May 26, 2026 1
San Carlos City Council/Successor Agency to the
Redevelopment Agency/Housing Authority Regular Meeting
Council Chambers, City Hall
600 Elm Street, San Carlos, CA 94070
May 26, 2026 7:00 PM
MINUTES
ROLL CALL
City Council Present: Pranita Venkatesh, Mayor
Adam Rak, Vice Mayor
John Dugan, Councilmember
Neil Layton, Councilmember
Sara McDowell, Councilmember
Staff Present: Rendell Bustos, Senior Planner
Brian Cary, Communications Manager
Akanksha Chopra, Sr. Management Analyst
Sajuti Haque, Economic Development and Housing Manager
Paul Harris, Financial Services Manager
Hanieh Houshmandi, Senior Traffic Engineer
Kathy Kleinbaum, City Manager
Emma Licko, Recreation Supervisor
Andrea Mardesich, Assistant Community Development Director Rebecca Mendenhall, Administrative Services Director
Crystal Mui, City Clerk
Angie Rodriguez, Human Resources Manager
Gregory Rubens, City Attorney
Al Savay, Community Development Director
Tracy Scramaglia, Assistant Public Works Director
Mike Tabak, Police Chief
Alex Tat, Principal Engineer
Kristie Woo, Associate Planner
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Venkatesh called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. TELECONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS BY COUNCIL
None.
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Venkatesh led the Pledge of Allegiance.
4. CHANGES TO THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA
None.
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5. REPORT FROM CLOSED SESSION
None.
6. PRESENTATIONS
a. Present Proclamations Recognizing 2026 Hometown Days Ryan Greco Memorial Art Contest Winners Hailey Lau and A.L. “Cairo” Parra-Rasine.
Mayor Venkatesh presented proclamations to the two grand prize winners of the 2026 Hometown Days Ryan Greco Memorial Art Contest, Hailey Lau and Cairo Parra-Rasine. Both recipients were invited to share brief remarks and expressed their gratitude to the judges and the Greco family for continuing to uphold the tradition of this contest.
b. Receive a Presentation from MidPen Housing on their Proposed Development at 626 Walnut Street.
Principal Planner Rucha Dande commenced the item with the City’s role as it relates to MidPen Housing’s Walnut Street h ousing development project and turned the presentation over to Rebecca Cirelli, MidPen’s S enior Project Manager and Sarah Vaccaro, lead designer for the project, to provide further details on the project, including outreach efforts and development timeline. Ms. Cirelli, Ms. Vaccaro, Ms. Dande, Economic Development and Housing Manager Sajuti Haque, and MidPen Director of Housing Development Mollie Naber responded to Council questions.
Public Comment
Brian Perkins, a resident, spoke in support of the project.
Council provided the following feedback and suggestions for the project:
- Think broadly about vulnerable populations who may be at risk of losing housing, including adults with disabilities whose housing stability could be jeopardized following the death of a caregiver.
- Consider what would be gained by activating the area with a single driveway before reducing available parking. Council supported increased community activation but emphasized that maintaining parking availability should remain a priority. - Further explore opportunities for childcare, including small family childcare homes. - Ensure fair and equitable access for San Carlos residents and employees, particularly with respect to the proposed income thresholds for the public employee housing preference.
7. COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Council Member Layton thanked staff for another successful Hometown Days event and recognized Administrative Services Director Rebecca Mendenhall for her above -and-beyond volunteer contributions in support of the event.
Council Member Dugan also expressed appreciation for Hometown Days.
Council Member McDowell congratulated Recreation Supervisor Emma Licko on receiving an award for the City’s Teen Wellness Retreat, a joint mental health initiative with the City of Belmont.
Mayor Venkatesh echoed her colleagues’ sentiments and expressed appreciation for the successful event and the efforts of everyone involved.
8. PUBLIC COMMENT
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Jack Bray, Senior Asset Manager with G.W. Williams, expressed opposition to the proposed Northeast Area Specific Plan.
9. CONSENT CALENDAR
Council Member Layton pulled Item ‘d’ – Law Enforcement Services Agreement, from the Consent Calendar to be discussed after the New Business Section.
MOTION: Adopt City Council Consent Calendar Items ‘a’ through ‘c’ and “e” – “l”.
MOVER: Rak
SECONDER: McDowell
AYES: Dugan, Layton, McDowell, Rak, Venkatesh
NAYS: None
RESULT: Motion Passed 5 – 0
a. Motion to Waive Reading of All Ordinances.
b. Approve the City Council April 13, 2026 Regular Meeting Minutes.
c. Approve the City Council April 27, 2026 Special Meeting Minutes.
d. Adopt a Resolution Approving Amendment 1 to the Law Enforcement Services Agreement with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, Including the Fiscal Year 2026 -27 Payment of $14,455,499; Offset by the CalPERS Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability Credit in th e Amount of $2,059,325, and Offset by the Approval of the Use of Prior Year Savings in the Amount of $700,000 for Police Services.
This item was pulled from the Consent Calendar for a separate discussion.
e. Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Execution of an Amendment to the Animal Control Services Agreement between the County of San Mateo and the City of San Carlos for a Three-Year Term Beginning July 1, 2026. Resolution 2026-055
f. Accept the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 Third Quarter Financial Report for the Period Ending March 31, 2026.
g. Accept the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 -26 Third Quarter Investment Report for the Period Ending March 31, 2026.
h. Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Execution of a Professional Services Agreement with Integrated Communication Systems (ICS) in the Amount of $370,703, with a 10% Contingency in the Amount of $37,072, for a Not -to-Exceed Total Contract Amount of $407,775 to Upgrade the Existing Council Chambers’ Audio Visual (“A/V”) Systems to Support Modern, Reliable Operations and Request the Appropriation of Restricted Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) Funds from the General Capital Fund (Fund 25) for this New Capital Project. Resolution 2026-056
i. Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Execution of an Amendment to the Existing Professional Services Agreement with Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC (WRT) for Additional Services Associated with the Preparation of Graphics and Upgraded Renderings for the Downtown Groundbreaking Celebration in an Amount Not to Exceed $19,715. Resolution 2026-057
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j. Adopt a Resolution Accepting and Approving the Annual Investment Policy for Fiscal Year 2026-
27. Resolution 2026-058
k. Deny Claim of Licia Colaizzi.
l. Deny Claim of Paulette Dolin.
10. NEW BUSINESS
a. Consideration of Appointing Four Youth Advisory Council (YAC) Voting Members for the 2026 - 2028 Term, Two YAC Voting Members for the 2026 - 2027 Term, Two Alternate YAC Members for the 2026 - 2027 Term, and Recognizing Four Retiring YAC Voting Members.
Recreation Supervisor Emma Licko presented the recommended appointments to the Youth Advisory Council (YAC).
Council expressed appreciation to the outgoing Youth Advisory Council members, welcomed the incoming members, and emphasized the importance of youth engagement in city governance.
MOTION: Appoint the following to the Youth Advisory Council:
voting members for the 2026 – 2028 term: Anusha Iyengar, Eva Greenebaum, Nitya Modi, and Sanvi Sirvastava; voting members for the 2026 – 2027 term:
Maya Kacholiya and Nikhil Nunna; and alternate members for the 2026 – 2027 term: Doris Lin and Zuri Kadiwar; and
recognize retiring members Ellora Mehta, Hanna Kent, Tiko Gupta and Connor Huh.
MOVER: Rak
SECONDER: Dugan
AYES: Rak, Dugan, Layton, McDowell, Venkatesh
NAYS: None
RESULT: Motion Passed 5 – 0
City Clerk Crystal Mui administered the Oath of Office to the newly appointed members.
b. Consideration of Adopting a Resolution Adopting a Technology Disruption Policy, Pursuant to Senate Bill 707.
City Clerk Crystal Mui presented and outlined the proposed Technology Disruption P olicy and responded to Council questions.
MOTION: Adopt Resolution 2026 -059 Adopting a Technology Disruption Policy, Pursuant to Senate Bill 707.
MOVER: Rak
SECONDER: McDowell
AYES: Dugan, Layton, McDowell, Rak, Venkatesh
NAYS: None
RESULT: Motion Passed 5 – 0
Council recessed at 8:50 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 8:58 p.m.
9d. Adopt a Resolution Approving Amendment 1 to the Law Enforcement Services Agreement with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, Including the Fiscal Year 2026 -27 Payment of $14,455,499; Offset by the CalPERS Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability Credit in th e Amount of $2,059,325,
May 26, 2026 5
and Offset by the Approval of the Use of Prior Year Savings in the Amount of $700,000 for Police Services.
Council Member Layton requested modifying the designation of the $400,000 in supplemental overtime funding so it could be used to address emerging public safety needs, with recommendations developed by the Public Safety Subcommittee in coordination with staff.
City Attorney Greg Rubens and City Manager Kathy Kleinbaum responded to Council questions.
Council support ed the request but emphasized that any changes to the recommended funding priorities should return to the full Council for review and approval.
MOTION: Adopt Resolution 2026-060 approving Amendment 1 to the Law Enforcement Services Agreement with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, including the fiscal year 2026-27 payment of $14,455,499; o ffset by the CalPERS unfunded actuarial accrued liability credit in the amount of $2,059,325, and o ffset by the approval of the u se of p rior year savings in the amount of $700,000 for police services; and directed staff to generalize the $400,000 with targeted enforcement guidance developed through the Public Safety Subcommittee in coordination with the City Manager and staff.
MOVER: Layton
SECONDER: McDowell
AYES: Layton, McDowell, Rak, Dugan, Venkatesh
NAYS: None
RESULT: Motion Passed 5 – 0
11. REPORTS TO COUNCIL
a. Receive an Update on the Implementation of the 2021 San Carlos Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Plan.
Sustainability Senior Management Analyst Akanksha Chopra provided an overview of the Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Plan (CMAP) and highlighted several strategies that advanced the City's climate goals over the past year. She also responded to Council questions.
Council encouraged staff to work with West Light Energy to quantify the impacts and benefits of clean energy, share that information with the community, and continue collaborating with the City's state legislative representatives to advance the City's climate goals.
12. PUBLIC HEARING
a. Consideration of Adopting a Resolution Accepting a Report on the City of San Carlos’ Workforce Vacancies, Recruitment, and Retention Trends as Required Under Assembly Bill (AB) 2561.
Rebecca Mendenhall, Administrative Services Director, presented the City’s workforce vacancies, recruitment, and retention trends.
There were no public comments for this item.
MOTION: Close the Public Hearing.
MOVER: Rak
SECONDER: Dugan
AYES: Dugan, Layton, McDowell, Rak, Venkatesh
May 26, 2026 6
NAYS: None
RESULT: Motion Passed 5 – 0
MOTION: Adopt Resolution 2026 -061 accepting a report on the City of San Carlos’ workforce vacancies, recruitment, and r etention trends as r equired under Assembly Bill (AB) 2561.
MOVER: Rak
SECONDER: Layton
AYES: Rak, Dugan, Layton, McDowell, Venkatesh
NAYS: None
RESULT: Motion Passed 5 – 0
13. AGENDA SETTING
a. Consideration of Agendizing an Item Banning Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers.
Vice Mayor Rak spoke on the need for a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers.
Council expressed support for further evaluating the feasibility of a ban and directed staff to schedule a study session, anticipated for late fall 2026, to review neighboring cities’ approaches, including enforcement costs, implementation considerations, and potential impacts to San Carlos.
14. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 9:44 p.m.
Crystal Mui,
City Clerk