REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
OF THE SONOMA CITY COUNCIL
City Council Chambers
City Council: 177 First Street West Patricia Farrar-Rivas, Mayor Ron Wellander, Wednesday October 15‘2025 Vice Mayor ‘
Sandra Lowe
John Gurney 6:00 PM Regular Meeting
Jack Ding
REGULAR MEETING
CONVENE, CALL TO ORDER, & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Vice Mayor Wellander called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm.
ROLL CALL:
PRESENT: Vice Mayor Wellander, Council Member Lowe, Council Member Gurney, and Council Member Ding ABSENT: Mayor Farrar—Rivas
REPORT ON CLOSED SESSION
There was no Closed Session held.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Motion by Council Member Lowe, seconded by Council Member Ding, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 4-0—1-0by voice vote, with Council Member Gurney, Council Member Ding, Council Member Lowe, and Vice Mayor Wellander voting YES, and Mayor Farrar—Rivasabsent.
1. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
Janet Boyle, Lynn Marie de Vincent, Carrie Gurster, and Trey Dunia provided public comments.
2. MEETING DEDICATIONS
Vice Mayor Wellander dedicated the meeting to Sam Sebastiani.
3. COUNCILMEMBERS’REPORTS AND COMMENTS
Council Member Lowe attended a Sonoma County Transportation and Climate Authority (SCTCA) meeting on October 6, 2025.
Vice Mayor Wellander attended the annual League of California Cities (LOCC) Conference in Long Beach last week, along with three other council members.
4. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
City Manager Guhin shared the following updates:
1. Sonoma County has lifted the burn permit suspension, as ?re season has ended. 2. The annual “Great Shake Out" earthquake drill is tomorrow, October 16, 2025, at 10:16 AM. 3. The draft Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update is now available for public review. A community meeting for input is set for November 6, 2025, at 5:30 PM at Fire Station 1. 4. The Tree Canopy Inventory report is complete, identifying 5,075 trees. 5. The next Artist Reception featuring Margaret Hatcher will be on October 23, 2025, from 4 — 6 PM at the City Council Chambers in partnership with the Sonoma Community Center. Nominations for the 2026 Treasure Artist Award are open until October 31, 2025, at 5:00 PM. The Priority Conservation Areas adopted in June were approved in October 2025: Sonoma Creek, Regional Trail, Fryer Creek, and Nathanson Creek.
8. A one-day slurry seal project starts tomorrow, October 16, 2025; major paving on West Spain Street begins the week of October 27, 2025.
9. The La Luz Center’s Dia De Los Muertos movie night is on October 24, 2025, from 5:30 — 9:30 PM at the Barracks.
5. CITY ATTORNEY COMMENTS
City Attorney Ruderman provided updates from the League of California Cities Legal Advocacy Executive Committee meeting he attended at the annual conference.
6. PRESENTATIONS
Item 6.1: Proclamation Recognizing the 100th Anniversary of the Santa Rosa Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
7. CONSENT CALENDAR — CITY COUNCIL
Motion by Council Member Lowe, seconded by Council Member Gurney, to approve the consent calendar as presented. Motion carried 4-0-1-0, with Council Member Gurney, Council Member Ding, Council Member Lowe, and Vice Mayor Wellander voting YES, and Mayor Farrar-Rivas absent.
Regular Meeting Minutes, October 15, 2025
Item 7.1: Waive further reading and Authorize Introduction and/or Adoption of Ordinances by Title Only. (Standard procedural action - no backup information provided) Item 7.2: Receive Minutes from the Regular Meetings of September 17, 2025, and September 29, 2025 (Rebekah Barr, MMC, City Clerk)
Action: Minutes were received.
Item 7.3: Accept the Expenditure Report for the Month of September 2025 (Prapti Aryal, Finance Director)
Action: The expenditure report was accepted.
Item 7.4: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing a Budget Adjustment to Move Funds from Public Works Repair and Maintenance Budgets to Vehicle Replacement Fund for the Purchase of a Flail Mower Attachment (Ashley Cotter, Public Works Administrative & Project Manager) Action: Adopted as Resolution 59-2025.
Item 7.5: Adopt a Resolution Approving an Adjusted Salary Range to be Commensurate for the Community Development Director Job Classification (Jenny Yankovich, Assistant to the City Manager)
Action: Adopted as Resolution 60-2025.
8. PUBLIC HEARING
Item 7.6: An Ordinance Amending Sonoma Municipal Code Sections 19.54.080(D) Development Exempt from Design Review and 19.40.110(D) Projections into the Public Right-Ot—Way, and Finding the Ordinance Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Diane Levine, Associate Planner)
Action: The ordinance was introduced.
Public Hearing Open: 6:33 p.m.
Public Comments: None.
Public Hearing Closed: 6:33 p.m.
Motion by Council Member Lowe, seconded by Council Member Gurney, to introduce an Ordinance Amending Sonoma Municipal Code Sections 19.54. 080(D) Development Exempt from Design Review and 19.40.110(D) Projections into the Public Right-Of-Way, and Finding the Ordinance Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Motion carried 4-0-1-0, with Council Member Gurney, Council Member Ding, Council Member Lowe, and Vice Mayor Wellander voting YES, and Mayor FarrarRivas absent.
9. REGULAR CALENDAR — CITY COUNCIL
Item 9.1: Provide Direction to The City‘s Representative to the Water Advisory Committee to Vote in Support of the Statement of Interest Related to the Proposed New EelRussian Facility and the Associated Water Diversion Agreement Undertaken by the Eel Russian Project Authority (Ashley Cotter, Public Works Administrative & Project Manager)
Action: Direction was provided to the City’s representative to the Water Advisory Committee (WAC) to vote in support of the State of Interest.
Public Comment: Jullian McKay
Motion by Council Member Gurney, seconded by Council Member Ding, to Provide Direction to the City’s Representative to the WaterAdvisory Committee to Vote in Support of the Statement of Interest Related to the Proposed New Eel-Russian Facility and the Associated Water Diversion Agreement Undertaken by the Eel Russian Project Authority. Motion carried 4-0—1-0,with Council Member Gurney, Council Member Ding, Council Member Lowe, and Vice Mayor Wellander voting YES, and Mayor Farrar-Rivas absent.
10. SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT(ONLY REQUIRED IF PUBLIC SPEAKERS REMAINFROM ITEM2.0) None.
11. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Farrar—Rivasadjourned the meeting at 7:04 p.m.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing minutes were duly and regularly received at a regular meeting of Son 3 City Council on the 5'hof November 2025.
Rebekah Barr, MMC, City Clerk
Regular Meeting Minutes, October 15, 2025