Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Oakley City Council held December 12, 2023
1) OPENING MATTERS
1.1 Call to Order and Roll Call of the Oakley City Council Mayor Aaron Meadows called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in the Oakley City Council Chambers located at 3231 Main Street, Oakley, California. Vice Mayor Anissa Williams and Councilmembers Dr. Georger Fuller, Hugh Henderson and Shannon Shaw were also present.
1.2 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag (Pixel, Hadley and Sloan Williams) Pixel, Hadley, and Sloan Williams led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 2) CLOSED SESSION
Mayor Meadows announced the closed session items. The City Council went into its antechambers at 5:33 p.m. for closed session and returned to the dais at 5:57 p.m.
2.1 CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL-ANTICIPATED LITIGATION-INITIATION OF
LITIGATION
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(2). One potential case.
2.2 CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL-ANTICIPATED LITIGATION Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9: One Potential Case (letter from ACLU/EFF dated May 25, 2023 and email dated November 2, 2023)
City Attorney Derek Cole reported that regarding item 2.1, it was moved by Dr. Fuller and seconded by Councilmember Shaw for the Council to authorize filing a Heath & Safety Code receivership against the property owner of 3680 E. Cypress Road, Oakley, California. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0) He also reported that regarding item 2.2, direction was provided to staff and there is no reportable action.
3) PUBLIC COMMENTS
No public comments were submitted.
4) PRESENTATIONS
4.1 Presentations to Mayor Meadows
Vice Mayor Williams announced presentations to Mayor Meadows. Presentations were made by:
1. Janessa Oriol, Deputy District Director, Office of Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, presented a Certificate of Recognition to Mayor Meadows.
2. Claire Alaura, District Representative, Office of Senator Steve Glazer, presented a Certificate of Recognition to Mayor Meadows.
3. Tiffanee Jones, District Director, Office of Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson, presented a Certificate of Recognition to Mayor Meadows.
4. Peter Myers, Communications Director, Office of Contra Costa Supervisor Diane Burgis, presented a Certificate of Recognition to Mayor Meadows.
5. Joshua McMurray, City Manager, presented flowers to the Mayor’s wife, Amy, and a personalized street sign and gift certificate to Mayor Meadows.
4.2 Comments by Mayor Meadows
Mayor Meadows provided a PowerPoint presentation highlighting accomplishments during 2023.
5) REORGANIZATION OF THE OAKLEY CITY COUNCIL
5.1 Selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor
City Attorney Derek Cole discussed the selection process and mentioned if the Council follows the rotation schedule, Vice Mayor Williams is in position to become Mayor.
It was moved by Councilmember Shaw and seconded by Mayor Meadows to appoint Vice Mayor Williams as Mayor. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0) Mr. Cole discussed the selection of Vice Mayor and mentioned if the Council follows the rotation schedule, Dr. Fuller is in position to become Vice Mayor.
It was moved by Councilmember Meadows and seconded by Dr. Fuller to appoint Dr. Fuller as Vice Mayor. AYES: Fuller, Meadows. NOES: Henderson, Shaw, Williams. Motion did not pass. (2-3)
Mr. Cole explained that the Council may decide to appoint another Councilmember and a finding under Oakley Municipal Code Section 2.1.005(i) should be stated on the record if making a motion to appoint another Councilmember.
Councilmember Shaw commented that she believes Section 2.1.005(i)(2) applies.
Dr. Fuller requested that she provide an example.
Councilmember Shaw indicated she is happy to have that conversation with him outside of the meeting.
Dr. Fuller mentioned the conversation should occur in public and if this is her position, he expects an explanation. He asked Mr. Cole to advise.
Mr. Cole explained that a Councilmember must specify the ground under the code section and the person they wish to appoint. He explained that there is ambiguity in the code regarding who would be next in line in rotation due to districting. He mentioned a Councilmember must provide the code provision for their reason and can appoint any member of the Council.
It was moved by Councilmember Henderson to appoint Councilmember Shaw as Vice Mayor based on Section (e)(2)(3)(5).
Mr. Cole mentioned subsection (e) applies to Section 2.1.003 that will apply next year and provides the same reasons set forth in Section 2.1.005(i). He requested clarification from Councilmember Henderson if he intends to apply Section 2.1.005(i)(2)(3)(5) which Councilmember Henderson confirmed is correct.
Dr. Fuller requested that if the nomination of Councilmember Shaw for Vice Mayor goes through that it is postponed until the California State Attorney General can review unfortunate circumstances that have developed. He mentioned he has reason to believe, as well as many others, that Councilmember Shaw and Councilmember Henderson laundered their campaign contributions from O’Hara Properties and DeNova Homes. He mentioned they returned the contributions, and the California Real Estate Association Political Action Committee reissued the same amount within a few days to the Councilmembers which allowed them to vote on their projects, specifically McDonald’s. He mentioned SB 1439 was in play, passed, and was signed by the Governor, and it went to the legislative analyst who said the Councilmembers could vote but at that point the laundering had already occurred. He shared that he filed a sworn complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) who reviewed it and its Enforcement Division decided not to pursue it, and when he spoke with Laura Wagner, the FPPC handling officer, she said that they did not elect to pursue it because they did not have the resources which he was not surprised as it is a very complicated, convoluted issue involving many parties.
He added that the Political Action Committee has over $4 million in funds to defend themselves and the FPPC did not have the resources to pursue a proper investigation; he believes it is going on to the California State Attorney General’s office to review whether there is a criminal prosecution against anyone, and they have the resources to investigate it. He requested postponement until the California State Attorney General responds whether there was any money laundering and mentioned there is also an administrative procedure.
The motion was seconded by Councilmember Meadows. AYES: Henderson, Meadows, Shaw, Williams. NOES: Fuller. (4-1)
5.2 Administration of Oaths of Office to Newly Appointed Mayor and Vice Mayor (Libby Vreonis, City Clerk)
City Clerk Libby Vreonis administered the Oath of Office to Mayor Williams and Vice Mayor Shaw.
5.3 Comments by Newly Appointed Mayor
Mayor Williams provided comments regarding her upcoming term as Mayor. 6) ADJOURN
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:42 p.m.
Respectively Submitted,
Libby Vreonis
City Clerk