Sebastopol City Council
September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1

CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Regular Meeting of Tuesday, September 1, 2026
6:00 pm Start Time
As Approved by the City Council at their regular meeting of September 15, 2026.

CALL TO ORDER: Mayor McLewis called the meeting to order 6:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL:

Present: Mayor Jill McLewis Accommodations
Vice Mayor Sandra Maurer
Councilmember Phill Carter
Councilmember Stephen Zollman
Councilmember Neysa Hinton Zoom

Absent:

Staff: Mary Gourley, City Manager
Alex Mog, City Attorney, Redwood Public Law
Public Works Director
Police Chief McDonagh
REMOTE PARTICIPATION:

Mayor McLewis medical accommodations
Councilmember Hinton – Brown act participation
SALUTE TO THE FLAG Mayor McLewis led the salute to the flag.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: The City of Sebastopol acknowledges that we live and work within the unceded ancestral homelands of the Southern Pomo and the Coast Miwok people. We pay our respect to the past, present, and future generations of these peoples, including the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

REMEMBERING THE HISTORY OF SEBASTOPOL: None
PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS/INTRODUCTIONS: None
STATEMENTS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Conflicts of interest may arise in situations where a public official deliberating towards a decision, has an actual or potential financial interest in the matter before the Council. In accordance with state law, an actual conflict of interest is one that would be to the private financial benefit of a public official, a relative or a business with which the Councilmember is associated. A potential conflict of interest is one that could be to the private financial benefit of a Councilmember, a relative or a business with which the Councilmember is associated. A Councilmember must publicly announce potential and actual conflicts of interest, and, in the case of actual conflict of interest, must refrain from participating in debate on the issue or from voting on the issue and must remove themselves from the dais. NONE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA (FIRST COMMENT PERIOD): Up to Twenty (20) Minute Time Limit (Two Minutes for up to ten speakers). Additional public comment will be held at the end of the discussion and action items for up to an additional twenty (20) minutes. Mayor has discretion to allow for additional time beyond the 20 minutes allocated for public comment dependent upon the subject matter or number of speakers.

Process for calling on Speakers: Mayor or designee shall ask for public comment as follows: Speakers to be called on in an alternate manner (One speaker in person to be called on first; then one speaker remote to be called on second with additional speakers to be called on in the same manner) based upon the time limit.

The following member(s) of the public spoke during public comment for items not on the agenda:

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Melissa Just Cause Ordinance
Kyle SCTCA Meetings Council attendance/SC Maintenance of Effort Sandi Just Cause Ordinance
Mary EFOC; repay funds
Steve Chapter 8.25 Number 55; Protest of main intersection in town; decibel limits/noise control ordinance
Mary Three minute comments
Lena North Bay Organizing Project/Woodmark
CONSENT CALENDAR: The consent agenda consists of items that are routine in nature and do not require additional discussion by the City Council or have been reviewed by the City Council previously. These items may be approved by one motion without discussion unless a member of the City Council requests that the item be taken off the consent calendar.

The Mayor will read aloud the title of each consent item (either full agenda title or a simplified version of the agenda title), and ask if a Councilmember wishes to remove one or more items from the consent calendar; and then open public comment to the members of the public in attendance. At this time, a member of the public may speak for up to two (2) minutes on the entire consent calendar and request at that time that an item or items removed for discussion.

If an item or items are removed from the consent calendar, the item shall be placed at the end of the regular agenda items unless otherwise determined by the Mayor. Council Members may comment on Consent Calendar items or ask for minor clarifications without the need for pulling the item for separate consideration. Items requiring deliberation should be pulled for separate consideration and shall be placed at the end of the regular agenda items unless otherwise determined by the Mayor.

Mayor McLewis read the consent calendar.

Mayor McLewis asked if Councilmember wanted to pull a consent calendar item.

Mayor McLewis pulled item number 2 for a vote only.

Mayor McLewis opened for public comment. The following member(s) of the public spoke during public comment:

Kyle Removal of agenda items
Lee Bodega Avenue costs
Mayor McLewis called for a motion.

MOTION:

Councilmember Hinton moved and Mayor McLewis seconded the motion to approve consent calendar items 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Mayor McLewis called for a roll call vote. City staff conducted a roll call vote.

VOTE:

Ayes: Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, Zollman, Vice Mayor Maurer and Mayor McLewis Noes: None

Absent: None
Abstain: None

1. Approval of City Council Meeting Minutes for Regular Meeting of August 4, 2026 Responsible Department: City Manager
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the minutes is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None
City Council Action: Approved City Council Meeting Minutes for Regular Meeting of August 4, 2026.

Minute Order Number: 2026-223

2. Approval of Adoption of City Policy Requiring Annual Request for the Barlow Hotel Transient Occupancy

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Tax (TOT) Rebate Marketing Expenditures. Approval requires City staff (Planning Department), by March 1 of each year during the rebate period, to formally request the annual marketing expenditure report from the hotel owner / Developer / payee of the tax; and requires that the report be presented to the City Council no later than the June regular meeting of each year (or the first regular meeting thereafter).

Responsible Department: City Administration/City Attorney Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None

3. Approval of Notice of Intent to Amend the City of Sebastopol Conflict of Interest Code. Amendments are routine amendments such as current job classifications.

Responsible Department: City Administration/City Attorney Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None.

City Council Action: Approved Notice of Intent to Amend the City of Sebastopol Conflict of Interest Code.

Minute Order Number: 2026-225

4. Approval of Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance to add Chapter 5.66, “Newsrack Regulations,” to the Sebastopol Municipal Code.

Responsible Department: City Administration/City Attorney Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None.

City Council Action: Approved Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance to add Chapter 5.66, “Newsrack Regulations” to the Sebastopol Municipal Code.

Minute Order Number: 2026-226
Ordinance Number: 1169

5. Approval of Notice of Completion for Bodega Phase 2 Bike Lane Project.

Responsible Department: Public Works
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None. Funding in the amount of $2,673,600 is in the FY 26-27 CIP budget.

City Council Action: Approved Notice of Completion for Bodega Phase 2 Bike Lane Project.

Minute Order Number: 2026-227

6. Approval of Notice of Completion for Digouts & Repair Paving Project.

Responsible Department: Public Works
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None. Funding in the amount of funding in the amount of is in the FY 26 27 CIP budget.

City Council Action: Approved Notice of Completion for Digouts & Repair Paving Project.

Minute Order Number: 2026-228

7. Award Contract for Pedestrian Crossing Enhancements on SR-116 Responsible Department: Public Works
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None. The total project funding appropriated in the FY 2026-27 CIP is $318,050, which is sufficient to fund the recommended contract award, contingency, and associated project costs.

Funding for this project was approved as part of the FY 2026-27 Capital Improvement Program (CIP No. 0132-

23.02).

City Council Action: Awarded Contract for Pedestrian Crossing Enhancements on SR-116.

Minute Order Number: 2026-229
Resolution Number: 6794-2026

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Project Costs Amount Funding Sources Amount
Construction
Contract Award $195,480 HSIP Grant (Fund 211) $215,820
Construction
Contingency
(20%)
$39,096 Traffic Impact Fee Fund (Fund 213) $52,230
Total
Construction
Authorization
$234,576 SB 1 Road Maintenance & Rehabilitation Fund (Fund 217) $50,000 Total CIP Funding Available $318,050
Item Number 2 below removed from the consent calendar for a separate vote.

2. Approval of Adoption of City Policy Requiring Annual Request for the Barlow Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Rebate Marketing Expenditures. Approval requires City staff (Planning Department), by March 1 of each year during the rebate period, to formally request the annual marketing expenditure report from the hotel owner / Developer / payee of the tax; and requires that the report be presented to the City Council no later than the June regular meeting of each year (or the first regular meeting thereafter).

Responsible Department: City Administration/City Attorney Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None
MOTION:

Councilmember Hinton moved and Councilmember Zollman seconded the motion to approve consent calendar item

2. City Manager Gourley called for a roll call vote. City staff conducted a roll call vote.

VOTE:

Ayes: Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, Zollman, Vice Mayor Maurer Noes: None

Absent: None
Abstain: Mayor McLewis
City Council Action: Approved adoption of City Policy requiring Annual Request for the Barlow Hotel TOT Rebate Marketing Expenditures.

Minute Order Number: 2026-224
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/PRESENTATIONS: Informational Items or Presentations are items that are informational only and do not require action by the City Council. Presentations shall be scheduled as necessary for the promotion of an event or service or general information items to the Council and should be limited to ten (10) minutes total in length of item (total length includes questions of Council to presenter and public comment). NONE

8. Presentation from St Vincents de Paul on Status of Gravenstein Commons/Status of Community Engagement Meeting and Update on Good Neighbor Policy or Affirmations Responsible Department: City Council Liaison to Homeless/City Manager Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the minutes is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None; Consultant Costs Reimbursed by SVdP City Manager Gourley presented the agenda item and introduced Lauren Taylor and Robin Stephani.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Lauren Taylor, SVDP and Robin Stephani, 8th Wave (City Consultant) provided information to the City Council on the status of Gravenstein Commons.

Mayor McLewis opened for questions of staff. The Council asked various questions of City staff.

Mayor McLewis opened the public comment period. The following member(s) of the public spoke during the public comment period:

Oliver
Lee
Kathleen
Kyle
Member of the public
The Council thanked the presenters and received the presentation.

City Council Action: None. Received Presentation.

Minute Order Number: 2026-230
PUBLIC HEARING(s): NONE
REGULAR CALENDAR AGENDA ITEMS (DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION):

9. Consideration of Approval of Good Neighbor Policy. Guidelines designed to balance development, business operations, and social services with the quality of life in surrounding residential areas. They address nuisances like noise, trash, and traffic, often requiring businesses or service providers to implement security, contact lines, and community engagement to foster accountability and reduce conflict. The proposed County standards are due to be approved after one more review.

Requestor: City Council Liaison Homeless
Responsible Department: City Attorney
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None
City Attorney Mog presented the Agenda item.

Mayor McLewis opened for questions of staff. The Council asked various questions of City staff.

Mayor McLewis opened the public comment period. The following member(s) of the public spoke during the public comment period:

Oliver
Lee
Kathleen
Rob
City Council Discussion/Deliberations/Comments:

Council continued discussion of the item.

Mayor McLewis called for a motion.

MOTION:

Vice Mayor Maurer moved and Councilmember Zollman seconded to continue this item to a future City Council meeting in January 2027.

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City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
After discussion Vice Mayor Maurer withdrew the motion.

Councilmember Zollman moved and Mayor McLewis seconded to continue this item at the 1st or 3rd meeting in Jan 2027 McLewis partner providers to review/suggest
City Manager Gourley called for a roll call vote. City staff conducted a roll call vote.

VOTE:

Ayes: Councilmembers Zollman & Mayor McLewis
Noes: Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, & Maurer

Absent: None
Abstain: None
City Council Action: None Taken. Motion Failed.

Minute Order Number: 2026-231

MOTION FAILS

10. Presentation from HEART/ SOUL (Solving Obstacles for Unsheltered Lives) and West County Community Services (WCCS) on Services Provided for Homeless Services and Consideration of Contracts for Homeless Outreach Services. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with HEART expires September 16, 2026; and the contract with WCCS expired June 30, 2026. The item tonight is to consider agreements with the following:
a. Contract with SOUL (Formerly Named HEART)
b. Contract with WCCS (West County Community Services)
c. Other Direction to staff
Responsible Department: City Council Homeless Liaison/Police Chief Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None. $40,000 has been allocated in the FY 26 27 Budget for Homeless Outreach Services.

Chief McDonagh presented the Agenda item. Presenters include Christy Davilla and Hunter Scott.

Mayor McLewis opened for questions of staff. The Council asked various questions of City staff.

Mayor McLewis opened the public comment period. The following member(s) of the public spoke during the public comment period:

Rob
Lee
City Council Discussion/Deliberations/Comments:

Council continued discussion of the item.

Mayor McLewis called for a motion.

MOTION:

Councilmember Zollman moved and Vice Mayor Maurer seconded the motion to:

1. Authorize the continued partnership with Sonoma County Department of Health Services (HEART/SOUL) for dedicated homeless outreach services and authorize return to a future city council meeting a successor MOU/contract upon completion of negotiations and final approval as to form by the city attorney.

HEART/SOUL has agreed to continue providing services following expiration of the current MOU on

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City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
September 16, 2026, while the successor agreement completes the county and city review and approval processes, thereby avoiding any interruption in services.

2. Approve a professional services agreement with West County Community Services for FY 2026-27 Homeless Outreach Services in an amount not to exceed $40,000 and authorize the city manager to execute the agreement subject to final approval as to form by the city attorney.

Mayor McLewis called for a roll call vote. City staff conducted a roll call vote.

VOTE:

Ayes: Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, Zollman, & Maurer
Noes: McLewis

Absent: None
Abstain: None
City Council Action: Authorized continued partnership with Sonoma County Department of Health Services (HEART/SOUL) for dedicated homeless outreach services and authorized return to a future City Council meeting a successor MOU/contract upon completion of negotiations and final approval as to form by the City Attorney.

Approved a Professional Services Agreement with West County Community Services for FY026/27 Homeless Outreach Services in an amount not to exceed $40,000 and authorized the City Manager to execute the agreement subject to final approval as to form by the City Attorney.

Minute Order Number: 2026-232
Resolution Number: 6795-2026

11. Discussion and Consideration of Financing Options for Well 4 Reconstruction PULLED FROM AGENDA; WILL BE HEARD AT A FUTURE CITY COUNCIL MEETING.

Responsible Department: Public Works
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda report is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact:

City Council Action: None. Item was pulled from Agenda.

Minute Order Number: 2026-233
Mayor McLewis departed the meeting at 8:23 pm.

12. Discussion of City Attorney Research on Legal Options on Response to Community Concerns of Graffiti and Racial Mockery Associated with the Safeway Area focusing on restorative justice model. Item includes reaffirmation of that Sebastopol is a welcoming place for everyone.

Responsible Department: City Attorney
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda report is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: There is no additional fiscal impact as ten hours were allocated by the City Council.

City Attorney Alex Mog presented the Agenda item.

Vice Mayor Maurer opened for questions of staff. The Council asked various questions of City staff.

Vice Mayor Maurer opened the public comment period. The following member(s) of the public spoke during the public comment period:

1. Cynthia

2. Mary

3. Member of the public

4. Woody

5. A member of the public

6. Kyle

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Agenda Item Number 1

7. A member of the public

8. Rob

9. Christy

10. Margaret

11. Susan

12. Sarah

13. Dena

14. June

15. Linda

16. M Kelly

17. Oliver

18. Glen

19. Michelle

20. Liz

21. Browen

22. Megan

23. Woody

24. Stella
City Council Discussion/Deliberations/Comments:

Council continued discussion of the item.

Vice Mayor Maurer called for a motion.

MOTION:

Councilmember Zollman moved and Councilmember Carter seconded the motion as follows:

Directed staff to return to an agenda item to the next city council meeting for creation of ad hoc or council liaison in response to recommendations;
• Staff time
• Recommendation for staffing
• Scope of duties/hours
• Training for racial bias
• Safeway letter
Vice Mayor Maurer called for a roll call vote. City staff conducted a roll call vote.

VOTE:

Ayes: Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, & Zollman, and Vice Mayor Maurer Noes: None

Absent: Mayor McLewis
Abstain: None
City Council Action: Approved motion to direct staff to return to an agenda item to the next City Council meeting for creation of an ad hoc or council liaison in response to recommendations.

Minute Order Number: 2026-234
ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: Two minutes per speaker for up to twenty (20) minutes total for public comments but can be reduced at Mayor’s discretion depending upon the number of speakers or Mayor has discretion to allow for additional time beyond the 20 minutes allocated for public comment dependent upon the subject matter or number of speakers.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
None
COUNCILMEMBER(S) REQUESTS FOR FUTURE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS:

Discussion of City Council Cost Allocations to Enterprise Fund (Vice Mayor Maurer/Councilmember Zollman) CITY COUNCIL/CITY STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/FUTURE MEETINGS:

13. City Manager and/or City Clerk Reports: (This will be either verbal reports at the meeting, or written reports provided at or prior to the meeting)
a. None

14. City Council Reports/Committee/Sub-Committee Meeting Reports: (Reports by Mayor/City Councilmembers Regarding Various Agency Meetings/Committee Meetings/Sub-Committee Meeting /Conferences Attended and Possible Direction to its Representatives (If Needed) on Pending issues before such Boards. (This will be either verbal reports at the meeting, or written reports provided at or prior to the meeting). Councilmembers provided reports.
a. Councilmember Zollman briefly spoke on Department of Public Health.

15. Council Communications Received (Information/Meetings/Correspondence Received from the General Public to Councilmembers)
CLOSED SESSION: NONE

ADJOURNMENT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING
September 1, 2026 City Council Regular Meeting was adjourned by Vice Mayor Maurer at 10:00 pm. The next Regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, Sept 15, 2026 at 6:00 pm, Sebastopol Youth Annex, 425 Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA.

Respectfully submitted:

Mary C. Gourley
City Manager
Attachment 1: ZOOM Raw Minutes
Attachment 2: VITAC Real Time Transcription Minutes

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
WEBVTT
1 00:00:05.300 --> 00:00:06.589
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You are, Cody?
2 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:09.759
City Council: Already on the Zoom.
3 00:00:09.760 --> 00:00:10.540
Mayor Jill McLewis: Oops.
4 00:00:10.540 --> 00:00:11.629
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, thank you.
5 00:00:11.780 --> 00:00:13.609
Mayor Jill McLewis: Mary, are you able to hear me?
6 00:00:13.610 --> 00:00:15.330
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I am able to hear you. 7 00:00:15.330 --> 00:00:16.090
Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay.
8 00:00:16.090 --> 00:00:17.919
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Hinton, can you hear us?
9 00:00:19.410 --> 00:00:21.580
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Hmm… I can hear you.
10 00:00:21.580 --> 00:00:22.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, thank you. 11 00:00:28.310 --> 00:00:33.950
Mayor Jill McLewis: Let me just get my agenda here, and I will be ready in just one moment. Thanks, everyone, for your patience. 12 00:00:45.490 --> 00:00:47.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Mayor, we're ready to start the meeting whenever you are.

Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
00:00:47.620 --> 00:01:05.869
Mayor Jill McLewis: Oh, okay, I was just making sure for confirmation.

So, I welcome everyone tonight, to City Council. Obviously, I'm on Zoom.

First thing we're going to do is actually just, call to order the meeting, and then have, our City Manager, Mary, if you could do the roll call.
14 00:01:07.670 --> 00:01:10.869
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember Carter?
15 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:13.120
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Here. Councilmember Hinton? 16 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:13.880
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Here.
17 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:18.729
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zolman? Present. Vice Mayor Maurer? Here. Mayor McLewis?
18 00:01:18.730 --> 00:01:19.260
Mayor Jill McLewis: Here.
19 00:01:19.290 --> 00:01:21.510
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Now, all Councilmembers are in attendance.
20 00:01:22.850 --> 00:01:41.560
Mayor Jill McLewis: Perfect, thank you. So tonight, we obviously have some remote participation. I'll just let you know that I am, participating remote under my accommodation for my, medical treatment that I'm receiving tonight. It's a necessary thing tonight. And then we also have another Councilmember Hinton, if you'd like to… 21 00:01:41.600 --> 00:01:42.930
Mayor Jill McLewis: I don't know if…
22 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:53.889
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Yeah, I'm participating tonight, as posted on the agenda, from a location in Bend, Oregon, and I have to participate because I'm up here traveling for my work business.
23 00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:56.320
Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
Mayor Jill McLewis: Alright, thank you.
24 00:01:56.450 --> 00:02:02.749
Mayor Jill McLewis: The next thing we're gonna do is Salute to the flag, if we could all stand and do that.
25 00:02:05.390 --> 00:02:16.930
Mayor Jill McLewis: All right, I pledge allegiance. I can't hear everyone in the room, so… flag of the United States of America, to the Republic for which it stands, one agent, is…
26 00:02:20.470 --> 00:02:23.550
Mayor Jill McLewis: And I just wanted to state that
27 00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:45.489
Mayor Jill McLewis: One thing I've discovered through leading the meetings through Zoom is that unless someone's on the microphone, you absolutely cannot hear anything in the room, so if anything is happening in the room, I just hope that someone will communicate that with me, because it's been a learning process over this year. I can see some chairs, but other than that, I can't hear anything other than what's on the microphones.
28 00:02:45.490 --> 00:02:46.350
Mayor Jill McLewis: So…
29 00:02:46.630 --> 00:03:09.250
Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, so we have a land acknowledgement that we do, at every meeting. The City of Sebastopol acknowledges that we live and work within the unceded ancestral homelands of the southern Pomo and the Coast Miwok people. We pay our respect to the past, present, and the future generations of these peoples, including the Federated Indians of Great and Rancheria.
30 00:03:09.610 --> 00:03:21.890
Mayor Jill McLewis: And this evening, just due to all of the, just due to the changes in me doing this remote, we won't be doing the, history piece tonight, but I will have that back at our next meeting. 31 00:03:21.890 --> 00:03:32.739
Mayor Jill McLewis: And we do not have any proclamations or presentations this… or proclamations this evening, so, the first thing I wanted to ask everyone is if there are any statements of conflict of interest. 32 00:03:34.920 --> 00:03:39.889
Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
Mayor Jill McLewis: I see heads shaking. Councilmember Carter, I can't tell if you've…
33 00:03:41.790 --> 00:03:45.140
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We have no… we have no statements in… in the chambers.
34 00:03:45.370 --> 00:04:00.070
Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, thank you, and I appreciate everyone shaking their heads so well. It's hard to see. Okay, so we're going to move on to public comment for items that are not on the agenda, so, if you want to go ahead and take that over, Mary.
35 00:04:00.070 --> 00:04:19.360
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. So, as stated, this is for items that are not on tonight's agenda. It is a 20-minute time limit. It is a 2-minute per speaker. We go to chambers first, and then go out to Zoom, come back in, go back out until there's 10 speakers.

So, I will look to Chambers if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment for an item not on the agenda. 36 00:04:29.970 --> 00:04:31.919
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is the microphone pushed on? 37 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:48.679
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hello, Mayor and Councilmembers. My name is Melissa Page. I'm a member of Woodmark Tenants United, and we are just here to ask you to put the permanent, the ordinance on the agenda to make it permanent. Thank you.
38 00:04:49.710 --> 00:04:54.759
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will go out to Zoom. Kyle, can you unmute yourself, please? 39 00:04:57.490 --> 00:04:58.260
Kyle Falbo: I can.
40 00:04:58.410 --> 00:05:00.059
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 41 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:01.710
Kyle Falbo: I can't, but you can let me know.
42 00:05:01.710 --> 00:05:02.840
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Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right, go ahead, please. 43 00:05:04.380 --> 00:05:12.759
Kyle Falbo: Good evening. I want to begin tonight by correcting something I said during public comment at the August SCTCA meeting, and apologizing to Councilmember Hinton.
44 00:05:12.790 --> 00:05:21.090
Kyle Falbo: I said in that meeting that Councilmember Hinton had missed 4 out of the previous 5 SCTCA meetings without a Sebastopol alternate president.
45 00:05:21.090 --> 00:05:33.889
Kyle Falbo: While I was making that comment, Councilmember Hinton actually arrived late to the meeting. So, Neysa, I misspoke, and I apologize. You have only missed 3 of the previous 5 meetings without an alternate present, not 4.
46 00:05:34.390 --> 00:05:44.799
Kyle Falbo: But there's an important item later in that meeting that Neysa did miss after leaving somewhat early to attend a Sonoma County Fair meeting, and I want to make sure that Council hears about it. 47 00:05:44.980 --> 00:06:08.030
Kyle Falbo: SCTCA reported that Sebastopol was the only jurisdiction in Sonoma County initially found out of compliance with Go Sonoma's maintenance of effort requirement. The purpose of that requirement is simple. When voters propose new transportation funding, cities aren't supposed to respond by reducing their own baseline transportation spending. SCTCA calls this a key accountability promise made to voters. 48 00:06:08.050 --> 00:06:10.630
Kyle Falbo: Sebastopol was initially 8% deficit.
49 00:06:11.030 --> 00:06:31.319
Kyle Falbo: Staff recommended withholding and redistributing more than $11,000 of funding, and the Citizens Advisory Committee unanimously resupported that recommendation. Then, before the SCTCA Board could take that final act, Sebastopol revised its financial reporting following an audit and revised reporting to the State Controller. We were ultimately declared compliant.
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Kyle Falbo: Maybe these revisions were entirely appropriate, but that's exactly why I think that this deserves a public explanation here.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Bill, you have about 30 seconds. 52 00:06:40.270 --> 00:06:56.820
Kyle Falbo: How did Sebastopol's financial practices allow us to report ourselves out of compliance in the first place? What specifically changed after we were threatened with losing funding? And why did our representative to SCTCA not report the situation back to the Council and the public when it was unfolding?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kyle, for your public comments. Neys Kyle will come into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I… I'll get the gentleman the next time.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hello, my name's Sandy Russell. Am I loud enough?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can you hear it?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: We can hear you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, okay. I just came tonight because we've been… we've been working with you for the last year on the ordinance to help protect us from eviction from Woodmark. 59 00:07:30.170 --> 00:07:44.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Anyway, today's… tonight's, comments from me are basically to thank everybody for your time and your consideration in making this happen for us. We really, really appreciate it.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I want to wish you all good luck on your re-election. I know it's all coming up, and I think… yes, you're the Vice Mayor now. Yeah. Well, thank you.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And thank you to, Councilman Zolman. He helped us a lot with our plight in, living at Woodmark and fighting eviction.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, we're very sad to see you go. 63 00:08:09.910 --> 00:08:12.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for everything you did for us.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And Mary, too. And Alex Mogg. Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I hope you all got a copy of our statement regarding the ordinance, and we're really anxious to bring it forward rather than leave it till later, because we know that there's going to be a changing of the guard, and we really, really want to try and make it a permanent part of
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Our existence to protect us from further eviction problems.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There's three facts. 69 00:08:48.830 --> 00:09:08.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That you might be interested in.

There's been… there's three components as to why we're still here, and people are pretty amazed about that, that we're still here after fighting for a year. Then you have 20 seconds. Okay. The ordinance, which was… was a big deterrent in their final
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Play to Invi- evictors.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Legal Aid of Sonoma County was absolutely amazing. They produced some fantastic
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: discovery documents that was not only
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Astounding, but it was shocking to all of us, of what had happened in the background.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I think that's true. We're, we're just…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: basically really appreciate everybody's help, and thank you. Thank you for your public comment. Next, I'll go out to Zoom. Mary, can you unmute yourself, please? 76 00:09:41.230 --> 00:09:42.320
Mary Meihaus: Oh, yes.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 78 00:09:43.820 --> 00:09:44.920
Mary Meihaus: I can.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, please. 80 00:09:45.680 --> 00:09:58.420
Mary Meihaus: Oh, okay, thank you. Yes, my name is Mary Meihaus. I am a member of the EFOC's Finance Subcommittee, and I'm just here to talk about the EFOC and the
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Mary Meihaus: what our thoughts are, as the Finance Committee. I would just want to first stress the importance of the City repaying, the $5.5 million identified by the Grand Jury Report in May of this year, and also supported by the EFOC's work.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Just wanted to interrupt for a minute, if someone could… could the James Hintonley…
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Mary Meihaus: Oh my god.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Could you please pull that down?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Sorry.
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Mary Meihaus: Oh.
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Mary Meihaus: Okay. Sorry.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Sorry, Mary, I just couldn't… I thought it would be taken care of, but it wasn't, so I had to speak up.
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Mary Meihaus: Oh, no, thank you, I appreciate you. Yeah, definitely, definitely the time to speak up, I did not notice. yeah, so… I… just moving forward, I would like to see the city commit to, 90 00:10:52.440 --> 00:11:06.069
Mary Meihaus: making that repayment of importance of the misallocated funds, especially the $300,000, to be put back into the enterprise funds.

And…
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Mary Meihaus: Mainly because of the crucial water system infrastructure repairs, items coming up, like the Pleasant Hill Loop and the Well No. 4.

Those are critical needs within the city.
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Mary Meihaus: And… I just wanted to say that the City and Council are… Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Mary Meihaus: running… essentially running a utility district, and the ratepayers are paying for the management of the utilities, and the city and the council need to devote the concentrated time to the enterprise funds and infrastructure.
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Mary Meihaus: And we're just looking for that focus. And we… 95 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:53.690
Mary Meihaus: we looked toward the… as the Finance Committee, we looked towards examples of…
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Mary Meihaus: this focus through, places like Sweetwater Springs, which is our neighborhood water district, or neighbor water district. And so for things like.
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Mary Meihaus: Their meetings involve laboratory testing, water production, leaks, all the information, like, including all this, leaks, Guerneville rainfall, all grants, all these things, and we believe that the public works director should function like a general manager of a utility district.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Mary, that's 2 minutes. 99 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:28.460
Mary Meihaus: Oh, shoot, okay, thank you, I'm sorry.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, so thank you. 101
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Mary Meihaus: Thank you so much, everybody!
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come back into chambers. If there's anyone in chambers, please.
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Good evening, my name's Steve Einstein, and I'm here to talk about Chapter 8.25.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: of the Sebastopol Municipal Code, and in particular, the number 55.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The individuals who protest at the main intersection in town every Friday afternoon in support of the Palestinian cause have every right to lie and distort and spread false information about the tragedy that has befallen the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Indeed, it's a tragedy for all the peoples of the Middle East.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That their signs grossly mistake and distort the truth, from the number of individuals killed, to the role of AIPAC, to the spreading of conspiracy theories, is their right. But never mind that. Free speech is protected even when it's hate speech. 108
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What is not protected is exceeding the decibel limits as spelled out in the Municipal Code Chapter 8.25.

That's the noise control ordinance. These demonstrators have been blasting hateful lyrics full of distortions about Israel and the Jews who live there for many months through a sound system that well exceeds the legal limit
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Of 55 decibels.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's the limit spelled out in the Municipal Code of the City of Sebastopol, Section 8.25.060. Never mind the hateful lyrics that portray Israel as a state of Nazi pedophiles.

Their speaker usually blasts the intersection and everyone near it at 90 to 100 decibels, well in excess of the law.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Steve, you have 15 seconds. Great.

To this point, the Sebastopol Police Department, in a mistaken effort to respect and protect free speech, has yet to enforce the code. I hope that Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
this Friday, and every day going forward, our police department will respect and protect the rights of all of us by finally enforcing the ordinance. Thank you very much.
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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. Mary, can you unmute yourself, please? 113
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mary cone: Yes.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 115
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mary cone: Yes, I'll be quick.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, please. 117
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mary cone: I think it's time for us to go back to 3-minute comments. It was, what, maybe 3 years ago that I think Diana made it… took it down to

2. People simply don't have time
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mary cone: and are usually cut off. I think it's important for the Council to hear what people have to say.
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mary cone: I was hoping maybe that could be brought up in another council meeting. Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come back into chambers, please.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Good afternoon, Council, and to Mayor, Vice Mayor. My name is Lena Blanco, I'm a tenant organizer at the North Bay Organizing Project, and also live in Sebastopol. I've been working with Woodmark tenants for the last year as they're fighting to keep their homes, keep a roof over their heads, and I wanted to share Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
some of the triumphs that have been happening over the last year. The tenant leaders of Woodmark have been engaging in supporting other residents across Sonoma County in the mobile home
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: home park, communities against harmony communities, as well as building connections with their neighbors, their new neighbors, their new farmworking neighbors who live in those units. I wanted to share that there is a trend that we're seeing as this kind of new standard in affordable housing of going beyond what's good cause, and really stepping up to just cause. And so I feel like Sebastopol really set a model for having just cause for affordable housing complexes.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 45 units and more, which is a beautiful new standard that I think, really sets the tone of what we mean when we say housing is a human right here. So thank you for your continued support. We hope that you could agendize Just Cause sooner than November. We know that time is ticking for folks, and this company will do what they can to get folks out of their homes, and we just want to make sure that folks feel protected and ready to keep fighting and building community. Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will go back out to Zoom. If there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment for an item not on the agenda, to please raise your hand virtually.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment for an item not on tonight's agenda.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, Mayor Public Comment is closed.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: All right, thank you all very much. Before we, get into our consent calendar, I just wanted to mention, just as a point of order, that item number 11 that was on
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Mayor Jill McLewis: the agenda, which is the water infrastructure financing options, has been removed from the agenda, so I just wanted to Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
make certain people knew that in the audience, just in case if you're there for that item.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: So moving on to the consent calendar, I'm gonna go ahead and read the items, and then we will have our…
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Find out if anyone wants to pull anything. Number one is approval of City Council meeting minutes for regular meeting of August 4th, 2026. Number two is approval of adoption of city policy requiring annual requests for the Barlow Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax, TOT. 131
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Rebate mark… rebate marketing expenditures. Approval requires city staff, planning department by March 1 of each year during the rebate period to formally request the annual marketing expenditure report from the hotel owner.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Number 3, approval of notice of intent to amend the City of Sebastopol conflict of Interest Code. Amendments are routine amendments, such as current job classifications. Number four, approval of second reading and the adoption of ordinance to add Chapter 5.66, NewsRAC regulations to the Sebastopol Municipal Code. Number 5, approval of notice of completion for Bodega
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Phase 2, Bike Lane Project. Number 6, approval of notice of completion for digouts and repair paving.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: project.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Number 7, award contract for pedestrian crossing enhancements on State Route 116. So I just wanted to ask, does anyone want… any… do any Councilmembers want to pull an item?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There's none in chambers. 137
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, I will need to pull number 2 just simply to vote separately, because I am precluded from voting on that one item, so Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
when we, make a motion, it would, it would need to disclude number 2, and do that separately, with everybody else, so…
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Anyway, so go ahead, Mary, if you want to do public comment.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Hinton has her hand raised.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see it there. I'm sorry. 141
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: It's okay, I was just getting ready for a motion, and then you reminded us about public comment, so I'll hold that. 142
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. So, now is the opportunity for public comment for items on the consent calendar only. If you'd like to make a public comment, again, it is a two-minute public comment period. I go to Chambers first, and then go out to Zoom, if there's anyone in Chambers that would like to make a public comment on the consent calendar item. Seeing none, I will go out to Zoom. Kyle, can you mute yourself, please?
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Kyle Falbo: I can, and I apologize for taking this opportunity to do a point of order, because based on our Zoom settings, there isn't really a practice by which a member of the public can call for a point of order.

Specifically, I want to address the mayor's action of
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Kyle Falbo: announcing the removal of an agenda item following public comment for items not on the agenda. What that has done is reduce the opportunity for the public to comment on that item. Not only does the public no longer have the ability to comment on that item. 145
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Kyle Falbo: as an agendized item tonight, by waiting until after public comment for items that are not on the agenda, you have actively restricted the ability for folks to publicly comment on that item during that period of time.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Kyle Falbo: So, in the future.
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Kyle Falbo: It would seem appropriate that we pull items at the start of the meeting and not wait until the public has provided its public comment.
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Kyle Falbo: And I would be interested in hearing from the… either the attorney or the council as a whole as to this practice, and the… 149
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Kyle Falbo: the legality of that practice. Thanks.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kyle, for your public comment. Next, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will go back out to Zoom. Lee, can you unmute yourself, please?
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Lee: Yes, can you hear me?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can… yes, can you see the timer?
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Lee: I can.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, go ahead, please. 156
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Lee: Yeah, I don't know if anyone else has noticed. I… I've… I was back and forth to Bodega Bay this past week, and I drove by this new… new Bodega Bay, project.
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Lee: completed project that's on the consent calendar a number of times.

It looks like, it was a 2.25 million project. It appears that there's about maybe, generously, 100 yards of pavement that's been restored. 158
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Lee: There's about 20 yards, maybe 10, of,
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Lee: protected bike lane, and the protected bike lane really doesn't attach to a bike lane. It attaches to a path across the bridge on one end, and on the other end, it goes on down Bodega Avenue, where there isn't any,
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Lee: any bike lane. I don't know if anybody else thinks that $2.25 million is a lot for what was done there, and at the time, I was driving a motorhome, which, if you've ever ridden in a motorhome, if it's a bad road, it's really bad. You hear every little
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Lee: pothole, and Bodega is right up there with the worst roads I've traveled on in the United States in the last year. So there's a lot more work to be done. At $2.2 million for every 100 yards, it's gonna be really, really expensive.
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Lee: Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment on the consent calendar items. 164
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 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 items only.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, the consent calendar is closed for public comment.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Thank you, and Alex, can you address the question there? I know it was… it was explained to me that I wasn't even necessary Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
to announce it, but then I realized that I probably should. So, can you, as far as the item being pulled, so, can you address that? 167
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, the posted… the agenda has been revised, and it is noted on the agenda that the item, 168
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: was pulled.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm sorry, Alex, can you speak to the microphone? Sorry, I said it is on… the agenda was revised and reposted with…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Stating that the item has been… removed.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Will there be opportunity for public comment on that item when it's pulled and re-voted for? 172
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: When the item comes back to the Council, yes, absolutely. I'm talking about the one pulled off the consent. Will that have the opportunity for public to comment on that? 173
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Nothing has been pulled off of consent.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, for… yes, for the Barlow, yes.

Yeah, thank you. Yes, that one, Mel, yes.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: All right, so we are gonna… can we go with the, with the items?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: We're addressing items 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Correct?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: First.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Correct. We need a motion and a second.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I'll motion to… I'll make a motion. 182
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Mayor Jill McLewis: For those items.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Hinton has her… I don't know if she has a question or a motion.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I don't know, go ahead.
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: As I was a little early on the draw, I'm happy to move the items on Consent Agenda of 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. 186
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seconded.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. So we have a motion and a second, so moved by Councilmember Hinton and seconded by Councilmember Zolman to approve of Consent Calendar Items 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Number 2 has been removed. Councilmember Carter? 188
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes. Councilmember Hinton? Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Aye.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zolman? Yes. Vice Mayor Maurer? Yes. Mayor McLewis?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Yes.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Motion passes unanimously. 193
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Mayor Jill McLewis: So just to be clear, Alex, you stated that we need to have a second public comment for item number two. I'm trying to follow here.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, since it was pulled, people can now… members of the council, if they want to make.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Oh, I thought you meant… because she asked… I thought the question was about public comment, not about council comment. Am I misunderstanding?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I thought it was about council. 197
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, my question was, based on what Kyle had said, he called for a point of order here, because if it was pulled… so, could people have made comments on that item? 198
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: During the comments on consent calendar?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I… people can make comments about item 2 on the consent calendar. I believe Kyle was speaking about item 11, which is not part of the consent calendar. No, I'm sure he was speaking about item 2.

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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Wasn't he?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: No, he…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Maybe I misunderstood. 203
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Let me clarify.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I… I spoke before consent calendar. I said item number 11, which was… let me, just so that I speak clearly, was postponed. Number 11, which was the water infrastructure financing options. Before I started the consent calendar, I mentioned that that one had been postponed. It was explained to me that because the agenda was revised previously, it wasn't necessarily
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Mayor Jill McLewis: necessary to make a big announcement, but it just occurred to me that I wanted to make that announcement when we were, before we got, you know, into the meeting too far, and people were sitting there. So I was just trying to be courteous and mention it, even though it wasn't necessary.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: But… but the commenter was asking whether or not that impacted public comment, so that's what I was asking.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: you know, Alex to address that, that statement about public comment and, you know, was there any issue with what we did? 208
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Mayor Jill McLewis: With pulling that with, you know, me not announcing it at the very beginning of the meeting versus now.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: That's what I was talking about, Vice Mayor, if that helps.

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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, it's fine. Maybe I just misunderstood Kyle.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Alright, so are we clear here? Is it okay if we go on to item number 2, Mary?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, so I need to remain out of this vote, so someone needs to make a motion and a second for item number 2. 215
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Mayor Jill McLewis: And we have, Councilm.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Hinton has her hand up.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Yep.
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: I'm happy to, move on Consent Agenda item number 2 for approval of adoption of city policy requiring annual requests for the Barlow Hotel transient occupancy, TOT tax rebate for marketing expenses.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a second.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. So moved by Councilmember Hinton and seconded by Councilmember Zolman to approve Consent Calendar Item 2, which is the City Policy to direct, the return to the City Council requiring the annual March review of the marketing plan from the hotel owner. Councilmember Carter?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes. Councilmember Hinton? 222
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Aye.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zolman? Yes. Vice Mayor Maurer? Yes. Mayor McLewis?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I'm abstaining from that.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Motion passes 4 to 1, with Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, Zolman, and Vice Mayor Maurer in support, and Mayor McLewis abstaining.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, thank you.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: So we're going to go on to our informational items.

Number 8, which is presentation from St. Vincent's de Paul on status of Gravenstein Commons, status of community engagement Meeting, an update on good neighbor policy, or affirmations. I believe this is being handled by our city manager, is that correct?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's correct. Thank you, Mayor.

So, this is an informational item. As the Council and the community is aware, this is a 22-unit permanent supportive housing project that is located at 845 Gravinstein Highway North.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The St. Vincent's de Paul Society is the owner and the developer, and the city remains the Homekey coapplicant with St. Vincent's de Paul. 230
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As reported in the August report, their construction is about 80% complete.

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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Their targeted completion date is around November of 2026, with the move-in to follow after the certificate of occupancy. They anticipate a 90% occupancy by January of 28. The city does have a consultant that has been monitoring the compliance, and they have provided… St. Francis de Paul has met their home key performance milestones accordingly.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We do have Lauren Taylor here. We have, who is from St. Vincent's de Paul. We also have Raman Stefani from 8th Wave, who is the city's consultant that is overseeing the compliance, and I'm…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: trying to see if Jack Tibbetts is on the call. I'm assuming… Let me just get there.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I do not see him yet, but this item is to discuss the construction progress, the remaining schedule, the funding, any awards that have been, you know, allocated but not yet received, the COTS staffing model, Lauren will go into that. 235
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the coordinated entry, and the referrals in the West County or Sebastopol eligibility, and then the community outreach and the planned community meetings, as well as any type of good neighbor protocols. So having said that, Lauren and Robin, and I will see if I can get Jack on board.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So if you guys want to go up to the podium and do your presentation,
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Yeah, and we try to keep our total presentations, you know, 10 minutes or under, so…
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I wanna make sure.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: You're aware of that.

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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Good evening, Councilmembers. Nice to meet, all of you. I think I know a couple of you more personally. Can you hear me okay?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: My name is Lauren Taylor, and yes, I took on the position as Executive Director at St. Vincent de Paul about 10 weeks ago. So been drinking from the proverbial fire hose, as you can imagine. But here tonight to just provide
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: or answer any questions you might have. I know there's been a lot about the project and your previous experience with another PSH community, down the street, of which I'm deeply familiar with. So, I think the most
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Robin Stefani can speak to the, kind of, construction financials, but the biggest concerns that I've heard is just around,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the financial gap that we had to complete the project. We are closer to about 90% completion now. 245
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And we did,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We did receive a million dollar Measure O funding from the Department of Health Services, so we're very excited and grateful for that. We have another $200,000 coming in from the Sonoma County Community Development Commission, and the remaining funds to complete the project will be,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We will be using our line of credit to complete that.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: More notably, and most I'm excited to share, is our operation plan. So we have…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: as you had in the report, taken on a partnership with COTS, Committee on the Shelterless.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: They have, deep experience and knowledge about… in the homelessness and housing space. I personally have worked with the organization… not worked with them, but worked alongside them, in partnership for the last several years, and so I can… I really have a lot of trust in… in this path forward with them. 251
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Chris Cabral is the CEO of COTS, and she is also here tonight, and happy to answer any questions you might have, so…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There is also others in the room, yes, Caitlin Carney, who's the Director of Coordinated Entry, and Hunter Scott back there, who I think is also giving another presentation. Mark Krug has been a consultant, I think some of you might know from, previous work with him.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So we have a lot of knowledgeable people in the room to answer any questions you might have. 254
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thanks so much!
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You have a question? Go for it. 256
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Jill, I have a question. 257
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I just thought someone else was coming up, but go ahead.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I didn't… that's why I… 259
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Yeah, usually I run the meeting and let… when people have questions, but do you want to… do you need it… ask it now, or do you want to ask it later, Sam?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I would like to ask it now, and if you can't answer it, maybe one of the other speakers could answer it. Have you reviewed, or has St. Vincent de Paul Board reviewed the Good Neighbor Policy? And if yes, what are your thoughts on it? 261
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I don't know that the board did, I did, and there are some parts that stand out, just around particularly… and now that we won't fully be operating the site, it will really be cots. I feel like there…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Honestly, it's… I would leave it up to them to answer the questions, but,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sorry, I'm scrolling to it here. I think the main thing is… was… that stood out was just…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Kind of around the neighborhood patrols and the onus being on the property manager to
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: patrol the surrounding area. That just seems like…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a bit much of an expectation, frankly.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: around the resident portion, I think…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: there is an intake and assessment process for eligibility. All residents come, and through coordinated entry, so…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then the other language just sounds…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Like, loose terminology for folks that need to follow a lease.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Of which…
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Alex, might I ask you a question? Should we be discussing that topic when it's another item on the agenda? 273
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, it's fine to ask them. 274
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I just want to make sure. I want to make sure we're in compliance.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, I have one other question.

Sure. And that is regarding the county offered $3 million to your organization, and how will you follow up to try to obtain that? 276
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, there has been a lot of follow-up on that, since I joined the organization. I have met with… I think others are on the call still, but… or on the meeting, but I've met with
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Linda Hopkins and Tracy Lyons, about that. I've also met with Michelle Whitman of the Sonoma County Community Development Commission. I've met with Nolan Sullivan and Hunter Scott at DHS, so we…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Have been exploring possibilities around what… what…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We can retrieve or capture from that $3 million that was committed, knowing that it was committed by a previous director, and not through a legitimate
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Notice of Funding Opportunity. 281
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, yeah, it's been a bit of a struggle, but we're committed to finishing the project regardless. Thank you.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Alright.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: So, I guess, are we questions, or were you finished with the presentation, or… I'm sorry, I can't see.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I would like to give Robin an opportunity to go over the construction.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I'm sorry, all I could see was the speaker, I couldn't see anyone else there, so… okay.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, hi. So, Robin Stefani, I'm from 8th Wave, and I'm, been participating in the construction portion of the project, and also the compliance with the HCD standard agreement. 287
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, as Lauren said, and is indicated in the report, the construction is, is at about 90%. 288
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And going very well, and is expected to reach a temporary occupancy in the middle to end of October. 289
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: per schedule, so, that's been going really well. There have been a couple of, of large, substantial change Agenda Item Number 1
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orders that relate to the site, but in terms of the… anything out of the ground, that's been very straightforward.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so, I don't want to take up too much of your time, but if you have specific questions about the construction, or the budget, or the timeline, or the HCD standard agreement, I'm happy to answer any of your questions.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Thank you very much, appreciate it. I know our Councilmember Coleman has a question.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, that concludes the presentation. I really want to focus in on resident selection. I also want to be able to get an answer about the good neighbor provision from whoever wants to directly answer that. The first question is about the resident selection.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: what I remember hearing, from the Department of Public Health representatives before Things seem to have… 294
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: evolved, from my perspective, about the resident selection. And staff point out the specific questions to ask, and you can refer to page
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: page 4 of the staff report, if you want to know where I'm going with all these questions.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: essentially.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It says that the city will have some way to participate in resident selection, but it seems very clear… it seems very unclear to me about exactly what that roadmap will look like.

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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: about how and when we could actually start participating in resident selection. So, whoever wants to address that.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's all my time. 301
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I don't know if you want… Hi, my name's Chris, I'm the CEO for COTS. Nice to see everybody. I will do my best to answer that question. I may ask you to also jump in on some of the coordinated entry questions. From my understanding, so all of the residents coming through will come through coordinated entry. There will be an opportunity when the project is set up for coordinated entry referrals for the provider, St. Vincent de Paul, coordinated 302
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Entry, City of Sebastopol, all the partners to come together to discuss eligibility factors and criteria. 303
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The coordinated entry system is not responsible for setting the criteria, right? That's up to the provider and the owner, and it's really tied to the funding mechanism for the property, so whatever we tell coordinated entry is what coordinated entry will do. I'm sorry if I misspoke, please correct me if I'm wrong. 304
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But it would be at that point, when setting up resident criteria for selection through coordinated entry, that the city would have input.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, because I just really want to be clear. As was announced before, I am rolling off council, and I have a feeling of responsibility to my colleagues, especially being the liaison in many ways to our unsheltered. I really need this broken down, because the timeline seems to now have been extended.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: About when people are really gonna get keys.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to the door. So I really need this to be slowed down.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and talk about timelines, so that staff is very clear, too, and whoever takes over my position is very clear. So…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The anticipated move-in date seems to now be…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: November, January, I don't know, somebody can help me. Basically, where I'm going is, I want this linearly backed up from the date somebody thinks that somebody's gonna get keys. 311
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To when we're going to have city participation, who's invited into these meetings, what information will be able to be shared about the potential residents, and then also, all these people from the community, when do they get
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to hear about who their neighbors are going to be. That is how nitty-gritty and granular I really need to be here tonight.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Totally fair. I will do my best and also rely on the two of you, probably, for construction. So we have to wait for Certificate of Occupancy as the provider to start moving people in.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I will try to be as clear without muddying the waters as I can be. So, our plan, because St.

Vincent de Paul doesn't have operating money to operate the project. 315
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: COTS does have money to operate the project. However, the way that that's gonna be done is by us eliminating some of our existing master leases.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right? And then, so folks that have been living in PSH already for some time, who are already stable, they already have access to clinical services, they already have a relationship with a case manager, they already know what it's like 317
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to live in PSH, and live in their own home, and they're already adjusted to that, those are the folks that are going to be moving in first. So it really depends, like, once construction's done, and we can get people moved.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for some of those folks, it's gonna be within the first 2 weeks of construction finishing. For some of them, it's gonna take them longer, because we've got people that have disabling conditions. It's gonna take somebody who's in a wheelchair, who's lived in a unit for 15 years, more than 2 weeks to pack their stuff and move. 319
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right, so it might take that person 45 days. We're going to help them with that, but we're not gonna pressure them. And I also want to help all of you understand, and the community know, that it's a lot better for the surrounding community to take your time with Lease Up.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right? When you put somebody in a situation that's brand new to them, all of their neighbors are new, the community is new, they don't know where anything is, they might have to change their healthcare provider, right? They might…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: just be in a community that they're not familiar with. And they have to kind of learn where they are and learn their neighbors.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: giving them time to do that without overwhelming them with 21 people moving in all at the same time is a whole lot better for the community, even if it means that lease up at 90% isn't done until March.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There's a whole lot less disruption to the surrounding community if we move in 2 people, and then 2 people, and then two people. So you're getting a lot of folks in this project who are funded with DHS funding, and HUD Continuum of Care funding.

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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: supplemented through CalAI Medi-Cal funding that are already established PSH tenants.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right? And then once those units open, right, once we have unit turnover, then we will go through coordinated entry to fill those units, right? So you're getting established tenants that want to live in Sebastopol, they know how PSH operates, they have existing staff relationships, they're very stable. 326
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Those are the first units that are going to be filled, those are the first tenants that you're getting. As we have unit turnover, people will come through coordinated entry. The people who are moving in did go through coordinated entry, but they went through coordinated entry
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 2 years ago, right? As our units became open. So those are the folks moving in first. I want to stop there and take questions, because I don't want to overcomplicate it. No, I appreciate that. So, who's going to be the point of contact? It sounds like because you're in charge of operating funds, because St. Vincent's Paul has no money for operating, then is Mary reaching out to you?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: when people hear things in the community, and they're like, it seems like someone's moving in, but yet we haven't had a community meeting yet. No one knows what's happening, because…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: where I'm coming from is, I do not want to repeat for this community of elderberry.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I want people to be fully knowledgeable. So, is Mary reaching out to you? Are you the new contact for whatever questions we have moving forward? Yeah, good question. I think it would be totally appropriate to engage both Lauren and I right now with any questions about move-ins, supportive services, who's gonna be there when they're moving in.

Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We're still negotiating a master lease, so we're not, like, signed on the dotted line, but we know each other well, we're working with Mark Krug, he's super helpful, that's where we're gonna end up, so I think it's totally appropriate to do that, and I mean.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: COTS isn't familiar with all of you, we do have operations in Sebastopol already. We've got a PSH property here, and we also do prevention work here. So, happy to engage with you in any way that makes sense for you and for the community. You can reach out anytime. I email really fast.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: We have another Councilmember as a question, so I didn't know if it's okay if we kind of bounce the questions around, balance it out.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Councilmember Hinton?
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Yeah, I… I mean, I'm just taking the information in, but my recollection is we were never promised, because it's confidential information about people who are selected, that we could, like, pick who's going to move into this community. So, I just want to be clear,
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: from my perspective, I didn't feel like that was… like, we're not holding a town hall to decide, like, get feedback on who's accepted into this new community.
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: I feel like we are trusting our operators, so I just wanted to put that out there again, because I never had that expectation.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I think we all have a different, perspective with that, because I recall the same thing that… hija.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Mayor Jill McLewis: So, I don't know, maybe we had so many meetings on this, but I, too, heard the same thing that was, that was stated earlier, so… Is there anyone else? It's hard to see. Phil, are you? 341
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Lauren from St. Vincent's Nepal would like to make a real comment before we take the next question. Yeah, I mean, honestly, I think, and I hear your… I hear your concern, and as I said, I was, involved with a lot of the concerns happening at Elderberry, of which were valid, and…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think our goal is to help assuage any fears you have or apprehensions. I think there's a lot of excitement about this path forward and the community itself.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I mean, just being… not to be adversarial, but no one… the landlord next door
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to where I live, doesn't ask me my opinion on who moves in.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I guess I'm just curious what a community meeting might entail.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Of… of what you'd want to weigh in on.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Councilmember Carter, or… I can't tell. Do you have your hand up?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I just kind of want to know how the new residents… A, how this is gonna be different, how you're gonna do this differently, but B, like, how the new people that are Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
moving in, which is a hard adjustment, feel like they're a part of this community, you know, so that they, own it.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Didn't feel good here. 351
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I love that question. We are likewise concerned with that, right? Because our ultimate goal is people need to be in PSH as long as they need to be in PSH. But also, we like for people to stabilize and move into market-rate housing, right? In wherever it is that they want to live, with whoever they want to live with.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: On-site, we'll have a property manager, we'll have a case manager, 7 days a week.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: COTS also employs both associate social workers and licensed clinical social workers that are available for anybody in any of our housing programs. We also have a really experienced behavioral health person that runs our residence… he's our resident services manager, so he oversees any projects that have 354
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Generally speaking, 10 units or more, so we'll have a lot of really experienced on-site people, and like I said, especially with the first tenants who are moving in, they already have really strong, established relationships with their case managers, right? So we're not gonna be… one of the things that's really hard when somebody moves into PSH is not just that they're moving from homelessness into housing, it's also that you have to establish trust. 355
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: with them, right? It's really hard when somebody moves from street homelessness into housing just to get them to open the door and engage with you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Your first tenants aren't going to have that problem.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: They already know us, they already trust us. They are selecting to come here, right? We sent out an interest Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
letter to all of our tenants and said, hey, if this comes to fruition, who is interested in living in Sebastopol? This is all about the project, right? Here's what it is, who wants to go there?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And we had a lot of people say, hey, I would love that.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right? I would love to live in Sebastopol, I would love to have my own unit, I want to meet new people, I want to live around people who are like me, who want to engage with me, somewhere that I can have access to a case manager 7 days a week. 360
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So we have on-site programming, we offer AA and NA classes, they have case management as frequently or as infrequently as they want or need it, and they also have access to behavioral health services without having to go to
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: like a local community health provider, or through a county provider. Hopefully that answers your question. I'm happy to provide more information.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Councilmember Solman.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, so, thank you, Chris, for breaking it down. So, we're gonna get more stabilized folks. 364
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: than what the county placed at Elderberry, correct? Is that a fair assessment? And when I mean stabilized, I mean people who are already engaged with Case Manager, who have wraparound services. So they're going to be a little bit more, 365
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Used to, like, the coordinated entry system, the selection, compliance with
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: tenant regulations. Is that what I'm getting from you? The first… the first group that are going to be Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
moved in are going to be stabilized, coming from other locations within the county. Is that a fair suggestion? Yes, they are already established tenants with us, so they… they already know us, they know our staff, they know what's expected in housing, and they're already also used to us. We do super frequent inspections in PSH.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We've found that it's really helpful in making sure that people maintain the health and safety of their unit, so they're used to that, too.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So yeah, I think the first tenants moving in, and this will be a first for us, right? We've never done a big transfer of this many people all at once. The first folks moving in will certainly be… I mean, I don't want to say anything bad about somebody moving from street homelessness into housing, but they will be more used to living in housing than somebody coming from chronic street homelessness into permanent housing for the first time. Okay, and then getting to where I think the mayor was
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: referencing. There have been various promises along this trajectory, these many, many years, of having some of our own folk who have fallen on hard times.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: from the river.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: from Sebastopol.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: My understanding from Hunter and from Nolan is that they're going to be screened through, like, the by names committee.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that he's setting up in September. 374
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's gonna help populate the folks coming through coordinated entry. Is that a fair assessment? Yeah, definitely. First of all, I just wanted to touch base the comment you made just previously. While COTS has not had a big transfer of folks from Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
one property to the other, coordinated entry has facilitated those types of transfers. One just 6 months ago, so we are
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: very well, equipped to assist with that type of transfer. In terms of the West County by Names List, it is fully up to COTS or St. Vincent de Paul to make the eligibility criteria that is allowed
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for their funding, and part of that can definitely be that folks need to be on the West County By Names list in order to qualify for a referral in the first place. So we wouldn't even reach out to folks who are not on that by names list to ask them if they're interested, if we know that they're not on that list, because we wouldn't ask folks that don't qualify if they want to go to a project. 377
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And is that where us electeds and city staff
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: would be able to sit in on meetings, because I've attended many meetings at the Department of Public Health for us electeds that are trying to sort through these issues. Is that when my replacement would be invited?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to one of the by names lists, at least at the very beginning, to hear about the general overview of who's 380
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: who's being contemplated to go through the screening process, by names list, yada yada. And then at some point, we would be excused, as would law enforcement. They would be excused.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to get into the real confidential information that nobody should have access to, except for the clinicians.

Is that a fair assessment? The names itself are also personally identifiable information, so… so unless you're on the release of information, you would not be able to know who we're talking about. 382
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I guess then, where would we, as elected, where would my next liaison, the next person who takes my position, what expectations would they have?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To be part of this process, or should we just assume no one will have?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the ability to participate in the process. In terms of selecting individual households to move in, that would be incredibly unusual. We don't have any other projects that the jurisdictions they're located within do that, so that would be very unusual. That's fair enough. So I'm just, again, like, trying to get an answer to
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Where would we have whey? 386
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to be able to come back to council meetings and do a report out of, hi, I attended a by names list, and this is what I think would be helpful for the community to know. When… when and how would that happen? Yeah, those by names list meetings, you'd have to talk with Nolan and Hunter about the details of, who gets to go to those, but like you had just envisioned, where police and the city could be there at the beginning of the meeting.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: before they dig into names, that's typically how the other by names list meetings are run across the county.

Okay, so we'll wait for Hunter to come and do his presentation and ask him about by names. Back to the good neighbor policy, because I've heard some trepidation.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the ye…
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Mayor Jill McLewis: We have, we have another Councilmember. Do you want to give us one more question, and then I just wanted to give another… 390
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So sorry, thank you for doing that.

Councilmember Hinton, go ahead.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Yeah, I just… I feel like we're kind of going down the rabbit hole here. I know that… let's just be blunt, this was a 3-2 vote, and, I never and never felt like there was a promise to this council that people applying for
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Housing would ever be vetted by us, elected officials, that are not
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: and should not, in my opinion, be in the room. I do understand, and I felt like there might be, we might have, they knew we wanted a local preference, if that was possible, when they looked at the list of everyone that qualified, but,
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: I just… again, we've… we've had a presentation.
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: And I just want to call it out a bit that I feel like I don't want to be grilling our partners tonight on some of these issues, and we need to hear from the public as well, I believe. So, anyway, I just… I just need to say that, because…
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: It's, I'm just sitting here listening to this, and I want to definitely have my voice heard as well as an elected official, on our council, not just solely from
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Councilmember Neysa Hinton: From a single Councilmember tonight. I really haven't heard from two other people on the dais.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Does anyone else have anything to say? I mean, we're in questions right now, I definitely have some comments, but does anyone have any other questions?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Go ahead, Councilmember Solomon.
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, so back to the good neighbor, that is agendized. I understood Agenda Review made that decision to have that come on tonight when all the partners would be in the room. So I would really like to hear
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: what reservations you have about adopting the good neighbor policy, because for the public, I want to make it clear that if we do pass that tonight, it would not bind these folks. 402
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It would not. Ship has already sailed for them, but I would like to understand what they have challenges with, and I'd like to hear that tonight.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Do you want me to do that now, or when it comes up later? I'd like to hear it now, from your perspective.

Could we ask if you will be here for that item?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Are you staying for that item? Because we do really want 7. We can stay, yeah. We'd really like to hear from you. Is that okay with you? Sure. Okay. Yeah, great. That's fine, yeah.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay. Other questions? Anyone?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, because if not, then we're going to go to public comment.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. So this is public comment. You guys can go ahead and have a seat.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Oh, no.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Lauren, do you have a quick comment before we got to pump on? Yeah, just one more, I think, benefit of COTS operating that will be a difference than what you saw potentially at Elderberry is…
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: COTS being the operator of both property management and service provision, so I think
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: while there was a great relationship between West County Community Services and Burbank at Elderberry, that's nothing against either of those entities, sometimes that can cause more tension, and so I think a strength of this 412
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: what will be different, going back to your question, is… is that COTS will be operating both of those components, so I just wanted to point that out as a potential difference as well.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Alright, are we good for public comment? 414
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. So this is public comment on the informational presentation on St. Vincent's DePaul and Gravanstein Commons. If you would like to make a public comment, it is a 2-minute time limit. We do chambers first, and then go out to Zoom.

Oliver?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Did I hear correctly that there's a financial shortfall, and therefore St Vincent de Paul is liquidating some of their existing buildings, and then they're moving tenants from those buildings into this new development when it's ready? I wasn't very clear on that.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then secondly, is Jack Tibbetts on the call? Did he show up, or…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The Republican cowboy? No.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:00:11.420 --> 01:00:16.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, yeah, and I greatly appreciate, Councilmember Zolman's questioning, because 420
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the devil's in the details with this. I personally, just as a citizen, would really like to see a very detailed project plan. All this kind of loosey-goosey, you don't really need to know who your neighbors are stuff doesn't fly very well after what happened with Elderbury Commons, and all the police work that had to happen, and so on.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, respect to Councilmember Zolman for asking very pertinent questions. Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Oliver. Next, I'll go out to Zoom. Lee, can you unmute yourself, please?
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Nope.
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Lee: Yes.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you still see the timer?
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Lee: I can.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright, go ahead, please. 428
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Lee: Councilwoman Hinton, or Councilmember Hinton, said we should just trust the operators.
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Lee: going back in the history of this, and I can't even… Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:01:04.630 --> 01:01:15.649
Lee: get all this straight in my head, as some of the other people have commented in their questions. I'm pretty sure Paul Tibbis told us there is plenty of money for construction, and not to worry.
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Lee: We heard tonight that there's not quite enough money for construction, they're going with the backup plan, which was to borrow money. That was a backup plan behind
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Lee: grants from the county, money from the actual Homekey grant, donations that they were going to receive. The city's at financial risk here, and if there's not enough money, and they're now into a loan. 433
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Lee: That sort of sounds like the risk meter should be ticking up quite a bit on the part of the city as we look at this.
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Lee: Paul Tibbetts also promised us that we were going to get homeless off the streets of Sebastopol with this project. We were going to be able to designate some people from Sebastopol that are homeless, and get them off the streets. We were going to have a say in the criteria of who was going to go into this, the city could participate in this, and now we're hearing that's really highly unusual, it doesn't really happen. 435
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Lee: I think, I have a question in my mind. We are the sponsor of this. 436
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Lee: together with St. Vincent's de Paul, we have exactly the same standing, so to speak, in this as they do. If they're in meetings, shouldn't we be in the meetings?
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Lee: Lastly, staff at the time recommended against this in large part because we don't have people on staff that know anything about this, and we don't have the capacity to do this with the staff that we have. But the council, three members of the council pushed it forward, and now the city staff is stuck with it.
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Lee: I guess my question would be, now that this is an ongoing thing, that CAS is already offering to work very closely with the city staff, who on city staff are they going to work with? Who has the capacity? Who Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
has the… who has the knowledge to be able to work on this project on behalf of the city, and make sure that this works well? Lastly. 439
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Lee, that's 2 minutes. 440
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Lee: Thank you.
441
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come back into chambers. If there's anyone on chambers that would like to make a public comment, please come up to the podium. 442
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sorry, I'll come back. 443
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, that's okay, go ahead. Hi, I'm Kathleen Robiano, I live here in Sebastopol. I've been involved with St.

Vincent de Paul. I'm not speaking as an official of St. Vincent de Paul. 444
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But, I would like to say I am really excited that COTS is willing to be a partner with St. Vincent de Paul because of the experience that they have, and that's what we didn't have when we started the Commons in Santa Rosa.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so, I think, I think the idea of trusting the partners, I… I put a lot of trust in COTS. I've seen their projects down in Petaluma, and I think it's a really good step. I know that…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As far as Sebastopol homeless folks, there's a man I have gotten to develop a relationship with who is unhoused, and he is here in Sebastopol. He said he has a social worker, he's interested in getting into the new housing.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I am hoping, like some of you, that there are opportunities for the folks in Sebastopol who are expressing an interest to get into the housing.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:04:22.110 --> 01:04:35.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: My last thing is I'm really pushing for good security and a house manager that really steps up for the needs of the community, even in the middle of the night. So, yeah, thanks you guys for being here.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

I will go out to Zoom. Kyle, can you unmute yourself, please? 450
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Kyle Falbo: I can.
451
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 452
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Kyle Falbo: No, but you can let me know.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, please. 454
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Kyle Falbo: I don't mind doing the research for you, but I would hope that council members would actually come prepared, but maybe people are trying to misrepresent the past.
455
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Kyle Falbo: So let's return to what the public and council were told when Gravenstine Commons was first approved in May 2023. On May 16th, staff report stated, and I quote.
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Kyle Falbo: The homes will be dedicated to housing the houseless of Sebastopol. This wasn't a vague statement that the project would merely be located in Sebastopol. It describes who the project was intended to serve.
457
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Kyle Falbo: The report connected Gravenstein Commons directly to the people displaced from Morris Street, and to the city's response to local homelessness. The project has changed substantially. St. Vincent de Paul is no longer expected to operate it. COTS is now involved. There's uncertainty about how residents will be selected. The state agreement Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
requires referrals through coordinated entry, but that does not answer whether the original commitment to Sebastopol's unhoused population 458
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Kyle Falbo: remains in effect, including the later reported commitment of 8 units for former Horizon Shine residents. The publicly available approval documents do not clearly give the city authority to approve individual applicants. They provide oversight of finances, project management, reporting, and regulatory compliance. This is not the same as oversight of the tenant selection policy, so I'm asking the Council to answer these three questions.
459
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Kyle Falbo: First, does the original promise that these homes would be dedicated to Sebastopol's unhoused population remain operative? 460
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Kyle Falbo: Second, what written agreement binds COTS to that promise, and to the 8-unit commitment?
461
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Kyle Falbo: Third, will the city require the tenant selection plan, eligibility criteria, and referral process to present… to be presented publicly before lease-up begins? This isn't about choosing individual attendants, it's about ensuring that a project approved on one public understanding is not quietly operated under a materially different one. 462
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Tell you about tension. 463
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Kyle Falbo: Oh, familiar.
464
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come back into chambers. If there's anyone in chambers, please.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, COTS. Thank you, Council.
466
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Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: When we come to the Good Neighbor Policy, I'd really like to know what the opportunities are for tenant involvement.
467
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Because when we talk about the good neighbor policy, I want to know what input the tenants can have. 468
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I appreciate the lessons learned and the mistakes made from the past, but I want to know, going forward, what models can be successful in terms of tenant participation. Thank you.
469
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will go back out to Zoom, if there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment on this informational presentation from Gravestine Commons.
470
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment.
471
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, public comment is closed on this item.
472
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, thank you. We're back at the dais for, council comments, if anyone wants to go first. Vice Mayor?
473
01:07:54.680 --> 01:08:00.209
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, I'd just like to thank St.

Vincent de Paul Director and the Kotz Group.
474
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For your engagement with each other. I'm really excited. I think that the experience is just oozing out of COT, so I'm really, really grateful for that partnership. 475
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for being here to present to us tonight, and bearing with the questions and the concerns of the residents as well. Thank you.
476
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, anyone else?
477
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Am I missing anyone? Okay.
478
01:08:28.800 --> 01:08:38.829
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I've not seen anyone in chambers.

Oh, I'm sorry, Councilmember Zolman has his hands up. No, it sounded like I was talking too much, so I was expecting someone else to chime in, so I guess no one else is chiming in.
479
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Oh, I will after you're finished, so go ahead. 480
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, but no, I mean, I was very pleasantly surprised.
481
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: shocked, but pleasantly surprised, that Kotz was selected as the operator. I do have a lot of confidence in Chris, in particular, and Kotz, because Chris is born with me after the whole fallout of Elderberry. Many, many coffees.
482
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: many, many discussions about the fact that these people are vulnerable. I wish that they were all off of our street, or Morse, or one of our own that's fallen on our time, but that was not the representation early on by St. Vincent' de Paul. I'll be very clear about that.
483
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: They did make promises, and it's not in accordance with state law, and Hunter's back there, and he's going to talk about the fact that that… none of that made any sense. The fact that you can't promise anything that violates state law. State law requires them to go through coordinated entry, buy names list, all of that. So, I'm really sorry.
484
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Because one operator couldn't get it together, that this community went through the stress that it did. 485
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But now, we do have people that are clear on the state requirements. We have Hunter, now we have Chris, and Chris, I think, will be very accessible. When she says she is, she will be. So Mary, I think, will be able to have confidence that when she gets multiple complaints, or not even complaints, but concerns from residents about what is going on. I saw a moving truck.
486
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I know. Nobody really wants to 487
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: feel, I think, in this community that we want to select people. I think we want to be involved, and 488
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: care for them the best way that we can, respecting their confidentiality rights, right? We want them to be successful, just like the people from Habitat. We want them to feel part of this community, right? But there is that residual concern that we've been
489
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: placed in situations that have not been great, not been great for the community, and certainly not great for any of us sitting up here, right? So I am thrilled that Chris is taking over, Kotz is taking over, and I do really feel hopeful overall with this project. I think the rest of it, as far as the timeline, I really am hoping that when Hunter comes up, he'll be able to talk about 490
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: When the community meetings will take place, when the by names
491
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: list will actually start happening, those meetings. So whether it's me or whoever takes my position will know, as an elected official, where are we invited to, what meetings are we invited to, what meetings are we not invited to, so we can explain to the public, we can actually listen and try to implement your concerns.

So, those are my comments, and I am… I'm thrilled.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm actually very relieved. I mean, when I read this, this was the first time I heard they were taking over.

So, which is…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: weird in and of itself, but nonetheless, I am delighted, so I'll leave it at that.
494
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Anyone else? Before I… okay, I have some comments to make, just regarding some other comments that were made earlier. So, you know, this has been a long process. It was a divided council on this, and we did have
495
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Mayor Jill McLewis: We have had a bad experience with what happened at Elderberry Commons, and when you speak about, well, you know, neighbors, Elderberry Commons is my neighbor, right in the same parking lot. So I have had
496
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Mayor Jill McLewis: front row seat to what has gone on there, and when you ask about, like, what… talking about, like, well, why are we worried about people lying around? That's because a woman has laid in the parking lot and in the sidewalk.
497
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Mayor Jill McLewis: on fentanyl for days on end, and the people who manage that property said it's not their problem. We should not treat humans like that. Everyone else was calling and trying to take care of it, but the people who were running that site were not taking care of those people, and that is not how we should treat people. So all of these questions that are coming are not unfounded. It's because of concern, because of the experience that we've had. It's not because we're trying to be adversarial or anything
498
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Mayor Jill McLewis: It's just based on the experience that we had. And not everyone in this room has been
499
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Mayor Jill McLewis: you know, part of all of this, and we receive a lot of communication. I personally have spent a great deal of time 500
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Mayor Jill McLewis: dealing with the elderberry Common issues, so I think all of these are founded, and I know that we're divided, and we have some of us who have great questions, a great amount of questions, and I think we all just deserve to have that voice, because we don't all agree on this, and while, you know, while the decision was made, we all still live in this community.
501
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Mayor Jill McLewis: And we're elected to ask these questions, and… and… 502
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Mayor Jill McLewis: to try to protect the people in this community and make certain that, you know, the people that you're bringing there are going to be taken care of, because that's not what's been happening at Elderberry Commons all the time, and so I just wanted to say that that's where this is coming from, is people do need to be treated appropriately, and I don't know, I'm just going to say I don't have any experience with COTS, so for me, it's trust but verify, so for, you know, for the future. 503
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I look forward to hearing the reports about how this is going. I do not live in that parking lot there like I do with the other piece, and I also just wanted to mention that a few meetings ago, we had a report from the police chief that, again, Outerberry Commons, 1% of our population is utilizing 25% of our police force time. So, it's a very real concern for our community, and we have a very small budget. 504
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Mayor Jill McLewis: And we're very, you know, we're constantly tight with that. We've had a…
505
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Mayor Jill McLewis: you know, a fiscal emergency, so I just wanted to say that all of this is coming from a place of, we were… we are all elected to ask these questions, so, thank you all for doing the presentation. 506
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Is there anyone else?
507
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Mayor Jill McLewis: I don't see anyone else from my screen, so Mary have… 508
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, there is no one else on Council, so this would conclude the presentation from St. Vincent's DePaul and Cotts, and Robin.

Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
01:14:25.580 --> 01:14:27.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And we can go on to our next item. 510
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Perfect, sorry, it's just a little… I can't see everything, it's a little blurry on the screen, so…
511
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Mayor Jill McLewis: All right, so we will move on to item number 9, which is our public hearings. We're going to go consideration of approval of the Good Neighbor Policy, guidelines designed to balance development, business operations, and social services with the quality of life in surrounding residential areas. They address, nuisances like noise, trash, and traffic, often requiring businesses or service providers to implement 512
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Mayor Jill McLewis: security con- contact lines and community engagement to foster accountability and reduce conflict. The proposed county standards are due to be approved after one more review. 513
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Mayor Jill McLewis: And I think, who is doing this? It's our city attorney, and are you…
514
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, Mayor, it's… 515
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, I'm sorry, I can't see you, so… 516
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No problem. Good evening, Council.

So, as the Mayor mentioned before you, tonight is an ordinance to 517
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: establish a good neighbor policy for… for new and future city-sponsored housing facilities. 518
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and we'll talk about what that means in a little bit, but essentially, the Good Neighbor Policy establishes rules
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for projects and interactions with the surrounding community. This was a request initially from Councilmember Zolman. He was aware of similar policies that other entities, specifically Catholic charities, had used in Santa Rosa. 520
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And when this first came up, the initial idea was that we would just copy what they
521
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: had in Santa Rosa, but then we became aware that
522
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the County Homeless Coalition was working on broader.
523
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: standards for permanent supportive housing facilities, and so we paused that to see what they would, be coming up with. They, they have draft
524
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: policies that are… have been prepared, I will say those are much broader, and cover much more issues than just
525
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: sort of good neighbors that are also dealing with, sort of, the whole operation of a permanent supportive housing facility. This is really just focused on
526
01:16:42.090 --> 01:16:59.790
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the interaction with the outside community. You've… you've heard, tonight in other items about, you know, how do we deal with internally with residents and hearing their complaints, you know, residents or tenants at the facility. This policy doesn't deal with that. This is just about
527
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: expectations for internal… excuse me, external, sort of, operations and communications, so… Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It applies to new city-sponsored housing projects. So a project is city-sponsored if
529
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we are a co-applicant for something like we are at, like we were, rather, with Gravenstine Commons, you know, we would require that they agree to this as a condition of us being a coapplicant. 530
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Similarly, if ever in the future we decide to provide financial assistance to a project.
531
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, we would require them as a condition of
532
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Except that, you know, taking our funding, agreeing to these, policies. And there may be some other, situations where we can impose it, like if there's, an… 533
01:17:53.490 --> 01:17:56.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, a request for a zoning change or something to allow that.
534
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But otherwise, we don't have 535
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The ability to impose these requirements on projects, or at least the full range of projects. 536
01:18:06.210 --> 01:18:20.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's outside the scope of our land use authority, which, among other things, requires us to treat these projects the same as permanent supportive housing projects, the same as any multifamily residential project.
537
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So we can't impose… Additional standards on that.

Agenda Item Number 1
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Agenda Item Number 1
01:18:23.990 --> 01:18:37.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And we… we can't require much of what we're requiring here for just a run-of-the-mill multifamily housing project. There are some things in here that we could probably require any project to do, you know.
539
01:18:37.790 --> 01:18:48.159
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: post a point of contact, you know, on-site. We could probably require multifamily housing to do that as well, but this has other requirements in it as well, so… 540
01:18:48.790 --> 01:18:57.780
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It requires some community meetings during the development stage and during lease-up activities. It requires… 541
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Res… excuse me, the housing providers to,
542
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, have a, you know, rules that they require tenants to sign that, you know, that's very common regardless of whether it's in their ordinance or not, and to do an orientation about those rules with tenants. But the more detailed requirements, come later and about the operation.
543
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Neighborhood patrols, so, you know, having them patrol the neighbor.
544
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: HUD to…
545
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, find residents that may be, you know, obstructing sidewalks or, you know, engaging in behavior that's problematic, and encouraging them to stop or to come back to the facility.
546
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, you know, making sure the patrols also a responsibility for making sure the project 547
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Site in its immediate vicinity are kept clean.
548
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then there's also some requirements about community engagement, maintaining a contact phone number and email that's available to the public.
549
01:20:05.380 --> 01:20:12.660
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Acknowledging when complaints are received, providing a, you know, sort of documentation. 550
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And record keeping about how complaints are handled, if they were able to be addressed or not, and making that available to the public.
551
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then make it, you know, excuse me, not available to the public, available to the city upon, request.

These standards are a mix of what
552
01:20:35.100 --> 01:20:49.720
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Catholic Charities, it's a little bit of what Catholic Charities has for their rules in Santa Rosa. Those were pretty general, and so in looking for, you know, more specific standards, San Francisco has recently
553
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: put forward similar good neighbor policies for some of its projects that will receive funding from the city, and in that case, it's mostly shelters, not permanent supportive housing facilities, but we use that as a basis. But this is really up to the Council of what they want to
554
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: include things, of course, I know I've heard from at least one Councilmember about, you know, some changes they'd like to make, and that's entirely
555
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Up to the Council. 556
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Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So with that, I'll pause for any questions, the Council may have.
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Go ahead, Councilmember Zolman.
558
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, but first, Alex, thanks for doing this, thanks for putting the staff report, thanks for referencing, where this idea came from, from Catholic Charities, because when everything happened with Elderberg Commons, it was the Executive Director of Elder, of,
559
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Catholic Charities through one of the elected's meetings to just say, you know, sorry that that all happened, but moving forward, you could do X. So I just want to give a shout out to her for at least
560
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: having something that we could model after. I think incorporating things from other municipalities, San Francisco was a good thing. You referenced the county's effort as a result of our challenges with elderberry.
561
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: coordinated entry requested that there be a provider meeting to develop permanent supportive housing standards, and I've been attending them every month, as has Robin, who is our consultant, and
562
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Today was the final meeting, and Robin attended, and she can correct me if I'm wrong, but there were no further additional comments.
563
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: like, it's done, and now it's gonna go through coordinated entry, and then it'll go to the coalition, the Housing Coalition Board, and…
564
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that's where things are, so I just wanted to inform the public that moving forward, there are now going to be county guidelines about how things are
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To move forward for anybody thinking about doing permanent supportive housing,
566
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: in the city, in the county. But if we're going to get into questions now, I want to get back to the good neighbor, because Robin Did… was part of that meeting today, and she took a lot of time and effort to review all of the 25 pages. 567
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And now I have concerns that it appeared that the representative from St. Vincent's de Paul, when she spoke earlier, has concerns about the good neighbor. So I want to hear directly from
568
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: both of them, about where we are with St. Vincent Paul's feeling about this, because even though we can't bind you to it, I would like to know what your concerns are, because the public, I think, has a right to rely on, you passed a good neighbor policy tonight, if we do.
569
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Why is that operation not moving in accordance with
570
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: what you passed. So I'm going to leave it over to whoever wants to answer that.
571
01:24:00.260 --> 01:24:03.019
Mayor Jill McLewis: Well, Alex, how do we do this with proper… 572
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, so you can have them come up to answer that question, if you like, Mayor, outside of public comment. 573
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Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, that's what I was wondering. And I know, Vice Mayor has a question, too, so I don't know if that's related. 574
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, go ahead.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:24:17.270 --> 01:24:35.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So which community stakeholders have weighed in on this good neighbor policy in terms of the preparation of it? Have any stakeholders weighed in on it? None. Seeing none, okay.

The second question is, if there are county guidelines that are being developed, why do we need this?
576
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: so the… that is why we waited to see the counting guidelines. The counting guidelines are not… 577
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: this detailed. They are much broader,
578
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and are, I don't want to say vague, but… so…
579
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: if you look in our Good Neighbor policy, the…
580
01:24:59.030 --> 01:25:08.280
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: language about development stage and, you know, community engagement prior to lease-up activities, those first two sections. That's very similar to what
581
01:25:08.390 --> 01:25:24.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: is in the… the county guidelines, where you'll notice it's a little vaguer talking… I don't want to say in platitudes, there's real things in there, but sort of the expectation of you will patrol 3 times a day, like, very specific
582
01:25:24.630 --> 01:25:27.050
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Things are not in those guidelines. 583
01:25:27.260 --> 01:25:28.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so that's why we put 584
01:25:29.450 --> 01:25:35.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: this together, based on the prior direction from Council. I have one more question.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:25:35.200 --> 01:25:39.540
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And this was sent to me by a resident that,
586
01:25:39.690 --> 01:25:44.579
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that the details in the Good Neighbor Policy, are…
587
01:25:45.300 --> 01:25:53.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: kind of looks like heightened surveillance of a particular class of residents, and I'm wondering what your… what do you say to that?
588
01:25:53.920 --> 01:26:02.169
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I wouldn't say it's a surveillance of the residents at all. I think it's expectations for the 589
01:26:02.500 --> 01:26:09.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Housing providers about… about how they will operate with regards to the…
590
01:26:10.160 --> 01:26:15.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: community. There's nothing in here that… about them having to track where, you know, What? 591
01:26:16.000 --> 01:26:20.789
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: residents are doing 24-7. It's about, sort of, expectations
592
01:26:21.290 --> 01:26:26.310
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If the city decides to move forward, expectations about how
593
01:26:27.010 --> 01:26:34.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, operators will, you know, engage with the broader community, especially in the immediate vicinity. 594
01:26:34.150 --> 01:26:35.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you.
595
01:26:38.770 --> 01:26:46.099
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Mayor Jill McLewis: Are there anyone else's questions? I… Steve… Councilmember Zolman, you had questions from St. Vincent de Paul, is that who you said?
596
01:26:46.940 --> 01:27:06.609
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, whoever wants to respond, because again, my feeling was, maybe I misinterpreted. When I brought up the good neighbor policy from, I think, the new executive, St. Vincent de Paul, my sense was there were objections, and if there are objections to what it is that we may or may not pass, I'd like to hear them. I think the public would also like to hear them, so please.
597
01:27:07.500 --> 01:27:21.320
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I mean, I didn't comb through this with a fine-tooth comb, but I understand the intent of it, and I just don't feel like it's my place since we're not going to be operating the site to respond to it.
598
01:27:21.440 --> 01:27:33.280
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I… I mean, I think most of what is outlined is reasonable. I think what stood out to me is if we were property managing the site, it might be… there's a couple points that stand out to me as…
599
01:27:33.350 --> 01:27:42.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, asking a bit much of the provider, but I'll let Kotz and Chris respond. Before you move on, can you…
600
01:27:42.320 --> 01:27:44.499
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Specify what those things are. 601
01:27:45.010 --> 01:27:49.589
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think just around, you know, monitoring the multiple prem…
602
01:27:49.770 --> 01:27:59.180
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: walking the… walking the property and the rounds that were outlined in there, I think the specification of, like, daytime and night feet, yeah.
603
01:28:00.000 --> 01:28:04.959
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I think there were… it called out specific quantities twice a day.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:28:05.290 --> 01:28:06.910
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Daytime and nighttime. 605
01:28:08.210 --> 01:28:14.650
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I mean, the property itself, but not, like, the surrounding neighborhood just seems a bit excessive. 606
01:28:17.590 --> 01:28:18.710
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hello!
607
01:28:19.280 --> 01:28:21.330
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Me again.
608
01:28:21.640 --> 01:28:40.039
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: attorney by training, so everything seems vague to me. So I'll give you a couple of points that I'm like, I'm not sure… either I'm not sure what that means, or no, that's too much.

And I, like Lauren, I totally understand the intent of this policy. I share some of the same concerns,
609
01:28:40.040 --> 01:28:48.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: with Councilmember Morr, that this does seem relatively targeted, right, to PSH developments. I understand that
610
01:28:48.720 --> 01:29:08.569
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that's… maybe it's not spelled out as the intent, but that's the intent, and it's… it's different from what you might see in San Francisco as applied to a shelter, right? Because it's… it's really easy, frankly, to exit somebody from a shelter for bad behavior. They don't have tenant rights. It's much more difficult to evict somebody from permanent housing, so I do want to make that distinction.
611
01:29:08.570 --> 01:29:11.430
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It's also a lot more damaging to someone.
612
01:29:11.430 --> 01:29:22.229
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Like, their livelihood and their ability to remain safely housed long-term, to actually evict them. And a lot of this would be resolved. You wouldn't need something like this if… 613
01:29:22.750 --> 01:29:42.320
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: there were stronger partnerships between providers and cities and counties, and the providers were better funded to do this work, right? The work itself is very, very challenging.

A lot of the language in here, like, under residence and rules and expectations, that's just standard stuff that's in a lease. 614
01:29:42.350 --> 01:29:55.879
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right? I mean, so it's… I don't have any issue with that being in here. I do think patrolling a surrounding neighborhood, while I understand the intent, there's not enough funding in projects to do that.
615
01:29:56.080 --> 01:29:58.539
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 24-7 security.
616
01:29:58.980 --> 01:30:08.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: is, you know, security's $45, $55 an hour. There's no funding in projects for security to run 24-7. It just doesn't exist.
617
01:30:08.910 --> 01:30:26.009
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Super easy to have security fill in, super easy to have a property manager do perimeter checks, no problem at all. But surrounding community and what does that mean? I don't know.

I don't know if that means a block, 6 blocks, a mile? That makes a big difference.
618
01:30:27.200 --> 01:30:32.469
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I would say 300 feet of the site frontage, removing litter and debris.
619
01:30:32.970 --> 01:30:51.959
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Maybe? You know, with this project specifically, I mean, it's right next door to a liquor store. Not every piece of debris that comes from an area like that is going to be from residents that live at this site, so I wouldn't necessarily want to be responsible for cleaning up trash that belongs to another business that was generated by another business.
620
01:30:52.160 --> 01:31:07.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think it's… it's a little odd to have something in here that the city would direct a provider to enhance perimeter staffing. This… this project itself is pretty small, so if the city just called me and said, hey, can you up perimeter 621
01:31:07.530 --> 01:31:17.270
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: visibility for a couple days, that would be really easy. If you get into super big projects, which Sebastopol probably won't, you're a small city, but that could be challenging down the road.
622
01:31:17.810 --> 01:31:26.730
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I would request that anytime you say 24 hours, 72 hours, 48 hours, that you say business hours, because sometimes we have 3-day holiday weekends.
623
01:31:27.040 --> 01:31:32.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Those were kind of my notes on that, but again, like, a lot of this would be…
624
01:31:32.720 --> 01:31:39.270
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Resolved with a strong provider that actually Does good property management.
625
01:31:39.430 --> 01:31:52.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Evicts people when they need to be evicted, keeps the property clean, stays in good contact with the city.

You know, I don't want homelessness to become an adversarial political issue. We're just talking about vulnerable people, and making sure that they have somewhere to live.
626
01:31:52.490 --> 01:31:54.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, that's safe, so… 627
01:31:56.380 --> 01:32:00.320
Mayor Jill McLewis: Go ahead, Councilmember Carter, and then I have a question for you, Alex.
628
01:32:01.100 --> 01:32:05.579
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, that… I mean, you're getting to something that I was thinking about, like, if… if…
629
01:32:06.250 --> 01:32:12.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If this policy is unnecessary and superfluous to what you're already doing.
630
01:32:13.680 --> 01:32:22.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We just need the guarantees that some of these things are happening, that somebody's gonna keep the watch out, somebody's gonna walk around, make sure the place is clean, this and that. You're a good neighbor.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:32:23.210 --> 01:32:29.060
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And you seem like a very good operator, and what kind of, like.
632
01:32:29.300 --> 01:32:32.809
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Things does the city have to know that you're going to be doing these
633
01:32:33.410 --> 01:32:56.309
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, that's a great question. We… we want to be a good neighbor, right? It doesn't… it's not beneficial to anybody for us to be a bad neighbor, especially the tenants who are living there, right? We want to be a good neighbor to the city, to our actual neighbors, to the businesses. We just want it to be… we want it to be hunky-dory for everybody, right? So, we do have on-site staff all the time. We are accessible and available.
634
01:32:56.590 --> 01:33:09.429
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, pretty much any provider that's used to working with me, there's several in this room, they know that if they call me at 2 o'clock in the morning, I might not answer the first time you call, but if you call right back, I'm gonna answer, right? I am…
635
01:33:09.430 --> 01:33:18.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: somebody who has dedicated my career and my life to helping people that are in this situation, and I also understand and acknowledge that
636
01:33:18.230 --> 01:33:23.530
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: providers like COTS are not just here to serve people that come to us for help.
637
01:33:23.530 --> 01:33:43.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We are also here to serve the community more broadly, right? Communities are better when fewer people are experiencing homelessness. They are better when people have places to live, and we want to make that a good experience. So, what I can promise to the city is that COTS is super responsive, and there's gonna be issues that come up.
638
01:33:43.170 --> 01:33:50.099
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right? There always… there's gonna be things that come up, and my promise to you is that we will work alongside you.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:33:50.300 --> 01:33:51.120
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: in a…
640
01:33:51.260 --> 01:34:03.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: really quickly to resolve and address those issues in the best way that we can, right? We want to be… we want to have a good, friendly partnership with you, and I want it to be something where you're like, ugh!
641
01:34:03.710 --> 01:34:14.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: this was terrible. We don't like cots, right? We don't want that for anybody. So, that I can promise to you. I certainly can't promise you that, like, you're never gonna see a piece of trash on the sidewalk.
642
01:34:14.810 --> 01:34:24.250
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Or that we're never gonna have a tenant that causes problems. I think that's true for any multifamily, multi-unit property. You're gonna have tenants sometimes that… 643
01:34:24.250 --> 01:34:30.769
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Are difficult, but we will do our absolute best to make it a good experience for everybody. 644
01:34:31.510 --> 01:34:32.989
Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, thank you.
645
01:34:33.290 --> 01:34:36.009
Mayor Jill McLewis: Go ahead, Councilmember Zolman.
646
01:34:36.010 --> 01:34:51.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, so a question to Alex. So, could we just postpone this? What would we need to do to postpone this? Because, I would like to give cuts with what I understand, and their track record, and my developed relationship with Chris. 647
01:34:51.940 --> 01:35:09.330
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a go at this without feeling like they're being unnecessarily restrained. But also, I hear the mayor, the fact that it's just like, some don't know you, and it's trust but verify.

So could we just not continue this until… when is the open date again? January? Now what are we talking about?
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:35:09.340 --> 01:35:27.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What? November. November. So could we not just calendar this until, I don't know, whenever my colleagues would like to re-calendar it? Absolutely, it's up to the discretion of the Council, and if you wanna, you know, you could table item, or you could just continue it to a specific date in the future. 649
01:35:27.710 --> 01:35:29.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay. Alright, thank you. 650
01:35:30.880 --> 01:35:38.140
Mayor Jill McLewis: All right, thank you very much. Thank you all for answering those questions. Any other questions here?
651
01:35:39.090 --> 01:35:48.800
Mayor Jill McLewis: I have one. I mean, as we're talking about this good neighbor policy, and as one of the council members who sat in the room with the folks who were running Elderberry Commons.
652
01:35:48.800 --> 01:36:07.050
Mayor Jill McLewis: and listening to them tell us that, you know, we don't need security, we don't need this, we don't need that, but at the same time, hearing that 25% of our police time has been spent at Elderberry Commons, and it was much higher than that when it first opened, they told us that every permanent supportive housing 653
01:36:08.140 --> 01:36:20.779
Mayor Jill McLewis: project has a real increase in police needed activity. In the first 6 months. They told us that. All the folks who run that and all the people that were involved with that, I sat there and listened to them.
654
01:36:20.780 --> 01:36:40.630
Mayor Jill McLewis: And so, I just want to know, you know, if we're not doing… whatever we're doing, I just want to make sure that we're not back at City Hall listening to the same story again, and then we're having to answer to our constituents about why, you know, the police are so busy they can't respond to other places because so much time is being spent at another
655
01:36:40.630 --> 01:36:52.840
Mayor Jill McLewis: facility that said they didn't need any security or anything like that. And I understand everyone has good intentions, but at the end of the day, the facts are the facts, and we've gone through this over the last few years, so again.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:36:52.960 --> 01:37:00.530
Mayor Jill McLewis: I would like to trust, but I also need to verify, because I've spent a great deal of time dealing with this over the last few years, and…
657
01:37:00.880 --> 01:37:11.539
Mayor Jill McLewis: you know, there we are. So, that's… that's what I'm… I don't know, Councilmember Zolman, you're the one that brought this forth. Everybody else, I think we're due to go to public comment, is that right?
658
01:37:12.360 --> 01:37:15.239
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, I was just gonna jump in and let you know we needed to go to public comment.
659
01:37:15.240 --> 01:37:16.170
Mayor Jill McLewis: Yeah.
660
01:37:17.850 --> 01:37:18.740
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, this…
661
01:37:18.950 --> 01:37:33.410
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. You guys can go ahead and sit down. Thank you. So this is for public comment on the Good Neighbor Policy proposed. If you would like to make a public comment, again, it is a two-minute public comment. We go to chambers first, and then go out to Zoom if there's anyone. Oliver?
662
01:37:37.150 --> 01:37:45.919
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I just want to say that we've had, you know, pretty slick presentations like that before from the now Oregon Republican, Jack Tibbetts, who's stood here very confidently. 663
01:37:45.950 --> 01:37:58.739
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: telling everybody how great it was all going to be, smooths, you know, all the rest of it. But the cast of characters change all the time, so I have a lot of confidence in what's been discussed today with these people, but who knows if they'll be here tomorrow.
664
01:37:58.920 --> 01:38:03.849
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We'll all still be here. They may not be, so that's my first point.
665
01:38:04.030 --> 01:38:07.539
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I guess, you know, my other more general point is.
666
01:38:07.780 --> 01:38:17.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: this has worked pretty well in San Francisco. They've had to really tighten up the good neighbor policy with all the different departments. Obviously, San Francisco's a big, complicated city.
667
01:38:17.850 --> 01:38:33.929
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But, Sebastopol's tiny, and we should be able to execute this really well. This is very consistent with the way, given, you know, the opioid epidemic and so on, very consistent with the way cities have been handling these kind of civic problems, I guess you could call it. Thank you.
668
01:38:35.240 --> 01:38:39.530
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I'll go out to Zoom. Lee, can you unmute yourself, please? 669
01:38:39.530 --> 01:38:40.090
Lee: Yep.
670
01:38:40.210 --> 01:38:40.710
Lee: Thank you.
671
01:38:40.710 --> 01:38:42.099
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can you still see the timer? 672
01:38:42.100 --> 01:38:42.760
Lee: I can't.
673
01:38:42.760 --> 01:38:43.840
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Greg, go ahead, please. 674
01:38:44.400 --> 01:38:48.920
Lee: Yeah, I was struck by a comment made by one of the speakers about, 675
01:38:49.200 --> 01:38:55.040
Lee: That there's no money for security patrols, and security, and 24-7 security.
676
01:38:55.230 --> 01:39:09.680
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Lee: And I hope that these folks will understand this. I think a lot of people think that a city like Sebastopol is just loaded with bucks. We've got policemen crawling out of the woodwork, and if we need a few more police calls at
677
01:39:09.770 --> 01:39:29.310
Lee: St. Vincent, or at Sebastopol, or whatever this Commons is, if I haven't seen Commons. It's not a problem. It is a problem, though. 25% of our police calls are now going to one place. If it doubles, and we have 50% of our police calls going here, we either have to hire a couple more policemen, which is very expensive.
678
01:39:29.310 --> 01:39:37.090
Lee: Or, we have to stop patrolling, we have to stop dealing with problems with the high school students. I mean.
679
01:39:37.720 --> 01:39:53.590
Lee: resources have to be shifted away from things that are important now to dealing with this, and that's one of the reasons that some of us are really upset about this. And I just hope that the speakers can understand this. Thank you.
680
01:39:54.720 --> 01:40:00.819
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I'll come into chambers. If there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment on this item, please.
681
01:40:01.750 --> 01:40:08.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Me again, I'll make one more comment. I know I was here before, and tenants at one other, 682
01:40:08.400 --> 01:40:13.739
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Housing Unit had said it was really important to them to have some kind of security.
683
01:40:13.810 --> 01:40:28.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I understand the funding issues with security. I think also, with Kot's experience, I'm hoping that a really good property manager will be hired. Someone who's traumainformed. 684
01:40:28.690 --> 01:40:41.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Someone who's willing to go out at 2 in the morning and deal with issues that come up, and somebody that's willing to get the fentanyl off the property if it shows up, because one of our sites, that's not happening right now.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:40:41.640 --> 01:40:52.719
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And a lot of the tenants are really concerned about that. So I… I, again, want to support you, and encourage you, and thank you for taking this on. Yeah, thanks.
686
01:40:53.230 --> 01:40:57.560
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I'll go out to Zoom. Rob, can you unmute yourself, please? 687
01:40:59.490 --> 01:41:03.890
Rob: Hi, yeah. I just had kind of two questions about this. 688
01:41:04.120 --> 01:41:16.100
Rob: One is, how are we… how is this program being a good neighbor to the liquor store that's next door? I think it's kind of funny that there's a liquor store nearby.
689
01:41:16.150 --> 01:41:24.570
Rob: all of these places, and I'm sure they get increased foot traffic, and it's a problem that they have to… maybe they have to deal with, so I'm wondering, how do we
690
01:41:24.790 --> 01:41:35.640
Rob: you know, they're the ones who are going to have to say no if they don't think someone should have it. How do we support them in doing that? And then the other one is just about the foot… no, sorry, not the foot traffic, but the,
691
01:41:36.040 --> 01:41:41.109
Rob: the increased patrols. I keep hearing about a, like, a citizen's… 692
01:41:42.030 --> 01:41:55.340
Rob: police something or another. Not officers, but some kind of citizens training. And, you know, it keeps getting shelved for a lot of reasons, but would that be applicable for something like this?
693
01:41:55.870 --> 01:41:56.700
Rob: Thank you.
694
01:41:57.450 --> 01:42:03.040
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:42:03.410 --> 01:42:09.899
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will 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.
696
01:42:10.440 --> 01:42:12.929
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, there is no further public comment, Mayor.
697
01:42:13.590 --> 01:42:17.110
Mayor Jill McLewis: Thank you. Pardon me, thank you very much. We're back at the dais.
698
01:42:17.610 --> 01:42:20.330
Mayor Jill McLewis: If anyone wants to… oh, Vice Mayor Maurer? 699
01:42:21.530 --> 01:42:30.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, I want to thank Councilmember Zolman for suggesting that we postpone this issue. I agree with that. I'm good with tabling it.
700
01:42:31.170 --> 01:42:43.740
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I think that if we want St.

Vincent de Paul to actually sign on and not have it just be a policy that nobody's signed on to, we should ask them to make edits and work with them.
701
01:42:43.780 --> 01:42:58.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And they could work with COTS to make edits that make sense, because it… we want their… we want their buyin to it if we're going to pass it. So I'm… my hope is in the meantime, between now and whenever we bring it back, that we could have that collaboration.
702
01:42:58.810 --> 01:43:02.929
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Well, thank you, Vice Mayor, and yeah, if that's a motion, I'll second it.
703
01:43:06.230 --> 01:43:21.719
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can I just clarify? I heard two different things. Do you… would you like it to come back at a future date? I think that Councilmember Zolman had mentioned November or January, or do you want to table it?
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:43:22.160 --> 01:43:34.369
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: no, bring it back, but meanwhile, collaborate with St. Vincent de Paul and Kotz on the language, and make sure that if, you know, that they're willing to… whatever it is, they're willing to sign on to it.
705
01:43:34.370 --> 01:43:44.329
Mayor Jill McLewis: Is that directing city staff to do that, or our liaison, who is Councilmember Zolman, and staff, or… I just wanted to clarify so we all are on the same page.
706
01:43:45.520 --> 01:44:04.129
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we could just pick a date, and then that way we all know what we're striving towards, and hopefully, yes, our two partners, St. Francis Paul and Kotz, can start looking at the language and suggesting language to our city attorney for when we bring it back. So, I…
707
01:44:04.150 --> 01:44:06.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Turned over to Mary, it's just like you…
708
01:44:06.920 --> 01:44:12.950
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: do a gender review with the agenda Review people. What date do you think would be good, or do you just want to just…
709
01:44:13.400 --> 01:44:18.980
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Well, I actually would like a rough date, December, January, something, I'll defer to you.
710
01:44:20.030 --> 01:44:26.649
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: so I'm… now I'm hearing two days.

We heard November, and then I'm now hearing January, February timeframe.

So…
711
01:44:27.030 --> 01:44:37.209
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: January? January, yeah. That'll give everybody a couple months to see what the looks like. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah. Okay, I'm seeing thumbs up in the audience, so January then. 712
01:44:38.520 --> 01:44:41.549
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, thank you. So, so moved by Vice Mayor Maurer.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:44:41.550 --> 01:44:45.149
Mayor Jill McLewis: By the way, Councilmember Hinton has a hand up. 714
01:44:45.820 --> 01:44:46.720
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm sorry.
715
01:44:47.050 --> 01:44:51.900
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: I was just gonna make comment. I mean, I, 716
01:44:52.590 --> 01:44:58.480
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: I'm probably not going to be supporting this tonight to come back. I'm just not sure at this point.
717
01:44:58.630 --> 01:45:03.769
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: it's necessary, and so, I just wanted to make that comment.
718
01:45:07.220 --> 01:45:08.860
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Carter has his hand up as well.
719
01:45:08.860 --> 01:45:10.010
Mayor Jill McLewis: Yeah.
720
01:45:10.010 --> 01:45:19.789
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I'm leaning that way a little bit, too. I kind of feel like it's better just to table it, and then when the problem re-emerges, if…
721
01:45:19.790 --> 01:45:29.550
Mayor Jill McLewis: We have a motion on the table, so can we… I mean, because I'm in support, so… of bringing it back, so if we're going to all weigh in here before we actually take a vote.
722
01:45:30.640 --> 01:45:40.840
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So because there's two… two, council members who are not in support of moving this forward and are willing to table it.
723
01:45:41.010 --> 01:45:44.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I would be… I'm gonna withdraw my motion.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:45:44.570 --> 01:46:03.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, then I'll go ahead and make the motion, and we'll see where it goes. To bring it back in January, and for our two providers, partner providers, to review it, suggest comments, and bring it back in a date in January, either the first or second meeting in January. So that's the motion.
725
01:46:07.270 --> 01:46:08.740
Mayor Jill McLewis: I'll suck him.
726
01:46:11.940 --> 01:46:24.729
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. So moved by Councilmember Zolman and seconded by Mayor McLewis to continue this item to either the first or third meeting in January 2027, allowing our partner providers to review and provide edits to the City. 727
01:46:24.860 --> 01:46:27.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Carter? No. 728
01:46:28.580 --> 01:46:29.980
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Hinton? 729
01:46:29.980 --> 01:46:30.860
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: No.
730
01:46:31.270 --> 01:46:33.219
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zolman? Yes. 731
01:46:33.540 --> 01:46:36.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Vice Mayor Maurer? No. Mayor McLewis?
732
01:46:37.350 --> 01:46:38.090
Mayor Jill McLewis: Yes.
733
01:46:38.380 --> 01:46:46.409
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Mayor… I'm sorry, the motion fails, with Councilmember Zolman and Mayor McLewis in support, and Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, and Vice Mayor Maurer in opposition. 734
01:46:48.720 --> 01:46:49.530
Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:46:50.170 --> 01:46:53.300
Mayor Jill McLewis: We'll go on, pardon me, to item number 10. 736
01:46:53.300 --> 01:47:07.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Actually, Carter has his hand up.

Yeah, I'm just curious, does that automatically table the item, or what happens? Unless there's a further motion tonight, the item is… It's dead.

Oh, okay.
737
01:47:08.190 --> 01:47:14.890
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, someone could make a motion to table it and bring it back at a later date if necessary. 738
01:47:17.110 --> 01:47:22.420
Mayor Jill McLewis: No, no, I mean, that was what just… go ahead, Alex, if you want to…
739
01:47:22.420 --> 01:47:31.150
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, so that was the motion to bring it back in the future. You can always, in the future, have a future agenda item to bring this back if circumstances change. 740
01:47:31.320 --> 01:47:43.670
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I just want to clarify why I withdrew my motion, and that is because there were two members that were not in support, and because I know that it would take staff time, and the cott's time, and St. Vincent de Paul's time to do all that work. 741
01:47:43.940 --> 01:47:46.289
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's why I withdrew my motion.
742
01:47:50.870 --> 01:47:51.590
Mayor Jill McLewis: Alright.
743
01:47:51.980 --> 01:47:55.219
Mayor Jill McLewis: So, item number 10, presentation from heart and soul. 744
01:47:55.520 --> 01:48:08.940
Mayor Jill McLewis: Solving Obstacles for Unsheltered Lives and West County Community Services on services provided for homeless services and consideration of contracts for homeless outreach services. The memorandum MOU of Understanding with Heart…
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:48:09.760 --> 01:48:21.299
Mayor Jill McLewis: With heart expires September 16th, 2026, and the contract with WCCS expired June 30th, 2026. The item tonight is to consider agreement with the following.
746
01:48:22.080 --> 01:48:24.589
Mayor Jill McLewis: A, draft a contract with Soul.
747
01:48:24.990 --> 01:48:26.760
Mayor Jill McLewis: This item…
748
01:48:26.800 --> 01:48:43.200
Mayor Jill McLewis: This item will be returned to a future City Council meeting for approval. Draft MOU will be attached… is attached to the agenda. HART will continue to perform services until such time that the contract is returned for formal approval and or adoption, tentatively September 15th.
749
01:48:43.230 --> 01:48:52.960
Mayor Jill McLewis: B, approval of resolution, contract with WCCS, or C, other direction to staff? And I'm going to turn this over to our police chief. Is he in the room?
750
01:48:54.540 --> 01:48:55.320
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: He is.
751
01:48:56.430 --> 01:48:57.200
Mayor Jill McLewis: Perfect.
752
01:48:57.200 --> 01:48:57.910
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I am.
753
01:48:58.400 --> 01:49:13.070
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I think you pretty much summed it up, Mayor McLewis, that we've got a presentation tonight from both Sonoma County Department of Health Services and West County Community Services regarding the Homeless Outreach services, so I'll turn it over to Hunter to kick it off.
754
01:49:14.790 --> 01:49:18.379
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No? I'm telling you Abby Christie from West County Community Services.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:49:20.130 --> 01:49:22.579
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Do we have the PowerPoint slides? 756
01:49:23.190 --> 01:49:24.709
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is that something we're gonna share?
757
01:49:24.710 --> 01:49:28.420
Mayor Jill McLewis: May I ask a question? Do we have multiple presentations here, Chief?
758
01:49:28.820 --> 01:49:29.790
Mayor Jill McLewis: How are we?
759
01:49:29.790 --> 01:49:33.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: one from West County Community Services, and then one from…
760
01:49:34.310 --> 01:49:36.979
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sonoma County Department of Health Services.
761
01:49:36.980 --> 01:49:39.769
Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, I just want to make sure, since you switched around.
762
01:49:42.340 --> 01:49:46.050
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Did you submit the slides? I know we have the presentation in the report.
763
01:49:46.290 --> 01:49:52.130
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the… the presentation is in the report itself. Think of the combined… Presentation, is that right? Yeah. 764
01:49:52.430 --> 01:49:56.280
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It's fine if we don't. Okay. 765
01:49:56.930 --> 01:50:16.720
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we were just… we were going to share just the history of the services in Sebastopol over the past 5 years, and how the services with West County Community Services to provide outreach in Sebastopol really arose from a need that the community had.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:50:16.720 --> 01:50:21.510
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: On the Joe Road at the trail, and then also the
767
01:50:21.510 --> 01:50:40.299
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the parking on Morris Street and in the neighborhoods of Sebastopol, and the city was looking for a response, and contracted for a full-time outreach person in the first year with us.

And then in the four years following,
768
01:50:40.940 --> 01:50:50.320
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We continued to provide services, although the shift of focus changed as the community needs changed. And 769
01:50:50.490 --> 01:50:58.090
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Funding was reduced to part-time, and we applied for additional funding to continue full-time support here. 770
01:50:58.290 --> 01:51:06.650
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Our contract did end at the end of June. The second slide was looking at… oh, there we are! 771
01:51:06.780 --> 01:51:12.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Looking at the data points over the 5 years,
772
01:51:14.360 --> 01:51:27.619
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And the first highlight of the data, because the services, the focus shifted based on the needs, you know, we really were capturing unique individuals that we were 773
01:51:27.620 --> 01:51:36.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: connecting with, but the data changed. What we were reporting changed as our services changed. 774
01:51:36.790 --> 01:51:41.500
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so that was something I just wanted to call attention to in that slide.
775
01:51:44.060 --> 01:51:58.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the bigger point that I need to address and, take, you know, acknowledge is the… the 2526 reporting, and… Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:51:58.940 --> 01:52:04.689
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Really just acknowledge, what happened in our reporting last year.
777
01:52:06.790 --> 01:52:20.229
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In spring, I was looking at the report, and the… we were reporting on how many individuals were active in coordinated entry each month.
778
01:52:20.330 --> 01:52:28.269
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And the year-to-date total really caught my attention, because it was pretty big. And, and so I started 779
01:52:28.270 --> 01:52:47.430
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: looking into it, and it was really a result of two things. A formula error in my spreadsheet, that we weren't going to report on the year-to-date totals, because people are enrolled in coordinated entry, they maintain status, and some people are exited, and so really the monthly count is
780
01:52:47.480 --> 01:52:52.209
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the number we're reporting, there isn't a year to date of active people.
781
01:52:53.550 --> 01:53:04.070
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And the second factor was that our staff had been over-reporting. And so I was having reports pulled. 782
01:53:04.070 --> 01:53:15.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I was really looking deeply into that to correct that error. I contacted the city, I resubmitted reports,
783
01:53:15.800 --> 01:53:26.300
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And… And then, you know, there's a… there was one other data point that… that had some question. 784
01:53:26.490 --> 01:53:40.999
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I was asking questions myself to get down to the bottom of things, and it was for the people that moved into permanent supportive housing. Unfortunately, the staff that 785
01:53:41.130 --> 01:53:59.890
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we had, unfortunately, because I can't get answers from them anymore. What I did discover is that our outreach was using the county tracking system, the HMIS, but also 786
01:53:59.890 --> 01:54:01.919
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Keeping their own… 787
01:54:02.210 --> 01:54:16.579
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: informal log of contacts they were making, services they were providing that weren't being recognized in HMIS. And…
788
01:54:17.120 --> 01:54:22.540
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I heard Jill say earlier, Trust, but verify.
789
01:54:22.720 --> 01:54:29.630
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and the verification wasn't happening with the direct supervision. And so,
790
01:54:30.180 --> 01:54:47.779
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: really, at this point, I provided the numbers for 25-26, because those were the numbers that were reported, and I wanted to address it tonight. And some of the numbers, I… I don't have the answer to.
791
01:54:49.350 --> 01:54:56.769
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And to be equally fair, unfortunately… I mean, that's really disappointing for me. 792
01:54:57.990 --> 01:55:09.949
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we know the services were being provided, and they weren't reported correctly. I don't think that it was intentional misrepresentation. I think that there was…
793
01:55:10.140 --> 01:55:26.179
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a lack of oversight, and, a lack of understanding of what the numbers meant, like, what we were trying to capture in this report. And I only take responsibility that, 794
01:55:28.110 --> 01:55:44.359
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It is our responsibility to tighten up the compliance of reporting, to have the oversight, and to have clear definitions of what they're counting and why they're counting it.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:55:45.060 --> 01:55:52.830
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I, I just… I have to take responsibility and ownership of this, and unfortunately, I… I just… 796
01:55:53.030 --> 01:56:01.169
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: don't have the… The accurate number for how many people did move into permanent supportive housing. 797
01:56:04.840 --> 01:56:07.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The last slide… such a… 798
01:56:08.170 --> 01:56:20.979
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: jarring transition. That is an actual success story, of… of a couple that… that we did provide service, and I think the success story really just…
799
01:56:21.000 --> 01:56:43.820
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: highlights the long game of outreach, that it really takes time to build relationships, to help them start getting engaged with receiving services, to get the documents ready, to help them be prepared to move into housing. And for this, couple, it took a couple years, and they are… now have
800
01:56:43.820 --> 01:56:48.850
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Moved into George's place that is opened in Guernville, just… last month.
801
01:56:54.720 --> 01:57:10.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I'm not sure how the structure is. If you want me to stay here for questions for this part, move to Hunter, and then come back to questions? I think we want to go to Hunter, so, to do his presentation, and then we can come back to questions from the Council.
802
01:57:12.920 --> 01:57:18.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hi, Al. Hunter Scott, you recently knew me from…
803
01:57:18.110 --> 01:57:37.500
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: When I worked for Home First, coordinate entry, have our partners here. I now work for Department of Health Services. I'm the Deputy Director for Homelessness Services. So, good to be here in this new capacity. Recognizing that these presentations are intended to be 10 minutes, I'm gonna speed through this,
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:57:37.500 --> 01:57:40.320
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But there'll be time for questions, obviously, so…
805
01:57:40.330 --> 01:58:02.820
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So about, in December of, last year, we started a really wonderful new, outreach pilot with the City of Sebastopol and the Police Department, with the goal of meeting people where they are, pairing outreach with law enforcement response, and more accurately, to really replace outreach with law enforcement response, where that's appropriate.
806
01:58:02.820 --> 01:58:11.819
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And create pathways to services with a goal of increasing coordination around homelessness and helping people move from contact to meaningful service. Next slide. 807
01:58:14.060 --> 01:58:38.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So some of the data that we've achieved to date, and we have a really wonderful staff named Julian, who has taken this role on in the city. He's engaged 67 people, 30 of those are active and coordinated entry, he's made 12 shelter placements, and moved 3 folks into housing. It does take time to build a relationship with folks, and so we expect those numbers to increase, 808
01:58:38.260 --> 01:58:43.650
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: per time period, if that makes sense, as this project goes on. Next slide.
809
01:58:43.750 --> 01:58:45.589
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can I ask you a quick question? Yes.
810
01:58:46.160 --> 01:59:05.999
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 67 people engaged. Is that within the Sebastopol city limits, or is that outside of Sebastopol? Sebastopol.

Well, he's probably going a little bit outside of, you know, he's not doing the entire Joe Rhonda Trail, but he's probably going a little bit down the trail, just to… because people do move in and out, but his focus has been Sebastopol.
811
01:59:06.010 --> 01:59:08.999
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Those are 67 different people.

Correct.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
01:59:12.800 --> 01:59:16.860
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, one of the, I think, big learnings after…
813
01:59:16.900 --> 01:59:41.749
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 6, 8, whatever we are at, eight months of doing this, is, is that we have a partner organization that you all are funding, and we really need to engage closer together, to make sure that we are not duplicating services, but also enhancing each other's services. And so, we are engaging in our own MOU to guide cooperation across, West County. We also fund WCCS to do outreach 814
01:59:41.750 --> 02:00:00.159
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: services in Guerneville and River area. And so this is an MOU beyond just Sebastopol. It'll really guide all of our interactions. And that's going to do things like having our staff check in every morning to coordinate the day, and then doing cooutreach together in instances of safety risk. 815
02:00:00.160 --> 02:00:07.259
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The next two pieces, I'm going to skip ahead, because I'm going to get into that for the rest of the presentation, so next slide.
816
02:00:07.320 --> 02:00:32.089
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We were referencing earlier that the Homeless Coalition has permit supportive housing operational standards that have recently been completed. This is a different version of that for street outreach. So, a couple years ago, the same group came together and put together some policies and procedures for how street outreach for homelessness should look across the county. And that really built the foundation of where we're trying to go now for our next step. 817
02:00:32.090 --> 02:00:35.100
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: into… in… in Sebastopol. Next slide.
818
02:00:36.150 --> 02:00:54.280
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, what is the sub-regional structure? And that's really where we're going with this, is the whole county, as part of those standards, was split into six sub-regions, and I'll show you in a map in a second. Each subregion has a manager that's managing the day-to-day activities of homeless services in that subregion. 02:00:54.320 --> 02:01:03.100
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We have a shared coordination tool that's used across the county called a by names list, and then this is coordinated, again, on a countywide level. Next slide.
820
02:01:05.540 --> 02:01:19.949
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This is a map of the sub-regions.

There's a very long history for why we came up with these exact lines, and I'm not going to get into that now, but Sebastopol, as you can see, sits in the west county, kind of the edge of that green, or on the screen, yellow area. Next slide.
821
02:01:21.600 --> 02:01:45.980
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This is kind of an org chart describing how this countywide structure looks. You've got, in each subregion, a manager who's managing, again, the day-to-day activities. Their role is to work with the street outreach, shelters, and then other partners. So, for example, law enforcement, or environmental groups, or churches that are working with homelessness in their region. And then all of this, again, is organized on a county-wide level by my team. 822
02:01:45.980 --> 02:01:46.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Next slide.
823
02:01:48.790 --> 02:02:05.349
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I've used the name-by-names list quite a bit, so just to describe what it is, it's a list of everyone experiencing homelessness in a given region. It's updated as close to live as possible. Data comes from every source possible, and includes people who… and it does include people who are not engaging in services.

So it's not just those that are…
824
02:02:05.410 --> 02:02:11.749
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: formally enrolled, if that were.

And then it's used to coordinate services between multiple partners. Next slide.
825
02:02:12.960 --> 02:02:35.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So this is what it looks like. I mean, it's just a… it's a… it's an Excel sheet, you know, so something fancy on its own, but you can see that in this example, every single person has a housing plan. That's the goal, is to get to a place where every single person experiencing homelessness in a region, we know what the plan is for them, and then we're tracking action steps to move them along that plan. Next slide.
826
02:02:37.310 --> 02:02:44.479
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This is an example of, you were talking about the beginning of the meeting, so this is what we would probably do in the beginnings of the meetings.
827
02:02:44.480 --> 02:03:04.550
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Which is to go over hotspots or encampments or areas of concern, and we can do that without going through specific names. We'd have law enforcement there, we'd often have electeds there, it's really up to the community and what makes sense. And we would track, again, actions for those specific hotspots and areas, to make sure that we're deploying outreach appropriately. Next slide. 828
02:03:05.710 --> 02:03:14.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This is an example of what data can come from this process, and I want to give kudos to Home First, who I used to work for, but,
829
02:03:14.640 --> 02:03:32.410
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: they do this in Sonoma Valley and South County, and so, so some of this data comes from them. But, you can see that what it really allows us to do is get to the point where we can say, in this moment, this is exactly the type of housing we would need to invest in in this area if we wanted to end homelessness today. 830
02:03:32.720 --> 02:03:38.380
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So that's an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to directing and future investments. Next slide. 831
02:03:39.250 --> 02:03:55.719
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And you can see in South County, what we saw over a long period of time of doing this kind of collaboration is a massive increase in housing exits, as we were just getting better at working together. This also came with investments in housing, but a lot of it was really just truly the coordination. Next slide.
832
02:03:56.850 --> 02:04:08.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I wanted to end with some really clear direction for you all. I think there's been some confusion on who do you call when, you know, for what issue when it comes to homeless services, so…
833
02:04:08.020 --> 02:04:20.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In Sebastopol, and this is true today, if you are seeing somebody that seems like they're experiencing an urgent mental health crisis, homeless outreach is not the right resource.

What the right resource is, is the countywide behavioral health Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:04:20.290 --> 02:04:29.639
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Team, our mobile support team, and that is the number to call, and they will, they will respond and come out if it's appropriate.
835
02:04:29.890 --> 02:04:45.489
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For non-urgent homeless services, so what do you do if you're really concerned about somebody on the street corner, and you just want to make sure that they are getting services to get out of that situation in a long-term situation? You would call the number that's on the screen.
836
02:04:45.500 --> 02:04:54.500
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For that, and so that is a number that goes to my office. We are now taking this on, and we will then direct West County Community Services or our own staff. 837
02:04:54.510 --> 02:04:58.820
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To go out and respond and make sure that that person is receiving services.
838
02:04:58.960 --> 02:04:59.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Next slide.
839
02:05:00.780 --> 02:05:20.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So what are next steps? So, there's kind of… there's three MOUs that we're… we're talking about today that will… will help guide us going forward. So there's one between the city and WCCS, and I think that's on the agenda to be approved. We're going to bring one back for the City of Sebastopol and then… and then with DHS. 840
02:05:20.360 --> 02:05:32.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In two weeks is the goal. I think we're still on track to do that. And then, as I mentioned, WCCS and then Department of Health Services has their own MOU that we're working on behind the scenes.
841
02:05:32.450 --> 02:05:42.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We're going to continue to align on data reporting. We want to make sure that we are doing… tracking our outcomes the same across both of our teams, and so there's work to do there.
842
02:05:42.760 --> 02:06:00.480
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We want to train both of our staff in these new processes we're talking about, and then, to your question earlier, when is this going to start, the by names list meetings? So we'll send out an introductory email to council members, several folks around the West County region, in this month.
843
02:06:00.490 --> 02:06:12.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then we'll have a kickoff meeting either this month or next month, and start for real in October.

We'll build the list and start working through what are the action plans for each of the people on that list.
844
02:06:13.170 --> 02:06:15.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's it for me. Thank you. 845
02:06:17.300 --> 02:06:20.899
Mayor Jill McLewis: All right, we're back at the dais, so we have a question, Vice Mayor?
846
02:06:22.080 --> 02:06:33.250
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I have a question about your slide, page 80 of 98. It says, outcomes… it's talking about housing exits over time. Can you explain that slide?
847
02:06:33.720 --> 02:06:42.189
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, I can. So in South County, and I'm… I'm… I used to work from home first, so I know a lot about this slide, but
848
02:06:42.330 --> 02:06:47.449
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I want to differentiate my roles, but, so thank you to them for providing this.
849
02:06:47.550 --> 02:07:00.539
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So that is showing, exits over time, so, so, people that are moving from this process that we are tracking, which is tracking people who are homeless, into permanent housing.
850
02:07:00.620 --> 02:07:16.229
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, as you can see, it's really small, but I think the first quarter that we were tracking it at that point, it was 11 people, and then that got all the way up to 40 people several quarters later, so it really just shows how increased collaboration
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:07:16.410 --> 02:07:31.449
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And holding accountability, I would say, to moving actions forward can help move people into housing. So, housing… housing exits means moving people from homelessness into housing? Correct. Okay.
852
02:07:32.020 --> 02:07:45.179
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, exit is a confusing word in that… in that scenario, so thank you for that clarifying question. I didn't know if that meant that people were losing housing, or… Yeah, good question, yeah. Exit from the thing that we're doing into the… yeah, right.
853
02:07:45.440 --> 02:07:46.660
Mayor Jill McLewis: Councilmember Solman.
854
02:07:47.160 --> 02:08:06.929
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, first, thanks for the presentation to both of you, very clear. And thanks for including the data from Sonoma Valley and from Petaluma, because, you know, we are a little competitive in the West, and we want to make sure we're keeping up with everybody going… all the happenings in the county. Can you just explain, just.
855
02:08:06.940 --> 02:08:22.730
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: big picture, why the data is important, because I attended one of the elected meetings, what I heard the mayor of the city of Sonoma met with the chair of the board of supervisors, reviewed all that data, maybe some of the data that was in the slide.
856
02:08:22.730 --> 02:08:32.120
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And somebody was able to say, if you produce this amount of housing, by this date, We will effectively… 857
02:08:32.490 --> 02:08:52.339
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: be without any unhoused. Yeah, so, and I showed that slide, where if you… I mean, it would take a while to describe the different types of housing, but you have rapid rehousing, and then you have permanent supportive housing, which is a lot of what tonight's been about, and so that slide is showing if you… if you build X number of permanent supportive housing units and X number of rapid rehousing units, we can end homelessness.
858
02:08:52.340 --> 02:08:55.730
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The minute that happens, right? And so that directs investments.
859
02:08:55.730 --> 02:09:20.080
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, and that would tie in, be helpful for staff, especially planning, who have to keep track of our housing element numbers, right? That data would really be helpful to city staff, who are frantically trying to keep up with our housing elements and keep those updated. Is that a good… I think so, yeah, that's a great point. Okay, good. And you've also had similar successes in Petaluma. I haven't heard that there was a similar meeting with the mayor of Petaluma.
860
02:09:20.240 --> 02:09:22.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To talk about the same sort of… 861
02:09:23.010 --> 02:09:32.159
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: outcome from… They, I mean, they present it at their city council meetings, and… and so it's just a little bit of a different dynamic there, but he's…
862
02:09:32.260 --> 02:09:43.380
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, they are aware of it.

They have the same data. I know Reach for Home does similar work up in North County, and City of Santa Rosa and City of Fernando Park both do the same.
863
02:09:43.490 --> 02:09:55.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: theirs is in-house, so their city staff are running their… this process, but it's happening everywhere. So realistically, given the by names and when it's being started, when could we invite you back?
864
02:09:56.040 --> 02:10:06.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to give a similar question. Oh, that's a good question. I would say 6 months at the earliest. It'll take time to really develop the full picture. Okay, alright, thank you. 865
02:10:06.440 --> 02:10:09.190
Mayor Jill McLewis: We had vice… our Vice Mayor had a question. 866
02:10:09.190 --> 02:10:16.649
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I wanted to follow up on a question that Councilmember Zolman asked. So, how many housing units are actually needed? I'm not seeing that in the report.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:10:16.780 --> 02:10:31.619
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I don't know yet, because we haven't started the process. Oh. In West County, we'll get there. Okay, thank you. And by the way, we will have, our intention is to track specifically who is spending most of their time in Sebastopol, so it's not… we'll be able to differentiate to a large extent.
868
02:10:32.980 --> 02:10:34.950
Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, any other questions?
869
02:10:35.660 --> 02:10:39.820
Mayor Jill McLewis: Oh, I'm sorry, you have your hand up? Yeah, there you go, I can see it. Councilmember Carter?
870
02:10:39.990 --> 02:10:52.660
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I have a question about flow.

So, like, some are leaving, and some new are coming in. On average, on any given day in Sebastopol, about how many people are experiencing homelessness
871
02:10:52.730 --> 02:11:06.600
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And is there ever going to be a rapid housing number that works because, you know, new people are entering as… It's a really insightful question, something that we talk a lot about in homeless services is.
872
02:11:06.600 --> 02:11:18.630
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The analogy that I like best is, like, a bathtub, right? So you've got your faucet coming in, and that's the people that are becoming homeless, and then you've got your drain going out, and that's your housing outflow, right? And so. 873
02:11:18.630 --> 02:11:28.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You want to close your faucet and open your drain as much as possible, and then help the people that are, you know, currently experiencing homelessness in a dignified way as best as you can.
874
02:11:28.880 --> 02:11:40.219
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so, I can't answer your question now, because we haven't started collecting the data yet in a really meaningful way, but we will get there. To your point, I mean. 875
02:11:40.220 --> 02:11:42.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We will be able to say… Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:11:42.890 --> 02:11:52.189
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: definitively, here's how many you would need to end homelessness for the group today. We'll be able to do a lot of predictive analysis to say, over time, and here's how much more you would need.
877
02:11:52.390 --> 02:11:53.739
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Does that answer the question? 878
02:11:57.150 --> 02:12:01.780
Mayor Jill McLewis: Alright, and I just have a quick question, because I'm just listening to this here,
879
02:12:01.860 --> 02:12:19.009
Mayor Jill McLewis: I mean, we can say how much we need, but it all depends on whether or not they accept, right? I mean, services and housing, because I keep hearing from people, you know, that say, yeah, I heard about it, but I don't want any housing. I'm happy with what I'm doing. Isn't that part of the challenge that we have?
880
02:12:19.500 --> 02:12:31.500
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think that's why you invest in street outreach, which is why we're here today, right? So, I've been working and managing street outreach teams for a long time, for about 16 years now, and in all the years that I've been
881
02:12:31.810 --> 02:12:39.519
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: either myself doing street outreach or working with staff, I've only ever encountered one person who, after two years of continuous engagement, didn't say yes.
882
02:12:40.000 --> 02:12:48.179
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right? So it sometimes takes that, and it sometimes takes saying hello every single day for 2 years. But it… 883
02:12:48.580 --> 02:12:55.239
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think it's possible. Yes, there are people who immediately say no, because they've been traumatized by the system, because
884
02:12:55.360 --> 02:13:06.540
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: they are experiencing a different reality than the rest of us, you know, what have you. But, that's… that Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
is the magic of street outreach, is understanding what makes this person tick, and how can I get them to yes.
885
02:13:09.690 --> 02:13:14.440
Mayor Jill McLewis: All right, if there are no other questions, then we'll go to public comment, and thank you so much.
886
02:13:15.390 --> 02:13:19.549
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. Hutter and Christy, you guys can go ahead and sit down. I'm going to open it up for public comment.
887
02:13:19.550 --> 02:13:20.140
Mayor Jill McLewis: Comment?
888
02:13:20.300 --> 02:13:35.070
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So this is public comment on the, contracts for the Heart and Soul, as well as WCCS. If you'd like to make a public comment on this item, again, it is a 2-minute public time limit, and I do chambers first, and then go out to Zoom, if there's anyone in chambers.
889
02:13:35.840 --> 02:13:39.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I'll go out to Zoom.

Rob, can you unmute yourself, please?
890
02:13:43.970 --> 02:13:47.790
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Rob, can you unmute yourself? There… whoops. Can you unmute yourself, please?
891
02:13:49.410 --> 02:13:52.050
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There you go. Can you see the… can you see the timer?
892
02:13:52.220 --> 02:14:05.370
Rob: I can't, but it's okay. It's not really a… I guess it's for comment, but I've heard a lot of, of people talking today about how 893
02:14:05.370 --> 02:14:12.759
Rob: There's promises that are made that, you know, aren't achievable, or maybe never could be achieved, and…
894
02:14:13.110 --> 02:14:18.589
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Rob: when I hear about, if you build this many units, that you can end homelessness.
895
02:14:18.980 --> 02:14:34.520
Rob: that's really hard for me to accept. I know there's a lot that I don't know about homelessness, but it's hard for me to accept that you can do that, because it's all dependent on the money continuing to come in to support people if they don't go back and get jobs, or it takes a long time, so you may be able to house them, but
896
02:14:34.590 --> 02:14:39.360
Rob: that's only, like, that's a small part of it, as far as I can tell. 897
02:14:39.460 --> 02:14:54.050
Rob: And I think that saying that this magic number can end homelessness, you know, for this group of people makes people think that it's going to end homelessness, and that they're going to be all done, and the expectation is not near the reality.
898
02:14:54.340 --> 02:14:56.340
Rob: That's all. Thank you.
899
02:14:56.710 --> 02:15:00.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers. 900
02:15:01.250 --> 02:15:04.260
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing that, I'll go back out. Lee, can you mute yourself, please?
901
02:15:08.780 --> 02:15:09.660
Lee: Yes.
902
02:15:10.070 --> 02:15:12.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There you go, can you see the timer still?
903
02:15:12.030 --> 02:15:12.829
Lee: I can, thank you.
904
02:15:12.830 --> 02:15:13.859
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright, go ahead, please.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:15:13.940 --> 02:15:23.549
Lee: Yeah, congratulations to the Hart Organization. That was the first presentation that I've seen that gives me some confidence, a bit of confidence, that the county might actually have a workable plan. 906
02:15:23.670 --> 02:15:25.939
Lee: To improve the problem of homelessness.
907
02:15:26.760 --> 02:15:31.369
Lee: Hopefully, we'll see the number of unhoused living on our streets go down next year.
908
02:15:31.470 --> 02:15:44.870
Lee: The data was really interesting. I think Sandra pointed out that… or asked, you know, about the 67 homeless, is that our number? And it kind of sounds like that is. Two years ago, it was 100. Last year, it was, like, zero, and the point of… point-in-time count.
909
02:15:44.870 --> 02:15:53.350
Lee: No one really thought it was 100, no one really thought it was zero, and you know, the idea that they're moving in and out of the city limits 910
02:15:54.390 --> 02:16:13.050
Lee: probably makes the point-in-time count useless, but if you're in contact with 67, that's probably a decent estimate of what the ongoing number is, and something that we could work with in the future in terms of getting it down. That would also continue to keep us in the highest per capita number of homeless of any city in the county. 911
02:16:13.130 --> 02:16:29.450
Lee: I'm not sure why Councilmember Zolan was concerned about the housing element. We have more PSH units right now, per capita, than any other city. I kind of wonder if the entire county built as much permanent supportive housing per capita as Sebastopol, if that would be enough… enough…
912
02:16:29.450 --> 02:16:35.340
Lee: Homes to End Homelessness, or unhoused. Just a thought. Thanks, bye. 913
02:16:36.030 --> 02:16:42.090
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment on this item.
914
02:16:42.559 --> 02:16:49.779
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will go back out to Zoom. If there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment item on this item, to please raise your hand virtually. 915
02:16:50.260 --> 02:16:52.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, public comment is closed for this item.
916
02:16:53.280 --> 02:16:56.579
Mayor Jill McLewis: Alright, thank you. So we're back at the dais for any comments.
917
02:16:59.350 --> 02:17:01.280
Mayor Jill McLewis: Go ahead, Councilmember Zolman.
918
02:17:01.440 --> 02:17:20.319
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, I just want to thank the presenters. The data was great, presenting the end goal of what, if we really focus on the data, we really can strive to get a number to move towards everyone having a house. So, I will end up moving, staff recommendations.
919
02:17:21.820 --> 02:17:22.980
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'll second.
920
02:17:23.959 --> 02:17:24.959
Mayor Jill McLewis: Was that a motion?
921
02:17:25.689 --> 02:17:29.379
Mayor Jill McLewis: I thought we were doing… do we have other comments? Councilmember Hinton does, so…
922
02:17:31.040 --> 02:17:35.629
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Yeah, I mean, I have supported, 923
02:17:36.190 --> 02:17:53.159
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: these services and West County Community Services to provide them, I think, as long as I've been on Council. I did, I will support this again tonight, but I want to send a really clear message that I heard apologies about lack of oversight. 924
02:17:53.260 --> 02:18:10.079
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: And, that's hard to hear, actually, when we're paying for services. And I think I would be remiss if I didn't say it out loud, because, we're going into another contract tonight, and, 925
02:18:10.280 --> 02:18:14.679
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Well, I supervise staff, and so, as a supervisor of staff.
926
02:18:14.870 --> 02:18:20.000
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: You know, it, it, like, you can make a mistake, but you can't make it…
927
02:18:20.150 --> 02:18:29.620
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Over and over again. So, I just… I am a bit disappointed tonight. I need to say that out loud, to the public. We're spending their money.
928
02:18:29.750 --> 02:18:44.309
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: I do want… I know people are in need, and I'm always been for these services, but I want to assure that if we're signing a contract, that we have some accountability and oversight by the vendor that we're selecting.
929
02:18:44.809 --> 02:18:47.209
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: So… Wanted to make that comment. 930
02:18:48.340 --> 02:18:51.789
Mayor Jill McLewis: Great. And any other comments before I make mine? 931
02:18:52.799 --> 02:19:02.820
Mayor Jill McLewis: I… and I wanted to be clear here before I say that.

Did we actually have a motion? Because I thought we were just doing comments, and then I heard Stephen's… Councilmember Zolman do a motion, so I want to understand…
932
02:19:02.820 --> 02:19:04.820
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We do have a motion and a second. 933
02:19:04.820 --> 02:19:06.469
Mayor Jill McLewis: the motion, exactly.
934
02:19:07.200 --> 02:19:19.840
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, the motion is what is in the staff report. It is to authorize a continued partnership with the Sonoma Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
County Heart and Soul for dedicated homeless outreach services, and authorizing the return to a future City Councilmember the successor MOU. 935
02:19:19.860 --> 02:19:36.209
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And they, HART has also agreed, the county has agreed to be able to continue the services until such time that we can bring that contract back, as well as approving the professional services contract for the West County Community Services for the FY2626 Homeless Outreach Services.
936
02:19:36.500 --> 02:19:47.389
Mayor Jill McLewis: Got it. Okay, I understand before I made my comments.

So, I… I am in agreement with bringing back, you know, the A, the heart and soul, and… and that.
937
02:19:47.389 --> 02:19:52.989
Mayor Jill McLewis: But I personally cannot support bringing back $40,000 for West County Community Services, given
938
02:19:52.990 --> 02:20:16.689
Mayor Jill McLewis: what we've heard tonight. It's been something that we've all wondered over the years. I've not been supportive in the past, and I just… I'm not able to overlook that. We're a city that's strapped for money. We've had… we've seen, you know, a great fluctuation in the unhoused that we have in our community, and it's… it is quite high, and I'm just disappointed to hear that we're… we've been receiving all these reports all this time.
939
02:20:16.700 --> 02:20:36.899
Mayor Jill McLewis: And they're not accurate. So, yes, for part of it, but I will not be able to vote for this if it includes everything, because personally, I think if anything else, I'd like to see that $40,000 going towards something else that might be more effective for us, whether it's a part-time police officer, or part-time someone else that can do something, but I'm just not willing to overlook the fact that 940
02:20:36.900 --> 02:20:47.229
Mayor Jill McLewis: that this, lack of management has happened. I just don't think that that's… that's, in my opinion as a council member, I just don't think that we should be overlooking that and saying. 941
02:20:47.230 --> 02:20:54.840
Mayor Jill McLewis: okay, do better next time. I can't do that, so I'm just… that's where I'm at with this. I expect more for our taxpayers' dollars.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:20:56.500 --> 02:21:00.610
Mayor Jill McLewis: So that's where I'm at. So, I don't know if anyone else has a comment, if you'd like to…
943
02:21:02.040 --> 02:21:03.120
Mayor Jill McLewis: Do a…
944
02:21:03.120 --> 02:21:07.009
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: personal comments, or would you like me to call for the motion? Call for the motion. I mean, call for the vote.
945
02:21:07.010 --> 02:21:08.080
Mayor Jill McLewis: Go ahead and call for the.
946
02:21:08.080 --> 02:21:31.899
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zollman moved, and Vice Mayor Maurer seconded the motion to authorize the continued partnership with the Sonoma County Heart for dedicated homeless outreach services, and return the successor MOU to a Fertier City Council meeting, understanding that the county will continue services until such time that that MOU returns to the Council, and authorizing professional services agreement with West County Community Services for the FY26-26 947
02:21:31.970 --> 02:21:42.629
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 2627 Homeless Outreach services, an amount not to exceed $40,000, and authorizing the execution of the agreement. Councilmember Carter? Yes. Councilmember Hinton? 948
02:21:50.750 --> 02:21:53.420
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: I guess I'm gonna say yes tonight. 949
02:21:55.330 --> 02:22:00.010
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zolman? Yes. Vice Mayor Maurer? Yes. Mayor McLewis?
950
02:22:00.170 --> 02:22:00.810
Mayor Jill McLewis: No.
951
02:22:00.810 --> 02:22:07.419
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Motion passes 4 to 1, with Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, Zolman, and Vice Mayor Maurer in support, and Mayor McLewis in opposition.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:22:08.100 --> 02:22:13.100
Mayor Jill McLewis: So, before we move on to another item, I wanted to ask… I have two things.
953
02:22:13.100 --> 02:22:17.779
Mayor Jill McLewis: I wanted to do a check on a bio break, and I also just…
954
02:22:17.780 --> 02:22:36.609
Mayor Jill McLewis: So, yes on that, and then the second thing I just wanted to make you aware of is that after this break, I'm going to be exiting the meeting. I actually have to have a surgery at 6 AM tomorrow morning, I'm sorry. I learned that this afternoon, so, I… Vice Mayor, I'm just going to ask you to take over for this last, item. 955
02:22:36.760 --> 02:22:37.700
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
956
02:22:37.700 --> 02:22:50.579
Mayor Jill McLewis: So I apologize, but I just… I couldn't… didn't have time to… to let you know that before this. So, do you want to just… do you want to do 5 minutes, or do you want to take… Vice Mayor, do you have any… you said you wanted the break, so is 5 minutes enough? 957
02:22:51.320 --> 02:22:52.220
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes.
958
02:22:52.830 --> 02:23:01.080
Mayor Jill McLewis: Okay, all right. So we're gonna go ahead and do that, and thank you for taking over. Sorry about that, but I have to take care of my health, so thank you.
959
02:23:03.190 --> 02:23:04.220
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We ready?
960
02:23:09.640 --> 02:23:18.560
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, welcome back to the City Council meeting. We are going to next take, item… agenda item number 12. 961
02:23:19.030 --> 02:23:36.169
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Which is potential options to address community concerns regarding graffiti and racial mockery associated with the Safeway area. And who will be presenting? I will, Vice Mayor. Good evening again. Excuse me. As the Council knows, the Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:23:37.460 --> 02:23:44.719
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Over a period of weeks, the Council received a number of complaints from members of the community regarding, 963
02:23:45.380 --> 02:23:53.260
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: graffiti and other types of racial harassment that have been occurring at or near the Safeway store. 964
02:23:53.510 --> 02:24:05.739
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Involving youth, in the community.

And on August 4th, the Council, discussed this and discussed some options and possibilities for dealing with this and provided direction. 965
02:24:06.420 --> 02:24:16.549
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to me to prepare a report on some of the legal tools that may or may not be available for dealing with this. And in particular, there was a…
966
02:24:16.910 --> 02:24:20.540
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Emphasis on restorative justice. 967
02:24:20.870 --> 02:24:29.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so I'll go through those now, and then take any questions you may have. So the… the first one I… I wanna…
968
02:24:30.690 --> 02:24:39.580
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: touch on it is something that is not an option, which is mandating improvements at the site. 969
02:24:42.170 --> 02:24:56.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, sorry, mandating… is that better? Mandating physical improvements at the site, whether that be a fence or cameras. The city generally does not have the ability to require 970
02:24:56.320 --> 02:24:59.089
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Private property owners to make 971
02:24:59.520 --> 02:25:02.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Physical improvements on the site. 972
02:25:02.950 --> 02:25:16.229
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: outside of an entitlement process.

So, you know, it is common when a project comes to the city for a use permit or a design review for the city to require things at that point. 973
02:25:16.350 --> 02:25:19.640
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But the city has no ability in general, to do that.
974
02:25:20.620 --> 02:25:24.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: ad hoc basis outside of that permitting process. So if…
975
02:25:24.880 --> 02:25:28.529
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This property owner came to the city in the future for…
976
02:25:28.690 --> 02:25:38.640
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If they needed a conditional use permit for anything, or if they, you know, were doing a remodel and need a design review, the city might have the ability to do that. 977
02:25:39.100 --> 02:25:40.769
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Requirelows at that time. 978
02:25:40.970 --> 02:25:47.070
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But we… it's not something we can require, sort of, on an ad hoc basis outside of Lowe's
979
02:25:47.300 --> 02:25:50.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The exercise of our land use authority.
980
02:25:51.310 --> 02:26:01.139
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, so going into just a couple of our options that we do have is the city, has been meeting, you know, the mayor initially convened.
981
02:26:01.340 --> 02:26:05.700
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: meetings with the, 982
02:26:06.290 --> 02:26:15.709
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: in his continuing attempt to convene meetings with, sort of, all the interested parties. Neighborhood, residents, the,
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:26:15.740 --> 02:26:35.399
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: school, Safeway, as well as the police department. So those, of course, can continue, and I do want to acknowledge that we had initially misstated in the staff report that those… that that meeting, was previously approved by the Council formally. It has not been. It was something that was done 984
02:26:37.200 --> 02:26:49.659
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, administratively, and the city manager authorized, you know, staff to participate in those discussions. So that can continue, and we can certainly work on trying to get voluntary agreement with…
985
02:26:50.100 --> 02:26:56.039
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Safe way about installing some of these physical improvements, or taking other steps.
986
02:26:56.160 --> 02:27:03.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Some of the other voluntary steps, That are possible are…
987
02:27:04.090 --> 02:27:09.380
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: enforcement of trespassing laws, right? They… as property owners, they can sign…
988
02:27:09.500 --> 02:27:28.260
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: documents allowing the police department to enforce trespassing laws, even if they are not on site. So that would allow this… the police department to enforce trespassing laws, you know, overnight when the site is not otherwise, you know, open for the public to use.
989
02:27:31.020 --> 02:27:41.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The city could also do a graffiti abatement ordinance that requires a property owner to clear the graffiti within specified
990
02:27:41.790 --> 02:27:51.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: period of time. If not, you know, the city would pursue code enforcement, either, you know, fines, or potentially the city doing the…
991
02:27:51.770 --> 02:28:10.169
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: removal itself, and seeking cost recovery from the property owner, that is something that is possible. And there are… many cities have those types of ordinances, and there's processes for recovering those costs by putting it on the… either recording it as a lien on the property, or…
992
02:28:10.450 --> 02:28:18.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Recording it as a special assessment collected on the property tax roll, so… so those ordinances generally require
993
02:28:18.400 --> 02:28:30.250
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, establish a period of time for which the… in which graffiti must be removed. So that could be as little as 24 hours, 72 hours is very common, some cities allow 994
02:28:30.650 --> 02:28:32.090
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Even more than that. 995
02:28:32.480 --> 02:28:45.529
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then, based on Council direction, there was questions about restorative justice. And, you know, to very oversimplify this, you know, restorative justice is intended as a process where
996
02:28:46.240 --> 02:28:52.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, outside the traditional sort of criminal justice system, where you know.
997
02:28:52.870 --> 02:29:00.250
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Through dialogue and, you know, communication, parties…
998
02:29:00.560 --> 02:29:11.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, meet to discuss the insulin, you know, the harm, why it was caused, the reasons it occurred, trying to reach resolution and sort of permanent.
999
02:29:12.630 --> 02:29:21.670
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: maybe not permanent, but a path forward, where everyone feels heard and there are solutions. And again, that's an oversimplification of the process.
1000
02:29:22.920 --> 02:29:32.169
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, restorative justice is one type of diversion program. There are other types of diversion programs trying to steer, rather than
1001
02:29:32.630 --> 02:29:43.120
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: send people to jail or through the normal criminal justice process where they, are diverted to another program. So there are a couple ways this happens. The Sonoma County 1002
02:29:43.310 --> 02:29:47.759
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Juvenile justice system has diversion.
1003
02:29:48.200 --> 02:29:52.329
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Programs, it has restorative justice programs, like many.
1004
02:29:53.980 --> 02:29:55.840
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Systems in the state. 1005
02:29:56.700 --> 02:30:03.199
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, that requires someone to be referred to, you know, those processes.
1006
02:30:03.490 --> 02:30:20.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the probation department juvenile justice is operated through the probation department. They might make, you know, for any particular case, they might decide whether or not a referral to a diversion is appropriate. If that's successful, the process may end, the case may be dismissed.
1007
02:30:20.940 --> 02:30:26.520
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If not, it might be referred back to the normal juvenile criminal justice system.
1008
02:30:26.840 --> 02:30:30.520
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Probation may also decide that 1009
02:30:31.690 --> 02:30:36.819
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, a particular case isn't suitable for diversion and send it
1010
02:30:37.150 --> 02:30:46.520
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: initially to the traditional process. But that, of course, does require, a criminal referral to the probation department that.
1011
02:30:47.630 --> 02:30:59.840
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, after a criminal citation or arrest is made. And then as part of intake at the probation department, you know, they would go through a full process, generally, which would involve fingerprinting and things like that. 1012
02:31:00.920 --> 02:31:13.079
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The city does not fingerprint.

That's not something that the city does. That is something that happens at the county level when an individual is booked, for lack of a better word.
1013
02:31:13.430 --> 02:31:18.440
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So there are a number of cities who,
1014
02:31:19.920 --> 02:31:24.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Throughout the state who might sponsor restorative justice programs.
1015
02:31:25.430 --> 02:31:29.159
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And usually, those are. 1016
02:31:29.250 --> 02:31:46.619
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: are separate from the, you know, police department and the criminal justice system. It might be, you know, grant funding that's, you know, sponsored with school district or other providers, so that's a resource for the community. And the police department might make referrals to those programs.
1017
02:31:47.540 --> 02:32:07.349
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For cases where they think, hey, this isn't something that we want to… maybe it's not illegal conduct, necessarily, but the police department thinks it would benefit from going through some of this process, and they may suggest or refer people to it.

Or there… it may be a type of low-level crime where the police department determines it's not
1018
02:32:07.530 --> 02:32:16.719
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Appropriate to do a criminal process where a citation is issued, or an arrest is made.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1019
02:32:17.720 --> 02:32:25.409
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But in the most common way this works is, like, those referrals are made, might come from the police department, might come from
1020
02:32:26.390 --> 02:32:27.580
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Someone else…
1021
02:32:28.240 --> 02:32:35.600
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the restorative justice program goes on, and the police department is not involved anymore. It happens there. If it's not successful.
1022
02:32:35.900 --> 02:32:41.269
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Police Department doesn't know about it. It's not something they… they felt warranted, 1023
02:32:41.730 --> 02:32:48.369
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, a criminal citation and all to begin with. So those are the most common types of programs run by cities. There are…
1024
02:32:48.520 --> 02:32:51.430
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Programs run by cities where 1025
02:32:51.860 --> 02:33:00.859
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: A police… not run by cities, but sort of partnered with cities, where police department might issue a criminal citation to someone.
1026
02:33:01.850 --> 02:33:09.309
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Rather than it be sent to the juvenile justice system, that person is referred to the 1027
02:33:09.580 --> 02:33:16.390
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: A restorative justice program, With reports back to the police department, and if,
1028
02:33:17.010 --> 02:33:29.119
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the process is successful, you know, that's sort of the end of the line. If the process is unsuccessful for whatever reason, the police department may then decide to move forward with
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1029
02:33:29.320 --> 02:33:30.840
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: preferring the…
1030
02:33:32.840 --> 02:33:51.500
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: citation to the probation department and the juvenile justice system. So at times in the past, you know, Sebastopol at one point had grant funding and participated in a program like this. That funding has expired, it hasn't been used in a couple years.
1031
02:33:51.610 --> 02:34:03.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I do want to note, though, that this process involves a citation being issued by the police department, and so while they aren't fingerprinted and part of the county system. 1032
02:34:04.140 --> 02:34:17.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: there is a case report on them in the juveniles in the city's record keeping, in the city's police records.

And so, you know, juvenile records are confidential, but… 1033
02:34:17.760 --> 02:34:24.370
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In response to a lawful subpoena, or court order, or lawful judicial warrant, like, those… 1034
02:34:24.540 --> 02:34:27.999
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: those records would be released.

They exist and would be released.
1035
02:34:29.740 --> 02:34:37.650
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so, I'll pause there. I think that sort of summarizes most of the pro… the… the…
1036
02:34:39.400 --> 02:34:41.319
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sort of broad options. 1037
02:34:41.630 --> 02:34:46.209
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I think a distinction with having heard some questions from
1038
02:34:47.750 --> 02:34:54.820
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zolman, you know, there was a concern specifically about fingerprinting, and that would not happen
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1039
02:34:55.190 --> 02:35:00.270
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Through a citation, unless the citation was referred to the county.
1040
02:35:00.830 --> 02:35:04.839
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: However, just to reiterate again, if a citation is issued
1041
02:35:05.110 --> 02:35:07.449
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Which is really necessary if 1042
02:35:08.120 --> 02:35:11.370
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If the police department is going to monitor
1043
02:35:11.600 --> 02:35:16.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Compliance with restorative justice process, and potentially
1044
02:35:16.960 --> 02:35:19.760
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Refer it to probation at a later point.
1045
02:35:19.940 --> 02:35:28.840
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: A citation really does need to be issued up front, and while no fingerprinting occurs, that does create a local, you know.
1046
02:35:29.060 --> 02:35:31.279
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Citation record in the police. 1047
02:35:31.630 --> 02:35:39.550
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: record-keeping system. So, with that, I'll… I'll pause, to see if there are any questions from the… Thank you. So, Councilmember Zoolman.
1048
02:35:41.890 --> 02:35:59.899
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Alex, for the report.

Yes, the fingerprinting is of high concern, and I'd like you to be able to explain to the public, along with the Chief, the consequences of fingerprinting, because what I heard the chief say before, he seemed excited and proud of his arrest record. I'd like to know the consequences to our youth.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1049
02:36:00.770 --> 02:36:07.410
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If we do go with a process that involves fingerprinting, what are the consequences for juveniles? 1050
02:36:07.560 --> 02:36:21.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: once fingerprints are taken by a police authority. How long are they kept on file? Who has access to that? Meaning higher governmental agencies, like the FBI, etc. And in particular, for a brown community, what are the consequences? 1051
02:36:21.810 --> 02:36:23.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Immigration-wise. 1052
02:36:27.800 --> 02:36:30.370
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There are a lot of questions in that question.
1053
02:36:30.580 --> 02:36:51.850
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can we break that down a little so that I can attempt to answer it for you? I would just want to hear from you to educate the public of the consequences of fingerprinting for our youth in particular. How long do they stay in the system? What other agencies higher up, to include the FBI, have access to the fact that there are fingerprints available? And in particular, for the Brown community.
1054
02:36:51.850 --> 02:36:56.339
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What is your understanding of the consequences of having fingerprints left in the system? 1055
02:36:56.590 --> 02:36:59.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For those who are un… are undocumented.
1056
02:36:59.830 --> 02:37:04.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Well, for a start, we don't manage any fingerprint systems, so I…
1057
02:37:05.320 --> 02:37:08.710
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I really couldn't comment on how they handled that information.
1058
02:37:08.900 --> 02:37:12.179
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That'd be like me commenting on another city's handling of
1059
02:37:12.550 --> 02:37:15.419
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Records, or flock camera records, or…
1060
02:37:15.770 --> 02:37:18.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I really can't provide you with a definitive answer on that.
1061
02:37:19.450 --> 02:37:25.999
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But I would be assuming that those records are maintained indefinitely. Who they share them with, I have absolutely no idea.
1062
02:37:26.610 --> 02:37:30.769
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Are you saying that this Sebastopol Police doesn't take fingerprints? Correct.
1063
02:37:32.070 --> 02:37:32.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1064
02:37:33.950 --> 02:37:35.379
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: They, they're obtained. 1065
02:37:35.880 --> 02:37:45.850
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: When someone is perhaps a custodial arrest, and they're transferred to… if they're an adult and they're transferred to the sheriff's office jail, they'd be fingerprinted at the sheriff's office.
1066
02:37:46.120 --> 02:37:48.390
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In the case of juvenile probation. 1067
02:37:48.720 --> 02:37:53.740
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Possibly through that process, and I don't know at what point through their process, because we don't have any involvement in that.
1068
02:37:55.600 --> 02:37:57.040
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Hinton? 1069
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:38:03.620 --> 02:38:12.570
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: I'm surprised to be hearing about fingerprints for youth, because I understood that you couldn't routinely take fingerprints for youth.
1070
02:38:12.680 --> 02:38:18.910
Councilmember Neysa Hinton: Am I not understanding that correct? I'm glad we don't do it in Spassible, but I thought that that wasn't allowed. 1071
02:38:20.420 --> 02:38:23.779
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But we have no involvement in the process, so I… I wouldn't like to comment on it.
1072
02:38:25.030 --> 02:38:25.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1073
02:38:26.220 --> 02:38:27.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Carter? 1074
02:38:28.040 --> 02:38:34.600
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, just shifting back to Safeway, just… is that… unnecessarily targeted. Anyway, 1075
02:38:35.710 --> 02:38:38.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You were mentioning that we might be able to have
1076
02:38:40.130 --> 02:38:47.010
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: an ordinance that kind of affects the way Safeway monitors what happens around its property. 1077
02:38:48.700 --> 02:38:49.600
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Mentioned.
1078
02:38:49.830 --> 02:39:04.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we could adopt a graffiti abatement ordinance that requires property owners, not just Safeway, but, you know, other commercial property owners, to remove graffiti within specified periods of time.
1079
02:39:04.810 --> 02:39:11.720
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right. Or face fines, or the risk of the city removing it and charging them for that.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1080
02:39:12.680 --> 02:39:20.279
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right. Do we have anything anywhere near close to that already, where they must maintain, you know, the property nicely?
1081
02:39:21.980 --> 02:39:27.959
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, not something that is clear and explicit.
1082
02:39:28.080 --> 02:39:29.090
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
1083
02:39:29.400 --> 02:39:41.809
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And have we, discussed with them about the shape of the back of the building? Like, you know, maintaining, like, a less habitable space, because it seems to be, you know. 1084
02:39:42.410 --> 02:39:54.359
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Nice, or is it my… is this too directed towards one specific place? Is that not appropriate? No, that's… that's a fine question. I don't mary if you know if that's come up in the conversation.
1085
02:39:55.330 --> 02:40:07.530
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, for the couple times that we did meet with Safeway, we did discuss areas back there, and they had stated they cannot fence off certain areas in that back area, so we have had this conversation with Safeway.
1086
02:40:10.110 --> 02:40:16.100
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, would this be recalling the blight
1087
02:40:18.460 --> 02:40:25.630
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We had a blight policy that we thought about really hard. Is this something that kind of brings it back? 1088
02:40:26.960 --> 02:40:31.559
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Well, the blight, ordinance the Council considered was…
1089
02:40:31.920 --> 02:40:34.350
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: broad. It dealt with all types of Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1090
02:40:35.640 --> 02:40:40.629
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: light. It was also drafted broadly to apply to residential property.
1091
02:40:41.330 --> 02:40:50.150
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: in commercial property, whether or not it was visible from the front or back of the street. The council at the time decided
1092
02:40:51.010 --> 02:40:57.510
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Rather than narrow it by, you know, making it only apply to commercial property, only apply to 1093
02:40:58.560 --> 02:41:02.580
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: things visible from the street, just to not move forward with it at all.
1094
02:41:02.680 --> 02:41:06.530
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This would… if you did a graffiti ordinance, it would contain
1095
02:41:07.040 --> 02:41:16.530
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: elements of the blight ordinance, but it would only be about graffiti. It would not be about other types of blight, like, you know, discarded furniture, or, you know… 1096
02:41:17.070 --> 02:41:26.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, that's cool. I'm just leaning towards holding the property owners a little bit more for the responsibility of
1097
02:41:27.310 --> 02:41:32.150
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: what happens to their property, just a little bit more, so I would lean in that direction. 1098
02:41:33.530 --> 02:41:39.919
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Two questions. How does the graffiti glit… how does graffiti get cleaned up now?
1099
02:41:41.400 --> 02:41:42.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: How does that happen? 1100
02:41:43.270 --> 02:41:52.289
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the property owners now are cleaning up, my understanding from Mary, that Safeway has in the past cleaned up this graffiti. I don't know the exact
1101
02:41:53.840 --> 02:42:11.340
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Well, it used to be that there were two people who were getting reimbursed for the cost of paint, or being given paint, and they would go around… I don't know how often they did it, but they would be covering up… they were volunteers, and they were covering up graffiti. Does that still happen? Yes, we have… 1102
02:42:11.550 --> 02:42:15.320
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Ted and Steve, and Steve was one of our public commenters tonight, earlier.
1103
02:42:15.570 --> 02:42:20.679
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's a volunteer basis, so they do what they can, when they can. Yeah.
1104
02:42:20.840 --> 02:42:24.410
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: as far as Safeway and their… odd. 1105
02:42:24.510 --> 02:42:26.959
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Response to graffiti on the building.
1106
02:42:27.220 --> 02:42:32.790
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We met with them multiple times about a variety of issues, that being one of them.
1107
02:42:32.900 --> 02:42:35.160
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And they were very receptive to 1108
02:42:35.860 --> 02:42:41.350
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: having an extended patrol of their own facility, which I don't think they were doing before that. 1109
02:42:41.600 --> 02:42:47.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Where they'd walk around the entire premises, in the morning, and just sort of see where… what the status of things were, and…
1110
02:42:48.240 --> 02:42:53.759
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And they committed to attempting to remove the graffiti within 24 hours on their own,
1111
02:42:54.000 --> 02:42:57.250
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Provisor, which I thought was commendable, and…
1112
02:42:57.400 --> 02:42:59.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To my knowledge, they've been doing that.
1113
02:43:01.940 --> 02:43:15.519
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alex, earlier in your presentation, you said that the city has been meeting with a council member, with Safeway, with neighbors, school, and the police department, and some staff.
1114
02:43:15.830 --> 02:43:20.609
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I just want to double check, were the neighbors included in any of those meetings?
1115
02:43:22.680 --> 02:43:35.289
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, the first three meetings was with the city's… the chief, myself, the mayor, and Safeway, and Annalie.

Those were back in, I believe, February, March.
1116
02:43:35.920 --> 02:43:59.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: February, March, and May, or… it was 3 months during the spring. We have not met with them since May. We did meet, once with the neighbors and received their concerns. And was Safeway there as well at that time? So, no, we wanted to have an individual meeting with the neighbors to talk to them to get what their concerns were. I will say, after that meeting, we did reach out to Safeway and Annalie, and we have… I've done
1117
02:43:59.030 --> 02:44:00.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We have not heard back from them. 1118
02:44:00.750 --> 02:44:06.609
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Unless the Chief has. I have not heard back from them when I reached out to have an invitation to have the meeting with them.
1119
02:44:07.010 --> 02:44:08.599
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I could speak for… Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1120
02:44:09.090 --> 02:44:13.830
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: At the conclusion of that actual meeting that we had with some of the residents that are here tonight. 1121
02:44:14.200 --> 02:44:16.530
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: on my way back to the police department, I actually
1122
02:44:16.690 --> 02:44:24.160
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: drove across the superintendent for… for the school district, that looks after Annalie, and I had a conversation with him based on that.
1123
02:44:24.300 --> 02:44:30.350
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, they were very receptive to it. We discussed some of the residents' concerns about wanting to have 1124
02:44:30.680 --> 02:44:34.909
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Some sort of, you know, anti-bias, anti-racial,
1125
02:44:35.790 --> 02:44:41.169
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: anti-race… racist-type training in the school, and they said they actually have that program, and it's quite robust.
1126
02:44:41.360 --> 02:44:48.569
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And ironically, the teacher who teaches it walked upon us while we were chatting, so I got to have a chat with him as well. I did…
1127
02:44:49.180 --> 02:44:56.640
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: ask and invite that if they would like some involvement from the police department in that, we'll do whatever we can to… to assist with that, and they were receptive to that idea as well.
1128
02:44:56.880 --> 02:45:00.979
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, that's… Also, that's in progress,
1129
02:45:01.170 --> 02:45:04.969
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Obviously, they've just started their new school year, and that's already underway, so… 1130
02:45:05.600 --> 02:45:10.359
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: inserting ourselves in our current curriculum is not as straightforward as it may seem.
1131
02:45:10.760 --> 02:45:14.950
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But they were receptive to… to those ideas that you came up with.
1132
02:45:15.340 --> 02:45:17.659
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, we're happy to be involved. 1133
02:45:19.190 --> 02:45:28.180
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Councilmember Zolman.

Yeah, so just to be clear, all these meetings, that an elected appeared, 1134
02:45:29.720 --> 02:45:37.280
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: not on behalf of the city. That was not a council vote to have that elected attend these meetings, correct? 1135
02:45:37.370 --> 02:46:02.190
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That is correct, she did that as an individual. So, as of right now, we do not have a voted-upon Council liaison to any of these issues, correct? That is correct. Okay, and just to be super clear, somebody from the city did reach out to Chalk Wade, the principal of Annily, for his response, and as of today, again, zero response from the school. That is correct. I sent them an email after, I can go back and
1136
02:46:02.190 --> 02:46:07.409
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: find the date. I sent them to, Annalie and Safeway, and asked them
1137
02:46:07.410 --> 02:46:15.009
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: They had reached out and wanted to know if it was separate from the meeting that we had taken place back in the spring, and I said yes, and that was the…
1138
02:46:15.010 --> 02:46:33.610
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Last I've heard from them. Okay.

Looping back to the, past, experiences of this city with restorative justice to try to do homework in preparation for this meeting, I did Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
reach out to the Executive Director of Restorative Resources. That… Alex, that was the entity that the city worked with in the past, right? 1139
02:46:33.610 --> 02:46:52.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: she ended up providing successful statistics, and Alex, can you comment, or can the Chief comment to the public about the success rate for those students whose parents agreed to voluntarily go through the program? Yeah, the statistics they provided were that between 2023
1140
02:46:53.070 --> 02:46:55.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And when the program ended. 1141
02:46:55.800 --> 02:47:05.549
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There were 16 referrals, 1 parent declined to participate, and 15 youth entered and successfully completed the program.
1142
02:47:07.170 --> 02:47:12.999
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And it was about, you know, 50… they say it's an average of 15 hours per… per case.
1143
02:47:13.380 --> 02:47:25.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, and in the staff report, it says that that is one of the options, that if we do want to have our youth not go through the criminal justice system to be fingerprinted, etc, etc.
1144
02:47:25.960 --> 02:47:35.959
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we would need to raise the funding, and I did reach out to the same executive director. Mary, I think you were on the email. She is available to provide,
1145
02:47:36.000 --> 02:47:39.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a proposal for how much that would cost, is that correct, Mary?
1146
02:47:41.860 --> 02:47:49.890
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That is my understanding. I just got the email right before, so, I need to go and review it, but that was my understanding on the quick glance of it. Okay, thanks. 1147
02:47:50.080 --> 02:47:51.540
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Carter? Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1148
02:47:51.760 --> 02:48:00.629
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I know that we keep bringing up Annalie, but there are younger schools that are also in the area. Do we know how, they are…
1149
02:48:01.240 --> 02:48:05.600
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Educating about racism and stuff like that, so…
1150
02:48:06.760 --> 02:48:20.819
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we know it's not middle schoolers, or, you know, I did hear that Brookhaven may have had an issue with racism as well, and, you know, are we addressing it at earlier ages and trying to help that along?
1151
02:48:23.380 --> 02:48:25.029
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is that directed at me, sir? 1152
02:48:25.190 --> 02:48:28.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm happy to… happy to put a lot of… Do everything.
1153
02:48:29.220 --> 02:48:37.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I… I haven't had any conversations with Brookhaven on this topic, and I'm not aware of any Actual incidents. 1154
02:48:38.620 --> 02:48:42.140
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, racism or so forth at the school, or related to the school.
1155
02:48:42.380 --> 02:48:52.809
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: or any relationship to Safeway, either, with that particular school. There's always the inference that they're Annalise students, that's just the standard inference, because of the proximity to Safeway.
1156
02:48:53.310 --> 02:48:57.700
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, so, so the, the people that have recently,
1157
02:48:58.250 --> 02:49:03.610
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The graffiti, we know who did it, like, the most recent cases.

Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
1158
02:49:03.910 --> 02:49:08.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I don't recall the dates, but it was, I think, back in April or so forth,
1159
02:49:09.060 --> 02:49:16.200
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, they were apprehended within 24 hours, all four of them, and cited, technically, an arrest. 1160
02:49:17.460 --> 02:49:21.280
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Because we took the matter seriously and investigated it thoroughly, and…
1161
02:49:21.720 --> 02:49:25.200
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, referred them to juvenile probation, and…
1162
02:49:26.410 --> 02:49:29.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To my knowledge, we haven't had any instances of that
1163
02:49:29.230 --> 02:49:33.629
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Really, since it's… that sort of took care of that issue, so perhaps those particular four… 1164
02:49:33.740 --> 02:49:38.190
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Where the repeat offenders If we look at it in that light. Seems right.
1165
02:49:39.100 --> 02:49:51.909
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Zolman? To respond to Councilmember Carter's question to our police chief, I will refer back to an agenda item that I brought back in March of 2025. There, in fact, was a response from the
1166
02:49:51.980 --> 02:50:10.540
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: chair of their board, along with the principal, Sarah Graham, because I had reached out about the bullying that was going on at Brookhaven and the suicide of a 10-year-old. That letter is part of the public comment associated with that agenda item. 1167
02:50:10.540 --> 02:50:32.969
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: she states the fact that they are agreeable to having a city council slash school district meeting. I brought it up. I think some of my colleagues were like, we should just Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
stay in our own lane, and we should just let the schools do what the schools are gonna do. So I just wanted to let you know that that has been approached. Why I think it's relevant to this conversation is that eventually when we get to public comment.
1168
02:50:32.970 --> 02:50:35.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think the principle of Annally should and
1169
02:50:35.970 --> 02:50:43.219
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hopefully, would be interested in doing some joint funding for a program, because all these schools are feeder schools.
1170
02:50:43.420 --> 02:50:51.359
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If the racism starts in the elementary schools, it's gonna feed into the high schools, so that is just what I wanted to bring to your attention, but thanks. 1171
02:50:54.840 --> 02:50:57.180
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, we can go out to public comment, please.
1172
02:50:59.250 --> 02:51:04.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. So this is for public comment for the item regarding the Safeway and the graffiti. 1173
02:51:05.450 --> 02:51:12.920
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In the Restorative justice model, if you'd like to make a public comment. Again, it is 2 minutes. I go to chambers first, and then go out to Zoom, if there's anyone in chambers. 1174
02:51:14.700 --> 02:51:15.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Please?
1175
02:51:24.360 --> 02:51:28.850
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmembers and members of the public, my name is Cynthia Bradley.
1176
02:51:29.450 --> 02:51:33.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I live on Johnson Street, right across from the police station.
1177
02:51:33.710 --> 02:51:36.620
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm going to read you a letter that I'm going to submit to you.
1178
02:51:37.500 --> 02:51:46.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Dear Councilmembers, During the past year, members of our community have been hurt by racist actions in their neighborhood.
1179
02:51:47.470 --> 02:51:51.569
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This racism is not unique to one neighborhood or one event.
1180
02:51:51.920 --> 02:52:00.670
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: According to some parents I have spoken with, there have been ongoing racist and other bullying in our schools for a number of years.
1181
02:52:00.990 --> 02:52:09.459
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As a community, we are all responsible for creating a welcoming environment for everyone in our town.
1182
02:52:10.630 --> 02:52:16.730
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Some community members have stepped up to create a safe presence behind Safeway to protect our neighbors. 1183
02:52:16.900 --> 02:52:22.469
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Some community members have approached the West County High School Board and Annalee High School. 1184
02:52:22.770 --> 02:52:33.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We are coming together to create a number of ways to prevent harmful behavior, and to make it clear that our town does not tolerate racism or any other form of bullying. 1185
02:52:34.860 --> 02:52:37.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What will the Council step up to do?
1186
02:52:38.190 --> 02:52:46.089
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Clearly, Safeway must be held accountable for protecting neighborhoods and customers from harassment on Safeway grounds.
1187
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
02:52:46.550 --> 02:52:52.470
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Businesses in our town must be responsible for maintaining the kind of town we expect. 1188
02:52:53.490 --> 02:52:55.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Annalee High School. 1189
02:52:55.340 --> 02:53:07.520
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Parkside School, Brookhaven Middle School, Sebastopol Charter School, and Sunridge Charter School are within Sebastopol City limits. Cynthia, you have 20 seconds.
1190
02:53:08.480 --> 02:53:22.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The Council should require that these schools meet regularly with the City Council to discuss the school environment, and what the schools are doing to create a safe place for all students, and how the schools promote responsible interactions with the wider community.
1191
02:53:23.010 --> 02:53:37.470
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The Council's resolution 6403-2022, passed in February 2022, is a powerful statement addressing the kind of town we all hope for. Can you create policy which supports this resolution?
1192
02:53:37.580 --> 02:53:43.779
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Thank you for your public comment. I will go out to Zoom. Mary, can you unmute yourself, please?
1193
02:53:47.190 --> 02:53:48.020
marywyman: Yes.
1194
02:53:48.020 --> 02:53:49.729
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 1195
02:53:49.730 --> 02:53:50.510
marywyman: Yes.
1196
02:53:50.510 --> 02:53:51.670
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, go ahead, please. 1197
02:53:51.850 --> 02:53:59.759
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
marywyman: My name is Mary Wyman. I'm a nurse practitioner, and I've lived in Sebastopol for 42 years, currently right near Annalee High School.
1198
02:53:59.760 --> 02:54:11.860
marywyman: On May 28th of this year, at 3.30, I was waiting for an appointment at Pitt and Healy, right near Safeway, when I could hear these noises that were clearly
1199
02:54:11.860 --> 02:54:26.480
marywyman: harassment, menacing. They got louder. I started to walk towards them. It was 3 or 4 teenage boys, right in the area, we all know, jumping up and down, making ape noises, and they were directing them at the apartment across the street.
1200
02:54:26.830 --> 02:54:46.580
marywyman: There was also graffiti behind them, it was a penis and testicles. And when I said, what are you guys doing? They said nothing.

When I pulled out my phone and said, I can film you since you're doing nothing, then they started to run. One of them said, you can't film us because we're minors. When I returned to the apartment and found out who actually lives there.
1201
02:54:46.910 --> 02:55:01.349
marywyman: I was so saddened. I called because it's a lovely family, and they've been targeted repeatedly. I called the police and reported. I was told a car would come by, and that surveillance would increase. 1202
02:55:01.370 --> 02:55:14.169
marywyman: But apparently the response was so minimal, and in fact, I think so disappointing to the family that it wasn't until the Sebastopol Times did the article, thank you, Laura Hager-Rush, for doing that. 1203
02:55:14.170 --> 02:55:29.980
marywyman: that they really felt some support from the community. So my statement is, we need to do something really concerted and serious to address this, so that our families of color feel supported and safe in their home. It was happening right in their front yard. 1204
02:55:29.980 --> 02:55:44.890
marywyman: Also, I think you all need to be informed, the Press Democrat did a whole article about racism at Brookhaven School, a Press Democrat story 8-14-2025, quote, nothing is being done. Thank you. 1205
02:55:45.550 --> 02:55:49.240
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026

Agenda Item Number 1
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I'll come back into chambers.
1206
02:55:50.080 --> 02:55:59.449
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hi, my name's Todd Swindell. I'm a 23-year resident of, Spasspool. And just for the sake of everyone listening.
1207
02:55:59.670 --> 02:56:04.610
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: on Zoom and stuff, to put this in context, what happened on April 27th was,
1208
02:56:04.750 --> 02:56:11.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Boys that live here in Spouse Poll, growing up here with families, felt emboldened during the day to go behind Safeway.
1209
02:56:11.870 --> 02:56:24.669
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and spray paint swastikas, and write, Hitler was right, and advocate for the killing of Black people.

Teenage boys doing that here in Peacown. So this is kind of… and this… 1210
02:56:24.780 --> 02:56:36.669
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: just to put it in context here, you know, and then Mary's talking about, you know, how they're mocking these young black girls that live across the street. So I think it's really important to put this in context, in the sense of the outrage. 1211
02:56:36.890 --> 02:56:45.410
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and have a sense of urgency around this. The first incident happening back in April 27th. It's, you know, complex here, because we're talking about the schools.
1212
02:56:45.520 --> 02:56:50.549
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that, again, this is the West County School District, so we're getting into different bureaucratic areas.
1213
02:56:51.000 --> 02:56:59.979
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But this isn't… this is not… we're doing a disservice. We're doing a disservice to these boys who feel that they can go out in public and act this way.
1214
02:57:00.090 --> 02:57:01.090
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know?
Agenda Item Number 1
City Council Meeting Packet for September 15, 2026