MONTE SERENO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
7:00 p.m.
January 20, 2026
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER
At approximately 7:00 p.m., Mayor Allan called the meeting to order.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Council lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
Present – Chambers: Councilmember Toren, Councilmember Craig, Councilmember Mekechuk, Vice Mayor Shannon and Mayor Allan
Present – Remote: None
Absent: None
Staff: City Clerk Gonzalez-Langarica, City Manager Perkins and City Attorney Powell
Staff – Remote: None
ORDERS OF THE DAY
None.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
None.
PRESENTATIONS
1. Presentation of Certificates of Recognition to 2025 STEM Winner from the City of Monte Sereno Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair Association (SCVSEFA) Board Member, Forrest Williams, spoke on the Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair Association.
Mayor Allan recognized Disha Gupta as the 2025 STEM Winner from the City of Monte Sereno.
STEM Winner Disha spoke about her project and received her recognition.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
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None.
CONSENT CALENDAR (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION)
2. Approve the Minutes of the January 6, 2026 Regular City Council Meeting
3. Authorize the City Manager to Establish Automated Payments for City Hall Utility Bills
4. Approve Warrant List Dated January 20, 2026 in the Amount of $347,346.49
5. Consider Establishment of and Appointment to the Monte Sereno City Council Financial Implementation Support and Audit Support Ad Hoc Committee Vice Mayor Shannon requested to pull Item #3.
Councilmember Mekechuk requested to pull Item #4.
Mayor Allan opened the Consent Calendar for Public Comment. With no one wishing to speak, Mayor Allan closed Public Comment.
MOTION: Motion by Councilmember Craig to approve Items #2 and #5 on the Consent Calendar. Seconded by Councilmember Toren.
VOTE: Motion passed. (5-0-0)
3. Authorize the City Manager to Establish Automated Payments for City Hall Utility Bills City Manager Perkins provided a staff report and answered questions from the Council.
Mayor Allan opened the Consent Calendar Item for Public Comment. With no one wishing to speak, Mayor Allan closed Public Comment.
MOTION: Motion by Vice Mayor Shannon to approve Item # 3 on the Consent Calendar. Seconded by Councilmember Mekechuk.
VOTE: Motion passed. (5-0-0)
4. Approve Warrant List Dated January 20, 2026 in the Amount of $347,346.49 City Manager Perkins presented the staff report and answered questions from the Council.
Mayor Allan opened the Consent Calendar Item for Public Comment. With no one wishing to speak, Mayor Allan closed Public Comment.
MOTION: Motion by Councilmember Mekechuk to approve Item #4 on the Consent Calendar except for vendor Porter Capital. Payment shall be issued to Porter Capital, once the City Manager receives the substantiation documentation. Seconded by Councilmember Toren.
VOTE: Motion passed. (5-0-0)
PUBLIC HEARING
6. Application 2025-3089 for a Variance application for reduced rear yard setback of 25 feet where 30 feet is required at 18113 Bancroft Avenue. (CEQA: Exempt, Guidelines sections 15302, 15303) City Manager Perkins provided a staff report and answered questions from the Council.
Applicant spoke on this item.
Discussion ensued.
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Mayor Allan opened the item for Public Hearing. With no one wishing to speak, Mayor Allan closed Public Hearing.
MOTION: Motion by Councilmember Mekechuk to approve upon careful review of a variance to allow a reduced rear yard setback of 25 feet where 30 feet is required for the property located at 18113 Bancroft Avenue. Seconded by Councilmember Toren.
VOTE: Motion passed. (5-0-0)
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
7. Consideration of Three Applications and Appointment to Fill One Alternate Representative Vacancy on the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority Board.
City Clerk Gonzalez-Langarica provided a staff report.
Applicants that addressed Council:
• Applicant McCarthy
• Applicant Heffernan
Discussion ensued.
Mayor Allan opened the item for Public Comment. With no one wishing to speak, Mayor Allan closed Public Comment.
MOTION: Motion by Councilmember Mekechuk to Appoint Terry McCarthy to Fill the Alternate Representative Vacancy on the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority Board. Seconded by Vice Mayor Shannon.
VOTE: Motion passed. (5-0-0)
8. Consider and Accept the City Manager's Quarterly Report Covering October 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025
City Manager Perkins provided a staff report and answered questions from the Council.
Discussion ensued.
Mayor Craig opened the item for Public Comment. With no one wishing to speak, Mayor Craig closed Public Comment.
COMMITTEE/COMMISSION REPORTS
Councilmember Mekechuk stated that the presentation from West Valley Collection and Recycling at the Council meeting was very informative. Councilmember Mekechuk shared that Santa Clara County Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission had a meeting last week where they discussed several issues, one of which is a revenue problem. They are scheduled to meet again in February.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority met last week. Councilmember Mekechuk shared he would be including one page with bullet points on what was covered in the meeting to be included in the meeting minutes. Councilmember Mekechuk shared there is a new Chair and Vice Chair for the SVCE Board, Mayor Larry Klein from the City of Sunnyvale is Chair and Sally Meadows from the City of Los Altos is Vice Chair. Lastly, Councilmember Mekechuk shared the Valley Transportation Authority Docusign Envelope ID: B34DEF36-59F0-4475-B1C7-733257CAFDC0
Policy Advisory Committee met last week and expressed he would like to resign from this committee.
Councilmember Craig stated nothing to report.
Mayor Allan stated tomorrow is the first meeting of the West Valley Mayors & Managers and expressed he is looking forward to it. He also stated he will be attending the Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority meeting at the end of the month as the alternate.
Vice Mayor Shannon stated there haven’t been any meetings since the last Council meeting, but shared there is an upcoming meeting with the Cities Association Cities Selection Committee, Board of Directors and Legislative Action Committee next week. Since Councilmember Toren is unavailable to attend, Vice Mayor Shannon will attend two of the three meetings as the alternate representative. Lastly, West Valley Sanitation District Board is scheduled to meet tomorrow night.
Councilmember Toren thanked Mayor Allan for being available to attend the upcoming Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority meeting in his absence and thanked Vice Mayor Shannon for being available to attend the Cities Association meetings next week. Councilmember Toren shared he is looking forward to attending the 2026 Mayors and Council Members Academy in Sacramento.
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
Councilmember Toren shared he had a coffee meeting with President of San Jose Water Tanya Moniz-Witten and he thinks it would be great to have her and or her staff give a presentation. Ms.
Moniz-Witten has extended an invitation to Council to go and see the plant.
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
None.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
9. A copy of the Tentative 2026 Council Meeting Calendar was included on the agenda.
Councilmember Toren shared he has an idea for the Youth Commission, and he would like to discuss that in a future meeting. Councilmember Toren shared he would also like to discuss the use of the auxiliary building at a future meeting.
ADJOURN
Mayor Allan adjourned the meeting at approximately 8:36 p.m.
Lisa Shannon, Vice Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________________
Gloisy Gonzalez-Langarica, City Clerk
Docusign Envelope ID: B34DEF36-59F0-4475-B1C7-733257CAFDC0 January 2026 Silicon Valley Clean Energy Board Meeting
Follow-Up
Meeting Snapshot
At the January Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) Board of Directors (Board) meeting, the Board appointed new board leadership positions, authorized a contract to begin construction at SVCE’s new HQ, approved a new energy storage agreement, and supported the evolution of SVCE’s electric vehicle customer programs.
High-Level Item Summaries
1. SVCE Board appoints new Chair, Vice Chair, and Executive Committee The SVCE Board of Directors has elected new leadership. Larry Klein (Mayor of the City of Sunnyvale) will serve as the Chair of the Board and Sally Meadows (Mayor of the City of Los Altos) will serve as Vice Chair of the Board for 2026. The Board has also selected six members to serve on its 2026 Executive Committee.
2. Construction to begin at SVCE Office with a Contract for Interior Buildout The SVCE Board authorized a contract in the amount of $6,554,435 with Beals Martin and Associates Inc. for the interior buildout of SVCE’s new headquarters at 298 S.
Sunnyvale Avenue. This contract was awarded after a detailed competitive public process. SVCE continues to move through the permitting process with the City of Sunnyvale and the project is currently on schedule to be completed in time for a July 1st move-in date.
3. Board Approves Agreement for Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage Project to Support Clean Energy Grid
SVCE will join a large group of energy providers committing to purchase energy from the Willow Rock Compressed Air Energy Storage project - a new 500-megawatt facility in Kern County that stores clean energy for up to eight hours using innovative compressed air technology. The project received final California Energy Commission permitting in December 2025 and is expected to begin operations around 2030. The facility will provide reliable electricity to the grid during evening hours when solar generation drops but demand remains high. SVCE’s expected share of the project is 5.7 megawatts.
4. Electric Vehicle (EV) Programs Evolve to Support Customer Needs The Board adopted a pair of changes to its transportation programs. The EV Rate Pilot Program will create a “Super-Off-Peak” period in the mid-day that will incentivize EV drivers to charge mid-day, when the cleanest electricity is produced, instead of overnight. The Board also approved reallocating $7.2 million to consolidate and expand three core programs: EV Charging Rebates, EV Charging Technical Assistance, EV Rebates and Education.
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