City Council Special Meeting Minutes – 2/22/2025 Page 1
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Rob Newsom Jr., Mayor
Adam Loraine, Deputy Mayor
Nicole Fernandez
Danielle Cwirko- Godycki
Lisa Diaz Nash
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Special Meeting Minutes
City Council
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www. cityofsanmateo. org
February 22, 2025
College of San Mateo – College Heights
Conference Room 9: 00 AM
Special Meeting
CALL TO ORDER at 9: 00 a. m.
Roll Call
Present: Mayor Newsom, Deputy Mayor Loraine, Council Members: Fernandez, Cwirko- Godycki, and Diaz Nash AB 2449 Requests and Considerations for Meeting Participation by Teleconference due to Just Cause or Emergency Circumstances – no requests.
The mayor opened the workshop and outlined the purpose of the workshop and called for public comment.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Organized Presentation from Groups: 1) San Mateo Age Friendly Coalition urged staff work jointly with the Coalition assist with County declaration of loneliness as an emergency; 2) San Mateo Climate Action Team commented on urgency for climate action needs; 3) Ethics San Mateo – proposed approaches for addressing enhancing code of conduct.
Individual speakers: Carol Welmany spoke in support of reviewing gas leaf blower use in the City, Max Mautner and Pamela Rittlemyer spoke in support of seeing progress towards pedestrian and bicycle master plan. Karyl Eldridge spoke towards the need for a rental data registry. Brett Stevenson spoke in support of Hillsdale Empowerment Through Action program, Tim Donnelly spoke on developing a pilot program for bike lanes in Humboldt. Michael Ragan spoke in support of Ethics San Mateo proposal, called for the need for a traffic engineering survey and requested neighborhoods be included in planning process. Alan Howe objected to the “ apartmentification” of San Mateo. Rick Bonilla spoke in favor of rental registry, in opposition to AB 306 and supported safety for all, clean air and safe streets. Jeff Gilbert spoke in favor of supporting Empower San Mateo. Laura Walsh spoke to the need for a sea rise adaptation plan. Mareva Godfrey spoke to the need for enhanced stormwater infrastructure at the lagoon. Jordan Grimes spoke to the need for tenant protections to address housing crisis concerns.
STUDY SESSION
1. City Council “ Blue Sky” Goal Setting Workshop
City Manager Alex Khojikian outlined the process for the day and noted that due to staffing capacity issues and an already robust list, each council member was limited to submitting three priorities and he discussed the City’ s emphasis on four key priority areas. Under the guidance of Facilitator Tim Dunkin, the Council first reviewed the 2024- 25 Priority list for items that would remain on the list; then reviewed what items should be removed from the list; then moved on to 2025- 26 review of department initiatives; then the staff recommended priority list and then the City Council recommendations.
Council recessed from 11: 13 am to 11: 25 am; then broke for lunch at 12: 15 pm and reconvened at 12: 30 pm.
ADJOURNMENT – The meeting adjourned at 12: 56 p. m.
Docusign Envelope ID: 78BE5091- 2CDA- 4C79- AB0F- 77E608C504F3 City Council Special Meeting Minutes – 2/22/2025 Page 2 APPROVED BY: SUBMITTED BY:
Rob Newsom, Jr., Mayor Martin McTaggart, City Clerk
Docusign Envelope ID: 78BE5091- 2CDA- 4C79- AB0F- 77E608C504F3