From:
Sent: Monday, December 1, 2025 2:25 PM
To: Mayor Kate <[email protected]>; Maribeth Bushey <[email protected]>; Rachel Kertz <[email protected]>; Eli Hill <[email protected]>; Maika Llorens Gulati <[email protected]> Cc: Lindsay Lara <[email protected]>; Rob Epstein <[email protected]> Subject: Subject: Public Comment – November 17 Minutes - Agenda Item 6.a
FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD
Subject: Public Comment – November 17 Minutes Agenda Item 6.a Mayor Colin, Vice Mayor Bushey, and Councilmembers:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit written comment on the November 17 minutes.
Pursuant to the City’s standard procedures for public review and correction of draft minutes, I respectfully request amendments to the Draft Minutes for the November 17, 2025 City Council Meeting, scheduled for approval at the December 1 City Council meeting.
My request concerns the accuracy and completeness of the minutes as they relate to Agenda Item 6.a and the series of interrelated actions taken that evening regarding 350 Merrydale Road. The minutes, as currently drafted, accurately record the motions and votes, but do not reflect the scope, sequence, or interconnected nature of the actions taken, which is essential for an accurate historical record.
The agenda lists what might happen. Minutes record what did happen. Copying agenda titles into the minutes does not create an accurate public record — it merely repeats the notice that existed before the meeting even occurred.
Someone might argue that, “Staff responded to questions,” or “there was public comment.” But that does not satisfy the purpose of Action Minutes, which must be “complete enough that the actions taken can be understood in context.” Even a video recording is not the legal record. A transcript is not the legal record. As I understand it, only the minutes survive as the City’s official historical archive.
On November 17, the Council passed five interdependent actions enabling a single project.
Emergency powers were invoked. Two nearly identical ordinances were adopted intentionally — one urgent, one fallback. The public received 500+ pages 72 hours before the vote. But the Action Minutes show only isolated motions and vote totals, giving the misleading impression that these actions were unrelated.
A simple factual notation such as:
“Under Agenda Item 6.a, the Council considered and acted on five interrelated items concerning the 350 Merrydale project, including a Shelter Crisis Declaration, an Urgency Ordinance, an Uncodified Ordinance, an $8 million Grant Agreement, and a Purchase and Sale Agreement.”
…would solve the problem without adding discussion, interpretation, or narrative.
This is about transparency, accuracy, and maintaining public trust — not about changing minute formats.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely
Ken Dickinson
Rafael Meadows
FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD