Sebastopol City Council
September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Because if they're gonna get reimbursed.
1159
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, that we're gonna be… it's gonna cost… I need to know this. This is… this is only during the formation, not ongoing.
1160
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, so how, how, how many weeks is… Say that again?
1161
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: My understanding is it includes the formation, but also the PFAS, the public financing, to get that up and running as well. Right, so do you have an estimate for how long? Because I'd like to ask that question, too. I'd like to have an opportunity. 1162
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Because it's my understanding it was more time, like, to what you had said, Mary. Joe, can you… can you hear us okay?
1163
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: Hear you, great. Thank you. 1164
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: Yeah, good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council.
1165
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: So, the revenues increase annually as assessed values grow. It was that first year…
1166
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a specific question about how much it would cost on staff time, just to save us some time. I don't want you to go through all the steps. I'm not sure if you actually… did you hear the question?
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: I believe so. Yeah, so that we say we're estimating conservatively, meaning conservatively high, 8 to 10 hours of staff time.
1168
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: weekly, in our other world. 1169
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: the state?
1170
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Momo.
1171
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: the, it's sort of hot and heavy for about 6 months. That's the time that it takes to do all the formation meetings and hearings, and the required noticing.
1172
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's the 8 to 10 hours, the hot and heavy time?
1173
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: That's correct. And then… and then once formed, that's when things go easy, and maybe that was the point of confusion. It's heavier up front, front-loaded, and then on an ongoing basis, it's typically one meeting annually of this public financing authority and some staff time.
1174
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: To prepare an agenda and a staff report for that annual meeting, so that number drops down to, like, a quarter of that,
1175
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: You know, when you look at it on an annual basis.
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: The reality is, this can be done without a consultant, like Kosmont, in which circumstance, yeah, of course, it would take a little bit more of a staff person, and in scenarios where firms like ours are involved, the ongoing annual is probably almost negligible for a staff person.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1177
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: So it's just a policy decision for the future, if this thing gets done, if you want to keep it internally managed, or sort of outsource that to a firm like ours. 1178
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, thank you. Go ahead, yeah. 1179
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, what would… what would it cost to have a staff person, salary and benefits? What does that cost? 1180
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In terms of if this EIFD is going to reimburse staff.
1181
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That would be dependent on which staff person we do, and if we have a consultant on board still, we are in the process right now, it's the planning department is the one that would be the responsible department. We are… we have just hired an associate planner, so they would be…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, their costs would be a lot less, whether
1183
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Rather than if we had the consultant do it, but I will say…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the associate planner is a new planner, so I'm not sure I would put them into that position, to manage this at this point. I'm sure that they would come up to speed very quickly.
1185
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But if we're looking at consultant time, if I have to have a planning director to oversee it for, like, the first few months, they charge about $200 an hour.
1186
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, the associate planner would be probably close to $80 an hour, and that's without benefits. 1187
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, Joe, can you clarify, if we did, just out of curiosity, if we did have to hire a consultant until we got permanent staff on.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that could be reimbursed from the EIFD.
1189
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is that correct or not? 1190
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Joe, can you…
1191
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Joe, can you hear us? 1192
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: I can. For some reason, I was not able to unmute, and now I am able to unmute.
1193
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: That… that is correct. Consulting time… consulting time is reimbursable. I will tell you, because we're in the middle of the conversations on Santa Rosa. It's a different discussion when it's about reimbursing staff time, whether that's the city's time or the county staff for doing their part of this.
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Joe Dieguez, Kosmont Companies: So far, staff time has been left out of the reimbursement discussions, whereas consulting time is sort of easily in play for those reimbursement conversations.
1195
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right. So, basically, what we're being asked to do is commit
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: this 260 hours of staff time at the… at the top, right? 8 to 10 hours for 26 weeks.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: is… $52,000 at $200 an hour. 1198
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that is pretty much as much as we've set aside.
1199
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for the whole EIFD, including the county part.
1200
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right? Am I missing something here? Because that… are you… are you just expecting that staff with time would not be reimbursed? That we would be committing
1201
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 260 hours of staff time to the EIFD, because that's a big… Commitment.
1202
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think Joseph stated that staff time would not be reimbursed.
1203
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And what I heard Mary say is we just hired an associate planner, and they could easily get up to speed, so I wouldn't expect we would pay a consultant for 6 months. I would hope not, if we just hired someone.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, what I was saying is that… so, yes, we have an associate planner coming on. Can he get up to speed? Yes, I have no doubt about that. How fast can he get up to speed if he's never done an EIFD before, or a PFAS and all that? So it is going to take a little bit of, you know, getting him on board. We may have to pay 1205
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Depending who the planning consultant is at that time, some hours to cover that until such time that he is brought
1206
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that person is brought up to board.

My point is, not all the hours would be covered by a consultant, you're saying it would be a combination. That is correct. It would be a combination at this point right now.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, if the associate planner makes $80 an hour, does that include the benefits and everything? No, that does not. That doesn't include their benefits or anything like that, and so let me pull up what the estimate is. It depends on, you know, again, their medical, if they have a family, don't have a family, so let me pull that up.
1208
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I just kind of want to mention that because of the county's contribution, this is actually paid for, and we're getting a lot of infrastructure work paid for.
1209
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, when we go out to get a larger bond.
1210
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We're now doing front-loaded work, yeah, our budget's gonna take it now, but as we do these other projects, then we don't have those expenses going out for a bond. We can't get… like, going out for a vote for a bond is expensive. That takes loads of hours.
1211
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So there are a lot of efficiencies in this, and that it's really kind of covered in all the projects that we'll go do… doing forward. So we're just putting that work here, but we're gonna get it back.
1212
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But when will we get that back? How long is it gonna take to… In every project that we do, we won't have to deal with… No, I'm just asking for, like, a time frame, like, if we… if we do this, at what point…
1213
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: how many years before we actually are able to, like, you know… It's all outlined in the staff report. No, I know, but I'm just asking to… It'll be commonly absorbed after year 5, like, through… through… through the… but it'll really be absorbed when we…
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: have projects done and start doing them. As we… as we just put money aside, that's not really doing us the same favor as doing the projects will. I mean, this is… this is with the intention of doing projects.
1215
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It's not with the intentions of putting money aside. This is the intention of, hey, we want to invest in our city, and these things should have a return on investment, and they should make our city grow, and they should bring in sales tax, and if we don't do those things, we're not going to get the sales taxes that we think we might.
1216
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so this is the only way that we can get this money lump sum up front without going into a special bank situation, which costs money. Loans cost, you know, more going through a regular bank. So, we were… we become…
1217
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, vulnerable to just having to do
1218
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, small projects that we can afford.
1219
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Like, basically at a cap… 1220
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead. So how many council members are required to sit on this board?
1221
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I believe it's two. Okay, and do we have two council members here that will volunteer to be on that board? 1222
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Any other questions? 1225
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We can go to public comment. So, I do want to clarify the 80 does cover benefits and everything. That is all included per hour.
1226
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So just to answer another question, you can… in the staff report on page 8, there's a graph showing 1227
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the cumulative revenue, and you, you know, after 2 years, it's a little under $90,000 cumulative, half of which is from the county, so…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As a point of reference. 1230
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, you want to go out to public comment?
1231
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. So this is public comment for the, EIFD moving forward. If you would like to make a public comment, now is your opportunity. It's a two-minute public comment. I will come to chambers first.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will go out. 1233
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Out to Zoom. Lee, can you unmute yourself, please?
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Lee: Oops.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There you go. Can you… I can hear you. Can you see the timer?
1236
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Lee: Yes.
1237
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, go ahead with your public comment, please.
1238
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Lee: Yeah, I just submitted a fairly lengthy one. You guys can just read it. It got… I didn't get to it till later today, so you may not have seen it, but a couple of thoughts. Number one, I'm pretty sure in the staff report it says it's three council people and 2 public… members of the public, or make up the commission.
1239
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Lee: If that's wrong, then the staff report needs to be corrected. 1240
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Lee: I think you all are getting some of the issues here. I think that the numbers that have been presented, you all actually extended the Kosmont contract amount to get a full financial accounting, and I don't think you ever got it.
1241
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Lee: I don't think that the revenue numbers that they're showing in the staff report are real numbers. I think it's an illustration of what it might look like.
1242
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Lee: I showed a graph of what real property tax revenues look like year over year, the increases look like year over year. They're very uneven, and they don't steadily grow over an 8- or 10-year period. So… 1243
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Lee: I don't know if you've seen real numbers yet for revenue. You haven't seen any numbers for cost, other than what's in the staff report, about just, like, a hundred and…
1244
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Lee: $110,000 for the upfront, plus the staff time, which you guys have been discussing, which I think is probably going to come out around $50,000.
1245
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Lee: So, you know, you're probably $150,000, $160,000 up front, and then once you get this thing established.
1246
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Lee: I don't understand why it would be one meeting a year and no time spent. I guess it's just collecting money, but you don't have any agreement yet on what projects are you going to do? How are you going to make that decision? If you look at the Commons project that Mayor Zolman's been leading, or, I'm sorry, Councilmember Zolman's been leading, it's a huge, huge effort to
1247
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Lee: narrow down what it is you want to do with this money. And a lot of that work is going to require consultants, because you don't have the people on staff to do that kind of work.
1248
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Lee: You're committing a quarter of a staff person. You did that for Gravenstein Commons, too, and it turns out every time this council votes to commit a quarter of a staff person, they don't hire another quarter of a staff person, and there's no money in the budget to pay for another quarter of a staff budget.
1249
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Lee: Lastly, Look, is it… did I eat it all up? I'm sorry, okay, good enough, thanks.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

I will come into Chamber. Yeah, just very quickly, I'd like to see some guarantees the county is actually going to have some money in a couple of years' time, because we could… the city could burn through a lot of money.
1251
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: chasing the EFID dream, but then the way the economy is at the moment, you know, there may be no money in the bank for the county in two years' time, because I know the county are really struggling at the moment. So some kind of guarantees before you dive headfirst into this and spend a lot of money.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1252
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It would be really good to have some cast iron guarantees that the county are actually going to be good for moving forward on this. I mean, I'm pretty leery about it anyway, but that seems to be super important to me. Thank you.
1253
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Lee: A lot of easy ways to…
1254
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will go back out to… whoops… Zoom. If there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment, to please raise your hand virtually. 1255
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will come back into chambers.
1256
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, public comment is closed. I do… can I just make a correction, though, to a member of the… so…
1257
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If it's city only, it is three council members. If the county is involved, it is two city… two council… so if the county of Sonoma and the city participate together, then it is two members of the city council, one board of supervisors, and then one member of the public appointed by the council, one member appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
1258
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay. So, it would be 3 if it was city only.
1259
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, alright. Well, we're back here at the dais, and I'm… I'm just gonna…
1260
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm gonna say what I need to say.

I, all along, have been skeptical of this, and I spent a great deal of time speaking with Mr. Leland about this, and the pros and cons of, you know, help me figure out how to get to a yes with this, because I've been a no all along.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And after that long conversation about the pros and cons, and the timing of this, and the pros and cons for our small city, who does have a lot of infrastructure issues, and it makes sense to think about, like, we should be saving for infrastructure issues for the future.
1262
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But we also have a lot of infrastructure issues right now, and, you know, and skimming off the top of any increases that we might have, the pros and cons and all of that. 1263
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And based on all of the… that discussion and everything that I have learned, and the amount of time that it takes for the staff, and the lack of guarantee, and all of the issues, I'm still a no, so I'm not supporting this tonight. It's no shock to anyone, because I haven't supported all along, so I'm just… that's my comment for the night, and go ahead. Councilmember Zolman, go ahead. 1264
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I want to thank, Councilmember Hinton and Carter, even though I was abrupted for us earlier. Apologies again, for picking up the pieces from when Councilmember Hinton and I were doing it, and then
1265
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: former mayor Rich and I were doing it.
1266
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It is complex, but thank you for working with staff to
1267
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: hone it all in, into the staff report. I'm in the same boat in the fact that, you know. 1268
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we do need to take some calculated risks, because financially, we are still in a mess moving forward, and we need solid revenue streams. I have reminiscent, now that we have to deal with the Barlow after this.
1269
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: like the Barlow. Like, we need to take calculated risks to bring in more revenue, otherwise the city is never going to be able to
1270
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: pay the staff that apparently we need in order to do the projects. We can't just keep the status quo at all. And I'm firmly of the camp, and this is no big surprise, that the county really does need to step up. As I said before in my comments, we have been subsidizing the county
1271
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for…
1272
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: years with our pool, and the library, and the roads, and if this is an opportunity for the county to step up, which it does sound like, you know, Supervisor Hopkins is on board, she needs to do her job and get her other colleagues to get on board with this, too. We either are the commercial hub, as she referred to when she was at the podium, telling this to us
1273
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 3 years ago, we either are the commercial hub of the West County, or we are not.
1274
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I'm banking on her 1275
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: saying what she said to apparently the two of you, she's on board, and positioning it so she can get her other Board of Supervisors to vote also for this EIFD. All that said, I am supportive and will be voting yes.
1276
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm sorry, you were for a second, Councilmember Hinton.
1277
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I want to point out that not only is she supportive, we've been in touch with her office, because there's an option here, if you notice in the agenda report, to evaluate 1278
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the areas outside our city limits into the county for future development that are poised for future development.
1279
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And she has given us the green light on that, because they don't impact the rest of the EIFD that is being pursued in the rest of the 5th District. I wanted to point that out there.
1280
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For me, I always want to save for the future. I remember what property costs, that my parents bought homes here in the 70s and 80s.
1281
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And what those properties cost now. 1282
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Property taxes are gonna go up, and as I've said earlier, this is what cities are using to replace our redevelopment funds that went away years ago, and those redevelopment funds are the only way we got these big projects done. So, it doesn't pay off for us, and yes, we're spending money up front.
1283
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to evaluate it, but it's a risk that I believe we have to take for the longevity of when my kids are living here. So, we're…
1284
03:17:30.880 --> 03:17:44.430
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We've got to put the pennies in the piggy bank, and it's… we can borrow against it, and it can pay off down the road for us, to grow our community. So, we've spent a lot of time on this. I feel good about it, and I think the timing's right. I'll be supporting.
1285
03:17:47.880 --> 03:18:01.780
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead. And it should be noticed that this is coming from property taxes, and we're going to recoup some of the county's property tax take, which is some of the most stable and reliable income there is before it gets distributed.
1286
03:18:01.980 --> 03:18:21.620
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, when we, assign the map to the area, we're only taking a 25% of a certain map, too, so we'll still have plenty of money, for our general fund. So, it's reallocating it from… 1287
03:18:21.850 --> 03:18:35.100
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: being able to spend it on, say, random things, and we're appropriating it now to infrastructure right now. And that's one of the most important investments that we can make. 1288
03:18:36.570 --> 03:18:38.830
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, Vice Mayor. 1289
03:18:40.810 --> 03:18:47.239
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This is a hard one for me, because, well, we've been talking about this for probably 2 years, I think. 1290
03:18:48.020 --> 03:18:49.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And,
1291
03:18:50.880 --> 03:19:02.190
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I'm really happy that the county will contribute, and I trust that Linda Hopkins supports it. I trust you on that. I understand that sometimes you need to spend money to make money.
1292
03:19:02.390 --> 03:19:07.470
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that it's… I'm concerned with the amount of staff time.
1293
03:19:07.980 --> 03:19:12.979
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And if the staff… if… I think I'm… 1294
03:19:14.470 --> 03:19:19.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think we need to really think about, you know, are we going to be allocating that time? 1295
03:19:20.730 --> 03:19:38.129
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 21… 21 to $52,000 for the EFID. I mean, that's a major, major investment and project, I think, for the EFID, especially considering that he, we… I remember we were told that it wouldn't take hardly any staff time.
1296
03:19:38.780 --> 03:19:42.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I think that it probably… Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1297
03:19:42.840 --> 03:19:47.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If we go into this, we should not reimburse staff time, otherwise you're going to be emptying that 1298
03:19:48.130 --> 03:19:55.829
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that bank account every year, if you're reimbursing staff time, because I think that's how much staff time it's going to actually take.
1299
03:19:56.150 --> 03:20:03.719
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I understand it's just up front, but every meeting, like an earlier comment, was made that it's $1,500 every meeting.
1300
03:20:03.920 --> 03:20:14.510
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, how many meetings is this going to require? The other thing I really don't like is that, this is an end run. Also, it's an end run around going through the voters for a bond. 1301
03:20:14.740 --> 03:20:20.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that part bothers me. So, I am very conflicted about this.
1302
03:20:22.160 --> 03:20:23.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And…
1303
03:20:26.580 --> 03:20:30.730
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It feels very complicated, and I really don't like
1304
03:20:30.980 --> 03:20:40.180
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the fact that we were told it wouldn't take very much staff time, and now it's going to be taking quite a lot of staff time. So that bothers me. Yeah.
1305
03:20:40.540 --> 03:20:55.119
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I just want to speak to the end run around the bond issue. Yeah, we'll be appropriating a large amount of money at once, but because this isn't adding, if you pay property taxes and you have a bond.
1306
03:20:55.300 --> 03:20:57.869
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, if you pay $230, Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1307
03:20:58.140 --> 03:21:06.550
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Or whatever, now it's $275 if you go out for a bond that's voted for. This doesn't happen. Your property taxes stay the same rate.
1308
03:21:06.860 --> 03:21:09.330
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This is just pre-allocating the money.
1309
03:21:10.850 --> 03:21:21.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I did talk to Bob Leland about this, and I had him run a forecast on it, and for me, it didn't seem like it, it didn't really affect our bottom line that much.
1310
03:21:21.470 --> 03:21:31.219
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In terms of running… doing the EFID, I didn't think that was a problem. The problem I have is the staff time and the meetings that it's going to take to get this going and maintain it.
1311
03:21:34.690 --> 03:21:41.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Especially in light of the fact that we were told that it wouldn't… it would be negligible to get it going.
1312
03:21:41.620 --> 03:21:44.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So,
1313
03:21:48.750 --> 03:21:51.429
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah. Well, I think you're… there's already…
1314
03:21:51.540 --> 03:21:56.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 3. I know, yeah. I mean, unless you have more that you want to…
1315
03:21:57.090 --> 03:22:05.489
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, I just didn't know if you wanted… if you had anything more to say, or if you're… I'm just really conflicted, and I'd like to,
1316
03:22:06.880 --> 03:22:17.490
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'd like to support my colleagues who believe in this. They've done the deeper dive, I have not. I've only asked questions, and read about it, and blah blah blah. This always seems really complicated.
1317
03:22:18.140 --> 03:22:25.500
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And… So, I do wanna… I do wanna hear from my colleagues about the idea of staff time, because… 1318
03:22:25.910 --> 03:22:28.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whether or not they would be reimbursed.
1319
03:22:29.550 --> 03:22:35.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: from the EFID, or are we just going to expect staff to just give this?
1320
03:22:36.950 --> 03:22:55.779
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So that's my question for my colleagues. I mean, my belief at this time is it sounds like we just hired someone, and that sounds great, and so we've got some staff coming on. And I think that some of these decisions, we're gonna have to go through this process and then decide
1321
03:22:55.780 --> 03:23:07.790
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What money… once the district is drawn, we'll have a better idea about what money is actually going to come to us, and that might be a discussion about whether we're reimbursing staff time or not.
1322
03:23:07.970 --> 03:23:15.559
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: later. But, for now, again, for me, it's just an investment in the future, and…
1323
03:23:15.910 --> 03:23:25.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We have to take some of these steps, and other cities are moving in the same direction, so we're not alone. We're not going out on a limb here, we're doing a proven 1324
03:23:25.570 --> 03:23:32.360
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: thing that many, many cities are doing. So, I'm going to go ahead and make the motion that we improve 1325
03:23:32.360 --> 03:23:50.469
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, or the EIFD, Next Steps, which is approval of an agreement with Kosmont Companies for Financing District Formation Advisory Services, and authorization for the City Manager to execute the agreement as indicated
1326
03:23:50.550 --> 03:23:59.710
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: On page, further on in the staff report for the full amount, ranging from $100,000 to $110,000. 1327
03:24:02.540 --> 03:24:20.169
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'll second it. I just want to clarify that you're also authorizing a budget amendment, because this is above the $75,000 that was allocated, so are you going up to the option… I just want to make sure we're clear. Option 2, which is the add-on of the 20, so that's going to be a total of $110,000. That's correct, that's my motion.
1328
03:24:24.850 --> 03:24:26.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: My second agrees with that. 1329
03:24:28.390 --> 03:24:37.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, any further discussion before I call the motion? So, the motion moved by Councilmember Hinton and seconded by Councilmember Carter.
1330
03:24:37.710 --> 03:24:51.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: is to approve the agreement with Kosmont for Kosmont for the Financing District Formation Advisory Services, to authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement, to add the Option 1 add-on, authorizing the additional budget amendment increase.
1331
03:24:51.400 --> 03:25:01.179
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For the boundary evaluation and map revision, and authorizing the option of the option 2 of the budget amendment for $20,000 to increase the areas outside the city limits. 1332
03:25:01.670 --> 03:25:03.640
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Carter? 1333
03:25:04.090 --> 03:25:05.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes.
1334
03:25:05.390 --> 03:25:07.389
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Hinton? Aye. 1335
03:25:10.070 --> 03:25:12.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zolman? Yes. 1336
03:25:12.670 --> 03:25:22.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Vice Mayor Maurer? No. Mayor McLewis? No. Motion passes 3-2, with Council Members Carter, Hinton, and Zolman in support, Vice Mayor Maurer, Mayor McLewis in opposition. 1337
03:25:23.490 --> 03:25:24.520
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1338
03:25:24.780 --> 03:25:28.560
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So now we have the item, numbers. 1339
03:25:28.850 --> 03:25:36.490
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 3, right? Item number 3, that was pulled, and so now I need to… Excuse myself.
1340
03:25:36.610 --> 03:25:40.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then, Vice Mayor, you'll take over for me.
1341
03:26:02.730 --> 03:26:05.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Mary, can you tell me what number that one is?
1342
03:26:06.870 --> 03:26:12.039
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That was number 3. It was pulled from the consent calendar.
1343
03:26:12.340 --> 03:26:27.600
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, this is item number 3, approval of waiving, second reading, and adoption of ordinance to amend Sebastopol Municipal Code Section 2.12.100, Power of Appointment, etc. 1344
03:26:28.930 --> 03:26:30.080
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Questions?
1345
03:26:45.850 --> 03:26:46.670
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oops.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1346
03:26:47.080 --> 03:26:48.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sorry.
1347
03:26:50.380 --> 03:26:51.180
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1348
03:26:53.300 --> 03:27:11.180
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Approval of… so, Agenda item 3, take 2. Approval of waiving second reading and adoption of Ordinance 1167, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Sebastopol, approving an amendment to the development agreement for the Barlow Hotel development to establish
1349
03:27:11.180 --> 03:27:14.080
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a TOT tax rebate program. 1350
03:27:14.580 --> 03:27:17.919
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And this was pulled by Councilmember Hinton.
1351
03:27:19.190 --> 03:27:38.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I want to repeat, maybe you can read it for us, and we can just have a discussion with my colleagues, the actual wording, because, I've had feedback from the public that, that we are giving this, and I have assured,
1352
03:27:38.530 --> 03:27:53.199
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I guess I'll just, the members of the public that have questioned me that the TOT rebate we are giving this developer is not something that could just be put in their pocket, that this is specifically to promote
1353
03:27:53.350 --> 03:27:59.109
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: as stated, I think, where I read it, for marketing of
1354
03:27:59.350 --> 03:28:05.050
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This as a regional destination, for the hotel.
1355
03:28:05.490 --> 03:28:11.919
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For the city in general, and that we would not just be able to
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1356
03:28:12.000 --> 03:28:28.060
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: requests, but I would like to have a report annually. I would like to have those… that proof submitted to the city. And I'm probably not going to be sitting here for the next 10 years, so I want to make sure it happens, you know, and doesn't fall through the cracks.
1357
03:28:28.060 --> 03:28:32.329
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I just don't know if we said that strongly enough.
1358
03:28:32.430 --> 03:28:42.139
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I'm curious what my colleagues think, and I'm comfortable, if everybody else is comfortable with this, probably agreeing, but I want to make sure
1359
03:28:42.810 --> 03:28:50.639
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That the city will have something in place so that we can make sure that that rebate is going to marketing 1360
03:28:51.670 --> 03:28:52.550
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: efforts.
1361
03:28:53.500 --> 03:28:56.840
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And lots of people have questioned that, and I've…
1362
03:28:57.060 --> 03:29:02.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I want to make sure that our agreement is tight in that. So the agreement says… excuse me again. 1363
03:29:02.730 --> 03:29:17.510
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that the payee of the tax and or the developer or successor shall use the remitted tax funds for advertisement of tourism in the city of Sebastopol, including the Barlow Hotel, as a destination in the city of Sebastopol.
1364
03:29:17.510 --> 03:29:30.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The City may request, and the payee of the tax shall provide, at least annually, documentation of how the remitted tax funds were spent for such purposes, but the City shall have no authority to direct such spending.
1365
03:29:30.720 --> 03:29:31.640
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1366
03:29:33.240 --> 03:29:41.930
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So the language in here does say that the city may request that they are required to provide that if we ask.
1367
03:29:42.060 --> 03:29:48.530
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Rather than change the language in the ordinance,
1368
03:29:48.850 --> 03:30:06.980
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: because that would require reintroduction. The Council could provide direction to staff that this should be an annual request made, you know, at the end of each fiscal year or something, and if the Council wants, we could even bring back, you know, a resolution to put that, you know, formally into a policy. 1369
03:30:08.290 --> 03:30:17.340
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, so it's memorialized someplace, you know, for a future city manager and a future city council to know. And let me just ask, what…
1370
03:30:17.820 --> 03:30:22.200
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: what would happen if they didn't comply? I mean…
1371
03:30:22.670 --> 03:30:30.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Because… do we have a stick there? I mean, we could terminate the agreement. Okay, so if they don't agree, we could terminate. Okay.
1372
03:30:30.540 --> 03:30:31.320
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Boom.
1373
03:30:32.260 --> 03:30:34.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Just a reminder that we're still in questions.
1374
03:30:34.920 --> 03:30:36.180
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zolman? 1375
03:30:37.000 --> 03:30:50.130
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I'm glad that we did pull it, because my recollection of where we were was that Vice Mayor and I had concerns about what we just passed, whether the marketing was for everybody.
1376
03:30:50.130 --> 03:30:59.380
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And not just the Flo. So there was a motion to reconsider a motion, and my recollection is that there was opposition to that. So now, when Alex just read it back. 1377
03:30:59.410 --> 03:31:00.930
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Correct me if I'm wrong. 1378
03:31:01.130 --> 03:31:10.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It does clearly state, with what you just said, that the waiver for the marketing is for everybody 1379
03:31:10.970 --> 03:31:25.700
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: citywide, to include downtown businesses, etc, etc, and not just for the Barlow. Is that not just what you read? It says for the advertisement of tourism in the city, including the Barlow Hotel, as a destination. So…
1380
03:31:27.370 --> 03:31:28.300
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1381
03:31:28.560 --> 03:31:47.739
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And thank you, Councilmember Hinton, for pulling it, because around this May thing, but then, Alex, you did say that upon request, they shall… I heard the word shall. Shall as an order. Right, they must. They don't have the option. The May applies to the city making the request, but the… Okay, got it. 1382
03:31:49.220 --> 03:31:50.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1383
03:31:50.480 --> 03:31:56.219
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I mean, I don't know, I… Any other questions? I don't have any other questions. Okay, so we can go out to public comment?
1384
03:31:57.810 --> 03:32:08.829
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Vice Mayor. So this is public comment on the discussion of introducing the, ordinance for the Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Barley Hotel for the TOT sharing arrangement. I will come into chambers first. Kyle?
1385
03:32:08.990 --> 03:32:23.200
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, yeah, there's nothing in terms of teeth, in terms of this marketing. There's nothing in here that suggests that the marketing will do anything for anyone other than just the hotel. Because it has, in phrase.
1386
03:32:23.200 --> 03:32:37.609
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: including the hotel, that if I spend 100% of my dollars on the hotel, I am still within the language that… how it's written. So, it's an interesting opinion to suggest that it could be
1387
03:32:37.610 --> 03:32:50.800
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: more than just the hotel, and that you have any sort of oversight, because the very last closet here says you have no oversight as to what the direction of the funding being spent is. So.
1388
03:32:51.240 --> 03:33:02.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hi, I'm the Barlow. I just spent 100% of those dollars on marketing my hotel, of which I have taken 50% of the TOT dollars from your city.
1389
03:33:02.300 --> 03:33:18.080
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And you got nothing that you can do about it. Thanks for asking about it. I'll come back next year and tell you that I did the exact same thing. And you'll do nothing about it, because I'm within the contracted statement that you are about to approve tonight.
1390
03:33:19.910 --> 03:33:22.560
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Nothing you will be able to do. 1391
03:33:22.900 --> 03:33:29.599
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But I look forward to lots of media ads for the Barlow Hotel. It's gonna be… great.
1392
03:33:31.120 --> 03:33:39.659
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kyle, for your public comment. Next, I'll go out to Zoom, if there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment on the Hotel TOT rebate ordinance. 1393
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
03:33:39.860 --> 03:33:41.780
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Please raise your hand virtually. 1394
03:33:43.490 --> 03:33:45.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Bianca, can you unmute yourself, please?
1395
03:33:47.650 --> 03:34:05.920
Bianca Blomquist: Hey there, good evening. My name is Bianca Blomquist, and I just wanted to let you know that I oppose this measure. I don't think it has been discussed enough. I don't think it has enough teeth. As the gentleman who was speaking just before.
1396
03:34:06.070 --> 03:34:12.500
Bianca Blomquist: They have no incentive. The developer has no incentive to market
1397
03:34:12.650 --> 03:34:18.739
Bianca Blomquist: other businesses, and I just, I think that that is a shame.
1398
03:34:19.050 --> 03:34:22.180
Bianca Blomquist: So thank you very much. Have a good night. 1399
03:34:22.620 --> 03:34:25.430
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come into chambers.
1400
03:34:32.480 --> 03:34:35.749
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: A little off track, but can you hear me?
1401
03:34:36.090 --> 03:34:49.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Two years ago, a lot of people filled this room about a historic tree, the Bunya Bunya, that this business owner wanted to cut down, although he had purchased the land 1402
03:34:49.550 --> 03:34:55.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Of this tree, and… which was guaranteed not to be cut down.
1403
03:34:56.490 --> 03:35:08.479
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And there were over a hundred and not… over 75 people who'd written letters and showed up to save this tree, which was agreed upon, that he would not cut it down. 1404
03:35:09.690 --> 03:35:18.050
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Which was interesting for me, that during the meeting, he actually texted the mayor backing down. 1405
03:35:18.400 --> 03:35:27.639
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It was my first experience seeing the power and privilege And how that access to a mayor. 1406
03:35:28.820 --> 03:35:31.529
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Kind of was pretty influential. 1407
03:35:31.840 --> 03:35:34.580
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That a major businessman would text.
1408
03:35:35.870 --> 03:35:38.519
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, somebody in governance during a meeting.
1409
03:35:38.970 --> 03:35:45.579
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I have a mortgage that has very strict rules that I have to follow.
1410
03:35:46.790 --> 03:35:50.009
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Does this agreement have those same rules?
1411
03:35:52.550 --> 03:36:00.249
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I'll go back out to Zoom. If there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment on this item, to please raise your hand virtually.
1412
03:36:01.190 --> 03:36:04.659
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers.
1413
03:36:04.990 --> 03:36:07.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: CNN, public comment is closed on this item.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1414
03:36:12.930 --> 03:36:14.270
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Hinton. 1415
03:36:15.250 --> 03:36:28.700
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I pulled this item to verify, because I wanted to make sure I understood it before I voted a second time. I'm still in favor of this item. I think that for all the discussion points we talked about last time.
1416
03:36:28.800 --> 03:36:44.250
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We have to take a risk, and again, I stated last time, I'll state it again, the biggest item was the Hotel Sebastopol when I got elected in 2016, and here we are 10 years later, and we still don't have a hotel.
1417
03:36:44.500 --> 03:36:52.529
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, for the same reasons I supported it last time, I'm gonna support it again tonight, but I do think it's a big…
1418
03:36:52.820 --> 03:36:58.669
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: vote, and… I wanted to pull it off consent calendar so we could revisit
1419
03:36:59.020 --> 03:37:18.160
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: these terms, which, talk about promoting the hotel, but as a destination and the city's Sebastopol. I don't think you can promote a hotel and not promote where it is, and the reasons to visit that city. So, I'm comfortable with our language. I think it…
1420
03:37:18.750 --> 03:37:27.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: does what we want it to do, and I would be interested, maybe, as the City Manager recommended, in bringing back something that
1421
03:37:27.330 --> 03:37:44.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: says our staff should be asking for this report every year for this 10-year period, because I don't know that any of us will be sitting here, and I want to make sure that doesn't get missed by staff, because it's a very important part of the agreement for me. So… Thank you.
1422
03:37:45.410 --> 03:38:03.020
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I… I have a concern after that last vote. I went home and I felt… my heart really felt heavy around agreeing with this decision, and started thinking about how much money was actually going to be going to advertising Sebastopol. 1423
03:38:03.030 --> 03:38:09.260
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And what that might do in terms of Hurting the city with…
1424
03:38:09.700 --> 03:38:23.599
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: getting overrun with tourists. So, right, a million dollar budget for advertising, and we didn't cap it, it was just this open-ended, you know, amount of money, and then we're gonna have… the piazza's gonna come after us now and want
1425
03:38:23.930 --> 03:38:36.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: want the same thing, so whatever we do, the Piazza's gonna want the same. So, $2 million towards, advertising, are we comfortable with that? How will that affect our little city here?
1426
03:38:37.000 --> 03:38:38.379
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And,
1427
03:38:38.600 --> 03:38:45.390
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's a lot of money to be putting toward advertising, so I would be in favor of bringing it back. 1428
03:38:45.620 --> 03:38:47.169
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Because I know we can't… 1429
03:38:47.480 --> 03:38:59.350
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: vote on that part, but… but capping it at… I would be comfortable capping it at 500, so 50% or $500,000 would be a cap, so that way we would be pitching in
1430
03:38:59.420 --> 03:39:17.560
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: at least half of what they want to do, but not going over that. At least it would put some limit on it. I would be comfortable doing that, especially considering that the Piazza's going to come back and probably want the same. Whatever we do for the Barlow, we're going to have to do for Piazza, so that…
1431
03:39:18.300 --> 03:39:20.850
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Would be my request.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1432
03:39:23.920 --> 03:39:30.120
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You're assuming Piazza's gonna come back after the last 10 years when they proposed the first project. 1433
03:39:30.370 --> 03:39:33.830
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I… I don't know that they… Well, so…
1434
03:39:34.100 --> 03:39:36.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Just saying. They haven't performed yet in 10 years.
1435
03:39:40.680 --> 03:39:54.530
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I just wanna say, like, I don't care how much they advertise. Like, they can advertise nothing for a Sebastopol. If they get built, everybody's gonna benefit, and we're gonna find ways to manage bringing people to the town.
1436
03:39:55.590 --> 03:40:01.709
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And it still astounds me that we would cause, you know, a developer that's struggling
1437
03:40:03.200 --> 03:40:11.640
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: More grief in how to develop and how to spend their money when we're dependent on them in so many different ways.
1438
03:40:11.740 --> 03:40:15.310
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For the amount of money that they might bring in.
1439
03:40:15.630 --> 03:40:25.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If they come… we've already decided they're coming in, so it's kind of a moot point now, but they could literally spend nothing on the city, and if the hotel gets built, we benefit.
1440
03:40:25.970 --> 03:40:43.010
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If they… if we get overrun like a tourist town, that's not great, you know? But I don't know that that will be, like, an issue. I don't want, personally, this has nothing to do with this, but I don't want to be a tourism town. I'd love there to be different kinds of industries here.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1441
03:40:44.000 --> 03:40:53.849
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But as far as, like, our projections go, every time we see a projection, it has some bit of TOT tax, and we really just need to make this simple.
1442
03:40:57.870 --> 03:41:05.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Any other comments, Councilmember Hinton? I'll go ahead and move the item. I feel, I understand the… 1443
03:41:05.910 --> 03:41:19.150
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: wanted to rehear what Alex read, and I feel comfortable with it, so I'm going to make a motion to approve the waiving of the second reading and adoption of Ordinance 1167, an ordinance of the City of Sebastopol
1444
03:41:19.160 --> 03:41:29.390
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: of the City Council of the City of Sebastopol approving an amendment to the development agreement from the Barlow Hotel Development to establish a TOT tax rebate program. I'll second.
1445
03:41:29.920 --> 03:41:47.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And just to clarify, did you also want to include direction to staff to bring back that policy? Please, and direction to staff to bring back that policy as recommended by the city manager for future city councils to make sure that we get an annual report. Yeah, that's good for the seconder as well.
1446
03:41:48.840 --> 03:42:06.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, so moved by Councilmember Hinton and seconded by Councilmember Zolman to approve the ordinance authorizing an amendment to the development agreement to the Barlow Hotel to approve the TOT sharing arrangement, as amended to direct city staff to create a city policy to return to the City Council. 1447
03:42:06.290 --> 03:42:09.040
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Requiring that city staff shall annually
1448
03:42:09.810 --> 03:42:19.830
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and I'm gonna add, so you can tell me if you like it, by March of each year to formally request from the owner the annual report of marketing for the City to be presented to the City Council by June of each year.
1449
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
03:42:20.150 --> 03:42:21.410
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is that acceptable? 1450
03:42:22.860 --> 03:42:30.150
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Carter? Yes.

Councilmember Hinton? Aye. Councilmember Zolman? Yes. Vice Mayor Maurer? No.
1451
03:42:33.950 --> 03:42:43.639
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And Mayor McLewis is absent, so the motion passes 3-1-1, with Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, and Zolman in support, Vice Mayor Maurer in opposition, and Mayor McLewis absent. 1452
03:43:34.790 --> 03:43:41.409
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, so we're… back, and I think we're at, public comment again, am I correct, Mary?
1453
03:43:42.080 --> 03:43:59.419
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We are at additional public comment. Oh, sorry, yeah, go ahead. No call. Yeah, sorry, I thought you were going to say something else. I thought I made a mistake. Go ahead.

No, we are at the additional public comment for items not on the agenda.

If you did not speak during the first public comment period, now is the opportunity to speak at this public comment.
1454
03:44:00.370 --> 03:44:02.329
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I will come to Chambers first. 1455
03:44:02.990 --> 03:44:11.060
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will go out to Zoom, if there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment for an item not on the agenda, and you did not speak during the first public comment.
1456
03:44:11.730 --> 03:44:13.699
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, there's no public comment.
1457
03:44:14.280 --> 03:44:18.790
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright, and then I believe, the next thing is, are there any,
1458
03:44:19.140 --> 03:44:22.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Items that council members would like to bring forth.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1459
03:44:23.570 --> 03:44:25.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1460
03:44:27.220 --> 03:44:41.209
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I have a question. The issue of the council member cost allocation, part of the… how much is being allocated, is that due to come back based on our earlier, motion? And… 1461
03:44:41.940 --> 03:44:43.979
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That was part of emotion. 1462
03:44:44.290 --> 03:44:50.190
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the… that was not part of a motion.

What the part of the motion was that it was to be directed to work with EFOC.
1463
03:44:50.450 --> 03:45:07.700
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: On the remaining… there are some items that would be coming back, so we will be working with them. We have done time tracking, so once we have… I have gone back and done research for the last two years, doing an average of how much, just for meeting time, the Council has done that, so that will help as far as moving forward with
1464
03:45:07.700 --> 03:45:13.209
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: giving information to the EFOC, as well as the cost allocation, so… I'd like to bring that portion back. 1465
03:45:13.370 --> 03:45:17.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the council allocation. I'll second that.
1466
03:45:28.100 --> 03:45:29.130
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1467
03:45:29.720 --> 03:45:49.310
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, anyone else? Anything? Now we'll just go to a city update, or city manager, city attorney updates. Thank you. So, as I mentioned earlier, we did send a conditional offer letter. It has been received. The individual has passed background.

We anticipate that individual coming on board for the planning staff. 1468
03:45:49.310 --> 03:45:50.959
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: August 15th.
1469
03:45:51.030 --> 03:46:03.910
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We did, on Friday, do interviews for proposals received for Planning Consultant Services, as well as we are doing an interview, probably within the next week or two for Planning Director.
1470
03:46:04.120 --> 03:46:14.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a full, you know, permanent staff, so we have both… both going at the same time. Now that the ordinance was adopted tonight, we'll be sending out the city clerk recruitment that will be going out
1471
03:46:14.850 --> 03:46:18.409
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, that is all I have for tonight.
1472
03:46:20.770 --> 03:46:24.160
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay. Any council members want to do updates?
1473
03:46:24.320 --> 03:46:33.619
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: just briefly, a lot of Coalition on the Unhoused, both board meetings and subcommittee meetings. I've sat on the permanent supportive housing
1474
03:46:33.760 --> 03:46:40.049
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: guidelines subcommittee with folks from Burbank, St. Francis de Paul.
1475
03:46:40.180 --> 03:46:58.289
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the palms, etc, they're about done.

So it's out for final review from the subcommittee, and it should be brought forward to the Coalition board for approval, hopefully either at the end of August or the very
1476
03:46:58.570 --> 03:47:01.369
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Or the September meeting, so that's that.
1477
03:47:02.160 --> 03:47:02.910
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay?
1478
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
03:47:03.260 --> 03:47:04.200
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead.
1479
03:47:04.310 --> 03:47:12.220
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I've received some communication about an application that I think it's T-Mobile has submitted
1480
03:47:12.220 --> 03:47:28.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for, they want to extend the downtown cell tower up about 20 feet. Vice Mayor, can I just interrupt really quick? Yeah. So, the item that we're on right now is just committee reports. Oh, you want me to wait until… Yeah, until we get to the communications, that would be awesome.
1481
03:47:29.360 --> 03:47:35.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, this is for committee meetings, anything intended by City Council? Correct. Any… go ahead. 1482
03:47:37.210 --> 03:47:47.369
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sctca was on hold in July, but the meeting will be coming up on
1483
03:47:48.050 --> 03:47:56.909
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the 10th again for this month, so I'll be attending that. And then, I just wanted to put a shout out to the Sonoma County Fair.
1484
03:47:57.100 --> 03:48:02.599
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I sit on that, board of directors, and it will be starting.
1485
03:48:02.600 --> 03:48:19.579
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Well, there's a flower show preview to benefit the Scholarship Foundation for Ag Scholarships, and it's sold out on the night of the 6th, and the first day of the fair is on the 7th, and that is also the Junior Livestock Auction Lambs, for lambs, so… 1486
03:48:19.760 --> 03:48:23.379
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Feel free, everybody's got tickets, and hopefully I'll see you at the fair.
1487
03:48:23.650 --> 03:48:25.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is there a Sebastopol Day? Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1488
03:48:26.090 --> 03:48:42.359
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That used to be when they were running racehorses, which they no longer do. So there, is not the city days that there used to be, and because this year's fair was pushed back, and now, of course, is in conflict with the Grab
1489
03:48:42.450 --> 03:48:50.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Apple Fair, that has to do with the state fair that set their dates, and then all the little fairs run after.

Next year.
1490
03:48:51.320 --> 03:49:07.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So kids go back to school when the fair's happening, so the fair is gonna be struggling this year, and next year it's going to move to the end of July for the first time in many, many years, because we no longer run horses. So, anyway, there's a lot of background on that, but…
1491
03:49:08.810 --> 03:49:15.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay. Anyone else? I don't have any updates other than agenda review meetings, so,
1492
03:49:15.710 --> 03:49:18.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No? Okay. Well, then I guess our meeting's adjourned.
1493
03:49:19.000 --> 03:49:20.710
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, oh.
1494
03:49:21.080 --> 03:49:30.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There's a communicate… the… Oh, Communicate… Council's communications? About communications. I'm sorry.

So, it's about that there was an application for a cell tower expansion. 1495
03:49:31.160 --> 03:49:49.470
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, should I just defer to our city attorney to explain that, or do you want me to say a little bit about it? Yeah, you were mentioning you received questions about that from, residents, so… I received those questions, and then they were forwarded to the council. So…
1496
03:49:49.470 --> 03:50:00.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So the city has, received what's a preliminary application, or interest from Crown Castle to make modifications to the downtown cell tower.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1497
03:50:00.700 --> 03:50:02.579
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Including…
1498
03:50:03.240 --> 03:50:12.470
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: increase in height, but also, expansion of the ground area that's part of the lease in order to add more cabinets, so…
1499
03:50:12.580 --> 03:50:20.250
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This would require both a CUP and a, amendment to the lease. So…
1500
03:50:20.640 --> 03:50:31.040
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: before the application moves forward, this is going to be coming to the Council, so the Council has an opportunity to provide some direction and ask, questions of the applicant.
1501
03:50:31.240 --> 03:50:32.470
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: S…
1502
03:50:33.060 --> 03:50:39.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The exact date is not yet known, but likely, you know, perhaps the second meeting in September, or thereabout.
1503
03:50:39.220 --> 03:50:49.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And there will certainly be more information made available during the, you know, the staff report and during that meeting about the exact application that's being proposed. 1504
03:50:49.660 --> 03:51:09.629
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the city's authority and all those other related topics. Can you explain why it's coming to Council for our approval rather than going to planning? Because the city, they want a lease modification, and the city council is the only body with authority to lease city property.
1505
03:51:10.440 --> 03:51:11.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, thank you.
1506
03:51:12.360 --> 03:51:27.549
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: they need both, and so rather than them go to a CUP and potentially get a CUP from the Planning Commission, and then go to the Council to get a lease modification, maybe the Council says, no, we want to bring this forward to the Council
1507
03:51:27.770 --> 03:51:29.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Early, so they could get… 1508
03:51:29.840 --> 03:51:35.410
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And hear from the Council of the Council's general thoughts before going through this long process. 1509
03:51:36.520 --> 03:51:37.560
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Got it.
1510
03:51:38.740 --> 03:51:46.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, anything else? Anyone else? Is there anything else? I don't have the agenda in front of me, Mary, so if there's anything else… okay, then we're adjourned.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
ALL RIGHT, EVERYONE. WELCOME, THIS EVENING, TO OUR MEETING. LET'S SEE. WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET START. 6:03, WE'RE CALLING TO ORDER IF YOU'D LIKE TO DO ROLE CALL, MARY?
COUNCILMEMBER CARTER?
HERE.

COUNCILMEMBER HINTON?
HERE.

ZOLLMAN?
PRESENT.

VICE MAYOR?
HERE.

MAC LOU BUSINESS?
HERE.

ALL COUNCILMEMBERS ARE PRESENT.

WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND DO SALUTE TO THE FLAG SINCE WE HAVE NO REMOTE PARTICIPATION. [ PLEDGE RECITED ]
WHAT WAS THAT? IS EVERYTHING OKAY BEFORE WE -- WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE ALL THE ELECTRONICS -- SURE, GO AHEAD. AT EVERY MEETING WE READ A LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL ACKNOWLEDGES THAT WE LIVE AND WORK WITHIN THE UNCEDED ANCESTRAL HOMELANDS OF THE MIWOK PEOPLE.MIWOK

WE PAY OUR RESPECT TO THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF THESE PEOPLES, INCLUDING THE FEDERATED INDIANS OFOF TON RANCHERIA. AS MAYOR, I LIKE TO REMEMBER THE HISTORY OF SEBASTOPOL. AGAIN, THIS WAS WITH THE HELP OF

TRUCE ARMANDO AND OUR WEST COUNTY MUSEUM LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT THEATERS WE'VE HAD IN SEBASTOPOL. I DIDN'T REALIZE WE HAD SO MANY. SO SHE KIND OF GAVE US SOME PICTURES AND THE NAMES. WE HAD EARLY THEATERS AND VAUDEVILLE IN THE EARLY TO MID 20th CENTURY. MOVIES WERE A MAJOR ATTRACTION IN SEBASTOPOL. WE HAD STARLIN THEATER AT 175 NORTH MAIN STREET WHICH OPENED IN 1912 AND CLOSED IN 1932. AND THEN IT BRIEFLY OPENED AGAIN IN THE Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1930s. WE HAD ANA LEE THEATER. BUILT IN 1948 AT 364 NORTH MAIN. IT WAS THE KEY DOWNTOWN VENUE. IT WAS IN OPERATION UNTIL 1974, UNTIL IT WAS DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR THE SAFEWAY PARKING LOT. THE EL REY THEATRE WAS LOCATED AT 226 SOUTH MAIN STREET, AND IT BEGAN AS THE ROYAL THEATER AND OPENED IN 1927 WITH A MOVIE "SWIM, GIRL, SWIM." IT CLOSED IN 1931 AND OPENED AS EL REY IN 1932. IT WAS CLOSED IN 1939 WHEN THE ANA LEE THEATER, MARKING A SHIFT IN DOWNTOWN ENTERTAINMENT. IN THE 1990s, SEBASTOPOL'S CULTURAL SCENE SAW A REVIVAL AND INTEREST IN THEATER HISTORY. SO MORE RECENTLY WE HAD THE RIALTO CINEMAS IN 2012 AT ITS CURRENT LOCATION. WE HAD LEGACY THEATERS. LET'S SEE. I'M LOOKING AT THEM ALL HERE. I THINK THIS IS PRETTY MUCH THE GIST OF IT. MARY HAD SOME PICTURES THERE IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT WHAT WE HAD HERE. SO JUST A LITTLE TRIVIA HISTORY FOR EVERYBODY. AND THEN I AM GOING TO MOVE ON TO PROCLAMATIONS. WE HAVE ONE PROCLAMATION TONIGHT, AND IT IS FOR -- PROCLAIMING AUGUST 24th, 2026, AS UKRAINE'S INDEPENDENCE DAY. WHEREAS FOR

CENTURIES THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE HAVE COURAGEOUSLY FOUGHT FOR THEIR

FREEDOM, SELF-GOVERNANCE, AND NATIONAL IDENTITY, OVERCOMING CHALLENGES AND PRESERVING THEIR RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE. AND WHEREAS ON AUGUST 24th, 1991, UKRAINE ACHIEVED INDEPENDENCE FROM THE SOVIET UNION, MARKING A

HISTORIC MILESTONE IN THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE'S JOURNEY TOWARD FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, AND SELF-DETERMINATION. WHEREAS THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL

RECOGNIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF PROMOTING CULTURAL DIVERSITY, FOSTERING

INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING, AND SUPPORTING THE ASPIRATIONS OF ALL NATIONS TOWARDS FREEDOM, JUSTICE, AND INDEPENDENCE. AND WHEREAS IN 1993,

TO FURTHER THE GOALS SUPPORTING CITIZEN DIPLOMACY THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL ENTERED INTO A SISTER CITY AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF CHERIN, UKRAINE.

WHEREAS FOR THE PAST 33 YEARSYEARS THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF SEBASTOPOL

WORLD FRIENDS, THE SEBASTOPOL COMMUNITY HAS DEVELOPED DEEP AND LASTING

RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE CHERIN COMMUNITY BY WAY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURAL EXCHANGES. AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL DESIRES TO SHOW SOLIDARITY

WITH THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE IN THEIR PURSUIT OF PEACE, SOVEREIGNTY, AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT I, JIM McLEWIS, MAYOR

OF THE CITYCITY OF SEBASTOPOL, ON BEHALF OF THE CITY COUNCIL, HEREBY PROCLAIM AUGUST 24th, 2026 AS UKRAINE'S INDEPENDENCE DAY IN THE CITY OF

SEBASTOPOL AND CALL UPON ALL RESIDENTS TO JOIN IN COMMEMORATING THIS

SIGNIFICANT OCCASION TO HONOR OUR UKRAINIAN SISTER CITY AND RECOGNIZE THE

UKRAINIAN PEOPLE'S ENDURING SPIRIT AND ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND SELF GOVERNANCE. I KNOW WE HAVE SOME -- WE HAVE -- WERE YOU JUST COMING UP TO ACCEPT -- YEAH, YEAH, TOTALLY. WE'RE GOING TO HAND YOU THIS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN I JUST NEEDED TO FIND OUT IF THERE ARE ANY STATEMENTS OR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST TONIGHT? NO? OKAY. MARY, CAN WE GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA?
THANK YOU, MAYOR. IS YOU STATED, THIS IS FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA. IT AS 20- MINUTE TIME LIMIT. IT IS TWO MINUTES PER PERSON. WE DO IN CHAMBERS FIRST THEN Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
GO TO ZOOM THEN COME BACK INTO CHAMBERS. IF THERE'S ANYONE IN CHAMBERS THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT? YOU CAN JUST GO WHEN.

GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. I'M STEVE LEVENBERG REPRESENTING SEBASTOPOL WORLD FRIENDS. AND IT'S MY PLEASURE TO FOLLOW ALONG AFTER THE PROCLAMATION. WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. AND THE PEOPLE IN UKRAINE REALLY APPRECIATE ANY SHOW OF SOLIDARITY. IT JUST MAKES THEM NOT FEEL SO ALONE.

SEBASTOPOL WORLD FRIENDS HAS BEEN A STRONG SUPPORTER OF CHERIN AND HAS RAISED FUNDS SINCE 2022 TO BENEFIT HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS IN AND AROUND CHEGURIN. THE MOST RECENT RENOVATION OF A DORMITORY THAT'S HOUSING

INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR HOMES AND OFTEN LOST THEIR CITIES AS A RESULT OF THE WAR. IT'S VERY EXCITING TONIGHT TO ANNOUNCE

THAT SISTER CITY INTERNATIONAL JUST RECENTLY AWARDED SEBASTOPOL WORLD

FRIENDS THEIR AWARD NOR INNOVATION IN HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AT THEIR MOST RECENT MEETING. AND THAT WAS PRESENTED -- MEG MIZATANI WAS THERE AT THE MEETING TO RECEIVE THIS. IT'S VERY EXCITING, AND IT'S NICE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, HARD WORK REPRESENTED. I'LL PASS THIS ALONG. WE CONTINUE TO RAISE

FUNDS FOR THAT PROJECT, AND AN EXCITING EVENT THAT OCCURRED RECENTLY WAS

IN COLLABORATION WITH SEBASTOPOL ROTARY AND ROTARY OF -- 20 SECONDS.

SANTA ROSA, SISTER CITY, ROTARY RECEIVED AN INTERNATIONAL GRANT FOR $140,000 THAT WILL HELP TO FACILITATE THE COMPLETION OF THAT PROJECT. AND OCTOBER 4th,

WE INVITE EVERYONE TO JOIN US FOR A FUND-RAISING EVENT TO SUPPORT THAT SHASHLEEK AND BEER AT REAGAN PARK.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. I'M GOING TO GO TO ZOOM THEN COME RIGHT BACK. AGAIN, THIS IS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA.

BIANCA, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE?
HEY, THERE, THANK YOU SO MUCH. MY NAME IS BIANCA BLOOMQUIST ARE MY BACKGROUND IS IN SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCACY AND ECONOMIC POLICY. AND I JUST

WANTED TO RECOGNIZE THE WORK THAT THE KEEP SEBASTOPOL LOCAL CAMPAIGN IS DOING. HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL STICKS TO ITS GENERAL PLAN

AND THE KEEP SEBASTOPOL LOCAL CAMPAIGN IS DOING A GREAT JOB OF REMINDING FOLKS OF WHAT THAT GENERAL PLAN IS. BUT WE JUST REALLY ENCOURAGE THE CITY

COUNCIL TO CONTINUE TO EVALUATE HOW THE GROCERY OUTLET PROPOSAL WILL

IMPACT OUR WORKERS AND THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE SMALL GROCERS, INDEPENDENT GROCERS THAT ALREADY EXIST IN SEBASTOPOL. ECONOMISTS LIKE TO CALL THIS THE LOCAL MULTIPLIER EFFECT, THAT FOR EVERY $100 SPENT AT A LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS, IT GENERATES ABOUT $68 IN LOCAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY. AND THIS IS COMPARED WITH $43 AT A NATIONAL CHAIN. AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE

INDEPENDENT BUSINESS OWNERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO HIRE A LOCAL ACCOUNTANT, Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
SHOUT-OUT TO HALEY'S TAX SERVICE. AN ATTORNEY, A PRINTER. LIKE SPRINT COPY CENTER. BANKS. OTHER LOCAL BUSINESSES. THEY DONATE TO LOCAL NONPROFITS AND SPEND THEIR PROFITS IN THE COMMUNITY. WHILE GROCERY OUTLET HAS A

HYBRID MODEL, IT'S NOT LIKE A FULL-BLOWN FRANCHISE MODEL, BUT KIND OF QUASI ONE. THE INDIVIDUAL STORES ARE OPERATED BY LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS, BUT THEY

STILL REMAIN PART OF A PUBLICLY TRADED NATIONAL COMPANY WITH A CENTRALIZED BRAND. AND SUPPLY CHAIN SYSTEM. AND SO AS THE FAMOUS ECONOMIST SAYS,

MICHAEL SCHUMAN SAYS, THE MORE TIMES AND FASTER THE DOLLAR PASSES BETWEEN HANDS WITHOUT LEAKAGE, THE MORE INCOME AND JOBS IN A COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU FOR HEARING MY PUBLIC COMMENT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT.

I'M LAURIE OGG REPRESENTING THE SONOMA COUNTY COMMISSION ON THE STATUS

OF WOMEN, AND TONIGHT I WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT A RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING AUGUST 26th, 2026, AS WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY IN SONOMA COUNTY. SO IF I MAY READ THE RESOLUTION, WHEREAS ON AUGUST 26th, 2026, WE MARK THE 106th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENACTMENT OF THE 19th AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION WHICH SECURED THE RIGHT TO VOTE FOR WOMEN. AND WHEREAS TO SECURE THIS RIGHT, WOMEN WERE FORCED TO CONDUCT 56 REFERENDUM CAMPAIGNS, 480 CAMPAIGNS TO GET LEGISLATURES TO SUBMIT SUFFRAGE AMENDMENTS, 277 CAMPAIGNS TO STATE PARTY CONVENTIONS, 19 CAMPAIGNS TO 19 SUCCESSIVE CONGRESSES, AND GET THE CONSENT OF THE 36 STATES AND MORE. AND WHEREAS TODAY WOMEN CONSTITUTE NEARLY 50% OF OUR WORKFORCE, THE MAJORITY OF THE

STUDENTS IN OUR COLLEGES AND GRADUATE SCHOOLS, AND AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PRIMARY BREAD WINNERS. AND WHEREAS OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, WOMEN'S INCOMES HAVE DECLINED AND AS OF MID- 2020, WOMEN WORKING FULLTIME EARNED 81% OF WHAT MEN EARNED, DOWN FROM 85% IN 2023. AND WHERE YAS

EVEN WITH THE GAINS WOMEN HAD MADE, WOMEN'S ROLE AS EQUAL MEMBERS OF

OUR SOCIETY AND THEIR RIGHTS ARE BEING CHALLENGED AND REVERSED IN MULTIPLE

ARENAS, INCLUDING THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO VOTE, ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, AND PROTECTION FROM BEING THE SUBJECT OF PERSONAL VIOLENCE.

AND WHEREAS HERE IN SONOMA COUNTY, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IN 1976

ESTABLISHED A COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN WITH THE EXPRESS PURPOSE

OF WORKING TO ENSURE EQUAL RIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT ENHANCE THE

QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL WOMEN AND GIRLS AND S ADDRESS THE ISSUES OF PREJUDICE THAT AFFECT WOMEN IN SONOMA COUNTY. WHEREAS MORE WORK

REMAINS TO BE DONE IN MANY AREAS THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL

WORK, INCLUDING ACCESS TO QUALITY AFFORDABLE CHILDCARE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE FOR WOMEN, AND MENTAL HEALTH CARE.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS PROCLAIMS AUGUST 26th, 2026, AS WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY, MARKING THE 106th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENACTMENT OF THE 19th AMENDMENT CELEBRATING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF WOMEN Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1

AND RECOMMITTING TO GENDER EQUALITY IN SONOMA COUNTY AND ALL WOMEN'S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

NEXT I WILL GO OUT TO ZOOM. KATE, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE? I CAN, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. CAN YOU SEE THE TIMER?
I CAN, THANK YOU.

GO AHEAD, PLEASE.

I AM HERE TO ASK WHY THE COUNCIL AND CITY DID NOT RESPOND TO THE FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS PRODUCED BY THE EFOC IN THE CITY'S GRAND JURY REPLY. THE EFOC HAS AT LEAST 50 PAGES OF FINANCIAL DOCUMENTATION BASED ON ACTUAL CITY BUDGETS. WHY WAS THIS NOT INCLUDED IN THE GRAND JURY REPLY? WHEN THE

COUNCIL SAYS THEY WANT TO RESEARCH MORE TO DETERMINE A DOLLAR AMOUNT

OWED TO THE ENTERPRISE FUND, WHY DIDN'T THEY RESPOND TO ALL THE FINANCIAL ANALYSIS THE EFOC HAS PROVIDED? THE CITY ORGANIZED THE EFOC. THE RATEPAYERS PAY $1,500 EACH MEETING AS STAFF IS PAID TO PREPARE FOR AND ATTEND THE MEETINGS. WHY IS THERE NO RESPONSE TO THE FACT THAT THE FINANCE ADMINISTRATION COSTS TRIPLED IN NINE YEARS TO ALMOST $1 MILLION EVEN THOUGH THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNT ANT SERVICES REMAIN STEADY? WHY NO RESPONSE TO THE

ALLOCATION PLAN WAS ADJUSTED AFTER DOUBLING THE SIZE OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT WHICH MOST LIKELY ACCOUNTS FOR THE FACT THAT EXPENSES TRIPLED?

HOW COME THERE'S NO RESPONSE TO THE FACT THAT CURRENT COUNCILS ALLOTTED TO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS FOR OVER 50% OF THEIR ENTIRE BUDGET EVEN THOUGH WE ALL KNOW THIS IS NOT A TRUE ALLOCATION? THE EFOC HAS RECOMMENDED EFFICIENCIES IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. WHY HASN'T COUNCIL RESPONDED? THE

EFOC HAS RECOMMENDED GETTING BIDS FOR THIRD PARTY VENDORS FOR BILLING TO REDUCE COST TO RATEPAYERS. WHY HASN'T THE COUNCIL RESPONDED? WHY ARE

RATEPAYERS PAYING FOR THE EFOC IF THE COUNCIL'S NOT GOING TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES WHICH THE EFOC IS PRESENTED? WHY IS THERE NO RESPONSE TO THE COUNCIL FROM VALID WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE? ONE OF THE EFOC's RECOMMENDATIONS IS FOR A FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT. I HOPE THAT THE COUNCIL ACTS ON THIS, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. NEXT INTO CHAMBERS, ANYONE IN CHAMBERS? SEEING NONE, I WILL GO BACK OUT TO ZOOM. STEVE, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE? Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
THIS IS LISA PIERCE. WE'RE HOPING THAT STEVE CAN ALSO SPEAK ON A SEPARATE TIME WITH THE SAME HAND RAISE.

YES, CAN YOU SEE THE TIME EVER, LISA?
YES, I CAN, THANK YOU.

GO AHEAD, PLEASE.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. I WANTED TO SAY A BIT ABOUT THE BIG DECISION THAT WILL BE COMING BEFORE YOU SOON. THE OPTION OF RELOCATING OUR LIBRARY, SENIOR CENTER, AND COMMUNITY CENTER AND CITY HALL. I'M MOSTLY CONCERNED ABOUT MOVING OUR LIBRARY OUT OF DOWNTOWN. THE BUILDING THE

COMMONS ECONOMY HAS ASSUMED THE LIBRARY, SENIOR CENTER, CITY HALL, AND

THE COMMUNITY CENTER OR SENIOR CENTER -- I DON'T KNOW IF I REPEATED THAT -- SHOULD BE TOGETHER UNDER ONE ROOF. AS FAR AS I KNOW, THEY HAVE ONLY EXPLORED LOCATION OPTIONS WITH THAT GOAL. ONE PROBLEM WITH HAVING THEM ALL UNDER ONE ROOF IS THAT THEY HAVE VERY DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS. THE

LIBRARY SHOULD BE CENTRAL AND EASILY ACCESSED BY STUDENTS AND PEDESTRIANS

IN TOWN, WHILE THE COMMUNITY CENTER, WHICH HOSTS HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, REQUIRES AMPLE AND AVAILABLE PARKING BY THE EVENT SPACE. THESE TWO NEEDS DON'T LEND THEMSELVES TO BEING UNDER THE SAME ROOF. WHATEVER HAPPENS

WITH THE SENIOR CENTER AND THE COMMUNITY CENTER AND CITY HALL, I SINCERELY HOPE THAT THE LIBRARY CAN REMAIN DOWNTOWN. THANK YOU.

AND I'LL JUST FOLLOW THAT UP --

NO, SHE HAS TO GO --
46 SECONDS STILL. THERE'S AN OPTION THAT HASN'T BEEN EXPLORED YET. WE'VE LOOKED AT THE O'REILLY SPACE. BUT THERE'S AN OPTION THERE WHERE WE CAN REBUILD CITY HALL WITH TWO STORIES. IT'S CURRENTLY 4,000 SQUARE FEET. SO THAT COULD BE 8,000. THE CURRENT LIBRARY IS 9,400 SQUARE FEET. THE SPACE BETWEEN THE TWO BUILDINGS IS 5,000 SQUARE FEET. ADD THOSE ALL TOGETHER, AND YOU CAN PROVIDE THE SPACE THAT THE LIBRARY IS SAYING THEY NEED AT 22,000 SQUARE FEET.

THE RAMP COULD GO DOWN TO A LOWER LEVEL ATAT NEW CITY HALL. AND A RAMP GOING TO THE UPPER LEVEL. SO WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE AN EXPENSIVE ELEVATOR OR STAIRS. IT CAN BE ACCOMMODATED AT THE EXISTING SITE. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, I WOULD COME BACK INTO CHAMBERS. KYLE?
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1

SINCE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET ANSWERS TONIGHT FROM ANY OF THESE

COUNCILMEMBERS, ANY OF THE CITY OFFICIALS, ABOUT WHY THERE ISN'T A RESPONSE TO EFOC, I'M GOING TO ANSWER IT FOR YOU. NONE OF THESE COUNCILMEMBERS ARE

ACTUALLY REPRESENTATIVES THAT ARE REPRESENTING THE NEEDS OR THE INTERESTS OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL. THESE COUNCILMEMBERS HERE ARE SERVING THE INTERESTS OF THE CITY EMPLOYEES AND CITY MANAGEMENT. THEY ARE

UNDER THE DIRECTION OF CITY ATTORNEY WHO HAS ADVISED THEM FOR SOME

STRANGE REASON TO NOT RESPOND TO PUBLIC COMMENT, TO NOT ENGAGE WITH PUBLIC COMMENT. SO YOU WILL SEE THAT PATTERN HAPPEN TONIGHT. WE'RE CURRENTLY IN ELECTION CYCLE. AND SO HOPEFULLY THESE CANDIDATES THAT ARE

NOT CURRENTLY ON THIS COUNCIL, THAT ARE RUNNING, ARE HERE TONIGHT IN THE ATTENDANCE, EITHER IN PERSON OR IN ZOOM. BECAUSE WHAT THEY NEED TO

UNDERSTAND IS THAT THIS ISSUE OF NOT HAVING THE INTERESTS OF THE CITY

RESIDENTS BE MET BY THE ELECTED OFFICIALS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SO LONG

THAT I DON'T EVEN THINK THAT IT IS OUTSIDE OF THE NORM OF THEIR THINKING ANY LONGER. THE IDEA THAT THEY WILL GO AND REPRESENT CITY UNION, UNION

MEMBERSHIP IN TERMS OF NEGOTIATIONS, THE INTERESTS OF THE CITY ATTORNEY, THE

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER QUESTION THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS. NEVER AM I HEARING COUNCIL QUESTION THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER. IN FACT, IT'S JUST CONSTANT PRAISE FOR

THE CITY MANAGER DESPITE THE DECISIONS MADE OVER THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS, DESPITE THE NUMBER OF CITY MANAGERS WE'VE HAD THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS.

NEVER AM I SEEING ANY SORT OF RETROACTIVE ACTION TAKING PLACE AGAINST POOR DECISION-MAKING BY OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR. INCORRECT INFORMATION THAT'S HAPPENING AS A RESULT OF OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR. AND NEVER AM I HEARING ANY

QUESTIONING THAT'S HAPPENING OF OUR CITY ATTORNEY OR THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF OUR CITY ATTORNEY. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM -- 5 SECONDS.

WE NEED ELECTEDS THAT SERVE OUR RESIDENTS AND THE INTEREST OF OUR RESIDENTS AND ARE NOT JUST PUPPETS FOR THE CITY ADMINISTRATION.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, I WILL GO OUT TO ZOOM. IF THERE'S

ANYONE ON ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE ZOOM MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY. SEEING NONE, I WILL COME BACK INTO CHAMBERS. IF THERE'S ANYONE IN CHAMBERS? SEEING NONE, PUBLIC COMMENT IS CLOSED.

GO AHEAD.

SO I'D LIKE TO RESPOND TO THAT LAST PUBLIC COMMENT. IS THAT OKAY? AND I'M GOING TO BE SAYING THIS TO THE SPEAKER BUT ALSO TO THE PUBLIC. THAT WE

CANNOT DIALOGUEDIALOGUE PUBLIC COMMENTERS BECAUSE IT'S NOT AGENDIZED AND THAT WOULD BE A VIOLATION OF THE BROWN ACT. SO I UNDERSTAND IT'S Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
FRUSTRATING AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE DON'T LISTEN TO RESIDENTS. BUT WE CANNOT ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE ON YOUR COMMENTS BECAUSE IT VIOLATES THE BROWN ACT. I MEAN, I'M JUST SAYING IT VERY SHORTLY, RIGHT? CAN YOU MAKE A COMMENT, PLEASE? THAT'S CORRECT. ON ITEMS THAT ARE NOT -- CORE ITEMS THAT ARE NOT -- FOR ITEMS

THAT ARE NOT ON THE BROWN ACT -- THAT ARE NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA, THERE CANNOT BE A DISCUSSION. BECAUSE THE ITEM IS NOT AGENDIZED. THE COUNCILMEMBERS CAN MAKE BRIEF COMMENTS. PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR AGENDIZED ITEMS, THE COUNCIL CAN ENGAGE WITH THOSE COMMENTS.

OKAY.

ARE YOU OKAY TO GO FORWARD? OKAY. WE ARE GOING TO GO TO THE CONSENT CALENDAR. BEFORE WE DO THAT, I ACTUALLY DO HAVE A CONFLICT WITH ONE ITEM THAT IS ON THE AGENDA, ON THE CONCEPT CALENDAR. THAT'S ITEM NUMBER 3. SO I

WAS JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH THE CONSENT CALENDAR, AND THEN I WILL RECUSE MYSELF FROM VOTING ON THAT ONE ITEM. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING I DON'T NEED TO LEAVE THE ROOM IF IT'S NOT DISCUSSED?
CORRECT. WE NEED TO PULL THAT ITEM AND VOTE ON THAT SEPARATELY.

OKAY. CAN I READ ALL THE ITEMS? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR,

NUMBER ONE, APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FOR REGULAR MEETING OF JULY 1, 2026. NUMBER 2, APPROVAL OF WAIVING OF SECOND READING AND

ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE TO AMEND SEBASTOPOL MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION UNDER

THE CITY'S MUNS CALL CODE, THE CITY MANAGER POSSESSES IS AUTHORITY TO

APPOINT, REMOVE, PROMOTE, AND DO ANY AND ALL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF

THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL EXCEPT THE CITY CLERK, CITY ATTORNEY, AND CITY TREASURER. THIS AMENDMENT CHANGES THE REQUIREMENT TO INCLUDING THE CITY CLERK UNDER THE CITY MANAGER HIRING AUTHORITY 2.12.100 POWER OF APPOINTMENT. NUMBER 3, APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR THE BARLOW HOTEL TO APPROVE A T.O.T.

SHARING ARRANGEMENT. SECTION 7.5 ] 5 UNIFORM TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX

REBATE IN EXCHANGE FOR ALL THE BENEFITS PROVIDED BY THIS DEVELOPMENT

AGREEMENT AND THE PROJECT TO THE CITY -- THE CITY SHALL REBATE A PORTION OF

THE UNIFORM TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTED FROM THE PROJECT -- DO I NEED TO READ THIS WHOLE STATEMENT?
NO.

OKAY, I WANT TO BE CLEAR. OKAY. SO NUMBER 4, APPROVAL OF VOTING DELEGATES

AND ALTERNATES, LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND EXPO, ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, SEPTEMBER 20, 24, 25, 2026. A VOTING DELEGATEDELEGATE MUST REGISTERED FOR THE CONFERENCE TO BE A VOTING DELEGATE. MAYOR McLEWIS Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
IS REGISTERED FOR THE CONFERENCE AND WILL BE ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE.

NUMBER 5, APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT FOR 8th WAIVE FOR

CONTINUATION OF MONITORING OF GRAVENSTEIN COMMONS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH HUD AND CITY REQUIREMENTS. WE HAVE TO PUG NUMBER 3 FOR MY CONFLICT. IF THERE'S ANYONE ELSE? NO? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO DO WE HAVE -- MARY? WE NEED TO GO OUT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

YES, THANK YOU. THIS IS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS. IF YOU ALTHOUGH LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, KYLE?

I WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY, WHAT THEY'RE ABOUT TO DO TONIGHT IS HAND OVER MILLIONS OF DOLLARS -- ACTUALLY, HALF OF THE T.O.T. FOR A NEW HOTEL OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS. THEY ARE HANDING THAT OVER TO A PRIVATE OWNER, AND THAT IS

MONEY THAT WOULD GO TO THE CITY GENERAL FUND TO PAY FOR THINGS, IF THE

COUNCIL WOULD ACTUALLY APPROVE PROVE BEFORE, THINGS THAT WOULD SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY. INSTEAD, THEY'RE ALLOWING A DEVELOP UNDER THIS POLITICAL

THEATER CLAIM THAT THEY'VE BEEN STRONG-ARMED THAT, THE HOTEL WOULDN'T GET MADE IF THIS DECISION WASN'T REG LEGIT. INSTEAD THEY'RE ALLOWING THAT DEVELOPER TO TAKE HALF OF ALL OF THE T.O.T. OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS AND POCKET IT. AND THERE'S THIS VERY LOOSE CLAIM THAT SOMEHOW, THAT MONEY IS GOING TO GET USED FOR PROMOTING TOURISM OF SEBASTOPOL. YET THIS COUNCIL DID NOTHING TO SOLIDIFY WHAT THOSE ACTUAL CLAIMS WOULD BE. WHAT THOSE ACTUAL DOLLARS WOULD GET SPENT ON DOING. INSTEAD, THAT MONEY IS GOING TO GO TO SUPPORTING MAYBE BUSINESSES IN THE BARLOW. OH, YEAH, THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED TOURISM. OR THE INDIVIDUAL HOTEL. OH, YEAH, THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED AS TOURISM. THERE'S NOTHING ACTUALLY IN THERE THAT SUGGESTS IT'S

GOING TO GO TO MONEY THAT SUPPORTS TOURISM, THAT SUPPORTS ALL OF SEBASTOPOL. HALF OF ALL OF THE T.O.T. FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS IS GOING TO A

PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL, A PRIVATE COMPANY FOR THAT ONE HOTEL THAT COULD GET DEVELOPED. THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. AND THERE'S NO RESPONSE THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AT THIS MOMENT. THEY'RE JUST GOING TO GO AHEAD AND APPROVE IT AND MOVE ON TO THE GENERAL AGENDA FOR THE REST OF THE MEETING.

THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE ANY DISCUSSION. THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE ANY CONCERNS THAT GET BROUGHT UP. THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE ANY REITERATION OF PUBLIC COMMENT, PUBLIC CONCERNS ABOUT THIS DECISION AT ALL. THEY'RE JUST GOING TO BLANKETLY APPROVE IT UNANIMOUSLY AND MOVE ON.

THANK YOU, KYLE, FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, I WILL GO OUT TO ZOOM.

BIANCA, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE?
YES, MA'AM. CAN YOU HEAR ME?
I CAN. CAN YOU SEE THE TIMER?
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
I CAN. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS. I DO THINK I

SUPPORT THE BARLOW HOTEL, BECAUSE SEBASTOPOL, YOU KNOW, NEEDS MORE OVERNIGHT VISITORS. BUT I ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO ASK, LIKE, WHAT WE'RE BUYING WITH THIS MASSIVE PUBLIC INVESTMENT. SO LIKE, JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, THE

DEVELOPER EXPLAINED THAT THE PROJECT WAS NO LONGER FEASIBLE WITHOUT REBATING HALF OF THE CITY'S 12% T.O.T. OVER TEN YEARS. UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, THE CITY WOULD REBATE ROUGHLY $450,000 TO $775,000 PER YEAR, WHICH IS ROUGHLY 4 TO 7% OF SEBASTOPOL'S CURRENT GENERAL FUND. AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THE ORIGINAL DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT DID NOT INCLUDE A T.O.T. REBATE AT ALL.

THAT PROVISION WAS INTRODUCE LATER AS AN AMENDMENT, AND IT STILL ISN'T

BACKED UP BY ANY APPARENT -- WELL, I SHOULDN'T SAY APPARENT ALREADY IS NOT JUSTIFIED IN WRITING IN ANY WAY. IT JUST SEEMS NOT PRUDENT TO THROW THIS IN AT THE 11th HOUR. SECOND, HAS THE CITY CONSIDERED ANY SAFEGUARDS ON THIS? SUCH AS A MINIMUM ANNUAL T.O.T. GUARANTEE? OR PERHAPS A CAP ON THE TOTAL REBATE THAT WE ACTUALLY GIVE TO THIS PRIVATE DEVELOPER? THOSE KINDS OF

PROVISIONS HELP THE CITY PROTECT ITS FINANCES DURING TIMES OF ECONOMIC DOWNTURN, WHICH WE BELIEVE WE'RE IN OR ABOUT TO GO IN. THE CITY IS UNDER A GREAT AMOUNT OF PRESSURE. YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL WHAT YOU DO WITH THOSE FUNDS. FINALLY, THEY ALSO PRESERVE THE CITY'S ABILITY TO INVEST IN BROADER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES. I KNOW THAT THIS COUNCIL HAS

DISCUSSED THE CALIFORNIA MAIN STREET PROGRAM BEFORE AS A POTENTIAL INVESTMENT. THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF PROGRAMS I WOULD HOPE THOSE DOLLARS WOULD BE USED FOR. IF THE THE CITY IS MAKING THIS PUBLIC INVESTMENT, I HOPE IT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE DATA THAT PARTNERING WITH THIS HOTEL COULD PROVIDE.

I WOULD ASK YOU --
THAT'S TWO MINUTES.

REQUIRE YOU TO TAKE MORE DATADATA FROM THE HOTEL TO INFORM -- I'M SORRY. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR TWO MINUTES.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. IN CHAMBERS, ANYONE IN CHAMBERS? SEEING NONE, BACK TO ZOOM. STEVE, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE? YES. THANK YOU. IT WAS PRETTY CLEAR IN THE LAST MEETING THAT THERE WERE CERTAINLY VOTES FOR DOING NEGOTIATION BETWEEN THE DEVELOPER AND THE CITY.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE CITY REALLY DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF CAPACITY TO FIGURE THESE THINGS OUT. AND IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE COUNCIL PROVIDING CLARITY TO BOTH STAFF AND TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION. IF WE REALLY WANTED TO

NEGOTIATE, WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLEAR UP FRONT, THAT'S WHAT WE WANTED TO Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
DO. WE SHOULD HAVE EITHER TOLD STAFF, GIVE US SOME PARAMETERS OF NEGOTIATION THAT WE CAN WORK WITH BARLOW ON. OR EVEN THE PLANNING COMMISSION. PLANNING COMMISSION SPENT ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF TALKING

ABOUT THIS SUBJECT, AND THEN THE CITY COUNCIL BASICALLY DIDN'T REALLY BRING IT

UP OR CONSIDER WHAT THEY HAD SPENT AN HOUR AND A HALF TALKING ABOUT AND DECIDING ON. SO I HOPE THIS IS A LESSON THATTHAT ACTUALLY TAKE THE TIME TO BE

VERY CLEAR WHAT WE WANT FROM BOTH STAFF AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION WHEN IT COMES TO THESE KIND OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH A DEVELOPER. WE COULD

HAVE EASILY SAID WE NEED A THRESHOLD FOR WHEN THIS MONEY GOES TO THE DEVELOPER. THEY SAID IN THE PLANNING COMMISSION, THE DEVELOPER SAID THAT IF IT WAS ONLY A $350 A NIGHT HOTEL THAT THEY COULD CHARGE, THEY WOULD HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT TIME MAKING THIS WORK FINANCIALLY. PROBABLY WOULDN'T WORK.

SO THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A KEY THERE. WE NEED A THRESHOLD WHEN THIS KICKS IN. HOW ABOUT WE -- CERTAIN AMOUNT OF REVENUE, THEN THEY GET THEIR TAX REBATE. BUT NO. THERE WAS INTEREST IN IT, BUT YOU NEED TO BE CLEAR FROM THE FRONT. HOW DO YOU WANT TO APPROACH A DEVELOPER? WHO DOES THE WORK? THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, STEVE, FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, CHAMBERS, IF THERE'S ANYONE IN CHAMBERS? SEEING NONE, I WILL GO BACK OUT TO ZOOM. KATE, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE?
YES, THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO ECHO WHAT STEVE PIERCE SAID, WHICH IS THAT

THERE PROBABLY WAS ROOM FOR NEGOTIATION BUT THE CITY WASN'T CLEAR ABOUT THAT. AND FROM A FINANCING STANDPOINT, I'M SURE THAT THERE'S FLEXIBILITY ON

BARNEY'S SIDE BUT FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES CHANGE, ESPECIALLY AS LIKE THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT CHANGES OVER TIME. SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO

NEGOTIATE SOMETHING, YOU HAVE TO BE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD ABOUT THAT

FROM THE BEGINNING SO THAT THE PERSON THAT YOU'RE NEGOTIATING WITH KNOWS THAT THERE COULD BE CHANGES TO THEIR PROPOSAL. BARGAINING IS BASICALLY

GOING TO PRIVATE EQUITY PEOPLE AND SAYING, THIS IS THE RETURN HE'S GOING TO

GIVE SO HE NEEDS TO KNOW IF THE RETURN'S BASED ON MEETING FIRST THE CITY'S

BENCHMARKS AND WHATEVER WOULD BE ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT, WHICH WOULD

PROBABLY NOT ACTUALLY BE THAT MATERIALLY APPEALING TO FINANCE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LENDING HIM THE MONEY TO DO THE PROJECT. SO ONCE AGAIN, I JUST FEEL

THAT THERE'S SOMETHING WITHIN THE CITY'S ORGANIZATION EXERCISE THERE'S A LOT

OF SILOING OF INFORMATION THAT ACTUALLY PUTS THE COUNCIL AT A DISADVANTAGE A LOT OF TIMES. BECAUSE AS STEVE SAID, YOU KNOW, THE PLANNING COMMISSION SPENT A LONG TIME TALKING ABOUT THIS. THAT WAS ONCE AGAIN FUNDED BY TAXPAYERS. THEY FUND THOSE MEETINGS. SO THEY'RE PAYING TO HAVE THIS COMMISSION RUN. BUT ARE WE NECESSARILY GETTING THE BENEFIT FROM THAT? BECAUSE INFORMATION'S NOT BEING INTEGRATED INTO A BROADER PERSPECTIVE.

THANK YOU.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, I WILL COME BACK INTO ZOOM.

SORRY, INTO CHAMBERS. ANYONE IN CHAMBERS? SEEING NONE, I WILL GO BACK OUT TO ZOOM. IF THERE'S ANYONE ON ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAN VIRTUALLY.

SEEING NONE, PUBLIC COMMENT IS CLOSED.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO WE'RE GOING TO PULL NUMBER 3. DO WE HAVE A MOTION FOR ITEMS 1, 2, 4, 5? OR DOES ANYONE WANT TO PULL ANAN ITEM BEFORE WE MOVE ON?
SO MOVED.

SECONDED.

THANK YOU. SO MOVED BY VICE MAYOR MAUERER, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN, APPROVING 1, 2, 4, 5. ITEM 3 IS PULLED FOR A SEPARATE VOTE. CARTER.

YES.

HINTON.

AYE.

ZOLLMAN.

YES.

MAUERER.

YES.

McLEWIS.

YES.

MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

ITEM NUMBER 3, IF YOU WANT TO DISCUSS IT, I'LL NEED TO LEAVE LEAVE ROOM SO LET ME KNOW.

I HAVE A SIMPLE QUESTION.

THAT'S OKAY.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
I CAN STAY? OKAY.

I'M LOOKING AT THE ORDINANCE,1167, ATTACHED TO THE GENDER REPORT. AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE AGREED TO WAS ANNUAL REPORTING OFOF THE T.O.T. WAS SPENT ON MARKETING MONEY FROM THE DEVELOPER. AND I DO NOT SEE THAT, AND IT APPEARS IT SHOULD BE IN THE SECOND TO THE LAST PARAGRAPH ON PAGE 4 OF THE AGENDAAGENDA ITEM. AND I KNOW WE CLEARLY REQUESTED THAT TO HAVE SOME TEETH IN THIS THING. AND I'M NOT SEEING IT. AND I BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE PART OF THIS ORDINANCE IF WE'RE TO APPROVE IT TONIGHT.

SO THAT THE LANGUAGE THAT'S ATTACHED TO THE ORDINANCE SAYS THE CITY MAY

REQUEST ANDAND PAYEE SHOULD SUPPLY DOCUMENTATION OF HOW SUCH FUNDS WERE SPENT FOR SUCH PURPOSES. THAT'S EXHIBIT "A."
CAN WE GET RID OF THE MAY REQUEST?

SO THIS LANGUAGE WAS WHAT WAS READ IN THE MOTION ALREADY IN THE FIRST READING OF THE ORDINANCE. WHAT WAS READ OUT LOUD, THAT WAS THE MOTION THAT WAS MADE AT THE TIME. SO WE'D HAVE TO -- IF WE WANT TO MAKE THAT CHANGE, WE HAVE TO REINTRODUCE THE ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING. I MEAN, MAY REQUEST JUST CHANGES THE -- DOESN'T CHANGE THEIR OBLIGATION. SOO SO THE

CITY WILL JUST HAVE TO ASK FOR IT EACH YEAR, AND THEY

I MEAN -- IF WE HAVE TO ASK THE MAYOR LEAVE THE ROOM TO ASK MORE OF THIS QUESTION, I'M COMFORTABLE WITH HER LEAVING THE ROOM. IT'S AN IMPORTANT DECISION.

YEAH, IF WE ARE GOING TO DISCUSS IT, THE CITY'S POLICY IS TO PULL IT OFF THE

AGENDA AND THEN PUT IT AT THE END OF THE --
I'M GOING TO PULL IT.

ALL RIGHT. SO WHAT WE TYPICALLY DO WHEN IS WE PULL IT OFF, THEN IT GOES TO THE END OF OF THE AGENDA. THAT'S WHERE WE'LL DO THAT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE NO INFORMATIONAL ITEM PRESENTATIONS TONIGHT. NO PUBLIC HEARINGS. WE'RE GOING TO REGULAR DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. NUMBER 6, DISCUSSION AND ACTION OF ORDINANCE RELATED TO NEWSPAPER RACKS. THIS IS BROUGHT BY ME AND OUR CITY ATTORNEY. SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO KICK IT OFF? YEAH, I CAN KICK IT OFF. GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL. SO I DON'T KNOW, A FEW MONTHS

AGO THE MAYOR REQUESTED A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM ABOUT NEWSPAPER RACKS AND ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS FOR NEWSPAPER RACKS. AND THIS IS THE PROPOSED

ORDINANCE BEFORE YOU MODELED AFTER A NUMBER OF CITIES WHO HAVE SIMILAR ORDINANCES. AND IT REALLY DOES THREE THINGS. ONE, IT ESTABLISHES LOCATION Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
REQUIREMENTS. IT ESTABLISHES LOCATION REQUIREMENTS, SO FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN'T BE WITHIN 100 FEET OF EACH OTHER. THERE'S A LIMIT OF THREE PER BLOCK IN DOWNTOWN. THERE ARE OTHER REQUIREMENTS ABOUT SEPARATION FROM DRIVEWAYS AND FIRE HYDRANTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO IT ESTABLISHES THOSE REQUIREMENTS. AN EXISTING NEWSPAPER RACKS HAVE SIX MONTHS TO COMPLY WITH THAT. BECAUSE SOME OF THEM MAY BE IN LOCATIONS THAT VIOLATE THAT RIGHT NOW, SO THEY HAVE SIX MONTHS TO COMPLIANCE. THE SECOND MAIN ELEMENT WHICH WOULD GO INTO EFFECT IMMEDIATELY ARE MAINTENANCE STANDARDS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IT REQUIRES THEM TO BE FREE OF GRAFFITI. IT REQUIRES THE GLASS OR PLASTIC THAT THEY HAVE TO BE FREE OF CRACKS AND NOT BROKEN. AND TO ALSO

HAVE POSTED CONTACTCONTACT INFORMATION FOR WHO THE OWNER IS ON THE BOX SO THEY CAN BE CONTACTED FOR ISSUES. THERE'S ALSO PERMITTING REQUIREMENT FOR NEW NEWSPAPER RACKS. THIS IS NOT A DISCRETIONARY PERMIT PROCESS AND ARE VERY STRICT GUIDELINES FOR STAFF TO ACT. IT'S TO MAKE SURE THE NEW LOCATION MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE ORDINANCE. THERE'S ALSO REQUIREMENT THAT A PROVISION THAT NEWSPAPER RACKS ARE ABANDONED FOR 60 DAYS, CAN BE REMOVED. AND THEN FOR ENFORCEMENT OF ALL OF THESE

REQUIREMENTS, THE ORDINANCE ESTABLISHES SAME REQUIREMENTS, BEFORE THE STATE TAKES ACTION, THEY WILL NOTICE THE OWNER OF THE NEWSPAPER RACK. THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO APPEAL. AND THEN IF THEY DON'T APPEAL OR THEY LOSE THEIR

APPEAL, THEN THE CITY COULD GO AHEAD AND TAKE ACTION TO REMOVE THE BOX THAT VIOLATES THESE REQUIREMENTS. SO WITH THAT, I'LL TOSS IT OVER TO -- PICTURES TOO, RIGHT? IF YOU NEED TO REMIND PEOPLE, OR SOMEONE DOES. THE

REASON THIS CAME ABOUT IS, IF YOU RECALL WHEN WE WEREWERE TRASH CANS, I WAS PHOTOGRAPHING TRASH CANS. THEN I NOTICED THOSE BOXES AND THERE WERE SO MANY IN DISREPAIR. SO I CAME BACK TO OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND

THE CITY AND SAID, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT A LOT OF THESE ONES THAT ARE REALLY IN DISREPAIR? THEY'RE CLEARLY YELLOW PAGE BOXES AND A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT BOXES THAT HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME. I WAS TOLD THAT THEY

COULDN'T DO -- NOTHING COULD BE TON BECAUSE WE HAVE NO PROCESS OR NO PROCESS FOR AS FAR AS HOW WE MANAGE THEM OR HOW WE NOTIFY. SO I WAS TOLD

THAT IN ORDER FOR US TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF THAT ISSUE, THAT I NEEDED TO BRING FORTH SOMETHING LIKE THIS. SO THAT'S -- YOU KNOW, THEN WE BROUGHT IT TO YOU ALL A FEW MONTHS AGO. SO I JUST WANTED TO REMIND EVERYONE HOW THIS CAME ABOUT. I DID GO AROUND, AND THERE ARE STILL QUITE A FEW. I NOTICE THAT

SOME, YOU KNOW -- SOME OF THE NEWSPAPERS WHO HAVE GONE OUT OF BUSINESS OR WHATEVER HAVE PICKED UP SOME OF THEIR BOXES. BUT THERE'S STILL QUITE A FEW BROKENDOWN BOXES ALL OVER THE PLACE. I BELIEVE MARY MIGHT HAVE THE POWERPOINT.

I BELIEVE ALSO ATTACHED --
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Agenda Item Number 1
THE AGENDA ITEM TOO, YEAH. TOWARD THE BACK. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS. I'VE LOOKED AT THESE SO MANY TIMES.

GO AHEAD.

SO RIGHT DOWNTOWN, THERE IS A RACK OF EIGHT IN ONE. SO IS THAT CONSIDERED EIGHT? OR ONE?
IT'S CONSIDERED EIGHT.

OKAY. SO IN THAT RACK OF EIGHT, THERE'S A LITTLE LIBRARY. THERE'S THE COMMUNITY VOICE. THERE'S LA PRENCE, WHICH IS SPANISH NEWS. AND THE BOHEMIAN. SO WERE ANY OF THESE PAPERS REACHED? DID ANYBODY REACH OUT TO THEM TO ASK THEM THEIR OPINION OF REMOVING THE RACK?
NO.

SO WERE ANY STAKEHOLDERS , WHETHER THEY BE REALTORS OR WHOEVER PUT THOSE

THERE, WAS ANYBODY REACHED OUT TO, TO FIND OUT WHAT THEIR OPINION IS REGARDING THE REMOVAL OF THE RACK? SO WHO OWNS THAT EIGHT NEWSPAPER RACK?
I CAN'T SAY.

NOBODY KNOWS WHO OWNS IT?
I'VE LOOKED, I DON'T KNOW.

THE PUBLIC WORKS -- WAS PUBLIC WORKS ASKED WHO OWNS THAT? THERE'S ALSO WALL STREET, THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER ONE-OFF PAPERS. I THINK A "WALL STREET JOURNAL" SOMEONE STUFFED IN THERE. I DON'T KNOW. I HAVE A VARIETY OF PICK DOES. I DON'T KNOW.

THERE'S A LITTLE LIBRARY TOO --
NO, I'M AWARE OF THAT. I JUST ADDING TO WHAT YOU HAD MENTIONED. THERE'S MORE STUFF IN THERE THAN WHAT YOU MENTIONED.

SOMEBODY HAD TAKEN THE TIME TO PAINT IT. BUT ANYWAY, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS

THIS ORDINANCE WOULD REQUIRE REMOVAL, BUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHO OWNS IT,

THEN HOW WOULD YOU WARN ANYBODY THAT IT WAS GOING -- MY CONCERN IS THAT THIS IS A FREEDOM OF PRESS. THIS IS A OUTLET FOR PEOPLE TO, YOU KNOW, DISTRIBUTE THEIR MAGAZINES. AND ON WHAT MIGHT BE THE UNINTENDED Agenda Item Number 1
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CONSEQUENCES OF REMOVING THEM WITHOUT KNOWING WHO OWNS THEM OR TAKING SOMETHING AWAY FROM THE PRESS WITHOUT EVEN TALKING TO THEM?

WE LARGELY DON'T KNOW WHO OWNS MANY OF THESE BECAUSE THEY'VE NEVER BEEN REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THAT INFORMATION TO THE CITY. SO THAT ORDINANCE DOES SAY

THAT WHERE THAT INFORMATION HASN'T BEEN POSTED ON THE WEB PAGE, EXCUSE

ME, ON THE -- WHERE THAT OWNER INFORMATION HASN'T BEEN PROVIDED TO THE CITY, IS PROVIDED BY POSTING IT ON THE NEWS RACK ITSELF.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT?

SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A ADDRESS TO SEND THE NOTICE TO, IT IS POSTED ON THE NEWS RACK ITSELF. THE OWNER WHO IS PRESUMABLY PUTTING THINGS IN THERE

FROM TIME TO TIME WOULD THEN SEE IT WHEN IT GOES TO PUT NEW NEWSPAPERS OR WHATEVER INTO THE NEWS RACK. THEY WOULD SEE THE POSTED NOTICE ON THAT.

DO YOU KNOW HOW FULL THAT ONE PARTICULAR RACK IS? THAT EIGHT NEWSPAPER RACKS IN ONE? NO? OKAY.

NO, WE DON'T. I DID ASK PUBLIC WORKS TO RESEARCH NEW RECORDS FOR

PERMITTING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, AND THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY PERMITTING ON FILE FOR ANY OF THE NEWS RACKS. I DID HAVE THEM GO OUT TO CHECK THE NEWS RACKS AND THE INFORMATION THAT I RECEIVED WAS FOR THE LOCATION, 280 SOUTH MAIN STREET, THERE'S FIVE OF THEM DOWN THERE. THREE OF THEM ARE COMPLETELY EMPTY. THREE OF THEM DO NOT HAVE ANY IDENTIFICATION ON THEM AS TO WHO IS OWNED BY THEM. ONE IS OWNED BY ED WARBLELY. WE'LL BE REACHING OUT TO THEM IF THIS GOES. BUT THERE'S NO PERMITTING THAT THEY HAVE ON FILE. ON McKINLEY STREET, IT WAS THE SAME OWNERS OF THE REAL READ READER.COM, HOME MAGAZINES.COM. THERE'S TWO THAT'S OPEN EXCHANGE AND SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE. OF THOSE SIX, FIVE WERE EMPTY. THERE WAS ONLY ONE THAT HAD INFORMATION OR ANYTHING IN THEM. THERE'S TWO ACROSS THE STREET FROM NORTH MAIN STREET. ONE IS EMPTY, ONE IS STOCKED. THE ONE THAT IS STOCKED BELONGS TO THE REAL ESTATE BOOK.COM. THEN ON SEBASTOPOL AVENUE, THAT ONE HAS A HANDFUL OF THE BOHEMIAN. THEN THERE'S ONE ON NORTH MAIN STREET BY THE WEST AMERICA BANK. THAT ONE ALSO HAS THE GAZETTE. THOSE ARE THE ONES THEY WERE ABLE TO GET INFORMATION ONON TODAY.

AND I MEAN, PART OF THIS WAS JUST PART OF OUR DESIRE TO HAVE A VIBRANT DOWNTOWN. HAVING ALL THESE -- THERE ARE SEVERAL OF THEM, I EVEN LOOKED

TODAY, THAT ARE ESPECIALLY DOWN BY THE BUS STOP AND EVERYTHING, THEY'RE JUST -- SOME OF THEM ARE ALL CRACKED AND BROKEN AND FULLFULL OF TRASH. GO AHEAD.

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Agenda Item Number 1
YOU MENTIONED IF WE DON'T KNOW WHO OWNS IT, WE WOULD POST IT. HOW MUCH TIME ARE WE GIVING THEM TO RESPOND SOME? LIKE, IS IT A MONTH? MONTHS. I THOUGHT IT WAS -- SORRY. TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT WE SAID.

WE'RE POSTING IT, LIKE, WITH A PAPER? SOMETHING THAT COULD FLY AWAY, FLOAT AWAY? ANYWAY, THAT'S A QUESTION.

THEY HAVE SIX MONTHS TO COME IN COMPLIANCE, SAYS RIGHT HERE.

FOR POSTING IT, SO THAT IF THEY PUT THEIR MAGAZINES THERE, THEY CAN SEE -- RIGHT, YEAH.

FOR THE LOCATION REQUIREMENTS THEY HAVE TEN MONTHS -- EXCUSE ME, SIX MONTHS TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE. IN THE FUTURE, IF THERE ARE VIOLATIONS

REGARDING MAINTENANCE STANDARDS, THINGS LIKE THAT, AND WE SEND THE NOTICE OR POST THE NOTICE, THEY HAVE TEN DAYS.

CORRECT. SO THAT POSTING WILL REMAIN ON THERE FOR SIX MONTHS? SEE WHAT I MEAN? BECAUSE THEY MIGHT NOT GO THERE ALL THE TIME.

WE'RE GOING TO REPOST, I GUESS.

I HAVE PICTURES FROM LAST FALL AND NOW, AND THERE'S STILL SOME OF THE SAME THINGS IN THERE. I WAS COMPARING PICTURES, WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. SOME OF THE SAME THINGS. THEY'RE LIKE STUCK IN THE FRONT --
AS PART OF OUR -- THIS ORDINANCE, WE HAVE A POSTING OBLIGATION.

THAT IS NOT A REQUIREMENT. BUT IF THE COUNCIL WANTS, WE COULD ADD THAT, WE

WILL POST ON MULTIPLE TIMES OVER A SIX- MONTH OF THIS -- YEAH, I'D FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE ABOUT THAT. AND THEN THIS IS A KIND OF FUNNY QUESTION. WE HAVE A LOCAL RESIDENT WHO IS -- WE HAVE A NEWSPAPER THAT HAS A

STAND RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER YARD DOES THIS ORDINANCE MEANS SHE NEEDS TO GET RID OF IT?
THIS IS ONLY DOWNTOWN.

IT SAID SURROUNDING AREAS, I THOUGHT.

THIS APPLIES CITY-WIDE.

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Agenda Item Number 1
OH, I'M SORRY. I THOUGHT YOU MEANT JUST DOWNTOWN.

IT'S IN A FRONT YARD, THOUGH. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

YEAH. I JUST WAS CURIOUS. DOES THIS ORDINANCE COVER THAT?

THIS IS ONLY IN --
THIS IS ON PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY? ALL RIGHT, GREAT, THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS.

QUESTION.

GO AHEAD.

SO -- BUT BECAUSE THAT ONE LARGE NEWSPAPER RACK WITH THE EIGHT, IF WE ADOPT THIS ORDINANCE, THAT RACK IMMEDIATELY GOES AWAY. IT HAS TO. BECAUSE IT DOESN'T COMPLY WITH THE ORDINANCE. IS THAT CORRECT?
WELL, IT WOULD HAVE SIX MONTHS TO COMPLY.

WELL -- IT'S -- I MEAN, SINCE IT'S -- IT'S EIGHT RACKS AND NOT ONE. IT WOULDN'T -- I MEAN, I CAN SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO GET RID OF IT. IT WOULD HAVE TO BE REMOVED. AND SO PROBABLY WOULD BE THE ONES OVER IN FRONT OF THE FAIRFIELD INN? BECAUSE THOSE ARE A CERTAIN NUMBER, FOUR OR FIVE IN FRONT OF THAT. ANYWAY, COULD YOU TELL US THE LOCATIONS OF ALL THESE? LIKE, WHERE ARE THEY? MULTIPLE RACKS. THAT'S ALL I'M INTERESTED IN IS THE MULTIPLE ONES.

THERE'S ONLY TWO OF THEM THAT I'M AWARE OF. THE ONES YOU SAID.

FAIRFIELD -- THE ONE IN FRONT OF THE FAIRFIELD INN --
I WENT AROUND ALL OVER THE PLACE, TAKING PICTURES. THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO THAT I RECALL, WERE THOSE -- I COULD BE WRONG, BUT I MEAN, I DROVE ALL OVER.

TAKING PICTURES.

OKAY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WE CAN GO OUT TO PUBLIC COMMENT.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. THIS IS PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE NEWS RACK ORDINANCE. IF

YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, I GO TO CHAMBERS FIRST, THEN OUT TO ZOOM. KYLE?

SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING AGAIN TONIGHT IS A REPEATED EFFORT BY A PARTICULAR COUNCILMEMBER TOTO BLIGHT. BUT UNDER THE GUISE OF SOME OF THE OTHER Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1

ACTUAL INTERESTS OF NEWSPAPER RACK REGULATION, WHICH WOULD BE ABOUT

ACCESSIBILITY, ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THESE THINGS ARE NOT PHYSICALLY HARMING OTHER PEOPLE BY BEING IN THE WAY. AND REALLY, I THINK THERE'S AN

APPROACH YOU COULD TAKE HERE USING AN AMENDMENT TO SIDEWALK REGULATION, WHICH WOULD BE ABOUT THINGS LIKE OBSTRUCTION OF SIDEWALKS. WE HAVEN'T

EVEN STARTED TO TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE'VE GOT A BUNCH OF A-FRAMES THAT

ARE REGULARLY OUT OF COMPLIANCE AND THERE'S ZERO ENFORCEMENT ON A-FRAME COMPLIANCE IN THE CITY. BUT THOSE DON'T CONSTITUTE THE KIND OF BLIGHT THAT

OUR MAYOR IS CONCERNED ABOUT, WHICH IS THESE NEWSPAPER BOXES NOT LOOKING AS CLEAN AND TIDY AS SHE WOULD PREFER THEM TO BE. AND SO THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE IN TERMS OF THE ORDINANCE TONIGHT. LOOK AT AMENDING THE

CURRENT REGULATIONS YOU HAVE ON SIDEWALK ACCESSIBILITY AND DOING SO IN A WAY THAT MAYBE MAKES REFERENCE TO ABANDONED PROPERTY. THE IDEA THAT

SOMEHOW WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND REGULATE TO REMOVE A BUNCH OF

NEWSPAPER RACKS AS A METHOD OF GETTING FOLKS TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE

WHEN YOU CAN TAKED ON APPROACH TO THIS THAT WOULD NOT BASICALLY GO THIS

BLIGHT ORDINANCE ROUTE WHERE WE'RE SOMEHOW REGULATING THE APPEARANCE

OF THINGS IN OUR SOCIETY AND COMMUNITY AND REALLY IT SHOULD BE MORE ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY AND ABOUT IMPEDING PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC OR VEHICLE SAFETY.

THANK YOU, KYLE. NEXT, I WILL GO TO ZOOM. GABE, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE?

YEAH, MY ONLY COMMENT IS, YOU KNOW, IF IT IS JUST ABANDONED PROPERTY, I'M JUST

WONDERING HOW MUCH ALL OF THIS IS GOING TO COST TO, LIKE, NOTICE AND RENOTICE AND GO BACK AND FORTH ON. MANY OF THESE BOXES I TOO HAVE SEEN OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, AND THEY'RE COMPLETELY SHOT AND ABANDONED. AND THEY LOOK LIKE GARBAGE STANDING ON THE STREET. SO IT'S JUST LIKE, ARE YOU -- THE

ATTORNEY TIME, PUBLIC WORKS TIME, TRYING TO CONTACT PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO

CONTACT INFORMATION LISTED ON THEIR OWN PIECES OF PROPERTY -- I'M JUST

WONDERING IF, YOU KNOW -- HOW TO MAKE THIS LESS COSTLY TO THE CITY, WHICH AS

WE KNOW IS IN EXTREME FINANCIAL DEBT AND CAN'T SEEM TO FIX THE ROADS, AND YOU KNOW, REPLACE THE WELL. I THINK MAYBE GETTING CAUGHT UP IN THE WEEDS

OVER THE NEWSPAPER, YOU KNOW, RACK -- THIS JUST SEEMS -- IF IT'S NOT IN USE FOR THREE MONTHS, THEN IT SHOULD JUST GET PICKED UP AND PUT INTO THE GARBAGE.

THAT'S MY COMMENT. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, KATE, FOR YOUR CHUB COMMENT. NEXT I'LL COME INTO CHAMBERS.

THANK YOU. I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE LIABILITY. AS KATE JUST SAID, THERE'S A LOT OF BASICALLY ABANDONED STUFF. THIS IS BASICALLY OLD WHAT USED TO BE

COIN-OPERATED NEWSPAPER RACKS FROM THE LAST CENTURY AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF KIND OF PLASTIC POSITIONS THAT REAL ESTATE MAGAZINES USED TO BE PUT INTO.

BUT EVERYBODY USES THE INTERNET NOW, OBVIOUSLY. IF I LOOK AT THE BOHEMIAN, I Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
GO ONLINE. I DON'T PICK UP A NEWSPAPER. BUT THERE'S MAYBE A LIABILITY ISSUE.

BECAUSE SOME OF THOSE ABANDONED NEWS RACKS COULD EASILY BE THROWN INTO THE ROAD. THAT'S A REALLY BUSY ROAD. WITH SOME OF THE OTHER STUFF THAT'S

GOING ON RIGHT NOW, A NEWSPAPER RACK COULD DO A LOT OF DAMAGE TO A CAR OR A TRUCK OR SOMETHING THAT'S GOING BY. SO THERE'S A VERY COMPELLING

REASON TO KNOW EXACTLY WHO OWNS THESE THINGS, IF THEY PERSIST IN WANTING

TO DISTRIBUTE NEWSPAPERS OR WHATEVER IN THESE THINGS, IN THE EVENT THAT SOMETHING BAD LIKE THAT HAPPENS. BECAUSE OTHERWISE, THE CITY MIGHT BE LIABLE. IF IT'S ABANDONED PROPERTY JUST LYING AROUND -- FRANKLY, MOST OF THE

NEWSPAPER RACKS HAVE GOT HALF A BURRITO IN IT, A NEWSPAPER FROM THREE YEARS AGO, A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF YOU DON'T EVEN WANT TO LOOK AT. SO THERE'S DEFINITELY A BLIGHT PROBLEM. THAT'S MY COMMENT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT I WILL GO OUT TO ZOOM. IF THERE'S

ANYONE ON ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY. SEEING DONE, BACK INTO CHAMBERS.

LAURA FROM "THE SEBASTOPOL TIMES." THERE ARE FEW PRINT PAPERS LEFT. MAYBE JUST, I DON'T KNOW, ONE TO THREE. HAS ANYONE JUST TRIED CALLING THEM UP? THEY HAVE DISTRIBUTION SERVICES. SO I UGT THAT SOMEONE IN THE CITY CALL "THE PRESS DEMOCRAT" WHICH OWNS LA PRENCA AND A UP CONFIDANT PAPERS AND SAY, WE'RE CONSIDERING THIS, WHAT IS YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT? HOW CAN WE FIX THIS? HELP US FIX THIS PROBLEM.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. OUT TO ZOOM, IF THERE'S ANYONE ON ZOOM, RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY. SEEING NONE, BACK INTO CHAMBERS.

I LIBERATED THIS. DIDN'T KNOW THE POLICE WOULD BE HERE. FROM THE POST OFFICE.

BECAUSE EVERYBODY SEEMS TO BE MOVING THESE AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN. AND I DON'T AGREE WITH MOVING AWAY. THEY'RE BLIGHT WHEREVER THEY ARE. THIS IS HORRIBLE. THERE'S TRASH BELOW. THIS IS A TWO-STORY. NOBODY WANTS THIS. AND SO I DID A LITTLE SURVEY OF DOWNTOWN, ME AND MY DOG. AND SO MY QUESTION REMAINS. THIS IS NEWS? YOU KEEP REFERRING TO THESE AS NEWS RACKS. IS THIS NEWS? THAT'S MY QUESTION. CAN ANYBODY ANSWER THAT? IS THIS REAL ESTATE SUPPLEMENT NEWS? THESE ARE THE ONLY NEWSPAPERS I FOUND. I DID GO AROUND.

THE BOHEMIAN AND LA PRENCA WERE THE ONLY NEWS. I THINK THAT ROW OF EIGHT WAS MADE BY SOME ARTIST YEARS AGO. I KNEW ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT HELPED MAKE THAT. SO I SURVEYED BUSINESS OWNERS. AND BETWEEN 3:00 AND 4:30 TODAY.

AND NO ONE KNEW ABOUT THIS ORDINANCE. AND THEY WEREN'T HAPPY ABOUT THESE RACKS AND THEY DIDN'T LIKE THEM BEING PUSHED DOWNTOWN. IF YOU LOOK AT WHOLE FOODS, THAT'S JUST A DANGEROUS ROW OF FOUR RIGHT BY A CROSSWALK.

THINK ABOUT HAVING A STROLLER, A WHEELCHAIR, A WALKER. THAT'S A REALLY DANGEROUS AREA. THERE'S TWO BY A CROSSWALK RIGHT BY THE OLD RITE AID WHICH ISIS LESS THAN TEN FEET NOW. SO THEY WERE REALLY HAPPY TO EXCONCLUDE THESE Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
NONNEWS RACKS FROM OUR AREA. SO I REALLY WANT THE DEFINITION OF NEWS RACK TO BE REWRITTEN. BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT INCLUDES THOSE. THE WORD -- YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS.

OH, MAN. THERE'S NO EVIDENCE FOR THIS 100-FOOT SPACING. THERE'S NOTHING THAT SAYS THAT. WE NEED OBJECTIVE STANDARDS FOR PERMITS --
THAT'S TWO MINUTES.

DARN.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, I WILL GO OUT TO ZOOM. IF THERE'S

ANYONE ON ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLICPUBLIC ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY. SEEING NONE, I WILL COME BACK INTO CHAMBERS.

SEEING NONE, PUBLIC COMMENT IS CLOSED.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. WE'RE BACK HERE AT THE DAIS FOR COMMENTS. I, OF COURSE, HAVE A FEW. I WANT TO LET MY COLLEAGUES GO FIRST. IF ANYONE HAS ANY? COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN?
YEAH, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE ALL THE EFFORT TO TRY TO ADDRESS A SITUATION. FOR ME, IT IS ABOUT THE HAZARDNESS OF IT. BEING THE LIAISON TO OUR INSURANCE, THEY'RE ROUGH. ALL YOU NEED IS A CHILD TO GET PUSHED INTO OR FALL INTO ONE OF

THEM, THEN IT'S GOING TO BE, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OVERALL MAINTENANCE OR LACK OF MAINTENANCE THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THAT CHILD'S HARM? SO THAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT. THIS APPROACH AND THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM ADDRESSING BLIGHT, I HAVE A COMBINATION OF JUST CONCERNS. WHETHER THIS IS THE RIGHT

APPROACH, AND TO THE PUBLIC COMMENTER, WE ARE IN A STATE, ONGOING STATE OF FISCAL EMERGENCY. AND I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO EFFECTUATE THIS, TO MONITOR IT. AND I'M ALSO CONCERN ABOUT THE

PERSON THAT WE ALWAYS DEFER TO AS FAR AS ENFORCEMENT OF THESE THINGS IS OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT. AND THE DISCRETION THAT'S ALWAYS GIVEN TO THEM. SO FOR THAT REASON, I'M NOT SUPPORTING THIS IN THIS FORM. THANK YOU.

CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, IT'S NOT THE POLICE THAT WILL BE ENFORCING ANY OF THIS WITH THESE BOXES. IS THAT CORRECT?

THIS TYPE OF ORDINANCE IS GENERALLY ENFORCED IN THE CITY BY PLANNING OR THE BUILDING OFFICIAL FOR THIS PARTICULAR ORDINANCE.

RIGHT. THAT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING AS WELL. AND AS FAR AS THE DEFINITION OF

NEWS RACK, DOES IT INCLUDE -- IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING WHEN WE TALKED THAT

IT DID BUT --
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YEAH, THE DEFINITION OF NEWS RACK INCLUDES ANY PUBLICATION. USED TO DISTRIBUTE ANY PUBLICATION.

OKAY. GO AHEAD.

I MEAN, I SEE A TON OF THEM ABANDONED. AND YES, HAVING WORKED IN MEDIA FOR QUITE SOME TIME, THERE IS RARE -- A SMALL GROUP OF NEWSPAPERS. AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION DOES NOT JUST RELY ON THESE RACKS. LIKE THE BOHEMIAN. IT RELIES

ALSO ON BRINGING IT -- BECAUSE THEY BROUGHT IT TO MY PLACE OF BUSINESS AND LEAVING IT FOR PEOPLE. SO I THINK I'M GOING TO BE SUPPORTING THIS ORDINANCE TONIGHT. AND I THINK GIVING PEOPLE SIX MONTHS' NOTICE, IF THEY NEED TO TAKE A

PART TO SAVE A FEW RACKS AND MAINTAIN THEM, WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE ARTIST

RACKS THAT ARE MULTI -- I SEEM TO REMEMBER WHEN PEOPLE PAINTED THOSE AS WELL -- THEN SO BE IT. BUT THEY NEED TO BE MAINTAINED. I'M GOING TO BE SUPPORTING IT TONIGHT.

OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO?
I GUESS I'LL MAKE A COMMENT. I GUESS I'M UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE FACT THAT THE

BOHEMIAN, THE COMMUNITY VOICE, LA PRENCA, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN REACHED OUT TO. AND I HAVE A FEELING THAT WHOEVER PAINTED THAT EIGHT NEWSPAPER RACK

THING AND PUT THE LITTLE LIBRARY IN THERE WILL BE PRETTY DISAPPOINTED HAVING THAT REMOVED. BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT AS I WALKED ON ONE SIDE OF THE STREET

THERE DOWN AT MAIN STREET THAT THERE WAS A REALTOR, AN EMPTY REALTOR, BRIGHT YELLOW REALTOR RACK. AND THEN RIGHT NEXT TO IT WAS ONE -- I BELIEVE IT HAD A BOHEMIAN STICKER ON IT. IT WAS FILLED WITH COMPOST. THAT IS A BLIGHT. BUT

AT THE SAME TIME, I HAVE CONCERNS WITH THE COST TO MONITOR THIS AND TO BE REMOVING THINGS. I'M WONDERING IF THE CITY COULDN'T JUST -- IF THE COUNCIL

COULDN'T DIRECT THE CITY TO REMOVE ANY OF THE REALTOR TO RACKS THAT ARE EMPTY AND KIND OF LEAVE THE FREE SPEECH RACKS OPEN. I DON'T KNOW. FOR ME, I'M NOT --
THAT'S WHY THIS ITEM IS HERE, JUST SO YOU KNOW. I ASKED THEM TO DO THAT, AND I WAS TOLD WE COULD NOT UNLESS WE BROUGHT AN ORDINANCE FOR IT. GO AHEAD.

SO WE COULD, YOU KNOW -- I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS IS WHAT THE COUNCIL WANTS

TO DO, BUT WE COULD CHANGE IT TO, WE ONLY DEAL WITH ABANDONED ONES AND NOT ANY OF THE MAINTENANCE STANDARDS FOR NONABANDONED ONES. I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT ADDRESSES ALL THAT. IT IS -- YOU KNOW, COMMERCIAL SPEECH IS ALSO PROTECTED BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT. IT DOESN'T HAVE THE EXACT SAME PROTECTIONS BUT IT DOES HAVE PROTECTIONS AS WELL. AND SO -- YOU KNOW. WE'D

HAVE TO LOOK INTO WHETHER WE COULD ADDRESS JUST CERTAIN TYPES OF THESE Agenda Item Number 1
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NEWS RACKS. I'M CONCERNED THIS THEN BECOMES A CONTENT-BASED REGULATION BECAUSE WE'RE TARGETING JUST CERTAIN TYPES OF PUBLICATIONS.

COUNCILMEMBER HINSON?

AGAIN, HAVING WORKED IN THIS INDUSTRY, I KNOW IF IT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM, THEY WILL COME OUT WITHIN THE SIX MONTHS AND MAKE CORRECTIONS. I'D ADD CHAPTER

5.66 NEWS RACK REGULATION TO THE SEBASTOPOL MUNICIPAL CODE.

I'LL SECOND THAT.

THANK YOU. SO MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER HINTON. AND SECONDED BY MAYOR McLEWISMcLEWIS APPROVE THE INTRODUCTION AND WAIVING OF THE FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO ADD CHAPTER 5.6.6 TO MUNICIPAL CODE -- CAN WE MAKE A COMMENT ON THAT MOTION? RATHER THAN -- CAN WE STILL COMMENT ON IT?
YEAH. I THINK. OR DO WE NEED TO FINISH --

I CAN'T SUPPORT IT AS IT'S WRITTEN BECAUSE I THINK THERE WILL BE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THAT. AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE MODIFIED.

I'M NOT WILLING TO MODIFY. WE ALREADY HAVE A SECOND. WE'LL JUST GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND SEE WHERE WE LAND.

TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NO MORE DISCUSSION ON THIS?
I'M DONE.

COUNCILMEMBER HINTON MOVED AND MAYOR McLEWIS SECONDED, WAIVING FIRST READING OF THE ORDINANCE TO ADD CHAPTER 5. 66 TO THE MUNICIPAL CODE.

COUNCILMEMBER CARTER?
YES.

HINTON?
AYE.

ZOLLMAN?
NO.

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Agenda Item Number 1
MAUERER?
NO.

McLEWIS?
YES.

THE MOTION IS 3-1 WITH COUNCILMEMBERS CARTER, HINTON, HOOK LEWIS IN SUPPORT, ZOLLMAN AND MAUERER IN OPPOSITION.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

JUST A CLARIFICATION, THAT SHOULD BE 3-2.

YOU'RE CORRECT, 3-2.
3-2. CAN I PAUSE FOR A SECOND? VICE MAYOR MAUER, CAN YOU TAKE OVER FOR A MOMENT? I HAVE AN EMERGENCY AT HOME THAT I NEED TO CALL HOME ABOUT. I'M SORRY. MY SON KEEPS SENDING ME EMERGENCY TEXTS ARE IF YOU CAN START IT, AND

I'LL BE RIGHT BACK, I'M NOT SURE --
SO THIS IS CONSIDERATION OF REIMBURSEMENT OF $350,354 IN CITY ATTORNEYING ABOUT THE ALLOCATION? AM I ON THE RIGHT ONE? TO THE WATER AND SEWER ENTERPRISE FUNDS.

I'M WONDERING IF WE SHOULD TAKE ITEMS OUT OF ORDER. THIS WAS THE MAYOR'S ITEM. MAYBE IT MAKES SENSE TO DO THE BARLOW ITEM NOW SINCE THE MAYOR -- MAYBE WE COULD TAKE A QUICK BREAK?
SURE. THAT WORKS AS WELL.

TAKE A FIVE-MINUTE BREAK. THAT OKAY? OKAY. [ ADJOURNED 7:09 P.M. PDT ] IS IT OKAY TO START? THANKS, EVERYONE. [ RESUMED 7:13 P.M. ] ITEM 7, CONSIDERATION OF REIMBURSEMENT OF $350,354 IN CITY BUDGET ALLOCATION TO THE WATER AND SEWER ENTERPRISE FUNDS. I'M THE REQUESTER OF THIS. OUR CITY

ATTORNEY IS GOING TO --
MAYOR, I CAN KICK IT OFF THEN TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU. AS COUNCIL KNOWS, THE

CITY HAS A COST ALLOCATION PLAN TO REIMBURSE THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE SERVICES IT PROVIDES TO THE WATER AND SEWER ENTERPRISE COULD TAKE TONIGHT.

IN ADDITION, IT ALSO RESTORES SOME OF THE FUNDS THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE GOING TO Agenda Item Number 1
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BE -- NOT MISSING, OR NOT PUT INTO OUR -- WITH US FREEZING THE RATES AND

DEALING WITH THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE AWAY FROM THE FUND. I SAW THIS AS ANOTHER WAY OF ACTUALLY RIGHTFULLY REIMBURSING THE

FUND AND MAYBE OFFSETTING SOME OF THAT SO THAT IT COULD ACTUALLY PERHAPS,

YOU KNOW, IN LOOKING AT THE -- I THINK IT SAYS IN HERE ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW --

WHEN WE GO OUT FOR THE LOAN AND EVERYTHING, IT SHOWS THAT WE DO HAVE MORE FUNDS IN THERE FOR REPAIRING THE WELL. SO THOSE ARE JUST MY GENERAL THOUGHTS ON IT. AND REASONINGS FOR BRINGING IT FORWARD. I JUST THINK THAT,

YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL, WE'VE HAD OBVIOUSLY EVEN TONIGHT, YOU

KNOW, MORE DISCUSSION AND COMMENTS ON THIS WATER SITUATION AND ALL OF THE DIFFERENT -- IN THE GRAND JURY REPORT. TO ME, THAT JUST SEEMED TO BE AN

ITEM THAT WE COULD JUST, YOU KNOW, IN MY MIND, YOU KNOW, PASS IN GOOD CONSCIENCE. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE MAY BE DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT IT,

BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT WE OWE IT TO THE COMMUNITY TO START LOOKING AT ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT ITEMS THAT WERE BROUGHT FORTH. AND THAT'S WHY THERE WERE SOME OTHER ONES THAT I CONSIDERED. BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, YOU

KNOW, THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME MORE ANALYSIS REGARDING SOME OF THE NUMBERS. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT EVEN THIS NUMBER MAY NOT BE EXACTLY THE NUMBER. BUT WHEN I INQUIRED ABOUT, WELL, HOW DO WE GET TO THE EXACT NUMBER? YOU KNOW, WHEN IT WAS DESCRIBED TO ME THE DIFFERENT PROCESSES

THAT NEEDED TO TAKE PLACE IN ORDER FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, HOW MUCH WILL THAT COST? BY THE TIME WE GET TO THAT POINT, HAVE WE ALREADY EXTENDED WHATEVER MONEY, IF IT AS LOWER MONEY, WE MIGHT HAVE EXPENDED BEYOND THAT? SO TO ME IT WAS JUST, THIS IS THE NUMBER THAT CAME FORWARD. AND WHEN I TALKED TO, YOU

KNOW, THE STAFF AND EVERYTHING, THIS JUST SEEMED LIKE IT MADE THE MOST SENSE, IN MY MIND. SO I'M HERE ASKING, YOU KNOW, MY COLLEAGUES HERE TO CONSIDER PUTTING THIS BACK. REIMBURSING THIS BACK TO A PRICE FUND. ANYWAY, THAT'S WHERE I'M AT. IT JUST SEEMS LIKE AN EASY ASK FOR ME. GO AHEAD, COUNCILMEMBER HINTON.

SO I JUST HAVE A QUESTION. SO WE'RE JUST TAKING 100% OF THE FUNDS WE

ALLOCATED ON THE ALLOCATION THAT CONSULTANTS TOLD US WE SHOULD DO BACK FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY LINE, AND WE'RE PUTTING THAT 100% INTO -- BACK INTO THE FUND. AND I'M JUST -- THERE'S NO WAY TO TELL HOW MUCH TIME OUR CITY ATTORNEY SPENT, BECAUSE WE WEREN'T TIME TRACKING DURING THOSE YEARS. I JUST WANT TO

VERIFY BECAUSE PROBABLY HE SPENT SOME TIME ON THESE FUNDS ARE BUT WE'RE JUST TAKING THOSE AND DEPOSITING THEM IN GOOD FAITH?
SO IT IS NOT 100%. BECAUSE THERE ARE -- WE WERE TO PULL OUT THE WELL FOUR TIME. THERE WAS A REQUEST BACK IN MARCH FOR THE EFOC FOR CERTAIN BILLING TO FIND OUT THE EXACT BILLING FOR ITEMS. SO WELL FOUR, WHICH IS HANDLED BY AN OUTSIDE SEPARATE LAW FIRM, WE HAVE THOSE INVOICES THROUGH MARCH OF 2026. '24-'25, THEN '25-'26 THROUGH FEBRUARY. WE ALSO WENT THROUGH MY LAW FIRM'S INVOICES FOR '24-'25 AND '25-'26 THROUGH FEBRUARY. AND TOOK OUT THE ITEMS Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1

THAT WERE SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, TIED TO WATER AND SEWER-RELATED THINGS, 100% TO THEM. SO THOSE WERE PART OF THE NUMBER. THAT'S HOW -- USING THAT

INFORMATION THAT WAS PROVIDED TO THE EFOC, THAT'S HOW THEY CAME UP WITH THAT AMOUNT. I AM GOING TO GET THE EXACT NUMBER WRONG HERE, BUT IT'S PROBABLY $20,000 OFF OF WHAT THE FULL ALLOCATION WAS.

SO THIS WOULD BE REFUNDING LESS THAT $20,000.

YOU TOOK THE BIG THINGS THAT YOU COULD JUSTIFY OUT.

RIGHT.

AND ALL THE LITTLE STUFF THAT NOW WE'RE PROBABLY ACCOUNTING FOR WITH TIME

TRACKING, WE'RE JUST --

SO SOME STUFF WE'RE TRACKING FOR -- LIKE MY TIME, WE ARE TIME TRACKING NOW FOR MOST OF THOSE THINGS INDIVIDUALLY. THE CITY COUNCIL, AS YOU KNOW, HAS A SEPARATE LABOR AND PERSONNEL ATTORNEY. NONE OF THAT TIME IS BEING RECOVERED RIGHT NOW.

LET ME ASK ONE QUESTION. WE'RE ON THIS AGENDA ITEM RIGHT NOW. YOU'RE TIME TRACKING RIGHT NOW. BUT IN THESE YEARS, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO CAPTURE THIS KIND OF LEVEL OF DETAIL OF TIME TRACKING. SO YOU JUST GRABBED THE BIG THINGS IS MY UNDERSTANDING, RIGHT?
CORRECT.

OKAY, THANKS.

IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING, LIKE SOME OF THE OVERHEAD, RIGHT, ISN'T THAT HOW YOU DESCRIBED IT, MARY? OR WHO'S -- I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS ALEX OR MARY. JUST -- GO AHEAD.

I THINK WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS INDIRECT CHARGES.

YEAH, I'M SORRY, YES. THAT'S -- YEAH.

WITHOUT HAVING THE DETAIL TIME TRACK IS, WE WOULD NOT -- AND THE COST ALLOCATION, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE WHAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE. WE AGREED THIS WOULD BE THE BEST OPTION MOVING FORWARD.

DOES ANYONE ELSE -- GO AHEAD, COUNCILMEMBER -- VICE MAYOR MAURER.

YOU'RE FORGIVING ANY INDIRECT COSTS?
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THAT IS CORRECT. WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS GOING BACK, IS WHAT WAS PART OF THE COST ALLOCATION. PART OF THAT WAS INDIRECT COSTS. THIS IS REFUNDING EVERYTHING AS REQUESTED BY THE EFOC. AND WE AGREE THAT THE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY SIMILAR.

OKAY. SO I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. HOW WILL THIS DEFICIT AFFECT OUR RESERVE PERCENTAGE?
IT WOULD TAKE IT OUT OF RESERVE, AND IT WOULD REDUCE YOUR RESERVE BY 350,354.

I UNDERSTAND. HOW WOULD IT AFFECT THE RESERVE PERCENTAGE? I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER.

WHAT IS OUR PERCENTAGE RIGHT NOW?
ISN'T IT 25?
YEAH.

LET ME SEE.

SO WE'LL STILL BE OVER 20?
YOU WILL BE OVER -- YOU WILL STILL BE OVER 20.

CAN YOU DO THE MATH FOR US?
IS THAT IN ONE YEAR? IF WE PULL IT ALL ONE YEAR? OR WOULD IT BE IF WE DID THE TWO-YEAR OPTION?
JUST TO ANSWER THE EARLIER QUESTION, I THINK THAT AMOUNT TOTAL IS $23,501. SO IT'S 100% OF ALLOCATION IS BEING REFUNDED MINUS THE $23,501. THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THOSE LARGER ITEMS.

SO PRIOR TO THE $350,000, THE RESERVE PERCENTAGE IS 26.6.

OKAY.

WHEN WE INCLUDE THIS, IT WILL GO DOWN TO 24.0 EVEN.

24.0 EVEN, OKAY. SO -- A COUPLE QUESTIONS. CAN THE TOTAL AMOUNT BE GIVEN JUST TO THE WATER FUND? THIS IS A QUESTION.

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THE GENERAL FUND CAN MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO EITHER FUND BUT YOU'RE NOT

REFUNDING AN AMOUNT IF YOU'RE GIVING IT NOT BACK TO EACH FUND IN THE AMOUNTS IT WAS ALLOCATED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

OKAY. SO ALSO, MY OTHER QUESTION IS, SO THIS ISSUE DOES NOT ADDRESS THE ALLOCATION, THE COST ALLOCATION, FOR THE COUNCIL'S TIME. AND THAT'S NOT

SOMETHING WE CAN DISCUSS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THAT WASN'T SPECIFICALLY AGENDIZED, IS THAT CORRECT?
THAT'S CORRECT.

OKAY.

IF THE COUNCIL WANTS AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM.

OKAY. LASTLY, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM COUNCILMEMBER PHILL CARTER.

BECAUSE HE'S ON THE EFOC COMMITTEE. I'D LIKE TO HEAR HIS PERSPECTIVE. THANK YOU.

THIS IS ONE OF THETHE ACCURATE TABLE NUMBERS TO GIVE BACK. WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THIS IS GOING BACK. IT'S STILL CITY MONIES, BUT IT'S GOING INTO MONEY THAT WAS ORIGINALLY FROM THE RATEPAYERS. SO IT'S GOING INTO INFRASTRUCTURE AND HELPING OUR CITY WHERE IT'S NEEDED. SO IT'S A GOOD THING.

ANY OTHER? OKAY, WE'LL GO OUT TO PUBLIC COMMENT, THEN.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. THIS IS PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THE CONSIDERATION, OF THE

RETURN OF THE COST ALLOCATION TO THE WATER SEWER SUPER PRICE FOR CITY ATTORNEY BUDGET ALLOCATION $350,000. CHAMBERS FIRST. KYLE? LET'S DO THIS REALLY QUICK. HE'S TIME TRACKING. AND WHAT I'M HEARING ALSO IS

THAT THERE IS INTEREST IN HAVING MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT REIMBURSEMENT AS A RESULT OF MISALLOCATION. I WOULD HOPE THAT COUNCIL CAN GIVE BETTER

DIRECTION TO STAFF ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGENDA ITEMS SO THAT WOULD

ALLOW FOR BROADER DISCUSSION AND NOT LETTING YOUR CITY ATTORNEY

HAMSTRING YOU FROM HAVING DEEPER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE REIMBURSEMENT OF MISALLOCATED FUNDS THAT ARE CLOSER TO THE TUNE OF $5.5 MILLION. JUST THINKING ABOUT ALEX'S MISALLOCATION, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT $350,000 OF MISALLOCATED FUNDS TO WHICH 20 SOMETHING THOUSAND DOLLARS WAS THE ACTUAL COST MINUS SOME OTHER INDIRECT CHARGES, WHAT HAVE YOU.

MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT WERE

MISALLOCATED , AND THAT IS NOT EVEN MONEY WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING ABOUT SOME RESERVES ARE BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER YOUR RESERVE MONEY TO BEGIN WITH.

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SO WHY QUESTION ABOUT THE RESERVE MONEY? BECAUSE IT WASN'T YOURS. YOU TOOK IT INCORRECTLY. YOU'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING BY GIVING IT BACK. AND WE KNOW HE'S BEEN TRACKING TIME. AND WE KNOW THAT IT'S A SIMPLE THING FOR HIM TO COMPANY. TO DO. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HOW FAR AWAY WE ARE FROM ACTUALLY

TRACKING THE TIME YOU INDICATED WOULD HAPPEN BUT THAT MARY TRIED TO

PUSHBACK OUT ANOTHER SIX MONTHS AND YOU REWORDED YOUR AGENDA ITEM TO SAY, WE WILL CONSIDER TIME TRACKING. WE WILL INVESTIGATE TIME TRACKING. AND YOU DIDN'T SAY THAT YOU WOULD DO TIME TRACKING. SO I WOULD EXPECT THAT

SINCE TIME TRACKING FOR ALEX IS PART OF THE AGENDIZED ITEM, THAT THERE IS A

OPEN DISCUSSION THAT COULD BE HAD ABOUT TIME TRACKING MORE GENERALLY THAT WOULD BE IN THE SCOPE OF THIS AGENDA ITEM. IF YOUR ATTORNEY SAYS OTHERWISE, IGNORE HIM. JUST IGNORE HIM.

THANK YOU, KYLE. NEXT TO ZOOM, KATE, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE? THANK YOU, MARY.

CAN YOU SEE THE TIMER STILL?
YES, I CAN.

GO AHEAD, PLEASE.

I THANK THE MAYOR FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD AND SUPPORT THE REST RUGS OF THE $350,354 IN ATTORNEYS FEES. THIS IS NECESSARY BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL TO CHARGE THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS FOR FEES THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE VOIS FOR. IF ALEX

CANNOT PRODUCE INVOICES, THEN THE ENTERPRISE FUND SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED. ALEX BILLS BY SIX-MINUTE INCREMENTS. THERE ARE INVOICES. THEY JUST DO NOT AMOUNT TO WHAT WAS CHARGED TO RATEPAYERS. CONSULTANTS DO NOT HAVE OVERHEAD PAID BY THE CITIES. CONSULTANTS INCLUDE THEIR OVERHEAD IN THEIR RATES, WHICH IS WHY THEY ARE NEVER IN THE COST ALLOCATION PLAN. TO COUNCILMEMBER HINTON. RATEPAYERS SHOULD NOT PAY FOR LEGAL TIME, SUCH AS TONIGHT, SPENT ON THE CITY DEFENDING ITSELF AGAINST ITS OWN ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR.

THE RESERVES, AS KYLE SAID, THAT THE CITIES HAS BELONG TO THE RATEPAYERS AS

YOUR RESERVES ARE BASED ON THE FACT THAT THE CITY HAS ILLEGALLY BEEN TAKING

MONEY FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN PAYING THEIR WATER BILLS IN GOOD FAITH FOR OVER 20 YEARS. THIS ACTION IS NOT ENOUGH TO OFFSET THE LOSS OF REVENUE PRODUCED BY THE COUNCIL'S JULY 7th DECISION TO FREEZE WATER RATES AND REMOVE PEERS. ONCE AGAIN, I AM SUBMITTING FOR COUNCIL AND FOR THE PUBLIC

THE RATE FREEZE ANALYSIS WHICH THE CITY AND COUNCIL HAVE NOT RESPONDED TO,

EVEN THOUGH IT OUTLINES THE FISCAL IMPACT OF THE COUNCIL'S DECISION ON THE WATER FUND AND ITS ABILITY TO FUND INFRASTRUCTURE. IF YOU DON'T RESPOND TO

MY DOCUMENT, YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR FINANCIAL PERSON, ANA, PRODUCE A DOCUMENT. AND YOU SHOULD ALSO GIVE A PUBLIC PRESENTATION THAT SHOWS Agenda Item Number 1
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WHAT THIS IMPACT WILL HAVE ON THE CITY'S ABILITY TO FINANCE WELL FOUR IN THE PLEASANT HILL LOOP. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, KATE, FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, CHAMBERS? I'M ON THE ENTERPRISE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. BUT THIS IS ME SPEAKING PERSONALLY. THIS IS A REALLY GOOD STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. IT'S THE FIRST

STEP I THINK COUNCILMEMBER CARTER ARTICULATED VERY WELL WHERE WE ARE ON THIS. I MEAN, WE'RE REALLOCATING RATE PAYER MONEY TO THE RIGHT PLACE. IT'S A FIRST STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, IN MY OPINION. WE'VE FINALLY GOT THE TIME

TRACKING GOING, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN PICK UP SOME MOMENTUM AND GET THINGS MOVING FOR THE BIGGER NUMBERS AND SO ON IN THE FUTURE. I JUST

WANTED TO SAY A LOT OF THIS HAS COME ABOUT FROM PAST CITY MANAGERS AND PAST COUNCILS, NOT ACTUALLY MANAGING THINGS PROPERLY. SO THERE IS SOME

SORT OF GREEN SHOOTS WITH THIS CURRENT COUNCIL AND THE NEXT ONE AS WELL THAT, THE COUNTY AND CITY MANAGEMENT WILL BE MORE RESPONSIBLE. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, OLIVER, FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT OUT TO ZOOM, IF THERE'S

ANYONE ON ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY. SEEING NONE, I WILL COME BACK INTO CHAMBERS, IF THERE'S ANYONE IN CHAMBERS. SEEING NONE, PUBLIC COMMENT IS CLOSED.

THANK YOU. WE'RE BACK AT THE DAIS FOR COMMENTS. COUNCILMAN ZOLLMAN? I THANK THE MAYOR FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. TO THE PUBLIC, I APOLOGIZE IT'S TAKEN US THIS LONG TO GET TO THIS. I'M FULLY IN SUPPORT OF THIS. AS I STATED TO

OUR CONSULTANT, WE NEED TO START MAKING AMENDS AND WE NEED TO MAKE AMENDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. EVEN IF THIS DOES AFFECT THE GENERAL FUND,

THE RESERVES, WHATEVER, WE NEED TO START DOING WHAT'S RIGHT IN ACKNOWLEDGING THE FACT THAT IT'S PROBABLY TRUE. PAST COUNCILS PROBABLY DID DEFER TO STAFF. WHY SHOULDN'T WE? THIS IS THE MAJOR ISSUE. WE'RE NOT EXPERTS IN THIS. WE PAY STAFF STAFFTO DELIVER THE BEST ADVICE THEY CAN. AND THEN WE TRY TO DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH THIS. CLEARLY THAT HAPPENED WITH PRIOR COUNCILS. NOW WE KNOW BETTER, WE SHOULD DO BETTER, SO I'M FULLY IN SUPPORT OF THIS.

GO AHEAD.

SO I'M LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF A BACKGROUND IN THIS. SO I KIND OF UNDERSTAND. BUT ALSO KIND OF WANT TO DEFEND OUR CURRENT STAFF IN THE

ILLEGALITY OF WHAT'S HAPPENING, IS REALLY KIND OF A FUNCTION OF LIKE HOW OUR COST ALLOCATION PLAN WAS FORMED AND DONE IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. HE DOES TIME TRACK IN SMALL INCREMENTS, AND WE CAN USE THAT. BUT THE

CONSULTANT THAT WE HAD A FEW YEARS AGO MADE THIS CHOICE AND Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
RECOMMENDED IT. AND WE WERE FOLLOWING THAT, WHICH HAS, YOU KNOW -- IT'S

SUBSTANTIATED IN WAYS BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE RIGHT COST ALLOCATION PLAN. AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE REVIEWING IT AND LOOKING IT OVER. BUT I JUST KIND OF

WANT TO DEFEND STAFF JUST A LITTLE BIT, BECAUSE IT WASN'T LIKE A CHOICE TO OVERBILL, TO BILL THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS. IT WAS A FUNCTION OF THE COST ALLOCATION PLAN THAT WE ALL ADOPTED A FEW YEARS AGO.

OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY. I JUST WANT TO SAY THERE WERE A FEW OTHER ITEMS. OBVIOUSLY POLICE ARE PART OF THIS. A FEW OTHER ITEMS I WANT TO BRING FORWARD. I WAS INFORMED IT WOULD BE BETTER AS WE DO THIS TIME TRACKING AND

HAVE A BETTER -- CAN DO A LITTLE BACK OR WHATEVER THAT WE COULD HAVE A CLEARER PICTURE FOR SOME OTHER ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FORTH. AT ANY

RATE, I WANT TO MAKE A MOTION TO -- LET'S SEE WHAT EXACTLY IS THE WORDING HERE FOR IT. MAKE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE REIMBURSEMENT OF CITY ATTORNEY BUDGET ALLOCATION TO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS AS FOLLOWS. WATER ENTERPRISE FUND $130,867. AND $219,487. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED ME TO INCLUDE IN THERE?

YOU'LL NEED TO APPROVE THE BUDGET AMENDMENT TO TRANSFER, AND DIRECTING STAFF TO CONTINUE THE BROADER REVIEW.

BROADER REVIEW OF THE ENTERPRISE FUND OVERSIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS SUCH

AS EFOC RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO THE CITY MANAGER DUE TO THE VACANCY OF POSITION. THIS SHOULD BE REVIEWED ONCE THE CITY AUDIT IS COMPLETED FOR THE 25-26 BUDGET FOR THE ACTUAL COSTS AND RETURNED TO COUNCIL FOR REVIEW.

SECOND?
SECOND.

THANK YOU. SO MOVED BY MAYOR McLEWIS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER

CARTER, TO ALLOCATE THE WATER PRICE FUND COST ALLOCATION FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY BACK TO THE ENTERPRISE FUND OF $137,867, $219,047. APPROVING THE BUDGET AMENDMENT OF $350,354 TO THE WATER AND SEWER ENTERPRISE FUNDS AS ALLOCATED. DIRECTING STAFF TO CONTINUE REVIEW OF THE ENTERPRISE FUND

COMMUNITY, EFOC RECOMMENDATIONS, SUCH AS THE RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO THE CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT DUE TO THE VACANCY OF THIS POSITION.

COUNCILMEMBER CARTER?
YES.

COUNCILMEMBER HINTON?
AYE.

Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN?
YES.

VICE MAYOR MAUERER?
YES.

MAYER McLEWIS?
YES.

MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU SO MY COLLEAGUES. APPRECIATE IT.

LET'S SEE. NUMBER 8, INTRODUCTION AND WAIVING OF FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SEBASTOPOL MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 12.24,

OBSTRUCTION OF STREETS, SIDEWALKS OR PUBLIC PLACES, TO ADD PROVISIONS PROHIBITING SITTING OR LYING ON THE PUBLIC SIDEWALK DURING CERTAIN HOURS.

DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THIS FIRST, ALEX? YOU KNOW THE BACKGROUND AND WHERE THIS CAME FROM.

THANK YOU, MAYOR.

WE ALL HAVE FROGS IN OUR THROATS TONIGHT.

THE ORDINANCE, THIS CAME FORWARD FROM A REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEM FROM THE MAYOR. PROCEDURAL SIX MONTHS AGO OR SO, AWHILE AGO. TO ADDRESS THIS TYPE OF CONDUCT IN THESE SPACES. WHAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE WOULD

DO WOULD PROHIBIT SITTING OR LYING ON CITY SIDEWALKS DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. IT DOESN'T APPLY TO ANY OF THE CITY'S PARKS. JUST THE SIDEWALK. AND PART

OF THAT REASON IS THERE ARE EXISTING RULES ON BLOCKING THE SIDEWALK UNDER STATE LAW AND OUR ORDINANCE. BUT EVEN IF SOMEONE ISN'T PHYSICALLY BLOCKING 100% OF THE PATH OF TRAVEL, THEY STILL MAY DISSUADE PEOPLE FROM USING THE SIDEWALK IF SOMEONE'S SITTING OR LYING ON IT. THIS PROHIBITS SITTING DOWN OR LYING ON THE SIDEWALK DURING DAYTIME HOURS. THERE ARE SOME EXCEPTIONS. IT DOESN'T APPLY IF YOU'RE HAVING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. IF YOU'RE USING A WHEELCHAIR, DOESN'T COUNT AS SITTING ON THE SIDEWALK. IF YOU'RE OPERATING

SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN ISSUED, A PERMIT USE, SOME SORT OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY THAT'S BEEN ISSUED A PERMIT FROM THE CITY. USING A BENCH OR A SEAT

THAT'S PROVIDED AS PART OF A COMMERCIAL BUSINESS THAT HAS A PERMIT OR A PUBLIC BENCH. AND A FEW OTHER ONES THAT ARE IN THERE. THE ORDINANCE REQUIRES A WARNING BE ISSUED BEFORE THERE CAN BE ANY ENFORCEMENT. AND WITH THAT I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER.

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AND THIS, DIDN'T IT ORIGINATE FROM SAN FRANCISCO?
YEAH, SAN FRANCISCO.

VETTED THROUGH --

A FEW OTHER CITIES HAVE SIMILAR ONES THAT -- THEY MAY ONLY APPLY IN CERTAIN

NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT THERE ARE OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE VERY SIMILAR ORDINANCES, INCLUDING SAN FRANCISCO, PROBABLY CITY-WIDE. AND YOU KNOW,

THERE WAS A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE SAN FRANCISCO'S ORDINANCE WAS SUBJECT TO

AN INJUNCTION, BUT THAT WAS LATER REMOVED FOLLOWING SUPREME COURT DECISIONS.

AND THE REASON I BROUGHT THIS FORWARD IS -- AND I CONSULTED WITH OUR POLICE CHIEF ABOUT THIS, AND I'M GOING TO HAVE HIM COME UP, TOO. BUT THE REASON I BROUGHT THIS FORWARD IS JUST A COUPLE THINGS. ONE, BUSINESSES DOWNTOWN

FREQUENTLY IN THE MORNINGS WHEN THEY COME TO THEIR BUSINESSES -- AND I'M TELLING THIS FROM FIRSTHAND FROM THEM, YOU KNOW. I HEAR IT ON THE SCANNER,

CALLING IN TO THE POLICE THAT THEY HAVE SOMEONE -- A COFFEE SHOP DOWNTOWN

JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO, WHATEVER, THEY'RE CALLING AND SAYING, WE HAVE

SOMEONE THAT'S LAYING IN FRONT OF OUR BUSINESS, AND THEY WON'T LEAVE, AND WE CAN'T OPEN THE DOORS. AND I HEAR THESE THINGS ON THE SCANNER QUITE A BIT.

AND I WITNESSED IT MYSELF AT MY OWN BUSINESS. SLEEPING ON THE STOOP AND

THEN, YOU KNOW -- IT'S JUST THIS WHOLE THING, THIS WHOLE PROCESS THAT YOU CAN'T GET ANYBODY TO LEAVE. AND SO I CAME TO THE POLICE CHIEF AND ASKED HIM, WHAT OPTIONS DO WE HAVE? WHAT DO WE DO? WE'RE TRYING TO HELP OUR BUSINESSES. IT'S NOT -- YOU KNOW, IN ALL OUR PRIORITIES TO TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORTING OUR BUSINESSES. BUT IF WE DON'T

HAVE ANY WAYS FOR OUR POLICE TO ACTUALLY HELP PEOPLE MOVE ALONG WHEN

THEY'VE DECIDED TO, YOU KNOW, SLEEP OR LIE RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BUSINESSES ON THEIR SIDEWALKS, THIS IS WHAT CAME UP. SO THIS IS -- AND THEN I SPOKE WITH ALEX, OUR CITY ATTORNEY, ABOUT IT. WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS? YOU KNOW. HAS THIS BEEN VETTED IN OTHER PLACES? HAS IT BROUGHT ON LAWSUITS? ALL OF THAT. AND ALL OF THAT HAS PRETTY MUCH HAPPENED IN OTHER PLACES. SO I DON'T KNOW IF OUR

POLICE CHIEF WOULD LIKE TO COME UP AT ALL, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO SAY AS FAR AS THE CALLS THAT YOU'RE GETTING? I CAN SPEAK ORGANICALLY FROM THE THINGS THAT I'VE HEARD AND SEEN MYSELF.

I DON'T HAVE ANY ACTUAL DATA I COULD PROVIDE TO YOU THAT HAS SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED SITTING OR LYING. BECAUSE WE'D HAVE TO SEARCH BY A SEARCH WORD IN OUR DATABASE. SO THAT WOULD REQUIRE THE PERSON CALLING US TO

SPECIFICALLY MENTION SITTING OR LYING AND FOR DISPATCHER TO ACTUALLY VERBATIM TYPE THAT WORD INTO OUR SYSTEM. SO THERE'S INCIDENTS THERE THAT Agenda Item Number 1
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WILL HAVE SITTING OR LYING CAWING THE PROBLEM BUT THEY'RE NOT CAPTURED

BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T WRITTEN DOWN SPECIFICALLY IN THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PUT OUT TO OFFICERS. BUT FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, I'D JUST SAY

THIS IS A TOOL THAT CAN ASSIST OFFICERS IN ADDRESSING BEHAVIORS THAT IMPACT PUBLIC SAFETY. AND THE COMMUNITY'S ABILITY TO USE THOSE PUBLIC SPACES. AS

ALEX SUGGESTED, IF THIS WERE TO BE APPROVED BY COUNCIL, WE WOULD BEGIN WITH WARNINGS. WE'D DO THAT FOR PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING, ANYWAY. WE PREFER TO SEEK VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE THAN ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS. SO I'D LIKE TO CERTAINLY MAKE THAT KNOWN TO THE COUNCIL. THE DEPARTMENT WOULD MAINTAIN

OUR ABILITY TO TREAT EVERY INDIVIDUAL WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY ARE TRANSIENT OR OTHER. I THINK ANY SUCCESS OF SOMETHING LIKE

THIS, IF IT WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL, WOULD BE MEASURED BY ANY INCREASED USE OF PUBLIC SPACES. FEWER CALLS FOR SERVICE. AND REDUCED UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY.

AND IMPROVED PERCEPTIONS OF SAFETY, WHICH IS A HUGE FACTOR, I THINK, IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS ORDINANCE OR SUGGESTED ORDINANCE. BECAUSE WE WANT

PEOPLE TO WANT TO USE OUR PUBLIC SPACES, TO WANT TO WALK DOWN THE SIDEWALK AND VISIT OUR BUSINESSES. AS THE MAYOR SUGGESTED, IF THERE'S

SOMEONE LAYING ACROSS THE DOOR OF A COFFEE SHOP, I KNOW MY FAMILY WOULD WALK RIGHT PAST THAT. FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AS THE POLICE CHIEF AND WANTING

THE VERY BEST FOR OUR CITIZENS AND OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR BUSINESSES, I CAN SEE THIS BEING AN ED ADVANTAGEOUS MOVE BY THE COUNCIL. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS I CAN HELP YOU WITH.

GO AHEAD.

SO I'M NOT SURE YOU CAN ANSWER THIS. BUT HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU COME

ACROSS SOMEONE LYING OR SITTING IN A BUSINESS OR ON A PUBLIC SIDEWALK THIS YEAR? HOW MANY TIMES HAS IT HAPPENED?
I CAN SAY I PERSONALLY DEALT WITH QUITE A NUMBER OF THEM. BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY

DATA THAT I CAN SHOW THE COUNCIL WHERE THAT IS A SPECIFIC MENTION IN A CALL,

WHICH IS REALLY THE DATA I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU, THAT EXACT FEATURE OF THE CALL. BUT I KNOW FOR A FACT I'VE PERSONALLY ATTENDED QUITE A NUMBER OF INCIDENTS LIKE THAT. I KNOW OUR OFFICERS DO, AS WELL.

SO COULD YOU DESCRIBE THIS SITUATION? FOR EXAMPLE, YOU HAVE CERTAIN LAWS RIGHT NOW THAT CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT DO. SO THIS

ORDINANCE IS TRYING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE POWER TO DO SOMETHING ELSE. BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW COMPARED TO WHAT IN ORDINANCE IS TRYING TO GIVE YOU TO DO. SO COULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT FOR ME?

YEAH, I THINK THIS JUST TIGHTENS UP THE AVAILABILITY OF ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS

FOR US, WHERE RATHER THAN US HAVING A MORE OF A GRAY AREA ON WHAT WE CAN

DO WITH IT, WE CAN REALLY COME IN AND ACTUALLY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1

A PERSON AND SAY, YOU NEED TO MOVE, WE'D LIKE YOU TO VACATE THE FRONT OF

THIS BUSINESS SO THEY CAN OPEN AND COMMENCE SERVING ARE IN PATRONS,

RATHER THAN JUST HAVING WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT THAT ARE NOT FOLLOWED THROUGH. IF THAT MAKES SENSE.

COULD YOU BREAK IT DOWN FOR ME? RIGHT NOW, IF YOU'RE -- SAY IT WAS EARLIER IN THE DAY AND THERE WAS SOMEBODY LAYING IN THE FRONT OF A STORE, BUSINESS.

HOW WOULD YOU DEAL WITH THAT SITUATION NOW?

WE REALLY HAVE TO LOOK AT THE STATE LAW TO SEE IF THE ELEMENTS OF THAT

PARTICULAR ARE MET IN ANY INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCE, WHICH WE DO WITH ANYTHING WE RESPOND TO. REWE CAN'T JUST BLANKET, YOU'RE LAYING DOWN, YOU NEED TO MOVE. IN THAT INSTANCE WE'D HAVE TO LOOK AT THE PENAL CODE AND SEE IF WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS VIOLATION OF THE PENAL CODE. OF COURSE WE START WITH WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT. HEY, COME ON, PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO OPEN FOR BUSINESS, COULD YOU MOVE SOMEWHERE DIFFERENT? THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD SEEK IN RESPECT TO VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE. BUT THIS WOULD -- WE REALLY NEED YOU TO MOVE.

IS THERE POSSIBLE THERE COULD BE UNINTEND CONSEQUENCES OF THIS? FOR

EXAMPLE, TWO TEENAGE GIRLS SITTING OVER AT CITY HALL, THEY WERE ON THEIR CELL PHONES. THEY'RE JUST SITTING THERE. AND LET'S JUST PRETEND, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY

MIGHT HAVE BEEN RIGHT DOWNTOWN ON -- SITTING IN FRONT OF THE STORE, ON THEIR CELL PHONES. SO IF YOU, LIKE, DIDN'T TELL THEM TO MOVE ONE DAY, JUST SAY -- BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THEY PROBABLY WEREN'T HURTING ANYTHING. BUT IF

SOMEBODY ELSE IS LYING ON THE STREET, THEN MAYBE YOU MIGHT -- LYING ON THE SAME AREA, YOU MIGHT ADDRESS THAT. SO COULDN'T THAT POTENTIALLY SET US UP FOR A LAWSUIT IF THERE WAS DISCRIMINATION? AND LET ME JUST GIVE YOU ONE MORE EXAMPLE. IN MY BLOCK WE HAVE BLOCK PARTIES. AND WE SIT ON THE SIDEWALK. WE SIT ON THE STREET. WE SIT -- PEOPLE SIT ON THE CURB. IF THIS ORDINANCE PASSES, ALL OF THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL.

YEAH.

TO USE THE SIDEWALK, WHICH IS A PUBLIC PROPERTY FOR EVERYBODY. I MEAN, TO ME, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE'S UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

I MEAN, I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. ANY LAW, THERE'S A POSSIBILITY OF THAT. IF

THERE'S NOT A FAIR AND EQUITABLE DELIVERY OF ANY DISCRETIONARY OR ENFORCEMENT ACTION APPLIED BY PUBLIC SAFE AGENCIES. SO -- THAT'S ALL I CAN SPEAK TO WITH THAT IS, THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO ANYTHING.

THANK YOU.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
COUNCILMEMBER HINTON'S HAD HER HAND UP.

THANKS. YEAH, SO THE WAY I READ -- WELL, I HAVE BIG CONCERNS ABOUT TARGETING PARTICULAR GROUPS. AND I GUESS THAT GOES TO WHAT COUNCILMEMBER MAURER WAS SAYING. ALSO, AS I READ THE AGENDA REPORT, IT SAYS, NO CITATION WILL BE ISSUED UNLESS THE INDIVIDUAL'S BEEN WARNED. OKAY, SO I ASSUME YOU WARN SOMEBODY. IT GOES INTO YOUR SYSTEM. THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY GET A FINE BETWEEN $100 AND $500. AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IF YOU'RE A TEEN ON A

CELL PHONE OR A HOMELESS PERSON, NOW WE'RE FINING PEOPLE AND THESE ARE PUNISHABLE BY COMMUNITY SERVICE, UP TO TEN DAYS IN JAIL. IT WOULD SEEM LIKE WE'D BE FINING KIND OF THE SAME PEOPLE. SO I JUST THINK THAT THAT DOES LINE US UP FOR TARGETING, POSSIBLY, THE SAME GROUP. MAYBE I SHOULD BE ASKING THIS TOTHE ATTORNEY. BECAUSE SAME GROUP IS OUT THERE LAYING ON THE SIDEWALKS THAT'S HOMELESS. DOES THAT LINE US UP? I MEAN, WHAT -- BECAUSE I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS.

SO, ENFORCING ORDINANCE DIFFERENTLY BASED ON SOMEONE'S PROTECTED CLASS, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY COULD BE. YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE JUSTIFICATION FOR WHY PEOPLE ARE BEING TREATED DIFFERENT. THE LOCATION OF WHERE THIS IS HAPPENING COULD MATTER, RIGHT? YOU MIGHT BE LESS CONCERNED ABOUT

SOMEONE SITTING ON A SIDEWALK IN A NEIGHBORHOOD --
CUL-DE-SAC.

BECAUSE LESS PEOPLE ARE USING THAT SIDEWALK. SO POLICE ARE USING THEIR DISCRETION NOT TO ENFORCE IN THAT SITUATION. CERTAINLY IT COULD BE A PROBLEM

IF THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN EXACT SAME CIRCUMSTANCES BEING TREATED DIFFERENTLY. BUT YOU KNOW, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT USES ITS

DISCRETION TO -- YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU GET A WARNING WHEN YOU GET PULLED OVER FOR SPEEDING, SOMETIMES YOU GET A TICKET. THOSE SHOULD NOT BE

REFLECTING -- THAT SHOULD BE REFLECTING APPROPRIATE DISCRETION AND NOT TREATING PEOPLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF A PROTECTED CLASS CHARACTERISTIC.

I THINK YOU'RE NEXT AND THEN --
YEAH. SAME CONCERNS. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT. I DID SEND ALEX AN EMAIL IN ADDITION TO SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT. I'M VERY CONCERNED SIMILAR TO MY COMMENTS ABOUT THE NEWSPAPER, NEWSPAPER BOXES.

THE IMPLICATIONS FOR FREE SPEECH AND ASSEMBLY. I SPECIFICALLY ASKED HIM THE QUESTION -- ALEX, YOU CAN TELL ME IF I'M NOT READING THIS RIGHT. YOUR RESPONSE

WAS, THE ORDINANCE DOES NOT HAVE A BLANKET EXCEPTION FOR ACTS OF PROTEST

OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, ALTHOUGH THE ORDINANCE DOES NOT APPLY TO SOMEONE

STANDING ON A SIDEWALK WHILE PROTESTING, AN INDIVIDUAL LYING ON SIDEWALKS IN AN ACT OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE COULD BE PUNISHED UNDER THE LAW. DOES THAT Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
SOUND RIGHT? OKAY, FURTHER I ASK, IS THIS GOING TO BE ANOTHER THING WHERE WE

JUST GIVE MORE MONEY TO POLICE AND POLICE ARE GOING TO SOLVE ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS? THEY WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBLE ENFORCING AGENCY, CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.

SIMILARLY, THIS IS SOLELY WITHIN THEIR DISCRETION SIMILAR TO WHETHER IT'S YOUNG

GIRLS ON A CELL PHONE OR SOMEBODY WHO LOOKS LIKE THEY NEED A SHOWER, RIGHT? OKAY, SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M CLEAR. THAT'S THE QUESTIONS.

PUT THAT OUT FOR THE PUBLIC. THANKS.

COUNCILMEMBER CARTER?
SO I'M WONDERING WHAT KIND OF GUARDRAILS COULD BE AROUND THIS. LIKE, IS THIS IN A SPECIFIC AREA? MUST IT BE IN FRONT OF -- COULD IT BE JUST ONLY IN FRONT OF BUSINESSES? OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DO HAVE A RIGHT TO BE IN PUBLIC SPACES. BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM WHEN IT INTERFERES WITH BUSINESSES.

CERTAINLY, IF THAT'S THE DIRECTION, COUNCIL COULD LIMIT WHERE THIS ORDINANCE APPLIES. WHETHER IT'S JUST DOWNTOWN OR SOME OTHER MORE SPECIFIC AREA.

THAT'S UP TO THE COUNCIL.

AND I WILL SAY THE SPIRIT OF THIS IS, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU ALL, BUT I'M DOWNTOWN AT 10:00, 10:30 AT NIGHT OFTEN. AND, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE ON THE SIDEWALKS, LAYING ACROSS THEM. AND IN THE MORNINGS. I DON'T KNOW HOW -- I LIVE DOWNTOWN. SO IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN IF YOU'RE NOT DOWNTOWN. I'M ALWAYS WALKING AROUND DOWNTOWN. I CAN TELL YOU,

FREQUENTLY -- I DON'T WANT TO NAME THEIR NAMES BECAUSE I EVEN KNOW THE

TRANSIENTS' NAMES, ALL THE DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON OUR STREETS -- THAT THEY'RE LITERALLY LAYING IN FRONT OF BUSINESSES. YOU KNOW. SO -- I MEAN, THAT'S

THE SPIRIT OF THIS, AND THAT'S WHY I JUST BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE

PRIORITIZED PUBLIC SAFETY, WE'VE PRIORITIZED A VIBRANT DOWNTOWN, ALL THESE THINGS. I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE CAN BE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. I DON'T

HAVE ALL THE DATA, BUT IN MY RESEARCH, SAN FRANCISCO'S HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH THIS WITH THE BUSINESSES, AND THE BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN GREAT. THE SPIRIT OF IT IS JUST ACKNOWLEDGING, YOU KNOW, A CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE. IF YOU'RE

NOT AWARE OF IT, I -- YOU KNOW, I ASK YOU TO START COMING DOWNTOWN ABOUT,

YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT HOURS WHEN YOU CAN SEE WHERE PEOPLE TAKE UP THE SPACE AND LAY ACROSS THE SIDEWALKS. I SEE IT ALL THE TIME. THEN I'VE HEARD -- THEN AGAIN, THE BUSINESSES ARE DEALING WITH IT. ANYWAY, THAT WAS THE SPIRIT OFOF IT. NOT TO BE, YOU KNOW -- NOT TO BE PUNISHING SOMEONE WHO'S DOING

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, BUT IT'S OUR JOB TO BALANCE THE PROS AND CONS OF ALL OF THAT, IN MY OPINION. IN MY OPINION RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE A BIGGER PROBLEM -- I Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
MEAN, I'VE LIVED HERE ONLY 12 YEARS, BUT I SEE IT AS A BIGGER PROBLEM NOW THAN I'VE EVER SEEN IT. AND BUSINESSES ARE BECOMING FRUSTRATED. I'M BECOMING FRUSTRATED. YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO GIVE THE TOOLS TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS TO ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO HELP US OUT HERE. SO THAT WAS THE SPIRIT OF IT. I MEAN, IT'S JUST AN UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCE, BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS.

SO I DON'T KNOW. YOU LOOK LIKE YOU HAD SOMETHING TO SAY, I DON'T KNOW.

THE MAYOR'S POINT ABOUT THE YOUNG GIRLS YOU REFERRED TO. I MEAN, I LOOK AT IT

FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF, THERE ARE PUBLIC SPACES FOR EVERYBODY IN THE CITY,

NOT JUST FOR A SELECT FEW THAT CHOOSE TO MONOPOLIZE THEM AND THEIR

CONDUCT BEING THAT OF THE TYPE THAT PREVENTS THOSE YOUNG LADIES FROM

BEING ABLE TO ENJOY A PUBLIC SPACE BECAUSE THEY'RE FEARFUL OF THEIR OWN SAFETY. SO THAT'S MY CONCERN. ANY TIME WE WOULD TYPICALLY DEAL WITH ANY OF

THESE, IT'S A REACTIVE SITUATION WHERE WE'VE RECEIVED A COMPLAINT OR A CALL FOR SERVICE FROM SOMEBODY ANYWAY. WE'RE NOT GOING TO WILLY-NILLY BE

DRIVING AROUND, LOOKING TO, YOU KNOW, TO PROSECUTE YOUNG GIRLS SITTING ON THE SIDEWALK. OR A TRANSIENT PERSON SITTING ON THE SIDEWALK, NOT BOTHERING ANYBODY, EITHER. IT'S EQUITABLE AND FAIR DISTRIBUTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACTION. THAT'S THE SAME FOR ANY LAW WE HAVE, OF WHICH WE HAVE THOUSANDS.

JUST A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION. ARE THERE ANY OTHER WAYS TO ADDRESS SPECIFICALLY WHAT THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE, OTHER THAN THIS? LIKE, IF

SOMEBODY'S, SAY, PASSEDOUT IN FRONT OF A INEBRIATED, KIND OF NOT IN A GOOD PLACE IN FRONT OF A BUSINESS. IS THERE ANOTHER TOOL THAT WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH THAT?
YES. YEAH, THERE'S PENAL CODES FOR THAT. 647-F, PENAL CODE FOR SOMEBODY

THAT'S UNABLE TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES BECAUSE OF THE EFFECTS OF DRUG OR ALCOHOL. WE DID THAT THIS MORNING AT SAFEWAY. IT'S COMMONLY USED.

BUT IF THAT -- CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? IF THAT WERE ACTUALLY WORKING, THEN WE STILL HAVE THESE PROBLEMS.

YEAH. A LOT OF OUR ISSUES CAN ALSO BE TRACED BACK TO THE FACT THAT TWO

HOURS AFTER WE TAKE THESE PEOPLE TO JAIL, IF THAT'S WHERE THEY END UP NEEDING

TO GO, THEY'RE BACK IN OUR DEPARTMENT, REQUESTING THEIR PROPERTY BACK, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN RELEASED ALREADY. SO THAT'S A PROBLEM WE FIND CHALLENGING. THE CONSEQUENCES DO NOT DETER THEIR CONDUCT, SOMETIMES.

ANY OTHER QUESTION? GO AHEAD.

SO HOW WOULD FINING THESE PEOPLE BENEFIT THE SITUATION? Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
I THINK THAT'S JUST AN OPTION. ALL THE TIME THESE TYPES OF ORDINANCES, THEY PROVIDE US WITH A TOOL TO BE ABLE TO -- I USE THE WORD LOOSELY. IT GIVES US THE

POWER TO INTERACT WITH SOMEBODY AND HAVE THAT CONVERSATION RATHER THAN IT BEING A CONSENSUAL CONVERSATION. WE CAN BE SAYING, YOUR CONDUCT IS

CAUSING A PROBLEM, WE'VE RECEIVED A COMPLAINT, WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS UNLAWFUL, WE NEED YOU TO MOVE. WE WOULD MUCH PREFER TO DO THAT, BECAUSE WE HAVE MANY, MANY OTHER THINGS TO TAKE CARE OF THIS THE CITY. THINGS CAN GO SIDEWAYS. THERE'S A MILL DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS THINGS CAN GO IN. I CAN'T GIVE YOU A BLANKET, THIS IS HOW IT WOULD ALWAYS WORK. WE ALWAYS START WITH VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE. WHAT WE SEEK FOR EVERYTHING. WE REALLY DO HAVE A

VERY COMPASSIONATE AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF OF POLICE HERE AT THE MOMENT THAT WE'VE WORKED REALLY HARD TO BUILD. I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE POLICE.

HONESTLY, IT'S THE PROUDEST POLICE DEPARTMENT I'VE EVER WORKED FOR AS FAR AS HOW THEY TREAT PEOPLE WITH DIGNITY.

GO AHEAD, COUNCILMEMBER.

ONE LAST QUESTION. ISN'T THERE ALREADY A LAW IN PLACE ABOUT OBSTRUCTING A PUBLIC WALKWAY? DOESN'T THAT COVER THIS?

I DON'T HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW, SO I COULDN'T -- I JUST PULLED PENAL CODE 647-C.

YEAH. AND THAT GOES TO -- THIS IS -- THERE ARE RULES IN OUR MUNICIPAL CODE AS WELL ABOUT OBSTRUCTING THE SIDEWALK. SO, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO'S LAYING

ACROSS, YOU KNOW, PERSON TO THE SIDEWALK, THERE ARE EXISTING THINGS -- CAN I CHIME IN? AND I ASKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE. AND WHAT I WAS TOLD WAS THAT

IF THEY, YOU KNOW -- IF THEY ROLL OVER OUT OF THE WAY AND THEY SAY, NOW I'M

OUT OF WAY, BUT THEY STILL LAY THERE, BUT THEY'RE NOT OBSTRUCTING THE

SIDEWALK BECAUSE A PERSON CAN WALK DOWN -- SO THEY'RE STILL LAYING THERE BUT THEY'RE NOT OBSTRUCTING. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE WHO ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, ARE VERY ADEPT AT THAT. SO THAT WAS THE

QUESTION I ASKED AS FAR AS THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE HAD ALREADY IN EXISTENCE, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE HERE NOW.

THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT THE ANSWER TO ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS. IT'S JUST ANOTHER

TOOL THAT MAY ASSIST US IN PROVIDINGPROVIDING SPACE FOR OUR CITIZENS THAT'S MORE ATTRACTIVE, THAT MIGHT BENEFIT OUR BUSINESSES AND OUR CITIZENS.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
THIS IS PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE. WE WILL GO IN CHAMBERS FIRST AND THEN OUT TO ZOOM.

OKAY, REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY. FOLKS THAT ARE MOST VULNERABLE -- MAKE SURE YOUR MICROPHONE IS ON. OH, IS IT? IT'S JUST, THE PEOPLE ON ZOOM CAN'T HEAR IF IT'S NOT INTO THE MICROPHONE.

CHECK, CHECK, CHECK?

WE REPRESENT THE ONES, THE ONES MOST AT RISK ARE DYING, BEING TOO COLD, TOO HOT, BEING DISRESPECTED. NOT JUST DOWNTOWN. TONIGHT, WHEN I WAS WALKING, THERE WERE FOLKS ON THE WEST COUNTY TRAIL, NOT CONTROLLED BY THE POLICE.

WHEN THEY GET KICKED OUT FROM DOWNTOWN, THEY GO TO THE TRAILS. THAT'S NOT SAFE FOR THEM, IN MANY WAYS, TO BE IN THE BUSHES. IT IS BETTER FOR THEM, IN MANY WAYS, TO BE IN A MORE PUBLIC AREA. SO YOU KNOW, I WANT TO GET OFF OF THIS

DOWNTOWN THIS AND THAT, I WALK EARLY MORNINGS IN DOWNTOWN, I DON'T SEE HIGH NUMBERS. WE NEED SOME EVIDENCE. LET'S DO EVIDENCE-BASED ORDINANCE.

WE DON'T HAVE THAT. ANNA GODEL DOESN'T -- PLEASE LOOK AT ME. ANECDOTAL DOESN'T WORK. PLEASE LOOK AT ME. THE EVIDENCE JUST ISN'T THERE. WHEN I SEE FOLKS IN ROUGH CONDITIONS, I ASK IF THEY NEED A CUP OF COFFEE AND A BAGEL.

SOMETIMES ORANGE JUICE. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE COMPASSIONATE. WE ARE NOT SAN FRANCISCO. LET'S NOT GO FOR THAT. I AM FRUSTRATED EVEN HEARING THIS CONVERSATION. WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, OUT TO ZOOM. KATE, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF?
I AM UNMUTE IT. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, GO AHEAD.

I WOULD JUST LIKE TO REPLY TO THE PERSON WHO JUST SPOKE. SEBASTOPOL

ACTUALLY HAS THE MOST SUPPORT SERVICES FOR UNHOUSED PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE SONOMA COUNTY. A HOMELESS PERSON CAN GET A FREE MEAL, AND SHOWER, WE

HAVE THE MOST PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING BEDS PER CAPITA OF ANY CITY IN SONOMA COUNTY. SEBASTOPOL IS ACTUALLY PULLING THREE TIMES OR 10 TIMES ITS WEIGHT WHEN IT COMES TO HOMELESS SERVICES. AS THE COMMENT SAID, THE

COUNCIL REPRESENTS THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, WHICH MEANS BUSINESS OWNERS

WHO ARE WORKING REALLY HARD TO MAKE THEIR BUSINESSES SURVIVE, AND ALSO HOPEFULLY GENERATING SOME SALES TAX REVENUE FOR THE CITY. PEOPLE WHO

WANT TO USE DOWNTOWN SIDEWALKS, I AM DOWNTOWN A LOT, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE USING PUBLIC SPACES IN PRETTY SELFISH WAYS, I WOULD SAY. YOU CANNOT PRIVATIZE A PUBLIC SIDEWALK BY TURNING IT INTO YOUR BEDROOM. YOU Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
KNOW? YOU CAN'T PRIVATIZE A PARK BY TURNING IT INTO YOUR APARTMENT. IN TERMS

OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, WHICH IS

FUNDED BY PUBLIC TAX DOLLARS, BECAUSE WE ALL WANT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE SIDEWALK, SAYS THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE A MINIMUM OF 36 INCHES, THREE FEET. I DOUBT THAT IF SOMEONE IS LAYING ON THE SIDEWALK THAT

PROVIDES AMPLE CLEARANCE WHEN YOU INCLUDE STREETLIGHTS AND OTHER AMENITIES THAT NATURALLY EXIST ON THE SIDEWALK. SO, I WOULD SAY THAT

SEBASTOPOL HAS ACTUALLY DONE A FANTASTIC JOB, WE HAVE PARK VILLAGE, WE HAVE

ELDERBERRY COMMONS, WE HAVE ANOTHER PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FACILITY ON THE WAY. LET'S MAKE THE CITY FOR EVERYONE, INCLUDING RESIDENTS WHO WANT TO USE THE SIDEWALK, AND BUSINESS OWNERS. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, KATE. NEXT COMMENTOR IN CHAMBERS?
THANK YOU. I MOVED UP HERE FROM SENTENCES GO IN 2013, AND I REMEMBER THIS, IN 2010, -- WHAT WAS IT, IT WAS MEASURE L, TO HAVE AN ORDINANCE IN SENTENCES GO. IT WAS GETTING OUT OF CONTROL IN THE CASTRO. SANTA ROSA HAS A SIMILAR ORDINANCE NOW. THE NET EFFECT OF THIS IS THAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS BEEN EVERYONE WILL COME HERE. SO, LIKE THE PREVIOUS

SPEAKER JUST SAID THIS IS PROBABLY THE KINDEST CITY IN SONOMA COUNTY AND THE MOST HELPFUL TO HOMELESS PEOPLE, WHICH IS GREAT. BUT IT'S ALSO INCREDIBLY

LIBERAL AS TO WHETHER YOU CAN LIE IN FRONT OF THE COFFEE SHOP AND NOT MOVE WHEN THE BUSINESS OWNERS COME TO OPEN UP IN THE MORNING. THAT'S A BIG PROBLEM. YOU ARE FAR MORE LIKELY TO COME TO THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL TO LIE

AROUND IN FRONT OF A COFFEE SHOP IN SANTA ROSA, WHERE YOU WILL BE

REPRIMANDED BY THE POLICE USING THESE KINDS OF LAWS UNFORTUNATELY, AGAIN, THIS IS A WEAKEST LINK PROBLEM. THE MORE THAT YOU PUT OUT THE WELCOME

SHINGLE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE UNHOUSED, DISADVANTAGED, MENTALLY ILL, WHATEVER IT IS, THE MORE PEOPLE COME HERE. THAT IS BEEN MORE AND MORE

EXPENSIVE FOR THE CITY, MORE OF THE POLICES TIME, SO I APPROVE OF THIS MEASURE.

THANK YOU FOR THE PUBLIC COMMENT. I WILL GO BACK OUT TO ZOOM, IF THERE IS

ANYONE ON ZOOM WHO WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT VIRTUALLY, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. CNN, BACK INTO CHAMBERS. KYLE?
I'M NOT OFFENDED IF YOU DON'T LOOK AT ME WHEN I GIVE PUBLIC COMMENT. THIS

ORDINANCE IS NOT NARROWLY WRITTEN TO PREVENT SIDEWALK OBSTRUCTION, IT IS A AGAINST POVERTY. IT WOULD MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO LIE ON SIDEWALKS FROM 7:00 TO 11:00 P.M., EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS BLOCKING PEDESTRIAN ACCESS. THAT DISTINCTION TELLS US WHAT THE ORDINANCE IS REGULATING. NOT OBSTRUCTION, BUT POVERTY.

THE PUBLIC VISIBILITY OF POOR PEOPLE. THE AGENDA REPORTS SITES THE CITY OF GRANTS PASS VERSUS JOHNSON FROM 2024, BUT IT DOES NOT MEANINGFULLY ADDRESS THE LONG HISTORY OF LITIGATION OVER SIMILAR LAWS. CITY OF SANTA ANA Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
IN 1995, SEATTLE IN 1996, JONES VERSUS LOS ANGELES IN 2006, ATKINSON, CITY OF ABERDEEN IN 2020, AND THE COALITION OF HOMER HOMELESSNESS VERSUS THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SENTENCES GO SETTLED IN 2025. FILED IN 2022. THAT'S THREE YEARS OF LITIGATION. WHY ARE THESE CASES NOT ANALYZED IN THE REPORT? WHY DOES THE

REPORT GIVE A LEGAL CONCLUSION WITHOUT DISCUSSING THE LITIGATION RISKS INVOLVING EXCESSIVE FINES, DUE PROCESS, OR FREE EXPRESSION? THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACTUAL OBSTRUCTION AND MERELY EXISTING IN PUBLIC. SEBASTOPOL SHOULD ALREADY UNDERSTAND THIS RISK. THE CITY HAS ONLY RECENTLY COME THROUGH THE ACLU SUPPORTED FEDERAL CHALLENGE TO ITS RV ORDINANCE. WHILE THE CITY PREVAILED, THE SUMMARY JUDGMENT LAWSUIT FACED 14 CAUSES OF ACTION

AND STILL REQUIRED THE CITY TO SPEND PUBLIC RESOURCES, ACTUAL MONEY, ON LITIGATION. ARE WE THAT AMNESIAC, HERE CAP, THAT WHEN WE DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN WE IMPLEMENT LAWS AGAINST POVERTY WE ARE GOING TO GET SUED?

EVEN IF WE THINK WE CAN RELY ON JOHNSON AND GRANTS PASS AS A DECISION, THAT WE WILL NOT SPEND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO ALEX? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?
THAT'S TWO MINUTES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. GOING BACK OUT TO

ZOOM, IF THERE IS ANYONE ON ZOOM WHO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE IT PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY. CNN, BACK INTO CHAMBERS. IF THERE IS ANYONE IN CHAMBERS? SEEING NONE, IT IS BACK TO COUNCIL.

BACK TO THE DAIS FOR COMMENTS.

YEAH, THERE IS NO WAY I AM SUPPORTING THIS. I JUST WANT TO SAY, I WALK IN THE

MORNINGS FREQUENTLY WITH MY FRIEND, SHE HAS A LITTLE DOG, WILSON, WHO IS VERY FAMOUS. ALL THE LOCAL DOG WALKERS KNOW EVERYBODY. I CANNOT THINK OF

ONCE, WELL, MAYBE ONCE UP BEHIND CITY HALL OR SOMETHING, BUT I DO NOT SEE PEOPLE LAYING IN THE SIDEWALK, BLOCKING THE FRONT DOORS OF BUSINESSES. I

WOULD SAY, HAVING ONE TIME IN MY LIFE VISITING A BUSINESS WHERE SOMEONE WAS SLEEPING IN FRONT, AND I ASKED THEM TO MOVE, THEY HAVE MOVED. WE ARE A PIECE TOWN. I GET THAT WE ARE A LIBERAL TOWN, WE ARE PEACEFUL, AND WE APPRECIATE PEOPLE, ALL PEOPLE, AND THERE IS JUST NO WAY. NOT TO MENTION THE POSSIBILITIES FOR LITIGATION WHICH ARE REAL. I CAN APPRECIATE THAT WE ALL GET TO BRING UP AGENDA ITEMS, THAT I FEEL VERY STRONGLY ON THIS ONE.

COUNCIL MEMBER ZOLLMAN?
SAME. FOR THE COMMENTS I MADE WHEN I WAS QUESTIONING ALEX, THE

IMPLICATIONS AS A WHOLE FROM A LEGAL POINT OF VIEW OF SELECTIVE PROSECUTION

COMMAND AGAIN, OUR SOUL BLOCKING OF THAT AT POLICE DISCRETION, I AM NOT OKAY WITH THAT. I AM NOT OKAY WITH IT BEING IMPLEMENTED THAT WAY, I AM ALSO NOT COMFORTABLE PASSING SOMETHING LIKE THIS. WE ARE A PEACEFUL CITY AND

ALSO VERY VOCAL, AND I HAVE HUGE CONCERNS OVER HOW THIS WILL BE Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1

IMPLEMENTED WHEN MORE OF OUR RESIDENTS COME OUT, ACCIDENT EXERCISING FREE SPEECH AND FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY. I AM NOT SUPPORTING THIS AT ALL.

VICE MAYOR?
SO, IT IS HARD TO KNOW WHAT THE EXPERIENCE OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS. I AM NOT ON THE POLICE STAFF, I AM NOT A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER DOWNTOWN. I THINK

IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT WE DID NOT HEAR FROM ANY OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WHO WERE HAVING -- WE HEARD FROM ONE. OUR MAYOR OWNS A SMALL

BUSINESS DOWNTOWN, BUT THAT IS THE ONLY SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WE HAVE HEARD. IT IS HARD FOR ME TO WRAP MY MIND AROUND THE NEED FOR SOMETHING. I JUST DON'T GET IT. I HAVE REALLY BIG CONCERNS WITH THE IDEA OF SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT. THE IDEA THAT IT IS REALLY PRETTY MUCH TARGETED AT A SPECIFIC GROUP, AND I AM NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THAT, AT ALL. I THINK THERE ARE BIG UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES WITH IT. THE LEGAL RISK, AND THE IDEA OF, IF YOU ARE

EXERCISING YOUR FIRST AMENDMENT, FREE-SPEECH RIGHT, YOU ARE DOING CIVIL

DISOBEDIENCE AND YOU SIT ON THE SIDEWALK, AND EVERYBODY SITTING ON THE SIDEWALKS, THEY WOULD GET FINED FOR SITTING ON THE FIGHT SIDEWALK. THAT REALLY BOTHERS ME. AND I AM NOT SUPPORTING THIS.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY. WELL, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE WE HAVE SUPPORT, BUT I DO HAVE A FEW COMMENTS. I JUST WANT TO SAY FIRST OF ALL, I IMPLORE MY

COLLEAGUES TO PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND AND LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR DOWNTOWN. AS A BUSINESS OWNER, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU. I SEE THIS ALL THE TIME. I WILL BE REFERRING BUSINESS COMPLAINTS TO YOU AND I WILL BE GIVING THEM YOUR NAMES WHEN THEY HAVE TROUBLE. AND I

IMPLORE YOU TO COME UP WITH SOME OTHER SOLUTIONS TO HELP DEAL WITH THE

CHALLENGES THAT OUR DOWNTOWN, AS SOMEONE WHO IS DOWN THERE, I CALLED 911 A FEW WEEKS AGO BECAUSE OF SOME ISSUES. SO, I JUST THINK THAT SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO HAVE THEIR HEAD IN THE SAND AND I AM SORRY FOR THAT. I BROUGHT

THIS FORTH BECAUSE OUR POLICE OFFICERS HAVE SAID THAT THEY NEED SOME TYPE

OF TOOL TO DEAL WITH THE CHALLENGES THEY ARE FACING WITH WHERE THE BUSINESSES ARE. I WILL MAKE A MOTION AND FORCE EVERYONE TO SAY NO. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO PASS THIS. IF I GET A SECOND, GREAT. IF NOT, I AM JUST TAKING A STANCE WITH THIS. I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO ACTUALLY PASS THE MUNICIPAL CODE, CHAPTER 12.-- WHAT? 12.24. PROVISION PROHIBITING LYING ON PUBLIC SIDEWALKS DURING DAYTIME HOURS.

I JUST WANT TO RESPOND IN COMMENTS, NOT TO SECOND THE MOTION. I FEEL, AS I

SAID IN MY COMMENTS, WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO BRING THESE ITEMS FORWARD,

BUT I FEEL LIKE I AM WILLING TO ADDRESS -- I HAVE LIVED HERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND I DON'T HAVE MY HEAD IN THE SAND BUT I CALLED 911 AND THE OTHER DAY WHEN

SOMEONE WAS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, SCREAMING, AND I BELIEVE THE POLICE DID Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
RESPOND. TO ME, THAT IS AN ACTIONABLE ITEM. THIS ORDINANCE IS A BLANKET ORDINANCE, AND I WOULDN'T SUPPORT A BLANKET ORDINANCE IN ANY WAY.

GO AHEAD.

I ALSO FEEL AN OBLIGATION TO RESPOND TO THE HEAD IN THE SAND. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY ALTERNATES WE COULD NOT HAVE BROUGHT FORTH. WE BROUGHT FORTH

HEART, SOME OF US HAVE PUSHED FOR CITIZENS ACADEMY TO GET CITIZENS WHO

VOLUNTEER, WHO WANT TO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME TO ADDRESS AND HELP OUR POLICE. I DO TAKE THAT AS A FACT OF LIFE, GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND. SOME

OF US HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT ON THE HOMELESS COALITION BOARD TO ADDRESS

AND HELP OUR POLICE AND PUSH OUR POLICE, WHO SEEM TO BE VERY RELUCTANT TO EVEN ENTERTAIN A CITIZENS ACADEMY. SO, THAT WAS CORRECTIONS BUT I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT PART WOULD NOT RESPOND. I HAVE ASKED ALL THE SAME QUESTIONS, YOU AND I ARE ON THE SAME COMMITTEES. I HEAR YOU AND I HAVE ASKED THOSE

QUESTIONS AND THIS WAS THE FINAL SOLUTION THAT WAS HANDED TO ME BECAUSE

OF, HEART IS NOT ABLE TO RESPOND, THE OTHER MENTAL HEALTH TEAMS, THEY ARE

NOT ABLE TO RESPOND FROM SANTA ROSA, HAVE ASKED ALL THE QUESTIONS, I HAVE BEEN THERE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO. I JUST TRIED TO WORK WITH OUR CHIEF

OF POLICE, WHO IS THE HEAD OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION

WITH OUR ATTORNEY, AND FIND SOMETHING THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN VETTED AND IS NOT A LITIGATION ISSUE, BECAUSE IT HAS ALREADY BEEN VETTED. AT ANY RATE, I JUST WANT OUR BUSINESSES TO KNOW THAT I TRIED. ANY RATE, AT THIS POINT, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING, SO CAN WE JUST MOVE ON? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. LET'S GO TO ITEM NUMBER 9. MI ON THE RIGHT NUMBER? I WANT TO DO A QUICK CHECK. ARE YOU ALL OKAY WITH CONTINUING? DO YOU WANT A BREAK? I JUST REALIZED IT'S LIKE 8:15. SO, LIKE 8:20? OKAY, COOL.

OKAY, WE ARE BACK FROM OUR BREAK. WE ARE AT ITEM NUMBER 9. REQUEST FOR

APPROVAL OF HOURS FOR CITY ATTORNEY RESEARCH ON LEGAL OPTIONS

RESPONDING TO COMMUNITY CONCERNS OF GRAFFITI AND RACIAL MOCKERY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SAFEWAY AREA. I JUST WANT TO COMMENT, BEFORE I TURN THIS

OVER, THE POLICE CHIEF, CITY MANAGER AND I MET WITH THE RESIDENTS TODAY WHO

REQUESTED THIS AT OUR LAST MEETING, AND THEY ACTUALLY REQUESTED THIS ITEM BE

DELAYED, SO I WANT TO TURN THIS OVER TO COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN BECAUSE THIS IS HIS ITEM AND HIS DECISION.

THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR. YES, THE REASON WHY I BROUGHT THIS THROUGH

AGENDA REVIEW WAS BECAUSE, FROM WHAT I SENSED ON THIS ISSUE WAS THAT THE MAYOR AND I HAD DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THIS. AS THE PUBLIC IS PROBABLY

GOTTEN A SENSE FROM MY COMMENTS TONIGHT, THE POLICE ARE NOT EVERYTHING IN OUR CITY. WE SET POLICY, AND I DISAGREED WITH THE APPROACH, THAT WHEN

COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE CONCERNS, THAT IT IS SOMEHOW LUMPED TOGETHER AS

A PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERN, AND THEREFORE POLICE GET THE FINAL SAY AND WE Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
NEED TO HAVE A MEETING WITH THEM. I DISAGREED WHEN I OVERHEARD THAT GENERAL PERSPECTIVE AND APPROACH TO THIS. ALSO, I HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE

FACT, I UNDERSTOOD THROUGH VARIOUS EMAILS NOT BROWN ACTED WITH THE

MAYOR, BUT FINALLY ALL OF THE RESIDENTS COULD COME TO GATHER AND THE

POLICE CHIEF COULD NOT BE AVAILABLE, AND OUR CITY MANAGER OVERSEES THIS STAFF MEMBER WAS LIKE, WELL, I DON'T KNOW. I GUESS WE CANNOT HAVE A MEETING.

TO ME, THAT WAS CONCERNING. THE REASON WHY I PUSHED THIS FORWARD TO HAVE THIS HEARD. I ALSO GOT A SENSE ON VARIOUS EMAILS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC,

AND THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE BROWN ACT, THAT APPARENTLY A LOT OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE BEEN APPROACHED ON THIS ISSUE. I DID NOT RESPOND BACK

ACCEPTED TO A CORE GROUP SAYING I HEARD YOUR CONCERNS AT THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING AND I AM BRINGING FORTH THIS AGENDA ITEM. I THINK I CCED MARY ON ONE

OF THEM THAT IT WILL BE THIS DAY, BUT THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE APPARENTLY ALL

BEEN APPROACHED BY VARIOUS PEOPLE AND WE HAVE NO ONE FROM THE

COMMUNITY HERE, I GUESS THEY LEFT THE MEETING EARLIER TODAY WITH THE IDEA THAT THEY COULD JUST POSTPONE THIS. AND I TOTALLY GET THIS, BECAUSE THE ALL WANT TO COLLECTIVELY BE HERE. FOR ME, I AM INTERESTED IN HEARING MY COLLEAGUES NOW THAT THEY ARE ALTOGETHER. WHAT THEY WOULD WANT TO SEE HAPPEN WITH THIS ISSUE. FOR ME, I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO GO AHEAD AND

DISCUSS THE SUBSTANCE OF THE REQUEST, WHICH IS TO GET, FROM ALEX, THE

ALLOCATION OF TIME, WHAT ARE THE FULL LEGAL AVENUES THAT WE HAVE, SHORT OF THE POLICE. IF THE POLICE WERE ABLE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM, THEY WOULD ALREADY BE LOCKED UP. PROBABLY ON THEIR WAY TO PRISON, RIGHT? IT IS NOT NECESSARILY A CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT ACTION. FOR ME, IF WE DEFER THIS, I WOULD

LIKE THE ABILITY FOR MY COLLEAGUES TO HAVE TIME, THROUGH ALEX, TO DO SOME

RESEARCH SO THAT WE HAVE A FULLY FLESHED OUT A STAFF REPORT WHEN THIS DOES GET CONTINUED. SO, THAT IS THE REASON WHY, WHEN I OVERHEARD FROM MARY AND

OUR MAYOR, IT WAS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION WHEN I SAT DOWN HERE TONIGHT

THAT THE PUBLIC WANTS THIS TO BE TAKEN OFF, SO I'M LIKE NO, I WILL MAKE MY COMMENTS, AND OF COURSE LISTEN TO STAFF, LISTEN TO MY COLLEAGUES. IF THEY

WANT TO ROLL THIS OVER, BECAUSE THEY WANT THE FULL PUBLIC HERE, THAT'S

GREAT, BUT I WOULD ALSO LIKE MY COLLEAGUES TO THINK ABOUT HOW WELL PREPARED WE WANT TO BE AT THE NEXT AGENDA MEETING A MONTH FROM NOW. SO THAT IS MY THOUGHTS.

I CAN SHARE THE MEETING TODAY, AND HAVING THE POLICE CHIEF THERE, THAT IS

BECAUSE THE POLICE CHIEF AND CITY MANAGER AND I, IT WAS EXPLAINED TO US THAT THERE WERE CHALLENGES. THE REASON I GOT PULLED INTO IT IS BECAUSE THE POLICE

CHIEF, MYSELF, AND CITY MANAGER MEET REGULARLY AND HAVE BEEN MEETING WITH

THOSE STAKEHOLDERS FOR MONTHS ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS GOING ON, SO THAT IS HOW I GOT PULLED INTO THAT. THAT IS THE REASON WE HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT

WHAT WE HAVE DONE ALREADY AND DISCUSSIONS WE HAVE HAD AND WHO WE

COULD BRING IN LATER BASED ON THE DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND THOSE MEETINGS WE Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
HAVE HAD. THAT IS HOW I GOT PULLED INTO THAT, AND ALSO THE EMAILS. I DON'T

KNOW --

IN RESPONSE TO THAT, I WAS PRIVY TO THE FACT THAT EACH OF US CAN DO

INFORMALLY WHAT THEY WANT, BUT IN THE BACK OF MY MIND, WAS, ONE OF US CANNOT SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ANYONE ISSUE. I WAS WILLING TO LET IT ROLL UNTIL WE

WEREN'T GETTING ANY ACTION AT ALL WITH ONE REQUEST, PEOPLE SHOWING UP IN PUBLIC, AND THEN EMAILS. THAT, TO ME, WAS THAT WE NEED TO GO THROUGH THE

PROCESS OF HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHO IS RESPONDING AS A BODY, THAT IS THE REASON WHY.

I WILL SAY, TODAY WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION, THEY SAID -- YOU KNOW, THEY TALKED

TO THE CITY AND SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE, AND WE CANNOT ALL TALK AND THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THAT, AND SO THAT IS WHY -- ANYWAY. THERE IS JUST A LOT OF

PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE WHO ARE TALKING, AND THEY ARE ALL REACHING OUT TO

DIFFERENT PEOPLE WITH US AND WITH THE CITY, ALL THE DIFFERENT REASONS THAT PRECLUDE US FROM TALKING. ANYWAY, GO AHEAD, COUNCILMEMBER HINTON?

I THINK THAT WE SHOULD TAKE IT TONIGHT, WE CAN MOVE IT FORWARD AGAIN AS POINTED OUT, A LOT OF TIMES THE PUBLIC DOESN'T REALIZE BROWN ACT RULES.

COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN PUT IT ON THE AGENDA, I DON'T WANT TO HIJACK HIS AGENDA ITEM, AND WE ARE AN EQUAL BODY. THE MAYOR TAKES LEAD, FOR

MUNICATION PURPOSES, BUT I THINK THAT WE SHOULD TAKE THIS UP TONIGHT, AND IT

WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE ONTO A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM POSSIBLY, GIVEN ALL THE DECISIONS TONIGHT.

AND I JUST WANT TO SAY, BECAUSE WE ASKED THEM THREE DIFFERENT TIMES AND THEY

SAID THEY DID NOT WANT IT ON TONIGHT BECAUSE THEY FELT LIKE THEY NEEDED IT TO HAVE EVERYONE HERE WITH A VOICE. I AM NOT ADVOCATING EITHER WAY BUT JUST AS

A COMMUNICATOR OF WHAT WAS SAID AT THE MEETING SO EVERYONE IS AWARE OF WHAT THEY WERE SAYING TO US. HOWEVER YOU DECIDE TO PROCEED IS FINE I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I COMMUNICATE WHAT WAS COMMUNICATED TO US.

THAT'S GREAT. I APPRECIATE THAT. YES, I WOULD LIKE TO PROCEED WITH THE

SUBSTANCE OF THIS, WHICH IS TO ASK THIS BODY IF THEY ARE WILLING TO GIVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF HOURS. ALEX, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAID, TO GIVE US A

FULL LEGAL PERSPECTIVE OF VARIOUS OPTIONS, DEALING WITH A COMMERCIAL, PRIVATE ENTITY, WHICH WE HAVE LIMITED JURISDICTION OVER. IS IT FIVE HOURS OF YOUR TIME TO COME PREPARED WITH A THOROUGH STAFF REPORT? IF WE GIVE YOU

FIVE HOURS I'M EXPECTING MAGIC IN A STAFF REPORT WHEN THIS COMES BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER, IS THAT WHAT IT WILL TAKE?
I WOULD IMAGINE MORE THAN FIVE HOURS. 10 IS PROBABLY REASONABLE Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
WHY SO? WE HAVE NOT DISCUSSED THIS OUTSIDE OF WHAT MARY WAS GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO HELP ME PULL TOGETHER BY WAY OF AN AGENDA ITEM. EXPLAINED TO US WHY IT WOULD TAKE 10 HOURS. WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING?
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT AREAS. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADOPT A GRAFFITI ABATEMENT ORDINANCE. THAT IS CLEAR. WE COULD DO THAT AND SET REQUIREMENTS

THAT HOLD THE PROPERTY OWNER RESPONSIBLE FOR GRAFFITI, IF IT IS NOT CLEANED UP WITHIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME. OTHER THINGS, I KNOW THERE HAS BEEN A REQUEST FOR, YOU KNOW, CAN WE MAKE THEM HAVE TO INSTALL A FENCE? GENERALLY, THAT IS NOT AN OPTION FOR AN EXISTING BUSINESS. THAT DOESN'T NEED

APPROVAL FROM THE CITY, THEY'RE NOT COMING TO THE CITY FOR USE PERMIT OR DESIGN REVIEW. WE WOULD BE RESEARCHING TO SEE WHETHER MAYBE THERE IS SOME METHOD. ALSO, LOOKING INTO WHETHER THE CITY COULD BRING SOME SORT

OF NUISANCE CLAIM AGAINST THE BUSINESS, THOSE CAN BE HARD, ESPECIALLY WHEN

THE NUISANCES ARE COMING FROM NOT THE ENTITY ITSELF, BUT FROM THIRD PARTIES,

WHO JUST HAPPENED TO BE DOING IT ON THEIR PROPERTY, LOOKING INTO WHETHER THAT MIGHT BE AN OPTION.

THE BUSINESS REQUEST, THEY SAID THEY WOULD WANT THE CITY TO INSTALL CAMERAS, THERE. INSTALL CAMERAS OURSELVES.

THE FENCE IS THE SAME THING AS THE CAMERAS. WE CANNOT REQUIRE PRIVATE

PROPERTY OWNERS TO DO THINGS UNLESS THERE IS A NEXUS TO WHAT THEY ARE REQUESTING FROM THE CITY. WHEN A BUSINESS COMES FOR A USE PERMIT OR A

DESIGN REVIEW, THEN WE HAVE THE ABILITY BECAUSE THEY ARE SEEKING A PERMIT FROM US. WHEN IT IS AN EXISTING ESTABLISHMENT, THAT IS HARD, JUST LIKE WE

COULD NOT GO UP TO AN EXISTING HOMEOWNER AND SAY, WE DON'T LIKE THE DESIGN OF YOUR HOUSE, CHANGE IT. IF THEY COME WITH A PROPOSAL TO BUILD A NEW HOUSE THEN WE MIGHT HAVE THAT LEEWAY. AS THE COUNCIL KNOWS, FOR THE CITY TO

INSTALL OUR OWN CAMERAS, IF WE ARE INSTALLING ON THEIR PROPERTY WE NEED

THEIR PERMISSION, AND IF WE ARE INSTALLING ON OUR PROPERTY, THAT WOULD

REQUIRE A CHANGE IN OUR SURVEILLANCE ORDINANCE, TO AUTHORIZE THE PARTICULAR LOCATION.

CANADA SAFEWAY INSTALL CAMERAS?

THEY COULD VOLUNTARILY INSTALL CAMERAS, OR VOLUNTARILY INSTALL A FENCE IF

THAT IS WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, IT IS A QUESTION OF WHAT THE CITY CAN FORCE THEM TO DO.

CAN WE REQUEST THAT THEY INSTALL CAMERAS SINCE THERE ARE PROBLEMS THERE RIGHT NOW? THERE COULD BE OTHERS WHO DON'T WANT CAMERAS IN THAT SECTION, TO. THERE COULD BE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF HAVING CAMERAS THERE. SO, MY INTEREST IN THIS IS, BECAUSE THERE WERE JUVENILES INVOLVED. I HAD WRITTEN Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
TO THE POLICE CHIEF ABOUT WANTING TO KNOW THE NEXT STEPS. COULD RESTORATIVE JUSTICE BE DONE? AND I WAS TOLD IT IS IN THE HANDS OF THE JUVENILE

SYSTEM, AND SO, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE COULD - - COULD THE CITY REQUIRE SOMETHING LIKE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE?

SO, THE ONLY WAY THAT THE CITY COULD REQUIRE THAT IS IF THE CITY WAS CREATING

AND ENFORCING SOMETHING, WE CANNOT FORCE INDIVIDUALS TO ATTEND MEETINGS, OR DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IS A PROGRAM PEOPLE GO THROUGH AND LEARN -- YOU CAN'T FORCE PEOPLE TO DO THINGS. WE CAN'T GO TO SOMEONE AND SAY, YOU

HAVE TO GO TO RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, BUT THE JUVENILE COURT SYSTEM COULD DO

THAT AS A PART OF CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT, BUT THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE -- UNLESS

WE MAKE AN ORDINANCE AND SAY, YOU HAVE TO DO THIS THING, WE -- BUT WE COULD MAKE AN ORDINANCE THAT REQUIRES RESTORATIVE JUSTICE? I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK INTO IT.

I JUST WANT TO SAY, I KNOW THE POLICE CHIEF SPOKE TO THE INCIDENT IN THE SUBSEQUENT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS FOR YOU TO MENTION AT SOME POINT.

GETTING TO MY MAIN POINT EARLIER, WE SET POLICY. ALEX, COULD WE NOT DIRECT

THE CHIEF, I KNOW THE CHIEF HAS MADE COMMENTS IN THE PAST, I HAVE INCREASED

ARREST RATES, AND THERE COULD BE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM ABOUT THE APPLICATIONS OF JUST ARRESTING PEOPLE WILLY-NILLY, INCLUDING JUVENILES.

COULD WE NOT DIRECT, THROUGH MARY, THAT RESTORATIVE JUSTICE BE PURSUED, SHOULD THESE PEOPLE BE IDENTIFIED? I GET THAT YOU ARE SORT OF ADDRESSING THE

FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, ONLY COURTS, WHEN THEY COME BEFORE A JUDGE, CAN

DECIDE IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE COURT IS WILLING TO DO, WHICH IS TO GIVE

THE JUVENILE OFFENDER THE ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN JUVENILE JUSTICE SO THEY

DON'T END UP WITH A RECORD, BUT COULD WE NOT, SHORT OF AN ORDINANCE,

THROUGH MARY, DIRECT OUR CHIEF TO PURSUE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AS THE FIRST BEGINNING POINT WHEN DEALING WITH JUVENILES?

THE COUNCIL COULD ADOPT A POLICY, IN GENERAL, THE POLICE COULD PURSUE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN LIEU OF MAKING ARRESTS OR SOMETHING. I WOULD HAVE TO

THINK OF A WAY OUT IN PRACTICE, I GUESS, WHEN YOU SEE AN INCIDENT IN

SOMETHING OCCURRING, TELLING THESE INDIVIDUALS, HERE IS RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, WE HOPE YOU COME TO PARTICIPATE IN IT? AND IF YOU DON'T, WE ARE GOING TO -- LIKE, HOW ARE WE GETTING JUVENILES TO PRECIPITATE?
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1

MY ANSWER, CONTACTED THE PRESIDING JUDGE OF THE JUVENILE BRANCH, HAVING REPRESENTED YOU, THAT IS AN OPTION. YOU BRING THE PARENTS INCOME AND GO

LISTEN, LITTLE JOHNNY IS BEEN ACCUSED OF XYZ, YOU CAN DO RESTORATIVE JUSTICE,

OR WE WILL HAUL HIM AWAY FOR FINGERPRINTS WHICH WILL BE LOCKED INTO THE SYSTEM AND THEY WILL LOOK AT JAIL TIME, RIGHT? THERE ARE POLICIES IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, AND SO, I AM HOPING THAT IF THE COUNCIL APPROVES 10 HOURS

ONE OF THEM WOULD BE FOR YOU TO GO, NOT DO INDIVIDUAL WORK, BUT IT'S STILL RESEARCH BEST PRACTICES FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS.

BUT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT OTHER JURISDICTION COURT SYSTEMS WITH POLICIES? INDIVIDUAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS HAVE POLICIES.

THE POLICIES FOR HOW JUVENILES ARE HANDLED AND ADDRESSED, YES.

DO YOU HAVE AN EXAMPLE THAT MIGHT POINT ME?
NO, THIS IS NOT MY JOB. THIS IS YOUR JOB.

I AM SAYING I AM NOT AWARE OF A SINGLE MUNICIPAL LOCAL AUTHORITY. WHAT IT

SEEMS LIKE YOU ARE APPLYING IS THIS INTERACTION ON THE STREET OR WHEREVER IT OCCURS, BEFORE SOMEONE IS ARRESTED OR CITED, THIS OFFER SHOULD BE MADE.

OF COURSE THEY WILL BE EXCITED, RIGHT? AND THEN YOU HAVE THE POLICY SAYING THESE ARE YOUR OPTIONS. EITHER PARTICIPATE IN RESTORATIVE JUSTICE -- WE ARE NOT THE PROSECUTING AGENCY.

NEVERMIND, I'M EXHAUSTED.

GO AHEAD, VICE MAYOR.

BRINGING IT BACK. I AM AFRAID I AM GETTING MORE INTO DISCUSSION AND NOT

QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK THAT THE JUVENILES WERE ARRESTED FOR WHAT THEY DID,

AND MY INTEREST WAS IN, HOW CAN THE CITY ENFORCE, AFTER ARREST, ENFORCE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN THIS CASE, SO THAT THEY ARE LEARNING. YOU KNOW? THERE

HAS GOT TO BE SOME LEARNING HERE BUT IS IT POSSIBLE TO ENFORCE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, IN THE CASE OF RACISM, IN THE CITY?
I WILL SEE IF I CAN FIND A WAY TO DO THAT AND GET BACK TO YOU IN THOSE 10 HOURS COUNCILMEMBER HINTON HAS A QUESTION.

YEAH. I DON'T KNOW IF MARY MIGHT REMEMBER, BUT I REMEMBER WHEN MY SON WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND GOT A TICKET. WE WENT TO A PROGRAM THAT WAS FUNDED Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
OVER, DOWN FROM THE HOSPITAL. I THINK IT WAS FUNDED BY A GRANT, AND I CAN'T

RECALL THE AGENCY, BUT I REMEMBER WE WENT WITH A BUNCH OF OTHER HIGH

SCHOOL KIDS AND PARENTS FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, WE HAD TO ATTEND, AND FOR THAT, THE TICKET GOT WAIVED. I DO BELIEVE IT WAS A VERY SPECIALIZED GRANT

PROGRAM, I THINK IT EXISTED FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AROUND 2015. I DON'T THINK THAT WE WERE FORCED TO DO THAT. WE COULD PAY,

BUT OF COURSE, THIS WOULD BE MORE PUNISHMENT AND WE WERE GOING TO ATTEND RIGHT HERE IN SEBASTOPOL. THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO. I SUSPECT THAT WE CANNOT FORCE PEOPLE TO DO THAT. WE CAN PASS A POLICY TO ENCOURAGE, BUT I

REMEMBER THERE DID USED TO BE ONE AND A SEBASTOPOL POLICE WAS AWARE OF IT BECAUSE THEY RECOMMENDED IT TO US.

CAN I ASK YOU, BASED ON ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS AND EVERYTHING, WHAT WOULD

BE YOUR BEST ESTIMATE OF THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WOULD BE NEEDED, ALLOCATED FOR SUCH A TOPIC?
10 HOURS SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD WORK. 10 HOURS WOULD BE FINE TO DO THIS. IT

SEEMS LIKE THE COUNCIL HAS NARROWED THE INTEREST ON LOOKING JUST INTO THIS RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PEACE.

OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
AND A GRAFFITI POLICY.

THAT IS VERY CLEAR. WE CAN DO THAT.

YEAH. SO, I WOULD THINK SOMEBODY LIKE SAFEWAY --

THEY ASKED IF WE HAD A BLIGHT ORDINANCE BECAUSE THEY SAID IT IS SO DIRTY BACK THERE, ALL THE TIME. THAT WAS ANOTHER THING THAT CAME UP IN DISCUSSION. I SAID, DON'T WE HAVE A BLIGHT ORDINANCE? BECAUSE THEY SAID THERE IS SO MUCH TRASH BACK THERE. MARY CAN ATTEST TO THAT, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THEY WERE ASKING ABOUT.

WEREN'T WE WORKING ON A BLIGHT ORDINANCE?

A DRAFT ORDINANCE WAS PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL VOTED NOT TO ADOPT IT.

OH.

I LET THEM KNOW THAT, THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE ASKED IS, DON'T WE HAVE A BLIGHT ORDINANCE TO FORCE THEM TO CLEAN UP?
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I REMEMBER THAT. IT HAD TO DO WITH INSIDE PEOPLE'S BACKYARDS. JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR, IT WASN'T JUST ABOUT PUBLIC SPACES.

I RECALL THAT, NOW, YEAH. MAYBE AT SOME POINT WE COULD REVISIT THAT IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

DO YOU WANT TO GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT?
THANK YOU, MAYOR. THIS IS ON THE AGENDA ITEM FOR DISCUSSING THE CITY

ATTORNEY TO RESEARCH LEGAL OPTIONS RESPONDING TO THE COMMUNITY CONCERNS FOR GRAFFITI AND RACIAL MOCKERY LOCATED AT SAFEWAY. I WILL GO TO CHAMBERS FIRST, AND THEN ZOOM. ANYONE IN CHAMBERS? KYLE?

I REALLY JUST WANT TO ADDRESS THE URGENCY THE COUNCIL IS SHOWING TOWARDS DIFFERENT FORMS OF CONTACT. COUNCIL BROUGHT FORWARD AN ANTI-HATE

RESOLUTION, THE INCIDENT WAS SERIOUS ENOUGH AT THAT TIME TO RECEIVE A FORMAL AGENDA ITEM AND PROPOSED CITYWIDE A STATEMENT. NOW, MONTHS AFTER

RESIDENTS HAVE REPORTED RACIST CONDUCT DIRECTED AT CHILDREN OF COLOR THE CITY IS ONLY NOW CONSIDERING WHAT TO DO. POLICE OFFICERS HAVE A

DEPARTMENT, LEGAL PRESENTATION, AND INSTITUTIONAL POWER OF GOVERNMENT BEHIND THEM. CHILDREN DO NOT. YET GRAFFITI DIRECTED AT POLICE BROUGHT FORTH A HATE CRIME RESOLUTION, WHILE TOWARDS CHILDREN IT DID NOT. I AM ASKING

WHITE RACIST CONDUCT AGAINST CHILDREN IS NOT RECEIVED WITH AT LEAST THE SAME URGENCY AND AGENDA SETTING ATTENTION. PRIVATE PROPERTY MAY LIMIT ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS BUT DOESN'T JUSTIFY DELAY. THE CITY CAN IMMEDIATELY

CONTACT SAFEWAY, SUPPORT THE AFFECTED FAMILIES, HOLD THE NEIGHBORHOOD

MEETING, ASSIGN A RESPONSE RESPONSIBLE STAFF LIAISON, AND REQUIRE LEGAL RECOMMENDATIONS BY A SPECIFIC DATE. DO MORE THAN JUST AUTHORIZE AN OPENENDED PROCESS. SET DEADLINES. REQUIRE FOLLOW-THROUGH. IN 2023, MAYOR McLEWIS SAID THAT DEMOCRACY WORKS ONLY WHEN POLICIES AND LAWS INCLUDE EVERYONE, AND I AGREE. PRINCIPAL MUST INCLUDE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN

HIS DIGNITY AND SAFETY DESERVE AT LEAST THE SAME PUBLIC CONCERN THAT THIS CITY SHOWED WHEN THE POLICE WERE THE TARGET.

THANK YOU, KYLE. NEXT I WILL GO OUT TO ZOOM. IF THERE IS ANYONE ON AZUMA THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY.

SEEING NONE, BACK INTO CHAMBERS.

I JUST WANTED TO SAY -- CAN YOU HEAR ME? YOU ARE USING THE TERM BLIGHT. I WALKED PAST THAT AVENUE QUITE A LOT AND THERE'S DRUG PARAPHERNALIA. THERE IS NEEDLES, NOT JUST VAPE CARTRIDGES, BUT THERE ARE NEEDLES. I PICK THEM UP WITH MY DOG BACK. IF YOU WANT ME TO TAKE PITCHERS, I WILL, BUT TO ME THAT IS A CRITICAL INTERSECT BETWEEN JUVENILES AND SOME PRETTY HEAVY DRUG USE.

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City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. BACK OUT TO ZOOM, IF THERE IS ANYONE ON AZUMA THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, THESE RAISE YOUR HAND? SEEING NONE. BACK INTO CHAMBERS?
WE HAD FIRST OF ALL, WE HAD CITY COUNCIL TRYING TO UNDERSTAND. WITH

DISCRETION IF THEY REALLY NEED TO, WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF COUNSEL FLAILING, FAILING TO UNDERSTAND PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING ABOUT THIS. THIS WOULD BE JUST A

PART OF THE EVERYDAY STUFF THAT GOES ON, A BIT OF DRUG DEALING AND GRAFFITI, MARGINALIZED, DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE. IT JUST COMES WITH THE TERRITORY, THAT IS WHO WE ARE. IT COMES WITH THE COMMUNITY. SO, I AM JUST WONDERING WHERE WE

WILL GO WITH THIS, BECAUSE WE SEEM TO BE BURNING A HUGE AMOUNT OF TIME AND

ENERGY WITH ALEX AND SO ON, TO FLAIL AROUND AND SEE IF YOU CAN REINVENT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM AROUND SOME MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL COUNSEL.

DON'T REALLY NEED THE POLICE, APPARENTLY, THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD ACCORDING TO COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN. MAYBE JUST A FEW LOCAL PEOPLE COME OUT AND DO THE JOB THEMSELVES. PRETTY EMBARRASSING STUFF, AND FAIRLY

TYPICAL OF THE WAY THE COUNCIL JUST GOES AROUND AND AROUND, TALKS ENDLESSLY ABOUT THIS STUFF AND THEN NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS. SO, EMBARRASSING, YOU KNOW? LET'S FOCUS LET'S NOT SPEND A TON OF MONEY ON

EXPLORING WAYS THAT THE CITY COULD POSSIBLY DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY THAN HOW EVERYONE ELSE DOES IT BECAUSE WE ARE DIFFERENT OR SOMETHING. IT DOESN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE.

THANK YOU, OLIVER. NEXT, I WILL GO BACK OUT TO ZOOM, IF THERE IS ANYONE ON

AZUMA, WHO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, VIRTUALLY. BACK INTO CHAMBERS, IS THERE ANYONE IN CHAMBERS? I WONDER IF WE CAN GET A COMMENT FROM THE CHIEF? I THINK THERE IS SOME MISINFORMATION REGARDING THE INITIAL GRAFFITI THING. THE PEOPLE WHO DID IT

WERE ACTUALLY ARRESTED, THEY ARE NOW, I THINK, IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN SOME WAY I THINK THAT WOULD BE USEFUL.

THANK YOU, LAURA. NEXT I WILL GO BACK OUT TO ZOOM, IF THERE IS ANYONE ON AZUMA THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.

SEEING NONE, BACK INTO CHAMBERS. SEEING NONE, PUBLIC COMMENT IS CLOSED.

THANK YOU. WE ARE BACK AT THE DAIS. I ALLUDED TO THIS EARLIER, CHIEF, CAN YOU

SPEAK TO WHAT HAPPENED WITH WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY, AND PROVIDE THAT, WHAT INFORMATION YOU CAN?

IN RELATION TO THE GRAFFITI THAT WAS DEEMED TO BE THE CAUSAL FACTOR FOR THIS AGENDA ITEM, THERE WERE FOUR JUVENILES THAT WERE APPREHENDED IN 24 HOURS,

THEY WERE ALL CHARGED, AND THAT BEGINS A PROCESS, AS I UNDERSTAND IT COME

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TO THE JUVENILE PROBATION SYSTEM, AND FROM THERE, WHATEVER ROUTE THEY

TAKE, WHETHER THAT BE SOME SORT OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE OR GET INTO TRIAL, CERTAIN QUALIFYING CRIMES THAT MEET THE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE GUIDELINES.

SO THE QUESTION WAS TELL US MORE AND HE SAID, THERE JUVENILES. YOU CAN'T TELL MUCH MORE.

RIGHT, I REALLY CANNOT SHARE ANY INFORMATION BECAUSE THEY ARE JUVENILES, AND THAT IS LAW.

JUST FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDED CLARITY ON THAT, BECAUSE THAT WAS DISCUSSED TODAY, TOO. OKAY. ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR -- PERSONALLY, I DON'T

MIND ATTRIBUTING SOME HOURS TO THIS, I WOULD HOPE IT WOULD BE MORE LIKE FIVE

BUT, THAT IS KIND OF WHERE I AM AT WITH THAT BECAUSE THAT IS A GENERAL AGENDA ITEM THAT WE TYPICALLY BRING FORWARD, THAT IS WHERE I AM SITTING WITH IT.

THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS. GO AHEAD, VICE MAYOR.

I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW THESE THINGS CAN BE PREVENTED IN THE FIRST PLACE. SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE PROBLEM. I KNOW THAT IS A BIG LEAP, BUT THAT IS WHY I LIKE THE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE MODEL, BECAUSE I THINK THAT IT CAN REALLY HELP.

AND I DID HAVE A QUESTION FOR OUR CITY MANAGER, AND MAYBE THE POLICE CHIEF, TOO. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU MET WITH SAFEWAY ON THE SPECIFIC AREA OF RACISM?

WE HAVE NOT MET WITH THE SPECIFIC ISSUE, I WANT TO ADDRESS A SPECIFIC MEMBER,

THEY HAVE SPECIFICALLY ASKED THAT THE CHIEF BE THERE, SO THAT WAS THE REASON WHY WE CANCELED THAT MEETING. IT WASN'T BECAUSE I CHOSE TO CANCEL IT, THAT WAS ONE THAT MEETING GOT CANCELED. I HAVE REACHED OUT -- WE HAVE BEEN

MEETING WITH SAFEWAY TO DISCUSS ISSUES AS FAR AS THE ISSUES WITH THE KIDS

HANGING OUT, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE FRONT OF THE STORE, SAFEWAY

AND LEE AND THE POLICE CHIEF, WE WERE MEETING WITH THEM REGULARLY, LIKE ONCE A MONTH, TO SEE WHAT WE COULD DO TO TRY TO DETER THAT. THE KIDS

HANGING OUT IN THE FRONT, THEY WERE CLAIMING THAT THEY WERE INTIMIDATING,

AND SO, WE WERE WORKING WITH ANNALEE, AND THE POLICE CHIEF, WE ARE

REQUESTED NOT TO MEET OVER THE SUMMER BECAUSE SCHOOL WAS NOT IN SESSION, SO TODAY WAS THE FIRST DAY THAT I MET WITH THE NEIGHBORS. I KNOW THAT THE

CHIEF HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THEM AND TRYING TO KEEP THEM INFORMED OF WHAT WAS GOING ON, SO WE HAVE NOT MET ON THE RACISM ISSUE.

WITH SAFEWAY. BUT YOU HAVE MET WITH THE NEIGHBORS?
TODAY WAS THE FIRST DAY THAT I HAVE MET WITH THE NEIGHBORS.

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YEAH, IT WAS BECAUSE THEY HAD REACHED OUT, NOT KNOWING A LOT ABOUT THIS

TOPIC, I KNEW THAT WE HAD BEEN MEETING WITH SAFEWAY ABOUT THESE OTHER

ISSUES, AND THEY SAID THEY WANTED SAFEWAY THERE, IT TURNS OUT THE SAFEWAY MANAGER, THEY HAVE A NEW ONE, AGAIN, SO THERE IS A DISCONNECT THERE. HE

THOUGHT WAS WE COULD BRING THEM ALTOGETHER BECAUSE WE HAD ALREADY

BEEN WORKING WITH SAFEWAY, BUT --
CAN YOU MAKE THAT A PRIORITY?
I HAVE ALREADY REACHED OUT TO SAFEWAY.

TO BRING THIS ISSUE TO DISCUSSION?

TO TRY TO HAVE A COMMUNITY DISCUSSION WITH THE NEIGHBORS, I HAVE ALREADY REACHED OUT.

GOOD.

WE HAVE CONTACT WITH THE FOLKS WHO MANAGE, WHAT'S THE WORD, ASSET PROTECTION? THEY ARE OUT IN EAST BAY ANYWAY, WE HAVE A REPORT WITH THEM BECAUSE HE HAS WORKED WITH US AND EMILY, WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS. WE

MET TODAY BECAUSE THEY SPECIFICALLY ASKED TO BRING SAFEWAY TO THE TABLE, WE

HAD BEEN MEETING WITH THEM ALL THIS TIME BUT THE MANAGER THAT WE HAD BEEN MEETING WITH HAS MOVED ON TO A DIFFERENT STORE. ANYWAY, THERE WAS JUST SOME DISCONNECT THERE, BUT THAT IS WHAT WE DID TODAY.

IF I COULD SPEAK TO THE VICE MAYOR'S COMMENT ABOUT RACISM, CAN I CLARIFY IF YOU DISCUSSED DISCUSS RACISM, OR THE HATE CRIME GRAFFITI WITH THEM? ALL OF IT.

THE GRAFFITI WAS ABSOLUTELY DISCUSSED WITH THEM? WE DEFINITELY DISCUSSED

THAT AS A COLLECTIVE GROUP, BECAUSE IT WAS A VERY CONCERNING INCIDENT FOR

US, FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND FOR THE VICTIMS WHO SAW THAT AND WERE OFFENDED BY IT.

WHERE THE NEIGHBORS THERE?

THEY WERE NOT, BECAUSE THIS IS A PRE-EXISTING MEETING THAT ACTUALLY ADDRESSES THE ISSUES THEY WERE CONCERNED WITH ANYWAY.

YOU MEAN SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE HERE BEFORE?

I AM ASKING IF THE VICTIMS --
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NO, THEY WEREN'T A PART OF THAT PARTICULAR MEETING BECAUSE THIS WAS A PREEXISTING MONTHLY MEETING AND WE WERE ADDRESSING CONCERNS AS THEY COME UP FROM MONTH-TO-MONTH. ANY OF THE CAUSAL FACTORS THAT WE CAN TRACE BACK AND HOW WE CAN PREVENT FURTHER THINGS FROM OCCURRING. THAT WAS

OBVIOUSLY A VERY IMPORTANT INCIDENT, AND PART OF THAT TOPIC WAS HOW

QUICKLY WE CAN GET SAFEWAY TO COVER UP ANY GRAFFITI, BECAUSE IT IS OFFENSIVE AND INSIGHTFULLY UNSIGHTLY, IF NOTHING ELSE. THEY SAID THEY WOULD ENDEAVOR TO CLEAN UP ANY GRAFFITI WITHIN 24 HOURS WHICH IS WHAT THE VICTIMS WE MET WITH TODAY WERE ASKING FOR. THAT ALREADY EXISTS.

WHO WAS AT THIS MEETING? THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, SAFEWAY AND EMILY AS WELL? THE ONE YOU WERE DESCRIBING.

WE HAD THE MAYOR, MYSELF, I BELIEVE THE CITY MANAGER, THE SUPERINTENDENT

FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE PRINCIPAL, AND THEN A VARIETY OF

REPRESENTATIVES FROM SAFEWAY, REGIONAL MANAGERS, LOCAL MANAGERS, THERE

WERE A LOT OF RESOURCES THAT WERE BROUGHT IN TO TRY TO MEET COMMITTEE EXPECTATIONS.

CAN I JUST SAY, ACCORDING TO THE NEIGHBORS THAT WERE THERE WHEN WE ASKED THEM HOW LONG THE GRAFFITI WAS ON THE BUILDING, THEY SAID IT WAS 45 HOURS.

SAFEWAY SAID THEY WOULD TRY TO TAKE CARE OF IT WITHIN THAT TIMEFRAME AND THEN THE NEIGHBORS ACTUALLY SAID IT WAS A 4 TO 5 HOURS THAT IT WAS THERE.

THE MEETING YOU JUST DESCRIBED.

YES.

DID YOU COMMUNICATE THAT TO THE NEIGHBORS SO THEY WERE AWARE OF WHAT'S BEEN DONE?
YES. AND THAT WAS ACTUALLY COMMUNICATED TO THEM AFTER I RECEIVED THE FIRST EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE FROM ONE OF THE INVOLVED PARTIES TODAY ON THE 3rd OF JUNE. SHE HAD A COMPREHENSIVE REPLY WITHIN THREE HOURS.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE DATE OF THIS INCIDENT?
I DON'T OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD BUT MAY, I'M GUESSING. BY THE TIME IT FILTERED

THROUGH AND BECAME AN ISSUE WHERE THEY WANTED TO VOICE SOME CONCERN, I THINK IT WAS LATER IN MAY, PERHAPS.

ANYONE ELSE?
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NO, I'LL GO AHEAD AND MAKE THE MOTION TO ALLOCATE TIME FOR OUR CITY

ATTORNEY TO RESEARCH THE OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE SITUATION,

ANDING AAS ALEX SORT OF SAID, WE SEEM TO HAVE NARROWED IT DOWN TO RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. AND HAVING THAT RESEARCH PRESENTED WHEN THIS IS NEXT

BACK ON THE AGENDA, WHICH I DON'T KNOW WHAT AGENDA OR REVIEW COMMITTEE IS DOING. I'M ASSUMING THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY ALLOCATED TIME FOR THIS AT THE

BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER, WHICH I THINK THAT'S WHEN THE RESIDENTS ARE THINKING THIS IS HAPPENING BACK. CAN ANYBODY SPEAK TO WHEN THIS IS COMING BACK?

WE SPOKE THAT THIS ITEM PER THE MEETING TODAY WITH THE NEIGHBORS, THEY WANTED IT BACK ON THE 1st OR THE 15th. TO BRING BACK A FULLY VETTED STAFF

REPORT WITH ALL THE OPTIONS, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO RELY ON ALEX TO TELL ME WHAT DATE.

WE CAN MAKE THE 1st.

OF SEPTEMBER? SEPTEMBER 1st. WE'LL NEED TO LOOK AT THE AGENDA, BECAUSE SEPTEMBER 1st IS PACKED.

ITEMS ARE BEING PUSHED BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL THOSE -- ST. VINCENT DePAUL, WE HAVE ALL THOSE DIFFERENT ITEMS ON THERE. AND IT'S ALREADY FULL TO THE POINT WHERE I MAY NOT ALL GET HEARD. JUST UNDERSTAND THAT MIGHT BUMP ONE OF THOSE ITEMS, IF THAT'S THE PRIORITY.

HOW MANY HOURS --
I HEARD, ALEX, TEN HOURS? EVEN THOUGH WE NARROWED THE ISSUES DOWN? YEAH, YOU HAVE TO DO THE RESEARCH AND THEN WRITE THE STAFF REPORT.

TOGETHER, I THINK THOSE WOULD GO OVER FIVE HOURS. AND SO THAT'S WHY I -- OKAY, THAT'S THE MOTION, FOR THE TEN HOURS. SECOND? OR NOT SECONDING IT? SECOND.

I'M SORRY. THAT WAS A LITTLE BLUNT.

YEAH, AND THERE'S SOME BLUNT COMMENTS TONIGHT. I REALLY FIND IT A ROUGH EVENING. HEAD IN THE SAND. IS ANYBODY AWAKE? SO I JUST -- FAIR POINT.

LET'S ALL LIKE --
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AT THIS SIDE OF THE TABLE OVER HERE.

I DIDN'T WANT TO --
SECOND IT.

JUST TO OVERSHARE, I WAS YELLED AT EARLIER BEFORE THIS EVEN STARTED. SO, YEAH.

I'M ALL OVER IT.

IF THERE'S NO FURTHER, I WILL GO AHEAD AND CALL THE MOTION. COUNCILMEMBER

ZOLLMAN MOVED, CARTER SECONDED THE MOTION, TO APPROVE TEN HOURS FOR CITY

ATTORNEY TIME TO RESEARCH LEGAL OPTIONS IN RESPONSE TO THE COMMUNITY

CONCERNS OF THE GRAFFITI AND RACIAL MOCKERY IN THE SAFEWAY AREA, FOEL FOCUSING ON RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, RETURNING THIS TO SEPTEMBER 1st COUNCIL MEETING. CARTER?
YES.

HINTON?
NO.

ZOLLMAN?
YES.

MAUER?
YES.

McLEWIS?
NO.

MOTION PASSES 3-2 WITH COUNCILMEMBERS CARTER, ZOLLMAN, VICE MAYOR MAWER IN SUPPORT. COUNCILMEMBER HINTON AND MAYOR McLEWIS IN OPPOSITION.

OKAY. WE ARE MOVING ON --
CAN I ASK, ARE WE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE A COMMENT AFTER THE FACT? NO.

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CAN I MAKE A COMMENT?
I THINK SO.

YEAH, SORRY, YEAH.

I WANT TO SAY, I CLARIFIED I VOTED NO BECAUSE I DIDN'T AGREE WITH TEN HOURS, I DIDN'T AGREE WITH THE DATE OF SEPTEMBER 1st.

OKAY. MOVING ON TO NUMBER 10. CONSIDERATION OF CONTRIBUTION OF FORMATION OF EIFD AND NEXT STEPS. AND THAT WOULD BE -- IT WAS REQUESTED BY COUNCILMEMBER CARTER AND COUNCILMEMBER HINTON. AND THEN THE RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT IS PLANNING. DO WE HAVE THEM ON ZOOM?

WE DO NOT HAVE THEM ON ZOOM TONIGHT, SO WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND HAVE THE TWO COUNCILMEMBERS FROM THE AD HOC PRESENT IT. WE ALSO HAVE JOST COSMOT IN ATTENDANCE AS WELL TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.

OKAY, ALL RIGHT.

ONE OF THE PRIMARY REASONS TO SUPPORT THE EFID, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW, IS

GIVEN THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE INISSUESTO ADDRESS, WE CAN ALLOCATE MONEY TOWARDS INFRASTRUCTURE RIGHT NOW. AND A LOT OF OUR CITIZENS ARE SAYING, LIKE, HEY, CAN THE COUNTY CONTRIBUTE? THIS IS THE WAY, THIS IS THE MECHANISM, THAT MAKES THAT POSSIBLE. SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND

ADDRESS OUR INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES WITH THE HELP OF THE COUNTY THROUGH THIS. AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE STRONGEST THINGS. BASICALLY THE MATCH DOUBLES. AND WE HAVE A FEW NEEDS THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS, BUT THIS WILL NOT IMPACT OUR GENERAL FUND. OR LIKE -- SPECIFICALLY, IT, YOU KNOW -- WE WILL PAY A

LITTLE BIT OUT OF OUR GENERAL FUND, BUT FROM THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS, WE

CAN EITHER GET IT BACK OR WE CAN RECAPTURE MONEY THAT THE STAFF TIME IS PAYING FOR. THAT WAS A BUNCH OF GARBAGE. THE GENERAL FUND IS GOING TO TAKE

VERY LIGHT IMPACT FORFOR SOME OF LOANS WE WOULD TAKE OUT OR BONDS WE'D TAKE OUT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE. THE COST OF THIS PROCESS IS GOING TO HIT THE GENERAL FUND.

I'LL JUST SAY THAT THIS REPLACES, IN MANY WAYS, THE OLD MONEY CITIES USED TO GET THAT WAS CALLED REDEVELOPMENT FUNDS. SO IT ALLOWS US TO, AS PHIL SAID, NOT IMPACT OUR GENERAL FUND AT A HIGH LEVEL. IT ALLOWS US TO DRAW A MAP BOUNDARY SPECIFICALLY. AND WE WERE MOVING THIS PROCESS ALONG WHEN I SAT ON THIS COMMITTEE PREVIOUSLY WITH COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN. BUT WE PUT A

HALT TO IT FORFOR CITY OF SEBASTOPOL BECAUSE WE HAD TO FOCUS ON OUR SALES TAX MEASURE. AND SO THE REST OF THE DISTRICT WENT AHEAD WITH AN EIFD, AND WE DECIDED TO COME BACK AND DO OUR OWN. AND THAT WAY, WE WOULD HAVE Agenda Item Number 1
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DISCRETION OVER THE PROJECT THAT WE PICKED. AND NOT BE IN COMPETITION,

BASICALLY, WITH THE ENTIRE FIFTHFIFTH AND DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT INVOLVE THAT. BY CREATING OUR OWN EIFD, WE GET -- AS LONG AS THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WOULD PASS IT, WE GET A MATCH. IT'S A LONG-TERM PROJECT. AND IT HELPS US PAYPAY BIG INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. SO WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS. WE'RE ALSO HAPPY TO HAVE JOE, WHO'S THE EXPERT AT IT AND HAS DONE

A NUMBER OF THESE FOR OTHER SECTIONS WITHOUT -- WITHIN THE COUNTY, INCLUDING SANTA ROSA, THE REST OF THE FIFTH IS MOVING FORWARD. I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING IN A DISTRICT OUT BY SONOMA, IN THAT DISTRICT.

AND SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF THESE. AND WE WOULD LIKE TO CREATE ONE FOR SEBASTOPOL.

GO AHEAD, VICE MAYOR.

QUESTION. THE MATCH BY THE COUNTY IS NOT GUARANTEED. THEY HAVE TO VOTE ON IT, IS THAT CORRECT?

THAT IS CORRECT, BUT HOWEVER, EVERY ONE THAT THEY'VE BEEN PASSING, THEY HAVE BEEN APPROVING, THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT TO THEM AT THIS POINT. SO THE ODDS OF THEM APPROVING IT I BELIEVE ARE HIGH.

IS OUR SUPERVISOR LINDA HOPKINS SUPPORTIVE OF THIS?
YES.

SHE IS. WE'VE MET WITH HER.

YOU'RE CERTAIN OF THAT?
YES.

OKAY. SO IN THE PAST WHEN THIS WAS DISCUSSED, THE LAST TIME, I REMEMBER THE CONSULTANT SAYING THAT THIS WOULD TAKE VERY LITTLE STAFF TIME. IT WAS GOING TO BE AN ANNUAL MEETING OR SOMETHING. IT WAS GOING TO REQUIRE TWO COUNCILMEMBERS, BUT THAT IT REALLY WOULDN'T REQUIRE A LOT OF STAFF TIME. BUT

NOW IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A DIFFERENT STORY, THAT IT WILL BE REQUIRING STAFF TIME AND MAYBE EVEN THAT STAFF WOULD LIKE TO BE REIMBURSED. SO THAT PART OF IT HAS ME CONCERNED. SO CAN YOU ADDRESS THAT, PLEASE?
MARY, COULD YOU ADDRESS THAT PART? I DO BELIEVE THE CHANGE SLIGHTLY HAS TO

DO WITH WE'RE NOT PART OF THE ENTIRE FIFTH DISTRICT PROJECT ANYMORE, NOW THIS IS OUR OWN EFID. COULD YOU ELABORATE?
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THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING. WITH THE EIGHT TO TEN HOURS THAT HAVE BEEN -- FROM

THE CONSULTANT, HE HAS INDICATED EIGHT TO TEN HOURS A WEEK TO HAVE CITY STAFF DOING THIS. WE DID HAVE HELP FROM THE COUNTY BEFORE WHEN IT WAS A JOINT COUNTY/CITY VENTURE. BUT STAFF WOULD BE NOW RESPONSIBLE FOR HELPING TO OVERSEE IT. SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS ABOUT A QUARTER TIME OF A STAFF PERSON. IT'S THROUGH THE PFAS, AS WELL.

SO IF THE EFID HAD TO PAY IT BACK, IS THE COUNTY GOING TO BE OKAY WITH THAT? I HAVE NOT SPOKEN TO THE COUNTY. SO I'VE NOT BEEN IN THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE SUPERVISOR.

THE COUNTY'S NOT REIMBURSING US FOR THIS EXPENSE TO ORGANIZE AND TO MANAGE IT. THE COUNTY IS ONLY MATCHING OUR DOLLARS SPENT.

OKAY, BUT DO THEY -- ARE THEY AWARE THERE MAY BE A REQUEST FOR STAFF TIME THAT WOULD COME OUT OF THAT? BECAUSE THAT WOULD AFFECT THE THOUGHT, RIGHT?

NOT TO THE EXTENT THAT IT'S -- BECAUSE IT'S AN INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT TOWARDS THE BOND AMOUNT. SAY IF WE CAN BORROW LIKE $28 MILLION, $230,000 IS RATHER NEGLIGIBLE. SO THEY ARE NOT GOING TO WEIGH IN ON THAT PARTICULAR ASPECT. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A CRITICAL PART OF THEIR CHOICE.

BUT THE COUNTY IS NOT PAYING US BACK FOR COMING -- FOR STAFF TIME OR ORGANIZING IN THE EIFD.

BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT -- I REALLY WANT TO GET THE NUMBERS ON THIS. BECAUSE MY

UNDERSTANDING FROM WORKING WITH BOB LELAND IS THAT WE WOULD BE GIVING AWAY SAVING, RIGHT, MAYBE 20, $25,000 A YEAR. THAT INCREMENTAL PART OF THE PROPERTY TAX WOULD GO INTO THIS SAVINGS ACCOUNT, RIGHT? THEN THE COUNTY WOULD MATCH IT. SO THAT'S $50,000. BUT WHAT IS THE COST OF A QUARTER-TIME STAFF PERSON? BECAUSE IF THEY'RE GOING TO GET REIMBURSED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO BE -- IT'S GOING TO COST -- I NEED TO KNOW THIS.

THIS IS ONLY DURING THE FORMATION. NOT ONGOING.

OKAY, SO HOW -- HOW MANY WEEKS?
SAY THAT AGAIN?

MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT INCLUDES THE FORMATION BUT ALSO THE PFAS, THE PUBLIC FINANCING, TO GET THAT UP AND RUNNING AS WELL.

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RIGHT, SO DO YOU HAVE --
FOR HOW LONG?
CAN WE ASK -- I'D LIKE TO ASK THAT QUESTION TOO. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THERE WAS MORE TIME, TO WHAT YOU HAD SAID, MARY.

JOE, CAN YOU HEAR US OKAY?
HEAR YOU GREAT, THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. SO THE REVENUES INCREASE ANNUALLY AS ASSESSED VALUES GROW. IT

WAS THAT FIRST YEAR --

WE JUST HAD A SPECIFIC QUESTION ABOUT HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST ON STAFF TIME, JUST TO SAVE SINUS TIME. I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO THROUGH ALL THE STEPS ARE DID YOU HEAR THE QUESTION?
I BELIEVE SO. YEAH. SO WE'RE ESTIMATING CONSERVATIVELY, MEANING CONSERVATIVELY HIGH, EIGHT TO TEN HOURS OF STAFF TIME WEEKLY.

FOR HOW LONG?

ACROSS THE STATE --
FOR HOW LONG?
IT'S SORT OF HOT AND HEAVY FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS. THAT'S THE TIME THAT IT TAKES TO DO ALL THE FORMATION MEETINGS AND HEARINGS AND THE REQUIRED NOTICING.

AND THAT'S THE EIGHT TO TEN HOURS, THE HOT AND HEAVY TIME? THAT'S CORRECT. AND THEN ONCE FORMED, THAT'S WHEN THINGS GO EASY. AND MAYBE THAT WAS THE POINT OF CONFUSION. IT'S HEAVIER UP FRONT, FRONT-LOADED.

THEN ON AN ONGOING BASIS, IT'S TYPICALLY ONE MEETING ANNUALLY OF THIS PUBLIC

FINANCING AUTHORITY AND SOME STAFF TIME TO PREPARE AN AGENDA AND A STAFF REPORT FOR THAT ANNUAL MEETING. THAT NUMBER DROPS DOWN TO ABOUT A QUARTER OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. THE REALITY IS, THIS CAN BE DONE WITHOUT A CONSULTANT LIKE KOSMONT? OF COURSE.

IT WOULD TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A STAFF PERSON AND SCENARIOS WHERE FIRMS

LIKE OURS ARE INVOLVED, THE ONGOING ANNUAL IS PROBABLY ALMOST NEGLIGIBLE FOR A STAFF PERSON. SO IT'S JUST A POLICY DECISION FOR THE FUTURE, IF THIS THING

GETS DONE, IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT INTERNALLY MANAGED OR OUTSOURCE THAT TO A FIRM LIKE OURS.

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OKAY, THANK YOU. GO AHEAD.

SO, WHAT WOULD IT COST TO HAVE A STAFF PERSON, SALARY AND BENEFITS, WHAT DOES THAT COST IN TERMS OF IF THIS EFID IS GOING TO REIMBURSE STAFF? THAT WOULD BE DEPENDING WHICH STAFF PERSON. IF WE HAVE A CONSULTANT ON

BOARD, RIGHT NOW THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT. WE HAVE JUST HIRED AN ASSOCIATE PLANNER. SO THEY WOULD BE -- THEIR COSTS WOULD BE A LOT LESS. RATHER THAN IF WE HAD THE CONSULTANT DO IT.

I WILL SAY THE ASSOCIATE PLANNER IS A NEW PLANNER, SO I'M NOT SURE I WOULD PUT THEM INTO THAT POSITION TO MANAGE THIS AT THIS POINT. I'M SURE THEY WOULD COME UP TO SPEED VERY QUICKLY. BUT IF WE'RE LOOKING AT CONSULTANT TIME, IF I

HAVE TO HAVE A PLANNING DIRECTOR TO OVERSEE IT FOR THE FIRST FEW MONTHS, THEY CHARGE ABOUT $200 AN HOUR. SO THE ASSOCIATE PLANNER WOULD BE PROBABLY CLOSE TO $80 AN HOUR. THAT'S WITHOUT BENEFITS.

SO JOE, CAN YOU CLARIFY? OUT OF CURIOSITY, IF WE DID HAVE TO HIRE A

CONSULTANT UNTIL WE GOT PERMANENT STAFF ON, THAT COULD BE REIMBURSED FROM THE EFDI? IS THAT CORRECT OR NOT? JOE, CAN YOU -- JOE, CAN YOU HEAR US? I CAN. FOR SOME REASON, I WAS NOT ABLE TO UNMUTE. NOW I AM ABLE TO UNMUTE.

THAT IS CORRECT. CONSULTING TIME -- CONSULTANT TIME IS REIMBURSABLE. I WILL

TELL YOU, BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CONVERSATIONS ON SANTA ROSA, IT'S A DIFFERENT DISCUSSION WHEN IT'S ABOUT REIMBURSING STAFF TIME. WHETHER THAT'S THE CITY'S TIME OR THE COUNTY STAFF FOR DOING THEIR PART OF THIS. SO FAR, STAFF TIME HAS BEEN LEFT OUT OF THE REIMBURSEMENT DISCUSSIONS. WHEREAS

CONSULTING TIME IS SORT OF EASILY IN PLAY FOR THOSE REIMBURSEMENT CONVERSATIONS.

ALL RIGHT, SO BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE BEING ASKED TO DO IS COMMIT THIS 260 HOURS OF STAFF TIME AT THE TOP, RIGHT? EIGHT TO TEN HOURS FOR 26 WEEKS? $52,000 AT $200 AN HOUR. AND THAT IS PRETTY MUCH AS MUCH AS WE'VE SET ASIDE FOR THE WHOLE EIFD, INCLUDING THE COUNTY PART. RIGHT? AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE? ARE YOU JUST EXPECTING THAT STAFF TIME WOULD NOT BE REIMBURSED, THAT WE WOULD BE COMMITTING 260 HOURS OF STAFF TIME TO THE EIFD? BECAUSE THAT'S A BIG COMMITMENT.

I THINK JOE STATED THAT STAFF TIME WOULD NOT BE REIMBURSED.

AND WHAT I HEARD MARY SAY IS WE JUST HIRED AN ASSOCIATE PLANNER, AND THEY COULD EASILY GET UP TO SPEED. SO I WOULDN'T EXPECT WE WOULD PAY A CONSULTANT FOR SIX MONTHS. I WOULD HOPE NOT, IF WE JUST HIRED SOMEONE.

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NO, WHAT I WAS SAYING IS THAT -- SO YES, WE HAVE AN ASSOCIATE PLANNER COMING ON. CAN HE GET UP TO SEED? YES. I HAVE NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT. HOW FAST CAN HE GET UP TO SPEED IF HE'S NEVER DONE EFID OR PFAS OR ALL THAT? IT IS GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT GETTING HIM ON BOARD. WE MAY HAVE TO PAY, DEPENDING WHO THE

PLANNING CONSULTANT IS OR THAT TIME, SOME HOURS TO COVER THAT UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THAT PERSON IS BROUGHT UP TO BOARD.

MY POINT IS NOT ALL THE HOURS WOULD BE COVERED BY A CONSULTANT, IT WOULD BE A COMBINATION?
THAT IS CORRECT, IT WOULD BE A COMBINATION AT THIS POINT RIGHT NOW.

SO IF THE ASSOCIATE PLANNER MAKES $80 AN HOUR, DOES THAT INCLUDE THE BENEFITS AND EVERYTHING?
NO, THAT DOES NOT. THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE THEIR BENEFITS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

SO LET ME PULL UP WHAT THE ESTIMATE IS. IT DEPENDS ON, AGAIN THEIR MEDICAL, IF THEY HAVE A FAMILY, DON'T HAVE A FAMILY. LET ME PULL THAT UP.

OKAY.

AND JUST KIND OF WANT TO MENTION THAT, BECAUSE OF THE COUNTY'S CONTRIBUTION, THIS IS ACTUALLY PAID FOR. AND WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE WORK PAID FOR. SO WHEN WE GO OUT TO GET A LARGER BOND, WE'RE NOW DOING FRONT-LOADED WORK, YEAH. AS WE DO THESE OTHER PROJECTS, THEN WE DON'T HAVE THOSE EXPENSES GOING OUT FOR A BOND. WE CAN'T GET -- LIKE GOING OUT FOR A VOTE FOR A BOND IS EXPENSIVE. THAT TAKES LOADS OF HOURS. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF EFFICIENCIES IN THIS. AND THAT IT'S REALLY KIND OF COVERED IN ALL THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE DIAGNOSE FORWARD. WE'RE JUST PUTTING THAT WORK HERE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO GET IT BACK.

PUT WHEN WILL WE GET THAT BACK? HOW LONG IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO --

IN EVERY PROJECT THAT WE DO, WE WON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH -- NO, I'M JUST ASKING FOR LIKE A TIME FRAME. LIKE IF WE DO THIS, AT WHAT POINT --

HOW MANY YEARS BEFORE WE ACTUALLY ARE ABLE TO, LIKE, YOU KNOW -- IT'S OUTLINED IN THE STAFF REPORT.

I KNOW, I'M JUST ASKING TO --

IT WILL BE COMMONLY ABSORBED AFTER YEAR FIVE, LIKE THROUGH THE -- BUT IT WILL REALLY BE ABSORBED WHEN WE HAVE PROJECTS DONE AND START DOING THEM. AS Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1

WE JUST PUT MONEY ASIDE, THAT'S NOT REALLY DOING US THE SAME FAVOR AS DOING THE PROJECTS WILL. I MEAN, THIS IS WITH THE INTENTION OF DOING PROJECTS. IT'S NOT WITH THE INTENTIONS OF PUTTING MONEY ASIDE. THIS IS THE INTENTION OF, HEY,

WE WANT TO INVEST IN OUR CITY, AND THESE THINGS SHOULD HAVE A RETURN ON

INVESTMENT, AND THEY SHOULD MAKE OUR CITY GROW, AND THEY SHOULD BRING IN SALES TAX. AND IF WE DON'T DO THOSE THINGS, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE SALES TAXES WE THINK WE MIGHT. SO THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN GET THIS MONEY,

LUMP SUM UP FRONT, WITHOUT GOING INTO A SPECIAL BANK SITUATION WHICH COSTS MONEY. LOANS COST MONEY. YOU KNOW, MORE GOING THROUGH A REGULAR BANK.

SO WE BECOME, YOU KNOW, VULNERABLE TO JUST HAVING TO DO, YOU KNOW, SMALL PROJECTS THAT WE CAN AFFORD. LIKE BASICALLY AT A CAP.

GO AHEAD.

SO HOW MANY COUNCILMEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO SIT ON THIS BOARD? I BELIEVE IT'S TWO.

OKAY. AND DO WE HAVE TWO COUNCILMEMBERS HERE THAT WILL VOLUNTEER TO BE ON THAT BOARD? OKAY. THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WE CAN GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT.

I WANT TO CLARIFY THE $80 DOES COVER BENEFITS AND EVERYTHING. THAT IS ALL INCLUDED PER HOUR.

SO JUST TO ANSWER ANOTHER QUESTION, IN THE STAFF REPORT ON PAGE 8, THERE'S A GRAPH SHOWING THE CUMULATIVE, YOU KNOW. AFTER TWO YEARS IT'S A LITTLE UNDER 90,000 CUMULATIVE, HALF OF WHICH IS FROM THE COUNTY. SO, YOU KNOW. AS A POINT OF REFERENCE.

OKAY. YOU WANT TO GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT?
THANK YOU, MAYOR. THIS IS PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THE EIFD MOVING FORWARD. IF YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, NOW IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY. I WILL COME TO CHAMBERS FIRST. SEEING NONE, I WILL GO OUT TO ZOOM. LEE, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE?
WHOOPS.

THERE YOU GO. I CAN HEAR YOU. CAN YOU SEE THE TIMER?
YES.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
GREAT. GO AHEAD WITH YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE.

YEAH, I SUBMITTED A FAIRLY LENGTHY ONE. YOU GUYS CAN JUST READ IT. I DIDN'T GET IT TILL LATER TODAY. SO YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN IT. BUT A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS.

NUMBER ONE, I'M PRETTY SURE IN THE STAFF REPORT IT SAYS THREE COUNCILMEMBER AND TWO MEN'S OF THE PUBLIC MAKE UP THE COMMISSION. IF THAT'S WRONG, THEN THE STAFF REPORT NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED. I THINK YOU ALL ARE GETTING SOME OF THE ISSUES HERE. I THINK THE NUMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENTED, YOU ALL

ACTUALLY EXTENDED THE KOSMONT CONTRACT TO GET A FULL FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING AND I DON'T THINK YOU EVER GOT IT. I DON'T THINK THAT THE REVENUE NUMBERS THEY'RE SHOWING IN THE STAFF REPORT ARE REAL NUMBERS. I THINK IT'S AN ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE. I SHOWED A GRAPH OFOF REAL PROPERTY

TAX REVENUES LOOK LIKE YEAR OVER YEAR, THE INCREASES LOOK LIKE YEAR OVER YEAR. THEY'RE VERY UNEVEN. AND THEY DON'T STEADILY GROW OVER EIGHT OR TENYEAR PERIOD. SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE SEEN REAL NUMBERS YET FOR REVENUE.

YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANY NUMBERS FOR COST OTHER THAN WHAT'S IN THE STAFF REPORT. JUST LIKE $110,000 FOR THE UP-FRONT, PLUS THE STAFF TIME WHICH YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING, AROUND $50,000. SO PROBABLY $160,000 UP FRONT.

ONCE YOU GET THIS THING ESTABLISHED, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT WOULD BE ONE MEETING A YEAR AND NO TIME SPENT. I GUESS IT'S JUST COLLECTING MONEY. BUT

YOU DON'T HAVE ANY AGREEMENT YET ON WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU GOING TO DO, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE THAT DECISION? IF YOU LOOK AT THE COMMONS

PROJECT THAT MAYOR ZOLLMAN'S BEEN LEADING, I'M SORRY, COUNCILMEMBER

ZOLLMAN'S BEEN LEADING, THAT'S A HUGE, HUGE EFFORT TO NARROW DOWN WHAT IT IS YOU WANT TO DO WITH THIS MONEY. AND A LOT OF THAT WORK IS GOING TO REQUIRE CONSULTANTS. BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE OTHER PEOPLE AND STAFF TO DO THAT KIND OF WORK. YOUR COMMITTEE, A QUARTER OF A STAFF PERSON, YOU DO $THAT FOR COMMONS TOO. TURNS OUT EVERY TIME THIS COUNCIL COMMITS TO A

QUARTER OF A STAFF PERSON, THEY DON'T HIRE ONE, THERE'S NO MONEY IN THE BUDGET TO PAY FOR -- DID I EAT IT ALL UP? GOOD ENOUGH, THANKS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. I WILL COME INTO CHAMBERS.

VERY QUICKLY, I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME GUARANTEES THE COUNCIL IS GOING TO HAVE MONEY IN A COUPLE OF YEARS' TIME. THE CITY COULD BURN THROUGH A LOT OF MONEY CHASING THE EFID DREAM. THEN THE WAY THE ECONOMY IS AT THE MOMENT,

YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE NO MONEY IN THE BANK FOR THE COUNTY IN TWO YEARS' TIME. I KNOW THE COUNTY ARE REALLY STRUGGLING AT THE MOMENT. SOME KIND OF

GUARANTEES BEFORE YOU DIVE HEADFIRST INTO THIS AND SPEND A LOT OF MONEY, IT

WOULD BE REALLY GOOD TO HAVE SOME CAST-IRON GUARANTEES THAT THE COUNTY ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE GOOD FOR MOVING FORWARD ON THIS. I'M PRETTY LEERY ABOUT IT ANYWAY, BUT THAT SEEMS TO BE SUPER IMPORTANT TO ME, THANK YOU.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, I WILL GO BACK OUTOUT ZOOM. IF

THERE'S ANYONE ON ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY. SEEING NONE, I WILL COME BACK INTO CHAMBERS.

SEEING NONE, PUBLIC COMMENT IS CLOSED. CAN I JUST MAKE A CORRECTION TO A MEMBER OF THE -- SO IF IT'S CITY ONLY, IT IS THREE COUNCILMEMBERS. IF THE COUNTY

IS INVOLVED, IT ISIS -- IF THE COUNTY OF SONOMA AND THE CITY PARTICIPATE

TOGETHER, THEN IT IS TWO MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL, ONE BOARD OF

SUPERVISORS, THEN ONE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC APPOINTED BY THE COUNCIL, ONE MEMBER APPOINTED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

OKAY.

SO IT WOULD BE THREE IF IT WAS CITY ONLY.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WELL, WE'RE BACK HERE AT THE DAIS. I'M JUST GOING TO SAY WHAT I NEED TO SAY. I ALL ALONG HAVE BEEN SKEPTICAL OF THIS. I SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF TIME SPEAKING WITH MR. LELAND ABOUT THIS AND THE PROS AND CONS OF, YOU

KNOW, HELP ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET TO A YES WITH THIS, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN A NO ALL ALONG. AND AFTER THAT LONG CONVERSATION ABOUT THE PROS AND CONS

AND THE TIMING OF THIS, PROS AND CONS FOR OUR SMALL CITY WHO DOES HAVE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES. AND IT MAKES SENSE TO THINK ABOUT, LOO LIKE, WE SHOULD BE SAVING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES FOR FUTURE. BUT WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES RIGHT NOW. SKIMMING OFF THE TOP OF ANY INCREASES THAT WE MIGHT HAVE, THE PROS AND CONS AND ALL OF THAT. AND BASED

ON ALL OF THAT DISCUSSION AND EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE LEARNED AND THE

AMOUNT OF TIME THAT IT TAKES FOR THE STAFF AND THE LACK OF GUARANTEE AND ALL OF THE ISSUES, I'M STILL A NO. SO I'M NOT SUPPORTING THIS TONIGHT. IT'S NO SHOCK TO ANYONE, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T SUPPORTED IT ALL ALONG. THAT'S MY COMMENT FOR THE NIGHT. COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN, GO AHEAD.

YEAH, I WANT TO THANK COUNCILMEMBER HINTON AND CARTER, EVEN THOUGH I WAS ABRUPT AND BRUSQUE EARLIER. APOLOGIES AGAIN. FOR PICKING UP THE PIECES FROM

WHEN COUNCILMEMBER HINTON AND I WERE DOING IT AND THEN FORMER MAYOR RICH AND I WERE DOING IT. IT IS COMPLEX, BUT THANK YOU FOR WORKING WITH STAFF TO HONE IT ALL IN, INTO THE STAFF REPORT. I'M IN THE SAME BOAT IN THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO NEED TO TAKE SOME CALCULATED RISKS. BECAUSE FINANCIALLY, WE ARE STILL IN A MESS MOVING FORWARD. AND WE NEED SOLID REVENUE STREAMS. I

AM REMINISCENT NOW THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE BARLOW AFTER THIS, LIKE THE BARLOW, WE NEED TO TAKE CALCULATED RISKS TO BRING IN MORE REVENUE.

OTHERWISE, THE CITY IS NEVER GOING TO PAY THE STAFF THAT APPARENTLY WE NEED IN ORDER TO DO THE PROJECTS. WE CAN'T JUST KEEP THE STATUS QUO AT ALL. AND I'M

FIRMLY OF THE CAMP, AND THIS IS NO BIG SURPRISE THAT, THE COUNTY REALLY DOES NEED TO STEP UP. AS I SAID BEFORE IN MY COMMENTS, WE HAVE BEEN SUBSIDIZING THE COUNTY FOR YEARS WITH OUR POOL AND THE LIBRARY AND THE ROADS. AND IF Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1

THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COUNTY TO STEP UP, WHICH IT DOES SOUND LIKE

SUPERVISOR HOPKINS IS ON BOARD, SHE NEEDS TO DO HER JOB AND GET HER OTHER COLLEAGUES TO GET ON BOARD WITH THIS TOO. WE EITHER ARE THE COMMERCIAL

HUB, AS SHE REFERRED TO WHEN SHE WAS AT THE PODIUM TELLING THIS TO US THREE

YEARS AGO -- WE EITHER ARE THE COMMERCIAL HUB OF THE WEST COUNTY, OR WE ARE NOT. SO I'M BANKING ON HER SAYING WHAT SHE SAID TO APPARENT LOT TWO OF

YOU, SHE'S ON BOARD, AND POSITIONING IT SO SHE CAN GET HER OTHER BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO VOTE ALSO FOR THIS EIFD. ALL THAT SAID, I AM SUPPORTIVE AND WILL BE VOTING YES.

I'M SORRY. COUNCILMEMBER HINTON?

I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT NOT ONLY IS SHE SUPPORTIVE, WE'VE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH

HER OFFICE BECAUSE THERE'S AN OPTION HERE, IF YOU NOTICE IN THE AGENDA

REPORT, TO EVALUATE THE AREAS OUTSIDE OUR CITY LIMITS INTO THE COUNTY FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT THAT ARE POISED FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. SHE HAS GIVEN

THE GREEN LIGHT ON THAT BECAUSE THEY DON'T IMPACT THE REST OF THE EFID THAT IS BEING PURSUED IN THE REST OF THE FIFTH DISTRICT. I WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT THERE. FOR ME, I ALWAYS WANT TO SAVE FOR THE FUTURE. I REMEMBER WHAT PROPERTY COSTS THAT MY PARENTS BOUGHT HOMES HERE IN THE '70s AND '80s. AND WHAT THOSE PROPERTIES COST NOW. PROPERTY TAXES ARE GOING TO GO UP. AS I'VE

SAID EARLIER, THIS IS WHAT CITIES ARE USING TO REPLACE REDEVELOPMENT FUNDS THAT WENT AWAY YEARS AGO. AND THOSE REDEVELOPMENT FUNDS ARE THE ONLY WAY WE GOT THESE BIG PROJECTS DONE. SO IT DOESN'T PAY OFF FOR US. AND YES, WE'RE SPENDING MONEY UP FRONT. TO EVALUATE IT. BUT IT'S A RISK THAT I BELIEVE WE HAVE TO TAKE FOR THE LONGEVITY OF WHEN MY KIDS ARE LIVING HERE. SO WE'VE GOT TO PUT THE PENNIES IN THE PIGGY BANK. WE CAN BORROW AGAINST IT, AND IT CAN PAY OFF DOWN THE ROAD FOR US TO GROW OUR COMMUNITY. WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS. I FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT, AND I THINK THE TIMING'S RIGHT. I'LL BE SUPPORTING.

GO AHEAD.

AND IT SHOULD BE NOTED, THIS IS COMING FROM PROPERTY TAXES. AND WE'RE GOING

TO RECOUP SOME OF THE COUNTY'S PROPERTY TAX TAKE, WHICH IS SOME OF THE MOST STABLE AND RELIABLE INCOME THERE IS BEFORE IT GETS DISTRIBUTED. SO WHEN WE ASSIGN THE MAP TOTO AREA, WE'RE ONLY TAKING A 25% OF A CERTAIN MAP TOO.

SO WE'LL STILL HAVE PLENTY OF MONEY FOR OUR GENERAL FUND. SO IT'S REALLOCATING IT FROM BEING ABLE TO SPEND IT ON, SAY, RANDOM THINGS. WE'RE APPROPRIATING IT NOW TO INFRASTRUCTURE RIGHT NOW. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT INVESTMENTS THAT WE CAN MAKE.

GO AHEAD, VICE MAYOR.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1

THIS IS A HARD ONE FOR ME, BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR

PROBABLY TWO YEARS, I THINK, SO I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT THE COUNTY WILL CONTRIBUTE. AND I TRUST THAT LINDA HOPKINS SUPPORTS IT. I TRUST YOU ON THAT. I UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY. AND THAT I'M CONCERNED WITH THE AMOUNT OFOF TIME. AND IF THE STAFF -- I THINK -- I

THINK WE NEED TO REALLY THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ARE WE GOING TO BE ALLOCATING THAT TIME 21 TO $52,000 FOR THE EFID? THAT'S A MAJOR, MAJOR

INVESTMENT AND PROJECT, I THINK, FOR THE EFID, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT HE -- I REMEMBER WE WERE TOLD THAT IT WOULDN'T TAKE HARDLY ANY STAFF TIME. SO I

THINK THAT IT PROBABLY -- IF WE GO INTO THIS, WE SHOULD NOT REIMBURSE STAFF

TIME, OTHERWISE YOU'RE GOING TO BE EMPTYING THAT BANK ACCOUNT EVERY YEAR IF YOU'RE REIMBURSING STAFF TIME. BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S HOW MUCH STAFF TIME IT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO TAKE. I UNDERSTAND IT'S UP FRONT AT EVERY MEETING. AN EARLIER COMMENT WAS MADE IT'S $1,500 EVERY MEETING. HOW MANY MEETINGS IS THIS GOING TO REQUIRE? THE OTHER THING I REALLY DON'T LIKE IS THAT THIS IS AN END RUN. ALSO IT'S AN END RUN AROUND GOING TO THE VOTERS FOR A BOND, AND THAT PART BOTHERS ME. SO I'M VERY CONFLICTED ABOUT THIS. IT FEELS VERY COMPLICATED. AND I REALLY DON'T LIKE THE FACT THAT WE WERE TOLD IT WOULDN'T

TAKE VERY MUCH STAFF TIME, AND NOW IT'S GOING TO BE TAKING QUITE A LOT OF STAFF TIME, SO THAT BOTHERS ME. YEAH.

I JUST WANT TO SPEAK TO THE END RUN AROUND THE BOND ISSUE. YEAH, WE'LL BE APPROPRIATING A LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY AT ONCE. BUT BECAUSE THIS ISN'T

ADDINGADDING -- IF YOU PAY PROPERTY TAXES AND YOU HAVE A BOND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU PAY $230 OR WHATEVER, NOW IT'S $235 IF YOU GO FOR A BOND THAT'S VOTE FOR, THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN. YOUR PROPERTY TAXES STAY THE SAME RATE. THIS IS JUST REALLOCATING THE MONEY.

SO I DID TALK TO BOB LELAND.

THIS. I HAD HIM RUN A FORECAST ON IT. FOR ME, IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE -- IT DIDN'T REALLY AFFECT OUR BOTTOM LINE THAT MUCH. IN TERMS OF RUNNING -- DOING THE EFID. I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS A PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM I HAVE IS THE STAFF TIME AND THE MEETINGS IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO GET THIS GOING AND MAINTAIN IT.

ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT WE WERE TOLD THAT IT WOULD BE NEGLIGIBLE TO GET IT GOING.

I THINK THERE'S ALREADY THREE.

I KNOW.

I MEAN, UNLESS YOU HAVE MORE THAT YOU WANT TO --
HM?
Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU HAD ANYTHING MORE TO SAY.

I'M JUST REALLY CONFLICTED. AND I'D LIKE TO SUPPORT MY COLLEAGUES WHO BELIEVE IN THIS. THEY'VE DONE THE DEEPER DIVE. I HAVE NOT. I'VE ONLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND READ ABOUT IT AND BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. IT ALWAYS SEEMS REALLY COMPLICATED.

AND SO I DO WANT TO HEAR FROM MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT THE IDEA OF STAFF TIME.

BECAUSE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WOULD BE REIMBURSED FROM THE EFID OR ARE WE JUST GOING TO EXPECT STAFF TO JUST GIVE THIS? SO THAT'S MY QUESTION FOR MY COLLEAGUES.

I MEAN, MY BELIEF AT THIS TIME IS IT SOUNDS LIKE WE JUST HIRED SOMEONE. AND THAT SOUNDS GREAT. AND SO WE'VE GOT SOME STAFF COMING ON. AND I THINK THAT SOME

OF THESE DECISIONS, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND

THEN DECIDE WHAT MONEY -- ONCE THE DISTRICT IS DRAWN, WE'LL HAVE A BETTER IDEA ABOUT WHAT MONEY IS ACTUALLY GOING TO COME TO US. AND THAT MIGHT BE A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHETHER WE'RE REIMBURSING STAFF TIME OR NOT LATER. BUT FOR NOW, AGAIN, FOR ME, IT'S JUST AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE. AND WE HAVE TO TAKE SOME OF THESE STEPS. AND OTHER CITIES ARE MOVING IN THE SAME DIRECTION, SO WE'RE NOT ALONE. WE'RE NOT GOING OUT ON A LIMB HERE. WE'RE DOING A PROVEN THING THAT MANY, MANY CITIES ARE DOING. SO I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND

MAKE THE MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE ENHANCED INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING

DISTRICT OR EFID NEXT STEPS, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT WITH

KOSMONT COMPANIES FOR FINANCING DISTRICT FORMATION ADVISORY SERVICES

AND AUTHORIZATION FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENTAS

INDICATED ON PAGE -- FURTHER ON IN THE STAFF REPORT FOR THE FULL AMOUNT RANGING FROM 100 TO $110,000.

I'LL SECOND IT.

I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT YOU'RE ALSO AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT.

BECAUSE THIS IS ABOVE THE $75,000 THAT WAS ALLOCATED. SO ARE YOU GOING UP TO THE OPTION -- I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE CLEAR -- OPTION 2, WHICH IS THE ADD-ON OF THE 20. THAT'S A TOTAL OF $110,000.

THAT'S CORRECT, THAT'S MY MOTION.

MY SECOND AGREES WITH THAT.

OKAY. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION BEFORE I CALL THE MOTION? SO THE MOTION

MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER HINTON AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CARTER IS

TO APPROVE THE AGREEMENT WITH KOSMONT FOR THE FINANCING DISTRICT

FORMATION ADVISORY SERVICES TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE

AGREEMENT, TO ADD THE OPTIONAL ADD-ON AUTHORIZING THE ADDITIONAL BUDGET Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1

AMENDMENT INCREASE FOR THE BOUNDARY EVALUATION AND MAP REVISION AND AUTHORIZING THE OPTION OF THE OPTION 2 OF THE BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR $20,000 TO INCREASE THE AREAS OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.

COUNCILMEMBER CARTER?
YES.

COUNCILMEMBER HINTON?
AYE.

COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN?
YES.

VICE MAYOR MAUER?
NO.

MAYOR McLEWIS?
NO.

PASS PASSES 3-2 WITH COUNCILMEMBERS CARTER, HINTON, ZOLLMAN IN SUPPORT.

MAUER AND McLEWIS IN OPPOSITION.

OKAY. SO NOW WE HAVE THE ITEM NUMBER 3, RIGHT? ITEM NUMBER 3 THAT WAS PULLED. SO NOW I NEED TO EXCUSE MYSELF. AND THEN VICE MAYOR, YOU'LL TAKE OVER FOR ME?
YEAH.

MAYOR, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT NUMBER THAT ONE IS?
THAT WAS NUMBER 3. IT WAS PULLED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR.

OKAY, RIGHT. SO THIS IS ITEM NUMBER 3, APPROVAL OF WAIVING SECOND READING

AND ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE TO AMEND SEBASTOPOL MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION

2.12. 100, POWER OF APPOINTMENT, ET CETERA. QUESTIONS? OOPS. SORRY. OKAY.

APPROVAL OF -- AGENDA ITEM 3, TAKE TWO. APPROVAL OF WAIVING SECOND READING AND ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 1167 AND ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE

CITY OF SEBASTOPOL APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
FOR THE BARLOW HOTEL DEVELOPMENT TO ESTABLISH A T.O.T. TAX REBATE PROGRAM.

AND THIS WAS PULLED BY COUNCILMEMBER HINTON?

SO I WANT TO REPEAT, MAYBE YOU CAN READ IT FOR US AND WE CAN JUST HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH MY COLLEAGUES -- THE ACTUAL WORDING. BECAUSE I'VE HAD

FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC THAT WE'RE GIVING THIS, AND I HAVE ASSURED -- I GUESS I'LL JUST -- THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT HAVE QUESTIONED ME, THAT THE T.O.T.

REBATE WE ARE GIVING THIS DEVELOPER IS NOT SOMETHING THAT COULD JUST BE PUT IN THEIR POCKET. THAT THIS IS SPECIFICALLY TO PROMOTE, AS STATED I THINK WHERE I READ IT -- FOR MARKETING OF THIS AS A REGIONAL DESTINATION. FOR THE HOTEL. FOR THE CITY IN GENERAL. AND THAT WE WOULD NOT JUST BE ABLE TO REQUEST, BUT I

WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A REPORT ANNUALLY -- I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT PROOF SUBMITTED TO THE CITY. AND I PROBABLY AM NOT GOING TO BE SITTING HERE IN TEN

YEARS, SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE IT HAPPENS AND DOESN'T FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS. SO I JUST DON'T KNOW IF WE SAID THAT STRONGLY ENOUGH, AND I'M

CURIOUS WHAT MY COLLEAGUES THINK, AND I'M COMFORTABLE IF EVERYBODY ELSE IS COMFORTABLE WITH THIS PROBABLY AGREEING. BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE

CITY WILL HAVE SOMETHING IN PLACE SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THAT REBATE IS GOING TO MARKETING EFFORTS. AND LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONED THAT.

AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR AGREEMENT IS TIGHT IN THAT.

SO THE AGREEMENT SAYS THAT THE PAYEE OF THE TAX AND THE DEVELOPER

SUCCESSOR SHALL USE THE REMITTED TAX FUNDS FOR ADVERTISEMENT OF TOURISM IN THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL IS INCLUDING THE BARLOW HOTEL AS A DESTINATION. THE

CITY MAY REQUEST AND THE PAYEE OF THE TAX SHALL PROVIDE AT LEAST ANNUALLY

DOCUMENTATION OF HOW THE REMITTED TAX FUNDS WERE SPENT FOR SUCH PURPOSES, SHALL HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO DIRECT SUCH SPENDING.

OKAY. IF THERE SO THE LANGUAGE IN HERE DOES SAY THE CITY MAY REQUESTREQUEST THAT THEY ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THAT IF WE ASK. RATHER THAN CHANGE THE

LANGUAGE IN THE ORDINANCE, BECAUSE THAT WOULD REQUIRE REINTRODUCTION,

THE COUNCIL COULD PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF THAT THIS SHOULD ARE AN ANNUAL REQUEST MADE AT THE END OF EACH FISCAL YEAR OR SOMETHING. IF THE

COUNCIL WANTS WE COULD EVEN BRING BACK A RESOLUTION TO PUT THAT FORMALLY INTO POLICY. YOU KNOW. SO IT'S MEMORIALIZED SOMEPLACE FOR A FUTURE, A CITY MANAGER IN THE FUTURE, A CITY COUNCIL IN THE FUTURE, TO KNOW.

LET ME ASK WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY DIDN'T COMPLY? I MEAN, DO WE HAVE A STAKE THERE?

WE COULD TERMINATE --
OKAY, IF THEY DON'T AGREE WE COULD TERMINATE, OKAY.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
OH. JUST A REMINDER THAT WE'RE STILL IN QUESTIONS. COUNCILMEMBERS ONLY.

YEAH. I'M GLAD THAT WE DID PULL IT BECAUSE MY RECOLLECTION OF WHERE WE WERE

WAS THAT VICE MAYOR AND I HAD CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT WE JUST PASSED, WHETHER THE MARKETING WAS FOR EVERYBODY. AND NOT JUST BARLOW. SO THERE

WAS A MOTION TO RECONSIDER A MOTION, AND MY RECOLLECTION IS THAT THERE WAS OPPOSITION TO THAT. SO NOW WHEN ALEX JUST READ IT BACK, CORRECT ME IF I'M

WRONG, IT DOES CLEARLY STATE WITH WHAT YOU JUST SAID THAT THE WAIVER FOR THE

MARKETING IS FOR EVERYONE CITY-WIDE, TO INCLUDE DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, NOT JUST FOR BARLOW. IS THAT NOT JUST WHAT YOU READ?

IT SAYS FOR THE ADVERTISEMENT OF TOURISM IN THE CITY, INCLUDING THE BARLOW HOTEL. AS A DESTINATION. SO --
OKAY. AND -- THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER HINTON, FOR PULLING IT RESERVE.

AROUND THIS MAY THING. ALEX, YOU DID SAY THAT UPON REQUEST, THEY SHALL -- I HEARD THE WORD SHALL.

SHALL IS MUST.

RIGHT, THEY MUST.

THEY DON'T HAVE THE OPTION. THE "MAY" APPLIES TO THE CITY MAKING THE REQUEST, BUT --
OKAY, GOT IT.

OKAY. I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THIS.

I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.

OKAY, SO WE CAN GO OUT TO PUBLIC COMMENT?
THANK YOU, VICE MAYOR. THIS IS PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE DISCUSSION OF INTRODUCING THE ORDINANCE FOR THE BARLOW HOTEL FOR THE T.O.T. SHARING ARRANGEMENT. I WILL COME INTO CHAMBERS FIRST. KYLE?
SO YEAH, THERE'S NOTHING IN TERMS OF TEETH, IN TERMS OF THIS MARKETING.

THERE'S NOTHING IN HERE THAT SUGGESTS THAT THE MARKETING WILL DO ANYTHING FOR ANYONE OTHER THAN JUST THE HOTEL. BECAUSE IT HAS IN PHRASE, INCLUDING THE HOTEL, THAT IF I SPEND 100% OF MY DOLLARS ON THE HOTEL, I AM STILL WITHIN THE LANGUAGE, HOW IT'S WRITTEN. SO IT'S AN INTERESTING OPINION TO SUGGEST Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1

THAT IT COULD BE MORE THAN JUST THE HOTEL AND THAT YOU HAVE ANY SORT OF OVERSIGHT. BECAUSE THE VERY LAST CLAUSE IN HERE SAYS, YOU HAVE NO OVERSIGHT AS TO WHAT THE DIRECTION OF THE FUNDING BEING SPENT IS. SO HI, I'M THE BARLOW, I JUST SPENT 100% OF THOSE DOLLARS ON MARKETING MY HOTEL OF WHICH I HAVE TAKEN 50% OF THE T.O.T. DOLLARS FROM YOUR CITY, AND YOU GOT NOTHING THAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. THANKS FOR ASKING ABOUT IT, I'LL COME BACK NEXT YEAR AND

TELL YOU THAT I DID THE EXACT SAME THING AND YOU'LL DO NOTHING ABOUT IT

BECAUSE I'M WITHIN THE CONTRACTED STATEMENT THAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO APPROVE TONIGHT. NOTHING YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO. BUT I LOOK FORWARD TO LOTS OF MEDIA ADS FOR THE BARLOW HOTEL. IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT.

THANK YOU, KYLE, FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, I'LL GO OUT TO ZOOM. IF

THERE'S ANYONE ON ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE HOTEL T.O.T. REBATE ORDINANCE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY. BIANCA, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF, PLEASE?
HEY, THERE, GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS BIANCA BLOOMQUIST, AND I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW I OPPOSE THIS MEASURE. I DON'T THINK IT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED ENOUGH. I DON'T THINK IT HAS ENOUGH TEETH. AS THE GENTLEMAN WHO WAS SPEAKING JUST BEFORE, THEY HAVE NO INCENTIVE. THE DEVELOPER HAS NO INCENTIVE TO MARKET OTHER BUSINESSES. AND I JUST THINK THAT THAT IS A SHAME.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, I WILL COME INTO CHANGE BEARS? CHAMBERS?
A LITTLE OFF TRACK, BUT CAN YOU HEAR ME? TWO YEARS AGO, A LOT OF PEOPLE FILLED THIS ROOM ABOUT A HISTORIC TREE. THE BUNYA-BUNYA. THAT THIS BUSINESS OWNER WANTED TO CUT DOWN. ALTHOUGH HE HAD PURCHASED THE LAND OF THIS TREE, AND WHICH WAS GUARANTEED NOT TO BE CUT DOWN. AND THERE WERE OVER 100 -- OVER 75 PEOPLE WHO HAD WRITTEN LETTERS AND SHOWED UP TO SAVE THIS TREE, WHICH WAS AGREED UPON, THAT HE WOULD NOT CUT IT DOWN. WHICH WAS INTERESTING FOR ME THAT DURING THE MEETING, HE TEXTED THE MAYOR, BACKING DOWN. IT WAS

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE SEEING THE POWER IN PRIVILEGE AND HOW THAT ACCESS TO A MAYOR KIND OF WAS PRETTY INFLUENTIAL. THAT A MAJOR BUSINESSMAN WOULD TEXT, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY IN GOVERNANCE DURING A MEETING. I HAVE A MORTGAGE THAT HAS VERY STRICT RULES THAT I HAVE TO FOLLOW. DOES THIS AGREEMENT HAVE THOSE SAME RULES?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, I'LL GO BACK OUT TO ZOOM. IF

THERE'S ANYONE ON ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND VIRTUALLY. SEEING NONE, I WILL COME BACK INTO CHAMBERS. IF THERE'S ANYONE IN CHAMBERS? SEEN NONE, PUBLIC COMMENT IS CLOSED ON THIS ITEM.

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COUNCILMEMBER HINTON?

SO I PULLED THIS ITEM TO VERIFY, BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD IT BEFORE I VOTED A SECOND TIME. I'M STILL IN FAVOR OF THIS ITEM. I THINK THAT FOR ALL THE DISCUSSION POINTS WE TALKED ABOUT LAST TIME, WE HAVE TO TAKE A RISK.

AND AGAIN, I STATED LAST TIME, I'LL STATE IT AGAIN, THE BIGGEST ITEM WAS THE HOTEL SEBASTOPOL. WHEN I GOT ELECTED IN 2016, AND HERE WE ARE TEN YEARS LATER AND WE STILL DON'T HAVE A HOTEL. SO FOR THE SAME REASONS I SUPPORTED IT LAST TIME, I'M GOING TO SUPPORT IT AGAIN TONIGHT. BUT I DO THINK IT'S A BIG VOTE. AND I

WANTED TO PULL IT OFF CONSENT CALENDAR SO WE COULD REVISIT THESE TERMS, WHICH TALK ABOUT PROMOTING THE HOTEL BUT AS A DESTINATION. AND THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL. I DON'T THINK YOU CAN PROMOTE A HOTEL AND NOT PROMOTE WHERE IT IS AND THE REASONS TO VISIT THAT CITY. SO I'M COMFORTABLE WITH OUR LANGUAGE. I THINK IT DOES WHAT WE WANT IT TO DO. AND I WOULD BE INTERESTED

MAYBE AS THE CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDED IN BRINGING BACK SOMETHING THAT SAYS, OUR STAFF SHOULD BE ASKING FOR THIS REPORT EVERY YEAR FOR THIS TENYEAR PERIOD. BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT ANY OF US WILL BE SITTING HERE, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT DOESN'T GET MISSED BY STAFF. BECAUSE IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE AGREEMENT, FOR ME.

THANK YOU. SO I HAVE A CONCERN AFTER THAT LAST VOTE. I WENT HOME, AND I FELT -- MY HEART REALLY FELT HEAVY AROUND AGREEING WITH THIS DECISION. STARTED

THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE GOING TO ADVERTISING SEBASTOPOL. AND WHAT THAT MIGHT DO IN TERMS OF HURTING THE CITY WITH GETTING OVERRUN WITH TOURISTS. $1 MILLION BUDGET FOR ADVERTISING. AND WE DIDN'T CAP IT. IT WAS JUST THIS OPEN-ENDED AMOUNT OF MONEY. AND THEN

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE PIAZZA'S GOING TO COME AFTER US NOW AND WANT THE SAME THING. SO WHATEVER WE DO, THE PIAZZA'S GOING TO WANT THE SAME. SO $2 MILLION TOWARDS ADVERTISING. ARE WE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT? HOW WILL THAT AFFECT OUR LITTLE CITY HERE? AND THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY TO BE PUTTING TOWARD ADVERTISING. SO I WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF BRINGING IT BACK BECAUSE I KNOW WE CAN'T VOTE ON THAT PART. BUT CAPPING IT, I WOULD BE COMFORTABLE CAPPING IT AT $500,000. 50% OR $500,000 WOULD BE A CAP SO WE'D BE PITCHING IN AT LEAST HALF OF WHAT THEY WANT TO DO BUT NOT GOING OVER THAT. AT LEAST IT WOULD PUT SOME LIMIT ON IT. I WOULD BE COMFORTABLE DOING THAT. ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT THE PIAZZA'S GOING TO COME BACK AND PROBABLY WANT THE SAME. WHATEVER WE DO FOR BARLOW, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE DO FOR PIAZZA. SO THAT WOULD BE MY REQUEST.

YOU'RE ASSUMING PIAZZA'S GOING TO COME BACK AFTER THE LAST TEN YEARS WHEN HE THEY PROPOSED THE FIRST PROJECT. I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY WILL. SO -- JUST SAYING. THEY HAVEN'T PERFORMED YET IN TEN YEARS.

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I JUST WANT TO SAY, LIKE, I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH THEY ADVERTISE. THEY CAN ADVERTISE NOTHING FOR SEBASTOPOL. IF THEY GET BUILT, EVERYBODY'S GOING TO

BENEFIT AND WE'RE GOING TO FIND WAYS TO MANAGE TO BRING PEOPLE TO THE TOWN. AND IT STILL ASTOUNDS ME THAT WE'D CAUSE, YOU KNOW, A DEVELOPER

THAT'S STRUGGLING MORE GRIEF IN HOW TO DEVELOP AND HOW TO SPEND THEIR

MONEY WHEN WE'RE DEPENDING ON IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS FOR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THEY MIGHT BRING IN. WE'VE ALREADY DECIDED THEY'RE COMING IN, SO IT'S KIND OF A MOOT POINT NOW. BUT THEY COULD LITERALLY SPEND NOTHING ON THE CITY, AND IF THE HOTEL GETS BUILT, WE BENEFIT. IF WE GET OVERRUN LIKE A TOURIST TOWN, THAT'S NOT GREAT. YOU KNOW, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WILL BE, LIKE, AN ISSUE. I DON'T WANT PERSONALLY -- THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS, BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE A TOURISM TOWN. I'D LOVE THERE TO BE DIFFERENT KINDS OF INDUSTRIES HERE. BUT AS FAR AS, LIKE, OUR PROJECTIONS GO, EVERY TIME WE SEE A PROJECTION THAT HAS SOME BIT OF T.O.T. TAX, REALLY JUST NEED TO MAKE THIS SIMPLE.

COUNCILMEMBER HINTON?
I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE THE ITEM. I FEEL I UNDERSTAND THE WANTING TO REHEAR WHAT ALEX READ, AND I FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH IT. I'M GOING TO MAKE A MOTION TO

APPROVE THE WAIVING OF THE SECOND READING AND ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 1167, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL -- OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE

CITY OF SEBASTOPOL, APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FROM THE BARLOW HOTEL DEVELOPMENT TO ESTABLISH A T.O.T. TAX REBATE PROGRAM.

I'LL SECOND. DID YOU ALSO WANT TO INCLUDE DIRECTION TO STAFF TO BRING BACK THAT POLICY?
PLEASE. AND DIRECTION TO STAFF TO BRING BACK THAT POLICY. AS RECOMMENDED BY

THE CITY MANAGER FOR FUTURE CITY COUNCILS, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET AN ANNUAL REPORT.

YEAH, THAT'S GOOD FOR THE SECOND AS WELL.

THANK YOU. SO MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER HINTON, SECONDED BY

COUNCILMEMBER ZOLLMAN, TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT TO THE BARLOW HOTEL TO APPROVE THE T.O.T. SHARING ARRANGEMENT,

AS AMENDED TO DIRECT CITY STAFF TO CREATE A POLICY TO BE RETURNED TO

COUNCIL TO REQUIRE CITY STAFF SHALL ANNUALLY -- I'M GOING TO ADD, SO TELL ME IF

YOU LIKE IT -- BY MARCH OF EACH YEAR TO FORMALLY REQUEST FROM THE OWNER THE

ANNUAL PART OF MARKETING FOR THE CITY TO BE PRESENTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL BY JUNE OF EACH YEAR. IS THAT ACCEPTABLE? COUNCILMEMBER CARTER? Agenda Item Number 1
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YES.

HINTON?
AYE.

ZOLLMAN?
YES.

MAUER?
NO.

AND MAYOR McLEWIS IS ABSENT, SO THE MOTION PASSES 3-1-1 WITH

COUNCILMEMBERS CARTER, HINTON, ZOLL HER IN SUPPORT, MAUER IN OPPOSITION, MAYOR ABSENT.

OKAY. SO WE'RE BACK. I THINK WE'RE AT PUBLIC COMMENT AGAIN. AM I CORRECT, MARY?
WE ARE AT ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT.

SORRY, YEAH, GO AHEAD.

NO, GO.

SORRY, I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY SOMETHING, GO AHEAD.

NO, WE ARE AT THE ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA. IF

YOU DID NOT SPEAK DURING THE FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, NOW IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AT THIS PUBLIC COMMENT. I WILL COME TO CHAMBERS FIRST.

SEEING NONE, I WILL GO OUT TO ZOOM. IF THERE'S ANYONE ON ZOOM THAT WOULD

LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT FOR AN ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA AND YOU DID NOT SPEAK DURING THE FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT? SEEING NONE, THERE'S NO PUBLIC COMMENT. -- ALL RIGHT, AND THEN I BELIEVE ON THE NEXT THING IS, ARE THERE ANY ITEMS THAT COUNCILMEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO BRING FORTH? OKAY.

I HAVE A QUESTION. THE ISSUE OF THE COUNCILMEMBER COST ALLOCATION, HOW

MUCH IS BEING ALLOCATED, IS THAT DUE TO COME BACK BASED ON OUR EARLIER MOTION? AND THAT WAS PART OF A MOTION?
THAT WAS NOT PART OF A MOTION. THE PART OF THE MOTION WAS IT WAS TO BE

DIRECTED TO WORK WITH EFOC ON THE REMAINING -- THERE ARE SOME ITEMS THAT Agenda Item Number 1
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WOULD BE COMING BACK, SO WE WILL BE WORKING WITH THEM. WE HAVE DONE TIME

TRACKING, SO ONCE WE HAVE -- I HAVE GONE BACK AND DONE RESEARCH FOR THE

LAST TWO YEARS, DOING AN AVERAGE OF HOW MUCH JUST FOR MEETING TIME THE COUNCIL HAS DONE THAT. THAT WILL HELP AS FAR AS MOVING FORWARD, GIVING INFORMATION TO THE EFOC AS WELL AS COST ALLOCATION.

I'D LIKE TO BRING THAT PORTION BACK, THE COUNCIL ALLOCATION.

I'LL SECOND THAT.

OKAY, ALL RIGHT. ANYONE ELSE? ANYTHING? WE'LL GO TO CITY UPDATE, OR CITY MANAGER -- CITY ATTORNEY UPDATES.

THANK YOU. AS MENTIONED EARLIER, WE DID SEND A CONDITIONAL LETTER, IT WAS RECEIVED, THE INDIVIDUAL HAS PASSED BACKGROUND. WE ANTICIPATE THAT INDIVIDUAL COMING ON BOARD FOR THE PLANNING STAFF AUGUST 15th. WE DID ON

FRIDAY DO INTERVIEWS FOR PROPOSE S RECEIVED FOR PLANNING CONSULTANT

SERVICESSERVICES AS WELL WE ARE DOING AN INTERVIEW PROBABLY WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO FOR PLANNING DIRECTOR. PERMANENT STAFF. SO WE HAVE BOTH GOING AT THE SAME TIME. NOW THAT THE ORDINANCE WAS ADOPTED TONIGHT, WE'LL BE SENDING OUT THE CITY CLERK RECRUITMENT. THAT WILL BE GOING OUT, AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR TONIGHT.

OKAY. ANY COUNCILMEMBERS WANT TO DO UPDATES?
JUST BRIEFLY, A LOT OF COALITION ON THE UNHOUSED. BOTH BOARD MEETINGS AND SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS. I'VE SAT ON THE PERMANENT SUPPORT OF HOUSING

GUIDELINES SUBCOMMITTEE WITH FOLKS FROM BURBANK, SAN FRANCISCO, THE PALMS, ET CETERA. THEY ARE ABOUT DONE. SO IT'S OUT FOR FINAL REVIEW FROM THE

SUBCOMMITTEE, AND IT SHOULD BE BROUGHT FORWARD TO THE COALITION BOARD

FOR APPROVAL, HOPEFULLY EITHER AT THE END OF AUGUST OR THE SEPTEMBER MEETING. SO THAT'S THAT.

OKAY, GO AHEAD.

SO I'VE RECEIVED SOME COMMUNICATION ABOUT AN APPLICATION THAT I THINK IT'S TMOBILE HAS SUBMITTED FOR -- THEY WANT TO EXTEND THE DOWNTOWN CELL TOWER UP ABOUT 20 FEET.

VICE MAYOR, CAN I INTERRUPT REALLY QUICK? I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE ON THAT NOW, IT'S JUST COMMITTEE REPORTS.

YOU WANT ME TO WAIT?
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IF WE COULD GET TO THE COMMUNICATION THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. THIS IS FOR COMMITTEE MEETINGS, ANYTHING INTENDED BY CITY COUNCIL.

CORRECT. GO AHEAD.

SCTCA WAS ON HOLD IN JULY, BUT THE MEETING WILL BE COMING UP ON THE 10th, AGAIN FOR THIS MONTH. SO I'LL BE ATTENDING THAT. THEN I JUST WANTED TO PUT A SHOUT-OUT TO THE SONOMA COUNTY FAIR. I SIT ON THAT BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND

IT WILL BE STARTING -- WELL, THERE'S A FLOWER SHOW PREVIEW TO BENEFIT THE SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION FOR AG SCHOLARSHIPS. IT SOLD OUT ON THE NIGHT OF THE 6th AND THE FIRST DAY OF THE FAIR IS ON THE 7th. AND THAT IS ALSO THE JUNIOR LIVESTOCK ACTION LAMBS FOR LAMB. SO FEEL FREE, EVERYBODY'S GOT TICKETS.

HOPEFULLY I'LL SEE YOU AT THE FAIR.

THERE IS A SEBASTOPOL DAY?

THAT USED TO BE WHEN THEY WERE RUNNING RACE HORSES, WHICH THEY NO LONGER DO. SO THERE IS NOT THE CITY DAYS THAT THERE USED TO BE. AND BECAUSE

THIS YEAR'S FAIR WAS PUSHED BACK AND NOW, OF COURSE, IT IS IN CONFLICT WITH

THE APPLE FAIR THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE STATE FAIR THAT SET THEIR DATES, THEN ALL THE LITTLE FAIRS RUN AFTER. NEXT YEAR -- SO KIDS GO BACK TOO SCHOOL WHEN THE FAIR'S HAPPENING. SO THE FAIR IS GOING TO BE STRUGGLING THIS YEAR. AND NEXT YEAR IT'S GOING TO MOVE TO THE END OF JULY FOR FIRST TIME IN MANY, MANY YEARS.

BECAUSE WE NO LONGER RUN HORSES. THERE'S A LOT OF BACKGROUND ON THAT.

OKAY. ANYONE ELSE?
I DON'T HAVE ANY UPDATES OTHER THAN A GENDER REVIEW MEETING. SO, NO.

OKAY. THEN I GUESS OUR MEETING'S ADJOURNED. OH --
THERE'S THE COUNCIL COMMUNICATION ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS.

SORRY.

THERE WAS AN APPLICATION FOR CELL TOWER EXPANSION. DO YOU WANT TO DEFER TO CITY ATTORNEY?

THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING YOU RECEIVED QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT FROM RESIDENTS.

YES. I RECEIVED THOSE QUESTIONS, AND THEN THEY WERE FORWARDED TO THE COUNCIL.

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SO THE CITY HAS RECEIVED -- HAS PRELIMINARY ACTION OR INTEREST FROM CROWN

CASTLE TO MAKE MODIFICATIONS TO THE DOWNTOWN CELL TOWER, INCLUDING

INCREASE IN HEIGHT, BUT ALSO EXPANSION OF THE GROUND AREA THAT'S PART OF THE LEASE IN ORDER TO ADD MORE CABINETS. SO THIS WOULD REQUIRE BOTH A C.U.P.

AND A AMENDMENT TO THE LEASE. SO BEFORE THE APPLICATION WAS FORWARDED,

THIS WAS GOING TO BE COMING TO THE COUNCIL SO THE COUNCIL HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE SOME DIRECTION AND ASK QUESTIONS OF THE APPLICANT.

THE EXACT DATE IS NOT YET KNOWN, BUT PERHAPS THE SECOND MEETING IN SEPTEMBER OR THEREABOUTS. THERE WILL BE MORE INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE

ABOUT THE EXACT APPLICATION THAT'S BEING PROPOSED, THE CITY'S AUTHORITY, AND ALL THOSE OTHER RELATED TOPICS.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY IT'S COMING TO COUNCIL FOR OUR APPROVAL RATHER THAN GOING TO PLANNING?
BECAUSE THE CITY -- THEY WANT TO LEASE MODIFICATION. THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE ONLY BODY WITH AUTHORITY TO LEASE CITY PROPERTY.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

THEY NEED BOTH. RATHER THAN GO TO C.U.P. AND POTENTIALLY GET A C.U.P. FROM

THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THEN GO TO THE COUNCIL TO GET A LEASE MODIFICATION, MAYBE THE COUNCIL SAYS NO. WE WANT TO BRING THIS FORWARD TO

THE COUNCIL EARLY SO THEY COULD GET AND HEAR FROM THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNCIL'S GENERAL THOUGHTS BEFORE GOING THROUGH THIS LONG PROCESS.

GOT IT. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE? ANYONE ELSE? IS THERE ANYTHING? I DON'T HAVE THE AGENDA IN FRONT OF ME, MARY. IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE? THEN WE'RE ADJOURNED. [ ADJOURNED AT 10:04 P.M. PDT ] [Event Concluded]
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