Page | 1 City Council Meeting Minutes (May 26, 2026)
CITY OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
CITY COUNCIL
UNOFFICIAL MEETING MINUTES
MAY 26, 2026
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Jordan called the special meeting to order at 5:56 p.m. in the Council Chambers, located at 311 Second Street, San Juan Bautista, California.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Pro Tem Sabathia led the Pledge of Allegiance
ROLL CALL Present:
Councilmember Jose Aranda – arrived at 5:56 p.m.
Councilmember Scott Freels – via teleconference (AB 2449) Councilmember Jackie Morris-Lopez
Mayor Pro Tem EJ Sabathia - arrived at 5:57 p.m.
Mayor Leslie Q. Jordan
Absent:
Staff Present:
Ashley Collick, City Manager
Jon R Giffen, City Attorney
Elizabeth Soto, City Clerk
Also present:
Roy Morales, Assistant to the City Manager
Arielle Goodspeed, Planning Manager
Councilmember Freels participated via teleconference pursuant to AB2449 for just cause.
Councilmember Freels announced that he was participating via teleconference due to illness and that no person over the age of 18 was present in the room.
MOTION:
Upon motion by Mayor Pro Tem Sabathia, seconded by Councilmember Aranda, to allow Councilmember Freels to participate via teleconference under AB2449 for just cause.
AYES: Councilmembers: Aranda, Morris-Lopez, Sabathia, and Mayor Jordan NOES: None; ABSENT: None; ABSTAIN: None:
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2. CLOSED SESSION 5:00 P.M. – 5:30 P.M.
a. Conference with Legal Counsel—Existing Litigation – Orozco v. City of San Juan Bautista et al. (California Government Code section 54956.9(d)(1)) Item was tabled due to lack of quorum.
Mayor Jordan announced that the closed session item was not heard due to a lack of quorum.
3. STUDY SESSION
A. Proposed Draft Budget and Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Year 2026-27 City Manager Ashley Collick presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget and Capital Improvement Plan. She stated that the budget process reflected an evaluation of the City's finances, operations, infrastructure obligations, service delivery, staffing capacity, public safety costs, development processes, and long-term economic conditions. She explained that the proposed budget is intended to address deferred investments, aging infrastructure, rising service costs, outdated fees, limited staffing capacity, and the City's small revenue base.
City Manager Collick outlined key budget priorities, including infrastructure reliability, public safety, organizational consistency, downtown revitalization, and long-range financial planning.
City Manager Collick noted that although the City remains financially stable, its limited revenue base and growing infrastructure and service obligations require proactive planning, timely investment, and policy direction from the City Council.
The presentation reviewed several financial and operational issues, including modest revenue growth, public safety costs representing nearly one-third of General Fund spending, the cost recovery gap in community development, internalization of planning, engineering coordination, building services, and code enforcement oversight, water infrastructure investment, completion of the sanitary sewer force main project, fee updates, fire protection costs, law enforcement service evaluation, and downtown economic development opportunities.
Mayor Pro Tem Sabathia asked about revenue peaks shown in the presentation. Wendy L.
Cumming, CPA, explained that the 2018 increases likely reflected housing development activity, including impact fee revenue from Rancho Vista and Copper Leaf. She also explained that certain fund balances are held in specific funds and may be used, as allowed, to offset capital improvement costs. Discussion also addressed Water Enterprise Fund revenues, prior water fee increases, and impact fee revenue received during the same period.
The following members of the public commented on the item:
Cara Denny encouraged the city to prioritize basic community needs and use community volunteers and local energy to help address maintenance and beautification needs.
Michael Ponce stated that the City needs to build the General Fund through sales tax, transient occupancy tax, and other revenues. He said the City needs to bring more people to town, encourage visitors to stay and spend money, and hold town hall meetings to discuss community ideas.
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Mark supported downtown rejuvenation and said vacant buildings and inconsistent business hours affect the visitor experience. He stated that downtown revitalization is important to increasing tax revenue and supporting the City's financial position.
Chris Mortarana commented on the need for sinking funds and long-term planning for water and sewer infrastructure replacement. He stated that impact fees are a buy-in for existing infrastructure and do not replace the need for long-term funding plans, and urged the City Council to provide an overarching vision for the community.
John Freeman stated that the budget discussion should address both expenses and revenues. He encouraged the City to increase revenues without raising taxes by stimulating hotel activity and transient occupancy tax revenues, bringing more visitors to town, and considering changes to the cannabis ordinance to allow a downtown dispensary.
Jennifer Clark of The Hideaway supported downtown revitalization and stated that the current level of foot traffic does not support being open every day. She also encouraged the City to review existing fee schedules, website materials, and current collections, noting her experience with uncertainty regarding the sign permit fee.
The City Clerk read a written public comment from Rachel Ponce requesting that the City Council include funds in the 2026 budget for marking parking spaces on Fourth Street. The comment described concerns regarding blocked driveways, increased traffic, speeding, and impacts occurring beyond City events.
The City Council on June 16, 2026, recommended balancing the budget, and June 30, 2026, could be used for an additional review if needed.
The following members of the public commented on the report:
Kara Denny encouraged the city to prioritize essential community needs and community involvement.
Michael Ponce emphasized increasing revenues, strengthening the General Fund, and obtaining additional community input.
Mark Mason supported downtown revitalization and reducing vacancies.
Chris Martorana advocated for long-term infrastructure planning and community vision.
John Freeman encouraged revenue generation through tourism and economic development opportunities.
Jennifer Clark supported downtown revitalization and recommended reviewing City fees and permit information.
Rachel Ponce (written public comment) requested funding for Fourth Street parking striping.
B. Comprehensive User Fee Study
Khushboo Ingle, Vice President of Matrix Consulting Group, presented revisions to the City's Comprehensive User Fee Study based on feedback received from the City Council and the public. She explained that the City had not conducted a comprehensive fee review in more than 20 years and that the study was intended to ensure legal compliance, accurately identify the cost Page | 4 City Council Meeting Minutes (May 26, 2026)
of providing services, improve cost recovery, and support transparent policy decisions.
Ms. Ingle explained that the original proposal generally reflected full cost recovery for City services. After feedback from prior discussions, staff and the consultant revised several proposed fees to reduce financial barriers and address community concerns while still improving cost recovery. Proposed revisions included adjustments to appeal deposits, historic resource review fees, recreation-related fees, dog licensing fees, and Community Hall rental fees. She stated that the revised schedule would maintain approximately 95 percent cost recovery overall.
Ms. Ingle also explained that many of the revised fees would remain deposit-based, allowing the City to recover actual costs if staff time and expenses exceeded the initial deposit amount. She further noted that development-related fees would become effective 60 days after adoption, while other fees would typically become effective 30 days after adoption.
Councilmember Jose Aranda thanked staff and the consultant for responding to prior feedback and said he appreciated the revisions made to the proposed fee schedule. He indicated support for continued discussion regarding public engagement and opportunities for community input before final adoption.
Councilmember Scott Freels expressed support for moving the fee schedule forward and noted that it could be revisited after implementation. He suggested reviewing the fees after a period of use to determine whether further adjustments may be warranted.
Councilmember Jackie Morris-Lopez discussed concerns related to historic resource review fees, Community Hall rental fees, baseball field rental fees, and dog licensing fees. She supported minimizing or waiving Community Hall fees for local San Juan Bautista nonprofit organizations and community-serving activities and requested consideration of alternative fee structures where appropriate.
Mayor Pro Tem EJ Sabathia requested clarification regarding the City's overall cost recovery percentage following the proposed revisions and discussed the relationship between service costs and fee revenues. He supported a fee schedule that would improve cost recovery while remaining responsive to community concerns.
Mayor Leslie Q. Jordan supported the revised proposal and discussed the importance of maintaining a transparent, understandable fee schedule. She said consolidating fees into a clear schedule would reduce confusion and improve public understanding of City charges and services.
The following members of the public commented on the report:
Chris Martorana requested additional information and clarification regarding proposed fees.
John Freeman supported the fee study but requested that Community Hall fees remain waived for local nonprofits.
Michael Ponce supported fee updates but recommended phased implementation and additional community outreach.
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Kara Denny supported community events, phased fee increases, and expressed concern regarding impacts on local businesses.
Cara Vonk expressed concerns regarding historic property fees and Community Hall fees for community programs.
4. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn the meeting by Councilmember Aranda, seconded by Councilmember MorrisLopez. All in favor.
There being no other business, Mayor Jordan adjourned the meeting at 7:47 p.m.
APPROVED:
______________________
Leslie Q. Jordan, Mayor
ATTEST:
______________________
Elizabeth Soto, City Clerk