09.D Report Attorney Appointments - Jones Mayer Legal Services Agreements 2025-09-02 — Pismo Beach City Council, September 2, 2025

PISMO BEACH CITY COUNCIL &

CENTRAL COAST BLUE REGIONAL

RECYCLED WATER AUTHORITY

BOARD OF DIRECTORS STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item #9.D
Meeting Date: September 2, 2025

TITLE:

Appointment of City Attorney and Authority Attorney; Agreements with Jones Mayer for City Attorney Services, Authority Attorney Services, and Other Legal Services
RECOMMENDATION:

Pismo Beach City Council:

1.Appoint Dean J. Pucci to the position of Pismo Beach City Attorney;

2. Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Legal Services Agreement with Richard D. Jones, a Professional Law Corporation, DBA Jones Mayer, for City Attorney Services and other Legal Services.

Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority Board of Directors:

3.Appoint Dean J. Pucci to the position of Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority Attorney;

4. Adopt a Resolution authorizing the General Manager to execute a Legal Services Agreement with Richard D. Jones, a Professional Law Corporation, DBA Jones Mayer, for Authority Attorney Services and Other Legal Services.

DISCUSSION:

On May 15, 2025, the City received notice that its Legal Services Agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon (RWG) would terminate on June 30, 2025. Services provided by RWG included contract City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney services, as well as Authority Attorney services for the Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority (CCBRRWA), and the CCBRRWA agreement was terminated concurrent with the City agreement. Staff published a request for proposals (RFP) for Interim City Attorney Services on May 27, 2025. Six responsive proposals were received, and on June 16, 2025, the City Council interviewed the top-ranked firms, ultimately selecting the firm of Jones Mayer.

On June 17, 2025, an agreement was executed within the City Manager’s purchasing authority for the two-week period of June 17, 2025, through June 30, 2025. On July 1, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution R-2025-049 authorizing a six-month agreement with Jones Mayer for Interim City Attorney services and other legal services through December 31, 2025. On August 19, 2025, the City Council directed staff to return with an agenda item allowing the Council to authorize Dean J. Pucci of Jones Mayer to serve as permanent City Attorney.

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The meeting of September 2, 2025, has been convened as a joint meeting to allow both the Pismo Beach City Council and the CCBRRWA Board of Directors to appoint their agencies’ respective attorneys, as well authorize the associated legal services agreements.

Alternatives
If the City Council declines to approve staff’s recommended action, the existing agreement with Jones Mayer for Interim City Attorney services and other legal services will remain in effect until December 31, 2025. If the CCBRRWA Board of Directors declines to approve staff’s recommended action, the Authority will be without legal counsel, which is not recommended.

Conclusion and Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council move to appoint Dean J. Pucci to the position of Pismo Beach City Attorney, and then adopt a resolution (Attachment 1) authorizing the City Manager to execute a Legal Services Agreement with Richard D. Jones, a Professional Law Corporation, DBA Jones Mayer, for City Attorney Services and other Legal Services.

Staff also recommends that the Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority Board of Directors move to appoint Dean J. Pucci to the position of Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority Attorney, and then adopt a resolution (Attachment 2) authorizing the General Manager to execute a Legal Services Agreement with Richard D. Jones, a Professional Law Corporation, DBA Jones Mayer, for Authority Attorney Services and Other Legal Services.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The fiscal impact of adopting the attached City Council resolution is estimated at approximately $425,000 in legal services costs for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. The City’s FY 2026 General Fund Legal budget has sufficient budget to support this cost and will be charged based on actual services provided. It is anticipated that costs during the initial months may be slightly higher as the new firm becomes familiar with the City’s legal matters.

Legal services expenditures related to the Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority are expected to remain less than $5,000 per fiscal year. The City’s FY 2026 budget has sufficient budget to support this cost.

Staff will continue to monitor the legal services costs and provide the City Council with updates if adjustments to the FY 2026 budget allocations become necessary.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. City Council resolution

2. CCBRRWA Board of Directors resolution

3. City LSA

4. Authority LSA
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Prepared by:

Erica Inderlied, City Clerk/Authority Clerk
Submitted by: Jorge Garcia, City Manager/General Manager City Manager / General Manager Approval:

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RESOLUTION NO. R-2025-XXX

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PISMO BEACH,

CALIFORNIA AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH RICHARD D. JONES, A PROFESSIONAL LAW

CORPORATION, DBA JONES MAYER, FOR CITY ATTORNEY SERVICES AND

OTHER LEGAL SERVICES
WHEREAS, on May 15, 2025, the City received notice that the City’s Legal Services Agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon (RWG) would terminate on June 30, 2025; and
WHEREAS, services provided by RWG included contract City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney services, and as such staff published a request for proposals (RFP) for Interim City Attorney Services on May 27, 2025; and
WHEREAS, on June 16, 2025, the City Council interviewed the top-ranked firms, ultimately selecting the firm of Jones Mayer; and
WHEREAS, on June 17, 2025, an agreement was executed within the City Manager’s purchasing authority for the two-week period of June 17, 2025 through June 30, 2025; and
WHEREAS, on July 1, 2025, the City Council adopted R-2025-049 authorizing a six- month agreement with Jones Mayer for Interim City Attorney services and other legal services through December 31, 2025; and
WHEREAS, on August 19, 2025, the City Council directed staff to return with an agenda item allowing the Council to authorize Dean J. Pucci of Jones Mayer to serve as permanent City Attorney; and
WHEREAS on September 2, 2025, the City Council by motion appointed Dean J. Pucci of the firm Jones Mayer to serve as Pismo Beach City Attorney; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Pismo Beach that the City Manager is hereby authorized to execute a Legal Services Agreement with Richard D. Jones, a Professional Law Corporation, dba Jones Mayer, for City Attorney services and other legal services, in substantially the form attached to staff’s report dated September 2, 2025.

UPON MOTION OF Council Member , seconded by Council Member , the foregoing resolution was adopted by the City Council of the City of Pismo Beach this 2nd day of September 2025, by the following vote:

AYES:

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Attachment 1

NOES:

ABSENT:

ABSTAIN:

RECUSED:

Approved: Attest:
________________________ ________________________
Ed Waage, Mayor Erica Inderlied, City Clerk
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and official seal of the City of Pismo Beach on _______________________.
________________________
Erica Inderlied, City Clerk
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Attachment 1

RESOLUTION NO. JPA-R-2025-XXX

A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL COAST

BLUE REGIONAL RECYCLED WATER AUTHORITY AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH RICHARD D.

JONES, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION, DBA JONES MAYER, FOR

AUTHORITY ATTORNEY SERVICES AND OTHER LEGAL SERVICES
WHEREAS, on May 15, 2025, the City of Pismo Beach received notice that the City’s Legal Services Agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon (RWG) would terminate on June 30, 2025; and
WHEREAS, services provided by RWG included Authority Attorney services for the Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority, and the agreement with the Authority was terminated concurrently; and
WHEREAS, on August 19, 2025, the Pismo Beach City Council directed staff to return with an agenda item allowing the Council to authorize Dean J. Pucci of Jones Mayer to serve as permanent City Attorney; and
WHEREAS on September 2, 2025, the Board of Directors by motion appointed Dean J.

Pucci of the firm Jones Mayer to serve as Authority Attorney.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority that the General Manager is hereby authorized to execute a Legal Services Agreement with Richard D. Jones, a Professional Law Corporation, dba Jones Mayer, for Authority Attorney services and other legal services, in substantially the form attached to staff’s report dated September 2, 2025.

UPON MOTION OF Board Member , seconded by Board Member , the foregoing resolution was adopted by the Board of Directors of the Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority this 2nd day of September 2025, by the following vote:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSENT:

ABSTAIN:

RECUSED:

Approved: Attest:
________________________ ________________________
Ed Waage, Chair Erica Inderlied, Secretary
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Attachment 2

LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
for

CITY OF PISMO BEACH

1. IDENTIFICATION OF PARTIES. This Agreement is made between JONES MAYER, hereafter referred to as “Law Firm,” and the CITY OF PISMO BEACH, hereafter referred to as “Client.”
This Agreement is required by Business and Professions Code section 6148 and is intended to fulﬁll the requirements of that section.

2. LEGAL SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED. The legal services to be provided by Law Firm to Client are as follows: to serve as the designated City Attorney for the Client, and to provide the corresponding Legal Services as needed. See Attachment A for further details on the Scope of Work to be provided.

Said legal services and representation are hereby assigned to Law Firm.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES OF ATTORNEY AND CLIENT. Law Firm will perform the legal services called for under this Agreement, keep Client informed of progress and developments, and respond promptly to Client’s inquiries and communications. Client will be truthful and cooperative with Law Firm and keep Law Firm reasonably informed of developments; as well as make timely payments required under this Agreement.

4. ATTORNEY’S FEES. Client will pay Law Firm for attorney’s fees for the legal services provided under this Agreement as described in Attachment B. Law Firm will charge in minimum units of one tenth of an hour.

Law Firm will charge for all activities undertaken in providing legal services to Client under this Agreement, including, but not limited to, the following: Travel, meetings, court appearances, correspondence and legal documents (review and preparation), legal research and telephone consultations.

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Attachment 3

Client acknowledges that Law Firm has made no promise about the total amount of attorney’s fees to be incurred by Client under this Agreement.

5. RATE GUARANTEE. Rates will be charged according to the schedule described in Attachment B through June 30, 2027. Beginning July 1, 2027 and annually thereafter, rates will automatically increase based upon the Consumer Price Index increase for the prior 12 months, as established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.

Department of Labor for consumers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, or another mutually agreed upon index.

6. COSTS. Client will pay all “costs” in connection with Law Firm’s representation under this Agreement. Costs will be advanced by Law Firm and then billed to Client. We do not bill fax, word processing, or small reproduction matters (under 100 pages).

Law Firm will charge the client for actual necessary costs incurred for all of the following, including but not limited to: court ﬁling fees, attorney services (includes service of process fees, e-ﬁling fees, arbitrators, and mediators), messenger services, Lexis-Nexis/Westlaw research, overnight/express mail service, mileage (charged at the current IRS rate), parking fees, travel expenses, including hotel, air travel and car rentals, but excluding routine travel expenses to the City, actual costs for large reproduction projects if performed by an outside service, or $0.10 per page (b/w) and $0.20 per page (color) if performed in house, and any other expense not listed above which becomes necessary to the successful resolution of a client matter.

7. REPRESENTATION OF ADVERSE INTERESTS. Client is informed that the Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of California require the Client’s informed written consent before an attorney may begin or continue to represent the Client when the attorney has had a relationship with another party interested in the subject matter of the attorney’s proposed representation of the Client. Client and Law Firm are not aware of any potential conﬂicts and have discussed them in detail. Law Firm will consult with Client in accordance with the requirements of the Rules of Professional Conduct as to any new matters assigned to Law Firm after the entering of this Agreement regarding any potential conﬂicts of interest relating to such new matters.

8. DISCHARGE OF ATTORNEY. Client may discharge Law Firm, pursuant to state law, by written notice effective when received by Law Firm. Notwithstanding the

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discharge, Client will be obligated to pay Law Firm for all work performed to date, within thirty (30) days of its receipt of the ﬁnal statement as set forth under the terms of this Agreement. Law Firm may terminate this agreement for any reason, provided Law Firm provides Client with sixty (60) days written notice. Client will be obligated to pay for all work performed through the end of the termination period.

9. STATEMENTS AND PAYMENTS. Law Firm will send Client monthly statements by the 15th of month for work completed the prior month, indicating attorney fees and costs incurred and their basis, any amount applied for deposits, and any current balance owed. If no attorney fees or costs are incurred for a particular month, or if they are minimal, the statement may be held and combined with that for the following month. Any balance will be paid in full within thirty (30) days after the statement is mailed and within thirty (30) days after ﬁnal statement is submitted due to discharge of Law Firm.

10. INSURANCE. Law Firm will at all times maintain the following insurance coverage:

Professional Liability/Errors & Omissions $2,000,000/$4,000,000 General Liability $2,000,000/$4,000,000
Auto Liability $1,000,000 (including hired and non-hired) Workers Compensation State Mandated Limits or higher
Prior to starting work under this agreement, Law Firm will provide certiﬁcates of coverage for the above policies.

11. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement contains the entire Agreement of the parties. No other Agreement, statement, or promise made on or before the effective date of this Agreement will be binding on the parties.

12. SEVERABILITY IN EVENT OF PARTIAL INVALIDITY. If any provision of this Agreement is held in whole or in part to be unenforceable for any reason, the remainder of that provision and of the entire Agreement will be severable and remain in effect.

13. MODIFICATION BY SUBSEQUENT AGREEMENT. This Agreement may be modiﬁed by subsequent Agreement of the parties only by an instrument in writing signed by

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both of them or an oral Agreement to the extent that the parties carry it out.

14. ARBITRATION OF FEE DISPUTE. If a dispute arises between Law Firm and Client regarding attorney’s fees under this Agreement and one of the parties ﬁles suit in any court other than small claims court, the non-ﬁling party has the right to stay that suit by timely electing to arbitrate the dispute under Business and Professions Code sections 6200- 6206, in which event the party ﬁling suit must submit the matter to such arbitration.

15. ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS IN ACTION ON AGREEMENT. The prevailing party in any action or proceeding to enforce any provision of this Agreement will be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in that action or proceeding or in efforts to negotiate the matter.

16. FILE RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION. At the conclusion of this matter, we will retain your legal ﬁles for a period of 10 years after we close our ﬁle. At the expiration of the 10-year period, we will destroy these ﬁles unless you notify us in writing that you wish to take possession of them. We reserve the right to charge administrative fees and costs associated with researching, retrieving, copying and delivering such ﬁles.

17. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Law Firm may use artiﬁcial intelligence tools in our representation of Client. If we do so, we will ensure your conﬁdential information is maintained in conﬁdence and that any writing or analysis produced by generative artiﬁcial intelligence is edited or conﬁrmed by an attorney before use. If you have any questions or concerns about our use of artiﬁcial intelligence tools, please let us know.

18. EXECUTION. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and by fax or electronic signature. In executing this Agreement, the Client warrants (i) by executing this Agreement, the Client is formally bound to the provisions of this Agreement and (ii) the entering into this Agreement does not violate any provision of any other agreement to which the Client is bound.

19. EFFECTIVE DATE OF AGREEMENT. The effective date of this Agreement will be the date when it is executed by the last of the parties to do so.

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Attachment 3

The foregoing is agreed to by:

Dated: _____________, 2025 CITY OF PISMO BEACH

___________________________________
Jorge E. Garcia, City Manager

Dated: _____________, 2025 JONES MAYER

Ryan R. Jones, Owner

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Attachment 3

Attachment A: Scope of Services

General Legal Services

1. Attend all workshops, closed, regular and special City Council meetings, all meetings of the Planning Commission, and attend other meetings when there is a request to do so. This may be accomplished with multiple attorneys.

2.Provide general legal services, routine legal assistance, advice and consultation to the City Council and City staff relating to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, general municipal and public law issues, potential tort liability, and risk management.

3.Except where conﬂict of interest rules require otherwise, supervise and coordinate the activities of all other counsel retained by the City or working behalf of the City.

4.Provide legal advice, telephone, email, and personal consultations with members of the City Council and City staff.

5.Attendance at weekly executive staff meetings, and other meetings with City staff upon request (virtual meetings acceptable) may be required.

6.Review and/or prepare legal opinions, staff reports, ordinances, resolutions, agreements, contracts, forms, notices, certiﬁcates, deeds, leases, and other documents required by the City.

7.Perform legal work pertaining to land use issues, including, but not limited to, property transactions (e.g., acquisitions, disposals), public improvements, easements, dedications, and right-of-way vacations.

8.Monitor pending and current state and federal legislation and court decisions, as appropriate, and provide written updates on those that have the potential to affect the City.

Provide suggested action or changes in operations or procedures to assure compliance.

9.Consult with the City Council and City staff as needed, render legal advice and opinions(both oral and written), and perform such other or additional general legal services as maybe requested by the City, acting by and through the City Council or the City Manager.

10.Enforce City codes, zoning regulations, and building standards through administrative and judicial actions.

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Attachment 3

11.Provide training and guidance regarding the requirements of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, the Ralph M. Brown Act, Conﬂict of Interest (including Political Reform law and AB 1234), CEQA, the Elections Code, the Public Records Act, and other legal requirements imposed by statute and common law.

12.Advise the Council on municipal government legal matters, including the Brown Act and parliamentary procedures for running meetings.

13.Perform all duties of the ofﬁce of City Attorney as provided in the Pismo Beach Municipal Code.

14.Promptly return all calls and e-mails from the City Council and City staff.

Litigation Services

1.Represent the City in civil litigation brought on behalf of or against the City, as directed by the City Council.

2.Provide litigation services to the City in any and all matters assigned by the City.

3.Prosecute misdemeanor and infraction violations of the City Municipal Code.

4.Oversee work by outside legal counsel.

Other Specialized Legal Services as Requested

1.Advice regarding taxes, assessments, fees, Proposition 218 proceedings, and other ﬁnancial advice.

2.Environmental Legal Services other than routine review of negative declarations, environmental impact reports, and other project-level environmental documentation.

3.Real Estate services, other than routine review of escrow documents, title reports, and contracts of sale.

4.Advice regarding insurance coverage matters, such as advice and representation regarding coverage disputes.

5.Advice regarding water law and regulations.

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Attachment 3

Attachment B: Compensation Schedule

Hourly Rates

Through June. 30, 2026 $225 per hour General Legal Services $275 per hour Special Legal Services
$275 per hour Litigation Services
$165 per hour Paralegal Services
July. 1, 2026 $250 per hour General Legal Services
$300 per hour Special Legal Services
$300 per hour Litigation Services
$190 per hour Paralegal Services

Beginning July 1, 2027, rates will increase based upon the Consumer Price Index increase for the prior year utilizing the standard as established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor for consumers in the Los Angeles area, or another mutually agreed upon index. Should the Consumer Price Index increase exceed 4 percent in any given year notice shall be provided to the City Council.

General Legal Services are those services which involve regular, recurring legal and factual issues. General Legal Services include: attendance at City Council, Planning Commission and other subordinate City agency meetings, attendance at regular staff meetings, representing the City in intergovernmental projects, providing legal counsel and advice, both written and oral, to elected and appointed ofﬁcials as to City business, working with City staff on all agenda items for City meetings, negotiation, drafting, review and revision of City agendas, routine agreements, contracts, instruments, ordinances, reports, resolutions, orders, forms, notices, and other documents as requested by City, and providing legal advice concerning Council Agenda 9-2-2025 9.D-14
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Brown Act, CEQA, Public Records Act, Political Reform Act and other conﬂict of interest compliance, supervision and coordination of legal services performed by special and outside counsel, and recurring City Council and staff in-service training as requested by the City.

Special Legal Services include those matters which present unique legal and/or factual issues.

Special Legal Services differ from general legal services in that they are of an irregular non- recurring basis. Examples include all litigation, whether civil or criminal, code enforcement, City or Utility Authority work that is of unusual complexity or requiring an extraordinary dedication of attorney time, as determined by the City Manager or City Council, such as EIR work, initiatives, negotiation and drafting of complex development agreements, complex/novel ordinances, comprehensive General Plan updates, or to the entire Zoning Code, etc. The City Attorney will not unilaterally designate any matter as a special project.

For any “special” matter, we will ﬁrst obtain approval from the City Manager or City Council, and we will provide a proposed budget for said work.

Expense Reimbursement/Mileage. For all general legal services, we will not bill for travel time to and from our ofﬁces to City Hall. We generally do not bill fax, word processing, or small reproduction matters (under 100 pages). The ﬁrm will charge the City for actual necessary costs incurred for all of the following including but not limited to: court ﬁling fees, attorney services (includes service of process fees, arbitrators, and mediators), messenger services, Lexis-Nexis research, overnight or express delivery services, mileage, parking fees, travel expenses, if applicable, including hotel, air travel and car rentals, actual costs for large reproduction projects if performed by an outside service, or $0.10 per page (b/w) and $0.20 per page (color) if performed in house, and any other expense not listed above which becomes necessary to the successful resolution of a client matter. In addition to the above, we will charge travel time for litigation and special services.

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Attachment 3

LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
for

CENTRAL COAST BLUE REGIONS RECYCLED WATER AUTHORITY

1. IDENTIFICATION OF PARTIES. This Agreement is made between JONES MAYER, hereafter referred to as “Law Firm,” and CENTRAL COAST BLUE REGIONAL RECYCLED WATER AUTHORITY, hereafter referred to as “Client.” This Agreement is required by Business and Professions Code section 6148 and is intended to fulfill the requirements of that section.

2.LEGAL SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED. The legal services to be provided by Law Firm to Client are as follows: General Counsel Services. Said legal services and representation are assigned to Law Firm. General Counsel Services shall include the following:
a.Attendance at meetings of the board of directors, and any other meeting directed by the General Manager (hereafter "General Manager" shall include the General Manager's designee), unless excused therefrom by the General Manager; b.Attendance at staff meetings when directed by the General Manager; c. Legal research and legal advice to the board of directors, the General Manager and CCB staff;
d. Preparation and review of ordinances, resolutions, and agreements as requested;
e. Representation of CCB in non-adversarial administrative proceedings, legislative hearings and other intergovernmental matters; f.Representation of CCB and CCB officials and employees in claims and litigation filed by or against the Client as requested; g.Oversight of legal matters handled by outside counsel; h.Such other legal services as may be directed by the board of directors or General Manager.

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4. ATTORNEY’S FEES. Client will pay Law Firm for attorney’s fees for general legal services provided under this Agreement at the rate of $225 per hour for attorney representation under this Agreement and $160 per hour for a paralegal. Client will pay Law Firm for attorney’s fees for special legal services and litigation provided under this Agreement at the rate of $275 per hour for attorney representation under this Agreement and $190 per hour for a paralegal. Law Firm will charge in minimum units of one tenth of an hour.

Client acknowledges that Law Firm has made no promise about the total amount of attorney’s fees to be incurred by Client under this Agreement.

5.RATE GUARANTEE. We will freeze our rates for a period of two years, with rates to increase thereafter based upon the Consumer Price Index increase for the prior year utilizing the standard as established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor for consumers in the Los Angeles area, or another mutually agreed upon index.

6.COSTS. Client will pay all “costs” in connection with Law Firm’s representation under this Agreement. Costs will be advanced by Law Firm and then billed to Client. The anticipated costs for representation under this Agreement include, but are not limited to, mileage at current IRS rate, round trip, to appear at any hearing or conference, messenger service fees and overnight delivery fees. The hourly rate identified above includes photocopying expenses (under 100 pages). Actual costs for large reproduction projects (100+ pages) if performed by an outside service will be charged, or $0.10 per page (b/w) and $0.20 per page (color) if performed in house, and any other expense not listed above which becomes necessary to the successful resolution of a client matter.

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7. INSURANCE. Law Firm will at all times maintain the following insurance coverage:

Professional Liability/Errors & Omissions $2,000,000/$4,000,000 General Liability $2,000,000/$4,000,000
Auto Liability $1,000,000 (including hired and
non-hired)
Workers Compensation State Mandated Limits or higher
Prior to starting work under this agreement, Law Firm will provide certificates of coverage for the above policies.

8. REPRESENTATION OF ADVERSE INTERESTS. Client is informed that the Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of California require the Client’s informed written consent before an attorney may begin or continue to represent the Client when the attorney has had a relationship with another party interested in the subject matter of the attorney’s proposed representation of the Client. Client and Law Firm are not aware of any potential conflicts and have discussed them in detail. Law Firm will consult with Client in accordance with the requirements of the Rules of Professional Conduct as to any new matters assigned to Law Firm after the entering of this Agreement regarding any potential conflicts of interest relating to such new matters.

9.DISCHARGE OF ATTORNEY. Client may discharge Law Firm, pursuant to state law, by written notice effective when received by Law Firm. Notwithstanding the discharge, Client will be obligated to pay Law Firm its last statement within thirty (30) days as set forth under the terms of this Agreement.

10. STATEMENTS AND PAYMENTS. Law Firm will send Client monthly statements indicating attorney fees and costs incurred and their basis, any amount applied for deposits, and any current balance owed. If no attorney fees or costs are incurred for a particular month, or if they are minimal, the statement may be held and combined with that for the following month. Any balance will be paid in full within thirty (30) days after the statement is mailed and within thirty (30) days after final statement is submitted due to discharge of Law Firm

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13. MODIFICATION BY SUBSEQUENT AGREEMENT. This Agreement may be modified by subsequent Agreement of the parties only by an instrument in writing signed by both of them or an oral Agreement to the extent that the parties carry it out.

14. ARBITRATION OF FEE DISPUTE. If a dispute arises between Law Firm and Client regarding attorney’s fees under this Agreement and one of the parties files suit in any court other than small claims court, the non-filing party has the right to stay that suit by timely electing to arbitrate the dispute under Business and Professions Code sections 6200-6206, in which event the party filing suit must submit the matter to such arbitration.

16. FILE RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION. At the conclusion of this matter, we will retain your legal files for a period of 10 years after we close our file. At the expiration of the 10-year period, we will destroy these files unless you notify us in writing that you wish to take possession of them. We reserve the right to charge administrative fees and costs associated with researching, retrieving, copying and delivering such files.

17. EXECUTION. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and by fax or electronic signature. In executing this Agreement, the Client warrants (i) by executing this Agreement, the Client is formally bound to the provisions of this Agreement and (ii) the entering into this Agreement does not violate any provision of any other agreement to which the Client is bound.

18. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Law Firm may use artificial intelligence tools in our representation of Client. If we do so, we will ensure your confidential information is maintained in confidence and that any writing or analysis produced by generative artificial intelligence is edited or confirmed by an attorney before use. If you Council Agenda 9-2-2025 9.D-19
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have any questions or concerns about our use of artificial intelligence tools, please let us know.

19. EFFECTIVE DATE OF AGREEMENT. The effective date of this Agreement will be the date when it is executed by the last of the parties to do so.

The foregoing is agreed to by:

Dated: _____________, 2025 CENTRAL COAST BLUE REGIONAL

RECYCLED WATER AUTHORITY

__________________________________
Jorge E. Garcia, General Manager

Dated: _____________, 2025 JONES MAYER

Ryan R. Jones, Owner

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Pismo Beach City CouncilSeptember 2, 2025

Pismo Beach City Council
September 2, 2025