City Council Minutes Page 1 of 21 May 12, 2025
City of Lafayette
City Council Minutes
Lafayette Library and Learning Center – Don Tatzin Community Hall May 12, 2025 3491 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette, California 6:30 p.m.
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City Council Minutes Page 2 of 21 May 12, 2025
1. CALL TO ORDER – 7:00 P.M.
Mayor Candell called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Candell; Vice Mayor Anduri; Councilmembers Cervantes, and McCormick
Absent: Councilmember Dawson
Staff Present: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager; Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director; Greg Wolff, Planning and Building Director; Mike Moran, Engineering and Public Works Director; Jamie Williams, Chief of Police; Mala Subramanian, City Attorney; Joanne Robbins, City Clerk
3. Disclosure and/or Take Action on Remote Participation due to Just Cause or Emergency Circumstances Pursuant to AB 2449 (Gov. Code section 54953(f).)
4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/McCormick) to adopt the agenda. Roll Call Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Candell, Anduri, Cervantes and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Dawson).
5. CLOSED SESSION
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
A. Conference with Legal Counsel – Existing Litigation (Gov. Code section 54956.9 (d)(1) Leamy, et al. vs. City of Lafayette
Contra Costa Superior Court, Case No. MSC20-02456
6. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – 7:00 p.m.
Mayor Candell led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
7. MAYOR CANDELL
Land Acknowledgement Statement
We acknowledge that Lafayette is part of the unceded, ancestral homeland of the Bay Miwok people. The Bay Miwok and neighboring Ohlone people have lived in and moved through this place for thousands of years. They stewarded and shaped this land for hundreds of generations. We express our appreciation and gratitude for this profound legacy, which enhances and contributes to our lives to this day. We will strive to honor this land and strengthen our ties with the Indigenous communities that continue to live and work in our East Bay region as our neighbors and community members. We acknowledge and honor them and their ancestors, elders, and next seven generations.
City Council Minutes Page 3 of 21 May 12, 2025
Councilmember McCormick pointed to the screen behind the Council and said these are two new signs installed by the City honoring the Bay Miwok people; one at the Rain Garden and the other one is at the Community Center. This was an output of the Land Acknowledgement Task Force which was for educational opportunities for the community. They had an unveiling ceremony today at 5:00 p.m. with one of the elders who worked with the Task Force who participated in the ceremony.
8. PUBLIC COMMENTS (for items not on the agenda)
GRACE DIXON thanked the Council for Community Day on May 3rd which was a collaboration between the Chamber of Commerce, the City of Lafayette and the Community Foundation. Even though she has strong affiliations with all three of these, she is here on behalf of All Ages Recreation downtown to thank Ryan Candell who literally took a power sander with two other City employees and sanded their play tables down so there are no more splinters.
LISA DISBROW, Moms for Liberty of Contra Costa County, said she remembers during COVID that the Council were very involved in the health concerns of Lafayette, Lamorinda, and Contra Costa at-large, and when they had a curfew and everybody was encouraged to wear masks. Schools were closed and as a teacher, she taught on-line, and today she is concerned about the health of the minor children of Lafayette which fall under the Council’s purview. She said numbers of children in Lafayette schools, Lamorinda atlarge, and in Contra Costa are being given specific ideas about anatomy, physiology, and biology that are false.
Mayor Candell stated these comments relate to the protests which is on the agenda later on the agenda.
Ms. Disbrow asked and confirmed that it would be okay to request a Town Hall for discussion on controversial issues that parents and community members might have. She said she listened to the Town Hall with Congressman DeSaulnier and important discussion occurred, and she thinks there are other issues that need to be discussed in the open which would be helpful for all community members.
9. CITY MANAGER’S UPDATE
City Manager Niroop Srivatsa gave the following update:
On Wednesday, May 21st, the City will host an in-person workshop on the Downtown Lafayette Parking Management Study in the Don Tatzin Hall starting at 6:00 p.m. Anyone who has an opinion about parking are invited to join and share their parking experience and provide feedback. In addition to the workshop, there will be an on-line survey and people are invited to provide additional comments, as well.
The construction of the 2025 paving project has started and when driving west on Mt. Diablo Boulevard towards Acalanes Road, they will notice the road has been scraped for the start of construction.
From the Public Art Committee:
• The Committee is accepting applications for fall exhibitions. Don’t miss your chance to showcase your artwork in one of Lafayette’s downtown galleries. Information can be found on the City’s website.
From Parks, Trails, and Recreation:
• We are getting ready for the summer and there are still a few spaces in the camps that will run all 10 weeks of summer, and people can register on-line.
City Council Minutes Page 4 of 21 May 12, 2025
From the Planning Department:
• Planning staff applied for a grant of $26,000 to accelerate the construction of ADUs. This is former Senator Glazer’s brainchild. He had allocated monies to all cities in his district to facilitate the construction of ADUs. The City is receiving $50,000 to create permit-ready ADU plans that will be freely available to residents to build an ADU, and this will save residents time and money because they would be pre-approved and all they need to do is apply for a building permit. Remaining funds will be granted to projects or ADU applications that obtain a Certificate of Occupancy before October 1, 2026. The City will be launching this ADU incentive program within the next month and one-half, and applications will be available on-line and staff will continue to publicize it. • Next Monday, the Planning Commission will be considering Sunflower Hill and SAHA’s proposal for a 48-unit all affordable housing development on City-owned property at 949 Moraga Road. It is an informational item. No formal action is being proposed. At the same meeting, the Planning Commission will also consider the Oak Hill Place project which is the project that a development north of Deer Hill behind the Crosses. The proposal is for 17 detached single-family homes with three ADUs.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
10. PRESENTATIONS
A. Recognizing the Achievements of the Acalanes High School Music Department Recommendation: Receive and file.
Mayor Candell read the proclamation recognizing the achievements of the Acalanes High School Music Department.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period.
EDWIN CORDOBA, Band and Orchestra Director, Acalanes High School, thanked the Council for supporting their local schools and for the proclamation which lists the many achievements. He recognized the students in their dedication in preparing for performances. They were lucky to make music in a community that values the hearts.
STELLA WOTHERSPOON said the students are performing amazingly, creatively, and enthusiastically, but the reason is because they have an amazing teacher, Mr. Cordoba, who is finishing his second year at Acalanes and has upped the game. They have homework and he inspires them to work hard, put the time in to work on their own independent skills, and also come together as an ensemble which is magical. She thinks it is great he is here and also adding to the vibrant arts and cultural community of Lafayette. All concerts at Acalanes are free and open to the public and everyone is welcome to join. There will be a Chamber concert on Thursday, and the award-winning jazz ensemble will be performing in a benefit concert at Yoshi’s Jazz Club on May 19th. This will be with Campolindo Jazz Big Band, and she thanked the Council for acknowledging students’ achievements and Mr. Cordoba’s work.
Councilmember McCormick said they have seen many students start from third and fourth graders and move all the way up. It is phenomenal dedication. He recognized the efforts of Mr. Cordoba and what he has brought to the program. They have heard some great things with Acalanes sports lately as well, but the Music Department continues to shine and make us all very proud.
City Council Minutes Page 5 of 21 May 12, 2025
Vice Mayor Anduri said this demonstrates the value of great teachers and the hard work of students. He thanked Ms. Wotherspoon for alerting her to the event on May 22nd, which is the Acalanes Chamber Music Collage Concert, and the poster is great, as well which is done by alumni of Acalanes, which he presented.
Councilmember Cervantes said the arts play such a critical role for creating such a rounded, thoughtful society in all of its different forms. It is amazing what the Acalanes students are doing and the program is a highlight of their community culture.
SHEILA CASTILLA congratulated the winners and awardees of this wonderful music honor. She has attended some of the performances by our musical youth and she is very proud of them and very proud the community supports them. She congratulated them and thanked them for their hard work.
B. Mireille LaFont, Central and South Site Director, Family Justice Center Recommendation: Receive and file.
Mayor Candell called on Ms. LaFont of the Family Justic Center.
Mireille LaFont, Central and South Site Director, Family Justice Center, said they recently opened a new location in Danville. For those who do not know what a Family Justice Center is, it is legislated in California Penal Code, a multi-disciplinary center that provides services for victims of crime. She said violent crimes they deal with are domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, adult dependent abuse, child abuse, and human trafficking. The reason the Family Justice Center was created because what they were dealing with was a fragmented system. They had victims coming in who had to access emergency shelters, law enforcement, restraining orders, legal advocacy, and what the center does is create a centralized hub where a victim can come in and be connected to all these. They have specialized personnel called “navigators” and they are specialists in all community of resources. They will meet with the victim, do a brief intake, and then they will help find what best fits that victim.
This solved the problem of having poor access, and services are also 100% free. The only qualification is that they need to be a victim of crime. She described services under their umbrella which looks at safety, healing, and community. First is safety, which she described as safety planning, emergency housing, family law, and the safety nets they provide. After that, they do more of a public health look at things and they try to build community and build safety programs. They have many youth programs, counseling services, and also have empowerment programming.
They really try to focus on their communities. In South County, they have many people from different communities and have staffed their centers to have culturally specific navigators. They speak Spanish, Farsi, Chinese, and Arabic. Some of their partners on site are law enforcement agencies, county and city agencies, non-profit partners and lawyers for the Family Justic Center. Across the County, they have locations in Concord, Danville, Antioch, and Richmond.
Councilmember McCormick thanked Ms. LaFont for her presentation, and he asked where their funding comes from. Ms. LaFont said funding comes from Measure X funding. It is County-based and many of their programs are from VOCA and some from the Department of Health and Human Services. They are heavily funded and they are trying to be resourceful on how to navigate through the political climate with grants.
City Council Minutes Page 6 of 21 May 12, 2025
Mayor Candell said they are trying to get a feeling for how groups like the center are getting affected by some of the things in federal funding. She asked what percentage of their funding comes from federal source that may be at risk. Ms. LaFont said it is 65% which pays for programming and also for much of the staffing, as well.
Councilmember Cervantes referred to Measure X and he was surprised with 65% for the federal side, and he asked how much is derived from the County. Ms. LaFont said County funding was mostly to open their center and partially fund part of her salary and her navigators’ salaries. They received $2 million.
Councilmember Cervantes noted the collaboration with law enforcement and the justice system, and Ms.
LaFont said they work with law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office who sits on their board.
She has been coming to community meetings trying to get to know people in the community and law enforcement leaders.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Mayor Candell thanked Ms. LaFont for her presentation and Councilmembers agreed this is an invaluable service for those the Center is helping.
C. Capital Projects Assessment Committee (CPAC)
Annual Update
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Public Works Director Mike Moran said the CPAC typically meets as needed but at least once a year. They met and reviewed past projects of those completed, projects still being worked on, and what is being proposed for the future and how funding, staffing and resources are going for all of those. This past year they completed a paving project and surface seal project, as well.
CPAC also had a storm drain project which made up their third major projects last year. The City have two projects open right now, which includes paving of St. Mary’s Road and Mt. Diablo Boulevard and a pathway on Pleasant Hill Road at Springhill School. Warning, there may be traffic delays on St. Mary’s Road once school is out. They have several other projects on-going they have been working on. They hope to start the BART project and pedestrian pathway project in a month. They also updated their PCI, last year it was at 73. It was starting to decline and CPAC had robust discussions about funding and what they would need to maintain it at a higher level. With the half-cent sales tax passing, this was very positive, because projections are that they have funding to maintain streets to even better conditions, and they are happy to report the PCI increased to 76 from 73.
With the new proposed budget in place, they reworked their 5-year CIP for pavement maintenance which will result in less slurry seals and more actual repaving for longer lasting streets. Slurry seals can be a costeffective option but if you have more money it is better in the long-run to repave the streets rather than surface seal them. Much of what was presented and discussed was the newly proposed 5-year street maintenance list and the map both of which are on the website.
CPAC held good discussions and, in general, they were in positive support of the program. Ann Ferrell is the current Chair and Bob McClain are both present, and he turned over the presentation to them.
City Council Minutes Page 7 of 21 May 12, 2025
CPAC Chair Ann Ferrall said last year atthis time they were talking about what would be the funding source so they can keep streets lasting for years. They are pleased that the sales tax passed because they did not want to preside over the decline of the PCI. It makes their meetings more pleasant and people will be very happy. They are happy also for the public support as this will keep the City’s roads in good condition.
Councilmember McCormick questioned the slurry seal versus the repaving which they hinted at that last year. It looks like the cost has not changed. Mr. Moran said they discussed last year how surface seal prices escalated much faster than the pavement prices. It used to be one-fourth as much, but now it is half as much. It is a 7-year life compared to a 20-year life and the product is not as good in the first place.
Having this extra $1 million a year allows the different treatments to be used to maintenance. It is kind of a no brainer going forward.
With their Street Saver program, roughly every three years a consultant actually goes out and physically looks at the street. They run software scenarios with staff, and they did a lot of back and forth with their consultant working on that, and this is funded by MTC. It is a very consistent program, 9-countys using the same Street Saver Program, so a score of 83 in Concord is comparable to an 83 in Lafayette. So, it did show they can get a higher PCI and longer life streets by doing the re-pavements. This is mostly on residential streets. So, those streets in a little more decline may be in the 50-60 PCI range. If they surface seal those and did base repairs, they might get up to 70, but if they are repaved, the PCI will be 100 or like a brand-new street which will last 20+ years versus 5-7 years.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period.
LAUREN HERPICH said she had a suggestion and hopefully a recommendation moving forward to keep streets and repaving efforts lasting 20+ years, it would be great for residents to receive actionable communication prior to repaving. They are right in the middle of what is looking to be well over a month and one-half to two months of a sewer upgrade effort on Moraga Boulevard. They were not notified about this except for one communication that was sent to residents back in October, letting them know a public meeting was happening.
As they can see, their street was torn up about 10 years ago and for any homeowner on the street that has done any sort of renovation work, they have all experience the need to upgrade their sewer connections. So, clearly, the beautiful street did not last for 20+ years because they had to tear into the street. So, she is worried that the work happening now and in the future will not last the 20+ years and she thinks advanced communications to residents about when repaving will happen and to review upgrades now so they could save some construction costs, waive some permitting, coordinate with neighbors to create those connected sewer lines, or get those potential projects done before streets get repaired. What she unfortunately sees is beautiful streets and they will not last as long as they would like.
She asked for better due diligence and making monies go further through planning.
Councilmember Cervantes said he worked with the City of Orinda on their road improvement program a number of years ago, which involved several attempts to do G.O. Bond which finally passed. Back then, Orinda’s PCI was in the 40’s, and he learned that if you let the PCI deteriorate, repair costs resemble a hockey stick function, and the costs to fix the roads goes up almost exponentially. He had spoken with Erling Horn about Lafayette the 1990’s when the City sold G.O. Bonds to fix the roads, and Mr. Horn said the one thing you need to do is make sure the roads stay fixed. So, he is glad Measure H passed which allows the City to stay on top of things. Having a PCI in the mid-70’s is great, and staff’s strategy of doing repaving to give a longer life for the roads seems very smart, and he thanked staff for the terrific work.
City Council Minutes Page 8 of 21 May 12, 2025
Mayor Candell said there will be the Measure H Oversight Committee and she asked how this play in with CPAC or she asked if they know yet.
City Manager Srivatsa asked if she means how much money goes towards the roads, and confirmed this will be part of the Council’s budget deliberations, and Measure H will be looking at the audits for Measure H revenues. If the Council allocates the revenues to roads, this committee will ensure staff does that and that the Council is made aware of it.
Mayor Candell and Councilmembers thanked the CPAC for their work.
11. CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilmember Cervantes requested removal of Item 11.A.1 to allow the City Clerk to make an adjustment.
Mayor Candell asked and confirmed there were no other items requested for removal and there was a public comment.
ROB LAVOIE said he looked at the Item 11.A.1 for the April 14th minutes he had asked to pull last time because there were comments missing and it does not seem those were added yet.
Mayor Candell stated this item will be removed per Councilmember Cervantes.
A. Minutes
2. April 28, 2025
Recommendation: Approve
B. Request to Modify the Oak Bridge Parking Lot Closure Hours from 11am – 7pm to 10am to 8pm, on Sundays, May 18 through August 17, 2025 for Artisan Fair and Recreation events.
Recommendation: Approve request to extend the Sunday closure of the Oak Bridge Parking Lot to the hours of 10am to 8:00 PM, from May 18 through August 17, 2025; authorize the encroachment approval for use of the Oak Bridge Parking Lot during the extended timeframe; waive the City’s encroachment permit fees for these events; and authorizing the City Manager to execute any necessary agreements with AARD to ensure that insurance, safety, and maintenance responsibilities are addressed throughout the full event period.
C. Extension to License Agreement with PG&E for Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Community Resource Center and Generator at the Lafayette Community Center Recommendation: Approve request from PG&E to extend the License Agreement through July 31, 2030 and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement on behalf of the City.
D. Surplus Equipment
Recommendation: Declare that the equipment described is surplus property and donate or sell as appropriate.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Cervantes) to adopt the Consent Calendar Items A.2, B, C, and D. Vote: 4- 0-1 (Ayes: Candell, Anduri, Cervantes, and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Dawson).
12. OLD BUSINESS
City Council Minutes Page 9 of 21 May 12, 2025
A. James Williams, Police Chief and Mala Subramanian, City Attorney Update Free Speech/Protest at Lafayette Elementary School Recommendation: Receive and file.
City Attorney Mala Subramanian said if the Council recalls back in April the Council heard a discussion on protests occurring outside of Lafayette Elementary School, asked staff to return with additional information related to what ordinances have been adopted in other cities in the State of California which she will be addressing and asked for additional information relating to enforcement and traffic issues the Police Chief will be addressing.
The four cities that were addressed at the last meeting were San Diego, Napa, Lancaster, and Sacramento.
The four cities have adopted ordinances. She has summarized those ordinances in the staff report and attached the City of San Diego’s ordinance in its entirety. The City of San Diego and Lancaster have both adopted ordinances that apply to health care facilities, places of workshop, and school grounds. Those ordinances specifically prohibit a person from obstructing an individual from entering or exiting one of these covered facilities, furthermore, within a radius of 100 feet from the entrance from one of these covered facilities. You cannot approach within 8 feet a person to either intimidate or harass the individual.
Likewise, you cannot harass or intimidate an individual who is trying to enter or exit one of these facilities, and lastly, with that 100-foot radius, if someone is trying to enter or exit, you cannot pass a leaflet or handbill to that person without their consent, or display a sign to that person or engage in oral protest, education, or counseling. This all applies within 8 feet of the individual.
Lancaster adopted a similar ordinance, so she will not repeat herself there. Napa and Sacramento only adopted ordinances that are specific to healthcare facilities or reproductive health care facilities.
Sacramento is similar to what she just mentioned—it has a 100-foot radius, you cannot approach within 8 feet to intimidate or harass an individual who is trying to enter or exit the healthcare facility. Napa has an ordinance that prohibits following or harassing a person within 30 feet of the reproductive healthcare facility. The City has to post a sign to show where that 30 feet border is. She specified that this ordinance does not prohibit an individual from standing on a sidewalk with a sign, so this is not considered harassing or following an individual. It is also unlawful to impede access or departure from one of these facilities under Napa’s ordinance.
She turned over her presentation to the Police Chief to talk about enforcement and traffic issues.
Police Chief Williams said echoing Ms. Subramanian’s comments about what the request was from the City Council, they had queried calls for service in front of Lafayette Elementary School and there were 3 calls for police in front of the school, all of those relating to further protestors. There were found to be no crimes committed and officers left without any arrests or police reports.
He also received about 8 emails from citizens concerned about protests in front of Lafayette Elementary School and further down the road on Tuesday evenings about the different protests and safety. Coupled with that, he asked the engineering department to run a streetlight analysis in front of Lafayette Elementary starting from School Street going north to Mt. Diablo. He requested both months in September and October of last year when there were not protestors present, as well as March from this year when there were.
City Council Minutes Page 10 of 21 May 12, 2025
Last year, there was about 19,700 vehicles that traveled on Moraga Road in that area, which was about the daily average. This year was about 20,400, so a slight increase from last year. Between drop-off time last year from 8 to 9 a.m. there were about 1,400 vehicles. This year there was 1,500. Then in the afternoon pickup there was about 1,300 vehicles last year and 1,400 in March of this year.
The posted speed limit in front of the school is 25 mph. Last year during that stretch of road around morning drop-off was about 17 mph and in the afternoon it was about 20 mph. Just the amount of sheer volume of traffic on that street would restrict people from going that much faster or else they would get in accidents. There were no traffic accidents in the last month there as well there.
Based on the information they had and lack of accidents in the vicinity of the school, they do not believe any changes in traffic patterns can necessarily be attributed to the activities of the roadway outside the Lafayette Elementary School nor can they attribute any of these findings with a protest. In summarizing the last paragraph in the staff report, they continue to work with the protestors on both sides to make sure people’s First Amendments are protected and people have a safe space to voice opposing views.
Vice Mayor Anduri said he wants to confirm with the City Attorney that if any of those ordinances described were enacted by Lafayette, those would not prohibit someone with a sign standing on the sidewalk across the Moraga Road from the elementary school. He also asked if it would prohibit anyone standing with a sign for whatever cause on the sidewalk in front of the elementary school. City Attorney Subramanian confirmed this is correct.
He thanked the Police Chief for reviewing the information. He said this general information on traffic flow and no accidents is fine. The whole idea of Vision Zero is looking ahead and thinking of ways they can avoid accidents. If there are people with signs near the school at drop-off and pickup times, he asked if the Chief is confident that is a safe situation at Lafayette Elementary School.
Chief William said he spoke this morning with the crossing guard and he was there the day after the Council meeting last month so he had this amount of query. He got some perspectives from Ron as well as his motor officers who are out there routinely. They are out there a lot and enforcing, monitoring traffic. There are street signs, billboards, other signs for businesses and it is tough to say because they have zero traffic accidents that their presence there makes it any more dangerous. If someone is driving behind the wheel, drivers must be aware of everything going on around them, and the speed at 17 to 21 mph reveals that vehicles do not go any faster, and this is the information he was able to get in the last month.
Councilmember Cervantes said if he understands the San Diego ordinance and the bubble zone concept, the 8-foot gap or separation if you will, if a protestor is there holding a sign and stationary, he asked if that fits within that framework.
City Attorney Subramanian said it does. They would not be approaching an individual.
Councilmember Cervantes said the key is that you are not approaching, but if someone is just standing there under that ordinance it is fine, and Ms. Subramanian confirmed and she added that someone can approach with consent.
City Council Minutes Page 11 of 21 May 12, 2025
Councilmember Cervantes said with respect to the entrance of a school, especially in the pickup/drop-off, it is people going back and forth, and he asked what the San Diego ordinance states and how might it apply in Lafayette’s circumstances.
City Attorney Subramanian said there is the 100-foot radius and San Deigo measures that 100 feet from the main entrance door or, if the property is fenced and gated, then from the main entrance gate of the covered facility. Then, within that radius, someone cannot approach without consent within 8 feet.
Councilmember Cervantes said as long as they are stationary with a sign and not impeding access, they are fine, and Ms. Subramanian confirmed. He thanked the Police Chief for his reporting, as well. It makes sense to him that even though the speed limit is 25 mph, the actual flow is at a lower speed given the congestion which maybe does help a bit. But, he asked if it would arguably be better in terms of the flow around the school if anyone was protesting was across the street.
Chief Williams said it is speculation at this point. They could not prove where the location is would be safer. Both times he went to the school there were no protestors there so he could not see that part firsthand, but there are distractions on the road, distractions in their hand from people driving and even talking with the motor officer at one of the sites, he gave a person who admitted to him that they were on their cell phone and he asked them why and they said to take a picture of the people who were protesting to share it. Again, a lot of the responsibilities goes back to the drivers on the road to do the best they can to pay attention to what is going on at the sidewalk and maintain what is going on in their car, and what is safe around them.
Mayor Candell said it does not seem any of these ordinances would change any behavior here in Lafayette for these protests. Ms. Subramanian said yes, she thinks if the Council were to adopt the San Diego ordinance she does not think any of the protestors would be violating that ordinance.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period.
LISA DISBROW said she rejects the Council’s premise that the City is content-neutral. The reason she rejects that is because of the April 8, 2024 Council meeting where two members of the community and made very harmful accusatory statements about actions that she was doing, even though they did not name her. No Councilmembers asked questions and were enthusiastically curious about the accusation that someone in the community was standing across the school taking photos and contacting bad people on the Internet to come harm children in Lafayette.
She thinks the City Manager remembers she came and had a conversation with her because she is a lifetime credentialed teacher. She defends children and this is why she is on the sidewalk. The idea that the City Council did not contact former Police Chief Ben Alldritt nor Child Protective Services to investigate whether she or anyone was doing such terrible efforts against children, she was in shock. Furthermore, she was accused in that commentary in April of 2024 and those comments were repeated in the Lamorinda Weekly. The person making those comments said that those comments were supposedly her video and, she did not know even how the person came up with this idea, and were given to Superintendent Stephens.
City Council Minutes Page 12 of 21 May 12, 2025
Here in Lafayette, inclusivity is not for all voices and that is the main problem. She stands on the edge of the sidewalk near the red line zone. There is no room for anybody to pass in front. She does not block a single person, is 5’2”, and everybody passes behind her, and she will say that she thinks the Council needs to bring the temperature against people who believe in binary because the Council is putting them at harm. She has experienced this multiple times, has three police reports, have aggressive dads, and the Council should help all voices and not just the voices the Council prefers.
Councilmember Cervantes said if individuals on the other side of this debate agree to protest across the street if they were to do so, he asked if she would also be willing to do that and be across the street from the school. Ms. Disbrow said, no and said she gets to choose where she stands MARLANE HUFFAKER said she is here to speak in support of the people peacefully holding signs protesting the promotion of transgender ideology to elementary school students. She is wondering about the neutrality of the Board because her understanding is that demonstrations are taking place every Tuesday on some corners in Lafayette that are actually promoted by some members of the Board and they look every bit as dangerous to her as what the protestors at the school are doing, if not much more so. People walk around from corner to corner, they intermix, talk to one another quite a bit, and not always pleasantly. There is some yelling that goes on, and she does not see the Council upset about that or discussing how to stop it by any means. It seems that Ms. Disbrow has pretty much explained what free speech rights of people are and that the City cannot close down someone simply standing on a sidewalk.
The main issue is the one they are protesting about which is why you would allow children to be put at risk by being taught completely fantasy with regard to their own bodies.
SHEILA CASTILLA said she recently read the City Attorney’s updated analysis of other town efforts to curtail free speech. All of these ordinances require actions of harassment and intimidation. A person quietly standing with signs, warning the public, parents and children of the dangers of hormones, puberty blockers, and surgeries to change the biological sex of young children is not harassment or intimidation.
She interprets them as messages of love attempting to protect children. Clearly, the goal by certain community members is to suppress speech that they don’t like. Frankly, the protestors won’t even need to be standing in front of the school if the Lafayette School District were not raising flags and supporting the gender transition of children. She is befuddled why anybody wishes to support the gender transition of children. She said the only one she can see in front of the school who is telling the truth, and community leaders need to be leading with truth, is holding those signs that some community members want to eliminate. She wants more free speech and not less.
BEVERLY TALBOTT echoed the previous speaker. She thinks it is incredibly outrageous that Lisa Disbrow’s free speech rights have been curtailed. She has been intimidated. She is only expressing her opinion and also a growing consensus among medical professionals that pediatric gender transition is not a good thing and is quite harmful. Fortunately, the schools continue to promote the idea to very impressionable children that they might be born in the wrong body, and that they might be the wrong sex. She wants to say this is very intimidating in what has happened to Ms. Disbrow and she wants to stand up for her free speech rights to continue speaking truth.
City Council Minutes Page 13 of 21 May 12, 2025
PAT HUEY said she supports Lisa Disbrow’s right to free speech. She is a long-time teacher and a responsible citizen who cares about the safety of our children. Not allowing parents to hear what she has to say will only harm their children. When Ms. Disbrow does her protests outside the schools, she is in a public space which is protected by the First Amendment. She does not prevent people from entering the school nor does she behave in any way that is inappropriate. She speaks the truth when she warns about the dangers of promoting gender ideology. Not allowing her to protest is not only a violation of her First Amendment rights but it endangers the lives of the children in schools. By not allowing her to speak, the Council is denying parents health care information for their children. She asked if this is transparency? Is this being unbiased about information citizens are entitled to receive? DAVID BERTIsaid the bias of this Board against the school protests is very evident to him tonight. He asked to think about what the Council is saying, consider the protests over the anti-Trump protests on Tuesday.
It is very evident that the Council is extremely biased against any conservatives in this area and he thinks it is a terrible thing. We deserve consideration.
JACK BELGARDE said earlier when Ms. Disbrow came up here to speak under what was not considered on tonight’s agenda, she tried to speak about, in your words, the “why” and Mayor Candell would not let her.
She was told she could return so she did when it was on the agenda, and the Mayor still would not let her talk about what is happening in the classrooms, the “why.” He asked at what point can she talk about the “why” and what is happening in classrooms because at no point tonight has she been able to. He thinks it is a fair question and the Mayor booted her the first time, prevented her the second time, and she was told she could. There is clearly a bias in this City Council. Other people have mentioned what is happening with the protests outside Safeway in terms of the DOGE protests which is a much larger gathering than promoted.
SARAH LIND asked Mayor Candell if she would not mind inviting people to protest in front of Lafayette Elementary School like she did inviting everybody to protest outside on Mt. Diablo because, like she said, she is a neutral body and she would like to hear her invite everybody to share in the protest against gender ideology.
Mayor Candell apologized for making that confusing. The item at the beginning of the agenda is for items not on the agenda and Ms. Disbrow was clearly into this item, which was her push, but she apologized for it being confusing. She wants to say the reason why they are not talking about the why is to protect you.
It is to protect both sides of this issue because people get very emotional and she is sorry last April that this happened to her.
When things come quickly and out of context because they were not expecting it, it is sometimes hard to react in the moment and later think, gosh, she probably would have done it differently. The Council knows they have had some of these calls and she is sorry about that because it is your right to be out there. This is her 100% belief and she thinks everybody has a right to protest, regardless of the “why.” She is sorry that other people were not here tonight because she would have told them the same thing—to show she is not doing for one side. But, there was no one else speaking where she could show that. This is why the meeting is ending up the way it is and she thinks they will talk about the actual ordinances the Council might be considering or not, and if there is anyone here that would like to make any comments she would take them.
City Council Minutes Page 14 of 21 May 12, 2025
Councilmember Cervantes said this is his first turn as an elected City official to confront the issues that our Constitution raises with respect to free speech and the First Amendment. For guidance on this topic, he looked at the Council’s Oath of Office which calls upon council members to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and bear truth faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States. He noted that this oath of office is mandated in the State Constitution. On the topic of free speech, whether he agrees or disagrees with the protesters at the Lafayette Elementary School or those at the intersection of Moraga Road and Mt. Diablo Blvd., isn’t relevant. His view on the “why” does not matter.
The key point for him is the right of individuals to express themselves under the Constitution which the City Attorney has capably outlined. It would take something really extraordinary for the Council to constrain speech, and such an action to limit speech is not justified here.
Public safety, the safety of the children to him is important, but he listens to what their Police Chief said and he cannot get there with respect to the safety of the children argument. He asked whether maybe the protest across the street helped to create a greater safety environment, but that is more of a question and not anything about a policy he would advocate. So, he appreciates the work of the City Attorney but he does not think he can get there with respect to creating limitations around the right of individuals to express themselves in this venue or the venue at the four corners on Tuesdays. It is all their right to speak their minds which is something that is an extraordinary gift to the American people.
So, his bias on this to basically do nothing, let the protests go on, and if there is a situation where maybe there is harassment, they have law enforcement to address that and he will say the Chief and police force has been extraordinarily respectful of the rights of individuals to express themselves which is part of the tenure of their approach here. From his perspective, he suggested receiving and filing, and thank staff, the City Attorney, and Police Chief for the work they did, thank the community members at this meeting and the previous meeting for expressing themselves.
Councilmember McCormick thanked the City Attorney and Police Chief, acknowledged in prior Council meetings they had petitions circulated and lots of passionate speakers asking that something be done.
They brought up a couple of things that wee addressed, talking about the buffer zones, and he thought the analysis tonight, questions from Vice Mayor Anduri and others confirmed that they were under a misunderstanding; where anything they wee talking about would achieve the goals which would be to move protests. It is clear that there is not only the need to be content neutral but even anything that was suggested by the other citizens who spoke would not achieve the goal, so he was in favor of receiving and filing it and moving on.
Vice Mayor Anduri voiced support of Councilmember Cervantes and McCormick’s comments. He pushed back a bit about any suggestion that the Council has not been content-neutral. He thinks every time they have met in this location and have discussed this on the public record, they have been completely contentneutral when they consider it on this and any other free speech issue that has come before the Council, and whatever the location has been.
He really wants to push back on that because they have not expressed their personal views, have not taken into account what the cause has been, they have discussed it in terms of public safety, and with respect to this particular issue he did not think they could say a case has been made in terms of needing to take action with respect to public safety.
City Council Minutes Page 15 of 21 May 12, 2025
With rights come responsibilities so they would hope that anyone who is protesting anywhere, whether it is at the corner of Safeway, Moraga Road corners, or in front of the elementary school or anywhere would keep in mind there always is a risk when there are cars passing by, no matter what the speed limit, particularly at the elementary school where children are getting in and out of cars. So, to him, it is good the speed limit is low, but there is an added factor that you do not have in other places. So, they hope no matter where it occurs, people are keeping in mind to not get into the crosswalks until the light changes.
This is part of the civic responsibility that comes with the right to express your view.
Mayor Candell said this is why she loves working with this current Council. They understand their jobs here and they support every protest that happens in their town. They have had a history of that in terms of keeping people safe, which is all this City Council can do. Everything in these ordinances that they might have considered do not apply here.
She thinks the protestors in town have been very well-behaved and this is why they have to keep moving on and ensure everybody is safe. They are dedicated to that. She is sorry Ms. Disbrow doubts that but they are. She does not think these ordinances could change anything they are doing because protestors are well within their rights to be doing exactly what they are doing. So, the Council supports this and she thanked everybody. She has learned a lot and this probably was one of the biggest issue that comes before a Council because it goes straight to the Constitution. She thanked protestors for helping them get through this because this is the first time they have faced this and they are all learning. She confirmed the Council will receive and file the matter.
13. STAFF REPORTS
A. Mike Moran, Engineering and Public Works Director
1. Capital Improvement Program Update and Proposed FY 2025/26 Projects Recommendation: 1) Adopt the proposed 2025/2026 Capital Improvement Program and updated 5-Year Pavement Maintenance Program (2025-2029) and allocate funding per staff’s proposed funding sources as part of the Council’s budget adoption on June 23, 2025. 2) Authorize staff to file a Notice of Exemption (NOE) for all proposed projects that meet NOE criteria and that do not already have an NOE on file with the County.
Public Works Director Mike Moran said this is the more extensive report on the CIP update and proposed FY 2025/26 projects which is summarized in the staff report and includes on-going projects and proposed projects for next year that this Council has not already approved and has not already budgeted. Some items shown they have approved previously and other projects they have not approved. At this meeting, he is not asking the Council to approve the budgets for them because that will come formally with the budget request in June, but this is what would be proposed unless they come to some different direction from staff.
The new projects next year are just the 2026 Pavement Repair and he will have one more report regarding that because they need to isolate that and request that be used to get their SB 1 gas tax funding. He must do biannual reporting to CTC regarding their SB 1 project(s), and the second project is the Olympic at Pleasant Hill Road RRFB which will be the third RRFB at the roundabout. Those are the two new projects.
Everything else the Council has seen before and have been on-going. They have been working on design, they have been delayed by BART, or some other thing. But the top three-quarters of this budget are what they are showing for actual construction in 2026 and then a couple of projects—the West Reach Creeks Project and the Bridge Maintenance Design, although staff will be working on design in 2026, they do not anticipate starting construction until at least 2027. So those two are broken off at the bottom.
City Council Minutes Page 16 of 21 May 12, 2025
He presented the proposed funding sources. The program is going well and thanked the Council and the community for funding to support the CIP even the couple of years leading up to not having the half-cent sales tax because it was able to lift the PCI by a few points as pointed out earlier. He thinks maintaining streets in good condition is the most cost-effective thing to do in the long-term.
His recommendation is that the Council approve the proposed CIP, including the 5-year updated Pavement Management Program and staff will have the final budget approved as part of the budget item, and authorize staff to file a Notice of Exemption for the proposed projects that are still requiring that environmental clearance which, in this case, would be the pavement repair project only. The RRFB or flashing beacon crossing at the roundabout already has a notice of exemption because that was required to be pre-submitted for entering for a TDA grant from MTC. They got some funding for that but they require the environmental upfront so they know the project will proceed if the grant is awarded. He was available for questions.
Vice Mayor Anduri said on recommendation number 1, this is not until June 23rd and he asked if Mr. Moran needs anything from the Council this evening unless they have concerns they want to express. Mr. Moran confirmed.
Vice Mayor Anduri referred to recommendation number 2 and asked if staff needs the authorization tonight.
Mr. Moran said yes, he would like authorization for the Notice of Exemption.
Councilmember McCormick thanked Mr. Moran and said the narrative was great and seeing it all in the grid was very helpful. He said there is the RRFB crossings with two projects there and obviously Hampton at Mt.
Diablo is quite long but it feels like it is similar infrastructure. He asked why is the one on the roundabout so much less expensive.
Mr. Moran said there are already sidewalks and ADA ramps for the one on the roundabout. The one at Hampton, because it is effectively 6 to 7 lanes of asphalt, they will be adding a center median which will be a refuge in the middle and they do not have ADA compliant ramps at either side, so it is basically that concrete work which costs a lot. Whereas for the roundabout, it is just the cost of the beacon itself. It is mostly infrastructure and not the flashing beacons themselves.
Councilmember McCormick said he is looking forward to the one on Mt. Diablo which will be a tremendous safety addition. He also asked is that he sees federal earmark which makes him nervous. He noted the staff report mentions that they must take things as they come. He asked for other insight on that.
Mr. Moran said no, just that they have been reporting what their concerns are. He knows legislators are actively lobbying on their behalf to maintain funding that has been approved previously. He does not know if anyone knows for sure, but they are obviously proceeding as if they are going to receive all of the funding.
The School/Topper/St. Mary’s project for next year is a big one. The two categories of the federal earmark and the OBAG III grant are both federal funds.
City Council Minutes Page 17 of 21 May 12, 2025
Councilmember Cervantes said he confessed and looked at this to see if his road was on the list, but it is a private road so they are not covered and not on the list. For the record, the neighbors chipped in to fix the road which cost a chunk of money. Councilmember McCormick asked his question about federal funding, but there is a reference that the 2024 Storm Drain Rehabilitation Project and he recalled that in 2015 around the holiday season there was a major rainstorm and Miner Road in Orinda got taken out which caused significant congestion because that was a major access point for the northern part of Orinda. He asked if there is any kind of vulnerability assessment the City does with respect to these storm drains because they are in the ground, no one pays attention to them, are often not in great shape, but with a major storm event, it can unleash havoc.
Mr. Moran explained in 1995, the CPAC was very instrumental in passing the road and drain bond, which has been 30 years. When he was hired in 1997, he would say one-third of his project funding for every pavement project was replacing storm drains. They were actively updating their storm drain maps. There were not any before that time. They did field assessments, mapping, evaluations, with corrugated metal pipes. They took care of areas that flooded or where things failed, and there is always a vulnerability. He was reporting a couple of years ago and in discussions with CPAC, at Paulson across Mt. Diablo Boulevard at the health club, they finally got that cleaned out, evaluated, and they think it is in good shape. But, the road was settling and there was a storm drain under there, and they wanted to see if there is a correlation there.
So, they are sensitive to that. Moraga at Rheem had the same thing where literally a traffic signal sunk into the ground with the storm and a collapsing storm drain pipe. So, the City has been fortunate that some of the sinks and failures they have had have been smaller pipes over the years. They have also aggressively sought after and replaced or removed and rerouted many sections of storm drain in the years he has been here. They also have a summer intern whose job in part is to mark all inlets for drains to the Bay and do not put anything in there other than stormwater basically, and another job was updating those maps they put together in 1997/98, and proofing them out and truthing them out to see if this corrugated metal, is it 15”, does it go from here to here, can I see this, and so they are doing a follow-up of that kind of Phase 2 decades later because they want to know the answer to that question—what are their vulnerabilities out there.
They have only found a couple of pipes that are more concerning. Mostly, it is because they replaced many of them. That does not mean there are not storm drains running through people’s side yards and backyards that are in poor shape. There are many that are private drains and in some cases they have easements.
Mostly, they don’t. If it is running through one’s yard it is because the developer did the least expensive thing they could do when they put homes in, and it was not typically accepted by the County if it is pre-1968 or the City if after 1968 if it is running through a private property. There are some exceptions where it is the City’s responsibility but most of those are not.
Mayor Candell said she was looking at the scores of some of the roads, and most are low, but then there are a smattering of ones that are actually pretty high. She asked what is the logic there.
Mr. Moran said it may have to do with other things, such as School/Topper they will include because they are doing School/Topper walkway and they will have that done at the same time. They are going to break the road by putting those pathways in, so it will need repaving. There are some others that it may have to do with something else like a walkway or something else they may need to do as well and while there, they want to lump that together.
City Council Minutes Page 18 of 21 May 12, 2025
It is true that not 100% of every street is a level playing field. There are some justifications for packaging these two streets together because they are near each other and they do not want to come back in 10 years and things like that. But, some of them are walkway-driven like Stanley and Quandt. There have been requests for these different traffic calming or different sidewalk or walkway and this is a way of doing that with the same project.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Councilmember Cervantes said he wanted to flag one thing in the report where that slurry seal/repaving discussion where you talked to the City of Pleasant Hill. He said kudos to that and thinks the idea of collaborating with colleagues in other cities, especially where noting the cost differential had gone from four times to two times, yet you get a 20-year useful life out of this, he thinks it is great and really important staff is in touch with colleagues, and it benefits the City. He thanked Mr. Moran for that.
Mr. Moran called out that the City/County Engineering Advisory Committee that includes the County and all City entities and this is where City Engineers and Public Works Directors meet about once a month. He was the Chair of that two years ago. It is for that very purpose of sharing knowledge and experience the group exists. They do talk to one another, have round robins, and say who is battling this issue with the utility or, what are you seeing in the street? They also have technical speakers come in. He is grateful for that and they had people come into Contra Costa County who maybe came from a different county really comment and say, “Wow, we didn’t have anything like this where I used to work.” There is definitely value there. They don’t have to reinvent the wheel and they are all in the same place working for the same public. They definitely call each other and reach out and will continue to do so.
Councilmember McCormick said it looks like St. Mary’s Road is being repaved now because EBMUD has done their work. Those on St. Mary’s Road suffered through EBMUD in that redirection for months on end, and now they will have something else happen as well. So, he asked to do everything to keep the traffic flowing which would be greatly appreciated by those who use that artery or live nearby.
Mr. Moran said they did learn some lessons even though they thought they knew all you could know about re-routing traffic through there. He knows Tim Clark who is going to be managing that has already been in discussions with the Community Center which gets a lot of the traffic right through that zone.
Unfortunately, the City is the last one there, so people will be tired of the construction once they get there. But they will not take as long as a water main project and will do the best they can. They will definitely have signage and notifications. If the Council receives any complaints, staff will take them, evaluate them, respond, and change things if they can.
Councilmember McCormick said over-communication is probably the rule of thumb here, and he voiced appreciation.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Cervantes) to 1) Adopt the proposed 2025/2026 Capital Improvement Program and updated 5-Year Pavement Maintenance Program (2025-2029) and allocate funding per staff’s proposed funding sources as part of the Council’s budget adoption on June 23, 2025. 2) Authorize staff to file a Notice of Exemption (NOE) for all proposed projects that meet NOE criteria and that do not already have an NOE on file with the County. Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Candell, Anduri, Cervantes, and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Dawson).
City Council Minutes Page 19 of 21 May 12, 2025
2. Adoption of Resolution 2025-29 Authorizing Use of SB-1 Funds for Lafayette’s 2026 Pavement Maintenance Project
Recommendation: Authorize using SB-1 funds for Lafayette’s 2026 Pavement Maintenance Project and adopt Resolution 2025-29
Public Works Director Mike Moran said this is part three of the same discussion.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (McCormick/Cervantes) to Authorize using SB-1 funds for Lafayette’s 2026 Pavement Maintenance Project and adopt Resolution 2025-29. Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Candell, Anduri, Cervantes, and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Dawson).
14. PUBLIC HEARINGS – None.
15. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT
A. Minutes
1. April 14, 2025
Recommendation: Approve.
City Clerk Joanne Robbins stated Councilmember Cervantes removed this item for her. She asked to add comments under Public Comments for items not on the agenda of April 14, 2025 from Beth Bourne, which she will add. Vice Mayor Anduri referred to page 5, fifth line down, and asked to change January 26 to January 2026.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period.
SARAH LIND said she also pointed out if the Clerk could note in the minutes when someone is told they need to stop talking for whatever reason their comment or topic is not within the City’s purview.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Cervantes) to approve the Minutes of April 14, 2025, as amended. Vote: 4- 0-1 (Ayes: Candell, Anduri, Cervantes, and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Dawson).
16. COUNCIL / COMMISSION REPORTS
A. Councilmembers report on activities and consideration of matters a Councilmember wishes to initiate for placement on a future agenda.
Councilmember Cervantes reported a week ago, the Emergency Preparedness Commission met, had their special representatives from EBMUD, particularly David Briggs who is the Head of Facilities who spoke. He said it was an informative session and one comment that struck him is that EBMUD and other agencies learned a lot from the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire where departments would show up and find that their hoses or couplings did not match the hydrants. There was a real effort to systematize the fire system across this part of the State.
With respect to the fire hydrants, they have roughly 31,000 hydrants. They check 10% of them every year and, out of the 31,000 roughly 15 are out of service. They can be identified because they have bags over them. He thought it was extraordinary that such a small percentage was out of service and that they inspect a meaningful percentage any given year.
City Council Minutes Page 20 of 21 May 12, 2025
Another thing Mr. Briggs touched on was they typically keep their reservoirs about half capacity for water quality purposes, but on a Red Flag Day situation, they fill them 100% and when asked how long that took, he said it was roughly 4 hours which astounded him. So, their protocol is to go to 100% on all Reservoirs in a Red Flag situation. He thought that was good forward planning. The other thing he noted is that there were different forums they are involved with—a fire agency forum, a hills emergency forum, East Bay Wildfire Coalition, working in tandem with Con Fire, MOFD, and other jurisdictions, so he thinks it would be worth following up which he will have with the City Manager.
He took some comfort in that these various jurisdictions that sort of overlap the fire risk topic is that there are at least conversations going on there akin to the earlier discussion on capital improvements. There is an effort to coordinate and organize in a way he was not aware of and he thinks it has only been stepped up in the wake of the Los Angeles fire. So, it was a good session by the Emergency Preparedness Commission. If the Council wanted to have something with EBMUD to talk about this, they would likely be happy to do this.
Secondly, Councilmember Cervantes said this goes to the cultural aspect of what makes Lafayette special, but last Saturday, the Rotary sponsored the Festival at the Res, which was a great chance for a variety of musicians to perform. There was the Rossmoor Big Band, students from a variety of middle schools, and the proceeds from fundraising went to benefit Edna Brewer Middle School, Roosevelt Middle School, and Stanley Middle School to provide enhanced musical equipment for the students there. There were many volunteers from Rotary including the City Manager, but also many key business community members were represented, which he described, to support the effort. It was a great experience for the community to be at a beautiful day on the Reservoir with music created by musicians in the community.
Councilmember McCormick recognized Police for their efforts in purchasing gas for the generator which ran out. He said they had Community Day recently and he shouted out to his team which was the East End Banner Box. Public Works did an amazing job getting the banners rehabilitated. The whole structure has been rebuilt, repainted thanks to their team which included City Clerk Robbins, and it looks fantastic.
Mayor Candell reported there was a Tri-Cities meeting last week that was very well-attended. There was one item which will be discussed which is the Countywide Evacuation Study. There were many concerns from all councils that it is not enough money to cover the detail they were thinking and expecting out of a countywide evacuation study. They will be watching it, and the RFP for the actual evacuation study is coming out this month, and as soon as they get it they will know about exactly what happened. Last week, one of the Lafayette Liaisons meetings were held and she called out that Aaron McAllister was there and the helicopter stations in Byron will be from June 1st through the entire fire season this year, which is a big deal. Apparently, Lafayette is not in the maps for getting immediate Cal Fire support, so having this helicopter in Byron is their stop gap until they have to wait a little longer for Cal Fire.
The Park Theater filed permits with Lafayette Planning. The National Endowment of the Arts funding is either being completely threatened which cuts libraries which she did not realize. This is also something for the council to look out for.
17. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
City Council Minutes Page 21 of 21 May 12, 2025
A. E-mail from Elana O’Loskey, Board Member of the Lamorinda Arts Council, requesting a proclamation recognizing the 75th Anniversary of the Lamorinda Arts Council.
Recommendation: Approve the proclamation recognizing the 75th Anniversary of the Lamorinda Arts Council.
Mayor Candell presented a proclamation recognizing the 75th Anniversary of the Lamorinda Arts Council.
She said Lafayette has been pivotal in support of the Arts Council and everything they have been doing for the last 75 years. The Clerk will send the proclamation to Ms. Elana O’Loskey, Boardmember.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period, and there were no comments.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Cervantes/Anduri) to approve the proclamation recognizing the 75th Anniversary of the Lamorinda Arts Council. Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Candell, Anduri, Cervantes, and McCormick; Noes: None;
Absent: Dawson).
18. ADJOURNMENT – 8:46p.m.
APPROVED:
__________________________________
Susan Candell, Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________
Joanne Robbins, City Clerk