City Council Minutes
January 27, 2026
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CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
MEETING OF JANUARY 27, 2026
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor White called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Mayor White, Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, Councilmembers Ortiz, Jones and Garcia ABSENT: None
STAFF: City Manager Wood, Chief Mixer, Captain Paredes, Public Works Director Tugel, IT Director Espinosa, Recreation Director Perez, City Attorney Thompson, City Clerk Rathbun
GUESTS: Gail Stewart-White, Pastor Diana Salinas, Cecilia Moreno Mares
INVOCATION BY PASTOR DIANA SALINAS
Invocation by Pastor Salinas.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
All recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
AGENDA REVIEW
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez stated that she would like to pull Item K-2, Discussion and Provide Direction Regarding the Market at the Gazebo, from the agenda. City Council concurred.
PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE REGARDING ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None.
COMMENTS FROM CITY COUNCIL
Councilmember Garcia thanked the Fire Department for acting so quickly, even in the middle of the night and stated that she was so grateful for having them here. She stated that she would also like to thank the Youth Council for bringing safety awareness.
Councilmember Ortiz stated that the Mayor and she met with the TAMC Measure X Committee and hopefully the City would be getting some funds. She also stated that staff presented to the Committee and it was a great presentation. She stated that she was thankful for what they were doing for our seniors and the community.
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez asked if red curb painting had been done everywhere and was the City done with painting all the curbs red to regulation. She stated that a resident had contacted her about the corner of Sycamore and Elm because it was difficult to see when making a left-handed turn and asked if staff could look into the area. She also gave kudos to the Police Department for leading the investigation or making the arrest on the fuel theft.
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Mayor White stated that City Manager Wood and he met with TAMC executive director Todd Muck on January 16th. He stated that as the new representative for TAMC he appreciated that Mr. Muck reached out to him and introduced him to many projects that the transportation agency was involved in. He stated that the most significant projects for Greenfield were the US 101 southeast Salinas project, Safe Routes to School and the Highway 68 corridor improvement project. He stated that he attended the Salinas Elks Annual Public Safety Night for Monterey County Law Enforcement Agencies last Wednesday and stated that Chief Mixer was keynote speaker. He stated as mentioned by Councilmember Ortiz, a large contingent from the City including Councilmember Ortiz and he met with representatives from TAMC last Friday. He stated that the City was trying to obtain a three-year $50,000 plus a year grant to fund a voucher program to help with point-to-point delivery of seniors and those with disabilities. He thanked Fabiola Lopez and her staff for locating the grant and making a great presentation.
CONSENT ITEMS
A MOTION by Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, seconded by Councilmember Ortiz to approve the consent items including Warrants #326342 through #326483 and Bank Drafts #7076 through #7095 in the amount of $1,864,284.82; approve Minutes of the January 13, 2026 City Council Meeting, and Receive and File Monthly Departmental Reports – Finance. All in favor. Motion carried.
MAYOR’S PRESENTATIONS, PROCLAMATIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, RESOLUTIONS PRESENTATION – BUDGET CALENDAR FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026-2027 City Manager Wood presented the budget calendar for Fiscal Year 2026-2027.
UPDATE – WALNUT AVENUE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Public Works Director Tugel gave an update on the Walnut Avenue Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvement Project.
CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS
ADOPT A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENFIELD AUTHORIZING
THE APPOINTMENT TO THE GREENFIELD PLANNING COMMISSION FOR A THREE-YEAR TERM EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2028
RESOLUTION #2026-06
Staff report was given by City Clerk Rathbun.
Cyntha Zavala expressed her interest in serving on the Planning Commission.
Bob Urquidez and Stephanie Garcia stated that they were in support of appointing Cynthia Zavala to the Planning Commission.
A MOTION by Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, seconded by Councilmember Ortiz to adopt Resolution #2026-06, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Greenfield Authorizing the Appointment of Cynthia Zavala to the Greenfield Planning Commission for a Three-Year Term Expiring December 31, 2028”. All in favor. Motion carried.
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BRIEF REPORTS ON CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, AND MEETINGS ATTENDED BY MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez gave a report on the League of California Cities Environmental Quality Policy Committee meeting that she attended on January 23rd. She stated that it was an orientation and reviewing of parliamentary procedures because there were a lot of new people. She stated that they set the 2026 advocacy priorities and adopted a 2026 work plan. She stated that they reviewed SB 254 and took a position on 12 different assembly bills and supported all but three; however, on those three the Committee took a position to track the bills.
Mayor White reported on the AMBAG meeting of January 14th and stated that they elected a new president, Councilmember Brian McCarthy of Marina and held a public hearing regarding the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan.
Councilmember Garcia reported on the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority (SVSWA) meeting on January 22nd in Gonzales. She stated that staff reported on their employees’ review of the company and they scored very high. They also received comments from employees about things that were working and were not working. She stated that SVSWA also gave out awards to 5 different organizations. She announced that the new general manager was Cesar Zuniga. She stated that staff presented the budget and stated that there would be a rate increase; however, did not know how much. She also stated that there were mandates that were coming down the pipelines, but the mandates were not being financially supported by the State.
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez reported on the MST meeting on January 12th. She stated that they had their award assemblies for the employee and manager of the year; approved the purchase of 90 new bike racks; approved the purchase of 12 new electric buses; received updates from the executive team and received the 2025 riders survey results. She stated that almost 700 riders responded and some of the results were: 92% of people rated that bus operator driving as excellent or good and 92% of them described their overall impression of MST as excellent of good. She stated that 20% of the respondents rated how often buses ran to be fair so people wanted more routes so that the buses could come more frequently and 49% stated that they used MST because they were unable to drive. She stated that of the people surveyed 20% of them stated that if they did not have public transportation, they would not be able to make it where they needed to go.
Mayor White reported on the Monterey County Mayors Association meeting in Pacific Grove. He stated that he completed his term as the 2025 Chair of the Association and they selected Mayor Bruce Delgado of Marina as a new Chair along with Dennis Donohue of Salinas as Vice Chair and nominated Mayor LeBarre of King City and Mayor Donohue of Salinas to the County Board of Supervisors as recommendations for the Monterey County Water Resource Agency.
Mayor White reported on the Salinas Valley Mayors/Managers meeting yesterday in King City. He stated that there was a lot of discussion about expanding youth services in South County and discussed requesting some funding from TAMC for our youth council so that they could work on public awareness, the distracted mobility project which was for districted driving, walking or riding scooters.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
No report.
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CITY MANAGER REPORT
No report.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 6:39 p.m.
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Mayor of the City of Greenfield
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City Clerk of the City of Greenfield
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