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TOWN OF WOODSIDE
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 10, 2026
Independence Hall, 2955 Woodside Road, Woodside 7:00 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Dombkowski called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present: Councilmembers Aburish, Brown, Goeld, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski Staff Present:
Jason Ledbetter, Town Manager
Kai Ruess, Deputy Town Attorney
Sage Schaan, Planning Director
Louis Sun, Town Engineer/Public Works Director
Melissa Cardinale, Assistant Town Manager
Jennifer Li, Town Clerk
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Councilmember Aburish led the Pledge of Allegiance.
COMMUNICATIONS
There were no open communications.
PRESENTATION
Moira Lion, Volunteerism Committee, shared the success of the Youth Civics Program, and presented five third and fifth graders with certificates of completion.
Mayor Dombkowski thanked the Volunteerism Committee for the inaugural work, and acknowledged Councilmember Wall, former Councilmember Chris Shaw, and Town Manager Ledbetter for their participation in the program.
Thalia Lubin, Volunteerism Committee, suggested that the Town do a similar civics program for adults.
APPOINTMENTS
Report and Recommendation from the Town Council Committees Appointments Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 1
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 Subcommittee:
a. Arts and Culture Committee
b. Circulation Committee
c. Emergency Preparedness Committee
d. Environment & Open Space Committee
e. Livestock and Equine Heritage Committee
f. Recreation Committee
g. Trails Committee
h. Volunteerism Committee
i. Woodside History Committee
Councilmember Goeld noted: that all the reappointment requests were accepted; there were some attendance issues, however, the Chairs are supportive of the reappointments; his appreciation to the Chairs for their summaries of Committee activity; there are two new applicants.
The public comment period opened and closed at 7:10 p.m.
Councilmember Goeld moved to appoint the new applicants to the Trails Committee and the Circulation Committee, and to approve all reappointment requests.
Motion seconded by Councilmember Brown and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Brown, Goeld, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski NOES: None
INTERVIEW AND APPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION
Mayor Dombkowski stated: Matthew Apfel withdrew his application; the Council's appreciation for Commissioner Apfel's out-of-district service to the community; there will be an honor coin and proclamation issued to him soon.
Daron Evans spoke of his background and his appreciation for the Planning Commission.
Council's questions included: his approach for attending meetings with an expectation that there is a difficult workload ahead for the Planning Commission.
In response to Council's questions, Mr. Evans stated: his views about addressing the State housing shortage; how his personal schedule allows him time to engage on Town issues.
Matthew E. Garr spoke of the challenges the Planning Commission has faced during his tenure, and his approach of being predictable.
Council's questions included: his thoughts on Housing Element compliance and Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 2
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 implementation, complicated by the fact that he will need to be recused during discussions regarding the potential Raymundo low-income housing site.
In response to Council's questions, Mr. Garr spoke of: the expectation for some housing solution with the Town Center Area Plan process (e.g., voter initiative); progress will need to be made on sites where zoning has been changed to allow for more housing; there will be challenges (e.g., expensive sewer connections and seismic risk); housing will be a polarizing issue in the neighborhood; he accepts the fact that he may need to be recused from discussions regarding the Raymundo housing site; he could participate as a private citizen to the extent that is ethical and feasible; there is an obligation to the State regardless of the chosen housing sites.
The public comment period opened and closed at 7:25 p.m.
Councilmember Wall moved to appoint Daron Evans to represent District 1 and Matthew Garr to represent District 3 on the Planning Commission.
Motion seconded by Councilmember Aburish and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Brown, Goeld, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski NOES: None
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Mr. Ledbetter stated:
1) Congressman Sam Liccardo's office informed staff that the Town will receive $250,000 for a bridge project.
2) The Town has been receiving many communications regarding poor driving decisions and close calls in front of the Woodside Elementary School, so the Sheriff's Office has been making their presence felt.
3) Staff is working with Good City to finalize a future March or April date to update the Council on the Town Center Area Plan.
4) On February 3, he attended a Woodside Hills HOA meeting with the Fire Marshal where the discussion focused on vegetation removal starting on Woodside Road soon. 5) The Town continues to receive inquiries and interest into a more aggressive approach to code enforcement with a couple of abandoned properties.
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Register of Demands Against the Town of Woodside from January 16 through 31, 2025.
2. Approval of a Records and Information Management Policy and Updated Records Retention Schedule.
Resolution No. 2026 - 7804
Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 3
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3. Resolution Authorizing the Town Manager to Execute a Contract Amendment with NV5 in an Amount of $48,700 and not to Exceed a Total of $210,308.00 for the Design of Woodside Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements Project.
Resolution No. 2026 - 7805
Councilmember Wall pulled Item 2 for discussion.
Councilmember Brown pulled Item 3 for discussion.
Councilmember Aburish moved approval of Consent Calendar Item 1.
Motion seconded by Councilmember Goeld and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Brown, Goeld, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski NOES: None
Regarding Item 2, Councilmember Wall asked for an executive summary of the policy and schedule.
Mr. Ledbetter stated: the Town's Consultant, Bruce Meier, Records Control Services, is online; there is a records issue where the office needs to be cleaned out and a determination made as to what is redundant and what meets storage policy requirements; at the previous meeting, Council approved for staff augmentation to assist with the project; the Town did not have a records policy in the past; the updated retention schedule incorporates everybody's needs and validates that based on State law compliance.
Council's questions included: whether a deleted email is still retained in the Town's systems; whether emails are records included in this policy.
In response, Mr. Ledbetter stated: emails are not part of this policy, and staff needs direction on retaining emails beyond the two-year minimum requirement.
Mr. Meier stated: emails are not truly gone after deletion, especially if the Town backs up the server; many projects take longer than two years to complete, which makes being able to reference older emails essential; Laserfiche is the core document management software for the Town; almost all emails are transitory and it is up to the individual to create a record out of emails; emails are in the scope of the policy, however, there currently is no retention applied to it; emails are something that needs to be discussed and a policy developed.
Mr. Ruess stated that the Town never had an operational policy for implementing the records retention schedule until now. The Town does have a retention schedule that includes email along with all other public documents.
Councilmember Aburish moved approval of Consent Calendar Item 2 Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 4
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 Motion seconded by Councilmember Brown and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Brown, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski NOES: None
ABSTAIN: Councilmember Goeld
Regarding Item 3, Councilmember Brown asked for clarification about the project.
In response, Mr. Ledbetter stated: the Town Council directed staff to work with a Circulation Committee member, Steve Lubin, on concerns about the project; there was fear that any design alterations would lead to losing Caltrans funding.
Mr. Sun added: the pedestrian multi-path needed to be redesigned to be on the other side of the curb for safety, which also affected drainage.
Council discussion included: concern of the constant increases in costs; Council asked for this, and the project needs to be done right for the long-term.
The public comment period opened at 7:47 p.m.
Ehsan Farkhondeh, Circulation Committee Chair, expressed support for the project.
Lee Ann Gilbert, Olive Hill Lane, asked for clarification of the project scope.
In response to Ms. Gilbert, Mr. Sun explained the design of the pedestrian path on Woodside Road, east of Highway 280 to Alameda de Las Pulgas.
Dan Druker, Circulation Committee, stated: the three HOAs east of Highway 280 are supportive of the project, as it will serve as an important connection into the Town Center.
The public comment period closed at 7:52 p.m.
Council discussion included: appreciation for grant funding; strong support from the community.
Councilmember Wall moved approval of Consent Calendar Item 3 Motion seconded by Councilmember Aburish and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Goeld, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski NOES: Councilmember Brown
OLD BUSINESS
A. Quarterly and Annual Report on Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs).
Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 5
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 Mr. Ledbetter introduced Assistant Sheriff Myers, Administrative Sergeant Boragno, and Flock Safety Public Affairs Manager, Lily Ho, and then presented the staff report.
Council's questions included: a clarification about Flock Safety's policy to block federal access; whether those incidents in Mountain View occurred after the policy went into place; what was involved to comb through all the inquiries since inception of the program.
In response to Council's questions, Ms. Ho stated: the privacy policy blocking federal access was created in March 2025 to assist agencies in Virginia and California to comply with State laws; nationwide look up was removed; it was impossible for those incidents in Mountain View to have happened after March 2025.
In response to Council's question, Administrative Sergeant Boragno stated: the system became live in May 2023; he ran a monthly report, and went through line by line to check which agencies made inquiries; the Sheriff's Office, Redwood City Police Department (RWCPD), and San Mateo Police Department (SMPD) were the only agencies that accessed the system.
Council's questions of Mr. Ledbetter included: verification of the "request and confirm" sharing model, the security settings in the Flock Safety system related to nationwide sharing, and the Town Manager's audit; since Flock Safety admitted to system failure in Mountain View, should the Town demand an independent technical inspection of its system settings; how "shadow sharing" with federal agencies is prevented; whether the Town Manager has the ability to run keyword searches to ensure that the Town's data is not being used to violate State law; whether the system is compliant to the privacy policy when only 10 random searches (0.01% of the total activity) were examined; whether the Council can receive technical data verification from Flock that the deletion setting for Woodside's specific cameras is set to 60 days, and that overrides the Sheriff's default one-year retention policy; whether "hot lists" are filtered to ensure they do not include civil immigration warrants or administrative warrants from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); whether the privacy risks outweigh the benefits.
In response to Council's questions, Mr. Ledbetter stated: not every request is engaged; any request that does not come from the RWCPD, SMPD, or County Sheriff's Office is dismissed; Flock Safety may be able to verify the security settings related to nationwide sharing; the Town relied upon Administrative Sergeant Boragno's detailed review from 2023 to present; he takes direction from the Council and the policy that Council approved; "shadow sharing" with federal agencies is prohibited by a local employee's agency's policy and would be handled per the agency's disciplinary practices; it's a matter of faith and level of trust that each organization is following their policy; the Town does not have the ability to conduct keyword searches of ALPR data and would rely on that audit being made by the Administrative Sergeant; the system is compliant because the policy states that 10 random searches are to be audited; under the contract with Flock, data is automatically deleted after 60 days except for data related to a case; we rely on vendor assurances that the policy is being followed; these cameras provide some safety and security for Town residents; safety services costs are only going to increase, and the Town will need to rely on the technology.
Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 6
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 Assistant Sheriff Myers added: violations of internal policies and State law would result in internal affairs investigations and disciplinary actions.
Council's questions of the Sheriff's Office included: whether San Mateo County deputies that are assigned to federal task forces (e.g., FBI or DEA) have access to Woodside's ALPR data, and what technical barrier stops them from running a plate for a federal partner; whether it would be possible to run an automated keyword search on the justification for all 117,000 past queries looking for terms like ICE, immigration, or homeland security investigation; an explanation for how Woodside's data is segregated from the rest of the County's data to ensure that the Town's 60- day limit is technically enforced and not overridden by the County's one-year default; did the Sheriff's Office look at the sharing configuration screen to verify they are not set to nationwide or statewide sharing; whether a filter is applied to "hot lists" to ensure they do not contain civil immigration warrants; whether a sample size of 10 is statistically significant enough to catch a rogue officer misusing the system; would it be possible to increase the sample size to 1% of all queries; how the Sheriff's Office enforces a strict request-and-confirm sharing model.
In response to Council's questions, Assistant Sheriff Myers stated: deputies have access to the data, however, it would be a violation of the Sheriff's Office policy and State law to provide data to a federal partner; they rely on the deputy's integrity; there is no technical barrier; they can do keyword searches.
In response to Council's questions, Administrative Sergeant Boragno stated: there are two different systems; Woodside's data is on its own searchable database; once that information is part of a criminal investigation, it falls under the standards of the Evidence Code; he checked the sharing configuration settings a month ago, and they're off; he checked the network and verified that no outside agencies other than the Sheriff's Office, RWCPD, and SMPD utilized the database; a sample size of 10 is per the Town policy, and increasing it would be labor-intensive but possible if that's what the Council desires; when a request to conduct a search within the database comes in, he is the only one who grants access to the three agencies.
In response to Council's questions, Assistant Sheriff Myers stated: for daily download of warrants, information moves through the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), and deputies would ignore any immigration warrants.
Council's questions of Flock Safety included: a written confirmation that Woodside's default installation setting is local only, and that a software update cannot silently revert its sharing permissions to nationwide; why Woodside should trust Flock's current assurances if their system previously overrode local configurations; whether the system currently allows a select all or batch approval function for incoming data requests; does Flock hard block specific keywords in the search justification field; when data is deleted from the cloud, and whether Flock would be able to provide an automated certificate of destruction log that proves Woodside's data is physically gone after 60 days; whether the software package Woodside is currently paying for includes Flock Freeform, or any object, people, or sound detection analytics.
Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 7
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 In response to Council's questions, Ms. Ho stated: Flock can provide written confirmation; she does not believe that local configurations were overridden due to the sequence of events; National lookup is not possible to enroll in for any agencies within California and Virginia; blocking specific keywords is a feature in the product that was implemented last summer; since December 2025, they have a drop-down tool for pre-filled search terms, which can be provided to the Town; data sanitation is a key part of protocol for maintaining certifications and being on the Amazon Web Services cloud; Flock may be able to provide destruction certifications; for ALPRs, FreeForm is only for vehicle characteristics, so it does not look at people, animals, or anything else.
Council's additional questions included: whether the Sheriff's Office have seen any evidence of violations of the Flock system in Woodside; the efficacy of the ALPRs; whether there have been any data breaches in the Sheriff's Office; how long it took to complete searching between May 2023 to now; how long it takes to prepare for these Council meetings; how long preparing for this meeting took; the reporting relationship with other agencies the Sheriff's Office serves.
In response to Council's questions, Administrative Sergeant Boragno stated: there have not been any violations of the Flock system; searching from May 2023 to the present took approximately two hours; preparation for Council meetings takes about one hour; factoring in drive time and preparing for tonight took five hours.
In response to Council's questions, Assistant Sheriff Myers stated: the regional network of ALPRS provides a nice umbrella of protection; the Sheriff's Office is doing a full audit of all the systems; they have a great relationship with Flock, and Flock is able to implement any changes that make the system more robust; per Supervisor Speier's request, the Sheriff's ALPR policy has been updated to state that cameras would not be used for any First Amendment protests; for San Carlos, Millbrae, and Half Moon Bay, he would provide an annual report to Council that includes statistics and community events, and he would meet the Traffic and Planning Commission monthly to go over traffic complaints and parking issues.
In response to Council's question, Mr. Ledbetter stated: internal staff spent 12 hours to prepare for this meeting.
Mayor Dombkowski expressed interest in changing the Town's relationship with the Sheriff's Office to be a direct reporting relationship with Council going forward.
The public comment period opened at 8:59 p.m.
Kimberly Woo, community organizer for Services Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) in San Mateo County, spoke of: urging the Council to pause the ALPR program; ALPR data from neighboring communities have been misused; Flock cannot be trusted; simply auditing data is flawed; ICE does not leave a trace; Flock's ability to collect, retain, and analyze location data for every driver on the road violates our Fourth Amendment right to a reasonable Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 8
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 expectation of privacy; community trust is necessary for public safety.
Matt, speaker from the audience, spoke of: the disturbing reports of recent events in Mountain View; urging the Council to reject the annual report; self-certification by the vendor that the system can be trusted is unacceptable; the community needs an independent technical audit, not just a policy alignment review.
Michyle LaPedis, volunteer with the ACLU San Mateo County chapter, resident of San Mateo County, echoed pausing the ALPR program due to Flock's untrustworthiness.
David Mittelman, Grandview Drive, spoke of the vulnerabilities and deficiencies of Flock's technical infrastructure that would enable an attacker to easily access the device and network.
Nancy Goodman, Redwood City resident, echoed comments to pause the contract with Flock Safety due to the insecurity of data and the dangers outweighing the benefits.
Ehsan Farkhondeh, Alta Vista Road, stated: ALPRs are not the way to send criminals to jail; his recommendation to read Mr. Mittelman's letter; Flock Safety is a terrible company; private citizens can create an ALPR network without Flock Safety.
Sara Matlin, volunteer with the ACLU San Mateo County chapter, Redwood City resident, echoed pausing the ALPR program and not accepting the report due to Flock's untrustworthiness.
The public comment period closed at 9:21 p.m.
Council's comments in favor of pausing the ALPR program included: appreciation for the Town Manager and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office for the quarterly and annual reports; a shared commitment to the safety of residents; ALPR technology can be a functional tool for local law enforcement; Council must ensure tools are used in a manner that is legal, fiscally responsible, and respectful of the community; when a vendor fails to meet obligations, that trust is compromised; there have been documented patterns that suggests Flock Safety is no longer a reliable partner for the Town; the Town is being exposed to significant liability, and the Council has a fiduciary duty to mitigate these risks; the Town's audit reviewed less than 0.04% of activity, which is not an adequate safeguard for a system of this scale; Flock Safety is running on outdated Android software that has not been updated since 2021; in 2025, 30 jurisdictions have cancelled or declined to renew their Flock Safety contracts; Council should pause the program and installation of additional cameras until there is a full explanation from Flock Safety regarding unauthorized lookup settings; the Town needs a more robust audit process; Council must direct the Town Manager to explore alternative vendors that respects local control and priorities cyber security; Council must change the reporting structure from municipal employees to individuals who are experts in data privacy, cybersecurity, or digital forensic auditing; Council should hire an independent firm with technical expertise in privacy and security to audit the ALPR program; support for establishing a more direct reporting relationship with the Sheriff's Office.
Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 9
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 Council's comments in continuing the ALPR program included: the Town has a long history with the Sheriff's Office, and the relationship has always been very trustful; there have not been any violations with Flock in Town; there is no hard evidence on how many crimes have been prevented with Flock, however, there is strong evidence that it will continue to reduce crime in Woodside; regarding privacy, Google is tracking our movements; not ready to make a change just because of a few instances across the country; support for establishing a more direct reporting relationship with the Sheriff's Office; no support for asking the Sheriff's Office to do more for the quarterly and yearly reports; open to exploring alternative vendors and transitioning to a third party auditor; safety is a high priority, and the benefits outweigh the costs; the Sheriff's Office has been in compliance with the Town's ALPR policy; an alternative vendor would not be effective because so much benefit comes from the network of Flock cameras.
Councilmember Aburish moved to accept the report.
Motion seconded by Councilmember Brown and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Brown, Goeld, and Mayor Dombkowski NOTS: Councilmember Wall
Councilmember Goeld moved to direct Town staff to request and formalize an agreement with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office to provide monthly reports to the Town Council.
Motion seconded by Councilmember Aburish and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Brown, Goeld, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski NOES: None
Councilmember Wall moved to explore potential vendors to conduct annual audits of the use of the Flock Safety ALPR system installed in Woodside.
Motion seconded by Councilmember Aburish and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski NOES: Councilmembers Brown and Goeld
There was a break from 10:07 - 10:12 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS
B. Resolution Requesting the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to Establish A 25 Mile Per Hour Speed Limit 500 Yards from the Intersection of State Highway 84 and State Highway 35.
Resolution No. 2026 - 7806
Mr. Ledbetter presented the staff report.
Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 10
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 The public comment period opened at 10:14 p.m.
David Mittelman, Grandview Drive, spoke of various necessary improvements to the area and requested that Caltrans consider a roundabout at the intersection.
The public comment period closed at 10:16 p.m.
Council's comments included: this proposal makes sense for a very dangerous area.
Councilmember Aburish moved approval of Item B
Motion seconded by Councilmember Wall and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Brown, Goeld, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski NOES: None
C. Resolution Requesting the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to Establish a 15 Mile Per Hour Speed Zone Within 500 Feet of Woodside Elementary School, on State Highway 84 Woodside Road, and Work with Caltrans District 4 on its Implementation.
Resolution No. 2026 - 7807
Mr. Ledbetter presented the staff report.
Council, staff, and Ehsan Farkhondeh, Circulation Chair, discussed: speed trailer data revealing traffic going above 25 miles per hour; 75% of traffic comes from visitors to Woodside, and the lown needs awareness and enforcement; the slower speed limit would not cause traffic; Caltrans would conduct a traffic study before they implement anything; the 500' determination is under Woodside's authority; through the Town Center Area Plan update, there will be various traffic calming measures that will lead to better mobility for pedestrians; interest in additional options to increasing safety in front of the Woodside Elementary School.
The public comment period opened at 10:31 p.m.
David Mittelman, Grandview Drive, stated: traffic may shift to Sand Hill Road.
Christina Warren, Kim Hansen, and Stacia Garr expressed support for reducing the speed limit in front of the school.
The public comment period closed at 10:40 p.m.
Council's comments included: strong support for increasing safety; a suggestion to reduce the 500' distance to the School's property line; a request to install signs warning drivers they are approaching a school zone.
Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 11
Docusign Envelope ID: E89694DE-9105-81F1-8000-4C2BB4903F20 Councilmember Wall moved approval of replacing "500 feet" with "within the property line", additionally, directing staff to put up a sign indicating a school zone is approaching within 500 feet west of the school.
Motion seconded by Councilmember Aburish and approved by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Aburish, Brown, Goeld, Wall, and Mayor Dombkowski NOES: None
REPORTS
D. Volunteer Committee Updates.
None to report.
E. Mayor and Councilmember Communications.
Councilmember Brown reminded everyone the two dates of upcoming senior workshops are:
March 21 and April 25.
COMMUNICATIONS
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Dombkowski adjourned the meeting at 10:48 p.m.
Jui Par
Deputy Clerk of the Town of Woodside
APPROVED:
- Signed hy
Brian Dombkowski
= MCC32EZ2DOF4DS-
Mayor of the Town of Woodside
Town Council Meeting Minutes February 10, 2026 Page 12