI RECOGNIZING AND THANKING NEIL HANCOCK FOR OVER 17 YEARS OF SERVICE ON THE
FORMER DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE AND COTATI PLANNING COMMISSION WHEREAS, Neil Hancock has thoughtfully and consistently served the City of Cotati through over 17 years of public service; both as a private citizen and a member of the Design Review Committee and Planning Commission; and
WHEREAS, Neil was appointed to the Design Review Committee in 2005 by Mayor Lisa Moore, and in 2008 appointed and re-appointed to the Planning Commission by three successive City Council members: Robert Coleman, John Dell’Osso and Ben Ford, and WHEREAS, Neil tirelessly championed the rights of all of Cotati’s citizens, especially advocating for the safety of bicyclists and walkers, and for the importance and benefits of improved bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and connectivity; riding his bicycle or walking to Planning Commission meetings; and encouraging anyone he could interest in a bike ride or walk to “ground truth” existing conditions, and
WHEREAS, Neil diligently advocated for water quality issues, including on behalf of those winged, scaled, and microscopic aquatic critters unable to speak for themselves and with whom we all share our waterways, and
WHEREAS, frequently accompanied by his life-partner Jenny Blaker, Neil habitually chose to volunteer both his Monday and his Tuesday evenings, taking time to attend City Council meetings, often highlighting to the City Council and staff opportunities to advance sustainable and climate-friendly policies and practices; and WHEREAS Neil took every opportunity to continue to educate himself on planning and land use issues, for example regularly attending the annual Planning Commissioner Conferences at Sonoma State University, and
WHEREAS, Neil and Jenny consistently “walked-the-talk”, pushing the City to implement sustainability elements into all of the City business activities, making daily decisions to reduce their own climate footprint and even constructing the first fully permitted straw bale building in Cotati; and
WHEREAS, it is determined that based upon the public testimony and staff analysis that the resignation of Neil Hancock from public service can never truly be accepted and his participation in civic functions will forever be welcome and appreciated; and WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the City of Cotati have truly benefited from the efforts of Neil Hancock.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Cotati finds as follows:
A. That the Council does hereby find that the many years of dedicated service is consistent with the goals and policies of the General Plan, which Neil Hancock helped to draft.
B. That the above recitals are true and correct and constitute only a small part of the findings made by the City Council to thank Neil Hancock for his years of public service.
C. That the community of Cotati owes Neil Hancock a debt of gratitude for his consistent efforts to help make Cotati a wonderful place to call home.
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on the May 23rd, 2023, by the following vote, to wit:
Approved:________________________________
Mayor
Attest:____________________________
Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Approved as to form:
____________________________
City Attorney