Mission Statement: To foster a safe, vibrant, and prosperous community that enhances the quality of life for all
Vision Statement: With leadership and integrity, the City of Sonora commits to excellent service through collaboration and innovation
CITY OF SONORA
City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes
Monday, August 17, 2026
5:00 PM
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Sonora City Council will have their regular meeting on August 17, 2026 at 5:00 PM in the City of Sonora Council Chambers located at 94 N. Washington Street Sonora, CA 95370.
This meeting is physically open to the Public and citizens who wish to provide public comment during the meeting will be invited to do so by the Mayor.
Written comments can be submitted to be included as part of the administrative record; they will not be read during the meeting. All comments must be received by 3:00 pm on the day of the noticed meeting and can be submitted to the City Clerk at 94 N. Washington Street Sonora, CA 95370, or via email to [email protected].
Public Access Audio and Video Live Streaming
The Public will not have access to give public comments via public access audio and video live streaming; they are available for audio and visual only; and can be accessed via our website at www.sonoraca.com.
Remote viewing of the meeting via live streaming is provided to members of the public as a courtesy. If the live streaming connection malfunctions for any reason and no Council Members are attending via teleconference, the City Council will continue the public meeting in Chambers without remote access.
CITY COUNCIL appreciates your interest and encourages participation. Regularly scheduled meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month.
The numerical order of the items on this agenda is for convenience of reference. Items may be taken out of order upon request of the Mayor or Council Members. All questions shall be directed to the Mayor who, at their discretion, will refer to Staff.
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Mayor Ann Segerstrom
Vice Mayor Andy Merrill
Council Members Bess Levine, Stephen Opie, Mark Plummer City Administrator Christopher Gorsky
City Attorney Douglas White___________________________________________________________________ Approved at Sonora Council
Meeting September 8, 2026
Nicole McCutchen
Mission Statement: To foster a safe, vibrant, and prosperous community that enhances the quality of life for all
Vision Statement: With leadership and integrity, the City of Sonora commits to excellent service through collaboration and innovation
OPEN SESSION - 5:00 PM
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Councilmember Bess Levine led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT
Mayor Ann Segerstrom
Vice Mayor Andy Merrill
Councilmember Bess Levine
Councilmember Stephen Opie
Councilmember Mark Plummer
CITY CLERK’S REPORT ON AGENDA POSTING
The Agenda was posted on Friday, August 14, 2026, at 10:16 am.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Motion made by Councilmember Mark Plummer, Seconded by Councilmember Bess Levine. Voting Yea:
Mayor Ann Segerstrom, Vice Mayor Andy Merrill, Councilmember Bess Levine, Councilmember Stephen Opie, Councilmember Mark Plummer
PUBLIC COMMENT (NON-AGENDA ITEMS)
The public may address the Council on any item of public interest not otherwise on the agenda that is within the jurisdiction of the City. No action may be taken. Matters to be addressed may be referred to City Staff or placed on a subsequent meeting Agenda. Speakers are limited to a three (3) minute presentation.
A member of the public addressed the Council.
Councilmembers made additional comments.
Katie Dunn Executive Director of the Sonora Chamber of Commerce informed those in attendance the third annual Sidewalk Sale, Stroll, Shop and Save will be September 26th; Trick or Treat Street will be adding a new element this year; Christmas Parade Applications are live on the Chamber website; the next Chamber Mixer is Tuesday the 18th at Bigwood Brew Works.
Mike Lemke speaking on behalf of the Tuolumne County Economic Development Collaborative Work Group gave an update.
Mission Statement: To foster a safe, vibrant, and prosperous community that enhances the quality of life for all
Vision Statement: With leadership and integrity, the City of Sonora commits to excellent service through collaboration and innovation
Councilmembers asked questions and discussed.
Sophia Kaufman made a comment.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Items on the Consent Calendar are considered routine and will be voted on in one motion unless a Council member or member of the public has a question or wishes to discuss an item. In that case, the item will be removed from the Consent Calendar and considered separately.
1. Consider Approval of the Meeting Minutes from August 3, 2026; Stacy Enos-Del Razo, Deputy City Clerk.
2. Consider Acceptance of Disbursements in the Amount of $189,053.31 and $391,310.51 for Payroll, Including Employee Salaries, Employer and Employee Taxes, Retirement Contributions, Miscellaneous Voluntary Employee Deductions, Holiday Pay, and Other Adjustments, Including Retro-Pay; Nicole McCutchen, Administrative Services Officer, City Clerk.
3. Consider Acceptance of an Informational Report for July 2026 Accounts Payable Payment Register and Void Report; Chris Gorsky, City Administrator
4. Consider Approval of Resolution No. 08-17-2026-A, Authorizing the Closure of State Route 49 (Washington Street) and Certain City Streets for the 2026 Sonora Union High School Homecoming Parade; Turu VanderWiel, Police Chief.
5. Consider Adoption of Resolution No. 08-17-2026-B Acknowledging the City of Sonora Fire Department’s Annual State-Mandated Fire Inspection Compliance Report Pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 13146; Brittan Gregory, Fire Chief.
No public comment.
Motion made by Vice Mayor Andy Merrill, Seconded by Councilmember Mark Plummer. Voting Yea:
Mayor Ann Segerstrom, Vice Mayor Andy Merrill, Councilmember Bess Levine, Councilmember Stephen Opie, Councilmember Mark Plummer
NEW BUSINESS
6. Consider Adoption of Resolution No. 08-17-2026-C, Adopting the City of Sonora 2026-2031 Economic Development Strategy; Tyler Summersett, Community Development Director and Cole Przybyla, Przybyla Advisors.
Tyler Summersett Community Development Director introduced Cole Przybyla, Przybyla Advisors.
Mission Statement: To foster a safe, vibrant, and prosperous community that enhances the quality of life for all
Vision Statement: With leadership and integrity, the City of Sonora commits to excellent service through collaboration and innovation
Cole Przybyla, Przybyla Advisors presented the 2026-2031 Economic Development Strategy including, Five objectives organize the work; Thirteen action items define the major work; Fifty-Two implementation items make the plan easy to track and use; Vacancy Database; Recruitment is focused on businesses that fit Sonora now; and Approve the plan and begin implementation.
Councilmembers asked questions and made comments.
A member of the public addressed the Council.
LeeAnn Hatton addressed the council.
Sophia Kaufman representing both Mother Lode Job Training and the Central Sierra Economic Development District addressed the Council.
Mike Lemke addressed the Council.
Councilmembers and Chris Gorsky City Administrator made additional comments.
Motion made by Councilmember Mark Plummer, Seconded by Councilmember Stephen Opie. Voting Yea:
Mayor Ann Segerstrom, Vice Mayor Andy Merrill, Councilmember Bess Levine, Councilmember Stephen Opie, Councilmember Mark Plummer.
COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS
Councilmember Mark Plummer attended Tuolumne County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO); and Tuolumne County Transportation Council (TCTC) meetings.
Councilmember Stephen Opie had nothing to report.
Councilmember Bess Levine had nothing to report.
Vice Mayor Andy Merrill attended Tuolumne County Transportation Council (TCTC); and the Commission on Homelessness meetings.
Mayor Ann Segerstrom attended Tuolumne County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO); Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency (ATCAA) meetings; and the fundraiser for Camp Justice is August 29th.
ADJOURNMENT
Adjourned at 6:28 pm.
Mission Statement: To foster a safe, vibrant, and prosperous community that enhances the quality of life for all
Vision Statement: With leadership and integrity, the City of Sonora commits to excellent service through collaboration and innovation
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk at City Hall (209) 532-4541, [email protected]. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting (28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title II).
Materials related to an item on this Agenda submitted to the City Council after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection in the City Administrator’s Office at 94 N. Washington Street, Sonora, CA 95370 during normal business hours (8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays). The agenda and supporting public documents are also available on our City website www.sonoraca.com listed under the agenda/minutes link on the Government page.