From: Betsy Megas
To: Clerk
Subject: June 9 council agenda, item 2.A "Presentation from Caltrain" Date: Sunday, June 7, 2026 2:23:35 PM
Dear City Clerk O'Keefe, Ms. Pimentel, Mayor Gillmor, and Council Members:
The very first item on the regular council agenda is "2.A. Presentation from Caltrain." I recognize that this placement is meant to relieve Caltrain staff from having to sit through the rest of a lengthy council meeting.
However, making an item a "Special Order of Business," excludes public comment. The same thing happened recently to the "
Presentation from Valley Transportation Authority." (Item 2.A, April 7,2026.) Mayor Gillmor reluctantly recognized some brief comments from members of the council. The public in attendance, including myself, ended up waiting until Public Presentations, by which time the VTA speaker had long since—and wisely—departed.
VTA came to seek feedback on their proposed investment plan. VTA staff visited all the cities they could. Mountain View and San Jose, at least, sent letters to VTA detailing their wishes for how the Connect Bay Area measure's return-to-source funding might best be spent in their communities, should the measure pass. Santa Clara did not, and instead discouraged
public engagement at the time of the presentation.
It makes sense for ceremonial items not to include public comment. If Caltrain were recognizing the City of Santa Clara with a certificate, take the photo and move on. But Caltrain will present about their structural budget deficit, which is hardly ceremonial.
To exclude council and public comment on inter-agency communication, especially when the visiting agency expressly solicits input, is a disservice to the public, to the city, and to the agency taking the trouble to reach out.
What prevents placing a lone information item at the very beginning of an agenda? What prevents taking comments on a Special Order of Business in a case such as this? I hope you will arrange for presentations like these to have first billing and also provide for council and public discussion.
Many thanks,
Betsy Megas
Resident of District 6
speaking only on my own behalf