MINUTES
JOINT MEETING OF THE COTATI CITY COUNCIL AND THE COTATI COMMUNITY-POLICE
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
City Council Chamber, City Hall 201 W. Sierra Avenue
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
7:00 PM SPECIAL MEETING
1. CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL
Mayor Lemus called the meeting to order at 7:23pm.
Attendee Name Title Status
Sylvia Lemus Mayor Present
Susan Harvey Vice Mayor Present
Ben Ford Councilmember Remote
John Savage Councilmember Present
Laura Sparks Councilmember Leave of Absence
Jane Lawton Committee Chair Present
Kirk Jarrett Committee Vice Chair Absent
Carol Williams Committee Member Present
Les Richardson Committee Member Present
Jeff Causbrook Committee Member Absent
Staff Present: City Manager Damien O’Bid, City Attorney John Bakker, City Clerk Kevin Patterson, Director of Administrative Services Angela Courter, Director of Community Development Noah Housh, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Craig Scott, Police Chief Chris Simmons
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54954.3(a), members of the public wishing to address the Council may do so at the beginning of the special meeting, and such comments shall be limited to the special meeting topic.
Public Comment:
George Barich of Cotati
Alexa Chipman of Rohnert Park
Roberta Teller of Sebastopol
Beverly Voloshin of Petaluma
Adrienne Lauby of Cotati
Pama Lacey
Laurie-Ann Barbour of Cotati
Cotati City Council Minutes March 24, 2026
Megan Coffey
David Ergo
Laurie Alderman of Cotati
Rhonda Findling
Call-In Listener
3. REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
A. SUMMARY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLICIES TO ADDRESS COMMUNITY
SAFETY DURING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LOCAL POLICIES
Presentation by City Manager Damien O’Bid.
Councilmembers and Community-Police Advisory Committee Members discussed potential options to prepare for the possibility of significant immigration actions that could disrupt and potentially endanger the community. After discussing the options, the City Council directed staff to bring forward a resolution, similar to the action taken by the County of Sonoma, and also engage with the County Department of Emergency Management (DEM), to determine how to best collaborate in the event of a significant immigration action. Items specifically requested by the Council and Committee to be incorporated into the resolution include:
• Concerns about federal immigration searches without valid warrants. • Ensuring police response to emergency calls about potential immigration actions. • Collection and documentation of information that could potentially be used later for legal proceedings.
• Citation referring to immigrant resources, linked from the City website.
4. INFORMATION RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS POSTED
5. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Lemus adjourned the meeting at 9:15pm.
/s/ Kevin Patterson, City Clerk