Sebastopol City Council
October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2

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

CALL TO ORDER: Mayor McLewis called the meeting to order 6:15 p.m.

ROLL CALL:

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

Absent:

Staff: Mary Gourley, City Manager
Alex Mog, City Attorney, Redwood Public Law
Administrative Services Director Ana Kwong
Public Works Director Oriana Hart
REMOTE PARTICIPATION: None
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:

The following were presented:
• Creek Week and Pollution Prevention Week Proclamation • Proclamation Honoring Jim Corbett (Mr. Music)
• Proclamation Proclaiming September 2026 Latino Heritage Month • Proclamation – September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Reference Order Number: 2026-237
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 Mayor McLewis announced that Item Number 11 was pulled from the agenda and will be heard at a future City Council Meeting.

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 Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
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:

Ian Hoff Candidate
Sunny G. Week without driving challenge
Mike SRJC Bond
Mary Three Minute Comment
Kate Consultants listed on agenda reports; rate payers
James Commissions/committees
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 any Councilmember wanted to remove a consent calendar item.

Councilmember Zollman requested items number 4 and 5 be removed from the consent calendar.

Mayor McLewis requested item number 6 be removed from the consent calendar.

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

Hunter MOU
Kate Budget at a Glance
Kyle Appointments to Commission /Committees / Boards
Lee Budget at a Glance
Mayor McLewis called for a motion.

MOTION:

Councilmember Hinton moved and Vice Mayor Maurer seconded the motion to approve consent calendar items 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8. Items 4, 5, and 6 were pulled.

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 September 1, 2026 Responsible Department: City Manager

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
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 September 1, 2026 Minute Order Number: 2026-238

2. Approval of Award of Contract/Memorandum of Understanding Between County of Sonoma and City of Sebastopol to establish the roles and responsibilities of the parties in the County's providing staff to engage individuals experiencing homelessness within the incorporated and unincorporated areas of City.

County will assign one 50% FTE Senior Client Support Specialist (SCSS) from the Solving Obstacles for Unsheltered Lives (SOUL), formerly Homeless Encampment Assistance and Resource Team (HEART), to operate within the incorporated and unincorporated areas of City. Some overlap may occur with regular Joe Rodota Trail outreach activities.

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

Additional Fiscal Impact: No payment shall be made to either party. The parties agrees that at all times and for all purposes relevant to this MOU, the County shall remain the sole and exclusive employer of the SCSS. County agrees to provide labor and employee costs associated with the SCSS. County also agrees to provide the SCSS with a vehicle, fuel, laptop, cellphone, and other work-related expenses at no expense to City.

Additional needs with associated costs may arise during the term of this MOU at the request of the City. When feasible, the SCSS shall first attempt to utilize existing homeless programs and resources to address these needs. If no existing program or resource is available, the County and City shall jointly evaluate the request, mutually agree to address the need, and share associated costs equally (50:50).

City Council Action: Approved Award of Contract/Memorandum of Understanding Between County of Sonoma and City of Sebastopol to establish the roles and responsibilities of the parties in the County's providing staff to engage individuals experiencing homelessness within the incorporated and unincorporated areas of City.

County will assign one 50% FTE Senior Client Support Specialist (SCSS) from the Solving Obstacles for Unsheltered Lives (SOUL), formerly Homeless Encampment Assistance and Resource Team (HEART), to operate within the incorporated and unincorporated areas of City. Some overlap may occur with regular Joe Rodota Trail outreach activities.

Minute Order Number: 2026-239

3. Award of Contract Corporation Yard Fuel Station Upgrade (CIP 1001-25.03) Responsible Department: Public Works
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: This CIP is programmed in the CY26/27 CIP Budget $85,000.

City Council Action: Approved Award of Contract Corporation Yard Fuel Station Upgrade (CIP 1001-25.03) Minute Order Number: 2026-240
Resolution Number: 2026-6796

7. Approval of the Sewer System Management Plan 2026 Audit and Update. Item is to Accept the 2026 Sewer System Management Plan Audit Report and authorize the Public Works Director, as the City's Legally Responsible Official, to certify and submit the Audit Report to the State Water Resources Control Board through the California Integrated Water Quality System; and Adopt the 2026 Sewer System Management Plan by resolution and authorize the Public Works Director, as the City's Legally Responsible Official, to certify and submit the approved Plan to the State Water Resources Control Board through CIWQS. The 2026 SSMP Audit was conducted as part of the City's ongoing program review. The audit evaluates implementation of the SSMP, the effectiveness of the City's sewer management practices, regulatory compliance, and areas where improvements or modifications may be appropriate.

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

Additional Fiscal Impact:. There is no direct fiscal impact associated with adoption of the 2026 Sewer System Management Plan or acceptance of the 2026 SSMP Audit Report. Approval of these documents does not authorize any new expenditures or appropriations. The activities documented in the SSMP, including routine sewer operations and maintenance, condition assessment, emergency response, asset management, and capital improvement planning, are funded through the City's Wastewater Enterprise Fund and existing budget appropriations. Any future costs associated with implementing recommendations identified through the SSMP

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
audit and update would be addressed through the City's normal budgeting and capital improvement planning processes
City Council Action: Approved Sewer System Management Plan 2026 Audit and Update. Item is to Accept the 2026 Sewer System Management Plan Audit Report and authorize the Public Works Director, as the City's Legally Responsible Official, to certify and submit the Audit Report to the State Water Resources Control Board through the California Integrated Water Quality System; and Adopt the 2026 Sewer System Management Plan by resolution and authorize the Public Works Director, as the City's Legally Responsible Official, to certify and submit the approved Plan to the State Water Resources Control Board through CIWQS. The 2026 SSMP Audit was conducted as part of the City's ongoing program review. The audit evaluates implementation of the SSMP, the effectiveness of the City's sewer management practices, regulatory compliance, and areas where improvements or modifications may be appropriate.

Minute Order Number: 2026-244
Resolution Number: 6797-2026

8. Receipt of Upcoming Openings as follows: Receipt of Upcoming Openings / Vacancies as follows:

Terms Ending December 31, 2026
Receipt of Upcoming Openings / Vacancies as follows:

Planning Commission:

1. Joan Harper - Resident
Design Review Board:

1. Christian Macke - Category A

2. Lynn Deedler - Category B

3. Marshall Balfe (alternate) - Category D
Climate Action:

1. Lila Newton - Youth Rep

2. Emily Ocon - Local Climate Action Group Member

3. Steve Pierce - Local Climate Action Group Member, Energy Background

4. Sunny Galbraith - Zero Waste, Climate background
Responsible Department: Planning
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda report is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact:. The cost to publish one (1) vacancy notice in the Press Democrat ranges from $295.00 to $343.00 for a total of $885.00 to $1,029.00. This amount includes 1½ hours of staff time for preparing the notices and posting notices in all application locations. The expense is currently budgeted in the adopted FY 2026–2027 budget.

City Council Action: Received Upcoming Openings as follows: Receipt of Upcoming Openings / Vacancies as follows:

Terms Ending December 31, 2026
Receipt of Upcoming Openings / Vacancies as follows:

Planning Commission:

1. Joan Harper - Resident
Design Review Board:

1. Christian Macke - Category A

2. Lynn Deedler - Category B

3. Marshall Balfe (alternate) - Category D
Climate Action:

1. Lila Newton - Youth Rep

2. Emily Ocon - Local Climate Action Group Member

3. Steve Pierce - Local Climate Action Group Member, Energy Background

4. Sunny Galbraith - Zero Waste, Climate background
Reference Order Number: 2026-245

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2

4. Approval of Climate Action Committee Recommendation on Zero Waste Grant Stipend Funds ($6500) to City Council; funds must be used by October 15th; Recommendations for use are as follows: The Climate Action Committee’s recommendation is to spend the $6,500 Zero Waste Grant stipend on an agreement with The Rahus Institute, a 501c3 non-profit and known community partner, to provide a public food waste education event. This agreement will be at no cost to the City and authorizes the City Manager to execute agreement.

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

Additional Fiscal Impact: None
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:

Kate
City Council Discussion/Deliberations/Comments:

Council continued discussion of the item.

Mayor McLewis called for a motion.

MOTION:

Councilmember Hinton moved and Mayor McLewis seconded the motion to approve Item 4 Climate Action Committee Recommendation on Zero Waste Grant Stipend Funds ($6500) to City Council; funds must be used by October 15th; Recommendations for use are as follows: The Climate Action Committee’s recommendation is to spend the $6,500 Zero Waste Grant stipend on an agreement with The Rahus Institute, a 501c3 non-profit and known community partner, to provide a public food waste education event. This agreement will be at no cost to the City and authorizes the City Manager to execute agreement.

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
City Council Action: Approved Climate Action Committee Recommendation on Zero Waste Grant Stipend Funds ($6500) to City Council; funds must be used by October 15th; Recommendations for use are as follows: The Climate Action Committee’s recommendation is to spend the $6,500 Zero Waste Grant stipend on an agreement with The Rahus Institute, a 501c3 non-profit and known community partner, to provide a public food waste education event. This agreement will be at no cost to the City and authorizes the City Manager to execute agreement.

Minute Order Number: 2026-241
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 PUBLIC HEARING(s): NONE

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
REGULAR CALENDAR AGENDA ITEMS (DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION):

9. Consideration of Request for Waiver of Fees:
a. Peacetown Special Event Fee Waiver: Peacetown is requesting $5,000 to be waived b. Many Moons Special Event Fee Waiver: Many Moons letter requests “a waiver for any City fees associated”. Fees requested for waiver $750.

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

Additional Fiscal Impact: Waiving the event fees will result in lost fee revenue and may result in additional park maintenance costs associated with the events.

Public Works Director Hart 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:

Kyle Policy
Lee Structure Policy (types/meets requirements)
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 the motion to approve the waiver of Special Event Permit fees for the 2026 Many Moons Festival, to be held at Ives Park on Saturday, October 3, 2026, in the amount of $750, and to approved the waiver for Special Event Permit fees for the Peacetown Concert Series held at Ives Park, from June 3rd, to September 9th, in the amount of $5,000.

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
City Council Action: Approved waiver of Special Event Permit fees for the 2026 Many Moons Festival, to be held at Ives Park on Saturday, October 3, 2026, in the amount of $750, and to approved the waiver for Special Event Permit fees for the Peacetown Concert Series held at Ives Park, from June 3rd, to September 9th, in the amount of $5,000.

Minute Order Number: 2026-246

10. Consideration for Approval the Citywide Paving Improvement Multi-Year Paving Plan Responsible Department: Public Works Director
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda report is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: Funding for the paving improvements is included in the City's approved FY 26/27 CIP Program.

Public Works Director Hart presented the Agenda item.

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

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Mayor McLewis opened the public comment period. The following member(s) of the public spoke during the public comment period:

Lee
Kate
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 the motion to approve the proposed multiyear paving strategy and direct staff to proceed with the FY 2026-27 reconstruction of Eastside Avenue and South Avenue, begin design and project preparation for the FY 2027-28 overlay projects on Palm Avenue, Maytum Avenue, and Wallace Street, and continue the PMP-based slurry seal program, subject to available funding and final project development.

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
City Council Action: Approved the proposed multi-year paving strategy and direct staff to proceed with the FY 2026-27 reconstruction of Eastside Avenue and South Avenue, begin design and project preparation for the FY 2027-28 overlay projects on Palm Avenue, Maytum Avenue, and Wallace Street, and continue the PMP-based slurry seal program, subject to available funding and final project development.

Minute Order Number: 2026-247

11. Consideration and Approval of Library Reconstruction Work Responsible Department: Public Works Director
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda report is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: The reconstruction cost of up to $89,100 would be funded through the City's Building, Facilities and Infrastructures Reserve Fund (Fund 103)
Public Works Director Hart 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
City Council Discussion/Deliberations/Comments:

Council continued discussion of the item.

Mayor McLewis called for a motion.

MOTION:

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Councilmember Zollman moved and Vice Mayor Maurer seconded the motion to adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a construction contract with DMR Builders for the Sebastopol Library Rehabilitation Project in the amount of $74,250, and authorize the City Manager to approve change orders up to 20% of the contract award, or $14,850, if needed for unforeseen field conditions, quantity adjustments, and other necessary work associated with completing the Project.

Mayor McLewis concern
Councilmember Hinton concern
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
City Council Action: Approved resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a construction contract with DMR Builders for the Sebastopol Library Rehabilitation Project in the amount of $74,250, and authorize the City Manager to approve change orders up to 20% of the contract award, or $14,850, if needed for unforeseen field conditions, quantity adjustments, and other necessary work associated with completing the Project.

Minute Order Number: 2026-248
Resolution Number: 6798-2026

12. Commission and Committee Work Plans. Review and Consideration of the 26/27 Work Plans for the Planning Commission, Design Review Board/Tree Board, Climate Action Committee, and Public Arts Committee (This item was scheduled for the July 21st City Council Meeting; but was not heard due to adjournment of the meeting per Council protocols). Note: In conjunction with the proposed Work Plans, the Public Arts Committee has requested a return to a monthly meeting schedule. The Committee currently meets for two hours on the fourth Thursday of every other month and has determined that monthly meetings would improve their ability to advance projects and accomplish Work Plan objectives in a timely manner. The Design Review/Tree Board has requested a return to meeting twice per month. The Board currently meets once a month for two hours on the fourth Tuesday.

Under the proposed schedule, the Board would continue its regular monthly meeting for project and permit review and hold a second monthly meeting for 90 minutes dedicated solely to Work Plan implementation and long-range planning efforts.

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

Additional Fiscal Impact: If approved by Council, the estimated fiscal impact of adding an additional PAC meeting would be $5,376 to $8,064, and the estimated total annual fiscal impact of adding an additional DRB meeting would be $7,152 to $11,448.

City Council Action: Item 12 was pulled from the Agenda to be rescheduled to a future City Council meeting.

Reference Order Number: 2026-249

13. Direction to Voting Delegate (Mayor McLewis) Attending the 2026 Annual Conference and Expo, Sept. 23-25, on Resolution submitted for consideration at the General Assembly Meeting to be held on Friday, Sept. 25, at 8:30 a.m. Cal Cities received one resolution: A RESOLUTION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

OF THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES CALLING FOR A WORKING GROUP TO CONSIDER A STATE

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT OR OTHER FORM OF INITIATIVE TO ENSURE FINAL LOCAL AUTHORITY OVER HOUSING AND LAND USE DECISION.

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

Additional Fiscal Impact: None.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
City Manager Gourley 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:

Lee
Kyle
City Council Discussion/Deliberations/Comments:

Council continued discussion of the item.

Mayor McLewis called for a motion.

MOTION:

Councilmember Hinton moved and Councilmember Zollman seconded the motion to provide direction to the voting delegate to oppose the proposed resolution unless amended, to ensure that the State retains power to penalize cities who try to circumvent State housing goals.

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

VOTE:

Ayes: Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, Zollman,
Noes: Vice Mayor Maurer and Mayor McLewis

Absent: None
Abstain: None
City Council Action: Approved direction to the voting delegate to oppose the proposed resolution unless amended, to ensure that the State retains power to penalize cities who try to circumvent State housing goals.

Minute Order Number: 2026-250

14. Sebastopol Commons: Building the Commons Final Report Out & Recommendations.

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

Additional Fiscal Impact: Additional staff time is requested to evaluate the financial and operational needs associated with the option chosen. An estimated cost of $40,000 - $50,000 for the fiscal analysis of the O’Reily Building option.

Public Works Director presented the Agenda item and introduced the committee who provided a presentation.

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:

Christine Support
Kate Have others pay for due diligence
Robert Why District 5 not involved; most West County
Martin Real Estate Team Barlow/Tool Library; support thorough look; offered experience no charge Craig Proposal not right one; City should not be landlord Lisa Not right decision
Oliver County should fund
Mary EIFD; Compared to Davis; discussed senior center

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Brian Senior Center
Steve Loss of vitality for downtown/walkability/finances of City Lawrence Transitional moment; find out answer; then ask people Linda Depends on what edge of town live in; bus route could be changed Kate Senior Center; Support; move to next step
Vaughn What not going to be able to do during due diligence; vote of citizens; ballot measure Gary Senior Center; space is a challenge
Lee Three key issues; is this legal; finances $10M funding gap; City to pay rent (civic partners) $900K; may require new taxes
Paul Not think Oreilly is solution; belong downtown
Michael Not support; climate change impact; not waste more time Jen Foot traffic downtown; not support
Linda Not enough room at senior center
Diane Volunteer at senior center; no place downtown for senior center or library to expand Caroline Husband worked on committee; time/effort; have open mind Craig Support due diligence
Dena Long time
Philena Community Center; need space
City Council Discussion/Deliberations/Comments:

Council continued discussion of the item.

Mayor McLewis called for a motion.

MOTION:

Councilmember Hinton moved and Vice Mayor Maurer seconded the motion to:
• Consider a new Ad Hoc Committee at the second meeting in December • Downtown space/location to be considered in the evaluation • Ad Hoc to be considered in preparation for mid year budget review Mayor McLewis called for a roll call vote. City staff conducted a roll call vote.

VOTE:

Ayes: Councilmembers Carter, Hinton, Zollman, and Vice Mayor Maurer Noes: Mayor McLewis

Absent: None
Abstain: None
City Council Action: Approved:
• Consider a new Ad Hoc Committee at the second meeting in December • Downtown space/location to be considered in the evaluation • Ad Hoc to be considered in preparation for mid year budget review Minute Order Number: 2026-251

5. Receipt of Informational Report from Chief of Police on exigent use of surveillance cameras. This report is provided pursuant to SMC 8.80.040, to advise the Sebastopol City Council about the temporary exigent use of surveillance technology, which occurred on Thursday, July 30, 2026. Ordinance SMC 8.80.040 requires a report to the City Council within 60 days of any exigent use of certain surveillance technologies, including Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs).

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

Additional Fiscal Impact: None

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Action: None. Item pulled from consent calendar, continued to next meeting due to adjournment of meeting.

Minute Order Number: 2026-242

6. Receipt of Budget at a Glance Format and Authorize Staff to Post Such Document on the City Website Responsible Department: Administrative Services
Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda report is covered within existing budgeted salaries.

Additional Fiscal Impact: None
City Council Action: None. Item pulled from consent calendar, continued to next meeting due to adjournment of meeting.

Minute Order Number: 2026-243
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.

COUNCILMEMBER(S) REQUESTS FOR FUTURE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS: None CITY COUNCIL/CITY STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/FUTURE MEETINGS:

7. 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. August 2026 Departmental Reports
Reference Order Number: 2026-252

8. 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.

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

ADJOURNMENT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING
September 15, 2026 City Council Regular Meeting was adjourned by Mayor McLewis at 10:30pm. The next Regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, October 6, 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 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
WEBVTT
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: other stuff, and hopefully in that time, they might figure that out, and then we can keep moving, but rather than pausing and making all of you wait here. So, give me one second, just get my agenda here, and Mary, you can tell me when you're… 2 00:00:13.020 --> 00:00:26.190
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You ready? We're good. Okay, all right. All right, thank you all for your patience. Apologies, technology's great till it's not. So, let's see, so we're gonna call this to order, and Mary's going to do a roll call.
3 00:00:27.370 --> 00:00:29.710
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember Carter?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Here. Councilmember Hinton? Here.

Councilmember Zolman? Present. Vice Mayor Maurer? Here. Mayor McLewis? Here. Please note, all Councilmembers are in attendance. Thank you. Let's see, let me move through this here. We are going to now do the salute to the flag, if y'all stand with me.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
6 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:06.520
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, we do a land acknowledgement at every meeting, and so I'm going to go ahead and read that. The City of Sebastopol acknowledges that we live and work within the unceded ancestral homelands of the southern Pomo and Coast Miwok people. We pay our respect to the past, present, and future generations 8 00:01:23.970 --> 00:01:28.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: generations of these peoples, including the Federated Indians of Grayton Rancheria.
9 00:01:28.570 --> 00:01:43.320
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And typically after this, I do a brief history of Sebastopol, but since we can't pull anything up or any photos, I'm gonna go ahead and skip that, and we're gonna move right on to the proclamations. So the first proclamation that we have is Creek Week, Impleusion Prevention Week.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Proclamation, and our, Vice Mayor, Sandy Maurer, is gonna read that for us. And before we do that, is there anyone here who's… are you receiving that, Oriana? Okay. 11 00:01:54.060 --> 00:02:08.910
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Creek Week and Pollution Prevention Week, whereas the third Saturday in September is recognized worldwide as International Coastal Cleanup Day, bringing millions of volunteers together to remove litter from beaches, rivers, creeks, and shorelines. 12 00:02:08.949 --> 00:02:14.600
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Demonstrating that protecting inland waterways is essential to the health of our oceans. 13 00:02:14.790 --> 00:02:22.999
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas throughout the United States, the week starting on the third Monday of September is recognized as National Pollution Prevention Week.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas throughout much of California, including the Russian River Watershed, cities, counties, and other stewardship organizations are recognizing the fourth week of September as Creek Week.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And whereas our pollution prevention practices are intrinsically linked to the health of our watershed lands and waterways.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas the Russian River Watershed Association supports programs to reduce pollution, increase the environmental quality of our watershed, and provide our communities with the knowledge to be effective stewards of the Russian River Watershed lands and waterways.
17 00:02:58.190 --> 00:03:12.790
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas the nearly 1,500 square miles of lands, 150 creeks, and approximately 360,000 residents of the Russian River Watershed are connected and mutually support each other 18 00:03:12.880 --> 00:03:22.440
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas the Russian River, along with its tributaries and associated features, are important resources to the people of Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
19 00:03:22.440 --> 00:03:39.730
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas pollution in the form of trash and debris, chemicals from industry and everyday living, and sediment from construction and many land uses and activities all have the potential to degrade the quality of life and the quality of resources within the Russian River watershed.
20 00:03:39.790 --> 00:03:54.009
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And whereas the Russian River Watershed Association strives to protect our land and waterways through ongoing pollution prevention outreach, which aims to raise awareness of the harmful effects of the pollutants to our natural systems. 21 00:03:54.160 --> 00:04:14.130
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And whereas during Pollution Prevention Week and Creek Week, river and ocean cleanup campaigns will take place throughout Sonoma and Mendocino counties. And we're going to have a Creek Week cleanup here. Councilmember Carter, do you have a date on that? It'll be in the Laguna. This Saturday?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Almost in this parking lot beside the baseball fields at 9am.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But actually, it's all signed up and all full, so you can come and join, but we've got it going. 24 00:04:27.830 --> 00:04:28.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right.
25 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:33.829
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This is our Public Works Director, Arianna Hart. Thank you. Thank you.
26 00:04:35.440 --> 00:04:46.309
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, let's get to the second proclamation, and that would be a proclamation proclaiming September 2026 Latino Heritage Month, and we have Councilmember Steven Zolman doing that one.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Manor Manor. This is a proclamation recognizing Latino Heritage Month, whereas the City of Sebastopol joins the State of California and communities across the nation in observing Latino Heritage Month.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: from September 15th through October 15th, honoring histories, cultures, and contributions of the Latino and Hispanic Americans
29 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:28.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas Sonoma County's Latino community is an integral part of our region's identity, contributing to our local economy through agriculture, hospitality, and small business ownership, and enriching our communities through art, music, food, and family traditions celebrated each year.
30 00:05:28.960 --> 00:05:45.920
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: at events such as Fiesta de Independencia and other regional gatherings. Whereas Latino residents of Sebastopol contribute daily to the vitality of our schools, businesses, farms, and civil organizations, and their leadership and strength. 31 00:05:45.970 --> 00:05:49.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Service strengthen the social fabric of our entire community.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And whereas the observation offers an opportunity for all Sebastopol residents to learn about and celebrate and support the achievements and ongoing contributions of Latino and Hispanic Americans, and to acknowledge and to advance a community that is welcoming and inclusive of all.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Now, therefore, be it resolved that our Mayor, Jill McLewis, on behalf of the entire City Council of Sebastopol, thus proclaim September 15th, 2026,
34 00:06:19.270 --> 00:06:22.590
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There is a misstatement here, 35 00:06:22.650 --> 00:06:31.720
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to be mayor, I think we're gonna need to refix this, to be Latino Heritage Month. And the executive director, Margaret Flores McCabe.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: from Secure Families Collaboration Collaborative, was on her way. I don't know if she made it or not, but they do wonderful work on behalf of our immigrant community. So I'm going to give this back to
37 00:06:43.660 --> 00:06:48.059
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: our wonderful city manager to have this corrected, and then I'll make sure that I give it to her. 38 00:06:49.790 --> 00:07:07.889
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, thank you. And then, our next proclamation, we're going to do, and just… I forgot to mention, after we do the proclamations, then, we can take public comment. We do that up to 20 minutes, so anything related to any of the proclamations, we will do that right after.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So the next one is Proclamation September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and our Councilmember, Phil Carter, is gonna do that one.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Whereas childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children, and whereas 1 in 285 children in the United States will be diagnosed by the 20th birthday.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas 46 children per day, or 16,790 children per year, are diagnosed with cancer in the United States. 42 00:07:41.070 --> 00:07:44.779
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And the average age of diagnosis is 6 years old.
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas 80% of the childhood Keys Center patients are diagnosed late with metastatic disease. 44 00:07:51.530 --> 00:08:02.929
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas approximately one-half of childhood cancer families rate the associated financial toxicity due to out-of-pocket expenses are considerable to severe.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And whereas researchers and healthcare professionals work diligently, dedicating their expertise to treat and cure childhood with cancer.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Now, therefore, be it resolved, the City of Sebastopol does hereby proclaim September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
47 00:08:21.030 --> 00:08:27.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And support this cause that so deeply impacts families in every community across our country. 48 00:08:31.090 --> 00:08:35.610
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I don't know, I don't… do we have anyone here to accept that proclamation?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, alright.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, alright, no problem. Alright, so the last one we're gonna do is Proclamation Honoring Jim Corbett, aka Mr. Music.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, recognizing Jim Corbett, Mr. Music Day in Sebastopol, September 15th, 2026, whereas the sharing of music and message of peace contribute to a deeper sense of community and compassion in all places, including here in Sebastopol. 53 00:09:12.150 --> 00:09:26.380
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas the sources of shared music and messages of peace should be cherished and honored, whereas one of those… one of those enduring sources has been the musicianship, teaching, and inspirations from Sebastopol's own Jim Corbett, also known as Mr.

Music.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas Mr. Music has taught thousands of local young students to sing and love music, whereas Mr.

Music has led his love choir in song and harmony at numerous events in our Sebastopol Town Plaza and elsewhere in our community. Whereas Mr. Jim Corbett has been honored as a Sebastopol Citizen of the Year and has lent his leadership and efforts
55 00:09:45.630 --> 00:09:57.419
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: of community building to our Sebastopol Cultural and Community Center. The Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis annual fireworks shows, and the numerous local Rotary Club events.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas foremost, Mr. Music is the founder of the Peacetown USA Summer Concerts and Gatherings in 2012, and established Sebastopol as the undisputed home zip code 95472 of Peacetime, USA.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas Sebastopol's Peac Town is a beautiful place to be, and the door is always open, Mr. Corbett. 58 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:29.800
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Mr. Corbett in Peacetown promotes the principles of peace as the most powerful source of energy in the universe, and is an infinite source as it flows among all people in total abundance.
59 00:10:29.850 --> 00:10:44.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Whereas Peacetime celebrates the way of being in Peacetown to include be kind, be happy, be grateful, create beauty, build community, love your neighbor, choose love over fear, laugh, sing, dance, and play.
60 00:10:44.770 --> 00:10:51.699
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Meditate and or pray every day.

Love yourself as a divine being, and see others as divine beings.

Agenda Item Number 2
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61 Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Joe McLewis, on behalf of the entire City Council of Sebastopol, do hereby proclaim September 15th, 2026 to be Jim Corbett, Mr. Music Day in the City of Sebastopol. In honor of Mr. Corbett's many, many years of bringing music.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: my artist's brain and, allowing and showing me how to jump through the proper hoops, too.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'd also like to thank the former councils that declared Sebastopol, Peacetime, USA. That was supposedly, from talking to Larry Robinson, he said he thought it was about 2008, and maybe we can figure that, but…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It is a special place that we have that piece down, and for me personally, as I say, getting to bring music to kids, Les Crawford was one of the guys that gave me one of my early jobs and got to…
65 00:13:03.020 --> 00:13:13.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I got to… my job was I took a guitar, a keyboard, and a puppet to schools, and hung out with little kids.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, like I say, I haven't started working yet, so… and, and then 30 years we've had, Kids with Wrinkles, which is the love choir,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And we sing, and there's something very holy about people singing together, and it in itself brings community.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then, the Peace Down Summer Concert Series just kind of started on a whim. We started with 4 concerts at the park, and we just kind of took over from the Arts Center, because they had just moved into the
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the vet's building, and they had done the concerts in the plaza, and it was so wonderful doing it in Ives Park, and it kind of filled that
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that front little part, and I said, I'm not going to be happy until the whole place is full, and if you were there this year at all, you saw we actually had probably 2,000 people in the park, and…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And people, I think, calling it peacetime, people show up with their good vibe.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then that love vibe is absolutely contagious, so everybody's feeling really good about, you know, so, I don't know, it's a… it really is a love fest, and it feels really, really good, and it just shows how…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If we concentrate on the positive stuff that's happening, and
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And do those first things. Be, you know, be kind, be happy, and be grateful. Life can be really, really sweet, and this is a beautiful place to be, and all we have to do is kind of keep embracing each other.
76 00:14:51.310 --> 00:14:59.599
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, building our community on what we want, and quit waving our fists at things we don't want, because that adds…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: energy to that, so… and I appreciate the Council, because you guys are… you have an opportunity.

You can do peacetime here, you can… you should start with a moment of silence, you know, so… but, it's… And I have your proclamation for you here, so… Yeah, so anyway, so thank you so much, and the Council, you are all…
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

78 Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Caretakers have peace down now, so… 79 00:15:53.170 --> 00:15:57.300
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And Sandra got the art going, at PStown this year. 81 00:16:04.380 --> 00:16:08.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's… I have another piece of music in our, either.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's how we create beauty, so… So, thank you all for…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This is a huge honor, and I'm… 84 00:16:19.090 --> 00:16:20.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Pretty cool.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright, Joel.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The good news is we have our technology going, and for those of you who are on Zoom and hearing this, we've had IT issues for the last half hour, so we are good to go, and what we're gonna do is we're gonna go right into public comment, right, Mary? So if anyone has any… Oh, I'm sorry. I would like to just say one thing to Jim, and that is, I'm remembering your wonderful toolbox project.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That you brought to kids in the schools.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

89 Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I want to thank you for that, and for everything you've done.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah. Wonderful. Yay. 91 00:17:00.020 --> 00:17:01.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, you like that. 92 00:17:04.540 --> 00:17:19.899
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I… I have to say something as well. The Toolbox Project, my kids did it. Liz took care of my kids at Castle. I've known Jim throughout growing up in this town, so thank you for everything you do, and thanks for helping the city host 93 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:28.140
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a beautiful music event through the summer, like the other cities have, and I don't think we could do it without you. So, thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Mr. Coup.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, so anyone here who's wishing to say anything, we do public comment, and Mary will take it over here in just a second. It's 2 minutes,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And there's a time limit on that in total, so I'm gonna hand that over to Mary, and again, for those who are on Zoom who are listening to this, we had IT issues. That's why you kind of came in midstream here with, the sounds, so I just wanted to let you know that that's what's been going on. And now we're gonna go into our official public comment for the meeting. And Alex, is there anything else I need to do?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Did you want to, make… Oh, yes, thank you, that's why I'm… everything's a little off. I wanted to mention…
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Let's see… I have… I have… let me see here…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: See, Alex, I should have made these notes.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hold on one second, go ahead. I think staff has,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is pushing to a later date the item that is,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It is item number, for those that are looking.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sorry. 12, 12. Commission and committee work plans is going to be, continued to a different date? Correct, yes. So I know 12. Yeah, scheduled.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, so I wanted to make sure everyone knows that that is happening. And before we go on, I know there were requests to move things around a bit, but what we did was we tried… we have a few items on this agenda that actually have, lines in the next week or so that we have to get to before we can do other items.

Otherwise.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We can't keep moving forward with items such as, you know, with these items. You'll see what we're going through, but they have, like, definite deadlines in the next week that we have to do before anything else. So, all of that, I'm gonna go ahead and let Mary start with public comment.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. So, as you stated, this is public comment. It is a 20-minute time limit. It is about 2 minutes per speaker. We go into council chambers first, and then go out to Zoom for those that can hear us.

Agenda Item Number 2
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107

Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can I just do a soundcheck IT? 108
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Right.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It is, but we have to wait, we have to have… yeah, yeah, items that are not on the agenda, sorry, yeah. 110
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hi, I'm careful.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Everyone, we are ready whenever we get our two council members back, so…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I don't know where Sandy went to. 114
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Vice Mayor?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, for a moment. 116
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: God.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What a wonky night. 118
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hey.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Should we just get… I don't know.

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120

Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Vice Mayor Mountain? Sandy's. 121
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Last call for Sandy. Last call. 122
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is it okay if we… I don't know what to…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We have… we have a quorum. Okay, let's go. So, I'm just going to restate that… first, I meant to ask everyone, do you have… does anyone have a conflict of interest… any conflicts of interest before we do this? So, just to verify. Okay, for those who are online, we are going to get back. We had a tech issue again.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We are going into public comment.

I'm gonna hand that over to Mary to… this is for items that are not on the agenda currently.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. So, as we just stated, it is a 20-minute time limit. We go into… into Council Chambers first, and then go out to Zoom, come back and go out. Once we hit that 20-minute time limit, public comment stops. There is a second public comment period at the end of the meeting. If you'd like to talk at that period, and you did not… were not able to do it in the beginning of the meeting, there's that opportunity.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, again, this is for items that are not on tonight's agenda, so I'll come into chambers first, if there's anyone that would like to make a public comment for an item not on tonight's agenda.
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I just wanted to take a minute and introduce myself. I'm Ian Hoff, I'm running for City Council. I'm just here to observe and listen. I appreciate all your work that you do, and hopefully I'll be joining you soon. Thank you. Thank you for your public comment. I will go out to Zoom. Sunny, can you unmute yourself, please? 130
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sunny: Yes.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the, 2- minute timer?
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sunny: Yes, I can.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, go ahead with your public comment, please.
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sunny: Okay, my name is Sunny Galbraith, and I'm a member of the Sebastopol Climate Action Committee. I'm here to invite and urge council members and city staff to participate in the Week Without Driving Challenge this October 1st through 8th.
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sunny: And I also want to thank Council Members Carter and Maurer, who have already signed up for this challenge.
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sunny: The Week Without Driving Challenge is a national annual event highlighting the barriers faced by those who can't or don't drive. The challenge invites elected leaders, municipal staff, and community members to go about their daily lives, commuting, shopping, attending meetings without driving themselves. Public transit, walking, biking, and carpooling are all encouraged.
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sunny: Elected leaders shape the systems that either include or exclude.

By experiencing a week without driving, leaders can identify gaps, build empathy, and make informed, inclusive transportation decisions. And I wanted to add that it's okay if you have a few trips during the week that you just can't make work without driving. You can still participate! Your experience of not having public transit options to make these trips is really valuable.

Agenda Item Number 2
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Agenda Item Number 2
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sunny: As a high school teacher myself, of teens, as a parent, and a daughter and sister of blind and disabled adults, I really see the gaps in our public transit, and I urge you all to join this Week Without Driving Challenge. I'll be joining myself, and I will send again the email invite, to council members, and then also to Mary, so you can share with staff.
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sunny: staff that wants to participate. And the public! Just look it up, week without driving.
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sunny: Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Sandy, for your public comment. Next, I will come into Chambers, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment for an item not on the agenda. 142
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will go back onto Zoom. Mike, can you unmute yourself, please?
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Mike Von der Porten: Yes, hello. My name's Mike Von der Porten, and I just… I did send you a written communication, but I just wanted to follow up for a minute here online, or with you in person.
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Mike Von der Porten: And that is when government works, it works across our community. So success in Sebastopol, success with our schools, success in the county, state, federal level, when we see that success, we all benefit.
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Mike Von der Porten: I want to draw your attention to issues related to Santa Rosa Junior College and the bond that's on the budget… on the ballot this year. This is a huge bond issue. It's $800 million plus, but the issue is
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Mike Von der Porten: that the way it's structured is going to be terribly expensive. That is, for every dollar the taxpayer pays, only 48 cents actually goes to projects. 52 cents
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Mike Von der Porten: goes into, interest. And I'll contrast that with the current bond that we passed, that we're still working on, where for every dollar
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Mike Von der Porten: you pay in taxes, 75 cents goes to projects, and only 25 cents goes to interest. So this is a really bad construction of that bond, and it really will paint all of government in Sonoma County in bad shape.
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Mike Von der Porten: Ultimately, they expect to collect about $1.8 billion from the Sonoma County taxpayers over the next 35 years. 150
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Mike Von der Porten: And only $800 million of it goes into projects.

About $1 billion actually goes to interest.
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Mike Von der Porten: So I'm going to invite you to take a good, close look at Measure A, B,
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Mike Von der Porten: And I would encourage people to vote no on AB, send it back to the junior college board, have them restructure that bond, and when they bring it forward, it is possible to increase the amount of money that will actually do good by 50%. So, please take a look at Measure AB. Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mike, 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 for an item not on the agenda.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I'll go out to Zoom.

Mary, can you unmute yourself, please?
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
mary cone: Yes.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 157
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mary cone: Yep, great.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, please. 159
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mary cone: I'd like to reiterate what I said at the last meeting. I think we should go back to 3-minute comments, so people can actually have time to get their points across. Most people are interrupted. 160
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mary cone: If the council could do something about that, that would be fabulous. Thanks.
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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 for an item not on the agenda. 162
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will go back out to Zoom. If there's anyone on Zoom. Kate, can you unmute yourself, please? 163
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kate: Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 165
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kate: I can thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright, go ahead, please. 167
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
kate: One comment I have is that I've been asking for a while that when consultants are on staff reports, that they'd be identified as consultants, so there's clarity between
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kate: who are actual employees of the cities, and who are consultants, so I just wanted to bring that up again. And I also want to just note that, 169
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kate: Ratepayers are paying for, I think, 50% of this meeting, although the number percentages keep being fluid by the staff, and if 50% of the time is not spent on water and sewer, then it is a Prop 218 violation.

Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kate, for your public comment. Next, I'll come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment for an item not on the agenda.
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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 for an item not on the agenda.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Do I have one more speaker? 174
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, go ahead, please. 175
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Good evening, my name is James Woodruff, a Sebastopol resident.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I was gonna speak on the issue that got pulled tonight, so I'm just gonna read my comment real quick. 177
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, I strongly believe that community goes… grows through engagement, and I encourage everyone to join in helping to steward our shared home into the future. A way for Sebastopol's many diverse voices to participate is through these commissions and committees.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: These are where passionate volunteers transform ideas and care for the community into tangible action, and serve as an essential connection between our residents. 179
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and the City Council. 180
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: While equipping these committees with the resources they need makes a strong statement that our city values the contributions of its residents, we also get a good return on investment.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The City receives the benefit of many skilled volunteer hours being contributed to help the City function.

For example, I note the consent calendar.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: item… That you're going to be voting on.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The $6,500 zero-waste, grant stipend.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That would not have happened if that committee had not secured
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The stipend funds in the first place.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: True civic health thrives when engagement is not just praised, but tangibly supported.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Investing in these groups is a direct investment in Sebastopol's social capital.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I urge the City Council to support a collaborative, connected, and flourishing Sebastopol. 189
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you.
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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, please raise your hand.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I'll come back into chambers. If there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment for an item not on the agenda.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: CNN public comment is closed. 193
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, thank you very much, Mary. We are going to move into the consent calendar. I'm going to read all of these items, and then I'll see if anyone wants to pull anything. 194
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Number one, approval of City Council meeting minutes for regular Meeting of September 1, 2026. Number two, approval of word of contract memorandum of Understanding between County of Snowman, City of Sebastopol to establish the roles and responsibilities of the parties in the counties
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Providing staff to engage individuals experiencing homelessness within the incorporated and uncorporated areas of the city.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Number 3. Award of contract corporation yard.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yard Fuel Station Upgrade, CIP1001-

25.03. 198
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Number 4. Approval of Climate Action Committee recommendation on Zero Waste Grant Stipends $6,500 to City Council.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Funds must be used by October 15th.

Recommendations, for use are as follows, and they're listed on there.

Number 5, receipt of informational report from Chief of Police on Exigent use of surveillance cameras.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This report is provided pursuant to SMC 8.80.040 to advise the Sebastopol City Council about the temporary exigent use of surveillance technology, which occurred on Thursday, July 30th, 2026.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Number 6. Receipt of budget at a glance form… at a glance format, and authorize staff to post such document on City website.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Number 7, Approval of Sewer System Management Plan 2026 Audit and Update.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Item is to accept the 2026 Sewer System Management Plan Audit Report and authorize the Public Works Director as the City's legally responsible official, to certify and submit the audit report to the State Water Resources Control Board through the California Integrated Water Quality System. 204
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Number 8, receipt of upcoming openings as follows. Pardon me, receipt of upcoming openings, let's see, terms ending December 31st, 2026. And we have,
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Vacancies for, one vacancy for Planning Commission, Joan Harper Resident, Design Review Board, we have, Christian Mackey, Category A, Lynn Deedler, Category B, and Marshall Valve.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Our alternate for Category D, and then Climate Action. We have Lila Newton, the youth rep, Emily 207
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, Ackon? Local Climate Action Group member, Steve Pierce Local Climate Action Group member, Energy Background, and Sunny Galbraith, Zero Waste Climate Background. So, would anyone like to pull any items? Go ahead, Councilmember Zolman. Yes, I'm requesting to pull items number 4 and 5. Let me see what those are. 208
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Number 4 and number 5? 209
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And anyone else over here? 211
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right. I'm sorry, did someone say something? I did. Can I just inter… interject really quick? Number 5, if we pull it, we should put it at the end.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The chief is out on a accident right now that… involved in, so not sure when he's going to be able to make it to the meeting, so if we don't have him here, we may want to push that item.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And may I ask with number 4? 215
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is that… it says by October 15th, if we don't get to it tonight, if we put it at the end? That is from Zero Waste, that is their deadline to use the funds. So, otherwise, we'd… I mean, there's a grand… great possibility if it's at the end, then it's going.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to the next meeting. Then you would shorten the time frame to be able to use the funds. So typically, so everyone knows, what we typically do is, whenever anything is pulled, it goes to the end of the agenda. But, given the information that we have here, I'm gonna…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I mean, we need to go to public… do you want me to go to public comment and then reorder, or do you want me to…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If we… so those have been requested to be pulled, so we can either take… usually take them at the end of the meeting.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But we can re… we can reorder at that point, but we need to take public comment on the remainder of the, yeah. Yeah, okay. So, go ahead, we're gonna go to public comment, and then we'll come back.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, thank you, Mayor. So this is for public comment on consent calendar items.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Minus number 4 and number 5, which have been pooled. If you'd like to make a public comment on the remaining items, please come to the podium, and then it is a 2-minute time limit, and then we will go out to Zoom after that.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hey y'all, I'm Hunter Scott, Deputy Director for Homelessness for Department of Health Services. I just wanted to thank you for your presumed vote for the MOU between our organizations. I think we've started a really amazing project together, and I look forward to continuing it. Thank you.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

223

Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I'll go out to Zoom. If there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make… kate, can you unmute yourself, please?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Am I on… There you go. 225
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kate: Can you hear.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, can you see the timer? 227
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kate: Yes, thank you, Mary.
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kate: My public comment is the budget, at a glance is terrifically flawed.
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kate: The city receives money in two forms. One, it receives money from taxes that fund the general fund and cover general fund expenses. Two, it receives money for fee-for-service to provide water and sewer service. 230
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kate: These monies are completely different and need to be recognized as such. Therefore, they should not be conflated and combined as what we see on the first page of a budget at a glance.
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kate: The first page should only be related to the general fund, including revenue to the general fund and expenses to the general fund, including capital projects related to the general fund. The second page should only be related to water funds and sewer funds.
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kate: And…
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kate: Capital projects related to water and sewer coming out of water and sewer funds should be denoted as such on the second page. When the city staff
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
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kate: inflates the two, it creates confusion for the Council and the general public, which might be why the Council and the general public have a
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kate: a hard time understanding the finances for our water and sewer fund versus the finances for our general fund. I ask.
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kate: that the budget be corrected to reflect these different, completely, legally different pools of money. In addition, there are pie charts for water and wastewater that are unintelligible. 237
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kate: You should not combine revenue and expenses into a single pie chart, because you can't tell what proportion of either source is going towards either, or towards expenses.
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kate: that's my final comment. Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kate, for your public comment. Next, I will come into chambers.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Please? Hi, my name is, Christine Koenig, and I'm a resident here. I'm here to follow up on my email and, in support of Agenda Item 14, in support of the Commons concept. 241
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This is for items that are not… Yeah, so that'll… this is just for the consent calendar items. Number 14 will be coming up in a little bit.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I apologize. No, no, no, good. No, it's okay, I just wanted to make sure. Continue this, or… No, no, we'll call you up when… Come back to me. Okay. When that item… when we're discussing that item, then you can talk about it. This is just for items on the consent calendar. Gotcha, thank you. Thank you. So, next, I will go out to Zoom. Kyle, can you unmute yourself, please?
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
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Kyle Falbo: Yes, I can.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 245
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Kyle Falbo: No, but you can let me know.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, go ahead, please. 247
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Kyle Falbo: So, I wanted to speak primarily on the commission appointments and say thank you. I'm very glad to see the City bringing these upcoming Commission and committee vacancies forward in September, with enough time to recruit.
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Kyle Falbo: By recruit, I mean active recruitment. I hope we've got some good marketing behind us.
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Kyle Falbo: interview and hopefully make appointments before the existing terms expire on December 31st. I think it's important to recognize this as an improvement, because that has not been our experience over the last two years. In 2024, the City identified four Climate Action Committee terms expiring December 31st.
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Kyle Falbo: On October 15th, Council chose to delay the recruitment.

While questions about the committee's composition were resolved.

Recruitment subsequently opened in November with applications due December 26th. Then last year, the recruitment item for several terms expiring December 31st didn't come before Council until October 21st. 251
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Kyle Falbo: For the Climate Action Committee, recruitment wasn't posted until October 30th, the deadline ultimately extended to December 25th, and interviews and appointments didn't occur until February 3rd of this year.
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Kyle Falbo: And the problem wasn't limited to climate action. In 2025, Planning Commission vacancies persisted long enough that Council was still conducting interviews and making appointments far after the deadline.
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Kyle Falbo: That's why I appreciate what's happening tonight. This year, staff is starting in September, providing approximately 6 weeks of applications, identifying exist… explicitly identifying the goal of having a smooth transition into the first meetings in January. Our boards and commissions and committees depend on volunteers giving their time to the city.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Kyle, you have about 25 seconds. 255
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Kyle Falbo: A predictable recruitment calendar respects their time, prevents vacancies from lingering, and gives these bodies the continuity they need to do their work. I encourage whoever is
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Kyle Falbo: responsible for agenda Review, that rather than what I saw this year at Agenda Review, where work schedules and an unwillingness to hold interviews earlier in the day
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Kyle Falbo: Be understood that these are.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Kyle, that's 2 minutes. 259
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Kyle Falbo: Volunteering their time.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I will come into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers? 261
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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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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Lee: Yes, can you hear me?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 264
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Lee: I can.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, go ahead, please. 266
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Lee: Yeah, I just wanted to,
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Lee: add to Kate's comment, it's… it's bad formed, obviously, to mix the water and sewer revenues with general fund revenues into a single financial report, since the water and sewer revenues are not fungible.

They cannot be used for general fund purposes.
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Lee: the part that…
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Lee: really irritated me was the first line of this thing is the combination total revenue 31, total expenses 31, beginning balance 18, ending balance 17.999. That makes it look like the city's financials are in great shape, and they're really not.
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Lee: And that is part of the problem of mixing and matching things that shouldn't be mixed and matched. 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. 272
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I'll go back out to Zoom. If there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment, please raise your hand.
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, public comment is closed.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright, thank you. So, we had two items pulled.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: thus far.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm questioning about, whether or not we need to reevaluate, number 6, so given the public comments and everything that's going on.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I'm gonna go ahead and… 278
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm gonna pull that and put it at the end.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So… So I'd just like some more clarity on that.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, given the situation that we're in with timing,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Number 4, I'm gonna reorder, and we're gonna put that, actually as the next item that we do. We're on number 9, if you all are. I'm hoping everyone's okay with that, because of the time frame. We need to get that done very quickly. So I'm gonna make that the next one that we discuss, and then I'm gonna put 5 at the end.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Of the, of the day, and then number 6 as well, so… Hmm.
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Agenda Item Number 2
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Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Are we all okay with that, everyone? Okay, so that's… that's the order we're gonna go in. And did you have something to say, Alex? Oh, I thought you were, doing that. So, I guess we just need a motion here for, items 1, 2, 3,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 7, 8, 7, and 8, right? As you just listed, so moved. A second.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So moved by Councilmember Hinton, and seconded by Vice Mayor Maurer to approve Consent Calendar Items 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8, with items 4, 5, and 6 removed. Councilmember Carter? 286
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah. Councilmember Hinton? Aye.

Councilmember Zolman? Yes. Vice Mayor Maurer? Yes. Mayor McLewis? Yes.

Motion passes unanimously. All right, thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, moving on, we do not have any… let's see, we do not have any informational items tonight, nor public hearings, but we're going to go right into our
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: agenda items that, require discussion and interaction, and given what I just said, we're going to open up with the number 4 item that was, just on the con… on the, 289
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Consent calendar, approval of Climate Action Committee recommendations on Zero Waste Grant Stipend funds, $6,500 to City Council.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Funds must be used by October 15th.

Recommendations for use are as follows. The Climate Action Committee's recommendation is to spend the $6,500 Zero Waste Grant Stipend on an agreement with the Rawhaus Institute, a 501c3 nonprofit and known community partner to provide a public food waste education event 291
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This agreement will be at no cost to the City, and authorizes the City Manager to execute agreement. Mary, I don't know, do we have Jane? I thought… We have plenty of staff, but if Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
it's a quick question, I can try to address it. Otherwise, we can have staff give the presentation.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I pulled it, and as soon as I saw it, I sent an email to Mary that my concerns, largely, are due process concerns.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, Mary, correct me if I'm wrong, the email you sent confirms the fact that the proposal and what's being recommended by this committee and also staff, was just brought up. 294
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For the first time when there was a vote called on it, correct? So, my understanding was City staff received notification through this from Zero Waste in
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: mid-July, but it was too late to put it on the July Climate Action Committee agenda, so they discussed it at the August 11th, meeting, and then at the Climate Action Committee on August 11th, but there were certain items that did not fall under the grant, so they brought it back to September 8th.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to… for recommendation for the use of those funds. Okay. My other… one is noticing, as far as what gets placed on agendas to give, again, our volunteers that take time out of their lives to come.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to know what's on agendas. My other question is also opportunity to respond. So, what materials were sent out?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to help these committee members prepare for a vote when they showed up on September 8th. So they had the zero-waste,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the information from Zero Waste was submitted, is what the grant was. They had a… they had a packet from August 11th, and then September 9th, they had,
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Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: recommendations from one of the members of the community that had some ideas for the use of this. They discussed it during public comment, and they agreed for this, 301
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the outreach and the education. So there was 2 months that they had the materials. Right, but my ultimate question is, did they notice who was coming to pitch this concept before they showed up on September 8th?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That I'm not aware of. I do have planning staff on, so we can check with them. Yes, I would like that. So either Jane or Eli, can you guys unmute yourself to answer the question, please?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Steven, can you make Eli, Arreola, and Jane Riley, co-host, please, so they can unmute themselves and respond to the question?
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Eli Arreola: Hi, Eli Arreola here. Can you repeat the question for me one time? Apologies.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sure, my question was. 306
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: When did the committee members have knowledge of who was going to come and pitch a recommendation for them? Did they have any notice prior to their arrival on September 8th? 307
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Eli Arreola: They did. I don't have the exact date.
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Eli Arreola: That… That staff received, the…
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Eli Arreola: The pitch that ended up being the recommendation, but… Agenda Item Number 2
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Eli Arreola: the Climate Action Committee members did have an advance notice that… that we had received a…
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Eli Arreola: An additional offer for, a way to spend those funds. 312
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that was specifically from the person the recommendation is in favor of, the Rahalas Institute. 313
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Eli Arreola: That is correct.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I don't have anything else. Okay. 316
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Anyone else have anything? 317
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right then, Mary, you want to do public comment? Thank you. So this is for public comment on Agenda item number 4, which is the use of the zero waste funds. If you would like to make, a public comment, I will come to Chambers first. 318
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I'll go out to Zoom.

Kate, can you unmute yourself, please?
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kate: Thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer still?
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kate: I can't.

Agenda Item Number 2
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Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, go ahead, please. 323
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kate: I think this grant is great, and I totally respect the work that the committee is doing, but I…
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kate: I am wondering how much it costs to distribute the $6,500, if there was two meetings, now a council meeting, and the planning consultants are involved.
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kate: Because it seems to me that it's probably cost over $2,000 to bring the grant to this point, so that's probably, you know, around a third of the total granting amount. And I'm wondering if there's a way to expedite these types of processes so that the cost to administer something, doesn't…
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kate: outweigh, kind of, the benefit that the community is receiving.

Thank you. Bye-bye.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kate, 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, seeing none, I will go back out to Zoom. If there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment, please raise your hand virtually.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, public comment is closed on this item.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright, thank you very much. 330
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, we're back here. 331
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Dias, do we have a motion? Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Anyone have any?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Comments?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: A motion?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'll go ahead and make a motion to approve the recommendation by the Climate Action Committee to spend the $6,500 zero-waste Grant Stipend on an agreement with the Rajas Institute, which is a 5013C nonprofit. And I'll second that.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So moved by Councilmember Hinton and seconded by Mayor McLewis to approve the Climate Action Committee's recommendation on the Zero Waste Grant Stipend funds of $6,500.

Councilmember Carter? Yes. Councilmember Hinton? Aye. Councilmember Zolman? Yes. Vice Mayor Maurer? Yes. Mayor McLewis? Yes. Motion passes unanimously.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you very much. Now, let's see, we are going… sorry, I'm getting my papers in order here. We are going to move on to number 9, consideration of request for a waiver of fees.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Peacetime Special Event Waiver, Peac Town is requesting $5,000 to be waived. Mini Moons Special Event Waiver, Mini Moons letter requests a waiver for any city fees associated.

Fees requested for waiver are $750.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I believe we have our Public Works Director, Oriana.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, thank you, Mayor and City Council. These are two requests that were brought to us at Public Works. 341
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to waive special event fees for events that are in the parks, Ives Park, the first being for the city to contribute $5,000 to the summer concert series of Peacetime, and their total fee this year was $6,400, because we charged them a daily fee, and they have some amplified music associated with their event. 342
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then the second request was for the Many Moons Festival that is going to be in October. This is their second year, and they're just a one-day event, and they're $750, and so they've asked for the Council to waive their entire fee. 343
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm not sure if there's anyone here from either organizations to say anything. I think Mr. Corbett is outside. So, with that, I'll pass it to the Council for consideration.

Okay, thank you. Does anyone have any questions?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, go ahead. How much, since this is a second year event for the Mini Moons Festival, we probably did, I'm thinking of fee waiver last year. Do we have a record of how much it was? 345
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Maybe I'm missing it. It's in the staff report. Oh, sorry, I'm glancing through.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It looks like it was $1,200 last year. Okay, thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, any other questions? If not, we'll go to public comment. Thank you, Mayor. So this is for public comment on the request for waivers of fees. If you would like to make a public comment, again, there's a 2-minute time limit. I will go to Chambers first.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I'll go out to Zoom.

Kyle, can you mute yourself, please?
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Kyle Falbo: I can.

Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer yet?
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Kyle Falbo: I can.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, great, go ahead, please. 353
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Kyle Falbo: For the number of times that I have seen over the last few years.
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Kyle Falbo: Council approve the wavering of… the waiving of fees for special events, I would propose that we just go ahead and be done with it. Let's go ahead and eliminate fees for events in our city. 355
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Kyle Falbo: Because every event is going to come for this council and ask for a waiving of those fees. And every single time, you go ahead and you waive those fees.
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Kyle Falbo: And I understand that there's a lot of really great community events that are happening, but what I think that we fail to realize is that these are true economic costs to
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Kyle Falbo: the city.
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Kyle Falbo: Right? Oftentimes, they're included in these fee waivers are time, commitments, labor by police, Which are typically overtime. 359
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Kyle Falbo: And these things add up.
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Kyle Falbo: But, hey, if we go ahead and stretch them out, and just we have our fee waivers, right, this is a fee waiver for an event that's already passed, right? Coming in after the fact and asking for a reimbursement of the fees that were paid.

Agenda Item Number 2
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Agenda Item Number 2
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Kyle Falbo: So, let's go ahead and just call it quits, let's eliminate fees on events in our city, and just have it be a free-for-all. Sound good?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kyle, for your public comments. 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.

Lee, can you unmute yourself, please?
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Lee: Yeah.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you go… see… Sorry, can you still see the timer? Okay, go ahead, please.
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Lee: Kyle is prone to be a little dramatic.
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Lee: But he has a point.
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Lee: You could, in fact, structure a policy that says that 369
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Lee: fees for certain types of project… of events that are well known and common, for example, could be waived by policy. You could also structure it that certain types of events that meet certain requirements could be, 370
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Lee: waived in terms of fees, and then you cut this whole thing out, and you save a shitload of money. I mean, you're… you're putting staff reports together for these things, and, you know, doing all the research, and it's just not worth the money that you're spending on it. Thank you. 371
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
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.
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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 this item, to please raise your hand virtually.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, public comment is closed on this item.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, thanks, we're back at the dais. So, we have comments. Councilmember Zolman? Yeah, I just want to thank, both, parties for, all the great work. Well, the both entities for all the good work that they did, and, the time and effort to go through the application process. I will differ with
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: at least one public commenter, and the fact that if we default to a policy of just those that are common, I think is the word that I used, I'm not entirely sure we would have ever considered many moons.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: which I will speak in their favor.

The event was really great, and I'm not shocked by the number, that's reported in the staff report.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the number of people who turned out was a great event, and it does contribute to, specifically, to the diversity and representing and uplifting the diverse voices within our community. So I just wanted to say that, and say that I'll be supporting it.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, any other comments? Oh, go ahead, Councilmember Hayton. I wanted to ask staff, now, why Peacetown is such a difference from what we waived last year to what we waived this year? Was the fees different? Did they hold more concerts? It, you know, it looks like it's a big difference, so I was curious about that. 379
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Unless I'm reading it wrong, but last year we waived $1550, and this year they're asking for a waiver of $5,000.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Not positive I have the correct answer, but I believe that Council did not waive everything they asked for last year, is my understanding.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, it would be nice to have seen that in the staff report, because I do question whether we should waive the whole thing again this time, although,
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Completely supportive, and they do do a number of concerts, so it seems like a pretty good deal for the city, but…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I'm sorry, I was reading that. I just wanted to contribute that I feel like Peacown just simply respected the city's budget and asked for a lesser amount, and this year I've requested a more full amount of their costs.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's… that's my thought. 385
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can I ask one more? Oh yeah, sorry, go ahead. I mean, we brought it up before, I think, with the Easter egg hunt, about these coming after the events have happened. 386
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I do believe maybe we should look at some sort of policy so that we somehow get them to us. 387
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: before events happen, and I brought it up before, so… So, we received this request at the end of June, and per the policy that we discussed when we had this conversation in the spring, they need to go to the Budget Committee.
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Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There was a hearing in early July right after the budget, but I didn't have the staff package together to bring it to that budget committee, and there was not another opportunity until last week for it to go to budget.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: it seems like we talked about that before, too, and that we don't hold things necessarily to go to budget first. I can't recall the actual…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: discussion points, but I know that we talked about it being timely and not getting held up. 391
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, maybe we need to bring something forth about that, but thank you. May I ask a clarification? I'm looking at this chart again, and it says 2024
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 1550… 2024, 2025, $15.50, and then 2025, 2026. Am I missing it there? I don't see an amount for Peacetown there.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm just asking for… Is it… 394
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Your mic's off.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'll go to that question in just a second, but back to your question, Councilmember Hinton. So, last year, they were… their total fees were $5,050, so it looks like they did have an extra event for this year, and the Council did waive just the $15.50. 396
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For… for Peacetown. For 24-25? For 20… for last year, for sure. So May of last year, 2025? 397
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, okay.
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Agenda Item Number 2
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Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I just thought these were in the fiscal years, because 2025, 26… 2020… anyway.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Am I?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Off.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So you're saying last… it was last year's that was the 15… So, in May of 2025, when the Council approved this, it… it would have been the 24-25, it was $15.50, and that is the last one that I see, but let me go back and just verify that with… 402
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: another report.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm gonna have to use Ana's computer, mine just froze.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can you pull up on the share drive, the minute orders?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Please.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can you find admitted orders? 407
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Or, Houston.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Excuse me, I'm just wondering if this information is critical to making a decision, because I'd be really happy to make a motion.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think the person who asked it wants an answer.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So you can…
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If somebody wants to… So the last one I have is May of 2025, was a request. The 1550. Okay. That is correct. Before the concert started. Okay, go ahead. Thank you. That's it.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I'd like to make a motion to approve the many moons waiver in the amount of $750,000 and the Peacetown fee waiver in the amount of $5,000. I seconded.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. So moved by Vice Mayor Maurer, seconded by Councilmember Zolman to approve the waiver of permit fees for the special event for the Many Moons, as well as Peacetown Concert Series in the amount of $750 and $5,000, respectively.

Councilmember Carter? Yes. Councilmember Hinton?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Aye. Councilmember Zolman? Yes.

Vice Mayor Maurer? Yes. Mayor McLewis? Yes. Motion passes unanimously.

Okay, thank you.
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Moving on to item number 10, consideration for approval, the Citywide Paving Improvement Multi-Year Paving Plan. Again, Public Works Director, Oriana?
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Good evening again. 417
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, this item is to look at which roads we're going to include in our SFY27 pavement Improvement CIP project.
418
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Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We are recommending, just as a recap here, that we do a reconstruction on east side and south, and then do a design using some of our money from this fiscal year to do a big Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
slurry seal project, and to do an overlay on Palm, Meetingham, and Wallace. And I'll get into how I got to that decision.
419
01:05:47.890 --> 01:05:57.809
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And just to start with, I just want to touch again on what a pavement management plan is, and last time we talked about this, there was a lot of discussion about what PCI is, Pavement Condition Index.
420
01:05:57.850 --> 01:06:13.529
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So this is sort of just a rough outline of where roads fall on a 0 to 100 scale. For PCI, 0 to 40 is very poor. You know, 40 to 70 is reasonably good, and over 70 is 421
01:06:13.530 --> 01:06:31.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: in fair shape. And so, when we traditionally put together pavement management plans, we're looking to do kind of surface treatment on roads that are on that 70 number, because we want to catch them with something like a slurry seal or a microsurface before they kind of go over the pavement edge and start to deteriorate. 422
01:06:31.940 --> 01:06:38.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's kind of the philosophy behind a traditional pavement management plan, which the city has one that was approved in 2025.
423
01:06:39.040 --> 01:06:50.629
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And they're generally meant to look at the most economical way to spread money, and that money is usually gas tax money or Measure M money. So, just real quick, these are kind of, go… 424
01:06:50.640 --> 01:07:05.350
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for the roads that are in those brackets. So, east side that we're recommending, is very poor. Morris, right outside here, is a road that's in fair condition. The top is starting to come off, but it could certainly do an overlay. 425
01:07:05.410 --> 01:07:11.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then Bodega, the road that we just completed, is in great condition, has a very high PCI. 426
01:07:12.680 --> 01:07:26.489
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And you guys know this, but this is kind of the money numbers that came out of our current pavement management plan. 40% of our roads are not in great shape, and the capital cost to fix those is over $20 million.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
427
01:07:26.510 --> 01:07:37.619
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so when they put together the pavement management plan we have, they were… did not have Measure U yet, and they were only looking at, kind of, the federal and state funding that we had, and recommended some service treatments.
428
01:07:37.750 --> 01:07:47.979
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In the interim of that, we did pass Measure U, and we have some money that the voters have indicated we want to use for public improvements, specifically roads.
429
01:07:47.980 --> 01:08:01.169
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And other things but roads. And so, the question that came up when we talked about this in the spring is kind of, how do we decide which roads are the ones that we should elevate to be repaired first?
430
01:08:01.170 --> 01:08:07.980
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is it really just, you know, their bad payment condition index, or is there another way to kind of look at that from a scientific level?
431
01:08:08.160 --> 01:08:20.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so this is kind of what I tried to get as, like, a dual path of, we need to do this pavement management plan, we need to do service treatment on roads that are recommended so that we don't, you know, up that $20.8 million.
432
01:08:20.029 --> 01:08:32.260
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But we also need to figure out, how to prioritize our very, very bad roads, neighborhood streets, and roads that would never, ever reach the recommendation of a traditional pavement management plan to be repaired.
433
01:08:33.899 --> 01:08:53.120
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So what I did is I took the payment condition index at 0 to 100, and then I went through all of our other planning documents that we currently have, the active transportation plan, our Safe Routes to school, I looked at which roads are on major traveled thoroughfares, which ones are near schools, hospitals. 434
01:08:53.120 --> 01:09:04.899
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: How many parcels they serve, and whether or not we have, you know, priority infrastructure projects under Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
the road, so we definitely want to, you know, do a pavement and infrastructure project as a combined.
435
01:09:04.939 --> 01:09:13.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I gave, kind of, a score elevator to those roads that had any of these indicators. And that analysis
436
01:09:13.479 --> 01:09:28.760
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: is in this big spreadsheet, which you can't see, but they're the roads that are… you have it in your council packet, and you'll see that the PCIs kind of get deflated a bit in those roads that have any of those indicators that they're other community values.
437
01:09:28.850 --> 01:09:49.659
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so this is ranked by what fiscal year I'm proposing to do the pavement treatment, and so it combines our total budget, looking at both reconstruction projects for roads that have those poor PCI scores, and just the package of treatment projects that was proposed in our current pavement management plan. 438
01:09:49.660 --> 01:09:57.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I didn't do anything with those recommendations. MTC does a good job of kind of picking those rows, and we need to run both of those
439
01:09:57.460 --> 01:09:58.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Paths in parallel. 440
01:10:00.190 --> 01:10:19.469
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, my recommendation for this current fiscal year is that we do a reconstruct on east side and south.

Those are two of our worst streets after Strout, and they're, near major thoroughfares, they're on school routes, and we have some sewer, infrastructure
441
01:10:19.470 --> 01:10:21.980
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Projects in there that have already been identified.
442
01:10:21.980 --> 01:10:36.140
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But you'll see that I also have a design pre-build amount that I'd like to use some of this year's capital money to do. So, when we had this discussion in the spring, and the Council recommended that we move forward with Strout.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
443
01:10:36.170 --> 01:10:52.809
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We did, but we had to put out an RFP for design, and then we had to make that contract happen, and we are in design. It's near completion, but we've substantially lost, kind of, the pavement window for reconstructing. By the time we put it out to bid right now, it would be the middle of winter.
444
01:10:52.810 --> 01:11:12.139
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So to prevent that from happening, next year, if we can get approval for both the recommended streets for 2627 and 27-28, I could put those streets into design and have them pretty much ready to issue a notice of award once we have budget approval July 1st of next year.
445
01:11:13.450 --> 01:11:29.300
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So these are the streets that I'm recommending for the 2728 program. That's Palm, Maiden, and Wallace that have overlay projects on them, and then that package coming out of our current pavement management plan for us slurry seals throughout the city. 446
01:11:32.610 --> 01:11:37.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And these are the ones that are in the pavement management plan of just, slurry seal streets. 447
01:11:41.040 --> 01:11:45.109
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So this is kind of what this looks like across the city. The dark…
448
01:11:45.720 --> 01:11:58.709
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: solid lines are the ones that are bigger construction projects, where we actually have to either redo the street or do a substantial grind and overlay, and the dotted streets are ones that are being recommended for a service treatment. 449
01:11:58.970 --> 01:12:11.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So this is through 29, but the 2829 streets, we will certainly revisit. We are going to redo our pavement management plan next year. The city gets a biannual
450
01:12:11.420 --> 01:12:34.509
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: grant from NTC to evaluate all of the streets and see how they're doing, and then put together, kind of, recommendations. And they will work with cities and kind of look at how I put this together and add their input, so they'll look at, kind of, our bad streets and the surface streets and make some recommendations Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
themselves, and we can reevaluate anything into the future. But this would get us through this fiscal year and into next fiscal year. 451
01:12:37.340 --> 01:12:56.399
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So what I tried to do here is kind of do two complimentary ways. There's just traditional MTC pavement management, most economical way to spend your paving dollars, and a way to choose kind of our worst streets and start picking away at those.

They're expensive, but they need to happen, and we have some funding that we can leverage there.
452
01:12:58.420 --> 01:13:12.010
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So that's what I have. I'm asking Council for approval for, the reconstruction of Eastside and South, and the design of my 2728 streets tonight, and then continuing into 28 to relook at the pavement management plan. 453
01:13:12.810 --> 01:13:16.080
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, thank you. So, questions here at the dais?
454
01:13:17.860 --> 01:13:18.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Nope.
455
01:13:19.100 --> 01:13:19.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead.
456
01:13:20.050 --> 01:13:25.519
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, I don't really have a question, but it's kind of a thank you for the map and getting it organized. 457
01:13:27.150 --> 01:13:30.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, so public comment, if we don't have any questions?
458
01:13:32.540 --> 01:13:47.929
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. So this is for public comment on the Pave Me the Streets, agenda item. If you'd like to make a public comment, again, I will come into chambers first, and then go out to Zoom, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment on this item.
459
01:13:49.050 --> 01:13:53.609
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will go out into Zoom. Lee, can you… whoops, Lee, can you unmute yourself, please? Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
460
01:13:54.620 --> 01:13:55.310
Lee: Yes.
461
01:13:55.490 --> 01:13:57.260
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you still see the timer?
462
01:13:57.260 --> 01:13:58.210
Lee: Yeah, I do.
463
01:13:58.210 --> 01:13:59.129
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, please. 464
01:13:59.480 --> 01:14:07.610
Lee: Yeah, you guys probably figured out that a lot of times I really don't care what you do, and I'm not a world… the world's leading expert on streets.
465
01:14:07.610 --> 01:14:25.319
Lee: But I do care that it's done in a responsible and business-like way.

The Council received this street study in April of 2025, 18 months ago.

It was approved on a consent calendar, even though the staff report asked Council to consider and vote on one of three different investment strategies.
466
01:14:25.550 --> 01:14:30.200
Lee: That is not… business-like.
467
01:14:32.380 --> 01:14:40.149
Lee: I am pleased now that 18 months after the study was completed, we actually have a street plan, that, kudos to Director Hart. 468
01:14:40.150 --> 01:14:52.960
Lee: for anticipating and trying to get things going ahead of time to streamline and shorten timelines to get these projects actually implemented. Obviously, it's critical in their business because 469
01:14:52.960 --> 01:14:58.159
Lee: weather makes a difference. So anyway, kudos to Director Hart, thank you.
470
01:14:59.140 --> 01:15:05.469
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Lee, for your public comments. Next, I will come back into chambers. If there's anyone in chambers, I can make a public comment on this item.
471
01:15:06.440 --> 01:15:09.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none to go out to Zoom.

Kate, can you mute yourself, please?
472
01:15:11.670 --> 01:15:12.699
kate: Can you hear me?
473
01:15:12.700 --> 01:15:14.649
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I can hear you. Can you still see the timer?
474
01:15:14.650 --> 01:15:15.680
kate: I can, thank you, Mary.
475
01:15:15.680 --> 01:15:16.670
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, please. 476
01:15:16.670 --> 01:15:25.230
kate: Yeah, I want to echo Lee's, comment. I think this has been, Director Hart's, presentation.
477
01:15:25.230 --> 01:15:48.379
kate: has been one of the most thoughtful and clear that we've seen in many, many moons, and I just want to thank her for her work, and as we know, infrastructure is capital intensive, and it requires a lot of follow-through and planning, and you're planning over many, many years. 478
01:15:48.380 --> 01:16:08.090
kate: And as we've seen with water and sewer, capital and projects often get forgotten and left undone, like the Pleasant Hill Loop that still is not done. It was identified in 2005. So I think we should all, count our lucky stars that Director Hart is working for
479
01:16:08.090 --> 01:16:11.020
kate: The city, and on behalf of the citizens.
480
01:16:11.340 --> 01:16:30.599
kate: Because I feel that under her leadership, that we will actually start to see capital improvements happening, because she has the skills Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
and the, ability to structure and to plan ahead, so that we can actually accomplish some things. Thank you.
481
01:16:31.780 --> 01:16:37.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kate, for your public comment. Next, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers.
482
01:16:38.320 --> 01:16:45.440
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I'll go back out to Zoom. If there's anyone on Zoom that would like to make a public comment on this item, to please raise your hand virtually.
483
01:16:45.750 --> 01:16:56.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, public comment is closed on this item. All right, thank you. We're back here for comments.

Go ahead, Councilmember Zolan. Yeah, I just want to second the, public's comment, and thank you to Ariana.
484
01:16:56.600 --> 01:17:05.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Director Hart, for a very clear presentation. Thank you for dealing with all the pushback from the last one, where I just wanted some scientific something to just… 485
01:17:06.110 --> 01:17:09.149
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Be able to identify why we're funding.
486
01:17:09.340 --> 01:17:16.959
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: what we're funding, and it was very clear, and thanks for, the staff report. It, too, was clear, and the slide deck was clear, so thanks.
487
01:17:17.620 --> 01:17:29.349
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead. Yeah, I wanted to wait to the comments section, but thanks very much. The map is super helpful, and we can see it with the color codes for the next 3 years, so really helpful. Thank you.
488
01:17:29.750 --> 01:17:33.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Any other comments before I make mine? Go ahead.
489
01:17:33.190 --> 01:17:34.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Did you have one? Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
490
01:17:34.890 --> 01:17:45.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Vice Mayor, you look like you were going to. Yeah, it's really nice to hear the public, comments, of appreciation for our Public Works Director.
491
01:17:45.150 --> 01:17:55.090
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I'm glad to hear that, and also to thank you for the work on this. I'm really excited about getting our roads, at least getting a start on our roads getting repaired. 492
01:17:55.480 --> 01:18:10.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I would like to make a motion to… I'd like to make my comments, too, so go ahead, and then, okay, well, you can still make your comments. I'll make a motion to approve the citywide pavement management and multi-year paving strategy. 493
01:18:11.250 --> 01:18:29.269
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then I'd like to make my comment. First of all, thank you. Really happy that you have put forethought into this and put it together, but I also just have, just a humorous comment, because I don't know if it was maybe a month or two ago, I called the city because it looked like a…
494
01:18:29.330 --> 01:18:37.890
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: some type of tank or something was going down the street, and it was extremely loud, and some neighbors were asking me, and I didn't know what it was, and I called the city, and they said.
495
01:18:37.890 --> 01:18:57.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that's the sound of progress.

They're repairing the roads, and I said, it's been so long since that's happened that we just don't even know what that, you know, it was… so I was super excited after that, but I had people asking me as well, so I just, just want to express my gratitude for thinking ahead and planning this, so that we can get things done sooner, so thank you. 496
01:18:57.410 --> 01:18:59.819
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I'll go ahead and second the motion on the table.
497
01:19:01.020 --> 01:19:09.560
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, go ahead. I just want to add, I already thanked you, I'm super grateful you exist, and, you know, we're getting this on, but,
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
498
01:19:10.110 --> 01:19:28.399
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, there's a little bit of a lag effect in all this, and there's a lot of government processes that you guys might not see that kind of, like, made it a little bit longer of a, you know, process than we needed, so this was very, actually, business-like, and we are very grateful to have this.
499
01:19:28.860 --> 01:19:29.820
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Progress.
500
01:19:30.100 --> 01:19:44.749
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, so we have a first. Do we have… did you second already? Okay, so go ahead. So, so moved by Vice Mayor Maurer and seconded by Councilmember Zolman to approve the proposed multi-year paving strategy and directing staff to proceed with the reconstruction of Eastside and South.
501
01:19:44.750 --> 01:19:51.109
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then to be… design the project preparation for 2020 overlay projects on Paul, Mayton, and Wallace. 502
01:19:51.110 --> 01:19:59.009
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember… Carter? Yes.

Councilmember Hinton? Aye. Councilmember Zolman? Yes. Vice Mayor Maurer? 503
01:19:59.010 --> 01:20:14.589
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes. Mayor McLewis? Yes. Motion passes unanimously. All right, thank you very much. We are moving on to the next item, consideration and approval of library reconstruction work, and that, again, is our Public Works Director. You are a busy lady tonight.
504
01:20:14.620 --> 01:20:34.529
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Back to me. Good evening. This is the next phase of our library repair. So, as everyone knows, we had an emergency closure in June when some mold was found. And in July 7th, Council approved the contract to do the mold remediation of the interior of the library.
505
01:20:34.530 --> 01:20:49.080
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That work started in the middle of July, and it finished towards the end of August, so the mold has been removed, the building has been tested, and it is currently clean, but the walls are now, studs.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
506
01:20:49.080 --> 01:21:02.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, right around when we tested the building for mold, we opened a brief solicitation for informal bids with some contractors to put the library back together. And we… 507
01:21:02.620 --> 01:21:27.319
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: decided to exclude, kind of, exterior moisture repairs. The… what it's looking like from what we can see on the walls is that the moisture is coming through the brick veneer, and the waterproofing, the moisture barrier behind the brick veneer has failed. So there's going to be… need to be a CIP project to do the exterior siding of the library at some point, to do the drainage around the library.
508
01:21:27.420 --> 01:21:37.120
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But engineering all of that would take some time as a government agency, and getting it right so that this doesn't happen again will take some time.
509
01:21:37.120 --> 01:21:50.910
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And with the goal to reopen the library as soon as possible, this contract is just to put the insulation and sheetrock back on the interior walls and paint them so that the library can reopen, because we can do the exterior work while they're open.
510
01:21:50.970 --> 01:22:15.769
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So we got 6 different contractors who came and looked at the project, and we received bids on the 8th of September, and we're recommending award to DMR builders. They've done some work for us at the Youth Annex before, so they're a known quantity, and we respect their work, and they do feel it's going to take them about 2 months to do the interior reconstruction.
511
01:22:15.770 --> 01:22:22.599
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to do the two spots that have some dry rot issues, that actually will go through the brick veneer, and there's
512
01:22:22.760 --> 01:22:31.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: structural repair that needs to happen, but they're hoping to be done if we can move quickly with an award by the end of November.
513
01:22:32.720 --> 01:22:34.499
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, thank you. Questions? Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
514
01:22:36.030 --> 01:22:46.099
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for, the report. Thank you for all the ongoing work. Thank you for responding to Q&A. I think, through you and Mary, there's…
515
01:22:46.140 --> 01:22:58.499
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Q&A, FAQ? Is there an FAQ somewhere? It's on our website, right? Okay, so, because I'm not sure, I'm sure I'm not the only one that's gotten a lot, a lot of email about what are we doing with El Nino.
516
01:22:58.500 --> 01:23:07.920
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And are we spending money that's just going to get washed out with this huge, heavy rain? So can you just sort of dial that in and allay concerns?
517
01:23:07.920 --> 01:23:25.650
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that there's reason for what it is you're recommending, and that if El Nino comes, everything will still be okay, and there's a plan. So, a couple of pieces. One of the comments that keeps coming up is that somehow the solar on the roof has caused the roof to leak.
518
01:23:25.680 --> 01:23:36.390
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the solar on the roof of the library does not penetrate the roof. There's not a roof leak. And we've been in the attic, so that's not where the moisture is coming from. It really looks like it's coming up from the bottom.
519
01:23:36.400 --> 01:23:54.630
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So we are going to ask the contractor while they're there to work on some, you know, drainage solutions that'll get us through this winter. Before we start putting anything back, we're also doing moisture testing to see if there's any really obvious spots where we can see water coming through. There just… there wasn't a very smoking gun, but
520
01:23:54.630 --> 01:24:07.319
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the original assessment, I think, is still true. The wallpaper that was on the interior of the library was kind of holding the moisture there. So that was a driver of why there was mold there, and we're not putting that back.
521
01:24:07.320 --> 01:24:20.770
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So we can see if moisture does start to come in, and we can monitor it through the winter, and we will work on some interim solutions to get us through El Nino, and then a bigger project next summer. Okay, thank you.
522
01:24:21.360 --> 01:24:22.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Question?
523
01:24:22.730 --> 01:24:29.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Vice Mayor. What side of the building is the… are the drainage problems on, or is it the whole building?
524
01:24:30.950 --> 01:24:35.989
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It… at this point, without doing more of the engineering that we need to do to…
525
01:24:36.030 --> 01:24:53.319
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: make that analysis, which is what would be part of setting up that CIP. I would say it's just because the kind of dirt is all around the building, and, you know, the building's a little bit sunken into the landscaping, so the water just kind of sheet flows there, and it hits the foundation, and it's even kind of built up a little bit over the foundation, so there's not
526
01:24:53.360 --> 01:25:00.090
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That usual elevation that you see on the footing around a building. So that's our current assessment. Okay, thank you.
527
01:25:00.910 --> 01:25:01.889
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead.
528
01:25:03.370 --> 01:25:08.260
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I mean, I hesitate to go ahead and authorize when…
529
01:25:08.930 --> 01:25:20.140
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we know there's other problems that still need to be analyzed, and I really don't want us to have egg on our face and go ahead and spend this money, and then all of a sudden, we've got a problem because we've rushed to it.
530
01:25:20.910 --> 01:25:22.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You're the expert.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
531
01:25:22.560 --> 01:25:35.279
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, this is your recommendation, you're standing by it tonight. It is, and we're gonna monitor it, but I feel the library is such an important piece of this community, and it's been so missing that holding out for a full
532
01:25:35.280 --> 01:25:43.379
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: drainage design, to fully evaluate how we can repair those pieces. We keep the library closed through next summer.
533
01:25:43.380 --> 01:25:53.049
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So this is an interim solution, it's not the final solution. We do have more work to do. So it's either this or next summer. That's… there's no in-between?
534
01:25:53.300 --> 01:26:07.090
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: if we have to do a full engineering look at how the drainage works, and what the recommendations are for the exterior repair, then I'm going to need to get an engineer and do an RFP for that engineer to do it, you know, to fully do it right and make sure this doesn't happen again.
535
01:26:09.570 --> 01:26:20.260
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I understand some of the costs are being covered by others. For that extensive work, do we have offers of costs also covered by others?
536
01:26:20.500 --> 01:26:28.269
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We don't know what the cost of that is, but thank you, I did forget to mention that the library has authorized $75,000 towards this remediation work.
537
01:26:30.250 --> 01:26:46.040
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I just want to, ask too, I just feel concerned about, given the predictions for weather that we have and all of that, I just don't want to, you know, have… we've been receiving the emails about concern and don't approve this tonight, and so, I mean, I just really need…
538
01:26:46.070 --> 01:26:50.909
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To feel comfortable that, you know, should we experience this,
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

539

Agenda Item Number 2
01:26:51.120 --> 01:27:03.489
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the winter that they're predicting, I mean, how frequently are you monitoring this? Who's monitoring? I just… I just need to understand, like, who's staying on top of this so we don't get into this situation where we have mold again.
540
01:27:03.510 --> 01:27:18.269
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We will keep tabs on the moisture of the interior walls. I know it's a concern, and we are moving nimbly to get the library put back together as quickly as we can. So this is an interim step.
541
01:27:18.330 --> 01:27:28.910
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But we can certainly do kind of the moisture testing that our building official has, and that we did on City Hall with our internal meters, and just make sure that we're not seeing anything.
542
01:27:28.910 --> 01:27:41.600
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That is also why we're kind of going to do some of that moisture testing when we have the building… builder there, because it really does not seem obvious. There could have been a leak from a couple years ago that maybe the roof fixed. 543
01:27:41.600 --> 01:27:56.109
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: probably… there's no obvious reason why we were getting mold. The drainage is an assumption. And just one other question. Is it safe to assume this will be a mid-year budget type thing? I mean, will you have any idea what the project's gonna end up costing?
544
01:27:56.130 --> 01:28:02.839
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Anytime in the next… Months? It will be a mid-year budget thing, yes. Okay, alright.
545
01:28:03.060 --> 01:28:04.140
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you.
546
01:28:04.960 --> 01:28:06.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No other questions? 547
01:28:07.820 --> 01:28:14.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, just to confirm, There were, there were, there were, there were,
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

548

Agenda Item Number 2
01:28:14.350 --> 01:28:22.920
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: proposals between $75,000 and, like, maybe $200,000. We were very fortunate to get this one through an expedited process. Again, thank you.
549
01:28:22.930 --> 01:28:35.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And we're able to do this for $79- ish, and get a $75,000 possible reimbursement from the library. I think that's… that's fair to say. Yeah, okay, cool.
550
01:28:38.150 --> 01:28:41.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sorry, if there are no other questions, Mary, we'll go ahead.
551
01:28:41.530 --> 01:28:52.870
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mayor. So this is for public comment on the consideration of the approval of the library reconstruction work. If you would like to make a public comment, I come into chambers first, and then go out to Zoom. If there's anyone in chambers.
552
01:28:53.280 --> 01:28:54.100
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alvin?
553
01:28:58.700 --> 01:29:00.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Patty should be fine for this. 554
01:29:00.910 --> 01:29:02.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I thought I'd make a sign for a change.
555
01:29:03.050 --> 01:29:11.080
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I mean, seriously, I mean, it's a county library, and we're talking about, we have no idea how much this is going to cost.
556
01:29:11.410 --> 01:29:19.279
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: With… what is… we're leasing the library building for a dollar a year, I think, to the county. We're scrabbling around for money in the city.
557
01:29:19.320 --> 01:29:34.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And this is like an open-ended thing, where we, you know, the roof may leak this winter, and it may be a quarter of a million dollars, or whatever, and the county's saying they Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
can chip in $75,000. The county should be paying for the whole thing, and the county should be paying a proper rent as well.
558
01:29:34.510 --> 01:29:36.189
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So that's my opinion, thank you. 559
01:29:37.830 --> 01:29:46.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Oliver, for your public comment. I will go 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.
560
01:29:47.690 --> 01:29:51.049
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I will come back into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers.
561
01:29:52.230 --> 01:29:56.679
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, public comment is closed. Okay, we're back here at the dais for any comments. 562
01:29:58.760 --> 01:30:02.929
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead. No comments, I'll just go ahead and move staff's recommendation.
563
01:30:03.220 --> 01:30:04.350
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'll second.
564
01:30:04.600 --> 01:30:24.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I'm just gonna comment that I am commenting that I am concerned about doing this. I publicly want to put that out there. I understand the need and all of that, but it really is very concerning for me. And I'm going to second that, follow the Mayor's concern. I hear, get the library back. It sounds like the move is too quick.
565
01:30:24.400 --> 01:30:30.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm not a move-quick person, I'd rather move a little more slowly and make sure we have our ducks in a row, but…
566
01:30:31.110 --> 01:30:34.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If you're telling me it's okay, I'm gonna support it tonight.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

567

Agenda Item Number 2
01:30:37.240 --> 01:30:52.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I'm just gonna say, well done, because this did happen fast because of fast work, but not because of, you know, overly hasty work, and because the… it's, like, 4 or 5K over what the county's gonna contribute, you know, I think that's a great thing.
568
01:30:54.090 --> 01:31:06.130
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, Mary. So moved by Councilmember Zolman and seconded by Vice Mayor Maurer to adopt the resolution authorizing the award of the contract to DM and Builders for the library rehab. Councilmember Carter?
569
01:31:06.130 --> 01:31:25.270
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah. Councilmember Hinton? Aye.

Councilmember Zolman? Yes. Vice Mayor Maurer? Yes. Mayor McLewis? Yes.

Motion passes unanimously. Okay. So we're going to move on to this next item, and just for all of you, let's go through this item, and then after that, I'm hoping you all will be good for a 5-minute break, because I'm going to need it after this, before we get into the next topic, so… 570
01:31:25.270 --> 01:31:26.920
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So…
571
01:31:26.920 --> 01:31:42.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Direction to the voting delegate, Mayor McLewis, myself, attending the 2026 Annual Conference and Expo, September 23rd to the 25th, on resolution submitted for consideration at the General Assembly Meeting to be held on Fridays.
572
01:31:42.460 --> 01:32:03.270
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: September 25th at 8.30 a.m, Cal Cities received one resolution, a resolution of the General Assembly of the League of California Cities, calling for a working group to consider a state constitutional amendment or other form of initiative to ensure final local authority over housing and land use decision. So, I don't know, Mary, if you'd like to say anything before?
573
01:32:03.560 --> 01:32:17.469
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Mary, you just gave the entire report, so… I just, you know… Yeah, so the city received the resolution.

This is from a Southern California city, city of Murrieta is bringing this resolution forward.
574
01:32:17.470 --> 01:32:23.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This will be discussed at the General Assembly Meeting at the Cal City's annual conference, and so… Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
575
01:32:23.770 --> 01:32:33.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The Council's being asked to provide direction to the voting delegate whether to support the resolution, oppose the resolution, or abstain from voting. If this… 576
01:32:33.620 --> 01:32:47.070
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: A resolution is adopted by Cal Cities. Cal Cities would be directed to, support the development and advancement of amendment of legislative policy or ballots that restores, strengthens local authority over housing and land manners. 577
01:32:47.070 --> 01:33:02.670
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then it also establishes a statewide working group or other committee to evaluate proposed constitutional amendments or other policies based on land use matters.

The city staff did reach out, we reached out to ABAG, we also… and they… 578
01:33:02.670 --> 01:33:09.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Their staff stated that they're not aware of any Bay Area cities formally supporting this, but individual politicians have.
579
01:33:09.310 --> 01:33:21.839
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We also reached out to our local cities. City of Roanoke Park and Hillsburg have not… are not having any attendings. City of Sonoma took this last night, and I reached out, but I have not received what they're…
580
01:33:21.840 --> 01:33:33.580
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: action was last night, and Catati gave direction to oppose it unless it's amended, to ensure that the state retains power to penalize cities who circumvent any state housing goals. 581
01:33:33.580 --> 01:33:50.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, for the Council tonight, it's to provide direction, whether to support, oppose, or abstain. City staff does not have enough information on this proposal based upon the resolutions that were presented, other than to, discuss that there is a statewide committee to dis…
582
01:33:50.920 --> 01:33:55.039
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm sorry, did you want to say something? Oh, Willie and you're done. That's okay.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

583

Agenda Item Number 2
01:33:55.040 --> 01:34:19.429
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to, you know, provide a statewide working group to review the local authority for housing. And the other option was, I mean, I did a lot of work on this, due diligence, contacting a lot of different people, and I know some people are going to the conference and waiting to see if they could hear more about it. I mean, I've spoken to many people at Cal Cities, I've spoken to the lobbyists, I've spoken to numerous council members
584
01:34:19.430 --> 01:34:29.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: throughout, and there are some people who are just going and have, you know, the ability to learn more about it and then vote. So that's another option if you want to 585
01:34:29.420 --> 01:34:31.889
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, do that, but anyway, 586
01:34:32.000 --> 01:34:55.469
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I didn't mean to interrupt you if I did. No, no, no, you were correct. That is one of the options in the staff report, is to provide no formal direction, but to leave it up to the voting to delegate to see if any information comes through at the General Assembly meeting. And I will say, based on my experience in going to these things, I have yet, honestly, to see where they have a quorum there. So, that's the biggest challenge, is getting a quorum at these, 587
01:34:55.500 --> 01:35:10.630
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: At these events. I will say, though, that this is the largest, they have the most attendance they've ever had at a conference next week. It's the highest ever for Cal City, so they said that this… if it's going to be possible, it'll be possible this year to have a quorum, but we'll see.
588
01:35:11.130 --> 01:35:17.670
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, just a little bit of information for you all. So, I don't know if anyone has any questions. 589
01:35:20.750 --> 01:35:27.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I don't think I fully understand the ramifications of this. Do you want to, explain the pluses and minuses quickly?
590
01:35:27.550 --> 01:35:37.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm gonna tell you, I don't… I don't… there's not enough details. I mean, a lot of cities, I don't know, Alex, if you are more versed on this, based on, you know.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
591
01:35:37.250 --> 01:35:45.430
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, well, I would say, just to be clear, at a high level, this is just a resolution of support. It doesn't have any binding impact or anything like that.
592
01:35:45.600 --> 01:35:53.819
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I would say at a high level, the general concept, as the Council knows, the state has created a lot of housing mandates.
593
01:35:53.820 --> 01:36:09.279
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: both in goals and also limiting the Council's authority to say no to certain projects. And I think the general sentiment from the cities who are supporting this resolution is that that has gone too far.
594
01:36:09.290 --> 01:36:14.430
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And we should limit the legislature's ability to take away
595
01:36:14.510 --> 01:36:32.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that local control to some extent by having a constitutional amendment. And that's why they want a working group, and I will say, in my opinion, you know, we have a lot of Southern California cities that put the letters in, and in my opinion, you know, we need balance on… if this passes, we need balance from Northern California.
596
01:36:32.810 --> 01:36:42.929
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and Southern California, because we, you know, we are very different, according to many different people, and how we… and how we govern. So, you know…
597
01:36:43.140 --> 01:36:48.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I would say that it would behoove us, just given the number of people that are not even attending from here.
598
01:36:48.950 --> 01:36:53.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To create balance, if it did come through, it would be good for us to have some, you know. 599
01:36:53.570 --> 01:36:56.050
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Some sort of representation there, so…
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
600
01:36:58.420 --> 01:37:03.390
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I don't know if anyone else has questions. Those are just some of the things that I've discussed, and go ahead.
601
01:37:03.570 --> 01:37:10.989
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Are we just voting to support you doing this, or… To vote whether… to vote yes or no, or… yeah, oh yeah. 602
01:37:11.260 --> 01:37:12.120
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
603
01:37:12.960 --> 01:37:21.060
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I have a question for you. And so, where do you stand on local control over housing versus state control over housing?
604
01:37:21.140 --> 01:37:43.510
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Well, I think, in my opinion, I mean, there are some times where I do feel that the state, you know, they're really mandating, and I, in talking with a lot of different, cities, you know, every city, we're all unique in some of our own ways, and some of these mandates create, a heavy burden on some cities, so I don't know where this group is going with that. I will just state that plainly. I don't know.
605
01:37:43.510 --> 01:37:48.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, spend as much time as I could trying to find that out.
606
01:37:48.000 --> 01:37:59.060
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the only way I can find that out, I guess, is to find some of the people there at the conference to see what, you know, if they have different intentions than are in the letters. But, 607
01:37:59.060 --> 01:38:14.459
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for me, it's just a working group, so I don't know, you know, I don't… I'm assuming… and maybe, Alex, you could weigh in on that. I mean, it's a working group to have discussions over this, and then… and then bring things back, right? Recommendations back. I don't know what the time frame is.
608
01:38:15.530 --> 01:38:22.870
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is that… I don't know what the time frame is. Well, I don't either. That would… I imagine they would then seek,
609
01:38:23.180 --> 01:38:27.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Cal City's support for a proposed ballot initiative.
610
01:38:27.700 --> 01:38:31.009
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, and generally, you know, Cow Cities has,
611
01:38:31.310 --> 01:38:43.769
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, we have all the different, policy committees. Like, I'm chair of the governance, Transparency, and labor relations for the state, and, you know, they have a housing, policy committee, so
612
01:38:43.890 --> 01:39:04.370
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I could be wrong, but I'm assuming that would probably come back to that committee and be a part of that discussion, which usually those committees consist of, like, 60 to 80 people from across the state, electeds to staff to, you know, a variety of people who work within the city to create that balance in that discussion, so that's just how some of that works, and for the public to know how that works.
613
01:39:04.890 --> 01:39:08.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So… Thank you. Yep. 614
01:39:09.860 --> 01:39:27.360
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think if we're done with questions… Thank you. So this is for public comment on providing direction to the voting delegate for the Cal cities for the resolution, related to a working group to consider the state constitutional amendments or other form of initiatives to ensure final local authority over housing and land decisions.
615
01:39:27.390 --> 01:39:31.660
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If you'd like to make a public comment, I do in chambers first.
616
01:39:32.710 --> 01:39:36.220
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I'll go out to Zoom.

Lee, can you unmute yourself, please?
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
617
01:39:36.450 --> 01:39:37.070
Lee: Yeah.
618
01:39:38.000 --> 01:39:38.890
Lee: Oh.
619
01:39:38.890 --> 01:39:40.510
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You go ahead.
620
01:39:40.510 --> 01:39:45.510
Lee: Yeah. I'm surprised at Phil's question.
621
01:39:45.670 --> 01:39:49.979
Lee: I've been watching this for a while, and it's very frustrating to me 622
01:39:49.980 --> 01:40:14.520
Lee: The city spends hours collecting data, doing reports to the state to prove that our growth in housing stock and low-income housing stock meets whatever arbitrary requirement that they establish. It's particularly… and we do that under threat that if we don't meet those requirements, then the state takes over, and we have no say in anything that a developer does in the city, which, in my mind, opens us up to 623
01:40:16.880 --> 01:40:40.050
Lee: what do I want to say? Developers who might take advantage of that situation and try to create a situation where Sebastopol doesn't meet those requirements so that they can have a free will here. It's particularly challenging for Sebastopol because we're a small town, we don't have a lot of undeveloped land, and we don't have a lot of money to increase infrastructure to incorporate more people. So we're going to hit a wall here in the future.
624
01:40:41.710 --> 01:40:52.579
Lee: things like the ADUs. If you put an ADU on your property, if I'm not mistaken, that… that means you don't have to do CEQA for your development. And that…
625
01:40:52.760 --> 01:41:13.270
Lee: seems like a problem, because I think CEQA is where we find out whether or not there's going to be issues with drainage, whether there's going to be issues with storm drains, whether there's going to be sewer and water capacity. So I think there's probably hundreds of these things.

These are just the things I've noticed watching meetings that need to be addressed by somebody, and hopefully that this committee is going to do that. Thank you.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
626
01:41:14.460 --> 01:41:20.649
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Lee, for your public comment. Next, I will come into chambers, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment on this item.
627
01:41:20.960 --> 01:41:24.319
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, I'll go back out to Zoom. Kyle, can you mute yourself, please?
628
01:41:25.520 --> 01:41:26.369
Kyle Falbo: I can.
629
01:41:26.970 --> 01:41:28.539
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Please go ahead with your public comment.
630
01:41:28.960 --> 01:41:37.389
Kyle Falbo: So I want to encourage Council to look very carefully at the resolution before you tonight, because I think there's an important distinction between supporting reasonable local control. 631
01:41:37.390 --> 01:42:00.780
Kyle Falbo: and supporting what could become a constitutionally protected local veto over housing. The resolution does not simply ask the state to give cities more flexibility in how they meet housing goals. It calls for exploring a constitutional amendment, legislation, or ballot measure that would restore or strengthen local authority over housing and land use decisions, including zoning, density, project siting.
632
01:42:00.780 --> 01:42:06.300
Kyle Falbo: And even the approval or denial of individual housing developments. That's a very broad proposal.
633
01:42:06.720 --> 01:42:29.529
Kyle Falbo: California's recent housing laws have in large part been a response to the reality that when every city has final authority to say no, the collective result can be that the state simply does not build enough housing. So I think the important question here is not whether local control is good or bad, the question is whether cities should have final authority, even when local decisions frustrate statewide housing goals.
634
01:42:29.610 --> 01:42:32.259
Kyle Falbo: Kattati appears to identify that distinction.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
635
01:42:32.260 --> 01:42:55.119
Kyle Falbo: Their council directed its delegate to oppose the resolution, unless it was amended, to preserve the state's ability to penalize cities that attempt to circumvent state housing goals. I think it's a much more balanced approach. Sebastopol should absolutely have meaningful authority about how we grow, how development fits into our infrastructure, and how we preserve the character and livability of our community. But I'd be very cautious about supporting language.
636
01:42:55.120 --> 01:43:10.399
Kyle Falbo: that could remove the state's ability to intervene when local land use authority is used to prevent housing from being built. I'd encourage the Council either to oppose this resolution in its current form, or at a minimum, to support the kind of safeguard Cotati has proposed.
637
01:43:12.200 --> 01:43:18.250
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kyle, for your public comment. Next, I'll come back into Chambers, if there's anyone in chambers that would like to make a public comment.
638
01:43:18.350 --> 01:43:24.480
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, please raise your hand virtually.
639
01:43:24.990 --> 01:43:29.519
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Seeing none, public comment is closed. All right, thank you. Back here for comments.
640
01:43:29.520 --> 01:43:49.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Smith? Yes, I just want to thank Mary for doing her research and finding what Katati did. I was like, wow, somebody's really on task there. And I'm not surprised, because as the Mayor had said, there is a lot of shifting of views politically between Northern California and Southern California. 641
01:43:49.450 --> 01:43:50.959
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I can't…
642
01:43:51.210 --> 01:43:58.689
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: predict, but I think that they were in anticipation of what some of the southern cities would do, and Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

643

Agenda Item Number 2
01:43:58.690 --> 01:44:14.160
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: in anticipation of what they're likely to do, they came up with their own recommendation of not to support unless there's this built-in part of punishment. So my… where I'm at is to support Katati's recommendation and have that be the direction. 644
01:44:16.040 --> 01:44:17.350
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Councilmember Hinton? 645
01:44:17.600 --> 01:44:31.410
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm with, Councilmember Zolman. I don't think we have an issue, of course, here in Sebastopol, at least for this period of RHNA numbers, we're building… we have a number of projects in the works, but
646
01:44:31.410 --> 01:44:36.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I am familiar with other jurisdictions. I worked in Marin County for
647
01:44:36.020 --> 01:44:52.660
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: at least 12 or 13 years, and I do see in other jurisdictions where it can be a problem, which is why the state stepped in. So I would agree to follow Katati's recommendation, or a recommendation where we just do not participate in this vote. It's too broad.
648
01:44:55.760 --> 01:44:57.760
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, Councilmember McCargo? 649
01:44:58.440 --> 01:44:59.540
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So…
650
01:44:59.750 --> 01:45:15.879
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: both things are an issue. Housing is an issue, and state overbearing on a city is also an issue, and my preference would be to participate in the process, and I don't know that a constitutional amendment is the right way to address it. 651
01:45:15.880 --> 01:45:24.729
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But I'm not really sure, so I can't support that, but I would love to support some kind of remedy, you know, to protect the city's ability to…
652
01:45:24.910 --> 01:45:35.720
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: do some things in its housing process. But, you know, the state also, you know, I can see both, so I'd prefer not to make a strong one-way or another statement. 653
01:45:38.120 --> 01:45:57.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, you will be participating, you will be at the conference, and you will be gathering information while you're there. Yeah, and how this works, it's on the last day, everyone gets in this big conference room, and it's a very long process where they verify every city and its hours.
654
01:45:57.210 --> 01:46:04.780
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: of going through all of that, and then comment and everything, and I will be gathering more information, because I've asked
655
01:46:04.780 --> 01:46:19.539
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: so many people. I've spent a great deal of time trying to suss this out, and you know, because it has been the majority of Southern California, my knowledge, you know, my ability to find out, you know, where
656
01:46:19.830 --> 01:46:24.809
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: not the intent, but basically that, like, you know, it's just been hard to gather information. 657
01:46:25.060 --> 01:46:48.730
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I'm not a fan of the builder's remedy. That's where, if you don't, that's a punishment for a city. So, we could end up with a 7-story apartment building if we didn't meet our arena numbers, right in the middle, or wherever anybody wanted to put it, and that's called the Builder's remedy, and we voted as a goal to avoid that last year. We voted to avoid the builder's remedy, so… 658
01:46:49.840 --> 01:47:00.780
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I… I think I would put my faith in you, knowing you also want to avoid the builder's remedy, and would support local control.
659
01:47:00.980 --> 01:47:07.909
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That… and you're there gathering the information to just have you make that decision while you're there. 660
01:47:08.110 --> 01:47:11.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Got it. That would be my preference.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
661
01:47:11.420 --> 01:47:33.640
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's just… that's my preference, just because I have spent so much time on this and trying to find out. I mean, I spend… you know, I serve on… for those who don't know, I serve on committees, with Cal Cities in a variety of ways, trying to understand our legislation. Just two weeks ago, I was in Sacramento, working with our senators and assembly members to understand some things, but I haven't been able to obtain, you know.
662
01:47:33.640 --> 01:47:41.279
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the information I want, so I'm hoping I can there. So that's where I'm at as well. I mean… Is it possible that they may even amend it while you're there? 663
01:47:41.960 --> 01:47:53.249
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I believe… Alex, am I wrong? I thought that it could be amended, but I may be wrong. I don't know.

Whatever Cal City's bylaws, I don't know if that's allowed or not. 664
01:47:53.740 --> 01:47:58.070
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, so, I mean, I could… I could find that out later, but not right now.
665
01:48:03.370 --> 01:48:15.440
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, so I'd like to… I apologize. So I'd like to support you going and finding out, but I'm not sure that I support a citywide, statement one way or the other. I think it's early. 666
01:48:17.730 --> 01:48:19.610
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, I'm sorry, Councilmember Hinton.
667
01:48:20.850 --> 01:48:39.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Since I'm uncomfortable leaving it open, I'm going to go ahead and move the motion that we give direction to our mayor, who would be our voting delegate, to oppose the proposed resolution, unless amended, to ensure that the state does retain power to penalize cities who try to circumvent their state housing goals. I'll second that.
668
01:48:44.380 --> 01:49:00.569
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So moved by Councilmember Hinton and seconded by Councilmember Zolman to provide the voting direct delegate to oppose the proposed resolution unless amended to ensure that Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
the state retains power to penalize cities who circumvent state housing regulations. Councilmember Carter?
669
01:49:01.060 --> 01:49:07.280
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes. Councilmember Hinton? Aye.

Councilmember Zolman? Yes. Vice Mayor Maurer? No. Mayor McLewis? 670
01:49:07.990 --> 01:49:08.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No.
671
01:49:09.030 --> 01:49:19.630
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The motion passes 3-2, with Council Members Carter, Hinton, and Zolman in support, and Vice Mayor Mary and Mayor McLewis in opposition. Okay.
672
01:49:19.840 --> 01:49:38.469
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, thank you very much. So we're gonna… the next item we're gonna do is the, Sebastopol Commons, but before we do that, we're gonna take a quick break, just because I know it's gonna be a long, item, and I don't want to break in the middle of it. So, let's see, if we could be back at 8.10, it's 8.02, so that gives us…
673
01:49:38.650 --> 01:49:39.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: A few minutes.
674
01:49:44.370 --> 01:49:49.509
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, everyone, we're gonna go ahead and get started here. If you could take your seats. 675
01:50:01.630 --> 01:50:08.190
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, we're gonna go ahead and get started here, if we could… Bye.
676
01:50:18.890 --> 01:50:28.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, thank… thank you all.

Mary, are you… are you okay with starting, or do you need any more time, or we're good? Okay.
677
01:50:28.420 --> 01:50:33.160
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, everyone, we're back here at the dais, just asking everyone if you could,
678
01:50:33.740 --> 01:50:37.379
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Quiet down for us so that everyone can hear.
679
01:50:40.830 --> 01:50:55.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: All right, we are at the next item, which is the Sebastopol Commons, Building the Commons Final Report Out and Recommendations, and our Public Works Director, Oriana. 680
01:50:55.160 --> 01:51:05.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Are you kicking this off? Yes, I am just starting us off, and then I will pass it to members of the committee. So this is… tonight is the final report of the Building and the Commons Committee.
681
01:51:05.570 --> 01:51:15.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That was tasked with, looking at, you know, the long-term civic facility needs of the city and potential options for a future commons concept.
682
01:51:15.540 --> 01:51:32.630
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I'm going to pass it to RN, and Dr. Before we do that, I just want to make a… just for a point of procedure, typically these… it looks like we have a lot of people there, and I know typically our presentations, we limit them to 10 minutes, and I'm recognizing that
683
01:51:32.680 --> 01:51:38.459
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It's gonna be challenging with this many people, but I think we need to try to keep… keep to… 684
01:51:38.600 --> 01:51:45.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to that, so I just wanted to mention that so I don't have to interrupt anyone, but that's generally our expectation, but, you know.
685
01:51:45.990 --> 01:51:49.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Let's see where we go with that.

So, take it away.
686
01:51:51.130 --> 01:51:59.279
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you so much. It will be easy for us, I will be the only person speaking, so hopefully we can move through this. We will move through this on time.
687
01:52:00.050 --> 01:52:06.519
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As Director Hart pointed out, we were charged with coming up with a long-term solution that would 688
01:52:06.710 --> 01:52:20.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: give us an opportunity to find a viable solution for several different problems that we're facing in our city. While this grew out of a library commission, it quickly turned to looking at a commons solution.
689
01:52:21.520 --> 01:52:36.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And the reason that the common solution became immediately interesting is it offers us an opportunity to diversify the funding sources so that there is no continued negative impact or adverse impact to the, to the general fund, but also it means that it opens it up for possible partnerships outside of the city 690
01:52:36.970 --> 01:52:44.930
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to grow and actually somehow make it more affordable. So that's what we started looking through. That was the starting point for our process.
691
01:52:45.250 --> 01:52:56.200
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we have done a preliminary examination of this, and so to be really clear, the decision that we're making today as a committee is a recommendation to the Council 692
01:52:56.300 --> 01:52:57.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to investigate further. 693
01:52:58.450 --> 01:53:08.839
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It is not a decision to buy, it is not a decision to act immediately, it is not a decision with any haste, it is a decision, rather, to conduct a due diligence examination 694
01:53:10.920 --> 01:53:14.860
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We've spent one year working on this.
695
01:53:15.000 --> 01:53:28.219
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As a committee. As a committee of volunteers, we represent the nonprofit sectors, we represent the business district, the library, senior center, and various parts of our community, and so our charge was taken very seriously.
696
01:53:29.070 --> 01:53:35.360
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The situation that we're facing, It's looking at… the library.
697
01:53:35.910 --> 01:53:40.909
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Looking at the Senior Center, City staff for City Hall.
698
01:53:41.310 --> 01:53:42.780
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And the Culture Center. 699
01:53:43.650 --> 01:53:46.049
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As we start looking at just the library alone.
700
01:53:46.170 --> 01:53:53.010
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We're looking at a rough rebuild, or a rough build, if it's 10,000 square feet that's being added to the library.
701
01:53:54.110 --> 01:54:00.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The library was built in 1976, and according to the 1970 census, the city of Sebastopol had 3,700 702
01:54:00.900 --> 01:54:14.709
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: ish citizens at the time. So we know that the library was a central part to Sebastopol all the way back to the 70s, and it just doesn't fit for what its needs are now, based on the heat map. We know how many people come to visit. We know that building it just by itself
703
01:54:15.090 --> 01:54:18.080
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It's going to cost a substantial amount of money.
704
01:54:18.440 --> 01:54:28.619
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Getting back to my earlier point, diversifying who we're bringing into a potential commons means we can diversify the way we fund doing so, and we can get more for the same amount of money, or even potentially less.
705
01:54:32.190 --> 01:54:35.530
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, starting in 2016 with the Lantern Research Project.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

706

Agenda Item Number 2
01:54:35.740 --> 01:54:37.700
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's really where this grew from. 707
01:54:39.000 --> 01:54:52.760
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If we look at the 2019 solution in Alameda, 2019, to build a 21,000 square foot library would cost $25 million in 2019, so adjusted for inflation, it's about $36 million today. 708
01:54:52.970 --> 01:55:05.269
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that project will take between 6 and 10 years, so when that's being paid for at the end of this, we're looking at a construction cost probably closer to $41 million for just 21,000 square feet.
709
01:55:12.000 --> 01:55:15.860
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The County Facilities Master Plan recommends 20,000 square feet for the library.
710
01:55:16.220 --> 01:55:20.890
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So if we're taking this into account, we know a rough ballpark figure of what that could potentially cost.
711
01:55:23.550 --> 01:55:26.900
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Throughout 2026, we've evaluated several sites.
712
01:55:27.220 --> 01:55:31.800
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For all… for a solution that would solve all of the needs from the previous slide.
713
01:55:33.150 --> 01:55:39.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And our committee came to the unanimous decision that the ones that we're presenting today are the ones that we can stand behind.
714
01:55:47.210 --> 01:55:50.370
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Two independent data sets in the same picture here.
715
01:55:50.530 --> 01:55:57.550
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Represent a reference to how many people drive to to these locations.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

716

Agenda Item Number 2
01:55:58.990 --> 01:56:00.440
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As you can see here. 717
01:56:01.220 --> 01:56:10.930
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I know that there's a concern about walkability, and we know from this map that the majority of people actually do drive to the library and to the senior center. 718
01:56:16.440 --> 01:56:22.399
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In trying to find an opportunity, in trying to find a location where we could house these various 719
01:56:22.680 --> 01:56:24.470
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Entities in the same place. 720
01:56:26.200 --> 01:56:34.010
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We looked at these buildings, among others. We ruled in, through our analysis, and ruled out what might work 721
01:56:34.140 --> 01:56:39.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For our needs. The Rite Aid building has come up many times, but it's simply not available to us. 722
01:56:40.190 --> 01:56:42.230
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The Calder Creek Civic Commons has come up.
723
01:56:46.590 --> 01:56:48.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The problem with that? 724
01:56:49.410 --> 01:56:52.609
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sorry about that. My vision is getting worse through the night.
725
01:56:54.010 --> 01:56:57.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The problem with that is we're looking at a roughly $60 million build to make that viable. 726
01:56:58.820 --> 01:57:02.129
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The railroad forest. We're looking at $25 million.
727
01:57:02.560 --> 01:57:07.280
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's not even certain if we're going to be able to handle the flooding concerns. 728
01:57:08.240 --> 01:57:11.879
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So we looked at the tow site. It's only 3,700 square feet.
729
01:57:13.950 --> 01:57:17.120
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We looked at expanding the site of the current library.
730
01:57:19.120 --> 01:57:22.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Now, there's a structural cost to that. There's a very, very significant
731
01:57:23.550 --> 01:57:33.969
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a building cost of that. And as we've talked about before, referencing from the Lantern Project, building right now is roughly costing, for commercial building, about $1,700 a square foot.
732
01:57:34.770 --> 01:57:36.040
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, if we're adding 733
01:57:36.610 --> 01:57:46.039
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 10,000 square feet just to the library, you can extrapolate how much that could cost, and again, if that takes years to do, that cost only goes up through the cost… through the course of the project.
734
01:57:48.100 --> 01:57:50.649
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Looking at the youth annex. Of course, it's city-owned.
735
01:57:53.870 --> 01:57:56.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But it wouldn't also solve that problem.
736
01:57:57.950 --> 01:58:03.100
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So the downtown rebuild, building 21,600 square feet on a two-story library.
737
01:58:03.460 --> 01:58:20.249
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Again, in 2019, that would have cost about $25 million, so today we're looking at $36 million to do that, and it doesn't actually solve the problem. It gives us a library, it doesn't fix the parking, it doesn't fix the traffic, it doesn't address the needs for the senior center, it doesn't address the needs for a commons where we can actually
738
01:58:20.680 --> 01:58:25.110
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Reduce the cost of operations for several of these entities, which we're trying to accomplish. 739
01:58:27.990 --> 01:58:32.649
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So over the course of the year, we ruled it… we narrowed things down to 3 options that we can stand behind. 740
01:58:33.210 --> 01:58:42.579
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And this is what you're… this is what we're asking you to examine. What we're asking you today is to make a decision about doing a due diligence to examine these options. The first of which…
741
01:58:42.990 --> 01:58:46.189
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is that if we did nothing, and we left the status quo.
742
01:58:46.340 --> 01:58:57.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In the next 6 to 10 years, we're looking at spending $3.6 million to maintain what we have, with no increased value, no increased, availability for the needs as we see. 743
01:58:57.290 --> 01:59:01.119
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And no real improvement on the offerings that the city can provide.
744
01:59:03.290 --> 01:59:06.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It is possible that we could look into doing a downtown complete rebuild.
745
01:59:07.180 --> 01:59:12.479
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Again, if we did that right now, we're looking at about $36 million in today's revenue to do that. 746
01:59:13.510 --> 01:59:14.859
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Which brings us to… Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
747
01:59:15.100 --> 01:59:21.540
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the recommendation that we believe in the most, that you should be examining, which is purchasing the O'Reilly campus.
748
01:59:21.960 --> 01:59:24.050
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For roughly $18 million. 749
01:59:25.590 --> 01:59:33.049
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The reason that we say purchasing the O'Reilly building for $18 million is somehow less expensive than maintaining the status quo.
750
01:59:33.050 --> 01:59:55.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: is because you're able to diversify the funding sources to do so, using EIFD funds, using partnerships with deep pocket donors in West County that want to contribute to this. You can share the costs through all of these various entities, and the way we can contribute and come together and collaborate to make it work a lot easier than you can fund a single library, or a single senior center, or a single city hall building.
751
01:59:55.860 --> 01:59:58.699
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So putting them in the same place reduces overall costs.
752
02:00:00.560 --> 02:00:02.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I want to be clear, it is a very good library.
753
02:00:03.090 --> 02:00:22.650
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We saw the heat map. We know that it is a very good library. It has done its job, and it is a tremendous asset to our community. It cannot continue to do so based on 1970 census of 3,700 people visiting it, and we now have almost, you know, 7,500 people living in Sebastopol, and we know that, based on the heat map, it's serving all of West County.
754
02:00:25.000 --> 02:00:26.180
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Am I down to one minute? 755
02:00:27.470 --> 02:00:29.949
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I am down to 1 minute, I'm gonna bring it home.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
756
02:00:32.610 --> 02:00:43.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The thing you might find hard to believe is that the Walnut Park, the Walnut Park Library in Davis is going to open in 6 weeks, and it is 12,000 square feet, and it came in at a cost of $21 million.
757
02:00:45.560 --> 02:01:04.569
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The way that the O'Reilly Building would solve all of our options is it provides for a library, a senior center, a city hall, a community cultural center, and a capital cost of about $18 million, which can be funded through long-term investments through EIFD funds, through partnerships, through solicitation of donors for all of… throughout West County.
758
02:01:06.420 --> 02:01:10.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so, therefore, it is our unanimous agreement As this committee.
759
02:01:11.820 --> 02:01:17.980
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that the City Council perform a due diligence examination. And what we're asking for you to look at 760
02:01:18.100 --> 02:01:19.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Are the legal?
761
02:01:20.470 --> 02:01:21.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Financial.
762
02:01:22.880 --> 02:01:25.089
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm gonna look at my next page, sorry.
763
02:01:25.880 --> 02:01:26.950
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The legal?
764
02:01:28.620 --> 02:01:33.699
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The financial, the building, and the community and library partner options that can come with doing this. 765
02:01:35.830 --> 02:01:39.340
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So those 6 questions, we believe, can be answered by doing the following.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

766

Agenda Item Number 2
02:01:40.190 --> 02:01:43.349
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Authorized staff to conduct the due diligence on the O'Reilly site.
767
02:01:43.850 --> 02:01:47.330
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Appropriate funds from the Budget Committee with Budget Committee review.
768
02:01:47.470 --> 02:01:55.850
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for legal review, bond counsel, financial analysis, and public outreach, direct staff to send a formal outreach letter to the Sonoma County Library Director.
769
02:01:55.970 --> 02:02:02.040
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: and returned to Council in November with their due diligence result and recommendation on the library relocation.
770
02:02:04.520 --> 02:02:05.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The choice is right here. 771
02:02:06.540 --> 02:02:13.550
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We can… we can do nothing and spend $3.6 million. We can investigate the potential to build something that's really great for the city.
772
02:02:15.040 --> 02:02:18.569
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We can keep waiting, and hoping that prices are gonna go down.
773
02:02:18.760 --> 02:02:21.299
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Based on historical trends, we just know that they're not.
774
02:02:22.330 --> 02:02:24.220
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm here to take questions if you have any.
775
02:02:25.360 --> 02:02:28.440
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Alright, we're back here at the dais,
776
02:02:28.730 --> 02:02:36.490
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Questions? Go ahead, Vice Mayor.

Yes, could you, help me understand… Okay, hold on one second, I'm sorry, he's not able to…
777
02:02:36.610 --> 02:02:40.870
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: He needs to have his interpreter. 778
02:02:41.260 --> 02:02:43.060
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You ready? Okay.
779
02:02:43.530 --> 02:03:00.139
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, can you help me understand if we do nothing, it costs $3.6 million? Can you break that down for me, so I understand, you're talking about 10… in 10 years? Because we don't spend $3.6 million every year, so…
780
02:03:00.470 --> 02:03:06.249
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Help me to understand what that means. Absolutely, absolutely. So, based on…
781
02:03:07.190 --> 02:03:11.899
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 10 minutes goes a lot quicker than you think it does. I know it does. You were right, I am sorry. 782
02:03:12.280 --> 02:03:13.469
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It's okay.
783
02:03:17.970 --> 02:03:22.280
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, the maintenance is going to continue to come up, and I can defer to…
784
02:03:22.450 --> 02:03:30.330
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Director Hart for some of the specifics. But the maintenance over the next 6 to 10 years, just for maintaining the building.
785
02:03:30.650 --> 02:03:38.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: is roughly $3.6 million based on projections that we've received from staff. So if I could turn that question over to Director Hart, I believe that that can be answered. 786
02:03:40.950 --> 02:04:00.399
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, I believe the number that they pulled together there is looking at what we have approved in our current Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
operational budgets for the senior center, the community center, and the library, and then some of the capital improvement projects that we have for those spaces as well, like the flood mitigation at the community center, and then for the operational budgets.
787
02:04:00.400 --> 02:04:03.069
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Assuming that for 10 years was some escalation?
788
02:04:03.250 --> 02:04:05.099
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's how they got to the number.
789
02:04:05.360 --> 02:04:06.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay,
790
02:04:09.040 --> 02:04:28.259
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, we did do about $500,000 on the community center building, I think, but that was really just a one-time project. We haven't spent that money yet. There's an approved CIP for it, but it's planned, but that's part of the financial guess about doing nothing, what it would cost.
791
02:04:28.500 --> 02:04:31.309
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, my second question is then. 792
02:04:31.700 --> 02:04:36.689
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What does it cost to bring the O'Reilly building
793
02:04:36.860 --> 02:04:42.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: into a move-in condition, because I've heard it needs a new roof.
794
02:04:43.010 --> 02:04:54.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I was there, I walked around, it definitely needs new carpet, it needs new paint, it probably needs new electrical work. I mean, there were some kind of funky electrical stuff going on while we were there.
795
02:04:54.940 --> 02:05:14.629
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I mean, I can't assume that even though it's a beautiful building with lovely parking, I can't assume that it has no needs for when you need to move in there. There's going to Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
be a cost that's going to be over the 18, so have… has your group done an analysis of how much these things will cost?
796
02:05:16.840 --> 02:05:36.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Yes, I think that's actually part of what we're asking of the Council, is to do that due diligence, to examine those things. I'm not aware that the roof needs replacing, so that would be something we would want you to examine. Those would be all… those would be parts of the ask, is to… is to explore that more deeply before making a decision. We can say that we're looking at roughly about
797
02:05:36.780 --> 02:05:42.660
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think… I think we talked about roughly $2 million on average for an additional build-out, which is part of the cost.
798
02:05:42.770 --> 02:05:44.160
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As we projected it. 799
02:05:45.240 --> 02:05:47.989
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can I ask a question regarding that? But I can also… I'm sorry.
800
02:05:49.240 --> 02:05:54.849
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To our Director of Public Works, you do this all the time. Does that roof need replaced? 801
02:05:56.630 --> 02:06:16.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I can't say that I've looked at the roof. I'm sorry? I can't say that I've looked at the roof, so I don't have an opinion. I've just had a lot of people ask me about that, so I just assumed, since you all have been there a lot, so… I asked that because I heard Councilmember Carter say it. I watched your July 14th meeting, and he said that maybe the roof needed a new roof, so… 802
02:06:16.740 --> 02:06:23.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's a pretty giant building for the cost of a new roof. Could be quite a lot, so…
803
02:06:24.040 --> 02:06:35.719
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Other questions for anyone? I do… oh, sorry, I do appreciate the concern, and that's something that I think the due diligence process would be able to examine more fully, as we've Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

804

Agenda Item Number 2
02:06:35.720 --> 02:06:45.650
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: as we've sort of done the preliminary work of ruling this in based on all the parameters that we found, there are going to be certain factors that the expertise of city staff and, you know, outside
805
02:06:45.650 --> 02:06:58.050
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: partners are going to be able to identify for you before you make a final decision in the long term. I will also say some of the features of the building that might offset some of those costs are the fact that it's out of the floodplain, and that it is,
806
02:06:58.050 --> 02:07:14.130
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It is, the entire building has a high-speed fiber wire internet throughout it, which makes it a really great communication spot for his needs, and those are things that are very, very expensive to add to a building after the fact, because we're talking about tearing out walls and having experts come in to add things, or, you know.
807
02:07:14.240 --> 02:07:15.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Adding things that… 808
02:07:16.200 --> 02:07:22.619
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that are currently already there.

So some of those offsetting costs, I think, would be there, and that's part of the due diligence I think you'll find.
809
02:07:22.650 --> 02:07:40.189
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And are you considering the due diligence under due diligence, like, even the cost for remodeling in there? Because, I mean, it's just a bunch of offices, so, you know, when I hear her talking about library and all of that, I mean, everything is so siloed. Was… has any of that cost been discussed?
810
02:07:41.500 --> 02:07:44.720
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, I'm not sure I understand.

They are? Absolutely.
811
02:07:44.720 --> 02:07:49.039
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can you repeat the question? I'm not sure I answered it. Oh, I'm sorry, I just wondered if… 812
02:07:49.040 --> 02:08:08.750
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: if any of the… if there's been any discussion about the cost to… if you, you know, remodeling in there, because I, too, walked around, and there's a lot of offices, there's talk about using it for a library and various things, and, you know, so a lot of areas are very siloed. Obviously, construction would need to be done.

I'm just wondering, were any of those costs factored into 813
02:08:08.850 --> 02:08:22.550
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: these numbers that you're talking about? There are absolutely remodel costs involved. Well, I know, that's why I'm asking if you guys have talked about what those actually cost.

What I wanted to bring up was we need to discuss magnitude. 814
02:08:22.550 --> 02:08:34.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, it is a large project. Building may be around $18 million, we haven't… we don't have a firm… I understand that. I just wanted to answer that question, I mean. So, I mean, compare… I,
815
02:08:38.110 --> 02:08:46.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I get that. We've budgeted probably 20% or 10%, 10% to 20% for remodel costs for the existing structure. 816
02:08:46.700 --> 02:08:50.419
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Which brings it somewhere between 18 and 20 million total cost.
817
02:08:50.600 --> 02:09:02.150
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Versus 36 for an extra 10,000 square feet at the current site, versus probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 to 100 million to build a whole new structure in some downtown site.
818
02:09:02.430 --> 02:09:21.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So each of those have unknown costs. Absolutely have unknown costs. Okay, thank you. So part of what we're asking for here is, we don't have the authority… No, I understand.

We're just kind of in the questions, so we don't need… I don't want another presentation. I just… I have a council member that wants to ask some questions, so if you want to go ahead.
819
02:09:23.070 --> 02:09:29.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I mean, I don't want to cut anybody off, but one question I wanted to ask the group
820
02:09:29.560 --> 02:09:40.900
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: is, we asked some attorney questions, and I think the response to that was that if the city paid cash
821
02:09:41.160 --> 02:09:45.619
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For the building, we could rent it at market rate.
822
02:09:45.740 --> 02:10:04.659
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But if we got financing, we could not rent it as a city entity at market rate, and maybe our council can address that. But this was reported to us as we've gone through our due diligence of question answering, and I'm not sure your group has heard that.
823
02:10:04.660 --> 02:10:16.370
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I bring it up right here so that it could be addressed. Alex, could you answer that question? Yes, so the issue is not the renting at a market rate. If we obtain tax-exempt financing.
824
02:10:16.620 --> 02:10:22.220
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Which many types of financing we might… obtain are…
825
02:10:22.760 --> 02:10:34.850
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, like the iBank, for example. Not to say that that's what the proposal is, but that sort of stuff is tax-exempt financing. The IRS has rules about that, about how much private activity can be involved.
826
02:10:35.320 --> 02:10:41.310
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so there are caps on that. It doesn't mean there can't be any, but there are low caps of, you know. 827
02:10:41.600 --> 02:10:45.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Depending on what… how it gets classified, maybe 5 or 10%.
828
02:10:46.350 --> 02:10:47.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So…
829
02:10:47.590 --> 02:10:54.150
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Generally, you would think maybe 5- 10% of the square footage overall. So you could have some private… Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
830
02:10:54.460 --> 02:11:03.239
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: parties being leased to, and still comply with that, but there are limits. And individual programs may have stricter requirements as well.
831
02:11:04.990 --> 02:11:16.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can I ask what that means in individual… or other… what did you say, other programs? So, those are the IRS regulations. Individual funding that we might get might have separate 832
02:11:16.950 --> 02:11:20.509
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, alright, go ahead, Councilor McCarter.
833
02:11:20.810 --> 02:11:34.030
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So I just want to add that if we wanted to get, like, a conventional loan from a commercial bank, which is totally available, we would just have to go out to a vote to get it, but we would be able to rent the other space out, because it's not, 834
02:11:34.130 --> 02:11:37.789
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's tax-free loan. So, so, the… 835
02:11:38.390 --> 02:11:49.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, the city can't, to answer sort of the first half, the city can't take out any debt that is secured by the general fund without a vote.
836
02:11:49.980 --> 02:11:50.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: of…
837
02:11:51.050 --> 02:12:03.780
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: approval of the voters. So, if we aren't getting tax-exempt financing, we're getting it from our general fund, from, you know, our reserve, from whatever, those restrictions don't apply.
838
02:12:06.660 --> 02:12:07.380
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh.
839
02:12:08.690 --> 02:12:16.499
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: questions over here? I'm just trying to go back and forth. Go ahead. I got another question, to the city staff.
840
02:12:16.620 --> 02:12:22.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, Councilmember, I know, I think the response was sent to all of us, asked.
841
02:12:22.720 --> 02:12:31.950
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to date, how many hours has the subcommittee spent of staff time on this? And there was both an hour amount.
842
02:12:32.230 --> 02:12:49.169
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: of 148 hours, and then an estimated staff hour value. When I divide those two numbers, it comes to a staff rate per hour of $75, and staff rates came up in a previous agenda item on a previous date.
843
02:12:49.170 --> 02:12:57.300
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And it was nowhere near $75, typically, for staff rate. That was the lowest range for, like, an admin assistant, but…
844
02:12:57.470 --> 02:13:10.819
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: somebody higher, like our head of public works, would cost a lot more. So, I'm not sure how that amount was calculated against the hours, and I had a question to who gave that amount, and if that's accurate.
845
02:13:13.700 --> 02:13:25.340
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We just did a quick hourly. It was a last-minute question. We didn't go in and do… build in all the… the overhead yet. So… so those are just the strict hourly rates, but there is different… we didn't have time to…
846
02:13:25.340 --> 02:13:36.859
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to add, like, the incentives and the overhead costs and things like that, so that is just an hourly rate right now, an average. Right, so we'd add another approximate $30 to the rate of pay?
847
02:13:37.510 --> 02:13:40.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, thank you. May I ask, are you referring to the…
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
848
02:13:41.100 --> 02:14:00.609
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to the information we received around 5 o'clock, is that what you're referring to? Yeah, yeah, it has to do with the answer to two questions that were asked about staff time.

Okay, I just want to make sure I was following through the same thing that you were asking. Exactly, that's what I'm talking about. Okay, go ahead, Vice Mayor.
849
02:14:02.130 --> 02:14:05.800
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Kind of want to look at… look at you all here this way.
850
02:14:06.320 --> 02:14:21.209
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, in 2031, the cell tower lease is up, and that frees up all the space right next to the library, as it is. And that's probably about 4,000 square feet, roughly? Not sure. 851
02:14:21.860 --> 02:14:28.809
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I know what you looked at. I got some of the paperwork, I watched your July 14th Commons Committee meeting.
852
02:14:28.850 --> 02:14:42.839
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And it seems like you never investigated doing an addition. Instead, you looked at doing a second story on top of the existing building, and so if… if there could be 853
02:14:43.370 --> 02:14:52.629
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So what I want to know is, did you look at the idea of a second… of an edition, not a second-story edition, but one adjacent?
854
02:14:55.410 --> 02:15:11.179
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think the way we addressed it was calculating the cost per square foot, so whether it was addition on top or with addition on the side, I think that the only complication for that would be that we're adding time, and time costs more. So, like I said, we were looking at about $1,000 a square foot in 2020,
855
02:15:11.340 --> 02:15:28.079
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: in 2016, it's now $1,700 a square foot on average. So if you can extrapolate from that, in 2031, that same addition might… might cost even more. And I don't… I don't know that there's an issue about whether it's up or… or out. That wasn't… I… clearly, there's going to be a difference in cost
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
856
02:15:28.280 --> 02:15:40.099
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: But roughly, we're looking at cost per square foot of adding that, and so if we're talking 4,000 square feet versus the 20,000 square feet that the, that the expansion needs for the library, it still wouldn't actually solve the concerns for the senior center
857
02:15:40.960 --> 02:15:42.840
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Or the other entities that we're addressing.
858
02:15:43.110 --> 02:15:57.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, but if you did a couple stories, then… then you could get that, space that you need. And, I'm not going to go too far into that. It's not… not what we're here to talk about. I just had wanted to know if you had thought about that. 859
02:15:57.950 --> 02:16:09.619
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Because I do believe it's less expensive to build an edition rather than a second-story edition, meaning building an edition on top of the existing library.
860
02:16:10.320 --> 02:16:12.109
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, so…
861
02:16:12.190 --> 02:16:24.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I have a question, too. Go ahead, and then I… I can respond, considering I sat on the lantern Board, and the Alameda study is what RM referenced, and
862
02:16:24.050 --> 02:16:39.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: my recollection of that is the fact that, structurally, there was no way to build a second floor on the top of the library. Like, architecturally, it was not… it would not be worth firming up the base of the existing
863
02:16:39.150 --> 02:16:50.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: library in order to build off of that, and that's my understanding. You guys might have more recently read the Alameda report, the architectural report, and came up with that, but that was my understanding.
864
02:16:53.080 --> 02:17:09.140
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, I have a question, can I ask? So this is a direct response, and… Yes. Well, I mean, if it's… Oh, you're Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
gonna respond to the question? I thought you were asking the question.

Oh, okay. So, yeah, I don't have questions, because…
865
02:17:09.230 --> 02:17:22.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm kind of the problem. So, anyway, yeah, we looked at an addition, and I really want everybody to know that I'm grateful for all the responses and the interactions that we've had up to this point.
866
02:17:22.850 --> 02:17:40.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: In two meetings ago, we might have had, like, Lisa Pierce, I think, put in a request for looking at an addition to the library, so I spent some time looking at the cost of just adding an addition, and it is still very much, as RM said. 867
02:17:40.480 --> 02:17:45.809
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That particular cost, so just adding an addition in any kind of way would cost about $7 million. 868
02:17:46.490 --> 02:17:48.049
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And…
869
02:17:48.889 --> 02:17:57.130
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It looked like about $7 million for just… for just a little bit of space. And where did that number come from, that data?
870
02:17:57.280 --> 02:18:20.179
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the average cost of building in California. So, I have a question, and this is for Alex, our attorney. I just want to say, I was a little surprised to hear talk about selling our buildings, because, like, when we… generally, all of that stuff is discussed in closed session before we actually come out to the public and say that. That's how… kind of how we handled fire department, but I heard…
871
02:18:20.180 --> 02:18:22.729
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And correct me if I'm wrong, that there are, like.
872
02:18:22.730 --> 02:18:32.720
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: there's a lot of stipulations about when you're selling city… or city properties, that there are a lot of hoops to jump through and processes. Can you help us to better understand? Yeah, so the… the…
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
873
02:18:33.059 --> 02:18:40.239
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Surplus Land Act, Has requirements for city disposition of property.
874
02:18:40.490 --> 02:18:47.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There are exemptions, don't think none appear like they would apply, here necessarily, but… 875
02:18:48.129 --> 02:19:03.410
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: what… that law… excuse me, I'm jumbling my words. That law imposes mostly procedural requirements. So the… the requirement is that, the city first make the property available to housing developers.
876
02:19:03.940 --> 02:19:08.029
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As well as certain other, eligible entities.
877
02:19:08.209 --> 02:19:14.889
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's a notice that goes out. It also gets sent to HCD. There's a 60-day period to respond. 878
02:19:15.070 --> 02:19:23.469
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The city then, if there are interested parties, the city then has to negotiate in good faith with those parties for a minimum of 90 days.
879
02:19:25.139 --> 02:19:29.829
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And then there are priorities for, you know, who gets selected.
880
02:19:30.010 --> 02:19:34.960
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It doesn't require that the city rezone property in any way, or…
881
02:19:36.850 --> 02:19:46.319
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, sell a property for less than fair market value, but it does require it to go through this, you know, procedural step, and, you know, to the extent there's a… 882
02:19:46.530 --> 02:19:53.149
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: housing provider who is offering fair market value, the city might be obligated to sell it there.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
883
02:19:53.250 --> 02:19:56.430
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: When a city sells property. 884
02:19:57.200 --> 02:20:01.459
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If it's selling it to someone who has responded through this process.
885
02:20:01.860 --> 02:20:18.429
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There's a requirement, housing is not required to be built on the site, but there is a requirement that if any housing is built, 25% of it has to be affordable. And then, for any property that the city sells, 15% would have to be, affordable. 886
02:20:19.890 --> 02:20:26.390
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: under this… act if it's subject to the Act, and, you know, that could impact
887
02:20:26.590 --> 02:20:34.119
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the appraised value of it, you know. I don't know what it is, I don't know if housing is the highest and best use of that site.
888
02:20:34.360 --> 02:20:38.370
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There are appraisals for small properties.
889
02:20:38.940 --> 02:20:50.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that are less than a half acre in size. I don't believe that that, you know, unless you divided those sites up, that it would be less than a half acre.
890
02:20:51.960 --> 02:20:53.399
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, thank you.
891
02:20:54.430 --> 02:20:56.589
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Other questions?
892
02:20:57.720 --> 02:21:01.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Let's… let's see… Oh, go ahead. 893
02:21:03.320 --> 02:21:10.890
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Madam Mayor, may I speak as a committee member, please? Well, she… our council member has a question first, so go ahead.
894
02:21:11.970 --> 02:21:22.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: was, did city staff within the last 4 years investigate any other properties
895
02:21:24.220 --> 02:21:28.589
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For possible purchase to… for relocating either,
896
02:21:28.720 --> 02:21:31.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Some of our city entities, or City Hall.
897
02:21:33.000 --> 02:21:34.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, thank you.
898
02:21:36.230 --> 02:21:41.860
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So… Another ques… okay, thought there was more.
899
02:21:42.200 --> 02:21:58.470
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead. I have two questions.

Sure. Okay. Okay, so my first question is, have you all, read the comments that the City has received in response to your recommendation to have a commons at the O'Reilly Building?
900
02:21:58.530 --> 02:22:04.799
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: there's a lot of comments that we've received, so I just want to make sure that you're getting the feedback from the public.
901
02:22:05.070 --> 02:22:10.070
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And, so… Sonoma County Library has 902
02:22:10.660 --> 02:22:16.249
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: paid money towards improving, modernizing other libraries, so…
903
02:22:17.020 --> 02:22:28.110
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It's at least $10 million or more.

They just bought… I think they just bought a $12 million building in Petaluma for their offices. They just gave Occidental a million dollars. 904
02:22:28.580 --> 02:22:32.909
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to move… their library in Occidental, so…
905
02:22:33.050 --> 02:22:49.489
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Why do you think it is that the Sonoma County Library, who has stated you need at least 5,000 to 10,000 more space, why haven't… and you've been at this for years, why haven't they helped Sebastopol?
906
02:22:49.650 --> 02:22:52.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: This was a question that was asked me, so I'm asking you.
907
02:22:56.780 --> 02:23:05.739
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I have a direct answer for that from my experience, with the Executive Director over the years from Lantern forward to today.
908
02:23:06.920 --> 02:23:16.219
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The library system is waiting for the City Council to commit to wanting a bigger, new library. They're not going to move before you move.
909
02:23:16.860 --> 02:23:20.249
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It's really that simple. You have to mean that you want one.
910
02:23:20.850 --> 02:23:23.299
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: They're your tenant, then you negotiate with them.
911
02:23:24.790 --> 02:23:28.759
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: They have money. That's why I'm on the committee, because I know they have money.
912
02:23:28.900 --> 02:23:38.780
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And the office building is an example of that. That's a very recent expense. Their dedication of money to Occidental is a recent expense. So if you want them.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
913
02:23:39.580 --> 02:23:45.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To put money in our library, because you want our community to have a newer, grander library. 914
02:23:46.020 --> 02:23:53.930
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a library that could reach its modern potential, then you have to commit to that and tell the library commission and the executive director.
915
02:23:57.350 --> 02:24:00.580
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I have a question for, Phil. 916
02:24:01.050 --> 02:24:08.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I watched your presentation, your finance presentation, and I just found myself wondering, where did all that data come from?
917
02:24:10.120 --> 02:24:10.970
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Ana.
918
02:24:13.730 --> 02:24:33.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, she supplied some of the city information, but the owner of O'Reilly gave me how much they spend in CAM, so I used that. I used averages, you know, like, if there's a building average or some of this stuff, I used actuals, where they were available.
919
02:24:33.020 --> 02:24:41.249
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I can… in any… Because it's too immense to actually explain one, one general answer, it just… 920
02:24:41.250 --> 02:25:02.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: let me know, and I'll be glad to itemize. I was just trying to identify where assumptions were made and where, like, hard data was, because… Okay, so any assumptions, like, like, square foot rental, that came from a canvassing of the current owner of the building, or other building rental owners? So I… that… that $1.75 figure could be low.
921
02:25:02.020 --> 02:25:11.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: because I… I got a spread that was, you know, about 160 to 210, and then some… some were, you know, like. 922
02:25:12.910 --> 02:25:26.630
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: like, $6 a square foot if they were small, but if they were big, you know, that seemed to be a very reasonable answer, you know, common number. So that's how I got that number, was, like, a lot of professionals gave me that. 923
02:25:27.680 --> 02:25:29.580
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay. Thank you.
924
02:25:30.470 --> 02:25:33.119
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Other questions?
925
02:25:33.600 --> 02:25:37.800
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Looking here to see, going through mine real quick.
926
02:25:41.260 --> 02:25:57.890
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sorry, I have them highlighted here somewhere in my notes, here it is. I do have a question. Oh, okay, go ahead, because I have… So, if you read all the comments, you'll see that there is quite a lot of upset that this, recommendation is causing in the community.
927
02:25:58.250 --> 02:26:02.350
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I'm wondering what your response is to the
928
02:26:03.120 --> 02:26:07.330
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: To those people who don't want to move to the O'Reilly building.
929
02:26:15.460 --> 02:26:21.150
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm gonna… I'm gonna let… I'd prefer not… Who's answering? Who are you asking, Sandy? 930
02:26:22.140 --> 02:26:39.059
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Someone? I'm asking the committee, because the committee has put forth this recommendation, they put it forth before it even came to Council for a decision, and they did that because they wanted to get buy-in from the public to promote this idea. 931
02:26:39.170 --> 02:26:40.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And yet, the public 932
02:26:41.090 --> 02:26:47.280
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: is divided. It's actually caused a lot of division in the community, and people are upset. 933
02:26:47.720 --> 02:26:53.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, I'm… I'd like to hear from the committee, what do you say to about that.
934
02:26:54.940 --> 02:27:10.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Well, first, thank you for naming the elephant in the room. I don't want to speculate as to what may or may not work politically to encourage people to change their minds. In fact, our intention for opening up the O'Reilly Building for an open house wasn't to convince them of our recommendation.
935
02:27:10.940 --> 02:27:26.990
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It was to share them… share with them our process and why we were working toward that recommendation. It was also to solicit community engagement, which is, again, if you look at our recommendation, our recommendation is for you to take on that task and do more of it in order to find a way
936
02:27:27.050 --> 02:27:36.299
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: for you to bridge the gap between them. So I… I don't want to speculate as to what could work, but our recommendation is that we make… we make time
937
02:27:36.390 --> 02:27:45.599
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: to do that. We… we don't have that capacity, as Kent started to say, we don't have the capacity to speak on behalf of the city or behalf of the Council, so we weren't… 938
02:27:46.640 --> 02:27:51.379
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I don't think we're in the position to make that type of change and commitment on your behalf. 939
02:27:51.770 --> 02:27:53.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It's more of…
940
02:27:53.390 --> 02:28:09.710
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: soliciting where the energy is. So we had two different subcommittees. We had a finance committee and analysis… the finance analysis committee, but the other one, it was a community needs assessment committee. So part of that work was outreach to figure out what some of the needs are, which brought us to the bigger picture.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
941
02:28:10.260 --> 02:28:19.939
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: if there is contention to be solved, if there is work to be done to mend that, I think that that is actually part of the next stage of what we're recommending. 942
02:28:20.330 --> 02:28:22.049
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Does that answer your question? 943
02:28:23.100 --> 02:28:32.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I… oh, everyone's hand's up, but I have a question, too, so I… Councilmember Hinton had her hand up first, and then… and then Councilmember Carter.
944
02:28:33.960 --> 02:28:37.909
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, we got some numbers. 945
02:28:38.160 --> 02:28:56.979
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: that show the city buildings, and our commitment, at least in the current budget, for those city buildings and organizations, and it included the Senior Center, the museum, the community center, Sebastopol Little League Bathrooms, Village Park. 946
02:28:57.300 --> 02:29:17.060
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: or, the library, the swimming pool in the Ives Park shed, to the tune of $561,000 that the city lays out for those buildings that we currently own. My question is, how much rent are we getting
947
02:29:17.190 --> 02:29:27.860
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: On the… on the other side, to help support these outlays that are our current obligations, and they return each and every year to us.
948
02:29:28.440 --> 02:29:38.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: maybe Ana could answer that. I… it wasn't clear in the report, and I'm curious on the revenue side what kind of rent we're getting. Part of the plan we've heard
949
02:29:38.170 --> 02:29:48.920
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Is that rent will be coming in to support the project, but these are current things that we're doing right now, so are we… are we collecting rent from any of these organizations? 950
02:29:53.230 --> 02:29:59.370
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Well, based on my review of all the current leases, we are not charging any rent that I'm aware of. 951
02:29:59.610 --> 02:30:00.490
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
952
02:30:00.770 --> 02:30:01.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you.
953
02:30:02.370 --> 02:30:04.510
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And I have a question, too, if you… 954
02:30:04.840 --> 02:30:26.569
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's regarding… Oh, I just wanted to make one quick, statement about the process. We were charged to, you know, come up with some solutions, and this is what our end was saying.

So, like, the community divide, we haven't gotten there yet, and this is the point where we engage the community to figure out,
955
02:30:26.660 --> 02:30:29.219
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What the… what the buy-in could be. 956
02:30:30.120 --> 02:30:40.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I had a question today, and I think it, wasn't able to find it, and I thought we received it in one of our emails, one of the public comments, but one of the questions that was nagging at me is.
957
02:30:40.940 --> 02:30:52.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If… if we were to purchase a building, then we're not receiving tax revenue on that, so how much is O'Reilly Building actually paying in taxes? Do we have any property tax? Do we have any idea?
958
02:30:52.170 --> 02:30:53.769
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Because we would lose that. 959
02:30:55.980 --> 02:31:10.340
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No, I just… I know we got it in some public comment somewhere, and I just… I tried and tried to search through the emails, you know how many emails we get, so I was trying to find that out in there. And then another question I had, just more of a practical, question about
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

960

Agenda Item Number 2
02:31:10.340 --> 02:31:21.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, Alex, if we… if we had these buildings, and we had private renters in there, say we had a cafe, or we had something, and they're not able to pay their rent.
961
02:31:21.940 --> 02:31:25.200
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Where does that leave us as a city? Because eventually you're…
962
02:31:25.520 --> 02:31:38.899
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: trying to evict someone, I mean, and it puts us in a really precarious position as a government entity now, having this type of dealing with private entities, and so I'm just curious from a practical perspective. Yeah,
963
02:31:38.920 --> 02:31:46.269
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I mean, ideally, we would have written lease agreements with them, and we would have all the same rights as any other land.
964
02:31:46.590 --> 02:31:48.229
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Property owner to a vet. 965
02:31:48.430 --> 02:31:59.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: a tenant who doesn't pay rent, you know, that can sometimes be a lengthy and difficult process, but we would have those, you know, same abilities as any other property owner. 966
02:32:00.150 --> 02:32:00.980
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
967
02:32:06.520 --> 02:32:16.810
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: If anyone ever comes up with that tax number, I appreciate… and I just… I can't find it anywhere, but I wanted to understand… The tax value is $13 million based on his sales, so it would be a percentage of that.
968
02:32:17.110 --> 02:32:25.529
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: well, I understand that. I know what we pay… everyone pays in taxes. I just wondered, you know, I'm not going to do math right now, but anyway, that was my question. 969
02:32:25.760 --> 02:32:28.499
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can I… can I follow that up? Sure, go ahead.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
970
02:32:28.800 --> 02:32:47.129
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the city is a… doesn't pay property taxes, isn't that correct? If they buy a building, they don't pay property taxes? Correct. Property owned by the city is exempt, and so I think the question is, right now, if it's 13… assessed value is $13 million, we're probably getting around $26,000. That's very rough math. 971
02:32:47.670 --> 02:33:03.779
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: 1% property tax, 20% of that would be about… So we would not… Losing that 26%. We would be owning an expensive thing. Yeah, when we own property, we don't pay taxes. Oh, property tax. Do they pay property taxes right now?
972
02:33:04.700 --> 02:33:06.170
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: For an empty building. 973
02:33:06.290 --> 02:33:17.730
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yes, yes. Wow. That building has been sitting empty since… for 8 years. Yeah. I mean, if they are, I assume they are. If they don't, eventually the county forecloses on the property, and…
974
02:33:17.990 --> 02:33:24.730
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Isn't it within the city limits? But the county is the administers tax, property taxes.
975
02:33:24.910 --> 02:33:27.950
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think they're also paying a fire tax to Goldridge.
976
02:33:28.400 --> 02:33:29.640
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: About 12.
977
02:33:29.880 --> 02:33:37.769
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: $1,000 a year. I'm sorry? They're paying property taxes to Goldridge for the Fire District, too? Yes, yeah, so they would lose,
978
02:33:37.970 --> 02:33:40.440
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Revenue as well from there, so… okay.
979
02:33:44.630 --> 02:34:01.830
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Any other questions? I'm sorry, we refer those who don't know, we receive lots of documents and questions for all of this, so I was just trying to go through and understand, because I think some of the ones that were put in under due diligence didn't seem like they really went under due diligence, but they are things that… assumptions that I heard in the
980
02:34:01.830 --> 02:34:06.119
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Meeting that seemed like they could have been answered, so,
981
02:34:06.910 --> 02:34:20.500
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: One of the things that wasn't clear to me in the presentation is when you were looking at all of this, and it's in these questions here, in these assumptions that you made, was that for all three buildings, or one of the buildings? That wasn't clear to me.
982
02:34:20.650 --> 02:34:38.370
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I actually, the… the finance… the finance committee did, one building and three buildings. So, like, if it were to take one building, that would be, like, an $8 million, expense, and if all three… Is that, like, the warehouse, or, like, the two… which… 983
02:34:38.610 --> 02:34:54.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So the $8 million would be one of the twin buildings, and you know, they can be sold, as I understand, individually, or as a package, and the package, you know, I think is listed somewhere near $18 million.
984
02:34:55.240 --> 02:34:56.659
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I see. Thank you. 985
02:34:57.720 --> 02:35:00.190
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Does anyone else have questions? 986
02:35:00.630 --> 02:35:03.459
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I don't wanna occupy all this, but… 987
02:35:04.400 --> 02:35:06.360
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Vice Mayor, did you have any? 988
02:35:07.240 --> 02:35:08.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Any other questions? Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
989
02:35:10.750 --> 02:35:12.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I'm sorry, Mary, hi. 990
02:35:13.230 --> 02:35:14.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay.
991
02:35:14.550 --> 02:35:15.770
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yep,
992
02:35:17.010 --> 02:35:23.889
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, if I might, could I… could I reiterate what the due diligence is that we're… that we're asking, that we're recommending?
993
02:35:26.310 --> 02:35:45.189
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Sure. That'd be appropriate? What we're recommending in terms of the due diligence is to examine the legal implications of the library JPA bylaws. We're asking you to do a bond council analysis, looking at what ruling on private businesses, use of tax-exempt debt, etc, which was mentioned. We're asking you to look at the financing.
994
02:35:45.200 --> 02:35:57.210
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So some of the questions that you've raised are the very questions we're asking you to raise, so if that makes sense, we're asking you to examine the building condition, some of the concerns you have about the actual building condition before making any further…
995
02:35:57.270 --> 02:36:13.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: further progress toward it. We're asking you to continue to do community outreach, and the very concern that you just brought up about the division between a community, that's one of the things that we would like to recommend that you continue to incorporate in the due diligence process, and that you connect with the library to
996
02:36:13.440 --> 02:36:27.950
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: work on developing the library partnership in this build, which was also mentioned in terms of the library's contribution to making this. So I hope… I apologize that I… I stammered a bit when I got started, but those were the things that we're really recommending for this council to take action on. 997
02:36:28.020 --> 02:36:32.169
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, and then I have a question, too. Can you repeat the first one, please?
998
02:36:32.360 --> 02:36:35.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The first one is to examine the legal implications.
999
02:36:36.070 --> 02:36:44.200
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The library JPA bylaws, the no-cost lease obligation versus civic occupancy payment surplus land act review by City Attorney.
1000
02:36:44.320 --> 02:36:52.509
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: A question I had is, when you've been working with the real estate agent, I mean, generally, they can give you an idea of what the utilities cost for those… to run those places? 1001
02:36:52.850 --> 02:36:55.650
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I didn't see that number anywhere.

Does anyone?
1002
02:36:56.510 --> 02:37:08.430
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, it was, like, $240,000 or so.

I have a spreadsheet, and I don't want to say the exact number, too, physically. For a year? Like, what time?
1003
02:37:08.580 --> 02:37:16.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Yeah, I think it's… I think it's for a year, but please let me, let me check in on that, but they… they were kind enough to send me what they pay.
1004
02:37:16.930 --> 02:37:18.540
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And so I do have that. 1005
02:37:19.120 --> 02:37:23.610
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, all right. If there are no other questions, we can go out to public comment, Mary. 1006
02:37:23.970 --> 02:37:33.860
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Oh, yeah. Yeah, I was going to ask the committee members to go ahead and, if you want to have a seat, what will do public comments, so you don't have to stand there. Thank you so much, sorry about that.
1007
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
02:37:41.710 --> 02:37:45.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Do we want to wait until she, yeah, she gets settled?
1008
02:37:50.790 --> 02:38:07.279
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Okay, so this is for public comment for the discussion of building the commons recommendations from the Standing Committee. If you would like to make a public comment, it is a 2-minute time limit, and we do chambers first, out to Zoom chambers, so here's your opportunity for public comment.
1009
02:38:08.230 --> 02:38:24.179
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, and again, my apologies for speaking out of order previously. My name is Christine Koenig, and I am coming here in support of this. I did send to the Council a number of pages of research that I pulled together.
1010
02:38:24.230 --> 02:38:28.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: About other cities who have done this, big and small, and…
1011
02:38:28.660 --> 02:38:36.260
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: as a… I have a background as a journalist and a communications expert, especially in the mental health and wellness, and I found that
1012
02:38:36.360 --> 02:38:45.409
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: even an hour away, Middletown in Lake County has created a combined library senior center. Not only have they found it to be highly successful for public engagement. 1013
02:38:45.410 --> 02:38:59.369
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: but also for critical emergency resilience. Nationally, the data packs up what the committee has found as far as libraries and community hubs that routinely return $2 to $10 for every dollar invested in the communities
1014
02:38:59.370 --> 02:39:08.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: With social… social… with stronger social ties, also see a measurable, measurably less crime. 1015
02:39:09.800 --> 02:39:19.409
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Additionally, I had, information specifically about murders and the drop in vehicle theft connected to higher social connectedness.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
1016
02:39:19.440 --> 02:39:42.400
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: As someone who created the loneliness Toolkit for Cura Link Healthcare, it's loneliness.tools if you wish to look that up, I'm acutely aware of the loneliness epidemic as a public health across this nation. I know that the concept of having a multi-generational community space is one that helps, not only 1017
02:39:42.400 --> 02:39:46.369
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Reduce barriers between people, but also helps
1018
02:39:46.370 --> 02:39:59.829
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: reduce loneliness, especially with generations… Chris, can you have about 25 seconds? I come from Chicago, where they, ping pong was, they put 200 to 500 tables across the, city that,
1019
02:39:59.830 --> 02:40:16.719
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: increased engagement with people who didn't know each other. I'd like to quickly address two things. One, adding on to a building that already has water damage, and you can't under… you don't know where it's coming from, that's putting a band-aid on a huge gash.
1020
02:40:16.720 --> 02:40:20.909
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Christine, that's 2 minutes. All right, thank you. Thank you for your public comment.
1021
02:40:20.970 --> 02:40:24.369
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Next, I'll go out to Zoom. Kate, can you unmute yourself, please?
1022
02:40:25.260 --> 02:40:26.650
kate: I am unmuted, thank you.
1023
02:40:26.650 --> 02:40:27.330
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you.
1024
02:40:28.120 --> 02:40:30.210
kate: If there are a lot of West…
1025
02:40:30.240 --> 02:40:46.400
kate: county people with deep pockets that want to see this project go, let them pay for the due diligence. Specifically, the landlord who's Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
trying to unload their building that they can't sell or rent, and haven't been able to do so for the last 5 years.
1026
02:40:46.400 --> 02:41:04.209
kate: As we've seen tonight, the city cannot even prepare a budget at a glance without mixing up its accounts and fiscal obligations. As we've seen tonight, the city takes a long time to fix its infrastructures.

We're all applauding that finally the roads are being fixed. 1027
02:41:04.390 --> 02:41:15.530
kate: This city has water infrastructure that is unstable and vulnerable.

It has unsecured water towers and a water line that does not have any redundancy.
1028
02:41:15.530 --> 02:41:28.240
kate: The city has been charged by a civil grand jury as owing the enterprise $5.5 million due to a misallocation of ratepayer funds. 1029
02:41:28.240 --> 02:41:48.220
kate: There is no way the city can handle a project of this magnitude. It simply does not have the resources. It has an obligation to ratepayers to pay back the money identified by the grand jury so we can repair our infrastructure. You can't have a resiliency center without water. 1030
02:41:48.240 --> 02:42:00.400
kate: The library is loved, and it works. The Senior Center is so successful that they need to expand. These are social services that work where they are without additional cost.
1031
02:42:00.400 --> 02:42:07.139
kate: I think we've seen this before, when the county purchased the Sebastopol Inn for 6 times its appraised
1032
02:42:07.140 --> 02:42:27.800
kate: amount, and removed a hotel from downtown Sebastopol, which has had ongoing negative ramifications for the city, and of course, was a champagne moment for the commercial real estate dudes who sold the building and unloaded a hotel for six times its value during a pandemic.

That was a coup for them.
1033
02:42:27.860 --> 02:42:33.630
kate: We do not need to give other commercial real estate guys more money. Thank you.
1034
02:42:33.910 --> 02:42:41.980
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Kate, 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, please step up to the podium.
1035
02:42:44.650 --> 02:42:54.050
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Well, most of what I… oh, my name is Robert Store, and first I want to say I don't live in Sebastopol, but I do live in the West County, and
1036
02:42:54.240 --> 02:43:08.450
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the West County, District 5 has 10 times the population of Sebastopol, and we contrib… even though we don't pay taxes in Sebastopol, we do use the services, the restaurants, support the business in Sebastopol, and I think
1037
02:43:09.100 --> 02:43:13.439
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: our input should be considered, and I am also
1038
02:43:14.140 --> 02:43:22.590
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: have a question about District 5 and Linda Hopkins and why they're not involved in this at all, because all of these people in the West County
1039
02:43:23.250 --> 02:43:37.019
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: are actually involved. As you saw from the two charts up there, most of the people who come to the Senior Center and the Library drive there from way out in the West County. In terms of the question that was asked about
1040
02:43:37.370 --> 02:43:47.529
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the, negative comments that have been submitted, and I have not seen, and they're not available to me particularly, but I have heard, just in discussing.
1041
02:43:47.910 --> 02:44:02.570
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: you know, in the general discussion that's been going on now for months, basically, that the, the merchants on Main Street and around are concerned that businesses will… business will be lost there. The…
1042
02:44:02.780 --> 02:44:12.380
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The library is a place where children go after school and use, and it would be nice for them to be able to walk there.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
1043
02:44:12.730 --> 02:44:14.480
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: but…
1044
02:44:15.440 --> 02:44:25.209
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And of course, it's the fact that it's not in the Main Street area, and it's another part of Sebastopol.

Well, that part of Sebastopol could use some help.
1045
02:44:25.900 --> 02:44:32.860
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: we've all been there, and we've seen that it's… Robert, you have about 20 seconds. Okay, well, 1046
02:44:33.870 --> 02:44:36.429
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I guess that's what I have to say.

I think,
1047
02:44:36.790 --> 02:44:39.879
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I think the fact that it's out there is manageable.
1048
02:44:40.080 --> 02:44:56.730
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: with shuttles, and it is walkable from Annalee, and it's walkable from town if you want to do it, but you can drive there, and a shuttle can be provided to get people there for the kids and for anybody who wants to go there. Thank you. Thank you, Robert, for your public comment. Next, I'll go out to Zoom. Martin, can you unmute yourself, please?
1049
02:44:59.860 --> 02:45:01.310
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, can you hear us? 1050
02:45:01.890 --> 02:45:02.580
Martin Reed: Yes.
1051
02:45:02.630 --> 02:45:04.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Can you see the timer? 1052
02:45:04.490 --> 02:45:05.469
Martin Reed: Yes, thank you.
1053
02:45:05.470 --> 02:45:06.280
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Great, go ahead.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
1054
02:45:06.680 --> 02:45:11.710
Martin Reed: Good evening, Mayor and Councilmembers. I'm Martin Reed, a Sebastopol resident.
1055
02:45:11.850 --> 02:45:20.379
Martin Reed: I run the Reed Group Real Estate Team at the Barlow, and serve as the Executive Director of the Sonoma County Tool Library. 1056
02:45:20.740 --> 02:45:38.150
Martin Reed: I'll be upfront, the Tua Library would love to call a Future Commons home, so I'm not neutral, but I'd support a thorough look at this opportunity either way. I rented office space in the O'Reilly Building in 2018, and saw firsthand its potential as a community asset. 1057
02:45:38.580 --> 02:45:53.770
Martin Reed: Tonight has surfaced important questions about building condition, renovation, financing, tax impacts, and community support.

These aren't reasons to reject the idea before examining it. They're exactly what due diligence is for.
1058
02:45:54.100 --> 02:46:06.850
Martin Reed: That comparison should be complete and public, weighing acquisition, repairs, and operating costs against rental income and the cost of fixing or expanding what we have now.
1059
02:46:07.200 --> 02:46:18.760
Martin Reed: And the scale matters. The committee's estimate for new civic construction is around 1,700 a square foot. This campus is listed under 200 a foot, already built.
1060
02:46:19.100 --> 02:46:21.990
Martin Reed: With parking and infrastructure in place.
1061
02:46:22.650 --> 02:46:27.680
Martin Reed: Even with meaningful repairs, that's a comparison worth making carefully.
1062
02:46:28.640 --> 02:46:43.040
Martin Reed: As this moves forward, I'd be glad to offer my real estate experience to the city at no charge, property review, market context, or any practical support that helps create a clear and credible analysis. 1063
02:46:43.630 --> 02:46:47.409
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
Martin Reed: Thank you. I'm rooting for a careful process, and I'm here to help.
1064
02:46:48.970 --> 02:46:52.690
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Martin, for your public comment. Next, I will come back into chambers.
1065
02:46:54.480 --> 02:47:07.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Greg Boblett, I know most people in the room, and I really… my heart is here. I hope that we can make a commons that's workable. I don't think this proposal is the right one. 1066
02:47:07.540 --> 02:47:24.490
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: It needs a lot more work. If the building's so cheap, why has it been on the market for so long? I own real estate here in town. I own an office building in town, and office space is difficult to manage, and the city's not… should not be a landlord.
1067
02:47:24.840 --> 02:47:35.060
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There are other buildings that are available, or will be available soon, including the West America Bank, will be available probably within the next year and a half or so. 1068
02:47:35.270 --> 02:47:39.580
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And one thing… a couple things I want to point out.
1069
02:47:39.960 --> 02:47:43.850
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We call it the Commons, and we left out the community center.
1070
02:47:44.650 --> 02:47:48.539
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What happened there? The most vulnerable building of all.
1071
02:47:49.080 --> 02:48:01.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: No solutions there. And the whole project has been presented as 90,000 feet, when the need was 45,000 feet, from what I heard and what I read.
1072
02:48:01.650 --> 02:48:04.610
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Why wasn't it addressed at that level?
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
1073
02:48:04.820 --> 02:48:16.880
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And financing, as we heard from our legalese over there, is tricky as a city
1074
02:48:17.050 --> 02:48:21.380
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: group to… to be a landlord. It's… it's very tricky.
1075
02:48:21.940 --> 02:48:30.229
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The library could operate as an annex. It doesn't have to have 20,000 square feet in one place. It could be…
1076
02:48:30.330 --> 02:48:36.369
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: served better by having regional areas, another building somewhere else in town that worked. 1077
02:48:36.930 --> 02:48:45.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And that's about it. I'm happy to work for a solution for some sort of commons, but this one's wrong. 1078
02:48:46.670 --> 02:48:51.750
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Craig, for your public comment. Next, I'll go out to Zoom. Lisa, can you unmute yourself, please?
1079
02:48:52.230 --> 02:48:53.519
Lisa Pierce: Yes, can you hear me?
1080
02:48:53.520 --> 02:48:55.420
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I can hear you. Can you see the timer?
1081
02:48:55.420 --> 02:48:56.569
Lisa Pierce: Yes, I can, thank you.
1082
02:48:56.570 --> 02:48:57.720
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Go ahead, please. 1083
02:48:57.720 --> 02:49:06.130
Lisa Pierce: I want to mention that assuming we would do major flood mitigation for the community center would be kind of nuts, in my opinion.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
1084
02:49:06.450 --> 02:49:24.289
Lisa Pierce: While I appreciate all the work that the Commons Committee put into this process, I'm sorry that the only options were… that were considered were ones that had the Senior Center, the Community Center, City Hall, and the Library all under one roof. As far as I know, this was the Committee's mandate.
1085
02:49:24.330 --> 02:49:33.640
Lisa Pierce: However, the library and community center have very different needs. I feel that the library should be in the heart of town, surrounded by residential neighborhoods.
1086
02:49:33.640 --> 02:49:44.369
Lisa Pierce: The community center, on the other hand, should, because of noise issues, be far away from residential neighborhoods, including the housing right next to the O'Reilly building.
1087
02:49:44.370 --> 02:49:50.390
Lisa Pierce: The community center requires ample and available parking for the hundreds of people attending events.
1088
02:49:50.680 --> 02:50:01.610
Lisa Pierce: The three options being presented are not our only options.

I think we can do better if we don't limit ourselves to keeping all these organizations under one roof.
1089
02:50:01.790 --> 02:50:08.830
Lisa Pierce: The Senior Center will likely move to a larger space, no matter how the Council votes on this decision. Thank you. 1090
02:50:10.530 --> 02:50:15.940
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Lisa, for your public comment. Next, I'll come back into chambers. Oliver? Here's my sign again.
1091
02:50:16.290 --> 02:50:35.000
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, fundamentally, I'm not opposed to this project, wherever the building is, and it's very… I'm sure those bank buildings are all going to be coming on the market very, very soon, right in the, you know, in the center of town. My problem is what the science says, which is… and what this gentleman here said, which is… 1092
02:50:35.380 --> 02:50:52.329
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: My wife drives for the Senior Center. Most of the people who use the Senior Center don't live in the Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
city of Sebastopol. The library, loads of people drive in to use the library, and that's great. I'm a big fan of it. A lot of people come to the community center from West County and around.
1093
02:50:52.590 --> 02:51:05.680
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: The fundamental problem we have here is the city of Sebastopol doesn't have very many taxpayers, we don't have very good sales tax revenue, and we can't keep paying for county projects. It's really simple. So, here's the sign again. 1094
02:51:05.760 --> 02:51:07.290
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, what…
1095
02:51:07.340 --> 02:51:17.790
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: this next… this specific ask tonight is for the city to contribute money to research whether this is feasible or not. So, for example.
1096
02:51:17.790 --> 02:51:28.240
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: That's a… we're talking about specifically buying a 25-year-old building, therefore the roof is obsolete. Most commercial building roofs last about 25 years. 1097
02:51:28.240 --> 02:51:41.700
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You're talking probably half a million to replace that straight away. You've got… because it's going to be a city building, the city is now going to be a commercial landlord, as previously been discussed. The city can't do that. I mean, we can't… 1098
02:51:41.970 --> 02:52:00.460
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: the city can barely… the staff we have can barely run the city without trying to manage a commercial building, with people not paying their rent, and having to chase them, and so on and so forth. The energy costs are going to be complicated in terms of HVAC and so on, because the building's 25 years old. Everything will have to be in compliance.
1099
02:52:00.620 --> 02:52:08.709
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So, the county should definitely be asked to contribute to look at the feasibility of future 1100
02:52:08.820 --> 02:52:18.710
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Commons buildings, but I don't think the city should be spending any money on this at all, in terms of researching it. Thank you. Thank you, Oliver, for your public comments.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
1101
02:52:19.030 --> 02:52:22.749
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Next, I'll go out to Zoom. Mary, can you unmute yourself, please?
1102
02:52:25.770 --> 02:52:26.350
mary cone: Yep.
1103
02:52:26.660 --> 02:52:28.490
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you still see the timer?
1104
02:52:28.710 --> 02:52:29.480
mary cone: I can.
1105
02:52:29.480 --> 02:52:30.469
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, go ahead. 1106
02:52:30.860 --> 02:52:36.669
mary cone: So, in listening to all of this, I've come up with little certain things.
1107
02:52:37.050 --> 02:52:51.670
mary cone: In the Sebastopol Times, Kent said if they're… whoever it is, the library or, senior center, if they're not paying rent now, they won't have to pay rent at O'Reilly. I don't know if that's true. 1108
02:52:52.380 --> 02:52:58.959
mary cone: You are comparing Sebastopol with Davis. I don't really think that's a comparison.
1109
02:52:59.120 --> 02:53:06.110
mary cone: And, so this really is about the EIFD.
1110
02:53:06.630 --> 02:53:15.899
mary cone: I've asked Phil about it, and he said he's in touch with Linda constantly, but that sentence is meaningless to…
1111
02:53:16.110 --> 02:53:24.799
mary cone: The citizens, because we need to know that the county is 100% behind this, legal papers signed, all of that.
1112
02:53:25.460 --> 02:53:40.270
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
mary cone: I mean, basically, I think this is a great idea. However, I don't think we should be paying for it as taxpayers. I pay a lot of money in tax… property taxes, and I… I don't want
1113
02:53:40.880 --> 02:53:51.020
mary cone: my taxes going to pay for all this due diligence. I don't understand why this group can't raise some money and do it themselves.

Thanks.
1114
02:53:52.180 --> 02:53:55.760
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you, Mary, for your public comment. Next, I'll come back into chambers.
1115
02:53:57.410 --> 02:54:02.489
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Hi, my name's Brian Ledig, I'm a realtor. I'm also on the board of the Sebastopol Senior Center. 1116
02:54:03.980 --> 02:54:12.860
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: what we're looking at here is whether or not we're interested in starting to do our due diligence. No decisions are being made tonight.
1117
02:54:14.280 --> 02:54:20.599
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: I've read a bunch of the comments on this, and most of it was that we can't afford it.
1118
02:54:20.990 --> 02:54:28.659
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We don't know that we can't afford it. We can't know that until we actually start doing due diligence. We don't know if the roof is shot.
1119
02:54:28.920 --> 02:54:36.270
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: We need to do… we need to investigate that. I'm a realtor, and these are all inspections that happen in escrow.
1120
02:54:36.530 --> 02:54:40.020
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And we would do the same thing here, that…
1121
02:54:40.810 --> 02:54:49.659
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: What we have is an opportunity to move everyone under one roof. The Senior Center has… has… most of their classes have wait lists.

Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
1122
02:54:50.010 --> 02:54:56.129
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: And because it's not large enough, we definitely need to expand and double our size.
1123
02:54:56.800 --> 02:54:58.649
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: There's no way we can do that. 1124
02:54:58.950 --> 02:55:07.620
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: You know, we can't afford to build a new facility, we can't afford to buy a facility. So, in doing something like this, we would certainly be able to do that.
1125
02:55:07.660 --> 02:55:23.350
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: So anyway, but this is just a start, and everyone's saying, well, wait, we can't afford it. We don't know those answers. We don't know what the shape of the building is. We don't know what the remodel costs would be. We don't know any of this until we start doing our due diligence. Thank you.
1126
02:55:23.540 --> 02:55:28.509
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you for your public comment.

Next, I'll go out to Zoom. Steve, can you unmute yourself, please? 1127
02:55:29.400 --> 02:55:30.820
Steve Pierce: Yes, thank you.
1128
02:55:30.870 --> 02:55:32.769
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center: Thank you. Can you see the timer? 1129
02:55:33.460 --> 02:55:44.650
Steve Pierce: Yes, thank you. I'm mainly concerned about the loss of vitality for our downtown, and the walkability if the library moves to the edge of the city.
1130
02:55:45.020 --> 02:55:48.019
Steve Pierce: And I'm concerned about the financial risk to our city. 1131
02:55:48.170 --> 02:55:51.390
Steve Pierce: Speaking of roofs, that 25-year-old roof. 1132
02:55:51.530 --> 02:55:53.749
Steve Pierce: I just looked it up on…
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026

Agenda Item Number 2
1133
02:55:53.990 --> 02:56:02.799
Steve Pierce: the cost for the entire campus replacing the roof, according to AI, is $240,000 to over $480,000.
1134
02:56:02.970 --> 02:56:06.879
Steve Pierce: And I've heard it said, well, the tenants will pay for the… 1135
02:56:07.170 --> 02:56:16.060
Steve Pierce: these costs. Well, it's not really realistic to expect the tenants will be able to pay all these maintenance costs when most don't pay rent now.
1136
02:56:16.450 --> 02:56:30.449
Steve Pierce: Moving the community center in its entirety is really not feasible because of the noise issue with the housing directly next door.

So, the city is still left with the maintenance costs of the existing community center.
1137
02:56:30.710 --> 02:56:41.160
Steve Pierce: The hope that if the existing city properties are sold, that there will be an increase, excuse me, tax roll will feed the commons.
1138
02:56:41.160 --> 02:56:51.409
Steve Pierce: But that doesn't take into account that the new property rented to nonprofit and government entities takes away from the tax rolls. Overall, it's most likely a wash.
1139
02:56:51.590 --> 02:57:01.729
Steve Pierce: It was stated in the staff report that the next decade of maintenance on the library could exceed 20% of their replacement value, which would be around $2 million.
1140
02:57:01.940 --> 02:57:16.700
Steve Pierce: Where does that estimate come from? The city recently replaced the roof and the HVAC system. Under any scenario, for the different options, the city would still most likely be on the hook for the drainage and the exterior wall repair.
1141
02:57:16.780 --> 02:57:29.329
Steve Pierce: It's good news that the library system committed to investing $1 million into the Occidental branch. We need them to do the same in Grayton, in Forestville, and maybe Bodega.
1142
Agenda Item Number 2
City Council Meeting Packet for October 6, 2026